INTRODUCTION
Today, we will begin with a story ~ story time. You are ready for it? The great way and the most effective way of conveying something have been through stories – parabells and the puranas are full of such parabells – stories. On one level, they just appear like a story but in a deeper level they convey something more. So you can rejoice on both levels or many levels
Once upon a time people were going to doctors for this and that & they got so fed up swallowing all these medicines, and churnas, and leaves, and kashayas, and all these ayurvedic things and got so bored. Vishnu was the one who became dhanvantri and brought ayurveda – means to cure the illnesses of people. And then they all, all the rishis, munis approached Vishnu. Certain herbs are not available in certain seasons … Certain things are not available at some places … what to do when people get ill, sick? It is not just the physical sickness, people get mentally sick also, emotionally sick also. Anger comes, lust comes, greed comes, and jealousy comes, how to get rid of all these impurities from the mind? And how to get healthy without any medicines? And how to feel happy, self-sufficient? What is the formula?
They wanted to ask Vishnu, so they all went to Vaikuntham. Vishnu was lying on the bed of Snake - the serpent - big Adishesha with a thousand heads. When they approached Vishnu, Vishnu said. He was little lazy, just smiling, “All right, my dear children, you all want something more … … don’t want to make medicine, don’t want to eat medicine, you want something instantaneous. How that can happen?” He just looked at the Adishesha - the thousand headed serpent - awareness – symbolysis awareness. Just that smile looking at Adishesha was good enough. He conveyed the whole thing. Then Adishesha took birth in the world as Patanjali. Adishesha - Symbol of awareness – and he became Maharishi Patanjali.
The word Patanjali itself is interesting. Anjali means – your hand – offering. Before you could offer, it dropped - that is Pata – anjali – that which dropped, that offering you could not even offer, you are finished before offering. Do you see what I am saying? You are going to a temple to offer some flowers, fruits, something; you are going to a master, you are going to a deity, you are going to an elder to give something, to offer. This sense of offering comes when you feel that sense that it belongs to you before. Is that clear to you? When you think this coconut is mine, then you say this is mine, I offer to you. Then you say this is mine, I offer to you. The sense of offering drops even before offering. That means a realization comes – there is no two – this is not mine at all. The highest act in this world in offering - there is nothing higher than that. The only supreme act in the world is offering.
When even that offering drops – means transcends – you transcend that offering, you get to a stage of total non-doing. Are you getting what I am saying? The pure awareness which knows no two. That is what is Patanjali. Pata-anjali ~ the offerings dropped even before to be offered. – Means a realization came, knowledge came instantaneously. So Patanjali came to give this knowledge of Yoga - the union - yoga sutras.
But then what happened -- even if someone has to give something, there should be some audience to whom you will give. Patanjali did not compromise for one or two students. One or two students if you teach - who knows how much they will do - who will grasp, who much, how much distortion they may make? He said I am not going to give you sutras unless a thousand people get together. And it was easy, everybody was longing for this knowledge so thousand people gathered towards the south of Vindiya mountain. Vindiya mountain is in the middle of India, somewhere near Madhya Pradesh - to the south of Vindiya Mountain - may be somewhere in South India, may be in this place - they all gathered because here the climate everything was suitable more yogic - not too hot, not too cold, not too high, not too low. In such a place thousand people gathered from various walks of life, from various different backgrounds and standing. And then Patanjali was going to give them knowledge. But he had a condition. The condition was - he put a screen between him and these thousand students and told them nobody should lift this curtain or screen and nobody should go out - everybody should stay till the whole thing is finished. So Patanjali stayed behind the curtain and he gives this knowledge to all 1000 people.
Each one of them got, each one of them absorbed this knowledge. It was an amazing phenomenon and even among the students they could not believe how come we are all getting this knowledge and how come the Master is conveying so perfectly to each one of us. How he is making each one of us understand without even saying any words, from behind the curtain. So everybody was thrilled & amazed by what was happening to them. It was such an excitement - a new knowledge comes, a new realization comes – a person cannot simply sit quiet and he just, he want to express - so much energy – each one experienced such blast of energy in them, such blast of enthusiasm that they could not even contain but still they had to maintain a discipline-- -everybody was disciplined.
In this, meanwhile, what happened, one boy had to go for nature call. So he left the room. He said I’ll quietly go and comeback, Master may not notice. When he went – you know it’s like a collective consciousness - when one person breaks the rule, another person also want to break the rule. So another person became very curious.
“What is it Master is doing behind this curtain?”
“I want to see this, you know.”
So one boy told another boy, and another boy said
“Ya, ya , why not?”
“Anyway he is so compassionate, so kind, he won’t mind even if we make a mistake. He’ll just excuse us.”
“Why not we get rid of our curiosity?”
This curiosity grows higher and higher. Then without saying much, few of them lifted the curtain to see. When they lifted the curtain all the 999 of them, they all got burned down, they became ashes. Now Patanjali became very sad. Here he was going to give knowledge for the whole world - now all the 999 disciples got burned down. When he was sad and he was disappointed what has happened may whole mission is collapsed on this planet. Something happened very similar to Jesus. He said everyone forsake him. His own disciples forsake him – among 1000 – only 12 followed him - even those 12 denounced him and finally when he was put on the cross – he said, “Oh! God, have you forsake me also?” Such a pain in his heart - he said even god has forsaken me. So when he prepared the disciples to that height and when he found - just by one act of them, they just nullified, his whole effort - he became very sad.
At this moment, this boy who had gone for nature call comes in. And then Patanjali asks him. “How? What has happened? Where did you go”? He said, “Guruji please excuse me. I could not control my nature call, I had to go. I am so sorry, please pardon me.” So he begged pardon. Patanjali was so compassionate - his heart flowed - he said, alright - at least one was saved, come on “I'll teach you.” So he gave him the rest of the sutras, rest of the knowledge. But again, he had also violated the law. So he said since you had violated the law – you will become Brahmarakshasha - means you'll become a ghost and you will hang on the tree, you have to do this. But then – how to get over this curse? Then he said - If you teach one student this knowledge, then you will be liberated. Saying this Patanjali disappeared.
Now this Brahmarakshasha, hanging on a tree he would ask everyone who passes by. Every young student one question and they would not be able to answer the question. When they would not answer that question, that ghost will eat that person, means vanish that person, he had no choice.
For thousands of years this is a story that he could not get one single person whom he could teach the yoga sutras so that ghost remained on the tree as Brahmarakshasha, means that one who has great knowledge when something goes wrong then that Brahmarakshashtra will come, I mean, it becomes too big. An intelligent person becoming a criminal becomes more dangerous then an innocent person becoming a criminal. So a person who has all knowledge and if he becomes a criminal it is much more dangerous. So Brahmarakshasha was hanging there waiting for relief. It’s not enjoying there, it wants a relief.
Then out of compassion, Patanjali himself becomes a disciple – comes as a student to the Brahmarakshasha and the Brahmarakshasha goes on telling the whole sutras and Patanjali hears and writes then down on the leaf and story goes like this. And then he redeems. So to redeem one’s disciple, master became a disciple of a disciple. The compassion of Patanjali is unparallel. And then the story goes - Patanjali ones and waits in the Himalayas for Shankaracharya to come and vyasa to come - propogate this knowledge further.
In this story, if you see there is lot of depth. Now each one of you thinks, what is the meaning of the veil? Why it was lifted? When it was lifted, they were all burned down, what is the significance of the story? Each one of you think on your own and we will see what comes out of it. You got it? So think - what is the significance of the veil? Why it was necessary to give knowledge? Why it is lifted? When it is lifted everybody got burned down - and what are other morals you would get from this story? Other points of deep truth you can pick from this story? See puranas don't give any other explanation, they just give a story and it is for us to unlock that secret. For unlocking this secret, is our upper chamber.
So now, you all think and see what you all think about it, so think about it - each one of you. You may even write down and we will see. It will be interesting to compare - what everybody thinks about this story. Is the story clear to you? So what all you have to find out? -- How did the master convey the knowledge without a word to everybody and what they needed? What is the significance of the veil? Why, when it was lifted - everybody was burned down? Why though one person has disobeyed the rule was redeemed? Though one instance that has happened was not very favorable become favorable & not totally favorable with a condition, with a consequence to it? So think on all this and then we will think about it. It's good!
Little further the story goes - then Patanjali writes all this on leaves sitting on the top of a tree because the Brahmarakshasha is on the top of the tree. So he says come up, you have to sit up on the tree and it is dictating in the night, then Patanjali is writing on the leaves, he is plucking the leaves and he made just a small scratch and took some blood from his own body. From his blood he started writing - just making notes on the leaves of the tree. This happened for 7 days to write this. He was so tired after 7 days. He put all the leaves in a cloth & put it down. By that time he was going to take a bath. At that time a goat come and started eating many of those leaves. A goat ate half of it. So Patanjali, when he comes back, he saw half of leaves are gone and a goat is standing to his bundle of leaves, his bag. He took with him whatever was remaining and then what he would have done? This also you think. What is the significance of that goat? What does that goat imply? Think. You need to ponder on this. And for this your mind needs to be hollow & empty. Sit on the rock - really be with this knowledge - you have to come up with the solution -each one of you - look into the solution- what they all would be meaning? What would they symbolize?
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