TV Channel

Patañjali was one of the greatest psychologists. For those who study psychology and have tried to solve the problem of the human mind, it is best to study his work. It is incredible how deeply he engaged with the human psyche and how much he knew about human consciousness. He explored it very thoroughly, step by step. I often think that what modern psychology is trying to bring to awareness today was already established by Patañjali. Perhaps they do not want to admit it, but that is another matter. Those who study Patañjali’s work carefully and know his sayings and instructions by heart will better understand what consciousness is, what psychology is, what emotions are, and what the mind is. Patañjali articulated yoga in four limbs: Bhakti yoga, Rāja yoga, Karma yoga, and Jñāna yoga. This means he organized the human mind, emotions, and intellect into four aspects. There are people more inclined towards emotions, oriented towards bhakti—devotion and surrender. Patañjali did not specify any particular object of devotion. These people are known as Bhakti yogīs, the yoga of devotion, love, and surrender. When such a person, who by nature is a bhakta, cannot direct their love, they become restless, disturbed, and depressed. They find happiness in singing bhajans, going to church, mosque, or ashram, meeting like-minded souls, and speaking about God. The second group are the Karma-yogīs. These people love only to work. If they have nothing to do, they become nervous and restless. They find boredom unbearable. They say God is in serving and helping. Regardless of the work—in the garden, house, kitchen, or office—they need to be active. If idle, they paint or learn an instrument. They constantly feel the need to do something. The third group are the Jñāna-yogīs. They love to argue and engage in intellectual debate. They question everything: "If it is like this, then why not like that?" If they have no one to debate, they write, read newspapers, or magazines—always doing something to calm their thoughts. The fourth group designated by Patañjali are those who want to be perfect. They possess immense discipline, beyond imagination. Discipline, discipline. He united all these four groups. Patañjali said that when someone attains the highest realization, a person becomes as free as the sky—not like a bird, for a bird is not truly free. The sky is an infinite space for everyone: stars, planets, all creatures, even dust. It has room for all. When one is fully self-realized, true love awakens in the heart. Patañjali says that then ahiṃsā, non-violence, is attained. He called ahiṃsā the highest principle, the highest dharma. Where there is ahiṃsā, there is no hatred, jealousy, greed, selfishness, or ego. In the presence of such a divine person, the tiger and the goat can sit together and drink from the same vessel without fear. When Patañjali taught under a great banyan tree, tigers, cows, goats, sheep, birds, people, and rabbits would sit around him. The closer they were to him, the more they forgot their own nature. The tiger forgot its aggression and urge to kill; the goats forgot their fear. Everyone sat together in his presence. That is called divine incarnation. At that moment, human consciousness is immersed in divine consciousness. There is no difference between that realized person and divine knowledge. But it must be only knowledge. There are different levels of self-knowledge. Someone knows, "I have done this. I am such and such." That is only knowledge of the ego—pride. Sometimes we become aware of our anger, attachment, or jealousy and demonstrate them. That is why it is very important to purify the heart, mind, and consciousness. Certainly, we need to practice āsanas and prāṇāyāma daily to maintain health, but what is most important is to be humble from within. Patañjali says in his sūtras, at the very beginning, emphasizing the value of discipline: discipline makes a country great, wealthy, and society happy. Discipline makes the individual successful. When each individual is successful, the entire family is successful. When the family is happy, the whole society is happy. When society is successful, the whole nation is successful. But the problem today is that people are so jealous, full of anger, and selfish. If someone does good, hundreds are against him. If a politician wishes to do good, others, driven by jealousy, create unrest. That is why the world is so restless today. The human community is at a critical point. People ask, "Why him? Why not me?" Patañjali says discipline. How many of us think well of others? Those who do are rare, and that is a big problem. Patañjali says this is the essential teaching of yoga. Research on discipline has shown it makes people successful. That is why he said at the very beginning, before any other instruction, that you must adhere to discipline. Many yoga practitioners here practice sādhanā daily, but many do not. That is why I tell you to preserve discipline. Practice, practice, practice. There is no discipline where selfishness arises, where an individual cannot control desires, or where laziness arises. When discipline breaks, laziness comes, and where there is laziness, fear arises. Fear makes you angry, aggressive, and selfish. Fear creates the base for destruction. One who is disciplined is never afraid. Everything you attain—wealth, a partner, children—comes through discipline. Patañjali says if you want success in yoga, you must maintain discipline. First, establish discipline. Consider a student who studies. Studying well takes a long time, and the student becomes bored, gets headaches, tires easily, and becomes restless, wanting to socialize, swim, or play. If you go out and have an exam the next day, you will not pass. Why? Because you did not study. Why? Because you spent time with friends. Why? Because you lacked discipline. Successful students rise at 4:30, study from 4:30 to 6:30, practice āsanas from 6:30 to 7:30, have breakfast, and then go to school or university with discipline. There are many paths to direct discipline. The word "disciple" in English comes from "disciplina." One who is not disciplined cannot be a good disciplinarian. A good student has good discipline. If you have doubts, dilemmas, or problems, or if you are not disciplined, you will have difficulty understanding the teacher. Then you have doubts. Do not think, "I have been practicing for 50 years; how is it possible I still doubt?" You can practice for 50 lifetimes and still have doubts because you do not want to let go of sorrow and you lack discipline. I am often surprised when a close disciple—someone I have known a long time, who both practices and works—still has so many doubts. A few years ago, on December 5th, early in the morning on the day of Mahāprabhujī’s Mahāsamādhi, we had an all-night meditation. A snake appeared. Come closer, come closer. That was some disciple, some being. It tried to climb onto the teacher. Even though it was a worm, it had good karma to be like a little flower around the teacher’s neck. It walked on the heart of the teacher—that must be some kind of karma. Whether a human or a worm, one day the moment will come. Early that morning, Mahāprabhujī appeared to me in meditation. Such moments are very rare in life; you may need to wait lifetimes. You do not know how many lifetimes this worm waited to attract the attention of the teachers. Only a few will understand this. Mahāprabhujī appeared and asked, "What do you want?" I told him, "You see in the next room, some have meditated all night and are praying. O Lord, could you grant them darśan as you have granted me? They are your devotees; they love and trust you." Mahāprabhujī responded that all those meditating are selfish. After a few years, none will be here anymore. He asked why he should appear to them. I said, "That is not possible, Mahāprabhujī. They love you; they cry; they have such devotion." Mahāprabhujī said, "That is only on the surface. God knows what is truly happening within you. Or you also know it. Only two people know: God and us. What is happening within you? Perhaps for the next few hours or days you do not know either, but time will bring something." Therefore, cultivate discipline in your life. How to achieve it? There is a very good technique. Every morning, tell yourself, "I will rise at exactly the appointed time," no matter how little you have slept. Draw a line of discipline. You need enough sleep—about 8 hours—leaving 16 hours for everything else. Work for 8 hours, sleep for 8, and you still have 8 hours left. Use that time well. The second technique: as soon as you get up, go to the restroom and wash your face. That is very important. The third: after washing, go to the altar, greet Mahāprabhujī, and light agarbatī or a candle. The fourth: begin with exercises. Once a week, fast regularly—an excellent training for discipline. Choose Monday or Thursday. No matter the temptations, maintain discipline. Before sleep, read one page of a beautiful book—Lilī Amṛt, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Bible, the Qur’ān, the Upaniṣads, the Vedas, or another. Read one chapter or story. That is discipline; reading develops knowledge. Or decide that once a week you will throw a handful of grains to birds in the park. Every day, offer to the birds. That is beautiful; even those poor birds receive something to eat, and you maintain your discipline. You get up, wash, dress, walk to the park, throw the seeds, and return. It is full of joy. If you have a dog and take it for a walk, that is not discipline—that is what you must do. You see the difference between what you must do and discipline. The mind is our problem. It is said the mind is a powerful elephant, not easy to control. Some say it is a monkey, continuously jumping back and forth. Some say it is like a tiger, very aggressive. Some say it is wild water, a raging river, swollen and not easy to cross. Some say it is a hurricane, restless. We often speak about the mind; we are tired of it. All psychology is built upon the mind. If the mind thought properly, that would solve the problem. All psychological problems are mental because the mind does not follow. The mind is disappointed, hurt, offended, wounded. It does not want to work with us, coexist, be our friend, or be responsible. It withdraws. That withdrawal is depression. The mind is necessary. It should neither withdraw nor become wild. We must not be servants or slaves of the mind. We need to have our own mind but keep it under control.