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Maharishi Patañjali’s Yogasūtra, in the Samādhipāda—the chapter about Samādhi—states that the sole lakṣya, or aim, of yoga or any spiritual practice is the upliftment of consciousness. Everything unfolds within this consciousness; this is its miracle. Patañjali explains samādhi. Literally, it means that higher consciousness which, at the end of life, merges into the cosmic consciousness. It is where duality disappears and the reality of non-duality is realized. The triad of knowledge, knower, and object becomes one. That is the highest level of consciousness. The knower is our Self. Knowledge is what we wish to know. The object is that about which we wish to know. The merging of these three into oneness is samādhi. On the path, however, Patañjali explains, warns, and makes us alert to the kinds of obstacles that can suddenly arise on the journey to samādhi. Unless you purify or remove these obstacles, it will not be possible to achieve it. For this, we need a healthy body, a healthy mind, a healthy intellect, and healthy belief—not fanaticism. We need guidance from a master, free from dualities and discriminations. Above all, there is one obstacle that is very, very difficult to overcome. We can overcome everything else, but this one is very hard. That is moha. Some translate moha as ignorance, but it means attachment, dependence—being so deeply attached that we do not wish to realize or even hear about separation from the object of attachment. In this way, that attachment is ignorance. It is ignorance to say, "This belongs to me: it is my body, my thoughts, my feelings, my properties, my relatives, my parents, my partners." Anything you think is yours is only temporary. Sooner or later, it will disappear, go away, be taken away, or be separated by death. Attachment and relations are two different things. A relation can be without suffering, filled with love and understanding. But our attachment is laced with suffering. There is a story that our holy Gurujī, our dear Gurudev, the Hindu Dharm Samrāṭ Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Mahārāj, told in 1968. We were staying at an ashram in Jaipur—the beautiful Jaipur ashram, named Amrapur Āśram, did not exist at that time. It is a beautiful ashram where many sādhus and saints stay, and it has very strict rules. When the bell rings, everyone must come if they wish to have tea, milk, or juice. The bell rings for lunch, breakfast, or dinner, and that time lasts only 45 minutes. If you come late, you must wait for the next bell. They were good friends known to Gurujī, so whenever we went to Jaipur, we stayed at Amrapur Āśram. The ashram is still there. All Swamis and sādhus who stay there must attend the daily satsaṅg, held twice, morning and evening. No one can stay for more than three days without permission. If you must go somewhere during those three days, you must inform the devotees that you will not be present for satsaṅg. If you disappear without informing them, when you return you will find your room locked and your belongings waiting outside. Patañjali said very clearly in the beginning: Atha yogānuśāsanam—discipline. Yoga begins with discipline. The success of yoga lies in discipline. Without discipline, life is not successful. Many people say, "My culture is like this, not that." There are no arguments where there is discipline. Quality does not have compromises; similarly, discipline does not have any compromise. After two days, it was Gurujī’s turn to give satsaṅg. They informed Gurujī, "Your Holiness, Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī," and it was written on the blackboard that Gurujī would give satsaṅg. The subject they gave was about Moha. Moha means attachment. Moha means dependence. Gurujī was an ocean of wisdom. At any hour of the day or night, if you said, "Swāmījī, Gurujī, speak," he would deliver beautiful spiritual lectures. Gurujī could even create beautiful new bhajans within his speech. So, the subject was moha and nirmoha. Gurujī began his beautiful lecture, saying he was happy the ashram devotees had asked him to speak about moha. Moha means suffering. Where there is moha, there will be disappointment. Where there is moha, there will be pain. Where there is moha, there will be anger. Where there is moha, there will be hate. Where there is moha, there will be jealousy. Where there is moha, there will be ego. Where there is moha, there will be feelings of humiliation. Where there is moha, there is darkness. And where there is moha, be sure you will not be successful. Try to become nirmohī—without attachment. Then Gurujī told a story. Long ago, in some yuga, there lived a king known as Nirmohī Rājā, a king without attachment—which is nearly impossible. King Nirmohī had only one child, a young prince. The prince liked to ride horses and go to the forest—not for hunting, but for walking. One day, the prince went riding with his friends into the forest. They rode in different directions and lost contact. The prince came near a cave where there was a water fountain. The king and the horse were both thirsty. The horse, sensing water, pulled in that direction. There was a beautiful small pond with a waterfall, a cool, naturally filtered stream from the rocks. At that time, the only pollution was mental pollution—the human mind's pollution, which still troubles us. The prince dismounted, drank water, and let the horse drink. He washed his face and hands, and because it was hot, he also cleaned his horse. He took the saddle off and made himself comfortable. From the cave, a mātāmā, a yogī, emerged and asked, "Who are you?" The prince made praṇām and said, "I am the son of Nirmohī Rājā." The yogī said, "Nirmohī Rājā? A king with no moha?" The prince replied, "Yes, Your Holiness, my father is Nirmohī. He taught us all to be nirmohī—my wife, my mother, we are all nirmohī." The yogī said, "I must go and test your father to see if he is truly Nirmohī or not." The prince said, "Yes, you can. Please, you can even take my horse. I will wait here." The yogī said, "No, I will not take the horse. I need your shirt." The prince gave him his shirt, saying, "I will not go away until you return. Your command is accepted; it is on my head. I will wait for the Guru Vakya until you come back." The Mahātma tore the prince's shirt and stained it a dark red, like blood spots, and went to the king. When the king saw a yogī coming to his palace, he ran barefoot to greet and welcome him. In Christianity, one goes on their knees to a temple or for the Pope's blessing; here, one goes barefoot for darśan. That feeling is now often lost. We must cultivate our feeling, our love, our devotion. As Holy Gurujī said, "Nith Nith Prem Mera Adhe Kabadi Jo Nith Nith"—day by day, my love should increase for thee, O Mahāprabhujī, O Gurudev. The king welcomed the Mahātma, the Yogī, saying, "Welcome to my palace—it is not my palace, but I reside here. It is your place. What a great day that you have blessed this place. What brought you here? Had you sent a message, I would have come running for your darśan. Why did you take the trouble to come?" The Mahātma, who sometimes had to play a role to test the depth of love and devotion, said, "King, I am so sorry. I am very sad." The king said, "Your Holiness, you are sad? What makes you sad? You are above sadness." The Mahātma said, "Yes, King, I am sad for you and the whole kingdom." The king asked, "What happened?" The Mahātma, with tears in his eyes, said, "I do not dare to tell you." The king insisted, "Please, nothing in this world can move us so. Please, tell me." The Mahātma showed the shirt. The king said, "Oh, this is my son's shirt." The Mahātma said, "Yes, but he is no more." The king asked, "Really? What happened?" The Mahātma said, "He went to the forest, and a tiger attacked and killed him. It was hard to free him, but I managed. I left the body somewhere safe and brought the shirt. Believe me." The Nirmohī King said, "Your Holiness, you know well that everyone has a life with counted breaths. How many breaths he will take is written in destiny; not a second can be longer. Why did you take the trouble to interrupt your meditation?" The yogī was surprised. He asked, "May I meet the queen, his mother?" The king said, "Of course, she will be delighted by your darśan and blessings." The Mahātma went to the Queen and told her the same story, adding, "You know, His Highness the King, I think he was shocked when I told him his son was killed. He became confused. But you are a mother. When a child dies, a mother's pain is a thousand times greater than the father's. The mother feeds the child in her body with her own blood; the child grew from her body. She knows the pain of carrying a baby for nine months and giving birth. Oh Divine Mother, I do not dare to tell you, but it is something." The Queen said, "What? Tell me." He showed the shirt. She said, "Yes, this is my son's." He said, "Yes. You see the blood? Unfortunately, a tiger killed your son. It was hard to free his body. I kept it safe; please arrange the funeral. The king is in shock." She said, "Thank you for the news. I am happy he is not suffering anymore. But why did you interrupt your meditation? He died, but you did something not good." The Mahātma asked, "What?" The Queen said, "A hungry animal found its food with hard work, and you took that food away. When you are hungry and someone takes your full plate, how will you feel? Whoever comes into this world must go. Please, go and give the body to the tiger. He may still be sitting, licking his lips." The yogī said, "It is something. I am sorry, but I would like to meet his wife." The Queen said, "Yes, my daughter-in-law will be delighted by your darśan and blessing. What a great day for my family to have your blessing." He went to the wife and told her the news, thinking, "The father doesn't care, the mother-in-law doesn't care, but the wife? Oh, my God! Now is the time of the wife." He told the wife, who said, "Thank you for your darśan and for blessing the palace. Anyone who enters will feel your blessings. The holy dust of your feet will forever keep this palace spiritual and beautiful. Gurudev, every jīva comes with their karma and destiny. One day, everyone has to go. So far, it has happened; he is gone. Now he is one with me. Before, he was separate. His ātmā is merged with my ātmā. So please, do not trouble yourself. Go and pray. Meditation and prayers will help his soul." The Mahātma asked, "May you come to your mother-in-law?" She said yes. He brought her to the Queen. He asked, "May you come to the king?" She said, "Of course. All three of us would be happy to have a śiva for you. Would you like to eat something? What can we do?" He said no. When the three were together, the Mahātma said, "King, now I trust you are a Nirmohī King. Your son is safe; he was not a victim. He came to me and said he is the son of Nirmohī Rājā. I wondered, in this mortal world, can a human be nirmohī? Now I find you are truly a Nirmohī King." The king said, "That is your blessing and your Līlā. What can we do for you?" The Mahātma said, "Nothing." The king said, "No, I must accompany you to where your heart is." And the prince came happily home. That is the beautiful story of King Nirmohī. There is also a bhajan where Mīrābāī says to Kṛṣṇa, "Nirmohī, I pray so much, and you do not care at all." You have no moha. It is easy to see but very, very hard to realize. When salt goes under the skin, you feel it burn. So it is with moha. That is how far you must come to attain samādhi and become one with the cosmic consciousness. Otherwise, as Mahāprabhujī once said when asked if a disciple had realized samādhi: "Yes, he is every day in the biggest samādhi. If you give him nice, spicy food, feed him well, let him walk, and when he gets tired, he sleeps—that is his samādhi." And that is our samādhi, my dear. A little sitting, some prānāyāma—that is our samādhi. Therefore, Chetan, we have to awaken ourselves, Chetan. It is easy to speak, beautiful to hear, very interesting to read, but where is the reality? That reality is what the great saint Patañjali wishes for us. That is why the first chapter is called Samādhi Pādaḥ. Everyone would like that samādhi. There is even a tank called a Samādhi tank, filled with salty water, closed like a solar box so people can become brown. They lie inside in complete darkness; this is called a Samādhi tank. But in true samādhi, there is no darkness. If you wish to be brown-skinned, marry someone from a country where people have that color, so your children will have a nice color if you are not satisfied. We must have the inner color, the color of the Ātmā, the divine color. O Krishna, color me, color my soul—not black, white, green, yellow, or red, but color me in the color of Your color, meaning His divine consciousness. A washed man can wash many lives with old washing machines day and night, but that color will not go away. Wash me, color me with that color. There is also a bhajan by Kabīr, as Hājī Mahārāj said: "Chadariyā, Jīnī Re, Jīnī Re. Kabīr Dās Jī Mahārāj Kī Jai. Chadariyā Jīnī Re Jīnī." Chadar means this cloth, the soul. Kabīr Dās says our body is that chādar, that cloth with which the soul has covered itself, as we cover the body with cloth. "Aṣṭa Kamala Kā Cakra Banāyā"—he made the spinning wheel with eight lotuses, meaning the eight chakras. Kamala means lotus. Aṣṭ means eight. "Kamal kā carkhā banāyā, pāñc tattva kī punnī." The cotton material being spun is the pāñc tattva—the five elements: ākāśa, agni, vāyu, jal, pṛthvī (space, fire, wind, water, earth). This body is made of five elements. "Asht Kamal Kā Charkhā Banāyā Pāñch Tatva Kī Pūnī, Na Das Mās Bunān Ko Lagā." It took nine to ten months to make this body. "Na Das Maas Bunan Ko Laga Murak Meli Kini." Now, the foolish one has made this soul dirty. Narāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa. How? Through karma. Next time, I will also translate a bhajan from Mahāprabhujī: "Gaṇadin Bhatkire Kaniya Kāvarīṇā," a beautiful bhajan. Kabīr Dās was a great saint, renowned throughout the world. "Murak Mele Kini"—he made it all dirty through negative karmas and negative thinking, again and again. A human, once he spits, does not lick it again, but a dog does, true? One experience, and then it is finished. "Jab meri chadar bana ghar aayi"—when this was prepared and ready, brought home (meaning you were born), "rang reja ko dini"—then we brought it to the man who colors fabric. Who is that? It is Gurudev. "Aisa Ranga Ranga... Rene"—such a color he put on this soul, "Lalo Lala Kar Dini"—red into the red, into the red. Beautiful, no? That color will never go away. Then he said, "Durva Pela, what is it? Chaddara Odh Sankamat Ki, Jo Do Din Tumko Dini." Do not have doubts in your life. God has given you this human body for only two days, not more. One day was yesterday, and today is today. These are two days. Tomorrow, you do not know. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. Will you see tomorrow? Maybe. I wish you will. But tomorrow will always be tomorrow. Today, one is sitting, speaking, laughing, enjoying everything, and suddenly dies. Tomorrow, he is cremated, becomes ash, and flies in the air. Hari Om Tat Sat. Nowhere. Moha. That is it. Kabīr Dāsjī said, "Sona jaisī kāyā jalkar ke vashm ho gaī." Kabīr Dāsjī has very beautiful bhajans. There is one bhajan I will translate next time. "Bhed Nai Jāne, Din Din Melī Kīnī." And then one more. Now, Dūrvā, Pehalād, Sudāmā, and Oḍī. Dūrvā, you know, is an eternal, immortal place in space, among the planets—what we call the polar star. That is Dūrvā. Gurudev placed him there forever, so you will be Aṭal (immovable). Everything will move, but you will not. There is a very beautiful story of Dūrvā. Durvā Pāhalād—you know about Pāhalād. Sudama, a great bhakta of Kṛṣṇa, was completely blind, but he realized Krishna appeared, and he saw him. "Śukadeva ne nirmalkinī"—the great Śukadeva made this chādar very pure. Kabīr Dās said, "I also had this." "Jiyon kī itiyon dhardī dī"—I gave it back to God as pure as it was. No spot on my life. It is not easy. "Chadariya jīnī re, jīnī kī Rāma nāma rasa bīnī." So, this is soaked in the juice of God's name. Bhakti, bhakti—devotion, God, love, love. Where is the love, the freedom, the happiness, the joy, the liberation, the clarity, everything? And where there is attachment, suffering, ego, jealousy, hate, and whatnot—it all depends on you. Therefore, I thought I should tell you something more about moha and nirmoha. So, try to become nirmohī. Do not fall into moha. My Gurudev has given me such a blessing that he cut away the thread of Moha. Finished. Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jai, Dev Purīṣa Mahādeva Kī Jai, Dharma Samrāṭ Satguru Svāmī Madhavānandajī Bhagavān Kī Jai, Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jai. Mahāprabhudīp Purījī Purī Devā Kī Jai.