Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega, Vol 1

Now the discipline of yoga. 'Yoga is the cessation of mind. Then the witness is established in itself.' Now the discipline of yoga: yoga means union—of the individual with the universal. The cessation of mind is the beginning. When mind stops, the witness is established. Man lives in illusion—yoga shatters illusions.

The desireless path of yoga

The desireless path of yoga. 'Is total despair necessary to begin yoga? Does an optimist also begin?' Neither pessimism nor optimism—both are the same coin. The desireless path: yoga is neither—it's seeing through both. The optimist will become pessimist; all hope leads to hopelessness. Yoga begins when both drop.

Five modifications of mind

Five modifications of mind. 'The modifications of the mind are five: right knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination, sleep, memory.' Five modifications: mind can be bondage or freedom. Right use is meditation; wrong use is madness. The five modifications must be understood—not suppressed but transcended through awareness.

Beyond mind to awareness

Beyond mind to awareness. 'Millions haven't reached madness or meditation—will they?' They have reached madness—just of a lower degree. Beyond mind to awareness: man as he is, is mad. The difference between the asylum and the street is only degree. Meditation is the alternative to madness—the conscious way out.

Right and wrong knowledge

Right and wrong knowledge. 'Right knowledge has three sources: direct cognition, inference, and the words of the awakened ones. Wrong knowledge is false conception.' Right and wrong knowledge: right knowledge comes from direct experience, inference, or awakened ones. Wrong knowledge is projection. Imagination is words without substance. Memory is the past.

The purity of yoga

The purity of yoga. 'Can the infinite be reduced to logic?' The infinite reflects in the finite mind like sky in a mirror. The purity of yoga: Patanjali's yoga is exact science—logical, precise. The part reflects the whole. The infinite can be known through the finite because the finite is part of the infinite.

Constant inner practice

Constant inner practice. 'Cessation is brought about by persistent inner effort and non-attachment.' Constant inner practice: abhyasa—being firmly established in oneself. It must be continued long, without interruption, with reverent devotion. The fight is not against nature but against habits. The body is unconscious—practice reaches the unconscious.

Stop, and it is here!

Stop, and it is here! 'Is non-attachment at the beginning or the end?' Both—the beginning is the seed, the end is the tree. Stop, and it is here: silence at the beginning becomes silence at the end. The seed and the tree are one. Don't wait for the end to be silent—be silent now.

Practice and desirelessness

Practice and desirelessness. 'The first state of desirelessness: cessation from sensuous pleasures with conscious effort. The last: cessation of all desiring by knowing the supreme self.' Practice and desirelessness: the two foundation stones. First, effort against sensuous habits. Last, effortless cessation through knowing purusha, the supreme self. The first is struggle; the last is understanding.

The cause of your misery

The cause of your misery. 'How do you describe our life so correctly while we remain ignorant?' You can only understand a state when you've transcended it. The cause of your misery: distance is needed for understanding. The master sees because he's transcended. You're too identified to see. The cause is identification—stop identifying and misery dissolves.