Sutras 2.51 to 2.55 - Book II Wrap Up

2.50 It may be external, internal, or midway, regulated by time, place, or number, and of brief or long duration.

2.51 Energy-control which goes beyond the sphere of external and internal is the fourth level- the vital.

2.52 In this way, that which covers the light is destroyed.

2.53 Thus the mind becomes fit for concentration.

2.54 When the mind maintains awareness, yet does not mingle with the senses, nor the senses with sense impressions, then self-awareness blossoms.

2.55 In this way comes mastery over the senses.

So here we are at the end of Book II.  Book II focused on the physical and moral practices of Yoga, how to go about it, and what we can obtain by it.  The fundamentals are always something that we will need to come back to from time to time.  The farther you go down the path, the greater you will be established in the basics.  When these basics become ingrained, the Yogi moves on the the esoteric portion of Yoga in Book three.  

Most practitioners get involved with Yoga at either a superficial level, or go straight to the esoteric level.  Book two gets mixed up somewhere in between.  Do not think that there is anything wrong with wanting to jump into the deep end, but untill you learn a how to tread water, you will drown in a sea of confusion.

I jumped straight into the deep end.  My path was the path of knowledge, which lead me to data overload.  Drowning in my own confusion, I swam to the shallow end of the pool and worked my way back to the understanding I was trying to achieve from the get go.  When I read Autobiography of a Yogi, I wanted to have everything that Yogananda did.  I thought that Yoga would give me the ability to move stuff with my mind and ascend to higher levels on consciousness.  I found out it does not work that way.

 Credit for this picture goes to Swamij.com.  One of the best sources on Yoga.

These last five Sutras talk about mastery of the body and it's energy, called Prana.  With mental and physical purity, the foundation for deep meditation is laid.  If you have started meditating, you should notice how distracting it can be.  I started out by using foam ear plugs to block out the noise around me.  Ever-time my dog barked it was like a stab in the ear.  My dog must have the loudest bark on the planet.  I have heard him from a block away with all the doors and windows closed.

Notice that Sutra 2.51 and 2.52 speak about going to the fourth level and the destruction of the darkness that covers the light.  The fourth level is that which lies beyond the thought and absolute stillness of the mind.  Words cannot describe because words are just symbolism put into verbal and written form.    It goes beyond abstract concepts such as our awareness of space, time and even the Yoga Sutras themselves.

I hope that you have found my commentary on Book II useful and hope that Book III is beneficial as well.  Hopefully it wont' take me another year to finish.

Sutras - 2.48 and 2.49 - Flow Control

2.48 From that there is no disturbance from the dualities.

2.49 When that exists, control of incoming and outgoing energies is next.

We are getting close to the end of Book two, so the last few Sutras are what I would call a "wrap up".  I talk a lot about the concept of duality and will do it more in future posts.  The concept of duality cannot be separated from Yoga.  It's the transcending of duality that leads to enlightenment.

Specifically related to the Yamas and Niyamas, these two Sutras states that when we have balanced out the ten qualities, our state of mind is free of duality.  For instance, purity is the same as not engaging in vice.  Engaging in peace is the same as contentment.  In reality, there are only five sets of qualities, tow existing at the opposite ends of the spectrum.  If your into math, that is the same as saying a negative of a negative equals a positive.  I hate math, so I may be wrong on that.

So we apply this balance to the the three levels of action: thinking, speaking and doing.  Then they also get applied to the five senses of sight, smell, hearing, tasting and feeling.  Sutra 2.49 is speaking directly about the input and output of those senses.  So, for instance, when we feel something, the natural result of that is a course of action on the three levels.  First we think about it, then we may or may not speak about it, depending on the circumstances, finally, we have a locomotive response.  Reflexes bypass the two higher levels.  I mean, do you really want to have to think about weather or not you should move your hand away from a hot stove?

Have you seen pictures of yogis that sit on a bed of nails, or are able to puncture their bodies with spikes?  It's a good carnival trick, but they have mastered the flow of information in their central nervous system, which can allow you to control pain.  I have seen modern medicine poking into the concept of the mind and how it manages pain in our bodies.  Don't go poking spikes into your cheek to prove you are some kind of badass.  I suggest you read the book 

The Open Focus Brain

 which can help you if you want an alternative to pain management.  It has helped me manage pain.

Sutras 2.46 and 2.47 - Meditation Posture

2.46 The posture should be steady and comfortable.

2.47 In effortless relaxation, dwell mentally on the Endless with utter attention.

Steadiness of body and mind go hand and hand like milk and Oreos.  In my practice of meditation I have noticed that muscle tension is a reflection of mental tension.  For instance, I sit most of the day at work and I get these really annoying tense muscles in my ribs.  I forgot the exact name, but it's in the left side just below my pecks.  This was something that had been bothering me since I was about the age of sixteen.  When I started doing things such as progressive relaxation and breathing, I learned how to take conscious control of the muscles and let them relax.

The thing is, the pain will always come back during times of stress.  IT support is not what I would call a relaxation profession and I am sure anyone who sits all day in a high pressure environment will experience some sort of discomfort.  Once awareness of the tension is realized, it tends to hurt more.  It's not that it's actually hurting more, you are just noticing it instead of mentally blocking it out.  Our minds are amazing the way they adapt, aren't they?

Traditionally, Yogic meditation is practiced sitting down with the spine perpendicular to the floor.  Metaphysically speaking, this is so prana can flow through the spine without hindrance.  Practically speaking, you will fall over if you start to fall asleep.  Falling asleep is not a bad thing, it shows that you are getting to a level where your mind has been calmed.  When the mind is calmed, it's natural instinct is to fall asleep.  Meditation is the line between awake and asleep.

So what posture should you use?  You should do whatever makes you feel comfortable.  If you can do the lotus position, more power to you, but if you have to put more effort into holding a position, then doing meditation, it will just interfere.  I used to fret over what kind of position I should use, but after a decade, I just plop my ass on the couch and sit cross legged.  Since I am not Gumby, I don't foresee myself ever being that bendy.

Sutra 2.45 - One Pointed Focus

2.45 Realization is experienced by making the Lord the motive of all actions.

Bhatki Yoga is the yoga of devotion.  Have you heard of the Hari Krishna movement?  They are formally know is the ISKCON movement, or the International Society for Krishna Conciseness.  Being from the Kriya Yoga tradition, I am not that big of a fan Bhatki Yoga, but none the less, it is still a path to realization.

If you are Christian, you know the path of Bhatki Yoga well.  Complete faith in Christ and surrender to God as the sole source of creation works practitioners toward the same one pointed ideal.  Yogis will chant mantras, while Christians will sing hymns and pray to God.  When you dig deep into it, both Christianity and Yoga are very similar in their practices.

OK, getting to the point.  The universe is full of infinite objects with infinite diversity.  Our awareness, the one constant we can interact with, is entangled in the myriad of existence.  From moment to moment, our awareness it pulled in whatever direction changes in our environment drag us at that time.  In fall, you can rake  leaves into a pile, but a gust of wind can blow that pile back on to the lawn.  The pattern of the leaves will never fall on the lawn the same way.  Single pointed consciousness removes us from the frustration of raking.  We will do our chore, getting the lawn clean, knowing that it will never be fully clean.  With one pointed focus on awareness, our awareness is steady.  It's like what I did: Move to the desert so you never have to rake leaves again.

Sutra 2.44 - Study

2.44 By study comes communion with the Lord in the Form most admired.

Jhana Yoga is the art of realization through intellectual study of the scriptures.  I tend to fall into this category myself.  Intellectual study, however, is just one path that a Yogi can take to enlightenment.  I have seen videos of young Bhrmanistic priests being trained in India.  The use hand movements in association with syllables in the scriptures to help memorize them.  Memorization of the scriptures leads to a greater understanding of their meaning.

Scripture is written in Sanskrit.  The power of Sanskrit lies in is phonics and not necessarily in it's literal meaning.  In past posts, I have written about the power of chanting mantra.  All Yogic scripture is a mantra.  Hypothetically speaking, you could chant the Yoga Sutras from beginning to end and use it as a mantra.  Sacred books, such as the Bhagava Gita are chanted in the form of song, and the title translates to Song of the Soul.

So how does this work?  Intellectualism has it's limits.  Spirituality is something that is intuitively understood and is hard to put into words.  The point of intellectualism is, if you have the zeal to bury your nose in scriptural and occult study, you will get to the point where your brain will see the redundancies in information study, hopefully to turn to intuition to process the information.  Taking higher knowledge and putting it into words is the only way we have to communicate it's meaning, but it loses it's meaning when put into words.  Using finite symbolism such as language to convey concepts beyond symbolism is impossible, but you have to start somewhere.

Sutra 2.43 - Detoxification

2.43 Through sanctification and the removal of impurities, there arise special powers in the body and senses.

Ironically, as I am writing this post, I am thinking about the place i happened to be at today.  It was at an alternative healing center.  I'm sure many of you have heard of these places.  The specialize in acupuncture, massage and naturalpathy.  Indian and Chinese medicine are more popular today than in the past as people seek different routs for healing.  Yoga has it's own view of the body and how best to heal it.

Indian philosophy builds the premise that there are three layers to our body.  The first layer is our physical being: bones, skin, muscles, etc.  This body is nothing more than a lump of meat that encases out consciousness to interact with physical existence via our senses.  Without awareness, the body has no other purpose.  The astral body is the next metaphysical layer.  When we pass away, the Hindus believe that our astral body sheds the physical body on it's journey to the next life.  The astral body contains much our our stored up karma, the chakras, and corresponds with the nervous system.  Finally, the cuasual, or ideational body, contains the "thought of our body".  Basically, it's the imprint our consciousness has carved out of the greater whole in order to exist as a separate entity.  If you want more information about the three different bodies, see 

Autobiography of a Yogi

Yoga works through different process such as breath control, meditation and asanas to balance energy in the body.  The fundamental life force is called Prana.  If you are familiar with the concept of Chi in Chinese medicine, prana is analogous to it.  Having the ability to use our life force at will to heal our body is one of the goals of Yogic practice.  When you have control over autonomic functions in the nervous system such as your breath rate, heart rate, and even the ability to relax tense muscles at will, you greatly lengthen the life span.

There is a lot more to this subject for sure.  Look up Aruvedic medicine or pranic healing if you want for information.

Sutras 2.41 and 2.42 - Contentment

2.41 As a result of contentment there is purity of mind, one-pointedness, control of the senses, and fitness for the vision of the self.

2.42 Supreme happiness is gained via contentment.

Goswami Kriyananda said that Contentment and Non-violence where the most important traits we can develop as Yogis.  Discontentment leads us to do things that we would not normally do, but keep in mind that discontentment is not always a bad trait.  If we were never discontent, we would not bother to do Yoga in the first place.  Discontentment drives us our of complacency in actions that better ourselves.

One thing in life that we all must acknowledge, however, is that discontentment on the whole can never be fully satisfied.  Consumerism is dependent on our discontentment of our looks, possessions and place in life to sell us a basket of good we don't even need.  Since I work in the IT industry, I see this facet all the time.  Companies will release newer versions of software that are larger and add more features, but most of the features are not even needed.  Oh, we have a larger software package, guess what?  you are going to need faster hardware to run it!  Thus we have another shiny object dangled in front of our face for us to chase after.

I also used to like video games a lot more than I do now.  Perhaps I'm drifting into grumpy old man territory here, but the quality of video game concepts has not changed that much.  Sure, the make them prettier, but the core creativity of them has not changed.  I still run around, shoot and blow stuff up.

We here the phrase, "Attitude of Gratitude".  Gratitude is the first step toward contentment.  At least it begins to put life into a positive focus so we can focus on the things we really need to change instead of feeling like we need to change it all at ounce.  Like I said in earlier posts, you will know what you need to change when you begin the process of Yoga, but you have to accept where you are now, at this point in time.  Wear you gratitude like a light jacket:  Put in on when you need a mild warm up, but if you feel the heat too much, take it off and get to work.

Sutra 2.40 - Purity

2.40 From purity follows a withdrawal from enchantment over one's own body as well as a cessation of desire for physical contact with others.

Purity is a fickle thing.  It can easily be overdone.  How pure can you be at anything?  Yogis strive to be pure in all things, such as speech, diet, and practice.  In my personal experience, purity is not obtainable and the act of striving is the practice itself.

Here is an example.  How many of you have tried to eat well?  Have you tried to become a vegetarian, or vegan or perhaps cut sugar out of your diet?  I tried being a vegetarian for a while, thinking that my own purity would lead me to vaulted spiritual heights.  When you change any habit, your body and mind will naturally crave the old ways until your physiology adjusts.  So, when I became a vegetarian, I just ended up consuming large amounts of sugar to replace the protein that I was missing.  I know about trying to replace protein with vegetables like garbanzo beans, but unless you don't mind farting up a storm, it is just not worth it.

Striving for purity is meant to show us the things we have been covering up in our lives through vice.  Yogis will fast because it is said to be good for the body and eliminate toxins.  Another interesting thing happens when you fast: all of your natural inclinations will be revieled to you when you crave food.  When I have made attempts at fasting, different emotions would come into my mind such as anger, frustration and depression.  If I paid attention, I could write down the thoughts that entered my mind for further review later.

A practice taught to me by Swami Prananda of the Temple of Kriya Yoga is a good habit for fasting, and does not require you to starve yourself.  At the beginning of you meal, look for the portion that is most desirable to you and separate it.  At the end of your meal, throw it away as an offering.  It sounds odd and you might think you are wasting food, but you will see over time that thoughts will enter your mind, like they did mine, when you deprive yourself of your favorite part of your meal.

The bottom line is, purity is something to be striven for and not accomplished.  Remember to eat a healthy diet and do not try to live off of sunlight, or like some people, drink you pee.  That's just nasty.

Sutra 2.39 - Non-Possessiveness

2.39 When one is confirmed in non-possessiveness, the knowledge of the why and how of existence is attained.

You would think the title of this blog post would be greed, but there is a difference between this and the concept of non-possessiveness.  In Yoga, it is not a bad thing to have a lot of "stuff".  In fact, having stuff is part of the greater Dharma and is a stage toward spiritual evolution.  If we do not have the experience of having things, we will crave them.

Everyone has their limit when it comes to possession.  We see examples of the mega-rich like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet donating a large portion of their wealth to charity.  Clearly they have reached the stage in their existence that materialism no longer has it's value.  On the other side of the coin, we see people who have very little give the little of what they have to others because they know the pains of poverty.

We cannot reach a state of non-possessiveness unless we are clearly established in detachment.  Detachment is simply the acknowledgement that we can enjoy what we have, knowing that it can go at anytime.  This includes people, places and things.

I remember about a year ago, there was a fire in the Oak Creek Canyon near where lived in Arizona.  There has been a long drought in the area, for about a decade now.  The local concordances have also banned logging in the forest, which has lead to a large amount of fuel on the ground.  Basically, the area was a giant tinder box.  After the fire, people lamented at how different the canyon looked with all the trees burned away.  It was not the same as it had looked for decades.  However, the trees that had covered the canyon walls, when burned away, revealed beautiful rock formation that were not visible before the fire.

Things will always change, it is inevitable.  If we cling on with dear life to what we have, this includes memories, we will suffer when they are gone.  Creation, preservation and destruction, all working in an intricate dance around us.  We are just observers.  Enjoy the ride.

Sutra 2.38 - Celebacy

2.38 When one is confirmed in celibacy, spiritual vigor is gained.

Sex and Yoga are intertwined.  The basis of kundalini yoga is moving the reproductive force t trapped at the bottom of the spine to the third eye chakra.  Yogic monk practice celibacy to preserve the creative force as they work to move prana around in their bodies.  Tantric Yoga is fully devoted to harnessing the sexual energy directly  for enlightenment.

So what does this mean for the everyday person?  Well, the opinions on that go across the board.  In the most extreme case, some Yogic traditions call for no sex unless you intend on procreating.  Mahatma Ghandi is rumored to only to have had sex with his wife a for procreation.  Other traditions state that you should not have sex outside of a committed relationship.

The urge to procreate is one of the four Yogic "fountains".  These urges cannot be extinguished, so the Yogi is taught to work with them.  If you live in denial of this fundamental nature, you can cause yourself all kinds of issues.

There are many Yogic practices out there that harness the sexual force for spiritual gain.  Take a look around and see what works for you.

Sutras 2.36 and 2.37 - Honesty

2.36 When one is firmly established in speaking truth, the fruits of action become subservient to him.

2.37 All jewels approach him who is confirmed in honesty.

Once there was a old man meditating in the forest.  A man came running up to him on a path and asked him where he could hide.  The old man, being a Yogi has sworn to himself that he would never tell an untruth.  He told the man to climb up a nearby tree to hide.  Not too long after, a group of men came galloping up on thier horses and asked "Did you see a man come through here?  He is a criminal and we are looking for him."  The Yogi, refusing to tell a lie, silently pointed to the tree where the criminal was hiding.  To make a long story short, the man grabbed the criminal and made McNuggets out of him.

So what was the correct thing to do in this situation?  We can see the nuance of truth and how it can effect the people around us.  The Yogi could have just told the group of men that the criminal had went a different way down the path.  He could have also said that he did not see the man come through.  Adherence to absolute truth can be as dangerous as a lie.

What do we do?  It seems like we mush do our best to judge each situation differently.  The family that hid Anne Frank was obviously lying about the Jews in their house.   A yogi is wise with their words.  Gossip should be avoided when possible so that we do not spread untruths about others.  Besides, we can't seem to mind our own business.

The greatest lies we can ever tell are the lies we tell ourselves.  When we lie to ourselves about our true nature, rationalizations and ignorance it muddies the water of our consciousness.  Facing our inner truth something we all have to do at some point.  If not in this life, than in the next.

Sutra 2.34 and 2.35 - More about non-violence

2.34 Improper thoughts and emotions such as those of violence- whether done, caused to be done, or even approved of- indeed, any thought originating in desire, anger or delusion, whether mild medium or intense- do all result in endless pain and misery. Overcome such distractions by pondering on the opposites.

2.35 When one is confirmed in non-violence, hostility ceases in his presence.

Note: I already did a post about non- violence, so there is going to be some retread in this article. 

What does it mean to be non-violent?  I think most people think of non-violence in only physical terms.  We hear stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi using non-violent methods to fight injustice and gain political favor.  In Vietnam, Buddhist monks would set themselves on fire as a way to protest government repression.  These are nice stories, but are they truly non-violent in the context of Yoga?

Goswami Kriyananda explanation of the Yamas and Niyamas included three levels of practice: thought, speech and action.  When we look in the mirror of self-introspection, we can see how out thoughts lead to speech and actions on the world.  In my opinion, violent thoughts lead to violent speech and violent action.  Since we see ourselves as living in a society that values the exchange of ideas over the use of brute physical force, it can lead the impression that our society is non-violent.  I know, I know, there are still a lot of gun crimes and physical abuse, but as compared to even 100 years ago, this has steadily gone down.

How do you work on this?  All you have to do is work on one of the three aspects of non-violence, and the others will fall into place.  The more difficult the aspect you are working on, the quicker results you will get.  By far, the toughest is dealing with violent thought.  When you are in meditation, keep a look out for violent streams of thought and break them by telling yourself that you are not that thought.  The mind thinks in threads of thought, so one thought will lead to another thought.  If you can identify the first link in the chain, you have come a long way.  Knowing the source of those thoughts is the key to breaking their power. 

I would not get frustrated if this takes a long time.  It can take years of practice to root out the first link in the chain of thoughts.  Psychotherapists use this technique in differing forms, so think of it as a way to save yourself some money on expensive therapy bills.  Yoga can be the best "do it yourself" fix it tool.

Sutra 2.32 and 2.33 - The Niyamas

2.32 The fixed observances are cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and persevering devotion to God.

2.33 When improper thoughts disturb the mind, there should be constant pondering over the opposites.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Niyamas.  Like the other post, these are covered individually in later Sutras, but you can read the list above to get the gist.  

Take note of Sutra 2.33.  This is they key to developing a balanced mind and personally, I find it to be one of the most useful Sutras.  This is where knowing the parts of the Yogic mind come into effect, and how they interact gives the underlying mechanisms for developing balance between the Yamas and Niyamas.

It's simple on the surface.  If you want to change one habit, do the opposite of that habit.  Everything in Yoga has it's dualistic component.  The heart of Smakya yoga is dualism, but do not confuse this with the concept of black and white.  As the Obi Wan stated in Revenge of the Sith, black and white thinking is the path to the dark side.  Star Wars street cred Yo!

When we look at a wave, it has it's high points and low points.  Karma is like a wave because all of our personal attributes come in differing flavors in that spectrum.  Yoga is an attempt to make the wave flat.  Do you see now how the analogy of the moon being reflected in the pond comes into play?  First, we identify the strongest waves in our mind.  Sometimes it's pretty obvious what we need to work on, sometimes we have to find our way on our own.  I have difficulty with this myself with my natural tendency to rebel.  I generally do not like criticism, so that can get me into trouble.  On the other hand, others can and will manipulate you through criticism to achieve their own ends, which are not always altruistic.  It's not an easy road to travel, but with a clear mind, you can make the best decisions for YOU.

Root out what you need to work on and cultivate the opposite.  Yoga makes this easier than it may seem.  You only have to remember five traits, keeping in mind the opposite of the spectrum.  Five dimes have two sides and also equal Fiddy Cent, one of my favorite rappers.

Sutras 2.30 to 2.31 - The Yamas

2.30 Self-restraint in actions includes abstention from violence, from falsehoods, from stealing, from sexual engagements, and from acceptance of gifts.

2.31 These five willing abstentions are not limited by rank, place, time or circumstance and constitute the Great Vow.

Instead of having Ten Commandments, the Yoga Sutras have a list of Do's and Dont's.  The Yamas are considered the Don'ts of Yoga.  They are very basic and will be discussed at length in other posts, but for now, just think of them as a guide of best practices.

If you want to reach higher levels of conciseness, you need self restraint.   There is no way around it.  Cultivating self restraint in meditation is a good place to start.  When you sit down and close your eyes to meditate, it is natural for the mind to wander.  Over time, self restraint of thought streams works it's way into our every day action.

Yoga sages of the past have said that a student needs to develop restraint before they can move further up the yogic ladder.  I have seen poeple take this to mean that you cannot meditate unless you master all the Yamas and Niyamas perfectly.  That is not true.  If you can start the process of meditation, you can work on self restraint at the same time.  Some of us may be naturally non-violent in regular life, but "talk shit behind peoples back."  In this case, self restraint in regards to truth is needed.  Of course there are exceptions, but I hope you get the point.

Sutra 2.31 is strait forward.  It does not matter who, where or when you are.  Practicing self restraint at all times is an ongoing process.  It flows through our deeds and actions.  Self restraint is a tall order for sure, but remember that it's a never ending process.

Sutras 2.27 to 2.29: The Eight Limbs of Yoga

2.27 Steady wisdom manifests in seven stages.

2.28 On the destruction of impurity by the sustained practice of the limbs of Union, the light of knowledge reveals the faculty of discrimination. 2.29 The eight limbs of Union are self-restraint in actions, fixed observance, posture, regulation of energy, mind-control in sense engagements, concentration, meditation, and realization.

I don't understand why these passages are not in the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras.  They are fundamental to the practice and set the tone for the rest of book two.  Up until this point, most of the Sutras have been about theory and philosophy.  Now we are getting into practice.  So, lets start by going over the eight limbs of Yoga, shall we?

Squidward should have eight limbs, but has six.  I don't care.  I love Squidward.

Self-restraint in action is referred to as the Yamas.  They are Nonviolence, sexual abstinence, not lying, not stealing and greed. They are the "Do Nots" of Yoga.  The fixed observances, or virtues, are called Niyamas.  They are: purity, contentment, austerity, self-reflection and contemplation on God.  The Yamas and Niyamas go hand in hand.  I will go into more detail about this later in the book.  Each one is covered in a separate sutra.

You may have heard the term Asana if you have taken a Hatha Yoga class.  Asana simply mean posture.  In this context, we are talking about the proper posture for meditation. 

Regulation of energy, also known as Pranayama, or breath control, is intimately linked with our life-force.  Focusing on the breath is used to bring our attention to something unconsciously regulated into awareness.  Energy flows into the body via oxygen when we take an inhalation and exits the body during exhalation.  When the oxygen levels are perfectly balanced in the body, the Yogi can reach the breathless state, bringing them to the height of meditation.

 Mind control in the sense engagements means that one tries to master the interactions with the outside world in the mind through senses.  The senses are like roadways with traffic flowing in each direction.  We take in information, process it, and react accordingly.  Mastery over the flow of information gives us freedom to choose our actions with detachment.

 The final three, meditation, concentration and realization work in unison.  Concentration is the act of focusing on an object while deliberately ignoring other streams of thought.  Meditation has a lot of connotations, but in Yoga, it basically is a letting go of the grip that symbolism has on the mind.  Realization is the combination of meditation and concentration, which seems like a contradiction.  It is in a way, because it is something we have to experience for ourselves. 

It’s going to take some time to work through the second half of book two.

There is a lot of good stuff here and I want to do my best to explain it.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Gospel of Thomas: Saying Ten - Fire!

10. Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I'm guarding it until it blazes."

This saying may seem like one of those apocalyptic messages we here from a corner preacher trying to get our attention.  Before you get out your sandwich board and start walking the streets with "The End Is Nigh" written on it, let me tell you about the spiritual meaning of fire.

Have your read the story of Pentecost?  See this passage from Acts: “All of a sudden, a sound came from heaven, like a strong wind, filling the house where the people had gathered. Something like tongues of fire rested on their heads. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak” Notice the reference to fire.  This was the day that Jesus's apostles became enlightened in the spiritual sense.  The fire from heaven was cast down upon the world, and came to rest on their foreheads.  The forehead, in Yoga, is the location of the "Third Eye", or ajna chakra. 

I think Jesus is telling us that the fire will always be available.  The spiritual kindling is inside waiting for us to let down our guard so the fire of the Holy Spirit is ignited.  Jesus cast the fire of his spiritual teachings upon the world 2000 years ago and he waits for us to start our internal pilot lights.  A world full of the spiritual firelight would burn brighter than the sun.  Anybody have a lighter?

Gospel of Thomas: Saying Nine - The Sower of Seeds

9. Jesus said, "Look, the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn't take root in the soil and didn't produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure."

This saying is a story in the conical Bible, but it is a little different in the Gospel of Thomas.  I think when there is overlapping accounts of Jesus's life across multiple gospels, it gives them extra significance.

In Yogic tradition, Karma is associated with seeds.  The seeds of karma are planted within us and can bear fruit when the timing is right.  When we take actions, we often do not keep in mind that we are planting these seeds.  You are the sower of the seeds and the reaper of their harvest.  When your seeds fall on the proper ground, they will yield many times the volume of original.

Spiritual practice is like planting a seed.  First we till the ground of our lives with the basic yogic practices of Yama and Niyama.  The Ten Commandments were not only a set of rules to live by, they were one of the first guides to lay groundwork for spiritual discipline.  By following these basic rules, the spiritual seeker will not create any additional karmic bonds, which are trampled on the path of daily life.

Once the ground has been tilled, the practitioner plants the seed of meditation in the fertile ground of the steadied mind.  If the seeds meditation should fall on the rocks of stubbornness, they will not take root.  If the seeker can commit to nurturing the seed by metaphorically watering it through daily practice, it will take root. 

If the seed sprouts, it will encounter the thorns of past sense impressions.  Perseverance is needed to cultivate the plant past these thorns as it works its way toward the Sun of enlightenment.  Thus, the seed, fully germinated, will provide a bounty many times its original size.  A tiny seed of intent becomes a harvest of bliss: the union of the soul with the divine. 

Sutras 2.23 - 2.26 - Department of Redundancy Department

2.23 The association of the seer with Creation is for the distinct recognition of the objective world, as well as for the recognition of the distinct nature of the seer.

2.24 The cause of the association is ignorance.

2.25 Liberation of the seer is the result of the dissassociation of the seer and the seen, with the disappearance of ignorance.

2.26 The continuous practice of discrimination is the means of attaining liberation.

I'm lumping these sutras together because they cover  topics I already spoke about.  If you read my article

Map of the Yogic Mind

, you will see that the mind has four functions and how it relates to the outside world.  These four sutras sum up the basic point that discrimination frees the mind of attachment to objects.  The Sutras can get redundant sometimes, but that is because repetition is used to hammer home a point. 

Sutra 2.22 - Bubble Boy

2.22 Although Creation is discerned as not real for the one who has achieved the goal, it is yet real in that Creation remains the common experience to others.

When the yogi reaches higher states of consciousness, the sameness of everything is revealed.  There are a couple of perspectives on this Sutra that I would like to share.

The first perspective is called Samkya Yoga.  This branch of Yoga asserts that the world is a very real place and our perception that molds the objective world.  This tradition has it’s foundations in dualism, which states that reality has two facets: the inner world in the outer world.  We do have control of the outer world through our physical interactions, but our subjective perception will never reach beyond what we cognize in our brain.  When we break the bonds that symbolism has on our minds, we then see the world for what it truly is.  Please read my article about

Deconstructing Symbolism

.

The second point of view is traditional Sanatana Dharma.  The world as we perceive it is an illusion.  The Hindu creation story states that in the beginning, the universe awakened as God began to take physical form.  From this one form, countless other forms took shape.  The soul is one of these forms.  As time passes, God begins to fall back asleep and the countless pieces begin to merge back into the whole.  The Hindus state that we are all part of God's dream, put here for the purpose of experiencing ourselves.  Our goal, over the course of many incarnations, is to wake up from this dream and become one with whole again.

Whichever perspective we take, the outcome is the same.  Sutra 2.22 tells us that subjectivity can become objectivity.  Think of perspective like a bubble that expands as awareness grows.  Eventually the bubble expands and overlaps with other’s awareness. 

In my opinion, this is the only way we will end war, poverty, racism and other ills that plague modern society.  It's impossible for us to get on the same page when we are stuck in our own little bubbles.  If we all realized the sameness of everything, there would be nothing to fight over.

Gospel of Thomas: Saying Eight - The Fisher of Men

8. And he said, "The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!"

In the conical Bible, Jesus tells the parable of the fisherman.  This saying is slightly different, but has the same esoteric connotation.  It's a simple, be elegant metaphor for the spiritual journey.

The Yogic sage Paramahansa Yogananda likened the search for spiritual truths to an ant trying to find sugar in a pile of sand.  The pile appears to be one object, but each grain is a different piece of smaller rock.  The ant has the ability to seek out the sugar from the sand.  So, we learn to be like the ant, developing our skills of discernment to find the grains of sugar in life.

Discernment is a central tenant of Gnosticism.  Every day we are bombarded by outside influences that scatter the mind with different thoughts, impressions and ideas.  Out intuition is the compass that leads us in the right direction.  At first, that compass spins erratically, pulled by the magnetism of different sense impressions.  After many years of sifting through our thoughts, our intuitive needle will point us in the right direction.

Jesus is telling us to cast our nets of discernment into the bottomless sea of consciousness.  We do this through meditation.  When our net of attention grabs on to thoughts that are not useful, we throw them out, like releasing an unwanted fish back into the sea.