#67. No Goal, No Method, No Teaching | Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali

Namaste and a very warm welcome to all of you in this daily live meditation session with me,

Dhyansa.

We are meditating on Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

There are two ways to spirituality.

One which has steps.

One which has goals.

There is a goal,

There are steps that are more or less defined.

Lots of spiritual teachings from yoga,

From tantra and several other traditions,

They have followed this path which has steps.

Step number one,

Step number two and showing down a full road map to the highest,

To the enlightenment,

To this spiritual peak that we call as enlightenment.

And this path is somewhat understandable.

This is the path which is most appealing because at every step we can know what is coming.

We can convince ourselves.

The mind can be convinced of taking the next step.

It can evaluate what is happening on this step.

What do I get out of this step?

What did I get from the past?

It goes on building on top of each other these steps.

This approach to spirituality is somewhat mimicking in all other aspects of our life as well.

If you see this entire world that we live in,

The accomplishments that we have in this world,

They are all designed in a way that there are steps.

There is a path,

There is a pattern that has to be followed,

There is a system,

There is an order.

So this path which has steps to spirituality,

It is based on this underlying assumption that there is an order.

There is something that is very fundamental from not only the world we experience in our daily life,

But to the underneath reality of our existence.

The assumption here is that there is an order.

And this assumption arises because the mind does not want to accept anything which is not controllable.

The mind does not want to accept anything which it cannot grasp.

When we say there is an order in the universe,

When we say there is an order in our life,

There is an order in how you approach life,

In what your goal,

Your purpose of life is,

If we have this underlying assumption of steps and pattern and structure and order,

We feel okay with it.

We feel that it is acceptable because the mind can sit on top of it.

It can say I have an understanding of it.

It can be standing on top or underneath this entire path,

This entire knowledge and it is fine with approaching this in steps.

And therefore we only see things as if there is an order.

In this assumption of order,

In this assumption of structure,

In this assumption of pattern,

There is something very fundamental that is missing.

There is something very special that is missing.

And that missing part,

Element is the disorder,

Is the chaos,

Is the randomness.

To appreciate,

To accept,

To go and walk that way,

That path which is fundamentally based on disorder,

Randomness,

Chaos,

Spontaneity,

This is something very unacceptable because this is the unknown,

This is the unknowable,

This is the ungraspable.

And here mind has no role to play.

The mind cannot even take one step because in the ungraspable,

In the unknown,

In the spontaneous,

In the chaotic,

What step to take?

The mind is paralyzed.

The mind is completely puzzled what to do.

So it rejects it.

It rejects this complete set,

This aspect and it calls it that this does not exist.

It is the non-existence.

It is the non-existence in the existence.

We call this emptiness,

This emptiness that we all are.

That actually is the bigger part,

The part which is in order in our existence,

The part which is in order in us is very very small,

Is very very,

It is a tiny fraction of the entire existence.

So one way to approach spirituality is to work within that very tiny band of structure,

Of steps,

Of knowledge,

Of a method and stay in that and trying to achieve something with following those steps towards a certain goal.

Or there is another way which is to take a plunge into the unknown,

Into the no method,

Into the no approach,

Into the no steps,

Towards nowhere.

Just as you hear these words,

They sound absurd.

There is no meaning to it because the meaning is within the framework of an order.

Meaning means the mind can mean towards something.

Mind can focus towards something.

And the very opposite in this emptiness is where there is no meaning.

Mind cannot focus.

Mind cannot grasp it.

There is an opening into the infinite.

In the infinite,

It is exactly opposite of the meaning.

So you have to go exactly opposite to the mind.

The approach is of the no mind.

And this is where some Zen traditions and some other spiritual traditions have followed this path.

They have been courageous to follow this path,

This no path of the path,

This method of no method,

This goal of no goal.

And there is a lot of misunderstanding in approaching this emptiness,

In approaching this way.

So it is always easier and people,

Teachers and students have chosen to take the path which is more structured,

Which is having steps,

Which is explainable,

Which can be convinced,

Which basically can be communicated.

But the other,

The 99%,

Which is the emptiness,

The obvious,

Which is not so obvious if you are stuck in the mind,

Is something which also needs to be acknowledged,

Which also needs to be learned.

And Patanjali is of that class,

Of that nature,

That while he is capturing that 1% and elaborating the minute details of methods,

What you can do,

How you can achieve and how you can go in those 1,

100,

000 steps one by one and what will you get.

He explains all that,

But at times he takes a jump from that to the emptiness as well.

And let the student of yoga,

Let the yogi also not forget that there is an emptiness,

There is a chaos,

There is a randomness which cannot be captured with the mind.

The way to approach this emptiness is through emptiness,

Meaning you becoming completely empty of knowledge.

And then there is an attainment by itself,

Then there is an attainment of something that cannot be called as attainment or achievement,

But there is something that happens when you move into this emptiness.

If you move into this emptiness with the goal of something happening,

Then again you are not empty.

So we in this session will try to sink in into this emptiness,

Try to touch this emptiness somehow without making an effort.

Try to move towards this goal without any movement,

Without any goal.

In these sessions I try to bring and capture both these ways,

Both the ways of the structure of the steps of where there is a method,

There is a technique,

There is something to understand and also the emptiness which is indescribable,

Which is ingraspable,

Which is incomprehensible,

Yet it is there,

Yet it has its role to play,

Yet it takes you to the peak of spirituality to where you belong to this enlightenment which is your true nature.

Let us hear what Patanjali has to say,

A very small brief sutra for today.

He says,

Pratibhadva Sarvam.

Two words,

Pratibhadva Sarvam.

Pratibhadva is this perfection of emptiness.

Here Patanjali says,

The one who has perfected this emptiness reaches to Sarvam,

To everything.

He gets everything.

If you are following these sessions,

You know that Patanjali is talking in the previous sessions about how to meditate upon the cosmos,

How to meditate on the sun,

On the moon and get the knowledge of the stars,

Of the cosmos.

Then he talks about meditating on the inner world,

Talking about meditating on different chakras and what all knowledge that you get by meditating on those chakras.

So he had given you formulas,

He had given you methods,

He had explained to you how they work,

Why they work,

What to do.

But then suddenly he puts all of that aside and he says,

If you are in the state of Pratibhadva,

Meaning if you are in the perfection of emptiness,

Then everything is available to you.

How to sit in this emptiness is an art to be learned,

Is an art to be practiced.

It is somewhat of a surrender.

It is somewhat of a letting go of ego without having any wish to achieve anything.

To let go of two things,

To let go of the effort and to let go of any desire,

Any idea of the outcome.

Both are needed and then something happens.

And when I tell you that something happens,

Then you cannot make that as a goal while you sit in silence,

While you sit in emptiness.

If you expect that,

Okay now I am sitting in emptiness,

Now something should happen,

Then you are not sitting in emptiness.

And this is the magic,

This is the incomprehensible,

This is the part which cannot be grasped.

With the mind,

You can only approach this with the no mind,

Meaning you sit in silence,

You sit in emptiness,

In no expectation of what this will lead to,

Yet you bring in your totality to this emptiness.

You move into non-doing 100% without having any expectations of the outcome.

You move into 100% stillness,

For what?

For nothingness.

Moving into nothingness for nothingness.

Moving into emptiness for emptiness.

And then it happens.

Let us sit in silence,

Let us move into emptiness.

Please close your eyes.

Sit in a posture that is comfortable.

With your head,

Neck,

And spine in a straight line.

Alert,

Yet relaxed.

Let us sit in silence.

Without the meditation,

If there is any effort needed,

That is to move into the effortless,

Not to achieve anything.

Even to be effortless is not the goal.

To be silent is not the goal.

Let it move into silence.

Let us sit in silence.

Let it move into silence.

Everything between movements recognize the stillness.

Let it move into silence.

Everything between sensations recognize the emptiness.

Let it move into silence.

Let it move into silence.

In the flow of your breath,

Recognize the no breath.

Let it move into silence.

Let it move into silence.

Stillness without any effort.

Let it move into silence.

Let it move into silence.

No method.

No technique.

No body.

No mind.

No self.

No mind.

No mind.

Only emptiness.

No mind.

No pattern.

No orientation.

No goal.

No expectation.

No expectation.

No nothingness.

Nothing happening.

Nothing with everything.