Patanjali Yoga Sutra — Tīvrasaṃvegānāmāsannaḥ||1.21||तीव्रसंवेगानामासन्नः||१.२१||
Yoga is for those who are intensely devoted and passionate in their sādhana.
बहुविघ्नास्तु सदा कल्याणसिद्धयः। (kathāsarit sāgaraḥ)
bahuvighnāstu sadā kalyāṇasiddhayaḥ|
kaṭhopaniṣad (1.2.7): Many do not have the opportunity to hear about ātman. Even if one hears, lacks the ability to understand. Even if he understands, he lacks the patience to practice. Even if practiced, it lacks the courage to firmly be grounded in practice. Thus only a handful few will attain. It is the ultimate knowledge that you are not a drop in an ocean, but an ocean in a drop.
There are always innumerable obstacles for the good work undertaken for a good cause.
Bhagavān says,
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये।
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः॥गीता ७.०३॥
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścidyatati siddhaye.
yatatāmapi siddhānāṁ kaścinmāṁ vetti tattvataḥ ||Gītā 7.3||
One in several thousands of men is keen for spiritual excellence (Excellence is required for success). Among these only a few perhaps one knows Me in reality.
Śrīkr̥ṣṇa says it is because men lack an intense desire to know the ātman. The very desire for Adhyātmika sādhana is lacking in most of the common men as they are lost in sensual gratification. The other gains are easily perceptible whereas the spiritual gains are very difficult to realize. Further, the spiritual gains of Mahātmas are not easily perceived by common men. Hence, they lack the desire to achieve spiritual perfection.
Further, knowledge of ātman is not easy to attain and it needs a lot of practice (jñāna Vs. vijñāna). This intense desire can be found in one in several thousand.
Yoga-bhoga-Samanvaya-Mūrthy, Bhagavān Śrīkr̥ṣṇa explains who can get success in Yoga.
नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्थि चैकान्तमनश्नतः।
न चाति स्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन॥गीता ६.१६॥
nātyaśnatastu yogo’sthi caikāntamanaśnataḥ.
na cāti svapnaśīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna ||Gītā 6.16||
Yoga is not for those who gorge a lot, not for those who starve themselves, not for those who oversleep (Kumbhakarṇa), not for those who are always awake.
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा॥गीता ६.१७॥
yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasu.
yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā ||Gītā 6.17||
Yoga is for the one who moderately eats and amuses. It is for the one who is devoted to his duties, moderate in sleep (Svapna) and vigilance. Life of such a yogi is devoid of all kinds of miseries.
Look at the usage of word ‘Yukta’ by Śrīkr̥ṣṇa in this verse as a suffix for all the four aspects of a yogi’s life namely food, amusement, actions and sleep. ‘Yukta’ refers to ‘acceptable’ or ‘moderate’ or ‘temperate’ or ‘not excessive’ or importantly ‘not opposed to norms laid in our scriptures’. It also means, pious, holier, devout, virtuous, moral, and sanctimonious. Yoga-bhoga Samanvaya Mūrthy Bhagavān Śrīkr̥ṣṇa campaigns for moderation and piousness in all the activities of one’s life. Though all commentators have described the phrase ‘yuktaceṣtasya’ as ‘acceptable efforts’, to be precise, it is in fact, ‘Socially acceptable behaviour’. It is our common notion that, Svapna (Dream) is not in one’s control and they happen when we are sleeping. But Śrīkr̥ṣṇa says, yogi should have ‘Yuktasvapna’ or pious dreams. How is it possible? When we analyse the dreams, we notice that dreams are just the replica of what we do/see/think in a conscious state. Or, they are just satisfaction of the desires that remained unfulfilled in our wakeful state. Or to put it another way, the dreams get raw-materials from our waking state. Thus, in order to get ‘Yuktasvapna’, one should certainly purify (मलमुक्त) one’s actions/thoughts in wakeful condition. Godly thoughts, actions, desires in wakeful states should definitely lead to have ‘Yuktasvapna’ or pious dreams. Even ‘Avabodha’ (returning to wakeful or conscious state from sleep state) should be ‘Yukta’, ie., the acceptable quantity of sleep and acceptable way of returning to a wakeful state. Though attired like a Bhogi, Śrīkr̥ṣṇa promotes the life of Yogi in Bhagavad Gītā to realize the Supreme Paramātma.
अत्याहारः प्रयासश्च प्रजल्पो नियमग्रहः।
जनसङ्गश्च लौल्यं च षड्भिर्योगो विनश्यति॥हठयोग प्रदीपिक १.१५॥
atyāhāraḥ prayāsaśca prajalpo niyamagrahaḥ|
janasaṅgaśca laulyaṃ ca ṣaḍbhiryogo vinaśyati||
||Haṭhayoga pradīpika 1.15||
Eating too much, over physical exertion, being highly talkative, binding oneself with too many rules/regulations, being in the company of common people (who do not know anything about Yoga or who ridicule Yoga) and fickleness or inconstancy are the six elements obliterating Yoga.
A scholarly man goes to meet a sādhu. The moment he met him, our scholarly man started talking about himself — “I am so and so, I have studied these many scriptures, I have great mastery over these many Ganthas”, etc. Sādhu was listening to him patiently. After a long-drawn-out talk, our scholarly man turned towards sādhu and asked for some spiritual counseling.
Sādhu said, ‘Wait for a moment. First let us drink tea, and then talk about counseling’. Saying thus, he brings teapot and two cups. He started pouring tea into one of the cups. Cup started overflowing but sādhu did not stop pouring! Our scholar screamed — ‘Oh no, the cup is overflowing, why don’t you stop pouring?’ Sādhu said, ‘Very nice, you know that if the cup is full, no more tea could be poured into. So does your mind. Your mind is full of innumerable thoughts, impressions, and so-called achievements. There is no space for any other input. For a true seeker of yoga/knowledge of the highest order, these things are not required. First, empty your mind and then come for spiritual counseling. Unlearn to learn what is to be learned.’
