Patanjali Yoga Sutra -Vṛttisārūpyamitaratra|| वृत्तिसारूप्यमितरत्र ||पतञ्जलि योग सूत्र 1.4||
When a person is not in the state of Yoga, he identifies himself with the mental thought waves he has.
We are not different from what we think, what we do, what we eat, what we say. To put it differently, we are the embodiment of what all we do. Every act we do would leave a long-lasting subtle impression in us and that could be called our ‘saṁskāra’. That means if yoga is the cessation of all kinds of mental modifications and yoga could lead to the annihilation of all kinds of ‘saṁskāras’, according to this sūtra, instead, if one is not in a state of yoga one identifies himself with the thought waves one has and that builds up his ‘saṁskāras’ according to the nature of thoughts one has.
Happiness is not obtained by seeking happiness, but in understanding what happiness is. This is the story of a mortal! Engrossed in the mundane sense pleasure, he forgets his true nature (Aham Brahmāsmi, etc) and identifies himself always with the impressions of the tainted material plane — seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched. His body is everything for him. Sense pleasure is the topmost priority of his life and goes to any extent to attain that (Chārvāka Philosophy). His senses are blurred either partially or fully for the true values enumerated in our great scriptures.
Bhagavad Gītā classifies people under two heads namely āsuric (Demoniac) and Daivic (Divine) and calls all such persons as ‘Demoniac’ that is with the following perception:
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम्।
अपरस्परसम्भूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम्॥गीता १६.८॥
Asatyamapratiṣṭhaṃ te jagadāhuranīśvaram|
aparasparasambhūtaṃ kimanyatkāmahaitukam||Bhagavad Gītā 16.8||
According to such persons (demoniac men), this universe is weird, illusory and Godless, born out of conjugation of men and women. Hence, what could be the purpose of it, other than the sensual pleasure?
What would be the end result? hiraṇyakaśipu and hiraṇyākṣa, the two demon brothers never accepted the Supremacy of śrīhari (nārāyaṇa), Rāvaṇa fails to realize that śrī Rām was indeed an incarnation of mahā viṣṇu. śiśupāla fails to see Paramātma in Śrīkr̥ṣṇa. Duryodhana never realizes what Śrīkr̥ṣṇa stood for. Essentially, they were totally deluded. The end result was their complete disastrous destruction.
Thus, Śrīkr̥ṣṇa places yogi on a very high pedestal. He says,
योगयुक्तो विशुद्धात्मा विजितात्मा जितेन्द्रियः।
सर्वभूतात्मभूतात्मा कुर्वन्नपि न लिप्यते॥५.७॥
yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ ।
sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvannapi na lipyate ॥Bhagavad Gītā 5.7॥
Even if ever engaged in karmas, nothing pollutes the one who has control over the mind, conquered the senses, purified the ātman, engaged in karmayoga, and realized that the self-existing in oneself is existing in all life forms.
