Patanjali Yoga Sutra — कायेन्द्रियसिद्धिरशुद्धिक्षयात्तपसः ॥2.43॥
Kāyendriyasiddhiraśuddhikṣayāttapasaḥ॥
Tapas depreciates the impurities of the body, and thus, organs of action and organs of sense perception bring forth divine powers.
We read in mythological stories, display of divine powers by great sādhakas through austerity. But this acquisition of great powers is not something a yogi longingly gets. Such acquisition of great spiritual powers is an automatic by-product obtained owing to the purity of mind, body, senses, intellect, emotions, as a result of tapas. It is like getting bagasse (dry pulpy residue after the extraction of juice from sugar cane) and molasses (black residue resulting from refining sugarcane) while producing the main product i.e., sugar.
Atharvaśiropaniṣad (5.26) narrates an astonishing story of sage Atharva. Once a sage cursed another sage by the name Atharva. The curse was ‘this very moment my enemy Atharva’s head and heart shall fall to the ground’. Sage Atharva understood this and immediately came out of his body, before the fall of head and heart. When the head and heart fell down, he himself fixed the head and heart to the body and re-entered the physical body. This is indeed a great display of yogic power (vibhūti).
Tapas, as we have understood, is nothing but intense focusing of all energies, resources or means to achieve what is considered to be the paramount, single most, important goal of one’s life. Of course, dedicated tapas enables a sādhakas to get expertise or proficiency. A skilled singer exhibits effortlessness in what he sings; a skilled painter shows total ease in what he paints; a skilled sculptor shows his perfect mastery in sculpture amazingly. In addition to this, it gives adhikāra (power) over what is practiced in the long run. In fact, this adhikāra only leads to effortlessness. However strong a mountain might be; it can never stop a flowing river. It can stop the flooded river only for a short period. Because it has no adhikāra to stop. Only the ocean has the adhikāra, hence, it can absorb and stop the moving river, however flooded it might be.
Śrīkr̥ṣṇa opines:
यज्ञदानतपः कर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।
यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्॥गीता १८.०५॥
Yajñadānatapaḥ karma na tyājyaṃ kāryameva tat|
yajño dānaṃ tapaścaiva pāvanāni manīṣīṇām॥Gītā 18.5॥
Sacrificial actions, charities, austerities (Tapas) should never be stopped as they are the means of purification for the wise aspiring for liberation.
Charity: A king wanted to test the wisdom of his Minister. He gives three hundred gold coins to the Minister, and instructs him to use them as follows:
- One hundred gold coins to be spent in such a way that the return or fruits (Phala) should be accrued in this life itself, but nothing for the next life.
- Next one hundred gold coins: The benefit should accrue in this life as well as the next.
- Remaining one hundred coins: The benefit should accrue neither in this life nor in the next life.
Wise Minister returns the very next day to report, ‘Dear King, I spent as follows:
- One hundred gold coins I spent at a music concert. The concert was superb and I really enjoyed it. This is for the present life, but nothing for the next life.
- Next one hundred gold coins — I gave it to a homeless beggar. Now he is happily living in the hut of his own. The power of giving is such that, I felt very happy for having given the gold coins to a truly needy; this is for the present life. The benefit of charity can never be denied and I definitely enjoy the next life also.
- Remaining one hundred gold coins — I spent on gambling. Unfortunately, I lost the money. I feel sorrow for having lost. The benefit (happiness) is neither in this life nor in the next.’
Dāna (Charity) is placed at a very high pedestal in our scriptures. To go to the USA, we need to convert our Indian currency into Dollars and spend there. To go to the UK, we have to convert our currency into Pounds and spend there. Just to go from one country to another country, currency conversion is a must. To go to the other world, should we not convert our currency? In the absence of such a conversion, our currency is just useless in the next world. What is that conversion? At least a part of the wealth we earn has to be spent for a noble cause like charity so that our wealth gets converted into virtue (Puṇya) and that can be spent in the next world. Otherwise, our currency is just useless there — in the next world.
Arjuna once asked Kr̥ṣṇa, ’Lord, why do people consider Karṇa more generous than Yudhiṣṭhtira? Neither has ever refused whatever has been asked for irrespective of whoever has asked for it. Then why is Karṇa considered greater than Yudhiṣṭhtira?’ The Lord said with a smile, ‘Come, I will show you why’.
Disguised as Brāhmins, they first went to Yudhiṣṭhira’s court and asked for sandalwood sticks to conduct some ‘Yajña’. The king immediately sent his soldiers to all parts of his kingdom in search of sandalwood sticks. It was monsoon, trees were all wet and the soldiers returned with wet sandalwood pieces. But Yajña was not possible with wet sticks.
Kr̥ṣṇa and Arjuna proceeded to Karṇa’s court next and asked for the same sandalwood sticks. Karṇa thought for a while and said, ‘as it is raining for several days now, it will be impossible to collect dry sandalwood sticks. But there is a way out. Please wait for a while’. Saying thus, Karṇa proceeded to chop and cut down the doors and windows of the court which were made of sandalwood. After making them into pieces, gifted the dry sandalwood sticks to the Brāhmins to conduct Yajña. They accepted the offering and went back.
On their way back, Kr̥ṣṇa asked Arjuna, ’do you realize the difference between the two? Had we asked Yudhiṣṭhira to give his doors and windows for us to conduct Yajña, he would have given us without a second thought. But he did not think of it himself. We did not ask Karṇa either. Yudhiṣṭhira gave because it was dharma. Karṇa gave because he loves giving. This is the difference between the two and that is why Karṇa is considered greater.’
Nothing is more powerful a purifier of the consciousness than the Tapas is. Bhagavān says,
तपो मे हृदयं साक्षादात्महं तपसोऽनघ॥भागवतम् २.९.२२॥
सृजामि तपसैवेदं ग्रसामि तपसा पुनः। बिभर्मि तपसा विश्वं वीर्यं मे दुश्चरं तपः॥भागवतम् २.९.२३॥
Bhagavān says, ‘O sinless one, Tapas is my heart. I am the ātman of the tapas. I create this universe through tapas. I bear this universe through tapas. I dissolve this universe in myself through tapas. Tapas is my supreme power which can never be transcended by anyone’.
For different kinds of tapas, please refer to the commentary given for Sūtra 2.1.
