Daily Katha

Wednesday, 4 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada - 15

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Sutra number 15, Sadhanapada of the Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga Darshana, Patanjali Yoga Sutras is another important sutra. The sutra is

प॒रि॒णामतापसं॒स्कार॑दुः॒खैर्गु॒णवृ॒त्तिवि॒रो॒धाच्च दुः॒खमेव सर्वं॑ विवे॒किनः ॥ २.१५॥
pariṇāma-tāpa-saṃskāra-duḥkhair guṇa-vṛtti-virodhāc ca duḥkham eva sarvaṃ vivekinaḥ ॥ 2.15 ॥

The word meanings are like this. Pariṇāma is a transformation, change. If one changes to the other, it is called pariṇāma, transformation. Tāpa is acute anxiety. Paritāpam tāpam - Acute anxiety, Intensely anxious. Saṃskāra is impressions, tendencies, habituations. Duḥkha is misery. Guṇa refers to the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas, the three gunas, which are the foundations. Vṛttis, we know vṛtti. Virodhācca, conflicting. virodha is the conflicting. Virodhācca is the conflicting. Duḥkham is misery. Eva is only. Sarva, that is sarvam, all, everything. Vivekinaḥ people who have viveka, Discrimination, analysis, analyzing and discriminating people.

So pariṇāma is a change and transformation, tāpa is acute anxiety, saṃskāra is the impression, duḥkha is the misery, guṇa is the sattva, rajas, tamas, gunas referring to that. vṛtti is the, as we have seen, is the functional modalities, And then functional manifestations of the citta, virodhāc ca is the conflicting, oppositions, opposite sides, opposite nature, virodha it is called, virodhābhāsa it is called, virodha and duḥkha is the misery, eva is the only sarvam, vivekinaḥ for all vivekinas. That is, the rough understanding of the Sutra is, to the people who have developed discrimination, vivekinaḥ, all is misery, sarvam, why? On account of pains resulting from three pariṇāma, tāpa, saṃskāra and guṇas as also on account of the conflicts virodhāc ca, of what, functioning of the guṇas and the vṛttis. That is, there are four kinds of causes of affliction or the pain are mentioned here. And they trouble even the people who are considered to be vivekis, vivekas. vivekinaḥ it is. And what are the four afflictions? One is the pariṇāma, tāpa, saṃskāra, guṇa, vṛtti, virodha - combinations, permutations, pros and cons, play of the guṇas and the vṛttis and they are on opposite plays.

So this Sutra means that all experiences are either activity or potentially full of misery to the wise persons. And this is so because certain conditions like changing, anxieties, though saṃskāra word is used, it is basically habits, habituations. And there are conflicts between the functioning of the three guṇas - sattva, rajas and tamas and the vṛttis which are inherent. See how beautifully entire gamut of pain and afflictions are given here. If we just see each one, we will be able to understand quite clearly.

Let us take up pariṇāma, Change. And how change causes affliction. Various changes take place in this world. The body undergoes a change, change of time, change of place, deśa kāla, change of emotions, Everything in this world undergoes a change and it is very difficult to comprehend. And this relentless change from beginning to the end and the whole thing is so much impermanent, unpredictable and even the exquisite pleasures, splendid achievements of this life, they just pale into insignificance. All achievements, all grand prized possessions, they all which merge and the time eats, grabs and digests in itself. So stunning and shocking that nothing in this world is permanent and the change is happening continuously. And this is shocking and this realization itself is painful to accept that that everything is undergoing a change, pariṇāma.

Then the tāpa, anxiety. Many of us, in fact all of us have this concern and this fear of anxiety. Fears and anxiety that what may happen, what will not happen, what is expected is not happening. And this constant fears and the anxiety of losing that is the tāpa. And that is deeply rooted in our subconscious mind and secretly it poisons our life. And the only way is to understand but this anxiety in the form of a fear, very deep inside, that is the tāpa. And that is the cause and that itself is an affliction, duḥkha.

Saṃskāra is habits and we get habituated to many things. Lot of saṃskāras we develop. Lot of tendencies, habits and impressions we develop. And if those habits and impressions cannot continue, we find lot of adjustment has to be done in the life. Lot of discomfort comes in the life because of adjustments which we have to undergo. And this necessity for adjustment and this discomfort and that is which forces one to reconcile. But the fact remains that this need to reconcile, need to adjust, they involve discomfort. All these are symbolized in the word saṃskāra, habituations. That gives duḥkha. Our own habits becomes a cause for our own duḥkha.

And the fourth one is more deeper, maybe more subtler - guṇa-vṛtti-virodhāh. The play of the guṇas, sattva, rajas, tamo guṇas and the vṛttis, the functional modifications and expressions of the mind and the citta. The conflicts between sattva, rajas, tamo guṇa and the various combinations of that we are sometimes sattvic, sometimes rajasic, sometimes tamasic. In fact, many people say that there is no sattva, sattva is a balance and equilibrium state of tamas and rajas. But this play of the guṇas, in fact the entire world, all our experiences are rooted in this sattva, rajas, tamo guṇas and the vṛttis based on that, resultant on that, continuity of that, that virodha is the cause of the human misery.

So the wise man, who sees this inevitability of all this and gives up everything altogether, that is how the sutra emphasizes. So this existence of the four kinds of afflictions mentioned in this particular sutra and which are inherent in the human life produces such conditions that nobody who has even developed viveka or spiritual discrimination can possibly consider. That's why the whole world, life is viewed as full of misery. Dukh hetu - It is true that the man of the world immersed in its illusory pursuits, man of worldly wise, tossed in these pleasures and powers of life, sukha and dukkhas, joys and sorrows, but when he encounters, either he runs away or involves more intensely to forget them. And this is an illusion, illusory misery and happiness and something like a sugar-coated pill.

So this sutra, this particular sutra proposes that it's full of misery. But is there a way out from this? Whether the yoga darshana gives a solution to it? Yes, the further sutras clarify that. Let us see those wonderful sutras, a way out of this.

Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः||

To Be Continued.. ----------------------------------------

These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji. Audio Link - https://youtu.be/tQX8WaDuS8A?si=jKDPvyahDlR2lFVP

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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्ध‌‌यसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥

Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26

Tuesday, 3 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada - 14

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Fourteenth Sutra of the Sadhana Pada is a further discussion on the kleśas. The Sutra is

ते ह्ला॒दप॒रि॒ताप॑फ॒लाः पुण्यापुण्यहे॑तु॒त्वात् ॥ २.१४॥

That is, te hlāda-paritāpa-phalāḥ puṇyāpuṇya-hetutvāt ॥ 2.14 ॥

Te - That is, te means what was referred in the thirteenth Sutra, that birth, lifespan and experiences in the life - Jāti, āyu and bhogaḥ. Hlāda is pleasure. Generally we know āhlādam. Hlāda is pleasure. Paritāpa - Paritāpa is pain. Paritāpa is pain, misery, sorrow. Then, phalāḥ having the fruit, the result. Puṇyā is virtue. Apuṇyā is non-virtue. Hetutvāt - Hetutvāt is causality, the purpose, the reason.

That is, te, that the birth and the jāti, āyu, bhogaḥ, te, those three. Hlāda, pleasure. Paritāpa, pain. Phalā, having a fruit. Puṇyā and apuṇyā, Hetutvāt, purpose, the causality. So the meaning goes as they have pleasure or pain we should remember. Te always means jāti, āyu, bhogaḥ, the birth, time of birth, their life span and experiences, that is te. These three have pleasure or pain as the fruit by reason of virtue or vice.

So jāti, āyu, bhogaḥ have hlāda and paritāpa as a phalā and the hetu is by puṇyā and apuṇyā. That means the birth, puṇyā jāti, life span, the time of life, the timeline of life, time span of life and then the experiences in the life, whether it is pleasurable or painful, a life which is always pleasurable by birth, born in luxury, but a birth which is painful always by birth, born in a not that luxury but a families of suffering and the whole life span is full of pleasures and the whole life is full of painful and all the experiences are like that and that is based on the puṇyā and apuṇyā.

In fact what this particular sutra says is that what we are experiencing a pleasurable or a painful, the quality of experiences which come in our life is determined by the nature of the cause which has produced them. If the cause is puṇyā, it will be pleasure, hlāda. If it is apuṇyā, it is paritāpa. And the effect is always naturally related to the cause. Cause and effect are related and the nature is determined by the cause.

So those thoughts, feelings and actions which are puṇyā, virtuous, they give rise to experiences which are pleasant, joyful, while those which are vicious, non-virtuous, apuṇyā, give rise to experiences which are not pleasant. So if we cause a little purely a physical pain to somebody or some life, some being, it is reasonable to suppose that the fruit of our action will be some experiences causing a corresponding physical pain to us. So if we cause a bodily pain and we will experience that. This is the corresponding importance of this particular sūtra.

So comparatively what birth we have done we take, that is based on our puṇyakarmas. Normally in our society we commonly hear if a person is well placed, born in a well to do family, we say born with a silver spoon, for what puṇyā he has done that he has taken birth like this. These are the common expressions. And Maharishi Patanjali in this particular sūtra not just proposes, confirms it. The yoga philosophy takes that particular stand that there is always a personal factor involved as we ourselves see by observing the lives of the people around us and that is how is an important dimension.

And the word used is puṇyā and apuṇyā. It is not puṇyā and pāpā. Hindu Dharma, Sanatana Dharma, Bharatiya Sanskriti uses these particular words. We should be very clear in understanding these words with all the discussions, with all the translations and arguments and the presentations. Puṇyā is what is to be done, vihita karma. Apuṇyā is niṣiddha karma. Coming to the actions side.

Swami Vivekananda beautifully says that which is selfish is immoral and that which is unselfish is moral. Svārthata, selfishness, is apuṇyā. Niṣvārthata, unselfishness, is puṇyā. That is a virtue. We can extend to any limits for understanding arguments and discussions, but these points stand perfectly and correctly.

So the 14th sūtra te - those three, te hlāda paritāpa phalāḥ puṇyāpuṇya hetutvāt. By the puṇyā and the apuṇya hetu, hlāda and paritāpa will result in the birth, life span and in the experience, jāti āyu bhogāḥ. That is the caution, a point to be understood and an important preposition, an important postulation from the Yoga philosophy, Yoga Darshana in this particular sūtra. Let us see the other sūtra.