Daily Katha: 2026

Friday, 6 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada - 18

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Continuing the importance of the kleshas and understanding deeper and deeper dimensions, the 18th sutra is another important one in the understanding. 18th sutra of the Sadhanapada,

प्र॒का॒शक्रि॒यास्थि॑तिशी॒लं भू॒तेन्द्रियात्म॒कं भो॒गापवर्गा॒र्थं दृ॒श्यम् ॥ २.१८॥

Prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlam bhūtendriyātmakam bhogāpavargārtham dṛśyam.

How nice beautiful words have been put, used by Maharishi Patanjali. Prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlam bhūtendriyātmakam bhogāpavargārtham dṛśyam. Prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlam bhūtendriyātmakam bhogāpavargārtham dṛśyam.

What is dṛśyam? This world, this creation that is defined here and what filled it, its constituents which made this dṛśyam. Constituents of dṛśyam and the purpose of this dṛśyam. This sutra explains that.

Prakāśa is light, illumination. Kriyā is action. Sthiti is stability. Śīlam is ability. Bhūta pṛthvī – āpaḥ – tejas – vāyu – ākāśa, the five bhūtas, the five basic elements of creation. Indriyas are the organs. The ten indriyas, karmendriyas and jñānendriyas. Ātmakam is composed of. Indriyātmakam, bhūtātmakam, prakāśātmakam, kriyātmakam, ātmakam is composed of. Bhoga is experience. Experiencing. Apavarga, an important word which is used here. Patanjali uses this particular word - Apavarga. Apavarga is liberation. What we generally use the word as mokṣa. But Patanjali doesn't use the word mokṣa. He uses this word apavarga. Artha, for the purpose. What is the purpose, Artha? Dṛśya is seen, this whole word. So what are the qualities of dṛśyam? How it is made out of it? So the sutra meaning is dṛśya has the qualities of prakāśa, kriyā, sthiti, bhūtas and indriyas for the purpose of experiencing liberation.

The world consists of prakāśa, kriyā, sthiti, bhūta, indriya. And why this is? Experiencing liberation. See the beauty. The world is to experience liberation. Means in this world, now with this body, it's possible. It is meant for that. The world is a tool for that. How positive yoga darshana, Patanjali yoga sutra is presenting Prakāśa-kriyā-sthiti-śīlam bhūtendriyātmakam bhogāpavargārtham dṛśyam. So dṛśyam, the whole world, is illumination is there. It is stable. And these three are of the guṇās - satva, rajas, tamo guṇās. And dṛśyam is not only just living, even the non-living. Jaḍa and cetana both. Moving and immoving, immovable. Living and non-living. In all our general parlance, entire world, that is dṛśyam. And it is made of all those qualities and characteristics.

It is made out of pañca bhūtas - pṛthvī, āpaḥ, teja, vāyu, ākāśaḥ. And indriyas, pañca karmendriyas, the jñānendriyas, vāk, pāṇi, pāda, upastha, pāyu, the five karmendriyas, tvak, cakṣu, jihvā, śrotra, ghrāṇa, jñānendriyas, the jñānendriyas, tools of knowledge, tools of action, and the pañca bhūtas. All these experiences, combinations, transformations, that is this world.

Just put a question and imagine, can there be anything in this world apart from this? Is there anything in this world apart from this? It is not. And bhoga is the experience of both pain and pleasure. But we have seen in the previous sutra, in the 15th sutra, it is mostly pain. Though both are there, but mostly it is duḥkha.

So the noble is the nature of the illumination, activity, and inertia. It consists of the elements, the five elements, and the powers of sensation and action, karmendriyas and jñānendriyas. And this is how dṛśya is, it's a definition of dṛśya, explanation and a description of dṛśya it is. Means dṛśya means the world, the world in which we are there, or the world of ours, and the world in which I am, irrespective whether we sleep or not sleep.

That means this particular sutra and these concepts are unique to the Hindu philosophy, Sanātana Dharma, which says that the whole world is triguṇātmakam – sattva, rajas, tamo guṇas, pañca bhūtas that is how Maharshi Patanjali presents in this particular sutra.

And he points out that the purpose and function of this phenomenal world, this world, this dṛśyam, what is the purpose of this world? It is two fold. One is to provide experience, bhoga, it provides experience, and also for the enlightenment.

So, this world is for bhoga, and also this world is for the liberation, apavargā.

The two purposes of this world is experience, it can be positive or negative as we say, pleasure or sorrow, for this purpose.

And why to experience? Because of our puṇya and apuṇyas, and the karmasya, we should not forget that line. So, this world is for the experience of the sukha-duḥkha, and also for the liberation. So, the world consists of two purposes, to get rid of our past and lay a path for the future. So, for this, both draṣṭā and dṛśyam are necessary in this world, draṣṭā and dṛśyam. So, the purpose of this world, the dṛśyam, is to give an experience to the draṣṭā, and it is called as the bhoga apavargārtham, apavargārtham it is, bhoga apavargārtham.

Vivekananda (Swamiji) summarizes, beautifully summarizes this particular sutra, I shall quote it.

You have to get all this experience in this world of course, you have to get all this experience, but finish it quickly. We have placed ourselves in this net, and we'll have to get out. We have got ourselves caught in the trap, and we will have to work out our freedom. So, get this experience of husbands, and wives, and friends, and little loves, and you will get through them safely, if you never forget that you really, what you really are. Never forget this, is only a momentary state, and that we have to pass through it. Experience is the one great teacher. Experiences of pleasure and pain, but no, they are only experiences, and we'll all lead step by step to that state, when all these things will become small, and draṣṭā, the puruṣa, will be so great, that his whole universe will be as a drop in the ocean, and will fall off by its own nothingness. We have to go through these experiences, but let us never forget the ideal.

How beautifully Swami Vivekananda, so powerfully summarized that such a high philosophical sutra of the yoga darshan. That is the beauty of Swami Vivekananda. Summarizing this 18th sutra of the yoga darshan, let us see the other sutras.

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/J7C-tnw5_mg?si=1uink-oatEg8LWPJ

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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

Thursday, 5 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada -16-17

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The strong, powerful sutra, 15th, which we have seen presents duḥkha, misery, It's full, complete. But the way out, and what is this duḥkha? Why duḥkha comes? The cause of duḥkha, the root cause of duḥkha. And how to come out of it? Can we come out of it?

And those propositions and that subject is handled in the next two sutras, 16th and 17th sutras. The 16th sutra is,

हे॒यं दुः॒खम॑नाग॒तम् ॥ २.१६॥

Heyaṃ duḥkham anāgatam ॥ 2.16 ॥

That is, duḥkham, see the positiveness, duḥkham is heyam, duḥkham is avoidable. There is no need to feel afraid that these sorrows and miseries and the whole world is so much filled with it. That fear, no need. As it is avoidable, duḥkham is avoidable.

heyam duḥkham But anāgatam, anā gatam, anā gatam it is, Not yet come, āgatam is coming. anāgatam is not yet come. That is the future.

Means, 16th sutra is an important sutra saying that, the pain and misery, that is duḥkha, which has not yet come, that can be avoided. Means we can avoid duḥkha which is about to come. Or duḥkha which is there in the future. The duḥkha which is lurking in the future. bhaviṣyat duḥkha, that can be avoided. Means, the duḥkha which we are experiencing is the result of the previous stored up apuṇya. It cannot be. And what duḥkha we have already experienced, is already done. And now what we are experiencing, the duḥkha and the sorrow, is a result of it.

Then what is in my hand? What is in our hand? In our hand, we have this strong, this strength, this power to avoid āgāmi duḥkha. anāgata duḥkham. That which is about to come, can be avoided.

So what is now, is of the past. And what was, is already over. And what will be, can be avoided. That is in our hand. That is why, future is in our hands. How positive Patanjali presents, the Yoga Darshana presents.

heyam duḥkham anāgatam, duḥkham heyam, heyam is avoidable. anāgata duḥkham.

But of course, what we are experiencing, we have to experience. That is why, we have to be careful in our actions, in our thoughts. It should be puṇya, virtuous. So that, the future, bhaviṣya, will be hlāda, pleasurable. puṇya, pleasurable.

So the next question, which naturally rises, is whether it is possible to avoid misery? Which has been so inherent, as it was told in the 15th sutra, as if it cannot be. But Yoga Darshana presents it, it is possible and completely avoidable. We can rise above these illusions and miseries of life, which we are presently living. And gain infinite knowledge, bliss and power. And being in this physical body. That is why, enlightenment is not after life. It is in this life.

And if we don't attain this, please remember, we have to come back again and again into this world. Until we have accomplished this task. So it is not a question of choosing the path of Yoga, or rejecting the path of Yoga. It is a question of choosing it now, or in some future life. Means, there is no option.

How powerfully the Yoga Darshana presents it, that Yoga definitely removes the duḥkha, and it is in our hands, in the present life. And it is perfectly avoidable. And all the future sufferings, and unnecessary problems and difficulties are avoidable. Heyam it is.

So to understand what is duḥkha. If it is avoidable, we should understand what is duḥkha. And how duḥkha comes. What is the root cause? What is the birthplace of duḥkha? How it is germinated? How it is born?

To know that, we should understand the next sutra. The 17th sutra. This sutra gives an importance of cause of duḥkha. So that we can avoid it. And what is the sutra?

द्र॒ष्टृ॒दृश्य॒योः सं॒यो॒गो हे॑यहे॒तुः ॥ २.१७॥

draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ saṃyogo heya-hetuḥ ॥ 2.17 ॥

We have sufficiently discussed this point in our earlier sutras, draṣṭuḥ is seer. The real of me. mine, I am, the real, unidentified, the pure, draṣṭuḥ, the seer. Dṛśyā is the seen. Samyoga Union. Getting mixed up, is the hetu. So what is the hetu? What is the reason? What is the cause of duḥkha? The cause of duḥkha is draṣṭuḥ dṛśyayoḥ samyogaḥ. The union or getting mixed up of the draṣṭuḥ and dṛśyā. Yoking of draṣṭuḥ and dṛśyā is the cause and which can be avoidable heyaḥ.

So the cause of duḥkha is said and it is also said it is avoidable. So the cause of that duḥkha which is avoidable heyaḥ is samyoga, union of draṣṭuḥ and dṛśyā.

So the cause of misery is answered by Maharishi Patanjali in this Yoga Sutra of the Yoga Darshana. The cause of misery, there is no need to blame anybody, anything outside for all our miseries and sorrows. The cause of duḥkha is identification of the draṣṭuḥ with the dṛśyā. Eternal question is there. If why duḥkha is answered, why this samyoga at all? Why this union? This is an eternal question. As why duḥkha is answered, why samyoga will be answered. That we shall see in our course of understanding Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

So duḥkha is of two types. Body and the mind. And both are external. Body is external. Mind also is external. And not identifying with the body and the mind is the solution. And identifying is the duḥkha. My body, my mind. Yes. This is the duḥkha kāraṇa. So duḥkha kāraṇa is draṣṭa dṛśya samyoga. Which is avoidable.

But the question is always stands and posed. But though we cannot know the answer to this fundamental question, why samyoga at all, why this duḥkha at all. But though there is no answer or the question is though it is eternal. But we know the reason. The cause is known. We may not know why. But we know what it is. Instead of posing and trying to understand what is the reason why it happened, better to understand what is happened, what is happening and get out of it.

It is something like if a person fell in a ditch water or in a drainage, his immediate task is to come out instead of analyzing and discussing and trying to understand why he fell inside and how he fell inside. His immediate task will be to come out of it. If he understands those, the answers for those questions, he can take care that he will not fall in future. It is very important understanding to know that in the real sense of the term would be to know the ultimate mystery and the nature of the bondage. Though it is impossible to conceive but it is understood.

This is very important sutras that why the union took place samyoga may be unanswerable, unanswerable, ununderstandable. But we know the duḥkha kāraṇa is the draṣṭuḥ dṛśya samyoga.

And our task is not to identify with the dṛśyā, body and the mind. Why it gets identified is also given of course. But the sādhana and the useful tips and the important task in our hand is once we know the identification is the cause and the answer is not to identify. Instead of searching why it was identified. And this sutra that is why gives an important dimension for the sādhana side, the 17th sutra. And let us go on the further understanding of the deeper and the sūkṣma levels of the Yoga philosophy in the further sutras.

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