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31st Sutra is another important Sutra of the practice of yama and that is an important suggestion, important rule laid down by Maharṣi Patañjali.
जा॒तिदे॒शका॒लस॒म॒या॒न॒व॒च्छि॒न्नाः सा॒र्वभौ॒मा म॑हाव्र॒तम् ॥ २.३१॥
Jāti deśa kāla samaya anavacchinnāḥ sārvabhaumā mahāvratam.
Jāti, of course, normally understood as caste, but specific circumstances. Deśa is a region, a place, so jāti is specific circumstances. Deśa is a place. Kāla is the time. Samaya is occasion. Generally we misunderstand between kāla and samaya. Kāla is the time. Samaya is the occasion. Anavacchinna - Vicchinna, avacchinna, anavacchinna. These are the words. Basically it means no exception. Anavacchinna is no exception. Sārvabhauma - It is universal. That means it is applicable to all. Mahāvratam - Mahā is great. Vratam is vow. So jāti, deśa, kāla, samaya, anavacchinna, sārvabhauma, mahāvratam. So how this yama or the upāṅgas of the yama are to be practiced. And it is said that it has no exception, without any exception it is to be practiced. It is 100% obligatory.
So the Sutra tells us that the observance of these rules, yamas, is a mahāvrata. That is an obligatory observance of a very great rule and it is sārvabhauma. Which means it is obligatory in all circumstances, under all conditions. And it is supreme. And it is not conditioned by birth, that is jāti, or in a particular social status, any region, that is deśa, or any time, or any occasion. Then it is mahāvrata. Anavacchinna it is. That is an important word in the whole Sutra. Exceptionally obligatory it is. No exceptions.
So the rules, suppose if you take it as a jāti, irrespective of the social status, this yama has to be practiced. Irrespective of social status, irrespective of the caste, a person may belong to any caste, any social status, any social responsibility. Jāti means that. So by birth, irrespective of born in any caste, in any specific circumstances, the rule has no exception. Similarly deśa, place, it has no exception. In a particular place, there can be an exception — no. Wherever it is there. So these ahiṃsā, satya, steya, brahmacarya, aparigraha are to be practiced without any limitations of jāti, without any limitations of deśa, place. They are not bound by place to be practiced. Means it is to be practiced only in India, need not be practiced there, and it has to be practiced only in a temple, not in the home — not like that. It has no place. It is universal. And kāla, time — morning, evening, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock — no. It has no boundaries of time. Always. Similarly samaya, occasions. Some occasions I can practice, some occasions can be exceptions. In such circumstances how can we practice ahiṃsā, satya, brahmacarya? In such occasions, in those occasions it can be allowed — no exceptions.
We can have a lot of examples, but Maharṣi Patañjali has taken up all the available arguments which we put forward. That's why he has made it as sārvabhauma and also mahāvratam. Sārvabhauma means in all circumstances, under all conditions, in all circumstances and all conditions, without any exceptions.
He may be put to great inconvenience, great penalties, great difficulties, great problems, intense situations, but uncompromising adherence to the principles. That makes it a great vow, mahāvrata. And we should remember, it's not that easy. And even there may be a lot of hardships on occasions, but we cannot simplify, we cannot adjust it and we cannot give any exceptional rule out of it. One way it seems to be very difficult and great, tough to practice, but on the other side it eliminates completely the difficulty of deciding what has to be done under all conditions of situations in which a sādhaka may find himself, because his rule is clear.
The universality of the vow leaves no loopholes at all, through which a sādhaka's mind may tempt him to escape. And his course of action on most occasions will be quite clear, because he need not — he has to just follow. He can follow the right path unhesitatingly, knowing that there is no other path open to him at all.
It's very, very important. That's why the Sutra is very clear. Jāti deśa kāla - in the temple, at home, at workplace, in gatherings, at different occasions, different timings, different places, the rule is same. It doesn't undergo any change and it has no exception. That is sārvabhauma.
Swami Vivekananda, writing a commentary on this, beautifully summarizes: "these practices are to be practiced by every man, woman and child, by every soul, irrespective of nation, country or position." That summarizes the entire Sutra. These practices are to be practiced by every man, woman and child, by every soul, irrespective of nation, country or position. That is the mahāvrata.
And the next Sutra is about the niyama.
Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥॐ 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/Lpvqq03VqrI?si=ewAsru4mi-dolEHi
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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
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