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43rd Sutra is about tapas.
का॒येन्द्रियसिद्धिर॒शु॒द्धिक्ष॒यात् तपसः ॥ २.४३॥
kāyendriya-siddhir aśuddhi-kṣayāt tapasaḥ
Kāya is the body, the śarīra. Indriya is the indriyāḥ, the tools of action, tools of knowledge. Karmendriya and the jñānendriya. Aśuddhi is the impurities. Kṣayāt, disappearance, removal. Tapasaḥ is the austerities, tapas. kāyendriya-siddhir aśuddhi-kṣayāt tapasaḥ what is the benefit and what are the end results of practice of tapas, that is given here? Aśuddhi-kṣayāt - by the removal of the impurities by tapas. So tapas removes impurities. And it is the destruction, kṣaya. Aśuddhi-kṣayāt. Tapas causes destruction of the impurities. And once the aśuddhi, impurities are removed, disappeared, what happens? Kāyendriya-siddhi perfection, efficient state of the body and the tools, indriyāḥ. So the efficiency and the perfection of the body, efficiency and the perfection of the karmendriyāḥ and the jñānendriyāḥ are achieved by removal, destruction of the aśuddhiḥ, by the tapas austerity. So the body will be able to withstand the needs of the practice. The limitations, the weaknesses are removed. And the body will not be a hindrance. The desires of the mind, the hunger in the body, the various hungers of the indriya-bhoga, indriya-sukha, the demands of the body, the regular maintenance required for the body—all that will not only be reduced, it will be disappeared. This is aśuddhi-kṣaya. And tapas does that. And then the perfection of the body and the indriyāḥ. Beautiful word—kāyendriya-siddhi it is said and the process is aśuddhi-kṣaya. And it is achieved by tapas. All the aśuddhayaḥ are removed. So the significance of the phrase aśuddhi-kṣaya is to be kept in the mind. And it shows conclusively that the removal of the impurity is the main purpose of tapas. And also that it is only when the body has been completely purified, it will function efficiently, perfectly, effectively as an instrument of the puruṣaḥ.
In the Bhagavad Gītā, 17th chapter, there are three beautiful ślokāḥ—14th, 15th and 16th ślokāḥ—which describe tapas. Sāttvika, rājasika tapas, śārīrika, vācika, mānasika tapas. Means śārīrika tapas can be sāttvika. śārīrika tapas can be rājasika. śārīrika tapas can be tāmasika. Similarly vācika tapas—sāttvika, rājasika and tāmasika. Even the mental, mānasika tapas can be sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika. So the tapas at the three levels—physical, mental and the speech level. The tapas and each level, the guṇāḥ—sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika guṇāḥ. Somebody may be performing a physical tapas, but it can be tāmasika, rājasika, or sāttvika. And the guṇāḥ means it will be dependent on the attitudes—what for tapas is done, how it is done, what is the purpose of the tapas. And of course, in Bhagavat Geeta Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa beautifully enumerates the 14,15 and 16 sutras of 17th chapter, it's wonderful.
deva-dvija-guru-prājña-pūjanam śaucam ārjavam brahmacaryam ahiṁsā ca śārīraṁ tapa ucyate. Worshipping deva, dvija, enlightened people, elderly people, respectable people, worshing guru, prājña, wise people—worshipping them, respecting them. Then practice of śaucam and ārjavam, practice of brahmacarya and ahiṁsā. These are the tapas at the śārīrika level. So eight constituents of śārīrika tapas: deva-dvija-guru-prājña-pūjanam śaucam ārjavam brahmacaryam ahiṁsā - eight qualities.
Then what is vāṅmayam? anudvegakaraṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva vāṅmayaṁ tapa ucyate tapas of the speech. Anudvegakaraṁ vākyaṁ—when we speak, when we talk, it should not create udvignatā in others, others' mind should not get disturbed, excited. How important it is. So many speeches we hear nowadays in modern society—inciting speeches, not inspiring. Anudvegakaram—that is tapas. Satyaṁ should be truth. And it should be priyam. It should be hitam. And it should be priya-hitam also. Sādhyāya—that is the vāṅmayaṁ tapa ucyate. So
anudvegakaraṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva vāṅmayaṁ tapa ucyate
The five qualities are given. Then what is the mental, mānasika tapas? manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunaṁ ātma-vinigrahaḥ bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat tapo mānasam ucyate. Five qualities: manaḥ-prasādaḥ — a calm serene mind, saumyatvam — cheerfulness, maunam, ātma-vinigrahaḥ — self-control, bhāva-saṁśuddhiḥ — purity in emotions, Beautiful word—bhāva-saṁśuddhiḥ, clean emotion, kneet emotion, not kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya, pure attitude that is mānasika tapas: Manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunaṁ ātma-vinigrahaḥ bhāva-saṁśuddhiḥ
So five mānasika tapas qualities, five qualities of the speech, and eight qualities of the śarīra. These are the tapas given in the Bhagavad Gītā. Of course, a very important dimension also we should understand—that tapas is an important lifestyle, an important quality of life, very much needed as a sādhana in our yoga practices. Let us see the further sutras.
Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ.
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/Cq_0FcuN8GI?si=HrDTkQF-VJtT7_hs
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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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