Yoga Sutra II- 24 - TASYA HETUR AVIDYA - The cause of this union is ignorance.Swami Satchidananda comments that Patanjali is laughing at the idea of expressing this sutra. It seems ludicrous or even confusing that he is saying this, however, if understood properly it's a "no-brainer." In the previous sutra, YS II - 23, Swami Satchidananda says "we are still in the world and wondering about the reason for nature. Once the Purusha understands himself, he thinks, "How did this union come about? It is because I have forgotten myself. What an ignorant person I was. Because of my ignorance I created this union."
Such a person will laugh at this only after realization, after awakening from the ignorance. It's like waking up after a bad dream, realizing it wasn't real. "The understanding behind this Sutra is a result of realization." [Note: The Purusha is the primeval man, considered to be the soul of the universe, which was created out of his body.]
Swami Satchidananda compares these sutras to the Four Nobles Truths of Lord Buddha:
- The misery of the world
- the cause of the misery
- the removal of that misery
- the method used to remove it.
Patanjali tells us:
- pain can be avoided
- its cause is ignorance
- hanam - removal of this misery
- hano-payam - the method to remove it
The picture for this post is of the Nataraja (The Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer) dancing on the body of dwarf apasmara-purusha (the man of forgetfulness) who embodies indifference, ignorance and laziness. One can literally say this is what one could do awakening from the ignorance - dance!
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