Samyama and Siddhis YS III - 16

Yoga Sutra III- 16 - PARINAMA TRAYA SAMYAMAD ATITANAGATA JNANAM - By practicing samyama on the three stages of evolution comes knowledge of past and future.

Swami Satchidananda - "In this and in the following Sutras, Patanjali describes various samyamas and the siddhis which will result."

The commentary from "How to Know God - The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali" translated and commented on by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood is as follows:

"Patanjali now begins to describe the various occult powers and the methods by which they are acquired. All authorities, including Patanjali himself, regard occult powers as the greatest stumbling blocks in the path to the truth. " The commentary states that Sri Ramakrishna called the occult powers "Heaps of rubbish" and that Buddha told his disciples never to put faith in miracles "but to see the truth in the eternal principles. Christ spoke sharply against those who 'seek for a sign,' and it is unfortunate that his strictures were not taken more seriously to heart by his followers."

"Occult powers do, however, exist, and Patanjali, in his comprehensive treatise on yoga psychology, obviously cannot ignore them." Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood state that they translate the following Yoga Sutras ( aphorisms) " for the sake of completeness," but doing so with a minimum of technical explanation. "The sincere spiritual aspirant can have very little concern with such matters."

In the last part of the commentary, it is pointed out how "In the West these powers are hardly exhibited and that there is a good deal of skepticism as well. We are told these power are all within each of us, however, western man has made the choice to concentrate on production of the mechanical as opposed to the psychological powers. So instead of :

• telepathy - telephone
• levitation - helicopter
• clairvoyance - television

Finally, we are told that even though we may regret materialism by such a choice, it might be the better of two evils. "A community of degenerated yogis, using psychic powers for business and political ends, would be even more unpleasant to live in than our own atom-wielding world." Ultimately, instead of hankering over psychic powers we should turn our attention back to the true path of spiritual growth. Patanjali's warning: "They are the powers of the worldly state, but they are obstacles to samadhi."

See related posts:

• Tapasah - Austerities YS II - 43
• Still Posture - Still Mind YS II - 47

Samyama - Last Three Limbs of Yoga YS III - 4

Yoga Sutra III- 4 - TRAYAM EKATRA SAMYAMAH - The practice of these three [dharana, dhyana and samadhi] upon one object is called samyama.

Swami Satchidananda tells us that siddhis come from practicing the last three limbs of yoga [dharana, dhyana and samadhi]. "You dive deeply into an object or idea, and it releases its secrets. In a way, scientists have done samyama on the atomic paricles. The particles released their energy, and the scientists got the knowledge of them. They accomplished the truth behind the particles. Samyama is usually done on objects or ideas connected with some results. When the results come, you call them siddhis or vibhuti."

Related posts:

• Dharana - Concentration YS III - 1
• Dhyana - Meditation YS III - 2
• Samadhi - Contemplation YS III - 3
• The Eight Limbs of Yoga - YS II - 28, 29

Still Posture - Still Mind YS II - 47

Yoga Sutra II- 47 - PRAYATNA SAITHILYANANTA SAMAPATTIGHYAM - By lessening the natural tendency for restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, posture is mastered.

Swami Satchidananda says "If the body is still, it is easy to make the mind still." He said one of his teachers would say,"You need not repeat any prayers or even do japa. Just sit quietly for three hours in a row with no movement whatsoever, without even winking, then everything will be accomplished easily." Swami Satchidananda said that if we could sit that long, we could control our mind automatically. "Through the body we can put a brake on the mind." We are told that this an accomplishment of asana or the benefit of asana siddhi. (From the Wikipedia - Siddhi (Sanskrit:सिद्धिः; siddhiḥ) is a Sanskrit word that literally means "perfection", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success".[1] It is also used as a term for spiritual power (or psychic ability). The term is used in that sense in Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism)

Other illustrations of siddhis that can control the mind are given as follows:

• Bhojana, (eating) siddhi - Restriction to eating just a certain amount of food a day at a certain time.
• Sthala siddhi- Limiting your movement by taking a vow (like not moving out of state, or your apartment for a year.

Swami Satchidananda informs us that we might have experienced taking a vow to do something and then being immediately tested on it. Examples are given like if we decide not to leave a place and someone immediately afterwards offers us a free ticket somewhere else. Of we decide to go on a fast and someone brings us something delicious. Once we decide on taking a vow, the tests tend to come immediately.

A reference to Hindu philosophy (South Indian Saivism) is made about sixty-three Saiva Siddhanta saints by the name of Nayanars.
The Nayanars "realized the truth by taking just one vow and sticking to it, even at the cost of their lives." Swami Satchidananda tells a story of a king who made a vow of seeing holy ash on any forehead of a person that he would treat them as Lord Siva himself and would give him anything he asked. An enemy king heard of the vow and took advantage the situation by smearing ash on his forehead, disguised as a philosophy teacher. He ended up killing the king who made the vow. He died saying the Lord's name, with his last breath having a vision of God. He stuck to his word. Swami Satchidananda ends the commentary with "The idea behind taking one vow and sticking to it is that we become masters of our minds." He also uses Hindu marriages as an example of the same principle. The mate is accepted as whatever they are and looked at as the a gift from the Lord.

So the analogies given in this commentary can be viewed as an asana in the context that one becomes steady in a vow, takes a seat so to speak and does not waver. The asana is the firm, comfortable posture that helps to still the mind.

See related posts:

• Asana - Posture YS II - 46
• The Eight Limbs of Yoga - YS II - 28, 29
• Yoga As a Tool