Antardarshana

(Patanjali Yoga Sutra)

The meaning of this Sutra is: "Then one sees his own true nature". This is with reference to the previous Sutra: Yogah chitta vritti nirodhah. When one controls the modifications of the mind, then he really sees what his true nature is; he sees who he is.

If it is really difficult to understand this way, let us try to understand it from an example. You might have seen a pond; presently most of the ponds have become sites of waste dump or have been used for residential purposes or as playgrounds. Many ponds have been filled with lot of waste things. The moment you reach a pond to see how clean or clear the water is, you feel like running away from it. Because, it contains that much filth. In the same way, one’s chitta is filled with lot of unwanted filth.

The constituents of mind (manas, the questioning faculty; ahamkara, the sense of I, chitta, the store house of memories, samskara, vasana, etc; and buddhi, the discriminating faculty of the mind) are called antahkarana. When this antahkarana is sensitive, transparent, then the inner bliss, the inner source, the truth abode, the true personality, shines forth. The inner Lord is able to shine forth only when the outer sheaths that cover the Lord are made transparent.

To see it more clearly, take the above example of pond. When the constituent of the pond, i.e., water is clear, then whatever the water contains is visible. Its visibility is again dependent upon the disturbance at the surface; i.e., its waves caused by wind, etc. Since we relate this pond with our chitta, the chitta doesn’t have any waves as we see in the external world. But this chitta is disturbed by our own acts, by our own association to the things external / internal, by our own whims and fancies, by our own likes and dislikes. It is like throwing stones in a pond. The moment a stone is thrown, it disturbs the water’s posture. When you see yourself in the troubled water, your reflection also is distorted.

You might have seen your distorted facial reflection in so many mirrors. In some mirrors, you look handsome, but in some, you don’t look that handsome. Some mirrors are concave and some are convex mirrors. The reflection is really adjusted according to one’s requirement. In that conditioned mind, in that conditioned chitta, the reflection of the True Personality is not possible. If at all it can reflect, it reflects only the distorted picture of the True Personality.

If this is the case in all of us, what is the role of a sadhaka now? The role is, first of all, to stop throwing the stones. In other words, reduce the disturbing tendency. You must watch your trikarana a bit carefully. Speech, thought and action are called Trikarana. Observe your talk. Is it creating harmony? Or, is it creating disturbance in you. It definitely disturbs others too, if it disturbs you. Leave aside the disturbance that you do to others in the first instance. At least, look at how it is disturbing you. You can do continuous experiments with your talk. Observe how the words are spoken – does it contain the grace of love? How is it received by others? If your talking is curt, becomes aware of that curt tone. The mere awareness will set the things right. Become aware of the tone of the talk. The moment you become aware, you move on to the next higher plane: the thought process. Observe what the intention of your thoughts is. Is it to defame others? Is it to boast of yourself? What is the pattern of your thought process?

If you do these two observations with love; naturally, your actions would become graceful. If you are in the habit of walking hurriedly, talking hurriedly, as your awareness increases, your actions would definitely slow down and the pace of actions, would come down to a manageable level. Presently, if you are a person of hurry, definitely, there is arrogance, whether you like it or not. If you want to reduce this arrogance, reduce the speed. In order to reduce the speed, you need to become aware of yourself in total. If it is not possible to be in the wakeful state always, atleast try it every now and then; one day, I am sure, you too will become Buddha, a fully awakened being.

In this process, every now and then, you will see a spark of your true nature. That is why it is said: then, you will see your own true nature. To say it in other words: Then, you will establish in your True Self. There is no problem with the True Self. But the ‘mere self’ is creating all the problems for you.

What is this ‘mere self’? it is that which is carved out of the experiences of the external world. Its intention is getting ‘quick bucks’ and ‘instant relief’ without caring for what would be the repercussions, whether it imbalances its own nature or the nature of the external world. It doesn’t worry. It needs comforts quick. That ‘mere’ personality is the ‘mere self’. When you stop throwing stones in a pond, the disturbing waves at the surface would slowly subside. Then alone would you see what your chitta contains. After you see the constituents of your chitta, then comes the next step: how to clear it of the dirt? That is why, Patanjali says, “You must make efforts of staying there and that is practice.” What is ‘There’? After seeing the ‘mere self’ you start experiencing the True Self; but you must try to be there with your efforts of cleansing yourself of your impurities. That practice is called abhyaasa. So, the emphasis is not merely to do bujanga-asana or shalabha-asana or some rounds of nadi-shodhana pranayama. The practice of staying ‘There’ is the goal. See the deceitful ways of this ‘mere self’, how it runsaway from seeing itself. It feels shy of itself. So, be courageous; stay in the art of ‘seeing’; go on practicing so that you establish yourself in your own True Self.

May your practice guide you and all.

Sri Pattabhiram