Y.S. 1.25 Tatra nitratisayam sarvajna bijam
tatra - there in (God)
niratisayam - unrivalledsarvajna - all knowledge
bijam - seed, an origin In that consciousness there is the seed of all unsurpassed knowledge.
In the previous sutra I used the illustration of a circle drawn on a piece of paper. The circle represents the finite. This is also a representation of us, a single person, drawn out of the infinite that surrounds us. In order for us to be finite, and each one of us different, there must be an infinite around us. In this infinity (god, or supreme consciousness) there is infinte time, space and knowledge.
Y.S. 1.26 Sa esa purvesam api guruh kalena anavacchedat
sa - that
esa - Purusha or God
purvesam - first, foremsot
api - also
guruh - master, teacher
kalena - time
anavacchedat - unbounded, unlimited
In the very beginning there were also teachers since truth is not limited by time.
Y.S. 1.27 Tasya vacakah pranavah
tasya -Him
vacakah - signifying
pranavah - the sacred syllable AUM
Of this, we refer to the entire experience as AUM. (pranavah translates literally to humming)
This refers to the practice of chanting.
Y.S. 1.28 Taj japa tadhartha bhavanam
taj - that
japah - muttering in an undertone, whispering, repeating
tadarthabhavanam - its aim, purpose, identification Repetitive chanting of the Name will lead to a deeper meaning.
When you listen to “yoga music” you are listening to songs that are really chants extolling the virtues of god, by using the various names for god: Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kali, Durga, etc… Krishna Das, one of the most well known kirtan singers, began as a devotee in India, sitting at his guru’s feet chanting the holy name, trying to reach enlightenment.
In the chant “Om Namah Shivaya” The Om is that humming. Everything is contained in that Om as it is said to vibrate inside of us tuning us to the same vibration of the universe, infinite or god. The word Namah means I bow to. It comes from the same route as Namaste. Shiva is one of the names of god, but the “ya” on the end is reflexive, turning it back into yourself. So, Shivaya refers to that aspect of god, Shiva, the infinite, that resides inside of you.
While many people make pilgrimages to holy lands and special teachers, the real journey is into the inner self. To touch that divine spark inside of your own Self.
"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." – T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding
A scientific note about Om:*
“It is recently reported that the Earth undergoes free oscillations with a period of between 150 and 500 seconds, as determined from an analysis of seismic data. The most probable force driving this bell-like ringing of the Earth arises from variations in atmospheric pressure alternately pressing inward and outward on the Earth’s surface. Note that though we speak of this ringing of the Earth as a “sound” it is at far too low a frequency (2-7 millihertz) to be heard by the middle ear, which has a low frequency cut-off of 20 hertz. In several experiments people do report “shivers down their spines” when exposed to sound waves below the 20-hertz cut-off; however, it is not clear that the sensations involve the ears. Is it possible that these two scientific discoveries have anything to do with the sound of the universe as reported in the yoga texts as the all-permeating “Om” when in deeply meditative states?
For those of you who are interested in the texts I have been using, I base my commentary on The Yoga Sutras from a combination of several texts and one app:
The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar
Light on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Edwin F. Bryant
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda
And an app on the Yoga Sutras developed by Daniel Levine
*A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers: The Incorporation of Neuroscience, Physiology and Anatomy into the Practice. Mel Robin