The Teacher of the Ancients

Ishvarpranidhaan: Part I

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Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.

For the past several weeks we have been discussing the Niyamas - the second limb of the eight-limbed (Ashtaanga) Yoga.

As a recap, the five Niyamas are:

1. Shauch: Cleanliness (internal and external)

2. Santosh: Contentment

3. Tapas: Self-discipline

4. Svaadhyaay: Self-study

5. Ishvarpranidhaan: Self-surrender

The last three of these - Tapas, Svaadhyaay, and Ishvarpranidhaan - are the same as the threefold Kriya Yoga - a preliminary practice to the eight-limbed Yoga, which increases the will-power and reduces the kleshas so that it is easier for the Yogi to put their thoughts into action. Additionally, weakening the kleshas makes the mind more sattvic, which allows the Yogi to move further inwards with ease. For more on Kriya Yoga, you can find the articles here and here.

Last week, we discussed Svaadhyaay, or Self-study, which is a regular study of soteriological material, with a specific threefold method of study. 

This week, we will discuss the final Niyama, Ishvarpranidhaan, or Self-Surrender.

Note: For some who are not theistically inclined, some of this article may come across as off-putting. If you find yourself in this camp, consider why you may feel this way. Most likely, it is due to the mind’s prior conditioning of thinking of God as something to be believed in.

Remember, however, that in Yoga, there is no belief involved. Direct experience is the priority, and relentless doubt and reason are the methods for understanding. If you have questions, please ask - do not simply discard the teachings, but question them with intellectual honesty, and you will find the answers.

The Eight-Limbed Yoga: The Niyamas are the second limb of Yoga, and deal with personal conduct. We are currently discussing the fifth of the Niyamas - Ishvarpranidhaan, or Self-surrender.

A brief recap on Ishvarpranidhaan

During the discussion on Kriya Yoga, we went over the three-fold practice of Ishvarpranidhaan:

1. Gratitude: Thanking God for everything that you have - big and small.

2. Sacrifice: Acknowledgment of the fact that everything that is “yours” is actually God’s, and you are just borrowing it.

3. Surrender: Surrendering the fruits of your actions to God.

The third aspect of “surrender” is also known as Karma Yoga. This is one of the four Yogas, and is a distinct path unto itself, although it is a core part of Raja Yoga (which we are currently discussing) as well. It is a four-step methodology that is applied throughout one’s life.

Normally, when we work, we work for the sake of results. You have a job because you need money, or because you want material success. You work so that you can make a name for yourself, perhaps get some fame along the way, and build a fortune for your family.

Even when we do smaller, (seemingly) less consequential activities during the day, we are constantly concerned with results. For example, you wash the dishes so that they are clean, you do the laundry so that you can wear clean clothes, you watch TV or read so that you can be entertained, you meet friends so that you are not lonely, etc. The list goes on.

As a result of our obsession with results, we become anxious when the results are in question, or when the work cannot be done for some reason. This anxiety can turn into anger, sadness, dejection, guilt, shame, embarrassment, and other such unpleasant feelings. On the other hand, when the results are in line with our desires, we feel momentarily happy, but this can turn into pride, vanity, greed, and other “me”-focused feelings that result in a strengthening of avidya.

Additionally, we then get attached to the results that we (feel that we) achieved, and so when we inevitably notice their impermanence, we suffer again. This is a similar theme to what we have discussed several times at this point - there is suffering in the acquisition of results, suffering in the maintenance of results, and suffering in the loss of results.

The threefold suffering surrounding all objects, even when they seem pleasant at first glance.

P: But then what should I do? All actions have results, so should I just not act?

This is where Karma Yoga (here referred to as “surrender”) comes in.

The fourfold method is as follows:

1. Give up attachment to the fruits while acting

2. Give up the fruits (ie. not “mine”)

3. Give up the false idea of doership (ie. it is nature who acts)

4. Don’t not act

You can use this method for all activity that you do - at your job or at home. Taking this on as a practice, all activity becomes an opportunity to practice Yoga. In doing so, the mind becomes calm and clear, and the suffering associated with action drops away. Don’t take my word for it - try it for yourself!

While this aspect of surrender is a core part of Ishvarpranidhaan, the practice goes deeper as a Niyama.

Ishvarpranidhaan as a shortcut

The final limb of Yoga is called samaadhi, or meditative absorption. There are several stages of samaadhi, the deepest and final of which is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi (aka asamprajnaata samaadhi, or objectless samaadhi). There are two methods to attain this state.

The first is through significant personal effort, over an extended period of time: 

श्रद्धावीर्यस्मृतिसमाधिप्रज्ञापूर्वक इतरेषाम्।

ShraddhaVeeryaSmritiSamaadhiPragyaaPoorvak itarEshaam

[The highest state can be attained by] conditional faith, vigour, mindfulness, [the lower] samaadhi, and applying the wisdom in daily life.

- Yoga Sutras 1.20

Specifically, the five components of this effort are:

1. Shraddha: Conditional faith/intellectual humility 

2. Veerya: Vigour

3. Smriti: Memory/Constant mindfulness

4. Samadhi: Specifically the lower states of samaadhi, and the eight-limbed path

5. Prajnaa (pronounced pruh-gyaah): Applying the wisdom/insights in daily life

The other option, a sort of shortcut, is through Ishvarpranidhaan:

ईश्वरप्रणिधान वा।

Ishvarpranidhaan vaa 

Or, [the highest state can be attained by] Ishvarpranidhaan.

- Yoga Sutras, 1.23

This can be compared to a boat, when crossing a river. One option is to row the boat, which takes a significant amount of strength, time, and effort. Alternatively, one can simply raise their sail and catch the wind. This second scenario is Ishvarpranidhaan. To quote Ramakrishna,

“The wind of grace is always blowing. One must simply raise their sail.”

P: Sounds great, I’m always up for a shortcut. But what is Ishvarpranidhaan?

Jogi: As a Niyama, Ishvarpranidhaan is love for, and surrender to, Ishvar. 

P: But who or what is Ishvar?

Ishvar is often translated as “God” (or more specifically “the personal God”, as opposed to the “Godhead”).

To be very clear, in Yoga, this is not some sort of magical bearded person seated in a throne amongst the clouds, handing out judgement and punishments. While this kind of image may be of some use, it does not impart a full understanding.

In summary, Ishvar can be defined in a few ways:

1. Mayopahitachaitanyam: Pure Consciousness (ie. the Self) with the limiting adjunct of Maya.

2. Praajna: The collective¹ of the deep sleep state, (including the Pure Consciousness which illumines it).

Now what is Maya?

Truly speaking, Maya cannot be described. In fact, one of its definitions is sadasadbhyaam anirvachaniya - “that which cannot be properly described as existing or not existing.”

However, there are a few ways to get around this and define Maya.

Two such definitions are:

1. Deshakaalanimitta: The collective of Space, Time, and Causation

2. Miyate Anaya Iti Maya: That by which we measure (the collective avidya)

Ishvar is defined as Pure Consciousness with the limiting adjunct of Maya. Now that we understand what Maya is, the following question arises - what is a “limiting adjunct”?

A traditional example of a limiting adjunct (the Sanskrit term is upaadhi) is when a clear crystal is placed near a coloured piece of cloth. When this happens, it seems as though the crystal has taken on the colour of the cloth. In this case, the colour of the cloth is the crystal’s upaadhi. It makes it visible, but also limits, in a sense, its true colourlessness. 

In this image, the clear crystal seems to have taken on the colour of the green grass behind it. The clearer the crystal, the harder it would be to see. Here, the green-ness of the grass is the upaadhi, or limiting adjunct, of the green crystal.

The individual sentient being (ie. the jiva) is when Pure Consciousness is limited by the upaadhi of the mind and the body.

In a similar fashion, Ishvar is when Pure Consciousness is limited by the upaadhi of Maya as a whole.

This can often seem like an abstract idea at first, and so the traditional method is to use a name, form, and/or symbol to designate Ishvar, until the mind becomes sattvic enough to comprehend It without this kind of support. These names can be from any tradition - they are just a tool to eventually comprehend Ishvar directly.

Ok, at this point we have understood the meaning of Ishvar, at least in the abstract. Now let us go over the pointers around Ishvar in the Yoga Sutras. As we have seen, the Yoga Sutras are a practical manual for Realization, and so there is not much philosophical discussion in the text itself. Rather, the sutras are short sentences that provide direction for the purpose of practice.

In particular, there are six sutras in the first chapter that serve as pointers. The goal of these sutras is to gain a better feel for what is meant by Ishvar, so that we can get around to practising Ishvarpranidhaan. This week, we will go over the first three, and follow it up with the following three sutras next week.

Ishvar is untouched by karma

क्लेषकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेषः ईश्वरः ।

KleshaKarmaVipaakAshayairAparamrishtah purushaVishesha Ishvar

Ishvar is the particular Purusha untouched by the kleshas, by karma, by the consequences of karma, or by the storehouse of karma.

- Yoga Sutras, 2.24

As we have discussed at length, our minds are subject to the five kleshas (ignorance, “I am”-ness, attraction, aversion, and fear). As a result of these kleshas, we suffer. Ishvar, on the other hand, is not subject to the kleshas, and is completely free of them.

As jivas (individual sentient beings), we are also subject to karma - the law of causation. Every one of our actions has a consequence, and those consequences result in further action which result in further consequences. This chain of karma is beginning-less and endless, resulting in continuous suffering throughout our lives. Even when the consequences seem pleasant, they are in fact shrouded by the threefold suffering.

Additionally, these actions and results leave impressions (called samskaaras) in the depths of our mind, as seeds that sprout when the conditions are just right. This is the storehouse of karma, called the karmaashayah. 

To make this more clear, let us consider an example.

Consider yourself, when you go to work. You wake up in the morning, get ready, and get to work. At work, all kinds of things happen - you do some things, you see and hear some things, and your actions result in some consequences. Additionally, your actions and consequences at work result in impressions in your mind.

Some of these impressions are easily available for you to replay - these are memories. Others are more subtle. For example, perhaps someone said something to you at work that made you feel upset or angry. This left impressions in the mind about that person, and perhaps about yourself. 

Later on - this could be the very next day, or even years later - a similar situation arises, and the impressions spring up in the mind. As a result, you feel anxious, sad, or worried, even though there may be no apparent reason for it at the time.

Perhaps you know why you feel this way, and you actively remember the initial cause. However, it is quite possible that you no longer have an active memory of the original event.

Sometimes the reason for our anger may come down to deep-set mental impressions (aka samskaaras) that have become too subtle to be actively retrieved as memories (aka smriti).

In either case, the original event left an impression on you, that has now resulted in feelings of anxiety, sadness, or worry in a different situation. It is like a seed that was sitting in the recesses of the mind, dormant, until the conditions were just right for it to spring forth.

Samskaaras (impressions) from past perceptions can also lead to anxiety, sadness, dejection, and a number of other unpleasant feelings - often seemingly disproportionate to the triggering event.

Based on these impressions - whether you are aware of them or not - you act.

Perhaps you get angry at someone who did not do anything to warrant that reaction. Of course, you acted that way because of your own previous mental impressions, but to the other person it may seem like a random act, and they are left confused, wondering what they did. This action now bears future consequences as well. Your own anger leaves an impression in your mind, which strengthens your tendencies towards anger in the future.

In this way, your actions lead to consequences and to impressions, which then lead to further actions and further consequences and further impressions, and so on ad infinitum.

This is karma.

All jivas are subject to karma, to actions, reactions, and the storehouse of impressions. Ishvar, on the other hand, is not.

P: But what makes Ishvar special?

Jogi: If you are the body-mind complex, Ishvar is Time, Space, and Causation itself. Ishvar is like a snake who is may spread venom, but is itself unharmed by it, even though it holds the venom in its mouth. The venom is the power of the snake - the snake is not subject to its own venom. In the same way, karma is the power of Ishvar - Ishvar is not subject to karma.

P: Ok, but why not?

Jogi: Ishvar is causation itself. Anything that happens is, in a sense, due to Ishvar. You are reading this because Ishvar, in a sense, made that happen. Said another way, your karma (ie. your mental impressions), led you to this situation.

P: Wait, so what’s the difference between my karma and Ishvar?

Jogi: Ishvar is the wielder of all karma, including your karma.

P: Huh?

Jogi: Let’s use the previous example to make this clear. Someone said something to you at work, and you got upset. This became an impression in your mind.

Later, that impression sprung forth into an action, in the form of anger towards a third person.

Now that third person also has an impression in their mind, which will result in future actions.

In this scenario, your karma was limited to your impressions, your actions, and your own individual consequences. If you zoom out, however, you can see that your karma is closely interconnected with the karma of all those you have ever and will ever interact with, and their karma is closely interconnected to all those they have ever and will ever interact with, and so on, thus encompassing all jivas, throughout time.

In this way, if one were to consider an agent as the arbiter of all this karma, just as you currently consider yourself to be the agent of your own actions, that agent would be Ishvar.

P: But I thought we talked about how I am not actually the agent of my actions?

Jogi: Absolutely right. You are not. But, you consider yourself to be the agent of your actions. This “considering yourself” is the upaadhi of the body-mind complex, limiting the Pure Consciousness that you are. In the same way, now apply the upaadhi of all Space, Time, and Causation to the same Pure Consciousness. That is Ishvar.

P: But the jiva-idea (ie. the idea that I am actually a body-mind) is a product of ignorance, no?

Jogi: Yes.

P: So then is Ishvar also a product of ignorance?

Jogi: The idea of Ishvar is a product of ignorance. Ishvar exists at the same level as you, me, or all the others you see around you exist. This is called the transactional (vyavahaarika) view of reality. From the Ultimate viewpoint (Paramaarthika), there is neither you, nor me, nor Ishvar.

To make this clear, there is a famous story² that when Ram first met Hanuman, he asked him “who are you?”

Hanuman responded,

देहबुद्ध्या तु दासोऽहं जीवबुद्ध्या त्वदंशकः।

आत्मबुद्ध्या त्वमेवाहमिति मे निश्चिता मतिः॥

Deha buddhyaa tu daasoham jiva buddhya tvadamShakah 

Atma buddhyaa tvamEvaAhamIti me nishchitaa matih 

Knowing myself as the body, I am your servant

Knowing myself as a jiva, I am your part (like a branch of a tree)

Knowing myself as the Atman (ie. the Self), I am You.

This much is certain.

We normally consider ourselves to be either the body or a jiva - either “I am a body with a mind”, or “I am a mind sitting in a body.”

Perhaps your mind is more sattvic, and you consider yourself to be a sentient being, among others like animals, plants, insects, and so on.

In either case, as long as you are an individual, Ishvar is the whole.

This is similar to how a collection of trees is called a forest, and can be considered its own unit. Another traditional example is how a collection of water droplets is called a lake, and is considered its own unit.

In Truth, both “water droplet” and “lake” are superimpositions upon division-less Reality, however, when you superimpose the part, the whole goes along with it. There is no avoiding it.

In the same way, when you consider yourself as a separate individual, that is a superimposition. In Truth, there are no separate individuals, nor any parts - it is just one big happening. However, if you see yourself that way, the superimposition of “parts” is present, and so the superimposition of the “whole” is there too, whether or not you choose to acknowledge It.

This whole is Ishvar, untouched by karma, despite being its controller.

Ishvar as all-knowing

तत्र निरतिशायं सर्वज्ञबीजं।

Tatra niratishaayam sarvagyaBeejam

There [in Ishvara], the seed of all-knowing-ness is unsurpassed.

- Yoga Sutras, 2.25

There can be no knowledge without a knower.

All knowers are jivas (individual sentient beings).

Ishvar is the collective of all jivas.

As a result, Ishvar is the unsurpassable extreme of all knowledge. Said another way, there can be no knower with more knowledge than Ishvar.

P: Why not?

If this were so, that knower would also be a part of Ishvar (since Ishvar, by definition, is the collective of all jivas³). All things, even if they are beyond the scope of your individual instruments of knowledge, are known by Ishvar.

P: Ok, I get it. Ishvar is the collective of all individual sentient beings⁴ (ie. jivas), so anything that anyone knows is known by Ishvar, by definition. But what about stuff that no jiva knows?

Jogi: What is there to know that no jiva knows?

P: What do you mean?

Jogi: Knowledge only exists in so far as there is a knower.

P: But what about stuff that’s happening that no one sees?

Jogi: Is it happening if no one sees it?

P: Of course!

Jogi: How do you know?

P: (pauses) I don’t.

Jogi: Then it is like asking about the taste of the water of a mirage. The question itself is meaningless.

Ishvar as the teacher of the ancients

पूर्वेषाम् अपि गुरुः कालेनानवच्छेदात्।

Purveshaam api guruh kaalenAnavachhedaat

[Ishvar], not delimited by Time, is the Guru of the ancients.

- Yoga Sutras, 2.26

Ishvar is the teacher of the ancient ones, not delimited by time.

Just as Ishvar is not affected by causation, since Ishvar is causation itself, Ishvar is also not limited by Time, since Ishvar is, after all, Time itself.

P: Just because Ishvar is Time, why is Ishvar not affected by Time?

Jogi: When did Time begin?

P: To answer the question, you would need a second order time. Time cannot have a beginning, since the very word “beginning” already assumes the existence of Time.

Jogi: Exactly right. In this way, Ishvar, being Time, is unaffected by it.

All time happens because of, and through, Ishvar. As a result, from our perspective as individual jivas, Ishvar was there before we were here, is here now, and will be there after we are gone. 

P: Ok, I get it. Ishvar is not delimited by time. But how is it that Ishvar is the Teacher of the ancient ones?

Jogi: Who is your teacher?

P: You are.

Jogi: Think again. What is a teacher?

P: One who shows the light in darkness, dispels ignorance through knowledge, and is the efficient cause of understanding in the mind of the student.

Jogi: Ok, and who is it that is doing all this?

P: You are, of course.

Jogi: Why do you say that it is me?

P: Because the words are coming out of your mouth.

Jogi: The words are just an event in nature that You are experiencing, just like the rustling of the leaves or the sound of the rain. Let us ask, how do you understand what I am saying?

P: What do you mean?

Jogi: Consider this. We are speaking in English. How do you understand English?

P: I learned it in school, and through speaking it with people around me.

Jogi: How did it come to be taught in school?

P: The British Empire ranged far and wide, replacing indigenous languages in an effort to make colonisation easier and deeper rooted, in the psyche of the colonised peoples.

Jogi: Great, and how did that come to pass?

P: The Imperialist mindset of the European monarchs of that time, considering themselves to be better than the rest of the world.

Jogi: Ok, and why did that happen?

P: This is annoying. We can keep going all the way to the beginning of time, and we can keep asking the question for other factors like “why are we sitting here”, “why are we discussing this topic”, “how did we come to meet each other” and so on. The breadth and depth of causes is infinite - we have already discussed this.

Jogi: Exactly. Now consider this. The “teacher” is the cause of understanding. However, I am not the cause of your understanding. The causes of your understanding range much further and wider than this limited individual. “I” am not your teacher. I never was. “I” am just another event in the infinite span of time. Ishvar, as the agent of all actions, events, and causes, is, was, and will ever be, the only Teacher.

Now what?

At this point, we have gotten a feel for what is meant by the term Ishvar. Next time, we will specifically discuss the methods of Ishvarpranidhaan when it comes to the Niyamas. The various aspects of Ishvarpranidhaan are by far the most impactful practices in all of Yoga, creating a sort of shortcut to deeper states of meditation, and allowing us to turn our daily lives into an opportunity to practice.

Until next time:

1. Focus on Ishvarpranidhaan as a part of Kriya Yoga. Specifically, apply the fourfold method of surrender to your daily activities - at work, at home, and everywhere in between. The goal is to turn your everyday activities into a Yogic practice. With this, the goal of your activities is no longer some impermanent objects that will eventually result in suffering, but rather the Realisation of the Self, and freedom from suffering. As a reminder, the method is:

   • Give up attachment to the fruits while acting

   • Give up the fruits (ie. not “mine”)

   • Give up the false idea of doership (ie. it is nature who acts)

   • Don’t not act (since you cannot escape action anyway)

2. Take notes on how this practice affects your mental well-being.

Next time: How to stop ruminating: Practising Ishvarpranidhaan as a Niyama

1. The collective of the deep sleep state is, in fact, the same as the single deep sleeper, since the very fact of deep sleep is viewed from the waking (or dream) states, wherein there is a distinction between subject and object. More on this when we go over the Mandukya Upanishad.

2. The provenance of this verse is uncertain.

3. The omniscience of Ishvar is a direct consequence of the definition of Ishvar as the collective of all individual beings.

4. Specifically, Ishvar is the collective of all the deep sleep states of all jivas. Deep sleep is the material cause of waking and dreaming, and the cause remains within the effect (clay is within the pot). In fact, there is no effect, it is just the cause with a different name and form (there is no “pot” if you remove the clay). In this way, each jiva is just their deep sleep state in a different form - where the seeds have arisen into a differentiation between subject and object - and so the collection of jivas is ultimately nothing but the collection of deep sleep states just as a pot is ultimately nothing but clay, through and through.