In the East they say suffering is avoidable and not necessary. Life is bliss! You know why?

This is because wisdom, yoga and meditation are ways to avoid sufferi ng which has not yet come. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Sutra (in Sanskrit) literally means a thread or string that holds things togethe r and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism. Patanjali is the compiler of th e Yoga Sutras, a major work containing aphorisms on the practical and philosophi cal wisdom regarding the practice of Yoga. Guided by a single thread, a kite can glide and soar to amazing heights. The Yog a Sutras of Patanjali are life s threads, each one rich with knowledge, tools and techniques. These sutras guide not only the mind, but also one s very being to its full potential, amidst a 21st century lifestyle. Join us every Wednesday throug hout the year to unveil the power of each sutra. Sri Sri s commentaries on Patanjali Yoga Sutras In Yoga Sutras, Maharishi Patanjali says that the purpose of yoga is to stop mise ry from befalling you. Sri Sri *We will begin with a story, the greatest and most effective way of conveying kn owledge. Once upon a time, long ago, all the munis and rishis approached Lord Vi shnu to tell him that even though He (incarnated as Lord Dhanvanthari) had given them the means to cure illnesses through Ayurveda, people still fell ill. They also wanted to know what to do when people got sick. Sometimes it is not just physical illness, but mental and emotional illness too that needs to be dealt with. Anger, lust, greed, jealousy etc. How does one get rid of all these impurities? What is the formula? Vishnu was lying on the bed of snakes the serpent Adishsha with a 1,000 heads. Wh en the Rishis approached Him, he gave them Adishsha, the symbol of awareness, who took birth in the world as Maharishi Patanjali. So Patanjali came to this earth to give this knowledge of yoga which came to be known as the yoga sutras. Patanjali said he was not going to discuss the yoga su tras unless 1,000 people got together. So 1,000 people gathered south of Vindhya Mountains to listen to him. Patanjali had another condition he would put a screen between him and his studen ts and told them that nobody was to lift the screen or leave. Everybody had to s tay in the hall till he finished. So Patanjali stayed behind the curtain and he transmitted his knowledge to the 1,000 gathered. Each of them absorbed this know ledge. It was an amazing phenomenon and even amongst the students, they could no t believe how they were getting this knowledge, how the master was making each o f them understand without uttering words from behind the curtain. Everybody was amazed. Each one of them experienced such a blast of energy, such a blast of enthusiasm, that they could not even contain it. But they still had t o maintain the discipline. But one little boy had to go out to attend nature s call. So he left the room. He thought to himself that he would go quietly and return quietly. Another person b ecame curious. What is the Master doing behind the curtain? I want to see. Does the boy lift the curtain? Find out in the next Wednesday in the next Patanj ali Yoga knowledge sheet. ? What meaning have you unlocked from this story? In this story, there is a lot of depth. The puranas do not give any explanation. They just give a story and it is for us to unlock the meaning. So what is that

you all have to find out? How did the master convey the knowledge to everybody without uttering a word? What was the significance of the veil? Leave your comments below. Story of Patanjali and the Gift of Yoga Knowledge - Part 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------Another person became curious. What is the Master doing behind the curtain? I wan t to see. He got so curious that he lifted the curtain to see the Master. Just as he did so, all 999 disciples were burnt to ashes. Now, Patanjali became very sa d. There he was ready to impart knowledge to the whole world and all of his disc iples were burnt. At this moment, that one little boy returned. Patanjali asked him where he had g one. The boy explained and asked his forgiveness. Patanjali was compassionate an d felt that at least one of his disciples was saved. So he gave him the rest of the yoga sutras, the rest of the knowledge. But, the student had violated the law and Patanjali was not willing to forget that. He sa id, Since you have violated the law, you will become a Brahmarakshasa, a ghost an d hang on the tree. And the only way he could liberate himself from the curse is to teach one student. Saying this, Patanjali disappeared. Now Brahmarakshasa, hanging on a tree, would ask everyone who passed by a questi on and when they could not give an answer, he would eat them. He had no choice. For a few thousand years, this was the story. He could not find a single person to whom he could teach the yoga sutras. So, he remained in the tree as a Brahmar akshasa. (The lesson here is that when one who has great knowledge does somethin g wrong, the state of Brahmarakshasa will come. An intelligent person becoming a criminal is more dangerous than an innocent person becoming a criminal. If a pe rson, who knows all knowledge and then turns a criminal, it is much more dangero us). Brahmarakshasa was hanging there and waiting for relief. Then out of compassion, Patanjali himself becomes a disciple and comes as a stud ent to Brahmarakshasa who told him all the yoga sutras, which Patanjali wrote on palm leaves. The story goes that to redeem one disciple, the Master became the disciple of a disciple. Patanjali wrote the yoga sutras sitting on the top of the tree as that was where Brahmarakshasa sat. Brahmarakshasa worked only in the night. So, he dictated th e sutras at night and Patanjali wrote them on leaves. He plucked all the leaves and made a small scratch, drew blood and wrote. This went on for seven days. At the end of it, Patanjali was tired. He put everything he had written into a piec e of cloth, set it down and went to bathe. When he returned, he found that a goa t had eaten most of the leaves. Patanjali then took the cloth bag and the rest o f the leaves and walked away. In this story, there is a lot of depth. The puranas do not give an explanation. They just give a story and it is for us to unlock the meaning. So, what do we ha ve to find out? (1) When the veil was lifted why did everybody burn down? (2) Why was one boy forgiven? (3) What is the significance of the goat? (4) What is the significance of this story? Think about this and share your answers here.