Kashyapa Sutras

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Kashyapa Sutras

• Commentary by
• Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati
• www.shreemaa.org

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Sutra 1

• Prarabdhavasat janma
• Janma means birth.
• Vasat means bound, dependent upon.
• Prarabdha Karma, those actions commenced in the
  past which are coming to fruition now and in the
  future.

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Sutra 1

• Birth is dependent upon the Prarabdha Karma.
• Birth of not only the body, but the birth of
  every moment.

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Kinds of Karma

• Samksipta is the karma which is completed, over
  and done with.
• Vartmana is present karma, that karma which is
  going on now.
• Prarabdha Karma are the actions which were begun
  in the past and which will come to fruition in
  the future.
• Nitya Karma, or Yoga, is Eternal Karma.

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Prarabdha Karma

• Shankaracharya compares Prarabdha Karma to the
  arrow which leaves the bow of the archer.
• Once the arrow has set forth from the bow, there
  is nothing that the archer can do to alter its
  course, but to watch and see where it may land.
• He has no control after it has left the bow.
• When the arrow lands, if we react, we shoot
  another arrow.

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Prarabdha Karma

• Shree Maa says we can make friends with Prarabdha
  Karma. How?
• We must remember that the Prarabdha Karma is the
  arrow that is coming to land.
• When the arrow lands, if we respond, we should
  give a response designed to free ourselves from
  further troubles. This is discrimination.

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Discrimination

• We should think about what we are going to do.
• When confronted with a stimulus, we can just stop
  for one moment and say, I will think, before I
  respond.
• Such discrimination would mean leading life
  perfectly.
• As we cultivate this habit of discrimination, we
  find that anger, passion, greed, lust, avarice,
  and ignorance all dissolve into discrimination.

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Discrimination

• Our responses should be calculated to take us to
  a better place than we are already at, responses
  designed to accomplish our objectives.
• If we could just stop and put one instant of
  discrimination between the stimulus and the
  responses, then we could live life perfectly.

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Discrimination

• The difference between the Yogi, the being of
  union, and the Bhogi, the being of selfish
  enjoyment, is that moment of discrimination which
  is the interlude between stimulus and response.

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Udasa

• The arrows of Prarabdha Karma continue in rapid
  succession, until we cultivate the spirit of
  renunciation known as Udasa.
• U means circumstance, Dasa means the servant of.
• Udasa means servant of circumstances, symbolizes
  acceptance, freedom from reaction, complete
  surrender.

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Nitya Karma

• The fourth kind of karma is Nitya Karma.
• Nitya Karma, or eternal Karma, means Yoga.
• Yoga is defined as Citta Vrtti Nirodha.

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Yoga

• Citta means objects of awareness.
• Vrtti means activities or modifications.
• Nirodha means prohibition, cessation, or
  obstruction.
• When there is complete cessation of the
  activities of the objects of consciousness, there
  is a perfectly still consciousness.

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Four aspects of Yoga

• Traditionally, there are four aspects of Yoga
• Dhyana, meditation
• Jnana, wisdom
• Bhakti, Devotion
• Karma, Activity

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Four aspects of Yoga

• These four are inseparably connected
• Without devotion, how can we pay attention?
• Without knowledge, how can we perform effective
  action?
• Without effective action, how can we gain
  knowledge?
• These four aspects of Yoga are not different
  disciplines, but four components of one path.

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Eight Limbs of Yoga

• There are traditionally eight limbs of Yoga
• Yama, to take control by defining goals
• Niyama, which means to create a discipline
• Asana, to sit quietly and make ones self present
• Pranayama, to control the breath
• Pratyahara, withdrawing the senses from the
  objects of sense
• Dharana, To collect all the different thoughts
  and concentrate on one of them
• Dhyana, To be absorbed in meditation
• Samadhi, Perfection of Union

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Yoga

• Yogis are not free from karma.
• Rather, a yogi is someone who shows respect
  through every karma.
• The highest respect is to pay attention.
• Perfect attention is meditation it is Nitya
  Karma, eternal activity.