Kashyapa Sutras Commentary by Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati

2 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.

Sutra #1 Birth is dependent upon the Prarabdha Karma. Birth of not only the body, but the birth of every moment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 one’s 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

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.