The object of Yoga practice is to reunite us with our true nature, as blissful, radiant beings. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are one approach to this reunification. The basis of Patanjali’s path is that through ignorance our minds have become clouded and prevent us from experiencing true peace. After presenting this belief Patanjali then prescribes practices for working with the mind and ultimately engaging in the world in such a way as to raise our level of awareness and gain deeper wisdom while exploring the potential of the mind and eventually going beyond the mind.

Two pandits entered an ashram to attend a satsang. The pandits were the first to arrive and they sat directly in front of the Guru’s seat. Soon many other people arrived and when the Guru took his seat, the satsang began.

At first, the satsang was concerned with asana, pranayama and other yogic practices, but after some time the pandits said to the Guru, “We’ve come here to discuss more important things than this; we have come here to ask the philosophical implications of Samadhi according to Patanjali.” One pandit insisted, “Asamprajnata Samadhi is surely the same as nirbeeja Samadhi.” The other strongly disagreed, “No, no you are totally wrong, they are obviously different.” Each began to quote widely and wildly from various scriptures to prove their point. Soon they were having a furious argument.

The Guru could not get a word in, so he sat in silence. The pandits became oblivious to him, though at one point one turned to him and asked, “What do you think? Is samprajnata different from nirbeeja Samadhi, or not?” But before the Guru could reply, the same pandit continued,”The books I have read say that they are definitely different.” The Guru remained silent and the pandits continued their argument. Eventually they started yelling at each other and almost came to blows.

The argument continued for half an hour. Some people actually began to leave. Then a big fat cow very casually strolled into the satsang as though it owned the place. Everyone was amused at its arrival especially the Guru; people moved out of its way as it walk up behind the pandits. The pandits were so caught up in their argument that they didn’t even notice when the cow sat down behind them. The cow seemed to be intently listening and contemplating the pandits every word.

Suddenly the cow let out a loud MOOOOO. The pandits jumped and for the first time since their arrival they were at a loss for words. Everyone laughed and the cow got up and moved away. The cow had said the first sensible thing since the argument began. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were written to be an applied science, practiced and experienced, not for intellectual debate and speculation.

Om Shanti, Shiva