2.1
Purification,
self-inquiry, and surrender to God are the practices that lead to Unity.
2.2
These practices cultivate
awareness and remove the afflictions that obstruct realization of Truth.
2.3
The obstructing
afflictions are ignorance, false sense of self, desire, aversion, and a
tenacious clinging to life.
2.4
Ignorance is the origin of
all other afflictions – the pre-emergent and the vestigial, the nearly-overcome
and the fully operational.
2.5
Ignorance regards the
impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, the bad as good, the ego self as
True Self.
2.6
The false ego self is born
when the instrument of seeing is mis-identified as being separate from the One
that sees.
2.7
Desire is attachment to
pleasure.
2.8
Aversion is attachment to
the absence of suffering.
2.9
Tenacious clinging to life
is inherent in all beings, from the most ignorant to the most wise. Life after life, it is sustained by its own
momentum.
2.10
When these five
afflictions have become subtle, vestigial, they can be destroyed by abiding in
their opposites.
2.11
When they are full
operational, they must be overcome through meditation.
2.12
Mental and physical
actions rooted in these afflictions bear fruit as experiences in this and
future lifetimes.
2.13
For so long as the roots
exist, they bear fruit as fortune of birth, length of life, and the experience
of pleasure and suffering.
2.14
The pleasure or suffering
you experience is the fruit of your good or bad actions.
2.15
One who is spiritually
aware sees that all experience is suffering, due to constant change, anxiety,
forces of nature, and imprints of subliminal processes.
2.16
Suffering yet to come can
be avoided.
2.17
Suffering is caused by the
illusion that there is an experiencer to whom an experience is happening.
2.18
Everything perceived is
composed of the three gunas of
creation – light, inertia, and vibration.
These form the elements as well as the senses, which interact to create
experience and the path to liberation from it.
2.19
The three gunas flow in four states – gross,
subtle, primal, and unmanifest.
2.20
The witness is Self – pure
Awareness – which, though boundless and unchanging, appears to perceive the
world through the construct of the mind.
2.21
The existence of all that
is, serves Self-Awareness alone.
2.22
One who attains Unity sees
the world is not real, yet the world persists because it is taken by others as
real.
2.23
The identification of pure
Awareness with the mind and the creations of the mind causes the apprehension
of both an objective world and a perceiver of it.
2.24
This identification is
ignorance. It must be overcome.
2.25
When this identification
is broken, ignorance vanishes, liberation is attained, and Self realizes its
true nature.
2.26
Liberation is attained
through unwavering intent and discernment.
2.27
The way of
Self-realization progresses through seven stages.
2.28
Steady practice of the
means of yoga dissolves impurities
and invites illumination of the Real.
2.29
The eight means of yoga are self-restraint, faithful
observance, right posture, intentional breathing, sense withdrawal,
concentration, meditation, and awareness.
2.30
The five pillars of
self-restraint are non-violence, truthfulness, honesty, celibacy, and
non-attachment.
2.31
These great practices are
valid for all – irrespective of social class, location, time, or circumstance –
and thus constitute the universal Way.
2.32
The five observances are
purification, contentment, aspiration, study, and surrender to God.
2.33
To be free of thoughts
contrary to yoga, opposite thoughts
must be cultivated.
2.34
Contrary thoughts leading
to acts of violence, dishonesty, and lust – whether personally done, caused to
be done, or merely approved of – arise from greed, anger, and ignorance. And whether mild, moderate, or intense, they
perpetuate suffering and delusion. This
is why their opposites must be cultivated.
2.35
In the presence of one who
is grounded in non-violence, enmity is not possible.
2.36
When one is obedient to
Truth, what he says and does becomes what is true.
2.37
When one is established in
non-stealing, wealth flows to him.
2.38
One who is steadfast in
celibacy acquires spiritual energy, strength, and courage.
2.39
One who is unattached and
free of cravings gains insight into all of life – past, present, and yet to
come.
2.40
Physical and mental
purification produces and indifference to one’s own body, and ends one’s
infatuation with the bodies of others.
2.41
One who is pure of heart
obtains serenity of spirit, power of concentration, control of the senses, and
the capacity to directly realize Self.
2.42
Through contentment one
attains bliss.
2.43
The fire of aspiration
burns through impurities and heightens the powers of the body and senses.
2.44
Through self inquiry and
spiritual study one attains communion with the object of study.
2.45
Through surrender to God
one realizes clear Awareness.
2.46
Right posture is to be
seated in a manner both solid and relaxed.
2.47
Effortless stillness is
achieved by focusing the mind on the boundless realm.
2.48
Here, the opposites hold
no sway.
2.49
When right posture is
attained, the practice of intentional breathing then follows.
2.50
Intentional breathing
controls the three phases of breath – exhalation, inhalation, and hiatus. Breathing can be regulated by controlling the
spacing, depth, number, and duration of breaths.
2.51
There is a fourth level of
breath so subtle it transcends the realm of internal and external sense
objects.
2.52
Through these practices
the veil that obscures the inner light is lifted.
2.53
And the mind becomes
capable of concentrating attention.
2.54
When the mind withdraws
attention from sense experiences, the senses receive no impressions from sense
objects and awareness rests in its essential nature.
2.55
In this way, complete
mastery of the senses is achieved.