12 – Using Actions to Turn away from the Senses | Patanjali Yoga Sutras | Swami Tattwamayananda - a podcast by Vedanta Society, San Francisco

Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda. Vairagya, dispassion, means saying no to sense pleasures and the instinctive tendencies of the mind. Four stages of Vairagya are described. The real meaning of Nirodha is not a wishing away of negative realities but putting an end to false identification. Tapah, self-control, Svadhyaya, self-study, and Ishvara-pranidhana, self-surrender constitute Kriya yoga. Tapah is not a military discipline, which brings the mind down to the level of the body. Svadhyaya means reading good books with a sense of sanctity while avoiding unhealthy mental food. The famous metaphor of the chariot and charioteer is used to explain the difference between letting the senses run our life and controlling our minds through a transcendental link. Verses: I.12, I.15, II.1

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