Subject of this seminar: "Samadhi and Sadhana Pada" - Chapters 3 and 4
Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras are the classical work of the Yoga School of thought, one of the Six Darśanas studied in the Bhakti Tirtha course. They focus on how to attain direct experience and realization of the puruṣa, or the individual self. As the classical treatise on the Vedic understanding of the mind and consciousness and on techniques of meditation and self-realization, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West. For Vaiṣṇavas, the Yoga Sūtras are especially helpful in understanding the first two chapters of Bhakti-rasāmṛita-sindhu.
A pure devotee has an aura that subdues others, like the sun subdues the stars. All of God’s qualities manifest in such a person. The devas are pleased with him, so they associate with him because it is very rare to see a pure devotee. The rarest of rare. Even Bhagavan becomes captured in the heart of such a person. This is the greatness of a devotee. This is the power of love.
