The Nine Obstacles

Excerpts from Gurudev’s discourse on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

When you reach the core of your existence and when there is a feeling of elevation, consciousness dawns in you. It is a different form of consciousness. Your mind gets totally transformed. There is clarity in your thinking and in your feelings. The whole body undergoes a transformation. You become alive and filled of prana and all the obstacles get removed from your way. Just the memory of the Lordship, of the Divine can remove obstacles from your way.

There are nine obstacles:

Vyaadi styaana samshaya pramaada aalasya avirati bhrantidarshana aalabdha bhoomikatvaan avasthi tatvaani chitta vikshepaaha aste antaraayaah.

The first obstacle is vyaadi,(illness of the body). Then comes styaana (illness of the mind) - being mentally retarded and having an inability to comprehend, to listen, to understand, to follow, and to practice.

When you start with some practice or meditation, you will have pains in various parts of your body. It is an obstruction or obstacle in the path of Yoga. If you are watching television, nothing happens, but if you sit for meditation, your body is restless and there are pains here and there.

The next obstacle is samshaya or doubt. The mind is bogged down by doubts. There are three types of doubts:

One is doubt about oneself. You wonder if you are good enough. You feel that you cannot do something that needs to be done. You may see that everyone else is meditating and in a blissful state or that they are in a very happy and pleasant mood. You feel that it is only you who is suffering and you are no good. You do not think that you can ever make it. So, initially there is a doubt about yourself.

And then, doubts arise about the techniques You may feel that they may not do you good and feel that you should try some other technique.

Next, doubts about the teacher.