The Self, the seer and the seen is One with out imperfection
Chapter 9 - Eliminating The Cause Of Pain
Day 71
The root cause of pain needs to be eliminated. That pain which has not yet come in life and that sorrow which has not yet sprouted should be nipped right in the beginning. How do we do that? The main cause of pain is forgetting that one's Self is separate from one's environment.
The Self, the seer and the seen - lack of perception of the Self and the objects that are all around the Self. You think of yourself as you. Then the problems begin. Usually, we keep our life somewhere else and not in us. There was a story in the olden days.
The life of the king was in a parrot. So, if this parrot was killed, the king would die, too. The king's life was not in he king. He would not die if somebody did anything to him. He was like a superman. If the King has to be killed, the assassin had to go to a remote island which had a fort.
It was very difficult to get into it. If the assassin did manage to get in, he had to enter a palace inside the fort. The palace was full of cobras. He had to get past them. Then, he had to go underground where a door would open.
Inside would be a cage with a parrot in it. However, the assassin could not touch the cage. If he did, it would burn him down. The parrot had to be killed without touching the cage. Only then would the king die. This life is not in one's Self.
That life is somewhere else,
in a bank account. You have not just deposited money in the bank. You have deposited your life, too. You will die if the bank closes or If something else happens to it. When you give something more important than life, then that becomes the cause of your suffering.
You can experience that you are not the body through meditation. You can see the difference between the surroundings and the seer, the light. That is what Patanjali says, This does not mean that you have to run away from this world. This world is here for your enjoyment.
Patanjali was very clear about it. The beautiful sceneries are there for you to look at. The good food is there for you to eat and enjoy. The whole world is here for you to enjoy, but while enjoying do not forget your Self. You are separate from them. This is viveka.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS