in abstaining from falsehood,” means something quite apart from being factual and honest.
What is meant here is the practice of completely and wholly identifying oneself as a spiritual being, united with God at all times and never confusing one’s identity with the ego world of possessions, achievements, and reputation. To reach this state is to be in the company of those rare saints whom we all revere and quote so frequently. In this state we can be moving toward steadfast abstention and find ourselves gaining those fruits of good deeds. They will enable us to not only resolve our own “problems” but those of others.
Look carefully at the words used in this sutra. Obtaining for yourself and others the fruits of good deeds without having to perform the deeds. Just what does this mean to you?
Patanjali suggests that steadfast abstention from falsehood means that saying to someone, “God bless you,” means that the person is truly blessed because we are no longer capable of even dreaming an untruth. Similarly, this steadfast abstainer from falsehood can perform miraculous cures by simply telling a sick person that he is well. Thus Patanjali suggests that when a person becomes perfected in truth he literally gains control of truth. That person’s being, along with their words and actions allows them to obtain the fruits of good deeds without necessarily performing the deeds with their physical bodies.
Now I am not offering you sainthood here in exchange for becoming a one-hundred-percent truth teller. Rather, what I am proposing is that you open yourself to an idea that allows you to gradually and steadily remember your identity as a divine spiritual connected-to-God entity. In moments you previously labeled as stressful or problematic, you will begin to see the fruits of good deeds (another way of saying problem solving) show up without having to labor long and hard to solve your difficulty.
The very fact of your self-reminder that you are united with God in this very instant of strife will allow your thoughts and affirmations to become your reality. As you steadily gain this awareness, you will have the same impact on others. In other words, you will be bringing spirit (which is all you are in your awareness) to everyone and everything you encounter, and the fruits of good deeds will be observed on a regular basis. Whenever you find yourself filled with inner frustration or rage, a gentle private reminder to abstain from this false identity with the material world, will bring you back to your true essence. When you are back, notice how the rage and frustration have dissipated. Now use words to bless yourself and the situation, and you begin to see what Patanjali meant with this “radical” aphorism.
As you become more adept at abstaining from falsehood, as defined here, you will bring this kind of calm, peaceful true identity, a connected-to-God countenance, to those in your immediate surroundings. The more steadfast you are in this regard, the more you will hear others say: “I just feel better when she is around.” “I feel calm when he shows up.” “I actually sensed that my discomfort and pain went away when he talked to me.” You literally raise the consciousness of those around you when you are steadfast in your abstention from falsehood. You become a healer without going to healing school. You become a blessing without a degree in divinity. You are obtaining the results of good deeds without having to sweat and work at doing the right thing.
Spirituality is very similar to health. Everyone has health. For some their health is excellent and for others it is poof, yet you cannot escape having it at some level or another. The same is true for spirituality. Every single human being is a spiritual being. We all have spirit. For some their spirituality is high and therefore life-enhancing, loving, peaceful, kind, and at the top of the ladder as I defined it in chapter one.
The more steadfastly we abstain from false identity the less attached we become to anything that is associated with false identity. As detachment increases, spirituality moves up the ladder that you can never completely climb off, any more than you can step off the health ladder. We begin to see the fruits of good deeds appearing without having to work at it. Ultimately, we are close to the top and find there are others just wanting to bathe a bit in our aura, so to speak.
I think of the story of Martin Luther who impacted the lives of millions by his steadfast abstention from falsehood. Luther never wanted to begin a Reformation. He merely wanted the Catholic Church officials to address some ninety-five questions.
To raise funds for the church, Pope Leo X, a big spender who needed money to build gold-lined palaces and create extensive works of art for the Vatican, sent representatives on a mission to sell indulgences. These indulgences were written statements from the pope excusing individuals for sins in exchange for money. People believed they could buy their way into Heaven. Many were burned at the stake after confessions gained in torturous inquisitions.
Luther wanted to rediscover the original gospel as it had been before it was corrupted during the Inquisition. He asked for answers to questions that bothered his conscience. For this he was excommunicated and had to go into hiding from the established and corrupt church. When asked to recant, he said, “I am bound by conscience and the word of God. Therefore I can and will recant nothing, because to act against one’s conscience is neither safe nor salutary. Here I stand. I can do no other. So help me God.”
By steadfastly abstaining from falsehood, Martin Luther helped to begin the Protestant Reformation, and to force the established church to abolish such practices as torture, execution, and the selling of indulgences.
You don’t have to become a Martin Luther overnight. But let in the idea that you can access divine spiritual power to alleviate problems first for yourself, and then for others by shifting away from false identification. Little baby steps at first. Remind yourself that all those who had this power that Patanjali spoke of began their journey by reminding themselves, in moments of strife, that they were first and without a doubt divine spiritual beings, connected rather than separated from their source.
THE FIFTH APHORISM
When a person is steadfast in his abstention from harming others, then all living creatures will cease to feel enmity in his presence.
Patanjali’s statement, “abstention from harming others,” includes not only actual acts of harm but also thoughts of jealousy, judgment, and injury in any fashion. Steadfastly renouncing violence in thoughts and in all dealings with others creates an atmosphere wherein all violence and enmity ceases to exist because it is not reciprocated.
This is a powerful awareness that you can begin to incorporate into your life immediately. Any situation where you experience anger or even mild discomfort involves thoughts of enmity toward the other person or people. Patanjali explains that other people will not feel enmity or anguish if you steadfastly abstain from having harmful thoughts toward them in the first place. Amazing! By you working at not having any judgments or harmful thoughts, those around you will be free of anguish also.
Coming to this awareness of being steadfast in abstaining from harmful thoughts is a potent tool for accessing a spiritual solution to problems involving relationships. When a person is talking to you and you are slipping into the mode of feeling angry about how you are being talked to, you can remind yourself in that instant to abstain from thinking harmful or angry thoughts. I find it is quite effective to use the following words, first internally, and then I say them out loud. They are, “You’re right about that!” Not sarcastically. Without rancor, I simply allow the other person to be right, which is all their ego really wants.
This tool does not make the other person right, it merely allows someone to believe that they are, and it allows you to be steadfast in your abstention from harmful thoughts. As you practice allowing others to be right, you are beginning to live from your higher self rather than your ego. Eventually it will be your authentic way of reacting to others, even when they
