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Bananas. Tamarind. Unclean things.
Grapes. Mustard. Twice cooked things.
Papaya. Sour things. All intoxicants.
Pomegranates. Hot things. All liquors.
Mangoes. Tea. All drugs.
Oranges. Coffee.
Pears. Cocoa.
Pineapples. Ovaltine.
Guavas. White sugar.
Figs. Carrots.
Vegetables. Turnips.
Coconut. Spices.
Brinjals.
Potatoes.
Cabbages.
Spinach.
Tomatoes. Cucumber. Pumpkin. Cauliflower. Lady s finger. Peaches. Almonds. Pistachios.
Raisins. Wheat. Red rice. Unpolished rice. Barley. Oat-meal. Dried peas. Dates. Sugar-candy.
Green gram. Bengal gram. Green pulse. Groundnut. Cereals. Dried ginger. Myrobalan. Lemon.
Honey. Charu.
24
PRACTICAL LESSONS IN YOGA
Lesson V
8
OBSTACLES IN YOGA
There are certain obstacles in the path of Yoga, which you should, by all means, overcome
in the very beginning of your Yogic career. If you do not adequately guard yourself against these
impediments in right time by the warning voice of your Guru, they will smash all your hopes and
aspirations to pieces and will eventually bring about miserable downfall.
Lust, greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, inertia, depression, prejudice, intolerance, evil
company, arrogance, self-sufficiency, desire for name and fame, curiosity, building castles in the
air and hypocrisy are foremost among these. You should ever introspect and watch your mind. You
should take effective measures to remove these obstacles root and branch.
Women, beds, seats, dresses, and riches are obstacles in Yoga. Betels, dainty dishes,
carriages, kingdoms, lordliness and powers; gold, silver, as well as copper, gems, aloe wood, and
kine; learning the Vedas and the Sastras; dancing, singing and ornaments; harp, flute, and drum;
riding on elephants and horses; wives and children, worldly enjoyments; all these are so many
impediments. (Siva Samhita: Ch. V-3).
The Yogic student should not possess much wealth as it will drag him to worldly
temptations. He may keep a small sum to get the wants of the body. Economical independence is of
paramount importance to an aspirant; because it will relieve him from anxieties and will enable him
to continue his practices uninterruptedly.
If you get easily offended even for trifling things, know that you cannot make any progress
in Yoga and meditation. You should, hence, cultivate amiable, loving nature and adaptability.
Some aspirants easily get offended, if their defects and vices are pointed out. They become
indignant and begin to fight with the person who shows the defects. They think that the person is
concocting them out of jealousy and hatred. This is bad. Others can very easily detect your defects.
If you have no life of introspection, if your mind is of outgoing tendencies, how can you find out
your own defects? Your self-conceit veils and blurs your mental vision. If you, therefore, want to
grow in spirituality and Yoga, you must admit your defects, when they are pointed out by others.
You must endeavour to eradicate them and must be really grateful to the man for pointing out your
defects.
It is rather a difficult business to eradicate the self-assertive nature. This nature is born of
ignorance only. Everyone has built his personality from beginningless time. This personality has
grown very strong. It is hard to bend this personality and make it pliable and elastic. You want to
dominate over others. You do not want to hear the opinions and arguments of others, even though
they are quite logical, sound and tenable. You have a pair of jaundiced eyes. You say: Whatever I
8 A lecture delivered in the Willoughby Memorial Hall, Lakshmipur, by Swami Sivananda Sarasvati, on December
15 1932
25
OBSTACLES IN YOGA
say is correct. Whatever I do-is correct. The views and actions of others are incorrect. You never
admit your mistakes. You try your best to support your own whimsical views by crooked
arguments. If arguments fail, you will take to vituperation and hand-to-hand fight also. If people fail
to show you respect and honour, you are instantaneously thrown into a fit of fury. You are
immensely pleased with anybody who begins to flatter you. You will tell any number of lies to
justify yourself. Self-justification goes hand in hand with self-assertive Rajasic nature. You can
never grow in Yoga so long as you have this self-assertive nature with the habit of self-justification.
You should change your mental attitude. You must develop the habit of looking at matters from the
view-point of others. You must have the new vision of righteousness and truthfulness. Then alone
you will grow in Yoga and spirituality. You should treat respect and honour as offal and poison, and
censure and dishonour as ornament and nectar.
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