Yoga Sutra 6.3 Asamprajnata Samadhi

OTHERS WHO ATTAIN ASAMPRAJNATA SAMADHI ATTAIN THROUGH FAITH, EFFORT, RECOLLECTION, CONCENTRATION AND DISCRIMINATION.

So these are the two possibilities. If you have attained to asamprajnata samadhi in your past life, in this life you are born a Buddha – just a few seeds which have to be fulfilled, which have to be dropped, burned – almost. That’s why I say you are almost born a Buddha. There is no need for you to do anything; you have simply to watch whatsoever happens.

Hence Krishnamurti’s continuous insistence that there is no need to do anything. It is right for him; it is not right for his listeners. For his listeners, there is much to be done, and they will be misguided by this statement. He is speaking about himself. He was born an asamprajnata Buddha. He was born a videha; he was born a prakriti-laya.

He was taking a bath when he was just five years old near Adyar, and one of the greatest Theosophists, Leadbeater, watched him. He was totally a different type of child. If somebody was throwing mud on him, he would not react. There were many children playing. If somebody pushes him into the river, he will simply go. Yes, he was not angry, he was not fighting. He has a totally different quality – the quality of an asamprajnata Buddha.

Leadbeater called Annie Besant to watch this child. He is no ordinary child, and the whole Theosophical movement whirled around him. They hoped much that he would become an avatar – that he would become the perfect Master for this age. But the problem was deep. They had chosen the right person, but they hoped wrong – because a man who is born an asamprajnata buddha cannot even be active as an avatar. Because all activity ceased. He can simply watch; he can be a witness. You cannot make him very active. He can be only; a passivity. They had chosen the right person, but still wrong.

And they hoped for much. And then the whole movement whirled around Krishnamurti. And when he – dropped out of it, said, “I cannot do anything because nothing is needed,” the whole movement flopped because they hoped too much with this man, and then the whole thing turned out completely different. But this could have been prophesied.

Annie Besant, Leadbeater and others, were very, very beautiful persons, but not really aware of the eastern methods. They have learned much from books, scriptures, but they didn’t know exactly the secret which Patanjali is showing: that an asamprajnata, a videha, is born, but he is not active. He is; a passivity. Much can happen through him, but that can happen only if somebody comes and surrenders to him. Because he is; a passivity, he cannot force you to do something. He is available, but he cannot be aggressive.

His invitation is for everybody and all. It is an open invitation, but he cannot send you an invitation in particular, because he cannot be active. He is an open door; if you like, you can pass. The last life is an absolute passivity, just witnessing. This is one way how asamprajnata Buddhas are born from their past life.

But you can become an asamprajnata Buddha in this life also. For them Patanjali says, SHRADDHA VIRYA SMRITI SAMADHI PRAJNA: OTHERS WHO ATTAIN ASAMPRAJNATA SAMADHI ATTAIN THROUGH FAITH, EFFORT, RECOLLECTION, CONCENTRATION AND DISCRIMINATION.

It is almost impossible to translate it, so I will explain rather than translate, just to give you the feel, because words will misguide you.

Shraddha is not exactly the faith. It is more like trust. Trust is very, very different from faith. Faith is something you are born in; trust is something you grow in. Hinduism is a faith; to be a Christian is a faith; to be a Mohammedan is a faith. But to be a disciple with a master is a trust. Master cannot claim faith – remember. Jesus also could not claim faith because faith is something you are born in. Jews were faithful; they had faith. And, in fact, that is why they destroyed Jesus: because they thought that he was bringing them out of their faith, destroying their faith.

He was asking for trust. Trust is a personal intimacy; it is not a social phenomenon. You attain – to it through your own response. Nobody can be born in trust; in faith, okay. Faith is dead trust; trust is alive faith. So try to understand the distinction.

Shraddha – trust – one has to grow in. And it is always personal. The first disciples of Jesus attained to trust. They were Jews, born Jews. They moved out of their faith. It is a rebellion. Faith is a superstition; trust is a rebellion. Trust first leads you away from your faith. It has to be so, because if you are living in a dead graveyard, then you have to be led out of it first. Only then you can be introduced to life again. Jesus was trying to bring people towards shraddha, trust. It will always look as if he is destroying their faith.

Now when a Christian comes to me(Osho), the same situation is again repeated. Christianity is a faith, just as Judaism was a faith in Jesus’ time. When a Christian comes to me, again I have to bring him out of his faith to help him to grow towards trust. Religions are faith, and to be religious is to be in trust.

And to be religious doesn’t mean to be Christian, Hindu, or Mohammedan, because trust has no name; it is not labeled. It is like love. Is love Christian, Hindu, Mohammedan? Marriage is Christian, Hindu, Mohammedan. Love? Love knows no caste, no distinctions. Love knows no Hindus, no Christians.

Marriage is like faith; love is like trust. You have to grow into it. It is an adventure. Faith is not an adventure. You are born into it; it is convenient. It is better if you are seeking comfort and convenience, it is better to remain in faith. Be a Hindu, a Christian; follow the rules. But it will remain a dead thing unless you respond from your heart, unless you enter religion on your own responsibility, not that you were born a Christian. How can you be a born Christian?

With birth how religion is associated? Birth cannot give you religion; it can give you a society, a creed, a sect; it can give you a superstition. The word “superstition” is very, very meaningful. It means “unnecessary faith”. The word “super” means unnecessary, superfluous – faith which has become unnecessary, faith which has become dead; sometimes it may have been alive. Religion has to be born again and again.

Remember, you are not born in a religion, religion has to be born in you. Then it is trust. Again and again. You cannot give your children your religion. They will have to seek and find their own. Everybody has to seek and find his own. It is an adventure – the greatest adventure. You move into the unknown. Shraddha, Patanjali says, is the first thing, if you want to attain asamprajnata samadhi. For samprajnata samadhi, reasoning, right reasoning. See the distinction? For samprajnata samadhi, right reasoning, right thinking are the base; for asamprajnata samadhi, right trust – not reasoning.

No reasoning – a love. And love is blind. It looks blind to the reasoning because it is a jump into the dark. The reason asks, “Where are you going? Remain in the known territory. And what is the use to move to a new phenomenon? Why not remain in the old fold? It is convenient, comfortable, and whatsoever you need, it can be supplied.” But everybody has to find his own temple. Only then it is alive.

You are with a master. This is a trust. When master is no more, your children may be with the master’s sect. That will be faith. Trust happens only with an alive Master; faith, with dead Masters which are no more there. The first disciples have the religion. The second, third generation by and by loses the religion, it becomes a sect. Then you simply follow because you are born into it. It is a duty, not a love. It is a social code. It helps, but it is nothing deep in you. It brings nothing to you; it is not happening. It is not a depth unfolding in you. It is just a surface, a face. Just go and see in the church. The Sunday people, they go; they even pray. But they are waiting when this is finished.

A small child was sitting in a church. For the first time he had come, just four years of age. The mother asked him, “How did you like it?” He said, “Music is good, but the commercial is too long.” It is commercial when you have no trust. Shraddha is right trust; faith is wrong trust. Don’t take religion from somebody else. You cannot borrow it; it is a deception. You are getting it without paying for it, and everything has to be paid. And it is not cheap to attain asamprajnata samadhi. You have to pay the full cost, and the full cost is your total being.