Can Yoga erase the impressions carried from many lifetimes? | யோகம் பல பிறவிகளின் வாசனைகளையும், கர்மப் பதிவுகளையும் மாற்ற முடியுமா?

In the 20th Velvi discourse, Gurumahan explains the meaning of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, “Chitta Vritti Nirodha,” and how one can attain this state of inner stillness. Yoga is practiced for one purpose: the purification of the *chitta* (the deeper mind-consciousness). But how can the chitta be purified? When we go deeper into the chitta, we discover that it does not contain only the impressions created in this present life. It holds the records accumulated through many lifetimes. That is why it takes countless years of evolution for a soul to attain a human birth and receive this body. For this reason, human birth is considered rare and precious. As the saying goes, “Rare indeed is the opportunity to be born as a human being.” Yet, even after attaining human birth, one cannot easily free oneself from the bonds and tendencies carried over from many previous births. Because of these lingering impressions, many people continue to live driven only by the five senses. Such individuals possess a human body, but true inner growth has not yet awakened within them. They may have a brain, but wisdom has not fully developed. That is why elders often ask children, “Do you have any sense?” The child may simply look back, as if to say, “If you have it, then I have it too!” Today’s children are often quick-witted and intelligent in their own way. When *prana* and *apana* are properly regulated through yogic practice, a remarkable transformation takes place. In pranayama, the stages are inhalation (pooragam), retention (kumbhakam), exhalation (rechagam), and a final pause (soonyakam). Through balanced practice, one naturally enters the fourth state—a state of pure stillness, free from thoughts, known as *Shunya*. What happens when one reaches this state? If you become established in that stillness, the Supreme becomes accessible to you. This is true *paravasam* (blissful ecstasy). People often use the word “paravasam” for ordinary pleasures. They say, “I feel ecstatic,” but if a speck of dust enters the eye, that ecstasy disappears. Someone enjoys a sweet and says, “I am in bliss,” but once the taste is gone, so is the feeling. That is not true *paravasam*. Real *paravasam* arises when one comes under the influence of the Supreme and becomes united with the Divine. Send us Fan Mail Let Wisdom Flourish! Let Peace Prevail! Let us protect Mother earth! Let us protect the Universe! Santhosam https://universalpeacefoundation.org