**1) Name and talk a bit about the first of the eight spiritual obstacles mentioned by Master Patanjali.** The first obstacle mentioned is illness, which debilitates us and can prevent us from doing our regular spiritual practice. First of all, it is important to learn to stay cheerful and do as much practice as we can even when we are really ill; we are not getting younger right away, and things can only get worse. (Often too we find that by practicing when we think we are too sick to practice, we feel immediately much better.) Secondly, we can use illness to learn humility and urgency. We can, finally, use illness as an exercise to take on other people’s sufferings. **2) Name and talk about the second of the eight obstacles; include the idea of “range.”** The second obstacle is called “fogginess,” which can refer first of all to a heavy feeling of the mind due for example to having eaten too much food, or not having gotten enough sleep. A more subtle form of fogginess is to be quiet and still in meditation, but to be “spaced out” and not bright and attentive. This is said to be one of the very most dangerous obstacles to meditation. In general, we spiritual seekers need to develop a very bright, attentive, curious state of mind which is capable of staying “on it” throughout the day—the ability to concentrate happily and brightly (“bright-eyed and bushy-tailed”) even in very common daily tasks like driving or washing the dishes. True yogis don’t get spaced-out or incapable of helping out in any of the wide range of human activities. **3) Name the third type of spiritual obstacle, and speak about its very desirable sister.** The third type of spiritual obstacle is doubt—but only the kind of doubts that we have just not been willing to face and resolve, when we are in actuality completely capable of doing so. For example, we may know very well that by eating meat we are contributing to tremendous suffering of animals, but we may waver in finalizing our decision to give up eating meat—not because we are not capable of making this decision right now, but because *we really don’t want to* make this decision right now. The sister of this kind of doubt is the healthy kind of doubt or critical thinking where we honestly haven’t been convinced yet logically that a certain idea or course of action is correct. For example, we may not yet be convinced that past of future lives really do exist—we remain open-minded to the idea, but we feel that we need to learn more before we can reasonably form a conviction in their existence. In this case, the great yogis and enlightened beings of history have encouraged us to “shelve” a concept until we can work it out, but not to lazily avoid it or discount it. **4) Name the fourth kind of obstacle, describe it, and a very common cause of it.** The fourth kind of obstacle is carelessness, meaning to lose ones constant awareness of the higher goals, especially given the fact that we may die at any moment, and that our state of mind at the moment of death has a great influence on what happens to us after we die. That is, a yogi can and should have fun, but should never lose death awareness and higher awareness, even for a minute. A very common cause of losing this awareness is alcohol or drugs, and this is why yogis do not surrender their mindfulness to these. **5) Name the fifth obstacle, and describe it briefly; give also the Sanskrit, its root, and some English cognates.** The fifth obstacle is laziness, which is simply not feeling like doing our daily practice and other virtuous activities—mainly because we have lost sight of the great benefits they offer us, both temporarily and ultimately. The Sanskrit word is *alasya* AalSy*,* which ultimately comes from *a* A*,* meaning “not,” and the root √*las* ls\! *,* which means “to be lively.” English cognates from *las* are “lust” and “lascivious.” **6) Give several examples of the sixth obstacle, both from traditional texts and from our own culture. Rate it compared to the other obstacles. Then give the general Sanskrit word for it; the root; and an English cognate.** The sixth obstacle is what Master Patanjali calls “mistaken views of the world which are left uncorrected”—or simply mistaken worldviews. This obstacle is by far the most serious, since viewing our world in the wrong way leads automatically to every other kind of mistake. Some textual examples of wrong worldview are not believing in the laws of karma and its consequences (that doing good to others leads to good results, and doing bad leads to bad results); not believing that we continue on after we die; not believing that, through a correct understanding of ultimate reality and karma, we can each one of us become a divine being who can save millions upon millions of other suffering brothers and sisters. Wrong worldviews are very common in specific historical periods within the culture of an entire people; for example, the founding fathers of the United States actually engaged in serious discussion about whether black people were animals or people, and currently (very probably because of our culture’s extreme fascination with sex) fetuses which have always been considered life have been declared “not yet life” so that abortions can be justified. Another modern example would be the billions of dollars spent in this country to make pets happy, while at the same time professing that animals which we desire to eat have no feelings. The Sanskrit word for “worldview” (either a good or a bad one) is *darshana* dzRn*,* which comes from a root *√dirsh* d&\&s\!*,* meaning “to see.” An English cognate is the word “dragon,” which comes from an old word for “snake,” so called because of its “evil eye.” **7) Give the seventh obstacle, and describe how it relates to six wonderful qualities that we will one day perfect.** The seventh obstacle is what the Master calls “failing to reach specific levels.” Examples of these levels would be the very subject matter of this first chapter: five paths themselves. Another example would be the “ten levels of a bodhisattva.” The first six of these levels are reached, respectively, by mastering the six perfections: giving, living an ethical life, refraining from anger, taking joy in doing meaningful things, meditation, and wisdom. **8) State and describe briefly the eighth and final obstacle.** The last obstacle is not being established firmly in the various levels just mentioned. This is to indicate that a person can degenerate from certain levels, and so whenever we do manage to have some small success in our practices, such as yoga, we need to immediately stop and consolidate it, through steady and continued, patient, modest practice. **9) The way that Master Patanjali describes all these obstacles is that they cause a more general problem in our minds which is itself an important source of obstacles. Name this general problem.** The more general problem is when the mind is distracted from practice and spiritual goals, by all of these obstacles. That then becomes a cause of obstacles itself—especially within the inner body. **10) The traditional practice of yoga is really a program for working on different, interconnected levels of our being—both from the outside and the inside. In his discussion of the various spiritual obstacles and their effect on the mind, Master Patanjali gives us an extremely important preview of these levels. Describe some of the levels that he mentions at this point.** Master Patanjali points out in this section of the first chapter that—when the mind is distracted—then this can ultimately cause physical pain on another level: that of our external, material body. It also affects the level of our thoughts, and causes unhappiness. The prana or inner wind—another of our levels—is also thrown out of balance, causing shaking in the hands and other parts of the body. Yet another vital level, our breath, is also knocked out of its proper rhythm. In short, any disruption at one of the levels of our being causes disruption at the other levels. But we can also take advantage of this interconnection of the levels to succeed in the practice of yoga by working from both the outside and the inside of our being.