Fluctuations and Finding Your Self

We had our first meeting of the regions-wide Yoga Sutra Sangha and I am excited to be sharing in this community of interested Yoga students – new and old, familiar and just introduced to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I covered some history of the text and Patanjali himself as a man and a myth, and we discussed topics from the first 15 Yoga Sutras of the first chapter, Samadhi Pada. 

Samadhi Pada is the first of the four chapters of Patanjali’s sutras. It describes a practice of profound meditation and supreme devotion. It is a chapter usually considered to be written for those who are already far along on the path of yoga, those who have already reached some level of depth and profundity in the fruits of yoga. However, less “advanced” students need to learn the definition of yoga, “the cessation of fluctuations of our consciousness”, and the foundational pillars of practice (abhyasa) and dispassion (vairagya) that provide the needed balance for practice. Beyond the first 15 sutras, this chapter may entice any reader by describing more subtle practices (and their challenges) that comprise the ultimate reward Yoga promises.

After our discussion, I realized I want to clarify and share a few of the things covered and a few things that came up during the meeting. We chose not to record so that participants in the meeting feel free and open to share their thoughts and experiences. 

Yoga Sutra I.2 – Yogah citta vrtti nirodha – Yoga is the cessation of movements within the consciousness.

CITTA (consciousness) is made up of three parts: manas (mind that collects information), ahamkara (ego that allows us to interact as an individual in life), buddhi (discriminative knowledge).

VRTTI (fluctuations or movements) are the ever-present movements of the mind. Patanjali sorts them into 5 types: pramana (correct knowledge), viparyaya (incorrect or false knowledge), vikalpa (illusion), nidra (sleep), and smrti (memory). Vrttis are the result of the conjunction of our inner True Self (purusa) and our outer Nature (Prakrit). They are always present for anyone not yet enlightened, so our job in yoga is to learn to manage them in order to create a more focused and stable mind. The state of the vrttis depends on the combination of 3 cosmic energies (gunas) – sattva (balance and clarity), rajas (active and creative) , or tamas (dull or inert). The challenge of yoga is to strengthen sattvic energy in order to keep us on the path of yoga. 

NIRODHA is sometimes translated as “quieting” or “stilling”. And the word “cessation” can of course be confused with “silence” or “negation of” any of the above vrttis. This is actually impossible since vrttis, by definition, are “movements” of the consciousness. The clarity of consciousness we seek through yoga occurs when we maximize the sattvic quality of the vrttis. Instead of being drawn in all directions, distracted without discipline, the balanced and clear (sattvic) mind becomes like the undisturbed surface of a lake, allowing us to see clearly and deeply within our True Self.

ATHA (NOW) is an important concept from the very first sutra that may be applied to this idea of “stilling the fluctuations”. Since the nature of the mind is to move, it is up to us how agitating or enlightening that movement is. NOW is the only moment of clarity, and NOW happens in every moment. If we are swirling in the past and the future, the waves at the surface of the lake will constantly impede our view. Each NOW is an opportunity for YOGA. So, can we identify if our mind is dull, distracted, agitated and scattered or moving toward one pointed attention and awareness, restrained and in the NOW?

Some Basic Yoga Cosmology – WHAT are we looking at when in practice of Yoga?

As the sutras state, when we are in yoga, we “dwell in our own True Nature” (purusa), but at all other times we are attached to and identify with all the citta vrttis. Instead of seeing clearly into our own eternal and unchangeable depth of True Self (purusa), we are caught in the delusion that we are the accumulation of all of what can be “seen” – from the most subtle to the most gross of the mundane world (Prakrti). The many layers and pieces that make up Prakrti can be helpful to know as we try to parse out what might be helpful or harmful to us on our path of yoga. When we know every aspect of our nature from the anatomical to the energetic, we can better apply the pillars of the practice of yoga.

HOW does YOGA Happen?

The two pillars that support our full practice of yoga are Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion, restraint, or letting go). In our next meetings we will be discussing the 8 limbs of yoga Sadhana – Ashtanga Yoga – and within these 8 limbs are the aspects of abhyasa and vairagya required to gain knowledge of our Self. There is no way in this life to “not act” or “not do”. What we can do is be aware of and restrained in our acts. What consequences or reactions are left behind?  Can we reflect on or detach from the act so as to be able to let it go and once more be present for the next moment? Action and reflection, or acting and letting go, equally are needed in life and in yoga. 

“Without restraint, the forces generated by practice would spin out of control and could destroy (us)… vairagya without abhyasa could lead toward stagnation and inner decay” BKS Iyengar in Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, commentary on Sutra I.12

We will meet again on Friday March 6, 4:30pm CST. We will be reading the first 15 sutras in the second chapter on practice, Sadhana Pada, covering the topics of Kriya Yoga (the Yoga of action) and the obstacles we face along the way (Klesas). Stay tuned for the details and questions for pondering.