SVA YOGA
SVA YOGA*
YOGA PHILOSOPHY
Below you will find a series of texts about Yoga, including the classical themes of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - the very first literary reference about Yoga - which dictates the most traditional type of Yoga practice. Every text has concepts that are applicable to our day to day modern life helping us cultivate a more harmonious and purposeful life in every sense.
THE EIGHT LIMBS OF THE YOGA PRACTICE: THE ASHTANGA YOGA OF PATANJALI - By Cecile Comino
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (probably written between 300 BC and 300 AD) is the most ancient literary reference totally dedicated to Yoga. Patanjali, a yoga master, is recognized as its author. According to these Sutras the Yoga practice is composed of eight parts (asht – eight and anga – part, Ashtanga) and all the steps of the Yoga practice are planned in a systematic way for us to reach a defined goal.
AHIMSA - INNER PEACE IS POWER - By Cecile Comino
Despite our intense technological growth which was supposed to make our life easier, we find ourselves more and more busy, and taken by the frantic rhythm of productivity, competition and consumption of our modern lifestyle. No time is consistently dedicated to the human being itself as part of nature and as part of its organic context. Man has forgotten that he is worthy of a more “human” healthy rhythm, synchronized with his original environment.
SATYA is the name of one of the steps of the Yoga practice, and it means truthfulness. SATYA is considered as an “observation” exercise that we apply to ourselves, an exercise that develops self-knowledge as it deepens the purification process of our behaviour. This purification is part of the transformation that Yoga suggests so we can become more free, authentic and happy beings.
ASTEYA - INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF OUR CRONIC DISSATISFACTION - By Cecile Comino
ASTEYA is the third among ten yoga behavioural observations (yamas). ASTEYA can be considered one of the root causes of human distress – the self-dissatisfaction. ASTEYA is translated as “not to steal”, and it helps us realize when we are in a state of “greed”, in other words, it is when we get lost from the satisfaction state from what we already are, and from what we already have in the present moment.
The Sanskrit translation for Brahmacharya is “the one that follows Brahma’s path or the Lord’s path”. In the Indian culture, Brahma is considered the mythological creator of the universe, and this Yoga self-observation is meant to restore in us the consciousness that we are the creators of our own reality.
The universe is like a big The universe is like a big organism in continuous movement, and our lives in it inserted also follow the same pattern, being “change”, finally, its only constant. However, we, human beings tend to accommodate ourselves on certain references with which we identify ourselves, and in which we recognize ourselves….and this is how we build the ideia of who we are…however, as we base our identity em predominantly external factors, we are completely subject to the high and lows of life.
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YOGA? BUT WHAT IS THIS THAT WE ARE PRACTICING?
By Cecile Comino
The word yoga has several different meanings in the Sanskrit language. One of them is the name of a precious and ancient philosophy of life that orient us for a better living. Yoga teach us to look inside ourselves, to watch our thoughts, to study our emotions so we can develop our self-knowledge in a way that it transforms the way we see ourselves, the world, and how we fit in it. This transformation is only possible because we start to realize that if we change your perspective towards things we are changing everything around us as well.
Although the practice of Yoga nowadays is most recognizable by its physical aspects, most of the Yoga process traditionally happens at the mental level. Hatha Yoga is a path that uses the body as a means to reach an expanded state of consciousness, something that goes beyond our ordinary and mundane/distracted mental operation.
According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (the first literary reference totally dedicated to Yoga – written around 300 b.C) Yoga is defined as below:
Yoga is the calming of the oscillations of the mind.
That means that if we are capable of recognizing and calming the oscillations of our mind we are then experiencing Yoga. According to this concept the appearance and the psychological weight of the external world is a projection of our internal values, and depending on our beliefs, thouhgts and attitudes so the world reveals itself to us...
“Men is whatever he thinks, servitude or liberation are already in his mind” *.
*The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – Sri Swami Satyananda
From the Yoga point of view all the events in life are neutral and they would only gain a positive or negative connotation depending on your attitude while facing them.
To be practising Yoga is to be in an eternal surveillance over our own mind understanding that nothing in this world can disturb us if we are able to keep in touch with our true nature which is absolutely free. It is like watching ourselves in a detached way as we act in the world. If we maintain the distance as we observe, it means that we are not emotionally involved in the affair and therefore we are more able to be objective about it and use our discernment wisely. Emotions easily distort our perception to the facts. That does not imply that now we are a cold or apathetic person but it denotes that we are no longer emotionally controlled by the circumstances because we simply took charge of your own power knowing that what we get from the world only depends on our own inner state of mind and how we see things and happenings.
Because the thoughts are the roots of the mind’s disturbances, Yoga proposes a strict control of the contents of the mind, an uninterrupted vigilance over the flow of our thoughts allowing only the positive and constructive ideas to be fed and last. This mental re-education only depends on our own will power. It is rather a deep internal process that slowly forges a transformative determination and optimism in our mind, a process that is expected to expand, influencing your words and attitudes and how we express ourselves in the world, making it a better place, individually. And this is how the positive revolution of the world begins…with each one of us.
All this procedure called Yoga counts on many different techniques and study paths that are going to be further presented.
Hari Om
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THE EIGHT LIMBS OF THE YOGA PRACTICE: THE ASHTANGA YOGA OF PATANJALI
By Cecile Comino
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (probably written between 300 BC and 300 AD) is the most ancient literary reference totally dedicated to Yoga. Patanjali, a Yoga master, is recognized as its author. According to these Sutras the Yoga practice is composed of eight parts (asht – eight and anga – part, Ashtanga) and all the steps of the Yoga practice are planned in a systematic way for us to reach a defined goal.
As a definition, Yoga is the control of the oscillations of the mind. That means that its purpose is to stabilize the practitioner’s mind, taking him/her to a new level of perception and consciousness. Beyond this, the utmost goal of Yoga is to take us to Moksha or liberation, which means that we would feel detached from all suffering, including all types of circumstances or conditions that would normally provoke us misery. We would then learn how to always be in contentment within our own Self, in our True Essence which is blissful and perfect by nature.
Therefore the eight fold “method” of Yoga must lead us, yogis, through a path of transformation that is based on mental stability. Naturally, just like a ripe fruit, will come the moment when we will be ready to start detaching ourselves from all ignorance - the ignorance about who we really are, why we are here, and about how to truly live in happiness. Ignoring those questions can be the main source of human misery, and only a shift in our perception can enable us to set free from all suffering. The foundation of the Yoga wisdom and practice is organized in eight parts, or angas, over which our classes are based, as following:
Yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi.
Yamas and Niyamas are considered the code of ethics of the yogi. They are ten vows or observations for the practitioner to follow. The intention is to develop enough discernment to make good use of the empowerment that Yoga brings.
1.Yamas means observations and there are five of them:
AHIMSA means no violence
SATYA means truthfulness
ASTEYA means no stealing
BRAHMACHARYA means the one that follows the Brahma’s path
APARIGRAHA means detachment
2. Niyamas means intense observations, and there are five of them:
SAUCHA means purity
SANTOSHA means contentment
TAPAS means intense heat
SWADYAYA means self-study
ISHVARA PRANIDHANA means trust in the higher power
3. Asana in a simple translation means “seat” but to complete the concept it is better defined as “a stable and comfortable posture”. It does not matter in which posture or asana we are, what counts is our connection with our inner state, and how we deal with the posture’s challenge. While in the asana we must use the body adjustments as well as the breath in order to find comfort through mental presence and stability.
4. Pranayama means the control or manipulation of the prana (breath), and it is the technique that takes us to a more introspective and present state of mind. A lot of physical benefits are also granted from the pranayama practice since it has an enormous effect on the metabolism’s functioning, and can alter not only the nervous system’s state but also our perspective towards facts (because our emotional state is more neutral now…).
5. Pratyahara means withdraw of the senses. When we practice yoga nidra, for example, we are unplugging ourselves from external stimulus to dive into a deep introspective state. All our attention turns to our inner universe where we nourish our creative power and our intuition in a way that we can “perceive” all the answers that we look for, effortlessly.
6. Dharana means concentration. This is the first of a threefold meditative process, and it starts with the exercise of focusing our attention on some reference which becomes the beginning of the meditation itself. At this stage the mind tends to insistently escape from the practice as it gets distracted repeatedly.
7. Dhyana means a prolonged state of concentration. Following dharana, dhyana is a step ahead towards the meditative state and is characterized by less interruptions or distractions during the concentration process.
8. Samadhi means an altered state of consciousness. It is when the practitioner gets into the meditative state, a state of expanded awareness, a superior consciousness that operates beyond the mundane and limited duality in which we typically function. Through this practice we expand our perception beyond the regular senses and experience the notion of plenitude or wholeness.
If we consider the order in this sequence we will notice that it takes us from a denser or more material state of mind into a subtler one, a more perceptive and intuitive state of reality.
All eight of these stages are very important and their practice can sometimes happen at the same time.
Each of these eight Yoga limbs will be explained in more detail through individual texts at the Yoga Philosophy that continues below.
Hari Om
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AHIMSA - INNER PEACE IS POWER
By Cecile Comino
Despite our intense technological growth, which was supposed to make our life easier, we find ourselves more and more busy, and taken by the frantic rhythm of productivity, competition and consumption of our modern lifestyle. No time is consistently dedicated to the human being itself as part of nature and as part of its organic context. Man has forgotten that he is worthy of a more “human” healthy rhythm, synchronized with his original environment. The result is that a great unbalance rules our actual way of living, in which most part of the human references are artificial (food, medicine, environment and entertainment for example). Mankind is now disconnected from its authentic intelligence as a natural being, and as such, we are distant from the wisdom or values that give us sustainability as healthy beings.
Inner peace, for example, is one of our weakened soul qualities. As a reflexion of our individual state, the world today takes peace practically as a myth. Through the media peace is presented as a utopia, and an agreement among men on a worldy basis seems hopelessly distant or impossible. However, no one discusses the cause for this gap which starts at a micro level, or individually.
To perceive peace, to know it, and to experience it, we must first feed it inside ourselves. As something already ours, and natural. Even if in the beginning this might seem like a distant possibility to solve the world’s problems, we should start with ourselves, then our family, friends and even people who we do not know will benefit from it. The idea is to create a chain of peaceful vibration and behavior that affects everyone, almost invisibly.
Ahimsa means no violence, and in practice it is a behavioral re-education for us to eliminate any aggressiveness or negative energy from our existence. It is about a constant surveillance towards our thoughts, words and attitudes so that they do not carry any sign of anger, frustration, revenge, despise, or prejudice. Ahimsa is the first step in the Yoga practice as we start to purify ourselves in order to find our essential and original peaceful state.
As the root of everything is in our thoughts, a good way to begin would be observing the kind of ideas we are constantly nourishing in our minds. What is their quality right at this moment? Are they positive? Do they make you feel comfortable and relaxed? Ahimsa (non-violence) should start in your relationship with our own self. We should unconditionally be kind and loving to ourselves in our thoughts. As a consequence, our relationships with others will change, and gain this new and much more pacific and open perspective.
When we express our thoughts do we use pleasant, loving, positive and sweet words? Another important observation of Ahimsa is that our words should not only be useful ones but also pacific ones.
We should take good care as well of our attitudes, the way we look at things and people and the way we touch and interact with the world. Do our attitudes carry some kind of resistance, prejudice, criticism, aggressiveness or arrogance? Observe it.
According to the Yoga concepts we can start to realize that the world we see is nothing else than the projection of our inner state. Normally, in a “pleasant situation” everything would seem positive and easy while in a “vulnerable” or “under pressure” kind of circumstance everything seems to be against us - a roller coaster of emotions that can change several times a day. Unfortunately it is through this narrow view that we usually perceive things and the world itself. Yoga philosophy enables its practitioner to amplify his/her horizons, seeing and understanding the universe through a broader angle.
Our tendency to judge is so deeply rooted in our automatic behavior that we do not even suspect that we are being so hard on ourselves and others. This is a typical attitude that we automatically learn and absorb from our parents, friends and social system...It is a broadly accepted type of conditioning that has been perpetuated, apparently without questioning, for generation after generation…The problem with intolerance is that we make our minds extremely unstable – the opposite of the Yoga goal.
Everything starts in our thoughts, including violence - after all, nobody can be aggressive or violent with a peaceful mind. We are the ones to pacify our own minds, and we are the only ones responsible for our state of mind. The Yoga philosophy show us how, step by step, in a process of self-knowledge and self-realization that gets stronger as we learn and apply its concepts individually. The practice of Yoga is like a laboratory job where we experiment new theories and make amazing discoveries about ourselves....Therefore, experiment, activate Ahimsa as you commit yourself to observe your thoughts, words and actions for a certain period (you can even make notes about it). Identify strong and weak points and exercise yourself exploring the results as if you were a scientist in love with its work.
Remember that peace is a kind of power because it enables us to easily deal with the most challenging situations through a natural and stable inner state using our best skill - our intuition.
Stay in Peace. Stay powerful.
And have a good practice!
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SATYA - SELF-KNOWLEDGE THROUGH TRUTHFULNESS
By Cecile Comino
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SATYA is the name of one of the steps of the Yoga practice, and it means truthfulness. SATYA is considered as an “observation” exercise that we apply to ourselves, an exercise that develops self-knowledge as it deepens the purification process of our behavior. This purification is part of the transformation that Yoga suggests so we can become more free, authentic and happy beings.
Initially, this technique invites us to watch our relationship with the truth, that is, to closely look over the moments that we lie. What is the root cause of this lie? Is it because we are hiding something? Is it because of shame? Or are we trying to be polite? Maybe to take advantage of something? Many can be the reasons, but our mission in this case is to find a new way to deal with those situations without lying… Yes, this is an exercise that requires close attention, but it is extremely empowering for our minds.
According to Yoga lying weakens our mental power. To tell a lie might seem like an easier choice, but in fact it is a path that shows no honesty or inner firmness. Besides, every time we lie we create an inner conflict that results in physical and mental tension because we have to protect a false situation that we created ourselves… a situation of fear, since nobody likes to be exposed.
Through its purifying process, Yoga intends us to become more truthful and relaxed people, without having to pretend – as this dissimulated path only drains our energy and waste our creative power.Besides, the very definition of Yoga (“Yoga is the calming of the oscillations of the mind”) implies a certain mental clarity that cannot occur if we are not being sincere.
La Verite (The Truth) - Jules Lefebvre 1870
On a second level of the practice of SATYA, the exercise is to align our thoughts, words and actions (the same way we practice the first yama (observation) AHIMSA, when we monitor those same three stages so we can purify ourselves from all aggressiveness). At this level, we are going to observe that we not always say what we think, or that we not always do what we say, or that we not always act as we think…So, it is through this kind of divergence that we start to get to know ourselves better, through our own contradictions. While this type of behavior (inconsistent), is not recognized by us, it disturbs our resourcefulness through life wasting our energy, time, and confusing our life’s direction.
It is therefore, our responsibility to realign ourselves with the truth if we want to live a lighter, and more focused life. A life that would then start to gain true purpose through our own authenticity*.
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*(subject to be developed in continuation and deepening of this theme in another text).
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ASTEYA - INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF OUR CRONIC DISSATISFACTION
By Cecile Comino
To steal infers that we take (or as well problematic “the WILL to take”) something that does not belong to us. At this point, the discomfort of envy is active inside of us since we are not satisfied with our own nature, and then we need to look outside ourselves for something that fills out our undecipherable neediness. To have growth goals and evolution objectives is perfectly healthy when we know how to accept ourselves, and how to be content with who we are, and what we have while we work towards those conquests…
ASTEYA can refer to the material level as well as it can dwell in the world of ideas or behavior. Status, for example, or any other discrimination that differentiates people and beings in this illusory level is also a source of disturbance, which awakens the feeling of “competitiveness” inside of us. Inasmuch as we situate ourselves inferiorly or superiorly to others (including our surroundings and everything that composes it) our ego prevails taking us to a distorted perspective of our essential values (then to dissatisfaction).
From the moment that we get lost from our true inner reference, it is as if we felt “stolen” after all…. As if we needed to compensate this emptiness through the accumulation of possessions, sensation of ownership over other people, control over circumstances, then trying to create a false notion of security that comforts us.
Regarding this ideas, there is a brilliant quote that says:
“There are two ways of being rich: having a lot or being content with what we have.”
This is the ASTEYA spirit, to make good use of what we already have today, in the present moment, without any resentment over what we once had but lost….or maybe resentment over something that we always wanted to have but never had…the same is valid for the projections we make putting our happiness under the ideal condition of a future happening or state….in both cases and times we are not truly exercising our right to the presence, source of refined and expanded perception of satisfaction.
This is also true for during the “ practice” of Yoga, during the asanas. It is precisely at this moment that we learn through the body to accept ourselves among our potentialities and limitations. The moment of the practice on the yoga mat teaches us how to reach for comfort and stability in each circumstance without competition. Free from the need to be something that we are not, only enjoying what the present moment has to offer, and in it finding true contentment.
Therefore we should use not only the moment of the Yoga class but as well all other moments of our lives as an opportunity to be thankful for our present reality. We should try to always look for the positive and privileged side of every situation of our routines, and make the inner adjustments that would keep us in a higher or elevated vibration of contentment, in a state of harmony, in a yoga state.
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ASTEYA is the third among ten yoga behavioral observations (yamas). ASTEYA can be considered one of the root causes of human discomfort – the self-dissatisfaction. ASTEYA is translated as “not to steal”, and it helps us realize when we are in a state of “greed”, in other words, it is when we get lost from the satisfaction state from what we already are, and from what we already have in the present moment.
BRAHMACHARYA - THE WISE USE OF OUR OWN CREATIVE ENERGY
By Cecile Comino
Brahmacharya is one of the Yoga lessons, and it intends to bring us to a more conscious state over ourselves. Through self-observation its exercise consists in moderation, a moderation applied to the desires of our senses, that is to say, to better perceive our vices and repetitive desires.
Most of us live without realizing that we can be enslaved by our impulses and preferences, and that we are permanently seeking pleasure. Yet, we do not stop to consider that all pleasure is temporary, which provoke in us the desire for repetition….and this can definitely be a problem if we do not know how to balance those wishes.
On one extreme of desire, we have self-indulgence, and on the other side repression, but, neither of them will bring the equanimity that Yoga proposes, on the contrary, as we repress or as we allow the excesses to occur, we will be confounding our mind and disrupting our mental peace.
But how do we deal with the constant desires that modern life provokes in us through so many options and a numberless amount of artificialities? Simply by the middle path, the moderation path, a discipline that we can slowly develop if we start to notice ourselves more carefully in our constant “wishing”. To watch how we fell when we succumb to an exaggeration or how do we feel as we want to ignore the craving...
When we decide to take a testimony attitude towards ourselves, we have a better chance of success in controlling this process because our thoughts, words and attitudes became more conscious at the same time that our moderation plan starts as we prepare to put limits on our behaviour.
Another essential part of the practice of Brahmacharya is, to switch off our senses from the external world, from time to time, that is to say, to purify ourselves from all the stimulants and distractions, and to draw our attention inwards as to cultivate silence and mental rest. The Yoga practice, including meditation, is therefore ideal if we want to be able to control our impulses and make better use of our individual creative potential.
BRAHMACHARYA II
In more ancient times, in a monastic scenario, Brahmacharya meant celibacy as a way to find enlightenment directing (through meditation) the sexual and creative energy towards the higher energetic/consciousness centres, creating a new perception of life.
However, in our modern reality, and for the regular people, Brahmacharya suggests the recognition and the preservation of this same creative energy that has been wasted in a scenario of, excessive consumption, degradation and waste… At the ecological level our planet has been explored with no limits, leaving almost no wild life left. Basically, without the preservation of the natural landscape there is no survival for any other creatures or us... Meanwhile at the professional level, we do not enquire about the ethics of our production/consumption process and its consequences (for other people and the environment), that is to say, only profits and the selfish competition, survival and accumulation is considered, without almost any regard to the common or collective benefit… Finally, at the level of relationships, it is very common nowadays that it won’t go beyond superficialities and appearances…
We are all individually responsible for our actual reality, and when we transform ourselves we are collaborating for the renewal of the energy around us. When we tune into equanimity of our senses (desires) through moderation, we are as well renewing our priorities, habits and even companionships.
When we do not have consciousness or control over our cravings we are vulnerable to the recurrent dissatisfaction and even to anguish... a chronic feeling of emptiness and lack of purpose. It is as if all our efforts were taking us nowhere…
If we are to find balance between our strengths and our realizations, first we need to become conscious over our own energy. Normally, we only notice our energy level when we feel some limitation caused by fatigue or illness. But the idea here is for us to become more aware of the moments when we feel fully energized so we can better choose where and how to apply it.
As we have a better understanding about what the Yoga practice means, all the concepts and ideas that at first seem strange and distant start to become more concrete and useful in our routine. For example, the difference between conventional gymnastics and Yoga is that during the practice of Yoga presence and introspection are fundamentally required. As our whole attention is intensely focused on the body, it expands and distributes the flow of life energy (prana) inside our physical being. According to the direction and the intention, so the process of transformation occurs – “wherever your attention is focused on, there will be your transformative power”
The asanas (psychophysical Yoga postures) act on a micro level over the body as it accesses our cellular memory and unblock the energetic (pranic) flow through our entire physical system. Henceforth through the focused work on the body, we start to gain consciousness and more control over our own energy, we feel better, and that inspires us to better make use of our creative capacity.
However, to make the best use of our potential it is necessary to direct and focus our efforts, as we use proper discernment to choose our goals.
Way beyond the practice of asanas alone (and the majority of people recognizes Yoga only by its physical level…) the yamas and niyamas (ethical and behavioural observation code for the Yoga practitioner - amongst which is Brahmacharya) work as a foundation knowledge that makes us wonder….. What is really important in my life path? What are my priorities? What makes me feel better and more comfortable?
Those questions are only the beginning of a transformational journey that starts at the body level, through where we learn to better distinguish amongst our choices, slowly modifying habits, refining our routine and selecting which are the best companions, the best food, the best thoughts, words and attitudes for us to feel healthier and happier about ourselves and our life.
When our path becomes progressively clearer, we gain more of a notion over the importance of our available energy, after all, it is our energy, through our will, that defines our path and creates opportunities for our self-realization…making us become more like the master of our own destiny.
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The Sanskrit translation for Brahmacharya is “the one that follows Brahma’s path or the Lord’s path”. In the Indian culture, Brahma is considered the mythological creator of the universe, and this Yoga concept is meant to restore in us the consciousness that we are the creators of our own reality.
We are all born with a creative potential, and we came to life in order to express our talents, and to fulfill our creative capacity. However, we end up wasting our time and energy as we are constantly distracted by the external world. Our technological reality brings us a lot of benefits but it also overwhelms us with its infinite ways of distracting us from ourselves.
In our modern lifestyle, Yoga also represent a technology, but in this case, it is an ancient tool for self-balance while living in these very fast paced times.
APARIGRAHA – SETTING FREE FROM THE DELUSION OF OUR OWN SELVES
By Cecile Comino
The universe can be undesrstood like a big organism in continuous movement, and our lives in it inserted also follow the same pattern, being “change”, finally, its only constant. However, we human beings tend to accommodate ourselves on certain references with which we identify ourselves, and in which we recognize ourselves...typically this is how we build the ideia of who we are... although, as we base our identity predominantly on external factors, we are completely subject to the high and lows of life. The Yoga proposal, through APARIGRAHA, is to strengthen our inner identity as we perceive ourselves beyond the traditional identity references that we learn since birth... a new perspective over who we are, and which allows us to live with much more inner stability, regardless of the circumstances...
Since birth we are surrounded by a whole set of information; our family, the house where we live, our friends, habits, work, different perspectives and opinions, our possessions, our body and appearance. Without noticing we get attached to those factors as if they were under our control as part of who we are: “my name is…”, “I work as…”, “I like this..”, “I do not accept that…”, “I am x years old…”, “this is my physical appearance…”,”my family is like that…”, and etc. However all those things are part of a scenario which is subject to unpredictable changes that end up inevitably happening, destabilizing this “structure” of ours, and almost always shaking us emotionally and in a deep level.
Is normal for us to believe that we are totally defined by the factors above as we bet our identity, sense of security, comfort and happiness on this life existence's pattern. Nevertheless... relationships break up, possessions get lost, the body ages, work changes... among many other more examples. And amongst such instability, who am I?
Initially, everything that is subject to change is not who you are…
According to the Yoga concepts we are perfect beings, immutable and infinite, we are a Higher Consciousness that inhabits a body. However, because of the lack of this type of consciousness over ourselves we get confused and we project ourselves in everything that is outside of us. While we ignore this fundamental centre of inner consciousness, we end up getting ”attached” to what we ascertain as “ours” whilst it can be lost or change at any time… making us live in chronic fear or worry.
Aparigraha, or detachment, represents one of the accesses to our inner journey in order to develop and strengthen our True Self while we start to abandon certain habits and beliefs with which we used to identify ourselves with or even through which we would define ourselves.
This whole self-investigation process starts when we begin to observe our own thoughts, words and actions – this is called the witness atitude of Yoga, and the question now is:
“How am I responding or reacting to my life’s circumstances?”
This observation attitude should be always on, so we can start to notice our own behavior patterns. Without looking into it there is no condition for transformation simply because there would be no references to be changed.
It is only normal for us to tend to seek what is comfortable and pleasant at the same time that we tend to avoid or resist what is painful. This is the typical attitude of our egos (the personality mask that we build to be in the world) which limits our life into this divided scenario of pleasure and pain. However, if we live our lives only through this dualistic point of view it is as if we were permanently enslaved by our desires… always trying to have control over evertyhing and everyone….
According to Yoga this a suffering condition, a trap, since the pleasurable situations that we look for generates an anticipated distress over its ending, plus the consequent anxiety for its repetition; meanwhile the painful or undesired situations that we try to avoid generates fear, retraction and distress as we “resist” those happenings… and in neither case are we at ease. We are therefore, slaves or our senses, daily submitted to the incessant desires of this manifestation of ours called our ego.
It is though worth noticing that the ego is a necessary part of our personality for us to be in the world, but, through Yoga we can learn to make better use of this part of our persona as a learning tool over our own True Self without being a victim or its insaciable commands.
“Liberty means the capacity to act guided by the soul, and not compelled by desires and habits. To obey the ego take us to slavery while obeying the soul brings liberation”
Paramahansa Yogananda
As long as we ignore our True Self we will be acting under the tyranny of the ego, and we will always have inside of us the wearing need to be in control. It is as if we wanted to choose everything that happens to us, to define how other people should be, act and feel... for example. However, all of this avidity of ours for control is only an illusion. Because the only thing that we can manipulate, at the most, are our intentions!
When we start to comprehend this new dimension of our existence we become more flexible and light while we also learn how to better discern what is under our control and what is not. Thus, we do not waste any more time resisting or struggling with life.
“There is way more power in letting go than in clinging or hanging on to something...”
Eckhart Tolle
There is a superior consciousness in us which is justly capable of witnessing our own behavior and our inner state while we act. This is the key to the Yoga practice, the liberation from misery when we realize that we are something beyond our identifications, when we take a position as na eternal witness of ourselves (desires and aversions). The detachement or Aparigraha is, therefore, a behavioral and psycological exercise of self-knowledge and transformation available to everyone.
Especially in our times with overwhelming discharge of information plus our undeniable technological dependency , this inside work is so essential and urgent. We are getting dangerously distant and distracted from ourselves, disconnected from each other and from nature (from which we belong, by the way). There is much confusion regarding what really satisfies nowadays because technology amplifies ego dysfunction in us human beings, but as we reserve quiet and stillness moments for ourselves, we are providing to ourselves a true mental and energetic cleansing that purifies the access to our essence, that which is independent from everything and everyone, and which is our own True Self, only waiting to be manifested.
The Yoga/meditation practice represents a first step for us to start letting go all those modern world excesses, and for us to finally recover our authenticity and genuine satisfaction to live with purpose. It only take us to open some space for this original essence of ours to sprout, and so our True Self can manifest itself, eternally free and in joy.
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