The Patanjali Yoga Sutras are the combination of 196 Yoga Sutras from ancient Hindu times that depicts the theory and practice of yoga, given by Rishi munis. It has been the most translated ancient Indian text of the medieval era, which was further translated into 40 Indian and 2 Non-Indian languages. The Patanjali Yoga Sutras was under considerable obscurity for approximately 700 years in between 12th to the 19th century. It again came into existence in the 19th Century because of our unsung heroes like Swami Vivekanand.
The rishi munis not only help you getting control over your anger, jealousy, anxiety but will also help you stay fit by practicing yoga positions and me[…]
I discovered Reiki about 15 years ago, when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I had just about recovered from a surgery when I fell and chipped my shoulder blade, and a couple of months later met with a minor accident, which left me with severe pain in my right […]
“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous. ― Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
This is a saying from the Pali canon, upadhi dukkhassa mūlanti, which means “Attachment is the root of suffering.” So this is a genuine canonical quote.
You’ll find it in this sutta, but translated by Thanissaro as “Acquisition is the root of stress.” His translations are rather idiosyncratic.
In this translation of the same sutta it’s “acquisition is the root of suffering.”
Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation (not available online, but in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, page 868) has “attachment is the root of suffering,” although he sometimes has “acquisition” in place of “attachment,” in various repetitions of the phrase.
“There’s no use looking back at yesterday. Every morning when the sun rises, I am a changed person. Don’t let yesterday steal today’s joy.. Every time the sun rises, it’s a new opportunity to make your life the best of your life. Enjoy every moment.” Namaste enjoy your day” Buddha
So often when we are in the middle of a negative state of mind, or difficult feelings, we forget that we have any way to change what is happening. When you are in the grip of any kind of strong sensation it can be very easy to be consumed by it. We feel like we are it, in it, totally surrounded by it.
But this is only a perception; when we meditate we learn that there are other perspectives available, and we get to experience the same kinds of strong sensations but with a bit of distance between us and the feelings. We get to observe the sensation rather than become it. But it is incredibly easy to lose sight of this and get carried along by thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
A couple of days ago I was doing a fairly monotonous chore and my mind was chattering away. After a while I found myself wondering when all the chatter was going to stop. Suddenly it occurred to me that I was just letting this happen. I realised I wasn’t doing anything about it, I was just listening to the unskilful mental chatter and wasn’t intervening at all. I remembered that what would be the more useful thing to do was to cultivate something more skillful, so I did.
Yoga is Union of our individual self with the larger Cosmic self. Yoga is Balance, reaching a point of aware acceptance. And we attain it through our physical self or the body.
Breathing or Pranayama, Organized and structured physical postures called Asanas, Deep aware relaxation or Yoga nidra, Mantra Chanting, Meditation, these form the essential components of Yogic practice.
Swami Satchidananda lineage I come from teaches this as a easy, compact, and best practice of Yoga and highly advises that Yoga is practised with no expectations or competitiveness.
Yoga in Pop culture is more about the Body and getting ourselves to do those head stands, hand stands, twists, turns and all those postures that look impossible, the oh-so-tight spandex apparel line, green shakes, commercially capitalizing the timeless practice. A closer look and subtle observation will help us see the truth: it’s the breath and higher energies that move the body.
Pic courtesy- Theformfitness
Now on to breath: What is the breath. Science tells us we inhale Oxygen and exhale Carbondioxide. Well, there is more to breath, we inhale the Life force known as Prana along with O2. In a future post I will tell you in detail about Prana.
