Excerpt
The Secret Power of Yoga, Revised Edition
PART I
THE YOGA SUTRAS: Its Wisdom and PracticesWhether you are a beginner or a continuing student of the Yoga Sutras, a whole new way of viewing yourself, others, and the world awaits you.
That statement in a curious way is a caution. When you begin this journey, many beliefs and previous ways of being will come into challenge; it may even contradict the way you live your daily life.
Studying the sutras over time will invoke a yearning to know yourself, your true self. Altering the way we live our lives can either enhance inspiration or diminish this yearning, causing it to hide in the shadows.
As you explore these sacred teachings, new ideas will surface. Some you will instantly embrace, while others may seem distant, foreign. Acknowledge the contrast, welcome the new ideas. Give yourself the gift of time to decide which to pursue or discard.
Books I and II give us a glimpse into the sacred ways of Yoga, revealing who we are in the highest sense. They establish our perception that when consciousness unites, our birthright as a Divine Being is revealed. To the delight of many, this supreme wisdom is enhanced by an abundance of practices, allowing the wisdom gained to be experienced.
Many of us, while enjoying the bounties of the material world, are eager to have a foothold in the spiritual as well. A time will come when our spiritual being will seductively beckon, and we will willingly obey. For many it will come after we have exhausted every effort to satisfy our wants and desires in the material world.
BOOK I
SAMADHI PADA
Union with the Divine SelfBook I, “Samadhi Pada: Union with the Divine Self,” offers generous insights into those parts of our being seldom visited and establishes the perception that when consciousness unites, we know we are Divine Beings.
Here Samadhi Pada carefully and methodically reveals guidance to explain how our lives would differ if we believed we are at once both human and divine. It brings to light the simple fact that if we nurture only one aspect of our being, the other will withdraw.
It is time to recognize that when our humanity is in harmony with our divinity, every moment, thought, emotion, or action is infused with spiritual essence.
CHAPTER 1
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.
i. With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.
This simple beginning holds many truths. Often this very first sutra is read quickly or even disregarded, which is unfortunate since this sutra is placed first to set the tone. It is here to remind us that our study and spiritual path benefit most when they are paved generously with humility.
DEVELOPING AN OPEN HEART AND MIND
As students of life, we often need to look at where we have come from to see where we are going. I was always enthralled by the subway in Paris. At each station a giant board helps you find your way. A little arrow indicates where you are, and with the push of a button you select your destination. As the destination registers—voilà!—a path lights up the most efficient way to get there. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our life path were that clear and simple?
Our present position has been determined by the past—all those crossroads where we made decisions, each path we’ve taken that brought us to our life as it is. We might be able to understand how we got where we are, but what would it have been like if other options had been followed? Another choice could have radically changed the present. Perhaps we took the tried-and-true course because it seemed easiest, or safest; perhaps at the time, it just didn’t seem like there was any alternative.
What you are is what you have been. What you will be is what you do now.
—Lord Buddha
Occasionally we meet someone who took an uncharted route, one less established. What in her life led her to become a trailblazer? What inspired her to leave behind the beaten path? The found path may have brought great adventures or great peril. Most of us are content to know that our future will be spiced with a few obstacles and sprinkled with safe adventures. Very few of us want to risk our comfort.
Custom and tradition play a major part in shaping our lives. We are so embedded in them that unless we are repeatedly shown a different way, we tend to live out our days under their sway. “We always have yams for Christmas. Why do you want to change tradition this year and have mashed white potatoes?” This tendency toward inaction and stasis can be difficult to overcome. But being creative and trying something different can be exciting and can expand your horizons. If it is carried beyond what is understood, it can cause rejection. Not wanting to offend, we may choose to reject the “new” idea that might have brought us renewed happiness and expansion.
Most of us in modern societies are very blessed. We are literate and have books as resources. Sacred texts can be downloaded from the internet. But even though they are so easily accessible, it is important to have the same regard and reverence for these sacred teachings as in times before.
One of the key teachings of Yoga which we will find sprinkled throughout the sutras are the gunas. From this understanding we can adjust our habits to calm any interference with our spiritual growth and ultimate liberation.
THREE GUNAS (ASPECTS OF NATURE), TEACHERS OF HUMILITY
As students of spirituality, our yearning for the truth varies in intensity. Some of us may fit in a few spiritual practices at our convenience; others may dedicate their entire lives to their spiritual unfolding. Born with certain tendencies called the trigunas, or three attributes of nature, we are part of nature and are perpetually influenced by her.
This wisdom is drawn from the Chandogya Upanishad. It explains that all of nature, people included, contains an uneven mixture of the three gunas. One of the characteristics is always dominant. (See more on the gunas in sutra i.16, page 57.)
Sattwa is best translated as a sense of balance. Rajas is reflected in activity and overactivity, taking things to the extreme, while Tamas is inactivity, or being withdrawn, and can lead to difficulty focusing and acting, or inertia. The world and everything in it constantly moves between these three states, varying from minute to minute, day to day. This can be seen in the growth of a flower: Tamas is the plant in seed form, and Rajas is the growth action needed to bring about fruition. Once it has bloomed fully, intense action decreases, giving way to being, and Sattwa is present in the pristine flower blossom.
It is not possible to move directly from Tamas to Sattwa, although they may appear the same from the outside. To go from Tamas (inactivity) to Sattwa (balance), movement or Rajas (action) must be traversed. From that movement dynamic stillness comes, as Sattwa.
At night, as the natural light wanes, we become more indrawn and quieter (Tamas). During the day, when the light is strong, we tend to be outward and active (Rajas). At the two moments when day and night blend delicately together, at dusk and at dawn, there is balance (Sattwa). This quality is the reason dawn and dusk are observed in many traditions as auspicious times for prayer and meditation, times of special equanimity.
In South India, a beautiful custom honors these three aspects of nature. When approaching a spiritual teacher for the first time, a prospective student offers the teacher a whole green coconut. (There, green coconuts grow on trees, a whole version of the ones we find here in supermarkets.) For the offering to be meaningful, the tree must be climbed and the coconut cut down. Then, according to tradition, the student has the arduous task of removing the tough green husk with a machete. This is a vital process, analogous to preparing the student’s mind and heart for the teachings, to remove resistance or qualities of Tamas.
This process exposes the inflexible and brittle nature of the nut’s hard brown shell. It represents the Rajasic part of our ego that is strong and thinks it knows everything. The coconut is then humbly presented to the teacher, or guru—a fitting name that means “one who removes darkness or ignorance, so that we may see the light of truth.” With discrimination and deep compassion, the guru breaks open the hard brown shell of the coconut. The lily-white inner sweetmeat is revealed, symbolizing our Sattwic nature.
With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.
EXPERIENCING THE DIVINE IN EVERYTHING
Sit quietly and light a candle if you wish.
Begin to make a mental note of your daily activities. How much of your day do you spend on simple, repetitive chores that do not feel immediately rewarding? Do you sometimes feel they are a waste of time?
Begin by focusing on one of these activities, such as making the bed each morning. How can that be transformed into a spiritual practice?
Can you savor the smooth feeling of the linens? Can you have fun plumping the pillows? Put in some happy vibrations and feelings, so that when you get into bed at night, you will have happy dreams and a deep sleep.
Next you might turn to the routine of checking voicemail, answering calls, filing papers, paying bills, washing dishes, or picking up your children from school.
Notice how each aspect of your life can be inwardly transformed to bring you to a place of presence and joy. There we recognize that the Divine is omnipresent.
