Yoga Sutras 1.12-1.16 Practice & Nonattachment
1.12 abhyasa vairagyabhyam tat nirodhah - That (thought patterns aka vrittis) can be mastered through practice and non attachment.
abhyasa = by or with practice, repeated practice
vairagyabhyam = non-attachment, by desirelessness or dispassion, neutrality or absence of coloring, without attraction or aversion
tat = of those, through that of
nirodhah = mastery, control, regulation, channeling, integration, coordination, understanding, stilling, quieting, setting aside of
Commentary:
Patanjali is slowly outlining a method to master the functions of the mind. This is a great time for a quick review. At the very beginning of Chapter 1, he says
1.1 Ready!
1.2 Yoga is the master of the functions of the mind.
1.3 What you get when you master the functions of the mind (it’s ahhamazing!You get to be Your Self)
1.4 sometimes you don’t (sometimes you get caught up in mind stuff)
1.5 There’s only 5 functions of the mind and some are good, some are bad
1.6 What are the five? valid thinking, invalid thinking, imagination, deep sleep, memory
1.7 how to get valid thinking? 1- direct experience, 2- logic, 3- testimony
1.8 invalid thinking
1.9 imagination
1.10 deep sleep
1.11 memory
1.12 So how are we going to do this? Through Practice & non attachment! You can probably guess the following sutras are going to outline what is practice and what is non attachment. For the most part, most of us are not going to rob a bank or commit murder, but what stops us from getting off the couch to work out? What stops us from focusing on the task at hand? We have deep seeded inclinations that stop us from being our best Selves. These invisible, seemingly unconscious, and deep seeded inclinations are called samsaras. These samsaras are those uncontrolled mental modifications that stop us from doing the next right thing. As the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon, samsaras are like rivers unconsciously channeling a pathway through the mind. Some channels are deeper than others. The process of destroying our samsaras is called spirituality and we’re going to do it with practice and nonattachment.
1.13 tatra sthitau yatnah abhyasa - Effort to stay there is called practice.
tatra = there
sthitau = stability, steadiness, stable tranquility, undisturbed calmness
yatnah = effort, persistent exertion, sustained struggle
abhyasa = by or with practice, repeated practice
Commentary:
Effort to persevere is practice. If you are working to maintain balance, it means you’re failing. Good! This is how we grow and create new habits. Can it really be practice if it’s not hard? Now it can’t be too hard because we might get discouraged and discontinue or if it’s a physical activity we don’t want to get hurt. But it has to be challenging otherwise we are not actually practicing anymore. I feel that the definition of endurance is applicable here. “Endurance is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue.” - Wikipedia. But my favorite definition comes from the Oxford Dictionary: “the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.”
So how are you going to endure and persevere on your way there? Well first you must harness the power of why! Where are you going? What is tatra- “there”? “There” is your goal. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
1.14 sah tu dirgha kala nairantaira satkara asevitah dridha bhumih - Perfection in practice comes when one continues to practice with sincerity and respect for a long period of time without any interruption.
sah = that (practice)
tu = and, but, however
dirgha = long
Kala = time
nairantaira = without interruption, continually,
satkara = with devotion, sincerity, respect, reverence, positive attitude
asevitah = pursued, practiced, cultivated, attended to, done with assiduous attention
dridha = stable, solid, firm
bhumih = ground
Commentary:
Your practice will bear fruit when your practice with these three qualities: a long duration, without interruption, and willingly. There are a couple of phrases that come to mind when it comes to practice such as “Practice makes perfect” or even “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Well unfortunately perfect doesn’t exist and, even if it did, perfection would be boring because then everything would be the same. I recently heard “Practice makes permanent.” This speaks to the idea of vasana. Vasanas are similar samskaras strung together to create a very strong samskara. This becomes a deeply rooted habit that will take a long time to undo. Consider what you are consistently practicing. Are you practicing giving up too soon? Are you simply saying well it’s just the way I am and I can’t change. That sounds like being a slave to your vasanas.
Consider that your mind is fertile soil. What will you plant there? Something is going to grow there. You have the choice of growing fruits, vegetables, whatever you want! But if you neglect this fertile soil, weeds will appear or maybe plants from the neighboring farm. What will you choose to cultivate?
When it comes to creating a new pattern or habit, consistency is key! There is no instant gratification here. This is a slow and time consuming process. So you have to make sure you do this practice willingly, with devotion, with respect. There are absolutely days where practice is a struggle, a slog, so adjust your practice so that it’s fun, pleasurable, and utilitarian. If not, you probably won’t stick with it. Recall sutra 1.11 - memory. Master memory so we can remember WHY you are practicing. Remember all those times when there was magic and fun. Those things did not disappear; we simply forgot. So remember the power of why and that will inspire you to continue the journey!
1.15 drista anushravika vishaya vitrishnasya vashikara sanjna vairagyam - Lack of craving for the objects known by the senses and described in the scriptures is dispassion or non-attachment. This level of dispassion enables the yogi to gain a high degree of self-mastery.
drista = seen, perceived
anushravika = revealed, scriptural, heard in tradition
vishaya = objects, subjects, matters of experience
vitrishnasya = of one who is free from desire or craving
vashikara = supreme mastery, total control, self-guiding, self-regulating, self-control
sanjna = awareness, consciousness, knowing
vairagyam = non-attachment, desirelessness, dispassion, neutrality or absence of coloring, without attraction or aversion
Commentary:
Here in this sutra we define non-attachment. This practice of non attachment is not meant to cut yourself off from all things taht you enjoy. You might find the idea of dispassion conflicting with the fact you might be married or have children. For example, I love my husband and my kids. In a way, I’m very attached to them and I would be very sad if they were to exit my life. However, they cannot be my source of happiness. I like to practice non attachment as a turn towards balance. So if one of my family members were to exit my life one day, I would mourn and grieve, but eventually I would have to get up off the floor. And there, in that simple act of getting off the floor, would be a turn towards balance.
1.16 tat param purusha khyateh guna vaitrshnyam - The highest level of dispassion, leading to self-realization, takes place when the aspirant is free from all forms of craving including the gunas (sattvas, rajas, tamas.)
tat = that
param = is higher, superior, supreme, transcendent
purusha = pure consciousness, Self
khyateh = through knowledge, vision, discernment
guna = elements, prime qualities (three gunas of sattvas -purity, rajas - movement, tamas- inertia)
vaitrshnyam = state of freedom from desire or craving (for the gunas)
Commentary:
This sutra discusses supreme non attachment. What is supreme nonattachment in a nutshell? You are not attached to life. You are free from craving all things that have the three gunas through knowledge, recognition, and discernment. All things include the physical world and the more subtle realms and thus achieving pure consciousness.
