Patanjali Yoga Sutra: II - 7 & 8

Attachment and Hatred

Sukkhanushayi Ragaha

Duhkhanushayi Dweshaha

Out of the five kleshas or impurities that cloud our consciousness, are raga and dwesha. Where attention goes, energy flows. When a particular object person or situation gives us pleasure, our energy travels along with the mind that gets attached to it This is Raga. It comes with Avidya or ignorance that we are separate from the other. Since we think we are separate when we go through a happy time, say while eating a chocolate, we fail to realise that the chocolate has not given us any new happiness, but just triggered the happiness within. With this wrong understanding, we get attached to the chocolate and have more and more of it. This leads us to decay and that is Raga or attachment. It follows our attachment to all that gives us happiness and pleasure.
Opposite of Raga is Dwesha. The more we love someting, the more we hate something. While pleasure is the basis of getting attached, we shudder or run away from that which is unpleasant, bitter or has given us an experience of sadness. When we are averse to or hate something, the balance of energy and mind is tipped outside and we lose our centred state of being within us, which is the true reason for our happiness. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra: 32-33

The Taming of the Shrew

Tat pratisedartham Eka Tatwa Abhyasaha
Maitri Karuna Mudita Upekshanam Sukha Dukha Punya Apunya Vishayanam Bhavanataschitta Prasadanam
When I was writing out the headline for this post, I remembered William Shakespeare's drama - The Taming Of The Shrew. In fact, bringing the mind to sit quietly with the consciousness is an effort similar to the taming of the shrew.
After Patanjali describes the nine impediments to the unity of the mind with the consciousness and the four ways in which the impediments are revealed, in the subsequent Sutras he presents solutions to bring the mind back to order.
In the 32nd Sutra, Patanjali says, the individual should take up practice of following or contemplating upon one principle - Eka Tatwa Abhyasaha.
The Eka Tatwa can be - Aham Brahmasmi - I am that Brahman, Tat Twam Asi - You are That, Pragnyanam Brahma - Consciousness is Brahman and Ayam Athma Brahma - This Soul is Brahman. Brahman here means consciousness.
This is however a contemplation on the supreme truth of existence. The single truth practice can be done as enumerated in the next Sutra.
The truths that can be practised are Maithri - Friendliness towards those that give you happiness, Karuna - Compassion towards those who may be causing misery to you, Mudita - Joy towards those who may be doing good things and Upekshanam is an indifferene when we may come across someone visious and beyond the ken of our efforts to reform.
Cultivating these four habits can help in calming the mind from its habitual reactions such as jealousy when someone is happy, hatred towards someone suffering with an attitude of, "They deserve it," anger when someone is able to do great things that are impossible by us and delving on the misdeeds of others or trying to judge their actions.
These outbound and natural tendencies of the mind can lead us to misery. Converting them to compassion, friendliness, joy and a centred approach will help the mind to remain placid at all times. - Swahilya Shambhavi. (swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com) Fitness, Satori