Are You Making Peace With Your Ignorance?
Pulkit Sharma
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Most of us, at some point in life, might have felt confined by external circumstances, personal relationships and internal conflicts. Deep down, there is always a thirst for greater freedom and people try to overcome constraining forces. And yet, each freedom won is accompanied by newer bondages. After several such attempts, the individual might feel disillusioned and give up. But the real source of freedom lies within and one can achieve thorough emancipation by transcending one's own nature.In the first book of Yoga Sutras, the Samadhi Pada, Maharishi Patanjali shows us the path to complete freedom.According to him, within each one of us exists the Purusha, the cosmic Self, eternal bliss, pure awareness that is beyond time and space, witnessing all that happens. Rather than uniting with this Truth, we tend to identify with the contents of our mind. The mind is meant to be just an instrument of perception and consists of factual knowledge, false knowledge, fantasy , sleep and memory . Each of these components take turns to manifest in our consciousness with great intensity . Due to our ignorance, we get carried away with the force of these currents. We forget that we are Purusha, pure Consciousness and not these fleeting expressions.
Until we still these distractions and accord Purusha its original position, there will be little respite from bondage and suffering. Given our many psychological vulnerabilities t and external temptations that compound our ignorance, this spe seems a difficult task. Perhaps tr that is why many people make peace with ignorance. But for those who zealously seek light and do not want to settle for any approximation of the light, yoga is the way to go. Nowadays, when beginners come to learn yoga they often want to learn techniques to make swift progress.However, despite mastering one technique or other, people remain far from instituting the mind in stillness. The reason being that in order to progress, what is needed first is the cultivation of a yogic attitude; grasping a technique is secondary to that.
In the Samadhi Pada, Maha rishi Patanjali elucidates the right yogic attitude. According to him, abhyasa, continuous endeavour; vairagya, non attachment and ishvara-pranid hanad-va, surrender to the Divine, are important aspects to be cultivated in oneself. Perhaps one can practise any yoga technique but what makes it effective sa, the incessant desire and effort is abhyasa, the incessant desire and effort to see beyond distractions and imperfections of the mind. The ardent seeker continues to make this effort despite repeated hardships and failures. Secondly, one must develop vairagya keeping in mind that attachments arise from a false sense of separateness between us and others. Therefore, they do not represent the Truth and salvation lies in moving away from these illusory cravings and experiencing the wholeness.
Ishvara, the Divine, is the source of all creation, bliss, insight and wisdom. He is the greatest guru of all times and has assumed different names and forms in different periods to enlighten seekers. In order to make any progress in yoga, we need to surrender ourselves to the Divine and pray for grace. Divine grace alone is sufficient to accomplish our yoga and make us liberated for eternity . Therefore, let's uproot all that is non-conducive to yoga in our nature. Lack of effort, worldly cravings and egoism could be replaced by determination, detachment and constant surrender to the Divine in order to experience liberation.
Until we still these distractions and accord Purusha its original position, there will be little respite from bondage and suffering. Given our many psychological vulnerabilities t and external temptations that compound our ignorance, this spe seems a difficult task. Perhaps tr that is why many people make peace with ignorance. But for those who zealously seek light and do not want to settle for any approximation of the light, yoga is the way to go. Nowadays, when beginners come to learn yoga they often want to learn techniques to make swift progress.However, despite mastering one technique or other, people remain far from instituting the mind in stillness. The reason being that in order to progress, what is needed first is the cultivation of a yogic attitude; grasping a technique is secondary to that.
In the Samadhi Pada, Maha rishi Patanjali elucidates the right yogic attitude. According to him, abhyasa, continuous endeavour; vairagya, non attachment and ishvara-pranid hanad-va, surrender to the Divine, are important aspects to be cultivated in oneself. Perhaps one can practise any yoga technique but what makes it effective sa, the incessant desire and effort is abhyasa, the incessant desire and effort to see beyond distractions and imperfections of the mind. The ardent seeker continues to make this effort despite repeated hardships and failures. Secondly, one must develop vairagya keeping in mind that attachments arise from a false sense of separateness between us and others. Therefore, they do not represent the Truth and salvation lies in moving away from these illusory cravings and experiencing the wholeness.
Ishvara, the Divine, is the source of all creation, bliss, insight and wisdom. He is the greatest guru of all times and has assumed different names and forms in different periods to enlighten seekers. In order to make any progress in yoga, we need to surrender ourselves to the Divine and pray for grace. Divine grace alone is sufficient to accomplish our yoga and make us liberated for eternity . Therefore, let's uproot all that is non-conducive to yoga in our nature. Lack of effort, worldly cravings and egoism could be replaced by determination, detachment and constant surrender to the Divine in order to experience liberation.
