PART 11 – Chapter 1: Verses 16-17: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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14/02/09 – @ Asheville Yoga Center
PART 11 – Chapter 1: Verses 16-17: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

This discussion is by Ryan Kurczak during the ‘Yogic Scriptures and Meditation Group’ at ‘Asheville Yoga Center’. Ryan is Kriya Yoga Teacher authorized by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.

Prompted by verses 16-17, ch.1 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Ryan sets out to both shed light on how one can authentically develop in their spiritual practice, as well as on some common trappings throughout the process. Here is a dot-pointed summary of the key ideas, themes and discussion points:

• Pain and suffering occur due to a misunderstanding between what is Eternal and what is not Eternal. People often cling to the transient forms and experiences of manifest existence, seeking to prolong the enjoyable and negate the unpleasant.
• Quelling our expectations around what life may deliver is essential for cultivating a state of meditative equanimity. The ideals that life ought to be a perpetual bounty of pleasures, or that the ever-changing manifest realm is something we can control into a predictable and safe certainty, are common ideological obstacles to be integrated, overcome or let go of.
• The prospect of existential nihilism often arises for those overly identified with or attached to the transient, frequently resulting in feelings of victimization, despair or helplessness. This however can be a catalyst for one’s inward exploration for the eternal and changeless quality of the Supreme Self.
• Yoga or any authentic spiritual practice is about forming intimacy with this Supreme or Eternal Self, such that the same quality of awareness can be expressed in all activities of everyday life in all moments. This experience of detachment from the transient enables one to avoid absorption within unhealthy dramas, allowing you to remain stable in your sense of Self irrespective of circumstances.
 • Meditation is an intensive way of becoming aware of this sense of Self. Mechanical meditation practice alone however is not enough to achieve profound revelation on this circumstance. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras explicate how one must bring the meditative poise into all life events, decisions and expressions, such that the light of Supreme Awareness is intensively present at all times. In time, and after persistent training, this process becomes easier or more natural, such that you don’t have to try. These easing changes occur progressively throughout one’s lifetime, with most people actually being more aware and awake than what they might think they are at any given time. This process is akin to one not noticing their aging in the mirror over some years, until one day they look at an old photo from years ago and notice the difference.
• Gradual and consistent daily work is the key to spiritual attainment, rather than expecting any kind of perfect technique or formula to catapult you into any kind of idealized enlightenment.
• Believing you will be different as an enlightened being is nonsensical. Enlightenment is formless and changeless, meaning you are not defined by the differentials of the formic experience or your personality. In this way, it is okay to express anger, sadness, and any other type of emotion or expression. Dwelling in the emotions however is a sign of attachment and ought to be intentionally explored with the unconditional acceptance that experiences rise & fall.
• Being identified with your thoughts or process of thinking is what detracts from effective meditation. You can be super conscious and still have thoughts taking place or playing themselves out. The difference is effective meditators are able to detach from being consumed by the thought, such that they’re gradually going beyond that possibility.
• Spontaneous Samadhi or revelation may occur temporarily in meditation. Bliss occurs once you start to disidentify with your memories, preferences and your personality, in favour of identification with the Absolute or Eternal Self. Bliss is enjoyable, and can often give context to your worries, obsessions or sufferings in a way that may reveal them to seem almost silly. The key here is to go beyond the bliss experience, as it is a form of conditioning like everything else. Joy and bliss are nice experiences, yet as your true nature is pure undifferentiated awareness, you must learn to be able to let the experiences pass or flow into whatever may arise subsequently, even if worry or concern is to arise. Wanting bliss all the time only leads to disappointment. You can’t make certain experiences happen, it just happens when it happens.
• You practice meditation to experience reality, not to escape from reality.
• Reality is not what you think it is. Problematic experiences become problematic due to your thinking about them. Thinking is what makes problems exist.