Mysore Sojourn : A lesson was learnt...
My first experience of a "sutra" was at The Yoga Institute in Santa Cruz, Bombay. Coming from Bangalore, I craved to see green.... to look at trees... to hear some natural sounds. And here; not only did I find trees, birds, yoga but also my first 'sutra' experience. It was a haven. During Sunday 'Satsangs', Dr. Jayadeva would lead a lecture followed by a Q&A. His answers to questions would be crisp, concise and sometime even painfully simplistic. He spoke in 'sutras'.
A 'sutra' is literally a thread or line that holds things together; like in a garland of flowers....or beads. Wikipedia, defines it - "In ancient Indian literature, sutra denotes a distinct type of literary composition, based on short aphoristic statements, generally using various technical terms. This literary form was designed for concision, as the texts were intended to be memorized by students in some of the formal methods of scriptural and scientific study. Since each line is highly condensed, another literary form arose in which commentaries on the sutras were added, to clarify and explain them."
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| Patanjali |
As I delved deeper into yoga, I began to be drawn to Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's. Having read it several times, I yearned to listen to a recitation/ commentary on it. I was hoping to find that person in Mysore and I did. I have enrolled for a 2-week yoga philosophy class with Dr. Prof Nagaraj (incidentally, I missed last week's blog due to this new addition to my schedule). In one such class, he spoke on the importance of "abhyasya" (sadhana or practice). That without a committed, disciplined, long period of practice, there is no progress - physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual. While this was motivating to hear; in reality my asana practice was not reflecting the same. January 30th, I skipped practice. I woke up, instead of heading to the shala, I went to the lake. I enjoyed my time at the lake tremendously - I walked, watched a sunrise.... It was beautiful BUT I came back to a "heaviness" (and I am ALL about "lightness"). And even though, I did a self-practice that day (indicating I had the self discipline & commitment; and thereby in line with my Sutra study), the heaviness remained.
In my journal, I questioned - why, why, why, why. A glimpse:
"Why did I miss practice?"
"What did I do instead?"
"Why the lake?"
"If I did not have the scooter, would I have still gone to the lake?"
"Did I enjoy the self-pratice?"
"Why did I enjoy it?"
"How did avoiding the hard parts of the practice feel?" etc.
The outcome provided some clarity but more confusion in my heart i.e. on one hand, I thought I needn't be so hard on myself (Hey, I did the self practice); that I could work on the quality of compassion (starting with myself ). BUT on the other hand, I longed to be the kind of practitioner that Patanjali speaks about in the sutras. HEAVINESS!!!
In the evening, I went to meet Vinayji, with this heaviness and came back with a valuable lesson learnt - simple yet powerful!
I (we) came to Mysore not just to deepen my (our) practice, not just to learn yoga philosophy, not just to meet other yoga practitioners and live in a community environ. Our main reason to leave homes, family, friends, jobs for long periods of time is to do "Tapasya". In Sanskrit, "Tapas" is heat. And on our mats, each morning, the practice generates heat, sweat and energy . Heat that burns away at distractions, temptations, mental modifications. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, "Tapasya" refers to a "focussed effort leading towards bodily purification and spiritual enlightenment".
In most cases, roundabout the 4th week of practice; exhaustion sets in and the mind begins its "modifications"/"vritts" - the distractions, the temptations set in. I begin on my 6th week - I am tired from the intensity & rigour of practice; I would rather go to the lake and observe nature than sweat on the mat but I remind myself that this is my "tapasya" - "a personal endeavour at self discipline to strive towards perfection" and now I remain steadfast to that commitment.
Going nicely Kiki, I like the stuff you write. Its like stealing hard earned knowledge from you (without working).
ReplyDeleteThanks Dad. Your comments "feel" good to me :)
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