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The Causes of Pain and the Yogic Prescriptions by Linda Munro from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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The Causes of Pain and the Yogic Prescriptions by Linda Munro from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The Causes of Pain and the Yogic Prescriptions by Linda Munro from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Yoga is a spiritual discipline which was born out of the need to alleviate human suffering (duhkha). The ancient sages recognized that suffering sprouts from the mind and affects all levels of our human existence – physical, mental and spiritual. In fact suffering doesn‟t come from the outside; it is a response that we produce ourselves in our mind. This in a way can be reassuring because it means that we can find the strength within to do something about it! It is interesting to see the different reactions to suffering people have. Under similar circumstances two people can have entirely different responses. A simple example: two people in pretty much the same economical situations lose their jobs. One can take it as an opportunity to do something new and exciting; the other becomes depressed, unable to leave the house. Why? Why we suffer and can we do something? The ancient sages too, asked themselves: Why do we suffer? And can Pertinent Sutra: we do anything about it? The sage who compiled the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali gives us insight into the core reasons for our suffering and 2.2 “[This Yoga] (kriya yoga) has the purpose of yogic tools to apply in order to lessen our pain. It is inevitable in life that cultivating ecstasy (samādhi) and the purpose of thinning out the causes-of-affliction (kleshas). there will be pain and sorrow, however with yoga one can lessen causes and avoid future suffering! All translations by Georg Feuerstein with words in round brackets added by me ( ) to add clarity to my essay. Patanjali was a master of the mind, or a better description may be a master of the consciousness. And what I love most about the Sutras is the different layers within it. I remember during a workshop with Desikachar him saying that he went through the Yoga Sutra seven times with his dad, Krishnamacharya. Each time going deeper and deeper into the teachings. In my opinion this is one of the qualities of a truly great teacher: being able to “talk” to various levels of practitioners; from the novice who is just getting started to the long term practitioner who has a good understanding and practice but has not yet reached the highest levels of yoga. When studying the Sutras I believe in using the teaching for the level one is at. For instance there is no use attempting to renunciant all worldly pleasures when we haven‟t even been able to give up chocolate (or coffee/tea or whatever minor desire one may have). Trying to do this before one is ready will only create repression and frustration and anger may arise. So find the tools that “talk” to you and feel natural, then apply them with all the self-discipline you can muster to make changes in your life! Five Kleshas So what are the 5 causes-of-affliction (Kleshas) that Patanjali speaks Pertinent Sutra: of? They are spiritual ignorance (avidya), I-am-ness (asmita), attraction (raga), aversion (dvesha) and clinging to life (abhinivesha). Each of 2.3 “The five causes-of-affliction are [spiritual] ignorance these is firmly anchored in each and every one of us. They come with (avidya), I-am-ness (asmita), attraction (raga), aversion (dvesha) [and] clinging to life (abhinivesha).” us when we are born, they may be latent and take time to show themselves but they will eventually. As Swami Satyananada Saraswati says: “Klesha is a kind of agony which is inside our very being. Everyone feels subconscious pain, but our superficial daily activities do not allow us to be aware of it, otherwise we would see pain in all its vividness.” Avidya: Ignorance – Lack of Awareness This is the base of all affliction as it is said it is because we don‟t truly Pertinent Sutras: know the Self that we get tangled in the ego (Asmita), which then attaches itself to pleasures (raga), revolts against dislikes (dvesha) and 2.4 “[Spiritual] ignorance is the field of the others [ie, the clings to the life in the physical body (abhinivesha), thus resulting in other causes-of-affliction, which may be] dormant, thinned out, intercepted, [or] active.” duhkha. 2.5 “[Spiritual] ignorance is seeing the eternal, the pure, the joyous, the Self (ātma) in the impermanent, the 1 impure, the painful, the nonself.” 2.20 “Although the Seer (drashtā), the sheer [power of] seeing, is [utterly] pure, it witnesses the contents [of the mind]. When Patanjali speaks of ignorance, he is not meaning lack worldly knowledge. He is not implying that we don‟t know enough about politics, languages, different cultures or countries, science or any other world topic. In fact it could be argued that if we are too caught up in acquiring knowledge of the material world that this is avidya! This is the spiritual ignorance of not knowing who we really are; our Essence, our true Self, our Spirit, Soul, Purusha, Atman, or whichever name you feel connected to. We misperceive who we really are due to avidya, which is closely related to the next klesha; Asmita. Asmita: The Sense of “I” When one thinks “who am I?” what comes to mind? First we point to our Pertinent Sutra: body and think: “I am Linda. I am a yoga teacher. I am a mother…a wife…I am good at…I am bad at…I like ice cream. I don‟t like cheese. I 2.6 “I-am-ness (asmitā) is as it were the unification of am a happy person.” This is spiritual ignorance because in reality I am the powers of the „Seer‟ and „seeing‟.” none of those. None of us are truly the labels we or others give us. They are useful for getting around and communicating in this world but we must cultivate a yoga practice and study in order to lessen the ties of avidya, asmita and the other kleshas. We don‟t need to identify ourselves as the labels given. In fact I believe it is very important not to attach ourselves to these labels (these attachments are a form of raga – attraction) or even disassociate ourselves from other labels (these are a form of dvesha – aversion). When you start to analyze these labels or judgments you will see that they are never permanently true. The only real truth is that Truth which exists beyond time and place: That which exists always and is changeless. This is the Purusha/Soul. No matter the outer covering, the Purusha exists in its pureness. It‟s been described as a pure, brilliant light which is wrapped with many layers of colored paper. The light will look pink, purple, yellow, zigzagged, polka-dotted but in reality if the layers of paper are peeled away, we will see that the light was not colored at all. This is our Soul, forever perfect and it exists in every one of us; the good, the bad, the kind, friendly, fun, the miserable, evil and mean. Just knowing this mentally gives me joy because when we know that everyone has this star within the way we see others is transformed. We can more easily look beyond the petty likes and dislikes towards another human being: Which brings us to the third and fourth Kleshas; raga and dvesha. Raga & Dvesha: Attraction & Aversion Raga – attraction is one of the causes-of-afflictions not only because we Pertinent Sutras: attach ourselves to the qualities of our body/mind that we like, misperceiving the sense of I for reality but because we tend to be 2.7 “Attraction (raga) rests on pleasure.” attracted to sensual pleasures. Our eyes are attracted to beautiful things, 2.8 “Aversion (dvesha) rests on suffering.” our taste to sumptuous foods, our nose to the scent of those foods, our ears to sounds around us and the skin to stimulating touch. These are difficult to accept as components of an affliction because since our body and mind are part of the material world they say “but I am here and I should enjoy this life and reap as much pleasure as possible.” However, only the discerning mind recognizes that the joy of worldly pleasures will never lead to true happiness. True happiness can only come from within. It‟s so clear that stuff, experiences, situations, another person can never bring everlasting happiness. It‟s always temporary, limited to a certain situation or tinged with suffering (by not leaving enough for another or the fear of losing it). We see it in innumerable examples. One yummy piece of chocolate leads us to another, another and another which leads to a belly ache. Having a nice big home leads to “needing” the car, the furniture or an even nicer and bigger home; if the desire is not fulfilled disappointment, jealousy, dissatisfaction emerges. Even a nation can experience this as a whole: when they have flourished for many years and expect to continue on flourishing, growing, getting more. Then a financial “crisis” arises and a new way of using the earth‟s gifts has to be cultivated. 2 A man may have a beautiful wife who eventually starts to age, losing some of her outer beauty which may lead to finding a new, younger wife, which again leads to the suffering of another which unknowingly leads to inner suffering of oneself. We cannot cause suffering to another without inflicting it upon ourselves. This is the law of Karma – cause and effect. Opposite of raga (attraction) is dvesha (aversion).
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