If you have experienced the power of your breath, every day is practice day. However, despite our best intentions, we fail to persevere and it’s never too late to start anew.
International Yoga Day is around the corner - well it’s just a day away. Just as we begin afresh every year with new resolves and renewed commitments, let’s renew our commitment to practice on this Yoga day!
I am organizing a free online Yoga Masterclass with my teacher Saraswathi Vasudevan, founder of Yogavahini Foundation to celebrate Yoga Day on 21st June, 2023, 7 am - 8.15 am IST. Register here to attend live or to receive recordings post-session.
I am reading this fantastic book ‘Designing Destiny’ by spiritual leader and Padma Bhushan awardee, Kamlesh Patel.
He lists 3 principles in designing Destiny.
We can only change it in the present.
We create our destiny with the internal chatter of our minds - the sum total of our thoughts, our beliefs, our impressions, our desires.
Designing our destiny, therefore, requires us to work on our minds.
According to the Yoga Sutras and the Samkhya philosophy, everything in this world manifests inside out. We are creators of our own realities. Therefore, designing our destiny requires us to master our inner reality - our body-mind complex, which calls for spiritual practice.
Patanjali lays out the framework of spiritual practices for an aspirant in the 2nd chapter of Yoga Sutras called the SAdhana PAda.
Sutra 2.1 :
tapaH svAdhyAya IsvarapraNidhAnAni kriyAyogaH
तपःस्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः ॥ १ ॥
With this sutra, Patanjali establishes Kriya Yoga as the fulcrum of practice. Kriya Yoga is the Yoga achieved through action where the nature of action is rooted in tapas, svAdhyAya and ishwara pranidhAna. It is an internal action that transforms you and takes you towards Yoga.
What is Kriya Yoga?
I’d like to share my reflections on Kriya Yoga in my practice and throw light on some misinterpretations.
It constitutes of 3 parts.
tapas. It is often misinterpreted or confused with Tapasya (austerity / penance / self-mortification). Tapas is the process of purification and transformation. Tapas is that which helps cleanse my vessel (my mind/body complex). To me, it has been the practice of choosing the middle path, choosing a lifestyle that moderates the use of my senses, choosing moderation in food and speech and consistent practice of Yoga on the mat. At a deeper level, tapas is to anchor myself to the awareness that pervades me.
svAdhyAya. Studying texts that facilitate self-contemplation, studying the words of truth experienced and passed down by seers. To me - svAdhyAya is my daily dose of studying Bhagavad Gita and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. These texts renew my commitment to tapas. They help me reflect on whether I am moving in the right direction.
ishwara pranidhAna. Distancing oneself from the fruits of our actions and bringing oneself totally to the process of what we are doing is ishwara pranidhAna. It signifies a very deep conviction in the intelligent workings of the universe. As Bhagavad Gita says - “You have the right to perform your actions, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions!”
Easier said than done.
An anonymous quote has stayed with me to keep this alive:
“Put the pitcher in a well or the sea, it will only take water according to its size.”
So the only choice I have is to perfect this pitcher. The anxiety to take in more water without knowing how much I can hold leads me nowhere. ishwara pranidhAna is both a conscious intent we need to cultivate in us and also a gift of tapas and svAdhyAya.”
A simple yet profound practice to cultivate an attitude of ishwara pranidhAna is the Heartfulness Prayer at The Heartfulness Foundation. ( Indian culture is full of such simple practices that can be easily incorporated into our daily routines.)
What happens when we practice Kriya Yoga?
In Sutra 2.2, Patanjali states that practicing kriya yoga helps cleanse our mind-body complex and helps cultivate a quiet mind ready to remain absorbed in a chosen inquiry.
Consider this.
According to Sri T. Krishnamacharya , AsAna is to do dhyAna on the body. PrAnAyAma is to do dhyAna on the breath. PratyAhAra is to do dhyAna on the indriyAs (senses).
Are we capable of touching dhyAna, with the current state of our mind? Nope.
But can aspirants renew their commitment to hold the essence of Kriya Yoga in their daily routines? Yes, possible.
Patanjali enumerates ashtAnga Yoga almost halfway past the 2nd chapter.
Trying to understand the Yamas, Niyamas, and other limbs of Ashtanga yoga without understanding Kriya Yoga is equivalent to walking before you crawl. Kriya yoga transforms us to be ready to practice Ashtanga Yoga.
Now, consider this.
The 5 niyamAs (our attitude towards ourselves) enumerated by Patanjali , as part of ashtAnga yoga are Sauca, santoSa, tapas, svAdhyAya, and ishwara pranidhAna.
santoSa is to cultivate an attitude of contentment. Sauca is to cultivate both internal and external purity (in the body and in the mind). The other 3 are the aspects of kriya Yoga.
Practice doesn’t arise without volition. Without having reached a certain maturity in our minds, we cannot expect Sauca and santoSa to become our priorities. With spiritual maturity arising from the consistent practice of kriya Yoga, there arises an inner need for Sauca and santoSa and therefore the volition to cultivate these attitudes in ourselves.
So literally and metaphorically, ashtAnga yoga is built upon the foundations of kriya Yoga. In the words of Sri T. K. V. Desikachar kriya Yoga is the spirit of ashtAnga Yoga.
What does it take to make kriya Yoga a part of our daily lives?
Thank you, Ramya. Your post was clear and inspirational.