What came to your mind when you read the title?
Did the word ‘aspirations’ strike a chord or was it the phrase ‘racing with pursuits’ ? Or maybe it was the perpetual motion that interested you. This article is an attempt to unpack all of these. It is important that you pause here, reflect and then continue reading further.
Perpetual motion machines are hypothetical machines that can work infinitely without an external energy source. They are hypothetical because in the realm of time and space, everything can only be finite - with a certain beginning and an end.
According to the Indian Samkhya philosophy - Purusha and Prakrti are the two bases for creation. Purusha is pure consciousness - for the lack of a better word. Prakrti is un-manifest creative potential in total equilibrium - again for the lack of a better word.
When Purusha and Prakrti unite - this equilibrium is lost and the spontaneous knowledge of these two being separate is lost. Creation unfolds and kAla (time), prANa and avidyA are born.
Moment to moment these two bases meet within each of us and create our unique worlds as we see and experience it. Creation unfolds from the realm of subtle to gross - what Samkhya calls Avisesha (un-differentiated ) to Visesha (differentiated , distinguishable , measurable) . The final state of Yoga is the state of Kaivalyam where the union of these two ends for the individual.
Our physical body with its five organs of perception + five organs of action + the interpreting (thinking and grasping) part of our mind (Samkhya calls it the Manas) falls in the differentiable or gross (Visesha) level.
We need to understand here that we operate at the Visesha level all the time.
Due to the innate finiteness of Manas and our body, we feel at ease in the realm of the known.
We like to box everything and label it. Our actions are driven by our pursuits and each of these has a set timeline and a pre-calculated energy commitment.
I bet you’ve heard of SMART goals and SWOT analysis. We often use these frameworks either directly or indirectly, either willingly or un-willingly in our chase for multiple pursuits be it physical or emotional wellbeing, material abundance or inner peace.
Since our pursuits involve a measured time and energy commitment, it is rather obvious why we seem to be chasing time all the time!
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We continuously prioritize and re-prioritize. We put efforts in a direction keeping an eye on how close we are to achieving our goals. When we are unable to see results, we drop our efforts in that direction and start afresh.
If this is the default wiring of the human mind, why then, does The Bhagavad Gita (and Yoga Sutras) speak of Karma Yoga ( and Kriya Yoga) whose very basis is to act with detachment by surrendering the fruits of ones actions (phala tyAgam)?
Because, by not doing so, we are feeding the default mode of our Manas thereby perpetuating our life at the Visesha level, thereby perpetuating our kArmic cycle.
Acting without the feverishness to achieve the result helps us breach the finite realm of our mind and discover the infiniteness of our source which is beyond time and space.
It helps us stay the course with a relaxed state of mind knowing well that any effort in a particular direction has its result with accompanied learning(s).
It helps us to commit beyond the structures of time and space and differentiate the Prakriti and the Purusha within us.
Herein lies the importance of Aspirations - it helps us touch the vastness within us.
Unlike a goal which is a desired result, an aspiration is a hope or motivation towards a desired result.
Aspiration is not a long term goal. It is a vision without any timeline.
Although there is a desired future state, aspirations are usually subjective, unmeasurable and intangible.
All mindful practices suggest that we nurture this seed of aspirations within us. The path of self realization is not a goal but an aspiration and asthAnga Yoga in this respect is a clearly laid out path for an aspirant yogi.
Yama, niyama, Asana, prANAyAma, pratyAhAra do not speak of end goals. The end is Kaivalyam (self-realization) and these are both a) signposts that you are in the right direction as well as b) practices to quieten the mind and keep our body healthy so that we can perceive and therefore act with clarity.
For e.g. consider the first yama : ahimsA.
It is pointless to practice ahimsA as a ‘should/must’, imagining oneself in the end state of never causing himsa to any being anytime anywhere. One fine day when I am unable to hold the rule, I’ll give up my efforts towards this yama quicker than a wink.
What is suggested instead, is to observe the state of ahimsA within you and to reflect on your pull towards himsa. What are your obstacles to your personal practice and so on?
Can this ever happen without staying course?
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Wait. I am already short of time, how do I now make time for aspirations?
I don’t make time for aspirations. It happens automatically. When I aspire for a result, I am already motivated in that direction, I don’t need the final result to enliven me. The process of walking in the direction of the aspired state enlivens me.
This doesn’t make sense. I still have to work towards it everyday and I don’t have the time.
When the effort towards an aspiration feels daunting to you and it doesn’t flow naturally - then know that the process is not enlivening to you and hence is not an aspiration. Maybe you haven’t discovered your aspirations.
We are puppets of the 3 guNAs (Rajas, Tamas and Sattva) (more on this in a future post). The daily practice of Yoga helps to balance the Rajas and Tamas in us so that the inherent Sattva can dominate. Sattva guna helps us to perceive and act clearly. The more we quieten the mind, the more we tune into our world of aspirations.
Aspirations are unmeasurable and intangible compared to goals, how do we even know we are moving in the right direction?
The anxiety to know comes from the realm of Manas. It is often said that your practice reveals the next step to you when you are ready.
We shall know what we need to know when we need to know it.
Just like science calls Perpetual machines hypothetical, our scriptures say that the cycle of life and death is impermanent. Each life form is innately trying to move to its source. We are trying to break the kArmic cycle regardless of whether we agree or not. Our perpetual motion across multiple lives will come to rest one day.
It is only a matter of time!
Nicely done. Thank you.
beautifully explained