Yoga is a science of life that helps us to know the known and unknown parts of life, that helps us to liberate ourselves from pains and miseries. I saw these sentences in a book, and I think it describes what yoga is “The highest of all books is the book of life. Unless you open the book of life, you will not understand the teachings of the scriptures. The scriptures say what to do and what not to do, but you have to learn how to be“. All the gates to higher knowledge will be opened to us once we understand ourselves. Patanjali says” The source of knowledge is within you. The world and external knowledge can inspire you. To evolve does not mean going toward the external world. Evolution means going back to the source. If you put ten covers around a light, what will happen to the light? The light will be as it is, but it will appear dim to you. You will not be able to see it. If you remove the covers, you will see it clearly. You can compare yourself with the light. Before you go to the source of knowledge within, you have to go through many barriers.” [1]
Through yoga we can understand ourselves better on all levels, including our physical well-being, our actions, thought process, emotions, and desires. We will also understand how we are related to the world, and how to lead a successful life in the world. Yoga science creates a bridge between the internal and external conditions of life. Yoga psychology is a way of improving ourselves, a way of understanding our internal states. Whosoever we are, we have all the potentials within us. The most significant question comes to our minds “Are you aware of this?: If we are aware of this, do we know how to use them? Patanjali encourages us to be aware of the potentials that we have and to learn how to use them. In yoga treating the mind, body, or spirit independently can lead to the health of the other systems as well. The huge difference between yoga and western psychology is that western psychology tries hard to be an objective ‘science’ and relies mainly on observation that lies outside and not on experience that is inside, thus missing what is truly relevant for a human being. Western psychology believes that a human being is his/her body and mind. It does not even consider the existence of pure consciousness. For example, yoga says that one’s inner state determines the outer, whereas western psychology believes the outer circumstances determine one’s inner state.
Abhyasa/Practice: “Abhyasa means having an attitude of persistent effort to attain and maintain a state of stable tranquility. To become well established, this needs to be done for a long time, without a break. From this stance the deeper practice continues to unfold, going ever deeper towards the direct experience of the eternal core of our being.”[2]
Abhyasa involves cultivating a strong conviction, a persistent effort to consistently choose practices with actions, speech and thoughts that lead in the direction of stable tranquility. Abhyasa is the effort to secure steadiness of the modifications of the mind.
Vairagya/Non-attachment: The essential companion is non-attachment, learning to let go of the many attachments, aversions, fears, and false identities that are clouding the true Self.
Patanjali describes vairagya as the state in which one no longer thirsts for either earthly objects or spiritual attainments. Vairagya can also be thought of as release, surrender, and letting go. But just blindly letting go is not vairagya. Rather, the first constituent of this practice must be the wisdom of discrimination. The practice of discrimination leads to the next part of vairagya: understanding the difference between acknowledgment and acceptance. To be able to do the practices and to cultivate non-attachment, it is necessary to become better and better at discriminating between what actions, speech, and thoughts take us in the right direction, and those, which are a diversion. This discrimination is both a foundation practice and also the subtler tool of the inner journey.
It’s important to become as clear as possible in terms of having clarity of intention what we want from our yoga practice. Abhyasa and vairagya help us to achieve the proper balance between a dedicated and successful practice and non-attachment to the results of that practice. This consistency of commitment is evidenced by the willingness to get on the mat and be present for whatever comes up in the practice. Furthermore, practicing vairagya allow us to be in the present moment and help us to stay devoted to our practice while having no expectation as to its benefit. By staying detached as to outcomes, we focus on our practice as an end in and of itself. We stay calm and relaxed, allowing the benefits to arise in their own due time.
[1]http://swamij.com/yoga-sutras-11216.htm
[2]http://swamij.com/yoga-sutras-11216.htm