Hello Folks,

 

Thank you for joining the Yoga Sutras class this past week. From this Friday, May 22nd, we will be back to our regularly scheduled meeting time at 12 noon, EST, every Friday. 

 

In the last class we covered sutras 7, 8 and 9. These describe the first three vrittis, or activities of the mind, that consciousness becomes identified with. These sutras are:

 

1.7 Direct perception, Inference and testimony constitute the pramanas 

1.8 Viparyaya is a false knowledge formed of a thing other than what it is 

1.9 Vikalpa is a modification of mind based on verbal cognition of a thing which does not exist 

 

Our new words for this week are:

 

Pramana how we collect information about objects through the sense organs

Prama dependable knowledge about a real object

Pratyaksha direct perception of an existing object 

Anumana inference, "where there is smoke, there is fire."

Agama testimony (verbal or scriptural)

Apta a dependable source of testimony, one whose words are based on experience

Viparyaya perceiving something which does not exist, and is therefore false 

Vikalpa using words to describe something that does not exist, but may be helpful

 

The vrittis can be thought of as changing mental states. A state moves from one thing to another, and then back again. The changing states of the mind, which are states we identify with—such as being happy, sad, tired, depressed, enthusiastic, judged, righteous, unappreciated—are the very thing that cause mental suffering. 

 

Through yoga we are trying to understand what these states are so we can gain some distance from them. This is called vi-yoga, or an un-mixing or separation of our awareness from the content of awareness. The practice of mindfulness uses this principle of observation to create an internal state of calm, steady awareness. Vi-yoga is separating ourselves from what is not helpful for knowing who you are, and samyoga is joining yourself with what is helpful for an inner, self-knowing. 

 

With the panchavrittis we can see both of those aspects. There are positive aspects of ourselves that we want to reinforce, and negative aspects that we need some distance from. The consistent mental state that we are applying for both vi- and sam-yoga is awareness. Later on in chapter one we’ll see a practice called ekatattva abhyasa, which means the practice of one thing. The one thing that we want to practice is to be aware in all the changing states, so that we don’t get lost, including during sleep. The development of awareness as our principle identity rather than the changing states of mind is to build an enduring character of mind called a trait, which is a lasting, dependable, source of our perception and sense of being: calm, observant, and responsive.

 

So, that’s all for now. Although we are covering a lot of terminology and complex ideas, I also want to reinforce as much as possible that yoga sutra is a practical guide, so sometimes we need to think through the terminology and ideas to figure out: what does this really mean for me? 

 

This Friday we will finish the final two vrttis, and move on to the definition of what practice is. 

 

The video recording and notes can be found here, and thank you again for joining me for these discussions. 

 

Yours,

Eddie