I find avirati, the 6th obstacle of spiritual practice from the Yoga Sutras, a bit uncomfortable to talk about. Why? Because we (including myself) have become very attached to being comfortable – wanting what we like and avoiding what we don’t. Seeking pleasure and over-indulging. Our consumer-based society is founded on this over-indulgence (Buy! Spend! Eat! Consume!). It’s humbling to have to take a look at it.
Rather than going through life worrying about winning or losing, we can experience more inner peace and receive more Divine blessings through opening to Grace and practicing Non-Attachment.
This post, on Aalasya (laziness), is the fifth of a 9-part series on the obstacles (antarayas) to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras:
In any worthy endeavor in life, we’re bound to run into some doubt, known as Samshaya in Sanskrit; one of the 9 obstacles to spiritual practice. You may notice it arising in your mind as questions like the ones above.
This post is the second of a 9-part series on the obstacles to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras:
vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣēpāstē̕ntarāyāḥ |
Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, worldliness, delusion, non-achievement of a yogic state, and instability are the distractions of the mind, and they are obstacles [in yoga].
We’ve all encountered obstacles in the path of spiritual growth – the sage Patanjali names 9 of them in the Yoga Sutras. Styana is the second, and this one may be the biggest challenge during our time in history.
Anyone who has been on the path of spiritual growth knows that obstacles are part of the journey. We all have things that get in the way of practicing meditation, yoga, prayer, or any other form of connecting with the Divine. For that matter, obstacles are part of life, and if we don’t want them to hinder our endeavors, it’s helpful to recognize what they are and what we can do to overcome them.
According to the sage Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras and preeminent yoga philosopher, there are 9 of these obstacles to our spiritual awakening. The first one is the most obvious: Vyadhi, or physical illness.
It’s so obvious that any kind of physical disease or injury can be an obstacle to practice that we may take a cursory look at this and move on to the next obstacle. But it’s worth a closer look.
Like millions of others over the 4th of July weekend, I watched – for the first time! – the Broadway hit musical, Hamilton. I knew it would be great, but had no idea how much it would impact me.
When we believe we’re faced with evil-doers, the spiritual attitude we need most to maintain our inner peace is Upeksha – even-mindedness.Government scandals, #MeToo, and Black Lives Matter – oh my! Civil war in Syria. Russian interference in our elections – true or false? Building the Wall. Rolling back environmental protections. The distance and tension between the conservatives and the liberals – let alone the United States and the rest of the world – has never been so great, and it’s more difficult to find common ground and work together. Here where I live in the US, and around the world, we are living in challenging times.
Granted, you could probably argue that just about any time in history is challenging, but we certainly are getting an earful in the media these days. And I have noticed that it has been stressful and disturbing not only for myself, but for my clients and students as well.
Especially when we’re having a lot of judgment about it. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who’s good? Who’s bad? It has been all too easy lately to point fingers… that person, that position, that behavior is simply bad. Wrong. Even evil. If we aren’t careful, we can fall into righteous, polarizing attitudes.
Fortunately, yoga philosophy has an answer – not to “fixing” it all, but how to maintain some inner peace through tumultuous times. Even when we believe we’re faced with no-good scoundrels.
