Yoga sutra : Abhyasa vairagyabyam tannirodhah

[cass]

This is a very good sutra to apply in everyday living

To me , non attachment = freedom of mind , letting go , peace .

love and peace.
cass

[Techne]

Thank you, cass, for starting a sutra discussion thread.

On the mat we can see abhyasa when we strive to achieve a pose for which we are not ready; off the mat, I have found abhyasa inviting me to be less anxious and more content with the good choices I have made.

[Katrina]

Abhyasa, to me, is the balancing point of all the effort and giving that life holds. I notice that when something feels off, I can trace it to a judgement or expectation I've placed upon myself or a situation. When I can let go of the fruits of my actions and take Krishna's advice from the Gita, then life is so much lighter and I feel free.

Maranatha, I like the way you describe abhyasa as a guide in being less anxious and more content in choices. I would also say that on the mat, though it can be an indication of striving too hard, it may not always be that the pose is inappropriate, but rather the approach to the pose too forceful. In my practice I've found even the most elusive pose reveals itself more willingly when the discipline of my practice is balanced with a spaciousness of heart and humility. Another face of abhyasa.

Thanks for the discussion starter Cass!

[Asuri]

Cass,

To me, both abhyasa and vairagya are technical terms with fairly well defined meanings, but I'm sort of intrigued by your definition, "freedom of mind". Freedom implies both positive and negative aspects; i.e. release from something that binds or restricts you in some way, and once released, the ability to do some other, better activity. I wonder if you would be willing to elaborate on freedom of mind, for example, freedom from what, and free to do what?

[cass]

Hi Christopher,

I personally feels that in our daily life , there are so much that we demand for , be it , demanding from others or ourself. For instance , we might demand our body to work harder on doing asanas where our body might not be ready at that moment. When we want something so much, our mind tend to control the actions and the next thing we know , we are already attached to it. Freedom of mind is when we are able to set our mind free, without any expectation or forceful feelings. Till then , we will be able to let go and non attached to everything in life. This is how i personally feel.

I am not saying that i am not commit to anything , just that when my mind is at a quite and free , i find peaceful in life.

May u find peace and freedom in life

cass

[Asuri]

Thank you, Cass. That's a nice way of looking at it, and I agree, its about letting go of passion and attachments. It frees us to realize all of our potential.

[InnerAthlete]

Hi Cass.

I too find myself wanting a definition for how you are using the terms.
Are you referencing practice and non-attachment?
I wonder since you mention only non-attachment as it relates to freedom and did not mention practice whatsoever.

It is a very interesting sutra to choose as it falls early in the first pada and much of the Yoga Sutras cannot be fully absorbed until the entire text has been completed. That is to say a stand-alone sutra carries one weight but when inserted into the context of the others has a weight times a factor of X.

gordon

[cass]

Hi Gordon ,

I love this sutra most out of first chapter of sutra - samadhipadah .Here , I am not only referring to yoga practice of being non attached, but in my everyday life. I believe that there is no one truth about the sutra how one interpret it. To me , i am not only need to practice yoga with non - attachment , there are a lot more things in life that i am practising to be non attached too.

I felt sometimes i am too attached to something that i am not willing to let go. If i were to let go without a choice or by force , i find it difficult to do so. Letting go and non attachment just mean so much to me in this life.

Samadhipadah is all about how to find long lasting happiness. In order to find samadhi , other than finding it through yoga , i believe that just by realising how we could change our everyday living life happier , it makes an impact on the whole entire journey. I might not know if i have found samadhi or will i be there in this life time , but i am definitely a more happier person ever since i start to understand the sutras. It takes me awhile to think over the sutra again and again , and i am just automatically transforming in every single day to be a happier person

cass

[suryadaya]

This sutra was just lectured in depth at the school I am intending last week. I take credit for none of these - its all just the core of the notes I have right here from that lecture. It is pretty thought provoking so I'm posting it. Stay tuned for next week when I go over it another lecture!

Abhyasa is not just a practice, but a practice that moves you within, that takes you towards the self. It can also mean a practice which comes from within, and moves outward into the world. Abhyasa must transcend in order to take us deeper. Once we realize that something deeper is inside of us, we let go of what is not 'us', to find out what is really there. This is scary. There is a root of 'ragas (sp)' in the word vairagyam which has one meaning of 'passion'. To turn away from the things which you are passionate about requires courageous detatchment. A lot of people who are on a journey will suddenly stop. Why? They are scared of what is being taking away and what is being revealed. Abhyasa helps, it gives strength to vairagyam, the detachment. Letting go should be done with confidence, without fear. Vairagyam is the test of abhyasa, of your practice. If we are practicing abhyasa with all of its qualities, we will evaluate and integrate the good qualities of ourselves as we review and change the negative qualities we find into something positive.

And some other notes I can't read because I was writing too fast.

Lecturer: Kausthub Desikachar

[cass]

Thanks for sharing this here.


Would be lovely if you could share some of the sutra that you have learned on this forum


cass

[Asuri]

Originally Posted by suryadaya

There is a root of 'ragas (sp)' in the word vairagyam which has one meaning of 'passion'. To turn away from the things which you are passionate about requires courageous detachment...

True. That's why vairagya is sometimes translated as "dispassion". But I don't believe that vairagya requires us to turn away from the things we are passionate about. Otherwise many of us would have to turn away from yoga. Passionate in this sense has a connotation of intensity, which is a good thing. Raga, on the other hand, has negative connotations. Raga is passion that causes suffering, like addictive behaviors, lust, and greed.

... If we are practicing abhyasa with all of its qualities, we will evaluate and integrate the good qualities of ourselves as we review and change the negative qualities we find into something positive.

This, I think, is closer to the correct meaning.

[suryadaya]

Originally Posted by cass

Thanks for sharing this here.


Would be lovely if you could share some of the sutra that you have learned on this forum


cass

After my exams at the end of this week, I start a 2 week intensive study of the sutras a la Monday. I'm super excited! I'll share what I can. Keep posting inspiration. My favorite for the last two days is III.17. Linguistics rocks. Check it out.