Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering the definition of being present and Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1:2.
The secret of
health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about
the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present mom ent wisely and earnestly.
- The Buddha
When the mind is at
rest, we are lifted out of time into the eternal present. The body, of course,
is still subject to the passage of time. But in a sense, the flickering of the
mind is our internal clock. When the mind does not flicker, what is there to
measure change? It's as if time simply comes to a stop for us, as we live
completely in the present mom ent.
Past and future, after all, exist only in the mind. When the mind is at rest,
there is no past or future. We cannot be resentful, we cannot be guilt-ridden,
we cannot build future hopes and desires; no energy flows to past or future at
all.
Past and future are
both contained in every present mom ent.
Whatever we are today is the result of what we have thought, spoken, and done
in all the present mom ents before
now - just as what we shall be tomorrow is the result of what we think, say,
and do today. The responsibility for both present and future is in our own
hands. If we live right today, then tomorrow has to be right.
Words to Live By:
Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is
to consider PYS 1:2* which states the
goal of Yoga, "The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga"
(The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Swami Satichidananda). BKS Iyengar writes
that the "Restraint of the movements of thought brings about stillness
(dharana), which leads to silence (dhyana) with awareness." Is BKS
Iyengar's quote a definition of being present? In light of the reading consider
for yourself what your definition of being present is.
*1:2 yogah
cittavrtti nirodhah
References: Light
on the Yoga Sutras, BKS Iyenger and The
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Swami Satichidananda
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington
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