4.19 Individual consciousness is neither independent nor autonomous

4.19 Individual awareness is not independent or autonomous. However, individual awareness can serve as a transparent window between consciousness and the world of experience.

This sutra continues exploring the ideas of universal aliveness (Consciousness), individual aliveness (awareness) and the manifestation of life as the world of experience. Individual awareness is not independent. In other words, you did not create yourself or your sense of aliveness. However, once you are alive, when you manifest in the world of experience, you are endowed with the gift of awareness. Awareness of being alive is a thread of connection between your individual self and the universal aliveness (Consciousness). Once again, it is impossible to put into words the ineffable nature of Consciousness. Nevertheless, as part of the yoga tradition, there is an idea that the nature of Consciousness consists of three components often presented in the compound word saccidananda (sat-chit-ananda): sat meaning existence, presence or being; cit meaning awareness or spirit; and ananda meaning joy, happiness or bliss. Throughout the Yoga Sutra all the practices are intended to remove obstacles that prevent individual awareness from experiencing the world accurately in order to serve as an interference-free conduit between the world of experience and universal aliveness. The sense of aliveness is founded on presence, which is another word for awareness. This aliveness or awareness is only accessible in the present moment. Every time that your awareness gets distracted by your internal activities the quality of your connection to presence decreases.

What is the relationship between individual awareness, your own sense that you are alive, and universal aliveness?
To what extent are your ways of being – including your activities, tendencies, beliefs, and personal history – illuminating or obscuring the connection between aliveness and the world of experience?
Is it possible that the fluctuations in your aliveness may be related to your ways of being?
Does the relationship between universal aliveness and your individual aliveness change when you modulate your ways of being?

As usual, one more way of exploring the meaning of this sutra is by chanting it.
You can choose to chant it in its traditional form with some of the words coming together:

4.19 na tatsvābhāsaṃ dṛśyatvāt
न तत्स्वाभासं दृश्यत्वात् ॥१९॥

Another option is to chant each word in the sutra individually:

• na
• tat
• sva
• ābhāsaṃ
• dṛśyatvāt

If you prefer, you may listen to the podcast:

This is an excerpt from the book Unravel the thread: Applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to live a happy life

If you find Simple-Yoga.org and Unravel the thread useful, consider supporting my labor with a donation, you may also donate using PayPal or Venmo. Thank you!