3.10 Inner Silence Expands

3.10 Effortless inner silence is established through peaceful impressions

The message in sutra 1.50 is reiterated in this aphorism. For most practitioners, the process of establishing greater inner peace results from sustained practice over time. Notice that many of the obstacles along the way are self-created. Therefore, it is instrumental to shift from being your own worst enemy to becoming your greatest friend and supporter. At first your tendencies rule your body, mind, breathing, and emotions, and you may not even be aware of them. Often, you may even think that your tendencies are who you are and that the continuous stream of thoughts distracting your attention back and forth are your own thoughts (1.4). As you practice the limbs of yoga you become more aware of your tendencies, choosing to cultivate helpful tendencies instead of investing energy and attention on the tendencies that create confusion and suffering. The gradual process of turning your attention towards uplifting thoughts, intentions, and actions creates new tendencies (2.33 & 2.34). Sustained practice over time generates impressions (samskaras) that overcome the previous, less helpful tendencies in you. Similarly, by meditating on whatever is uplifting to you, you create impressions that overpower existing impressions (1.39). Notice how the content of your internal dialogue has changed as a result of your practice and how your practices influence your internal environment as well as your actions and interactions. Obviously, your actions and interactions also influence your inner state. For instance, when there is conflict between what you know and what you feel, whatever you focus your attention on may appear to be in conflict. Conversely, if you behave in an adversarial manner your internal environment will be filled with conflict. As you gradually modulate your ways of being, the energy that you were investing in it becomes available and the tension your ways of being was generating gives way to increasing peace and stillness.
How are you cultivating greater peace in your external and internal life?
What are the effects of your practice, a tendency towards greater harmony or disharmony?
Are you organically becoming an abode of peace?
Is the garden of your heart filled with peace and kindness?

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:

3.10 tasya praśāntavāhitā saṃskārat
तस्य प्रशान्तवाहिता संस्कारत् ॥१०॥

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

• tasya
• praśānta
• vāhitā
• saṃskārat

If you prefer, you may listen to the podcast:

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