Ruben Vasquez

Ruben Vasquez

  • Joined: February 20, 2020
  • Articles: 995

2.3 & 2.4 The five afflictions and their states

Yoga Sutras 2.3 and 2.4 The five afflictions and their states

Not knowing who we are is the main obstacle

Not knowing who you are (avidya), misidentification (asmita), likes (raga), dislikes (dvesha) and fear of daying (abinivesha). Is your identity at your service or are you at the service of your identity? How much energy do you invest in pursuing what you desire and rejecting what you dislike? Is it possible to make peace with the undeniable fact that one day you will die?

2.2 Less afflictions and Greater integration

Yoga Sutra 2.2 Less afflictions and Greater integration

Yogic actions result in dynamic harmony

What afflictions take you away from your natural harmony and balance? Is it true that acting with enthusiasm, intelligence and humility helps you remove the tensions that disrupt the integrated harmony between body, mind and emotion? Are you aware of the significant difference between uncovering existing afflictions and creating new ones?

2.1 Yogic action: Enthusiasm, intelligence and humility

Yoga Sutra 2.1 Yogic action

Act with enthusiasm, intelligence and humility

To engage in any worthwhile action, you need enthusiasm. Tapas, enthusiasm can best be synthesized as: Do the best that you can. Svadhyaya is embodied intelligence that can be applied by ensuring that you know why you are doing what you are doing, and by confirming that you are in fact doing what you think you are doing. Ishvara pranidhana can be summed up as sincere intention coupled with wholehearted action.

Review of Yoga Sutra chapter 1: Integration

Yoga Sutra Summary Chapter 1 Integration

An exploration of the state of being

This first chapter consists of six interconnected topics: what is yoga? [1.1-1.4], ways of being [1.5-1.11], a method for self-regulation [1.12-1.22], an alternative approach, humility [1.23-1.29], distractions, their symptoms and removal [1.30-1.39], the progression of insight into liberation [1.40 - 1.51]

1.51 Supreme integration

Yoga Sutra 1.51 Supreme integration

All Impressions and identification dissolve.

The level of integration when there are no subconscious impressions left (nirbija samadhi). Culmination of the process of cultivating your natural inner stillness and inner silence with the curiosity that might reveal the obvious yet elusive essence of existence.

1.48 & 1.49 Dwelling in absolute true wisdom

Yoga Sutra 1.48 & 1.49 Dwelling in absolute true wisdom

Bearing the truth in one’s self (rtambhara)

Witness with greater clarity the intricate and delicate interconnectedness between all aspects of life. Your direct experience of wisdom cannot be replaced by inference and testimony. How does wisdom manifest in your daily activities? Do the insights you receive, when you trust them, result in greater harmony?