THE DIFFICULT ART OF HAPPINESS, AND THE NIYAMAS OF
PATANJALI
Presentation by Korina Kontaxaki, at the Yoga Step by Step by Dr Swami Gitananda Seminars.
The presentation is based on the article by Dr Swami Gitananda on
happiness. Translation from Greek by Eleni Cosma.
There is an
old Zen story:
There was once someone who was searching for
something in the streets. A neighbour saw him and asked:
“What is wrong?’’
He answered, ‘’I have lost my house keys and
I am looking for them.’’
The neighbour decided to help him look.
After a while, he asked:
‘’Where did you last see your keys?’’
To which the man answered, ‘’I was in my
back garden, it probably fell there.’’
The neighbour exclaimed, ‘’Why are we then
searching in the streets?’’
And the man replied, ‘’Because here, there
is light. In the back garden, it is dark.’’
The same
thing happens with happiness. We search in the wrong place because this is
where everyone is searching, because this is the seemingly easier place to
look.
Let us agree
on what happiness is NOT:
-
Happiness
is not the constant gratification of the senses. If we base our happiness
on this, we will become ill.
-
Happiness
is not materialism. Although we may all have experienced the fact that
‘’shopping therapy’’ only ultimately makes us stressed, we still continue to
buy things in order to fill the ‘’void’’. Why? Because that is where the light
is!
-
Happiness
is not our surrender to the emotional, bipolar world. It is a law of nature
that the world of emotions has two sides, both opposites. What we feel instantly
gives birth to its opposite. Observe what happens in our lives: If our memories
were not so selective, we would note that all moments of joy are equal to
moments of sadness. This occurs in the three-dimensional world in which we
live, in order for disorder to be steady. If we cannot see this, it is because
optimists remember only the positives and pessimists only the negatives. The
glass is neither half full nor half empty, but half full and half empty!
-
Happiness
is not the achievement of our goals. This is the responsibility of the ego
is not interested in our happiness. The ego wants the materialisation of its
desires. If we (again) did not have selective memories, we would quickly
realise that the moment one goal is achieved, the ego is immediately lining up
the next one, leaving no time for happiness. The ego will never be happy. It is
not the ego’s job to be happy. The ego is a logical businessman. The ego is not interested in happiness the
same way the soul is not interested in remaining alive. The soul on the
other hand, is condensed peace. So happiness can only be achieved through the
soul. Through this we can draw the conclusion that every type of sadness has to
do with the ego and the survival instinct. Ananda
– bliss, is the nature of the soul.
Therefore
for every instance we must choose: Do we want to be happy? Then we must
approach the soul. Do we want to achieve our goals? Then we must approach the
ego. If we choose the Ego, then we tune ourselves with its three-dimensional,
bipolar world. Then happiness and sadness both exist, along with love and hate,
intensity and passivity, all of the opposites. If we choose the soul, then we
tune ourselves with the transcendental world where there are no opposites, only
the centre and there are no emotions only states of being which are permanent,
which do not change according to the circumstances, simply because the soul is
above the influence of situations (even above the influence of death.)
‘’Happiness exists beyond the Ego. We can
begin our search into the mystery of happiness by recognising that the real
pursuit of happiness is by its nature opposed to the gratification of sensual
appetites.’’ (Dr Swami Gitananda)
In order to be able
to process the above, I would like to ask you to find examples in your lives
where your senses were gratified to the full, or where you achieved some great
goal, and to tell us whether this gave you the happiness you expected. If yes,
how… if not, why?
But… how can
we approach the soul? We have been given millions of ways of approaching the
Ego. In fact, all of our training from the moment we are born is a
constant feeding of the Ego. Otherwise
we would not be able to survive in society, even in our material bodies.
The
following chart maps out the responsibilities of the Ego and the Soul, so that
we can begin to understand the ways in which we can tune ourselves accordingly.
EGO
SOUL
Personal
goals Transcendental
goals
Survival Immortality
Discrimination
Unity with
everything
Sadness Bliss
Opposites
Center
Feelings
States
Ida/Pingala Shushumna
Tension/Exhaustion Complete
relaxation
Selective
memory Truth
Variable
moods Steady neutrality
‘’I want’’ ‘’I
need’’
Tension
Relaxation
Feelings/
Body Discipline
‘’Only in the deepest states of inner
relaxation, of total surrender through self-discipline, does the real
transcendent, trans-personal experience begin. Then we KNOW what happiness
is.’’ (Dr Swami Gitananda)
Swami
Gitananda considers both relaxation and discipline to be vital prerequisites of
our connection with the soul. If we study the above chart, we can see that
relaxation is a fundamental trait of the soul. This occurs because the soul has
no fear of death, and no concern towards achieving goals. The soul therefore
has no need for stress. Contrary to this, the Ego must be in constant stress,
or else its very existence is threatened.
Furthermore,
the soul develops only through discipline, otherwise the senses and the body
(representing the Ego) would render themselves out of control, taking over.
What brings
us complete relaxation and discipline? The obvious answer amongst any Yoga
group, is asanas, pranayama and meditation. This is extremely valid, however
there are other methods, besides the practices of Yoga, which relax us and
bring us into contact with the soul. Sometimes, it is necessary to prepare our
system, particularly if it suffers from a great deal of tension, with something
more tangible, before moving to visualisations in relaxation. A walk in nature,
barefoot walks, a cold or hot shower, a swim in the sea, dancing, music – all
of these are direct ways to relieve stress and then continue with a more
specific relaxation technique.
As your second
exercise this week, find and share with us the actions which directly relieve stress
for you in your lives. Also, find and share the disciplines you have chosen in
order to exercise and train the senses/body/emotions. .
An obvious
prerequisite in order to achieve deep relaxation and discipline are the yamas
and niyamas. The yamas help us prevent the creation of stress, and develop a
field of discipline, while the niyamas will endorse our relaxation and
discipline. Essentially, the niyamas are a clear and certain path to
communication with the soul, and with bliss.
We will
explore the niyamas, through examining the ‘’supernatural abilities’’ (sidhi) which evolve once we perfect each of them. (according to the Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali)
1.
Saucha
(cleanliness) – The perfection of this niyama, brings a feeling of neutrality
regarding the body and the bodies of others. You are not afraid of your body,
of illness, you do not feel disgust or desire for the bodies of others. => This occurs because the impure physical/mental/emotional
layers disperse, and we experience the essence of the inseparable – a quality
of the soul (=> bliss)
The more impure our system is
(body/mind/emotions), the more we identify ourselves with it. This is how much
we feel that we are our bodies, our emotions and our thoughts, and we thus feel
separated from the others. When our system is cleansed, only then do the layers
that separate us from the others and from the Self, disperse, and we feel unity
with everything. The sense of the inseparable activates the thymus gland and the immune system, making the body
strong and resistant to illness.
Additionally, when the blood is
alkaline, then any form of bacteria or virus cannot survive within us,
Remember: the acidic blood is the favourite environment for sickness
(particularly cancer). The sense alone of the alkaline blood makes the
individual feel less afraid. The absence of fear in turn makes our body
alkaline, even if at times our diet or our emotions may turn us ‘’sour’’.
‘’Sour habits’’: Ignorance, jealousy,
fear, useless stress, animal based diet or ‘’dead’’ food, processed food,
impure air, FOOD THAT DOES NOT AGREE WITH OUR SYSTEM, BUT WE EAT IT BECAUSE IT
IS LABELLED ‘’HEALTHY’’.
2.
Santosha
(contentment) – The perfection of this niyama brings BLISS.
This Niyama directly delivers the
bliss that we seek, and thus the connection with the soul. Santosha is the
ability to be satisfied here and now by little things. This sounds simple, but
is not practices by most people, therefore Patnanjali considers it a
‘’supernatural skill’’, simply because man, driven by the ego, has learned to
fulfil desires and then proceed to the next ‘’want’’, without leaving the space
for gratification. The divine instinct
of gratitude is deactivated, and yet
it is gratitude which lays the groundworks for more good things to happen.
3.
Tapas
(discipline, and the ability to use the misfortunes of life for our
development) – The perfection of this niyama perfects the senses and the
body – when the senses and the body do not dominate, then the soul does ---
BLISS.
When we succeed in training ourselves
with the difficulties instead of wallowing in despair, then the senses and the
body (which, when left untrained, are attracted to the pleasant and repulsed by
the unpleasant) are perfected.
4.
Swadiyaya
(Self-knowledge) – The perfection of this Niyama brings connection with the
soul or God ---BLISS.
The model of the universe (God) is US. If we cannot
understand how our complex minds work, we will not be able to understand the
soul, which is simply our parallel self, without the kleshas (layers)
How do we know that we are
communicating with our soul?
1.
When we love ourselves. Only through love can we
see the truth.
2.
We are not hurt by negative criticism, nor are
we excited or dependent on positive feedback. Observe those who do not have a clear
image of themselves, how disturbed they are with negative criticism and how
excited they become with the positive. This is because they expect others to
tell them who they are.
3.
The divine instinct of Discrimination is
activated=> we do not make
mistakes about others or about our lives. We are able to make quick and correct
decisions.
5.
Iswara
Pranidhana (surrender to the higher) => the perfection of which
brings Samandi (connection with God) --- BLISS!
Third home exercise:
Evaluate yourselves
according to the Niyamas, through observing the sidhis (supernatural abilities)
of each Niyama, and assessing to what extent you posess them.
