“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.” –Sutra I.33
How’s that as a how-de-do the first thing on a Friday morning?! Let’s go get some coffee and try again.
You back? GOOD MORNING!! And moving on…
I’m getting ready for another round of yoga teacher training, which brought me back here to this sutra. We studied the sutras, one of yoga’s special texts, during our last session. Some folks get worried that yoga is a religion. That, it’s not, but it definitely can be a spiritual practice. That’s what I like about this training – I’m getting beyond just the moves. (Though this weekend is the anatomy session, so I’m guessing we’ll be heavy on the moves. Hello foam roller, I already can’t wait to spend time with you Sunday evening!) Anyway, the sutras are suggestions for how to live (vs. what NOT to do that you sometimes hear in religious texts.) This one is particularly all-encompassing, yet so simple.
This statement is a great reminder for me to come back to everyday. I am guilty of being very jealous when others have something I want. This reminds me to just be happy for them. My day will come with or without any extra fixation on what I want. I just need to be patient (and/or realize I really don’t want it all.)
On the other hand, when others are dealing with something difficult, I need to learn to find compassion for them, but not take it on myself. I am a big worrier, so I can easily feed on other people’s problems. Compassion is enough. Often, when I am unhappy, I just want someone to listen, not find a solution.
As I reflect on my own spiritual practice, I often find myself looking at others who claim to have a better relationship with their God, but, to me, don’t seem to be practicing all the rules. This sutra reminds me that these people are comfortable with their religious beliefs and their practices are virtuous enough for them. I should find peace with that. Folks in my circle are breaking “rules” like no meat on Fridays during Lent and living with a significant other before marriage, not commandments, so I should find delight in the fact they have convictions as they do.
And finally, the wicked. Youzer, it is easy to focus WAY too much attention on these people. I try to let bad situations roll off my back with varying levels of success. This phrase reminds me to do just that. Also, it helps to remind me that you never know the situation the “bad” person is in. We should remember that we probably aren’t the reason the person is being rude and try to forget it.
I wrote in my class notebook that this sutra is applicable “not to save the world, just to be at peace with ourselves”. I think that is just as important. We can’t take on the world all by our lonesome, but the more each of us finds peace within ourselves, the more the world is headed in the right direction.
Could you live like this – just observing and not taking on the emotion of those you encounter?
