Distractions that are Obstacles YS I - 30

YADHI STYANA SAMSAYA PRAMADALA-SYAVIRATI BHRANTIDARSANALABDHABHU-MIKATVANAVASTHITATVANI CITTAVIKSEPAS TE'NTARAYAH- Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained-these distractions of the mind-stuff are the obstacles.

The above statement is from Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras I-30. Swami Satchidananda describes the above examples of obstacles of being more or less like a chain. The first obstacle is a physical disease, which in turn makes one dull. Thus the mind becomes dull as you cannot think correctly. So here comes doubt, thus making one careless and lethargic. Now laziness manifests when the mind loses interest and alertness towards what we have as a goal. If nothing is done at this point, the mind will slow down and descend into sensual enjoyments. An example would be that I am typing this post and then I get distracted with the television and get engrossed in a show. Thus I lose the enthusiasm for the moment and get pulled off my course of completing this writing.

Swami Satchidananda states that these obstacles could be" summed up as the qualities of tamas or inertia, dullness." He goes on to address the slipping down from the progress (ground) one has gained. He gives the example of how as beginners we are enthusiastic about our practice. We may even be proud of our progress, however, all of sudden one day we lose that enthusiasm and slip to rock bottom. It happens to everybody at sometime. This is common as the mind can't function on the same level always. There are ups and downs. If our progress was steady all the time, "there would be no challenge, no game to it."

So Swami Satchidananda reminds us that Yoga is like an obstacle course, or race. Yog is there to let us see our strengths and realize our capabilities. It seems we learn more when we are challenged. I would say it wakes us up when things always seems the same. That is the challenge in completing the course. It is then we see our power and not become complacent.

Distractions and Dharana

There are so many distractions today in our lives. Cell phones, ipods, the television, the internet, loud sounds from the airplanes, buses and trains. Especially living in the city. If you happen to live in the surburbs and the country, it might be a little quieter outside, but there still all the gadgets we have to keep us distracted. Distractions can be defined as inattentiveness, misdirection, confusedness.

Many people are stressed out due to the many distractions on a daily basis. This is why we do not experience constantly being present or at peace with ourselves. It becomes too much when there is no mindfulness. So this is where a tool comes into play here. In order to survive the many distractions we need dharana. Dharana is a sanskrit word, which basically means concentration or focus in one direction. Dharana is the sixth limb of yoga as defined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali I will delve into this work periodically in future posts.

So getting back to the tools we have, concentration on specific tasks and or object can help us with the many distractions in our modern life. And the best way to deal with distractions is to begin to practice meditation or dhyana. Dhyana is an essential part of practicing asanas (yogic postures). Dhyana is essential to every day life.

To be continued...