Attaining the Life of Your Dreams

Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash

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Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
- Mahatma Gandhi

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This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series.  
​Want to start at the beginning?
Yoga Sutras
Book Four: Kaivalya Pada

Book Four of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is an enigma to me and many other serious yoga practitioners.  As we’ve been hinting at throughout this series but especially in our discussions of the third book, Vibhuti Pada, the final stages of a practitioner’s journey are beyond the mind and thus, extremely difficult to describe in a way the mind understands.  This work is something that needs to be experienced to be truly understood.  

While I have advanced somewhat in my practice and understanding of samyama over the last fifteen years, frankly, I have a long way to go towards true liberation of my mind.  Therefore, my writings this year will be incomplete and I will be striving to understand these concepts along with you.
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Like all the other padas, to a keen practitioner, reading just the fourth would be enough to understand Patanjali’s meaning.  Pada four “explores the universal laws that govern the life of a spiritual being from birth to final incarnation.” (Bhakt, 185)  It is a complete Vedantic explanation of the universe.

Apparently, Patanjali wrote Kaivalya Pada for an advanced student, named Purnanjali, as “a summary of the tradition’s teachings to prepare him for the final step to spiritual integration.” (Stiles, xviii)  So while book four may provide some insights for beginners in yoga and meditation, more likely, this chapter may prove frustrating for those just starting to decipher the Sutras.  I remember when I first studied The Yoga Sutras in my 200-hour teacher training, I found book four incomprehensible.  It’s only after reading and discussing the sutras, going back to the mat to practice, going out into the world to practice, re-reading and discussing the sutras again (and again… and again…) have I started to make sense of this chapter.  

I say this not as a way to discourage the eager beginner from reading, learning or applying lessons from pada four.  But to remind this beginner that frustration is a natural part of insight and an indication that big changes are on the horizon.  This pada is worth the effort because while it may seem to be only theoretical, “hidden practical aspects are present in each sutra.” (Iyengar, 241)

For those finding this chapter frustratingly complex and esoteric, keep going!  Return to the first and second padas, get on your mat, and try to live the sutras in your daily life.  This book is not one you read, put into action and put away forever.  It requires steady effort and detachment from results (remember that?) to make headway on it.

We will begin the year with Patanjali’s analysis of how one may attain a completely liberated mind by overcoming karma and samskaras.  In the middle of this year, we’ll review the qualities of nature (the gunas) and distinguish consciousness from the Purusha or universal soul.  And in the final months, we will discuss what happens once an adept practitioner transcends the gunas.  Extinguishing their samskaras by fulfilling the four aims of life, “dharma (righteous duty), artha (prosperity), kama (sensual pleasure), and moksha (spiritual liberation).” (Stiles xviii)

So join me in this, the final year of our Yoga Sutras series, to discover more about ourselves, our purpose and duties in life, and ultimately, how to liberate ourselves from the dualities that afflict us while within the human body.

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What would life look like if we were all unaffected by dualities?  Could pleasure and pain, good and bad, ease and difficulty both serve as karmic lessons to overcome nature and become one with each other?  Do these polarities even really matter?  Let’s live in love.