We went to a party over the weekend and the detail that called my attention the most was the instructions on how to get there. the e-mail read: "When you get close to our house, you will want to refer to these directions even if you have a GPS ..."
Even if.
Later on talking to James I wondered for a moment: What if Patanjali has it wrong? What if his GPS is wrong? What do we know after all.
James took it to an extreme and proposed "what if Patanjali is a scam?" He is not, we were just playing with words, playing with the territory. Somehow thinking this way shook all my understandings. I almost panicked.
Patanjali wrote on what he knew, and made a huge effort to compile all knowledge that he thought could help others. But his Sutras are a compilation of road signs, not the path.
The goal of yoga -we hear- is discovering the one behind the curtains, the 'energy' (?) pulling the strings, distinguishing what is real what is not, catching a glimpse of the "seer".
But getting there is not so easy, we get tangled in the web of passion and intrigue and hatred and doubt and disenchantment and dislikes and likes and euphoria and profit and loss and gurus, asanas, and MORE gurus.There is a lot of jungle to walk through.
Driving through a country road Upstate New York on the way to the party we suddenly found ourselves in a national park, registration in front of us, camping sites to the right. We were lost.
The I-pad comes really handy when the G3 works. It puts a little point on the map and you know that the blue dot is your car, and the little point moves with you so you know if you are going in the right direction. I love that little dot.
Patanjali shows us a little pin, that little dot in the yoga path and we can somehow, depending on how clear our 'connection' is, tell whether we are headed in the wrong or right direction.
The best way to tell if we are heading to truth is that our lives become better, we are more centered, balanced, healthy, happy.
Problem is, once we do get happier, healthier, better, clear, balanced....Once we cross the fires and the ice-ages and we get to fertile territory, in the later stages, then there is no more map.
No GPS will help in catching a glimpse of the SELF and we will have to revert to our own intuition and even drop Patanjali himself. We go beyond the yoga sutras. We become....?
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| A beautiful path on a New York National Park |
Later on talking to James I wondered for a moment: What if Patanjali has it wrong? What if his GPS is wrong? What do we know after all.
James took it to an extreme and proposed "what if Patanjali is a scam?" He is not, we were just playing with words, playing with the territory. Somehow thinking this way shook all my understandings. I almost panicked.
Patanjali wrote on what he knew, and made a huge effort to compile all knowledge that he thought could help others. But his Sutras are a compilation of road signs, not the path.
The goal of yoga -we hear- is discovering the one behind the curtains, the 'energy' (?) pulling the strings, distinguishing what is real what is not, catching a glimpse of the "seer".
But getting there is not so easy, we get tangled in the web of passion and intrigue and hatred and doubt and disenchantment and dislikes and likes and euphoria and profit and loss and gurus, asanas, and MORE gurus.There is a lot of jungle to walk through.
Driving through a country road Upstate New York on the way to the party we suddenly found ourselves in a national park, registration in front of us, camping sites to the right. We were lost.
The I-pad comes really handy when the G3 works. It puts a little point on the map and you know that the blue dot is your car, and the little point moves with you so you know if you are going in the right direction. I love that little dot.
 |
| Patanjali would have liked the I-Pad. I think so. |
Patanjali shows us a little pin, that little dot in the yoga path and we can somehow, depending on how clear our 'connection' is, tell whether we are headed in the wrong or right direction.
The best way to tell if we are heading to truth is that our lives become better, we are more centered, balanced, healthy, happy.
Problem is, once we do get happier, healthier, better, clear, balanced....Once we cross the fires and the ice-ages and we get to fertile territory, in the later stages, then there is no more map.
No GPS will help in catching a glimpse of the SELF and we will have to revert to our own intuition and even drop Patanjali himself. We go beyond the yoga sutras. We become....?
uh-oh,lots of traffic coming this way with that title! Good thing there is excellent content once you get here. Who knew? GPS technology as metaphor for sutras...
ReplyDeleteOh I hope so Serene, I must admit I was pretty shocked when I heard James articulate both the big p and the word scam on the same sentence, left me wondering big time... Glad you like the metaphor
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like the choice of the word scam too - not because I think Patanjali (or any other spiritual teacher/tradition) intends to deceive us, but because it is so easy to be misled by the teachings from this or any other tradition, too easy to turn guidance into dogma, and too easy to get attached to the path/practice that works for us and miss the point that life itself is the path and every moment of every day is our practice.
ReplyDeleteNo, I think James is right. Big P presents his yoga sutras as THE authority on Yoga, yet when you get the book and his snakeoil home you find it's just four chapters of subject headings.we wuz robbed I tell ya. Excellent post Claudia and is that you and James I see practicing in a Shala together mat by mat on your header : )
ReplyDeleteTom, agreed. Best not to get attached to dogmatism, you can say that again...
ReplyDeleteGrimmly, yes it is him, he has become a full time yogi... and interesting enough, you continue to challenge my safety way of seeing things... you are quite right there may not be an authority per say, and the only way to realize wether his map is a good one or not is to actually walk the road... and see for ourselves... Thanks for the comment
No no no, I meant how the sutras are subject headings for your guru to then unpick, explain, expand upon. So Patanjali is only doing half the work, providing the keynotes, Vyasa, Sankara and/or your yoga philosophy teacher needs to do the rest.
ReplyDeleteWas trying to be funny : ( not critical.
Wake up Claudia and give me a kick up the backside, need to get on the mat....... perhaps I should clean the Bathroom, first....or the Kitchen...perhaps scrub the fridge......
Ohhhhh I see, ha ha ha, totally got confused there. Yeap, only half the work... hee hee, would he not LOVE to hear that... but true, we need a good teacher to decipher and good commentators :)
ReplyDeleteI just woke up myself, but here comes the kick... hope is not too late! go practice grimmly!!! FORGET THE BATHROOM (i know the feeling)
thanks for the kick but had already got my act together and practiced, thanks tough, but OW, that hurt.
ReplyDeleteha ha ha, the one that needs the kick now is MEEEE.... OK, I am going to the mat, right now!
ReplyDeleteyes practice, (kick), put down the scrubbing brush 9push), leave the fridge alone....to the mat with you
ReplyDeletehave a good one Claudia, mine was just the best, focus on your heat rate....go go