I, 33 ? SPECIFIC METHODS OF DHARANA FOR OVERCOMING OBSTACLES ? Appropriate attitudes

Yoga Discussion Structural Yoga Therapy
#1

[b]I, 33 Maitri karuna mudita upeksananam sukha dukha punya apunya visayanam bavanatah citta prasadanam

By cultivating attitudes
of friendliness
towards happiness,
compassion
towards suffering,
delight
towards virtue,
and equanimity
towards vice,
thoughts become purified,
and the obstacles
to self knowledge
are lessened.[/b]

M. Stiles

A perfect gem.

Iyengar, Sw. Satchidananda and Sw. Shyam agree that this sutra concisely states how one can achieve a serene mind by applying the appropriate attitudes towards the four main types of people/situation one encounters.

Simple yet profound.

Mukunda provided the following ayurvedic insights:
Happiness is a kapha condition therefore meet happiness with friendliness to increase kapha for both. Allow the prana to come in. For those that connect with Devi, happiness/friendliness is an aspect of KARUNA DEVI (or LAXMI) who is an ocean of compassion.

Suffering is a condition of deranged vata therefore requires compassion with discernment which increases kapha and pitta in the sadhaka and reduces vata in the sufferer. In my personal experience, compassion without discernment increases vata for both. For those that connect with DEVI, ask TARA who embodies discerning compassion for guidance and surrender to KALI so that the force of transformation can flow through.

Virtue is a kapha condition therefore meet virtue with delight to increase kapha for both; this is an aspect of KARUNA DEVI (or LAXMI).

Vice/Wickedness is a condition that increases vata and pitta therefore meet it with equanimity and utilize it as an opportunity to cultivate sattvic state. Ask TARA for help with detachment and offer up the vice to be burned by KALI.

Iyengar, B.K.S., Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New Delhi, India: Harper Collins Publications India. 1993

Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Buckingham, VA: Integral Yoga Publications. 2004

Stiles, M., Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Boston, MA: Red Wheel/Weiser LLC. 2002.

Discussion with M. Stiles. (3 or 4 November, 2005. Integral Yoga Center, NYC)

#2

I found the ayurvedic interpretations very interesting and helpful, also connections with Devi, I have being working with these principles in an elemental way, compassion > water, pragmatism> earth, discernment and transformation, purification > fire , detachment > air either. Sattva all 5 elements, balancing each other. What is the quality of this encounter? How are they feeling, how am I feeling/responding? Which elements are evident? Which need to be cultivated?

Love to you all

#3

There are parallels here with sutra?s II-33 and II-34 (pratipaksha bhavana). This sutra is essentially buddhist by nature. It also demonstrates how concise the sutras are and the need for commentary and a guru. In Theravada Buddhist schools sutra I-30 is the basis of an elaborate meditation practice. For example, cultivating friendliness or loving-kindness (metta in Pali, maitri in Sanskrit) is done as follows: Sit in a meditation pose and repeat the following phrases: ?May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy.? These phrases and the accompanying feeling are subsequently directed towards others ? a benefactor, a friend, a neutral person, a difficult person, the wider community and all sentient beings. This makes for a meditation practice to be developed over weeks or months. This practice goes all the way back to the Buddha. There are similar practices (with slightly different phrasing)for developing compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity.

#4

I came across the following verses from selections of the Dhammapada in Andrew Harvey’s “A Walk with Four Spiritual Guides”; some how they seem to resonate with this sutra…

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never leaves.”

“Virtuous ones delight in this world and delight in the next one. They delight in both. They delight and rejoice when they see the purity of their own deeds.”

“Virtuous ones are happy in this world and in the next. They are happy when they think of the good they have done. They are even happier when they continue on the good path.”

#5

I love this sutra. It repeats my teachings on cultivating a beneficial attitude towards all beings - for my good and theirs.

#6

[QUOTE=Willem;5193]This sutra is essentially buddhist by nature. [/QUOTE]

Sutras are Vedic by nature & NOT buddhist.

#7

Hi. I just found this forum.
I heard the virtues mentioned here were popular in India at the time of Patanjali, and Buddha also adopted them as an important part of his doctrine. In Buddhism they are called Brahma Vihara - the adobe of Brahma, which seems to point to their Vedic origin.