Tag Archives: enjoyment

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Moksha

All week we have been looking at the four aspects of living (purusartha), that cared for together, can constitute a life of meaning and quality. If you want to have the good life according to yoga, you would care for dharma (your spiritual practice and connection to others), artha (gaining sufficient physical means), kama (enjoying what you encounter in life), and finally moksha (liberation).

Derived from the word muc – “to free,” moksha traditionally means that one realizes the truth of ones nature, and the divine within ones self and hence becomes free from the cycle of death and rebirth. In some circles this is seen as truly about actual death and rebirth, and in other groups this is seen metaphorically, and can even refer to the experiences within ones single life. The path to liberation, or freedom can be approached in different ways. Meditation, devotion (Bhakti), the practice of karma yoga (service), or the practice of yoga itself can each lead one to come to understand ones true nature.

The other three aspects of purusartha are meant to provide the person with the ability to look at ones own nature more clearly. Self-realization is set as the main goal of living life, and pursuit of understanding what one is is encouraged as a discipline of high value according to yoga. Looking within and seeing what you find for yourself can truly be a rewarding experience.

The practice for today would include meditation and perhaps some balance poses to support this going within and seeing what you find out about your own true nature. See what it is that arises, whether it is stress, fear, planning, or happiness, and just watch to see as each experience fades what arises as constant, steady about what you are.

Another way to use to today to practice moksha would be to take some time and break free from the usual routine. Stop by a co-worker’s desk or a neighbor’s house and tell a joke, have a little fun. You can take some time and just be free of your idea of what your roles and obligations are. Relax. Have a little fun and spend a little more time doing something meaningful to you, and even sharing that with someone else. See if you can go to the store and have a good time with it. Rather than merely playing the role of “person buying something.” see if you can make 5 people smile. Notice if they are able to play along and how much gratitude and enjoyment can arise within you as you witness them being free and playful, too. Everyone needs moments of joy as well as moments of seriousness. See what you can do to make your moment more than just adhering to the roles and rules.

This weekend, you may want to take time to practice some aspect of each of the 4 purusartha, to see how it feels to live this way.

I hope you have an easeful, peaceful and useful weekend!

Yoga Pose of the Day: Fish Pose – Matsyasana

Yogic Concept of the Day: What am I?

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Kama

by: Robert Radford

The third part of the purusartha, or aspects of life that are necessary in order to feel fulfillment, is called kama. It literally means worldly pleasures and refers to whatever it is that is desired. It can be wealth, fame, and pleasures of having extra chocolate, sexual enjoyment, or really anything else as far as pleasure is concerned.

You may be wondering how this is different from yesterday’s concept of artha, which was material wealth. It is important to care both for the material needs of yourself and the family (artha) and to have a sense of gaining pleasure from them (kama). It is not considered helpful to suppress the desires, but rather to allow yourself to seek healthy and meaningful sources of pleasure, rather than those that would bring harm. In order to gain satisfaction in life, it is considered helpful to find contentment (santosha) and even joy in what we experience as we are able.

Perhaps one aspect of this could be taking time to allow ourselves to be more aware of what it is we desire in life, truly. Then we can find ways to work towards this while honoring those in our care and our relationship to all those who would be involved. Also, kama could mean taking your time to really be where you are, wake up to your life in each moment. In other words, you may take on a practice of santosha (contentment) and allow yourself to “take time to smell the roses” and enjoy what is already in front of you. Taking an extra moment to walk around the block instead of watching commercials, placing a garnish on the dinner plates for your family, and preparing potpourri for your linen closet could all be considered kama. Working toward getting pleasure from what is already in front of you can be a beautiful way to focus your attention and bring out some creativity and joy in yourself as well as those around you.

Today, you might take a little time and pick some things you do each week that do not necessarily bring pleasure, then you can think of ways to increase the amount of joy you may feel while accomplishing those tasks. Perhaps you want to play music while you do the dishes, or place a few candles in the bathroom. Who knows what you might come up with? The point is to spend a little time seeing how you might better enjoy what is already in your life.

Yoga Pose of the Day: Hand to Big Toe Pose – Utthita Hasta Padangustasana

Yogic Concept of the Day: How can I take a moment to make this experience a little more enjoyable? Can I pay attention or give a little more effort?

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Delight in the Virtuous

(Continued from previous two posts)

I had a vegan friend in college who was a roommate for a time. It was difficult for me, a vegetarian at the time, to work with the lack of cheese on pizza, and the insults I received for eating honey. I found I had not thought through a lot of my choices at that point. I was first living away from my parents, and had been a vegetarian in high school, but this was a whole new world. It hadn’t occurred to me to worry about how the paint I used, or the shirt I was wearing had been made. It was shocking that a silk-screened t-shirt I was so proud of creating could offend someone, because one of the chemicals used came from bugs. I was hurt that I tried so hard to make good decisions, and there were people judging those decisions so harshly. I mean, at what point is being exact too much? At what point does being virtuous hurt someone else? Where would I draw that line? How would I deal with the fact that others drew that line somewhere else?

Our next lock is virtuousness. When I first saw this, I immediately felt like Patanjali (the writer of the Yoga Sutras) must have run into some people like the militant vegans I met in the early 90′s, too. I was so delighted that I could see someone else thought of this problem.

Sometimes we use the term “hoity-toity” or snobby to refer to the virtuous. Perhaps there is someone you know who is always one-upping those around them, or who is always expressing something about their own efforts and how great or successful they are. Maybe they aren’t snobby, but they are certainly on some kind of mission and seem to think that others want to listen or join in. Maybe that is not always a problem. Maybe it seems to only be a problem when we disagree with the effort, or when it challenges us personally in some way.

This lock could also refer to people who are returning to school, attempting to buy a house, or securing some support for their families. In any of these instances… we can be pulled into thinking of our own agreement or disagreement with the other person’s choices. Maybe we even enjoy the virtues another person expresses, but there is something in us that holds back, that wants to compare ourselves to that person. This is not the most helpful response.

Yoga is the restraint of the mind’s wheel of thoughts which is turning. Can we slow the mind down? Let it turn a little less? Don’t let your thoughts move to comparisons or challenges when someone is expressing virtuousness, regardless of whether you agree or not. This getting hooked on our agreement or disagreement with the virtue of another is a trap. I am not saying that you shouldn’t have opinions or virtues. I actually appreciate people attempting to live according to integrity and virtue. I am just saying that the comparison as an internal response to others’ expressions of virtue is not helpful.

So – the skillful response suggested in yoga is to express delight. We can express that we are happy for the person in their observance of virtue as they understand it. Of course, if it is inspiring to you, you can attempt to engage and participate – but we don’t need to join in to express delight. We can just enjoy that we have people around us who are working toward something, who care about their choices and impact. This quality can be enjoyable, even if the particulars may not be what we are personally into. Don’t let the mind “get hooked” on the trap of comparing yourself to them. We really do get to just enjoy them and their efforts.

As for my vegan friends of the past: We have all grown a little older by now. Some of them have moved on and eat meat now. Some of them have continued to be vegans. Some are physically well and some are not. I appreciate that they took time with their own contemplation on their reasons. It seems to have led all of them that I still know to be more kind in expressing their choices. I truly appreciate their gentleness, and take a lot of joy in all the new foods I get to try as a result of their efforts! sometimes expressing delight just means celebrating efforts and being a willing listener. I am not personally, vegan, but I appreciate getting the opportunity to see how that turns out, in any case!

Locks and Keys:

Happiness – Friendliness

Unhappiness – Compassion

Virtuousness – Delight

See you tomorrow!