Patanjali states that everything exists for our soul\u2019s sake.\u00a0 We are either here to experience the world or to liberate ourselves from the world. Everything in existence has characteristics that bind us or liberate us.\u00a0 Everything has both\/and.\u00a0 You choose how to work with the universe\/God\u2019s creation\/nature\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n
At the very beginning of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces the concept of both\/and.\u00a0 He lists thought patterns that can be both harmless and\/or harmful. \u00a0For example, one of the thought patterns mentioned is memory. Without memory, we cannot do basic functions like drive a car or make breakfast. However, dwelling on events from our past can cause pain in our futures. Remembering why we come to our mats can help us maintain a consistent practice but clinging to our past physical accomplishments on the mat results in comparison and suffering. Our memories can be both a blessing and a curse all at the same time.<\/p>\n
To get a deeper understanding of working with paradox on the spiritual path, let\u2019s go back to the examples in the first paragraph.\u00a0 Should we or should we not avoid pain? In order to change, grow and evolve, we often must become uncomfortable.\u00a0 For example, if you want to become more physically fit, you must endure the pain of sore muscles. This is good pain. \u00a0If you use improper form during your workout and become injured, this is the pain that should and could have been avoided. \u00a0Another type of pain, that may be beneficial to work with and not avoid, is emotional pain that keeps you yoked to fear, shame, anger, guilt and hate.\u00a0 This type of pain keeps you locked in the Klesha of Avidya, ignorance of your true nature.\u00a0 Avidya is an obstacle to yoga. On the flip side, if you had an unhealthy relationship with your ex that you healed from and they ask you on a date, that may be a type of pain that you would want to avoid.<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s look at yogic practices. If you have a mental tug of war whenever you miss practice, you are most likely attached to it. \u00a0This is not all bad. Sometimes, we have to baby step change. Going straight from stressed out mess to enlightenment may be too much of a stretch. A daily practice provides a systematized way of gradually working with our neurosis. As we slowly create new healthy patterns, it is important to occasionally reevaluate our practice and ask ourselves if our practice is leading us to freedom of bondage. The practice, when done properly, should create more freedom in your heart, soul and mind. As you become freer, you grow less attached to yogic techniques. Eventually, the yogi can keep his heart and mind light without the use of yogic techniques.<\/p>\n
Our last example will be Swami Svatmarama\u2019s, the author of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, declaration that yogis should not follow rules, however they should follow their teacher\u2019s rules. \u00a0While there have definitely been sages that didn\u2019t make rules or honestly, even want students, who managed to teach students, yogic practices generally come with rules. Even if a teacher shows many different variations of Down Dog, there is still some idea of the general shape or purpose of a Down Dog which means there are rules for Down Dog.<\/p>\n
We cannot get around rules. The universe has rules. If you jump off your roof, you will not float up\u2026unless you have super powers. We also will most likely always need someone else to teach us about rules. Our parents or care givers were our first teachers. They taught us that, even with a cape, if we jump off the roof, we will not fly but fall straight down.<\/p>\n
Though yoga is ultimately an individual journey, a yoga teacher ensures that the yogi has a good map for their journey.\u00a0 So, when do we not follow rules? Swami Muktibodhananda, a teacher and commentator on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika says, \u201cAs far as social rituals and religious doctrines are concerned, it is unnecessary that they be maintained for spiritual progress. Sadhana (practice) is not dependent on social morals nor are its effects promoted by religious practices. Adhering to rules makes one narrow minded. Yoga is meant to expand the consciousness, not to limit it. A yogi should have a free and open mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
As we practice, we get to know ourselves. Discernment grows and we understand what actions lead us further on the yogic journey, which ones are inconsequential and which ones stop progress.\u00a0 \u00a0Any rules that don\u2019t serve the yogi or the greater good are questioned and possibly cast aside.\u00a0 A great example of this is Gandhi, who used civil disobedience to protest British colonial rule.<\/p>\n
The quote, \u201cA yogi does not do what is right. A yogi does what is appropriate\u201d by Sadhguru is a really beautiful way of looking at paradox in the spiritual world. Every moment calls for a new and different action. What is right for one moment, may not be appropriate for another. Within every moment or person there lies the seeds of good and evil, death and life, growth and stagnation and\/or liberation and bondage. Traversing the slope of paradox calls for a strong heart, a willingness to stay open and the ability to forgive.\u00a0 We are human and flawed. \u00a0Because we hold the possibility for both\/and, sometimes we will not do what is appropriate and we will not do what is right. Luckily, we can find our way back on the spiritual path as many times as we need. No effort is wasted and no one is ever permanently lost.<\/p>\n
By Shanna Small<\/p>\n
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