“When there is non-thirst for even the gunas (constituents of Nature) due to the realization of the Purusa (True Self, seed of manifested consciousness that animate the elemental physical form), that is supreme non-attachment.”
–The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Tat Param Purusa Khyater Gunavaitrsnyam
Tat: that | Param: supreme | Purusa: True Self manifested | Khyateh: due to the realization | Guna: of any of the constituents of nature | vairrsnyam: non-thirst
Rumi and other ecstatic poets of the past knew it, and if you have ever had a taste of connection with your highest expression, you know it too. While other pleasures are still possible in life after connecting to your highest-Self, and nothing is wrong with living and enjoying life and everything that it has to offer, enjoying basic comforts and pleasures in a non-attached way, nothing compares to the connection with your divine expression, and nothing ever will.
Once this state of consciousness has been attained, one naturally loses her/his appetite for everything else and spends his/her entire life trying to build a stronger bond with that pure energy/consciousness for as long, and as consistently, as possible in his/her lifetime. Once initial union is obtained, and we experience the bliss of that perfect and glorious experience, connection with this state of consciousness becomes our only true beloved, and we unwaveringly commit and dedicate our lives to it with all of our being.
In this state, we have no eyes for anything else, because our Love and satisfaction is whole and complete, which is why, for this Love, billions of people have journeyed both inward and all across the globe for thousands of years. Some go on long pilgrimages to connect to God, others sacrifice everything for the call of their spirit, and millions of temples have been lovingly erected using trillions and trillions of dollars worth of time, energy, and resources in honor of this Love. If we simply purify our vessel/inner landscape and create/open up the space within us to invite our full Self into our being from where we sit or stand at any given moment, however, no further sacrifice is required in order to connect because connected is a part of who we truly are.
Anyone who is a seeker knows about the beauty of what she/he is striving for, and anyone who is a willing receiver of this beauty knows the experience. Either one is a sufficient motivating factor for a spiritual journey, and this is why any human on any spiritual path anywhere in the world is willing to be who he/she needs to be in order to connect, or continue to connect, with their divine expression each day. Getting even just a glimpse of this highest connection is enough to make innumerable amounts of humans throughout time and history devote their entire life to their practice.
The good news is that once connection is obtained, with practice and/or self-surrender, it (through a process of integration) becomes one’s natural state of being, with happiness and non-attachment becoming a default part of who one is for the entirety of his/her lifetime (as long as she/he continues to walk the path). At this point of natural everyday expression, “nothing needs to be starved” according to Swami Satchidananda, and a practitioner can fully/truly enjoy the world and all of it’s pleasures since he/she will have connected with the most important and beautiful thing that is possible to experience in this lifetime, and, therefore, no true attachment to objects of this world. Once regular connection is present in one’s being, she/he will also simultaneously get to enjoy all of the beauty of the physical manifestation of that same divine expression in different forms in the external world during their lifetime.
One’s aim, however, should always be to “achieve supreme vairagya [non-attachment] first [in life, which means becoming steady in one’s pure mind and free from attachment to all Earthly desires, so as to avoid unnecessary Karmas, etc,] and then [she/he can] enjoy” (Swami Satchidananda) all of the beauty that he/she is a part of in the world. This, according to the implications of the “experience” of direct connection, and Yoga Sutra 16, is our birthright (which Swami Satchidananda goes on to emphasize). Everyone deserves to create this happiness in their lifetime.
So, what, if you are not already doing so by now in week 12 of our practice, is one thing that you can let go of today in order to connect with your highest expression/spirit?
Is it time to sit and meditate that you must devote, or a thought that keeps you attached to one thing or another that you must give up?
Remember to bring everything, especially your most prized attachments, to the alter of your divine expression. Burn all attachments for the sake of gaining something far greater than these and all other things and experiences (throughout all of time and existence) combined.
