Week 26: The Way You Look At Others Should Not Disturb Your Inner Peace (Sutra 33)

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“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”

–The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Maitri Karuna Muditopeksanam Sukha Duhkha Punyapunya Visayanam Bhavanatas Citta Prasadanam

Maitri: friendliness | Karuna: compassion | Mudita: delight | Upeksa: discard | Anam: of these four | Sukha: Happy | Duhkha: unhappy/suffering | Punya: virtuous | Apunya: wicked | Visaya: in the domain | Anam: of the four, with respect to the previous four | Bhavanatah (bhavanatas): cultivating the attitudes | Citta: mind-stuff | Prasadanam: undisturbed calmness

Be kind to those who are fortunate and experiencing luck and happiness at any point in their life. Have compassion for those who are suffering and/or in pain. Find joy in the presence and existence of those who are morally fit, upstanding/admirable in their nature, and who follow the path or righteousness. And, last, but definitely not least, pay little to no attention to bad-minded, evil, and wicked people. This is the key to maintaining an undisturbed and calm mind in life that will keep you on track, and undisturbed, as you move toward your goal of Self-Realization.

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Week 25: Reflections On Meditation As A Means To Create Freedom From The Trauma And Suffering Caused By Separation From The Source And The True Self (Sutras 31-32)

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“In Yoga, after you have practiced bringing or directing your attention to a common center or objective, first using gross and then subtle objects, the aim is to eventually make your focal point the essence and meaning of OM.

You metaphorically move from the bottom of the symbol to the top and eventually focus on the dot at the top of the symbol, which represents the pure source of all of creation (as discussed in our previous weeks’ Sutra Studies), and you merge back into the true self through these efforts of concentration.”

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