“The beauty of Yogic and other schools of spirituality that makes things extra convenient for us all is that some people took it upon themselves to look at the experience of connection scientifically (making an observation, formulating a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis, and then analyzing and reporting their results) so that we not only have the experience described and detailed in writing, but we also have the way to get to this experience mapped out from careful qualitative analyses over centuries as well.”
Week 18: The Truth That Your Pure Self Cannot Be Corrupted (Sutra 24)
“Isvara is the supreme Purusa (pure self), unaffected by any afflictions, actions, fruits of actions or by any inner impressions of desires.”
–The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Sutra (Thread) or Lesson 24: Klesa Karma Vipakasayairaparamrstah Purusavisesa Isvarah
Klesa: afflictions | Karma: actions | Asayaih: storehouse of impressions left by desires | Aparamrstah: unaffected by | Purusa: self, soul | Visesah: distinction | Isvarah: supreme God
Isvara, the pure self, Patanjali writes, is not affected by worldly things, nor is it affected by life itself.
Neither great suffering, one’s actions, the outcome of one’s actions, nor any thoughts, memories, nor past experiences can alter, distort, impact, or touch, the pure self.
Isvara (what Patanjali calls your true self) connected to/undistinguished from the source of your full “I-am” presence, is pure, and unchanging.
Your true self cannot suffer, nor can it be corrupted by desire nor past expressions or states of being.
Isvara cannot be improved upon, nor diminished by actions or (as a) result of one’s actions. And nothing can override the pure self. Not even past impressions of false self-expressions in the form of ego-overidentification and articulation can alter the truth of this pure, untroubled presence.
Isvara, therefore, is your truest and purest expression, and is naturally in a state of eternal peace that cannot be disturbed, wounded, scarred, or valuated by, or in, the world.
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Week 14: Reflections On What It Means To “Be In The World But Not Of It” (Sutra 18)
Even your most prized opinions are attachments that you must dissolve in order to no longer be pulled and shackled by the illusions, and suffering, of the mind and the world.
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