Discriminative Wisdom

One who is everywhere without attachment, on meeting with anything good or bad, who neither rejoices nor hates, his wisdom is fixed. (Bhagavad Gita 2:57)

The Yoga of discriminative wisdom, or Gyan Yoga, is sorely needed in our modern yogic community.  It is sorely needed in our society.  The goal of yoga practice is not being able to get into some advanced body-wrenching asana.  The goal is to develop inner peace, inner joy and unconditional love.  It is to realize the oneness of consciousness.  An essential practice for helping us to develop these enlightened qualities is vairagya, “nonattachment.”  Another is persistent practice of meditation. 

The practice of asana, or “postures” without developing a meditative practice as well is a travesty.  It is not Yoga, but simply exercise.  Practiced carelessly, it might even lead to physical harm.  Discriminative wisdom goes hand in hand with nonattachment.  It means discriminating between what is truly real and what is false and illusory.  It means discovering that we are immortal spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience; realizing that the external world of “good and bad” is really a projection of our desires.

True inner peace is not found in possessions, relationships, business success or even mastering a difficult pose.  It is found by recognizing our true nature as Atman – consciousness beyond the limitations of the mind.  Your true nature is peace, is joy, is unconditional love.  If you cannot find it within yourself, you won’t find it anywhere else!