Yoga occurs when the patterns of mind become completely still.
Then the Self rests in its own true nature.
-
Patanjali
Who are we? If we think about it too much we miss the
point. In fact, most of us assume that
we are who we think we are. Who we think
we are is based on our conditioning – who we have been taught to believe we
are. Our apparent identity is based on
name, family relations, social status, how we look, our achievements or lack
thereof, race and ethnicity, religious upbringing, marital partner, offspring,
pets, cars, favorite sports teams, musical tastes, health condition, and so on
and on. From a deeper perspective it is
all false.
All of the things listed above are
relative and impermanent. Yoga teaches
us that there is something else within us that is unchanging, independent and
universal. It is referred to as Atman,
the Self. It is neither body nor
mind. Instead it is pure awareness. Atman witnesses the passing parade of the
world without getting involved. It
employs body and mind as instruments for this particular human experience but
is not bound by them.
Ultimately the sense of a separate self is
lost in the awareness of Atman – in the awareness of awareness itself. When we are falsely identified with body and
mind we see ourselves as inexorably separate and ultimately alone in the
universe. When we rest in our true
self-nature as Atman, as pure awareness we are intimately connected with God
and with all beings. In this sense Atman
is Love. Not love of this or that but
all-encompassing, unconditional Love that flows through everything.
Meditation is what enables us to
deconstruct our false identification and to rest in our essential nature as
Love-Bliss-Awareness. Concentrative
meditation as taught in the Yoga Sutras helps us to transcend the pervasive
patterns of the mind that condition our awareness. Another approach is simply to witness the
mind’s activity from the vantage point of the inner witness, or Sakshi. Either way (or both) with persistent practice
and patience, we can awaken from the false dream of the world into a
recognition of our inner perfection.
