There is a teaching in yoga about non-attachment (vairagya): Do not cling to the things that bring you pleasure, nor run away from the things that cause pain or fear. Learn to let go of your likes and dislikes, your desires, your aversions. Greet all of life with equanimity.
There is also a teaching in yoga about continuous practice and effort (abhyasa): Strive steadily and persistently for truth, for freedom, for mastery of the mind. Do not stop till you arrive.
For the longest while, I found these teachings somewhat at odds. How can I be calm and contented, yet driven at the same time? How can I free myself from desires, yet still desire mastery, truth and freedom?
And then, just the other day, I read a passage from David Frawley’s book “Vedantic Meditation.” He writes:
“To regain our true will in life we must stand above desire and not take its fantasies as our own. The problem is that we confuse will with desire. We think that will is getting what we want. . . The will to get what we want is not true will at all, only heightened desire. . . True will is freedom from desire. It is the capacity to endure the vicissitudes of life, to remain at peace in gain and loss, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. Otherwise we are slaves to the outer world, regardless of whatever we may own or accomplish (p. 79-80).”
We all have the gift of free will. We are to exercise our will for this purpose:
– to remain centered, grounded, and present
– to remain aware of our reactions, our desires and aversions, to feel them, to observe as they come and go, and yet to remain apart from them, a witness to these inner compulsions rather than a servant to them
– to respond to life and all it brings to us from a place of clarity rather than compulsion.
The practice of yoga shows us how to connect with our True Self, which is blissfully clear, calm and complete. Yoga also strengthens our willpower, so that we can maintain this connection rather than getting drawn into ‘fantasies’ of the mind.
This is heady stuff – not easy to get a grasp on right away – our understanding evolving, deepening over time. And so we return to these ideas again and again, in different ways, as they begin to change the way we see the world.
Stay tuned as I firm up dates/themes for the Fall session of Yoga at Mill Road. Until then, you can join me here and at Vraie Nature Yoga + Énergie: Mondays 4:30-6:00 Yin Yoga and Wednesdays 9:30-11:00 Classical Yoga.
Namaste!