Lately, I’ve been reading the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. This ancient Indian text was written about 400 CE in Sanskrit. It contains 196 aphorisms – sūtras, or “threads” – that present the essence of yoga. It is a concise manual, at times enigmatic in its conciseness, that begins with the premise that
1.2 Yoga is the cessation of the waves of the mind.
What follows is an overview of the mind and its workings, the superconscious state in which one transcends the mind and experiences truth directly (samādhi), and the eight limbs of yoga which lead to this superconscious state. (More on the superconscious state next week.)
A few weeks ago, I got to the section about āsana. Today, we know āsana as the practice of yoga postures. Over a thousand years ago, here is what Patañjali had to say on the topic:
2.46 Āsana is a steady, comfortable posture.
2.47 By lessening the natural tendency for restlessness and by meditating on the infinite, posture is mastered.
2.48 Thereafter, one is not disturbed by the dualities [i.e. pleasure-pain, good-bad, etc.].
There’s lots to digest in these three sūtras, but can you guess which one phrase resounded in my mind like the striking of a gong?
I’ll tell you: “Meditating on the infinite.” I had never really thought about meditating on the infinite during my āsana practice. I had certainly thought about finding steadiness and comfort… balancing effort and ease… coming to a place of inner and outer stillness in the postures… but meditating on the infinite?
What might it mean to meditate on the infinite in the āsanas, or even in everyday life?
Let’s start with the word “meditating.” In brief, meditation is the fixing of the mind on one point or object. First, the senses and the mind withdraw from other distractions (pratyāhāra). Then, the mind directs itself towards one thing (dhāraṇā) and maintains that focus (dhyāna). As the fire of concentration builds and intensifies, insights arise (samādhi); the mind and body become illumined from within.
Now, how about “the infinite”? The Sanskrit word Patañjali uses here is ananta. What is ananta, and how can we meditate upon it? I imagine there are many answers to this question – and yet, no true answer that can be put into words. Ananta, the Infinite, must be felt, intuited, experienced. But let’s talk about it anyway, acknowledging that limited words can never fully capture the unlimited. Here are some ideas:
1/ To meditate on ananta, we can use mantra. We can focus the mind on one sacred sound or phrase, and repeat it mentally with as much concentration as we can only muster – relaxed concentration, though – not tense concentration! The mind will certainly wander; as soon as we notice that it has, we simply bring it back to the mantra, without reaction, without judgement.
The Sanskrit word om (or aum) is the sound that contains all sounds, the mantra that contains all mantras. It is considered the most primordial, the most potent mantra of all. It is a sound that in some inexplicable way expresses, contains, and even is the Infinite. We can repeat this sound internally as we practice our postures. Of course, there are other mantras. So hum – “That I am” – is a beautiful mantra to repeat with the breath; so as we inhale, hum as we exhale. Concentrate on the mental repetition of the sound, the feeling of the sound, the blossoming of the sound within.
2/ Aside from mantra, or in addition to mantra, we can seek to sense the Infinite around and within us. Sometimes, during my āsana practice, or even as I go about my daily activities, I am suddenly aware of the breeze from an open window, or the sunlight, or the sound of the rain, or the fragrance of nearby flowers… and I feel that Heaven has come down to Earth, to me. And I draw that Heavenliness into my being, through my eyes, through my skin, through my breath.
Sometimes when I sing with others, as we do in Kirtan, I am struck by the realization that it is the same air, the same breath, the One Infinite Breath, that flows through all of us, creating our many voices. Our many voices creating One Sound. This One Sound arising from and returning to Infinite Silence.
Did you know that the atom is 99.999999% empty space? And what is in that space? Nothing – just a vacuum. The building block of our cells, our bodies, of all matter is essentially space. The same Infinite space pervades all of life, holding the atoms together, holding the planets together. If you were to try, could you imagine and maybe even feel that space in your body? We can observe the spaces between our fingers, our toes, our limbs… the spaces we open up in our bodies through the practice of yoga postures… the space between the in-breath and the out-breath, between the out-breath and the in-breath… the space between heartbeats… the space between thoughts… between words… Infinite space around and within us, holding us together by some unfathomable, Infinite intelligence.
To the Infinite!
Note: The quotes presented here are from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Translation and Commentary by Swami Satchidananda.