by Gurani Anjali
tapas-svadhyaya- ishvara-pranidhani-kriya-yoga
Yoga Sutra 2.1
The first sutra (aphorism) of the second pada (book of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra) is the most difficult one. It is to be perfected in the life of the seeker of truth. Tapas is austerity. Austerity creates heat in the body, a strong fervor for pursuing the path, requiring strength, courage and endurance. Tapas also allows one to purify the mind
Svadhyaya is self-study—to watch your motives and your intentions. See what you’re doing. See why you are doing what you are doing. See your wants and your needs. Svadhyaya is also to study the great sayings of the Gita, the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras, and the lives of great sages who have gone before us. Study and come to know how solid the path is, how perfect it is.
Ishvara pranidhana is devotion to the Lord and means to recognize the breath that is within you, the breath that is all around you and to see how actions move and how they move everything. Pranidhana means the giver of life. Pran (breath) is the essence of being. Ishvara pranidhana practice is to watch and be mindful and to come to the realization that Ishvara is the Lord of the dance, a special purusha (consciousness), selfless, beyond words. It is to see how all your actions and reactions become selfless. It is to be mindful and worshipful.
The purpose of Kriya yoga is to continually work with the aim to understand the selfless nature of action. Who is doing everything? Who is moving everything? Who is the real prime mover? Whenever you say, “I am doing this,” consider again who the great “I am that I am” is. When you say, “I’m going here I’m going there. I’m doing this. I’m doing that. See how much I did. See how much I gave. See how much I continually give.” Stop and see who is really doing that. Think about it. Study your actions. Tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvara pranidhana, kriya yoga; the most difficult sutra. When one can achieve that sutra with full understanding and embodiment all the other sutras are a breeze. You can walk through them. There are so many sutras, but the first step is always the hardest.
Austerity, when done quietly, with appreciation and devotion, creates a lot of strength and shakti power (the creative aspect of life associated with the feminine). It creates heat in the body. Heat in the body is very important. When there is no heat in the body, the person is pronounced dead. The heat has to be there. When one does tapas, one feels the heat in the body rise. The kundalini shakti (creative power in the body) that lies within the nervous system ignites and moves. When there is heat in the body coming from great devotion and great affection, it purifies the mind, burns out past negative samskaras (embodied tendencies). Heat in the body is very important. It’s not an ordinary heat, but it’s a heat that you will feel. You will feel the warmth in your solar plexus. It will rise to your heart. It will enter your mind. And great, great manifestations occur. Tapas is a beautiful thing to do—very great, very great.
Doing action for the sake of action alone is nothing. But actions done with devotion and affection move the world, move everything around them. When the light of wisdom enters an individual, everything changes, great manifestations occur. The individual cannot stop giving, cannot stop doing, because the light has entered and has removed the darkness. Yoga is unity. One becomes one with all things.
So the first sutra on the Yoga path is very essential to the seeker of truth. It’s a very important sutra. Do tapas, do svadhyaya, and do ishvara pranidhana—kriya yoga bhava (the cultivation of the yoga of action). It is the most difficult sutra and yet it takes you through all of the sutras. The first one can be undertaken with great affection and great devotion. Do for the love of doing, so that others may live, so that the flowers may grow, so the birds may sing, so the animals around you may live, so that all living beings around you may survive. Do because you want to see all living beings live through what you do. Water the flowers and plants, because you want to see the green leaves grow. You want to see smiles on everyone’s face and you don’t want anyone to walk around you looking droopy and suffering and dying. Do for the love of doing. Take that responsibility to continue doing.
Tapas is not acting with indifference, but acting with a great difference that allows one to endure the test of time. Do because “there is nothing to do, but to do.”1 Doing is part of our nature. Giving is part of our life. The sun is giving of itself, its radiance. How do we do that? We can also be like the sun; with a smile we can shed a radiance. Through our expression of appreciation we can show our radiance. The way we walk, the way we talk, the way we carry ourselves can show our radiance. Our nature is one of giving.
Somewhere along the line, because of cultural notions, traditions and values, human beings have become slaves to possessions. And human beings have learned to say “no, I cannot give.” Every human being has the nature to give, so that the world around them will continue. Do selflessly, without wanting anything back in return. That’s the trick; to not look for a reward, to not even look for a “thank you.” To just give, to just do, is part of our nature. Like the sun, like the rain, like the snow fall—how beautiful that they give of themselves and then they disappear. Can you do that?
Tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvara pranidhani, kriya yoga; a very, very important sutra. All great lives, all great beings have spoken and written, the ideas in so many great books from the many traditions and religions, pointing everyone to this one little sutra. Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvara pranidhani, kriya yoga. All the great books: Koran, the Rig Veda, the Bible, so many, great traditions all pointing to what we find in this one little sutra: be austere, study your motives, and devote yourself to the breath of life, the breath of the Lord. All, all great religions sing the praises of the mahapurusha; of the great “I am that I am.” But this one little sutra has to be taken care of: tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvara pranidhana, kriya yoga. This sutra has to be done, has to be embodied has to be lived, has to be spoken of, has to be elaborated on, has to be discussed. So much in that one little sutra. That’s the beginning of Yoga. Once that is achieved, one will know what Yoga is.
What is Yoga? Yoga is citta-vritti-nirodah (the restriction of mental modifications). To accomplish this we must look to this sutra and pay close attention to it. Tapas, svadyaya, Ishvara pranidhani, kriya yoga. This is a very beautiful sutra. I love that sutra. I love it. Sometimes I’ll go out of my way to find something to do. There is always something to do—always. If you cannot find something to do, someone is going to come to you and knock on your door, the door of your heart. Someone is going to come to you. Some circumstance will arise in the moment and you will be called to do. At that time, you will be tested. At that time the selfless nature has to arise. Will it? Will it arise? Let’s see what happens. In doing austerities, one does not look for rewards. One does not look for anything in return. Of its own nature, the heat will arise in your body and you will feel it. It will be hot and you may perspire. And you will say to yourself, “Why am I perspiring?” It will arise, and when it does, you will know that the light has entered your body and it’s moving. Don’t quench it, don’t put it down, keep moving with it, it’s a beautiful light. Om shanti.
1. Excerpt from song “Dare To Be Free” by Gurani Anjali↩