Yes, here we are! Patanjali’s final advice for yogic practice according to Sutra 1.20 is that you must see the difference between the real (Self) and the unreal (Prakriti). First of all let’s talk about the Self. Patanjali makes clear that you are the Self, the true Seer. You are means that neither your body nor your mind. You always see your mind and body acting in front of you. The mind creates thoughts… it distinguishes and desires. The Seer knows that but it is not involved in it.
So, you are the Seer who wants to see itself. How? Even in the case of your physical face: if I ask you if you ever seen it, you have to say no, it is the face that sees. The face itself is the seer. What it sees in the mirror is its image, the seen. If the mirror is corrugated, curved, concave or convex, will you able to see your true face? No. It will appear to be awful: too big or too high or full of waves. Will you be worried seeing this? No. You will know that something is wrong with the mirror, of course…
In the same way, the Self or true You reflects in the mind which is your mirror. If the mind is dirty you say ‘I am dirty’. If it’s all polished and shining: ‘I am beautiful’. If the mind has a lot of waves like the surface of a lake, you will be seeing a distorted reflection. If the water of the mental lake is muddy or colored you see your Self as muddy or colored. To see the true reflection, your inner lake has to be clean and calm and without ripples. It is simply, isn’t it? To understand that eternal peaceful You, the mind must be quiet. How?
Well, I hope I can tell you someday! Until the nirvana… my personal experience is that as more as you work on it, as more real quiet moments you can find and you will able to see the real and clean of every part of your life. But You must take choices. Everything in our lives, globalization, Internet, Facebook, dancing, music, food, etc can be useful, peaceful, fun or a big pack of negative energies and unreal. So many things are in the world fakes, humbug, too loud, too fast, and too unhealthy. But mostly it is your choice. It is your life. And you do not have to be a monk or Robinson Crusoe in a desert island to find quiet. It doesn’t depend on the world. It depends on you.
What you have to do is always be honest with yourself. Look yourself in a face. And take your own choices. All of us have so many labels. I am the father’s daughter, my love’s girlfriend, my best friend’s best friend, my students’ teacher, my colleagues’ colleague, the reader of several book writers and so on. Sometimes I forget that I am not these labels and I am trying to fit my self to these… but of course it is impossible. So who am I? Who am I without these labels? The answer is the Self. I am only the true me. Everything else is mirror which is very useful but not You. Everytime I remind myself to this simple fact, I am happier and tolerant.
Relating to your choices, I also would suggest that always ask yourself (your Self) is it really good for me? Do I need this hamburger? Do I need partying every Saturday night? Do I need the music that loud in my car? Do I need shopping today? Do I need television? Do I need a relationship? Do I need this relationship? Find your own choices. Not your parents’ ones, not your teachers’ advices and not your friends’ suggestions… It is only your road. No one else can tell you the right way. Neither Ji Ching nor the Pope can live your life. Be opened and listen but never follow blindly. It is quiet difficult to orienteering if you are blind. And I am not talking about your eyes… What I am talking about is your heart! As Saint-Exupéry said, it is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
And finally what else should I advise you than yoga? Any time you need a quiet place or moment, remind yourself that you have a yoga mat! I hope you have. Don’t worry if you don’t have: you can practice yoga without a mat, too! Good news. Sometimes it is not easy to start it but the biggest present you can give yourself (your Self) is dive in yoga to clean and clam your inner lake. Don’t wait! As I suggested last time: being present! Yes, everything is relating to everything! How beautiful it is, isn’t it?
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