Sutra 1.33, 1.34

Sutra 1.33

मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षाणां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम्॥३३॥

maitrī karuṇā mudito-pekṣāṇāṁ-sukha-duḥkha puṇya-apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaḥ citta-prasādanam ॥33॥

Maitrī=friendship; karuṇā=compassion; mudita=delight; upekṣāṇāṁ=indifference, equanimity; sukha=happy; duḥkha=suffering; puṇya=virtuous deeds; apuṇya=evil deeds; viṣayāṇāṁ=of these subjects (people); bhāvanātaḥ=from the attitude; citta=mind; prasādanam=pleasantness, tranquility

Taimni

“The mind becomes clarified by cultivating attitudes of friendliness, compassion, gladness and indifference respectively towards happiness, misery, virtue and vice.”

In this Sutra Patanjali defines the correct attitude in the various situations that may arise in relationship with others. Uncontrolled reactions can lead to unpleasant and violent emotions. On the other hand, becoming cold-hearted and indifferent to all situations cannot lead to a calm and happy mind. The four principles enumerated in this sutra are derived from the laws of psychology and practical experience in dealing with the problem of adjusting ourselves to our environment. Whereas the sutra seems clear for the first three situations, some doubt may arise as to the adoption of “indifference” toward the wicked. This may seem contrary to the ideal of active help and compassion even toward the wicked as seems to be indicated in some scriptures. What we need to understand is that this sutra does not apply to those who are already self-realized nor to the common man on the street. This is applicable to the yoga aspirant on the path to spirituality. Such a person is not yet qualified to work toward reforming others and is thus best advised to remain un-engaged. The result of following the rule given in this Sutra is to bring about clarification of the mind and to remove one of the causes of mental disturbance for the aspiring yogi.

Aranya

We generally feel envious when someone that we are not interested in seems happy, or a sense of cruel delight when our enemy is in distress. Reputation of a pious person of a different persuasion may result in jealousy. We may feel angry or cruel toward someone leading a sinful life. These feelings disturb the mind and prevent attainment of Samadhi. That is why by cultivating the attitudes of friendship etc mentioned in this sutra can keep the mind pleasant and happy. When the above feelings arise toward someone we don’t care about, we should think of a loved one and how we would react to this loved one in the same situations. We should then try to adopt the same feelings toward everyone. These four practices are called Brahmaviharas in Buddhism. 

Discussion

We noted that Taimni has used a few terms – “Great Law”, “law of Love”, “left-handed path” etc – without any explanation as to what he means by them. Rather than trying to guess, we decided to leave them without any further discussion. Another term “misguided stoics” came up for some discussion. The implication by the author is that stoics are cold, hard-hearted and indifferent. I found this definition of “stoic” at dictionary.com, “of or pertaining to the school of philosophy founded by Zeno, who taught that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity.” By this definition, a stoic is nothing but a yogi who has been able to conquer his “kleshas”, as defined by Patanjali.

We noted that the word “upeksha” has been translated as “indifference” by most commentators. As we know, indifference has a negative connotation in common usage. However, a closer look at the Sanskrit word may show a different interpretation. Upeksha is composed of “up” and “iksha”. “up” is a prefix meaning “above”, “over” etc. and “iksha” means to see or look. Thus, Upeksha literally means, “to overlook”. This implies that we overlook the inadequacies and sinful acts of others with a sense of detached indifference. This indifference does not create any kind of negative or hard feelings in us. So, we need to understand the term upeksha in the right context.

Aranya has made a reference to the “four Brahma-viharas”. As far as I understand, even though these four attitudes are identical to those mentioned by Patanjali, in the Buddhist thought they are applied universally, in all situations, not categorized according to the situation of the other person. I had discussed this concept in some detail in one of my recent blog posts – Mindfulness Yoga workshop at Yogaville. These same principles are reflected in our common day-to-day wisdom “Love thy neighbor”, “Do unto others as you would want them to do to you” etc.

Swami Satchidananda in his commentary has talked about this sutra in terms of having four keys for four locks. The four keys are the attitudes of friendliness, compassion, gladness and indifference. The four locks are the people who are happy, miserable, virtuous or evil respectively. He considers this as one of the most important sutras from a practical point of view as it is highly applicable in the day-to-day situations in life.

Sutra 1.34

प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाभ्यां वा प्राणस्य॥३४॥

pracchardana-vidhāraṇa-ābhyāṁ vā prāṇasya ॥34॥

Pracchardana=exhalation; vidhāraṇābhyāṁ=through retention; vā=or; prāṇasya=of prāṇa, breath

Taimni

“Or (the mind becomes clarified) by the exhalation and retention of breath.”

In this Sutra Patanjali has referred only to practices which have a limited objective of purification of the Nadis – channels along which currents of Prana or vitality flow in the Pranamaya Kosa. These channels can be purified by practicing popular breathing exercises like the “alternate nostril breathing”. Kumbhaka, or breath retention, does not play a part in these techniques. These practices help make the body light, and the mind calm and restful. The subject of pranayama is dealt with in much more detail in chapter 2.

Aranya

” By Exhaling And Restraining The Breath Also (the Mind Is Calmed).”

Pranayama should be practiced while keeping the mind focused on one particular thought during inhalation. While exhaling the mind should be made thoughtless. Exhalation has three steps – exhale slowly, keep the body still and relaxed (sthira sukham asanam – sutra 2.46), and maintain a thoughtless mind. During exhalation, the mind can be made thoughtless by staying focused on the sound of OM. Inhalation should happen passively. This practice leads to lightness of the body and calmness of the mind. When the mind has become tranquil, breath retention begins to happen automatically.

Discussion

There seems to be some disagreement among various commentators as to why Patanjali has put this one sutra in chapter 1 whereas he has given details of pranayama in chapter 2. Some commentators believe that this sutra simply refers to breathing in and out slowly and smoothly keeping the mind one-pointed. They have translated the word “vidharanam” as stretching and not stopping or retaining. So, they say that “kumbhaka” or breath retention is not meant here. The main purpose why the sutra belongs here is because Patanjali is discussing means of calming the mind and keeping that calm state steady. This breathing technique will help develop a calm and peaceful mind.
In the practice of “Sandhya Vandanam” which is more common among the people from South India, pranayama is used with the repetition of “Gayatri Mantra” to calm the mind. In this practice, the following mantras are used:

• while inhaling through the left nostril, “oM bhU: oM bhuva: oM suva: oM maha: oM jana: oM tapa: oM satyam”
• While retaining the breath, “oM tatsaviturvareNyaM bhargo devasya dhImahi  dhiyo yo naha prachodayAt”
• While exhaling through the right nostril, “om Apo jyotIrasoamRutaM brahma BurBuva: suvarom”
• Then the above is repeated beginning with inhalation through the right nostril.