1:16 When an individual has achieved complete understanding of his true self, he will no longer be disturbed by the distracting influences within and around (Desikachar 154)
The past few weeks I have been thinking about love. Love for my husband as well as for friends and family. Everyone, and I mean everyone, wants love and specifically real lasting love to sustain us.
The sutra above teaches us that once we have glimpsed our Purusha, or our unchanging divine nature, we will be less distracted by outside objects and I would go one step further to say that once we have connected with our inner divinity, we are less likely to seek out these distractions. Sorry to get all Whitney Houston, y'all, but the greatest love of all is, indeed inside.
The chicken or eggness of this teaching, is that first we need to learn to discipline, or quiet our mind from said distractions, in order to see who we truly are, to have the Purusha experience, that makes these distractions less sexy.
The unexpected outcome of experience with Purusha, is that it happens to make you better at loving people. Without the knowledge, of our true and perfect nature, it seems to me that we are prone to very imperfect, or in Western Psychology terms, codependent types of love. Love that is needy, greedy and driven by the desire to fill an inner void, is not love at all. It is just another thought ripple that has us chasing after happiness and believing that outside validation will finally make us feel good. This type of love is ultimately selfish and likely to lead to dissolution.
When we are graced with the understanding that we are already whole and divine, loving becomes a beautiful practice of giving. There is no energy lost. And the ultimate irony, is that this type of love, does indeed bring happiness!
For classes this week, there will be increased focus on the breath and the bandhas and seated vipasana meditation after sivasana to help them quiet their chatty chitta. I hope to arm my students with the tools to quiet their minds to create enough space for Purusha to peek through, so that they might more fully love others their lives.
