“Acceptance of pain as help for purification, study of spiritual sutras and surrender constitute the practice of yoga” – Patanjali’s Portion of Practice 1.

Pain. The old cliche says there’s no pleasure without pain. There cannot be Union without pain. Pain as an aid for purification. No pain no yoga; no yoga no Samãdhi; no Samãdhi no Nirvana. We can look forward to pain. Use it to fuel Agni (digestive fire), steady the mind and burn out impurities and destroy negative thoughts.

Study. Know yourself. Know what you can do with yourself. Know where you stand. Ethically. Morally. Mortally. Only when you know where you stand and who you are can you move. Brahma shows us that the only thing constant in the universe is change. If you can’t move, you can’t change. Know your heart. Know your mind. Learn self control and know your nature. Know the law. It makes it easier to break.

Surrender. To yourself. To the Devine with yourself. Give thanks and gratitude with glee. Thank yourself for worshipping the temple to yourself. Eat well. Physically, spiritually and emotionally. Let yourself be at one with the Devine. You are,after all, the same thing. The light in the dark and the dark behind the light. Acceptant what you are. Study it and discover that it hurts.

Ignorance, egotism, attachment, hatred and fear of death can all be destroyed by meditation. These experiences often cannot be avoided but never the less need to processed. The impertinent can become pertinent. The power of the seer (Puruša) to decide are you “i” or “I”? Simply the dot or the grandiose capital? Ego attachment or aversion? Mind or body? Ego or flesh balloon?

Once the seer has foundation then there are limitless possibilities. Illumination, activity and inertia can provide liberation which feeds the senses with experience. The seer has the power of sight. The seen exists only for the sake of the seer. Recognise and appreciate the power of your true nature. Your true nature has a purpose and the purpose is to feel pain. Anything less is ignorance.

Yet without ignorance, egotism, attachment, hatred and fear of death there can be no pain and where there is no pain there is no yoga.

You may wish to know nothing more. Stay away from knowing anything, lose the desire to gain anything new, to do anything and be consumed by sorrow, fear and delusion. By practicing Yoga through the true Ashtanga limbs, impurities will dwindle and the light of wisdom will dawn.

• Abstinence
• Observance
• Posture
• Breath
• Sense withdrawal
• Concentration
• Meditation
• Absorption

These great practices are the Ashtanga : the Eight Limbs.

But these are for another day to discuss.

K.