Yogasutra: Obstacles on the Yogic Path

Any new endeavour has its own challenges and growth path. The Yogic path is not too different. If you are a beginner on this path then you might have noticed that things are not steady and smooth yet. There are ups and downs and this changes every day. Some days are amazing while some days can be frustrating. There could be several struggles in maintaining regularity of practice. When the body feels okay, the mind objects. When you are too tired, you also feel dull inside. Some of us are very good at sticking to a routine but some of us are not so perfect with our schedules. We love to hear stories of achievers who mastered skills by spending hours and hours on fine-tuning them but to take up one small thing and putting into action is something that seems so impossible for us. Inspirations remain just inspirations.

If you are going through this, you can be assured that you are not alone in this path. Everyone goes through these phases and this is more true in the yogic path because there are several aspects of life you will need to adjust in order to have a deeper experience. Initially, many things in the outer environment may need some changes for changes to become visible in the inner environment. Food, books, daily habits, home environment etc may need experimentation and changes.

Patanjali Maharishi recognized this through his personal experience. In his Yogasutras, he has enlisted obstacles that sadhakas (those on the path) may face. Let us look at some of these:

Translation: “Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, craving, erroneous perception, inability to achieve finer stages and instability are the obstacles.”

Vyadhi: Disease

You may be thinking of a yogic routine to enhance your physical health. However you will notice that your current health condition can become an obstacle to your progress. You may have to take care of them before a deeper experience happens. Aggressive growth at work, unreasonable physical work at home and very less time for relaxation can increase stress levels and contribute to ill-health. Preparatory yogic practices may be needed to take care of them.

Styana: Dullness

When cognitively complex tasks are taken the first response is often sleepiness or dullness for many people. Given a complex passage to read or a tough math problem, many of us experience a sleepy feeling. There is a certain dullness and numbness that prevents us from proceeding further. This is quite common in the yogic path as well. Early morning (before sunrise) is ideal for yogic practices but when we are new to waking up early, we feel dull and lethargic. We doze off during shavasan (a relaxation posture after the asanas). This dullness impacts our work throughout the day and can also affect our motivation to do our practices the next day. This is something that we must get over!

Samsaya: Doubts

Every stage in the yogic path is filled with self-doubts and questions. Is this right for me? Will this lead to success? What is in store? Am I capable of sustaining this? These are some common questions that our mind constantly wonders about. If these lead to a deeper quest they are useful. Else, not allowing them to grow into major confusions helps. While valid questions are entertained, Patanjali Maharishi clearly views doubts as obstacles. A growth mindset that helps you to expand your capabilities through hard work and effort is better than stopping because of self-doubts.

Pramada: Carelessness

The Buddhist tradition translates Pramada as carelessness. When we begin a process newly, we are not aware of all the dimensions of it. We may be careless about certain things. We could be careless about our diet or other habits. When we see that we are not progressing, then we begin to review our lifestyles and we realise that we haven’t taken care of various aspects that are very important.

Alasya: Laziness

Laziness is a display of lack of energy in taking up something. It is a certain idleness. Research says that laziness could arise due to lack of motivation or low self-esteem. We all go through cycles of laziness. Some children consistently display laziness.Whatever they take up may be half done because they lack the motivation to do or they are too lazy to take it up. Laziness also indicates a lack of spiritual vigor or inclination. Kabir beautifully said ” काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब । पल में प्रलय होएगी,बहुरि करेगा कब”. (Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab, pal me pralay hoyegi, bahuri karega kab”. What is to be done tomorrow, do it today! What is to be done today, do it now! If time passes away, how will the work get done! So profound isn’t it. However, sympathizers of procrastination often believe that as long as the work get done, we shouldn’t worry about when it is done. But we know that for most things, it doesn’t work that way. Psychologists say that procrastination finally results in higher stress levels, poor performance and low quality output. It also results in anxiety and guilt. We do not want to our yogic life filled with anxiety and guilt

When one’s purpose in life is not clear, one can afford to be lazy. People who display tremendous energy are the ones who understand their life purpose or are not too worried about the consequence. They are just on to the task. This is a rare quality but not impossible to cultivate.

Avirati: craving for enjoyment

The Indian tradition does not look down upon enjoyment. Desire and pleasure when regulated and within the boundaries of dharma (duty/ethics/sustainability) is considered a valid pursuit. However, too much indulgence can be harmful for the body and mind. Anything in excess harms. Watching a movie, attending parties or eating-out when done in moderation give satisfaction. When done in excess can result in permanent changes to thought process. A good way to check it out would be take periodic withdrawals from entertainment. If you still feel calm, engaged and happy then it means you are not dependent on them. This could happen on the yogic path. People following a schedule may be tempted to break it, those following a diet could be craving for certain foods or those in silence could be tempted to speak. These are common but a little bit of will-power can help overcome these and put you on track. Your yogic practices should not make you a serious person who does not enjoy life. Be happy and stay healthy.

Bhrāntidarshana: Erroneous perception

When the wise say that the world is but an illusion, it is difficult to grasp the meaning. It takes quite some effort to come out of this illusory state of mind. There could be false perceptions on the yogic path. We could either feel that we haven’t progressed a bit or feel we have progressed a lot. Both of these could create obstacles on the future course of action. There could be so many filters that prevent us from gaining the right perception of things. We could be cooking things up in our minds and missing the truth. These filters have to removed or cleaned for clarity of perception.

Alabdhabhūmikatva: inability to achieve a finer state

We often feel unfilled about our yogic achievements. We try hard but still are not able to attain states that we desire. Finer states come with practice and grace. Divine grace and repeated engagement with the practices can put us on a steady path to experiencing deeper states.

Anavasthitatva: instability

To have a stable body and mind is a blessing. When we are new on the yogic path, to maintain an asana could be a huge in a stable manner could be huge challenge. Repeated practice or abhyasa is needed to gain stability of the body and mind. When the body becomes stable, the mind could go haywire. Fine tuning of emotions will be needed. Its a fine balance.