A question posed by my wife to me. I gave her an answer that she seemed to like. Sharing it here :)
There is a famous sanskrit phrase - 'Tamasoma Jyotirgamya'.
For most people, the meaning of this phrase is the standard translation
'lead me from darkness to light'. But this is just the translation from
sanskrit to english. To know the meaning means to have experienced the
process being referred to.
Take for example any
characteristic we have, or any attitude towards important life
dimensions - ones attitude towards money or ones outlook towards
class/caste/religion etc or ones feelings with respect to career /
social status / marriage / love / politics etc. Most often than not, our
views / outlook is not something that has been arrived at by carefully
observing all the relevant factors. Even for those who claim to do so
(like many modern day liberals), there could be many subconscious biases
that guide the decision making process. In most scenarios, the
individuals outlook is there due to the flow of (seemingly) arbitrary
events in nature - our birth in the family and society (macro and micro)
where we were born, the time in human civilisation, our experiences
since birth etc. This flow of prakruthi (nature) has produced certain
characteristics / tendencies in the world as a whole and also in us. The
right word for this tendency to maintain status quo is 'inertia'. The
sanskrit word 'tamas' alludes to this.
For example, for
some of the students I teach Yoga to, I tell them that Ill not quote a
fees. They are free to pay or not to pay and if they pay, they are free
to choose an amount. This puts them in some amount of difficulty - much
like the one they experience when I ask them to stay for a while in prasarita pada uttanasana!
They are similar in the sense that initially both are quite
uncomfortable but slowly they both help to throw light on things (stiff
back / hamstrings in one case and relationship with money in the other)
that exist but one does not know. in addition, both these explorations
can be beneficial (at least in my opinion) :)
This disturbs the students and usually makes them sit up and take
notice about the unusual situation they find themselves in. That they
are disturbed is natural as they will (correctly) be worried if there
are other strings attached. But, I do not do this to trouble them but to
set up the space such that they come in touch with their relationship
with money. We will happily blow 300 rupees on some stupid movie but
will fight for a single rupee with a share auto driver. This is not
necessarily wrong but I am pointing at our relationship with money
(which not many of us are aware of) from which this behaviour stems.
The
various reactions I encounter are worth looking at. Some keep on
negotiating and throw the ball back at me, some just choose an amount
and settle down with it, some pay in excess to play it safe, some choose
an amount but are constantly worried if it is appropriate and finally
some sternly ask me to be professional and quote a price. None of these
is wrong and I am NOT trying here to make any judgements here. This is
just an attempt at exploring the various reactions which in turn stem
from various characteristics of the individuals in question and in
particular their relationship with money. The interesting question here
is that how many of them are aware of their characteristics and their
relationship with money that bring about this behaviour. In my opinion,
not many. A few of them for whom this rankling is there, talk to me
about this at some point. Then, there is a chance for further
exploration. That would then be an attempt at experientially exploring
the above wise saying from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
But,
one need not let this tamas completely dominate ones life. One can
actually be free from this tamas at least in some dimensions of ones
life. To do so, one has to carefully observe all relevant factors
(external and internal). Then one is not programmed into exhibiting the
default behaviour. This default behaviour (interaction of our tendencies with that of the worlds') is what is usually referred to as fate.
Observing it and getting in touch with it is metaphorically referred to
as throwing light on it (as one becomes conscious of their existence
which one was not earlier). This throwing light on many of our default
characteristics leads to lot of self discovery. If one experiments with
this in ones life and ensures that one is free of all default behaviour
in at least one dimension of ones life, then, in my opinion, that
individual can be said to have had a taste of the above mentioned
sanskrit aphorism.
But, to do this takes a bit of
effort. One must be willing to let go of old patterns of behaviour and
change one selves. Any such attempt is equivalent to breaking ones built
up sense of self and this inevitably leads to some amount of pain.
Young kids experience this often but since they are quite flexible they
learn fast. As we grow old, we cannot ape the kids as we also need to be
strong and not let the worlds thinking capture us all the time. So, the
need is to simultaneously be strong and flexible. This is also one of
the aims of asana practice - to make the spine strong and flexible. I
remember once playing with a discarded bee hive in a farm. It was
extremely strong and flexible. If we build up enough desire to develop
such an ability in us, then we will be able to develop the right kind of
discrimination that will help us identify appropriate pains and endure
them in order to develop desirable qualities and overcome the relentless
flow of tamas. This then takes us away (at least to some extent) from
the default behaviour or fate! If not, one shall surely be consumed by
the incredible flow of prakruthi!
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