The Practice of the Yoga Sutra by Ph. Rajmani D. Tigunait;

Author:Ph. Rajmani D. Tigunait;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Health Fitness-Yoga
Publisher: Himalayan Institute (NBN)
Published: 2017-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

SUTRA 2:33

वितर्कबाधने प्रतिपक्षभावनम् ॥३३॥

vitarkabādhane pratipakṣabhāvanam ||33||

vitarka, afflicting thoughts; bādhane, arrest; pratipakṣa, opposite; bhāvanam, thinking

To arrest afflicting thoughts, cultivate thoughts opposed to them.

As long as we have anger and greed, and as long as we are confused about the motivation behind our actions, we will have a negative mind. As long as the five afflictions persist, negative tendencies will flow through our mind. Because most of us have strong samskaras of these afflictions, we know from experience that negative thoughts dominate our mind more easily than positive ones. Our tendency to compete with others, to conquer and attempt to eliminate them, is stronger than our tendency to collaborate with others, to support and embrace them.

As we have seen in sutras 2:4–9, the afflictions are extremely subtle and deeply entrenched. In those six sutras, Patanjali and Vyasa tell us the five afflictions are always present in our mind. Sometimes they are fully active, sometimes moderately active, and sometimes dormant. When they are dormant, we are not aware that the afflictions exist. When they are fully active, they dominate us so completely that our sense of discrimination is swept away. We are aware of being under their influence only when they are moderately active. This awareness provides an opportunity to transform our negative tendencies.

There are numerous negative tendencies powerful enough to agitate our mind and disturb our inner balance. In this sutra, Vyasa uses the example of violence to describe the process of transforming negative tendencies and replacing them with positive ones. Violence is clearly destructive. It springs from fear, one of the fundamental afflictions. According to this sutra, the practice of non-violence requires us to arrest our violent tendencies by cultivating thoughts opposite to violence.

However, if the process of non-violence is to be effective in counteracting violence, we must first describe and outline it clearly and methodically. Because violent thoughts always precede a violent act, an act of non-violence will be effective only if it is preceded by non-violent thoughts. Violence is an active phenomenon, whereas non-violence is mistakenly thought to be passive—simply the absence of violence. But passive non-violence has no power to extinguish the fire of violence. Non-violence must be as active as violence itself.

In an effort to delineate concrete steps for practicing active non-violence, Vyasa describes the process by which violence gathers momentum and finds expression. Before we commit a violent act, a torrent of violent thoughts runs through our mind. For example, the thought arises that a business partner has been diverting money from the firm’s accounts. Almost immediately this thought is accompanied by other thoughts: “I trusted this person for years—I thought he was my friend. I have done a great deal for him. I never imagined he would steal from me.” This train of thought coalesces in a dichotomy: “I am good; he is bad. I am right; he is wrong.” From this arises the desire to punish, laced with the desire for vengeance. We are no longer interested in justice—eliminating the culprit is now our goal.

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