Sutra 2.23: Remember

Sadhana Pada: Yoga in Action (Experience the Now)

2.23 Sva svami saktyoh svarupo upaladbhi hetuh samyogah 

• sva = the seen / object of experience
• svami = the seer / the experiencer
• saktyoh = power of the two
• svarupo = true nature / one's own / own form
• upaladbhi = to experience / to discover
• hetuh = cause / reason
• samyogah = union / conjunction

"There is something you must always remember . . . you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think" - Christoper Robin

There are common themes throughout the yoga sutras. One of them is that our true nature is that we are magnificent. Sutra 1.3 tells us that we are divine. Sutra 1.30 describes distractions that prevent us from knowing this. Sutra 2.3 lists barriers (all of which are rooted in misperception) that stop us from recognizing this truth. Essentially ALL of the sutras are phrases that either describe practices or reasons why we should do these practices which ultimately boils down to this . . . . . . practicing yoga takes us "home" to our true self of magnificence and divinity.

The picture above illustrates today's sutra. There is a seer and a seen separated by a mirror. We assume the cat is the one doing the seeing and sees itself as more powerful that it actually is. But . . . . what if the mirror represents all of the conditioning, limiting beliefs and interpretations that have been programmed into us since we were born? What if the truth is the LION is the seer, and it sees itself as smaller than it actually is. What if that is our current reality?

This sutra reminds us that we are magnificent, that the world will cause us to believe otherwise, but it is through our experiences in the world and our practices in yoga that we will be led back to KNOW the truth of who we really are. Your homework for this week is to simply ponder this.        

Sutra 2.23 The union of the seer with the seen is in the power 

of the seer to discover one's own true nature.