Sutras 2.40 & 2.41

Sutra 40. So now we move into the Niyamas, and the first is Shocha, which means purity or cleanliness. And potentially gives us 2 sutras about this Niyama. And this first one is can sometimes be a little bit of a shock for people when they read a published translation, which might say something like from shelter, there comes the disgust or disinclination to one's own physical body, one's own limbs, and to commingling with others or to close contact with others. So it can read something like as we become more established in purity, we feel disgust for our bodies.

And for any close contact with others or other bodies. And if we read a translation like that, it can seem a little bit like, oh, wasn't that big stream? And This is another of those instances where we need to, I feel we need to be very cognizant of the reality of the Sanskrit and how when it gets translated, it doesn't really map out in the same way in the translate in the translated language. So to say something like from Shaozhi, that comes discussed for work for one's body and for contact with others, This is not inaccurate linguistically. But remember that potentially in his yoga suits is always working from gross to subtle, and the sutra's meet us wherever we are in our journey.

Ultimately, for sure, the yoga practitioner who's close to emancipation can't wait to throw the Boag, can't wait to be done with transmigratory world of the existence and resolve back into the source and be done with all Boag limitation. So for that, you all get in at that state, such a translation of, yeah, don't care for the body, don't care to have contact with others, certainly don't wanna procreate anymore. No more reproduction. No, no, no, don't wanna be born again. I don't wanna return here. And sometimes we read stories of great mystics who are like, oh, no. No.

I'm I'm gone. I'm gone this time around. This is it. And they get to that state where they have no more desire for bodily incarnation. But the the problem or the limit of a translation that says through purity and cleanliness through a sculpture, we become we feel disgust for own body and for contact with others. What if we do want what if we just had a child?

I mean, we don't feel disgust for the purse. We can't we we've just wanted to be with the child. Yeah. So how does that relate to us? How does that relate to a person who's living a householder's life? So the Sanskrit has this capacity and all these different gradations or layers of meaning all at once. So what I would, the way I interpret this suit is that when our awareness becomes clearer, when it becomes purified, then what happens is we become less identified with the things that come and go.

We become less caught up or wound up without bodily concerns. Because we're more attuned to that, which is animating the body. So we actually come into we could say a more respectful and cognizant relationship with the bodily vehicle. We're less enamored or infatuated by the body and more respectful of it as a teacher. Remember what potentially has already told us that the scene world is for back in the 18 sutra. Prakash, So the Drisha, the seen world, what is its purpose?

Boag Boga, Apavarga, Arthur. Its purpose is education, enjoyment, and emancipation. Education enjoyment, when worked with skillfully, they bring us to freedom. But if we get too caught up in the education and the enjoyment, then we get chained in it. So if we get too attached to the body, we're gonna come back. We're gonna get born again.

But if we work skillfully with the body as a teacher as something that can help us navigate this realm of so much opportunity. You remember, also, potentially said it was in the 21st, what does all of the seen world exist for? It's for the purpose of the CEO recognizing itself. So this is the same for the body. So I think the real idea here is as we practice whatever we are doing with shelter, So, of course, practicing a shower means be clean. The most grow grocery sock tool.

So Keep things clean. Keep things tidy. That will help our awareness be clean and tidy. When we are doing a yoga practice to in clean, pure way. In other words, don't let myself be guided by my ambition or my greed. Don't let myself be fueled by resentment instead, do it pure, do it clean, do it graciously and gracefully, let it be an offering towards that deepest longing of coming to that state.

Of clarity, purity, peacefulness, fullness, wholeness, satisfaction. So when I practice shelter, as I practice doing things in that pure way as I do what I can to cultivate clarity of awareness, I'm going to appreciate how this bodily vehicle is allowing me to learn more about the subtler aspect of myself that is deeper than the body. And so then I will appreciate the body as the vehicle that is constantly changing that is subject to death and decay. And so I will no longer be so infatuated or let's say fixated on it, rather I will appreciate how it is allowing me to connect more to that which is animating it. And consequently, I will become less susceptible to be pulled into patterns or ways of behaving that would get me enmeshed with more of those bodily worldly attachments, we might say. Also, I read into this the idea that as our awareness becomes clearer, we become less susceptible to getting enmeshed in ideas, in patterns that are other than that which is of our essential nature.

So Pada means other, Pareira sanzarga. So we don't get so caught up in these deluding ideas because our awareness is able to more readily appreciate the richness of our true self. So as we become more attuned to that wholeness, think back to potential the initial definition of practice. He says it's the constant effort, excuse me, the constant effort to foster steadiness. An effort that is sustained for a long time without interruption, with great presence and a spirit of dedication. And what's the fruit of that, thirstlessness?

The person who practices comes to a state of fullness. And when we feel full, we don't have that hankering after things that could delude us. Because we feel satisfied where we are. So with all that context, what I would suggest here is that when we do things with clarity with purity as we cultivate cleanliness in all our actions and all our thoughts and all our communications as best as we can. The practice of doing that is gonna help us bring more proximity to that pile of conscience in all that we do and help us attune more to the undying deathless constant essence in our day to day life.

So we become less inclined or less susceptible to get more and more enmeshed in those things that would veil and dull and muddy our awareness potentially continues on the benefits or the characteristics of establishment in satva by saying satva should how So he says When the Sossat means that which is, it also, of course, is one of the 3 Gunas, Satfer, Rajas, and Thomas. When there is the purity of satfa, of the essence, then what happens? Samanasia, maybe you've heard that word Soma. So Soma is a word that has many, many meanings, but one of its meanings is the moon. So when the mind or the lens of awareness is able to relax into a soma like state, when it is illuminating yet cool, not blinding, not searing.

So when it's got that clear luminous that brings a state of gladness, her cheerfulness, Then with that clarity, it brings the Erika Grenria. It brings the one pointedness of all of the Indrias, all of the powers of our action, all of our action powers, all our sense powers. It's like they are yoke. To the hub of the wheel. And so as we move along, we can move along smoothly, effectively, efficiently, peacefully, art madarsana, and this allows us to experience or see our essence.

So when our pure when our beingness becomes pure, it brings about this fitness to relish an experience to see, to perceive, to recognize our art our deep, so our essence. What are the characteristics of that? There is the one pointed functioning, the cohesive integrated functioning of all the powers of our awareness, our senses, our action powers, The lens of our mind and awareness is cool and luminous with this necturing quality like the moon. It's juicy. It's vital. It allows us to see things clearly. And satvarajas Thomas they become more and more equipoise. So there's less and less disturbance from Rogers, and there's less and less dullness from Thomas.

And there's that clear luminosity shining through the whole vehicle. And when the whole vehicle comes into that wonders, when everything is running smoothly, clear, pure, there's no distortion in the system, then this bodily system with its limbs It's able to run at maximum efficiency and then reveal it's true underlying essence. To give a mundane example, I think I mentioned in an earlier episode. Recently, I invested in a new bicycle. When I lived in India, I hope to return to India when when I first moved to India, I bought a bicycle.

A 2 wheeler, as it is often referred to the, and I bought a local model. It was I did not have great financial resources at that time, and I bought a very cheap local model. It was a false economy. When I would ride that bicycle, my body would not have the greatest time of it. The following year, I returned to India having saved a little bit more money from my work along the in in the in between period, and I decided to invest in a bicycle that was more suited to my physiology.

And it repaid itself immediately. It was such a joy to ride. And every time I would leave in, I would give this bicycle to my friend who lives around the corner, and he and his daughters would ride it. And sometimes when I would come back to India, He would take it to be serviced just before I got back. So one year, I get back, and he said, I, I've just taken your bike to the shop, James.

And I get back, and he brings it around tomorrow. I go and collect it, and we bring it around, and he spins the wheel. And how does the wheel spin? It's completely true. Everything's aligned.

All the gears is working very, very smoothly. All those different cogs. They're all beautifully aligned because the technician, the bicycle mechanic has done the full service in like in pristine condition. Everything beautifully aligned when I press down on the pedal, there's no leakage of energy. And the bicycle can propel me along the road to where I want to go with minimum friction I've got some frictions there, but with minimum friction, with minimum waste of energy, maximum efficiency, So same idea here. In the bicycle, when all the wheels are perfectly aligned, because there's more than 2 wheels on the bike.

Every cog's a little wheels. When all of the things are nicely aligned, minimum effort, maximum output, and I can go much more easily than on a bicycle. It isn't that the spokes are not true. That's not nicely aligned. Similarly, when I bring that state of real sculpture, of clarity, purity, when everything's cleanly, clearly aligned, then even this bodily vehicle which I could get a little bit exasperated with because it needs so much housework, so much maintenance.

When I bring its powers, into real clarity, then it will serve its innate higher potential to Boag the vehicle in which through which I can, Art Moderna, have that recognition of the underlying essence.