Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Surrender to Īśvara
Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.23 īśvara-praṇidhānād-vā
Verse Commentary – Surrender to the Divine by Joseph le Page
In the previous sutras, we see that deep samadhi requires faith in awakening, vitality for the journey, mindfulness and consistency in practice, gradually unfolding as wisdom and clarity. Sutra 1.23 presents another doorway to awakening through Īśvara praṇidhāna, surrender to the Divine Source, the intelligence at the heart of creation’s majesty, which is simultaneously our own true Being. This does not mean that the qualities that support samadhi are no longer necessary, but that through alignment with the source from which they spring, they unfold naturally from within our own Being.
For through surrender to the Divine, we become one with the source and seed of all things, one with the stream of spiritual awakening that naturally carries us home to reunite with our own true Being. And surrender to the Divine, far from being a spiritual fantasy, is simply the recognition of reality, for the scale of creation is so vast, beyond all fathoming, that our entire life journey is barely a flicker in eternity. But as we gradually transcend the conditioned personality, forever bound to “I” and “me,” we awaken to the essence of Divinity and begin to live and breathe through a vision of Unity. And in Unity we recognize ourselves as one with the whole of creation, one with the universal order of all things, one with the wisdom that allows us to clearly see that we are the very truth we seek.
Yet the journey is not easy, for surrender requires complete personal responsibility, the willingness to face life’s challenges honestly and release the limiting beliefs that veil our true nature as Unity. For Īśvara is also present as karma, the law of skillful and unskillful thoughts, words and deeds, through which we gradually discern the choices that deepen suffering and those that lead to awakening. Within the laws of creation, pleasure has its place, yet we cannot blame Divinity when we repeatedly grasp the thorns of attachment while seeking only the fragrance of the rose, which inevitably leads to suffering. But when we choose to open our eyes and see life clearly as a journey of learning and healing, Īśvara guides and supports us at each step of the way with the greatest blessing of all, the gift of Divine grace. And, we need not be perfect to live in Unity, only committed to transformation and learning, using every step to recognize the thoughts and beliefs that create suffering and those that lead toward awakening.
Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Unity and Simplicity
Within this vision of Unity, embodied in surrender to Divinity, our beliefs and priorities are transformed naturally, and the excessive focus on “I” and “me” gradually gives way to living for the good of all beings. And as we walk the path of Unity more steadily, a natural synchronicity unfolds, where the voice of the Divine quietly guides our choices and activities toward the unfolding of our unique gifts and possibilities. For living in Unity, all feelings of defectiveness and low self-esteem are released, for how can there be anything lacking when we are the whole, one with the Divine heart and essence of all that exists?
In alignment with Unity and our own inner Being, we discover a natural simplicity, so that instead of trying to fill ourselves up externally, we open to every moment of life as a gift and a blessing. Living in simplicity and synchronicity, stress, confusion and inner conflict are gradually released, allowing us to live with open hearts and open minds, every step an integral part of the journey of healing. And within this vision of Unity, samadhi, far from being a meditation method or technique, is a homecoming to who we truly are and have always been, one with the heart of Divinity which is our own true Being. As we embody this vision of Unity, suffering is gradually released, allowing us to recognize that the purpose and meaning of our entire life journey is to live and breathe in the ever-present embrace of Divinity. And even at death, nothing is lost, for it is only coming home to that which we have always been, a drop of water merging with the river of life, returning at last to Unity, the infinite ocean of Being, the Source of all things.
Reflection: What is the role of Īśvara in your life and Yoga practice? How do you conceive of surrender and what role does it play in your spiritual journey?
About Joseph Le Page, founder of Integrative Yoga
Joseph Le Page founded Integrative Yoga and Integrative Yoga Therapy in 1993, and is a pioneer in the field of Yoga therapy training programs. He began teaching yoga therapy in hospital settings in 1995 and continues up to the present as Director of The Healthy Heart Program, which conducts Yoga Therapy group programs in public health settings in Brazil.
Joseph has been a speaker at major conferences including Yoga Journal, the International Association of Yoga Therapists, the Kripalu Yoga Teacher’s Association, the International Association of Yoga and Ayurveda, and others. He is co-founder and director of the Enchanted Mountain Yoga Center in Garopaba, Brazil, one of the largest Yoga retreat centers in South America.
He is the co-author of the book Yoga Toolbox for Teacher and Students, one of the most widely used materials in teacher training programs in the US and in Brazil, published by Integrative Yoga. He is also co-author of the book Mudras for Healing and Transformation, also published by Integrative Yoga.
Patanjali Yoga Sutras: 5 qualities of Samadhi
In the sutra 1.20, Patanjali describes five qualities that support the attainment of samadhi, deep meditative absorption. These qualities also apply to all other Yoga practices. These five qualities are: śraddhā, faith; vīrya, vitality; smṛtiḥ, mindfulness; samādhi, a consistent practice, and prajñā, wisdom.
śraddhā-vīrya- smṛtiḥ samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām
Samādhi is preceded by faith, energy, mindfulness, regular meditation practice and wisdom.
Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.20
The five qualities of Samadhi
Sutra 1.20 describes five qualities that support the attainment of samadhi, deep meditative absorption. These qualities also apply to all other Yoga practices. These five qualities are: śraddhā, faith; vīrya, vitality; smṛtiḥ, mindfulness; samādhi, a consistent practice, and prajñā, wisdom.
Śraddhā, faith, is formed from the Sanskrit root dhā which means “to place” and śra which refers to the heart, so, śraddhā is literally to place in the heart, referring to an unshakable belief in our own ability to progress along the spiritual journey and recognize our true spiritual Being. Placing this faith in the heart emphasizes that it is a lived experience at the very core of our Being and not just a belief.
Vīrya, vitality and enthusiasm, is a natural extension of śraddhā because, as we focus confidently and wholeheartedly on our spiritual journey, we release doubts, distractions, stress and anxiety, thereby naturally enhancing our level of vital energy. In turn, enhanced vital energy strengthens our ability to commit ourselves to the Yoga journey.
Smṛtiḥ, memory, refers to continual awareness or remembering of who we are, spirit and material form and that the mind and body are vehicles for learning leading to awakening.
Samādhi refers to practicing meditation and all other Yogic practices continually which is absolutely essential for overcoming conditioning.
Prajñā, wisdom, is a clear vision of reality, which is the fruit of the other four qualities. The essence of this vision is a lived experience that we are spirit, together with absolute certainty that spiritual awakening is our life’s purpose, meaning and destiny.
As these five qualities coalesce in meditation, yoga practices and in daily living, we cultivate the foundation needed for the recognition of our true Being.
By Joseph Le Page.
About Joseph Le Page, founder of Integrative Yoga
Joseph Le Page founded Integrative Yoga and Integrative Yoga Therapy in 1993, and is a pioneer in the field of Yoga therapy training programs. He began teaching yoga therapy in hospital settings in 1995 and continues up to the present as Director of The Healthy Heart Program, which conducts Yoga Therapy group programs in public health settings in Brazil.
Joseph has been a speaker at major conferences including Yoga Journal, the International Association of Yoga Therapists, the Kripalu Yoga Teacher’s Association, the International Association of Yoga and Ayurveda, and others. He is co-founder and director of the Enchanted Mountain Yoga Center in Garopaba, Brazil, one of the largest Yoga retreat centers in South America.
He is the co-author of the book Yoga Toolbox for Teacher and Students, one of the most widely used materials in teacher training programs in the US and in Brazil, published by Integrative Yoga. He is also co-author of the book Mudras for Healing and Transformation, also published by Integrative Yoga
Patanjali Yoga Sutra: Dispassion
tat paraṁ puruṣakhyāter guṇa vaitṛṣṇyaṁ – Sutra 1.16
That supreme non-attachment is absence of craving even for the forces of nature, the three gunas, through direct realization of puruṣa, the true Self.
This sutra states that the highest form of dispassion involves releasing all attachment even to the three gunas, the basic forces within nature.
What are these forces and how would we release attachment to them?
The gunas are the basic polarities in all of nature, including our own bodies.
Rajas is the polarity of energy; It is what motivates all of our doing and achieving; All of our desire to get followed by the desire to keep are the result of rajas. Rajas is also the desire and even greed to get more and more. It is also the anger when we don’t get what we want and the jealousy when someone else does.
Tamas is the opposite polarity of rajas; It is inertia and lethargy, a lack of motivation and a resistance to doing that which needs to be done. It is also a lack of purpose and meaning, a lack of direction in which we drift through life satisfied with momentary sense pleasures but with no definite direction.
Sattva is balance; In some ways it is a middle point between rajas and tamas, so we have the energy to achieve our basic needs but we recognize that material things are not ends in themselves, only means to recognizing our deeper truth which is our own true Being.
The Sattvic state is very much aligned with physical and psycho-emotional health for balance in the way we perceive life cultivates balance in the autonomic nervous system and in every system and organ of the body.
The means to gain mastery over the gunas and thereby experience absolute dispassion begins with awareness. Throughout the day and the week, we can question which guna or combination of gunas is present in our thoughts, feelings and in the physical body.
We can then question whether this activity of the gunas is really taking us where we want to go. Are we deepening our self-knowledge, happiness and peace or are we moving away from where we want to be?
Next, we assess our attitudes and beliefs because the gunas we experience in daily living will always be a reflection of these. Do these attitudes reflect our highest intention and our life’s deepest meaning?
Through this process we can analyze both the gunas as they presented themselves in our lives and the attitudes that generate them, gradually leading to the release of thoughts and feelings, and their effect on our body that no longer serves our journey.
Finally we release into that deeper self our inner Being in meditation to abide in Sattvic peace and tranquility as a portal to our life’s deeper purpose and meaning.
