SPIRIT
Embodying the Yoga Sutra
CJ Liu interviews Ranju Roy, co-author of “Embodying the Yoga Sutra.” The book goes in depth on the authors understanding of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, which is perhaps one of the most famous books on yoga. In 195 short verses (‘sūtra’), Patañjali outlines a vision of the yoga path. This includes how to practice, likely obstacles, the results and a lot of details about the nature of the mind. It’s a rich and complex work composed in Sanskrit (an ancient language of India) around 2,000 years ago. It is crisp and direct, but also sometimes quite impenetrable. It is not a text to simply read, but rather one to ponder, meditate upon, work with and discuss.
Part 1: Why Do We Suffer?
Over the past 30 years Ranju Roy and his co-author David Charlton have been doing just this, and their understandings have grown as we have made new connections and developed new insights included in their newest book “Embodying the Yoga Sutra.” Ranju Roy explains what truth he was seeking during his deep dive into the Yoga Sutra. He describes the Sutra’s as offering pragmatic suggestions and clear explanations of why we suffer.
In Sutra 5, the Yoga Sutra describes kleshas, which are thought of as “afflictions” or negative mental states. Overcoming kleshas leads to an end of suffering. Ranju Roy explains that these kleshas relate to our root affliction, which is misunderstanding “who we are” (avidya). Ranju describes that we have different roles and we show up differently depending on who we are interacting with.
The 5 Kleshas
• Avidya – Ignorance or lack of knowledge. When we are afflicted by avidya we think our thoughts are true and that our perceptions are reality.
• Asmita – Egoism. This is when we only see the world through an “I” vs. “we” lens. The whole world revolves around us and we become disconnected from the world around us.
• Raga – Attachment. We are at the mercy of what we need, want or like. We have cravings and even if we obtain what we crave, we are never happy or present.
• Dvesa – Aversion to hatred. This is about being pulled into the direction of fear and hatred.
Recently, many people have been fixated to the news. These addictive habits have created toxic mental states all related to a fear of loss and hatred. Patanjali offers ways to relate to these toxic states.
Part 2: Yoga Sutra (Klehsa): 3 Steps to Self-Transformation
During times when we suffer from toxic psychological mental states, Ranju suggests kriya yoga.
3 Qualities of Kriya Yoga
Tapas
Tapas helps us assess our physical capacity. A radiant body and a clear mind are at the core of tapas. Tapas is about discipline. Yoga International describes this as a practice for removing your sloth and inertia. Ranju describes this as a “doing” practice. Tapas practices help heat and purify in order to awaken our dormant mind. Ranju explains that it helps with breaking our unhealthy habits such as drinking too much caffeine or online binging. It is taking responsibility and engaging in slow and steady practices. He then shares that tapas for him involves doing yoga and mediation every day.
Svadhyaya
Svadhyaya is our mental ability and intellectual grasp. Ranju describes this as a practice in “being.” Yoga International describes Svadhyaya as self-study, which means to reflect on oneself. “To reflect on who we are, what our true nature is, where we come from, our purpose in being here, how we relate to others, what our duties are in relation to others, what we did in the recent past and the consequences of that, what we are doing now and what the future consequences may be, how fulfilling life and its gifts are, and whether or not we will be able to leave this world with grace and dignity.” Ranju’s own practice involves listening and being still. His self-inquiry involves asking, “Where am I going?”
Ishvara pranidhana
Ishvara pranidhana allows us to see the depth of our emotional maturity. Ranju explains that the literal translation is “surrender to God.” To a Western mind, this may be seen as giving up our personal well and passing the responsibility for ourselves onto God. Yoga International explains that this is not the notion of surrendering to God. They explain that the true meaning is to understand the unrestricted, unfettered, divine power within us and that it’s all-knowing, auspicious, beginningless, and endless. The practice is having unshakeable faith in the guiding and protecting power of God. It’s about living in the presence of God and being resolute in our decisions, and removing obstacle in favor of God. Ranju describes this as trusting in the process of life and being okay with releasing control.
Part 3: Freedom During Confinement and Restriction
The bedrock of the discussions in the book are the idea of “support, direction, and space”.
• Support: Another way to imprisonment is to view these confinements and restrictions as support or boundaries. Ranju explains that we are conditioned to do anything we like and to have too many choices. He offers by example the experience at the supermarket where we can sometimes feel anxious from the “tyranny of choice.” One way to think of this anxiety is what is called duḥkha. This means the space filled with unwanted, inauspicious thoughts and feelings; a sorrowful condition of mind; lack of happiness.
• Direction: With these boundaries or support we are able to get direction.
• Space: Once we have support and direction, we can open up and allow spaciousness, which means seeing new possibilities. Ranju offers that instead of duhka we can create sukha, which Yoga International describes as a space filled with goodness and auspiciousness; a mind filled with positive thoughts; happiness. Ranju explains that instead of rejecting support, accepting and living attune to reality.
More on Ranju Roy
Ranju Roy has been practicing yoga since the mid 1980s. He completed the 4 year Viniyoga Britain Diploma with Paul Harvey in 1995 and then the Post Graduate Course in 1999. He has also studied with TKV Desikachar in the UK and India on numerous occasions.
From 2004-2015 Ranju worked closely with Peter Hersnack, another of Desikachar’s direct students. Ranju has taught many yoga classes, retreats and workshops around the country. He has taught at British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) Congress, Association for Yoga Studies (aYs) Conventions and many In-Service Trainings for both BWY and aYs.
Ranju has worked closely with Dave Charlton since 2004, when they founded Sadhana Mala. Under this name, they have run many training courses, workshops and retreats and recently they have co-authored a new ground-breaking book on the Yoga Sutra called ‘Embodying the Yoga Sutra: Support, Direction and Space.”
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