tat tvam asi

An article I recently published on Tapas & Relationships continued to reverberate within me for days after I published it. I was particularly caught up with Sutra 2.31 which seems to describes a relationship between the first two practices on the ashtanga list – Yama & Niyama.

Ashtanga: Eight Limbs of Yoga

Sutra 2.29 (second chapter, sutra 29) is a list of 8 disciplines which make up the art of Yoga:

1. Yama – your attitude toward your environment.
2. Niyama – your attitude toward yourself.
3. Asana (physical practices)
4. Pranayama (breathing practices)
5. Pratyahara (quieting the mind)
6. Dharana (focusing the mind)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (integration / being present / clear perception / …)

People sometimes speak of this as a “ladder” – which seems to suggests that Meditation (Dhyana) is a higher practice then Attitude towards others (Yama) or that Samadhi is the “highest achievement” of Yoga. I don’t think this is right, I think it is an incorrect interpretation, I think it blinds people from what Yoga is and I think it gives birth to incorrect views and false promises.

I believe that Sutra 2.31 offers a key to a better understanding of the relationship between the 8 practices of Yoga.

Trim Tabs: Refined Controls

This post started with an image I had from a long time ago about ship-rudders. I did some research into it and came across the idea of “Trim-tabs”:

“Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls…”

Source: Wikipeda: Trim Tabs

My memory of it was related to ships where a smaller rudder (trim tab) is attached to the huge rudder that actually navigates the ship. Ship steering is controlled by moving the small rudder which then moves the large/main rudder. I couldn’t find a good ship-rudder image but I did find the same mechanism on airplanes. You can see how they work in this diagram. Small surfaces are used to activate and stabilize the larger surfaces. The smaller surfaces are refined controls for the larger surfaces.

This is what it looks like on an actual airplane:

Sutra 2.31: Gradual Change

What caught my attention about this Sutra was not the text itself but a commentary on it by TKV Desikachar:

“We cannot begin with such attitudes. If we adopt them abruptly we cannot sustain them. We can always find excuses for not maintaining them. But if we seek to identify the reasons why we hold contrary views, isolate the obstacles that permit such views and our attitudes will gradually change. The obstacles will give way and our behavior toward others and our environment will change for the better”.

Life demands engagement, it creates friction (Tapas) with many people. That is where the practice of Yama comes into play. It’s easier to take on a pleasant facade when you are on Yoga retreat with like-hearted people in a supportive environment then it is in a traffic jam when you are late for a meeting at work with people who annoy you. Yet being stuck in traffic on your way to somewhere you don’t want to be with people you don’t want to see is the more typical state of of life – and that is where Yama is practiced.

Yama is a practice of living an engaged life – it is about navigating truthfully, honestly, moderately, considerably and appropriately when it seems least possible. It’s like trying to fly a plane through hammering cross-winds and the stick is shaking in your hand violently. You may be able to keep a steady course for a while – but eventually you will tire out. The alternative is a refined system of steering – a trim tab to stabilize your flight.

This is what Sutra 2.31 suggests. If you are having trouble navigating in Yama (your relationship to others) examine your relationship towards yourself. Your attitudes towards yourself can stabilize your attitudes towards others. You can never really stop “navigating through life” – but the ride doesn’t have to be so bumpy. Use your attitudes towards yourself to stabilize your flight and to do so with less effort.

Trim Tabs for Trim Tabs

The Yoga Sutra is known for it’s conciseness and sparing use of words. It is an “economically efficient” text – it packs a lot into as little as words as possible. What if Sutra 2.31 is not just about the relationship between Yama and Niyama? What it is a formula that applies to all 8 limbs:

• Yama – Niyama: If you experience friction with the world around around you, take a look inside – that may make it easier for you to navigate your relationships.
• Niyama – Asana: If you find your own attitudes difficult to contain you may want to take on a physical practice.
• Asana – Pranayama: If your physical practices seems limited or stuck – try breathing practices.
• Pranayama – Pratyahara: If your breathing seems constricted – try practicing where there are less distractions.
• Pratyahara – Dharana: If you have no distractions and yet you find your thoughts are disturbed – try steadying your mind.
• Dharana – Dhyana: If you find it hard to steady the mind – try meditating on an image, thought or metaphor.
• Dhyana – Samadhi: If you find it difficult to meditate – wait.

It’s easy to misread this list and to conclude that one should start with, for example, a subtle practice like meditation. This is not true. To use a refined control you must first experience the limitations of the gross controls. You cannot, for example, experience or appreciate the subtle qualities of Pranayama without first practicing Asana. At some point you may feel that asana has become repetitive and boring and not really affecting you. That is when you may find motivation and appreciation for breathing practices.

Ashtanga seems to describe a system of trim-tabs. As you advance in your practices you gain access and learn to appreciate subtler qualities. As you master subtle qualities you may call upon them to make your passage through life smoother and easier.

It would seem that the “highest achievement” of Yoga is not Samadhi (some theoretical state of bliss) but Yama (traffic on the way to work). Samadhi is merely a subtle tool for steering through life. It is a bumpy ride through life that sets us on a path of disocvery that leads to Samadhi. It is a smoother ride through life that makes it possible for us to appreciate it’s quality.

Buckminster Fuller

The term “trim-tab” was coined by one Buckminster Fuller:

“Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary — the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there’s a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab.

It’s a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it’s going right by you, that it’s left you altogether. But if you’re doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go.”

So I said, call me Trim Tab.

This post was inspired by a post titled “Let Them Eat Harmony” by Joe Gerstandt. What I liked about it and caught my attention was this:

“… tension is a catalyst for learning, for change, and for evolution … “

Friction

Joe’s post is focused on relationships between people and the idea of “tension” is examined in that context, but to me the idea appealed more to our inner workings. Joe referenced what seemed like an academic/research kind of article in his post. As I was reading his post the Sanskrit word “tapas” kept coming back to me – and so I followed it’s trail back into my source – the Yoga Sutra.

“Tapas” is the first word in the first sutra of the 2nd chapter of the Yoga Sutra – a chapter dedicated to practice. The 1st chapter talks about the idea of clarity – and the 2nd chapter is about the practices that can lead to clarity. If you read the 1st chapter and don’t quite get it – then the 2nd chapter is just for you. My teachers have suggested that for many people the 2nd chapter is a better starting point then the 1st.

The 2nd chapter is about action & doing – and it opens with the word “Tapas” – which can be translated as heat that comes from friction. In the context of Yoga practice it is a friction that comes from a rigorous & disciplined practice. People often come to Yoga expecting to be pleased and entertained (the business of Yoga) and to experience peace (and harmony) – but that is a mis-perception. Yoga is about “tapas” – that is, according to the Yoga Sutra, how it works. Yoga is not set out to be pleasant – it’s designed to disturb you – to create friction and heat, to purify impurities, to soften mind and body so that they can be reshaped into something better (good teachers will create just enough friction, too little will have no effect, too much can have adverse effects).

“A relationship that is focused solely on commonality and excludes all difference has some value, but it is not nearly as valuable and robust as a more honest relationship could be … “

A practice that pleases you and makes you feel good about your body has some value but it isn’t nearly as valuable as a robust and demanding practice that exposes and confronts the nature of mind. A robust and honest Yoga practice is something you may occasionally enjoy – but more often it is a disciplined and rigorous practice. Sometimes just getting on the mat is a source of friction.

Inside

But there was also something about Joe’s post that I didn’t quite agree with. If I had to choose a phrase that marked it – it would be this:

“And human beings being real with each other is loud and messy and sometimes we knock stuff over.”

I understand and I can personally relate to what Joe is saying – but I think it falls short of a better understanding. So I did some more research and indeed the “tapas” trail kept on going.

Sutra 2.29 (second chapter, sutra 29) is a list of 8 disciplines which make up the art of Yoga:

1. Yama – your attitude toward your environment.
2. Niyama – your attitude toward yourself.
3. Asana (physical practices)
4. Pranayama (breathing practices)
5. Pratyahara (quieting the mind)
6. Dharana (focusing the mind)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Integration (being present / clear perception / …)

Yoga is usually identified with Asana – physical practices, but you can see there is much more to it. The “tapas” trail reappears in the 2nd item on the list – in sutra 2.32 which provides more details on “Niyama”:

“The five personal principles of positive actions are purity, contentment, a disciplined life, study of the sacred texts and worship of God”

(Translation by Bernard Bouanchaud from “The Essence of Yoga”)

There is “tapas” again – this time it is mentioned not just in the context of practice – but as a quality and attitude we need to develop towards ourselves – Niyama. So, according to Yoga – rigorous discipline of the self – internal friction – is a key practice.

Outside

“Tapas” is not mentioned in the context of Yama (the first of 8 disciplines) – your attitude toward your environment and others. Sutra 2.30 provides details about what is included in Yama:

“The principles of respect for others include nonviolence, truth, honesty and non-covetousness”

(Translation by Bernard Bouanchaud from “The Essence of Yoga”)

As Joe suggested, truth and honesty are prescribed – but there is no mention of friction!

But … Yama (your attitude towards your environment) is described in sutra 2.30 and Niyama (your attitude towards yourself) is described in sutra 2.32 – so what’s in between them in sutra 2.31?

“When the adoption of these attitudes [ see sutra 2.30 ] in our environment is beyond compromise, regardless of our social, cultural, intellectual or individual station, it approaches irreversibility.”

(Translation by TKV Desikachar from “Heart of Yoga”)

An immediate commentary by TKV Desikachar on this sutra explains:

“We cannot begin with such attitudes. If we adopt them abruptly we cannot sustain them. We can always find excuses for not maintaining them. But if we seek to identify the reasons why we hold contrary views, isolate the obstacles that permit such views and our attitudes will gradually change. The obstacles will give way and our behavior toward others and our environment will change for the better”.

This sutra seems to be saying that to we must be prepared in order to practice a good relationship with the world around us. How can we prepare? The answer is in the next sutra 2.32 – Niyama: by first developing a proper attitude towards ourselves. If your relationship with other people is “loud and messy” then maybe you should be working on your relationship with yourself – and then revisiting your relationship with others.

When you do get relationships right – the effects approach irreversibility:

“But if you manage to absorb it and not pass it on, that’s the highest moral conduct of all. That really advances everything, not just you … some of the great moral figures of history … Christ, Lincoln, Gandhi … that’s what they were really involved in, the cleansing of the world through the absorption of karmic garbage. They didn’t pass it on.”

(by Robert Pirsig from “Lila”)