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clearingpollutants
fromthemind
Themind becomes serene
and clear when we cultivate four specific virtues
in relation to the people around us.
the yoga sutra translation & commentary by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
Sutra 1.33
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maitrkarumuditopek
sukhadukhapuypuyaviay
bhvanta cittaprasdanam
Infusing the mind with friendliness, compassion,
cheerfulness, and uninvolved observation in
relation to those living a happy, miserable,
virtuous, and non-virtuous life respectively,
results in reclaiming a pristine state of mind.
2005 Yoga + Joyful Living. All rights reserved.
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&
maitr is derived from mitra,
a word that explains the very spir-
it of friendship; it can be loosely
translated as friend.
mitra
=
mi + tra
mi
=
violence, destruction,
disintegration
tra
=
power of protection,
nurturance, the guiding and
protective force
Thus, mitra refers to the essence
of friendship or the spirit that
holds friendship in place; the spiri-
tual virtue that prevents the mind
from meeting its own destruction
and thus ensures that we continue
walking toward our destination
with all safety and protection;
more clearly, one who prevents
you from meeting your destruc-
tion is your friend, mitra.
maitr is the spirit that compels
your friend to be there for you;
friendliness.

karu
=
karu + na
karu = action; endeavor; ability
to do
na
=
to move forward; to lead;
leading capacity; the process of
reaching a destination
Together, karu refers to an
action or virtue that enables you
to move forward; the virtue that
compels you to help others move
forward; the virtue that compels
you to pull others out of their
misery; the virtue that compels
you to extend yourself to those
who are stuck; compassion.

mudit
=
the virtue of
cheerfulness; a joyful condition of
mind; rapture.

upek
=
upa + k
upa
=
near; around
k
=
to see; observe
Together, upek means to see
near, or around; by implication it
means to avoid looking into some-
ones eyes; overlooking; not involv-
ing; not taking part in an issue,
however, being sensitive to the
context in which the issue may
have evolved; seeing without judg-
ing; uninvolved observation.

sukha
=
su + kha
su
=
good, auspicious
kha
=
space
Together, sukha means a space
filled with goodness and auspi-
ciousness; a mind filled with posi-
tive thoughts; happiness.

dukha
=
dus + kha
dus
=
bad, unpleasant,
unwanted, undesirable
kha
=
space
Together, dukha means the space
filled with unwanted, inauspicious
thoughts and feelings; a sorrowful
condition of mind; lack of happiness.

puya is derived from the
verb pu (pun), which means to
purify, to cleanse; thus puya
means virtues that purify the way
of the soul; subtle essence of
virtues; that which comes out of
virtues; the force that compels us
to walk on the path of purity.

apuya is that which lacks
puya, virtues and purity; the
conditions contrary to virtue; the
forces or the conditions that
compel us to walk on the path of
impurity; degrading factors.

viaya = object; in this
context it means in relation to.

bhvanta
=
by think-
ing, contemplating, pondering, and
embracing; by infusing with; by
absorbing.
%
cittaprasdanam
=
citta
+
prasdana
citta
=
mind
prasdana
=
transparency,
clarity
Together, cittaprasdanam means
transparency of mind; pristine
state of mind. >>>
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By nature the mind, antah-karana
(the inner instrument), is serene and
crystal clear. Using this inner instru-
ment, consciousness discovers its
grandeur and infinite glory. With the
help of the mind, consciousness
breathes life into the body and sense
organs, thereby experiencing the
beauty and joy contained in the infi-
nite variety of objects in the external
world. In short, this inner instrument
is the means through which we come
to know ourselves and the whole
world, both within and without.
In spiritual literature such as
the Vedas and the Upanishads, the
mind is described as the brightest
and fastestamong all lights. It
illuminates all that is to
be seen and breathes life
into all that is living. But
when impurities seep into
it, the mind becomes
oblivious of its own bril-
liance and serenity. It no
longer has the ability to
stand still until the
objects in its path are
fully illuminated. Propelled by
impurities, it runs ceaselessly and
purposelessly from one object to
another, exhausting itself in the
process.
Unless you remove the im-
purities, none of the techniques
designed to make your mind calm
and one-pointed work very well.
What are these impurities? Where
do they come from, and how do
they seep into the mind? That is the
subject of this sutra.
The minds most potent pol-
lutant is violence, the impulse to
obliterate those who pose a threat
to us. Violence stems from the fear
of losing that which we hold dear,
and nothing is dearer than life itself.
Lacking sufficient knowledge about
the purpose and meaning of life, we
accumulate worldly possessions,
thinking that the more we have, the
safer we will be. This false idea of
where security lies leads us to be-
lieve that the fewer objects others
possess, the weaker they are, and
the less threat they pose.
Our desire to feel secure thus
splits into two channelsthe desire
to possess more ourselves and the
desire to see others pos-
sessing less. These twin
desires recognize no
boundariesthe more we
succeed in fulfilling them,
the more they deepen and
grow. When the forces of
the cosmos thwart these
twin desires, we become
fearful and focus our
energy on discovering the cause.
When we identify a cause, we then
treat it as our enemy.
Failing to realize that it is our
boundless desires themselves that are
our greatest enemy, we manufacture
enemies in the external world. Any-
one who has what we want and any-
one who prevents us from achieving
our desires is perceived as an enemy.
Thus we people the world with a
long chain of enemies. When we
cannot lay our hands on these ene-
mies we brood, and our thoughts are
tainted by animosity.
According to the great sage
Patanjali, this feeling of animosity is
vyadhi, a mental disease powerful
enough to disturb the natural bal-
ance of mind. If this disease is not
cured in a timely manner, the mind
becomes dull and gloomy. It loses
the capacity to think clearly and
falls prey to doubt and confusion.
The only cure for vyadhi is to
cultivate friendliness toward those
who seem to be happy and success-
ful. Here friendliness means more
than simply extending the hand of
friendship to successful peopleit
means eliminating the underlying
element of animosity that forces us
to manufacture enemies in the
external world. It involves trans-
forming the insecure part of our-
selves by eliminating violence and
ill will (mi), and yoking our mind
with the true power of protection
the positive thinking (tra) that lies
at the core of friendliness (maitri).
It is the cultivation of maitri that
prevents our mind from inviting its
own destruction and ensures that
we continue walking toward our
destination safely and well-pro-
tected. Once we have embraced this
great virtue, the mind has no reason
to worry. It automatically regains
its serene, pristine state and can
command itself to become one-
pointed and inward at will. 50
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the yoga sutra
Unless you
remove the
impurities, none
of the tech-
niques designed
to make your
mind calm and
one-pointed
work very well.
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Cultivating karuna, compas-
sion, also clears the mind and
restores serenity. Cruelty, which is
the opposite of compassion, is one
of the most injurious of the subhu-
man tendencies. It dulls the mind to
the point where we become insensi-
tive even to our own
thoughts and feelings.
This insensitivity shrivels
the heart and narrows the
mind. We no longer see
the difference between a
material object and a liv-
ing being. We treat our-
selves and others mindlessly, filling
our inner world with pain and sor-
row and inflicting our inner pain on
those around us. Those who are
cruel are made miserable by their
own unfulfilled desires and go after
those who are weaker than they
are because they do not know how
to capture and manage the real
enemydesire itself. Acts of cruelty
toward others are an expression of
our own inner misery. Unless we
replace the cruelty born of anger
and thwarted desire with compas-
sion, we will remain caught in our
own inner turmoil.
Friendliness toward happier
and more successful people has a
direct bearing on serenity of mind,
whereas compassion has a more
indirect effect. Compassion helps to
infuse the world outside us with
peacea necessary condition for
reclaiming a calm, tranquil mind. If
you dont act with compassion, you
will go on creating trouble in the
external world, and eventually this
trouble will come back to you. In
other words, unless you actively cul-
tivate the virtue of compassion, your
mind will be disturbed.
Our desires are not confined
to material successwe want to be
rich spiritually as well. Spiritual
prosperity has to do with
inner purity, but this
virtue is difficult to mea-
sure by external signs.
Every culture develops its
own unique yardstick for
measuring purity and
holiness. Our inability to
comprehend the inner virtues that
enhance our understanding of the
spiritual realm causes us to compare
ourselves with those who are known
for their spiritual growth. And just
as we envy those who are more suc-
cessful than we are in worldly mat-
ters, we also pollute our minds by
focusing our animosity on spiritual
people. According to Patanjali, we
cleanse our minds of this impurity
by cultivating cheerfulness toward
those who seem to be closer to their
spiritual goal than we are to ours.
Then there are those who,
according to cultural yardsticks for
measuring virtue and vice, are less
than virtuous. We call them sin-
ners, the fallen ones. We human
beings are in the habit of spending
more time and energy in condemning
sinners than in creating an atmos-
phere that diminishes our attraction
to non-virtuous acts. According to
Patanjali, if you cannot practice
friendliness, compassion, and cheer-
fulness toward people you consider
to be non-virtuous, then, for the sake
of your own mind, at least look at
such people without judging them.
This requires more than
remaining indifferent toward sin-
ners or leaving them alone.
Remember, there is a subtle force
that compels you to compare and
contrast yourself with virtuous as
well as non-virtuous people, and
that force will not let you simply
ignore the presence of those whom
you find to be misfits. Your own
desire to be hailed as a spiritual
soul will conjure up negative
thoughts related to them and dis-
turb your inner repose. You cant
escape this phenomenon, so learn to
see those who seem to be less than
virtuous in their own context, with-
out judging them. Dont ignore
them. Dont regard them with indif-
ference (upeksha is often mistrans-
lated as indifference) for this will
only increase your insensitivity.
Upeksha, uninvolved observation,
will help you feel that at least in
all good conscience you tried your
best to understand those who are
labeled sinners. Complying with the
voice of your conscience is a power-
ful aid in calming the mind.

Learn to see
those who seem
to be less than
virtuous in their
own context,
without judging
them.
To hear the Yoga Sutra correctly
pronounced, log on to www.yiextra.org
and click on Yoga Sutra 1.33.
To listen to any of the preceding sutras,
click on Yoga Sutra Archive under
Previous Issues.
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