Swami Samarpanananda Saraswati visits Shropshire...

Meditations and Yoga Philosophy with Swami Samarpanananda Saraswati

Whilst in the Swami's presence you experience calm abundant energy… 

This workshop is about many things; fear, love, attachment, the list goes on… We settle down to listen to whatever wisdom the Swami has to share, posing questions and adding our thoughts as we are taken on a journey inwards...

image (c) peaceyoga

Fear & Attachment; 

Firstly we talk about fear something we are all afflicted by often several times in our life. It is important to conquer fear as it holds us back in many ways, for example fear of loss or fear of failure prevents us taking action whereas without the fear you would simply act and realise the rewards. Fear sits at the foundation of many things, fear comes before ignorance, ignorance comes before judgement, and judgement comes before ego. Our fears when left to rule becomes our character, our lifestyle, our choices.

There will always be struggles to challenge us and those around us in life. It is important to become aware that you can’t fix everyone's problems, accept that they are not your responsibility and trust in the universe that solutions will be provided.

In difficult times learn to give to those who are in greater need and in doing so act only with love and good will follow. If you see a homeless person on the street you should genuinely wish them well with all your heart but do not become attached to their plight as doing this means you will take on their struggles. Similarly if you try to help an addict be supportive but do not fall into fuelling their desires as this will only add to their suffering, instead offer your heartfelt hope that they find the strength to turn away from their addiction rather than fearing they will not succeed. This is not easy to do because we naturally see others plights and often desperately want to help beyond our capability but we need to realise that in offering sincere heartfelt hope we have done all we can it is not our journey to become attached to others challenges.

Consider this next time you are in conversation with someone who holds inhumane beliefs try to guide their thinking to become more humanitarian but if you can not succeed be mindful that you have tried your best, do not feed your own ego with sorrow because you were not able to fix or change someone, do not become attached to their beliefs. Responding with empathy in this situation is acting with love rather than reacting in haste, recognise you have tried your best and distance yourself from on-going attachment, learn to let go. When you have a disagreement with someone be mindful that you do all you can to calm the situation but do not take on the negativity from the situation instead be empathic; put yourself in their shoes and see things from their perspective rather than feeling beaten and taking on their negativity. Do not feel defeated if you do not achieve the outcome you desire however heartfelt your intention instead find peace in knowing you acted with empathy and trust in the universe to provide resolution, as this is trusting in yourself a vital trait in finding your way through life.

When it comes to nutrition be mindful that what you prepare to be consumed is done so with love. If you are unhappy or have altercations with others whilst preparing or consuming food/drink it absorbs the negative energy you then ingest this negative energy. This can be as simple as combining having lunch with making a phone call which ends up in a disagreement, the negative energy created travels into nearby food or liquids, this then becomes poison to you when you consume it.

Meditation and Sensation;

If you notice sensations of pain arising during meditation, be they physical or emotional do not become attached to them, do not try to understand. They could be from recent experiences or they could be linked to events or emotions from many years ago, even from previous lives meaning you may never know the reason they are there. Learn to avoid investing energy into these sensations by acknowledging them but not engaging with them, you can achieve this by learning not to question them. To achieve this non-attachment gently return your attention to your breath bringing freedom from attachment, allowing peace to reside within. Learning to observe rather than engage avoids giving your energy to the experience meaning that the sensation can only dissipate. For example if you watch a burning fire and you simply gaze at it the flames will eventually begin to fade turn to embers and ultimately become extinguished, but if you interact with the flames you add fuel you are engaged with the fire, feeding new energy into it, keeping it alight, you are making the flames stronger. Becoming more passive by simply observing allows each flame to burn out. If you can apply this method to your problems, emotions and sensations you are letting them go, you are putting the flames out and preserving your energy.

Fear, attachment and the ability to let go can be worked with through commitment to Yoga and Meditation. Committing to regular practise creates calmness within encouraging practitioners to work through their klesha, moving towards freedom. 

The 5 Klesha;

The klesha are explained by yogic philosophy as thought patterns. They can also be referred to as afflictions, they are the cause of suffering that repeatedly steer you off course. 

Each klesha has its own associated karma and is sustained by our fear and ignorance that fuels the ego. Ignorance is directly connected to our sense of self and others rather than a sense of oneness. It is the first of the 5 klesha. We can recognise klesha as our cognitive thought; patterns in our thought process that when we are found to be struggling with can be helped by CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). If you can become aware of your klesha (thought patterns) you may be able to learn to identify which of your klesha could be holding your back and creating an unwanted life for you. You see we can get stuck in a 'klesha loop' where our thought patterns become us or is it we become them? Either way we become guided by them and often wrongly, because of this we become stuck in a life pattern that does not allow us to find our Dharma; to follow our life purpose. Breaking these patterns takes diligence, continued awareness to help us move through life more successfully. 

Take a look back at your life do you see such patterns? Are their recurrent choices and behaviours repeating themselves? Does the same result keep coming up for you in life, the same stumbling blocks? If you can say yes to any of these it is time to identify the cause. The universe may well be showing you that you keep evidently barking up the wrong tree, encouraging you to see that you have lost your way, it's time to step back and address what needs to change so that you can be set free from unhelpful pattern/s, its time to listen to your heart, to truly be guided by your inner knowledge and not the chatter in your head.

1 Avidya; ignorance, delusion
- Inability to see things clearly resulting in false truths about your self such as habitual negative self talk and altered perspective of reality.
Dhyana (meditation) can aid the patience needed in working with this klesha to avoid launching too quickly into the next stage of your path, repeating the pattern rather than moving to the next phase of your journey

2 Asmita; disruption of ego
- Tendency to identify too closely with your ego preventing true connection to your soul, your inner self.
Ahimsa (kindness) and Pranayama (mindful breath control) can aid working with this klesha

3 Raga; attachment to pleasure
- The addiction to sensation of desires such as bad habits that keep you imprisoned in a false reality.
Focusing on cultivating the art of surrender, giving in and embracing change brings the reward of deeper connection to true self rather than comfortable distracting pleasures

4 Dvesha; identifying pain caused by old habits
- Old habits really do die hard creating a cycle of illusion where you remain in false safety unable to step away from misery and self-hatred rather than facing change and gaining personal growth.
Pratyahara (turning inward) the 5^th of the 8 limbs of Yoga can aid working with this klesha

5 Abhinivesha; fear of impermanence, letting go and moving on
- This fear of loss prevents the ability to attain freedom from attachment.
Samadhi (self absorption, divine connection) the 8^th of the 8 limbs of Yoga can aid working with this klesha. Practicing svasana (corpse pose) can be helpful.

 

When your 5 klesha are brought under close surveillance they can become changed. As outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali; the 5 klesha are 'the means to liberation'. You can learn to see patterns and begin to change them, this very will of thought connects to your karma and it is said that it is not the actions you carry out but your intentions and your thoughts leading up to those actions that directly effect your karma. Therefore identifying your thought patterns and developing new ways of responding brings greater understanding, revitalises compassion, generates better karma and brings self improvement.

When working through each of your klesha manifest your Sancalpa; your resolve. Whatever you select your resolve to be ensure it is true to your heart for this creates opportunity, for example if you set your resolve to need help to work through the klesha this creates an opportunity for accepting help an energy that brings help to you. 

Wherever you go tread lightly, do not pause to long and offer only love. Nature does not force itself, it does not rush, yet all that is required occurs in time. It trusts in the universe, finds it's path and flourishes. Listen to your heart it knows what you want before you do it is far more intuitive than your head.

If you would like to find out more about Swami Samarpanananda Saraswati please visit this website;
http://www.samarpanyoga.org/Sam.htm

Venue; Time for You, Shropshire
Hosts; Michael & Pat Sclater