Then the seer abides in his own true nature

Submitted by Satz on Sun, 2010-06-20 11:39
Community topics: 
wisdom

The third shloka from portion of contemplation from Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Explanation:

You are the seer. You are not the body nor the mind. You are the knower or the seer. You always see your body and mind acting in front of you.

You can see you body and your mind. So , what you see cannot be you. You know that the mind creates thoughts. it distinguishes and desires. The seer " knows" that but is not involved in that.

But to understand the eternal peaceful you, the mind must be quiet; otherwise it seems to distort the truth. How do you see yourself ?
In case if I ask you whether you have seen your eyes , you would say no , because, it is the eyes that see, how can you see your eyes ?
But you can see your eyes in the mirror. But if the mirror is corrugated, curved concave or convex will you be able to see your true face ? No it will appear awful. Will you be worried seeing this ? No. You will immateriality know something is wrong with the mirror. What you are seeing is a distorted image. Only if the mirror is perfectly smooth and clean do you see the proper reflection. Only then you would see your real face in the mirror.

In the same way the true you, reflects in the mind which is a mirror. Normally you cannot see your true self because your mind is colored or distorted with thoughts. If the mind is dirty you will say "I am dirty".

If it is all polished and fine it says " I am beautiful". That means you think you are the reflection in the mind. If the mind has a lot of waves like the surface of a lake, you will be seeing a distorted image.

Has the seer then forgotten itself ? No. But it appears to be distorted because of the wrong identification of the true self with the image.

The self is always the same, but the image is distorted or colored depending on the various disturbing thoughts that arise in the mind.
By making the mind pure and clean, you have gone back or you appear to have gone back to your original state.

Ref: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. by Swami Satchidananda

Comments

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Sun, 2010-06-20 11:54.

I realized that so much of my experience depends upon what I project onto the world, it became clear that that more effort should go into clearing up my perception. And once I realized that sex can so easily distort perception due to the lingering neurochemical effects of intense sexual stimulation, I was surprisingly open to experimenting with other ways to manage sexual energy. I've been very pleasantly surprised by how much "better" life looks and how much more I enjoy "little" pleasures.

Submitted by Satz on Sun, 2010-06-20 12:00.

It is in this area where I need your help !

Marnia wrote:

Once I realized that sex can so easily distort perception due to the lingering neurochemical effects of intense sexual stimulation, I was surprisingly open to experimenting with other ways to manage sexual energy. I've been very pleasantly surprised by how much "better" life looks and how much more I enjoy "little" pleasures.

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Sun, 2010-06-20 12:06.

you actually need your wife's help. ;-) I know it's hard for you brilliant, capable men to ask for help, but I think you can find a way to sell the idea. Be creative.