Sutra 2.1: tapah svadhyaya ishvara-pranidhana kriya-yogah
- tapah = austerity
- svadhyaya = self-study
- ishvara (ishwara) = supreme being, God, Divine
- pranidhana = acceptance, surrender
- kriya-yogah = action yoga
Translated loosely into English;
The Yoga of Action, Kriya Yoga, consists of austerity, self-study and surrender to the Supreme.
It is important to examine the three main aspects of Kriya Yoga.
1. Austerity; simplicity, persistence, determination, continuity of practice
Examples of Austerity; morning/afternoon practice. Maintain practice daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. To be consciously aware that what you do is for the benefit of study, practice, inner growth and awareness, greater learning and realizations, discovery, remembrance and knowledge.
Constant streams of external stimulants, sensory satisfaction, TV, media, social networks, society, result in a further separation between the Self and the Path of Realizing or Remembering Self. We become slaves to our minds, to our humanity resulting in increased suffering and lengthening the path to liberation. By living a simple life, without extremes, without constantly yielding to external sensory stimulants, mind is able to concentrate, focus and practice. Simple living creates a clean environment. Simple eating a healthy light body. Simplicity sets a foundation to re-discover who we truly are. A good example of this is travel. People leave the luxuries behind for simplicity to detach from externals and rest in the internal peace within.
2. Self-Study and/or Study of Self; this includes reading of sacred scriptures, ancient texts and teachings, inquisitive learning, memorizing important teachings, the experience of learning through the body, learning how the body reflects the truths in the scriptures, meditative contemplation, and finding a path that suits YOU.
3. Acceptance of Supreme Being; having the correct knowledge that is a Supreme Being is not sectarian, not of any dogma, religion, culture, language or country, a knowledge of that which pervades all things in nature, a knowledge that ‘I’ am not in control of this human experience, life, world, universe, an acceptance that there are things I can not explain, there are things I will never know, there are things that can not be proved with science or logic, but I have knowledge of its existence. To have a ‘belief’ in something is not knowledge, is not acceptance and is not without fear. To believe is to have doubt. Accept and Surrender to pure consciousness, the true nature of everything. Even though I can not see the universe, the moon, the stars, the deserts of Siberia, I know it is there.
Active Yoga…………………………………………………………Advanced Yoga
Physical/External…………………………………………………Meditative/Internal
GROSS………………………………………………………………SUBTLE
Note: The qualities of the Gunas are evident in those above;
Austerity-Tamasic, Self-Study-Rajasic, Surrender to Supreme-Sattvic
Yogini Sadhaka 