Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras include at least two clear indicators of the inclusion of the practice of compassion on the yogic path, cited in the sutras mentioned in the title of this entry. The first, in Book I tells us we can overcome obstacles to a state of yoga through being kind and compassionate towards others, and seems to indicate this as a practice for life in our daily interactions. SInce the sutra in Book III appears within the descriptions of more internal practices, or “innermost yoga”, I made the suggestion in class that we may want to find recitations for our meditations which reflect our heartfelt desires for ease and happiness on all levels for ourselves and others. Each world tradition seems to have this impetus, and to have various expressions of it. I found a lovely Metta practice from the Buddhist tradition and include it here:
Metta (Lovingkindness) Recitation
May I be free from all sources of danger and harm. May I have happiness in body, Happiness in mind, And ease of wellbeing.
May my loved ones be free from all sources of danger and harm. May my loved ones have happiness in body, Happiness in mind, And ease of wellbeing.
May those with whom I have difficulties be free from all sources of danger and harm. May those with whom I have difficulties have happiness in body, Happiness in mind,
And ease of wellbeing.
May all beings be free from all sources of danger and harm. May all beings have happiness in body, Happiness in mind, And ease of wellbeing.
http://studenthealth.emory.edu/hp/hp_meditation.php
The Vedic tradition includes the following chant, which I discovered recorded on a CD called Sloka Mala, with traditional sanskrit chants by the teacher Shubra— here it is in english:
May all be happy; May all be healthy
May all see auspiciousness; May none suffer.
Then of course there are various versions of the prayer we attribute to St. Francis in the Christian tradition; the following version was offered by Mother Theresa:
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.
That where there is hatred I may bring love,
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,
That where there is error I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt I may bring faith,
That where there is despair I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows I may bring light,
That where there is sadness I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,
To understand than to be understood,
To love than to be loved.
For it is by forgetting self that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,
it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.
All of these words may serve us in being present with our desire for freedom from suffering for ourselves and others. There is much to contemplate in all of this, and it is most useful and inspiring when we choose a practice to which we feel called to have some consistency in working with it. So perhaps you have familiarity with a compassion practice from your own tradition, or you are drawn to some of the words I have included here. Please feel free to respond to this entry and share your thoughts, or other words that may serve as we look towards ways that we can increase light in ourselves and around us as we practice yoga.
