Book Review: Yoga Sutras Simplified by Vasudev Murthy

 Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (PYS) dive into the psychology of the human mind. It is one of the most important texts for a Yoga Sadhaka / practitioner. Many have written translations and commentaries on this text. I bought the book "Yoga Sutras Simplified" by Vasudev Murthy in May 2023 (before I signed up for my Yoga instructor course and MSc Yoga), but never got around to reading it. 

In the past year, I got the opportunity to learn the essence of Yoga Sutras from various sources. Given that PYS is one of the subjects in my current semester, I picked up this book recently. 

The author says in the Introduction - "The Yoga Sutras analyse the fickle mind in extraordinary detail and ought to be required reading for psychologists!". I couldn't agree more. He has provided the gist of all 4 chapters, covering the key takeaways.

The author has approached this book neither as a translation nor a typical commentary. He has given a refreshing take by interweaving the core principles behind certain sutras and his experiences and reflections. The writing style is simple and lucid, with clear explanations of the concepts, especially on vrittis, kleshas, types of samadhis, yamas and niyamas, samyama, etc. He has also connected certain ideas with music-based examples, given his background in music. 

Here are a few of my favorite lines:

Indifference to the results of knowledge is the highest form of dispassion.

A mind that soaks in all manners of disturbances under various guises is a mind that will never actually find peace and purpose.

Sorrow arrives disguised as transient pleasure.

A person's temperament affects the temperament of everyone around!

If the mind is agitated, bodily balance is unachievable.

What is "rational" depends on your framework of knowledge. You may not know what you do not know.

This is a beginner-friendly book that will inspire one to pick up the main text and read more elaborate commentaries by other authors.

3 months of "no social media"

 It's exactly 3 months since I quit Instagram, a platform where I had been an active content creator for nearly 10 years. I also briefly returned to Twitter as a passive content consumer when the election fever in India was at its peak. After the election results, I deactivated the account. So technically, I've been off social media over the last 3 months (not counting WhatsApp and YouTube as social media platforms!).

I have already listed down my reasons for quitting Instagram, so I don't intend to repeat them in this post.

As I ponder over the last 3 months regarding what has changed, what I missed, and what I'm grateful for, a few thoughts surfaced.

What I miss:

Interesting and stimulating conversations, chit-chats, and comments from friends I made on Instagram. Though some of them are in touch through WhatsApp, it doesn't quite feel the same.

What has changed:

I continue to write on my blog whenever inspiration strikes but without the need to customize/edit it for the sake of Instagram.

Also, there used to be a silent reminder running in my mind whenever I didn't post frequently on Instagram. I don't get that nagging feeling anymore. 

When posting on Instagram, subconsciously I would end up checking for comments/DMs often. I often wondered if it was for the sake of validation or approval.

I used to get affected by influencers who lead extreme lifestyles and build businesses by capitalizing on people's FOMO and promising tall claims. I now protect my mental peace by staying away from their content.

The biggest change - a lot more time has opened up which I'm putting to productive use in learning Yoga philosophy, Bhagavad Gita, and Ayurveda, and towards my self-care practices.

What I'm grateful for:

On the day of Krishna Jayanti and Ganesh Chaturti celebrations, I reminisced the festive days on Instagram where we - food content creators - would share our pics of the special menu and recipes. It used to be so inspiring to see the efforts and I used to look forward to sharing pics of my festival special preparations. Though I came out of Instagram, the motivation is now intact and I celebrated the festive occasions this year without posting any pics on social media.

Instagram had been a huge motivating factor in my cooking experiments - trials and successes, trying new recipes and venturing into traditional dishes that take time and effort. It used to be a happy place back in 2017-19 when it was all about images and content. The "reels" trend changed the total ethos of the platform. 

Only when we close the doors that no longer work for us, new doors will open up.

Gratitude to our body

 Consider this scenario - while walking on an uneven road, you twisted your right leg all of a sudden and ended up with a ligament tear. For the next few days, you found it difficult to walk as you underwent treatments and took medications. You slowly recover and get back to walking comfortably. It feels so good to keep both your feet firmly on the ground. You feel happy and grateful that you can walk fine without any issues.

Strangely, we don't feel the same gratitude when our body functions well and stays healthy. We take it for granted and abuse it in all possible ways - overeating, eating at the wrong time, lack of movement, compromising sleep and binge-watching TV series late in the night, etc.

Many of us feel that exercise (in any form) is something we HAVE to do. It is a chore to complete, an item on the to-do list to check first thing in the morning.

What is needed is a shift in perspective -

being grateful that our body is flexible and has stamina and strength,

thanking our body when we can

• do 6 rounds of Suryanamaskar
• climb 5 flights of stairs
• run 2 km
• bend forward into Padahastasana pose
• sit down on the floor and get up comfortably
• stand for an hour without any lower back ache

If we consider such abilities as privileges we have been bestowed with, we will treat our bodies with a lot more love and care.

The Information Sieve

 Movies, web series, podcasts, videos by social media influencers, interviews, books, tweets - any form of mass media of today comes with its motive or agenda. Gone are the times when we watch a movie or a series for the sheer entertainment value. Whenever I see a post of an influencer on social media, I find myself asking - "What is this person's motive? What is the narrative he is trying to convey? Is he part of a  toolkit?"

A movement promoting a raw vegan lifestyle in the name of "satvic" has an agenda. Someone who concocts masala in a lab also has an agenda when he says - Without processed foods, human life will perish from the planet.

Narratives peddled on social media are deliberately coercing ordinary people to turn their attention toward the direction the peddler(s) want them to. 

Which piece of content / news should one read / hear about?

How long should it stay in one's mind? 

What is the reaction one's mind should have?

What is the belief system that one should question or challenge?

What is the new belief system that needs to be implanted?

What aspects of personality need to be impacted?

Everything is programmed to a large extent IF we allow ourselves to. Based on one's reactions and further actions, one gets grouped into different identity groups. Without our knowledge or awareness, we get bucketed into these groups and are fed more thoughts and patterns to substantiate our belief that we belong to such a group.

While machines are learning and becoming intelligent, we - the human species - are programmed every minute we are digitally connected. 

In such times, it is all the more important to strengthen and empower our intellect and cultivate our unique paradigm of thinking, framing, and questioning narratives and motives. It doesn't mean we mistrust everyone. All we need is an information sieve to filter and control the information coming our way and a deep Shraddha (conviction/faith) in Nature/Intuition/Supreme.