VIKSEPA (Distraction)

Learning Yoga from any one, either in person or on the internet is rather easy in the beginning, as one usually starts of with a bit of Hatha Yoga, then a bit of meditation, and then perhaps the odd extra Pranayama technique. This is how it should be of course.

Sooner or later if one is interested in REALITY then some seriousness to one's endeavours needs to be undertaken. Although the Atman is urging you to come home, to unite, there is still some self-willed effort needed on your part.

The title of this piece is Viksepa, which means distraction in its broad sense, and in its narrower sense, it can be broken down into a number of attributes. I will name them and also see what can be done about them.

1.Disease:

The number one cause of distraction for the neophyte especially if there is pain accompanied with it. It becomes very difficult to center ones attention to the serious matters of inward diving while suffering agitation due to pain or illness.

2.Languor:

This is a tough one to overcome as so many people seem to stray along through life without purpose . They just let life happen to them. No direction.

3. Carelessness:

This is an interesting one as it involves not paying attention, or not being able to read or listen to what is being said. I have many students who write me back asking for directions again to what I have already given them. I don't mind this when there is sincerity as I know they just want to be sure.

4. Doubt.

This is also understandable - to doubt is not such a bad thing providing it doesn't follow you throughout your life. In this instance though it means doubt about your purpose. If you never doubt your purpose for practicing Yoga you will succeed, providing of course that all other distractions have been removed.

5. Laziness:

Laziness unlike languor, may have a purpose, but is with out the balance of pranic energy flowing through the body. It is most unnatural to be lazy. The human animal is an energetic and vital species, but the distractions of modern living have allowed him to lose his vital forces by having everything done for him.

6. Worldly:

Being to attached to the world in either as world affairs or the "things" the world has to offer is a great distraction from allowing mind and thoughts to be settled enough to enter the silence.

7.Delusion:

How we delude ourselves into thinking we are this or that, even as far as to be deluded about our Yogic unfoldment, but mostly deluded into thing the world is real.

8. Non-achievement:

This leads to disappointment as the student cannot quite achieve one stage in Yoga after the other. This is usually die to the other 8 Viksepas.

9. Instability:

Being unstable in body or mind or even in your emotions is a great drain of your Yogic modis operandi. Rather than think of instability, think STABILITY and it is easier understood. ROCK SOLID!

These nine distractions are the major obstacles to your Yogic achievements

For those of you that have been with me on the internet for a number of years will wonder how one can balance living a normal life while at the same time coming to terms with these 9 distractions to their studies.

I would like to explain again in the manner of an article I wrote on rain drops. In thinking of the infinite ONENESS, the Ultimate Reality, think of the ocean . Now imagine on a very hot day, through osmosis, water droplets from the ocean are lifted into the air forming clouds. These water droplets are salt, just like the source they came from .

When clouds have formed sufficiently and weather patterns are just right, those same water droplets appear as rain, losing their saltiness in the transition from the ocean, through the air, mixing with dust etc.

As the clouds move across the country , they release the water as droplets, falling on different areas of the earth. A droplet in the southern area may pick up certain minerals from that section of land, while another droplet picks up different minerals in another area - yet as they all find the water table and stream off into rivulets and rivers and flow once again to the ocean, everything they have gathered along the way, becomes dissolved into the oceans salty brine, returning once again as the ocean.

It is this gathering up of minerals that one can liken each individual as coming from the one source of endless life, gathers along the way through conditioning, nurturing, and genetics, plus the vibrations from the name he is attached to, and forms the individual he becomes - or at least he thinks he is that individual.

It is only by diving back into the ocean of Bliss, your true source, that you full realize all the clutter you have gathered along the way is not really you at all.

What this has to do with living a full and functional life while all the time practicing your yoga, is that if you can rid yourself of the distractions of this life, you will soon be able to Unite with the infinite ocean of Oneness AND RETAIN CONSCIOUSNESS OF THAT OCEAN.

Not the consciousness of all you have picked up and gathered along the way. For this way, we know, through the philosophy of Klesas leads to suffering and questions, questions, questions - never answers. For every question answered there is always another questions. It is an endless quandary.

By reading my past newsletters at www.real-yoga.com/newsletters/ you will find much of the teaching that will allow you to find a way to not be deceived by Maya. When this deception has been overcome to some degree, then these nine distractions will not stand in your way.. You do need to work, but you have to learn to work with love. Without love there is effort, and with effort there is strife. It is much like a confused mind coming up with an answer for itself. The answer cam out of confusion, thus it will be confused also. A vicious circle.

This is the article on raindrops and snowflakes as pertaining to reincarnation.