तीव्रसंवेगानामासन्नः॥२१॥
tivra-samveganam-asannah
Our goals are closer, or more easily accessible (asannah) when our involvement in life is with intensity (tivra) and enthusiasm (samveganam).
PRACTICAL LIVING The previous sutra (see Sutra I.20) listed a few suggestions of how to cultivate more inner peace and live the most amazing life we could possibly imagine. This sutra emphasizes that the more effort we put into anything and everything we do, and the more enthusiasm we bring to our efforts, the closer our goals (whatever those may be) come to us.
We have already mentioned that Yoga requires action and effort (see Sutra I.12). Enthusiasm has also been mentioned as a pre-requisite to our actions (see Sutra I.14). This sutra highlights the idea that when we decide to start or continue an endeavor, we must have an attitude that is driven and committed, making the journey towards our goal easier and shorter. Not to mention that the whole process is more enjoyable, therefore motivating us to maintain our willingness throughout the journey.
What are the goals that you currently have? How much energy and enthusiasm are you putting into these?
IN THE YOGA WORLD This sutra is referring to samadhi or complete absorption, state of inner peace. This state is the goal of all goals in Yoga. Samadhi is within reach for those who are honest and pure at heart, enthusiastic, intense and energetic. We have also been told that these practices (enthusiasm, faith, vigor, dedication) have to be regular and for a long period of time (see Sutra I.14). All of these are interconnected: the more enthusiasm I have, the more likely I will dedicate myself to something for a prolonged period of time, without interruptions, which will give me some positive results, leading to faith and trust in myself (and others if they’re involved), giving me more vitality to keep living my life with intensity and enthusiasm, remembering my goal and remembering how far I have come. Lovely.
INSPIRATIONAL PERSON Buy is a man who lives intensely and with a lot of enthusiasm for theprojects he engages in. His ability to dive into something and transform it into its best possible form is admirable! His vitality and dedication are incredible.
He has been blessed with a superb wife, a spectacular son, and recently with an adorable daughter. I wish him the most joyful, peaceful and transformational journey as he continues to evolve as a brother, son, father, husband, boss, friend and beautiful human being. Love you Buy so very much!
Do you have any experiences you would like to share? Please interact as much as you like – everyone will learn from your personal experiences!
Thanks and we will look at why there are differences in our efforts and successes in different moments of our lives and in life, generally.
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This sutra is indeed lovely and I can relate to it deeply.
I am a very driven and enthusiastic person. I have learned through my journey in selfawareness that I struggle with persistence when results are slower than anticipated..the true vata in me. This requires much of what the sutras teach us…commitment, practice, dedication, and enthusiasm. I am filled with excitement as I embark on the next steps of my yoga journey with this beautiful reminder of what it takes to love every moment of it
In a couple of weeks I will have achieved my goal that I set forward about 7 months ago when signing up for TT. I devoted many nights and weekend to learning about yoga and myself and soon, I will have a certificate to show me how all of my hard work has paid off. My Enthusiasm and devotion has helped me complete all of my requirement for graduation. My attitude that I set for myself when I am feeling down or am struggle to relate a yoga concept , has helped me become closer to my goal. I am so excited to continue and start a new chapter of my yoga journey.
As I mentioned in the previous sutra, my goal is to open a yoga studio some day. I guess I should clarify that I would also want to teach in this studio 🙂 I think that I have been putting great effort and enthusiasm into this goal. I think by reading these sutras, I’m putting effort into becoming a teacher and learning about not only what the sutras mean but learning about myself. I also go to class 5-6 times a week so that I can improve my asana practice and learn through the current teachers. I’ve been to several workshops that are focused on some aspect of asana practice in order to learn how to do certain poses better and also to be able to teach the poses when I become a teacher. These are all things that I feel show the effort and enthusiasm that I am putting in to reach my goal. I know that I have tons more to learn, but I’m glad that I have this motivation to reach this goal.
Some of my goals that I fulfill with enthusiasm: guitar, asana, veganism. Some goals in I have enthusiasm but wish to set aside more time for: (yoga) philosophy research, pranayama, mediation. Goals I need to add more enthusiasm too: lectures, schoolwork, and when I spend extra time to grasp lecture concepts. Doing this just now, I have layed out of options that will help me achieve Samadhi.
I think that I bring pretty strong intensity and enthusiasm to whatever task I dedicate myself to, but the hard part is remembering that the reasons for effort and interest have to reside solely within myself, and cannot rely on acceptance in a social community, monetary success, or validation of my efforts by the approval of others.
I must maintain that sense of purpose and self and hold it close to me – I’m like this fuzzy, vibrating being, and the trick is to be vibrating and growing, like undulating sound waves, self-generating and self-perpetuating – if there’s not a positive feedback loop, it’s easy to question, “why am i doing this thing?”, but you must always know that you hold the purpose inside yourself, and no one can give it to you, and no one can take it away.
To me, goals are bit relative. I rather think them as milestones or phases in life. Because once you get there, what’s next? There will be a new one, another one after. Why should we burst our butts and push for goals? Let’s relax and think of them at a different angle. They are there to realign ourselves and keep us on the right track of our journey in life; so that we dont wander in the wilderness. They remind us that we should practice and aim for something better in life, to feel happier perhaps. They maintain our faith that with diligence, perseverance and good attitude, we can achieve them. And be real, things can get choppy or ugly along the way, but it will be well worth it once you are there, see the goals, grab them, let them go and be ready for the next ones; because you are capable and equipped to get there. If you dont see the next goals, how about help others to get their goals?
I am very goal orientated. My problem comes when i meet my goals, i have to work at keeping my enthusiasm and focus. I start to look for my next challenge instead of enjoying my accomplishment. I am learning through my teacher training that my past accomplishments have lead me to the path of finding my innner peace.
I completely agree with this and see it in my own life. Sometimes goals feel overwhelming or like I might never get there, but sitting still, thinking about how hard something is or how far away, and not taking any steps toward making it happen makes it feel that much more unattainable. When I take action and do so with some energy and excitement, goals seem much more achievable. Starting on teacher training is something I have thought about for years, but never really made any effort in pursuing. It just seemed like a great idea, something I would never achieve. But when I found out about the informational session for this training and went, actually taking the first steps to see what it was all about, I realized I could make this goal happen. I look forward to class week every month and am excited to see where working towards this goal takes me in the future.
Maintaining enthusiasm if a difficult thing when the commitment is longstanding. It’s important during the times of waning interest to remember the initial reasons for wanting the goal. It is also helpful during those times to connect with others who are vested in goals themselves, maybe even the same one as myself to encourage me to continue.
Goals are something very new to me. I am an action person with a short attention span! I have most recently been working with an amazing goal coach who holds me to my goals, fires me up about them and creates action steps to get there. Although the work is primarily on my part it helps to have someone in your corner! Kinda like a life doula 🙂
I have always loved goals. I like so set a goal, put a plan in place, and check things off the list as I complete them. I am a “doer” so I love the action part, but I am learning to have enthusiasm along with patience! I’m am learning to “hold” the goal gently, not run to it and “squeeze” it too tight. AKA Side crow
Seems a goal is an object and if my practice is to detach, setting a goal is denying impermanence, as nothing stays the same moment to moment. Pondering the intensity of my practice, qualifying degrees, I may go into judging, “am I enough?” A familiar and unpleasant feeling. Now, I think I should credit myself giving thought to yoga, to the greatest degree, and paying attention to breath. Sitting could be more, asana could be more. Seems practice comes in many forms.
Today, seems to come down to “Just Do It”
“Are we there yet? How long does it take? Are we there yet?” Maybe that’s why Patanjali has Sutras on gauging effort, because we students always want to know how long, how often, when do we get a result.
Having sustained focus to channel my enthusiasm is where I am challenged. I find myself so curious and eager to learn that my attention is easily diverted. I am thankful for my emerging yoga community to keep me connected to the practice I love so much! I am excited to have met my goal of finally becoming a yoga teacher!
One year of commitment to a yoga practice and teacher training is amazing focus!