सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः I

sati mūle tad-vipākaḥ jāti-āyuḥ bhogāḥ

When the root (mūle) of our actions is based on the kleśas, the results (vipākaḥ) will manifest in our life situations (jāti), the duration of the result (āyuḥ) and the experience (bhogāḥ) of that result.

PRACTICAL LIVING     As we mentioned in the last sutra (see Sutra II.12), the Law of Attraction (kama) states that every action we take has a consequence, which may manifest immediately or not. This sutra is an extension of the the last one and says that if our actions are rooted in our afflictions (misperception, desire, avoidance, ego or fear), then the results will show that. How do we know if our actions are based on those?

i. jāti (state): what physical, mental and emotional do we find ourselves in? This suggests that our bodies manifest what our emotions experience. In the West, we tend to blame external factors for our physical diseases. Yoga asks us to look inside and see whether the root of the disease is inside.

ii. āyuḥ (duration): how long does the result last (actual time and our perceived sense of time). The more pain we feel, the longer it seems to be (the mind distorts time). When we are suffering there is a tendency to think that we have always been like this. A friend or a teacher can help you see that the actual time of suffering has not been that long.

iii. bhoga (experience): what is our feeling of the experience? Actions rooted on the kleśas will result in either (a) more attachment to a person, object or idea (b) escaping or avoiding people or situations (c) the ego being arrogant or a victim (d) fear of someone or something (which can manifest in anxiety, worry, insecurity).

When we are about to take an action we can also reflect on the three above concepts: (i) what are we thinking and feeling? (ii) how much reflection have we put into this action? (iii) is the action rooted in an old feeling that is actually unrelated to the present situation?

Once again, Patanjali is asking us to practice awareness when we act. As we step back and become aware of what we are about to say, do or think, we have the ability to change automatic behaviors that are usually based on the kleśas and therefore lead to suffering.

IN THE YOGA WORLD     In Hinduism, it is believed that we are experiencing in this life the fruits of our actions in previous lives. If this is your belief system, then there is somewhat of an acceptance when tragic things happen in life. In the belief system of karma (many lives), we are burning the seeds of the actions that were planted in previous lives. Some believe that with awareness, we can prevent some seeds from sprouting. With awareness, we can also make better choices in this life to help the next life be smoother 🙂

If the cycle of life and death is not your thing, then working on becoming aware of the storage of imprints that we have in this life is a lifetime challenge in itself. Many of these imprints are in our subconscious either because we were too young to remember (in the womb or early childhood) or because we chose not to process certain things. As we become more open and clearer, these imprints begin to reveal themselves and we can start to change how we act in life.

INSPIRATIONAL PERSON    I love when I make friends as an adult! Mercedes is one of those. She has come in to my life subtly but makes a bolder presence every time we spend time together. I love this woman because she is who she is. A huge part of Yoga is loving yourself the way you came into this life. Mercedes is one of these amazing human beings who lives her life based on her introspective, exotic, quirky, joyful, funny and fun-seeking values. I feel calm and safe in her presence, and that is huge! Thank you Mercedes for enriching this chapter of my life! I adore you lady!

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 next week we discuss the power of the intention behind our actions!