कायरूपसंयमात् तद्ग्राह्यशक्तिस्तम्भे चक्षुःप्रकाशासंप्रयोगेऽन्तर्धानम्॥

kāya-rūpa-saṁyamāt tat-grāhyaśakti-stambhe cakṣuḥ prakāśāsaṁprayoge-‘ntardhānam

The deep mental process of saṁyamāt on the relationship between the form (rūpa) of the body (kāya) can suspend (stambhe) one’s light (śakti), making that person invisible (antardhānam) to the eye (cakṣuḥ).

PRACTICAL LIVING I will begin by saying that I do not feel I can relate deeply to this sūtra. I will rely on the translations I have been using to help guide me. TKV Desikachar says that similar to chameleons, we can also use our energy and form to make ourselves less visible. For example, when we wear bright red to a soccer game in a stadium with thousands of people wearing the team colors of white and black, we will stand out immediately to most people. If we don’t want to stand out in life and we desire to be less visible and get less attention, we can camouflage our bodies and behavior, sometimes appearing “invisible” to others. That can be a conscious choice we make in any environment we choose to be in.

A simple summary is: if you want to stand out, make yourself look as different to the “norm” as possible. If you want to appear “invisible”, make your body appear as “common” as possible, whatever that means in each environment. How we direct our energy also affects how visible/invisible we are to others.

IN THE YOGA WORLD Frans Moors tells us that the energy that radiates from the body can be be seized in different ways when the yogi has samayma with the body and its forms. This person, then, cannot be seen by others since their body is not reflecting light for another eye to see. This means that person can go unnoticed. This requires an impeccable control of one’s energies. Since the ability to seize the light is there, the opposite is also true: the yogi has the capacity to restart the light and be seen with the amount of attention they desire. In other words, the yogi has the ability to titrate how much they get noticed by others.

INSPIRATIONAL PERSON An old-new friend, Ju, has reappeared in my life from being in the background as someone I always knew I loved, to being center stage as an important friend whom I admire and love so much. She is hilarious, eloquent, wise and loyal. If you need a friend, you can count on her. If you need a good laugh, she is there to be real and tell a ridiculously embarrassing story. If you need a good cry, she will hold you like a loving grandmother. Ju, I am so profoundly grateful that life has brought our bodies closer so that our hearts can can speak to each other directly. Brigada Vida!

In the next sūtra we will explore the nature of action and its consequences and the timing of events from birth to death.