बलेषु हस्तिबलादीनि॥२४॥
baleṣu hastibalādīnī
[samyama on] the strength (bala) of an elephant (hasti), allows one to feel this strength, as well as other (ādīnī) attributes.
PRACTICAL LIVING There is a common saying that states “Where attention goes, energy flows”. Though much simpler than the profound concept of samyama, we are being told here that when one deeply focuses and merges with an elephant’s strength (or other characteristics), we are able to feel that. To make this helpful for our daily lives, I think of the numerous examples I know of people going through extremely difficult situations and overcoming them – in other words, folks finding inconceivable strength to go through something extraordinarily hard.
How does a housewife who has dedicated herself to her children and has followed society’s gender rules decide to divorce her husband and go through the scrutiny of his wounded behaviors? How does a child who was a victim of sexual abuse end up working with victims of sexual violence as an adult? How does a child who went through devastating neglect become an adult who parents with love, attunement and compassion? I compare these examples to the strength of an elephant. Resilience is the emotional equivalent to an elephant’s strength.
Like Yoda from Star Wars once said “Do or do not. There is no try.” The attitude of going through something wholeheartedly and whole-mindedly can help us experience what we are looking for. The Guinness Book of Records shows us extreme examples of people spending thousands of hours training for a very specific goal. The Olympics, the Grammy’s, the Oscar’s and other events that include people who have put thousands of hours into refining their skills are examples of how we can attain incredible characteristics when we focus ardently on something.
IN THE YOGA WORLD The word “ādīnī” (or others) makes this sūtra applicable to many circumstances. It points towards extending ourselves beyond what is normally required of us in our daily lives. The mystical spiritual gathering Kumbh Mela that happens every 4 or 12 years in India brings together many yogis who portray the results of their samyama on specific attributes. We can focus our energy into marvelous things. Some focus on science, others on the arts, healing, sports, food or many other things. We could also focus this energy towards kindness, Love, courage or anything else we wish.
INSPIRATIONAL PERSON Intelligent, wise, deep, silly, hilarious and loving are some of the ways I would describe the glowing Ana Lucia. She definitely has the strength of an elephant and her life story demonstrates that. She also has the persistence and determination of an elephant: she fights for what she believes. Her wish for freedom, love and ease inspires me. And she must meditate on monkeys because she is insanely funny and gifts me with the beautiful medicine of laughter. Gracias Lu, amiga de alma, por tu amistad, amor y sabiduria! Te quiero mucho!
My Sincere gratitude to you for selflessly propagating the message from the very interesting sutras.
Thank you from the core of our heart.
Regards
Acharya
I remember once telling a friend that we should study the yama/niyama if we want to make progress in Yoga. He said that his mom had already taught him all of that so he didn’t need to study them anymore. Sutra 3.24 is sort of like that, isn’t it. It is not something we never heard of before (and I like the way you have presented it here). But I think we tend to dismiss such things – been there, done that, you know? “Don’t need to review what I learned as a child” sort of thing. But there’s a good reason we learn this stuff early-on: because it’s important. And the idea is to keep these precepts in front of us. And we can do that by studying the YS and contemplating what they mean and how they can help us live our daily lives. Right? If we don’t keep it in front us, our goal will slip away. So thank you for posting this. It helps me remember what I should be doing.
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your reflections, you’re adding a layer that I hadn’t thought about! Your words reminded me of an experience I had once where I honored all of the things that I had worked hard to achieve in my life. I gave myself a ceremony of acknowledgment 🙂 The structure of discipline of the yama and niyama build a foundation, fertilize the soil so that we can blossom. The soil then needs to be tended to occasionally, but not as much as initially…the fruits then ripen because the soil was precisely tended to 🙂
Acharya,
I am deeply honored to receive this message. Thank you for your words and I am delighted in knowing that I walk this path together with other lovers of the yoga sutra of Patanjali. Many blessings to you!