The invincibility of the practice and study of yoga
There is a big difference when you follow a rigorous and well structured sadhana and you undertake not to fail, to be zealous in your study, practice and observation of the yoga principles.
By ‘not to fail’ I mean to commit yourself to practice daily and for a long time, be it warm or cold, may your mind feel like doing it/adequate or not, may you have any doubts on it being convenient or not.
When one tries practicing this way –that is, by very often forcing oneself to practice-, spreads the mat and begins to practice and to study, one starts discerning the fruits and possibilities that the yoga texts and our teachers talk about.
I understand that we cannot consider ourselves yoga adepts if we are not internally committed to undertake regular practice and study. This is not possible. An intermittent practice will not give the expected fruits. If, for instance, you practice during 3 hours one day but you do not at all the day after because you consider you did enough yesterday. Or when you practice three days and then rest during another three days. Or even if you practice daily without following an organized ana adecuate program. This will not work.
It will not be possible to discern the path and to give time to the bacteria and to breeding ground to start reducing the afflictions and wrong basic notions that we have of ourselves.
However, day by day, drop by drop, step by step, one learns basically through one’s will-power, I underline, one’s will-power –because it is through repeated effort and when circumstances are adverse that we clearly notice how the achievement of the control over the disruptions and afflictions works- one succeeds and slowly beats the inner enemy, the indomitable and capricious, ignorant and never-ending wish (that) violently steals the intelligence discrimination capacity.
Thus, day by day, one can glimpse being less whim-dependent and understands what do duty and dharma mean with regard to the practice itself. And how, gradually, at a snail’s pace, one achieves own mastery.
And every day that we practice this way, we perceive the achievement’s fragrance of yoga’s fruit. But beware: do not let yourself move by florid words that can easily influence any of us.
And, on the exact moment that we perceive we are invincible, Â we again see the miseries and the afflictions reemerge as whirlwinds.
But there is a big advantage for those who bet on the internal commitment of a study and practice of this type: they hold a stairway that will let them minimize the emerging afflictions, stabilize consciousness and create a very tangible isolation over these disrupting miseries.
This is a great blessing and a big merit, too. Day by day, cent by cent, we realize that we can move forward and even reform ourselves. This is accessible by those being imbued with faith and willingness.
