Soul Light

Reflection promotes self-awareness, self-understanding and self-knowledge to uncover and see the kleshas and their roots as well as how they create suffering.

Transcript

Hello,

This is davidji and welcome to today's meditation.

Let's find a comfortable space where we can sit or lie down.

Let's get comfortable.

Let's allow our eyelids to float closed.

And together let's take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in.

And gently let that go.

Let's do that one more time.

Long,

Slow,

Deep breath in.

And gently release it.

And as you follow your breath in and out,

Allow your shoulders to relax.

Allow your jaw to unclench.

Allow your hips to settle in.

Allow your entire body to just melt and keep following your breath.

In the Yoga Sutras,

Patanjali explains and identifies five obstacles.

In Sanskrit,

Five is pancha and obstacle is klesha.

These are the pancha kleshas.

It's a term from Indian philosophy and yoga,

Meaning the five poisons,

Afflictions,

Or obstacles.

These are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions.

Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety,

Fear,

Anger,

Jealousy,

Desire,

Depression,

And stress.

In the second chapter of the Yoga Sutras,

The sadhna parah Patanjali outlines the means to liberation and discusses the kleshas or obstacles to that liberation.

The five obstacles are ignorance,

Egoism,

Attachment,

Aversion,

And clinging to life.

Patanjali further states that the goal of yoga is not to obtain something that is lacking.

It is the realization of an already present reality.

Our yoga practice removes the obstacles that obstruct the experience of samadhi or that state of complete harmony with the universe.

Patanjali explains how each obstacle can be resolved.

So let's address a few of them so we can take our lives to the next level.

Let's bring our attention to the very first one,

Ignorance,

Known in Sanskrit as avidya.

Our first affliction is our lack of awareness and our disconnection from the truth.

To cultivate our awareness,

Consider how often you do the following.

Mistaking the impermanent for the permanent.

Mistaking the impure for the pure.

Mistaking pain for pleasure.

And mistaking the non-self as the self.

These are all our basic forms of ignorance.

For example,

Mistaking the impermanent for the permanent.

Everything in life tends to change.

Take a moment to look back on your life from childhood to the present and see all the things you thought you could never live without.

Yet after each hiccup,

You manage to readjust.

Hold that acknowledgement,

That sense that change is the only constant.

And with this awareness,

Change is more understandable,

A little less scary and easier to embrace.

One of the more powerful obstacles in our life is attachment,

Known in Sanskrit as raga.

This third klesha,

Raga,

Is all about desire.

All of us have experienced this.

We are all attached to something.

An item of clothing,

A pair of shoes,

A yoga studio,

A supermarket,

A political party,

A sports team,

A partner,

A friend,

A loved one,

A practice,

A job,

An object,

A pet,

A food,

An iPhone,

Or a droid,

A company,

A phrase,

A TV show,

A musical group,

A teacher,

A way of doing things.

We all have desires and we are all attached to them in some way.

The teachings tell us that our desires become constrictions when they create suffering,

When you want something so much that it hurts.

A nourishing need or want is one that leads to happiness,

A sense of fulfillment,

An uplifting of others,

Emerging into divinity.

Let's explore a process to detect our attachments.

Observe your mind right now.

What is it drawn to?

What does it settle on?

And now recognize the desire you feel.

It may even be located in a certain place in your physiology.

And let's give this feeling a name and a space inside you.

And right now,

Create some space between you at your core and your desire,

Your attachment to it,

Your need to have it in your life.

Just put a little bit of space.

Even give yourself permission right now to not follow through with this desire.

How does that feel?

What does that make you feel?

Just sit with it for a few moments.

The opposite of raga,

Attachment,

Is dvesha,

Aversion.

In addition to our desires,

There are also plenty of things we don't want,

Things we've even reacted to negatively because we've experienced it once before.

We don't want certain weather or food or noises or topics of conversation or visual images or people in our life or certain behaviors.

Dvesha can also be interpreted as an avoidance of something or feeling of dislike towards something.

And the ego is usually involved in this choice.

For instance,

When we are challenged out of our comfort zone by a pose in our yoga practice,

We may encounter this sensation of dislike.

When we are subjected to an actor we don't like in a movie or a politician whose beliefs we reject or a song we are sick of,

We create a blueprint of rejection.

Uncomfortable as it may be,

Sometimes a lesson lies in taking that step that takes us to a new ground,

Out of our comfort zone,

To new possibilities,

Expanding our boundaries.

So let's explore.

If you usually want to challenge yourself,

What would it feel like to take a step back?

If you usually don't like to challenge yourself,

What would happen if you did?

To step out of a state of aversion is to step out of your ego's comfort zone.

Being pushed around by our ego and its yum-yuck-yum-yuck choices is a vicious,

Never-ending cycle which creates suffering.

Here's how we can disrupt or break the cycle.

Right now in your mind's eye,

Identify one behavior,

Any behavior,

Ideally choose a small one,

And change it right now or eliminate it and replace it with something else,

Any other behavior.

Up within you,

You will start to recognize that your true identity is not defined by your likes and dislikes.

Your most genuine self,

Which rests at the very core of your being,

Is beyond your likes and dislikes,

Its pure equanimity.

This is a cultivation that takes time,

But if each day,

The moment we feel an aversion,

A rejection,

A denial,

A dislike,

Or a yuck,

If we can give ourselves permission to surrender just to that moment,

We see how rather than defining us by the yuck or the aversion,

It's not necessarily so bad after all.

And if we weren't wed or attached to our aversion,

We might be more expanded in receiving the experience.

This is just a tool to help you eliminate some suffering in your life.

And let's take it deeper by immersing into the stillness and silence that rests within,

Not disconnecting from the outside world,

But rather connecting to our most divine self,

Our Brahman,

The Godhead that rests within.

We'll do this by turning on our soul light.

We'll use the mantra Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti is light in Sanskrit.

Karuna is compassion.

And Nama is the self,

Ever turning back inward on itself.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

We'll silently repeat Jyoti Karuna Nama.

And as you repeat it,

Even though you're repeating it silently,

It may get louder or fainter,

Faster or slower.

It may even become jumbled or distorted.

However it changes,

Continue to repeat it innocently.

Don't feel the need to force or concentrate.

Keep repeating it,

And when you realize you're no longer repeating it,

Effortlessly drift back to Jyoti Karuna Nama.

If you notice that your attention has drifted to a mood or a feeling or an expectation about the practice,

That's okay.

Repeat that as you would any other thought,

And gently drift back to Jyoti Karuna Nama.

I'll watch the time,

And when you hear me ring the chime,

Just sit gently with your eyes closed.

So let's begin.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

Jyoti Karuna Nama.

So gently with your eyes closed,

And let the stillness and silence settle in.

And now take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in,

And gently let that go.

Let's do that one more time.

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in,

And gently release it.

And now let's seal this meditation and the stillness and silence we've connected to by chanting the hymn of the universe,

Aum.

Just one time together,

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in.

Aum.

And now when it feels comfortable,

You can slowly open your eyes.

You can look around at the tens of thousands who share this collective consciousness with you.

And wish them Namaste.

I honor the divine light in you that's also in me.

And when you're in that space,

And I'm in that space,

We are one.

As you move throughout the day,

This week,

And forever,

Notice as you bounce between raga,

Attachment,

And dvesha,

Aversion.

What you are drawn to,

And then hold onto,

Which creates suffering.

And what you resist or reject,

Which creates suffering.

And in any one of those moments,

Realize you are beyond your obstacles,

Your kleshas.

What you reject,

Lean into,

What you are attached to,

Release.

And over time,

This cultivation will lead to greater peace in your life.

And remember to remind yourself,

Aham Brahmasmi,

Baby.

I am the universe.

In the meantime,

I'll see you in the gap.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

I think you are magical in how you lead me into a space of quiet and stillness.
Thank you! 💫💫🙏🏼💫💫

I've been using your meditations in the morning! They have been really helping me. Thank you very much! Namaste.

Davidji's voice is so comforting and warm that it is easy to come into a state of calm and quiet.

I feel refreshed and peaceful from gaining knowledge about these kleshas. 🙏

Davidji
Is an amazing mentor/teacher and human. I had the gift of training with him last year, taking the masters of wisdom meditation course, which was not only an honor to take and being in his presence and the presence of others, but a life-changing event in my life.

Thank you, Davidji for your wisdom, your support and being an awesome human
Kamesh, Peter Iocovello

Love the new thoughts that I receive during this meditation

Thank you. Aversion has been arising in me and this was a very useful teaching to help me start to release this poison. 🙏🏽

A powerful and thought worthy exploration of a meditation - LOVED IT because of the practical and transforming details within it… and within me. This meditation appears to have been here at IT awhile but just saw it today, on my birthday! What a lovely gift from ‘I am the Universe’ . Via this session, I have reversed a ‘yuck’ into a ‘yum’ and am ready to get to it. Sending Sweetness & love to you my friend. Namaste.

Thank you, David. I always feel renewed and refreshed after your meditations. 💞🌬🪶✨️

So simple. I have never heard this strategy for reducing suffering stated so clearly: Be aware and notice if I am resisting, and if so lean into it, or desiring, and if so, release it.

Thank you for another wonderful freeing meditation. 🙏 Namaste

As always, thoughtful, beautifully delivered and just what was needed. Thank you. 🙏

Love all of Davidji’s meditations but this one was one of the best!

Wow! I love this meditation. Thank you for sharing your soul nurturing meditations with the Insight Timer community. Namaste 🙏💛

So good. Leaves me with a lot to think about as I go through my day, week, life ahead. Thank you.

Exactly what I Needed this morning thanks 🙏🏼 Om Shanti

Always the best. Thank you for your wise and lovely meditation. 🙏😅

So beautiful. One of my favorites. You always inspire and always learning from you. Thank you @Davidji Much love Aham Brahmasmi baby!

Attachment and aversion.. I can already tell this will stick with me. Thank you. Aham bramasmi 🙏🏼

So grateful for this wonderful meditation 🧘‍♀️. Thanks Davidji 🙏