You are the Knower

Hayem Duhkham Anagatam

Pain that has not yet come is avoidable 

YS 2.16

Drastr Drsyayoh Samyogo Heya Hetuh

The cause of that avoidable pain is the union of the Seer (Purusha) and seen (Prakriti) 

YS 2.17

Prakriti is the constantly fluctuating material world around us. We tend to identify ourselves with Prakriti: what we possess, where we are, what we look like…

“The identification with other things is the cause of all our pain. Instead, if we are just ourselves always, things may change or stay as they are, but they will never cause us pain because the changes will be in the things we possess and not in us. Stay in your true Self. You are the knower.”

-Sri Swami Satchidananda

Purusha is the true self or “one who sees”. You know yourself better than anyone else does. You know what makes you happy, what tastes good, what drives you nuts, when you are suffering and when you feel good. You can loose things but you can never really loose yourself. By detaching from Prakriti: “I am not my body”, “I am not my possessions”, “I am not my job”, we come to see that what fluctuates is not real.

Prakasa Kriya Sthiti Bhuten-Dryatmakam Bhogapavargartham Drsyam

The seen is of the nature of the gunas: illumination, activity and inertia; and consists of the elements of the sense organs, whose purpose is to provide both experiences and liberation to the Purusha 

YS 2.18

There are 3 Gunas:

Rajas- passion, desire, heated, dependant

Tamas- dull, gloomy, resistance

Sattvas- calm, peaceful, clear, light

The Gunas are qualities, or limitations that fluctuate in the mind and weave the web of Prakriti. Yoga practice helps us slow down these fluctuations, detaching from what is not real and experiencing only the true self, which does not fluctuate.

“Nature is a combination of elements and organs. The organs include intellect, mind, senses and the body. Normally, we think of nature as being something other than our own bodies, but when we feel we are the true Self even the body becomes part of nature.”

-Sri Swami Satchidananda

We can avoid pain that has not yet come in our body and mind through the physical practice of yoga! Asana and Pranayama keep the body/mind in a consistently balanced state. The physiological benefits of Yoga work to prevent future injury and illness. It is much easier to step of Prakriti and into Purusha when there is internal softness and ease.

Tat Tvam Asi, "Thou Art That"

-Chandogya Upanishad