Early on in the
sutras, we were told that
abhyasa, practice, leads to
citta-vritti-nirodhah, the control of the activities of the mind. Now, Patanjali tells us what exactly practice is. It is
eka tattva – one principle. If we fix our minds on one object, we will prevent the nine obstacles from arising, eliminate the four associated symptoms, and cultivate the habit of an even, calm steady state of mind.
There are seven options for
eka tattva. The first, explained in
sutra 1.33, is probably one of the most well known
sutras in the entire text:
maitri-karuna-muditopekshanam sukha-duhka-punyapunya-vishayanam bhavanatash citta-prasadanam
By cultivating the attitudes,
bhavanas, of friendliness and love,
maitri, for those who are happy, compassion and mercy,
karuna, for those who are suffering, joy and go
This is Member-Only Content
To access, click here to activate a Digital Subscription with a 2-Week Free Trial (no credit card required).