Fiji Day three...samyama

It was wonderful here. I broke my watch yesterday and so I have been on “Figi time” as the locals say. I wake up when the birds cheeps and the sun shines through my open window. I think it is around 5:30am. Today I woke up and walked down to the beach, sat on a rock and enjoyed the stillness of the morning. Waves crashing, birds chirping, breeze blowing, a few people strolling around and going to work. It was very nice.

Last weekend I finished the third Anusara immersion with Adam Ballenger. We talked a lot about the last three limbs of the eight fold path:
6.Dharana : Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness
7.Dhyana : Devotion, Meditation on the Divine
8.Samadhi : Union with the Divine, absorption, bliss

We talked about how all The Sutras, and the other 5 limbs of the Eight Fold Path are all preparing you for the last three. When you practice the last three together it is called Samyama. Patanjali says in Sutras 3:4,5: “These three [dharana, dhyana, samadhi] together constitute samyama [unity or mastery], and from mastery of that [samyama], prajna [pure consciousness] is attained [as a permanent state].” Shankara said “Yoga can be effected even without going through the five limbs of yoga–by the mere accomplishment of the triad of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. But without that triad yoga is not possible for anyone, because yoga is essentially associated with the operation of dharana and the other two. For the nature of yoga is perfection of the chitta.”

The last book of The Yoga Sutras talks in great detail about Samyama and different levels of Samyama. The practice of Samyama is takes a lot of practice. I asked Adam in our discussion “So how would I go home and start practicing this?” He laughed. But as I sat on the beach this morning being very aware of my surrounds as if I had 360 degrees of perception, yet at the same time my mind was still on this still, peaceful essence within myself (Shantaya) and it was as if I could feel my inner Shantaya pulsating (spanda) with the shantaya that I was surrounding by. And all though I could see a difference between the palm tree, the rock, the sand, the water, my foot…I could feel this unity. It was wonderful.

Then I went on a run. Now we are getting ready for a full day on a sail boat. Activities we are planning on doing include reading, snorkeling, finishing, kayaking, scuba diving, beach combing, yoga, breathing, smiling….