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Today, in a moment of absent-mindedness, I fell down half a flight of stairs. As I picked myself up in utter bewilderment and went through the slow motion action replay, I was struck with a sense of complete vulnerability. I was engulfed with helpless images of childhood and fear of old age. I hurriedly picked up the last of the scattered debris from my wallet, just in case somebody came down the stairs to witness my shame.
Patanjali as an incarnation of Adi Sesha. Pic from Wikipedia
In my Iyengar tradition of yoga, as in many classical schools, the philosophical foundation of our practice is greatly influenced by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Patanjali, is an ancient sage to some, a reincarnation of an enlightened deity to others, or may not have even existed at all. Either way, the Yoga Sutras are attributed to him and contain 196 aphorisms. These concise, thought provoking texts are nothing short of a guide to enlightenment. They are broken up into 4 chapters, called padas (samadhi, sadhana, vibhuti and kaivalya). These define the transformational process undergone by one on this magnificent journey.
The sutras that are relevant to my little bit of acrobatics concern what are termed, the kleshas or afflictions. They are described in the Sadhana pada. They are ignorance (avidya), ego (asmita), attachment to pleasure (raga), aversion to pain (dvesa) and fear of death (abhinivesah). Of these, the last one is what resonated with me the most. Fear of death can be a positive quality, because it makes you realise the importance of every moment and the impermanence of all that we see and experience. On the other hand, this fear can translate to a clinging onto life. The image that I find describes this best is that of a clenched fist.
I’m taking this fall as a reminder to be more absorbed in the moment and to take note of life’s little pleasures.
