Understanding yogic concepts is a life-long process, one that is tightly related to the energetic principles of human progress. As we progress on the path towards liberation, our insight gradually deepens, refining our understanding of the nature of reality.
The Path is that of a Spiral – hence we are not moving in circles, but rather going upwards.
While studying certain yogic principles (or any other teachings pointing towards liberation), an allegory of peeling an onion is often used. With each step we climb, we peel one more layer of our clouded perceptions, allowing the light of the being to shine through. Our minds become clearer and so does our cognitive understanding of reality. In other words, we gain the ability to observe the same concept from a new angle and hence deepen our understanding of what this really means.
I particularly like how this connects to the principle of philosophical thought that supports many different perspectives to the same object and holds them all as equal. However, the full understanding of that particular object can happen only once all of them are integrated. There are many different (and sometimes opposing) truths, yet they are all equal parts of the One. To put this in practice, let’s take a look the concept of Tapas in Yoga.
My understanding of tapas has developed over last 10 years, and will continue to do so over future years and lifetimes. My first encounter with this concept happened through my yoga teacher Marco during our studies of Patanjali Yoga Sutras. There it is written (following quote and translation from the commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda):
2.1: tapah svadhyayaeshvara pranidhanani kriya yogah
Accepting pain as help for purification, study of spiritual books and surrender to the Supreme Being constitute Yoga in practice
To be frank, when I first read this – I had no idea what it means. I was trying to understand it intellectually. My first perspective of tapas is that it meant exactly that – pain, austerity or hardship. At the time I was going through the hardships that were more gross rather then subtle, encompassing multiple aspects of my reality. Enduring that pain was in a way my first step towards liberation – as I understood how the pain is just the pointer to the things that need attending and how the only way to heal was going through it.
Through attending to some of the gross chunks of my conditioning, the grip of suffering loosened (a bit). I was inspired by the shift in my mind towards more clarity and peace. I could approach “old” yogic principles from a new perspective. Hence my understanding of tapas also shifted. Now tapas became the critical principle supporting my practice. Now tapas meant discipline. Overcoming inertia and resistance. Getting up every morning at 5:30am to do my Ashtanga practice. Changing my lifestyle accordingly. Sitting everyday in vipassana for at least 20 minutes. Committing every single dime and minute of my free time to the practice.
Through this discipline, I was able to grasp the concept of “inner heat” – yet another layer of the meaning of tapas. In this context, tapas means “to burn, to create heat” – as through heat, through fire – the impurities are burned and the veil of conditioning is further thinned. This concept can be grasped through experiencing the power of Tristana (Ujjayi, bandhas drsti) in Ashtanga yoga, or through the practice of Pranayama where the fire of breath is burning physical and mental impurities.
Through consistent practice, my experience of tapas becomes more subtle, more refined – and easier to be applied in everyday life. In this perspective, tapas is the space of “internal friction”, forging you in its fire like a blacksmith is forging steel. It is that space inside you where you are enduring and accepting discomfort patiently, surrendering to What Is. And it can be accessed anytime – allowing you to practice in all areas of your life. It can be found in that final push you do in the gym (forging your endurance and strength). It can be found in finding the will and the energy to attend to your child’s tantrum after a particular long day at work (forging your calmness and patience). It can be found in resisting that delicious birthday cake as you have committed to a certain nutritional plan for a month (forging your willpower and health).
While studying the broader applicability of Tapas, I have also encountered similar concepts (under different names) in both Jungian psychology as well as the work of G.I Gurdjieff. The following excerpt is from the book Women who Run with the Wolves, describing how tapas is understood through the lens of C.G Jung:
So, here in this underworld orchard awaits the gathering together of those powerful parts of the psyche, both male and female. They form a conjunction. This word is from alchemy and means a higher transformative union of unlike substances. When these opposites are rubbed together they result in the activation of certain intra-psychic processes. They act like flint struck against rock in order to make fire. It is through the conjunction and pressure of dissimilar elements inhabiting the same psychic space that soulful energy, insight and knowing are made.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women who Run with the Wolves
This “conjunction and pressure of dissimilar elements” is exactly that space that in yoga we call Tapas. What is created, what is forged out of that space, is created with Soul. Furthermore, G.I. Gurdjieff adds additional perspective to the same concept:
Fusion, inner unity, is obtained by means of ‘friction,’ by the struggle between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in man. If a man lives without inner struggle, if everything happens in him without opposition, if he goes wherever he is drawn or wherever the wind blows, he will remain such as he is. But if a struggle begins in him, and particularly if there is a definite line in this struggle, then, gradually, permanent traits begin to form themselves, he begins to ‘crystallize.’
G.I. Gurdjieff
Gurdjieff also chooses the word “friction” – one that is created through inner struggle of natural oppositions. As we (gracefully) endure through such struggle – not giving in to the things that are not serving us and rather choosing the right thing – we begin to crystallize. In other words, our it is our ego, our mind that begins to crystallize, so that the light of the Being can more easily shine through.
To conclude, the concept of Tapas is not just limited to your yoga practice. It is relevant for all aspects of our lives. Wherever we go, whatever we do, it is in that space of inner friction where all good things are made. Remember that next time you are struggling with your willpower and motivation to stick to something that is hard but good for you. Just by going through that space in your mind, you will realize benefits that are far bigger then just the most immediate effects of that particular challenge. You will burn the impurities, you will crystallize and you will create Soul. What more can you ask?
Unravel Ninja 