Out Health
It was a typical Wednesday evening yoga class at the QSpot LGBTQ Community Center, except for one thing; I announced to the class that we would be just a little bit more philosophical than usual. I began by having them chant back to me four Sanskrit words that represented four attitudes. “Maitri,” came first, which can be translated as “friendliness.” The class was just a little bit hesitant to sing, but we had often done this type of echo chanting. They sang the second word with more confidence. This was “Karuna,” or “compassion.” The third word was “Mudita,” often translated as “delight.” The fourth was “Upekshanam,” or “disregarding.”
I explained that these four attitudes were part of one of the Yoga Sutras. These sutras, or threads, were ancient sayings about the theory and practice of yoga. This particular sutra is the 33rd from the First Book. These four attitudes are to be applied to four distinct kinds of people, in order to keep a peaceful mind. After chanting the four Sanskrit words, and my explanation, we continued on with class, pretty much as usual.
Occasionally, as the class was resting, I would have them echo chant one of the four attitude words, and then ask if they remembered what it meant. I was delighted (intentionally) that at least one person would remember the translation of each word. I’m sure that chanting like that can make the class seem to go by quicker. Or perhaps it takes our minds off holding a pose for longer than we think we can. Nonetheless, we found ourselves quickly at the final relaxation at the end of class, where I chanted the entire sutra while the class rested.
When everyone was seated, which is how we usually ended our time together, I explained the meaning of the sutra. The four attitudes are to be applied to four distinct types of people. If we follow this advice, we can more easily have a peaceful mind.
Friendliness is to be applied to happy people. This makes obvious sense, usually, depending on who the happy person is or why they are happy. But I’m getting ahead of myself. As a rule, happy people get friendliness. Easy enough.
Unhappy people are to receive compassion. End of story. Aside from why they are unhappy, they get compassion. Now it gets a little more difficult.
Delight goes to the virtuous. This one I have trouble with, especially when my unemployed neighbor comes home in a new BMW. However, I will set that aside and try to understand the wisdom in being happy in someone else’s good fortune. This is, after all, about me keeping my peace of mind. Why someone gets a new BMW isn’t something I should spend a lot of negative energy getting all worked up about.
And now the one I constantly struggle with. I need to disregard the wicked. And isn’t there a lot of wicked out and about recently? Don’t get me wrong. Disregard doesn’t mean totally ignore. Maybe a better translation of “Upekshanam” is “indifference.” If someone comes at my husband with a stick, you’d better believe I’m going to do my best to intervene, and then call the police. But I have to be indifferent to their wickedness. Otherwise, it’s going to eat away at my mind and cause me all sorts of pain.
I have difficulty daily with this disregarding. I know it’s probably not a good idea to tailgate for three miles someone driving under the speed limit in the left lane. And it might be time to stop giving the finger when I pass a house with certain political signs or flags still up. It makes me feel better for a few seconds, but probably won’t help in the long run.
There are a few initiative-taking things I’ve done recently to help me to remain indifferent. Not uninformed. Not complacent. But also, not fixated on the active evil brewing in the world around me. I’ve stopped watching the news. I still get email notifications from selected news sources. But the sickening sensationalism of TV and radio newscasts aren’t a part of my daily life anymore. And I’ve stopped playing games on my phone.
Instead, I got a subscription to one of those language apps, and I’m learning Spanish. And when I’m in the car, I listen to the Classical station, or YouTube Music, where I’m discovering fascinating composers like Florence Price, and C. P. E. Bach, that I didn’t know much about.
I’m going to continue to try applying these attitudes when I encounter these four types of people. And we all can be any one of these at various times. It hasn’t been easy, at least for a couple of them. But my peace of mind is worth the effort.
