Īśvarapraņidhānā and its role in reaching Kaivalyam

It is at once hard and interesting to write about a topic you can barely begin to comprehend. When just the words Īśvarapraņidhānā and Kaivalyam in themselves are difficult to fully understand, it is indeed a far stretch to talk about the role of Īśvarapraņidhānā in attaining Kaivalyam. If there is one thing I do fully understand, it is the fact that everything in the Yoga Sūtra is an experientially acquired knowledge. It is hardly an academic pursuit. However, given the fact that I don’t have an entire lifetime to prepare my presentation, and I certainly don’t anticipate a miraculous revelation in the month that I do have, I have chosen to take a

very academic approach to understanding this topic.

Growing up in India as a Hindu I had only heard the term Īśvara used for Lord Siva. He was always referred to as Parameshvara or Īśvara. In yoga the word Īśvara is used as a generic term for any higher force that one believes in – a personal deity or spiritual inspiration. Īśvarapraņidhānā is doing something as an offering to that God, without attaching to the results. And Kaivalyam is the complete freedom or liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

We have all read Edwin Bryant’s translation and heard our teachers mention several times the three different references to Īśvarapraņidhānā that Pātānjali makes in the Yoga Sūtras.

Chapter 1. Sutra 23 – Īśvarapraņidhānā – Devotion to God is one way to attain the goal of yoga, self-realization. Here it is used more in the sense of concentration on the name or meaning of Īśvara.

Chapter 2. Sutra 1 – Īśvarapraņidhānā - as one of three steps of Kriya Yoga – an action oriented form of yoga for the one whose mind is not so focused. More in the sense of renunciation of self-centered deeds and offering of action to God.

Chapter 2. Sutra 32 – Īśvarapraņidhānā – as a personal discipline or practice. Here again as an offering of all action to God.

Let’s look at the first reference to Īśvarapraņidhānā - concentrating on the name or meaning. Most of us, or should I say a lot of us, have a daily routine of prayer or chanting where we use our personal God’s name. Personally, I’ve been doing this since I was a child, as taught and practiced by my parents. So where is my self-realization? Why has it not happened yet? How long do I have to keep doing this to arrive at that elusive self-realization? Does this

even work?

Let’s try a simple experiment with your eyes closed. Point your finger out in front of you and spin to your right as far as you can go. Slowly return back to your original position, still with your eyes closed. Now without actually turning, imagine slowly turning to your right and continuing all the way around 360 degrees. Slowly return back to your original position in your mind. The third time again, like the first time, physically turn towards the right as far as your body can go. Did you go farther than you did the first time around. How were you able to do this? Science will tell you that you tricked your brain into thinking you could turn 360 degrees and that is what allowed you to do go farther than you did the first time. I’d like to think it is having complete faith in the process that made this happen. The reason I think this, is because I have seen it happen, as I’m sure you all have, in yoga when we move from down dog to runners lunge. Every time I do a mindful practice where I am fully focused on what I am doing, when I make the intention to step my foot in between my two hands, that is exactly where my foot lands. When my mind is distracted my leg does not stretch far enough and I end with my foot nowhere near my hands.

So, ok, now we know it does work on a much smaller scale. Can we then extrapolate to the larger scale of Īśvarapraņidhānā? I have to believe that we can and it does work, in subtle intangible ways that maybe we only need to slow down enough to realize. It may take us a life time to get to that elusive Kaivalyam or we may never get there in this life time, but in spending our time searching for it we may lose out on those brief fleeting moments of self

knowledge that we are often experiencing in our daily lives.

Now let’s explore Īśvarapraņidhānā as an action oriented task or a personal discipline. If Patanjali has clearly laid out a step-by-step action oriented path to reaching Kaivalyam, and Īśvarapraņidhānā is a sure way to get there, why aren’t we all doing this? Why is it so difficult for us to renounce the self-centered action and not attach to the result? The reason is the I-ness or identification we attach to everything and everyone, and our inability to get away from it. To do a task for the sake of doing it, and not attaching to the results, requires complete relinquishing of the ego, which is not an easy thing to do. However, it is not an impossible task either. All of us here have done random acts of kindness, may be helping a blind person cross the road or make an anonymous donation to a cause, without any expectation of recognition or reward. Are we capable of expanding this altruism to all aspects of our life?

Despite the capitalist notion that human beings are innately selfish or innately cruel, scientists believe that the human brain is hardwired for goodwill. Dr. Abigail Marsh, a neuroscience professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. did extensive research on the human capacity to care for others and where it comes from (the amygdala). She has an interesting theory that while most of us see ourselves in the center of concentric circles, with our family and close friends in the innermost circles with distant friends and acquaintances in the wider circles, extremely altruistic people don’t find themselves in the center. In fact they don’t see even concentric circles but a scatter plot where they are just one of the dots.

Since I am not sure I have the level of compassion to donate my kidney to a complete stranger or even if someone would want a 50-year-old kidney, I decided to try an experiment on something that was more relatable to me. I made the decision to stop expecting recognition or even acknowledgment of the work I was doing at my job. I continued to work hard, continued to go out of my way to help others when needed, provide guidance to the new employees and interns, and put my heart and soul into my wellness committee / fundraising activities at the organization.

There was no dramatic or spectacular change that came into my life but at the same time I feel dramatically different. Whereas previously I felt very underappreciated and dejected about my job situation, now I focused on enjoying the task at hand and adding value. It is strange, but unknowingly I had started to say I love my job when people asked me about it. All of a sudden a place that caused me so much stress had become a fun place for me. I would like to end with two references that beautifully summarize Īśvarapraņidhānā .

The first one is from the Baghavad Gita Chapter 2.47

Karmanye vadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sangostva akarmani

We have the right to do our duty, but the results are not dependent only upon our efforts. A number of factors come into play in determining the results—our efforts, destiny (our past karmas), the will of God, the efforts of others, the cumulative karmas of the people involved, the place and situation (a matter of luck), etc. Now if we become anxious for results, we will experience anxiety whenever they are not according to our expectations. So Krishna advises Arjuna to give up concern for the results and instead focus solely on doing a good job. The fact is that when we are unconcerned about the results, we are able to focus entirely on our efforts, and the result is even better than before.

The second is from Sri Desikachar in the Heart of Yoga:

Practicing āsanas and prānāyāma, keeping oneself healthy, and reflecting on oneself, do not constitute all our actions. We also have to pursue our career, gain qualifications, and do everything else that is part of normal life. All these things should be done as well as possible. Yet we can never be sure of the fruit of our actions. That is why it is better to become slightly detached from our expectations and to pay more attention to the actions themselves.