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Weekly Thought #2:
Keys to Freedom
"Return to Weekly Thought #1: Do Nothing"
General Info: Keys to Freedom
The keys to freedom consist of four keys in total, as given by Patañjali. These keys are designed for the student of yoga and meditation to retain and deepen his peace of mind, his tranquility, in his relationships to others. These keys are of great value to serious spiritual practitioners. The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali state:
#1.33: maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhka punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam
Which means: In relationships, our minds become purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards the happy, compassion towards the suffering, goodwill towards the virtuous, and indifference towards those considered wicked or evil.
This weekly thought (#2) will provide the introduction and general info in regard to these keys to freedom (Friendliness, Compassion, Goodwill, Indifference) while the upcoming four weekly thoughts will discuss the individual keys in more depth.
Patañjali divides human moods roughly into four categories. Those 4 states or moods are what we deal with on a day-to-day basis in our relationship to other people: We encounter those who are happy, those who are suffering, those who are virtuous and those who are wicked. Our primary goal in yoga and meditation is to retain our peace of mind and to deepen that peace and tranquility in everything we do, so that we can make steady and quick progress on the spiritual ladder.
Relationships are among the most challenging of tests/practices and these four keys to freedom given by Patañjali are very valuable to the serious practitioner of yoga and meditation. Because to those practitioners, it is important to retain the peace of mind while still in the process of awakenening.
Consider these four moods as locks to which there are four keys. In order to retain our peace of mind, it is important to approach our relationships with a unique mindset, attitude. This is where those keys to freedom come in handy. Whenever we encounter someone with a specific mood or state of mind capable of disturbing ours, we should recognize it as one of these four locks, or moods, and apply to them the specific key that fits the lock and retains our tranquility: To those who are happy, we should be friendly. To those who are suffering, we should be compassionate. To those who are virtuous, we should be delighted, and to those who are wicked or evil, we should be indifferent or neutral.
In the meanwhile we should always remember that the state of mind or mood, present in other people, is not ours nor is it our duty to change it. It is their process and we should mind our process untill our neutrality/freedom is integrated to such a degree that we are free enough to aid others and get involved with them while we are still capable of retaining our neutrality and peace of mind. It is out of peace and silence that we can be of service, not out of chaos. You can never solve chaos while you are still chaotic yourself. You have to be free, in order to free others. How can you ever help escape your fellow prisoners if you are still locked in your own cell?
For this week, contemplate about this introduction of a spiritual approach towards relationships whenever you think about it. Next week's weekly thought will discuss the first key in depth: Friendliness to those that are happy. The three weekly thoughts after that will discuss the remaining three keys in depth. In the meanwhile, contemplate on what these keys mean to you and you can start to apply them immediately in your own way.
Love & Light
Bentinho Massaro
"Continue to Weekly Thought #3: Key to Freedom #1: Friendliness"
Return from Keys to Freedom to Weekly Thoughts Index
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