Serenity is a “state of being peaceful, calm and untroubled” as defined in Dictionary.com. Ahhhh…I just had an image of a sunset over the ocean with the soothing sound of waves lapping on the shore. What is your image of serenity?. Can you imagine that state of serenity being something that’s lasting rather than just a moment? It’s possible according to the Yoga sutras. Undisturbed calmness of mind is obtainable with four different attitudes.

This week, my 5-Day, Serene Mind Challenge is going on and I wanted to share a bit about it for those of you who aren’t participating. It’s not about just ‘feeling good’ by the end of it, but learning practices and reminders to use in your daily life to cultivate lasting serenity.

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRA 1.33

The focus of the challenge is on Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.33: By cultivating an attitude of friendliness toward those who are happy, compassion towards those in distress, joy towards the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked, undisturbed calmness of the mind is attained.

I want to focus this blog post on the final attitude of “indifference toward the wicked” because I believe wickedness or evil causes the most agitation in the mind and is also the hardest to keep a calm mind towards. Let’s break it down…

WICKEDNESS

Visayanam is the Sanskrit word used in this sutra, which is translated as vice, wicked, evil, or not virtuous.  Virtuousness is living with high moral standards. Since we are in the context of Patanjali Yoga Sutras, the Yamas and Niyamas are the ethical principles named in this text: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha, saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhaya, isvara pranidhana (non-harm, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence/celibacy, non-possession, purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender). A person living with virtue is living a life guided by these principles.

When we are in the presence of such a person, it is truly amazing. Enjoy basking in that energy and let it inspire you.

A person who is ‘wicked,’ not only is ignorant to these principles but in complete disregard of them. They are living more from the wicked nature as named in the Bhagavad Gita: Arrogance, pride, anger, conceit, harshness, ignorance,and being stuck in insatiable lust (desire and greed).

All of us fall into some ‘wickedness’ at times, so this sutra also applies to how we meet ourselves. If you ‘beat yourself up’ when this happens, it continues the cycle of being wicked towards yourself. No need! Instead, meet that part of yourself with indifference or equanimity and focus on doing the opposite instead.

INDIFFERENCE

Upeksanam is the Sanskrit word for indifference or equanimity. So, when you encounter someone that is operating from a place of wickedness, this sutra asks us to meet a person or situation in a way that doesn’t feed into it. Indifference means lack of interest. Equanimity means keeping a calm mind or no reaction to whether something is good or bad. Remember, this sutra is giving us ways to help keep a serene mind.

It’s simple, yet very difficult to do. That is why it’s a practice to cultivate, over time, indifference and equanimity. Every encounter that is wicked gives you an opportunity to practice. In essence, even cultivating gratitude for wickedness to come your way so you can practice is a part of this attitude. Imagine being able to be grateful for negative people! A person who is truly in this space of indifference can say, “Thank you.” It’s completely fine you’re not there yet. No need to force anything. With practice, this will gradually and naturally happen.

The other part of life is our own minds. Like I mentioned above, each of us can succumb to the nature of wickedness at times. Meet yourself in the same way and it’s also an opportunity to practice doing it differently. When you get upset about your reaction, it will keep you stuck. But, if you use that self-awareness to change your mindset and behavior, then this practice becomes a powerful tool. You can’t control someone else, but you can control yourself.

DO THE OPPOSITE

By taking action to do it differently, try doing the opposite (pratipaksha bhavana, PYS 2.33). If you just stopped the urge to yell back at someone, the opposite might be repeating a positive mantra or affirmation in your mind. Take time to get curious about what your opposite action would be.

So, instead of getting upset the next time you encounter ‘the wicked,’ try working on indifference or equanimity!

What’s one way you can think of doing this so that you aren’t reacting, but rather responding. So that you aren’t avoiding, stuffing or escaping, but consciously responding?

Namaste.

Join my weekly email list to receive all my blog posts and more about Yoga for the Mind: