ārya

Once upon a time there was a man that had performed intense practices as worship to the sun god, Surya. Surya being extremely pleased with this man appeared to him and told him to ask him for a boon. The man asked for the exceedingly bright gem that Surya wore around his neck which Surya gave him ... with a warning. He said that wearing the gem would produce for him eight wagon loads of pure gold every day but he must bathe and purify himself through ritual and practices before he put the gem on everyday. Surya said that whoever wore the gem while in an impure and dishonorable state would be destroyed.

This story is a reminder of how important it is to maintain a good state of mind regardless of how much we have. A state of mind that is not good can destroy us even if we have everything. ārya is a Sanskrit word that means: pure, honorable, noble, not ordinary, precious, and valuable. It is a word that describes a state of consciousness to strive for. When I read about this I feel overwhelmed by such a daunting task. I know a lot of my shortcomings and it feels impossible but then I remember what my teachers have told me again and again. We are already ārya. The practice of yoga is one that removes all the things that don't allow us to experience that constantly.

Personally after having gone through many intense physical issues last year I have discover how much attachment I had to my yoga practice being a certain way. Attachment is not a a quality of ārya. Slowly I am coming to enjoy my practice again as it unfolds right now. I am learning to find what is pure, honorable, noble, not ordinary, precious, and valuable in my yoga practice in a new way. This is something we can all practice on the mat and truly in anything we do regardless of what we think our level of dexterity is. We can experience more and more the life giving abundance that comes from this.

Blessings

Jorge Nihal