Understanding the Sūtras
By Joy Laine, CIYT
vitarka bhādane pratipakṣbhāvanam (Yoga Sūtras II.33)
Principles which run contrary to yama and niyama are to be countered with the knowledge of discrimination. (Translated by B.K.S. Iyengar)
When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be thought of. This is pratipaksha bhavana. (Translated by Jaganath Carrera)
Patañjali’s yoga is premised on an ethical foundation of non-harming (ahiṁsa), which forms the cornerstone of the practice. Indeed, he labels the ethical principles “The Great Vow” indicating the solemnity of the undertaking, that yoga practitioners must commit themselves to living a life that aspires to high ethical standards. In the first two limbs of yoga, he gives us a set of practices (yamas and niyamas) which constitute a sort of blueprint for living an ethical life.
Living according to these principles is a challenge, however, with the strongest challenges commonly arising from within our own minds. The Bhagavad Gītā teaches us something that we have all experienced, that the mind is more difficult to control than the wind (6.34). One aspect of this is that we do not always get to choose the kinds of thoughts that pop in and out of our stream of consciousness. Sometimes unwholesome or negative thoughts (vitarka) arise in our minds, goading us to act in ways that we will later come to regret. Although we may not be fully in control of what we think, as human beings we do have the ability to take a step back, to evaluate our thoughts, and to intercede before acting on them.
In this sūtra, Patañjali is teaching us a strategy, known as pratipakṣa-bhāvanam or cultivating the opposite, to defend ourselves against our own negative thoughts. We need to cultivate a countering thought (pratipakṣa) that will change the trajectory of our thinking. A pratipakṣa is a thought that will carry a persuasive power for us and guide our future actions along the correct path. A pratipakṣa, however, should not be viewed simplistically, as merely thinking the opposite of a negative thought. B.K.S. Iyengar, in his commentary on this sūtra, notes that, “Some people give an objective interpretation to this sūtra and maintain that if one is violent, one should think the opposite, or, if one is attached, then non-attachment should be developed” (p. 158 LOYS). As he observes, the practice known as pratipakṣa-bhāvanam is more complex than this, inviting us to use our discriminative abilities in order to understand the root causes of our negative thoughts. In this way we can better formulate a corrective thought and course of action which we can then put into practice. We see this in the pratipakṣa that Patañjali himself proposes as an effective counter to violent thoughts. It reads something like this: “If I go ahead and act like that, I will only entangle myself in unending suffering and ignorance.”
According to Patañjali, we come to the practice of yoga harboring a store of dispositions and tendencies, and it is from these that our negative thoughts arise. Whilst it is important to control negative thoughts through a careful intellectual analysis of how to counteract them, ultimately the goal of yoga is to root out their deeper causes, to address their emotional source. Not only will an effective pratipakṣa rescue us from acting in ways we will regret, but over time and with repeated use, it will also counter the underlying causes of troubling thoughts, those negative emotions such as anger. Pratipakṣa-bhāvanam should be seen as a practice that is both curative and preventive, weakening the influence that negative emotions will otherwise have on our thinking and acting. Thus, as it turns out, we do have the power to influence the kinds of thoughts we have.
References
Reverend Jaganth Carrera, Inside the Yoga Sūtras (Integral Yoga Publications, 2006)
B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (LOYS) (Thorson, 2002)
