vyādhi-styāna-saṁśaya-pramāda-ālasya-avirati-bhrāntidarśana-alabdhabhūmikatva-anavasthitatvāni citta-vikṣepās te’ntarāyāḥ (I.30)
At the end of last month’s newsletter, I took note of how Patañjali’s careful, but realistic analysis of the human psyche at the beginning of the Yoga Sūtras was indicative of his compassion for us. Subsequently, in a later section of the first book, Patañjali further demonstrates his understanding of our frailty and humanity with his recognition that our yogic path will not be a smooth one. In I.30 he introduces us to nine obstacles or impediments (antarāya) that are commonly faced by the yoga practitioner. He anticipates the problems that we will inevitably face in our practice and gives us advice for dealing with such problems. This is an important topic because the obstacles that Patañjali lists may cause a yoga practitioner to abandon the practice of yoga altogether, thereby losing out on the benefits that further practice could bring.
Obstacles overview
The antarāyas in the order that Patañjali gives them are:
- vyādhi (disease)
- sthyāna (listlessness)
- saṁśāya (doubt)
- pramāda (carelessness/negligence)
- ālasya (sloth, heaviness of body and mind)
- avirati (lack of sense control)
- bhrānti darśana (mistaken view)
- alabdha bhūmikatva (failure to attain concentration)
- anavasthitatva (failure to maintain concentration)
In Sanskrit listings, order is often important, with the first item on the list being the most important and maybe standing in a causal relationship to the other items. Ignorance (avidyā), for example, is the first-mentioned and most important of the afflictions (kleṣas) because it is the root cause of the other four. We may ask, therefore, whether the list of obstacles should be interpreted along these lines. Carrera stands out among the commentators in applying such a causal model to the listing of the obstacles, with disease, the first item on the list, being the most important of the anatarāyas. He narrativizes the obstacles as follows: when we fall ill, this initiates a cascade of problems, taking us through the remaining eight obstacles. For a dedicated practitioner, illness can be devastatingly disappointing, initiating a sort of mental numbness (sthyāna) followed by doubting the worthiness of the practice (saṁśaya). Once we doubt the efficacy of our practice, we neglect it (pramāda) and fall prey to bouts of depression (ālasya) and sensual indulgence (avirati). We become prey to false views (bhrānti darśana) as we flounder, preventing the possibility of further growth (alabdha bhūmikatva) and putting at risk any progress we might have already made (anavasthitatva).
Carrera gives us a compelling analysis of the kind of spiral one can fall into, but there are multiple ways for these obstacles to manifest in our lives, and each of these obstacles can be activated on the basis of different pathways. B.K.S. Iyengar divides the obstacles into those that are physical (1–2), mental (3–6), intellectual (7) and spiritual (8–9) in nature. Swami Veda Bharati views doubt and false view to be the most harmful of the obstacles. False views about the nature of yoga itself, for example, may cause people to abandon their practice in the face of illness or other physical challenges. I have often heard people say things like, “I’m too stiff to do yoga,” in the mistaken belief that flexibility is a requirement for a yoga practice, or “I had to give up yoga because I hurt my wrist,” in the mistaken belief that the practice of yoga requires some kind of perfect athleticism.
Consequences
Having listed the obstacles in I.30, observing that they are the cause of mental disturbances, Patañjali lists further problems arising from these obstacles in the very next sūtra, I.31. There he comments that these obstacles have very real physiological consequences in our lives, causing disturbances in our body and our breath:
duḥkha daurmanasyāṅgamejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepa sahabhuvaḥ (I.31)
A suffering, despairing body and unsteady inhalations and exhalations accompany the distractions.
(Translation by Christopher Chapple in Yoga and the Luminous.)
In this important sūtra, Patañjali recognizes the full impact of stressful situations on the human organism. We have already seen in the philosophy of yoga that the human organism is viewed as a seamless whole. The mind and the body do not stand on different sides of a radical divide. Thus, when we experience stress in our lives, its impact will be felt throughout our whole makeup. For example, if I am feeling doubt about an important matter, I will likely experience a psychological anguish, but also experience physiological disturbances such as irregular breathing, headaches, stiff shoulders and neck etc. This is a key principle in the practice of āsanas—if something like experiencing doubt can result in stiff, sore shoulders or irregular breathing, then it can work the other way too. In addressing phenomena such as stiff shoulders and disturbed patterns of breathing in our āsana practice, we can indirectly transform our subjective mental states.
The antarāyas are seen as obstacles to achieving spiritual liberation because they destabilize us, creating a citta vikṣepa; literally, an oscillating mind. This takes us back to the very beginning of the Yoga Sūtras, to the equation of yoga with a mind that is ordered and calm (cittavṛtti-nirodha). In his commentary on I.1, Vyāsa lists five different modes of consciousness as follows:
- mūḍha (dull)
- kṣipta (wavering, wandering)
- vikṣipta (partially stable; oscillating between wandering and stability)
- ekāgra (one-pointed)
- niruddha (controlled, restrained as in cittavṛtti-nirodha)
This gives us some context for the phrase “cittavikṣepa” which appears in I.30. The obstacles are stated to create a distracted mind (cittavikṣepa). This phrase is directly equated with the third of the five states of consciousness listed by Vyāsa (vikṣepa and vikṣipta having a common root). The difference between (2) and (3) in the classification above is the difference between a mind with a default condition of instability, versus a mind that has achieved states of integration but is unable to remain in such states. In I.30 therefore, Patañjali seems to have a specific audience in mind—individuals who have on occasion attained integrated states of consciousness on the basis of their practice, but who are also liable to become derailed when faced with some difficulty. In such individuals the mind will oscillate between a yogic composure and states of distraction—such a mind is characterized as citta-vikṣepa.
We have probably all been in the following situation—we engage in our practice and experience a steady and composed mind as a result, but then something, some obstacle, comes along to knock us off our perch. The obstacles therefore are things that we need to be prepared for. Life will inevitably present us with challenges that have the potential to derail us from our path. The message of the section on the obstacles is for us to be ready for such challenges and to meet them, equipped with tools to help us overcome their impact on us.
Obstacles and afflictions
You may remember that Patañjali opens the second book with an examination of five afflictions or kleṣas (ignorance, egoism, desire, aversion and clinging to life), those fundamental features of human existence that are the source of our suffering. The concepts of kleṣa and antarāya are closely related, and indeed, we see an overlap between them in terms of how they are translated. Some commentators translate “antarāya” as “obstacle” (B.K.S. Iyengar, for example); yet other commentators choose this same term as a translation of “kleṣa” (Swami Satchidananda). Some, like Carrera, choose to translate antarāya and kleṣa with the same word, both being classified as obstacles. This can be confusing, but we should look beyond such translation choices to understand the conceptual difference between the kleṣas and the antarāyas.
The kleṣas are viewed as universal to the human condition, at least until an individual is enlightened. They describe our common existential predicament. The presence of the kleṣas within us prevents us from achieving spiritual freedom. This is because the affliction of spiritual ignorance (avidyā) underlies all of the other afflictions. Until we overcome this ignorance, we will not be established in our true transcendent nature and will continue to identify with the limitations of our worldly existence.
The obstacles (antarāya), on the other hand, are not spread evenly among all human beings and do not constitute a default human condition. Bryant characterizes the kleṣas as being more deep-rooted and permanent than the antarāyas (Bryant, p. 118). In relation to the antarāyas, Patañjali seems to be speaking in a more practical mode, pointing out some common problems that yogic practitioners are likely to encounter on the path. The specific obstacles (antarāyas) that we potentially face in the practice of yoga will depend on our individual natures and histories/life narratives. Some of us are more prone to some subset of the obstacles, whereas others will be more prone to a different subset. Some people may be more prone to illness than others, for example, while others of a skeptical nature may be more prone to constant doubt.
Of course, there is some relationship between the kleṣas and the antarāyas. Insofar as we face impediments (antarāya) to our practice, the five deeper human afflictions (kleṣa) are often at the root of our vulnerabilities to specific obstacles and our inability to adequately respond to them.
Concluding thoughts
This brings us to one final reflection on the antarāyas, a reflection that I think further illuminates the difference between the kleṣas and the anatarāyas. Patañjali teaches that if I am in the grip of the kleṣas, then I will remain in a state of suffering and will not realize my full human potential. Does this also apply to the antarāyas? If I am subject to illness or disease, for example, will the door to spiritual freedom be closed to me? Wouldn’t this make yoga an ableist philosophy? While it may be the case that some illnesses are tied to psychological afflictions that make spiritual progress difficult, it would be those psychological afflictions that are the problem, not the illness per se. Hence, I would argue against the view that perfect health is a requirement for spiritual freedom. The antarāyas are given as impediments to practice and hence only indirectly are they impediments to liberation. The message of I.30 is that we should and can find ways to continue with our practice, to continue on our path, despite life’s obstacles. Unfortunately, when faced with challenges we often give up on our practice. If we can find a way to practice despite illness, for example, then we can continue to grow. Indeed, some of our most profound spiritual growth may occur as a result of rising to the challenges that life throws our way.
Liberation is possible for someone facing illness in a way that is not possible for someone trapped in egocentrism (one of the kleṣas). There are many examples in the yoga community of people who have a strong practice despite facing illness and other physical challenges. In our own community, Matthew Sanford has become a strong practitioner and teacher of yoga, despite the challenges of being paralyzed since childhood. In an interview with Krista Tippett, Sanford simply states that yoga can travel through any body. Sanford further observes that a changing relationship between the mind and the body is a feature of living. The natural arc of human life carries with it the inherent challenges of growing old. In conclusion, Patañjali is teaching a realistic viewpoint—we will face difficulties in our lives, so be prepared and develop tools to help you through the difficult times. Next time, we will see what tools Patañjali recommends.
Joy Laine taught philosophy at Macalester College for over thirty years and teaches Iyengar Yoga around the Twin Cities.
Resources and Further Study
Swami Veda Bharati, Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. Himalayan Institute, 1986.
Edwin Bryant, Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. North Point Press, 2009.
B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sūtras. The Aquarian Press, 1993.
Reverend Jaganatha Carrera, Inside the Yoga Sūtras. Integral Yoga Publications, 2006. See his commentary on I.30.
Christopher Key Chapple, Yoga and the Luminous. SUNY, 2008.
Matthew Sanford, Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. Rodale Books, 2008.
This is an excellent memoir in which Sanford recounts his healing yogic path after a car accident left him paralyzed. Sanford’s insights arising from his encounter with yoga have universal relevance, specifically how learning compassion for one’s own embodiment is key for developing compassion for others.
Matthew Sanford, “The Body’s Grace.” Interview with Krista Tippett, On Being, October 2006.
https://onbeing.org/programs/matthew-sanford-the-bodys-grace-2/
In this interview, Sanford expands further on how yoga helps us to develop an understanding of our embodied state.
