Part 4.5 - Obstacles on the path of Yoga (citta-viksepa)

[Full title: The Concept and Content of Patanjali Yogadarsana (5): Obstacles on the path of Yoga (citta-viksepa)]

Various impediments are mentioned in Patanjala Yogadarsana that distract our mind and create obstacles on the spiritual path towards liberation. According to sage Patanjali, there are nine obstacles that distract mind and these are disease or sickness, languor or mental disability, doubt, carelessness, lazyness, worldly-mindedness, delusion or erroneous perception, non-achievement of the goal and unsteadiness or instability^[1]. For our spiritual progress, it is very important to understand these nine obstacles and try to handle them.

These obstacles or mental projections are impurities and disharmonies termed by Patanjali as cittaviksepas that we developed unknowingly due to lack of right knowledge or wrong lifestyle. A normal person usually takes interest in the outer objects and is interested in the external world. Even introverts also keep their mind occupied with the happenings in the outer world. Patanjali mentions nine conditions of the mind or body as given above called as impediments on the path of Yoga. They cause disintegration in human personality. They cause viksepas serving as obstacles. Each one is explained with possible remedies below:

1. Disease (vyadhi): In diseased condition, the mind is drawn towards the body again and again. This condition does not allow the mind to get focused or to move inwards. Some practices prescribed in astangayoga of Patanjali like asanas and pranayamas are solutions to this condition. Focusing on positive objects and continuing practice of meditation takes the aspirant towards one pointed (ekagra) mind where the symptoms of a disease start getting minimised and finally one reaches disease-free state at seedless (nirvitarka) samadhi stage. A detailed discussion on these stages of samadhi is mentioned later on in this chapter.

2. Languor (styana) or chronic fatigue: A person is not inclined to take up any work which needs prolonged attention or concentration to continue own sadhana. A restoration to health automatically cures it.

3. Doubt (samsaya): Amongst the non-clarity of progress and lots of doubts in his mind, one gets confused on the path of his sadhana if he is not having consistent faith in reaching the goal. He should have unshakeable faith (sraddha) in his objectives, in himself and his practices or methods adopted by him. If he is unable to take control over it, it becomes the big hurdle on the path and can not proceed further. Yogic practices bring positivity and removes doubts.

4. Carelessness (pramada): Doing undesirable thing, both of omission and commission is an obstacle of great danger and a weakness which prevents a man to achieve success in any line and drags him back away from the goal. This applies to Yoga also. Inculcating full awareness while doing Yoga practices improves alertness and discrimination power of an aspirant.

5. Laziness (alasya): It is the main cause of distracted mind resulting into ineffectiveness in life. It is mainly the bodily inability to work. It is a bad procrastinating habit developed due to lust for comfort, ease and tendency to avoid hardwork or exertion.

6. Non-abstention or hankering after pleasure (avirati): It is overoccupation in outward life. Rati is likes or attachment, avirati is stubborn attachment which is very difficult to remove. Due to lack of the viveka or sensual control, the mind runs after the worldly objects causing the person serious distraction in mind. Practice of Yoga takes us towards detachment or vairagya.

7. Delusion (bhrantidarsana): It is considering an experience as a spiritual, which is not. It is adoption of a wrong philosophical view point and false visions. Mainly it is due to lack of intelligence and discrimination. The mind gets confused. There are indicators mentioned in third pada of Yogadarsana, which indicates spiritual progress. One should judge them properly, take the right signal and proceed further without getting misguided.

8. Non-achievement of a state or the goal on the path of yoga (alabdhabhumikattva): With consistent practice of Yoga and with persistent effort of the will, one makes progress in Yoga. But, sometimes we see failure or dead end and get disappointed loosing the patience. This may be because of some deep seated samskaras. This state brings total distraction of the mind. It stops our progress for time being. One should develop self confidence and patience with Pranayamic and meditative practices.

9. Instability or unsteadiness (anavasthitatva): Though one gets success in the journey, but it does not last long. The mind returns to its previous stage due to its inherent fickleness. He fails to maintain that state. Deep frustration here takes the man to the complete breakdown. Great amount of efforts are needed to come out of this state and to make further progress.

These nine obstacles or any one of them creates viksepa or antaraya (hurdle) on the path of antaranga yogasadhana (i.e. dharana, dhyana and samadhi). Modern medical experts also feel that the real cause of every disease has its deep root in the mind. There are other obstacles like defects of character in following yama, niyama. Patanjali has also mentioned four accompanying factors (sahabhuvas) or symptoms to these obstacles as under.

The symptoms (viksepa sahabhuvas):

Pain (duhkha), desdpair or mental depression and frustration (daurmanasya), unsteadiness or tremors and lack of control over the body (angamejayatva) and uneven breathing (svasaprasvasa) are four accompanying symptoms of unhealthy condition of body or distracted condition of mind^[2].A particular type of mental disturbance may lead to a characterisitic change in the mode of breathing. First two symptoms are somewhat mental and can be tackled through the practice of yama-niyama. The other two are changes occurring in the body. The problem of tremors can be dealt with practice of postures, whereas practice of pranayama can resolve the problem of respiration–dysrhythmia. Thus, practice of external Yoga can handle these psycho-physiological disturbances.

In all cases, the root cause is the mind. As all the aspects of our mind are interrelated, one must deal with them with proper care. Patanjali has perfectly dealth with the whole fundamental problem of human suffering and misery in the form of klesa in his second chapter of sadhanapada.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

vyādhistyānasaṃśayapramādālasyāviratibhrāntidarśanālabdhabhūmikatvānavasthitatvānicittavikṣepāste'ntarāyāḥ || Patanjali Yoga Sutra, 1.30

[2]:

duḥkhadaurmanasyāṅgamejayatvaśvāsapraśvāsāvikṣepasahabhuvaḥ || Patanjali Yoga Sutra, 1.31