Svadhyaya

Kriya Yoga: Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana

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Group of Yoga Joes doing postures

Group of Yoga Joes doing postures

Kriya Yoga* (or kriyayoga) is yoga in action. The “action figures” of yoga are the last three Niyamas: Tapas, Svadhyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana. They make up the perfect how-to formula of doing yoga. Kriya Yoga can be practiced along the more modernized, Westernized version of yoga (i.e, primarily doing Asana postures). The three parts to Kriya Yoga separate the do-ers of yoga from the posers of yoga.

Yoga in Action off the Mat

Yoga Joe doing Warrior I

Kriya Yoga is active, rather than passive. The strengths of Tapas (spiritual discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study), and Ishvara Pranidhana (the ultimate surrender to the divine) make for a solid, yogic action plan. I find it interesting that Kriya Yoga, one of the most “active forms” of yoga, takes place off the yoga mat!

It may be that Kriya Yoga is more difficult than many of the Asana (yogic postures) in a yoga practice. Let’s see . . . hold Warrior I for three minutes, or stay fast to practicing the yoga of Tapas, Svadhyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana everyday? Yep, Kriya Yoga is definitely harder!

Kriya Yoga kicks off the second of four Padas or “chapters” of the Yoga Sutras, the Sadhana Pada. Yoga Sutra 2.1 (YS 2.1) is tapaḥsvādhyāyeśvarapraṇidhānāni kriyāyogaḥ. This first sutra of the second pada spells out the three Niyamas of Tapas, Svadhyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana. It is about needing the three main qualities of Kriya Yoga: enthusiasm, intelligence and humility.

Summary of these three Niyamas

  1. Tapas – “fire” of spiritual discipline, burning away impurities at all levels (body, senses, and mind) to bring transformation. The heat and energy brings to the surface the limiting beliefs, feelings and thoughts of the personality. Tapas brings a burning enthusiasm and passion for the practice of yoga.
  2. Svadhyaya – “self-study” to begin to see our true being. The inner witness observes our body, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. This process helps us to release over-identification with a lifetime of conditioning. The practice of self-study points out the helpful and the unhelpful ways of being that we have cultivated.
  3. Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender to the intelligence that is in all of creation. With honor and humility for all of creation, we begin to see the divine in everything. This reverence helps us to recognize life as a gift and a blessing, even in challenging times.

The practice of “yoga in action” is how we take our yogic practice off the mat and into our daily lives. It is about having the passion to transform, the will to look closely at ourselves, and wisdom to yield to something greater than the everyday world we think we have created. Namaste!

*Kriya Yoga is also a named tradition of style of yoga meditation described by Paramhansa Yogananda and the Ananda organization focused on his teachings. Like many traditional styles or types of yoga, it too follows the philosophical precepts of the Kriya Yoga discussed in this post.

 

Svadhyaya and Swami Kripalu 

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The first time I heard the word “Svadhyaya” I immediately thought of “The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood,” the 1996 book by Rebecca Wells that was turned into a movie in 2002. It seemed a natural leap, a reasonable thought progression . . . Svad-h-ya-ya. It was that YaYa part that swept over me like a wild banshee cry.

But of course, Svadhyaya has next to nothing to do with the YaYa Sisterhood. Unless you consider the book’s plot line that “the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for,”  ties into the self-study that is Svahyaya. That’s a lot of self-examination for a southern tale, and may not be that far off for the YaYa Sisterhood!

In yoga, Svadhyaya is one of the five Niyamas (there’s a YA in there!), along with Saucha, Santosha, Tapas and Ishvara-Pranidhana. And the Niyamas are one of the eight limbs of yoga. I hope you’re keeping count of all these numbered items for which yoga and many oral traditions are famous! A lot of YAs being laid down too.

The short description for the yogic practice of Svadhyaya is that of self-study. A book that is better suited to the “YaYa’s” of yoga, and one that is all about self-study is “Pilgrim of Love, The Life and Teachings of Swami Kripalu,” compiled and edited by Atma Jo Ann Levitt. It begins with the epigraph, “To pilgrims of every path, and especially those willing to be fools for love.” This path to love is very serious and is far from foolish.

Pilgrim of Love. The Life and Teachings of Swami KripaluPilgrim of Love teaches us much about Swami Kripalu, whose name was given to the Kripalu Ashrams in Pennyslvania where he taught yoga from 1977 to 1981. (In 1983 the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health continued the legacy in Stockbridge, MA, its current location). Swami Kripalu followed the path of Kundalini yoga, a branch of yoga sometimes referred to as the yoga of awareness.

In this book’s deep dive into the life and teaching of Swami Kripalu, there are many lessons for the study of yoga and yogic philosophy. The chapter on “My Guidance to Disciples,” he shares the message given to him by his teacher Gurudev. It is a series of 14 guidelines meant as a summary for yoga Sadhana. As with many of Swami Kripalu’s teachings, the guidelines are not for casual yoga participants, is intended for serious yoga practitioners, and goes well beyond the yoga postures that dominate western yoga.

The guidelines start with something common to most spiritual practices, “#1. Love all living beings, do not hate anyone.” And end with #14. Read this guide every Thursday. Guides 2-13 range from the pleasant to extremely difficult. Like #7. If possible, take cold baths three times a day (… to maintain purity and piety of the body. Never sleep during the day, and so on), to the much more difficult #5. Initiates should have one pure and moderate meal a day with milk in the morning and evening. Do not eat meat. Do note use liquor, marijuana, tobacco, coffee, tea, or other stimulants. Ok. Cold shower. No coffee. I got this. Not. Even. Close.

One must stand in complete deference to a gifted teacher guiding us to “cross the ocean of samskaras and attain the supreme love of God.” We should not expect that a commodified life of sloth and torpor to usher us to the gates of Heaven, or to send us into immediate Samadhi!

Swami Kripalu’s guide relating to Svadhyaya is #12. As a source of self-study, contemplate the meaning of Shri Gnaneshvar’s Bhagavad Gita. Memorize lines 54 to 72 of the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Chapters 12, 15, and 16 should also be memorized and recited every day. Recite Brahmacharya Bhavani (treatise on celibacy) every morning. Practice bhajans, and read and contemplate good books everyday. Never stop listening to the messages of pious saints.”

The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is about the Practice of Yoga and lines 54-72 are all about giving up attachments and investments in both craving and aversion. And the other Chapters 12, 15 and 16 respectively are titled in various translations as The Yoga of Devotion, The Ultimate Person, and Three Kinds of Faith. Memorizing and reading these passages everyday would certainly give one food for thought. Turning the spotlight inward with these passages is a lesson in self-study to examine our behavior in greater detail.

For all you Yogic YaYas out there, the following are a few links to other blogs discussing the Niyamas and Svadhyaya!

https://kripalu.org/resources/yoga-s-ethical-guide-living-yamas-and-niyamas
https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/the-niyamas-svadhyaya-or-self-study
http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm