--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Mary Ann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > To use only one sutra as an example (this translation by Barbara > Stoler Miller): > > Aversion to one's body and avoidance of contact > with others comes from bodily purification. (40) > Also purity of intelligence, mental satisfaction, psychic > focus, victory over the sense organs, and a vision of one's > inner being. (41) > Perfect happiness is attained through > contentment. (42) > Perfection of the body and the senses comes from ascetic > practice, which destroys impurities (43). > Communion with one's chosen deity comes from the > study of sacred lore. (44) > The perfection of pure contemplation comes from > dedication to the Lord of Yoga. (45) > > I think aversion to the body and avoidance of contact with others as > an ideal or goal contains misunderstanding; I sense something > anti-embodiment there.
The idea is raise the awareness above body consciousness to achieve Unity with God/soul and then only to use the body as it pleases God. > I think it is misunderstanding to have divided spirituality from life, > e.g. to have monks and nuns be celibate while the laity get married > (or doesn't) and has sex. Rather than separating spirituality and > sexuality this way, and spirituality from daily living in the world, > why not instead cultivate in all people respect for and value of all > humanity, including the needs of the body, the longing for love, for > sexual expression, and developing emotional and intellectual maturity > to go with these? This to me is embracing being embodied rather than > seeking avoidance, aversion, perfection, and victory over the body. The idea that the body somehow conveys 'happiness' to the soul is a misnomer, pleasure perhaps yes, but not happiness. Living thru satisfying the body is an idea of the ego not the soul, the soul is self contained, self sufficient and IS essentially pure happiness which makes sense pleasure seem like childs play. Patanjali was recommending methods for releasing the attention from body identity and slavery to sense pleasure, to awareness of the superior joy and sublime happiness of the soul. The purpose of sex is procreation not fun, look at all of the misery in the world due to using sex for fun, from disease to broken hearts.
