Sutra 1.33: Developing Attitudes: Meet Ill-Will with Dispassion
Sutra 1.33 identifies the locks and gifts us the keys to establish unshakable inner peace. How we relate with ourselves, with others, and with life in general, is how we will experience either harmony or hell. So we could say then, that our peace is dependent upon the tranquility of our relationships. This sutra guides us onto what ship is required for what relation. We can sail the friendly ship into happiness, the compassionate ship into suffering, the delightful ship into goodness and finally the dispassionate ship into the poisoness.
Taking an impartial or dispassionate stance towards the ill-will of yourself or others does not equal uncaring, unconcern, or apathy. What it does equal is the radical responsibility to uphold your inner peace even when you witness the ugly, the gruesome, and the hurtful behavior that you cannot avoid as a human being. By refusing to react to anger with anger, you defuse the bomb rather than implode it. When another treats you poorly or you treat yourself poorly, it is an outward expression of the hurt and pain and ignorance taking place on the inside. So to meet it with anger or aggression or irritability only multiplies our dis-ease.
This can often be witnessed in a car, one’s person anger can quickly escalate to an onslaught of middle fingers, f-bombs, and the unjust cursing of many peoples mothers. We can also witness this in the opposite attitude of overcompensation. When we feel someone’s anger or contentiousness, we may go out of our way to be extra nice, or extra complimentary, and this is coming not from a tranquil place within, but from a place of discomfort with anything other than peace. Which actually ends up blocking the resolution of which needs to be found within oneself, wether it be yours or theirs.
This sutra guides us to re-commit to our own reciprocity daily, by refusing to be bothered by bullshit. Not only do you refuse to be bothered by it, you refuse to partake in it and multiply it. We are the gate, the gatekeepers, and the gift all at the same time. To receive it, is to BE it.
Muchas Gracias Dearest Yogis,
May these words inspire you to reflect and introspect and dismantle built up anger or resentment that is taking up precious real estate within you. There are some pretty damn awful things in this world and we are not dismissing that or condoning them, but we are deciding that we will not add to negativity with more negativity. Love really is the answer.
Sending mine to you,
Andrea Dawn
