Empathy and Darshan

But as we saw in my last Blog Fear and Tranquillity fear can only be outgrown once we let go of our attachments; attachment to things, to the body, to our mind and ego, to our limited concept of life which drives our fear of death. The wisdom of this, though, can’t be held in separation to the world. Wisdom only truly exists if engaged with, with our eyes wide open.

The evolution then that Pattanaik is speaking of is that of Shiva’s indifference to those around him to a state of empathy brought about by engaging in the world, through the example of Shakti. In its more abstract form what we are talking about here is the indifferent state of pure consciousness that when animated becomes dynamic consciousness.

In a yogic sense this is the practice of Darshan; seeing with empathy-filled eyes. The Yog Darshan (Yoga Sutra) written by Patanjali brought a coherence to the diverse practices that existed at the time with the addition of the first two limbs of his 8 Limbs of Yoga; that of social and personal disciplines (Yamas and Niyamas). We need to work of these first two limbs prior to being able to work on our 5 Outer Obstacles (Kleshas), allowing us to progress on our spiritual journey.

In Chapter 2, Sutra 1, of the ‘Four Chapters on Freedom’ (commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali by Swami Satyananda Saraswati) we are told that The way is Kriya Yoga. So, the way is through self-purification, self-observation and self-awareness. All of this is a far cry from the practices we tend to have in the West where we go straight to our Asanas with no prior or post practices.

Devdutt Pattanaik says “When we genuinely do darshan, we discover how the other reacts to us. That is, the other ends up as a mirror or darpan, reflecting who we are.” But it is difficult to see in a mirror that is covered over in cultural expectations coming from lower mind imagination, for the purposes of control, as noted in my Blog Imagination and Shiva-linga.

Indeed, this bringing of everything under control, is epitomised by the process of domestication, called Yagna, which promises the end of fear. A delusion that simply perpetuates our fears. Shiva, on the other hand, epitomises the undomesticated primal force brought to bear on the world through empathy and love.

Bringing it all together

The energy that manifests us all is inherent in consciousness. Recognising this allows us to move away from a ‘me’ and ‘them’ mindset. But this can only be done when the eyes are fully open, for wisdom only truly exists when things are seen free of fear. But as the world is imperfect and frightening we too often succumb to fear. But we can outgrow this through the practice of Darshan; and the way is through Yoga.

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