The Best Happiness by Enid Kassner
Through contentment, unexcelled happiness is attained. (Yoga Sutra II.42)
Introduction
For many practitioners of yoga, years are spent learning and perfecting physical postures, or asanas. This process often enhances flexibility, strength, and relaxation, and results in feelings of well-being and accomplishment. Those who have reaped the benefits of practicing hatha yoga may subsequently develop an interest in learning more about its underlying philosophy. A deeper exploration of yoga can lead to even greater rewards.
The Yoga Sutras, one of the classical texts on the practice of yoga, were recorded around the second century by Patanjali. According to the sutras, there are eight steps on the path of yoga. The first two steps that must be mastered are the yamas and niyamas — moral restraints and observances. The five yamas, or moral restraints, comprise the first step on the path of yoga. They include ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), bramacharya (self-control), asteya (non-stealing), and aparigraha (not acquiring more than one needs). The second step includes five niyamas, or observances. These are saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (sacred study), and ishvara-pranidhana (self-surrender).
Some suggest that these steps be mastered before the practitioner of yoga moves on to the remaining steps in the Patanjali system: asana (physical postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (super-consciousness). However, in the U.S. today, most people first come to know yoga through the practice of asanas. Over time, many practitioners do become interested in additional aspects of the yoga system, meditation in particular. As one attempts to meditate, however, it becomes readily apparent that the practice is nearly hopeless unless one is able to manage some degree of stilling the senses and concentrating — practices that precede meditation in the eight-step system. This may lead one to consider the wisdom of returning to the very beginning and attempting to evaluate one’s progress on the first two steps. While none of Patanjali’s eight steps come easily, some are more challenging than others. It is somewhat daunting to realize just how much of a stumbling block the first two steps — the yamas and niyamas — can be. The focus of this paper is specifically on the role that the second niyama — santosha, or contentment — can play in either fostering or hindering one’s progression in yoga.
What Does "Contentment" Mean in Yoga?
Most of us easily understand "contentment" to mean the state of being satisfied with what we have; of not desiring more. Yet how often do any of us truly feel contented? In a nation overflowing with material affluence, how rarely do we appreciate what we have? How frequently we seek to acquire more. Even during our practice of yoga asanas, are we not constantly striving to perfect our execution of the postures? In doing so, are we enjoying the challenge of learning and growing, or do we feel discouraged if we are unable to reach our toes in a forward bend or master a handstand? If we judge ourselves harshly during our yoga practice, do we not demonstrate our lack of contentment with being exactly where we are at the present moment?
It really is no wonder that the issue of contentment is so difficult to grasp and master. In general, it is easy to feel content when we are successful, when things are going our way. But how difficult it is to maintain a sense of contentment when we are faced with frustration, disappointment, or adversity.
The Bhagavad-Gita, one of the classical Hindu texts, provides an excellent basis for understanding the role of contentment in yoga. In Lord Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna on "Renunciation Through Knowledge" he describes one who is wise as follows:
What God’s Will gives
He takes, and is contented.
Pain follows pleasure,
He is not troubled:
Gain follows loss,
He is indifferent:
Of whom should he be jealous?
He acts, and is not bound by his action.
In a later discussion on "The Yoga of Devotion," Krishna describes one who understands yoga by saying:
He does not desire or rejoice in what is pleasant. He does not dread what is unpleasant, or grieve over it. He remains unmoved by good or evil fortune…His attitude is the same toward friend and foe. He is indifferent to honour and insult, heat and cold, pleasure and pain. He is free from attachment. He values praise and blame equally. He can control his speech. He is content with whatever he gets.
Especially in a culture like ours, in which we have been raised to compete and achieve, to "make things happen," the idea of being contented, regardless of the circumstances we face, may seem alien. One might conclude that to be contented would mean to never take any action or strive for change of any sort. But the teachings of yoga clarify this issue. This dilemma is described in the Bhagavad-Gita, as Arjuna stands on the battlefield of life, appealing to the Lord Krishna for guidance in understanding how to proceed. Krishna describes several paths to yoga’s goal of enlightenment, one of which is called Karma Yoga, or the yoga of action:
You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only...Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either…Be even-tempered in success and failure; for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga…They who work selfishly for results are miserable.
This same message is reflected in yoga sutras II.1 and II.2, which state: "The yoga of action is a way of discipline involving self-reflection based on the sacred texts, and surrendering the fruits of action to a higher force. The intent is to gradually attain the state of contemplation and diminish the causes of suffering."
One of the ultimate goals of yoga is to achieve happiness. But the philosophy of yoga teaches that happiness is found, not through the pursuit of worldly pleasures, but through self-realization. The cultivation of contentment is one way to place our worldly desires in the proper perspective. We continually think, "if only I could earn more money, if only so-and-so would fall in love with me, if only I could lose 10 pounds, etc…I would finally be happy." Yet once we achieve the desired aim, we find we have something more to yearn for. Both the ancient philosophy of yoga and modern popular psychology teach us that looking to external objects will not bring us happiness. To do so, we must look within.
The Role of Contentment in Daily Life
The practice of cultivating contentment can help us to be satisfied with what we do have, and put an end to a continual unhappiness with what we do not have. It is a powerful practice that can transform one’s entire life. This ancient wisdom has recently been popularized by modern "guru" Oprah Winfrey, who has reached millions of viewers with her advice to keep a "gratitude journal." She suggests that people write down five things they are grateful for every day. By reorienting our perspective from a negative attitude to a positive attitude, it is much easier to achieve a contented state of mind. This attitude of contentment helps us to maintain an even disposition whether faced with failure or success — just as the teachings of yoga recommend.
As we begin to understand the meaning of contentment, we can attempt to incorporate this attitude in our daily lives. While it surely will not happen overnight, little by little we may find ourselves able to face daily stresses with greater equanimity. A simple place to begin is within the context of our asana practice. One factor that differentiates hatha yoga from other forms of exercise is the attitude with which we approach the activity. By treating our bodies with sensitivity and respect, we move gently into postures, pausing and evaluating whether we are ready to move further into a pose. We listen carefully to our breath and muscles to guide us more deeply into, or out of, a posture. We learn to feel the alignment of our body from within, by how it feels, more than by how it looks.
When we fail to bring an attitude of contentment to our asana practice, we are more likely to injure ourselves. We also risk missing some of the greatest benefits that yoga has to offer: self-acceptance, self-knowledge, and, ultimately, self-realization. It is often the case, in yoga, and in life, that the more effort we put into our actions, the more elusive our goals seem. Sometimes, by letting go of so much effort, by feeling contented with where we are and what we have right now, we find doors opening to new, unseen vistas. When we practice hatha yoga with an attitude of contentment, our practice feels lighter and more playful. We can enjoy what we are able to do in our practice, without feeling discouraged by what we have yet to master. We can feel delighted by new accomplishments, without having our egos invested in them. Indeed, in contentment we may find what The Mahabarata calls "the best happiness."
Enid Kassner begins teaching the Thursday morning 7-8am All Levels class this spring for Sun & Moon. Welcome aboard, Enid!