The elements: an overview

स्थूलस्वरूपसूक्ष्मान्वयार्थवत्त्वसंयमाद्भूतजयः

sthūlasvarūpasūkṣmānvayārthavattvasaṃyamādbhūtajayaḥ 

For some mysterious reason I am not well educated about – this sutra is sometimes listed as 3.44 and sometimes 3.45 of Patanjali Yoga Sutra.

/*One-pointed meditation upon the five forms which every element takes, produces mastery over every element.  These five forms are the gross nature, the elemental form, the quality, the pervasiveness and basic purpose.*/ tr – Alice Bailey

/*By Samayama on the gross and subtle elements and on their essential nature, correlations and purpose, mastery over them is gained.*/ Satchitananda 3.45

 Yoga asana develops a tremendous amount of will which unfolds into exceptional discernment. Through the discipline of our practices, learning to concentrate, to be aware in a moment and choose, we learn the potency of our choices.  Yoga is fun, and we don’t want to lose that, but to be aware of the potency of true practice opens the way for us to design a practice which will be most effective to suit our purposes.  Potency, wedded with intention, emerges as effectiveness and the kind of refined intelligence that is commonly called “wisdom”.  The word wisdom can be connected with inspiration and upliftment.  But well-done yoga results in a quality of discernment which supports a functional knowledge that transcends intellectual exercise.  I have a very different day when my practice is consistent and in order than I do when my practice is chaotic.  With balanced practice emerges a steady and healthy lifestyle which unfolds in personal well-being. 

We continue now to explore the Sankhya chart with a discussion about the elements.

Our exploration began with the senses, which are also on the ground floor of the chart.  We learned that yoga has a variety of tools to discipline the senses so we can use them effectively and come to an elevated state of consciousness as a result of doing that. In yoga, discipline and elevation are intimately connected.  The senses can pull us into the confusion that envelopes the world or they can support us in our journey to rise above that confusion and live effective lives. 

The elements share the ground floor of the Sankhya chart. They bridge the external and internal worlds and through them we come to know ourselves as a part of the natural world.   The flow of water and the flow of emotions, the stability of earth and our capacity to stand tall, the transformative essence of fire and our ability to turn food into our bodies and logs into warmth, the breath of air which supports the flight of birds, moves rain filled clouds and enters our bodies as life sustaining breath, and finally ether which ignites the sound of music within us and carries it across time and space to be heard by another.  Ether is also associated with the womb of the universe  wherein the silent Om blooms forth into the struck or heard sound of OM which then gives birth to infinite worlds again and again – Om heard millions of millenia ago and heard now.

I invite you to get started with the exploration of the elements by just noticing them around you.  Earth, water, air, fire, ether.  What qualities do you note about them in a variety of locations and forms?  What happens when you interact with them?  Which element are present often?  Which don’t seem to be part of your life?  Some good practices for this are: spending time with nature whether it be potted plants and urban trees – or, if you are so blessed – going out on a hike. Observing food is another elemental awareness tool.    What is watery?  What is fiery? What is airlike in your diet?  Are there certain colors or smells, sounds or textures?   

Blessings and thanks,

Each blog post has a newsletter with it with a slightly different look at the material in the blogpost and with some supplemental materials – music or reading recommendations or discussions of meditation or asana techniques.  Please sign up to receive future newsletters and if you missed one you are curious about feel free to let me know.  I’ll try to send it out to you.