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Yoga Sutra I.8
VIPARYAYO
MITHYAJNANAM
ATADRUPA
PRATISTHAM
Misconception occurs when knowledge of something is not based upon its true form
(Satchidananda translation)
I received a voicemail recently from a dear friend, whom I don't see nearly enough, apologizing for her rudeness to me in our last few interactions. I was completely taken aback by this news.... I had NO recollection of such incidents. That's not to dismiss how she had been feeling... because I'm afraid it brought her much distress as she recalled her version of the situations again and again until she finally reached out to me months later.
When I finally connected to her, after an terribly long game of phone tag, I relayed my lack of any recollection of such situations. I hope that eased her mind and heart a bit. I was so sorry that she had held on to those negative feelings for so long, but thankful that she had the courage to share her experience.
This was a pretty clear example to me of Sutra I.8 and how misconceptions of things can bring us pain and discomfort. Whether it's our perception of an interaction or an object, or even the intent of an e-mail or text, our daily life is filled with opportunities for this to occur! But, the good news is that there are just as many opportunities to practice seeing and knowing things in their true form.
One of the widely used examples of this Sutra, which I have discovered in multiple texts, is seeing a coiled rope in the twilight and mistaking it for a snake. The snake never exists, but the fear and terror certainly do in our minds and bodies. Let's all do our best to
remove the myriad veils of misconception and help our loved ones to do the same starting with clear and loving communications!
Namaste,
Kristi
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