Yoga Sutras on Practice

I originally was going to skip around with random thoughts on inspirational things but I have launched on a commentary of the Yoga Sutras and it seems to have taken a life of its own. So continuing from the last blog...

Yoga Sutra 1.13: Tatra Sthitau yatnah abhyasah, Of these two(practice and nonattachment) effort toward steadiness is practice.
1.14:Sah tu dirgha kala nairantarya satkara asevitah dridhabhumih, Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and with enthusiasm. Pantanjali describes how to be successful in anything. I can't think of any skill that I value that has been achieved in any other way. Practicing over a long period of time, without quitting for a while, with enthusiasm! In Reverend Jaganath Carrera's book, Inside the Yoga Sutras, he says in his commentary on this sutra "How can we tell if our practice has become firmly grounded? One simple answer is: when it is harder not to practice than to practice." I like this a lot. Think of brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Not necessarily fun activities but still they are ingrained practices that you don't skip. It is harder to skip something that is firmly grounded than to do them. This is Patanjali's message on practice-be steady with your practice over a long period of time, without taking time off, and practice with gusto!