In pursuit of happiness.

In considering the search for personal fulfilment and happiness, we first need to consider the definition of happiness. According to the dictionary, to be happy is: Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy but this does not satisfactorily cover it. For example, and at the most basic level I am 'happy' to have given up smoking, but today I don't feel very 'happy'. Clearly happiness as defined by the dictionary is not the pure form of the state, that which can be found through the learning of the Tao, or Kabbalah or indeed Yoga.

I have chosen this topic partly because of my rapidly growing interest in Ashtanga Yoga and the fundamental belief which underlies the practice of it. Ashtanga is the Sanskrit word for Eight Limbs (Ashta-eight, anga-limbs) and the eight limbs are as follows:

Yama-restraints
Niyama-observances
Asana-posture
Pranayama-breath control
Pratyahara-withdrawal of the senses
Dharana-concentration
Dhyana-meditation
Samadhi-realisation.

In Ashtanga we believe that in order to achieve enlightenment, one has to master all these limbs.

The fifth limb Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) means to turn the attention inward and I think for me this is one of the reasons Ashtanga has become so important to me. In this modern world we tend to assume that much of our happiness depends on things like wealth, pleasure, satisfaction and falling in love, but these are external physical states. Pratyahara is practised to make a person independent of these external stimuli and the objective is to discover the real source of happiness within us. In the physical asana practise for example, you are listening to your breath, gazing at specific focal points, holding internal locks (bandhas) following the flow of postures and you become totally absorbed with what you are doing. In other words you are directing all your energy back inside and creating a space for yourself that is completely detached from the outer world.

I think many people take up Ashtanga yoga initially for the physical aspects of it, maybe they suffer from a bad back, or perhaps they just generally feel stiff. But what tends to happen with people who practice regularly and become interested in the spiritual side of it is they become absorbed with the core principles of the practice. Ashtanga is not just exercise, not just about being able to bend your body into fantastic positions, although this is a consequence of regular practice. No, the 'point' of Ashtanga or the true subject of it is to achieve an inner awareness, to be able to observe the void within oneself and become a witness to our true nature. Eventually the aim is to realise that your individual self (atman) is at one with the divine self (brahman).

Pattabhi Jois, the Master of Ashtanga Yoga says �Partial yoga methods out of line with their internal purpose can build up the six enemies (desire, anger, greed, illusion, infatuation and envy) around the heart. But the full Ashtanga system practised with devotion leads to freedom within ones heart.�

Now I don't profess to be anywhere near the eighth limb, indeed I have much work to do and am far from it. But it has occurred to me that perhaps if we were all to follow Ashtanga and take its principles on as our life's path we might find ourselves less concerned with the pursuit of physical happiness, and in doing so suddenly find that we were surprisingly satisfied and content in our lives.