Peace From Within

Life is not a space in which perfection exists. There will always be frustrations, hardships, and suffering.

But in capitalist societies we are sold the illusion that if we work hard, be productive, and achieve, we may escape suffering. Or at least not be poor, the worst fate you can suffer under capitalism.

There are 8 limbs to the yogic path and physical postures, asana, what we think of as yoga in the west, is only 1 limb. The final limb, the reason to follow the yogic path, is called samadhi. Sometimes it is translated as unity or oneness. The concept of samadhi also appears in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.

Samadhi is often described as a state of meditative consciousness in which there is no distinction between the act of meditation and the object of meditation. It’s a kind of absorption into being in the present.

I like to think of samadhi as that warm glowy feeling you get at the end of a great yoga class, that deep contentment from within.

The point of yoga and meditation is not to make you dependent on the practices. The point is to realize that you have access to that sense of inner peace and wellbeing at any time because it comes from within you. You don’t have exhaust yourself or be productive or pay for it or be high achieving to get it. It is always inside of you.

Samadhi does not mean that you transcend suffering. It means that you learn to live alongside suffering, to accept it as a necessary condition of life, and still find peace within yourself.

As you go forward into this week, remember: life is not about having and doing. Life is about being.