When you peel a fruit, the inner flesh is beautiful. Take the watermelon, the mango, the dragon fruit and so many others.

Peel the layers of yourself and who emerges? Have you considered this, that when we remove the layers of our persona, who is there? Let us examine how we see ourselves?

Am I a star?
Am I the queen or king of the centerstage?
Am I a quiet person, who likes to work silently?
Do I need recognition for the tasks I do?
Am I hungry for praise?
Do I perceive myself as a needy person?
Do I see myself as a greedy and grasping individual?
Do I think that I am to the manor born?
Do I want to be appreciated all the time?

The list is endless. None of these are wrong self-perceptions.

How do we handle our ego and that is the source of our needs and ambition? We have to separate ourselves from our ego and this is not an easy job. A rajasic disposition governs most of us? We wish to get ahead in our aspirations and dreams and some of us are ruthless. We do not mind pushing and pummeling to advance. It is a question, and we want appreciation, recognition and fame. This is described as Vasana (desire), to want or long for something. It can be also called Iccha shakti.

Shakti, the power

There are three shakti’s, gyan, iccha and kriya. Gyan shakti is the power of knowledge, Kriya shakti is the power to act and Iccha Shakti is desire. They all have to work in harmony.

We must observe ourselves, neutrally and in a detached manner. This is only possible if we start the practice of Yoga. In the Yogic sadhana, we learn to watch ourselves. When we practice an asana, we visualize ourselves and are not participative. Participative means that we are not chattering with our thoughts. We are using our kriya shakti in a constructive manner, concentrating on the pose using Gyan shakti and yes, we have Iccha Shakti (desire) to perform the pose to the best of our ability. An asana is described as a prayer and communication with oneself. The asana then clears our prana blockages.

This is the perfect example of peeling our layers. Often it is said that when we are comfortable in our skin, we are grounded in reality and are truly present in each moment. It is about us to live in the moment and do our best.

Love, serve, give is what we must adopt as a principle and restore ourselves to be an individual with compassion and empathy.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash