Guṇa Puns

Another meaning of guṇa is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself-he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kṛṣṇa, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can help one gain such release. Kṛṣṇa, being the Lord of illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature.

(from the Bhaktivedanta Purport to Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.14. https://asitis.com/7/14.html

To one of discrimination, everything is painful indeed, due to its consequences; the anxiety and fear over losing what is gained; the resulting impressions left in the mind to create renewed cravings; and the constant conflict among the three gunas, which control the mind. (Satchidananda translation).

This sutra dovetails with Buddhism's first noble truth that "everything is suffering." It is also said that what is "day" to the sadhaka (truth seeker) is "night" to everyone else, meaning that with discrimination all the trappings of modern culture which are considered "positive" are seen by the sadhaka as roots of suffering and attachment. There is hope in this seemly bleak sutra, as Nisargadatta Maharaj points out "As the acceptance of pain is the denial of the self, and the self stands in the way of true happiness, the wholehearted acceptance of pain releases the springs of happiness."

Discussion questions: Do you feel that as you progress in your practice, you suffer more or less? As you progress in your practice, does suffering matter more or less?

Here is a link to side by side translations: http://www.milesneale.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Yoga-Sutras-Verse-Comparison.pdf

Higher than renunciation is indifference to the guṇas [themselves]. This stems from perception of the puruṣa, soul. (Bryant translation)

Gunas are the properties of nature: Rajas, Tamas and Satvas, or frenetic, inert, or luminous respectively. Patanjali is saying here that an accomplished practitioner (siddha) would be indifferent to nature no matter what quality. He is now introducing the concept of perceiving one's true self.

Discussion questions: What experiences have you had in yoga or meditation that suspended your attachments to worldly things? Is renunciation too much to ask for the modern yoga practitioner? What would you consider indifference to the material world?

Here is a link to side by side translations: http://www.milesneale.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Yoga-Sutras-Verse-Comparison.pdf

The stages of the gunas are specific, non-specific, defined, and undefinable. (Satchidananda translation)

Here Patanjali is building a case that prakriti, or nature, is a mere illusion. The gunas (rajas, tamas, and sattvas) are always changing form. Take a stick of incense out of the box. It is in the earth state (tamas), light it with a match (rajas), and watch it dissolve into smoke (sattvas). It completely changes form after a hour, but remains the same as it is recast into the atmosphere in the form of vapor and fragrance leaving a trace of ash behind which will eventually blow away. Just as the Gunas change form, the mind constantly changes form as well.

Discussion question: what does not change form?

Here is a link to side by side translations: http://www.milesneale.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Yoga-Sutras-Verse-Comparison.pdf

Do your worst!

It really does, I swear!

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

They’re on standbi

Buenosdillas

Pilot on me!!

Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.

This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.

If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.

Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.

When I got home, they were still there.

What did 0 say to 8 ?

" Nice Belt "

So What did 3 say to 8 ?

" Hey, you two stop making out "

I won't be doing that today!

You take away their little brooms

This morning, my 4 year old daughter.

Daughter: I'm hungry

Me: nerves building, smile widening

Me: Hi hungry, I'm dad.

She had no idea what was going on but I finally did it.

Thank you all for listening.

There hasn't been a post all year!

I'm surprised it hasn't decade.

Why

It’s pronounced “Noel.”

After all his first name is No-vac

What, then, is Chinese rap?

Edit:

Notable mentions from the comments:

• Spanish/Swedish/Swiss/Serbian hits

• French/Finnish art

• Country/Canadian rap

• Chinese/Country/Canadian rock

• Turkish/Tunisian/Taiwanese rap

[Removed]

Long post ahead.

I remember the post on Yoga being Hindu made here a couple of days back, and I'm reiterating that by showing that Hinduism, as it is known in current times, is the same as Sanatana Dharma whose roots lie in the Vedic tradition. The previous post did not stress on the Dharmic angle, which I'd like to stress.

Before the specifics are addressed, I'd like to point out that this emphasis on Dharma is necessary because at least 3 different religions and ways of life and philosophical systems namely, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are by default Dharmic ie., we are duty bound. Gods, religion, rituals, and metaphysics arise later, but first upholding duty or even the way life is led, is the crucial aspect that differentiates Dharmic religions and Adharmic ones, where God takes prominence.

Kindly note that I'm not referring to Dharma as Sanatana Dharma at all, and going by a very general translation of the word Dharma, and that all the three religions mentioned subscribe to this, and is especially unique to this land. The fact that there has been geographical changes and spreading of different religions to other lands doesn't affect the fact that Dharma has always been primarily upheld in this part of the globe. There are various names for this, and also differences among the religions, but Dharma predates these peripheral issues, and it doesn't need the world's existence for validation. It always existed beyond space-time.

With this in mind, I will address Yoga; meaning - to unite, to integrate(into the absolute).

Yoga is a separate, unique philosophical system that adheres to Dharma and even promotes it in every teaching and practice. So under the broader umbrella of Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism, Yoga is without a shadow of doubt Dharmic by nature. It accepts the Vedas as authoritative knowledge, which is exactly why it is listed among Astika(Accepts Vedas) categorization. Within the Dharmic fold, there is a Nastika section as well that rejects the Vedas, but they still adhere to Dharma.

Yoga comes under Santana Dharma -> Astika(Accepts Vedas) -> Yoga, but still differs in its philosophy and practice significantly.

Ashtanga Yoga is described in the foundational Patanjali Yoga Sutras where the main aim is detachment from a personal sense of self, this individual soul we cling on to. So attaining Kaivalya is the goal there, where the individuality as perceived in the waking state is lost, and free from all Karma. Any other branch o

There hasn't been a single post this year!

(Happy 2022 from New Zealand)

Nothing, it just waved

Bob

So that I could frequently say, "I am going to walk 5 miles now."

Edit: My most popular post on Reddit! 😀 Thank you for the awards.

Just to clarify, 12345678

Me grabbing a soda from my (what I thought was) half full 12pk...

Notices there's only 2;

Me: "Awe man... This is a damn bird box!" Her: "What the hell does that mean?!" Me: (Pulls both cans out & shows them to her) "It's only got Toucans."

I'm not ashamed to admit the look on her face was glorious.

I was just sitting there doing nothing.

“BOOM”?!

"That's what they're fighting about."