The Four Infinite Thoughts Yoga Sutra Book I Verse 33
The Four Infinite Thoughts: Yoga Sutra I.33
The Four Infinite Thoughts are:
maitrI
karunA
muditA
upeksha
We can think of Maitri as being Love or the wish for yourself or another person to be happy.
Karuna can be thought of as compassion or the wish for oneself or another person to be free from suffering.
Mudita can be the joy that is taken in acting, behaving and thinking in ways that are consistent with supporting our journey of growth, unfolding and resting in congruent contentment.
Upeksha is the capacity to think of all beings including oneself as being deserving of Love and Compassion and taking Joy in our thoughts, words and actions that express those qualities without reservation.
When we say the mantra
Om Maitri Ahum Om Karuna Ahum Om Mudita Ahum Om Upeksha Ahum
We can think of cultivating the wish within ourselves that comprises these four thoughts:
May I take great Joy in Developing Love and Compassion for All Beings
What makes this practice so powerful is that we are often in a position of thinking that some people or beings are deserving of our love and compassion and others are not, and we often act in accordance with this belief. Therefore we can find ourselves participating in actions or thoughts towards others which if they were directed towards us we would experience them as quite painful.
The act of intentionally developing the wish to view all others as being deserving of our love and compassion can also liberate us to view ourselves with greater love and compassion.
The act of intentionally developing love and compassion for ourselves can liberate us to feel greater love and compassion for others.
The Four Infinite Thoughts are:
maitrI
karunA
muditA
upeksha
We can think of Maitri as being Love or the wish for yourself or another person to be happy.
Karuna can be thought of as compassion or the wish for oneself or another person to be free from suffering.
Mudita can be the joy that is taken in acting, behaving and thinking in ways that are consistent with supporting our journey of growth, unfolding and resting in congruent contentment.
Upeksha is the capacity to think of all beings including oneself as being deserving of Love and Compassion and taking Joy in our thoughts, words and actions that express those qualities without reservation.
When we say the mantra
Om Maitri Ahum Om Karuna Ahum Om Mudita Ahum Om Upeksha Ahum
We can think of cultivating the wish within ourselves that comprises these four thoughts:
May I take great Joy in Developing Love and Compassion for All Beings
What makes this practice so powerful is that we are often in a position of thinking that some people or beings are deserving of our love and compassion and others are not, and we often act in accordance with this belief. Therefore we can find ourselves participating in actions or thoughts towards others which if they were directed towards us we would experience them as quite painful.
The act of intentionally developing the wish to view all others as being deserving of our love and compassion can also liberate us to view ourselves with greater love and compassion.
The act of intentionally developing love and compassion for ourselves can liberate us to feel greater love and compassion for others.