Reflections on Sutra 1.8

1.8 viparyayo mithyājñānamatadrūpapratișțham

Misapprehension is that comprehension that is taken to be correct until more favourable conditions reveal the actual nature of the object

Like when you think you know who the actor is in a movie then look it up on google and find it was someone else. Or when you thought you knew what you were doing in your Trikonasana until you caught yourself in the reflection of a mirror or door and saw you version was looking a little saggy. Hang on 'favourable conditions', well that's not open to interpretation is it?? That could be good lighting (eg knitting, yoga, cooking), ambient temperature (eg knitting, yoga, cooking).

BKS Iyengar interprets this Sutra as "Illusory or erroneous knowledge is based on non-fact or the non-real". Further as ..."wrong knowledge is caused by error or misconception, or by mistaking one thing for another". Actually with my vision, I do this quite a bit. #1 favourable condition for me then: clean contact lenses (and snorkel when swimming in the Coral Sea).

Reflections on Sutra 1.7

1.7 pratyakșānumānāgamāh pramānāni
Comprehension is based on direct observation of the object, inference, and reference to reliable authorities

I have no debate with this sutra, I think it's fairly straight forward really and ironically doesn't require too much reflection on my part. I've always been one to delve further down the rabbit hole in search of information closer to 'the source'. More often I've had trouble remaining focused on the original enquiry and get lost in/on tangents. This was probably quite infuriating for my mother when I was young - she'd ask me to look up a recipe and I was gone for hours. I've always had discreet book collections, mostly reference material of whatever I was into at the time. I've usually been quite fortunate too, to have access to some fine authorities and mentors in relation to most of my past and current interests. In yoga there is high importance placed on knowing who your teacher's teachers are/were and to know your yoga lineage. I think this is a good approach to take with many other aspects of life. "Don't Believe the Hype", said Public Enemy. It's all part of having a credible source of information and a good reminder to seek out reliable authorities. Wikipedia can be a good start, but is not always reliable. Google is a pretty good modern guru, always ready with an answer or pointing me in a direction that may be closer to what I'm looking for. I've always liked the Sherlock Holmes stories with their lessons in deductive reason and logic.

This coupled with my own practice and experience has helped me fine tune my understanding of what I observe and what I can deduce, as well as what I don't know and what I need to learn more about. And if all else fails, as is want to happen with knitting projects, consult my Elizabeth Zimmermann's, or Barbara Walker's.

Reflections on Sutra 1.6

1.6 pramānaviparyayavikalpanidrāsmŗtayah
The five activities of the mind are comprehension, misapprehension, imagination, deep sleep, and memory

As I contemplate, indeed, comprehend, this sutra I have noticed just how much the mind is responsible for in terms of my overall health and wellbeing. My thoughts can determine my moods, my motivation, how much I sleep, the bizarreness of my dreams via my imagination, the quality of my memory. Before I go to sleep most nights I reflect on what I did that day and what I would like to do the following day. I see it as trying to 'pre-program' the mind so that I have a better chance of doing half the things I want to try out or complete. Which is usually a mixture of the things required for living, like washing, cleaning, food shopping, paying the bills and things I enjoy, like knitting, reading, sewing, cooking, swimming and yoga. So why, oh why does this not always translate to the next days' activities like I want it to?

I don't yet have the answer/s, but I think asking myself these questions is a good start at working it/them out.