09/05/2025
One of my favorite lessons I took away from my trip to Chennai was the discussion around the topic of Satya with Mr. Sridhar. For those of you unfamiliar with the term and it´s context within yoga philosophy, I will first take a moment to explain that.
In Yoga philosophy (as described by Patanjali) there are 8 ´´branches´´ or aspects of yoga. In my last post I talked about the branch we are most familiar with in classes, Asana (Postures). Another branch speaks to the way in which we relate to the world. It describes not moral codes but rather suggests ways which will allow us to have the most harmonious relationships and therefore peace of mind. There are five ´´suggestions´´ or principal. Ahimsa, non-harm, is actually the first, and it is then followed with Satya ,speaking the truth.
Satya is often thought to come in conflict with the first principal Ahimsa. Many believe you cannot both speak the truth all the time and not cause harm. I too have struggled to undersand this, let´s be honest that sometimes the truth hurts.
However, we can think of it more as the delivery of the truth that matters most. The context, the timing, the words used, the way it is expressed. This is how we avoid harm, not by changing the truth or sugar coating but rather by really being mindful of how we transmit the truth.
From my own personal experience, I can understand that for example that waiting for the emotional charge or self-soothing/regulating before conveying what I think or feel is vey important.
Non-violent communication by Marshall Rosenberg also speaks to this thouroughly. I would summarize his ideas as placing the emphasis on how an action made us feel, making a request for different actions going forward, and negotiation of a resolution. In this kind of communication, we also respect and accept the response of the other, if we are unhappy with the response, we may simply realize the relationship is not for us. This is what is meant by non-violent, without force, simply a conversation around our experience & needs.
So, we might think of Satya as skillful communication of the truth...(see continuation on my blog :)....
