Iswara Pranidhana

The last of the Niyamas: Iswara Pranidhana

It is during meditation, a time of silence that we practice Iswara Pranidhana or the surrender to Self, or this time of devotion to the Divine, the Universe, God, whatever you wish to call it. This niyama is about using the other yamas and niyamas to get closer to our Truth, the Divine within us. And like anything in our life, sometimes this too, takes practice.

Even if you don’t have a current connection to something higher than your self, you can connect to your natural urge to love and be loved. When we study the self we discover that attachment, fear, ignorance, and the ego are obstacles that distract us from acting out of love. With sadhana or daily practice we take the time to connect to love and the Self and reflect on where we have fallen short and where we can do better.

Have you started or had a daily practice of silence each day? Do you feel a connection to something bigger than you? How does it make you feel? How does it feel if you miss or skip it? If you don’t have a practice can you give it 2-5 min per day and see where it takes you?