To overcome the obstacles and to win unalloyed happiness, Patanjali
offered several remedies. The best of these is the fourfold remedy of
Maitri (friendliness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (delight) and
Upeksa (disregard).
Maitri is not merely friendliness, but also a feeling of oneness with
the object of friendliness (atmiyata). A mother feels intense happiness
at the success of her children because of atmiyata, a feeling of oneness.
Patanjali recommends maitri for sukha (happiness or virtue). The yogi
cultivates maitri and atmiyata for the good and turns enemies into
friends, bearing malice towards none.
Karuna is not merely showing pity .or compassion and shedding tears
of despair at the misery (duhkha) of others. It is compassion coupled
with devoted action to relieve the misery of the afflicted. The yogi uses
all his resources-physical, economic, mental or moral-to alleviate the
pain and suffering of others. He shares his strength with the weak until
they become strong. He shares his courage with those that are timid until
they become brave by his example. He denies the maxim of the ‘survival
of the fittest’, but makes the weak strong enough to survive. He becomes
a shelter to one and all.
Mudita is a feeling of delight at the good work (punya) done by
another, even though he may be a rival. Through mudita, the yogi saves
himself from much heart-burning by not showing anger, hatred or
jealousy for another who has reached the desired goal which he himself
has failed to achieve.
Upeksa: It is not merely a feeling of disdain or contempt for the
person who has fallen into vice (apunya) or one of indifference or
superiority towards him. It is a searching self-examination to find out
how one would have behaved when faced with the same temptations.
It is also an examination to see how far one is responsible for the state
into which the unfortunate one has fallen and the attempt thereafter
to put him on the right path. The yogi understands the faults of others
by seeing and studying them first in himself. This self-study teaches him
to be charitable to all.
The deeper significance of the fourfold remedy of maitri, karuna,
mudita and upeksha cannot be felt by an unquiet mind. My experience
has led me to conclude that for an ordinary man or woman in any community of the world,
the way to achieve a quiet mind is to work with
determination on two of the eight stages of Yoga mentioned by
Patanjali, namely, asana and pranayama
The mind (manas) and the breath (prana) are intimately connected
and the activity or the cessation of activity of one affects the other.
Hence Patanjali recommended pranayama (rhythmic breath control) for
achieving mental equipoise and inner peace .