Patanjali’s yoga sutra 1.33 mentions
“Maitri Karuna Mudita Upekshanam Sukha Duhkha Punya Apunya Visayanam Bhavanah Cittaprasadanam “
This sutra helps us inculcate four primary virtues, that are “Maitri”- “Friendship”, “Kaurna”- “Compassion”, “Mudita”-“Joy”, and “Upekshanam”- “Indifference”.
The sutra truly defines the essence of yoga required for experiencing highest spiritual goals. For human beings, achieving peace and tranquility is a goal which needs struggle and compassion.
Thus, these four virtues are a key to restore balance in our mind and gain acceptance of any situation. These virtues are a composition of our mental peace and fundamentals of our favourable disposition.
The sutra teaches us to deal with different kinds of people and various situations in our life.
1. Maitri- Friendship towards ‘Punya and ‘Sukha’ (positive and happy) people. An acceptance for every human being, not complaining about a human and to celebrate even beautiful imperfections in humans.
2. Karuna- Compassion towards people who are ‘Apunya’ and ‘dukha’ (suffering from pain or less fortune). It develops emotional understanding and bonds with people of all sorts. Being with them and feeling their pain will also make us prone to anger and hatred.
3. Mudita- Joy towards ‘Punya’ people, or people who are positive. Being happy for another person without any self-interests is one blissful feeling. Usually, parents feel this emotional connection with their kids, they want to see them happy without any self-interests.
4. Upeksha- Indifference towards ‘Apunya’ people who are critical of you. Even if there are multiple people who are criticizing you, you should be indifferent to them. Maintaining a balance of our own mind in difficult situations is a path leading towards peaceful healing.
