You Can Handle The Truth But It’s Not Easy!

Sat meaning both truth and existence. This word is attached to a much larger concept, Satcitananda which translates as existence, consciousness, bliss. It is the epitome of the work we put into a yoga practice.

Let’s dig into the concept of Sat. Again, it has not just two translations, but dual meanings. Sat can mean both Truth (some of you may recognize the root of the Yama- Satya, truthfulness) and Existence (sometimes translated as Reality as well or “that which is Real or Absolute”). Those meanings are intimately tied together, and cannot be separated. The unfolding of reality before us is absolute truth.

We should take note though, our experience is tainted by the instruments of perception as well as the corrupting forces of the mind (more on those corruptions in the next post, “More Truth, More Clarity”) . That which we perceive to be an absolute truth but may be unreal for another, and therefore cannot be defined as Sat.

Take, for example, our experience of the color blue. We can never know what another sees as blue is the same blue that we experience. We do know that there is a defined wavelength that determines the color blue. So on one hand, the subjective experience cannot fall under the definition of Sat while our scientific understanding can, to a certain degree (again, instruments are fallible).

A mind that has been purified trough the austerities of yoga can experience reality for what it is. Gaining the knowledge that we cannot know absolute reality. This is why Sat, Truth, is not so easy. Our existence is but part of a larger whole that cannot be experienced through the lens of the senses, ego nor intellect. Instead a unified consciousness, with a mind at peace through meditation, can be the means to attain clarity and realize Sat.