Yoga Lessons Off The Mat Series-1

Patanjali at the Registrar’s Office

How paperwork, grief, and bank visits became a lesson in the five kleshas

I am always amazed by how many lessons yoga teaches me off the mat.

Though, to be honest, my inflexible body would currently appreciate a few more lessons on the mat. Menopause, sciatica, and prolonged sitting have ensured that touching my toes in the right way still remains an aspirational goal.

This lesson arrived the other day.

I am back at my mother’s place for a while.

And, as always, lessons seem to be waiting for me there, revealing themselves unexpectedly, rather like those 24 contact lenses hidden in a patient’s eye that became a news story.

These days, my brother and I have also become errand runners, document hunters, amateur legal experts, part-time detectives, and full-time xeroxers as we try to transfer my father’s mutual funds and shares to my mother.

One particular company has humbled me so thoroughly that I could probably perform a full 360-degree bend in gratitude.(sashtang dandwat in two angles)

Over three months, we submitted document after document.

Death certificate.

PAN card.

Aadhaar card.

Photographs.

Affidavits.

Yoga off the mat-created by author using chatgpt

Declarations stating that my father had only one family and no secret second household hidden somewhere. Apparently, some Bollywood plots are not so far from truth.

Just when we thought we were done, another email would arrive.

❌“You filled Form A incorrectly.”

☑️Fine. Refill Form A.

“❌Your mother’s signature does not match.”

☑️Fine. Obtain a doctor’s certificate explaining age-related changes.

Done.

Then came the latest request.

“We require bank statements from 2020 to 2023 showing that dividends were encashed.”

At that point, I mentally and physically laid down on the floor.🤯😒

And then I remembered something I had once written about the Yoga Sutras.

More specifically, the five kleshas — the causes of suffering.

Apparently, they had all come to attend this paperwork session.

Avidya: Ignorance

Forgetting the nature of reality.

In this case, forgetting that banks, registrars, financial institutions, and paperwork have their own mysterious universe of rules.

I thought logic would prevail.

The paperwork gods disagreed.

Lesson learned.

Asmita: Ego

The belief that everything should happen according to our expectations.

No, I am not “Dr. Radha, MBBS, MD” in these offices.

I am simply a grieving daughter trying to complete paperwork left unfinished after her father’s death.

The ego had to stay outside the bank.

Raga: Attachment

Attachment to outcomes.

My father worked hard for his savings.

Naturally, I wanted everything settled quickly.

But yoga gently reminds us:

Do the work.

Let go of the timeline.

Dvesha:Aversion

Wanting to avoid discomfort.

Unfortunately, every phone call, every form, every branch visit, and every missing document seemed designed to test this principle.

There was no shortcut through the process.

Only through it.

Abhinivesha: Fear

Usually described as fear of death.

But sometimes it is the fear of letting go.

The fear that things won’t work out.

The fear that we are carrying too much.

The fear that we are not capable of handling what life has placed before us.

And perhaps the fear of surrendering control.

Because the truth is, I cannot force the process.

I can only participate in it.

By the time I finished reflecting on all this, I realized something.

I am still very far from enlightenment.

My mind is not yet still.

My reactions are not always calm.

My patience certainly has room for improvement.

So before I start imagining myself approaching samadhi, I should probably return to the very beginning.

Back to Yoga Sutra 1.Yogas Chitta Vrddhi Nirodaha

Back to practice.

Back to showing up.

Back to learning.

Sometimes the greatest yoga lessons are not found in a perfect posture.

Sometimes they are found in a bank queue, holding a file of documents, trying very hard not to lose your mind.

Thanks for reading.

The Contact lenses story can be accessed here

[embed]Did You Know… Doctors Found 24 Contact Lenses Hiding Inside A Woman’s Eye? A routine eye check turned into one of the strangest medical discoveries in recent memory.medium.com