What is Sankalpa?
Sankalpa, one of the steps in Yoga Nidra practice, is a deeply transformative tool to train the mind. Sankalpa means an intention or a resolution. The Sanskrit origin of Sankalpa (resolution) comes from San, meaning "a connection with the highest truth," and Kalpa, meaning "vow." Thus, it translates to denote an affirming resolve to do something or achieve something spiritual.
It is a statement of intent that is mentally repeated at the beginning and end of practice. This is done to utilise the state of deep physical rest and high mental receptivity in the state of Yoga Nidra. It may also be repeated in the morning just before waking up, at night before drifting off to sleep, before any other meditation, or at the beginning of one’s asana practice.
Mentally repeating the Sankalpa is equivalent to sowing the seeds of change. This unique tool helps to break away from old habits or thought patterns known as Samskara. These are born out of our previous experiences and conditioning. This past conditioning could still be colouring our present experiences because of which we may not be able to get a clear and true picture of our day to day life or even our own nature. The mind has an immense power to manifest our deepest desires if we channel our energies the right way. But ever so often, it is led astray by the distracting quality of the mind and senses.
Hindu Scripture Quotes
Sri Krishna explains this in the Bhagavad Gita as,
“evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā sanstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śhatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam॥” Bhagavad Gita 3.43
- Thus knowing the soul to be superior to the material intellect, O mighty armed Arjun, subdue the self (senses, mind, and intellect) by the self (strength of the soul), and kill this formidable enemy called lust.
Sri Krishna further goes on to explain the way to do this,
“sa niścayēna yōktavyō yōgō anirviñaṇacētasā॥saṅkalpaprabhavānkāmānstyaktvā sarvānaśēṣataḥ।manasaivēndriyagrāmaṁ viniyamya samantataḥ॥”
Bhagavad Gita, 6.23, 6.24
- One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with unflinching determination and faith. Abandoning sense gratification and letting go of all attachments, one should restrain one’s senses and mind.
Sage Patanjali in Yoga Sutra states,“Tīvrasanvēgānāmāsannaḥ॥” Patanjali Yoga Sutras, 1.21
- One who is firmly established in his practices with vigor and intensity reaches his goal before long.
Sankalpa As An Effective Tool
Sankalpa acts as an effective tool to break away from past conditioning and make new changes that can take us further on the path of self-inquiry. It helps to direct our actions and thoughts in a conscious manner as opposed to the set ways in which we are used to thinking and acting. This can serve as a key to success in the material world and more importantly in one’s spiritual practice.
Case Studies on Sankalpa
According to Richard Miller, PhD, a clinical psychologist and teacher in the Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir non dual traditions, a Sankalpa arrives with everything needed to fully realize it.This includes iccha (tremendous will and energy), kriya (action), and jnana (the wisdom of how to deliver that action). “These are all aspects of the Divine, and they live within us. When the true sankalpa comes in, we awaken these three qualities of the Divine,” Miller says. “You don’t have to ask where you’ll find the will to do it. The energy and will is already there. The sankalpa informs us of the action we’re willing to take into the world.”
Recent advances in the field of Neuroscience have identified states of high receptivity, creativity and peak performance called the state of Flow. The ability to tap into this flow state has a close link with Intrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to people’s spontaneous tendencies to be curious and interested, to seek out challenges and to exercise and develop their skills and knowledge, even in the absence of operationally separable rewards. Over the past four decades experimental and field research guided by Self-Determination Theory(SDT) has found intrinsic motivation to predict enhanced learning, performance, creativity, optimal development and psychological wellness.
Flow refers to experiential states of total absorption, optimal challenge, and non-self-conscious enjoyment of an activity. Like intrinsic motivation, when people experience flow, the satisfactions they experience are inherent to the activity itself and their behavior is “autotelic”(auto = self, telos = goal) or performed for its own sake. Like SDT, flow theory emphasizes the phenomenology of intrinsic motivation.
These recent findings emphasize the link between relaxed states of mind, intrinsic motivation or iccha, the action of doing it or karma and the ways to deliver it or jnana. It becomes clear that relaxed states of being, unlock the iccha and jnana and guide the karma.
How to create your Sankalpa
- Take time to practice deep listening to yourself. Introspection can reveal one’s deepest desires that are not necessarily driven by the material world alone.
- Identify what resonates with you, what would you want to spend your energy on?
- Use positive, easy to recall words to form it into a sentence. Be sure to invest yourself in it i.e use “I”, “Me”, “My”.
- Once you set the Sankalpa, be sure to use the same words every time you repeat it. This helps to nourish the mind’s sankalpa shakti.
- However, a Sankalpa may evolve over time based on the person’s circumstances in life. So be flexible enough to alter it when the time comes.
