Establishing ourselves within these four sublime states is not only a liberating way to live our lives, but it shows others of the possibility to live in an abundance of love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity and share these qualities with all beings, without exception and without favor.

Our attachment to our likes and aversion to our dislikes rank as the third and fourth causes of our personal and collective suffering according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Most of the decisions which we make throughout our lives are influenced from the unconscious motivation to move towards that which pleases us and retract from that which displeases us. Because these two influences are hidden from our conscious mind, they subtly rule our decisions and shape our destiny.