degrees of intensity

                            

Each of Patanjali's sutras is like a pearl, strung together to create a mala, or necklace, of wisdaom. So, each of these sutras, these sentences, also relates to the one before, and the one following. And it is the same with sutra 1:22:

three degrees of eagerness/intensity

These degrees are mild, medium, and strong. What are they referring to? We can look at this in context of the preceding sutra about eagerness. When this eagerness is strong, the spiritual growth is greatly accelerated. I have found, personally, that when the desire for The Divine is very intense, it is like being on a speeding train; and nothing can stop this desire, nor the fruits of it.

So, it makes sense that a mild, or a medium, degree of eagerness, gives lesser results. And this is fine. For it is a journey, and on all journeys, there are stops along the way. As long as a degree of eagerness is present, the results will still come. Just not as fast as a more intense eagerness.

Some feel that this sutra relates to the practices of yoga, and the intensity with which they are practiced. I do not believe that this is what sutra 1:22 is about.

Personally I can attest that one can still have amazing progress during the times when one can not practice so strongly. As long as you are eager for the next stage, eager to know what lies in store for you spiritually, things will keep happening.

how the fruits of your intensity keep the results coming:

The keys to this are:

• eagerness, preferably intense
• having a strong pranic sheath (pranamaya kosha), and strong spiritual energy.  It takes about three months of doing no spiritual practices for both of these to diminish. They won't disappear. They will just be "much less". Restoring them both to previous levels does not take much time.
• a daily practice which maintains the subtle body, which is where our pranamaya sheath, mental sheath, and the astral sheath where the chakras and kundalini, are housed. This need not be a long practice, nor is it reliant on physical prowess, but it is more effective if it is geared towards maintaining the spiritual rewards
• being as regular as possible with whatever practices you are doing

how regularity helps

We can liken the spiritual energy to a fire. It may take a while to get the fire lit, and it may only be a little fire to start with. Keep this little flame burning with your practices, and something happens.  We could liken it to when we throw a log onto a fire before we go to bed. At some point during the night, that log will ignite and rev up the fire. Similarly, with our practices, whatever they may be, we light a small inner fire, like a spark, within our subtle body. This extends to our whole psyche. Just as a fire warms whatever is near to it, so the effects of this little spark extends to our whole being. To all of our layers. If we keep this little spark alive, at some point, it will be like that log on the fire: it will flare up and create a deeper awakening. And it is this process of keeping the inner fire alive, and the "big log" affect, that allows us to grow in increments.

It is exactly the same with eagerness. Keep it alive, keep that yearning constant, and the Big Spiritual experiences will come.