Close your eyes for a moment. Take a deep breath, and imagine the landscape of your inner world. Is it a wild, tangled thicket where you struggle to find a path? Or is it a cultivated sanctuary, where the air smells of jasmine and the light filters softly through the leaves?

In the ancient wisdom traditions of India, the mind is often compared to a field—a Kshetra. But I prefer to think of it as a garden. In this garden, the soil is composed of our memories and experiences, and buried deep within this soil lie the Samskaras.

What Are Samskaras?

Samskaras are the subtle impressions left behind by our past actions, thoughts, and intentions. They are the seeds of our karma, resting dormant beneath the surface of our conscious awareness.

To understand this, imagine walking through a tall field of grass. The first time you walk across it, you leave a faint trail of bent stems. If you walk that same path the next day, and the day after that, the grass stops growing there. The earth becomes packed down. Eventually, you have a rut—a clear, defined path that becomes the easiest route to take.

Samskaras are these psychic ruts. When we react to stress with anger, we deepen the rut of aggression. When we meet a challenge with patience, we tread the path of resilience. Some of these seeds bloom into fragrant flowers of wisdom and joy; others sprout as the tangled weeds of anxiety, addiction, or limitation.

The Art of Inner Gardening

Many of us walk through our internal gardens with our eyes closed, tripping over vines of old habits or getting scratched by the thorns of past traumas. We wonder why we feel stuck, unaware that we are subconsciously watering the very weeds that bind us.

The philosophy of Yoga and the disciplined reflection of the Stoics invite us to become conscious gardeners. This is not a passive role; it requires getting our hands dirty.

Here is how we begin the cultivation:

• Observation (The Light of Awareness): You cannot weed a garden in the dark. Through meditation and self-inquiry, we bring the sunlight of awareness to our soil. We simply look. We acknowledge, “Ah, here is a seed of jealousy,” or “Here is a sapling of kindness.” We do not judge the weed for being a weed; we simply recognize it.
• Discernment (The Pruning Shears): Once we see clearly, we must choose. This is the practice of Viveka (discrimination). We decide which plants nurture our soul and which choke our growth. We gently pull energy away from the harmful habits—starving them of attention—while pouring our focus into the habits that serve us.
• Patience ( The Seasons of Growth): In Shamanic traditions, there is a deep respect for the cycles of nature. A gardener knows you cannot scream at a flower to make it bloom faster. Transformation is organic. It requires the rain of compassion and the warmth of patience.

The Lotus in the Mud

Perhaps the most beautiful teaching of the Vedas is that even our “negative” Samskaras serve a purpose. We do not need to pave over our garden with concrete to make it perfect.

Consider the Lotus flower. It is the crowning jewel of Eastern symbolism. It does not grow in clear, sterile water. It roots itself deep in the thick, dark mud of the swamp. It takes that decomposition, that “mess,” and transmutes it into pure white petals that rise unstained above the surface.

Your struggles, your past mistakes, and your difficult patterns—this is your mud. When composted with the tools of yoga and wisdom, this very mud becomes the fertilizer for your enlightenment.

A Reflective Invitation

We are all cultivating something every single day, whether we realize it or not. Every thought is a drop of water; every action is a handful of fertilizer.

If you looked at your garden today, which seed have you been watering the most—the weed of fear, or the flower of possibility?

Deepen Your Practice

Gardening is always easier when you have a guide who knows the soil and the seasons. If you feel called to uproot old patterns and nurture the seeds of your highest self, I invite you to learn from Aroonji.

Aroonji is an experienced yoga teacher and spiritual guide, born and raised in India but having lived and worked across three continents. He bridges the gap between ancient Eastern tradition and modern Western life with rare authenticity.

He is happy to offer private sessions for groups or individuals, or you can join his existing group sessions at Yoga Sole, Fiesole.

• WhatsApp: +39-3510278911
• Email: yogafiesole@gmail.com

Step into your garden. The seeds of transformation are waiting.