Likes and dislikes are not a problem || Acharya Prashant, on Yoga Sutras (2016)

Listener: Likes and dislikes are hindrances but I still have likes and dislikes.

Speaker: Let’s go into this.

‘Likes and dislikes’ and whenever it is said that likes and dislikes are hindrance or that what you like and dislike is your conditioning, the easy and immediate conclusion is drop the likes and drop the dislikes. The moment you hear the sentence saying that ‘Likes and dislikes are hindrance’, the mind quickly conclude that it is being told to get rid of likes and dislikes. Now from here, one either tries the way of renunciation or self-control or one simply says that, ‘No! I have my likes and dislikes. I want to stay with them. I don’t want to leave them.’

In either of these cases, our concern is the object that we like, “I don’t want to drop it” or “I want to drop it”. You see the difference. Do you see this? Whenever this is said that ‘Likes and dislikes are hindrance’, by likes you assume that the object that you like is being referred to. Is that not the assumption? Let’s say ‘I like orange juice’. And it is being said that ‘Likes and dislikes are hindrance’, so you assume that it is being said that the orange juice is to be dropped. Do you see this? Now you may drop the orange juice or you may say, “No! Orange juice is very dear to me and I wouldn’t drop it.” Is the statement from “Patanjali” or, from this book, “The Lover You Have Been Missing” is about the object that you like or dislike?

I repeat this question. When Patanjali or when I advise you to be cautious of the likes, to observe your likes and know them, is it the object of liking or disliking that is central to the advice? Is the whole sutra dedicated to something external to you? No! We will go into it. The one who likes is always the