“Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have often
written articles attempting to dispel the obdurate popular notion that
yoga=asanas (postures.) This false notion
has been perpetrated by a number of so-called “yoga” teachers. For instance Bikram Yoga seems to be nothing
more than a series of postures practiced in a sweaty environment. It does have some value; even this fractured
fraud helps people to relieve stress.
However it isn’t real yoga.
Yoga refers to any
number of methods for reuniting our individual selves, jivatman, with the
Universal Self, Paramatman. Or as
Shankara put it, "To be free from bondage the wise person
must practice discrimination between One-Self and the ego-self. By that alone
you will become full of joy, recognizing Self as Pure Being, Consciousness and
Bliss." Of course, these are just referential terms. We can think of yoga as a means of de-hypnosis. It is a way of overcoming the illusion that
we are separate “skin-encapsulated egos.”
Staying at the
Bihar School of Yoga ashram we learned the importance of Karma Yoga. On its most basic level this means paying
attention and observing one’s thoughts and actions objectively while engaged in
daily activities. As Swami Satyananda
taught, "...When you do anything, from taking a bath to sweeping the floor
to earning your living, try not to think of when it will be finished. Enjoy
every action that you do at the time that you do it. Try to enjoy the fact that
you exist and that an expression of your existence is in your every
action."
Ahimsa or nonviolence
is an integral aspect of yoga practice.
The practice of ahimsa is not just in terms of behavior. We can refrain from violent behavior and
still harbor anger, resentment, jealousy, etc.
In this case we are only causing stress within our own systems. Even when we are able to refrain from acting
out anger for instance, we reveal it in our body language and we feel it as our
body unleashes a flood of angry hormones.
To truly practice ahimsa we have to become aware of and detach ourselves
from angry thoughts and beliefs. We have
to let go of thoughts that tell us that we are separate from others – that we
are not each equal parts of one greater being which we might call God.
Ultimately Yoga is the practice of being
Love.
