YOGA AND WORLD PEACE by Christopher Gladwell
Has there ever been a time when this world has evidenced global peace?
Has world peace ever been more than an idealist’s fantasy, more than a fond dream,
more than some vague memory of a utopian golden age? Searching through world history,
a celebration and parade of psychopathic male leaders, revelling in their capacities
for power over other beings and in unadulterated brutality seems to prevail. The
current pinnacle of civilisation is a globally dominant superpower possessing awesome
weapons of mass destruction. The rise of the industrial and military powers is paralleled
by the economic dominance of global corporations, whose control over resources and
whose power to manipulate and coerce, exceeds that of many nations.
However the rise of economic and technological sophistication does not readily seem
equated with a rise in the ethical awareness of such powers to concern themselves
with the quality of life on this planet for anything but a very small percentage
of its citizens.
This rise of what we call civilisation is riddled with, and may even be, as a consequence
of an endless succession of violent and bloody wars. Our species has proliferated
itself across the face of this planet creating huge urban centres with populations
of between 10-20 million people, where half the planetary population of six billion
now live. Of this population one billion are at risk of starvation, another quarter
of these have insufficient food and inadequate water supplies and medical services.
Economic gain and political allegiances motivate many wars and prevent the resolution
of the crises of human suffering caused by the lack of these basic needs, whilst
leaders of the more ‘advanced’ nations authorise the spending of billions of units
of currency on the research, manufacture and use of formidable weapons.
Dubious political process and mass manipulation by the interconnected interests of
the military industrial corporate-political power groupings seem commonplace.
These groups through their various media interests and their skilful use of linguistics
and ‘spin’, aim to control and manipulate the mass of planetary citizens.
Meanwhile the exquisitely beautiful and delicate living web that supports our life
as we journey through space and time is undergoing massive destruction from the same
vested interests as they strive to increase their wealth and power. Our oceans and
skies become more toxic, the land and watercourses poisoned as we successfully decimate
species diversity and the fragile ecosystems that our own survival depends on.
Many who suffer from violence on this planet are women, children and the frail or
vulnerable. Most of the perpetrators are male. The aggressive, destructive perhaps
psychologically damaged male has been elevated to idol status and is celebrated in
western media in endless repetitions of good guy versus bad guy scenarios. Maybe
it is through the male that the self destructive aspect of a deeply unsustainable
society is presenting itself? Maybe it is an expose of the state of the male psyche,
addled in testosterone and unable to find meaningful challenges with which to engage?
As a species we seem to stumble from crisis to catastrophe, with ever greater disasters
presenting on our collective horizon. This perhaps cynical perspective misses the
profound and touching achievements of human creativity, spirit, and beauty. It ignores
the incredible and beautiful acts of love, compassion and ordinary kindness that
are carried out every day. The exhibition of intraspecific violence and brutality
as well as interspecific violence perpetrated by our species is however second to
none. Until such time as we can actually accept that truth, we stand little chance
of allowing any change. Just like the alcoholic who needs to see and say that they
are alcoholic, so we as individuals and as a species need to see and speak the truth
of our own violent past and present, such that our future can even effectively occur,
let alone be one of increasing peace and real civilisation.
Peace is identified in the etymological dictionary as an accord or agreement, a covenant,
also as tranquillity. The covenant between body, mind and heart is a first step to
peace.
It is our division and separation between body and mind and heart that allows us
to act with brutality and violence.
The separation of mind and the versions of self we create, and the reality of our
physical needs is the first step to denying and disrespecting others’ needs. The
ego as a self-construct also denies and projects any part of being that does not
accord with its version of self. The reclaiming of projection and the peace thus
begun between ego and shadow is the next step to peace.
It is also our capacity to separate from the truths of the heart, from our own fragility
and vulnerability that creates psycho-physical armour in an endeavour to protect
us from the impermanence of this life, thus becoming hardhearted to both ourselves
and others.
Peace is also the recognition of the continuity and connection between all lives.
Intellectually grasped but unincorporated, we can momentarily touch into this experience.
We can perhaps feel it in some glorious place in nature, but does that feeling stay
as we move through some inner city environment with all of its challenges?
From the unity of mind-heart-body with full ego-shadow awareness and then acceptance,
comes the possibility of beginning to feel and celebrate in ourselves the impermanent
and ever changing flow of life.
One of the most rigorous and disciplined psycho physiological practices to allow
for the unity of body-mind is Yogasana.
Although Yogasanas can also work much deeper than this process of initial body-mind
unity, these practices change structure and alter biochemical and physiological function.
Tension patterns and armouring rooted in experiences of fear and separation, contraction
and tightness from physical misuse and weakness from physical inactivity are all
addressed.
Alignment in physical structure allowing more effective use also means that length,
space and openness is created throughout the structure that allows elemental freedom
for fluid and matter.
Alignment creates new postural patterns that allow for a vital, new perspective on
the world. The letting go of fear based patterns and the body rooted emotional content
of these allow for a new way of responding to events and situations in life, more
from a perspective of choice, and perhaps kindness than from a fear based reaction.
Allowing clear and nourishing flow of nutrients throughout the neural system, improves
neural dynamics allowing a radical shift in awareness as we access a fully functional
neural capacity.
The transformation of respiration that occurs from improved posture and more effective
breath, allow for better oxygenation, greater mental clarity, and improved stress
response. Shallower more anxious breath drops one into the stress response and its
more reactive, rather than creative, capacity to respond. Reactive response arises
from old patterns. Space created by the breath and relaxation response, allows new
neurological responses from a place of relative ease, clarity and greater creativity.
Through practice awareness is drawn deeper into our physical being, into the vulnerable
and sensitive core that includes genitals, belly, heart, throat and head. Armouring
patterns deep within begin to release, no longer being useful strategies. As we more
readily notice the hardhearted psychophysical prisons we create for ourselves (and
call reality), we see how they prevent us from really loving and being loved. From
kindness for our own being we can begin to develop awareness of and kindness towards
others. Instead of condemning them, we may now ask ourselves the questions, what
is the pain or damage?, what is the self hatred that has to exist?, what unskillful
choices have to be made for that behaviour to manifest? This movement of understanding
is a movement towards peace.
Being aware of, accepting, honouring and through this, loving (but not falling in
love with) these shadow patterns, the demons come to rest. The bright ego and the
dark shadow make peace.
As I watch, a bead of sweat falls from the tip of my nose to the mat below. I can
begin to laugh at the foolishness of identity. This droplet was but a moment ago
a part of the psychophysical complex I call me. I can extrapolate and see the flow
of minerals and elemental earth in the same way. I can begin to wonder what is there
about this being, me, that is not changing or compounded. What is there that is permanent
or deeply real?
As I get out my mat and do my practice on a daily basis, there is no one there but
me. No one to blame, no one to project onto, there is only me. It is here that things
begin to change and here that I glimpse the sweet taste of freedom and peace. I want
more!
Desire for freedom and peace drives us forward to find answers, because the world
as it is cannot offer us any deep answers to the question of identity or of reality.
Beyond this one life as a chemical soup with no purpose but to make more chemical
soup, amass as much material possessions as possible and then die, our scientific
wisdom has nothing to offer in the way of answers.
Yogic practices of understanding the flow of ‘life-energy’ or prana as the Sanskrit
name describes it, chi as the Chinese call it, lead deeper into the concept of ‘being’
as rather more than just chemical soup.
Practices of extending and moving prana through the body and later beyond the body
(prana vidya), engage one in the field of being, the energy matrix in which all things
move and which moves all things.
Deeper experiential understanding of this level of being also deepens awareness of
the connection and flow between all beings.
Yoga in its form as Ha-tha, as the synergy of the outgoing, masculine solar energy
and the receptive, feminine lunar energy is the harmonisation of effort and softness.
This balance occurs in each individual as a result of practice and is reflected in
all the levels of being, physical, emotional, mental, energetic and causal. This
balance is the antidote for the unbalanced and polarised male energy that can pathologically
manifest through the warfare and destruction common in our collective history.
Male and female find their energies balanced through the practices of Hatha yoga,
leading to each individual then capable of behaving as a full human being, instead
of merely occupying, in an unbalanced way, one end of a polarity. Through all these
practices there are moments when the ego construct loses hold briefly and these peak
moments of awareness allow deep insight into the unity of life and the unity of the
flow that is life. With regular awareness practice combined with a choicelessness
of outcome, and thus an allowing state, not grasping this or that, then the ego construct
becomes more and more transparent. Inquiry into the primordial koan ‘Who am I?’ along
with awareness of who is asking anyway? Pursue deeper the question of identity. Linked
with kindness practices of whatever school it is that one follows, kindness to one’s
own being and kindness to other beings, leads towards deeper unity of body, sensation,
emotion, thought, heart, energetic existence and awareness. Identity as a consequence
no longer lodges in these realms as they are perceived as too insubstantial, but
lies deeper.
Real inner relationship develops and so then can real outer relationship or maybe
even relationship develop. Relating to oneself and other beings in this moment, with
more awareness of how things really are is profoundly powerful.
While no longer dragging in torrents of traumatic experiences, remnants of unmet
needs, or residues of deep societal conditioning, into relationship we can begin
to experience a sense of freedom.
Spirituality then becomes not so much a collection of practices and techniques, nor
exotic mind trips into exotic realms and possibilities, nor a catalogue of rituals
but a process of deepening authentic connection and relationship with all of life,
with all beings.
The endless interplay and elemental flow of earth, water, air, space and fire.
The seamless flow of life from form to form, generation to generation.
The flow of prana that moves through all things.
The vortex of mind with its chattering patterns and conditioned beliefs, and deeper
than this cerebral buzz we touch the pulse the rhythm of all life ever changing ever
flowing as we reach deeper into the original goodness of our true nature. All of
life as endless flow into and out of form, this form, that form. Everything dies
and decays. What is not compounded? What does not change? Is there anything that
does not have these characteristics? These questions lead one into meditation, to
develop the inner eye of contemplation. In the stillness arises, peacefulness, deep
joy, even bliss can be found. Chasing these states, however, once again leads us
into discontent, away from peace.
Regular practice and the cultivation of choiceless awareness leads us more and more
to develop the capacity to effectively separate skilled inner choices from less skilled
inner choices. The skilled choices lead us to deeper happiness and joy without us
chasing or seeking. We are led to them because that is a facet of who we really are.
The real holy war (the original meaning of jihad) is to sustain awareness of the
moment by moment inner choices to support the development of inner freedom or to
choose the delusion of conditioned belief and separation.
The wisdom of discrimination is to continually choose to allow the real and original
goodness of the nature of being to shine forth. This holy war is to continually stand
back, I cannot do good, cannot do peace, cannot do love! In allowing the natural
goodness of peace, joy, love and wisdom to shine forth there is absolutely nothing
to do.
Longing for a world of beauty, justice, freedom and abundance is a deep felt dream
arising from the hearts of many humans throughout time. Longing for a world where
children can reach their full potential, physically, educationally, creatively, emotionally,
psychologically and spiritually. Potential that is not limited by the current political
paradigm or current dominant belief structure. Potential that is not dependent on
the geography of one’s birth.
Potential that is not shattered by the violent uprisings of ancient feuds or tribal
allegiances, however reflected through contemporary modern political and corporate
institutions.
However the rhetoric of politicians pursuing policies of personal gain seems to grow
ever more prevalent. Our fragile biosphere becomes ever more endangered by the flood
of toxins and ecologically unsustainable practices that continue unchecked in any
profoundly real way. Tides of war and social injustice continue to spread across
the planet. The Sanskrit word Shanti has a profound meaning of ‘peace that passeth
all understanding’.
Peace has an aspect that is the pole of a duality, peace as the opposite of war,
and an aspect that is ‘deep peace’ a transcendent state beyond duality. Peace as
a core state that is deep in the universe and the human heart as a unity or accord
or perhaps harmony at the heart of life itself.
Peace is not a thing to be measured or seen except by its results, neither is peace
a product to be manufactured or bought. Peace is a process or a state of being.
In the absence of armed conflict, in a place of plenty, human beings can and do still
live in deep inner turmoil and pain. Shanti then is needed as the peace beyond our
verbal capacities to summate and classify, as part of that which pervades and runs
through every moment and event, a possibility waiting to germinate, part of the process
of being. This deep peace grows from the unity of bodimind- heart-spirit (spirit
as the deepening awareness of connection and relationship between all beings). This
is Yoga, from this perspective there is only peace, ironically even within conflict.
It is however; better to live in harmony with the biosphere and the planet.
It is better to live with negotiation and dialogue and allow enemies to become neighbours
than to live in perpetual conflict. It is better to develop awareness of common ground
and common purpose and resolve strife to friendship and mutual respect. It is better
to celebrate diversity than prosecute it with prejudice.
These choices arise out of our natural state of original goodness, this state is
Yoga.
Yoga allows deep awareness of the play of energy and matter, the play of shadow and
light, the play of the changing arising from the changeless.
Peace arises out of this capacity to hold paradox and just be with it, rather than
falling to one side of an apparent, but delusory, duality and thus fuelling conflict.
World peace arises in our hearts with every beat and every moment. World peace dies
with every choice we make to actively harm the spontaneous arising of the play of
already existent enlightenment sparkling through all beings, change arising from
the changeless.
Becoming comfortable with change, living easily in the fourth dimension of change
(as measured by time) requires choiceless awareness and yet also wise choices! This
is the awareness of the ground of being whilst making skilful choices in the field
of the changeful that lead to one’s own and thus also all beings true happiness,
peace and enlightenment. Choiceless awareness and the wisdom of appropriate choice
arise out of the aware heart and mind that themselves grow out of the manifold awareness
practices of the many schools of Yoga. Yoga is the release of patterns, the cure
for the poison of conditioned existence.
The poison that traps and binds us into attachments to identities with aspects of
polarised being, that can only lead to conflict internally and war externally.
Yoga is Peace as Peace is Yoga. Without Yoga there can be no world peace.
Like the one who called himself ‘awake’ is reputed to have said, “There is no way
to Peace, there is no way to Happiness and there is no way to Love, for Peace, Happiness
and love are the way.”
Christopher Gladwell
AHIMSA: NON-VIOLENCE; REFRAINING FROM DOING INJURY by Swami Saradananda
“When you are firmly established in non-violence, hostility vanishes in your presence”.
- Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.34
Ahimsa is THE ultimate weapon of yogis. Patañjali put non-violence first in his list
of ethical principles (yamas and niyamas); he seems to regard it as the foremost
discipline for anyone on the spiritual path. Ahimsa develops an attitude of harmlessness
that is best expressed as cosmic love, forgiveness, and refraining from doing injury,
whether physical, mental or emotional.
The practice of ahimsa enables you to abstain from doing harm with your mind, mouth
or hand. It assists you in developing an attitude of reverence and compassion for
all beings, animate and inanimate. Ahimsa encourages you to actively advocate the
full expression of the life force within all beings. For example: a person who practices
ahimsa would refrain from killing another person’s joy.
In his commentary on the Yoga Sutras, the ancient sage Vyasa defined ahimsa as "the
absence of injuriousness toward all living beings in all respects and at all times."
He noted that a person engaged in the true practice of ahimsa would be freed from
all enmity.
Violence includes showing contempt, entertaining unreasonable dislike for or prejudice
towards anybody, frowning at a person, hating another, verbally abusing someone,
speaking ill of others, gossiping, backbiting, vilifying or ruining a person’s reputation.
All harsh and rude speech is violence. Wounding the feelings of others by gesture,
body language, expression, tone of voice and/or unkind words is also violence. Slighting
a person, or showing deliberate discourtesy, is a wanton display of violence. To
approve of another's harsh actions is indirect violence. To fail to relieve another
person's pain, or even to neglect someone in distress, is violence by the sin of
omission.
Ahimsa is not cowardice; it is strength and wisdom. To practice the spirit of ahimsa
you may have to put up with insults, rebukes, criticisms and sometimes even assaults.
Never retaliate nor wish to offend anybody even under extreme provocation. Don’t
entertain negative thoughts against anybody nor harbour anger. Don’t curse or use
negative language.
Ahimsa is the acme of bravery; it is not possible without fearlessness. Non-violence
cannot be practiced by weak people. Ahimsa is difficult if you are a person who has
no power of resistance or endurance. Ahimsa is the perfection of forgiveness.
Some suggestions for integrating the practice of Ahimsa into your daily life:
Gradually introduce the practice of Ahimsa, keeping in mind that it is extremely
difficult to control negative thoughts without controlling your body first.
After gaining control of your body, strive to control your speech. Do not utter negative
or harsh words. Do not curse, use foul language or verbally censure. Each morning,
make a strong determination, "I will not speak any harsh word to anybody today".
Think before you speak and try to re-phrase your comments in non-hurtful ways. You
may find it helpful to practice mouna (silence) for an hour daily. If someone is
rude, say to yourself: "Let me excuse him".
Finally check your thoughts. Never even think of injuring anyone. One Self dwells
in all. By injuring another, you injure your own Self. Try to see your own Self in
all beings. This will promote your practice of ahimsa.
Become more aware of how you may be harming yourself. Begin to reduce and then stop
your self-harming practices – whether it is indulging in recreational drugs, alcohol,
cigarettes, over-eating, over-work, over-doing physical practice or self-critical
thought patterns.
If you are a perfectionist who never seems to fulfil your own expectations, be aware
of how you may be hurting yourself by being unnecessarily judgemental.
If there is a particular person, with whom you are experiencing particular difficulties,
use that person as a means to practice ahimsa in the highest sense. Until you are
able to love the person who does you injury, you will find it difficult to reach
the deepest states of meditation. Your own negative feelings will always stand in
your way. By practising ahimsa, you begin to transform your aggressive nature.
Make your diet more non-violent; most practising yogis are vegetarian.
All animals cling to life and feel fear as their violent death approaches. Adrenaline
and the fear felt by the animal goes into the meat and then into your system when
you consume the meat. Meat eating causes physical disorders within your body and
a double violence is created. Not only has ahimsa been violated by the killing the
animal, but you have physically harmed yourself. Your entire being: body, mind and
emotions tend to be affected.
Start a Journal. Write each question that you choose to work with on the top of a
separate page. Sit for at least 10 minutes daily (the best time is just after your
meditation) and write whatever comes to mind – don’t be your own editor – just write!
Here are some suggested questions; some of them may not be relevant to your life.
You may choose to use other questions that you feel are more relevant to your life.
Do I make hurtful jokes? For example, would I make a joke about my partner’s expanding
waistline – or comment in public about his receding hairline?
Am I prone to making cutting remarks?
If someone hurts me do I tend to be defensive and “hit” back – either mentally or
verbally?
Do I allow others to hurt me by not setting proper boundaries?
Do I wish ill to others?
Am I able to rejoice when people are more successful than I am?
Do I feel sincere compassion for those in trouble?
Am I in the habit of to passing judgements on the behaviour of myself and/or others?
Notice how the opportunity to practice ahimsa arises daily. Regular practice strengthens
your resolve and dedication to yoga.
A SHORT MEDITATION ON SATYA, AHIMSA, SVADHYAYA by Pete Yates
Patanjali's yamas and niyamas are very frequently interpreted as moral imperatives
of a similar character to the 'Ten Commandments'. This is not surprising: there is
indeed a resemblance. (Yoga Sutra 2.30 – 2.45)
However, there is a far more fruitful way of understanding the yamas and niyamas
and I'd like to illustrate it here with reference to the yamas satya and ahimsa and
the niyama svadhyaya, and particularly to suggest how these three can work harmoniously
together.
Patanjali's recommendation of satya, literally 'truthfulness', is usually construed
as being an exhortation to tell the truth to others. Ahimsa, literally 'non-harming',
is similarly thought to be other-directed: one should do no harm to others, perhaps
'turning the other cheek' or becoming a vegetarian. Svadhyaya, literally 'own-study',
is also often considered by commentators to be outwardly focused: one should read
and/or recite the scriptures diligently.
No doubt it can be argued cogently that there is some practical value to the yogi,
not to mention to society at large, in such other-directed, outwardly focused applications
of yama/niyama. But when seen as self-directed, or inwardly focused, (i.e. as particulars
of pratyahara), yama/niyama reveal themselves as immensely powerful pointers to
our intrinsic wholeness.
Satya, when self-directed, is nothing less than a ruthless honesty about ourselves.
And it is ruthless, not in any aggressive sense, but because there can be no partial
satya. This in turn means that when we look inwards truthfully, we are radically
open to finding whatever is there in our inner universe, whatever character it might
have. So, the practice of satya cannot be one of denial or repression or moral self-condemnation,
or moral self-congratulation. Rather, in its necessary completeness, it must be a
simple, innocent, clear-sighted finding out of what our inner universe is like. What
is required for this discipline is a willingness to encounter what actually is.
Inwardly focused svadhyaya is best seen as 'self-study' rather than 'own study'.
(Sva commonly means 'own' but also has the sense of 'one's self , the Ego , the
human soul' [Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon].) What is being studied in this inwardly
focused svadhyaya are human life and human consciousness themselves, as we are most
closely acquainted with them. This self-study seems eminently practical, indeed necessary,
if we are to confirm or dis-confirm the alluring rumour that some beatitude lurks
within us and if, like Patanjali, we have considerable trust in direct experience.
Svadhyaya, looked at like this, is impossible without a commitment to satya. If we
study ourselves without abandoning the very human tendency to find what we want to
find rather than what actually is, we are hardly studying at all. Rather we are indulging
in wish fulfilment fantasy.
Of course, what we actually find may be rather shocking. Human beings are beautiful,
clever, inventive, loving, and creative creatures. They are also torturing, hateful,
murderous, manipulative, cruel and mendacious. And if you look coolly at yourself
you will find all of these potentialities within you, the angelic and the demonic.
And simply because you are human.
An almost universal reaction to encountering one's demonic possibilities is a kind
of remorse of conscience and a consequent desire to conform to some positive ideal.
It's not an exaggeration to say that very many religious practices originate from
and are motivated by that desire. Yoga itself is often construed as just such a project
of making oneself conform to some ideal of goodness or saintliness and the resemblance
of the yamas/niyamas to religious ethical injunctions compounds that construal.
However, to stop at that point is premature. Satya insists that we press further
with our looking. The impulse to self-condemnation and the resultant programmes of
'self-improvement' or 'self-perfection' also demand to be examined.
What do we find when we look clearly at these phenomena? Many things jump out, but
here I want to concentrate on one particular. What jumps out is that our impulses
to self-condemnation and self-improvement are contingent upon our biography and consequently
suffused with the cultural ideals, prohibitions and conceptual structures in which
one has been immersed and which were actively impressed upon one at a formative age.
In Patanjali's terms, they have the character of chitta vritti, or more or less fixed,
repetitive patterns of thought and feeling acquired in the past (Yoga Sutra 1.1
– 1.4).
There are many ramifications of this discovery. The most important is that any attempt
to attribute metaphysical significance or absolute status to one's ethical promptings
is highly suspicious. This is for many people quite frightening since it removes
the basis for being unequivocally compelled by such promptings and seems to invite
a ruderless state.
If a consciousness intent upon satya comes to this point, it is faced with a profound
dilemma. On the one hand, we do not wish to succumb to our evil potentialities. On
the other hand, that very wish reveals itself as guaranteed by nothing more than
some second-hand, culturally determined narratives.
What almost always happens at this point is that the grip of conscience prevails.
This goes for so-called spiritual cultures as well as individuals. By and large spiritual
cultures fudge the issue of the relative nature of their injunctions and remain haunted
by dreams of perfection as measured against some ultimately arbitrary standard.
The result is that practitioners who fall for this fudge, whether through their own
baulking at the dilemma, or through the promptings of their teachers, become future-oriented
in their practice. Consciousness is subtly (or not so subtly) dominated by a goal
rather than what is actually unfolding immediately, in the moment. This type of practitioner's
self-understanding is that of a being on a 'path' or attempting a difficult assault
on a metaphorical mountain peak. The mode of practice then becomes one of 'doing',
manipulating, cultivating. The practitioner's psyche remains structured by the very
structure it would seek to be free of, and because of that very seeking. (I call
this syndrome 'asceticism'.)
Under these conditions, satya is impossible since it is concerned with what is and
not with some ideal we would like to realise one day. The future-directedness of
asceticism directly subverts the project of satya even though it is satya which intensifies
the invitation to asceticism.
At its worst, asceticism not only subverts satya and svadhyaya in the way just outlined,
but actually becomes morbid. The shock of seeing ourselves warts and all easily leads
to self-punishment, guilt, depression and feelings of worthlessness. It can even
lead as far as self-mutilation, self-inflicted physical torment, unhealthy self-abnegation
before someone imagined to be super-naturally powerful, extreme regulation of the
natural appetites, the more painful the better, and a whole host of other pathologies.
The apogee of this trajectory is hatred of life-itself and the condemnation of life
that is a prominent feature of many religious discourses is its fruit.
Fortunately, one doesn't have to get stuck in this blind alley and to help us avoid
it Patanjali dangles the notion of ahmisa before us.
Ahimsa literally means 'non-harming'. In this context, it is a practice of non-aggression
towards ourselves. The temptations to engage in asceticism because our conditioning
is making us feel bad about our potentialities is immediately undercut by a resolve
to be gentle and forgiving with ourselves and the immediacy of satya can then remains
undisturbed by future-oriented, goal directed, guilt-fuelled attitudes. Then, what
is, whatever is, can emerge in its nakedness into the field of consciousness.
What's the point of this though? Because it is in this isness that the not-so-secret
blessings of Yoga are only apparently hidden.
To find out more about Pete’s work go to www.heartyoga.co.uk
ARTICLES JUNE 2009
