Religious Scholar

Occasionally we encounter yoga teachers who have a different point of view. This letter is addressed to a teacher I encountered in 2007, not to the yoga teachers I have studied with for many years.  LH

Thank you for your excellent teaching, kindness and willingness to share what you have learned over many years of practice in India and in this country. However, in your recent talk with students, you made several global assertions that I would like to contest. They relate to the state of mind necessary before one should engage in the serious study of yoga, the importance of practicing asanas (postures) and the role of Mind.

You stated that one must have utterly given up on the world and be burning with intensity for Truth before taking the first step on the path to spiritual development (yoga). This is far from true. Anyone, at any stage of life, may study Yoga and Vedanta, two of the branches of Indian philosophy that have caught on in the West, Yoga using the tools of the phenomenal world to reach the highest states of consciousness and Vedanta revealing the path to unitive knowledge of the Divine.

The kind of passionate intensity, overwhelming thirst and hunger for knowledge, total despair in the ways of the world are best seen on the hate-filled faces of any mob in the world on the Evening News. While these people, driven to fanaticism and despair, certainly would make good candidates for yoga study, they are by no means the only ones. I, for one, certainly do not wish to whip myself up into a frenzy before I start on the spiritual journey.

All great spiritual paths teach the Golden Mean: everything in moderation. An attitude of quiet, detached interest is just as valuable as intense longing, and probably more likely to yield satisfying results. In fact, Yoga recognizes in two ways that there are different personality types and offers pathways suitable for each psychology.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that there are three tendencies, or gunas:

· Tamas, the inert, lazy, sluggish, heavy, dense;

· Rajas, the passionate, athletic, active, wiry, emotional;

· Sattvas, the pure, light, wholesome, transcendent.

These characteristics mingle in most of us, but we may find that one is predominant. All phenomena and creatures share these characteristics, and it makes life a merry chase indeed!

A second way Yoga addresses diversity is through the different types of Yoga. Other faith traditions also have similar pathways. Some of the major types are:

· Bhakti, the Yoga of love. Individuals in whom the heart predominates are drawn to this Yoga, which focuses on an outpouring of love toward God, humanity and all creation. In the West, we see this kind of spirituality in saints such as Teresa, the Little Flower.

· Jnana, the Yoga of knowledge. This form of Yoga appeals to the intellectual, the rationalist. Many of our atheist and agnostic friends could benefit from this rigorous and intellectually enlightening approach. It is the perfect Yoga for those who question and demand logical explanations. In the West, Thomas Aquinas is a good example of a Jnana yogi.

· Karma, the Yoga of works. People with an aptitude for social service, helping others, as well as those who find their identities in their jobs, may find this pathway a perfect means for using work (or good works) to develop a more meaningful life.  Dorothea Dix, the 19th century activist who helped the indigent insane, is a good example of a person who followed this path.

One may enter the path to understanding and personal development through any of these gateways. Zeal is not a requirement.  In a continuation of this blog entry, I will address your other assertions and may have a surprising comment to make about sexuality.