Be True To The Sense Of Wonder In Your Life

 

All thinking beings in this world are bound to wonder, at one time or the other, whether anything abides in this evanescent life. But not having the will to invest the passing sense of wonder with the seriousness of a persistent enquiry, the vast majority of people slip back to the routine of life. The rare ones who persist with the pursuit are the victors. Their prize, silent inner transformation of being, consciousness and bliss.

Having these passing moments of wonder, of an elevated sense of being, is part of being human. Focusing attention and realizing they are glimpses into our real nature is a gateway to a life lived with a powerful fascination of a living truth.

Back in Tiru

 

The sacred mountain Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai , Tamil Nadu, India

This picture was taken in the early 2022 while riding my scooter in the countryside around the mountain. It doesn't take long to get away from the press of people, dogs, trucks, cars and two wheelers to a calmer environment. Believe me when I say India isn't for everyone. No shame in not being able to handle it!

So what am I doing back here in 2025? It's not your typical tourist attraction although thousands of people come here each month on Full Moon day to walk the 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) around the mountain participating in the Girivalam tradition. Like them, I am here for the spiritual experience.

There is a very real and important, some would say crucial, reason for focusing in this way. Life without it is a slog, with ups and downs, wanderings and self imposed goals (or those set by others). It is a way to answer the question "Is that all there is? By no means is this easy in the sense that you can apply some method like a lotion and in 3 easy steps find the source. But for many who have come here the power is felt as living truth and is transformative. 

And so, I have returned to Tiru once more to swim in the energy and grace of it all. As I soak it all in there is a sense of recharging, of being among like minded beings. A sense of being Home.

True face of Yoga in America

During a two week stay at Arsha Vidya Gurukulum (residential center for the study of Vedanta) I was surprised to hear the usage Yoga Shastra. It meant the science of yoga. In Raja Yoga, yoga is designed to calm the mind and make it receptive. It is an analgesic, not an end. 

The skill set for teachers of yoga in America today must keep pace with distractions that are always around, including mobile devices. The mind doesn't function differently today; it seeks out the novel and changeable as is its nature.

Yoga shastra is about finding the permanent among the impermanent in any age, in any place.

The major problem in calming students minds seems to be teachers who are themselves overly attached to Asana as a vehicle for teaching Yoga. Asana is meant to illuminate the changeable and cultivate the sense of the permanent through vichar, focused attention, and more importantly through developing Viveka, discerning awareness. The first, vichar, is a process where an individual differentiates the real from the unreal (impermanent). Viveka, called the crown-jewel of awareness, is a state of mind wherein one can operate without distraction.


It is in this state of mind that awareness of the beyond, Brahman, can be present. Brahma Vidya is what can be accessed when Yoga Shastra has done it's work.

"To be born as a (hu)man, to have longing for release (from bondage) and the association with great souls - these three are difficult to obtain."

The challenge we face is to overcome, through Yoga effort, the sanskaras. It is the process of illumination of our habitual patterns that is the goal of Yoga. To see clearly, past our likes and dislikes, in order to be prepared for the depth of our true nature.


As teachers of asana, we have our own sanskaras to contend with. And these show up in our teaching. Not only in our physical but in our conveying of values and concepts.


It takes great effort and time of practice to strip ourselves bare of habitual patterns. Until that time, we should be clear to define them. Otherwise we stand the chance that our students will replicate them.


Of course, this is beyond a 200 or 500 hour, or even two year, certification program. That's why today we have a system developing of propagating sanskaras. Where people are teaching their own habituated likes and dislikes (raga and dvesa) without proper insight.


This seems to be the true face of Yoga in America.
(for another rendition of this view by Ramesh Bjonnes click here)