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Ma Durga
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Ma Durga
by
Ma Durga
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If you were to ask someone – what is Yoga?
Immediately, the typical answer would be ‘Yoga is a physical form of exercise called asanas (postures) used to promote strength, flexibility and balance in the body’. In the modern society especially in the West, yoga has been reduced to just a physical exercise with some breathing techniques, some chanting and some meditation thrown in to create an exotic appeal. Some of the latest fads include an obsession with precision of different complex postures and a belief in the illusion that excessive loss of water in hot yoga is equivalent to a good workout. The Western society largely sees yoga as another form of stress-buster or stretching aerobic exercise. But what they are seeing are merely the side benefits of yoga. It is almost like going to a restaurant and reading the menu without tasting the food! This is so different from what Patanjali, the father of Yoga is advocating in the Yoga Sutras! The mainstream society is only able to catch the physical dimension of yoga but not the authentic body language of yoga.
Last year, one of my male students shared with me that his friend’s wife after getting into the path of yoga, left her husband and 2 kids to live with a spiritual community. The reason was she felt that the family life was holding her back on her path of evolution. His friend was terribly devastated about his wife’s extreme decision which created a negative perception of yoga and spirituality in general.
I explained to him that this was not my understanding about the path of seeking, the right knowledge is about having completion in one’s relationships and responsibilities, then he or she is free to renounce the householder life. Running away only creates more incompletion and guilt inside one’s inner space which impedes the spiritual expansion. Completion means you feeling empowered and fulfilled without any hangover in the inner space. Fundamentally, life is about completion and the power of fulfilment. Even Buddha and Mahaveera had to do their completion before their mission. This is where many people misunderstood the actions of Buddha or Mahaveera’s renunciation as a technique for enlightenment.
On Wednesday, May 1st was Labour Day, I went to volunteer at the Sree Narayana Mission Home for the Aged Sick as a part of seva (service) of Life Bliss Foundation Singapore. All the old folks were on wheelchairs as some were stroke patients or physically handicapped. In that brief few hours of spending time with these old folks, I felt a deep compassion for these people and began to question – How can more people learn the science of living a healthy life till their golden years?
As a yogi, I simply know I will exit this body gracefully when the time comes without sickness or suffering. How can I transmit this understanding of a new health consciousness to people? This gave me the impetus to share with humanity that we don’t have to settle for the current false order of society. The key is having the knowledge to create the right health consciousness and start living it.