Let’s face it, life is tough. It always has been, but the ancient yogis knew it would get worse. They foresaw a degradation of human life and society which they compared to a four-legged table gradually losing each of its legs. The last phase in this degradation, the one-legged table, they called “kaliyuga”.
Watch the news tonight, or take a moment to consider the almost universal slavery to consumerism. Could this be kaliyuga?
If it is, then what’s next? Can the one-legged table ever be repaired?
Well, the goodies could try to change the world by donating to charity, re-using their shopping bags and voting for friendly looking presidents, hoping this will outweigh all the bad stuff the baddies do.
Or, we could come to terms with the fact that the imbalance we all see around us only reflects the imbalance inside each one of us.
Change can only come from the inside. And yes, I do believe that you can do much more for the present and future of humanity by staying at home and working on your inner imbalance, than by flying half way across the world to pull earthquake victims out from under the rubble (although that must be done too of course).
Rumour has it that something’s coming. The wise men of Hollywood would have us visualise all sorts of terrible catastrophes during this much murmured year: 2012. But many, many other sources suggest an imminent evolution in consciousness, a leap of humanity which will not be easy to take, but which will truly mean a changed world.
So the ancient yogis knew life was tough, and they predicted kaliyuga – its toughest stage.
And this is why I cannot accept that they worked out such powerful ways to work on the body, mind and breath, just so that when
we got a bit too stressed we could stretch into some aesthetic position and relax (possibly posing for a photo if we’ve been doing it for a few years).
There is way more to yoga. The ancient yogis knew life would get tougher, and they knew the only change would come from the
inside. So yes, let’s practise postures. Yes, let’s practise breathing exercises. Yes, let’s
chant and meditate. But on one condition: Yoga is about connecting with our consciousness and letting it guide us no matter what. In today’s context this is, ultimately, the only coherent aim of practice.
Marc
