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Sri Humananda "Let your body and your mind be turned into an inanimate object of nature like a piece of stone or wood. When a state of perfect oceanlessness and un-awareness is obtained, all the signs of life will depart and also every trace of limitations will vanish. Not a single idea will stir your consciousness. When lo! All of a sudden you will realize a light abounding in full gladness and joy. It is like coming across a light in the pitch of
darkness. It is like receiving a treasure in poverty. So light, so easy, so free are you."
Defer To Learn? Most of my friends on this site have some interest in yoga. Many of them teach yoga. I have spoken with some of them and others who teach, and they concur that as a yoga teacher one has to constantly manage any disequilibrium between the teacher and the seeker brought about by deference from the seeker. The proper dismantling of disequilibrium is crucial for learning and true communication to take place. I find it regrettable when I hear that a seeker feels me so "qualified" that they defer to me and my being, and that they do this by lowering themselves or conversely, placing me "above" them somehow. I have even heard that some seekers feel intimidated to discuss yoga with me even when they really want to, purely because of this disequilibrium. In almost all interaction with seekers – really with all people – I am aware of the possibility of disequilibrium and work to counter it if it should appear. Personally, it is one of the most terrible feelings for me because instantly all true communication is prevented, all learning is hampered, and our discussions are usually then steered away from important life items to the mundane, where I am once again considered by them to be equal to them, and where they then feel comfortable once more. I surmise that the reasons for the creation of such disequilibrium may be because of the outer world setup. For example, if you want to learn about mathematics, you would go to a math professor to teach you. For both the "learning" of yoga and the learning of math, most aspects are similar except for the point of deference. For instance, before you go and learn math, you have to have a desire to learn it, maybe for a number of "reasons" either inner or outer or both. You have to "go" to the teacher (the classroom) and sit down and prepare to absorb (be quiet and listen). One has to be empty of preconceived ideas and opinions and open your mind for receiving the information, otherwise there can be no absorption of the material. But when the material is processed over time it is converted into knowledge, and then you know math. Everything is sort of the same with the "learning" of yoga. You must have a desire (seen as a prerequisite) to learn. You would approach a yogi (or teacher of yoga) and, as the word "Upanishad" reflects, to "come and sit down near" a teacher, empty yourself of preconceived ideas and notions, prepare to absorb the teachings and over time process them into Knowledge. But, I think, here is the difference: The professor is also seen with some high regard (mostly), and this high regard is seen by some to be a valuable aspect to the learning process. The professor is admired and respected because he or she is seen to be "giving" something over to you that you desire, and which, after you have obtained, will be good for you and your life further on. As a willing sacrifice you may even stand in line to get his autograph in his book that you bought. This same deference, to some extent or another holds true for all those people who teach us about things that are intricate, and seen by us as desirable and of great value, and that we want to learn about for the sake of our happiness, and that is fine, but it should not hold true for yoga. The beauty of yoga is that it is the great equalizer, because yoga is not about the teacher, but about you. In the deepest sense, the less inner involvement you have with the teacher, the better off you will be, because then you will be busy with your Self rather than with the teacher, which is the whole goal and purpose of yoga to start out with. It is really not about the teacher as much as what it is about the teaching, and it is really not as much about the teaching as it is about the learning, and it is really not as much about the learning as it is about the absorption, and in the final analysis, it is really not as much about the absorption as it is about You, because in the end that is what yoga is all about. If you are seeing your teacher of yoga as "higher" or anything related like that, then you are complicating things for the "teacher" and you are pretty much obstructing yourself from learning anything and communicating openly (properly). The Truth is that You are not different or separate from Me. We share the same space and time and that is the most natural and Blissful experience of all. But for us both to get to that experience together is a process, and the most fundamental step in that process is to realize that we are equal in all ways. Then teaching can begin, and so can learning. Kind Regards and Gentle Thoughts, Namaste.
Sri Humananda © Dwapara 307 (2007) |