Yoga and Faith

 

 

"This Atman is Satchidananda (Existence-Absolute, Consciousness-Absolute, Bliss-Absolute). It exists in the past, present and future. So it is Sat. It is pure or Absolute Consciousness without any thought. So it is Chit. It is absolute Bliss. So it is Ananda."
(Swami Sri Sivananda)

 

I have been blessed to be associated with friends of Portuguese origin and Catholic faith. Some years ago I visited Porto as base-camp for excursions to Braga, Coimbra, Fatima and so on. Portugal is a spectacular country and well worth a visit for those who are into travel.

 

I consider myself neither Catholic nor Protestant since, via yoga I feel I have incorporated both religions and some others inside of my yoga domain and as such have no more quarrels with them. An interesting idea they all contain is the crucial, fundamental, and required element of Faith.

 

To me an example of faith would be the actions of a woman I met in Portugal who, when in early pregnancy was told that her child would have a very serious disability (usually prompting abortion), the very next day went to Santuario do Bom Jesus do Monte, situated high on a hill in Braga and approached by long zigzag stairways, and there, on the first stair, fell on her knees and filled with tears started faithfully praying the Catholic prayers with a single purpose.

 

She did the same on the second stair, and the third and forth, and continued upwards. Even before she had reached a 10th of the way, a thin trail of blood from her knees became visible on the stairs behind her as the Portuguese summer sun began its work more earnestly.

 

By evening she had drawn more attention and also some concern. This was rather extraordinary behavior. By the time she was two-thirds up the stairs, word reached a Sanctuary elder who immediately went down to her. With effort he succeeded in convincing her that the goal she had in mind surely by then had to have been met by God who was witnessing her sacrifice and faith - that her point with God was made - and that she was to return home now to get some medical attention and comfort.

 

Some months later she gave birth to a girl.

 

I met this girl seven years later and even recalling her image now sends a chill up my spine. I have not yet again come across such perfect beauty together with one of the sweetest and bubbliest personalities in a child. It was deeply striking, and I got along with her famously even though her English was as bad as my Portuguese. Indeed a wonder-child! No childhood diseases, not even a cold. The mother attributes all this to her expression of faith at the Sanctuary those years ago.

 

It certainly makes one think about the whole faith bit.

 

Religions require faith. I think it is proper to say that yoga does not. Faith is to believe in something not provable by direct observation now or in the future. Yoga is much more practical in that it hands you techniques which, if you follow, will deliver the results that are not only experienced, but lead to self-knowledge.

 

Some techniques can take a long time to master and become provable to you and so perhaps faith may come into play here initially, though it is not a requirement. The only requirement is a desire for liberation from the world as you experience it. In my experience, such desire mostly comes to us from two origins - suffering or curiosity.

 

We can have a really cool time "out there" in the world, and so there is this correlation with how cool it is and the strength of desire for liberation. I mean, why liberate yourself from what is cool? But, it is not always so cool out there. In fact, mostly it sucks. And the deeper your involvement in (or your identification with) the world, the more it sucks. And when it gets to be really tough, there is a turn to the direction where liberation resides - an inward turn, and consequently some inward path is searched for to explore and avoid the suffering.

 

For other people, curiosity is the key leading towards liberation. You will go a long way to eventually come to this one question, and so you can save yourself a lot of time and energy by knowing now that this question is "Who am I?" It is the beginning point of both inward and outward paths because it starts from where you are.

 

One thing is certain - you exist. To you that is undeniable. Another certainly is that there is a "now" and that you can access that now this instant right where you're sitting.

 

It is not always that easy though, and very confusing, and so Yoga lets you in to some methods and techniques that eventually enable you to consciously exist in the now. The faith, if any, that you may or may not want to have now, is that existing in this now is far beyond the most fantastic experience that you can ever imagine. In fact, it is pure bliss.

 

The yogis, when pressured to define this experience as closely as possible, call it "Satchidananda", which combines the concepts of 'existence', 'consciousness', and 'bliss' into a single experience.

 

This liberated state is the goal of all yoga and all yogis and yoginis, and also all those who suffer and find a path or are curious without end about the self and are willing to put in the effort to practice and explore.

 

As a yogi I believe nothing. I know or I don't know. I suffer, and I am also curious to no end. What separates yogis from non-yogis is that yogis have been provided some yogic techniques whereas non-yogis have their own ways.

 

For me, some of these yogic techniques have borne fruit and some show signs of promise. I have no idea whether some others will deliver or not and my attitude towards those remains one of curiosity because they have the self as goal. I follow them not because of the fruit they promise but because I am curious to see whether they'll deliver or not. Very little to do here with faith though.

 

My wish for all people is that they may have more curiosity than suffering, although either way, eventually all will seek liberation in some way or another and will find a myriad of paths to choose from. Some paths will lead toward liberation and some will not, as you know, as I know too, since I took a myriad of paths as well, many times failing miserably - and still today. But for me the turning point was my recognition of this thing I call "I" as worthy of investigation and pursuit, and using the "neti-neti" method ("not this, not this") I eventually came to yoga. I feel I can now say to myself, "this", and so at times I may come off as very certain because it seems to work for me, although I have learned that what works for me may not work for another for any of a host of reasons.

 

All inwardly directed paths, including yoga are available to those who have a desire to investigate the self, whether they mostly arrived at this desire by means of suffering and frustration from the world out there, or because of insatiable curiosity and a drive to investigate inwardly - or a mix of both.

 

So yoga is not for everybody and neither is it the only path, yet there is an astoundingly wide variety of yoga paths, and almost every possible personality type will find a home. Check it out. If you find a fit with a particular type of yoga, you will know it right away, just as you will also instantly recognize those yogas that are not for you at all.

 

Yoga may be easier for you if you don't really gel with faith and you are not really given to fantasy, and if you mostly believe that which you can prove to yourself. Those qualities, together with good guidance once you've found your fit, as well as your drive towards sustained practice will make you a successful yogi, because then you will practice due to your desire to change your current world experience. And this desire for liberation rose from your insatiable curiosity or your suffering, or both, and I'm not sure if that is a choice or more a matter of Karma.

 

I would strongly suggest you investigate some yoga paths a little just to see if there is one that may suit you. I promise you, nobody will ever know you are a yogi or a yogini if that is what you choose.

 

I can tell you that once you find your niche, be it yoga or some other inward path, it is like you have come home after a very difficult journey, and everything fits again and falls into place.

 

It's worth it to check it out and I invite you to do so.

 

Namaste my dear Friends.

 

 

 

Other Writings