One of the ways that this practice has come to me is through the form of martial arts. In my practice there is no difference between martial arts and yoga. Yoga is a martial art, meaning that it is a warrior practice. Martial Arts is the practice of skill in action, how Krishna defines Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita. Both are the practice of
skillfully expressing your intention.
In Hatha Yoga, the practice of asana and pranayama is a martial practice. Asana means seat. Seat is your connection to the earth. Asana is the practice of maintaining a conscious connection to the earth. This connection is first maintained through the existence of the physical body. Intrinsic in the practice of Yoga is the practice of maintaining to what ever degree the integrity of the physical body. It is not that the warrior/yogi is attached to the physical body, rather the body is the foundational level of tapping into conscious awareness of the self which is not limited to the body alone.
Pranayama is conscious awareness of breath. Breath is of coarse intrinsically connected to and symbolic of life. So pranayama is the practice of conscious awareness of life, we are aware that we are having this experience right now that we call life. We are aware that the body is going to die, and that everybody is going to die. We embody this awareness not as morbidity, but
as conscious understanding, so that we not take for granted this life or any life. As warrior the Yogi walks with awareness of the omnipresence of "death".
Asana and pranayama are tools used in the practice of embodying self even in the midst of the "war" that rages all around us. It is conscious awareness of life, the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. The practice of yoga is the practice of understanding the violence inherent in our actions, rather than being asleep to this or in denial.
Ultimately how do remain conscious and awake as the expression of unconditional love, even when we find ourselves between "the armies of Pandu and Dhritarashtra." This allusion references Krishnas epic and visual description of Yoga, given to Arjuna on the battlefield in the Bhagavad Gita. Some western Yogies have puzzled why Krishna urges Arjuna to be a warrior, when Yoga is a practice of ahimsa or non-harming. The Bhagavad Gita shows that yoga must be discovered in the midst of the battle. In these times currently, if you do not find your self on a literal battle field, it is only because you live in a society that exports its war. Make no mistake that war is raging around us. We like Arjuna may sometimes feel over whelmed by the destruction. This is based on a preference for "peace" and adversion to "war". As practioners though let us be clear and awake to our role in this war. Could it be that something as simple as driving is an act of war, making us as complicit in the violence as someone killing humans as part of an army.... maybe more so?
The Bhagavad Gita takes place in a war, because life is war. Arjuna finds himself between two opposing armies, because this is the practice of skill in action when ONE is faced with the appearance of two opposing forces. Our practice of Yoga is the practice of harmonizing these forces.
Ahimsa is the practice of authentically intending not to harm. It is not not-harming. Everything that we do in the world has an effect, most of which is harming. From eating plants and animals, to the electricity that powers the computer as I write this, to driving, to flushing the toilet, to heating our homes, to buying anything that in anyway involves plastic or paper our lifestyles are extremely violent. To not realize this is ultimately, is to be in denial, and thus asleep. Yoga is being awake. Ahimsa is the practice of harming the least possible. That is... you can walk or drive, if you have free choice you can choose the path that creates the least destruction. It is a simple practice of being aware of the effects of our actions, and choosing when ever possible to harm less.
Without going into what Krishna describes as the illusion of birth or death (that none was ever born nor can they die), that is, reflecting purely on the level of reality that is readily apparent to us in 3 dimensions, and with the background understanding that yoga is skill in in action even in the face of intensity, I would like to reflect now on Yoga as activism.
Many voices have suggested that the Yogi should somehow be apart from the dramas of the world. This is true, but not ultimately on the level of three dimensions. The awakened yogi inhabits conscious awareness of the unchanging stillness of our essential true nature, in stead of falsely identifying with the dramas of the world. While many of us new to practice may be come fearful or stressed by our aversion to war that rages around us, the Yogi remains calm recognizing that the war is the reflection of self, and the Yogi's actions are the expression of unconditional love for self and the self that is everything and everyone. While practitioners at some point on their practice may need to "retreat" from the world, Yoga is ultimately the opposite of "retreat". Yoga is the opposite of "escape". Yoga is being fully awake right now and in this place your actions arise out of knowledge of who you are.
An awakened Yogi is not adverse to violence. To be adverse would be to have preference, which ultimately has the effect of blocking the embodiment of self, the free flow of energy. I see so many practitioners (myself included) struggling internally against the "evil" of the world, that is, the destruction of the environment, the greed of big business, the lies of politicians ect. ect.... This internal struggle is the embodiment of identification with the endless ups and downs of life. I hate to tell you the ending (if you don't already know) but life is suffering. It is intense suffering. It is unjust, unfair. It is also Joy. It is the most intense beauty. It is compassionate and patient and guides us lovingly through the transformations that our manifest aspects go through. You will loose everything you love. Everything you "have" will be taken from you. The practice of yoga, is not to hold on to this or that or him or her, but to give it away, to let it go.
Aware of the omnipresence of death, acting as the embodiment of our highest intention, unconditional acceptance unconditional love, we are the embodiment of ahimsa. So now, do we sit back and watch the drama unfold from a place of peaceful detachment? No!!!! Krishna tells Arjuna who refuses to fight the war, to get up and do what he came here to do. The goal of yoga is not to remove us from the ups and downs of life, but to be present and awake in the face of these ups and downs, and act as the expression of your true self from a place of infinite acceptance and compassion.
What distinguishes Yoga from sorcery or some other forms of magic (by magic I mean awareness of that which transcends the illusion of only 3 dimensions) is that it is ultimately a healing intention for everybody. Recognizing your self as both ida and pingala, ha and tha, Pandu and Dhritarashtra, the occupier and the occupied, this is the invitation to act skillfully and compassionately from your heart.
The crushing of lives (plant, animal and human) by coorporations and governemtns is only possible because of our collective silence and support. The war in Iraq and Afganistan is not just possible because of our collective inactivity, we support the war, by giving our energy in the form of money to big oil, fueling a corporate agenda the end result of which is self annihilation. We can end war today. To do so is the practice of ahimsa. Unless you are a master of prakriti it is not going to happen by sitting in meditation alone. As cliche as it sounds what comes to mind here now is the phrase "Think globally act locally". The only way that we can act is locally (although the internet has arguably expanded our "local" influence further than our physical reach). What is important as a practitioner, is not what action we take, but that our actions, what ever they be, be the expression of who we really are. If you are unable to be be the expression of who you really are, because you are forced to compromise this everyday by your job and lifestyle, then your practice is to change your job and lifestyle in a way that aligns with who you are. The stakes are high. To not make these changes, is to sacrifice your connection to the divine, to who you really are, and become separate and "dis-eased". Making the changes will not be easy either. Transformation never is, but whats at stake is to great to lose... its your self.
I'm reminded now of the symbolism in Darth Vader. He acted as the expression of fear and greed until he was no longer Aniken. Even as the almost full embodiment of the false self, made possible literally by robotic parts, that which was essential and authentic in side of him was able to at the last minute to align to his highest intention, even though it meant his death. For many of us, change may have no less drastic affect, but for a true practitioner what's at stake is greater than this life. For some of us, this transformation is going to literally kill us. We're not going to make it in the body. As Yogis, as practitioners and as warriors, that's not what is important though. More important than keeping this body alive, is that we embody who we rally are. As practitioners we can't afford not to because what is at stake is to great... your self.
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