Yoga has only been in this country for about 100 years, and the transmission of this spiritual art from India is still taking place. American yoga will, and should, be different than the yoga of India. The essential teachings and practices must retain their integrity if they are to be effective. However, the manner in which the teachings are presented, and how they unfold in our individual and collective Western lives will vary greatly from that of our Indian brothers and sisters.
Many Westerners are under the false impression that the purpose of yoga is to become relaxed, free of stress, and to be better able to obtain their desires. While it is true that yoga practice does bring about a more untroubled attitude, to present this as the goal of yoga is to support a misperception that yoga practice is about becoming better adapted to the world. This takes yoga out of its spiritual context and diminishes the possibility of the radical reorientation of consciousness necessary for the realization of one’s true nature.
Feeling good is fine and dandy, but spirituality, in the long run, is more about self-transcendence than about self-improvement. If yoga practices are presented outside of their spiritual context, they are no longer yoga. This is my criticism of most yoga classes given in health clubs and similar settings. A spa is a swell place for a swim and a workout, but it is an unlikely site for a spiritual experience. Can you imagine someone who claims to be a Catholic priest offering the sacrament of communion at the local YMCA because it is helpful in stress management?
Yoga in contemporary America is being advertised as a means to health, wealth, and comfort. As a result, beginning yoga students are sometimes shocked when they discover that yoga practice reveals just how chaotic and disappointing are their lives. As a true spiritual discipline, yoga strips away the veneer of pompous self-satisfaction that we lay down to prevent ourselves from experiencing the depths of despair and longing that hide in our hearts. But it is only by first becoming aware of the inner turmoil which already exists that we gain an opportunity to fully relinquish the root causes of our suffering. When students come to me and tell me of the great pain in their lives, I am gladdened; not because of their pain, but because they are the ones who have a real chance at enlightenment. They have hit the wall, and they know that it is useless to lie to themselves any longer.
In his Yoga Sutras, Sri Patanjali defines yoga as the “stilling of the modifications of the mind.” When the mind is stilled, what remains is consciousness untarnished, capable of reflecting the light of love. It is no more possible to attain this peaceful state without effort and upheaval than it is to build a house without labor. Relaxing and pretending that the house is already built just won’t cut it when the cold winds blow. The construction crew has to get out there and sweat and toil to get the house completed.
Shankara has written that there are three great boons: a healthy human body, a desire for liberation, and an enlightened guru from whom one can receive instruction. It’s easy to take the first boon for granted in our opulent society. Abundant food and comfortable living quarters make health more readily possible than most anywhere else in the world. The quest for the second boon, the desire for liberation, is guaranteed us by the Bill of Rights through the right to religious freedom. This is a great blessing for us, as many people live in societies that severely curtail religious freedom.
As for the third boon, many in the West fail to understand one of the principal points of yoga: it is an initiatory practice. That means that one must, at some point, study with an authentic teacher. This may not mean much to one who has not undergone such a discipline. To those who have, the meaning is apparent. A good teacher can support and confront a student in a manner the student could never do on his own. A good teacher can push buttons that the student doesn’t even know he has. The acceptance of a teacher is a necessary and vitally significant milestone on the path. One does not remain forever at a milestone, but neither does one reach his destination without passing it by.
How does one know an authentic teacher? In our marketplace society, anyone who takes out an ad in the yellow pages becomes a yoga teacher. But if you’re willing to take your car to a guy who just thinks he’s a competent mechanic… well, good luck! On the other hand, some yoga associations have formal training programs from which one graduates with a certificate or diploma, making one an “authentic” yoga teacher. I support their efforts because they at least weed out the frauds and incompetents. But becoming a yoga teacher is not the same as becoming competent in any other subject.
The techniques of some yoga practices, such as sitting properly, can be taught. But practices are only significant to the extent that they support the attainment of Self-realization. And this realization is unlike any area of objective study. Enlightenment is about the one who does the studying, not about any body of knowledge. An authentic teacher is one who knows his Self and can help others come to the same wisdom.
My personal opinion is that one becomes a yoga teacher when his teacher gives him permission to teach. This is how the transmission of spiritual authority is generated, and this is how the energy of teachers is passed down through a lineage. Competency is part of the equation, but neither Jesus nor the Buddha ever graduated from a training program. They both did, however, study with teachers prior to undertaking their teaching missions.
No one knows what American yoga will look like in the new millennium. At the present time, the seeds the great teachers from India planted in this country are still growing. You and I are the soil in which these seeds may eventually bear fruit. The transmission of the teachings from the land of Shiva and Ganesha to the home of Uncle Sam and Mickey Mouse is going to be very interesting. It offers us a great opportunity, but it also demands that we treat yoga with the respect it deserves.
