I recently embarked on a new journey, one that I had been contemplating for a while – yoga teacher training (YTT). I am not fantastically flexible or lovingly compassionate, I am also not terribly spiritual; this is not a hindrance. Yoga teacher trainings are not valuable for only those that wish to teach but also for those that wish to learn further about yoga as a mindset, as a lifestyle, and as physical work. This is the bucket I fall into; perhaps I will teach one day but this is not the purpose of my experience. My goal at the end of this journey is to better understand myself, open my heart to joy and to the love of others, quiet my mind, and maybe throw a split into the mix.

As I said, I am not intrinsically spiritual and consider myself relatively analytical. What I have learned with time is to keep an open mind and that is precisely what I challenge myself to do when my mind wants to dissect. That said, as I was reading ‘Light on Yoga’ by B.K.S. Iyengar, a must read for YTT, I came to understand that yoga in the physical (asana) was only one of the eight limbs of yoga. The remaining limbs, what are considered advanced achievements, are those related to meditation, concentration, and ultimately super-consciousness. At that point my mind became loud with questions, confusion, and partial disbelief. To remain objective, I separated myself from the yoga point of view and looked into religions and social acceptability of certain beliefs – this is where I spiraled and began writing my questions. Essentially it is one question broken into two portions to help me keep straight this line of reasoning.

What is the difference between identifying as “spiritual” vs. “religious”?

It seems that from the view point of those that are not religious or do not believe in one particular religion, those who do are indoctrinated without awareness. Early indoctrination is true for a large group of people with varying circumstances that do not make them equals in their situation (i.e. fear of disobeying God vs. keeping religion as hope). There is also a significant group of educated people with functioning lives and achievements that are religious and believe in a specific deity. Now the term “spiritual” has historically been used in association with religion – what we find in modern day is “spiritual but not religious”. As defined by the Chopra Center, Religion vs. Spirituality: What is the Difference?, spiritual “connotes an experience of connection to something larger than you; living everyday life in a reverent and sacred manner” as opposed to religion which is “is a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” The very same article states that the distinction is blurred but focuses on the organization of religion to create dissonance.

Yoga and the ultimate goal of connecting in unity with the Ultimate Spirit, is linked and is a vital part of Hinduism and Hindu culture. It is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism, and while the references to “God” have been secularized in certain institutions, the origins are rooted. I bring this point up because I suspect that in the West, given Hinduism is not ingrained in our society the way Catholicism or Judaism is, that is becomes more “acceptable” to practice outside of the beliefs. I also call this out because as yoga becomes more mainstream and studied to achieve understanding, the more we revert back into a religion. If in your yoga studies you noticed as quickly as I did that to become one with the spirit would be a challenge, then you can understand how challenging religion can be. Understandably, our community has pulled from standard religion due to scientific findings, scandals, and ultimately increased wealth and education – why then do we find yoga so irresistible? Is it because in its “foreign-ness” it becomes exotic and novel? Is it because the narrative has changed just enough so that our values remain validated?

Faith is a term used to convey complete trust; to have faith in God is difficult. Faith, in any religion, and even in a “Higher Power” is difficult. We are forced to believe and trust in the unseen, and to act in such a way that we are favorable to the unseen. Religion outside of institution requires good deeds, worship, and restriction; this is not much different than meditation, Karma Marga, or Bhakti Marga. Ultimately, knowing well that there are nuances, yoga and religion are very much the same. There is no need to believe in Jesus Christ, the fact of being “spiritual” means you believe in something bigger than yourself – if this essence is Gaia or Christ, we don’t have an answer and ultimately, should not matter if seeking to obtain union.

Why do humans strive for enlightenment?

Over the last few weeks we have seen the worst and the best in people amidst the coronavirus outbreak. We have also seen how much the world thrives without humanity, how little we are needed by the other species, and how short lived our “learnings” last (i.e. mask and gloves polluting our oceans and our streets). Perhaps at the end of this we will be a better group of people, but as homo sapiens our M.O. is destruction. There are countless findings via archeological and paleontological studies that can account for our misdeeds from the moment we evolved. This does not vary much from our actions in the biblical either; in Genesis we can already account for the first death.

I suppose I can understand that through introspection, through religion, through spirituality and consciousness that we can benefit individually and identify our follies. I also suspect that in doing so we must acknowledge that we are quite imperfect and therefore must strive for a life with no forgiveness for personal error – doesn’t this sound ludacris? So, if in this introspection we can see ourselves for who we are, and we can see the arrogance of man amongst the rest of the world, why then do humans think they i) can reach enlightenment ii) deserve to be enlightened with an ultimate being? The question comes down to – if knowing humans are “sinners” or humans are naturally flawed beings, why don’t humans seek humility rather omnipresence?

After much contemplation, my conclusions are two-fold. First, the human mind thinks in relative terms and not in absolutes, which suggests human reflection and introspection are subject to subjective reference points rather than objective reference points. In other words, it is difficult for humans to accurately self-reflect in connection to all beings and appropriately weigh the impact of their existence. The second factor is that humans are ambitious animals. Even with the awareness that the mind was built with untrustworthy intuitions, perceptual adaptation, and focalism, and knowing that our misdeeds require ongoing remediation, the ambition to obtain the unobtainable is captivating. This ambition is delicate and holds the seeds of selfishness – it is a transformation long witnessed throughout history – yet it seems to be the one factor we exclude from our learning. Selfishness is not only a lack of consideration for other “humans” but for all beings, and the opposite is not fanaticism for animal welfare and environmental rights. There is an innate disequilibrium with the way humans perceive themselves in the world, how they actually are, and how they “should” be. Thus, the calling to humility rather than enlightenment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I very much welcome your feedback and your thoughts. This topic has been ruminating in my mind for several days, and with social distancing difficult to discuss with others. I am open to the fact that there may very well be points of view I did not consider, so I do encourage any comments.

Stay safe!