S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 6 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 0 6 3 Daniel Simpson are imposters? Is it yogic to criticise others, while promoting yourself – and potentially your business – as more purist? Regardless, that’s themodus operandiof the “yoga police”– people who like telling other people what to do, while not always doing those things themselves. I should probably clarify that I’m not against judgements. Patañjali says they’re essential. “ The means to liberation is uninterrupted discriminative discernment ,” we read in Yoga Sūtras (2:26). It’s really important – not just in his system – to learn to distinguish one thing from another. It’s also important to put things clearly. So I’ll go ahead and say it: I think that the yoga police are “unyogic”. Not that this explains much in itself. It’s really just the flip - side of asking the question ‘ what is yoga? ’ If that can be answered, there’s also the opposite, which is ‘unyogic’. Again, to be clear, I’m not saying it’s wrong to say some things are wrong. Abuse tends to thrive unless people speak out, and drawing boundaries is part of a healthy approach to relation - ships. What bothers me is self-righteous posturing – lectur - ing others about what is and isn’t yoga. Unfortunately, many people do that. I should probably stop before I do it myself. But having started, I might as well fin - ish. Since yoga is self-inquiry, it’s an introspective process. Even if Patañjali says it can show us the minds of others (by means of the siddhi inYoga Sūtras3:19), most of us find our own minds to be quite enough trouble. No matter how refined one’s discernment, it’s hard to be sure what’s happening in someone else. I can’t tell from outside if another person knows what yoga is – or whether they’re en - gaged in it. I can only really focus on removing my illusions, which get in the way of my own mental clarity. Hectoring others about missing the point isn’t going to help with that. Right and wrong can be slippery categories. They sound black and white, but they’re full of grey areas. How we define them is a personal matter, like the meaning of yoga (even if its ul - timate outcome is impersonal). Besides, telling others they’re wrong rarely changes their minds. And in any case, who says we’re right, and not deluding ourselves with more self-serving stories? TheUpanisadshave an all-purpose remedy for misunderstanding. One should focus on the universal presence in all beings. “ It is one’s Self which one should see and hear, and on which one should reflect and concentrate ,” says theBrhadāranyaka (2:4.5). “ For by seeing and hearing one’s Self, and by reflecting and concentrating on one’s Self, one gains the knowledge of this whole world. ” It can be hard to see how to apply this. Early texts teach few techniques. “ Which of these is the Self? ”, asks theAitareya (3:1–2), before dismissing all the options as mental process - es. “ Is it that by which one sees? Or hears? Or smells odours? Or utters speech? Or distinguishes between what is tasty and what is not? Is it the heart and the mind? Is it awareness? Perception? Discernment? Cognition? Wisdom? Insight? Steadfastness? Thought? Reflection? Drive? Memory? Intention? Purpose? Will? Love? Desire? ” The answer is no. It’s beyond all that, and beyond descrip - tion. Therefore, says theKausītaki (3:8): “ It is not the mind that a man should seek to apprehend. Rather, he should know the one who thinks,” a silent observer behind the mind. Unfortu - nately, it’s hard to “perceive the perceiver, ” to quote Yājñavalk - ya in theBrhadāranyaka (4:4.15). “ Rare is the man who knows it, ” agrees Death in theKatha (2:7). It’s much easier to mount one’s high horse and condemn other people. Having said that, I do think it matters to try and define what yoga is – and by extension what it’s not. So let’s sum things up. The highest proof of knowledge in yogic terms is direct perception. It seems very clear where to focus attention – on a witnessing presence that transcends thought. So we’re back where we started: sit down and shut up! References The Hatha Yoga Pradipika . Translated by Brian Akers. 2002. New York: YogaVidya. Bronkhorst, Johannes. 1993. The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India . Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali . Translated by Edwin Bryant. 2009. New York: North Point Press. Mallinson, James, and Mark Singleton. 2017. Roots of Yoga . London: Penguin. The Early Upanisads . Translated by Patrick Olivelle. 1998. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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