The Invited Philosophers
Rob & Lucmar
Menu
- Indian Dinner to fit the theme of the evening, with a diary-free and gluten free twist: Chicken Vindaloo, Malabari Shrimp Curry, Aloo Gobi, Baingan Bharta
- Dessert: Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate
- Drinks: Joel Gott 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Philosophy
Yoga is both a path and a destination, the destination being Samadhi, the union of the ‘limited’ consciousness, our ego, or little self, with the ‘limitless’ universal consciousness, the big Self. The Bhagavad Gita (I recommend this translation by Eknath Easwaran), a classic Hindu spiritual text composed about 200 BCE, explores four paths of yoga: Raja yoga (yoga of meditation), Jnana yoga (knowledge or self-study), Bhakti yoga (devotion, recognition of the Divine in everything) and Karma yoga (action, selfless service towards others), towards spiritual liberation and self-realization or “enlightenment”. Hatha Yoga is the yoga we know best, yoga as an exercise, and it can include some of the other yogas, especially Raja Yoga, but it is not mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.
The Summary
Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu scripture with philosophies about the meaning and purpose of life. Although it takes place in a battle field, the meaning is symbolic, because everybody’s life, in its difficult moments, is like a battlefield. Some people want to avoid difficulties and suffering, they ignore them, distract themselves, repress pain and pretend it is not there. But the battle comes back to them larger than ever. The Gita teaches that we have to go into battle, fight to overcome our struggles, and only in this way will we have a chance to emerge not victorious but free of pain. But the fight is an inner fight, a fight with oneself. The fight will not only free us from pain but also help us reach a state of peace and blissfulness. The Gita delves into questions about the purpose of life, self-identity, human temperaments, and ways for spiritual quest. Because people have different temperaments (gunas), the Gita proposes 4 paths of yoga.
Analysis
Karma Yoga, the Path of Selfless Service
Karma yoga is perhaps the most obvious way to find happiness in life, but it is also the most difficult. Why? Because our ego gets in the way. A majority of humans are selfish, thinking first about their own desires before considering other people’s needs and desires. A very small number of people will first seek to fulfill other people’s needs and desires before their own. But the Gita recommends having no desires, that is, except for the desire to help others.
How many people do we know who have no selfish desires?
We can pinpoint the main reason why we suffer: it is always when we fail to fulfill our needs or our expectations. This may include expectations we have for other people who we see as victims of injustice, but this is a special case. A majority of people are driven by the “personal” wants and needs of their ego, which also creates an identity that they must defend, in turn generating more expectations. When their expectations are not met, they feel victimized. Karma yoga teaches that if we focus on serving others, and forget about our own needs, we are liberated from the play of the gunas (the ego, or the little self), we become free from sorrow, and connect with the “big” Self, an energy that is blissful and reveals the true essence of life.
The Bhagavad Gita does not address the pain we feel for the suffering of others. But it does imply that suffering is part of human life and that it is important to focus on the suffering that we can prevent, first in ourselves, and then in others, and that we do it through selfless service.
Bhakti Yoga, Devotion or Escape from Society
Bhakti Yoga is the path that monks choose to find enlightenment. They live immersed in their spiritual study without the distractions of a life in society. I remember a friend telling me that if she were to live in a mountain in Nepal, surrounded by nature and away from civilization, she would easily find peace and bliss. It is true that it is our busy existence in modern society with all its pressures to make money, find success, fulfill our responsibilities, goals, expectations and temptations that makes our lives not only difficult but disconnected from any source of peace or blissful energy.
Although there is no God in Buddhism there are many gods in Hinduism and there is god Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. We did briefly consider the question of whether there is a God. The state of Samadhi or Nirvana which is a state of enlightenment and bliss, of spiritual ecstasy, is also called the state of God-union. I argued that it does not matter whether there is a God, because the state of enlightenment is one that can only be found “experientially”. What we get from that state, the experience we get, may for some people feel like uniting with something bigger than themselves, if they call it God, or call it the universe, or a powerful energy, it does not matter.
Jnana Yoga, the Path of Wisdom
Jnana Yoga is suitable for people of an intellectual nature. The philosophy discussions and reflections during my dinners with friends are my Jnana Yoga path. Wisdom is any choice or action that places our knowledge of human life in the service of the purpose of life: to lessen, and ultimately dissolve, the bondage of the senses and the ego. In order to do that, an intellectual person needs to understand why and how to achieve this, and will seek wisdom from teachers and masters who share or have shared their knowledge of Yoga.
Raja Yoga, Meditation, is not Anesthesia of Emotions
Meditation helps us overcome the “little” self, the ego, and join in the “big” Self, a universal power that cannot be described but has as its main characteristic a complete lack of ego.
Lucmar brought up the moral difficulty we have in attaining a state of bliss when we consider the injustices perpetuated on innocent people and that we have to use mental anesthesia to not feel the pain. I admitted that when I first considered meditation, many years ago, I thought it was a technique misused by many to avoid facing pain. But meditation is not a strategy to “numb” or “escape” pain, but to attain a different state of mind, free from sorrow but not because the sorrow is being repressed, but because it has vanished. There should be no guilt in not feeling sorrow while others suffer. We should look for a way to help, but unless we find a way of helping, we do not help anyone by suffering.
Rob discussed what happens when we repress emotions and noted that the pain comes back at other times and surprises us, and we often do not know what caused it. That is indeed the difference between repressing emotions, and dissolving them. I believe that without Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga cannot dissolve emotional pain. I brought up the concept of the “pain body” which was introduced by Eckhart Tolle in his book “The Power of Now”. Understanding the pain body is Jnana Yoga, it means understanding that when we repress pain we grow a monster in the closet, and at certain moments in life, when we open the closet, we are surprised to find it there. The pain body disappears when we see it for what it is, a collection of pain from the past, and fear of a future with a repeating theme. Finally, Karma Yoga helps us overcome the pain by refocusing our attention on others and escaping the “Poor Me” state of mind.
The Popularity of Hatha Yoga
The question then arises of why the need for Hatha Yoga or physical exercise (asanas)? It is said that because the universal consciousness is formless and has boundless energies, then in order to experience the state of union, the physical body has to be prepared and ready to receive that abundance. Perhaps during the times of the Gita, Haṭha Yoga was not needed. Life was relatively simple, with no smartphones, online dating, Netflix, or social media distractions. Haṭha Yoga is especially popular in the Western World, and perhaps it is the best path for busy Western people whose lives are full of distractions and whose minds are too hyperactive to benefit from the other Yogas. As Rob explained, one can combine Hatha Yoga with the other Yogas, especially with meditation.
The practice of meditation frees us from all affliction. This is the path of yoga. Follow it with determination and sustained enthusiasm. Renouncing wholeheartedly all selfish desires and expectations, use your will to control the senses. Little by little through patience and repeated effort, the mind will become stilled in the Self.
― Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6