be free, be happy, be peaceful

May all find the teacher within to guide oneself towards unconditional love and peace

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Renouncing worldly social activities

All physical activities should be completely suspended, all attachments should be ruthlessly cut asunder completely for five or six years, if you want to practice Dhyana Yoga, if you want to realise God through concentration of mind. Newspaper-reading and correspondence with friends and relatives should be completely stopped; as they cause distraction of mind and strengthen the world-idea. Seclusion for a period of five or six years is indispensable.
- Swami Sivananda 


The practice of renouncing worldly social activities, as well as seclusion and solitude, is contradicted with the conditioned thinking and belief of the worldly minded sociable community where most people have strong attachment or clinging towards family and friends, worldly identities and social activities.

There's no need justification for oneself and about one's yoga practice, when one is practicing yoga and has the correct understanding of the mind and the mind stuffs. There will be criticism and condemn coming from the worldly minded people who are conditioned to think and behave in certain ways, whom also expect other people should also think and behave in certain ways, to be socially and culturally accepted in the society.

In certain social culture, having a friend or some friends coming together to engage in conversation consisting of boasting, story-telling, flirting, gossip, complaining, mourning, criticism, condemn and back-biting is seemed to be a totally normal and acceptable behavior. While those who choose to stay away from such social interactions and conversations, and stay away from people who like to engage in such activities would be criticized for being unfriendly and impolite. In certain family bring up, acting to be agreeable and speaking lies to say nice things in front of others while they have bitterness, ill-thinking and ill-will towards others, but then, they want to complain and criticize and speak bad about others behind their backs is being recognized as a form of cultural politeness and socially acceptable behavior. But this is not yoga practice.

Those who practice seclusion and solitude and renouncing social activities, they minimize social activities and contacts with other human beings as much as possible including family and friends, as they can generate great distraction, polluting one’s mind with worldly ideas and attachments, pull one away from one’s yoga practice and disrupt one’s regular practice routine by taking up one’s time, space and energy for yoga practice, if one doesn’t have strong self-discipline and certain degree of non-attachment. This would be criticized by the passionate worldly minded sociable community as anti-social, cold, selfish, uncaring and unfriendly, which are being seen as abnormal, or wrong, or inappropriate, or unacceptable behavior to them. And hence, only those who are bold and have strong affirmation in their yoga and meditation practice for self-realization can take up the practice of renunciation, seclusion and solitude. All the others are just clinging onto the worldly names and forms and be happy with what the minds think and believe as worldly achievements, while doing some forms of yoga practice as part of their life activities to relieve stress, to be healthier and to feel better. There’s nothing wrong with that.

In yoga, it’s a noble act to benefit the society by focusing one’s life existence, time and energy for conquering one’s impure and outgoing mind, to be free from ignorance and the by-products of ignorance, so that one can truly benefit and care for the society. Those who take seriously in this practice, they don’t talk much. They don’t mingle. They don’t spread further negativity or impurities into the society through social talking and mingling. They don’t commit actions of gossips, criticism, condemn, back-biting, boasting, flirting, teasing, telling lies, hypocrisy, finger-pointing, blames, complaints, grumble, mourning, and etc. They don't encourage or support others to engage in such activities by keeping themselves away from such activities or conversations.

Those whose minds are tamed, purified, one-pointed, undistracted and free from worldly passionate desires after underwent intense disciplines and restrictions, can then mix freely into the society and perform selfless actions to serve the worldly community without egoism, attachment and identification, while being undisturbed, or unaffected, or uninfluenced, or undetermined by the worldly activities, actions and the fruit of actions.

The worldly minded sociable community including many of those who think they love yoga, who practice or teach yoga, they might not be able to appreciate or understand the great value of renunciation nor will they have any interest in this practice. In fact, they criticize and condemn others who uphold renunciation, seclusion and solitude.

For most people, it's possible for them to cut off from the society for a short period of time, as they know they will be back into the society very soon, but it's impossible for them to be cutting off from family and friends and social activities for a prolonged period of time to allow the mind to have the prolonged period of being free from stimulation, to be quiet, to be in silence. The mind will resist and give itself many 'rational reasons' not to practice renunciation, seclusion and solitude.

Renunciation, seclusion and solitude can be developed through gradual process for most people who have strong attachment towards worldly identities, social activities, family ties and friendships. Such like attending short and long silent meditation retreats from time to time, giving themselves and their family and friends a 'rational reason' that "I will be away or won't be in contact with the society, family and friends for some time." and "It's totally okay if I don't mingle, don't talk, don't read news or books, don't look at others, don't mind about others or the world, and don't interact or associate with anyone, as I am in such a setting for it." Some people will start to appreciate such a great relief from being away from worldly social activities and relationships, but for many others, their minds are like fish out of water. There is no guarantee that after attending some silent retreats one will develop detachment and non-attachment towards worldly names and forms which is what yoga and meditation practice is all about.

Om shanti.

P/S : We can't and won't run yoga retreats when family and friends are visiting us. When we are running retreats, we don't accept any family or social visits as it disrupts the retreats. Personally, when I am not running yoga retreats or teaching classes or writing about yoga, I retreat from the social world as much as possible.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

What's the difference between sympathy and compassion?

What's the difference between sympathy and compassion?

Anger, ill-will and ill-feelings might co-exist with sympathy and empathy. While anger or any forms of ill-will or ill-feelings are absent in compassion.

One might be able to feel empathy for other's sorrow and suffering, or show sympathy towards others who are less fortunate or are suffering, but it's not necessarily that one is also compassionate. One who doesn't have compassion might not be able to show sympathy or empathy towards other's suffering when oneself is under difficult condition or critical situation. Out of self-righteousness, one might show sympathy or empathy towards others whom one thinks and believes are 'the victim' of suffering, but at the same time, one can be disturbed by others' suffering and be angry with the cause of suffering and 'the one' who is responsible for the suffering, and one might generate actions and speech that would hurt oneself and others out of anger. One also might not show sympathy or empathy towards others whom one thinks and believes that they don't deserve sympathy or empathy from others.

If compassion is present, there's neither suffering nor the cause of suffering in oneself. It's knowing the truth of suffering. It's not about feeling sorry or feeling bad for others whom our minds think and believe they are experiencing something terribly bad or sad. It's nothing to do with self-righteousness which based on what the mind believes what is good and bad, what is right and wrong, what is should and shouldn't, and who deserve or don't deserve non-discrimination and loving kindness. One who has compassion will be able to show sympathy or empathy towards others' suffering even when oneself is under difficult condition or critical situation. One is undetermined, undisturbed or uninfluenced by the presence of suffering or the cause of suffering in others, and will not generate actions and speech that would hurt others, whether intentionally or unintentionally. One is free from anger, hatred, ill-thinking, ill-will and ill-feelings.

If compassion is absent, there will be perception of suffering, the victim who suffers, the cause of suffering, and the one who is to be blamed, who is responsible for the cause of suffering. There will be anger and hatred towards something that is contradicted with one's social, cultural and religious thinking and belief. There will be expectation or anticipation that others should react with sympathy and empathy towards the existence of suffering and the victim of suffering.

For example -

Conflict broke up between A and B, and B generated actions and speech that were hurtful towards A, while C came to know about this.

A might or might not be hurt or suffered because of B's behavior. While C might think that A should or shouldn't feel hurt by such behavior, or C might assume that A was or wasn't hurt by B's behavior.

In worldly conditioned thinking and reaction - A is a victim, B is responsible for inflicting suffering onto A, while C should get involve by either showing sympathy, or empathy, out of humanity. Or else C is selfish or inhuman, if C choose to be care less and not getting involve at all.

Out of worldly conditioned thinking and reaction, A might feel itself as a victim of other's bad behavior and feels sympathy towards oneself, and also expects sympathy and empathy from others. Or, out of compassion, A didn't feel hurt by B and wasn't angry with B's behavior, and didn't think itself as a victim of other's bad behavior, knowing that B is also a victim of the ignorance and suffering in oneself to behave in such way.

Meanwhile, B might be aware or unaware of it's behavior could be hurtful and cause suffering onto others. B might be regretful and apologetic, or not. But A and C have the freedom on whether they want to react, or not, and how they would react if they chose to react.

Everyone is free to act and react in their own way. Everyone also takes responsibility for the consequences of their own actions and reactions.

If compassion is absent in C, C might feel empathy for A, or show sympathy towards A standing from the point of view of a third party thinking that A is a victim and deserves empathy and sympathy from others, and C might be disturbed and angry with B's behavior, even when A wasn't disturbed or didn't feel hurt by B's behavior, not to say if A was disturbed and felt hurt by B's behavior. Or, C might ignore the situation and be care less and not getting involve at all, thinking that 'It's not my problem." There's nothing wrong in either these reactions. But, neither these reactions have anything to do with compassion.

If compassion exists in C, C is aware of the truth. C is aware of A's reaction, whether sympathy from others is needed or not, coming from A's reaction and it's not coming from C's assumption of how A should react. A is also under the influence of ignorance if A feels disturbed and hurt by B's behavior and expects sympathy or empathy coming from others. C is also aware of B's behavior is out of ignorance and is also a victim of suffering. There's no need to be angry with B or B's behavior at all.

All are the victims of ignorance and suffering except the one who is compassionate.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

What do we practice in yoga?

Observing the mind and guarding the outgoing tendency and impurities.

The untrained impure mind needs to be trained, disciplined and purified.
The pure mind doesn't need any training, or disciplinary, or purification.

Counter the negativity in the mind with positive thinking.
Positive thinking is needless when the mind is free from negativity.

Render the busy restless mind to be quiet.

Annihilate egoism - the idea of 'I', attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion.

Live in the present.

Be in peace.

Be happy.

It's one's free-will, awareness and responsibility towards one's liberation

Buddha didn't go around trying to change other people's thinking and behavior to be the way that he thought it should be, nor did he has intention trying to make the world a better place or to save the world from destruction.

He went around to disseminate the teachings and practice of Buddhism and allowed people to take up the practice, or not, through their own free-will, awareness and responsibility.

He didn't criticize or condemn any kind of thinking and behavior that was under the influence of ignorance. He respected all beings as they were. He didn't tell other people - The teachings of Buddhism was true and all the other teachings were false. He allowed everyone to realize the truth by themselves.

Buddha transformed and liberated himself. He didn't try to transform or liberate other beings. He allowed everyone to transform and liberate themselves, or not.

Look into our own thinking and behavior - are we truly practicing the teachings of yoga or Buddhism?

It's needless to identify oneself as a yogi or Buddhist if one truly practice the teachings of yoga or Buddhism.

It's pointless to identify oneself as a yogi or Buddhist if one doesn't practice the teachings of yoga or Buddhism.

Om shanti.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

What do the guests gain from attending our yoga retreats?

A journalist interviewed us with this question recently - What do the guests gain from attending our yoga retreats?

Firstly - Yoga is not about gain and loss, but it's going beyond gain and loss. It's performing all actions without attachment and renouncing the fruit of actions. There's neither gain nor loss.

Secondly - Commercialized yoga retreats are mostly about selling yoga and spa treatment packages targeting for self-pampering in physical and mental indulgence, such like - "Pampering getaway to cleanse, de-stress, rejuvenate and revitalize." Though there's nothing wrong with that, but a retreat is not about pampering one's body and mind through receiving pleasurable physical and mental enjoyments.

Thirdly – Everyone has different personality and mentality, and each has different speed of learning and level of understanding towards the teachings and practice of yoga. It depends on each individual on how, what and where they are looking in a yoga retreat. In most yoga retreats that are available in the world, it’s about looking out at the appearance of the retreat centre, the management and professionalism of the people running the retreat centre and programs, the facilities and services provided, the surrounding environment, social interaction and activities to make the clients feel good, satisfy and happy. In traditional yoga and meditation practice, it’s about looking within one’s mind, find out and eliminate the cause of unhappiness or suffering, be free from ignorance and egoism, and realize unconditional love and peace that is beyond qualities of names and forms, and it’s not about looking out in search for some qualities of names and forms that will make them feel good, satisfy and happy.

Yoga retreats run by Yoga Now Malaysia are catering for those who want to learn about yoga and to have the opportunity to immerse into traditional yoga and meditation practice while retreating or moving away from worldly habitual behavior, senses inputs and social activities. It’s about purifying and quieting the mind to perform self-inquiry to know about the mind and the cause of suffering, to go beyond names and forms, and be free from all sorts of mind impurities that derived from egoism, ignorance, attachment, identification, and desires of craving and aversion.

One learns about one’s mind and takes responsibility for one’s mind reactions towards all the names and forms that they like and dislike, agree and disagree with, want and don’t want.

One learns to be the teacher of oneself by developing self-awareness, self-reliance, self-control and self-discipline. It’s allowing one to realize the greatest teacher from within and seeing the teachers in all and everything that one’s mind comes in contact with, learning from one’s mind behavior and from everyone and everything that one comes in contact with. Everyone and everything has no intention to teach anyone anything, but one learns from everyone and everything once one becomes one’s own teacher.

One learns to go beyond conditioned worldly thinking and beliefs that generate duality of good and bad, positive and negative, happiness and unhappiness, right and wrong, success and failure, gain and loss, praise and condemn. One learns to see the truth of names and forms as it is.

One learns about patience, forbearance, tolerance, acceptance, adjustment, adaptation and accommodation.

One learns to love and be kind to oneself and others not through gratifying the desires of craving and aversion of oneself or others, but through disciplining and purifying one's mind, be free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, desires and all sorts of impurities, stop hurting oneself and others under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities.

It's not about gratifying the worldly desires of craving and aversion by pampering oneself in worldly indulgence of the senses, or getting some pleasurable physical and mental inputs and enjoyments. But, it's limiting and restricting the desires of craving and aversion towards all the perceptions of names and forms of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and thoughts.

It's not about expecting to receive different types of spa treatment or energy healing from some other people, to feel good by escaping what they don't like and don't want, and getting something that they like and want. But, it's learning how to deal with the impurities in their own minds by knowing what is the real cause of all kinds of tension, unhappiness and suffering, and through one's self-realization one goes beyond all kinds of names and forms, and stop generating or accumulating tension or unhappiness in one's body and mind.

It's not just about performing yoga exercises to relax the body and mind, or to release physical and mental tension, but it's to learn how to stop generating or accumulating tension or unhappiness in one's body and mind in the first place by practicing letting go of the ego, attachment, identification, and the desires of craving and aversion. There's no need to relax or release any tension as there is minimal or no tension building up, when one knows about the truth of one's mind and the cause of suffering.

It's not about gaining or improving one's physical condition and ability of strength and flexibility through the yoga asana practice, but it's allowing the effects of the practice to be there as they are. It's accepting the present physical condition and ability as it is, while being aware of the impermanent changes in the body and the mind and allowing the changes to be what they are, as they are, without attachment or identification with the physical body or the mind to be who 'I' am.

It's not about getting high or pleasant sensations from meditation practice or doing some yoga stretches and poses, but it's to learn how to not attach or associate with the impermanent physical conditions and abilities, the states of mind and thought activities. The calming and centering effect of the yoga asana practice is to prepare the mind for meditation, to reflect upon the truth or the nature of names and forms. It's not about getting some benefits or good feelings.

It's not about expecting the environment to be pleasant and all good to make us feel good and happy by expecting the world or the environment to be the way that we like it to be, but it's learning how to maintain equanimous, stay calm and be in peace under any circumstances, conditions and situations.

It's not about performing actions and expect something in return the way that we think it should be, but it's about performing all actions, duties and responsibilities, and allow the result to be what it is, as it is.

It's not about running away or pushing away the reality that we don't like or don't want, but it's learning how to be undisturbed or undetermined by the reality that the mind likes and dislikes, wants and doesn't want. One learns to be aware of the reality and allowing the reality to be what it is, while knowing that it's impermanent. One learns to stop generate craving towards the reality that is the way that we like it to be, and stop generate aversion towards the reality that is not the way that we like it to be.

It's not about creating a pleasant condition for one to feel most comfortable and enjoyable physically and mentally, but it's allowing one to learn how not to rely on pleasant condition, or physical and mental comforts and enjoyment to feel good about oneself and life existence, or to be happy.

There's no guarantee that everyone will be learning or experiencing the same thing. One might not learn anything at all. It's is up to each individual of their own will, effort and practice.

If people want to join a yoga retreat but they don't want to learn and practice yoga and meditation, but they are more interested in worldly social interaction and self-pampering treatments and enjoyments, then there are many other yoga retreats around the world that will deliver or serve them with what they want.

Be happy.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Want to practice yoga? (8)

Surrender
Perform existing duties, but surrender all forms of attachments, identifications, desires, intentions, motivations, goals, expectations, or acknowledgments. The body and mind are what they are, where they are and how they are, but it's impermanent and will constantly change, and it's not 'I' and there's no 'I' exists in all the impermanent changes. Allowing the path to be what it is, without expecting the path to be what it is not. The path is constantly changing and allow the changes to be what they are.

Abandon
Abandon the fruit of actions, worldly identities, ideas and desires, social and cultural beliefs and practices, and worldly sensual indulgence. Be friendly and non-discriminating towards all, without desire to be accumulating personal friendships or relationships, but allowing all friendships or relationships to be there, or not. All friendships and relationships will change. Allowing all the changes to be there as they are. Abandon the desire of longing to be loved or appreciated, and the fear of being unloved or unappreciated.

Let go of pride and arrogance
Starve the ego, or deprive the mind of the characteristics of egoism, especially pride and arrogance about 'I', about who 'I' am, what 'I' am, or how 'I' am, and what and how 'I' know, 'I' think, 'I' act, 'I' express, 'I' give, 'I' receive, 'I' deserve and 'I' have. Being free from pride and arrogance is not about 'being humble' either. Abandon the idea or identification of "I am being humble." One is just what one is, neither being arrogant nor being humble.

Observe
Observe the mind perception of all the objects of names and forms that the mind comes in contact with, including all forms of living beings and non-living beings and objects with different characteristics, names and forms, without being influenced by worldly social and cultural thinking, ideas, beliefs and practices; without attachment, desire, clinging, judgment, or expectation. Allowing everyone and everything to be what they are, as they are, and for being constantly changing.

Take it or leave it
If you can't just observe, but will generate attachment or desire towards the objects of names and forms, then practice take it or leave it, without generate craving for what you like that you could take, without generate aversion towards what you don't like that you don't want to take. Minds that are impure and ignorant don't just take it or leave it. They want more of what they like, and they want to destroy what they don't like. All kinds of greed, self-righteousness, criticism, condemn, conflict, argument, riot, war, discrimination, hatred, prejudice, violence and insanity exist due to most minds are over-powered by impurities and ignorance.

Minimize social interactions and worldly inputs and outputs as much as possible
Embrace peace, tranquility, silence, solitude, seclusion, self-introspection, self-discipline, self-control, self-effort, self-inquiry and self-realization. Allowing the mind stuffs or thought activities to subside. One can only benefit the society truly and effectively when one's mind is completely be free from impurities, or at least have self-awareness and self-control over the impurities that exist in one's mind. Being aware of the impurities in one's mind and restricting oneself from mixing into the society is being kind and compassionate towards other beings, to minimize generating harmful and disharmony effects into the society.

Stay away from any external substances or influences that will alter or over-power the mind via stimulation or suppression
Only through self-awareness, self-effort, self-discipline, self-control, self-introspection, self-inquiry and self-realization that one purifies and conquers one's mind. Performing yoga asana and pranayama practice is using one's own physical body and the breath as tools to influence the energy field or the state of one's mind without the influence of external substances or influences, such like the usage of drugs to stimulate, or numb, or suppress the function of the mind. Drugs, or any external substances might generate momentary effects onto the mind, but it doesn't remove ignorance and impurities of the mind. One has to rely on self-effort, self-discipline, self-inquiry and self-realization to eliminate ignorance and egoism.

Be persevered
Impurities are what hindering the mind from seeing the truth as it is. They are also the great obstacles on the path towards self-realization. Impurities are one's biggest enemy. Rise above impurities, not to be defeated by impurities within one's mind. Once one curbs the enemy within, there's no enemy without. Be persevered and keep purifying the mind until it sees the truth as it is once impurities are absent.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Love as it is, happy as it is

Most minds want to love

But also love with conditions and expectation

Most minds expect to be loved

But also be loved the way that they like it to be

Most minds want to be happy

But also only be happy when things are the way that they like it to be

Most minds want to learn and practice yoga

But also learn and practice yoga in the way that they like it to be

Be free

Love as it is

Be loved as it is

Be happy as it is

Learn and practice yoga as it is

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Want to teach yoga? (4)

Teaching yoga is all about – May all be free, be happy, be peaceful, by guiding the impure minds towards purity, or, the suffering minds towards love and peace. But none can free anyone from impurity and suffering, but oneself.

One will be free, be happy and be peaceful, only if one allows oneself to be aware of the ignorance in oneself, which is the cause of suffering, and make an effort to free one’s mind from ignorance.

Yoga and meditation practice is mainly to free the mind from ignorance and egoism. All the other benefits of the yoga and meditation practice are just some impermanent side-effects.

Many say that they love yoga and they like to practice yoga (yoga exercises more precisely), and may have been practicing yoga exercises for years. But, even after many years of practicing yoga exercises, many minds are still under the influence of ignorance and egoism, being restless and peaceless. As they didn’t practice the essence of yoga – the elimination of ignorance and egoism to be free from impurities. The minds are still attached strongly onto worldly qualities of names and forms to be ‘I’ and are influenced by the desires of craving and aversion.

If one doesn’t recognize or is unaware of the ignorance in oneself, none can teach or help one to be free. It’s not easy for many impure minds to be aware of the ignorance in oneself, as ignorance is also the cause of being ignorant towards ignorance itself. One needs certain degrees of self-awareness to be aware of the ignorance in oneself, and be humble enough to work on the elimination of ignorance in oneself.

Compassion and peace is the essential teaching and practice of yoga. Without compassion and peace in oneself, one couldn’t teach yoga to others, even if one has the knowledge of kinesiology, anatomy and biochemistry of the physical body. As one is dealing with impure minds, and at times, dangerous minds that will intentionally generate harmful actions towards oneself and hurting others. Those who are peaceful and compassionate, being free from ignorance, they don’t need to learn yoga or practice yoga. And the impure minds are the ones who need to learn and practice yoga the most, to be free. If the impure minds refuse to practice yoga towards the annihilation of ignorance and egoism, to be free from ill-will and ill-thinking, that’s their freedom.

One must take care of one's mind, before the mind loses its sanity, as minds that are critically 'ill' won't be able to reason or meditate at all, and might generate harmful actions harming oneself and others.

Teaching yoga is not just teaching people to do some asana poses and stretching exercises. But, it’s guiding and allowing people to look into their own minds, be aware of the impurities, to reflect upon the behavior of their own minds, and it is quite an unpleasant experience for many. And most of the time, others are being blamed for the impurities, or restlessness, or unpleasantness that are occupying their own mind.

May all be free, be happy, be peaceful.

Param Vairagya - Absolute Dispassion - Neither attachment nor non-attachment


When all the duality of

Good and bad

Right and wrong

Positive and negative

Happiness and suffering

Light and darkness

Gain and loss

Praise and condemn

Success and failure

Appropriateness and inappropriateness

Norm and abnormal

Sane and insane

Birth and death

Are not different from one another

All fear and worry vanished

There's neither craving nor aversion

There's no attachment towards either side

Detachment doesn't exist

There's neither attachment nor non-attachment

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Freedom?

Freedom

In theory, everyone wants freedom

It must be a good thing then

In practical, it's a bit complicated

It's not that freedom is not good

But impure minds like to complicate everything

Restrictions are being applied onto freedom

Based on what the impure minds believe how things should be like

Who and what deserve the freedom to be what they are

And

Who and what don't deserve the freedom to be what they are

Based on personal cultural and religious practice

Based on limited worldly thinking and beliefs

Based on what the minds think and believe

What is good and bad

What is should and shouldn't

Everyone wants freedom

Yes, but only limit to themselves

For what they like and want

For what they agree with

All minds fight for the freedom that they want,

But

For others whom they dislike and disagree with

They don't want others to have the freedom

To be what they are

To think what they want to think

To say what they want to say

To behave the way that they behave

Just because the minds dislike and disagree with

What others think, say and behave

These minds think that themselves deserve the freedom

To be what they want to be

But

Others who are different from them

They don't deserve the freedom

To be what they are

It's all ignorance and egoism

Freedom is not being free to think, to say, to behave

According to the egoistic desires of wants and don't wants

Likes and dislikes

Agreements and disagreements

Based on what the minds think and believe

What is good and bad, should and shouldn't

Some struggle

Some confuse

Is freedom good or bad

Some believe it's good

Some believe it's bad

Some believe it has both good and bad

Pure minds see things as they are

Like everything else

Freedom is neither good nor bad

Real freedom is being free from impurities

Being free from ignorance and egoism

Being free from attachment and identifications with qualities of names and forms

Being free from being conditioned by the limited worldly thinking and beliefs

If one's mind is free from impurities derived from ignorance and egoism

Freedom doesn't exist

There's no need freedom

There's no desire to be free

As one is free as it is

Friday, October 16, 2015

Fighting for the rights and recognition to be somebody whom we think that is who we are?

There's nothing wrong with all the different names and forms, personalities, characteristics, behaviors, thinking and beliefs that are existing in different people in the world. Everyone is free to be who they are, or who they want to be. But unfortunately, the world is full of unequal rights and discrimination towards certain people who possess certain names and forms, personalities, characteristics, behaviors, thinking and beliefs that were being disrespected, disliked and disagreed with by some other groups of people, and hence, people who think they are being discriminated are fighting for the rights and recognition to be somebody whom they think that is who they are.
 
None needs to be 'fighting' for being who they are, or what they want to be, but the world is run by certain people who are functioning under ignorance and egoism who have the 'authorized power' to 'legally' bully, discriminate, oppress, prosecute, or criminalize certain people that they don't like and don't agree with, under 'the law of constitution' prepared and written by some ignorant egoistic discriminative self-interest people. This corrupted system of an authorization/government that has so much power to 'control' and 'determine' everyone's existence on earth and for being who they are, by giving or not giving 'legal recognition', 'legal documentation' and 'legal rights' based on certain worldly social/cultural/religious/spiritual/political thinking, belief, values and practice that discriminate certain people who are being different from them, shouldn't be existing at all. Nobody should be 'supporting' such corrupted system to be existing in the world, but they are many people would prefer to continuously support such authorization/government that provides them certain 'protection' from whatever they think is their enemy, as well as enjoying the privilege of being given the 'legal recognition', 'legal documentation', and 'legal rights' to be who they are, even though, some other people were being discriminated 'legally' by 'the law of constitution', just because they are being different from the majority of the people. And this is so called democracy, that 'legally' bullying, discriminating, oppressing, prosecuting and criminalize the minority of the population, which is absolutely nonsense.

In the teachings of yoga, one will realize unconditional peace that is undisturbed and undetermined by any qualities of names and forms when one realized the truth of selflessness, be free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, expectation, desires, craving, aversion, and being free from all kinds of worldly self-image and identifications with different qualities of names and forms that are not who we really are. There's no need to fight for any rights or recognition to be somebody whom we think that is who we are, to be living in this atmosphere, disregards whether others treat everyone else the way it should be, or not.

It doesn't matter how messy the world is, how ridiculous the system that is running the world is, and how absurd people's behavior are, one can be in peace being undisturbed and undetermined by all the different qualities of names and forms, personalities, characteristics, behaviors, thinking and beliefs, while performing actions through the body and mind to benefit oneself and others without attachment, identification, expectation, craving and aversion.

Due to ignorance and egoism, the mind is forever restless, as it keeps looking to be recognized, be accepted, be approved, be respected, be heard, be loved, and be treated in certain ways that it wants to be treated by the rest of the world, to fight for the rights that it doesn't have, but it would like to have, to be somebody whom it thinks and believes that is who it is. It wants to be legally recognized, accepted, approved and respected by other beings in the society of the world.

If one's mind is free from ignorance and egoism and all sorts of identifications with qualities of names and forms, one's existence in this world is undetermined by legal rights or worldly recognition, as one doesn't need to be recognized, be accepted, be approved or be respected as somebody with certain qualities of names and forms.

It's not about fighting for certain rights for certain groups of people that don't have the rights yet and were not being treated the way that they think they should be treated, but it's to abandon all kinds of identifications, and be free. There's no need fighting for rights and recognition from anyone or any organizations, which shouldn't be existing. All and everyone should be free being existing on earth without being 'legalized', or 'documented', or 'recognized', or 'approved' by anyone or any organization to be who they are, as the earth doesn't belong to anyone or any organization, but ignorant egoistic selfish greedy human beings seized over certain area on earth and self-claimed ownership and authorization over that area on earth, and started to 'control' all and everyone's existence and being.

None should be treated with discrimination and cruelty. None should be bullied, oppressed, prosecuted and criminalized for being existing on earth and being who they are. Unfortunately, we can't change the world that is run by majority of human beings that are under the influence of ignorance and egoism, who are selfish and discriminative. But we can learn how to not being determined by the world of corruption.

Be free. Why limit this impermanent and fleeting worldly existence with some impermanent qualities of names and forms, and tell ourselves and everyone else, "This is me. This is who I am." And then we expect other people to treat us in certain ways that we think we should be treated and don't treat us in certain ways that we think we shouldn't be treated, and expect other people to be legally and morally to recognize us, accept us, approve us and respect us to be somebody whom we think that is who we are? And then, when we don't get the treatment that we expect to be getting, when we think we were being treated the wrong way, and were not being treated the right way, we will be so disturbed and feel dissatisfied, disappointed, frustrated, annoyed, unhappy and angry towards things that go against our wish, that are contradicted with our thinking and beliefs. And if we win or gain victory over our fights, that we are getting the rights and recognition that we want, and getting the treatment that we expect to be getting, when we think we were being treated the right way, and were not being treated the wrong way, we'll feel so proud about ourselves and the fruit of our actions. Even though it appears to be a victory in the world of egoism, but it isn't so under the teachings of yoga, as one's ego is inflated with stronger worldly attachment and identification with qualities of names and forms, as well as empowering the desires of craving and aversion.

No one can change another, or force another to change. Some people might try to use different types of drugs to feed and control those minds that they think are sick and mad, and put them into a zombie state of mind and keep them away from the society, but this is just momentary effect, but it won't take away the ignorance and egoism from these sick minds. And there are countless minds that they think and believe that they are absolutely sane and normal, while thinking and believing those who behave in certain ways that are different from them, that they think and believe as wrong, absurd or inappropriate, as insane and abnormal, but, none of these minds are actually free from ignorance and egoism. Those minds that are free from ignorance and egoism, they rest in silence and stand as witnesses towards all the other minds that are not free from ignorance and egoism, that exist everywhere around everyone. It's wasting energy and life for arguing and fighting with those who are under the influence of ignorance and egoism.

If all mind knows itself, being free from ignorance and egoism, naturally, despite the natural phenomenon of impermanence, the world will appear to be peaceful and harmony when all minds are free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, greed, self-interest, self-protectiveness, discrimination, hatred, expectation, craving and aversion. No one will be generating actions that will hurt oneself or others deliberately. Those who generate actions that will generate unrest and disharmony in oneself and in others, that would hurt oneself and others are because of ignorance and egoism. To help the world to be a peaceful and harmonious place for all beings to live in, it's not through fighting against something that we think and believe is wrong or bad, but, it's working on oneself to conquer one's mind, eliminating one's ignorance and egoism. No one can eliminate ignorance and egoism from another, for another. One can only eliminate ignorance and egoism in oneself, for oneself, and be free.

It's the ignorant egoistic minds that think and believe that they are smarter and better than other beings, that they are responsible to change, or control, or influence other minds that they dislike and disagree with, that they think are wrong and bad, to be the way that they think they should be. Or else, they think that they are being irresponsible towards upholding the peace of the world. But in fact, they are also responsible for the unrest in the world when they try to interfere with, or to change and control other beings to be the way that they think they should be.
 
 Om shanti.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Want to teach yoga? (3)

When one performs the action of teaching yoga or yoga exercises to other people, one will identify oneself as a yoga teacher who teaches yoga. One has good intention that one wants to share what one learned and realized with other people. One might also think and say that one is sharing the knowledge of yoga with other people, and share one's love and peace with other beings. There is nothing wrong with these ideas. Just that there are still egoism, attachment, identification and separateness existing in all these ideas or understanding.

Abandon all the worldly ideas that derived from worldly thinking and beliefs under the influence of egoism, desires of want and don't want, identification and attachment towards certain qualities of names and forms.

Some people compare the teachings of yoga with the studies of the psychology of human beings, and think and say that they are very similar to each other, that both are dealing with human minds and its problems, or the illnesses of the mind. But, their approach in dealing with human minds' problems are really the opposite of one another. The studies of psychology are still very much based on worldly ideas, thinking and beliefs under the influence of egoism. It is based on the egoism and empowerment of egoism. Like in most of the empowerment workshops and psychotherapies, it's about making the mind to think and feel "I am strong", or "I am positive", "I am good", or "I am healed". The empowerment of egoism might can bring momentary relief from some negative elements, and it's like the different medicines to cure certain mind diseases, but it won't stop the mind to continue to contract illness or sickness. Any kinds of empowerment strategies and workshops coming from the points of view of psychology studies are exactly the opposite of what yoga is about. While the teachings of yoga is about how to free the mind from contracting diseases, where the root cause of all mind diseases is ignorance and egoism. There's no need to take any medicines if there's no disease existing when ignorance and egoism is annihilated from the mind. The one who needs to be empowered to think positive, to have hope, to be healed, to feel strong, confident and good about oneself, is the ego. When one realized yoga, or selflessness, or egolessness, or non-separateness, being free from ignorance and egoism, there's no need any kinds of empowerment to make one to think positive, to have hope, to be healed, to feel strong, confident and good about oneself.

Empowerment ideas and workshops are to empower one's worldly self-image and identification with certain qualities of names and forms. The ego is the one who needs a strong identification of "this is who 'I' am" that attached to certain qualities of names and forms to be somebody. The ego needs affirmation and recognition from oneself and from others to be somebody.

While the teachings of yoga is to be free from all kinds of worldly self-image and identification with any qualities of names and forms. There's no need to be somebody with a particular identification.

There's nothing wrong with the good intention of wanting to share something that we believe is good with other beings, but we are not free yet if we still think and desire to be sharing something with other beings.

Everyone realizes the one nature of unconditional love and peace which already existing in everyone. The knowledge of yoga, or unconditional love and peace is not something that is given or shared by someone or coming from somewhere, but it's the nature of every being. The knowledge of yoga is not something separated from unconditional love and peace. The realization of the knowledge of yoga is the realization of unconditional love and peace, and vice versa.

There's no 'I' am giving or sharing the knowledge of yoga, or love and peace coming from 'I' to other beings. There's no 'I' love other beings, or other beings love 'I'. The one who expects to be loved and the one who wants to love or give love, is the ego.

Other beings are not taking or sharing the knowledge of yoga, love and peace from 'I'.

Everyone is not separated from the one same nature that is existing in everyone (non-separateness), is very different from someone is sharing something with other beings (separateness of subject and object).

There's no 'I' am sharing something with other beings.

No one is giving. No one is receiving.

There's no egoism, attachment, identification or separateness.

When there are still the ideas of 'I', 'I' am and 'I' want, existing in the mind, we are not free yet.

Go beyond or put aside all the worldly thinking and beliefs, and qualities of names and forms, and contemplate on all the teachings of yoga and realize selflessness, or egolessness, or non-separateness.

If one hasn't realized the teachings of yoga, what does one teach to other people?

Om shanti.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Want to join a yoga retreat?

What does the 'retreat' in yoga retreat mean?

Many people think yoga retreats are for people to enjoy a yoga 'treat' or 're-treat' for oneself, where a group of people who like to do some yoga exercises come together to engage in a social 'yoga' meeting and interaction with some other people, and pampering their body and mind in pleasurable enjoyments.

It's normal for people to think like that as there are many yoga retreats in the world that are not about retreating from worldly social interactions and activities, to turn the outgoing mind inward for self-inquiry. These yoga retreats are not about retreating from the social world to allow the participants to focus on their yoga and meditation practice to quiet the mind, but they are more into engaging in social activities and interactions getting to know some other people, and getting a nice 'treat' to pamper oneself in some pleasurable physical and mental indulgence.

But, retreat is about retreating or renouncing from worldly affairs, objects, ideas, habits, social activities and sensual enjoyments, to quiet the mind, to restrict the mind from going out chasing after the object of the senses, to have a period of time and space to focus on one's yoga and meditation practice, to be with oneself, to observe one's mind, to deal with one's mind impurities, to limit mind inputs and outputs, even when there are some other people might be participating in the same retreat. Everyone should minimize social talking or interactions as much as possible, to turn the outgoing mind inward, and allow the mind to have the opportunity to move away from restlessness and its usual habits of actions and reactions, to calm and quiet the mind to know oneself. It makes no difference whether it is a personal private retreat or it's a group retreat with other participants.

If people are more interested in worldly affairs, objects, activities, ideas, social meeting and interactions than their own personal yoga and meditation practice to conquer their minds through quieting the mind and the elimination of ignorance and egoism, and they expect to be meeting with other people in the 'retreat' to be socializing with one another, they can participate in many other kinds of social activities organized by many different people and organizations around the world. As those who expect to have social interactions in a yoga retreat, they might be disturbing other retreat participants who join the retreat for retreat.

Although yoga retreats are not necessarily including the observation of complete silence, but all participants should try to minimize and restrict their speech, mental and physical activities, to conserve energy for yoga and meditation practice, and allowing the mind to have some moments of quietness to contemplate upon the truth of all the teachings of yoga.

Yoga retreat is not a place for mingling or socializing or interaction, but it's a great opportunity to practice simplicity, self-discipline, self-reliance, dispassion and renunciation while living among the society, to be by oneself moving away from worldly social interactions and activities to quiet the restless mind, to be reflecting upon the truth of names and forms, to be aware of the modifications of the mind to know thyself, besides looking after one daily's duty and responsibility such as maintaining the tidiness and cleanliness of the accommodation/living environment/practice space and looking after one's daily meals, while dealing with condition and situation that are not necessarily the way that we would like it to be, so that one can perform Yoga Sadhana at home observing simplicity, self-discipline, self-reliance, dispassion and renunciation while living among the society performing one's duty and responsibility in everyday life. At one stage, Swami Sivananda walked 15 km everyday to the nearby villages for Biksha (obtaining food by alms) besides performing daily Sadhana and selfless service while living a life of renunciation.

Many 'yoga retreats' in the world are not about quieting the restless mind via the practice of simplicity, self-discipline, self-reliance, dispassion and renunciation, but it's about being in an out of the world environment away from dealing with any duty and responsibility in everyday life, indulging in pleasurable enjoyments of the senses of desirable/agreeable/pleasant sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and visualization/imagination/anticipation/expectation, gratifying the desires of craving and aversion, promoting mingling and socializing, enjoying all kinds of conveniences of hotel facilities and services, which most worldly minds expect what 'yoga retreat' is about. Food is prepared and served by somebody. Cleaning up and laundry are done by somebody. Room tidiness and cleanliness is maintained by somebody. Everyone just needs to enjoy mingling and socializing with the other retreat participants, while indulging in pleasurable yoga activities, spa treatments and all kinds of hotel facilities and services during the retreat.

And this is 'the world of yoga' that is supposed to be about living a life of simplicity, self-discipline, self-reliance, dispassion and renunciation from worldly activities/connections/interactions/enjoyments to free the mind from ignorance and egoism, but many people are unaware of the 'yoga classes' or 'yoga retreats' that they have been attending are not about Yoga Sadhana to free the mind from ignorance and egoism, but it's actually empowering ignorance and egoism instead.

Om shanti.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Want to practice yoga? (7)

When the mind is still under the influence of egoism, there will be dislikes and disagreements coming from the egoistic mind towards certain teachings, practices, beliefs, thinking and behavior that are contradicted with the existing teachings, practices, beliefs, thinking and behavior in one's mind that are conditioning how one thinks, acts and reacts.

Whether our minds think that our own thinking and belief is true or false, and whether other types of thinking and beliefs that are different from ours are true or false, including the teachings and practices of yoga that are contradicted with the worldly thinking and our existing cultural and religious teachings and practices, it is not important at all.

Most important, it's not to blind-believe in any teachings and practices, thinking and beliefs until we realize the truth through self-inquiry about the truth of everything that the mind comes in contact with, including the existing cultural and religious teachings and practices, personal thinking and belief in our minds, and all the other types of teachings, practices, thinking and beliefs that are different from ours.

It is normal that most minds will generate dislike and disagreement towards something that is different from our own cultural and religious teachings and practices, or our personal thinking and belief. And we don't have to like and agree with everything and everyone.

It's okay if people who haven't realized the truth of the teachings of yoga will generate dislike and disagreement towards certain teachings and practices of yoga when our minds come in contact with the teachings and practices of yoga that are contradicted with our existing cultural and religious teachings and practices, or personal thinking and belief.

But if we know how to not generate aversion towards other thinking and beliefs that are different from ours, and we don't apply our own cultural or religious teachings and practices, and our personal thinking and belief onto other people who are being different from us, neither trying to interfere with other people's cultural or religious teachings and practices, and their personal thinking and belief, or try to control or change other people to be the way that we think they should be, and we aren't being disturbed or determined by the personal egoistic and subjective likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements coming from our minds towards everything that the mind comes in contact with, and we are able to remain equanimous and be in peace, being free from anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurts, pride, arrogance, ill-will, violence, discrimination, fear and worry, then we are practicing yoga, even though there are some dislikes and disagreements coming from our minds towards certain teachings and practices of yoga that our minds couldn't accept or agree with.

Allowing the mind to be opened.

When the mind perceives all the objects of names and forms under the influence of egoism, ignorance and impurities, the mind doesn't perceive the truth of things as it is, but it perceives everything under the influence of impurities where all the names and forms are being projected with different qualities determined by the personal likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, based on what the mind believes what things are.

For example, a person who wears a pair of red coloured glasses will see an object that is seemingly blue as purple. It is true coming from the perception of this person that this person sees purple. But that is not the truth of the blue object. Meanwhile another person who wears a pair of yellow coloured glasses will see the blue object as green. It is also true coming from the perception of this person that this person sees green. But, again, it is not the truth of the blue object. They might argue with each other that one of them is correct and the other is incorrect. And each of them is correct coming from their own perception or point of view, but both perceptions about the blue object as purple and green are not the truth. Two people perceive what they are perceiving through different coloured glasses and there's nothing to be argued about. Even when there are some other people who don't wear any glasses, and see the blue object as blue, but different people might see different types of blue. People might argue about what type of blue it actually is. But, again, each of them is correct coming from their own perception of the blue that they see, but, it is not the truth either. The object is just what it is. It is neither purple, or green, or blue.

Some people like a particular colour while some others might hate it. The colour itself has no quality or intention to make anyone like it or hate it, or to make anyone feel pleasant or unpleasant. It is coming from each individual own mind's reactions towards the colour and generate pleasant or unpleasant feelings based on it's personal likes and dislikes towards certain names and forms.

Yoga and meditation practice is to remove any coloured glasses (detaching from any conditional subjective thinking and beliefs) and perceive the object of names and forms as they are, uninfluenced by any worldly thinking or cultural and religious beliefs, or personal likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements.

Om shanti.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Want to practice yoga? (6)

If we want to practice yoga to be free from ignorance and suffering to attain peace, we need to know how to breakaway from the conditioned worldly social and cultural thinking, beliefs and practice.

As yoga practice is about purifying the mind to annihilate egoism, while worldly social and cultural thinking and practice is indeed the heart of egoism.

One must learn how to be undisturbed and uninfluenced by the points of view, judgments and criticism coming from the worldly minded thinking and beliefs about how one should live and behave in the society. As all the worldly thinking and beliefs about how one should live and behave in the society are sprouting from egoism. One must learn to decondition or deprogram one's mind to free one's mind from being conditioned to think and behave in certain ways according to the worldly thinking and beliefs about how things should be like.

Although one might be aware of the play of the ego in one's mind, or have certain understanding about egoism, but one might still be influenced by egoism very much, that one's thinking and behavior are not free from the influence of egoistic worldly thinking and beliefs, then one's mind will easily be influenced and determined by all the experiences or perceptions of names and forms that the mind perceives through the senses unceasingly, and be affected, disturbed and determined by all the worldly names and forms that one wants and doesn't want, likes and doesn't like, agrees and doesn't agree with. And hence, it is very important for one to practice disinterest or care less towards the worldly affairs, conditions and situations, or worldly objects of names and forms, to filter and limit the mind inputs, to purify the mind and to render the mind calm and quiet, to allow the mind to see the truth of names and forms, to be free from ignorance and have peace in oneself, before one can actually care for the world and perform actions in the world efficiently, without being determined by one's actions and the fruit of one's actions, without being disturbed or affected by all the worldly conditions and situations.

Although one has ambition and good will to make the world a better place, but one cannot help the world to be a better place if oneself keeps contributing so much restlessness and disharmony into the world when one is not free from ignorance and egoism, and constantly be disturbed, influenced and determined by one's ceaseless mind reactions towards all the experiences or perceptions of names and forms based on one's personal egoistic points of view, thinking and beliefs, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements.

All the names and forms, good and bad conditions and situations of the world don't have the quality or intention to make anyone peaceful and happy, or not. It is coming from each individual mind's reaction towards all the names and forms, based on what the mind believes what things are and how things should be like. It's about conquering one's mind, and it's not about trying to conquer the world to be the way that one's mind thinks it should be. The world is just what it is, it is neither good nor bad. All the suffering exist in one's mind, and arose from one's mind.

As long as we still think and believe that people should think and behave in certain ways that we think are good, right and appropriate, and we'll get frustrated, annoyed, dissatisfied, disappointed, angry, or upset by other people's thinking and behavior that we don't like and don't agree with, then know that we are not free yet, as our minds are still very much being influenced by egoism and worldly thinking and beliefs, even though we think there's nothing wrong with our own thinking and beliefs, and we believe we are good and kind people.

Those who are not influenced by egoism, and are not affected, or disturbed, or influenced, or determined by all the experiences or perceptions of names and forms, they can care a lot for the worldly society and affairs, by performing many selfless actions to bring certain awareness into the society that would help others to be free from ignorance and egoism as well and to have peace and harmony while living in the midst of the ceaseless restlessness and uncertainty of the world of impermanent names and forms. Meanwhile they are not affected or determined by their actions and the fruit of their actions. They'll do their best to help the world to have peace and harmony, but without trying to interfere or to control the world or other living beings to be the way that they think they should be. Instead, they allow the world and other living beings in the world to be what they are, as they are, without discrimination that based on personal egoistic points of view, thinking and belief, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements about what is right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative, appropriateness and inappropriateness, happiness and unhappiness, towards all the different thinking and behavior that exist in all kinds of living beings in the world.

If one wants to contribute to the world to make the world a better place to live in, to hope for peace and harmony among all living beings in the world, one must take care of one's mind. Free oneself from ignorance and egoism, to have peace and harmony in oneself, being undisturbed and undetermined by the impermanent worldly conditions and situations. Or else, that's what is happening around the world where discrimination, prejudice, hatred, unrest, riots, wars, violence, and killings take place, as all the egoistic worldly minded living beings try to interfere or to control other living beings whom they dislike and disagree with, under the influence of impurities like anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, desires, pride, arrogance and fear, that derived from egoism influenced by particular personal thinking, beliefs and practice. Those who think they want to change the world to be the way that they think it should be, they are not free yet, even though they have good intention and want to do good. Those who are free, they don't have intention to change the world to be the way that they think it should be, but they are performing actions in the world that might help the world to be a better place, without attachment, identification, expectation, craving or aversion.

Peace doesn't come from making the world to be the way that we think it should be, or everything is the way that we like and want, and nothing is the way that we don't like and don't want, but it is coming from within oneself being free from ignorance and egoism.

Om shanti.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Want to practice yoga? (5)

All the yoga enthusiasts or practitioners are being taught that one shouldn't follow or blind-believe in any teachings or philosophies from anybody and anywhere, including the teachings of yoga, but to perform self-inquiry to investigate into the truth of all the teachings of yoga. That action of self-inquiry is indeed the main yoga practice. All the other yoga practices are there to assist the mind to be able to be free from all kinds of restlessness and impurities, and allowing the mind to know the truth or seeing the truth as it is.

Contemplate on these teachings to attain self-realization of the teachings of yoga :-
- The body is not me, I am not the body. The mind is not me, I am not the mind.

- Selflessness or the annihilation of the egoism - There is no 'I'. 'I' doesn't exist.

- The root cause of suffering is ignorance - not knowing the truth of 'I' and all the perceptions of names and forms, the illusion of the existence of 'I' generates attachment, identification, desires, craving and aversion, reactions of likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, pleasantness and unpleasantness where all kinds of impurities arise and influencing and determining the state of mind.

- Go beyond all the qualities of name and form, including the body and mind and worldly conditioned thinking and beliefs, realize the truth of non-duality or non-separateness or oneness.

- The truth of names and forms is just what they are. Everything is neither good nor bad, neither positive nor negative, neither right nor wrong, neither happiness nor unhappiness.

- Know thyself or knowing oneself as the highest duty above all. All kinds of duties exist to support the highest duty towards oneself.

- The law of impermanence - there's no 'I' exists in all the impermanent changes or transitions, or forming and deforming.

- The observer is undetermined by the action of observing and the object of observation.

- Turning the outgoing mind inward, resting in silence - dispassion and disinterest in worldly objects and ideas.

- The conquest of one's mind is the highest goal of life existence and to serve humanity.

- The ignorant ones take what is unreal to be real, and take what is real as unreal.

- Performing all duties and responsibilities while renouncing worldly objects and activities.

- The realization of selflessness and compassion will allow one to perform all actions while being undetermined by the fruit of actions, to be liberated from good and bad karma, the cycle of cause and effect, or the wheel of birth and death - Enter into Silence or Samadhi.

- Everything is Maya (illusion). The world is not real and doesn't exist. Suffering doesn't exist. Birth and death doesn't exist. Due to ignorance, the illusory 'I' longs for existence to fulfill all its desires. And hence, all kinds of actions and fruit of actions sprung from desires and bring forth the wheel of birth and death, existence and non-existence, all kinds of names and forms are being projected as the worldly existence as the result of cause and effect. Yoga practice is to realize the truth and return to the state beyond names and forms, existence and non-existence, birth and death.

Happy practicing yoga contemplating upon the teachings of yoga.

Om shanti.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Want to teach yoga? (2)

Teaching yoga is being an instrument to transmit the teachings of yoga. There's no egoism involve in the act of teaching. There's no attachment and identification with the act of teaching and the fruit of the act of teaching. There's no 'I' teach yoga, or 'I' am a yoga teacher. There's no 'I' am performing action to benefit other beings, or other beings are benefited from the action of teaching from 'I'. It's like all the elements exist to allow everything to be forming and dissolving. They have no intention to form or dissolve anything, but everything forms and dissolves because of the elements. There's no egoism, self-interest, selfish desire, or good and bad intention.

One who has realized unconditional love and peace from one's self-realization of the truth, being free from ignorance and egoism, one can share one's knowledge or experience of the path of liberation with others out of compassion, although one isn't obliged to perform action in the world. One can only share one's knowledge and experience, and allowing others would be inspired to learn and practice yoga, or not, but one cannot make others be free from ignorance and egoism. One can guide others how to realize the truth, but one cannot make others to realize the truth.

The realization of unconditional love and peace and the act of sharing or teaching the knowledge or experience of oneself out of compassion, are nothing to do with yoga teacher's training courses, yoga alliances and yoga certifications.

One might hasn't attained direct experience about selflessness, non-attachment, non-identification, dispassion, right discrimination, craving and aversion, impurities, suffering and the cause of suffering, but one might still be able to teach some forms of yoga practices to other people.

In the end it is coming from everyone's self-effort, self-discipline, determination and perseverance to attain self-realization of the truth. It is nothing to do with the teacher is good or not, or is liberated or not. Coming in contact with a liberated being, or learning and practicing yoga under a liberated being also cannot guarantee that one will be liberated from ignorance and egoism.

Be free from pride and arrogance that derived from egoism about what we think we know, who we think we are, and what actions we think we perform, if we truly want to inspire others to be practicing the same, to be free from ignorance, egoism and all sorts of impurities.

Om shanti.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Want to practice yoga? (4)

Do we need to restrict or limit ourselves in social interactive conversation and activities when we take up yoga practice?

It depends on ourselves. Just like being a vegetarian or non-vegetarian doesn't guarantee that one is peaceful and be free from ignorance and egoism, it's the same as by observing any forms of yoga practice doesn't guarantee that one will be free from ignorance and egoism, and is peaceful.

Of course all the observations exist to serve their purposes or assistance in aid to purify and calm the mind, to allow the mind to be able to perceive the truth of things as they are.

Without the practice of non-attachment, non-identification, desireless, and letting go of craving and aversion, one's mind will always be affected, or disturbed, or influenced and determined by all the perceptions of names and forms, and is restless and have no peace, no matter how much external physical form of yoga practices we have been performing and attaining huge physical and mental benefits from the yoga practice. When the mind is restless and is under the influence of impurities, the mind is not able to see the truth of things as they are.

If we just want to practice yoga for attaining some physical and mental health and fitness benefits, then we don't have to restrict or limit ourselves in social interactive conversation and activities.

If we practice yoga for mind conquest, for liberation to be free from ignorance and suffering, then we need to restrict or limit ourselves in social interactive conversation and activities, if our minds are easily being affected, or disturbed, or influenced by all the inputs of names and forms. For those who have achieved a strong foundation of the practice of non-attachment and non-identification, and are not easily be affected, or disturbed, or influenced by all the inputs of names and forms, then there's no need to have such restriction, but they will still limit over stimulation to the mind as much as possible. Those who are completely be free from ignorance and egoism, and they are unaffected, or undisturbed, or uninfluenced by any inputs of names and forms, then they can mix freely into the society and engage in any forms of social conversations and activities, if they want, but they don't have to, unless it's necessary.

And hence, silent meditation retreat courses exist to serve this purpose to quiet the mind, to stop stimulating the mind, to move the mind away from worldly affairs, social interactions and activities. But, if we don't know how to retreat ourselves in everyday life, our minds will always be restless being distracted and stimulated by all the inputs of names and forms.

In most conversations, many people like to ask or want to know about the past and the future. Most people want to be friendly by starting a social interactive conversation, where they want to talk about themselves and also to hear other people talk about their stuffs, they want to give their opinions and also to hear other people's opinions, they want to know about other people and want to be known by other people as well.

There's nothing wrong with the worldly social interactions between human beings. But in yoga practice, it's about knowing oneself. It's not about knowing other people or want to be known by other people. Minds that are conditioned by worldly thinking and ideas might think that it's a form of selfishness when some people don't show interest to know about others. But in yoga, one practices disinterest in worldly affairs as well as other people's affair. It isn't that yoga practitioners don't care for what is happening to the world and other people, but one must take care of one's mind first before one can care for the world and others efficiently.

When one's mind is free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, desires, craving, aversion and all sorts of impurities, and realizes unconditional love and peace in oneself, being firmly resting in peace undisturbed by all the qualities of names and forms, then naturally, without any intention or expectation, one will be contributing peace into the world by stop generating unrest and disharmony into the world. By taking care of oneself, to have peace in oneself, is actually loving and caring for the world and the society.

One must learn about oneself and know about oneself by quieting and purifying the mind through self-introspection and self-discipline, and then one will know how to love and care for oneself, before one can actually know about others, and love and care for others. The entire society will become more peaceful and harmony when everyone learns about oneself, knows oneself, and loves and cares for oneself.

On top of that, socializing, mingling and chit-chatting are good for worldly social interaction and public relation, but it is detrimental for yoga and meditation practice. Too much talking and social activities stimulate the thought waves and strengthens the worldly attachments, identifications and ideas, and empowering the desires of craving and aversion, if one hasn't developed certain degrees of correct understanding about the mind, the ego and suffering.

We can list out what people usually talk about in a social conversation, and see how much our minds are being influenced and affected by all those daily conversations about worldly matters. And we might realize what is the cause for our minds being over stimulated and suffer from restlessness, and from where we have been accumulating lots of physical, emotional and mental tension that we need to de-stress or unwind ourselves from time to time. If we know how to stop generating tension into our body and mind, we don't need to do anything special to unwind or relax.

Instead of exhausting energy in socializing or talking about worldly ideas and affairs, we conserve energy for practicing yoga. Talking about worldly ideas and affairs won't help anyone to be free from worldly identifications and attachments towards worldly names and forms, and won't make the world to be a better place. In fact, talking about this and that will stimulate the mind, and it doesn't help to quiet the mind. Yoga and meditation practice is mainly to quiet the mind. The states of the world will change towards peace and harmony only if each and everyone who are existing and living in the world has self-awareness and self-control, to make an effort to change themselves to purify and quiet their minds, to be free from ignorance and egoism. The world is just what it is. It is neither good nor bad. It's the occupants of the world that are projecting good and bad qualities into the world and contributing peace or unrest into the world under the influence of impurities. The one who is pure, being free from good and bad qualities, perceives the world as it is.

Yoga teaches about compassion, but it's not about trying to please everyone to make them feel good, happy and comfortable, by giving them whatever they like and want. But it's to allow everyone to be aware of what is going on in their minds, and realize the truth to be free from ignorance, and transcend suffering, realize unconditional love and peace that is not coming from anyone or anything outside this body and mind, but from within oneself unconditionally.

We learn to stay away from gossips, vain talks, conflicts, condemn, criticism, back-biting, and etc. When we have bad things to say about others, it's not because others are being bad and wrong, but it's because our minds are not pure. If our minds are pure, there's no bad thing to say about others, even if we are aware of something that isn't good and right about someone based on what our minds believe as good and bad, right and wrong. Worldly minded people might think that being silence towards things that are bad and wrong is supporting all those bad and wrong things. But, what people think and believe as good and bad, right and wrong, is very subjective, it's not necessarily the truth of what things are. By being vocally and physically violent towards something that is bad and wrong won't change the reality of those things being bad and wrong. But everyone must develop self-awareness and self-introspection in themselves to be aware of their own minds, to be initiative to make an effort to purify their own minds, to have self-discipline to restrict their physical and mental worldly activities, and have self-control over their own thinking, actions and speech.

By telling people that they are ignorant or wrong and bad, won't make people stop being ignorant or wrong and bad. It has to come from their own self-awareness, self-introspection, self-discipline and self-control.

For many people, being direct and straightforward might be seen as bad attitude or weakness for social interaction in the society. Some people are always being friendly, polite and nice in front of some other people, but they can't hold their tongues to complain and criticize about other people behind their backs. Of course that's their freedom of thoughts, actions and speech. But, if we want to purify and silent our minds, we try to stay away from this type of mind habit of hypocrisy and back-biting as much as possible.

We purify our minds until there's no ill-will or ill-thinking about anyone. There's nothing to complain about or criticize anyone whether in front or behind their backs. When we criticize about others, it's not because others are bad and wrong, or when we compliment others, it's not because others are good and right, but it's our mind being impure and project impurities of good and bad qualities onto everyone and everything that our minds perceive through the senses, under the influence of personal likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements based on what our egoistic minds believe what things are.

Quieting the mind.

Om shanti

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Truth?

Most of the time, the truth is not something agreeable or pleasant to the minds that are not free from attachment and identification towards certain conditioned thinking and beliefs influenced by ignorance and egoism. Most people perceive their own reality under the influence of conditional thinking and beliefs, they don't see the truth as it is. Those who are not free from ignorance and egoism might have heard about the truth from others, but they might not like the truth, or don't agree with the truth realized by others. Because they haven't realized the truth through their own realization. They perceive everything based on their own thinking and beliefs and they live in their own personal reality. And people shouldn't believe in the truth realized by others, even if it's coming from Buddha or any saints and sages. Everyone has to realize the truth by themselves.

People want or expect the truth to be something that they like and want, that is agreeable to their own personal worldly thinking and beliefs. Everyone who attached to different thinking and beliefs would perceive their own personal reality differently from one another. Everyone has their own perception of reality that is being different from one another and there's nothing wrong with that. But the universal truth is still the one same truth whether people like and agree with it, or not, whether people think and believe it's the truth, or not. As the truth is not a belief, or intellectual analysis. It's the way of how things are, as they are. But most people don't want things to be what they are, but they want things to be the way that how they like and want it to be, or the way that they think it should be.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Democracy?

Democracy is neither something good nor bad. It depends on the states of the minds of the majority of the population of the nations in the world.

If the majority of the population are free from ignorance and egoism, they will have clear understanding about life existence, and can make the appropriate decisions and choices for the welfare and well-being of the people, the nation and the world, without being influenced by any conditioned thinking and beliefs, self-interests or selfish desires, then the world will be heading towards prosperity, peace and harmony under the system of democracy.

If the majority of the population are influenced by ignorance and egoism, they don't have clear understanding about life existence, and can't make the appropriate decisions and choices for the welfare and well-being of the people, the nation and the world, as they are under the influence of conditioned thinking and beliefs, self-interests or selfish desires, and they are easily being manipulated by other people who want to be in power and who also have their own selfish interests and greedy desires, then the situation of the world will be heading towards deeper ignorance, unrest and problematic.

It's a fact that there are not many people are free from ignorance and egoism, and there are too many people are influenced by ignorance and egoism in the present time. Even when many people think that they are good and righteous people based on what they believe is good and right, and some people think that they are somehow better and smarter human beings than many others, it's not necessarily that what they think and believe, and what they want, is the best for upkeeping the welfare and well-being of the people of the nations in the world, if they are not free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, desires, craving and aversion.

Everyone has to somehow get along with what democracy brings to the world whether they agree or disagree with the good and bad decisions, right and wrong choices made by the majority of the population. They have to respect the decisions and choices made by the majority of the population even though they can't accept or agree with these choices.

If people are influenced by ignorance and egoism, they will attach strongly onto their specific thinking and beliefs, and over-powering by self-interests and desires of craving and aversion influenced by their likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements based on what they believe what things are, and they are easily being influenced and manipulated by other people, they will fall into the game of manipulation of those who want to be in power. Those who want to be in power will give the people whatever they like and want, which are not necessarily good for their welfare or well-being, but then these people will be supporting those who will give them what they want, to be in power to be the leaders of the nations in the world.

Just like the children will be happy and satisfy if we give them sweets whenever they request for sweets, and they will say that we are good people and are nice to them. And the children will do things for us whenever they want us to give them sweets. But, that will ruin the children's well-being in long term. But people who are influenced by ignorance and egoism don't care about the welfare of others.

For example, if majority of the people like and want drugs, those who want to be in power will give them drugs, it doesn't matter when by doing so, they know that it will ruin the welfare and well-being of the people and the nation in long term. They are only interested in using the power given to them to gratify their own selfish desires while they still have the power. They don't care if the people or the nation and the world will fall apart afterwards. They let the drugs numb and dull the people's minds. When people's minds are numbed and dulled, and don't have the clarity of mind to think properly, it will be good for those who want to be in power, as they will continue to get the support and liking from the majority of these people by giving them what they like and want, and there will be less people stand against them because majority of the people's minds are already numbed and dulled and clouded by the effects of the drugs, as well as being addicted to drugs. When people are addicted to drugs, they will do anything for the people who will give them drugs. And those who get in power can do whatever they want to do with the power being given by these majority people who support them to be in power through the system of democracy. This is how the world comes to destruction because of the democracy system is being supported and influenced by the mass of the world population being over-powered by ignorance and egoism, while being manipulated by a group of selfish and greedy people.

Democracy – power to the people and the power of the people. But, are the majority of the people all wise and selfless, or are they being over-powered by ignorance and egoism?

Om shanti.

Hating haters hating us?

To hope for peace and harmony in the world, ourselves have to be free from hatred without expecting others not to hate us. If others want to hate, that's their freedom.

How can we expect the world be free from hatred and have peace and harmony in the world, when we are hating haters hating us?

There are people who enjoy hating others and don't want to have peace and harmony in the world, and they intentionally provoke hatred among everyone for attaining something that they want under the influence of their selfish intentions and desires. Sometimes, we are not aware of ourselves are being manipulated by some people's selfish intentions to attain their selfish desires.

As yoga practitioners, we don't share or promote any hate speech or influences, it doesn't matter if it's coming from certain people who think they are good and they want to do the right thing. It's because we are not any different from others whom we think they are bad and wrong, if we hate others for being bad and wrong. When we don't show anger and hatred towards people and things that we think are bad and wrong, it doesn't mean that we agree with them or support them. We don't have to agree with or support them, but we don't have to hate them. Why hurting and harming ourselves through generating anger and hatred in our minds for others' bad and wrong doings?

Om shanti.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Worldly identifications with names and forms

There are many things that we like to do in life and there are things that we don't want to do. There are different duties and responsibilities come along with our many different worldly identifications with different names and forms. Depending on the limited conditions, we can be anything or anyone that we want to be, and perform as many actions as possible under different worldly identifications, but all these different identifications with different names and forms, and what we do and don't do in life through the body and mind, are not who we are.

When one realizes the truth of selflessness, one will be free from separateness, loneliness, offensiveness, defensiveness, aggressiveness, pride, arrogance, hurts, guilt, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, violence, ill-will, ill-thinking, fear, worry, painful sorrow and all sorts of restlessness or impurities. As long as our minds are not free from ignorance and egoism and impurities, all our actions will also be influenced and determined by egoistic attachment, identification, desire, judgment and intention, and we will always be disturbed by the fruit of actions.

When one is free from ignorance and egoism, one will be able to either perform or abandon all kinds of worldly actions, duties and responsibilities, without being determined by all actions (both actions and inactions) and the fruit of actions.

Be free.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

What is strength and power for the ego, is being weak in yoga practice...

The ego wants to get what it wants. It won't satisfied or happy unless it gets what it wants. It would be disappointed and unhappy if it doesn't get what it wants, or if it gets something that it doesn't want.

The ego feels strong and powerful when it gets what it wants.

But, this is indeed being weak in our yoga practice.

The mind is being over-powered by the ego and give in to the egoistic desires of craving and aversion.

Yoga enthusiasts with the strong egoism may feel satisfied and happy when their desires of craving and aversion are being gratified, through getting what they like and not getting what they don't like, and attaining physical strength and flexibility through the regular yoga asana practice, but then it's indeed a form of weakness as well as obstacle on the path of yoga towards the realization of selflessness and unconditional peace.

Yoga practitioners can be performing actions very seriously and determinedly towards achieving something, but all these actions and effort can be free from egoistic attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, and expectation. The mind is peaceful as it is regardless of what is the outcome of the actions and effort. There's neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, allowing the fruit of action being what it is. And all are impermanent.

Om shanti.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Want to teach yoga?

Teaching yoga is not about trying to convince other people to believe in the teachings of yoga, or to persuade other people to like yoga and practice yoga, or recruiting many people to be our yoga students and joining our yoga classes, or to set as an example for others to imitate us, or to build a yoga empire. The students shouldn’t follow or imitate the teacher, or blind-believe in the teachings of yoga or what the teacher taught them. It’s guiding the students to be free from egoism, and allowing them to be free from attachment and identification towards any thinking and beliefs including the teachings of yoga, but to investigate into the truth of everything, to attain self-realization.
 
Everyone may or may not need some guidance, but it’s up to everyone’s free will to change their own thinking and behavior by developing self-control and self-discipline over their own thinking, actions and speech, and attain self-realization be free from ignorance, and realize unconditional love and peace, and stopped hurting themselves and others. The teacher doesn’t and can’t control or change the students, but can only give them guidance and encouragement. The teacher and the student will meet at the right time and the right place naturally when the time has come, without the influence of egoistic selfish desires.

There’s nothing wrong when people think that when they feel unhappy or angry, feel hurt and disappointed, it’s nothing to do with their own ignorance and egoism, but instead, it’s everyone and everything out there that are bad and wrong that give them unhappiness and suffering. There’s nothing wrong when people believe in God or disbelieve in God. It is everyone’s freedom of thought, actions and speech. But when people start to have strong attachment and identification towards what they think and believe, there arise separateness, discrimination, prejudice, hatred, violence, fear and unrest in their minds towards others who are different from them. Some people even enjoy being angry and violent. They won’t feel good unless they get angry and violent.

If people don’t like to practice yoga about letting go of the ego, attachment and identification, no one can force them. The teachings of yoga teach about everyone purifying their own thinking, actions and speech, but respecting others' freedom of thinking, actions and speech, for what they want to do with themselves, their lives, their bodies and minds. Everyone takes the responsibility for the consequences of their own actions and inactions, for what they believe and disbelieve, for what they want and don’t want. No one can control or purify other’s mind. It is up to each one’s effort and free will to control and purify one’s mind. There's no condemn in Yoga towards anyone who doesn’t like the teachings of yoga, or who doesn’t want to practice yoga as it is, or who misunderstands about yoga, or who criticizes yoga. Anyone can take up any yoga practice and practice anyway that they like, or do whatever they like with yoga, or they can stop practicing yoga for any reasons. There’s no condemn, or sin, or punishment.

Those who practice yoga, they don’t condemn nor criticize. Vice versa, those who condemn and criticize, they don’t practice yoga. We share yoga out of compassion, not out of egoism thinking that “Yoga is good for everyone. Everyone should practice yoga, and practice properly in a particular way, or else they are insulting the sacredness and purity of yoga.” One type of medicine may cure a person’s illness but may not necessarily has the same effect on another with the same illness, or would it cure some other form of illnesses. People react differently towards the same medicine and have different tolerance towards certain side-effects of that medicine which appear differently on different people. Some people may be a good friend for many others, but may not be a good partner or good parent. 
 
There are people dislike and disagree with the teaching and practice of yoga. That is their freedom. We can’t expect or force everyone to like yoga and practice yoga as it is. There are people who never heard about the teachings of yoga and don’t do any yoga practice in a particular name and form, but they are selfless, compassionate and peaceful beings. And if yoga is something sacred and pure, how can it be insulted or contaminated by anything at all?

Some people kept modifying the traditional yoga practices into many different new styles and versions to suit the preferences of what people like and don't like, what they want and don't want. Though there's nothing wrong with that in terms of business marketing strategy and customer service and value, but then the yoga teachers are not really teaching yoga, and the students are not really practicing yoga. Instead it is empowering the egoism, attachment, identification, worldly thinking, ideas and habits, and empowering the desires of craving and aversion of the egoistic mind. 
 
When we practice yoga, we stop giving the egoistic mind what it likes and wants. No doubt that sharing yoga is about sharing love and happiness. Yoga teachers are there to guide the yoga students on how to attain unconditional love and happiness by letting go of the egoistic desires of craving and aversion. It's not about giving them what they like and want, or don't give them what they don't like and don't want, to gratified their desires of craving and aversion, to make them feel loved and happy. They feel loved and happy is because they are getting something that they like and want, and/or are not getting anything that they don't like and don't want. It doesn't help them to be free from the desires of craving and aversion, to realize unconditional love and happiness. When they are not getting what they like and want, and are getting something that they don't like and don't want, they will feel dissatisfied, disappointed, angry, resent, unhappy or miserable. This is moving away from what yoga is about.

Though there is a very significant teaching of yoga about seeing God in all and everything, that God exists in all and everything, but one doesn’t need to believe in God or spirituality to practice the teachings of yoga. For those who don’t believe in God, this teaching can be taught as seeing the one same universal consciousness of all and everything, which is the truth of impermanence and selflessness, that there’s no ‘I’ or individual existence exists in everything or in all the impermanent changes. For those who don’t believe in God or the one same universal consciousness, this teaching can be taught as seeing the element of teacher in all and everything to teach us something for realizing higher understanding about worldly life existence, and be grateful and thankful for all kinds of good and bad experiences. Those who truly implement this teaching in everyday life wouldn’t be disturbed or determined by all the pleasant and unpleasant experiences, and wouldn’t generate anger or hatred towards anyone or anything, but they would respect the law of impermanence in all the different qualities of names and forms, and respect all the different types of thinking, beliefs and behaviors that exist in the worldly community as they are. This teaching leads us to peace and harmony in ourselves and not generating violence, anger and hatred in ourselves and into the world. But if our minds are over-powered by strong egoism and have pride and arrogance about ourselves and our thinking and belief, we would find this practice impossible or very difficult, unless we are ready to let go of our ego, pride and arrogance.

Peacelessness and disharmony manifest and exist in our minds are deriving from the strong egoism, pride and arrogance, attachment and identification, desire of craving and aversion, greed and discontentment, fear and worry, and all kinds of impurities empowered by ignorance or corrupted thinking and belief in the mind. One also generates unrest and disharmony into the surrounding environment when one isn’t peaceful and harmony.
 
If every being is free from ignorance, egoism and impurities, naturally the society will be free from separateness, discrimination, prejudice, hatred, violence, fear and unrest. If we want peace in the world, we must have peace in ourselves. Having peace and harmony in oneself is the only effective way to help the world to be in peace and harmony among all the different qualities and diversities. By being violent, angry and hating others and happenings that we don’t like and disagree with, and provoke anger and hatred in other people to also be angry and hate those whom we think they are bad and wrong, it wouldn’t help the world to be peaceful and harmony as how we would like it to be, but instead, we contribute so much unrest and disharmony into the world, it doesn’t matter how good and right we think we are.

When we know what is yoga, we will know that teaching yoga has very little to do with qualification and certification coming from attending 'internationally recognized' yoga teachers training courses. Yoga teachers training courses are for people to learn to become their own teacher. When one realizes the teacher within oneself, one will know that everything and everyone are teachers to teach everyone something. One will be free from discrimination and hatred towards anyone and anything, and will respect everyone and everything as they are. And naturally, one can also guide other people to become their own teachers out of self-realized unconditional love and peace, without the need of any certifications or acknowledgement from anyone or any 'internationally recognized' organizations.

It doesn’t matter whether we know the names of the yoga poses in English or Sanskrit, or not, or what are the benefits of the yoga exercises, or what particular type of yoga that we practice, because yoga practice is not about gaining the benefits from the yoga exercises at all, and by knowing the names of the yoga poses and performing what particular type of yoga have nothing to do with the realization of unconditional love and peace. It’s about letting go of attachment, identification, expectation, craving and aversion towards all our actions and the fruit of actions, or towards the yoga practice and the result of the yoga practice.

Yoga is about realizing compassion and selflessness through the practice of dispassion and renunciation towards worldly objects, values and ideas, discrimination of what is real and unreal, eliminating the ego and quieting one's restless modification of the mind, and be free from all kinds of attachments, identifications, desires of craving and aversion, and impurities. And all these practices have nothing to do with the impermanent condition and ability of the physical body to perform the yoga poses, or how many years we have been doing yoga exercises, or how much yoga exercises we had done, or how many yoga poses we can perform and whether we can perform the yoga poses in perfect alignment, or not. It’s also nothing to do with all the physical health and fitness benefits that come along as side-effects from the yoga practice. All these names and forms cannot guarantee or determine whether we know about yoga or not, whether we are practicing yoga or not, whether we can teach yoga or not, and whether we are free from ignorance and egoism, and be liberated from suffering, or not.

Many people including many yoga enthusiasts don’t like to hear about the practice of dispassion and renunciation. They give themselves many reasons to justify themselves that they don’t need to be dispassionate, instead they promote passionate way of thinking and living. They said follow all our desires and live passionately. There’s nothing wrong with having desires and being passionate towards worldly life existence, self-image, ideas, ambitions and social activities, and everyone has the freedom to choose what they want to do with their life existence, but then it isn’t what yoga practice is about.

Dispassion towards worldly objects, ideas and activities helps to render the mind calm and quiet to be able to perform self-inquiry to know the truth of 'I', or what the mind thinks and believes as 'who I am'. Passion invigorates strong attachment and identification towards worldly life existence, the function and ability of the body and mind, and passionate desires of craving and aversion. Instead of quieting the mind, annihilating the worldly ideas, and eliminating the ego, it is stimulating the mind, strengthening the worldly ideas and empowering the ego. Passion hinders the mind to see the truth of things as they are. But if people enjoy being passionate and don’t mind being restless constantly swaying between satisfaction and dissatisfaction, that’s their freedom.

Dispassion doesn’t mean that we have no love or feelings. It is respecting and loving the world and everyone as they are, without selfish desires or expectations, discrimination of likes and dislikes/agreements and disagreements, without attachment, identification, craving and aversion, where the world and everyone are not necessarily the way that 'I' would like it to be, or the way that the mind thinks and believes how it should be.

Passion is loving the world and everyone with selfish desires and expectations, discrimination of likes and dislikes/agreements and disagreements, attachment, identification, craving and aversion. It’s 'I' love my world to be the way that 'I' would like it to be, or the way that the mind thinks and believes how it should be.

When one is free from ignorance and egoism, then there’s no difference between passion and dispassion. One can live and perform actions passionately in the world, but is undisturbed and undetermined by one’s actions and the fruit of actions.

The realization of selflessness will allow us to be undisturbed or undetermined by whatever the mind perceives through the senses, and remain equanimous and be at peace unconditionally. When one has realized unconditional love and peace, one won’t be intentionally generating thoughts, actions and speech that will hurt oneself and others under any circumstances, which is compassion. And the realization of unconditional love and peace has nothing to do with the knowledge about anatomy and physiology, or the physical condition and ability and alignment to do the yoga poses.

Everyone can practice yoga and share the wisdom of yoga and its practice with anybody, when they are free from ignorance and egoism and have realized unconditional love and peace through their own persist and sincere practice. They don’t need a piece of commercialized paper to allow them to share love and peace with others. Those who haven’t realized unconditional love and peace in themselves, they can’t share love and peace with others even if they have been attending many yoga courses and possess many pieces of 'internationally recognized' certifications. Those who think and believe that they need to attend professional yoga courses and acquire a few pieces of paper to accumulate credits to allow them to share love and peace with other people, then they don’t really know what is yoga, where their minds are still being influenced very much by the worldly egoistic objects, values and ideas, and being determined by the qualities of names and forms.

May all be happy, be peaceful, be free.

Om shanti.

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Know thyself. Everything is impermanent and selfless. There is no 'I'. There is no 'I am selfless'/'I am not selfless'. There is no 'I am hurt'/'I need to be healed from hurt'. Non-blind believing, non-blind following, non-blind practicing and non-blind propagating, but be open-minded to inquire the truth of everything. Be free. Be peaceful. Be happy.

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