Want to learn yoga?

A young man who is interested to start learning and practicing yoga has the intention to find a 'yoga teacher' to learn about yoga and/or the yoga practice has an opportunity to meet a person who could deliver the teachings and practice of yoga to those who are interested in learning and practicing yoga.

Instead of thinking, "Dear teacher, how can I serve you and what should I do, as I hope you would receive me as your student (to be a student of yoga) and teach me about the teachings and practice of yoga?" this young man asked, "I have been looking for a yoga teacher because I am interested in yoga and want to learn and practice yoga, but first, I need to know what is your level in yoga and what qualifications you have?"

Most probably, many 'yoga teachers' would respond with, "I am an advanced and experienced yoga practitioner cum yoga teacher with certain years experience in yoga practice and teaching yoga, and I am a qualified (x) level yoga teacher with many 'Internationally recognized yoga teacher certifications' affiliated with such and such 'yoga alliance' and 'yoga association'." And this is something in common among many 'yoga enthusiasts' in the world of yoga.

Does one needs to acquire and possess 'qualification and certification of peace, kindness, compassion and forgiveness' to be peaceful, kind and compassionate, to be able to forgive and let go, or to be recognized as a 'peaceful, kind, compassionate and forgiving being'?

Did any of the ancient buddhas, yogis and gurus had been 'certified' by (?) and be 'qualified' with one or a few 'certification' of Buddhism or Yoga that indicate such and such level in practicing, enlightening and teaching, for being what they are?

Contemplate, reflect, realize.

Contemplate, and see how ignorant is this thinking mind

Many people, including yoga practitioners and yoga teachers would think and believe that 'yoga' or 'teaching yoga' and 'learning yoga' shouldn't involve any 'fixed amount of fees' or shouldn't be 'contaminated' by 'money' in the form of fees at all, where 'donation basis', or 'donate as much as you can give', or 'donate as much as you like' and any other form of 'offering' is totally acceptable and non-contaminating the 'purity' of yoga, where 'yoga teachers' who charge and receive 'certain fixed amount of fees' are being seen as 'greedy', 'materialistic' and 'money minded' impure yoga teachers, and vice versa.

There is a yoga teacher who is looking forward to find a 'pure and genuine human being teacher/guru' who doesn't bother about 'fees' or 'money' to teach her yoga, is being 'disappointed' and 'complaining' about it's so difficult (impossible) to find a (human being) 'real yoga teacher/guru' that doesn't bother about 'fees' or 'money' who would teach her yoga.

It's the deep rooted ignorance that generates such ignorant thinking and expectation that is what hindering this person from realizing the one and only 'real and pure guru', which is (knowing) the mind itself.

Does her business that gives her the financial income/support for living doesn't involve 'money'? Do the yoga classes that she conducts doesn't involve any expenses and maintenance in the form of 'money'? Does the life or the everyday living of her and her family doesn't involve any form of 'money'? Does her parents gave birth to her and brought her up and provided her with food, shelter, medical needs and education without the need of 'money'? Does she doesn't have any expenses in the form of 'money' to bring up her children by providing food/shelter/education/medical needs to them? Is her house that she is living in and her car that she is driving and her phone and internet access that she is using doesn't need any money? Does the food that she feeds herself and her family and those who are hungry on the street doesn't involve money? When she went to the temple and presented some 'offering' to the many different (statues of) 'Buddhas' and 'Gods' asking for 'blessings' to herself, her family and the whole world, and gave 'donation' to the temple for the maintenance and build more buildings to house more (statues of) 'Buddhas' and 'Gods' doesn't involve money? Is the water, gas, electricity and everything that is conveniently available in her house doesn't involve any form of 'money'?

But why do most people think and believe that 'human beings' who teach yoga or yoga classes must be deprived from 'being independently generating income for living from teaching yoga' by taking 'money' in a fixed amount of fees? That 'learning yoga' from somebody and 'teaching yoga' to somebody must not involve 'fixed amount of fees in the form of money', it should be either 'free' or 'on donation/offering basis', or at a very low fees that the mind thinks that is how much it deserves? That 'real and pure yoga teachers' should either have some other form of permanent full time job/business/investment that provides them the income/support for living or they should be living on the charity/donation of others (begging for food, shelter, clothing, daily needs, and etc)?

People think that allowing others to practice 'charity' by making them giving in the form of 'donation' or 'offering' is promoting generosity, sharing, compassion and selflessness in the world. But, generosity and sharing is not limited in the form of 'charity', while compassion and selflessness is not determined by performing 'charity' in the form of giving 'donation' or 'offering'. Many people who perform 'charity' under certain names and forms, who give donation and offering, are not necessarily compassionate and selfless, or are being free from ignorance and egoism.

The organizations or the yoga teachers/gurus that are 'living'/'surviving' on the charity or donation from the public are not necessarily be free from all sorts of corruption, ignorance, egoism and impurities. Those who teach yoga to other people, who don't depend on charity or begging for donation from the public for living/surviving are not necessarily non-genuine, corrupted and impure. This is such a simple 'understanding', but even many yoga practitioners and yoga teachers don't get it.

Why is that many good and righteous people would protest strongly against different kinds of 'exploitation' that exist in the world, but then, 'teaching yoga' and 'yoga teachers' should be 'exploited' to the maximum, as the way to define and uphold 'the highest purity'? It's totally acceptable for most people to pay certain amount of 'money' for supporting/promoting/getting 'vegetarianism', 'veganism', 'pure and clean food', 'superfood', 'organic food', 'special spiritual healing', 'yoga props/clothing/accessories', 'religious/spiritual activities', 'psychotherapy', 'medical care', 'all kinds of education, learning, training and services', 'pleasurable entertainment and enjoyment', 'social activities', 'holidays', 'travels', 'daily needs' and etc, but, it's so unacceptable, terrible, bad and wrong for people to pay 'certain fixed amount of fees' for 'learning yoga'.

People would spend money buying 'different types of offering' to be offering to 'Gods' and 'Buddhas' hoping to receive something that they want from 'Gods' and 'Buddhas', where 'Gods' and 'Buddhas' (if they are really gods and buddhas) don't need any of these offering, but then, people would think and believe that giving certain amount of fees to learn yoga from a teacher to be supporting the living of the yoga teacher is something inappropriate and wrong. Such deep ignorance.

There's nothing insincere or wrong with those who don't need to depend on receiving fees or donations from anyone for living, but instead, they might have more than enough for their own living, and they can teach yoga and run yoga classes/courses to anyone without taking any fees or donations at all. But that also doesn't determine that these minds are being free from corruption, ignorance, egoism and impurities.

The 'teacher' or 'guru' who is a living human being that doesn't need to bother about fees/donation or money, who either doesn't receive any fees/donation at all, or who would just take any amount of fees/donation 'as much as you can give' or 'as much as you would like to give' when teaching yoga to other people, are either they are financially secured where they don't need to depend on receiving money in the form of fees or donation from teaching yoga for living, or they are living on the charity of others (supported by spouse, family, friends or the public). Unless they are non-human beings or non-living beings that don't need to be 'living' or 'surviving' to maintain the life of the existence and function of the impermanent selfless physical body, or they are human beings who live/survive self-sufficiently on a piece of free land in the wild, surviving purely on mother nature that is free from 'money transaction', that isn't 'touched' or being 'possessed and governed' by some kind of 'authority' at all.

When 'good and generous' people offer 'flowers', 'food' and 'clothing' to a person who teaches them yoga to show their gratitude and appreciation, can this person uses the 'flowers', 'food' and 'clothing' to pay rent, or tax, or medical needs, or even using a toilet to shit and pee, unless the 'flowers', 'food' and 'clothing' could be resold to become 'money', or this person actually lives/survives in the wild, surviving on mother nature that is free from 'money transaction', to build a shelter and planting and collecting food and water in the wild that isn't being 'possessed and governed' by some kind of 'authority' in 'a society' of 'a village/town/city/county/state' under 'the law of a country'.

By thinking and believing that being 'generous' and 'pure' is to be giving 'free teaching' or 'low fees yoga classes' or 'yoga classes based on donation as you wish' or 'discounted fees' to many of those who only want to pay 'a little amount of fees' or 'donate as you wish' to learn yoga from someone or to do some yoga exercises in a 'yoga class', even when they can afford to pay certain amount of fees but is higher than what they would like to give, as the minds think and believe that money-less or low fees is what purity and sincerity is about, or that is how much the teachings, or the classes, or the service, or the person deserved to be paid or should be receiving, is indeed promoting the ignorance in oneself and in the others.

Yoga, selflessness, compassion, oneness, liberation from suffering, the teachings of yoga, the practice of yoga, teaching yoga, learning yoga and the realization of yoga are invaluable. It cannot be sold or bought by any amount of money/fees/donation/offering. Teaching yoga and learning yoga among beings doesn't really need 'money' to be happening. But being existing, moving and living in this world, especially in the modern society, require 'money' for most things. 'Money' is neither pure nor impure, it's just part of the game of living in the world, while the action of 'giving'/'receiving'/'sharing'/'generosity'/'loving kindness'/'charity'/'donation'/'offering' either in the form of money or non-money, don't necessarily determining something pure and selfless under the influence of ignorance and egoism.

Yoga schools that provide 'yoga classes' or 'yoga courses' might not survive or exist if without sufficient funding in the form of money (regardless of whether it's fixed amount of fees or donation basis). Human beings who know the teachings and practice of yoga might not have the free time, space and energy to be 'present' at a particular time, space and causation to teach yoga to some others, if they need to be working/doing business full time for supporting their own living and those who are living under their support, and they also need the time, space and energy to be performing their own practice. Many people complain about how their parents are being too busy with their work or business that they don't get enough affection and attention from their parents, because their parents need to spend most of their time, space and energy into making income to support the living of everyone in the family.

For a person to put time, space and energy into running a yoga studio/school that provides yoga classes, yoga courses or yoga retreats for people be there to learn and practice yoga require a lot of expenses in the form of money.

All the articles/writings/blogs/teachings about yoga here are free for anyone to take, provided if they have access to a computer and internet usage that require money, and the person who blogs this also needs money to have access to the computer and internet access for this blog to be existing.

So, think again if the mind is still looking forward to be finding/meeting a 'pure and genuine' human being yoga teacher to be teaching yoga to oneself, under the expectation that this teacher shouldn't be taking money or certain fixed amount of fees that one's mind thinks it's too much and don't deserving, or expecting this teacher only takes small amount of fees or donation as you wish, or else, this must be an impure and non-genuine teacher if this person takes a fixed amount of fees that one's mind thinks it's too much or don't deserving.

Regardless of whether the person whom oneself learns yoga from is pure or impure, it really doesn't matter. It's about how this mind behaves. If this mind is looking for a teacher with the expectation and judgment towards the teacher should or shouldn't be in certain way, judging the teacher based on one's expectation towards how a teacher should be like, expecting the teacher to meet up with one's expectation as well as be able to receive whatever one expects to be receiving from a teacher, but at the same time, one is measuring what and how much one would like to 'give'/'donate'/'offer' to the teacher to show 'gratitude' and 'appreciation' to the teacher for teaching oneself, then even though the teacher doesn't ask any fees/donation/offering in return, and one would give/donate/offer something to the teacher, this person won't be able to learn anything even if this is a great teacher who delivers the teachings of yoga. If this mind is opened, free from expectation, then this mind doesn't even need to look for a teacher, as the opened mind itself is the greatest teacher that allows itself to see the truth from all and everything that the mind comes in contact with. One will respect and show gratitude towards all and everything, without discrimination of pure or impure, deserving or undeserving.

Contemplate, and see how ignorant is this thinking mind. When one sees/realizes the ignorance in one's mind, one found/meets the greatest teacher.

One might not learn or realize anything, even if there's a great teacher (living or non-living being) being there teaching yoga to oneself all the time without involving 'money' in the form of 'fees' or 'donation', as one doesn't see/realize the ignorance in one's mind.

Neither right nor wrong

Most people think, react and behave in certain ways that conform to the way of thinking, reaction and behavior of the majority of the society, and naturally there will be egoistic judgment and expectation towards how all the others should or shouldn't think, react and behave in certain ways in accordance to their way of thinking, reaction and behavior that they think and believe as 'right' or 'wrong', 'good' or 'bad', 'positive' or 'negative', 'healthy' or 'unhealthy', 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate', 'normal' or 'abnormal', 'sane' or 'insane'. Anything that are contradicting and are different from their own way of thinking, reaction and behavior, would be categorized as 'wrong', 'bad', 'negative', 'inappropriate', 'unhealthy', 'abnormal', or 'insane'. What is contradicting with what the impure egoistic minds think and believe as 'humanity' is being understood as 'inhumanity'. There are lots of discussions, debates, arguments and conflicts exist due to the strong attachment towards the mind perception of duality under the influence of ignorance and egoism that based on particular way of thinking, reaction and behavior that is agreeable to the majority of the society.

Yoga practice is about changing such egoistic thinking pattern of the impure egoistic mind and allowing the mind to see things as they are, to free the mind from egoistic judgment or expectation towards all the different ways of thinking, reaction and behavior to be or not to be in certain way.

Upon coming in contact with the 'death' of someone or something, most minds would react and feel sad and grieve/mourn, and would criticize or condemn certain minds that don't react in such way, where they don't feel sad nor grieve/mourn towards the 'death' of someone or something (that most minds think and believe as something good and is dear to them), as a form of 'wrongful'/'bad'/'inappropriate'/'negative'/'unhealthy'/'abnormal'/'insane' way of thinking, reaction and behavior. Meanwhile, these impure egoistic minds would feel glad and cheer towards the 'death' or 'destruction' of someone or something that they think and believe as something bad and is hated by them.

And that's everyone's freedom for how they think, feel, react, judge and expect.

For the yoga practitioners, it's all about the elimination of ignorance and egoism, by freeing the mind from such worldly egoistic thinking pattern of the mind.

How the minds perceive and judge towards everything is based on what the minds know and understand, and what the impure egoistic minds know and understand is very limited and conditioned under the influence of ignorance and egoism, even if the minds are highly educated and knowledgeable.

People who might be highly educated and knowledgeable could be thinking and believing that, "The minority must respect and conform to the idea and wish of the majority." and constantly be offended and hurt by something that the mind dislikes and disagrees with.

The selfless yogis, or the wise ones, or the dispassionate ones, neither grieve/mourn towards the 'death' nor cheer/celebrate towards the 'birth' of 'the good and dearest ones'. Neither will they cheer towards the 'death' nor grieve/mourn towards the 'birth' of 'the bad and hated ones'. It's not that they are emotion-less, or heart-less, or depressing, abnormal or insane, it's just that they perceive and understand everything differently from the majority of the society, being aware of the truth of names and forms and transcending all the qualities of names and forms that are subject to cause and effect, impermanence and selflessness. The thinking, reaction and behavior pattern of these minds towards the perception/experience of all kinds of names and forms or the pleasant/unpleasant experiences has transcended the perception and understanding of the impure egoistic minds, where they don't think, react or behave like the majority of the society.

Whenever the mind thinks and judges, "Oh, this person thinks, reacts and behaves in the way that is so wrong, bad, negative, inappropriate, abnormal, unhealthy or insane. Obviously this person doesn't know or understand how to think, react or behave in the way that is right, good, positive, appropriate, normal, healthy and sane." then know that most probably it's actually 'this mind that thinks and judges in such way' that doesn't know/understand or is being ignorant towards something that is beyond what this mind knows and understands.

Know this mind. Know Thyself.

It's merely different ways of thinking, reaction and behavior under different states of the mind that is subject to cause and effect, impermanence and selflessness, that is either under the influence of ignorance and egoism, or not.

If the mind cannot go beyond the duality of right and wrong, good and bad, positive and negative, and so on, then even though one has been practicing and teaching yoga for many years, this mind is not free.

Contemplate, reflect, realize.

What do yoga practitioners practice in yoga?

"What do yoga practitioners practice in yoga?"

There are many different types of 'external yoga practice' that can be seen or recognized through various physical appearances and activities 'representing' different lineage or path under different names and forms or brands and styles, but all kinds of external practice must be accompanied by the internal practice of VIVEKA (right discrimination), VAIRAGYA (dispassion/renunciation), SHATSAMPAT (six fold path) and MUMUKSHUTVA (intense yearning for liberation). Or else, performing many of the different forms of external yoga practice regularly might bring some momentary effects or benefits (the sense of calmness, joyfulness, goodness, meaningfulness, healthiness) to the practitioners, but it doesn't lead the mind towards the elimination of ignorance and egoism and the complete annihilation of the modification of the mind, which is the ultimate goal of yoga (although there aren't many yoga enthusiasts are practicing yoga for this reason, and that's their freedom), transcending all forms of name and form (the mind perception of impermanent pleasant and unpleasant life experiences) as well as all the momentary desirable/non-desirable, agreeable/disagreeable or enjoyable/non-enjoyable side-effects or by-products that may or may not arise throughout the internal and/or external yoga practice.

The external yoga practice is most probably being limited by time, space and causation, while the internal yoga practice is unlimited, transcending all kinds of condition and situation, names and forms that are subject to impermanence and selflessness. As long as there's the modification of the mind, the practice is always available or present right here and right now. If there's a 'limitation', then this 'limitation' is coming from the impure egoistic outgoing passionate mind itself, either rejecting the practice or giving up the practice for some reasons. And even this 'limitation' is impermanent.

Those who are endowed with the four means of yoga, might not be seen or recognized from their appearance or activity, as they don't necessarily have to be performing any particular form of external yoga practice that representing particular lineage or path under a particular name and form or brand and style, although there's great assistance coming from the external practice to conquer the impure restless state of mind.

It doesn't matter with or without practicing a particular lineage or path of yoga under certain names and forms or brands and styles, but more importantly, practicing the teachings of yoga to silent the modification of the mind, to free the mind from restlessness deriving from ignorance and egoism, to realize selflessness/oneness/non-separateness/namelessness/formlessness/attributelessness/birthlessness/deathlessness.