The teachings and practice of yoga, is about looking after the state of the mind, or, the mental health, to free the mind from the diseases of mind, which is ignorance, egoism and impurities.
Mental health plays upmost important role towards determining what type of condition and situation in the impermanent and selfless world of diversities. It's because even though there is inevitable basic suffering of restlessness due to the selfless impermanent nature of everything, but the condition and situation in the world is impacted hugely by the consequences of ceaseless actions and reactions of the minds in this world.
All minds ceaselessly act and react in the world, that bring along the consequences of actions and reactions into the world, which determining or conditioning the world being in certain way, either intentionally or unintentionally. The world is having more or less unnecessary man made suffering, on top of the inevitable suffering of restlessness due to the impermanent selfless changes in all beings, is all the outcome of ceaseless actions and reactions of the minds.
The more minds that are acting and reacting under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities either wittingly or unwittingly, the more unnecessary man made suffering deriving from ignorance, egoism and impurities are there in the world, and vice versa.
Behavior problems (ignorant egoistic impure actions and reactions) that inflict disturbance and pain in oneself and others, either intentionally or unintentionally, are the reflections of ill mental health. In yoga, it's the reflection of the disturbed, restless and impure modifications of the perceptive cognitive thinking mind functioning under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities.
Even though most minds are under the influence of ignorance and egoism, and are experiencing disturbance, restlessness and impurities, but if the mind has certain degrees of awareness and self-control, not being over-powered by the impurities in the mind, then one might not be generating too many unnecessary ignorant egoistic impure behaviors (actions and reactions) that would bring consequences that hurt oneself and/or others, and the surrounding environment. This can be referred as 'rather healthy' mental health, even if it's not completely be free from ignorance and egoism.
On the other hand, one might be constantly and ignorantly generating ignorant behaviors and the consequences of ignorant behaviors that would hurt oneself and/or others, either intentionally or unintentionally, if without awareness or self-control, being over-powered by ignorance, egoism, disturbance, restlessness and impurities to act and react, either wittingly or unwittingly. This can be referred as 'ill' mental health.
It's normal that when the condition of the world is good, or when life is good and easy for many people, there might be less behavior problems, as there are less disturbed restless minds under desperation for basic survival, even though behavior problems will still always be existing in the world of human beings arising from ignorance, egoism and impurities (ill mental health), even when the world or life is under good condition, or there's no urgency or desperation for basic survival.
Under the presence of desperation in the mind deriving from survival instinct due to the suffering of hunger and thirst and life threatening situation, some people might steal or hurt some others in order to survive, or to relieve their hunger and thirst and to get out from life threatening situation, however, there are minds that are not under such desperation, as they are living under good and comfortable condition, free from the suffering of hunger and thirst and life threatening situation, but out of ignorance, egoism and impurities, there is boundless greed, or endless desire and aspiration, towards possessing and hoarding resources not only for survival, but more so for gratifying the boundless desires of craving and aversion, to be indulging in continuous unlimited higher and higher pleasurable enjoyment of the senses, and hence, one would steal/rob, exploit and hurt others, in order to seize and possess more and more resources (possessing higher and higher wealth and power that enabling them to hoard more and more resources which provide them with higher and higher pleasurable enjoyment and satisfaction), even when one has more than enough basic survival needs for oneself, and is free from the suffering of hunger and thirst and life threatening situation in the present as well as until the end of this life.
These mind are nothing but the slave of the ego, the intellect and the senses, even though they amassed huge amount of knowledge, wealth and power.
That is the reflection of seriously ill mental health, where the mind would sabotage or hurt anyone and anything, intentionally, in order to gratify the endless greed/dissatisfaction or the desire of craving and aversion.
Greed is a form of serious and yet very common mental illness in the world.
Greed towards hoarding resources for survival and enjoyment, love, support, family
ties, friendship, relationship, connection, companionship, agreement,
acceptance, acknowledgement, appreciation, recognition, praise,
achievement, success, fame, wealth, power, status, knowledge,
superiority, pride, enhanced physical and mental abilities, actions and the fruit
of actions, desirable experiences, pleasurable
physical/mental/material/emotional enjoyments and comforts, agreeable and
comfortable condition and situation, the sense of satisfaction,
goodness, happiness and meaningfulness, and so on.
That's why the existence of the teachings and practice of yoga and buddhism, and/or certain religions, which the main teachings and practice is about the subjugation of greed and desire, however, either in the world of yoga and buddhism, or in many religions, there are many minds are being ignorant towards ignorance, (even when they are preaching about the liberation from ignorance and suffering arising from ignorance,) where there is greed or desire and aspiration towards 'achieving' or 'creating' a world that the ignorant egoistic impure minds think, believe and desire how it should be, by converting, interfering, oppressing, controlling, disciplining, influencing, manipulating and conditioning all and everyone, to think, believe, behave and live life in certain way, that they think is 'the right way', where different minds have different understanding and belief towards what is 'the right way'. And hence, there are disagreements, arguments, offensiveness, defensiveness, possessiveness, protectiveness, conflicts, fighting, wars and violence, in the name of upholding everyone's own version of 'the right way' and to be creating a world the way that they desire.
There's nothing to be ashamed of for being suffering from ill mental health. Many people are suffering from certain degrees of mental illness but might not be aware of it. While those who are aware of it, might be seeking certain ways that give momentary relief from the suffering of mental disturbance/unrest/hurt/fear/worry/stress/depression/unhappiness/dissatisfaction/disappointment/low self-esteem/shame/guilt/regret, which might not necessarily be something 'healthy' in the long run. There's neither right nor wrong, as it's everyone's freedom for what they want to do with their body and mind. While many people are not interested in and don't want to go through 'the prolong yet not so easy and unpleasant way' but could be thoroughly freeing the mind from the suffering arising from ignorance, egoism and impurities.
There's not much can be done if the brain (the hardware of the thinking faculty) is damaged by certain injury, virus or disease, causing permanent damage to the power of awareness, understanding, reasoning and self-control, being unable to be aware, to understand, to reason, or to have self-control over one's behavior. That's why it's highly important to be doing something for looking after the mental health before it's too late.
It will be worst, if some, or all of the world leaders who have so much authorized power to impact the world in certain way are suffering from ill mental health, there will be more and more unnecessary man made long lasting damages, difficulties and suffering in this world. Even if there's only one leader that is suffering from ill mental health but already can be creating certain short term and long term damages to the world using the authorized power within a few moments, to make certain decisions and perform certain actions out of selfish greedy desires and aspirations, not to say, if there are more than one mentally ill leader in the world that has more than a few moments of authorized power to be creating different types of damages to the world that would last a long time, even after their departure from this world. All kinds of damages cannot be undone, but everyone's life existence in this world are being impacted by the consequences of ignorant and egoistic actions and reactions deriving from the many world leaders that are suffering from ill mental health.
In yoga, having ignorant companionship (Kutsanga) is worst than having no wise companionship (Satsanga). One should embrace solitude (Asanga) if without any wise companionship. Similarly, most people in this world of civilization emphasized on the importance of having a leader to lead the people, to make things happen, however, having one or some mentally ill leaders in the world is worst than having no leader at all.
Many people would think and believe that being a listener and companion to be comforting the disturbed unhappy minds, by giving them what they want and expect to experience, what they like to see and hear, that makes the minds feel better and happier, is looking after the mental health of the disturbed unhappy minds. That might give momentary relief to the suffering minds, but it doesn't remove the root cause of suffering or all kinds of disturbance and unhappiness. It doesn't stop the minds from continuing perceiving the suffering of all kinds of disturbance, unrest, hurt, loneliness, unhappiness, painful sorrow, fear, worry, dissatisfaction, disappointment, craving, aversion, greed, anger, low self-esteem, and so on. In fact, it empowers the egoism of attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, and expectation in the disturbed unhappy minds, which only leads to deeper suffering upon coming in contact with undesirable experiences and not coming in contact with desirable experiences (the suffering of restlessness to keep gratifying endless desires of craving and aversion, in order to feel good, right, happy, satisfied, deserving, successful, strong, positive and meaningful.)
Yoga practice is indeed rooting out the cause of suffering. It might not be something agreeable for the worldly passionate sympathetic minds that act and react under the influence of passionate egoistic worldly thinking, belief, values and practice, that empowers ignorance and egoism. That's their freedom of thinking, action and reaction.
The passionate egoistic disturbed and unhappy minds think and say, "I was hurt, and I am still feeling hurt (even after 10, or 50, or 100 years later). I am disturbed and unhappy. I deserve to be receiving sympathetic reactions and treatments from others. If not, I feel disappointed, unattended, unnoticed, unacknowledged, unloved, unsupported, sad, lonely and meaningless."
The passionate sympathetic minds think and say, "These disturbed unhappy minds will hurt themselves, and maybe others as well, if we are not being there for them, to comfort them, to relief their suffering." That's exactly the problem. Why do disturbed unhappy minds have such tendency to hurt itself and/or others out of suffering and unhappiness, that they 'need' some others to be there for them, to comfort them, so that they won't do anything to hurt themselves and/or others? Ignorance and egoism. A healthy matured independent mind that is free from ignorance and egoism won't hurt itself and/or others under any unpleasant/undesirable/disagreeable experiences, conditions and situations, even if without anyone being there to be listening or comforting this mind for anything. It doesn't need any kind of sympathetic reactions or treatments from anyone to feel better and happier about itself and life existence.
Inquire towards the truth of everything.
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