Day 5 - Yogi or Bogey?!!
Believe it or not, mediation was totally tolerable if not close to enlightening at various points today!!! I even got a dead left leg and completely ignored it, brushing the frustration away into insignificance. I focused on my breath and tried to let the thoughts come and go, choosing to master my thoughts instead of being enslaved by them. Now that I comprehend the concept more clearly, I think know where I want to place my thoughts so I can let them go, but I guess I'll see if this theory is successful in tomorrow's meditation session!
We watched a video today about the real Yogis of India. The Yogis who have devoted themselves to their practice and finding true peace and enlightenment, basically in English "an inner, blissful connection with God". In my life I have always found myself searching for something to truly believe in. I was christened when I was 8 and was always taught to believe in God and being a good, kind person. However, being half Indian, having a muslim father and an English christian mother, left me quite confused about religion and what was correct. I have always felt very blessed to be a part of two cultures but there were times, few and far between but evident nonetheless, when I felt divided and unsure of where I belonged. I learned from an early age, as I was lucky enough to be surrounded by all different cultures and religions, that you should believe what you want, but understand the reasons behind your beliefs. I am very grateful to my family for never pressuring me to be anything but myself, and allowing me to form my own opinion. I believe in God, and His representation of good, just not the confinements and sometimes narrow-mindedness of some religious beliefs. What I love about yoga is the freedom I feel and the sense of spirituality running through my veins after and during a class. The calm that overtakes my body and seems to iron out the creases, both physical and mental. I find myself driving less irratically, having patience and feeling comfortable in my own skin. Because of the soothing nature of the practice, I am inevitably interested in the roots of the postures and origins of yoga, therefore the ancient eastern philosophies of yoga.
The first evidence of mediation and some of the yogic poses were found drawn on a cave, from around 3500 years ago when the Harroppan people lived there and it has since evolved and developed into what our Western culture view as now a way to stay calm, fit and strong! It is amazing how yoga has suddenly become "trendy" yet has been an ongoing practice for thousands of years. Anyway, to bring it back to the main point I would like to make; I feel that the yogi beliefs are wonderful and should be practiced by as many people as possible, to whatever level is suitable and/or possible in their life. Every person has the right to be aware of how much each individual is capable of, no-one is insignificant. Yoga teaches kindness, selfless giving and to take responsibility for the happenings in the world instead of turning a blind eye, they believe that we are all one entity and every human being has the power within to enlighten us to a level where we could all find peace and eternal bliss. YET these Yogis that we watched on the video seemed to be doing the exact opposite of that, seeking and finding their own eternal bliss whilst galavanting off to the himalayas, completely naked, smoking ganja (thats weed by the way) and shutting themselves off from their community. They hold funerals for themselves and family members suffer their "death"…..errrr thats not practicing "ahimsa", neither is finding happiness for ones self when poverty stricken streets are a few miles walk away. Surely that counts as turning a blind eye! Seriously confusing stuff!
Perhaps these yogis have been as misguided as we Westerners just in the complete opposite direction, yet still have lost the true meaning of yoga. But who am I to judge, isn't that the whole point of being a yogi, not to judge others? Aren't I here because I want to be, aren't I doing this for me? Of course I am. Another question I'm grappling with is; does a selfless act even exist? Yogis, and in actual fact the majority of the world, believe in reincarnation. What you do in this life affects what you come back as in the next. For Westerners the same concept applies; if we are good people and do kind and charitable acts we go to heaven. So ultimately, no-one wants to a) come back in their next life as a piglet in a pig farm or b) go to hell!!!Is that the intention behind good deeds? I'd like to think not but that is engrained into our minds from a very early age.
When you say you love someone, do you need them to say it back? Are you in fact only saying it to hear it back to feed your need to feel wanted and loved or are you saying it purely for that person's pleasure?
As you can see, my mind is in overdrive, now I'm thinking that these kind of questions and issues are something that people who have too much time on their hands worry about. Being able to even ask these questions is a luxury! Wow this is baffling!!
Im totally going to put my head down and go to sleep (after completing today's homework of course). I dreamt about eating chicken last night…..it was really really good, maybe the veggie novelty is wearing thin now we are on Day 5!!! A quarter of the way through!! Latersssss
Namaste xxx