It is very unfortunate that many yoga practitioners today remain out of touch with the foundational precepts of yoga which will ensure their actual happiness. If I choose to remain mired in worldliness and worldly experience, the result will simply be the continued suffering of material existence.
Some important and basic truths are:
- My body and mind are not “me”, they are vehicles “I” use – I am an eternal spiritual being (Purusha/Atma)
- This world is not my home. It is a temporary and impermanent place. I am a transient in this life.
- I am eternal and should therefore also seek my happiness in that which is eternal.
- I can stimulate my body and mind with varieties of sensual activities and pleasures but this will never really satisfy me within.
- Seeking the eternal in that which is impermanent (this world, material experiences, and material relationships) will always eventually lead to disappointment and even despair.
- Blissful happiness is your eternal right, but seek it in the spiritual realm, not the material realm.
Auṁ asato mā sad gamaya
tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya
Auṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ
Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
“Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality, from darkness into the light, from the realm of death to the nectar of immortality. Let there be the peace of spiritual enlightenment!”
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
