omjaroo wrote:
> On May 11, 8:39 am, NBennett <nancy...@rogers.com> wrote:
> > hi jared
> > is this way of life possible while still living in this society? Or is
> > this something for people like monks and nuns who give up their lives
> > to follow their beliefs?
> > i wonder how one continues to work, earn a living, support a family,
> > have relationships, recreation, etc. how could someone have a job to
> > make the money to pay for heating, food, clothes, or maintain
> > relationships - family or friends - while judging everything as real
> > or unreal and doing only activities which are duties. duties to who?

> nancy

> Thanks for the response and great questions. Seems like every time I
> read something you write I have to smile. You (and Richard :-) are
> moving so far, so fast,  it is a joy to behold...

> Wisely you put forward the question:

> >Is this way of life possible while still living in this society?

> Sure it is. No monk'ness or nun'ness required :-) In fact you will
> read time and again from the masters that it is a "higher" and more
> substantial form of yoga, to practice in the real world. That those
> who are willing to strive to integrate yoga in there real (dutiful)
> lives are practicing a superior form, even more so than those who
> retreat to the mountain or forest.

> When trying to understand the science of yoga and it functions and
> effects, it is important not to confuse religious, cultural,
> linguistic, historical and other regional attributes with the art and
> science itself. Yoga is universal. Obviously it is going to be
> practiced in different context, language and style in the West then it
> is in the East. Many things eastern are couched in "religious" ideas
> and are communicated in poetic terms. That's their history and
> development. Westerners tend to be business like, practical minded and
> pragmatic (even while being religious). This is our history and
> development.

> We wouldn't sit down to an Ethiopian meal and proclaim, "what am I
> suppose to do with that? I've never seen that, I can't understand and
> cook that. It's incomprehensible to me, it must only be for Ethiopians
> or people who devote their lives to it." No, hopefully we just eat, we
> enjoy and we grow from the sustenance and revel in the company of
> those who have fed us. The truth is, while having a very different
> look, smell and flavor, it is none the less food. For those of us who
> can't get past the appearance of things and discern their real
> meaning, we face a life of fear, unhappiness and inevitable death, all
> devoid of joy and a sense of belonging and oneness (yoga).

> Likewise in a jnani-like manner you inquired :-)

> >i wonder how one continues to work, earn a living, support a family,
> >have relationships, recreation, etc. how could someone have a job to
> >make the money to pay for heating, food, clothes, or maintain
> >relationships - family or friends -

> >and doing only activities which are duties.

> These all sound like duties to me. Seems you may be most of the way
> there already :-)

> >while judging everything as real or unreal

> Why not? We judge things constantly. Unfortunately for most of us we
> judge things inaccurately. Jnana is the yoga which concerns itself
> with "discriminating" or separating truth from fiction or what is real
> from what is not. Could this be anything but a good thing? Especially
> in a work a day world. Wouldn't you rather be making decisions and
> taking actions on information which is true or real, than on
> information that is not. No matter how well reasoned and responsible a
> decision we make or action we take, its going to come out bad if its
> based on bad information. So I think learning to tell what's true from
> what's false has very practical and beneficial use in any and every
> aspect of our lives.

> You have learned over the course of your yoga study / practice that
> you can do things you thought unlikely or impossible. Your eyes (inner
> and outer) have been opened to truths perhaps you were not aware of
> and so your heart / mind continues to open even greater
> possibilities . This is how one aspect of yoga (hatha - physical)
> intertwines or overlaps another aspect of yoga (jnana - knowledge). As
> you learn more about the "different" types of yoga you will see they
> all overlap and are at their base, all the same (yoga - unity).

> I get from your questions and comments you've made before that it
> would be helpful if some set down just how a western who lives in the
> real world goes about practicing real yoga. There is substantial
> material covering hatha yoga which has come all the way to commercial.
> Raja has been adapted for the west by maharishi and others and bhakti
> by the Self Realization Fellowship and some other religious
> organizations. Jnana and karma are not well understood or supported on
> any scale as they are such individual disciplines. I suggest the
> writings of Richard Hittleman, Yogananda, Vivekananda. There are other
> western equivalents like Emerson, Ernest Holms and perhaps the very
> best in practical day to day applications, Emmet Fox.

> Jared
> o
> ^