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This
paper was originally presented at World Philosophers
Meet
24 -30 November ,
1996 at Pune. India
Held to commemorate
the 700th Anniversary of
Sanjeevan Samadhi of
Philosopher Saint Jnaneshwara
and included in the
proceedings entitled
"In Quest of
Universal Peace" published by
Maharastra institute
of Technology (MIT),
Pune 411 038 India
Introduction
I am neither a Philosopher nor a religious person
who is deeply involved daily in spiritual practices and
in living an integrated yogic life; I am a normal
housewife, and as such I will be talking in simple words,
not philosophic and yogic terms and concepts. I am
concerned, like millions of people around the world,
about what is occurring in the present society. Many
times I asked myself what could be done to have a better
world. In spite of the fact that the main religion of the
world have inculcated sound moral principles in the minds
of people over the centuries, modern man often disregards
such principles and fights each other in useless wars and
conflicts. There is a great need, as this important World
PhilosophersMeet demonstrates, for the world religions
leaders, as well as for the philosophers, scientists and
politicians, to join their efforts and establish a common
strategy to fight against the main evils affecting modern
society and promote brotherhood, peace and harmony on
earth. In this noble effort, I do believe that Yoga could
play an important role if people would acquire yogic
knowledge and follow its moral principles and techniques.
Since I was about twenty years old, I have been studying
Indian philosophy and oriental religions and have
attended several schools of yoga in India and in other
countries. When time allows, I teach Hatha Yoga, in Rome,
Italy.
My husband, co-author of the paper, has helped in
formulating the concepts regarding the promulgation of
yoga at the national and international levels by a global
project of education.
I am convinced that an improved education in all
its aspects, especially moral education leading to
individual and social development, will help to promote a
new philosophic attitude leading to the creation of a new
world order where peace and brotherhood will prevail. In
this idealist process in search of peace, I see that yoga
could be a powerful tool for self-development and for
improving social relations among people.
The Roots of Yoga
As most of you know, the word Yoga comes from the
Sanskrit root 'yug', and it means to bind, join, unite.
Yoga is the union of the individual soul with the cosmic
consciousness. Yoga is referred to in ancient sacred
books such as the Vedas, Upanishads and in the Gita of
the Mahabharata. Archaic Yoga is believed to have been
practised even before the Aryans invaded India.
Patanjali has compiled the Yoga-Sutras, which, as
reported in some books, "are short aphorisms dealing
with the mind and its fluctuations, showing the way how
these can be controlled and how complete mastery over the
mind can lead to cessation of misery and attainment of
peace leading to salvation".
The Yoga-sutras constitute the most important work of
Samkhya and Yoga philosophy which is one of the six
systems of Indian philosophy. Patanjali is considered to
be the world's first psychiatrist to recognize the need
for education of the conscious and subconscious mind.
Hardly anything is known about him, most scholars believe
he has lived between 200 BC. and 200 AD.
The Yoga system of
Patanjali
The Yoga system of Patanjali is divided into the
following eight steps:
- Yama-
abstention from harming others, from falsehood,
from theft, from incontinence, and from greed;
- Niyama-
observance of purity, contentment, mortification,
self study, devotion to God;
- Asanas-
postures;
- Pranayama-
control of the breath;
- Pratyahara-
withdrawal of the mind from the senses and
external objects;
- Dharana-
concentration, or fixing the mind;
- Dhyana
- Meditation;
- Samadhi
-State of supreme consciousness brought about by
profound meditation, in which the individual
seeker becomes one with the object of meditation.
Yama and niyama are moral trainings that help
control the seeker's passions and emotions and keep him
or her with the harmony of with fellow beings in nature.
As these two steps become established, the yogi starts to
realize the fruits of the practice.
Asanas keep the body strong and healthy and in harmony
with the nature in order to be a fit instrument for the
soul.
Pranayama and pratyahara teach the seeker to control the
mind.
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are the last
steps, which bring the fully dedicated yogi into the
inner abode of the soul. The yogi knows that the ultimate
truth lies within, culminating in samadhi, where the
seeker, the seeking and the objective of the seeking
merge. That is the highest goal , according to all
schools of yoga.
There is no doubt that if the world would
apply and put into practice the yogic principles, as well
as the teachers of the main religions, there would be no
reason for conflict, hatred, and wars. Unfortunately,
only a limited number of committed people practice the
moral principles.
Yoga philosophy, techniques and practices in
the past have often been secret and mysterious, and have
been used for personal gains. At present, yoga is a
household word, but its meaning as a way of life has been
forgotten and in many instances it has ended up to be a
means of livelihood. Often yoga is considered, due to
widespread ignorance, as a religion or a physical
exercise and sport. Only in recent years has the term
somatic yoga been introduced to the
western world.
Yoga for the Modern World
If we consider applying yoga to the modern,
busy, chaotic and stressful world , we see that for most
normal householders , that only the first steps of the
eight fold path can be considered. Integrated Yoga ,
including all the other aspects of yoga leading to higher
levels of consciousness, may interest only limited number
of committed and dedicated people.
In modern times, yoga could contribute
substantially to creating a better society, if it were
simplified to the point of being accepted worldwide by a
large number of people. Simplifed yoga should be accepted
by the educational system of different countries, and
embedded in their curriculum. Yoga should be seen as a
scientific tool for self development aimed at obtaining a
healthy body and mental balance. Yoga therefore should
focus mainly on teaching moral principles and social
virtues, discouraging egoism of all kinds and providing
techniques for acquiring strong physical and positive
mental dispositions towards non-violence, truth, respect
for other people, sexual restraint, non-cooperation with
evil and other moral virtues. This would lead to the
creation of mutual respect, social justice, self-less
service , sympathy, understanding and brotherhood in the
society in which we live.
Modern yoga should be based on scientific
teaching such as mental hygiene, physical education,
biology, physiology, socialogy, ethics, theraputics,
dietetics, and others. This type of yoga is taught at the
Yoga Institute of Santa Cruz East, Bombay, where I have
been attending yoga courses for several years. The
founder of this institute, Shri Yogendra, wrote the
following in Facts about Yoga,
"Yoga believes that the problem of man is man and
that everything done for him outside of him is mere
artificial conditioning and not real." In other
words, "Anything done for man does not work if man
himself does not change fundamentally from within.
Humanity cannot change unless there is a change in
thinking. Variety of religions, economic, political,
socialogical systems of thoughts do not help because the
fault lies with the man for what he is. This process of
transformation of personality was realized only be
yoga."
The attempts made in the past by different
political systems to change society had limited or no
success because the attention was focused more on the
materialistic aspects of the world rather than on aiming
at transforming man's attitude and personality.
"Present education," according Dr.
Jayadeva Yogendra, Director of the Yoga Institute
mentioned above, " does not teach us how to
understand ourselves fully or how to manage our strong
feeling, emotions. It does not provide understanding of
the purpose of our lives; it does not teach us to reduce
our negative tendencies of fear, hatred, attachment,
selfishness and egoism. Yoga education in the right sense
is related to imparting finer impressions leading to
steady awareness of higher reality. The subtle
impressions of tranquility, of faith , of restraint, of
sense of duty, that are retained in the mind, later on
build up as attitude, tendencies and overt behavior
characterized as yogic way of life."
Difficulties in Accepting Yoga
as a Way of Life
During the past fifty years, there has been a
growing interest in India , as well as in the west, in
the mechanical aspects of yoga and less interest in
integrated yoga leading to the transformaion of the
personality. According to the Yoga Institute mentioned
above, out of thousands of students, only 15% of Indians
and 5% of foriegners have shown a strong committment to
transformation. Most of the students were interested in
certain things, such as reducing weight and improving
health, not in yoga as such.
The reason for this limited interest in
adopting the yogic way of life are multiple and complex
due to the confusion prevailing among people about yoga.
Most people are in a hurry to gain yoga knowledge in the
shortest possible time, without experimenting on
themselves to see if they have absorbed the necessary
knowledge and practicing what they have learned. Reading
books about yoga , or practicing asanas, will not help
transform the daily behavior of a person, knowledge in
order to be useful must be applied. The main reason
indicated by most people for not practicing yoga is lack
of time and space or not having a suitable place at home
to practice. Other reasons cited are lack of suitable
atmosphere or various types of stress.
Yoga Education in the Public
Schools
Obtaining self-development according to the
yogic principles involves a very long process of learning
and practice and requires a strong motivation and
commitment. This process should start as early as
possible, preferably in the primary school, and extend it
to the university level. Therefore, it will be essential
to establish different Yoga teaching levels in accordance
with the age and maturity of the students.
In the modern set-up of the public education systems,
yoga is not in the school curriculum. Unless governments
recognize the importance of Yoga as a science and
integrate it as part of the learning process for
students, Yoga will continue to be a privilege of a few
motivated people and private institutes; consequently
only a limited number of students, mainly those with
financial resources, may gain knowledge of Yoga
principles and techniques.
Proposal to Promoting
Yoga at National and International Levels
There is a great need in this materialistic society,
where the body has more importance than the mind and the
soul, to change the present attitude towards Yoga. It is
most essential to recognize its full value as a powerful
tool for human self-development. Integrated Yoga,
including the physical, moral and spiritual aspects, will
surely help to create a better society.
To extend Yoga knowledge to public schools it will be
necessary to prepare good and motivated teachers.
Selected Yoga Institutes in India could be entrusted to
prepare Yoga teachers to be enrolled in public schools.
At present there are several universities and private
educational institutes that offer Yoga education courses.
To spread Yoga knowledge at national and international
levels it may be necessary to formulate a global
educational project with the financial participation of
the Indian Government, international organizations like
UNESCO, governments, private industries, philanthropists,
and other possible sources. This global project should be
developed in various phases.
The Role of India in
Spreading Yoga Principles
India, as the cradle of Yoga, is the most qualified
country in the world to spread Yoga at the national as
well as at the international levels. The Indian
Government should therefore have the responsibility to
accomplish this by appointing a qualified institution to
organize the project at global level.
The first phase of the project should deal mainly with
the training of motivated teachers to be integrated into
the Indian public schools as well as in the schools of
participating foreign countries. Teachers should be
trained for different levels of schools. To achieve this
goal, the existing qualified Yoga institutions should be
strengthened and new ones should be created.
Even using the modern means of audio-visual communication
like television and other modern technologies, the
universal divulgation of Yoga is a very long process and
requires a strong financial and organizational commitment
from member countries and organizations participating in
the project.
The Proposed University
of Peace and Global Yoga Education
As Yoga is considered one of the ways to achieve
brotherhood, peace and harmony among people in the world,
the University of Peace, to be created in Alandi near
Pune city , in collaboration with United Earth
organization, could be entrusted, among other
responsibilities, to divulge Yoga in India and
world-wide.
University of Peace at Alandi should be the starting
point for spreading this new awareness in global
education. Hopefully, Alandi Peace University will be the
first of many such universities to be created world-wide.
In my vision, I see the University of Peace managed by a
council of illuminated and motivated people, deeply
involved in spreading knowledge and educational
principles which should promote the transformation of
human behavior and lead to brotherhood, peace and harmony
among people. In this noble process, Yoga has a universal
validity. The University of Peace, in accepting to
include Yoga, and divulge it as a scientific system of
integrated learning, hopefully will help the western
universities to introduce this science in their regular
curriculum.
Conclusive Remarks
I do recognize that the proposed global project to
divulge Yoga world-wide with the scope to contribute to
world peace, is at present a mere idealistic concept. The
world, in fact, is affected by many problems requiring
prompt solutions.
The southern countries, in particular, are afflicted by a
number of problems such as unemployment, poverty,
illiteracy, disease, overpopulation, and ethnic
conflicts. Also the northern countries are having their
problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, social
unrest, political instability, unemployment. To have the
world at peace, under these circumstances, it is not
enough to preach peace.
In the long run, only by practising moral principles
aimed at changing the people from within, and by starting
a new way of life, it will be possible to create a better
world where peace and harmony will prevail. In this
challenging, very long process of awareness and
consciousness for the reconstruction of humanity, we all
are called to participate if we want our dream to create
a better world to come true.
This article was published in :
SOMATICS, Volume XI
Number 4, Spring/Summer 1998 in English
YOGA AND TOTAL HEALTH ,
Vol. XL Number 6, Jan. 1999 in English
the on-line magazine
Here-now4U located at www.here-now4u.de
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