SeanFeitOakes.com | 2017

Intro to the History of : Philosophy, Practice, Transformation with Dr. Sean Feit Oakes

Class 8. Yoga in modernism: universalism, embodiment, globalization

1845 Boston Transcendentalist reads the Bhagavad Gītā (tr. Wilkins: first English trans.)

It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered over and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us. (Emerson)1

1526-1857 Islamic Mughal Empire rules . In 1600, British East India Company begins gaining dominance.

1858 British occupy India in order to crush the Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company (1757-1857). In 1858, the “British Raj” included what is now India, Burma/Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

1893 visits Chicago Parliament of Religions; founds Vedanta Society in NY, SF, LA.

Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid. … But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth. …[H]oliness, purity, and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world and ... every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: ‘Help and not fight,’ ‘Assimilation and not Destruction,’ ‘Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.’ (Vivekananda, closing address at the Chicago Parliament of Religions)2

“Perennial Philosophy”: Renaissance (neo-Platonist) idea popular in the 19th century that all great religions point to the same universal metaphysical truths. Embraced by the New England Transcendentalist movement (Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, Whitman), the Unitarians, the Theosophical Society (Blavatsky, Besant, Olcott), Neo- Vedanta (Vivekananda, Aurobindo, S. Radhakrishnan), and the Traditionalists (Guénon, Coomaraswamy, Sichuan, Huston Smith). Further popularized by Aldous Huxley in The Perennial Philosophy (1945).

Sanātana Dharma: term for the universal truths and practices of , used in 19th and 20th centuries as part of Hindu Modernism movement, which elevated Hinduism to “world religion” status. Hindu Modernists (Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda, S. Radhakrishnan, M.K. Gandhi) deemphasized “tantric” influences and emphasized doctrine of pan-entheism (God in everything).

1947 British rule of India ends with Independence and Partition into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim). 1948 British rule of Burma ends.

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“Modern Postural Yoga”: the southern lineage

1926 Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (TK) hired by Māharāja of Mysore to teach yoga to his family at the palace. 1933 TK founds Mysore Yogashala. The Māhārāja’s heir cuts off funding and the shala closes in 1950. 1927 Śri K Pattabhi Jois begins 26 year study with TK while at Mysore College. 1934 BKS Iyengar studies with brother-in-law TK “for about ten or fifteen days” over 2 years.3 1937 Iyengar starts teaching in Pune. Becomes famous in West after teaching violinist Yehudi Menuhin. 1938 Russian actress Eugenie Peterson moves to India, changes her name to , acts in Indian films, and studies with TK. 1939 opens yoga school in Shanghai, then in 1948 opens studio in Hollywood. 1948 K. Pattabhi Jois opens Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. Founds Ashtanga yoga system. 1960 TK’s son, TKV Desikachar, a structural engineer, begins 29 year study with his father. Founds Viniyoga.

Globalized schools of yoga descended from southern lineage:

Iyengar, founded by BKS Iyengar (1937) Ashtanga, founded by Śri K Pattabhi Jois (1948). Basis of modern and vinyasa flow styles. Viniyoga, founded by TKV Desikachar and student Gary Kraftsow. Anusara, founded by in 1997, based on Iyengar alignment and Siddha philosophy. (Ends 2012). Jivamukti, founded by David Life and (1984).

“Modern Postural Yoga”: the northern lineage

1936 Shivananda Saraswati founds Divine Life Society in Rishikesh 1943 arrives at Shivananda ashram, takes sannyasa in 1947. 1947 Vishnudevananda takes sannyasa, becomes first prof. of at Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy. 1949 After studying with Ramana Maharishi, Satchidananda takes sannyasa with Shivananda. 1956 Swami Satyananda wanders as a yogi beggar through India. Opens in 1964. 1959 Vishnudevananda opens first Vedanta Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Globalized schools of yoga descended from northern lineage: Shivananda, founded by Vishnudevananda (1959) Integral, founded by Satchidananda (1966) Bihar, founded by Satyananda (1964) Yasodhara/Hidden Language, founded by Shivananda Radha, a German female initiate of Shivananda

Other prominent systems: Kripalu: founded by following his teacher . Teaches spontaneous āsana. Bikram: founded by “All India Yoga Champion” . Original form of “.” Siddha: founded by Muktananda, disciple of Nityananda. Current head Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. & 3HO: founded by Yogi Bhajan (Sikh). Uses original exercises to awaken kundalini/energy.

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Śri T. Krishnamacharya: (1934), excerpts4

The philosophy of yoga is to withdraw the mind from external activities, to draw its focus inwards, and to bring it into deep concentration. … Only after practising according to krama [correct order] for a period of time will the yogabhyasi gain strength of body, good health and happiness, and the mind will mainly reside in sattvaguna. (7-8)

… From practising only , one gains strength of the body; from the practice of only the yama, one develops compassion towards all living beings; from practising only , it is possible to achieve long life and good health. … [If] one follows ahimsa, satya, astheya, aparigraha, and brahmacharya systematically without fail, one develops a relationship of affection and compassion not just for other people but equally for all living beings. This attitude of perceiving all living beings with total impartiality (equality) is essential for the welfare of society. … The five are sauca, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, and isvara pranidhana. If one follows them as krama, then riots, anger, hatred and aversion will become illusory and will slowly disappear from society.

...Asana practice renders correct blood circulation. The snayus (ligaments) and various parts of the body will function at the perfect, ultimate level. … Because of the power of pranayama practice, one develops strength in the bones, the bone marrow and the heart; one develops the brain, the head, the anna kosam, the fat layer, the mana kosam, the strength of breath and , and longevity; it sharpens the senses, strengthens the intellect and the voice and purifies the blood. ... Lack or weakness of viryam leads to lack of strength which leads to the atrophy of bones. Such a condition leads one to suffer from tuberculosis. Whoever has no impurities in their blood will never develop any disease, and their body will develop a kind of glow. How can darkness reside where there is sunlight? (8-9)

...There is a unique special aspect to dhyana. That is, suppose one practises pranayama, and dharana to control the mind and is able to acquire a state of ekagrata or focus the mind in one direction. Such a person, if he thinks about some situation or matter and wishes that it should or should not occur, events will happen according to his wishes. (14)

Our ancients, the great rishis, followers of their sanatana dharma from the beginning of time, became experts in yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and , stopped all external movements of the mind, and through the path of attained a high state of happiness in this world and beyond. And they continue until this day to experience this. But during ancient times, all were skilled yoga practitioners and therefore had good health and strength, were blessed with a long life and were able to serve society. But just as due to bad association one acquires wrong gunas, nowadays due to bad influences people have slipped from the path of sanatana dharma and yoga and are perpetually sick, age quickly, have a short life-span, have become precocious and, shamefully, lead a selfish life. (16)

...Everyone has a right to do yoga. Everyone — brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, sudra, gñani, strong, women, men, young, the old and very old, the sick, the weak, boys, girls, etcetera, all are entitled to yogabhyasa with no restrictions on age or caste. This is because yogabhyasa rapidly gives maximum visible benefits to all. … Everyone is entitled, irrespective of caste, to follow the path of yogabhyasa even in order to obtain divine virtues and the resulting eight animadi siddhis, and, if one ignores these siddhis, to proceed further

3 SeanFeitOakes.com | 2017 on the ultimate path. But many do not agree with this opinion. This only reveals their confusion and the absence of a sattvic state of mind. (The sastras do not forbid yoga for anyone.) Whoever wishes to do yoga has the right to do it. Yet whoever it is, it is very important that they should only learn all the aspects and practise it under the guidance of a proper guru. … But “Ruffians, those who eat wrong food, talk filth or use abusive language, those who speak ill of others, lie about others, are obsessed with food, those who are addicted to sensual pleasures, those who pretend to be good, those who destroy and cheat, carry aversion in the mind, those who are disrespectful of the vedas, are alcoholics, or have any such bad habits, these people, no matter what caste or religion, are not fit to practise yoga.” This is firmly stated by Gherandacarya. … For example, everybody knows that pure cow’s milk gives good health and happiness. Yet if it is poured in a cup made of pig’s skin or dog’s skin, it turns into poison and becomes harmful. Similarly if you teach the pure divine nectar of yoga to ruffians and cheats, it will only cause disaster. ...Those who are eager to learn good skills, those who can learn to control their senses and are peaceful by nature, those who speak the truth, who wish to serve their guru, who are devoted to their mother and father, who do karma according to the sastra, who are clean, who love bathing in the Ganga, who follow their caste dharma, who are modest and patriotic, who have pride in their family, all these people are good vessels for yoga. (17-18)

… As a result of many people teaching yogabhyasa in this [inappropriate/incorrect] fashion, many leave the path of yoga saying that they do not see the benefits in yogabhyasa and fall into the traps of various diseases. They do not exercise the body properly and spend money unnecessarily. … In spite of this terrible situation, some young men and women collect some yoga texts from here and there and eagerly begin to practise in either a correct or incorrect way. For these people, god will reveal the secrets of yoga without fail. The modern age belongs to the youth. Let the god of yoga bless them to have good health, long life and body strength. (27)

...In modern times, many types of strange phenomena are occurring. Among these, using the skill of discernment to examine the good and the bad, the time has come to carefully choose only the good. … If one wants to develop such a skill, it is essential to have complete physical strength, strength of mind, and similarly one needs to conquer each of the five aspects [“good health, longevity, happiness, strong mind and strong body”] mentioned earlier. The secret of the five aspects is what we call yoga.

For such achievements in yoga, we do not need to send our country’s money elsewhere to procure any items. Whatever money we get, there is plenty of place in our country to store it. The foreigners have stolen all the skills and knowledge and treasures of mother India, either right in front of us or in a hidden way. They pretend that they have discovered all this by themselves, bundle it together, and then bring it back here as though doing us a favour and in exchange take all the money and things we have saved up for our family’s welfare. After some time passes, they will try and do the same thing with yogavidya. We can clearly state that the blame for this is that while we have read the books required for the knowledge of yoga to shine, we have not understood or studied the concepts or brought them into our experience. If we still sleep and keep our eyes closed, then the foreigners will become our gurus in yogavidya. (29-30)

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Śivānanda: Essence of Yoga, excerpts5

As life on this earth is characterised by incessant change, and nothing here seems to have the character of reality, nothing here can satisfy man completely. … The universe is inconstant, and it is only a field of experience provided to the individuals so that they may evolve towards the experience of the Highest Truth. It is the glory of the people of Bharatavarsha (India) that to them the visible universe is not real and the invisible Eternal alone is real. They have no faith in what they perceive with the senses. They have faith only in that which is the ground of all experience, beyond the senses, beyond even the individual mind. (vi)

...The true greatness of Indian spiritual inheritance consists in the secret and glorious methods it has delivered to us for allaying life’s sorrow and human unhappiness and for acquiring for the circumstance of human existence, the infinite peace and perfection of the Divine Being. Human grief cannot be alleviated as long as the human individual is immured in ignorance and strives merely for his individual pleasure and good. The genius of India has, to its immortal honour, soared above the conventional ties and the bonds of society, grasped the spiritual truth, realised it and proclaimed to the world, for the welfare of all mankind, that “Life is One” and not many. (viii) … In this integral spiritual view of life is rooted the ethical basis of social and domestic relationship. Society is the collective body of individuals determined to pierce the veils and enter the realms of Immortal Being with the power of a unified and common aspiration and struggle to grasp the Highest. Unified we live; divided we cease to live. Human relationship is not meant to signify anything less than the attempt to live in everyday life the spiritual egoless love that is at the background of all existent beings. The love of the Self means the love of everything of the universe. The Indian genius would complete the teaching “Love thy neighbour as thyself” by adding “because thy neighbour is thy own Self.” (x)

… If you want to attain success in Yoga, you will have to abandon all worldly enjoyments and practise Tapas and Brahmacharya. You will have to control the mind skilfully and tactfully. You will have to use judicious and intelligent methods to curb it. If you use force, it will become more turbulent and mischievous. It cannot be controlled by force. It will jump and drift away more and more. Those who attempt to control the mind by force are like those who endeavour to bind a furious elephant with a thin silken thread.

A Guru or preceptor is indispensable for the practice of Yoga. The aspirant in the path of Yoga should be humble, simple, gentle, refined, tolerant, merciful and kind. … Self-sufficiency, impertinence, pride, luxury, name, fame, self-assertive nature, obstinacy, idea of superiority, sensual desires, evil company, laziness, overeating, overwork, too much mixing and too much talking are some of the obstacles in the path of Yoga. Admit your faults freely. When you are free from all these evil traits, Samadhi or union will come by itself. … Practise Yama and Niyama. Sit comfortably in Padma or . Restrain the breath. Withdraw the senses. Control the thoughts. Concentrate. Meditate and attain Asamprajnata or Nirvikalpa Samadhi (union with the Supreme Self).

May you shine as a brilliant Yogi by the practice of Yoga! May you enjoy the bliss of the Eternal! (1-2)

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… A Hatha Yogi starts his Sadhana with body and Prana; a Raja Yogi starts his Sadhana with his mind; a Jnana Yogi starts his Sadhana with Buddhi or intellect and will.

A Hatha Yogi gets Siddhis (psychic powers) by uniting Prana and Apana and by taking the united Prana- Apana through the six (centres of spiritual energy) to Sahasrara at the crown of the head. A Raja Yogi gets Siddhis by Samyama, i.e., combined practice of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi at one time. A Jnana Yogi exhibits Siddhis through pure will or Sat-Sankalpa. A Bhakta gets Siddhis through self- surrender and the consequent descent of grace. … Take to Raja Yoga after possessing good health.

Do Asana, Kumbhaka, and shake the Kundalini. Then take it to Sahasrara through Chakras in the Sushumna. O children of light! Will you drink not, will you drink not, the nectar of immortality?

Brother! Attain good health. Without health how can you live? Without health, how can you earn? Without health how can you get success in Yoga or any undertaking? Possess wonderful health through the practice of Hatha Yoga. Drink the nectar in Sahasrara and live in the immortal abode of Siva. (3)

… Practise a few daily at least for a period of fifteen minutes. You will possess wonderful health. Be regular in your practice. Regularity is of paramount importance. Practise Bhujang, Salabh, Dhanur, Sarvang, Hala and Paschimottasan Asanas. Bhujang, Salabh and Dhanur will remove constipation and muscular pain of the back. Sirsh, Sarvang and Hala will help you in maintaining Brahmacharya, rendering the spine elastic and curing all diseases. Paschimottasan will reduce fat in the belly and help digestion. Relax all muscles in Savasana in the end. (4)

… Kundalini is awakened through Pranayama, Asanas and by Hatha Yogins, through concentration by Raja Yogins, through devotion and perfect self-surrender by Bhaktas or devotees; through analytical will, by the Jnanis; by Japa of Mantra and by the grace of the Guru.

If you are pure and free from all desires, Kundalini will awaken by itself and you will be benefited. If you awaken Kundalini by violent methods, forcibly, when your heart is impure, when desires lurk in your mind, you will come across temptations of various sorts, when you move from plane to plane, you will have a downfall. You will have no strength of will to resist these temptations. … When Kundalini is taken to the Sahasrara, when She is united with Lord Siva, perfect Samadhi (super-conscious blissful state) ensues. The Yogi drinks the nectar of immortality. May Mother Kundalini guide you all in your Yogic practices! May Her blessings be upon you all! (6)

… Thou art divine. Live up to it. Feel and realise thy divine nature. Do not murmur when you get difficulties, troubles, tribulations and diseases. Every difficulty is an opportunity for you to develop your will and power of endurance and to grow strong. Conquer the difficulties one by one. This is the beginning of a new life, a life of expansion, glory and divine splendour. Aspire and draw. Grow. Expand. Build up all positive qualities, the Daiva-Sampatti, viz., fortitude, patience and courage, that are dormant in you. Tread the spiritual path and realise: ‘I am the Immortal Self.” (38)

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Issues in the globalization of yoga

Cultural Appropriation:

For starters, there’s the essential and ongoing condition of white supremacy and the intergenerational trauma of colonization. “The West has stolen and corrupted yoga”, means what it says, but it is also shorthand for “colonial brutality irretrievably altered the course of South Asian history, and it feels shitty to watch white people accessorize themselves with the only things they didn’t destroy.” It is a call for repentance, for realizing that the freedom that some privileged people have to self-actualize and chant and drink green juices comes with a hidden historical price tag that the spotlight of the internet can now illuminate. ()6

Spiritual Materialism:

It is important to see that the main point of any spiritual practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego. This means stepping out of ego’s constant desire for a higher, more spiritual, more transcendental version of knowledge, religion, virtue, judgment, comfort or whatever it is that a particular ego is seeking. One must step out of spiritual materialism. If we do not step out of spiritual materialism, if we in fact practice it, then we may eventually find ourselves possessed of a huge collection of spiritual paths. We may feel these spiritual collections to be very precious. We have studied so much. We may have studied Western philosophy or Oriental philosophy, practiced yoga or perhaps studied under dozens of great masters. … And yet, having gone through all this, there is still something to give up. It is extremely mysterious! How could this happen? Impossible! But unfortunately it is so. Our vast collections of knowledge and experience are just part of ego’s display, part of the grandiose quality of ego. We display them to the world and, in so doing, reassure ourselves that we exist, safe and secure, as “spiritual” people. (Chogyam Trungpa)7

Race & Diversity:

My yoga practice has also taught me much about race, culture, and diversity. First of all, I have learned that blacks folks, people of color, people with disabilities, and people with non-binary genders aren’t always welcomed in yoga spaces. Yoga and other spiritual practices seem to be endeavors reserved for wealthy, white, cisgendered folks, even though yoga is meant to reflect all aspects of an individual and all aspects of life itself.

Since the very beginning of my yoga journey, I have been fighting for increased diversity and representation on the mat. When I showed up to my first studio yoga class, the teacher told me that the class was going to be hard in a way that implied that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I was also directed to karma classes because they were only $5. (Dianne Bondy)8

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Feminism & Body Image:

That’s why body image issues are so important to me – far too many people are crippled by low self- esteem and spend an exorbitant amount of time and money chasing an ephemeral and elusive beauty ideal. And that’s a loss for the entire society. … Feminism and my yoga practice represented an awakening. They provided emotional, mental and physical freedom and I’ve long touted the positive benefits of each of them operating in unison in my life. But that’s not the case for everyone. Many feminists are turned off by yoga culture and the burgeoning yoga industry that reproduces many of the toxic images and messages that the practice itself has the capacity to minimize and silence in their power. And, as a result, the subversive nature of the practice is often discounted and dismissed. … And then in the yoga world, I see the –isms being reproduced with a lack of consciousness about why and how this is happening. In fact, too often, yoga culture will accuse individuals of being “unyogic” for calling out sexist tropes and the lack of diversity in mainstream yoga publications. And as yoga increases in popularity I see more and more teachers teaching physical yoga like an aerobic classes complete with fat shaming and a focus on the purely physical. (Melanie Klein)9

Abuse of Power:

...abuse in spiritual pedagogy happens materially on the level of form and interpersonal power. It involves who has the keys, who reads the texts, who’s got the initials after their name, who knows the commentaries, who got to sit at the guru’s feet and for how long, who holds the transmission. (Beyond this lies the shadier questions about who we put in the front of the room according to the idols we need to worship or smash.) … I’m not saying this power dynamic can’t work for some people some of the time, any more than I’d say that being a child is somehow a negative thing in itself. But if the transformation relationship is felt to work, it will probably be because it treats a wound other than that of inequality. If it treats inequality, it will be because it’s conscious of the inequality it enacts. Appealing to notions of consent without rigorously evaluating how inequality renders consent problematic means we’re only pretending to talk about consent, because we’re leaving power out of the equation. (Matthew Remski)10

It is true that, even as gurus idealized celibacy and ethical integrity, many scandals revealed sexual corruption and secrecy as central to their lifestyles. A number of yoga gurus have been outed as sexually active, usually with young, white, female students. These scandals have left the American public thinking the “guru model” is problematic for its inherently undemocratic tendencies, suspecting the model is an extreme form of authoritarianism that inevitably leads to demise. … Though yoga gurus certainly can slip into authoritarianism, the assumption that corruption is somehow inherent in that model betrays an orientalist stereotype of South Asians, their religions, and other cultural products as despotic in contrast to white, so-called democratic religions or cultures. (Andrea Jain)11

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Bibliography

Jarow, E. H. Rick. "Emerson’s Gita: Krishna and the Tradition of Conscience." 2008.

Trungpa, Chogyam. Cutting through Spiritual Materialism. Boston: Shambhala, 1987.

Notes 1 E. H. Rick Jarow, "Emerson’s Gita: Krishna and the Tradition of Conscience," (2008), 4.

2 https://www.thoughtco.com/swami-vivekanandas-speeches-1770689, see also http://www.ibe.unesco.org/ International/Publications/Thinkers/ThinkersPdf/vivekane.pdf. [Note: using Anglicized spellings throughout section.]

3 https://web.archive.org/web/20130307101611/http://www.namarupa.org/magazine/nr03/downloads/ NamaRupa_03_02.pdf

4 http://www.yogastudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Yoga_Makaranda.pdf. Also http://krishnamacharya.net/yoga- makaranda-part-ii

5 http://www.dlshq.org/download/download.htm

6 http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/discussing-cultural-appropriation-amidst-the-yoga-trolling/

7 Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting through Spiritual Materialism (Boston: Shambhala, 1987).

8 https://yogainternational.com/article/view/yoga-race-and-culture

9 http://feministing.com/2014/02/18/the-academic-feminist-melanie-klein-on-yoga-and-feminism/

10 http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/laying-down-the-gurus-tools-for-a-while-a-response-to-christopher-wallis/

11 http://religiondispatches.org/lets-stop-calling-rape-and-harassment-by-bikram-yoga-founder-just-another-guru- scandal/

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