Yoga is the heritage of the past and the culture of tomorrow. Its real aim is to attain peace and tranquillity within. One need not require to give up one’s normal ways of living to attain it. I feel that worldly duties should be attended with maximum care, efficiency, imagination and concentration. It creates the ability to emerge as the master of situations and protects one from falling prey to the senses, tensions and frustrations.
Political instabilities, social insecurities and constant fear of an outbreak of wars among most civilized nations appearing as sparks of our short-circuited materialistic civilization have already shaken the confidence of common man from the path itself on which humanity travelled so long during the last few centuries.
In reaction this gave birth to a new social order in the form of the Beatles and Hippies, in the style of new poetry in literature, obscene dresses, LSD, DMT, psilocybin, tetrahydro cannabiol, peyote and oloiugui in form of medicinal tranquillizers or trips. This is a revolt against society. However, it is yet to be known whether they prove to be a remedy or even worse the disease.
We are racing after a mirage in search of happiness outside, but do not devote even a little time to know ourselves, go within and get real bliss. The real joy is not hidden in any material object rather in the consciousness of enjoying the things itself.
While on one hand the march of science opened new venues of progress and brought many impossibilities within the easy approach of mankind, at the same time its unrestricted misuse disintegrated the personality of man and opened the wide gate of disaster for him. What we see around us can never be called to be encouraging symptoms. Man is breaking down. His unthinkable omissions and commissions have eclipsed his own beautiful image. He became a patient of a split personality, neurosis, mental error and various other abnormalities.
The overcrowded hospitals unable to accommodate even the donors who built them, a long queue at the gate of mental asylums, increasing rates of suicide and homicide cases; ever growing factories of sleeping pills, tonics and tranquillizers; the problem of unemployment, racial riots, favouritism, corruption and nepotism rampant throughout are the few gifts of our present-day social structure.
It would be erroneous to say that the science of yoga is useful for individuals only and not for society as a whole. The welfare of society is determined by the well being of the individuals. Here yoga appears as the blueprint of perfection.
Man wants to remain in harmony with all, but cannot. He wants to get rid of his indecisiveness, hate, anger, aversion and revengeful tendencies. He himself does not want to commit wrong for any price, but quite helplessly he has to sacrifice his godliness at the altar of his own demonity. He doesn’t know why.
These conditions are prevalent not only in common man, but even the so-called great personalities of world politics suffer from the same trouble – sometimes more deeply. As a result of the reflections of their own coloured images we get wars and suffering of common man in various forms. I personally feel that the practice of yoga can eliminate from society the exploitation of man by man, error or world wars and sense of insufficiency from the minds of the people as a whole.
The veil of mystery, secrecy and absurdities created by some people covered the real image of yoga, and it was looked upon with apprehension, misgiving and doubts. The science of yoga has got great physiological and psychological potentialities. It can be effectively practised as a therapy. The effect of yogic techniques on human physiology is an inviting field for investigation and research by modern physiologists. So also the scientific investigations of yoga psychology is a challenge to modern psychologists.
Drinking of acid, walking over water or remaining buried underground for several hours may be a magic show or anything else, but cannot be called yoga nor their doers are yogis. During the recent past these types of miraculous circus shows not only tarnished the good name of yoga, but also created doubt and suspicion into many reasonable minds about the very purpose for which yoga stands.
There are many people who after achieving some ordinary power temporarily try to create confusion and mislead the innocent. There is nothing in any branch of yoga which is beyond reason and science. No doubt tremendous miracles can be performed with the help of yogic potentialities, but they themselves are not yoga.
Yoga has a special role to play in the world of today. Its practice alone can remove mental and physical afflictions. It can bring joy to our hearts and homes. It doesn’t lay down extraordinary conditions of self-discipline and behaviour patterns. One can continue enjoying the good things of life and still be a yogi. There is no virtue in retiring to the woods and sitting enchanted in the solitary grandeur of self-equilibrium or samadhi. Heroism lies in remaining steadfast in the tumult of life even when the scales are heavily loaded against us and in the attaining of samadhi or equilibrium in the midst of all odds.
A physician who wants only healthy persons for his patients is no physician. Likewise, if yoga were to work its wonders only on the physically and mentally fit, it would cease to be an amazing science of life. It being a highly rational science can benefit all people under all circumstance of life. After the daily round of mental and physical toil, it can bring back resilience and vigour and restore equipoise. It is under these circumstances that these days the same section of the world populace feel very much attracted towards the great system of yoga.
Yoga is secular and can be applied to any religion or faith of the world without any hitch. Like various branches of science such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, geometry, physiology, anatomy, which cannot be divided as Hindu chemistry and Christian biology, being universal truth yoga with its profound influence on the body, nerves, glands and different dimensions of consciousness can be adopted with the same ease by a Christian or a Hindu.
If the coming generation of tomorrow ignored to adopt this great technique of actual living, a time may come when they may be forced to meet unthinkable disaster which humanity has never experienced in the past.
Published in YOGA, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May 1968)