In my gung-ho days of service in the military, we were always badgered with ‘the mission.’
Often, we were made to memorise the pithy one line mission statement. It even had a formula; Do xxx… by yyyy… in order to zzzz.
Kill/capture the bad guy, by tomorrow evening, in order to save the hostage.
I’m probably jumbling it up, but you get the gist.
I’d often think to myself, why go to the bother of drumming in the same line and formula into us over and over again?
In recent times, the penny has started to drop.
A singular mission provides focus for a team.
And most days, I feel a bit like a team of competing, contradictory desires.
In Yoga, the mind-body system you and I call ‘I’ is seen from one perspective as a team.
Take for instance, my deeply held desire to be healthy.
Then the bodily hunger emerges.
‘A pizza sounds like a good idea’ my unruly tastebuds say.
My harsh inner critic chimes in with a ‘That’s not very yogic.’
My stomach trips on a loop like a broken record (eatthepizzaeatthepizzaeatthepizza.)
How in life, do we manage this unruly beast called I (often we call it the paśu, or bound soul.)
The secret is hidden in the military structure. A team needs a mission.
You are also going to need a commander.
Imagine a cart with 7 horses pulling in random directions?
You ain’t going nowhere with a system like that.
In Yoga, we call our ability to focus dharana, and it is a precursor to meditation (dhyana.)
Unless we can gather our energies around a single point, we become split. And when the horsies all move in the same direction, you can get somewhere.
Yoga is a path where we take command of our present situation and harness/yoke our energies in a consistent direction.
In the West, people often start Yoga with the body (because we are already materially obsessed.)
In the East, people start Yoga with God, because the divine traditionally permeates every aspect of life.
What we focus on, our energies move towards.
If we focus on body, Yoga becomes exercise. We may get fit from this path, but not necessarily spiritually uplifted (or enlightened.)
If we focus on God, however, what do our Yogic practices bring about? A movement towards something greater than us, which engenders humility, kindness and genuine compassion.
As we harness our energies towards the eternal, to unity, to something bigger than us, we are doing Yoga right.
I can’t stress this enough, effort is not the only thing required; the right direction is far more important.
Mission focus is a start; it explains the concentrating of energies. What we focus on is super duper important. This is the direction. Pick anything other than the universal, and your Yoga is not actually Yoga.
Almost all wisdom traditions postulate that if we focus on something that is temporal (governed by time), material (made of stuff) or impermanent (something that changes) we will suffer.
So what, then, shall we focus on?
Something beyond time, beyond form and eternal is a good start.
I don’t know what to call something that fits that lofty description, other than the most unfashionable of words in modern times… God.
For a while, I liked ‘The Universe,’ but it doesn’t cut the mustard, for we know that the universe has material and temporal dimensions.
Nature doesn’t quite hit the spot, for things in nature are always growing or decaying.
In Yoga, we take the Soul (Atman) as pure consciousness itself.
Consciousness has not been found as a material thing, but is the ground upon which all material things appear.
So step one, Yoga, focus on God. And if you are squeamish with the G word, find a word that accurately points the direction to the eternal, ineffable ground of being itself.
The traditional Yogic practices we share on retreat help to cultivate mission focus (ie pointing to your version of the big G), and also put you in the hands of a worthy commander (a balanced mind.)
But every commander must remember that they serve something greater; even the Generals in charge serve the people of the nation. When the mind begins to be the end, and not a means, we find ourself in intellectualism… and most people will rightfully call us a wanker.
You won’t find the big G in 99% of yoga studios though, why is that? Is it ignorance? A fear of alienating atheist students?
Something I learned in my days of service was that a military is just a reflection of the culture.
Perhaps too, the westernised Yoga should be taken as a reflection of our culture. We are, by and large, the most Godless we have ever been.
But not to lament the corruption of the Yogic tradition, what positivity can we find?
Hidden inside of “up dog, down dog, post to insta and repeat yoga” is a seed of more genuine ‘yoga.’
For when and where was the Soul ever truly absent (even an atheist is conscious that they are an atheist!?)
When we expand the Soul to its most broad yogic meaning, the Soul is one with the divine. It is the ground of being itself, and the basis for all life.
Hence, we say Jai Atmeshwar, or victory to the divine Soul.
And just like in the military, there is a sense of satisfaction in attaining the mission (even if it involved a difficult, arduous process.)
In Yoga, there is a sense of satisfaction upon finally resting in pure awareness. This is a place where all efforts cease, and one simply… is.
The path of Yoga isn’t easy; showing up and repeating a mantra can be boring, in Hatha Yoga, the body too often screams in pain, in dhyana (meditation) the mind throws up its nonsense.
But what is undisputable is the that with the correct ‘mission statement’ (ie pointing to the Supreme) and a good commander (your balanced mind) a simple Yoga practice will reveal the Soul.
Don’t believe the cynics who say that arrival is a long way off, for the Yogin proudly knows that the journey always was, and always will be, an illusion.
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If you are interested in pointing your Yoga practice in the right direction, and are seeking traditional practices that uplift your Soul, please consider joining our upcoming Soul Retreat.
