Is Yoga political?

When we practise Yoga we interrogate the mind and our experience of what’s happening to develop an awareness of our thoughts, feelings and behavioural tendencies. What we may discover is that much of what we think and many of the things we say and do have been learned from our ancestors, families and friends and society. This adoption of behaviours and traditions, without questioning their impact, can lead us to do things that may not only be damaging to ourselves but also to others. We may also find ourselves denying that our actions cause harm or even seeking to justify our behaviour, just because we deem it to be ‘normal, natural or necessary’. We might even seek to defend societal norms, perhaps because they offer us benefits, privilege or just align with our preferences - i.e. the gender pay gap, not allowing homosexual couples to adopt children or the right to exploit certain animals. 

As insight and awareness develop we may begin to see that we are not isolated from the world around us, in fact, we’re very much connected with everything else - we are political because our words and actions affect. When mindful of the impact we have on the world we can begin to behave in ways that contribute to the building of a more peaceful environment for everyone that lives here. We may see that it simply isn’t in our interest to think, say or do things that cause others to experience suffering.

Throughout the world, humans and other sentient beings are being exploited and oppressed. This oppression can go completely unnoticed as it is so ingrained in our belief systems. Invisible moral hierarchies permit the exploitation of some animals for transport, others for experimentation, entertainment or for food. In different countries, the acceptable species to exploit varies, but the same belief system of oppression remains the same. 

In some areas of the world social progress has led to the dismantling of some oppressive political systems and legislation that restricted the freedom of choice of certain people. In other areas, however, oppression remains or is being exacerbated by those that currently wield power. Oppression shows that there is a dysfunction in our relationships, not just as individuals but also as social groups, or as nations. When we find ourselves wedded to a mentality that permits oppression we will not only continue to harm humans and nonhuman animals but we will perpetuate the environmental devastation of planet Earth, the place we depend on for life. 

As Yogis, if we wish to work towards awareness and liberation from suffering we must see that our thoughts, words and actions are part of the bigger picture. In 1950 a father whose young son had died wrote to Albert Einstein asking for some comforting words. An excerpt from Einstein’s reply is below - it sums up very well the challenge we face as humans and how we should approach it.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

The letter was quoted in the New York Times on 29 March 1972 and the New York Post on 28 November 1972.

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Ahimsa today

In today’s society it can seem that we’re constantly being encouraged to forge a path of radical self expression, individualism and to become our ‘true’ selves. We’re observing ourselves constantly through the filtered lens of social media, personalising our belongings and engaging in all sorts of activities that are tailored to our needs. But perhaps the more we seek to carve out a lifestyle that represents ‘me’, the greater the risk of becoming dualistic in the way we see our experience as human beings. Are we seeing ourselves as different and separate from others, perhaps even better than others, or more deserving of what we consider we have ‘earned’. 

Ahimsa, non-harming, like all of the Yamas, is from a code of conduct, or set of rules, on how we should interact with everything around us. Rules and restraints aren’t appealing for everyone, especially in a world where we’re encouraged to succeed by accumulating material wealth and symbols that represent status at any cost. Even in a world of ‘woke’ yogis, Ahimsa runs the risk of being overlooked or having its true purpose adjusted to suit the needs of whoever is interpreting it. Talk of ‘Ahimsa for the self’ seems common among some today, it can be used to justify doing some harm if it means temporary happiness for the individual self. But when this happens suffering to the whole, the universe, increases; even when we look away.

If we wish to truly nourish ourselves and set out on a path toward liberation from suffering, the more deeply we can understand and abide by the Yamas, the better. None of us exist in isolation. Our interdependent relationship with everything in the world around us can be used as a powerful motivation to encourage us to think, speak and act in ways which will bring greater harmony to the world. Every action leads to a chain of reactions and when we can begin to look further down the chain we may come to understand that none of our small acts of kindness are wasted, even if it feels like we’re being stingy or repressing our desires when we want something that we know may cause harm to others. We will also see that even small negative actions may have been born out of a chain of suffering or are perpetuating it. 

Nonviolence does not mean that we become passive or indifferent to the problems that we see in the world. We can be fully aware and fully engaged, in fact in order to truly live in alignment with Ahimsa we must become fully mindful of the consequences of everything we choose to do. We must behave in ways that do not only benefit ourselves in any given moment. We become compassionate and understanding in order to contribute positively to the world around us and reduce suffering. Until we begin to respect and help reduce the suffering of others we cannot hope to become truly loving and kind and to contribute to their happiness.

What can we do today? We can work on opening our minds to see beyond the labels that we use to make sense of the world around us, ‘self’, ‘other’, ‘them’, ‘us, ‘English’, ‘French’, ‘male’, ‘female’, ‘gay’, ‘straight’, ‘dog’, ‘cow’. We can expand our viewpoints, considering those of others and being open to these. We can seek to recognise the root cause of suffering and identify actions we might take to alleviate it.

We must play our part in the society of the universe and play it well in order to create an environment in which all can be happy and free. Being serious about the rules or Yamas doesn’t mean we need to stop having fun, it just means we start being less harmful. The sooner we become less harmful and more disciplined the less likely we are to perpetuate violence and harm already taking place in the world.

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