By Swami Prajñananda

I took a bite of a crisp, juicy, red apple.  An apple had never tasted so sweet, so satisfying.  I wondered how this apple could taste so different, like I had never truly tasted one before.  The answer was, I had it after my yoga practice.  The apple wasn’t different. I was.

Have you noticed this?  Food tastes different after you take a yoga class or do your own home practice.  If you haven’t, you can do a little experiment: cut an apple in half, or any food for that matter.  Eat half before your yoga and then have the other half after.  Then see, is there a difference?

There will be!  Yoga makes everything better.  It isn’t just food that improves when you do your yoga.  Everything in your life improves.  You know this by the difference in your first Shavasana compared to the Shavasana at the end of your yoga class.  In only an hour and a half, you are changed.  Your body feels better, your mind is quieter, inner joy is welling up inside.  And the change in you doesn’t end when you leave your blankets.  This inner shift stays with you.

All of yoga’s practices are for the purpose of giving you the “More” inside.  It may be a softening or a settling, a feeling of peace, even feeling you are more comfortable in your own skin.  When this inner shift happens, you experience life in a whole new way.

It’s like the Wizard of Oz.  Until she went to Oz, Dorothy’s life was black and white.  Once she arrived in Oz, everything was in technicolor.  You are like Dorothy, except you don’t need to go anywhere to live life in technicolor.  In fact, what you really need is to be more here, to be more present.  When you inhabit your body and look inside to experience the deeper dimension of your being, life is fuller and more satisfying.  A sutra explains this principle:

J~naanam annam. — Shiva Sutras 2.9

Pure knowledge is the only real nourishment,

that which gives full satisfaction.

(translated by Gurudevi Nirmalananda)

There is a difference between knowledge and pure knowledge.  Knowledge can be anything you know.  It can be your knowledge in camping, university, cooking and the list goes on.  There are so many forms of knowledge!  But when it comes to pure knowledge, there is only one type: the knowing of your own Divine Essence.  This knowing is a deep knowing.  While other forms of knowledge are useful and important, pure knowledge nourishes you in a way that no other type of knowledge can touch.

We human beings are constantly looking for that satisfaction.  Yet we look for it on the outside.  Our culture, steeped in consumerism, feeds on the idea that you can buy happiness.  I like the example of Cheetos.  They are so addictive, because they were engineered to be that way.  The way it works is that Cheetos melt in your mouth.  Called “vanishing caloric density,”[1] this tricks your brain into thinking you are not consuming anything.  So you can eat and eat and eat and eat, and you will not feel full.

There is nothing nourishing, nothing fulfilling when you eat them yet you keep eating.  Why?  Yes, they are tasty, but it is more than that.  There is a motivation to keep consuming.  Because you are not yet satisfied, you keep eating them.  You do not feel full.  No matter how many you eat, however, it won’t touch that emptiness you are trying to fill.

Yoga says you are not empty inside; far from it.  Even more than food, the knowledge of who you are fills you.  It fulfills your craving for that “something more.”  Technically, the knowledge isn’t what fills you; it is your own Self that fills you.  Whether you know it or not, your Self is always present.  You were and are always full.  Without the knowing, however, you feel lost, alone and empty.

The purpose of all yoga’s practices is to cultivate your ability to know.  Once you know your own Divine Essence, you can never go back to not knowing.  You may forget from time to time.  That is why you have your yoga, to get you back to your inner knowing.  This inner knowing is the only real nourishment.

The next time you feel that inner craving for something more, pause.  Notice that you are not feeling satisfied.  Instead of heading to your usual “go to” — whether that be chips, TV, Internet surfing, etc. — pick one of yoga’s tools.  For a few minutes you can repeat mantra or meditate.  You can do some Ujjayi breaths or a pose or two.  Or choose another yoga tool that works for you.

After those few minutes, check in with yourself.  Do you feel more satisfied?  More nourished from the inside?  Every time you take a dip in the pure knowledge of your own inner fullness, you experience the nourishment and satisfaction that only your Self can provide.  And, yes, you can still have chips.  But can you be based in your Self while you have them?  Ultimately, the purpose of your yoga is to live your life, to be in the world, and at the same time to be sourced from your inner Source.  This is yoga’s promise.  As Gurudevi says, “Do more yoga.”

[1] Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2013.

By Swami Samvidaananda

From my airplane window, I watched the brilliant orange sun setting over a cloud bank.  Luminous rays transformed the clouds into a glowing field of orange, then red, then pink and gold.  I was transfixed.  I was flooded with joy.  I felt a peaceful, soaring freedom.

Everyone has these euphoric moments, though what triggers them will be unique to each.  For you, perhaps it’s a snowstorm, a song, or the vista from a mountain peak.  For a moment, time stops.  You are propelled into an ecstatic, elevated state.  Whatever the external trigger, your euphoria is happening inside.

Where did the joy I was experiencing come from?  While the rays of the sun were beautiful, they weren’t bathing me with joy-rays.  The joy, peace and freedom flashed up from within.  This inner arising is your own “capital-s Self.”  Your own Self is the One Reality that is being everything that exists, including the sun, the snow, the song, and you.  You are that One Divine Reality, Consciousness-itself, that yogis call by the holy name, “Shiva.”

The rest of the time, you simply don’t know that that’s who you really are.  You experience yourself as small, separate and alone.  You are bound by not-knowing.  Yet the system is rigged so that you can know.  My teacher, Gurudevi Nirmalananda, says:

“The arising of transcendental consciousness from within shatters your unknowingness and sets you free.  This is the specialty of this tradition.”

With each arising flash of your own Self, you discover that you are more than you thought you were.  Once you experience being awash with the nectar of your inner Divinity, you can’t completely not-know ever again.  Your unknowingness is shattered.  You are free of your limitations and fears… for a moment.  Or an hour.  Or until the sun sets, the snow melts, the song ends, or you come down off the mountain.  And then you want to go back there.  But “there” is “here,” within you.

It’s wonderful that outer things can trigger an experience of your Self, but they are not always reliable.  The sun isn’t shining every day; the weather doesn’t cooperate.  So, what if you could trigger it for yourself?  You can.  once you’ve received Shaktipat initiation, meditation makes it easily accessible, anytime, anywhere.

This tradition’s specialty is initiation that flashes your Self to arise within you, so you can know your Self.  This inner awakening means you can bring your Self up within again, at any time, through meditation.  So you meditate again and again, until the day that you live as that illumination all the time, outside and inside.  To “know thyself,” as Socrates said, is the ultimate goal of the human being — to know your own Self, to be the beingness that you already are, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter who you are with.  That’s Gurudevi’s promise.

You want to know your own Self.  You have been searching.  You are ready to know, because you are reading a blog about yoga’s mysticism.  That decision came from an impulse arising from your innermost depths.  That impulse is the uplifting energy of your own Self, arising within you, striving to set you free.  To know your own Self, you must meditate.

By Swami Sahajananda

Seva (selfless service) is doing your work, and everything else, as an act of worship.  Without expecting results, you make this offering to God and/or Guru.  You see and honor the Divine in each person whatever the task may be.  Swami Muktananda said that no work can be an obstacle on the spiritual path. He promised that anyone worshipping God while fulfilling his or her vocation is fulfilling the purpose of their birth.  It’s a beautiful practice, no matter what you do in the world, dedicating it to God makes it a spiritual pursuit.

Last month, I was immersed in the seva of supporting many people in our India Retreat.  This experience gave me a richer understanding of this deeply powerful practice.  All our retreatants lovingly attended to their various sevas. Throughout, they were present and grounded in their assigned tasks.  To a sevite who cleared and cleaned the tent 3 or 4 times daily, I expressed my appreciation for her attentiveness and positive attitude.  I marveled that she stacked up the very heavy blankets each time.  Without hesitation she said, “It’s my seva!”  That said it all.

Also many people served and supported me while I was in India. I became aware of feeling their actions emanating from their heart.  Each action was a dedication to God.  The power of their attitude of service amazed me.  I felt they saw each person they were serving as God. God was serving God —never a sigh of exhaustion, exasperation or complaint. Always, a friendly smile readily emanated from their heart through their eyes.  Yes, many receive pay for their work; still, I experienced their service coming from their deeper essence.  A human heart-to-heart layer is always there.  Their gaze lingers eye to eye, with their hands in front of their heart, as they say, “Namaste.”

I can trace this feeling back to before my sannyas (swami) initiation.  Even before I considered becoming a swami, I decided to offer my teaching work as seva.  It felt right, even amidst some objections from my mind.  That decision shifted me.  It has changed how I live my life.  It has allowed me to attend to teaching in a whole new way.  My attitude now is that I am serving God.  I remind myself that the Divine is within each student whom I teach or talk with.  This knowing expands as I interact with them and see and feel the Divine within everyone.

Looking at life this way shifts everything.  Doing all for God, I am going to do the best I can.  For what else is there?  It’s not about competition or making more money.  It’s not about status or fame.  It’s about giving what I can from a place inside of me that is free of the constrictions that make me small.  I serve from my heart, which is my Self.  Seva thus opens the contracted space my mind has created, dissolving the walls and divisions.  When relating to the people in my life this way, my being expands.  I am just serving God.

To serve God from my own Divine Essence frees me from the tethers of my mind. There are so many ways to experience and offer seva.  In giving of herself or himself, free from expectations, the sevite receives so much.  The gift of offering seva is that is takes you into the essence of your own being, your own Self.

By Swami Shrutananda Saraswati

The first time I went snorkeling in the ocean was in a shallow cove.  The water was a little murky.  Yet I was amazed by what was under the surface: giant kelp, seals, bat rays, orange fish, crabs, etc.  I had the real experience of what I had only heard of or seen in pictures or on TV.  It was 3-D and vibrant.  There was a whole new world to explore under the surface of the ocean.

Of course, I wanted to experience more of what I found beneath the ocean’s surface.  Because I did not learn how to scuba dive, I went to deeper, clearer waters like the Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.  I had even more extraordinary experiences of this magical world of coral reefs, sea turtles, parrot fish, sea horses, etc.

Through yoga, I found an even more phenomenal world to explore — inside.  The ancient sage Shankaracharya described this:

The true nature of your own Self is extremely subtle. It cannot be perceived by the mind, due to the density of which the mind is made. It is known in your inner state of absorption, which is attained by plunging inside. Plunge deep within your own being to know your own Self as Consciousness-Itself. Allow yourself to know and to be that which you already are. — Vivekachudamani [rendered by Swami Nirmalananda]

Like the surface of the ocean, your body and your mind are only superficial levels of your own being. There is so much more to explore under the surface, deeper within. According to yoga’s sages, there are 36 dimensions to be experienced within.

These deep inner experiences are easily accessible in Svaroopa^® yoga classes as well as in your home practice and especially in Svaroopa^® Vidya meditation.  This is the specialty of the Svaroopa^® Sciences. By plunging deep within, having the inner experience of the profound reality within.  You know that which you already are, your own Self as Consciousness-Itself.

Your body is a physical reality.  Your mind is a non-physical reality, like electricity, gravity, love, happiness.  You can’t give me a scoop of gravity.  You can’t give me a scoop of love.  Even though the mind is non-physical, it has a density to it.  You know this.  People sometimes say, “I have brain fog,” or “I am feeling dense.”  Some days your mind is more dense than other days. Yet even on your best day, your mind has a density to it.

Your mind and your body are the most contracted levels of your being.  So what ability does the mind have to perceive these subtler realities?  One scientist provided a very yogic answer to this question:

Our brains aren’t trained to see anything other than our world, and it will likely take something from another dimension to make us understand. – science.howstuffworks.com

Yoga’s sages agree that “our brains don’t understand how to look for anything more,” saying that this means you have to go beyond your mind.  They discovered all 36 dimensions by diving deep into meditation, exploring the inner realms of their own being.  All of yoga’s practices purposefully take you beyond your mind, so you experience the multidimensionality of the universe, which is here in your own human body.  This is why it is so valuable to do poses and yoga breathing: to begin with your body and to go deeper, so you get to know who lives in it.

This is how a yogi lives in the world: from the inner experience of multidimensionality of your own being, the depths of your own being.  By living in the knowing experience of your own multidimensionality, you bring your human capacity to its fullest blossoming in this lifetime.  This is the power of the Svaroopa^® practices.  Do more Svaroopa^® yoga.

by Gurudevi Nirmalananda  & Swami Shrutananda (the yogi formerly known as Vidyadevi)

When you feel more joyous, you feel more alive.  You already experience this sometimes, but look a little more closely at the feeling of being more alive compared to less alive.  Most people are looking for life’s events to make them feel more alive.

Some people push the limit in order to get that feeling of aliveness; if you are hanging onto the side of a cliff with your fingers and toes you have to be 120% there!  While adrenaline is involved, there is another quality as well.  On the edge, for many people, provides a quality of hyper-aliveness.  Adrenaline junkies do things like jumping out of airplanes (skydiving), ski avalanches, bungee jumping, etc.

People also do things to feel less alive, to numb themselves out, because their life is too painful.  People take alcohol and drugs, sleep a lot, withdraw from others and avoid participating in life, etc. They do things to make themselves feel less alive.

What if they could give you a psychological self-assessment test for “more alive”?  You already know that yoga makes your body more flexible, makes your digestion work better, makes your breath move more fully and makes your heart pump more efficiently (and therefore more easily). Your stress chemicals are down and your endorphins are up, your muscles are working efficiently and you feel your body in a whole new way.  Your body is more alive! You are more alive!  You are more present in it!

How does yoga do this?  With a fast-paced yoga practice, you might think it’s like exercise.  With Svaroopa^® yoga, you might think it’s because you are in a quiet room with spiritual music and stacks of plaid blankets.  But when you think this way, your mind has again gone looking for the environment to make you joyous and alive. This is not what makes yoga work.

It’s easy to see with Svaroopa^® yoga.  It makes you both more joyous and more alive because it gives you the inner experience of your own Self, svaroopa.  When you experience your own Self as Consciousness-Itself, you draw from the deepest dimension of your own being, which automatically makes you be more present, more alive, more joyous – more you!  Shankaracharya wrote about this over 1,300 years ago,

“That Supreme Reality, which has become everything that exists, has become you, and is manifesting as you, through your body…”[1]

Since your yoga makes you both more joyous and more alive, now you don’t have to look for other people to give you a fix. You no longer step into the world feeling needy and dependent, waiting for something to make you feel better.  Yoga makes you feel better before you step out, so you go into the world carrying that sense of inner fullness with you.  You have something to share.

Vidyadevi describes, “A few years ago I had a yoga therapy client who always came in for an Embodyment^® yoga therapy session before her in-laws came over for dinner.  This event was not a joyous occasion for her.  She planned the therapy session, not for her body, but to change her inner state.  From that deeper state she was able to allow the evening to play out, yet be fully joyous, fully alive and fully present.”

This all happens because of what the sage Shankaracharya describes,

“There is a self-existent Reality that is the foundation of your own inner sense of self. This self-existent Reality is your very Self.”  — Vivekachudamani

This is the way a yogi lives in the world.  What a way to live!

Do more yoga.

Originally published November 2014

by Gurudevi Nirmalananda  & Swami Shrutananda (the yogi formerly known as Vidyadevi)

It’s the season of joy!  Our year-end holidays, with the decorations, music, gifts, special foods, family and friends, makes this a joyous time for so many people.  Yet for others this is a time of stress, anxiety or unhappiness, and the knowing that their expectations or hopes of joy can’t be fulfilled.

The problem is that the percentage of your life during which you experience joy is too low.  Even when you feel such joy, it is too short because the situation you depend on for your joy doesn’t last.   You invest so much time and energy trying to create certain circumstances, ones that will make you more joyous.  But it doesn’t last because you’re looking for the joy to come from outside.

The yogic sage Shankaracharya said, in his text titled Vivekachudamani,

“…your own innermost Self [is] the ceaseless joy within you.”

This means you have the capacity to experience “ceaseless joy” within.  Instead, you settle for only periodic joy.  Life really is about joy.  Being more joyous is THE measure for quality of life.  The problem is that you’re dependent on unpredictable externals to trigger joy for you.  You’re not getting it from your “innermost Self.”  But you can.

You can go a yoga class when you are not feeling joyous at all and you’ll feel different at the end. If a researcher gave you a psychology self-assessment test before class, you might be at 40% or 62%; the test at the end would show you higher, maybe 78% or even 90%.  If you have been looking for yoga to make you more joyous, this is a sign of your intelligence.

Shankaracharya warns,

“The true nature of your own Self is extremely subtle. It cannot be perceived by the mind, due to the density of which the mind is made. It is known in your inner state of absorption, which is attained by plunging inside. Plunge deep within your own being to know your own Self as Consciousness-Itself. Allow yourself to know and to be that which you already are.”
— Vivekachudamani

You already have these deep inner experiences in Svaroopa^® yoga classes, in your own home practice and especially in Svaroopa^® Vidya meditation. By plunging deep within, having the inner experience of the extremely subtle reality within, you know that which you already are, your own Self as Consciousness-Itself.

You already rely on yoga to make you more joyous.  Svaroopa^® yoga reliably gives you your own Self.  When you lose your Self, simply do more yoga and meditation.  If it worked before, it will work again.  It will give you what Shankaracharya promises,

“At this innermost level, you never cease to experience infinite joy.”

This is the way a yogi lives in the world.  What a way to live!

Do more yoga.

Originally published November 2014

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

I found myself singing along with the music as I stood in line at Starbucks, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, La la, la la.”  I love the decorated shop windows and the little huts going up in the shopping malls — “Santa Claus is coming to town…”  This is a joyous season, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.  At the same time, this is the most stressful time of the year, and a time when more people commit suicide than any other.

Two people can walk down the same sidewalk, passing by the lights and decorations on every side, and have two different experiences.  This is because it doesn’t matter what you are looking at on the outside — it is what you are looking at on the inside that matters.  The lights, decorations and music are all reminders, but what they remind you of is different for every person.

One person is reminded of all the people she still has to buy gifts for, and how limited her budget is.

Another is reminded of the upcoming visit to his extended family, and is looking forward to the reunion with great joy.  Yet another dreads the family scene/  These two people can even belong to the same family!

Someone else is reminded of so many joy-filled Christmas mornings and is delighted to be creating the same for her own children or for a family whose name she got from a list at the local homeless shelter.

One person will look at all the happy shoppers and be reminded of all the poverty and injustice in the world.  She may donate her time or shopping money to an organization that is working in these worthwhile arenas, or she might just complain about life.

There are many people who see every decoration as a reminder of the Divine Birth they celebrate from 2,000 years ago.

Some are reminded that they don’t celebrate Christmas because their religion is different than mainstream America.  Some of these people like being different.  Others want mainstream America to approve of them.

Some people use the joyfulness of the season to remind themselves of all the reasons they are not joyful, whether it is the problems of their life right now or the history of their life so far.

Where your mind goes is personal to you, but it determines how your entire holiday season goes.  Your inner reality is so much stronger than the outer environment.  Yoga says, “Look deeper!  Look within and see that you are Divine Consciousness.”

A yogi uses every event as a reminder to look within.  Everything in the world is used as a reminder of consciousness.  Consciousness has become all that exists, and you can see this.  There is an inner dimension that far transcends the outer events.  Whatever you see, and whatever you do, say or think is an opportunity to recognize the divine within the mundane.  This includes the holiday decorations along with the traffic jams.  It includes the garbage that needs to be taken out, the ringing of the alarm clock, the errands to be run, and the smile of a child sitting in Santa’s lap, as well as the tears of another child who is afraid to sit up there.  This is true, not just for five or six weeks at the end of every year, but in every moment of every day, all year long — every year.

Along the way, you can use everything as a reminder to look at consciousness.  The One Divine Reality has become everything that exists, and you can see this (or remember this) in every moment.  You must learn to see it.  Without being able to see the divine in everything, you live like a thirsty man in a desert, looking everywhere for water and never finding it.  Instead, everything in life is a reminder of consciousness — just look again.  Look past your reactions and see the divine in everything.  Start with your Self.

Originally published December 2003

By Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Animals are ruled by their instincts. As a human, your body has physical instincts as part of your basic equipment.  These instincts can lead you to eat too much, sleep too much, measure your worth by what you own, and seek love through sexuality.  This lifestyle will never be fulfilling because it is impossible to fulfill all of your instinctual cravings.  There’s a demon inside who always wants more.  You have to choose: are you going to experience and express your divine qualities or will your instincts lead the way?

While philosophers question what the human being is, yogis ask a different question: How do I become fully human?  The answer is that you must utilize the human specialty fully: cultivate your awareness.  As you explore your ability to be aware, you discover that awareness is more powerful than instinct.  It’s quite easy to do.  Here’s how: When instinct wants to take over, expand your awareness.  Instinct makes you Velcro your awareness to a single thing.  All you have to do is expand your awareness.

As an example, let’s consider a plate of cupcakes, the newest culinary trend.  When you focus on the specific cupcake you want, Velcro takes over your mind.  But if you expand your visual focus, like widening a camera lens, you see the whole plate.  Now you will want to offer your compliments to the baker.

Continue expanding your awareness.  Breathe and expand your gaze wider, and you will see the other people enjoying the yummies, Now your heart opens a little more, not only to the baker but to all those who are enjoying her wares.

Continue breathing and expand to see the room you are all in, with your host (yourself, a neighbor, the bakery or the yoga studio) giving generously of their facility and time.  You can keep expanding your awareness to include the city, state, region and whole country you are in.  You can include all the family members of the people present, and the generations that preceded and will follow them.

Now your instincts no longer pull you to the cupcake.  You may still choose to take one, if you like.  Yet your experience is now completely different because you are more aware.  The cupcake will even taste better, but that is not the point.

As you become more aware, you become more fully human.  As you become more fully human, you become more fully divine.  Your own divine essence shines through you because it is you.  While the divine is present in everything that exists, the human being has the capacity to experience it most fully.  You are the human who can experience and express the divine fully.  That’s what this human life is for.

Here are some of your divine qualities from Krishna’s list in the Bhagavadgita.  There are probably no surprises here.  You like yourself better when you live this way.

steadfastness

vigor, fortitude

generous nature

straightforward, speaking only truth

absence of anger, hatred and pride

freedom from need, greed and fear

peacefulness, gentleness, compassion

You must intentionally cultivate your divine qualities.  Instincts are seductive, but the light of your divinity is even more powerful, if you choose to follow it.  The key is choice.  In every moment, you have the ability to choose what kind of human you are being.

Originally published July 2010

By Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

Echoing through the ages, the question continues to arise:  what is a human being?  Considered by the ancient Greeks and by many philosophers and priests since, the question is now being explored in modern media through comparison with vampires, werewolves and zombies.  While movies and TV shows are pursuing a lucrative theme, they are also offering a modern-day version of Krishna’s discourse in Chapter 16 of the Bhagavadgita, which is subtitled “The Divine and Demoniacal.”  Krishna expounds on your innate divinity and how to fulfill the purpose of your life for 15  chapters, and then clarifies that the human being is a mix of divine and demoniacal qualities.  You have to decide which qualities you will express in your life.

Yoga’s sages described that every species has a unique quality.  They said that the bee has the most sophisticated sense of smell, with modern-day scientists now agreeing.  The sages described the deer as specializing in sound and being very responsive to music, but scientists haven’t investigated this yet.  The elephant has the most sensitive sense of touch, which is why they throw dirt on their backs as a sunscreen.  If you have seen a baby elephant being massaged and cradled by its mothers and aunts, you understand how powerful their sense of touch is.  In my early years of study with my Guru, Vijayananda, the Ashram elephant, visited the courtyard every day.  Baba fed him chapattis (wheat tortillas), sugar cane and chocolates, ending the visit with an oil massage.  One of the attendants would lean a ladder against his side, climb up and spread essential oils all over his back, taking the time to rub the oils in.  It was amazing to watch Vijayananda’s eyes; clearly he was in bliss.

What is the unique characteristic of the human being?  As a human being, you have an innate capacity to be aware, a capacity shared by no other creature.  You are not merely aware, you are aware that you are aware.  You know that you know; you see that you see; you think that you think.  While your mind is very powerful, you are more than your mind — and you know it.  You are awareness itself; your own Self is Consciousness-Itself.

Yet you have an ability to lose it.  You can lose track of this great capacity in the blink of an eye.  You get lost in things, in events, in situations and in other people.  When you get lost in anything, it is your Self that you are losing.  As a human, you have both divine and demoniacal qualities, so you must choose what you are doing with them.

To understand the choices before you, you must first understand what the divine and the demoniacal are.  Yoga’s cosmology describes multiple planes of existence, including the three worlds:  this physical realm, the celestial sphere and the nether world.  The celestial realm abounds with devas and devis (divine beings, male and female), plus apsaras, gandharvas, angels, cherubim, seraphim and more.  Their bodies are made of light and they sip amrit, the nectar of immortality.

The nether realm is populated with demons — but they are not evil beings.  They are beautiful beings, with powerful bodies and huge sensual appetites.  They base their life and being on their instinctual drives.  Their primary motivations are power and pleasure, and anything that helps them satisfy these impulses is pursued with a single-minded focus, regardless of how it affects others.  Demons are selfish, self-centered, and unrestrained in their appetites, but they are not evil.  This is an important distinction.

Yoga’s cosmology says that evil does not exist.  There is no devil; there is no evil force tempting you; you have no evil hidden within you.  Instead, this is a cause-and-effect universe.  You choose to shine with the light of your own divinity, or you hide it with the shadows you create in your mind.  You must choose where to live — in the light or the shadows.  The most powerful tool you have is your power of choice.

Many of yoga’s practices address this predicament directly.  For example, when you choose to practice ahimsa, non-harming, you choose to resist the inner impulse to cause pain to others.   The impulse arises in every human; it is one of the demoniacal qualities that Krishna warns about.  To understand it more clearly, don’t call it “demoniacal,” but label it with a simpler name — “instinctual.”  Your instincts tell you to lash out, to get back, or to get even or to get ahead.  You must not follow your instincts.

Instead, look to a higher quality that is already there within you, a divine quality.  Find the empathy, love or compassion that makes you able to give another person some breathing space.  Or you can look for an intelligent way to handle yourself in a difficult situation.  Most importantly, you can find a way to remain peaceful inside, which makes you able to make better choices and follow through on them.

You must intentionally cultivate your divine qualities.  Yoga gives you the ability to make an intelligent choice, an inspired choice.  In every moment, you have the ability to choose what kind of human you are being.

Originally published July 2010