World of Philosophy

SR No.: 007005
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
Publication Year: 2011
Total Pages: 1002
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 30 MB

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Person-to-Person Connection
Principle Six: Action is about working small scale, person-to-person. Again at the Yoga Journal conference, where over 1000 people were present, and where we were one of over 50 "vendors," Ben noted the challenges provided by a mass-marketing situation. He commented that in such a large setting people become anonymous to each other, and that a sense of sangha, or spiritual community, is nearly impossible. He later wrote,
Sangha is tribe. Tribe is sangha. After my experiences in San Francisco, I have a renewed appreciation for tribes, small groups of people who know, care for, and depend on each other. In a non-tribal Yoga community at the Yoga Journal conference I saw Yoga stratified into groups. It was clear who had power and prestige. It was clear who did not. Tribe is intimate. Tribe is natural. Tribe is uniquely human. Birds flock. Lions pride. Bison herd. And humans tribe. To return to Yoga's ecological roots we can imagine a new vision for Yoga in this country. Let's not build Yoga around schools, studios, retreat centers, or national fitness trends. These structures are too big, too impersonal. They lose their humanity. What if each class became a community of practice-a tribe? We can stop organizing the American Yoga universe around products or teachers and start organizing it around commu
nity and places. Gandhi similarly believed that mass production, or the "factory economy," as he called it, inhibited spiritual growth. He felt that villages based on economic self-sufficiency were the ideal environment in which to foster non-violence and truthfulness. He wrote, "You cannot build nonviolence on a factory civilization, but it can be built on self-contained villages," (in Shinn, 2000, p. 225) and elsewhere said, "We can realize truth and nonviolence only in the simplicity of village life" (in Shinn, 2000, p. 224). Releasing Attachment to Results
Principle Seven: Skillful action requires releasing attachment to results. In order to proceed skillfully with Yogic action, one needs to be able to hold paradox, such as our deep concern for the current harm being done the earth combined with our knowledge that the earth will be fine, no matter what happens. Our group regularly came up against this paradox in our actions and in our discussions. A related paradox is not knowing what the results of our actions will be. Particularly in relation to the environment, it is likely that the health of the earth will continue to worsen for the foreseeable future, despite our actions. And yet we need to hold this information without apathy or anger, and to realize that no matter what, we are called to act.
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