The Secret Goal of Yoga
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What is the secret goal of yoga? Perhaps you already know what that is. Reflect for a moment. After all isn’t all knowledge ‘hanging’ somewhere in some collective consciousness? Often learning is remembering or recognizing something distantly familiar. As a cohesive, practical system, yoga was developed over five thousand years ago. Why did it take this long to become popular? Five thousand years! There have been many yogis throughout history, but never was the system so widespread as it is today. |
Ancient yogis recognized powerful effects of this practice on one’s physical, energetic, and mental constitution. They sent out a wish into the future (an energetic projection) that whenever the planet needed this ancient wisdom, it would re-surface.
And so like a seed planted long ago, yoga popularity germinated, sprouted, and has now become a beautiful bloom with all its traditions, styles, and variations. Obviously, the need is here and now. The world needs its message. Why? What did ancient yogis foresee?
They saw Ego. Yes, a huge ego, growing into billions of faces and invading hundreds of cultures. The ego, or the sense of separateness, is an essential part of the mind. It places us in the infamous human predicament: ensuring our physical and mental safety, but robbing us of the continual experience of inner peace.
The ego is also successful in convincing us that we are, in fact, the mind, or the ego itself. It usually creates fear of, or a cautious relationship to, that which is not ‘me’ or not ‘mine,’ creating a perpetual state of anxiety underlying all our actions. As a protective mechanism, the ego continuously strengthens itself through physical training of the body, conditioning and education of the mind, securing a ‘comfortable’ place in the world socially and financially, and so on. Basically the ego always looks out for itself, even at the expense of others.
When dealing with other egos, there may be conflict. If unregulated, conflict may grow into war. History has shown how prevalent wars have been in ‘solving’ ego’s problems. However, when dealing with the natural world, which has no ego and doesn’t consciously wage war, there is consistent, on-going abuse, overuse, and destruction.
As a conscious human being living in today’s world, you already know the damage caused by the constant onslaught of human ego-driven activity on our precious planet. This is where yoga comes in. But what does yoga have to do with nature and the ego? Well … everything, really.
What is yoga, anyway? Union. Right? Union of everything: body, breath, mind, inner self, but also every other living and non-living thing in the entire existence: rocks, plants, animals, other humans, everything. Yoga is a realization that there’s Oneness behind everything and this Oneness is who you are. This Oneness is inexplicable in words or thoughts, but you feel it anyway, when, suddenly but often enough, you peek beyond the mind’s constant chattering.
This experience of Oneness, of yoga, of lasting inner peace and happiness, is the opposite of the sense of separateness, or Ego. In fact, yoga and absolute happiness are experienced only when the ego is clear, or, to use the language of yoga, purified. Once the ego is pure, yoga happens naturally.
This may seem unexpected for some of you, but as a science and a practical system, yoga primarily deals with the mind. It may begin with physical conditioning of the body—postures and sequences to gain physical control, but all to get a handle on the mind. According to yogic wisdom, to control the mind perfectly is the most difficult task in the universe. The body is much easier to control and is a physical manifestation of the mind. So gradually the transition is made from the physical to the subtle energetic and mental exercises.
So how does all of this lead us to the secret goal of yoga? Imagine what would happen if large numbers of people had an authentic experience of yoga. Imagine if they could sustain ego-less existence for periods of time long enough to feel compassion for all other beings on Earth.
As yogis, awake to our inner nature and in union with our environment, ever conscious of the One essence behind all, we realize that we are inseparable from Mother Earth. The purpose or goal of yoga becomes our purpose in life. We realize that it is our inherent duty to take care of our planet and all its creatures, to live in harmony as a family, as brothers and sisters, with all. As yogis, we become ecology-warriors, messengers of peace, and guardians of Mother Nature, and of life itself. We realize that we are the caretaker-species; and that is why we have our intelligence and the energy for this grand task. We naturally dedicate our lives to alleviate the suffering of others, create peace in the world, raise our common consciousness, and awaken others to their true nature and the unity between all life.
So this is the purpose of yoga: to bring about change in the world—global transformation of consciousness. This is what has been projected by the great Rishis of the past as a means to save our precious Mother Earth and learn to live in harmony and love.
Why is this a secret? Perhaps ‘hidden’ or ‘unapparent’ may be better words. Often, yoga comes into your life through the backdoor of the ego. People are usually attracted to yoga because of the ego (like getting a yoga-butt or even in search of their own inner peace). Thus, the ego plays a crucial role in your path to self-discovery and ego-purification. With the regular practice of love for the body, mind, and heart, yoga practitioners transform.
There are countless examples of such yogis, and you may very well be one of them. So thank you for your work. Please continue on your path, inspire others by example, and become the needed change we want to see in the world.
