All those inclined to believe in God as Love come to experience expansions of their heart’s growth and personal capacity to love, rather than allowing a contraction of feeling.
But as we know, love is a very real primal emotional force and feeling that has to be cultivated and directed into the various avenues of personal life as we see is appropriate, as well as existing as a general state or attitude.
And thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world
A star at night, a bubble in a stream
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud
A flickering lamp, a phantom – and a dream.
Katha Upanishad
We can assume that we are totally well when –
Upon awakening, we look forward to the day’s activity optimistically
We feel emotionally capable of feeling relaxed and contented or enthusiastic and happy
We do not feel anxious, fearful, discontented, or depressed
Our practical thinking is clear, rational and constructive
Those who are attracted to the teachings and practices of Yoga are required to study and to learn all that is possible of its philosophy and health disciplines in order to benefit fully.
In addition to the physical and psychological disciplines that promise personal benefits to health and well being, it is anticipated that exponents will advance to experience spiritual realization and higher levels of consciousness.
We are taught and most of us profess to believe in the natural law of Divine Justice and the wisdom in acting with “do unto others…” in mind as a guiding or modifying influence. It is a benign law to assist us in making right choices in life.
We may readily also believe that each of us has the wonderful privilege of free will that allows us to make our own decisions and to choose our path through life. But we may forget that we determine our future fortune or otherwise by our choices made today.
There have lived many great human beings who have arrived at life wisdom through experience. Some of them are still known to us and their teachings are preserved in the many cultures and religions as well as the legends that are retained. Many have written their messages to convey to us the essence of the truths they have extracted and through this medium, many of us have benefited by studying their books.
They are the earth graduates, who have become more than human or greater human beings. They are the wise ones who have found the answers to our common questions about ourselves, about life, the universe and about the Supreme Consciousness we call God.
The principles inherent in Yoga are gradually being incorporated in general training programmes and business management and will in time enrich all education by total awareness and training of each individual who chooses to accept personal responsibility.
The qualified yoga teacher offers children a vital system of education complementary to the existent system in schools. It teaches a practical way of building total health of mind and body.
To lead the instinctive life of the animal would be to live in the true innocence of what is referred to in the story before the Fall of Man.
It would seem that with the gift of free will and spiritual intelligence come the trials, difficulties, queries, disturbances and the responsibilities of human life. We are banished from the purely instinctive life experienced by other creatures, to become an adventurer along a seemingly endless pathway of human experience as we develop our intelligence and seek to understand life. We are inspired to cultivate the refinement that comes to advancing human nature as we aspire to know our Creator and in turn become creative.
The law of Karma represents the function of Supreme Justice. It is the natural law that has been explained to humanity from time immemorial – that what we do in using our free will, will inevitably have repercussions. Good or constructive action results in good – just as evil action brings disaster.
It is easy enough to grasp as a philosophy. But for its acceptance we must rely to a large extent on our faith, on the teachings of wise ones greater than ourselves in understanding of spiritual matters, rather than upon the immediate evidence that the law is demonstrated to our satisfaction at close range in our human affairs.
When considering the oriental teachings, we would wish to comprehend the importance of the term ‘Dharma.’
Scholars will understand that there are differences of interpretation attributed to Hindu and Buddhist systems but generally it is the first that is associated with classical yoga teachings. The word is simple ‘Dharma’ but it takes many more words to explain the complexity that is within it. Firstly we consider righteousness, moral integrity, self discipline and dutiful responsibility to others. Its implication is that we follow a life of goodness, constructive work, compassion and brotherhood.
