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Our Yoga: Hatha Yoga
Many Western Yoga Practitioners look at asana as a tool for achieving physical fitness and flexiblility. The yogic postures provide excellent physiologic & psychologic benefits:
- improved musculoskeletal flexibility, strength & endurance
- increased cardiovascular & gastrointestinal function
- enhanced nervous system flow, immunity, sleep, co-ordination & balance
- increased somatic awareness, attention, memory, learning & mood
- decreased anxiety, depression, and aggression
All these effects are desirable, however the traditional purpose of asana was to assist the Hatha-Yoga practitioner in the creation of an “adamantine body” (vajra-deha) or “divine body” (divya-deha). This is a transubstantiated body that is immortal and completely under the control of the adepts will (merged with the Divine Will). It is an energy body that, depending on the adept’s wish, is either visible or invisible to the human eye. In this body, the liberated master can carry out benevolent activities with the least obstruction.
Yoga Symbolism
Hatha yoga is a branch of Tantra. The definition of hatha is simply “force” or “power” and the commonly used ablative hathat means “by force of”. Esoterically ha and tha are said to symbolise “Sun” and “Moon” respectively. Specifically they refer to the inner luminaries: the “sun” or solar energy coursing through the right energetic pathway and the “moon” or lunar energy traveling through the left pathway. Hatha yoga utilizes these two currents, corresponding to the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems respectively, in order to achieve a psychoenergetic balance and mental tranquility. When this energetic harmony is achieved, the central channel is activated. As soon as life force (prana) flows into the central channel, it awakens the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) and pulls it into the central channel as well. This energy rising to the crown of the head leading to a sublime state of mind-transcending unified consciousness (nirvana or formless ecstasy). The symbolism of Tantra depends on the context and this is one reason why the Tantras are so difficult to translate. Another reason is that they deal with yogic experience or intricate practices unfamiliar to the uninitiated translator. Students must sensitise themselves to the symbolic dimension so as not to fall prey to false literalism, which can lead to dogmatism and misapplication of the teachings.
A Spiritual Teacher
Yoga is an initiatory tradition, which means it revolves around the communication of esoteric or spiritual knowledge from a qualified teacher to an initiatory disciple. The knowledge that is being transmitted is not merely an intellectual variety, but has the special quality of liberating or illuminating wisdom (prajna).
Through initiation the seeker is transformed into a disciple. A major function of the teacher is to serve as a vehicle for this process. As initiator, the teacher voluntarily assumes the tremendous responsibility of assisting the disciples birth into the spiritual dimension. Hence Sanskrit texts compare the spiritual teacher to a mother or father. Like one’s parents, the initiatory teacher makes a deep spiritual connection with the initiate, which is thought to endure beyond the present lifetime.
Initiations occur at various levels. Great adepts can initiate by a mere touch or glance or by visualizing the disciple. The teacher not only instructs or communicates information, he transmits wisdom and by his nature reveals to whatever degree the Spiritual Reality. Fully enlightened transmission is spontaneous and continuous. He or she constantly transmits the liberating ‘energy’ of the transcendental Being. In Yoga, with adepts who are not yet fully liberated, transmission is largely but not exclusively based on the teachers will and effort.
The Guide
The teacher not only triggers and reinvigorates the spiritual process in a disciple, the teacher also serves as a guide along the path. This occurs through verbal instructions and by being a living example on the spiritual path. The path to liberation has formidable hurdles, a disciple is in need of guidance. The written teachings are a beacon along the way. They require explanations, or oral commentary to yield their deeper meaning. By virtue of oral transmission received from a teacher, and in light of his/hers own experience and realization, the teacher brings alive the written teachings. This is a precious gift.
The Unconventional Nature of The Spiritual Teacher
Spiritual teachers swim against the stream of conventional values and pursuits. They are not interested in acquiring material wealth or in competing in the marketplace, or in pleasing egos, nor morality. Their message is of a radical nature, asking us to live consciously, inspect motives, transcend egoic passions, intellectual blindness, live peacefully and realize the deepest core of human nature, the Spirit. For those wishing to devote time and energy to conventional pursuits, this message is revolutionary, subversive, and profoundly disturbing.
Discipleship
The spiritual teacher breaks through the Ego. He draws the disciple out of himself and into the supra-individual and universal Self. He is governed by wisdom and compassion which are supra-individual capacities oriented towards Spirit rather than finite human personality.
The Inner Teacher
Since Yoga recognizes the ego-self is the cause of un-enlightenment, the guidance of the ego cannot lead to the highest realization. The ego leads the disciple into deeper ignorance, confusion, and ultimately despair. So until maturity is ready for the disciple to discover and respond to the teacher within, the student should practise in regard to an external teacher.
