Modern Problems, Ancient Solutions
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
— Albert Einstein
When really awful things are happening, which they seem to be every day - shootings, war, restrictions on women's reproductive rights, climate catastrophes - you might wonder... should I really spend my time practicing? or studying?
I would say, yes, absolutely, and here's why. The Bhagavad Gita might seem like an old, dusty text, but its teachings are heart-wrenching relevant. Remember, the Gita is part of the Mahabharata. And the Mahabharata chronicles a slow, multi-generational degradation of society. Leaders become morally bankrupt. Ethics are unraveling. Terrible things keep happening. Common sense and the common good are ignored. Actions that impact all are motivated by greed and a power-hungry-rot at the top.
Sound familiar?
Someone has to take a stand. And one of those someones is Arjuna. Krisna insists that Arjuna fight. AND he wants him to fight with a clear mind and a calm heart. The Bhagavad Gita is compassionate coaching on how to fight, how to act, how to engage, without losing integrity, without succumbing to the moral sickness, without getting stuck in the cess-pool of pain, without becoming part of the problem.
We need this teaching. With all that's happened and happening, it's appropriate to feel hopeless or helpless, to want to go numb or collapse, to be angry or filled with righteous fury. It's necessary to take a stand. AND, don't let hatred poison your heart, don't let suffering consume your mind, don't join the finger-pointing polarization.
The problems are bigger than that. We need better solutions than that. So what do you do? I’ll be the first to admit, I'm not an expert. There are very smart people with more experience and knowledge than me. I really appreciate Kerri Kelly, a former SF yogi. Here is one of her recent substack articles with an abundance of additional resources: It's never enough by CTZNWELL
This is what I do know: history. And when you look at history, radical change happens with solutions that are completely outside of the box. An example: Gandhi had been working in South Africa. He came home to India and was taken on a tour to see the impact of the British Raj. What he saw on the tour had him seething with anger.
Did he spring into action? Did he immediately jump into the fight? Nope. He did not trust himself to act with integrity from that place. He went to meditate. Not for a few minutes or even a few days. A few months. He needed his head and heart clear so he could act with aligned motives.
As yogis, I believe we have a great responsibility, to fight for the greater good, yes, always, absolutely. AND to take up that fight with integrity. Which means maintaining connection to dharma and aligned motives.
You can’t change the world with your yoga practice but you can change yourself. And when you change yourself - how you behave and engage - that just might change the world.
May your practice align your body, mind and spirit for the greater good.
