Virtuous Monkey

Virtuous Monkey.

Whilst doing a little research for a yoga workshop I am running recently, I reacquainted myself with the original, traditional schools of yoga. Coupled with a discussion I had with someone about a certain, disgraced guru’s alleged behaviour via facebook (never the right platform to discuss anything of depth), it became clear to me once more, how we can project our white shadow onto others from a place of blissful ignorance. How we are unknowingly espousing opinions and virtues that come from a place that on the surface of things, we are intrinsically opposed to.

If we look at the four right hand schools of yoga we may get a better idea of what I mean. They are:

Karma yoga. This is the yoga of service to others. Of kind actions with no acknowledgement of our own needs. This burns your own karma in the process.

Bhakti yoga: Worship or devotion to a deity, God, Goddess or guru.

Raja yoga: Study of the mind and emotions through observation, self study and meditation.

Jnana yoga: Philosophy and knowledge. The study of scripture and words. Lots of words usually from a guru or appointed teacher. This too involves observation, self study and meditation.

The right hand path is one of struggle and lack. The concept that in order to come closer to God, we must in some way go without. Sex, meat, drugs and luxury of any kind etc. 

The left hand path of Tantra expresses the opposite. Indeed we may find God through such hedonistic pastimes. Realizing eventually that all such pleasures are not really that appealing after all. Osho promoted a left hand path but seemed to miss the second aspect somewhat.

If we now compare with most Christian or indeed Islamic traditions these days, we can see a parallel especially with Karma and Bhakti schools of thought - i.e we spend our time trying to be a good person by helping others whilst worshiping a God we have never seen but believe in purely because others have told us he exists. This alone will send us to the promised land which varies in scope depending upon who one listens to.

In Catholic and Islamic traditions there is also the “get out of jail free” option of repenting or making up for misdeeds whenever you have digressed a little too much. Sound a little like karma yoga? Does to me. This is why the understanding of karma in the West is so prevalent - we equate it to what we already have an idea of.

If we compare the seven deadly sins with the right hand yogic path, again we find many similarities.

Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth

Or do we?

Lust is a defo in Right hand yoga.

Gluttony? Yes, a true yogi eats very little and is on a strict sattvic diet but that is purely an energy balancing thing. It has nothing to do with being righteous. Also, one can’t really practice on a full stomach so half belly is designated. Yogis don’t eat meat because of its tamasic effect, not because it is sinful in some way. My teacher in India described the energy of all animals as “constantly consuming”, in other words, animals spend all their time searching for gratification. This is not the energy we want inside us on a spiritual path of course!

Greed is a maybe. But that comes at a very advanced stage on the path of self enquiry and non attachment.

So, I would suggest that pride, envy, wrath and sloth are very Western in their sinfulness but not especially relevant to yoga. Greed is a maybe and from witnessing the money grabbers and hustlers in most Indian yoga schools we could probably count that one out too. Ouch! (Karmic, selfless service, redefined as slave labour in most ashrams is a moot point but that’s another blog.)

So, the pious lack in yoga is more about cleansing. Both the body and the mind. In the West it all seems more to do with mental constructs of what is good and evil.

This brings me to my point about said guru in disgrace on the facebook page. Although the vast majority of contributors on the feed would consider themselves of a more Eastern, open minded, altrenative standpoint. People who have rejected Christianity wholeheartedly in their search for spiritual truth, what I noticed was the vast majority of them were actually hung up on aspects of his behaviour from a very Christian viewpoint. One lady left the comment “Let you who be without sin, cast the first stone!” which highlights my point rather well. Not sure of the relevance to a non duality teacher but hey?

Let’s look at the sins on offer:

He is arrogant and narcissistic, encouraging his followers to believe he is Godlike - pride.

He is only interested in taking people's money - greed.

He is shagging all his students, well the pretty female ones - lust.

No other teachers or practices are allowed - possibly envy, who knows? Bit of a stretch.

He’s overweight and eats meat - gluttony

He has a ferocious temper and berrates his followers behind the scenes - wrath

And

He teachers a fraction of a teaching which he calls “the lazy man’s way;” - sloth.

So, of all the accusations against him, at least six of the seven deadly sins are covered.

It goes to show how centuries of societal and national conditioning is so deeply ingrained in us. We believe we have a mind and set of ethics of our own but the undercurrent is that of our forefathers and the very religious men we believe we have rallied against.

We are seeing this more and more with so called left and right brigades (interesting that the same definition is used in a political leaning too) on social media. Tying themselves in knots as their need to pick a side contradicts their ethical standpoint. Liberal, peace seekers reverting to the old testament eye for an eye whenever it suits them.

“I am a liberal but if you disagree with me, you should be dead!”

There is little, true, free thought. Our morals and ethics are very rarely our own.

Gurdjieff had a very interesting take on sin:

He stated that a sin, quite simply, is anything that impairs one’s spiritual quest.

If laziness and a need to sleep ten hours a night is impacting negatively on your spiritual routine then it is a sin. If it’s not, then it isn’t. If regular sex is impacting your pranic work then it is sinful. If sex doesn’t effect your spiritual path unduly because you don’t work with that kind of energy then, again, it isn’t. We can go through all seven and find where it does and where it doesn’t.

I would add, myself, that the sins are more of a guideline. A tip line.Some suggestions you may want to look at and see if they apply to you.

If greed is an issue and overshadows how we behave spiritually especially as a care provider or teacher then yes, by all means look at it. Some of us, however, could do with a little greed to spur us forward and help us continue our work. The vow of poverty is rife in spiritual circles (thanks to the conditioned ideas mentioned earlier) and is actually cumbersome for some of us.

Whilst looking at the sins, we have to be brutally honest and ask whether we are being negatively affected by one or any of them. They are horribly simplistic and designed to keep us subjugated after all.

As I mention elsewhere: There are rules and there are laws. Rules are made by men. Laws are universal and apply to all of us equally.

Religious concepts and even Eastern practices are mostly preached by men. Find what really applies to you. I mean, to your soul. Which morals and ethics are yours and which are simply begged, borrowed or stolen? Or, even worse, which have been forced upon you without you even noticing?

And what of the guru in question? Well, he’s a sham because he shares no teaching of merit and claims enlightenment when he has none. That is his big sin and not really covered in Christianity but probably in Islam. Everything else is a indicator of that but necessarily a fatal flaw in itself.