Leadership Role in Yoga

Perhaps the most corrosive desire in yoga, the one that hurts the most and sets back the aspirant, is the one where a student aspires to be a leader or founder of a sect or lineage.

Anything created by anyone must be abandoned by that creator. This happens because of locational shifts. Since Nature always shifts at every moment, nothing is stationary, nothing stays put. Whatever is created by whoever will be confiscated by Nature as it will shift the position and cause a rupture in time which separates the creator from his/her creation.

When someone is motivated by the desire to be in a lead position, that person is set for disappointment and stress because of the shifting way of Nature, which does not allow anyone to keep anything for any indefinite length of time.

Sooner or later, a leader will be dead and gone, with nature confiscating his monopoly. That will cause distress because the running credits will disappear from the leader’s view, pushing him in a position where he must again endeavor to be in a choice position. It is similar to a child who builds a sand castle by the beach. The tide comes in within twelve hours and demolishes the building.

The child may cry for it. Or he may accept the demolition as a challenge to his creative prowess. He may again construct the building as soon as the tide goes out. Like that, day after day, for twice each day, he may reconstruct the building.

Those who come to study yoga and who have this need to be a leader will fail at the practice. This will happen unless they abandon the leadership need tendency which is a manifestation of dishonesty and arrogance.

Someone comes along. He hears about a leader of a yoga sect. He figures he will learn the practice from this exceptional person. On checking closely in his psyche, one may find that there are subconscious motives which will disrupt progress. One of these undesirable aspects is the need for leadership. It is corrosive to yoga practice. It eats away at the progress.