Yogis In the World and Of It

Meditationtime Forum Post

Date:  Posted 5 years before Jun 18, 2017

MiBeloved 5 years ago

So long as we are hell bent on enjoying this material world through a material body, we will not be able to consolidate on yoga practice in the psychic sense. One may do asanas perfectly, teach these to others and be the model of what a certain posture should be, but if one does not complete pratyahar sensual energy withdrawal, one will not advance psychologically in yoga practice.

If you buy into the idea of being in the world and not being of it, you will not be successful either. If you want the world, that is what you will get. And then your success in yoga will become trivial or you will use it to boost your success in the world. There are many rich yuppies who do yoga. Many of these are masters of being in the world and being not of it, along with their Mercedes, private jets, Manhattan condominiums, yoga licenses and all that goes along with that.

One has to withdraw as much as possible from the world if one wants to switch the focus over to yoga. Don’t try to twiddle thumbs and walk on two rails at the same time, because then you might split in two and not benefit in either situation, that of yoga progress or that of worldly status.

Make a gradual shift of focus, moving yourself away from the worldly perspective to that of the psychic one which is conducive to higher yoga. Scale down your material desires slowly over time, one by one, as you anchor yourself more and more in the abstract subtle existence which you will be forced to deal with on a full time basis when you are no longer allowed to use the physical system.