When and if we contemplate the human situation, it’s always helpful to consider the situation as a predicament. A bit of a quandary if you will. Unlike Western traditions and the underlying assumption that if we just create the proper external circumstances, we can fix this jam we seem to be stuck in, the Eastern wisdom traditions assumes that this human dumpster fire is as it needs to be and we can learn something by accepting it as it is. This doesn’t mean we need to give up our efforts at alleviating an unjust and unfair world. It simply means that by accepting and seeing this human pickle clearly, by beginning from a sane and reliable starting point, we can direct our actions correctly. Confusion, upset and anger arise when our unexamined assumptions don’t align with the outcomes of our actions when in fact our actions are directed by assumptions that are doomed to fail.
If you notice, the Traditions of the East tell us we exist in a human realm and our bodies see this realm as it is, but that if we had different bodies, this same universe would manifest as that particular body would experience it. For instance, water to a human quenches thirst and cleans things. To a being in a hell realm, water is hot burning substance that is frightening. To a hungry ghost, water is pus, urine and offal. The body that experiences the same Universe sees the universe as the body dictates it.
The gods realms have a certain aspect that fascinates humans. The gods manifest things directly. They create a mental form and manifest it for themselves then and there. No waiting for or paying shipping costs. We have currently created a world that is closer to the gods realms than any other time in human history with the internet and Amazon. 40 years ago stores were closed on Sunday so you had to wait til Monday to place an order for the product you want, then wait for them to call you when it arrived two weeks later. Now, Amazon delivers next day.
The point being that in the human realm we have to work and sacrifice and make things happen in order manifest the life that we envision for ourselves, if we are in fact lucky enough to envision a life for ourselves! And often it doesn’t go the way we want it to. And it requires heaps of effort, diligence and toil.
In yoga practice, we delve into how our human body perceives the world, how we work with mind and how we manifest a life in this Life. Asana assists us in opening the channels of energy, facilitating the flow, cleansing the sense organs, training the mind to be present and attentive and unhooked from discursive and unhelpful mental patterns. We fill the body with prana and breath and tone the nervous system so we don’t fall to pieces when life gets hard. We experience the subtle body chakra system and learn first hand how the body, mind, intention and material world interact. We have agency in that interaction and can get more of what we really want.
The Eastern traditions say that we are floating along in the midst of an ocean of realms and through our intention and actions, are moving towards or away from the suffering inherent in inhabiting a body that experiences the Universe as that body experiences the Universe. You are GOD. You are the Universe and when you realize this You are less apt to want any kind of particular body. You’ll just exist in the simplicity of this very moment without a need to manifest anything because, as God, you realize everything is absolutely perfect as it is.
