Yoga properly understood is a means of furthering the evolution of Consciousness on this planet. I believe we could even go so far as to say that yoga is the very reason for our existence on this planet. Yoga consciousness is meant to elevate the consciousness of humanity and transform the planet. Yoga consciousness properly understood is the creative spirit recreating itself through all of it’s creation. Classical Yoga is defined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras as the realization of the cosmic being as our true self. Advaita is the non -dualistic view that we are one with the cosmic consciousness or the creator. We must come to understand that we are co-creators in this creation and we are continually creating or re- creating with our thoughts, with our words and with our actions. Yoga according to the Vedas, is the path of self – realization as this cosmic being with the realization not only of our human self, but the realization that the entire universe exists within our hearts. Yoga, which means union or yoke is devoted to uniting our own limited, finite individual consciousness with the unlimited infinite, cosmic consciousness of which we are one. Yogi Bhajan Phd. Master of Kundalini Yoga, repeatedly reminded his students, “if you can not see God in all, you can not see God at all.” When we are able to raise our consciousness and find the one creative spirit alive in all things on the planet, then we can only act from a place of love, compassion and non-violence and seek to heal and uplift all of life on earth. We must be able to find the same creative force in all of our fellow beings, in all of life from the mineral and crystal rock base of Gaia to the waters that provide life to our blue planet to the very air that we breathe and which is responsible for our life. Our very first action on this earth is to breathe in and our very last is our last exhalation. In between those two breaths are so many other breaths, but how often do we actually remember the vitality of our breath? How often are we even conscious of our breath? How often do we remember from whence that breath comes? How often do we remember how the very act of breathing unites us? Our breaths are all now contaminated by the toxins that encircle our planet as industry spews its toxic emissions and waste into the sky, as automobiles and other forms of transport leave a damaging carbon footprint on our earth and as we continue to dump poisonous waste into the seas.
“It is the consciousness of life which becomes the breath of life and gives life to the body. The breath of life is the consciousness of life and the consciousness of life is the breath of life.”
Upanishads
The Breath is the kiss of God, and breathing brings us closer to this creative force some people call God. To breathe is to be one with the same creative force that provides for all life on our
planet. And that same breath nourishes the plants and fruit which Gaia continues to offer us in abundance despite our neglect and abusive behavior. That same breath brings life to the animals who
share this planet with us and who are responsible for maintaining the delicate ecosystems that keep a balance within all of life itself. And that same breath has enabled us to evolve into upright
creatures with intelligence. That evolutionary force that has enabled us to stand upright and to develop intelligence was not meant to enable us to manifest our superiority over all of life and
subvert and conquer and devastate our planet but rather to see the sacred flame ever present in all of life and live in harmony and in gratitude and allow this evolutionary march to go forward
until we return to that one consciousness that has created all of life with it’s breath. According to the book Yoga and the Sacred Fire by Dr. David Frawley “the human being is meant to serve as
a vehicle for the entire Universe to become self -aware. We are the instruments for God to perceive his creation through the eyes of his creatures. This is the fulfillment that cosmic
intelligence has planned through the long evolutionary struggle. Yoga is a means of developing consciousness and the realization of consciousness lifts us and transforms us. Once we awaken at the
level of the soul which is the level of our planetary being, we can then act to save the world and to save ourselves.”
Yoga is the sacred science passed down from master to disciple, from generation to generation from the very beginnings of time when as it is explained in the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga was first taught
by God in the form of Lord Krishna, who related this teaching at a cosmic level to the Sun God, and then the Sun God taught it to all of humanity. “I taught this imperishable science of Yoga to
the Sun God (Vivasan) who taught it to Manu (progenitor of humanity)” Bhagavad Gita 112
With these words it can be interpreted that God taught the imperishable science of yoga to mankind as a tool for their evolution back to God and as a tool for the Creator to be conscious of his
own creation through the human being. Mankind in addition to having feelings inherent in all animals, has also the use of mind or intelligence to choose. Mankind must use this gift of choice or
free will wisely. We must now choose how we will live our lives, what legacy will we leave behind us and if we will continue to destroy and devastate the planet and carry on killing other human
beings in senseless wars or will we finally choose to care for life and love all of life around us.
“Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” Sri Ramana
The challenge that we are now facing and that of the coming generation is exactly that self -realization of the oneness of all life and with this realization, with this awakening we all must take
action to do what we can to save the planet and all it’s species from further damage and destruction and begin working together to co- create a world based upon co-operation and renewal and
respect and gratitude for the magnificent life force that unites us all.
The generation which has inherited a dis-eased planet and which has taken birth in a species out of harmony with life itself must now direct it’s efforts to finding balance and harmony and the
deep spiritual unifying factor of all life on this planet. The soul is the self-creating planet’s self-awareness. Dr. David Frawley – Pandit Vamdeva Shastri, one of the world’s most honored Vedic
Scholars in both the East and the West, comments in his book; Yoga and The Sacred Fire, “The planet is the field of expression for the Soul. The planet is our greater body, while our soul is part
of its indwelling planetary intelligence. All true healing powers lie within the soul, which is the very spirit of life. The soul has an inner connection with the forces of immortal life, the
waters of eternity that can bring wholeness to all things. The soul has the power to heal the planet. Without such a spiritual awakening, our efforts to save the planet and its natural resources
will lack depth and can become subverted.”
He continues to emphasize the necessity for a new ecology to heal the planet, “a sacred or yogic ecology that honors the consciousness both in nature and in ourselves, this is the ecology of the
sacred fire arising from earth itself. The organic unity of life, such as ecology proposes, lies in the higher consciousness that pervades the universe. The reflection of a single spirit that
creates and sustains all things from within. This spirit is the very ground of existence.”
Yoga allows us to work with the powers of breath, body and mind with pranayama, asana and meditation to achieve unity and to awaken the flame of awareness within to continue on our evolutionary
journey as spiritual beings in unity with all of consciousness. It can even be argued that the breath was the first yoga teacher, the breath when listened to, teaches the body how to move with
consciousness. Yoga properly understood is a service to God to transform ourselves back into the original Divine Consciousness and thereby to transform the planet. Human beings just like the
planet itself is continually yearning for more, continually expanding and improving and striving for higher levels. It is the yearning of the universe to become more which is the trigger which
propels us forward in our evolutionary journey.
It is imperative in this moment in time that we all become earth stewards or guardians of the planet and work to raise our own consciousness through our thoughts, our words and our deeds. We must
take conscious efforts and actions to save the planet from further destruction, to find solutions, new ways of doing old things. We must each and everyone of us discover what is the special
unique gift that we possess that we can contribute to humanity. We must ask ourselves what can we offer? Where might we serve? We must pledge to actively work towards sustainability preventing
further damage from being done, finding ways to right the wrong that has been done and solutions to the serious challenges threatening the entire planet if we do not learn to work together as one
human body. In order for us to create this new spiritual ecology we must become spiritual beings. We must connect deeply to the earth and to the sun which has produced life, we must join these
two forces in our heart centre and become the sacred beings of love and light we are meant to be. We must strive to nurture our inner nature and honor and embrace Mother Nature with respect and
gratitude and help humanity to transform through a cosmic sense of unity, creating a cosmic yoga and enter into a new era of healing of self and planet. This is the challenge and the gift facing
all human beings in this most transcendental and transformative moment in time. NAMASTE