Greetings Yogis and
Yoginis,
This week in class we are exploring Aparigraha - the fifth Yama.
This week in class we are exploring Aparigraha - the fifth Yama.
The earth which
sustains humanity must not be injured; it must not be destroyed.
– Hildegard
of Bingen
In the ancient
Indian tradition, many timeless truths underlying life - on which the health of
the world depends, and our life too - are conveyed in simple, beautiful
allegories. The earth is Goddess Earth. She is a person. She is a living
personality. Today we have forgotten that the earth is our mother, and that
unless she is healthy, that with which she nourishes us will not make us
healthy.
Air is also
considered to be a great god, whom we are expected to worship by keeping it
pure, because our very life depends upon it. It is incomprehensible to me how
this vital necessity of ours has been ignored in our modern civilization in the
frantic pursuit for material possessions, many of which are not necessary. We
needn't embrace poverty, but a beautiful life can be a simple life. Isn't pure
air more precious than anything else?
This is not a
pessimistic outlook; it is a very optimistic one, because environmental
problems can be solved by little people like us, working together.
Words to Live By:
Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is
to review the fifth yama, Aparigraha.
"Parigraha means hoarding or collecting. To be free from hoarding is aparigraha. It is thus another facet of Asteya
(non-stealing). Just as one should not
take things one does not really need, so one should not collect things one does
not require immediately. By the
observance of Aparigraha, the yogini makes her life as simple as possible and
trains her mind to not feel the loss or the lack of anything. Then everything she really needs will come to
her by itself at the proper time."*
Learn what it means for you to observe Aparigraha and embrace
simplicity.
*Paraphrased from Light on Yoga - BKS
Iyengar
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington
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