The goal of yoga is moksha, or liberation. But what exactly are we trying to be liberated from? The answer is the "ego," or more precisely, the pain and suffering that we inflict upon ourselves and each other by clinging to false identities and illusions.

To help us reach this goal, we study scriptures and other texts to train the intellect. We practice meditation in order to calm the mind. We sing sacred chants or songs, make pilgrimages to holy places, commute to houses of worship, pray, donate our time and money to charity, and so forth.

No matter what religion we belong to, or even if we do not belong to one at all, various tools are available to aid us on our path. And whatever tool we choose, there is a danger of becoming attached to the tool, so that the tool - and not liberation itself - becomes the goal. As an example, some people spend years memorizing scriptures. They can quote any passage of the Bible, the Tanakh, the Koran, or the Bhagavad Gita, whatever their religion may be, and even tell you the exact chapter and verse where the quote came from.

Some pride themselves in being able to sit in meditation for a week without sleeping or eating. Some women choose to flaunt their modesty by covering themselves from head to toe, severely restricting their mobility. Others vow absolute obedience to a tyrannical spiritual leader and subject themselves and sometimes their own children to mental and physical abuse in the name of God.

In India, you will find yogis who get around on all fours like a dog, who keep one arm perpetually raised in the air, who eat human corpses or excrement, or who remain in an upright position for years at a time, hoping that this will lead to liberation. Sometimes their bodies end up deformed and/or in great chronic pain. Self-deprivation, self-mutilation, self-torture, self-disrespect … Is this really what liberation is all about?

While we should commend the efforts of sincere seekers who subject themselves to such practices in search of liberation, their success depends on their realizing how they have enslaved themselves by clinging onto yet another illusion. Unless they realize this fact and change their course, they will never reach their destination.

So, how DO we achieve liberation? The answer is simple: Atma Vichara, or self inquiry. When we talk about ahimsa (non-violence) for example, which is one of the teachings of yoga, we do not mean “everyone else must not commit acts of violence,” we mean that the rule must be applied to us. And no, we are not allowed to make special exceptions for ourselves because “He (she/they) started it!” Look at where that exception has gotten humanity so far. All that we need to do is to look deeply inside ourselves. No need to deprive ourselves of food or sleep, punish or mutilate our bodies, or rely on the guidance of a spiritual leader, who, chances are, is as lost as we are.

When you commence the journey within yourself, that is when true transformation begins.  

- Anaamika -