To face life's challenges, we must have hope. The practice of yoga on the spiritual path offers hope, for it brings the light of peace and happiness into the darkness of man's sorrow and restlessness.
The science of spirituality was developed under the practice of yoga.
Yoga is relevant to everyone, for it provides solutions to that which we are all seeking. For yoga points, compass-like, in the universally true direction toward that ultimate attainment: divine joy—a joy that can only be found within.
Unfortunately, that greatest of all treasures, joy, so often eludes those who seek it; just as the musk eluded the Himalayan musk deer in the story above, as it searched frantically outside of itself. Such will ever be the case with happiness as long as it is sought in the will-o'-the-wisp of outward pleasures and possessions.
Happiness is born in people's hearts by holding the right attitude of mind. "Mind-power shows man the way", Yogananda said, "to inner happiness, which gives him immunity to outer inconveniences." The practice of yoga, teaches us the power to control our mind and uplift our hearts to the right attitude.
Meditation is at the heart of the yogic scheme of life. Indeed, meditation is to the spiritual seeker what the microscope is to the scientist. It allows one to test truths in the laboratory of their own life.
As mentioned above, everyone is seeking to find happiness and avoid pain. The first step to avoiding pain is accepting it when it comes; and in acceptance, there is also joy. It is in everyone's highest interest, therefore, to accept gratefully the pains of life, seeing them as opportunities for growth and self-expansion.
Trials, when faced cheerfully, soon lose their gravity. Even the greatest obstacle can be turned into a great opportunity; and the greatest failure into an even greater success. Everything that happens has an inherent lesson. Pain teaches one that they have erred, just as a young boy feels pain when he touches fire, and gets burned. And yet, because of that experience (one at least assumes) the young boy will choose, from then onward, to avoid touching fire. The "burns" of human existence are there to guide humanity aright. If people's ignorance didn't cause them pain, they would lack the necessary incentive to start the rocky climb toward perfect joy.
If one lived in a closet their whole life and never saw the light of day, it is not unlikely that they would accept their limitations as normal, and feel no reason to seek the light. Upon seeing the light, however—and the limiting condition one allowed oneself to live in—one would rush toward it! The same is true for pain. It is by the contrast of pain from joy that spurs mankind to improve, and to break through self limitations. The greater the pain, life teaches, the greater the inherent joy.
There is no use in avoiding the tests that come. The only hope people have is in grateful acceptance of each test as a doorway to self-improvement.
Misunderstandings, however, are apt to come; and apt to cause mistaken actions in people's lives. Life demands action of people. Whether one knows the right next step or not, one must act. Though the path ahead may seem clear from where one is standing, the very next step may take one flat on one's face. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have taken that step. People must have the courage to do their best, even if their best falls short of other's expectations.
Yoga teaches that when people identify a thing with themselves, whether good or bad, success or failure, wealth or poverty, they are limiting themselves. If, instead, people forget themselves through joyful service to mankind, and act with a spirit of self-offering, there is no longer a "post" of limitation for pain and pleasure; heartbreak and elation; failure and success to be tied to.
The cause of error is simply unknowing. The highest priority for the truth seeker, therefore, should be to grow in understanding; understanding of oneself, and understanding of the true nature of the world around one. The laws of nature ever teach forgiveness over judgement; love over hate; self-expansion over self-involvement; cooperation over competition; harmlessness over violence; truthfulness over deceit; and generosity over greed.
One's development on the path, rather than being measured by any outward attainments, should be measured by one's attunement with these laws of nature, and with the joy of the soul— which comes as a consequence of the former. To live in attunement with something means, as the word implies, to be in tune with it. Just as a person tunes their radio to a station they particularly like, so must a person "tune" their mental "radio" to the station of the soul—the soul being the highest expression of one's self. Life, when "tuned" to this "station," can be a constant melody of joy.
When that attunement is complete, and all of the static of the mind has gone, one will have reached the goal of yoga: union with divine joy in a state of superconscious awareness.
The more people understand these precepts, the more motivated they will be to take on the adventure of attaining self-understanding and inner joy. The more people take on that divine adventure, the more more society will gradually—one person at a time—be uplifted also; for society is nothing if not a group of individuals. Those, moreover, who seek joy within will be a light in this world. Their joy will be contagious, and will inspire others around them to also begin the journey toward a brighter future. Thus, the practice of yoga, truly is a scientific approach to life which offers cheerful and universal solutions to humanity's most fundamental problems.
Happy International Day of Yoga.