YogaConnections

No matter what you believe in, sooner or later you are bound to run across someone in your tradition who believes they know the Truth and that their way is the only way.  Dogmatism and Zealotry are a nasty combination that inevitably lead to woe for those who end up under the spell of the practitioners. A post zealously espousing dogmatic beliefs was recently posted on the forums at Yoga Journal, and the post below is my response.

So, the old straw horse is set up to be knocked down again. Yep. the hoards of yogis who think that Yoga is only about exercise are running rampant and squashing out all of the other (more real) aspects of Yoga.

Sigh.

Anyone who claims to know the Truth so well that they deny refutation before examination is lacking in the ability to accurately perceive their own limitations. Wisdom begins with knowing one’s own limitations. Thus, wise people rarely if ever make the kinds of statements expressed in this blog. Knowledge and passion do not equal wisdom.

Those who would judge others for following their own path are saying that they are foolish for not being willing slaves. Worse is that these people are either so stuck in their own Samskaras that they can’t see when they are leading others astray, or they know what they are doing and do it intentionally. Woe be to those not free enough to avoid such people.

Instead of attempting to lead others, such people are better off spending more time meditating on the nuances of what they really know and how they know it. Often, when we do this, the flimsiest of foundations are found. In fact, the reason that the strongest wing of modern philosophy holds that we create our own meaning in life is that no revealed, rational or impirical method has proven reliable or valid with regard to any universal truths about the meaning of life, not to mention supernatural phenomena.

Knowing that there is no single or in fact any infallible method to find truth is freeing. We are each then free to discover the meaning life has for us – to discover and create our own path. We can rely on our own experience as well as the experiences of others. We can look at science for objective measures of our physical world. We can read great books of philosophy, religion, ethics and what have you. We can use our intuition. We can share our beliefs, expose them to scrutiny and modify them when they are found lacking. Then we can each follow the truth that for us is most truthful.

Acknowledging the heterogeneity of and fallability of ways to knowledge also frees us to respect and value the diversity of beliefs held by other yogis because we are then on (more or less) equal footing with others. Once we do this, criticizing other’s beliefs becomes much more difficult. It doesn’t mean that we accept others beliefs for ourselves uncritically, but we would be much less likely to tell others that their beliefs are wrong for them.

Acknowleding fallability of our own ways to knowledge allows us to let go of those beliefs that are found wanting instead of, well, religiously believing things that upon honest reflection are simply absurd or otherwise lacking.

Knowing the limitations we all share destroys the idea that one person or any group of people has automatic authority over others because of their set of beliefs. It also frees us from the idea that old beliefs are somehow better than new ones just because they are old. Old beliefs were created the same way new ones are created, and by people with the same or even greater limitations. This democratizing attitude is once again freeing. No one need be oppressed or even concerned by others who think their way is the only way.

Scott