How Can We Practice Yoga Amidst Interference

“If one is engaged in the advancement of spiritual knowledge, there will be so many insults and much dishonor from others. This is expected because material nature is so constituted. Even a boy like Prahlada, who, only five years old, was engaged in the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, was endangered when his father became antagonistic to his devotion.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 13.8-12 Purport)

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“Well, another one bites the dust. Down goes another spiritual leader. He is from the same institution as the rest of them, but I do not like to pile on. I am well aware of my own faults, of my own shortcomings, of my terrible habits, and of my embarrassing moments from the past.

“Who am I to judge others? I am perplexed by the responses, however. What did you think would happen if you put a man and a woman together, in an intimate setting? Okay, one is supposed to be the guru and the other the disciple, but have these people been living under a rock?

“There is a reason for the common occurrence of the boss shacking up with the secretary. The husband gets belittled at home, ridiculed, scorned, and made fun of. Is it any wonder that they would find any other woman appealing, especially someone who is kind to them and speaks in sweet tones?

“I have a more important question to ask. Above all these issues that we know are due to the presence of lust, kama, which is practically impossible to control, there is still this appeal for yoga. Not necessarily the meditational kind. I am speaking of bhakti-yoga. You are supposed to get the results of working in devotion, karma-yoga, when either in that path or following sankya-yoga.

“Whichever path a person chooses, there is always some kind of interference. Even if you live in a society of like-minded individuals, who are supposed to be following rules and regulations, there is one temptation after another. Who can actually be strong enough to make it through?

“Is that not the reason Krishna gave the rigid parameters for meditational yoga practice? He explains the need to find a secluded place, to sit on a deerskin rug, to focus the eyes on the tip of the nose, and so forth. To me, that is real yoga. Any other kind is doomed from the very beginning; the conditions are just not ideal. How can you expect someone to concentrate when there is no peace?”

साङ्ख्य-योगौ पृथग् बालाः
प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः
एकम् अप्य् आस्थितः सम्यग्
उभयोर् विन्दते फलम्

sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ
pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ
ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag
ubhayor vindate phalam

“Only the ignorant speak of karma-yoga and devotional service as being different from the analytical study of the material world [sankhya]. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.4)

It is undoubtedly true that concentration and focus greatly assist the individual trying to complete a task. When the objective is so large and encompassing as finding liberation, the end to the cycle of birth and death, it would appear even more important to establish the proper conditions.

At the same time, we see that Bhagavad-gita was delivered to a bow-warrior. Though Shri Krishna, the teacher in that instance, describes various kinds of yoga and the conditions necessary for success, we see that the student does not follow the meditational path.

He has a choice in the matter. Yoga is a choice, after all. It is action, kriya. A person can always choose to remain in maya, which is illusion. Arjuna chooses yoga, but one practiced on a battlefield, of all places. Arjuna chooses yoga to be conducted not on a mat on the floor, but while releasing arrows in a fury against attacking enemies.

Does this mean that Arjuna is doomed to failure? Does he stand zero chance of success? Has Krishna’s appeal fallen on deaf ears? Is the real yoga postponed for a later time, after the military work comes to a conclusion?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada says that even a five-year old boy like Prahlada Maharaja faces obstruction. The boy’s father is antagonistic towards the yoga of devotion. Hiranyakashipu has no interest in following any of the nine processes so kindly outlined by his son. Hiranyakashipu does not even want to hear; he hates shravanam so much that he tries to literally kill the messenger.

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
श्रवणं कीर्तनं विष्णो: स्मरणं पादसेवनम् ।
अर्चनं वन्दनं दास्यं सख्यमात्मनिवेदनम् ॥

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

“Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vishnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) – these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service.” (Prahlada Maharaja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.23)

As the spirit soul is a part and parcel of the Supreme Absolute Truth, there is always the potential for success in yoga. No person is forever doomed. It may appear that they cannot trace out a time in their history when they were liberated. Thus they are known as nitya-baddha.

That can change, however. Otherwise, there would be no purpose to instructional works like Bhagavad-gita, Shrimad Bhagavatam, and the many Puranas. There would be no point to the disciplic succession, parampara, and the selfless teachers travelling far and wide to broadcast the message of sanatana-dharma.

If a person fails, they can try again. If they fail one hundred times, they can get back up one hundred times. The destination is worth the perseverance. The devotion of the devotees never perishes, whereas in any other kind of yoga the conditions have to be exactly to specification.

In Closing:

Exactly to specification,
Or barred from destination.

In austerity determination,
With proper concentration.

But Arjuna on battlefield taught,
Arrows to enemies brought.

On yoga platform still predicated,
Since work for Krishna dedicated.