The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: A Practical Guide to Healing
I am not in the world; the world is in me.” This daring
declaration of ancient yogis gave expression to the
perennial truth that the material universe, our physical
bodies, and the thoughts that occupy our minds are
expressions of an underlying unbounded field of consciousness.
The “I” in the bold statement reflects a transformation in the internal reference of the seeker from skin-encapsulated ego to expanded spirit. These original explorers of consciousness charted a course for us to follow — the path of yoga. This is the path we follow.
We are deeply gratified by the expanding acceptance in the
West of the philosophy and practices usually attributed to the East. Through our books, lectures, and workshops, we
have been sharing our understanding and experience of
the Vedic and Yogic wisdom traditions because we
believe that this knowledge has universal value.
Just as no one would argue that gravity applies only to England because Sir Isaac Newton was British or that Einstein’s theory of relativity was relevant only in Germany, we suggest that the profound insights gained through yoga are valuable for every person living on this planet, regardless of age, gender, or cultural inheritance. The principles of yoga are not limited by time or space.
As the human inhabitants of our world increasingly recognize themselves as members of a global village, ideas that were rejected by all but a few wild inner-space explorers thirty years ago are now resonating in our collective awareness. Just a few heartbeats back, the mention of yoga and meditation as essential components of a healthy lifestyle led to skepticism and even ridicule.
But
concepts that add genuine value to life eventually find
their way into the light of human consciousness. Paraphrasing the great German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, every great idea goes through three phases before it
is accepted. In the first it is rejected, in the second it is
ridiculed, and in the third it is held to be self-evident. The
value that yoga brings to body, mind, and spirit is becoming increasingly obvious to a critical mass of people in
North America and around the world.
