from the desire of the fruit or rewards of action. The yogi is utterly dis
interested but paradoxically full of the engagement of compassion. He
is in the world but not of it. The yogi is beyond cause and effect, ac
tion and reaction. Later we shall see the role that Time plays in this
how there is freedom because the illusion of Time no longer exists to
bind us to past and future and so distorts the perfect present.
The challenge for the spiritually free man is to live according to
five qualities: courage, vitality, right and useful memory, awareness
through living in the present moment, and total absorption in his ac
tivities. Spiritual maturity exists when there is no difference between
thought itself and the action that accompanies it. If there is a discrep
ancy between the two, then one is practicing self-deception and pro
jecting a false image of oneself. If I am asked to give a demonstration
before an audience, there is bound to be an element of artistic pride in
my presentation. But alone, I practice with humbleness and devotion.
If one can prevent the inevitable egotism from entering the core of one's
life and activities, it means one is a spiritual man. In this state, regard
less of the mind, intelligence, and consciousness, he is led from the il
luminative wisdom of the core to live a righteous life. He lives from his
heart in truth and then expresses it in words.
A spiritual man with his knowledge and wisdom perceives the dif
ferences of age and intelligence between himself and others, but he
never loses sight of the fact that the inner being is identical. Even
though the man possesses an inner knowledge of such depth and sub
tlety that he visibly lives in a state of exalted wisdom, he also visibly
lives with his feet planted firmly on the ground. He is practical and
deals with people and their problems as and where they are.
The free man is both innovative and open, even revolutionary, as
I have been in my yoga practice, but he will also be steeped in tr.tdi
tion, through culture and heredity. The yogi is rooted in his own l'X
pt'riences and the discoveries he has made throu�h yo�;t pr;tl"l in·. Yl't
ht' must continut' with an opt'n mind to catrh till' suhtll' di,n iVI'I"II''
backadmin
(backadmin)
#1