Yoga As InvolutionWe all want to develop and improve ourselves. We think of this as per
sonal evolution, and a spreading of our wings. The true yogic journey
is involution, or to refer to the previous paragraph, folding one's wings.
If evolution is a preparation for yoga (the intention to unite with the
soul), then involution is actual yoga (union itself). We struggle from the
gross material world into the subtle heart of nature, like the salmon re
turning to their source for both death and regeneration. The force that
is expressing itself welcomes our journey, even though it seems to ob
struct it. So we must do everything we can to encourage our develop
ment through asana practice and stopping our self-destructive habits,
such as smoking or overeating. We also use our will, (not ego but our
nature's life essence) to favor the struggle. And we invoke divine aid in
an act of surrender and humility. The combination of these three makes
the journey possible.
Let us take two examples, in relation to what I have just said, of
how one might attempt to change one's life. Let us imagine a man,
short of money and in a dead-end job. He is anxious, stressed, and
frustrated and irritable with his wife and children. On Friday nights he
tries to escape his predicament by drinking too much. What can he do?
What does he do? He makes the effort not to go out drinking. This al
ready is a small victory, but what can he do then with the money he
has saved?
He can go and buy a lottery ticket or several. The odds are against
him, first because he is behaving weakly-it is his ego that is asking
God to let him win-and there is no role for the exertion of his own
will. To buy a ticket requires little effort, and there is nothing practical
he can do to make his ticket win. The only thing he can do is not lose
the ticket. All parts are weak-his divine relationship, his natural life
force, and his practical action. This is the feebleness of fan1:1sy and lt"ll ·
uous connections.
II 1.1 s s r II 11• I l I V I N 11• II 0 ll Y (II N .1 N /1 .1 I