Yoga Cultural Sharing and Cultural Appropriation Blog #1

Just Imagine......

It's the 1970's, you are a young adult.  You grew up with the civil rights movement, watched your friends die in the Vietnam war, you lived through Kent State and the early psychedelic movement.  You have the original printing of Be Here Now by Ram Das and you saw Swami Satchidananda address thousands at Woodstock. All this inspired you to live differently and change your inner world. It took some time but you found a Guru, you changed your name and dedicated your life to yoga. 

You were inspired by Yoga as a marriage of "East meets West", you loved the interfaith dialogue started by Swami Vivekananda who is credited with bringing Yoga to the West in the 1890s.  You were inspired by the few who laid the seeds of Yoga in the West in the 1920s, '30's '40s, '50s, and '60s. You looked to emulate that progressive attitude.  If felt so good to dedicate your life to the breadth and depth of Indian spirituality.  

At the same time....

People called you names for it.  They judged you for becoming a vegetarian.  They didn't like your new Indian name and Eastern clothing.  These people threatened you, they told you to stick to your roots, to stick to your culture and not try to act like an Asian but to be proud of your Christian roots, but you kept going with your path because you believed Yoga could transform society.  Besides being interfaith included Christ in his essence, beyond the church's dogma.  

Those negative people though! They kept at you.  Often it was even dangerous.  Other-times it was fine and you had compassion. And then on other days you just got sick of the racism and bigotry.  You got sick of closed-minded people complaining about multiculturalism and cultural sharing.  Yet you kept going. You stayed off meat and you kept doing Yoga every day.  You even worked for Yoga organization and taught Yoga for 50 years.  You succeeded.  

Just Imagine.....

Welcome to 2020. 

Most of those people who didn't like you getting into Eastern Spirituality have left this world. Some are still here and they are accustomed to you.  Or they have been silenced over time. But some of them are still around complaining.  No biggie you have adjusted to there complaints.  

What else is happening in 2020.....

Now you have new critics.  They say they are liberal like you. But they wanted to let you know.  Your teacher who brought Yoga, that wasn't cultural sharing. It wasn't interfaith spirituality. It is cultural appropriation.  It is white privilege.  You are a white privileged colonizer.  Your yoga practice actually makes you a follower of white supremacy.   Many are even suggesting you stop your yoga practice. 

This is a life cycle many of our baby boomers are going through today. What must that be like?  These questions trickle down to every generation, it's not just the boomers dealing with this. 

It leads us to the question. Is yoga cultural sharing or cultural appropriation? 

Chaitanya says...

The truth is very elusive.  We can look for it above or below. We can look inside or outside, here or there.  Often we trade one idea for another.  Where is eternal joy and happiness?  The Truth can be found where ever we look for it. 

The ancient sages say the Truth is the breath inside the breath. 

Can we find the Truth in social media in 2020?  Has academia enlightened us on the true state of Yogic bliss? Or have they given us a new outfit to wear? Who has the truest idea?  Who is more correct?  Those that judged Yoga, Meditation, Interfaith Spirituality, and cultural sharing harshly in 1970 or those who challenge Yoga in 2020?  

The truth is between every letter, every word and every sentence you read on Facebook and Instagram.  Put your mind between the words, letters, and paragraphs. Jump into the space between the words and ideas. Wander there and you will see that which Yoga is truly pointing us towards.  Wander there and walk with grace and integrity in the age of mass media. 

Chaitanya Says, these ideas all can work to make Yoga better as One.  Without all these ideas as One, Yoga can not be the space between the ideas. 

Om Tat Sat Om!

This is Om, That is Om, EVERYTHING is the all-pervading Om!

Trevor Chaitanya Eller

For deeper teachings on this topic please give this masterpiece by folk musician Greg Brown a listen.  It has important teachings for all aspiring Yogis. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4rqoA0-g7I