so well articulated. I've tried over the years to help students (and others) understand how to apply the Yama/Niyama to their daily lives with varying degrees of success, my biggest challenges have been with those who are so attached to their own opinions they fail to see how their speech harms their own arguments (looking at YOU, Western Vegan Cult, and YOU, religious extremists of all religions).
it was enlightening to watch from afar and online the Walk for Peace recently completed by the Buddhist monks and their adorable dog Aloka. they had been followed by a "Christian" who verbally harassed them the entire way, and when the lead monk and main spokesperson had a conversation with the man his message was only "our message is only about peace. we will continue." he never lost his temper, he met this man with compassion, he did not ask the man to understand or change. in his public talks at every stop his core teaching was for listeners to say every morning "today will be my peaceful day" and to do their best to make that happen for themselves.
most of us in the West have used Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as our core philosophy but getting a copy of the Gita (with Devanagari, transliteration, and translations) should a bigger part for us as Lord Krishna clearly lays out how many different ways one can practice. "It is better to follow one's own path, however imperfectly, than it is to follow another's perfectly."
Thank you for this and reminder of the Walk for Peace example. That kind of steadiness under provocation is lived discipline, not theory.
I agree that applying the yamas and niyamas in daily life is where the real work happens and where our attachments, especially in speech, become visible.
And yes, the Gita matters here. It refuses simplistic readings and pushes us toward discernment, not slogans.
Perhaps the hardest part is this: compassion doesn’t always mean silence, and firmness doesn’t automatically mean harm. Knowing the difference is the practice.
thank YOU! I did ask in the monks' group about being peaceful and yet being able to hold evildoers accountable for their actions and got a reply. I forget exactly what they said but it was along the lines of what YOU just said. it's a VERY challenging thing to do when the news about truly heinous acts is bombarding us everywhere.
somehow we MUST find a way to hold people accountable without causing more harm.
Such a great comment Sandra. I too followed the walk for peace. I did see the videos about the Christians. They also don't like accountability or perspectives other than theirs as you mentioned with their attachment. The ones I know will say that we are all full of sin bc eve ate the apple...so everyone has sin etc. Basically they are saying they can make this excuse of Sin and not have to be accountable. They are so attached to ego. Same with 99.9% of vegans. They can't have other perspectives. I was vegan for sometime due to multiple reasons and can no longer eat that way, am pounds lighter, healthier and happier.
My guru says, "Everything that you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for the body, mind, and soul! It is the most wonderful way to live."
Each day I don't always act as peaceful as I should. However instead of dismissing it I reflect and work to improve. As the monk spoke often of being peace. This is so relevant to society today east and west north and south it applies to all. Sadly it seems now that the walk is complete people will move on to the next trendy thing that is being followed. Few will apply Svadhyaya, and the other limbs needed to actually apply the teachings. Those that do make the effort it seems some days that it is in their hands. 🙏
thanks. we are all human beings leading spiritual lives (even if we don't follow a specific spiritual lineage), even those who lead "evil" lives are living their path (I have a great novelization of The Ramayana that lays out the history of the demon Ravana and the how's and why's he was able to be finally defeated.
I was raised in a Christian home so I am also familiar with the idea of the anti Christ and have felt that those who claim to be christian without following Christ's teachings are one of the heads of Ravana. It will take a great deal of practice every day to keep returning to the path of Love (which is why I was so taken with the Bad Bunny halftime show, the one phrase in English on the Jumbotron was "The only thing stronger than hate is love".
We don't need to be perfect (which is why it's called "practice"...)
This is so good Trupti. In June I'm focusing my newsletter on Arjun and the lessons of the Gita.
Through observation I have noticed this happening as well, often people are parroting verses and not adding the depth, so this leads to others running with it willy nilly and things get distorted or used out of context. I see this on youtube shorts as well people will clip a particular saying or verse and twist it to apply to their narrative but if you find the whole version it will appear that the poster missed the point entirely.
A thought ive had lately is this. How do we let go of attachment to outcomes and expecting without loosing accountability in the world?
Due to the yamas and niyamas often being used dryly or out of context it seems that accountability is often erased too that because we are not supposed to be attached to certain outcomes means that we can't hold others accountable. In other words a lot of people think we can just be walked on or used as doormats because we practice Ahimsa, asteya, etc.
It also seems that accountability scares people these days, they run from it but want to make every excuse.(Similar to Arjuna using every "if and or but" while talking to Krishna about not wanting to do his job on the battlefield).
You’re such a thoughtful friend of mine. The confusion between non-attachment and lack of accountability comes up a lot. In the Gita, Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna to disengage. He asks him to act just not from panic, ego, or fear of loss. That’s very different from being a doormat.
I agree that when the yamas are treated like dry moral slogans, accountability disappears. But lived properly, they actually demand more integrity, not less.
And you’re right, people often hide behind “if, and, but” when responsibility feels uncomfortable. That’s very human.
Looking forward to your upcoming series. Let’s definitely keep this conversation going as part of weekly inquiry chat.
so well articulated. I've tried over the years to help students (and others) understand how to apply the Yama/Niyama to their daily lives with varying degrees of success, my biggest challenges have been with those who are so attached to their own opinions they fail to see how their speech harms their own arguments (looking at YOU, Western Vegan Cult, and YOU, religious extremists of all religions).
it was enlightening to watch from afar and online the Walk for Peace recently completed by the Buddhist monks and their adorable dog Aloka. they had been followed by a "Christian" who verbally harassed them the entire way, and when the lead monk and main spokesperson had a conversation with the man his message was only "our message is only about peace. we will continue." he never lost his temper, he met this man with compassion, he did not ask the man to understand or change. in his public talks at every stop his core teaching was for listeners to say every morning "today will be my peaceful day" and to do their best to make that happen for themselves.
most of us in the West have used Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as our core philosophy but getting a copy of the Gita (with Devanagari, transliteration, and translations) should a bigger part for us as Lord Krishna clearly lays out how many different ways one can practice. "It is better to follow one's own path, however imperfectly, than it is to follow another's perfectly."
Thank you for this and reminder of the Walk for Peace example. That kind of steadiness under provocation is lived discipline, not theory.
I agree that applying the yamas and niyamas in daily life is where the real work happens and where our attachments, especially in speech, become visible.
And yes, the Gita matters here. It refuses simplistic readings and pushes us toward discernment, not slogans.
Perhaps the hardest part is this: compassion doesn’t always mean silence, and firmness doesn’t automatically mean harm. Knowing the difference is the practice.
Thank you for engaging so thoughtfully.
thank YOU! I did ask in the monks' group about being peaceful and yet being able to hold evildoers accountable for their actions and got a reply. I forget exactly what they said but it was along the lines of what YOU just said. it's a VERY challenging thing to do when the news about truly heinous acts is bombarding us everywhere.
somehow we MUST find a way to hold people accountable without causing more harm.
Such a great comment Sandra. I too followed the walk for peace. I did see the videos about the Christians. They also don't like accountability or perspectives other than theirs as you mentioned with their attachment. The ones I know will say that we are all full of sin bc eve ate the apple...so everyone has sin etc. Basically they are saying they can make this excuse of Sin and not have to be accountable. They are so attached to ego. Same with 99.9% of vegans. They can't have other perspectives. I was vegan for sometime due to multiple reasons and can no longer eat that way, am pounds lighter, healthier and happier.
My guru says, "Everything that you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for the body, mind, and soul! It is the most wonderful way to live."
Each day I don't always act as peaceful as I should. However instead of dismissing it I reflect and work to improve. As the monk spoke often of being peace. This is so relevant to society today east and west north and south it applies to all. Sadly it seems now that the walk is complete people will move on to the next trendy thing that is being followed. Few will apply Svadhyaya, and the other limbs needed to actually apply the teachings. Those that do make the effort it seems some days that it is in their hands. 🙏
thanks. we are all human beings leading spiritual lives (even if we don't follow a specific spiritual lineage), even those who lead "evil" lives are living their path (I have a great novelization of The Ramayana that lays out the history of the demon Ravana and the how's and why's he was able to be finally defeated.
I was raised in a Christian home so I am also familiar with the idea of the anti Christ and have felt that those who claim to be christian without following Christ's teachings are one of the heads of Ravana. It will take a great deal of practice every day to keep returning to the path of Love (which is why I was so taken with the Bad Bunny halftime show, the one phrase in English on the Jumbotron was "The only thing stronger than hate is love".
We don't need to be perfect (which is why it's called "practice"...)
This is so good Trupti. In June I'm focusing my newsletter on Arjun and the lessons of the Gita.
Through observation I have noticed this happening as well, often people are parroting verses and not adding the depth, so this leads to others running with it willy nilly and things get distorted or used out of context. I see this on youtube shorts as well people will clip a particular saying or verse and twist it to apply to their narrative but if you find the whole version it will appear that the poster missed the point entirely.
A thought ive had lately is this. How do we let go of attachment to outcomes and expecting without loosing accountability in the world?
Due to the yamas and niyamas often being used dryly or out of context it seems that accountability is often erased too that because we are not supposed to be attached to certain outcomes means that we can't hold others accountable. In other words a lot of people think we can just be walked on or used as doormats because we practice Ahimsa, asteya, etc.
It also seems that accountability scares people these days, they run from it but want to make every excuse.(Similar to Arjuna using every "if and or but" while talking to Krishna about not wanting to do his job on the battlefield).
Hope we can keep the disscusson going next week!
So grateful for you and Sattvaspired 🙏
You’re such a thoughtful friend of mine. The confusion between non-attachment and lack of accountability comes up a lot. In the Gita, Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna to disengage. He asks him to act just not from panic, ego, or fear of loss. That’s very different from being a doormat.
I agree that when the yamas are treated like dry moral slogans, accountability disappears. But lived properly, they actually demand more integrity, not less.
And you’re right, people often hide behind “if, and, but” when responsibility feels uncomfortable. That’s very human.
Looking forward to your upcoming series. Let’s definitely keep this conversation going as part of weekly inquiry chat.
Very well written!
Thank you 🙏