Have you ever asked yourself, “Where the hell am I?”
I’m betting you have. I have.
Just last week. I was in New York City — home sweet home. Not a place I can easily get lost in.
And yet, . . .
I popped out of the subway in a part of town that had changed so much since the last time I was there that I had a, “Wait — where am I?” moment.
It only took me a second to get oriented thanks to the fact that Manhattan’s grid turns the flow of traffic into a reliable compass.
But that it was so easy to know where we are on a cosmic scale.
The world has changed so much so fast that I think we’re all having a “Wait — where am I?” moment.
Fortunately, the wisdom literature of yoga offers us a reliable cosmic compass.
When we think of the “big” questions, we usually think of, “Who am I? What am I? Why am I here?”
An equally important “big” question that we don’t usually ask is, “Where am I?”
Fortunately, yoga philosophy has a cosmological component: it tells us where we in the bigger scheme of things.
And knowing where we are goes hand-in-hand with knowing when we are because you can’t really separate space from time.
But that’s okay: yoga wisdom also answers the question, “What time is it?”
Cosmically or locally, the same principle applies: if we know where we are and what time it is, then there’s a pretty good chance we’ll know which way to go . . . and whether or not we’re going to be late.
Assuming, of course, that we know where we’re going.
Or that we’re going anywhere at all.
A great Yogi once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”
True that. I think.
He also said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” I’m certain that this is true: the future they showed me when I was a kid didn’t look anything like the dumpster fire I’m looking at now.
So, cosmologically speaking, where does yoga wisdom tell us we are?
We’re in the material world.
Or, to be more precise, we’re in the middle planetary system of one multi-dimensional universe among many such universes that are floating in the cloud-like totality of material energy.
Either way, the material world is an odd place for spiritual beings like you and me to be because, spiritually speaking, we are eternal and the material world is ruled by time.
What time is it? Cosmically speaking, it’s kali-yuga: the iron age of quarrel and hypocrisy, when industrialization pollutes the atmosphere, people fight for no good reason, and most politicians are professional liars.
Sounds about right, right?
So, here we are. And there it is.
Now what?
Well, we know where we are and what time it is. But in order to know which way to go, we actually need a little more information.
And this is where the illuminative function of yoga wisdom comes in: the wisdom texts of yoga provide the means by which we can re-create the revelatory experience of self-realized yogis for ourselves.
For example, in the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna, the warrior who is hearing instructions about transcendental knowledge from his friend, Krishna, is our role model. By following in Arjuna’s footsteps, we can turn our engagement with the world into an integral part of our spiritual practice.
Which is a good thing because most of us aren’t going to go off to the forest to munch on morels and berries while we sit in meditation for the rest of our lives.
Besides, the world needs us. Just because the future ain’t what it used to be doesn’t mean we can’t make it better than the present.
The ultimate antidote for all the ills of kali-yuga is action performed in spiritual consciousness, based on spiritual values, rooted in spiritual ethics, and guided by spiritual wisdom.
And acting in spiritual consciousness for the sake of the world’s welfare has the nice side-effect of kick-starting the revelatory function of yoga wisdom, which answers the other big questions: “Who am I? What am I? Why am I here?”
All of which gives me faith that yoga wisdom’s cosmic compass is pointing us in the direction of a more enlightened future.
Wishing you all good fortune,
– Hari-k