A few weeks ago, I learned a very important lesson.
It’s not something that you can use in everyday life; it’s knowledge that’s reserved for special occasions.
But on those special occasions, it can mean the difference between mere cordiality and sublime exaltation.
It was a revelation that I’m sure will stay with me for the rest of my life because once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.
And when the time comes, as it eventually, but inevitably, will, I’ll know exactly what to do.
Or say, to be more precise.
It gives me great pleasure to be able to share this lesson with you.
Here it is: if you’re seated at a table with a group of religious leaders and a new arrival gestures to an empty chair and asks, “Is this seat saved?” the correct answer is, “No, but we’re praying for it.”
I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my friend, Tom, a Presbyterian minister from Missouri, who was kind enough to share this jewel of sacerdotal knowledge with me when we met at the Summit for Religious Freedom earlier this month.
Tom, like me and the hundreds of faith leaders, lawyers, journalists, and activists who attended this event, is an active advocate for freedom of religion.
Which, in current usage, no longer means the same thing as “religious liberty.”
“Religious liberty” has become shorthand for the presumptive right to impose one’s own sectarian religious beliefs on those who don’t subscribe to them.
The purpose of the Summit for Religious Freedom (SRJ) was to educate, motivate, and support people who want to participate in safeguarding freedom of religion from proponents of “religious liberty.”
I attended SRJ because it’s my responsibility as a yoga teacher to promote and defend the principles of dharma.
In the Vedic yoga wisdom tradition, dharma consists of universal principles of religion rather than doctrinal prescriptions for a singular form of faith. Dharma holds space for diverse conceptions of divinity and supports inclusive spirituality.
Dharma also has a social function: it describes social responsibilities of different fields of work.
For example, the dharma of government is to give protection. And in the Vedic yoga wisdom tradition, the government is duty-bound to protect everyone who lives within its realm.
The popular invocation lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, “May all beings be happy and free . . .” isn’t a mantra: it’s a promise traditionally made by a monarch upon their ascension to the throne. It’s an affirmation of the dharma of government.
Convening a summit dedicated to making sure that the United States government fulfills its dharma, at least in the sense of protecting people’s right to practice any form of faith they choose, is dharmic in and of itself: “the best way to respond to a situation” is another meaning of dharma.
Attending SRJ felt consistent with my responsibility to fight in defense of dharma. It was a valuable and encouraging experience: I saw a few rays of hope, made some great connections, came away with useful information, and learned some important lessons.
Not the least of which was what to say when someone asks if a seat is saved.
Wishing you all good fortune,
– Hari-k