Free DC is a movement dedicated to protecting our city’s “Home Rule” — our governmental autonomy in view of the fact that Washington D.C. is not a state (yet). I’m an active participant and, this weekend, I’m taking Free DC’s advanced training intensive on the key skills of effective non-cooperation.
Part of the training includes learning how other movements, usually in countries where people have more experience standing up to authoritarianism than we do here in the United States, have used non-cooperation tactics effectively.
A recurring theme has been how long it takes for resistance movements to succeed.
The fact that resistance to authoritarianism requires a sustained effort over a long period of time reminded me of the same principle in yoga:
This can be challenging for people who have grown up in a culture of instant everything. Even the most inspired beginnings can quickly fade without patience and perseverance. As in yoga, so too in resistance: a paradigm shift is required, from expecting a quick fix to making a long-term commitment.
The yoga wisdom tradition provides us with some good role models. One is Dhruva, a five-year old boy who went off to the forest to practice an exceedingly difficult form of yoga and an exceptionally intense form of meditation. He absorbed himself in his practice without cessation, continually intensifying his practice for five months.
Dhruva’s goal seemed unattainable, but the intensity of his meditation was so powerful that it altered the cosmic balance of the universe to the point where the demigods, unable to contain the disruption caused by Dhruva’s meditation, appealed to Vishnu to satisfy Dhruva’s desire.
Pleased with Dhruva’s unshakeable resolve, Vishnu personally appeared before him and granted Dhruva a permanent place in the heavens at the center of the universe (the Pole Star).
History shows us the same pattern in struggles for justice. Gandhi’s satyāgraha movement in India, Solidarity in Poland’s fight against Communist rule, and South Africa’s long resistance to apartheid all succeeded not through sudden bursts of energy but through sustained effort over a long period of time.
In each case, people refused to cooperate with injustice, even when the odds against them seemed overwhelming.
Yoga also teaches non-cooperation—not with governments, but with māyā, the illusory energy that deceives us into thinking of our true selves as our temporary mind and body, and entangles us in a world that isn’t what it appears to be.
Every time we refuse to be drawn into divisions that arise from the illusion that we are our bodies and remember the true spiritual nature of the self—and our spiritual kinship with all other beings, we weaken illusion’s grip.
In the same way, every time we refuse to let authoritarian leaders get away with twisting the truth, we weaken their power.
Success, whether in yoga or in resistance to tyranny, is never instant; it’s the fruit of many small, steady acts: showing up on our mats and meditation cushions, showing up for each other, and refusing to forget what is real.
In both inner practice and outer action, patience and persistence are the keys to success.
Wishing you all good fortune,
– Hari-k