3 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 9 human is that it is capable of experiencing “revelation”. We all know that a true revelation is a call for action. The general idea in the Bhagavad Gita is that awareness is the mechanism of transformation, and is manifested through selfless action (Ravinda 2017, 59). Sri Aurobindo develops this in the synthesis of Yoga where he introduces the notion of Chit-Shakti, “consciousness-energy”, explaining that consciousness is not only Chit, the power of awareness, but also a dynamic creative force of manifestation (Aurobindo 1939– 1940, 82). But screens, by nature both reveal and occult. Of course, like all exo-somatic organs, they are both beneficial and toxic, depending on our consciousness. We are now witnessing a reorganization of the human brain in relation to advanced technologies. The question is: Is this helping to support and evolve our consciousness or is it producing a regression and a blunting of the senses? What the French philosopher, Bernard Stiegler calls “a general cretinisation” (Stiegler 2004). When we practice from a screen, we enter into relationship with the screen. In front of a screen we experience a re-orientation of our desire for self-revelation towards the consumption of a new good, which is now the Yoga teacher. The nature of a good is that it can be consumed. On Yoga online sites, we witness a standardization of presentation. Smiling, on top form, automatons, not changing human beings, negotiating a bad cold, the death of a loved one, or a breast surgery! The teacher becomes de-humanized. The teacher does not see, feel or hear you. Equally, the practitioner emits nothing towards the teacher. There is no body to body resonance. You are on your own attempting to make sense of a refined and difficult technology, Yoga, which requires a strong connection with our endo-somatic capacities like attentiveness, focusing, breath awareness, the felt-sense out of which an intimacy with the self, a knowing evolves. This I would like to contrast to “information/knowledge”, which can be gathered exo-somatically. To transform “impulse” as in “on demand” into “desire”, which requires an investment of time, resources and love, we need education and we need time. According to human development neurologists, this apprenticeship takes from 12 to 20 years. In replacing social relationships, cultural industries are eroding educational processes and the adaptation processes that these require. In Yogic education the transformation goes further still, desire is transmuted into aspiration, inspiration, a new breath, an expansion of the practitioner’s field of experience, a new way of being in the world. Patanjali reminds us that this is brought about by diligent practice in the spirit of non-attachment over a long period of time (Ravinda 2009, 19). The current culture of immediacy and instantaneous results is slipping into the world of Yoga. People don’t want to learn; they expect to get what they want and have paid for as fast as possible. There appears to be a general reluctance for the effort of learning. Much is made of “effortlessness” of “following the flow” (one can but question which one?) forgetting that the effort of attentiveness is at the root of all practice. There seems to be palpable loss of the capacity to stay attentive, to keep the mind focused. More and more the mind jumps from one object to the next, from one practice to another, with little or no discernment as to the effects that Yoga’s powerful practices have on the central nervous system. The web becomes an adipose matrix where we can find all manner of information, but which provides us with no lasting experience of “knowing”. The time for assimilation and integration is non-existent. The knowledge is dis-embodied. This might well be why the notion of “embodiment” is becoming a fast selling point in the “health” industry. The very language used on these applications is revelatory of the mind set behind them. We are told: “A notable issue for new yogis is the selection of a teacher.” (Schmidt 2014). Whatever happened of the sense of the teacher crossing our path when we are ready to receive the teachings? This has more to do with a psycho-spiritual alignment than the click of a button. Then the site proceeds to guide us to a page where we are literally told how to select a teacher and what is important in this selection process. The danger here is the automatization of the decision-making process. We no longer rely on our felt-sense, our intuition, our connection with the Vijnanamaya Kosha, but on someone else’s criteria. So how will this affect our bodies and consciousness in the longer term? Of course, I am not suggesting giving up the internet, I am myself using it all the time for my research. And I find it a wonderful information resource, but can the highly refined technology of Yoga be reduced to simple information? This refined technology of the inner workings of the human being that is Yoga includes a set of subjective tools that can bring about singular experiences of clarity, integration, peace, wholeness. But Homo Sapiens is not only a biological being but also a technological one. From the dawn of time we have been creating objective tools that bring us convenience and comfort.
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