Thursday, March 29, 2012

Kino on the energy and magic of Mysore

Kino read my post yesterday about her latest Elephant Journal article and going to Mysore (or Timbuktu). She has the following to add to what I wrote, and has given me permission to share it with the blogosphere. She writes:


"There are many people who get bored with their practice while in Mysore because they miss all the "tricks" they normally throw in or are asked to practice what they consider to be "boring" Primary Series. But, going to Mysore is something special beyond the physical. You do have surrender to the depth and power of the practice and stay long enough to get past your boredom, irritation, uncertainty and whatever else comes up. Even if you open your heart and mind to a deeply transformative experience somewhere else it will never be the same as what you experience if you open your heart and mind to a deeply transformative experience in Mysore. There is an energy about the shala there, the city, the history and of course, Guruji and now Sharath as a teacher that is not replicable anywhere else. It is the magic of Mysore."

I don't have too much to add to what she says here, except to say that it is quite timely, given all the recent  conversations about how the atmosphere in Mysore today is different now that Guruji is no longer there. Well, maybe it's not so different, after all; the person may no longer be around, but the spirit and the energy remains. Namaste.  

11 comments:

  1. Sounds good until the not replicable anywhere else part. It does a real disservice to genuine spiritual practitioners to try to sell people on the idea of energy that can't be replicated elsewhere. It's the work that a person puts in that counts, on and off the mat. Chasing energy and magic can help open you up and move through blocks or create dependence and foster further delusion. For most people it seems to do more of the latter (not just in this lineage, unfortunately these spiritual sales pitches are somewhat common with many practices/traditions).

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  2. I think where you are coming from, Tom. But I really don't think that there is anything bad about the non-replicability of the energy/magic/whatever-we-choose-call-it of a place. This may also be true of the sacred sites of some religions or particular places that are significant in the history of other spiritual lineages/traditions; I'm perfectly happy to agree that there could also be special energy in those places that are not replicable anywhere else. I think the problem arises when people become too attached to this energy, and think that they are somewhat less adequate/less complete as practitioners because they have not gone to the place in question and come into contact with this energy. And then some of these people react by "backlashing" and denying vehemently that there is such energy at all. But by doing so, aren't they limiting their own worldviews?

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    1. Just to clarify, I do not think that there is anything bad about the non-replicability of the magic or energy of any place, thing, or phenomenon, Mysore included. It's the way it was called out in the quote you provided. That type of sales pitch might be good for the Ashtanga brand but it has very little grounding in the precepts of yoga philosophy. It's a kind of spiritual materialism, selling the transitory experience of heightened energy and magic to would be practitioners.

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    2. "It's a kind of spiritual materialism, selling the transitory experience of heightened energy and magic to would be practitioners."

      Ah... that's an interesting perspective. Haven't thought about this :-)

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  3. Hi there, just became aware of your blog thru Google,so interesting so good , i realy enjoy your blog ,nice site!

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  4. This is a better-quality article as they all are. I am waiting to read even more about this topic. I make fun of been wonder wide this an eye to some beat now. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. congratulations that you're going to Mysore, Nobel. i'm sure it will be a very special experience. i am holding for 2014, the year of my tax holiday, where i need to 33 days out of the country, to go to Mysore.
    regards,
    Arturo

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    1. Thanks Arturo. It sounds like you will have a lot of fun in 2014 :-)

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