A Buddha in the world of Trumps 😵‍💫

I've had a few comments about something I said in my last blog, when I wrote that "you can't be a Buddha in the world of Trumps." 😵‍💫

A few people replied saying, "But surely that's the whole idea of yoga (at least in the East)? To become a Buddha in a world of Trumps?" 🧐🤷🏾‍♂️

And my answer is... no, it isn't.

I think we've developed this strange idea in modern Western yoga that becoming more "spiritual" means becoming softer, endlessly peaceful and somehow detached from whatever madness is happening around us.

Ironically, some of the same people telling me this will happily quote the Bhagavad Gita, seemingly forgetting that Arjuna (the warrior) is standing on a battlefield refusing to fight and Krishna (his charioteer) challenges him to act. There's obviously a MUCH bigger story here, but the point is that refusing to act doesn't automatically make you peaceful or spiritual. Sometimes it's someone's innate fear hiding behind a sense of virtue.

Arjuna has to fight, and he must fight to uphold his dharma (his responsibility). If he refuses, he enslaves himself in this war and ends up even more tragically, enslaving all those around him too. All through weakness, not peacefulness. So when it's necessary, one must fight for themselves and the people they wish to protect.

If I turn the other cheek, I allow someone power over me, and over time that power corrupts the other person and further weakens me. Then what of my dharma? The duty I have to myself or my duty as a dad? And over time, Zaccy learns to turn the other cheek too.

Krishna in the Gita says that you must uphold your responsibility and trust the bigger picture, whatever you believe in. Don't hide from the world; you must confront it.

It's funny because I have met yoga teachers in the past who disagree with my outlook, even though my outlook is driven by the broader yogic culture. Their views are largely driven by the hippie influence on yoga in the '60s. They say that one must be endlessly peaceful even in the face of a threat, whatever that looks like. And then the teachers will "namaste" me. And I will say, you have no right to say namaste. Namaste means to honour divinity, strength, courage and grace within you. You can't honour it in others if you hide behind yours 😵‍💫.

So be a Buddha at heart ❤️. Seek the peacefulness that you can find, a sense of detachment from the world and its troubles. But we must live in this world too. To go back to my last email, we should be both the butterfly 🦋 and the bee 🐝

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Namaskar - Eternal Seeker

Zahir Akram

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