Hari-kirtana is an author, mentor, and yoga teacher who shares his knowledge and experience of how the yoga wisdom tradition can guide us toward meaningful and transformative spiritual experiences.
Our next Community Conversation
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Greetings Reader - Our next Community Conversation is coming up this Wednesday, February 14, @ 12:00 pm ET. This month's topic: the connection between spirituality and social justice. One great feature of our free monthly conversations is that they flow in a natural and spontaneous way. I'm always interested to see which way the conversation will go. I also like to think about the topic beforehand to come up with some jumping off points for our discussion. Here's where I'm at with this topic so far: The pursuit of social justice is unavoidably connected to politics. If there's a connection between spirituality and social justice then there must also be a connection between spirituality and politics (if a=b and b=c, . . .). Therefore, we have to consider how much and what kind of a connection we can, should, or want to make between spiritually and politics. In one sense, spirituality transcends politics because politics is, by its very nature, a material activity that divides people into various categories, such as friend or enemy, our side or their side, etc. These distinctions are based on material (or bodily) conceptions of identity. The difference between material consciousness and spiritual consciousness is the difference between identifying ourselves and others as being a temporary material designation, such as a national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, and political identity, or as an eternal spiritual being having a temporary material experience. If spiritual life means transcending temporary material designations and socio-political action reinforces our attachment to a particular socio-political identity, then it seems reasonable to conclude that spiritual life favors the renunciation of social or political activism rather than active participation in it. I know plenty of people who feel this way. i also know that the Bhagavad-gītā recommends that we let go of our attachment to the results of our actions, not action itself, and that certain kinds of actions are never to be given up: "Acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity are not to be forsaken; indeed, they must be performed, for sacrifice, charity, and austerity surely purify even those who are wise. All these activities should certainly be performed, but without attachment or any desire for result. This is definitely my ultimate opinion." - BG 18.5-6 I can say for myself that taking the time to be involved in social action requires a level of sacrifice and it's definitely an austerity, but if I'm acting for the sake of promoting something aligned with a spiritual value, like compassion, then there will be an element of charity in my action, too. The place where I usually find a connection between spirituality and social action, and specifically action in support of social justice, is in values. Yoga philosophy points us in the direction of spiritual values. Therefore, a good way to begin looking for a connection between spirituality and social justice is by looking at some baseline philosophical ideas, looking at the values that arise from those ideas, exploring the ways in which those values can be practically expressed in a modern context, and then exploring the possibilities of how we can engage with the world in such a way as to support or promote those values. That's where I'm at with this so far - I'm looking forward to seeing where you're at with it and where we go with this topic on Wednesday. Send me your thoughts about where you see the connection between spirituality and social justice if you like. If you haven't registered for our free monthly Community Conversations yet, use the link below to subscribe to our community updates, get the Zoom link for the live discussion, and get the recording link so you can listen to the replay if you can't join us live: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION a free monthly study group Live via Zoom on the 2nd Wednesday of every month @ 12:00 pm Eastern Time NEXT CONVERSATION: Wednesday, February 14, 2023 all sessions will be recorded and available for replay on my YouTube channel Registration is free – CLICK HERE to get updates and the Zoom link! If you're already registered, you'll get reminder emails with the Zoom link soon. Hoping you’re well in all respects, - Hari P.S.: If you're in the Washington DC area, I'll be leading an in-person satsang at Bhakti Yoga DC this Thursday evening, February 15, at 6:30 pm. Bhakti Yoga DC is located at 928 5th St NW, Washington, DC 20001. This is also a free event. CLICK HERE to register. |
Hari-kirtana das
Hari-kirtana is an author, mentor, and yoga teacher who shares his knowledge and experience of how the yoga wisdom tradition can guide us toward meaningful and transformative spiritual experiences.
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