Life and yoga are not two but one thing. Life, at least as we experience it, is a concealed yoga. Yoga as the yogin experiences it is life taken to its utmost.
The yoga opens the doors of knowledge, true knowledge for us so that we become aware of the truth of our own self and the truth of the world around us. This truth and knowledge are liberating.
... what about survival of the fittest, what about competition and strife that abound in our everyday life? What alternative fuel to drive human nature does yoga provides?
... in most cases the absorbing interest in fulfillment of vital desires as well as the time and energy needed just for maintaining the framework of the family life leaves little room and time for spiritual self-growth which demands a greater and greater one-pointedness.
There is a line of spiritual living that is not only compatible with worldly life but strengthens it with a new impulsion. It is typified in the great teachings of the Upanishads and the Gita, in the luminous writings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo
There is a tendency to think that people who take to spiritual life become incapacitated for dealing with real life issues. Nothing can be farther from truth. This misconception is based on a wrong understanding of true spirituality and a wrong understanding of life as well.
The worship of Rama, Sita, Krishna, Radha, Christ, Buddha, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is not just some kind of demonstrative act of devotion. It is a recognition that here are some lives that man can emulate. It is a recognition of divinity within the reach of man.
...what is important is to know what truly helped them to become what they became, regardless of defects or their absence. It was this understanding that led to the deification of certain great and luminous beings in the eyes of humanity.
...the advice of the wise ones has always been to approach the life of a sage, seer, yogi, even of a vibhuti, but most of all of an Avatara with all humility and caution.