Turning Our Daily Life into Yoga

To turn our daily life into Yoga, it is not so much a question of what we do as to the motive force behind things. This same principle is followed or at least supposed to be followed in the Ashram. The practice of this yoga does not involve so much fixed techniques as we find in traditional yogas. The cornerstone of practice is to open to the Mother and the chief aid if any is to call Her, to take Her Name, to take refuge in Her through conscious surrender, to have faith and aspiration, most of all to grow sincere by becoming one-pointed in one’s will and faith towards the goal of this yoga. There are no pranayamas or asanas or even a fixed technique of meditation used by one and all in this yoga.

Living in the ashram gives a big advantage that the atmosphere is charged by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo\s consciousness and hence opening to Them is much easier here. The Samadhi is also there which is a tremendous help to yoga as a living power spot vibrating with Their tremendous Presence. And all the framework of the Ashram life is designed to give us time for contemplation especially since all the essential needs are taken care of and the work is designed deliberately to facilitate the yoga.

But outside too if we keep a balance and our eyes focused on the main goal then it is not difficult to find time. It is just that we get too absorbed by the many strings that pull us in too many directions and the outward oriented life dedicated to the expansion of desires and pleasures and comforts does come in the way of a sincere practice. However having lived a considerable period of time outside and with an active job, i know it is more a question of fixing our goal with clarity. All that we need is to give priority to the goal we have chosen and then all else flows naturally, organically from that. It applies to whatever we wish to achieve in outer life and the same rule applies to spiritual life as well.