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The hour has arrived, the silence must end. The wondrous spirituality and the connection
with God, inherent in yoga practice, must be pure. The process of personal spiritual
transformation through yoga and yogic mediation and prayer can not occur while our sister
or brother lies next to us suffering with pangs of hunger and with a blood wound waiting to
be cleansed, medicine applied, and wrapped with clean gauze. Swami Vivekananda opened
the door to a new and glorious yoga; how many yoga masters stepped through this door?
--Racism (including any 'caste system') dehumanizes both the oppressed and
the oppressor, while keeping those on the sidelines from any authentic spiritual
development.
We need a system of yoga thats founded upon an intellectual base, a social
psychology, a spirituality, and political philosophy that speaks directly to the
needs of people of color in the U.S. (and globally as well), that directly
addresses the historical and current forms of racial oppression and the effects
of that oppression on our psyches, on physical bodies (as disease), on our
children, and on our communities. Such a 'yogic system' must embrace all
people who suffer from a dominant form of social oppression (e.g., women),
and embrace all who those who profess their complete alliance with the
oppressed.
I speak of system of yoga that integrates every form of empowerment, both
individual and collective, at every stage of the life cycle. The fruits of Eastern,
mystical and physical yoga are many, and we should harvest and nurture those
fruits that directly address our needs, but the tree of yoga is not petrified,
but 'living,' and at this point in history, this wondrous tree, with its roots in
ancient India, is already being cultivated here in this land, and new branches
are growing that re-train our eyes to see human suffering as socially
organized, and that also permit us to see our healing, our empowerment, our
authentic spiritual development, and the transformation of our society as
within our power as a collectivity.
[1] http://www.spiritualworld.org/perspectives/vedantic.htm
http://adaniel.tripod.com/origin.htm
Fanon (July 20, 1925 December 6, 1961) was a French psychiatrist, philosopher,
revolutionary and writer whose work is influential in the fields of post-colonial
studies, critical theory and Marxism. Fanon is known as a radical existential
humanist[1] thinker on the issue of decolonization and the psychopathology of
colonization. Fanon supported the Algerian struggle for independence and became a
member of the Algerian National Liberation Front. His life and works have incited
and inspired anti-colonial liberation movements for more than four decades.
Yeshua, of Nazareth, Galilee (Northern Israel, Palestine), Rabbi, Master Teacher (the
Christ)
Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of
the world. .
37
Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite
you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go
to visit you?
40
The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
My Teachers
Megha (Nancy) Buttenheim, (Kripalu); Krishna Kaur (Kundalini, Kripalu &
Los Angeles); Maya Breuer (Kripalu); Amy Weintraub (Austin, TX,
Kripalu); Naader Shagagi (Yoga Kingdom Sanctuary, Pasadena); Sabina
Weber (Yoga House, Pasadena); Mara Mazzi (Svaroopa Yoga, San Diego)
Beautiful Young Black Man on Cover of Yoga Magazine (Great!!!!) ("Program
catalog" for Popular Retreat Center (Kriplau); marketing gimmick? or
authentic commitment to attract & serve the special needs of Black people coming
from Albany, New York, Boston, Springfield, & New Haven? ....I pray with all my
heart that it is the latter; please Kripalu, calm my heart. )
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