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about our interactions with people and attuning and retuning ourselves toward
a place of nonviolence and peace. That is a beginning point. To be truthful when
we speak and speak in a way that points to the higher truth. That we are careful
not to take more than belongs to us. All of us can reflect on energy use. Do we
really need to use our car when we might be able to spend a little bit of healthy
time walking instead of driving? And then also aparigraha; Americans have so
much stuff. Are we able to do with a few less t-shirts; a few less pairs of shoes? I
saw a beautiful documentary that showed a family that consciously said, “We will
downsize” and they went from a 3000 sq. ft. to a 1500 sq. ft house. They became
very purposeful in their shopping and reduced down to merely a few handfuls
of litter every week. All of us could move closer to that direction where we are
minimally impactful on the place of the earth.
Rev. O’Brian:
This really underscores the goal of yoga which is conscious,
purposeful living.
Dr. Chapple:
It has been said that of all of the gifts we can give the world, the
gift of education is that one that can never be trampled, never be removed. The
highest education in my life experience has been the education in yoga that
gives us the gift of understanding that relationship between consciousness and
materiality. It allows us to embrace materiality without clutching or grabbing
materiality.
Rev. O’Brian:
As you have described, when we are engaging in these practices that
bring peace, we naturally make choices that are in harmony with our own good
and the good of the world. It happens very organically and beautifully.
Dr. Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University.
He has translated many yoga texts from Sanskrit and has published more that fifteen books including,
Yoga and the Luminous: Patanjali's Spiritual Path to Freedom.
To hear this conversation in its entirety,
log on to: www.unity.fm/program/theYogaHour