Rolling out the mat for oneness

Say the word yoga and most people picture a mat, a set of postures, and perhaps a studio with soft lighting and softer music.

That picture is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The postures, or asanas, are only one limb of a much older discipline that also includes breath control, ethical living, concentration and meditation. Practised in full, yoga is less a fitness regimen than a technology for the mind: a set of tools for calming a restless nervous system, sharpening focus and, practitioners say, reconnecting with a deeper sense of purpose.

The physical benefits alone are well documented: improved flexibility and posture, better circulation, lower blood pressure and deeper sleep. But it is the mental and emotional benefits that keep people coming back to the mat: reduced anxiety, a steadier temper, and a mind that does not race quite so easily toward worry. In a society where stress, hypertension and the everyday pressures of work and family weigh heavily on so many, these are not small things. They are, arguably, public-health tools hiding in plain sight.

What distinguishes Ananda Marga’s approach is that the physical postures are only the doorway. Behind them sits a complete meditation system, along with a broader philosophy, ‘Neohumanism’, that extends the yogic idea of universal connection outward: to other people regardless of background, to other living beings, and to the planet itself. It is a small step, in other words, from “union of body and mind” to “union of humanity”, and it is precisely that step Ananda Marga asks its practitioners to take.

MESSAGE

The philosophy lies in the message of Baba Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, spiritual master, philosopher and social reformer, who founded Ananda Marga (the Path of Bliss) in 1955 to promote self-realisation and universal service through meditation and yoga.

In his message to his students in 1967, he said: “Remaining together is natural for you, and to remain disunited is something unnatural. You know well that unnaturality is not tolerated by Prakrti (nature). Unnaturality is ultimately destroyed. So, it is natural for human beings to live together and to make a great Universe. By not doing so, and by mutual fight, all will be destroyed. This is the law of Prakrti. Hence, united you will have to remain, this is your duty. So that the people of the world may remain united, it is your duty to bring the Mahavishva (the cosmic world) as soon as possible. There will be peace and happiness in the Universe, and established in one indivisible ideology, humanity will march ahead toward the Supreme Goal.”

These words, which feel, more than half a century later, remarkably suited to our own fractured moment, resonate strongly today.

Prakrti, in this philosophy, refers to the fundamental operative force of nature and suggests that division is not our natural state, however normal it may come to feel. Unity is. The Mahavishva speaks of a “great universe” or universal society bound not by nationality or creed but by a shared, indivisible ideology. It is offered not as a distant utopia but as a duty, something each person is asked to help build in their own corner of the world.

It is not hard to hear an echo of Jamaica’s own national motto in those words. ‘Out of Many, One People’ shares the same root conviction: that our differences are real, and that unity is still the more natural and more urgent path forward.

WHY IT MATTERS

For Ananda Marga’s local practitioners, this philosophy is not meant to remain in the realm of ideas. It is lived, one meditation session and one yoga class at a time. Each person who learns to sit quietly with their own mind, they believe, becomes a little more capable of sitting peacefully with their neighbour, and a society built from such people becomes, gradually, a more peaceful one. Given the strain so many people carry, including economic pressure, the pace of modern life, and the fraying of community bonds that once held neighbourhoods together, that promise of inner steadiness translating into outer harmony is one worth taking seriously.

PARTICIPATE

Ananda Marga’s classes are open to everyone, from complete beginners to seasoned practitioners, and no special equipment or background is required, only a willingness to sit still and breathe. Those curious about learning traditional yoga postures, meditation techniques, or simply wanting to know more about the organisation’s work and philosophy are warmly invited to reach out directly to Ananda Marga to enquire about classes, sessions and community programmes in Jamaica.

Article courtesy Ananda Marga Jamaica. To book a session with yoga guru Dada Gittishudhananda or for more information call 876 524 7811. Visit their centre at 12 Crieffe Road, Kingston, or email avtgiiti@gmail.com