| Dr. Jai Maharaj 2005-09-24, 2:25 pm |
| THE YOG OF MONEY
Forwarded message from Fidyl <fidyl@yahoo.com>
[ Subject: The Yog of Money
[ From: Fidyl <fidyl@yahoo.com>
[ Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005
http://www.yogajournal.com/views/896_8.cfm?ctsrc=nlv168
http://www.yogajournal.com/views/896.cfm
The Yog of Money
Yog's ethical precepts teach us to tell the truth and do
no harm, but few realize that these teachings can also
help us to manage our money.
By Alan Reder
When, in the wake of 9/11, President George W. Bush urged
all Americans to buy more to fight terrorism, he was not
just handing punch lines to David Letterman. Tortured
logic aside, he was asking Americans to do something that
few of us normally consider: Let values drive our
financial behavior.
Unfortunately the shop-til-Osama-drops plan echoed the
usual messages from our national leaders in other ways --
its pitch for orgiastic consumerism and its blindness to
environmental consequences, for starters. We're pushed
from almost every corner of society to "get ahead" -- in
the careers we choose, the lifestyle we maintain, and the
money we spend and invest. If we do those things within
the bounds of the law and cut the occasional check to the
United Way, we're assumed to have covered the values
part, September 11 notwithstanding.
This notion leads to some unwitting discrepancies between
our actions and intentions. Few Americans celebrate the
devastation of individual lives, families, and local
communities that occurs every time a corporation orders a
mass layoff to bump up its stock price. But that didn't
stop us from cheering as our 401Ks swelled fabulously in
the late 1990s -- helped in part, yes, by layoffs. Given
a simple choice on a ballot, most people would vote
against polluted water, sweatshop labor, and global
warming. But all three problems enjoy landslide victories
every day at the checkout stand in the form of non-
organic food, cheap clothing, leaf blowers, and other
ethically questionable but popular products.
What does all this have to do with yog? More than you
might think. Patanjali's Yog Sootr, composed around 200
ce and still considered the most succinct statement of
yog philosophy ever written, describes yog as a path with
eight limbs, of which asana is only one. The first two
limbs, the yamas (moral restraints) and niyamas
(observances), together lay out a set of 10 valued
principles that Patanjali and virtually every yog master
after him say are crucial to one's progress along the
yogic path. Yes, money and possessions are only
explicitly referred to in a few. But it doesn't take much
of a stretch to imagine that Patanjali meant for the
whole program to cover a yogi's fiscal dealings. He
clearly intended his text to apply to a yogi's entire
life -- and what touches more parts of our life than the
way we handle our finances?
Money Do's & Don'ts
Almost everyone, it seems, gets a little crazy about
money. Even the wealthy sweat about having enough, notes
Brent Kessel, a certified financial planner and president
of Abacus Wealth Management, Inc., in Pacific Palisades,
California. For instance, some of his richest clients
worry that the next market plunge will take their pricey
lifestyle down with it, he says. And that's exactly why
Kessel, a longtime student of Ashtanga Yog whose
financial counseling is influenced by the Yog Sootr,
thinks money is an underrated spiritual tool. "It can
become a bell of awakening in your spiritual practice
just by watching how you react to it," he says. "Where am
I holding tension in my body as I do this transaction,
pay bills, watch my portfolio increasing or decreasing?
All of these are just opportunities to be conscious. I
think that's my primary passion in my work -- to use it
that way."
Writing nearly 2,000 years ago, Patanjali may not have
envisioned Kessel's particular application, but he
clearly had money and material possessions in mind when
he laid down at least some of the yamas. Take aparigraha,
which is commonly translated to mean "nongrasping," i.e.,
not being greedy. The challenge for yogis, of course, is
to figure out what Patanjali meant by "need," because he
didn't specify. He rendered the sutras in exceedingly
spare prose -- intentionally, we might assume, so yogis
could fill in the details with insights from their own
developing wisdom. But need takes on a much different
connotation in 2003, in a world of diminishing natural
wealth and stark divides between rich and poor, than it
did in Patanjali's time.
For example, an environmentalist would be quick to note
that even the ordinary American consumes at a voracious
level the planet can't sustain -- Americans make up 5
percent of the world's population but hog nearly a third
of the Earth's natural resources. Marshall Glickman,
author of The Mindful Money Guide: Creating Harmony
Between Your Values and Finances (Ballantine Wellspring,
1999), feels that any conscientious yogi who understands
the sustainability dilemma ideally should factor that
into his lifestyle choices. "No matter what path a person
is on, it's crucial to ask, 'Am I being aware of other
people and having their interests at heart and not just
being selfish?' " says Glickman, a dedicated meditator
and former stockbroker.
Dharmanidhi Sarasvati, spiritual director and yog teacher
at Tantric college of America in Berkeley, California,
agrees. He adds, however, that aparigraha should not be
read to imply any kind of objective yardstick,
considering yog's focus on inner awareness. "The real
need we have is whatever we need to sustain ourselves
while still making a contribution to those we have
dharmic obligations to -- family, employees, and so
forth," he says. "Anything that's accumulated beyond that
is supposed to be distributed for the benefit of others.
It's not supposed to be hoarded." That would still seem
to leave lots of wiggle room, but as Glickman puts it, "I
can't answer what 'appropriate need' is for you, but we
have to look more closely at our own hearts and minds. I
think we know when we're being hypocritical."
Financial planner George Kinder, cofounder (with
colleague Dick Wagner) of the "life planning" movement in
his profession, turns the entire idea of need on its head
in his book The Seven Stages of Money Maturity (Dell,
1999) and in his practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Life planning means organizing a client's resources to
support their deepest aspirations, as opposed to
financial planning's usual focus on maximizing wealth and
financial security. Kinder, whose seven stages in his
book title are tied to yog's seven chakras, begins his
workday with clients by taking them through a self-
inquiry process designed to uncover those aspirations.
The process culminates with the question: If your doctor
told you you only had 24 hours to live, what would you
have missed?
"Ultimately people's aspirations are usually spiritual,"
says Kinder. "Most people talk about their family,
relationship, creativity, social causes, or spirit." Once
clients are staring at their bottom-line priorities, the
real planning can then begin. For most people, Kinder has
found, that means simplifying their everyday lives --
such as cutting back on their normal workload and
expenses so they can write the Great American Novel,
spend more time with the children, or whatever else their
"death sentence" revealed.
Besides aparigraha, the other yama that appears to refer
directly to financial affairs is asteya, or nonstealing.
Glickman looks at this principle in broader terms than
the theft prohibited by law. He suggests that we ask
ourselves how much of our lifestyle is based on
exploitation: "Are the products we buy made fairly? The
people we hire -- do we treat them well? The people we
work for -- do we try to get the most we can from them
for the least money?" But he also emphasizes asteya's
inner dimension. "We tend to steal to try and get more
because we're not satisfied with how things are at this
moment," he notes.
Dharmanidhi points to asteya's more subtle aspects as
well: "The esoteric principle behind asteya has to do
with a kind of pride. The ancient teachings on this say
that to think of yourself as really important is to steal
your soul from God. That means that we're not
surrendering ourselves to the larger view that we're this
one consciousness. Once you separate yourself from the
striving for this experience of oneness, then you're
becoming self-absorbed and you're going to steal, either
symbolically or literally."
He regards ahimsa, nonviolence or nonharming, in a
similar vein: "The root of ahimsa is that any violence is
caused by separation. As soon as I think that I'm
independent and that what I do is not going to affect
others, I've performed a violent act. We can never be
perfect. I'll never know exactly how everything I'm
consuming affects everyone along the chain, but I'll do
the best I can, without becoming neurotic, to decrease
the impact I have on others through consumption." Kessel
feels that the external aspect of ahimsa also has a
fiercely practical, internal side -- namely, when we do
violence to others or life itself, we suffer too. Classic
example: the business executive whose relentless drive to
succeed wrecks his marriage, family, and ultimately his
financial life. Ahimsa, Kessel says, has to include self-
love -- a sort of personal non-aggression pact not to do
things for short-term gain that will undermine us in the
long run, emotionally or financially.
He also finds financial counsel in a place few yogis
might think to look, the yama of brahmacharya. This term
is usually taken to mean moderation and self-control in
sex, but Kessel feels pretty sure Patanjali would expand
it today to include another form of lascivious
relationship: the one many of us have with money. He
points out that the original thinking behind brahmacharya
assumed a vital connection between spiritual and physical
energy. To develop your full potential of the former, you
have to conserve the latter, the yog tradition teaches.
"In our culture, I don't think losing sexual energy has
nearly as much effect on people's long-term well-being as
the leaking of financial energy, if you will, like
frivolous spending," he says. To Dharmanidhi,
brahmacharya means the ability to resist seduction,
including by the sirens of advertising and marketing. "A
yogi is supposed to be beyond reactivity," he notes.
How the remaining yama, satya (being truthful, sincere,
genuine, and honest), relates to the financial world
seems pretty clear. But satya also underlines a point
Kessel makes about the yamas overall -- their wisdom is
demonstrated by the way they apply to economic systems as
well as individuals. The dishonest accounting practices
of Enron, Worldcom, Arthur Anderson, et al.; the
disingenuous reports by the stock analysts at Wall
Street's major brokerages; the resistance by Congress and
federal regulators to genuine reform and oversight -- all
combined to create the stock market's meltdown of mid-
2002 and its sluggish performance afterward, leaving the
U.S. economy wobbling in the balance.
Kessel believes most successful businesspeople are good,
honest types whose wealth comes from contributing value
to others' lives. But the cautionary tale still holds:
"If we don't practice basic honesty, our economic life is
bound to fall apart, just like the market did."
In a sense, notes Dharmanidhi, the niyamas and yamas
comprise a set of yogic do's and don'ts. The niyamas, or
do's, describe spiritual "observances" and attitudes that
are designed to build character and deepen our yog
practice. One of them, santosa (contentment), is relevant
to our financial actions, because contentment lessens or
eliminates greed. The connection between the other
niyamas and finances may not appear to be so obvious. But
as we've learned with the yamas, one does not have to
scratch too deeply into any part of Patanjali's program
to find pointed advice on money matters.
In fact, Dharmanidhi thinks the niyamas speak even more
directly about a healthy approach to materialism than do
the yamas. Tapas (a burning desire to reach self-
realization), sauca (purity of body and mind), ishvara
(concentration on and surrender to God) -- all these yog
practices help keep us in touch with our inner essence,
he points out. That focus in turn tends to keep us from
being too greedy, ignoring the violent consequences of
our actions, behaving dishonestly, consuming frivolously
and wastefully, and disregarding the welfare of others --
in short, the whole slate of ignorant, damaging behaviors
that the yamas aim to prevent.
Brent Kessel appreciates how the niyama of svadhyaya
(self-observation) can inform a sane, and spiritually
sound, level of consumption: "You have to self-observe to
know if you really need something or if it's really
trivial or for show or image." Applied to hatha yog,
svadhyaya also teaches us about the destructive side of
ambition, he feels: "If you fight your hamstrings and
tell yourself, 'Dammit, I'm going to get my chin to my
knees,' you're going to get hurt and you're not going to
get flexible as fast as if you observe where your limits
are, observe your breath at those limits, and wait for
the opening." He finds an analogy in his own field, where
the rule-of-thumb is that financial security is built by
investing patiently for the long term -- that is, being
accepting of modest but steady gains -- and taking only
calculated, affordable risks. It's the speculators, the
get-rich-quick types who risk all for the big payday, who
tend to be investing's biggest losers. In other words,
svadhyaya of one's own circumstances and long-range
goals, seasoned with a generous dose of santosa, leads to
financial and yogic success.
Practicing the Yog of Money
If we adopt the yamas and niyamas as a financial ethic,
we still need a plan for carrying it out. A number of
strategies, popular mostly in progressive and
countercultural circles, would seem -- on first blush,
anyway -- to offer some well-considered ways of
accomplishing just that. Socially responsible consuming
and investing, right livelihood, high-impact charitable
giving: We can imagine that if he were alive today,
Patanjali would applaud all such efforts by yogis.
As long as they were sincere, that is. Sincerity -- satya
again -- holds the key. As with asanas or any aspect of
yog, our fiscal activism accomplishes little if performed
in an off-handed way-for example, casually writing a
check to a visible, brand-name charity that turns out to
spend most of its money on salaries and fund-raising.
Just as a little focused attention can mean the
difference between a bungled asana and an adroit one, it
takes just a small extra effort to turn an
inconsequential ethical stand into a powerful one. Here
are some ideas, drawn from Marshall Glickman's The
Mindful Money Guide and other thoughtful sources:
Earning Ethically. The Buddh not only coined the term
"right livelihood" but also made it part of his Eightfold
Path to spiritual well-being. To begin down that road,
take an inventory of your talents, interests, and values.
Then research related careers and create an action plan
to create the work you want, including getting the
necessary training. If you don't feel good about your
current work but can't leave it right now, perform it in
a way that doesn't compromise your values, to the
greatest extent possible. And try to find the deep
meaning in your current situation, which could be as
basic as supporting the family you love.
Living Lightly. Consider simplifying your life so you can
switch to a dream career as soon as possible, even if the
pay is modest. Keep in mind, though, that it may be
psychologically daunting to transform your lifestyle,
even if the result is a life that's more exciting to wake
up to every single morning. Messages we received from our
parents about money, expectations from our spouse or
children that we bring home a certain level of income,
our self-image as a "successful" person -- all these
things may stand in our way. "It's very easy to upgrade
our lifestyle when we can earn more money -- buy a better
car, travel more, buy a better place," states George
Kinder. "It's much harder, once you've gotten accustomed
to a way of living, to reduce it. Also, we tend to be
creatures of habit. So we can be convinced that our work
is damaging us yet not let go of it because the habit of
it somehow gives us comfort." Given that, you may want
the assistance of a life-planning professional to get you
started. A skilled planner can help you wind your way
through the emotional thicket, take practical steps that
will ease the transition to the new vocation, and frame
your goals in a way that is fulfilling for your family as
well. Look at the planner's fees as an investment in
saving a life -- yours.
Voting with Your Dollars. Become more informed about the
social issues imbedded in products, so your purchases can
reflect your values. If you boycott a company's products,
drop the company a note or e-mail explaining your action
(you can probably e-mail them from their Web site) --
especially if no official boycott of the company has been
called. That's far more effective than quietly spending
your few bucks elsewhere. And remember the crucial
strategy of buy-cotting too. Buying organic food, for
instance, not only may be healthier for you but also
keeps pesticides out of the soil and groundwater,
protects workers and soil, and often supports family
farmers. Think of the extra cost as a donation to those
worthy causes. Energy-efficient lightbulbs and
appliances, fuel-efficient cars, and manual lawn mowers
are other examples of socially positive purchases that
make a significant environmental impact by preventing
pollution and global warming.
Investing from the Heart. As with consuming, anonymously
choosing not to invest in a company for ethical reasons
has little impact by itself. In fact, it might be more
effective to own a few shares so you can become a
shareholder activist -- i.e., exercise your rights as a
shareholder to influence corporate management. If like
most people, you're too busy or financially
unsophisticated for all that, here's how to be an
activist, disinvest in corporate bad actors and invest in
better ones all at the same time: Buy shares in a
socially responsible mutual fund (e.g., the Domini Social
Index Fund, a historically strong performer) that engages
in significant shareholder actions on its investors'
behalf. This assumes that the fund represents your
values, of course -- most of the brand-name funds follow
a progressive agenda that is pro-women and minorities,
pro-labor, pro-environment, anti-war profiteering, and so
forth. (You can learn more about socially responsible
consuming and investing by simply visiting
www.coopamerica.org.)
Giving Effectively. "It's really important for us to be
generous and hold money lightly," says Glickman. But that
doesn't mean giving with your eyes closed. Investigate
the groups you're considering for track record, potential
impact of current projects, and percentage of donations
that goes to overhead (35 percent is a reasonable
maximum). You can check out the largest national groups
at the Wise Giving Alliance (www.give.org) or the Better
Business Bureau's Philanthropic Advisory Service
(www.bbb.org). And do not forget to volunteer as well --
local groups may value your time even more than your
money.
Living in Balance
Money may be a crazymaker, but the yamas and niyamas can
be too -- if we try to shape them instead of letting them
shape us. Take those who would twist Patanjali's ideas to
justify questionable attitudes they already hold, such as
self-denial, miserliness, and contempt for the better-
off. Glickman warns us about what he calls "money-
hating," or reverse materialism. "For instance, if we're
too much in control, we're as obsessed by money and
unfree as if we're spending, spending, spending," he
observes.
Glickman contrasts the money-haters with kind, generous
people whose favorite sport happens to be shopping.
They're not particularly possessive of all the stuff they
haul home; they just love life and all it offers.
Dharmanidhi believes it is a core objective of yog to
enjoy life -- "My guru talked about it constantly," he
says -- although he notes the Tantric teaching that we
can only enjoy outer pleasures to the extent that
experience exists within us already: "If the experience
of the fulfillment is already present in the being, then
certainly a lot less is needed because you're not going
around trying to fill the hole all the time."
Kessel thinks the real key to properly applying the yamas
and niyamas may not come from that part of the Yog Sootr
at all, but rather in the two aphorisms right afterward,
the ones about correctly performing asanas. Patanjali
recommends that our asanas be stable, comfortable, and
tension-free while our spirit remains benevolent. While
the sage was writing about posture, it's not as if we're
forbidden to draw a broader lesson, Kessel says:
"Steadiness without rigidity. Balance. Relaxation, but
not sloppiness or overindulgence. Doing good for others,
not just profiting personally. How can we miss the
financial lesson in that?"
Contributing Editor Alan Reder, who wrote "Unmasking
Anger" for our March/April 2002 issue, has written about
socially responsible personal finances and business
practices as author or coauthor of the books Investing
from the Heart (Crown, 1993), In Pursuit of Principle and
Profit (Tarcher/Putnam, 1995) and The Whole Parenting
Guide (Broadway, 1999).
March/April 2003
End of forwarded message from Fidyl <fidyl@yahoo.com>
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti
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The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send
peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the
daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in
law.
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.
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