>jared =E2=80=A8i've been thinking about this for a couple of days,

Ahh, a thinker. This is the hallmark of a jnani :-)

>starting with "of course you should charge". (the "you" being actually
>you plus any others who have taught me). i finally worked my around to
>"whether or not you charge, i should pay".

I appreciate your reasoning. I would agree. I think it is important for
us to take personal responsibility and contribute and pay our way in
the world.

>maybe its the capitalist in me that says you have something
>(knowledge, ability to instruct) that i want to benefit from. being
>responsible for providing for my own needs and wants, and not
>accustomed to just taking whatever i want or need, i pay.

Notwithstanding what I said above, sometimes I find one of the hardest
things to do is to =E2=80=9Caccept=E2=80=9D a gift from someone. I want to =
pay them
in kind because I do not want to feel =E2=80=9Cindebted=E2=80=9D to them and
therefore, vulnerable. This fear or distrust is a real poison in human
relationships. Because it disallows the person giving the joy of giving
as well as the joy of having a gift freely and gladly accepted. In
addition any inability to =E2=80=9Caccept=E2=80=9D will work against us in =
our
quest for Yoga (union) because by its very nature Yoga is a profound
form of acceptance of the mental, physical and spiritual realms.

>there's another side to this to consider - if i want or need instruction, =
it =E2=80=A8>behooves me to ensure that its available. a teacher who is sta=
rving, or =E2=80=A8>endangered by living in the streets, or arrested for be=
ing naked in public =E2=80=A8>will not be available to me. i know this is s=
elfish, but sometimes selfish =E2=80=A8>is reasonable.

Selfish? I would call that pragmatic :-) After all in the highly
developed nations there is little or no context for a teacher to
=E2=80=9Cgive away=E2=80=9D teaching as a fulltime avocation. Where as in I=
ndia a
naked sadhu may be revered and cared for by total strangers, here as
you suggest they would be jailed and/or medicated :-(  The poster who
made the comment that he has taught yoga free for 30 years, still
required a paid job to support himself while he did so. I suspect that
is just how it has to be done here unless you align yourself with a
yogic community.

Implicit in this idea of supporting one=E2=80=99s self while teaching yoga
has to be the question of whether one should charge to teach yoga its
self. Then that takes me back to; it depends on whether you are
teaching yoga in its original design as a striving for God Union or as
a commercial fitness, stress reduction or weight loss, product. But
then this begs the question, but what about the person who is attracted
to yoga as a =E2=80=9Cproduct=E2=80=9D and as a result of practicing the
=E2=80=9Cproduct=E2=80=9D becomes aware of yoga=E2=80=99s true purpose? But=
for the
commercial product being available they might not have realized the
spiritual benefits=E2=80=A6

Then again either the teacher is aware of the true purpose or they are
not. I still think, the teacher that is aware, ought not sell yoga but
rather support themselves in some other fashion and leave their yoga
teaching motives pure and resolute.

Bottom line for a =E2=80=9Cseeker=E2=80=9D of Truth. If you are paying any =
more
then a nominal or cost basis fee for yoga instruction this is probably
not a =E2=80=9Cspiritually=E2=80=9D centered program. I believe the Truth w=
ill
always be =E2=80=9Cfree=E2=80=9D in any regard and especially in yoga. As l=
ong as
=E2=80=9Ctelling the truth=E2=80=9D is subject to commercial concerns then =
there is
always the possibility (likelihood) the Truth will be bent for those
concerns.


> i'm still thinking about it. =E2=80=A8> nancy

Me too=E2=80=A6 but that=E2=80=99s what jnanis do.:-)

Jared

Namaste

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