While not universally acknowledged enough, it is indeed a remarkably fine thing to combine yoga philosophy with the wisdom of Jane Austen, whose novels describe a moral universe. The wise Jane understood both philosophy and metaphysics, and in this blog, we will get into both! Yet her novels are also considered the most romantic ever written. We will eventually get into why & how it was possible for Jane to introduce profoundly rational and philosophical ideas into such profoundly romantic novels. We dare to combine her novels together with yoga whilst suspecting that Yoga (or at least spandex) was unknown to her. Yet there are curious connections! For example, there is ONE heroine in Northanger Abbey, Catherine Moorland, who imagines herself walking “with great elasticity,’ and I say, if not from yoga, then whence has this remarkable elasticity arisen?
I’ll try to be more serious…
The Jane-Yoga connection is there in Jane Austen’s novels, shown by Jane’s frequent use of the word ‘meditation’, which her heroines resort to at times of great confusion or even when they are feeling overwhelming happiness. Many a heroine retreats to their room, or to a quiet walk in a park, to ‘meditate or otherwise ‘readjust’ their thoughts and calm their emotions. Why should they do this, you may ask. Why indeed, and what de heck are the benefits to self-control and remaining cool and thoughtful? Well…
We know for certain that a “science of consciousness” exists. Universities now offer courses on Consciousness Studies. Many of us wish to improve our consciousness. We are ‘detoxing’ from too much social media, turning off our cell phones when we can, and trying meditation. With all the distractions we suffer from these days, we know that screen time is coming at a cost. Multitasking and addiction to ‘dopamine’ caused by too much screen time has been shown to actually injure the brain. Many of us feel a bit vulnerable to our consciousness being ‘meddled’ with! No wonder, as social media and artificial intelligence have been shown to be bad for our (and our children’s) intelligence, perhaps even injurious to our perception of reality. One thing for sure, a little effort at mediation repays us with extraordinary powers to focus and even improves our propensity to think before acting. If we wish to be rational, with intellect in 1st gear, then I suggest, Jane Austen & Yoga is the remedy.
A little of my own history: Tis a joy for us “hard-core” fans to go back and re-read Jane’s works (always more to be discovered). My own “extreme” binge-reading went on for over 10 years and it was truly therapeutic. I had just had a major surgery and was teetering on the edge. I (and my brain) were not 100% operational. Jane soothed my soul and re-wired my brain. Historically, many others were also soothed and re-wired. For example, Winston Churchill absorbed himself in her novels during the 2nd World War. They were even given (as a form of therapy!) to shell-shocked soldiers of WWI. According to researchers at Stanford university, Jane offers amazing help for consciousness and the brain. Philosophers and science-minded fans say that Jane’s particular emphasis on a moral universe actually depicts reality in a way that makes sense. When things make sense, it’s quite helpful for calming the chaos. It’s “Here Comes the Sun” therapy for the frazzled mind. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yoga begins to help from the point where YOU are at right now. The goal is to access what Jane calls self-knowledge, or as it is called today, self-realization. It’s already there within you, you only need to discover it (as in “uncovering” something which is covered over). Bhakti-yoga is a simple, easy and powerful metaphysical process (devotional yoga), and it is a science because it actually works! You can read for yourself this ancient and respected text from India, Bhagavad-Gita (check out the link on this page to get a nice literal translation of this most beloved wisdom, brilliantly translated by my mentor, HD Goswami (Howard J. Resnick, PhD).
But why bhakti-yoga? As my teacher explains:
“The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root Yuj which means to link with, or combine. Bhakti-yoga means to connect to the Supreme by means of loving devotional service.” –H.D. Goswami (Howard J. Resnick, PhD in Sanskrit and Indology. Excerpt from his, “Comprehensive Guide to Bhagavad-Gita“)
“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me”(Gita 9.34). Krishna is teaching us that we are missing something in our existence in a world that seems to be more and more a dark pit of lust, greed and exploitation for profit. We want love, yet we often confuse love with fleeting physical relationships. We may attempt to establish a relationship with someone, only to realize that they weren’t the person we imagined them to be. Despite everything, we continue to be naturally ‘wired’ to seek loving friendships and relationships. First, we need to understand the self.
Love is how we express our highest consciousness. The media tells us that happiness can be found in the external things of the world, or that being obsessed with plastic surgery and ‘body-conscious’ clothing will gain us true love, when these simply distract our minds (and others’ minds) to the basest sexual level. This is very karmic activity. It ties us to the material world. The reality is…we are simply inhabiting human bodies. We are spiritual beings “dba” doing business as humans. “All living entities, are seated as on a machine”(B.Gita 18.61) Here is the teaching of a 5,000 year old wisdom text! Very cool. We are actually souls in an almost unconceivably complex bio-machine, and yet it’s only temporary. The body eventually disappoints us by losing its beauty, and eventually there is death. Why irrationally focus on the body as a source of enduring happiness? What to do?
If we only could see the truth, that we are inconceivably beautiful, intelligent beings, because we come from (our Source is) infinite beauty and wisdom. Krishna explains our connection, in the Bhagavad-Gita. Also, we can infer that Jane was our well-wisher because she designed her heroines to begin their journey as flawed human beings who struggle, like us, to get self-knowledge. In the Gita, Krishna also encourages us to try yoga, and promises us that just a little endeavor on this path will save us from the greatest fear (B.Gita 2.40). Yoga produces happiness, actually a spiritual bliss and greatly superior to mundane happiness.
Love is the highest form of yoga (yoga is a Sanskrit word, which means “connection”). Religion comes from the Latin “religare” (which means to “reconnect”). We are told by western texts “to love the Lord…” and Krishna is a Sanskrit name for God (we don’t get hung up on names, but we like the name Krishna, which means all-attractive). Krishna states that He is the ‘swift’ deliverer from material suffering for anyone who is devoted without deviation. (B.Gita 12.6-7) Bhakti-yoga is really the most effective spiritual awakening process for this difficult age. This is a practice called mantra-meditation and there is no charge–it is very simple–and we are simply sharing it with you!
If you are interested in reading the Bhagavad-Gita or getting a nice Penguin Classics “Deluxe” copy of Jane Austen’s novels, you can get both books by clicking the links on the sidebar.
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