Jane Austen wrote novels during the Regency period in England, while yoga is a practice that dates back thousands of years in India. So, are we comparing apples and oranges here? Well, not really. It’s true that Jane Austen never set foot in India and the practice of yoga was unknown to her, yet we find curious connections. I suspect that yoga lurks in the the life of at least ONE heroine since in Northanger Abbey, Catherine Moorland imagines herself walking ‘with great elasticity!’ I say, if not from yoga, then whence has this remarkable elasticity arisen? (Just kidding). The connection between yoga and Jane Austen lies in the acceptance of a metaphysical science.
Jane’s art is compatible with yoga because she depicts a moral universe, including some idea of the laws of action and reaction. That is, karma, or “What goes around comes around.” This makes Jane Austen’s novels very compatible with the Bhagavad-Gita’s teachings. Both are in harmony despite the many centuries and even the uniqueness of the cultures that separate them. I look forward to presenting metaphysics along with Jane’s wicked wit, as we discover the path towards self-knowledge–or as we call it today, self-realization.