The word “religion” means to re-link or bind together. It is similar to yoke. It has to do with the feeling of not being separate, apart, left on your own or abandoned.
And because you feel your connection with God and the universe you feel held, protected, taken care of. You feel safe. You thereby grow increasingly confident that the universe is inherently good. It is not evil and it is not neutral. It is absolutely good. And you can know this even in the face of the most horrific manifestation. This, by the way, is tremendously soothing. It is the supreme tranquilizer.
Let me say it like this. Yoga makes you sensitive. Being sensitive enables you to feel your essential energy with clarity. This energy is the creative life force of God flowing through you. It’s what makes you you. Because realize: you are alive, you are made of something, and you did not create yourself. The more attuned you are to the creative life force in you, the more you will notice that you are participating in a non-stop non-verbal communion-communication with God and the universe all the time. You are literally connected to the universe with invisible wiring. You cannot get away from it. It’s how you are built. This personal communion-communication with God and the universe is the source of right action, joy, fulfillment, understanding and peace of mind.
As you become aware of God “in” you, you will naturally become aware of God in others. A religious life, then, involves nothing more, or less, than relating to the God in everyone and in following Spirit’s guidance without hesitation. In this sense there is nothing but One Being experiencing Itself through everything created.
About Erich Schiffmann
Erich Schiffmann is one of the most respected mentors and yoga teachers in America. Having studied first-hand with Jiddu Krishnamurti, BKS Iyengar, TKV Desikachar, Dona Holleman, Vanda Scaravelli, Joel Kramer, Rajpur and others, he has gleaned the best of all of their teachings during his almost fifty years of practice and distilled them within his own experience of yoga. From that he arrived upon a path that has proven to have great resonance with those seeking a deeper sense of stillness, peace and being.
Feathered Pipe has been privileged beyond words to share space with him summer after summer at the Ranch. His teachings and his spirit inspire and enrich all. His wisdom continually validates that there are deep treasures to discovered in the search, and that to seek with curiosity, joy and sincerity is to find.
Learn more about Erich: erichschiffmann.com