Yogic Principles of Fair Play

Many of us have learned the value of ahimsa (non-harming). Yet, mainstream humanity seems to crave violence and violent entertainment. News and entertainment is often built around violence. How can we break the cycle of violent thoughts that transform into action? It seems to be hard wired into our DNA.

Perhaps, we should look at the principles of mercy, compassion, and fair play. These higher thoughts make us unique as a species. The concept of fair play is well known. Some of us were brought up and trained to follow rules. We raise our children to follow the rules, but there are fields where the idea of following the rules is out of place.

On the surface, it may seem as if politics, business, and sports, run in harmony. Yet, the field of play is not exactly fair. Let's look at competitive sports, for an example. If a referee makes an erroneous call, will the coach of the team that benefits from the mistake dispute it? To take this further: Teams engage in signaling and reading other teams' signals all the time. Competition, for its own sake, breeds less than optimum morality.

Therefore, it seems that we have learned to have more than one set of rules for what we consider fair play. In Yoga, the practitioner learns to balance his or her health on the physical, mental, and emotional levels. Without concerning ourselves with any specific religion, anyone who has achieved physical, mental, and emotional balance will behave rationally.

The ultimate result is that training one's self to be balanced will cause spiritual growth and beauty to be enhanced. Ahimsa is a good example of a universal principle that is agreed upon by most of the people in the world. Ahimsa is often referred to as "non-harming;" yet, it is also showing kindness toward others.

Yogic principles of fair play are based on demonstrating loving kindness toward others. We often look at the principle of Ahimsa from the viewpoint of what we cannot do - rather than focusing on what is the right thing to do.

One final point to mention in regard to applying fair play toward daily life - when an emotional situation springs forth, it might be best to hold your tongue, rather than take sides immediately. It is very hard to achieve sainthood all the time, but if you take the time to completely digest the situation, before speaking, you will have many less regrets.

? Copyright 2011 - Paul Jerard / Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of yoga-teacher-training.org Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org yoga-teacher-training.org/