Live a Spiritually Conscious Life: The Way of the Yogi - Part One
The first limb of yoga consists of five ethical principles called the Yamas. How do these Yamas offer us a practical way to live a life that is worthy of us? Author and Kriya Yoga teacher, David McGrath shares how these principles and practices guide us to live in the highest way, a yogic life. David is the author of the book being discussed in this program, The Yogi’s Way: Living in Accord With The Yamas and Niyamas.
David McGrath is dedicated to sharing the philosophical and psychological principles, and practices of yoga with a focus on promoting the holistic capacity of Kriya Yoga to provide insight into what it means to be human and how we can appreciate and live in tune with the fundamental nature of life. David was ordained by Mr. Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, as a minister within the tradition of Kriya Yoga, in 2011. He offers instruction and guidance through one-to-one consultations, organized retreats, online programs, public seminars, workshops, and written publications. David imagines a world awakened in oneness and invites people to follow a path which will allow them to clarify their conscious awareness.
WEBSITE: www.davidmcgrath.ie
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: It was a pleasure to listen to Part One of this discussion with David McGrath on his book, The Yogi's Way, concentrating on the yamas, the first limb of the eight limbs of yoga. The Yamas are how we relate to others and to the world. David began reflecting that, as yogis, we know how well we are doing in our practice by how well we are doing in life. It's a feedback loop. As we go deeper, it is like peeling off another layer. The book is set up to allow the reader to peel off the layers over a period of time to help us experience each of the yamas in an ever more subtle way. I appreciated his view of Ahimsa or harmlessness, as attracting the unified expression of love, to allow life to flow without harming it; seeing compassion as an inside job, but also an outside job, allowing us the opportunity to connect and care. David and Laurel also discussed how Satya, truthfulness, is looking from the vast Absolute Truth of Oneness the doesn’t change to what it means to us in this moment. In the moment, it is a process of continuously discerning how to relate to life for the betterment of every single aspect of life. I look forward to Part Two where the discussion will be about the the niyamas, how we look inward.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: In both David’s book and in our conversation I appreciated the opportunity to dive more deeply into the ethical principles that form the first limb of the 8 limbs of Yoga. As we discussed, the first Yama of Ahimsa, or harmlessness, comes from the deep underlying principle of Yoga that everything in the outer world is a manifestation of the underlying Oneness, of Supreme Consciousness. When we harm others we are also harming ourselves. I also appreciated the exercise of looking at different words and deciding how much they described Ahimsa, words like calm, attentiveness, empowering, and my favorite, bravery. Our discussion of the relationship between Harmlessness and Truthfulness was enriching.