【SEEDS of YOGA】
生と死とその間 ／ Life, Death, and Everything in Between
文責：（E）Maneesh／（日）Ying
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哲学というものは小難しく、とっつきにくいものだ。ヨガ哲学で語られる非二元論（advaita vedanta）や、ラーマーヤナやヴァガバッドギータの神話の数々は、私たちの日常からは遠い存在に思われる。
コロナを機に、わたしたちの大切な人や自分自身の命が危険にさらされている今日こそ、生と死とその間にいる日々を考える絶好の機会だと思う。先日の大阪でのヨガ哲学のワークショップでは、哲学を学ぶ本質的な意味を参加者と語り合う時間だった。
人生の成功や失敗、健康や病気、誰もが逃れることのできない老いや死。人生の必然や人生そのものに哲学は宿る。そう思うと、哲学は難しいものではない。むしろ、わたしたちの日常に浸透しずぎてクリアに見えずらいが、日々の暮らしと切ってもきれないことを分かってもらえた。
そして、家族や大切な友人とオープンに語られるべきだと強く思う。しかし、残念なことに、私たちが生き方を学ぶ学校や家庭では、大切なことほどなかなか語られない。
ヨガ哲学は、わたしたちの人生について語り合う機会を与え、わたしたちが繰り返し同じことをしてしまう理由を問いかけ、もっと意識をもって生きることに導く。
こんな時だからこそ、さあ、コーヒーを片手に、大切な人と生きることについて語ってほしい。
「tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam」
（そのとき、自分自身を観る存在である自分は、その真実に至る）
〜パタンジャリ ヨガ スートラ1.3
Philosophy often sounds like a far away, difficult subject to grasp. However the truth is, it is especially relevant in uncertain times like these. With Coronavirus devastating so many lives and turning all that we thought normal onto its head, it is crucial that we think about and speak with loved ones on topics of life, death and everything in between. And yoga is here to help with that.
During an intro yoga philosophy course I gave in Osaka recently, the participants really got that yoga is ultimately an inquiry into ourselves and the life we lead, an inquiry that leads to a more conscious approach to life.
They got that philosophy can be a frank and open discussion about some of the most important things in life like life itself, how we should live it, how to handle and view ups and downs such as seeming successes and failures, sickness and health, and the inevitability of old age and death.
They got that these discussions are something we should all be having with our family and friends; the irony being that the two places we entrust to educate us the most – the school and the home – are the very two places that we rarely hear these conversations.
And they got that yoga is not necessarily saying we have to agree with or believe in concepts like ‘advaita vedanta’ (non-dualism) or the myths and stories like the Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, or the Upanishads.
Yoga is only encouraging us to have the conversation, to question the reasons for why we do the things we do, and to allow these actions to help us take a more conscious approach to living.
If you are not having these conversations, what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone, call your friends and family and have a heart-to-heart on life, death and everything in between.
‘tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam’
(Then, the witness abides in the True Self.)
~Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.3