The Revolutionary Act of Satya (Truth)
In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - George Orwell
Hey Yogis, One of our yamas from the Yoga Sutras is satya, or truth. For the longest time, I thought I always told the truth. But it turns out I wasn't being honest with myself all the time. And from that I realized I wasn't being honest with others all the time. I was sweet and polite. I didn't speak up for myself; and I vented about people when I got home. Translation: I lied to people's faces, then let them have it when they weren't around. As you can tell, this is different from telling white lies to spare feelings (and I stand by my right to do so). But the thing is: are you pretending? Yoga is here, as always, to make you aware of your lying times.
I'm talking real honest-to-goodness truth here. Like, reality. Seeing things for what they are, including yourself. I've talked before about the labels we give ourselves. A dangerous label is 'honest person'. Because then you walk around thinking you're an honest person even if you're being dishonest. One question is - Are you being honest with yourself?. Are you accepting who you are? Or are you pretending? Are you pretending to be kind to someone and then talking about them behind their back? Are you pretending to be okay with what you're doing when your actions have bad intentions? Are you pretending to know when you don't know?
One thing I love about yoga is that it slaps me in the face with reality. It's all - You're honest? - Well, I don't see you being honest here. Yoga has the ability to get down to your core, through the layers of body, breath, mental mind, wisdom mind, and even bliss body - deep down inside, and shine the light on incorrect intention and incorrect comprehension. It works partially through quietness. When you're quiet, you can be honest with yourself and see the situations, the reality, the current state - without judging.
Yoga is a place to be quiet. Being quiet is the beginning of seeing. Seeing is the beginning of change. Following the philosophies of yoga takes courage. Most people don't work so hard to see themselves for what they are. Practice your revolutionary act. Be brave to be quiet...and watch. Watch your labels, watch your intentions, watch your behaviors...and see if you're practicing satya.