Are You a Yogi?

By Jan Deremo Lundy, Yoga Life Editor

As I’ve moved around from one home to another these past few years, I’ve been toting with me one specific copy of Yoga International. The cover story captures my imagination and from time to time, I read it once more. The headline asks the question, “Was Jesus a Yogi?” Isn’t that an intriguing thought?

The author, Linda Johnsen, digs into the Gnostic Gospels (from the Nag Hammadi Library) to find an answer. She wonders if “Jesus taught his disciples meditation, or how to awaken their kundalini, or that the human soul and divine spirit are one?”¹ As a Christian, she claims she has been curious about this for a long time. Her research is quite illuminating and suggests to us that we can indeed find similarities between what Jesus taught and how he lived with what yogis do and say. She purports that the Gnostics, like the yogis, teach that you have to purify yourself until you achieve gnosis—experiential knowledge of the divine reality. Self-knowledge, devotional practices and right living lead one towards divine union.

Patanjali’s system of yoga provides a map of the process of awakening through eight limbs or basic beliefs. Four of these, Yama, Nayama, Asana, and Pranayama are focused on how a person conducts his or her life. They can be broadly translated as ‘Do Good, Be Good, Feel Good, and Live Good.’ The remaining four deal with meditation: Pratyahara, Inner Focus; Dharma, One-pointedness; Dhyana, Deep meditation; Samadhi, Absorption.²

Very simply put, from what we know of Jesus’ life and teachings, did he hold these truths in high esteem—did he teach them? With such sketchy historical data, it is hard to find a definitive answer here. It seems to me that each one of us must intuit our own answer on this one. A better question might be, do I adhere to these truths for myself? Am I a yogi?

It’s not always easy to take the reflective time necessary to unearth answers to these big questions for ourselves. I do know that it is crucial to our growth as human/spiritual beings to engage in regular self-assessment. We must ask ourselves on a continuing basis—How am I living? What do I value? Am I engaged in Right Livelihood? How do I treat my fellow human beings? What feelings are prevalent within me throughout the day? What practices am I dedicated to? Are these practices taking me towards divine knowledge?

These are not simple questions to answer, but I believe a true yogi is constantly engaged in this process of asking the big questions. Of noticing his/her inner workings and outer behavior, constantly holding them up to the light of illumination.

Today, due to yoga’s popularity, wherever you look, with whomever you speak, people will tell you a different story of what yoga means to them. For some it is simply a practice for relaxation. For others, an intense program to get in touch with the body and acquire fitness. More attest that it is a way to deepen their connection to self—body, mind and spirit. Beyond that, other devotees connect with it on such a deep level that it becomes spiritual practice and lifestyle. A yogi, according to Kundalini teacher and author Shakta Kaur Khalsa, is “an accomplished student of yoga.” That tells me that the true yogi is always “in process,” continually asking questions, digging deeper, striving higher, surrendering to the work of Spirit as it is found in the practice. The yogi is not a master who sits proudly on his or her laurels and accomplishments. A yogi does not rest; the search for self/God realization is never ending.

In that, we come full circle to where we began. Considering the ideas above, we ask once again, “Was Jesus a yogi?” “Am I a yogi?” The answers lie within. May your inner search for Truth and self-knowledge be a joyous one.

Namasté.

1. “Was Jesus a Yoga”; LInda Johnsen, Yoga International Magazine, Issue No. 47, May 1999.
2. Shakta Kaur Khalsa, The KISS Guide to Yoga, DK Publishing, 2001.