Imperfectly Perfect

Nature is a magnificent creation, with an awe-inspiring beauty that captivates us all. But it is the imperfections in nature that make it so uniquely breath-taking. The natural world is full of flaws and idiosyncrasies, and it is these quirks that give it character and make it so fascinating.

The jagged, uneven rock formations that line the Grand Canyon or a Flower, each bloom is unique, and imperfections like uneven petals or a slight twist in the stem gives each flower its own distinct personality. And yet we chase “PERFECTION” in all aspects of our lives, putting tremendous stress on ourselves, including for Yogasana. Yoga was never about Perfection!

There is no better way to put this than this post by Prasad Rangnekar Ji. Prasad Ji is a Yoga Educator, and a lifelong student of Yoga. Have a read in…

“Last night in my Yoga Based Emotion Management course we shared deeply about the stress of Perfection Conditioning – the need to be Perfect

So many Yoga practitioners exhaust themselves chasing perfection. I hear accounts of sincere seekers who’ve popped their knees, or sprained necks trying to reach ‘the perfect pose’. And, I’ve also met practitioners starve themselves out & eventually mess up their digestive system chasing the ‘ideal yoga body’

Consumerism needs ‘ideas’ of perfection to sell goods & services. Pictures of a ‘perfect handstand’ keeps income streams flowing & notions of ‘perfect health’ sustains many a business models. Narratives of bodily perfection & perfect health have economic implications & not spiritual implications. Upon that, goal posts of ‘Perfection’ keep changing, keeping customers in perpetual FOMO

Do such notions of bodily perfection come from traditional Yogic understanding?

No. The goal of traditional Yoga is neither perfection of pose, nor perfection of body.
In fact, I would go one step further to state that, traditionally, Yoga is not even about achieving perfection, neither of body nor of mind

Body as a project & physical perfection as a process is an idea thats very new to Yoga

Yoga is about realizing that one is perfect already at the most intimate level of their personality, the level of True-Self

Sankhya calls this perfection Purusha, Shaiva Tantra calls this perfection Sadāshiva, the Bhaktas call it living in eternal service of their deity, and the Vedantins call it Brahman

This perfected Self is within already. You have always been it, you have always been perfect. Its not to be reached but to be realized

As Chandogya Upanishad says, Tat Tvam Asi, ‘You are verily that universal consciousness’. So, never put yourself down, or think you have to become ‘perfect’ like others, for you already are the ‘Child of Immortality’ as Shvetashwatara Upanishad says

The real work of a Yoga practitioner then is not to reach an idea of perfection, but to remove all that blocks the experiential realization of the very perfect Self that one has always been

Friends, pls take it easy & be kind to yourself “

– Prasad Rangnekar