Chelsea Yoga Newsletter
October, 2006
First
a note from Aaron...
Many people have their ideas of what Tantra is and is not.
I always find it personally interesting how, for many, it has a way leading
back to sex, or how to have better sex. If one wants better sex, go and
take some drugs. If you want a more meaningful and purposeful life, practice
Tantra Yoga, and not only will you know ecstacy, you will have amazing
sex.
Below is an interview which was published some years ago in Yoga International.
It is between my teacher Rod Stryker, and his teacher and direct dsiciple
of Sri Swami Rama, Pundit Ramani. I have always said, if you want to "know",
go to the source.
For me, both of these men are the living Vedas, the keepers of the timeless
knowledge.
May all of you who read this, be blessed.
As you will also see, many of the links on this post are leading back
to the our Suggested
Reading Page. You may click here to read more about the Author
and see what other books we suggest to enhance your Yoga. What more, on
how to be a living embodiment of the teachings.
Shanti and peace Aaron Star
Tantra
Unveiled-An Interview with Pundit Rajmani
by
Rod Stryker- Sept. 25, 2000
First, a note from Rod . . . I have taught yoga and meditation for more
than 20 years. My teachers were disciples of some of India’s leading Yoga
masters of the past century, including: Paramhamsa Yogananda, Swami Sivananda,
Ramana Maharishi, and Barhati (known as the Shakespeare of India). I was
schooled in the holistic science of yoga, which saw that the postures,
though an incredibly valuable part of the tradition, were barely the tip
of the yogic iceberg. Rather than being an end in itself, Asana serves
a much larger system, which if used correctly has the potential for moving
a human being not just beyond stress, but to the far reaches of fulfillment
and self mastery. This approach integrates physical postures, breathing,
meditation, Ayurveda, and a seemingly endless body of diverse practices
and knowledge. My teachers called it Tantra. I knew Tantra to be the science
of weaving spiritual experience into the fabric of everyday life, as well
as, the ultimate and most life-affirming expression of yoga.
Today
more Americans are practicing Asana than ever before. To the millions
doing it, it is more than just a fad. They do it because it works. But,
are they getting as much out of yoga they could? How much are today’s
students accessing the deeper practices and principals that could have
an even more powerful and beneficial effect on their lives? Many of today’s
teachers have been trained only in the physical practices. What are the
consequences? What of their students who have to turn to books or non-yogic
sources for meditation and spiritual teachings? Finally, what is this
vast and sacred science of Tantra that holds so much potential? As I have
traveled the country teaching in recent years, I’ve asked both students
and teachers to consider these questions. That is why I asked to interview
Panditji Rajmani Tigunait. I first became familiar with his voice by reading
his Inner Quest column in this magazine. I was immediately impressed and
intrigued. It was clear that he was a man of unique scholarly authority,
and at the same time his answers consistently displayed a practical and
caring concern for those he was teaching and for the teachings he was
illuminating. It has been my experience that there are not many who teach
the way they live and do so while fulfilling the highest intent of the
teachings. I felt I was becoming acquainted with a rare find.
I began studying with Panditji two years ago. His teachings, those of
the sacred Tantric tradition of Sri Vidya, included the Tantra I learned
before meeting him and inspired me to a new level of experience in my
own life, practice, and teaching. I wanted to interview Panditji in order
to address some of my concerns as I see yoga’s growth being shaped more
by popular culture than by legitimate authority and teaching. The following
is excerpted from our nearly three hour conversation.
The Interview
R.S: Much of my own teaching is dedicated to clearing away the myths
and misconceptions about Tantra. When you define it for students, what
do you tell them?
PRT: Tantra is a system of inner and outer exploration. The literal meaning
of the word "Tantra" is "system," and in a spiritual context Tantra is
the system of philosophy and practices which puts together all possible
means and resources to explore the inner and outer dimensions of life.
Tantrics try to make the best use of all the means and resources available
in our inner world as well as in the outer world. That is why they have
incorporated the information available in Ayurveda, herbology, numerology,
and astrology, into their practices, as well as visualization practices
associated with color, shapes, and forms; breathing exercises; physical
exercises; mantra, Yantra, mandala, meditation on the personified forms
of gods and goddesses; and meditation on purely abstract forms of the
divine.
R.S: Some writings describe Tantra as the source of Hatha yoga, saying
that in response to the aestheticism of the Vedas, Tantrics developed
ways to tap into the energies of the body, which they recognized as precisely
the same energies that pervade the universe. Is there a link between Tantra
and Hatha yoga?
PRT: There is definitely a link. In fact, if you really look into Tantric
literature you’ll find that Tantra can be linked to anything, any aspect
of philosophy, any school of philosophy, any school of practices in India
and surrounding countries. Tantric literature is so vast that you can
find any kind of practice that you want to find. But it is only in recent
centuries that people began to distinguish Tantric knowledge from the
knowledge flowing from the Vedas. Before that they were recognized as
two parallel flowing sciences: Agama and Nigama. The Vedas (Nigama) place
more emphasis on rituals centered around fire practices, while Tantra,
that is Agama, emphasizes all forms of rituals and meditative practices
and also includes Yantras, Mandalas, gems, and herbs. But if you really
look at the nature of Tantric practices you don’t see much difference
between Tantra, classical yoga, and Vedic practices. Tantra is the most
comprehensive, systematic form of philosophy and practice. It is inclusive
rather than exclusive, and therefore Hatha yoga practices can be linked
to Tantra.
It is not correct to say that Hatha yoga has evolved from Tantric traditions
alone. Look at the practices described in the Yoga Sutra chapter 3. They
are purely Tantric and are elaborated on in Tantric texts. Patanjali simply
mentions them. There are many such. Even a couple of practices described
in Yoga Sutra chapter 1, Sutras 34, 35, 36, meditation on the heart center,
meditation on different parts of your tongue, are elaborated on in Tantric
texts. So Patanjali certainly drew on existing materials. He was trying
to provide the most comprehensive information for the seekers, but it
is totally up to the seekers to find the actual practices related to those
disciplines.
R.S: Most people these days are coming into the world of yoga through
asana. From the Tantric perspective, why does doing asana make you feel
better?
PRT: It unblocks energy which then starts flowing everywhere throughout
the body. All your limbs and organs, including your nervous system, brain,
and mind, are nourished, so you feel good, especially when asana is followed
by a relaxation practice. That automatically induces a kind of meditative
state.
R.S: What is the relationship between Tantra and sex?
PRT: The sexual aspect of Tantra has been blown out of proportion. From
a great pool of knowledge, teachers have picked up a single bucket of
water and packaged that one tiny bucket in small bottles to sell in the
market. Tantric texts do mention intercourse, but this practice is described
as an advanced aspect of Tantric Sadhana. In fact, the Sanskrit word for
"sex" is Maithuna, which means "the state where two become one, where
duality dissolves into non-dual awareness." There are prerequisites a
seeker has to fulfill before venturing into the Tantric practices that
include maithuna. Among them, mastery of the pranic force is the most
important. One must gain this mastery by practicing advanced techniques
of pranayama.
If seekers could have access to the vast range of teachings, they would
recognize when something specific is being taken out of context and being
taught in a general context. They would know that spiritual life is more
enriched when its different components are taken as a whole, rather than
presented in fragments.
R.S: Do you think students who are currently doing exclusively physical
postures and getting a lot from them, should bother with Tantra or the
deeper practices of yoga?
PRT: Only if they are interested. If students want to learn more, grow
more, and gain more knowledge and find the next level of fulfillment,
then it is important that they explore. If they are content, then that’s
fine. If their goal was only to learn the postures, that’s okay.
The thing is that Hatha Yoga ultimately culminates in raja yoga, Jnana
yoga, Tantra yoga, and Kundalini yoga, and people may not be aware of
that because they have not studied thoroughly. For example, if you only
read chapter 1 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika [a classical text of Hatha
Yoga], you think that Hatha Yoga is only physical exercise. Not until
chapter 3 does it start becoming spiritual. And only in chapter four does
it become a purely Tantric text, discussing alchemy and different kinds
of meditative states. Hatha yoga is not complete in itself. Certainly
it is a very, very important step in personal growth. But if you stop
at Hatha yoga, then it means that, according to you, the body is the final
reality. Everyone becomes old, and dies. And if they have not found the
reality within, the immortal self, they die with a great deal of dissatisfaction.
If you want to prevent that, if you want to enjoy your old age gracefully
and depart from this world joyfully, then you had better gain more knowledge
than just what the postures can give.
R.S: I’ve heard you speak about tearing down the walls between mundane
and spiritual experiences. Can you elaborate on that here?
PRT: Many religious and spiritual traditions tend to drive a wedge between
the mundane and the sacred. Most of the spiritual traditions today condemn
the mundane and emphasize the sacred. Tantra regards this as self-defeating.
As long as we have body, mind, and senses, we cannot ignore their demands.
The natural tendency in all living beings is to seek happiness. A great
deal of happiness is associated with the comforts, conveniences, pleasures,
and enjoyment of the worldly objects at the physical, emotional, and mental
levels. This is natural. If you cannot escape from your own tendencies
then you must find some way of using those tendencies in your favor and
still continue growing in your spiritual path. The best way is to enjoy
the objects of the world without drowning in that enjoyment.
According to Tantrics, the goal of life is not solely Moksha, so-called
liberation from the world; rather the goal of life is both Bhoga and Moksha.
Enjoy the best that nature has to give you. Enjoy all the objects of the
world but don’t become a slave to them. And as far as seeking enlightenment
or liberation is concerned, seek liberation in the world, not liberation
from the world. Liberation from the world is not possible.
The Tantric approach is to live in the world as the master of yourself
and the master of your surroundings. Have both Bhoga and Moksha at your
disposal and use your Buddhi, use your discriminative power, to figure
out to what extent worldly pleasure and worldly enjoyment is healthy for
you. And figure out at what point denying yourself these things becomes
suppression and creates problems within you. Lead a balanced, healthy
life. Make the best use of all the resources that nature has given you
within and without. Then you will have ample time and energy to explore
what else is to be explored out there.
R.S: Isn’t the phrase, "What is not here is nowhere and what is here
is everywhere"?
PRT: Yes, that is the core of Tantric philosophy. Yata brahmande, tata
pindande: That which is here in this body-mind organism is out there and
that which is not here is not out there. There is a perfect equation between
human existence and the external world. Therefore make your own body and
mind a measuring stick to explore what is out there. And while you are
exploring what is out there, create a harmonious balance within yourself
and the world around you.
R.S: One of the most profound elements of Tantra is the way it addresses
the causal link between subtle energy and consciousness. The teachings
assert that the degree to which we experience Moksha and/or Bhoga is a
measure of our energy. By extension, if our energy is cultivated correctly,
then knowing "heaven on earth" becomes a certainty.
PRT: Yes, it becomes a living experience, you are not simply philosophizing.
That energy is at your disposal. Then all these metaphysical principles
that we are talking about become a living experience.
R.S: Many spiritual traditions decry the mind as negative, calling it
the enemy of spiritual experience. Yet much of Tantra involves consciously
using the mind for constructive, transformative purposes.
PRT: According to Tantrics the mind is not negative. It is like a child:
innocent, energetic, pure, benign. If you keep telling a child, "You are
ugly. You always make mistakes. You don’t know how to behave," that child
will become depressed and rebellious and will begin to fight you. The
mind is like that. Tantra says the mind is the best tool you have. Rather
than fighting the mind, work with it and let it work with you. Heaven,
hell, right, wrong, vice, virtue, positive, and negative, why not transform
the entire mind and let it become a paradise in every respect? Why not
create an environment where the negative forces become friendly with the
divine forces? In Tantra’s most comprehensive system, Sri Vidya, all the
different forces of Mind, positive and negative, have been visualized
as goddesses. Thus even the "negative" tendencies become sources of spiritual
illumination.
[Rod: This is where the Vipassana question seems to fit best. . . .]
R.S. Teaching yoga has become a business in America. The bigger the class,
the more teachers you train, the more money you make. Can you comment
on how personal practice and teaching fit into spirituality and service?
PRT: First you have to do the practice yourself, for your own benefit.
Before you become a teacher you have to become a living light to yourself(a
living light that cannot be extinguished even by big storms. For that,
you have to be fully grounded in your own personal practice.
If you are teaching others without practicing yourself, then somewhere,
deep down, a part of you tells you that you are a hypocrite, that you
are living off yoga as a commodity(as if you were selling carpets or furniture.
And if you still go on teaching, you will be cultivating self-hatred.
Your own spiritual growth will decline and the light within you will keep
getting dimmer and dimmer. That is why a spiritual teacher must practice.
Once you know yourself as a genuine seeker, and when your own inner chamber
is quite enlightened, then comes the natural unfoldment of pure love and
compassion and a genuine desire to serve others. You realize that by serving
others you are actually serving God. The realization comes that the purpose
of your life is to give whatever you have received from your own teachers,
from the tradition, and from God’s grace.
It is the natural, spontaneous response to the urge of the inner light
that pushes you outward, and you start teaching. At that stage another
thought automatically comes: "How can I be instrumental in lighting more
lamps and bringing light to the world?" and you begin exploring the best
way to serve others.
The scriptures say that the best way to serve others is to serve nature.
Having students, creating books, tapes, and videos, is fine, but that
kind of service is still finite. Its scope is limited. When you also start
serving the earth, water, fire, air, rivers, mountains, the soil, clouds,
and space itself, you become the best servant of God. You are now acting
on the prayer, "Anything I have, anything that is good in me, may it become
part of nature, so that all vegetation becomes healthy and content and
those that eat the vegetation become healthy and happy." In this way you
are putting your spiritual energy into the food chain. And everybody(those
whom you know or do not know(automatically becomes the recipient of your
selfless love and service.
That is how the great concepts of Yagna (the grand fire rituals and
collection of long-term group meditations(came into being. You go on inspiring
others to meditate, to sit, talk, walk, and think together in a harmonious
manner. Your friends and everybody else join hands in doing group practices
to directly purify the clouds so that there is healthy rain. Healthy rain
will remove the weaknesses of our soil and allow healthy vegetation to
grow. Insects, animals(the entire food chain(will eat pure food, which
brings good health and purification of mind. Creation at large becomes
healthier and happier. That is how you contribute your service to creation,
thereby serving all and serving God.
R.S: I tell students, "If your interest is in physical postures and techniques,
then group classes and attending yoga conferences will be fine. There
are many teachers capable of teaching those. But if you’re interested
in unfolding spiritually, you need that rare kind of teacher or guide
who can reach more than just your mind or body." How crucial is having
that kind of teacher?
PRT: There will be two problems if you don’t have such a teacher. Number
one, you may not have access to the inner circle of the teachings-these
cannot be properly documented in books.
And if somehow you do have access, there are so many varieties and subtle
differences among different teachings and techniques that you might be
confused about which one is correct, which one is not, and which one is
perfectly right for you.
An even bigger problem is this "transmission" idea. That is not possible
without a teacher. My own teacher, Swamiji [Swami Rama], kept saying that
ultimately you must light your own lamp. "The teacher is boat," he would
say, "Not more than that. Don’t be dependent on the teacher. Once you
have crossed the river then there is no need to carry that boat." For
twenty years I kept hearing that from him.
In one sense, what he was saying was very meaningful: "Don’t be dependent
on the teacher. Don’t use the teacher as a crutch. And don’t be fooled
by a teacher. Don’t fall in trap of a teacher." But it was also in contradiction
to the scriptures, which say that the teacher is very important, the teacher
is the inner guide, the one who lights your inner light. In the light
of that inner light you will have better understanding of the teacher
in the outside world. And the teacher’s qualifications, love, compassion,
selflessness, are such powerful virtues that you naturally have a deep
respect and love for your teacher.
Despite all these things, I still did not really understand the value
of the teacher. I thought that whatever Swamiji wanted to teach me he
had already taught me. When I went to see him on November 11, 1996, just
two days before his death, he gave me the most precious, most fulfilling
gift he had ever given me. It is totally indescribable. Even if I wanted
to describe it, a few million words, a few hundred thousand pages would
not be sufficient. Since then my love for him is totally different, and
my understanding of the teacher is totally different. I will say that
without a teacher the transmission of knowledge is not possible at all.
It’s totally impossible. Without a teacher inner unfoldment is almost,
if not utterly, impossible. I did not have that kind of feeling before
November 11th. But now I have no doubt about what the scriptures are saying:
Be at the feet of the masters and learn from them. What they teach you
through words is less effective and less important than what they teach
you in silence.
You know, Rod, after that I lost any sense of qualification or non-qualification
when looking at students. Since then I have begun to understand the meaning
of selfless love. A teacher is a purely selfless soul who has nothing
personal left in his life. Anything and everything that he or she has
totally belongs to the students and to this world. And once that happens,
that person is not even a person anymore. That person is just pure space.
Anybody can bask in it.
R.S: Thank you for describing, in such a personal way, what I would say
is the lost treasure of our modern approach to yoga. And now, last but
not least: When I stand in front of people as a tantric and say things
like, "According to this tradition life is not suffering and life is not
maya," people get very uncomfortable because so many spiritual orientations
give people the sense that life is suffering, and the only deep and lasting
pleasure is in silence. It’s a radical thought that in the spiritual world
life may actually be beautiful. I know you teach this as one of the necessary
shifts in our worldview as we progress spiritually, so what would you
want people to consider as they look at the world?
PRT: "The world is maya." "The world is a miserable place." This bothers
me. It is just the one-sided experience of certain individuals and certain
groups. But as far as the yoga tradition goes, and here I’m talking about
all the different schools of yoga: Vedanta-oriented, Samkhya-oriented,
Tantra-oriented, in all these different schools I found one common statement:
Isha vasyam idam saravam. "This whole world has come from God, exists
in God, is pervaded by God, and every single action here is motivated
and guided by God."
If this world has come from God, exists in God, is pervaded and illuminated
by God, how can you call this world a miserable place? Or a source of
pain? Certainly there are lots of people experiencing misery. But it is
possible to say that this world is a source of misery only if this world
has come from miserable source. Only if God himself is miserable, which
by definition is contradictory, can the world be a source of misery.
But if the world has come from God and God is an embodiment of Satchitananda,
pure existence, pure consciousness, pure joy, then this world cannot be
really the source of misery. There must be something wrong in our attitude.
There must be something wrong in the way we interact with this world.
Otherwise, this world cannot be the source of misery. Certainly, the tantrics
would laugh at this: do you think God is such a terrible, being that he
(or she or it) will create this world so that we suffer in it? What’s
the intention behind creating this world? According to tantrics it’s lila.
It’s that this world evolves from the absolute divine being, and when
the absolute divine being thinks of experiencing its fullness, the world
comes into existence. So this world is an extension of the divine being.
This world is not something that evolved from some non-divine existence
in order to create troubles and problems for the divine being. According
to Tantrics, the entire concept of Moksha [liberation], is to find the
joy and happiness here and form the philosophy of life and learn the techniques
to experience the joy and beauty that is inherent in this world, that
is inherent in life itself.
Life is not a punishment. Life is a gift. And the inability to experience
life as a gift is called bondage. According to Tantra, you must consider
the world meaningful. You must work hard to find that meaning. You can
do it only when you develop the positive attitude that this world itself
is divine.
August, 2006
While traveling from Milan to Budapest, I happened across an article which
I have posted below. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, in this article, writes about
"The Battle of Somme" which happens to be on of the most infamous
battles of World War.
This year, July 1st, in addition to being Canada Day, not only marked
"The Battle of Somme", but also its ninetieth anniversary.
Going back as far as I can remember, I have had a premonition and experienced
many haunting feelings that I would be faced with the kind of death where
my sense of honor and courage would be sorely tested and I believe that
is why I am incredibly moved when I see movies displaying incredible acts
of heroism such as in "Saving Private Ryan,” or read articles like
the one below.
I often ask myself what I would do if I were in a situation which called
me to serve for something greater than myself, while facing great pain
or death in the process. What would I do were I faced with imminent death
on a battle field, knowing that my life was about to be taken? And in
that vein I would also like to ask, “What is honor?” and “What is courage?”
In my old school, there was a plaque at the entrance when walking into
the office area. It was not only our school anthem, but a paradigm the
school wanted to instill into its students. It read,
"Courage has got to be harder,
Heart the stouter, Spirit the sterner
As our strength weakens.
Here lies our Lord, cut to pieces;
Our best man in the dust.
If anyone is thinking of leaving this battle,
he will howl, howl forever."
-The Battle of Maldon
“What
is honor?” and “What is courage?”
These are two of many questions which Arjnu and Krishna discuss at great
lengths in the Gita. While taking into consideration the current events
of today, I think it is a fascinating conversation which only raises more
questions.
Krishna makes many points and one of them is on the importance of duty
and the development of courage to not run from the things that are hard
in life, but to face them head on.
Gandhi, who was not only a well known pacifist and a renowned Yogi, was
a profound devotee of the Gita and which was recited every day in his
ashram, insisted on being a part of the Great War that Britain faced in
1914, because he felt strongly that this was his duty. While he would
not be a part of "the killing," he was in charge of a group
of men who served on the front lines and administered healing to those
who were injured. He did so proudly (proud to serve his country) and fearlessly.
In fact it is documented that Gandhi and his men were always reliable
and dependable, and never afraid to rush in under heavy fire to save a
life.
What I personally believe is this. True honor is something that can only
be obtained when we have overcome our fears and the very first message
of the teachings of the Tantric Yoga Tradition and the sages which over
see it is “Overcome all fears in your life. Practice fearless living.”
Through my own experience, I have learned that I must first cultivate
courage in order to overcome my fear so that I may obtain honor.
Krishna makes the observation over and over how it is our ego that is
afraid of death, and because we fear death, we lack courage.
In today’s world, very few people have any clear sense of honor for we
are constantly looking out for our own hides and ensuring that we have
our own comforts looked after before we consider the needs of others.
A French friend of mine once said to me (while discussing aspects of differing
cultures,) that most people’s interest do not go farther than ten feet
in front of them. A person who has honor or who is attempting to gain
it, is always looking beyond his own sphere of comfort.
Doing what is right is hard enough but doing what is good and doing what
will engender “good disposition in life” is even harder. Many people continually
make excuses that steer them away from building, not only a healthy body,
but a healthy state of mind and spirit. One particular student who used
to come to class quite regularly, has commented to me on several occasions
saying, “Why should I be nice to people who are not nice to me?”
I can almost see many of your mouths drop at this statement but many
of us already have this attitude in varying degrees, and it rears its
ugly head constantly. Gandhi once said, “The greatest war I face is the
one within myself.”
Honor is not an easy thing to obtain and it is even harder to live a
life embodying it. Living a yogic life challenges us constantly to do
the right thing and I believe that yoga, in and of itself, constantly
refines and tunes our own moral compass.
It is also my belief that for those who quit doing yoga, realize this
at some level because I see it happen far too often. It is this aspect
has always been one of the driving forces in my own Sadhana (Spiritual
practice), to not only move towards living a fearless life, but to work
towards living one with honor through courage.
How does this happen? It takes place through a deep commitment to your
Sadhana and a lot of faith in yourself and in your Sat Guru (True teacher).
Take the time for your yoga. If not now, then when?
Namaste and peace to you
Aaron Star
Honor
and Carnage
Geoffrey Wheatcroft International Herald Tribune
Published: June 30, 2006
Ninety years ago today, the Battle of the Somme began, the greatest British
offensive in what we still think of as the Great War. After an artillery
barrage, 13 infantry divisions went "over the top," each platoon
climbing out of the trenches at the blast of an officer's whistle and
advancing toward the enemy lines.
It is a long story, but its essence is briefly told: From dawn to dusk
on July 1, 1916, almost 40,000 British soldiers were wounded and 20,000
were killed. There was a casualty for every half meter of the entire front
line. It was far and away the heaviest loss the British (or possibly any)
army ever suffered on one day, and we live with the memory of that "First
Day on the Somme" even now.
Apart from the scale of suffering, the Somme was distinguished from the
other great battles of the past century - Verdun, Stalingrad, Iwo Jima
- by the fact that every British soldier who fought and died that day
was a volunteer.
A
draft was introduced in the course of that war, more for political than
military reasons, but the millions who joined up in the first two years
did so freely. They were inspired by patriotism, by anger at the ruthless
German violation of Belgian neutrality, and, in the case of the men from
the higher classes, by "a sense of private honor," in Evelyn
Waugh's words, "of a debt on demand that had been incurred by privilege."
Those young idealists originally believed that the war would be over soon,
but also that it was fine and noble thing. "Now God be thanked Who
has matched us with His hour," wrote the poet Rupert Brooke shortly
before his death. (See poem below.)
After the war, a myth grew up that callous or even cowardly officers drove
men to their deaths. In fact, junior officers were three times more likely
to be killed than private soldiers, not because they were braver but because
they were expected to set an example and, in an only half-ironical phrase,
to go ahead and get shot first. Not only subalterns: On that first day
on the Somme, 30 British officers of the rank of lieutenant-colonel or
above were killed.
"Equality of sacrifice" is sometimes a convenient phrase, but
no one could deny it then. When the war began, the prime minister was
the Liberal, H.H. Asquith, and the Tory leader of the opposition was Andrew
Bonar Law. Both would lose sons in action. Lord Salisbury was an earlier
prime minister; five of his grandsons were killed. And several younger
Members of Parliament, including William Gladstone, grandson of one more
prime minister, joined up and were killed.
All that is a sharp contrast with a Blair government, not one of whom
has ever performed any kind of military service, and a Bush administration
whose senior members have never been much burdened by any sense of private
honor incurred by privilege. Like Dick Cheney, they "had other priorities"
when they should have been drafted.
The
presence of so many articulate and intelligent young men in the front
line to witness this appalling slaughter had another important consequence.
A new group of poets - Edmund Blunden, Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon
and above all Wilfred Owen - wrote in a quite new vein, about "the
Pity of War," as Owen called it: "What passing bells for these
who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns."
He himself was killed in the last week of the war, but those other three
survived and all wrote grimly realistic memoirs of the war. By the 1930s
that may have encouraged a turn toward pacifism. When Winston Churchill
led his country during the next war, he dragged his feet over the invasion
of northern Europe. After one meeting when his allies had tried to prod
him, one of the prime minister's aides explained to an American, "You
are arguing with the Somme."
The Battle of the Somme was a failure from that first day onward - it
petered out after several months with almost no territory gained and casualties
running into hundreds of thousands.
To write about officer-poets might imply that the heroes of the Somme
were all "public-school men" or undergraduates from Oxford and
Cambridge. Of course most of the recruits who made up the New Army, as
it was known, were working-class boys from industrial cities. They joined
up together, they trained together, they marched together toward their
first great battle on the Somme, and they died together.
Although those New Army battalions were assigned official regimental
names, they also gave themselves their own cheerful nicknames. It is a
roll call of comradeship and loyalty intolerably poignant to this day:
the Accrington Pals, Belfast Young Citizens, Grimsby Chums, Glasgow Boys'
Brigade, Hull T'Others - and the Bradford Pals, who had set off with such
high hopes, and who lost well over half their number killed or wounded
90 years ago today.
A
poet of a later generation remembered them. Philip Larkin's "MCMXIV"
envisages crowds of those recruits in 1914, laughing and grinning as if
they were at a cricket or soccer match: "Never such innocence again."
Geoffrey Wheatcroft's books include "The Controversy of Zion"
and "The Strange Death of Tory England."
Sonnet: Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour
by Rupert Brooke
Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour,
And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,
With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,
To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping,
Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary,
Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move,
And half-men, and their dirty songs and dreary,
And all the little emptiness of love!
Oh! we who have known shame, we have found release there,
Where there's no ill, no grief, but sleep has mending,
Nought broken save this body, lost but breath;
Nothing to shake the laughing heart's long peace there
But only agony, and that has ending;
And the worst friend and enemy is but Death.
July, 2006
Yoga trend catching on with soldiers By MELISSA NELSON, Associated
Press Writer
Sun Jul 16, 2:07 PM ET
When Marine Lt. Alan Zarracina finally did the splits after months of
struggling with the difficult pose in yoga class, the limber women around
him applauded.
Zarracina, a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate and flight student,
admits he would have a hard time explaining the scene to other Marines.
Each class ends with a chant for peace. Then, instructor Nancy La Nasa
hands students incense sticks as a gift for their 90 minutes of back
bends, shoulder stands and other challenging positions.
Zarracina has tried to drag some of his military friends to class,
but they make fun of him. "It's not necessarily considered masculine,"
he said.
Still, the popular classes, based on ancient Hindu practices of meditation
through controlled breathing, balancing and stretching, are catching
on in military circles as a way to improve flexibility, balance and
concentration. A former Navy SEAL told Zarracina about the class.
The August edition of Fit Yoga, the nation's second-largest yoga magazine
with a circulation of 100,000, features a photo of two Naval aviators
doing yoga poses in full combat gear aboard an aircraft carrier.
"At first it seemed a little shocking — soldiers practicing such
a peaceful art," writes editor Rita Trieger.
Upon closer inspection, she said, she noticed "a sense of inner
calm" on the aviators' faces.
"War is hell, and if yoga can help them find a little solace,
that's good," said Trieger, a longtime New York yoga instructor.
Retired Adm. Tom Steffens, who spent 34 years as a Navy SEAL and served
as the director of the elite corps' training, regularly practices yoga
at his home in Norfolk, Va.
"Once in a while I'll sit in class, and everyone is a 20-something
young lady with a 10-inch waist and here I am this old guy," he
joked.
Steffens, who said the stretching helped him eliminate the stiffness
of a biceps injury after surgery, said the benefits of regular practice
can be enormous.
"The yoga cured all kinds of back pains," he said. "Being
a SEAL, you beat up your body."
Yoga breathing exercises can help SEALs with their diving, and learning
to control the body by remaining in unusual positions can help members
stay in confined spaces for long periods, he said.
"The ability to stay focused on something, whether on breathing
or on the yoga practice, and not be drawn off course, that has a lot
of connection to the military," he said. "In our SEAL basic
training, there are many things that are yoga-like in nature."
Zarracina, the Marine, said yoga has helped him improve his posture
and become more comfortable while flying.
"Sitting in an airplane for two hours with a harness pulling on
you, you will feel a hot spot around your back," he said.
But he said mastering difficult stretches like the splits wasn't easy
despite being in top physical condition.
"For the first two weeks, I didn't like (yoga) because it was
painful," he said. At Marine training in Quantico, Va., "we
did hikes and field training. Yoga taps into those core muscles that
people don't really use."
At the Army's Camp Rudder on Eglin Air Force Base outside Pensacola,
Army Ranger candidates go through their final and most difficult stage
in their grueling training regimen. Capt. Jeremiah Cordovano, a Rudder
instructor, said that yoga isn't a part of Ranger training but that
some use it to build flexibility.
"It's still something that is sort of catching on, but a lot of
guys have done it," he said. "I have done it quite a few times.
A friend introduced me to it and I was surprised. At first I was just
smiling, but after five or 10 minutes you really start to work out your
muscles and stuff."
But the peaceful meditation techniques and chanting taught in yoga
classes don't necessarily transfer to the combat zone, Cordovano said.
"I spent 14 months in Iraq, and I didn't see anybody doing yoga
while I was over there," he said.
