Yoga of nathas is not a hobby

One of my students told me a funny story. Once, at the satsang of a well-known New Age Guru, where many of his followers and those who were just interested gathered, she was asked “Are you also a student of this Guru?” To which my student replied: “No, I am from the Nath Tradition”. And the guy who asked her exclaimed in surprise “Oh, wow, nathas – this is serious!” He himself did not consider his hobby that seriously…

When I heard this story, I thought it characterizes the modern "spiritual society" very well, in which many young (and not so young) people go to seminars and satsangs, consider themselves followers of certain teachers or teachings – Neo-advaita, Osho, or some newfangled "tantra". Most of them don't take it seriously. And moreover, they are afraid of this serious relationship. For them, this is a pleasant hobby, without obligations and responsibilities, a fashionable topic for communication, a hangout. Development game. And visiting teachers seem to support this attitude.

At the same time, it turns out that many people know about the Nathas (thanks to Guruji Matsyendranath for his huge contribution to the spread of the tradition), they know that there are representatives in Russia and other countries, not only in India. And although this ancient teaching can reveal a lot to them in terms of a deep study of yoga and tantra, their origins – they are afraid to go to nathas, because the Nath Tradition is a life path. And I'm glad that they take it seriously, not like just another yoga hobby group. After all, only with a serious, mature attitude can one count on some kind of progress in learning, in development. We do not talk for hours about cosmic love and other amenities that delight the ear. We talk about things that really help change, help in daily practice. But just listening is not enough. This is a daily sadhana, a constant work on yourself, and this is something you will not chat about with strangers at a yoga party. Because it's sacred to you.

Many are afraid to become a student of the Nathas, to accept the Guru totally and forever. We often write and talk about the importance of relationships with the Guru and discipleship. And I observe this fear in people, the fear of losing “their freedom” (which they don’t really have), the fear of losing their illusions… They are in a contradictory state, they come and say that they want to develop, but at the same time, they are afraid to lose their illusions about the world, to lose their stereotyped behavior. Inertia breeds a reluctance to change. In my opinion, in this case, it is important to figure out for yourself what interests you anyway – true freedom and the realization of the Atman, or a “comfortable” existence surrounded by the limitations of your consciousness formed by society, with constant tossing between pleasure and suffering and not understanding “what I want?". If you are tired of the limited life and you really want to know your Higher nature, then why these games and fears? High goals require courage and the ability to take risks, the willingness to sacrifice everything, and at the same time the willingness to accept everything. In fact, you will get much more than you sacrifice, because we sacrifice our limited ideas, things and time, everything that we associate with ourselves, and we gain the whole Universe and Eternity in return.