The Junk Theory...
I was in a taxi in Mysore a few months ago taking M. A. Narasimhan and his sister Jayashree home after excellent lectures in Mysore Conference. Narasimhan turned to me as we drove and said "Babies cry to eat mud you know."
I said yes I have noticed this...I do have four kids after all. He went on to give such a profound talk that I have not forgotten it since and it is still working in my thoughts and behavior.
When we are babies we all want to eat dirt or mud. Most mothers will allow it at least a little hoping the child will see that they really don't like to eat dirt and will stop. She also knows medicines she can give if the child gets an upset stomach. For Narasimhan this is a metaphor for how we evolve. When we are eight years old we no longer want to eat mud. We have toys however which we think are the most amazing thing and we will get very upset if we should lose them or have them taken away. But when we are fifteen we look at those same toys and we say "What is this junk?" Those toys look very silly to a fifteen year old. But then when we are 20 we look at the things we played with and were excited about when we were fifteen and again we say "What is this junk? This stuff is so lame!"
And so it goes throughout life. We are growing and our interests are evolving and we move on to new habits and new interests and new ways of thinking. The shame is that as adults many of us get stuck with one set of interests and habits and we do not continue to grow and change. Especially with regard to how we gratify our senses. We say things like " I am all grown up now. I am a big boy and I like to smoke cigarettes and drink beer and eat these particular foods and that is just the way I do things." And we forget that we have always evolved out of things in the past and we have every right to continue to do so.
It is all junk! Our happiness comes from inside of us, not from food or sex or intoxicants. All of the good experiences of life wear out at some point we find moderation or else they become miserable. We continue to grow and evolve - unless we don't and we get stuck in some particular pattern. But just like the eight year old who doesn't want to eat dirt anymore, we are allowed to change our interests. We can say "Beer and cigarettes make me feel terrible. I am over it." It isn't a will power thing, it is just being bored with old junk that doesn't work for us anymore. So we become more free and we move on refining our tastes and lifestyle patterns. It doesn't matter if it is beer or cigarettes or whatever, we all like different things and we all at some point say "Hang on now this is getting too much."
As we get older we either have to modify our interests and intake of certain things or we are forced to pay a terrible price for our indulgences. Just look around and you will see what I mean. We all have things we struggle with and know we need to let go of.
Sri Narasimhan's words inspired me that day. It is all junk. I don't like to eat dirt. I don't like to play with toy cars anymore. Why should I think the things I like to do now will stick with me forever? So when I think about letting go of things I need to let go of I try to remember that day in the taxi - it is all junk! Be free and keep evolving. It is boring and silly to be stuck in our ways. We are capable of infinite growth.
Mysore Yoga Conference is all about being around people who inspire us and evolve our thinking. It is something we do because we really love being around these amazing people and because we very much want to continue our education in yoga.