Social isolation can be an opportunity to realize how we all are spiritually connected Gita 06.10

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Physical isolation can be an opportunity to realize our spiritual connection.
When social needs impose physical isolation upon us because of, say, the presence of some deadly infectious viruses, at the time, when we may start feeling very lonely, disconnected and may even become depressed. Significantly, the process of yoga involves also a process of physical distancing or social distancing where the aspiring yogis retire from society to focus on their spirituality. So, these yogis go to a secluded place and they focus on spiritual growth.
One reason for going to a secluded place is to avoid infection by the contaminating infectious germ of materialism, of sensuality that infects almost all of human society. Significantly, however, the Gita describes the yogi’s journey towards seclusion and spiritual growth and this journey culminates in a vision of spiritual connectedness. In 632, the Gita states that those who are the topmost yogis, they see the commonality of all living beings, our common, not just the shared humanity of all human beings, but the shared spirituality of all living beings and thus see that we are all similar essentially in our joys and our sorrows.
When we are in normal worldly consciousness, we often fragment reality into convenient compartments. We see people in terms of what they can do for us and you reject or neglect everyone else. We see people primarily in terms of their potential to give us sensual pleasures.
But when we become spiritualized and purified, then that freezes us from self-centeredness and we can start seeing people not so much in terms of what they can do for us as as we see the shared commonality of everyone. We are all despite our many worldly differences in terms of wealth, education, race, nationality, we are all human beings and we are all vulnerable to danger and death and yet we all have the spirit to be resilient by seeing how our vulnerability can cause all of us fear and how our spirituality can infuse all of us with fearlessness. We all can become exemplars of the opportunity and the responsibility to manifest our spirituality and thus become a part of the light in the darkness of the adversity.