Tradition is one of those words which can be used with good or bad intention; it can be used to describe something nice, like a traditional dish which reminds us of childhood, as well as easily used to manipulate and undermine.
Just think of all the horrible things humans have done, and still do, in the name of traditional values deployed as an excuse to undermine the rights of those weaker and voiceless - the poor, women, children, animals, our planet. Things like genital mutilation, child marriage, legal rape, gender inequality, no LGBT rights, racism, hunt, slaughter of the innocent beings, corrida, eating things we shouldn’t (like wild animals which brought us to this corona virus situation).
The most common excuse against veganism, which is no longer just about the lifestyle and food one chooses to eat, but about animal and human rights and the health and survival of our home, is tradition - but traditionally we always ate meat. Yes, traditionally in some places we also ate each other, killed, raped and enslaved.
Mark Twain said that “The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it”. History proves this to be very true.
Tradition vs. Evolution
Tradition usually accepts and believes something, regardless of being right or wrong, regardless of the truth, only because it's commonly accepted. As a thing of a past, tradition is something which hasn't changed and will not change as, otherwise, it ceases to exist. Thus, it opposes change, and opposing change is quite unnatural. Tradition is a word I almost never use, especially when I teach. I don't see it as negative, I just see that glorifying it is potentially dangerous as it disrupts the process of questioning and ultimately - of progress.
One of the reasons behind why I steer clear of using the word tradition generally, and especially when I teach workshops and TTC’s and, instead, teach my students to question everything (even me), hides behind Merriam-Webster definition which states that tradition is: "a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable". As a teacher trainer I try not to teach unverifiable beliefs and stories, I question, check and verify often opposing what was previously thought to be true. Past should be used to learn from, not to accept as the truth or compared to the present as the present cannot be viewed through the lens of the past. By doing so we ignore the fact of change (or evolution) which we, and everything around us, inevitably constantly go through.
Evolution is the change itself and carries the energy of future. One of the definitions of evolution according to Merriam-Webster dictionary is: a process of change in a certain direction - unfolding. Evolution cannot happen if we don’t question, evaluate, prove and verify. Yoga as we know, practice, and teach today, has changed and, just like everything, has undergone the process of evolution. And it always will be. We will always need to inquire into the thoughts and believes of yesterday, drop old assumptions we now know are not valid. Without judgement, but with the understanding that this is the only way to the ultimate goal of yoga - liberation. And liberation can only be attained with truth.
Traditional yoga vs. Modern Yoga
Traditional Yoga? Is there such a thing?
If anything, yoga has gone through a great deal of change, it has evolved through centuries to bring us to today, and that evolution was led not by those who looked back, but by those who looked forward. If everyone stuck to the tradition, yoga would still be practiced only in India and only by men of higher casts. Without evolution and those who saw a bigger picture, none of us would be able to use this beautiful discipline we love and benefit from today. Without evolution there wouldn't be asanas and most yoga systems we know today. Without evolution, we would still believe that it's ok if a guru touches you inappropriately, that shoulderstand is good for the neck, that we shouldn't activate glutes in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana and that shoulders need to be depressed (pulled away from the ears) in Urdhva Hastasana. Yoga, just like any science and discipline, is closer to the concept of evolution then a tradition.
All of the above changes were frowned upon by those set in their ways under the excuse of tradition, by opportunists and purists who never questioned, didn't see the bigger picture, and couldn't envision the future, but were and still are, stuck in the past. And I get it. From a psychological point of view it is easier not to take on the responsibility and work we need to assume in order to grow.
There is no right or wrong way of doing anything. There is no traditional way, there is only your way, a way which resonates with your body, heart and mind.
Parampara vs. The Inner Guru
Parampara, or the succession from guru to disciple, usually entails adhering to the teachings without questioning the guru or his methods. Another word/concept which can, and often is, used to manipulate and twist the truth. Some yogis and yoga teachers, because they are traditionally following a guru lineage to a letter, believe this makes them better, this makes them yogis. So if you don't follow a specific guru or a lineage, in their eyes, you are not a yogi. I hear this a lot lately in the yoga circles and around social networks and I guess it is triggered by the emergence of many different styles of teaching today. These judgements and claims from those believing they hold some higher moral authority, is also something I have experienced on my own skin, due to the fact I have created my own method. Of course, creating a method takes a lot of knowledge and carries a lot of responsibility, not many will feel the calling to tackle. But, those who do should not be judged using and twisting words and concepts like tradition and parampara. But, this is nothing new, It’s an old case of mine is better than yours, a disease humans have been suffering from forever, a disease which causes judgement and blindness, even wars.
I believe in lineages and in handing on the knowledge, of course. But I also believe the knowledge and the methods learned need to be seen through the lens of here and now, they need to be evaluated and adjusted to the present and to the individual. Instead of following something or someone believing that “one size fits all”, I prefer to learn from many teachers and gurus I met on my path, to learn from the science and the new discoveries, to do the research, to think logically, to meditate and feel into something and finally - to take what resonates with me, let go of that which doesn't. To follow the Inner Guru.
Let's not forget that the often called traditional methods or lineages were created by men, and more so than not, quite recently, and that most were created as a progression, adaptation, revision, extension etc. of a method originally learned. Think of Iyengar and his globally recognised adaptation of what he had learned from his teacher Krishnamacharya. He didn't disregard his teacher, he still loved and respected him. But, he also listened to the Guru Within and created something which resonated more closely with his body/mind and his truth.
Most of the lineages we practice today were created in the last few hundred years which, in the wider perspective, is nothing comparing to a few thousand years of yoga history and evolution. In a few hundred years from now the traditional method some believe in, will be a part of the same era as the method I am teaching or someone out there is busy creating right now.
If the intention behind anything comes from love and one’s own passion to share what one knows, loves and feels to be right, it cannot be wrong.
