Written by Rob Blakers (Image taken by Rob Blakers. Oldgrowth forest zoned for logging, Takayna/Tarkine, Tasmania)
Yoga literally means ‘union’ – union of the individual self with a greater universal self. Ecology relates to the interconnectedness of organisms and their environment.
Taken together, yoga plus ecology suggests the two aspects of engagement that make up the human condition – our engagement with life in the day to day physical world and our engagement with that which is beyond our immediate perception – the enduring part of ourselves which is greater than our small individual selves.
These two aspects of human life are like two sides of a coin, each profoundly influencing the other. Exploration of our deeper self will be thwarted by a self-centred material life and a well-intentioned life not guided by intuition may lose purpose and direction.
Indeed, if ‘all is one’, as the yogis tell us, it makes perfect sense to ‘do unto others as you would be done by’! Hence, liberation of self, and service to the universe. Both of these things, together and at once.
And this world does need our service. We are alive at a time when greed is seen as good – where selfishness is the foundation of the dominant global economic system of capitalism and where injustice, exploitation and abuse within the human and upon the natural world is normalised. Where our commerce, our lifestyles and what we choose to eat inflict great and needless harm on people and planet.
There is no shortage of ways by which we might do good and activism is not just stopping the bad. More importantly we need to act with benevolence to create cultures, technologies and ways of being that are truly sustainable.
Our time now is distinguished from any preceding era in that we have brought about systemic crises in the natural world, and these multiple crises have dire and escalating impacts. Through human-caused climate change and wanton assaults upon the Earth we are accelerating profound ecological collapse. Coral reefs are dying, ancient forests burning and glaciers retreating. The number of wild animals on Earth has halved since 1970.
And Australia leads the downward way with ongoing environmental destruction by mining, logging and industrial food production. Vested interests drive a government that is wedded to fossil fuels. In Tasmania, broad-scale logging of old-growth forests continues. New coal mines are under construction in NSW and Queensland and massive gas developments are planned for WA. Undersea drilling for oil is proposed for the Great Australian Bight.
If we want a bio-diverse and habitable planet our lives need to be urgently redirected to achieve this. We all have different aptitudes, skills, contacts and resources. Opposing retrograde industries, building alternatives and creating the chance of a sustainable future is the work of us all.
In this, yoga and meditation are our allies. Consistent spiritual endeavour through specific practice is at the core of our development as people. Meditation and yoga inspire and sustain us, and these practices are also our secret weapon. The psychic stature gained through spiritual pursuit is fertile ground for the making of intuitive strategies for good. The inner strength and discipline that is required for sincere spiritual focus can turn its hand also to external struggles of global abuse.
An altruistic life sounds daunting but in reality, is not so. And besides, we have no choice!
We need to find ourselves with people who nurture a sincere inner life and who also engage the outer world with love and selfless action. It’s why we are here, now.
Yoga and ecology, both.
About the author
Rob Blakers is a celebrated photographer who has been capturing images of the wilderness in Tasmania, the Australian mainland and the USA for over thirty years. His photography reflects the magnificence of their natural heritage and portrays the beauty of this wilderness as seen through the eyes of one who knows it in a way that few people could. Images from his collection have been used extensively for nature conservation and a number of publications, including books, cards, calendars and magazines.
You can find his works at https://www.robblakers.com.