Spiritual life and daily life are not separate

Inge Friedrich-Rust (Divyadrishti)
Yoga teacher and psychotherapist
Kronberg, Germany

Your duty is to the family first

‘Your duty is to the family first and yoga second. Never  let yoga disturb the harmony in your family,’ and ‘Do your duty to your husband. He is a good man. He is my brother’ – with these admonitions, to which I often protested, Swami Atmananda helped me accommodate yoga with family life.

When I found myself sitting on the high-horse of spirituality, criticizing my husband for his mundane and materialistic preoccupations, I got a well-deserved criticism in front of the whole family: ‘You are a hypocrite. You are living on his money!’

On the other hand, Swamiji was adamant that yoga must not be used to suppress feelings, or to adjust at any price. Her admonition ‘Do not be a doormat’ was equally important in encouraging me to be natural and create the space to express my personality. I realized that there is no clear-cut recipe of how to put yoga into practice, much as we may want it; it requires continuous truthful examination of what is right and wrong, an often tedious walk on the razor´s edge.

Swamiji’s key message was that spiritual life and daily life are not separate. Her teachings were immensely practical, and included every detail of household life such as raising the children, keeping the house tidy (‘If your house is in a mess, how can your mind be clear?’), treating everything – even machines – with awareness and respect. ‘The way you close the fridge door is the way you treat your mind.’

Swamiji warned against fanaticism: ‘Never be fanatical about anything, not even about yoga’. And when as a novice yoga teacher I was keen to pass on whatever I knew about yoga to everyone, she would say: ‘That is your ego!’ and  ‘Do not pass on to people more than they ask for. Let others be free.’

Keeping together as a family with full freedom, trusting in the strength and capabilities of each of the family members, is the foundation Swamiji helped us to build – reaching out from this base to the world, with joy and love.