This text was written for the Booklet of the Yoga Congress of the EUY in Zinal 2025
Yoga – Shaping Reality
By Matti Rautaniemi
Whether we look at the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita or the Yogasutra, we find a singular philosophical principle behind all different approaches to yoga: the primacy of consciousness. Contrary to materialist philosophies, yogic thought sees consciousness as the first principle. This primordial ground of being is variously called atman, purusha or drashtar – all pointing to a transcendent, passive observer behind our own mind and senses.
All forms of yoga aim at realizing that our true nature is consciousness, not the mind, the senses or their objects. According to the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutra, this realization is achieved through abhyasa and vairagya – practice and detachment. Paradoxically, the instruments of our practice – our senses and mind – are the very same that we seek detachment from.
Patanjali writes that practice should be “cultivated uninterruptedly and with devotion over a prolonged period of time”. Another word for this kind of action is routine. It can be argued that our lives are nothing but a sum of things we do repeatedly. Routines unconsciously shape how we view the world and ourselves.
This view of practice as routine also makes understanding detachment easier: the things we need to detach ourselves from, to let go of, are the things that stand in the way of our routines. To get something, you need to give up something else. Also modern psychology states that routines give us mental space and clarity. This is the essence of detachment.
Framing abhyasa and vairagya as forming beneficial routines, removing their obstacles and simplifying one’s life may at first strike one as oversimplifying yoga philosophy. However, if we retain the phenomenological stance that underlies all yogic thought, the primacy of consciousness, broader opportunities of understanding practice and detachment open to us.
Asanas, pranayamas and concentration do not make us enlightened in themselves. They are tools that teach us qualities which can be applied to all areas of life. Through them, we are slowly but surely shaping our perception of reality. Yoga is not about sudden flashes of realization brought to us from outside by some magical means, but rather a gradual change produced by repeated actions.
