In finance, there’s an expression for the amount of savings you need to comfortably retire from a job you can’t otherwise afford to quit: “fu*k you money”, implying that you could flip off the boss and work whenever, wherever you want – or not! Unfortunately, fu*k you money is like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow: it vanishes before you can collect it.
Happily, there’s something more powerful, motivational and real than fu*k you money: faith. It doesn’t matter what you have faith in as long as it’s to protect and preserve something or someone else. Ironically, we naturally draw strength from devotion and commitment to others. In the worst times, faith can even trump self-preservation – that’s how powerful it is.
It’s arguable that Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (the original Raja Yoga text) was composed to promote faith. The first half of the second chapter entitled “Practice” is devoted to one’s attitude, the cornerstone of which is faith. The subsequent half of the chapter is devoted to one’s conduct. Both are intended to foster a clear, calm state of mind in preparation for meditation. In short, your attitude – specifically, your combined level of courage, wisdom and faith (Kriya Yoga) – is more impactful on your state of mind than your conduct (Ashtanga Yoga) or said another way, “mindset trumps skillset”.
