Social asceticism is the practice of ceasing to supply surplus energy to centralized institutions of social power.
Centralized institutions of power, by definition hoard and squander surplus energy to a degree that removes justification for their existence, even considering the proper uses of surplus energy for which they are responsible.
An increase in a society in the number of individuals who properly apply the science of yoga can be measured by the degree to which societal taxes on surplus energy decrease.
There are several bottom lines. First, this gives new meaning to the "as in heaven so on earth" idea that has been batted around for thousands of years by Christians and Chinese and everyone in between. The real macrocosm the microcosmic yogi must be concerned about is the predominant civilization. The motions of surplus energy in a society will be mirrored in the motions of energy and awareness in the bodies of society's members. These microcosmic patterns, en masse, create sociomagnetism and are in turn influenced by sociomagnetism.
Also, the "heaven" is the expansive sense of self, meaning that has the self expands in an individual, so will that pattern of awareness, shifting toward a spinal centrality, influence patterns of awareness in other bodies and eventually, perhaps with the hundredth monkey, influence the general sociomagnetic pattern, or "earth."
Second, motions of wealth in society will parallel the motions of surplus energy, meaning hierarchical power will create parallel patterns in individuals. Authoritarianism will then be on the rise, limiting the intuitive capacity of society's members and acting as a limiting factor in any individual's attempts at properly applying the science of yoga.
Third, social asceticism and yogic asceticism, while not precisely one and the same thing, are practically one and the same thing. A yogic ascetic will invariably refrain from actions which distance individual surplus energy to centralized institutions of social power.
Fourth, service to society, which in the past was and presently is commonly referred to as "seva" (cognate with English "service" and "civis" or civil) or "karma yoga" in circles influenced by Indian texts and teachers on yoga, is nothing more than ascetic injunction and the degree of its success can only be measured by its positive influence on sociomagnetism, general flows of surplus energy and wealth in a society, and the predominance of social asceticism. Positive influence can be defined as the establishment of patterns of flow of surplus energy that foster the proper application of yoga, decrease authoritarianism, temper materialism, reduce taxes on surplus energy, undermine social stratification and divisiveness, undercut guilt, etc.
I hope at this point I don't have to describe the mangled corpse of the idea that spiritual bodies should be apolitical. Truly, the only way they could be apolitical is in that they deconstruct political bodies into their constituent elements of mechanisms that instigate certain patterns of energy and awareness in the body politic. That process of deconstruction obliterates them as entities or realities independent of those patterns.
Fifth, the practice of yoga is an individual and social event. The health of a society can be measured by the degree to which the proper application of yoga emerges in any of its microcosmic parts, or individual members.
Sixth, the distinction between social and personal or individual events is arbitrary. Conventional distinctions are useful, but are not unconditionally reliable.
Lastly, our society faces the challenge of increasing surplus energy while decreasing taxes on it. This twofold process is an essential branch of social asceticism, and requires the adept participation of social technologies emerging from material science and social studies, including sociology, economics, and political science.
Once society has established a permanent harvest of energy from renewable resources while minimizing taxes, the availability of surplus energy will be practically infinite.
The expansion of the individuated sense of self, requiring surplus energy controlled in a manner to civilize human beings, will both natural precipitate a practically infinite supply of surplus energy and is a natural byproduct of infinite surplus energy.
Ultimate bottom line, then, is that the practices of asceticism and pranayama are central to the development of civilization and spirituality -- macro and microcosms of the same flow of awareness and energy.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
