The Highest State: Martial Arts, Yoga, Meditation, and Humanity’s Pursuit of the Transcendent through Eastern Practices
Humans share one common goal- to reach the highest state. Call it Heaven or Nirvana or Valhalla…or relegate it to our known material world. The destination remains the same. It is a “place” of calmness and equanimity…a “place” where time stands still…a “place” where crystal clear consciousness beams brightly. In the west, we have traditionally strived for this “higher state” through faith, prayer, and good works. In the east, though, the path is bottom up instead of top down. “Right words…right actions…right thoughts.” Buddhism…Taoism…Hinduism…Jainism. You can find all their associated rituals across every cosmopolitan, western city. These associated rituals- the topic of today’s article- are martial arts, yoga, and meditation.
The Reality of Violence
Let’s begin with martial arts. Why martial arts? Because our reality is first and foremost predicated on violence. Violence inescapably colorizes every aspect of our existence…no surprise there! Falling down a flight of stairs is violent. Going down with the Titanic is violent. Being infected with malaria or ending up in the jaws of a crocodile is violent. But obviously, as author Richard Connell illustrates in his famous short-story, human beings are the “most dangerous game,” and our violence is the most disturbing. It can be wholly unnecessary and actively cruel (and we know it)! The first plane that collided with the World Trade Center was a very strange and unfortunate “accident” …that is, until the second plane struck, and the realization hit that these were not accidents but deliberate attacks. Then it reached a new level of horror!
Martial Arts
Martial arts integrates our raw acceptance and understanding of these universal truths and strives to properly situate us in relationship to them. The most recognizable form of martial arts is karate, which originated in 18th century Japan1. Karate focuses on punching and kicking movements, while Judo, another Japanese style of defense that Jigoro Kano founded a century later, emphasizes a series of throws and grappling techniques to subdue an opponent1. Morihei Ueshiba developed Aikido in the 20th century, and combined elements from Jujitsu, spear fighting, and swordsmanship1.
Kung Fu dates back thousands of years to the Chinese Shaolin monastery and consists of various forms such as Wing Chun, Northern Shaolin, and Tai Chi Chuan1. The Korean practice of Taekwondo emphasizes impressive board-breaking feats and powerful kicks1. Brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie developed Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ), a grappling-based style that borrows heavily from Judo but adds additional ground-based techniques1. Muay Thai originated several centuries ago in Thailand and is one of several very popular modern-day mixed martial arts1. Muay Thai incorporates punches, kicks, elbows, knees, clinch works, and sweeps into lethal, opponent-disabling combinations1.
Moves and Katas
You could fill out several encyclopedias and barely scratch the surface with all martial arts moves. In general, though, most fighting/defense styles boil down to several categories: stances, kicks, strikes, and blocks. A fighter may assume a “ready” stance…a “cat” stance… a “horse” stance…and so on and so on. They may kick forwards, backwards, to the side, diagonally, in a crescent shape, in roundhouse formation, or across various planes. Martial artists may punch high, low, or center. They may use their fingers, the base of their palms, the side of their hands, or even their clenched fists. Blocks may occur across any of the planes and in various directions. The endless array of “katas” (which combine all these stances, kicks, strikes, and blocks) beautifully mirror complex dances.
Martial arts is typically based on several universal principles. For instance, the hips and the shoulders fuel a lot of offensive moves, and a lot of power comes “from below.” Maintaining a narrow surface area and a wide distance can aid in one’s defense, while reducing an opponent’s space can aid someone with their attacks. Bent knees, a straight spine, and an alert gaze are always advisable, and, aligning with one of Sun Tzu’s foundational philosophies, a person should avoid altercations at all costs and unless absolutely necessary. “Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war,” though.
Yogic History
Let us move now from the “battlefield” to the “temple/cathedral.” Long before young American women popularized the practice of yoga (and aligned it with Whole Foods and farmers markets), “rishis” (seers) developed it2. Rishis from the 4th-millennium B.C.E. Indus-Saraswati River Valley Civilization shared a system of yogic practices in the pursuit of self-realization2. They renounced material goals in favor of spiritual liberation and consolidated their information and wisdom into the “Vedas” (knowledge)2. The Vedas passed down orally from teacher to student for generations in the years prior to 1500 B.C.E.2.
Archaeologists found evidence of planned cities with flushing toilets from the impressively organized and advanced Indus-Saraswati River Valley civilization2. This ancient civilization, comparable to other well-known “cradles of civilization” (such as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia), began to decline, though, around 1900-1500 B.C.E. (possibly due to invaders, drought, or overpopulation)2. A patriarchy and caste system arose in its place, and the Brahmin class within it held the most power2. Male Brahmins strove for societal power and spiritual ascension, and so, between 1500 B.C.E. and 500 B.C.E., they began writing down their oral knowledge in the “Rig Veda”2. “Yoga”- a Sanskrit word meaning “to yoke, attach, connect”- first appeared in the Rig Veda2.
Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita
Chants and rituals that Brahmin priests follow in their practice of worship and self-sacrifice fill the first three parts of the Rig Veda2. The fourth part- the “Upanishads”- discusses methods of meditation and philosophy in the path of self-realization2. The “Bhagavad Gita,” one of the most celebrated Upanishads and a part of the greater “Mahabharata” (written c. 500 B.C.E.), shifts the methods from external rituals and physical sacrifices to internal practices of ego-dissolution2. “Jnana Yoga” focuses on study, “Karma Yoga” focuses on work and service, “Bhakti Yoga” focuses on worship, and “Raja Yoga” focuses on meditation2.
In the 4th-2nd century B.C.E., Indian sage Patanjal composed the “Mahabashya” (a treatise on Sanskrit grammar), the “Patanjalatantra” (a medical book on Ayurveda), and the “Yoga Sutras”2. “Sutra” literally means “thread, aphorism,” and other scholars and sages codified these “sutras” into a concise treatise on yoga’s goals and methods2. This concise treatise became the “Ashtanga” (“Eight-Fold Path”)2.
East Meets West
In the late 19th century, Indian yoga masters began to see the physical body as a portal to the inner world (instead of just a burdensome hindrance), and they began to spread this belief and spiritual practice across Europe and North America2. Swami Vivekananda delivered lectures at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago2. Paramahansa Yoganand, Sivananda, and Krishnamacharya all toured America, lecturing on the physical practices of “Hatha Yoga” and the path to self-realization2. They established many ashrams and yoga centers and produced hundreds of books on the topic2.
Krishnamacharya became the “father of modern, postural yoga” and advanced the physical practice of it2. He passed his teachings onto several people who became instrumental in sharing yoga with the west2. One of those people- BKS Iyenga- focused on the therapeutic, slow style of “central focus,” while another- Sri Pattabhi Jois- founded the Ashtanga School of Yoga, and a third- Indra Devi- opened a popular yoga studio in Hollywood in 19472. Over the past few decades, yoga transitioned from a male-dominated practice to a female-dominated practice2. According to one source: “A feminine approach to yoga tends to be less prescriptive and more inquisitive, less rigid and more flowing, with less emphasis on perfectionism and more emphasis on intuition”2. The feminine approach also “encourages individual adaptation, inner listening, curiosity, and gentleness”2.
Asanas and Sequences
As far as the actual specifics of yoga are concerned, it is a lot like martial arts in that it has hundreds of moves or poses (“asanas”). Some, of course, stand out more than others. “Downward Dog” (“Adho Mukha Svanasana”) is probably the most well-known asana. A person gets down on all fours (their hands and feet) and inverts themselves into an upside-down “V” shape. They keep their hip above their knees and their shoulders above their wrists, they tuck their toes under, and, upon exhalation, they engage their lower belly by drawing their naval back to their spine and pressing through their hands.
The “Mountain Pose” (“Tadasana”), in which a person stands tall with their feet together and their arms down by their sides (palms out), is also popular, as is the “Chair Pose” (“Utkatasana”). A yogi assumes the “Chair Pose” by bending their knees (as though sitting on an actual chair), drawing their navel into their spine, and reaching both arms above their head (palms facing in). The “Tree Pose” (“Vrksasana”) involves standing tall, balancing on one foot, placing the sole of the other foot on the thigh of the balancing-leg, and clasping one’s hands in front of one’s heart in a “prayer position.”
Other honorable mentions for asanas include “Warrior 1” (“Virabhadrasana 1”), “Warrior 2” (“Virabhadrasana 2”), “Warrior 3” (“Virabhadrasana 3”), “Child’s Pose” (“Balasana”), “Cat Pose” (“Marjaryasana”), “Cow Pose” (“Bitilasana”), “Camel Pose” (“Ustrasana”), and “Corpse Pose” (“Savasana”). Yoga sessions typically follow certain sequences, and so a “High Lunge” (“Ashva Sanchalanasana”) may transition to a “Warrior 1,” or a “Downward Dog” may transition to a “Cobra Pose” (“Bhujangasana”)
Meditation
Yoga provides many wholesome benefits. It improves focus and mental clarity, aids digestion, boosts one’s energy, and relaxes one’s mind. Its natural concomitant- meditation- does likewise. Like yoga and martial arts, meditation is very eclectic. Mindfulness meditation involves paying attention to one’s thoughts as they pass through the mind and simply observing them without judgement. A person who practices Focused Meditation may singularly observe their breath, count mala beads, stare at a candle flame, or gaze at the moon. “Prayer” may also be included as one form of Focused Meditation. Mantra meditation uses a repetitive sound (“om,” e.g.) to clear the mind, as does Transcendental Meditation. A meditator may also progressively relax their body, visualize something specific, or cultivate feelings of “loving kindness” towards themselves and others.
Extended Consciousness
Ask anyone why they practice yoga and/or meditation, and they’ll likely give several common reasons. They practice it to relax, lower their blood pressure, improve their mood, focus their mind, reduce anxiety/depression, assuage physical discomfort/pain, or get better sleep. There are of course numerous other physical and mental benefits, but one reason many may not give is the one that we believe modern science has disproved—to experience that which transcends the physical!
Does anything transcend the physical? Can anything transcend the physical? Writing from the perspective of a secular skeptic, I’d traditionally answer “no.” Dualism is a myth, and once the body dies so does the mind. It’s not a belief that I necessarily enjoy, and it’s only based on one paradigm- that of objective empiricism. The subjective paradigm (or “hard problem” as Australian philosopher David Chalmers frames it) defies all methods of traditional investigation. It’s rooted in our neurons, but is it only rooted in our neurons? What is the true nature and extent of consciousness? Meditation and yoga may potentially produce states of “extended consciousness.” Practitioners notice that their thoughts don’t define them, that the “self” is an illusion, or that sights, sounds, and emotions all fall within the same undefined space of awareness.
Some extreme forms of meditation may even produce “fringe experiences.” Typically, the result of psychedelics or cardiac-arrest episodes, some Buddhist meditation experts have been reported to produce states like “near-death experiences” (NDEs). You may have heard of these strange occurrences…the “tunnels,” the “white lights,” the “out-of-body experiences” (OBEs), the sensations of timelessness and weightlessness, and the feelings of absolute serenity and love (sometimes, the experiences go “the other way”).
Conclusion
Yoga…meditation…martial arts. All their arrows point in the same direction- enlightenment. Our common human struggle against a boundless sea of provincial challenges always builds towards something. Doesn’t it? We hope it does. A nihilistic reality is nearly intolerable. We can only hope for that “something,” even if that “something” falls wholly within the limitations of our physical existence. Somewhere within that great domain of the subjective and the phenomenological, that which we experience blends seamlessly into the dimensions of reality that we’ve yet to discover. That which flattens all these convulsions of terror and sorrow and liberates us we would call the “highest state.” There are of course many creative ways of reaching the “highest state,” but the safest and most common are undoubtedly the “bottom-up” eastern practices of martial arts, yoga, and meditation.
SOURCES
1) https://www.beemat.co.uk/blogs/beemat/120253575-the-history-of-martial-arts
2) https://www.lilyrussoyoga.com/briefhistoryofyoga
