Ashtanga Yoga Dispatch:

“In today’s new episode of the Ashtanga Dispatch podcast, Dr. Shyam Ranganathan of @yogaphilosophy_com explains the conundrum of ethical interpretation and why logic is a far better tool than experience:

“In the Yoga Sūtras, there’s asmitā, egotism – we might call it narcissism, this kind of need to inflate the importance of your own outlook. But there’s a flip side to this, a kind of fragility. Because if it’s all about you, then you’re going to have a lot of trouble understanding alternatives because you’re going to feel constantly rejected. And so we might think that explanation (of ethics) in terms of beliefs — which is what interpretation is — is needed, it’s actually a huge obstacle.”

“And the only reason we are able to get by with that is because of politics, right? If we occupy a certain realm because we share these kinds of beliefs with other people — or if we don’t have these beliefs, we learn how to pretend we do, which is the experience of marginalized people.”

“But it’s interesting when you consider what’s involved in learning — it can’t ever be your beliefs. That’s not learning anything new.” Dr. Shyam Ranganathan

This is honestly one of our best episodes and we hope you’ll enjoy! But also, be prompted to rethink some ideas and concepts related to ethics, philosophy, and your own belief systems. We know we certainly did!

>> Visit ashtangadispatch.com to listen. Or download the #podcast on #spotify #soundcloud #itunes or wherever you like to listen.

As always, thanks for being part of our listening and learning community. We appreciate your support and friendship — always.”