by Barrie

William K. Mahony, Ph.D is known in the international yoga community for his insightful, compassionate, and engaging approach to the study of yoga philosophy. Bill, as he is known informally, has written numerous books on the spiritual traditions of India and has a deep understanding of the yogic life informed by nearly five decades of his own spiritual practice.

Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at Davidson College in the United States, where he taught for 40 years, Bill holds academic degrees from Williams College, Yale University, and the University of Chicago. His most recent book, Exquisite Love: Reflections on the Spiritual Life, based on Nārada’s Bhakti Sūtra , consists of Bill’s extended commentaries on a 10th century Sanskrit text on spiritual love. His other book is The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Bill a few questions about yoga philosophy, his own personal journey, and the unique opportunity he enjoys as both a dedicated practitioner of yoga and a scholar of yogic wisdom. Here is our conversation:

Barrie: Tell us a bit about how you got involved in yoga, both academically as well as personally. Which one came first and how did your involvement in one lead to the other?

Bill: Looking back at my life, I see that I have been drawn to spiritual philosophies since an early age. Like many others, I had a sense of a transcendent Mystery that stands within or behind all of existence. I have long wanted to immerse into and explore that Mystery.

I began a regular, formal meditation practice at age eighteen, although I would say I cultivated a contemplative perspective well before that time. I see now that, even as a child, I was inwardly moved by what I now would call the mystical dimension the spiritual life.

Also, when I was about eighteen, I began reading sacred texts from India, in translation, with a sustained concentration. I was drawn first to the Upanishads, the teachings of which resonated very deeply within me. Then I read the Bhagavad Gita as well as a number of early Buddhist texts. When I was twenty-one, I went to India for six months. I travelled through India extensively, mostly by myself, and spent extended time in meditation centers, visiting temples, and so on.

Returning from India I realized that I wanted to know more about religion in general and mystical forms of religion in particular. Graduating from college, I went to graduate school to study comparative religion with an emphasis on Hindu and Buddhist thought and practice. I wanted and needed to be able to read texts from these traditions in their original form, so studied Sanskrit for many years. I began doing Hatha Yoga in an intentional, sustained manner when I was about 24. All the while, I continued my meditation practice.

I received my PhD and began life as a professor of religion in 1982. I continued in my yoga practices and continued to do research and publish books on religion in India. In 1993, I was invited to teach some courses at a yoga ashram in New York and then in 1994 at an ashram in India, and I returned to these and similar settings many times since then. Throughout the years, my life as a scholar and practitioner continued to be grounded in and expressive of my deep appreciation for the spiritual life. I recently retired from being a full-time teaching professor and professional scholar, but I continue to travel internationally to lead workshop seminars and retreats in yoga philosophy for the yoga community.

To me, scholarship, teaching, and practice are all threads in a single, wonderful cloth. I love doing what I do and am grateful that I am able to do so!

Barrie: You are both a scholar of yoga philosophy and a longtime practitioner of yoga. What are the advantages to being a scholar who is also a practitioner of yoga? Are there any drawbacks you’ve experienced?

Bill: For me personally, the purpose and benefits of philosophical study are completely aligned with and supportive of the discovery, growth, and refinement I associate with the yogic life. Both are oriented toward what I feel is a continuing exploration and expression of the meaning, value, and possibilities of life itself, in all of its complexities. And I would want your readers to know that they don’t need to be professional scholars to integrate these two disciplines—study and practice—in their lives. Anyone with a yearning for continually deeper understanding of yoga can pursue the study of yoga philosophy.

Study helps illumine the meaning and importance of practice; practice embodies the values, perspectives, and insights such study uncovers. Study adds depth and an appreciation of nuance to our understanding of yoga; practice brings life to that understanding. Study helps us understand why we practice; practice gives form to that understanding.

In nearly five decades of scholarship and practice, I have not experienced any drawbacks in this regard. I find the combination of the two to be inspiring, invigorating, and illuminating, and both elevating and grounding at the same time.

Barrie: Is there something that Westerners approaching yoga philosophy often misunderstand about it?

Bill: I might mention two general misunderstandings. One is that students may feel that the philosophy will be too hard to understand and may not be relevant to their practice. Yes, traditional yoga philosophy draws from a long and respected history of inquiry and commentary by sages in the tradition that itself may seem rather abstract or subtle. But I also feel that people sometimes don’t give themselves enough credit for their ability to understand subtle yet important and influential philosophical perspectives. And those perspectives can be so illuminating and inspiring!

The other misunderstanding I might mention is sort of the opposite. Some people may feel that they already know all that is important to know about yoga, so they hesitate to give more time to study yoga philosophy. To me, this is unfortunate. The study of yoga philosophy is like the experience of beauty. Study adds texture and a sense of wondrous complexity, spaciousness, and subtlety to the yogic life, and there is always more to relish.

Barrie: The Bhagavad Gita is fairly widely read in the West, perhaps because it’s fairly accessible in narrative.  Are there some texts that are less well known in the West but that would also be quite accessible and rich reading for yoga students?

Bill: I suppose the answer depends, in part, on what general direction the student’s larger path is oriented toward or what aspect of the yogic life she or he wants to explore.

If the student’s yogic life in general is inspired by contemplative sensibilities, for example, then the Upanishads can serve as long-honored foundations for study. There is a number of accessible translations.

If the student is interested the relationship between body and spirit and ways in which yoga brings clarity, stability, and light to the mind through physical practice, ethical living, and meditation, then a close and sustained study of the Yoga Sutra and its commentaries could be very helpful.

If students’ interests are oriented toward the relationship between yoga and nondual Tantra, for another example, then texts such as the Shiva Sutras, the Pratyabhinjna-Hridaya (“Heart of Recognition”), and the Vijnana Bhairava (a title I might translate as “Divine Wisdom”) could serve beautifully as resources for study, although perhaps they can be somewhat less accessible without some informed commentary. All have been translated.

If the student’s interests are oriented toward yoga and the refinement of spiritual love, then there is the Bhakti Sutra, which is a favorite of mine.

Actually, every text I have mentioned is a favorite of mine!

Barrie: What advice would you offer, from the perspective of yoga philosophy, about what we as yogis can do in response to tragic events like the war in Ukraine? 

Bill: One of the beautiful affirmations within the many schools of yoga philosophy is that there is a deep, inherent value to each human being. Most schools of yoga philosophy also say that this inner light within the true heart can be and is often trapped, ensnarled, and even smothered by an inner darkness that is thickened and encumbered by the weight of people’s disrespect for that light itself. Acts undertaken intentionally to extinguish another’s life and to bring terror to others are deeply tragic expressions of that darkness.

Tragic acts such as those we have seen recently, such as the war in Ukraine, can make us question whether or not that light is real. I would want to say, though, that it is real, and that it is powerful.

This does not mean that we should not acknowledge the darkness or allow it to continue smothering the light. The dignity of the human spirit is to be honored. It does mean, though, that darkness is not and cannot be dissolved simply by adding more darkness. The way to respond to degrading darkness is to nourish light.

Violent acts naturally pull us away from a sense of inner balance and our commitment to the inner value of human life. Our yoga is to keep our balance, as it were, so that our actions can stand firmly in the strength and dignity of the human spirit. As we do so, we will need to draw on our courage and on our faith in the power of that light. I do not think I am being naïve here. There is much in the world that can discourage us. Yet, I do feel strongly that we can bring more light to the world, for we have those qualities within us.

This fall Bill Mahony and Barrie Risman will be leading “The Triumphant Heart: Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita for Yogic Living in Challenging Times”, a three-week online course in contemplative study created to address our individual and collective challenges from the perspective yogic living. The course includes teaching talks, postural practice, live Q&A, and more. It’s designed to make the wisdom of yoga accessible and relevant for people who haven’t ever studied yoga philosophy before. Everyone, no matter your level of practice or study, is warmly welcome to join us!  The course begins on September 19, 2022. To learn more, see here. 

 

Download a free class from Barrie’s new Yoga for Times of Change companion video series and learn more about her book Evolving Your Yoga: Ten Principles for Enlightened Practice at www.barrierisman.com.

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