Yoga and Inclusivity
Inclusivity is the fact of including all types of people, things or ideas and treating them all fairly and equally
.[1] Therefore, it can also be viewed as the opposite of discrimination: treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc.
.[1] Here, I'll collect relevant passages from Yogic philosophy related to inclusivity and discrimination.
Bhagavad Gītā
The general message of the Bhagavad Gītā is one of inclusivity and ahiṃsā (non-violence). Two relevant verses pertaining to inclusivity can be found in chapter nine:
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रिय: ।
samo’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo’sti na priyaḥ ।
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ॥ २९ ॥
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham ॥ 29 ॥
I am equal to all beings - there is no one dear to me nor disliked by me. But those who worship me with devotion are in me and I in them.
— Bhagavad Gītā, 9.29.[2]
मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्यु: पापयोनय: ।
māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ ।
स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ॥ ३२ ॥
striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim ॥ 32 ॥
O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.
— Bhagavad Gītā, 9.32.[2]
A more liberal translation of B.G. 9.32 would be All those who take refuge in me, whatever their birth, race, sex, or caste, will attain the supreme goal; this realization can be attained even by those whom society scorns.
[3] In both verses, Kṛṣṇa states in no uncertain terms that everyone can obtain the goals of yoga, regardless of their circumstances in this world.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 From the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus (© Cambridge University Press). Accessed at cambridge.org, 17-07-2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bhagavad Gītā, Sanskrit accessed at vedabase.io, 17-07-2024. English translation from The Yoga sūtras of Patañjali: a new edition, translation, and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators, by Edwin F. Bryant (2015).
- ↑ English translation from The Bhagavad Gita, by Eknath Easwaran (2007).