It is human nature to wonder, to draw meaning from the experience of life. Whether as an informal attempt to comprehend or as a scholarly study of the nature of reality, humans have been philosophizing for as long as we’ve been thinking. All the philosophies of yoga—from the ancient Vedas to contemporary study—try to explain the experience of the practice of yoga as a means of awakening natural intelligence, giving insight into the meaning of life and consciousness, ethical standards, happiness and suffering, illusion and reality. There are no shortcuts to having insight into the meaning of the experience of life. The only way to truly understand reality is through direct experience. For this reason, we encourage studying philosophy within the context of one’s own experience.
Studying yogic philosophies in the context of other views, such as Buddhism, Western philosophy, and contemporary life, can be helpful in assimilating a real understanding of philosophical subtleties. By studying a variety of philosophies it becomes clear that there are endless minor variances of interpretation and perspective within any philosophical system. Differences in life circumstance, words, or axioms used to describe the experience and understanding seed these differences, making variances natural and quite healthy.
Rather than become stuck in one’s own belief system, we try to always ask questions and examine why we believe what we believe. Reading original texts and “going to the source” are essential to an open-minded approach.