John Friend on the cover of
Yoga Journal, Dec. 2002

Anusara Yoga Philosophy

The vision of Anusara is grounded in a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic Goodness and includes the following basic ideas:

The absolute essence of everything is Supreme Consciousness, which pulsates with pure Goodness. Vibrating with the highest Bliss imaginable, the Supreme pulses with the deepest desire to know Itself through an endless variety of creative expression. Out of Its absolute freedom, the immeasurable Supreme divinely dances all of creation into existence in order that It may enjoy the astounding experience of diversity. As the play of Divine Consciousness, the One conceals and then reveals Its own blissful nature throughout the never-ending majesty of creative manifestation.

Life is Good. As the free and joyful, creative expression of the One, it is a blessing to be embodied in this life. Through this limited physical form we are able to experience our Unlimited Being. Life is a magnificent gift of the Divine, not some sort of karmic punishment, nor something we need to transcend. This material world is ever changing, yet it is not an illusion, nor a mistake of one's perception.

The body, mind, and heart are all various levels of divine embodiment by which we may experience the ecstasy of recognizing and glorifying the One in the many. The physical body is a magnificent manifestation of spirit, not an inferior material vessel. Similarly, our thoughts, desires, passions and emotions are essentially not obstacles to spiritual awakening which need to be squelched or eliminated, but instead they are God-given means of glorifying and expanding our experience of the Divine. Therefore, we seek to continually develop and refine all parts of ourselves: body; mind, including our reasoning and intuitive capacities; and our emotions, including the deepest virtues of our heart.

Because we are microcosmic reflections of the Supreme, we are free to be, to know, and to create within our individual limitations. We are able to feel, think, and act in relative, limited ways because we vibrate with the Supreme's unlimited desire; the power of directly knowing and expressing this desire. Our entire experiential consciousness is a mirror of the Divine and the Divine's self-concealed form. Everything that belongs to the Divine is within us. Our experience of diversity and difference is an affirmation of the Divine's own experience of inclusiveness, non-prejudice, and celebration of plurality.

Goodness is the absolute nature of the world. There is no intrinsic or absolute evil in the universe. No one or thing has a malevolent or evil essence. However, having free will, human beings are capable of errors, mistakes, and deliberate malevolence—moving out of alignment with the Divine in a way which creates suffering and harm. Certainly not everything in the relative world of manifestation is as good as everything else. So we freely choose to use our limited power of discrimination and judgment to align as best as we can with the Good, which leads us toward a revelation of our joyful true nature. By aligning with the power of the Universal we are able to directly know the auspicious nature of the Divine within our bodies, minds, and hearts.

The purpose of Life is both to awaken to our True Nature, and to serve Life by bringing more goodness, love, and beauty into this world. Spiritual awakening is the ever-expanding process of recognizing that our true nature is perfect, full, and lacking nothing. Spiritual freedom or enlightenment is not a fixed state of being. Rather it is an ever-evolving process of unfolding our beauty, goodness, balance, and perfection. Progress on the path of awakening is reflected in an increase in one's spiritual centeredness; wisdom; trust in the Divine's play; ability to loving honor the Divine in each other; and ability to celebrate the divine beauty in life.