When delving into the original Sanskrit scriptures of yoga, Sumukhi Devi notes that the masters aimed to instill a state of yoga rather than impart academic knowledge. They provided instructions that effectively quieted the mind’s fluctuations.
Sumukhi Devi’s own understanding of reality has transformed through yoga practice. She cites Ramana Maharshi, who advocated for aligning actions with destiny and trusting that what should happen will happen. She interprets “staying quiet” as acting from the heart and soul, basing decisions on inner joy and peace.
Read more about her in the latest edition of MysticMag interview.
How do you interpret the concept of self-realization and its role in Jnana Yoga? Can you provide an example of how self-awareness and wisdom have influenced your decision-making?
Self-realization is knowing who you truly are. This has often been misunderstood as not having an individual personality but in my understanding, it means knowing that while one has an individual personality and emotions there is an underlying Self that is transcendent of all of the individual ego’s limitations. This can also be misinterpreted in religious organizations as not expressing one’s individuality and putting one’s own needs aside to conform to group norms.
Jnana is not simply academic “knowledge” of yoga but true wisdom. The difference is stark because one can be a textbook “yogi” – a word that is losing its meaning in the sales of pants for downward-facing dogs or one can truly embody Jnana or wisdom. The practices of yoga are so many and varied because yoga has never seen the human being as one size that fits all.
When studying and studying the scriptures and texts of yoga in its original language, Sanskrit, what you realize is that Patanjali and the Masters of Yoga are transmitting wisdom that puts one into a state of Yoga rather than an academic understanding. It’s as if they understood that a Jnani can stop the mind exactly by creating instruction manuals in Sanskrit that literally halt the vrittis or fluctuations through the practices.
My understanding of reality has massively shifted through my practices of yoga and decision-making is such a profound topic. Ramana Maharshi was known to have said to his own mom after his own Self-realization when she asked him to come home,
“In accordance with the Prarabdha (destiny) of each, the One whose function it is to ordain makes each to act.
What will not happen will never happen, whatever effort one may put forth.
And what will happen will not fail to happen, however, much one may seek to prevent it. This is certain. The part of wisdom therefore is to stay quiet.”
And I understand what he is saying in staying quiet as not literal – it means to act and voice what is coming from the Heart rather than the mind. Through my practices, I have learned to base my decisions on whether or not my Heart and soul are happy and at ease. I’ve definitely been put in situations where my Heart stops singing and that’s when I know to let go of the situation or relationships that don’t allow for joy and peace.
Can you share your approach to deepening your understanding of spiritual truths and philosophical concepts? How do you integrate this wisdom into your everyday actions and interactions?
I think it’s important to test out any principles, philosophies, or anything spoken about in scriptures like a scientist. This has always been why Buddhism and Yoga have appealed to me that they are presented a bit more like a science – meaning that you, the “Seer” or the Self-put one’s self into practices of meditation, breathwork, and postures, and the result are stages of awakening or Samadhi.
My job as a teacher especially of other teachers of yoga is to empower them with the tools of a modern mystic. I believe as Caroline Myss has famously said that we are “mystics without monasteries.” Historically spirituality and exploring a deep connection with spirit, God – or whatever word one uses for the Source of all that Is – was the stuff of monasteries or religious organizations and there was a deep division between people who lived in the world, had families and jobs and those who were dedicated to spiritual studies. In today’s world, wisdom is spilled out in 30-second infomercials on social media platforms next to videos of someone’s latest family vacation.
We know that these ancient practices are meant to expand one’s consciousness but what this means can be heavily misunderstood in a world that conflates popularity with happiness or love. Or overly leans on commercialism to sell the latest trend in pop psychology.
The responsibility of those who practice and pass on wisdom teachings such as Yoga to others is to help people discern between the ego or the mind and the wisdom of consciousness. Oddly this is both the easiest thing in the universe or the most difficult depending on one’s own psychological and spiritual maturity.
It’s incredibly important for me to put these Yogic teachings into action and relationships, not just with human beings but with nature, animals, and the environment. One of the most fascinating aspects of anyone working to expand consciousness or awareness is that it doesn’t regard human beings as the only sentient beings on this planet – but sees spirit in all even the most inanimate of objects vibrating with atoms, electrons, and protons.
There is an academic understanding of yoga or even when Yoga gets fixated on having a tight butt or abs that is a travesty to the wisdom of Yoga. But I also see it as a trick that the yogis put into practice – you can have one intention for it but the practice stands on its own, so kundalini Shakti can awaken and the practitioner who had one intention for the practice suddenly has a reverberation of spirit or an experience that they may not understand. I’ve found it funny for example and even written a musical about it that the energies awakened in the yoga practitioner have been compared to sexual orgasm. An orgasm by definition is fleeting and momentary whereas awakening consciousness is permanent and always.
From a practical standpoint, the practices have helped me stop and ponder interactions and reactions before jumping into the fray or heat of anything. They have helped me to allow my own voice and expressions while hearing the voices and expressions of others. They have also helped me understand boundaries are not only necessary physically but mentally, spiritually, and energetically.
The practices have shown me how to honor and respect these boundaries in myself and others. This has been an amazing game-changer.
There’s one thing to be able to memorize any scriptures or to blast one’s body up into a handstand in perfect physical alignment – it’s a whole other thing to be able to take the practices and truly be happy inside no matter what is going on the outside of the world around us with its ups, downs, polarities, wars, and misunderstandings. I have been able to put my own mind and body to the test of all of these practices and keep believing in myself no matter what is happening around me or through the doubts and fears that can swirl in my mind.
What does devotion mean to you, and how do you express it in your daily life? Can you provide an example of a time when your devotion to a cause, deity, or ideal inspired positive change or personal growth?
Devotion is love in action. I don’t believe it has to be limited to chanting in one position in front of a mandir altar or deity. I believe devotion can be watering your plants every day so that they can dance in harmony with the sun ensuring that your children have all they need every day to succeed and be happy or devotedly rubbing your dog’s belly so they relax into slumber next to you. I believe devotion is every moment and second and that the word “sin” means “without” in Spanish. The word “sin” means living as if the individual is separated from God or without the understanding of the Self that connects us all with nature and the universe at large.
But definitely, my bhakti practices have been powerful in awakening energies and understanding. For example, devotion to the Devis or goddesses by chanting the Lalita Sahasranamam or the Chandi helps awaken all the superpowers in men, women, and non-binary human beings that can often be associated with one gender or the other but are truly universal such as strength, valor, kindness, patience and then some – even understand how a simple sound such as HUM can scare away demons.
I found it delightful for example that the name Sumukhi, which was given to me by Joan Suval one of the founders of Ananda Ashram in upstate New York can be found in multiple Sanskrit texts about the Devi or the Goddess. In Adi Shankaracharya’s Mahishasura Mardini stotram, Sumukhi is a celestial goddess who sings, dances, and has kriyas or spontaneous movements which are all things that manifest in me. She also makes an appearance in the Chandi and the Lalita Sahasranamam.
But that even the aspect of Sumukhi in me is one of the many aspects of all the Devis and goddesses inside all beings and that devotion is not simply to one aspect of God but to all aspects. To chant the names of gods and goddesses has given me an understanding energetically of the power inside many that may manifest differently from my own. Modern tools such as Gallup’s Strengthsfinder are similar in their intentions though more psychological and focused on work or office relationships whereas devotion via chanting awakens understanding that is more energetic and spiritual. But truly, the worlds of the body, mind, and spirit meet in yoga.
Bhakti Yoga often involves surrender and love for a higher power or deity. How do you maintain devotion during challenging times or when faced with doubt and uncertainty?
Intriguingly it is doubt, uncertainty, and fear that drove me to Bhakti yoga. There’s an inherent anxiety that faces all egos, with the exception of the few who are enlightened from birth, and emotional ups and downs are so much of the driving factor that literally brought me to my knees. I think it’s the same for many, that it’s the mystery of feeling utterly alone or suffering that brings one to prayer and devotion. And it’s this reaching for something bigger than one’s own suffering that has led me to the Bhakti practices. My Dad always said that singing is prayer x2 – that God hears the song and your own heart and mind are uplifted. So singing the names of God or making sounds even if they are not beautiful or meaningful to another but one’s own Heart is so important – and I think is the soul of Bhakti yoga.
How do you understand the concept of selfless service in Karma Yoga? Can you describe a specific instance where you actively engaged in service to others without expecting anything in return?
Karma yoga truly needs to be selfless which is something that I have found to be most elevated when my own cup is full to spilling over to others. When my cup is half full – I tend to lend the Karma yoga and service to myself and ask for help and others to take care of me. I think it’s important to understand this balance because so many who forget themselves in selfless service end up doing a disservice. I do go back to the loving-kindness and metta practices from Vipassana and Tibetan Buddhism – you start the offering of blessings first to yourself before giving to others. In this way, you can give without expecting anything in return as you are already full to bursting.
And I think ultimately selfless service is truly Selfish in the sense that it brings you closer to the understanding that the “other” you are helping out is actually also an aspect of yourself.
Balancing personal ambitions with a commitment to service can be challenging. How do you strike that balance in your life? Can you share a time when you had to make a difficult decision related to service?
One of the most intriguing things that I have learned about service in terms of karma yoga – which is different from the definition of work where you provide services in exchange for funds – is that if you choose or have the inclination to choose work that aligns to your principles and values that you can combine them. For example, where I work, there is so much service, volunteer work, and humanitarian causes that the company encourages all of us to participate in both individually and together that I do feel like I get to balance my personal ambitions with seva. It’s also super interesting because I’ve always had a deep need to even out the playing field and provide everyone with wisdom and knowledge that I don’t believe should only be kept to a few. In this way, prior to even knowing what seva or karma yoga is, I have sought out ways to give back that make sense to me. I encourage everyone to do the same. Having personal ambitions and serving humanity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they can unite, in the truest definition of yoga to give one a fulfilling life.
The fact is yoga means union – it is not a divisive word and I found it incredibly mysterious to find the kindest, most giving people within corporations truly doing good not only for the few but for the whole. And I think this is the wave of a future that is truly more sustainable and respects all aspects of life as ONE and doesn’t simply limit yoga to a pair of pants one wears in a room specified for its practice.
