Fascfoo,
I’d like to separate out what I believe are the two issues your post illustrates.
The first is “What is the nature of Yoga philosophy and how are we, as students, to live it?” while the second is “What behavior may or may not be appropriate for a yoga professional?”.
That first issue is very broad and open, as Yoga should be. However that must be tempered with the fact that some, perhaps many, misinterpret the texts, opt to learn them on their own thus lending their own coloring, or gravitate to a “guru” who has not themselves done the work. There is a great emphasis on memorizing the sutras - for example - but not on living them, which to me if far more important than rote memorization.
Still other people are unable to bring the messages of the sacred texts together into a cohesive application and, of course, there are built-in falsehoods in some of those texts, which was common to protect the integrity of the wisdom in the day in which they were conceived/created/authored/shared.
Just as it can be inappropriate for the teacher you mention to judge others so too can it be inappropriate for us to bear judgement on him/her. Our job is to be universally compassionate, not just compassionate to those for whom it is easy to be compassionate toward. However that does not mean one must continue to study with that person. There are several teachers who’s public and semi-public behaviors indicate to me they are not the right person to guide me - but they have very large and loyal followings.
And this brings us into the second question. What I see in the behavior of yoga teachers is the efficacy of their practice. Yoga does not make better people it merely makes them more of what they are which is why some teachers are flaming ego maniacs. Furthermore, a yoga practice that is unguided, poorly guided, does not include meditation, with a teacher who has not or is not doing the work…well that sort of practice has a certain residue. This can be seen in the students when you go to a large conference.
Many of these teachers I mention above are not living what they teach, are allowing their lives to be guided by the vital or mental force rather than the heart center, and are injuring both themselves and their students both overtly and subtly.
One final point. We are all one, all the same, all light. The attachment to a right and a wrong is an attachment to dogmatic thinking (more ego) and there cannot be any peace when we make one side right and one side wrong. It seems this is the concept the teacher in question has yet to learn. Politics in class? When appropriate. Discernment, always. The job of a yoga teacher may be to stir up the thought process of the student.
I believe our mission as students - when seeking a teacher - is to find one that can provide us a clear look at ourselves. This is the difference between having a sound teacher and practicing at home. When we have a sound teacher we can be guided through the Kleshas, through our own ignorance and ego. When we have an unsound teacher, or none at all, these things can grow and further obscure our evolution.
gordon
