On Wednesday, April 13, Shunyamurti visited the University for Peace in El Rodeo, Costa Rica, to give a guest lecture on yoga. Shunyamurti was introduced by fellow Sat Yoga student, and professor at UPeace, Ana Elena Obando (known to the sangha as “Nirava”). Taking a unique approach, Shunyamurti explained that yoga can only be truly grasped by the modern mind if one is familiar with all of the most cutting edge and current fields of study in the contemporary Western scientific and philosophic canon, such as quantum physics, linguistics, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism—as well as many others. Eastern wisdom sees the physical universe as Maya, or illusion, and though this may be counter-intuitive to ordinary, waking consciousness, these modern fields of study confirm it—from the individual level to the collective.

From a yogic perspective, the fundamental problem in designing a societal paradigm of peace lies in the fact that peace cannot exist as something separate from oneself; if it is to be lasting, it must be a part of one. “If you have a planet full of people who are aggressive, paranoid, greedy, anxious, depressed, confused, sadistic, egocentric, and narcissistic, how are you going to bring peace to that kind of a world?” asked Shunyamurti. That’s the difference between having a university of peace and a university for peace: one radiates peace amidst the chaos so that the entire field of being is permeated with loving energy and the other strives to construct peace within the flux of time.

So, although we live in a time of massive externalization, in which the whole panoply of humankind’s internal angst is projected against the backdrop of the phenomenal world, to solve this essentially self-created problem, we must retract our consciousness back to its Source in order to—from there—be able to deconstruct and decathect our own perceptions and preconceptions about reality. As is quoted in the Scriptures, “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye.” Or, put in scientific parlance, we must first correct and calibrate our own measuring apparatus before being able to perform an experiment accurately.

This is a subtle point: it is not a solipsistic reduction that implies that the universe emanates from the personal ego, but rather a pragmatic and pertinent probing into the axiomatic “truths” of the ego itself. And to illustrate this point, Shunyamurti administered a “pop quiz” to the UPeace participants, which helped them survey their own “self-evident,” and perhaps unquestioned, ontological/epistemological assumptions. “How many of you believe the past cannot be changed?” “How many of you believe that you are creating your own reality?” and “How many of you believe that consciousness is more fundamental than matter or energy?” were among the inquiries asked to the participants.

It is difficult to gauge whether or not the students took this exercise at the true depth for which it was intended, but it did at least serve to introduce an element of humility. It can only be from a state of utter humility and awe in which one realizes that the ego-self is conditioned, and therefore neither an autonomous nor wholly objective witness, that the state of peace may begin to emerge. And it is that recognition that has the power to precipitate change.

The feedback seemed mixed: although on the whole the professors and students seemed to enjoy the teaching, a few of the students seemed a bit recalcitrant toward the presentation. And provocative as it may have been perceived—it was, after all, meant to cut through the ego’s normally rose-tinted, all-too “normal” version of reality—it was not simply to frustrate the audience, but rather to reveal the outright mystery that existence is. And, as Albert Einstein observed regarding the nature of the universe, “God is subtle, but he is not malicious.” Ergo, anyone who really takes to heart the questions raised during the UPeace teaching, who let’s the process run its course upon one’s soul, will find that Source of inner peace, silence, and stability within. And this was the heart of Shunyamurti’s talk: “All of us are one. And what I’m saying is that that experience is a reality that is open for you to have. That’s what counts. I’m not telling you to believe what I’m saying; all I’m asking is: have the curiosity to discover for yourself what is the Real Self because when you are there you will not have any question or any doubt.”

All of the Sat Yoga students enjoyed this opportunity to convene with other seekers of peace and to share in this beautiful public outreach event.