Ashtanga Yoga Philosophy – Satya

Olivia (200Hr Weekday Nov’15)
This is a fast-paced world, especially in a modern city like Singapore. People are so busy working & living. But if you pause for a second and ask– why I am always so rushing? For what? Then the answers will be – I need to finish this work, the client is waiting for my reply. I need to submit this assignment by tomorrow. Blah blah blah.
And if you ask one more question – why you choose to work so hard for it? The answers will be – I want to get a promotion. I want to get my honor degree in business.
Fair enough, but here comes another question –Why you choose this job? Why you choose to study Finance? Is this want you like?
The most frequent answers will be – Oh, because this is a high pay job, I can earn more money as I climb up the career ladder. Oh, Finance major is one of the most promising major, as Singapore is one of the biggest financial center in Asia. I could get a high- pay job in the banks and people will respect of what I do.
You might have heard different answers to these questions, but for me, they were my friends and my answer when we chose to study business management and choose to work so hard without even asking ourselves – Do we really like this way of living?
In Ashtanga yoga philosophy, there is a term called Satya- which means truthfulness under Yama in the 8 limbs. It means be true to yourself regardless what other people say and do. There are so many different voices telling you what is right to do, what is not right to do. And behind these voices, there is always a motive from the teller.
By practicing Satya, we don’t need to spend our time and energy to figure out what they truly want. But instead, we just take a look within ourselves, what is the truth to me? That’s enough. By knowing who we really are, we will know what we really should do instead of following what the society and other people want us to be.
By doing so,our future will be clearer and brighter. And we will eventually find peace, and also a fulfilled life.