Anne Cushman will be facilitating the Dharma Yoga Mindfulness Training I begin next week at Spirit Rock! I’m compelled by Anne’s honesty and humility as a spiritual teacher, a creative, and a mother—all things I aspire to become. The protagonist, Amanda, and her travels reminded me of my trip to Chennai, India with my Abuelita, where I got my first 200-hr YTT at 17.
Between the mat and zafu, I grappled with many of the same obstacles as Amanda—guru glorification, commodification of spirituality, dissonance between religious schools of thought, misogyny, ethics of westerners traveling to India, and so on. “Enlightenment for Idiots” treats these themes with measured gravity, and generous humor. It’s a less glossy “Eat, Pray, Love”—its matte quality offers a sobering perspective on things to which Gilbert’s novel turns a blind eye. A must read for every yogi—especially those who identify as western and/or white, who have traveled, or are considering traveling to India. Some quotes I’ve stashed in my back pocket are:
“Even if the teacher is a fraud, the teachings can be real.” (176)
“Was this the world or prakriti I was supposed to be disentangling myself from? This world of cow, and manure, and pineapple?” (161)
“If half of the people who are so thrilled about visiting a Divine Mother were to turn their attention instead to taking care of some actual mother in their own village —maybe right in their own house—India would be a better place.” (238)
“And lying there in my bed—with nothing to do and no one to become—I was surprised to discover what a relief that was.” (320)