Today there are reams of podcasts, best-selling books and influencer posts on how to become immortal. Popular titles such as Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity and Young Forever: The Secrets to Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life are evidence of the longevity trend.
To duck the dreaded decrepitude of old age and live to be a centenarian, longevity gurus advocate exercise, sleep, diet (protein, protein, protein!) and high end supplements. In light of yoga practice, the current longevity craze is a total irony, for the notion of the undying self has been a central feature of yoga since about the 5th century BCE. “May I be guided from death to immortality,” goes the chant from the oldest Upanishad.
Like most things American, longevity has become commodified. In the preoccupation to look good and be fit, the immortality fad is really all about the body. This stands in stark contrast to the wisdom of yoga, where it is not the body that endures, but the “Great Self.” The “Great Self” is really not a self at all, but something formless and intangible. Yogis speak to the body as transient– like a bubble on a fast moving stream or a dewdrop on a blade of grass. Knowing that this life is short-lived inspires sympathy, compassion and kindness.
In yoga, the immortal (amrtam) has nothing to do with bones, cardio-vascular health and the microbiome of the gut. While health of body and mind is important, yogis realize the one thing that is never born and will never die. What stands the test of time is pure, bare bones, awareness. Precisely because essential awareness has no qualities, no size, shape, or dimension, it is thought to be immortal. And it is the awakened heart/mind—ageless and boundless–that has been handed down from teacher to student through the ages.
