Intentions

They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I take issue with that.  The idea that intentions don’t matter dismisses our humanity – and our divinity. In fact, I might state that the road to the divine is paved with good intentions. 

Where is this coming from? Well, I finished yoga teacher training a couple of weeks ago. And I meant to write a post much sooner than this, but I wasn’t ready yet. In fact, I overbooked and overplanned all my time immediately following my new “freedom” as it were. And then I ended up not only canceling plans with others, but canceling plans with myself. I think this is what is meant to the road to hell is paved with good intentions – it means the intentions that aren’t bad, but maybe aren’t honest – with oneself – and then don’t translate into action.

But that is far cry from good intentions. As I start to rejoin the world and figure out how to navigate what is often a life in which I leave not enough space for myself or reflection, a life in which my passions are many but my energy dispersed, I think about how to translate good intentions into good actions. 

For the past few months, I’ve been following what is probably an obscure news story to some. There was an adjunct art history professor at Hamline University in Minnesota who showed an image of the Prophet Mohammad in her class. I’m personally following this on some level because the debate is emblematic of the times we find ourselves in – what are the boundaries on free speech, what constitutes harm and are universities places for a multitude of views or for only the far left or far right, etc. etc. It’s as though what’s playing out in higher ed is a reflection of what is playing out in society and politics on a larger scale. 

And so I return to intention. Many experts agree that showing these artworks were important to the topic at hand. They distinguish that these are respectful portrayals of Mohammad, not like the Charlie Hebdo cartoons for example. The professor gave a detailed explanation of why she was choosing to show the work, warned people in advance and gave them the option to not view the works. Still, she was let go and called Islamaphobic. The student harmed said (approximately) – Hamline teaches us that intention doesn’t matter, it’s impact that matters. A January article in The Chronicle for Higher Education examined that. They state: 

“A main principle within Islamic jurisprudence contends that acts ought to be judged by intentions (in Arabic, al-umur bi-maqasidiha), which is rooted in a well-known hadith or prophetic saying stating that “actions are according to intentions” (innama al-aʿmal bi-l-niyyat). Indeed, “intention” (niyya) is a significant concept in Islam. For example, proper intent precedes all acts of worship in Islam. It’s a fundamental marker distinguishing the performance of ritual ablutions, for example, from simply washing oneself.”

This brought me back to when I first started yoga teacher training and I immersed myself in the yoga sutras. As a person who is trying hard to find their dharma as the yogis would put it – or more plainly – figure out what I was put on this earth to do, the clarity of the intention guidance was one of those mini-epiphanies that I needed to have. Yoga is fundamentally about changing the inner world rather than the outer world, it is about changing our relationship with our mind. I am a person who has spent much time flailing about making outer changes – in location, in job, in body, whatever. I’ll avoid that inner work with works of fiction or movies or or or.  Inner work is hard.  But before we act, we have to identify our intentions.  According to Satchidananda in his commentary on book one, “We should analyze our motives and try to cultivate selfless thoughts.” 

I found found that good intention that correlates with good action also comes up in the Bible. For example, I believe (I’m not an expert) in the book of Romans, we learn about the difference between people who thing that acting a certain way will get them into heaven and people who act a certain way not for something in return, but in out of love and gratitude for having received the divine. 

Intentions, I believe need to be loving and selfless and then followed with behavior. And I don’t think that means that the behavior will not hurt anyone. We try to avoid hurting people, we try to “do no harm” – ahimsa.  But the world is complex and other people are working on issues and challenges that we may have no understanding of.

I’m not sure all this ties together.  But it’s on my mind. I’m searching now for what comes next in my life, for what feels authentic.  I know that I still have so many fears to work through.  And attachments. 

Where will my passions lead me? Are the selfish or unselfish. Will I help or harm? I am going to try teaching yoga, in hopes I have something helpful to offer. Selflessly and with love?

Teaching is a complex act. Because we are not yet all one. And there-in lies the harm.