In the modern world, yoga has become a ubiquitous symbol of wellness—found in glossy magazines, luxury retreats, athleisure branding, and Instagram feeds. Yet one must pause and ask: Is this what yoga truly is? Or have we mistaken the container for the content, the form for the essence?

Yoga is not merely a technique for stress reduction or physical flexibility. Rather, it is a science of the Self—a path that leads from suffering to liberation, from bondage to freedom, from multiplicity to unity.

Yoga: A Path to Liberation

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the goal of yoga is defined as chitta vritti nirodha—the stilling of the modifications of the mind. This is not a slogan to be printed on a T-shirt; it is a radical spiritual proposition. The yoga of the sages is an inward revolution, an undoing of the ego, a disidentification from body and mind. Its aim is not to perfect the body, but to transcend the identification with it.

Swami Sarvapriyananda often speaks of the difference between the real Self—which is eternal, unchanging, pure consciousness—and the false self, composed of name, form, and role. Yoga, in this context, is the disciplined effort to realize that you are not merely the body that does asanas, nor the mind that enjoys praise for a well-held posture. You are the witnessing awareness, untouched by consumer labels, Instagram likes, or social status.

The Hijacking of Yoga by Consumer Culture

Consumer capitalism thrives on dissatisfaction. It tells us we are not enough as we are—we must buy, improve, enhance, upgrade. This mindset directly contradicts the yogic vision of contentment (santosha), simplicity (aparigraha), and inner sufficiency. Under capitalism, yoga becomes yet another commodity: a way to look better, feel more productive, or fit a certain aesthetic ideal. But when yoga becomes performance, it loses its essence.

“Who is the one performing yoga? Who seeks to benefit? Who wants to ‘have’ a better body or a calmer mind?” If you inquire deeply, you may discover that the true yogi is not the one who wears branded leggings, but the one who disidentifies from the body-mind complex altogether.

Yoga today is often marketed as a lifestyle accessory—a way to be more effective at work, more attractive, or more relaxed in a world of relentless stimulation. But yoga is not meant to help us adapt to an insane world. It is meant to help us transcend it.

A Return to Authenticity

To practice yoga in the spirit of Vedanta is to turn inward. It is to renounce—not necessarily externally, but inwardly—the grasping mind that always seeks novelty and possession. It is to recognize that real freedom is not found in the marketplace, but in the realization of one’s true nature.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reminds us, again and again, that the Self is already free. The task is not to achieve anything new, but to see through the veil of ignorance. The consumerist model tells us to acquire; the yogic model tells us to let go.

So how might we live this truth, even in a consumer society?

Practice discernment (viveka): Ask whether your yoga practice is helping you awaken, or merely distracting you.
Cultivate non-attachment (vairagya): Observe your desires, especially those manufactured by advertising and peer influence.
Seek satsanga: Be in the company of those who remind you of your true Self, not those who reinforce your ego.

The True Marketplace

Quotes from the Bhagavad Gita: “That which is like poison in the beginning and nectar in the end is the happiness born of the serenity of the mind.” True yoga may not look appealing at first—it is rigorous, quiet, subtle. But it offers something no amount of consumption can: freedom.

Yoga is not a product. It is not a service. It is the path that leads you back to what you have always been.

Let us return to the heart of yoga—not as consumers, but as seekers.

Om Shanti.