Boldness Be My Friend

Tantrics, Comedians, and the Freedom to Be Human

In the traditions of Tantric yoga there has always been a deep sense of the contrarian sometimes deliberately transgressive of social norms and of what is deemed “acceptable.” Tantrics are not wholly unlike our late-night comics since both understand that speaking freely and telling truths is far more important than capitulating to censorship or manipulating lies. Strange bedfellows indeed, but both comedians and Tantrics are self-conscious about the risks involved when we assert the human right to express ourselves freely.

Tantrics knew that their pursuits were controversial and would cause the status quo to shrink and likely to respond with outrage. They often devised their practices to stand in contrast to the status quo, even to provoke outrage. We have seen as much, time and time again. We call them Beats, punks, heretics, and history is replete with those who dared to be different, to speak truth to power. There are consequences for these choices.

Many Tantric traditions chose secrecy and concealed their ideas and actions and certainly not all the things Tantrics were doing were blameless. Some did tip the scales of decency, by nearly any measure. But that is a matter worthy of further discussion another time. Where do you draw your lines and when do you think they apply to all? How do you draw them?

At the heart of the matter is the compelling subject of truth telling, the audacity, candor, and principled conviction to speak one’s mind freely, come what may. That possibility not only demands we engage the heart---the very meaning of the word “courage”---it may also depend on a degree of privilege and forms of protection (like the First Amendment and the rule of law). The consequences of being free may be dire for one’s self and those we cherish especially when those elected to protect our freedom are more interested in their power. Dare to say the unpopular, to express yourself freely and stuff might happen. That’s a nice job, a nice family you have there. It'd be a shame if something happened. What happens when the government is led by a mob boss and elected officials like a guru cult?

We might also ask at what point is free self-expression tantamount to shouting fire in a movie theatre, that is, when is it reckless, indecent, inciting violence, beyond the pale? These are issues we must ask each other together but to do as much we must also claim freedom as a human right. How do our community standards invite us more to tolerance than to the narrow-mindedness that insists we conform or else.

Freedom is invariably an expression of power and questions the role of authority, shared values, and the boundaries of human decency. The guileless pursuit of truth, the dare to be free can land you in trouble with all sorts of powers that be.

Tantrics in India faced opprobrium even when their ideas and actions were largely unknown; and of course those who have dared defy religious or political authorities have been punished since recorded time simply for ideas or beliefs that were deemed “unacceptable.” Some will self-censor, choosing secrecy and privacy; some many defer or capitulate driven by self-interest (think: the law firms, academics, and the corporate entities like CBS News and Disney all buckling to the authoritarians.) Others will have to choose their battles. Some will simply choose not to engage, to opt-out---and yoga traditions also provided that indefensible, dare we say cowardly option.

How indeed does conscience make cowards of us all? (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1)

Boldness be my friend. (Cymbeline, Act 1, Scene 6)

Given our current political and social environment, we stand at a crossroads where the unalienable human right, the freedom to express ideas without threat of violence or retribution is under seige. The powers that be are insisting we rat out our friends and colleagues to employers to take action against them. Are we all to become such quislings? You have a choice.

While Tantrics sometimes egregiously violated norms, some were attentive to our need for a shared sense of dignity and decorum without sacrificing freedom as requisite to the pursuit of truth. They understood that the stakes are high, but that freedom must carry the day, that truth will make people deeply uncomfortable. Who knew that following our “bliss” would carry such implications?

From the Tantric point of view (if such a thing can be said), truth-pursuit will require us to use discomfort as a vital, indispensable method of discovery and experimentation. We may be compelled to face facts we wish we didn’t have to face or take up matters that put our moral choices on the line. But the pursuit of truth stands no chance unless one is fueled by the determination to be free.

And that is at the heart of the Tantric’s shared understanding of yoga’s purpose, no matter how well or poorly they have expressed themselves or acted. I gotta say, this is why I originally engaged the study of yoga and Tantra: I knew that pursuing truth would be a challenge to freedom and for freedom but that both were worth the risk. I looked for a teacher who wouldn’t demand submission, who wouldn’t be that guru whose word was beyond debate but rather one who insisted on formulating a serious, honest response to life’s challenges, including his own opinions and arguments. I learned that rising to discomfort, daring to speak up is not only an indispensable feature of critical thinking but a spiritual practice.

When truth reduces to feeling good or “happy” or to having to conform, to be approved or else, well, there is no freedom and there can be no ingenuous pursuit. We lose not only the prospect of truth, we forsake our unalienable right to be free. We are left to answer only to our censors, to forgo honesty and any hope for meaning, just to survive. Of course, people may be justly afraid of the consequences of their speech. Those with privilege must protect those so threatened.

The difficult pursuit of hard truths is inconvenient, and it may be painful. Some may just not care enough to cherish their freedom or understand what they are losing for endless cheap calories, reasonable gas prices, and their preferred distractions. We can offer than a counter example even if we cannot persuade them of what is at stake.

As we face more directly the consequences of living in an age in which censorship and cancel culture are instruments of power, we can find in movements like Tantra important and substantive considerations. There are arguments about the boundaries of freedom, that freedom means making boundaries in a world in which differences are real. We must consider with hearts and minds and bodies engaged what it means to live in a dangerous world in which the peril of pursuing truth honestly places us in jeopardy because that is a truth we cannot deny. Freedom has always been in jeopardy and rarely have we risen to the occasion to shed our hypocrisies and conveniences to manifest its consequences. So now what?

Freedom in a world of power is never not risky business. What are you willing to do be free? This is a question that will make the study of yoga worth your time.