My teacher, Pio Baquiran, sent a text asking if I wanted to join their feeding program last January 26, 2008 for about 1,700 children. Unfortunately, the invite came too late. I had prior commitments I could not back away from. Nevertheless, I was able to get some insight from him as to how this event came about.

Before becoming a full-time yoga teacher, Pio was heavily involved in the feeding programs of his ISKCON community — penetrating barangays in Makati, Pasay and other places in the Metro. He was a familiar sight in these barangays. As he told me about this program over the phone, I could sense from his voice that this was something he loved doing.

Auspiciously, one of his students at the Vinyasa Yoga Center, Stella, was a volunteer social worker who hailed from Australia. Together with Pio’s ISKCON community in Manila, Stella organized the event which was held at Museo Pambata. It included a concert which lasted till the evening featuring the songs of Joey Ayala and others.

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Pio calls this activity “Karma Yoga”. Hmmm, never heard that before! Being a Catholic, I knew next to nothing about karma yoga. So off I went to the internet and googled its background and this is what I found out in Wikipedia:

The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit Kri, meaning ‘to do’, in its most basic sense karma simply means action, and yoga translates to union. Thus Karma yoga literally translates to the path of union through action. It is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which one acts in accordance with one’s duty (dharma) without consideration of personal selfish desires, likes or dislikes. Acting without being attached to the fruits of one’s deeds.

As with a number of other philosophies in Hinduism, Karma yoga is based on the general understandings of karma and reincarnation (samsara). It is believed that a man is born with certain Samskars (karma’s), both positive and negative, from his past lives which push him towards performing certain actions in his present one. This process continues until the individual attains a zero balance, (no karma remains) wherein one achieves liberation.

For me, this is what sets my teacher apart from many other instructors of yoga, some of whom focus more on body fitness. He lives out his faith and beliefs in his day-to-day life. While the teaching of yoga is his current mission, he has not forgotten to translate his beliefs into positive deeds that improve the quality of life for his fellow man, most of all, the children.

I may not share the same religious faith as him but knowing that my teacher goes beyond the confines of the yoga shala to make life a little better for others reassures me that my yoga practice under him has a spiritual dimension to it beyond what many simply view as ‘another fitness program’.

Namaste.