The beatitudes outlined in the book of Matthew herald the beginning of Jesus’s public teaching and are outlined in the Sermon on the Mount.  I find it endearing and so appropriate to the character of Jesus that he begins his teaching with promises of God’s, blessings related to the heart.  The word beatitudes comes from the Latin beatitude meaning ‘blessedness”.  The word blessed as expressed in each beatitude implies a state of happiness or well-being.   In Christ’s time this word had an even deeper meaning of “perfect happiness or divine joy”.   Jesus was implying that those that developed or possessed these inward characteristics had the potential for perfect happiness and deserving of a fulfilled promise or reward.  Jesus wishes to draw our hearts closer to him and for us to become more aligned with his Godly characteristics. 

When taking a fresh look at the beatitudes, I spotted some similarities to the klesas from yoga philosophy outlined in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali.  The klesas are sometimes called hindrance or obstacles to the true self or things that keep us from “perfect happiness or divine joy”.  These hindrances include avidya sometimes called spiritual ignorance or not knowing who we truly are which leads to suffering.  The other hindrances are variations of avidya; egoism, attachment, aversion and fear.   I like to call the klesas veils, visualizing a film or a billowing curtain that keeps us from seeing ourselves as we truly are, children of God.

Let us consider each of the beatitudes with this wider lens that leads to union.  The definition of yoga!  Union with our true self, the self that knows it is God given and at peace, perfectly happy and joyful. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit.  We may consider this first beatitude to imply those that are without material possessions are closer to God.   We can look even deeper and consider that this relates to the first of the klesas, spiritual ignorance.  When we are unaware of our spiritual nature and purpose in God’s eyes we can overidentify with our possessions, our roles, thoughts and beliefs.  Our well-being or blessedness may be too linked to our external circumstances rather than our inner world and relationship with God. We forget that we are blessed without accomplishing, performing, or accumulating. 

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Traditionally this beatitude relates to repenting for our sins.  I am going to be honest here, the word sin has never really sat well with me.  Of course, I understand it’s meaning as a Christian and trying to obey the commandment’s and live a life aligned with God, but the word sin for me brings up self-depreciation and an “I will never measure up mentality”.  So maybe we could view this from the yogic lens of increasing self-awareness, noticing ways that we have become a bit spiritually ignorant, not in tune with reality or wrapped up in ego dominance and with loving awareness, breathe, shift and remember who we are.   The comfort of spending time on one’s yoga mat, taking a moment to breathe deeply or sitting in stillness helps to increase awareness and sense the ever present comfort of God.

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the land.   Originally this may have alluded to the actual land of Palestine or the kingdom of God, here on earth.  I believe this relates to the klesa of releasing ego dominance, releasing the I or the me,me me!   Or as Richard Rohr often says “they kingdom come, my kingdoms go”.  Our ‘inheritance’ as God’s children literally is heaven on earth, perfect happiness and joy, but we need to quite our souls, like on our yoga mats, to humbly tune into God.  Is it our ego or our God that is guiding us?

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.  Here is another word that always got me feeling a bit unsettled, righteous. In my mind this links up with righteous indignation and a fire and brimstone preacher with a closed off heart.  When I really looked up the definition it is just the opposite; righteousness speaks of right relationship with God and with other people. Or in other words to submit to the plan of God, to embrace his ways and not our ways.  Referencing ‘they will be satisfied”, this reminds me of attachments and aversions the third and fourth klesa.  We so want everything to work out the way we want it to, we like what we like, we like those that are like us, we push away that which is not like us or that which is uncomfortable.  Here I believe Jesus is alluding to the idea that we will be given everything we need for our personal growth (satisfaction) and to eventually be drawn closer to God, not all of it will be comfortable or what we would have chosen. 

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.   Mercy is a word we do not here too often in modern times and evokes images of a poor servant having ‘wronged’ his master “Have mercy on me!” or in penitence “have mercy on me Father, for I have sinned”.  However, for this to be a beatitude leading to a state of happiness and well-being, I think mercy is more akin to compassion, even empathy.  When we approach the world with a compassionate heart even feeling others pain and accepting and holding them in loving kindness, we make our world a more beautiful place.  We are also more likely to release the hold of our ego and approach the world with a heart more aligned with God.  We recall that Jesus included and embraced all, he even sought out souls that were in dire need of mercy. 

Blessed are the clean of heart for they will see God.   The idea of a ‘clean’ heart speaks to me of an inner and pure relationship with God. When we are ‘right’ with God and take time to seek him in all ways, on and off the mat, we tend to wear less armor, we are less fearful and more trusting in Gods plan for us.  We know that we will truly receive the promise and reward of living in the kingdom of God here on earth.  This relates to the final klesha or veil to perfect happiness and joy which is fear.  When we live in fear which is the opposite of love and trust we darken our heart, minds and even bodies.   Fear to me is like the color grey.  Yoga, breath work, meditation and time in nature are the perfect opportunity to clean our hearts so that we can then feel closer to His brilliant lightness and purity; with a ‘cleaner’ heart we truly see God within us and all around us. 

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. This one always makes my heart smile!  As yoga practitioners, teachers and those that have a relationship with God this is the icing on the cake.  Those that know and teach his ways see God in all including ourselves and bring the kingdom here into our hearts, our families, communities, and all of our days and to all of our interactions.   As the children of God, we are united in his mission of peace.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Earlier we defined righteousness as seeking right relationship with God and of those in his kingdom, including ourselves.  As yoga practitioners we attest to how yoga helps us get right with ourselves, our God and all his people.  Part of the reason for this feeling of being right with the world is when practicing yoga without naming it, the time and space that our practice allows for brings a parting of the veils, a lifting of the klesas, the cloudy grey feeling we get when we forget who we are.  This becomes even more apparent when we practice yoga with the goal of enhancing our spirituality and connecting to God and his character.  As Christian yoga practitioners there can be some element of persecuting, honestly because of some amount of ignorance -some do not understand how yoga and Christianity can complement each other so well.   Although we may be persecuted for our beliefs and the way that we practice we stand by our beliefs but with a compassionate stance knowing in our hearts we stand for unity and not separation. 

As we continue to model His ways on and off the mat, we remember again and again who we really are as we make peace with reality and God’s plans for us. We may also see a bit of ego fall away. We become more aware when we are in the mire of attachments and aversions and with awareness let them loosen and love ourselves anyway.  We are human we are not God we need to bring in practices that remind us that we are loved by a merciful God.  This is why we call it practice, again and again the veils of the klesas billow around us mortal humans but behind the curtains we know that we are truly blessed to be called children of a compassionate God who only wants us to draw close to him.  

I remember learning the beatitudes as a child, and although I probably did not understand the way I do now, just the word blessed, made me feel special.   As I draw deeper into my relationship with God, I truly feel the promises of these beautiful statements.  All we need to do is seek him and we are blessed with perfect happiness and divine joy.  This is our birthright, what has been written and promised to us as believers.  I can also attest that yoga has allowed me the exploration and tools to experience this brightness, wholeness, and holiness more fully. Yoga helps me to “put on” certain godly characteristics that are a reflection of Christ himself: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,  humility, meekness, and patience” (Col 3:12).  The call to “put on” these godly characteristics is rooted in our status as those who are blessed and loved as children of God.