Yogi Book of July 2023: On the Origin of Species and Other Stories
“We are not independent beings. We intermingle, and the longer we spend together, the more we become entangled with one another.”
Why Yogi Book of the Month?
Yogi Book of the Month was born in the hopes of making Jnana Yoga (the Path of Knowledge) more accessible.
Few of us have the luxury of access to living gurus or the attention span/ability to unpack the dense yogic scriptures on our own. Thankfully, gurus are many, gurus do not have to (necessarily) be alive, and knowledge that leads to sincere contemplation and self-realization can be found in stories and books imbued with profound meanings. Here at 7YGH, we endeavor to present you with various sources of such knowledge on a monthly basis.
To provide some instruction on how to best digest this source of knowledge, you will find a general explanation of Jnana Yoga in Jnana Yoga 101 followed by tips on how to apply Jnana Yoga while you read in How to Read This Book. If you are informed and/or would like to skip to the meat of the book review itself, use the Table of Contents below to navigate to your desired section.
Table of Contents
i. Jnana Yoga 101
ii. How to Read This Book
iii. About This Book
iv. Why You Should Read This Book
v. 3 Powerful Excerpts
The Path of Knowledge
Traditionally, the path of Jnana Yoga refers to 3 processes. The main goal of these 3 processes is to answer the Big Question: Who Am I? By answering this question, smaller critical questions such as “Why Am I Here?” and “What Do I Do With What I Have Been Given?” are automatically answered.
These 3 processes are as follows:
(1) Sravana, or wholeheartedly (open mind, open heart) listening to yogic scriptures (Sruti) from the mouth of a verifiable source (Guru)
(2) Manana, or constant reflection upon what was heard, application of that which was heard to one’s own life and lived experiences, as well as the integration of that knowledge into daily action
(3) Nididhyasana, otherwise known as the culmination of sravana and manana, is a type of meditative and transcendent awareness that happens spontaneously on its own accord. It is a deep understanding and subsequent embodiment of the Truth gleaned from the process of listening deeply with one’s heart, contemplating, and living the knowledge.
Why Should You Practice Jnana Yoga?
The systematic processes of Jnana Yoga should be undertaken frequently to nurture the soul, put things in perspective, and loosen the bonds of strong attachments. Jnana Yoga directly nourishes our inner world by teaching us the skill of maintaining distance, of separating the “I am” from what follows. At its subtlest levels, the practice of Jnana Yoga allows us to mold reality with our right perception.
By regularly analyzing the nature of life, existence and the identity of the “I am” through the practice of Jnana Yoga, we are able to maintain peace of mind and more quickly come back to a place of balance during emotional upheaval, crisis, and the inevitable stresses of the world.
In its early stages, the practice helps us build endurance to the pain of opposites—heat, cold, love, loss, thirst, hunger, desire, repulsion, etc.
In later stages, the practice culminates in a transcendence of the pain of opposites, a state wherein we are able to truly bear witness to our bodies and minds, as well as the bodies and minds of others, without attachment or judgment. In so doing, Jnana Yoga allows us to live our lives to the utmost; by helping us understand the true nature of reality, Jnana Yoga results in the loss of attachments, and in the loss of attachments we are relieved of expectations. Freed of the bondage of expectations, we can truly and fully enjoy the world.
Treat this book as you would a more traditional transmission of knowledge (i.e. a living Guru or Teacher). Treat the book with reverence and respect; this is the first step to taking the knowledge contained within seriously, and the most important step to opening up your heart to receive and understand this knowledge.
If you aren’t open to learning, if you aren’t striving for betterment, and if you aren’t willing to be wrong (!), even the highest knowledge won’t be effective/can’t help you. Half the work of self-realization comes from effort on our parts to retain open minds and open hearts with a complete awareness of our nature’s tendency to do the opposite (to judge, close off, guard). The goal is not to stop these processes of judgment, etc., but to always be aware of them and to persevere to push past them when they flare up.
Do not rush through the book as you would a piece of purely sensual entertainment; savor the passages for their poetic and philosophical values. The point is not to drown yourself but to submerge yourself (!); you are not escaping nor chasing but running towards (!).
Take time after each reading to ponder implied meanings, reflecting on how lessons of characters/narrators/etc. can be applied to your own life—past and present. Try journaling, creating lists of lessons learned, and writing down those lessons on stick notes that you place in conspicuous places (e.g. on your bathroom mirror or kitchen fridge). And, most importantly, start applying the lessons you learn, becoming a living embodiment of the knowledge you are gaining.
Title
On the Origin of Species and Other Stories
Author
Kim Bo-young
Genre
Korean literature/Science Fiction
Language
Originally in Korean; translated to English
Length
224 pages
Publisher
Hay House Inc.
Summary
💡 On The Origin of Species and Other Stories is a collection of short stories that probe into what it means to be human in a world that is constantly changing and blurring the lines between science-fiction, fantasy, and myth.
On The Origin of Species and Other Stories dives deep into the nature of existence through the lens of several marginalized heroes and heroines: a paralyzed girl who conducts her life through an avatar in a game; a prince who must transform into a creature of the woods to survive familial betrayal; a human that must adapt to a subaltern existence as a “wolf” during the reign of a new species on Earth; a woman who must come to grips with an “illness” that only exists on a planet without night; a robot that is passionate about organic biology and discovering the origin of life (and God); and a brilliant teenage girl on the brink of making the wrong decision because of an existential crisis. These stories explore more than just what it means to be human in a (post)human world; they dive deep into the perspective of time, navigating tropes like time travel and devolution to bring a clarity to the impermanence of the world.
7 short stories of varying lengths in under 250 pages mean we can dedicate an evening or two to a short story and take time to digest it before moving on the next. And, if life gets in the way for some weeks or months, there is no issue picking up the book after time has passed. Plus, the stories can be read in any order.
Most of Bo-Young Kim’s characters have to transcend their bodies out of necessity due to being marginalized. This hits close to home, as we live in a world where many of us spend most of our lives attempting to mold our physical bodies to represent our inner self. These stories are meaningful invitations for us to explore our relationships with our physical bodies—and the limitations that arise from that identification.
These stories expose the very nature of perspective itself, illustrating the relativity of our reality, wherein every perspective (including our own) is subjective. With the various comparisons between multiple perspectives, the question often arises—which perspective is more Real? The answer ends up being none of the above, inviting us to dive deep into the grey area that exists beyond what we perceive to be real. In regards to the perspectives offered in the stories, they are invitations for us to fall down holes of inquiry that force us to become comfortable with the concept of not knowing.
The stories’ continuous theme of contemplating what it means to be human asks us to do the same for ourselves, on a personal and global level. By reflection on what it means to be human, we can come to powerful realizations about what’s important to us and if what’s important to us is reflected in how we’re living our lives. If what’s important to us is not reflected in how we’re living our lives, we can use the momentum of self-analysis to dig further and ask how we can start to live a life more aligned with our values.
These stories bring up the importance of social values, asking us to examine how we treat each other. Themes of violence and separation are rampant and what arises from their wreckage is an impassioned call for unity and love. Viewed through this lens, the stories offer powerful cautionary tales and portraits for values of compassion, communication, and courage.
The stories that feature heavy Korean cultural references are perfect opportunities for seeing the unity in diversity—the commonalities between the characters in these stories and the characters you know in your own day-to-day life (including the main character, you). Bo-Young Kim’s characters are relatable. They help us recognize that in essence, all of us souls are living the same experience. The separation that exists between us due to culture, etc. is man-made; we are more alike than we think.
A call for Ahimsa, or non-violence, with a tone that transcends grimness to support an uplifting future—several of the stories seem to suggest potentially grim futures for humanity based on our abuse of the environment. On the one hand, this is great as emotional fodder to inspire us to do our part individually. It is a call to action to become more conscious of taking care of the Earth daily by reducing waste, consuming less, etc. On the other hand, in the stories which feature this theme, humanity or consciousness continues on in one way or another. With contemplation, this brings us to a place beyond good and evil where we can observe the cyclical nature of existence, which is beyond “us”, which does not cease, which underlies all things and beings, and which will continue onwards even after “we” are gone.
#1
“I bet he said nothing,” she added. She leaned back against the tree trunk like someone sinking into a plush bed. “I bet he just stares at your whenever you ask him a question. And you assume that his silence means something. You hear the answer you want in it. The answer was right there inside your own head, but you think you saw it in him. You hear whatever you want to hear, so you always get the answer you’re looking for. You invent conversations from monologues you’re having with yourself. You interpret motives in things that have no motive, see logic where there is no logic. You even see countless fragments of emotions in the blank table that is his face. All the while failing to recognize that those emotions are your own.”
#2
Every person has a certain statistical probability of existing. My probability may be lower, yours higher. But we both exist.
Human beings should be seen as continuous waveforms rather than independent entities. This is because at every moment we are exchanging atoms with our surroundings. As time progresses, all the atoms that make up your body are replaced by different atoms. You may be an entirely different entity today than you were in your childhood.
The reason why lovers or couples resemble each other is because they are constantly exchanging atoms. The same goes for children and their mothers. Atoms that come from the mom’s body are swapped with the child’s atoms and vice versa. We are not independent beings. We intermingle, and the longer we spend together, the more we become entangled with one another.
#3
“Loneliness is an instinctive emotion for us robots. That is to say, we survive better when we live in groups. Fear is necessary to protect us from physical threats, and pain is necessary to prevent physical injuries. Our ability to learn helps us to adapt to changing environments, while our ability to forget makes us more efficient at retrieving information. All this is based on the idea that instincts are essential for survival and perpetuation of a species. So what would be the point of believing in ‘creationism’?”
“Peace of mind, maybe.”
“That’s the thing. How does the idea of being created give a robot peace of mind? Is it scary to think that we sprang into being on our own? We like to imagine that there is some unimaginably almighty being up on some high peak who watches over us and controls us, that we are slaves to this being. And that’s supposed to bring us happiness?”