The story of matsyendranath begins with Lord Shiva coming out of a deep and long meditation, one wherein he discovered yoga. He was so enamored by all that he now knows about yoga, that he excitedly shared them with his companion Parvati. Parvati already knew about yoga, though, but as Shiva continued to talk, there was one person listening who is only hearing about yoga for the first time! It was a fish named Matsya swimming by a nearby river. By the end of Shiva's discourse, Matsya embodied the teachings that came from Shiva and became enlightened.
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This is one of the stories, or mythologies as we call them, that lend life to the yoga poses we now know. When you heard this story, can you think of a detail that could be true, and even proven? Or do you dismiss the whole story without finding the nugget of truth or wisdom?

One thing is true-- and has been proven-- that is fish can hear. In mid 1930s, an Austrian biologist named Karl von Frisch conducted a study with a blind catfish named Xaverl. He would put food at a certain spot in Xaverl's clay shelter, and because Xaverl can smell it, he would soon swim over and eat his food. After a few days of establishing this routine, the biologist began to whistle before putting the food down. On the sixth day of this new routine, the biologist whistled, and even before putting the food down, Xaverl was already at the designated spot, proving that fish can hear sounds.

There is truth everywhere, whether it is that fish can hear, or animals can feel, or dairy is bad for our health, etc. But we must be sharp enough to pick up the truth, open enough to listen so we do not allow our prejudices to dismiss what could be important information, and humble enough to change our hearts and minds so that like Matsya, our listening could also lead us to enlightenment.

Imagine what it's like to have eyes that have independent fields of vision, such that one eye may be looking at your hands as you set up your down dog, and the other eye is gazing out the window. Imagine what it's like to be pregnant for three whole years, though those who have been pregnant for 9 months more or less might not want to entertain that idea. Imagine what it's like to have fins so enlarged it allows you to fly. These are not scenarios from a strange science fiction movie. These represent just a few of what other beings experience in ocean life. Sea horses and flounders have the independent fields of vision for each eye; frilled sharks carry their baby in their womb for 3 years; flying fishes are able to glide and fly.

And yet, many human beings have deduced animals to be inferior. We project our standards based on our senses and experiences, and demand that these are the baselines of intelligence and sentience. It is a kind of prejudice to say that animals are inferior because they do not communicate in languages that we know, because the way they feel their emotions is different from ours, because the way they navigate the world is unfamiliar to us. And because of this discrimination, we end up using other beings as if they were mere things, and this is what has caused and is still causing grave environmental destruction.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras chapter 4 verse 28 goes: Hanam esam klesavad uktam. In English, it means: The greatest obstacle to the practice is one's own prejudices based on one's own preferences. We are reminded that our prejudice does not do us any favors. What we can do, even if we are unable to experience what it is like to be other beings, is to tap into the gift of imagination endowed upon us. To use our imagination to feel as others feel, to be as others are. And then, we can look at those same differences, and instead of creating more separation and hierarchy and prejudice, we look at those differences with a sense of awe and wonder and curiosity. Through our imagination we can bridge the gap between self and others, and we can cultivate love and unconditional acceptance of others. And when we love all beings, we are bound to protect them; and when we protect all beings, we are bound to thrive all together. When we let go of our prejudice towards others, the first person that we free is ourselves.