Civilization can be defined not as a competition of man to control nature, but of man to control man. Nature just happened to be either collateral or a tool. Why man was interested in controlling man in the first place is the most important question as we make significant breakthroughs in our understanding of human cognition. The sages of the East (Rishis) reduced this urge to control to an instinctual failure of man to understand the seven important energies (Prana) in man's body. They called them chakras. And it is this profound ignorance (Avidya) of these senses that is the source of the baser instincts within man: the instincts for disgust, shame, hunger, hate, anger, delusion (Maya), and fear. Most yoga practices have been developed specifically to address this Avidya.
