The tendency is to measure a persons ‘progress’ by a
perceived comparison to some mythical finishing point,
rather than accepting that we cannot really appreciate
the reality of what was their actual starting point,
nor can we truly evaluate the effort they are putting
into developing and refining their personal Sādhana.
It feels as if ‘Modern Postural Yoga’
is increasingly concerned with the
Movement of the Silhouette rather
than the Stillness of the Source.
“na iti na iti – not this, not this”
Defining our relationship with awareness,
is an inquiry into re-defining our relationship with matter.
– Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣat II.3.6
Initially our Yoga Journey is towards our relationship with living.
Ultimately our Yoga Journey is towards our relationship with dying.
“What’s important is not to find the solution itself,
but to identify the mystery,
and to continuously touch it and draw strength from it.”
– Paul Harvey Interview Israel 2006
Yoga offers me an intelligent way to come out of my mistakes.
The greatest gift in old age is the ability to be in the present.
The greatest forfeit in old age is the tendency to be in the past or the future.
Until the Dancer (Citta) deeply realises that
the Observer (Cit) of the Spectacle (Viṣaya)
is not interested in the drives (Avidyā) which animate the dance,
the Dancer continues to Dance.
Sāṃkhya Kārikā of Īśvara Kṛṣṇa Āryā Fifty Nine
What is it that weapons do not cleave?
That fire does not burn?
That waters do not wet?
That wind does not whither?
– Commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two verse 23
Sāṃkhya is about living more within that which doesn’t change,
rather than living more within that which does change.
What does reflecting on our relationship with Prāṇamaya reveal?
– Taittirīya Upaniṣad Chapter Three Bhṛguvallī verse 2
What does reflecting on our relationship with Annamaya reveal?
– Taittirīya Upaniṣad Chapter Three Bhṛguvallī verse 1
When seeking the light better to verify
that it is the power of the light
rather than the light of power.
Suffering is the starting point for the Yoga journey of four steps from:
the symptom (Duḥkha or suffering);
through to the cause (Avidyā or illusion);
to the path (Kaivalya or independence);
and the means (Aṣṭāṅga or 8 limbed path) for Viveka or discrimination.
This fourfold process is at the heart of Yoga, Āyurveda and Buddhism.
Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Four – Jñāna Yoga or The Yoga of Knowledge
Or linking to what we need to understand to help refine the outcome of our actions.
