Material reality is an illusion; our attachment to form and possessions is the obstacle to happiness, and in order to know the Truth we must participate fully with no expectations or attachments to the all too human process that got us into this situation of suffering (dukha) to begin with.
We must start with the primary premise of Yoga philosophy and related schools of thought: True Reality is free from all qualities, atemporal, all-pervading, and impassive.
Manorama is the Founder of Sanskrit Studies.
There in the midst of both armies, Arjuna’s mind reels as he foresees the imminent death of his teacher, relatives, and friends. He throws down his bow and arrows and decides not to fight.
Christopher is a Tantrik teacher and scholar.
Ancient sages studied and practiced Patanjali’s eight limbed path to gain mastery of the body, mind and spirit in an effort to reach moksha and kaivalya: liberation and emancipation.
If and when it becomes an ingrained part of one’s daily habits, a full and fulfilling yama/niyama practice can exist with some ease, but it will never be easy.
Since yoga is, first and foremost, a practice, it is worth taking a look at two words from the yoga lexicon which are regularly translated as “practice”: abhyasa and sadhana.
Anodea is the celebrated author of “Eastern Body, Western Mind”.
These basic ideas I call myth, not using the word ‘myth’ to mean simply something untrue, but to use the word ‘myth’ in a more powerful sense. A myth is an image in terms of which we try to make sense of the world.
Gabriel is an Iyengar Yoga Teacher based in Chicago.
It may be an unpopular opinion in some yoga circles, but even in reading ancient texts – perhaps especially in reading ancient texts – I come to the conclusion that change is the only truth that we can rely on.
If we fix our minds on one object, we will prevent the nine obstacles from arising, eliminate the four associated symptoms, and cultivate the habit of an even, calm steady state of mind.
In the metaphors of other cultures, light is at war with darkness, life with death, good with evil, and the positive with the negative, and thus an idealism to cultivate the former and be rid of the latter flourishes throughout much of the world.
One of the most enjoyable elements of the Upanishads, and indeed of most religious texts of note, is its initial, seeming illogic. This is no accident.
It is often said that everything comes in threes. From the strongest geometrical symbol (the triangle) to the number of lights in a traffic light; from the Hanson brothers to Destiny’s child to Freud’s theory of the personality (id, ego, superego).