T.K.V. Desikachar Quotes

What possibilities are there for preventing actions with negative consequences, actions that we may later regret? One possibility is dhyāna, which in this context means “reflection.”3 Reflection can take many forms. For example, when faced with an important decision, you could imagine what would happen if you did the exact opposite of what your instincts suggest.4 Try to make the consequence of your decision as real as possible in your imagination. No matter what it is or what you feel, before you make an important decision and take action you should give yourself the opportunity to consider the matter with an open mind and a certain degree of objectivity. Dhyāna in this respect is a quiet, alert consideration, a meditation. The aim is to free yourself of preconceptions and avoid actions that you may later regret and that may create new troubles (duḥkha) for you. Dhyāna strengthens self-sufficiency. Yoga makes us independent. We all want to be free, although many of us are dependent on psychologists, gurus, teachers, drugs, or whatever. Even if advice and guidance are helpful, in the end we ourselves are the best judge of our own actions. No one is more interested in me than me. With the help of dhyāna we find our own methods and systems for making decisions and better understand our behavior. There are other ways of distancing ourselves from our actions than reflecting on how it would be if we were to act differently from what we intend. We might go to a concert or go for a walk or do something else that calms the thoughts. All the while the mind goes on working unconsciously, without any external pressure. In the pursuit of other activities we gain a certain distance. However short it may be, time becomes available to cast the mind over everything surrounding the decision that has to be made. Perhaps with ease and distance we will make a better decision. Stepping out of a situation in order to get a better look at it from another standpoint is called pratipakṣa. T

as Francis Bacon put it more than four centuries ago, is that “the mind can be enlarged, according to its capacity, to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind.” — R.

Another meaning of the word yoga is “to tie the strands of the mind together.

You can never step into the same river twice”:

It is when obstacles do not seem to be present that it is most important to be on our guard. Nothing is more fraught with danger than to mistake a temporary state for a permanent one. We must expect cycles of clarity and confusion, recognizing that falls from clarity may be more disturbing than a state of no clarity at all. When obstacles appear, it is necessary to advance toward a state of reflection to reduce their impact and prevent them from taking over.

it is indeed true that by practicing yoga we gradually improve our ability to concentrate and to be independent. We improve our health, our relationships, and everything we do.

In sum, Patanjali suggests that we channel our curiosity and our mental powers into areas of fruitful interest as a means of calming the mind.

prāṇāyāma is first and foremost to give us many different possibilities for following the breath. When we follow the breath, the mind will be drawn into the activities of the breath. In this way prāṇāyāma prepares us for the stillness of meditation.

Ha represents iḍā and the cool energy of the moon (candra); ṭha represents piṅgalā and the hot energy of the sun (sūrya).

Relationships are the real test of whether we actually understand ourselves better.

I repeat what I said before: we must teach a person what he or she can accept at the time, not what we think would finally be best for them.

The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.

Lo yoga non è passivo. Dobbiamo partecipare alla vita. Per farlo bene, dobbiamo lavorare su noi stessi

The source of my father’s teaching, and the essence of Yoga, was formulated by the great Indian sage, Patanjali, more than two thousand years ago in this succinct definition: Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions.

The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.