First Light
How First Light worksTuesday 27 October·
- Sunrise
- 07:55
- Quiet hour
- 06:19–07:07
- Brahma Muhurta
- Moon
- Waning gibbous
- Next full moon: Tue 24 Nov
Autumn
The quiet hour (Brahma Muhurta) is the traditional time for practice, just before sunrise.
वितर्का हिंसादयः कृतकारितानुमोदिता लोभक्रोधमोहपूर्वका मृदुमध्याधिमात्रा दुःखाज्ञानानन्तफला इति प्रतिपक्षभावनम्
vitarkā hiṁsādayaḥ kṛta-kāritānumoditā lobha-krodha-moha-pūrvakā mṛdu-madhyādhimātrā duḥkhājñānānanta-phalā iti pratipakṣa-bhāvanam
Harmful thoughts, like violence, whether done, caused or approved, arising from greed, anger or delusion, mild, moderate or intense, bring endless suffering and ignorance. Reflecting on this is cultivating the opposite.
Yoga Sutras 2.34 · verse 85 of 196
Unfolding the thread
Patanjali spells it out. Harm can be done yourself, caused through others, or merely approved of, and all three count. It grows from greed, anger or confusion, in any strength. And its fruit is always the same: more suffering and more confusion. Simply remembering where harm leads is itself a way to turn from it.
Try today
Before speaking in anger today, pause and ask: where does this lead? Let the answer guide your words.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“The evil-doer suffers in this world, and he suffers in the next; he suffers in both. He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he suffers more when going on the evil path.”
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