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.
सोपक्रमं निरुपक्रमं च कर्म तत्संयमादपरान्तज्ञानमरिष्टेभ्यो वा
sopakramaṁ nirupakramaṁ ca karma tat-saṁyamād aparānta-jñānam ariṣṭebhyo vā
Karma is either quick or slow to ripen. Through saṁyama on it, or through omens, comes knowledge of the time of death.
Yoga Sutras 3.23 · verse 129 of 196
Unfolding the thread
Some actions bear fruit quickly, others slowly. Patanjali says that understanding this, or reading signs, reveals when life will end. The practical wisdom under the claim: live as someone who remembers life is finite.
Try today
Ask yourself: if I had one year left, what would I stop, and what would I start? Do one of those today.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“Very quickly will there be an end of thee here; take heed therefore how it will be with thee in another world.”
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