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.
पुरुषार्थशून्यानां गुणानां प्रतिप्रसवः कैवल्यं स्वरूपप्रतिष्ठा वा चितिशक्तिरिति
puruṣārtha-śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti
Freedom is when the qualities of nature, having nothing more to do for the Self, return to their source; or when the power of awareness rests in its own nature. Thus ends the teaching.
Yoga Sutras 4.34 · verse 196 of 196
Unfolding the thread
The last verse closes the circle begun on the first page. Nature, its work done, returns home; awareness rests in itself. That is kaivalya, freedom. The book ends with iti, "thus". Where 1.1 said "now", 4.34 says "thus". The teaching is complete; the practice goes on, every morning.
Try today
Tomorrow, start again at the beginning, with "now". Thank yourself for reading to the end.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“With birth I ’scaped from prison, narrow, dark, and drear; Emerging to a world, vast, radiant, bright, and clear.”
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