ishvara pranidhana va
surrender to the divine source of all, will bring the fruits of yoga
ys 1.23

klesha karma vipaka ashayaih aparamristah purusha-vishesha ishvara
the divine source is a consciousness unaffected by human obstacles, actions, or results of those actions
ys 1.24

tatra niratishayam sarvajna bijam
in this consciousness is the seed of all wisdom and knowledge
ys 1.25

purvesham api guruh kalena anavachchhedat
this wisdom and consciousness exists beyond time and place, and is the teacher of all teachers
ys 1.26

tasya vachakah pranavah
this divine source is called by the name AUM
ys 1.27

tat japah tat artha bhavanam
contemplate and repeat this name and sound in order stand under its true meaning
ys 1.28

tatah pratyak chetana adhigamah api antaraya abhavash cha
from this understanding, obstacles in the way of realizing our true nature are removed
ys 1.29
-
a contemplation, byron bay, May 2018

A
each morning between the deepest dark of night and the first light, a miracle:
the crowing roosters and calm winds meet to welcome the sun rise
another day begins,
and life sings a reminder of the mysterious gift that there is something rather than nothing.
The soft eyes of a child seeing the world for the first time
the first inhalation
the early green shoots of spring
the red curtain of sun on a cloud studded sky kissing the morning dew
This is the ah of the pranavah
a world awakening

U
the sun continues its slow journey across the sky while
life dances with it, warming the world in stages
calling the light loving creatures into the day
and humans into their fiery pursuit of happiness and belonging
joining the world outside and in a wild symphony of life by mid-day
mid-life in its endless complexities
summer time’s song dancing in the sun
movement
this is the u of the pranavah
open, expansive, wild, messy, life being lived

M
As afternoon settles into evening
the birds of day make their way in stampedes of darkness across the sky
others seeking one last meal before the day ends
The evening creatures make their way into the cooling time,
these hunters that seek pray in the shifting light.
Reptiles retreat, while humans, the fortunate,
gather with the warmth of home and hearth
Before the sun is set back down
an exhale and turning inward
over the horizons of mountain, sea, desert, forest, or cityscape,
and the M of the pranavah absorbed into silence.

silence
In the quiet resting places of night
a roaring silence before the morning star
between the not-yet and what-was
before the next breath
death and birth brush lightly against each other
and the earth dreams of life