DHYAN FOUNDATION

There would hardly be anyone who has not heard the Gayatri Mantra — Om bhur bhuvah svah, tat savitur varenyam, bhargo devasya dhimahi, dhiyo yo nah prachodayaat. Maybe a few thousand people also understand what it means. But there would be hardly anyone who knows of the rishi — Brahmarshi Vishwamitra — who got this mantra from the Divine. It is such a powerful mantra that Krishna called it the mother of all mantras — mahamantra — and Ram himself protected the yagyas of this great rishi. Hardly anyone would relate this mantra to Vishwamitra, who is mostly remembered for his love affair with Menaka. This is the first mantra of the Rigveda, the first veda, but for some reason, Vyas, who compiled the Vedas, put it later, like so many other mantras given by Vishwamitra. But why? Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya king with vast resources and power. However, after realising that physical powers and siddhis were just a trap of the physical world and tapo bal (the yogic power of penance)...

There are so many things in our lives. We prioritise various things/aspects as per their relative importance. Whatever you give first preference in life, gives you first preference in return. For example, while with a group of friends, you bump into an old childhood friend and instead of greeting you first, he decides to greet the rest of the group. How would you feel? Will you still give preference to that person? No, he will no longer be your priority; instead, you will wait for the time when you can do the same to him. This holds true for everything, including the subject of yog. There are some students who stay up all night, a day before the exam to prepare for it and there are those who start months before. In fact, at times, they cut down on their television, outings, etc, and immerse themselves in studies... and it shows in their results.   Yog is the ultimate subject, there is nothing beyond it. It is the subject that will eventually not just te...