Shining the light on Svadhyaya...as we explore the ancient and not-so-ancient texts, we'll be keeping an ongoing list of quotes that speak to the process of svadhyaya. Be sure to check back!
Sva means self and adhyaya means study or education. Education is the drawing out of the best that is within a person. Svadhyaya, therefore, is the education of the self....
....The person practising svadhyaya reads his own book of life, at the same time that he writes and revises it....
- B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga
Svadhyaya or self-knowledge, is difficult. We so much associate knowledge with the acquisition of learning (vidya). In reality, svadhyaya, whether through study or self-analysis, is the path of concentration (dharana), leading up a cruel and stony path to knowledge and to disrobing of the false or pretentious self with all its flaws and bogus virtues. Its reward is the path of wisdom (jnana marga)....
- B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life
....Svadhyaya. Sva means "self" or "belonging to me." Adhyaya means "inquiry" or "examination;" literally, "to get close to something." Svadhyaya therefore means to get close to yourself, that is, to study yourself. All learning, all reflection, all contact that helps you to learn more about yourself is svadhyaya. In the context of the niyama we find the term often translated as "the study of ancient texts." Yes, yoga does instruct us to read the ancient texts. Why? Because we cannot always just sit down and contemplate things. We need reference points. For many this may be the Bible or a book that is of personal significance; for others it may be the Yoga Sutra. The Yoga Sutra says, for instance, that as we progress in our self-examination, we will gradually find a link with the divine laws and with the prophets who reveled them.
- T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga
To take hold of your mind, you must practice mindfulness of the mind. You must know how to observe and recognize the presence of every feeling and thought which arises in you. The Zen Master Thuong Chieu wrote, "If the practicioner knows his own mind clearly he will obtain results with little effort. But if he does not know anything about his own mind, all of his effort will be wasted. If you want to know your own mind, there is only one way: to observe and recognize everything about it. This must be done at all times, during your day-to-day life no less than during the hour of meditation.
- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
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