October 2025 | Clarity

We all seek clarity in life. We want to know what are supposed to do, where we are supposed to be, what is the right path to take? What motivates us? What is our larger purpose?

Yoga practice certainly helps us to find clarity. If a decision needs to be made, rather than preparing lists of pros and cons, it would be wise to quiet the mind a little first. We are often reminded that we have all the answers already; we just need to get quiet and calm to discover them. We know that when we concentrate we develop mental strength and a more powerful intellect. Memory and willpower increase. We are told that we can then turn out more work in a shorter time. But is this what we want—to do more work? Perhaps what we truly desire is clarity, and ease. Clarity arises from the ability to discriminate and detach. But the clarity we may find is the knowledge that we don’t exist alone. In clarity we must have compassion for others. Do I want to be skilful, or do I want to be loving?

As this newsletter is published we approach Vijaya Dasami, or Dussehra, marking the end of Navaratri, nine nights of worship of the Divine Mother. From a symbolic perspective, Navaratri is a period of inner reflection, symbolised by nine nights that Goddess Durga battles the demon Mahisha. In our own minds clarity, compassion and our righteous values battle with greed, jealousy, and ego. Navaratri is truly the best time to reflect on what motivates us and what is our larger purpose in life.

In this issue of Sivananda Yoga Sandesha we look at clarity, and how we might find it. We read Swami Sivananda’s words on the reflection of a pure mind, learn the story of Arjuna and the bird’s eye, discover a Himalayan temple where everyone from hippies and celebrities to saints have journeyed to find clarity. We learn exercises for the shoulders to reduce stress and improve mobility, and we hear about one TTC graduate’s experiences with finding clarity through his practice.

We hope you enjoy the newsletter and take time to reflect on your practice. As usual, please feel free to reach out to us with your thoughts and feedback at: [email protected]

Onam (harvest festival in Kerala) was celebrated in all of our Indian Centres and Ashrams, though perhaps most enthusiastically in our Trivandrum Centre! Hope you enjoy these photos of a floral rangoli called ‘pookalam’ and joyful dancing.

This year’s cloud burst in Dharali, near Gangotri, completely wiped away homes and businesses and many people’s lives were affected. Overall, this year’s was the heaviest rainfall over the past 100 years in the Himalayas with lots of landslides and roads washed away.

For this reason we wished to conduct a special puja with the chief priest of Uttarkashi Kashi Vishwanatha Temple at our Swamiji’s cave in Gangotri but were not sure that we could pull it off. We believed in Master and Swamiji and fortunately we were able to make it to Gangotri without much hindrance on the way.

On September 12, the Priest Ajaypuri with his associates conducted a wonderful purification puja at Sivananda Guha the cave of Swami Vishnudevananda in Gangotri.

After the Gangotri puja we returned to Netala Ashram and on September 13 conducted installation of new Navagraha Temple statues and Pratishta. The installation was sponsored by Rajan and Kumutha of the Thevendran family from Montreal, Canada. Following the Navagraha we installed a gold-covered Naga over the Siva Temple Sivalingam, sponsored by our trustee Ravindrakumar and Pramila Madam from Chennai.

The Hatha Yogins hold that the Prana Tattva is superior to mind. They say that Prana functions in sleep even when there is no mind. The Raja-Yogins and Vedantins assert that mind is superior to Prana, because mind wills through Sankalpa and the Prana, does the work. There is no Sankalpa Sakti in the Prana. Prana will have to obey the mind. This is the correct view.

The eternal ear, eyeballs, are only instruments, but not the real senses or Indriyas. The real centres of senses are in the brain or more correctly in the Sukshma Sarira. If the auditory or vision-centre in the brain is affected, you can neither hear nor see. During dreams, the mind itself does the function of all the senses despite the absence of the external instruments and the senses such as eyeballs, etc. Really it is the mind that sees, hears, tastes, feels, etc. In the mind all the senses are blended. This proves that real senses are within and the eyeballs, tongue, external ears, nose, hands, legs, etc., are mere instruments (Karanas). Some hold that in dream there is the play of subtle senses. This also proves that the real senses are within the astral body and that the eyeballs, etc., are mere instruments.

The mind does the function of Sankalpa, Vikalpa, “whether I can go to Dehra Dun or not.” The Buddhi or intellect decides “I must go.” Ahamkara self-arrogates. Chitta, which is the storehouse of Samskaras or impressions, makes the preparation and gives orders to the senses. Then the senses act. The legs move. The eyes see. After you reach Dehra Dun the Vritti or wave of thought that was agitating you to see Dehra Dun subsides or gets dissolution (Laya) and you get temporary peace after the gratification of your desire.

This month’s story is one that many of us in India grew up hearing. Here, every student has been told this story at least once so that we never lose our focus and always find our way back to “clarity.” It is a small scene from the Mahabharata, but one that still speaks deeply to our everyday lives.

When the Pandava and Kaurava princes were young, they trained under Guru Dronacharya. One day, Drona decided to test their strength, but this time, not physical strength, rather the one we sometimes neglect, yet it is the most essential key to success in anything.

To find the best soldier, Drona decided to place a wooden bird high on a tree and asked the students to aim for its eye. But before they could release their arrows, he asked each one a question: “Tell me, what do you see?”. The first prince said, “I see the tree, its branches, the leaves, and the bird.” Drona shook his head and sent him back. Another said, “I see the bird, the branches, and the sky.” Again, he was refused. One by one, the princes stepped forward, but all of them described the bigger, irrelevant things: the tree, the branches, the sky. Finally, it was Arjuna’s turn. Standing with his bow drawn, eyes steady, he answered simply: “I see only the eye of the bird. Nothing else.” Drona smiled and said, “Then shoot.” And Arjuna’s arrow struck the target with perfect accuracy.

At first glance, this appears to be a story about the best archer. But if you look closely, it is a story about clarity. Most of us are like the other princes, we see too many things at once. Our minds are always filled with background noise: responsibilities, fears, distractions, worries about what others may think, and what may go wrong. With so many thoughts pulling us in different directions, even when we act, our energy scatters. The arrow rarely lands where we want it to.

Arjuna, on the other hand, shows us what it means to see clearly. Clarity doesn’t mean the tree, the branches, or the sky stop existing. It means they stop crowding our attention. He chose to focus only on one thing, the target, and gave himself fully to it. That is why his arrow never missed throughout the epic.

This story feels alive because it mirrors our own struggles. I notice how often my attention is pulled in a dozen directions. Even in simple things like prayer, work, or a conversation with a loved one, my mind wants to wander. I see too much all at once, and the vision in that moment gets blurry. But when I think of Arjuna, I ask myself: What is the bird’s eye for me right now? Is it finishing this task with full awareness? Or is it sitting quietly in meditation without worrying about tomorrow? Listening to someone fully, instead of preparing my reply? The truth is each of us has a ‘bird’s eye’ in our lives at every moment. Finding it is the first step toward clarity. Staying with it, despite the branches and sky of distractions, is the real practice. Clarity isn’t something we achieve once and keep forever. It’s like drawing a bow again and again. Some days we’ll be distracted, other days, sharp. But each time we return to what truly matters, we are truly living Arjuna’s lesson.

So perhaps the question that Arjuna teaches us is this: What is the bird’s eye in this moment? And in a larger sense, what is the bird’s eye for my life? If we can hold our focus there, I believe everything else begins to fall into place.

There was a time, when my mind felt like a crowded street of Delhi, where I grew up, full of noise, restlessness, and endless running after the next thing. I thought this was how life was supposed to be: compete, earn, build, gather status, collect small doses of happiness from pleasures here and there. That’s what society taught us in a fast-paced city. But beneath it all, there was a hollow space. I did not feel any real purpose. Social media and constant information only added to the confusion, and my mind never seemed to stop.

This was the state I carried before yoga entered my life a few years back. I was living in clutter inside and outside. I was struggling with relationships with my close ones and the loss of my mother. When I first met my yoga acharya, I was looking only for some physical relief, maybe a way to stretch and feel lighter. But what began as a casual practice slowly became a journey towards clarity. The asanas not only released stiffness from my body, they also unlocked hidden emotional knots. Through yoga philosophy, I understood that if I want to have good relationships with others, I have to first establish a healthy relationship with myself. If my cup has holes, I cannot fill it with anything from outside. So, first I have to work on my own cup which is my body and my mind. I started experiencing small spaces of silence, where the mind was no longer turbulent. Those moments showed me that clarity was possible.

What I slowly realised is that yoga brings clarity because it works on every layer of our being. The body is steadied and purified through asanas, the prana becomes balanced through pranayama, and the mind is disciplined through study, reflection, and meditation. It is not an instant change, but a gentle process of polishing the mirror of the mind, until it can reflect truth without distortion.

One of the biggest blessings has been my recent stay at Sivananda Kutir in Uttarkashi where I did my Teacher Training, without which I would still be wandering in circles. There I learned that instead of following a particular path in yoga, I should synthesise all the four paths which are Jnana, Bhakti, Raja and Karma Yoga, and live them practically through the simple daily routine of the ashram.

These simple yet profound principles began to act like a compass, showing me how to live with more awareness and discipline.

I also came to learn the meaning of viveka (discernment) and vairagya (detachment). For me, this was a turning point. Earlier, happiness meant achieving more, experiencing more, chasing more. Now I see that calmness does not come by expanding desires, but by gently limiting them and being content with what is already present. The joy of clarity is much deeper than the thrill of running behind desires.

Another gift of yoga has been understanding the nature of the mind. I began to see my thoughts, emotions, and reactions with a little more distance. This shift by itself brought clarity. I was no longer fully lost in the storm but could stand aside and witness.

Today, yoga is both my journey and my destination. Each day I live, I learn how to live in a better way, with more calmness, more balance, and more clarity. I do not claim that all confusion has vanished. But now I know the path that leads out of it, and I know that every step on this path makes the inner landscape a little clearer.

Clarity, I realize, is not something you chase and capture. It is like a flower or a mushroom that slowly opens as you keep watering it with practice, devotion, and patience. Yoga has given me that water, and I walk with gratitude for this gift every day.
-Deva
TTC Graduate