You must cultivate your practice
over an extended period of time;
it must be steady, without gaps,
and it must be done correctly —
for then a firm foundation is laid.
Sa tu dirgha kala nairantarya
satkara-asevito dirdha bhumih.
Changing the mind, the heart, is infinitely more difficult than anything else we do—more demanding than education or work or raising a family. It takes time, and we need to give it that time, for as long as it takes.
And the time must be given daily: our spiritual practice must become a regular part of our day, as important as eating or working or sleeping.
Our minds are infinitely powerful. We can learn to be good at anything, if only we give it an hour of two of practice a day. But every day.
We all know that there are right ways of fixing a car and wrong ways too. If you try to fix your
car but you don’t know what you are doing, you can really make expensive mistakes.
Fixing heart and mind are no different. We need to know what we’re
doing—we need good, clear instructions on what to do, from someone who’s already done it themselves.
(Extracted from "THE ESSENTIAL YOGA SUTRA" - Ancient Wisdom for Your Yoga by Geshe Michael Roach & Christie McNally)
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