All the wealth of man cannot equal ten minutes of dhyana yoga. All the pains of man, and there are hundreds and thousands, can be overcome by ten minutes of meditation. The best time to practise dhyana is in the early morning between 4 and 6. The second best time is in the evening after 9. The third best is around midnight, from 11 to 1.
Early morning is sattwic, evening is rajasic; and midnight is tamasic. The tantric sadhanas are practised late at night. The sattwic sadhanas are practised early in the morning. Therefore, adjust your sadhana accordingly.
The rishis of India realized the relationship between the mind and life. Life influences the mind and mind influences life. If you can control either one, you are a mahatma or a saint. Of course, you cannot control life – it is just not possible. But with the help of dhyana yoga, you can manage the mind. If you are able to manage the mind, you are a yogi.
Culture is not the result of an industrial or materialistic revolution, but a spiritual revolution. No matter what country you live in or which language you speak, yoga was part of your ancient culture. This great science was known and practised by your ancestors thousands of years ago. But for many ages the whole world has neglected this aspect of life. Today, however, humanity is again becoming aware of their spiritual heritage.
In 1968 when I started this mission, very few people knew anything about yoga. But today we are experiencing a great resurgence. Everywhere I go, people ask, ‘Teach me a way to transcend the barriers of time, space and object.’
In the Kaivalya Upanishad there is a mantra which illustrates the meditation process very well: When you churn butter, you use a stick, and that is the mantra Om. Just as a milkmaid is churning that stick, right, left, right, left; so Om, Om, Om. Likewise, a pandit, a man of knowledge, should do the same and practise dhyana. In this way, all his pains, his dukha, his sins will be transformed.
25 July 1979, Bihar School of Yoga, Singapore, published in YOGA Vol. 18 No 9 (September 1980)