Wisdom from A.G. Mohan

Jul 14, 2020

I'm flipping through an old note book, looking for a reference for an article I'm writing. These notes are from a training I attended in April of '06 with A.G. Mohan. He was a student of Sri Tirumala Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) for more than 30 years.

Each line of his words I had written feel like a year's worth of study. Here are a few selections (in no particular order):

"Emotional wellness is not about replacing negative emotions with positive ones. It is about replacing both with peace. When pursuing positive emotions, the negative ones come along too. It is not possible to be constantly enjoying."

"Contentment is the greatest wealth in the world."

"This is not an intellectual inquiry. Much confusion comes from reading and thinking rather than meditation."

"The more freedom you give to your instinctive urges, the more the mind enslaves you."

"Nothing will trouble us very much if we practice the yamas and niyamas."

"Compassion is a lack of personal agenda."

"The mental attitude one has when in an asana is what will steady the mind - not at all what it looks like."

"Children need examples to follow, they don't need advice."

"A baby's smile is causeless."