David Frawley > Quotes

“Who we are is the result of how we live and act on a daily basis. Our daily actions reflect our prime values and motivations.”
― David Frawley, Yoga for your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“All of the problems in the world today arise from an inability to grasp the underlying oneness of life. The division of nations, religions, and cultures comes from this fundamental ignorance, as does our exploitation of the Earth and her resources. Only if we perceive another person as fundamentally different from ourselves can we harm or exploit them. Only if we see the natural world as mere raw material for our convenience can we damage it for our own gratification. If we see our Self-reflected in all beings, which is the real truth, we cannot wish any harm to anyone and we treat all things with respect, finding all life to be sacred.

Without addressing this core problem of the failure to understand the unity of life, we cannot expect to solve our other problems. Today it is of utmost necessity that all those who are consciousness of this underlying unity act in such a way as to make others aware of it. This does not necessarily require any overt outer actions but it does require that we make a statement by how we live, if not by what we say.”
― David Frawley, Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the Modern World

“Prana... is the spirit of mantra. Mantra in turn is the expression of prana. Whatever most engages our prana or vital energy becomes the main subject of our speech.”
― Dr. David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)

“There is an inner working of intelligence behind the movement of energy in the world. This natural or organic intelligence is conscious and sure in its plan and method, not by choice or intention but intuitively and spontaneously, as a movement of pure beauty and harmony.”
― David Frawley

“The Upanishads teach monism, that all is God or the Absolute, Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma, “Everything is Brahman”. But they do not do this in simply an abstract manner. That One Being is present in all of us as our own deeper and immortal soul and Self, the Atman, Aham Brahmasmi, “I am Brahman” or the Absolute. In this regard, the Upanishads probably first clearly set forth in human history a way of Self-Knowledge taking us to the Absolute. Yet theism is also present in many places in the Upanishads, a recognition of One God or Isvara as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe and the ability to unite with Him (or Her) through meditation. The Upanishads also say Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam, “All this universe is pervaded by the Lord”
― David Frawley, The Principal Upanishads: The Essential Philosophical Foundation of Hinduism

“The ultimate goal of human life is to transcend culture and personality to the unconditioned pure being. But the means to do this is through our culture and way of life.”
― David Frawley, How I Became a Hindu: My Discovery of Vedic Dharma

“We must learn to die daily to the known and limited, accepting our outer lives are but an offering to the inner spirit. Then everyday will be a new birth into eternity.”
― David Frawley, Soma in Yoga and Ayurveda: The Power of Rejuvenation and Immortality

“No ancient story, not even Homer's Iliad or Odyssey, has remained as popular through the course of time. The story of Rama appears as old as civilization and has a fresh appeal for every generation.”
― David Frawley, The Oracle of Rama: An Adaptation of Rama Ajna Prashna of Goswami Tulsidas; with commentary

“Asana, with its soothing, stretching and relaxing action, is the main physical exercise for balancing the doshas. It calms Vata, cools Pitta and releases Kapha.”
― David Frawley, Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“There is no one who desires and nothing desirable in itself. There is only the force of desire as a cosmic power that stimulates all creatures into action. Honor the power of desire as a spiritual force and desire the highest for yourself and for everyone, letting go of all lesser wants.”
― David Frawley, Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti: Secrets of Mantras, Deities and Meditation

“The banning of books is the greatest statement of both intolerance and stupidity. A country which does this is just giving a lobotomy to itself.”
― David Frawley, Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the Modern World

“In Ayurveda, herbal medicines are prescribed to be taken with various mediums of intake, as hot water or milk. Such vehicles for taking herbs are called anupanas.

The same medicine taken with ghee may reduce Pitta, but with honey may target Kapha. Ghee is the strongest substance in helping herbs reduce Pitta and fever; sesame oil for the reduction of Vata; and honey for the reduction of Kapha.

Water conveys the effects of herbs to rasa, the plasma. Honey brings them to the blood and the muscles. Milk brings them to the plasma and blood. Alcohol brings them to the subtle tissue, to the nerves.”
― David Frawley, The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine

“When we are sick, we lose our sense of taste and our appetite. Taste, appetite, and power of digestion are related. Lack of taste indicates fever, disease, low agni, high ama. To improve agni and eliminate disease, it is necessary to improve our sense of taste. This is why spices are such important Ayurvedic herbs. Desire for tasty food indicates hungry agni or disease. The problem is that we have perverted our sense of taste with artificial substances.”
― David Frawley, The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine

“And, no matter how evolved a person may think he is, he has no right to interfere with the spiritual practices of another, because interference is itself the most un-evolved of all religious actions.”
― David Frawley, Awaken Bharata: A Call for India’s Rebirth

“Ayurveda does not look upon asanas as fixed forms that by themselves either decrease or increase the doshas. It views them as vehicles for energy that can be used to help balance the doshas, if used correctly.”
― David Frawley, Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“alma es fuente de vida (Prana), amor (Chitta) y luz (Buddhi), sus tres potencias principales.”
― David Frawley, Ayurveda y la Mente: la sanación de la conciencia

“A good generic sequence to use for your asana practice is — Warm-ups, standing poses, inverted poses, backbends, forward bends and twists, ending with Savasana.”
― David Frawley, Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“Whatever we can observe, like a cup upon the table, is an object and exists apart from our awareness, which is its perceiver. Yet we cannot only observe external objects, we can also observe internal objects. We can note whether our sense organs are acute or impaired, as when our vision begins to fail. Similarly we can observe our emotions, our thoughts, and even our own ego, which are all fluctuating phenomena, if we look deeply. We can observe the functions
of the mind just as we can observe the movements of our body.
Just as the eye is not damaged when a cup falls onto the floor and breaks, so consciousness is not damaged when the contents of the mind get altered or damaged. The witnessing consciousness is apart from the objects and conditions that it observes. Therefore, the first thing we observe about the mind is that, as something observable, the mind is an object. The mind is material and part of the external world. It belongs to us but it is not who we really are, just as our house belongs to us but is not us. This may be shocking to consider, but it is really something intuitively known to us. When we speak of "my mind," we are defining the mind as an object that belongs to us and not as ourselves.”
― David Frawley, Ayurveda and the Mind

“El propósito de la encarnación física es el desarrollo de una conciencia superior.”
― David Frawley, Ayurveda y la Mente: la sanación de la conciencia

“In summary, therefore, the structural effect of the asana is the first factor. The way we energize the asana through Prana is the second. This includes how we move through the asana and breathe within it. Our state of mind is a third factor.”
― David Frawley, Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“El gran énfasis que el vedanta pone en el Ser probablemente sea su principal característica y lo que más lo diferencia del budismo. Mientras que el vedanta considera que la conciencia pura es el Ser o Atman, el budismo prefiere destacar el anatman o no yo. Encontramos ecos de la gran importancia que el vedanta le confiere al Ser en tradiciones místicas occidentales como el gnosticismo, que influyó en el cristianismo temprano o el sufismo islámico. Todas estas disciplinas se refieren a Dios como el Ser o el Yo-soy supremo. La tradición occidental del Ser se remonta como mínimo a la revelación bíblica de Dios ante Moisés como «Yo soy el que soy», aunque esta noción quedó eclipsada por el acento que se le otorgó al monoteísmo como la verdad suprema. También encontramos esta clase de expresiones sobre el Yo-soy divino en tradiciones paganas como las de los celtas o las de los antiguos griegos y egipcios, que presentan muchos aspectos en común con el hinduismo.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“Pero en el vedanta no dual (advaita), la realidad última no es el Creador, sino el Absoluto, llamado Brahman, que trasciende el tiempo, el espacio y la causalidad, y está por encima de cualquier creador personal. Nuestro ser individual, nuestra alma (Atman), es una con el Absoluto o Brahman, que es el Yo o el Ser supremo (Paramatman). Así, el alma no es simplemente una parte del Creador, sino que es una con el fundamento mismo del Ser-Conciencia-Felicidad del que todo emerge, incluso el Creador mismo.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“One of the main purposes of asana practice is to be able to do Savasana well. It is the time when the body replenishes itself and balances the energy created in your practice. Many great teachers have said that savasana is the most important position and the reason we practice all of the other asanas. It is also a form of pratyahara or sensory withdrawal in which we can rest our motor organs and contact the peace within that is the real goal of Yoga.”
― David Frawley, Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice

“Hinduism is not about joining a church but about developing respect for all beings, not only humans but plants and animals as well. It is not about a particular holy book but about understanding our own minds and hearts. It is not about a savior but about discovering the Divine presence within us.”
― David Frawley, How I Became a Hindu: My Discovery of Vedic Dharma

“En el vedanta se concibe al Creador como un medio para descubrir nuestro verdadero Ser, en el cual tanto el alma como Dios son uno y lo mismo. La unión con Dios es parte del proceso de la realización del Ser. En última instancia, la deidad adorada somos nosotros mismos, nuestro propio Ser, y debemos llegar a reconocerla en todos los seres. Hasta que no lleguemos a ver al amado divino en nuestro propio corazón, nuestra devoción no habrá alcanzado aún su meta más elevada.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“El vedanta y el budismo comparten las ideas del karma, la reencarnación y la liberación del ciclo de renacimientos (samsara). Presentan prácticas similares de meditación y recitado de mantras. Observan las mismas disciplinas éticas de la no violencia (ahimsa) y el vegetarianismo, y ambos sistemas religiosos cuentan con órdenes monásticas bien desarrolladas y establecidas. En lo referente a su forma de considerar la verdad, tanto la variante mahayana del budismo como el vedanta advaita (no dual) conceden una especial importancia al Absoluto y consideran el mundo fenoménico como maya o ilusión.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“El vedanta es la enseñanza espiritual más antigua y perdurable de la India. Aparece en toda su plenitud en los Upanishads y en forma sintetizada en el Bhagavad Gita. Pero cuenta con antecedentes más antiguos en la literatura védica, la cual, según hallazgos arqueológicos recientes, data del 3500 a. C., cuando la antigua cultura de los valles del Indo y el Saraswati floreció en todo el norte de la India. Los términos y las prácticas principales del vedanta ya están presentes en los crípticos mantras de los antiguos Vedas, que se remontan a los albores de la historia registrada.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“En el vedanta se entiende que el silencio es nuestra propia conciencia humana, la cual reside en el corazón e impregna la totalidad del universo.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“El objetivo de la meditación budista es conseguir que la mente regrese a su estado natural, el estado iluminado. Esto se logra negando el ego o yo individual y despertando la mente búdica (bodhichitta). El vedanta, en cambio, opta por establecer una clara distinción entre la mente (manas), considerada como un producto de la ignorancia (maya), y el Ser (Atman), que trasciende la mente. La vía del vedanta consiste en disolver la mente en el Ser, que constituye nuestra verdadera naturaleza más allá de la mente y sus condicionamientos.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia

“El vedanta es una filosofía simple: afirma que nuestro verdadero Ser, lo que denomina Atman, es Dios. «Yo soy Dios» (aham brahmasmi) es la verdad suprema. La misma conciencia que reside en el núcleo de nuestro ser impregna por completo el universo entero. Conocernos a nosotros mismos es conocer a Dios y ser uno con todo. El vedanta es una filosofía de autorrealización, y su práctica es una forma de autorrealización a través del yoga y la meditación.”
― David Frawley, Meditación vedanta: Enseñanzas para encender la llama de la conciencia