Svadhyaya: Self-Study

Svadhyaya: Self Study

by Amrito Cross

This month’s theme and the fourth niyama is Svadhyaya: the study of sacred texts, or self study.  Most of us have been trained that the way to improve our experiences is to get other people and circumstances to change.  Have you noticed that this doesn’t work?  That’s because they are our experiences, and the common denominator in all of them is ourselves.  If we keep being the same – same thoughts, feelings, words and actions – we will keep having the same experiences.  Self study is about looking in a mirror and observing the light of our true Self, as well as noticing the habits and patterns of the small self, personality or ego identity.  The more we know our higher Self, the more we can observe our small self with neutrality and compassion, noticing the habits of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting which are no longer serving our highest good.  This simple awareness is the first step in making a change.  This is freedom.

If looking in the mirror for self-awareness is our intention, then anything and everything can be the mirror, from studying sacred texts, to interacting with a grocery checker, your partner, family or friends, to paying taxes, dealing with an illness, working, asana practice or riding your bike.

Often, the first habit to overcome in order to allow self study, is the habit of thinking that what’s bothering us is to do with something external.  Try this experiment: next time you’re upset, stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself what you’re upset about.  In the middle of your answer, interrupt yourself, and say, “No it’s not that.  I’m upset because of the way I’m looking at this.  How can I look at this differently?”