Dayā – compassion

«That indulgence towards all beings, as towards one’s own self, by body, mind and word of mouth, that alone is known as Compassion by knowers of Vedānta»  (Darśana-upanishad, 1.14-15). 

In the Darśana-upanishad dayā is one of the ten yamas, the prescribed observances for the yogin. It is a principle of real sympathy, sim-pathos – suffering with, according to which there is no difference between oneself and others. For dayā to be possible it is necessary to work deeply on yourself. In fact only by understanding and accepting (forgiving) your own dynamics, you can understand and accepte (and forgive) other dynamics.

The month begins in harmony. A beautiful moon in conjunction makes you feel you have achieved a balance between body and mind and between you and others. Don’t stick to this idea anyway, because you still have a lot of work to do. It will be shown to you in the first weeks, when you risk getting angry just because someone asks you for explanations. What is asked of you, Pisces, is to understand yourself and control your emotions and consequently to be more sensitive and compassionate towards the emotions of others. Challenges in this regard are continuous. If you accept them with a clear mind, thinking about what you can get out of them, you will end the month much more quietly, with a positive Mars that finally leaves you free from conflict.

Develop compassion with this brief practice:

Simha-āsana, lion pose.  Observe if and how you vent anger in this pose. // 1-2 min.

Ujjāyī prānāyāma, breath that gives victory or victorious breath. Sitting in a comfortable meditative position, breathe and listen to the slow and deep breath. Be patient and calm. Use this breath during the day in any position to clear and stabilize the mind. Try to exhale twice the time of the inspiration! // From 3 to 6 min.

Concentration. Sit in a meditative position and take some time to relax all your muscles. Think of all the events of the day, what you said, done, felt and how you reacted to such events, the emotions you experienced, even the most subtle, the nuances … until the moment you arrived here to sit down. Observe how you feel now. // From 5 a 15 min.

TOTAL TIME: from 9 to 23 minutes.

MANTRA of the MONTH: «I love myself».