There’s a story from the Chandogya Upanishad that I wanted to share with you:
Svetaketu was a proud young man who had studied all the scriptures. When he returned home after years of education, his father, the sage Uddalaka, noticed a change in him. Svetaketu had gained knowledge, but not wisdom. He still tried to control every situation, to argue constantly and assert his domination over everyone and everything.
One day, his father asked,
“My son, have you been taught that knowledge by which the unheard becomes heard, the unseen becomes seen, and the unknown becomes known?”
Svetaketu was silent. He had not.
So Uddalaka gave him a teaching.
He asked Svetaketu to place a lump of salt in a cup of water and return the next day.
When the son returned, Uddalaka said,
“Bring me the salt.”
Svetaketu replied, “But father, it has dissolved!”
“Taste the water from the top,” said Uddalaka.
“Salty,” Svetaketu replied.
“Taste the middle.”
“Still salty.”
“And the bottom?”
“Salt, again.”
Uddalaka smiled:
“Though you do not see the salt, it is present throughout. In the same way, the Self pervades all. You chase control in the outer world because you have not yet tasted the salt of your own being. The peace you seek is already within you, pervading all. You must sit still and taste it.”
What I find about the human condition is rather than sitting with what is uncomfortable within: moving through it and allowing peace to rise up, we attempt to control what is around ourselves instead.
We decide the problem is outside of ourselves and needs to be controlled… If only my spouse would change, then I would be happy. Or if my house was just more organized then I would feel peaceful. If my boss just had more patience, if my child was less rambunctious, if the government ran things better, the list runs on.
Almost as an unconscious attempt to not move through the uncomfortable inner feelings, humans project that discomfort outside themselves. But the ancient sages taught the same lesson in a million ways: we must “taste the salt of our own being” and sometimes that involves getting a lip puckering, eye wincing mouthful. But once that sensation passes we gain an inner experience that reveals to us the reality of things. That all is within.
So when it comes to control the yogis advise us through the texts:
| What You Try to Control | What Yogis Suggest Instead |
|---|---|
| External situations. | Practice equanimity (samatvam) |
| Others’ actions. | Focus on your dharma (duty) |
| Future outcomes | Surrender to divine timing |
| Desires and impulses | Cultivate awareness and restraint |
| Mind and thoughts. | Use breath and meditation |
| Emotions | Allow, witness, and purify them |
Through these simple methods we can achieve inner peace. By allowing the world outside to be merely a mirror to the internal we can return back to a state of yoga (union with the true self- consciousness).
I am a huge advocate of tapas (the purifying action of self-discipline) to help us achieve these higher states of yoga. Every time we step onto the mat for a yoga class, show up to a workshop, open a text to study, or sit down to meditate and do breath work we are initiating a kind of discipline that will refine our ability to stay present, inward and therefore peaceful. There are a few ways to practice tapas in our every day life as well:
Body Tapas
Fasting, silence, celibacy
Sharira tapas
Speech Tapas
Truthful, loving, uplifting speech
Vāk tapas
Mind Tapas
Calm, focused, contented awareness
Manasa tapas
Bhakti Tapas
Devotional surrender to the divine
Ishvara pranidhana
Seva Tapas
Discipline through selfless service
Karma yoga tapas
Play around with these this August and try your best to stay disciplined in your practice with us. The benefits are far reaching!
Hope to see you on your mat soon.
Peace and Love,
Amanda and the good folks at Revolution Yoga
Originally shared in our August 2025 newsletter.