|
ABOUT THE “ATHA”
NOCTURNE
Like many yoga teachers I use copies of Alistair Shearer’s
translations of The Sutras and The Upanishads in my teaching.
Alistair’s translations are clear and easy to read and his
background in Sanskrit brings great clarity to the Sutras.
In June I attended a retreat at the Earth Spirit Centre near
Glastonbury. It coincided with the Glastonbury Festival so avoiding
the crowds needed some consideration but the area around Bath and
the Somerset levels is beautiful, especially over a hot sunny
weekend, so thanks to Satnav, finding alternative back routes
through the countryside proved pleasantly successful.
Alistair began on the Friday evening with the first Sutra; “Atha
yogānuśānam” (“And now the teaching on Yoga begins”, A.
Shearer, 1982).
I left the session buzzing so decided to climb to the top of
Lollover Hill. It was a warm summers evening and the sky to the west
was painted a glorious red. Glastonbury Tor stood proud with
nothing but the Somerset levels in between and Venus in her glory
shone bright in the night sky, whilst a magnificent full moon
illuminated the whole scene like a magical movie set.
Occasionally the sound of a distant drum could be heard from the
festival, reminding of more earthly fun & frolics, whilst up above
light from the International Space Station moved slowly across the
clear sky and I wondered what view the astronauts might have of the
world below.
|
