This is one of the most famous quotes attributed to Pattabhi Jois. It has largely become the
"mantra" of Ashtanga yoga. In this statement, Pattabhi Jois likely is not implying that asana practice
will make all your wishes come true, or that you are guaranteed to master 6th series in this lifetime.
Rather, that practice should be performed without expectations or goals. If you do the work without
goals, the "goal" (of controlling the mind) has essentially been accomplished. Manju Jois explains
that with this statement, his father was directing western students to practice Karma Yoga, the yoga
of action. So, in effect, Pattabhi Jois secularized his yoga and that of Krishnamacharya by removing
the philosophy and Hindu rituals. This explains why, once Ashtanga became popular in the West,
Pattabhi Jois taught only asana, and stopped teaching kriya, Mantra, and Pranayama.
Sri Swami Satchidananda said, “If you don’t want disappointments don’t make appointments”. But
even more so, if we set out to discover new frontiers, but start the journey with set expectations,
we are likely to miss out on the real learning experience. True learning can only happen when there
are no expectations. Otherwise, we are simply building on known & accepted ideas.
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"He who does the task
Dictated by duty,
Caring nothing
For fruit of the action,
He is a yogi,
A true sannyasin."
Bhagavad Gita
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