All by oneself

Teaching yoga is not by telling the students of yoga about what and how they should and shouldn't perceive, think, believe, analyze, understand, judge, feel, act and react, or whether it is right or wrong, or whether it is good or bad, to think, feel, understand, behave, act and react in certain way.

There's neither right nor wrong, neither good nor bad, regardless of what and how the mind thinks, feels, understands, behaves, acts and reacts, throughout the yoga journey of mind disciplinary, mind purification, self-inquiry and self-realization, as the mind learns, purifies, inquires, reflects, evolves and realizes under the influence of ignorance and egoism, even if the mind has been ignorant, and has to go through falling, mistake making and suffering, for countless times.

It's whether the mind develops self-initiative and complete independence without attaching or depending on any forms of external 'teacher', 'answer' or 'blessing', to be aware of ignorance and egoism in itself, to free itself from worldly egoistic conditional thinking and behavior pattern, to free itself from the influence of ignorance and egoism, through self-effort, self-discipline, solitude, renunciation, determination and perseverance, or not, that allows the mind to be aware of what is going on in the mind itself, being the greatest teacher of itself, without attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, judgment, comparison and expectation, or not.

The greatest teaching from the existence of a teacher, is being the Dhamma or the teaching itself, while allowing the students to learn, purify, inquire, reflect, evolve and realize at their own pace and cause.

As long as the mind is still reluctant or not knowing how to look within, still has egoistic dependency, attachment, clinging, longing and expectation towards 'teacher', 'guidance', 'answers', 'blessing', 'acknowledgement', 'appreciation', 'acceptance', 'love', 'kindness', 'goodness', 'positiveness', 'righteousness', 'meaningfulness', 'achievement', 'compassion', 'companionship', 'connection', 'community' and so on, in order to clear one's doubt or ignorance towards this and that, to feel good and meaningful towards oneself, the world, life existence and one's involvement in certain kind of spiritual practice or pure and clean living, then even though this mind has been learning and studying about all kinds of teachings from many books and/or from many different teachers of different lineages and schools, or has been practicing certain spiritual teachings and performing certain spiritual practices regularly for a prolonged period of time, or has been accumulating virtues and merits from performing many generous kind acts, or there is a teacher (or many teachers) who is (are) the embodiment of Dhamma being very close to oneself, it still doesn't and won't remove the ignorance and egoism from this mind. And there's nothing wrong or bad about that. The mind just needs to take as much effort and practice as it needs, to free itself from the influence of ignorance and egoism, to attain self-realization via self-inquiry.

The mind that is independent, that knows non-attachment and non-identification, that knows non-craving and non-aversion, that knows non-judgment and non-expectation, that knows how to look within and how to reflect upon everything that it perceives, or knows how to be opened and inquires towards the truth of everything, it doesn't need any external teachers other than itself (the existence and function of the selfless and impermanent perceptive, cognitive, assertive, egoistic thinking faculty) and everything that it perceives through the senses (the selfless and impermanent modification of the mind, either under the influence of ignorance and egoism, or free from the influence of ignorance and egoism).

Independence and the practice of renunciation and solitude doesn't mean that one doesn't or shouldn't have family and friends, or one doesn't or shouldn't receive any help from anyone if there's a need for help, but there's no attachment towards the presence and absence of family and friends or help from anyone, to feel good and meaningful, or not, towards oneself and life existence.

One of the obstacles on the journey towards the elimination of ignorance and egoism to know Thyself, or "Who/What am (I)", or the mind perception of an impermanent selfless worldly life existence, to be transcending imperfection and the suffering of the restlessness of selfless impermanent changes (ceaseless births and deaths that are selfless and impermanent), is the subtle attachment towards the perceived 'existence' of 'I' and 'others that are not I', the worldly condition, the superior qualities of names and forms, goodness, kindness, meaningfulness, happiness, the sense of belonging, the sense of 'origin/identity/ancestry/birth place/nationality/race/gender/sexual orientation/family ties/connection', the sense of worthiness, and etc, that based on worldly egoistic thinking and belief, values and practice. The most effective way to free the mind from such 'stubborn' egoistic attachment, is the observation of dispassion, renunciation and solitude. But then, one of the obstacles towards the practice of dispassion, renunciation and solitude, is the sense of appropriateness and inappropriateness, and the sense of duty and responsibility, under the influence of the worldly egoistic thinking and belief, values and practice.

Out of 'loving kindness' and 'duty and responsibility' towards 'the world' and everything that is related to 'the world', the mind is constantly being distracted and occupied by worldly affairs and the engagement in aspirations/activities of 'trying to make the world a better place' or 'trying to reduce and eliminate badness or to promote and reserve goodness'. It doesn't mean that the actions of 'trying to make the world a better place' or 'trying to reduce and eliminate badness or to promote and reserve goodness' is useless or wrong. Just that, minds that are under the influence of passion and attachment towards achieving 'a better world', are like those whom themselves are restlessly floating on the rough ocean that they love and care for very much, while trying to 'save' the others who are struggling in the ocean to stay afloat as well, while trying to 'calm down' or 'conquer' the rough ocean to be something different from what it is.

While the minds that are free from passion and attachment, are like those who are already got out from the rough ocean resting upon a solid ground, being free from the restless struggling to stay afloat on a rough ocean, while having the related tools that allow them to 'guide' as many others who are still restlessly struggling to float on the rough ocean to also get out from the rough ocean finding a solid ground to rest upon, if they want, without trying to 'calm down' or 'conquer' the rough ocean being what it is, as it is.

However, most minds are reluctant to get out from the ocean of restlessness due to passionate attachment towards the ocean, while trying to make the ocean to be the way that they would like it to be.

Freeing the thinking faculty from any kinds of conditional way of thinking and belief. Quieting the modification of the mind and inquire towards the 'selflessness' and 'impermanence' of this thinking faculty, as well as in all kinds of impermanent names and forms that the mind perceives through the senses. Seeing names and forms as they are. All (subject and object) are selfless and impermanent. All is one same selfless impermanent changes of name and form regardless of the different qualities they appear to be. This is the practice. All the other practices are merely preparing the mind for this practice.

The mind perception of a worldly life existence or the world of selfless impermanent names and forms is just what it is. It's neither meaningful nor meaningless. If this mind is still being determined by the sense of meaninglessness and still looking for the sense of meaningfulness in certain names and forms or through certain actions/reactions of oneself and others, or if this mind still perceives, thinks and believes that 'This is meaningful' or 'That is meaningless', then keep practicing, until this mind sees beyond 'meaningfulness' and 'meaninglessness'.