Upanishads · Varāha 5.46
॥
Devanāgarī
दिवारात्रमविच्छिन्नं यामेयामे यदा यदा । अनेनाभ्यासयोगेन वायुरभ्यसितो भवेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
divārātramavicchinnaṃ yāmeyāme yadā yadā | anenābhyāsayogena vāyurabhyasito bhavet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दिवा-रात्रम् अ-विच्छिन्नंdivā-rātram a-vicchinnaṃby day and night, unbroken
यामे यामे यदा यदाyāme yāme yadā yadāin every watch, whenever
अनेन अभ्यास-योगेनanena abhyāsa-yogenaby this yoga of practice
वायुः अभ्यसितः भवेत्vāyuḥ abhyasitaḥ bhavetthe wind becomes trained
Translation
"By day and night, unbroken, in every watch, whenever [it occurs], — by this yoga of practice, the wind becomes trained."
Version
f38477b866e8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The demand is set to the utmost: diva-ratram avichchhinnam, "day and night, unbroken," in every yama, "watch" (three hours). Let us say plainly what deserves saying of this. The demand is unperformable for a person living in the world: it presupposes there is nothing else to be occupied with.
And this is no quibble, but a direct consequence: one who practices in every watch of day and night can neither feed his family, nor work, nor sleep properly. That is, this path, by its very structure, is a hermit's path; and these books, it must be granted, do not conceal this. Here the Vaishnava side sets its own; and this difference is, in my view, the most practically important of all we have discussed.
Its chief practice — repetition of the Name — takes no time. It is done while walking, while working, on the road, while ill; and this is not a concession, but a property of the means itself: the tongue is free when the hands are busy. Hence, for it, the demand for continuity is not empty, and its verse on this account is famous: kirtaniyah sada harih, "Hari must always be sung" (Chaitanya, "Shikshashtaka" 3).
And there too it is explained how this is possible: trinad api sunichena, "humbler than a blade of grass, more patient than a tree" — that is, continuity is achieved not by a schedule, but by character. Let us add: a schedule can be broken; character cannot be broken, for it is you yourself.