पूर्वेषाम् अपि गुरुः कालेनानवच्छेदात्॥२६॥
sa esa purvesam-api guruh kalena-anavacchedat
This Isvara/Higher Power (sa esa) is the ultimate teacher (guruh), the first teacher of all past, present and future teachers (purvesam) and one who is not limited by time (kalena-anavacchedat).
PRACTICAL LIVING So up until now we know that Isvara/Higher Power is (1) completely unrelated to the material world (prakrti) since it is unrelated or uninfluenced by karma (see sutra I.24); (2) Omniscient (see sutra I.25); and (3) Eternal (sutra I.26).
According to Samkhya philosophy and Yoga (see History), even though we all have the capacity within us to know everything, somebody external is still necessary to help us understand our own knowledge – that is why a teacher, or guru, is necessary. This is perhaps the biggest paradox in Yoga. This teacher can help us go within and understand ourselves. Like my teacher, Robert Birnberg says “The teacher’s job is to point out the spinach on the student’s teeth”. To help us, our teacher must have some knowledge. This knowledge was transmitted by his/her teacher, going back to what is believed 5000 years, which means there has been a chain of teacher-student relationships. But who was the first teacher? Patanjali says Isvara, is the Guru of all gurus.
IN THE YOGA WORLD The lense (darshana) or philosophy of Yoga is based on ancient texts called the Vedas. The Vedas have no authors. These are texts that are filled with wisdom and are teachings believed to have been heard by sages in a state of deep meditation. Perhaps Patanjali is telling us that these teachings, who no one claims to own, came from this Guru of all gurus, from Ishvara. Not only is this sutra saying that Isvara is unlimited by time, but so are the teachings. Even the Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali, who are half the age of the Vedas (2500 years old), is still very applicable to us. In other words, both Ishvara and His lessons are timeless.
INSPIRATIONAL PERSON Annette has a relationship with her own version of Ishvara that is 
beautiful. She reminds me on a weekly basis of connecting to my version of the Big Purusha. Her generosity, sense of humor and wit give me strength and fill me with love, especially in difficult moments. Her passion for life, for personal growth and her willingness to give her time to others inspires me! Thank you Annette for the continuous reminders to re-connect, and for making me feel safe and loved 🙂
Do you have any experiences you would like to share? Please interact as much as you like – everyone will learn from your personal experiences!
Thanks and we will look at how to connect to Ishvara!
weeklysutra 
I feel this Isvara can also live in the “non-time-kingdom” because when we can xperience a sparkle of that Truth (Higher Being, Consciousness, etc.), there is no more sequential time….
I am so touched to be in the company of Lucia’s teachers. We all have and need them…every one of us.
It seems very true that we all have this capacity within us to know “everything” but that we need some guidance to understand this information. I recently made the comment about how much I’ve learned about myself in the past few months due to being “forced” to talk about myself and reflect on things by my teacher (Lucia) that otherwise, I would not have even thought about. Lucia, you have definitely pointed out a ton of spinach in my teeth, which I thank you for, and I definitely look forward to learning so much more from you. 🙂
Daniel, you make me smile 🙂 We all definitely have some spinach, arugula, and other cositas that we need removed. Vinyasa krama, step-by-step we do some mental flossing 🙂
Sometimes i do certain things and in the back of my mind, my conscience says hey that’s not right. I think the conscious mind could belong to the ultimate power that i should be listening to and not ignoring. Quite a few times, i did without listening to my conscience and the consequence was that i did not find peace in myself. The actions caused me stress and unease in my head that i had to find ways to reconcile or put out the fire that i started. Listen to your heart and your mind, what they tell you should be right, and if something doesnt feel right, dont cross the line.
This is an interesting addition to the concept of Isvara – Isvara is omniscient, outside of time, unrelated to the material world, unaffected by karma, and eternal, and yet it is also the ultimate teacher? It is tempting to ascribe human characteristics to the word “teacher”, but I do not think that is right in this case; I also think that there is another way of understanding the concept of “teaching”. It can be thought of as guidance on a path, but maybe since a good way of thinking about Isvara is relating to it as an “Ur”…ultimate everything, seed before big bang, all-encompassing…since by our very limitations of being human, we cannot truly understand that which is beyond us in this sense, but we can sort of think of it in an ideal, if we are pointing our inquiries towards these qualities that we do not possess, perhaps the ultimate teacher is this way of continually unfolding these complex concepts and moving our minds from closed to open.