Satsangam

(b).This is not Yoga : 3. The public will take a man to be a Yogi or Guru only if he exhibits some Siddhis. It is a serious mistake. They must not be over credulous. They will be easily duped by these Yogic charlatans. They must use their power of discrimination and reasoning. They must study the ways, habits, nature, conduct, Vritti, Svabhava, antecedence, etc., of the Gurus and test their knowledge of scriptures, before they come to any definite conclusion. Next : (c).Prerequisites for Yoga Practice : Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

 (b).This is not Yoga : 2. Tie the hands and legs of a man with iron-chain and shut him in a room. Before you lock the door he will stand before you. Get inside the room. He will be again there. No doubt this is very, very astonishing. It is a mere trick. It is a kind of Jaalam (illusion). Some people can seat on a plank studded with sharpened nails and chew snakes like chocolates. If you pierce a long needle in their arms, no blood will come out. Some can draw water from stone. A Yogic charlatan can perform all these things through some trick or Jaalam. But these have nothing to do with real Yoga. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

 (b).This is not Yoga : 1. A man gets himself buried in a box underneath the ground. He does this by plugging the nostrils through Khechari Mudra. This is no doubt a difficult Kriya. He gets Jada Samadhi. This is a state like deep sleep. The Samskaras and Vasanas (subtle desires) are not fried by this Samadhi. He does not return with superintuitional knowledge. This cannot give Mukti or Liberation. This is kind of feat only. This is not a sign of spirituality. People use this Kriya for acquiring money, name and fame. When they come out of the box, they stretch their hand for money. They make transactions before they enter the box. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

(a). Yoga Defined : Part-6. Continued  ... The practice of Yoga is not opposed to any religion or any sacred Church. It is purely spiritual and universal. It does not contradict anyone's sincere faith. Yoga is not a religion, but an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga can be practised by a Christian or a Buddhist, a Parsee, a Muslim, a Sufi or an atheist. To be a Yogi means to abide continuously in God and to live at peace with men. Yoga is union with God. Yoga is union with all. God dwells in all. Next : (b).This is not Yoga : Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

(a). Yoga Defined : Part-6. Yoga is primarily a way of life, not something which is divorced from life. Yoga is not forsaking of action, but is efficient performance in the right spirit. Yoga is not running away from home and human habitation, but a process of moulding one's attitude to home and society with a new understanding. Yoga is not a turning away from life; it is spiritualization of life. Yoga is Universal. Yoga is for all. Yoga is universal. It is not a sectarian affair. It is a way to God and not a creed. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

a). Yoga Defined : Part-5. Yoga is that state of Absolute Peace wherein there is neither imagination nor thought. Yoga is control of mind and its modifications. Yoga teaches us how to control the modifications of the mind and attain liberation. It teaches us how to transmute the unregenerate nature and attain the state of Divinity. It is the complete suppression of the tendency of the mind to transform itself into objects, thoughts, etc. Yoga kills all sorts of pain, misery and tribulation. It gives you freedom from the round of births and deaths, with its concomitant evils of disease, old age, etc., and bestows upon you all the Divine Powers and final liberation through super-intuitional knowledge. Equanimity is Yoga. Serenity is Yoga. Skill in actions is Yoga. Anything by which the best and the highest in life can be attained is also Yoga. Yoga is thus all-embracing, all-inclusive and universal in its application leading to all-round development...

a). Yoga Defined : Part-4. Yoga is that state of Absolute Peace wherein there is neither imagination nor thought. Yoga is control of mind and its modifications. Yoga teaches us how to control the modifications of the mind and attain liberation. It teaches us how to transmute the unregenerate nature and attain the state of Divinity. It is the complete suppression of the tendency of the mind to transform itself into objects, thoughts, etc. Yoga kills all sorts of pain, misery and tribulation. It gives you freedom from the round of births and deaths, with its concomitant evils of disease, old age, etc., and bestows upon you all the Divine Powers and final liberation through super-intuitional knowledge. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  .....

a). Yoga Defined : Part-3. Yoga philosophy is one of the six systems of Hindu / Bhartheeya  philosophy. Unlike so many other philosophies of the world, it is a philosophy that is wholly practical. Yoga is an exact science based on certain immutable Laws of Nature. It is well known to people of all countries of the world interested in the study of East civilization and culture, and is held in awe and reverence as it contains in it the master-key to unlock the realms of Peace, Bliss, Mystery and Miracle. Even the philosophers of the West found solace and peace in this Divine Science. The founder of the Yoga Philosophy, Patanjali Maharishi, was not only a Philosopher and a Yogi, but a Physician as well. He is said to have lived about three hundred years before Jesus Christ. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  ...

(a). Yoga Defined : Part-2. To, All Friends, Yoga, in a generic sense, refers to Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga or Kundalini Yoga. In a restricted sense, it means the Ashtanga Yoga or Raja Yoga of Patanjali Maharishi only. The word Yoga is also applicable in a secondary sense to all those factors and practices that are conducive to the final achievement or fulfillment of Yoga, and as such indirectly lead to final freedom or perfection. Similarly, though the one who has reached the final Asamprajnata Samadhi or union with Reality is called a Yogi, one who is attempting to get perfection in Yoga is also called a Yogi. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  ....

To, All Friends, ( a).Yoga Defined : Part-1. The word 'Yoga' comes from a Sanskrit root 'Yuj' which means 'to join'. In its spiritual sense, it is the process by which the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul is realized by the Yogi. The human soul is brought into conscious communion with the Divine Reality. Just as camphor melts and becomes one with fire; just as a drop of water when it is thrown into the ocean, becomes one with the ocean; the individual soul, when it is purified, when it is freed from lust, greed, hatred and egoism, when it becomes pure (Sattvic), becomes one with the Supreme Soul. The science that teaches the way of acquiring this occult knowledge is called 'Yoga Sastra'. Sri Swami Sivananda To be continued  ....

To, All Members, Devotees would often ask Sri Ramakrishna to enlighten them about the way illumined souls live. They would often express doubts as to how a person, who has attained the highest truth or Samadhi can come down and live in this world. Sri Ramakrishna would explain this idea through a beautiful analogy. He would say that during the initial stages of sadhana, a person negates everything that is not of the nature of consciousness as not Brahman and proceeds further in his spiritual quest. This is similar to the ascent of a person trying to reach the top or roof of a house by using a staircase. He constantly negates that the steps are not the roof and keeps climbing further and further. At last he reaches the roof and enjoys the experience of being there for some time. But it is not possible to stay forever on the roof and he has to come down. While coming down, he finds that the steps of the staircase, which he had negated as not being the roof, are made of ...

To, All Members, The apparent duality of Soul and Nature, or Purusha and Prakriti in the classical terminology, is the expression of an experience of consciousness along the way. As the seeker begins to focus inwardly and to consciously separate from the stream of action in the outer world of Nature, in order to discover the deeper or higher states of consciousness, a type of bifurcation occurs, whereby a gulf is felt between the inner “witness” and the outer “doer”. The Upanishads referenced this experience in the famous image of the two birds: “Two winged birds cling about a common tree, comrades, yoke-fellows; and one eats the sweet fruit of the tree, the other eats not, but watches. The Soul upon a common tree is absorbed and because he is not lord, grieves and is bewildered; but when he sees and cleaves to thta other who is the Lord, he knows that all is His greatness and his sorrow passes away from him.” (Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads, pg. 370, Shwetashwatara Upani...

To, All Members, The choice in our life is either we come from commitment or complaint. We have to decide that. Invariably we find people who are powerful are those who operate from commitment. And those who are powerless, always operate from complaint. One’s state of being will be powerful if one operates from commitment. There are differences in a relationship. Do not give too much of importance to them. Give importance to your love and commitment, to your commonality, like you enjoy the joy rides in an amusement park, even though it appears scary.  It gives you jitters but still you enjoy. Enjoy your relationship. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, Devotee .: God is perfect. Why did He create the world imperfect? The work shares the nature of the author. But here it is not so. Maharishi .: Who is it that raises the question? D.: I - the individual. M.: Are you apart from God that you ask this question? So long as you consider yourself the body you see the world as external. The imperfections appear to you. God is perfection. His work also is perfection. But you see it as imperfection because of your wrong identification. source: Talk 271 Sri  Ramana Maharishi

To, All Members, Devotees would often complain to Sri Ramakrishna that in spite of their efforts they seem to make no progress in spiritual life. They would also say that even if there is love for God in their hearts, how do they understand that God loves them. Sri Ramakrishna would say that God is a slave of pure love. He does not look for any splendour or pomp or glory. He is satisfied with the least of offerings and it is very easy to please Him. That is why in the Gita it is said: Patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Tad aham bhakty-upahrtam asnami prayatatmanah Whoever with devotion offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that I accept — the devout gift of the pure-minded. (Gita 9.26) Sri Ramakrishna would also give a beautiful example from daily life. He would say that when a cow is fed with fodder, it takes quite some time to consume it. It does not find much taste or delight in consuming normal fodder. But if a little oil-cake...

The experience of the Absolute is not the only spiritual experience available to the seeker. The Divine Reality encompasses both the unmanifest and the manifest, the Transcendent, and the universal creation. The seeker finds that there is a process of unification that resolves the apparent contradiction between the One and the Many. What appeared to be some kind of illusion or web of Maya turns out to be the process of the Eternal unfolding a manifestation through Time. Sri Aurobindo elaborates: “All the Timeless presses towards the play in Time; all in time turns upon and around the timeless Spirit. If the separative experience was liberative, this unitive experience is dynamic and effective. For he now not only feels himself to be in his soul-substance part of the Eternal, in his essential self and spirit entirely one with the Eternal, but in his active nature an instrumentation of its omniscient and omnipotent Consciousness-Puissance.” The limits experienced in the ...

Even a little mediation on the Atma will make you fearless. You will get the spiritual inexhaustible which no dacoit can rob. Don’t depend upon your bank balance. Become bold. Roar like a lion and regain your lost divinity. Remember that in your essential nature you are the Atma. Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham(That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva,love and pure consciousness). To reach this state it is rather difficult. Swami Sivananda

To, All Members, Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work. The moment you fear you are nobody. It is fear that is the cause of great misery in this world. It is fear that is the cause of all our worries and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment. Those who exercise, control their food intake and are always purposefully engaged very rarely get sick and hence they do not need treatment at all. Their minds keep them healthy all the time. Because the mind is totally under control in a very easy and natural  way. When we learn the art of guiding our mind in the right direction with love, we then never experience the difficulty of having to bring back the mind to the right thinking. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, Actions produce samskara (mental impressions) that coalesce and form tendencies. Tendencies develop into habits and character. Evil deeds generate bad character. Examine your character. Pick up the defects you find in it, and find their opposites. Let us say that you suffer from irritability. The opposite of irritability is patience. Understanding the laws of nature, you can mould or shape your character in any way you like. Man creates his own character and circumstances. Never become a fatalist. Think rightly, act rightly. Lead a virtuous life. Never hurt the feelings of others. Mould your character. Purify your mind. Concentrate. Swami Sivananda

To, All  Members, *Devotee .: *Is not destiny due to past karma? *Maharishi .: *If one is surrendered to God, God will look to it. *D.: *This being God’s dispensation, how does God undo it? *M.: *All are in Him only. *D.: *How is God to be seen? *M.: *Within. If the mind is turned inward *God *manifests as inner consciousness. *D.: *God is in all - in all the objects we see around us. They say we should see God in all of them. *M.: *God is in all and in the seer. Where else can God be seen? He cannot be found outside. He *should *be felt within. To see the objects, mind is necessary. To conceive God in them is a mental operation. But that is not real. The consciousness within, purged of the mind, is felt as God. *D.: *There are, say, beautiful colours. It is a pleasure to watch them. We can see God in them. *M.: *They are all mental conceptions. *D.: *There are more than colours. I *mentioned *colours only as an example. *M.: *They ...

To, All Members, How is Om a symbol for the Lord? A flag is just a piece of cloth. Yet, we see that on the flag of a country, the constitution of the country, what the country stands for, is deliberately superimposed, loaded. Deliberate superimposition on something else makes it a symbol for what is superimposed. Therefore, the flag symbolizes the country and respect shown to the flag is the respect shown to that country. Defence force personnel follow a strict protocol in the flag hoisting ceremony. Similarly, on the word Om, there is a deliberate superimposition of Ishvara and therefore it becomes a word symbol. The names that we give to people are also sound symbols, standing for the person. So, ?m is a sound symbol, which is loaded with meaning. Phonetically, 'A' is the basic sound that is produced by human being anywhere in the world, when he tries to make a sound by opening the mouth. In most languages 'A' is also the first letter of the alpha...

To, All Members, Namaskar to Lord Vishnu who is almighty and remembering whom, one is liberated from the bondage of samsaram. The recitation of Vishnusahasranama produces punya and according to one’s sankalpa, bhuti, prosperity is gained. The one who seeks moksa should also recite these 1000 names. The one who gave out these mantras at the beginning is Rsi Veda-vyasa. Anustup is the metre, which consists of 32 letters. Before the Vishnusahasranama, there is a  small section of verses offering prayers to Lord Ganapati, Vyasa and Visnu and then a few verses in the form of a dialogue giving the background of Vishnu Sahsaranama as described in the first post. The Vishnu-sahasranama begins with Om. It is an integral part of the sahasranama. Om is a word, which is  indicative of an auspicious beginning. It is also the name of Brahmam, for both the saguna and nirguna aspect, for both the vastu and paramesvara. The Lord is one and Om is also a sin...

To, All Members, The jiva is nothing but the embodiment of Satchidananda. But since maya, or ego, has created various upadhis, he has forgotten his real Self. Each upadhi changes man's nature. If he wears a fine black-bordered cloth, you will at once find him humming Nidhu Babu's love-songs. Then playing-cards and a walking-stick follow. If even a sickly man puts on high boots, he begins to whistle and climbs the stairs like an Englishman, jumping from one step to another. If a man but holds a pen in his hand, he scribbles on any paper he can get hold of-such is the power of the pen! Money is also a great upadhi. The possession of money makes such a difference in a man! He is no longer the same person. A brahmin used to frequent the temple garden. Outwardly he was very modest. One day I went to Konnagar with Hriday. No sooner did we get off the boat than we noticed the brahmin seated on the bank of the Ganges. We thought he had been enjoying the fresh air. L...

Because of the built in conceptions about the term “sacrifice” that have come down to us, it becomes necessary to review what these are so that we do not respond to the term based on hidden assumptions. Sri Aurobindo describes these conceptions: “The vulgar conception of sacrifice is an act of painful self-immolation, austere self-mortification, difficult self-effacement; this kind of sacrifice may go even as far as self-mutilation and self-torture.” We see through the history of religion and spiritual seeking, all over the world, that such conceptions arise. We have seen seekers punish the body, mortify themselves using whips or belts embedded with nails. We have seen those who starve the body, those who hold their arms in the air for decades until they wither away, and those who refuse to sit or lie down. Painful austerities are intended, in these instances, to focus the mind on the spiritual path. “These things may be temporarily necessary in man’s hard endeavour to exce...

To, All Members, “In his Narada Bhakti Sutra, Sage Narada describes devotion as santi rupa (peace) and ananda rupa (bliss). In Tulsi Ramayana, Lord Rama himself tells Lakshmana that ‘the thought and bhavana (feeling) behind any action that touches and melts the Lord’s heart becomes bhakti (devotion)’. Yet devotion cannot be limited by time or space and so is not just the act itself. Devotion is not a five-to-ten minute engagement during the day, rather it involves the whole being all the time. Often, devotion is looked at as a mere overflow of emotions in the simple-minded with no need for knowledge in that process. However, the fact that such great intellectuals as Veda Vyasa, Sankara and Suka raised devotion to an honoured place in their lives and works shows the fault in that argument.    All of us want to experience devotion in our hearts. We all have this innate yearning, and initially a direction given by a Guru or saint or the scriptural injunctions th...