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Essence of Vairagya-Satakam
Spiritual Message for the Day – Essence of Vairagya-Satakam by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 25 July 2015 20.09 EST | New York Edition** |
Essence of Vairagya-Satakam
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
The Vairagya-Satakam, or the Hundred Verses on Renunciation, of Bhartrihari are generally grouped into ten divisions, viz., condemnation of desire, futile attempts to abandon sense-objects, condemnation of poverty of a supplicant attitude, delineation of the evanescence of enjoyments, description of the working of Time, comparison of a king to an ascetic, control of mind by stimulating wisdom in it, discrimination of the immutable reality from the mutable, worship of Lord Siva and the ways of a Self-realized ascetic.
Even though you may roam about heaven and earth with a view to obtain riches at the sacrifice of dignity of birth, rank in life and self-respect, your efforts will not be attended with success; and even if perchance you do succeed, your desires will never be satiated. O ignoble man! What horrible sins and crimes have you not committed just to fill the cavity of your stomach and cover this body with a piece of cloth?
Hope is a flowing river. Desires are its water. Longings are its waves. Attachments for objects are the animals of prey living therein. One cannot cross this river because of the countless whirlpools of ignorance in the waters and the precipitous nature of the river banks. Only Yogis of pure mind can cross this river and enjoy the highest Bliss.
When you know fully well that all objects of enjoyments in this world are perishable and would leave you some day, why should you not voluntarily renounce them right now and enjoy eternal Bliss?
There is no miracle more wonderful to accomplish than that of a man of discrimination arising from knowledge of Brahman to wholly discard the wealth which has been giving him enjoyment!
The lives of ascetics living in mountain caves and meditating upon the Supreme Light are indeed blessed, not of those who live in mansions and indulge in sensual pleasures and vain imagination. The lives of ascetics living on alms, sleeping on the bare ground, self-reliant, and having but a worn-out blanket made up of a hundred patches is indeed the most exalted and blessed, not of those eating rich dishes, sleeping on royal beds and wearing excellent costly attire.
While the insects jump into the blazing fire and the fish sizes the bait attached to the hook through sheer ignorance, man who is supposed to have discrimination, and a knowledge of right and wrong does not abandon sensual pleasures that are attended with various defects! How inscrutable is the power of delusion!
Ignorant are those that think that possessing tall buildings, learned sons, tons of gold, a young beautiful lady as wife, and vigorous health constitute real blessedness, for they are deluded to run into the prison house of worldliness, whereas the truly blessed are those that renounce the world with all its joys and pleasures on account of its transitoriness.
Is it that those Himalayan valleys and the celestial Ganga banks are all engulfed in ruin that shameless men hanker after wealth, women and wine? Ts it that roots and herbs are no more available in those mountain-caves or that fruit-bearing trees are all destroyed that these men always want to revel in filth of worldliness?
Arise, O ignorant man, come with me. Let us go to solitary caves where even the name of that ignoble rich man is not heard. Let us live on roots and herbs and forest fruits; drink the cool, refreshing water of the holy Ganga and lie on soft beds of tender twigs and creepers. Let us repose on stone-beds in mountain-caves, meditate deeply day and night upon the All-merciful Siva, and lead a contented and peaceful life. Let us be happy, let the greedy and the avaricious be miserable. Even if gold equal to the Maha-Meru in weight were conferred upon me, I will not accept it.
Worldly life is always attended with fear, whereas renunciation alone makes man absolutely fearless.
Birth is eaten by death, blooming youth by old age, contentment by greed, happiness of self-control by the dangerous wiles of young women, virtues by jealous men, kings by the wicked ministers and power itself by transitoriness. Tell me what on earth is not eaten away by something else?
Health of men is subjected to various physical and mental ailments, wealth to peril of robbers, and whatever is born is carried away by death again and again. Enjoyments are fleeting, life is short and youthful happiness too little to quench one’s thirst. Oh, this world is unreal. God alone is real. Renounce desires for worldly enjoyments and attain knowledge of the Self.
How dare you say there is happiness in this world, when you have come forth from within an impure womb, when in youth you are polluted by sensual pleasures and mental distraction, and in old age you become the laughing stock of lustful women?
How wonderful that man goes on doing sinful and vicious acts as usual regardless of everything when he knows that old age is waiting like a vulture to devour him, when diseases afflict his body and mind in various ways, and when days are wasted in useless pursuits!
O little man of little faith! Believe me, this world with all its enjoyments and sensual pleasures, is evanescent and fleeting. Why do you vainly search for happiness in these worldly objects and break your legs? If you really want happiness, do as I tell you. Concentrate. Meditate. Realize. Then you will enjoy the highest happiness.
Where are those lovely cities, powerful kings, their feudatory kings or vassals, their cabinet of shrewd ministers, those beautiful women with moon-like faces, those princes and lords of illimitable wealth and fame, those ministrels and their songs of praise and flattery that once flourished?
How strange again that man wants to enjoy the same pleasures of the senses, eat the same delicious foods, drink the same wine, enjoy the same women, pass the same day and night again, and that disgust for these have not yet arisen!
The span of man’s life is very short-only a hundred years. Half of it is spent in sleep, and out of the rest, half is passed away in childhood and old age. Then there are periods of illnesses, bereavements and troubles, and serving others. What happiness can there be for a man in this world?
Who is great-a king or an ascetic? If you are a king of wealth and lands, I too am the king of the highest wisdom. If you are a king of great repute, my reputation resounds in all the four quarters of the globe and is envied greatly by all learned men. If you are cold and indifferent towards me, I too am perfectly indifferent towards you and your riches. If you exercise your kingly powers over riches I do the same over words. If you are a great warrior in the battlefield, I have the skill and the faculty to humble down the proudest of disputants.
O king, if you are rich in royal garment, I am perfectly contented with the bark of trees. He is verily poor whose desires are boundless, while he is truly rich who is contented with his lot.
O let us eat begged food, let the sky be our clothing, let the earth be our bed. We have absolutely nothing to do with the riches.
What a great fool you are to set thyself to winning good graces, so difficult to secure? O mind, wander not hither and thither. Rest in peace. Let things happen, if happen they must. Brood not over the past, nor plan about your future.
O mind, be calm and never desire for sensual enjoyments. Expel delusion and cultivate devotion unto Lord Siva, the Lord of lords, the God of gods, the Yogi of Yogis. Choose to live on the banks of the Ganga, the celestial river.
O mind, never again think of the frail Goddess of Fortune. Plunge thyself into deep and profound meditation on the Atma.
When there is devotion to Lord Siva, and fear of birth and death, when there is not the least attachment for family, when there is the solitude of the forests where the air breathed by worldly men does not exist, what better life is to be wished for?
Meditate on the supreme, infinite, ageless, effulgent Brahman, bereft of all imperfections and attain supreme Knowledge and Bliss.
When this body is free from disease and old age, when the senses are yet unaffected and life is still young, wise people should leave no stone unturned for the sake of their own supreme good, for it is of little avail to dig a well when the house is already on fire.
In our quest through the nook and corner of the three worlds ever since the beginning of creation, none has come within sight or hearing of a means to control the elephant of his mind, when maddened by the mysterious, deep-rooted infatuation for the female elephant of sense-object.
Sitting in the meditative posture at nights, when all sounds are stilled into silence, somewhere on the banks of the Ganga, and fearful of the horrible miseries of birth and death, crying aloud, “Siva, Siva, Siva” when shall we attain to that ecstatic state which is characterized by copious tears of joy :
If there is a loin-cloth worn out and shredded a hundred times, if one is free from all disquieting thoughts, if there is food, obtained from begging, and sleep on the cremation ground or in the forest, if one is at perfect liberty to wander about alone without any let or hindrance, and if one is steadfast in the festive joy of Yoga, what then is worth the rulership of the three worlds?
Excerpts from: Essence of Vairagya-Satakam - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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Story of Raja Bhartrihari
Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Story of Raja Bhartrihari by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 24 July 2015 11.45 EST | New York Edition** |
Story of Raja Bhartrihari
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Once when Raja Bhartrihari was on his throne, a great Tapasvin or Rishi came to his court. Bhartrihari at once got up from his seat, and prostrating himself before the Tapasvin began to serve him in various ways. The sage being extremely pleased with the Raja’s demeanour, gave him a fruit that could bestow upon the eater immortality and peace.
Now Raja Bhartrihari had a very beautiful queen of whom he was very enamoured and whom he very dearly loved. He thought that the only person who deserved this fruit was his young queen and none else, and so he took this God-sent gift to her and offered her the same. This young queen, though for all practical purposes the beloved of the Raja, had a paramour in the person of the charioteer who used to take her for drives now and then. She therefore took this fruit to him and gave him the same. Again this charioteer had a prostitute whom also he loved, and, accordingly, he gave the fruit to her.
Now, this prostitute thought that the only person who best deserved this fruit was Raja Bhartrihari himself, and so she took this fruit in her hands went to the Raja’s palace and offered it to him. Raja Bhartrihari was simply mystified. He was unable to solve the problem as to how it could be possible for this prostitute to get the fruit that was the rightful possession of his queen.
After deep thought and great deliberation, he was able to solve the problem by himself. Just before this incident, Bhartrihari’s brother who came to know of the queen’s love for the king’s charioteer had told Bhartrihari that the queen was an unchaste lady and that it was a great shame on the fair name of the royal family to keep a woman as queen in the palace when she secretly loved the king’s charioteer. But the young queen rose equal to the occasion and brought forth evidences to disprove the validity of the charge against her and was able to prevail upon the king to exile his brother from the kingdom. After due investigation into the whole matter, with all the dexterity that he could command, Bhartrihari came to the conclusion that, after all, the charge brought against his queen by his brother was true and that he had been fooled by a woman to take the extreme step of exiling his own brother who loved him so dearly and who held as high the fair name of the royal family by zealously guarding it from insinuation and blot.
True Vairagya immediately dawned upon the king. He now thought that there was none in the world who was really dear to another, no, not even one’s own wife or brother or friend. He became convinced that in fact these are one’s real enemies. He felt extreme disgust for the world and its pleasures and at once left his kingdom, wife and children and retired into the forests to lead a life of a Sannyasin. He did profound meditation for many years and finally attained knowledge of Self. He wrote a book generally known as ‘Bhartrihari’s Vairagya Satakam, or the Hundred Verses of Renunciation’ a perusal of which will produce immediate disgust for things mundane and induce one to renounce everything and lead the life of a recluse.
Excerpts from: Story of Raja Bhartrihari - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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The Mysterious Palace of Brahman
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Mysterious Palace of Brahman by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 23 July 2015 14.26 EST | New York Edition** |
The Mysterious Palace of Brahman
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
The mason builds a house out of stones, small bricks, lime and cement. He keeps big pieces of stones in the construction of the main walls and puts small bricks and pebbles to fill up the crevices in the wall, plasters the wall with lime and eventually puts a layer of cement. He polishes the wall with finishing touches and gives a colouring in the end to attract the eyes. Even so, the Divine Architect, God, has constructed this human body with the help of Prakriti. The bones represent the big stones; the muscles represent the pebbles; the fat the bricks; dermis or white skin the lime; the skin or epidermis the cement; the pigment of the skin the colouring matter. Look at the marvellous skill of the Divine Engineer, Engineer of all engineers. The muscles are fixed to the bones by means of tendons. The joints are kept intact by ligaments. Deposition of fat gives good shape to the limbs, trunk and abdomen and gives beauty. The pigment in the skin attracts the eyes of the out lookers and people are deluded by false beauty of the perishable body. They cling to this body and through this clinging they are caught up in the round of births and deaths.
The body is a mysterious moving palace. His Divine Majesty Brahman dwells here. Brahman is the Immortal soul or Atma. Buddhi or intellect is His Prime Minister. Mind is the commander. The ten Indriyas are the soldiers or servants. The eyes are the marvellous windows of the palace. Mouth is the way out. Eyes and ears are the way in. The Devatas who preside over the Indriyas, eyes ears, nose, etc., are the gatekeepers.
The nerves are the wires. Brain is the receivers It receives all messages. It contains a wonderful switch-board also. Prana is the electricity. The bones are the mountains. The veins are the rivers. The bladder is the ocean. The bowels and urethra are the sewers. The heart is the water-works. The arteries are the pipes. The astral heart is the garden of Vrindavan, Susbuma is the Kunjgalli of Vrindavan. Jiva is sweet Radha who wants to unite with Lord Krishna, or Brahman, through Yoga Samadhi. Sahasrara, or the crown of the head, is the place where Radha and Krishna, the individual soul and Brahman, unite. The different Chakras are the resting places with Kadamba tree.
The body is made up of five elements. Bone is nothing but earth or clay. Blood or flesh is nothing but water. The shining in the skin and the eyes is nothing but fire. The Prana that moves in the nostrils and lungs is nothing but air. This air rests on ether. Ether is the support for all the other four elements. Air, fire, water and earth have emanated from ether. When the body is buried, the bones become one with the earth. They go back to their source. Through the practice of Laya-Chintan if you reduce the earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, and air into ether, the body does not really exist. It dwindles into airy nothing. Through jugglery of Maya you perceive this body. In reality the imperishable soul which is the support for this body and mind really exists.
The body is inert and insentient. It remains as a log of wood as soon as the Prana leaves the body. It appears to be sentient through contact with Prana, mind and reflected intelligence, just as a ball of iron appears to be a ball of fire through contact with fire. The reflected intelligence, or Chaitanya, galvanizes the inert intellect first, as it is very subtle, and as the intellect is in close contact with it, and through intellect this inert body also is galvanized. So the body moves, feels and does various sorts of actions. After all, mortal flesh is clay, bone is only a modification of earth. O Man: Do not cling to this body of flesh and network of bones. Give up infatuation for this body. Destroy ignorance. Realize the Immortal Self and be free.
The Lord is hiding himself in the inner chambers of this mysterious palace. He is playing the game of ‘hide and seek’ with you. Find Him out. Search Him out. Search Him in the chambers of your heart by withdrawing the mind and the Indriyas from the external objects and practicing concentration and meditation.
Excerpts from: The Mysterious Palace of Brahman - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Selections from Viveka-Chudamani
Spiritual Message for the Day – Selections from Viveka-Chudamani by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 22 July 2015 22.41 EST | New York Edition** |
Selections from Viveka-Chudamani of Sri Sankaracharya
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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The man who having with difficulties acquired a human births with a male body and knowledge of the scriptures through delusion does not exert for liberation commits suicide, for he destroys himself by clinging to unreal objects.
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What greater fool is there than the man who having obtained a rare human birth and a male body too, neglects to attain the goal of his life?
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Vairagya is the desire to abandon all the transitory enjoyments from the physical body up to Brahma, the creator, having already known their defects and shortcomings from observation, hearing, etc.
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Those fools who are tied to these sense objects by the thick cord of attachment, so very difficult to be broken are forcibly carried along by the messenger, their own Karma, to heaven, earth and hell.
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The deer, elephant, moth, fish and black bee-these five meet with their death, being bound to one or other of the five senses, viz., sound, etc., through attachment. What then of man who is bound by all the senses jointly.
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In point of virulence sense-objects are more fatal than the poison of cobra even. Poison kills one who drinks it, but sensuous objects can kill one who even looks at them through the eye’s.
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He who is free from the terrible bondage of the hankering of the sense objects so very difficult to get rid of is alone fit for liberation; none else even though he is well versed in the six systems of philosophy.
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Those seekers after liberation who are endowed with only an apparent dispassion (Vairagya) and are endeavouring to cross the ocean of Samsara or conditioned existence are seized by the stark of hankering; being caught by the neck and forcibly dragged into the middle and drowned.
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He who has slain the stark of desire with the sword of supreme or mature dispassion, crosses the ocean of Samsara without obstacles.
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Know that death rapidly overtakes that stupid man who treads along the dreadful path of sensual pleasure; but whoever treads the right path under the instruction of a Guru who looks after his spiritual welfare, also his own reasoning attains his end-know this to be true.
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If thou hast really an yearning for liberation, abandon sense-objects from a good distance as if they were poison and always develop carefully the nectar-like virtues of contentment, compassion, forgiveness, sincerity, tranquillity and self-control.
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Whoever passionately attends to the feeding of his own body which is an object for jackals, fishes and vultures, to enjoy, and ignores what should always be attempted viz., liberation from the bondage of ignorance without beginning commits suicide thereby.
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Whoever tries to realize the Self by nourishing his body is like one who crosses a river by catching hold of a crocodile, thinking it to be a log of wood.
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For one desirous of liberation the infatuation over things like the body is dire death. He who is free from such infatuation is alone fit for liberation.
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Conquer the infatuation over the objects like the body, wife, children, and so on. Having conquered it the sages attain that supreme state of Vishnu.
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This gross body is to be condemned for it is made up of skin, flesh, blood, arteries, veins, fat, marrow and bones and is filled with filth.
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The physical body has got various restrictions regarding caste and order of life. It is subject to various diseases. It is worshipped and honoured sometimes. It is censured and insulted at other times.
Excerpts from: Selections from Viveka-Chudamani of Sri Sankaracharya - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Story of a Servant
Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Story of a Servant by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 21 July 2015 08.29 EST | New York Edition** |
Story of a Servant
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Narendra Singh Bahadur, the Raja of Indrapur, had a servant named Hira Singh. Hira Singh resolved to break open the treasury of the Raja and steal away the ornaments and gold. Accordingly one day at the dead of night, he entered the bed-room of Narendra Singh on his way to the treasury, when he overheard a conversation between the Raja Sahib and the Rani. Lalitakumari, the Rani, asked the king: “When are you going to get our daughter Suratkumari married? She is quite a grown-up girl now. We cannot postpone the marriage any longer.” The king replied : “I am trying my level best during the last two years, but I am not able to get a suitable match.” The Rani would not accept such an answer, but again and again pressed the Raja to yield to her wish. At last the Raja said : “Lalita, I shall offer Surat in marriage to the first Yogi I would come across in the neighbouring forest along with half of my estate tomorrow morning.”
Hira Singh who was all the while keenly over-hearing this conversation thought within himself: “Why this hazardous attempt then? If I am caught, I will be severely punished. Let me go to the forest and sit like a Yogi. I will get the girl and half the estate also quite easily.” Immediately he dressed himself as a Yogi, repaired to the forest and sat in Samadhi on Padmasana with closed eyes. He did not shake the body even a bit. The Raja went to the forest the next morning and at last came to the place where this Yogi was sitting. He waited for a long time. The Yogi did not open his eyes. He gave one the impression that he was immersed in Samadhi. After full one hour he opened his eyes. The Raja fell prostrate at his feet and sincerely begged him to visit palace. The Yogi finally condescended to do so.
The Raja took the Yogi to the Durbar hall, seated him on the gaddi, and washed his feet. The Raja was fanning him. Then the Raja with folded hands addressed the Yogi thus : “O mighty Yogi blessed Soul, we have a beautiful girl. Kindly accept her in marriage together with half of my estate.” Now real discrimination dawned upon the Yogi. Hira Singh who was wearing the false garb of a saint began to think very seriously and feelingly : “I am now honoured by this Raja and Rani simply because I am wearing the garb of a Yogi. If I were a Yogi and saint with divine virtues and God-Consciousness, how much more should I be held in esteem and honour by not merely this one petty chief but by countless kings, emperors and queens, and how many such princesses and kingdoms should I acquire?” At once he left the gaddi and the palace with a changed heart. God’s grace descended upon him now. His heart was burning with intense Vairagya born of discrimination. Tears of joy flooded his eyes. Hair on the body stood on ends. No sensual object of the world could tempt him now. He went back to the dense forests with a heart filled with righteous disgust for the world, did intense and constant meditation and attained Self-Realization.
Excerpts from: Uncertainty of Life - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Uncertainty of Life
Spiritual Message for the Day – Uncertainty of Life by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 20 July 2015 08.29 EST | New York Edition** |
Uncertainty of Life
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Only your actions, good and bad, will follow you after death. And God will judge you according to your deeds.
The attraction for external objects ceases, but there yet remains the internal craving or sense-hankering or thirsting which is called Trishna. That is why the Gita says: “The objects of sense, but not the relish for them, turn away from an abstemious dweller in the body, and even the relish turns away from him after the Supreme is seen.”
Friend! Is there any limit to the number of fathers, mothers, wives, sons, daughters, uncles and aunts you had in the countless incarnations in the past? And yet the clinging and false relationship has not gone. Discrimination has not dawned. What a great pity it is!
Are you not ashamed to repeat the same acts of eating, drinking and sleeping day by day? You are proud of your titles and honours. Have you improved your life even a bit? What lessons have you learnt from the recent Bihar and Quetta earthquakes? Are you attempting to reach the Imperishable Seat wherein all desires and Trishnas will be utterly annihilated? Are you endeavouring to attain the highest end of life, Divine realization which confers immortality, bliss and peace?
In the recent Bihar earthquake (this was written years ago, when the earthquake took place there) a rich banker had to beg for nine rupees just to protect himself and his family from death by starvation. A Pundit earned slowly twenty-five thousand rupees by selling his books. But he had to spend that money in a short time in the treatment of his chronic chest complaint. He tried all sorts of medicines, but all in vain. He had to leave the house to lead a life of a hermit.
Life is quite uncertain here. Diseases of various sorts attack the body. Yet man clings blindly to this ephemeral life! He forgets the truth. O man, seek everlasting peace and bliss in the Atma or Soul within you by purifying your mind and practicing intense meditation. This is the right royal road to extricate yourself from the pains of Samsara. Be quick in taking to spiritual practices. Hairs are becoming gray. Teeth are failing. Indriyas are getting cold. Practice meditation and Japa while you are young. You can do nothing in old age, when you retire from service.
It is extremely difficult to have a pure and calm mind. But you must have such a mind, if you want to have progress in meditation and Yoga.
Lord Buddha had Viveka from his very boyhood. He was one who had been profoundly impressed from his early youth by the transient and impermanent nature of all conditions of worldly existence and by the sufferings and wretchedness in which he saw all beings immersed. Will you not become another Lord Buddha?
You have spent eight hours in sleep, and the rest of the day in idle gossiping, telling lies, deceiving others, in selfish activities, in amassing wealth. How can you expect spiritual good, how can you expect immortality and peace, if you do not spend even half an hour in the service of the Lord, in singing His Names and in divine contemplation?
Excerpts from: Uncertainty of Life - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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Three Fevers
Spiritual Message for the Day – Three Fevers by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 19 July 2015 20.23 EST | New York Edition** |
Three Fevers
Divine Life Society Publication: How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
There are scorpion stings on one side. Serpents are on the other side. Flies, fleas, bugs, mosquitoes, thorns and other insects trouble you from one corner. The sun scorches you in summer. Cold stings you in winter. Influenza, plague, fashionable appendicitis, pyorrhea, smallpox are all ready to devour you. Then there are the three fevers_, Adhyatmika, Adhidaivika and Adhibhautika._ Fear, delusion, grief, sorrow and misery kill you every moment.
Desire, anger, hatred, jealousy, worry, anxieties and cares torment you every second. Deaths of persons whom you loved so dearly give you severe shocks. Yet you will never renounce the momentary pleasures of the senses of this unreal mundane existence. Such is the depth of sensual enjoyments. You will speak through egoism, “O, I am a powerful man. I am very intelligent. I can do any thing. There is no God.” You will twist your glued moustache and when the scorpion stings you sharp, you will cry out bitterly: “O Narayana, Narayana, Narayana, help me. Relieve me of this horrible pain.”
If the hair becomes gray, you invent various dyes to blacken it. You invent monkey gland grafting for rejuvenation. If the teeth are fallen, you put on a new artificial dental set. You will never leave the “will-to-live and enjoy.” Miserable wreck that you are! Hopeless specimen!
Think deeply. Cogitate. Reflect. Have constant Satsang. Do selfless service of country and humanity. Develop the four means of salvation. Study the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga-Vasishtha and Viveka-Chudamani of Sri Sankara. Clear your doubts by approaching learned Sannyasins. Have recourse to Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana. Remove the veil of ignorance and rest in your own Svarupa-the Satchitananda state. “Atma va are drasktavyah srotavyo, mantavyo, nididhyasitavyah-The Self must be seen, heard, thought upon and deeply pondered.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: IV.5).
Shun honour, respect, degrees, name, fame, power, position and titles. They are absolutely worthless. They will not give you eternal satisfaction. They will only intensify your vanity. They are all intoxicants of the mind. They will bring misery and mental disturbance. That is the reason why Raja Bhartrihari, Raja Gopichand and Lord Buddha deserted their kingdoms, riches, honour, etc. They treated them as trifles.
Excerpts from: Three Fevers - How To Get Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Taoism
Spiritual Message for the Day – Taoism by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 18 July 2015 21.18 EST | New York Edition** |
Taoism
Divine Life Society Publication: Taoism by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
‘Tao’ is a Chinese word meaning ‘way’, ‘way of Heaven’, ‘Path’ or ‘road’ or ‘method’. It indicates a line or principle of conduct. There is no proper English term for ‘Tao’. It means the ‘Eternal Being’.
Tao
Lao-Tze says: Tao is one. It was in the beginning. It will remain for ever. It is Impersonal, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, bodiless, immaterial. It cannot be perceived by the senses. It is nameless. It is indescribable.
It is the first cause from which all substances take their origin and all phenomena flow. The great Tao is all-pervading. All things depend on it for life. It is the mother of all phenomena, of heaven and earth. It existed before the Personal God. It is the father of God. It is the producer of God. It is the originator of heaven and earth. It is the mother of all things.
You will find that there is an aroma of Indian Vedantic philosophy in the teachings of Lao-Tze.
Tao is everywhere. It is in the ant. It is in the grass. It is in the earthen-ware vessel. It is in excrement. It is in the highest place but is not high. It is in the, lowest place, but is not low. It is in ancient times, but itself is not ancient. It is in old age but itself is not old. It is everywhere, but appears to be nowhere.
Tao is the sanctuary where all things find refuge. It is the good man’s priceless treasure. It is the guardian and saviour of him who is not good. Tao overspreads and sustains all things.
The Tao which can be expressed in word is not the Eternal Tao. The name which can be uttered is not its Eternal Name.
Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon ends. When the great Tao prevails, the outer doors need not be closed. All will be virtuous. There will be no theft.
If Tao perishes, then virtue will perish. If virtue perishes, then charity will perish. If charity perishes, then righteousness will perish. If righteousness perishes, then ceremonies will perish.
The man who achieves harmony with Tao enters into close union with external objects. No object has the power to harm or hinder him.
Tao does nothing. It has no bodily form. It cannot be seen. It has its root in Itself. From Tao came the mysterious existence of God. It produced heaven and earth. It was before the primordial ether. Tao produces all things and nourishes them.
It presides over all. Tao is the fundamental principle of the philosophy and religion of Lao-Tze.
The way of the Tao is to act without thinking of acting, to taste without discerning any flavour, to consider what is small as great, and a few as many, and to react to injury by kindness.
The Means For Attaining The Tao
Purity, humility, contentment, compassion, kindness towards all living creatures, higher knowledge and self-control are the means for attaining the Tao. Concentration and Pranayama (breathing exercises) are helpful in the path of Tao.
Sayings Of Lao-Tze
Tao Te Ching (canon of Tao and its manifestation) contains the sayings and teachings of Lao-Tze. Lao-Tze himself wrote this book in the sixth century B.C. This title was given by Emperor Ching. He issued an imperial decree that Lao-Tze’s work on Tao should be respected as a canonical book.
He who acts, destroys. He who grasps, loses. Therefore, the sage does not act and so does not destroy. He does not grasp and so he does not lose.
Without going out of doors, one may know the entire universe; without looking out of the window, one may see the way of heaven. The further one travels, the less one may know. Thus it is that without moving you shall know; without looking you shall see; without doing you shall attain.
Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.
If you would contract, you must first expand. If you would weaken, you must first strengthen. If you would overthrow, you must first raise up. If you would take, you must first give. This is called the dawn of intelligence.
To the good I would be good. To the not good, I would also be good in order to make them good.
He who humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He who bends shall be made straight. He who is empty shall be filled. He who is worn out shall be renewed. He who has little shall succeed. He who has much shall go astray.
Some things are increased by being demolished and others are diminished by being increased.
Those who know, do not speak; those who speak, do not know.
To know when one does not know is best. To think one knows when one does not know is a dire disease. Only he who recourses this disease as a disease can cure himself of the disease.
I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle, and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal. Avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.
There is no greater sin than yielding to desire; no greater misery than discontentment; no greater calamity than the propensity to acquire.
Abandon your scheming. Put away your gains. Thieves and robbers will not exist.
Hold fast to that which will endure.
Show thyself simple, preserve thee pure, thine own keep small, thy desires poor.
Renounce learnedness and you will have no vexation.
He who overcomes others is strong, but he who overcomes himself is mighty.
Conclusion
Taoism has its monks and nuns. They retire from the world and live in caves, forests and secluded retreats in mountains.
Taoism inculcates the highest ethics, pure living and discipline of mind and body.
Emancipation is attained through the realisation of Tao through self conquest.
There is the idea of purgatory in Taoism, of the reward and punishment after death. There is also rebirth. Lao-Tze believed in the immortality of the Soul. He advocated the doctrine of reincarnation of the soul after death.
Sincerity is the first step towards the knowledge of Tao. That knowledge is maintained by silence. Tao is employed with gentleness.
When the aspirant is serene and tranquil, his wisdom becomes complete. When his wisdom becomes complete, the light of intelligence grows around him. When the light of intelligence grows around him, he is one with the Tao. This is true forgetfulness, a forgetting which does not forget, a forgetting of what cannot be forgotten. That which cannot be forgotten is the True Tao.
Glory to Lao-Tze, the founder of Taoism, that old boy who was born under the plum tree with peculiar long lobes, with white hair, the reputed sage of China! Glory, glory to Tao, the Eternal Great One, the Brahman of the Upanishads!!
Excerpts from: Taoism by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Action and Non-Action
Spiritual Message for the Day – Action and Non-Action by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 17 July 2015 14.27 EST | New York Edition** |
Action and Non-action
Divine Life Society Publication: Bhagavad Gita Yoga – Yoga Samhita by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Buddhi or the higher reason should be made use of in distinguishing between the truth and the falsehood of life. Discrimination between the real and the unreal is possible only when the light of understanding is thrown upon the facts and events which become contents of consciousness. But, mostly, it is found that reason in the human being works in co-operation with the senses and becomes a mere tool of the latter, carrying out the function of transmitting to the individual, the characteristics of the objects of sense-perception. It interprets life in terms of space, time and objects, and degrades experience to body-consciousness. The joys and sorrows of life, even good and bad, are judged from the standpoint of sense-experience, and reason seems to play second fiddle to the clamourings of the senses. But the fact is that true happiness cannot be had by resort to body and its physical companions. The knowledge of this fact can come to the reason of man only when it is purified and gets freed from the shackles of the senses. Reason which reflects the characteristics of sense-experience is different from the a priori reason which draws sustenance from the Inner Self and commands the sense-powers, independent of spatial and temporal relations. But the senses will continue to work even when an independent purified reason is developed. Man cannot cease from action. Action is the law of individual life. To act, and not to allow the reason to get attached to the acts, is the essence of Karma Yoga. “He who has no sense of doership, whose intellect is not attached even while destroying all these worlds (or people), neither destroys these nor is bound” (XVIII-17).
Cessation from physical action is not non-action. For one can be physically inactive and yet be performing actions in a different sense. Vital, emotional, mental and intellectual action is real action. Cessation from actions like these would be real inaction. But man has no freedom to do this. He is forced to act by the very nature of his being. All actions generally disturb the phenomenal vestures of the personality of man. On account of this disturbance, he feels a non-normal state in his being. And to maintain a state of equanimity even in the midst of disturbing activities he should act in a spirit of self-sacrifice, self-surrender, self-restraint or self-knowledge. The universe is a living organism, every element of which perforce tends to and does fulfil the unitary law of the organism. And the duty of everyone, therefore, is to be conscious of this Great Organism and work in loyalty to it. Karma-Yoga which Sri Krishna teaches is action based on the consciousness of the absoluteness of God, the surrender of oneself to God, or one’s steadfast concentration on God. Love and service should become the mottos of one’s life. Absolute negation of action, is not possible for man; but he can neutralise the effects of actions, by turning them into Yogic activity.
Excerpts from: Action and Non-Action - Bhagavad Gita Yoga by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Knowledge and Action
Spiritual Message for the Day – Knowledge and Action by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 16 July 2015 16.00 EST | New York Edition** |
Knowledge and Action
Divine Life Society Publication: The Gita Vision by Sri Swami Chidananda
The path of knowledge is an absolutely indispensable must. It is the absence of knowledge that is the root cause of all sorrow. It is the failure to perceive the imperishable nature of the human spirit that is the cause of all attachment, grief and delusion. Without knowledge you will make a total mess of your whole life and reduce yourself to a miserable predicament.
But then, the acquiring of this right knowledge is not incompatible with engaging in right activity. They are not mutually opposed to each other; they are not mutually exclusive of each other. On the contrary, in truth, they have to go hand in hand. Knowledge has to support and supplement action and all activity should be full of knowledge.
Knowledge-filled activity and action-oriented knowledge is the message and thesadhanaof the second chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. If in ignorance you engage in action, you are finished. You are heading for trouble, inviting trouble. And having theoretical knowledge, if you neglect right action, you will put a stop to your evolution. Action is God’s plan for man for moving towards perfection. Action constitutes the inner dynamics of human evolution, collective as well as individual.
There is a trite but very wise saying: “To rest is to rust.” Action is like honing something to keep it sharp, incisive. Knowledge blooms forth into experience only when it is transferred into action, when it is practised. Knowledge is meant to be practised. And, therefore, if you are not to get caught in the circle of action and reaction, then action is as necessary for knowledge as knowledge is necessary for right action. Being in the midst of activity, if you do not want to be bound by activity, knowledge is the only way. It is the key.
Therefore, Sankhya Yoga and Karma Yoga are not opposed to each other. They are mutually supportive; they are not incompatible. On the contrary, they are two facets of the one process of the progressive evolution of the human soul towards the fullest unfoldment of knowledge through knowledge-infilled activity. The Yogi who thus synthesises within himself both Sankhya Yoga and Karma Yoga is the realdaksha(expert). He is the one who will succeed.
For, such a Yogi, by elevating normal secular activity into a higher dimension of the Spirit and transforming it into sublime spiritual activity, thus synthesisingkarmaandjnana,has learned the art and science of making life itself a process of liberation. Just as the subdual of all mentalvrittiswhile practising a technique is termed Yoga, the same Yoga becomes defined asyogah karmasu kausalam(Yoga is skill in action) when one is in the field of active day-to-day living. You act with the awareness that the threegunasare doing theirdharma;whereas I, thetrigunatita atma tattva(Self beyond the threegunas),am reallynishkriya(actionless). “I am the silent, detached, unaffected witness of all activity. How can action bind me! But I am not a passive witness. I shine my wisdom upon all the limbs, all thoughts, and thus illumined with wisdom, they engage in action.”
Spiritual Calendar (Sivananda Ashram):
July 31 – Guru Poornima
Aug 8 - 52nd Anniversary of the Punya Tithi Aradhana of His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Maharaj
Excerpts from: Knowledge and Action - The Gita Vision by Sri Swami Chidananda
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