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This website is devoted to Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality and Science. We bring in articles on teachings by Great Saints like Sri Shirdi Sai Baba, Adi Shankara, Swami Sivananda, Swami Krishnananda, Aurobindo, Mother of Auroville and others.

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Pleasure Is Not Happiness

Spiritual Message for the Day – Pleasure Is Not Happiness by Sri Swami Chidananda

**Baba Times Digest©

24 May 2015 20.40 EST

New York Edition**

Pleasure Is Not Happiness

Divine Life Society Publication: The Path Beyond Sorrow by Sri Swami Chidananda

When we observe life on the human plane, what do we see? Everyone is in constant quest of true happiness. Happiness is the quest of smiles; we have concealed sighs and sorrows, much grief and disappointment. Why? Why is this phenomenon observed everywhere in the world? This question has been pondered over, has been investigated. And we have been answered. With the dawn of discrimination, we come to realise that we have done something very foolish, because we have missed the path which leads to happiness and strayed off into the by-paths of pleasures. Happiness is one thing; mere pleasure is another. Missing the path to happiness and wandering off into the by-paths of pleasures, we are, as it were, lost beings wandering in a jungle where we do not know the correct direction to take, the correct path to pursue, to reach the destination.

Why did we miss our way? Why this wandering in search of true happiness on the part of all people and their seeming inability to find that after which they quest? It is because the great majority of them never make the right start. Before starting on the search for happiness, one never gets clear as to what is the nature of this happiness one is after and wherein does it lie. Without knowing the destination, without knowing exactly what we wish to obtain, we have started this seeking just because that has been the pattern into which we are born. We are born into a world where all beings everywhere around us are going after something, behaving in a certain way, and we think, “I am born among people living like this and I also have to live like this”; and so that pattern has become an automatic pattern with everyone. We are born into a way of life. We have entered into a current which leads us just where it has been leading the people here from time immemorial—into a whirlpool of disappointments, tears, disillusionments, pains and sufferings which are inevitable in this embodied state upon this earth-plane. Pleasures can never bring true happiness, because the very nature of pleasure is that it is an experience derived from contacts with sense-objects; and quite naturally, it partakes of the imperfections that are inherent in the sense-objects.

All Objects are conditioned in space and time. They are neither permanent nor perfect. They are full of defects, they change, they pass away, and they give experiences which are mixed, which are not unalloyed. All pleasures are imperfect, because they spring out of objects which are themselves imperfect. These sense experiences are of very doubtful value and they are mixed with various side-effects. Every contact-born sense experience inevitably has bound up with it a reaction. If you are eating something very tasty beyond your limits, even as you are tasting it, there is a fear that perhaps tomorrow you will have to take a pill or a dose. Every sense experience has a reaction which brings in anxiety and lack of peace of mind. In the ultimate analysis, these sense experiences turn out to be purely negative experiences; they do not deserve the name of pleasure or happiness at all. They are not positive experiences at all.

Excerpts from: Pleasure Is Not Happiness - The Path Beyond Sorrow by Sri Swami Chidananda

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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Raga and Dvesha

Spiritual Message for the Day – Raga and Dvesha by Sri Swami Chidananda

**Baba Times Digest©

23 May 2015 20.20 EST

New York Edition**

Raga and Dvesha

Divine Life Society Publication: Path to Blessedness by Sri Swami Chidananda

The Raja Yogins say that Raga and Dvesha are the emotions, that disturb the mind most. Once they enter, they try to persist and completely upset the balance of the mind. They take the form of thoughts of hatred, jealousy, anger, intolerance and anxiety. These are all thoughts that are closely interwoven with emotion. Pure thoughts that are not associated with emotion are not serious obstacles in Yoga. Mere dispassionate thoughts do not disturb you much. Sentiments, emotions and feelings are far greater disturbers in the mental field than mere intellectual thoughts. You cannot brush aside sentiments and feelings. To give a crude parallel—supposing you are keeping a clean table and if some dust or mud happens to be on it, you can easily clean it. If you rub it with a duster, it will go away. But if a drop of honey is spilt, it will persist even after rubbing and dusting. Powder or any dry thing can be easily wiped out. Similarly intellectual thoughts can be easily removed, but if those become emotional it is very difficult to remove them. Even if the mind wants to remove sentimental emotions, the heart is not prepared to do so. Sentiment is very difficult to eradicate. It is more difficult to eradicate than intellectual, dry thought.

Fear, jealousy, hatred, intolerance—all these things are emotional. They do not easily go out of the mind. We constantly move amidst the heterogeneous type of society. If any one does something which is not to your satisfaction, immediately you get irritated, and if some one stands before you whom you do not like, feelings of hatred come. He who is not established in equanimity becomes a constant prey to fits of temper.

We may have to move amidst people who are wicked and who are spiritually on a lower plane than us. Then our mind is filled with hatred. We may have to move amidst equals. Even though one is your friend, you do not want him to be greater than you. The feeling that you get may be full of jealousy, etc., and this disturbed thought always persists with equals. With superiors also you may have a different type of jealousy. “Why these people are superior to us? Why we may not have the same position as they have?”—such are our thoughts. The poor people may be jealous of rich people. One may resent the superiority of intellect of another man, and the moment one sees him, one may be thoroughly upset. One thinks: “Why I should not have the same popularity as this man has?” If you become a prey to this habit of the mind, what happens? You are constantly torn amidst these emotions.

There are so many pairs of opposites in this world, heat and cold, respect and disrespect, etc. Therefore you have no balance of mind and it is constantly agitated. Emotions are common experiences in the life of every man and therefore, the mind is always in an unpleasant state which disturbs your concentration. Therefore, the ancients have given a formula how the Yogi should move in society, amidst people of different types. Suppose you are always seeing and hearing wicked deeds of various kinds in this world. You ask yourself: “Why such wicked people are there?”

You should not lose your balance. How? Practise friendliness towards equals, and compassion towards inferiors. Let your heart be moved when you are in the presence of inferiors. One may be inferior in status, age or wealth. If you are compassionate, you will bear all shortcomings. Maintain a state of calm cheerfulness to superiors. Be serene whatever they are. Be happy in their presence.

Towards the pairs of opposites what attitude you should have? Let all these pairs of opposites fill this world. Do not pay any attention to them. Why should you worry about them? The Lord is looking after everything. Therefore, this sort of Maitri (friendship), Karuna (compassion) and Udasinata (indifference) should be practised. If you practise all these, then the mind will become serene, and its emotions of hatred, intolerance and competition will be completely eliminated. This is the master-technique they have given.

Excerpts from: Raga and Dvesha - Path to Blessedness by Sri Swami Chidananda

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The Method of Self-Integration

Spiritual Message for the Day – The Method of Self-Integration by Sri Swami Krishnananda

**Baba Times Digest©

22 May 2015 14.36 EST

New York Edition**

The Method of Self-Integration

Divine Life Society Publication: Meditation – Its Theory and Practice by Swami Krishnananda

These are the central problems of mankind and these are also the problems of one who seeks a universal remedy for all human suffering, who wishes to contact reality in all its degrees and live rather than suffer life in this world, which is otherwise a bounty and abundance. This is really a world of mutual amity, a world of brotherly cooperation, a world of psychological concord, a world of spiritual unity among all its contents, sentient as well as insentient. The world appears to be otherwise due to the aberrations-detailed above. Meditation cuts at the root of these aberrations in every level and one who is successful in meditation is a universal man, a citizen of all the worlds. To achieve success in such a meditation is indeed to solve a large question. It is necessary, at the outset, for one to seek a meaning in the world which is outwardly chaotic and to recognise a pattern and purpose in creation as a whole, which, otherwise, for a casual look, appears to be just heavenly bodies scattered higgledy-piggledy in space with no organic unity anywhere. The world appears to be purely mechanistic in the Newtonian sense of the term, or rather in the modern materialistic sense. This outward view of the world which is taken as the final explanation of things is today threatening to convert man into a beast, when people are ready to fly at the throats of each other, seeing no sanctity in human life, nothing sacred anywhere in the world. This is a glaring error which is brought into relief by the daily miseries of mankind one sees today in a world bereft of all spiritual values. The power of love is giving way to the authority of hatred. And, today, if there is no world war, it is not because people love each other, but because they hate and fear each other equally. All this is because life seems to have no meaning other than a hunting game for catching prey in the night of human ignorance.

The historical process, as philosophers of history would amply certify, is not an account of dates, kings and wars, but a study of human values and life’s significances, as thinkers like Hegel in the West, for instance, attempted to explain through a much broader vision of things than the ordinary man of the street can hope to entertain. There is ultimately a great rationality behind history, a meaning which is at once sociological, economic, political, moral, religious and spiritual. All the laws that operate in any section of society are really invested with a meaning beyond themselves; everything is a process of the higher discovering itself in the lower, a veritable self-discovery.

A remedial process should be a keenly psychological technique of avoiding excesses in everything, steering clear of stress on one’s life, both personally and socially, taking a whole view of things, as far as possible, when one has to face life daily, and to adopt a system of the- Yoga of meditation as a panacea for human ills. But man wishes- to forget himself when he is worried and when he is in pain, rather than discover himself, which would have been the proper thing to do. People usually try to drown their worries in large noises such as of the radio, in stirring and stimulating sights, such as of the cinema, and hope to fill the emptiness of their lives with hectic activity, moneymaking, power-mongering, increasing the speed of life, searching for constant excitement of the senses, drinks and drugs. By these means, one becomes a stranger to one’s own self and lives a most pitiable sort of life of an agony of nerves and of mind, difficult to explain in language.

No meaning can be sought in life by fleeing from oneself, but rather by turning towards the true self which is in everyone. This is the art of self-discovery. This is the way of meditation.

Excerpts from: The Method of Self-Integration - Meditation – Its Theory and Practice by Swami Krishnananda

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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Parable of The Four Learned Scholars

Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Parable of The Four Learned Scholars by Sri Swami Sivananada

**Baba Times Digest©

21 May 2015 17.44 EST

New York Edition**

Parable of The Four Learned Scholars

Divine Life Society Publication: Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda

Once four learned scholars-an Ayurvedic doctor, an astrologer, a musician and a logician-had to spend a day at a village; and each was highly learned in his own science, a very great authority in his own subject but empty of wisdom concerning life.

Now they went about collecting articles for their food, and the Ayurvedic doctor went to buy some vegetables. But he soon walked back home with empty hands, for his medical knowledge concerning the food-value of vegetables would not allow him to choose any. The potato was harmful as it would cause wind, while onion was too Tamasic and so did all other vegetables prove defective. And none was suitable for food.

The astrologer climbed a coconut tree to fetch a coconut for cooking. While he was climbing down, a donkey from a nearby house brayed, and lo, the astrologer stood on half-way down the tree, deciding at once to work out the astrological consequences of this donkey’s braying! And he thus stood on… ,

The musician’s history was yet more pathetic and ridiculous. He was watching the pot in which the rice was being cooked; the water was boiling, and soon a rhythmic sound emanated from the boiling-pot. The musician, true and loyal to his knowledge of music, at once began marking time; but would the sound of the boiling-pot conform to the known laws of music? Soon the musician was beside himself in a fit of anger and broke the pot with the ladle, and lo the rice fell over the ground and was lost.

The logician was none the better for his erudition. He was returning with a cup full of ghee and en route, it struck his logic-loving mind to test and verify whether the cup supported the ghee or the ghee did the cup. He at once turned the cup upside down, and lo, the ghee fell on the ground, and was soon lost. Grief-stricken at the loss, yet the logician congratulated himself at the findings concerning the cup and the ghee and walked back home lost in thoughts of logic.

Be ye not merely learned, but become ye truly wise. For more learning will not bestow on you an iota of real happiness. Wisdom is bliss. Book-learning is lifeless knowledge; experience and true wisdom should be acquired through service of a Guru, studying under him and following his instructions in their true spirit.

Excerpts from: Parable of The Four Learned Scholars - Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore

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Yoga of Equanimity

Spiritual Message for the Day – Yoga of Equanimity by Sri Swami Sivananada

**Baba Times Digest©

20 May 2015 17.50 EST

New York Edition**

Yoga of Equanimity

Divine Life Society Publication: Practice of Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda

Worldly people are generally elated by success and depressed by failure. Elation and depression are the attributes of the mind. If you want to become a real Karma Yogi in the right sense of the term, you will have to keep a balanced mind at all times, in all conditions and under all circumstances. This is no doubt very difficult. But you will have to do it anyhow. Then only will you have peace of mind and real lasting happiness. He who keeps a balanced mind is a Jnani. Karma Yoga prepares the mind for the attainment of Jnana. That is the beauty of Karma Yoga. That is the secret and essence of Karma Yoga.

There must not be the least attachment to any kind of work. You must be ready to leave any work at any time. There may be a divine call upon you for certain work. You will have to take it up at once without grumbling, whatever may the nature of the work be, whether you are willing or not. You will have to stop it also, if conditions and circumstances demand you to do so. This is Yoga. There is no attachment to the work here.

Many people get attached to the work. They like some kind of work and they take interest in it. They dislike some other kind of work. They are unwilling to leave it also, if conditions want it to be stopped. They take undue responsibility on their shoulders, pine and labour under care, worries and anxieties. This is not Yoga at all, because there is attachment to the work owing to the quality of Rajas. Worldly people always work with attachment. Hence they suffer. If there is a divine call, you may start a world-wide movement. You must be prepared to stop it at any time if God wills, even though you do not get any success here. It is not your look out to get success or failure. Simply obey the divine call and act like a soldier on the battlefield. There is great joy in such kind of work because there is no personal element here.

Keep the reason rooted in the Self. Have a poised mind amidst the changes of the world. Work for the fulfilment of purposes divine. Do not expect any fruit. Do everything as Isvararpana. Work for the welfare of the world in unison with the Divine Will. Allow the divine energy to work unhampered through your instruments. The moment your egoism comes in, there will be immediate blocking of the free flow of the divine energy. Make your Indriyas perfect instruments for His Lila. Keep the body-flute hollow by emptying it of your egoism. Then the Flute-Bearer of Brindavan will play freely through this body-flute. He will work through your instruments. Then you will feel the lightness of the work. You will feel that God works through you. You will be washed of all the responsibilities. You will be as free as a bird. You will feel that you are quite a changed being. Your egoism will try to re-enter. Be careful. Be on the alert. By gradual practice and purification of the mind you will become an expert in Karma Yoga. All your actions will be perfect and selfless. All actions will eventually culminate in Jnana. This is the Yoga of equanimity.

This kind of Yoga is inculcated by Lord Krishna in His teachings:

Yogasthah Kuru Karmani Sangam Tyaktva Dhananjaya
Sidhyasidhyoh Samo Bhutva, Samatvam Yoga Uchyate.

“Perform action, O Dhananjaya, dwelling in union with the Divine, renouncing attachments, and balanced evenly in success and failure; equilibrium is Yoga.” Gita: Chapter II-48.

You will have to leave even such subtle attachment as: “May God be pleased.” Work merely for the sake of the Lord. Then even eating, walking, talking, sleeping, breathing and answering calls of nature will become Yogic activity. Work becomes worship. This is the great secret. You will have to learn it by gradual practice in the field of Karma Yoga. You will have to spiritualise all your actions. You will have to transmute all your actions into Yoga by practice. Mere theorising will not do. Understand the secrets of Karma Yoga. Work unselfishly. Become a true Karma Yogi and enjoy the infinite bliss of the Atman.

Merit and demerit, Punya and Papa, do not affect that Karma Yogi who has evenness or equanimity of mind, for he exults not over the good fruit of the one nor worries over the bad fruit of the other. He has equanimity of mind in success and failure. His mind is always resting in God all the while. Works which are of a binding nature lose that character when performed with a balanced mind. The Karma Yogi has no attachment to sensual objects. He has purified his mind by constant selfless service. He has given up all idea of agency. He treats the body as an instrument of God, given to him for the fulfilment of His purpose. He attributes all activities to the Divine Actor within. He who is established in the Yoga of equanimity becomes an expert in the science of Karma Yoga. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says:

Buddhiyukto jaha teeha ubhe sukritadushkrite,
Tasmat yogaya yujyasva yogah karmasu kausalam.

“United to the pure reason, one abandoneth here both good and evil deeds: therefore cleave thou to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.” Gita: Chapter II-50.

The Karma Yogi who possesses evenness of mind casts off the fruits of actions. He escapes from good and bad births. Clinging to fruit only is the cause of rebirth. When all actions are performed for God’s sake in fulfilment of His purpose without desire for fruit, the Karma Yogi gets illumination. He shakes off the bondage of birth. He attains knowledge of Brahman and through Brahma Jnana, liberation or Moksha. In the Gita you will find:

Karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktva manishinah,
Janmabandhavinirmuktah padam gachchantyanamayam.

“The sages, united to the pure reason, renounce the fruit which action yieldeth, and, liberated from the bonds of birth, they go to the blissful seat.” Gita: Chapter II-51.

Excerpts from: Yoga of equanimity - Practice of Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda

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Jnana Yoga

Spiritual Message for the Day – Jnana Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananada

**Baba Times Digest©

19 May 2015 16.34 EST

New York Edition**

Jnana Yoga

Divine Life Society Publication: Amrita Gita by Sri Swami Sivananda

There is an Atman or soul independent of body and mind. This soul is immortal, unchanging and infinite. Realise this Atman and be free.
This Atman is Satchidananda (Existence-Absolute, Consciousness-Absolute, and Bliss-Absolute). It exists in the past, present and future. So it is Sat. It is pure or Absolute Consciousness without any thought. So it is Chit. It is absolute Bliss. So it is Ananda.
The unreal body perishes, but the Atman or the indweller is Immortal. So, you should not grieve when anyone dies. In essence everyone is Immortal Atman.
This Atman cannot be hurt by anyone. It is subtle, all-pervading. It is the Innermost Self of all.
This Atman is birthless, deathless, changeless. When the body is killed, He is not killed. Therefore grieve not, lament not, regret not. Be always cheerful.
Fire cannot burn this Atman, sword cannot pierce this Atman, bomb cannot destroy this Atman, machine-guns cannot kill this Atman.
This Atman is eternal, immovable, secondless, self-existent, self-centred. Therefore, knowing this to be such, thou shouldst not grieve, when your father, mother, son, wife or relative dies.
This perishable body will certainly pass away. Indweller can never perish. Thou art the immortal soul. Therefore, over the inevitable thou shalt not grieve.
Brahman or Atman is beyond the reach of the mind and speech. He is beyond logic, reason, mental process, science. He must be realised through meditation.
You cannot deny or doubt your existence. You always feel that you exist. This existence is Atman or your own Self. The knower of the doubt or denier always exists. That knower is your own Atman.
In dream you are distinct from the physical body. In deep sleep, you are distinct from the body and the mind. You enjoy peace and bliss in deep sleep. This proves that you are neither body nor mind, but you are All-Blissful Soul.
There is only one Reality or Truth. That is Brahman or Atman. All appearances are unreal. They are the effects of Maya, the illusory power of Brahman.
Behold the one Immortal Atman in all names and forms. This alone is correct perception.
Ignorance is the cause for pain and sorrow. Annihilate this ignorance through Brahma Jnana. All miseries will come to an end.
This Atman is beyond time, space, causation. Time, space, causation are mental creation.
Just as snake is superimposed on the rope, this world, and the body are superimposed on Brahman.
Bring a light, the snake vanishes; rope alone remains. Attain Illumination, this world and this body vanish. Atman alone remains. That Atman thou art. Tat Tvam Asi.
I-ness and mine-ness, agency and enjoyership bind you to the Samsara. Destroy these notions. Identify yourself with the Atman which is non-doer, non-enjoyer. You will attain Immortality and eternal Bliss.
Sensual pleasure is only pain. It is momentary mental excitement, momentary sensation of flesh, momentary itching and scratching of the senses. You can have eternal bliss in your own Inner Atman alone.
Enquire ‘Who am I?’ Deny or sublate the limiting adjuncts (body, mind, etc.); know the Self and be free.
Constantly think of the Immortal, all-pervading Atman. Give up thinking of body. You will attain Self-realisation.
You are ever free. You are already free. Moksha is not a thing to be attained. You will have to know that you are Atman, that you are free.
Destroy the Vasanas, subtle desires, and Trishnas, cravings. This will lead to the annihilation of the mind. Destruction of the mind will lead to the attainment of Brahma Jnana or wisdom of the Self.
This world is illusory. Brahman alone is real. You are identical with Brahman. Realise this and be free.
The liberated sage is ever blissful. He rests in his own Satchidananda Svaroopa. He is free from egoism, lust, hatred, greed, anger and the pairs of opposites. He has equal vision and balanced mind. He is Brahman Himself.
OM is the symbol of Brahman. OM is your real name. Meditate on Om with Bhava and its meaning. You will attain Self-realisation.
“I am the All-pervading, Immortal Soul. I am Pure Consciousness. I am Satchidananda Svaroopa. I am witness or Sakshi.”—These are the formulas for constant meditation and assertion.
Equip yourself with the Four Means. Hear the Srutis, reflect and meditate. You will attain Self-realisation.
Thou art not this perishable body. Thou art not this changing mind. Thou art all-pervading, immortal, infinite, changeless Soul or Atman. Realise this and roam about happily.
Watch the breath. It sings Soham, ‘So’ during inhalation and ‘Ham’, during exhalation. It reminds you ‘I am He’. Meditate on ‘Soham’ and attain Self-realisation.
‘I am body. I act. I enjoy. She is my wife. He is my son. This is mine.’—This is bondage. ‘I am Immortal Soul. I am non-actor, non-enjoyer. She is my soul. Nothing is mine.’—This is freedom.

THUS ENDS JNANA YOGA OR
THE YOGA OF THE WISDOM OF THE SELF

Excerpts from: Jnana Yoga - Amrita Gita by Sri Swami Sivananda

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Karma Yoga

Spiritual Message for the Day – Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananada

**Baba Times Digest©

18 May 2015 17.42 EST

New York Edition**

Karma Yoga

Divine Life Society Publication: Amrita Gita by Sri Swami Sivananda

Work is worship of the Lord.
Karma Yoga is the Yoga of selfless action, without agency and expectation of fruits.
Karma Yoga removes the impurities of the mind. It is a potent purifier of the heart.
Karma Yoga prepares the mind for the reception of Divine Light, Divine Grace, and Divine Knowledge.
See God in every face. Behold the Lord in all creatures.
Share what you have with others. Serve the saints and sages.
Serve the sick. Serve the poor. Serve your parents. Serve your motherland. Serve humanity in general.
Scrutinise always your inner motives. Destroy selfish motives.
Work without egoism. Cultivate the Nimitta-Bhava. Feel you are an instrument in the hands of the Lord.
Surrender always your actions and their fruits to the Lord.
Have equal vision and balanced mind in pleasure and pain, gain and loss, success and failure.
Develop nicely adaptability. Serve always with Atma-Bhava and Narayana-Bhava.
Sing Sitaram, Radheshyam or Hare Rama while you work. Remember the Lord always.
Give up Abhimana of all sorts. Kill the Vairagya-abhimana, Seva-abhimana, Tyagi-abhimana, Kartritva-abhimana, male-female-abhimana, and doctor-judge-abhimana.
Do not expect even thanks or appreciation for your work.
Do actions as your duty, duty for duty’s sake.
Never say: “I have helped that man.” Feel and think: “That man gave me an opportunity to serve.”
Watch for opportunities for service. Never miss even a single opportunity.
Cultivate amiable, loving, social nature, generosity, catholic nature. Kill selfishness. Control the senses, practise self-restraint, tolerance, sympathy and mercy. These are the qualifications of a Karma Yogi.
Bear insult, injury, harsh words, criticism, heat and cold.
If you are a doctor, treat the poor free of charge. If you are an advocate, plead for the poor. If you are a teacher or a professor, give free tuition to poor boys. Give them books free.
Keep Twelve Tissue Remedies or some household remedies and treat the poor.
If anyone is suffering from acute pain, shampoo the painful part. Feel you are shampooing the body of the Lord.
Do not make any difference between menial and respectable work.
Keep always some small coins in your pocket and distribute them to the poor and the decrepit.
Feed the poor. Clothe the naked. Comfort the distressed. Remove glass pieces from the road.
There are three kinds of Karma, viz., Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami or Kriyamana.
Sanchita is the accumulated storehouse of actions of previous births. Prarabdha is that part of Karma which has given rise to your present birth. Agami is current action.
Sanchita is destroyed by Brahma-Jnana. You will have to enjoy the Prarabdha. Agami has no binding force as there is no agency or egoism in the sage.
Do not be attached to the work itself. You must be able to give it up at any moment.
As you sow, so you reap. Virtue gives you happiness. Vice gives you pain.
You are the master of your destiny. You sow an action, reap a habit. You sow a habit, reap a character; you sow your character and reap a destiny. Destiny is your own making. Abandon desires and change your mode of thinking. You can conquer destiny.
Think you are man; man will you become. Think you are Brahman; Brahman will you become. This is the immutable divine law.
If there is no agency, if there is no selfish motive, action becomes an inaction. You are not bound by an action.
Sastras and saints and your own pure, clean conscience will point out to you what is right, what is wrong. Follow them and do the right.
An egoistic man alone thinks: “I am the doer.” Really it is the Guna or Prakriti or the sense that does the action. Atman is actionless, Akarta, Nishkriya.
Practise your Svadhanna, your Varnashrama Dharma unselfishly, without egoism. You will attain purification of heart. Knowledge of Brahman will dawn in your heart.

THUS ENDS KARMA YOGA

Excerpts from: Karma Yoga - Amrita Gita by Sri Swami Sivananda

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Nishkamya Karma Yoga

Spiritual Message for the Day – Nishkamya Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananada

**Baba Times Digest©

17 May 2015 10.32 EST

New York Edition**

Nishkamya Karma Yoga

Divine Life Society Publication: Practice of Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda

In the practice of Nishkamya Karma Yoga, there is no loss of effort. There is no harm. There is no transgression also. Even a little of this knowledge, even a little practice can protect you from great fear of birth and death with its concomitant evils. You will doubtless reap the fruits in this path of Karma Yoga, viz., Jnana. There is no uncertainty here. Matter is indestructible. Energy is indestructible. Even a little practice with the right mental attitude will purify the Chitta. The Samskaras of virtuous actions are imbedded in the Chitta. They are also indestructible. They are real, valuable assets for you. They will prevent you from doing wrong actions. They will goad you to do selfless actions. They will push you on to the goal. Selfless works will prepare the ground of Antahkarana for the reception of the seed of Jnana. The path of Karma Yoga eventually leads to the attainment of infinite bliss of the Self.

Work unselfishly with disinterested spirit. Always scrutinise your motives. Your motive should be pure. The fruits of actions vary according to the motive. Listen to this story: In Hanuman Ghat two girls were in a drowning condition. Two young men jumped immediately into the Ganga and rescued them. One man asked the girl to marry him. The other man said: “I have done my duty. God gave me an opportunity to serve and improve myself.” He had Chitta Suddhi. The external action is the same (the act of saving the life) but the motive is different. The fruits also must be different. Never care for the fruits of your actions. But do not become a victim of sloth or inertia. Pour forth all your energies in the service of humanity, country, etc. Plunge yourself in selfless service.

Fix your mind at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Give the hands to work. Even when you work, work like the typist or the harmonium player who types or plays while talking to you, like the woman who knits and talks at the same time. Let your mind be ever attached to the Lotus Feet of the Lord while your hands are at work. The mind of the girl, who has the water-pot on her head, is on the pot even though she talks and jokes with her comrades while walking along the road. You will be able to do two things at a time by practice. The manual work will become automatic, mechanical or instinctive. You will have two minds. A portion of the mind will be at work, while the rest of the mind will be in the service of the Lord, in meditation, in Japa. Repeat the Name of the Lord while at work also. Ashtavadhanis do eight things at a time. They play at cards, move the man in Chaturanga play (chess), dictate some passages to a third man, talk to a fourth in order and continuation, and so on. This is a question of training of the mind. Even so, you can so train the mind that it can work with the hands and can remember God at the same time. This is Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga combined.

Lord Krishna says:

Tasmat sarveshu kaleshu mamanusmara yudhya cha;
Mayyarpitamanobuddhir mamevaishyaisyasamsayam.

“Therefore at all times think upon Me and fight with mind and reason set on Me, without doubt thou shalt come unto Me.” Gita: Chapter VIII-7.

Though the cow grazes in the pasture having been separated from the calf, her mind is always fixed on the calf only. Similarly you should fix the mind on God when you do Japa, like the cow, and give your hands to work, which is only worship of the Lord. Renounce all attachment. Be balanced in success or failure, gain or loss, victory or defeat, pleasure or pain. Train and discipline your mind cautiously. This is your master-key to open the doors of the realms of bliss. This is the secret of Karma Yoga. This is the secret of success in Yoga. Here is also another interesting illustration. The mind of the Ayah is always on her own child though she fondles and caresses the child of the zamindar for the time being. The mind of the Choranari is always on her paramour though she is busy doing her household duties at her home. Even so, fix the mind at the Lotus Feet of the Lord and give the hands to worldly activities. You can realise God even while remaining in the world if you adopt this method. You need not retire to Himalayan caves and forests. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says: “Renunciation and Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; of the two, Yoga of action is verily better than renunciation of action.” Gita: Chapter V-2.

If you care for the fruits of actions you will be caught up in the wheel of birth and death. You cannot expect to attain immortality immediately or the final beatitude.

Mind is so framed that it cannot work without expectation of fruits or anticipation of rewards for actions. If you smile when you meet your friend, you do expect a smile in return from him. If you give a cup of water to somebody, you do expect something in return from him. If you salute your friend on Mount Road, you expect him to salute you in return. This is the inborn nature of worldly-minded people. You will have to train the mind to work disinterestedly. You will have to tame the mind cautiously. You will have to discipline the mind with patience and perseverance. Worldly-minded people cannot understand the spirit of Nishkamya service as their minds are charged or saturated with impurities. Do service for sometime. Then you will grasp the spirit of Nishkamya Karma Yoga. In the beginning all your actions may be selfish. But if you work hard in the field of Karma Yoga for two years, five of your actions will be unselfish and ninety-five will be selfish. Scrutinise your motives, purify them and try hard. After some years of incessant struggle, fifty actions will become unselfish. A good time will come when all your actions, hundred per cent, will be purely unselfish. You will become a perfect Karma Yogi like Raja Janaka. The time is not very far if you keep up the ideal before you daily and struggle hard to reach the ideal, and if you are sincere and earnest in your purpose.

The mind is filled with purity (Sattva) if you work without expectation of fruits, if you work for the sake of God, if you regard work as worship or Puja of Narayana, if you dedicate all your actions to God as Isvararpana. Feel and think that you breathe, live and work for God alone every second of your life, and that, without Him, life is absolutely useless. Feel the pangs of separation while at work if you forget Him even for a fraction of a second.

Excerpts from: Nishkamya Karma Yoga - Practice of Karma Yoga by 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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Parable of The Blind Leading The Blind

Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Parable of The Blind Leading The Blind by Sri Swami Sivananada

16 May 2015 21.37 EST

New York Edition**

Parable of The Blind Leading The Blind

Divine Life Society Publication: Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda

Fifty blind men were sitting in a Dharmashala. They were born blind. They all wanted to go to a distant place of pilgrimage. Four other blind men came along and joined this group. They said they were also going to the same place. “Friends,” said the leader of the fifty, “we are blind and cannot find our way to the sacred shrine. Will you be able lead us? Do your eyes see?” “Yes, my dear friends,” replied the four, “we have heard a lot about the sacred city and the way to reach it. We have a clear mental picture of the route. Though we do not see it with our eyes, we are confident that we shall not only reach our destination, but lead you all there with us. Follow us.” They tied one another with a long rope. The best one among the four led the way. He had a mental idea of the way, no doubt; it was not of much avail. He was misled. Soon he fell into a deep ravine. Bound to him, the other blind men, not knowing where he was leading them, also fell into the ditch, one by one. All of them perished.

Similar is the case with the masses today. They hear of the Land of perennial Bliss, the Land where Holiness and Divinity abound. But they know not the way. They are waiting to be led there. In the meantime a few other blind men arrive there. They have heard a lot about the Kingdom of God. They have great intellectual understanding. They think they know the way, and not only that, they can lead others also. They are the scientists and scientific philosophers. They promise to lead the masses to the Kingdom or Immortal Bliss. The credulous public follows them. These leaders have a great intellect, but no self-control and experience. They go where their cravings and Vasanas and desires lead them. They fall into a terrible ditch of sensuousness, of materialism, and perish. All their followers also perish.

Hearken ye, all men; follow not the blind misleaders. Follow the sages who have the eye of intuition and attain the Abode of Supreme Bliss.

Excerpts from: Parable of The Blind Leading The Blind - Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda

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Living The Gita Vision

Spiritual Message for the Day – Living The Gita Vision by Sri Swami Chidananda

15 May 2015 17.55 EST

New York Edition**

Living The Gita Vision

Divine Life Society Publication: The Gita Vision by Sri Swami Chidananda

The Central Declaration Of Vedanta

The central declaration, the central experience of Vedanta is the immortality of the Self in the individual. It is the divinity of the innermost Spirit indwelling the material body, the physical body-_ajo nityah sasvato’yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire_ (Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, the Self is not killed when the body is killed). This is the culminating declaration about the immortal, imperishable nature of the Spirit within, the third dimension of man, the other two being the physical and the psychological. The spiritual dimension, the real dimension, is something that is immortal, imperishable, eternal and divine. To be established in this truth of our real nature is to grow in strength day after day, is to grow in fearlessness day after day, is to grow in a state of unperturbable stability day after day.

And it is only when you are established in this interior state of stability that you can truly act in an effective manner in this outer world. In all changing circumstances, trying to act in a way that the situation requires at that particular point in time, be daksha (proficient, apt). Always be in a state of full knowledge, full awareness, that there is something else that is acting, a mechanism is acting. Be established in the knowledge: “The forces that operate the mechanism are the three-fold gunas, which are a part of prakriti to which this mechanism belongs; whereas, within that I am the unaffected witnessing consciousness. I am the witness. I apparently do, but in the midst of my apparent doing, I am really the actionless witness beyond time and space. Indriyas act amidst their objects. The three gunas are doing many things. But seated in their midst, I am the silent, unaffected, detached witnessing consciousness.” This is the secret of true karma yoga. It is the secret of apparently being active as the situation demands and yet at the same time being fully aware of what you are, never losing the awareness of your true transcendental nature, which is beyond the body, senses, prana, mind and intellect.

Living The Gita Vision

This is the call of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita to every sadhaka as he is moving towards his goal of God-realisation. Unless we learn the manner of living in this world upon the Gita-spirit, Gita-ideal, we will lose our way. We will get caught and entangled. Always assert: “Nothing can entangle me. Never can I become entangled in anything, because I am the immortal, ever-free Soul, always one, secondless.” It is this interior awareness that makes one go through life amidst the many and yet rooted in the One.

This Gita-awareness within and the Gita-vision of this changing world, the need to be in the midst of the field of action but yet maintain and retain one’s awareness of being a serene witness, is absolutely essential to all sadhakas who, being in the world and of the world, have to move towards the great Goal. It is all the more essential in these changing times when human society has changed so vastly. Conditions are not always conducive, helpful and favourable to this interior journey of the soul towards its eternal Source. There is a lot of distraction and a lot of disturbance. In the midst of all that, serenity is to be maintained.

It is only the vision and the spirit of the Gita upadesa of the second and third chapters that will enable us to be in the midst of activity and yet be serenely poised in the Self that is actionless and changeless. That alone abides; all else passes on.

“I shall be rooted in the Eternal and function in the non-eternal. I shall abide in the Divine-God in me and I in God.” Thus may you reflect and contemplate upon the Gita ideal of life in this world and the Gita ideal of action in the midst of this ever-changing phenomenal situation. May you reflect deeply upon this and create an awakened interior within, so that the world is not able to affect your sadhana, so that your sadhana goes on unhampered in spite of the distractions outside, because you ever abide in the Self.

May the Lord, Jagad-Guru, Gita-Acharya, Bhagavan Lord Krishna, the World Teacher, shower His divine grace upon you and may His grace manifest within you as this awakened spiritual awareness and as the ability to act with expertise, so that in the midst of action you still maintain an abidance in the ever-actionless Reality within, so that you are able to be actionless in the midst of action.

May God’s grace manifest within you as the heightened awareness and elevated, uplifted consciousness of the Reality. May you abide in that, and may you move through this journey of life as an anasakta karmi, a detached actor. Always think: “Action is going on. I am not attached to it. I am aware that I am not the actor.” May His grace manifest within you as this inner perception and the inner awareness, the inner consciousness, which is the key to successful karma yoga together with your bhakti, jnana and dhyana.

Excerpts from: Living The Gita Vision - The Gita Vision by Sri Swami Chidananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore

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