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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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Parable of The King’s Dream
Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Parable of The King’s Dream by Sri Swami Sivananada
| **Baba Times Digest© | 4 February 2015 21.57 EST | New York Edition** |
Parable of The King’s Dream
Divine Life Society Publication: Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda
A king went to bed in his palace, which was guarded on all sides by sentries. Not even a fly could enter it and disturb the king. The bed-room was equipped with every kind of comfort and there was nothing lacking which enabled the monarch to enjoy the bliss of deep sleep.
Soon after he lay down he had a dream. A jackal had somehow entered the palace, attacked him and had bitten a toe of his left foot. In the meantime he hears the news that enemies have entered his kingdom and taken possession of all things. He flees in fear; but the toe gives him great pain. He runs to a doctor for medical aid. The doctor refuses to treat him as, though he was a king, he had no money to pay for the doctor’s fees on the spot, for he had lost his kingdom. As a mendicant he runs away to the forest. There he finds a Mahatma who heals the wounds. Gratitude to the Mahatma wells up in the heart of the ruler, then he wakes up.
The dream vanishes. The king is still lying on his golden bed in the palace which not even a fly could enter. He finds that there is neither the jackal, nor the wound nor his running away to the forest. But the Mahatma’s grace endures in his mind, and he, though it was all a dream and he has realised it, for ever cherishes the memory of the holy man’s healing service and derives inspiration from it.
Similarly, the Jiva is truly the Supreme Monarch of the Universe. There is nothing lacking in it and it is in possession of supreme bliss- it is bliss itself. Yet, when the veil of ignorance is thrown over it, it dreams. In that dream the jackal of egoism bites it. The enemies of the senses overpower it. The happiness that it so long enjoyed is gone; it experiences pain and misery. It runs here and there in search of relief from misery and in search of happiness. Everyone in the world is selfish. Unless there is immediate benefit from it, no one is prepared to give it even a cup of water. Disgusted with the ways of the world, it runs to the forest-to the lotus-feet of the Sat-Guru. The Guru heals its wounds and awakens its higher soul-consciousness. The awakened soul perceives everything that happened as nothing but a long dream. Gratitude to the Sat-Guru who healed the Jiva of the dire malady of birth-and-death, alone remains. The Guru’s Upadesa and his Grace alone endure when all else that was part of the dream vanishes. The awakened soul once again feels that it is the Supreme Monarch of the Universe, that nothing ever happened to its majesty, that there was no ignorance and no egoism, and that from eternity to eternity it continues to be the self-same Self-all-blissful, peaceful and immortal.
Excerpts from:** Parable of The King’s Dream -**Parables of Sivananda**by Sri Swami Sivananda**
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Vedanta in Daily Life
Spiritual Message for the Day – Vedanta in Daily Life by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 3 February 2015 16.07 EST | New York Edition** |
Vedanta in Daily Life
Divine Life Society Publication: Vedanta in Daily Life by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
The Upanishads form the basis of Vedanta. Vedanta upholds the reality of the indivisible, immanent and transcendent Spirit. It does not exclude matter. It does not exclude anything. The oneness of all existence is the message which Vedanta teaches. It has kept Hindu society alive for the past several thousand years.
Vedanta is the only bold philosophy which dares call man God, not merely the son of God, or His servant. It proclaims with emphasis that you are the immortal, all-pervading Atman, the Universal Soul or Supreme Brahman in essence, in reality. Boldness is the key-note of Vedanta. The message of Vedanta is fearlessness, soul-force and unity of consciousness.
Vedanta does not ask for converts or proselytes, but a deeper reassessment of the divine-human equation, a return to the fundamental question of every being: “What am I really ? What is my real Self ?” Vedanta proclaims: “Man, in essence, is identical with the Supreme Being.”
Vedanta denotes one’s identity with the rest of humanity. According to Vedanta, there is no stranger in this world. Everyone is related to one another in the kinship of the Spirit. In Vedanta, there is no ‘mine’ and ‘for me’; but ‘ours’ and ‘for us’; and ultimately, ‘His’ and ‘for Him’. If the Vedanta philosophy is rightly understood and acted up to, then it will obliterate all evils that emanate from factional and racial prejudices. Vedanta is no creed, no ceremony or form of worship. It is the science of right living. It is not the sole monopoly of the Hindus or the recluses. It is for all.
Vedanta has no quarrel with any religion whatsoever. It preaches universal principles. Vedanta is the only universal, eternal religion. It is a great leveler. It unites all. It gives room to all.
Vedanta encloses within its sphere all the religions of the world and is strong enough to make them all useful and enduring. Vedanta never interferes with forms. It concerns itself solely with the life of religions. The Christian need not renounce his Christianity, the Buddhist may stick to his Noble Eightfold path, the Muslim may stick to his Quran, and yet all these may follow the Vedanta and realize in practice all its high ideals and truths. Their love to their respective prophets and Bibles will become more sober, more enlightened, and more enduring. Religious animosity will vanish and the world will move on to its great end without any friction, with greater dignity and more goodwill among its denizens.
Vedanta means no slavery. It gives freedom to all. It never condemns any man as beyond hope, never looks upon anyone as accused, but takes all mankind within its fold. Vedanta is extremely catholic and liberal in its outlook. Vedanta can offer to the modern society a common faith, a common body of principles, and a common moral discipline. It is highly scientific in outlook and has a real appeal to men and women of today.
There is no philosophy so bold and sublime as the philosophy of the Vedanta. It is Vedanta alone that can eradicate totally human sufferings and can bring everlasting peace and happiness. Even a little understanding and a little practice of Vedanta can raise a man to magnanimous heights of Brahmanhood or God-consciousness and remove all sorts of fears, worries and anxieties of this mundane life.
Some ignorant people only say that Vedanta preaches immorality, hatred and pessimism. This is a very sad mistake. Vedanta does not preach either immorality or even indifference to morality. Vedanta wants you to destroy Moha or selfish love and passion for the body, and develop pure, disinterested cosmic love or the magnanimous divine Love. Vedanta never preaches pessimism, but it preaches the pinnacle of optimism. Licentiousness is mistaken for a life of expansion. If a man can eat anything in any hotel in any part of the world, if he can move socially with any man or woman, that does not mean he is a Vedantin. There is much tall talk of Vedanta nowadays. People talk of unity, oneness and equality, but fight out for little, useless things. They are full of jealousy and hatred. I cannot imagine this. I am simply stunned.
I believe in practical Vedanta. I believe in solid spiritual practices. I believe in thorough overhauling of worldly nature, worldliness of various sorts.
You must be a practical Vedantin. You should live in the spirit of Vedanta. Mere theorizing and lecturing is only intellectual gymnastics and lingual warfare. This will not suffice. What is the use of reading too many books on Vedanta like Chit-Sukhi, Khandana Khanda Khadyam, etc.? You must radiate love to one and all. The spirit of Vedanta must be ingrained in your cells, tissues, veins, nerves and bones. It must become part and parcel of your nature. You must think of unity, speak of unity and act in unity.
The sun, the Ganga, the flowers, the sandal trees, the fruit-bearing trees, the cows - all teach practical Vedanta to the world. They live for serving the humanity in a disinterested spirit. The sun radiates its light alike over a cottage of a peasant and a palace of a king. The cool refreshing waters of the Ganga are drunk by all. The flowers waft their fragrance to all without expecting anything. The sandal tree wafts its aroma even to the man who cuts it with an axe. All fruit-bearing trees behave in the same manner. O selfish, ignorant man ! Learn lessons from these practical Vedantins and become wise.
Vedanta does not preach a doctrine of negation of human effort. It wants you to have a changed mental attitude. It demands a changed angle of vision. Till now, the world was everything. Hereafter, the Reality alone is everything.
Once there lived two friends, Ram and Gopal. They were both philosophers. By analysis and self-enquiry, Ram learned to see the Glory of the Supreme Self reflected in and through all the universe. But Gopal continued to remain a theoretical philosopher, condemning the universe as an illusion and dream containing nothing but evil and vice.
One day, after a long time, Ram called on his friend. Gopal discussed, for a long time, as usual, the evil in this universe, and in the end asked Ram what present he had brought for his friend. Ram, after thinking a while, produced a broken piece of mirror from his pocket and handing it over to Gopal, said, “This is my little and humble present. It will help you to understand your own beauty and charm, which you cannot otherwise see.”
Gopal learnt a lesson, and from that moment began to visualize and understand the Glory of the Supreme Self reflected in all the universe. Nothing is useless in this world. The non-self exists to reflect and glorify the Self. Otherwise how can you know the existence of the Self ? Verily, the non-self is the mirror that truly reflects the Self for us to cognize.
So, too, evil is the mirror for good. The presence of sages and saints is easily cognized amidst an assembly of ignorant men. Learn to see the good reflected by the evil, and say, “Evil exists to remind me of good, the perishable exists to remind me of the Imperishable,” and so on.
Truly, this universe is a mirror that reminds us of God. Learn not to condemn it as an illusion and dream, but to utilize it to feel the presence of God.
Learn to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent. Behold the Self in all beings, in all objects. Share what you have, physical, mental, moral or spiritual, with all. Serve the Self in all. Feel when you serve others, that you are serving your own Self. Love thy neighbour as thyself. Melt all illusory differences. Remove all barriers that separate man from man. Mix with all. Embrace all. Destroy the body-idea by constantly thinking on the Self or the formless Atman. Fix the mind on the Self when you work. This is practical Vedanta. This is the essence of the teachings of the Upanishads and sages of yore. This is real, eternal life in Atman. Put these things in practice in the daily battle of life. You will shine as dynamic Yogin or Jivanmukta. There is no doubt of this.
Excerpts from: Vedanta in Daily Life 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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The Saint’s Magic
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Saint’s Magic by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 2 February 2015 14.16 EST | New York Edition** |
The Saint’s Magic
Divine Life Society Publication: The Saint’s Magic by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om! Om! Om!
You have seen the magic being performed. I remind you of a greater magic, though silently performed, that saints like our Gurudev work in our own inner self. That is the magic of turning our vision inward; for man’s mind always flows outward and it is by the saint’s magic that he is helped to turn it inward. It is the magic of enabling you to rise from Tamas to Rajas from Rajas to Sattwa, and ultimately to transcend Sattwa, too. It is the magic of making you transcend the Pashu in you, the beastly aspect of your personality, to become human first and then divine.
How this magic is wrought only the saints know; but we can have an idea of how far this magic has been performed in our own life. There is a barometer which can register this inner progress. This has been given in the beautiful Sloka in the Gita:
Trividham Narakasyedam Dwaram Nasanamatmanah,
Kamah Krodhastatha Lobha stasmaadetattrayam Tyajet.
There are three gates to hell—desire, anger and greed. He who would grow in saintliness, into a divine being, should cultivate the very opposites of these qualities, viz., desirelessness, angerlessness, and selflessness. It is the extent to which you grow in these three cardinal virtues that is the degree of your spiritual progress.
Saints have prescribed all kinds of Sadhanas to help the Sadhaka evolve spiritually. But through all these Sadhanas—Japa, Kirtan, recitation of Mantras, study of scriptures, Tirtha-Yatra—this main current of growing in desirelessness and selflessness (or in short egolessness, for all these spring only from the ego) should run. You should daily undertake a pilgrimage to this shrine of perfection within yourself; that is the greatest, and the real pilgrimage.
Turn within. Introspect. Become a self-C.I.D (detective). Find out your own faults. It is very easy to find fault with others and condemn others. But that will not enable you to progress. Remember the wonderful lesson that Lord Jesus taught when people were about to stone Mary Magdalene to death; he said, “Let him cast the first stone, who has not sinned.” First turn within and find out your own faults. That is the path of a Sadhaka. That is real charity: charity is not merely giving a little money away, true charity is forgiving one who offends you “seven times seven” or, in other words, any number of times.
Krishna sent out two people on a wonderful errand: He asked Yudhishthira to bring to Him a wicked man, and He asked Duryodhana to bring to Him a good man, Yudhishthira comes back and says: “No one is bad in the world; I am the only wicked man.” Duryodhana comes back and says “No one is good in the world; I am the only good man.” You should become like Yudhishthira and not like Duryodhana. You should see good and good alone in all.
And, in all things you should always hold before yourself the glorious ideal of the saints and sages of the past and present. You should always judge your actions by their standards. “Would Tukaram, Jnanadev, Jesus, Buddha, our Swamiji, Ramana, Aurobindo, Ramadas—would they do this?” If the answer is no, do not do it; or if it is done, resolve never to repeat it. Thus you would grow spiritually. And this is the greatest pilgrimage that you have to undertake and complete successfully.
Otherwise, it would be like the Tirtha-Snana (bathing in holy waters) done by the bitter-gourd of which the Kamandalu is made. It is bitter by nature. Even if you take it to all the great places of pilgrimage throughout the world and dip it in all the holy Waters, it would yet be bitter. Be not like the bitter gourd. Be not like Duryodhana. Be like Yudhishthira. Grow in Sattwa. Grow in virtue. Become desireless, selfless and egoless. Become divine. This is my sincere prayer.
Excerpts from: The Saint’s Magic 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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If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Training of the Mind
Spiritual Message for the Day – Training of the Mind by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 1 February 2015 13.03 EST | New York Edition** |
Training of the Mind
Divine Life Society Publication: Divine Life – Value System by Sri Swami Sivananda
Om! Om! Om!
If a pebble in our shoe torments us, we expel it. Once the matter is understood, it is just as easy to expel an intruding and obnoxious thought from the mind. Thoughts are the sources of all actions - they are real karma, real action. If, right at the beginning, you can root out all evil thoughts, you will not do any evil actions. You will be free from misery and anxiety.
Watch the thoughts with vigilance. Once the tossing of the mind vanishes, the mind will be very calm and you will get good meditation. Free yourself from the clutches of the mind, and liberation will come by itself. Those who have even a little control over their thoughts and speech will have a calm, serene, beautiful face, a sweet voice and brilliant, lustrous eyes.
Conserve all mental energy. Use it for spiritual purposes. Do not store useless information in your brain. Learn to unmind the mind. Then only you can fill the mind with divine thoughts. As all the dissipated mental rays are collected you will gain new mental strength. Useless thoughts impede your spiritual growth; obnoxious thoughts are stumbling blocks to spiritual advancement.
In untrained persons four or five kinds of thoughts occupy the mind at one time. These may be thoughts of the household, of business, of the office, of the body and so on. If you watch carefully you will see that many thoughts are inconsistent and that the mind wanders aimlessly.
Entertain only thoughts that are useful and helpful. These are the stepping stones to all spiritual progress. Every thought must be of a constructive nature; it must be positive and definite. Mental images must be well-defined. Every thought must bring peace and comfort to others and never bring pain or unhappiness. Then, you are a blessed soul on earth.
Always watch your mind. Be vigilant. Be alert. Do not allow waves of irritability, jealousy, anger, hatred and lust to arise in the mind. These are the enemies of meditation, peace and wisdom. Suppress them at once by entertaining sublime thoughts. Evil thoughts which have already arisen may be destroyed by originating and maintaining good thoughts, by repeating any mantra, by doing any good actions, by abstracting the mind and by enquiring, “Who am I?” or by will-force.
Training of the Mind - Divine Life – Value System by Sri Swami Sivananda
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Introduction to the Yoga Vasistha
Spiritual Message for the Day – Introduction to the Yoga Vasistha by Sri Swami Venkatesananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 31 January 2015 13.14 EST | New York Edition** |
Introduction to the Yoga Vasistha
Divine Life Society Publication: Multiple Reflections by Sri Swami Venkatesananda
Om! Om! Om!
The Yoga Vasistha is a scripture of great importance but it is perhaps not as well-known in the world as, for instance, the Bhagavad Gita may be. The scripture contains a cosmology which is most modern. It contains theories of physics which are not only nuclear but sub-atomic; and, what is extremely important, it gives a vision that is at the same time both grand and subtle. Recently I was reading a very interesting book titled Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas, where he describes the human body in cosmic dimensions, meaning that every cell in this body is an enormous organism within which there are independent organisms, which themselves house other organism—worlds within worlds. That is just about the basic theory of the Yoga Vasistha. Thomas says that on the basis of his studies, he does not even visualise the earth as an organism. The best view of the world could be that it is one single cell. The Vasistha gives a beautiful story which resembles exactly that. If one has this view, then I think all the division which haunts our vision will disappear. You and I, including the dog, are not only one, but we are all cells—little things within one cell.
The scripture contains wonderful health hints, psychosomatic theories, wonderful instructions for meditation and for worship and beautiful descriptions, if not instructions, concerning warfare. All this and highly romantic stories, too.
However, we are not really concerned with all that. Most of our problems revolve around the questions: What is our life? What am I? What must I do? Why am I here? Some of us at some time or other in our lives reach the point where we feel: “I am living a useless life. What is all this for? I feel so insignificant—like a dry leaf which is wafted in the wind.” There arises despair—what St. John of the Cross might have called the dark night of the soul. The response to this question is the teaching contained in the scripture.
Vasistha declares right in the beginning that the feeling that I am bound psychologically and that I want to get out of this prison is the qualification of one who can profit by study of this text. If the soul experiences this dark night and that soul, craving for light, is exposed to this teaching, it is instantly enlightened.
Why do despair and fear arise in our life? Why do we get attached to anything in this life? Why do we hate anything in this life? All these arise from hope or desire for happiness, for peace of mind. This hope inevitably leads us to its own destruction, leads us to unhappiness. Vasistha says: “Give up all these ideas of running away from this world. Don’t even try to examine what this despair is, don’t even try to investigate whatever is a passing phenomenon. Don’t even let your mind dwell on what has been considered unreal.”
There is one verse which is extremely beautiful:
bhramasya jagatasya ’sya jatasya ’kasavarnavat
apunah smaranam manye sadho vismaranam varam
The world is bhrama—an appearance, hallucination. Vasistha compares the world-appearance to the blueness of the sky; although there is nothing blue there, if you look at it you will still see blue. This hallucination will continue as long as you continue to look at it and wonder. You have hallucinated this world and you have strengthened this hallucination by constantly thinking about whether it is real or unreal. Vasistha says: “It is better to think of something else.”
What is the reality? That which is, is real. The following example occurs quite often in the scripture: there is a bracelet made of gold. Bracelet is a word which we have used conventionally. We also see this as a form and as soon as the form is seen, it generates a concept and a word in the mind. If we dismiss the word and look at the form, we can play a very interesting game: is it gold or is it bracelet? Both. How can only one thing be two? The substance is gold; the reality is gold. It appears in a certain form and convention has given it a name.
If that is clear, everything is clear. For instance, if somebody called me a fool, by reacting to that, I am accepting that I am a fool. The statement had a certain psychological form but the reality of that is nothing but pure consciousness within. Something that happened in the outside world sent me into this ocean of despair. I became afraid and I did not bother to look into it, because I took the external circumstance as something real. And so my attention was completely and totally directed towards this external experience. If I am not a fool, why should I react to him at all? In such a situation, can I look for the reality? What is the reality of one I call the other person? What is the reality of that body, that mind? At the same time what is the reality that I call me, which reacts? Are these two completely separate and independent realities? This dual enquiry has to continue together, not one after the other. The subject and the object have to be looked into together.
A student of the Yoga Vasistha discovers that enlightenment consists of just three steps: there is an appearance; what is the substance behind the appearance? The mind. What is the substance of the mind, and who understands all this? The answer is pure consciousness. In that consciousness you and I, the subject and the object, appear to be divided.
Consciousness, being omnipresent and infinite, manifests (no other word is possible) itself in infinite ways everywhere. It is not possible for this diversity to disappear, but what can and should disappear is seeing it as diverse objects opposed to one another. The infinite remains infinite all the time and the infinite conceives of all this in creation within itself.
A beautiful symbolism is given to us: Vasistha says that this objective creation is like uncut figures in a marble slab—you are a sculptor and you think of the lovely figures you can carve out of it. All those figures exist in it already, potentially. You can visualise one big Buddha or you can visualise hundreds of smaller Buddhas in that one figure of Buddha. That is how this whole world exists.
The world exists not as a reality; the world is a word and there is a psychological form. The psychological form is nothing more than an hallucination which arises in consciousness. Accepting it as an independent reality, we chase one thing and reject something else. All these experiences again form impressions on the mind, strengthening bondage or rather strengthening the idea we have of bondage.
The external world and external circumstances arise in this cosmic consciousness (which you call God); the same consciousness experiences these external circumstances and these are known as subjective experiences, which change—that is all. Realising this you are freed from the delusion of considering these appearances as the reality. Having been freed, says Vasistha, you don’t sit idle, you are rejecting that which is the flow of life. Finally Vasistha advises: live in this world as life is lived here, but completely free of all sorrow. Then if you have to weep, weep; if you have to express suffering, express suffering; if you have to express joy and happiness, do so—because you are free.
I have seen only one person who measured that description—my Guru, Swami Sivananda, who was a completely enlightened and liberated person and also totally human. If you went to him with an unhappy story, even before you shed tears you would find tears in his eyes; if you had something joyous to tell him, he was more happy than you were. He was completely uninhibited; free psychologically and spiritually; he was extremely busy—not because he wanted to achieve anything, but because he had realised that achievement or non-achievement are both irrelevant to life.
Your life is not your life. It is part of this cosmic being and whatever that cosmic being decides has to happen. The direct understanding of this is surrender. In order to see this, you must have passed through this despair. You must have come to the direct understanding that what you want to happen, does not happen. If you want something, work for it and if it does happen, Vasistha would say that it is an accidental coincidence. It does not happen all the time and you might notice that more often than not it does not happen. When one sees that, he completely surrenders and at that point he directs his attention towards the source of all these cravings, desires, hopes and anxieties and comes face to face with the mind. He realises that that mind itself is pure consciousness. In it there appears to be conditioned motivations and even that appearance is discarded. That is a life totally free, instantly freed and divine.
Excerpts from: Introduction to the Yoga Vasistha - Multiple Reflections by Sri Swami Venkatesananda
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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Faith, Aspiration and Self-Surrender
Spiritual Message for the Day – Faith, Aspiration and Self-Surrender by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 30 January 2015 18.29 EST | New York Edition** |
Faith, Aspiration and Self-Surrender
Divine Life Society Publication: Gospel of Holy Aspiration by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Om! Om! Om!
Faith is Sraddha. Faith is the greatest thing in the world. Even the highest rationality has faith as its background. One cannot ratiocinate on things in which he has no faith. Even the greatest philosopher has faith as his stronghold. No intellectualism can prove good if it is not supported by faith. The whole world stands on faith and is guided by faith. Religion has faith as its root. One cannot prove God if he has no faith in God. God is only a matter of faith. This faith is the outcome of previous Samskaras. Certain men are born-philosophers and certain others do not grasp the fundamentals of religion even at the age of seventy. This is all due to past Samskaras or impressions. Faith is guided by impressions of actions done in the previous births and the present faith is nearer or farther from the Truth in accordance with the advancement made in spiritual evolution.
Blind faith should be turned into rational faith. Faith without understanding is blind faith. Bhakti is the development of faith. Jnana is the development of Bhakti. Faith leads to Final Experience. Whatever a person strongly believes in, that he experiences, and that he becomes. The whole world is a product of faithful imagination. If you have no faith in the world the world does not exist. If you have no faith in sensual objects, they will not give you pleasure. If you have no faith in God, you never reach perfection. Wrong faith turns even existence into non-existence. “One who thinks that Brahman does not exist, himself becomes non-existent” says the Taittiriyopanishad. Faith is the fundamental necessity for spiritual Sadhana.
Aspiration is a development of faith. It is one step ahead of faith. The flame of faith burns as the conflagration of spiritual aspiration for Moksha. The aspirant yearns to have divine experience. It is no more mere faith but strong feeling which cannot be easily shaken by external events. The devotee longs to have union with the Beloved. He has no sleep, no rest. He always contemplates on how to attain the object of his love. He prays, sings, and gets mad of his Lord. Divine madness overtakes the devotee and he completely loses personality in the aspiration for attaining God. This is called self-surrender.
Self-surrender is the end of Bhakti Yoga. The self or the ego is surrendered or parted with for ever as an offering to the Lord. The devotee is lost in the consciousness of God. He has plunged into the ocean of bliss. He has taken a bath in the sea of nectar. He has drunk deep the essence of Immortality. He has become an Apta-Kama, for he has attained God, the root of the universe.
Excerpts from: Gospel of Holy Aspiration by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Gospel of Holy Aspiration
Spiritual Message for the Day – Gospel of Holy Aspiration by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 29 January 2015 16.56 EST | New York Edition** |
Gospel of Holy Aspiration
Divine Life Society Publication: Gospel of Holy Aspiration by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Om! Om! Om!
Aspiration
Life is sustained by hope and aspiration, the struggle for betterment, and the zest for fulfilment. The moment these spurring elements of progress are taken away, one begins to vegetate and is miserably lost in the gloom of frustration and despondency, or becomes an ignoramus. The spiritual aspirant, no doubt, endeavours to attain the state of complacency and dissolution of the individual self, but that is a state of fulfilment and not a characteristic of his endeavour which is quite contradictory, the difference between worldly and spiritual aspirations being only in character and objective.
Self-Expression
Every action of man is a step towards self-expression, conscious or unconscious. Action presupposes an inner urge, besides motive, and this urge is the power behind the expression of the self. The active principle of life is to express and diffuse itself, and so, too, naturally, is the principle of creation. The spirit expresses itself through matter so that it is known, for, otherwise, the spirit by itself cannot be expressed. The spirit of man wants to express itself so that it is known in the objects of its expression. The urge for eminence, for the continuity of life, affection, love, domination, possession, is all dependent on this principle of expansion or diffusion of self.
Motive-Power
Man desires for eminence because he wants himself to be felt in others. He wants his name and form to be associated with power and authority and be widely known, because he desires that his self is recognized by others. He thirsts to see himself in another form, and is, therefore, driven by the urge for progeny. He longs to be loved and under-stood and appreciated, because he wants to be felt in the pulsation of the hearts of other people. He craves to have material possessions and has a predilection for dominating over others, because of his insatiable urge to spread himself over as wide an area as possible and associate his self with as many material objects as he could muster. This is the principal motive-power behind life, of which no one should be ignorant. Weaker wills affect it in a smaller way and stronger wills in gigantic dimensions.
Misdirection
When this principal law is misdirected, which is almost universally the case, life becomes a hotbed of conflict, frustration and restlessness. When this urge becomes exclusive and is wrongly channelled without regard to the presence of the same urge in others, when it refuses to recognize the factor of mutuality, then disharmony and hatred rule life. When this urge is associated with the little self and limits itself in the material sphere, when it refuses to recognize the universal principle of the immanence and the oneness of the higher self, forsaking the ideals of common good and undifferentiated righteousness, when it is grooved through selfish motivation and impelled by the dictates of the lower nature, then the soul of man is clouded by the smoke of misery, then poverty and pestilence, greed and animosity, untruth and injustice, stalk the face of the earth.
Higher Self
Let human aspiration, the longing to spread oneself, not be, therefore, misdirected. If the mind is ruled by the lower nature, it is his little self that man wishes to expand, the self that is associated with his body and mind, personal feelings and ambitions. The nature of the higher self, on the contrary, is characterized by the central, unitary principle which sustains all life and which links itself with others with the bond of fellowship, in a spirit of harmony and mutual help. The characteristic longing of the higher self is to spread itself among others through selfless service and spiritual love, to find its ideals of truth and righteousness fulfilled in the process of its longing.
Satchidananda
The very concept of Sat-chit-ananda is characteristic of the nature of the higher self, which is dormant in every human being. The concept of truth (Satya) is identical with existence (Sat). Truth is that which eternally exists, and the principle of existence cannot be exclusive but immanent. The spirit is immanent in all, and it is the recognition of this unity of spirit that can foster goodwill, harmony and amity among individuals and nations. Truth is no truth when it is devoid of consciousness (Chit), otherwise called awareness or knowledge. When knowledge is not perverse, it is identical with Ananda or unmixed felicity. Knowledge, in a different aspect is understanding. When there are true understanding, devotion to the path of truth, justice and righteousness, when the dictates of the lower self has been cured by self-discipline, then the resultant condition of life is marked by unselfish love towards all beings, which is also termed Ahimsa or non-injury.
Great Fulfilment
The primary longing for self-expansion should fill itself through these channels, of truth and righteousness, knowledge and understanding, compassion and love, goodwill and fellowship. The welfare of humanity lies in this great fulfillment, not in the expansion and perpetuation of the lower self. The higher nature can blossom and spread itself among others only when the lower nature has been thoroughly disciplined and sublimated. The process of the flowering of the higher nature, therefore, implies a simultaneous struggle for the eradication of the brambles of negative qualities that choke the garden of life. The victory in this struggle is liberation, and defeat means degeneration and suffering.
Excerpts from: Gospel of Holy Aspiration by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Necessity of a Guru
Spiritual Message for the Day – Necessity of a Guru by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 28 January 2015 16.48 EST | New York Edition** |
Necessity of a Guru
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga and Realisation by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Om! Om! Om!
Just as you can give an orange to a man, so also spiritual powers can be transmitted by one to another. This method of transmitting spiritual powers is ‘Sakti Sanchar.’
Birds keep their eggs under their wings. Through heat the eggs are hatched. Even so, spiritual power is transmitted by the Guru to the proper disciple, whom he considers fit for Sakti Sanchar, through touch (Sparshanat) like birds, sight like fish, and thinking or willing (Mananat, Sankalpa) like tortoise.
The transmitter, the Yogi Guru, sometimes enters the astral body of the selected particular student and elevates his mind through his power. The Yogi makes the subject (Chela) sit in front of him and asks him to close his eyes and then transmits his spiritual power. The subject feels the electric current actually passing from Moola-Chakra higher up to the neck and top of the head.
The disciple does various Hatha Yogic Kriyas, Asanas, Pranayamas, Bandhas, Mudras, etc., by himself. The student must not restrain his Ichha Sakti. He must act according to the inner Prerana (inner goading or stirring). The mind is highly elevated. The moment the aspirant closes his eyes, meditation comes by itself. Through Sakti Sanchar Kundalini is awakened by the grace of the Guru in the suitable disciple. Sakti Sanchar comes through Parampara. It is a hidden mystic science. It is handed down from the Guru to the disciple.
The disciple should not rest satisfied with the transmission of power from the Guru. He will have to struggle hard in Sadhana for further perfection and attainments. Lord Jesus through touch transmitted his spiritual power to some of his disciples (master’s touch). Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa touched Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda had superconscious experience. He struggled hard for seven years more even after the touch for attaining perfection. Lord Krishna touched the blind eyes of Vilvamangal (Surdas). The inner eye of Surdas was opened. He had Bhava Samadhi. Lord Gauranga through his touch produced divine intoxication in many people and converted them to his side. Atheists even danced in ecstasy in the streets by his touch and sang songs of Hari. Glory, glory to such exalted Yogic Gurus! May their blessings be upon us all!!
Sakti Sanchar is of two kinds, viz., lower and higher one. The lower one is a Jada-kriya only, wherein one automatically does Asana, Bandhas and Mudras without any instructions when the Guru imparts the power to the student. The student will have to take up Sravana, Manana, Nididhyasana for perfection. He cannot depend upon the Kriya alone. This Kriya is only an auxiliary. It gives a push to the Sadhaka.
A fully developed Yogi only possesses the highest kind of Sakti-Sanchar.
Excerpts from: Necessity of a Guru - Yoga and Realisation by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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The Psychology of Yoga
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Psychology of Yoga by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 27 January 2015 14.05 EST | New York Edition** |
The Psychology of Yoga
Divine Life Society Publication: Lectures on Raja Yoga by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om! Om! Om!
Beloved Immortal Soul! Radiant Atman!
The Yoga of Patanjali formulated a means by which the sum total of the very nature of the mind was checked. Mind in all its various manifestations was mastered through a set of disciplines, by which he arrived at a state of mind-transcendence. He had the advantage over the Western psychologists. In the entire study of modern Western psychology, you will find that the genesis of this science is based upon the study and observation of an imbalanced mind. The study itself arose from this morbid, abnormal mind. Whereas in the case of Patanjali and the ancient seers, they took for their study, not the abnormal human mind, but the original mind-principle, the cosmic mind-principle as such. So, they went into a study of the mind-stuff as it was. It is here that you have to go into the cosmology, coming into the projection of this manifest universe, evolved from the Unmanifest. So, among many things that were evolved, grosser things like the five elements—the earth, fire, air, water, ether—and the five different kinds of forces in nature took the form of the universe, and the mind-stuff, the universal mind-principle. As such, they entered into a study of mind in itself, the mind-principle as it was originally, not when it became a human mind, the finite mind, conditioned by personality. They discovered certain basic features of the nature of the mind, and based upon this knowledge of the nature of mind, they formulated a system of overcoming it, mastering it. Basing the studies of this knowledge, they evolved a system of Yoga.
Firstly, that the mind-stuff by itself is centrifugal. It always goes out. Its tendency is extroverted, Bahirmukhatva. It is its first nature. Secondly, the inveterate nature of the mind-stuff is to get hold of name and form, of some objects. It cannot be by itself. It has always to assume the name and form of some object. This second inveterate nature of the mind is called objectification. They call it in Sanskrit as Vishayakara Vritti. It always takes the form or Akara of Vishaya or something. It has always to think of something. And the third inveterate tendency which Patanjali tells about the mind is that it does not stay content to assume the form of one thing and keep on to it. It has the inveterate tendency of constantly wanting to move from one thing to another. It cannot stick to one object, and so, Nanatva, multifariousness, the tendency of constantly jumping from one object to another. So, these are the three basic tendencies of the mind, outgoing tendencies of the mind. They are objectification, multiplicity and multifariousness. No wonder, endowed with these tendencies in the mind, you are totally deprived from the experience of the Self. Why? These three contradict the basic nature of your true reality, of the Self within. Because, the Self is the very innermost centre of your being from which the mind constantly draws the consciousness away, out.
Secondly, the Self is not an object of perception. It is the perceiver of all that is perceived. It is the Seer of all things that are seen. It is the Supreme Subject. It is that, that which is connoted by ‘I’, not of this or that, the very opposite of multifariousness. Mind, therefore, catching the consciousness of our human interior draws it forth outside. It revolves it in objects and scatters it among the many. Thus it effectively prevents the consciousness from moving within and resting in its original state as the unaffected, untouched, impartial Seer and finding its oneness, a total freedom and liberation from all distraction. So, this is the problem. Raja Yoga gives you this, stage by stage, methods of transforming the nature of the mind, and overcoming it. You see this duality. The Self is the innermost from within. The Self is the Supreme Subject and the Seer, and It is of the nature of non-dual consciousness. Mind is ever going outside, ever objectifying itself, thinking in terms of things and ever scattering itself amongst the countless objects of this universe.
Questions to deeply ponder:
What are the various ways in which the mind manifests its activity of the outgoing nature? How to overcome them?
What is the method or the discipline according to Patanjali?
What are the obstacles to these methods?
What are the different solutions to these obstacles?
How to counter these obstacles and successfully enter into the state of Self-experience?
Excerpts from: The Psychology of Yoga - Lectures on Raja Yoga by Sri Swami Chidananda
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True Happiness
Spiritual Message for the Day – True Happiness by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 26 January 2015 11.26 EST | New York Edition** |
True Happiness
Divine Life Society Publication: God-Realisation by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Om! Om! Om!
True happiness lies in virtue and inner soul and not in earthly possessions. Man has to rise up above the world consciousness through daily meditation. He should ever attempt to enter the divine consciousness. He should manifest the divine through Sadhana or concentration. He should transform the human nature into divine nature by developing Daivi Sampat. He should cut asunder the network of desires which brings distress and misery in the end through Japa, prayer, meditation and Satsang.
Blessed householders! Remember that ignorance is always the root-cause of fear. Wherever there is duality, there is fear. In Adwaita alone, there is no fear. Who is to be afraid of whom, when one beholds oneness everywhere? The spiritual journey is long and weary. There is much to be done by way of spiritual Sadhana. Life is very short. Time is fleeting. There are many obstacles on the spiritual path. One should apply oneself diligently in spiritual practices and discipline the Indriyas, in the control of mind and lead the most regulated life. Concentration and meditation are the two essential wings of the spiritual Sadhak. With these, he can simply fly round the entire world. Realise this and rest in your Satchidananda Swaroopa. Know thy real Self and be ever free.
Beloved children of the Lord! Scrutinise your motives. Look before you leap. Don’t repent later on. Think very seriously. Remember Him always and attain immortality and eternal and lasting peace right now. Work unselfishly with redoubled force and energy. Universal love is the gateway to Moksha. Do not brood over the past. Live in the living present. Have intense faith. Aspire fervently. Surrender yourself at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. The Divine Grace is bound to descend upon you.
Feel the same Atman that is in you or in the temple, resides in the innermost recesses of the heart of those poverty-stricken ignorant masses also. Love them as you love your own Ishta Devata. Serve them with Atma Bhav. You may meet with apathy and even hostility in the beginning. But if you always entertain thoughts of love, you will surely win. Rest assured in this simple truth. Love is life and hatred is death. Expansion of heart is life, contraction is death. Man should die, but once. A miser dies a thousand times; a weak selfish man dies a million times; one filled with hatred dies every second of his lifetime. Ever have a broad heart. Feel the Atmic strength within yourself. Be ever perfectly selfless. Love all. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. All indeed is Brahman.
Blessed aspirants! You should always try to find out the defects in sensual object or sensual life. The cause of birth, death, or old age, disease, pain, etc., is only sensual desires. By entertaining Mithya Drishti (the unreal nature of worldly objects) and Dosha Drishti, the mind will not run towards worldly objects. Pratyahara will come by itself. Then only, the double withdrawal will be more effective and producing lasting results. Withdrawal of senses from objects can be done through the practice of devotion to the Lord also. When the subtle undercurrents of Vasanas die, when all Rajas is squeezed out, when the lurking appetites in the corners of your Antahkarana are destroyed, when the subtle pride or egoism is eradicated, then only, you will enjoy eternal lasting bliss. Therefore direct your efforts in purifying the mind first.
Do not worry about repeated failures in your Sadhana. Despair not. Do not give up the struggle or the Sadhana. Stand up and again fight the turbulent senses and the mind. Each failure is a stepping-stone to success. You are nearer to success every time. You should succeed in the long run. Make courage your rosary, desirelessness your holy thread, discrimination your deer-skin, dispassion your silk cloth and meditation your sacred Bhasma or the holy sacred ash. Burn the fire of lust and anger through purity and forgiveness. The body idea, lust and egoism are very deep-rooted in men. Hence, O Man! Struggle hard to eradicate these simple enemies of your body and mind. Continue the fight unceasingly. You will succeed eventually in their annihilation.
Never run away from your jobs. A man can afford to lead a well-regulated moral life in any plane he lives. Where there is will, there is a way. One should do all actions in a spirit of detachment. One should leave the world and the objects of the world, as everything is perishable. Love the Lord seated in all. It is the only Reality. Do not apply reasoning to what is unthinkable. For knowing what is beyond mind, one must not rely on logic, but on the sacred scriptures or Srutis or revelations. Do you know what are hatches, matches and despatches. Hatches are births, matches are marriages, and despatches are deaths. Find out that one Supreme undying Being who is above all these matches and despatches and live in the blissful for ever. Give the foremost place to religion and Sadhana and a very secondary place to domestic and social life.
Craving is an intense desire. Through repeated action, every habit has been deeply rooted in man’s nature. Do not give any kind of leniency to your weaker mind, which is deluding you every moment. Every evil habit can be easily eradicated, provided the eradication is taken up immediately as a solemn ideal. All evil habits can be eradicated by constant Abhyas and absolute Vairagya. Ever feel they are the impediments in the spiritual path. Develop a strong desire for God-realisation only. May the Divine light lighten your spiritual path! May you enter into the Kingdom of God where alone you can have true happiness. May the blessings of your Guru be upon you!
Excerpts from:
True Happiness - God-Realisation by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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