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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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Knowledge of the Self
Spiritual Message for the Day – Knowledge of the Self by Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 25 November 2014 22.19 EST | New York Edition** |
Knowledge of the Self
Divine Life Society Publication: Paths of Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda
The body is composed of the five elements and is unintelligent. It is made up of skin, flesh, blood and bones. It is produced by time, action and the attributes of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
The Atman is neither born, nor does it die, nor does it stop or go anywhere. It is neither male nor female nor neuter. It is all-pervading and everlasting. It is one without a second, unblemished like ether, eternal, pure and perfect Knowledge itself.
Sorrow has the body as its cause. The body has Karma for its cause. Action of Karma proceeds from man having the notion of ‘I’ in the body. The notion of ‘I’ which is unintelligent is beginningless, having Avidya for its root cause. Egoism is always associating with the reflection of Chit like a piece of iron heated in fire. Thus the body becomes independent with the Ahamkara and becomes possessed of intelligence.
I am the body this notion arises by force of the connection between the Self and Ahamkara. Worldly life which is the giver of pleasure and pain has for its root this notion of ‘I’ in the body. On account of this identification of the Atman, which is without modification, with the Ahamkara, with the notion of I am the body, I am the doer of action, the individual soul always acts and is forcibly bound by the results. Possessed of virtue and vice he wanders up and down. I have surely done much good work through sacrifices, gifts and the rest, and shall therefore go to heaven and enjoy happiness there, thus he thinks. This is a false notion. He enjoys in heaven the celestial happiness for some time, and falls down as soon as the results of his meritorious deeds are exhausted.
So long as there is connection of the Ahamkara or the principle of egoism and the rest with the body and the sense-organs, there are pleasure and pain and transmigratory existence for the self or the knower. Ahamkara is the notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ in the gross and subtle bodies. The ignorant are attached to the body. They cannot rise above the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ in the gross body. The discriminating few rise above it through Knowledge.
The Samsara or cause of worldly life exists so long as there is any thought of object of sense. When one awakens from the sleep of ignorance taking the unreal for the real, then it ceases to assert itself. The Samsara which has been erroneously imposed on the Self does not go of itself for one, who like a person in a dream cherishes objects of sense.
Non-existence appears to exist through the force of beginningless Avidya or ignorance. Man is agitated through attachment and aversion. The sense of ‘I’ is the effect of ignorance.
The mind is verily the world. The mind is bondage. The superimposition or identification of the mind with the Atman is the cause of bondage.
Just as a piece of crystal which is in fact colourless takes the red or other colour from the object with which it is brought into contact, so also is the world-process or Samsara due to the contact of the Self with the intellect or the organs of sense. The mind cannot of itself cognise without a cognising Self behind it. The Self on the other hand, making the objects created by the mind as its own, takes the form of the latter like the piece of crystal when it is brought into contact with coloured objects, and thus becomes bound by the attributes of those objects and wanders about in Samsara as if helpless and powerless.
Having first created the attributes of attachment and aversion to actions of diverse kinds, the mind takes in various forms, such as white, red and black (the good, the active and the passive). In this way, the Jiva or the individual soul wanders through the influence of Karma till the period of universal dissolution. At the time of universal dissolution, the Self survives with Vasanas taking impressions of past Karmas attracted under the influence of beginningless Avidya.
When there is universal dissolution, there is no destruction of the individual soul. He remains in a latent form in the Mula Prakriti or Avyakta, which is the condition of the equilibrium of all the three Gunas. At the time of creation, he is born again together with the Vasanas born of the mind. In this way he is forced to go round and round like the wheel for drawing water.
When, through special merit acquired by good Karmas in the past, he gets the company of pious devotees, his mind becomes directed towards the Lord. Then is produced in him faith, which is so difficult of attainment, in hearing stories relating to the Lord. Then comes to him without any trouble Knowledge of the Self. Then through the grace of the preceptor, as well as Knowledge of the meaning of the great sentences, Tat Tvam Asi Thou art That, and the like, and his own experience, he forthwith realises the distinction between the body, the organs of sense, egoism and the pure Atman and knows himself to be the intelligent and the blissful Self who is one without a second and becomes thenceforth released.
Know yourself, therefore, to be separate from the three bodies and beyond Prakriti. Relinquish all sense of ‘I’ in the body and become a Sage of Wisdom. Realise your own Self to be free from the conditions of waking, dream and deep sleep, as Truth, Knowledge and Bliss Absolute.
Excerpts from: Knowledge of the Self - Paths of 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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If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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The Practice of Truth
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Practice of Truth by Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 24 November 2014 21.15 EST | New York Edition** |
The Practice of Truth
Divine Life Society Publication: Satyam (Truth) by Sri Swami Sivananda
Scriptures emphatically declare: “Speak the truth. Truth alone triumphs, falsehood never”. God is Truth and Truth must be realized by speaking truth. A truthful man is absolutely free from worries and anxieties. He has a calm mind. If one observes speaking truth for twelve years, one will get ‘Perfection of Speech’. Then, whatever one speaks will come to pass. There will be power in the speech of such a person.
Your thoughts should agree with your words, and the words should agree with your actions. In the world, people think of one thing, say another thing, and do another thing. This is horrible. This is nothing but crookedness. You must carefully watch your thoughts, words, and actions. The little gain that you get by telling lies is no gain at all. You pollute your conscience and infect your subconscious mind. The habit of telling lies is carried to your next birth also and you undergo suffering from birth to birth.
Meditate on truth. Derive inspiration from the lives of those who have sacrificed their all for the sake of truth. Write in bold types the words “SPEAK TRUTH” on cardboards and hang them in different places in your house. This will caution you when you are about to speak a lie. You will then check yourself at once. A time will come when you will be established in the habit of speaking truth. Punish yourself by fasting if you tell a lie and record the lies in a diary. Gradually the number of lies will decrease and you will become a truthful man.
Stick to the path of truth at all costs. Truth has a lustre of its own. It shines for itself and sheds its light on others. When you stick to truth as your only religion, when you strictly adhere to truth alone at all times, at all places, and on all occasions, you cannot afford to harm any one. Perfect peace and real happiness will be yours.
Have ceaseless devotion to truth. Be ready to sacrifice your all for it. You will develop a strong will. You will become fearless. You will draw immense strength and courage from the Atman or the Supreme Self within. You will attain Self-realization.
Excerpts from:
Divine Life Society Publication: Satyam (Truth) 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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If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Mahasamadhi day of H.H.Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj
Special Spiritual Message on the Mahasamadhi day of H.H.Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj
| **Baba Times Digest© | 23 November 2014 17.42 EST | New York Edition** |
H.H. Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj
Divine Life Society Publication: H.H.Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj Attains Mahasamadhi
Our Guiding Light over the past five decades, His Holiness Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, whom Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj used to call as our ‘Dakshinamurti’ and ‘Sankaracharya’, has merged in the Cosmic Being. Revered Swamiji Maharaj, who has been our General Secretary since 1958, our guide, administrator, philosopher, mentor and much more, entered Mahasamadhi on Friday, the supremely auspicious and holy Gopashtami day, the 23rd of November 2001, at 4.30 p.m., in his Kutir in Sivanandashram on the banks of the sacred Mother Ganga, in Shivanandanagar, at the foot of the Himalayas.
The Divine Life Society records its deep reverence to the towering stature of the Spirit of Worshipful Swamiji Maharaj as well as its heartfelt gratitude to a sublime career of unremitting labour of love that came to a glorious close in that momentous afternoon.
Though Swamiji Maharaj had not been keeping well for quite some time, the END came rather suddenly. Swamiji was conscious till the very last moment.
Earlier in the day Swamiji had narrated to those attending on him a dream he had the previous night, which had indicated his leaving the body. He had further said that his cook and the doctor from Rishikesh who had been attending on him must be paid their dues that very day. Swamiji Maharaj was very cheerful that day. He met some Ashramites and visitors as usual. He also talked very freely to the persons attending on him. In the afternoon at 3.00 p.m. Swamiji Maharaj asked for a copy of the Bhagavadgita with the commentary by Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj to be kept by the bedside. When the Holy Scripture was brought, Swamiji started reading it every now and then. Around 3.30 p.m. he had his usual light supper. At 4.25 p.m. he felt a little difficulty in breathing and asked his attendant Sri Swami Satyakamanandaji to recline him on the bed indicating that the last moment had arrived. And the END came at 4-30 p.m.
When the news was declared officially at 5.00 p.m. after the specialist who was Swamiji’s personal physician had arrived, all the Ashramites and local residents flocked to his Kutir to have a last glimpse of their Beloved Swamiji. The last rites of His Holiness were carried out in the traditional way. Around 9.00 a.m. on Sunday, the 25th of November, the body was seated on a flower-bedecked palanquin and taken around the Ashram, with the solemn recitation of the Maha Mantra. There was still an expression of serene repose and majestic calmness in Swamiji’s face. The procession reached Viswanatha Ghat where the sacred bath was given to the body with various articles of Abhisheka, to the accompaniment of the chorus chant of the sacred Rudram, Purushasukta, Narayanasukta and other Vedic Mantras, which were so dear to Revered Swamiji’s heart. The sacred rite of Jala-Samadhi was performed as per the ardent wish of Revered Swamiji Maharaj. Returning with heavy hearts, all the devotees bathed in the holy waters of Mother Ganga, bearing in mind the supreme offering just made. Very soon a strange peace filled the hearts of everyone and a divine calmness descended upon their minds.
On the day of the Maha-Aradhana (Shodasi) on 8th December, 2001, being the sixteenth day of Mahasamadhi, Brahmamuhurtha Prayer, silent meditation and Japa, and Peace chants were held at the sacred Samadhi Mandir, while a special Puja was conducted at the Viswanatha Mandir. The entire place was pervaded by an atmosphere of spiritual elevation and devotion.
Some time back, on 27th August 2001, on account of indifferent health Swamiji Maharaj had tendered his resignation both as the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society and as the Trustee of the Divine Life Trust Society. The resignation was accepted by the Board of Trustees on 10th September. And on the 23rd of November, the Great Seer and Sage attained Sadyomukti or instantaneous liberation-the glorious consummation of the spiritual adept who spends his entire life in unbroken contemplation of the Universal Being-which Supreme Goal was held by Swamiji Maharaj passionately as the Highest Ideal to be cherished in life.
The passing away of Swamiji Maharaj is indeed an irreparable loss not only to the Divine Life Society, but to the entire spiritual world at large. The void is impossible to fill.
The life of Swamiji Maharaj was verily his message as well, inasmuch as it was a process of the intricate ascent of the soul to Universal Perfection. Born on 25th April, 1922, in Puttur, South Canara District, to the devout couple, Kombrenje Shankara Narayana Putturaya and Kaveri Amma, Subbaraya renounced his family and embarked on a journey to Northern India even as a young man. In 1944 he met Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. He entered the holy order of Sannyasa on 14th January, 1946, and since then came to be known as Swami Krishnananda Saraswati. In his own words he felt a mysterious change within himself take place when Sri Gurudev uttered the glorious Mahavakyas. Then came the great day, sometime in 1948, when he had what he termed “a lightning glimpse of Truth”. He was ever blissful and peaceful. The story of Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, after 1948, is just one of a Jivanmukta enjoying the Sahaja Samadhi Avastha.
He was a Master of all systems of Thought, Eastern as well as Western. The books of Swamiji, numbering around fifty, constitute the invaluable legacy he has left behind to the entire spiritual world. To read his books, the majority of which are the outcome of his extempore unpremeditated discourses, is to set oneself in tune with the Ultimate Reality.
It is our privilege to bring to memory the life and teachings of this spiritual saint and savant, a deeply unassuming, unostentatious and humble soul, in whose mere presence one experienced a deep silence and peace which emanated from him as fragrance from a flower.
While his teachings leaned towards the Jnana Marga of Upasana and Meditation, his daily activities displayed a total, dynamic involvement in mundane affairs. Work and Wisdom enjoyed a harmonious blend in his life. Established, as it were, in a peerless state of inner tranquility, he, freely and with utmost felicity, engaged himself in the multifarious activities of the Divine Life Society and the administration of the Ashram. He was also the Editor of ‘The Divine Life’ for a number of years and continued as its Publisher and Printer till the end.
Being an adept in Raja Yoga he could focus his mind on any given subject and incisively penetrate into its very core. This gave him the uncanny ability of understanding people and situations without any difficulty. His sharp and perfect clarity of vision, based on his inner experience of Vedantic Truths, enabled him to effortlessly link up any and every question or doubt with its philosophical implication and thus, brought us back again and again, to the one great longing and movement of the human soul for spiritual union.
His utter simplicity and childlike nature was so endearing, while his mother-like, caring attitude was so reassuring. His wisdom, rationality, intellectual genius, his unflinching dedication and devotion to Gurudev, his ceaseless and tireless Seva and his deep concern for our spiritual welfare-all this put together and more, made him so dearly precious to us all that we have to repeatedly thank God and Gurudev for this great good fortune that had been bestowed upon us.
A Master of Yoga, a centre of love, a dynamic man of action-a perfection of personality as man and God in one-Swamiji will continue to live in the heart of every sincere seeker for ever.
Stars do not set: they shine perpetually. They only appear to set to the eyes of the observer, which are unable to see their continuous existence. The souls of great Saints are spiritual luminaries in the firmament of spiritual existence. They do not come and go in the ordinary sense of the term. The passing of a Saint is not merely death of a human being, but a veritable transfiguration of Nature.
Swamiji Maharaj is no more in his mortal frame. But the Light of his Soul is now merged in every receptive individual soul. Swamiji lives in our hearts. His passing away is not a matter to be grieved. For, he had fulfilled the mission of his life-he had achieved the highest Goal, Self-realisation. The Light of Swamiji’s Soul shines today brighter than ever.
He was an illustrious exponent par excellence of the Vedanta, not merely through his scholarly erudition, but by actual experience. As a Supreme Architect of the Transcendental Truth, he led and even now leads the weary travellers on earth towards the Great Goal.
A life-long proof of the Truth of the Upanishads was what we called Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj. To follow his teachings and to grow up in that Ideal Model is the best way to pay the most befitting homage to His Holiness.
Excerpts from:
Divine Life Society Publication: H.H.Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj Attains Mahasamadhi
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \** **Email to BT Digest Editor** **( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
Practice of Concentration
Spiritual Message for the Day – Practice of Concentration by Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 22 November 2014 21.35 EST | New York Edition** |
Practice of Concentration
Divine Life Society Publication: Meditation by Sri Swami Sivananda
Fix the mind on some object either within the body or without. Keep it there steadily for some time. This is concentration. You will have to practise this daily.
Purify the mind first through the practice of right conduct and then take to the practice of concentration. Concentration without purity of mind is of no avail. There are some occultists who have concentration. But they have no good character; that is the reason why they do not make any progress in the spiritual life.
He who has a steady posture and has purified his nerves and the vital sheath by the constant practice of control of breath will be able to concentrate easily. Concentration will be intense if you remove all distractions. A true celibate who has preserved his energy will have wonderful concentration.
Some foolish, impatient students take to concentration at once without undergoing, in any manner, any preliminary training in ethics. This is a serious blunder. Ethical perfection is a matter of paramount importance.
You can concentrate internally on any of the seven centres of spiritual energy. Attention plays a very prominent part in concentration. He who has developed his powers of attention will have good concentration. A man who is filled with passion and all sorts of fantastic desires can hardly concentrate on any subject or object even for a second. His mind will be jumping like an old monkey.
He who has gained abstraction (withdrawing the senses from the objects) will have good concentration. You will have to march on in the spiritual path step by step and stage by stage. Lay the foundation of right conduct, postures, regulation of breath and abstraction to start with. The superstructure of concentration and meditation will be successful then only.
You should be able to visualise the object of concentration very clearly even in its absence. You will have to call up the mental picture at a moment’s notice. If you have concentration you can do this without much difficulty. In the beginning stage of practice, you can concentrate on the ‘tic-tic’ sound of a watch or on the flame of a candle or any other object that is pleasing to the mind. This is concrete concentration. There is no concentration without something to rest the mind upon. The mind can be fixed on any object in the beginning which is pleasant. It is very difficult to fix the mind, in the beginning, on an object which the mind dislikes.
Sit in lotus-pose (Padmasana) with crossed legs. Fix the gaze on the tip of the nose. This is called the nasal gaze. Do not make any violent effort. Gently look at the tip of the nose. Practise for one minute in the beginning. Gradually increase the time to half an hour or more. This practice steadies the mind. It develops the power of concentration. Even when you walk, you can keep up this practice. Sit on lotus-pose and practise fixing the mind between the two eyebrows. Do this gently for half a minute. Then gradually increase the time to half an hour or more. There must not be the least violence in the practice. This removes tossing of mind and develops concentration. The eyes are directed towards the frontal bone of the forehead. You can select either the nasal gaze or the frontal gaze according to your taste, temperament and capacity.
If you want to increase your power of concentration you will have to reduce your worldly activities. You will have to observe the vow of silence every day for two hours or more.
Practise concentration till the mind is well established on the object of concentration. When the mind runs away from the object bring it back again.
When concentration is deep and intense all other senses cannot operate. He who practises concentration for three hours daily will have tremendous psychic power. He will have a strong will-power.
Excerpts from: Practice of Concentration - Meditation 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
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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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Hatha Yoga-An Art and a Science
Spiritual Message for the Day – Hatha Yoga-An Art and a Science by Sri Swami Venkatesananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 21 November 2014 20.33 EST | New York Edition** |
Hatha Yoga: An Art and a Science
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga by Sri Swami Venkatesananda
Hatha yoga has been widely advertised as a perfectly scientific way to health, relaxation and peace of mind, and by many people it is considered as a system of mainly physical exercise. Hatha yoga certainly gives you a healthy body and a healthy mind, but its goal is different and much higher.
The physical postures and the breathing exercises of hatha yoga calm the nerves and ease the tensions in our body and mind, and are vitally important, but we should not stop with them. We should go deeper and obtain the precious pearl we have within ourselves—self-realisation.
These apparently simple postures and regulation of the breathing help in a wonderful way in our meditation and concentration. They who regularly follow up the yoga asanas and pranayama with a period of concentration and meditation—and they alone—can understand this.
The Gheranda Samhita lists the following seven as the aims of hatha yoga: (1) purification through the six practices, (2) firmness through the practice of the yoga postures, (3) steadiness through the practice of mudra, (4) courage and patience through the practice of introversion of the mind and the senses, (5) lightness through the regulation of the life force, (6) self-realisation through meditation and (7) freedom from bondage through the direct experience of cosmic consciousness, or samadhi.
In the scriptures there are declarations that the practitioner will conquer old age and death. This conquest is not to be confused with the physical immortality, nor is it a promise of perennial youth. It is the discovery of that which is untouched by old age and death.
Hatha yoga enables you to discover health which is wholeness and holiness. It is a state of inner being in which there is no division at all, but only perfect balance and harmony. This wholeness or harmony concerns not only oneself but one’s relation with the all, with the totality of existence.
Health (as also peace, bliss, love and god) is impossible to describe: the description is not ‘health’. It has to be discovered and experienced. Even so, peace has to be discovered; love and bliss and god have to be discovered. Hatha yoga is a method and a technique for this discovery.
Hatha yoga manifests on two levels at the same time—the physical body and the subtle body. The physical body is material, the subtle body is the combination of the energy and intelligence that indwell the physical body and animate it. The ‘discovery’ on the level of the physical body happens when the toxins that cover the cells of the body are eliminated. The ‘discovery’ on the subtle level reveals the mysterious and mighty intelligence that uses the life force to animate the body and to perform the numerous functions on the physical level.
Even the simplest movement of the body, like lifting one foot up while standing, is not the work of the muscles alone. When this simple movement is performed with great inward attention, you immediately see the wondrous function of the intelligence that is inherent in every cell of your body, which springs into action to restore the balance. You cannot imitate this action with both your feet on the ground. Hence, it is clear that that intelligence is beyond the ‘me’ (the ego-sense) and that it responds only to real need, not to imaginary situations. The discovery of this intelligence and the direct realisation of its incredible power and efficiency is the conquest of old age and death, worry and anxiety. That intelligence knows what to do and how to do it.
Even the physical aspect of hatha yoga is so designed as to work on the internal vital organs rather than the superficial muscles. The health of the body depends to a great extent on the health of the nervous system and of the endocrine system of ductless glands. This is done by ensuring that the life force or prana flows through these organs without being blocked or rushed. If the pranic pressure is even and harmonious, then the body and the mind function well.
Prana is life. It is the power in the life-breath. It bears the same relation to the nerves and the body as the electrical current bears to the electric wire. You do not see the current; you cannot see the prana either—but you see the function of electricity in the lights, fans, radio, television; you see the function of the prana in the countless faculties and functions you enjoy in your life.
Prana flows through nadis which are like light-waves or sound-waves. If the prana flows freely you are full of life, cheerful, happy, peaceful, optimistic and zealous; you look forward to facing the challenge of life with hope and enthusiasm.
The yoga system of physical culture waters the roots of inner health, so that the yogi’s powers of resistance and endurance are much higher than those of others. He enjoys an inner sense of well-being. This system enables you to prevent illness in youth and in old age to rise above such illness.
Excerpts from: Hatha Yoga: An Art and a Science - Yoga 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
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Sadhana - The Zen Way
Spiritual Message for the Day – Sadhana - The Zen Way by Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 20 November 2014 18.37 EST | New York Edition** |
Sadhana - The Zen Way
Divine Life Society Publication: The Glory of God - A Summary of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana by Swami Krishnananda
The whole of sadhana practice, in all its varieties, is described in the Srimad Bhagavata. The difficulty in the practice of sadhana is that it is an attempt on our part to reach God. The way in which we have to conduct ourselves inwardly and outwardly in order to attune ourselves to the requirement of God’s presence is our sadhana. God’s justice is incomprehensible. When God thinks, He thinks all things at the same time. It is not like a human being thinking, with one thought after the other. Hence, the adjustment of personality in the practice of sadhana to the requirement of God would mean an adjustment to the totality of the structure of creation and the rising of the spirit of our total personality in this adventure. It is not merely thinking, feeling or understanding that is going on in sadhana; it is the rising up of everything that we are into a focus of direct action.
The book entitled Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, gives us the whole technique of sadhana. ‘Zen’ is a Japanese word for meditation, which is dhyana in Sanskrit and chan in Chinese. The complicated structure of the motorcycle consists of various parts, but usually we are not aware of their existence. We only want to push a button, sit on it, and then ride. But how this button works, how the motorcycle is running, how many parts are involved in it and their cooperative, harmonious activity, with so much affection—can we imagine the total action taking place through the multifarious parts that constitute the motorcycle? The maintenance of it involves, equally, a great attention paid to each and every part—cleaning every nut and bolt, and so on, to perfection, in the maintenance of a motorcycle. Our body may be compared to that motorcycle. Every little thing that we think, feel, act, understand, and are, is important for us. We cannot ignore any part of our personality. Everything is beautiful.
Zen considers everything as beautiful. When we sweep the floor, we are not doing a dirty act. It is a great art of perfection, neatness; and the broom is an object of attention, not simply a thing about which we can be callous. If we wash a vessel, it is a great art of attention in which we are engaging. So is the case with every action, whether it is cooking, preparing tea or offering anything to a guest that comes—a great art, great perfection, great beauty, and great totality. Everything is wonderful; this is Zen’s conception of all things in the world. Even a leaf on a tree, even a twig that is moving, all are beautiful. The twig is moving in the breeze, how beautiful! The leaf is moving, how beautiful! The sun is shining, how beautiful! The river is flowing, how beautiful! The mountain is standing, how beautiful! Why not say it is all beautiful, instead of saying it is all stupid? Zen does not accept that things are stupid.
Likewise, in the practice of sadhana there is no stupid thing in this world. Even our thoughts are not stupid; they have to be taken care of as our own children. We may have naughty children, but it does not matter, because they are our children. All children, even of the same parents, are different—one can totally differ from another in many respects—yet, they are to be taken care of as a single total in the family unit. In a similar manner are the ways in which we have to conduct ourselves in relation to the world. A little attention is to be paid to every thought that comes to the mind. Manana is only this much. If a thought comes, adore it, worship it. “My dear child, what do you want?” Why has this thought come to you? Give it what it wants; it will stop crying, and will go. But if you tell the thought, “Go, I don’t want you,” it will come back yelling with greater force. Therefore, no thought should be brushed aside as unwanted, because it is our child. It has come through our brain, and we are throwing it away. It arises because of a necessity. It will not come unnecessarily. We should understand that necessity by paying careful psychoanalytical attention to it. All thoughts are our thoughts, not somebody else’s, so we cannot reject them unless we reject a part of ourselves, which cannot be done. Yoga is not a rejection of any particular, but an inclusion of all things in a total whole, with a beautiful vision of all their existences, just as in Zen. That is sadhana.
We may say that sadhana is God within us seeking God without, or we may say that it is God within us seeking God Who is everywhere. For that, we must be conscious of everything that is happening anywhere and at all levels of creation: Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Svarloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Satyaloka. We are not friendless and helpless in this world. The quarters of heaven, the very horizon dominated by a god, is ready to help us.
Excerpts from: Sadhana – The Zen Way - The Glory of God - A Summary of the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana by Swami Krishnananda
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The Stages of Karma, Upasana and Jnana In Our Spiritual Growth
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Stages of Karma, Upasana and Jnana In Our Spiritual Growth by Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 19 November 2014 21.51 EST | New York Edition** |
The Stages of Karma, Upasana and Jnana In Our Spiritual Growth
Divine Life Society Publication: The Foundation of Spirituality by Swami Krishnananda
Karma, upasana and Jnana is action, contemplation and knowledge. The one is not to be compared with the other, as if one is better than, or worse than, the other. They are not three paths of practice. They are three necessary stages of the ascent in the spiritual fulfilment of the total personality of the human being. “I like only meditation. Why should I do any work?” There are some who think in this manner. “All this is Brahman. Why should I contemplate on anyone? There is no personal God. I like only Nirguna.” These are only some of the whims and fancies of certain illiterate spiritual seekers.
Spiritual practice, is not an occupation, a job that you choose as you would like. It is not one among the many pursuits of life. Religion, call it spirituality, is not a way that you choose. It is the background, the very sustenance, the very basis, the meaning, and the foundation, the total essence, the very substance of anything that you can consider as meaningful or worthwhile in life. There is no such thing as taking to religion or resorting to spirituality. The path of yoga, the path of religion or spirituality, is not a resorting to some way of living. It is an entering into the field of the totality of life. Thus, what you wrongly and in a miscalculated way call spirituality, religion, is not a Godward otherworldly movement from the existing world of physical realities. It is such an involvement in the total reality of life, visible or invisible, that the true spiritual seeker, sadhaka or religious aspiring soul becomes a perfectly healthy, developed whole being belonging to the world in its entirety. Thus it is that when you tread the path of the spirit, when you enter into the way of what is called spiritual practice, you overcome the limitations of an ordinary individual and become rather a super individual.
Karma, upasana and jnana – action, contemplation and wisdom or awakening – correspond to the stages of ascent of the inner constitution of the human individual. We live in a social world, and we live in the midst of people around us. There is nature, there is the atmosphere of the physical world, and there is the environment of humanity around us.
Action, karma so-called, the initial stage as it is usually considered to be, may be regarded as a necessary art of fulfilling the obligations which one owes to human society in which one is situated and in which one is involved. According to the old, accepted tradition, these obligations, have been classified into at least five different essentials - the five mahayajnas.
Adhyāpanaṁ brahmayajñaḥ, says the Manu Smriti. Brahma yajna, or the sacrifice of knowledge. If no one had taught you, what would you have known? You would have been in ignorance. So if you have received something from others, why should not others also receive something from you? Be charitable. Share your knowledge by teaching: adhyāpanaṁ.
Pitṛyajñas tu tarpaṇam. You have an obligation to your ancestors. Ancestors, of course, may mean our own parents, grandparents, relatives who are alive here. They may also be those who are not alive in this world. It would be a propitious gesture from your side to regard those ancient ones whose vibrations may perhaps be still active in the veins of your own body.
Homo daivo balir bhauto nṛyajño ‘tithipūjanam, is a verse from the Manusmriti. There are powers which guard us. It is not merely the army and the police that protect us. The gods in the heavens are realities. If you exist and I exist, why should they not exist? There are also powers which are sometimes considered by us as subhuman - an atom, the power of electricity, the five elements – earth, water, fire, air, ether –but you know their strength. They can wipe you out in one minute, though you think you are human and they are subhuman.
You have a duty of consideration even for those little humble creatures who cannot speak in a language – the cows, the dogs, the birds, and even the ants, says the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Extend the love of self to even these little creatures. If you harm them not, if on the other hand you take care of them and disturb them not, they will love you as their own self. As you do to others, so you will be done. Be careful. This is called bali yajna. In ancient tradition people keep a little rice or foodstuff outside for crows, dogs, cattle, whoever they be.
The Smriti says that just at the time when you are taking your meal, have a look around and see if anybody is standing at your door. You may ask him, “Have you taken your meal?” It is your duty to ask. And if he has not, may you share what you have. This is atithi yajna.
These yajnas, the five mentioned as mahayajnas – pancha mahayajnas – are also to be regarded as essential duties. You owe a duty to everyone and everything whose support you receive knowingly or unknowingly.
Karma, action, duty, obligation is not a non-essential as over-enthusiasts in religion and spiritual life may imagine. Shirking duty is not equivalent to running to God. There is no connection between the two. “Make friendship with your brother first before you enter the Kingdom of God,” said Christ.
Thus, karma is the stage which is essential in the ascent of the spirit to the ultimate goal of life as enunciated in our tradition.
Excerpts from: The Stages of Karma, Upasana and Jnana In Our Spiritual Growth - The Foundation of Spirituality by Swami Krishnananda
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Moral Law and World Peace
Spiritual Message for the Day – Moral Law and World Peace by Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 18 November 2014 20.01 EST | New York Edition** |
Moral Law and World Peace
Divine Life Society Publication: Moral Law and World Peace by Swami Sivananda
From the very beginning of the history of mankind, the necessity for the establishment of the moral law has been keenly evident. At the root of all religions, civic laws or any kind of idealism there is a pronounced objective that pertains to the peace, happiness and progress of the individual, and harmony, welfare and evolution of the community and society. These can be ensured only through the construction of a sound ethical foundation.
At no time has the world been free from the stresses of conflict and disharmony: at no time has man felt the absence of the need for peace and amity. There is an eternal struggle between his higher self and the lower appetites, the interaction between the material and the spiritual always keeping the human spirit in a state of ferment. Man cannot do without his material needs, and he can never have peace or happiness without spiritual integration and realisation.
BALANCED OUTLOOK
The primary necessity of life is, therefore, the cultivation of a right perspective which will refuse to be distorted by the rigors of circumstances. The idealism of man should be adapted to his practical needs—of his body as well as his sprit.
A spiritual perspective which neglects the material welfare of society, cannot realise its values in a substantial measure or inculcate them in the life of the community: likewise, preoccupation with material considerations alone without any spiritual idealism will corrode all the good graces of life and foster disharmony and war.
There are so many international conventions, governing and upholding various codes of moral law, to which many of the nations of the world are supposed to owe allegiance at least by virtue of being signatories. The question is how far the spirit of the moral law is fulfilled in international relationship.
POWER RIVALRY
The world is divided into major power blocks, each trying to extend its influence into wherever there is a political vacuum, or wherever there is a possibility of gaining such an objective through whatever means that might be feasible.
At lower tiers the same thing is found in the stronger trying to overawe the weaker—either nations, communities or individuals. Any international moral code by itself, therefore, cannot be of much use, except having the benefit of a statute value, unless the spiritual conscience of mankind is awakened—on the individual level to begin with.
The individuals constitute the community and the nation. Man must inculcate the spirit of moral law in his heart first, for without this inner light all his endeavours will ultimately be barren.
LACK OF SINCERITY
There has been no dearth of moral codes in all the scriptures of the world. Practically, in every Constitution of every nation moral idealism is the ringing note. But the misfortune of the human race is that it professes one thing and does another.
Religious teachings thrive on the base of ethics; political creeds draw inspiration from ethical idealism and justice for the common man; social principles flourish on the moral code to ensure harmony in the community. If these were effective, even to a small extent, life would really be blessed, and the world a paradise.
The endeavour of man, therefore, should be to regenerate himself first and practise the basic steps in religion. No one can be religious without being ethics-minded or moral in his practical life.
There is no Christianity without the Sermon on the Mount; there is no Buddhism without the Noble Eight-Fold Path; there is no Hinduism without the Yama-Niyama or the Sadhana-Chatushtaya.
Take care of the base; the super-structure will take care of itself. Take care of what you are today; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Excerpts from: Moral Law and World Peace by Swami Sivananda
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The Importance of Right Approach
Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – The Importance of Right Approach by Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 17 November 2014 14.41 EST | New York Edition** |
The Importance of Right Approach
Divine Life Society Publication: Importance of Satsanga and Guru-Bhakti by Sri Swami Sivananda
If Satsanga is the supreme factor in the unfoldment of one’s spiritual consciousness, why is it that each and every aspirant that comes to a Guru does not receive the same illumination and the same mark of illumination, the same fruition of his Sadhana upon the path of Yoga? Lord Krishna lived and had his wonderful divine life in Dvapara Yuga and He was the visible manifestation of the Supreme Lord and among the people who constantly moved with Him who had His company, who spoke to Him and had dealings with Him, there were some who had the intimate knowledge of His Divine nature and became blessed, and there were some who remained unchanged and they perished in the great war which was Lord Krishna’s own making. What is this wonderful thing? It is, in one word, the approach. The approach of the Jiva, the approach of the individual soul, is the factor that decides whether the Satsanga of a seeker becomes fulfilled in realisation or fruitless in its barrenness. For, when the Kauravas approached Krishna, their approach was one of Dosha-drishti. They were blind to all the good that was in the Lord and their entire vision was focussed upon the seeming, apparent defects. The Lord moves with His Yoga-Maya and Yoga-Maya is the mysterious indefinable Prakriti. If our attention is focussed upon Prakriti, then the light of the Atman is lost upon us. It is the mode of approach of the soul that decides the benefit that he can derive from the Satsanga.
The Classic Example of Yudhishthira and Duryodhana
Krishna sends both these people upon a mission. The mission that He gives to Yudhishthira is, “You try to go and get a man totally bad, completely devoid of any virtue, completely full of vices;” and He calls aside Duryodhana and says, “You try to get a person who is full of virtues, devoid of any defects.” Both of them go on their mission, and after a period of time, they both come back to Krishna and approach Him separately. Duryodhana says, “I have tried my best to find a man full of virtues and devoid of defects, but try as much as I could—I have gone everywhere—I could not find a man who was without defect. Everyone is full of defects. If he has one virtue, he has a dozen evils. And after making a thorough search, I find that the man without the least defect is no other than myself. I am the man, and therefore I have come to you, and therefore do what you want with me.” Krishna smiles and says, “This is very good. I am really glad to see a man with all virtues and no vice.”
Yudhishthira says, “O Lord, even in the worst felon, even in the man whom the world calls the worst, I find qualities which are worthy of being emulated, I find traits which are good, and therefore, try as much as I could, I could not find any person who was full of defects. Each one has got some good point. It is impossible to find a man full of defects, and I analysed myself and I find that I am so full of defects, imperfections and vices that I cannot find a more suitable man to present to you. I am the only person who can fulfil the description you have given me. So I have presented myself before you.”
Use and Misuse of the Fault-finding Faculty
These are the two methods of approach. Yudhishthira’s approach was the approach of the aspirant in whom the fault-finding nature is directed not outside, but within himself. Fault-finding is the worst canker that dwells in human nature. It is universal. But then, the seekers form a special class by themselves. They are not one among the many. They are a distinct fraternity who have begun to see the importance of correcting oneself and not correcting the world, who have begun to see the importance of analysing oneself and trying to improve, and not analysing the world, for if you are going to analyse the world, thousands of lives are not enough to find out its defects. For a Viveki, the world is full of imperfection. Perfection is in the Deity, in Parabrahman. Perfection is not in the work of Prakriti. Prakriti is the very antithesis of Brahman. If Brahman is supreme perfection, Prakriti is all imperfection. If Brahman is Light, Prakriti is all darkness. The world of Prakriti is Apoorna, full of Doshas. Therefore, thousands of lives are not enough if we get ourselves caught in fault-finding. So, this faculty has to be directed towards oneself. Then only one’s life gets transformed, and infinite scope is opened out to you to improve yourself and become better. But, if this faculty is turned outside, the entire world becomes to you a teacher of evil. For, that upon which you constantly fix your mind becomes the sustenance of your personality. Your personality feeds upon, and grows and develops into, those things whose mental pictures the mind holds. This is a psychological fact. If you always contemplate on perfection, if you contemplate on beauty, if you contemplate on peace, you grow into the likeliness of perfection, beauty and peace. If you hold before yourself thoughts of imperfection, ugliness and gloom, you will find everything so. If you always think of the biting cold of the Himalayas, the beauty of the snows will be lost for you. You see the beauty of the Full Moon day, but if at the same time you are thinking of the other side of the moon, that circle of intense blackness, blackness will be in your mind and heart and not the radiance of the Full Moon. The fault-finding nature is the greatest obstacle, because it forever ties down the seeker to his lower Prakriti, to his defective Prakriti and he takes with him to the feet of the Guru, into the sanctuary of Yoga, into the pure spiritual path, that nature of the mind which has made him ever tied down to the lower sensual life of defects; and if this mind is taken to the sacred sanctuary of Yoga, instead of becoming the receiver of light, he will become the hugger of darkness, for he has taken hold of his Prakriti and he would not allow himself to let go out of it, and what happens? The light of the Guru, the light of Yoga, is completely barred out of his head, because his impregnable wall of Dosha-drishti is within him, and-therefore, to ward off that danger, the ancients gave him the Upadesh:
Yasya deve parabhaktih yatha deve tatha gurau,
Tasyaite kathita hyarthah prakasante mahatmanah.
To that great soul in whom there is extreme devotion to the Highest Divinity, God, and equal devotion to the Guru as there is to God, to that soul all the truths of the scriptures become revealed. And therefore, deification of the Guru has been specially put as a condition prerequisite for approaching the spiritual preceptor in order to avoid this grave error of Dosha-drishti in the aspirant. If this error is removed, the iron wall is removed between the seeker and the perfected sage, and the grace of the Guru begins to flow to the disciple. You immerse a stone in the sea for ten thousand years, yet at the end you will find that the stone is the same stone which it was ten thousand years ago. The millions of tons of water that flowed on it did not change it, because it had made itself completely impervious to the influence of water. It is this nature of the aspirant, where he is satisfied with his own little knowledge and little personality, with all its self-assertive nature, with all its Rajasic tendency of clinging to its own pre-conceived notions, to its own pet conceptions—it is this that is the greatest bar to the fruition of Satsanga into the highest Sat-darshan. As long as the aspirant would cling firmly to his own old nature and refuse to admit the need of a change in himself, so long the Satsanga becomes absolutely barren of result. The aspirant must effect a change of attitude. He must accept, “I know less, the Guru knows more; I know less, and the saint has something to give me which I do not know.” That attitude is the greatest requisite for the fruition of Satsanga.
Excerpts from: The Importance of Right Approach - Importance of Satsanga and Guru-Bhakti by Sri Swami Sivananda
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Satsanga and Svadhyaya
Spiritual Message for the Day – Never Forget Your Divinity by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 15 November 2014 20.28 EST | New York Edition** |
Rishi Visvamitra and Vasishtha
Divine Life Society Publication: Rishi Visvamitra and Vasishtha - Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Sri Swami Sivananda
Visvamitra Rishi and Vasishtha had a dispute on one occasion. Visvamitra was a great Tapasvin. He created a third world for Trisankhu through his power of Tapascharya. Visvamitra said to Vasishtha: “Tapas is greater than anything else in this world.” Vasishtha raised his objection and said, “Satsanga is even superior to Tapas.” Then they both decided to go to Brahma for obtaining his opinion on this point. They approached Brahma and placed before him the matter for his final decision. Lord Brahma said, “I am busy with my work of creation. I have no time. Please approach Lord Siva. He has ample time at His disposal. He has got no other work now. His work begins only when Pralaya comes.”
Thereupon, Visvamitra approached Lord Siva for obtaining his views and final decision. Lord Siva said, “Now I am going to see one of my devotees. I have no time now. Please go to Lord Vishnu. He will give a patient hearing to this subject.” Then they went to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu said, “I cannot decide this matter. Please go to Adi Sesha. He is ever repeating Rama Nama through his thousand tongues. He is a great devotee. He is the proper person to give the final decision. He is very wise too.”
Thereupon, they went to Adi Sesha and placed before him their viewpoints. Adi Sesha replied, “Surely I will give my definite opinion. Please remove the burden of this earth from my head. Then only I will be able to give my view on this subject.” Then they both asked, “O Adi Sesha! Please tell us the way to remove the burden.” Adi Sesha replied, “Please give the fruit of your Tapascharya and Satsanga. I will be relieved of the burden.”
Visvamitra said, “Is that all? Now I give you the fruit of my Tapas of one hundred years.” Adi Sesha was not relieved of the burden on his head. Then Visvamitra said, “Now I give you the fruit of my Tapas for one thousand years.” Then also Adi Sesha was not relieved of his burden. Then Visvamitra said, “Now I give the fruit of my Tapas of my whole life.” Then also Adi Sesha was not relieved of his burden.
Then Vasishtha said, “I give you the fruit of my Satsanga for a second.” At once Adi Sesha was relieved of the burden on his head.
Thereupon Visvamitra put down his head in shame. He did not speak a word either to Adi Sesha or Vasishtha. He fully realized that Satsanga was superior to Tapas. His pride of Tapas tumbled down.
Satsanga is a safe mighty boat which helps the aspirant to cross the ocean of Samsara. The glory of Satsanga cannot be adequately described in words. All scriptures eulogise Satsanga very highly. If one takes recourse to Satsanga, he will get everything. Satsanga is the only potent means to overhaul the vicious Samskaras and to infuse dispassion in the head. Satsanga is a formidable fortress to protect the aspirants from the onslaughts and temptations of Maya. Without Satsanga, you cannot have even an iota of spiritual progress.
Satsanga, Santi, Santosha and Vichara are the four sentinels who stand in front of the door of Moksha. Satsanga is the senior most sentinel. If you make friendship with him, the other three sentinels will at once become your friends and you can easily enter the supreme abode of Moksha and eternal bliss.
Excerpts from: Satsanga and Svadhyaya - Rishi Visvamitra and Vasishtha - Satsanga and Svadhyaya by Sri Swami Sivananda
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