(Aug 31,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Karma Yoga



Karma Yoga

Divine Life Society Publication: Karma Yoga by Swami Sivananda

 WHAT IS KARMA?

Karma is the sum total of our acts, both in the present life and in the preceding births. Any physical or mental action is Karma. Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action and cannot be divided from it.

Karma, according to Jaimini Rishi, is the performance of Agnihotra and other Vedic rituals. According to the Gita, any action done with Nishkamya Bhava is Karma. Lord Krishna says: "Work incessantly. Your duty is to work but not to expect the fruits thereof." The central teaching of the Gita is non-attachment to work. Breathing, eating, seeing, hearing, thinking, etc., are all Karmas. Thinking is the real Karma. Raga-dvesha (likes and dislikes) constitute real Karma.

HOW KARMA IS FASHIONED

Man is threefold in his nature. He consists of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya. Iccha is desire or feeling. Jnana is knowing. Kriya is willing. These three fashion his Karma. He knows objects like chair, tree. He feels joy and sorrow. He wills - to do this, or not to do that.

Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma.

Desire produces Karma. You work and exert to acquire the objects of your desire. Karma produces its fruits as pain or pleasure. You will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of your Karma. This is the Law of Karma.

KINDS OF KARMA

Karma is of three kinds, viz. Sanchita or the accumulated works, Prarabdha or the fructifying works, and Kriyamana or the current works. Sanchita is all the accumulated Karmas of the past. Part of it is seen in the character of man, in his tendencies and aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires. Prarabdha is that portion of the part of Karma which is responsible for the present body. It is ripe for reaping. It cannot be avoided or changed. It is only exhausted by being experienced. You pay your past debts. Kriyamana is that Karma which is now being made for the future. It is also called Agami or Vartamana.

In Vedantic literature, there is a beautiful analogy. The bow-man has already sent an arrow; it has left his hands. He cannot recall it. He is about to shoot another arrow. The bundle of arrow in the quiver on his back is the Sanchita. The arrow he has shot is Prarabdha. And the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is Agami. Of these, he has perfect control over the Sanchita and the Agami, but he must surely work out his Prarabdha. The past which has begun to take effect he has to experience.

Actions are of three kinds, viz., good, bad and mixed. Every work is a mixture of good and evil. If you do some action, it will do some good in one corner, and some evil in another corner. You must try to do such actions that can bring the maximum of good and the minimum of evil.

THE LAW OF KARMA

The Doctrine of Karma forms an integral part of Vedanta. As a man sows, so he shall reap. This is the Law of Karma.  It pushes a man to right thinking, right speech and right action. If all people understand this law correctly and discharge their daily duties carefully, they would rise to sublime heights in the ladder of spirituality. They will be moral and virtuous and have a happy, peaceful, contented life. They can bear the burden of Samsara with patience, endurance and strength of mind. Blessed is the man who understands and lives in the Law, for he will soon attain God-consciousness and become one with the Law-giver! Then the Law will no longer operate on him.

WHAT IS KARMA YOGA ?

Karma Yoga is consecration of all actions and their fruits unto the Lord. Karma Yoga is performance of actions dwelling in union with the Divine, removing attachment and remaining balanced ever in success and failure. Karma Yoga is selfless service unto humanity without any attachment or egoism. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of action which purifies the heart and prepares the Antahkarana (the heart and the mind) for the reception of Divine Light or attainment if Knowledge of the Self.

Action of some kind or the other is unavoidable. What binds you to phenomenal existence or Samsara is not the action but the idea of doership and enjoyership. Karma binds when it is done with a selfish motive, with the expectation of fruits. But when action is done without the expectation of fruits, it is liberating. If you act as an instrument in the hands of the Lord, as a participant in the cosmic activity of Nature, without expectation of fruits, that Karma will not bind you. Karma, then becomes Karma Yoga. Work unselfishly.  Surrender the actions and their fruits to the Lord. You will be freed from the bonds of Karma and enjoy peace.

The practice of Karma Yoga prepares the aspirant for the reception of knowledge of the Self. It makes him a proper Adhikari (aspirant) for the study of Vedanta. Ignorant people jump at once to Jnana Yoga, without first having a preliminary training in Karma Yoga. That is the reason why they fail miserably to realize the Truth. Selfless service is the only way to remove the impurities lurking in the fourfold mind (Antahkarana).

Two things are indispensably requisite in the practice of Karma Yoga. The Karma Yogi should have non-attachment to the fruits of actions, which brings freedom from sorrow and fear and makes a man absolutely bold and fearless. When he dedicates his actions at the Lotus Feet of the Lord, he develops devotion to God and gradually feels that God works directly through his Indriyas or instruments. He feels no strain or burden in discharge of his works now. He is quite at ease. The heavy load which he felt previously on account of false notion has vanished out of sight now.

PRACTICE OF KARMA YOGA

The practice of Karma Yoga does not demand that you should possess enormous wealth. You can serve with your mind and body. Your heart will be purified. God is more pleased with such sort of service for the poor helpless people than with the service done by rich people with pomp and vanity. The more you give, the more you will get. You will be in tune with the cosmic energy or the Infinite. This is the divine law.

QUALIFICATIONS OF A KARMA YOGI

A Karma Yogi should be absolutely free from lust, greed, anger and egoism. He should not expect any kind of fruits for his actions herein and hereafter. He should not have any desire for name and fame, thirst for applause, admiration and gratitude. He must have a spotless character. He should try to possess this gradually.

A man who is easily irritable and who can easily be offended for trifling things is absolutely unfit for the path of Karma Yoga. Let me remind you the words of the Gita: "Restraining and subduing the senses, regarding everything equally, rejoicing in the welfare of all, these alone come to Me." Such a man becomes a good Karma Yogi and reaches the goal quickly.

BENEFITS OF KARMA YOGA

By doing selfless service you purify your heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy, ideas of superiority and all the kindred negative qualities will vanish. You will develop humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance and mercy. Sense of separateness will be annihilated. Selfishness will be eradicated. You will get a broad and liberal outlook on life. You will begin to feel oneness and unity. Eventually you will obtain knowledge of the Self. You will realize One in all and All in one.

The more service you do with Atma Bhava (seeing God in every face) the more power, energy and capacity you get. If you really want to grow in the spiritual path you must do all sorts of service daily till the end of your life.

In the practice of Nishkama Karma Yoga, there is no loss of effort. Even a little of this practice can protect you from great fear of rebirth, of death with its concomitant evils. You will reap the fruits of Karma Yoga, viz. Jnana. The path of Karma Yoga eventually leads to the attainment of Bliss of the Self.

May you all attain purity of heart through constant selfless service. May you all shine as dynamic Karma Yogins radiating joy, peace and bliss everywhere. May you all rejoice in the welfare of all beings. May your minds be fixed in the Lord while your hands are in the service of humanity. May you all understand the principles and techniques of Karma Yoga. May all your actions become offerings unto the Lord. May you all attain Kaivalya Moksha through the practice of Karma Yoga in this very birth.

Excerpts from:

Karma Yoga by Swami Sivananda

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(Aug 31,2013) Weekly Svadhyaya - Mumukshutva – The Pre-requisite Of Liberation by Swami Chidananda

Mumukshutva – The Pre-requisite Of Liberation

May the divine grace and choicest benedictions of the Guru grant you the fullest fulfilment of your heart’s aspirations, the fullest fulfilment of your life’s supreme objective, so that you become liberated beings to whom grief, sorrow and delusion are strangers, (to whom) bondage makes no meaning, death makes no meaning! That is the goal. That is the objective. May you thus be established in a state of awareness of your immortal nature and of illumination!

To be liberated in this birth is the supreme goal. Is it possible? We can definitely say that it is not impossible. That is assurance enough. All the great ones have proved that Liberation is possible by attaining it themselves, and then (only) they have proclaimed that it is possible. What one has attained, all can attain. You are made for it.

The keen desire to attain this supreme Experience, to experience this great Bliss has been highly lauded and recommended by our ancients. This keen longing or mumukshutva is not considered to be a desire for getting something, for obtaining something. For, it is in giving up desires for everything else that one qualifies for such a great Experience.

It is actually a complete giving away of everything totally, as was the supreme renunciation that Prince Siddhartha did to become an ascetic in the forest, a tapasvi. It was the supreme renunciation that Raja Bhartrihari did, that King Gopichanda did. They had everything that belonged to royalty; they ruled over kingdoms. But then, they knew that God had sent them here to attain this supreme Experience; that the prime purpose for which He blessed us with this great endowment of a human status was precisely for the attainment of this great Experience. Losing everything that the world has to give, they gained something that was everlasting – Bliss beyond compare, Peace that passeth understanding, life that is perennial, everlasting.

This renunciation is far from being a negative turning away from the world. This renunciation is precisely fulfilling God’s supreme will. God Himself will approve of your action. He will shower grace upon you. This is the truth. May we pray to Supreme Almighty to give us the strength and courage, the clear vision and the resolution to keep following this glorious path to God-realisation! May Gurudev’s teachings help us to attain the great Experience!

Continue to Read

Sadhana Chatushtaya By Swami Sivananda

The Attainment of the Infinite By Swami Krishnananda

Intense Aspiration By Swami Krishnananda

Renunciation and Transformation by Swami Krishnananda

Spiritual Aspiration and Practice By Swami Krishnananda

Fruit from the Garden of Wisdom By Swami Krishnananda

A Call to Liberation by Swami Chidananda

(Aug 30,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Aim of Spirituality

 The Aim of Spirituality

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 1- True Spiritual Living by Swami Krishnananda

Spirituality, is the expansion of being. And whatever we do as an action is also a part of being. It is meant for expanding being. That is why they say karma yoga is a yoga by itself for attaining God-realization. You will be wondering what the connection between karma and God is. The connection is simple. Every kind of relationship with others is an attempt of the soul to come to a unity of being, in a largeness which expands to entire infinitude. This Supreme Being is called God. We call God Supreme Being because there is only one Being. And all beings put together, many people sitting together, is not one being – just as, in the analogy, many sand particles put together do not make one sand particle. We merge in the Being of God, as all drops merge in the ocean.

Therefore, in our attempt at being a spiritual Being, we are not trying to establish an externalized relationship with things, because in the Infinite, there is no externality but only universality. So we must make a distinction between universality and externality. All our activities are externalized; therefore, whatever be the apparent success  of our externalized actions, ultimately they are a failure unless they are charged with a spiritual consciousness which is the consciousness of a real unity of Being. It is a single Being that is working, ultimately. That is what our religions tell us. It is God working.

When we say God works, it does not mean that somebody else is working. We also have a wrong notion of God, that God means somebody else. We make a distinction between God, world, and man. That is again due to the prejudice of space, time, and cause. Why do we think that God is in the heavens and outside us? It is because of space. We bring a spatial distinction even between us and God. The concept of God transcends the idea of space, time, and cause. That is the real Being, inseparable from our being, and inseparable from the beings of other people also, so that there can be only one Being. This consciousness of the totality of Being – not merely an aggregate of particulars, but the real merger of Being – is the aim of spirituality. This consciousness has to be manifest in our action, even when there is activity.

Somebody asked me, "Are you not disturbed and distracted when you are working?" Two days back, some visitors came to me. "Swamiji, you are working so much. Are you not distracted in your meditations?"

I said, "I am not working. If I am working, I will be distracted." I asked him one question: "What do you see? This is a table. Is this a desk or is it wood? What is it?" I said.

He said, "It is a desk."

I said, "I say it is wood, because 'desk' is only a name that you give to a particular position of wood. The position of wood is not a thing by itself, so you cannot say that there is such a thing as a desk. Only wood is there; the wood placed in a particular context is called a desk. Can you call a context or a position as a thing by itself? No. I can place the same wood in another position and it becomes a cot. In a third position, it becomes a chair, doesn’t it? So there is no such thing as chair, no such thing as table, no such thing as desk, except the wood. I am also, in my own humble way, trying to see no such thing as work. It is only consciousness that exists, just as only wood exists behind the table."

He said, "It is very difficult to understand these things."

I said, "It is very difficult. What can I do? But once you become habituated to this way of thinking, all your activity becomes a manifestation of your being. You yourself are moving in your actions, like the ocean moving through the waves. So you are not doing something external to you and, therefore, karma cannot bind you. That karma which will not bind you is called karma yoga. When you yourself are the action, how can it bind you? You don't bind your own self. If you have so many confusions in the head – it is something outside you, proceeding from you through space and time, in respect of somebody else – then it will react upon you. That is called the nemesis of karma. That is binding karma."

It is very difficult, therefore, to even conceive what real spirituality is. It is impossible to maintain even a consciousness of what spirituality is. Even the idea of it is impossible to entertain in the mind, let alone practice it. But once it becomes a part of our natural way of thinking, we become supermen from that very moment. This is the aim of our life.

Excerpts from:

Chapter 1: True Spiritual Living by Swami Krishnananda

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(August 29,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Attaining Ultimate Liberation by Nirguna Upasana

Attaining Ultimate Liberation by Nirguna-Upasana

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 9- The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

Upasana may not be the direct cause of Brahman-Experience, but it leads the seeker to the acquisition of that knowledge which is the direct cause of liberation. Here, we have to concede that Japa of Mantras, devout worship of images, and so on, are also means for spiritual perfection in the end, though not the direct means.

Fully perfected Nirguna-Upasana ends in the absorption of the Universe in Consciousness, which is simultaneous with the direct perception that the Atman is Brahman. This is knowledge of Truth, which one acquires by the laborious practices of meditation on the Absolute Brahman, with such attributes as Nirvikara or Changeless; Asanga, or unattached; Nitya, Eternal; Svaprakasa, or Self-luminous; Eka, or One alone; Purna, or Full; Bhuma or the Plenum; etc., which are only ideas in the beginning but become realities in the end, as the embodiment of the Universal Atman itself. It is towards this end that the practice of Yoga has been enjoined on the aspirants. One should not, here, mistake the lower stages for the final end to be reached, and there should be no stagnation at any lower stage with the wrong feeling that it is the goal.

Upasana, as a soul-filled approach, is prescribed for those who enter into the more difficult means of directly meditating on the higher realities. Yoga as concentration of mind is prescribed as a secondary means, by which the dross of the mind is removed and it is steadied to enable it to reflect Truth.

For the higher minds Samkhya (knowledge of the Absolute Truth by discrimination between the universal Self and the not-Self) is prescribed, and for the lower ones Yoga (concentration). When Samkhya and Yoga are understood in their true sense, they lead to the same goal, says, the Bhagavadgita.

One whose practice, whether by Samkhya or by Yoga, is not adequately mature in one life, may have its completion at the time of his death, and, if this is not practicable on account of the working of obstructing Karmas, knowledge will dawn in the next life, or a future life. Knowledge usually should dawn at least in Brahma-loka, and there the final liberation is to be attained.

Whatever is the last thought of the individual at the time of death shall be the determining factor of one’s rebirth, because the last thought is the quintessence of all the thoughts one has been cherishing throughout one’s life, and it is but natural that at the time of the death of a body the Pranas should stand collected and projected towards the region whose experience shall be the materialization of one’s last thought. This is equal to saying that what one does in the present life shall fashion the nature of one’s future life. It does not mean that the last thought can be anything other than what one has been thinking throughout life.

Moksha is the immediate non-objective experience of Brahman on which one has been meditating all along with intense devotion. By the force of Upasana, the primeval ignorance of the Jiva is dispelled, and Brahman is attained. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states that in the case of the desireless one, who has no other desire but the desire for the Atman, the Pranas do not depart. They do not get directed to any region or realm like projectiles, as they do in the case of ordinary mortals, but they dissolve then and there into the Substance of Brahman. Upasana leads to Jnana, the supreme achievement in life.

By the practice of unselfish Upasana, Moksha is attained, is the teaching of the Upanishad, and that by Upasana attended with desire, Brahma-loka is attained. One who meditates on the different constituents of Omkara, identifying them with the Brahman in Saguna form, passes through the region of the Sun, and having then reached the Brahma-loka, is finally liberated by the end of time when there is cosmic dissolution (Pralaya). He who meditates thus, transcends all realms and attains the ultimate liberation gradually, and so it is called Krama-mukti, or Progressive salvation.

There, in Brahma-loka, by the force of the Upasana practiced previously, one attains to Truth and returns not to this world again. He is finally liberated. There is only ascent and no reverting to the mortal world, as a result of desireless meditation.

Thus, summing up, we may say that liberation may be possible either here immediately, now, or at the time of the dropping of the body, or it may be even after one’s having attained Brahma-loka. Here, what determines the attainment is the nature of the Upasana. This fact is also emphasized in the Atma-Gita, where we are told that one should resort to continuous meditation on the nature of the Atman when discriminatory enquiry and investigation into the truths of things by direct approach is found difficult due to impurity of mind, fickleness of intellect, etc. Nevertheless, one should engage oneself in the practice, without the least trace of doubt in the mind, even though the realization may not be near at hand.

At the proper time the realization shall come and there should be no impatience in this regard. As in digging out a treasure from the earth the stones etc., from above are removed with the help of instruments, so by setting aside the stone of the body and digging the earth of the mind with the spade of the intellect, one obtains the treasure of the Atman within.

Meditation is imperative in the case of every seeker even if there is no immediate experience. Let there be the confidence that what we are seeking for is our essential nature and, therefore, naturally, it should be much easier to realize it than to acquire other things which are extraneous to our nature. There will be felt within in the case of meditation an uncommon tranquility and peace of mind, a joy and a sense of power which cannot be had in this world. By overcoming attachment to the body in this manner, by protracted meditation on the Atman which is the Absolute, the mortal becomes the immortal and there is Sadyo-mukti, or instantaneous experience of the Supreme Being. (Verses 1-158)

Excerpts from:

Chapter 9: The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

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(August 28,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Towards Liberation

Towards Liberation

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 5: An Analysis of the Brahma Sutra by Swami Krishnananda

All the elements joining together to produce a form, is what we call birth. But suppose a person has done immense charitable deeds – assuming that the good exceeds the bad, then after the exhaustion of the blissful experience of the soul in the Chandraloka, there will be a coming back, to rebirth into this world. Then, what happens to the bad deeds? The next birth will be determined by the balance of the karmas.

The Upanishads describe several stages of ascent. There is no sudden jump into the Supreme Being. The soul crosses through the worlds above, the five elements, the physical embodiment of the fourteen lokas – Bhu-loka, Bhuvar-loka, Suvar-loka, Mahar-loka, Jana-loka, Tapo-loka, up to Satya-loka. It moves direct towards the borderland of the Universal Being – Brahma-loka.

The nearer you go to the border of the Universal Being, the less you become conscious of your individuality. You feel at that time that you are withering away and vanishing like burnt camphor. Yet the individuality in a very rarefied form persists. Only the individuality which is rajasika (distracted) and tamasika (dark) will have a consciousness of itself. Pure sattva-dominated jivatva (individuality) will not be conscious of itself because it will be so transparent then. It is like a clean glass. The glass, if we imagine that glass has consciousness, may not know that it is existing because of the transparency of the glass. The glass attains a transparency of the highest sattva-guna, and loses self-awareness, individual consciousness. At that time, says the Upanishad, the Great Creator sends a messenger. A being who is not human comes and leads the soul along the path of the Supreme Creator. This is the stage of cosmic consciousness but it is not liberation fully, because to have cosmic consciousness there must be some object of which one must be conscious. Thus, it is still a lower stage.

Saguna Brahma Upasana and Nirguna Brahma Upasana are two types of meditation.

The worship of God can take various shapes. It may be an individualized, particularized God located in one place or it may be a devotion to multiple Gods like Vishva-Devas or it may be devotion to One, Creative Power, whatever be the name that we give to It. We cannot imagine what the Creator could be. But by the purity of your purpose and intention, if it is possible to expand your love to the dimension of the Supreme Creative Principle, you will be the highest, most blessed person.

The upasaka remains distinct from the upasya devata, and therefore it is called saguna. What is the meaning of saguna? Saguna means 'with attributes'; we conceive God with attributes. We, as human beings, can think only as human beings even in respect of God. We think of a vast dimension of the comprehension of God's Existence.

'All-knowingness', All-power', 'All-freedom', 'All-bliss' – these are the characteristics that we are able to conceive and attribute to God Almighty. But there are other ways of conceiving God, also. God can be the most beautiful Being. The aspect of sadhana which conceives God as the most powerful Bliss is called 'aishvarya-pradhana' bhakti – bhakti which takes into consideration the Glory and the Might and Power of God for meditation.  The emphasis is laid here on the Power and Glory of God.

Truth, beauty and goodness are considered as the highest characteristics of God. Truth means not truth-speaking merely but  It is an eternally existing Principle. A thing that passes away sometimes cannot be regarded as Truth; that is relative truth. The Goodness of God, the Power of God and the Beauty of God – it is difficult to conceive these together!

We cannot conceive God fully because we are not capable of imagining the extremely powerful God being compassionate, good and loving, all in one. But when we try to conceive God in our meditations, we segregate these qualities. All of these things do not come to the mind simultaneously.

Madhurya-pradhana bhakti is the type of devotion where the Beauty of God and the Bliss of God is the object of meditation. You can consider God as your Supreme Father and as your Mother also, because   Protectively He is Father and lovingly He is Mother.

He is also your Friend, as shown by the relationship between Arjuna and Krishna. You can ask Him to do something for you, and He will do it for you. In Maharashtra there was a saint, whom Sri Krishna served as a little boy, washing his clothes and sweeping the floor and cleaning the vessels and the like. Another saint went to Pandharpur to have Darshan. A voice told 'Vitthala is not here! He is serving the other saint there and washing his vessels; His name is Srikhandiya.' The saint ran to find out where Srikhandiya was; by that time the boy vanished from that place. You can consider God as your friend, as your beloved, as your father, as your mother or as your master.

All these come under what you call saguna bhakti. There is an 'otherness' of God to some extent here. Whether He is a father or a mother or a beloved or whatever He is, He is 'other' than you. A distinction is maintained for the time being. You attain to Brahma Loka with this kind of devotion – you are not the Creator, Brahma, yourself.

At the end of the universe, when the universe is dissolved; everything gets absorbed and the purified soul which was living in Brahma Loka as a scintillating part of the Cosmic Being merges in the Absolute.

Excerpts from:

Towards Liberation -Chapter 5: An Analysis of the Brahma Sutra by Swami Krishnananda

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(August 27,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Sri Krishna Janmashtami by Swami Sivananda

 Sri Krishna Janmashtami

Divine Life Society Publication: Krishna Janmashtami by Swami Sivananda

 Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

This is the birthday of Lord Krishna, the eighth Divine Incarnation. It falls on the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). This is one of the greatest of all Hindu festivals. Lord Krishna was born at midnight. A twenty-four hour fast is observed on this day, which is broken at midnight.

Temples are decorated for the occasion. Kirtans are sung, bells are rung, the conch is blown, and Sanskrit hymns are recited in praise of Lord Krishna. At Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, special spiritual gatherings are organised at this time. Pilgrims from all over India attend these festive gatherings.

The Lord appeared when the moon entered the house of Vrishabha at the constellation of the star Rohini, on Wednesday, the 8th day of the second fortnight of the month of Sravana, which corresponds to the month of Bhadrapada Krishnapaksha according to the Barhaspatyamana, in the year of Visvavasu, 5,172 years ago (from 1945), which means 3227 B.C.

Study the Bhagavatam and the Pancharatras, which are equal to the Upanishads. You will know all about the glory of Lord Krishna, His Lilas and superhuman deeds. The eighth Avatara, Krishna, who has become the Beloved of India and the world at large, had a threefold objective: to destroy the wicked demons, to play the leading role in the great war fought on the battlefield of Kurukshetra (where he delivered His wonderful message of the Gita) and to become the center of a marvelous development of the Bhakti schools of India.

There is no true science except devotion to Lord Krishna. That man is wealthy indeed, who loves Radha and Krishna. There is no sorrow other than lack of devotion to Krishna. He is the foremost of the emancipated who loves Krishna. There is no right course, except the society of Sri Krishna's devotees. The Name, virtues and Lilas (divine pastimes) of Krishna are the chief things to be remembered. The Lotus Feet of Radha and Krishna are the chief objects of meditation.

Sri Krishna is the ocean of bliss. His soul-stirring Lilas, which are the wonder of wonders, are its waves. The honeyed music of His flute attracts the minds of His devotees from all three regions. His unequalled and unsurpassed wealth of beauty amazes the animate and the inanimate beings. He adorns His friends with His incomparable love.

His palms bear the signs of a lotus and discus, the right sole of His feet of a flag, lotus, thunderbolt, an iron goad, barley seed, and the Swastika. His left sole has the rainbow, triangle, water-pot, crescent, sky, fish, and a cow's footprint. His Form is composed of condensed universal consciousness and bliss. His Body pervades the entire cosmos.

Devotion is the only means of attaining Lord Krishna. Bhakti kindles love for the Lord. When love is directed towards Krishna, man is freed from the bondage of the world.

Though Lord Krishna appeared in a human body, He had a divine body not composed of the five elements. He did not take any birth here in the usual sense of the term. He did not die. He appeared and disappeared through His Yoga Maya as He has declared in the Gita. This is a secret, known only to His devotees, Yogis and sages.

His enchanting form with flute in hand is worshipped in myriads of homes in India. It is a form to which is poured out devotion and supreme love from the hearts of countless devotees not only in India but also in the West. Millions of spiritual seekers worship Him and repeat His Mantra, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Lord Krishna was great in knowledge, great in emotion, great in action, all at once. The scriptures have not recorded any life more full, more intense, more sublime and grander than the life of Sri Krishna.

Krishna has played various roles during His stay in the world. He was Arjuna's charioteer. He was an excellent statesman. He was a master musician; he gave lessons even to Narada in the art of playing the veena. The music of His flute thrilled the hearts of the Gopis and everyone else. He was a cowherd in Brindavan and Gokul. He exhibited miraculous powers even as a child. He killed many demons. He revealed His Cosmic Form to His mother, Yasoda. He performed the Rasa Lila, the secret of which can only be understood by devotees like Narada, Gauranga, Radha and the Gopis. He taught the supreme Truth of Yoga, Bhakti and Vedanta to Arjuna and Uddhava. He had mastered every one of the sixty-four fine arts. For all these reasons He is regarded as a full and complete manifestation of God.

Incarnations of God appear for special reasons under special circumstances. Whenever there is much unrighteousness, whenever confusion and disorder set in on account of unrighteousness and baffle the well-ordered progress of mankind, whenever the balance of human society is upset by selfish, ruthless and cruel beings, whenever irreligion and unrighteousness prevail, whenever the foundations of social organisations are undermined, the great Incarnation of God appears in order to re-establish righteousness and to restore peace.

An Incarnation is the descent of God for the ascent of man. A ray from the Cosmic Being in His potential state of manifestation descends on earth with mighty powers to keep up the harmony of the universe. The work done by the Incarnation of God and His teachings produce a benign influence on human beings and help them in their upward divine enfoldment and Self-realization.

The Incarnation comes to reveal the divine nature of man and makes him rise above the petty materialistic life of passion and egoism.

The greatest manifestations are called Incarnations proper. Rishis, Munis, prophets, sons of God and messengers of God are minor manifestations.

The Incarnations usually come with their particular or favourite groups or companions. Lord Rama came with Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Lord Krishna came with Balarama, Devas and Rishis. Sanaka came with Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata. Some, like Sri Shankara and Ramanuja, come as teachers and spiritual leaders. Some, like Chaitanya, are born to instill devotion in the hearts of people and turn their minds towards God. The Incarnations proper, like Krishna, come only when there is widespread catastrophe in the world.

On the holy Krishna Janmashtami, the ladies in South India decorate their houses beautifully, ready to welcome the Lord. They prepare various sweetmeats and offer them to the Lord. Butter was Krishna's favourite, and this is also offered. From the doorway to the inner meditation room of the house the floor is marked with a child's footprints, using some flour mixed with water. This creates the feeling in them that the Lord's own Feet have made the mark. They treat the day as one of very great rejoicing. There is recitation of the Bhagavatam, singing and praying everywhere.

The Janmashtami is celebrated at the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, with the following program of intense spiritual activity:

1. During the preceding eight days, Japa of Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya is done intensely.

2. Those who can, will recite the Bhagavatam during this period. Others will listen to it being recited.

3. On the birthday itself everyone fasts and spends the whole day in holy communion.

4. Everyone greets others with the holy Mantra, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

5. A grand havan is performed on that day.

6. There is continuous Satsang from 4a.m. early in the morning till night. Yogis, Sannyasins and learned men discourse upon the glorious life and teachings of the Lord.

7. From sunset people assemble in the elaborately decorated temple and sing the Lord's Names and glories.

8. Many hymns and portions of the Bhagavatam, especially the Gopika Geetam, are recited.

9. Towards midnight, there is a grand worship of Lord Krishna. The Lord is bathed with milk while His Name is chanted 108 times.

10. This worship concludes with offerings of flowers, waving of lights (Arati), and reading of that portion of the Bhagavatam which deals with the birth of Krishna. This synchronises with midnight, the hour of the Lord's birth, at which time the murti of the Lord is rocked in a beautifully decorated cradle. After this item, all the assembled devotees partake of the holy prasad or sacrament, and then retire, filled with the Grace and blessings of Lord Krishna.

If you cannot read the whole of the Srimad Bhagavatam during these days, at least you should recite the following four most important verses from the book. The leading two verses and the closing verse are the prologue and the epilogue respectively:

"Hear from Me the most secret knowledge coupled with the essential experience and its component parts.

"May you realize by My Grace, the knowledge of Myself and what form, qualities and actions I am endowed with.

1. "Before creation I alone existed. There was nothing, neither existence nor non-existence. I am that which remains after dissolution.

2. "Understand that to be Maya or illusion which is devoid of any purpose, which is not to be found in the Self and which is unreal like light and darkness.

3. "As the primary elements are amalgamated, with one another and also separate from one another at the same time, so I pervade the whole universe and am also separate from it.

4. "The aspirant should, by the method of positive and negative, know that thing which exists always and everywhere.

"Experience this truth through the highest superconscious state so that you will not be disturbed even by illusory objects".

There is another beautiful verse in the Bhagavatam which you can recite daily: "In days of yore, the Lord, born of Devaki, brought up in the house of Yasoda, killed the wicked Putana of illusive form and lifted the Govardhana hill, killed Kamsa and the sons of the Kuru race, and protected the sons of Kunti. Thus is recited the essence of the ancient Bhagavat Purana consisting of the nectarine stories of the deeds of Lord Krishna".

May the blessings of Lord Krishna and Sri Radha be upon you all!

Excerpts from:

Krishna Janmashtami by Swami Sivananda

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(August 26,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Sri Krishna-The Purna Avatara

Sri Krishna – The Purna Avatara

Divine Life Society Publication: Chapter 10: Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals by Swami Krishnananda

(Sri Krishna Janmashtami message given on the 29^th of August, 1974)

Bhagavan Sri Krishna is regarded as Purna-Avatara, which means the full Incarnation. He is considered to be a complete manifestation of God, not a partial expression of the power and the glory of God. The Jayanti of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, also known as Sri Krishna Janmashtami, falls on the eighth day in the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). The observance of this holy day and the performance of this sacred worship to the great Incarnation is a symbol of an intensification of our soul's yearning to come nearer to God as much as possible.

The power of God is never fully manifest anywhere in the world. We only express a little of our thought, a little fraction of our understanding and a partial form of our energy as would be necessitated by the nature of the particular context. Likewise, God never manifests Himself wholly unless the occasion is of such an intensified character as to call for such a manifestation.

Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the full Avatara, the complete manifestation of God, is the object of our worship, prayer and meditation on this day. We have heard from narrations recorded in the scriptures like the Srimad Bhagavata, that Bhagavan Sri Krishna was born at midnight, as it was also the case with the birth of Jesus the Christ. God did not reveal Himself in daylight, but in the dead of night.

The spiritual connotation of this, from the point of view of the relationship of the soul to God, is that the daylight or activity of the senses is the midnight or slumber of the Atman, and the daylight or birth of the Atman is the midnight or slumber of the senses. When the senses cease from their activity, conditions become favorable for the manifestation of God. The Atman does not manifest Itself when the senses are rejoicing in the daylight of their contact with objects. On the other hand, the birth of the Atman is a deathblow to the senses, and the slumbering of the prison guards at the time of the advent of the Lord may be, in a way, compared to the death of the senses at the time of the birth of Divinity.

Kamsa represents the ego and all his menials represent the senses. All these were put to rest at the time of birth of Lord Krishna. Hence, the Bhagavadgita says, "Ya nisa sarvabhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami, yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh": The night of the ignorant is day for the sage, and vice versa, the night of the sage is day for the ignorant.

The infinite is the Fullness, the Purna; and the finite is the Apurna. We individuals, the Jivatmans and everything in this world are Apurna, finites, but we enshrine the Infinite in our bosom. And the manifestation of the Infinite in the finite, the birth of God in man is possible, practicable and inevitable when the obstructions to Its manifestation are obviated totally.

Bhagavan Sri Krishna’s life was full and complete right from childhood up to the maturity of life. He was a fullness of bodily perfection, understanding, social relationship and political statesmanship, and a fullness in His own Being. This has been revealed even in His outward physical personality – a beauty and a charm that mankind has never seen.

Our meditations and our worships are really silent invocations of the characteristics of the Object of our worship and meditation. Every worship is an invocation, and every form of meditation is an invocation; and invocation means the calling of the force into our own being and the planting of the power of the Divine in our own personality. During the time of the worship and meditation, you are in communion with the Divine Being.

If meditation is difficult, worship is also difficult. Any kind of inward communion is a difficult task for the mind, because of its outgoing tendency. The mind never comes in communion with anything in this world at any time. It always longs for contact rather than communion. The senses and the mind are habituated to contact with their objects. The religious invocation of worship and meditation is not an attempt at coming in contact even with a Divinity or a Godhead, but an endeavor to commune oneself with the Supreme Being. What is the difference between contact and communion? In contact you really do not imbibe the characteristics of the object, and you are not really in possession of the object. In contact, again, you do not receive into yourself the power of the object, and, therefore, you can neither enjoy that object nor have control over it.

The Gita says, "Ye hi samsparsaja bhogah duhkhayonaya eva te": The pleasures born of sense-contact are wombs of pain. Every contact brings pain and suffering and ultimate ruin of oneself. But the religious aspiration of the soul does not long for contact with God, but a communion with Him. In that communion which we try to establish in our spiritual moments of worship and meditation, we simultaneously commune ourselves with the whole of creation, because creation is the cosmic body of God. Thus to worship God is to worship the whole world and to serve God is to serve humanity, and vice versa. Thus our communion with God is simultaneously a communion with everything in the world.

Hence, this is an occasion for us to strengthen ourselves spiritually. Spiritual strength, of course, is the real strength and real power that we are seeking. And in this particularly specialized form of worship and communion with the ideal of Bhagavan Sri Krishna on this holy day, we have no doubt made a very vast and comprehensive achievement which will ensure prosperity in every walk of life.

The peculiarity and the speciality of the life of Bhagavan Sri Krishna was that, He was an all-comprehensive personality. He was a householder and not a Sannyasin. He had wife and children. He was a politician and a statesman. He was a soldier and also a servant when the time demanded that kind of attitude from Him. And at the same time, He was a person with a comprehensive understanding of the various shades of the difference which relationships put on among things. Therefore, it is difficult to understand, ordinarily, the significance behind many of the things that He did and also many of the things He said, especially in the Bhagavadgita.

The Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata are the monumental records of His life, His activities and His achievements. The Bhagavadgita may be regarded as the great gospel that He gave to mankind. It is as difficult to understand His teaching as it is to understand His own life, because He did not think as we are thinking. A total transformation, a transfiguration of all values is brought about in His activity and life, and also in His teachings, such that His life and teachings are a sort of a superhuman presentation before us.

The Bhagavadgita, the cream of His teaching, also conveys to us that things are not what they seem to our senses. There is something quite different from what we sense, feel, think and understand as valuable from His life also. This is the Truth behind things for which His life and teachings stood and which He Himself embodied in His own life. This is the message for us today, which we should try to imbibe into our lives by invoking His grace and putting forth honest efforts. As the Gita concludes, where Krishna and Arjuna are together, i.e., where Divine Grace and human effort go together, there is prosperity, victory, happiness and firm polity.

Excerpts from:

Sri Krishna-The Purna Avatara -  Chapter 10: Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals by Swami Krishnananda

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(August 25,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Qualifications of Aspirants

Qualifications of Aspirants

Divine Life Society Publication: Qualifications of Aspirants by Swami Sivananda

The way to liberation or freedom , perfect happiness and peace, is through  purity of mind and heart, of every act, of character and life, through self-restraint and control of mind, and through regular meditation on the pure, self-luminous, indivisible, all-pervading Atman.

Direct realization of the Self is a means to liberation. He who is endowed with the four means of salvation will be able to realize the Self. One can acquire these four qualifications-Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-Sampat and Mumukshutva, by following strictly the duties of his own caste and order, by Tapas and selfless service, by propitiating his own Ishta Devata and serving his Guru.

You cannot do tailoring without scissors, needle and thread. You cannot dig the earth without a spade. Even so, you cannot attain Brahma Jnana without possessing the four means-Discrimination, dispassion, sixfold virtues and yearning for liberation. The teachings of Vedanta can enter the mind of that person who has attained purity of heart by performing selfless service or Nishkamya Karma Yoga.

The preliminary qualification for a student of Vedanta is an earnest desire to search for the truth. Manushyatva (human birth), Mumukshutva (keen yearning for liberation), Sat-sanga (company of sages), service of Guru, hearing of Srutis, reflection and constant, protracted and profound meditation are necessary for the attainment of salvation.

Faith, dispassion, self-restraint, one-pointedness of mind, purity of heart, devotion, desire for liberation and meditation are the immediate factors of liberation for the aspirant. He who is endowed with these qualities attains immortality and knowledge. 

Absence of egoism, development of good qualities, cheerfulness, self-surrender, absence of passion and anger, keeping up a balanced mind at all times, facing honor and dishonor with same feeling, aversion to sensual objects, heat and cold are some of the signs of the person who is on the path of Realization. These are not to be achieved in a day or two. It is the work of years of ceaseless and protracted Sadhana.

He who is endowed with dispassion, discrimination, humility, devotion and power of endurance, who has subdued his mind and senses, is a qualified person for this path. Live without the feeling of "I-ness", and attachment. Restrain the senses. Observe the rules of right conduct. Get purity of the heart. Hear the Truth. Abide in the Self. Be happy.

A desire to become a Yogi and to learn Yoga can only arise in a man who is free from selfishness, who is righteous, and who has religious disposition. Selfishness constricts the heart and forces a man to do injury to others and to get hold of the property of others by foul means. It is selfishness that prompts a man to do sinful acts.

Austerity, study of religious books and Japa of Mantra, devotion to the Lord and surrender to God constitute Kriya Yoga or action according to Patanjali Maharshi. The practice of Kriya Yoga prepares the Yogic student for entering into Samadhi or superconscious state. It purifies the heart and thins out the five afflictions viz., Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dvesha and Abhinivesa (ignorance, egoism, love, hatred and clinging to earthly life).

Sit at the lotus-feet of your Guru with Bhava and faith. Serve him with sincerity, humility and love. Prostrate before him morning and evening. Clear your doubts. Hear the Srutis from him. Reflect. Meditate. Behold the Supreme, transcendental Light of lights.

The student of Yoga should be abstemious in his diet. He should avoid laziness, ease, habitual languor and excess of sleep. He should observe silence and occasional mild fasts to ensure a good tone to his constitution. He should develop correct habits. He should check all sorts of ambitions and the counter currents of the worldly desires by enquiry, thinking and discrimination.

He should say unto the deceiving mind: "O Mind, I know your tricks. I have got dispassion and discrimination now. It is only ignorance that makes a man to prefer a transient gain to permanent benefits. I do not want again these sensual enjoyments. I have resolved to attain the free, everlasting fruits of Yoga, viz., eternal peace, infinite bliss and supreme joy."

If you remove a fish out of water and place it on the shore, it will flutter about in intense agony. It will be thirsting for re-entry into the water. Similarly you should have earnestness and desire for liberation.

Abandon the idea of becoming a Yogi within a few months' practice. It takes years and years of sincere Sadhana, practice of Brahmacharya and Ahimsa. You have to labor hard for many years to become a graduate and to earn even a small salary. How much more difficult it will be to become a Yogi and to attain immortality.

O aspirants, have the strong determination: "I will realize God now or I will die." Do not say: "I will realize in my next birth." You can realize in this very second if you thirst for God and God alone and do sincere, intense Sadhana.

Excerpts from:

Qualifications of Aspirants by Swami Sivananda

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