(Oct 19,2013) Weekly Svadhyaya - Know that You are Divine by Swami Chidananda

Beloved children of the Divinity! Radiant Rays of the eternal Light Divine! No matter what state of unfoldment you find yourself in, essentially, inwardly, in truth and in fact you are Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, even at this moment. Nothing can rob you of That. In your essential nature you are That. You are eternally linked with that infinite ocean of Joy, Bliss and Wisdom. If you realize That, your whole life blossoms forth into a radiance of love, bliss, happiness, peace and serenity. Every day try to make it a point of being conscious of what you really are. Make yourself God-centered. Become one with the Existence Principle, which is even in a blade of grass, a speck of dust, a wisp of cloud, and every mode and expression of life.

 

When you are one with all, how could you hurt others? How could you bring yourself to hate or to be angry? This is the view and the vision that man, both as an individual and as collective humanity, needs today. Make this aspiration: “I will not feel myself as the body or as the senses. I will not feel myself as the imperfect intellect full of desire and delusion. I will not feel myself as the real I (Self), and true am (the eternal pure Existence).” If you make this your determination, Light will enter your whole life. When you know that you are that pure Existence-Consciousness, and also when you simultaneously know that you are not that which is constantly agitating you, then you become totally devoid of all the defects and imperfections of the lower perishable aspect of your being. All pain, sorrow, fear, grief, suffering is the fate of the body. To experience grief, delusion, jealousy, passion, desire, joy, sorrow, fear and affection is the fate of the mind. When you know yourself as distinct and different from these two, then how can you allow these that characterize the lower aspects of your being to affect you? You are without pain, suffering, sorrow, delusion; you are without likes and dislikes, without all those blemishes which characterize the mind and the intellect. Your true nature is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

Verily, you are all the children of the Divine. You are eternally one with Him, who is all-perfect, all-pure. You have come here to live like gods, talk like gods, act like gods. Know that you are Divine. Grow day by day into greater realization of that joyful Awareness. The Divine Life is the sole task of your mortal existence. From divinity has your being brought. In Divinity let your life be led. Eternal Divinity is your ultimate destination. Know Thyself and be Divine! Let your life be filled with supreme Fulfillment.

Additional Reading

Moksha Gita by Swami Sivananda - Commentary  By Swami Krishnananda

Divine Life – Its Meaning and Method By Swami Krishnananda

Divine and Undivine Qualities By Swami Krishnananda

The Universality of Being By Swami Krishnananda

Discrimination of the Mahavakyas By Swami Krishnananda

Sat Chit Ananada or God-Consciousness By Swami Krishnananda

(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 10,2013) Discussion Summary – The Divine Insurance Company

Discussion notes – The Divine Insurance Company

Today’s topic outlines a very important aspect of human life. Assurance.

Swamiji quotes  Gurudev Sivananda Maharaj’s words: Insure your life with God. All other company may fail. But the Divine Insurance Company will never fail.”

Very apt topic, for, we will be celebrating Raksha Bandhan this week. We protect our family, vehicle, health, homes and basically all walks of our lives.   We look towards one of our own, to protect all the material things (objects) and even our life in this unreal, illusory world we live in. But we do not take the time to insure our most precious and most permanent and the only reality, which is our Atman. 

We insure with a dependable person or organization by paying in advance to indemnify the future loss towards unforeseen events and heave a sigh of relief that everything is taken care of. Likewise we have to depend on and totally surrender to God (the higher pure form), who oversees all things inclusive of past, present,  future, and being present at all times and everywhere,  operating as a silent witness , just like the sun shining on all happenings, without any judgement. The same way the inherent essence of all things and the universe in total, is the total collective consciousness, we call God, who is our one and only protector.

This raises the question of as to how anyone can predict the future and who is capable of protecting us from the unknown phenomenon? What is the cause for dissatisfaction, fear and unhappiness? Why do we have such emotional disturbances?  Our ancient sages pondered over this matter deeply and found the root cause is only ‘ignorance’ or ‘lack of knowledge’. So Viveka or discrimination will help us overcome these mind created problems. Furthermore, if we look at the universe as a manifested form of Absolute Reality or The Consciousness, we will come to understand the universe is not Real. The entire universe that we see outside is made up of a single substance that can be called consciousness, which is awareness in all things. 

The purpose of yoga is attunement of the individual with the cosmic. But we are unable to do it because the world is outside and we can perceive things only through our senses. This reminds us of the camera lens which has to be adjusted to avoid blurred images. Likewise purifying our mind will enhance the images we perceive. That is, our perception will have more clarity. This is achieved through Vairagya. This practice will continue to diminish the value of the object existing outside and emphasize the pure subject only. Also Viveka or discrimination will help us understand that the whole universe is a creation of our minds.

Then the discussion turned to devotion and total surrender to God . Swamiji mentions  Markandeya, Draupathi and some of the bhaktas (ardent devotees), whose life stories give us tons of encouragement and reinforces our faith further, in God. A person who has faith and belief in higher Self is never in harm’s way. Experiences from our lives point to the fact that after coming into the fold of our compassionate Gurudev, all our practical difficulties disappear into thin air.

Lord Krishna in the Gita says “My devotees are never destroyed” . By this we understand that we as seeker of higher values shall have no failure if our faith is strong and we are sincere in our efforts.

A deeper understanding of surrender, leads us to surrendering being the process of withdrawing the mind from the matter and merging with consciousness. Then, the aspects of how mind can be withdrawn from the matter and what is the process involved in communion with God (Consciousness) was discussed.

It was pointed out that the answer remains hidden in plain sight and we can understand this by looking into our dream state. It looks so real that some events in dream can have an impact even on the wake state. The mind is looking at itself in different forms. Same thing happens in wake state too; we are deeply involved and have become part of the dreaming process by the Absolute reality, Consciousness. The Consciousness is looking at its own Self as a diverse Universe including the cosmos and our minds. We have to wake up from the cosmic dream to merge with the Consciousness which is our real state. This can be achieved by surrendering ourselves to the Absolute Reality, and by not doing but by being the inherent essence in all. This was explained by an example – sugar and sweetness. Primary and secondary qualities exist in all things. We will not be able to explain the secondary quality, sweetness in this case, without thinking of a sweet dish made with sugar.

As heat is the specific quality (dharma or nature) of fire, without which fire cannot exist, the dharma or real nature of oneself is the divinity or the divine Atman.

Today’s reading is a very inspiring message enriched with quotes from our scriptures, yet given in simple words. All of us face an uphill task in various aspects of our life and we search for answers and look for support. Finally, by the grace of our Gurudev, our paths are illumined by The Divine Life Society and we shall remain fully insured by our Gurudev Swami Sivananda Maharaj.

 

 

OM TAT SAT

Excerpts from today’s Meditation and Svadhyaya Session

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(August 3,2013) Weekly Svadhyaya - 'I' is the Greatest Bondage - by Swami Chidananda

 ‘I’ is The Greatest Bondage

The entire question of Bondage and Liberation, of human consciousness and Divine Consciousness, of sorrow and Joy, hinges upon this crucial point, namely, what is your relationship with the mind? In the ultimate analysis, your entire life and its struggle is in this area only. The outer manifestation has its root and cause inside. So, ultimately, it is only the solution that is inside that will have a lasting effect.

The ancient Buddhist texts say: “Mind is the slayer of the Atman, Slay this slayer and attain the light.” This means that we are all prey to the tyranny of our inner, latent tendencies, which are the very essence of the individual’s behavior pattern. The mind is only a bundle of vasanas. The crux of the whole problem of Bondage and Liberation is explained in a simple way in Yoga Vasishtha: “Liberation is attained when there is manonasha (the cessation of mind activities).” When the vasanas are dormant, the mind is not there. The mind sinks and subsides in the state of deep sleep. ‘I’ is eliminated together with the mind. ‘I’ is the mind; mind is the ‘I’. In deep sleep vasanas are in a state of dormancy. When the latent tendencies are in a state of dynamic manifestation in the active state, you find that the mind becomes a tyrant. Vasishtha has summed up the whole process of Liberation as a process of destruction of vasanans. Ultimately, the final blow that is given destroys the mind itself. People will say, “Oh, that is a very fearful prospect. With what will I think ‘I am’?” This is a great delusion. We cling to this delusion, this evil, this little filth of limited consciousness. The annihilation of the ‘I’ is the grandest and the greatest and the greatest good fortune. The best thing that can ever happen in life is for ‘you’ to be gone. You are the kingpin of the whole problem of Bondage.

‘I’ is the greatest bondage. It is the opposite of light, bliss, peace, perfection, wholeness, truth. The practice of Yoga, results in gradual thinning of our vasanas, which spring out from this little I-consciousness, and ultimately the mind itself vanishes. Mind is the myth. But when it is there, it seems to be everything. Your essential being is Satchidananda. You are a wave of Ananda upon that ocean of Paramananda. That is real identity. It is pure Consciousness. This pure Consciousness, disassociated from any limiting adjunct, is pure bliss. “I am Existence filled with awareness. I am this wave.” The wave is never apart from the ocean. Merge into the vastness and become one with the vastness. “I am the ocean, immeasurable. My depth cannot be fathomed.”

Continue to Read:

Self-Knowledge by Swami Sivananda

Nature of the Mind – Moksha Gita by Swami Sivananda, commentary by Swami Krishnananda

The Cause of Bondage by Swami Krishnananda
Brahman as Consciousness or Intelligence by Swami Krishnananda
The Self as the Universal Whole by Swami Krishnananda

(July 27,2013) Weekly Svadhyaya - You Are A Living Light of Guru's Ideals

Svadyaya for July 27, 2013 You Are A Living Light Of Guru’s Ideals

Swami Chidananda Maharaj

The guru never dies because he lives in disciples. He spends his entire life entering into the disciple in the form of his idealism, ideas, vision, attitudes, sense of values. His aim and objective for living is to ceaselessly and continuously strive and work, so that he may live forever in and through each and every one of his disciples. The bright light of a candle never ceases to shine, once another candle has been lit by its flame. It itself may be sniffed out, but it is already burning brightly upon another selfsame light.

You are the being through whom guru lives. This is an honor, a privilege, a great good fortune and it is also a responsibility, a duty. It is the truth to be known and kept in mind always: “I must be what the guru has taught me to be. I must be what the guru was.” Gurudev himself said many times: “Do what I tell you to do. Don’t do what I do, because I do it on another level. Don’t try to imitate me, you may emulate me. You may try to be as I am in my nature, character, lofty idealistic way of life, in my spiritual personality, but do not imitate me. Emulate me.”

You must make the vibrant spirituality of the guru live within you. You should live within you the sublime idealism and the spiritual idealism and the spiritual teachings of the guru, his loftiness of character and conduct. His divine nature and the divine way he lived his life should be relived in you. Looking at you, the world should understand divinity of your Guru.

Gurudev said: “Obedience is better than reverence.” Thus if the disciples know the difference between imitation and emulation, and follow him through emulation and obedience, guru never dies. Gurudev Swami Sivanadaji will never die as long as there are sincere striving aspirants trying to walk the path of divine life, ever striving to fulfill in thoughts, words and deeds the essence of his teachings. He is and he shall ever continue to be, because each one of you represents a radiant facet, a shining aspect of his noble divinely lived life. In and through his disciples, he lives and continues to inspire hundreds and thousands. This is a great privilege, a great Guru-Seva.

May you be engaged in doing it! The disciples ensure that the light, inspiration and the wisdom teachings of the guru will be perpetually present in human society in and through each one of disciples.  Each one of you is a living light of the Sivananda’s ideal of divine life. May God and Gurudev’s grace and blessings enable you to do so most effectively, most fully, for the benefit of all humanity!

God Bless You! Swami Chidananda

July 6,2013 Weekly Svadhyaya - Meditation by Swami Chidananda

MEDITATION

Swami Chidananda Maharaj

The ingathering of the totality of your being and the centralizing of this ingathered power in one specific self-chosen direction is the object of meditation. When the ingathered and in-directed, continued, unbroken movement succeeds, you are in a state of meditation. It is the successful, continuous movement in a self-chosen direction of the totality of your being. In the condition of perfect sense-control and self-restrain, and conquest of desires and mastery of one’s passions – in that condition of enlightenment, inner stability and equipoise, one begins to gather oneself and move towards the Reality.

Meditation requires the person to be firmly and perfectly grounded in virtue, Meditation is the upper point of the pyramid, which is grounded in virtue, Meditation is an interior process. The senses always keep your entire psyche in an exteriorized condition. Unless you control your senses, the psyche can never be ingathered. Next comes the calming of the mind – its desires, passions, ambitions, attachments and the constant cravings that keep the mind always flux and ferment. This process of attaining a certain amount of absolute quiescence of mind takes many years. There should be unified aspirations for that ultimate Goal. There will be no other ambitions, no other desires, no other attachment, no other passions and cravings. The mind will be in a state of total ingatheredness and unity. This mind which has now been rendered subtle by giving up gross sensual desires, and by renunciation, attains a state of purity.

Mind is a very subtle matter. When it is filled with earthly tendencies, passions and greed, it is full of tamas and rajas, and it becomes more gross due to restlessness, selfish desires and activities. When these have been transcended and mastered to a certain extent then mind attains a state of purity and subtleness. In that state of subtle purity, mind assumes an upward direction. Only such a mind, which is rendered subtle by absolute purity and virtue, sense-control and elimination of desires and passions, becomes the instrument of Atman, the Reality. Such total transformation in your interior by bringing the mind into that state of subtleness and purity is absolutely necessary to initiate the process of meditation. A subtle pure mind, completely still and calm, and totally inward, is the instrument for meditation. With that mind alone one can meditate.

God Bless You!

Swami Chidananda

(June 27,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Pratyahara (abstraction)

Pratyahara

Divine Life Society Publication: Paths of the Yoga by Swami Sivananda

What Is Pratyahara?

Pratyahara or abstraction is that by which the senses do not associate with their own objects and imitate, as it were, the nature of the mind-stuff (Chitta).

NOTES

Pratyahara is abstraction. It is the withdrawal of the Indriyas from the objects. The senses are assimilated in the mind which is rendered pure through the practice of Yama, Niyama and Pranayama. The mind becomes more calm now. The nature of the Indriyas is to have always connection with the objects. Where the vision is turned outward (Bahirmukha Vritti), the rush of fleeting events engages the mind. The outgoing energies of the mind begin to play. When they are obstructed by the practice of Pratyahara, the other course for them is to mix with the mind and to be absorbed in the mind. The mind will not assume any form of any object. Hitherto, the Indriyas were following the mind like the other bees which follow the queen bee. Just as the bees fly as the queen bee flies, and sit as it sits down, so also, the Indriyas become restrained as the mind is restrained.

Pratyahara itself is termed as Yoga, as it is the most important Anga in Yoga Sadhana. This is the fifth rung in the Yogic ladder. The first four rungs deal with ethical training and purification of body, mind and Nadis. Now with Pratyahara, proper Yoga begins which eventually culminates in Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Hence in Kathopanishad also in Part VI, Sloka 11, you will find: That firm control of the senses, they regard as Yoga. Again in the same Upanishad it is stated in Part IV, Sloka 1: The Self-existent created the senses outgoing, therefore, one sees outside and not the Atman within. Some intelligent man, with his senses turned away from their object, desirous of immortality, sees the Atman within.

Benefits of Pratyahara

Thence (from the practice of Pratyahara), comes the supreme mastery over the senses.

NOTES

Yogins enjoy sound, etc., without Raga and Dvesha. Worldly persons enjoy with Raga and Dvesha. This is the difference. The Yogi, not becoming a slave of the Vishayas, enjoys as a master out of his own free will. The Yogi enjoys by remaining as Tatastha (quite indifferent) with Raga and Dvesha experiencing the effects viz., pleasure and pain. The Indriyas cannot grasp the objects even though they are placed before them. This is Indriya Jaya. There is a difference between control and supreme control. By controlling one Indriya alone, the other four will not come under your control. When the mind is rendered pure and one-pointed and when it is turned inwards towards the Purusha, then and then alone supreme control of all organs follows.

He who has practised Pratyahara can have good concentration and meditation. His mind is always peaceful. This demands patience and constant practice. It takes some years before one is well-established in Pratyahara. He who has mastery over Pratyahara will never complain of Vikshepa or distraction of mind. He can sit in a place in a busy city where four roads meet and meditate whenever he likes. He does not want a cave for meditation. Just as the tortoise draws in on all sides its limbs, so also, the Yogi withdraws all his senses from the objects of sense through the practice of Pratyahara. Pratyahara gives power to the practitioner. When the Indriyas are withdrawn from the objects, then you can fix the mind on a particular point. It is Dharana or concentration which is dealt with in the next chapter. Pratyahara and Dharana are interdependent. You cannot practise one without the other.

Continue to read:

Paths of the Yoga by Swami Sivananda
Pratyahara or Abstraction by Swami Krishnananda
 

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