HEART OF SIVANANDA
Compiled by
Sri Swami Premananda Saraswati
Published by
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR-249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Himalayas, India
www.sivanandaonline.org, www.dlshq.org
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
These are the outpourings of the Heart of Sivananda. The Heart of Sivananda is filled with infinite love for the entire mankind; every sentence on every page of this book is empowered by that love to dispel the darkness of ignorance that besets the path of the spiritual aspirant and prevents him from marching forward.
Therefore, the Heart of Sivananda is the aspirant's hope, and indispensable guide. It is offered to the world of spiritual aspirants with the prayer that it might not only serve them as a guide-book, but as protective armour with which to resist the onslaughts of worldly forces.
We acknowledge with gratitude the services rendered by Sri Swami Premanandaji Maharaj in the preparation of this manuscript.
P.O. Sivanandanagar
8th September, 1957
71st Birthday of Swami Sivananda
-THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
शिवानन्दस्तुतिः
(Sri Gunde Rao Harkare, Vidyabhaskar)
शिरीषपुष्पादपि कोमलं मनः परार्तिभिर्यस्य सदार्तिपूर्णम्
परार्तिनिर्मूलनकर्मसक्तं महाद्रिनिर्भेदनवज्रकल्पम्
Sri Swami Sivananda's mind is naturally more delicate than Shireesha flower; being more tender it becomes much afflicted when he comes in contact with people suffering from and pained by the evil results of their own actions. But when he intends to uplift these and remove their calamities, his mind becomes like VAJRA-God Indra's famous weapon- which cuts even mountains into pieces.
वात्सल्यवारांनिधिरद्वितीयो भवाब्धिभग्नोद्धरणैकदीक्षः
क्षेत्रं ऋषीकेशमिहाधितिष्ठन् पुनाति भूमण्डलमध्यखण्डम्
Swamiji is a great ocean of affection. He pledged himself to the service of the weak drowned in the sea of worldly life which is full of afflictions. He resides here in a small Kutir in Rishikesh but his power is all-pervading. He purifies the whole world.
नन्दन्ति नृत्यन्ति मुदं प्रयान्ति सर्वेऽद्य हृष्यन्ति हसन्ति यस्य
चन्द्रर्क्षभाढ्येव वियत्सभेयं चन्द्रर्क्षभायुर्दिवसोत्सवश्रीः
Today the devotees are rejoicing and are highly pleased. They are singing and dancing. They are in raptures. They are taking part in celebration of the seventy-first birthday of Sri Swamiji. This is seventy-first (चन्द्र means one and Rishi means seven अंकानां वामतोगतिः in counting seventy-one ) birthday.
Swamiji is shining like the Moon in the assembly of seven Rishis. Bhrigu, Atri and others who constitute seven constellations, Ursa Major in the heaven.
दयानिधे ज्ञानदिवाकर त्वं दुर्मोधसोऽव्याजकृपाकटाक्ष
स्वारब्धकर्मोत्थसुतिव्रतापपापच्यमानान् त्वरयाऽद्य पाहि
O Swamiji! You are the ocean of Love and naturally are benevolent; free from guile you lavish your kindness on all alike. The people in general are inclined towards wickedness and therefore suffer from the results of their own actions. Be kind and protect them.
* * *
(K.P.R.N. Cheruvallor Nampootiri, Haridwar)
शिवायानन्दमात्राय नवसारस्वतात्मने
भवामयौषधीशाय भवते भगवन् नमः
CONTENTS
III. Life Is Meant for God-realisation
V. Life A Medium for Evolution
V. The Self is Raised by the Self
VI. Do Self-Analysis: Acquire Wisdom
X. Cross the Ocean of Illusion
XVII. Be Vigilant and Diligent
XVIII. Necessity of Real Spiritual Experience
XIX. Be Steady: Seek the Truth
III. Some Facts about Prana and Nadis
V. Experiences In Kundalini Yoga
VI. Secret of Success in Karma Yoga
RIGHTEOUSNESS-THE FULCRUM OF LIFE
III. Life without Dharma is a Waste
IV. Righteousness Brings Blessedness
V. Character is the Real Wealth
V. Brahman or the Absolute Consciousness
IX. Secret of the Three States
II. Happiness Lies in Renunciation
III. The Glory of Renunciation
I. Bharatavarsha-Land of Sages
WAY TO REAL PEACE AND HAPPINESS
I. The Supreme Indispensable Factor
II. Religion Must Guide Science
V. Preserve Religion; Behold Unity
II. Come All! Lead the Divine Life
Chapter One
GOAL OF LIFE
I. God-The Only Reality
1. The Lord is the path and the goal.
2. All beings abide in God but He stands apart from them. He is the origin and support and the ultimate destination of all beings.
3. God is the source of all happiness. He is the source of life, thought and energy.
4. He who is the bestower of divine wisdom and everlasting bliss, whose command all the elements of nature obey, whose shelter is immortality, whose shadow is death. He it is to whom I offer my worship and salutations.
5. God is the fountain of goodness. Whatever is good in the world proceeds from Him alone.
6. God alone exists. All else is vanity.
7. God and supreme goodness is one.
8. God alone is your real and sincere Father.
9. God is pure, Spirit, supremely simple. 10. God is the first and the greatest Being.
11. The supreme Sovereign of the universe, God, is the storehouse of eternal felicity.
12. In and out God exists, nay, He is the universe itself. Yet, alas, how foolish and ignorant are those who declare that God does not exist.
13. God is all in all. His name is above all names. He your nearest and dearest.
14. Though He is invisible, He sees all.
15. God is beyond all, and yet embraces all.
16. God has infinite power unfathomable, knowledge, inexpressible bliss, and ineffable splendour.
17. God is infinite ocean of Bliss, Peace and Consciousness. He is the indweller of your heart. He is immortal silence.
II. Light of Lights
18. God is the Light of lights. He is knowledge. He is the knower.
19. God is the same from age to age. He never changes. He is ageless.
20. God has no opposite. He remains hidden.
21. God is Truth, Beauty and Goodness.
22. God has no religion. He is the source of all religions.
23. God is one. All life is one.
24. God is Peace. He is universal Harmony.
25. God is Love and Law.
26. God and His Law are one.
27. Just as a lamp cannot burn without oil, so also man cannot live without God.
28. Creation reveals that God is.
29. God is Dharma. He is the bestower of Grace, which is boundless and inexhaustible.
30. The Lord is the Kalpa-taru, Kama dhenu, and Parashmani.
31. Personal God is Saguna Brahman. Impersonal God is Absolute or Nirguna Brahman,
32. God is jewel and lustre, the germ and life, the bud and flower, the path and destination. He is the same soul in the ant, elephant and man.
33. God appears to His devotees who pray to Him sincerely in whichever form they think of Him.
34. God has given man conscience to choose between what is right and what is wrong. Positive and negative are two counterparts of life. Without them there can be no life, no creation.
35. He who knows and loves God attains illumination of all things.
36. God is the brilliance in the sun, the colours in the rainbow, the hues in the flowers. Behold the divine effulgence everywhere.
37. Realise God through cultivating and practising goodness.
38. Leave aside all worldly greatness and vanity. Be humble. Become like a child. Only then you can approach God.
39. God is unfathomable bliss. Worldly pleasures are tinsels, latent with pain. Seek happiness in God. Fix your gaze on Him. Meditate on Him. You will attain immortality, and everlasting peace and bliss.
III. Life Is Meant for God-realisation
40. What is the meaning of life and the world, and of the relationship of the individual soul with Brahman? Whence are we born? Whereby do we live? On what are we established? What is the goal of life? How to attain the goal? Destined by whom do we live through various conditions of pain and pleasure? These are some of the great problems of life.
41. Who are we? Where do we come from? Whither are we bound? Is there any purpose of our existence? What is the aim and value of our actions? What is life's fulfilment and its ultimate aim? These are some of the eternal problems.
42. The main purpose, the main aim of life, is to know and realise God.
43. The utility of life lies in God-realisation alone, without which everything is useless.
44. The highest among all your duties is self-control and Self-realisation.
45. He who does not try to attain Self-realisation commits spiritual suicide.
46. He who has a human body and yet does not utilize it for doing virtuous actions and for trying to attain the goal of life verily wastes his life.
47. This mundane life is the gateway to the unseen beyond.
48. The world is a great school for evolution. 49. Know thyself. Everything else is secondary.
50. Service of humanity is a means to Self-realisation.
51. To live in God, to get absorbed in him, is the one glorious purpose of life.
52. Wake up; wake up from the sleep of ignorance. Life is swallowed by death. Beware, beware friends. Seek the company of sages and saints. Purify, meditate, realise.
53. O man! Become fearless. Rise up. Be strong. It is another happy new day. Act. Act bravely, virtuously. Behold the Self. Realise the Atman.
IV. Highest Ideal
54. To live truly is to be conscious of one's own Self.
55. Righteous living is the highest ideal of life.
56. To grow spiritually and attain immortal bliss is your birthright.
57. Attainment of supreme knowledge is the Ideal of life.
58. You will attain God-realisation through steady faith, right perception, spotless life, and perfect knowledge.
59. Perfect knowledge is possible only through intuition.
60. What do you want to do in life? To accumulate wealth, get titles and procreate? No. Serve. Sacrifice. Realise.
61. The life of power, pleasure and fame, politics and luxury, erudition, wealth and soulless learning cannot give everlasting peace and immortality.
62. In the rush of modern civilization you have forgotten the existence of a real gem (Atman) you possess in your heart, and you run after false tinsels which are outside. What a lamentable state!
63. He who is not meditating regularly, who is not making any enquiry into the nature of Truth or Brahman, is said to be as good as dead.
64. There is the divine light of intellect in you. This is your guide in life. Fan and brighten this light.
65. A rational understanding of God is the first step towards God-realisation.
V. Life A Medium for Evolution
66. Life is a great mystery. Life is a voyage in the infinite ocean of time where every object is perpetually changing.
67. Life is a tremendous battle with ignorance. Life is a terrible warfare with the mind and the senses.
68. The conquest of the mind is your solemn duty.
69. Man longs for immortality wisdom, eternal bliss and peace. He can attain these through purity, devotion, discrimination, dispassion and meditation.
70. Life is an upward struggle, a medium through which to evolve.
71. Change is another name for Samsara or world-process.
72. Change is the involuntary urge caused by the sense of imperfection and desire for perfection.
73. It is the great discontent, which is innate in every life that prompts man to seek God.
74. Among all creations, it is only man who has the possibility of rising to the status of full divinity.
75.Emancipation Self-realisation from all bondages is Self realisation.
76. Moksha is not a negative state of freedom from misery. It is an experience of positive peace and bliss.
77. Moksha is a condition of perfection, the highest ideal of man.
78. In this transient world, in the heart of every individual there is strong latent desire to obtain perfect, eternal happiness.
79. In every man, in every living, there is a strong aversion to pain and sorrow. It is the first universal feature of life.
80. Meditate on the Lord and realise Him. Only his Grace can free you from all pain and sorrow.
VI. Wake Up O Man!
81. An unprincipled life is a tragic waste indeed.
82. Great is the agony of life in the womb. Strive to get rid of birth.
83. How uncertain is life on earth! Realizing this one should engage oneself in incessant prayer, Japa, selfless service, and meditation.
84. Death is knocking at your door every day. Therefore, do not waste time.
85. You are a sojourner here for a short space of time. You are here to seek light and wisdom. 86. Arm yourself with discrimination and dispassion.
87. Practise balance of mind.
88. Make yourself definite of the goal. Make a strong resolve to attain the goal. Do not waver, do not be shaky. 89. Life is a trust. Your life is meant for service of others, whereby you only serve yourself.
90. Meditate regularly, intensely and deeply. You will have insight, intuition and Samadhi if you are really earnest and persevering.
91. The man who is blind from birth does not know what is day and what is night. Even so, the man who has no doubts, does not know what is truth, what is falsehood, what is proper, what is improper, what is beneficial and what is harmful.
92. Truth is infinite, and infinite are the ways that lead to it.
93. Spiritual paths are divergent, but the goal is the same.
94. Life is a continuous divine worship.
95. Life is not an empty dream. Awake; awake, from your slumber of delusion.
96. Life is precious. Time is precious. Hear the call of life.
97. Love truth. Respect reason. Be pure. Practise tolerance.
98. He who knows is humble, gentle and noble.
99. He who knows not is arrogant, harsh and vain.
100. All that glitters is not gold. So, also all that shines and appears to be pleasant and beautiful, may not actually be so in truth.
Chapter Two
GUIDE TO RIGHT LIVING
I. Begin Early
1. Youth is the best period for spiritual practice. You will have to put in hard work now itself.
2. Student life should refine and develop the best qualities of human nature, enlighten the mind of the student, equip him to meet the challenges of life, and infuse in him the understanding of the ultimate Reality behind all phenomena.
3. The hardship of early life will give you strong muscles and nerves. Lead a hard life and make yourself strong physically and mentally.
4. Do menial work. Respect menial work. It will toughen your body and lighten your heart.
5. You cannot remedy the past. You are not sure of tomorrow. The only best thing is to make today as useful as can be.
6. Your birthday reminds you that your life is shortened by a year. On this day make a firm resolve to make your future life more fruitful and useful.
7. First strive, experience, and then teach.
8. Convert yourself first before you try to convert others.
9. Reform yourself first before you try to reform others.
10. No one can be really happy unless he first becomes good.
11. Develop Sadachara or right conduct from the student life onward.
12. O students! You pass university examinations to seek big jobs. You want to become big officers. Dedicate yourselves to the service of the people. Here is supreme joy. Here is the scope to evolve spiritually.
13. Only right beginning can bring about right ending.
II. Learn and Be Wise
14. Ignorance breeds evil of all kinds. Knowledge removes all evils.
15. Knowledge is nectar.
16. Knowing is becoming, knowing is doing also.
17. Knowledge leads to unity; ignorance to diversity.
18. Wherever there is lack of knowledge, there pain is the experience.
19. The senses are finite and limited. Therefore, any knowledge obtained through them is imperfect.
20. Knowledge about a thing is not the thing itself.
21. Study well. Develop your mind. Increase and expand your knowledge.
22. To every Indian today the Upanishads are what the New Testament is to the Christians.
23. Gita is the cream of the Upanishads, and the Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas.
24. Gita is the Bible of humanity. It solves the fundamental problems of life and clears all doubts of all men.
25. Gita is not a mere talk to Arjuna, but it is an object lesson to all humanity throughout eternity.
26. Gita teaches a noble gospel of unselfishness and free service to all as divine worship.
27. He who is open-eyed is open-minded. He who is open-minded is open-hearted.
28. Why? What? Whence? Where? Whither? This is the cry of the human heart.
29. Sit alone. Meditate. You will get the answers for these questions.
30. Go through the Ten Upanishads. Your questions will be solved.
31. True happiness is not possible without health, wisdom and contentment.
32. Wisdom means least dependence on any individual or object.
33. Accept instructions in any form, from any quarter, from anyone, with humility and reverence.
34. Be ready to accept truth and good advice from any source.
35. Learn to live in harmony with the world around you.
36. Joy is to the sinless. Peace is to the pure. Bliss is to the wise.
III. School of Life
37. Experience is man's only real teacher.
38. Man progresses by trial and error.
39. Man is misled and duped by his senses.
40. You are your own friend. You are your own enemy. Be your friend.
41. Pain is the great awakener. It is a great teacher and eye-opener, too.
42. Pain enriches life.
43. Have the endurance of a mountaineer, the dexterity of an acrobat and the swiftness of a sprinter.
44. Love of ease, comfort and power is the height of ignorance.
45. Have patience, friend! You can do anything if you have patience.
46. Be resolute. Be fearless. You will succeed in everything.
47. Be hopeful always. Hope sustains, stimulates, encourages, inspires, comforts and cheers.
48. Lord knows and decrees what is best for you.
49. Excess of any kind vexes. Therefore, be moderate in everything.
50. Always take the middle way which avoids extremes in purpose and action. This will lead to peace.
51. Golden mean or balance between the extremes is the good rule of life.
52. Even the worst men usually disguise themselves with a show of goodness. Beware.
53. He who loves me teaches me affection. He who is indifferent to me teaches me self-reliance. He who hates me teaches me caution.
54. We do not need more material development in preference to spiritual development.
55. We do not need more knowledge; we need more character.
56. We do not need more laws; culture, religion, and Yoga and Vedanta.
57. Cunningness, cleverness and human ingenuity have brought upon mankind untold miseries and sufferings.
IV. Worldly Wise
58. Worldly people worship the body. How much time do they give for adoring and serving their body, that fragile bit of clay, a mass of flesh and blood and bone.
59. Those who identify themselves with the body and have no soul-consciousness are utterly ignorant, though they may possess university degrees.
60. In this earth greatness of man depends upon external objects such as wealth, servants, motor cars, in external glories. But the greatness of Brahman is not of this type. The greatness of Brahman lies in its own Being, and not on anything else.
61. Man speaks of his glory and achievements, ill vanity. At the bottom of it all are sex, food, indolence and ignorance.
62. With silk and golden cloth, man covers the filth and hides his shame. This is foolishness. O man! Thou art the effulgent Atman. Forget this not.
63. The dangerous demon of lust, which grasps the whole world in its clutches meets with destruction through meditation on "I am Brahman".
64. There is incompatibility in culture and sexual indulgence.
65. Stop early marriage and polygamy. Practise self-restraint. Thereby you can affect birth-control,
66. Passion and peace cannot dwell together. Where passion is, peace is not; where peace is, passion is not.
67. Abandon the desire for wealth and worldly pleasures.
68. O lawyers! Do not plead for cases deviating from the path of justice. You will contribute for social good. You will be blessed.
69. That which is selfish is immoral, and that which is unselfish is moral.
70. In this age of science, even God needs propaganda! People have entirely forgotten about the deeper values of life and things moral and spiritual. How powerful is Maya or Avidya!
71. A scientist knows everything in the world except his own Self. What is the use of science for him, then?
72. Childhood is frolicsome, youth is full of blunders, old age is full of regrets, manhood is a continuous struggle.
75. Discard, O man, all useless doubts. Be practical. Do something substantial.
V. Lessons of Life
76. Man is a composite of matter and spirit.
77. Human nature is neither good, nor bad. Its colouring depends on environments and past impressions.
78. Human nature is the same everywhere though national characteristics may vary from place to place.
79. Nature always preserves a balance.
80. In whichever field there is great excess, nature at once puts a check to it.
81. Each country has its own way of life based on its own traditions.
82. To a child all men are equal. A child treats a king or a cooly alike. We should learn from children how to treat people.
83. The suffering of a poor man who has no salt for his conjee is the same as the suffering of a rich man who has no sugar for his coffee or petrol for his motor car.
84. The common man wants bread. If you do not give him the bread, he cannot afford to care for the value of his soul.
85. Curtail your needs. Never run into debts.
86. Distinction or separateness should not cloud your vision. You should be broad-minded and practise equality or unity which is eternal.
87. United we survive; divided we perish.
88. Love begets love; hatred begets hatred.
89. Laugh, and the world laughs with you Weep, and you weep alone.
90. Even the worst sinner can attain God-realisation.
91. Passion, anger, exhaling, fear and sleep are the five doshas or physical stains of the Jivatma or the individual soul.
92. Are you convinced of a conception? If so believe in it.
93. The language of silence is more forcible than the language of speech.
94. Argue not with unreasonable persons. Be silent.
95. You need not shout your faith. The Himalayas are silent, and yet how they speak of the Lord.
96. Hurt not any living beings. Be kind to animals. Serve the cow. Hurt not the cow who gives you good milk.
97. Help your son to help himself.
98. Dharma is righteousness. Artha is lawful acquisition of wealth. Kama is enjoyment of unforbidden pleasures. Moksha is emancipation from worldly bondage, or the attainment of immortality, freedom and perennial bliss.
99. Never sacrifice your principles for the sake of gaining popularity.
100. There is no virtue greater than helping others; there is no vice greater than hurting others.
101. Keep alive the sense of value, the sense of proportion and the sense of educative humour.
102. Friendship is a sacred trust. Be true to the trust. Be constant.
103. By reading sensational newspapers, mind's activities are increased in useless directions.
104. Physical cleanliness must accompany mental cleanliness.
105. Freedom is in detachment.
106. Speak and do what you think, no more, no less. Always mean what you say. 107. Real inspiration comes from a deeper source than surface emotion.
108. When you are inspired by Truth and love, you will know well how to act well.
109. If you want to rule others, rule yourself first.
110. None can teach better than by personally living and practising the right, the true and the good.
111. Death is not the end and birth is not the beginning.
112. Death knows no time, nor respects rank or position
113. In all true growth the new rests on the old.
114. Life is motion. Motion affects matter. This is vibration.
115. If there is dull uniformity in this world the world will be a prison-house without any charm or attraction.
116. Every action of man that gains the blessing of the Lord is bound to be meritorious and always successful.
117. Do not worry unnecessarily. What is bound to happen must happen.
118. It is not work that kills men, but it is worry.
119. Behold the Light! Light will come again from the East!
120. I do not recognize the notions such as "This is my relation; this is a stranger; this is mine; this is another's."
121. The world is my home. To be good and to do good is my religion.
122. I take my stand on the Atman. I do not at any time think of the past, nor of the future.
123. Peace be to heaven, peace be to the earth, peace be to the waters, peace be to all!
VI. Words of Wisdom
124. If one remembers all that he did in the previous life, he will die of grief immediately.
125. Though the ways are different, all journey towards the same Light.
126. Body is purified by water, mind by truth, soul by asceticism, and wisdom and reason by right knowledge.
127. "Do your duty, do it as humanly as you can." This is the primary precept of Jainism. This is really meant for all human beings and therefore is universal. 128. Become Tirthankara, the 'Perfect Man.'
129. Perfect being implies fullness.
130. No analogy can be perfect from every point of view.
131. No action can permanently raise an individual to a high and glorious state, as every action is only a phenomenon.
132. Whatever is expressed is mortal, and whatever is not the Self or Atman is expressed.
133. In the case of an aspirant, the heart goes first, and then comes the tongue. In the case of a worldly man, the tongue goes first and then comes the heart.
134. As a tree of the forest, just so, surely is man. His hairs are leaves, his skin the outer bark. 135. Artistic experience gives one a foretaste of spiritual perfection.
136. Art is the layman's Yoga.
137. Science is a rational attempt at comprehending Reality employing the methods of observation and experience.
138. Sruti is revelation, Yukti is reason; Anubhava is direct experience.
139. A Sutra is an aphorism. In a Sutra there is a wonderful economy of words, and affluence and richness of thought.
140. As Governors and Ministers gather round a King who is departing, thus do all the senses and Pranas gather round the individual soul at the time of death.
141. Marital life hands the individual the light of experience. Properly lived, it provides the field for the working out of the sublime goal of human existence- realisation of Perfection and the manifestation of it in life.
142. The colour of the Sannyasin's cloth signifies renunciation. The wearer of the orange-coloured robe has made an oblation of all his desires into the sacred fire at the time of his initiation into Sannyasa.
143. Chastity and celibacy are ever young and strong.
144. "Rama does not eat at any time but he grows fatter and fatter. Therefore, he should be taking food. Since he is not taking food during the day, it is implied that he is taking food at night." This is called Arthapati which means implication.
VII. Gunas and Tattwas
145. Gunas play a very important part in the life of every man.
146. Make a careful study of the Gunas. Watch their rise and fall. Control them diligently.
147. Those persons in whom Sattwa predominates are the spiritual guides or Gurus of society. They constitute the Brahmin class.
148. The individuals in whom Rajas predominates have aptitude for administrative and military duties. They constitute the Kshatriya class.
149. Those who have the aptitude for agriculture and commerce constitute the Vaishya class.
150. Those who have a tendency, born of their nature, of a subordinate role of service, constitute the Sudra class.
151. The effects of Sattwa Guna are cheerfulness, calmness, harmony, poise, intellectuality, illumination.
152. The effects of Rajo Guna are activity, energy, impulse, passion, motion.
153. The effects of Tamo Guna are inertia, darkness, dullness, sloth, indolence, lethargy, carelessness.
154. Non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, non-covetousness, refraining from anger, serving the Guru, purity in mind and body, contentment, right conduct, abstinence from self-praise, freedom from pompousness, firm conviction in the existence of God, and not causing injury to others- all these are to be known as Sattwa Gunas.
155. I am the actor, I am the enjoyer, I am the speaker, I am a great man, I can do anything, I am passionate, I desire-these are said to be Rajasic Gunas.
156. Sleep, sloth, delusion, heedlessness, carelessness, deceit, theft-these are Tamasic Gunas.
157. In heaven or the astral world, there is neither hunger nor thirst, neither disease nor cold.
158. Yogasanas give exercise to all the muscles in a harmonious way, whereas other systems of exercise bring only a fraction of the muscles into play. Other systems are Rajasic. Yogasanas are Sattwic.
159. Yogasanas transcend athletics. They effect equipoise of the mind. They eliminate Tamas, control Rajas and increase Sattwa.
160. Physical exercises increase the consumption of food and animal-passion, whereas Yogasanas restrict the intake of food and control passion.
161. Tamas should be overcome by Rajas, and Rajas by Sattwa.
162. Venom can be turned ineffective by Mantras; fire can be quenched by jets of water; but a wicked, unchaste woman is very difficult to be made good and chaste. This is her Prakriti and Guna.
163. The sense of smell is closely connected with the sense of taste.
164. Man's eyes are his wealth, because they are the means of his physical vision.
165. Sound, touch, form and taste are the properties of water.
166. Sound, touch and form are the properties of fire.
167. Sound and touch are the properties of Vayu or air.
168. Sound alone is the property of Akasa or ether.
169. Hunger, thirst, sloth, delusion and sexual desire are of the essence of fire.
170. The bone, skin, nerve, hair and flesh are of the essence of earth.
171. Urine, phlegm, blood, semen and sweat are of the essence of water.
172. Walking, scratching, opening and closing of the eye-lids are of the essence of Vayu or air.
173. Desire, anger, avarice, delusion and fear are of the essence of Akasa or ether.
174. The colour of Prithvi Tattwa (earth) is yellow; the colour of Jala Tattwa (water) is white; the colour of Agni Tattwa (fire) is red; the colour of Vayu Tattwa (wind) is green; the colour of Akasa Tattwa (ether) is black.
175. Practise Shanmukhi or Yoni Mudra; close the two ears with the thumbs, the two nostrils with the middle fingers, the mouth by the last two fingers and the two corners of the eyes with the index fingers. Do mild Kumbhak (retention of the breath) and concentrate on the space between the eye-brows.
176. If the circle seen is yellowish, it is Prithvi Tattwa; if it is red, it is Agni Tattwa; if it is black, it is Akasa Tattwa.
Chapter Three
LIVE THE DIVINE LIFE
I. What Is Divine Life
1. Choose the life that is noble, lofty and sublime.
2. Divine life is a life of truth, sincerity, love, purity and Godliness.
3. Be simple. A peculiar indescribable joy and strength accompany the ecstasy of simple life. Simple life is divine life.
4. Service and dedication are two great principles of divine life.
5. Divine life is the religion of good life. Be pure in thought, word and deed. Meditate on God. This is divine life.
6. Divine life is not an easy-going life. It is to be led in an exemplary way.
7. To remember God at all times, to serve humanity, to love all, is the best kind of life. This is divine life.
II. How to Lead Divine Life
8. Speak the truth. Be virtuous. Be good. Do good. Control anger. Meditate. By these steps you will go near God. You will attain God-realisation.
9. Live in love, Live in the harmony of the inner spirit, full of light, energy, glory, divine effulgence, peace, joy and bliss.
10. Seek wisdom, O, man! Simplify, purify, intensify. Simplify your life. Purify your heart. Intensify your Sadhana and meditation.
11. Learn to live in such a way that you send out only helpful thoughts.
12. The first basic principle of divine life is trust in God.
13. It becomes easy to pave your way through the journey of life if you have unswerving faith in God.
14. The powers of the mind should be sublimated into elements of divine life without being suppressed or atrophied.
15. Convert sex-impulse into pure love without the taint of sensuality. 16. Simple life is the true life. Simplify your life. Give up fashion and luxury, the enemies of peace and self-control.
17. Lead a simple life; eat simple food; wear simple dress.
18. Lead a disciplined and well regulated life. Sleep without care. Live a life, humble and pure, yet independent.
19. Covet not other's wealth.
20. You must have purity in thought, word and deed. You must also have purity of motive and purity in Drishti or sight also.
21. Let your words be sincere and truthful. Let your actions be always honourable and worthy.
22. Be frank, wise and courteous in your speech. Be temperate. Wear simple clothing. Show sympathy with those in trouble. Make light of your own troubles and sorrows.
23. Seek the good. Devote yourself to the good Develop the mind and heart. Grow in wisdom and purity.
24. Let goodness, mercy and righteousness follow you all the days of your life. The Lord will comfort you and you can dwell in the abode of eternal light and bliss.
25. Free yourself from egoism, delusion and attachment.
26. Discipline the mind and senses through detachment.
27. Identify not with this body, which is momentary and illusory.
28. Destroy ignorance. Attain bliss and freedom from misery.
29. Learn the subtle science of attaining happiness and perfection in life.
30. Resolve to lead a new life of purity and spiritual Sadhana.
31. Overcome all weaknesses and defects.
32. Renounce all selfishness and sensual desires.
33. Practise the teachings contained in the "Sadhana Tattwas" or the "Science of Seven Cultures". Follow the "Twenty Spiritual Instructions" and the "Guide to Sadhakas". (These are published in some of the works of Swami Sivananda and are also available in leaflet-form.)
34. Aspire for spiritual perfection. Achieve ethical perfection. Practise Yoga. Attain the goal of life. 35. Love is the law of life. Oneness is the truth of life. Service is the essence of life. The essential Divinity of man is the greatest fact of life. 36. Make yourself an embodiment of divine life. Live in the Divine.
37. Realisation of the Absolute is the highest Dharma.
38. Life should be lived for a glorious ideal, viz, Self-realisation.
39. At least one good action a day should be the motive of every individual.
40. When life is founded on virtue and knowledge and God-consciousness, it becomes divine life.
III. Fruits of Divine Life
41. All sorrows and anxieties recede away from one who lives the divine life.
42. Peace and serenity bless the follower of divine life. Divine life is full of supreme peace and happiness.
43. To lead the divine life is to progress towards unending bliss and eternal sunshine.
44. Divine life is the pointer to the realm of bliss. It shows you where lies true happiness.
45. Through good action, good association and dedication, one rises to the status of divinity.
46. The blessed spiritual path leads to eternal happiness. Therefore, tread this path. Walk in peace. 47. The divine path of selflessness, service, charity, purity, devotion, dispassion, discrimination and meditation leads to blissful realisation and immortality.
48. God has a plan for every life. If this plan is followed, it brings greatest happiness and success. The Divine Plan is Divine Life.
49. In fulfilling God's Will, you are blessed and you become a blessing to all.
50. Egoism is death and egolessness is life everlasting.
51. Self-control, self-sacrifice, and self-knowledge lead one to immortality.
IV. Glory of Divine Life
52. In the midst of darkness light persists. In the midst of materialistic life, Divine life stands aloft to lead man towards Godhead and Bliss Eternal.
53. Attain the vision of Truth by selfless service, devotion, Yoga and Jnana.
54. The joy of the flower lies in its self-offering to its loving Maker. Let your life also be a dedicated flower at the feet of the Divine Maker.
55. Translate or put your high ideals into daily living. You are blessed.
56. The truly great man ignores his little self. This is the perfection of self-discipline.
57. He who is contented is rich. He who conquers his lower self is enlightened. 58. Wear on your crown the triple-jewel of love, purity and truthfulness.
59. There is unsurpassed joy in self-denial, self-restraint, charity and selfless service.
60. Be thou not sad, O Man! Be filled with joy. Stand up. Pray and meditate. Sing His name and glory. The Lord is ever with thee. He will lift up the veil. He will break up the fetters and make you free. You will behold the glorious Atman.
61. Your true wealth is wisdom. Your true wealth is your stock of virtue.
62. Have perfect calmness. Be gentle. Be diligent in duty. Be humble. Be firm. Cultivate endurance. You will attain immortality and peace.
63. Be a hero in the battlefield of life, Face and fight the difficulties that come in your way. March forward. Look not back.
V. Secret of Divine Life
64. The more the egoism, the less is divine life. The diminishing of egoism is the increasing of divine life.
65. Subdue the animal within you. Transmute the lower nature into divine nature. You will realise the life of perfect peace.
66. The foundation of divine life is celibacy. The summit of divine life is the love of God and wisdom of the Self.
67. Go into silence for some time every day. Pray, meditate, gather strength in silence.
68. Keep burning brightly the divine flame of love that was kindled within your heart through Japa, Kirtan, meditation and Satsanga.
69. Gita is your inspiration. Drink at the fountain of Gita.
70. Remember these two triplets and practice:
(a) Simplicity, service and sacrifice. (b) Devotion, dedication and discipline.
71. Cultivate sincerity, kindness, courtesy, filial reverence and the ability to mix with others and adapt yourself to your environments. You will have a peaceful and harmonious life in society.
72. Purify your emotions. Watch every impulse.
Spiritualize your instincts.
73. Discipline is the secret of success in material and spiritual life. Grow in the spirit of discipline.
74. Be good. Do good. This is the way to righteousness and perfection.
75. In this age of rush and activity, you must be alone with God at least for one or two hours daily to get strength and peace.
76. Pray to the Lord. Take delight in His remembrance. Nil desperandum. Despair leads not to success.
77. Remember you are never alone, because God is ever with you. He is the Indweller of your heart.
78. You must have a living faith in the existence of God, a faith that makes you feel and see the unseen hand of God at all times, a faith that carries conviction with it.
VI. The Call Divine
79. O Man! There is no guarantee about the breath. It may stop at any moment. Therefore, repeat the Lord's name always. Be virtuous.
80. Live a Godly life of perfection, here and now, through devotion, dispassion and meditation.
81. Have faith in the Teacher and the Vedas.
82. Only one in a hundred million truly leads the divine life. All are immersed in worldliness and sensuality. How powerful is Maya!
83. By good and sublime thoughts you rise; by evil thoughts you fall. Therefore, always cultivate good thoughts.
84. None but the pure in heart can truly have vision of God.
85. Give up all that is blameworthy, and do what is praiseworthy with all your heart.
86. Understand the desirability of self-restraint, tolerance and brotherhood, and the rule of the immutable moral law and justice.
87. Slay selfishness ruthlessly. Cultivate selflessness and pure love. You will enjoy peace
88. Let the Light of the Atman be seen in your sweet words, fearless nature, gentle behaviour and kind actions.
89. Be righteous without thinking of profits. Be pure in principles without thinking whether they will bring material return or not.
90. Look upon the world as the rich manifestation of the infinite glory of Lord.
91. Every action of yours should be able to guide others to Godliness.
92. Bathe daily your mind in the morning in the river of the Wisdom of the Upanishads.
93. Constantly keep contact with scriptures and sages and thus cultivate wisdom.
94. Be like Hanuman or Bhima in your strength; be broad-minded like the sky; be deep like the ocean; be firm and steady like the Himalayas; be fragrant like the Jessamine.
95. Salvation is in direct ratio to your purification of heart.
96. Free yourself from any dogmatism and fanaticism. Be all-inclusive and all-embracing. Have a broad catholic heart.
97. Practise devotion to the Lord. You can banish all worries of the world.
98. Follow not the evil ways. Be ever vigilant when good occasions present themselves and utilize them at once. Do not neglect to do good acts when you find good opportunities.
99. The longest span of human life is nothing when compared to Eternity. Spend every moment in earnest endeavour to reach the goal.
100. Ring out lust; ring in purity. Ring out anger; ring in love. Ring out greed; ring in charity.
101. Ring out evil; ring in virtue. Ring out untruth; ring in truth. Ring out darkness; ring in light divine.
102. Ring out grief; ring in bliss. Ring out hatred; ring in love. Ring out jealousy; ring in detachment. Ring out petty-mindedness; ring in nobility.
103. A little more kindness; a little less harshness. A little more 'we'; a little less ‘I'.
104. Be beneficent. Be charitable. Be generous.
105. Speak not anything to hurt anyone. Give up useless talk. Every second shortens the span of life.
106. Your only great duty is to love God and serve Him in your fellow-beings.
107. Examine for a minute how much time in your daily life you have actually devoted towards calm thinking, and service of fellow-beings.
108. The fountain of life is God. He is the Light of lights. Pray. Meditate. He will show you the path of eternal Life. He will throw light on your path.
Chapter Four
PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL LIFE
I. Advice to Aspirants
1. Fear not! Know thou art the immortal Soul. Thou art not this changing mortal body.
2. Realise the all-pervading Soul. Go, dwell in peace. Dwell in that supreme Silence.
3. The nature of the Soul is Peace, ineffable Peace.
4. First hear, then understand, then reflect, then meditate.
5. Ever assert your latent divinity. Ever strive to live in the consciousness of the Satchidananda Brahman. Remain as a witness of the transitory phenomena of this world.
6. Keep up the aspiration. Keep the fire of spiritual yearning ever alive in your heart.
7. Repeat Om. This is the greatest Mantra, the Mantra of Mantras.
8. At the appropriate time, the Lord, through someone or other of His instruments, awakens the Jiva to His Awareness.
9. In His hands, we are all instruments. Work in this light. Serve all in this attitude. You will attain success in your mission and God-realisation.
10. Purify the mind. This is the whole and the only meaning of religious devotions.
11. Do not delay. Tear all veils asunder. Destroy all bonds and attachments. Overcome all fear and realise the Self, right now.
12. Regret not. Despair not. Thou art the immortal Soul.
13. You have wasted your life long enough. You have been indifferent to spiritual values. Rise from your sluggishness, slumber and lethargy. Reconstruct your entire nature. Now be sincere. You will be blessed.
14. Is there anyone who desires to better one's life? If there is such anyone, he will find help in the Heart of Sivananda.
15. Is there anyone who seeks to do better, who seeks harmony in human affairs, and peace in oneself? Let him look into this book, and he will find the wherewithal.
II. Know Thyself
16. Follow my teachings. Follow my instructions. Listen to me not out of reverence, but out of reason. Then practise. Then realise.
17. The greatest service you can render me is: Know thyself and be free.
18. Make your life a dynamic manifestation of divine love and wisdom.
19. Be radiant with the light of purity, simplicity, humility, sincerity, integrity and nobility. 20. Be fragrant with the fragrance of righteousness, inner spiritual life and Self-realisation.
21. Attain that inward stillness and silence where the lips and the mind are still, through regular meditation and discipline of the senses.
22. Be still. Know the Will of God. Do His Will. God alone will speak through you when you enter the supreme Silence where there is no ripple, no sound.
23. Be humane, kind, self-disciplined, humble, gentle, courteous, and magnanimous.
24. Avoid even the smallest fall in your spiritual life. Be ever vigilant. Discriminate between right and wrong. Strengthen your resolve and dispassion.
25. Pass through the gate of immortality. Enter the temple of eternal bliss.
26. Feel the living Divine Presence everywhere, a Presence which is not limited by time or space, a Presence that has no separateness, no separation.
27. Be a lion. Root out all weaknesses, fears, and false attachments. March on bravely to the goal of Freedom.
III. Sidelights on Sadhana
28. Come. Listen. Practise. Meditate. Live a dynamic life of truth, purity, unity, and divinity.
29. Purity carries you half way to God. Meditation takes you to the abode of eternal bliss.
30. Purity, unity, serenity, equanimity and divinity are the watch-words of Yoga-Vedanta.
31. Spiritual progress is gradual. There is gradual evolution, not sudden revolution.
32. Constant self-training leads to perfection.
33. Be ever-watchful. Ever hold on to the company of the good.
34. Patience and fortitude are most helpful in the spiritual path.
35. Without control of senses, without self-restraint, no spiritual growth is ever possible.
36. Sincerity is the first quality to aim at and seek Truth.
37. Meditation or spiritual life is bitter in the beginning, but its fruit is sweet in the end. The fruit is immortality, eternal bliss and everlasting peace.
38. By meditation upon Brahman more and more, by union with Brahman, or by entering into His Being, there is final cessation from every illusion (Maya Nivritti), from pain, sorrow and death.
39. Through daily practice of prayer, worship, Japa, meditation and Atma-Vichar, shine with the splendour of divine light.
40. By service of humanity with Atma-Bhava, discrimination into the nature of cause and effect, dispassion, serenity, self-restraint, concentration, faith, purity and selflessness, one attains the highest Wisdom.
41. All associations, experiences, which do not elevate the aspirant in virtue, peace and purity, should be ruthlessly shunned.
42. Solitude is not in monasteries or forests. Solitude is in one's own heart.
IV. Important Requisites
43. The foremost requisites to communion with God are ethical culture and purification of heart.
44. God's light can be well-reflected only over a good mind and a pure heart.
45. Those who wish to remain as they are full of worldly desires, and yet seek spiritual merits, will make no progress whatsoever.
46. Those pious souls alone who are free from egoism and attachment, who have fully controlled the senses and who remain absorbed in meditation are able to attain that realm of immortal bliss and eternal peace from where there is no return to any bondage or limitation.
47. The best torch to light your way is Truth. 48. The best guide to lead you on the right path is the pure mind.
49. The best friend to make your way pleasant is pure, divine love.
50. With meditation, watered by the flow of nectar in the form of the grace of the Guru, duality is destroyed, and Self-realisation attained.
V. The Self is Raised by the Self
51. No one can save you . You must save yourself.
52. There are no external barriers in spiritual love and realisation.
53. Remove from the mind all thoughts of the objects of the senses. Instantaneously attachment and hatred will cease.
54. The sublime vision of God will be revealed to the humble, the faithful, the pure and the true.
55. He who has entirely burnt up the seeds of his Vasana, experiences the undecaying bliss of Brahman.
56. He who has good character, who is serene, and who has good concentration of mind, can attain Self-realisation.
57. Making the body still is not sufficient. Make the mind still by controlling the thought.
58. An aspirant vigilantly melts his desires in the furnace of true asceticism, he does not think of anything save God.
59. Devotion and aspiration bring about a proper attitude of mind and raise the aspirant to a higher plane.
60. Self-denial, control of mind, and annihilation of ego bring perfection, freedom and illumination.
VI. Do Self-Analysis: Acquire Wisdom
61. Examine yourself. Practise self-analysis, introspection and cogitation. You will grow in wisdom.
62. He who has understanding, who is unmindful of the lures of the senses, who is ever pure, reaches the goal quickly.
63. Vainly you wander, O man! To what purpose are you running to Banaras and Vrindavan. Search within, in your heart.
64. The greatest weakness is doubt. The greatest fault is vacillation.
65. Faith can work wonders. Have unswerving faith.
Everything depends on faith.
66. Difficulties exist only to make you strong by overcoming them. Face them boldly.
67. Constant vigilance, eternal vigilance, is needed in the spiritual struggle, in Yoga Sadhana. 68. Have faith in the Lord, His grace and Name. Do your best and leave the rest to Him.
69. The knots of ignorance are formed by the force of Vasanas. Their unravelling is a preliminary condition of the attainment of blissful release.
70. Just as one finds out lost cattle by their footprints, so also one finds this all by the footprints of spiritual values.
71. You must have Samatva of mind, of means, of purpose, of temper, of attitude, in your everyday life, to achieve perfection.
72. The conceptions "This is beautiful, this is not; this is good, this is bad", form the seed of the series of your misery.
73. Self-purification is in the control of the senses.
VII. Exert: Plod On
74. Purushartha means self-effort. You must exert yourself to your utmost in Sadhana. Only then can you have rapid spiritual progress. Never miss a day in Japa, meditation and Swadhyaya.
75. Cultivate discrimination and dispassion. Purify. Concentrate. Meditate.
76. Know that you are ignorant, that you have yet to know much more. This is the first step to knowledge.
77. Learn to control your senses, through control of desires and cravings.
78. The ideal of a Sannyasin is the sublimation of the libido, giving up private property, and dedication of his life to the attainment of Self-realisation and the service of humanity.
79. God, the Almighty, the inner Ruler, the inner Guide, is your refuge, strength, peace and joy eternal. Always have this one-pointed attitude.
80. Solitude is painful to young persons with great ambition, but is very soothing and peaceful for those who are dispassionate and contemplative.
81. Negate the body, mind and senses. Assert "I am Atma". This is the negative and the positive methods in Vedantic Sadhana.
82 Egoism rebels against moral laws and hates spirituality. Spiritual egoism is the very negation of spirituality.
VIII. Way Out of Sorrow
83. Ignorance is the root-cause of the ill of life. Destroy ignorance through the sword of Self Knowledge or Brahma-Jnana.
84. There is only one way out of sorrow: Practice of Vichara, virtue and meditation.
85. No system of philosophy, belief, or doctrine, is to be accepted second-hand. You must experience for yourself its validity, acquire firm conviction in the truth of it, and then live by it.
86. Tapas (penance) is maintenance of right awareness.
87. Tapas is meditation.
88. You can attain wisdom through enquiry and meditation.
89. He who seeks Truth but is not simple and childlike finds it not.
90. You can attain salvation while living. You need not wait for the death of the body.
91. Human effort which runs counter to the scriptures leads to misery.
92. Human effort which is in accordance with the scriptures leads to the attainment of immortality and eternal bliss.
93. Emancipation is only for those who do not doubt.
94. No amount of learning or reasoning can liberate you.
95. What is the use of mere book-learning? Book-learning cannot give you salvation. Self-realisation alone can liberate you from birth and death and give you everlasting happiness.
96. Divine knowledge does not come through anything. It reveals itself.
97. The net of Maya is very thin and yet it is most difficult to break through it.
98. Clear understanding, free from all passions and preconceived notions, alone acts as a torch, illuminating the path to perfection.
99. He that has attachment for the body has fear from all sides and is miserable.
100. There is no freedom without discipline, without Self-realisation, sublimation. self-restraint, self-sacrifice and
101. He who is desireless and egoless has attained the fullness of peace and the consummation of perfect blessedness.
IX. Guide to Sadhaks
102. Have a living faith in the existence of God, a faith that carries conviction with it and keeps you unshakable.
103. Think of God, sing His name, abide in Him, O aspirant.
104. Sit in the garden of silence. Be quiet. Enter the ocean of peace.
105. Seek the noblest. Be virtuous. Lead others to truth and virtue.
106. Purge your mind of evil thoughts and your heart of evil passions through sublime thinking, meditation and practice of celibacy.
107. Love the inner life. Love peace and silence. Love solitude.
108. Turn pain and suffering into strength and spiritual bliss.
109. Say with deep feeling "I belong to Him, and He belongs to me."
110. Eschew greed. Get rid of jealousy. Hold on to Rama Nama.
111. Live in tune with the Divine.
112. Draw upon the universal energy in nature and sustain yourself spiritually.
113. Do not starve the body, do not torture the body, do not emaciate the body. Be moderate. Control the body through intelligent methods, by Vichara and Viveka.
114. Train your tongue to silence. Train your mind in sublime divine thought. Train your heart in purity and mercy.
115. Serve disinterestedly. Love all. At the same time concentrate and meditate in the early hours of the morning.
116. Separate yourself from that which is without. Unite yourself to that which is within.
117. Trace your steps towards that imperishable Atman through regular enquiry of "Who am I" and meditation.
X. Cross the Ocean of Illusion
118. Cross the wide ocean of Illusion through investigation, discrimination, dispassion and meditation, and reach the sorrow-less shore of immortality.
119. Before you go to sleep enquire "How many good deeds have I done today? How many bad deeds have I committed? How can I abstain from sin?"
120. Probe into your heart. Find out your motives, Determine what to pursue and what to discard. Govern your heart. Practise rigid and constant self-analysis or self-examination
121. Close the doors of the senses. Practise serenity. Meditate.
122. Pass through the gate of wisdom and enter the infinite realm of perfect freedom and immortal bliss.
123. Failure is the most beneficial tonic. Fear not. Despair not. Plod on. March on. Look not back.
124. Depression is a great hindrance to meditation. It destroys the power of clear perception. It affects the vital Pranic currents and causes poor health and disease.
125. First of all, be cheerful and hopeful. Man learns only by mistakes. Take heart.
126. Keep the goal ever before you. Be vigilant. Be sincere. Have deep yearning for God. You will soon attain God-realisation.
127. Transcend the intellect. You can now attain emancipation. 128. Renounce the idea of body-consciousness. You will be blessed.
XI. Identify With the Atma
129. Melt the ego, and identify yourself with Atma or the Self.
130. Let the senses be controlled. Let hatred be extinguished in the fire of cosmic love. Then alone you are fit for immortality.
131. One does not become a Jitendriya, conqueror of the senses, by conquering the sense of touch, the sense of smell, the sense of sight, and the sense of hearing, but there is one sense, that of taste, which is at the root of all others. So long as the sense of taste is not conquered, the conquest of the other senses is of no use, Greed is a kind of passion only.
132. He is said to have controlled his senses who whether eating, smelling, seeing, or touching is neither elated, nor depressed.
133. Virtue and vice should be viewed with indifference by the aspirant in order that he may not get attached to either, though, of course, he must assiduously follow the path of virtue.
134. Surrender the subjective sense of possession the sense of "my own."
135. Repetition of the name of God, daily self-examination, and self-abnegation are aids to the love of God and realisation.
136. Know Brahman through faith, devotion, discrimination and meditation.
XII. Call of Sadhana
137. Act now. Live now. Know now. Realise now. Be happy now.
138. Every death is a reminder. Every bell that rings say, "the end is near." Every day robs off from you one part of your precious life. Therefore, you should be very earnest in plunging yourself in constant Sadhana.
139. Never fall a victim to fruitless regret. Today is the best day. Today is the day of your new birth. Start Sadhana now.
140. With folded palms bid good-bye to past mistakes and faults. You have learnt your lessons March forward now with new hope, determination and vigilance.
141. Brooding gives strength to the malady. Resolve that you will never return to the evil ways. The malady will disappear.
142. Burst through the meshes of Maya and escape to freedom on the wings of devotion and wisdom.
143. Luxury is an enemy of peace. Therefore, shun luxury. Lead a hard, disciplined, rigorous life.
XIII. Kindle the Divine Flame
144. Kindle the divine flame in your heart. Let it be burning bright till your Vasanas and Samskaras are burnt up.
145. Merge yourself in the spiritual illumination. Carefully nurture this tender plant of spirituality. It will yield you, in due course, the fruit of immortality.
146. Strengthen your spiritual personality by constant prayer and meditation, Kirtan, practice of Yoga, study of religious books, selfless service, and reap the priceless fruit of eternal bliss.
147. Come then. There is no time to lose. Take up the torch of wisdom of the saints and sages, of the Gita and the Upanishads, and hold it aloft, so that it may illumine your own path to the goal as well as the path of millions around you.
148. Divine is the nature of the Self or Atman. Freedom or perfection is your goal. The goal is attainable now and here, and not hereafter. Reach the goal now. Delay not. Tarry not. Be quick.
149. Every day should be a day of intense aspiration, active spiritual quest, and onward progress.
XIV. Be Bold: Be Brave
150. Wait not, go thou forth. Be afraid of nothing. March forward and reach the goal of oneness with God.
151. O wanderer in the desert of this world! Beware of all mirages. Stand up, gird up the loins. Be not deceived by the senses and the false, alluring objects Meditate on God and have no other ambition but to realise Him. Everything else can wait.
152. Make haste, lest you repent. Conquer your lower mind. Annihilate your rebellious egoism. Whip the mind towards the goal.
153. Do not lose courage in the hour of trial and test. Be cheerful. Be bold. Be constantly vigilant. Pray steadfastly. Meditate seriously.
154. Tear aside all limitations. Overcome all weaknesses and doubts. Go beyond all bonds. Be free.
155. When the mind is still, when the senses are quiet, when the intellect ceases functioning, you enter the Silence, wherein dwells the unfathomable Peace of the Eternal.
156. Be truthful. Be straight forward. Be pure. Be courageous. Be steadfast. Meditate seriously and regularly.
157. If you are dispassionate and discriminative, if you are serene and if you are endowed with self-restraint,-fearlessness, freedom and Self-realisation will automatically come.
XV. Cultivate Purity
158. Only the pure in heart can see God. Be thou pure. Purity is the first requisite. Cultivate purity.
159. Mind is a bundle of desires. Desire rules and controls you. But you are not the mind. You are the pure, immortal Soul. Desire touches you not. Realise this and be free.
160. Know thyself and be free.
161. The ultimate truth is Self-realisation. The final command is, "Realise your essential divine nature."
162. Waver not. Fear not. Doubt not. Do something substantial in the path of Sadhana instead of wasting your time in idle pursuits and lethargy.
163. You have infinite strength within you. There is a vast reservoir of power within you. Therefore, do not lose your heart.
164. Obstacles are stepping-stones to success. They will develop your will. Do not allow yourself to be crushed by them.
165. Defects remind you of perfection. Sin reminds you of virtue. Choose the positive path.
XVI. Annihilate Egoism
163. By destruction of the ego liberation is attained. 167. Ego is a demon. It can be killed through divine life.
163. Egoism manifests itself in every action, speech and thought of man, sometimes in a gross manner and sometimes imperceptibly. Watch yourself carefully and eradicate it.
169. Egoism is at the root of all evil. Egolessness is divine life.
170. Give up the "personal" mentality. You will become egoless.
171. Die to live. Die to live the eternal life.
172. Egoism, selfishness, pride and vanity are the products of the same substance.
173. Egoism is deep-rooted. It cannot be conquered all at once, Life-long efforts are needed. The ego disguises itself under a myriad forms.
174. Muster courage. Be steady. Be sincere. Be consistent. Be humble, polite and meek. Practise selflessness.
175. Annihilation of egoism is the whole meaning of religious life. Where there is egoism, there can be no purity. Without purity there can be no God-realisation.
176. "I have conquered egoism" is itself a manifestation of the ego. "I am the immortal Soul, or Brahman" is not egoism. It is a process of the annihilation of the self, of the ego-ridden individuality. It is a process for attaining homogeneous oneness with all.
177. Conquest of the lower nature, the fulcrum of which is egoism, is a long and painful process. Be patient. Be sincere. Persevere. Plod on. Struggle. Strive hard. You will come out victorious.
XVII. Be Vigilant and Diligent
178. Beware, O Ram! Temptations come all on a sudden. The mind has no time to become aware of what is happening. Therefore, be always vigilant.
179. Take life seriously. Come out of slothfulness. Now is the opportunity. Now is the time. Be of good cheer!
180. Lust, anger, greed and laziness are the greatest obstacles on the path of Self-realisation.
181. Be earnest. Be vigilant. Be diligent. Be sincere. Be thoughtful. Advance in the spiritual path.
182. Success comes the hard way. You will have to practise Yoga for a long time with great zeal and enthusiasm.
183. There is constantly a terrible fight between the flesh and the spirit. Be constantly on the alert. Meditate, Come out victorious. Wear the laurels of peace and bliss.
184. Spiritualize your inner nature through Japa Kirtan, meditation, holy company, and study of sacred books.
185. Through regular meditation, overcome lust, anger and greed. Cultivate dispassion, non-attachment, and indifference to sensual objects.
186. Live a life of renunciation, detachment, and devotion.
187. Live in the pursuit of the ideal of Advaita. 188. Thoughts of wife and children, and of the life after death, do not occupy the mind of a sincere spiritual aspirant devoted to the practice of virtue and selfless service.
XVIII. Necessity of Real Spiritual Experience
189. Annihilate physical memory and all thoughts connected with worldly and personal events in your life, personal pleasures, disappointments, or associations.
190. The life here is hollow. Trust not the senses. Go beyond the senses. Thou art immortal, all-pervading Atma or Soul.
191. Mere talking about God does not lead to anywhere. Real spiritual experience in the depth of the heart is necessary.
192. The lazy and the idle can never find the way to God, or divine knowledge.
193. The aspirant must lead a blameless life. He must observe strict vows of chastity, truthfulness and non-violence. Only then will he attain success in Yoga.
194. Visualize the path to freedom and full experience in the Absolute. Mere reflection will not do: you will have to live your reflection.
195. God is approached by meditation, discipline and devotion.
196. You must become one with God. This is perfection.
197. The giving up of all attachment is liberation.
198. Immunity from rebirth is attained by giving up attachment.
199. Hence, O seeker, give up attachment and become a Jivanmukta.
200. Impure Vasanas cause attachment; pure Vasanas secure emancipation.
XIX. Be Steady: Seek the Truth
201. Be firm, steady and steadfast.
202. People will mock at you; be silent. People will insult you; be silent. People will spread evil rumours about you; be silent. Stick to the spiritual path. Do not swerve.
203. Seek the truth wherever it may lead you to, and whatever be the cost and sacrifice, from any source or quarter.
204. Silence is Brahman or the Absolute. Silence is wisdom.
205. Keep the mind fixed on the Atman. Silence is steadiness.
206. When speech is suppressed, the activity of the mind still continues. Mowna is not merely the silence of speech. Silence of the mind is real Mowna. 207. Be steadily rooted in the Atman. This is real Asana.
208. Possess the spirit of the Buddha's renunciation, Tapas, and love of humanity.
209. Practise wisdom. Do not speak high sounding words and phrases, because that is mere weariness of the tongue.
210. Subdue passion, and become a hero.
211. Modern world needs heroes or men with manhood. Money or book knowledge can do little.
212. Before you attempt to solve the secrets of the universe without, master the universe within.
XX. Injunctions for Evolution
213. Emancipation is only to those who do not doubt the fundamentals.
214. You will have quick evolution by keeping the picture of the lives of saints before you, remembering their teachings, following their ideals, and practising their instructions.
215. You can duly realise God through intuitive experience, which will dawn when there is perfect purity of heart, together with the grace of the Divine.
216. Put into practice the injunctions of the sacred scriptures. Associate with the sages. This is the first stage in the path of wisdom. This will bestow the tendency to seek after liberation.
217. Investigation or inquiry is the second stage.
218. The third stage is dissolution of Vasanas.
219. Give up attachment. You are then fit for immortality, or Self-knowledge. 220. Let your life be a radiance of purity, love, service and sacrifice.
221. Let the mind, emotions, will, senses, and body be purified in the plane of devotion.
222. Rely on God. Surrender yourself unto God. Nothing can bind you. You will enjoy freedom. You will become fearless.
223. God only is. This world is a mirage.
224. When you start meditation, when you practise Vichara or inquiry into the nature of the Atman, all clamouring of desires is silenced.
225. Thou art Atma-immortal, self-luminous, self-existent, self-contained. Arise, awake. Sleep no more. Realise the Self, and be free.
XXI. Way to God
226. Feel the living presence of God within and without you. Be joyful. Be blissful. Be peaceful. Be ecstatic.
227. Give up Ahankara, worldliness, desire for objects, and delusion. You will attain emancipation.
228. When the mother delusion is dead, the son wisdom is born.
229. God is Truth. Truth is attained by speaking truth, and acting on the path of truth.
230. The ground will have to be prepared first by the practice of Yama and Niyama, or ethical discipline and religious observances.
231. Then the mind and the senses should be purified through Japa and Pranayama.
232. God is in your heart. Whatever religious teaching you adopt and whatever be the path you choose, you will have to turn the gaze within, away from the din and bustle of this noisy world, and behold the resplendent God within you.
233. Open your heart to the Eternal Light. Be thoughtful and wise.
234. Think less and less of body and food, and think more and more of God.
235. The pure and the straightforward will taste the immortal, sweet essence of God
236. Discipline the senses and the mind Do benevolent acts. Practise devotion and meditation. You will attain spiritual illumination.
237. Mind your business. Do not poke your nose into the affairs of others. Be concerned with yourself. Refrain from criticizing others. Be good. Do good.
238. Be noble not only in aspiration but also in achievement.
239. Have trust in God. Be brave. Be fearless Bear insults, injuries and trials. You will get inner strength.
XXII. Spiritual Preceptor
240. Guru is the way, the truth, the life and light.
241. The mercy of Guru or preceptor reveals the Lord here and now.
242. A true Guru or preceptor manifests the spirit of divine love.
243. Guru is God; Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. He is indeed the Supreme Brahman. There is none higher than Guru.
244. Meditate on Guru as Lord Siva, Lord Hari, Lord Krishna, or Lord Rama.
245. The highest form of worship of Guru is meticulous practice of his teachings, and living by his example.
246. The relation between a Guru and disciple is real, sacred, and everlasting.
247. Even greater than a mother's love for her own child is the love of Guru for the disciple.
248. Guru is a very good shepherd. He guides his disciples, his sheep, when they go astray.
249. Be always true, sincere and loyal to your Guru,
XXIII. Learn to be a Disciple
250. Learn how to be a disciple. Then alone you can derive benefit in the spiritual path.
251. Learn how to obey. Then alone you can command.
252. Go to the Teacher and ask what the cause of bondage is, what is the means of deliverance, what is wisdom, and what is ignorance or Avidya?
253. Listen to all, but follow one. Respect all, but adore one. Gather knowledge from all, but adopt the teachings of one Master. Then you will have rapid spiritual progress.
254. Correct understanding, non-attachment to worldly objects, serenity of mind, restraint of the senses, absence of base passions, faith in the Guru and devotion to God are necessary equipments with which the aspirant has to approach the Guru.
255. The aspirant who is under the guidance of a Master, and if he be a true disciple, is safe from being led astray.
256. A Guru is a great purifier. He is God Himself. He purifies his students by his presence, his contact and his teaching.
257. See God in your Guru, and not the man in him 258. Learn humility. Empty yourself. Then approach the Guru.
259. All places of pilgrimage and all deities reside in Guru.
260. Come with reverence. Listen with respect. Imbibe carefully, reasonably. Then practise assiduously, courageously.
Chapter Five
SAINTS AND SAGES
I. Godly Beings
1. A saint lives in God, possesses God.
2. To a sage all that is, is Brahman or God.
3. A saint or a sage or a Yogi owns nothing, yet he possesses the whole world, because he has found the Lord, although he can fully express Him not.
4. God reveals Himself in a saint in His full glory, infinite power, wisdom and bliss.
5. Saints are the living symbols of religion and are the true benefactors of humanity.
6. Throughout history saints have played a great part in preserving spiritual values in the world.
7. Sages and saints have illumined humanity with the knowledge of God.
8. Learn wisdom from saint. They are your saviours. Know them to be saints who possess godly qualities.
II Who Is a Saint
9. A saint treats honour and disgrace alike. He is balanced in censure and praise.
10. A saint will never utter harsh and vulgar words. He will never swerve from the path of Truth.
11 He regards sensual pleasures as evil, all earthly desires as futile, all mundane glory as vanity, all success and triumph in the world as tinsel and sham.
12. A saint is a mine of good qualities. He is equal to all. He is an enemy of none.
13. A saint is free from arrogance, greed, fear and hatred.
14. He is dispassionate. He melts at the suffering of others. He is happy at other's happiness.
15. He is pure in thought, word and deed. He is ever merciful.
16. He glorifies all, but is himself averse to honour.
17. He is ever peaceful, humble, joyful and cheerful.
18. He loves all. He is a friend to all.
19. Content in the knowledge of Atma, absorbed in the bliss of Atma, a saint or a sage is ever in a state of equipoise.
20. A sage has eschewed egoism. He has abandoned all desires. He is free from likes and dislikes, elation and depression.
21. He has no doubts and regrets. He is intensively absorbed in the Self. He forgets his body. The bliss he finds in Atma drowns all pains, sorrows and anxieties.
22. The consciousness of the saint is all-pervading. He has spread himself all over the universe.
23. A saint has perfect self-control. He has achieved mastery over himself.
III. Divine Characteristics
24. A saint or a sage is never jealous or revengeful.
25. A saint appears like any common man, but the bonds of man do not tie him.
26. He is not bound by any ethical standard, because he has transcended the realm of morals and is incapable of violating any.
27. Good and bad, virtue and vice, cannot touch a sage.
28. Though living in Maya, he is not bound by Maya, because he has realised Brahman.
29. Though living in this world, the saint lives beyond his environments. He derives happiness from within.
30. He elevates and inspires the aspirant by a mere touch, or glance, or Sankalpa, or thought, or willing.
31. He is a spiritual washer-man. He applies the soap of devotion and knowledge, and removes the spots of sin in worldly people.
32. A sage forgets himself utterly, and lives but for the sake of others.
33. He shines with inward purity, supreme knowledge, grace, poise, and dignity.
IV. Jivanmukta
34. He, who, after having subdued the senses and the mind sees all as his own inner Self, is a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage. Evil does not overcome him. He overcomes all evils.
35. He who has burnt all his Karmas by the fire of Supreme Knowledge is a Jivanmukta.
36. He is a Jivanmukta who does not know any difference between Brahman and the phenomenal world. For him the material world has its objectiveness and nothing exists other than Brahman.
37. He in whom there is always Prajna is a Jivanmukta.
38. He who has conquered himself is a Jivanmukta.
39. Balance of mind, equal vision, absolute purity, selflessness, freedom from imperfection, are some of the characteristics of a Jivanmukta.
40. He is a Jivanmukta who owns nothing, is attached to nothing, who hates nothing, and who has no idea of within and without.
V. Realised Sage
41. A Jivanmukta is otherwise known as a realised sage. The term "sage" denotes the theoretical aspect of a saint, and the term "saint" is indicative of the practical aspect of a sage.
42. Who is a realised sage? He, who in the midst of many troubled, difficulties, frictions, oppositions and adversities lives a life of perfect harmony and peace, is a realised sage.
43. He stands like a rock in the ups and downs of life. He is ever serene and cheerful.
44. He who is not affected by the pair of the opposites, victory and defeat, success and failure, is a realised sage.
45. A Sthitaprajna is a sage of equipoise and stable intellect.
46. The sage with his mind dissolved in Brahman and undergoing no change, and with no actions and obligations to discharge, attains eternal bliss.
47. He is called one established in wisdom who is modification-less, and unprovoked by the shifts of fortune.
48. He does not look to the faults of others. He returns good for evil and blesses those who curse him.
49. Complete abstinence from anger, Akrodha, is the characteristic of saintliness.
50. Sages have a magnanimous mind. They are benevolent, though they are neither friends nor foes of anybody.
51. He who sees God in all beings, who looks upon gold as clod of earth, who is free from all passions, is a saint.
52. He is an embodiment of all virtues, of knowledge, of perfection.
53. He is free from self-display and self-assertion. Therefore, he shines and is superior to all.
54. Love is the very breath of a saint. Mercy is his very nature. His heart overflows with compassion.
55. Egoism, pride, hypocrisy have no place in a sage.
56. Though performing actions, he is not bound by their fruits, since he expects none and is attached to none.
57. It is said that being a realised soul, the sage can perform any action, either good or bad, without being affected by them. But whatever be the actions of a sage, they are always directed for the good and never towards anything that is bad.
58. A sage never indulges in sensual pleasures, and never justifies himself when he does anything.
59. It is only the hypocrites who say that they are not affected by the objects of the senses when indulging in sensual pleasures.
60. The seer of Tattwa is a sage. Tattwa is essence of life.
61. Good and sublime thoughts are the fragrant flowers that grow in the garden of a saint's mind. They make life good, glorious and grand.
62. It is only the guilty conscience that, after taking a decision, tries hard to justify it. When the mind is convinced of the justness of a decision or an action, there is no need for its justification. Therefore, a sage never justifies his actions.
63. In the relative plane, it is not always possible to stick to the absolute standard of a Jivanmukta. Actions are apt to be in accordance to the need of circumstances. But a sage never does anything that is unjust, or for the sake of his narrow self-interest, and if his actions be tinged by relative considerations, he does not try to hide them or give a philosophical colouring to them.
VI. Holy Company
64. The human mind is a very receptive instrument. If you place it in evil company, it will acquire evil tendencies. If you place it in holy company, it will acquire divine traits.
65. Bright ideals infuse an urge to grow into their likeness. Evil examples also have a similar effect if the mind is not guarded.
66. If you go to a sage, there will automatically come a feeling of purity and peace within you. 67. The easy way to reach God is to live in the company of saints and practise their teaching.
68. Without the grace of saints you cannot know the secrets of divine life. You can acquire their grace by sincere practice of their precepts as well as by doing personal service to them.
69. The words of a sage enliven the heart, and clear the doubts of ignorance. Try to profit as much as you can by their instructions.
70. The moment the mind thinks of a sage, immediately all evil desires, base passions, are brushed aside.
71. To benefit from the company of saints, you have to prepare yourself first. Do not go with any preconceived notion or prejudice. Go with an open, receptive mind. Go without expectations. Approach them humbly, respectfully. Assimilate what appeals to you. If some of their teachings do not appeal to you, do not form a hasty opinion. If you do not like them, you need not take them to heart. What may be suitable to another may not be suitable to you. Yet, with regard to broad fundamentals, there can be no difference of opinion.
72. At the time of thinking of saintly personages, the mind gets moulded into the shape of the qualities of which it thinks, and thereby becomes pure.
73. Meditation on the lives of saints is equal to holy company. Study of their teachings is equal to holy company.
74. To think of the lives of saints, to live in their company, to have the good fortune of receiving their blessings, is to draw forth upon yourselves a shower of purity, inspiration and divine consciousness.
75. The very company of sages and saints has a tremendous transforming effect on the lives of true seekers. It lifts them up to the heights of sublimity, purity, and spirituality. It does not fail to affect even the rank materialists.
76. When you go before a sage, do not ask him questions out of mere inquisitiveness. Sit in his presence humbly. Observe him. Listen to him without prejudice. Ask him only such questions about which you really need clarification.
77. Ask him only pertinent questions. Do not draw him into politics or public bickering.
78. Meditate in the presence of a sage. You will get inner light, which will clear your doubts.
Chapter Six
THE SCIENCE OF YOGA
1. Light on the Path of Yoga
1. Yoga is spiritual or divine life. Yoga means union or communion with God.
2. The Yoga system believes in a personal God and pays much importance to revelation.
3. Yoga teaches how to live in union with God.
4. The Yoga discipline is based on Sankhya rationalism. Yoga is closely allied to Sankhya.
5. Yoga holds out to us the way of self-perfection, so that one may learn how to live in the Eternal.
6. Through the practice of Yoga, you are changed. You pass from darkness into light, from duality into oneness, from separation to unity, from bondage to liberation.
7. Even a little practice of Yoga reduces misery, lessens the sense of despair and frustration and promotes confidence, strength, peace and happiness.
8. Yoga purifies, transforms, and divinises.
9. In the path of Yoga, the timid, the miserly, the cringing, will not succeed. Those who are bold and who can sacrifice their lives, their heads, can be successful in this path.
10. They alone reach the abode of immortal bliss and float in the river of peace and happiness, who can fight back blood, sweat and tear.
11. The flame of Yoga must burn brightly in your heart
12. Hold aloft the light of Yoga, and contribute to the promotion of world-peace and individual illumination
13. There is no water-tight compartment between the two paths, viz., the path of devotion, and the path of wisdom. Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga lead to the same goal.
14. Samadhi is the union of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul without the threefold state, viz., the knower, the known, and the knowledge. It is of the nature of extreme bliss and pure consciousness.
15. Samadhi or spiritual Anubhava is a state in which the state of 'existence-consciousness-bliss absolute' is realised.
II. The Process of Yoga
16. Yogic living implies discriminative living.
17. Dissolution of mind is Yoga.
18. Yoga is equanimity, or equipoise, or equilibrium.
19. Yoga is skill in the performance of actions.
20. Yoga is disconnection from union with pain.
21. Yoga is freedom from attachment and desire.
22. A Yoga practitioner should give up salt, mustard, sour things, hot, pungent and bitter articles, asafoetida, emaciation of the body by fasts, and too much walking, if he is a full-time Sadhaka.
23. Reduce your food. Reduce your sleep. Reduce your speech. Reduce your wants. Then alone you are fit to become a student of Yoga. Then alone you will enjoy peace.
24. The first object of the life in Yoga is to get over the body-consciousness.
25. Separate yourself from the objects without, and unite yourself with the Atma within. This is Yoga. This is Samadhi.
III. Some Facts about Prana and Nadis
26. Prana or the vital force is not the Self or Atma, because it is not conscious during deep sleep.
27. The Self is the Master; the vital force is the servant.
28. Just as the personal staff of the King will have to be on duty as long as the King is working, so also the senses cannot cease to function so long as the vital force or Prana, their lord, is functioning.
29. Bhastrika and Ujjayi Pranayamas will give you new strength and energy. Chanting of من )Om) is ennervating.
30. In the body of a human being, the total number of Nadis or astral channels which carry energy is 72,000.
31. Of these, 24 are chief. Out of these 24, ten are more important, and of that three are the most important.
32. These three Nadis are Ida, or Ingala, or Chandra; Pingala, or Surya; and Sushumna.
33. During the course of one day and night, the number of inhalation and exhalation in an adult is 21,600, approximately.
34. When the breath comes in and goes out through the right nostril, then the Surya or the Pingala Nadi is functioning.
35. When the breath comes in and goes out through the left nostril, then the Chandra, or the Ida, is functioning.
36. When the breath flows through both the nostrils, then the Sushumna is functioning.
37. When the Nadis have become purified through the practice of Pranayama, lightness of the body, brilliance of complexion, increase of the digestive fire (Jatharagni), leanness of the body, and absence of restlessness, are noticed.
38. When united with the pure mind, the Sushumna Nadi awakens one from his slumber of ignorance. Hence it is named Sushumna.
39. The length of air coming out of the nostrils is of the measurement of 12 fingers; it is 20 fingers at the time of eating, 24 while walking, 30 in sleep, 36 at the time of coition, and still more while doing exercise.
40. Each of the main Nadis changes in a healthy person at an interval of two and a half Ghatikas, or one hour.
IV. Secrets of Swara Vidya
41. The numbers for the Surya Nadi are 3,5,7,9, i.e. odd, while those for the Chandra Nadi are even, i.e. 2,4,6,8, etc. If at the time of the functioning of the Surya Nadi, a question is asked and if the letters of the questior are odd, then the question will bear good fruit.
42. In the bright half of any month for the first three days the duration of the functioning of the Chandra Nadi is beneficial. The Surya Nadi is auspicious on the 4th 5th, and 6th days. The Chandra Nadi is fruitful on the 7th, 8th, and 9th. On the 10th, 11th and 12th the Surya Nadi, and on the 13th, 14th and 15th, the Chandra Nadi are beneficial.
43. In dark half of the month for the first three days the Surya Nadi is beneficial, and so on.
44. Eat while the Surya Nadi flows.
45. Ida Nadi showers nectar in all limbs.
46. When the Chandra Nadi flows, start on a long journey or pilgrimage, do religious ceremony, inaugurate temples, images, take medicines, perform marriage, enter a new house, start agricultural enterprise, see a master or friend, worship your preceptor, study scriptures.
47. Do exercise when the Surya Nadi is flowing.
48. When you enter or leave a house or a city, place the leg corresponding to the flowing of the Nadi first.
49. If in the morning, the Surya Nadi is functioning, then walk with the right step put forward first either in the eastern or northern direction.
50. To place that leg first on the floor after rising from the bed corresponding to the Nadi is beneficial.
51. If the Chandra Nadi is functioning, one should walk three steps with the left leg put forward first either in the southern or western direction.
52. The three days auspicious to the Surya Nadi are Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday.
53. The days of the Chandra Nadi are Monday. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
54. On these days, according to these Nadis, the question asked will bear fruit.
55. If a question is asked about the child while standing to the side of the active Nadi, a son will be born, if otherwise a daughter, and if in Sushuma, twins.
56. If a question is asked whether a son or daughter will be born, in the Surya it is a son, and in the Chandra a daughter.
57. After the menstrual bath on the fifth day, when the husband has the Surya Nadi, and the wife Chandra Nadi, then coition at that time gives a son.
58. If a man asks a question and if at that time the Surya is functioning and if the question is asked standing at a lower level, behind, or to the right of the person questioned, then there will be success.
59. If the Chandra Nadi is operating and the man stands on a higher level, in front or to the left, there will be success.
60. A question asked in Sushumna is not fruitful,
61. To see the right palm early in the morning after getting up is auspicious.
62. To touch the face early in the morning with the palm corresponding to the Nadi is highly beneficial. If the Surya Nadi is operating, the face should be touched with the right hand.
63. Do holy actions when the Ida flows.
64. When the Sushumna flows, meditate on God.
V. Experiences In Kundalini Yoga
65. In exhalation, Prana goes out 16 digits, and in inhalation it goes in only 12 digits, thus losing four digits. But if inhaled for 16, then the Kundalini Shakti is aroused.
66. When you feel the currents of Prana rising up to the Sahasrara, when you experience bliss, when you repeat Om automatically, when there are no thoughts of the world in the mind, know that the Kundalini Shakti has awakened.
67. When you compose beautiful, sublime hymns and poetry involuntarily, know that your Kundalini Shakti has become active.
68. When you meditate, if you get inspiration and insight, if the future unfolds its secrets to you, if all doubts disappear, if you understand clearly the meaning of the Vedic texts, know that the Kundalini has become active
69. When your body becomes as light as air, when you have a balanced mind in perturbed condition, when you possess inexhaustible energy for work, know that the Kundalini has become active. 70. When you get divine intoxication, when you develop the power of oration, know that the Kundalini has awakened.
71. When you involuntarily perform different Asanas, or postures of Yoga, without the least pain or fatigue, know that the Kundalini has become active.
72. During meditation when you feel as if there is no body, your eye-lids become closed and do not open in spite of your exertion, when electric like currents flow up and down the nerves, know that the Kundalini has awakened.
73. When you feel the vibrations of the Prana in different parts inside your body, when you experience jerks, know that the Kundalini has become active.
74. When you meditate, if the eyes become fixed on the Trikui, or the middle of the eye-brows, if the Sambhavi Mudra operates, know that the Kundalini has become active.
75. When the breath stops without any effort, when Kevala Kumbhak comes by itself without any exertion, know that the Kundalini Shakti has become active.
76. When there is throbbing in the Muladhara, when the hairs stand on their roots (Romancha), when Uddiyana, Jalandhar and Mulabandha come involuntarily, know that the Kundalini has awakened.
77. During meditation you behold divine visions, experience, fragrant smells, delicious tastes, ecstatic touch, hear divine Anahata sounds, hear the voice of God. These indicate that the Kundalini Shakti has been awakened.
Chapter Seven
DIVINE LOVE
1. Love the Supreme Power
1. Love is the greatest power on earth. Therefore, cultivate love.
2. Love is all-powerful. Love is all conquering .Therefore, cultivate love.
3. Divine loe unlocks the gates within you for the inflow of divine grace.
4. The law of life is love. The sustaining law of the universe is love.
5. The master-key to open all regions is pure, divine love.
6. To love is to fulfil the Law, and to fulfil the Law means eternal peace and everlasting happiness.
7. If you have the same intensity of love for God which you have for worldly objects, you will attain God-realisation this very second.
8. Cultivate pure, divine love by annihilating selfishness. Let the brilliant sunshine of love play upon your heart.
9. To live is to love. To love is to live.
10. O Light, illumine my intellect. O Love, fill my heart. O Power, give me strength.
II. Glory of Divine Name
11. The sweet Name of the Lord shines brilliantly with the supreme light of consciousness, bliss and purity.
12. The precious jewel of the Lord's Name is forgotten for the sake of the broken glass pieces of sensual enjoyment. Is this not lamentable and deplorable?
13. Love the Name of the Lord. The Lord will come out of the Name in the heart of the one who loves the Name.
14. The Lord dwells there at all times where devotees. sing His Name with intense faith and devotion. 15. The Mantra, ॐ (Om), destroys all obstacles and sins.
Therefore, repeat ॐ (Om) always.
16. By whatever Name the Lord may be called, it is the constant remembrance of Him which helps one to attain God-realisation.
17. The practise of Japa Yoga gives spiritual force, strength, peace and inner confidence.
18. In the strife of this Kali Yuga, Nama Sankirtan and Bhajan are bound to give you salvation from the ills of life.
19. Therefore, wake up, O man, to this easy approach. Cling to the Divine Name. Waste not even a minute. Tarry not. Be up and doing. Lead a life of Sadhana.
20. Listen to the glories of the Lord. Sing at all times the sweet Name of the Lord. Speak about the glories of the Lord. You will be blessed.
III. Faith and Self-Surrender
21. Faith is the foundation of prayer, meditation and religion. Cultivate faith through Satsanga and study.
22. Faith transcends reason. Faith takes you to realm where reason dare not enter. 23. Faith in God is the Mother of many invaluable virtues such as self-sacrifice, and courage.
24. Self-surrender does not mean the negative state of giving up your duties, but it is the positive state of discharging your duties efficiently, and unselfishly feeling that you are an instrument in the hands of God.
25. Surrender your mind, ego, life and all to God. He will give you immortality, omniscience, eternal life and Divine Aiswarya.
26. God is your safest and surest refuge. Resign yourself unto Him. In Him alone you can find abiding peace and rest.
27. Lord Rama says: "This is my vow: If any one surrenders to me even once saying 'I am yours,' I protect him and give him sanctuary against all creatures.
IV. Worship the Lord in Love
28. Worship of Saguna Brahman leads to Krama .Mukti or gradual liberation.
29. Forms of worship may differ, but all lead to one God.
30. In whatsoever way men approach God, God blesses them.
31. Whatever the path that men may take in worship, they reach God.
32. Several deities are different only in names and forms, but are identical in essence or substance.
33. The heart of man is the best temple for God. 34. Divine love is different from the love of a wife or brother or children.
35. Divine love is motiveless, but not without purpose
36. Love cannot be made to fulfill desires, because its nature is renunciation.
37. Perfect love is perfect harmlessness.
38. Fortify yourself with devotion. That is an impregnable stronghold and fortress against Maya.
39. Devotion to Him alone can save you from misery.
40. The path of faith and devotion is the easiest and surest approach to God.
41. Illiterate persons have attained quick spiritual progress through faith, devotion and meditation.
42. Turn to the path of devotion. Get your mind intune with the Lord. Sing His praises devotedly. You will become one with the Lord. You will attain eternal happiness.
43. Sing Om Namah Sivaya Meditate on Siva. Siva in all. Become Sivamayam
V. Pray Fervently
44. Prayer draws down the grace of the Lord.
45. Pray, and He will reveal Himself.
46. Prayer is the very soul and essence of religion. It in the very core of man's life. No man can live without prayer.
47. Prayer is communion with the Lord.
43. Prayer elevates, purifies, transmutes and redeems
49. Prayer educates the soul and the heart
50. Prayer gives peace and lustre to the face . Prayer gives the mind an inner vision, bestowa inner spiritual strength and brings the aspirant nearer to God.
52. Prayer is an invocation, a calling forth of spiritual forces ever-flowing through the human heart, mind and soul.
53. O Lord! Thou art courage! Fill me with courage. Thou, who art mercy, fill me with mercy. Thou, who art peace, fill me with peace. Thou who art effulgence, fill me with effulgence.
54. O Lord! Thou art the river, Thou art the cloud, Thou art the ocean, Thou art the plant, Thou art the patient, Thou art the doctor, Thou art the disease, Thou art the medicine.
55. Pray to the Lord for guidance. He dwells in your heart. His constant remembrance will purify you and takes you to the goal.
56. Prayer is an uplifting of the soul to God. It is an act of love and adoration to Him.
57. Prayer is nearness to God.
58. Prayer brings a man nearer to God.
59. Prayer represents a mystic state when the individual consciousness is absorbed in God.
60. Pray together. Sing the Name of the Lord. Enjoy the Bliss Immortal even from this very moment. Step into the blissful joy of Satchidananda.
Chapter Eight
KARMA-YOGA
I. Necessity for Purification
1. Chitta Suddhi or cleansing of the heart is essential for all human beings.
2. Selfless service is necessary for self-purification.
3. Only by selfless service to others you can attain God realisation.
4. Social service is merely a preparation for spiritual progress.
5. No man can live happily if he is selfish. Live for the service of others. You will be happy.
6. If selflessness becomes the religion of the world, there will be heaven on this earth.
7. Selfless work is worship of the Lord.
8. Service of humanity is the service of the Lord.
II. Yoga of Worshipful Action
9. When work is done as worship of God, Karma is transformed into Yoga. This is the philosophy of Karma Yoga.
10. "All belong to the Lord; I am doing His work; I am an instrument in His hands; His work will be done." This should be the attitude of the Karma Yogin. In such a case, work does not bind the doer.
11. Without expectation of fruits, he who works with detachment is a real Sannyasi. This is the philosophy of renunciation.
12. Selfless service is the gateway to the Kingdom God.
13. Selfless service in its perfect form is its Self-realisation or the realisation of God.
14. Selfless service will bestow strength and peace Joy and spiritual power will radiate from your heart you do selfless service.
15. Every endeavour of man, when it is motiveless and directed towards the well-being of all, is bound to be crowned with the glory of grand success, because of in selflessness and purity in aim. 16. The spirit of service for human welfare is the practical aspect of the feeling of universal brotherhood
17. Exploitation is the very negation of universal brotherhood or love. It is a negation of right relationship. 18. Cultivate cosmic love and rekindle once again the light of love in the world.
III. Hints on Karma Yoga
19. Work for the commonweal or general interest but not for selfish gains. Give up profit motive. 20. Work with detachment. You will attain immortality and eternal peace.
21. The wise man does actions, but believes himself to be free from actions, since he expects no returns thereof and has no selfish attachment thereto.
22. He is like the man standing on the bank of a lake, seeing his reflection in the water, but knowing that he is not in the water.
23. Serve without being conspicuous. Serve silently without any advertisement.
24. Without belief in God, without belief in an ordered world, you cannot live amicably; you cannot work for the community.
25. Do what is right and leave the results to look after themselves.
26. Do your duty with more and more confidence in the Lord.
27. Become a lover of humanity. Foster kinship with humanity.
28. Feel that the one Lord dwells in all and it is He who gives you an opportunity to serve Him through the suffering mankind.
29. Be strenuous in the sustained practice of Karma Yoga.
30. The world is in need of more and more men and women filled with the spirit of selfless service.
31. The whole world is a family of God-Vasudaiva Kutumbakam.
32. Humanity is our God and the service of humanity is our worship.
33. Self-control is a natural corollary to the spirit of love and service.
34. He who works with his mind detached and free from selfish longings, is a real Sannyasin.
IV. Law of Karma
35. The law of Karma is just the consequent effect following the cause.
36. The first Cause is the will of the One to become the many.
37. It is not possible to do an action and escape its consequences.
38. Every event has a cause related to it, known or unknown.
39. Action and reaction are commensurate to one another.
40. The theory of Karma obviously presupposes reincarnation.
41. The only answer to all prevailing inequalities and anomalies in life is the law of Karma.
42. God is not partial to make one prosperous and another impecunious, one healthy and another sickly just merely out of His fancy. All conditions in life are a corollary to the individual's previous Karmas, since the first embodiment of the soul and its subsequent phasing through birth after birth.
43. The law of Karma is not an antithesis to free-will and the value of initiative or endeavour.
44. The self-effort of today becomes the destiny of tomorrow.
45. The theory of Karma has nothing to do with fatalism.
46. What one has to reap cannot be altered by the individual, but its recurrence can certainly be checked by self-effort.
47. Through the abandonment of the fruits of actions and attachment thereto or identification therewith, life and death, which are prolonged as a chain-reaction through Karma, cease.
48. Even if the law of Karma is inexorable, there is the scope for divine grace. Grace comes through penitence, austerity and devotion.
49. Man looks to the deeds but God weighs the intention or motive.
50. Penitence is victorious through human effort at retracing the wrong done and its prevention in future.
51. There is no contradiction between the doctrine of Karma and the doctrine of grace.
52. Penitence does not alter the law of Karma. It is an act that has its fruit like any other act.
53. Penitence is the victory of the soul in its battle against evil.
54. Repentance completely changes the heart of the penitent.
55. Sin is worked out in Karma through sorrow and suffering.
56. God works, but man claims the merit. God directs, but man claims the lordship. So he is bound.
V. Advice to Karma Yogins
57. Selfishness is sin. It constricts the heart. It injures others also. It is a gateway to hell.
58. The spirit of selflessness is the key to success in the Yoga of Action.
59. One's service becomes Karma Yoga to the extent one practise self-denial.
60. A Karma Yogin has faith in something beyond sense-pleasures and the sense-world. He becomes Sattvic gradually.
61. Give everything. Love all. Help all. Serve all. Expect no return. This is the ideal of a perfect Karma Yogin.
62. With your mind ever-rooted in the Inner Self, do all actions as Divine worship.
63. By your motiveless, selfless activity, you verily worship the Atman
64. For one who has faith in God, Karma You becomes easy, and purification of heart is quick achieved.
65. Such a devotee worships the Lord through all ha Karmas. All his actions are offered to the Lord, and therefore, having no attachment thereto, or expectation of fruit therefrom, he is not bound by them.
66. This world is full of misery. There is no true happiness in sensual objects. The cause of suffering is desire. Ignorance is the cause of desire. This ignorance can be destroyed by knowledge of Atma alone. Knowledge of Atma dawns in that pure mind which is purified by selfless service and devotion to the Lord.
67. The Karma Yogi should feel always that he derives his power from the Lord. Then the Kartritwa Abhimana (doership ego) will go.
68. One should not have an egoistic attachment to one's work. One should not think that the work cannot go on without him. No one is indispensable to the Lord.
69. On the other hand, you must feel that you are blessed in that the Lord has given an opportunity to serve and thus worship Him through your work.
70. Take delight in selfless service. Watch for opportunities. Create opportunities. A miser is very eager to earn money; so also you should be very eager to serve others.
71. Service of others is service of yourself only.
72. Selfless service must be based on Sadhana. You should be regular in your prayer, meditation, repetition of the Lord's name, inquiry and self-analysis. They are the inner springs of the right spiritual Bhava which is very essential in Karma Yoga. 73. Control the senses and the mind. Then alone you can serve others selflessly.
VI. Secret of Success in Karma Yoga
74. Karma Yoga is very difficult in the beginning. It is due to the ego-ridden, impure mind. You have to be strict and firm with the mind. Do not listen to its selfish promptings.
75. When the mind becomes pure through determined and persistent Sadhana, then Karma Yoga will become easier.
76. Conquer the mind. Eradicate all evil tendencies.
77. Draw inspiration and courage from communion with the Lord in the silent hours of prayers, from the study of the lives of saints and sacred scriptures.
78. Abandon all seeds of hatred, jealousy, cruelty, brutality. Sow henceforth only the seeds of love, mercy, kindness, gentleness, sympathy, nobility.
79. All evil thoughts, evil words and evil actions proceed from ignorance.
80. Ignorance is the greatest vice and sin.
81. Identification with the body is sin.
82. The Devil finds most of his recruits to people the vast domain of hell from the ranks of selfish brutes.
83. Man must control his prejudices, selfishness, greed, lust and hatred. If this is not done, there is no future for any civilization.
84. Greed, envy, anger and pride destroy the spirit of Karma Yoga, peace of mind, virtue and character.
85. Be completely free from covetousness, envy, jealousy and hatred.
86. Raga-dwesha, instinctive preferences and aversions, have no room in a Karma Yogin. man it is
87. In animal life they are a necessity. In necessary to moralise them. In divine life they should abandoned.
88. Requite hatred with goodness. That is the mot of a Karma Yogin.
89. Where there are anxiety, doubt, fear, worry disappointment, trouble, and misery, there a ignorance, identification with the body, egoism and selfishness. A Karma Yogin should be free from all these
90. There is only one way to destroy ignorance, andthat is wisdom. Wisdom dawns only in a purified mind
91. There is hardly any difference between a purified mind and a purified heart.
VII. Antitheses to Karma Yoga
92. Evil thoughts, evil words and evil deed constitute the source of all immorality.
93. Desire is the real impurity.
94. There is no enemy like lust.
95. Physical love is passion. It is exploitation of the sex.
96. Passion is intoxication or drunkenness of the mind. He whom passion sways is the worst of slaves.
97. A lustful man has no Rama in his heart; a stupid man has no conviction; a greedy man is ever restless.
98. Passion has the power to delude even the wisest of men.
99. It is the function of the eye to see; but to see with lust is a sin.
100. Lust, hatred, greed, pride, selfishness, anger-all these are poverty and weakness.
101. He who is violent, impure and headstrong does not reach the goal of life.
102. Anger begins in folly and ends in repentance. Therefore, control anger through enquiry, forgiveness, and love
103. Anger is the deadliest foe to wisdom. Conquer anger by forgiveness, selfless service and love.
104. Anger is a fire that scorches reason, fortitude, religious feeling and peace.
105. Man is intent on his attachments and takes delight in them. He cannot understand Dharma or righteousness, philosophy and the practice of Yoga.
106. In the case of a Yogic student, anger subsides after a few minutes, whereas in the case of a worldly man it may last some hours, nay, it may last for weeks or even months.
107. When you become angry, get angry with anger itself, at your own foolishness
108. Anger is the root of very many sins in this world. So also is greed, covetousness, selfishness.
109. Selfishness is the thorn of life.
110. A selfish man is never happy.
Chapter Nine
SELF-CULTURE
I. Path to Perfection
1. Give the first place in your life to devotion knowledge, discipline and universal love.
2. Simple and straightforward is the language that truth speaks. Straight is the path of truth.
3. Reason based on experience should be your guide in life.
4. Drift not into the wilderness of misery of materialism. Seek the old path of wisdom of the ancients to return to spiritual perfection.
5. Be always aware of the underlying unity of all beings.
6. Be sincere. Avoid hypocrisy. Shun egoism. Be straightforward. Purify your heart. Subdue your senses.
7. Pray, worship, meditate, serve, and commune with the universal Spirit with utmost regularity.
II. Means of Happiness
8. Give up desire. Expect nothing. You will be happy.
9. Be cheerful through self-control and right discrimination.
10. There is joy in giving, in charity. Always give, give, and give.
11. Those wise men who ever feel in their own hearts the presence of the Lord, are always happy, joyous and peaceful.
12. Be in harmony with your own self; then you can effect harmony with your fellow-beings.
13. Overcome evil. Practise virtue. Meditate and experience the union with the immortal, blissful Self, or Atma.
14. See good in everything and generate the sense of goodness all around through your own example. Then you can transmute evil into good.
15. Develop the Atma Bhava towards one and all around you.
16. Mingle with the humblest and the poorest. Annihilate pride.
17. Be even-minded. Be patient and tranquil under all circumstances. But do not encourage evil to get the upper hand over you.
18. Attain happiness through renunciation and detachment.
19. The sublime wisdom of Sri Sankara and the supreme compassion of Lord Buddha should shine in your daily life.
20. Possess the wealth of contentment and of the Japa of the Lord's name, which can never be taken away from you.
21. Lead a life of dispassion. Radiate peace everywhere.
III. Fear Not
22. O coward! Why do you succumb to worldly fears and anxieties? Have you no faith in the Lord. Have you no reliance on right conduct. Meditate on the fearless, all-pervading Atma, and be courageous.
23. Hope always takes leave of a coward.
24. Have faith in the Lord and fight the battle of life with the weapons of justness, fair-mindedness, unselfishness, and detachment.
25. Develop Shanti, Shakti, the power of peace.
26. Courage, patient endeavours, tenacity, steadfastness, earnestness, application, and faith are the pillars of success, prosperity, and Self-realisation.
27. Face the evil and fight it resolutely after having
established yourself in goodness. Retreat not. 28. Endure the hardships of life with courage and contentment. Brave difficulties and overcome obstacles. 29. Conquer temptation and sin through discrimination and will-power.
30. Remember that you are the all-pervading, Satchidananda Atma, in reality. Fear nothing. Fear none.
31. Be loyal to your glorious spiritual heritage. Tat Twam Asi-Thou art That.
32. Be true to yourself, to your inner spiritual consciousness. Be rooted in that consciousness.
33. You are not a sinner. No sin can have a permanent hold on you. You are the immortal Atman. Feel this. Realise this. Translate the teachings of the scriptures in your daily life.
34. Overcome sin. Be not a victim of despair. There is no final condemnation in hell. Every evil can be retraced through repentance, right endeavour and adherence to truth.
35. Sin-complex is born of ignorance. Always be optimistic, while sticking to the right path.
36. Make a determined effort not to repeat tomorrow the sin of today.
37. Fear is always born of wickedness, secret evil, fhithlessness, physical and mental weakness, and expectation.
38. Only where there is selfish expectation, there is fear. If you expect nothing from anyone, you need fear none.
IV. How to Improve Yourself
39. Think less of yourself. Be intent upon the good of others in seeing in and doing good to others.
40. If your thoughts are noble, pure and unselfish, they set up a vibration in every sympathetic mind.
41. Give up conceit. Let the windows of your mind be ever kept open to all the good influences around you.
42. Talk less, think more. Promise less, do more. Brag less, practise more.
43. Look into your heart. Find out what special talent God has given you. Develop it, and use it for the good of others.
44. Realise the essential unity of all beings.
45. Live and let live-let this be your motto.
46. Every act of goodness, charity and generosity is bound to be blessed by the divine grace because selfless love of fellow-beings is the love of God.
47. The highest good is beyond mundane action, a stage of supreme illumination in which there is neither day nor night, neither pain nor sorrow, but the good alone.
48. In divine life there is no possibility of evil conduct.
49. Eradicate evil qualities by the practice of their opposite virtuous traits.
50. Virtue begets virtue. If one virtue is developed, another virtue will automatically come to you.
51. Self-control should be the first motto in life.
52. Selflessness can be practised only through the cultivation of detachment. 53. Desire is the food of the mind. Cravings are its drinks. Ego is its life-breath.
54. Destroy desire. Burn up all cravings in the fire of discrimination. Kill the ego. You will enjoy perfect peace of mind and eternal bliss.
55. Regular Sadhana, selfless service, Japa, Kirtan and meditation will enable you to achieve control over mind.
56. Chastity is the best armour of womanhood.
57. Modesty and humility should adorn the life of every human being.
58. Every action of yours should be guided by pure love without motives, which alone can transform the entire world, which alone can bring peace on this earth.
59. Wise and virtuous is he who is strong enough to friend and foe alike to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.
60. To disclose the secrets of others and embarrass them is not the criterion of truth-speaking.
61. Awaken the power of intuition through concentration, meditation and self-restraint.
62. Understand others. Consider the feelings in others.
63. You are lonely because you build walls instead of bridges.
64. Let every morning to you be a new beginning life.
65. He alone is fit for success who can smile away all his miseries with faith in God.
66. There is antagonism between flesh and spirit. Flesh should never be allowed to overcome the spirit.
67. Let charity adorn your hands and let mercy and sympathy beautify your thoughts.
68. Let difference-less love be your motto, and let motiveless service be your law.
69. The better you understand yourself, the more you are competent to understand others.
70. Before going to bed at night find out how many lies you have uttered, and how many times you became angry.
71. Atone your mistakes by doing more Japa and selfless service.
72. Speak less about yourself. Listen more.
73. A cultured man is righteous, courteous and sincere.
74. Let your head bow in humility before the image of the Lord, and let your eyes behold the glory of his nature.
75. To hoard is to lose; to give in charity is to gain abundantly.
76. Self-seeking is self-destruction. Therefore, be absolutely unselfish.
77. He alone is a true Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist whose heart and life is pure.
78. Self-purification is the goal of all spiritual endeavours.
Chapter Ten
RIGHTEOUSNESS-THE FULCRUM OF LIFE
I. Nature of Dharma
1. Dharma is the eternal law of justice, righteousness, goodness, duty, divine life.
2. Dharma is the spiritual force which sustains and controls life on earth.
3. Dharma is that which holds together the several components of society.
4. Dharma must be the be-all and end-all of the citizens of a country.
5. Dharma or virtue is the gateway to Moksha or emancipation.
6. The law of Dharma is universal. The fundamentals of the ethical life are the same everywhere.
7. Dharma is the key to a successful life.
8. Practice of Dharma confers life everlasting and removes fear.
9. Dharma is nothing but the code of truth, and truth is the nature of self-certainty.
10. Pursuit of Dharma brings eternal happiness, perfection and freedom.
11. Courage, fortitude, control of the body, honesty, purity of mind, control of the senses, truthfulness, conscientiousness, sense of proportion and propriety, right evaluation, and right understanding are some of the characteristics of Dharma.
12. Establishment of righteousness alone can bring peace to the world.
II. Golden Rules
13. The golden rule "Do to others as you would desire others to do to you" expresses the highest sense of moral good.
14. "Treat others as you would treat yourself" is the quintessence of Dharma.
15. Sin leads to sin. Virtue leads to virtue. Therefore, be virtuous. 16. When wealth is lost, nothing much is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, everything is lost.
17. Virtue should be practised for its own sake.
18. Virtue is inseparable from religious conduct, because virtue is a constituent of real religion. 19. Do not kill or hurt any living creature. Try to save and comfort all life. 20. All life is sacred. Therefore, harm no insect.
21. Treat all dumb creatures with kindness. 22. Behold yourself in all. This is the vision of unity.
23. Conquer vanity, pride and selfishness. Then alone you can practise Dharma.
24. Not to hurt others by thought, word or deed is the first step in Dharma.
25. A man of Dharma does not display his virtue.
26. Dharma should be practised without being obtrusive in the least.
27. Sincerity wins all hearts. Therefore, be sincere.
28. Constant endeavour to conquer evil builds character.
29. The first step towards perfection is good thoughts. The second is good speech. The third is good deeds.
30. Understanding is better than reverence.
31. Do not swerve from the path of duty. Do not be careless about your responsibilities.
32. If you practise diligently the rules of good conduct, you will be established in self-restraint.
III. Life without Dharma is a Waste
33. Without righteousness, life is dreary waste.
34. The world at present is passing through a very difficult phase. Man has lost his sense of reasoning. This is because he has moved away from the path of virtue.
35. A wicked man remains in evil company. He fears and suspects all with whom he mixes.
36. A wicked man is miserly. He hates saints. He never trusts anyone.
37. He quietly and alone takes choice foods and drinks, even when persons stand by his side.
38. A wicked man is haughty. He sees others with malicious eyes. He never pays others their dues.
39. A wicked man commits sinful acts and feels an irresistible inclination for doing them.
40. A wicked man speaks ill of others. He brags. He Es very mean. He is deceitful and wily.
41. A wicked man finds pleasure in injuring others.He is a liar. He is highly covetous and always acts cruelly.
42. A life of wickedness is a torment unto the wicked man himself as well as to others. Woe unto the man of dharma.
43. The wretched man who abandons righteousness and lives in wickedness is the greatest loser. Really he does terrible harm unto himself. Awful is his fate, unless he repents and turns good.
44. A life of wickedness is the most terrible blunder of man. This most precious life is wasted, unless you live according to Dharma.
45. Man attains glory through right conduct. He falls into disgrace through ignoble conduct.
IV. Righteousness Brings Blessedness
46. Life is happy and beautiful if it is based on Dharma or righteousness.
47. The path of righteousness leads man to his destined goal, the abode of Eternal Bliss.
48. Humility, straightforwardness, self-control, non-violence, truthfulness, purity and non-covetousness are the foundation-stones to immortality, eternal bliss, success and prosperity.
49. Love virtue, and then the people will be virtuous.
50. If all people practise Yama and Niyama (right conduct), there is no need for atom bombs, arsenals, forts, army, navy and air force. Then there will be peace everywhere
V. Character is the Real Wealth
51. None that lacks character can be truly prosperous.
52. Acharah Paramo Dharma Good character is high religion.
53. Character is the secret of true education. 54. The power of character is the power of will.
55. Character is completely fashioned will.
56. There can be no Self-realisation without character.
57. Courage, mercy, humility, patience, serenity, fortitude, forbearance all these are the practical elements in Self-realisation.
58. Truth, purity and compassion are the triune components of an ideal human being. 59. In purity and simplicity is the secret of character.
60. If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. 61. Every man radiates the force of his character. One can never hide himself.
62. Self-restraint, selflessness, self-sacrifice, renunciation, dispassion, cosmic love, purity, tolerance, humility, mercy, generosity, patience-all these are real wealth and power.
63. Character is not taught. Character is acquired through contact with a saint, sage or Yogi.
VI. Cultivation of Virtues
(a) Truth
64. Truth is the supreme Virtue. Great is the glory of Truth. Truth is the queen of virtues.
65. Is there one word which serves as a rule of practice for all one's life? Truthfulness is such a word.
66. Truthfulness is the highest virtue, Ahimsa is the greatest strength, knowledge of Brahman is the highest knowledge.
67. Truth is God Himself. Truth is the highest possession. Truth conduces to real good of humanity.
68. Truth is omnipotent and immortal. To be truthful is to be courageous.
69. To love Truth is to practise Truth. Truth is God. God is truth.
70. Truthfulness is faithfulness to one's own conscience.
71. Justice goes with truthfulness.
72. No achievement can be permanent unless it is built upon truth and justice.
(b) Ahimsa
73. Ahimsa is positive, cosmic love.
74. Ahimsa is forgiveness. Ahimsa is Sakti. Ahimsa is true strength.
75. Ahimsa is something very positive. It is a form of divine energy. It is cosmic goodwill.
76. Man attains peace by injuring no living creature.
77. Where there is love, there is Ahimsa; where there is Ahimsa there is love and selfless service. They all go together.
78. The one message of all saints, prophets of all times and climes are the message of love, of Ahimsa, of selfless service.
79. Ahimsa is the one means, not only to attain salvation, but also to enjoy uninterrupted peace and bliss.
80. Ahimsa is the noblest and best of traits that are found expressed in the daily life and activities of perfected souls.
81. There is one religion, the religion of love, of peace. There is one message, the message of Ahimsa.
82. Try to behold your own Self in all beings. This will promote Ahimsa.
83. Ahimsa or non-violence has been the central doctrine of the Indian culture from the earliest days of its history.
84. The practice of Ahimsa is the surest means to clear the sky of the war-clouds and bring peace and bliss to all humanity.
85. Ahimsa alone really helps to keep together all apparently different and separating influences.
(c) Celibacy and Self-Control
86. A celibate enjoys the greatest length and completeness of life.
87. He who practises continence has abundant energy and Ojas Sakti or spiritual force.
88. There is absolutely no other way to immortality, everlasting peace and eternal bliss than by self-control and self-purification.
89. To bring about purity and holiness is the final aim of ethics.
90. Self-control is the highest virtue in this world.
91. Self-control increase energy. Self-control surpasses in merit, charity, sacrifice and study of scriptures.
92. Self-control is the highest of all rules of Dharma. It purifies the mind, supplies abundant energy and bestows the highest state of blessedness. Therefore, practise self-control now.
(d) Fortitude and Humility
93. Dhriti is the first characteristic of saintliness. Dhriti is fortitude. Dhriti is patience.
94. Fortitude strengthens the will, overcomes pain, braves dangers, sustains hope, makes light of difficulties and lessens the sense of weariness by overcoming them.
95. Humility is the highest virtue. The root of dignity is in humility.
96. Humility is the ornament of learning. Humility is the most conspicuous trait in a saint.
VII. Ethics
97. The divine in the human has ethics as its basis.
98. In a sage or perfectly ethical man, there is no possibility of evil conduct.
99. Not doing but being is the ideal of ethical culture.
100. The oneness of Atman is to be achieved and enjoyed by strict discipline which is mainly ethical.
101. Ethics is rooted in Reality or Brahman.
102. Ethics is based on metaphysics. 103. Ethics leads to metaphysics.
104. Ethical life is not the goal of life, but it is essential for the attainment of Self-realisation.
105. Ethical life is not held as the goal of life, but it is essential for the realisation of the goal, God-realisation.
VIII. Light on Dharma
106. The attainment of self-realisation rests on unalterable Dharma.
107. The joy of right conduct is inherent in human nature.
108. Moral courage is the soul-force.
109. Righteousness proceeds from order and discipline; unrighteousness proceeds from disorder and discord or disharmony.
110. No position in life can be secure unless it is built upon truth, righteousness and justice.
111. He whose heart is strong does not swerve from the moral laws.
112. As fire does not put out fire, so evil does not put out evil.
113. Virtue is not the end but a means to the great end, Perfection, Illumination and Freedom.
114. Virtues help you to realise the Atman.
115. All good thoughts, good words and good deeds proceed from wisdom.
116. No man can be truly righteous without sincerity. Sincerity is the inner goodness. That which naturally comes straight from the heart is sincerity.
117. There should be no deceit in politeness or gentlemanliness. Gentlemanliness is the quality of self-restraint.
118. When you are ready to commit a sin or do a wrong action, an inner voice tells you, "Friend, do not do this." This is Lord's grace, the inner voice.
119. Forgiveness, patience, abstention from injury, impartiality, truth, sincerity, control of senses, freedom from anger, sweetness of speech, benevolence, freedom from malice, mildness, modesty, firmness, contentment, dexterity, self-control. liberality-all combined constitute
120. Associate goodness with Godliness.
121. Goodness must have faith, aspiration, prayer and meditation as its basis.
122. Get established in right conduct (Sadachara) He who has ethical perfection will be established in deep meditation and Samadhi.
123. Truth, the vigorous pursuit of the Real, self-restraint, austerity, sacred knowledge, sacrifice-these uphold the earth.
124. Supreme goodness is God.
125. Goodness is always associated with Ahimsa, or non-injury. Practice of goodness obviously denotes love for all beings, for the sinner and the saint alike. Righteous wrath or crusading zeal to curb wickedness has no relation to 'practice' of goodness. Be good yourself first; the world will take care of itself.
Chapter Eleven
THE SCIENCE OF THE SELF
I. The Transcendental Reality
1. Brahma Vidya or the science of the soul is the first of all sciences, because Immortality and Bliss Eternal are attained thereby.
2. The ultimate reality is non-dual consciousness.
3. This limitless Self-consciousness is the only Reality.
4. The ultimate Reality is indescribable, attributeless and infinite.
5. That which is Infinite is Bliss and Immortality.
6. The ultimate Reality, according to Adwaita is non-dual and eternal.
7. The reality is full and perfect. It is the non-dual Soul.
8. The ultimate Reality behind the universe of names and forms is Brahman or the Absolute. The same soul abides in the heart of every human personality.
9. Non-dual Brahman is unoriginated, eternal, sell-luminous Bliss.
10. Reality or Brahman is an absolute whole, where the subject-object relationship is not felt.
11. The ultimate Reality must be without cause, because there can be no cause for the first Cause.
12. Reason or thought cannot reach Reality.
II. Existence Absolute
13. Existence is the nature of Reality.
14. Existence is different from the things of form and name.
15. Existence is secondless and has no external relations or internal differentiations.
16. Existence is unlimited by time, space and individuality.
17. Existence can have no limitations, boundaries or divisions. It is indivisible.
18. That which changes is untrue, and that which is constant is true.
19. Existence can never be ephemeral, can never perish.
20. All creatures have Existence as their root, Existence as their abode, Existence as their sole Support.
21. The self-existent Brahman or the Absolute is supported by nothing. Everything is supported by it.
22. The Absolute can only be a Being, free from all kinds of differences. It must be partless, eternal, homogeneous Existence-one only without a second.
23. The Absolute Being is free from all kinds of the pairs of the opposites.
24. The Absolute knows itself without any process of knowing.
25. The immutable is not void. It is not an airy nothing.
26. OM is all these what was, what is and what will be.
27. To live in the Absolute, which is Real, is to die to the individual, which is unreal.
28. Being is Truth.
29. Truth is Ananta. Truth is Infinite. That which has neither beginning nor end is Truth.
30. Though Truth has many aspects, infinite facets, its oneness is eternal and indissoluble.
31. The nature of Truth can be known only through negation of the untruth.
32. There is an inmost centre in all where Truth abides in fullness, in pristine purity, glory and splendour. That centre is Atma or Supreme Self.
33. Atma or the Eternal is most subtle. It is subtler than ether, Prana, and mind. It abides in the heart of all beings.
34. Atma is the fountain of wisdom. It is the source for everything.
35. There are no parts or divisions in Atma or Soul. Atma is a homogeneous Essence.
36. Atma or Brahman or the Supreme Self is immutable, because it does not suffer modifications.
37. Atma is beyond all thought and feeling. It can be realised only by transcending the mind.
38. Atma cannot be seen by the eyes, nor can it be understood by the mind or intellect.
39. Complete freedom and absolute bliss are found in the transcendental consciousness.
40. Peace of the Eternal is not merely a negative absence of struggle, noise and turmoil. It is positive experience of stupendous silence and restfulness.
III. Wisdom of the Upanishads
41. The Upanishads are the concluding portion of the Vedas. Their aim is release from mundane existence by the absorption of the individual soul in the Supreme Soul through knowledge of Atma.
42. The main doctrine of the Upanishads is the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.
43. Upanishads are the products of the highest spiritual wisdom of the seers and sages of India.
44. The Upanishads are direct expressions of spiritual experiences. They contain intuitive experiences gained by digging deeply into the abyss of the super-conscious.
45. Upanishads are the text books for Adwaita Vedanta philosophy.
46. Vedanta is the religion of the Upanishads. Understand Vedanta and live in the spirit of Vedanta. Realise the oneness of Vedanta.
47. Purva Mimamsa is the "first enquiry". This is Jaimini's Karma Kanda. Uttara Mimamsa is the "second enquiry". This is the Vedantic system of Vyasa.
48. Uttara Mimamsa systematizes the doctrines of the Upanishads. Therefore, it is usually termed Vedanta or "End of the Vedas".
49. Vedanta is Brahma Vidya. It is the Moksha-Sastra or the Science of Emancipation.
50. Vedanta constitutes the highest spiritual knowledge that destroys all illusory bondage and ignorance.
51. Vedanta is a system of thought and an art of living.
IV. Vedanta Shows the Way
52. Vedanta can offer to the modern society a common faith, a common body of principles, and a common moral discipline.
53. Vedanta does not preach a doctrine of negation of human effort.
54. Vedanta is the strongest support of pure morality. It is the greatest consolation in the sufferings of life and death.
55. Adwaita is not in conflict with any system of thought.
56. The Vedantin always makes use of the 'rope-snake, 'shell-silver' and the other analogies.
57. Advaita-darsana has no quarrel with any system of philosophy.
58. Hostility arises out of partial vision. When the whole truth is known, there can be no hostility.
59. In both Buddhist and Hindu systems, Avidya or ignorance is the source of error and Samsara, while wisdom leads to emancipation.
60. Abheda-darshanam Jnanam: Knowledge is the experience of unity or non-duality.
61. When the Truth is known, non-duality or Brahman alone remains.
62. Liberation cannot be achieved except by the realisation of the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul.
63. The conception 'I am Brahman' incessantly entertained, annihilates ignorance, just as medicines remove sickness.
64. Whoever knows I am Brahman, Aham Brahma Asmi' becomes the All.
V. Brahman or the Absolute Consciousness
65. The word Brahman is derived from the root Brimh, which means to swell, to grow great, to pervade all space, to be complete and perfect.
66. I do not know its name, but for the sake of a name call it Brahman. If you force me to define it, I call it Supreme or Great or Brihat.
67. Unity is another name for the Supreme Soul or Atma or Brahman.
68. Brahman is Existence which is Infinite Consciousness of the nature of Bliss.
69. Brahman or the Eternal is pure and perfect in its essence and nature. The Infinite can only be one.
70. That which always is one, that which preserves the same nature during the three periods of time, and that which is unaffected by anything, is Sat or God, or Brahman or the Eternal.
71. Brahman or Truth is pure, tranquil, breathless, endless, decay-less, eternal, unborn, and independent.
72. Brahman abides in His own greatness.
73. That which has neither beginning nor end, that which is pure, auspicious, tranquil, devoid of attributes, that which is Satchidananda, is Brahman.
74. There is an unborn, unoriginated, unmade, un-compounded, self-luminous Light. That Light is Brahman or your own Self.
75. This transcendental, self-effulgent one alone is the immortal, this alone is the fearless, this alone is Brahman or Atma or the Absolute.
76. Brahman is wisdom-consciousness. In substance, it is Light-Bliss.
77. Brahman is unfathomable, ineffable, invisible, inconceivable, inaudible, and intangible.
78. Brahman is immeasurable, incomparable, invulnerable and immovable. 79. Brahman is the hidden self-effulgence, hidden love, and hidden wisdom.
80. Brahman is also the unmanifested one.
81. Brahman is without above, below, all-round, front, behind, right, left, within and without.
82. Brahman is the only one that is stainless, sinless, changeless, nameless.
83. Brahman is soundless, touchless, shapeless, attributeless, deathless, odourless, timeless, and spaceless.
84. That great unborn Self, undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless, is Brahman alone.
85. Whatever is here, whatever was, and whatever will be, is this Brahman alone.
86. Brahman is the Lord of all.
87. Brahman is without an earlier and without a later, the Experiencer of everything.
88. Brahman is the end of all quests.
89. Brahman is the supreme prosperity, the supreme abode, the supreme Refuge.
90. Brahman is not a process or a collection of many particulars, not a multitude of finites.
91. Brahman is universal. If it is also an effect, then the enunciation that by the knowledge of Brahman everything is known will not hold true.
92. Brahman is formless, because it is beyond name and form; being their revealer and being formless, it is free from all imperfections due to limitation.
93. Brahman cannot be seen because it is the seer itself.
94. Brahman cannot be heard, thought or known, because it is the hearer, thinker and knower in one.
95. There the eye goes not, speech goes not, nor the mind, for, that is without any mark.
96. Brahman is imperceptible because it is never perceived, undecaying because it never decays, unattached because it is never attached, unfettered, because it never feels pain and suffers injury.
97. Brahman is the permanent background of the sensations.
98. Truth, knowledge, infinity, bliss absolute, are the attributes superimposed on Brahman.
99. That from where these beings are born, that by which, after having been born, they live, that into which they re-enter, and with which they become one, know that to be Brahman.
100. Brahman is absolute void, devoid of everything, the absolute nothingness.
101. Yet it is the purest of the pure.
102. It is tranquil and still, and yet the source never-ending activity.
103. Brahman or Truth is that which is permanent in things that change.
104. Brahman is without name and form, without colour and attributes.
105. Brahman or the Eternal is the bedrock of Truth. It is the substratum, and the basic principle of the universe.
106. Brahman is the support of everything, the receptacle of everything and the refuge of everything.
107. Brahman is the inner Self of all beings. All beings reside in Him. He is the witness. He is the Inner Ruler.
108. Brahman is the root, the ultimate goal of all, the abode of peace and security, of serenity and purity, the End and Home of all beings.
109. Brahman alone knows the truth of creation. Even the gods cannot say how this creation was caused because they were born after creation.
110. Brahman or the Absolute is the ultimate. It is inexpressible. It is the Plenum. It is the supreme paradox.
111. Brahman is the key to all knowledge.
112. If one knows Brahman, this world-all is known.
113. He who knows the Inner Controller knows everything.
114. By comprehending Brahman, everything is comprehended.
115. As all the spokes are held together in the hub, so also in this Atman all gods, all worlds, all breathing things, all selves are held together.
116. Brahman is the eternal subject of knowledge. No one knows it as the object of knowledge.
117. Brahman is incomprehensible, infinite, unborn, not to be reasoned about.
118. Brahman eludes the eyes, eludes the cars and eludes the grasp.
119. Brahman is not to be seen by the physical eyes, and yet It shines through all that is.
120. He becomes non-existent, who knows that Brahman is non-existent. He who knows that Brahman exists is said to exist truly.
121. Swaroopa Lakshana is the essential nature of Brahman, Satchidananda.
122. Tatastha Lakshana is the accidental attribute of Brahman, viz., Omnipotence, Omniscience of Ishwara.
123. Brahman or the Absolute is the highest object of knowledge, whom one should desire to know.
124. Brahman is the eternal among the eternals, and the intelligent among all that are intelligent.
125. One is released from all fetters on realising Him.
126. There is no more cycle of births and deaths to one who has attained the knowledge of the Truth or the Brahman.
127. There is nothing higher or greater than Brahman or the Absolute. He is the Supreme. Only knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path for going there.
128. Brahma Jnana is the direct and chief means of Salvation.
129. Brahman or the Absolute, the cause of all, is comprehensible through philosophy and spiritual discipline.
130. Brahman or the Absolute is realised only through direct cognition or intuition.
131. The experience of Brahman means the destruction of individuality.
132. Brahman is well-known as Tadvanam, the one who is to be adored as the Atman in all beings. Brahman is to be meditated upon as Tadvana.
133. Brahman is one, originless, endless. He is the constant, the quiescent. He is pure consciousness, bliss absolute. Meditate. Identify with Brahman. Do thou remain quiescent and at ease.
134 . OM is blissful and without duality. OM is Brahman or Soul alone. The meditator on OM enters Brahman. He enters with his soul the Soul.
135. OM, O Turiya, Turiya, that art the Brahman! Unto Thee, salutation!
VI. Maya, the Great Mystery
136. Maya is the power (Sakti) or energy (Vibhuti) of the Lord. It constitutes His nature (Swabhava).
137. The one Atman has become the many through the play of Maya, its illusory power.
138. An atom is invisible and unimaginable and yet in it is the whole potency of the entire world. The whole universe is in Brahman, though Brahman is invisible and unconceivable.
139. The world which is without beginning or end is potential for some time (involution) and is expressed for some time (evolution).
140. What is unreal is delusive and what is real is eternal.
141. The feeling of separation between man and man, nation and nation, is an illusion.
142. This world is Maya Matra.
143. This phenomenal world is as illusory as the fire-brand (alata.
144. The entire world is a false glittering of Avidya. 145. In truth there is neither origination nor destruction, neither bondage nor release.
146. In reality, there is no creation, whatever, none in bondage, none released or to be released. This is Ajati Vada or doctrine of non-evolution of the universe.
147. So long as there is the misconception 'I am this body', so long as there is the attitude This is mine', so long will the delusion of the mind and the like persist.
148. Just as the moss momentarily displaced in a tank again resumes its original position in a minute, so Maya envelops even the wise, if they are careless even for a moment.
149. Not knowing Brahman or the Eternal is the cause of misery, pain, death and error.
150. Wisdom is the boat or the raft by which you cross over all pain or this ocean of Samsara or world-process.
151. How can the human mind, which is finite, acquire knowledge of the Infinite? The infinite can be known by the pure mind equipped with the four means which becomes also infinite.
152. Go to the source. Tap the source. Understand the source of all wisdom, all joy, all power, all light.
153. O Man! Become a knower of the soul (Atman). Then alone you will attain immortal bliss.
154. Tarati Sokam Atmavid-Self knower or sage crosses over grief.
VII. Solve the Mystery
155. O Man! Know thy self and you will know God and the entire universe.
156. Look within first and know the subject (Atma). Then alone you will know everything.
157. Every stupid thing must end. Truth alone will live for all time.
158. Subtract the whole from the whole. The whole alone remains. Infinity minus infinity is infinity.
159. Know the One and you will know all.
160. Realise the identity of the individual soul with the supreme Soul. This is true understanding.
161. A wise man who knows the Atman which is subtle, bodiless, all-pervading, indivisible and partless does not grieve.
162. By discerning that which is soundless, beginningless, endless, timeless and formless, one attains emancipation or freedom from birth and death.
163. Grasp the drum or the beater of the drum. You can grasp the sound. Even so, comprehend Atma or Brahman, you can comprehend everything.
164. Be ever conscious of unity. This is supreme wisdom.
165. Wisdom leads to supreme peace, perfection and perfect freedom.
166. Wisdom is the sharpest weapon. It surely saves you from all evils.
167. Wisdom is the strongest invulnerable citadel. It cannot be destroyed by atom bomb. You can live within this citadel safely.
168. The fire of wisdom reduces to ashes all actions and purifies the performer of actions.
169. Realise the Truth. Truth will make you free. Truth is God or Brahman.
170. To know Atma or the Eternal is to be illumined or enlightened.
171. With the Soul (Atman) one finds power; with knowledge one finds the Immortality.
172. Realise that everything is the Self or Atman. This is Advaitic realisation of a Vedantin.
173. Behold the unity of the Self. This is true seeing.
174. You cannot make a distinction between your Being and your consciousness.
175. You cannot deny Being. You cannot deny consciousness also.
176. Culture of the soul is Brahma Vidya. This culture is impossible without Brahmacharya, good character, dispassion and discrimination.
177. This Atman cannot be reached by speech or thought or the eye. It can only be intuited through direct spiritual experience.
178. Be a living Vedantin. It should be the Vedanta of the heart.
179. The knowledge of the Truth is rarely attainable by anyone. Listen. You will become a Jivanmukta by the thorough knowledge of Brahman alone.
180. Brahma Jnana does not arise without being taught by the knower of Brahman.
181. O senses! Give up your play. I am now the mighty Lord standing as the witness.
182. O Nectar's son! Bliss is your birthright. You are a glorious heir to bliss Infinite. Realise this bliss right now, in this very second.
183. Bliss is indeed thy essential nature. Sorrow cannot touch you. Pain and grief dare not approach you. Fear and anxiety are far away, because you are Satchidananda Swarupa.
184. Stand up O Man! Arise and act. Cut asunder ignorance with the sword of knowledge of the Self or Brahma Jnana.
VIII. The Individual Soul
185. The Jiva is compared to the ether enclosed in a Pot. When the Upadhi or the limiting adjunct is destroyed, the Jiva becomes one with the Atman or Brahman. 186. One has become many and the many seek to become one.
187. The real is Impersonal. The individual is personal.
188. What is perishable is body, matter. What is immortal is soul or Atma.
189. Atma pervades the body just as fire pervades the wood, just as sugar-cane juice pervades the sugar-cane.
190. This soul is self-luminous Being, separate from the body, and identical with Brahman.
191. The soul without attributes is the driver of the unintelligent bodily vehicle.
192. The body is not the Self or Atma because it is an object of perception by the eye, and it is perishable.
193. Like a lamp, an instrument with which external things are seen, the eye also is an instrument with which colours and forms are perceived and is, therefore, not the Self or Atma.
194. The vital force or Prana is not the Self as it is known to be non-conscious in deep sleep.
195. Atma or the Self is the Master and Prana is theservant.
196. The Self which in reality has no deep sleep, dream or waking states, appears to experience these on account of a false identity with the mind which has these states.
197. The external organs, the Indriyas and the intellect are not capable of functioning by themselves. They are motivated by a power or consciousness from within. That power or Intelligence is Atma or Innermost Self.
198. The senses are limitations. Any knowledge that is obtained through them is imperfect. 199. The mind has no light of its own. It borrows its light from Atma or the Self.
200. Whatever is in space or in time, comes under the law of causation and therefore is bound to be imperfect.
201. There is no discrimination between the Seer and the seen. So a man takes the body and the Prana as the pure Atma.
202. Ego is of the nature of an object. Witness of the ego, Pratyag Atman is pure Consciousness.
203. Reflecting the Conscious Self the intellect itself appears to be conscious like it, like a plateful of water which reflects the sun and looks as it were the sun itself.
204. The mind, the senses and the body similarly appear to be conscious. Therefore, one mistakes these for the pure Atman.
205. The Gunas are inseparable but one or other of them preponderates over the rest.
206. It is the preponderance of the Gunas which determines the individuality and peculiar make-up of every man or woman.
207. If you analyse your ego, pulling off leaf after leaf, as it were, as you would pull off the petals of a flower, it will dwindle into an airy nothing. There is nothing left but pure consciousness Atma.
208. The pure consciousness is not to be confused with the individual ego-consciousness. It is pure awareness.
209. The conception "I am the body" is the knot of the heart, as non-wisdom. 210. Bondage lies in the belief, "I am the body freedom lies in the belief, "I am the Self, or Atma."
211. Man by nature looks outward, but the wise look within, because they hanker after life Eternal, a vision of the Self.
212. Man is more than what he thinks to be. He is perfect knowledge and joy without decay. He is in want of nothing. He is himself the supreme Bliss. This is the highest Truth.
213. He who is the creator of this world, who is the Antaryamin immanent in all, who controls the intellect and senses of all beings, is Ishwara.
214. That which is the subtlest essence-this whole world has that as its soul. That is Reality. That is Atman. That is Brahman. That is soul. Thou art That. O Ram!
215. Thought bifurcates Reality into subject and object relationship.
216. To know Reality a level must be reached where subject and object are one and the same.
217. Wisdom dawns in a man who has a pure mind and who has mastery over his senses.
218 Detach. Be indifferent. Meditate. You will experience peace and wisdom.
219. Through the grace of the Lord and the Preceptor one realises the Atman and gets liberated from birth and death, pain and sorrow.
220. He who realises the Atman or the Supreme Self finds life Eternal.
IX. Secret of the Three States
221. Most of the philosophical systems take into cognisance only the waking experience but Vedanta takes life as a whole and studies all its expressions, waking, dreaming and deep sleep states.
222. The individual soul experiences dream and waking and then goes again to deep sleep in order to remove the fatigue which it has been experiencing as the result of the actions causing the other two states.
223. Just as a bird, tired of roaming, flies to its nest with its stomach filled, so the Jiva or the individual soul being tired of the actions of the world in the waking and dreaming states, enters Ajnana, and enjoys the bliss of deep sleep.
224. In sleep one is not conscious of what is without' and 'within'. The Self is relationless.
225. In deep sleep there are no distinctions whatsoever of knowing subject and known object. One is not conscious of what is without or what is within.
226. Just as at the end of pronouncing OM, the A and U become one with the M, so Visva and Taijasa become one with Prajna.
227. When the mind merges into Avidya or ignorance in deep sleep, the senses cannot function independent of the mind.
228. The knower of the ego, the Atman has a continuous existence in all the three states, but the ego does not exist in deep sleep.
229. The Atman is non-dual consciousness. This is evident from the experience of sleep.
230. From the standpoint of the Supreme Truth there is no difference between the waking state and the dreaming state.
231. The three states, waking, dream, and deep sleep are phenomenal. The fourth which transcends them viz., Turiya alone is the real.
232. Silence is Turiya or the fourth state of super-consciousness or Brahmic consciousness.
233. The state of remaining in pure consciousness alone, immersed in the identity of pure Brahman and rid of all misconceptions is Turiya or the fourth state.
234. The Mandukya Upanishad outlines the method of enquiring into the three states of experience as a means to Self-realisation.
235. Investigate into the three states waking, dream and deep sleep and arrive at the Truth which underlies these and transcends them.
X. Vedantic Pearls
236. Eka Vastu Vijnanena Sarvam Vijnatam Bhavati If you know one thing (Brahma) you will know everything.
237. There is only one life, one law, one love, one Truth, one religion, one caste, one consciousness.
238. It is not possible to explain how the One became the Many, because the very idea becoming is a riddle with contradictions. 239. Brahman is one but He grants the desires of the many.
240. The Atman is that by which the universe is pervaded, but which nothing pervades; which causes all things to shine, but which nothing causes to shine.
241. The Immutable is the support of all that is.
242. The Atman is to be described as 'neti-neti,' not this, not this.
243. Atman is eternal. It is free, free, free. Nothing can bind it.
244. Wherein there is neither you nor I nor He nor she, wherein there is neither sound nor colour, wherein life and death no more exist-know that to be the Atman or Self.
245. Wherein there is neither sorrow nor pain, wherein there is neither fear nor worry, wherein there is Peace everlasting and Bliss eternal, know that to be the Atman.
246. The Atma is the source of all light.
247. Atma is the whole and the full.
248. Purity, bliss, peace, joy, perfection, independence, eternity, Immortality, Infinity constitute the essence of the Supreme Soul or Atma.
249. Atman Brahman or the Supreme Soul is the acme of metaphysical speculation. It cannot be defined nor described.
250. Knowledge of Atma or Atma Sakshatkara is immediate and indubitable.
251. Knowledge of the Absolute is the highest wealth.
252. Knowing Brahman or the Absolute is called illumination or Self-realisation.
253. To know the Self is to know God and His will.
254. Knowledge of Brahman is Immortality.
255. He who realises Atma does not see death, nor disease, nor pain. He obtains everything everywhere.
256. Consciousness is absolute intelligence. It is unlimited self-luminosity.
257. Consciousness is Light because it reveals what is hidden.
258. The mighty voice of God is eternal Truth. Truth is a universal language.
259. Truth is the key to all mysteries. Truth demonstrates itself.
260. Truth can stand by itself.
261. There is only Truth or Existence in a table. The table that you see is a projection of the mind. It is illusory.
262. What is neither in the beginning nor at the end is not also at present.
263. The Seer sees not multiplicity, nor difference, nor distinction, nor heterogeneity. He sees only the One Homogeneous Essence-the Immortal Bliss.
264. The Seer sees not death, nor disease, nor any distress. He sees only the one Immortal Atma everywhere.
265. No one can know the knower. No one can know that by which everything else is known. 266. Self-knowledge should not be confused with objective knowledge.
267. The Atman cannot be known as objects are known.
268. Brahman which is within all is the life of life.
269. You cannot see the seer of seeing.
270. You cannot know the knower of knowing.
271. The inner ruler is your own immortal Self or Atman.
272. The principles which these do not know but which controls them from within is the inner ruler, your own innermost Self or Atma.
273. Pramata is the subject; Prameya is the object; Pramiti is cognition; Pramana is the means of knowledge.
274. The secret of Brahma Vidya or the science of the Self is to reveal the real nature of Brahman or Atma that is all-pervading, that is like ghee in the milk, or electricity in the copper wire and to show that everything is, in essence, one.
275. The darkness of centuries is dispelled as soon as a light is brought into a cave. Even so, the accumulated sin of countless lives is dispersed by the light of knowledge of Brahman.
276. When the clouds are dispersed the sun shines forth. Even so when the cloud of ignorance is destroyed the Soul shines forth.
277. Poornamadah Poornamidam. That is full. That is, Brahman or the Absolute is full. This is full. This world also is full. How can this world be full? Because it is not distinct or separate from Brahman.
278. Avyakta or Pradhana is the undifferentiated matter. This is a Sankhya Yogic term. Mulaprakriti or Maya of the Vedanta Philosophy corresponds to Avyakta.
279. Name and form are the characteristic natures of the world of appearances.
280. Behind all these names and forms there dwells the Absolute Reality which has no name and form and without which no name and form can exist.
281. Things are nothing. The spirit of soul is everything. This is the fundamental doctrine of Vedanta.
282. Under the mighty rule of Brahman the planets keep to their places, seasons change, time is regulated and rivers flow along fixed courses.
283. The creation cannot come out of Nothing. Only Nothing can come out of Nothing.
284. All things at last return to Brahman, their final root and source.
285. As the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not tainted by the external faults of the eyes, so to the Atman the Inner Soul of all things is not sullied by the evil in the world, being external to it.
286. Evil is phenomenal. It is never real.
287. Sin is due to ignorance. Sin is due to separateness. Rise above sin and separateness through realisation of the one Atman in all.
288. The fire of the direct realisation that Brahman alone is the real existence, while the phenomenal world is false, is real Tapas or penance.
289. The Absolute alone is to be realised through withdrawal of the senses from outside objects, through reflection and meditation.
290. The realisation of the absolute means the renunciation of all our ideas and desires.
291. It is only Sankalpa (thought) destroyed beyond resurrection that constitutes the immaculate Brahman Seat, the blissful state of transcendental Peace.
292. He who has a calm mind, who is free from desires and cravings, who has subdued his senses, who beholds the subtle Atman becomes free from pain, sorrow and death.
293. When every passion that nestles in the human heart vanishes, then man attains Immortality, then Brahma is attained by him.
294. The aspirant after salvation should through the hearing etc., of Vedanta, practise Brahma-Jnana, which is the direct and chief means of salvation.
295. Manana or reflection is an auxiliary to Sravana or hearing of the Srutis.
296. A bird catches the fruit of a tree in a single flight. Even so, a Jnana Yogi attains liberation by one jump instantaneously like a bird.
297. Jeevanmukti or liberation is attained through Samadhi arising through Vedantic study, reflection and meditation.
298. Videhamukti follows when through the extinction of Prarabdha, the removal of the vehicles (of the bodies) takes place like the ether in the pot after the pot is broken.
299. No one doubts "I am. I exist". The self-affirmation "I am" comes before everything else.
300. He, who is the bestower of wisdom, Peace and Bliss, whose shelter is Immortality, whose shadow is death, He it is to whom we should offer Our prayer and worship.
301. The very highest of sacrifices is Jnana-Yajna or wisdom-sacrifice.
302. Wherever there is knowledge, there is power also.
303. The greater the knowledge, the greater is the power. Omniscience is Omnipotence also.
304. The fruit of discrimination and detachment is wisdom.
305. Wisdom is spiritual knowledge. It is knowledge of the Self or Atma. It reveals oneness or unity of consciousness.
306. In the great Hospital of this universe everybody is a patient. Wisdom is a sure panacea for curing your disease.
307. There is one supreme Monarch for the Universe ‘Eko Viswasya Bhuvanasya Raja'. He is the King in you.
308. Ananda or bliss is the very essence of your life. You are by nature immortal and pure. Pure consciousness is the sole basis of your being.
309. The Supreme Light you are. You are the Supreme Light Therefore, with all your effort, search for this Supreme Light.
310. Be bold O Man! Divine thou art.
Tat Twam Asi.
Chapter Twelve
THE SUPREME REQUISITE
I. Renunciation
1. God can be realised only by leading a life of renunciation.
2. Supreme attainment is the result of supreme renunciation.
3. Renunciation is the backbone of all religious thought and spiritual experience.
4. Renunciation is the bedrock on which the edifice of spiritual realisation is built.
5. The abandonment of desire is said to be liberation.
6. Pass through the gate of dispassion into the palace of immortal bliss and enjoy life eternal.
7. The greater the dispassion, the more intense will be your practice and the more quicker will you attain the goal.
8. Vairagya is the result of the perception of defects and the consciousness of perfection.
9. In sacrifice and renunciation is the seed of Immortality or life everlasting.
10. The one secret of spirituality is burning renunciation.
11. The conception 'I am the body' is the knot of the heart. This is ignorance. This is certainly the great sin. This is the disease generated by the fault of thirst after desires.
12. Awakel Arisel O Man! This world is full of pains and sorrows. Waste not your life in vain, worthless, sensual pursuits. Attain God-realisation.
13. Search for the happiness that does not fade away.
14. Find out the resting place where pain and sorrow cease. 15. Happiness comes from the soul or Atma within and not from external objects.
II. Happiness Lies in Renunciation.
16. The secret of happiness is renunciation.
17. Sensual desire and passion are the root-cause of all sorrow and misery.
18. The misery of the world is in direct ratio to desire.
19. Whatever pleasure is there in the world of desires, and whatever happiness is there in heaven, they do not come to one-thousandth part of the bliss due to the annihilation of desires.
20. Happiness lies not merely in acquisition of wealth, but the more so in its renunciation.
21. Renunciation is to rest silent, calm and undisturbed in the state of wanting nothing.
22. Happiness is mental harmony. It is the internal state of perfect satisfaction, which is joy and peace.
23. Absence of desire brings calmness of mind. Desire is an enemy of peace. Therefore, slay ruthlessly this desire.
24. Sensual pleasure is not real happiness. It is only an excitement of the mind temporarily caused by its contact with the object which appears to give the promise of true, lasting happiness.
25. Hence, it is more a deluded state of mind than an experience of real happiness.
26. Man buys a moment's joy to repent for a month and sells an eternity of life of joy for toy or fleeting joy.
27. Be not deceived by false beauty and by the glitter of appearances. Seek the Atma, the Beauty of beauties.
28. A contented man is a real rich man. Abundance of worldly objects cannot make one rich.
29. Seek thou the treasures of the soul within. The wealth of the entire universe is mere dust before the splendour of Atma.
III. The Glory of Renunciation
30. Vairagya alone can be called real wealth. He who has Vairagya is the richest man.
31. Renunciation brings great strength and victory. 32. Desirelessness is the greatest wealth.
33. The fruit of Vairagya (dispassion) is Bodha (spiritual wisdom). Santi or peace is the fruit of Uparati or renunciation.
34. Freedom is in detachment. Freedom is in desirelessness. Freedom is in mindlessness.
35. Eradication and extinction of desires lead to the sublime state of supreme bliss and perfect freedom.
36. O Amrita Putra, O Nectar's children! Attain the state of supreme bliss and rejoice. This is the goal of life. This is your birthright Claim this birthright now, here, in this life.
37. Never forget your centre, ideal and goal. Cast way all attachment for sensual objects.
38. Cast away all anger, greed and thirst for enjoyment of the flesh.
39. Look not for help from without. Within you lies the inexhaustible store of power and wealth.
IV. Listen, O Man!
40. O Man! Are you not tired of sensual life and restlessness and slavery of objects and senses?
41. Cease from vain sensual pursuits. Become pure and dispassionate. Start the spiritual quest. Enquire.
42. Does life end here in procreation and earning money alone? Is there God, everlasting peace, eternal bliss and immortality? Enquire. Seek. Start the quest in right earnest now. Tarry not even a second.
43. Is this all to live here? Is it worth as a human being with brutal instincts while living and striving to accumulate wealth and to perish like a worm here? Is there such a thing as Immortal soul, perfection, freedom, God?
44. Suffering, disease and death are indications of a severe want in the scheme of life.
45. The great error of the world is the faith which is cherished in regard to things that perish.
46. The heavens shall pass away. The earth shall pass away. The solar system shall pass away. It is unwise to seek refuge in such unstable appearances.
47. Yet you cling to them with great hope. The result disappointment and dissatisfaction. Nothing that is not real can promise true, eternal happiness.
48. O Ignorant Man! Be not duped by the false show that is kept up by this universe.
49 Contemplate on the unreality of the world. You will develop dispassion.
50. The life of sensuality, ease, comfort and luxury is like the ride on an ass
51. He is no better than a donkey, who is immersed worldliness and sensuality.
52. The objects of this illusory world are dust and They do not give you perfect and lasting satisfaction. They bind you to the wheel of birth and death.
53. Realise that this world is an illusion and that wealth, position, power etc., are dreams.
V. Be Wise; Seek the Lord
54. Realise the transient nature of this world. Detach your mind from the things that perish. 55. Abandon all selfish seeking and dark desires.
56. The seeker seeks the One alone in all. The worldly men seek ease and wealth.
57. That which you seek outside in all directions is within your heart, but you know it not.
58. Kindle the divine inner flame in your heart. It will consume all dirts of the mind, all lower considerations of sensual pleasure. 59. Meditate on Brahman or the Absolute, the antidote against the worldly existence.
60. Tutor the mind every morning that sensual pleasure is fraught with pain.
61. Woe unto the man who loves comfort ease, and luxury-is the dictum of the wise.
62 Wealth and power lead to vanity, to worries, ties and cares which disturb your peace.
63. In the sub-conscious mind, impressions are left the experience of the object of sensual pleasure.
64. The seeker inwardly develops detachment, apa day, from these impressions by the practice of Japa, Kirtan, Satsanga or association with the wise and meditation.
65. Those deluded persons who always delight in sensual pleasures never reach the abode of Eternal. 66. Desire is an insatiable fire. It clamours louder and louder when it is gratified.
67. Sensual objects are dangerous to the aspirants. They retard his spiritual progress and sidetrack him in illusory channels.
68. The only way to peace, bliss, power, happiness, freedom and perfection is the beautiful road of non- attachment. Therefore, cultivate (Asangatwa) again and again. non-attachment
VI. Thoughts on Renunciation
69. Desire is the motive-power of life.
70. Deep-rooted desires acquire objectivity.
71. All action is brought about by desire.
72. Desire is born of ignorance.
73. Ignorance mistakes the true nature of things and is the ultimate cause of transmigration.
74. Along with the mind, there are the five doors, such as the eyes and the like, called the organs of perception.
75. The mind freely moves among objects of sensual enjoyment, even as a monkey among trees.
76. When the mind roams about unbridled along diverse sensual pathways, attracted by the vulgar pleasures, it becomes restless and impure.
77. When, in the mind, indifference to all objects arises, then one should take Sannyasa.
78. You come in contact with an object and enjoy pleasure. There arises a definite desire to obtain the object again and repeat the pleasure. This is Raga or attachment or liking.
79. You come in contact with an object and experience pain. There arises a definite desire to avoid that object and so escape the pain. It is Dwesha or hatred or aversion.
80. The non-rising of mental impressions at the sight of objects of enjoyments is the limit of detachment.
81. The desire for sensual enjoyment constitutes bondage.
VII. Secrets of Renunciation
82. Worldly life is full of restlessness agitation, distress, hatred, hostility, greed, passion, pain, sorrow, disease and death.
83. Desires do not have connections with anything permanently. They shift their centres quickly.
84. Discrimination and enquiry are potent germicides to kill worldliness and sensuality.
85. To the worldly-minded soul, renunciation, self-control, worship, meditation are disgusting.
86. But to the person in whom discrimination has dawned and who has become aware of the worthlessness of this world and its perishable object, all things pertaining to a higher life in the Spirit or Atman are indeed most welcome and sweet.
87. He who does not feel, This is good' 'That is not good, who eats whatever food he gets, without attachment; who speaks the minimum, but truthfully, tweetly and appropriately, is really a man without tongue.
88. He who is indifferent even after hearing good orbad, sweet or harsh words, which cause joy or sorrow, in really deaf.
89. Renounce worldliness. You cannot renounce the world. Wherever you are, in Gangotri or Jumnotri, you want shelter and food.
90. Egoism is the root of all evil. Annihilation of egoism is real renunciation.91. Renunciation of external things is not
92. Real renunciation is renunciation of attachment, desires, egoism and false values.
93. The search for personal security through acquisitions produces insecurity and sufferings.
94. Rest in your own Atma or Self. You are perfectly secure. Atman is imperishable, second-less and fearless.
Chapter Thirteen
KEY TO SUCCESS AND BLISS
I. Art of Concentration
1. Concentration of mind is the real underlying secret of all successful achievement.
2. Concentration is unpleasant in the beginning, but extremely pleasant later.
3. The man of concentration alone can conquer his mind. Such a man is the master of himself.
4. Self-mastery is the only means of achieving success and obtaining real happiness.
5. Concentration is the means to be employed for mind-control.
6. Concentration consists in focusing mind upon an object or idea. The mind is held there for some time.
7. Concentration is achieved by repeated failures and equally repeated efforts to attain it.
8. The obstacles in the way of the aspirant who desires to attain concentration are sickness, languor, doubt, carelessness, laziness addiction to objects of senses, erroneous perception, failure to attain any stage of abstraction, and instability in any state when attained.
9. Do not allow your mind to be distracted by useless talk and by excitement. You will have very good meditation.
10. Concentrate your mind on God. Merge your being in His consciousness. Here is your prosperity. Here is real salvation supreme.
II. Meditation
11. Meditation is the master-key to success and bliss.
12. Concentration leads to and develops into meditation.
13. Meditation is the key by which the doors of intuition that lead to Self realisation are opened.
14. A trained mind is capable of the application of continuous attention on a subject.
15. Be calm. Be serene. Learn how to focus your thought-forces.
16. Meditate. Nothing will disturb you. Nothing will frighten you.
17. Subjugate all the organs. Salute to your Guru first with devotion. And then start meditation.
18. He who does not know the way of meditation cannot attain salvation and illumination.
19. Education comes from within through thinking and meditation.
20. During meditation you will realise purity, bliss,peace, joy and blessedness.
21. Laziness, idle talks, association with wicked persons are obstacles to meditation.
22. Abandon self-seeking. Come now. Enter the path of meditation. Enter the silence and enjoy the Peace of Atma.
23. The contemplation of the oneness consciousness in all objects is Dhyana or meditation. of
24. Dhyanamnirvishayammanah Meditation is the state of freedom from sensual thoughts.
25. Through meditation, you build an impregnable fortress. No temptation can assail thee.
26. Meditation must be distinguished from building castles in the air (Manorajya), Tandra or half-sleepy state and idle reverie.
27. When the mind contemplates upon something, it grows into that thing and will become that ultimately. 28. Meditation is the source of power. It is the road to happiness and wisdom.
29. Meditation illumines. Meditation lends wings to thy soul. Therefore, meditate, meditate.
30. He who practises meditation should avoid long journey, hard physical labour and heavy food.
31. The chief postures are four, viz, Siddhasana, Padmasana, Sukhasana and Bhadrasana.
32. The Sthira Sukhasana is whatever posture may secure steadiness and ease. It is also described as "Yatha Sukha."
III. Fruits of Meditation
33. Meditation elevates, enlarges and transforms our being.
34. Meditate and build. Meditate and energize.
35. Spiritual consciousness dawns in Silence during deep meditation. 36. Meditation on Brahman or the Eternal is an antidote against worldly existence.
37. A meditative life contributes to the supreme illumination, Moksha or liberation.
38. The illusion of the universe disappears through meditation on Brahman or the Absolute.
39. The state of void in meditation is not desirable, You must experience positive bliss of Atma. 40. Intuition enables one to see the Truth behind the things. It enables one to see the One in the many.
41. The peace thou seekest from without is only found within.
42. Meditate and grow rich.
43. During meditation all sound of senses is stilled. There is silence. There is peace. There is ecstasy. There is joy. Feel this. Realise this.
44. Dharma Megha Samadhi rains showers of the nectar of Dharma. Hence, it is called Dharma Megha Samadhi, Samadhi of cloud of virtue.
IV. The Highest Meditation
45. Meditation on the Absolute is the highest religion.
46. Meditate, "I am without the 'No.' I am the partless. I am alone. I am without manyness".
47. Meditate: 1. All is One. 2. I am the All. 3. I am all in all. This will lead to unity and Self-realisation.
48. Meditate "I am Brahman" the one, originless, the quiescent, the endless, the constant, "Satchidananda". Do thou remain quiescent and at ease.
49. Meditate:
I am the Light of lights.
I am Akhanda Jyoti
I am Indivisible Light.
I am Param Jyoti.
I am the Supreme Light.
I am Swayam Jyoti.
I am Self-effulgent Light.
I am Atma Jyoti.
I am Atmic Light.
50. Meditate 'I am all-pervading Atma', and get yourself renewed and revitalized by the soul-power.
51. Meditation will release a power that will revitalize and energize your entire being.
52. Through meditation life will be new and thrilling. You will be born anew. You will have brand new ideas and creativeness.
53. The mind will find rest, peace and illumination when it is free from attachment and when it meditates on Atma or the Eternal and the Infinite.
54. Meditate. Realise. Live care-free, blissfully, joyfully and peacefully.
Chapter Fourteen
MYSTERIOUS HUMAN MIND
I. Your Mind
1. Mind is everything. He who has a pure mind sees everything pure.
2. It is with the mind truly that you see. It is with the mind truly that you hear.
3. Mind is a miracle. The greatest miracle of all is your Atma or Soul.
4. It is your will that makes your thoughts, words and deeds, good or evil. Your will shapes and dictates your actions in life.
5. Uncontrolled mind is the root of unhappiness.
6. He who knows his own mind knows Heaven.
7. You will attain everything when the mind is steady. Nothing can be attained without purity of mind.
8. O Ram! Be not like dumb driven cattle. Be a hero. Fight bravely with the mind and the senses. Come out victorious.
9. Thought is a great force. It has a tremendous influence.
10. The mind is nothing but temperament to a modern psychologist.
11. There is no greater fool than he who has studied, known and taught and yet does not control his senses and mind.
II. Its Mysterious Nature
12. The mischievous mind generates all pains. Sorrows, fears, doubt and delusion robs you of the inner spiritual wealth.
13. The functions of the mind are thinking, feeling and willing.
14. Conscience is the light of the mind which discerns good and evil.
15. Mind's very nature is restlessness. It is very rebellious.
16. Mind is not soul. Thou art pure blissful soul or Spirit. Soul is self-contained.
17. Thinking and planning are the important characteristics of the mind.
18. Mind is a bundle of Vasanas (desires) and Samskaras (impressions).
19. Analyse the mind. Go deeper within and discover the Source of your life, the Soul of your soul.
III. Vasanas and Vrittis
20. There are two seeds for the tree of mind, viz., vibration of Prana and Vasanas.
21. Vasana is of two kinds, viz., Asubha or impure Vasanas, the cause for rebirths, and Subha Vasanas, the pure Vasanas which are destructive of births.
22. He who is subject to bondage is verily bound by Vasanas.
23. Liberation is the annihilation of Vasanas.
24. After annihilation of all Vasanas, abandon the seeking after liberation as well.
25. Through the practice of annihilation of Vasanas, control of mind and Jnana or wisdom, the knots of the heart, viz., ignorance, desire and Karma are rent asunder.
26. Annihilation of Vasanas, attainment of the knowledge of Brahman, and dissolution of the mind, when practised for an equal length of time, over a long period, are bestowers of Self-realisation.
27. By the eradication of Vasanas, the mind attains the state of dissolution, being deprived of its functioning.
28. Restraining the flow of the vital air or the practice of Pranayama is similar to the practice of the eradication of Vasanas.
29. If the Vasanas remain in a potential form, they will again and again trouble the Jiva and generate rebirth.
30. As long as the mind is not dissolved, so long there is no annihilation of Vasanas or desires.
31. As long as Vasanas are not annihilated, so long the mind does not become serene and tranquil.
32. As long as the knowledge of the Truth is not attained, so long there can be no tranquillity of mind.
33. As long as there is no tranquillity of the mind, so long there is no knowledge of the Truth.
34. As long as there is no annihilation of Vasanas, so long there can be no attainment of the Truth or Brahma Jnana.
35. As long as there is no attainment of knowledge, so long there is no annihilation of Vasanas.
36. Knowledge of Truth, dissolution of the mind and annihilation of Vasanas, each of them becoming the cause in its turn, is difficult of accomplishment.
37. The state devoid of dotage and death is attained by the destruction of Vasanas alone.
IV. Secret of Sadhana
38. Learn to control your emotions, moods, temper, fear, worry. Learn self-control and mental discipline.
39. A well-disciplined mind will do you tremendous service. Therefore, discipline the mind.
40. The mind is rendered free from passion and desire of all sorts through the practice of meditation.
41. Then develop in the aspirant a strong aversion to carnal pleasures and worldly ties.
42. Merge your speech in the mind, merge your mind in the cosmic mind, merge your will in the divine will, merge your life in the Eternal Life.
43. Keep the mind pure. Saturate the mind with sublime, lofty, divine thoughts.
44. Environments are not bad, but your mind is bad. Your mind is not disciplined properly.
45. Overcome your moods. Then the circumstances will become all right.
46. When the mind merges in ignorance in deep sleep, the senses cannot function independent of the mind.
47. The sense of separateness is primarily responsible for the desire for action.
48. Nothing can give you eternal happiness but yourself; nothing can give you everlasting joy but the victory over the lower self or mind.
49. Be not soft. Be hard. Cultivate power of endurance. Endurance develops will.
50. Energy is the root of all actions. Will is the root of all desires (I will. I desire). Knowledge is the root of all thoughts (I know or I think).
51. The great hindrance to the proper use of will is the lack of ability to focus the attention.
52. Attention is a prerequisite of good memory.
53. Willing is the power to execute the decisions of intellect and the dictates of emotion.
54. The first step towards the development of will lies in the exercise of attention. Attention is at the base of will.
55. Strong will makes men giants.
56. Pratyahara is ingathering of the mind. Dharana is fixing the mind on one point or idea.
57. The Yogi who by meditation and Yogic discipline conquers his mind, conquers easily the world of matter.
'Jitam jagat yena mano jitamhi.'
V. Control of Mind
58. He is the Master of the Self, he is the king of the inner spiritual kingdom, who keeps his mind and senses under perfect control.
59. He who conquers his mind is greater than those who conquer dominions in the war.
60. The surging up of the mind spells ruin, while the annihilation of the mind spells liberation.
61. The mind, which has been educated in the love of the body through ages, feels very much distressed when detached from the body.
62. Snanam Manomalatyagam-Real bath is cleansing the mind.
63. Apart from the conquest of the mind there is no other course left open to you for being saved from the ocean of worldly existence.
64. Subdue the mind, control the mind and defeat the mind through Brahmacharya and meditation.
65. Cheerfulness brings strength and steadiness to the mind.
66. Benevolence, tenderness and complacency are helpful for purifying the mind and bringing peace.
67. Serenity, restlessness, attachment, anger, courage, purity, impurity, covetousness, nobility- all this is truly mind.
68. Control of the Prana and the dissolution of the mind are to be practised constantly for attaining liberation.
69. When the desires of the mind are destroyed, when the senses are withdrawn in the mind, when you are regular in your meditation, Japa, prayer, Vichara and study, you will enjoy peace of mind.
70. Slay this mind past all resurrections. Achieve perfection. Rest in your Satchidananda Swaroopa.
71. There is no holier shrine than a purified mind, a mind which is fixed on God.
72. The key to the make-up of any mental state is in your hand. You can apply the antidote as and when you choose.
Chapter Fifteen
KNOW THY IDEAL
I. Bharatavarsha-Land of Sages
1. India has a distinction of having produced the highest number of saints, sages, Yogis, Maharshis and seers.
2. Even today India has the largest number of sages, Yogis, saints and persons with spiritual faith and awakening.
3. When the ancestors of the Westerners were completely uncivilized savages, India was full of sages, saints, Yogis, seers and Maharishis with Self-realisation and highest culture and civilization.
4. It is remarkable that no other country had saints in such a large number and high quality.
5. Mira Bai, Kabir, Surdas and Tulsidas in Northern India, Chaitanya in Bengal, Valliram in Sind, Narsi Mehta in Gujarat, Tukaram and Namdev in Maharashtra, Potana and Thyagaraja in Andhradesa, the Alwars in Tamil Nadu were the colleagues and co-workers of Purandaradas and Kanakadasa.
6. India is a great and holy land of tolerance, piety and charity.
II. Thy Treasure is Spiritual
7. The combination of philosophy and religion in India has been to the advantage and glory of both.
8. India is rich in Her spiritual wealth in the wealth of the spirit.
9. Kabir, Sankara, Dattatreya are supermen of purity, Tapasya and love.
10. Poor is India in material wealth. Yet rich is India in spiritual wealth.
11. India is not a militarist nation. She is rich in spiritual culture, in Yogic and Vedantic realisations and spiritual unfolding.
12. India teaches and practises non-violence. West teaches and practises cruelty.
13. India stands for liberation from ignorance and its various effects. That is the contribution which India can make to world-peace.
14. There is no country like India for practice of Yoga.
15. A study of the Upanishads is very essential, as they are the very basis of all Indian thought.
16. Knowledge of the Upanishads is quite necessary for a right understanding of the Indian view of life.
17. India is a vast Yoga Vedanta University. In this University the driving force is Dharma or righteousness.
18. Indian civilization has had a long history. It has influenced the history of the world in every stage.
19. India is a peace-loving country. There is not one instance in her long history of sending an army for conquering any other country.
20. India's effort is to help in creation of conditions which will ensure peace in the world.
21. Rise up Indial Conquer the whole world with Your spirituality, Yoga and Vedantic unity.
III. Ideal of Education
22. The aim of education is to apprehend that by knowing which everything else is known, by knowing which one does not fall into delusion but sees all beings in oneself and oneself in all beings.
23. The highest education is that which teaches love, courage, serenity amidst disturbances, devotion, discrimination, dispassion and knowledge of the Self.
24. Education must aim at producing religious attitude towards life.
25. The real advancement and well-being of every society and nation depend upon the right kind of education.
26. If an educational system is to be morally effective, it must rest on a religious foundation.
27. Education is not mere passing examinations. The aim of education is to cultivate your character, attain Self-realisation and serve the humanity.
28. The aim and end of all education is to know thyself, thy essential divine nature.
29. Education is to raise a man to the sage and saint.
30. The literature of a country is a true measure of the cultural height reached by the people of that country.
31. The ideal teacher is like a mirror reflecting his virtues for his students to behold and emulate.
32. Even a syllable of wisdom that the teacher imparts unto his students is a debt beyond repayment by any treasure in the world.
33. Manual work should be a part of education. Boys should understand and realise the real dignity of labour.
34. O! Teachers of schools! O! Professors of universities and colleges! Educate the heart of boys and girls. This is important. This is your duty. This is real education.
IV. The Ideal Hindu
35. Hindus are the most tolerant and civilized nation of the world and Hinduism is the highest type of national religion.
36. Hinduism has an inexhaustible store of spiritual experiences and spiritual wisdom. It has astonishing riches of spiritual and cultural heritage.
37. Forbearance, patience, tolerance, piety of the Hindus are the marks of their spiritual nature.
38. For a Hindu, woman is Devi or mother.
39. Nowhere on earth women have been accorded such a high place as in India.
40. Hinduism is a reservoir into which run all the varied religions and systems of thoughts.
41. Hinduism is not a missionary religion.
42. Religious tolerance and freedom to profess one's faith unhindered by others has been a own distinguishing character of Hindu religion and culture from time immemorial.
V. Thus Sayeth Sivananda
43. The future of a nation lies in the hands of the coming generation.
44. A teacher or professor is the real architect of the future citizens.
45. A child is the centre of creative life. He must be educated properly. High ideals must be inculcated in his mind.
46. In educating a child he must be opened gently and with sympathy, just as a flower is opened.
47. The high ideals of simplicity, service and devotion to duty must be implanted in the mind of the students.
48. Every secular education leads to increased desire for higher standard of living and greater and greater discontent and dissatisfaction.
49. Bad films have a demoralizing effect on our national life.
50. Bad films are greatly responsible for various crimes, murders and dacoities.
51. We should stop the nuisance created by vulgar films.
52. The present fall in moral standard and lacking sacredness of life has to be fought and a new spiritual vigour created in the country.
53. Women have a great responsibility and can greatly contribute to the arrest of moral degradation.
54. Swaraj will have no meaning till we develop a sense of responsibility.
55. India will have a bright and glorious future if the students participate in constructive activities.
56. A nation cannot progress till everyone develops dignity of labour and contributes his mite towards constructive activities.
57. India's regeneration lies in rural construction and rural uplift.
58. Everything Indian is judged only by Western standard by the modern Indian youths. This is a great blunder.
59. They condemn the sublime and lofty teachings of their Rishis and brand them as antiquated and unscientific. This is ignorance and foolishness.
60. There are many universities in America, Europe and India. Is there any University that teaches the students the practice of self-denial, self-restraint, self-purification, self-abnegation, meditation, introspection, self-analysis, Yogic discipline, enquiry of Who am I?' cultivation of virtues, annihilation of lower nature or brutal instincts and tendencies in man and the unfoldment of divinity in man? Yoga Vedanta Forest University trains the students in this direction. Therefore, it is a unique University in the world.
61. All work in schools and colleges should begin with a vocal, universal prayer.
62. Pocket prayer books used in Sivananda Ashram can be used as text-books for prayer.
63. The lives of saints, parts I, II and III published by the Sivananda Publication League can be studied in schools and colleges.
64. A selection of excellent passages from the Upanishads, the Upanishad Jyoti published by Sivananda Publication League, selections from the Gita, the Bible and the Koran may be placed in the hands of students for study and memorizing.
65. "All Religion's Day" may be observed once in a year, when speeches should be made on the lives and works of the great founders of religions, of realised Bhaktas, Yogis and sages.
66. Excursions may be arranged to temples, mosques and churches. The teacher should impress on the students that they are all temples of one God.
VI. Revive Sanskrit
67. A big Sanskrit University in India is the need of the hour.
68. Correspondence course in Sanskrit must be started for the benefit of the Westerners.
69. Sanskrit is not a dead language. It still lives in India. It will soon come back to its original glory and splendour.
70. Sanskrit is the language of the gods.
71. No study of the literatures of India is complete without the study of the treasure-house of Sanskrit literature.
72. Even a general acquaintance with Sanskrit as a language enriches the mind and the heart.
73. Sanskrit must be the national language for India.
74. Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. It is the only language fit for being the national language of India.
75. Sanskrit is the only bond of fraternity among all the provinces. It should be learnt by our boys and girls from their infancy.
76. Sanskrit is not a difficult language.
Chapter Sixteen
WAY TO REAL PEACE AND HAPPINESS
I. The Supreme Indispensable Factor
1. You cannot live without religion just as you cannot live without air.
2. Religion is the whole of life in action.
3. Religion is not the view of life. It is the way of life.
4. Religion is the daily life in God.
5. Religion is true life. It is living in consonance with Truth.
6. Religion is the basis of morality. It is a tremendous unifying force in Society.
7. Moral progress depends on the religious attitude of the individual and community.
8. Religion cannot be divorced from the problems of life.
9. Religion is a necessity for happiness or orderly progress.
10. Religion is a great unifying force.
11. Religion helps a man to cultivate self-control in social life.
12. Religion is the very foundation of personality.
13. Religion is a great driving force, a regulator.
14. Religion inspires man to embrace virtue and leads him to walk on the path of righteousness.
15. Religion is as indispensable to man's soul, as food and drink are for his body.
16. Religion is the warp and woof of the fabric of life. 17. Religion will certainly outlive all forms of Government and all plans and schemes to annihilate it, because it is the essence of life eternal.
II. Religion Must Guide Science
18. Religion and science are the twin-brothers. They should help mutually and harmoniously to search Truth and live the life of Truth here.
19. Science cannot test religion, and its beliefs and dogmas. Science relates to physical plane. Religion is transcendental.
20. Science without religion becomes a cold, lifeless, mental occupation.
21. Mere dry philosophy without practice of religion is a barren desert.
22. Science knows nothing of the origin of life, the origin of thought and the origin and destiny of human nature and the universe.
23. There are many questions to which religion alone can give answers and not science.
III. Essence of Religion
24. The word 'religion' comes from the Latin word 'Ligo' which means to unite or bind together. 'Re' means again. To unite again with God'. That which binds man back to God is religion.
25. Religion is the way to God; religious life is spiritual life; a religious man is a spiritual man.
26. Religion is an intuitive attempt of the individual soul to understand and realise the Absolute or the Truth.
27. Religion is a necessary consummation spiritual and cultural life.
28. Religion guides your heart and soul. It inspires you to strive to achieve the goal of life.
29. Religion is a sentiment and not an instinct.
30. Religion is concerned with the continuous living of the highest and the noblest kind of life.
31. Religion is not mere ritualism. Religion is not mere theory or dogma. Religion is realisation of Atma.
32. Religion does not ask a man to leave the world.
33. Religion is the source of success in this world and also of the good in the next world.
34. Make it your religion to serve all, love all and be kind to all.
35. Shun evil. Cultivate virtue, be pure in thought, word and deed, injure not, kill not, be good, do good, pray, meditate, have self-control-these are the common tenets of all religions.
36. Let magnanimity but not narrow-mindedness, patience but not irritability, charitableness but not greed, be your religion.
IV. Unity of Religions
37. Bertrand Russell says, "Religion is a disease born of fear and is a source of untold miseries to the human race." Is this not nonsense and height of supreme foolishness?
38. Religious ideals gradually mould the people.
39. There is danger to religion. Practise religion. Practise one is danger test. Attain Self-realisation Protect religion right religious conferences. Conduct parliament of religions in various centres of the world. Adjust differences of opinion. Practise perfect toleration.
40. Man is indifferent to and ignorant of his own faith. Hence a wave of communism, socialism and fascism is sweeping the world.
41. Toleration alone is not sufficient. Respect all religions, all prophets, all saints, and all messengers of God.
42. Creeds have created divisions and quarrels.
43. Religion is meant not to create discords and quarrels but to teach unity, harmony, concord and peace.
44. Make a sincere effort to understand each religion and realise the essential unity of all the religions of the world.
45. Proselytism from one religion to another is not necessary. Proselytism disturbs stability of family life and social relationships. It affects national solidarity. It gives rise to conflict and discord instead of promoting peace and goodwill amongst men.
46. Remain always strong and steadfast in your own faith. Give up all bigotry and intolerance.
47. Share in the wisdom of the important faiths of the world and in the exchange of their respective views.
48. Lead yourself a virtuous and religious life and prove competent to inculcate and propagate religion.
49. Islam did not sanction violence, war or impure conduct. Islam should not be blamed for the faults of its followers. Some of the followers are fanatics and ignorant. They need discipline, culture and training.
50. Sikhism believes in but one God, the creator, whose name is Truth.
51. The doctrines of Sikhism are intended to inculcate gratitude for the favours received, philanthropy, loyalty, honesty and all the moral and domestic virtues.
52. Religion unifies personality and stabilizes character.
53. Religion is the soul of morality.
54. Religion helps to eliminate from a man's life, wickedness and unrighteousness and enables him to lead a life of righteousness and happiness.
55. Religion if rightly lived will make a man immortal, divine, perfect and free.
V. Preserve Religion; Behold Unity
56. There is the unity of all religions despite differences in non-essentials and ritualistic aspects.
57. Variety is as important as unity.
58. Religion is essentially one. Experience the unity of all religions. Respect and pay homage to all religions.
59. The religion of the Vedas is the only religion wide enough to embrace all faiths and all philosophies.
60. All other religions plead tolerance, but Hinduism says that all ways lead to one goal.
61. Unity is not uniformity. Religious unity need not mean lifeless uniformity.
62. All religions are channels through which Divine Grace flows through the power of prayer.
63. Different religions are different pathways to God adapted to different circumstances.
64. One world religion is not possible. It was not in God's scheme for the world.
65. The colours of cows are many, but the milk is one. Religions are many, but the spiritual ideal is one: prophets are many, but the aim of their message is one.
66. Learn to look upon all religions as fundamentally one. They are different roads leading to the same goal.
67. All the religions and their scriptures come from one Divine source according to the needs and capacities of those to whom they come. 68. Man is a citizen of the universe and his religion cannot but be universal.
69. Universal religion will contain such principles as are common to all religions.
70. Like the bee gathering honey from different flowers, the wise person accepts the essence of the different scriptures and sees only good in all the religions.
VI. World Peace
71. The world is facing a crisis. Scientists have harnessed atomic energy. To what purpose is it going to be used? Stop all wars. Establish peace and goodwill on this earth through spiritual culture.
72. The forces of darkness have overcome the hearts of many of the rulers of the world.
73. Materialism is their philosophy of life.
74. The votaries of materialism are attempting to destroy culture and religion. Sanctity of life does not exist. Truth has been slain.
75. The world is today torn asunder with religious fanaticism, social, economic and political dissentions culminating in wars, and complete annihilation of peace.
76. Man has forgotten the purpose of life. He is caught in the whirlpool of lust, greed and delusion.
77. The whole world is suffering from mass-hysteria.
78. Selfishness, greed and passion are the real fuel that feeds the conflagration of war.
79. It is human jealousy, ambition, hatred and egoism that are the real factors behind war and bloodshed.
80. Greed leads its victim to falsehood and cheating. A greedy man loots his neighbour's property. Slay this greed by the sword of generosity and nobility.
81. Anger is a formidable enemy of peace. It is an impetuous assailant of man. It stirs up strife, hostility and spreads discord, disharmony. It breeds vindictiveness and revenge.
82. If you conquer lust, anger and greed, you have conquered the entire universe. 83. The animalistic aspect of man is at the root of wars and conflicts.
84. The whim of a dictator or an imperialist cabinet is the cause of war at the present moment.
85. War and violence are contrary to all religious teachings.
86. But, be not afraid. This world is ruled by moral and spiritual laws.
87. Be righteous. Cultivate devotion. Practise Yoga. Dharma alone will triumph ultimately.
88. World-peace demands selflessness, asceticism, discipline, sacrifice and simplicity.
89. It is the Vedanta of universal love, unity, and brotherhood that is the need of the world today.
90. The world needs real spiritual heroes, saints and sages. Money or mere knowledge of books can do nothing.
91. Saints and sages and great leaders should meet on a common platform and devise ways and means for eradicating all evils and establishing perfect harmony, unity and lasting peace all over the world.
92. Without a strong religious foundation of love, justice and service, a happier world-order cannot be established. 93. The way to peace is removal of selfishness, greed and lust for power and wealth.
94. The way of peace is the way of tolerance, truth, understanding, purity and love. 95. The greatest world-need of today is a greater degree of mutual understanding.
96. Mutual understanding will remove war and hatred and establish right human relationship and true and permanent peace.
97. Annihilate hatred. Sow the seed of love everywhere. Organize forces of sympathy, goodwill and fellowship.
98. Expand your heart. Become a citizen not of America or Europe, but of the entire universe.
99. If you belong to the great brotherhood of humanity, you certainly belong to all communities.
100. Millions of stars move harmoniously in the firmament, but man alone has not learnt to move in this earth in harmony and peace.
101. The true Vedantin must intensely feel this oneness and live this love in relation to brother-man.
102. True Vedantin must make you vibrantly conscious of the inner oneness, the unity of Spirit, amongst all beings.
103. Science alone cannot solve all problems and difficulties that beset mankind.
104. Real Vedantic vision looks beyond the apparent differences of names and forms, creeds and faiths, colours and nationality, etc.
105. Such Vedantin alone will help to usher in peace, to secure the well-being and establish joy and brotherhood in mankind. Beloved friends! Live this real Vedanta.
106. The thinking brain must co-operate with the feeling heart. Then there will be harmony, poise and peace.
107. Samatva means equality, equanimity and equilibrium. This is the basis of life. 108. You can hope to establish and attain to enduring peace in this world through this Samatva.
109. Not through science, politics and industry, but through Yoga, Vedanta, Self-realisation, spiritual awakening, spirited freedom, ethical perfection and spiritual culture will come lasting peace in this world.
110. May the hearts of all mankind be united in a bond of love and understanding and may all realise the summum bonum of human birth, viz, liberation from Samsara or birth and death!
111. The only practical method for achieving permanent peace is proper dissemination and practice of all religions.
112. Understand the essential unity of all religions. Be tolerant towards other religious groups. Respect other religionists. This will lead to world-peace.
113. The practice of Yoga and the dissemination of universal message of love will end world-tension, deepened by the invention of the latest weapons of destruction.
114. O America! O Russia! Give up atomic weapons and utilize their energies for common human welfare.
115. A mission should be sent abroad which can carry India's spiritual message to the farthest corners of the globe.
116. The world is growing more and more materialistic in outlook. Mass spiritual awakening is very essential today.
117. If people pay more attention to the development of the mind and soul, world-peace and mass spiritual awakening can be achieved.
118. Parliament of Religions should be organized all over the world and all religious institutions should meet and come to a common conclusion. Every organization should be represented. There should be calm and cool deliberations. The period of the meeting should be extended for a week or two if necessary. There should be a common and joint effort.
119. Establish Parliament of Religions in your heart. Cultivate divine virtues. Melt all illusory differences. Feel that one God dwells in all beings. Behold the one Atma or Self in all.
120. The Parliament of Religions held in Rishikesh, Sivanandashram, has devised the best plan to establish peace and carry the torch of Truth to the darkest corners of the earth.
121. There were lively discussions by savants, sages, saints and philosophers who know their respective religions like the Amalaka in the palm of their hand.
122. Emphasis was rightly laid on the importance of religion in a man's life.
123. The speeches were free from bigotry and prejudice that poison the mind.
124. The object of Parliament of Religions is to foster a sense of universal brotherhood and international fellow-feeling.
125, Practical suggestions were given as to how best the different modes of approach towards the ultimate goal of life can be synthesized.
126. The League of Nations became a dismal failure. The United Nations Organization too cannot go very far, because the voice of Truth is very often in a minority.
127. Only when the people of the world come to realise that all religions, like so many roads, lead to the same goal, can there be permanent peace in the world.
128. War is most abhorrent to the Life Divine, the Divine Spirit. It sets at naught the purpose of life.
129. The Parliament of Religions can give a splendid lead and also meet from time to time to review the progress made and consolidate its ground.
130. Take equal parts of discrimination and dispassion, serenity and self-restraint, mix with pure, divine love and selfless service, add courage, and stir with meditation and distribute it to everybody. It is Siva's wonderful recipe for world-peace and bliss immortal.
Chapter Seventeen
HINDU PHILOSOPHY
1. Basis of Hindu Thought
1. Philosophy is love of wisdom. Philosophy investigates into the nature of soul, cause of pain and death and finds out the remedy for attaining Immortality.
2. The philosophy taught by the Upanishads has been the source of solace to millions of people and the human intellect has not been able to conceive of anything more noble or sublime in the history of the world.
3. The Upanishadic thought is the bedrock of all philosophic thought in India. Gita is its divine summation and synthesis.
4. The Upanishads contain the supreme philosophical and the spiritual intuition and realisations of the sages and seers.
5. The Upanishads and their quintessence, the Bhagavad Gita, form the highest peak in Indian philosophy.
6. The six Darshanas or schools of Hindu Philosophy are all derivatives of the Vedas.
7. Every system of Hindu philosophy is a mixture of logic, psychology, metaphysics and religion.
8. Western philosophy is barren. It leads you nowhere beyond speculative thought and guesses at Truth.
9. All the Hindu systems of philosophy aim at the realisation of the external beatitude, however much they may differ about the nature and content of the beatific experience.
10. In the Vedanta Sutras we find a synthesis of the highest and most fundamental Hindu ideas and the culmination of Indian thought.
11. The Indian system of philosophy is traceable to the Vedas.
12. Hindu philosophy is very catholic. It is consistent with modern scientific knowledge.
13. Hindu philosophy has the dynamic force to make the greatest contribution to civilisation.
14. All systems of Hindu Philosophy recognize as obligatory unselfish love and disinterested or selfless activity.
15. Philosophy begins where science ends.
16. In the Nyaya exposition of the syllogism the five members are (1) Pratijna or the proposition, (2) Hetu or the reason,
16. In the Nyaya exposition of the syllogism the five members are (1) Pratijna or the proposition, (2) Hetu or the reason, (3) Udaharana or explanatory example, (4) Upameya or the application and (5) Nigamana or the statement of the conclusion.
17. The Mandukya Upanishad is an important one, though it is brief, because the quintessence of Vedanta is found in it.
II. Universe and Man
18. In the visible universe there are order and harmony. Hence we conclude that it must have an Intelligent creator as its cause.
19. There can be no established order without lawgiver.
20. Even a grain of sand bears upon it the stamp of an all-wise creator.
21. There are two fundamental Tatwas, viz., Prakriti and Purusha, matter and Spirit, Nature and God.
22. Matter and Spirit are not duality; but verily one identity of manifestation of twin poles of one Being.
23. All things are governed by Law.
24. The Law is God.
25. There is no such thing as a miracle. A miracle is only a manifestation of a law whose operations are not known to an ordinary man.
26. That which apparently departs from the laws of Nature, that which is astounding to an ordinary man is a miracle.
27. The world is a scene. The world is a stage wherein many play their parts. Life is a transition. You come. You see. You depart. A sage or a Yogi alone plays the best part.
28. This world is a play of Gunas. It is a play of Prakriti and Purusha. Purusha is the pure, immortal Spirit. Prakriti is the changing matter.
29. The essence of things here is the earth, the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water is plants, the essence of plants is the Purusha, the essence of Purusha is speech.
30. The ear is of the essence of ether; the skin of the essence of air, the eye of the essence of fire, the tongue of the essence of water and the nose of the essence of earth.
31. The speech is dissolved in fire, the vital air in the wind, the eye in the sun, the mind in the moon, ear in the quarters, the body in the earth, the hairs of the body in the herbs, the hairs of the head in the trees, blood and semen in water.
32. Matter merges into energy or force. Matter is only a gross form of energy or force.
33. The whole creation is an inscrutable mystery. This world is a miracle.
34. There is nothing eternally new in this world. The cycles and events eternally rotate. The first is the last and the last is the first.
35. Success and failure, prosperity and adversity, happiness and misery-of these Dwandwas only this world is composed. They follow each other.
36. The world of phenomena is a fabrication of the mind-manomatra jagat, manahkalpitamjagat.
37. The seen is temporary. The unseen is eternal. This is a truism in India.
38. The mineral becomes the plant with life. The plant becomes the animal with a higher development of life. The animal becomes a man with life and thought.
39. Man was but animal yesterday. He is man today. His destiny is to become Brahman or the Absolute as the result of a gradual process of self-perfection.
40. Man evolves himself according to his thoughts and actions.
41. God plus desire is man. Man minus desire is God.
42. Man is the greatest miracle on this earth.
43. Man is tripartite. He is composed of body, mind and soul.
44. All being God's children are brothers and sisters. 45. This body is the means of attaining the supreme good or Self-realisation.
46. Just as man lays aside the overcoat, so also he lays aside the physical body at death.
47. Death does not mean total annihilation. Death is only change.
48. Death does not end the chain of sequence. 49. The working agent, the soul in the body does not and cannot die with the body.
III. Secret of Life
50. Thought is a great power or force. All that you are is the result of which you have thought.
51. Every man is born in the world fashioned by himself.
52. Man is a bundle of desires, cravings, emotions, appetites and thoughts.
53. God has a Master-plan. We have our parts to play.
54. Man can attain perfection and freedom through long process of evolution and persistent self-effort.
55. Man is changed by every thought he thinks and by every action he does. 56. There is a will behind the thought. There is a soul behind the will.
57. Man himself and he alone is responsible for all that is good or bad in his life.
58. Truth is the real life and property of man.
59. In the depth of heart is hidden the spring of the water of Immortality and Peace.
60. Salvation exists not in paradise, but in your own heart.
61. Look around. You cannot find the cause for sorrow and suffering. Look into the books. You cannot find the cause for pain and misery. Look within and meditate. You will find the remedy.
62. We are all one. We all believe in the existence of one All-pervading Atma or soul, the indweller and Inner Ruler.
63. Man seeks happiness exempt from decay, because he has it not.
64. Jesus said, "Look for the kingdom of Heaven within yourself." Socrates said, "Know Thyself." Both mean the same thing.
65. Man has television but no self-vision or cosmic vision of Truth to behold himself in all and all in himself.
66. Know thyself. This is the need of the hour.
67. When there is no l'or egoism, there is liberation, when there is T' or egoism there is bondage or birth and death.
68. It is bondage when the mind is attached to any object or sense-organ. It is liberation when the mind is not attached to any object or any sense-organ.
69. It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves over anything, rejects or accepts anything, feels angry or happy at anything.
70. It is liberation when the mind does not desire or reject or accept or feel happy or angry.
71. Body is the chariot. The intellect is the charioteer, the whip is made of one's character.
72. The fundamental instinct is not the sex-instinct but the spiritual instinct to attain eternal happiness.
73. The body is the horse. The soul is the rider.
74. Man looks on the face and actions, but God in the heart and motives.
75. Understanding must have its root in the acknowledgment of the oneness of mankind.
76. Brotherhood is inferior to selfhood. Brothers also fight. But, in selfhood, there is no quarrel, because there is only one self in all beings.
77. The fully developed personality, being spiritual, transcends time, space and causality.
Chapter Eighteen
SUPREME IDEAL OF INDIA
I. Voice of Bharat
1. Remember your lost heritage, your real nature and reassert again and again.
2. Hold on to the path of the Truth. Give up the thoughts of objects of senses.
3. Listen! The knowledge of the Truth is rarely attainable by anyone. You will become a Jeevanmukta by a thorough knowledge of Brahman alone.
4. The supreme goal is beyond action. It is a stage of supreme illumination in which there is neither day nor night, neither east nor west.
5. Lord, the Guide, is ever with you in the darkness of the path. Despair not. Be bold. Be cheerful. March forward.
6. Crush the mortal. Then the immortal will manifest.
7. O Ram! Thou art the child of Immortality. Sing a song of Immortality. Be as strong as adamant.
8. Go down deep, deep, deep beneath the storm and strife on the surface. There is the ocean of Silence and Peace. Realise this Peace.
9. Deep, deep in the ocean of Brahmic consciousness are the rocks of wisdom and truth.
10. In essence, thou art soul, thou art free, thou art pure, thou art divine, O Ram!
11. A glimpse of Atma will destroy fear, sin, weakness, doubt and ignorance.
12. Be strong; face the difficulties. March forward Look not back. Fight on. Despair not. Faint not. Be bold Be cheerful. Come out victorious. Wear the laurel of eternal peace and immortality.
13. He who searches after Truth, he who practises regular meditation and tries to keep equanimity of mind is indeed blessed.
14. Thirst for the vision of the Lord. Have an intense yearning to know Him. Entertain a burning desire to become one with Him.
15. Seek not the radiant light elsewhere. Seek it in your soul or Atma. There shines the supreme effulgence, the resplendent Sun of suns, Light of lights, your only soul.
16. The Lord is ever with you. Do not look for Him there and here. Look for Him in your heart. Seek not far. But know thyself.
II. Come All! Lead the Divine Life
17. Awaken the inner spiritual forces. There is infinite omnipotent Atma Shakti within you. Draw power from within. Tap the source.
18. Close the doors of the senses and dwell in the Inner spiritual life.
19. Perform virtuous actions. Be thou a hero Advance. March forward. Despair not.
20. Out of purity and silence comes Self-realisation or spiritual experience.
21. Become a child of Silence. Grow more and more in Silence.
22. Annihilate desires, cravings, mental conflicts and enter the Silence.
23. Learn to get your inspiration from Atma, your soul, the source for everything.
24. Moksha is the goal of thirsting aspirants who long for freedom and perfection and who have found out the worthlessness of sensual enjoyments.
25. He finds God quickest, whose concentration and aspiration are strongest.
26. It is very difficult to find out how and when the divine grace helps the aspirant.
27. The spiritual path is thorny and precipitous, but the fruit is Immortality or a life of Eternal Peace and Bliss for the determined soul.
28. God tries your steadfastness in temptation, your faith in adversities.
29. Many are the difficulties and afflictions of the aspirant or the seeker, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
30. There are six significant mottoes for students and aspirants. 1. Regularity. 2. Humility. 3. Punctuality. 4. Honesty. 5. Sincerity. 6. Obedience.
31. Be pure. Be truthful. Be righteous. You will attain perfection-bliss eternal, the Light of Wisdom.
32. In the measure in which you have faith in God, in that measure you will succeed in life and God-realisation.
33. Without purification of the heart, no progress in Sadhana is possible.
34. The way to Self-realisation lies through self-abnegation, dispassion, discrimination, enquiry and meditation on Atma.
35. Every thought, every speech, every act must carry you forward to a lofty level.
36. Self-realisation comes to the all-round hero and not to the coward.
37. Realisation must be sought in the heart of the struggle, by rising above desires and worldliness.
38. This knowledge, the realisation of the Self is attained, through confirmed mental non-attachment to the world.
39. You may see God as mere effulgent light without any form whatever.
40. The nature of the one Reality must be known by one's own clear spiritual perception.
41. He alone who is free from earthly passion and craving can comprehend the deep mystery of Para Brahman or the Unmanifested One.
42. Tobacco, alcohol, card-playing, the desire to be amused and entertained, cocktail parties, picnics, dinner parties, cinemas, Nautch parties are all great obstacles to meditation and Self realisation.
43. In all you think, talk and do be true to yourself and kind to others. This will lead you straight to Perfection and Self-realisation.
44. The fruit of the Spirit is wisdom, love, immortality, peace and goodness.
45. Hunger is not appeased by merely pronouncing the name of 'food'. Even so, salvation is not attained by mere repeating 'I am Brahman,' but by directly experiencing Brahman.
46. Each soul's approach to God is individual and personal and each soul's needs are peculiar to itself.
47. Depend upon yourself. Strive. Strive. Strive. Attain freedom and perfection. None can save you. You are your own saviour. Never forget this.
48. A rational understanding or knowledge of God is certainly the first step towards God-realisation.
49. Philosophy can carry you to the gate of the eternal realm of bliss, but cannot let you in. Realisation or intuition is necessary for entrance.
50. Develop penetrating intuition and realise universal immanence of an Intelligent Monism.
51. Roll up the sky like a piece of leather. Then alone there will be an end to your misery. Then alone you will attain Self-realisation. Rolling up the sky is going beyond space.
52. Your soul is a reservoir of all creativenesses.
53. Your soul is an infinite treasure-house. It contains marvellous wealth. Find it. Use it. Perfect it.
Brahmarpanamastu!
Om Tat Sat!
Born on the 8th September, 1887, in the illustrious family of Sage Appayya Dikshitar and several other renowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serve all and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind.
His passion for service drew him to the medical career, and soon he gravitated to where he thought that his service was most needed. Malaya claimed him. He had earlier been editing a health journal and wrote extensively on health problems. He discovered that people needed right knowledge most of all; dissemination of that knowledge he espoused as his own mission.
It was divine dispensation and the blessing of God upon mankind that the doctor of body and mind renounced his career and took to a life of renunciation to qualify for ministering to the soul of man. He settled down at Rishikesh in 1924, practised intense austerities and shone as a great Yogi, saint, sage and Jivanmukta.
In 1932 Swami Sivananda started the Sivanandashram. In 1936 was born The Divine Life Society. In 1948 the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy was organised. Dissemination of spiritual knowledge and training of people in Yoga and Vedanta were their aim and object. In 1950 Swamiji undertook a lightning tour of India and Ceylon. In 1953 Swamiji convened a 'World Parliament of Religions'. Swamiji is the author of over 300 volumes and has disciples all over the world, belonging to all nationalities, religions and creeds. To read Swamiji's works is to drink at the Fountain of Wisdom Supreme. On 14th July, 1963 Swamiji entered Mahasamadhi.
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