He sings the Names of the Lord. He sings of the glory of divine lite; and his songe are laden with sublime philosophical thoughts. He paints vivid literary pictures of the Supreme Truth, the nature of the world and the grandeur of the individual soul.

Thus he is a divine artist.

A great and worthy follower of this divine artist, Prof. B.S. Mathur, in this delightful volume, presents the reader with a fine picture of life and work of Gurudev.

A few articles, songs and speeches of Sri Gurudev are added to the volume, which greatly enhance its utility as the constant companion of Sadhake.

P.O. Sivanandanagar,

} Publishers

18th November, 1957

PURPOSE OF LIFE

(Swami Sivananda)

The life of man is an indication of what is beyond him and what determines the course of his thoughts, feelings and actions. The wider life is invisible and the visible is a shadow cast by the invisible which is the real. The shadow gives an idea of the substance, and one can pursue the path to the true substance, by the perception of the shadow. Human existence, by the fact of its limitations, wants, and various forms of restlessness, discontent and sorrow, points to a higher desired end, incomprehensible though the nature of this end be.

As life on this earth is characterized by incessant change, and nothing here saems to have the character of reality, nothing here can satisfy man com-pletely. The Bhagavad Gita has referred to this world as anityam, asukham, duhkhalayam, ashashvatam "imper-manent, unhappy, the abode of sorrow, transient." The sages of yore declared with immediate realization that "Truth is One" and that the goal of human life is the realization and the experience of this Truth.

The universe is inconstant, and it is only a field of experience provided to the individuals so that they may evolve towards the experience of the highest Truth. It is the glory of the people of Bharatavarsha that to them the visible universe is not the real and the invisible Eternal alone is the real. They have no faith in what they perceive with the senses. They have faith only in that which is the ground of all experience, beyond the senses, beyond even the individual mind.

Earnest seekers used to seek shelter under great sages who purified the holy region of the Himalayas with their mighty presence, and lived the austere life of Yogins in order to attain freedom from the trammels of earth-bound life and rest in the beatitude of the Absolute, Brahman. This they conside. red the true life, and thus the way of fulfilling the law of the Eternal.

The great law giver, Manu, after describing the various tenets of Dharma, finally asserts: "Of all these Dharmas, the Knowledge of the Self is the highest ; it is, verily, the foremost of all sciences: for, by it, one attains immortality." The pursuit of Dharma, Artha and Karma bas its meaning in the attainment of Moksha which is the gratest of all the Purusharthas (ends of human life). Dbarma is the ethical and moral value of life; Artha is its material value; and Kama is its vital value; but Moksha is the infinite value of existence which covers all the others and is itself far greater than all these. Others exist as aids or preparations for Moksha. Without Moksha, they have no value and they convey no meaning. Their value is conditioned by the law of the Infinite, which is the same as Moksha.

Tho Vedas and the Upanishads are the expirations of the Divine Being, and they give an exhaustive commentary on spiritual life. They are expositions of the significance and the import of human life and of the method of the transmutation of the mortal appearance into the Immortal Essence. The instance of the great Nachiketas and the story of his adventu. rous search for Truth narrated in the thrilling Kathopanishad serve as exemplars to all men capable of thought and reflection.

Nothing of the world of sensibility can be of real value-this is what Nachiketas taught through his memorable act of renunciation. Not even the longest life and the immense wealth offered to him could tempt him. He persevered in his quest for the Highest and in the end achieved the Highest. Nothing short of it could satisfy him. Such are the

'Dheeras' or true heroes. A real hero is not he who stands against bullets or riske his life in hazardous attempts, fights battles, dives into oceans and climbs high cliffs, but he who subdues his senses and overcomes his mind, recognizes the supreme unity of life and caste aside dualities and desires. To achieve this is the duty of man: this is the immortal message of the sages of the Upanishads.

The tangle of sense-experience in which man is caught is most vexing, and hard it is to free oneself from it. Man is deluded by the notion of the reality of the so-called external relations of things and thus he comes to grief. The Mahabharata says that the contact of beings in this universe is like the contact of logs of wood in a flowing river, temporary. Yet the attachment to sense-percepts is so strong that phantoms are mistaken for facts, the impure is mistaken for the pure, the painful for the pleasant, and the not-self for the Self.

The message of the ancient sages is that the life one lives in the sense-world is deceptive, for it hides the Existence underlying all things and makes one feel that the particular presentation of forms before the senses alone is real. "Children run after external pleasures and fall in o the net of the wide-spread death. The heroes, however, knowing the Immortal, seek not the Eternal among things unstable here," says the panishad. The call of the ancient sages to man is: "O son of the Immortal! Know yourself as the Infinite; become the All. This is the supreme blessing. This is the supreme bliss." This is the undying message to man.

The sages have again and again stressed: "If one knows it (i.e., the Immortal Being) here, then there is the true end of all aspirations; if one does not know It here, great is the loss for him" (Kena-U panishad).

And sage Yajnavalkya says that all great deeds done in this world without the knowledge of the One Imperishable Being, are not worth anything. Humanitarian services, fasts and charity, one's political, national, social and individual life. should all be based on the feeling of universal brotherhood which is the external expression of the Reality of universal Selfhood.

Humanity can hope for peace when this condition discovered and laid down by the Rishie, viz, abiding by the law of the Divine, is fulfilled. Peace can be had only to the extent the system of the Divine is adhered to in life. And this peace is inversely proportional to the love of body, individuality and its relations in the world, in which humanity is generally steeped. An 'awakening' of a higher conscious. ness is necessary so that disorder and discontent may be abolished.

Education of humanity in the right direction is the precondition of world-peace. Materialism, athe-ism, skepticism and agnosticism which are rampant in these days, and which have robbed man of his reverence for the Supreme Absolute, are mainly responsible for the increasing selfishness, craving, confusion, violence and agitation of minds that are seething in the world. Man should learn that behind the appearance of materiality, discreteness, externa-lity, doubt and impermanence, there is the reality of spirituality, unity, infinity, and certainty.

Without the recognition of this reality, life loses life and becomes an emptiness, devoid of meaning and purpose, dead, as it were. To live in the divine is to die to the narrowness of the sense-world; and to be confined to the latter is to 'destroy oneself' (in the words of the Ishavasyopanishad). The present trend of life has to be overhauled, and a reorientation in it brought about in the light of morality, ethics and spirituality. The change that is required is not merely in the outward form but in the very perspective and the inner constitution of the system of living.

This can be done when man's ideale are based on the truths of the spirituality of Oneness, lifted above blind beliefs, differences and materiality. When this is achieved, man would have fulfilled his great duty here. For the man scorched in the waterless desert of worldliness, the only hope is in the cool waters of the Ganges of wisdom, flowing from the Himalayan heights of the sages of the Upanishads. Drink from this perennial fount, and refresh yourself.

MAN THE UNKNOWN

(Sre Swami Sivananda)

There is, deep within man, the alluring, though faint, memory of "something" he was, but is no longer. The memory recoils upon his heart as as-piration. He aspires for Immortality, Eternal Bliss, Perennial Peace. He longs for continued existence; he thirsts for infinita knowledge; he hankers for happiness. For, all these belong to his essential nature. He is the Immortal Soul whose essential nature is Sat-Chit. Ananda (Existence, Consciousness and Bliss Absolute).

In a playful mood the original Man set out, and searched for a good role. He tried one after another.

He grew as plant, crept as worm, swam as fish, flew as bird, roamed about as animal,-but was not satisfied yet. There was something lacking in all these. The Creator placed before him the body of a human being; it pleased him beyond measure. Here was a role worth playing. It was one which took him very nearly to the discovery of his real identity.

Therefore, there was an inward satisfaction and assurance that he would, in this role, realize his deepest aspirations.

But a most unfortunate thing happened at the same time. The five senses, that fed on the soul's forgetfulness of his true identity, also liked thie human body in which they discovered that all of them could have the fullest play. So, the moment they entered the body in company with the Divine Soul, they danced in joy; and in admiring them, and their work, the soul forgot his true identity, a forgetfulness on which the senses thrived, adding to the darkness that surrounded the soul!

That, in brief, is man. In him is the Divine Spark; in truth he is Divinity Itself. In him are the experiences and impressions gathered in countless births. In him are the aspirations divine; and in him are desires base,-the former belonging to his essential spiritual nature, and the latter to the sensuous nature, powerful for the time being. In him is the Light of Consciousness; in bim is the enshrouding cloud of ignorance. In his deepest being, surges the aspiration to throw off the false vestments and shine as the original Person; and in his impure mind are strong desires to enjoy the play while it lasts, and indulge the senses when they are strong. In bim are the animals he was, crowded on one side; and in him are the divinities that he will be, assembled on the other. Between them stands Man, sometimes leaning towards the former and at other times leaning towards the latter.

Desire drags him down; discrimination lifts him up. The animals gnaw at his vitals; and the divinities lend him life. Thus Man lives his span of life, sometimes reminding of his past and at others giving a glimpse of the glory that awaits him.

Man is man because he has intelligence. This is what he lacked in his previous incarnations. But intelligence is like a flaming sword, neutral in itself but good or bad in accordance with the use it is put to. It is the will that uses it; and the will itself is sandwiched between discrimination and emotion.

Discrimination uses the sword of intelligence to fetch the fruit of Divine Knowledge. Emotion, like a drunkard, toys with the sword and cuts its own toes; intelligence is perverted, questions itself and everything real and wanders in its own dreamland, till it lands itself in the bottomless pit of terrible ignorance.

But man, as he is, is a bundle of emotion in a large measure. To get over it is like standing on one's own shoulders. The discriminating man will discover that emotion is a force and has tremendous motive power. Hitched to sense-enjoyment, it can powerfully drag intelligence and will into dark well of delusion. On the wings of purity and dispassion the self-same emotion would soar into the heavens of bliss, of peace, transforming intelligence into intuition and uniting the individual will with the Divine Will.

He is a man who walks on earth, whose feet are planted on this earth and whose head is within the roof of his house. He is a superman whose feet are planted on this earth, but whose head is high above the clouds. He is a fool who has dug himself into the earth and covered himself with stinking mud and slime all over. He is also a fool whose feet are swept off the earth and his head never leaves the clouds.

Man rides the chariot of his life, drawn by the horses of his senses; at times he manipulates the reing (the inner powers) well, and the horses behave well and take him forward, and at others he lets the reins go and the horses run amuck leading him astrav. The superman has horses well under his control, holding the reins steady: besides, he has added to the chariot of his life the wings of dispassion and discrimination, of Jnana and Vairagya, so that the chariot soon soars into the realms of Immortality. The fool lets his horses throw him down in the ditch, utterly unable to control them.

The man who aspires to grow into superman knows that he has been endowed by God with three distinct component parts "the head, the heart and the hand." The three harmoniously developed together make for perfection. But the three are rarely ever together! Man struggles to establish harmony among them and to integrate them. In most men, one or the other of the three is over-developed; in almost all, they go in different directions. The head knows it is not right to injure; but the heart prompts the hand to grab het meat. Where is the harmony in thoughts, feelings and actions ?

Only the superman achieves this harmony. His personality is integrated. His head is filled with the highest wisdom; in his heart dwells love which is but diffused wisdom; and his hands are the means through which this love flows as selfless service.

He is the man who has fulfilled the purpose of his birth. Born as a man, he has risen above humanity and wtih the dawn of Self-realization he shines as an Illumined Soul. The Light of God permeates the whole being, purified and integrated. The impure mind has been thoroughly cleansed of all dross, burnt in the crucible of wisdom, and sublimated into pure gold, pure mind. In that mind sparkles the Wisdom of God, flashes the shaft of intuition, and not laboured thought circumscribed by relative understanding. The heart of this Enlightened Soul throbs with divine love, a love that unites all creation in a bond of the realization of oneness. This Enlightened Being has his feet planted everywhere, in all planes of existence: but his head is lost in infinity. He lives for and yet he has merged himself in the Supreme All-pervading Reality.

That is the end of Man's Journey. That is the conclusion of this Divine Drama.

THE MYSTERY ABOUT MIRACLES

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

Miracles are based on the principle of the con. centration of the mind.

Mind has immense powers. It derives its power from the Atma or the Supreme Soul.

The mind is a collection of thoughts. The mind's energy is dissipated by worry, evil thoughts, cares, anxieties and lack of Brahmacharya

If you can control the immense amount of power which the mind possesses, through concentration, sublime thoughts, you will acquire Siddhis or the power to do supernatural actions.

The eight major Siddhis are greatest miracles performed by the Raja Yogins. There are various minor Siddhis also.

Siddhis come during the practice of concentra• tion. They are bye-products of concentration. You will have to shun them ruthlessly. If you fall a victim to these Siddhis, you cannot reach the goal.

The Siddhis performed by Raja Yogins are true.

They can change the molecules of an object. They can draw their supply from the cosmic source, ether and create any kind of object through their Yogic power.

A Jnani performs miracles through the power of Satsankalpa (willing). A Raja Yogi does miracles through Samyama (Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi)

Real Yogins perform miracles to convince their disciples of the existence of transcendental things and God. They will not perform miracles on the platform.

Queen Chudalai performed miracles to open the eyes of her husband Sikhidhwaja. She stood above the ground. She moved in the sky.

Sri Sankara performed many astounding miracles.

He drank molten lead and passed into the body of a king (Parakaya Pravesha).

Sri Sadasiva Brahman was a great Yogi. He performed many real miracles. He was seen in different places at the same time. He was buried underneath the ground on the bank cf Kaveri river for some months. His hand was cut and he brought again the full hand.

Akalkot Swami turned bone into Gold.

Another Swami passed urine over a stone and it turned into gold. Such miracles are performed through the power of the Yogi's Satsankalpa.

Some are born Siddhas.S ri Dattatreya was a born

Siddha. He created a woman and a bottle of wine by his Yogic power to get away from the disturbing crowd.

Some exhibit small miracles with the help of some disembodied spirit. These are nothing. These have nothing to do with spirituality.

Drinking nitric acid, swallowing nails, chewing snakes and glass-pieces, walking over fire, are not the real Siddhis of spiritual Yogine. They have nothing to do with Yoga. They are performed by charlatans to collect money. Even educated people are deceived by looking at these performances.

Beware of cheap miracle mongers. Do not be duped.

Miracles have been caused by prayer. God has always granted the fervent prayers of faithful devotees. The greatest miracle is faith.

To convert water into wine is not difficult; but it is difficult to transform worldly-minded people into divine beings and put them in the path of Yoga.

This is the greatest miracle.

Miracles there have been for ages and will continue to be till the end of the world.

Miracles are astounding only for the layman. For Yogins these are simple things. They are not extraordinary. For those who know the principles and laws of Yoga, who have controlled nature, they are common occurrences.

THE QUINTESSENCE OF YOGA

( Sri Swami Sivananda)

Yoga is union with the Infinite through meditation and Samadhi.

A Yogi is freed from Karma or the law of cause and effect, from births and deaths and from the trammels of mind and flesh.

The Yogi has perfect control over his life-forces and mind. He can dematerialize at will.

The Yogi practises discipline of body and mind.

He has control over his body and mind. He meditates on OM.

Yoga illumines, renovates and helps the Yogi to attain the highest point of perfection.

If one awakens his superconsciousness, there will be no problems at all. There will be only love, peace, harmony, unity and happiness in this world.

Practise Yoga to Prolong Life

The practice of Yoga lessens and prevents the decay of tissues, by increasing the life-force and fille the system with abundant energy.

By the practice of Yoga the blood is charged with abundant oxygen. The brain and spinal centres are rejuvenated.

By the practice of Yoga, the accumulation of venous blood is stopped. The body is filled with abundant energy. The braincentres and the spinal cord are strengthened and renovated. Memory is improved. Intellect is sharpened. Intuition is deve. loped.

How can one who does not know his own body hope to achieve success in Yoga? First have a strong, firm and healthy body through the practice of Hatha Yoga and then take to Raja Yoga.

Breathing plays an important role in prolonging human life. Therefore, practise Pranayama regularly.

A rabbit that breathes very rapidly does not live very long. Practise rhythmic breathing and deep breathing.

There are detailed practices in Yoga for cleansing of the food-tube (Dhauti) and the stomach as simple and effective as cleansing of the teeth.

There are methods in Yoga (Tratak) for strengthening the eye sight and cleansing the nose.

People who suffer from overweight, constipation or dyspepsia will specially find this Yoga-practice very useful.

Through the practice of Yoga, the evolution of man is quickened. What he can gain in hundreds of births, he can gain in one birth through the practice of Yoga, and attain final emancipation. He can attain longevity and attain perfect health. He can compress in one life the experiences of several hundreds of births.

He who practises Basti or Yoga-enema never suffere from constipation and other abdominal disorders.

Perfection in Yoga

A Yogi can switch his life-currents, to and from the senses. He takes the Prana and the mind to the Saharara or the thousand petalled lotus at the drown of the head. He enters into Samadhi. He is dead to the world. He experiences superconsciousness or Nirvikalpa Samadhi. He is in blissful union with the Lord.

Savikalpa Samadhi is subject to time and change.

There is Triputi-the seer, sight and seen; or knower, knowledge and knowable. There is some link with Prakriti or matter. Savikalpa Samadhi cannot give the final emancipation. This is also an obstacle to Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The aspirant gets false contentment and stops his meditation or Sadhana. Hence this is an obstacle to the final or higher realization. Nirvikalpa Samadhi alone can burn all Samskaras and Vasanas in toto. Savikalpa Samadhi cannot destroy all Samskaras and Vasanas. In Savikalpa Samadhi the life-force or Prana of the Yogi is withdrawn from the body. The body appears to be dead, motionless and rigid. Breathing is suspended. He is aware of his bodily condition or suspended breath.

Nirvikalpa or Nirbeeja Samadhi is timeless, changeless. This is the highest state of Samadhi.

Double Consciousness

In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the Yogi's consciousness merges with the absolute consciousness There is no bodily fixation. In his ordinary waking conscious-ness, even in the midst of worldly duties, he is in communion with the supreme consciousness. He has double consciousness.

The crow has one eye-ball, but two sockets. It turns the eye-ball now to one socket and afterwards to the other socket. Even so, the Yogi has double consciousness.

Wise Guidance for Sure Success

The practice of Yoga should be gradual and step by step. Extremes are to be avoided. No sudden and violent methods should be employed. Common-sense is an essential part of Yoga. Boldness is also equally essential.

Fickle-mindedness will not do on the path of Yoga. Vacillation and oscillation will retard progress and result in stagnation.

Reflect gradually and choose a method; choose a method and stick to it and persevere in it continuously. This Nishtha is necessary.

A man who digs a well should not dig a foot here, a few feet there, a few feet in another place and then a fourth. If he does this, he will not find water even after digging in fifty places. Once a spot is chosen, he must dig on and on in the same place and lo, he will reach the water. Even so, in Yoga, one teacher, one path, one method, one master, one idea and one-pointed faith and devotion-all the above make up the secret of success in spiritual life.

VEDANTIC IDEALISM

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

In the Light of the comprehensive Vedantis ideal of the oneness of existence the natural law of life is love and not hate.

Unity is the basic principle. Good is that which promotes unity, evil is that which disrupts unity and creates differences and disharmony.

A man who wins by the sword will also perish by it.

Hatred ever kills, love never dies.Love is the strongest force in this world.

Understand the view-point of others. Misunderstanding and quarrel will vanish.

Discern the unity of all through discrimination and Self-realization.

There is but one Nation, one race-Humanity. All are children of God.

The world is one and there is but one God. Change your nature. You can change the world.

The great illusion of life is the feeling of separate-

Life has become mechanized and individualistic.

Be tolerant. Be tolerant even with the intolerant.

Respect the religious views of others.

Harm not other faiths. Be patient, tolerant and compassionate towards people of other faiths, and races.

If every one lives a virtuous life here, free from selfishness, lust and greed, the world will witness a spontaneous florescence of good fellowship, universal brotherhood and cosmic love

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

Without love there can be no religion. Where love is, there is God. Love is the basis of religious life. Divine Love has no sex. It sees all in God and God in all.

Love is the creative force in the world. From love this world is born, by love it is sustained and into love it enters. The power of love can transform the universe. Love creates and unites.

Love dissolves hatred and enmity. Love promotes understanding. Love is the moving prine ple of all forms of fellowship. There is real love onl when there is true inward identification with the life of another entity. Therefore, live ye all in the one love Divine.

Virtue is love. Virtue is the unfolding of love. Whilst love is a synonym for non-injury its logical fruition is in service. The principles of love, com-passion, mercy, fellowship and goodwill are all entwined in the term non-injury. There is no good life but love.

Love is not a passing sentiment or a feeble emotion. Love is strong, deep and enduring. Love and service are inseparable. Love expresses itself in service of humanity.

Love and suffering go together. To love is to Buffer. No one who really loves can escape suffer-ing. Benevolence to all men is love.

Love is life. Love is the energy of existence.

Love is happiness. Love is immortality. Love is wisdom. Love never fails. Love is success. Love is victory. Love is eternal light Love is a purifying element. Love is a colossal spiritual force. Love redeems. Love transforms. Love purifies.

SONG OF SELF-SURRENDER

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

Sing this sacred Mantra for fifteen minutes before you go to bed. Do total self-surrender to the Lord.

Your mind will be filled with Sattwa and will enjoy sound sleep.

(Thars: Sunaja)

दीनबन्धो! ¡दीननाथ! बिश्वनाथ! हे विभो! पाहि माम् त्राहि माम् प्राणनाथ ! हे प्रभो!

Deenabandho deenanaatha vishwanaatha hey vibho

Paahi maam traahi maam praananaatha hey prabho.

"O Lord of the Universe! O all-pervading Paramatman! Thou art the friend of the meek, thou art the protector of the hapless, the poor, the down-trodden. O Lord of my life! O supreme governor of my being! Protect me. Save me.

This is a most potent formula which at once elevates you. It gives you joy and peace. It bestows strength and power on you. It drives away doubt and despair. It routs out grief and delusion. It destorys Beda Buddhi which keeps you away from the Lord; it destroys Kartritwa-Bhoktritwa-Abhimana which binds you at Samsara. It makes you feel meek and humble before the Lord; it crushes and destorys your ego. It makes you identify the Lord with the entire creation and expands your heart.

When you repeat it you at once feel 'I am nothing' the Lord is everything' you feel that the Lord is All-pervading. You enjoy a vision of His Virat-Swaroopa. Not only that you at the same time feel that He is Lord the support, the source and the goal of your life, too. He is all-pervading, and He is the Indwelling Ruler of your heart too. He is nearer to you than the Breath in your nostrils. He sustains your life. He gives you power to speak, power to act! It is through His power you are enabled to pray to Him, to worship Him and to live here. In such a frame of mind you pray to Him: "I am thine: All is thine. My Lord! save me, protect me" You do not ask Him to save you from disease or to protect you from poverty. You agk Him to save you from the ocean of Samsara; you ask Him to protect you from the shackles of Maya. You pray to Him "protect me by destroying the 'T'-ness in me." In other words you long to lose yourself in Him and therefore beg of Him to save you from your own little ego.

The moment you utter this prayer with all your heart and soul, the Lord will at once rush to you. He will immediately answer your prayer: you can also Bing:

" Paahi maam Paalaya Maam

Paahi maam Raksha Maam

Paahi maam Paahi maam

Traahi maam Traahi maam "

"Om Namassivaya.

* शिवानन्दस्तुतिः *

( श्री रामनाथ शास्त्रि, कारुरुच्चि )

हृषीकेशदेशे हृषीकाणि जित्वा

हृषीकेशसन्देशमाध्मप्रबोधम्

सदा भावयन्तम् सुदा बोधयन्तं

शिवानन्दमीडे चिदानन्दरूपम्

PROVERBS OF SWAMI SIVANANDA

1. Character is the key to Self-realization.

2. Purity of heart is the gateway to God.

3. Life is short. Time is fleeting. Realize the Self.

4. There is no abode like Brahman. There is no virtue like purity.

5. Remember God at all times. Do always virtuous actions.

6. Duty performed in a moral tonic.

7. Trust in God and do the right.

8. Morality is the bedrock of Spirituality.

9. Within you is infinite power and wisdom.

10. Life is a series of conquests. Life on earth is a school for wisdom.

11. Love is the law of life. Unity is the truth oflife. Service is the essence of life. Self-realiza-tion is the summum bonum of life.

12. Think of the opposite virtue if you wish to remove any evil trait.

13. Virtue conduces to happiness, vice to pain.

14. Thy neighbour is thy own Self.

15. See what is good. Hear what is good. Speak what is good. Act what is good.

16, Take hold of each day as if it were the last day. Today is your own.

17. Lives of saints are the compass-needles on your way to Moksha.

18. Sins are mental slips in evolution.

19. Be bold. Be cheerful. Plod on. March for.

ward courageously.

20. Be gentle, but bold. Be mild, but firm. Be humble, but courageous. Be simple, but dignified.

21. Where desire is, there is no peace. Where peace is, there is no desire.

22. Every difficulty is a trial of your faith. Every unpleasant incident is a test of your trust in God.

Every temptation is a test of your strength. In your failure lies the secret of your success.

23. Devotion to God arises when you have no worldly hope.

24. Faith is the eye that sees God. Prayer takes you to the domain of God.

GURU GITA

( Sri Swami Sivananda)

Salutations, adorations, prostrations to Guru.

Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Siva, Guru is father, Guru is mother, Guru is real friend.

Serve him with all Bhava, wet with Bhakti He will teach you Brahma-Vidya, show the divine path.

Service of Guru is a great purifier

WISCOM NECTAR

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

1. Remember God at all times.

2. Enquire who am I ?' and realize the Self.

3. Make friendship with any one after studying him very carefully.

4. Do always virtuous actions.

5. Hear the wise words of great souls and follow them.

6. Do those actions that are pronounced to be right by the Shastras.

7. Don't make friendship with childish persons.

8. Move with the world tactfully. Adapt.

9. Give up bad company.

10. Don't talk much before great souls.

11. Avoid unnecessary discussions.

12. Don't exaggerate or concoct or twist when you talk.

13. Develop mercy and cosmic love.

14. Share what you have with others.

15. Good and bad, friend and enemy, pleasure and pain, virtue and sin are in the mind only.

16. Mind when purified by the removal of six passions becomes your Guru.

17. Patience, perseverance and vital will are indispensable for reaching the goal.

18. Purity of food leads to purity of mind.

19. Don't do any action harmful to any one.

peace.

20. Guru is necessary to show you the path to peace.

Om Shantih! Shantih !! Shantih!!!

PATH TO PERFECTION

( Sri Swami Sivananda)

1. Stick to your resolves.

Never lose remembrance of God.

Build yourself little by little,

day by day.

2. Observe strict Brahmacharya.

Remain unattached in the world.

Have intense desire for God-

consciousness.

3. Cease to find fault with others.

Realize your unity with all.

Develop Cosmic Consciousness.

4. Develop virtues.

Dastroy vices.

Devote your whole life to the

realization of God.

5. Serve, love and give.

Grow, expand, evolve.

Be good, do good, become selfless.

6. Pray devotedly, live truthfully,

Aspire fervently, introspect regularly, Meditate intensely, realize perfectly.

7. Practise purity, do regular charity,

Develop nobility, magnanimity,

You will surely attain Divinity.

8. Live to love all.

Live to serve all

Live to realize the Truth.

9, Remember!

God matches your dely thought and action.

Toe can never escaped His notice.

He is closer to you than your breath

and jugular vein.

10. Beware !

Worldly thought enslaves you—

It is a disease by itself.

It upsets your spiritual progress.

It pins you to mundane things.

GRACE OF GOD

(Bri Swami Sivananda)

1. Guru is necessary to attain God-realization.

2 Even for learning the alphabet or a little arith-metic, you must have a Guru; what are we to say of the knowledge of Brahman then ?

3. To light a candle, you need a burning candle.

Even so, an illumined soul alone can enlighten another soul.

4. Competent disciples are never in want of competent Gurus.

5. You can find your Guru at your door, if you really want him.

6. Even it Lord Krishna remains with you. He cannot do anything for you, unless you are fit to receive him.

7. Books written by realized persons can serve the purpose of a Guru till you come in personal contact with a realized Yogi or adept. You can also get help from senior aspirants in the path of Yoga.

8. He who is able to clear your doubts, he who is sympathetic in your Sadhana, he who does not disturb your beliefs but helps you on from where you are, he in whose very presence you feel spiritually elevated-he is your Guru

9 Once you chose your Guru, implicitly follow him.

10. 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.

11. The lile of the Guru is a living sermon to the sincere disciple.

12. Guru is God. A word from him is a word from God

13. Grace of God takes the form of Guru

14. Guru's grace works in the form of Sadhana in the aspirant.

15. The Guru will only quide you. You should yourself tread the path

16 Now-a-days people want a drop of water from the KAMANDALU of a SANNYAST and desire to enter into SAMADHI immediately. If you have got such delusion, give it up immediately.

17. Obedience to Guru is better than reverence.

18. Every unpleasant incident in life is a test of your trust in Guru.

19. Even greater than a mother's love for her own child is the love of Guru for the disciple.

20. A God-realized Satguru never dies in the ordinary sense. He is ever-present as he has identified himself with the immortal Cosmic Being.

Worship the Guru always.

PRAYER AND PILGRIMAGE

(Swami Sivananda)

1. Prayer is communion with God. Prayer is the miracle by which God's power flows into human veins. Therefore, kneel down and pray.

2. The breath bas been given to you by the Lord, to be spent in prayer. Kneel down and pray; but, let the prayer not cease when you rise. Prayer should be lifelong and your life should be one long prayer.

3. When the wisdom of politicians and social leaders fails, kneel down and pray; for, a pair of praying hands are mightier than rulers of state and winners of battle.

4. The kitten mews and the cat runs to it and carries it away. Even so, the devotee cries and the Lord comes to his rescue.

5. From despair, man learns prayer.

6. Pray not for relief from suffering, but for strength and endurance to bear it.

7. Pray to the Lord to make you desireless. Have one strong desire and let it be for attaining God. realization.

8. Everyone is an idol-worshipper. The Muslim worships Kaaba; Christian worships Jesus on the Cross. The mind wants a prop to lean upon. With. out the help of some external aid, in the initial stages, the mind cannot be centralized

9 It is only the pictures or images in stone and wood that are idole Dialectics and leaders also become idols. So, why condemn idolatry ?

10. Glorious devotees of the Lord! Lose yourself in His Name. Forget yourself in His Praise.

Offer your heart at the glorious altar of His Lotue-feet

11. Keep not back a ray of your mind, a corner of your heart, an atom of your soul from Him, the Lord of your being.

"Follow my teachings, follow my instructions. Listen to me not out of reverence, but out of reason.

Then practise. Then realize".

NAVA VIDHA BHAKTI

(Sri Swami Sivananda)

First is Satsang.

Second is service of saints.

Third is study of books on devotion.

Fourth is Tapas.

Fifth is charity.

Sixth is Japa.

Seventh is Kiitan.

Eighth is universal love and compassion.

Ninth is Meditation.

NINE MODES OF DEVOTION

(According to Adhyatma Ramayana)

1. The company of the good.

2. Recitation of the Lord's deeds.

3. Singing of His attributes.

4. Exposition of His sayings, and selfless service of Preceptor.

5. The possession of a charitable nature and the cultivation of the Yama and Niyama of the Yoga Sastras.

6. Constant worship of God.

7. Meditation on Mantras relating to God, to. gether with their Angas (limbs or parts).

8. Worship of His devotees, whom God Himself regards as greater than Himself, looking upon all as God Himself; non-attachment to external objects; and control of the internal and external sense-organs.

9. Reflection upon His Nature.

NAVADHA BHAKTI

(According to Tulasidasji)

The Lord says :

नवधा भक्ति कहउं तोहि पाई। सावधान सुन धरु मन माहीं ।। प्रथम भगति स्तन्ह कर संगा। दूसरि रति मम कथा प्रसंगा ।।

"Meeting thee (Sabari), I am describing the Navadha Bhakti (the ninefold devotion) to thee.

Hear it carefully and keep it in mind.

"The first devotion is to keep the company of the saints. The second is to imbibe love and interest in the discourses relating to Me.

गुरु पद पंकज सेवा । तोसरि भगति प्रमान ।।

चौथि भगति मम गुन गन। करइ कपट तज गान ।।

"The third devotion is to serve the feet of the Guru without any sense of vanity. The fourth is just to sing My Glories with a clean heart.

मंत्र जाप मम दृढ़ विश्वासा । पंचम भजन सो वेद प्रकासा ।।

छट दद्म सोल बिरति बहु कर्मा। निरत निरंतर सज्जन धर्मा ॥

" My Name's Japa and keeping firm faith in Me is the fifth devotion, which is well-known in the Vedas.

The sixth is to control the senses and the mind, to be humble and polite, and to be dispassionate from the many-fold activities, and also to follow always the conduct of the righteous persons.

सातवं सम मोहि मय जग देखा। मोते संत अधिक कर लेखा ।। आठवें जथा लाभ संतोषा । सपनेहुँ नही देखइ परदोषा ।।

"The seventh is to see the universe in Me with an equal vision and to respect the saints even more than Me. The eighth is to be contented with what. ever is obtained and not to see the faults of others ever in a dream.

नवम सरल सव सन छल हीना । मम भरोस हिय हर्ष न दीना ॥

नव महुं एकउ जिन्ह के होई । नारि पुरुष सचराचर कोई ॥

"The ninth is to live in simplicity and purity, to behave with others without duplicity in a straight way, to keep in the heart-confidence in Me and to remain always above pleasure and pain. But of these nine, if a person of being has got any of these, he is very near and dear to Me."

SELECT TEACHINGS OF SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

Pray God For

Not riches, but peace,

Not worldly power, but wisdom.

Not talents, but strong aspiration,

Not oratorial skill, but silence.

Not possessions, but contentment,

Not position, but divine virtues.

Not fame, but devotion,

Not name, but Daishan

There is only one righteousness,

That is truthfulness.

There is only one law,

The law of cause and effect.

There is only one language,

The language of the heart.

There is only one caste,

The caste of humanity.

There is only one religion,

The religion of love.

There is only one God,

The Omnipresent,

Omnipotent and Omniscient Lord.

Eat less, masticate more.

Clothe less, bathe more.

Sit less, serve more.

Hate less, love more

Take less, give more

Talk less, think more.

Preach less, practise more.

Worry less, laugh more.

Rest less, work more.

Indulge less, restrain more.

Sleep less, meditate more.

Chapter One

SINGER OF SALVATION

The world is in the grips of misery and untruth.

Man is not able to see the light. He is a constant slave and knows no joy or comfort. Swami Siva• nanda of Rishikesh has something to say which can lead man to his liberation.

"Conditions prevailing throughout the world today unmistakably demonstrate the truth that material advancement does not mean advancement towards peace and harmony. Material welfare does not give us inner contentment; though it might be, to a certain extent, a help to the achievement of that inner contentment as it saves us from the struggle for our l daily bread and consequently provides us with greater opportunities for diving within and for discovering the inner peace."

These are words of deep philosophy. More than that they are a pointer to a life of reality and activity. Swami Sivananda is a sage but more than that he ie a practical guide to us. He has seen life and also God. He best knows how to lead mankind to greatness and happiness. His approach to life is not one-sided. He is both a religious thinker and a scientific worker.

Just think. He does not fasten upon material ad• vancement but at the same time he doesn ot neglect it. In fact, he goes, it might seem, out of his way to suggest that even material advancement is essential for inner contentment. He does not stop with the idea. He makes it concrete and says that material advancement makes man free to engage himself in the pursuit of the achievement of the inner peace

There is no exaggeration here. It is all life. How can you think of God when you are hungry? You want to be near God. You must be externally happy. External happiness of food and clothes, is an instru. ment of getting inner contentment. If you have to fight for your food you cannot throw yourself heart and soul into an effort to meet God. If you have no clothes to put on you will have, first, to work for concealing your nakedness. Is that not life? Thus material gains or say material advance is not to be overlooked. It has its meaning. It leads to a greater consummation-realization of God. Who can neglect it at the cost of seeing God Himself?

You might say that Swamiji is going against the ancient way of life when he is recommending the need for material advancement. I admit it to be true.

But what is the harm? We have to be progressive. We can think of the past but we cannot remain wedded to it and not to go beyond it.

Swamiji does not end with material progress. He does not forget his goal, the inner peace a man has to strive for if he wants to be happy. You cannot say that he is a materialist essentially. He is nothing it not a progressive. He visualizes the past to profit from it. But he is always for the future of hope and man's liberation. So he suggests-how properly-a synthesis of materialism and spiritualism. This is his unique contribution for the liberation of mankind.

Of this he sings and sings without a stop.

India has to recognize her burden of greatness. I call that a burden because India has a message to deliver to the West. That is the message of the elevation of man as highly spiritual after being sufficiently materialistic in outlook and contents How can we forget our soul, God that lives in us, God that connects us with the rest of humanity? Not only that.

This awareness of God alone will lead to eternal and universal peace. That is the liberation of mankind.

At the moment, man has one and thousand vices.

Above all, he is selfish and mean. He has forgotten God: he has forgotten his link with humanity. He is endlessly in the grips of a devastation of himseli and the world. He has to give up that: he has to give up the ills ha is suffering from.

The solution is God-realization. Swami Sivananda has indicated the necessary step for that-the step of material advance. And then man has to concentrate upon Him in himself. He has to reveal his divinity in his dreams, thoughts and deeds. He has to be a God; he has to make Gods of others. "Be and make"-that has to be the motto of his life. Here Swami Sivananda is one with Swami Vivekananda.

Both have the same message to deliver. That is how I understand them, and in my own way I try to follow them. My reward is inner and external peace: I feel life traveling the way of liberation.

Chapter Two

SINGER OF HOPE

How beautifully Swami Sivanandaji has sung:

"Hope is your companion. Hope is the mother of success. Hope is your prop to lean upon and hope gives you happiness. Hope pushes you to sublime heights of splendour and glory".

Life is full of complications. Man might lose his heart and die without doing anything. That is not his mission on earth. He is here to perform a mission. He has come from God. There is a lot of ungodliness on earth. That must go. This man has to do. He must make of earth what it was created by God, a place of nothing but joy and comfort. Today, that is not the picture of earth. Man is endlessly weeping for things that he cannot have. Man is against man, bent on killing him. That is what man has made of himself, a creature created by God to usher in on earth a stream of sacredness and righteousness.

This is the mission. And this man has to perform. He must have plenty of hope. Hope must be bis eternal companion. Hope is the mother of success. Hence this insistence upon hope by the Swami. He wants to change the world. He alone cannot do that. He must have an army of workers. They must have hope as their companion. They alone, with the aid of this weapon, change the world and convert it into a smiling land of joy and comfort.

Man has inside him a certain wealth of spirituality.

That wealth he has to reveal in all ite manifestationa.

He must have hope to work for it. Rightly, the Swami thinks and sings of hope as pushing man up to heighte of splendour and glory. Of course, these heights are sublime. God that lives in man must come out in his deeds, dreams and thoughts.

Hope alone will inspire and encourage. Man will for ever go on working as a worker for constant and sacred peace and reign of godliness on earth.

But the Swami is not vain in his hope. He is a balanced thinker. He really knows the limits and beyond those he will not go, beyond those he will not ask his disciples to go.

"Give up vain hopes. Fix your hopes not beyond the bounds of probability. Be strong to hope, O anxious heart!" says the Swami.

Swamiji has seen enough of life. He is not a Sadhu who does not keep himself in touch with life and its complications. He is in life and yet outside it, fixed upon sacredness and God. What a com-bination! And how sacred and powerful a combina-tion, certain of leading man to eternity and light!

He is more or less a scientist in his outlook on life. He has definitely a certain fund of ideas but he is never impractical. That is the most wonderful thing about him and that is fastening so many people upon him for their inspiration and encouragement in life.

His message is almost identical with the message of Swami Vivekananda. His message (I mean Swami Vivekananda's) is that of power. He saw weakness in India and he wanted to eradicate that weakness. The same message of power and wisdom is being spread by Swami Sivananda! There is a lot of frustration in life today even after independence, That frustration can resolve itself only through work based upon hope and faith. And so the Swami wants us to be strong to hope. He fastens upon inner strength in man that can lead him to light and joy through achievement.

Man has to possess hope and faith but he must have inner strength so that he is never vain in his hope. He has to be practical in his approach to life. Then alone his difficulties will pass into thin air, as something unsubstantial.

This is the message of the Swami, of Hope and Faith. He is never weary of singing the blessing of hope. He says, "The promises of hope are very sweet. He hopes and helps himself." Here is a message of self-effort, Self-revelation, of Self-knowledge, the greatest message of all time for the humanity in the midst of frustration and sadness. Let us take to it. We have joy and comfort in the future based on hope and faith hom of inner strength.

Chapter Three

SINGER OF LIBERTY AND TOLERANCE

Swami Sivananda has a fine message for the world in three words; adapt, adjust and accommodate.

The message is quite simple but that requires a good deal of labour to follow. It is not quite easy to take up the message. Look at what he seems to suggest after his long life of experience and experiment in the sphere of making people of the world aware of the existence of God in them.

The world is a big thing; so many people live here with so many ideas. Everyday, there is some change. Nobody can indicate a fixed path to travel. Nobody can assure you of success by asking you to follow a certain line of action. Hence this urgent adapting to circumstances.

What is man? Is he not a creature of circume. tances? Has he not to face changing conditions?

If he remains static in hie approach to life, can he make a successful approach to life? Will he not fail and bring on his head an endless series of trou-bless? There he might not stop. He will certainly cause an unending stream of poison to flow taking all in its flow to their ultimate destruction. Adapt he must. If he does not there is no hope for him.

He is a creatare of head and heart. He has to use his brains to carry through changing circumstances. He has to sharpen his head so that he might face successfully daily coming problems. He has a tremendous burden to carry. Let bim think and carry out certain changes in his mode of action and thinking.

Why forget his heart? He has emotiong Others, he comes to meet, too, have emotions. There might be a conflict due to these emotions A resolution of emotions into a harmony is a necessity. He must have an expanding heart. Then he might cover all mankind and the accompanying troubles Through the head you seem to speak. Through the heart the great Lord speaks. Let 'the Lord speak through you.

How is that possible? Expand the heart. The Swami will say So said Swami Vivekananda.

All troubles begin in head. There wars that throw up-war heroes have their origin in head. Head has to be controlled, The heart can do so. And then you have seen the Lord. The Lord then resides in you and that is the end of the present trouble.

Let us adapt. We must have a revolution in our hearts and heads alike. This is the message of Swami Sivananda.

Tae message of adapt, adjust and accommodate has an entire story of man behind. The Swami has seen life in all its manifestations of violence and peace. He has seen side by side the Devil and God. He wants still greater manifestation of the divinity ir us. Hence this message.

God has created all of us. We have to regard men and women without any discrimination. The Swami has a political message, too. We are thinking in terms of perfecting democracy in the world. We are working for the liberty of the individual. We will have to adapt, adjust and accommodate. Then only democracy, flourishing of the individual in an atmosphere of complete and comprehensive liberty, is possible.

The Swami is an educationist, too. Education is a complete preparation for life. But that it cannot be unless it resolves itself into a certain type of culture and discipline. Life has so many things. Knowledge itself is infinite. For man it is not possible to know all this. He must have, then, a mental apparatus to condition himself to a changing pageant of life This education has to do. The Swami wants it. Hence the message of tolerance.

Tolerance and liberty united with action-this is his message for the world.

The Swami sings:

Wake up, wake up from the sleep of ignorance,

Life is swallowed by death,

Beware, Beware, Beware, friend,

Seek the company of sages and saints.

We have had enough of ignorance. We want liberty but don't seem to allow that to others. Let us realize this truth. We want liberty. We must give others liberty. That is the practice of toleran. ce. That is a life of action. Let us wake up. We have to keep the company of saints. Their life is a ceaseless sacred action. They have tolerance and liberty. We cannot have so many saints as we want.

Let us come up to their ideas. They are stronger than the saints themselves

The thing is clear. We can visualize the path to freedom and full expression of our personality. We have just to awake to tolerance and liberty. But mere reflection won't do. We have to live nur retlections. This is Swamiji's idea.

Chapter Four

DIVINE SINGER

There is enough of suffering in the world. Frustration is evident. Life itself seems dull and a sorry scheme of things. What is there to encourage people to live well on earth, to live in joy, peace, comfort, and happiness? One might say "nothing!"

Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh is an ocean of love and devotion. His thoughts, are communicated through his endless stress of books, published by the Sivananda Publication Leaque (Rishikesh) are tremendously uplifting and elevating. His song of love is the song of Divine Life, a song that ie to make the world Divine and Happy.

Happiness resides in divinity. It emanates from divinity. But what is divinity that the Swamiis so ceaselessly preaching and also practising? Not obly that. He is making that divinity a possession for so many millions of the world, now living in the pathos of ignorance. He wants us to go back to the origin. That is possessing divinity. That is living in bappiess and also living through happiness to reach salvation.

Think of the origin. You get at God. You seem to live in Him and for Him. What was there in the beginning of things? There was Ged all alone. But how could He live all alone? He is a great Creator and He created things in His own image. What are we then? All of us are emanations from

God. God lives in all of us. You want to express Him.

You have actions to perform; you have dreams to dream: you have thoughts. Why not have Him in them? That is expressing Him in your deeds, dream and thoughts. Why not have Him in them? Thig way lies man's salvation, his unspeakable joy and comfort. This is the way preached by the Swamiji.

What a noble idea! This is going back to the origin. This is reaching Him This is living in divinity, the life divine. Why not live it?

It is not very difficult to live it. The Swami hag shown a simple path. We have just to cogitate. There the matter is not to end. We have to act, after cogitation. We have to live according to our cogi. tations. First, we have to emancipate our minds. Emancipated actions will follow. The aim is purity of action after purity of thoughts. That is the second thing, the final thing, the life that we have to live, if we are to justify that we are created by God in His own image.

Sri Swami Sivananda speaks thus :

"Without love life becomes narrow, limited and is replete with misfortunes. Without love, life in a prey to countless evils. Without love, life is a victim to sing and propensities to hatred. Verily, with love, life is the extensive life of joy. With love nothing is impossible; everything shall be thine and all shall be well and good with thee. Live in this love in daily life."

This is his divine song. Nothing new but how tremendously ennobling? Man must live in love and devotion. This is his philosophy. This philo. sophy he is living in actual life. Those who had had opportunities of living with him could very well understand the idea behind what he says so powerfully about love.

Love is not merely an emotion. It is not that. But it is more than that. It is a steady philosophy, a way of life. Love means sympathy. But sympathy cannot follow all on a sudden. It must be preceded by understanding. This is the idea behind love. 'Love thy neighbour' is the same thing as 'under-stand thy neighbour." Loving is understanding.

What an unlimited stream of buman ills in the world? And what is it due to? There is lack of understanding: there is no sympathy. Man has to be understood: he has to be regarded as man. All this is possible through love only. Hence its importance.

And so the Swami writes :

"Love is the very nature of your essential Self; act not against this spiritual law. The glorious truth about the Reality is that it exists as Love. Out of love you are born. By love ye are sustained, and unto love ye shall return. So, let all contemplate on love. For, love is your bread, shelter and strength."

Think deeply. What is the spiritual law is also the law of life, it may be what you may call the Life Divine. Go further. Love is bread: love is shelter; love is strength.

Swamiji has lived long in sacredness. He is a world reformer and a social worker for the emanci. pation of mankind. You ask him for message. He speaks of love and there he stops. But you are not to stop. This is what he wants you to do.

Here is the message of eternity, for a continuous life of sacredness, joy, peace and plenty. Let us start loving and acting simultaneously. The life of Light will follow; the life divine will come apace and in pleaty. Let us follow the sage of Rishikesh.

Chapter Five

MODERN THINKER OF SACREDNESS

Swami Sivananda, I find, is a modern thinker of sacredness. He has a constant mission and he preaches that by his own regular practice. His mission is that of eternal and pure sacredness. That does not mean that he can cut himself off from the rest of the world. In fact, he is with the world and for the world. He wants an immediate sacred revo lution in the world. Many solutions have been offered for the present ills. His solution is sacred. ness He thinks and wants all of us to think; for thinking alone, followed by necessary action, leads to this mental revolution, which will ultimately change the world of present conflicts into a land of divine joy and peace.

"Attain to that peace that passeth understanding by silencing the bubbling thoughts and eradicating all desires, cravinge or sense-hankerings. Reach the kingdom of inner stillness or domain of infinite peace through spiritual meditation. If you can still your mind, you can still tempests or cyclones or the surging sea. Rest in the ocean of peace. Root yourself in the Self within. Now you will be able to neutralize the dark forces of hatred, jealousy, disharmony, rupture and destruc. tion."

What a fine passage, filled with sacred medita-tion! The Swami is out here with a full solution for the present ills of the world, at the same time most modern and practical in his thinking. He may not be a scientist but he is more than that as he seems to think with all logic on his side.

We have to attain peace that passeth understanding. Just let us think. These are not the words of a divinely drunk, mad man. The man is full of divinty, it is certain. But he thinks and thinks in a realistic fashion. First must come understanding and then comes of itself and for ever, peace that will make all of us happy and comfortable. Let us behold the world. People do not understand. They fight in their minds and then actually fight, causing unlimited killing of people and property. So much waste of human energy, and due to what? There is hardly any understanding. Hence the present conflagration of ills and evils.

Let us think in a deeper sense. There are so many men, women and children in the world. They have a divine spark in them and they try to express that in their own way and the result is chaos. We have to follow this chaos so as to resolve it into an order. That is the oncoming of peace that passetla understanding. We do not want peace that we cannot understand. We want peace that rests upon understanding. That peace will be a peace for all! time to come, and also that will be a general peace, shared by all. This in the idea of Swami Sivananda.

What a marvellous idea!

This understanding, on which there in such an emphasis by the Swami, will silence bubbling thoughts that lead to indignation. There is excitement due to angry thoughts. They must pass through the discipline of reason. They must be sublimated. Then all cravings will disappear. And then, what ? There will be internal peace, internal culture, internal education. That is what is wanted. If we have that there are going to be no wars and no destruction of human life and property as we witness today and feel frustrated. We feel like losing our faith in human nature. What a tragedy !

Human nature is not bad. It is human. It is wrong to think of a man as a blood-thiraty animal. He has, as I have already said, divinity in himself. He has emanated from the same supreme source, God. But he has not been properly handled, not properly educated to understand the difference between man and man and so he goes on building the structure of a lasting conflict and frustration born of conflict. All this is inhuman and not manly.

Swami Sivananda wants man to go back to the source, God. Let him have proper education and culture and understanding. It might be attained through spiritual meditation. We have to rest in the ocean of divine peace. Then all jealousy, disharmo-ny, rupture and destruction will disappear.

This is the way Swamiji thinks, like a modern thinker. We have just to think and think in a spiritual fashion. Else human understanding will not follow. Then who will think of the ocean of peace?

For resting in an ocean of peoce, Sell-knowledge is of the utmost importance. So we have to rost ourselves in the Self within. This rooting within will certainly work out an atmosphere of sacredness and happiness. If one begins to see one's Self in others there is no room for hatred, jealousy and greed.

Swami Sivananda beautifully sings:

"Wake up, wake up from the sleep of ignorance,

Life is swallowed by death."

This overcoming ignorance makes man inhuman.

It must go. That is death, negation of light, of that illumination which proclaims our sacredness and oneness with God, our source and home.

Swamiji wants this sacred atmosphere to rule in life on earth. For the life to come he does not worry. When life here is all right, when we have about us nothing but an air of virtue, any life to come, if it comes at all, is bound to be good and happy. How beautifully Kabir has exclaimed in his divine ecstasy!

"I shut not my eyes,

I close not my ears,

I do not mortify my body:

I see with eyes open and smile,

And behold His beauty everywhere.

I utter His name and whatever I see,

Reminds me of Him; and whatever I do,

It becomes His worship."

Here we have a comprehensive idea of life, of a life of happiness on earth. One cannot see the negation of life here. Also there is hardly any reference to the life to come. Kabir is content with leading a cheerful and sacred life on earth. That is also Swami Sivananda's philosophy of life.

Life is real and it has to be constant prayer, a constant worship of God. God does not like flattery or songs merely. He wants work. That we have to do and we have our God. We tave necessarily our life's treasure with us. An experience of continued joy and comfort on the basis of work and devotion. We have not to shut our eyes. We have not to close our ears. We have to see Him here on earth. Let us work. That is the prescription. Let us hear, as Kabir would say, the drum of Eternity inside us. We have to root ourselves inside. This is our Swamiji's teaching.

Rooting inside is very significant. We have so many ills and they are due to ignorance or lack of thinking. If we go back to ourselves, all differences vanish.

The present age stands for science and scientific tbinking. We must go back to reason. Not for nothing Rabindranath wrote the following:

"In this great world we ceaselessly pass by the room where mother sits. Here storeroom is open when we want our food; our bed is ready when we must sleep. Only that touch and voice are wanting. We are moving about, but never coming close to the personal presence, to be held by the hand and greeted: 'you have come. Life can be made a happy story only if we see and work. Hence the call is for rationalism. Let us think and act. The joy cannot escape us."

Life has all things in plenty. Only we do not know how to get those things. We fasten upon unreal things and seem to be lost to reality. This is our tragedy and this tragedy is due to ignorance.

Swami Sivananda has a message of illumination for the world. He can take you on in your own adventure. He is free and he wants others to be free.

He believes in the individuality that is sacred. That individuality must find its own full flourishing expression in a free atmosphere.

He is ceaselessly working for this atmosphere. He has so many streams of thought about him as communicated to us through his books and maga-zines. Why not profit by them? We have mother Ganga about us and we have just to plunge into it to come out sacred and divine that we are He is not going to impose upon his own personality. He is as humble as humanly possible. But he wants all of us to be great, courageous and industrious.

Chapter Six

PRACTICAL THINKER

Swami Sivananda is a ceaseless thinkers of life.

He has, to his lasting credit, a large stream of literature touching on life in its so many variations. My faith is that one, belonging to any walk of life, can derive a lot of inspirations from his compositions. He has an unlimited wisdom in his writings and thoughts, enshrined therein for all time to come.

I do not see him as a religious sage, cut off from the rest of the world, living in a solitude devoted to his God. I see him, on the other hand, constantly devoted to humanity. In humanity he has his God.

Not for nothing, as I learn, he everyday in the morning goes round in his Ashram touching the feet of the Ashramites. He sees God in them. And so his life is constantly Godly.

He has a large number of friends all over the world. He talks to them in a ceaseless stream of his letters and books. He cannot be silent. He must attend to every correspondence. What a great gift !

He preaches humility. He wants man to be humble, reducing himself to zero, just in the fashion of Mahatma Gandhi the father of our nation and her freedom. He is humble himself. He teaches a lot, not by preaching alone. Preaching has its place in his scheme. He teaches more by living his teachings. He has religion round him in its deepest essence. How can he teach his religion by preaching? Religion is life and it has to be lived, not taught. That is the difficulty about religion. He hag thus no difficulty. He lives his religion and thus really teaches it. He makes his religion pass into man and his character.

When I just turn to his letters written to me I find so many powerful thoughts, leading me into action. I seem to live those thoughts. Why should I not consider him as a practical thinker? He thinks and leads me into action. Of course, I make my own alterations, as conditioned by aircumstances. I do not follow him blindly. Nor does he want me to be such a blind follower. He reasons and asks me to reason. That is his practical philosophy; THINK AND ACT. Rabindranath Tagore has very beautifully written :-

"The fish in the water is silent,

The animal on the earth is noisy,

The bird in the air is singing,

But man has in him the silence of the sea,

The noise of the earth,

And the music of the air"

What a fine philosophy! And how practical! Man must have power of concentration. For that he needs silence. Then he must act and be noisy. Action means a noise. And then finally he must be sublime in his thoughts and actions. He must have the music of the air. He must have smiling music about him to reach God in joy and sweetness. This is Tagore's idea. Indeed, this is how I see Swami Sivananda in his practical philosophy of life.

Swami Sivananda is a scientific thinker. Scientific thinking must be based on action. And so he is for a harmony, something musical and sweet and smiling. Swamiji wants man to be all- fish, animal and a bird combined. Such a materialization will introduce peace and sweetness on earth.

Swamiji has asked us :

"Purify your heart. Become as sinless as a child.

Open your heart more and more to the glorious

Light of the Eternal.."

The first thing is purity of heart. Good thinking is urgently needed. It will lead to noble and pure action. Then alone man will be as innocent as a child is who has nothing to do with the world, as yet.

But that does not mean that man has nothing to do with the world. How can he do ? He has to live in the world but his actions have to be filled with innocence, associated with the actions of children.

More and more his heart has to be up and sing His praises. That will manifest that constant singing, after the purification of the heart, through the noble thinking and noble acting-that will manifest Him in man, That is the goal of life. That is the idea of Swami Sivananda.

Let us read his compositions, so full of divine Wisdom. We would then be able to live his philosophy. We have to be sacred in our entire existence-thinking, dreaming, sleeping or acting.

Chapter Seven

POET OF SACREDNESS

Who is a post? What does a man need to be a poet? Yes, a poet of vision and penetration so as to be in a position to lead the misery stricken humanity to peace and prosparity? He must have emotions, vision, imagination and gifte for expression. How can he have emotions without sufficient energy and strong desires to elevate humanity? Essentially, he should be an accurate reformer fired with zeal and persistence But what of sacredness? He must have come near God or God realization. Then alone he can have sacredness in his poetic compositions.

Else he might stop with physical beauty. After all, a poet has to show hig penetration into things of beauty; in fact, he has to make them more beautiful than actually they are. He is an artist, pure and simple. But a poet of sacredness, a poet, whose writings lead people towards God and divinity of man, has some concern with physical beauty. But there he has not to stop. He beging there and ends by coming into realization of the spiritual beauty.

Having obtained realizations he has to help others to that sacred realization. This is the function of a poet of sacredness. And this function Swami Sivananda performs marvellously.

In the strict sense of the term he may not be a poet. He does not care for metre or rhythm. But he has substance of a great poet of sacredness. He has things that elevate and he says them emotionally. But his emotion is not that of an ordinary poet, taken up with physical beauty and pleasure. He is above them. He is high in the heaven of spirituality and he constantly sings of God and His manifestations all over the world. There is one thing that he likes, cherishes the most. And that is God. He sees Him everywhere. Wherever he casts his glance he receives the eternal message of the presence of divinity in things of this world. He knows the world to be unreal but he is face to face with the great reality, the presence and personality of God. He beautifully sings:

"Brahman Immortal is all this that is, Nothing is many, though many may seem."

There is nothing new in this idea but think of the presentation. Also think of what follows ?

"All this that exists is Consciousness-Bliss, Pure and Eternal, Awareness Supreme ! "

You are to approach the great realization, awareness, of God in the world and also beyond it. Mark the idea. God is here in all things. You have just to think to catch His glimpse. All depends upon mind. And then there is excessive joy, pure and sacred. There is Bliss of Consciousness. There is joy when you have reached the end of your journey, here is excessive joy in the presence of God. It amounte to: there is excessive joy in the realization of God. Two things are pointed out. The goal of life is God-realization. After or in God- realization there is tremendous joy. Why not strive for such a realization? This is what the Swami says and says во positively.

"Blessed and Calm is that Absolute Peace, Where the Sun and Moon are but lamps without oil ;

Thither that go will return not again, Brahman, I am That, and all this is That !"'

How has he described the end of the journey of life? There are persistent efforts to achieve the goal. These efforts continue as long as the end is far away. The moment the goal is achieved all efforts are to cease. There is absolute peace and calm. You might grow poetic in appreciation of the Sun and the Moon. But the moment you have God within your consciousness you cease to think of the Sun and the Moon. Then there are no efforts and no thoughts. There is one company and that is of God and of peace and of Bliss. All are one; God, Peace and Blies. Really, a very beautiful thing to say! And then what will happen ? All will be forgotten. There will be no consciousness of the world. There will be one consciousness, if at all possible, and that is of your oneness with God.

The Swami may ask you to live in the world; he may ask you to do business; he may ask you to have some necessary worldly ambitions, but he cannot forget Him. And so his ultimate endeavour is God-realization for himself and for others. He is practising virtue and he wants othere to practise it. He is not that kind of Swami who will have the personal ambition to realize Him. He sees his owD realization in the realization of others.

The Swami has these beautiful lines:-

'True knowledge is Brahma Jnana,

It is the living experience of Brahman,

The Indweller, the Inner Ruler,

The Innermost Supreme Self.

The wise man realizes Brahman

In his own heart,

He attains illumination,

He is treed from fear and sorrows."

Think of the true knowledge. There is a ceaseless search for Truth, for the ultimate reality. And what is this ultimate reality? Brahman, that is the only truth, that is the ultimate reality. So that is true knowledge. Attain it to reach your own realization, the realization of God, or the realization of the Self. This self has emanated from God. If you try to realize your own self you are really trying to realize Him. But how to realize? Not by mere meditation. Meditation will open lands of wisdom and penetration but the reality will not dawn unless you live it in your actual life. Live it in your dreams, thoughts, and deeds. That is real realization. That is approaching God concretely and actually. God does not want you to be mere speculators or thinkers. He has created you to act and act in the living present. But act according to Him, according to standards of virtue. So you must have, as the Swami puts it, "living experience of Brahman." And who is this Brahman? He is the indweller, the inner ruler, the innermost Supreme Self. Quite right that the wise man tries to see Him in his own heart and seeing Him forgets all, forgets fears and sorrows. What else do you need to be really happy and contented? Man must have a consistency of approach. He should not be misguided or affected by temporary joy or sorrow.

He is to be above them, as to be near Him, oblivious of all temporary sensation and false awareness. This is attaining illumination and this is also freedom from fear and sorrows.

"Doubts torment him not,

Delusion troubles him not,

Cravings disturb him not,

Passions touch him not."

Is not this state desirable and worth all pains? The Swami repeatedly points to this state and its attainment through true knowledge, Brahma-Jnana.

Exactly in the same fashion and key he has sung :

"Difficulties, adversities and sorrows,

Are Karmic purgations;

They instil mercy in the heart,

They turn the mind more towards God,

They are blessings in disguise,

They help your evolution,

And strengthen your will and power of endurance, They make you more wise and dispassionate."

Already you have been asked to control your passions and strong feelings. Here is the reason, There is an urgent need of a purgation so as to approach God. What is the way? Passing through difficulties, adversities, and sorrows is essential to be near God. You want to possess Him but you cannot possess Him in the absence of incessant work and courage. Work is required as you are to start in right earnest your efforts to approach Him. Mere words, mere meditation, will not give you God. Actions, virtuous and continuous are needed. Life is incessant work; life is continuous. There must be work. It has to be constructive. But all this constructive work is not possible without courage. In life you are to face innumerable difficulties. So be courageous.

After courage will follow mercy in the heart. A strange but an accurate idea. In a truly good heart difficulties do not create bitterness or unhappiness.

There is a strange feeling ofjoy and achievement.

This very feeling of achievement or of defeating the difficulties makes the heart noble and dignified. And little wonder, you have a stream of mercy coming forth and never drying up. And then that journey towards Him and that progress in evolution. True, you have come fiom God but in the world you have grown less Godly. You, therefore, need more of spirituality. Difficulties will give you that measure of Godliness to help you in your evolution. What is this evolution? Your journey back towards God, is the right evolution. You have come from Him. You have to go back to Him. This is the evolution of which the Swami thinks And this journey towards God is the journey performed by the individual along the path of true knowledge. Why not try to possess it?

Rightly Swami Sivananda says:

"You are born for higher things,

A brilliant future is awaiting you,

Apply diligently to Yoga,

Unfold all latent faculties."

What are higher things? Certainly, spiritual things.

But mind one thing. The Swami speaks of them as higher things. It means: there are high things, things of the world which you are not to neglect. The only thing is that you have to keep your eye constantly on higher thinge of spirit; things that make you what you are designed to be-spiritual and Godly, The future as a consequence of present materialism is bad and dismal. There is brightness symbolizing happiness and comfort in consequence of the pursuit of higher ends. So be bold and diligent.

"Yield not to unmanliness,

Shake off faint-heartedness,

Stand up, be bold and cheerful,

Rejoice, enjoy and be blissful."

Just think. Be cheerful to have a bright future of cheerfulness. Look at the idea. There is joy in joy; more than that there is achievement after joyous work. So there is bliss, pure joy and achievement.

This is what the Swami wants.

Be bold, be diligent and be cheerful. This is his message. He beautifully puts the idea :

"Censure and praise are empty sounds

Which affect not the resplendent Self;

They affect not the physical sheath even

Mere vibrations in the ether they are "

Here is the approach made by a scientist and a spiritualist combined. Praise or blame should not affect us, says the Lord in the Gita. So says the Swami. But he says something more. "Mere vibrations in the ether"-what are they? These words of praise or blame. These vibrations should not affect us. Upon reflection it will be found that praise or blame is nothing to affect us. It is just a consequence of what we have done. As such it is bound to come. Let it come. Why should it disturb you for nothing then? What you have done is bound to have reactions. You have just to go on working.

Reward of work is work itself and not praise or blame. So the message is of ceaseless work as worship, without an eye upon the reward.

"Let the world scorn and scoff at you,

Let showers of insults be poured on you,

Let people call you a scoundrel and rogue,

Fear not ! Thou art none but Brahman Supreme."

Note this greatness of man to which by his efforts he can rise. This greatness of man is due to his divine essence. Divine essence revealed through bie deeds and thoughts makes man great and takes him near God, declares him supremely sacred, made by God and made of Him. Has he not declared as sweetly as possible?

"Learn to discriminate,

Learn to despise sensual objecte,

Learn to give what you have,

Learn to look within."

Ideas are quite simple and also dressed in a simple dress of brief and pointed words. Who will nof think of discrimination? But how many discriminate? And what ills are due to lack of discrimination? We all know that. Why not practise discrimination? There are so many evil things that you have to avoid.

There are sensual objects that take all of your precious time. This must stop. These joys of the senses are temporary and do not give us anything lasting and really pleasurable. We should aim at higher pleasures of the spirit, which might not be spirited away.

"Learn to give what you have." A virtuous prescription. But what will remain after giving what you have? All the world of real pleasure will be your possession. What more do you need? So give what you have, to possess unlimited joy and possession. It is ordinary sense, too. Getting and spending should be simultaneous. Without getting there is no spending and without spending how can you think of getting ?

" Learn to look within.' You are to look within for divinity of God. Not that only. You are to show Him in your life. So this necessity for looking within. There is God everywhere. Why this need for looking in for Him? Looking in will lead to reflection, deep reflection wherein you might see His reflection, and thus you may be Brahman sup-reme. This is the message of the Swami.

Is this not sacredness? The emotion expressed by the Swami in his poem is sacred. Verily, Swami Sivananda is a poet of supreme sacredness. I say "supreme" because he has nothing to do with anything apart from sacredness. He is for the sacredness of thoughts and ideas in his poetry. This is what he

ваув :

"Subdue your little self,

Keep the heart pure,

Build the bridge of love,

Enter the Kingdom of Peace."

So the idea is: peace through purity All praise for Swami Sivananda!

Chapter Eight

OCEAN OF SACREDNESS

I have my moments of calm sadness and reflection.

I seem to be afraid of something. A dark cloud hovers over me, as it were, and I feel that I am in need of some strength. I need some cogitation, some sacredness, and what I call my inner spiritual strength. Whenever I think of Swami Sivananda or whenever I happen to read a line from his writings— it may be his illuminating letters or a note written in his own hand, or books sent to me—I become aware of that spiritual strength within me. And why? Why does he send me so many books when I have done nothing for him and have not even seen him?

My world, the world of my thoughts and dreams, is the world of his creation and I live in that. There was a time when my father wanted me to be religious and I had simply laughed then. Now that he is gone, having taught me the lesson of truth, I seem to be drawn towards an ocean of sacredness, and that is Swami Sivanandaji, my source of perennial light and inspiration. What a great blessing he is to me!

Sivananda's books are deep in experience and gacredness. We try to see God and His sacredness, and we fail. Our eyes do not help us. But God is within us That God, not seen by ordinary eyes, but known by the inner eye of faith and intuition, Swami Sivananda points out to us. His is a message that glorilies man, elevates him to the awareness of his Jal nature and ennobles him. Let us take to this message, and we will have a new experience of inner joy and holiness,

Swamiji writes:

"Life is very precious. Time is very precious.

This world is your body. This world is a great school. This world is your silent teacher. Live in the present; forget the past. Give up mundane hopes of the future.

'Think rightly. Act rightly. Learn to discrimi-nate. Acquire spiritual wealth. It is most precious and inexhaustible. You create your own world of worries and troubles. No one forces it on you."

Here is a world of sacredness and strength and the centre of it is Sivanandaji. I Find here a philosophy of life, but remember, it is nothing but a gospel of action and not a philosophy alone. This perspective moulds a man spiritually and makes him strong; it impels him to do virtuous actions that would culminate in an immediate reformation of the individual and, along with him, of others who come in contact with him.

So Sivanandaji asks man to think of himself. Let him think, act and dream rightly. Reason no one can banish. Even this sage of sacredness, who has unlimited faith and devotion, takes the help of reason. We have to learn to discriminate between the real and the unreal. Therefore, reason is our chief agency to discriminate. Let us have this trait in abundance.

After that follows right action which gives all of us a new mould. This mould must contain inexhaustible spiritual wealth. This wealth will enable us to realize God which, in other words, is a realization of life itself.

Let us then live in the present, forget the past and give up mundane hopes of the future. All this amounts to right action with unending perseverance.

This is the teaching of Swamiji, by following which inexhaustible spiritual strength and sacredness will be perennially yours.

Chapter Nine

WAVES OF BLISS

I have just now gone through a very illuminating book. That is "WAVES OF BLISS" by Swami Sivanandaji of Rishikesh. How marvellously eleva. ting is this wisdom from the great fountain of bliss!

As one glances through its pages, even if one reads here and there, one is face to face with a very powerful philosophy of life and action. The goal is clear. That is salvation. And that has to be through a particular life, called divine life.

What a collection of divine poems. Read any and you have got a fountain of joy and inspiration.

There the story will not end. Swami Sivananda has lived a divine life and what he says is directly taken from life That is the beauty of his teachings. He does what he gays.

One poem "True Life" is so very compelling in an inspiring fashion. He says:

"True life is the inner life:

It is Self-realization,

It is all sweet silence—

Man's supreme Goal, centre and ideal."

What is this inner life? Is it to be all meditation?

I don't think that is the idea of the Swami. He wants Self-realization but that does not signify a life of dreams and meditation alone. He wants nothing but life and a life of divine action. Hence his emphasis is upon Self-realization. Inside us there is God; there is eternal divinity which should find expression in our deeds, dreams and thoughts. This is inner life as taken out, as an example for others to follow.

This is what the Swami is doing for us. His divine thoughts find expression in his divine deeds. And we are to follow them. This is a life of sweet silence. Silence here means harmony and no dis. cord. We find all about us wars and their com. panions in the shapa of devastation, hunger and disease. That life must stop. Wars must go. Let us have a life of sweet silence in which we are perpetually in the presence of the Almighty. This is what the Swami wants for us and how beautifully and how sincerely !

"It is the consciousness of the one whole

It is harmony, peace and bliss,

It is the ocean of joy,

It is the fountain of felicity."

So melodiously the Swami sings and how siquificantly! We all try for peace and happiness in the world. We fasten upon objects outside and fail to obtain what we cherish so sincerely. Our approach is wrong. We have to fasten upon our own inside. There is a world outside and that world is of perpetual joy and comfort. But the pity is that we are not able to recognize it. Swami Vivekananda has said: "The Universal Library of the world is within us." But we hardly realise the truth in our life. Why?

Let ue look inside. Let us fasten upon the inner life. But remember, thie looking inside should not lead to selfishness. That will lead as it is leading today, to endless wars. We are certainly individuals but we have emanated from the DIVINE BEING. He lives in all of us. As we look inside, as we fasten upon the inner life, let us see that DIVINITY, that connecting link that should cast off all differences and conflicts. Hence this looking ingide is not journeying towards selfishness but is really reaching out all in the universe so as to be one with all, singing a song of endless joy and harmony, a song shared by all, really a life of sweet silence. What an idea! Let us try to work it out in life.

This is the message of the Swami. That is the wave of Bliss, consciousness of the one whole, true life, as we should see, helped by our intelligence, devotion and penetration.

But how to secure this life as our own? Keep God always in your thoughts, deeds and dreams. All evils find food and source in the mind. The mind is to be purified. Mind purified will originate pure actions. These actions will be towards constructing certain things that matter in life.

This is the prescription for a happy life of sweet silence, of God-manifestation in all our life, to make the world an abode of an abiding peace and harmony. Let us strive for it.

Chapter Ten

PERENNIAL LIGHT

1 have received constant light from Swami Siva. nanda. You study his compositions. How infinite and varied in prose and poetry are they! They are a source of light and illumination. One cannot miss their significance in life. Only thing that is needed is a thinking mind, aided by a feeling heart and a worshipping hand.

Swamiji says :

"O ignorant man, give up thy vanity.

Money is not thy goal,

Power and fame are not thy goal;

Beware of Maya's tricks and jugglery.

Lay down thy unnecessary burden of anxiety.

Take refuge at the lotus-feet of the Lord;

He will not forsake thee."

Swamiji has covered the whole of life and ite experiences and activities. Man has round him an atmosphere of ignorance; an air of darkness that does not aid his eye to get through Maya to near the Reality. Man thinks in terms of differences and the result is a huge activity leading him to his utter destruction. We must have light to remove the darkness.

He has not to fasten upon wealth. That goes and also unmakes man. Man is not man if he is led away by wealth. He very nearly starts thinking that life is to be made of gold. Also that idea must go. This fastening upon wealth leads to unnecessary worry and anxiety. What can man do when he has for his companion eternal worry ?

He must come to the lotus-feet of the Lord. He will not forsake him. This is true. Let us think, how God makes us free of anxiety.

The Swami does not want man to forget the world he lives in. He has to concentrate upon God in his life which means his ideas, dreams, thoughts; actions and deeds are to be harnessed for the pur-pose. He has to lead a virtuous life, always thinking of God as near him.

We might say: How can one think of God when one is engaged in life's activities on earth ?

The answer is: We have to lead a godly life, and God with us. He must live in our thoughts, dreams and deeds. And then our hope is indeed infinite.

This hope is for our release from the ills, evils and anxieties of life. Not only that. We have, thus keeping the company of God, to undertake life as an adventure for happiness and purification. We need a bath for the purification of the body. We also need a spiritual bath for the purification of the heart, That bath God can give us. Why not seek His lotus-feet ?

But let us remember, going to his lotus-feet does not begin a life of mere speculation, mere meditation. In fact, then, life has to be a constant action, conetant virtuous action. This is going to the feat of the Master. How beautifully Kabir has sung !

"O my heart! the Supreme Spirit,

The great Master, is near you.

Awake, Ob, awake ! !

Run to the feet of your Beloved :

For your Lord stands near to your head

You have slept for unnumbered ages

This morning, will you not awake ?"

We have just to shake off our ignorance. We have to think and reach Him. He is in us and near us. We have to change our mind and heart. Today, they are filled by a certain idea that makes us forget our God, our aim in life. We have to go back to ourselves.

The call is clear, and that is for a life of virtue, honesty and sincerity. The Swami is out for a life of reason and sense. If we just put in some sense in our life it becomes a good and godly one that we should make. We have slept long. Let us wake up and come to the feet of the master. He is not far from us. We have to realize Him and also we have to realize ourselves.

Chapter Eleven

PILLAR OF POWER

"Be brave. You have only to remember your goal.

Your purpose here is to know the Self."

—Swami Sivananda.

This is my text for the present article. I have gone through Swamiji's ceaseless writings and have found one thing uniformly present, his message of power and for power.

We have heard of sages, even we may have seen some of them. They all proclaim the virtue of humility. But here is a sage who works out the same message, but in a different fashion. By humility we have to approach God. Our Swami wants us to approach God through Power. The end is the same; achievement of God or His realization in this vely life. Yes, in this very life. Who is certain of the next? If we have not found Him in this very life here on earth, how can we think of finding Him elsewhere? Has not Kabir said :—

"O friend! Hope for Him whilst you live,

Know whilst you live;

For in life deliverance lives.

If your bonds be not broken whilst living,

What hope of deliverance in death ?"

Man has to win his deliverance on earth. He has to know Him, and know Him through ceaseless work, not through humility alone. This is the Swamiji's

message.

Swami Sivananda is working endlessly and wants others to work endlessly. Hence the first and last need of courage.

Man must possess infinite courage. Are we not aware of so large and so endless obstacles in life?

They have to be overcome. Not only that; we have to be resolved into constructive adventures so that our life would. be a life of adventures, taking us near our goal of God and Self-revelation.

Without courage nothing is possible. It is all question of willing. That willing requires a considerable measure of bravery. That we must have in abundance. Then only will it be possible for us to come by what we cherish most in our hearts. Else our life will be a life of dreams only.

Dreams the Swami wants, but he does not want dreams to end as dreams. Dreams must pass into life in a concrete shape. And that is possible through incessant work and devotion; devotion to truth or to one's self.

Devotion to one's truth or self is ultimately devotion to God and to humanity. So we have to remember our goal of knowing the Self. Knowing the Self will amount to knowing God and humanity. God lives in all of us. That God, a universal presence, has to be found out in men and women of the world, This revelation of God in men and women of the world will lead to a lasting friendship and cooperation in the world. We are fed up with wars.

We have enough frustration and sadness. We want them to go. They can see the way of destruction if we are able to build up ourselves as we would be built up after God Himself.

The Swami has thus a double purpose in this knowing of the Self. The individual becomes pure in his deeds, thoughts and dreams. That is reaching God. There he will not stop after this self-purification. He will reach the entire humanity and will be successful in creating a world peace for all time to come.

As such, through self-purification and knowledge of the Self, the individual and the universal meet endlessly. This is the Swami's message of Power.

Let us just analyze. Power is based on work and not on the mere contemplation away from the world.

Swami Sivananda has a synthetic approach. He wants God and world both in the same breath. In other words, he is advocating God in the world.

This is just the thing wanted. We need God urgently in our life. We have enough of evil in the world.

We have to elevate ourselves. Let us start working.

But we will have to change our conception of God, too. We cannot think of Him entirely in loneliness, away from the world. We have to find Him here on earth and in Society. Let us be sufficiently sacred to find Him. We have to run to the feet of our Master. He is near our head and also inside us. Let us follow this search for the Self till we find Him out. That in the goal and we have to strive after that achievement.

Chapter Twelve

FIGHTER FOR PEACE

Just now I have gone through "Radio Talks" of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. These talks are a fountain of delight and illumination. As one courses one's way through them one feels that one is face to face with a great fighter for peace and harmony in the world. The Swami's approach is direct and fascinating as that captures the mind, imagination and heart.

Swamiji speaks:

"Peace, God, Atma Brahman, Immortality, Emancipation are synonymous terms. Righteousness and peace kiss each other. Peace and unity walk together with clasped hands. Desirelessness moves hand in hand with peace. There can be no peace without the love of God."

What a picture of lasting and constructive friend. ship! There is nothing like peace and friendship in the world. This is what the Swami seems to say so beautifully and forcefully. Peace, God, immortality, freedom are all one and the same thing. Here is a definite principle of life behind all human efforts, aspirations and thoughts. There is harmony that we have to seek in every walk of life. You want peace in the world. You get it through God. Think of the idea. You have to find God in your thoughts, dreaming id actions. There is divinity inside you. You have just to show that in your entire behaviour in life. Not only that. You bave to lead a life as prescribed by your God. The atmosphere in the world is rather unholy, full of conflicts. This atmosphere has to go. If it cannot go it must be purified. God is the great purifier. Take that bath of purification. Start praying. Praying does not mean taking God's name countlessly. That might be helpful, but that is not the entire story of achievement. You have to be holy in all your actions, in all your thoughts and desires. This is what the Swami wants you to do. Hence the prescription: Peace and God. It amounts to: Peace through God. Who can object to this ? Peace to be lasting and constructive must be achieved through God. Such a peace will certainly spread all-round sacredness, happiness and harmony. The entire picture of the world will change. There will be great colour, all dignified on account of the presence of God in all our life and its activities. This world we have to create. Why not work for it?

The Swami talks of emancipation and immortality in the same breath. Look at the depth of idea. Emancipation is a great achievement. It is not mere political emancipation. It might begin with that. Without political emancipation it might not be possible to continue our adventure in the realm of freedom But that is not all. Political emancipation creates an atmosphere for our release in so many walks of life, what is important and essential for a good life is mental emancipation. About us there is darkness and ignorance. That is our slavery. This must disappear. If it does not, nothing can happen to elevate us. Mind in bondage means disaster for man. Man is full of adventure if he is free mentally and physically. Without adventures the history of man will be blank.

So emancipation is the thing; emancipation will lead to immortality. Man will die, but his actions, thoughts and dreams will live. That is his immortality; only good actions can be immortal. Good thoughts will live for all time. Good dreams will be an inspiration for coming generations deathlessly. Why not work for this combination of emancipation and immortality? But what is the way for it? Try to have righteousness, peace, love, unity and desirelessness. This is the solution given by Swami Sivananda. He has put his ideas in a frank fashion.

Love and peace, peace and unity, must move hand in hand.

Swamiji sees life as a whole. He has a comprehensive view of life. One cannot talk of peace in solution, peace through God, through love, through unity, through desirelessness, is possible. The Swami has thus covered the entire life and he wants man to be a complete thing, comprehensive in bis actions and thoughts so that he might help in the creation of a lasting atmosphere of peace and happiness.

Where politicians have failed the Swami won't fail. His approach to life and its problems is all. embracing. He does not lasten upon religion alone.

Of course, he cannot give that up. He pictures man in society and then makes him go splendidly doing sacred acts, dreaming sacred acts, sacred thoughts and desires. Politicians have failed as they have fastened upon mere politics. Let us see life steadily and as a whole to achieve peace for all time and for all, without any distinction of caste, colour or creed

Chapter Thirteen

COSMIC LOVER

"One soul dwelle in all. All are manifestations of the one God. By injuring another you injure your own self. By serving another you serve your own self. Love all. Serve all. Hate none. losult none in thought, word or deed."

- Swami Sivananda.

A cosmic heart is speaking here in a very elevating fashion,-he is Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, ceaseless in the pursuit of happiness and peace for all mankind, a sage trying to send his message to the remotest corners of the earth.

The world is in the grips of hatred, anxiety, frustration and destruction. This spectacle that man has to face is man-made, and yet it looks almost impossible. ble to remove this grip. Man is so down in the depth that he seems to see no way out to pass into daylight from this dark and long night of sorrow.

Probably, he does not think. He acts wrongly against man, against himself and the entire world, thus campleting the reign of terror, darkness and sadness on earth.

Swami Sivananda challenges maa. Let us accept his challenge. Let us think.

One Self dwells in all. Will this thought fail to elevate and change us? SELF is with a capital S. A significance is attached to it. Whose self is so great as to be written with a capital S? It is God, our Divine Father in heaven and on earth, in fact, everywhere, who is ever ready to lead us on to light and immortality.

He dwells in all of us. This is the idea, a fundamental idea, which we seem to forget, and thus forgetting, seem to be the makers of our own ruin, Bo complete and so comprehensive at the moment.

Back to the remotest past, most ancient time. What was there? They say: Only God. How long could He live alone? That was His problem. He got tired, and modelled men upon men, and women upon women, after His own image or in His own image, and thus came into being this endless earth peopled by us. Thus teach our scriptures.

We are from God, and if so, the Self certainly lives in us. Yet, we fight! Are we not fighting against ourselves, our God? This ignorance will have to go. This is the idea of Swamiji. Let us catch it, and we have peace and joy in our hold for all times to come.

Love all. Serve all. Hate none. Insult none in thought, word or deed.

Here Swamiji is visualizing full life in all its manifestations. Man has to live in society. Let him live as a social being capable of loving and serving people in society, steadily and increasingly. Not only has he to be capable of but he has to love and serve all, hating none, in thought, word or deed. A good ideal! Why not follow it ?

The ideal, of course, is simple and bold, but its achievement in a concrete shape is very difficult, if not impossible. Man has to elevate himself. He hes to realize that he is living both for himself and for others as he has to live for his God who resides in all of us.

Man has abundance of greed, of selfishness ap hunger. The result: the present world of ills surrounde him. He has created through selfishness, greed and hunger hie own sorry scheme of things.

He has to unwrite all this story. Let him rewrite his story of achievements after perpetual elevation, internal and external. He has to realize himself his God and thus he has to create a world of sacredness and conesquent happiness and comfort.

The idea that he has to persist is: One Self dwells in all. And that is possible by injuring none, hating none in thought, deed or word. There the prescription does not end. If it ends at that, the approach is negative at best. Hence, Swamiji goes on to write:

Love all. Serve all.

The aim is entire revolution of man in his thought, word and deed. Ultimately this individual revolution will lead to a universal revolution for all time. What is the weapon for achieving this revolution ? BE A COSMIC LOVER. This is what Swamiji is trying to be. He has friends, lovers and admirers all over the world. His message is of Cosmic Love and Fellowship. His teachings have a running stream of this Divine Love. Let all read them, follow them and make the revolution com ›lete and unending.

Chapter Fourteen

CONQUEST OF THE LIFE EARTHY

To-day there is all-round suffering. Man's lot seems to be miserably unhappy. There must be a way out. Here is a solution :

"The raft of knowledge of the Self will take you safely over the stormy waves of this great ocean of Samsara. You will not be affected by even the worst kind of adversities and sorrows. Therefore, struggle hard to attain this knowledge. Disseminate this wisdom of the Rishis and bear witness to it in daily life." So says Swami Sivananda.

What a good solution! Aud also how cartain and in a way, how easy! What is there in darkness? People go on fighting in darkness and millions over millions are killed They are not allowed to show their best in life through their dreams, thoughts and deede. They wanted a free atmosphere to develop, to show the divinity that resides in them. That atmosphere was denied to them on account of continuous fighting. That darkness that kills so many people all over the world must disappear. After all, man has to show what he is possessed of, his actions and thoughts have to be manifestations fo God that is in them. Let him have the light of Wisdom Let him have peace that in as refreshing

Similarly, we need silence to refresh our wisdom.

Let us go further and think. You need urgently peace to refresh your wisdom. That peace is possible through knowledge, and not in the pregence of ignorance, that is so inhuman and so wasteful. Yes, it is tremendously wasteful, this ignorance, which seems in plenty, all around un to-day. It kills all constructive strength, and the world goes the other way, the present way of destruction and frustration on a mass scale. Why not give up this ignorance ?

This great ocean of Samsara is so stormy, so full of dangers. We have to cross it, we have to overcome the difficulties that come in our way. Knowledge of them, knowledge of the causes that lead to them, followed by planning and action, will lead to success. Success requires three things: knowledge is first, planning is second and action is the ultimate, taking us to the Reality, from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light and also from death to immortality.

Hence the need for the raft of knowledge of the Self. Mark the words "of the Self." You need to know your own self to know the self of others. The Bible says "Love thy neighbour". How practical! How can you forget loving your own self? That is so certain. But do not love your own self directly. Love others. In loving them you come to love God and God is in all of us. Naturally, you come to love your own self. That you want Have it, show your love for yourself in the love of others. This is the teaching of the sages.

Almost there is an identical experience in our acquisition of the knowledge of the Self and of others. Whether you want to know your own Self or you want to know others you have to start knowing both. Hence the Swami rightly asks you to possess Self-knowledge.

But what is this knowledge of the Sel:? You are not to be selfish. You have to think in terms of the good to entire mankind. That idea will be a reality if you concentrate upon the knowledge of the Self. Just think. What was in the beginning? We did not come all of a sudden and without a cause or an agent.

They say (and that is the truth), in the beginning there was Ged alone. For sometime He lived all alone. But in due course He felt an urge to express Himself in the many. We are the many. And so God lives in us. We are His projections. If you think deeply over this idea, it will take you nearer to the Reality. This Self-knowledge alone is powerful enough to lead to a common brotherhood throughout the universe. And that is the way, the only way to an eternal peace.

What will be the consummation? As a result of Self-knowledge, there will be no sorrows, no adversities. Visualize a continuous bright day of happiness and concord. How realistically Swami Sivananda has said :

"Remove selfishness and egoism. Calm the passions. Purify the heart. Analyze your thoughts.

Scrutinize your motives. Cleanse the dross of impurity. Realize God."

All this will obtain as a direct reaction to Self knowledge. That much is certain. Man has to be unselfish if he wants peace in the world His passions have to be calmed. Else he remains a brute. Passions are bad and they lead to anger and excitement, not bafitting a gentleman. There is culture when passions have been stilled. Culture ?

Is it not a discipline? How can you have it when passions are free ?

Next, you are to analyze your thoughts, scrutinize your motives and thus to cleanse the dross of im-purity. And that is realizing God Himself.

Purity is the aim. Passions must go and instead of them, what we need today is the light of reason. And so we are to think and think till the abstract— God, becomes a reality to all of us.

This is the wisdom of the sage of the Himalayas.

This light of wisdom is to be our constant inspiration.

Chapter Fifteen

MESSAGE OF SWAMI SIVANANDA

LIGHT, POWER, WISDOM

Many have heard of Swami Sivanada; many have read his writings that are so numerous and so precious in their value. He writes ceaselessly, for he has unlimited and indefinable knowledge and inspiration to communicate to the world. He is a Sage of light, power and wisdom. He has reached God and knows His mission on earth. His love for the mankind and the infinite zest to serve them have goaded bim to start the Divine Life Society and its other allied institutions. There is nothing limited about him: I might think of him as a Sage of wisdom indefinable Many have found in him, in bis books, that are replete with perennial light and power, progressive truth and realization of the Supreme. He is an embodiment of saintliness and envelops others too in Godliness. A student of literature or philosophy, a psychologist or a scientist can get a wealth of ideas from him. In him is found a new world, always rich with newer experiences.

Swamiji is full of tolerance. Ha has disciples in almost all the parte of the world, either in America or Europe, in China or South East Asia, Africa or Australia. He teaches his disciples according to their culture and ability or degree of understanding.

He is a wise and successful teacher. and ha has sean so much of life that he will prescribe to you what you exactly need and what you can act up to.

"Live in the world but be not of the world" is the message of the Swamiji to us. He prefers a life of comprehensive, selfless activities in order to enter the fullness of life. "You are not to forget the source from which you have come and where you will return. That source is the Supreme Lord or the all-pervading Self. Seek to realize Him. Live in His awareness." What a great and sacred idea! We are to go back to God. Granted. There is no wisdom in going away from Him. "Lead a holy life and there is no question of going back. God is within you. He is your constant Companion. Know Him through service, discipline, devotion and meditation" Could there be a great message to the world than this?

According to Swamiji it is not essential to shun the world but one has certainly to shun his worldly angle of vision. One must realize God by knowing Him to be manifest in His creations. Here is a prescription for a life of reason and light. One has indeed to behold that Light within himself and within all! There is nothing that Swamiji prescribes which is not based upon sound sense of judgment. He is a teacher of perseverance and persuation.

Clear conscience and faith are the key to power.

Conscience must be clear to live a healthy and happy life. Clear conscience is the prime requisite for the dawn of divine grace. And faith must be there to give weight to what one gets in consequence of inspiration. The most powerful man is he who is true to his conscience and looted in the Lord is his faith.

"March forward on the spiritual path. The light is within you. Fix the mind on the Lord. Kill egoism and pride. Cultivate fellow-feeling and universal brotherhood. Love all You will have a full life."

Here is the gold beaten into words of wisdom. In Swamiji's words, nay, not words alone-for he is a man of action and be has all praise for action-there lies the wisdom that brings about a thorough change in one's life and makes him happy for ever. Not only do these words give one happiness but are capable of leading one to God-realization. They lead one to the Real from the unreal, to the Light from ignorance, to Immortality from death. What mole can one hope for himself? For, herein lies the fulfilment of all desires of all the worlds.

Chapter Sixteen

SWAMI SIVANANDA'S PHILOSOPHY

Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj of Rishikesh is a great sage. He lives in the company of God incessantly. More than that he is a teacher, a world-teacher, keen on elevating mankind. But how does he do all this? He lives in Rishikesh and has many disciples all round him. He does not leave Rishikesh and yet he is a treasure house of comfort and instruction to millions of people, all over the world. But that is not true. He is getting nearer and nearer to God so that he might uplift and comfort humanity by his illumination. He is freeing himself to free others; he is delivering himself to deliver others. There is no ignorance about him; instead he has light and illumination. He is now spreading that light. But how? That question remains to be answered.

Swami Sivanandaji has written so many books; they are all a world of knowledge and experience. The are leading people and they will continue to lead. They are definite thinge, something precious which generations ill afford to forget. Then, he is responsible for a number of first-rate magazines; the DIVINE LIFE, HEALTH & LONG LIFE, the FOREST UNIVERSITY WEEKLY, and the WISDOM LIGHT. In all these journals words of his wisdom, hence words of universal and eternal wisdom, appear ceaselessly. And the purpose is the same-to illumine and lead.

This is right education that the Swami is imparting and how delightfully! Just peep into hie books and magazines. This peeping is so good that you have a true and lasting glimpse of the reality behind all these appearances, so deceptive and so killing.

Now think of the way. What has he prescribed to achieve all this? Here are his words. Write them in gold: they are forall time and they are for all.

"Do not be credulous. Do not give your ear to every saying or suggestion, news or rumour. Weigh them very carefully. Ponder well, cogitate. Then come to a definite conclusion. If anything does not tally with Shruti, Yukti, Shastras, reasoning, and your own experience, reject it ruthlessly, even though it comes from the mouth of Brahma. If it agrees with the above, accept it as the gospel of truth even though it comes from the mouth of a child."

What is all this that the Swami is talking about ?

Is he not asking you to possess the same outlook as that of a rationalist? You might, if you don't think deeply, doubt his religiousness. But that is not the thing. The Swami is a true religious sage. He is not taken up by the show of religion. He has gone deeper; he has pierced through the apparent deception of religion, from religion to reason.

Look at the method. You are not to take anything for granted. Anything may come down to you as a tradition. Cogitate over it and accept or reject it as your reason allows you to do Only that is precious which is accepted by your reason. Animals are animals as they have no reason. You have reason to use it and if you don't you get down to the level of animals. That you are not prepared to be. That is good. Try your reason and step out of darkness to come to light and greatness. That is the advice. That is the philosophy, I get from Swamiji's life and teachings. That is the philosophy I am trying to practise in life.

The world round us is full of deceptive suggestions and sayings. Why not scrutinize them? There is misery in the world. You are here to dismiss it.

Do so by working under the guidance of thought and reason. Even if things don't agree with accepted principles and contents of religious literature, you are to reject them. What an advice! What a merciless reason! After all that is reason and we have to follow it.

Here you can think of Swamiji as a scientific thinker, keen on truth and experiments for verification. What else will a scientist say? That is said by Swamiji. He is for the glorification of reason and truth. It might come from the mouth of a child. There is God in all of us. There is God residing in the child. God might speak through his mouth. This is common experience. Whenever we do an evil thing, there is a protest from inside, It might be feeble but it is there. That is the Voice of God. Why not listen to it? What is feeble today will assume strength in due course if you are on the right path, following God and His wishes all your life. This feeble voice you have to perfect by your thoughts, dreams and deeds. This we fail to do and. thus become endless witness of misery and war.

"Turn to the pages of the Great Book of Nature and study them carefully." Again this is Swamiji. The Book of Nature is our true Teacher. There are times in which you live and there are times when you don't live, when you simply exist. Your times of living should be continuous. So turn to the great pages of the Great Book of Nature.

What a fundamental idea! In fact, this is to be our ideal and also outlook. We have to go through the Book of Nature. We cannot stick to anything endlessly except one thing and that is Nature and Reason, all in one.

Let the Light of Reason be our quide, friend and teacher. This is the philosophy of Swami Siva-nandaji. Who will not follow it to come to comfort and to one's real Self ?

Chapter Seventeen

ONE IMPULSE FROM SWAMI SIVANANDA

I always remember the lines from William Words. worth, my favourite poet of Nature when I think of Swami Sivananda Maharaj of Rishikesh:

"One impulse from a vernal wood

May teach you more of man,

Of moral evil and good,

Than all the sages can."

That is William Wordsworth's reaction to Nature, a great treasure of knowledge and light, quite sufficient to lead up to a revolution in the world. I have a similar feeling when I think of Swamiji, who is a source of tremendous light to me. I have my moments of frustration and darkness. I seem to waver and wander for light for the resolution of my difficulties. I get an impulse from him and everything becomes all right.

I do not think of him as a merely religious sage. I consider him a successful man of the world himself immensely happy and enlightened and capable of giving that immense joy and light to people near him and through them and through his ceaseless stream of booke, he has the ability to transform the world into a garden of joy, light and culture. Indeed, a rare combination of divinity and reason, of precept and practice, the need of the hour, this Swamiji is to us! I wish he could be with us forever

His burden is on education, an instrument of real culture and discipline. How beautifully and thoughtfully, he says:

"Educate your mind to see only the good in all. Educate your mind to practise the teaching: Be Good and Do Good."

And education has to be comprehensive, covering all aspects of life-education of mind, heart and hand, simultaneously. Then alone real good is possible. We have to see only the good in all. This is like seeing God in man. If you just think deeper, it is like taking the inside outside, the real emergence of inside divinity in our acts and thoughts. Indeed this is the message that man has to translate in his life.

We have in the world enough of evil, selfishness and frustration. We have to ameliorate this sordid state of affairs just to have the necessary and proper atmosphere for the propagation of divinity in man.

Man is God's creation. Let us see the Creator in the created. All ills will disappear immediately. We need this revelation of God in man. Then we will see nothing but good in man. That way if the world goes we are bound to be enveloped by a true atmos: phere of peace and security.

Imagine an atmosphere of peace and security in the world in consequence of this type of education of mind and body. A new world adven. ture and truth will emerge. Man will have ceaseless opportunities of work and of realization. He will be good and do good. This is the world Swamiji dreams of and so he says :

"Real culture is Self. realization,

Real culture is attainment of perfection,

Real culture is to be in tune with the Infinite."

Here Self-realization, Perfection and the Infinite are to be taken as identical, and there is nothing wrong in this supposition. Indeed, this supposition means the real effort for work and joy. Without this combination of work and joy, no realization, no communion with the Self or with God is possible. Here is a philosophy of work and of happiness, a philosophy which alone can liberate us-free us from the burden of darkness and pain.

Swamiji wants to begin from the beginning. Let us analyze our own self and then to Sacredness and God is an easy journey and a lasting journey of joy and satisfaction. A very simple prescription and yet so very difficult! I wish we could learn this lesson from the teachings of Swamiji. After all, we cannot long remain in darkness and sorrow.

Swamiji is extremely practical in his teachings. He is not, at least not to me, that type of a sage who wants to live away from the world in an ocean of sacredness ALONE. He has tremendous sacredness and loves it, but this love does not blind him to what he might come across in the world and which might not be true sacredness. He is a comprehensive teacher, a philosopher of all things and of all objects, and so he wants us to see the good in all.

He is however, definitely aware of enough that is not good and what is invariably to be found in man, but he wante us to concentrate upon that which is good-and that is seeing God in man; that is positively an emergence of divinity in us.

Here is an indication of the depth of his heart, steeped in sacredness and joy. That depth he wants to see in all of us. It might be a difficult adventure undertaken by him to see sacredness spread in the entire humanity, but not an impossible thing!

Truth alone will persist and shine; Swamiji's light is eternal and all embracing, in fact, limitless and everdeepening.

Chapter Eighteen

SWAMI SIVANANDA AND STUDENTS

Swami Sivanandaji of Rishikesh is known to most of us as a great spiritual sage. But he is more than that. He is a great educationist and has fine ideas for students. He loves God more than himself. He loves students not less. He has found his God in all seekers after Truth. Students ought to be pere. nial seekers after Truth. The Swami sings :

"O Students! wake up, wake up now

From the slumber of ignorance

God is the prop and foundation of the Society."

Words are sweet and natural; they come from the depth of feeling and experience. Also from that source of divinity that we call God, they come. This is the voice of God that speaks. Who can be deaf to this eternal voice? And the voice is a call back to God.

Think of the world. There is frustration: (here is misery and pain. Dishonesty is the ruling passion.

The fashion is for artificiality What is really horrible is the disappearance of the feeling for and awareness of God. Yet we call ourselves learned and educated! This in pure ignorance and its evils are so many, really countless and apparently perenial. Cut clear of this ignorance. This is the call to students. Why not think of this call as given to all of us? Are not all Seekers after truth? Are they not Students? Whatever the thing, let us hear the voice and act up to it.

Ignorance will not be meaningful. It will not cut any ice in the world. Most of our present ills are to be traced back to ignorance. Let the students understand the power and destruction of ignorance. Let them be engaged in an endless (and not purposeless) quest of truth. Let them have infinite curiosity. With this weapon they can cut clear and across all difficulties in life. Not only that. They will soon reach God. They will be virtuous. That is what God wants them to be. They have come from God and they have to be near Him. This knowledge of God must be their possession. It is simply tragic and unthinkable if some of our enlightened politicians of the day tempt us to forget God and religion in their enthusiasm for everpthing secular. Let us rise from this slumber of ignorance. If students rise, all will rise. They are our makers of tomorrow.

'What of Politics ?

The Swami clearly says :

Do not entangle yourself in Godless "Isms",

You will be completely ruined ultimately,

Pin your faith in the words of Rishis and sages of yore."

You might for a moment think that he is asking you to give up all politica, Even if he does he is not mistaken. What is present politics? Is it not mean and low? Ennoble it and have it. But for God's sake don't go in for it as it obtains today. That will really kill you. These "Isms" are quite unmea. ningful. They themselves are not more than mere "Isms". They don't teach you the way to come to something concrete in life. Do give them up. Plainly speaking the idea is to give up present politics. But not all politics. Really good and noble politics you must have. You are living in an age of democracy. Without politica there is no scope for democracy and freedom. But ennoble it. The Swami has positively asked you to forget these 'isms' and to pin your faith in the words of Rishis and sages of yore. The point is there. As students your work is with books and life of honesty and virtue Under education imitation does a lot. Keep the company of sages and their words. They will keep the torch of virtue constantly burning before you. Believe for ever it is only out of purity that great achievements have emerged. The first and the last thing for students to achieve is purity. Purity is not to be found in these 'Isme' and so the Swami wants them to disappear. They should not attract our students.

But one thing: the Swami is not tooth and nail against the 'Isme'. He is a scientific thinker and he is most modern in his approach to our problems.

Living today, surrounded by politics, you cannot avoid it. But one thing you are capable of doing.

Don't pin your faith in it. You can make your acquaintance with it but don't depend upon it: for there is nothing like the words of the Rishis and Sages of yore. They lived in God and their words are of divine origin. You have come from God:

you are never to go against Him. Rest in Him. That way lies your emancipation. That is an atmosphere filled with unspeakable joy. You can flourish and flower in it.

Mere Science no use !

The Swami loves Science but not all of it and not as a lasting possession.

"Do not be carried away by science and its inventions.

It is tinsel and broken glass pieces.

Study Upanishads, Gita and Brahmasutras.

You will find priceless treasures here.

This study and practice alone can give you solace

and peace."

His words are to be weighed. Don't be carried away by them. Science and its inventions have their meaning and utility. But they are not to be considered ends in themselves. It is good to have it and be profited by its inventions. But if one were to fasten upon them for ever, one would do a great wrong, one would certainly near unhappiness. Have science in some limited measure. That is his advice.

So students need not think that they are to give up the study of sciences. In fact, students must have more and more of them but they are not to be devoured by them.

There is the scientific approach. That is mos! desirable. Without that nothing in life can be accomplished. It might sound paradoxical to say in the same breath not to have too much to do with Sciences and yet to possess the scientific approach or attitude. But really it is not so The scientific approach is the only approach to lead us to suscas in life. You want to see God. You caa see Him with the aid of the Scientific outlook Blind faith, blind adoration, blind singing, all these will not avail So we must have the scientific approach. And yet we are not to fasten upon the tinsels of science, these inventions of science, which might entangle us in a deep and lasting tragedy. We must have solace and rest on earth. We can have it by fastening upon the priceless treasures of old, of religious wealth, as contained in the Upanishads, Gita and Brahmasutras. The Swami has made capital of this literature with a purpose. Our tendency is to forget religious wealth and literature. This is bad If we have lost our soul and have gained the entire world, our gain is nothing, and we can never be filled with solace and rest and happiness.

Education for Self-realization.

"You will repent in old age.

Do not waste this precious life in fighting

Lite is meant for Self-realization."

Here are immortal lines, not on account of their poetic intensity and emotion. These lines contain eternal truthe. In the world, at the moment, there is full scope for fighting, and Science widens this scope. But that is not life. This life is full of misery and difficulties. Life is for Sell-realization and for unlimited joyous experience. The great principle of life is love and not fighting. If we are to abolish wars in future we must train the students in the art and practice of life of love and fellow-feeling. These students will ripen into men and women of tomorrow. Make them filled with limitless love and sympathy. Science alone cannot do so. There are people who think of wars as born of scientific advances. They are not wrong. Science by itself is not bad. But it is in bad hands. And so the present havoc. Science has not to be destroyed. But man has to learn the art of successful living, which consists in the practice of love and fellow-feeling. So these students must have both; science and religious literature. Science will give them the knowledge of the world. Religious literature will teach them to remain peaceful in spite of scientific advances. In this combination of science and religious literature there is a bright future for mankind.

This combination alone will lead to Self-realiza-tion. Swamiji rightly says:

"Practise Yoga, Vichara and reflect

You will attain immortality."

What a great call to students? And how virtuous!

And how virtue filling? The students have a hard task to perform. From darkness to light, from the unreal to the real, from death to immortality they have to pass And what are their aids? Yoga, Vichara and reflection. I see here nothing but a combination of science and religious literature and practice. So think and think to act ceaselessly Virtue will come, and with it Self-realization. God Himself will appear. But practise virtue and reflection Here is the road to immortality, to light and to Truth. Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached. Rest and solace will follow.

Chapter Nineteen

IF BUT TO GOD WE TURN

Oh! there is never sorrow of heart

That shall lack a timely end,

If but to God we turn, and ask Of Him to be our Friend!

- Wordsworth.

There is intensity of philosophy behind these poetic lines. The picture is of the world, apparently sad and unsatisfying. People are lost in materialism and they are lost to God and to themselves. Life is here for adventure of happiness but that is not possible on account of darkness that seems to cover us. We don't think of God, of divinity that resides in us and that must come out abundantly in what we think or dream or act.

Difficulties are there and in plenty but they must be ended. Turn to God, to sacredness and there is no difficulty, no frustration. This is what the poet suggests after a life of deep contemplation. That is what our Swami Sivananda says today. He is here with us trying unceasingly to have nothing but sweetness and sacredness in the world. He has seen through life and is definite in his mind that sacredness alone, life with God by our side, can make us happy for all time to come. Happiness alone is not the end We haveto go back to God. We have emanated from Him. In course of our journey on earth, face to face with things of life, we have forgotten our God. That is our tragedy. We must be out of the tragedy. Let us turn to God.

Turning to God is not to be a mental experience merely. It is that and beyond that also Beyond that really matters: that is life, real life of joy and fulfillment. On this life Swamiji fastens.

Hence the need of 'Divine Life." I wish we could all unite in our efforts to have full divinity on earth. Divinity of thought must end in divinity of life, of acts and deeds. That is our burden. That way Swamiji points and points successfully. His stream of divine thinking is ceaseless. Just think of books he sends you all. They reveal, in glowing and crystal clear colours, a new life, a new brave world of divinity and sweetness. We have just to feel it about us. It is there, all-permeating.

To my mind he is altogether modern and progressive. His learning is vast and his learning covers all time-past, present and future. He never wants you to give up the world. He is a brave saint. He wants you to face life in all its complications. Facing life and its complications is real life, a life of sweet thinking and acting. He would naturally sing with Rabindranath:

"Thou hast given us to live.

Let us uphold this honour with all our strength.

and will;

For thy glory rests upon the glory that we are.

Let this be our prayer to thee.

Give us power to resist pleasure where it enslaves us;

To life our sorrow up to thee us the summer holds its midday sun."

If we go deeper, penetrating life's mystery, face to face with reality, we feel nothing but a sweet and sacred stream about us; all our sufferings end and we seem to be masters ourselves. Slavery to sorrow must end. Let us think; let us be free. We must uphold the honour to live with strength and will.

This strength, this will, is the thing. Let us cultivate sweetness and culture. Sweetness and culture are good and unfailing companions. Life is bound to be happy. That is one thing. Life, our life, then enables others to enjoy happiness. "Make us strong that our worship may flower in love and bear fruit in work''-this must be our prayer. Let us act up to it.

There is enough frustration in the world today; there are so many walls. Future also appears dark.

There is an urgent need for divine life in the world.

I am sure the forthcoming All-India Divine Life Conference at Calcutta will be a great success.

Frustration and darkness will soon disappear, and sweetness will emerge triumphant everlastingly.

STORY OF SWAMI SIVANANDA

HIS SAYINGS ARE GUIDING LIGHTS

Sri Sivananda's journal contains many short sayings. Some of them apply to your life now as it is. With Brahman in you, you have nothing to fear. Each of the sayinge is trying to make you aware of something, the Atman within you. Yoga is the way to libera-tton. There are various sayings about the methods of Yoga and what one needs to get at the culmination of Yoga practices. The say-inge are a sort of quiding lights which renew and refresh your spiritual feelings as well as give many helpful instructions. —Hendry Keatz

SIVANANDA REMINDS

Sivananda's pamphlet, is a cogent reminder to persons who have a sense of the spiritual purpose of man

There are some phrases which are extremely stimulating (i.e. "Solitude is not found by retieat to a monastery; one must find solitude in one's own heart).

The pamphlet does emphasize one point; you cannot simply wait around for some kind of divine inspiration; you must start to work immediately to improve yourself and to seek to find the divine within yourself.

—Dale Polisson.

SIVANANDA 'S

SPEECHES AND PHILOSOPHICAL

SONGS

Through Gramophone Records

PREFACE

To disseminate quickly spiritual knowledge, Sankirtan, Bhakti and the knowledge of Yoga and to enable the people to learn the correct tune of songs and Dhwanis and to serve them as a definite means of positive Satanga Sri Swamiji Maharaj has given his inspiring, soul-stirring speeches, Bhajans and philosophical songe in English, Sanskrit and Hindi through 13 Gramophone Records. The gist of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Vedanta and the six schools of philosophy is given in these songs.

This is indeed a novel and potent way of spreading spiritual knowledge. Sri Swamiji Maharaj says:

"Life is very very complex in these days. The struggle for existence is very keen. Man finds no time to study big philosophical and religious books.

Here is a compressed sugar-coated Yoga-tablet or philosophical or spiritual pill for you all in the form of Gramophone Records, for easy assimilation and ready absorption. Hear the songs just before going to bed and in the early morning, Brahmamuhurta.

You will enjoy supreme Peace and highest Bliss.

This will be a sort of Swadhyaya or study of religious books and meditation. You will slowly lead a divine life. You will be free from horrible dreams. Your mind will be filled with Sattva. You will develop balance of mind, inner spiritual strength and strong will gradually There will be an inner urge to lead a spiritual life. This is constant Satsanga for you even in the busy world of noise, strife and turmoil.

You need not run hither and thither in search of Yogine. You will save much money. Live in the spirit of these teachings and attain Moksha or emancipation in this very birth."

A new "edition" of these Records will be available in a few weeks. Kindly watch for the announcement in these columns.

Sivanandanagar, Secretary

RISHIKESH } The Divine Life Society.

Dist. Dehra Dun

Record No. H.S.B.12712 & H S.B./2717

SPEECH ON: THY REAL NATURE

(H.S.B /2712)

OM OM OM

Beloved Immortal Self,

Religion is faith for knowing and worshipping God. It is not a matter for discussion on a club table. It is the perception and realisation of the True Self. It is the fulfilment of the deepest craving in man. Therefore hold Religion as the goal of your life. Live every moment of your life for its realisation. Life without religion is real death.

Analyse your thought. Scrutinise your motives.

Remove selfishness. Calm the passions. Control the Indriyas. Destroy egoism. Serve and love all. Purify your heart. Cleanse the dross of mind. Hear and reflect. Concentrate and meditate. Attain Self-realisation.

There is something dearer than wealth; there is something dearer than your wife. There is something dearer than your children. There is something dearer than your life itself. The dearest something is Thy Own Self (Atma). Inner Ruler (Antaryami). Immortal (Amritam). The Immortal Self can be realised by incessant practice of meditation.

Hey Saumya! Dear Immortal Self! Be bold. Be cheerful, even though you are in the role of un-employment, though you have nothing to eat, though you are clad in rags, thy essential nature is Sat-chit-ananda. The outer cloak, this mortal physical sheath is an illusory production of Maya Smile, whistle. laugh, jump, dance in joy and ecstasy. Sing OM OM OM! Ram Ram Ram! Come out of this cage of flesh. Thou art not this perishable body. Thou art Immortal Soul. Thou art sexless Atma. Thou art that Atma who dwells in the chambers of your heart. Act as such. Feel as such. Claim your birthright, not from tomorrow or the day after, but right now from this very second. "Tat Twam Asi" Thou art That. Feel. Assert. Recognise. Realise, my beloved Ram.

Find out your centre. Dwell always in this centre. This centre is the abode of supreme Bliss and eternal sunshine. This centre is the Param Dhama or Paramagati or Supreme goal. This centre is your sweet original Home, the abode of Immortality and fearlessness. This centre is Atma or Brahman. This is the Imperishable Brahmic seat of ineffable splendour and glory.

KIRTAN: MAHAMANTRA

(HSB/27]7)

"Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare."

Record No. HSB-2714 & HSB-2716

SPEECH ON: BHAKTI YOGA

(HSB-2714)

Hari OM! Hari OM! Hari OM !

Children of Light !

Bhakti is intense devotion unto the Lord. Bhakti is the basis of all religious life. Bhakti destroys Vasanas and egoism. Bhakti elevates the mind to magnanimous heights. Bhakti is the master-key to open the chambers of wisdom. Bhakti culminates in Jnana. Bhakti begins in two and ends in one. Para Bhakti and Jnana are one.

There is no virtue higher than Love; there is no treasure higher than Love; there is no Dharma higher than Love; there is no religion higher than Love, because Love is Truth and Love is God. Love, Prem and Bhakti are synonymous terms. This world has come out of Love, this world exists in Love and this world ultimately dissolves in Love. God is an embodiment of Love. In every inch of His creation you can verily understand His Love.

A life without love, faith and devotion is a dreary waste. It is a real death. Love is divine. Love is the greatest power of earth. It is irresistible. It is Love alone that can really conquer the heart of a man. Love subdues an enemy. Love can tame wild, ferocious animals. Its power is infinite. Its depth is unfathomable. Its nature is ineffable. Its glory is indescribable. The essence of religion is love. Therefore develop pure love.

Kindle the light of love in your heart. Love all. Include all creatures in the warm embrace of your love. Cultivate Viswa-Prem or all-embracing, all-inclusive cosmic love. Love ie a mysterious divine glue that unites the hearte of all. It is a divine magical healing balm of very high potency. Charge every action with pule love. Kill cunningness, greed, crookedness and selfishness. The Immortal can be attained only by performing acts of kindness continuously. Hatred, anger, jealousy are removed by continuous service with a loving heart. You will get more strength, more joy, more satisfaction by doing kind acts. Practice of compassion, charitable acte, kind services, purify and soften the heart, turn the heart-lotus upwards and prepare the aspirant for reception of divine light.

Live in Love. Breathe in Love. Sing in Love. Eat Love. Drink Love. Walk in Love. Tal) in Love. Pray in Love. Meditate in Love. Think in Love. Move iL Love. Write in Love. Die in Love. Taste the honey of Divine Love and become an embodiment of Love (Prem Vigraha or Prem Murthy).

KIRTAN: RAMA DHWANI LAGHE

(HSB-2716)

Rama Dhwani Laghe, Gopala dhwani laghe Kaise Chute Ye Rama Dhwani Laghe.

III

Record No. HSB-2713 and HSB-2720

SPEECH ON: SELF. REALISATION

(HSB-2713)

OM OM OM.

Children of Light !

Behind thie world-show, behind these physical phenomena, behind these names and forms, behind the feelinge, thoughte, emotions and sentiments, there dwelle the silent Witness, thy Immortal friend and real well-wisher, the Purusha or world Teacher, the unseen Governor or Master, the unknown Yogi, the Invisible power of consciousness or hidden sage. That is the only permanent Reality and living Truth.

That is Brahman or the Supreme Being or the Ab-solute. That is Atma. That is Self. The goal of human life is to realise the reality behind the changing phenomena. The summum bonum or human aspiration is to attain Self-realisation. Self-realisation alone can make you absolutely free and independent. Trust not your body, mind and the senses. Have inner spiritual life. Attain knowledge of the Self through steady devotion and discipline. Drink the nectar of Immortality, quench the flames of Samsar and allay its tortures, miseries and sorrows.

Friends ! Is there not a higher mission in life besides eating, sleeping and talking? Is there not any higher form of eternal bliss than this transitory and illusory pleasures? Is there not a dignified life than the sensual life? How uncertain is life here? How insecure is our existence in this earth-plane with various kinds of fear? How painful is this mundane life? Should we not attempt diligently now to reach a place-the Immortal abode, your original sweet home of pristine purity and divine splendour-where there i eternal sunshine absolute security, perfect peace and where there is neither disease nor death, nor war.

Come, come; become a Yogi. Come out of your narrow holes or ruts. Crush all sorts of superstitions.

Aim high. To become an advocate or a doctor or an engineer or a professor is the height of your ambition. Can this give you freedom? Can this give you eternal bliss? Can this give you everlasting peace? Can this make you Immortal? Do you not like to attain perfection or Immortality? Do you wish to achieve the summum bonum of existence-Kaivalya or independence-Atma Swarajya? Then, come, struggle for higher things. Be bold. Look not back. March forward. Enquire who aml? Hear. reflect, meditate and realise the Atmic splendour!

OM is Sat-chit-ananda. OM is Infinity. OM is Eternity. OM is Immortality. Sing OM! Chant OM!! Feel OM !!!

KIRTAN: GOVINDA JEYA JEYA

(HSB|2720)

Govinda Jeya Jeya Gopala Jeya Jeya

Radha Ramana Hari Govinda Jeya Jeya.

Sankara Jeya Jeya Gopala Jeya Jeya

Uma Ramana Siva Sankara Jeya Jeya.

Record No. HSB [2715 and HSB| 2722.

SPEECH ON DIVINE LIFE

(HSB|2715)

Hari OM. Hari OM. Hari OM.

Divine Life is life in God or the Immortal soul.

He who leade the divine life is free from cares, worries, anxieties, misery, sufferinge and tribulations. He attains immortality, perfection, freedom, independence, eternal peace, supreme bliss and perennial joy. He radiates joy, peace and light everywhere. To lead the divine life you need not retire into forest. You can lead the divine life while remaining in the world. What is wanted is renunciation of egoism, minenese, attachment, Vasanas and Trishnas. Give the mind to God and hands to the service of humanity.

Serve the humanity with Atma-Bhav. Serve the poor. Serve the sick with Narayana Bhav. Serve the society. Serve the country. Selfless service is the highest Yoga. Samadhi will come by itself without any effort for one is solely absorbed in service, when his heart is purified Service is worship of the Lord. Never forget this. He who sees Brahman or the Immortal Soul in the spoon. Brahman in the medicine, in the patient, Brahman in the Doctor, Brahman in service-he who thinks or meditates thus while deing service verily reaches Brahman or the Eternal.

The practice of Brahmacharya is very important for spiritual progress. Brahmacharya is the basis for acquiring Immortality. It is itself Divine Life. Brahmachaya brings material progress and psychic advancement. It is a substratum for a life of peace in Atma. It is a potent weapon for controlling the internal Rajasic forces viz. Kama, Krodha, Lobha, etc. It gives tremendous energy and gigantic will power and good Vichara Shakti.

Japa is an important Anga of Yoga of divine life.

A Mantra is Divinity. Japa is the repetition of the Mantra or the Names of the Lord. In Kali Yuga practice of Japa alone can give eternal peace, bliss and Immortality. Japa ultimately results in Samadhi or communion with the Lord.

Sankirtan is the singing of Lord's names with faith and devotion. When you sing His names feel that the Lord Hari or Ishta-Devata is seated in your heart, that every Name of the Lord is filled with Divine potencies, that the old vicious Samskaras and Vasanas are burnt by the power of the name and that the mind is filled with Sattva or purity, that Rajas and Tamas is completely destroyed, and that the veil of ignorance is torn down. This kind of mental attitude brings the maximum benefit of Sankirtan. It is not the number of Japa or the length of time of Kirtan that counte for spiritual growth but it is the intensity of Bhav with which the Lord's names are sung.

SONG OF PREM

(HSB|2722)

Pilade Pilade Pilade Krishna

O Prema Bhara Pyala Pilade Krishna.

Dikhaja Dikhaja Dikhaja Krishna

O Madhuriki Murti Dikhaja Krishna

Lagaja Lagaja Lagaja Krishna

Mera Naiyako Para Lagaja Krishna.

Khilade Khilade Khilade Krishna

Makhan aur Misri Khilade Krishna.

Record No HSB| 2718 and HSB|2721

SONG OF CHIDANAND

(HSB|2718)

Chidanand Chidanand Chidanand Hum

Har Halme Almast Satchidananda Hum

Ajaranand Amaranand Achalananda Hum,

Har Halme Almast Sachitananda Hum

Antarai

Nirbhaya aur Nischinta Chidghanananda Hum

Kaivalaya Kevala Kutastha Ananda Hum

Nitya Suddha Siddha Satchidananda Hum

Knowledge Bliss, Knowledge Bliss Bliss Absolute,

In all conditions I am knowledge, Bliss Absolute.

I am without old age, without death, without

motion,

In all conditions, I am knowledge, Bliss absolute.

Antarai

I am without fear, without worry Bliss Absolute

Existence Absolute

Knowledge Absolute

Independent, unchanging, non-dual Atma

Immortal Atma

Advaita Atma

Eternal pure, perfect Knowledge, Bliss Absolute

[Chidananda......]

Sivanand Sivanand Sivanand Hum

Aghadbham wala Aghadbham wala Akhilananda Hum

Chidanand Chidanand Chidanand Hum

Har Halme Almast Satchidananda Hum.

Nijanand Nijanand Nijanand Hum

Har Halme Almast Satchidananda Hum.

SONG OF PANDURANGA

(HSB-2721)

Jaya Jay a Vittala Panduranga, Jaya Hari Vittala

Panduranga.

Jegannivasa Panduranga, Jegatpati Panduranga Sarvantaryami Panduranga, Sarvaantaratma Panduranga

Vyapak Vibhu Panduranga, Vimala Amala Panduranga

Anadi Ananta Panduranga, Ajara Avinasi

Panduranga.

Thy name is a boat, Praduraga, to cross this Samsara, Panduranga.

Thy Name is a weapon, Panduranga, to destroy this Rakshas-mind Panduranga

I am pining for Thy grace Panduranga, I am thirsting for Thy mercy Panduranga.

Reveal Thy true form Panduranga, Let me behold it,

Panduranga.

Let my mind be fixed, Panduranga, at Thy Lotus-feet

Panduranga,

Let me utilise this body, Panduranga, in thy service

always, Panduranga.

This is my fervent prayer, Panduranga, Do not forsake me Panduranga.

Thou art everything, Panduranga, Thou doest everything Panduranga

Thou art Just, Panduranga, Thou art Dharma Panduranga.

Thou art my sole refuge Panduranga Thou art my

father-Guru Panduranga.

Thou art my very Prana, Panduranga, Thou art my

very soul, Panduranga.

Panduranga, Panduranga, Panduranga, Panduranga Pratyak Chetana Panduranga; Paramartha-Tatwa Panduranga.

Record No. HSB-2719-2 & HSB-2724.

SONG OF INSTRUCTIONS

(HSB-2719-2)

Mohana Bansiwale tumko lakhou pranam tumko lakhou pranam

Sankar Bholebhale tumko lakhou pranam

Tumko Lakhou pranam pyare kroro pranam.

Bhajo Radhe Govind

Radhe Govind Bhajo Radhe Govind, Radhe Govind Bhajo Sita Govind Hari bolo bolo bhai Radhe Govind Hare Krishna Hare Ram Radhe Govind.

Get up at 4 a. m. Brahmamuhurt,

Get up at 4 a.m. Japo Ram Ram,

Get up at 4 a.m. do Brahma Vichar,

Get up at 4 a,m. Enquire Who am I?

Get up at 4 a. m. practise Yogabhyas,

Observe Mouna daily for two hours,

Fast on Ekadasi, take milk and fruits,

Study daily one chapter of Gita,

Do regular charity, one tenth income,

Rely on your own self, give up servants,

Do Kirtan at night, have Sat-sang,

Speak the truth at all costs, preserve Veerya, Satyam Vada, Dharmam chara, observe Brahmacharya.

Ahimsa Paramo Dharma, love one and all,

Never hurt others' feelings, be kind to all.

Control anger by Kehama, develop Viswa Prem.

Keep daily spiritual diary, you will evolve quickly.

[Hare Krishna Hare Ram..........]

SONG OF KANNIAH

(HSB- 2724)

Come here, my dear Krishna Kannahai

My Tere Khatir Hridaya Andar building Banayai

Antarai

For you my dear Kaga (Kanga) Udaya,

Sugar-candy butter Sadileri tere Rijhaya

(Curd butter, Sadileri tere Rijhaya)

So much delay, so much delay Tum kyom Lagaya My tere Khatir Hridaya Ändar Building Banayi, Remembering every day Asu Bahaya

Come to house my dear Arati Phiraya,

Why far, why far Rahe Kanahai

My tere Khatir Hridaya Andar building Banayi.

[Come here my dear…]

VII

Record No. HSB-2725 & HSB-2723.

SONG OF KARMA YOGI

(HSB-2725)

Hari ki Premi Hari Hari Bolo

Avo Pyare Milker Gao

Hari charaname Dhyana Lagavo

Duhkhme Sukhme Hari Hari Bolo

Abhiman Tyago Seva Karo

Narayan Narayan Narayan Narayan.

Give up Brahmin, Sannyas Abhiman,

Give up male-female, sex Abhiman

Give up doctor, judge Abhiman,

Give up Rajah, Zamidar Abhiman

Relinquish Pundit, Scientist Abhiman

Crush this Professor, Engineer Abhiman

Kill this Collector, Tahasildar Abhiman.

Kill this Vairagya, Seva Abhiman

Kill this Tyagi, Kartritva Abhiman.

[Narayan Narayan…]

Remember always Hari Hari Hari Hari,

Sing always Sita-Ram, Radheshyam,

See God in every face,

Share what you have with others.

Develop nicely adaptability

Serve always with Narayana Bhav.

Scrutinize always your inner motives

Work without egoism,

Cultivate the Nimitta-Bhav,

Give up expectation of fruite.

Suriender always fruits to the Lord,

Have equal vision and balanced mind.

Selfless work will purify your heart,

Then you will get knowledge of Self.

[Narayan Narayan….]

SONG OF DIVINE LIFE

(HSB|2723)

Gopala Gopala Muralilola

Yesoda Nandana Gopibala.

Serve, love, give, purify, practise Ahimsa.

Satya, Brahmacharya, (take Sattvic food) Study Gita;

Have Sat-sang', control senses, do Japa Kirtan Meditate in Brahmamuhurta, Know Thyself.

__________________________________________

Abhimana is egoism. Nimitta bhav is the feeling that "I am the instrument in the hands of God."

1. Company of the wise 2. 3.30 to 5.30 A.M.

Love all, embrace all, be kind to all.

Work is worship, (serve all) serve the Lord in all Purity concentrate, reflect, meditate,

Know the Self through enquiry, " Who am I?"

Purity, concentrate, reflect, meditate,

Serve, love, give and be dispassionate;

Know Brahman, Maya, Samsar' and "I'."

Behold the Goal of life, He Saumya? nearby.

(Gopala Gopala]..........

VIII

Record No. HSB| 2726 and HSB|2727

SONG OF IMMORTALITY

(HSB]2726)

Ram Ram Ram Ram, Jaya Sita Ram, Jaya Jay

Radheshyam.

Trun the gaze, draw the Indriyas³

Still the mind, sharpen the intellect;

Chant OM with feeling, meditate on Atma,

Chant Ram with feeling meditate on Sitaram

Chant Shyam with feeling, meditate on Radhesbyam O Children of light, will you drink not,

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

[Ram Ram…]

All Karmas (are) burnt now,

You have become a Jivanmukta⁴:

That blessed state Turiyatita

No words can describe,

O Children of Light, will you drink not,

__________________________________________

1. Worlds process. 2. O my dear child. 3. The Senses. 4. A liberated Sage. 5. The fourth state of Super-consciousness.

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

[Ram Ram…]

The grass is green, the rose is red,

And the sky is blue;

But the Atman is colourless,

Formless and Gunaless too,

• Children of light, will you drink not,

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

[Ram Ram..]

Life is short, time is fleeting,

The world is full of miseries;

Cut the knot of Avidyal,

And drink the sweet Nirvanic bliss,

O Children of Light, will you drink not,

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

[Ram Ram…]

Feel the Divine Presence everywhere,

See the Divine glory all round;

Then dive deep into the Divine source,

Realise the infinite Bliss,

O Children of Light, will you drink not

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

Ram Ram........]

Do Asan², Kumbhak³, Mudra,

__________________________________________

1. Ignorance.

2. Pose.

3. Retention of breath.

Shake the Kundalini¹;

Then take it to Sahasrar²;

Through Chakras3 in the Sushumna,

O children of light, will you drink not,

Won't you drink not, the Nectar of Immortality ?

[Ram Ram…]

KIRTAN: NARAYANAM BHAJE

(HSB (2727)

Saguna

Narayanam Bhaje Narayanam Bhaje, Narayanam

Bhaje Narayanam

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram, Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram, Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Rama Kriehna Hari Rama Krishna Hari, Rama

Krishna Hari, Ram Ram Ram

Radha Krishna Hari, Radha Krishna Hari Radha

Krishna Hari Shyam Shyam Shyam.

Shambho Sadasiva, Shambho Sadasiva, Sambho

Sadasiva, Bhum Bhum Bhum

Shambho Sankar Hara, Shambho Shankar Hara,

Shambho Shankar Hara Mahadeva,

Gouree Sankar Hara, Gouree Shankar Hara, Gouree

Shankar Hara Sadasiva

Raja Rajeswari, Raja Rajeswari, Raja Rajeswari

Maheswari,

Adi Shakti Siva, Vishnu Shakti Hari, Brahma Shakti

Maha Sarawati

[Narayanam Bhaje.......

__________________________________________

1. The primordeal energy that is dormant in the Muladhara Chakra.

2. Thousand petalled lotus at the crown of head.

3. A centre of divine energy.

Nirguna

Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om.

Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om.

Om Soham Sivoham, Soham Sivoham, Soham

Sivoham, Sivoham.

Soham Sivoham, Aham Brahmasi, Sat-chit- ananda

Swarupa Brahmaham.

Atma Brahma Swarupa, Chaitanya Purusha,

Tejomayananda Tat-Twam Asi Lakshya,

Satyam Sivam Subham Sundaram Kantam, Satchidananda Sampoorna (Sukham) Santam

Prajnanam Brahma, Aham Brahmasi, Tat-Twam-Asi,

Ayamatma Brahm

[Om Om Om Om Om…]

Narayanam Bhaje Narayanam Bhaje, Narayanam Bhaje Narayanam.

Record No. HSB-2738 & HSB-2740

YAINAVALKYA MAITREYEESAMVAD

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

(HSB-2738)

OM OM OM

"Maitreyi" said Yajnavalkya, the greatest seer and sage, "verily I am going away from this house into the forest to enter another order of life (Sannyasa); therefore let me divide my properity between you and Katyayani."

Maitreyi said, "My venerable Lord, if this whole world with all its wealth belongs to me, tell me, could I attain immortality truly ?"

"No" replied Yajnavalkya, "Like the life of rich people will be your life. But there is no hope of obtaining immortality by wealth."

Maitreyi said 'Of what use would be wealth to me, it I do not become thereby immortal? Tell, you O venerable Lord, any means of attaining Immortality of which thou knowest."

Yajnavalkya replied: "Come, sit down, My beloved Maitreyi, I will explain it to thee; try to understand well that I say."

Yajnavalkya said: "Verily not indeed for the husband's sake the husband is dear, but for the sake of the self the husband is dear. Verily not indeed for the wife's sake the wife is dear, but for the sake ot the Self, the wife is dear. Verily not for the sake of the son, the son is dear but for the sake of the Self, the son is dear. Verily, this immortal All-pervading (Atma or Brahman) is to be seen, heard, reflected and meditated upon, O Maitreyi; Atma Va arey drashtavyo Shrotavyo Mantavyo Nididhyasithavyo.

"O Maitreyi! when there is quality, then one sees the other, one smells the other, one tastes the other, one salutes the other, one speake to the other, one hears the other, one touches the other, one knows the other but when the Self or Atma only is all this, how could one see the other, how could he smell the other, touch the other, know the other. How could he know Him by whom he knows all this?, That Self in ta be described by "No, No" (Neti, Neti). Atma or the supreme Self is imperisha ble. He is free, and unatta ched. He is not subject to pain or destruction. How could one know the knower? Thus, O beloved Maitreyi, thou hast been instructed."

Having said thie, Yajnavalkya wen to the forest.

OM CHANTING AND KIRTAN

(HSB-2340)

Om Om Om Om Om Om Om

Om Om Om Om Om Vichai,

Om Om Om Om Bhaja Omkar

[Om Om……..]

Record No. HSB-2742 & HSB-2746

SONG OF AGADA BHUM

(HSB-2742)

Agadabhum Agadabhum Baje Damaru

Nache Sadasiva Jagata Gurh.

Antarai

Nache Brahma Nache Vishnu Nache Mahadev

Khappar Leke Kali Nache Nache Adi Dev, Agadabhum Agadabhum Baje Damaru

Nache Sadasiva Jagata Guru.

SIVA NAMA KIRTAN

(HSB-2746)

Sivaya Namah Om Sivaya Namah ;

Siva Siva Siva Siva Sivaya Namah Om,

Hara Hara Hara Hara Namassivaya

Siva Siva Siva Siva Sivaya Namah Om,

Bum bum bum bum Namassivaya.

Siva Sambasadasiva Sambasadasiva,

Sambasadasiva Sambasiva.

Siva Siva Sankara, Hara Hara Sankara,

Jaya Jaya Sankara, Namami Sankara.

Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namah Sivaya,

Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namah Sivaya.

Sivaya Namah Om….]

Record No. HSB-2739 & HSB-2745

RAJA RAMA KIRTAN

(HSB 2739)

Raja Ram Ram Ram, Sita Ram Ram Ram

Antarai

Raja Ram Ram Ram, Sita Ram Ram Ram.

[Raja Ram...

Shyama Shyama Radhe Shyama. Radha Krishna

Radhe Shyam

Antarai

Shyama Shyama Radhe Shyam, Radha Krishna

Radhe Shyam

[Raja Ram…]

Hey Rama Jeya Rama Sita Rama Rama Rama

Hey Rama Rama Jeya Rama Rama Sita Rama Rama Rama

Hey Shyama Jeya Shyama Ghanashyama Radheshyam

Hey Shyama Shyama Jeya Shyama Shyama

Ghana Shyama Shyama Radheshyam

[Raja Rama.....

SONG FOR DEVELOPING WILL

(HSB-2745)

Bhajo Radhe Kriehna, Bhajo Radhe Shyam

Om Om Om Om Om- Om Om Om Om Om

Soham Soham, Soham Sivoham

Will ie Atmabal, will is dynamic

Have a strong will, and realise Atma.

Your will has become weak, through various desires,

Destroy them to the root, by Vivek Vairag Tyag.

My will is powerful, I can blow up mountains.

I can stop the ocean waves, I can command elements

I can command Nature, I am one with Cosmic will,

I can dry up ocean, like Muni Agastya.

Bhajo Radhe Krishna, Bhajo Radhe.........]

My will is pure and strong, no one can resist,

I can influence people, I always get success.

I am hale and hearty, I am always joyful,

I radiate joy and peace, to million distant friends.

I can give Samadhi by simple gazing,

I can do Shakti-Sanchar by mere Sankalpa.

I am Yogi of Yogins, I am emperor of emperors,

I am king of all kings, Shah of all Shahs.

I can elevate aspirants by simple Master's touch,

I can work wonders by the power of Sat sankalpa.

I can heal millions from a long distance,

This is due to will, therefore develop will.

[Bhajo Radhe Krishna Bhajo..]

Give up Vasanas, and think of Atma,

This is the royal way to develop your will.

Keep up diary, give up cares and worries,

Do simple Tapas, and develop attention.

• Develop patience and bave command of temper, Control the Indriyas and practise meditation.

Have power of endurance and practise celibacy,

All these will help you to develop your will.

Bhajo Radhe Krishna, Bhajo Radhe Shyama

Om Om Om Om Om, Om Om Om Om Om.

[Bhajo Radhe Krishna……….]

XII

Record No. HSB-2741 & HSB-2747

SONG OF BLISS

(HSB-2741)

Anandoham Anandoham, Anandam Brahma-nandam,

Sacharachara Paripoorna Sivoham,

Sahajananda Swaroopa Sivoham,

Vyakta Chetana Atma Sivoham,

Vyapaka Vyakta Swaroopa Sivoham,

Nitya Suddha Niravayava Soham,

Nityananda Niranjana Soham,

Akhandaikarasa Chinmatroham,

Bhumananda Swaroopa Sivoham,

Asangoham Advaitoham,

Vijnanaghana Chaitanyoham.

Nirakara Nirguna Chinmayoham,

Suddha Satchidananda Swaroopoham.

Asanga Swaprakasa Nirmaloham,

Nirvishesha Chinmatra Kevaloham.

Sakshi Chetana Kutastoham,

Nitya Mukta Swaroopa Sivoham.

(Anandoham Anandoham......)

SONG OF ARATI

(HSB- 2747)

Joya Jeya Arati Venu Gopala,

Venugopala... ... Venu Lola

Papa Vidura-Navanita Chora,

(Jeya Jeya Arati... Venu Gopala)

Jeya Jeya Arati Venkataramana,

Venkataramana Sankata Harana,

Sita Rama Radhe Shyma.

Jeya Jeya Arati Venkataramana,

Jeya Jeya Arati Gauri Manohara

Gauri Manohara... Bhavani Sankara,

Samba Sadasiva...Umamaheswara,

Jeya Jeya Arati Gauri Manohara.

Jeya Jaya Arati Rajeswari,

Rajeswari Tripura Sundari,

Maha Saraswati-Maha Lakshmi

Maha Kali-Maha Lakshmi.

Jeya Jeya Arati Venu Gopala.

XIII

Record No. HSB-2743 & HSB-2744

SONG OF UPNISHADS

(HSB-2743)

Hey Ramachandra, Brindavana Chandra,

Eko Devah Sarvabhuteshu Gudhah,

Sarva Vyapee Sarva Antratma

Karmadhyaksha Sarva Bhutadhivaaa

Sakshee Cheta-Kevalo Nirqunascha.

Eko Devah Sarva Bhutesha Gudhah.

Soham Sivoham Sivah Keva Kevaloham

Sambho Saukara, Hey Maha Deva

God is one Brahman is one

He is hidden in all beings,

Like butter in milk-like fire in wood,

Like mind in brain -like oil in seed,

All-pervading-the self of all beings

Eko Devah, Sarva Bhuteshü Gudhah,

Satyena Labhya-Tapasa hyesha Atma

Samyag Inanena-Brahmacharyena Nityam

Antah Sareere-Jyotir Mayo hi Subhro

Yam Pasyanti Yatayah-Ksheena Doshaah

Eko Deva Sarva Bhuteshu Gudha.

This Atma is attained by practice of Truth-tapas

By Nirvikalpa Samadhi-by practice of celibacy

Inside the body-resplendent pure Atma

The anchorites behold-who are free from defects

Eko Deva Sarva Bhuteshu Gudha.

Satyam Gyanam- Anantam Brahaman

Purushottama-Paramatma,

Adrishtam Avyaharyam - Agrahyam Alakehnam,

Achintyam Avyapadeshyam -Santam Advitam

Eko Devah Sarva Bhuteshu Gudhah.

SONG OF NANDALAL

(HSB|274 .)

Mere Ankhome Baso Mere Nandlal

Mere Nandlal Mere Pyarelal,

Mere Haridayme Baso mere Nandlal

Rama--Rama Hari Sita Ram,

Sita Sita Ram, Radhe Radhe Shyam

Hari Sita Ram, Hari Radheshyam,

Lakshmi Narayan, Sriman Narayan

Hari Om Narayan, Badri Narayan

Sambho Sankara, Namassivaya

[Mere Ankhome Baso...]

Kindle the light of love in your heart,

Include all creatures in the embrace of your love Develop cosmic love, shed tears of Prem

[Mere Ankhome Baso...]

Soham Soham Sivoham-Sivoham Sivoham

Wake up from this long dream of illusory forms

Give up the clinging to false names and forms.

Love your Atma, live in Atma

Feel the Majesty of your own inner Self,

Kill egoism, kill Raga-Dwesh

Kill cunningness, slay crookedness

Soham Soham Sivoham-Sivoham Sivoham Sivoham

SANGEETA RAMAYANA

(In three records)

Record No. DR 14 A

1. BALA KANDA

Ramayana contains

The highest ideals

Of Hindu Culture

And civilization

It is a text-book of morals

It inspires the youth

To higher ideals

Of conduct and character

It contains object lessons

For husbands, wives

For parents, chilaren

For brothers, sisters

It's a marvellous book

Which contains the essence

Of all the Vedas

And all the Scriptures

It has a moulding power

On the life of man

Sri Rama was born

To destroy Ravana

Dagaratha was childless

He did Yajna

He had three wives

Kausalya, Sumitra

Kaikeyi Devi

Was his third wife

He got Payasa

He gave to his wives

The wives became pregnant

Four sons were born

Rama, Lakshmana

Bharata, Shatrughna

All the sons

Were heroic, virtuous

Viswamitra

Came to Dasaratha

He took Rama

To destroy the Rakshasas

Rama killed

Tataka, Subahu

Rama threw

Mareecha into ocean

Rama visited

Gautama's Ashram

Touched the stone

Freed Ahalya

Then Rama went

To Mithila City

He took the bow

Bent it easily

He married

The noble Sita

Then he returned

To Ayodhya City

On the way

He met Paragurama

He bent his bow

And defeated him

Rama Rama Jeya

Record No DLR 14 B

AYODHAYA KANDA

King Dasaratha

Became old

He wanted

To enthrone Rama

All arrangements

Were nicely made

The crooked Manthara

Told Kaikeyi

"Get your two boons

From Dasaratha

Banish Rama

For fonteen years

In Dandaka forest

With matted locks

Enthrone Bharata

Have freedom Kaikeyi"'

The cruel Kaikeyi

Asked the two boons

Rama obeyed

His father's commands

He started

To the forest

Lakshmana, Sita

Also followed

He met Guha

King of Nishada

They crossed the river

With the help of Guha

Then Rama went

To Bharadwaja- Ashram

And marched on

To Chitrakuta

King Dasaratha

Gave up his life

He could not bear

Separation from Ram

Messengers were sent

To the noble Bharata

He returned

From his uncle's palace

Kaikeyi narrated

All that she did

She asked Bharata

To rule the kingdom

Bharata had a

Terrible shock

He rebuked

His cruel mother

He at once started

To bring his brother

He reached speedily

The Holy Chitrakuta

He requested Rama

To rule the kingdom

Rama refused

To rule the kingdom

Then Bharata took

Sri Rama's Sandals

Bharata lived

In Nandigrama

He ruled the kingdom

Justly, wisely

Under the direction

Of Rama's Sandals

Then Rama went

To Atri's Ashram

Record No. DLR 15|A

2. ARANYA KANDA

Rama entered

The Dandaka Forest

He destroyed Viradha

That powerful Rakshasa

Then he met

Sharabhanga Muni

Thereupon he went

To Suteekshna's Ashram

Then he met

Agastya Muni

Agastya gave

Indra's bow and arrows

Then Rama marched

To Panchavati

Lakshmana cut

Surpanakha's ears and nose

Rama killed

Khara and Dushana

Mareecha assumed

The form of deer

Sita told Rama

Let me have it

Rama went out

To capture the deer

Ravana came now

To take away Sita

He put on the guise

Of a mendicant

He took away Sita

And moved in the sky

Sita cried

Rama! Rama!

Jatayu went forth

To attack Ravana

Ravana cut

Jatayu's wings

Sita took her

Garments and jewels

Threw them on the hill

Where monkeys were sitting

Ravana reached Lanka

With Janaki Devi

He placed Sita

In Asoka Vana

Rama killed

The illusive deer

He came back with Lakehmana

Did not find Sita

Rama searched for Sita

All over the forest

He met Jatayu

Who told everything

Rama blessed

The devoted Jatayu

Then Rama killed

Rakshasa Kabandha

Then he met

The pious Sabari

Who told Rama

To meet Sugreeva

Record No. DLR 15 B

KISHKINDHA & SUNDARA KANDA

Then Rama met

The mighty Hanuman

He made friendship

With king Sugreeva

He killed Baali

And enthroned Sugreeva

Who ordered monkeys

To search for Sita

Rama said

To brave Hanuman

Give this ring

To beloved Sita

Monkeys made search

But could not find Sita

They sat on the seashore

To give up their lives

Sampaati came now

And helped the monkeys

He told them assuredly

That Sita was in Lanka

Then Hanuman crossed

The mighty ocean

He destroyed Lankini

Who guarded Lanka

He saw Sita

In the Asokavana

He handed Rama's ring

To Janaki Devi

Sita rejoiced

When she saw the ring

Sita gave Hanuman

Her Chudamani

Hanuman destroyed

The Asokavana

He killed Ravana's son

Akshaya Kumar

He burnt

The whole of Lanka

Then he came back

To Rama's Lotus-Feet

He gave to Rama

Sita's Chudamani

Rama rejoiced

When he saw Chudamani

Record No. DLR 16|4

3. YUDDHA KANDA

Nala built

A beautiful bridge

The army of monkeys

Marched to Lanka

Vibheeshana came now

To glorious Rama

He fell at His feet

Did self-surrender

Rama killed

Kumbhakarna

Then came Indrajit

To fight with Rama

He sent his Astra

To kill the brother

Lakshmana fell down

In an unconscious state

Hanuman brought

Sanjeevani Buti

Lakshmana smelt it

And came to senses

Then Lakshmana killed

The mighty Meghanada

Ravana Came now

To fight with Rama

Rama sent

His Brahma-Astra

Ravana fell down

Mortally wounded

Rama installed

Vibheeshana on the throne

Hanuman told Sita

Of Rama's victory

Vibheeshana brought

Sita to Rama

Rama suspected

Sita's character

Record No. DLR 16|4

RAM RAJYA MAHIMA

Sita went through

The fire ordeal

Then Rama accepted

Sita with joy

Then all came back

To Ayodhya city

Vasishtha installed

Rama on the throne

Rama ruled

His kingdom justly

There were peace and plenty

And prosperity

His rule was called

Rama Rajya

Glory to Valmeeki

Glory to Ramayana

Glory to Rama

Glory to Sita

May their blessings

Be upon you all

He who reads

Sangeeta Ramayana

Wet with Bhakti

And self-surrender

With the mind and senses

Under strict control

Practising celibacy

And meditation on Ram

He will attain

Son, wife, wealth,

Peace and plenty

Bhakti, Mukti

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram.

Record No. DLR 10 A

4. SONG OF VIRAHA

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare.

When shall I meet Thee, Hey Prabho, my eyes long

for Thy vision ;

Why art thou so unkind O Lord! I am sleepless

all the night.

I am burnt by the fire of Viraha, Thou art my sole refuge.

The secret arrow of love has pierced my heart.

Hare Rama……….

Hare Krishna……..

I cannot suppress my tears however much I try.

They flow like streams and drench my clothes.

I feel joy in Thy remembrance, happiness in singing

Thy praise,

I feel solace in my tears, pleasure in Thy name.

Hare Rama……….

Hare Krishna……..

Dwell in my eyes Hey Krishna, enthrone in my heart

Shyama.

Let me hear Thy flute, O Lord of Vrindavan.

My hunger is lost, my sleep is gone, my mind is ever

restless;

I am waiting whole night to meet Thee O Radhe

Govind !

Hare Rama……….

Hare Krishna……..

Record No. DLR 7|B

MESSAGE OF FREEDOM

OM!

Children of humanity!

The Lord is within you. He is seated in the heart of all beings. Whatever you see, hear, touch or feel is God. Therefore hate not anybody, cheat not anybody harmnot anybody. Love and be one with all.

You will soon attain eternal bliss and perennial joy. Be self-disciplined. Be simple and harmonious in thought, feeling, diet and dress. Love all. Fear none.

Shake off lethargy, laziness, fear. Lead the Divine Life. Be a seeker after truth or reality. Understand the law of Dharma. Be alert and vigilant. Overcome sorrow and conflict through enquiry and reflection.

Move towards freedom, perfection and eternal bliss every second. Is there any one among you who can say with emphasis and force: "Now I am a deserving aspirant. I am yearning for Moksha. I have equipped myself with the four means. I have purified my heart through selfless service, Kirtan and Japa. I have served the Guru with faith and devotion and I have attained His Grace and blessings." That man can save the world. He will soon become a cosmic beacon. light, a unique torch-bearer of wisdom, a dynamic Yogi O Man! get yourself ready now. It is a shameful thing that you have lived in vain till now and spent the life in eating, drinking, sleeping, idle gossiping and worthless pursuits. You have not done any meritorious acts. The hour draws nearer. It is not too late even now. Start Namasmarana, or the repetition of the Lord's Name from this second. Be sincere and earnest. Love all. You can make yourself worthy of His grace. You can cross the formidable ocean of births and deaths and attain eternal bliss and Immortality. Never miss a day in meditation. Regularity is of paramount importance. When the mind is tired, do not concentrate. Give it a little rest. Do not take heavy food at night. It will disturb your morning meditation. Japa, Kirtan, Pranayama, Sat-gang or association with sages, practice of Shama (serenity), Dama (self-restraint), Yama (right conduct), Sattvic or pure food, study of Scriptures, meditation, Vichara (self-enquiry) all will help you to control the mind and attain eternal bliss and immortality. If evil thoughts enter your mind, do not use your will-force to drive them away. You will lose your energy. OM!

Record No. DLR 18/4

5. SONG OF "ITIES"

(Thars: Sunaja Sunaja Sunaja Krishna......)

Serenity, regularity, absence of vanity,

Sincerity, simplicity, veracity,

Equanimity, fixity, non- irritability,

Adaptability, humility, tenacity,

Integrity, nobility, magnanimity,

Charity, generosity, purity,

Practise daily these eighteen 'ities',

You will soon attain Immortality.

Brahman is the only real entity,

Mr. So and so is a false non-entity,

You will abide in eternity and infinity,

You will behold unity in diversity,

You cannot attain this in the university.

(Sunaja Sunaja Sunaja Krishna..

Record No. DR 18 B

ADVICE TO STUDENTS

OM !

Friends,

You are the future hope of the motherland. You are the citizens of tomorrow. You should always think over the goal of life and live to attain the goal.

The goal of lile is the attainment of freedom from all sorts of misery or the state of Kaivalya or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. Lead a well-regulated moral life. Moral strength is the back-bone of spiritual progress. Ethical culture is the part and parcel of spiritual Sadhana. Keep np Brahmacharya or the vow of celibacy. By the observance of Brahmacharya many of the sages of yore have attained Immortality. Brahmacharya is the source of new strength, vigour, vitality and success in life and eternal happiness hereafter. Loss of this vital energy is the cause of disease, miseries and premature death. Therefore take particular care to preserve this vital energy. Practice of Brahmachary gives good health, inner strength, peace of mind and long life. It invigorates the mind, the nerves and it helps to conserve physical and mental energy. It augments the strength and courage. It gives power to face the difficulties in the daily battle of life. A perfect Brahmachari can move the world, can command nature and five elements like Jnana Dev. Develop faith in the Vedas and the power in the Mantras. Practise meditation daily. Take Sattvic food. Do not overload the stomach. Repent for your mistakes. Admit your faults freely. Never try to hide your faults by lame excuses or by uttering falsehoods. Obey the laws of nature. Take plenty of physical exercise daily. Perform the prescribed duties at the appointed time. Develop simple living and high thinking. Give up vile imitation. Get thorough overhauling of your wrong Samskaras, you have created through bad association. Study the Upanishads, the Yoga Vasishtha, the Brahma Sutras and Sri Sankara's select works and other scriptures. Therein you will find real solace and peace. Some Western philosophers have declared. "We are Christians by birth and faith but we can find the peace which the mind wants and the satisfaction the soul needs only in the Upanishads of the Seers of the East." Move amicably with all. Love all. Serve all. Develop adaptability and the spirit of selfless service and penetrate into the hearts of all through untiring service. This is verily Advaitic realization of unity or oneness. OM !

Record No. DLR 19| A

6. SIVA LORRIE

Ram Ram Ram Ram, Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram, Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram

Subhahse Shamtak, until the break of day,

Repeat the name of the Lord, Ram Ram Ram Ram.

This life is meant for Self-realization,

Do regular Sankirtan, realize the Atmic Bliss.

Do Nishkama Karma Yoga, purify the heart and mind Control the Indriyas, rest in your own Swaroopa When you get knocks and blows in the daily battle

of life,

Then the mind is duly turned towards the spiritual path

Then comes Viveka, Vairagya, disgust for worldly things

Dasire for liberation, have deep meditation.

Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky When the blazing sun is set, when the grass with dew is wet.

Then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle

all the night.

Hari Om Narayana, Hari Om Narayana

Hari Om Narayana, Hari Om Narayana,

Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namah Sivaya

Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namah Sivaya.

(Ram Ram Ram……………...)

Record No. DLR 19/B

SONG OF MEDITATION

(Thars : Lila lila lila)

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram

Truth is Brahman; Truth is your own Self,

Realize this Truth, be free, be free, be free, be free.

You must have a pure mind, if you want to realize Practice Karma Yoga; be pure, be pure, be pure, be pure.

You cannot enjoy (the) peace of mind

And cannot practise meditation

If you are passionate, kill this lust, kill this lust.

Be regular in your meditation and take Sattvic food.

You will have peace of mind, this is the truth,

M this is the truth.

When you meditate on Hari, keep the picture in

front of you.

Look at it with a steady gaze, you will develop concentration.

If evil thoughts enter your mind, don't drive them

forcibly

Substitute divine thoughts, they will pass away,

they will pass away.

Meditation leads to knowledge, meditation kills pains Meditation brings peace, meditate, meditate,

meditate, meditate.

Samadhi is union with God, this follows meditation, You will attain immortality, this is Moksha, this is Moksha.

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram.

Record No. DLR 20/4

7. SONG OF JOY

Within you is hidden God,

Within you is Immortal Soul,

Kill this little 'I'

Die to live, Lead the Divine Life.

Within you is the fountain of Joy,

Within you is the ocean of Bliss.

Rest peacefully in your own Atma

And drink the nectar of Immortality.

Sa sa dha dha-sa sa dha dha

Pa pa dha pa ma-ma ma pa ga pa

Ga ga ma ga ri sa

Sa sa ga ma pa—pa dha sa ni dha pa ma

Om Om Om Om

Om Om Om Om Om – Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om Om

Om Om Om Om Om-Om Om Om Om Om Om Om

Record No. DLR 20|B

SONG OF UPADESHAMRITA

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Kriehna Krishna Hare Hare Is there not a nobler mission, than eating, drinking and sleeping ?

It is difficult to get a human birth, therefore try your best to realize in this birth

Fie on that wretch, woe to that man, who wastes all his life in sensual pleasures

Time sweeps away, kinge and barons,

Where is Yudhisthira? Where is Ashoka ?

Where is Shakespeare? Where is Valmeeki?

Where is Napolean ? Where is Shivaji ?

Be up and doing (in) Yogic Sadhan,