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Category Archives: Karma Yoga

Is Annadana Supreme?

02 Wednesday Feb 2011
Posted by  in Annadanam, Anusthana, Charity, Donation, Karma Yoga, Sadhana
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26th MAY, 1948

STRANGE BLESSING

Sri Natarajan had come from South India on a fund collection mission on behalf of Akhilandeswari Temple. They had found it difficult to carry on the work—Pancha Prakara Utsavam—which was being done by his father. He had come to Delhi for the purpose of collecting funds. He did not meet with the success he expected to achieve. He requested Siva to bless him for success in the undertaking.
Siva was silent for a while, watching the two, one would have gathered the impression that Siva was unmindful of the visitor’s plea. He was listening all the while, besides doing his own work.
The pen was put away!
‘Do some Anushthan. This sort of running about for money is no good. By sheer Adhyatmic power you must invoke God’s grace and you will get what you need. Money will come to you.You need not run after money. Reduce the food expenses in connection with the function. What money is collected you must try to utilise it for cultural purposes. Food will only create more quarrels and unnecessary crowd.’
‘Start a Sanskrit College. Bring out translations of the Vedas and Upanishads. Then people will be benefited; they will appreciate your work and money will pour in. Study the working of such colleges elsewhere. Take suggestions from Sri S.V. Iyer of Chingleput—he has organised a Sevashram there.’
‘That is the way to work. Then people will come to know of your spirit of service and will themselves come forward to help. No one nowadays will give you charity for the sake of feeding!’
‘Swamiji! Food is also necessary, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, that also. But the main thing is cultural service.’
‘Annadana first and….’
‘No. No. Jnana Dana first and Annadana next. You can give a man food—in a few hours he is hungry again. Further, if you don’t satisfy him and feed him according to his likes, he will abuse you.’
Sri Natarajan actually experienced the truth of this saying—he kept still for a long time trying to digest the food-for-thought Siva had given him.
Excerpt from Inspiring TALKS Of Gurudev Sivananda

An Avadhoota Had 24 Gurus

28 Sunday Nov 2010
Posted by  in Austerity, Bhagavatam, Death, Desires, Guru, Happiness, Human Birth, Jivanmukta, Karma Yoga, Sadhana
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Yadu who was versed in religion saw a young Brahmin Sannyasin, full of wisdom, wandering about fearlessly and put him the following question as Yadu was eager to know Dharma.
Yadu asked, “O Sage! How did you, doing nothing get this clear wisdom and light by which you were able to give up all attachments and roam like a child fearlessly in perfect bliss?
“Generally in this world people exert themselves for virtue, wealth, desire and enquire about the Atman only with the motive of attaining longevity, fame and wealth. You are able-bodied, full of wisdom and skill and good-looking. Your speech is sweet and is like nectar and yet you neither work nor exert in the least. You like nothing. People in this world are scorched by the fire of lust and greed. You are not at all afflicted by the fire. You appear self-satisfied and blissful, just as an elephant immersed in the cool waters of the Ganga does not feel the heat of the forest fire on the bank. Please enlighten me as to the source of your joy or bliss. Tell me how you derive bliss in your self alone, untouched by sense objects and living a solitary life? You have neither family nor sensual enjoyment. Whence then is your bliss?”
Sri Krishna said, “Being thus asked and honoured by the intelligent Yadu who has devoted to Brahmins, the noble Brahmin spoke to the king who stood bending in reverence.”
The Brahmin said, “Many are my preceptors, O King, whom I resorted to through my own understanding; with the wisdom imbibed from them I roam about on this earth free from attachments. Listen who they are.
“The earth, air, sky (Akasa), water, fire, the moon, the sun, the pigeon, the python, the sea, the moth, the bee, the elephant, the honey-gatherer, the deer, the fish, the dancing girl Pingala, the osprey (raven, Kurara), the child, the maiden, the arrow-maker, the serpent, the spider, the beetle (the wasp)—these, O King, are my twenty-four Gurus or teachers whom I have resorted to. I have learnt all my lessons from their characteristic traits. I will how narrate what I learnt from each of them.
“A wise man should not swerve from the path of righteousness, though he is oppressed by creatures who are themselves under the direction of providence. This forbearance I have learnt from the earth. I have learnt from the mountain, which is a part of the earth, that all our actions should be for the good of others, and that our very existence is for the sake of others. I have learnt from the tree, which is also a part of the earth, that I should be at the disposal of others.
“The sage should be content with mere supporting his life. He should never long for what gratifies the senses so that knowledge may not be destroyed and the mind may not be dissipated on worthless objects.
“The Yogi should not be attached to the objects, like the air, although he is placed in the midst of objects with different attributes and though he is placed in the physical body. His mind should remain unaffected by the good and evil consequences of the objects, just as the air remains unaffected by the good or bad odour of objects over which it blows. The soul enters the body and the attributes of the body seem to be its own, but it is not so. The air is charged with odour but the odour is not the attribute of the air. This I have learnt from the outside air.
“I have learnt from the Prana (vital air) that one should eat to live and not live to eat. He should not eat to give strength and nourishment to the senses. The food should be just sufficient to feed the flame of life.
“Atman is all-pervading. It is not affected by the body and the bodily attributes. This I have learnt from Akasa which is all-pervading and is not affected by clouds and other objects. Even though the sage lives in the body, he should contemplate through his identity with Self or Atman which is all-pervading like the sky (Akasa), which runs as a substratum or a thread in the garland of flowers through all movable and immovable objects, which is not subject to any limitation in respect of time and place and which is not touched by anything else.
“Naturally pure, smooth and sweet is water. So is the sage among men. He, like unto holy waters, purifies others by mere sight, touch and the utterance of His name. This I have learnt from water.
“Bright, powerful in knowledge, and glowing with asceticism, with no receptacle for food except the belly and eating everything, the sage, like fire, is not polluted thereby.
Sometimes he remains unnoticed. Sometimes he becomes known to those who desire welfare. He eats the food offered to him by pious devotees and burns up their past and future evils or impurities.
“Fire is the same and only one, though it enters fuels of various sorts. Just as fire burns in a triangular, circular, rectangular or other shapes, according to the shape and size of the wood, so also the Lord of the Universe, who has created the world and entered into all beings, appears different because of the different bodies (Upadhis) in which He resides. He enters this Universe of various objects, high and low, created by His own Maya and appears to be like every one of those objects, just as fire does in different kinds of fuel. Birth and death are for the body and not for the Atman, and are caused by time, just as the flames are subjected to change but not the fire.
“The waning or waxing conditions of the moon are due, not to any change in the substance or luminosity of the moon, but, to the fact that only part of the sun’s rays get reflected by it. I learnt therefore that the birth, growth, decay, death, etc., are states of the body and not of Atman which is illimitable, birthless and deathless. The moon remains as it is, only there is an apparent change over it owing to astronomical motions.
“The sun draws water by its rays and gives it all away in time. The sage takes in order to give but not in order to add to his own possessions. Just as the sun, reflected in various pots of water, appears to the ignorant as many, so also the Atman appears as such in different bodies on account of the Upadhis caused by the reflection through the mind.
“Too much attachment is bad. One should not have too much affection or attachment for anyone. Too much attachment towards anything causes one’s own destruction. This I have learnt from a pair of pigeons. In a certain forest, on a certain tree, a pigeon built a nest and with his mate lived there for some years. They were much attached to each other in love. They reared their young ones with great affection. One day they left their young ones in the nest and went about in search of food for them. A hunter came and caught the young ones by spreading a net. The parent birds returned to their nest with food. The mother had too much affection for the young ones. She fell into the net of her own accord. The male pigeon also fell into the net himself. The hunter caught the pigeons with the young ones. He was quite satisfied and went home.
Thus the miserable family man, who has not controlled his senses, who has not withdrawn his senses and mind from the worldly objects, who finds delight only in the married life and maintains his family with intense attachment, comes to grief with all his relations like the pigeons (Kapotha and Kapothi). He who, attaining a human birth which is like an open gateway to Mukti or the final liberation, is merely attached to the householder’s life like the bird, is considered as one who has fallen from his status.
“The pleasures obtained through the avenues of the senses, whether in this world or the next, are transient and fleeting. The wise man never hankers after them.
“The huge Ajagara serpent remains where he is and is content with whatever food that comes to him. Like the Ajagara, one should make no effort but only swallow the mouthful that is brought to him by chance, delicious or distasteful, much or little. If no food reaches him, he should lie quiet even for a long time without any food and without any exertion to get it; because, he should, like the Ajagara, subsist on what providence brings to him or destiny decrees. Holding still the body endowed with energy, fortitude and strength, he should lie wide awake and not exert, though he has sound organs.
“The sage should be calm, profound or deep, difficult to fathom, illimitable and immovable or not liable to be perturbed by worldly circumstances like the tranquil ocean. The ocean may receive volumes of water from the rivers at times or may receive no water at other times but it remains the same. Even so, the sage who has set his heart upon the Lord, neither swells with joy when he has an abundance of enjoyable objects, nor shrinks with sorrow when he has none.
“The man of uncontrolled senses, seeing a woman, the God’s Maya (enchantment created by the Lord) and being allured by her behaviour and feelings, falls into the blinding darkness and comes to grief, just as the moth falls into the fire. The fool, who with his mind allured by women, gold ornaments, clothes and other things created by Maya, regards them as objects of enjoyment, loses his correct vision and perishes like a moth.
“The sage should wander from house to house taking handfuls from each house till he gets just enough food for his sustenance, without making any house feel burdened, like the bee which gathers honey from all flowers.
“The intelligent man should extract the essence from all scriptures, great or small, just as the bee does from flowers.The sage should not store food for the evening or the next day; the hands or the stomach should be his vessel; he should not hoard like the bee. He who stores food is destroyed with his store like the bee.
“The Sannyasin should not touch even the wooden figure of a young woman even with his feet. If he does so, he would be caught as is the elephant through its attachment for the touch of the she-elephant. The wise man should shun the company of women as if it were death to him; for he would be killed like a weak elephant by other elephants.
“The miser who hoards wealth, neither gives nor enjoys his riches. Whatever he collects with difficulty is carried away by someone else, just as the collector of honey carries away the honey collected by the bees.
“Like the collector of honey, the Sannyasin first enjoys those good things which householders collect through hard-earned wealth in order to enjoy.
“The ascetic should not listen to sensuous music. He should learn a lesson from the deer which, enamoured by the hunters’ music, gets ensnared. The sage Rishyasringa, born of deer, listened to the sensuous music of women and was easily entrapped by them. He became a toy or a playmate in their hands.
“Just as a fish that is attracted by baits falls an easy victim to the bait by means of the hook, so also the foolish man who allows his sense of taste to overpower him, who is stupefied with the charms of taste and delicacies by the turbulent and greedy tongue, meets with death. Tongue or the love of taste is most difficult to conquer. If the sense of taste is controlled, all other senses are controlled. One cannot become master of his organs until he controls the organ of taste. No man can be said to have conquered his senses unless his organ of taste is completely curbed. Thoughtful men soon subdue their senses by fasting.
“There was formerly in the city of Videhas a public woman called Pingala. I have learnt something from her. Listen to it, O King! One day she put on beautiful dress and waited at the door of her house in the evening, to receive and bargain customers for the night. She invited some persons but sent them away as she thought some other wealthy man would richly pay her. With this inordinate desire she waited sleepless at the door, now going in, now coming out, till it was midnight. Through this anxious expectation of money, she spent the night in a fever of hope, worry and disappointment. She felt extreme disgust for her life of greed and desire which made her unhappy.
“In her utter disappointment she sang, ‘Indifference to worldly objects is like a sword to cut asunder a man’s fetters of expectation or cords of desires. One does not wish to get rid of the bondage of the body until he has become disgusted, just as no man without insight into the truth or knowledge could rid himself of the notions of “I” and “Mine” or the clinging to the objects.’ Pingala said, ‘Lo! How deluded am I for want of control over my mind! How foolish am I to seek the satisfaction of desires from such creatures as men!
“Discarding Lord Narayana or the Eternal Atman, seated near in my heart, who is a fit lover and can satisfy me, who can give me everlasting bliss and wealth, I am courting a puny man who cannot satisfy my desires and who causes misery, fear, disease, grief and infatuation. I have been indeed very stupid.
“Oh! In vain I have afflicted my soul by this most reproachable mode of living, viz., that of a public woman; I have sought wealth and pleasure from pitiable mortals, who are greedy and slaves of women, by selling my body to them.
“Who, other than myself, would be taken to this house which is built of bones which are like beams, rafters and posts of a house, which is covered over with skin, hair and nails, which is furnished with nine openings for discharging filth and filled with offal and urine?
“In this town of Videha, full of wise beings, I am the only woman who has tied her hopes, happiness and desire, to the body. I am the only silly being or wicked woman who seeks any other source of enjoyment or object of desire than the Lord who bestows Self-realisation.
“He is the true friend, protector, Lord, most beloved one, the master and the very Self or Atman of all embodied beings; winning Him over, by giving up the body to Him, I shall enjoy His company like Lakshmi and find everlasting happiness in Him alone.
“What is the use of serving others? The favours of gods and mortals are limited by time, capacity and various other obstacles. What delight can the sense-objects, men or the gods confer on women? All have a beginning and an end.
“Surely I must have done something in my previous births to propitiate Vishnu, for it is by His grace alone that this Vairagya (dispassion or disgust) cutting at the root of all unholy desires, has arisen in my mind. Through His grace only, I have attained the way to everlasting happiness and peace.
“If the Lord had not been propitious to me, such disappointments, as lead to renunciation and dispassion, would not have arisen, which enable one to abandon all attachments and attain happiness.
“I accept, with humble devotion, this gift of the Lord on my head. I now abandon all vain expectations and evil desires and take refuge in the Supreme Lord. Contented, full of faith in the Lord, living on what chance brings to me, I shall enjoy the eternal bliss of the Lord, Paramatman. Who else but the Lord can save this Jiva who has fallen into the deep pit of Samsara (births and deaths), with eyes blinded by the objects, with the vision robbed by the senses, and who is swallowed up by the serpent of Time.
“When one realises the evanescence of this universe, when he beholds the universe in the jaws of the serpent of Time, he will surely and firmly scorn the fleeting, doubtful, worthless, illusory pleasures of this world and the next. He will become very cautious, turn himself away from the illusory sense-objects and will seek repose in the eternal bliss of his own Atman. When one becomes disgusted with everything else, Atman is the protector of Atman, the Self alone is the saviour of oneself.”
The Brahmin said, “Pingala having thus determined in her mind, and fixed her mind on the Lord, gave up all hopes and expectations due to hankering for lovers, sat on her bed with a serene mind. She abandoned all unholy desires that troubled her and became happy. She slept soundly with a tranquil mind. It is hope that gives us trouble. Without hope we are happy. Desires, hopes and expectations are the source of grief. Abandonment of all expectations and desires is the greatest bliss. It is the happiest state. Vairagya is the source of bliss as can be seen from Pingala who slept happily, casting aside the hankering for lovers.
“The source for affliction and misery is indeed the acquisition of anything whatsoever that men hold as dearest. But that man who knows this truth, gives up all possession and does not think of any acquisition and attains unlimited happiness.
“An osprey (Kurara—a bird of prey) had a piece of flesh in its mouth. The stronger birds that had no flesh pounced upon it, but the Kurara dropped the piece of flesh and became happy. Renunciation of dear objects is good. It gives peace.
“I do not care for honour or dishonour. I do not think of the house, wife or children. I sport in Atman and take delight in Atman and roam on earth like a child.
“Only two are free from anxieties and immersed in the highest bliss—the child that knows nothing and the man who has realised the Supreme Being, who is beyond the influence of the Gunas.
“In a certain place, a girl herself had to attend to the comforts of those who visited the house to ask her in marriage when her relations had gone out to some other place. As she was husking the paddy for their meal in a solitary place, the conch bangles on her wrists made a great noise. The intelligent girl thought it disgraceful and was very much ashamed of her poverty. She thought that the party might detect her poor condition. She broke the bracelets one by one, leaving only two on each hand. Even those two bracelets produced a sound when she went on husking. So she removed one of these also. No sound was then produced from the remaining one though she continued husking.
“Wandering over the world in search of truth and experiences, I learnt from the girl’s experience the following instructions. Where many dwell together there would be quarrel. Even between two people there would be occasion for debate or talk. Therefore, one should live alone like the single bangle on the hand of the girl.
“Having controlled the breath and practised firmness in seat, one should, like an archer taking his aim, fix or centre the mind on the Supreme Self. He should be on the alert to keep the mind steady through renunciation, constant application and systematic practice. Just as the fire exhausts itself when the fuel is consumed, so also the mind firmly checked in its outward wanderings, becomes oblivious of the diversities caused by the Gunas, slowly shakes off the bonds of Karma, abandons gradually the impulsions to work, gets free from Rajas and Tamas through increased Sattva, subsides and attains tranquillity in the absence of the fuel of Gunas and their products and the sense-impressions which feed it. It becomes one with the object of meditation. It becomes entirely absorbed in the object of contemplation. Then having his mind entirely absorbed in the Atman, he does not see anything else at that time, inside or outside, just as the arrow-maker with his mind absorbed in making the arrow, did not see the king passing by his side. I have learnt concentration of mind from the arrow-maker.
“The wise man should wander alone. He should be homeless and be ever alert. He should resort to a cave and should not exhibit his real worth. He should remain without friends. He should indulge in as little speech as possible.
“It is very troublesome and useless for an ascetic to build a house as his body is fleeting and perishable. Just as the serpent enters and makes itself comfortable in any hole dug by others, so also he should make himself comfortable at every chance residence or place that comes in his way. He should have no fixed abode.
“Just as the spider brings the thread out of itself, spreads out the web, sports in it and devours it itself, so also the Lord creates the universe out of Himself through His Maya consisting of three Gunas, sports in it and takes it back again into Himself.
“Whatever form a man constantly thinks of through love, hatred or fear, that he attains in course of time through concentration on the form he thinks about, just as a worm becomes the wasp.
“Thus from the above twenty-four preceptors I have learnt the various instructions.

Uddhava Gita 2:24 – 4:23, Bhagavatam 11:7:24 – 11:9:23 (Swami Sivananda’s translation)

The Best Part of Knowledge by Swami Chidananda

28 Friday May 2010
Posted by  in Change Others, Conviction, Discipline, Effort, Hypocriscy, Karma Yoga, Practise, Progress, Sadhana, Scripture, Spiritual Progress, Theoretical Knowledge
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The whole of the spiritual life is an acquiring of spiritual knowledge. The guru is a source of spiritual knowledge: Scriptures are the source of spiritual knowledge. Special books on specific topics or aspects of the spiritual life and sadhana are also a source of spiritual knowledge. The function of knowledge is to remove ignorance. We replace ignorance by knowledge. It is knowledge itself that does this function of getting rid of ignorance and taking its place. It removes darkness and brings light.
But, apart from its function of getting rid of ignorance, let us ask a different question about knowledge itself. What is the best part of knowledge? Have you ever considered this? We have knowledge, but what is the best part of this knowledge that we have acquired? We may say that knowledge by itself is undivided—it is one integrated thing—but there are parts of knowledge in relation to us.
When we consider knowledge and ourselves, when we consider knowledge and its relationship to ourselves, it is dual. We are related to knowledge, and knowledge is related to us. Therefore, the question of what is the best part of knowledge acquires a certain relevance. It also acquires an importance.
The first part of knowledge is that we now know something that we did not know before we acquired this knowledge, before we were blessed or graced with this knowledge. The guru gives blessings in the form of the knowledge that has the power to gradually liberate us. Thus, you did not know, and when you got the knowledge, you knew. So knowing is a quintessential part of knowledge—enabling us to know things that we did not know until it came into our experience.Knowing, therefore, is the essence of the matter.
However, what is the difference between a person who does not know and a person who knows? Is there any difference at all? That is the next part of knowledge—when the knowing of the knowledge makes a difference in the person. The person is more perceptive, more understanding, more tolerant,more sympathetic. They act with a greater spirit of give and take. Knowledge can do all these things, but there is a bigIF. That big IF is that knowledge can do all these things only if the person allows this knowledge to have a transforming effect upon their being. They become a better person because before they got the knowledge they committed many errors. After they acquired this knowledge they begin to avoid all those errors. They act in a different way, a better way, a nobler way.
So, knowledge is knowing, and when this knowing brings about a change for the better in us, it also becomes being. Knowledge first becomes knowing when previous to that we did not know. But then, if we are satisfied with keeping it at that level, and it does not bring about any change, then there is only one part of knowledge that is present—not a better part of knowledge. The second part of knowledge is becoming someone different in a positive and creative way because of the knowledge. The second part of knowledge is being.
And there is still a better part of knowledge. This change must become a social asset. It must become a value that has an effect in terms of other people’s well-being. It is here that the third part of knowledge comes into our consideration. Out of becoming a knowing person and then a changed person, we turn this knowledge and its knowing and being into a social asset, a value in human relationship—a value not only to our own self-culture, self-evolution and ethical and spiritual progress, but a value also in terms of the well-being and happiness of others.
Perhaps this is the best part of knowledge—the doing part of knowledge—bringing knowledge into actual manifestation in a creative pattern of human relationship, behaving with others so that every act that you do becomes a source of benefit to others, every act is, as it were, a seed for the well-being of others, the good of others,bringing into their lives something positive, something helpful, something for which they feel grateful. That is the third part of knowledge, the best part of knowledge.
Knowing is good; it is a wonderful part of knowledge. Being is better. It is really a very praiseworthy part of knowledge, a very, very valuable part of knowledge. But doing is best because it affects in a positive, creative and beneficial way all other lives whom you touch as you move about in this world and live your life. It becomes a benediction, a boon, a blessing, a great desirable value in your life with others—all others, all of God’s creation. Therefore the best part of knowledge is knowledge in practice, the transforming effect of knowledge upon your being being a source of auspiciousness, good and benefit to others.

Discovering The Ego By Sri Swami Venkatesananda

18 Tuesday May 2010
Posted by  in 20 Impt Spiritual Instructions, Adaptability, Bhakti, Ego, Guru, Insult, Karma Yoga,Meditation, Mouna, Practise, Progress, Sadhana, Self-control, Swami Sivananda, Yamas and Niyamas
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Anything that is done in accordance with the dictates of the mind is a trap. So even the so-called Yogic or spiritual practices undertaken through the incentive of the mind can at best be a golden trap, a prison. The intelligence within has to realise this. It is capable of this, though it cannot get out of it. ‘I’ cannot liberate itself, but it can see the defect in all these practices, the danger in this trap. If you are doing Karma-yoga it is glorified social service—which is very good as far as it goes because it is of tremendous use to others. If you choose to practise Bhakti-yoga—Japa for three hours,Puja for two and Kirtan for two—that’s also very good because during those seven hours you didn’t do any mischief. If you do Yoga-asanas, Pranayama and some sort of meditation you enjoy good health and therefore are less of a burden upon others, which is a tremendous contribution. It is a sin to be sick—you are a nuisance unto yourself and an unbearable burden on others. To be healthy is one of the greatest services you can render humanity. If you are thoroughly forgotten by others, you are the greatest servant of humanity. If others are constantly worrying about you, you are a nuisance. But, as a Sadhana for self-realisation or Moksha that is not of great value, unless you are doing it because the Guru says so and not because the mind likes it.
Through none of these is Moksha or liberation possible. All are traps, whatever be one’s attitude towards them. Self-realisation is independent of all these. Gurudev has crystallised the essence of his teachings in a little song; the first line of which is “Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise.” Please, do Karma-yoga to the best of your ability. Above all, love God, do charity, purify yourself through all sorts of Yoga practices—Japa, meditation, and all that. Meditate and realise the Upanishadic truths. The next line is: “Be good, do good, be compassionate.” The third: “Enquire who am I, know the self and be free.” Combine all these in your daily Sadhana.
Now comes the tricky part of it. The next line of the song is: “Adapt, adjust, accommodate, bear insult, bear injury, highest Sadhana”. Is that possible in your life? One would expect the ethics to come first and the self-realisation to come last. In the first part—serve, love, meditate, realise—it is possible to indulge in what is commonly called self-deception, thinking that you are doingKarma-yoga, thinking that you are doing Bhakti-yoga, thinking that you are doing Hatha-yoga just because you can do a few Yoga postures nicely—and if you are able to sit on one posture for a considerable time you can tell yourself and others that you are in deep Samadhi. All this is possible.
But adaptability is not so easy because it hits at and destroys the ego directly—whereas all the rest beat about the bush. It is easy to give up what you think you possess a shirt, a book, a little money, fruit—because the mind or the ego says, “Oh, I’ll get some more”, but to abandon one’s opinion and ideologies is more difficult, and to abandon one’s opinion of oneself, one’s self-esteem, is extremely difficult. Of all the images in the world, self-image is the hardest to crack, leave alone break.
Is it possible for you to look at someone with whom you totally disagree and say, without hypocrisy, “Sir, you may be right”? During those few moments watch what goes on within you. There is a combination of an earthquake, volcano, tornado and a tidal wave, all together. That is the ego. You’ve got it! Don’t try to fix it. It hurts, it hurts. Good grief, it hurts. Watch what is happening inside you. That is the ego.
The external situation takes care of itself. Someone argues with you, you say, “You may be right” and then he’s satisfied and he goes away—or he’s dissatisfied and he goes away. That’s not of very great importance. You are not doing this in order to please somebody—that is another trap. Nor are you doing this in order to displease yourself—that is masochism, equally useless, and that feeds the ego—”I’m a man of tremendous adaptability (or humility).” Nobody is interested in it. Absolutely nobody in this world is interested either in your happiness or in yoursalvation, so there is no sense in doing all this to please others or in striving to convince others that you are a great Yogi, Sadhu or holy man. All this is a total waste of time. Instead, try to adapt yourself to others, to the man who vehemently opposes you. Say to him, “Yes sir, you may be right”, or “You are right,” and at the same time watch what goes on within you.
When Gurudev Swami Sivananda emphasised the spirit of service he exalted adaptability above all. He emphasised: “The aggressive, self-assertive, Rajasic ego is your enemy.” This has to go. Karma-yoga will help you—or, this Karma-yoga may become possible only after you have destroyed the self-assertive ego. Even the little bit of service that you render to others may help you, because in the course of that you will be forced to adapt yourself. There will be opportunities galore of adapting yourself. Bhakti, Raja and Hatha-yoga may help you, but they are only aids, not the master-key. The master-key is “Adapt, adjust, accommodate.”
I have never seen a great saint with such a supple non-ego as Swamiji had. The whole Ashram owes its existence to him and every brick has been laid by him. It used to first intrigue some of us youngsters in the 1940’s to see him stand in front of one of his own disciples and ask for his opinion in a tone that would suggest that the master was a subordinate.
There was a Swami here known as Swami Vishuddhananda who was our postmaster and also in charge of the construction of the temple and so on. One day Swamiji and this Swami Vishuddhananda were standing a few paces from each other and Swamiji was giving some suggestions for the temple verandah. It was as if he was the subordinate, a new recruit to the Ashram. He asked “Can we do this? Would it be alright? What do you think?” Never have I seen him lay down the law or give a command. Even when he wanted something done very badly he would merely ask, “Shall we do such and such?” If you began to agree with him, if you made him feel comfortable and he knew that you were with him all the way through, then he might have said, “Go and do this quickly.” But, if you raised one objection to it immediately he suspended the whole proceeding. He would give you some fruits and milk, and praise you to the skies, “Ah, you are a marvellous man. No one has such brilliant ideas as you have.” Then half an hour later he would come back to it, “You said this should be done this way. I think it may not be so good. What about this?” First cancel your ego. Here is an opportunity, a contradiction, someone who opposes you. That is a direct challenge to the ego. Let it melt, let it disappear. Then, what has to happen will happen.
“Adapt, adjust, accommodate, bear insult, bear injury.” This is the highest Sadhana and the most direct path to self-realisation, because it cuts right through the ego. It does not mean that we should so live or act in this world as to invite criticism, insult and injury (then, of course, you deserve nothing else!). But to do your very best, to do the right thing at the right moment in the right manner in the right place, is your duty.That is Yoga. There is no compromise on this score. In spite of that, whatever you do you will always find someone who is annoyed, someone who doesn’t like you, or what you do or look like. What is your attitude towards such a person? Your first impulse is to eliminate him or run away from him, to eliminate, remedy or avoid such a situation. If you do that you have destroyed the best opportunity for practising the highest Sadhana.
In one of his very early letters to Swami Paramanandaji, Gurudev had written, “I want around me people who will criticise me, vilify me, scandalise me, even hurt me, injure me.” This is not masochism. He did not enjoy being persecuted, nor did he suffer from a martyr complex; he neither invited nor looked for criticism; he was extremely careful in his behaviour; he conformed as far as he could to the norms of society and there was no objectionable behaviour on his part—it was all exemplary, but in spite of it, when he was inevitably criticised by someone or the other, it was there that his uniqueness was seen. There were occasions when even his own disciples openly or covertly mocked at him or criticised him—he knew it—but even then you couldn’t find the least trace of disapproval or displeasure. His love was uniform. Occasionally the critic would get preferential treatment—only occasionally, because even that was not made a religion. It was not that he relished or enjoyed it—that’s another trap. It hurts—it must hurt. If you have done your best to do the right thing and yet you are criticised you don’t enjoy it, but you utilise that opportunity to discover this great ego. That is an opportunity to enquire, “Who am I?” Who is it that is hurt, who is it that is insulted, and what is insult?
Gurudev often pointed out that insult or criticism is nothing but so much wind, air. There’s another way of looking at it. Most of you are familiar with these Kundalini-chakras and probably you know also that according to Shat-chakra nimpana the chakras are supposed to have a certain number of petals. It is said that certain sounds are associated with those and if you add up the whole lot you get the Sanskrit alphabet. The first of the vowels is ‘a’ and the last of the consonants is ‘ha’. Aham in Sanskrit (or I is nothing but all these sounds put together, and all the words attributed to it are also words, mere sounds. ‘I’ (Aham) is non-existent sound; ‘fool’ is another non-existent sound and ‘idiot’ is another non-existent sound. That non-existent sound is attributed to this non-existent sound. What does it matter? It is air blowing on air—absolutely nothing. One who practises this Yoga regards injury as a blessing, not revelling in it, not remedying it, but utilising it to discover this Aham, to discover who this ‘I’ is.
One should distinguish between physical pain and psychological sorrow. Physical pain may have to be dealt with and remedied. The body itself demands it. Gurudev was extraordinarily careful when it came to the protection of the physical body, and during the last few years he took more medicine than food. Physical pain may have to be dealt with, avoided, treated, cured or got rid of, but psychological sorrow should not be treated, got rid of or avoided. It should be utilised in order to discover that which experiences this sorrow. With each experience if one is able to trace the source of that sorrow—which is the ego—then that ego is got rid of once and for all and there is liberation. Only then is there liberation. Therefore, Gurudev exalted this. When there is a tremendous inner urge to find the ego, in the light of that urge the ego (the ‘me’, the self) is seen to be non-existent.
In that situation virtue flows effortlessly. All the Yama-niyama take their abode in you, all the disciplines that we have been discussing all these days become yours, effortlessly. You are unselfish, effortlessly—not because you think the unselfish self is going to lead you to Moksha, but there is Moksha already. You are freed from the self and therefore you are unselfish. There is no alternative. You love God, not because you expect to be given a right to heaven. There is no because. That life itself is a continuous meditation. This urge to liberation sought to find the truth concerning the ego, and having discovered its non-existence begins to realise that it was possible for it to arise on account of inattention, and if you are not attentive and vigilant throughout your life it can arise again—so there is constant vigilance.
That vigilant watchfulness of the potentiality of the ego arising is itself meditation. There is no other meditation. In that meditation the ego is prevented from arising. That vigilance itself is the inner light or insight and as long as it is shining bright the demon called ego doesn’t arise. That is meditation. And that is also self-realisation, God-realisation or liberation, whatever you wish to call it.

Daily Routine for Everyone

05 Wednesday May 2010
Posted by  in 20 Impt Spiritual Instructions, Brahmamuhurta, Disciple, Discipline, Effort, Karma Yoga, Meditation, Practise, Prayer,Progress, Sadhana, Scripture, Swami Sivananda, Time-Table, Yamas and Niyamas
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The other day at the Satsang (2.5.2010), we mentioned that we should keep ourselves busy, extremely busy, so that our minds will not become the Devil’s workshop. Swamiji Sri Sivananda Maharaj has prescribed the following daily routines for everyone: students, busy people, retirees and aspirants. Please make use of the time-table that suites your lifestyle:
Daily Routine for Students/Pupils
Asana, Pranayama: 4.00 am – 4.25 am
Tratak, Japa, Meditation: 4.25 am – 5.00 am
Study of School Lessons: 5.00 am – 6.30 am
Physical Exercises and breakfast: 6.30 am – 7.00 am
Mantra Writing: 7.00 am – 7.15 am
Study of Gita: 7.15 am – 7.30 am 
Preparation for Class Lessons: 7.30 am – 9.00 am
Bath, Meals: 9.00 am – 10.00 am
School Hours: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Games, Walking, Nishkamya Karma: 5.00 pm – 5.45 pm
Japa and Dyana: 5.45 pm – 6.45 pm
Study of School Lessons: 6.45 pm – 8.15 pm
Meals: 8.15 pm – 8.30 pm
Swadhyaya, Study of Religious Books: 8.30 pm – 9.00 pm
Kirtan, Prayers: 9.00 pm – 9.15 pm
Self-analaysis, Introspection, Spiritual Diary: 9.15 pm – 9.30 pm
Sleep: 9.30 pm – 4.00 am
Note: Giving free tuition to poor students or serving the sick persons during intervals will constitute Nishkamya Karma
Daily Routine for Busy People
Asana, Pranayama: 4.00 am – 4.30 am
Tratak, Japa, Dyana: 4.30 am – 6.00 am
Physical Exercises and breakfast: 6.00 am – 6.45 am
Mantra Writing: 6.45 am – 7.00 am
Study of Gita: 7.00 am – 7.15 am 
Study of Spiritual Books: 7.15 am – 8.00 am
Nishkamya Karma and Household Duties: 8.00 am – 9.00 am
Bath, Meals, Going to Office: 9.00 am – 10.00 am
Office Hours: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Evening Walk, Nishkamya Karma: 5.00 pm – 6.30 pm
Japa and Dyana: 6.30 pm – 7.45 pm
Meals: 7.45 pm – 8.15 pm
Kirtan, Bhajans, Prayers: 8.15 pm – 8.30 pm
Study of Spiritual Books: 8.30 pm – 9.15 pm
Atma-Vichara, Self-analaysis, Introspection, Spiritual Diary: 9.15 pm – 10.00 pm
Sleep: 10.00 pm – 4.00 am
Daily Routine for Night Duty People
Kirtan, Prayer and One mala of Japa: 30 minutes (after duty)
Sleep: 6 to 7 hours
Silent Japa: 30 minutes after getting up
Asana, Pranayama: 20 minutes
Rest, Bath, Food: 1 hour 30 minutes 
Study of Gita and Mantra Writing: 30 minutes
Tratak, Japa and Dyana: 1 hour 30 minutes
Household Duties: 1 hour 15 minutes
Swadhyaya of Religious Books: 1 hour 10 minutes
Self-analaysis, Introspection, Spiritual Diary: 30 minutes
Food Dressing and Going to Office: 45 minutes
Office Duty: 8 hours
Note: If there be leisure dutring office hours, silent mental Japa or study of spiritual books can be done.
An Ideal Time-Table for an Aspirant
Sleep: 7 hours
Walk: 1 hour 30 minutes
Mouna: 15 minutes
Study of Gita and other Scriptures: 4 hours
Bath, etc.: 1 hour
Asana and Exercise: 50 minutes
Pranayama: 10 minutes
Japa and Meditation: 2 hours
Food and Nishkamya Seva: 3 hours
Mantra Writing: 30 minutes
(pgs. 455-458, Sadhana)

>Sri Swami Sivananda’s Favourite Formula By Sri Swami Sadananda

08 Thursday Apr 2010
Posted by  in Karma Yoga, Swami Sivananda
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The best way in which we can benefit ourselves whether we are near Swami Sivananda or away from him, is by carrying out his advice, and because there are so many things which he has written about in more than 250 books, it may be impossible for us, ordinary people, to understand everything, even if we have time to read everything. Therefore, he has been so kind as to condense all his teaching into a few words which constitute what may be called the Mantra that he is uttering everyday in our hearing, so that it might sink deep in our minds and enable us to meditate upon its meaning. 

I am referring to what he always says at the end of the Sat Sang, “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise, Be good, Do good, Be kind, Be compassionate, Enquire, ‘Who am I?’, Know the Self and Be free.” I consider that this is his favourite formula, the Mantras that he is giving as Upadesh not in the formal way, but in the really valuable way to all people, who come and visit him here and this is a Mantra that has also spread in all parts of the world. If we are to benefit ourselves by the Grace that God has shown to us by giving us this Guru, so that we may improve, the best way is to think about its meaning and act according to it in the best manner possible for us.
Just think about the meaning of these words, “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise.” Each one of these words has been specially chosen and the word coming after the previous one comes with a purpose. It is not placed without any thought. Even a person in the lowest stage of spiritual evolution can enter into the path of progress, or evolution, only by serving others. That is the first thing that we have to do. Serveeverybody as much as you can in the manner in which you are fitted to serve. Now, spiritual service, is selfless service. When you remember that you are part of the universe, that you cannot live independently of the universe, that you partake of the blessing that God is conferring upon you only through others who are living in this universe, your sense of duty will tell you that you have to serve others. 

Otherwise you will be selfish. Nobody in this universe can live independently. He lives only because there are others who help him in some fashion or other. Therefore, service is only a return for the obligation that we have received and are continuing to receive from others in the world. So, that is the first thing. Whenever you do anything, remember that you are doing it as a sort of repayment of the debt that you have received from other people. Then if you want to have a little better position in the spiritual field than you are having, you must invest a little more in the form of service to mankind. If you have put money in the bank you can take that money from the bank. But if you want to have more credit, do not take away all the money you have put there; but go on increasing your investment. Therefore, serve the world a little more than you have a claim to receive from the world. So, that is the first thing, Karma Yoga. So, then, in this Mantra, the first thing that is taught is Karma Yoga.
Naturally, when you have developed this feeling that you are part of this universe and it is your duty to do something for the universe, the next stage is reached that you should love the universe. Here also we are only returning the love that we are receiving from other people. Love has been shown to us by the parents from the day on which we were born. In our childhood, the whole world loved us. Who does not love a child? Therefore, even in returning, we have to return much more than what we have received.
And unless there is love in the world, there cannot be any kind of harmony even in our own little family or community even in the immediate neighbourhood where we live, unless we received love and give love there cannot be any happiness, and mind you, love is the life of Bhakti Yoga. If you love in the manner in which you ought to, you are loving the world, recognising that every person has got in him the all-pervading Atman and that every person functions on account of the presence of God in him. When you recognise that you are able to talk intelligently to other people, only because God gives you that intelligence, when you recognise God everywhere, automatically, you love everyone.
Then, ‘Give’. That is a very important advice that has to be given to a man. In the Upanishads there is a story that once thunder was heard as “Da Da Da” by Asuras, Devas and men. Those who heard the three words, Da Da Da, understood them in their own respective ways. The Devas said, ‘This is the teaching God has given us, because we do not have Dama (restraint).’ Devas are known for their want of restraint, and therefore they felt, ‘We must have restraint. We are running towards the enjoyment of pleasures. We must have a little more control.’ And the advice was taken by men as Dana (charity).
The tendency for human beings is to receive and not to give. Asuras have no Daya. Dana is very important for men. If you search your heart, you will find that out of necessity you will pay something, give something and even supposing you had given very willingly, you will be thinking about it and taking pride in your heart of hearts for having given something, though you may not show the pride you feel. When you have given charity, you have done something which is quite abnormal for an ordinary being. Therefore, the teaching that is given us is, “Remember you are a human being. Rise above the average human being. Become divine. Give.” This is the teaching there.
Then when all these are practised, the true preparation is made. When you have done selfless service, have decided to rise above the average human being so that you can make your life divine, then you become fit to proceed further. Therefore, serve, love, give, purify. There you have to think of cleansing your mind. Swamiji has got another set of phrases: “Purify your mind, simplify your life and intensify your Sadhana.” Why should you purify your mind? So that later on you will not fall a victim to the temptations of your mind. Therefore, purification is for keeping the mind filled with good thoughts. They should stick themselves permanently to the mind, and when you have done that by the practice of Yama and Niyama, by controlling yourself completely, by not allowing yourself to be led away by temptations, by not taking advantage of the simplicity of others in business matters or other matters, when you are avoiding all these bad things you will have purified yourself.
Therefore, serve, love, give, purify. ‘Then you will be fit for meditation. Suppose you are inviting a friend to your house. You will first of all keep your room clean. You will not keep your room dirty. Ordinary courtesy requires that you clean a room before you receive an honoured guest. Now, if you are inviting the most honoured guest, God, to take His seat in your mind, you cannot keep your mind dirty. He will sit only in a place which is clean. Therefore, purify. Then meditation will be possible. Meditation means that you will be able to keep God inside you. When once you have cleaned your mind in the way that it is fit for God to dwell in, then Realisation comes quickly. That is why Swamiji says, “Serve, love, give, purify, meditate and realise.”
When you have developed yourself into the position of some divine personality, then it becomes your duty to be positively good. Be good. Till then all the virtuous qualities are only to perfect yourself. Afterwards you are qualified not only to receive power-vibrations from God, but also to transfer your power and godliness to other people. Therefore, you are asked to be good. Perfect goodness is perfect ‘Godliness’. Therefore, “Be good, Do good, Be kind’. “Be compassionate” comes naturally.
Because, you are no longer selfish, you will begin to live only for others’ good. Then, “Be kind and Be compassionate.” Then you will be able to understand how other people are to be benefited by the level you have reached. Then enquire, ‘Who am I?’ Be conscious of your identity with the Paramatman, and “Be free”.This is the Mantra which we are receiving every day from Swamiji. Even the person who is very low in the spiritual evolution can practise, “service”. The person who is a little advanced, can practise Bhakti Yoga. So, it is possible to practise all these virtues one after another. I would request you to keep this Mantra running in your mind always, concentrate on the meaning of it, when you have time, and work out the ideas, always. That is the way in which you can benefit from the thought vibrations that are always emanating from Swamiji. 
Now, I am not qualified to describe him to you, but still I can give you this secret that saints like our Swamiji can never be keeping quiet at any moment of their life without radiating vibrations of a spiritual nature. They are always there, and the result is that when we have attuned our mental radio to the appropriate meter to receive those vibrations by simplifying our life, by purifying our mind, by meditating on our inner Self, we shall be able to receive those vibrations and transform ourselves into divine beings, which we are called upon to become, having been born in the world and especially in India, where we have preserved the spiritual heritage of our ancestors. Let us become worthy of them. 
Message from the book Philosophy and Teachings of Swami Sivananda.

A Simple But Powerful Spiritual Practice By Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda

19 Friday Feb 2010
Posted by  in Austerity, Chanting, Conviction, Discipline, Effort, Japa, Karma Yoga,Mind, Practise, Sadhana, Silence, Spiritual Progress
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It is common thinking throughout the world to make a division between the spiritual life and the secular life. But if all is one, if God alone is, then perhaps the purpose of our spiritual life is to recognise that there is no such thing as secular life, that all life is spiritual. It is a question of where our consciousness is. The purpose of our spiritual practices is to raise our consciousness to a point where we recognise the fact that all life is divine.
Most of the time our consciousness seems to be in what we could call a secular level. Is there a simple practice that we could observe during the day that would help raise our consciousness in a steady and consistent fashion?
We may not be able to find time during the day for longer periods of spiritual practice, but usually we can find times when we can just sit—in the kitchen, in the office, no matter where—for a few moments, and close our eyes and relax. That practice alone will help to steady our consciousness. If we add to it repetition of God’s name, our mind will become focused, our consciousness will be raised. And as we are repeating God’s name we can recognise that something is aware of that repetition. We don’t create a witness, because that’s just another thought, but whatever is in our mind, we recognise that something is knowing it.
That something can never be grasped, but it is never absent whether we are sitting quietly, whether we are active, whether we are dreaming or whether we are in deep sleep. The remembrance of that ungraspable witness raises our consciousness and puts us in another dimension. And all this can be done in a few moments.
The spiritual life is not, at its core, something dramatic. Except in very rare circumstances, it is a step by step journey that continues for years. Some time ago one of our senior devotees passed away. She was a housewife who for years and years had followed regular spiritual practices. She didn’t seem to be anything special, but when she was having her health crisis—even though she could have expected to have many more years to live—she was totally resigned to whether she lived or not. Swamiji (Swami Chidananda) marvelled. He said it is a result of her many years of consistent spiritual practice.
So we shouldn’t underestimate the inner spiritual power of something like simply—for a few moments as frequently as we can—sitting quietly, repeating God’s name and being aware that there is an unknowable witness who is always silently knowing everything.

"Fifteenth Spiritual Instruction" by Swami Chidananda

23 Saturday Jan 2010
Posted by  in 20 Impt Spiritual Instructions, Desire, Karma Yoga
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Reduce Your Wants


If you have four shirts, reduce the number to three or two. Lead a happy, contented life. Avoid unnecessary worry. Have plain living and high thinking.
Reduce your wants. If you have four shirts reduce the number to three or two. Lead a happy, contented life (sada santushta Yogi). Avoid unnecessary worry. Here there is an equal of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings in the next sentence—Have plain living and high thinking. This was Mahatma Gandhi’s instruction to all his correspondents as also to students and the whole nation, and which, during his own lifetime, he himself practised.
Gurudev says in His book on Sadhana that a karma yogin reduces his wants and slowly controls the indriyas. He serves all with pure, cosmic love, with sama bhavana (equal vision) as manifestations of the Lord. Jealousy vanishes completely in the long run by constant service.
The restless mind must be rendered quiet by reducing your wants, by destroying useless earthly desires. Have one strong desire for liberation. Then you can open your mind to the higher spiritual influences. The Divine Light will slowly descend. You can actually feel the inner change and spiritual uplift. Gradually the personal consciousness will merge itself into the Cosmic Consciousness, the individual will, will merge into the Divine Will or Cosmic Will. This is the state of samadhi or Super-conscious state. Man has become transmuted into God now. After many ages he has gone back to his original home or abode of Immortality and Eternal Bliss.
[TWENTY IMPORTANT SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTIONS, A Series of talks on Swami Sivananda's Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions.]  

>"Sixth Spiritual Instruction" by Swami Chidananda

13 Wednesday Jan 2010
Posted by  in 20 Impt Spiritual Instructions, Atonement, Change Others, Effort, Grace, Judgmental, Kali Yuga, Karma Yoga, Maya, Mind, Sadhana, Scripture
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Charity
Do charity regularly, every month or even daily according to your means, say six paisa per rupee.
“Do charity regularly every month, or even daily according to your means.” This also applies more to those who are working and earning and have an income. Those who are in some field of business, who are in employment of some kind or have a profession where there is a steady flow of income. Then of course they can plan their expenditure, they can save and keep some for charity. In the disposal of whatever they earn, Gurudev says: “Don’t confine it to only expenditure and saving but also set a part of it aside for charity, for giving.” Saving is necessary and expenditure is inevitable, but charity is indispensable, most important. It instils sympathy, consideration, understanding, the spirit of sharing and giving, kindness and compassion. It ennobles the human nature and expands the heart and thus it is very, very helpful to spiritual progress and evolution.
Therefore, Gurudev emphasises: “Do regular charity every month or even daily according to your means.” And what your means are will depend upon your heart and your circumstances of course. If you have a husband who is very niggardly and resents your giving, and if you give something, fights and quarrels ensue in the home, then you have to be careful, you have to be wise. If you have a wife who does not like to give charity, and picks a quarrel whenever you give some donation then also you have to be wise. If it creates a problem, you must know how to deal with it and yet be charitable. So these are all things left to each one’s common-sense and intelligence and according to the sincerity of your heart.
Many, many are the benefits of charity. In Christianity it is said: “Charity covers a multitude of sins.” Here charity is used in a restricted sense, giving and sharing, but charity also means a charitable disposition. Forgive and forget, and therefore return good to those who think evil of you or injure you. This is all charity. This is the virtue of charity. Not in the restricted sense of giving material means only, but in giving generously of the benefit of doubt, giving generously of your forgiveness and tolerance, your goodwill and good nature.
That is also charity—being of a charitable disposition and not wanting to sit in judgment over others, not wanting to jump to conclusions and attribute motives to others which may not be there, not wanting to immediately suspect the bona fide or the genuineness of a person. Otherwise you will always be suspecting, always be attributing ulterior motives to others and this will create a bad relationship. If there is a charitable disposition all this will not be there. You will not jump to conclusions, you will not judge others unfairly, you will not attribute ulterior motives to other people’s actions or intentions. This is all the result of a charitable disposition.
If you are able to spend a certain percentage of your income in charity, that is the best way. Do not leave it to the mind. Make it a principle—1/10th or 1/20th part of your income for charity. If you cannot afford that, take some fixed percentage of your earnings. There are many people who do it. One of them was Maharaj Pannalal, the late Swami Prashantananda. Even when he was working in a mill and was a wage earner, the moment he got his pay-packet, he would take out a certain percentage and send it to his Guru, Swami Sivananda.
Gurudev says: “Doing abundant, spontaneous and unrestrained charity to relieve the pains of suffering humanity is an effective means to destroy your evil nature. Give money like water. If you give, the wealth of the whole world will be yours. Money will come to you. This is the immutable, inexorable, unrelenting law of nature. Therefore give, give, give!”
May God bless you.
[TWENTY IMPORTANT SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTIONS, A Series of talks on Swami Sivananda's Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions.]  
 

>Spiritual Life Should be Vital and Alive

03 Sunday Jan 2010
Posted by  in Austerity, Bhakti, Change Others, Discipline, Effort, Grace, Guru, Japa, Judgmental, Kali Yuga, Karma Yoga, Maya, Mind, Prayer, Sadhana, Satsang, Scripture, Surrender, Yamas and Niyamas
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>Swami Chidananda, “Beloved sadhakas (aspirants)! What spiritual life should mean to you, what spiritual sadhana (practices) should imply for you, what spiritual life and sadhana can do for you, what the Guru can do for you, how his wisdom teachings can enrich you, how spiritual books and scriptures can benefit and be of use to you depends entirely upon how and in what manner you relate yourself to all these factors.
“You have to probe deeply and know for yourself the answer: whether your relationship is merely sentimental, whether it is merely mental or intellectual, or whether your relationship to all these factors—spiritual life and sadhana, spiritual books, the Guru and his teachings—is a vital and living one.
“You have to ask, you have to find out: ‘How am I related to my spiritual life? How am I related to my Guru and his spiritual teachings? How am I related to the lofty ideals that have been placed before us in our scriptures-the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas? How am I relating myself to my Guru mantra?’ 
“For all these factors to mean anything to us-if they are to enrich us, elevate us, transform us-our relationship with these factors must be a vital and living one. It should mean to us our life itself. They should dominate our life. They should be overwhelmingly present in a pervasive manner, in every movement, in every aspect, in every activity of our life.
“Our life should reflect these ideals. Our life should reflect the living teachings of the Guru. Our life should reflect the scriptures in a vital way. Ideals are not meant to be worshipped; they are meant to be emulated, followed and lived. 

“Scriptures are meant not only to be read and known, they are meant to be deeply studied and applied. They are meant to be entered into and practised. They should become our life, the very fabric of our life. The Guru is not meant merely to be revered, but to be obeyed. 
“All these factors should constitute the very warp and woof of your daily life and thought. Thus and thus alone can you make these factors an enriching, dynamic, life-transforming process in your life. Our relationship with all these factors is not meant to stop in the plane of our human personality- nature only; it is not to stop upon the psycho-physical level. You can practise all the asanas with the body, but if the body does not transform itself into a vehicle of sattva (purity), of selflessness, of servicefulness, of sadhana, of tapasya (austerities), of samyama (meditation, concentration and superconsciousness practised at the same time), it has not become the vehicle for these important spiritual factors that it was meant to be.
“Your relationship with these factors should, therefore, be upon the innermost vital plane of your true personality. It should be a dynamic spiritual connection. Then and then alone our spiritual life will become an ever- progressive, dynamic factor of our being. Ideals should be emulated; Guru should be obeyed; scriptures should be absorbed and transformed into life. Sadhana should become the very breath of our day-to-day living.
“You should perpetually be a sadhaka and a Yogi, not only when you are sitting upon your asana in your puja (worship) room or meditation cell. After getting up, you become something else. That will not do. Unfortunately, that is the way it is, and that is why we fail to achieve great heights of spiritual experience and awareness, why we fail to progress.
“Everything pertaining to God should become a vital, living factor, a vital, living force in your being and through your being in all the movements and activities of your daily life-mental, verbal and spiritual. Everything that constitutes spiritual life and sadhana, everything that is related to God-realisation, should, therefore, become a vital thing. You have to relate yourself. We must be it. Relationship should be one of life itself, a vital, living thing.
“This is the secret in spiritual sadhana, in spiritual life. Mantra springs into dynamism and manifests God by abhyasa (practise), by japa. It is so with everything. It is not knowing that one attains spiritual perfection and God, it is by being and it is by doing that everything in spiritual life becomes a reality and a living experience. May God bless you to see this clearly, and may you reap rich benefits from this clear perception. God bless you!”
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