The Goal of Vedanta

The goal or aim of life is self-realisation; it confers immortality, highest bliss, knowledge, and supreme peace. Fixing the mind on the source or inner self, and getting it absorbed there, is the highest yajna (worship), the highest charity, the highest karma – action, the highest bhakti (devotion), the highest yoga or knowledge. Now the little self-arrogating ‘I’ vanishes. Just as the river joins the ocean, the little self becomes one with the ocean of bliss

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Even as egoism is the universal characteristic of the ordinary man in his unregenerate days, the man who is in the grip of delusion, maya, even so, the universal characteristic of all saints has been perfect humility. Blessed are the meek. And the spirit of the same verse is re-echoed by one of the greatest saints India has produced. He was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabbu. He says, “Trinadapi Suneechena—one should consider oneself lower than a blade of grass.”

Swami Chidananda Saraswati

Names of God

TEXTBOOK OF YOGA | CHAP 15 | SWAMI KRISHNANANDA SARASWATI

Questioner : Are all mantras of equal value ?

SWAMIJI : Yes , correct . All the names are finally names of GOD and , therefore , if you have faith that this name is really the name of GOD , it will take you to GOD .

Questioner : Is there any power in the mantra , or is it the concept of the mind that is the power ?

SWAMIJI : A mantra has got its own power . Your conception also adds to it , but it has a power by itself .

The very words of the mantra are arranged in such a way that they generate a kind of power when they are chanted ..

A chemical action takes place when the mantra is chanted . The words act and react to produce a force ..

That is why even by mantra chanting itself you can realise GOD , and you need not think of chakras . You can completely forget them .

Mantras will do the work of other yogas as well .

If you are convinced that this mantra is sufficient for you , you need not do any hatha yoga .

That mantra will take care of you.
It is enough. It is a complete yoga by itself.

Serve

The clue to attaining purity of the heart lies in the three words, ‘serve’, ‘love’, ‘give’. Reflect deeply on these wonderful words. Remember that the salt of life is selfless service, the bread of life is universal love, the water of life is purity. Hence, serve, love, give and become pure.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

KINDS OF KARMA

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

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

Actions are of three kinds, viz., good, bad and mixed. Good Karmas make you a god or angel in heaven. Bad Karmas throw you in lower wombs. Mixed actions give you a human birth.

Every work is a mixture of good and evil. There can be neither absolute good work nor absolute bad work in this world. This physical universe is a relative plane. If you do some action, it will do some good in one corner, and some evil in another corner. You must try to do such actions that can bring the maximum of good and the minimum of evil.

Swami Sivananda

Awaken

You already have the answers you seek within yourself. The key to accessing these answers is asking the right questions and continually doing so until you awaken to and discover exactly what you were looking for. No matter who you are, where you go and what you do, within you lies everything you could ever want to know.

– Dr John Demartini

WHAT IS VEDANTA

Om. Vedanta is that bold philosophy, which teaches the unity of life or oneness of consciousness. It is that supreme philosophy, which boldly proclaims, with emphasis and force, that this little jiva (human being) is identical with the eternal or absolute. It is that sublime philosophy, which elevates the mind at once to magnanimous heights of Brahmanhood, divine splendour and glory, which makes a man absolutely fearless, which destroys all barriers that separate man from man, and which brings concord, unruffled peace and harmony to suffering humanity.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Our eternal physical life and activity, our speech and actions, have closely to keep up and enhance the spirit of our meditation, worship and Sadhana.

Swami Chidananda Saraswati

There is only one institution for you which can train you to evolve into a full-bloom Yogi, and that is where Providence has placed you-your own home. Mind is indeed the cause of bondage and liberation; a restless mind will find rest nowhere except in its own annihilation. The mind should be attacked on all sides with every possible type of weapon-with the repetition of God’s Name, study of religious scriptures, devotion, practice of silence, service. Pranayama, Japa, prayer, Kirtan and meditation. All these should be combined.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Duality

The eternal and the temporal clash in their purposes. And as you seem to belong to both the levels, you seem to be torn between two sides. You belong to a noumenal, eternal realm, which is the world of your aspiration, which is never ending – asking for more and more, endlessly – and on the other hand, you belong to the world of humdrum activity, sensations and mental operations.

What is your status finally, then? You are a cross-section of two different realms of action. Two different worlds meet at one point, which is hidden within. There are other things which are very intriguing in human nature, but the most prominent intriguing factor is that you are pulled by the world of sense on the one hand, and you are pulled by the eternity that you are on the other hand.

The world that you are not is considered as yourself by the insistence of the sense organs. But what you really are, the eternal being that you are, calls you by a different name and suggests your goal to be elsewhere – in the high heaven of the true Self, which is not in space and in time.

Swami Krishnananda Saraswati

FOUNDATION OF YOGA

Develop virtues like generosity, forgiveness and love. Mere Yogic Kriyas alone will not help you much. Do self-analysis daily and eradicate your faults and evil, slavish habits. Rectify your defects such as selfishness, pride, jealousy and hatred. You must cultivate a compassionate and loving heart first. At all times you must share what you have with others and practice selfless service. Then only will you get purity of heart.

Yoga is unity, identity, homogeneity, oneness and sameness with God.

Many aspirants neglect these preliminaries and jump, out of curiosity, to Yogic Kriyas for getting psychic powers. It is really a serious blunder. They will have a hopeless downfall. Therefore, be careful. Mere Yogic Kriyas cannot bring about the desired results. The purification of the heart is of paramount importance. The aspirant must free himself from lust, anger, greed, jealousy, hatred, egoism, vanity, attachment, pride and delusion. This is more difficult than control of breath or the practice of Yoga Asanas.
Virtuous qualities such as mercy, tolerance, adaptability, courage, patience, balance state of mind and cosmic love should be assiduously cultivated. Sages have always laid great stress on selfless service, generous charity, purity and simple living.

With firm faith, application, perseverance, careful attention to even small details, and fortitude in trials, you must set foot and proceed on the path of Sadhana.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The spiritual life is lived by the seeker in a body. Therefore, laws governing welfare of the physical body – suitable food, healthy habits, right posture, the correct amount of sleep, the tendency of the body to develop good and bad habits – have to be known.

Swami Chidananda Saraswati

Beware of Siddhis

If a Yogi is not careful, if a Yogi is not well-established in the preliminary practices of Yama and Niyama, he is unconsciously swept away from his ideal by temptation—Mara or Satan. He uses his powers for selfish ends and suffers a hopeless downfall. His intellect becomes blind, perverted and intoxicated. His understanding gets clouded. He is no longer a divine Yogi. He becomes a black-magician or Yogic charlatan. He is a black sheep within the fold of Yogis. He is a menace to the society at large.

Many people are attracted to the practice of Pranayama and other Yogic exercises, as it is through Yoga that psychic healing, telepathy, though-transference and other great Siddhis are obtained. But Yoga is not for attaining Siddhis or powers. If a Yogic student is tempted to attain Siddhis, his further progress is seriously retarded. He has lost the way.

Do not stop Sadhana when you get a few glimpses and experiences. Continue the practice till you attain perfection. Do not stop the exercise and move about in the world. Examples are not lacking. Numerous persons have been ruined. A glimpse cannot give you safety.
The Yogi who is bent upon getting the highest Samadhi must reject Siddhis whenever they come. Siddhis are invitations from Devatas. Only by rejecting these Siddhis can one attain success in Yoga.

~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Adapt yourself to circumstances. Never be attached to anything or to anybody. Share what you have with others. Be ever ready to serve. Lose no opportunity – serve with atmabhava (feeling that the self is all). Speak measured and sweet words. Have a burning thirst for God-realisation.

~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Now be silent.Let the One who creates the words speak.He made the door.He made the lock.He also made the key.
~ Rumi

Treasures and armies do not make a king. A true king is a king within himself.
~ Rumi

Rumi