Swami Satyananda's Satsangs

Yoga Poornima 2009

2011-12-10T06:43:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda- Last darshan

Yajna
I have to tell you all something about yajna. All of you have come from far-off countries, far-off places, and you must understand very well that you are participating in a very important event. This event is not only historical, it is not only spiritual, it is also ecological. It has many dimensions. People from the West and people from Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi or Patna must remember that they have come here to participate in a very important event called yajna, in which the spiritual powers are invited and invoked - spiritual powers which you cannot see, which you cannot touch, just as you cannot see or touch your thoughts, but you can feel them, if you are ready for it.

You have come here to be in touch with, in communication with those spiritual forces which are all around the cosmos, all around creation. Just as air is all-pervading, electromagnetic forces are all-pervading, and oxygen and nitrogen are all-pervading, similarly the spiritual powers, the spiritual forces, the divinities, the devatas, are all-pervading. They are here. They are always around you - always. They are with you in France, they are with you in Italy, they are with you in Bulgaria, they are with you in Greece, they are with you in Delhi, they are with you in Bangalore, they are with you wherever you are. But you can't feel them. Why can't you feel them? Because the necessary atmosphere in the mind and in the environment is not created.

If everybody starts shouting now, you won't be able to hear me. If everybody in this assembly starts crying and wailing, will you be able to listen to me? No. You will be able to listen to me only if everybody is quiet. In the same way, the divine powers, the spiritual powers, the devatas and the divinities can be felt only if the environment is peaceful, if everything is quiet. Quietness within, not outside. There has to be quietness, stillness, tranquillity, peace, relaxation, shanti. And in order to create such an atmosphere, the yajna will help you - it has helped you. You will be going back home with the blessings of these spiritual powers.

In the future, wherever there are yajnas, you should definitely spend some time there. And if you have any yoga program, whether in India, or in Bulgaria, China, Japan, France, South Korea or anywhere else, along with yoga there has to be a yajna program.

Yajna is the most ancient tradition of mankind. It was man who discovered fire and realized the utility of fire. Elephants did not, tigers did not, lions did not, birds did not. Only man realized the utility of fire and could make use of it. It was he who was the discoverer of fire, agni. When man realized agni, he took a very big leap in evolution. That was the beginning of a new era in man's existence. Therefore, in India the first mantra in the Rig Veda starts with: Agnimide purohitam yajnasya devam ritvijam; hotaram ratna dhatamam. The first word was agni, not Om.

After fire, the next thing that man discovered was grain. And he was so thankful, so obliged, so grateful, that he offered the first grain into the fire. This is the history of yajna as far as man is concerned. So all of you are very fortunate to be present here at this yajna. You must feel it. Every time there is a yajna you should come here. We will have it every year.

Symbology in Yajna

2011-12-09T08:00:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

The Vedas are the original source of information about yajna. Vedic worship of fire is extremely detailed and complicated with many layers of symbol and meaning. There are many aspects to a yajna. For example, the timing is important astrologically and the geometry is very important and exacting. There are hundreds of little details in the preparations, the offerings, the decorations and the performance, as well as the proper clean-up and handling of everything involved, including the ashes. Through rituals of purification, consecration and invocation, the entire yajnashala becomes the symbolic representation of the universe. Even the pillars are worshipped as the energy that supports the universe. The demons, the negative aspects, also have a place in the divine creation, so they too are worshipped and offered food to their liking.

Various symbols and actions are used in a yajna to redirect our senses and heighten our sattwic emotions. The beginning of the ceremony is an invocation of surrender and light is offered to the divine. The lamp is waved in a series of Om patterns, balancing all aspects of nature and symbolizing the knowledge of God. A bell is rung, representing the inner sound. The water offered represents the divine nectar of immortality. The sounding of the conch is Om, the primordial sound.

Agni is invoked with the lighting of the physical fire. The wood (samidha or samit) is fed to the fire, representing qualities that are not necessary or appropriate. The fire is nourished by the ghee, which symbolizes mental clarity, abundance and spiritual wealth. The herbs offered represent the bliss released in all actions. The fire is made conscious with mantra and the offerings are made to the ishta devata in the fire. Each of the mantras chanted is a name of God. The different aspects of God are called upon with reverence and offerings are made.

At the dosing of the yajna, thanks are given for all of the many things that were sacrificed in order to make the sankalpa of the ritual. Mantras are chanted to ask forgiveness for any errors made. All are given blessings for their part in this most ancient ritual of worshipping the divine. At the end of the ceremony the light is presented to all and may be taken to fill the heart and mind. This is followed by silent prayer to guru and mother earth and the arati is joyfully sung to the lord of the universe.

Invocation mantras at a yajna are often chanted to the accompaniment of various hand gestures called mudras and nyasa. These actions have a subtle effect on the energy vibration, both internally and externally, enhancing the effect of the mantras. Mudras are performed at various stages, at the time of invocation and with specific offerings. There are different mudras relevant to each deity. Nyasa refers to the placing of the fingers and palm of the hand on various parts of the body while chanting certain mantras. The purpose is to prepare the physical body for the reception, or awakening, of the divine presence of the deity.

The act of offering is called ahuti or oblation. With each offering, the word swaha (I offer) is uttered. Swaha is also the name of the wife of Agni. To honour his wife is to honour him in the highest way. All ritual offerings into the sacred fire are offered with this mantra; swa means 'oneself' and ha means 'to offer'. The implication is the offering of oneself for the sake of others; the oblations are meant as substitutes for oneself. One is reborn through the act of sacrifice, the old being is burnt up and a new, divine being emerges, consecrated to altruism. Thus yajna is truly a transforming rite of passage ritual.

The fire represents God or truth. The sacrificial food, the samagri (mixture of seeds, plants, resins, grains, etc.) is offered into the fire. The mixture respresents our worldly samskaras such as attachment, greed, violence, etc. that bind us to our lower nature and trap us in egocentric thoughts and desires. We offer the seeds of all future actions into this fire of self-knowledge to be completely consumed. The worship of fire purifies the fire element in the body and also purifies the consciousness by amplifying the mantras. Our many senses and their objects are collectively offered in the fires of self-control (tapas) and purification. The senses are offered in the yoga of self-control, the higher meaning of yajna. The fire of yajna purifies negativity; thus ego, jealousy, hatred, vices, ignorance, superstition and other ignoble aspects of the self are offered.

Symbolically, we are offering our very lives into the fire of purification and sacrifice. While a specific number of people will actually offer the samagri, each of us can participate equally in the ritual by the degree of our sankalpa, awareness and surrender. The offerings are substances that sustain life and always the best quality available is offered. Many of the items are natural antiseptics and aromatics. As they burn, the subsequent vapours pervade the atmosphere, destroying pollutants and purifying the environment for many kilometres around. The vibrations of the mantras enhance the beneficial effect of these vapours. This ritual not only benefits the external environment, the participants of yajna also benefit as purification takes place in each individual's internal environment as the vapours and mantras permeate the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual entity. The outer form of any ritual has an inner corresponding ritual. In yajna, Agni is the divine spark within the human being, the spirit or soul. The ghee or clarified butter that is offered to Agni is symbolic of the mind. The annam, the sacrificial food, symbolizes the physical body which is the transformed state of annam. Once the divine spark of Agni is invoked, the latent energies or divine powers hidden within man awake to share the fruits of the sacrifice and assist the individual's purification, transformation and spiritual awakening.

Yajna links us with the devatas, the illumined, hidden cosmic forces. The deities are not only forces of nature, but also forces or energies that exist in the physical body and help the individual's spiritual development. Through yajna we contact the devatas within. We prepare for this worship by bathing and wearing clean clothes. The mantras induce waves of energy in the subtle body that purify the subtle elements of the body, mind and environment, thereby awakening the latent divine energies. With the help of sound, form, rhythm, gestures, flowers, light, incense and offerings, the mind is carried away from its material preoccupations toward a world of divine beauty.

According to the Rig Vedic mystics, a human being performs an action only through assistance from the devatas. The contribution of the human to each action is minimal. The great vedic rishis obtained inspiration from superior planes and their main contribution is in transcribing the revealed verses in appropriate metres or rhythms. Yajna is not a mere rule or ritual, it is any activity that recognizes the collaboration between the deva and the human. A rishi is conscious of the divine hand in the performance of all activities and conscious of the role of the devata, especially of Agni, so that they request him to perform the yajna on their behalf.

The spirit of yajna is love, sacrifice and service. Yajna is a gift from the creator and a way to honour the creator. It is a symbol of life and all the processes of life. It is a symbol of creation and a method to honour creation. It is the esoteric science of life. The true meaning, value and spirit of yajna is the unity of God and humanity. This is what our life is all about - unity with the divine.

Yajna Restores Nature

2011-12-08T07:35:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

There is a mysterious side to man, a dimension of sound, colour, light and image that communicates with nature at all times and at all levels. If you want to be totally in tune with nature, you have to tap that dimension. Nature is not static; movement is inherent in nature. The Sanskrit word for nature is prakriti. Pra is a prefix denoting constancy or intensity and kriti means creation and movement. Through the constant movement of this great energy known as prakriti, a sort of spandan or vibration emanates which is heard as sound, seen as light and colour, and touched as form.

Nature does not merely mean the mountains and rivers, plants, birds and animals; that is its manifest form. The sun, moon, stars, planets, seasons are the manifest nature. But there is an unmanifest form of nature too, which is both macro cosmic as well as microcosmic. In its microcosmic form, the unmanifest nature is entrapped within matter, and in its macrocosmic form it is the various forms of energy abounding in the universe, whether material or non-material.

The basic principle of yajna, which can be traced back to the core of tantric and vedic philosophy, is the profound idea that man is a microcosm of the macrocosm that is the universe. Whatever formed entities are in the universe, the same are here in the human body and vice versa. As such, each and every human being is equal to the entire universe.

Both man and the universe are controlled by the sun and moon. Agni and soma tattwa sustain the universe and in the human body too they control our physiological and psychological activities through the harmonious flow of ida and pingala. So they are called Agnishomoyama, the noble concept of sustenance. The experience of energy, whether microcosmic or macrocosmic, needs to be awakened within each and every individual if we wish to rise above the gross mundane experience and enter subtler realms of that tremendous force of prakriti. Yajna aims to establish this experience. As the rites and rituals of yajna strictly adhere to the laws of nature and do not oppose them in any way, it is most effective in achieving this aim.

Yajna uses the principle of sound through the constant intonation of mantras, which creates a powerful field of energy for the descent of a magnetic force that is the deity of the mantra. Light, form and colour contribute magnificently to build the ambience for this subtle energy to manifest itself into a feast for the senses! Thus the most important part of a yajna is the mantra (sound). This more than the mechanics of the ritual is what makes the yajna efficacious. It is through the mantra that the perfected being or deity of the yajna is worshipped. It is the mantra that awakens and communicates the power of the chosen deity.

Yajna restores the balance in nature. The ingredients offered in yajna are all drawn from nature without the least trace of chemical, toxic or artificial elements. The water is brought from the purest source of all the rivers in India and the herbs and grains offered are not chosen at random, but are those specifically prescribed for that particular yajna. Today, more than ever before, restoration of the balance in nature has become absolutely essential, as nature is being stripped and shorn of its dignity by modern civilization. Today we will have to resort to the invocation of divine forces to descend and fill our hearts with peace so that agitation, disharmony and imbalance disappear and our lives may prosper.

Harmony is only possible if nature is happy. If nature is sick, ailing and disturbed by the actions that oppose and destroy its balance, it will certainly rebound onto us, and that is what we are experiencing today. The air is sick, the water is impure, the rains do not come on time, the heat is excessive, the winters are harsh and severe. Insects, flies and mosquitoes are increasing rapidly, virulent diseases are spreading without any check. In short, the harmony is disturbed.

Yajna makes nature happy, and this in turn is communicated to the environment and the people who inhabit it. Tantra describes the yajnasthanam as a place where the heart is spontaneously filled with peace and totally attuned to nature or prakriti. It is in these peaceful moments of harmony and balance that the universe and subsequently man is rejuvenated and restored. Thus yajna serves as an antidote to the effects of widespread pollution all around us, whether it is air, water, noise, light or even thought pollution that is invading us from all sides.

In the 21st century, when we are surrounded by artificial products that may serve our purpose very well, but have made us strangers to the nature which creates, nourishes and sustains us, it is this simple ceremony of yajna alone that can once again forge the link between us and Mother Nature. Yajna is an ancient practice shrouded in antiquity but as relevant to modern man as it was to the rishis and munis of the vedic era, who conceived the spirit of yajna to express their love, respect and reverence for Mother Nature.

Types of Yajna

2011-12-07T07:50:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

Yajna means to offer and offering happens at many levels. Dravya yajna relates to the offering of physical, material objects. In anna yajna there is offering of grains and food. In daan yajna there is offering of material wealth. Tapo yajna is the sadhana you perform to transform yourself, in which you offer all your negative qualities to the fire and become pure.

Yoga too is yajna, sacrifice. The principle of yoga is to sublimate the lower activities to higher aims. The Bhagavad Gita points out that sacrifice of knowledge, jnana yajna, is the highest offering. One does not rest in knowledge; one offers the knowledge to the source of knowledge, which is why Sri Krishna says, “All action culminates in the highest knowledge.” Every output of the energy of life at every level - physical, vital, mental and spiritual - is converted into offerings to the divine. In this way, yajna takes on different forms, indicating a process by which human beings can purify themselves and also ensure purity in the environment. Through yajna one can attain purity of speech, thought and action, and the ability to understand the link that exists between an individual and nature, and between nature and the cosmos.

The seed of yajna was sown when human beings heard the divine message: “Give, offer and do not accumulate.” In the course of time, yajna became part of the tantric and vedic traditions. Yajna represents the process of producing, distributing and then assimilating. On culmination of a sadhana, yajna is performed in order to share the attainments and the spiritual and material prosperity that has been gained. Yajna offered as a duty by those who expect no reward is considered to be sattwic. Yajna offered in expectation of reward or for the sake of ego is classed as rajasic. Yajna performed without faith, in which food is not distributed, mantras are not properly chanted and gifts are not given, is considered to be tamasic.

Yajnas were also used to propitiate the natural forces and luminous beings which govern the elements, as well as the cosmic energies and celestial events and expressions in life. Through mantra and yantra, yajna awakens the power contained within the natural forces and makes them beneficent and auspicious for development and growth. Some yajnas are designed to purify the atmosphere, the air, soil and water, and recharge them with energy. Some are to influence and control the elements, to create rain in desert areas, for example, and increase productivity. Others are for the fulfilment of desires, even for the purpose of progeny.

In the different scriptures, various forms of yajna have been described which can be performed by brahmins, householders or emperors to bring peace and prosperity. Kings used to perform the Ashwamedha yajna when they wanted to declare themselves emperor, by sending out a horse followed by their army. The horse would travel freely around the world. The rulers of whichever country it was passing through had to either seize the horse and challenge the authority of the king who had sent it by starting a war, or accept the horse and become subordinate to the king.

So yajnas had many different forms and were conducted in different ways. In modern language, we can say that yajnas are a process by which the prosperity and wealth of creation is circulated, whether material or spiritual There are vedic yajnas, tantric yajnas, pauranic yajnas and even darshanic (philosophical) yajnas. During the Treta yuga, King Dasharatha conducted the Putreshti yajna, whereby Agni was invoked, and he got four sons, Rama being the eldest. Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, and her brother Drishtadyumna were also born of yajna.

Other forms of vedic yajnas, such as Soma yajna, Jyotishtoma, Rajasooya and Vajapeya are well known. Yajnas such as Gayatri yajna, Vishnu yajna and Chandi yajna were also conducted during the Pauranic era. The Bhagavad Gita refers to darshanic yajnas, which are more philosophical in nature, where even an act of charity, austerity, japa or swadhyaya can be performed in the spirit of a yajna. In this way, the form and emphasis of yajna have differed according to the times, the aptitude of the performers and their needs. In today's situation we may even talk about a blood donation yajna, an eye camp yajna or even a refugee crisis yajna!

The yajnas conducted at Rikhia are simply for the purpose of inviting the divine and benevolent forces to the vicinity, so that they may crystallize here and shower their blessings on everyone present. In fact, the underlying factor common to all yajnas is that through this ritual the invisible forces (devatas) that are interspersed in the atmosphere consolidate and collect in the area where it is conducted. Just as the vapour in the air becomes water through a process of condensation, in the same way these divine forces that are pervading the akasha condense and crystallize at one place.

Therefore, a yajna is considered a very powerful and potent means for positively influencing the atmosphere that surrounds us. Yajna is known to ward off malefic events. The world situation being what it is today, it is indeed appropriate to conduct yajnas in these troubled times.

Origin of Yajna

2011-12-06T07:28:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

Throughout time, fire has been venerated as a symbol of spirit. The first mantra in the oldest written text of the ancient vedic civilization, the Rig Veda, is to Agni, fire:

Agnimide purohitam yajnasya devam ritvijam; hotharam ratna dhatamam -
I offer my humble prayer to Agni, who is the Absolute Divine, the awakener of the inner energy and the giver of prosperity.

In the ancient vedic scriptures, Agni is the messenger between the people and God. Agni is equally the fire of the sun, of lightning and of the flame that humanity lights for purposes of worship. As the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice, Agni is the mouth of the gods, the carrier of the oblation and the messenger between the human and the divine. Sacred fire acts as a link between man's consciousness and the cosmic consciousness. Sacred fire has the ability to convert the material offerings into psychic components, as offerings to the devatas, or illumined beings, presiding over the yajna.

Yajna invokes and propitiates various devatas or divine energies using fire, the symbol of Agni, as the medium for the attainment of various boons and general well-being. The sun (Surya) was the great luminary in the sky, who gave light and warmth to the world and was the source of life on earth and its sustenance (Pushan). So people began to offer prayers to Surya in the morning and evening. At night they had to depend on fire (Agni) for heat and light. Gradually, the link between Surya, the friend of all beings in the sky, and Agni, who lives among men on earth, was established. It was conceived as different aspects of the one supreme self-luminous deity who also resides in all beings as the warmth of life and assimilates all food offerings poured into the jatharagni (fire in the stomach), which digests all food.

It was observed that the sun drew up the waters with its heat and the vapours rose to the sky to form clouds, returning as rain, and the earth produced vegetation - a circulation between the sky and the earth. It was also observed that when fire burned, the smoke rose to the sky, leaving only ashes, and water heated in vessels also rose to the sky as vapour. So the idea arose that material offerings to the devatas in the sky could be made through fire. Fire also had its devata in Agni, and all the devatas were interconnected. If offerings are made to Agni, he would carry it to Surya and other deities in the sky.

The initial yajna was that of the divine being sacrificing himself to become the universe. The ancient vedic hymn Purusha Sukta tells of the transformation of the eternal, infinite being into the finite cognizable material world, initiating the eternal cycle of creation. So the spirit of sacrifice came to be recognized as the source of creation, the heart of all creative forces. This yajna was called sarvahut, the offering of all. The Purusha was the object of worship. Brahma, the creative aspect of the Purusha, performed it. The priests were the devas, the Purusha's senses. Brahma was the beast of the sacrifice. The altar was all of nature. The fire was the Purusha's heart.

The Purusha sacrificed himself to bring forth all of creation. This is a message of love, that the Purusha would consume himself in the fire of sacrifice, to create all the worlds. From his mind emerged the moon, the sun from his eyes, Indra and Agni from his mouth, and the cosmic breath, Vayu, emerged from his breath (prana). Atmosphere emerged from his navel, the sphere of light (divya loka) from his head, the earth from his feet, the directions from his ears. The devas created all the spheres or lokas from his cosmic body. Thus the gods worshipped the god of gods through sacrifice. The original sacrifice, the original yajna, became the law of life.

The world is God's offering to all beings; it is his self-sacrifice to us. Therefore, our duty is to reciprocate by offering sacrifice to him in thanksgiving. The essential dynamic of the universe is that of a perpetual ritual of sacrifice. Every living entity is compelled to devour other forms of life in order to survive. The devoured is the sacrificial victim and the devourer is the sacrificer. This transformation of life into life is the very nature of existence. All of creation's beings perform yajna: the sun, moon and stars, the animals, fish, insects and birds, the trees, grasses and flowers, are all in a continual process of service and sacrifice.

All existence can be reduced to a dichotomy of two factors: food (annam) and the eater (annada). Every being is the eater of another and in turn becomes the food for some other being. This symbiotic relationship is particularly apparent in the fire, which grows immediately when fed with fuel and dies as soon as the fuel is consumed. All aspects of combustion or digestion are subtle forms of fire (vaishvanara agni). We make our offerings to the fire-pit in our bellies; these offerings are transformed into the nutrients that fuel the organs, enabling them to serve the body so that it may carry on with the activities of life and honour the soul within. So life is a process of yajna - service and sacrifice, to achieve the ultimate yoga - union with the supreme consciousness.

What is the meaning of Sita Kalyanam?

2011-11-29T06:26:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

Last year we called it Rama Vivaha. Vivaha means to carry. The connotation is that you carry a girl to your own home by marriage. But this year I have named it Kalyanam because a man does good to a woman by marrying her. Sita Kalyanam means 'welfare, well-being'. Through marriage two types of well-being are attained, social as well as spiritual. In our age-old idiom, marriage is called kalyanam. Mangalam, kalyanam, vivaha and parinasa are all synonyms.

The purpose of organizing this grand wedding ceremony is significant and meaningful. In this region a girl child in the family is considered to be a matter of anxiety and worry. For the poor parents, daughters are a burden because it is beyond their means to get them married. The rich do not have this problem, but marriage is an extremely costly affair for the poor and needy. Therefore, I decided to ease their burden by organizing Sita's wedding, thereby doing good to the young brides of these families. Through this wedding celebration I ensure the welfare of many young girls whom I have accepted as my own daughters.

As sannyasins we cannot take part in the wedding celebration, but we can certainly help the parents by arranging the dowry. This is another purpose behind calling the celebration Sita Kalyanam. Last year when we called it Rama Vivaha we were given nothing except chocolates, sweets and blankets. These are not dowry items. For a dowry, gold, silver, pearls, diamonds, gems, saris, ornaments, watches and such fineries are given, as are cycles, motorbikes, television sets and other such articles.

This year I asked the mukhia, the chief of the village, to provide a list of all the newly married girls who are on their way to their husbands' homes. He gave me the names of two hundred and fifty such brides. I told him to spread the news that all these brides would be gifted with good luck kits on the 4th of December, the occasion of Sita Kalyanam. At that time I had nothing to offer them. My coffers were empty, yet I went ahead and extended the invitation to all the young girls in the vicinity.

When I first thought of Sita Kalyanam, nobody understood the purpose behind it, but once we announced it as the occasion of Sita Vivaha, we were flooded with dowry items. Bundles and bundles of gifts started pouring in. In fact, we had no place to store them. Four centres fulfilled the target and sent one hundred and eight good luck kits each. My point is that whatever work you undertake must have a good intention, a purpose of doing good to others. I have been harping on this single point.

Debt to mother
Now the thought comes, what is the philosophy behind such celebrations? Philosophy of action is never abstract; it has a basis in fact. As a sannyasin and as a man I am indebted to my mother. When I talk like this I represent all men. We are all indebted to our mothers. I am indebted to my mother who gave me the secrets of success in life, who guided me and put me on the right path, from whom I imbibed all the good samskaras that percolate through the pores of my body and the whole of my being, and who also let me go and leave home in search of God. You may write off any other debt in this world except the debt to your mother. Even God, Lord Rama, had to discharge the debt towards his mother when he incarnated as a human being. Mother is the life giver, the jnana giver, the samskara giver. She shapes the destiny of her child.

Just as the future of a tree is embedded in the seed, the destiny of a child is imprinted in the womb of the mother. If the woman goes astray, the man too goes astray. Whenever a child errs, it is neither the fault of the son, the daughter or society. The blame lies entirely with the mother. You may like it or dislike it, that is up to you to decide, but I must tell you the truth. If the seed is faulty, the tree cannot be strong. You may make liberal use of pesticides and fertilizers, but it will prove futile. It is essential that the mother, the nourisher and procreator, is beautiful. It matters little whether she is an ordinary woman or an extraordinary woman.

Today, at the age of seventy-five, I hold my mother exclusively responsible for everything I have achieved and lost in my life so far, for everything that I have thought and done. Therefore, my first priority is to repay my mother. Now what can be done to clear this debt? In India, the majority of women are exploited and downtrodden. Maybe only point nought one percent of women are the exception. An ordinary woman has no means of education, advancement or legal protection, and it is we who have deprived her of all these things. Therefore, I proclaim it as the duty of each and every sannyasin to help and support these women.

I am not a great man. I am a small man living in a small place, so I decided to begin in a small way. Even if I can bring about the upliftment of a limited number of girls, my life will have become worthwhile and I will be satisfied. I don't think I am responsible for all the women of India or Asia. After all, a Muslim can venture only up to the mosque. Therefore, I decided to undertake Sita Kalyanam within the confines of my neighbourhood.

I try to help the girls of this region through education. Sita Kalyanam is also organized for this purpose. I have observed that girls have a special fondness for certain things in life. First and foremost, the girl who wants to survive and make headway needs stability and security. This is a female's inborn nature. I want to help these women who want to preserve their femininity instead of imitating the rough and tough ways of the male. Wherever she goes, I want her to be the ruler and the queen. Thirdly, women are fond of jewellery and ornaments to beautify themselves with. When you present a sari, a diamond ring or even just a small ornament to a girl or a woman, she is always very pleased. This is her characteristic feature. Therefore, I will give her all the three things here and receive the cooperation of all and sundry.

Divine Grace

2011-11-28T10:44:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Sat Chandi Mahayajna is a most sacred tantric yajna performed to invoke the blessings
and auspiciousness of the Mother, Devi Chanda. We worship Devi in the Sat Chandi Mahayajna to bring prosperity, peace and happiness into people's lives. Devi Shakti is the answer to all mankind's difficulties, poverty and sickness. Worship of the Divine Mother is a most powerful and effective way to obtain divine grace. A wish made at a yajna receives divine attention and fulfilment.

A yajna must have a purpose. A sankalpa which defines the aim of the yajna is taken by the host of the yajna. Our sankalpa is for the peace, prosperity and spiritual upliftment of the entire world. This universal sankalpa guides the performance of the Yajna and your participation in it. We invoke Devi's blessings to protect us from natural calamities, to spread her benign arms to avert impending misfortune. When we feel helpless, we surrender to the Divine Mother. In this earthly life there is sorrow and poverty, disease and fear of death, or death. This distress can be remedied by divine grace. Divine grace is the purpose of this yajna.

Our sankalpa mantra is the prayer to the Cosmic Mother. When invoked, she manifests not as a physical body, but in the form of a body created through the power of the mantras. That divine power manifests in the heart of all those who have fixed their mind on it. When we invoke that cosmic force, feel within you, around you, above you and below you, the presence of this cosmic shakti.

Through this sankalpa we try to connect with inner faith. When your mind is full of faith and when this flows towards God and is reflected in your day-to-day actions, your life is filled with peace and happiness. It does not remain confined to your personal life, but permeates the whole family. The total environment is surcharged. Physical and mental diseases disappear.

All seekers and devotees who have worshipped the Cosmic Mother have had the experience that she is the reliever of all suffering, real or imaginary, psychological or social. She is the bestower of physical and mental health, social and personal prosperity,
individual and global peace, and a guide to those who walk the spiritual path. The mere act of participating in such a yajna bestows peace, virtue and merit.

Depending on our frequency of mind, yajna has the power to accomplish our desires, whether it be artha, material fulfilment, kama, emotional fulfilment, dharma, virtue, or moksha, liberation. The highly specialized ritual of yajna is able to touch all dimensions of our life because the power invoked is a divine deity who can grant all our desires, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Yajna fulfils not only our spiritual desires but also our material desires. Material gain and the welfare of your family are also God's blessing. Yajna is not a ceremony for amusement or a simple experience. Our yajnas are conducted to appeal to Devi to grant us wealth, long life, success, good health and smooth sailing in these disturbed oceans of life. Yajna is the cure, the balm, for our problems because it is a divine force.

People go to a yajna with desires for children, for money, for solutions to all kinds of troubles. In yajna they search for solutions and they get solutions because the awareness is heightened. During the yajna you have to make an important sankalpa for your life, "God, reveal yourself to me in any form you like." That's all, and it will happen.

The success of a yajna is not measured by the expenditure incurred or by the number of people who participate, but on the faith and bhakti generated by the participants. By tuning into the divine vibrations present in the environment, the benefit of yajna is experienced. See the divinity inherent in everyone and everything around you. We need to feel oneness with other beings, with their suffering as well as their happiness.

When you leave the yajna, go with one idea in mind: "I have nothing to be afraid of. Devi will take care of all my difficulties, physical, mental and spiritual." We may be rich, educated, famous sportspersons or people of personal excellence, but we have our own human frailties. Put everything before the Divine Mother during the yajna.

"God, give me enough so that I can give to others" - this should be our prayer. I always pray in the sankalpa for the wealth, long life, success and prosperity of everyone. May everyone be happy, may everyone be healthy and may no one feel pain or sorrow. May everyone receive God's grace. Sorrow, disaster, poverty, disease and fear of death can all be remedied by divine grace. That is the purpose of yajna.

Rajasooya Yajna and the Art of Giving

2011-11-27T06:30:00.004+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

The Rajasooya yajna is an ancient vedic ritual traditionally performed by emperors, kings and sannyasins. After conquering new territories and achieving victory over his counterparts, a king would return to his kingdom and distribute the material wealth to his subjects through the medium of this yajna, to ensure that everyone in society had an equal share. In the present age, when there are no kings and emperors, the Rajasooya yajna can only be performed by sadhus and sannyasins, the givers of spiritual wealth.

The Rajasooya yajna is always associated with digvijaya, victory over the world. A sannyasin does not hold a rajadanda, the weapon of a ruler. A sannyasin holds a yogadanda, the flagstaff of yoga. I established yoga throughout the world, among people of all religions and faiths.

The medium of the Rajasooya yajna is Sat Chandi Yajna, which is performed to bring about inner transformation. Panchagni yajna was performed in total isolation, whereas Rajasooya yajna is done in the presence of and with the participation of many people. Each yajna has a different emphasis so as to invoke the qualities that we lack in life. Symbolically, these qualities are given in a form or shape, such as an object or item.

According to the tradition, a yajna has three important aspects. If one aspect is missing, the yajna is incomplete. The first aspect is the ritual, invoking the higher forces through mantra, yantra and mandala, kindling the fire and offering oblations into it. The second is satsang, hearing spiritual pronouncements and ideas, being in the presence of truth, kirtan and chanting. The third aspect is daan, giving. This was the tradition in Treta Yuga when Sri Rama ruled the earth. The same tradition was followed during Dwapara Yuga and it should also be followed during the present age, Kali Yuga.

Daan means unconditional offering of everything you have for the welfare of others without any personal or selfish expectations. Everyone at a yajna is eligible for daan, rich or poor. Offering is not just taking something out of your pocket and giving it to someone. It is giving pure substances and items fit to be utilized and consumed by the Divine. The items offered to the Divine are then distributed as prasad to everyone, so you always get back in abundance what you give. The feeling of offering all that you have, including your life, is really an offering in the truest sense. Balance between accumulation and distribution is satkarma, appropriate and righteous action. To strike a balance in society we should teach children to follow the culture of give and take. I have involved the children in giving away prasad to the people gathered here, as a means of training. Training in receiving is not essential because a child learns it in the mother's womb. If children are trained in giving or sharing, they will learn how to give when they are grown up. To give or share is an art. To give is to share. The Rajasooya yajna represents the vision of finding a balance between accumulation and distribution. It exemplifies total giving, which extends from the material to the spiritual.

Prasad means happiness and joy. It is the reverse of pain and sorrow. Prasad is an offering of goodwill and carries good wishes for health, happiness, prosperity and peace. We give so that everyone may become equal. Prosperity and contentment are the birthright of everyone. This is not charity. It is the revival of a system from the ancient vedic tradition in which giving and sharing are mandatory. The purpose of the Rajasooya yajna is the extension of support to uplift the poor and underprivileged.

The villagers are the load bearers of our society, like the beams and columns of a house. If the columns and beams are weak, the society will collapse, as is happening in countries elsewhere in the world. This section of society must be looked after properly otherwise there will be anarchy. No government can protect its citizens if two-thirds of the population is ignored.

Why is extremism taking place? Why is terrorism taking place? The main cause of extremism in most countries is because this section of society has been neglected and deprived of its basic needs for so long. Money is spent in cities, not in poor rural areas. These people have no education, no drinking water, no facilities for irrigation, and the government builds sports stadiums worth millions of rupees! If I do not look after the children from this section of society, my ashram will not be safe. Society cannot be given security if the larger section of the country is neglected.

This is a message to each and everyone. If you bake four loaves of bread, one loaf is for society. You have to share your happiness and wealth. Bhartrihari has said, "Giving, enjoyment and destruction are the three channels of wealth. To the one who neither gives nor enjoys, the third will inevitably happen," You need to take care of the society in which you live and prosper. My philosophy is simple and straight. It has been repeated by our spiritual leaders from time immemorial. Everyone should ponder over the plight of that section of society which has been neglected for so long.

During the Rajasooya yajna, vastra, clothing, patra, kitchen and cooking utensils, and anna, grain, are offered to all. All three items are both practical and auspicious. Cloth is the companion of a human being. Cloth is the greatest gift in the world. A container keeps your possessions safe and intact. Food sustains, nourishes and cures.

The offerings from the yajna are conveyed to people in many forms, including housing and medical aid as well as the means of employment, such as rickshaws, hand carts, bicycles and sewing machines. Young brides are offered good luck kits; villagers are offered grain, household utensils, agricultural implements, tools of trade, blankets and clothing; children are offered educational articles. We also help the widows who are ignored by society, as well as the old men and women. Thousands of families from Rikhia and neighbouring panchayats receive this prasad.

To help people you have to make them self-sufficient and give them an opportunity to build up their skills. Offer items that will be useful to the whole family. Find out what people need and take practical steps to help them. We cannot help people just by giving them money. Real help means enabling people to generate their own strength and ability.

Yajna is a very powerful tool. It includes the body, the mind, faith, mantra, ritual, as well as your entire life. This combination makes yajna a very, very powerful tool of metamorphosis, transformation and change. This type of yajna requires total commitment and coordination. The body, the mind and the mantras all unite to produce a special effect which changes your thinking and your life. You will understand what life is when this total participation takes place.

The purpose of yajna is not entertainment; for that the world is before you. You require a change of perspective here. When you are at a solemn and sacred place like a yajna of this magnitude, you are very near to God and so your thought processes and behaviour must change. A change for the better in your thinking would lead you to greater heights and change the future of humankind.

Yajnas are conducted to appeal to Devi to grant us wealth, long life, success, good health and smooth sailing in these disturbed oceans of life. This is the purpose - yajna rectifies life. It is a correcting principle of life. This correction can only be done by a stronger force; not by a human force, but by a divine force. Life is full of failures, as you know, despondency, guilt and all kinds of other things. The pangs of birth, the pain of being old and then again the pain of rebirth again and again. Everything seems to be full of pain. Ultimately everything ends in depression and disappointment. But there is a power which can turn wrong into right. Many of life's calamities can be transformed and remedied by divine grace, and that is the purpose of this yajna. Yajna is a very effective means of invoking the grace of the Divine Mother. Divine grace is the ultimate answer to all our problems.

The Divine Mother's grace is formless, and rituals have to be performed to make it tangible and available to all. By chanting mantras and by adopting other means, the divine power can be propitiated to descend. We invoke Her blessings to protect us from natural calamities, to spread Her benign arms to avert impending misfortune. When we feel helpless and our energy and resources are of no avail, then we surrender to the Divine Mother.

Sat Chandi Yajna

2011-11-26T08:31:00.005+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

The medium of the Rajasooya Yajna is the Sat Chandi Yajna, in which the Mother Goddess, Chandi is invoked and worshipped. Chandi represents the energy of transformation, which is psychological, spiritual and social. That is the basis of the Rajasooya Yajna. Chandi is a very peculiar concept in the tantras, as well. She is the goddess of transformation, change, and the power of Chandi is invoked to bring about an inner transformation in life. You need to invoke Lakshmi for external transformation, to manage the inflation and recession. Chandi is to be invoked for inner transformation.

Sat Chandi is not an ordinary yajna; it is one of the most sacred yajnas of tantra. The techniques of the Sat Chandi come from the highest esoteric tantric rituals. Tantra is a very powerful science, and tantric yajnas invoke tremendous energy, shakti. I am not referring to the tantra that you know about through books, which has been defined as the yoga of sex and free living, but the traditional tantra that is performed to purify and free yourself from weakness and negativity. Tantra is a process of invoking and experiencing the divine force within. This divine force does not come naturally or spontaneously, although it is inherent in everyone; you have to prepare the receiver of the mind.

You are surrounded by radio waves but you are unable to see them. In order to materialize and to hear those waves, you need to have the right instrument, whether it is a radio or a transistor. You also need the ability to tune that instrument, because when the receiver is tuned, you can hear any station you wish. The same applies to the cosmic energy; it surrounds you, internally and externally, above and below, and it is the force responsible for creation, sustenance, transformation and change. The Sat Chandi Yajna prepares you to receive the highest forces of the Divine through the recitation of mantras, performance of rituals and giving of prasad.

The word sat or shat means 100; and Chandi is the name of the Mother Goddess, the cosmic creator. From the tantric tradition and viewpoint, Chandi is the goddess responsible for the change and transformation that you experience in your life. At the same time Chandi is also a mantra. So, Sat Chandi means recitation of the Chandi mantra 100 times. Chandi is the aggressive aspect of the Mother, who comes into existence when all human and divine efforts have failed. Her glories are described in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, which form the mantra. Mythologically there is a long story behind this tradition, which is full of deep insights into spiritual life. The 100 repetitions of the Chandi mantra, contained in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, is the process, which is used to invoke the cosmic power.

Mantras are words of power, which create a specific vibration in the environment. Mantras purify the environment. The concept of mantra exists in many mystic traditions, which in the past have used mantras to aid the function of the elements, to control the elements, to harness them for the betterment of society, the planet and creation. Nowadays, the mantras that we recognize are those that give control over the natural processes with the strength to manipulate events. Therefore, mantras may seem like magical spells, witchcraft and wizardry, but in reality they have a different function to perform; they focus the cosmic power. You can feel the strength and power that is created when the mantras are being chanted and everyone is participating. The vibrations become a cosmic power, which pervades the entire region, including your own body and self.
The mantra of the Sat Chandi Yajna is a different experience altogether that induces an altered state of consciousness at the conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels. The power of the mantra is harnessed for spiritual upliftment, and at the same time, used to create a different environment of peace, prosperity and beatitude. Different things can happen at many levels. In yajna, the energy that is invoked by the chanting of the mantras and the creation of yantras and mandalas focuses the cosmic power. It is an incredible experience; thousands come to be in the presence of the yajna, to hear the mantras, to spend ten minutes there, and then go away.

Sat Chandi Yajna is performed to invoke the blessings and auspiciousness of the Cosmic Mother. We are worshipping the Mother, the Adi Shakti, the original or primal mother, who was not born from a womb. We are worshipping that eternal Mother, who has no particular form, but every form is Her form. We should not say that She is formless, although it is true that She has no particular form; but it is Her glory we see in the sun and moon, and in all forms of life. The Cosmic Mother, the cosmic energy being worshipped here, is inherent in each and every object of creation. There is no form in this world that is devoid of this cosmic presence. Once we become aware of this cosmic presence within and around us, we will begin to love that divine nature, which some people call God.

Loving God is a personal expression, it is not a matter of religion. Religions are systems that can evoke that feeling, but love of God, feeling for God, and experiencing God are not religion. Loving God is a natural form of expression in which we are aware of, connected to and filled with the presence of that cosmic force. So, here we are worshipping the Mother, the cosmic energy, whom yogis know as kundalini shakti, Vaishnavas as Lakshmi, Shaivas as Gauri and Amba, Christians as Mary. The Mother is the giver who nourishes life and at the same time, She has the power to bless everyone.

During the worship performed in the yajna, no image or idol is used. The invocation is done for shoonya, the unmanifest, attributeless existence. There is no idol of any God or demi-god. We have only invoked the formless into a formless space. We have only invited a nirguna, formless, placeless, eternal, infinite Atma, having no name. We have given Her a name and a sex, because we are used to it. Otherwise, She is neither male nor female. We have invoked Her and placed Her somewhere within that space; we don't know where that space is. We have invited the attributeless Shakti into shoonya. Only a cloth is put around something to represent Her. God can be created anywhere on earth, in water, in fire, in air or in ether.

Kanya kumari pooja
Kanya worship is an important part of Shakti Tantra and of the Sat Chandi Yajna. This is a new philosophy of life, where a little girl can be acknowledged and worshipped as a replica of the Divine Mother. This concept of the kanya is unparalleled in man's philosophy. Kanya means 'virgin'. In India, girls officially become kanyas, or virgins, at the age of nine. The concept is fully explained in the scriptures of Shakta Tantra. The discovery that a young virgin was capable of symbolizing and representing the Cosmic Mother was made by a rishi. Could you ever think of your little daughter as the replica of the Mother? No. This idea did not come to the average person, but to the rishis, the great seers.

The replica of greed is money; the replica of passion is a woman. The replica of fear is a tiger, and the replica of the goddess, the Cosmic Mother, is the kanya. The kanyas are very pure, simple and innocent. Up to the age of puberty, they don't know the jugglery of sensual life. Once puberty approaches, the hormones transform the body, emotions and mind. However, there are girls who remain virgins mentally and spiritually, even after puberty. They are virginal by nature, and it is these girls who come for sannyasa. A girl may be a virgin in the sense that she has not menstruated or had sexual interaction, but that alone is not virginity. Not every nine-year old girl can be worshipped as a kanya kumari. Virginity is a natural quality that belongs to one's genetic structure. This is the meaning of virginity in vedic astrology.

The concept of kanya kumari, or virgin, is also found in Christianity. Although Mary was a mother, she was still believed to be a virgin, because she reflected particular qualities that belong to a virgin. One who has the basic quality and divine grace of a virgin can give blessings. During the Kumari Pooja, on the final day of the Sat Chandi Yajna, one hundred and eight girls are looked upon as the form of the Mother and worshipped as Devi. We dress them, feed them and wash their feet, superimposing the concept of Devi on them, and receive their blessings. The kanyas are the Divine Mother's most beautiful form. They represent purity of soul. The soul of man is virgin; its pristine beauty and glory cannot be contaminated. But you cannot see that virgin soul, so you have to form a concept of it.

The kanyas of Rikhia, who host the Sat Chandi Maha Yajnas, represent that virgin reality. They represent your virgin soul, your pure spirit, your inner being, which you are unable to see. This concept is unparalleled. In Devi tantra, the kanya or virgin is considered to be the true embodiment of the Cosmic Mother. We are not her husband or her father.We are her children and She is our Mother. We should remember this and feel it. In the tantric festival of Sat Chandi, the conductor of every ritual is a kanya. This is the most ancient concept of Shakta Tantra, where a young girl is regarded as the embodiment of divine energy, and there are replicas of the goddess everywhere.

Discrimination and Dispassion

2011-11-16T17:01:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

DISCRIMINATION

The first essential requisite for acquiring an equipoised mind is viveka, discrimination between the real and the unreal. One in whom right reason has developed will be able to discriminate and enjoy peace and bliss. Sensual pleasure is tantalizing and excites the mind. Most people are swayed by emotions, passions and impulses and thus run wildly after every object they come in contact with. Their minds become full of anxieties and they become despondent as to whether or not their desired objects will be secured. The moment they possess the objects, they find the satisfaction of the senses lasts for a few seconds only, and they must then seek for pleasures elsewhere to give them some peace of mind. Knowing no way out of this vicious cycle, they remain entangled in their search for pleasure. Their lives are constantly mixed with pain and anxiety from fear of losing the pleasurable objects. Wherever there is pleasure, pain, then anger and attachment will be found.

Dear aspirant, awaken from your hallucinations. Seek peace of mind! Owing to delusion, pain appears as pleasure, and the fear of pain worries you. There is no pleasure or pain for a discriminating mind. Learn to discriminate between the real and the unreal. The yoga of equanimity can be had only by one who has understood the worthlessness of perishable objects. The world is nothing to a viveki, a man of discrimination. He never becomes entangled in anything. Discrimination gives inner strength and mental peace.

One who has found out the real worth of this world, who yearns for liberation, who has understood that beyond the names and forms there is one eternal, everlasting Atman, and who practises self-discipline, he alone can have peace. Such a person is the king of kings, not he who is simply carried away by a little colour, by a touch and a little titillation. He who does not discriminate between the eternal and the non-eternal, between the real and the unreal, is forever miserable with an unsteady, passionate mind.

Whenever a desire arises in the mind, always consult your power of discrimination. It will at once tell you that the desire is attended with pain, that it is only a vain temptation set up by the mind and that discrimination alone can bring about satisfaction and peace of mind. It will advise you to renounce the desire immediately and take up study of the Upanishads, repetition of Om and reach for samadhi. Desires will become extinct with the rise of discrimination. When desires cease, the mind becomes silent and stands still in perfect equipoise.

A sincere aspirant must make every effort to control desires the moment they arise. Think deeply again and again whether the new desire will give more happiness or more spiritual gain. Viveka will guide you to call on your willpower and drive away the desire immediately. On the path of samatvam, discrimination and willpower are two potent weapons to help destroy temptations, and remove major and minor impediments.

When a desire arises in the mind, a ‘worldling’ welcomes it and tries to fulfil it, but a sincere aspirant renounces it immediately through discrimination. Wise men consider even a spark of desire to be a great evil. They remain ever delighted in the Atman only. Their mind becomes steady. Every action is poised and harmonious.

DISPASSION

From viveka, discrimination, is born vairagya, dispassion or non-attachment, the second spiritual requisite for attaining even-rnindedness. It is the mind that links man with the body, and when man identifies with the body, all his miseries begin. He thinks of 'I' -ness and 'mine' -ness, which are the two poisonous fangs of the mind serpent. If these two fangs are extracted, the serpent-mind will be tamed and then there can be no bondage. Those who practise non-attachment are the real tamers of their minds. Vairagya thins out the mind, acting as a drastic purgative. Non attachment is indifference or dispassion towards sensual objects. Attachment to objects is universal, and no one is free from attachment of one kind or another. Attachment is the first child of maya, illusion, and her most powerful weapon, binding one to the endless wheel of birth and death.

Attachment is the root cause of all human suffering, the product of ignorance. The seeds of attachment are ingrained in the subconscious mind, and have to be obliterated through right thinking, enquiry and spiritual knowledge. All these illusory attachments have to be cut asunder with the sword of non-attachment. Wherever there is strong attachment, infatuation and fear will be found. The cause of fear is attachment to this body and property. Attachment and fear destroy balance of mind and cause the emotions to swing wildly. When one is free from attachment to external objects, the mind will be at peace.

The whole divine play of the Lord is kept up by the force of attachment to worldly life. Greed for possessions generates selfishness, which causes even greater attachment. However, the type of renunciation advocated on the pathway to samatvam does not require one to renounce family life. Balance of mind has to be attained while living in the world, learning through the world without becoming enmeshed in it. Your duty is to maintain your household without getting attached to it. Only then will you have the purity of mind which will enable you to progress towards perennial peace.

The activities of daily life do not bring misery; it is attachment and identification with people, places and events that brings all sorts of worries, troubles and unhappiness. Work without attachment or identification. This attitude is the secret of success in karma yoga or selfless service. Only then can one have real happiness and peace of mind, and attain God-consciousness. This is jnana, the fire of wisdom which burns all the fruits of actions. Discipline the mind carefully. When old habits creep in, destroy them at the very root. Lead a life of perfect non-attachment. This is the master key with which to open the realms of serenity of mind and eternal bliss.

The mind wreaks havoc and mischief. One may still rule a vast dominion and yet be unattached. Look at the exalted mental state of King Janaka, who was resting in his own essential divine nature. He said, "Even if the whole of Mithila is burnt, nothing of mine will be burnt." He had not the least attachment to his wealth and kingdom. The mind has to be trained daily in all its dealings and actions. Do not become attached to family and property. The world is like a public inn. People are united for some time and separated after some time. Never say, "My body, my son, my wife, my house."

Attachment takes various forms. Always be on the alert to detect its subtle workings. The mind tries its utmost to become attached to some form or other. Its nature is to leave one form and immediately cling to another. If the binding link in the mind is destroyed, one can roam about peacefully in any part of the world, unattached, like water on a lotus leaf. Nothing can bind you then.

Dispassion is a mental state. Inner spiritual strength is born of dispassion. Develop intense internal dispassion by understanding the illusory nature of this world. Turn the mind towards God and practise daily mantra japa and meditation. Read the lives of great saints and yogis and books on atmajnana, meditation and the service of humanity.

Take recourse to the company of saints and devotees. Study Vedanta and Bhartrihari's Vairagya Shatakam. Lead a life of non-attachment to this world. Vairagya is real spiritual wealth because it opens the door to equanimity, everlasting peace and bliss.

Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the mind is difficult to control and restless, but by practice and by dispassion it may be restrained. (6:35)

These are the words of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. He recognizes that to work without attachment is doubtless a difficult task, but it becomes possible for an aspirant with the patience and determination to succeed in samatvam sadhana.

The Yoga of Equanimity

2011-11-14T17:57:00.001+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Perform action, O Arjuna, being steadfast in yoga, abandoning attachment and balanced in success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
(Bhagavad Gita, 2:48)

Samatvam is equanimity of mind and outlook, equipoise. It is being able to keep the mind steady and balanced in all the conditions of life. It is the ability to be forever serene, contented, calm and peaceful. Samatvam is having the ability to remain cheerful in adverse conditions, to have fortitude in meeting danger, and to have the presence of mind and forbearance to bear insult, injury and persecution. Samatvam means being able to go through the routine of life, amidst the din and clamour of the world, patiently and joyfully.

Samatvam is the yoga that Lord Krishna talks about at length in the Bhagavad Gita. He defines yoga as: Samatvam yoga uchyate (2:48): Samatvam is yoga; equanimity is yoga. Lord Krishna considers samatvam as that evenness of mind which is upheld by a true yogi amidst the worst of all difficulties, turmoil and calamities; as that state wherein all the mental modifications, thoughts, imaginations, whims, fancies, moods, impulses, emotions and instincts are transcended. He explains that samatvam is being able to maintain one's balance of' mind in success and failure, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, and that it is the aptitude of a perfect master who remains equipoised in all circumstances. That is samatvam, the yoga of equanimity.

The definition of samatvam goes far beyond the temporary condition of mental quietude which people speak of when they retire for a short time to a Himalayan hermitage, or to the Alps, or to a quiet nature reserve for a little rest when they are tired after a long journey. Samatvam is the attainment of absolute peace and tranquillity of the highest calibre. It is the realm of serenity where the cares, worries, anxieties and fears which torment the soul dare not enter. Samatvam is the realm of eternal sunshine where all distinctions of caste, creed and colour disappear in the warm embrace of divine love and where desires and cravings have found their full satiety.

Everyone in the world is restless and striving after something, but exactly what he does not know. He feels he is in need of something, the nature of which he does not comprehend. He gets degrees, diplomas, titles, honour, power, name and fame. He marries, begets children. In short, he gets all that he supposes would give him happiness. A person may possess immense wealth, all sorts of comforts and an easy going life, yet he will have no peace of mind because he has no inner harmony. There is discord in his heart due to greed, selfishness, egoism, lust, pride, fear, hatred, anger and worry. He finds that worldly greatness, when secured, is a delusion and a snare, and finds no peace or happiness in it. Outward harmony and quietness cannot give real peace of mind.

Goal of life
Pious people, saints and sages declare that the restlessness afflicting everyone, the state of discontent, discomfort and dissatisfaction, and the feeling of being ill at ease with oneself and one's surroundings is due to the loss of companionship with one's soul. Man has forgotten that the goal of life is the attainment of Self-realization or God-consciousness. There is one supreme, undying intelligent principle or essence, Atman or Brahman or the Supreme Self, who dwells in the chambers of everyone's heart. He exists in the past, present and future. He is existence absolute, knowledge absolute and bliss absolute. Abiding joy or lasting peace can only be obtained if man realizes his own Self through spiritual sadhana, self-restraint, purity and meditation. Ultimately, he must reach the yoga of equanimity.

The yoga of equanimity cannot be found in the acquisition of external objects. Wealth, children, property and palatial buildings cannot give everlasting peace and balance of mind. To attain the divine qualities of samatvam, the aspirant needs to realize his oneness with that one supreme Self, who lives in the silent, still nature within. When he is established in 'That', which is an ocean of peace and happiness, he will not be shaken even by heavy sorrow, loss or failure, inharmonious and disagreeable vibrations. He will be able to tide over all the difficulties or crises of life very easily and triumph in all experiences. Mysterious is this peace! Marvellous is this peace! Realize this peace that transcends all understanding through yoga sadhana, and be free. Float in this ocean of serenity and rejoice in the stillness of your own Self.

Samatvam is an internal state of mind. It can be had without the help of money and outwardly favourable circumstances. One may have sorrows and yet enjoy inward harmony and steadiness of mind if one constantly rests in God by withdrawing the senses, stilling the mind and eradicating its impurities. Lord Jesus was persecuted in a variety of ways. He was put to death on the cross and yet, what did he say? He said, "O Lord, forgive them. They know not what they are doing." How peaceful he was even when his life was at stake! He was enjoying inner peace. No tribulation or calamity could touch him.

Look within
Samatvam can be found only within. Look within. Search for it within the quietness of your mind through one-pointed concentration and meditation. If you do not find peace there, you will not find it anywhere else. Sit silently in a room for half an hour to one hour every day. Close the eyes. Relax the muscles and nerves. Withdraw the senses and the mind from external objects. Forget the body and the world. Concentrate at the space between the eyebrows. Meditate regularly in the early morning hours. Enter into the great calm or the secret place of the most high.

If you wish to enter into the great peace of the soul, all worldly desires must die. Only one who has brought the senses under perfect control and stilled the mind can meditate and rest in the Self and attain perfect equilibrium. The serenity of samatvam lies very close to those who know themselves, who are of a subdued nature and thought. One who is endowed with supreme faith and who has mastery over the senses attains the supreme peace of samatvam quickly. Equanimity is in that person who has given up 'mineness' and 'I-ness', who has given up egoism, cravings, desires and longing for objects. When this thirst dies, one enjoys the peace of a calm, steady mind. One is perfectly content. Samatvam can be enjoyed only by one who has dispassion, who has understood the magnitude and purpose of human suffering, who knows the real value of life on earth. Samatvam can be had only by one who has understood the worthlessness of perishable objects and the passing powers and positions in this world and has no desire for them.

One who has found out the real purpose of his birth in this world, who yearns for liberation, who has understood that beyond the names and forms there is one eternal, everlasting Atman, and who practises self-discipline, he alone can attain the yoga of equanimity. Such a person is a yogi of the highest order. Real peace of mind does not come from outside. It is produced in the same mind when the mind is controlled and its thoughts are checked. Great efforts must be made to check the passions and desires. Only then will the aptitude for activity be subdued and will one be at rest with the thoughts stilled.

Sincere sadhana
An ordinary worldly-minded person can neither hear the inner voice of the Atman nor attain equipoise of mind. However, it is possible to develop equilibrium or balance of mind by regular and sincere sadhana of japa, selfless service, enquiry into the Self, satsang, meditation, light sattwic food, tapas and self-study. In the world there are people with a few pure virtues such as patience, generosity and forgiveness, but a spiritual aspirant must endeavour to develop his mind as a whole, to acquire all the sattwic virtues. All sadhanas aim at purification of the mind and the attainment of equanimity, and pure, strong determination will pave a long way to achieving that state.

The mind always runs after sensual objects, even though it experiences immense misery, grief, pain and sorrow. It will never give up its old habits. The aspirant will have to captivate this shameless mind and take it to its source, Brahman, by chanting the mantra Om with feeling again and again. Let it taste the ananda, the infinite bliss of the Atman. Only then will it find its rest in Om, its original abode of eternal peace.

Time

2011-11-02T08:28:00.004+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Time is more precious than money. Time is more precious than the most valuable thing in the world. It is the richest treasure. Time is the soul of the world. Time is life. Utilize time profitably in spiritual pursuits. Waste not even a second.

Time is formless. But it devours everything. Time does not spare anybody. Time is relentless. Time is Lord Yama. Time is Kala. It obliterates even what apparently looks very enduring. Time spares not even the greatest person for a moment. Time pervades and controls all things. It assumes the formidable form of a burning fire during dissolution and reduces the whole world to ashes. Nothing can stop its course. Only the sages, seers, and saints of God-realization have defied its might.

The Eternal is timeless. Brahman transcends time. Brahman is eternal. It is a timeless reality. This world will pass away with all its occupants. The sun, moon and stars will pass away. All joys and sorrows will pass away. The five elements, the earth and heaven will pass away. Only Brahman, the pure Satchidananda, will shine eternally. Attain Brahman and conquer time. Transcend time and become one with Eternity.

The fleeting nature of sensual life

This world is a play of colours and sounds. This sense universe is a play of nerves. It is a false show kept up by the jugglery of Maya, mind and senses. You enjoy sensual pleasures for a period of twenty years, when the senses are young and strong. What is this short, evanescent period of twenty years in eternity? What is this monotonous, sensual life compared with the eternal and peaceful life in the Immortal Self within?

Being much hemmed in on all sides in this ever-fluctuating world, you are ever whirling with delusion and afflicted with pains. Reflecting upon time, which is eternal in its true nature, you cannot but term the hundred years of your life as a moment. Then how is it that you estimate your life so greatly, and fall into all sorts of despondencies through the insatiable desires?

The purpose of human life

You have come here with a definite purpose. Life is not meant for eating, drinking, dressing and procreating. There is something grand and sublime, an eternal life of bliss beyond. Every second must be well utilized for the achievement of this goal of life. Life is short. Time is fleeting. Obstacles are many. Apply yourself diligently to yogic sadhana. This life is a bubble for two seconds. You came alone. You will go alone. No one will follow you. You came naked. You will go naked. No one will follow you. Do bhajan, do kirtan, for this alone will follow you.

People have risen to greatness and prominence by utilizing every second profitably. Keep a daily diary. Reduce your sleep. Give up idle talk. Observe mouna. Understand the value of time. Draw up a daily routine and stick to it tenaciously. Grow. Evolve. Expand. Have success in life. Realize God. Reflect. Meditate. Unfold the hidden spiritual consciousness.

Uncertainty of earthly life

The leaves of life are falling off. Youth is fading. The days are rolling on. Time, the destroyer, lays his icy hands on the whole world. Existence in this world is as momentary as a bubble or lightning!

A doctor speaks on the telephone and ascends the staircase itself on account of cardiac failure. A man loses his father. On the following day he loses his son also. Such is the uncertainty or evanescent nature of life here, and yet he foolishly wastes his time. He is foolish enough to think that he will live forever - when the people who came before and after him have died - and postpones doing sadhana.

How to utilize time

Just as worldly people who are engaged in business are very careful about their time, so also spiritual aspirants are very careful about their time, and they use it in contemplation of God. They will not speak even a single word unnecessarily. They want to spend every second in the service of God. That is the reason why they observe mouna and hide themselves in the Himalayan caves. If you take care of the seconds, the hours will take care of themselves.

Time is, indeed, most precious. It can never come back. It is rolling on with tremendous speed. When the bells ring, remember you are approaching death. When the clock strikes, bear in mind that one hour is cut off from the span of your life. You must tremble with fear and say, "Death is drawing near. I am wasting my time. When shall I realize the goal of life? When shall I have darshan of my ishta devata? When shall I be free from this wheel of samsara?"

Your birthday reminds you that your life is shortened by a year. On this day, make a firm resolve to make your future life more fruitful and useful. Do not postpone doing good deeds, for there is no certainty of life. What you propose to do tomorrow, do today, do this very instant. Do in the daytime that by which you will live happily in the night. Do in the early part of your life that by which you will live happily in old age. Throughout your life do all that by which you will live happily after death.

Sit down before retiring to bed, and count the acts that you have done. If you have wiped away the tears of even one person by a single word of comfort and cheer, by a single good deed, then you may count that clay well spent. You have done an act that is pleasing to the Lord. But, if you have not done any act that has brought solace to anyone, if you have not spoken one word that eased the heart of a person in agony, you have lived in vain on that day.

Life is a link in the chain of time. If you waste time, you waste life. Know the value of time. You cannot salvage a second spent in worthless ways. Time is most precious. Trifle not with time. Make the utmost use of it. Utilize every second in spiritual pursuits and service.

The nature of time

Time is a creation of the mind. It is an illusion. It depends on the nature of the event. When your mind is deeply concentrated, a period of two hours passes like five minutes. If the mind is distracted and wandering, half an hour hangs on as two hours. This is everybody's experience. In dream also, many events that represent a period of fifty years take place within ten minutes. Time is but a mode of the mind. It is kala shakti. It is illusory.

Without the mind, there is no concept of time. Annihilate the mind. You will go beyond time. You will enter the realm of the Timeless. You will live in the Eternal. In the Absolute, there is no time. Time is a measure or duration of experiences. You sit for lunch at one p.m. and get up at two p.m. You have spent one hour taking food. There is an interval between the two experiences. Where there is only one homogenous experience of the Self, how can time be there?

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Time is formless, but it makes an appearance when some motion occurs in nature. The wheels of time are mysterious. Past, present and future are all relative. Present becomes past. Future becomes present. Present alone is real. Live always in the present. Today becomes yesterday. Yesterday is today's memory. It is a remembrance only. Tomorrow is today's dream. It is a longing only. Live in the solid present alone. Wipe off yesterday and tomorrow. In God, there is neither past nor future. It is all eternity. It is all solid present alone. Present is the solid reality.

You cannot remedy the past. You are not sure of tomorrow. The only and best thing is to make today as useful as it can be. Yesterday is gone. Forget it. Tomorrow is not here. Worry not. Today is present. Use it well. Today is your own. Tomorrow perchance may never come. Do not worry about dead yesterday or unborn tomorrow, but concentrate on today, the eternal present.

Live well every day as if it is the last. Every moment is virtually important; every day is like the turning of a new leaf; and every year, the beginning of a new hope.

Deepavali - Diwali

2011-10-25T09:39:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda

Deepavali or Diwali means "a row of lights". It falls on the last two days of the dark half of Kartik (October-November). For some it is a three-day festival. It commences with the Dhan- Teras, on the 13th day of the dark half of Kartik, followed the next day by the Narak Chaudas, the 14th day, and by Deepavali proper on the 15th day.

There are various alleged origins attributed to this festival. Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. In Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali. It also commemorates that blessed day on which the triumphant Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna killed the demon Narakasura.

In South India people take an oil bath in the morning and wear new clothes. They partake of sweetmeats. They light fireworks which are regarded as the effigies of Narakasura who was killed on this day. They greet one another, asking, "Have you had your Ganges bath?" which actually refers to the oil bath that morning as it is regarded as purifying as a bath in the holy Ganges.

Everyone forgets and forgives the wrongs done by others. There is an air of freedom, festivity and friendliness everywhere. This festival brings about unity. It instills charity in the hearts of people. Everyone buys new clothes for the family. Employers, too, purchase new clothes for their employees.

Waking up during the Brahmamuhurta (at 4a.m.) is a great blessing from the standpoint of health, ethical discipline, efficiency in work and spiritual advancement. It is on Deepavali that everyone wakes up early in the morning. The sages who instituted this custom must have cherished the hope that their descendents would realise its benefits and make it a regular habit in their lives.

In a happy mood of great rejoicing village folk move about freely, mixing with one another without any reserve, all enmity being forgotten. People embrace one another with love. Deepavali is a great unifying force. Those with keen inner spiritual ears will clearly hear the voice of the sages, "O Children of God! unite, and love all". The vibrations produced by the greetings of love which fill the atmosphere are powerful enough to bring about a change of heart in every man and woman in the world. Alas! That heart has considerably hardened, and only a continuous celebration of Deepavali in our homes can rekindle in us the urgent need of turning away from the ruinous path of hatred.

On this day Hindu merchants in North India open their new account books and pray for success and prosperity during the coming year. The homes are cleaned and decorated by day and illuminated by night with earthern oil-lamps. The best and finest illuminations are to be seen in Bombay and Amritsar. The famous Golden Temple at Amritsar is lit in the evening with thousands of lamps placed all over the steps of the big tank. Vaishnavites celebrate the Govardhan Puja and feed the poor on a large scale.

O Ram! The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of the soul.

He who Himself sees all but whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, the sun, the moon and the stars and the whole universe but whom they cannot illumine, He indeed is Brahman, He is the inner Self. Celebrate the real Deepavali by living in Brahman, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the soul.

The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do lightnings shine and much less fire. All the lights of the world cannot be compared even to a ray of the inner light of the Self. Merge yourself in this light of lights and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.

Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone: Yet the hearts of the vast majority are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance. O man! wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realise the constant and eternal light of the Soul which neither rises nor sets, through meditation and deep enquiry.

May you all attain full inner illumination! May the supreme light of lights enlighten your understanding! May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self! May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!

Devi – Part 3

2011-10-04T08:29:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda

On the first three nights of Navaratri, Durga or the destructive aspect of the Mother is worshipped. On the succeeding three nights, the creative aspect or Lakshmi is adored. On the last three nights, the knowledge aspect or Saraswati is invoked. The tenth is Vijaya Dashami or the day of victory.

There is a special significance to worshipping Devi in this order. On the first three days Devi is adored as power, force. You pray to Durga to destroy all your old habits, impurities and defects. She is the power that protects your sadhana from its many dangers and pitfalls. In the process of sadhana, tamas is conquered and transformed first. As Durga, she first destroys the negative, evil tendencies that lurk in the mind.

During the second set of three days, worship of Lakshmi is performed. The force of rajas is to be subdued. As Lakshmi, she implants the divine qualities conducive to spiritual unfoldment. The aim is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to cultivate and develop all the auspicious, positive qualities. If the development of opposite qualities (pratipaksha bhauana) is not undertaken in earnest, the old demonic nature will raise its head again and again. This stage is as important in an aspirant's career as the previous one. Whereas the former is a ruthless, determined annihilation of the egoistic lower self, the latter is an orderly, steady, calm and serene effort to develop pure sattwic qualities. This pleasanter side of the aspirant's sadhana is depicted by the worship of Mother Lakshmi. She bestows inexhaustible wealth on her devotees. She is purity itself.

The third stage comes when the aspirant is ready to obtain divine knowledge. This is devout worship of Sri Saraswati, who is divine knowledge personified. Sattwa guna is to be transcended and Saraswati is the Mother in her sattwic form. As Saraswati, she bestows true knowledge. The sound if her celestial veena awakens the notes of the sublime Mahavakyas or great sayings and the Pranava or Om. She bestows knowledge of the Supreme Nada and then gives full Atmajnana, spiritual knowledge, as represented by her pure dazzling snow-white apparel.

The tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, celebrates the achievement of the victory of knowledge over ignorance, of goodness over evil. On this day children start school, aspirants are initiated, workers worship their implements and all recognize the shakti or power behind these instruments, and worship the Devi for their success prosperity and peace.

No other path is known for salvation. This arrangement marks the stages of evolution through which everyone should pass. One naturally leads to the other and to short-circuit this would inevitably result in failure. Knowledge will not descend till the impurities are washed out and purity is developed.

Destroy one evil quality, develop the opposite virtue. By this process you will soon bring yourself up to that perfection which will culminate in identity with Brahman, which is your goal. Then all knowledge will be yours. You will see yourself in all. You will have achieved eternal victory over the wheel of birth and death.

* * *

Glory unto the Divine Mother! Let her take you step by step to the top of the spiritual ladder and unite you with the Lord!

* * *

Shakti is all. You can worship her in any form. The very creation of this universe is solely due to her. We are all puppets in her hand. Kriya, iccha and jnana shakti are the three forms of power by which this world is ruled. Worship of Shakti gives not only prosperity but liberation from all bondage. May the choicest blessings of Goddess Shakti be upon you all!

* * *

Worship of Devi or the Universal Mother gives not only prosperity but liberation from all bondage. Shakti can do anything. She can make or mar. She can mend or end. As Vidya Maya, she has veiled the Truth from you and bound you to this samsara. When she is propitiated through sincere devotion and unconditional self-surrender, she removes the veil and enables you to perceive the Truth.

You cannot free yourself from the thraldom of mind and matter without the Mother's grace. The fetters of maya are too hard to break. If you worship her as the Great Mother, you can very easily go beyond prakriti through her benign grace and blessings. She will remove all obstacles in the path and lead you safely into the illimitable domain of eternal bliss and make you absolutely free.
May Parashakti or Devi - the Universal Mother Jagadamba - bless you with wisdom, peace and immortal bliss.

* * *

Devi, the Mother Divine, represents the triumph of the divine power over the myriad dark forces of negativity - too well-known in all human lives - in the struggle between the dual factors of good and evil, truth and untruth, virtue and vice, freedom and involution, light and darkness. The great cosmic law is that ultimately the divine will always prevail over the undivine.

* * *

Worship of the Universal Mother leads to the attainment of Self-knowledge. Approach her with an open heart. Lay bare your mind with frankness and humility. Let your thoughts be pure and sublime. Become as simple as a child. Destroy selfishness and crookedness. Experience total unreserved, ungrudging self-surrender to her. Chant her mantras. Sing her praise. Repeat her Name. Worship her with faith and unflinching devotion.

* * *

Feel that the Mother sees through your eyes, hears through your ears and works through your hands. Feel that the body, mind, prana, intellect and all their functions are her manifestations. The one universal life throbs in the heart of all. How can there be any room for hatred and selfishness, when by hating another you are but denying your own self? Drive this consciousness deep within your heart. Always meditate and practise this ideal of divine oneness.

Mother's grace is boundless. Her mercy is illimitable. Her knowledge is infinite. Her power is immeasurable. Her glory is ineffable. Her splendour is indescribable. She gives material prosperity and liberation also. She is pleased with a little purity of heart. Make a definite and sincere attempt to obtain the grace of the Mother. She will transform your entire life and bless you with the milk of divine wisdom, spiritual insight and liberation.

* * *

Nothing is possible without the Mother. Humanity's material and spiritual progress is bound up inextricably with the mother - human and divine. The human part of an individual is moulded almost entirely by the human mother. One's character, mental make-up, intellectual faculties - one's very being is shaped by the mother. That is why the scriptures enjoin one to treat the mother as God. This is even more so in the spiritual field. Without the help of the Divine Mother no spiritual progress is possible.

Pray to her fervently. She will be easily pleased. She is ever ready to rush to you. You only you have to accept her! Clear your mind of all the dross and install the Mother on a golden throne. Give up your little ego at her feet. Pray "Your will be done Mother! I want nothing!" She will take you by the hand and lead you to moksha!

* * *
Worship the Mother of the universe, the Shakti or Brahman, in her supreme form or in her manifested form according to your capacity. If worship is to result in spiritual illumination, observance of the yamas and niyamas is absolutely necessary. Offer to Devi Durga your inner evil traits of passion, anger and greed. You have no right to hurt any living creature for whatever reason. No worship, no prayer, no act whatsoever in life can justify injury or harm done to living beings. Stick to the rule of universal love to the best of your ability. Worship with atma bhava, with sarvatma bhava. This is the greatest and most glorious thing that can ever be done by anyone at any time. May the Devi Durga shower her blessings upon you all!

* * *

Manifestations of Devi

2011-10-03T08:36:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Devi is the great power behind this creation. She is called Maya because out of creation has appeared maya in the form of this world. Being the ruler of maya, she is Mahamaya. Devi is also avidya rupini, the form of ignorance, because she creates bondage. She is vidya rupini, the form of knowledge, because by removing illusion she gives knowledge and liberation. Being the prakriti which existed even before this creation, she is called Adya Shakti. Being the expression of chit shakti, the force of consciousness, in prakriti, she is called vachak shakti, the verbal force.

In the tantras the soul is meditated upon in the form of Devi. In this manner, Devi is herself Brahman in the Mother aspect. In her Para Brahman aspect, Devi is beyond all names and qualities. In her World Mother aspect, she has three forms. The first is her omnipotent form which is unknown. The second is a very subtle aspect which manifests in the form of mantra. However, as it is difficult to meditate on her formless existence, she is also imagined in the gross material form, the description of which is found in the tantras and puranas.

In her prakriti aspect, Devi is the source of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara; she has the male as well as the female form. But generally the female form is meditated upon. All the mantras and yantras in the tantric scriptures are in fact her forms. The forms of Mahedevi, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Gayatri, Durga, Tripura Sundari, Annapurna and so many other devis and female powers are her different manifestations.

In the forms of Sati, Vma, Parvati and Gauri, Devi is the consort of Lord Shiva. At the yajna of Daksha, being unable to bear the insult to her husband, Sati laid down her life due to shame and grief. Lord Shiva, unable to bear the separation, took hold of Sati's dead body and began to roam around in a state of semi-madness. Taking advantage of this state of affairs, and in the absence of any divine discipline, the lower powers began to raise their heads at different places. When Vishnu saw this, he cut Sati's body into fifty-one parts with his chakra. The places where these fifty-one parts fell are the fifty-one shaktipeethas where Devi and her Bhairava are worshipped in different names and forms.

As Devi has many names and forms in the brahmanda or universe, her subtle form in the body is called kundalini shakti. Just as the reflection of one moon takes many forms in the water, in the same manner the one power expresses itself in different forms. In animals, birds and all the different forms of life, and also in inert matter, the same power of Devi is being expressed.

Human beings also have within them all the elements found within the universe. This body is a universe in miniature form. The creative power of the universe is lying latent in the human body also. To arouse that power and make it active is the purpose of tantra sadhana. The practice of tantra and all its disciplines inspires the sadhakas to realize their divine power and to feel the presence of this power in the world around them. The sadhaka becomes qualified for nirakara worship by first going through the external forms of worship and the various rituals or karmakanda of the sakara methods of worship, and ultimately realizes Mahedevi in the form of his or her own soul and thus attains liberation.

Devi – Part 2

2011-10-01T17:56:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda

Shakti is that by which we live and have our being in this universe. In this world, all the wants of the child are provided by the mother. The child's growth, development and sustenance are looked after by the mother. In the same way, all the necessities of life and its activities in this world, and the energy needed for it, depend upon Shakti or the Universal Mother. The human mother is a manifestation of the Universal Mother. All women are forms of the Divine Mother.

You are more free with your mother than with anybody else. You open your heart more freely to your mother than than to your father. There is no God greater than Mother. It is the mother who protects, nourishes, consoles, cheers and nurses you. She is your first guru. The first syllable that almost every human being utters is the beloved name of the mother, Ma. She sacrifices her all for the sake of her children.

A child is more familiar with the mother than with the father because the former is very kind, loving, tender and affectionate, and looks after the wants of the child. Mother is the personality that appeals most to the human heart. Whenever the child wants anything, it runs with outstretched hands to the mother, rather than to the father. If the mother hears the cry of the child, she leaves her domestic work and runs immediately to attend to the child.

In the spiritual field also, the aspirant - the spiritual child - has a more intimate relationship with Mother Durga than with Father Shiva. Shiva is quite indifferent to the external world. He is absorbed in contemplation of the Self. He has handed over power of attorney to his consort, Durga. It is Mother Durga only who looks after the affairs of the world. Lord Shiva gazes at Durga, his Shakti. She engages herself in creation, preservation and destruction.

* * *

Durga is Shakti manifested as the creative, preserving and protecting principle in the created world. This great principle is adored as the Divine Mother, as Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati, representing the aspects of tamas, rajas and sattwa, the three modes of prakriti.

It is one's duty to propitiate the Divine Mother, for she rules supreme over the health and wealth of the universe. You are filled with Shakti. You cannot exist independently of Shakti. The whole universe is energy, and energy is Shakti. In revealed form God is Shakti or power. In the unmanifested aspect God is chit shakti, the consciousness force that is working everywhere as the material cause of everything.

* * *

Love is the only transforming power, and Devi is the inexhaustible fountain of divine love. The mother's love for her young ones is unparalleled. It is the prerequisite for all growth, progress, evolution and transformation. Fear (another form of hate) stunts growth and arrests progress; love promotes growth and accelerates progress. Love sustains creation. Divine love is the true manifestation of the Divine Mother.

Let there be nothing but love in your heart. It will remove obstacles and speed up your spiritual progress. It will transform your enemies into friends. It will shower the Devi's richest blessings on you in the form of peace, plenty and prosperity. It will confer upon you the highest award - moksha. Cultivate dispassionate love towards all beings, then you will have truly enthroned the Para Shakti in your heart. Then there will be peace, happiness, prosperity and harmony on earth. May the blessings of the Mother be upon you all!

* * *

The Divine Mother is everywhere triple. She is endowed with the three gunas, sattwa, rajas and tamas. She manifests as will, iccha shakti, action, kriya shakti, and knowledge, jnana shakti, the three forms of power by which the world is ruled. She is Brahma Shakti (Saraswati) in conjunction with Lord Brahma, Vishnu Shakti (Lakshmi) in conjunction with Lord Vishnu, Shiva Shakti (Maha Kali or Durga) in conjunction with Lord Shiva.

Saraswati is cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness, cosmic knowledge. Lakshmi does not mean mere material wealth, like gold, cattle etc. All kinds of prosperity, glory, magnificence and joy, exaltation or greatness come under Lakshmi. Kali is the transformative power of divinity, the power that dissolves multiplicity in unity.

The Devi assumes many aspects according to the tasks to be performed by her, sometimes sweet and tender, and at others, terrible and devouring; but she is always kind and gracious to her devotees. Arjuna, the Pandava hero, worshipped the Goddess before starting the fight against the evil-minded Kauravas. Sri Rama worshipped Durga at the time of the fight with Ravana to invoke her aid in the war. He fought and won through her grace.

* * *

The Divine Mother is the symbolic power behind creation, preservation and dissolution. The whole universe is the manifestation of this power. Devi is synonymous with Shakti or the Divine power that manifests, sustains and transforms the universe as the one unifying force of existence. Since Shakti cannot be worshipped in its essential nature, it is worshipped as we conceive of it. In relation to the three functions of creation, preservation and destruction, Shakti is Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali. These are not three distinct Devis, but the one formless Devi worshipped in three forms. The Devas corresponding to these are Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, who in the same way are not three Devas, but the forms of the one Supreme Deva who is formless. May the Divine Devi, the Mother, bless you all!
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* * *

Navaratri or the nine nights symbolizes the victory of the higher divine forces over the lower, negative qualities which find their expression in injustice, oppression, greed, selfishness, hatred and a host of other un-divine forces that add to the suffering of man.

Outwardly, Navaratri is in the nature of a victory festival offered to the Mother for her successful struggle with the formidable demons. But to the spiritual aspirant, the division of Navaratri into three sets of three days to adore different aspects of the Supreme Goddess - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati - teaches a very sublime yet thoroughly practical truth. In its cosmic aspect it epitomizes the stages of the evolution into God, from jivahood to Shivahood. In its individual aspect it shows the course that one's spiritual sadhana should take.

The central purpose of existence is to recognize your eternal identity with the Supreme Spirit, to grow into the image of the Divine. First you have to get rid of the countless impurities and undivine elements that have come to cling to you in your embodied state. Then you have to acquire auspicious divine qualities. Thus purified and rendered full of sattwa, knowledge flashes upon you like the brilliant rays of the sun upon the crystal waters of a perfectly calm lake.

This process of sadhana implies resolute will, determined effort and arduous struggle. Strength, infinite shakti, is the prime necessity. The Divine Mother, the Supreme Shakti, has to operate through you.

* * *

Devi – Part 1

2011-09-30T18:54:00.001+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda

Prayer to Mother
Salutations to the Divine Mother, who exists in all beings in the form of intelligence, mercy and beauty. Salutations, O Sweet Mother, the consort of Lord Shiva. O Mother Parvati! You are Lakshmi. You are Saraswati. You are Kali, Durga and Kundalini. You are the embodiment of all power. You are Para Shakti. You are in the form of all objects. You are the sole refuge of all. The whole universe is the play of Your three gunas. How can I praise you? Your glory and splendour are indescribable. Protect me. Guide me. O Loving Mother!

O Compassionate Mother! I bow to You. You are my saviour. You are my goal. You are my sole support. You are my guide and the remover of all afflictions, troubles and miseries. You are the embodiment of auspiciousness. You pervade the whole universe. The whole universe is filled with You. You are the storehouse of all qualities. Protect me. Again and again I salute You.

O Glorious Mother! Salutations to You. All women are Your parts. Mind, egoism, intellect, body, prana and senses are Your forms. You are Para Shakti and Apara Prakriti. You are electricity, magnetism, force, energy, power and will. All forms are Your forms only. Reveal to me the mystery of creation. Bestow on me the divine knowledge.

O Loving Mother! You are the primal energy. You have two aspects, the terrible and the peaceful. You are modesty, gentleness, shyness, generosity, courage, forbearance and patience. You are faith in the heart of devotees and generosity in noble people, chivalry in warriors and ferocity in tigers. Give me strength to control the mind and the senses. Make me worthy to dwell in You. Salutations unto You!

O Mother Supreme! When shall I have equal vision and a placid state of mind? When shall I be established in ahimsa, satya and bramacharya? When shall I have Your cosmic vision? When shall I attain deep abiding peace and perennial joy? When shall I enter into deep meditation and Samadhi?

O Radiant Mother! I have not done any spiritual sadhana or service, any charity, japa and meditation or worship. I have not studied religious scriptures. I have neither discrimination nor dispassion. I have neither purity nor a burning desire for liberation. You are my sole refuge. You are my only support. My silent adorations unto You. Remove the veil of ignorance.

O Gracious Mother! I bow to You. Where are You? Do not forsake me. I am Your child. Take me to the other shore of fearlessness and joy. When shall I behold Your lotus feet with my own eyes? You are the boundless ocean of mercy. When the philosopher’s stone turns iron into gold by contact, when the Ganga turns impure water into pure, can You not turn me, O Divinne Mother, into a pure soul? May my tongue repeat Your name always!

* * *

Devi is the Supreme Shakti, or power of the Supreme Being. She is the creatrix of the universe. She is the Universal Mother. Durga, Kali, Bhagavati, Bhavani, Amba, Ambika, Jagadamba, Kameshvari, Ganga, Uma, Chandi, Chamunda, Lalita, Gauri, Kundalini, Tara, Rajeshvari, Tripura Sundari, etc. are all her forms. She is worshipped  during Navaratri as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.

Devi or Shakti is the mother of all. The pious and the  wicked, the rich and the poor, the saint and the sinner, are all her children. She is the mother of Nature. She is Nature itself. The whole world is her body. Mountains are her bones. Rivers are her veins. The ocean is her bladder. The sun and moon are her eyes. The wind is her breath. Agni is  her mouth. She runs this world show.

* * *

Shakti is symbolically female, but is, in reality, neither male nor female, being only a force which manifests itself in various forms. Mother is the creative aspect. She is symbolized as cosmic energy. Energy is the physical ultimate of all forms of matter and the sustaining force of the spirit. Energy and spirit are inseparable and essentially one. The five elements and their combinations are the external manifestations of the Mother. Intelligence, discrimination, psychic power and will are her internal manifestations. Humanity is her visible form.

She lies dormant in mooladhara chakra in the form of kundalini shakti. She is at the centre of the life of the universe. She is the primal force of life that underlies all existence. She vitalizes the body through sushumna nadi and the nerves. She nourishes the body with blood. She vitalizes the universe through her energy. She is the energy in the sun, the fragrance in flowers, the beauty in the landscape, the Gayatri or the Blessed Mother in the Vedas, colour in the rainbow, intelligence in the mind, potency in homeopathic pills, will and thinking power in sages, devotion in bhaktas, sanyam and samadhi in yogis. Wisdom, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride are all her forms. Her manifestations are countless.

* * *

The Supreme Lord is represented as Shiva, and his power is represented as his wife - Shakti, Durga or Kali. Mother Durga is the energy aspect of Shiva. Without Durga, Shiva has no expression and without Shiva, Durga has no existence. Shiva is the soul of Durga. Durga is identical with Shiva. Shiva is only a silent witness. He is motionless,
impersonal, inactive. He is not affected by the cosmic play. Durga does everything. Shiva is omnipotent. He is pure consciousness. Shakti is dynamic. The power or active aspect of the immanent God is Shakti. Shakti is the embodiment of power. Shakti is the power that is latent in the pure consciousness.

Shakti is inherent in God. Just as you cannot separate  heat from fire, so also you cannot separate Shakti from God. Shiva and Shakti are one. Shiva is always with Shakti. They are inseparable. Worship of Durga or Parvati or Kali is worship of Lord Shiva.

* * *

From the dawn of civilization the symbol of eternal consciousness was conceived of as the Mother Divine. Worship of the Divine Mother was practised in the earliest times, when primitive man lived in a matriarchal society. Later, as civilization progressed, the matriarchal pattern gradually faded out and the father became the head of the family unit. He was treated as the one in authority to whom everyone looked for guidance and approval.

Consequently there was a change in the concept of the Divine; the supremacy of God, the Father, was established. But Mother worship persisted simultaneously, since this concept was more comprehensible, intimate, emotionally and domestically appealing than that of a vague, formless, ethereal ideal. Subsequently, a sympathetic harmony between the motherhood and fatherhood of God was developed; Sita and Rama, or Radha and Krishna, were worshipped together.

* * *

O Adorable Mother! I bow to You. Without Your grace no one can have success in spiritual sadhana and salvation. O Compassionate Mother! You are an ocean of mercy.
Bless me. If I get a drop from that ocean will it dry up? O my sweet Mother! Guide me. Protect me. Save me. I am Your child.

* * *

Devi does not belong to any religion, sect or cult. Devi is the conscious power of the Deva. Let this never be forgotten. The words Devi, Shakti etc. and the ideas of the different forms connected with these names are concessions given to the limitations of human knowledge and comprehension.

Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "This is only my lower nature Shakti; beyond this is my higher nature, the original Shakti, the life principle which sustains this entire universe." The Upanishad says, "The Para Shakti, the supreme power of God, is the nature of God manifesting as knowledge, strength and activity."

Truly speaking, all beings of the universe are Shakti worshippers, for there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or other. Physicists and scientists have proved that everything is pure imperishable energy. This energy is only a form of the Divine Shakti which exists in every form of existence.

The nine- day purification

2011-09-29T07:45:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The end of summer and beginning of winter, and the end of winter and beginning of summer, are two very important junctions of climatic conditions and solar influence in the year. Our bodies and minds undergo change on account of the changes in the outer nature. In India, the two occasions are considered opportune times to commence sadhana and worship the divine, indicated by the Chaitra Navaratri (in April) and Ashwin Navaratri (in October).

Three stages of attainment
The Navaratri celebrations objectively portray the inner spiritual life of the world. The central purpose of existence is to recognize your eternal identity with the supreme spirit. It is to grow into the image of the divine, into spotless purity, niranjan. The aspirant has to therefore, as the initial step, get rid of the blemishes that have come to cling to hIm in his embodied state. Then he has to acquire the auspicious qualities. Thus purified and rendered full of sattwa, knowledge flashes upon him like the brilliant rays of the sun upon the crystal clear waters of a still lake.

This process of sadhana implies resolute will, determined effort and arduous struggle. In other words, strength, infinite shakti, is the prime necessity. The Divine Mother, the supreme shakti of Brahman, has to operate through the aspirant. Therefore, during navaratri pooja, nine nights of worship, the Creatrix is worshipped in Her aspects of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, representing the properties of tamas, rajas and sattwa respectively. This is the stuff of which the whole universe consists. Transformation, preservation and manifestation are the cosmic functions of the Mother. She is all that goes to make up the entire cosmos in its gross, subtle and causal realms.

As with the individual, so it is with the cosmos; nothing is possible without the Mother. Your progress, material and spiritual, is bound up inextricably with your mother, human and divine. A person is moulded almost entirely by his human mother, which is why the shrutis (scriptures) enjoin upon us to treat the mother as God. This is even more so in the spiritual field. Without the help of the Divine Mother, no spiritual progress is possible. She is the higher spiritual power that continuously meets the lower urges in battle and overcomes them completely in the end.

Overcoming tamas
During Navaratri, on the first three days the Mother is adored as power: Durga, the terrible one. In the process of sadhana, what is conquered and transformed first is tamas. Thus Durga, the divinity behind the tamas-shakti, is worshipped first. You pray to Durga to help destroy all your impurities, failings and defects. She is to fight with and annihilate your baser qualities. She is also the power that protects your sadhana from its many dangers and pitfalls. Thus the first three days, marking the first stage of destruction of mala (impurity) and determined effort to rout out the many vasanas (cravings) in the mind, are set apart for the worship of the destructive aspect of the Mother.

Acquiring the auspicious
Once you have accomplished the task on the negative side - that of breaking down the cravings and old habits, the next step is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to acquire positive qualities. The divine qualities, daivi sampat, that Lord Krishna enumerates in the Bhagavad Gita, have to be acquired. The aspirant must cultivate and develop auspicious qualities, pile up an immense spiritual wealth so he can pay the price of the rare gem of divine wisdom.

If development of the opposite qualities is not undertaken in right earnest, the old demonic nature will raise its head again and again. This stage is as important as the previous one. The difference is: the former is a ruthless, determined annihilation of the lower self; the latter is an orderly, steady and calm effort to develop purity. This pleasanter side of sadhana is depicted by the worship of Lakshmi. She bestows the wealth. of daivi sampat. Lakshmi is the sampat-dayini (wealth-giving) aspect of Brahman, She is purity itself. She is also the goddess superintending the force of rajas, the guna that must be overcome after tamas. Thus worship of Lakshmi is performed during the next three days.

The dawn of wisdom
Once the aspirant succeeds in getting rid of the negative propensities and developing sattwic, pure qualities, he becomes an 'adhikari'. He is now ready to receive the light of supreme wisdom. At this stage comes the devout worship of Saraswati, who is divine knowledge personified, the embodiment of brahmajnana. The sound of her celestial veena (lute) awakens the notes of the sublime mahavakyas (great statement or profound aphorism, usually referring to the great proclamations of the Upanishads) and the pranava (mantra Aum; primordial sound vibration). She bestows the knowledge of the supreme nada (psychic or maternal sound) and then gives full atmajnana (self-knowledge) as represented by her pure and dazzling white apparel. She is also the Mother in her sattwa guna, and transcending sattwa is the last rung of sadhana. To propitiate Saraswati, therefore, is the third stage.

In celebration of bliss
The tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, marks the triumphant ovation of the jiva (individual) at having attained jivanmukti (liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth) through the descent of knowledge by the grace of Saraswati. The jiva rests in his own Supreme Self of sat-chit-ananda (existence knowledge-bliss absolute). It marks complete victory over the threefold force of the universe. The day celebrates the achievement of the goal. The banner of victory flies aloft!

Indispensable process
The arrangement also has a special significance in the aspirant's spiritual evolution. It marks the stages of evolution that are indispensable for every aspirant, through which everyone should pass. One naturally leads to the other, and to shortcircuit this would inevitably result in a miserable failure. Nowadays many aspirants aim straight at the acquisition of knowledge without the preliminaries of purification and acquisition of daivi sampat, and complain that they are not progressing on the path. How can they? Knowledge will not descend till the impurities are washed out and purity is developed. Nor can the sattwic plant grow on impure soil.

Follow this arrangement and your efforts will be successful. This is the path. Destroy one negative quality, and develop its opposite positive quality. By this process you will soon bring yourself up to that perfection which will culminate in identity with Brahman. All knowledge will be yours. You will see yourself in all. You will be a jivanmukta. No more pain, no more misery, no more birth, no more death. Let the Divine Mother take you step by step to the top of the spiritual ladder and unite you with the Lord.

Yajna Part 2 - Satsang by Swami Sivananda

2011-09-25T17:57:00.002+05:30

Here is a brief method of performing daily havan: The main item offered into the fire is called charu. This is made of a mixture of yava (barley), sesame seeds (til), rice, ghee, incense and sandalwood. This mixture produces a soothing, fragrant and highly disinfectant smoke. Other materials needed are camphor, mango leaves, kumkum, turmeric powder, food offerings and incense.

Take a bath and finish your daily prayers first. Draw a square mandala on the floor with rice powder. Write the symbol of Om in the middle of it. Write the mantra of your deity also. On the right side, place a kalasha or pot of water, filled with mango leaves, and a coconut on top of them. First, a prayer should be offered to Lord Ganesha, and then to the deity. The turmeric powder can then be spread over the mandala. Make the food offerings to the deity by placing them around the kalasha.

The fire is then lit in the havan kunda. In the beginning, ghee is offered 108 times while repeating the mantra of the deity. This is followed by recitation of vedic mantras, while making the offerings of charu. If this is not possible, the ishta mantra and mantras and prayers connected with any deity can be chanted while making offerings. Finally, a coconut filled with ghee is offered. The ceremony can be concluded with arati and shanti mantras.

The mantras recited during havan are powerful chants in adoration of the divine beings who preside over our life, welfare and faculties. They ensure our health, long life and spiritual well-being. The havan is thus a blessing and a boon. The ancient rishis were not blind believers in rituals. There wasa great meaning in every ritual that they wove into daily life. Physical health, discipline of the mind, expansion of the heart and its purification are only some of the benefits of havan.

* * *

By performing actions for the sake of sacrifice in order to please the Lord, all of one's actions with their results melt away and are reduced to nothing.

* *

Various materials are used for worship. Although many may look very simple and not important, yet they are very scientific and effective. There are many precious gems in everyone of these vedic customs and rituals. Their value can only be revealed when we practise them.

The vedi is the place of worship and it symbolizes the body. The three parts represent the legs, the trunk and the head (bhu, bhuvah and swah). Water is sipped as well as sprinkled over the body. This indicates purification, both inward and outward.

Darbha grass is offered to indicate that the devotee, like these blades of grass, is humble and egoless. A coconut is offered after removing its fibre and breaking it into halves. This symbolizes destroying the ego and total surrender by removing the fibre of desire for sense objects and revealing the pure white spirit within. Bells are rung while doing pooja to shut out the external sounds and to make the mind inward and concentrated. Lights are waved before the deity. Light represents God. God is all-light. The devotee prays, no Lord, You are the effulgent light of the universe. You are the light in the sun, moon and fire. Remove the darkness in me by bestowing your divine light. May my intellect be illumined." This is the significance of waving lights.

* *

Incense sticks with fragrant odours are lighted before the deity. The smoke spreads through the whole room. It acts as a disinfectant as well. The all-pervading fragrance reminds us of the eternal all-pervading Lord who fills the universe with His living presence. The devotee prays, “o Lord, let the desires of my mind vanish like the smoke of this incense. Let them be burnt to ashes. Let me become pure and stainless. Let me spread joy and happiness to others even as this fragrant incense wafts its sweet aroma to all."

Burning of camphor denotes that the individual ego melts like the camphor. Camphor is a fragrant substance, and our essence is the fragrance of the spirit. When camphor burns, no residue remains. The camphor itself fades out after shedding its light. So also we should live in this world in such a manner that we radiate only light to all.

When sandalwood is ground into a paste, it reminds the devotee that in his daily struggles he should be self- sacrificing like sandalwood, which produces a very sweet fragrance after it is crushed and ground. Like sandalwood, the devotee should not murmur when difficulties arise, but remain cheerful and happy, radiating sweetness and gentleness.

* * *
The kalasha or water pot which is filled with mango leaves with a coconut on top is very symbolic. The base of the kalasha represents Vishnu, the sustainer, and the middle is Shiva, the destroyer. The water in the pot symbolizes purity and love for the divine. The green mango leaves indicate the life principle immersed in the divine. The coconut stands for the fulfilment of life, when the human body is changed into a temple of God. The dome shape of the coconut indicates a temple.

The five bamboo sticks represent the five great elements which make up the body: earth, water, fire, air and ether. The five banana leaves represent the five sheaths which cover the soul: the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and bliss sheaths. The five Iotas represent the five functions of our bodily life-force: breathing, circulation, swallowing, digestion and excretion. The five day lamps represent the five organs of action: hands, feet, tongue, organ of generation and the anus. The five lights represent the five organs of knowledge: ears, eyes, skin, tongue and nose.

* * *
The tilak is a mark of auspiciousness. It is applied on the forehead at the space between the eyebrows with sandal paste, sacred ash or kumkum. This spot is called ajna chakra. It represents the third eye, the eye of intuition, or the spiritual eye. Lord Shiva's devotees apply sacred ash in three horizontal lines; Lord Vishnu's devotees apply sandal paste in three vertical lines, and worshippers of Devi apply kumkum, a red turmeric powder. Tilak refers to all of these marks. When we apply it, we should feel, "I am one with the Supreme Being and free from all duality. May my divine eye of intuition open."

* * *

Prasad is that which gives peace. During any form of worship, pooja, kirtan, havan and arati, food items such as almonds, sultanas, milk, sweets and fruits are offered to the Lord. This offering is called prasad. All the devotees should share the prasad and thus receive the blessings of the deities. Prasad is the embodiment of shakti, divinity in manifestation, and is extremely sacred. It is a great purifier, panacea and spiritual elixir. Prasad energizes, invigorates and infuses devotion. It should be taken with great faith.

Vibhooti, or sacred ash, is the prasad of Lord Shiva, which is applied on the forehead. A small portion can also be eaten, Kumkum is the prasad of Sri Devi, the Divine Mother; it is applied at the space between the eyebrows. Tulsi is the prasad of Lord Rama, Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna; it is to be eaten. By the chanting of the mantras during havan and pooja, the sacred prasad is charged with mysterious powers. Divine grace descends through the prasad.

* * *
We must serve others even at the sacrifice of our wants. The selfless service you do is a great yajna. It is a greater yoga than the so-called important meditation.

* * *

The Vedas are the reference points for performing yajna. These eternal truths were revealed by God to the great rishis of ancient India. The four Vedas - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sarna Veda and Atharva Veda - consist of Mantra Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The Mantra Samhitas are hymns in praise of vedic gods for attaining material prosperity here and happiness hereafter. The Brahmanas guide people in performing yajnas, sacrificial rites. They are prose explanations of the method of using the mantras in yajna.

The immortal mantras of the Rig Veda Sarnhita embody the greatest truths of existence and are perhaps the greatest treasure in all the scriptural literature of the world. They ore used by the hotri priest in yajna. The Yajur Veda Sarnhita is mostly in prose and is used by the adhvaryu, the Yajur- vedic priest, for superfluous explanations of the rites in yajna, supplementing the Rig-vedic mantras. The Sarna Veda amhiia is sung during yajna by the udgaia, the Samavedic priest. The Atharva Veda Sarnhita is used by the brahrna, the Atharvavedic priest, to correct any mispronunciation and wrong performance that may accidentally be committed by the other three priests of the yajna.

* * *

We are told in the scriptures that the mantras uttered during yajna are very powerful. It is also emphasized that our thoughts, words and actions are vitally important in relation to the forces we attempt to invoke. Yajna has to be performed strictly according to the rules laid down in the scriptures. The least deviation will have harmful effects.

Mantra is divinity. It is divine power manifesting in a sound body. The mantra itself is the devata (deity). The aspirant should try his level best to realize this unity of the mantra with the divinity. Just as a flame is strengthened by wind, so also the aspirant's individual shakti is strengthened by mantra shakti. The mantra is awakened from its sleep through the sadhanashakti of the aspirant. The mantra is a mass of radiant energy.

* * *

The Agarnas are treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. They include tantras,mantras and yantras. These treatises explain the external worship of God. The Agamas or Tantras glorify God as the World Mother under one of the many names of Devi. They do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but are all vedic in spirit and character. The Agamas dwell on the shakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of the Divine Mother in various forms.

* * *

The entire tantric sadhana aims at awakening the kundalini and making her unite with Shiva in sahasrara chakra. Yajna is one means of achieving this end.

Yajna Part 1 - Satsang by Swami Sivananda

2011-09-23T08:17:00.003+05:30

Yajna means sacrifice, sacred rite, or any action done with a pure and unselfish motive. Yajna also means Ishwara, or God. In the Taittiriya Samhita (1:7--4), it says: "Yajna is verily Vishnu." In the Bhagavad Gita (3:14-15), it says: "From food comes forth living beings; from rain food is produced. From yajna, sacrifice, arises rain, and sacrifice is born of action. Action comes from Brahma, and Brahma comes from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahma ever rests in sacrifice." In Manu Smriti (3-76), it says, "The offering given into the fire reaches the sun; from the sun comes the rain; from rain comes food; and from this food all creatures." In this way, the wheel of life is set in motion by the Creator on the basis of sacrifice.

* * *

There are five great daily sacrifices to be performed by every householder: (i) Brahma Yajna, also called Rishi Yajna, sacrifice to Brahman, the Vedas or the rishis and sages; (ii) Deva Yajna, sacrifice to the celestials; (iii) Pitri Yajna, sacrifice to the ancestors; (iv) Bhuta Yajna, sacrifice to all beings; and (v) Manushya Yajna, also called Atithi Yajna, sacrifice to persons, such as a guest.
The performance of these five yajnas is conducive to our spiritual growth or evolution. In this way, we gradually learn that man is not a separate or isolated entity, but a part of a great whole. We obtain knowledge by studying the sacred scriptures written by the great rishis. We receive support and help from our friends, relatives and fellow beings. Our parents give us the physical body, which is comprised of the five elements. This body is sustained by air and water, and nourished by the milk from cows, grains, vegetables and fruits. The devas and pitris bless us and harmonize our environment. So we owe a fivefold debt to nature and we must pay back this debt by performing these five sacrifices daily.

From the rishis, devas, pitris, bhutas and guests, we receive knowledge, illumination, blessings, nourishment and life itself, so they also should receive something back from us. Furthermore, during the course of our life, numerous insects and creatures are killed by us consciousiy and unconsciously. This sin is removed by he performance of sacrifice. Therefore, these five yajnas should be performed daily.

Teaching and studying the sacred scriptures is Brahma Yajna. Everyone should study these texts daily and share this knowledge with others. In this way, we pay our debt to the rishis. Tarpana and shraaddha, regular offering of water and libations to the departed souls, form Pitri Yajna. By relieving their hunger and thirst, we payoff our debt to the ancestors. Homa or agnihotra, offering oblations into the fire, which are wafted to the celestial beings on the smoke, is Deva Yajna. In this way we payoff our debt for the blessings received from the devas.

In the Bhagavad Gita (3:10-13), Lord Krishna says, "In ancient times, having created mankind together with this yajna, the Lord of Creation said, "By this yajna, you shall propagate. Let this yajna be the fulfiller of all your desires. By this yajna you shall nourish the devas, the shining ones, and may the devas nourish you. Thus, nourishing one another, you shall reap the highest good. For, nourished by yajna, the devas shall bestow on you the enjoyments that you desire. He is a thief who enjoys what is given by the devas without returning anything to them."

Bali, or offering of food to all the subhuman creatures such as dogs, cows, birds and fish is Bhuta Yajna. Hospitality to guests and any kind of service to the suffering, such as feeding the poor and hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless, comforting the distressed, are forms of Manushya Yajna. By performing these acts daily, hatred vanishes and we develop kindness and compassion. Our hard egoistic heart .is gradually softened and we cultivate cosmic love. In this. way our heart expands and we develop a broader outlook on life. As we try to feel oneness with all beings, the old feelings of separateness, which develop due to selfishness and egoism, are gradually thinned and eradicated. We learn that we can be happy only by making others happy, by serving and helping others, by removing the suffering of others and sharing what we have with others.

These-five great daily sacrifices teach us to respect our relationship and connectedness with all beings. In truth, we have no separate, individual existence. Our being is connected with the world and with all beings, like a bead on a mala. Therefore, our whole life should become a process of sacrifice and service. Only then will we experience rapid spiritual development. Only then will we experience the supreme bliss of the eternal. Only then will we be freed from the round of births and deaths, and attain immortality.

* * *

The meaning of true life is service and sacrifice. Try your best to make others, as well as yourself, better, wise and happy. Live in peace and harmony with your neighbours and fellows.

* * *

Burn all the impurities of the mind such as egoism, vanity, lust, etc. through the fire of devotion and knowledge. ignite cosmic love, mercy, generosity, selflessness, truthfulness and purity through the fire of yogic practice

* *

If you want wealth, give in plenty. If you want to become wise, serve old people and spiritual souls. If you want to get rid of sins, do havan. The Bhagavad Gita says, "Yajna, sacrifice, giving and austerity are the purifiers of the wise."

* * *

"Brahman is the oblation; Brahman is the melted butter (ghee); by Brahman is the oblationpoured into the fire of Brahman; Brahman shall verily be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action." (Bhagavad Gita 4:24) This is jnana yajna or the sacrifice of wisdom. When one attains Self- realization his whole life becomes a sacrifice of wisdom in which the oblation, the ghee or the offering, the performer of the sacrifice, the action and the goal are all Brahman.

"Some karma yogis perform sacrificial rites to the devatas or shining ones alone. Others (who have realized the Self) offer the Self as sacrifice by the Self in the fire of Brahman alone." (Bhagavad Gita 4:25) The second yajna is jnana yajna. The oblation in the sacrifice is the Self. Yajna here means the Self. To sacrifice the Self in Brahman is to know through direct cognition that the individual soul is identical with Brahman. This is the highest yajna. Those who are established in Brahman, who have realized their oneness with the supreme soul, perform this kind of yajna. This is superior to all other sacrifices.

* * *

"Some offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of restraint; others offer sound and other objects of the senses as sacrifice in the fire of the senses." (Bhagavad Gita4:26) Someyogis are constantly engaged in restraining the senses. This is also an act of sacrifice. "Others sacrifice all the functions of the senses and those of the breath (prana) in the fire of the yoga of self- restraint kindled by knowledge." (Bhagavad Gita 4:27) Just as a lamp is kindled by oil, so also the fire of the yoga of self-control is kindled by knowledge. When the yogi fixes his mind on Brahman or the Self, the senses and the breath cease to function.

"Others offer wealth (dravya yajna), austerity (tapa yajna) and yoga (yoga yajna) as sacrifice, while ascetics of self-restraint offer study of scriptures and knowledge as sacrifice." (Bhagavad Gita 4:28). Some do sacrifice by distributing their wealth to the deserving as charity; some offer their austerities (tapas) as sacrifice; some practise the eight limbs of raja yoga and offer this yoga as a sacrifice; some study the scriptures and offer it as a sacrifice.
* * *
"Others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the course of the outgoing and the incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the restraint of the breath." (Bhagavad Gita 4:29) If the prana is controlled, the mind, the intellect and the senses cease to function. "Others who regulate their diet offer life breaths in life breaths. All these are knowers of yajna whose sins are destroyed by sacrifice." (Bhagavad Gita 4:30) By taking food in moderation, they control the passions and appetites by weakening the functioning of the organs of action. Yogis pour the life breaths as sacrifice in the controlled life breath. The former becomes merged in the latter. Performance of this sacrifice leads to purification of the mind and destruction of sins.

* * *
"Those who eat the remnants of the sacrifice, which are like nectar, go to the eternal Brahman. This world is not for the man who does not perform sacrifice; how then can he have the other?" (Bhagavad Gita 4:31) They go to the eternal Brahman in the course of time after attaining knowledge of the Self through purification of the mind by performing these sacrifices. One who does not perform any of these sacrifices is not fit even for this miserable world.' How then can he hope to get a better world than this?

"Thus manifold yajnas are spread out before Brahman. Know that they are born of action,because the Self is beyond action, and thus knowing you will surely be liberated." (Bhagavad Gita 4:32) Various kinds of sacrifices are spread out at the mouth of Brahman; they are known as the Vedas. Know that they are born of action, because the Self is beyond action. If you realize that "these actions do not concern me, they are not my actions, and I am actionless," you will surely be liberated from the bondage of samsara by this right knowledge.

* * *
Selflessness is a denial of the individual self and a ceaseless effort to transformit into infinity.

* *

Love is sacrifice. To love is to share and serve. Self- sacrifice is the guidepost to emancipation.

* * *
Havan is the fire ceremony at which various articles are offered into a specially prepared fire.Daily havan is one of the most important rites laid down in the vedic scriptures for householders. It is part of the eternal Sanatana dharma. Some people today do not find any meaning in the performance of this sacred ceremony, and even feel that it is a waste of food materials. Thisis an error. The more you give, the more you will get. This is the universal law. No one can gain anything without giving. "Give and it shall be given unto you." Making offerings to the divine beings is more effective than offering to mortal man. Whatever desire a person may have while doing havan will be fulfilled.

Further, the materials offered during the havan are great disinfectants and they purify the body. Inhaling the smoke from the havan purifies the lungs. There have been cases where patients were cured of long-standing ailments. The blessed smoke of the havan purifies the entire atmosphere.

Bhet - an offering Part 2

2011-09-20T09:02:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Love is the hope of this world. Love is dynamic. It always expresses itself through untiring selfless service. Love does not envy. Love suffers long. Love is kind. Love is not puffed up. Love is the greatest power on this earth. Love unites. Love always gives. Love never bargains. In the cultivation of cosmic love is individual spiritual progress, the welfare of the community and the peace of the whole world.

* * *

Sins can be destroyed by charity. Lord Jesus says, "Charity covers a multitude of sins." In the Bhagavad Gita you will find, "Yajna, charity and austerity are the purifiers of the
intelligent." See God everywhere. Share with all. Give the major portion to others. Your heart will expand and be purified. You will have a new wide vision. You will experience an indescribable thrill of divine ecstasy and spiritual bliss. This will give you tremendous inner strength.

* * *

Kindness delights in contributing to the happiness and welfare of others. A kind person is good-natured, friendly, tender and accommodating. Kindness is the cheapest of all things. A kind look, a kind word, a kind act, a friendly smile all cost nothing but bring to others happiness which money cannot buy. They are priceless in their value. Do kind acts now. Do not procrastinate. Kindness is like a healing balm. It soothes suffering. Just as little drops of water make the mighty ocean, little acts of kindness make an ocean of goodwill. Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the dumb understand. Kindness is a direct passport to the kingdom of Eternal Bliss.

* * *

Although thousands of rupees came as donations for the divine work, I never concerned myself as to whether anything was left for the next day. Sometimes my disciples would be alarmed when they observed me giving as much as a hundred rupees to a beggar. "Let him enjoy," I would say. "He has never known what enjoyment is in life."

* * *

All wealth belongs to the Lord. It is a sin to hoard money. One who lives only as a trustee of his property and spends his money for the good of others thinks that the property really belongs to the Lord. He feels that God gives through his hands. He lives happily and attains eternal peace. Just as the water of the Ganga cannot decrease if thirsty people drink it, so also your wealth cannot decrease if you give it to others. Give one-tenth of your income to those in need. If you give, money will come to you This is the immutable, unrelenting law of nature. You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give. Always give, give, give. This is the secret of abundance.
* * *

A benevolent person seeks the well-being or comfort of others. Benevolence is love of mankind and kindliness of heart. To feel much for others and little for ourselves, to restrain our selfish nature and exercise our benevolent affections constitutes the perfection of human nature. One who employs his wealth, thoughts and speech to advance the good of others is a veritable God on this earth. He always searches out occasions to do good to others in a variety of ways.

* * *

You live in vain if you do not have a generous heart. If you can remove selfishness, half of your spiritual sadhana is over. Selfishness constricts the heart. Through selfishness you only create a boundary wall around the members of your family. You always think, "Why should I bother about the welfare of others?" Be a little more patient, a little more forgiving, a little more loving and a little more devoted to service.

* * *

Have the desire to mitigate social evils and increase social comforts. Try to benefit mankind. Live not for yourself. Work for the good of all mankind. A merciful and forging person understands the suffering of others and is ready to help them. His heart melts when he sees the suffering of others even at a distance. A merciful person serves and loves the person who has wronged him.

* * *

Most people are very generous to themselves. They will eat the best fruits and offer rotten ones to strangers, neighbours and servants. What small, constricted hearts they have! Always give the best things, the best food, the best fruits, the best milk, the best clothes to friends, .neighbours, strangers, guests and servants. You will derive immense joy, strength and happiness. Put this into practice and realize the benefits yourself. Give up the practice of reserving the best of everything for yourself and giving away stale things to others. Feel that your own self is in the others too. Only then will your heart expand.

* * *

Meditate on the qualities of tolerance and generosity. When you move in the world, feel, "I will be tolerant of all today. I will perform generous acts." Slowly these qualities will become part and parcel of your nature. May compassion arise in your heart. May your heart be filled with mercy.

* * *

Although our books were printed with great difficulty, I would distribute thousands in a couple of days. Sometimes the disciples would protest and say, "Swamiji, we have no books left for sale." I would tell them, "It does not matter. It is serving the same purpose. We are selling the books to benefit humanity. By giving them free, they are also being benefited. So why are you worried? Even if some of the books are given to people who will never read them, they will pass them on to somebody else and that person will read them and be benefited. Someone or other will be benefited. So I am just offering them. The worst that a person can do is to tear out the pages and wrap channa in it. The one purchasing the packet of channa will open it and read the matter on that piece of paper."

* * *

Give now, not tomorrow or the day after, but now itself. People may change their minds later on and go away. You may not have the opportunity of rendering service to them. This is one of the most important rules in selfless service. Opportunities come and go. Be ever vigilant and utilize every opportunity to give. When a task is put off for the next day, then other tasks accumulate around it and the opportunity is lost. I give because I cannot help giving. Everything is His and He himself directs the gift from within to deserving persons and causes. Always glorify Him.

* * *

When distributing sweets as prasad, I ignore all the instructions about two per head. I give until the bucket is empty. Look at the satisfaction that people gain. This is the most important point. When people come and sing the Lord's name and prasad is distributed, they should go back fully satisfied. What a lopsided economy it is to save expenditure in this respect.

Even when the ashram was much poorer, everyone who came went away fully satisfied. Some ashramites used to say, "We workers do not get so many conveniences, but Swamiji gives milk and fruit to a stranger who walks in and says he is sick, and when he leaves, Swamiji gives him ten rupees also." Now they have started saying that the auditor is objecting. Audits and budgets have nothing to do with a sannyasin's accounts. Even if we need to take food from the almshouse, we should go on with the publication of books and leaflets. I will go on spending. I will go on distributing the books. All are benefited.

* * *
Giving should be unconditional. The donor should not bind the receiver with all kinds of conditions. Such unconditional giving will greatly benefit the donor for he will have served the world through his money. A few people realize this, but others have a banker's mentality. This narrows their hearts and clouds their intellects.

For whose sake are we doing charity? Not for our sake. The Lord will provide us with sufficient funds to carry on the work. I have the power to bring about a shower of gold in the ashram. But I will not do it. Householders should be given an opportunity to give to others and become purified of their negative karmas. Only through giving can they purify their hearts and minds and thus expand and evolve. Everyone should realize this. We should not give with any motive or with the expectation of a return.

* * *
Apply this test: Does your heart melt at the suffering of others? Has generosity become your very nature? Your money belongs to the Lord. You have no business to keep more than you need. How can you accumulate wealth when your God in the form of a poor man is starving. How can you take food four times a day when a beggar - Lord Narayana - is starving outside the door? These are the real tests of spiritual progress. Do you rush to the poor man walking along the street and offer him food? Do you rush to the aid of the sick or injured man lying on the roadside?

* * *

Feel that you are only a trustee of your money. God has given you money. Share it with others. One who has not shared what he has with others has a poor heart indeed, though he may be a millionaire. Even the man who has nothing to eat is the richest man in the world if he has a large heart and shares what he has with others. Radiate thoughts of generosity and love. Forgive the faults of others. Bless the one who injures you.

* * *

Prayer takes you halfway to God, fasting to the door of His supreme abode and charity procures you admission. The charitable deeds you have done will stay with you forever. Giving is the secret of abundance. Use the material wealth, knowledge and spiritual wisdom that you possess as a divine trust from God to be distributed among his children.

Give in plenty without expectation of reward. Have a large heart. Take delight in making other people happy.

* * *

Be thirsty to do generous acts daily. Create opportunities. There is no yoga or yajna greater than pure spontaneous charity. Help the poor, the sick and the forlorn. Give to the orphans, the old and infirm, the blind and the helpless. Give with the right mental attitude, and realize God. Glory to those who give with the right spirit.

Bhet - an offering Part 1

2011-09-18T16:54:00.004+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Charity (bhet) is universal love, generosity and benevolence. It is the disposition to think favourably of others and to do good to them. True charity is the desire to be useful to others without thought of recompense or. reward. It is love in action and a great purifier of the heart. Charity begins at home, but since the whole world is your home, it should reach abroad also. You are a citizen of the world. Cultivate a generous feeling for the welfare of the whole world.

* * *

Charity is the sister virtue of generosity and the fulfilment of magnanimity and nobility. It is not merely an act of offering certain material goods, but generosity of disposition, of feeling, and of understanding and knowledge. In the highest sense it is equivalent to jnana yajna, the sacrifice of wisdom.

* * *

Imparting wisdom is the best form of charity. If you give food to the hungry, after a while they will again be hungry. If you give clothes to the naked, after a while they will again be so. If you give money to the needy, when they have spent it they will again be in want. But if you give knowledge to all, you will have given them the means to take care of themselves. Wisdom removes ignorance and totally destroys all sorts of miseries and suffering forever.

* * *

Forget and forgive any harm done to you. Say a kind word to a suffering person. Charity is not confined to giving in terms of dollars, rupees or shillings. A little good thinking and a little kindness are often worth more than giving a great deal of money. In the beginning do discriminate giving. Later on begin to practise indiscriminate giving. When you feel that every being is a manifestation of the Lord, it is difficult to discriminate. Who is good? Who is bad?

* * *

Compassion should go hand in hand with charity. Compassion is fellow-feeling for others. It prompts one to relieve the pain and suffering of others. By making another's misery your own and by relieving them, you relieve yourself. Compassion embraces all human beings and animals, not only one's own equals or those who are above oneself. Compassion is dynamic in thought, word and deed. Sacrifice your own needs and comforts for the sake of others. Remember your own defects and weaknesses. Be slow in your criticism of others and generous towards those who do wrong actions.

* * *

Many people are unsympathetic and have no compassion They may present a car worth many thousands of rupees to their son or daughter, and spend many more rupees on the petrol But they will not spend even one rupee to relieve the suffering of the poor. They have their eyes and ears closed. They do not hear the cries of people in distress. They do not see the stream of tears flowing from their neighbours. They close their doors and eat magnificent food.

The whole world is one family. All are children of God. Feel this. Open your heart to compassion. Understand the suffering of others and be ever ready to help them. Compassion gives strength and joy. It prepares your mind for the descent of divine light. May compassion arise in your heart!

* * *

Once I chanced to see an ashram resident trying to frighten away a monkey wanting to drink water from a pot kept near the office for drinking purposes. You cannot judge a person's heart from the big charity that he does and the huge hospital that he builds. Watch for little incidents such as these. When you have brought water for a good purpose and a monkey happens to spoil it, how do you react during that first split second? What is the first thought that arises in your mind? What is the first impulse? That determines the real quality of your heart.

* * *

Always give the best things to others, only then will your heart expand. Some people want to keep the best things for their personal use and give the worst to others. Do not close the door and take first class coffee, tea or fruit. As soon as you close the door, you should feel that God is witnessing your actions. You should not act selfishly. The moment your stock is exhausted by giving to others, a fresh supply will come. Even if you do not desire prosperity, grace will come to you in this form. If one possesses generosity and purity, these attributes automatically bring forth prosperity and liberation. This is the unalterable law.

* * *

Give generously, with modesty and with sympathy. The food that you offer a guest may be meagre fare, but if you offer it with love it acquires great power, nutrition and taste. Be it a relative, friend or beggar, give food with love and affection, whatever the quality of the food may be. Hospitality is the very essence of giving.

Once a visitor and his family came for darshan without giving any previous intimation of their arrival. After inquiring about their welfare, I asked a disciple to give them lunch. The disciple hesitated as it was past lunch hour and the food was also finished. I told him, "It doesn't matter. Take them and manage somehow. Give them some curd, pappad and fruit. Even if you are unable to give food at least talk pleasantly. Unless you are pleasant at heart, how are you going to be good in your actions? To be good in actions is to be good at heart because actions are the expressions of one's thoughts. The external action does not matter much because one's action will only be in accordance with what is in one's heart. Therefore, be good in order to do good."

* * *
Giving should be spontaneous and unrestrained. Some people give and are anxious to see their names published in the newspapers with their photos. This is not giving at all. You must experience extreme joy in giving. You must not think, "I have done a very charitable act. I will enjoy happiness in heaven. I will be born as a rich man in the next birth. The charitable act will wash away my sins." Give silently. Do not boast. Your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing. It can be difficult to give a gift silently, without manifesting pride and without expressing to others.

* * *

Generosity, tolerance, kindness, compassion, affection and sympathy are all synonymous with charity. Greediness, harshness, ill-will, inhumanity, selfishness and unkindness are all the opposites. Giving should extend to all beings, whether humans or animals, in prosperity or in. distress. Tenderness especially goes out towards the young, feeble and needy. Generosity is self-forgetful kindness in disposition or action. It includes much besides giving.

Generosity is giving freely and kindly. A generous person has a large and magnanimous heart. A generous person always gives and gives. The essence of generosity is self- sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the surrender of one's own self or personal happiness or comfort for the sake of advancing the interests of others. It kills egoism and leads to the descent of divine grace and divine light. Rejoice in the welfare rather than the punishment of an offender. Magnanimity is a greatness of soul that rises above injury or insult.

* * *

Charity is sharing what you have with others. Sharing destroys greed, removes selfishness and creates selflessness. Always give with faith, in plenty and with modesty. Giving with an unwilling heart is not giving. Think well towards suffering people. Pray for their welfare. This will accomplish more good than much money. Do not be mean-minded.

* * *

Be tolerant of others. Tolerance is not judging harshly where there are differences of opinion or conduct. Your neighbour's ways and opinions may not be your own, but may nevertheless be good according to him. Never condemn rashly but judge righteously. Forgive others.

Intolerance is petty-mindedness. It is unreasonable dislike of little things. All these petty differences are pure mental creations. Expand! Expand! Include all and love all in a spirit of mental charity. Change the angle of vision. Be liberal in your views. Destroy all barriers that separate one person from another.

* * *

Seva – The Path of Purification Part 3

2011-09-11T17:33:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Never mind whether realization comes or not. Make every effort to improve yourself, to render yourself perfect for the service of others. Look upon all beings as God. If your concept of God includes the idea that He is all-pervading, then why can't you see Him in all creatures? What makes you hesitate in translating your belief into action? You will have to give up such notions that He is available only behind locked doors and closed eyes. First feel His presence in everyone and everything as you serve. Then see whether or not He shines of His own accord in the chambers of your heart.

When the heart is not yet free of impurities and the lower nature rid of its dross, how can spiritual experience come to you? First root out egoism, anger, hatred and greed by sincere selfless service. Even if you manage to do a little good to ten human beings, if you succeed in destroying one negative trait completely and develop fully a single positive virtue, feel certain that your life has not been lived in vain. Even this, ten people in a million hardly ever achieve. What if you do not have samadhi and self- realization? Apply yourself heart and soul to seva.

* * *

The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. This is due to restlessness. Human nature is always like this. When discrimination dawns, when the mind is filled with more sattwa or purity, this nature changes slowly. The spirit of selflessness slowly creeps in.

Restlessness creates selfishness and attachment. A selfish person does not have a large heart. He has no ideal. He is petty-minded and full of greed. He will weigh the work and money in a balance. He cannot do a little extra work. He is actuated by the hope of reward. Selfless service is unknown to him. He has no idea of God. He cannot imagine an expanded selfless life. He dwells in a narrow, circumscribed circle or groove. His love extends to his own body, his wife and children - that is all. Generosity is unknown to him.

Do you expect anything from your small child if you do something for him? Work for others in a similar manner without expecting anything. It may give you a little pain in the beginning if you have never worked in this line of selfless service. But after you have tasted the bliss of selfless service, you can never leave it. The whole world is yourself. The whole world is God for one who is not selfish. It is world only for one who is selfish.

* * *

Compassion for another's suffering is oneness with others. Put yourself in another's place. To ease another's headache is to forget your own. To mitigate another's grief is to alleviate or dispel your own. Let your heart melt at the suffering of others. Open your heart.

Share what you have with others - physical, mental and spiritual. This is real yajna. You will expand and feel the oneness of life. Sacrifice your own needs and comforts for the sake of others. If you have a hard heart, try to do little acts of kindness. Give a cup of milk to a poor, sick person. Give a blanket during winter. Supply some fuel. Get some extra vegetables from the market. Feed a hungry person once a month. Bring water for the aged.

Feel for others' suffering. Remember your own defects, frailties and weaknesses. Be slow in your criticism of others and generous towards those who do wrong actions. Help animals and people who are in distress. Wipe their tears.

* * *

As you sow, so you reap. Good deeds give you happiness. Bad deeds give you pain. You are the master of your destiny. You sow an action and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap a character. You sow your character and reap destiny. Destiny is your own making. Understand the law of cause and effect.

A householder has duties towards society, his neighbours, friends, relations and family. Serve religious and social institutions for some hours daily with the spirit of selfless service. This will purify the heart and mind. Treat your neighbours as your own self. Share what you have - material, mental and spiritual - with others. Give one-tenth of your income in charity, whatever that income may be.

The doctor who attends his patients with atmabhava, without selfish motive for money, will have a roaring practice. He can give free medicines to the poor. This is a wonderful field for seva. Through this he can purify his heart and evolve quickly. Doctors can impart knowledge of health to the public and teach first aid to all. A doctor's heart should melt at the suffering of his patients. A doctor should always bear in mind that the knowledge of healing he has acquired is not solely for mercenary gain, but to enable him to play a worthy part in society. Therefore, apart from his 'practice', the doctor should ever watch and see where there is suffering and where his aid is needed.

The businessman who is dishonest in his business dealings and cheats others will be miserable in this world despite his wealth and possessions. The goal of life is not glittering prosperity in business. It is a foolish person's idea of happiness. Understand the law of cause and effect. Spend one-tenth of your income in charity. Do it regularly. Merely giving a few coins occasionally when you are in distress is not praiseworthy. Help social and religious institutions. Open Ayurvedic dispensaries, hospitals and free primary schools. Dig wells in the villages. Let your profit be well utilized in charitable purposes. If you really understand the law of cause and effect, you will not dare to do any wrong deed. In deceiving others you deceive yourself. In helping others, you help yourself.

A legal practitioner must take up cases from poor people freely. He must work for the public good also without fees. This will be his seva. This will purify his heart. Prakriti has given you legal knowledge and you should utilize this knowledge in protecting her poor, helpless children. An industrialist must look after the welfare of his workers, as their labour goes to build up his prosperity. Know that God has given you industrial acumen, genius for organization and money-power to promote the welfare of the human community. Utilize your special talents and wealth for the common good first and then increase your prosperity. Become a helper for the progress and welfare of the human race. Thus derive true happiness and peace in addition to material profit!

True charity is the disposition to think favourably of others and do them good. Be useful to others without thought of re-compense or reward. Give cheerfully, quickly and without hesitation. Charity begins at home but it should also go abroad. The whole world is your home. You are a citizen of the world. Cultivate a generous feeling for the welfare of the world. Charity is not confined to money. Little acts of kindness are often worth more. Give water to the thirsty, an encouraging word to one in distress. Give a little medicine to a poor, sick person. Remove a thorn or a piece of glass on the road. Charity must be spontaneous and unrestrained. Giving must become habitual.

* * *

Through your seva, other people are benefited. This is more than meditation. I do not believe in exclusive meditation in solitary places. It is wrong to suppose that the divine cannot be attained while living an active life. Only when you are in the field of service will you develop positive qualities and learn to become indifferent to praise and abuse. Only when you are in contact with people will you develop forbearance, adaptability, indifference to praise and censure. Many aspirants become tamasic by shirking work and taking exclusively to japa and meditation for which they are not ready.

* * *

You cannot completely remove all the evils from this world. If evil is eradicated in one place, another evil manifests in another place. Do not bother yourself much about reforming this crooked world. Reform yourself first. Then the whole world can be reformed. How can you help the world when you yourself are weak and ignorant?

One who serves the world really serves himself or herself. One who helps others really helps himself. Generally people are puffed up with pride when they render some help to others, and brag about themselves. When you serve another, think that God has given you an opportunity to improve, correct and mould yourself by seva. Be grateful to the one who gives you the chance to serve.

Do not lose a single opportunity to help others. Serve cheerfully and willingly. Never show a Sunday face or a castor oil face. Never grumble or murmur. Utilize every minute in serving others in the best possible manner. Do not expect anything when you serve someone or when you give a gift. Thank the person for giving you a good opportunity to serve. Serving humanity must not be a mere mechanical act. It must be done with atmabhava, intense feeling for others. Serve and worship the same God manifest in the poor, the sick and the suffering, just as you worship Him in the temple of your heart.

* * *

Selfless service develops prem, universal, divine love. In the beginning, when the heart is contracted through selfishness, you love only your husband or wife, children, a few friends and relatives. As you evolve, you love the people of your own district, then the people of your own state. Later you develop love for the people of your own country. Eventually you begin to love other people of different countries. In the long run you begin to love all. You develop universal love. All the barriers are broken now. The heart is infinitely expanded.

It is very easy to talk of universal love, but it is difficult to put into practice. Petty mindedness of all sorts comes in the way. Old wrong impressions act as stumbling blocks. You can overcome all obstacles through will, patience and perseverance. Feel that the whole world is your body, your own home. Feel that all beings are images of God. Feel that the one power of God works through all hands, sees through all eyes, hears through all ears.

One who is established in cosmic love does not shun society. He loves all. He loves the Self which pervades all creatures. Selfless service springs from him as the breath springs from all living beings. When he finds that someone is suffering, he rushes to relieve them, not because he loves that particular person, but because he has realized that his own Self pervades the other person, because the goodwill that fills his heart naturally flows towards a suffering person and endeavours to remove his affliction. This service he renders naturally - service for the sake of service, love for love's sake. It is a love that does not clamour for reciprocity; it is service that does not look back for appreciation or reward. In this love, in this service, all are equal.

* * *

Selfless service is the best spiritual practice for all aspirants. It is no use sitting in a closed room and meditating for hours at a time. How long can you meditate? Say, for half an hour or an hour at the most. Then your mind will begin to wander, thoughts will crop up, you will begin to imagine so many useless things and start building castles in the air. You will not be able to control your thoughts or concentrate on your object of meditation. Why? Because of your negative samskaras or impressions, because you have no serenity and the mind is always ruffled by worldly thoughts, and because you have not purified the mind by selfless service. You can purge your negative samskaras only through intense seva. Then peace and serenity will come to you and you will have good meditation.

Many aspirants complain they are not able to do sufficient japa and meditation because they are always engaged in seva. It is' impossible for a neophyte to meditate twenty-four hours a day. The mind wants something to engage with. That is why seva is essential in the beginning. The mind wants variety. Engage it in benevolent work for the good of others. Seva alone will bestow everything upon you. Through service alone you can have realization. Side by side also carryon your japa, meditation and other preliminary sadhanas.

Seva is a beautiful blend of all sadhanas, very practical and suitable for the most modem mind. You may say that such selfless service is not needed for the advanced class. But how many are they? Indeed, very few. It is only very highly evolved souls who can absorb themselves in meditation day and night. But what about the general class? This sadhana of synthesis alone is best suited to them.

* * *

Seva should be practised till the end of one's life. It is an 'ever-ready-polish' to keep the mind clean and pure, to keep the body ever active and healthy. Never say, "I have transcended selfless service. There is no necessity for me to do seva now." Tamas is ever ready to invade the body and mind. Seva keeps all yogis ever dynamic and alert. It relaxes the mind for meditation, inspires, gives a change and induces vigorous meditation. Work acts as an appetizer for meditation and wisdom.

Through the practice of seva alone, you can develop all the positive qualities such as tolerance, mercy, kindness, love, patience and self-restraint which are necessary for the practice of bhakti and jnana yoga. How can a cave-dweller in seclusion practice tolerance, mercy and cosmic love? The practice of seva generates, waters and nourishes the positive qualities. Without seva they will dwindle and fade away. Seva acts as a brush to keep the mind-mirror ever clean.

* * *

It is extremely difficult to perform real seva. Many people ascend the public platform in the garb of selfless workers, but they only serve themselves. You have to prepare the mind for seva. The mind always expects something. When you smile, you expect a smile in return from your friend. When you raise your hand in greeting, you expect a greeting from other people. Even when you give-someone a cup of water, you expect gratitude. When such is the case, how can you perform seva?

Think that your hands are the hands of God. In the beginning some of your actions may be selfish and some may be unselfish. In the long run you can do all actions in an unselfish manner. Every act can be spiritualized when the motives become pure. Work is meditation.

Have a large and loving heart with atmabhava. Then you will be happy and peaceful. Identify yourself with all. Feel that you are one with the whole universe. It is far better, out of love, to leave the ecstasy and serve the needy. It is better to serve the sick and feed the hungry than to see visions. For me, the highest goal is the glory of service at the feet of the Lord.

* * *

Selfless service is the yoga most suited to Kali yuga, the present age. Seva leaves no loopholes for maya or ignorance to enter you. It fills every part of you with godliness. Do not be discouraged by setbacks. Know the causes and avoid them in the future. Strengthen yourself carefully. Stick to your sadhana.

I am always ready to help you. My sympathies are ever with you. I will radiate joy, peace and .thought currents of love towards you. I will inspire you, but I cannot do the work for you. You yourself will have to do the work. The struggle and exertion must come from your side. A hungry person will have to eat for himself, a thirsty person will have to drink for himself. You will have to place each step yourself on the spiritual ladder. Remember this point always.

May you all attain purity of heart through constant selfless service. May you radiate joy, peace and bliss everywhere. May you rejoice in the welfare of all beings. May your minds be fixed in God while your hands are in the service of humanity. May you all understand the principles and techniques of seva. May all your actions become offerings unto the Lord. May you all attain moksha through the practice of selfless service in this very birth.

Seva – The Path of Purification Part 2

2011-09-10T17:39:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Do as you would be done by. Do unto others as you wish others to do unto you. This is the great moral law. You are not born to solve the problems of the universe. You are born to find out what you have to do. This span of life is given to you for lofty duties, not for selfishness, not to be spent in eating, drinking and making merry, but to improve yourself, to cultivate positive qualities, to serve humanity selflessly and to attain God-realization. That is the purpose of your life on earth. Every moment is precious.

* * *

Seva does not require wealth but a willing heart to serve humanity. Serve your parents, elders, teachers and guests. Serve the underprivileged in your neighbourhood. Feed the hungry, nurse the sick, comfort the afflicted and lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful. Clothe the naked. Educate the illiterate. Feed the poor. Raise the downtrodden.

Have a knowledge of homeopathy or Dr Schussler's Twelve Tissue Remedies. Now serve the sick and the needy. Learn first-aid and help in all cases of emergency. Get medicine from the hospital or the dispensary for your helpless and deserving neighbours. Visit a hospital daily, if you can, or weekly, and give your best attention to the non-paying wards. Distribute oranges, if you can. Sit by the side of the patient and speak a few encouraging words.

Smile awhile. Repeat, if you can, the names of the Lord or the like. Tell the person that you will visit tomorrow, and do so. Collect some old clothes and distribute them to the needy. Distribute a few coins to the lame, the blind, and to the hungry mouths as you walk along the street. Serve any social institution for one hour daily without any remuneration. A teacher can give free tuition to poor children and supply them with free books.

Meet your friends and members of your society in a common place once a week or a fortnight for satsang and kirtan. Develop an understanding heart. Help your younger brothers and sisters on the spiritual path. Lift them up. Throw light on their path. Do not expect perfection from them. Be kind to them. They are doing their best, as you are yourself are doing. You will grow by helping them.

Finally, think for yourself how best you can utilize your energy, your intellect, your education, your wealth, your strength, or anything you possess, for the betterment of others who are low-placed in life, and for society in general.

* * *
If you want to truly serve others, you should try to please them in all respects. You should do such actions as can bring immense happiness. Never, never say, "I have helped this person." Feel, "That person has given me an opportunity to serve. This service has helped me to purify the mind. I am extremely grateful" This will constitute real service. But generally, under the camouflage of serving others, people try to please themselves only. This is a serious mistake.

One who gives the handle of a sharp knife to another to hold and holds the sharp blade himself does real seva. A real sevak rejoices in suffering. He takes on his shoulders the most responsible, difficult, arduous and uninteresting of works and kills his own little self. He willingly undergoes pain and suffering in order to serve and please others.

Just close your eyes and think of how many times a day you have allowed the fullest play for your selfishness. Make a note of this in your diary. You will be astounded at your own spiritual state. Searching analysis will reveal to you the subtle forms that selfishness assumes. Gradually endeavour to eradicate all these. Some people imagine that they have reached very near perfection. They feel that there is only a hair's breadth to the attainment of God- realization. They only close their eyes and dream, for in their everyday life you will find them full of selfishness, full of egoism and all the negative qualities.

* * *

To stop the breath by means of kumbhaka for two hours, to twirl the beads for twenty-four hours, to sit in samadhi for forty days in an underground cellar without food, to stand up on one leg in the scorching heat of the summer sun, to do trataka on the sun at midday, to chant OM, OM, OM in silent and sequestered jungles, to shed an ocean of tears while doing sankirtan - all these are of no avail unless one combines burning love for God in all beings and a fiery spirit of service in serving Him in all beings. Many aspirants today are sadly lacking in these two indispensable qualifications. For this reason they do not make any headway at all in their meditation in solitude. They have not prepared the ground, the heart and mind, by protracted practice of love and seva in the beginning.

I have seen many bhaktas who wear half a dozen malas around their necks and wrists, and mutter 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' day in and day out, with a long japa mala in their hands. These bhaktas will never approach a sick person even when he is in a dying condition and give him a drop of water or milk, and ask, "What do you want, brother? How can I serve you?" Out of curiosity they will just watch from a distance. Can you call these people true bhaktas? Can there be an iota of real benefit in their meditation or chanting?

A living God in the form of a sick patient is in a dying state, yet they have not got the heart to go and serve him or even to speak a few kind and encouraging words at a critical juncture, when his life is trembling in the balance! How can they expect to have darshan of that all-merciful God when they have hearts made of flint? How can they hope for God-realization when they do not have the eyes to see God in all beings and the spirit of seva to serve Him in all these forms?

* * *

There is no superior or inferior seva. There is no superiority or inferiority among those who do selfless service. In a machine, the smallest bolt or spring is as essential to its smooth running as the mighty wheel. Similarly, in an organized effort, the person who does even the least work, or attends to an insignificant detail, contributes as much to the success of the endeavour as the chief organizer. For if there is some defect in even a small detail, perfect success cannot be achieved.

Many aspirants prefer to do some pleasant work - some writing, collecting flowers for pooja, arranging books in the library, some typewriting, some kind of supervision and management work, etc. They dislike work such as drawing water and hewing wood, cleaning dirty utensils, washing clothes, sweeping, cooking, cleaning bed-pans and nursing the sick. They consider these works as menial. They have not tried to understand the real spirit of seva.

If you create interest in work which the mind revolts against, later you will like to do any kind of work. The aspirant who always takes immense delight in doing work which others consider as menial, and who always does such acts willingly will be absolutely free from conceit and egoism. Real spiritual progress starts with seva.

* * *

Learn the lessons of divine life from everyone. Examine your heart. Does your heart melt at the suffering of others? Merely sitting in a corner and practising yogic kriyas will not help you. Psychic powers only fatten the ego and move you further away from God. They are hindrances on the spiritual path. Consider yourself to be a blade of grass. Develop humility, patience, perseverance and love.

I have never longed for liberation. I have never aspired for God-realization. I shall go on serving everyone. I shall go on purifying my heart through selfless service. I shall always try to see God in everyone. God Himself should take pity on me and give me liberation. Otherwise I shall take birth again and again and go on serving till God Himself voluntarily offers me liberation. My nature is to work. My goal is to serve. This spirit of service has been in me since childhood. Even if this organization collapses, I will sit in a hut, serve a few patients, print some leaflets and thus serve humanity.

The world is burning with misery and suffering. Wake up! Serve! Serve with love. Serve untiringly and attain eternal peace.

* * *

Do not do any work in haste or in a careless, half-hearted manner. You cannot evolve with this attitude. Half-hearted service is no service at all. Give your whole heart, mind and soul when you serve. This is very important when you practise selfless service. Some people have their hands at the work, the mind at the market, the intellect in the office and the soul upon their family. That is the reason why they do not make any substantial progress on the path. Do all work efficiently and perfectly. The motto should be: One thing at a time and that done well is a very good rule.

* * *

Study the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. He never made any difference between menial seva and dignified work. Scavenging and cleaning the toilets was the highest yoga and highest worship for him. He had annihilated this illusory little 'I' through seva of all sorts.

Many highly educated people joined his ashram to learn yoga under him. They thought that Gandhiji would teach them yoga in some mysterious manner in a private room, and would give lessons in pranayama, meditation, abstraction, awakening of kundalini, etc. They were disappointed when they were asked to clean the toilet at first. They left the ashram immediately.

Gandhiji himself repaired his own shoes. He used to grind flour and also used to take upon his shoulders the grinding work of others when they were unable to do their allotted portion of work for the day in the ashram. When an educated person, a new ashramite, felt shy about doing grinding work, Gandhiji himself would do his work in front of him, and then the person would do the work himself from the next day willingly.

* * *

Many of your actions may be selfish in the beginning. It does not matter. You should not be discouraged on this score. Slowly, when you grow in purity, some of your actions will turn out to be unselfish. In the long run all your actions will be unselfish. If you work hard in the field of seva for two years, then five actions out of a hundred will be unselfish and ninety-five will be selfish. After some years of incessant struggle, fifty actions out of a hundred will be unselfish. A good time will come and all your actions will be unselfish and pure. Keep the ideal in front of you daily.

Work patiently with indefatigable energy. You have to destroy your old mind full of selfishness and build a new mind of selflessness. This is doubtless uphill work. It demands struggle and constant effort with assiduous patience and iron determination. Serve, love, give. Live to serve others.

Look at the stupendous and magnanimous work turned out by Buddha, Shankara and others. Can you attribute an iota of selfish motive to their actions? They lived to serve others. Think: 'The whole universe is my home. I will utilize my mind, senses, prana and body as instruments for the well-being of the world.

* * *

To feel much for others and little of ourselves, to restrain our selfish nature, constitutes the perfection of human nature. No one in this world is perfectly independent. We are all in need of the assistance of others. You are placed in society to receive and confer reciprocal help and mutual obligations. Your food, your clothes, your health, your protection from injuries, your enjoyment of the comforts and pleasures of life - all these you owe to the assistance of others. Therefore, be benevolent. Be a friend to mankind. A benevolent person rejoices in the happiness and prosperity of his neighbour and all other people. Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good actions. Try to utilize ordinary situations.

Seva – The Path of Purification Part 1

2011-09-08T08:08:00.004+05:30

Satsang by Swami Sivananda

Life is meant for serving others. God's plan for human evolution is seva, or selfless service. "Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Be Good. Do Good. Meditate. Realize." That is the spiritual formula. One who practises selfless service feels for others and shares what he has with others. To grow on the spiritual path, you must serve humanity selflessly. Feel that the world is one big family and all are its members. Become a lover of humanity. Humanity is your God and serving humanity is your worship. One who is working for all is dear to God.

* * *
There is so much suffering in the world. Only selfless service can bring solace and strength to those in need. Serve with the feeling that God dwells in all and receives your service as worship. Be humble, be generous. Cheer up one who is in distress. Encourage one who is dispirited. Wipe the tears of the afflicted. Remove a person's sorrow by loving words. Encourage the helpless and the forlorn. Make a person smile when he is in despair. These are all different forms of seva.

Be a lamp to those who have lost their way. Be a doctor and nurse to the ailing. Be a boat and bridge to those who want to reach the other shore of immortality. Serving others selflessly prepares the heart and mind to receive the divine light. Seva, or selfless service of humanity, is the first step on the spiritual path. Meditation or samadhi is not possible without preliminary training in seva.

Seva is the salt of life. The meaning of true life is service and sacrifice. Hold your life for the service of others. The more energy you spend in elevating and serving others, the more divine energy will flow to you. To live life through seva is to be intimate with life's innermost secret. The secret of attaining God-realization is serving humanity.

* * *
What is the object of seva or selfless service? Serving others helps to develop the human personality. It is the most effective method or sadhana for cleansing the mind and purifying the heart. Negative qualities constrict the heart and leave deposits on the mind, acting as a veil or thick crust to separate you from others. Selfless service breaks the veil, removes the crust and causes expansion of the heart.

Egoism, hatred, jealousy, prejudice and pride vanish. Humility, love, compassion and tolerance are developed. Selfishness is eradicated. You begin to feel the oneness or unity of life. You develop a broad heart with a broad, generous outlook on life. If you see God in everyone, if you have a generous heart, then and then alone can you do real service to the world.

At first you feel that you are doing all the work. However, in the course of time, when the heart becomes purer and purer, you will actually feel that a higher power is working through you. You will feel that your body and mind are only instruments in His hands.

* * *
People have various motives when they work. Some work in society for name and fame, some to acquire money, some for power, some to attain enjoyments in heaven. Some build temples with the idea that their sins will be washed away. Some erect buildings with the motive that their names will be remembered even after they die. Some make beautiful gardens for the use of the public with the idea that they will enjoy such lovely gardens in heaven. Some do charity with the motive that they will be born as rich landlords in the next birth.

Actions are judged only by intentions or motives. It is the selfish motive that binds a person. Work unselfishly with a disinterested spirit. Always scrutinize your motives. Your motive should be pure. Never care for the fruits of your actions, but do not become a victim of sloth or inertia. Pour forth all your energies in the service of humanity. If you find it difficult to work without a motive, have one strong motive for freedom when you work. All the other lower selfish motives will eventually die by themselves.

When the thought of doing good to others becomes part and parcel of your very being, then you will not entertain any motive at all. You will take immense delight in serving and doing good to others. You will get inner spiritual strength. Do not expect any return of love, appreciation, gratitude or admiration from the people whom you are serving.

Burn your incense, wave your lights, offer your flowers in the form of clothing, food, medicine, education and shelter. Nurse the sick and serve the poor with the feeling that you are serving the divine. Educate the illiterate. Help in villages and slums. This will purify your heart. Take up this work now.

* * *
Through seva an aspirant can gradually develop all the positive qualities or virtues. Have faith, energy, cheerfulness, courage, patience, perseverance, sincerity, concentration, serenity, etc. Have no desire for name and fame, appreciation, admiration and gratitude. Be humble and free from hatred, jealousy and harshness. Speak sweet words. How can a proud and jealous person who expects respect from others serve others?

One who is easily irritated and easily offended over trifles is unfit for seva. Develop an amiable, loving and sociable nature. Move and mix with everybody without distinction of caste, creed or colour. Be adaptable, compassionate and tolerant. Adjust to the habits and ways of others. Have an all-embracing and all-inclusive heart. Have a cool and balanced mind. Have equal vision and rejoice in the welfare of others.

Even if you possess a few of the above qualifications, the other qualifications will come to you by themselves if you earnestly work in the field of selfless service. Start serving even with a little capital of love, mercy and sympathy.

* * *

The right spirit is necessary in seva. Not the smallest insect is to be treated callously. I once found a drowning wasp. I took it out, gave it some warmth and prayed for it. For I know that the Lord is there in that wasp. So work for the benefit of others because they are divinities, not because you want personal glory. Even a tiny bit of seva in this spirit will be recognized at once - while thousands of pounds, given with a view to self-advertisement, may earn you little merit.

A good deed is never lost. It purifies the heart. Work for the welfare of the whole world. Do all the good you can in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the strength, love and heart and interest you can, as long as ever you can. Return good for bad. It is the sign of a real human being. Doing good and bringing happiness to others brings goodness and happiness to you. A little self-denial, honest service, little words of cheer, encouragement, sympathy and kindness, little acts of kindness, little silent victories over temptations - these will pave a long way to the attainment of everlasting peace.

Nations and peoples do not obey the laws of goodness. Therefore, the present world is beset with evils of various sorts. The law of cause and effect is inexorable and unrelenting. You reap a harvest of suffering, poverty, pain and sorrow because you have sown the seeds of evil in the past. You reap a harvest of plenty and bliss, owing to your sowing the seeds of good. Try to understand this law. You will then begin to sow only seeds of good. Cultivate the habit of goodness.

* * *

Selfishness is ingrained in many people. That is why they do not make much progress in the spiritual line despite their earnestness and sincerity. Worry, greed, jealousy and depression stick to one who is selfish and consume the very core of his heart. A selfish person is far from God. One who expects samadhi and darshan of God by practicing asanas and kumbhaka and a little japa, but has an unsympathetic hard heart, cheats himself. Have a large heart. Only then can you develop universal love.

You may be able to stand on your head for three hours. You may be able to stop the breath for ten minutes. But this is nothing if you do not have a generous heart. Relieving the pain of the suffering is an effective means of destroying selfishness. Then a greater portion of sadhana is over.

Never think of your own family as your only dependants. Love your neighbour's child as your own. Wherever there is suffering, give. If you give, the whole wealth of the world is yours. See God everywhere. Share with all. Give the best portion to others. Your heart will expand. You will have a new wide vision. You will be firmly rooted in the spiritual path.

* * *

My Life in Rishikesh

2011-09-07T18:22:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

In 1942, at the age of nineteen, I left my home in search for a guru. First I went to Rajasthan and lived with a tantric guru for some time. He taught me different branches and aspects of tantra, theoretically and also practically. But I realized that it was not my destiny, so I left his place. After wandering for several months I arrived in Rishikesh in 1943.

At that time the ashram was not more than a few kutirs in the wilderness amidst scorpions, serpents and tormenting mosquitoes, but it was beautiful, on the banks of the pure Ganga.

When I arrived at Sivananda Ashram I went up the stairs and entered the bhajan hall, the place where akhanda kirtan had been going on since 1943. The vibration of the hall is still very clear in my mind. It was the most divine atmosphere that I had ever experienced in my life.

Then I was led to Swami Sivananda. He asked me where I came from and I told him. He asked what I wanted and I told him of my difficulty. I explained that I had been meditating since thirteen years of age. I had started my meditation when I was six years old. I was able to come to a point of shoonya but I was not able to go beyond that. There was no experience, no revelation and nothing transcendental. He said only one thing: that I should stay in the ashram and serve the ashram, while purifying the mind and body.

So, from 19th March 1944, I started to live in the ashram and participated in almost every sphere of service. It was a time which cannot be compared with life in paradise. It is difficult to explain my experiences. I am talking about the totality of experience for a period of twelve years, not one day's experience, not a moment's experience, but the sum total of experience which cannot be compared with what one imagines even in one's wildest dreams.

Kabir Das said, "If you place the pleasure of swarga, paradise, and moksha, spiritual liberation, in one balance and the guru's presence in the other balance, there is no comparison between the two." That is to say, to live in association with guru, to work for him and give all your love, dedication and devotion, and your idiosyncrasies also to him is such a wonderful experience that you can never get it even if you go into samadhi. That was my experience also.

It was not that ashram life was easy and comfortable, because it was a life of great hardship. There were myriads of mosquitoes but no mosquito net. There was no mattress to sleep on, no place to sleep, no money to fulfil some petty requirements like bidis, toothpaste or pan. Even the food was so simple that most people could not live there for one week. For twelve years I enjoyed hardships, sometimes falling ill with dysentery, hepatitis, etc., and sometimes not taking proper food or rest. But still, that life was like heaven.

Once I was going to Rishikesh when an aged swami met me on the way. He said, "Hey Satyananda, what happened to you?" I said, "Nothing." He said, "No, you are suffering from jaundice." I said, "But I have no mirror to see and no time to see." I did not understand what he was saying. I knew what hepatitis and jaundice were, but what he told me did not even affect me so I forgot what he said. I only remembered after some years what he had said and I don't know what happened to that jaundice, but I survived.

That I survived so many incidents which took place in my life in the ashram was solely due to the spiritual guidance and blessings of my guru and my total devotion to him.

Those who have not seen Swami Sivananda will never be able to understand that such a man could ever exist on this planet. Today we see many sadhus, mahatmas and gurus, but very few of them measure up to his natural compassion, wisdom, dynamism and saintliness. He never directed the ashram, but the ashram blossomed. He never took care of the property and money, yet the ashram prospered. The ashram was full of people of nineteen or twenty years of age. We were all boys when we came to the ashram; we all worked very hard and learned a lot. We evolved ourselves only under the able inspiration and guidance of our guru.

In my opinion, as time went by, Sivanandaji lived in a totality of consciousness, operating on every sphere of consciousness at the same time, Simultaneously, he experienced samadhi and the world, maya (illusion) and moksha (liberation). Everything seemed to be operating in him. I cannot say that he was a total vairagi (renunciate), but I also cannot say that he was a total ragi. (enjoyer). He lived a life of completeness.

His teachings to us were simple and direct. He said, "Do not be disturbed and don't disturb." I never saw him fretting and frowning. I never saw him worried. I never saw him over-jubilant. I never heard him criticizing anyone and never saw him refuse anything to anyone.

There was a man, Danavira Karna, son of Kunti, who was born during the Mahabharata era, five thousand years ago. He was the greatest, most generous man in India of that time. When you saw Swami Sivananda, you could remember Karna. If anyone came to the ashram, he would receive them un-conditionally; not only a brahmin or a sadhu, not only a beggar or a sweeper, not only a good man, but even those who came into the ashram to harm him, or to cause damage to the ashram. All would receive his blessings, assistance and support.

With me in particular, Sivanandaji was very kind. I used to work very hard. Many times I used to keep awake during the day with work, and also during the night I used to look after the ashram property by taking rounds at 1 am, 2 am, and 3 am in all the buildings and all over the forest. He knew of my busy timetable and he used to send me coffee even though he personally never drank coffee in his life. He used to keep coffee for me and tell everyone, "Keep it for Swami Satyananda, because he keeps awake for many hours in the night."

Once I went to him and told him I was going back, not intending to take sannyasa because I had realized by then that for God-realization, sannyasa was not necessary. Anyone can attain samadhi or moksha, whether a householder, a brahmin, or a non-vegetarian. I had realized this, and without telling him, I had written to a newspaper applying for a job as sub- editor and received my letter of acceptance.

I went to Swamiji and told him of my intentions. It was 5th September 1947. Swamiji said, "Your destiny is sannyasa and self-realization is not your problem. You have a duty to perform. Get yourself well-equipped. I want you to be a sannyasin." On 12th September, three days after his birthday, many people were to take sannyasa diksha. My name was on the list.

That morning I returned and told him that I had decided to proceed with my plan. He said, "No. You have things to do and you are not meant for that life." He said stubbornly, "Sannyasa," and I was given sannyasa on 12th September 1947. Swamiji said, "You are serving here as a part of your training. Even as the saplings of a tree are removed and are planted elsewhere, so shall be your destiny." I remained in Rishikesh for many years and served him.

Then, in 1956, I went to him. By that time I was completely exhausted. I wanted to leave every type of work; I wanted no sweeping, no keys, no money, no bank account, nothing. Physically, emotionally and mentally I was tired. I can say that I was in a state of depression. I wanted to get out of the ashram and stay somewhere calm and quiet with no work and no responsibility, just eat a little and do some sadhana, that is all. I wanted to sleep for six months. I was totally exhausted in every way.

I went to Swamiji to tell him I was going. He did not tell me not to go. He gave me 108 rupees. Then he called me into his room and said, "I will give you some instructions on it very old tantric practice, kriya yoga." He started teaching me and it took hardly seven or eight minutes to learn all the kriyas. He just looked at me. In my life I have never bent before anyone, never, not even in a temple as many people do. No, it is not my nature. That day when I touched his feet, at once a point came into my mind: "Find a mission for yourself." I left the ashram, and from 1956 to 1963 wandered throughout the Indian subcontinent on foot, by bullock 'cart, by car, train and plane. I lived amongst the people and experienced their joys as well as their suffering.

On the night of 13th July 1963, I was in Munger and I had an inner awakening. I had a dream as if something was happening inside, but it was as real as if it were happening physically in front of me. In that dream I saw Swami Sivanandaji travelling on a steamer from Sivananda Ashram to Swarga Ashram on the other side of the river Ganges. From the steamer, conches and bugles were being blown and drums were being beaten. Sivanandaji was sitting alone on the steamer. He was the only passenger. I was witnessing the whole thing from the bank in front of the Darshan Maha Vidyalaya, which is a little above Sivananda Ashram. The flywheel on the steamer splashed a little bit of Ganga water on me and my experience finished.

I came out, my dream was finished. Immediately I understood that Swamiji had left his body. At the time when the water was being splashed on me, he was sitting in the chair and looking at me. Otherwise he was looking to the other side. When my dream was finished, firstly I understood clearly that he had left his body, and secondly that I had been anointed, I had been appointed. His grace was upon me, and I would have to start working for the propagation of yoga.

On 19th January 1964, Munger ashram was declared open and the first ahuti, oblations, were offered to the fire. That was the day of Basant Panchami. From that time, every now and then my soul opens and I find him there and he tells me what to do. I do not know how to open myself to his presence; I cannot do it, it happens by itself. Some mornings or evenings my spirit opens and he is there. He tells me what to do.

You should understand that the work Bihar School of Yoga has done in the last seventeen years is not an outcome of my intelligence or my efforts. It is not an outcome of my experience or of anything that belongs to me. It is because of his instructions and the guidance which he whispers to me from time to time.

You can now perhaps understand the relationship which a disciple and guru have with each other. A guru may leave his body, but he will continue to live in the heart of every disciple. Disciples may go away, but the guru's grace follows them. Whether or not you realize that grace is a different matter. Blind people can't see the sun even though there is sunlight. Often disciples become blind through avidya, ajnana (ignorance), and maya moha (worldly attachments) and they do not realize the blessings and benedictions of the guru.

Now, of course I have passed through that period of life when passions and ambitions assailed me, when I could recognize and was influenced by greed, anger, jealously, name, fame and money. That time has passed very gradually and of its own accord. I do not feel that I have done anything because my simple philosophy is that everything is an expression of guru's will.

Everything, not only in my life, but also in your life and in everybody's life is an expression of divine will. Only God knows what is to be wished for and what is to be desired. I don't know anything. If I am a criminal today, it is Your wish. If I am a saint today, it is only because You wanted it. If I am going through a period of passions and ambitions, You wanted it. If I succeed in the work that I have undertaken, You wanted it. And if the whole drama that is being played by me is destroyed, it is Your will. Thy will be done.

This firm conviction is becoming more and more clear in my mind because I am a human being and naturally I must express my human behaviour. Even if I don't work, the work will go on. Even if I don't live the work will go on, because, as it is said in the Bhagavad Gita, "O Arjuna, Bhishma, Drona, Jayadratha ... , they have already been killed. They are not standing here; they have already been killed by me, but you have to play the part of an instrument."

Destiny is there and the destination is also already fixed. It will happen, but we have to participate as a witness, as a medium and as an instrument. And that has always been the philosophy of Sivanandaji.

If you are a disciple you should be dedicated and devoted to your guru. You should direct your effort and endeavour to carrying out and furthering his work, whatever it may be. For you are merely an extension of your guru, in body, mind and consciousness.

Living with Swami Sivananda - part 2 of 2

2011-09-06T16:07:00.003+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Egodectomy and grace
When I started living ashram life, I realized how difficult karma yoga is. Selfless service is worse than a donkey's work. It was very painful, it brought many samskaras out. All the good opinions that I had about myself were completely thwarted. I thought I was a good man, but I realized that I was a very angry man. I thought I was a pure man, but I realized I was a hopeless man. I thought I was a strong man and I realized I was weak. I thought that I was not greedy, because I was brought up in a good family that had plenty to eat, but I realized how greedy I was when I saw someone drinking tea that I did not get. These karmas and samskaras came out within the range of my awareness.

I had many experiences with Swamiji on ego removal. I will give just one example. There was a servant boy in the ashram from Garhwal who was a very arrogant young man. The rule in the ashram was that every resident and guest had to take their plate to the Ganga to wash it. One day, an old swami put his plate down in the kitchen. I told him, "Just leave it, I will have it washed." He was old and I knew it would be hard for him to go down to the Ganga.

The servant boy was washing other big utensils. He got angry, "No plate here. Throw it away." He threw it away and I told him, "Get out, leave the ashram." That's my nature. I did not consider that he too was a human being, I just considered my own reaction. I was a strong man in the ashram and when I said 'leave the ashram', he had to leave the ashram; But somebody said to him, "Meet Bare Swamiji (Swami Sivananda) and request him to let you stay."

So, in the evening when Swamiji came out, the boy touched his feet and said, "Swamiji I am going away." Swamiji asked, "Why?" He said, "Swami Satyananda has ordered me to leave the ashram." Swamiji did not call me to find out what had happened, he understood everything because Swamiji was a very shrewd man, very intelligent man. He instead took the boy to his personal kitchen and kept him there.

That felt like a big insult to me, a direct insult given to me by my guru. He was keeping this fellow for his personal service when I had chucked him out! And I had to go there every day and meet this fellow at the gate - Swamiji's gate - it was so insulting. I became very disturbed. All the yoga that I had been talking about, that I go to the superconscious and the unconscious, etc., was destroyed. All the mental frames were in disarray, all the emotions were in confusion. All the philosophies I had been talking about, all the things I had maintained in my mind, were in confusion. I thought, 'I'll leave the ashram and go away.'

Look, just a little insult, and from the guru, and we want to leave the ashram and go away! If we cannot observe and understand even the insulting behaviour of our guru, then what are we there for? And why do we say he is our guru? We may as well tell him, "I am your worker, please behave better with me from today. Instead of money, you give me food. I would like to serve your institution, but I am not your disciple and you are not my guru." On one hand we say, "You are my guru, you are my life, you are my prana, you are everything", but once he gives an acid test, we fail. However, I didn't remember all this, I made so many plans, I did not sleep the whole night. I was no less than joint secretary of the ashram, I had almost all the keys, the entire, cash, and I thought that his insult meant my death.

The next morning, I had to come down. I hesitated to go to Swamiji's kutir. It is psychological. I thought, 'Here I threw him out and now he will stand there and mock me.' It was going to be an unspoken war between him and me, and I couldn't understand it. Now I understand because I am out of the picture. My disciples don't understand because they are not out of the picture.

When I went towards Swamiji's kutir, however, Swamiji was at the gate and not the servant. He opened the gate and said, "Namo Narayana." I said, "Oh yes, you know what's happening to my mind." He took me inside and saw the papers, whatever I had to show. He did not say anything except, "You liked that I opened the door for you." And I went into an ecstatic fit.

I said, "You have to open the door, otherwise who will do it?" I gave him a bit of my mind, that I did not want the servant to open the door, and after all, he was the guru. Guru has to open the door, the door that leads towards light. He meant more than what he said and I also meant more than what I said. That was all. Then we went in and everything was all right.

Coloured in geru
In 1946, I was tired physically. I had fallen sick several times and was reduced to a skeleton. I thought I would leave the ashram. After all, if I had to work hard, I could do it at my home, too. That was maya trapping me and giving me the best of arguments.

I wrote to one of my friends in Lahore who arranged my appointment as sub-editor at The Tribune. He sent me money and I got myself a coat, pants and tie. This foolish swami! When everything was prepared, I went to Swami Sivananda and said to him, "I am going." He said, "What for?" I gave some reply, I don't remember exactly what. He said, "Okay, on 8th September my diamond jubilee is being celebrated. Stay until then. After that you can go. Two more months."

I did not know that he was trying to surround me from all sides, so I stayed on. Finally, his birthday was over. On the 9th and 10th all visitors left. On the 11th, he called me and said, "You are coming tomorrow morning to take sannyasa." Bolt from the blue! I did not know what to say. He said, "Tomorrow morning at seven you are going to take sannyasa and throwaway all your attachments, commitments and obligations to the lower realm of life." He again arrested my mind, and I said, "All right."

I forgot all about The Tribune. I forgot everything. My mind was blank. I did not sleep the whole night. I was repeating my mantra, which at that time was the Gayatri. I was very eager, waiting anxiously for the morning to come. It was a very long night for me. But as I was waiting and waiting, something shifted in my mind. At seven o'clock I went there, Swamiji called a barber and shaved my head. I was already shaved but I had a little, you know, ego. He cut it off, gave me a kaupin and dhoti, and took away my janayu, the sacred thread.

He said, "In this life, beyond life, after life, whether you are in a toddy shop or amoung prostitutes, never give up geru." That's one sankalpa he gave to me, one order that he gave to me. He said, "It does not matter what you do. Geru is your skin now." That is why I love geru so much. This is the only ashram where swamis real geru. At other places they wear synthetic colours: orange, red and so on. In this ashram, we stick to geru.

"Follow your destiny"
From 1953 to 1955, Swamiji allowed me to stop working in the ashram and study. He felt
that the ashram was no longer the right place of expression for me. There I had to express within a framework so the expressions could not be original. He knew that I had originality of philosophy, way of working and living. In those three years I delved deeply in the shastras, from the Rig Veda to the books of Gandhi. I studied every religion in Sanskrit, Hindi and English. He sent me for one year to Gujarat and Saurashtra, and took me along with him on a three-month all-India tour so I could have an idea of people.

In 1956 I was not keeping well. One day, I was resting in my room and received a message from Swamiji to come down to him. When I went, he told me just one thing. "The ashram is small for you, and your destiny is an important thing." He said, "There is something which people don't know and we don't really teach because people are not yet ready. They only want a little bit of asana and pranayama. Most people are afraid of yoga; therefore, I don't teach much to them." He taught me kriya yoga. It hardly took five minutes because I already knew it. He gave me a hundred and eight rupees and said, "Take whatever you like from the ashram, but it is better to go with minimum things." So, on 19th March, the day I had arrived, I left the ashram.

I roamed all over the country. At that time I was completely averse to institutions. I did not want to have anything to do with ashrams, disciples or money. I just wandered, leading the life of a mendicant, a beggar. You see the beggars sitting on the railway station? Your father might have seen me sitting somewhere like that! I just wanted to be independent. If I wanted to smoke, nobody should say; "Why do sadhus smoke?" I mind my business, you mind yours. I lived like that for a few years.

Eventually I came to Munger and that, I think, was the beginning of an era. The place was very nice. On 13th July, 1963, I had an inner awakening. I got a message, and that's how things started.

Sat Chandi Mahayajna & Yoga Poornima Celebrations

2011-08-20T09:42:00.002+05:30

Sat Chandi Mahayajna & Yoga Poornima Celebrations 2011 will be held in the prescence of Swami Niranjanananda and Swami Satyasangananda. All are welcome!

Namo Narayana,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Sat Chandi Mahayajna which will be performed at Rikhiapeeth, the tapobhumi of Sri Swamiji, during the occasion of Sita Kalyanam, from 26th to 29th November 2011. You, along with your family and friends, are cordially invited to offer your worship at this auspicious event.
-Srikant Goenka

Program: 26th-28th Nov 2011: 8am to 6pm - Sat Chandi Pooja

29th Nov 2011: Sat Chandi Poornahuti & Sita Ram Vivah

Namo Narayana,
We warmly welcome you to the Mahamrityunjaya Yajna during Yoga Poornima, 6th to 10th December 2011, at Rikhiapeeth, in rememberance and celebration of the birth and life of Sri Swami Satyananda. Along with your family and friends, you are invited to offer your prayers and worship at this sacred yajna and receive the blessings of Shiva and Guru.
-Natwar Rateria

Program: 6th-9th Dec 2011: 8am to 6pm - Mrityunjaya Homa
10th Dec 2011: Mrityunjaya Poornahuti & celebration of Swami Satyananda's birth

Venue: Rikhiapeeth, Deoghar, Jharkhand, 814112
RSVP: Tel: 09304488889, 06432-290870

SAT CHANDI MAHAYAJNA AND YOGA POORNIMA

Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati

The Sat Chandi Mahayajna is a part of Swami Satyananda's sadhana. In 1995, after six years of long and arduous anusthanas in total seclusion at Rikhia, he commenced this sacred yajna dedicated to the Cosmic Mother.

The only difference was that whereas his earlier sadhanas at Rikhiapeeth, from 1989, were done in total seclusion, the yajna was open to one and all and hundreds and thousands of people were allowed to witness, participate and totally involve themselves in this most powerful and efficacious tantric ritual, which he himself presided over.

Then in 2008 he once again surprised us all, supplementing the Sat Chandi Mahayajna by introducing Yoga Poornima, which became the platform to invoke the cosmic counterpart of Shakti, through the medium of Mahamrityunjaya Homa, dedicated to the Cosmic Father, Shiva.

These two profound tantric yajnas manifested as a result of his love and compassion for humanity, to provide a universal remedy for our material, psychic, emotional and spiritual problems. They offer the rare opportunity for all to witness and partake in the sadhana of a great spiritual luminary and receive the infinite blessings that arise from it. These yajnas form an essential part of his sadhana, sankapa and mission to bring peace, plenty and prosperity to one and all.

The significant point, however, is that his sadhana and sankalpa did not end when he left his body, but continues with the same intensity and focus even after he took Mahasamadhi. In 2009, during the last Sat Chandi in which he was physically present, his last words were "This Sat Chandi Mahayajna will continue at Rikhiapeeth and if you call me I will come."

And he did come in 2010 for Sat Chandi and Yoga Poornima when thousands gathered at Rikhiapeeth with only one thought in mind, to experience his benevolent presence and receive his abundant blessings. The focus was tremendous; the unified force which emanated from the crowds gathered at Rikhia was a strong call and he kept his word, he did come.

It was as if throughout those magical ten days, Sri Swamiji had expanded himself to include each and everyone present in his loving embrace. Everyone was swept away by the sheer magnitude of his presence. On the last day of Sat Chandi during the kanya bhoj, a powerful tantric ritual which he himself had revealed as the way to manifest the power and presence of Shakti, there was the utmost bliss, joy and contentment on everyone's faces, just as when he used to be physically present. Even the simple village folk of Rikhia were exclaiming, "Who says Sri Swamiji is not here!"

Most of all he proved to one and all that Guru is not just limited to the physical dimension; that the presence of Guru from the non-physical dimension is a more powerful and enduring one. His unqualified presence at the yajnas undoubtedly proved the efficacy of his teachings that the relationship with Guru does not end when he abandons his mortal body. He awakened us all to the fact that his existence is a reality even now.

Now 2011 is here and preparations are underway with the same intensity and purity, holding the belief and sentiment that these yajnas still form a part of his sadhana, which he now monitors from above. For these two tantric yajnas are the seed he sowed for the future evolution and progress of mankind. They are the medium through which we can still connect with him and tune into his presence and receive his grace, for they are a part of his sadhana even now.

As we near the end of 2011, many people are looking towards the year 2012 with trepidation. We hear daily prophesies, predictions and interpretations for the coming year in all arenas of life, whether economic, environmental, social or political. The forecasts range from predictions of a catastrophic doomsday to a mass spiritual renaissance and everything else in between.

No one can decide what the year or for that matter the years ahead hold for us, as individuals and as a human race, but the one thing that is universally accepted is that there will be change! We are going to have to adjust and adapt to changes on a global, national, community and personal level. Change is the one certainty that we all will have to face in our lives. Sometimes it is imperceptible to the naked eye and sometimes so immense that we are awestruck by the limitless power of the cosmic forces.

How to face the inevitable changes with strength, courage and optimism? How to overcome our personal limitations? How to protect ourselves from the potential threats to our environment? How to contribute constructively to our evolving communities? How to find peace, health and prosperity in an unstable and changing world?

Swami Satyananda has said, "Yajna is the cure. Yajna is the remedy." Swami Satyananda established the efficacious rites and rituals of Yajna at Rikhiapeeth as a way to successfully navigate the unknown future of individuals, a wider society and the environment as a whole. Yajna is a tantric legacy he offered to humanity as a means to achieve divine intervention for the fulfilment of man's needs and as a solution to his problems; it was a pointer and a direction for mankind who is today standing at the crossroads. He said, "The true reality is that man needs compassion, he needs blessings, he needs shelter, he needs sympathy, he needs HELP." On whose door should he knock for that? Swami Satyananda has shown us the door where our pleas can be heard and resolved.

Yajna is more than a fire ceremony; it is the crystallization of a universal power, through which peace, prosperity, health and wellbeing is circulated amidst all. If yajnas can achieve this end then it does not matter how ancient the tradition of yajna is, nor does it matter to which race, culture, religion or civilization this tradition belongs. Even though yajna may be shrouded in antiquity, still it is important for us to expose ourselves to yajnas to derive the benefits this ritual offers on many dimensions related to the journey we call life.

Performing yajna reaches out to all that is animate and inanimate, the manifest as well as the unmanifest. It is a powerful way to materialize the hidden cosmic forces abounding in the universe and channelling them to correct the imbalances that occur in our lives on account of which our progress and very evolution is hampered.

Everywhere we turn we see disharmony, discontent and conflict. However ultimately it is each individual who will have to overcome their own problems. No government, no leader, no religion and no social system is equipped to protect individuals from their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual difficulties. In order to develop personal immunity to the problems of life we will have to tap that infinite higher power which is beyond country, religion, caste, creed and gender. That power which lies within each and every one of us, within the very fabric of creation. God is not someone seated in some throne in the stratosphere. God is the consciousness inherent in all beings, moving or non-moving.

According to tantra, Shiva and Shakti are the two eternal principals or dual universal forces which govern our lives as well as the whole of creation. In tantra there is nothing apart from or above Shiva and Shakti. During Sat Chandi Mahayajna we worship and invoke the blessings of Shakti, our Cosmic Mother or Nature, and during Yoga Poornima we awaken the benevolent force of our Cosmic Father, Shiva. Thus together these two events, each unique in its own way, pay homage to the Mother and Father of the universe and create a full circle or totality of experience.

Through this remembrance of the eternal and abiding cosmic principles, we can consecrate our lives and awaken to its true meaning - understanding ourselves as an integral part of the entire creation. It is a way to give back what we have received and to express love, respect and reverence for the universal forces. In return, the unseen cosmic forces nourish and bring auspiciousness into every aspect of our lives. With the comic forces on our side, we can have happy homes, healthy families, prosperous nations, ecological balance and success in every endeavour. There is really nothing more that we need in life. In the face of such seemingly insurmountable change, the only remedy is to invoke the benevolent forces of the universe, our Cosmic Mother and Father, and seek their compassion for the preservation, prosperity and upliftment of humanity.

Sat Chandi Mahayajna and Yoga Poornima are conducted each year at Rikhiapeeth for five days by eminent pandits from Varanasi. During these grand scale events the pure, unadulterated divine energy of the Universe is invoked through powerful mantras, yantras and mandalas, which are the basic tools utilized in a tantric yajna. This ancient knowledge of yajna provides an opportunity for us to ignite our consciousness and invoke the higher power dormant within us, so that our own innate higher intelligence can be the source by which we protect and heal ourselves.

During Sat Chandi Mahayajna we worship Shakti, the Universal Mother, who is the source of all knowledge, wisdom and power. She has infinite names and forms but she is the Mother of all. She is our Cosmic Mother, the creator as well as creation, who gives us life, nourishes us and loves and cares for us all. In front of the Mother, we are all children and our innate innocence, purity and trust is restored. With her blessings there is nothing we cannot achieve and nothing we cannot overcome.

Mahamrityunjaya Yajna conducted during Yoga Poornima, is the worship and invocation of Shiva, our Cosmic father. Together with Shakti, Shiva pervades the entire creation. Remembrance of Shiva protects us from difficulties, danger and afflictions of every kind, and grants good health and long life. Yoga Poornima is intended to make us aware of this reality and enable us to experience the power and grace of Lord Shiva in our own lives.

The dance of creation, the interaction of the cosmic forces of Shiva and Shakti, creates all that exists; the galaxies and black holes, the rivers and mountains, the creatures of air, land and sea. Disturbances in the delicate natural balance of the cosmic forces result in tsunamis, earthquakes, cyclones, droughts, flooding, radiation, greenhouse gases and global warming. Yajna is a subtle yet effective means of restoring and maintaining ecological balance, as it is a way to placate the principle forces of existence.

During Sat Chandi Mahayajna and Yoga Poornima we return to the source of Nature in its primordial purity and awaken its benevolent grace. Yajna serves as an antidote to the effects of widespread pollution all around us, whether it is air, water, noise, light and even more subtle forms of pollution such as thought pollution that is invading us from all sides, as Nature has the ability to restore, rejuvenate and recharge itself.

What draws divine grace to us are our actions and attitude. It is not enough to learn about lofty concepts from the scriptures. What really matters is the extent to which we can express them in our lives. More than anything else what makes a person deserving of grace is the compassion he feels and expresses towards those around him. The biggest lesson we have to learn is how to love and serve others.

Sat Chandi Mahayajna and Yoga Poornima also offer us the opportunity to partake in seva or service and thus align ourselves with the cardinal teachings of Param Guru Swami Sivananda, 'serve, love and give', which Swami Satyananda systematically and scientifically revealed as a universal remedy to steer us onto the right course in this ever-changing scenario of life. These teachings are the most pertinent need of humanity for the 21st century, as they reveal the way to re-establish our relationship with ourselves and thereby with the rest of humanity.

Swami Satyananda showed that service to humanity is the I beginning of spiritual life and is essential for all aspirants who seek personal growth, development, prosperity, accomplishment, as I well as evolution. He established bhakti, devotion and pure love, as the most important need of the next generation and declared it to be the 'science of life' which can re-establish healthy and balanced individuals and thereby a better society.

A central feature of yajna is giving. Swami Satyananda called it 'giving', not charity. Prasad is generously distributed to thousands of families from Rikhia and its surrounding panchayats. Not just Rikhia panchayat but each and everyone who comes to the yajna, king or pauper, old or young, known or unknown, receives the yajna prasad which has been charged with the blessings of both Guru and Devi.

This year the yajna is even more significant and potent as since 1st January 2011 Chandi Homa has been conducted daily by the sannyasins of Rikhiapeeth as a sankalpa for strengthening the channel with Pujya Gurudev Swami Satyananda. This one year sankalpa of daily havan for Chandi will culminate after Sat Chandi and Yoga Poornma on 31st December 201l.

In addition this year's Yoga Poornima will be most auspicious as the first day of the yajna, 6th of December, marks the date that Swami Satyananda was given Bhu Samadhi here in Rikhiapeeth and his body placed at its final resting place by the panchagni vedi.

So come one and all and be part of this historic event to receive the blessings of Guru tattwa and Shiva-Shakti tattwa.

Jai Gurudev ki 0 jai Mata di

Instructions to the Disciple

2011-07-15T18:03:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

There is a state or experience a little beyond the mind in which you can see a person or an object that you love very much. You can materialize them on your inner plane of awareness as clearly as reality. This happens when your consciousness is raised. Then the image appears and becomes clear, in this elevated state you can see the guru just as if you were sitting in front of him and he was talking to you.

The disciple should be able to develop this awareness. Then he does not need the Guru physically at all. There is no difference between that state of awareness and physical contact. It is exactly the same. In fact, that state of awareness may even be more tangible than the ordinary one. If you can visualize or feel me in moments of solitude, that is far more fulfilling and satisfying than communicating with this physical form. You can try.

Develop this awareness by practising a little everyday, for half an hour to an hour. Once in a month, once in a week or once in a day, practise this. Develop the inner awareness. Have communion with your guru, inner communion. That is more potent and real than the outer one. You will know it after practising a few times. It is not unreal. Perhaps this seems real and that unreal, but it is only because that is a higher awareness.

You must understand that physical distance is not mental distance. Mental distance is not emotional distance and emotional distance is not spiritual distance. What is 60,000 kilometres physically may be nothing in the mind. The mind does not work through the physical plane; it has another mode of travelling. The mental distance is called a field, just as there is an electromagnetic field or radioactive field. In yoga it is called a loka.

There is another principle that must be understood: guru and disciple may appear to be two, but in truth they are one. The duality is only an illusion. There is one energy flowing in guru and disciple. The bodies are two, but the energy is one. And if guru and disciple are one, where is the difficulty in communication? This is the principle and philosophy which one has to realize. In quantum physics they don't even accept that there are two bodies. They say that the difference is an illusion, the experience that you are having is not true; it is only an experience.

So disciples should first of all understand the true philosophy of their relationship with the guru. You must come to the conclusion: 'I and my guru are one'. When you practise higher spiritual practices, this truth must be ingrained in your mind. Duality is a path, non-duality is the only truth. Guru and disciple do live in their bodies, but .the energy in them is the same; therefore, distances do not matter at all. My disciples can always communicate with me, they only need to dial.

The relationship between guru and disciple is very difficult to explain. You may go to a teacher and learn yoga from him; that is one kind of discipleship. It is an academic relationship. You may receive a mantra from somebody and become his disciple, and that ends the matter. Or you may receive sannyasa from somebody, he becomes your guru and you are his disciple, and that ends the matter. But when you want to tread the spiritual path and amplify your spiritual consciousness, when you want to see the inner light, then you must have a definite relationship with a guru and that relationship is very, very intense. Cold or lukewarm relationships will not do on this path. There has to be intensity, more intensity than the relationship between mother and child, more intensity than the relationship between two passionate beings. The awareness has to be total; just a little awareness is not enough. By the intensity of your relationship with guru, a link is formed between you and him. Go to your office and the guru is with you. You sleep at night, he is there. You eat and he is there. He is always with you. That is the relationship between guru and disciple.

To experience this relationship, first of all you must completely accept your guru and know that you are to be controlled by him at every moment. Sometimes he may get angry and abuse you, kick you or put you out the gate; all these things must be accepted too. The disciple is one who is always controlled by the guru, otherwise even if you work very hard in spiritual life and develop some experiences, you may return to the normal state afterwards. If the guru asks you not to sleep, to keep quiet, not to argue, you must obey without a thought or hesitation. With guru, the sadhaka disciple should have no personality; only then he can be helped. You must establish a relationship in such a way that whatever the guru says is final. There is no second word on it, no argument, analysis, judgement or afterthought. What the guru says, the disciple has to follow quietly, whether it is right or wrong. It does not matter if you make certain mistakes in your area of work because of what the guru has asked you to do. If you are working in the kitchen and he says, "Keep the wheat outside", and then ten bags of wheat are destroyed by rain, it does not matter. It may be a material loss, but it is a spiritual gain because you obeyed the guru. Until such a relationship is established, the disciple should not attempt higher sadhana, otherwise he may be misguided in the inner realms.

A guru does not exploit the disciple. If the disciple has great devotion, the guru can never exploit him. Only if the disciple is selfish, can the guru exploit him. Many people say that the guru exploits disciples, but it is my experience that the guru can never exploit an unselfish disciple. The guru can only exploit a selfish disciple. An unselfish disciple, a sadhaka, never loses anything no matter what the guru asks of him because he goes on developing his higher consciousness.

The relationship between guru and disciple is not a social or religious relationship; it is a spiritual relationship. For the body you have bodily relationships; for the mind you have mental relationships; for the emotions you have emotional relationships. You have fraternal, paternal, maternal, emotional and sexual relationships. These are the bonds that keep people together and maintain a constant flow of energy between them. These relationships belong to this world. They belong to the mind, emotions and body, but what about the spirit? What about your deeper consciousness? You must have a relative with whom your spirit is linked. Guru is such a relative with whom your spirit, your inner consciousness is linked.

The relationship between guru and disciple is man's higher, ultimate and spiritual need, without which he cannot experience spiritual fulfilment. In the normal course of life, you have your experience and I have mine, but the relationship between guru and disciple is always spiritual, even if you are discussing accounts or money. Wherever you go or whatever you do, this awareness must be maintained.

The beginning of faith

2011-07-14T07:57:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

A human being has two things: intelligence and faith. It was through intelligence that he learnt about God, but it was through faith that he experienced God. Not knowledge, but experience comes about through faith. Just as love, enmity, jealousy, joy and sorrow are not the stuff of the intellect but of experience, faith is also a matter of experience. The basis of the intellect is analysis. The Upanishads may have been written with the help of intelligence, but faith is such a substance that it accepts even that which is invisible. After all, has anyone seen anger? No. But anger exists. This is a matter of faith. You do not need to see faith, you need to experience faith. Therefore, at the very beginning of Ramacharitarnanas, it has been said,

Bhavaanishankarau vande shraddhaavishvaasarupinau,
Yaabhyaamvinaa na pashyaanti siddhaah
svaantahsthameeshwaram.

Without shraddha and vishwas, faith and deep conviction,
even great siddhas cannot achieve spiritual attainment.

A siddha, an accomplished person, too cannot see the God within, the one who is so close to him, if he does not have faith and belief. To experience God, faith and belief are prime necessities, and the beginning of faith and belief is through the guru. The guru and the disciple are strangers to each other at the beginning; they may come from different places. However, the disciple finds faith in the guru. He starts learning the A, B, C, D of faith, and through continuous practice he develops faith. In this faith, he sees the shadow, the reflection and splendour of God.

Even a siddha has to practise faith in the guru. But prior to the guru, one has to practise faith in one's parents. You do not know who your father is. You cannot know who your father is until there is a DNA test, but you believe that this person is your father because your faith says so. To believe that your father is your father for your entire life, or to accept a stranger as your wife or husband is faith. This is the first rung of school, kindergarten. First you practise faith and belief in your own house, then in the guru and finally in God. When, by practising it in different things, the faith becomes strong, clear and divine, when it is generated from a pure mind and heart, you see God. Then God, who was defined in different ways by different people, becomes apparent to you.

Faith and belief are essential, though intelligence has its own place. Once someone asked me, "Swamiji; why do people worship the idols of gods and goddesses?" I said that at the level of intelligence, this may seem odd. After all, how can a piece of stone be God? How can a piece of paper be God? How can a person who eats and sleeps be guru and God? The intelligence may question ail this, but when it comes to faith, then a stone is indeed God. A leaf is God, a tree is God. Faith can establish anything as God. Faith is the biggest power. If you do not have faith, then forget about God. Don't even talk about him, because you cannot realize God by talking about him. You can talk about God for years and eons, but nothing will be achieved through that. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that you can keep writing "Water, water, water" on a piece of paper, but you cannot get water by wringing that piece of paper. You only wrote 'water' on the paper, you did not soak it in water. Experiencing God is equally simple.

Crisis point
The guru-disciple relationship is a very important relationship. To begin with, it is very difficult to form and if formed, it is very hard to uphold. This is because the guru lives in a body, which means that he eats, sleeps, excretes, speaks and laughs like you do. Observing this, you may question the difference between you and the guru. At that point, the tenacity of your relationship with the guru becomes weak. You think, "Oh, he is just like us, so what is the point." People said the same thing to Lord Buddha. They said, "Lord, what is the difference between you and us? We eat and so do you, we sleep and so do you, we laugh and so do you." When you begin to think like this, the steadfastness of the guru-disciple relationship becomes difficult to maintain.

It is very easy to call someone your guru, but it is very difficult to maintain that relationship. The guru lives the same way as you do. You see no difference between you and him because spiritual illumination cannot be seen. What do you know what I think or do? You only look at what I wear, eat and drink, how I sleep, laugh, what I keep, and so on. No one can see what lies within. Who will look at what lies within? After all, only a Shakespeare can understand a Shakespeare. If you have the eyes to see, only then will you understand what lies within the guru. But you do not have the eyes, therefore the doubts come.

The greatest crisis between a guru and disciple takes place when the disciple is not able to stabilize his relationship with the guru. He may have established a relationship, but he cannot stabilize it. Therefore, many times gurus and disciples fall apart. So, it is not an easy relationship. It is not as if you have made a guru, now you can go to his ashram and get liberated. There are many crises. There are crises between husband and wife, between brother and sister, and there are crises between guru and disciple too. After all, they are strangers. Like bricks and stones, they come from different places to make a house.

If we get inappropriate thoughts about the guru, what is the reason? How can we remove them?
Once you have accepted someone as your guru, he is your guru, whether you are inappropriate or appropriate. Once you are married to a person, you are married, no matter what thoughts you get. The truth will remain the truth. It is only the imbalance within you that needs to be corrected. Inappropriate thoughts do come to the mind, but the relationship should not become any lesser due to or despite them.

The relationship between a guru and disciple is not physical, social or of the blood. It is not a worldly relationship, such as that between brother and sister, father and son, husband and wife. The guru-disciple relationship is spiritual. The guru becomes the base of your spiritual life. Therefore, this relationship should be maintained well. In the scriptures, twenty-four kinds of gurus have been mentioned. There are different types of gurus. There was one guru who came to India from a different country. He was a great soul, a sadhaka, someone who had the grace of God upon him. His first wife died, and he married a second time. Now, some of his disciples may have had inappropriate thoughts. Not everyone would have, some people are wise, but some would have said, "What kind of a guru is he? He married twice."

If you think about Guruji getting married twice, or the kind of clothes he is wearing, and the food he is eating, that he is smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, these thoughts are occurring in your mind due to your personal reasons. If the reasons were impersonal, wouldn't fingers have been pointed at Sri Krishna too? The inappropriate thoughts in people's minds, which they may speak out or write about in books, are creations of their own minds. They are in the head of the disciple and do not affect the actuality of the guru and should not affect the relationship between the guru and disciple either.

A human being has sense organs in the body. Beyond the sense organs lies the mind, beyond the mind lies the intelligence, and beyond intelligence lies the soul. The mind generates sattwic, rajasic and tamasic thoughts. Let the thoughts come, there is no problem, and there is no solution to this either. If you think inappropriately about the guru, there is no harm. It is the mind that thinks inappropriately, not the soul. The soul never thinks inappropriately.

If inappropriate thoughts come, let them come; the clouds are rumbling now and will disappear in time. Speaking in practical terms, to get the better of your inappropriate thoughts, do three things. Send a yearly dakshina to the guru, whatever you can, with love and devotion. Second, on Guru Poornima, go to him and worship him, and if that is not possible, worship at home only. Third, do japa of the guru mantra regularly. If you have a quarrel with your guru or husband, don't stop eating, bathing and sleeping, and don't leave the husband or guru. Quarrels are normal, but they should not influence your entire life.

When I was eighteen or nineteen years old, I used to go to Nainital on holidays. A Devi temple exists near the lake there, next to which is a peculiar rock. Once I found a yogini there. She was fat, dark and would smoke all day long. I could not understand why she left home if all she wanted to do was to smoke. I was a child, and this was my way of thinking. One day I was sitting .there, and a few of her followers came. She started talking and I was stunned. Then I started going to her every day. From morning till evening I would remain there, and every day what I heard would surprise me. I developed such faith in her that I asked her to make me her disciple. She asked me to look for a different guru and eventually went away, but I remember her to this date. So I feel one should not judge a guru by the external environment.

To measure the guru by your own meter is not right either. Every person has a meter, which is his way of thinking. He uses his own yardstick to measure whether the guru is tall, short, fat, good, right, wrong, lawful, etc. This should not happen, because often the gurus who have spiritual wealth keep it hidden. The gurus receive vibhooti, divine blessings, or the experience of a part of God. At some time or the other, they would have felt a part of God, maybe in meditation, while bathing, sleeping or walking. It is an experience that comes suddenly, like a flash. Such great souls who have received that light are gurus.

Once you have surrendered
To the guru completely,
You become as free as a bird,
Able to fly anywhere
Or do anything.
So do not be afraid of surrender.
Commit yourself,
And discover infinity.

-Swami Satyananda-

Mantra Yoga

2011-07-05T08:39:00.002+05:30

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Today I want to explain to you a little about the science of mantra yoga. The mantra shastra is a very deep and great science which, if understood correctly, can give you victory over your lower nature. Mantra shastra is very ancient, and in previous ages people knew this science well. Recently, however, the people's faith in mantra shastra has lessened and gradually this knowledge has become hidden to such an extent that nowadays anything is said in the name of mantra.

Mankind's most ancient scriptures are the tantra shastras and after the tantras, the Vedas took birth. From the tantras, the mantra shastra has come. The mantra shastra was not written like any ordinary type of book. There were ancient rishis, munis and sages, who had the actual realization of mantra. In meditation, when the rishis were able to transcend the material consciousness, rising to a very high level, those sounds heard by them in that highest state were called mantra. This does not mean that if you make up some syllables in your mind and repeat them, it is mantra. Those whose souls are purified and through meditation established their consciousness at a very high level beyond the mind, the sounds perceived by them, in that state, are called mantra.

The rishis had the experience of mantra at three different levels or planes of consciousness. When the consciousness passes from the gross body into the subtle body, the sound perceived at that time makes one collection. The mantras heard in the subtle body form another group, and when the consciousness enters from the subtle or second body into the third body, certain mantras realized at that time form a third group.

First, I want you to understand what is meant here by first body, second body and third body. When I say body, I do not mean only the body form, rather I mean body consciousness, that body through which your consciousness if functioning. When the body consciousness is realized through the medium of five gross senses, that is called the gross body consciousness, the first body where your mind, intellect and memory are working.

What is the second body? When you practise meditation, your awareness travels deep inside, and in that inner meditation you begin to see beautiful visions and dreams. That which is called the second body is, therefore, not something tangible. It is the subtle or astral body, the sukshma sharira, the psychic consciousness, or the subconscious body. That is the second plane of consciousness.

What is known as the third body? When meditation becomes deeper and deeper, the state of void or shoonya comes. There is no awareness of external, or internal. It is the experience of the dark night of the soul, like midnight, formless, sightless, where there is no awareness of 'I'. That is called the third body, the causal body, the karana sharira, or the unconscious body. In the Vedas it has been called hiranyagarbha, the golden womb.

There is also a fourth level of consciousness which is transcendental. In the third and fourth levels of consciousness, the awareness of the external world is absent. There is no awareness of my oId name, my oId form, but there is the experience of the eternal self, akhanda swaroop. This is the fourth level of consciousness called samadhi or turiya.

All these different levels of consciousness have been indicated in the Gayatri mantra: Om Bhur, Om Bhuvaha, Om Swaha, Om Maha, Om Janaha, Om Tapaha, Om Satyam, Om Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayat. Om Bhur that is the first body, bhur loka or the material plane; Om Bhuvaha, the second body, the intermediate or astral plane; Om Swaha, the third body, the heavenly or divine plane. After this the following mantras come in the fourth body - maha loka, jano loka, tapo loka and satya loka. I do not mean material worlds, but rather the planes of consciousness.

As the rishis sat in meditation, at higher levels, they received these sounds, mantra. For this reason, mantras are not a creation of the human mind, not made by any man; rather they were received from higher sources. Just as in the religion of Islam, it is said that the Koran was revealed by God. This means that whoever received the Koran had attained a very high yogic state.

In the same way the Christians speak of the Bible as a revealed scripture. Our own Sanatana dharma, the eternal system of the vedic civilization, is understood as having been revealed to mankind. The Vedas were not written by man. This does not mean that the pen which wrote them was held in God's hand, it only means that they were revealed to the rishis in the transcendental state.

Of all the types of mantra, the first and the highest is Om. Om is the seed or bija mantra of all mantras. The rishis realized this cosmic Om in the very highest planes of consciousness, in the state of self-realization. All the mantras in existence have come from Om. It is composed of three sounds, A, U and M. This Om is found in all societies and in all religions, in one form of another, whether Christian or Muslim. Om is the foremost of mantras.

First comes Om and after it the mantras of Gayatri. The twenty-four syllables of Gayatri plus Om should be known as the original Gayatri mantra. The vedic rishis who received this mantra were also established at a very high level of consciousness.

Following this are the mantras pertaining to the third body, the unconscious body, which are also known as bija mantras. We call them potential mantras, because they contain dormant, potential energy of different forces. Each of the powers or forces in the world has its own bija mantra, such as Aim for Saraswati, Shreem for Laxmi, Kleem, Kreem, Hreem and so on. All the short, seemingly meaningless mantras which you might have heard, are called bija mantras.

Those bija mantras are just like little bombs, the type of time bomb which explodes just at the right moment. Just as you plant a seed in the earth and from that a giant tree grows up, giving thousands of fruits, such is the power of the bija mantra. With the practice of anushthana, prolonged mantra repetition for a fixed period of time and number of malas, and regular sadhana, the power of the mantra is awakened. When that power is awakened, the consciousness takes the form of the mantra and then the real work of the mantra begins.

Please, remember one thing. Shakti, energy, is not only of one type. It has innumerable forms. Although the primal shakti, the root shakti, is one, its manifestations are endless. That is why we worship Devi in so many different forms. The same principle is also found in science. When electricity is flowing from one central circuit, the amplifier, tape recorder and all the appliances are working. The same energy which gives heat from the heater, gives coolness from the fan. These are the varied manifestations of one energy. The truth is that shakti is not just of one kind. Intellect is one shakti, memory is another shakti. Speech, prana, knowledge, are all shaktis, without which we cannot exist. So there are different bija mantras for the awakening of these different powers.

For example, take vidya shakti, the power of knowledge. It is in the form of Saraswati. I am not talking of the goddess Saraswati whose idol is worshipped in the temple, but I mean that energy, that shakti which is within us in the form of vidya or Saraswati. What is the way to awaken this energy? Of all the methods given, the best is to take the bija mantra of that shakti and to awaken its sleeping potential.

There are many other types of shaktis pertaining to the body, to disease, even to snake poison, and so on. In many diseases, if japa anushthana of Mrityunjaya mantra is perfomed, the power of the mantra is awakened internally, giving the desired result. By the practice of mantra japa, the aspirant's conscious will is awakened and through the willpower everything is accomplished.
All the bija mantras must be practised strictly according to certain rules and regulations. They should not be practised just by reading them out of a book. Anushthana should only be undertaken after understanding the purpose and necessity of the bija mantras well. On this subject, it is explained in the tantra shastras that firstly a yantra or mystic diagram, should be made and within that yantra the bija mantra should be written. For example, the mantra Sri, the mantra of Laxmi, you will often find carved on crystal or on copper. This is called Sri chakra.

Next comes the group of mantras pertaining to the second body, like Om Namah Shivaya, Sri Ram, Hari Krishna. Anyone with faith may practise japa of these mantras.

Different mantras have different benefits. All those who practise japa of Gayatri mantra will find it very beneficial for the health and intellect. For skin diseases or iron deficiency, anushthana of the Surya or Sun mantras is beneficial if practised properly. Through mantra one can remove disease, sorrow and restlessness. Mantra is so powerful that within a moment one can change bad habits also. It is important for people to study and understand this science in the correct way.

In my childhood I had an experience which I will tell you about. It was in Allahabad, when I was very young, only seven or eight years old. I happened to see two Muslims playing with a snake. Just as I was passing, I saw one man make a circle on the ground with a stick. In that circle was a first class snake, a big cobra. The cobra belonged to the snake charmer and there was some kind of argument between him and the other man.

Being young I could not follow their words completely. It was all mantra-tantra business. The other man said, "Now I will see how your snake will get out!" And taking a stick he drew one or two more lines, then the snake just sat there. It came up just to the line then turned back again. I was just watching all this, not understanding anything, so I asked him what was happening. He told me, I have thrown mantras on all four sides of the snake, so now it cannot come out." I saw them fighting together. One wanted to throw grains of rice or dal on the other, but he didn't throw them for fear the other man would also throw some rice on him. Rice is one medium through which mantra is thrown. So they circled each other trying to throw the rice for about ten or fifteen minutes. At last a big crowd gathered bringing their tantric battle to an end. This incident stuck in my mind for many days.

Many years later I came to my guru's ashram in Rishikesh. I am speaking about the Rishikesh ashram of many years ago in 1942-43 on the banks of the Ganga River, surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, where at night your step might fall on a scorpion. An American family came to stay at the ashram. One day, the small girl was stung so severely by a scorpion that it seemed she would be dead within ten minutes.

Just next to the ashram was a police station and from there somebody brought a constable. He brought a small knife with him and with that knife he removed the poison within five minutes. In another five minutes the girl was completely normal. I asked, "What mantra have you used?" He said, "Kali Calcutta wali". The goddess Kali is the patron deity of Calcutta. I was amazed. I was raised by Arya Samajis, a sect which does not accept the concept of personal gods and goddesses. I was educated at a convent school with Christians and many close relatives at home were Muslims. When I heard the name of Kali Calcutta wali, my entire faith was shaken. I said, "Oh, I know Kali Calcutta wali. Kali is just a name and Calcutta is a place, so how could poison be removed just by repeating those words?"

Gradually my attention was caught. I asked many people and started to read books about tantra and to practise mantra anushthana myself. Since then, I have had so many experiences, so many wonderful benefits, that it is not even possible to relate them. What I want to explain is that those words, Kali Calcutta wali, may seem completely simple and ordinary to us, but for the man who has realized them, they are not ordinary at all. Those sounds which the rishis realized are not only simple words but syllables full of power. That is why we say shabda, sound, is Brahma, supreme consciousness. There is power in the mantra and to awaken this power, everyone should find a method within himself.

Everyone should have his own mantra and practise japa with complete regularity for fifteen minutes or half an hour daily. Concentration is not necessary for japa. Understand this properly. At the time of mantra japa, concentration of the mind is not important, but what is important is faith and belief. If your faith is weak and your concentration is strong, you will not attain the power of the mantra. If your concentration is weak, your mind running here and there, but your faith and devotion unshakeable, the mantra will awaken soon within you. For this reason, a lot of emphasis is placed on faith and devotion in mantra shastra.

There are two forces, two powers in the mantra. One is the power of consciousness, Shiva or what is called purusha. The other is the force of nature, matter or prakriti. Through sadhana, these two forces are awakened and after awakening they will continue to help you for the whole of your life.