Befriend your Soul

There is no light like that of knowledge of the self or Brahman.
There is no treasure like that of contentment.
There is no virtue like that of truthfulness.
Thus is no bliss like that of soul.
There is no friend like Atma.
Therefore, know your own self. Develop contentment. Speak the truth. Drink the bliss of the soul. Be friends with the Atman. – Swami Sivananda

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How can I remain unattached and happy?

Bhogi, Yogi, Sannyasi, Jnani.

  1. Caught in the net of maya. Being deluded by desires and constant ambition. This is the description of a Bhogi, a person, who enjoys this state. They are entrapped in hedonism.
  2. Some make effort to come out of this net. They recognize the state one is in and seriously attempts to become a Yogi.
  3. Then there is the Sannyasi. An individual, who lives a life of simplicity and is dedicated to the pursuit of the ultimate truth.
  4. The last category is one, who lives in this world untouched by it. Such an individual is called a Jnani and he is a Nitya Mukta.

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Sentient Awareness and Concentration

Concentration the word is used by everyone. What does it mean? We tell ourselves and others to be centered, focused, attentive, absorbed, engrossed and determined. All these words mean that we should concentrate on one subject or object only. We know that this is extremely difficult and any number of images and ideas come into our minds. Children, are described as being distracted, or in extreme circumstances suffering from attention deficit disorder. Continue reading

Knowledge is Spiritual Wisdom

To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know, that is true knowledge. – Nicolaus Copernicus

The Bhagwad Gita emphasizes the importance of self-realization and the pursuit of knowledge as a means to attain spiritual enlightenment. It teaches that true wisdom lies in understanding the impermanence of the material world and recognizing the eternal nature of the soul. By seeking knowledge and introspecting on the nature of reality, we can transcend the cycle of birth and death and become spiritually liberated. Continue reading

422 – Chant Aum constantly

“Make Aum your name. Aum is Atman, the soul, Aum is the Brahman (ultimate reality). Aum is absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss. Aum is your centre, your silence, your refuge and shelter Aum is your heart (hridaya). Do Aum japa, feel Aum, live in Aum. Aum is everywhere, in everything, hum Aum, live in truth, feel Aum everywhere in the ether, flowers, trees, stones, inanimate and animate objects. Rejoice in the light of truth, knowledge and bliss. There is a vast ocean of bliss and knowledge at the back of the mind. Drive the mind into that source.” Swami Sivananda Saraswati.

Aum reminds us of our identity with the supreme soul. Aum blows out our false ego. Continue reading

213 – Namaste Navratri and Summer Solestice

We all have to join together and rid the universe of evil and destruction. In the Shastras it is written that the easiest way to experience God in these troubled and turbulent times is by worship. We need not go into a complicated philosophical discussion. All we have to do is to bow our heads before the deity, who is greater than any other power of the world. Aradhana (prayer) starts from this act and progresses gradually towards bliss and love. Begin with the deity, one loves and adores (it can be the elements, chakras, and yantras), and one rises progressively above the form and merges into the supreme atman. Continue reading

Karma Yoga and Devotion – Vedanta, Self Growth and Self Discovery with Swami Nityabodhananda

Talk 2 of Swami Nityabodhananda at Yoga Vidya Center in Cologne, Sept 2019.
Subject: Karma Yoga and results of actions. Prasadam. Attitude of Devotion to Ishvara. Roles in life. Vers 2:51 Bhagavad Gita. Clarity of purpose. Atma and body. Substance and form.

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