When one touches the deities’ feet, one is not just offering reverence one is saying, “I leave my burdens here. I offer my ignorance. I ask to walk your path.”
Your learning’s idle, incomplete
If you have not placed it at that source’s feet. – Tiruvalluvar, The Tirukurral, translated by Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
Prashnopanishad by Pippalda.
The process of Prana purification is likened to oblations to the Everlasting One. Prana healing happens at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level.
Gargya the grandson of the sun god, Surya, asked Pippalda:
“What is the nature of sleep and dreams, why does one need sleep and why does one dream?” Continue reading
Pippalda answers this question in Prashnopanishad. This question was posed by Kausalya, the son of Asvala. His question focuses on the nature and function of Prana (life force, vital breath). Continue reading
I am sharing some quotes with you, dear ones. Some are ancient sayings and yet they are contemporary in their meaning. It is possible for us to overcome our pain and suffering. We can convert it into our strength and be on the path of self-realization. Continue reading
Swami Satyananda described sadness as a product of the mind, born from guilt, hurt and self-unacceptability, rather than an external event. He taught that emotions are a result of mental conditioning. Spiritual practices can help transcend suffering by shifting the mind’s attitude, gaining control over it and fostering inner acceptance. Continue reading
The Sanskrit word Vaishardaya means an unwavering confidence in the dignity and infinite potential of one’s own life. One is held back because one lacks faith in oneself. In Buddhist philosophy, courage is synonymous with Vaisharadayas. Nichiren Buddhism teaches that courage is the starting point of all change in an individual. Continue reading
There is so much written about the moon. We all love the moon. It is magical and light up our senses. It can make us breathless. The moon effects one in different ways.
Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody. – Mark Twain
Repeating the name of the Lord is an invocation of the divinity. Chanting Om Namaha Shivaya or Sri Rama is only a reminder. Divinity is total and comprehensive. It has no form and is universal. God’s name reminds one of purity, divinity and greatness.
Dear ones, ask yourself the questions listed below and then read the answer given by Swami Sivananda. Continue reading
How are we affected by the law of opposites. Prince Ram in the Yog Vasistha said to Sage Vashisht that he did not long to live and he did not long to die. He remained neutral about life as well as about death. Duality exists around us and there is uncharted space which Krishna describes as being free from opposites.
The karma yogis, who neither desire nor hate anything, should be considered always renounced. Free from all dualities, they are easily liberated from the bonds of material energy. – Gita 5.3
Words like tolerance, compassion and benevolence are used in our daily language. Do we really understand the meaning of these words? How can we inculcate their usage and application in our ongoing life? Continue reading
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, my Guru and founder of the Bihar School of Yoga, spent twelve years in Swami Sivananda’s ashram. In that period, he found that many persons wrote to Swami Sivananda, asking for help and treatment for their health problems. He would suggest that they practice Yoga. Continue reading
Those who collect strings of attachment
With mother, father, relations, sons, wife,
Body, wealth, house, friends and family,
Make a rope out of them and tie it to my feet,
Those who are impartial, having no desires,
In whose heart there is no place
For happiness and sorrows, courage and fear.
Such bhaktas reside in my heart,
In the same manner as riches
Reside in the heart of a greedy man. – Ramacharitamanas
Mysticism is the belief that one can experience a direct connection with God, or a unifying principle in life. It can also refer to any altered state of consciousness or ecstasy that has a spiritual or religious meaning. In Hinduism one seeks the union with a higher being and this can be described as a mystical dimension. Continue reading
Swami Satyananda Saraswati said that one must accept oneself as one was. ‘An important step in yoga is to accept your nature as much as you’re able.’ He spoke a lot on self-acceptance and the reason is that acceptance of self is crucial to yoga and tantra. Tantra is called the way to acceptance. Continue reading
Whatever is happening is also for good.
Whatever will happen, shall also be good.
What have you lost that you cry for?
What did you bring that you have lost?
What did you create that was destroyed?
What you have taken, has been from here.
What you gave has been given here.
What belongs to you today,
Belonged to someone yesterday.
And will be someone else’s tomorrow. – Bhagavad Gita