He is before us and when we utter an exclamation, we say his name, ‘Hai Rama. Hai Rama’ means ‘Oh Rama,’ ‘Oh God. ‘or ‘Goodness Gracious.’ It is typically used to express surprise, shock, distress or exasperation. While Rama refers to the deity, ‘Hai Rama‘ acts as a sigh or exclamation of divine appeal in everyday conversation, similar to saying, ‘Oh, my God.’ Continue reading
The only basis of true and lasting unity of all humanity is the religion of the heart. Religion of the heart is the religion of love.
Men can be united only if they are free from jealousy, hatred and petty mindedness.
Purify your heart first. Meet hatred with love, and malice with good will. – Swami Sivananda
Dear ones, I have come across Sivananda Upanishad, and each page is a treasure. I cannot add anything to what the Master wrote in his letters. Continue reading
Even a little meditation daily will raise you a little higher and a little nearer to God.
You create your future, you create your destiny and you build your character through your thoughts and deeds.
If you think nobly, you will be born with a noble character. If you think badly and basely you will be born with a bad and basic character. This is the absolute law of nature.
Therefore, have noble thoughts and perform noble deeds. – Swami Sivananda
Dear ones, we have to be rid of the entanglement of our thoughts. Only then can we proceed on the path of devotion. Continue reading
Persevere plod on in your sadhana.
Introspect and find out your defects. Remove them one by one by developing the opposite virtue.
Find out the correct value of life here. It is not full and perfect. There is always a sense of want.
Meditate. Meditate. Meditate.
This is the secret for attaining God realization. – Swami Sivananda
Dear ones, practice self-introspection, self-reflection and become self-aware and detached.
These qualities do not develop in a day but persistent practice of Sadhana will lead us.
Swami Sivananda said that just saying the name of the Divinity we will be granted self-realization.
Aim Hrim Klim
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
Swami Sivananda said that one should treat time with the same jealous parsimony as a vigilant person, who would treat his gold watch set with diamonds. One’s response would be,
Alas, I have lost one golden hour set with sixty diamonds.
Life is short and time is fleeting. Arise, awake, realize the Self.
Swamiji would say,
Don’t say that. Tomorrow is for fools; it will never come. Days, months, years, even life itself will pass away. Exert yourself from this very second. Continue reading
Swami Sivananda sings this song. It is titled Song of Admonition. Please listen to it very carefully. I cannot add anything more to it as it is perfect. It is a very old recording and it remains contemporary. Continue reading
I will explain the meaning of Response-able at the end, dear ones.
Swami Sivananda advocated for spiritual victory over the self as solution to outer conflicts. He viewed war as the “highest barbarism”, a crowning stupidity of humanity and a disgrace to civilization. He said that the root cause of wars are caused by materialism, forgetfulness of our divine nature and the egotistic actions of leaders. He stated that true peace is not just the absence of war, but a state of inner harmony, insisting that world peace can only be achieved by eradicating individual selfishness, greed and hatred. Continue reading
Where has all the love gone? Why are our hearts so full of hatred? We are burning with anger. Continue reading
What are ITIES? ITIES are words which end in ity. Each one of these words can change our life and lead to becoming a Jiwan Mukta. They are interconnected and they are all virtues.
Swami Sivananda summed the ITIES in a song. When one sings it, they end in rhyme. Continue reading
The eight flowers precious to Vishnu are: Continue reading
We are in these troubled times called Kali Yuga. The simplest way to attain God is through Bhakti, which could be Nama Japa or Sankeertan. San means coming together and kirtan is singing about the glory of God. Continue reading
A new study by UK scientists suggests that a natural plant compound called Theobromine, which is abundant in cocoa can potentially slow down cellular aging. Theobromine is the primary alkaloid found in the Theobroma (Greek for food of the Gods) cacao plant. Apart from polyphenols, that’s what makes cocoa taste bitter, Theobromine is also found in tea and coffee though in lesser amounts. Continue reading