Swamiji visited Hamburg in 1968. He said, “Yoga was the union between individual consciousness and divine consciousness. Yoga was not a religion, but a science, which when practiced brings tranquility within. Yoga is an act through which we go inwards, that is all; it is a process of communion with one’s inner self to unite the two different personalities.” Continue reading
When I started the practice of Yoga, I went with the intention of curing my arthritic pain. It was my objective as I had twin sons, who were fearless, snake chasing, 3 years old, and a loving cats. My husband was away at work and I was going crazy. A friend suggested that I go to the Bihar School of Yoga Ashram and get help for my left hand, as I am left handed and found it difficult to brush my hair, plus perform all the other mundane tasks which make up a young mum’s life. Continue reading
I am always overawed when I read what Swamiji has said. There is new inspiration every time and I learn something amulya (priceless). It is contemporary even after five decades. Continue reading
When you are far away from your home and you are on your own, you may feel alone and homesick. I remember when I came to Yoga Vidya for the first time, I was enchanted as it was like being in a wonderfully quiet and beautiful place. I had come alone and I was going to teach a new subject, Prana Healing. I was nervous though I had been teaching for many years and had worked in challenging situations. Continue reading
I have taught for so many years that I cannot remember the number of years I have been teaching. My siblings and I would laugh at our parents when they would say that they met so and so in 1939. Then when discussing ages of various close relatives, they would lapse back to, ‘I was born in 1921 and he was born in 1930’. We were five brothers and sisters, and we would roll on the ground because it sounded so funny. Continue reading
Going on vacation, is the hardest thing. Once you reach it is perfect, but until you leave your home and are on the flight, you are worked up. I am always stressed when I have to go out of Delhi. I hate packing and it makes me very uneasy, that I will forget many things. Continue reading
Swamiji has given a wonderful explanation of worship of God as either formless or with a form. Nirakaar is formless and nobody can dispute the statement as no one has seen God. So an individual can say anything about God. He gives an example of three disciples quarrelling over the exact colour of a chameleon. They had all seen the chameleon changing his colours, so they could not agree. Continue reading
Mantra is the psychic sound. In the science of mantra yoga, each person has a different psychic personality. The mantra is a specific sound of the spiritual system. In ancient times when the rishis were meditating, they overcame their sensory awareness, mind awareness and time stood still for them. And finally they came to ether awareness where they were able to hear all the different sounds of the vibrations in the cosmos. These sounds were called mantras. Continue reading
Swami Niranjanananda describes our heart as being two sided. I like to call it two-faced. And of course, he knows best. The left compartment is the physical heart and the right compartment is the spiritual heart. The left chamber’s functioning is responsible for the circulation and the right chamber is responsible for the circulation of our feelings and emotions (bhava). It is our bhava which connects us to the universe. Continue reading
Swami Satyananda has a very different view of snorers. We all know people who snore and we can laugh at them, or get mad at them, but they continue to snore unrelentlessly. Once I was travelling in the night train and two compartments away there was a man snoring. He was so loud, we could hear him over the chugging and whistling of the train. My teenage son was with me. We started imitating him, but it had no effect. My son, shouted and said bro please stop. It had no effect. We passed the night sleepless and our neighbor woke up bright eyed. Continue reading