Abandon all luxuries, go back to transparent and natural living. In order to enjoy real and lasting happiness lead an uncomplicated life. Immortality can only be attained by realizing the Self through plain living, practice of Yoga, self-control, mental discipline and meditation. Sadhana is the way. One has to reach a realm where there is neither light nor darkness, neither easy nor west, neither gain nor loss, a realm which can never be reached either by the mind or the senses. Sincerity in one’s spiritual sadhana, can enable one to evolve quickly. – Swami Sivananda.
Tag Archives: thoughts
668 – The Squabbling Squashes
Where is the silence that I am seeking?
Is it in my mind? Is it in my heart? Do I have to go into the forest? Shall I look for a cave in the mountains? So many questions… Continue reading
611 – Brighten up our lives
Color and thoughts go hand in hand. Our thoughts are with us constantly and we just ignore the colours surrounding us. All colours have a spiritual aura and we can absorb the colours. Continue reading
556 – Negative 4 traits to positive 4 qualities
What are the negative four traits? They are the characteristics which we all have. They are ignorance, greed, anger and delusion. The positive four qualities are based on stability, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, and the conversion happens through some simple yogic practices. Continue reading
536 – Thoughts and Words
I have been writing about our thoughts very consistently. Our thoughts are our masters until we are able to break free from them. They keep us leashed and our senses are their slaves. We are guided by them and they play havoc with our mind and body. We have descriptions of personalities who are either Type A or B. Continue reading
474 – Interruptions
What happens when we are engaged in a task and we are interrupted? Do we get upset, angry, enraged? We are victim to all these feelings and some of us get so disturbed that our thought process is involved with the disturbance and our day is shot to pieces. Our system succumbs to the fight-flight-fright response and the quality of our task is affected. Continue reading
464 – The flame of the lamp
Is it steady or is it wavering? When one meditates with a lighted lamp, it plays a lot of games with one. Sometimes the light whooshes and wavers from side to side, or it consumes the wick. Often one keeps lighting it and it does not light. Continue reading
424 – Attainment of serenity and equilibrium
“When serenity and equilibrium prevail,
Not only ideas but dreams come true
And sleep is converted into samadhi.
Generally, the mind is dull and dissipated,
Sometimes it goes in for higher things
But then returns to its lower field.” – Swami Satyananda Saraswati.1960.
How do we become serene? Continue reading
366 – Clear our minds of debris
It is very difficult as our mind is cluttered with junk. There is an accumulation of thoughts, like the barnacles on a ship. And are you aware how difficult it is to remove them? Continue reading
317 – Antar Darshan
Antar Darshan means inner reverence. It is a practice of Pratyahara, which comes from the word pratyaya. Pratyaya are the basic tendencies of our inherent nature. They form our personality. The word ahara means food or nutrition. Pratyahara means withdrawal of our senses. Continue reading
300 – Am I kidding myself?
Do I tell myself everyday these things? I have to take care of my family. I have to go to work. I have to keep my boss pleased. I do not have time for my practice. I am overwhelmed by my life. I am even dreaming about the stress I have. Why do I let these thoughts crowd in my mind, they are kidding me. Continue reading
298 – Look after yourself holistically
We look after ourselves. We take it very seriously. From childhood we are taught to be clean. We are given instructions. Brush your teeth, wash your face, feet, hands, and clip your nails. When you bathed you were reminded by your parents to wash behind the ears, soap your neck, scrub your knees and the soles of your feet. It is embedded in our memory and we repeat it to our kids. The list is endless. Continue reading
222 – Become free of your samskaras and join the witness protection program
When I wrote the title, I immediate thought of the witness protection programs, we see on television. If you think about it, our samskaras haunt us, and samskaras are based on our past experiences. We want to be free and it is like running away from a crime. How do we become rid of them? Continue reading
192 – Do we have a real friend
Who is a friend? A friend is a person who is there for us. A friend never lets us down. Our friend always tells us the truth and looks out for us.
There are so many proverbs about friends. A friend in need is a friend indeed. A friend’s eye is a good mirror. False friends are worse than open enemies. Friends are thieves of time. Friendship is love with understanding. Continue reading
181 – How to develop Psychic Awareness?
Our individual consciousness is known as awareness. It is immortal and it is mixed with sense, body and mind awareness. This awareness is the form of ‘I am’. With this comes awareness of my body, my senses, my mind, and my identity. We learn how to purify our awareness in the sadhana of Yoga. Continue reading