Protesting Youtube Sivananda Videos
03/06/2009 06:17 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPHt-PIIgsk&feature=channel
This channel contains some high production value, but otherwise horrible videos of someone teaching a Sivananda class in some detail. There are MANY errors and just listening to the chants makes me a little ill that this has such a wide audience. Here is my reply and request from the people at “Expert Village”:
Hello. I write this in the spirit of being constructive and at some risk of being perceived as negative. The teachings of the Sivananda organization are not being served up for the general public in these videos, even as they are presented as doing so.
Further, many of these things are on a level of quite hard to understand the 'why' behind them. I was hard pressed to determine for a time if this was a parody or not.
I only needed to watch the first opening chant to know that this person is NOT a teacher who heard or knows any of the chants properly, first of all, and after viewing the content in the remaining videos I shudder to consider how this clearly newly graduated teacher might be adversely affecting the long and traditional integrity of the 50 years of Swami Vishnu-devananda's organization by their teaching given the numerous other errors in the techniques both in the demonstration and the instruction. Swami Vishnu-devananda invented yoga teacher training courses and yoga vacations, one would think he could get a better representative teaching on Youtube than what is taught in these videos.
Now, when I say Swami Vishnu-devananda I mean 'Swami', not Schwami. This is beyond my understanding, truly. Swing is to Schwing? A swami is a renunciate monastic person, but I cannot say what a schwami is. Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnu-devananda are not schwamis!
Swami Vishnu-devananda knew the Beatles and flew over Belfast with Peter Sellers and flew over the Berlin Wall when they killed people for that. He was a peace missionary and amazing world teacher starting ashrams throughout the world and carrying a mission of teacher training to propagate peace and love in a strongly traditional Classical Yoga tradition. It's like calling The Pope a name like "Pops" or something silly like that! Unbelieveable!
I am a teacher in the Sivananda lineage, having lived at a ashram (Hindu monastery) in the Sivananda gurukalam in California for 3 years full time. During this time I was a teacher of yoga teachers during the Sivananda Teacher Training Course and the head hatha yoga teacher for the entire ashram, training staff and new teachers.
So, I would have been a teacher hopefully helping this featured teacher to become the full expression of a yoga teacher as taught by this lineage that I am quite proud to be a part of, and I am currently authoring a book on yoga.
Kindly refer to my website at www.silentmotion.org to back up my expert perspective on this, and kindly request that you please remove these videos from circulation.
Just the Maha Mritunjaya mantra video itself is almost a mockery of the sacred chant- so much so that it's very much like a long misheard lyric to a rock song (Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy comes to mind), only this song is the sacred Maha Mritunjaya Mantra. Also, there are no endings without beginnings, so I must protest the lack of a proper insertion of the Gajananam prayer at the beginning, which I do not see present anywhere in your video list.
My fiance', whom I encouraged into getting her Sivananda credential in India this last year, sent this to me as though it was a sort of laughing matter, but I found myself fairly horrified about what was being taught.
I say this with respect toward the people who produced these videos, as they are clearly devoted, yet just choosing to feature an inexperienced teacher, however earnest.
In no way could this final chant video (and the content of the other videos, apart from the production quality) be considered meeting the following statement: "Expert Village is dedicated to bringing you the best informational videos on the Web, with each video being well researched and created by trusted sources."
Frankly, I would want to be sure this teacher had some further training before appearing in front of a camera, especially around technical things to say or not say, and how to say them with regard to chants, which are, to be fair, massacred.
I am personally willing to assist this teacher in furthering her knowledge so that the videos can be improved and people can get a genuine sense of what a Sivananda class is about, if she would deem this helpful.
I would like to point out the numerous incorrect technical errors made during these videos, putting aside for the moment the pronunciation, some of which will injure people:
All of Surya Namaskar instructions: The feet are meant to be together in each part of the pose where they are in the same forward/back places. This means: Steps 1-3, Steps 5-8, Steps 10-12.
Uttanasana Forward Fold: Emphasis is placed on having the hands forward (I understand why, but it is not correct to teach exactly this way without explaining why)- putting the palms forward is more subtle instruction and therefore more advanced to teach. By not emphasizing having the hands in line with the toes, the student's hands aren't set up in the fixed hand position for the remaining portions of the Sun Salutation.
Full Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation: Both the demonstrator's elbow poke way out during the first step of the Sun Salutation, which is incorrect and shows a neuromuscular pattern her initial instruction to supinate the hands was intended to alleviate. So which is it?
Both of the heads of the demonstrators drop way back during Step 2 of the Sun Salutation, and this is not correct either. Demonstrators MUST show poses done really properly, especially on videos.
The demonstrator on the right during plank has the feet apart.
"Caterpillar up into cobra".....?
In Step 3, "the hands come beside the feet" is not descriptive enough or tell enough information about what the person should ACTUALLY do, which is to line up the fingers and toes with one another- nor does the teacher properly let them know (she also doesn't do this in the Forward Fold video as she properly should have) to bend the knees to leave the palms flat on the ground where they lack flexibility, as does the demonstrator on the left of my screen.
Position 1 Headstand Variation with One Leg: The person doing the headstand leaves out about 3 steps of the progression of how you come into the headstand, which should be quite a bit slower and with more control, just to start; her head is positioned in a way that will result in neck pain over time, as it's too much having weight toward the forehead, cricking the neck- so I wouldn't recommend this be modeled in an incorrect fashion as this will result in hurting people, especially if they follow the model of the demonstrator shown here. This is extremely important!
The person demonstrating really lacks any control in the headstand, yet they are complimented for coming into and out of the pose improperly by the teacher!
Position 2: Sarvangasana/Shoulderstand: "the lower she walks the hands towards the shoulders the more support she will have." This is not only incorrect, it's irrelevant. It's the movement of the elbows that matters here, not the hands as much.
Position 4: Matsyasana/Fish: you don't look at your toes first, and no description is given for what the demonstrator does about lifting the chest up using the arms. It should be said "inhale pushing the chest up with the arms and dropping the head back to barely touch the ground". The feet and legs are relaxed here, not reaching through as was described, as they have nothing to do. If they are tense then the low back is tense and it should be totally relaxed. Savasana should ALWAYS be mentioned coupled with "relaxation pose", as many people don't get the sanskrit names.
Position 6: Cobra/Bhujangasana- it's the forehead that is down in this pose, not the chin. The chin is only down in the locust pose- salabasana. It's the first of three in the backward bend series, not the back series.
Position 12: Trikonasana: There are several problems here:
a) never use your feet to adjust in any pose except Scorpion pose, and then reluctantly.
b) Moving the hips back while in the full pose with the hands to the feet or knee is dangerous. Always have people come out of the pose, straighten the hips properly and come back into it. The way this pose is entered into is incorrect. It has 5 steps:
1) Set the feet
2) Set the hips
3) Set the hands
4) Move the hand down the leg until the stretch increases on the side of the body to comfort.
5) Relax by putting some weight on the outside hand- the one on the knee or foot- gradually.
c) The way this pose is described brings people to make the same mistake again and again- they think this pose is about reaching the feet and they compromise their hips to achieve that. This pose is about the hips and quadratus lumborum relaxing. The demonstrator should show the basic pose and only then the advanced pose she's capable of, where many people are not.
d) No mention of the second part of that pose, nor of why the left side is done first (ascending and descending colon- ascending is on the left).
Savasana (Corpse) Pose/Final Relaxation: we don't lay in Savasana to "release lactic acid". We do relaxations between every pose for that. We do Savasana at the end for a meditative experience. We also be sure to mention ONLY positive aspects in final relaxation, as opposed to any suggestion of possible negative aspects like "competitive thoughts of the day".
I could go on and on with this technical deconstruction, but it's late and at this point I hope you see that there are just SO many flaws in these videos, both factually and just what is properly known through my long experience. They've been up many months too long.
Kindly let me know if there is something I might contribute along the lines of having a really quality instruction in Sivananda Yoga put up on Youtube.
My apologies if I have offended anyone, yet I simply could not remain silent on seeing this great teaching be so ham-handed.
Thanks,
Regis Chapman
DurgaDas
This channel contains some high production value, but otherwise horrible videos of someone teaching a Sivananda class in some detail. There are MANY errors and just listening to the chants makes me a little ill that this has such a wide audience. Here is my reply and request from the people at “Expert Village”:
Hello. I write this in the spirit of being constructive and at some risk of being perceived as negative. The teachings of the Sivananda organization are not being served up for the general public in these videos, even as they are presented as doing so.
Further, many of these things are on a level of quite hard to understand the 'why' behind them. I was hard pressed to determine for a time if this was a parody or not.
I only needed to watch the first opening chant to know that this person is NOT a teacher who heard or knows any of the chants properly, first of all, and after viewing the content in the remaining videos I shudder to consider how this clearly newly graduated teacher might be adversely affecting the long and traditional integrity of the 50 years of Swami Vishnu-devananda's organization by their teaching given the numerous other errors in the techniques both in the demonstration and the instruction. Swami Vishnu-devananda invented yoga teacher training courses and yoga vacations, one would think he could get a better representative teaching on Youtube than what is taught in these videos.
Now, when I say Swami Vishnu-devananda I mean 'Swami', not Schwami. This is beyond my understanding, truly. Swing is to Schwing? A swami is a renunciate monastic person, but I cannot say what a schwami is. Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnu-devananda are not schwamis!
Swami Vishnu-devananda knew the Beatles and flew over Belfast with Peter Sellers and flew over the Berlin Wall when they killed people for that. He was a peace missionary and amazing world teacher starting ashrams throughout the world and carrying a mission of teacher training to propagate peace and love in a strongly traditional Classical Yoga tradition. It's like calling The Pope a name like "Pops" or something silly like that! Unbelieveable!
I am a teacher in the Sivananda lineage, having lived at a ashram (Hindu monastery) in the Sivananda gurukalam in California for 3 years full time. During this time I was a teacher of yoga teachers during the Sivananda Teacher Training Course and the head hatha yoga teacher for the entire ashram, training staff and new teachers.
So, I would have been a teacher hopefully helping this featured teacher to become the full expression of a yoga teacher as taught by this lineage that I am quite proud to be a part of, and I am currently authoring a book on yoga.
Kindly refer to my website at www.silentmotion.org to back up my expert perspective on this, and kindly request that you please remove these videos from circulation.
Just the Maha Mritunjaya mantra video itself is almost a mockery of the sacred chant- so much so that it's very much like a long misheard lyric to a rock song (Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy comes to mind), only this song is the sacred Maha Mritunjaya Mantra. Also, there are no endings without beginnings, so I must protest the lack of a proper insertion of the Gajananam prayer at the beginning, which I do not see present anywhere in your video list.
My fiance', whom I encouraged into getting her Sivananda credential in India this last year, sent this to me as though it was a sort of laughing matter, but I found myself fairly horrified about what was being taught.
I say this with respect toward the people who produced these videos, as they are clearly devoted, yet just choosing to feature an inexperienced teacher, however earnest.
In no way could this final chant video (and the content of the other videos, apart from the production quality) be considered meeting the following statement: "Expert Village is dedicated to bringing you the best informational videos on the Web, with each video being well researched and created by trusted sources."
Frankly, I would want to be sure this teacher had some further training before appearing in front of a camera, especially around technical things to say or not say, and how to say them with regard to chants, which are, to be fair, massacred.
I am personally willing to assist this teacher in furthering her knowledge so that the videos can be improved and people can get a genuine sense of what a Sivananda class is about, if she would deem this helpful.
I would like to point out the numerous incorrect technical errors made during these videos, putting aside for the moment the pronunciation, some of which will injure people:
All of Surya Namaskar instructions: The feet are meant to be together in each part of the pose where they are in the same forward/back places. This means: Steps 1-3, Steps 5-8, Steps 10-12.
Uttanasana Forward Fold: Emphasis is placed on having the hands forward (I understand why, but it is not correct to teach exactly this way without explaining why)- putting the palms forward is more subtle instruction and therefore more advanced to teach. By not emphasizing having the hands in line with the toes, the student's hands aren't set up in the fixed hand position for the remaining portions of the Sun Salutation.
Full Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation: Both the demonstrator's elbow poke way out during the first step of the Sun Salutation, which is incorrect and shows a neuromuscular pattern her initial instruction to supinate the hands was intended to alleviate. So which is it?
Both of the heads of the demonstrators drop way back during Step 2 of the Sun Salutation, and this is not correct either. Demonstrators MUST show poses done really properly, especially on videos.
The demonstrator on the right during plank has the feet apart.
"Caterpillar up into cobra".....?
In Step 3, "the hands come beside the feet" is not descriptive enough or tell enough information about what the person should ACTUALLY do, which is to line up the fingers and toes with one another- nor does the teacher properly let them know (she also doesn't do this in the Forward Fold video as she properly should have) to bend the knees to leave the palms flat on the ground where they lack flexibility, as does the demonstrator on the left of my screen.
Position 1 Headstand Variation with One Leg: The person doing the headstand leaves out about 3 steps of the progression of how you come into the headstand, which should be quite a bit slower and with more control, just to start; her head is positioned in a way that will result in neck pain over time, as it's too much having weight toward the forehead, cricking the neck- so I wouldn't recommend this be modeled in an incorrect fashion as this will result in hurting people, especially if they follow the model of the demonstrator shown here. This is extremely important!
The person demonstrating really lacks any control in the headstand, yet they are complimented for coming into and out of the pose improperly by the teacher!
Position 2: Sarvangasana/Shoulderstand: "the lower she walks the hands towards the shoulders the more support she will have." This is not only incorrect, it's irrelevant. It's the movement of the elbows that matters here, not the hands as much.
Position 4: Matsyasana/Fish: you don't look at your toes first, and no description is given for what the demonstrator does about lifting the chest up using the arms. It should be said "inhale pushing the chest up with the arms and dropping the head back to barely touch the ground". The feet and legs are relaxed here, not reaching through as was described, as they have nothing to do. If they are tense then the low back is tense and it should be totally relaxed. Savasana should ALWAYS be mentioned coupled with "relaxation pose", as many people don't get the sanskrit names.
Position 6: Cobra/Bhujangasana- it's the forehead that is down in this pose, not the chin. The chin is only down in the locust pose- salabasana. It's the first of three in the backward bend series, not the back series.
Position 12: Trikonasana: There are several problems here:
a) never use your feet to adjust in any pose except Scorpion pose, and then reluctantly.
b) Moving the hips back while in the full pose with the hands to the feet or knee is dangerous. Always have people come out of the pose, straighten the hips properly and come back into it. The way this pose is entered into is incorrect. It has 5 steps:
1) Set the feet
2) Set the hips
3) Set the hands
4) Move the hand down the leg until the stretch increases on the side of the body to comfort.
5) Relax by putting some weight on the outside hand- the one on the knee or foot- gradually.
c) The way this pose is described brings people to make the same mistake again and again- they think this pose is about reaching the feet and they compromise their hips to achieve that. This pose is about the hips and quadratus lumborum relaxing. The demonstrator should show the basic pose and only then the advanced pose she's capable of, where many people are not.
d) No mention of the second part of that pose, nor of why the left side is done first (ascending and descending colon- ascending is on the left).
Savasana (Corpse) Pose/Final Relaxation: we don't lay in Savasana to "release lactic acid". We do relaxations between every pose for that. We do Savasana at the end for a meditative experience. We also be sure to mention ONLY positive aspects in final relaxation, as opposed to any suggestion of possible negative aspects like "competitive thoughts of the day".
I could go on and on with this technical deconstruction, but it's late and at this point I hope you see that there are just SO many flaws in these videos, both factually and just what is properly known through my long experience. They've been up many months too long.
Kindly let me know if there is something I might contribute along the lines of having a really quality instruction in Sivananda Yoga put up on Youtube.
My apologies if I have offended anyone, yet I simply could not remain silent on seeing this great teaching be so ham-handed.
Thanks,
Regis Chapman
DurgaDas
Comments
Swami Sivananda Quotes
03/01/2009 04:21 PM
ESSENTIALS ARE SAME
The essentials or fundamentals of all religions are the same. Only
non-essentials differ. `The Noble Eightfold Path' corresponds to `The
Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus, and to the practice of sadacara
(right conduct) of the Hindus. Every religion shows the correct path
to God-realisation.
Every religion emphatically declares: "One can attain eternal bliss,
immortality (God-realisation) . To do this one must speak the truth,
observe purity or self-restraint, love others, and practise
concentration and meditation."
An intolerant man cannot attain God-realisation. As his intellect
becomes clouded on account of intolerance, he cannot grasp the truth.
All prophets are the messengers of God. They are great yogis who have
divine intuitive perception of God. Their words are infallible and
sacred.
Had it not been for these prophets and their writings, there would be
no hope for the salvation and betterment of man. Each prophet helped
mankind by the dissemination of knowledge and the founding of the
religion which would be most suited to the people amongst whom they
flourished. Glory to these prophets and their writings. May their
blessings be upon you all!
Beloved Friends! Behold the unity or oneness of all religions. He who
knows the truth, who has grasped the essence of all religions, will
never again enter into heated debates.
Realise your identity and intimate relationship with all beings -
with ants and dogs, with elephants and tigers, with Muslims and Jews,
with Hindus and Christians. There is only a degree of difference in
manifestation or expression. All forms belong to God or Saguna
Brahman.
May you all live happily, with one heart! May you all understand the
essential unity of all religions! May the blessings of all the
founders of all the religions be upon you! May you all attain God-
realisation in this very life!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
The essentials or fundamentals of all religions are the same. Only
non-essentials differ. `The Noble Eightfold Path' corresponds to `The
Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus, and to the practice of sadacara
(right conduct) of the Hindus. Every religion shows the correct path
to God-realisation.
Every religion emphatically declares: "One can attain eternal bliss,
immortality (God-realisation) . To do this one must speak the truth,
observe purity or self-restraint, love others, and practise
concentration and meditation."
An intolerant man cannot attain God-realisation. As his intellect
becomes clouded on account of intolerance, he cannot grasp the truth.
All prophets are the messengers of God. They are great yogis who have
divine intuitive perception of God. Their words are infallible and
sacred.
Had it not been for these prophets and their writings, there would be
no hope for the salvation and betterment of man. Each prophet helped
mankind by the dissemination of knowledge and the founding of the
religion which would be most suited to the people amongst whom they
flourished. Glory to these prophets and their writings. May their
blessings be upon you all!
Beloved Friends! Behold the unity or oneness of all religions. He who
knows the truth, who has grasped the essence of all religions, will
never again enter into heated debates.
Realise your identity and intimate relationship with all beings -
with ants and dogs, with elephants and tigers, with Muslims and Jews,
with Hindus and Christians. There is only a degree of difference in
manifestation or expression. All forms belong to God or Saguna
Brahman.
May you all live happily, with one heart! May you all understand the
essential unity of all religions! May the blessings of all the
founders of all the religions be upon you! May you all attain God-
realisation in this very life!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:58 AM
LIFE AND DEATH
Death is only a process by which life is continued. Death is not
annihilation of the self. Hence do not be afraid of death. Death is
for the better; it is a blessing. Therefore grieve not. Life is
impossible without death. Death is just another aspect of life. Until
the proper time comes, one's death does not take place, however
serious the disease or accident may seem. When the right time comes,
then one can die by the edge of a straw!
Life is a lightning flash of breath. Time is but a thunder-clap of
death. The doctrine of reincarnation is indeed a great solace to
humanity in so far as it shows a way out from eternal damnation in
hell.
When the lust for life ceases, no further rebirth will take place.
One power works through all hands, sees through all eyes and hears
through all ears. All humanity is one in substance. The same flesh
and the same blood form the body of an American, an Englishman, an
African and an Indian. The instincts and longings are common to all
creatures. This indicates the oneness of all forms of life.
Experiments have revealed life in stone, in wood and in minerals.
They have established the unity of consciousness or the unity of all
life. Prana (energy) is the driving power of the world. Force is
energy. Spiritual force is the saving power. It is the greatest of
all forces. It can control all physical and mental forces.
Physical science is objective and hence cannot lead to absolute
truth. There is a soul behind mind and nature and will. Soul is the
divine essence. The conception of the unity of God is the pivot
around which all other doctrines revolve. No religion, no nation, no
scheme or reform, nor plan for the future of the world, will endure
if it is not based on genuine faith in God. We all belong to one and
the same family, to one and the same house, that of the Supreme Lord -
the creator, the nourisher and the sustainer.
When you look at a tree or a shrub, a Sikh or a Muslim, endeavour to
behold, behind the veil of form, the real hidden consciousness. If
you do this for some time, you will feel inexpressible joy. All
hatred will cease. You will develop cosmic love, or unity of
consciousness. This will be a magnanimous experience.
-Sivananda
Death is only a process by which life is continued. Death is not
annihilation of the self. Hence do not be afraid of death. Death is
for the better; it is a blessing. Therefore grieve not. Life is
impossible without death. Death is just another aspect of life. Until
the proper time comes, one's death does not take place, however
serious the disease or accident may seem. When the right time comes,
then one can die by the edge of a straw!
Life is a lightning flash of breath. Time is but a thunder-clap of
death. The doctrine of reincarnation is indeed a great solace to
humanity in so far as it shows a way out from eternal damnation in
hell.
When the lust for life ceases, no further rebirth will take place.
One power works through all hands, sees through all eyes and hears
through all ears. All humanity is one in substance. The same flesh
and the same blood form the body of an American, an Englishman, an
African and an Indian. The instincts and longings are common to all
creatures. This indicates the oneness of all forms of life.
Experiments have revealed life in stone, in wood and in minerals.
They have established the unity of consciousness or the unity of all
life. Prana (energy) is the driving power of the world. Force is
energy. Spiritual force is the saving power. It is the greatest of
all forces. It can control all physical and mental forces.
Physical science is objective and hence cannot lead to absolute
truth. There is a soul behind mind and nature and will. Soul is the
divine essence. The conception of the unity of God is the pivot
around which all other doctrines revolve. No religion, no nation, no
scheme or reform, nor plan for the future of the world, will endure
if it is not based on genuine faith in God. We all belong to one and
the same family, to one and the same house, that of the Supreme Lord -
the creator, the nourisher and the sustainer.
When you look at a tree or a shrub, a Sikh or a Muslim, endeavour to
behold, behind the veil of form, the real hidden consciousness. If
you do this for some time, you will feel inexpressible joy. All
hatred will cease. You will develop cosmic love, or unity of
consciousness. This will be a magnanimous experience.
-Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:57 AM
RENOUNCE
Go wherever you like. Go to Kashmir, to Darjeeling, to Vienna or the
Alps, you will not find any real rest.
The charming scenery may soothe the retina for a few seconds but raga
(attraction) , dvesha (aversion), jealousy, passion and greed are
everywhere. You will find the same earth, the same sky, the same air,
the same water everywhere. You carry the same mind with you
everywhere. Imagination and change of place have deceived many
people. Be contented. Live wherever you like - but discipline the
mind and the senses ceaselessly. Meditate on the inner self (antar-
atman) ceaselessly. Here you will find everlasting peace. The mind
will stop deceiving you now.
If you do not have sustained vairagya (dispassion) , you will find no
improvement or progress in spirituality. Vows, austerities, energy
and meditation will leak out like water from a cracked pot.
You have spent eight hours in sleep and the rest in idle gossiping,
telling lies, deceiving others, in selfish activities and in gaining
money. How do you expect any spiritual good?
How do you expect immortality if you do not spend even half an hour
in the service of God, in singing His name and in divine
contemplation? Is there pain or is there pleasure in this world? If
there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire to the forests?
If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, position and
women?
Ah! Mysterious is maya (illusion). Mysterious is moha (delusion)! Try
to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe.
Acquire viveka (wisdom). Have satsang (holy company). Enquire into
the nature of the atman.
Study the Yoga Vasishta and the Upanishads. Then you will have a
comprehensive understanding of the problems of life. There is not one
iota of happiness in this world.
Renounce this world. Renounce the desire for moksa (liberation) .
Renounce renunciation itself. Then you will become that.
Go wherever you like. Go to Kashmir, to Darjeeling, to Vienna or the
Alps, you will not find any real rest.
The charming scenery may soothe the retina for a few seconds but raga
(attraction) , dvesha (aversion), jealousy, passion and greed are
everywhere. You will find the same earth, the same sky, the same air,
the same water everywhere. You carry the same mind with you
everywhere. Imagination and change of place have deceived many
people. Be contented. Live wherever you like - but discipline the
mind and the senses ceaselessly. Meditate on the inner self (antar-
atman) ceaselessly. Here you will find everlasting peace. The mind
will stop deceiving you now.
If you do not have sustained vairagya (dispassion) , you will find no
improvement or progress in spirituality. Vows, austerities, energy
and meditation will leak out like water from a cracked pot.
You have spent eight hours in sleep and the rest in idle gossiping,
telling lies, deceiving others, in selfish activities and in gaining
money. How do you expect any spiritual good?
How do you expect immortality if you do not spend even half an hour
in the service of God, in singing His name and in divine
contemplation? Is there pain or is there pleasure in this world? If
there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire to the forests?
If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, position and
women?
Ah! Mysterious is maya (illusion). Mysterious is moha (delusion)! Try
to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe.
Acquire viveka (wisdom). Have satsang (holy company). Enquire into
the nature of the atman.
Study the Yoga Vasishta and the Upanishads. Then you will have a
comprehensive understanding of the problems of life. There is not one
iota of happiness in this world.
Renounce this world. Renounce the desire for moksa (liberation) .
Renounce renunciation itself. Then you will become that.
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:36 AM
THIS IS THE WAY TO SPIRITUALISE ALL YOUR ACTIONS
What is divine life? To shed the animal in man and to sublimate the
human in him to the divine; to express the sublimation in his daily
life, in his hourly life, in thought, word and deed. That is divine
life.
To pray, to do japa (repetition of God's name), to sing His glory, to
do kirtan (chanting), to meditate on the Lord, is divine life.
Treat all kinds of work, domestic, official, etc., as service of God.
Surrender all your actions and their fruits to the Lord. Give up
agency. Feel you are an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Actions
will not bind you. Your heart will be purified. The grace and light
of God will descend on you.
THIS IS THE WAY TO SPIRITUALISE ALL YOUR ACTIONS
See God in all beings and things. See the world as a manifestation of
God. It is not necessary to abandon the world in order to have a
vision of God, because the world itself is a manifestation of God.
Listen! Wake up now. Develop dispassion. Do sadhana (spiritual
practice). Beware of the senses. Become desireless.
Understand life. Live divinely. Seek good company. Fear not. Waste
not time. Depend on God.
Spiritual discipline is the key to God-realisation. Discipline the
body and the senses and the mind.
May you attain God-realisation now and here.
Be regular in keeping your spiritual diary. Spiritual progress will
be greatly quickened. Kindly be regular in sending me a copy of your
diary at the end of each month for review and further instructions. I
am immensely pleased to note your regularity in sadhana.
Go to bed early (10 p.m.) and get up early (4 a.m.). The early
morning hours are most favourable for meditation.
Understand life's supreme purpose. Seek the eternal. Realise the
underlying essence.
Have intense thirst for liberation. Die to live. Discipline the mind.
Have self-control.
Learn to be wise. Make the best use of this human birth. Realise the
oneness of existence.
-Sivananda