A Series of talks on Swami Sivananda's Twenty
Important Spiritual Instructions.
By
SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDA
A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION
First Edition: 1993
(4,000 copies)
World Wide Web (WWW) Edition : 1999
Website: http://www.divinelifesociety.org/
This WWW reprint is for free distribution
© The Divine Life Trust Society
Published By
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. Shivanandanagar—249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal,
Himalayas, India.
CONTENTS
The present publication, unique in itself, comes as a long-expected
boon from most Revered Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, to all seekers
of Truth and Sadhakas in general. Being concentrated prescriptions for
daily spiritual practice, touching all aspects of the inner life of
the Spirit, this book will serve as a highly beneficial vade mecum
to everyone. Here is a systematised presentation of the well-known
“Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions” of Gurudev Sri Swami
Sivanandaji Maharaj, and it enlarges upon the prerequisites required
for the all-round discipline that should act as the fore-runner to direct
meditation, arranged beautifully in their sequential order. May the
blessings of all saints and sages be upon the readers of this superb
spiritual literature.
Shivanandanagar,
1st July, 1993.
—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
A life without spiritual sadhana is a dreary waste. A life with
spiritual sadhana is wise living—a life that will lead to
Blessedness. The combination, the blending together, the harmonising,
the combining of an active inner spiritual life with an active outer
secular life, fulfilling of legitimate duties and obligations—unavoidable,
inevitable actions—this combining of the spiritual with the secular,
the Divine with the earthly was Gurudev’s special mission. And
to that end He gave us one aspect of His teachings in the form of the
20 Important Spiritual Instructions. These instructions comprise
a harmonising of the outer and the inner, the emphasising of the inner
and practising of the teachings of the ancient sages and seers of the
Upanishads, practising of the teachings of all the saints who
through the centuries have graced and blessed Bharatavarsha by their
ideal life and teachings. This practice, together with the normal life
is Gurudev’s special teaching to the world, and summing up, the
practical 20 Important Spiritual Instructions give us the key
to Blessedness even while living in the world and through the world
itself.
O Adorable Lord of Mercy and Love!
Salutations and prostrations unto Thee.
Thou art Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute.
Thou art Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient.
Thou art the Indweller of all beings.
Grant us an understanding heart,
Equal vision, balanced mind,
Faith, devotion and wisdom
Grant us inner spiritual strength
To resist temptations and to control the mind.
Free us from egoism, lust, greed, hatred, anger and jealousy.
Fill our hearts with divine virtues.
Let us behold Thee in all these names and forms.
Let us serve Thee in all these names and forms.
Let us ever remember Thee.
Let us ever sing Thy glories.
Let Thy Name be ever on our lips.
Let us abide in Thee for ever and ever.
—Swami Sivananda
1. Get up at 4. a.m. daily. This is Brahmamuhurta which is extremely
favourable for meditation on God.
2. Asana: Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana for Japa and meditation
for half an hour, facing the east or the north. Increase the period
gradually to three hours. Do Sirshasana and Sarvangasana for keeping
up Brahmacharya and health. Take light physical exercises as walking,
etc., regularly. Do twenty Pranayamas.
3. Japa: Repeat any Mantra as pure Om or Om Name Narayanaya,
Om Namah Sivaya, Om Name Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Saravanabhavaya Namah,
Sita Ram, Sri Ram, Hari Om, or Gayatri, according to your taste or inclination,
from 108 to 21,600 times daily.
4. Dietetic Discipline: Take Sattvic food, Suddha Ahara. Give
up chillies, tamarind, garlic, onion, sour articles, oil, mustard, asafoetida.
Observe moderation in diet (Mitahara). Do not overload the stomach.
Give up those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight in a
year. Eat simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food
as medicine to keep the life going. Eating for enjoyment is sin. Give
up salt and sugar for a month. You must be able to live on rice, Dhal
and bread without any chutni. Do not ask for extra salt for Dhal and
sugar for tea, coffee or milk.
5. Have a separate meditation room under lock and key.
6. Charity: Do charity regularly, every month, or even daily
according to your means, say six paisa per rupee.
7. Svadhyaya: Study systematically the Gita, the Ramayana, the
Bhagavata, Vishnu-Sahasranama, Lalita-Sahasranama, Aditya Hridaya, Upanishads
or Yoga Vasishtha, the Bible, Zend Avesta, the Koran, the Tripitakas,
the Granth Sahib, etc., from half an hour to one hour daily and have
Suddha Vichara.
8. Brahmacharya: Preserve the vital force (Veerya) very, very
carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation—Vibhuti. Veerya
is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought
and intelligence.
9. Prayer Slokas: Get by heart some prayer-Slokas, Stotras and
repeat them as soon as you sit in the Asana before starting Japa or
meditation. This will elevate the mind quickly.
10. Satsanga: Have Satsanga. Give up bad company, smoking, meat
and alcoholic liquors entirely. Do not develop any evil habits.
11. Fast on Ekadasi: Fast on Ekadasi or live on milk and fruits
only.
12. Japa Mala: Have Japa Mala (rosary) round your neck or in
your pocket or underneath your pillow at night.
13. Mouna: Observe Mouna (vow of silence) for a couple of hours
daily.
14. Speak the Truth: Speak the truth at all cost. Speak a little.
Speak sweetly.
15. Reduce your wants. If you have four shirts, reduce the number to
three or two. Lead a happy, contented life. Avoid unnecessary worry.
Have plain living and high thinking.
16. Never hurt anybody: Never hurt anybody (Ahimsa Paramo
Dharmah). Control anger by love, Kshama (forgiveness) and Daya (compassion).
17. Do not depend upon servants: Do not depend upon servants.
Self-reliance is the highest of all virtues.
18. Self-analysis: Think of the mistakes you have committed
during the course of the day, just before retiring to bed (self-analysis).
Keep daily diary and self-correction register. Do not brood over past
mistakes.
19. Fulfil duties: Remember that death is awaiting you at every
moment. Never fail to fulfil your duties. Have pure conduct (Sadachara).
20. Surrender to God: Think of God as soon as you wake up and
just before you go to sleep. Surrender yourself completely to God (Saranagati).
Adorable and worshipful Gurudev, in whose presence we are now gathered
together in this silent hour of the early morning for a period of prayer
and meditation, my humble prayers and supplication at Thy Feet that
these seeking souls who have come into this life spiritual by the Divine
Grace of God, by the blessings of illumined Masters like You, and as
a result of their auspicious, good deeds in the past—their positive
good Karmas, these sincere seeking souls may utilise this wonderful
good fortune to the fullest. May it not go in vain. May it not be wasted.
May its value not remain unrecognised. Confluence of the above three
factors bring fortunate souls, a few among millions, into a life where
they seek the good, where they seek that which will take them into a
higher state of Blessedness, even though it may not seem attractive,
even though it may not seem pleasant. Thus, a choice is made by a few
fortunate souls. I believe Gurudev, that we are now sitting in an assembly
of such rare souls, who subha karmas (virtuous deeds) have manifested
in the form of their presence in Uttarakhand, on the banks of the sacred
Mother Ganga, in the hallowed regions of the Himalayas and in the sanctified
grounds of your Holy Ashram. Awaken their inner perceptions, awaken
their viveka (discrimination), awaken their vichara-sakti
(power of enquiry), awaken their right vision so that they may see
things in the proper light and recognise the value of that which is
invaluable and thus enrich their lives and become blessed.
Let us consider what our great Guru, Sri Swami Sivananda, has asked
us to do, what He has instructed us to do, what must be the pattern
of our life, our conduct, our actions. He has had a lot to say, perhaps
more than any other single Guru, and inasmuch as during His lifetime
He has been sharing His wisdom teachings with the modern world, we are
in a special sense inheritors of His teachings in that we belong to
His spiritual movement, His spiritual organisation, The Divine Life
Society. Perhaps in this sense we are special.
The whole world has inherited the wisdom teachings of the modern saints
and sages such as Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Swami Ramdas,
Anandamayi Maa, Avadhoota Nityananda, Muktananda Baba, Malayala Swamiji
and a host of others who have graced India in this 20th century. They
have lived, they have worked, and they have proclaimed their message
to the whole world. To that group of people who have associated themselves
specially with any one among these great saints, sages or seers, their
teachings become therefore their very special inheritance. All the devotees,
members, Brahmacharins, monks of the Ramakrishna Mission who have received
diksa (initiation) from the president of the Mission, naturally
become the special inheritors of his teachings. The devotees of Sri
Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai, naturally becomes the special inheritors
of his teachings, with a special duty towards those teachings. Therefore,
in our case it so happens that fate or rhunanubandha sambandha or
purva janma karma sambandha has brought us into a unique, direct
and personal relationship with the sage, Guru and spiritual Master,
Swami Sivananda, who has become part of our lives. How much He has become
part of our lives will have to be practically demonstrated in our day-to-day
life. How much he has become part of our life will have to be demonstrated
not only by our sentiments and emotional relationship to him, that is
part of it no doubt, but one has also to manifest it by a transformation
of mind, its thoughts, its vichara (enquiry) the line on which
it does its viveka (discrimination). He has given us abundant
material for vichara and viveka.
People who follow Sri Aurobindo Ghosh reflect, cogitate and speculate
upon the Supramental Yoga. People affiliated with Ramana Maharshi, think,
meditate and reflect upon the direct path of vichara marga—enquiry
of “who am I”. People who are directly connected with some
other sage, take his marga (path). Those connected with Nisargadatta,
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Muktananda Baba, take to Siddha Yoga, take to
chanting of Om Namah Sivaya, take to saktipaat. The followers
of the gaudi sampradaya of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu have their Sankirtan
Yoga. They have inherited that in a special way because they are directly
in the line of great Sage Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They ask others also
to follow it. But they follow it first and therefore they preach
it to others—they do not compel. They preach it because it is a
part of their duty to proclaim it to everyone. But they understand if
others follow their own Guru.
We however have inherited a synthesis of the three main paths of bhakti
(devotion), dhyana (meditation), and atma-jnana (direct
knowledge of the self), a beautiful integrated synthesis, a harmonious
blend of the three. So we have to exercise our vichara (enquiry)
also. At the same time Gurudev gave us a very systematically drawn up
discipline through his 20 Important Spiritual Instructions. That
was his special bestowal. He said: “You have to mould your daily
life upon this pattern. You have to get up early in the morning. You
have to do a little meditation, a little japa, a little
kirtan, a little asana, pranayama every morning, then
only you must enter the day.” This is His speciality. He gave a
perfect, unmistakable, definite unambiguous instruction, no vagueness
about it, a very clear-cut daily routine. If we, who are special inheritors
of His teachings, and who are directly and personally related to Him
during His own lifetime, if we do not try, at least struggle hard to
pattern our lives according to these teachings, then who is going to
do it? Why should we expect anyone else to do it?
You cannot expect the followers of Sri Aurobindo Ghose to practise
the 20 Spiritual Instructions. You cannot expect the followers
of Sri Ramana Maharshi to practise the Sadhana Tattva. You cannot
expect them to do so. But, we are expected to practise
it. Neither do they expect you to follow siddha yoga or
saktipaat. So there is this paddhati (traditional way)
of Guru parampara (lineage of Gurus). Therefore, Sadasiva
samarambham, Sankaracharya madhyamam, asmad Acharya paryantam, vande
Gurum paramparam. “I bow and pay homage to this long line of
succession of Gurus that originated from Sankar Bhagavan Himself and
that had in its middle Sankara Acharya; and to this day I pay homage
to my own Guru, who is to me the present representative of this spiritual
lineage.” In this way we have a special responsibility, a special
privilege, a great good fortune and blessedness. I am putting before
you the facts of your case in direct relationship to Him who
has been our nourisher, our protector, our everything. He has sustained
our life on a physical level, a mental level, an intellectual level,
a moral level, an ethical level and a spiritual level. What has He not
done? and therefore our relationship goes deep.
Gurudev has said: “Whatever I have written in ever so many books,
I have put down in my 20 Important Spiritual Instructions. These
instructions are meant for each and every one of you here at this moment.
Perhaps you have never taken these instructions in such a personal way.
We have always tried to distribute it to others, but we have not taken
it in a personal way and practised it. So, if any visitor comes, immediately
we want to give them a copy of the spiritual instructions and tell them:
“Frame it and keep it and read it everyday.” But perhaps we
never took it in a personal way—that it is meant for me. Better
late than never. Why not take Gurudev’s 20 Important Spiritual
Instructions in a personal way? He has left it for me as His legacy,
as the quintessence of the practical teachings that He gave forth to
the world in this 20th century. These three important sets of instructions
viz., Science of seven cultures or Sadhana Tattva, Universal Prayer
and His 20 Important Spiritual Instructions. He left it for
you. He left it for me. He left it for all of us. It is for each
one of you. Perhaps, if you can manage to bring yourself to start relating
yourself to the 20 Spiritual Instructions in this way, and start
beginning to take a look at them, perhaps a new light will come into
your life, a new understanding, a new feeling about it. He has left
this for me. He might not have left it for anyone else. But He has left
it for me. Go with this feeling and take a look at the 20 Important
Spiritual Instructions, and you will understand a great deal about
yourself and a great deal about spiritual life.
Lord Dattatreya spoke about 24 Gurus from whom he learnt, but then,
he did not mention them as beings from whom he learnt only. He said:
“Because of having learnt these things from all these Gurus, I
am what I am today. What you see of me, O King of the Yadu Race, you
are marvelling at because I lived What I learnt. What I grasped
and understood from these Gurus, I assimilated into my life, I became
what I saw and learnt. From the earth, air, ether, water, fire, the
moon, the sun, the pigeon, the python, the sea, the moth, the elephant,
the bee, the honey-gatherer, the deer, the fish, the courtesan Pingala,
the osprey, the child, the maiden, the arrow-maker, the snake, the spider,
and a particular insect known as Bhramarakita, everything that
I encountered and which had a message, I learnt, assimilated and acted
upon. I am the product of my practice.” This, the Avadhuta Dattatreya
made clear to the King of the Yadu Race.
So it is practice that brings about ultimate perfection and not a great
amount of knowledge of the way of attaining perfection. A little knowledge
accompanied by a great deal of practice, may perhaps achieve far more.
A low caste person like Kabir from the weaver caste, was not able to
get any instructions. He did not know the way. Somehow or the other,
he managed to get one word, that too by a subterfuge, and a word
uttered in a moment of sudden surprise by Guru Ramananda. It is the
practice of the word, Rama, that made him a great Vedantin and
a devotee in one. He became Kabirdas, whose bhajans have been
translated into many languages today. The practice of the little knowledge
he had gained, gave him that great experience and filled him with
jnana (wisdom). He got paravidya (highest knowledge). Therefore
his bhajans are full of that great jnana (wisdom).
Abhyasa (practice)—this is the key-word given by the world teacher,
Lord Krishna, in His Gita Jnana Upadesh for success in overcoming
all the adverse circumstances and temptations that surround you in this
world and achieving the goal. Abhyasa—that is the key-word.
He said: “Nothing is impossible. It is possible where there is
abhyasa.” And where there is no abhyasa, maybe everything
is difficult, maybe everything is impossible. I recommend that you thus
adopt this new feeling, and approach the 20 Important Spiritual Instructions
and see what it has to offer you.
Commence by reading the last instruction first, i.e. the one
after the 20th instruction. Pay full and complete attention to the concluding
admonition that Gurudev has incorporated at the very end of these
important spiritual instructions. This concluding admonition will be
of great value, help and benefit to those who are interested in their
own highest spiritual welfare. Absence of attention to this concluding
admonition will make the 20 Important Spiritual Instructions useless
and of no benefit to anyone.
The reason for reading the concluding admonition first is that the
human mind is apt to be very, very non-attentive. It is one of the mind’s
negative qualities—inattentiveness. Therefore, do not give
leniency to the mind because:
Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandhamokshayoh
“For the human being, mind alone is the cause of bondage as well
as liberation.”
and
Yadi moksham icchasi chet-thaatha vishayan vishavat-thyaja
Brahmacharyam, ahimsa cha satyam peeyusha-vad-bhaja
“If you desire liberation, then shun sensual pleasures
and indulgences as poison and accept the three supreme qualities of
chastity, non-injury and truthfulness as the very life-giving nectar
of Immortality bestowing ambrosia.” Let us now study and see what
the concluding admonition exactly implies.
This is the essence of all spiritual Sadhanas. This will lead you
to Moksha. All these Niyamas or spiritual canons must be rigidly observed.
You must not give leniency to the mind.
Start with this, read it first and afterwards come back to the first
instruction. That will do for today. Tomorrow you start with the one
after the 20th instruction and the second instruction. The day after
tomorrow you start with the one after the 20th instruction and the third
instruction. On the fourth day, you start with the one after the 20th
instruction and the fourth instruction.
Like this make a special concentration upon these 20 Important Spiritual
Instructions, one by one in serial order.
Spend about 15 minutes meditating on each one in a special relationship
to you. Spend these 15 minutes at a time when you are undisturbed, when
you are at leisure. Then ponder upon it.
After completing the 20 instructions (i.e. after 20 days) go over all
of them starting with the first. Spend half an hour or 45 minutes meditating
upon all twenty instructions that should now be standing in shining
letters of gold before your mind’s eye. Concentrate upon it. Meditate
upon it and see what it does for you. Then think of ways and means of
incorporating this into your daily life. Become an embodiment, a living
and active embodiment of Swami Sivanandaji’s 20 Important Spiritual
Instructions within the scope and mettle of your own ability and
capacity. I am not calling for heroism. I am not asking for a demonstration
of achievement. I am not asking for a spectacular resolve like Bhisma
in the Mahabharata, when the skies started flashing forth lightning
and thunder, the earth shook and a violent breeze began to blow everywhere
and people trembled. I am not wanting you to go into spectacular heroics.
But, I do expect from you, I do want and wish and desire for you that
you do this with deadly earnestness. You do it with grim determination,
with a seriousness which perhaps you have never exercised in your life
until this moment. I do expect you will put forth from within your own
inner resources, this exercise I have outlined before you for your own
highest good, for your own supreme welfare, for your own complete fullest
success in spiritual life, for your own glory.
Then you can take it from me, Gurudev would not have futilely used
the sentence, “This will lead you to moksha”. If He
has said it, He has said it because He is sure that if you observe them
all, it will lead you to moksha. Make yourself a living, practical
embodiment of these 20 Important Spiritual Instructions—then
you will have moksha in the palm of your hand like an Amalaka fruit.
You ensure moksha for yourself. You guarantee moksha for
yourself in this very life.
May God bless you and enable you to incorporate these instructions
in your day-to-day living. May Gurudev’s grace give you success!
1.Get up at 4. a.m. daily. This is Brahmamuhurta which is extremely
favourable for meditation on God.
The first spiritual instruction is: “Get up at 4 a.m. This is
brahmamuhurta.” This is very, very helpful and conducive
for meditation and sadhana (spiritual practices). Why should
you get up at 4 a.m.? Because it gives you more time, and that time
can be utilised for sadhana. The hallmark of a spiritual aspirant
is that he is awake among the slumbering, vigilant among the heedless,
alert among the indolent and he attains liberation. Therefore, if others
are slumbering when you are awake, at least there will be no disturbance
and you will be saving time. Time is the essence of life. If you sleep
away you lose time, if you lose time, you lose life. Lord Krishna says
in the Bhagavad Gita: “I am Time—the all destroyer.
I swallow up everything, including human life.”
Here I do not mean time usefully spent—serving your parents, serving
the poor, serving the sick and the suffering, serving the society, looking
after yourself, practising asanas, pranayama, suryanamaskara, going
for a walk, relaxing, studying. Time spent in Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga,
Hatha Yoga is not ill-spent, it is time invested and well utilised.
But if time is wasted then Gurudev has to say:
“How can you expect real shanti,
if you waste your time in idle gossiping,
in scandal backbiting,
in fights and quarrels,
in novels, newspapers, in cinemas, restaurants,
cards and smoking.”
How can you expect real shanti (peace) if you sleep your time
away, by night and by day? He did not say that, but one of the greatest
swallowers of time is this terrible thing called sleep—a product
of tamo guna (inertia) and a destroyer of life, also, more than
anything else a destroyer of spiritual sadhana, and if indulged
in more than what is necessary, becomes a destroyer of health—physical
as well as mental.
Therefore, getting up earlier gives you that time which otherwise you
might not have had during your busy daytime hours to practice sadhana.
At the same time this period is free of disturbance, the mind is calm
and the atmosphere is filled with sattva guna. When the day dawns
and the sun rises and daylight reveals the whole world of names and
forms before you, the mind gets thrown into activity. But in the darkness
of the pre-dawn hours the world is not visible and therefore the senses
do not draw the mind outward and cause extrovertedness. So, this period
is conducive to introspection which is essential for prayerfulness.
May God bless you and enable you to follow this instruction. May Gurudev’s
Grace give you success.
Second Spiritual Instruction
Relationship of Body with Spirit.
2. Asana: Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana for Japa and meditation
for half on hour, facing the east or the north. Increase the period
gradually to three hours. Do Sirshasana and Sarvangasana for keeping
up Brahmacharya and health. Take light physical exercises as walking,
etc., regularly. Do twenty Pranayamas.
The body is the spiritual manifestation of the Supreme Being in its
grossest form. The Spirit is the ultimate invisible form of gross prakriti
(matter) as is manifest as the material universe.
This is not only the declared truth in Vedanta Siddhanta and in great
hymns like Sivanand Lahari by Jagat Guru Adi Shankaracharya,
that maya is the achintya anirvachaniya sakti (unthinkable,
indescribable power) of Parabrahman. It is also the direct intutional
experience of great God-realised sages who actually beheld and discovered
the oneness of prakriti and the Supreme Parabrahman. Thus
there is only one prakriti and Purusha. There are not
two entities called matter and Spirit. Matter is involved
Spirit; Spirit is evolved Matter. There is only one Reality—ekameva‘dvitiyam
brahma. At the grossest terminal of that Reality it manifests as
matter and at the subtlest, transcendental, other extreme, it is pure
imponderable Spirit, about which the only description is to be silent.
This body is the receptacle of the Spirit which is its subtlest inner
reality, and the Spirit is the jewel within this body—like a jewel
within a jewel-box. It is not for the jewel-box that one prizes or values
a piece of jewellery, it is because of the jewel that the box also is
important. If the jewel is not there, the box is not given much attention.
It is because of the presence of the jewel within that the box is treated
with great care. It is carefully protected and locked away.
Therefore, Gurudev at one stroke touches upon both Spirit and matter.
Matter, because it is the container of the Spirit. Spirit, because it
is that which makes matter valuable, precious, of importance. If the
Spirit is not there, they burn matter into ashes, they remove it as
quickly as possible.
a) The first part of this instruction deals with japa and meditation.
In the early morning, as soon as you get up, sit for japa and
meditation. Therefore, get up at 4 a.m. brahmamuhurta, and sit
in padma, siddha or sukha asana for japa and meditation
for half an hour, facing East or North. You get up in order to think
of God, to remember Him, to take His Name and focus your mind upon Him.
This is the way to start the day. So the purpose of getting up early
in the morning is not to listen to the B.B.C. radio or take your tea
or coffee in bed, but to take the Name of God and meditate upon Him.
Gradually increase the period. Do not be satisfied. We are never satisfied
with eating tasty things. We are never satisfied with fulfilling our
cravings, so, let that not apply only to the lesser part of our being,
let it also apply to the greater and the higher part of our being. Let
us have this aspiration to gradually increase the period of japa
and meditation to three hours.
b) The second part of the instruction speaks about physical health.
Do sirshasana (head-stand) and sarvangasana (shoulder-stand)
for keeping up brahmacharya and health. Take light physical exercise
such as walking, regularly. Do some pranayama (breathing exercises).
For all the four purusharthas (human efforts) including earning
money, accumulating wealth, fulfilling of your legitimate sattvic
(pure) desires, and even for attaining moksha, health of
the body is of paramount importance. Never neglect it. It is folly to
neglect it. It is wisdom to preserve it. When you draw near to old age,
then you will realise the truth of this adage. Therefore, Hatha Yoga
exercises should be practised, and also take some light physical exercise
like walking, jogging etc. Take care of this physical vehicle.
c) Pranayama (breathing exercises): Deep breathing is of paramount
importance. Oxygen is the essence of life. Breath is the bearer of oxygen
into the system. The deeper you breathe and the more air the lungs take
in, the greater the amount of oxygen supplied and made available to
the body, the blood-stream and all the cells. A combination of breathing,
light exercises to quicken the circulation, and Hatha Yoga asanas
bring about vital inner health, together with japa and meditation
the body becomes a fit instrument for seva, bhakti and dhyana. This
is the ideal way of entering into a new day. There is a saying:
Start the day with God. Fill the day with God.
End the day with God. This is the way to God.
This is the way to bliss, this is the way to peace,
This is the way to perfection,
This is the way to Illumination!
Third Spiritual Instruction
3. Japa: Repeat any Mantra as pure Om or Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo
Sivaya, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Saravanabhavaya Namah, Sita
Ram, Sri Ram, Hari Om, or Gayatri, according to your taste or inclination,
from 108 to 21,600 times daily.
God is intangible, avyakta (unmanifest), adrishta (unseen)
agochara (imperceptible). All this is made very clear in the
Vishnu Sahasranama. He is goodhah (hidden): Eko devah
sarva bhuteshu goodhah (the one Lord is hidden in all beings). He
is sukshma-atisukshma (subtler than the subtlest), avangmanogochara
(not known by the senses or the mind). Yato vacho nivartante
aprapya manasa saha (whence all speech along with the mind, turn
back, not reaching it). He is beyond thought, beyond speech.
What then is the way to approach God? We are bound in gross physical
consciousness, severely limited to thinking in terms of names and forms
only. Without the basis or support of these names and forms there is
no vichara (enquiry) in our antahkarana (inner being).
That being the case, what is it that can link us with That which
is beyond thought, speech, mind and intellect. Is there some bridge
that can link us, bound as we are to outer appearances, bound in gross
conceptual and objective thinking, to that which is beyond? All our
vrittis (thoughts) are vishayakara vrittis (thoughts of
sense objects). We can only think in terms of time and space, names
and forms, here and there, this and that, and not of the Transcendental.
Bound in this state of limited finite consciousness, what is the possibility
of our trying to link ourselves with that which is Infinite, beyond
time and space, beyond names and forms. It is here that the great science
of the practise of the Divine Name comes as an answer to this great
problem, this barrier between the known and the unknown, the finite
and the Infinite, the manifest and the unmanifest, the individual and
the Universal. There is a chasm of relativity between us, the individual
souls caught in the aneka (many), and the ekameva’dvitiyam
(the Absolute).
The Divine Name is such a link. It is like a boatman who ferries and
touches both banks of the river. It has the advantage, that like a ferryman,
it can take us from this bank of finite consciousness to the other bank
of Infinite, Universal Consciousness. The Name has this great advantage.
God is intangible. Whatever we know of Him in temples, mosques, synagogues
and churches is only created by man—conceptual and man-created.
Upon all idols and murtis we have to superimpose our own imagination
of a higher Being. However, this intangible Being is present with us
in one tangible aspect which we can actually feel, experience, create
and practise, that is the Divine Name which we ourselves can articulate
very clearly. It has a sound which we can hear and we can write it also.
The form of God is beyond our comprehension. But here is something,
an aspect of God, identical with Him, discovered in ancient times—the
mantra (sacred syllables) of the Supreme Absolute Being. Here
is a sound that is formless and therefore it has contact with the formless
world. Parabrahman is nirakara (formless) and nirguna
(without attributes) whereas the Divine Name is nirakara (formless)
but saguna (with attributes). It is in the form of sabda (sound),
it is in the form of nama (name), it has a vibration, it has
a tangible sound which we can hear. We can produce it on gramophone
records, we can produce it on tape-recording machines. We can put it
into any media and once again reproduce it. We can send it across the
seas, we can amplify it, we can broadcast it through microphones. So
here is something we can do what we like with, and the greatest astounding
truth about it is, it is Divinity in manifestation as sound. It is Divinity
manifest as sabda or nada (sound) which Vedanta refers
to as sabda-Brahma, nada-Brahma. He who is nada-bindu-kalatita
(beyond sound, time and space) is caught by nada (sound).
He can be thus approached by this particular nada because it
is formless. So, it is at once that tattva (principle) that has
access to both fields—the formless Parabrahma field and
the saguna field of names and forms in which we are living.
For us everything has some quality, and sound is one of the five main
qualities perceived by us (Five qualities: form, taste, touch, sound
and smell). Sabda-brahma, nada-brahma is identical with God.
The Lord and His Name is identical. Thus, every mantra composed of the
Divine Name, containing the Divine Name, framed around the Divine Name
like: “Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Sri Ram, Om Sri
Krishnaya Namah, Om Sri Ramaya Namaha, is structured around this
sakshaat pragat swaroop paramatma (direct manifest form of the
Supreme Self).
Patanjali has a sutra which says that perfection can be attained
by the repetition of the Divine Name, and Jagat Guru Lord Krishna says:
“He who repeats My Name at the time of leaving the body, attains
Me. He does not return once again into this mortal world.” The
abheda, the abhedata of nama and nami (the
identity of the Lord and His Name) has been established by direct experience
by those who have practised this path and attained perfection. One among
those whom we know within historical memory, who attained Self-realisation
through the practice of the Divine Name, was the Guru of Shivaji, Samartha
Ramdas, who knew nothing and did nothing except repeat Sri Ram Jai
Ram Jai Jai Ram. On the other side of the Indian sub-continent,
in Bengal, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu attained the great state of Divine
consciousness, became inebriated with God-consciousness through nama
sankirtan of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. He travelled to Vrindavan
and throughout the length and breadth of India and established the supremacy
of the Name as the one unfailing sure method for attaining God-consciousness
in this Kali Yuga (Iron Age). Kali Yuga kevala nama adhara—“The
Name of the Lord is the only refuge in this Iron Age.”
Repetition of the Divine Name is only a revival of an ancient method.
Long before Lord Rama incarnated in this world, the hunter and dacoit
Ratnakar attained perfection through constant practice of the Divine
Name, the Name made up of two letters Ra and ma—the
Taraka mantra. He did not know anything. He was illiterate, uncouth,
uneducated, from a forest hunting tribe, and he actually repeated the
Name in the wrong way. In Sant Tulsidasji’s Sri Ramcharit Manas
there is a saying:
Ulta naama japata jaga jaana
Valmiki bhaye Brahma samaana
“The whole world knows that Valmiki attained Brahmic-consciousness,
attained the great realisation Aham Brahmasmi by doing japa
even in a wrong way.”
He became renowned in Indian spiritual history as one who had attained
that supreme state of Brahmic consciousness by japa and japa
alone. He did not know Sanskrit, he did not know Vedanta, he did
not know the Upanishads, he did not know the Bhagavata, he
did not know Ashtanga Yoga or Kundalini Yoga, he did not know asana
or pranayama. He did not know anything. Therefore, he could
only do what he was capable of doing. Even though he was unlettered
he became endowed with Brahmic-consciousness and thus became an illumined
Sage. He became the great sage adi-kavi Valmiki who produced
the immortal epic the Valmiki Ramayana. He was a murdering desperado,
a dacoit, cruel, violent, a sinner yet he became one with Brahman in
his spiritual consciousness through the repetition of Rama Nama.
Therefore, with every breath utter the name of God. Take to this unfailing
sure path—the path of the Divine Name. In this Kali Yuga it
is supreme. It is the least complicated, most efficacious and simple
method. All saints and spiritual teachers of India over the past 300
or 400 years have never failed to lay great emphasis on the practice
of the Divine Name as an unfailing and certain way to attain God-realisation.
Gurudev says “Do japa of any Name that is to your taste
or just ‘OM’, from 108 times each day to 21,600 times, that
is from one mala to 200 malas (21,600 are the number of
breaths that we take every 24 hours). The more the better! A trader
or businessman never questions: “How much should I earn?”
He ever tries to increase his wealth. Like that this great golden key
has been given for you to attain chitta-suddhi (purification
of mind), bhakti (devotion), dharana (concentration),
dhyana (meditation), ekagrata-dhyana (one-pointed meditation)
and ultimate sakshatkara (Re-alisation). It is a sampoorna
yoga (complete Yoga).
May His Grace and blessings give you success in your inner spiritual
life, in yoga abhyasa and spiritual sadhana.
Fourth Spiritual Instruction
4. Dietetic Discipline: Take Sattvic food, Suddha Ahara. Give
up chillies, tamarind, garlic, onion, sour articles, oil, mustard, asafoetida.
Observe moderation in diet (Mitahara). Do not overload the stomach.
Give up those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight in a
year. Eat simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food
as medicine to keep the life going. Eating for enjoyment is sin. Give
up salt and sugar for a month. You must be able to live on rice, Dhal
and bread without any chutni. Do not ask for extra salt for Dhal and
sugar for tea, coffee or milk.
The fourth instruction is a little lengthy. It concerns an important
aspect of our daily life—the food we eat. You all know the well-known
saying: “Eat to live. Do not live to eat.” Food is indispensable
to life—it supports life, it sustains life. It gives the needed
nourishment and supplies the body with necessary building blocks in
the form of carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, amino acids, vitamins
etc. It therefore contributes to health. But if you eat immoderately
it can destroy your health and bring about various illnesses like dyspepsia,
gastritis, colitis, dysentry, diarrhoea and other chronic diseases.
The same food which is indispensable, beneficial and necessary, can
turn into your greatest enemy if you do not have control over your tongue,
if you do not observe the rules of moderation, if you do not try to
get a knowledge of nutrition, knowledge of food and correct eating,
knowledge of the effect of food on the body and mind. You will not know
how to eat wisely. You will be living to eat, not eating to live. Therefore,
Gurudev gave this admonition: “In diet you must have discipline,”
and He has devoted a fairly long paragraph for this particular instruction.
He has also said: “Keep your diet simple, bland. Do not indulge
in too much of tamarind and chillies, onions and garlic, sour articles,
oil, mustard, asafoetida. Be very sparing in these. Keep your food simple.
Eating for enjoyment is a sin. Take sattvic (pure) food.”
In Gurudev’s commentary on the Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga in
the Bhagavad Gita Jnanopadesh, in Practical Lessons in Yoga
and in many other books He has given a complete list of sattvic
and tamasic ahara (food). That also he has given because then we
will know what to avoid. “Do not overload the stomach. Give up
those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight in a year. Eat
simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food as medicine
to keep the body going. Give up salt and sugar for a month. You must
be able to live on rice, vegetables and bread without any pickle. Do
not ask for extra salt for vegetables or extra sugar for tea, coffee
or milk.” So, if you want to be a self-controlled person you must
be able to control the tongue.
There is a saying: Jitam sarvam jite rase “All the senses
are controlled if the tongue is controlled.” Therefore moderation
is the keynote and not indulging in articles that are likely to be tamasic
and disturbing to your spiritual evolution. Avoid them and take
in moderation even that which is good. There is a saying in Tamil: Adhikam
aanaal amrutamum visham. “If you take beyond measure, even
nectar may become poison.” This is an over-statement. Nevertheless
it brings out the truth that if you exceed the correct dosage, if you
become immoderate then even nectar can turn into poison. However, it
does not mean that you should become a fadist in food, your mind will
then meditate more on food than on God. Draw up a certain dietetic regimen
and adhere to it without deviation. To be obsessed with the thought
of food is not good. When someone asked Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi in
Tiruvannamalai: “What is Bhagavan’s advice about diet?”
Very tersely, he said in Sanskrit: “hita-mita-bhukta”—be
an eater who is moderate, be an eater who eats only that which is conducive
to health and that which agrees with you. Experience will tell you what
foodstuffs do not agree with you and upset you, then do not take that.
Fast on Ekadasi, food is the one thing that constantly goes
into our body from birth until death. That which goes inside and becomes
part of us is certainly likely to influence and affect our entire make-up,
not only our physical health, but its quality affects the mind also.
Its subtle vibration becomes our second nature (svabhava) and
then it goes to form the mind-stuff (chitta). Food has therefore
a threefold effect—it affects the body, the mind and the sub-conscious
mind. Hence these general instructions. Moderation is the keynote, so
fast once in a fortnight and try to discipline yourself.
The importance of these instructions are: whether you want it or not,
whether you like it or not, all your life you have to be eating food.
It is the one thing which goes into you constantly, without missing
a single day, except on Ekadasi. Therefore it is of great importance
to know how to eat, what to eat and what not to eat. This Physical body
is called annamaya kosha (food sheath). This sheath is pervaded
by food and naturally it is the one element which enters, and goes to
form our brain cells and mind-stuff. Now you can understand the inevitable,
inseparable, continuous and constant relationship of man and food—food
and man. You will now understand how very important it is that your
food should be of the right quality and in the right quantity.
So reflect upon this fourth instruction. Ponder its deeper meaning
for you, especially with reference to ethical and spiritual life, with
reference to self-mastery and self-control. Then you will understand
its place is indispensable, necessary.
In this Kali Yuga, the body is sustained by food, and therefore
food is inevitable.
Great research has been done in nutrition in Western countries, in
the field of medicine and health. But then, it is from a different angle.
It is from its composition so that it will form a balanced diet, but
not from the angle of rajasic, tamasic and sattvic food. A knowledge
of both, at least some knowledge of both, is essential. God bless you.
May anna as Brahma bless you.
Fifth Spiritual Instruction
5. Have a separate meditation room under lock and key.
Blessed Atman! The next few instructions apply more specifically to
people who are living in the secular world. Maybe they are in the grihasta
ashram (householders), if not householders maybe they are in the
udyog kshetra (working field), working, earning, spending, supporting
their families—father, mother, younger brothers and sisters. It
applies more to such people. It says: “Have a separate meditation
room under lock and key.” This of course, may not be possible for
monastics living in a monastery or university or college students living
in a hostel where perhaps they have to share a room with others. Therefore,
the essence of it has to be taken namely, have a particular spot in
your own room which is used exclusively for meditation, prayer, japa—for
spiritual sadhana only.
Do not keep changing your place everyday. If you do not wish to meditate
inside your room, perhaps you can go for a walk and end up by sitting
on the banks of the Ganga on some stone. If that is the practice, let
it be the same stone day after day, week after week, month after month,
as long as you stay there, because there is something about the same
place and the same time—a certain vibration, a certain atmosphere
is created in that spot. A time cycle is created and this cycle brings
about a similar cycle within you which they call a “bio-rhythm.”
At that particular time, the entire being, the entire organism is biologically,
psychologically and spiritually keyed, geared and oriented towards that
particular process only.
In a rather crude and purely gross way, the Russian scientist Pavlov
suspected such a connection between time and body processes and that
body processes bring about certain mental moods, expectations, impatience.
So they experimented upon dogs, and I was amazed to find that there
is such a thing called a particular time bringing about a particular
phenomenon within the living organism, and that affects the behaviour
of the being also. So he proved that if he fed dogs at a particular
time everyday, after a certain period, some days or weeks, the whole
biology of the dog became geared to that particular experience and when
the time came, the stomach began to secrete digestive juices, the salivary
glands began to secrete saliva and the dog expected to be fed. It behaved
in such a way that it demonstrated its desire for food. His experiments—to
prove the presence of this type of inner reaction due to a habitual
time rhythm being brought about in a particular activity, which required
a certain particular biological process within the body became world
famous.
Therefore the same applies psychologically also. If at a particular
time everyday you sit in a particular place and do japa or meditation,
it invokes the same mood and inclination in the mind when that time
comes. And to support it with external factors Gurudev has suggested
the repetition of certain slokas or keeping quiet for sometime
or doing the pranava—OM—a number of times. Then
immediately the whole mood becomes indrawn, meditative and uplifted.
Such is the force of regular repetition of a particular process exactly
at a given time, day after day. Therefore Gurudev has many a time stated
in His practical instructions: “Regularity is of the utmost importance.”
This is an oft repeated sentence in His teachings. So, one has to understand
this in those terms.
A separate meditation room under lock and key means that it should
be used for that purpose only. No other type of vibration should be
allowed to intrude there. If others with dissimilar vibrations are allowed
to enter they will evoke inharmonious vibrations, and you will not be
able to take advantage of your own atmosphere or vibrations in the akasha
(space). Therefore, we should not allow other people to come inside
our room and gossip and spread their inharmonious vibrations around.
It is a very good rule for those who live in a single room to receive
people outside. There are any number of places where one can meet and
talk. We should try to see that this is done. People of like vibrations,
on rare occasions, may be allowed to come inside. Otherwise it is better,
if you are really serious about your sadhana, and want to protect
the atmosphere and vibrations of your room to see that very sparingly
others are allowed to enter. Then the integrity, the atmosphere of your
room is maintained, it is kept intact.
It is not everyone even in the householder’s set-up that is fortunate
enough to have a house with many rooms where one room can be set apart
for meditation. No! They are the few. It is only affluent and upper
middle class people who have a big house or those who have retired from
Government Service with a good Provident Fund who can afford to plan
a house with a separate meditation room which they can keep under lock
and key. I have known families of seven or eight people living in only
one room—one corner for a kitchen, and the whole floor for a bedroom
which also becomes a dining room when it is time to eat. That is their
house, that is their home. So you cannot under these circumstances say:
“Swami Sivananda has said to have a separate room for meditation.”
It is asking for the moon! It is just impractical, impossible. Not that
Gurudev was not aware of such circumstances. It only means that those
who can afford to have a separate room should have it.
However, the best meditation room is your heart, the interior of the
mind. The advantage of this is you can enter into it wherever you are,
at any time you like. Even in the midst of a General Body Meeting, you
can retire into yourself and be in meditation for a little while if
the meeting is going out of bounds. Even while you are commuting in
a bus or a train, instead of looking out of the window, you can be in
meditation. Such a meditation is possible anywhere because you are yourself
the meditation place, you are yourself the meditation room, your heart
is a little corner where you can withdraw and meet the Being who dwells
within.
There is a Bengali saying: “Where to meditate? Which is the ideal
place? Bane, kone, mane.” Bane—the ideal place,
if possible, is to go and sit in the jungle; otherwise kone—in
a corner of your room; otherwise mane—in your own heart,
your own mind. Close your eyes, enter into your secret closet where
you and God alone dwell within your own being. Close the door—that
means close all the senses. Do pratyahara (withdrawal), do not
allow the senses to tempt you to go hither and thither, control rajas
and be at peace. For in truth, you have neither rajas nor
tamas nor sattva. You are the Atman beyond the
three gunas.
Therefore, it should not bother you where to meditate, if only you
can cultivate abiding in your own Self, being aware of your own swarupa,
that is the key solution to all the problems of the human individual.
The human individual itself is a product of moving away from the Self,
from the swarupa. It is the moving away from the Self that creates
the individual, who creates all the problems. Therefore, enter into
your secret closet, close the door and there be alone with God. Listen
to what He has to say. That is the sanctuary—the inner sanctuary.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said: “Do you know what the sattvic
man does? He pretends to go to sleep, gets under the mosquito curtain
and switches off the light and everyone thinks he is sleeping. There
he sits and meditates. So, no one can see him under the mosquito net,”
Gurudev used to say: “Use your common-sense. In spiritual life,
in Sadhana, in the path of Yoga, always use your common-sense.”
Among the training given to scouts there is a thing called Improvisation.
Whatever you can find, make the best of the situation—improvise.
I have known people living in a small city or town where near the
outskirts there are secluded places. After their work is over, they
go home, have a cup of coffee, chat with the children, then get into
the car and drive out of town to be alone by themselves under some tree
in natural surroundings. They spend an hour or so, then go back home.
So where there is eagerness of heart, conditions can be created by using
common-sense and a little bit of imagination.
They say you must have yantra, mantra and also tantra. Not
only bhakti (devotion) but also Yukti (imagination). If
yukti is positive, then it is good.
So, we have found that having a separate room for meditation is not
within the means of everyone. May Gurudev bless you to carry out this
instruction according to your circumstances.
Sixth Spiritual Instruction
6. Charity. Do charity regularly, every month or even daily
according to your means, say six paisa per rupee.
“Do charity regularly every month, or even daily according to
your means.” This also applies more to those who are working and
earning and have an income. Those who are in some field of business,
who are in employment of some kind or have a profession where there
is a steady flow of income. Then of course they can plan their expenditure,
they can save and keep some for charity. In the disposal of whatever
they earn, Gurudev says: “Don’t confine it to only expenditure
and saving but also set a part of it aside for charity, for giving.”
Saving is necessary and expenditure is inevitable, but charity is indispensable,
most important. It instils sympathy, consideration, understanding, the
spirit of sharing and giving, kindness and compassion. It ennobles the
human nature and expands the heart and thus it is very, very helpful
to spiritual progress and evolution.
Therefore, Gurudev emphasises: “Do regular charity every month
or even daily according to your means.” And what your means are
will depend upon your heart and your circumstances of course. If you
have a husband who is very niggardly and resents your giving, and if
you give something, fights and quarrels ensue in the home, then you
have to be careful, you have to be wise. If you have a wife who does
not like to give charity, and picks a quarrel whenever you give some
donation then also you have to be wise. If it creates a problem, you
must know how to deal with it and yet be charitable. So these are all
things left to each one’s common-sense and intelligence and according
to the sincerity of your heart.
Many, many are the benefits of charity. In Christianity it is said:
“Charity covers a multitude of sins.” Here charity is used
in a restricted sense, giving and sharing, but charity also means a
charitable disposition. Forgive and forget, and therefore return good
to those who think evil of you or injure you. This is all charity. This
is the virtue of charity. Not in the restricted sense of giving material
means only, but in giving generously of the benefit of doubt, giving
generously of your forgiveness and tolerance, your goodwill and good
nature. That is also charity—being of a charitable disposition
and not wanting to sit in judgment over others, not wanting to jump
to conclusions and attribute motives to others which may not be there,
not wanting to immediately suspect the bona fide or the genuineness
of a person. Otherwise you will always be suspecting, always be attributing
ulterior motives to others and this will create a bad relationship.
If there is a charitable disposition all this will not be there. You
will not jump to conclusions, you will not judge others unfairly, you
will not attribute ulterior motives to other people’s actions or
intentions. This is all the result of a charitable disposition.
If you are able to spend a certain percentage of your income in charity,
that is the best way. Do not leave it to the mind. Make it a principle—1/10th
or 1/20th part of your income for charity. If you cannot afford that,
take some fixed percentage of your earnings. There are many people who
do it. One of them was Maharaj Pannalal, the late Swami Prashantananda.
Even when he was working in a mill and was a wage earner, the moment
he got his pay-packet, he would take out a certain percentage and send
it to his Guru, Swami Sivananda.
Gurudev says: “Doing abundant, spontaneous and unrestrained charity
to relieve the pains of suffering humanity is an effective means to
destroy your evil nature. Give money like water. If you give, the wealth
of the whole world will be yours. Money will come to you. This is the
immutable, inexorable, unrelenting law of nature. Therefore give, give,
give!” May God bless you.
Seventh Spiritual Instruction
7. Svadhyaya: Study systematically the Gita, the Ramayana, the
Bhagavata, Vishnu-Sahasranama, Lalita-Sahasranama, Aditya Hridaya, Upanishads
or Yoga Vasishtha, the Bible, Zend Avesta, the Koran, the Tripitakas,
the Granth Sahib, etc., from half an hour to one hour daily and have
Suddha Vichara.
Within the context of Satya Sanathana Vaidic Dharma which is
called Hinduism, within the context of Indian culture, there is a certain
concept—that all beings are indebted to the universe around them.
We are not isolated. Thomas Merton wrote a book called No man is
an island. We are not cut off from others, we cannot isolate ourselves.
We are beholden to a hundred different things around us without which
we cannot exist, we cannot survive. We cannot even go about doing our
day-to-day work. Our whole life depends upon so many things, so many
factors, so many people, so many functions of others—living and
non-living. If someone did not sweat and drill in Ankleshwar or somewhere
to get crude oil and make petroleum and if petrol was not manufactured
and taken by truck or wagon or train to the petrol stations, do you
think Swami Chidananda can come up here every morning? It is because
some car brings him up here. We must with humility understand that we
are dependent, on many other things, many other persons. I have to be
grateful to whosoever brings the petrol up from the bowels of the earth—the
Petrol Company and its personnel, its staff and its labourers which
enables the car to bring me here. We cannot move a little finger unless
someone is there to bring it about, make it possible. So, we are dependent,
we must recognise this and be grateful.
The greatest virtue of the human heart is gratitude. Even dogs have
it. Therefore, they say that nothing is so terrible as a person’s
ungratefulness. There is a sonnet: “Blow, Blow, thou winter wind,
thou are not so unkind as man’s ingratitude.” So we have to
be grateful to them from whom we have received something. There is a
concept of Pancha Maha Yajnas (five main sacrifices). Through
yajna (sacrifice) we offer a part of ourselves, our time, our
energy, our intelligence and thus repay a little bit of the debt of
gratitude we owe to others.
(1) Pitru Yajna: We are grateful to our ancestors in whose line
we are born. We inherited this body from them in which we live and function
and also do spiritual sadhana and attain enlightenment and then
try to serve humanity. In this way we are grateful to our ancestors—immediate
as well as remote.
(2) Deva Yajna: We are grateful to the various cosmic forces
that keep this cosmos in perfect order and precision—fire burns,
water flows, wind blows. So to Vayu Devata, Agni Devata and Varuna
Devata we are grateful. We have to give a part of our gratitude
to the Devatas.
(3) Bhuta Yajna: We are beholden to so many creatures, insects,
even crows because they scavange. This is bhuta yajna. (bhuta
means creatures).
(4) Atithi Yajna: An unexpected visitor arriving at your door
affords you an opportunity to serve him with your hospitality. An opportunity
to serve is a great blessedness because service makes you shed your
selfishness, it purifies your heart and opens up a feeling for others,
a feeling of love and oneness. Therefore, be grateful.
(5) Rishi Yajna: And then, for our guidance, for our practical
instructions, for our inspiration, for our caution, for our protection,
for our warning—due warning before danger comes—the great
men of wisdom and enlightenment, the illumined sages of God-realisation
have left their wisdom teachings in the form of scriptures. So to them
the whole world is eternally grateful. These Maha Rishis have
produced the scriptures and that debt gets repaid by making use of these
wisdom teachings by daily study. This study is an attempt to repay our
debt of gratitude to the great sages, remote as well as recent. This
is called swadhyaya.
Gurudev says: “Do swadhyaya, study systematically holy
scriptures according to your religion for half an hour to one hour daily
and have pure thoughts.” Holy scriptural reading should be backed
up by pure thoughts, and pure thoughts induce you to take to holy scriptural
study, and this study, encourages and brings about purity of thought.
They are all inter-connected. Therefore, study of scriptures is an important
part of the 20 Spiritual Instructions and forms what is known
as Rishi Yajna. To repay our debt of gratitude to these great
sages of yore, the ancient men of wisdom who have given us the greatest
of all treasures, jnana (knowledge)—which alone distinguishes
the human being from all lesser species—we should make a sincere,
earnest, daily attempt on our part to study these wisdom teachings.
Jnana (knowledge) makes the difference between the pashu (animal),
the manava or manushya (human being) and the haivan
(devil).
The richest sources of Jnana, the most precious part of global
human heritage is the wisdom teachings of the great ones. Not to take
recourse to them is the height of ingratitude, not to take recourse
to them is failure to recognise their great worth and value, their place
in our lives and the role they have to play in our evolution. It would
be behaving like swine before whom some pearls were cast, if we do not
take recourse to these great treasures and study them daily. Therefore
we must assert our humanity, our human status, exercise our wisdom and
go to these sources of living waters and drink of them daily, attain
immortality and make our life fruitful with supreme blessedness and
liberation. May God help us and Gurudev bless us to attain success in
this sincere endeavour.
Eighth Spiritual Instruction
8. Brahmacharya: Preserve the vital force (Veerya) very, very
carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation—Vibhuti. Veerya
is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought
and intelligence.
“Preserve the vital force very, very carefully. Veerya
is God in motion or manifestation—vibhuti, veerya is all
power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life,
thought and intelligence.”
Brahmacharya, which is the third of the five niyamas of
Maharshi Patanjali, gets mentioned in practically every one of the scriptures
of Sanatana Vaidic Dharma (Eternal Religion)—the Bhagavata,
the Ramayana and all the Puranas. It is also in all the Yogas—Bhakti
Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga.
In the Hindu tradition three great principles or qualities have been
laid down as fundamental practices for spiritual development. They are
ahimsa, satyam and brahmacharya (non-injury, truthfulness
and chastity).
Yadi moksham icchasi chetthaatha
Vishayan vishavat thyaja
Brahmacharyam ahimsa cha
Satyam peeyusha-vad-bhaja
“If you desire your highest blessedness, give up like poison desire
for sensual enjoyment and pleasures and like nectar receive into your
life the triple virtues of chastity, non-injury and truthfulness.”
Down the ages this has come to be the cardinal doctrine of the Higher
Life.
Within the context of the Christian faith, the prophetic religion that
formed itself around the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, faith, hope
and charity are lauded as cardinal virtues. Within the context
of this religion, there is also Sannyas (order of renunciation)—the
Christian monastic tradition. In this monastic tradition, three great
vows are indispensable, they are poverty, chastity and obedience.
That is the monastic vow. That is the vow of the monks and priests in
seminaries as also the vow of the nuns in convents.
This also existed in pre-Christian Roman times when for the mystical
Oracle of Delphi, it was only virgins who were qualified to perform
the high task of divining the will of God and guiding man. This they
proclaimed in a state of spiritual trance. These unmarried maidens were
dedicated to God and this task, and it was believed that it was only
in the pure minds and hearts of these virgins that God revealed His
sacred Will. They were called Vestil Virgins of Delphi. So, the tradition
of brahmacharya—chastity, self-control, sex purity did not
commence from Christianity, it must have already been there within the
tradition of Judaism as well.
Long before that, during the time of Buddha—who preceded Jesus
by more than 500 years—the doctrine of chastity was a necessary
preparation and foundation for the life of renunciation, asceticism
and Yoga for the seeker after the Great Reality or for attainment of
Enlightenment and Wisdom. This foundation was recognised by Buddha.
The Young prince living in a palace with his young wife and baby-Rahul,
left everything and went into the forest. That great renunciation, great
tyaga was wonderfully brought out by Sir Edwin Arnold in his
Light of Asia, a poetical presentation of Buddha’s great
life, career and attainment.
Thus, it is something that has been handed down to humanity from time
immemorial. It is a part of the global heritage from various diverse
directions and sources. Far back, even before Zoroaster or Buddha, the
ancient prophets of the Upanishads proclaimed the same thing.
We hear mentioned in the Vedic age of Indra and Virochana approaching
Brahma for instructions, and Brahma sending them back to observe brahmacharya
for so many years—“Then come and ask me, I shall give
you some knowledge, part of my knowledge.” So they go and observe
the vow of celibacy for so many years and come back. Then He gives them
a part of the Truth. After that He says—“Now go back and observe
celibacy for some more years and come back.” Because, it is necessary
to grasp the concept of That which is beyond the grasp of the mind and
the senses, beyond speech and thought. They were unable to grasp it.
A gross mind which is identified with the body, with the senses and
with the sense appetites, and which is enslaved by the pleasure principle
only, is unfit to think of abstract and abstruse ideas and concepts.
A mind that has become gross due to the progressive increase of rajas
and tamas, becomes unfit and naturally spiritual life and
practises are a far cry to that individual. Mind must become attenuated,
it must become very fine. There should be no grossness—desires,
attachments and cravings in it. A certain psychic fineness of the antahkarana
(inner being) is said to be essential and indispensable for rising
higher into sublime ideas, thoughts and processes of viveka (discrimination),
vichara (enquiry) and atma sadhana (enquiry into the Self).
Therefore, this process of purification, the rising from the gross to
the subtle, is the essence of the concept of brahmacharya.
The sage, Rishya Sringa, was established in brahmacharya. When
a whole kingdom was threatened by famine, due to a drought, the king
was deeply concerned, people were in great fear and anxiety. Then some
sages advised that if this great man, who was established in the vow
of absolute celibacy and continence, could be brought to the kingdom,
into the royal city, then the heavens would bless them with rain. So
they induced him to come. Thus the famine and possible death due to
starvation of countless people was averted.
Long, long ago, our Puranic scripture, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana
has given the highest place for a great lady who was a paragon of
virtue and chastity and total fidelity to her husband. Never did a thought
of any other man cross her mind even in dream or imagination. So much
so that the three great cosmic deities, the Creator, the Preserver and
the Dissolver—Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara had to
admit her greatness and confess that they had failed in trying to shake
her from her firm adherence to chastity when they tried to test her—she
was given a crucial test, maybe to glorify this great quality of chastity.
She became immortal—Sati Anasuya, the mother of the Trimurtis
incarnated as one avatara—Sri Dattatreya, who is regarded as
the Adi-Guru.
Even so, the great world mother, Jagan-Mata Sita Janaki—the queen
and wife of Lord Rama—became immortal as an example of the great
virtue of pativrata (faithful wife). And therefore the couple,
Maryada Purushottam Bhagavan Sri Ramachandra and Jagan Mata Sita Janaki
are regarded as the ideal for the second ashramam—the grihastashrama,
forever and for all times to come, for all those that believe in
the Vedas and the Vedic way of life.
For 14 years Laxmana observed the vow of perfect celibacy and therefore
it was he alone who was able to ultimately give victory to the side
of Rama by destroying Indrajit (Meghanada) the invincible and invulnerable
son of Ravana.
In the cultural history of India, the name of Bhishma evokes awe, wonder
and admiration in the hearts of each and every individual who has heard
about him and the great vow he took in order to fulfil the desire of
his father. It has gone down in history as Bhishma Pratigna. He
became a lifelong Brahmachari, and was one of the most invincible of
warriors in the whole narrative of the Mahabharata. Just as the
determination, the resolution, and the austerity performed by Bhagirath,
another scion of the royal race and royal family, has gone down in history
as something unprecedented, unparalleled, unique. We speak of Bhagiratha
prayatna!
Now, we cannot simply brush aside all these facts as so much foolishness
or so much meaningless. These were not normal people, they were supernormal
extraordinary personalities who had acquired Supreme Wisdom, great intuition
and attained towering heights of Self-realisation. Sages like Vyasa
and Valmiki, were not infantile, irrational idealists—they were
Tattva-vettas, Brahma-jnanis and therefore we would only be demonstrating
our emptiness, our bankruptcy in vichara and viveka if
we question the rationality of the principles and teachings of these
great ones.
So it seems to be important that not only in the context of Satya
Sanatana Vaidic Dharma but in the context of all the great living
religions of the world today there is something deeply scientific and
meaningful and of great importance in the observance of these principles.
And you will find that Zoroaster, Socrates, Jesus, Buddha, they might
not have propagated any Yoga path or Sadhana system, but they
gave forth great teachings for attaining Blessedness by fulfilling the
highest purpose of human existence namely love of God.
All these are indications of the concept of conserving a certain dynamic
force in the human biological being and converting and sublimating this
force upon which your existence, my existence—the existence of
all of us physically, has been dependent. I am here, Chidananda, sitting
and talking to you through the Grace of Gurudev. This has been possible
because my parents produced for me this physical vehicle into which
I could come at the time of prarabdha (pre-fixed birth). Even
so, because the parents of Buddha, Raja Shuddhodana and mother Yasodhara
had prepared the wondrous body for the Tathagata, we have the inspiring
teachings of this great Master who built up a large following, a great
religion, philosophy, and meditational system.
And it is therefore this concept of conserving a dynamic biological
force within the human system and converting it into a higher subtler
force through sublimation, conservation, preservation and taking it
higher into the psyche in the form of a very, very refined subtle energy,
psychical energy called ojas—ojas means that which
is radiant, that which shines, that which is effulgent. This wise technique,
a scientific method of converting the gross into the subtle; physical
into the spiritual; psychic into the spiritual was evolved by the great
sages.
Because provision was made by the Cosmic Intelligence Power that we
call para-Brahman and the Cosmic Force that we call Para-shakti,
Adi-shakti, Maha-shakti, it has been possible that different species
of living creatures, different species of plant life, botanical life,
has lived, developed and evolved through the ages. This perpetuation
of the species is the law of life in the entire universe, in every form
of life, not only human, animal or sub-animal—insect, reptile,
fish—but even in the botanical world. How there is cross pollination
and how the flower is the means of carrying out this act of reproduction,
it is an intricate, mysterious marvel! Those who study it will be amazed
at the wonderful science behind it, will marvel at this unknown mysterious
Cosmic Intelligence that has brought this process about. One is struck
with awe and admiration when one begins to go deeper into the process
of how life is perpetuated on every level, every plane and every field
of life, even from the most rudimentary life of a single cell, how it
splits, divides itself and multiplies.
How wonderful that a seed is able to germinate due to the presence
of two factors, so that the power of these factors gives it that mighty
force of even breaking through rock, breaking through the pressure of
heavy soil over it—a tiny, tender little thing like a seed that
has just germinated. What a miracle! What great force! It cleaves the
earth ten times harder than its tender shoot, and surfaces. If by chance
a seed has been deposited on the top of a concrete terrace, when it
germinates it even breaks through bricks and cement walls and displaces
them and puts forth its own life.
This act of multiplying and reproducing is present everywhere. It saturates
and permeates the whole universe because from the angle of cosmology,
the entire universe is the outcome of such a primal first wish for multiplication.
“I am One, may I become many.” Thus the Vedas say that
there was one imponderable, mysterious Being. What that Being was, who
knows, because that Being was one without a second. So, a second not
being present, not existing how can there arise the question of anyone
cognizing that Being? Who was there to cognize when that—Ekameva’dvitiyam
Brahma (God) alone existed. And in that mysterious Being there arose
this germ of an idea. He thought: “May I become many. I am One,
may I become many.” That is how they try to explain the genesis
of the advitiya and the aneka from the Ekameva’dvitiya.
And, therefore, the concept of multiplication is at the very heart
and essence of existence because it arose from Brahma and therefore
it is present everywhere. In the Bible it is put in a different way.
God created man and told him: “Go forth and multiply.” And,
if you delve into the scriptures of all religions, you will find that
somewhere or the other this fact is there.
Therefore, the great Cosmic Intelligence and Power called God or Paramatman,
the Supreme Soul or the Universal Spirit, permeates and indwells
everything that exists. And thus when there is a provision made in a
certain period of life then it takes on the nature of a very, very sacred
act. Because, ultimately the atman is not created, what is created
by the parents, human or sub-human, is only a vehicle for the entry
into the earth plane of a spirit, a nucleus of consciousness. And the
creation of this receptacle is an act wherein the partners in a marital
state co-operate with Brahma, the creator—Srishtikarta Brahma.
So they take on a certain part of Brahma’s function. Therefore
it is sacred.
It is this force of brahmacharya that is the invaluable force
that gives success in sravana (hearing), manana (reflection)
and nididhyasana (concentration). It gives success in the practice
of the nine modes of Bhakti—Sravana, kirtana, smarana,
archana, vandana, pada-sevana, dasya, sakhya, and atma-nivedana.
It makes possible the successful practice of Raja Yoga—yama,
niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi.
It makes for a fruitful practice of asana, pranayama, mudra,
bandha, kriya leading into samadhi of the Hatha Yoga system.
It is this force that brought forth Ravindranath Tagore, Bhagat Singh,
Mahatma Gandhi, Beethoven, Bach, Albert Schweitzer, Joan of Arc and
Mother Theresa. It is this marvellous force that brought forth sage
Valmiki and all the other great towering figures in history. Their miracle
was because of this secret of conservation, preservation, sublimation
and sublime application towards a higher purpose.
The profligate who wastes his vital power and becomes a nervous wreck
falls prey to various diseases. He is like the foolish multi-millionaire’s
son who throws away his money in drinking, gambling and other extravagances,
purchasing a dozen cadilacs, houses and land in Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, Isles of Capri and Monte Carlo and then afterwards becoming bankrupt
and reduced to a beggar, why? Whatever was given to him was squandered.
It was lost. Not knowing its value, he became reduced to abject poverty.
What a deplorable, pitiable state!
Energy and strength are necessary for all processes and all activities.
The higher the activity, the greater the need of energy. Diesel can
drive certain vehicles. Petrol can only drive certain vehicles. Neither
diesel nor petrol can make an aeroplane fly, they have to have high
octane fuel for making aeroplanes fly. Therefore, crude energy is enough
for physical functions. A more subtle type of energy is necessary for
intellectual functions—going to the university and studying for
a law, science or nuclear science degree. An altogether different type
of highly refined, extremely subtle force is necessary for the process
that takes you across the barrier of the relative and launches you into
the Absolute. Dhyanavastha—it is that subtlest of the subtle,
most refined process that brings you face to face with the Supreme Reality—God-realisation.
It is the stage of Yoga next to Super-consciousness or samadhi,
where Purusha (Spirit) attains awareness of His own ever-free,
independent, all-perfect nature distinct from prakriti (matter).
And therefore, it is only one step next to the threshold of Super-consciousness,
Self-realisation, Aparoksha Anubhuti. For that process, you can
just imagine how subtle and how refined the mind has to be. And so the
gross potential has to be first of all refined. It is like mining ore
from the bowels of the earth. The ore contains gold, but it is not gold.
It has to be refined and sifted until pure gold is brought out. So the
biological sex-force has to be transmuted into a subtle psychic spiritual
force called ojas.
All this talk about brahmacharya must not give us the impression
that in Hinduism and in the Hindu religion, sex has no place and celibacy
is the only thing that is insisted upon and lauded as the highest virtue.
That would be a mistake, a misconception. In the Varnashrama Dharma,
pattern of life formulated and given for the individual born into
the Hindu faith (Vaidica Dharma), brahmacharya is insisted
upon as total abstinence from sex life, from any form of physical and
mental manifestation of sex life, for three of the four ashramas.
But in the Grihasthashrama (householders’ life) the
exercise of sex life is regarded as sacred, and elaborate rules and
regulations have been drawn up for it. A great deal of advice, guidance
and instructions have been given for the second ashrama, where
it becomes not only a right and permitted but is elevated to the sacred
duty of the householder. It has been given as the most important duty
to perpetuate the particular family lineage, and it is considered a
sacred duty to contribute one’s mite towards the generation of
tomorrow. So, it has been recognised as an important function of the
human individual, and this lifelong partnership is regarded as one of
the most sacred aspects of human life. Here it has been carried to the
level of the yajna (sacrifice). In the samskaras (four
stages of life) this particular aspect of yajna is there in order
to support life. Just as the eating function of the individual has been
taken to the level of a yajna, saying it is ahuti, not
an offering to an outer fire in a yajna kund but a daily sacred
offering to agni (the inner gastric fire)—to that agni
each morsel of food is offered as ahuti; so this is a sacred
yajna—the offering of the ahuti of the life principle
into the partner in order to perpetuate the family lineage.
But then it is made legitimate, permissible, a duty. If you do not
perform that duty, dire consequences are foretold by the scriptures—that
if you do not have a progeny, and there also if you do not have a male
progeny, the parents will go to hell, a special hell reserved for them.
And, therefore, Sanatana Vaidica Dharma has even permitted that
if a Brahmin has not a putra santana (male child) he may
take another wife. He can even take four wives. Where the male offspring
is very important to a royal household, a king can marry several wives.
So Hinduism is not anti-sex or a negation of the human nature and human
function. On the contrary where it is necessary it is regarded as the
highest duty.
Brahmacharya is that way of living your life, that way of conduct
and behaviour that will ultimately and gradually lead you towards Brahma
jnana—grant you Brahma jnana. In a specific way, it
has come to mean purity in sex life. But, this is an insufficient meaning.
Mahatma Gandhi said that no attempt to keep oneself under control and
in mastery only from the point of view of one’s carnal passions
or physical appetites will ever be successful unless simultaneously
one tries to keep all one’s senses under control. Absolute
establishment in brahmacharya, absolute sex purity is possible
only if one is a self-controlled person in a completely integral sense
of the term. You must have your ears under control. You must have your
eyes under control. You must have your hands and feet under control.
You must have your tongue also under control. Then there is some possibility
of being established in sex purity. And Gurudev’s concept of brahmacharya
is not only limited to the physical restraint of the body and its
passions but includes mental brahmacharya as well. He said: “You
must be established in perfect brahmacharya, physically as well
as mentally so that even in dream, any gross or carnal thought should
not arise in your mind.”
How is it that so much importance is given to the sex function in modern
materialistic society today. People are obsessed and dominated by it.
This is human perversion. The Upanishads speak about the nine-gated
city which is the abode of the mysterious Brahman—it is
this body. Any medical person will tell you that the activity of the
body processes are made up of anabolism and catabolism—combinedly
spoken of as metabolism. Anabolism is the building process, catabolism
is the breaking down process. The breakdown process naturally leads
to the accumulation of debris (mala). Accumulated debris
is unwanted matter and naturally if it accumulates it threatens life.
It has to be eliminated. For intake, provision has been made through
the mouth—you eat and drink and if you want to communicate you
have to speak. Because life needs oxygen you breathe through the nose.
If you want to get knowledge you have to see and you hav
