Ô㦾㠇ãŠã Satya ka ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã AvahanInvoking the Divine Year 4 Issue 4 July–August 2015

Sannyasa Peeth, , , Hari Om

Satya ka Avahan is a bilingual and bi- monthly magazine compiled, com- posed and published by the sannya- sin disciples of Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati for the benefit of all people who seek health, happiness and enlightenment. It contains the teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda, Sri Swami Satyananda and Swami programs of Peeth. Editor: Swami Yogamaya Saraswati SATYAM SPEAKS – Ô㦾ã½ãá Ìãã¥ããè Assistant Editor: Swami Siva- dhyanam Saraswati I was in a deep and blissful sleep. Published by Sannyasa Peeth, c/o Who awakened me and why? Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger – 811201, Bihar. Printed at Thomson Press India —Swami Satyananda © Sannyasa Peeth 2015 Membership is held on a yearly issues from January to December. Please send your requests for application and all correspondence to: Sannyasa Peeth c/o Ganga Darshan Fort, Munger, 811201 Bihar, India - A self-addressed, stamped envelope — must be sent along with enquiries to en- sure a response to your request

Front cover: Paduka Darshan, Munger Plates: 1: Paduka Darshan; 2: Sri Swami ; 3 & 5: World Convention, Munger, 2013; 4: Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati; 6: Poornima,

Published and printed by Swami Shankarananda Saraswati on behalf of Sannyasa Peeth, c/o Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger – 811201, Bihar. Printed Owned by Sannyasa Peeth Editor: Swami Yogamaya Saraswati Satya ka ‚ããÌããÖ¶ãÔ㦾㠇ãŠã AvahanInvoking the Divine “I do not desire a kingdom or heaven or even liberation. My only desire is to alleviate the misery and affliction of others.” —

ØãìÁ-†‡ãŠ ¹ãƺãÊã ¹ãÆñÀ¥ãã 37 True Guru ƒÃÍÌãÀ-¦ãìʾã ØãìÁ ãä¨ãÌãÓããê¾ã ÔãⶾããÔã ¹ãÆãäÍãàã¥ã ‡ãñŠ ‚ããäÌãÔ½ãÀ¥ããè¾ã ‚ã¶ãì¼ãÌã ØãìÁ-¼ããä‡ã‹¦ã ¾ããñØã ‡ãŠãè ½ããäÖ½ãã ? ÔãâÔããÀ ‡ãñŠ ãä¶ã‡ãŠãÔã-´ãÀ 47 ‡ãŠãõ¹ããè¶ã-¹ãâÞã‡ãŠ½ãá Letter to a Disciple Swami Sivananda Saraswati

1st May, 1943 Beloved Mahadev,

Realization cannot come to you as a miracle done by your guru. Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, Rama Tirtha have all done . Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to develop vairagya and do abhyasa. He did not say to him “I will give you mukti now”. Therefore abandon the wrong notion that your guru will give you and mukti. Strive, purify, meditate and realize.

2 Transformation of the Disciple Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The lower nature of the mind must be thoroughly regenerated. The aspirant says to his preceptor, “I want to practise yoga. I want to enter into nirvikalpa samadhi. I want to sit at your feet. I have surrendered myself to you.” But he does not want to change his lower nature and habits, old character, behaviour and conduct. This change of the lower nature is not easy. The force of habit is ever strong and inveterate. It demands great strength of will. The aspirant often feels helpless against the force of old habits. He will have to develop his sattwa and will to a considerable degree by regular japa, kirtan, meditation, out his own defects and weaknesses. He must live under the out suitable ways to eradicate them. If the disciple really desires to improve himself, he must be frank with himself and straightforward to his guru. He who is disobedient, who breaks the discipline, who is not straightforward to his guru, who cannot open his heart to his of guru. He remains stuck in his own self-created mire or mud and cannot progress on the divine path. What a great pity! His lot is highly lamentable indeed.

3 Sometimes the methods prescribed by the guru may not be Some deluded disciples serve their guru for some years and then give it up foolishly imagining that they have attained chitta-shuddhi, purity of mind. They do not gain the supreme knowledge; they do not reach their goal. They, no doubt, gain some merit, but self-realization is not attained; this is indeed a great loss, a great blunder. The spiritual path is thorny and precipitous; temptations will assail you. There may be downfall, so approach the teacher who has tread the path. O aspirants! Never practise manmukhi, whimsical, sadhana. Follow the guru-mukhi sadhana with full faith and devotion. Blessed is the chela who has the grace of the guru on himself permanently.

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Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã 6 2015 Guru Poornima Message Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Today is not Guru Poornima, it is Shishya Poornima. You may want to know why. Poornima means ‘light of the full moon’ and it has already occurred in the guru’s life. Guru is one who is already illumined and enlightened; the one who needs this guru is ‘one who is enlightened himself and can enlighten others’, whereas a shishya is one who seeks to become enlightened. So, today is Shishya Poornima, which we generally call Guru Poornima, and it is celebrated each year all over the world. There seems to be a great crisis brewing in the world today. Indiscipline is rampant. What is the solution for the sad plight of humanity that we see around us? There is one solution, which has been passed on to us by the ancient rishis and munis of India: the tradition of guru-shishya. Just as there wife and the husband, in the same way there is a spiritual relationship between the guru and the shishya. Unless and until a spiritual contact is established between the guru and shishya, man will be spiritually troubled within himself. He be removed only when we immerse ourselves in our sadhana. of guru-shishya relationship. There is darkness inside us. If there were no darkness then we would not be led astray; we would not be unhappy. And to dispel this darkness we need an inspiring power and this power is the guru shakti. We are not actually weak people but we have made ourselves weak. We are weak neither physically, mentally nor spiritually, but we pretend to be weak. All people are equal, whether they are women or men, married or unmarried,

7 brahmin or shudra, Hindu or Muslim. These divisions of caste and creed are manmade. They have been created by society, by kings and rulers, by leaders and politicians. In our religions and in the sacred texts of the these distinctions do not exist. Distinctions based on caste, religion, physical attributes or even gender are not to be found. What does this mean? It means that we are all one; the basic source is the same. All human beings have the same basis, or moola, and the same basic form, or swaroopa. This is called atma shakti, Ishwara shakti or spiritual shakti. This shakti lies asleep in us and this dormant shakti needs to be awakened. Only one thing needs your full attention and that is the question of how this sleeping shakti, this sleeping Gauri, this sleeping Vishnu, should be awakened. This is why Guru Poornima is being celebrated. It is to remember this one thing and to be reminded of it. I have come to remind you of something just as Jamavant had to remind Hanuman. Do you remember the story? Hanuman had forgotten all about his hidden shakti and when Jamavant reminded him of it, Hanuman’s body became as huge and as wide as the sky. Similarly, I have assumed the role of Jamavant and all of you are like Hanuman. Hanuman was the you and him is that your tails have not yet been ignited; the am referring to is the mooladhara . If this chakra catches Lanka can be burnt down with it. This Lanka is made of gold; Ravana is the king, Kumbhakarna lies asleep here, Meghanad is present and even Surpanakha is here. Everyone is present. This body of ours is the Lanka of gold. I am Jamavant and you are Hanuman. I have come to remind you that you, as a human being, are not body alone, but you have just taken the form of a human body. You are not man or woman, either; you are just acting out those roles. You are neither Hindu nor Muslim, brahmin or shudra. Due

8 to ignorance you have put a label on yourself. Due to maya you have foolishly set yourselves apart from each other. If you are not the body, not a caste, not a name, then who are you? The answer to this question does not come in a day. Nor can it be found in any book. The or the Gita or even the Ramayana will not be able to provide the answer. The answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ can only be supplied from within yourselves through direct experience. You will come to know of this truth only through experience. I will ask you to devote only two or three hours of your time to do either dhyana, japa, yoga or and . Whichever is your sadhana, dedicate yourself to it. In one, two or three years’ time, this shakti will gradually awaken inside you. And once this shakti arises it will raise your life to great heights. Lastly, let me make it clear that the aim of yoga sadhana and worship does not lie in renouncing your karma and duty or in renouncing happiness and worldly pleasures. The aim of worship and sadhana is the awakening of this shakti lying inside man’s body, behind his mind, behind his intellect. If this must make this sankalpa that in this life, in this birth, you will gain this spiritual experience. —Guru Poornima 1980, Satna, India

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Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã 11 2015 Attaining Poornata Swami

Why is Guru Poornima celebrated on the full moon of July and why is it connected to the cycle of the moon? The waxing and waning of the moon indicate the development and decline of the human mind as well. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, the human mind also increases in optimism at times and in pessimism at other times. When the optimism and happiness increase in the mind, that is waxing of the moon. When pessimism increases, that is waning of the moon. Remember that in the yogic tradition, the moon is the symbol of the mind. Thus the Guru Poornima process actually begins the moon becomes full. This is an indication that spiritual aspirants, in their effort and in life, have to keep on waxing, and not waning, so that every day they are able to come closer to poornata, wholeness or completeness. The journey of the moon, is the journey of a disciple in spiritual life.

12 People say there are pitfalls in spiritual life – agreed. People also fall into those pits in spiritual life. That is also evident. However, if you are aware, have a goal and a purpose, and are aspiring to attain that goal, then advancement and progression is the only path. There is no ‘staticness’, no regression. Therefore, it is the commitment, the focus, the awareness and the journey. In that journey, you keep on increasing your wealth, you keep on enriching your life with positive qualities, and leave behind the negative qualities. You keep on waxing until you become poorna. As the full moon of July is known as Guru Poornima, it is presumed it indicates the fullness of the guru. In reality, it does not symbolize the fullness of the guru; it symbolizes the fullness and completeness of the journey undertaken by the disciple. When the disciple becomes full, when the disciple becomes illuminated, when the disciple attains that wholeness and completeness in life, that is the Poornima in the life of the disciple. That Poornima illuminates the entire being, and then the disciple is recognized by others as guru. the journey and remains a disciple, an aspirant, a devotee. Of course there are those who become trapped in the arrogance of having become the guru, and in their life Guru Poornima has not happened. In their life, the spiritual journey has not been completed. To become one with that luminosity and yet to have the arrogance that ‘I have attained’, is a , a division, duality. You are identifying yourself as separate from your attainment, so there is no union, no fullness, no experience is devoted to those enlightened beings who have walked the path of spirituality and attained their goal, and become an inspiration for human society. That is the concept of Guru Poornima. Why in the month of July? The monsoon sets in, the harsh heat of the summer becomes manageable and survival

13 becomes easier. In the same manner, when you connect with the grace of God, survival becomes easier in life. When you are disconnected from the grace, life is continuous suffering and struggle. Therefore, just as rains bring relief to the parched earth, grace brings relief to the disciple. The rains balance the heat, they don’t eradicate the heat; it doesn’t become cold or snow after rain. The rains only remove the excess heat. In the same manner, the grace balances the behaviours of life. happiness and pleasure when you connect with the joy and beauty of life. Thus, to hold Guru Poornima during the rains is symbolic. Just as the rain falls to create a balance in the temperature of the earth after extreme heat, in the same manner when you have gone through a crisis in life, there are moments of grace. However, this happens only when you surrender yourself. As long as you are not surrendered, you are struggling. When you struggle lessens and your awareness of how you can be better increases. Your mind connects not with the moments of grief and anxiety, but with the moments that give you happiness descends upon life, on the body, on the mind; it is the peace of atma. You begin to experience solace for a little while. It does not change anything; it does not alter your suffering, don’t change your destiny. They don’t give you blessings with happiness. Their job is to create a balance between your experiences of good and bad, pain and pleasure, and give you a transcendental perception, understanding and awareness. Guru Poornima is devoted to all the gurus who are illumined beings, who have shown a path to society. It is also known as Vyasa Poornima, as in the Indian tradition, Sage

14 knowledge and to inspire the creation of different scriptures works which we refer to even today: the four , the eighteen Puranas, the Smriti Granthas, the Itihasa Granthas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana aspects of knowledge and wisdom: the spiritual, the material, guru, and the idea of Guru Poornima stems from him. Being mouths, each having attained different realizations. Guru Poornima is also the last day of the month of Ashad. The next day the month of Shravan begins, which is a period of Shiva worship. Therefore Guru Poornima also becomes the starting point of worship of Shiva.

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Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã 18 2015 Sannyasin Disciple Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati

Throughout the ages there have been some people who, at a particular stage in their lives, have opted out of the set norms and conditions existing in the world to experience higher ideals and standards. They have realized the limitations of material comforts and the transience of the pleasures derived from them, and become aware of a desire to experience life with an attitude of renunciation. The renunciation is of outer and inner conditioning, so that the spirit may be free to reveal itself. This idea of renunciation is a product of higher awareness. It is at this point in life that a seeker takes up sannyasa. Sannyasa is not a mere ritual of abandoning one’s garments and donning the saffron robes, or shaving one’s head and than that. It is the process whereby one abandons one’s ego, shames and, above all, one’s limited nature. It is for this that the sannyasin disciple strives. ashram under his direct tutelage and guidance. Until the

19 sannyasin is established and arrives at a point from which nothing can disturb him, the guru’s advice is to remain in an atmosphere conducive to spiritual growth. The sannyasin disciple is fully aware that the mind can create delusions at any time. It can lead to great heights of spiritual ecstasy and then bring him crashing down with unswerving speed. The sannyasin therefore lives and works at the ashram and accepts Sannyasa is not a religious order, it is a philosophy of life, an ideal which certain people have adopted to achieve a higher understanding of themselves and to enable them to experience the bliss of their true nature. In an ashram people from different religions, cultures and status in society live under the same roof, sharing common ideals with equanimity and harmony. It may be argued that if sannyasa is merely an inner attitude, one may maintain these ideals while living in society. One has only to try it to realize how wrong this is. While existing in society, people are so caught up in the commitments and competitions of life that it is like being entangled in a net. There is no way out. The more one struggles, the deeper one is ensnared in the net. personality invade us from all sides, completely dominating fail. Therefore, in order to stabilize the personality and mental some time. After all, a sannyasin does not drop from heaven, he as everyone else. The difference lies in his desire for perfection and greater control over the instincts which retard spiritual growth. A sannyasin has evolved out of the normal pattern of life and is seeking a higher path through the life of sannyasa. The ashram is not a place where sannyasins sit idly and talk of God or Brahman the whole day long. Sannyasins work unceasingly from dawn until dusk. They do all kinds of work, but there is a difference, and that difference is the attitude

20 with which they work. The work they do is not self-oriented Once sannyasin disciples have established this attitude and awareness, they can work successfully anywhere. Sannyasin disciples offer themselves to the guru, fully aware of their limited capacities and their tainted concepts of love, hatred, anger, jealousy and greed. Sannyasin disciples are, in fact, conglomerations of householder, sadhaka and tantric disciples. They have the steadfast devotion and faith of the householder; they maintain the strict discipline and regularity of the sadhaka to the sadhana that the guru gives them; and they offer their ego, will, desires and total self to the guru in absolute surrender, as does the tantric disciple. The guru maintains a constant link with the sannyasins on all planes and guides them through the complexities that befall them. When the sannyasins have reached a point of stability, the guru sends them out to work in other places according to their capacity. A sannyasin’s life is forever dedicated to the loyal service of guru, and through this loyalty and dedication he experiences the truth.

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Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã 23 2015 Ego and Love Swami Satyananda Saraswati

It is easy to practise devotion on God, because he does not check your ego. Or even if he checks your ego, you don’t know it. But when you practise your devotion egodectomy. You have heard of tonsillectomy? Well, gurus teach egodectomy. This ego is not only an obstacle on the spiritual path between yourself and your guru, it is also an obstacle between you and your wife or husband. Whether the husband is good or bad, whether the wife is good or bad, if there is no ego there will be cordiality, understanding, love. So, the most important thing is to eliminate and extricate the ego. But how to do it? Can you remove the ego by psychoanalysis? Can you do it by self-analysis? Can you do it by repentance? No, people have tried but they have failed. Therefore, there must be an emphasis on the practices of and . If There are two that are important for properly treating egocentricity: bhakti yoga and karma yoga. By the practice of karma yoga you discover that you have an thinks he is an incarnation of humility. By practising karma yoga, when you come in touch with different people, there is Not working in a hospital or as a volunteer worker, not giving free service. Your obligations, your duties, your work, your

24

interactions with your family members, constitute karma yoga. When you relate yourself with your family members and outsiders with a developed consciousness, taking note of each and every change that is taking place in you, that is karma yoga. A karma does not involve himself but keeps himself out. He is a seer of the events and effects. Therefore, in your family life, whatever you do, whichever way you live, see it through the philosophy of karma yoga. And when you have realized that you have a very big ego, then practise bhakti yoga. Intellectual persuasion will not do in the removal of ego. You may intellectualize, you may analyze yourself for decades and decades, but you are not going to change, because the ego cannot be subdued or eliminated without developing the highest form of love. When there is no sun there is darkness, and when the sun rises there is no darkness. Ego is a negative force. This is important. Darkness is a negative force. The sun is a positive force, and positive overcomes the negative. Even as the sun removes darkness, in the same way, love removes ego. They cannot coexist. there is no love. You can compare this with your family circumstances and you will agree with me. Where there is love, there is a process of giving and giving and giving, you give yourself completely. Where is the ego then? Therefore, it is necessary that the quality of the mind should be changed. In order to develop this form of love, the anahata chakra must be awakened. With the awakening of anahata chakra all traces of ego are burned. You understand that love is not meant for bargaining; love is to be practised without expectations. You love only for the sake of love and not for any expectations. In order to develop the anahata chakra you should practise bhakti yoga. The awakening of anahata chakra is not only a way to God or guru, it is also a way to complete cordiality, unity and comfort in the family.

25 Like Wind and Grass Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

The basis of the guru-disciple relationship is trust. That trust negativities. If it breaks it is not trust at all, there never was any. That trust is not dependency either. It is a negative point for a disciple to be dependent on the guru, for that is not the teaching of the guru. The guru wishes that each person looks not a social counsellor, psychological consultant, friend or philosopher. The guru is only a person who has discovered something. It is by the presence of the guru that learning can happen, not through the intellect. The role of the guru is only to inspire an individual to connect with that source of strength within. Therefore, the basis of the guru-disciple relationship is a pure, innocent and non-expectative relationship. The connection is that of love, affection, respect, trust. If there is any conditioning or expectation in that relationship, it is bound to fail. Then the strengths and weaknesses will play their role and one would be affected by these. The nature of the relationship between guru and disciple is like wind and grass. If guru is the wind, the disciple is a blade of grass. When the wind blows strong, the blade of grass upright. If you can understand the relationship between the wind and a blade of grass, then you will know the relationship between the guru and disciple as well.

26 Like a Drop of Rain Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

There is a peculiar trait that people display. They can like and love somebody very much, yet that person can remain totally alien to them. They do not follow the one they love at all. For example, you can love Krishna, adore Krishna, read about Krishna, tell stories about Krishna, tell jokes about Krishna, but when it comes to following Krishna – no one is able to. You can love Christ, adore Christ, but you don’t feel the need to follow the teachings of Christ. Similarly, you can love your guru, adore your guru, talk about your guru, but when it comes to following the guru – nobody is able to. This peculiarity hampers the spiritual or inner development of the person. You are expressing love towards the behaviour and character of the person, but you are rejecting the wisdom, the teachings, the code of conduct by which that person lived. You can love somebody, but you can’t ‘live’ them. In order to follow the teachings, one has to develop a balance between feelings, thoughts, faith and determination. The combination of these four will uplift a person totally, and this combination is known as surrender. Surrender means ‘living that’. Surrender does not mean that you bow your head in front of somebody. Surrender means that you become one with the essence towards which you walked. Like a drop of rain can fall in an ocean and become one with the ocean. A drop of rain can fall in a lake and become one with the lake. The drop of rain can fall on the ground and merge with, be soaked into the ground. The raindrop may fall on the body and be absorbed by the body. That is surrender: becoming one with the object of association. Like a drop of rain.

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—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

32 THOUGHTS AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PANCHAGNI SADHANA 2015

The Flow Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

As I was doing the abhisheka on the Shivalingam in Paduka some broke into droplets. Although the milk was falling on the there were droplets. Watching that, a thought came to mind, that nothing falling in one place, after hitting the object it breaks into a thousand different currents. The same thing happens with us. Consciousness is one and it descends. As it is believed, the spirit enters the womb in the fourth month. Thus the when it encounters this material body, it breaks. Just as the this material dimension, and therefore each one of us lives a static in one place and do not come down, some are a beautiful all live our life not in a uniform way, but in an individualistic way. Even the thoughts, ideas, aspirations, desires and needs are all different. People in the same family have totally different personalities. The only connection is in terms of ‘He or she is my son, daughter, father, mother’. Beyond that there is no

33 connection of character or personality; there is no connection of consciousness. Or the connection that exists is gross and material and your personality is tainted by that. Your personality expresses the gross and the material due to the breaking up of the consciousness upon hitting the material. There is also no uniformity in wisdom, understanding or knowledge. After writing the four volumes of the Vedas, the rishis said, , neti – “Not this, not that.” Whatever you have written is your experience, but the truth is more than that. You are only seeing one aspect of it, one component of it.

34 It is like the four blind men who wanted to see an elephant and went to the zoo. One blind man grabbed the tail of the elephant and said, “The elephant is like a rope.” Another one grabbed the leg of the elephant and said, “The elephant is like a pillar.” Another grabbed the trunk of the elephant and said, “It is like a python.” None of the blind men, who each grabbed a different part, had the full picture of the elephant. They only had a partial picture through what they had grabbed. Now, a person with eyes who is able to see the elephant will say, “The elephant is not like a rope, pillar or python. The elephant is totally different; it is a giant animal.” Everyone in life is blind and lives the experience of blindness. If you are negative and destructive, your life will always revolve around the negative and the destructive. If you are happy, your life will always revolve around happiness. If you are depressed, your life will always revolve around depression. If you are anxious, life will always revolve around anxiety. Whatever one thinks, that is what one becomes. The nature of the world is tamasic. This has been stated in many literatures too. Even this body is tamasic. You have to learn how to express the goodness in your life, but you don’t have to learn how to express the badness – it is natural and spontaneous. You want to learn how to become more compassionate and happy; you don’t want to learn how to become more envious, greedy or jealous. You want to learn the better things of life, but the negative things of life are natural. It is the confrontation with the limiting, the negative and the destructive, and making the effort to transform and transcend that and cultivate the better qualities that is the purpose of each individual’s life. Nobody is born pure. Purity is acquired. If you go into a room that has been closed for many years, what Even if you go there after one month, you will have to dust it; you will have to clean it. Something has to be done before you feel comfortable in a clean environment. Therefore, just as you clean even the neatly kept room, you also clean the dirtily kept

35 room. Cleaning is important in both. In the process of cleaning one has to remove the negativities. That is where spiritual aspirants have to struggle. How to change the traits and the character of human nature, which are negative and which you are living all the time? By identifying with the good. Once you identify with the good and try to cultivate that, it becomes possible for the thoughts to change – for the broken stream of milk falling on the Shivalingam to anxieties, the insecurities, the fears, the jealousies and the anger the beauty and begin to live it. Therefore, imagine yourself to be like a stream of milk falling on the Shivalingam and see will get your answer. —13 January 2015, Paduka Darshan

36 True Guru Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

The Rudrabhisheka held in Satyam Udyam on every 5th of the month is an ancient tantric ritual to awaken and connect with the Shiva tattwa within us, for ultimately it is the Shiva tattwa that has to be realized. The Shiva tattwa represents the higher consciousness, and can attain that higher consciousness with ease if they have perfected yoga in their life. A true yogi, who has perfected yoga, is able to withdraw the wilfully, consciously invoke death and release the soul, and through this process attain the Shiva consciousness. In history we read about people who have left their bodies consciously in states of meditation, but we had never seen this happen until our own guru, Sri Swamiji, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, showed it to us.

37 He departed from his body consciously, in meditation. In perfect health, he sat down in meditation, chanted his , withdrew his pranas and released his soul, with a prayer to we saw a person with control over the spirit, control over death, who could will death to come and also tell death, “Don’t come now.” Who could wilfully release his spirit without being bound to the experiences of the body, attachments of the world, or infatuation for his disciples. This is the guru tattwa. A person who has that ability is the true guru. We call many people guru; intellectuals are called gurus, ‘emotionals’ are called gurus. The term ‘guru’ has been used in a very general and loose way by everybody. You are a guru, he is a guru, she is a guru, and so on. No, everybody cannot be guru. An intellectual person whom you call guru can be your teacher. A bhakta, a devotee whom you call your guru can be an inspirer. Anyone can inspire you and teach you, but guru is the one who has control over nature, who has gone through the darkness and light, both. Guru is the one who can take away the darkness from your life and bring you to light. Guru is the one who can take you beyond the physical identity and make you realize the transcendental identity. Such gurus are siddhas, who are able to control the forces of creation and nature, who have control over their own powers and senses, and who can choose the time of their coming into this world and departure from the world. I have seen this in the life of my own guru. He taught us how to leave the body like a true human being and a yogi. He has been our inspiration, our guide, and he has always taught us one thing: go above the body consciousness and experience the higher consciousness, and use the powers of the higher consciousness to make this world a beautiful place. The Rudrabhisheka is a medium through which we can connect with that higher state of consciousness known as the Shiva consciousness. On the day of his samadhi, it is the

38 parampara, the tradition of this place, to conduct this sadhana and try to connect with that. Therefore, no matter where we are or how we live, no matter what our profession is or what our family life is, let us make an attempt to discover the unknown within ourselves and go to places where few have gone before. —5 October 2011

Satsangs on Guru Bhakti Yoga: Guru Bhakti Yoga is a monthly sadhana dedicated to Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati, who attained mahasamadhi on 5th December 2009. Conducted in Satyam Udyam (Akhara), the two-day anusthana takes place on the 5th and 6th of every month to commemorate Sri Swamiji’s attainment of Shiva consciousness and his union with Cosmic Shakti. This is a special period of remembrance, and the satsangs Swami Niranjan delivers at the end of these evenings are particularly poignant; through them he helps us to connect directly with the spirit of Sri Swamiji, who brought light and love into our lives.

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Athaadhividyam; Aachaaryah Poorva Roopam; Antevaasyuttararoopam; Vidyaa Sandhih; Pravachanam Sandhaanam; Ityadhividyam. the pupil is the last form, knowledge is the junction and instruction is the joining link. Thus, one should meditate upon learning. —Taittiriya Upanishad (1:3:3)

43 Meditation for Positivity

The purpose of this meditation is to connect with the purity, strength and wholeness within, to offer these to guru and become receptive to his grace and energy, and then create a sea of positivity all around. If practised daily, this meditation is likely to change your perspective towards yourself as well Practise this before beginning your day and at the end of the day. Sit in a comfortable meditation posture with the spine upright, and take a few minutes to internalize the awareness. Watch the body, the breath, listen to the sounds, listen to your heartbeat, and watch the pulse of the heart. From the physical heart take the awareness to the psychic space of the heart. Go deep into this space, and become aware of the purity, strength and wholeness that exist there. Intensify this awareness. Become aware of the luminosity here, created

44 luminosity, as if it were the cosmic womb, hiranyagarbha. This luminosity pulsates the highest love. Remain in this awareness and deepen it so it becomes a real and vivid experience, and does not stop at imagination or thought. Now visualize that all your negativities – negative thoughts, feelings, experiences, intentions – are flowing into this luminosity and dissolving into it. You may choose individual thoughts or a general experience. The light of the heart is so strong and full that every negativity, every shade of darkness, melts into it and becomes light. And then visualize that this powerful light, which is your own inner strength, purity, love and goodness, spreads into your whole being, bathing you. Synchronize this experience with your breath. With every in- breath, the negativities dissolve and with every out-breath the light radiates through you. To make the experience stronger and more focused, you could add a , such as Om-Hreem, to the breath: Om with in-breath and Hreem with out-breath. Pause after each complete breath. Now visualize that with each in-breath, all the positive thoughts, feelings, experiences and intentions you have ever and stronger. With the out-breath, the luminosity continues to radiate outwards throughout your being. With the previous step, you dissolve your negativities and with this step you honour your positivities. Next you have to take this experience into the whole world, guru. He is in front of you, perhaps above you. Visualize him clearly. Feel that he is really there, feel his presence, his aura, his inspiration. Now, with every in-breath, with utmost humility, feel that any discomfort that he has had, any unease, you are taking it and dissolving it into the light of your heart, and with every out-breath you offer your inner purity and love to him. After a few breaths in this way, change the experience of the in-breath to feel that now you are receiving his grace and

45 love, opening yourself completely to him; with the out-breath continue to offer your purity and love. You may visualize this your heart. The light slowly suffuses the space around you, sanctifying it and creating a pool of glorious luminescence. Now take this experience into the rest of the world. You are not doing it alone; your guru is with you. With every in-breath you bring the negativity around into the pool of light created by the exchange with your guru, where it dissolves. With every out-breath you allow the luminosity from the pool to radiate outwards. Thereafter, with every in-breath you bring the goodness around into the pool, honouring the positivity and adding to the strength of the pool. You may start by visualizing this process with those closest to you: your family, spiritual or otherwise. You may begin with one person and keep adding more people, one by one, and visualize them forming a circle around the pool of light, becoming part of it. Bring those you love, those you hate, those you are neutral towards. And keep expanding the scope. From one person, come to a point where with every in- breath you are dissolving the negativities and the darkness of the whole world, honouring the goodness in the whole world, and with every out-breath spreading light into the whole world. Take this experience into the whole universe, into all dimensions of existence, until you reach the realm which is the whole existence is pulsating with this give and take of purity and love, and is a sea of luminosity. Finally, letting go of the pulsation, the mantra, the breath, simply allow yourself to feel suffused by this sea. And then, slowly, release the experience, letting go of the universal dimensions, the world, the people. Offer pranam to your guru and allow his image to dissolve, and feel the entire experience awareness and open your eyes.

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Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã 47 2015 —Swami Publications Trust ÖãäÀ æ Ô㦾㠇ãŠã ‚ããÌããÖ¶ã Dharma of a Disciple ãäÍãӾ㠣ã½ãà Ôã½¹ã㪇㊠– ÔãÖ-Ôã½¹ã㪇㊖ – 811201, The dharma of a disciple was the theme of the Yogadrishti satsangs given in August 2010. by Swami Niranjanananda. Beginning with insightful © Sannyasa Peeth 2015 and how we can move from where we are by fortifying our base and acquiring the necessary attributes. The satsangs answer a fundamental spiritual question: what is the highest truth that – an adherent of the guru-disciple tradition must ÔãⶾããÔã ¹ããèŸ live by. – 811201 -

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