IN THE LIGHT OF WISDOM SWAMI KRISHNANANDA The Divine Life Society Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org ABOUT THIS EDITION Though this eBook edition is designed primarily for digital readers and computers, it works well for print too. Page size dimensions are 5.5" x 8.5", or half a regular size sheet, and can be printed for personal, non-commercial use: two pages to one side of a sheet by adjusting your printer settings. 2 CONTENTS Foreword ...................................................................................................... 5 Publisher’s Note ......................................................................................... 7 Short Biographical Sketch of Swami Krishnananda .................... 9 Auspicious Beginning ........................................................................... 13 Chapter 1: Attunement With Reality .............................................. 18 Chapter 2: The Right Relationships Between Things .............. 32 Chapter 3: Subject Knowing Object................................................. 48 Chapter 4: Yoga is Balance .................................................................. 61 Chapter 5: How We Perceive ............................................................. 77 Chapter 6: God, World and Soul ....................................................... 92 Chapter 7: The Changes that Yoga Brings About .....................107 Chapter 8: Possessing Nothing .......................................................113 Chapter 9: The Ignorance of The Mind ........................................131 Chapter 10: The Operation of The Eternal Law .......................146 Chapter 11: Skilled Preparation .....................................................163 Chapter 12: Another Type of Meditation ....................................178 Chapter 13: The Necessity for Yoga ..............................................181 Chapter 14: The True Relationship With God ..........................195 Chapter 15: The Laws of Proper Conduct ..................................208 Chapter 16: Questions That Arise ..................................................221 Chapter 17: What Meditation Is .....................................................236 Chapter 18: The Tendency Towards The Cosmic Being .......242 Chapter 19: Proper Asana .................................................................259 Chapter 20: The Right Channelisation of Energy ....................276 Chapter 21: The Kingdom of Heaven Is Within........................294 Chapter 22: To Rest In What We Truly Are ...............................311 Chapter 23: The Universal and the Internal are One .............313 Chapter 24: The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath ............329 Chapter 25: How the Senses Fool Us ............................................345 Chapter 26: Seeing Through the Delusion of Desire ..............363 Chapter 27: The Removal of Sorrow ............................................380 3 Chapter 28: The Leap Into the Unknown ...................................382 Chapter 29: The Disentanglement of the Personality ...........400 Chapter 30: Detached Perception ..................................................417 Chapter 31: Dissociating Objects From Their Connections 434 Chapter 32: Overcoming Obstacles ...............................................453 Chapter 33: All-Consuming Devotion to God ............................471 Chapter 34: Longing for Realisation .............................................488 Conclusion ...............................................................................................500 Glossary of Sanskrit Terms ...............................................................512 4 FOREWORD Millions of prostrations at the feet of Holy Master Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, the Mahapurusha of the past century! Countless prostrations at the feet of Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, one of the foremost direct disciples of Sat Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj! Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj joined Sivananda Ashram in 1944 and held the post of General Secretary of The Divine Life Society from the year 1960 until just before his mahasamadhi in 2001. He was an able administrator. His devotion to Gurudev was unparalleled. He wrote many books and gave numerous talks on different occasions right from his arrival at the Ashram. This present book contains thirty-four talks given in the year 1970 to students participating in a special session of the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy. At the request of numerous Yoga students, especially from the West, Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj agreed to give these talks in the form of lessons. The thirty-four lessons began on January 14, 1970 and concluded on March 4, 1970. This book is a Yoga manual. It is a handbook of Yoga. It contains everything that a Yoga student needs to know. Swamiji explains that Yoga, in the simplest terms, is a steady movement of the individual soul towards the Supreme Soul. Yoga is a steady ascent to the Divine. These lessons were recorded on cassettes and then transcribed by Sri Shankara (Rudy), a Yoga student from the Aalst Divine Life Society Branch ( Belgium). He presented me with a bound copy which was lying with me for nearly 35 years. Now and then I used to read it. Later on I loaned it to our revered Sri Swami Atmaswarupanandaji Maharaj. He showed it to an American visitor, Mr. Scott Morrow, an ardent devotee of Sri Swami Krishnanandaji for many years. Mr. Morrow felt that it was very useful, especially for beginners, and so took it back to the U.S.A. with him. There 5 he carefully edited the manuscript and prepared it for publication by our Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press. I am greatly indebted to Sri Sankara of the Aalst D.L.S. Branch, to Sri Scott Morrow and to the Press staff for bringing out this invaluable book for the benefit of seekers of Yoga from all over the world. It is my earnest hope and desire that these lessons will greatly help the readers by removing wrong conceptions of Yoga and serving as a useful guide. May the Grace of the Divine ever be upon you all. —Swami Vimalananda 6 PUBLISHER’S NOTE How rare it is to find a teacher of supreme truth whose knowledge is without equal, whose ability to teach is unparalleled and whose primary concern is to render the utmost benefit to the students seated before him! Such a one was Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj. Not only was he a master of yoga, Vedanta, the scriptures of India and the philosophy of both the East and West, he was also a saint and sage of great attainment. He was not someone who merely lectured from book knowledge; when he spoke, it was with a voice filled with the conviction manifested in a person who has realised the highest in his own vast and profound experience. Swamiji was able to explain the most philosophical concepts with clarity and insight. Once having heard him speak, the listener would have the feeling that everything that was needed had been provided. As was mentioned in the Foreword, the lectures that make up the content of this book were given to a small group of students who had come to the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India in the winter of 1970 to be instructed in the fundamentals of yoga. Swami Krishnanandaji began the lectures on the auspicious day of Makara Sankranti (January 14th) in the Bhajan Hall and spoke five days a week over a period of eight weeks—giving 34 talks altogether, up until the conclusion on March 4th, 1970. These talks were recorded and transcribed, and for many years the resulting manuscript was with Sri Swami Vimalanandaji, a senior monk of the Sivananda Ashram, who reverently used the text for his own study and meditation. Out of a conviction that these wonderful teachings should be made available to a wider audience, Swami Vimalanandaji eventually gave the manuscript to a devotee who has edited the text into its present form. The talks here are meant to be immensely helpful to a seeker on the spiritual path who wants to understand the concepts of yoga and put them into practice. Swami 7 Krishnanandaji has gone into great detail, but at the same time he has taken care to explain things slowly and concisely so that one could easily follow the lessons without confusion. His emphasis was on the philosophy, psychology and practice of yoga according to the teachings of sage Patanjali. The first seven limbs of yoga as expounded by Patanjali (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana) form the basis of the instructions found herein. Although there are a number of Sanskrit words used in the text, one need not be conversant with Sanskrit to follow the meaning. If a Sanskrit word is not explained through the context of the paragraph, an English translation is provided beside the word. In addition, there is a Sanskrit glossary at the end of the book to aid the reader. Most of the Sanskrit words have been italicised, with the exception of certain familiar words such as yoga, guru, karma and others that have become a part of common English. Readers from North America should take note that the grammar and spelling in the book accord with British standards of usage. The editors would like to thank those who have helped in the work of bringing out this book and those donors whose gracious contributions made its printing possible. May the blessings of Sri Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji be on all those who take to the study of this valuable book. —The Divine Life Society January 14th, 2005 8 SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF SWAMI KRISHNANANDA Worshipful