DECEMBER 2010 THE GLORY OF SPIRITUAL LIFE 1 THE GLORY OF SPIRITUAL LIFE (H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj) GLORIOUS ASPIRANTS! in all the re splen dent basis of Brah man upon which the drama of the universe is staged. less ed ness be yours! You are B Service breaks the ego, opens the adhyatmika, dhiras, spir i tual heroes. Live heart, exp ands the con scious ness and deep - ever in the Spirit. Spir i tual life is nei ther life merely inside the world nor life simply out side ens the spirit. Love softens the hard person - it. It is life in the transcen den tal Being, the al ity, melts the mind and takes you to God. Spirit which is imma nent in all be ings, the Self Dhy ana burnishes you, exalt s you to the which is the Supreme Lord of ev erything, in - amanava sthiti, the su per hu man na ture, and side and out side. Spiri tual life can be lived reveals to you the trea sure of wisdom within, "in" the world, but it is "beyond" the world, for the wisdom that is not given to the worldly, the it is not of the world. Live this eternal life! O wis dom that transcends the in tellect, the wis - mumukshus, live this glo rious life! dom that man can not hope to att ain un til he casts off the shell of his in di vidual ego by sur- The At man is the Light of the uni verse. render ing himself to the in fi nite light, the won- Live in it. It is, and therefore, all are. It shines, drous light which the spir i tually blind do not and therefore, every thing shines. It is free, and therefore, all strive for free dom. Know be hold. this source of free dom, the root of bliss, and Therefore, put forth ef fort. Sadhana is be free. spir i tual move ment con sciously sys tem- To wards this end, strive; dedi cate your atized. To restrain the senses, to withdraw life to this one su preme goal, the only mean- the mind, to be aware of the di vine presence ing ful purpose. The world is chaff to this ma- is the es sence of sadhana. To speak the truth jes tic es sence which is the great goal of at all cost, to love all as one's own self, to be yours; it is darkness be fore the splen dour of thoroughly disp as sion ate, to be pure in the Divine Being; it is ig no rance in rela tion to thought, word and deed, to be contented and the knowledge of God. It is death in the light cheer ful, and above all, to be undeluded, to of that real life in the Truth of all truths. March be ever vig i lant and to remem ber God, the At - on with the help of this light and be free. man cease lessly, is the gist of spir i tual prac - The expe rience of the glory of spiri tual tice. Fol low these methods and real ise the life is pre ceded by the nega tion of the narrow high est per fec tion. life in the body and the mind. Therefore, Spiri tual life is the only glori ous life! For - trans form your selves com pletely, trans fig ure get not this great message, O man of the your entire being through service, through earth! Nations are formed. Sections are de vo tion, through med i ta tion, through knowl - raised. Wars are waged. Human ity is eager edge. Pierce the veil of delu sion, go be yond for any compet i tive race. Parties ri val each the dark pic ture of Maya, through recog ni s ing other. But this is not in con formity with Truth. DECEMBER 2010 MARCH TOWARDS FREEDOM 2 O unify ing bonds of love! Remem ber the es- the vastu, the real ity, that endures forever , is sen tial unity of the spirit, the oneness of life in God or Brahman —you may call him by any all. Your real glory is in the life of unity and name—for He is the sole Exis tence. Resort to peace. Break down sep a rations. Build up Him; take refuge in Him; realise Him and be unity. This is glory! There is no glory in this free. mundane region, in this joyless world which is in fected by change, decay and death. De- May you all be tri umphant in your struc tion and sor row leave not a single be ing sadhana and att ain kaivalya moksha or abso - un touched. Every thing shall pass away. lute in de pend ence! Nothing shall re main. The only subst ance, OM TAT SAT k k MARCH TOWARDS FREEDOM (H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj) Chil dren of Im mor tal ity, equipped myself with the four means, I have pu rified my heart through selfless ser vice, The Lord is within you. He is seated in the Kirtan and Japa, I have served my Guru with heart of all beings. What ever you see, hear, faith and devo tion and have obt ained his touch or feel is God. Therefore hate not any- grace and bless ings? That man can save the body, cheat not anybody , harm not any body. world. He will soon become a cos mic Bea- Love all and be one with all. You will soon at - con-Light, a unique torch-bearer of wisdom tain eternal bliss and pe rennial joy. and a dynamic Yogi. Be self-dis ci plined. Be simple and har- O Man! Get yourself ready now. It is a moni ous in thoughts, feel ings, diet and dress. shameful thing that you have lived in vain till Love all. Fear none. Shake off lethargy , lazi - now and spent the life in eating, drink ing, idle ness and fear. Lead the Divine Life. Be a gos sip ing and worthless pur suits. The hour seeker af ter Truth or Real ity. Under st and the draws nearer. You have not done any meri to - Law and Dharma. Be alert and vigi lant. Over - ri ous act. It is not too late even now. Start come sorrow and conflict through enquiry nama smaran or reci ta tion of the Lord's and reflec tion. Move to wards freedom, per- Name from this sec ond. Be sincere and ear- fec tion and eternal bliss ev ery second. nest. Serve all. You can make yourself worthy Is there anyone among you who can say of His grace. You can cross the for mida ble with empha sis and force now: "I am a deserv - ocean of birth and death and att ain eternal ing as pi rant, I am yearning for Moksha, I have bliss and im mor tal ity! Edu ca tion must aim at implant ing in the pupils the ideal of simplic ity , ser vice and devotion in daily life, so that they may become sim ple and strong, and spend the knowledge they acquire in the service of the poor and the depressed, in the ser vice of the coun try. —Swami Sivananda DECEMBER 2010 SPIRITUAL AWAKENING—THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE 3 Swami Chidananda’s Letter of 1st Decem ber 1967 SPIRITUAL AWAKENING—THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE Be loved Im mor tal At man! the es sence of Yoga and Vedanta and Gurudev's gos pel of reli gion in daily life and Blessed Seeker af ter Truth! worship through ser vice. If by doing this I am Om Namo Narayanaya! Great indeed is my en abled to rep ay even the ti ni est frac tion of good fortune to commu ni cate with you the immea sur able debt of grati tude, which I through this letter , month by month, during owe to the sacred feet of Gurudev, I would this pres ent year that is now draw ing to its deem my self most blessed. Thus this close. Through my monthly letter to you I monthly Sivanandashram letter is to the have endeavoured to talk to you and share writer the means, whereby the great Guru is my thoughts on matters pert ain ing to your served and by which you too, who are life, to our cul ture, to Sanatana Dharma and Gurudev's spir i tual heirs, receive my ser vice. to Sri Gurudev's great spiri tual message and I also ren der service to sacred precious spir i tual teach ings. This to me is sa - Bharatavarsha and Bharatiya Samskriti (our cred ser vice to Sri Gurudev and also a means mother culture) by const antly remind ing her of keep ing per sonal con tact and thus coming chil dren about their noble heri tage and the closer to you as a mem ber of the Divine Life sub lime ideal which they must ful fil in their frater nity . It is a joy to me to keep in touch with lives. With this letter I come into your home. I you, through this Sivanandashram Letter . sit by your side and I speak to you of tasks to Blessed Atman! Through these lines I be done, of things to be remem bered and of seek to arouse within you a const ant aware- the great bless ed ness of hu man birth. I ness of the spir i tual purpose of your life.