SIVANANDA'S INTEGRAL YOGA By Siva-Pada-Renu SWAMI VENKATESANANDA 6(59(/29(*,9( 385,)<0(',7$7( 5($/,=( So Says Sri Swami Sivananda Sri Swami Venkatesananda A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION Seventh Edition: 1981 (2000 Copies) World Wide Web (WWW) Edition : 1998 WWW site: http://www.rsl.ukans.edu/~pkanagar/divine/ 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, Uttar Pradesh, Himalayas, India. PRAYERFUL DEDICATION TO BHAGAVAN SIVANANDA Lord! Condescend to accept this humble flower, fragrant with the aroma of thine own divine glory, immeasurable and infinite. Hundreds of savants and scholars might write hundreds of tomes on your glory, yet it would still transcend them all. In accordance with thine ancient promise: yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata abhyutthanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham paritranaya sadhoonam vinasaya cha dushkritam dharmasamsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge (Gita IV–7, 8) You, the Supreme Being, the all-pervading Sat-chidaranda-Para-Brahman, have taken this human garb and come into this world to re-establish Dharma (righteousness). The wonderful transformation you have brought about in the lives of millions all over the world is positive proof of your Divinity. I am honestly amazed at my own audacity in trying to bring this Supreme God, Bhagavan Sivananda, to the level of a human being (though Sage Valmiki had done so while narrating the story to Lord Rama) and to describe the Yoga of the Yogeshwareshwara, the goal of all Yogins. Lord! I cling to Thy lotus-feet and beg for Thy merciful pardon. If, however, these pages do inspire some others to take up Thy cross and follow Thee, my Gurudev, I shall have been amply justified in this misadventure. What is Sivananda’s Cross ? It is: Meditate | Love– |–Serve | Realise This is what has been dealt with in this humble attempt at the presentation of Sivananda Yoga. Sivanandarpanamastu. SIVA-PADA-RENU (Dust of Sivananda’s Feet), Swami Venkatesananda. iii CONTENTS PRAYERFUL DEDICATION TO BHAGAVAN SIVANANDA . ......iii A LITTLE OF ALL ........................................1 Yoga Asana ..........................................2 Diet . ...........................................4 Pranayama...........................................4 Health Redefined .......................................5 THE SECRET OF SELFLESS SERVICE . 9 Compulsive Sharing . 11 Spontaneous Overwhelming Generosity . ...................13 Trying Situations . ...........14 The Razor’s Edge . ...........16 Fearlessness .........................................18 The Refuge Of Destitutes . .............20 The Spirit ..........................................21 SeeGodInAll........................................21 Training Of Disciples . .......23 SEEGODINALL........................................31 Mantra Repetition . ...........31 Religious Freedom. ...........35 True Catholic ........................................37 Worship Of God In An Image . ..........39 Worship Of The Omnipresent . ..........40 Vibhuti Yoga ........................................41 Devotional Singing . 44 Satsanga ...........................................47 Prayer ............................................50 Faith In God .........................................52 VIRTUE AND VISION . 53 Yama-Niyama ........................................55 Renunciation.........................................58 Pratyahara (Abstraction of the Senses) . ..................70 Meditation ..........................................70 Siddhis (psychic powers) or (perfection) ..........................73 The Mighty Intellect Of Gurudev . ......................75 SELF-KNOWLEDGE . ...........77 Gurudev’s Preceptor . 80 Sravana, Manana, Nididhyasana . ......................81 CONCLUSION..........................................83 iv CHAPTER ONE A LITTLE OF ALL In the history of the world there have been sages, saints and prophets who have practised and preached one or the other modes of approaching the goal, which is self-realisation. It was Gurudev1, the prophet of integral yoga, who insisted “It is not enough to practise any one kind of spiritual discipline, however well you may strive to do so. Every aspirant should incorporate in his spiritual programme all the items of all the yogas or modes of approaching God.” Gurudev had no doctrine of his own. He re-delivered the same message that has from the beginning of time been given to us by the divine. His were the lips of God. He was one with God. Yet, if we can audaciously read a doctrine into his teaching, his own unique approach to the science of yoga can be called “The Yoga of a Little” or the yoga of synthesis. He warned us that only the harmonious development of the entire being could take us easily to the goal. A weak spot anywhere in the structure would ruin the whole. He composed a rather simple but beautiful little song, which he himself sang in the Mahamantra tune at every meeting he addressed, especially during his All-India-Ceylon Tour in 1950. hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare Eat a little, drink a little; talk a little, sleep a little. Mix a little, move a little; serve a little, give a little; Work a little, rest a little; study a little, worship a little. Do asana a little, pranayama a little; reflect a little, meditate a little, Do japa a little, do kirtan a little, write mantra a little, have satsanga a little. Do all these, little, little. You will have time for all. Was the Master against doing more of these wonderful things–like japa, asanas, or meditation? You ask, “Why only a little, why not much?” Then, we go on to interpret this to mean, “Do at least a little .. ..” But he really meant just this, “Do a little of each, don’t specialise.” That was the message–because the thing that clamours for specialisation is the ego, for the specialist is admired by the crowd. Specialisation fattens one’s ego, weakens the spirit of tolerance and understanding, and creates contempt and hatred. 1In this work, Gurudev, Swamiji and the Master" refer to Swami Sivananda. 1 SIVANANDA’S INTEGRAL YOGA Yoga is harmony. A beautiful, symmetrical and integral development of the total being, which means exercising every aspect of your personality every day. Otherwise there is an imbalance of personality, which is no yoga. In Gurudev’s way therefore you cannot spend too much time per day on any one practice, whatever it may be. A true follower of Swami Sivananda can only do a little of all. Thus there is harmonious development, health (wholeness) of body, mind and spirit. Gurudev, while still a senior student at the medical college, was very eager that people should know the art of healthy living rather than the technique of healing. The need for curative treatment arises only when you have been foolish enough to fall ill. Why not prevent it? Soon after leaving college, he started a magazine called “Ambrosia” and in that magazine he published every little hint, secret or non-secret, that he could unearth. People must be educated on how to prevent themselves from falling ill, not so much on how to find a cure. Curing is only emergency treatment. Throughout his life he was passionately devoted to making knowledge and service available and free to as many people as possible. These two were unique passions of the Master–health and service. He had no use at all for secrets (“I have this special exclusive remedy, come to ME.”) If he came upon a secret theory, it had to be published the next morning. Once when someone in the ashram wished to prepare a correspondence course from Swamiji’s writings, publishing one lesson a month and making money from the project, Swamiji agreed. But once it was done, Swamiji immediately put the lessons back into book form and had them published for immediate distribution, mostly free. He was a professional doctor, who sought by every possible means to help you not to go to a doctor. Even so the practice of yoga asanas, which he enthusiastically commenced with the aid of some books while in Malaya, became part of this whole approach to health. His book on hatha yoga contains the fundamental essence of the basic ancient texts. The importance that hatha yoga played in the total scheme of his teachings was how to keep yourself healthy, really healthy. How to be healthy? What does ‘health’ really mean? Health by definition means WHOLENESS. You cannot have physical health at the expense of mental health. There is no such thing as physical health. Health being wholeness cannot be divided into physical, mental and spiritual. A harmonious development of both body and mind was Gurudev’s speciality. Frequently in his writings on yoga physical culture, he comes back to mental health, spiritual well-being. If the mind is completely, disorganised and neurotic, the body cannot be healthy, however many asanas you practise, for however long, however perfectly. Yoga Asana Gurudev did not neglect his yoga asana practice even for a day. He himself only started practising them when he was nearly thirty. He insisted, “It is never too late to start, and there is no condition under which the asanas should be given up; even in disease the asanas should only be modified to suit the condition of the body.” At the best of times he did the sirasasana (headstand) for five or ten minutes. He also did sarvangasana (shoulder stand), and to these two he added a few more; a little forward bending, mahamudra, paschimottanasana