Sivanandaji S Yoga Samhita

Sivanandaji S. YOGA SAMHITA Yoga Samhita, now in its second edition, consists of two books written by His Holiness Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaja and containing essays on various topics. The author's articles included in the Yoga Samhita were written under various circumstances, and therefore they touched upon various aspects of the philosophy and practice of yoga. The content as a whole can be considered as a real dictionary of philosophy and psychology of yoga, although the articles in it are not arranged in alphabetical order. Thus, this book will be a good introduction, providing the reader with a summary of the basic principles of the spiritual life. DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY Sivanandanagar, January 19, 1984 The first mandala of Gyana yoga The Wisdom of the Upanishads OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM OM Beloved Embodiments of the Spirit (Atma-Swarup), the wisdom of the ancients is contained in the Upanishads. They are your most valuable legacy. There are 108 Upanishads, but ten of them are the most important - these are the main Upanishads - Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitreya, Taitirya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. Sometimes two or three more are added to this list - Kaushitaki, Shvetashvatara and Maitrayani - and the main Upanishads become twelve or thirteen. The Upanishads are so named because they bring you closer to Reality, to Truth, or to Brahman. The Upanishads are direct revelations of Truth. Therefore they are called............(shruti) as opposed to ...........(smriti). The Upanishads were revealed in deep meditations to the sages (rishis) who brought them down to us. The Rishis truly perceived the Truth described in the Upanishads. Therefore, the Upanishads are the fruit of direct perception of the Truth (aparoksha anubhuti). Therefore the message of the Upanishads is lofty and the wisdom of the Upanishads is profound and inspirational. One mantra from the Upanishads will lift you to great heights of spiritual glory and splendor ........... (adhyatmik). The Lord resides permanently in this universe. The One Lord is hidden in all beings like butter in milk, electricity in wires, a fetus in a mother's womb. Although He is all-pervading and He is the only Reality that exists, His presence is not realized by you due to the fact that your heart is not pure and your intellect is not penetrating. ((x)) Atman (Spirit) will perceive only pure, penetrating, sharp intellect; and the intellect becomes sharp and refined when .........(vasan) and ............(samskar). But ((x)) the Creator put rajas (passion) into the human mind, and therefore he rushes to sensual objects, looking for pleasure in them. And yet ............ (kashchit dhira)! The world needs such ........... (dhira purushas) ((x)). This spiritual hero, the adhyatmik soldier, turns his gaze inwards, subdues the ........... (indriyas), calms the mind, sharpens the intellect, and while chanting OM, meditates on the radiant Atman. Inspiring scriptures The Atman radiates its own light. Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor even fire shine here; due to the fact that He (the radiant Atman) shines, they all shine with the light borrowed from Him ((x)). Such is the great nature of the Truth described in the Upanishads. How lofty are these thoughts! The Atman is the source and root of all things. The Prashna Upanishad says ((x)): "Just as the birds take their resting place in a tree, so all things have their resting place in the Supreme Atman." And further: ((x)) "Verily, this seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling, tasting, thinking, doing, this knowing 'I', personality, has its abode in the Supreme Eternal Atman. The Atman is the basis and reality of this universe." One Upanishad is enough to lead you to liberation (moksha). Study the Mandukya Upanishad. It says: ((x)) Mandukya Upanishad alone is sufficient for the liberation of the sincere aspirant. In this Upanishad the highest wisdom is presented in a concise form. ((x)) See how this Upanishad describes the Self in a series of negatives. The Higher Self is beyond definition. To define it is to limit it. It is invisible (adrishtam), devoid of worldly concern (avyavaharyam), it is beyond the reach of the intellect, mind and senses (agrahyam), it has no defining characteristics, since it is the only Absolute (alakshanam). ((x)) And then a few positive characteristics follow so that the mind is not completely confused by the negative description of the Higher Self ((x)): peaceful, full of all auspicious and blissful, One without a second. This Vedantic formula has an amazing, spiritualizing effect ((x)), it is given to us by Lord Dattatreya. How inspiring she is! The last word From the Upanishads we have received four spiritualizing and enlightening sayings: "Consciousness in Brahman" (parjanam brahma) from Aitareyyaupanishad, "I am Brahman" (aham brahmasmi) from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, "You are That" (tattvamasi) from Chandogyaupanishad and "It I am Brahma" (ayam atma brahma) from the Mandukyapanishad. This is a great revelation of Truth. Tat tvam asi, you are That--The Last Word of the Upanishads. You are neither this transient body nor this mind, which will cease to exist when the components of it ............ (samskaras) and ............ (vasanas); but you are the immortal Atman, full of eternity, knowledge and bliss (sachchidananda). Realize this and be free. How beautifully this great Truth is explained in the Upanishads! For the enlightenment of his son and disciple Shvetaketu Uddalaka repeats this Mahavakya nine times with various explanations. First-class aspirant, deserving of the highest degrees ...........(sadhana chatushthaya)--...........(viveka), ............(vairagya), ........... (shat-sampat) and ............(mumukshuttva) -- is aware of the Self even when this Mahavakya is uttered once. But Uddalaka had to repeat it ten times before Shvetaketu could realize the Self. Uddalaka sent his son Shvetaketu to the Guru. The boy stayed with the Guru for twelve years and studied the Vedas. He returned proud of his learning. If you are physically beautiful you have two annas (coins) of pride, if you are rich you become even more proud, learning adds two more annas of pride. All this thickens the veil of egoism; instead of humility, an erudite person acquires pride and arrogance. Seeing this, Uddaka asked his son: "My child, do you know how the Unknowable becomes known, the Unseen becomes visible, the Unheard becomes audible, and the Unthinkable becomes thinkable?" "My teacher didn't teach me that," the boy replied. Then Uddaka conveyed to Shvetaketu the knowledge of the Self. The explanations he gives are wonderful. "Knowing clay you can know about pots and jugs, knowing Brahman you can know all names and forms." ((x)) "That is the Truth, That is the Atma, That is you, O Shvetaketu!" Thus, with various explanations, Uddaka explained to Shvetaketu the nature of the Higher Self. This Atma is the highest Truth. Success comes to those who remain faithful to this Truth, for as the Mundaka Upanishad says: ((x)) "Only Truth, not falsehood. Really, only the Atma exists. Tat tvam asi is the highest initiation. But even if this mantra is uttered millions of times in the ears of our modern worldly friends, it will not mean anything to them. But for a student endowed with insight and other qualities, it will become a true initiation. Otherwise, it will only supplement your intellectual stock of knowledge; you cannot directly recognize the Truth. You will not be able to connect with the Rishis who gave this mantra. Another illustration of Uddalaki is also very interesting. "Take a lump of salt and dissolve it in this cup of water," he said. The next morning he asked his son, "Now show me the salt you brought last night. He replied, "The salt has dissolved in this water, I cannot get it." Uddalaka said, "Although you cannot see it, you can taste it. You can tell by the taste of the water that there is salt in it. And also you cannot see the Brahman, the Inner Self, because your mind tends to spread out; but thanks to the eye of intuition, thanks to ............ (shravan), .......... (manan), .............. (nidithyasana), you can realize Brahman in direct intuitive perception. "You don't see red blood cells or microbes, but through a microscope you can see them." Self-realization is your duty. Thus, only a hero who has turned his gaze inward can realize the Atman. He has real heroism, not the tamasic or rajasic heroism of a soldier. The heroism of the first-class aspirant is sattvic and enables him to turn his gaze inward and realize the Self. Anvaya-vyatireka and laya-chintana are methods for removing the illusory sheaths that cover the Atman and for realizing the Self hidden in all things. Just as you take the pulp from the munja grass, in the same way, through the process of negation and affirmation - negation of the false and affirmation of the Reality - you must bring out the Atman from the illusory objects. Through the realization of this Atman, the soul is freed from captivity. The Mundaka Upanishad says: ((x)) "The bonds of the heart are broken, all debts are repaid, and deeds are completed when one is seen who is both superior and inferior." The Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras together constitute Prasthanatraya. The statements of the Upanishads are often contradictory. The Brahma Sutras reconcile apparent contradictions and bring out the coherent philosophy of the Upanishads. These three scriptures are different from the Prakriya Granth. The Prakriya Granthas discuss the three bodies, the five koshas, ​​the three states of consciousness, the three gunas, the process of evolution, involution, the practice (sadhana) for realizing the Atma, and so on. All these Prakriyas are addressed to beginning students of Vedanta. There