Maa Anandmayi's book collection
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ
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Who is God :- God is existence absolute, knowledge absolute & bliss absolute. He is Truth, He is the Light of light. God is all-pervading intelligence or consciousness & the all-pervading power that governe & keeps it in perfect order. He is the inner ruler of this body & mind. He is omnipotent, omniscient & omnipresent. He has the six attributes of wisdom, dispassion, strength, siddhis or power, wealth & fame. God exists in the past, present & future. He is unchanging amidst the changing phenomena, permanent amidst the impermanent & imperishable amidst the perishable things of this world. He has created this world through the gunas -- sattva, rajas & tamas—for His own divine play. God is independent. He dispenses the fruits of actions of the jivas. He is all-merciful. It is through His power that you see, heat & talk. Whatever you heat is God. God works through your hands & cats through your mouth. On account of sheer ignorance you have totally forgotten Him. Eternal peace & happiness can be had only in God. That is the reason why sensible, intelligent aspirants attempt to have to have God-realisation. God –realisation can bring an end to the ever-revolving wheel of births & deaths & bestow supreme & everlasting happiness on mankind.
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In the present age of increasing global & personal insecurities, bhakti or love of God is the easiest & most direct path to Self-realisation or liberation. The essence of all religions, it is an integral part of life for millions of people. In this handbook on bhakti yoga, comprising what is surely the most authoritative & comprehensive text on the subject, Swami Sivananda has provided us with an inspiring guide to its practice. Through this volume it is possible to reach a complete undersanding of this aspect of yoga, & implement its practice with the clear & practical instructions given by the author. INTRODUCTION:- There are as many sects in this world as there are sands on the sea-shore. People have lost sight of the true essence of religion. They fight unnecessarily for petty dogmas, for externals & nonessentials. They publish nasty leaflets, one abusing the other. On the public platform one preacher abuses another preacher of a different cult. One preacher of a certion school of thought will declare openly the defects of another school of though. Even the so-called educated people shamelessly fight amongst themselves. This deplorable state of affairs is going on nowadays. It is shocking to see this in the name of religion. You can reach Mount Kailas through different routes, via Almora, Gangotri, Badri-Narayan, Joshimath, Kashmir, etc. The destination is the same though the routes are different. The final destination for all the rivers is rivers is the ocean. You con Calcutta from Madras by train or by steamer or by motor car or by aeroplane. What does it matter? The destination is the same. Doctrines may also diverge as widely from one another as do paths, but the goal to be reached, Self-realisation, is always the same. There are different types of minds. People have different tastes, tendencies, temperaments & capacities for sadhana, so various paths are indispensably requisite. Advaita school, Dvaita school, Monistic school, qualifird Monistic school,Theosophy, Sufism, Shintiism, Confucianism, Mazdaism & many more ‘isms’; Arya Samaj, Brahma Samja & Dharma Samja. Many more are needed. There must be as many ‘isma’ & samajas as there are types of minds. Lord Siva says there are crores of ways or paths for controlling the mind. It is only jealous, intolerant, narrow-hearted, petty-minded people who fight amongst themselves for trifling things. Differences melt away when one’s heart expands, when one gets God-realisation. Realized souls can never fight. They have equal vision & equal love for all. They look to the essentials of every sect or cult, which are the same everywhere. Every religion, every cult & every sect declares: “There is one Truth. It has to be approached by speaking truth, by loving all, by leading a life of continence, purity & self-control, by concentration & devotion.” Four blind men began to feel an elephant for the first time. One caught hold of the elephant’s ears & said, “The elephant is like a winnowing fan.” Another caught hold of the legs & said, “The elephant is like a pillar.” Another caught hold of the tail & said, “The elephant is like a big whip.” They began to fight amongst themselves regarding their experiences. In the same way some villagers who saw a fire-brigade engine for the first time began to fight amongst themselves. One man said, “This is all fire,” another said, “This is all water,” while a third remarked, “This is all iron.” Dire ignorance is the cause of petty quarrels. Similar is the case with the petty-minded ignorant sectarians who fight amongst themselves for trifling matters. Just as a tree appears to be of an equal height for a man who has climbed to the top of the hill, so also for a realized bhagavata who has reached the sublime heights of divine consciousness & bhava Samadhi, all sects & all people look alike. Brahman is one. Truth or God is one. Scriptures are one. Vedas are one. Virtue & devotion, concentration & meditation & Samadhi are one. Realization, true religion, the religion of love & the religion of self-realisation are all one. Energy is one. Sun is one. Moon is one. Space is one. Thought image is one, though languages are different. Mercy & sincerity are one. There is no such thing as American sincerity or Japanese honesty. Body is one. It is made up of the five elements in England, China & Africa.blood is one. The blood of a Chinese, African negro, English aristocrat or American millionaire is the same. It contains the same blood-plasma, haemoglobin, red coepuscles & leocoytes. The feeling is the same in all. If you call anyone a fool or vagabond he becomes angry. Everyone gets hunger, thirst, defecation, micturition, exhilaration, depression & happy & sorrowful moods. The heart, liver, spleen, bowels, the organs of action & sensation & the intellectual faculty that comprehends are the same in all. The goal to be reached by all, viz, God-realisation, is also the same. Take the kernel, core or essence & ruthlessly throw away the skin or the shell. Are they not fools who leave the grain & waste their time in quarrelling about the chaff? I pity them. They are hopeless, incorrigible specimens of humanity. Life is short & time is fleeting. Time is precious. Remember the goal & the purpose for which you have taken this physical body. Struggle hard towaeds the fulfillment of the end you have come here to accomplish. Let all march courageously towards the goal, be it by train or tonga, car or plane. Let all strive after the true religion, which is fundamentally the same in all sects or cults or schools. If the essence of all religions is one & all same, to what avail is this wrangling & quarrelling amongst sects? Let us therefore strive in right earnest after the achievement of that great end of human life, the true essence of all religions — devotion to God’s divine love or bhakti — which alone as from the wheel of births & deaths, give us highest knowledge, infinite bliss, supreme peace, eternal satisfaction & immortality!
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In the first section of this comprehensive book, Swami Sivananda gives us a lucid understanding of what constitutes good health, including many aspects that are often neglected. The second section, hatha yoga, deals with exercises for flexibility (covering all the joints of the body); classical yoga asanas & variations; twelve bandhas & mudras, & the shat-kriyas (cleansing techniques). The concise & explicit chapter on pranayama covers every aspect of this important practice. In the section on kundalini the different aspects of this mysterious power are described in simple language. Sections on swara yoga & brahmacharya follow, & the book concludes with a chapter on concentration, meditation & Samadhi. What is Health? Health is that condition of the body in which all its functions are efficiently performed without any difficulty. It is the condition of comfort, ease, ability to eat, move & perform other functions of life. It is the state which results from the harmonious performance of the various functions of the bodily organs. It is the condition of the body when every organ or part of it is sound & performs without pain or suffering the functions or duties assigned to it. If the stomach or bowels possess all their natural strength & efficiently discharge their duties in the digestion of food-stuffs; if the heart & its blood vessels are in good order & circulate the blood properly & satisfactorily; if the lungs work properly in allowing the blood to receive its due supply of oxygen; if brain performs all its functions & if the skin carries off the perspiration normally, the chief conditions of health are observed. We then do not experience any uneasiness or painful sensation & are able to attend to all our appointed duties. To be in this state is to enjoy one of the greatest blessings. It has been provided by our beneficient Creator that all the organs & parts of our frame continue in their original soundness (if we only take care not to injure them) and that we should consequently be healthy. But if we do not take care to keep them sound, it is impossible that we can be healthy.
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About This Book:- A long-awaited text book on raja yoga, mot by a Western scholar or India pundit, but who has attained the goal of yoga—Self-realisation. Instruction is given in language of simplicity, clarity & force. As in all his books, the spirit of Swami Sivananda permeates every page. Compelling the reader to put the ideals into practice. This book is a must for all who aspire to control their mind. INTRODUCTION** The Inward Path to Liberation:- Yoga is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. Just as camphor melts & becomes one with the fire, just as a drop of water when it is thrown into the ocean becomes one with the ocean, the individual soul — when it is purified, when it is freed from lust, greed, hatred & egoism, when it becomes pure — becomes one with the Supreme Soul. The process of yoga embodies an ascent into purity, into that absolute perfection which is the original state of man. it implies therefore the removal of the enveloping, the stilling of the discordant vibratory tempo of the lower sheaths & the establishment of a state of perfect balance & harmony. Now, all the above-mentioned factors that bind down the individual soul may be seen to be operating on a larger scale through humanity as a whole. The present age is enmeshed in ignorance (characterized by restlessness, a blind clinging to earthly existence, perverted individualism & abandonment to pleasures of the flesh) & violence, strife & discord in all walks of life. Modern age is the machine age. As such it is power-ridden. Discovery of newer ways of generating power, exploiting fresh aspects of known forces & inventing machines to make machines is the present craze under man’s control, but man himself does not have his senses & his mind under his control. This has resulted in the misuse & abuse of the fruits of civilization & science, because all power corrupts. The adoption of the yoga way of life is the release from & the guarantee against such abuse of power & the resultant disaster. Training in yoga brings to man several supernormal powers that no machine can ever generate. Yet the discipline laid down on the path ensures their abuse. What is Yoga? The term ‘yoga’ comes from the foot ‘yuj’ which means ‘to join’. In its spiritual sense it is the process by which the identity of the individual soul & the Supreme Soul is realized by the yogi. Yoga means union with the Lord. This is the goal of human life. It is the be-all & end-all of human existence. Yoga also means ‘addition’. When the restless individual soul is added to the Supreme Soul it finds eternal rest & supreme satisfaction. The word ‘yoga’ is also applicable in a secondary sense to all those factors that go to constitute yoga, that are conducive to the final achievement or fulfillment of yoga & as such indirectly lead to finds freedom or perfection. A yogi is one who has reached the highest state of Samadhi (asamprajnata). One who is attempting to get perfection in yoga is also called a yogi.
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Swami Sivananda was an advaita vedantin (non-dualist). Howevwe it was not ‘dry lip vedanta’ that he practiced & preached, but a dynamic practice of Vedanta in daily life. In this book Vedanta is explained in simple langusge with many homely illustrations & stories from the Upanishads, etc., so that the reader gets a clear understanding of the subject. Intricate points of Vedanta does not allow the reader to settle for intellectual knowledge alone. In his inimitable way he seasons what could have been a dry & technical book with the enthusiasm & soul-force of one who has mastered the subject & experienced its fruits. WHAT IS VEDANTA? Vedanta is the science of the Reality. It is not merely a conceptual syatem or a speculation over what ‘ought to be’, but the factual knowledge of what ‘is’. The Western philosophers have been busy with ascertaining what ‘ought to be’; but the ancient Hindus have already discovered realized & proclaimed the truth of what ‘is’. Vedanta is the result of this discovery of the absolute Truth, the declaration of the nature of the supreme goal of life & the way thereto. Vedanta holds the first place amongst all systems of philosophies. It is a system of philosophy in which human speculation has reached its very pinnaclc. It is a unique system of thought which demands a subtle, sharp intellect to grasp its fundamental principles. It is unique in the boldness of its conclusions. It is absolutely free from all shades of dogmatism or pet doctrines. All philosophers should bow their heads with implicit obedience & submissiveness before this grand philosophy. Vedanta boldly proclaims with emphasis that you are the immortal, all-pervading Atman, the universal soul or supreme Brahman in essence, in reality, & that this little jiva or human being is identical with the Eternal or the Absolute. It is that sublime philosophy which elevates the mind at once to magnanimous heights of Brahman-hood, divine splendor & glory.
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