Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a Divine Blessing for attaining success in any field. Body and Mind are instruments which the practice of Hatha Yoga keeps sound, strong, and full of energy.

It is a unique armour of defence to battle the opposing forces in the material and spiritual fields. By its practice you can combat Adhi-Vyadhi and attain radiant health and God-realisation.

Become a spiritual hero full of physical, mental and spiritual strength.

Asana

Any steady comfortable posture is an Asana. There are 84 Asanas. Sukha, Siddha and Padma Asanas are very good for meditation and Japa. If you practise Siddhasana for a period of twelve years, this alone will give you Moksha. You must keep the head, neck and the trunk in a straight line. You can control the Rajoguna and the Indriyas by practice of Asana. Several ailments such as haemorrhoids or piles, chronic constipation, etc., are removed by Asana.

Padmasana

Sit on the ground. Place the right foot on the left thigh and similarly the left one on the right thigh. Place the hands on the thighs near the knee joint. Close the eyes and concentrate on Trikuti. This is Padmasana.

Siddhasana

Place one heel at the anus. Keep the other heel at the root of the generative organ. Close the eyes. Concentrate and do Japa and meditation on this Asana. Padmasana and Siddhasana are most suitable for meditation. Start practising for half an hour and gradually increase the period to three hours. When you sit on the Asana, there must not be the least shake in the body. You must become a live marble statue. In the beginning, the body feels heavy. Later on when Asana Siddhi is obtained, you will feel a real pleasure and the body becomes very light. The body becomes your willing servant to obey your commands.

Sukhasana

Any comfortable Asana in which you can sit for a long time is Sukhasana. You must be careful to keep the head, neck and the trunk in one straight line.

The above three Asanas are intended for Japa and meditation. There are several other Asanas that are intended for keeping up Brahmacharya and good health and for awakening Kundalini.

Sirshasana

Sirshasana is the king of all Asanas. Spread a four-fold blanket. Rest the head inside the locked fingers and slowly raise the legs up. Then slowly bring down the legs without jerks. Take the help of a wall or any of your friends. Do it for a minute and increase the period to 5 to 10 minutes. It removes diseases of the eyes, nerves, blood, stomach, intestines, gonorrhoea, spermatorrhoea, dyspepsia, constipation. It augments the digestive fire, and improves appetite. It helps as blood and nervine tonic. Intellectual faculties develop. It helps Brahmacharya and makes you an Oordhvareta Yogi.

Sarvangasana

Lie down flat on the back. Slowly raise the legs to vertical position. Support the trunk with the palms of your hands. The whole body rests upon two shoulders. Press the chin against the chest. Concentrate on the thyroid-gland that is situated at the root of the neck. Do it from 3 to 10 minutes. Slowly bring down the legs. All the benefits of Sirshasana are derived from this Asana also.

Matsyasana

Do Padmasana. Lie on the back. Hold the head by two elbows. This is one variety. Stretch the head back so that the centre of the head rests on the ground and catch hold of the toes. Form an arch of the trunk. This is a contrary Asana to Sarvangasana. This must be done after Sarvangasana to realise the maximum benefits.

Mayurasana

Place the palm of the two hands on the ground. Place the navel on the two elbows. Stand upon the hands, the legs being raised in the air plain or crossed with Padmasana. This destroys the effect of unwholesome food. Take the help of the end of a table. Practise here in the beginning.

Paschimottanasana

Sit. Stretch the legs on the ground stiff like a stick. Exhale and then catch the toes with the hands. Bend slowly and place the forehead on the knees. Keep the lungs empty when you bend. This will drive out all diseases of the stomach. Do this five or six times in the morning and evening.

Do Asanas with an empty stomach.

Pranayama

Pranayama or control of Prana, is the means to an end. It helps purification of the nerves and causes Nadi Suddhi. It awakens the mystic, serpent power, Kundalini Sakti. Puraka is inhalation of breath. Kumbhaka is retention. Rechaka is exhalation of breath. The practice of Pranayama should be systematic and well-regulated. The ratio between Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka is 1:4:2. If you inhale for a period of 12 Matras, you will have to do Kumbhaka for a period of 48 Matras, then the Rechaka period is 24 Matras. You must do Rechaka very, very slowly. This is important. This is a sine qua non of the practice.

Easy Comfortable Pranayama

(Sukha Purvaka)

Sit on Padma or Siddha Asana with an empty stomach in your meditation room before the picture of your Ishta Devata. Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Draw the air in slowly through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril with the right ring and little fingers and retain the air as long as you can comfortably do. Then remove the right thumb and exhale through the right nostril very, very slowly. Now half the process is over. Similarly, draw the air in through the right nostril; retain the breath and exhale through the left nostril. This is one round of Pranayama. Do 20 or 30 Pranayamas in the morning and evening to start with and slowly increase the number to 80 for each sitting. First have two sittings only, in the morning and evening. After due practice you can have four sittings. Have a Bhava that all the Divine qualities such as mercy, love, forgiveness, Santi, joy, enter into your system along with the inspired air and that all Asura Sampat, devilish qualities such as lust, anger, greed, are thrown out along with the expired air. Repeat OM, or Gayatri mentally during Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka.

Pranayama removes all diseases, purifies the Nadis, steadies the mind in concentration, improves digestion, hardens Brahmacharya and awakens the Kundalini. Hardworking Sadhakas can do 320 Pranayamas daily in four sittings at the rate of 80 each sitting. Purification of the Nadis will set in rapidly. Many Siddhis are obtained by Pranayama practice.

Bhastrika Pranayama

This is one of the eight kinds of Pranayama of Yogi Swatmaram. As the bellows of the blacksmith constantly dilate and contract, similarly, slowly draw in air by both nostrils and expand the stomach; then let out air quickly making the sound like bellows. Inhale and exhale quickly ten to twenty times. Then perform Kumbhaka after a deep inhalation. Then expel it slowly. Do this three times. This is a very powerful Pranayama.

Sitali

Draw air forcefully in through the mouth (with lips contracted and tongue thrust out) folding the tongue lengthwise with a hissing sound and fill the lungs slowly. Retain it for a short time, as long as is comfortable. Then exhale slowly through both nostrils. Practise this daily. Bhastrika and Sitali Pranayamas can be practised even in standing posture. [For full particulars, see the book: “Science of Pranayama”.]

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Section VII

Mind And Meditation

Do not try to drive away the unimportant and irrelevant thoughts. The more you try, the more will they return, the more strength will they gain. You will only tax your energy and will.

Become indifferent. Fill the mind with Divine thoughts. The others will gradually vanish.

Get yourself established in Nirvikalpa Samadhi through constant meditation.

Three Doshas Of The Mind

There are three Doshas or defects in the mind viz., Malam, Vikshepa and Avarana. The impurities of the mind such as Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya are termed Malams. This is removed by the practice of Yama, Niyama and Nishkama Karma Yoga. Vikshepa is tossing of the mind. It is removed by Upasana, Trataka, Yoga and Pranayama. Avarana is the veil of ignorance. This is removed by the study of Vedantic literature, meditation and Jnana.

Mind: Its Mysteries And Control

Mind is Atma Sakti. It is an illusory power of God or Brahman. The seat of the mind is heart. It is formed out of the subtlest essence of food. A Vritti is a wave that arises in the mind-lake. There are three Gunas in the mind, viz., Sattva (purity), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (inertia, darkness). Control the Vrittis. Increase your Sattva.

If you entertain thoughts of hatred you are really a murderer of that man against whom you foster such thoughts. You are committing suicide, because those thoughts rebound upon only you. Hatred ceases only by love and not by hatred.

Your thoughts, sentiments, moods and emotions produce their strong impressions on the face. The face is like an advertisement board wherein is what is going in the mind is specified.

As the first thought is the thought “I” and as this thought “I” is at the base of all other thoughts. Ahamkara is the seed for the mind. Buddhi (Bheda Buddhi) is the cause for this differentiation (this little “I”, the self-arrogating false personality), and is again the cause of Ahamkara. Destroy this false egoism and the Bheda Buddhi by Brahma Bhava, Vichara and rest in your own natural Satchidananda Svarupa.

Trataka

Trataka is one of the Shat Karmas in the light of Hatha Yoga philosophy. Trataka also plays a very prominent part in Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Trataka is focussing of one’s own energy towards an object or thing or an idea and observing every detail and dissecting, analysing, consciously and subconsciously drawing to itself every possible bit of information regarding it both within and without. Trataka lies at the base of will-power. This is a preliminary Sadhana for a Yogic student. A Jnani concentrates his attention on an abstract thought—“Aham Brahma Asmi. I am all purity. I am all power,” etc. It is really an up-hill work or a tremendous task for people of average intelligence to concentrate on an abstract thought. To begin with, you will have to concentrate on concrete object.

Keep the picture of your Ishta Devata in front of you. I shall tell you now how to do Trataka on Lord Vishnu. “Dhyeya sada savitri mandala madhyavarti, Narayana sarasijasana sannivishta; Keyuravan, Makara kundalavan, kirti harih hiranmaya vapuh; Dhrita sankha chakra gada pane dvarakanilayachyuta.”

Fix the mind first on the feet of Lord Vishnu, then on lotus under the legs. Take it round the yellow silken cloth the Pitambara, then to the golden Hara, the gem on the breast, then ear-ring, then the face, then the crown on the head, then the bracelets on the arm, then the disc in the right upper hand, then the conch in the left upper hand, then the Gada or mace in the left lower hand. This is the order. Then come down to the feet and start again to the upper parts. Do like this again and again. Whenever the mind runs away, fix it again and again, just as Lord Krishna says in the Gita VI-25:

“Yato yato nischarati manaschanchalamasthiram
Tatastato niyamyaitadatmanyeva vasam nayet.”

The conch represents OM or Sabdha Brahman. The disk is the destroyer of the evil Vrittis or Vasanas, the mace represents the emblem of sovereignty, the lotus at the feet represents the world or universe.

At the outset, you can do Trataka, after taking Asana, on a fine black point on the wall in front for 10 minutes. Slowly increase the time. Have a steady uninterrupted gaze on the dot without closing the eyes. You can also do Trataka after closing the two ears with your two thumbs, on the Anahat sound that rises from the Akasa of the heart. This will lead to actual Laya, in the long run. Then you can do Trataka on Lord Vishnu, Siva, Krishna or any other Murthy. Trataka practice gives tremendous power and removes a host of opthalmic ailments (eye troubles) and bestows Divya Drishti.

Practice Of Concentration

Fix the mind on some object either inside or outside the body. Keep it steady there for some time. This is concentration. You will have to practise this daily.

Purify the mind first through the practice of right conduct and then take to the practice of concentration. Concentration without purity is of no use. There are some occultists who have concentration; but they have no good character. This is the reason why they do not make any progress in the spiritual path.

He who has a steady posture and has purified the nerves and the vital sheath by the constant practice of control of breath will be able to concentrate easily. Concentration will be intense if you remove all distractions. A celibate who has preserved his energy will have wonderful concentration.

Some foolish, impatient students take to concentration at once without any preliminary ethical training. This is a serious blunder. Ethical perfection is of paramount importance.

You can concentrate internally on any one of the seven centres of spiritual energy. Attention plays a prominent part in concentration. He who has developed his powers of attention will have good concentration. A man who is full of passion and all sorts of desires, can never concentrate on any object even for a short period. His mind will be restless like that of a monkey.

A scientist concentrates his mind and invents many things. Through concentration he opens the layers of the gross mind and penetrates deeply into the higher regions of the mind and gets deeper knowledge. He concentrates the energies of his mind and focuses them on the materials he is analysing and finds out their secrets.

He who has gained abstraction (withdrawing the senses from the objects) will have good concentration. You will have to pass on the spiritual path step by step, stage by stage. To start with, lay the foundation of right conduct, postures, regulation of breath, and abstraction. The superstructure of concentration and meditation will be successful only then.

You should be able to visualise the object of concentration very clearly even though it is not there. You must form the mental picture at a moment’s notice. If you have good concentration you can do this without much difficulty.

At the initial stage of practice you can concentrate on the tick-tick sound of a watch, the flame of a candle or any other object which is pleasing to the mind. This is concrete concentration. There is no concentration without something at which the mind may rest. The mind can easily be fixed on any object which is pleasing. It is very difficult to fix the mind in the beginning on an object which it dislikes.

Sit on lotus-pose, Padmasana, with crossed legs. Fix the gaze on the tip of the nose. This is called nasal gaze. Do not make any strained effort. Gently look at the tip of the nose. Practise for one minute in the beginning. Gradually increase to 30 minutes or one hour. This practice steadies the mind. It develops the power of concentration. Even when you walk in the streets keep up this practice.

Sit on lotus-pose with crossed legs or in “perfected pose” (Siddhasana) in your meditation room and practise fixing the mind at the junction of the eyebrows gently for half a minute. Then gradually increase the period to half an hour. There must not be the least strain in this practice. This practice removes the restlessness of mind and develops concentration. This is known as the frontal gaze because the eyes are directed towards the frontal bone of the forehead. You can select either the nasal gaze or the frontal gaze according to your temperament and capacity.

If you want to increase your power of concentration you will have to reduce your worldly activities. You will have to observe the vow of silence every day for two hours or more.

Practise concentration till the mind is well established on the object of concentration. When the mind runs away from the object bring it back again.

When concentration is deep and intense, the senses cannot operate. He who practises perfect concentration for three hours daily will have tremendous psychic powers. He will have a strong will-power.

There was a workman who used to manufacture arrows. Once he was very busy at his work. He was so much absorbed in his work that he could not notice even the big party of a King and his retinue passing in front of his shop. Such must be the nature of your concentration when you fix your mind on God. You must have the idea of God and God alone. No doubt, it takes some time to have complete concentration or attain one-pointedness of mind. You will have to struggle very hard to have a single-minded concentration.

Even if the mind runs outside during your practice in meditation do not bother. Allow it to run. Slowly try to bring it to your object of concentration. By repeated practice the mind will be finally focussed on your heart, on the Self, the Indweller of your heart—-the final goal of life. In the beginning the mind may run out 80 times. After six months it may run 70 times; within a year it may run 50 times; within two years it may run 30 times; in five years it may be completely fixed in the Divine Consciousness. Then it will not run out at all even if you try your best to bring it out. It will be like a wandering bull which used to run to the gardens of neighbours for grazing but which now eats fresh grain and extract of cotton seeds in its own resting place.

Meditation

Meditation is an unbroken uninterrupted or incessant flow of the idea of the object that is concentrated upon. If you close your eyes when you do Trataka and mentally visualise the picture of the object of Trataka, it is concrete meditation or Saguna meditation. Concrete meditation on an object is necessary for an untrained mind, in the beginning. If you meditate on an abstract idea, it will constitute Nirguna meditation.

For beginners whose minds are engrossed in and filled with passions and impurities, meditation on a form is absolutely necessary. A Murty or any concrete form such as a Pratima is indispensable during meditation or Japa. Without undergoing a course of concrete meditation in the beginning, especially for the ordinary type of people, it is absolutely impossible to start Nirguna meditation at the very outset. The vast majority of aspirants commit a serious mistake in jumping to Nirguna meditation all at once. They will only break their legs. The mind is so framed as it demands a form to cling to. Meditation on a Murty, i.e., a stone-image remains the stone as it is, but the devotion of the devotee goes to the Lord. He is pleased. Divine Grace will surely descend. You will have to superimpose the attributes of God on the stone-image. You will have to imagine that there is the Antaratman hidden in the image, the all-pervading, indwelling presence, the pure consciousness, the Chaitanya at the back of it.

A child makes a toy-child (doll) of rags, and plays with it with motherly instincts of nursing and protection. The doll remains the same but the child develops the motherly instincts for future development and manifestation. Even so, a Bhakta in worshipping a Murty, develops devotion, Bhakti. Anugraha, Preeti, Viraha and Mahabhava and eventually Parabhakti.

An aspirant can meditate on the physical form of his Guru.

Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana in a solitary room. Close the eyes. Concentrate on the picture of Lord Vishnu in the heart. Imagine that Lord Vishnu is seated there with His four hands in the centre of a blazing sun of light, with conch, disc, mace and lotus. Mentally visualise the picture, from head to foot as you have done in Trataka. Do mental Puja also. Offer flowers, Arghya, Sandal paste, incense; burn camphor, etc., mentally. Similarly you can meditate on Lord Siva, Krishna, Devi. Instead of concentrating at the heart, you can concentrate at the space between the two eyebrows (Trikuti). Practise this Saguna meditation for two years and then take to Nirguna meditation. You can do meditation while sitting or standing or walking. For beginners a sitting posture is necessary. Repeat your Guru Mantra or the Mantra of the Ishta Devata mentally. Associate the ideas of purity, infinity, eternity, immortality, Vyapaka, Paripurna, Sat-Chit-Ananda, Akhanda, Advaita, Chidakasa, etc., with Om repetition.

Samadhi

Samadhi is deep sleep with the full knowledge of the Self. You get this sleepless sleep when you have burnt the five Jnana Indriyas in the fire of Wisdom, when you have extricated yourself from the clutches of Avidya, Maya or ignorance and when you have controlled all desires.

Tadevartha matranirbhasam
Svarupa Soonyameva Samadhi
—Patanjali Yoga Sutra.

Samadhi Samathovastha Jeevatma Paramatmano
—Dattatreya Samhita.

This is not a state of nothingness but a state of “everythingness.” You enter into a state of Absolute Awareness, in which time and place disappear; every place is here; every period of time is ‘now’; and everything is “I”. In this state you have obtained Bliss and Eternal Life.

During cosmic consciousness, you are in touch with universal knowledge and life. The Divine principle flows through you. Your little, individual personality is lost. Your individual will has become merged in the cosmic will or Ishvara’s will. You are aware of the oneness of life. You have the one consciousness—CHINMAYA—that the universe is filled with one life, that the universe is full of life.

You have Tattva Jnana and you see the real universe, which is the essence or background of the universe of Matter, Energy and Mind. You are in a state of Bliss and Ecstasy beyond understanding and description. This is a cognitive trace or Turiya Avastha where Triputi (knowledge, knowable and knower) exists.

Philosophy Of Sleep

Study the condition of Sushupti Avastha or Jada Nidra, the state of deep sleep. There is neither the play of the mind nor the play of the Indriyas. There are no objects. There is neither attraction nor repulsion (Raga, Dvesha). Wherefrom do you derive the Ananda in sleep? The experience in sleep is universal. There is no difference of opinion here. Everyone says: “I slept soundly. I knew nothing. I was very happy in sleep.” During deep sleep you rest in Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman and enjoy the Atmic bliss which is independent of object. The difference between deep sleep and Samadhi is that in deep sleep there is the veil of ignorance and in Samadhi this veil is removed. You draw four conclusions from sleep: (1) You exist. There is feeling of continuity of consciousness. (2) There is Advaita. (3) You are Ananda Svarupa. (4) The world is Mithya. Names and forms are illusory. The world is a mere play of the mind. It is only a phenomenal appearance. When there is mind, there is world. If you can produce Manonasa (destruction of the mind) consciously through Yoga Sadhana, the world will disappear. You will feel the Atman everywhere. Even in the day time, you become one with the Atman whenever a desire is gratified. When you enjoy an object you become mindless (Amana) for a short time. You rest in your own Atman and enjoy the Atmic Bliss (spiritual Ananda). Ignorant persons attribute the happiness to the objects. Just as the dog which sucks a dry bone, foolishly imagines that blood comes from the dry bone, whereas in reality the blood oozes out of its own palate, so also foolish persons imagine that the happiness comes from external objects, while they actually derive the happiness from their own Atman within. They are deluded owing to the force of Maya and Avidya.

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Section VIII

Brahmacharya

Without perfect Brahmacharya you cannot have substantial spiritual progress. There is no half-measure in the spiritual path.

Control the body first. Then purify your thoughts through prayer, Japa, Kirtan, Vichara and meditation.

Make a firm resolve “I will be a perfect Brahmachari from today.”

May the Lord give you spiritual strength to resist temptation and kill lust!

Importance

Brahmacharya—that is the Divine world. It is the sum and substance of Yoga. Through Avidya that is forgotten. It is the supreme Yoga that Lord Krishna emphasises repeatedly in His Immortal Song—the Gita. In Chapter VI, Sloka 14, it is very clearly stated that the vow of Brahmacharya is necessary for meditation (Brahmachari vrate sthitah). Again in Chapter XVII Sloka 14, He says that Brahmacharya is one of the austerities of the body (sarira tapas). Now we have one of the most important statements made in the Gita, that Yatis practise Brahmacharya in order to attain the goal, spoken of by the knowers of Veda (Chapter VIII Sloka 11). This is taken from Katha Upanishad (Chapter II Mantra 15). There Yama says to Nachiketas that the life of Brahmacharya is necessary to reach the goal: “That whose form and essential nature all the Vedas declare; in order to attain which they prescribe austerities; desiring to know which the great ones observe Brahmacharya; that symbol will briefly tell thee, it is OM.”

Change The Angle Of Vision

For a scientist a woman is a mass of electrons. For a Vaiseshic philosopher of Rishi Kanada’s school of thought, she is a conglomeration of atoms, Paramanu. Dvianu, Trianu (two atoms, three atoms). For a tiger she is a prey. For the passionate husband she is an object of enjoyment. For a crying child she is an affectionate mother, who will give it milk, sweets, and other comforts. For a jealous sister or sister-in-law she is an enemy. For a Viveki or Vairagi (a man of discrimination and dispassionate nature) she is a combination of flesh, bone, urine, faecal matter, wool, pus, perspiration, blood, phlegm, etc. For a full-blown Jnani she is Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman. “Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma”—All is Brahman only. Name and forms are only mental creations like snake in the rope or man in the post.

Change the mental attitude (Bhava). You will have heaven on earth. You will be established in Brahmacharya. This is an important method for becoming a true Brahmachari. See Atman in all women. Reject all names and forms and take only the underlying essence—Asti-Bhati-Priya or Sat-Chit-Ananda. All names and forms are unreal, like the shadow, water in the mirage, blueness in the sky.

Assertions For And Meditation On Brahmacharya

Mantras or Formulae

1. I am all Purity (Suddhoham) OM OM OM
2. Sexless Atman I am OM OM OM
3. There is neither lust nor sexual Vasana in Atman or Brahman OM OM OM
4. Lust is a mental Vikara; I am Sakshi of this modification OM OM OM
5. I am Asanga OM OM OM
6. My will is pure, strong and irresistible OM OM OM
7. I am fully established in physical and mental Brahmacharya now OM OM OM
8. I am feeling the purity now OM OM OM

Sit alone in your meditation room in Padma, Siddha, Svastika or Sukha Asana. Close your eyes. Slowly repeat again and again the above formulae mentally. Also let the mind dwell on the significance of the formulae. Saturate the mind with the above ideas. Your heart, mind, intellect and soul should feel the purity. Have the word image OM Purity clearly before the mind. Visualise the mental image. Your whole system, flesh, blood, bone, nerves, cells, molecules, atoms and electrons should powerfully vibrate with the above ideas.

You can have a sitting at night also. This is general meditation for Self-realisation. Sit for ten minutes. Increase the period to half an hour. Keep up the Bhava during work also. Write down on a piece of paper in bold types OM PURITY six times. Keep the paper in your pocket. Read it several times during the course of the day. Fix it in a prominent place in your house. Remember daily the Brahmachari-Saints like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayananda and their powerful actions. Think about the multifarious advantages of Brahmacharya and disadvantages of impure life. Never leave the practice. Be regular and systematic. Gradually you will become purer and purer and ultimately you will become an Urdhvareta Yogi. Be patient.

Prayer For Purity

“O Loving Lord of Compassion! Hey Prabhu! the Soul of my soul, the Life of my life, the Mind of my mind, the Ear of my ear, Light of lights, Sun of suns! Give me light and purity. Let me get established in physical and mental Brahmacharya. Let me be pure in thought, word and deed. Give me strength to control my Indriyas and observe the Brahmacharya Vrata. Protect me from all sorts of temptations of this world. Let all my Indriyas be ever engaged in Thy sweet service. Wipe out the sexual Samskaras and Vasanas. Annihilate lust from my mind. Make me a true Brahmachari, Sadachari and an Urdhvareta Yogi. Let me be chaste in my look. Let me always walk in the path of righteousness. Make me as pure as Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayananda, Bhishma Pitamaha, Hanuman or Lakshmana. Forgive. Forgive all my Aparadham. I am Thine. I am Thine. Trahi Trahi (protect protect). Prachodayat Prachodayat (guide me). OM OM OM. Enlighten my Buddhi.”

Recipes For Brahmacharya

Prescriptions for Celibacy

1. Sirshasana 5 minutes
Sarvangasana 10 minutes
Fasts On Ekadasi days or on alternative Sundays.
Japa one hour
Study of the Gita one hour
Meditation half an hour

2. Siddhasana 45 minutes
Pranayama half an hour
Milk and fruits at night
Uddiyana Bandha morning and evening
Keep the mind fully occupied by: Reading, gardening and Kirtan.

3. Kirtan half an hour
Prayer half an hour
Satsanga one hour
Triphala water in the morning
Atma Vichara, Meditation 15 minutes

4. Trataka (gazing) on OM or Lord Krishna 10 minutes
Maha Mantra Bhajan half an hour
Krishna Mantra Japa half an hour
Badam and Misre (in the early morning).

Huxley’s Nervigor Syrup with formates one tea-spoonful with four tea-spoonful of water twice daily after food.

(You can combine all the above items to your best advantage)

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Section IX

Yoga In A Nutshell

The Salt of life is selfless service. The bread of life is universal love. The water of life is purity.

The sweetness of life is devotion. The fragrance of life is generosity. The pivot of life is meditation. The goal of life is Self-realisation.

Therefore, serve. Love. Be pure and generous. Meditate and realise.

Spiritual Lessons

If one can always remember that God is watching all his thoughts, he will do very few evil actions. He will realise God quickly. But he forgets this point owing to force of Maya or Avidya. But a Viveki who has got the power of discrimination remembers this on account of the descent of God’s grace (Anugraha) and marches on the spiritual path with bold, steady and quick steps. The descent of the Divine grace is due to countless virtuous actions done by him with Nishkama Bhava during several births.

This world is as unreal as a shadow, bubble or froth. Why do you run after wealth, woman and the toys of name and fame?

Some Bhaktas think that they have made a complete self-surrender. But they have their own ways sometimes and cherish some desires. They walk in their own egoistic ways. This surrender is insincere. They are not entitled to the descent of Divine Grace.

No one is always praised. No one is also always censured. Also there is no one on earth who is not blamed. Therefore, do not bother about praise or censure. Rise above censure and praise and identify yourself with the Absolute, the Glory of glories, the Holy of holies, the Light of lights, the Sun of suns, Atman or Supreme Self.

The body is the source of all pains. Hunger is the worst of all diseases. There is no fire like lust. Santosha (contentment) is the best of all virtues.

Guide To Sadhakas

1. Reduce your wants to the barest minimum.

2. Adapt yourself to circumstances.

3. Never be attached to anything or anybody.

4. Share what you have with others.

5. Be ever ready to serve. Lose no opportunity. Serve with Atma Bhava.

6. Entertain Akarta and Sakshi Bhava.

7. Speak measured and sweet words.

8. Have a burning thirst for God-realisation.

9. Renounce all your belongings and surrender yourself unto God.

10. Spiritual path is a sharp-edged razor path. A Guru is absolutely necessary.

11. Have great patience and perseverance.

12. Never leave the Abhyasa even for a day.

13. The Guru will only guide you. You should yourself tread the path.

14. Life is short. Time of death is uncertain. Apply yourself seriously to Yogic Sadhana.

15. Maintain daily spiritual diary and record correctly your progress and failures. Stick to resolves.

16. Do not complain that there is no time for Sadhana. Reduce sleep and tall talks. Stick to meditation in Brahmamuhurta.

17. Let the thought of God (Reality) keep away the thought of the world.

18. Forget the feeling that you are so and so—a male or a female—by vigorous Brahma-chintana.

19. Never postpone a thing for tomorrow if it is possible for you to do it today.

20. Do not boast or make a show of your abilities. Be simple and humble.

21. Be cheerful always. Give up worries.

22. Be indifferent to things that do not concern you.

23. Fly away from company and discussion.

24. Be alone for a few hours daily.

25. Give up greediness, jealousy and hoarding.

26. Control your emotions by discrimination and Vairagya.

27. Maintain equilibrium of mind always.

28. Think twice before you speak and thrice before you act.

29. Give up backbiting, criticising and faultfinding. Beware of reaction.

30. Find out your own faults and weaknesses. See only good in others.

31. Forgive and forget the harm done by others. Do good to those who hate you.

32. Shun lust, anger, egoism, Moha and Lobha as a venomous cobra.

33. Be prepared to suffer any amount of pain.

34. Have a set of maxims always with you to induce Vairagya.

35. Treat sensual enjoyment as poison, vomited food, Vishta or urine. They cannot give you satisfaction.

36. Preserve your Veerya carefully. Sleep always separately.

37. Revere ladies as Mother Divine. Root out the sex idea. Prostrate before all.

38. See good in every face, in everything.

39. Take to Sankirtan, Satsanga, prayer when the mind is overpowered by lower instincts.

40. Face obstacles coolly and boldly.

41. Care not for criticism when you are in the path. Yield not to flattery.

42. Respect rogues and scoundrels. Serve them.

43. Admit your faults openly.

44. Take care of your health. Do not neglect daily Asanas and exercises.

45. Be active and nimble always.

46. Develop your heart by giving. Be extraordinarily charitable. Give more than one’s expectations.

47. Desires multiply misery. Develop contentment.

48. Control the senses one by one.

49. Develop Brahmakara Vritti by repeated thinking.

50. Have a check over all your thoughts. Keep them pure and sublime.

51. Do not lose temper when anybody insults, taunts or rebukes you. It is a mere play of words and a variety of sound.

52. Rest your mind in God and live in Truth.

53. Be up and doing in the path of perfection.

54. Have a definite aim in your life and proceed cautiously.

55. Benefits of Mouna are incalculable. Never give up this practice.

56. Four important gates for passion to enter the mind are sound, touch, sight and thoughts. Be vigilant!

57. Have intimate connection with none but God. Mix little with others.

58. Be moderate in everything. Extremes are always dangerous.

59. Everyday have self-analysis and introspection. Know the amount of your growth.

60. Give up curiosities in spiritual path. Conserve your energy and concentrate. Think little of food, body and relatives. Think more of Atman. You must realise in this very birth itself!

Sayings Of Siva

Nitya Sukha and Parama Santi can be had only in God.

God is in your heart. He is in you and you are in Him. Just feel His Presence.

Through Bhranti caused by the mind, pain is mistaken for pleasure.

Everyone in this world runs after pleasure and tries to get rid of pain.

Sensual enjoyment is attended with various defects.

Maya binds people through affection, love, tenderness, respect, present, etc.

Human love is selfish and hypocritical.

As everything is unreal in this world, treat love and respect as poison.

Live alone and enjoy the Atmic Bliss in your heart.

Only the man who is spiritually thirsty will drink the Nectar of Immortality.

In the presence of sensual pleasures, Atmic Bliss cannot be had.

There is no way of overhauling the vicious, worldly persons other than the personal contact of a Guru.

Work is a help for beginners and hindrance for advanced persons in meditation.

Mind is only a bundle of Samskaras, ideas, habits, impulses, thoughts and emotions.

Many have fallen from Yoga by the influence of subtle desires.

The most difficult thing in this world is concentration.

Mental purity is of paramount importance for Self-realisation.

Memory of the past retards an aspirant’s spiritual advancement.

A gross mind with selfishness and lust is absolutely unfit for a spiritual life.

Conversations On Yoga

Q. What will give peace of mind to those who are materially poor.

A. Peace of mind for one and all can be had only by realising God. One should not identify himself with the perishable body, but should feel that he is Atman. Then and then alone, he will have Parama Santi.

Q. What is the right way of praying to God and how far is it possible for an ordinary man to pray like that?

A. The main thing to be looked to while praying to the Lord is one’s mental Bhava. There should be no selfish motive. Pray to God for purity, devotion, light and knowledge. You will get these things. Pray in any way you like. Become as simple as a child. Open freely the chambers of your heart. Have no cunningness. Every man can and should adopt this attitude.

Q. What is the real aim of education?

A. Education should teach the pupils to love God and man. Education should instruct the students, to be truthful, morally sound, fearless, humble, and merciful. Education should teach the students to practise right conduct, right thinking, right living, right action, self-sacrifice and to attain knowledge of the Self. The main purpose of education must be to make man a real MAN with all divine attributes.

Q. What is expected from a teacher in the Elementary School?

A. A teacher is expected to impart real education to the students, as mentioned in the answer above.

Q. Do you really believe that unless I leave my wife and children I will never obtain Mukti?

A. Celibacy is a great desideratum for the path of Yoga. Though it is in no way necessary for you to abandon home, wife and children, yet you would be well advised to reduce all carnal relationship with your partner to the minimum. Married life, if lived in a perfect ideal manner, is no bar to the attainment of Mukti. Mukti is a question of sincere, earnest Sadhana and the Grace of the Lord.

Ten Vital Instructions

There is no use of talking on abstruse Vedantic Philosophy. If I begin to explain Adhyaropa-Apavada, Bhaga-Tyaga Lakshana, and the Neti-Neti doctrines, they will all be Greek and Latin to you. I want to bring home to your minds some important points which you will be able to put into daily practice. Get up at 4 a.m.—Brahmamuhurta which is very favourable for meditation. Answer the calls of nature. Wash your face. Do Japa and meditation for 1 or 2 hours. In the early morning the mind is free from worldly Samskaras. It is more or less like a blank sheet of paper. It can be moulded very easily. Have your own meditation room. Then read one chapter of the Gita. Observe Mouna for 2 hours daily. Mouna helps concentration and affords peace of mind. Energy is conserved and will-power is developed. Take Sattvic food and Mithahara. Do some Asanas and Pranayamas regularly to keep up your health and to steady the mind. Take milk and fruits on Ekadasi. Spend one tenth of your income in charity. Charity purifies the heart. Develop Sattvic virtues such as tolerance, mercy, forgiveness, nobility, etc. Preserve the Veerya. Keep a homeopathic chest of twelve tissue remedies. This is a Maha-Yoga for you. Give medicine to all the sick persons. Become a member of some social institution and do social service wholeheartedly without expectation of reward and without egoism. This is a beautiful Sadhana for Self-realisation.

Pancha Maha Yajnas

I shall speak a word on the Pancha Maha Yajnas which are intended to be performed by the householders for purification of heart. The five great Yajnas are:

(1) Deva Yajna is offering oblations to Devatas with recitation of Vedic Mantras.

(2) Rishi Yajna consists of study of Vedas and teaching of Vedas to students and offering of oblations to Rishis.

(3) Pitru Yajna consists of Tarpana or oblations to departed souls and Shraaddha or annual religious rites performed for them.

(4) Bhuta Yajna is distribution of food to crows, cows and other animals. This develops cosmic love and Advaitic Bhava.

(5) Atithi Yajna is giving food to guests and honouring them.

Every householder should perform these five Yajnas. If he fails to do, he will suffer from Pratyaya Dosha (the sin of omission). The fire place, the water pot, the cutting, grinding and sweeping apparatuses are the five places where injury to life is daily being committed. These sins are washed away by the five Maha Yajnas which every Dvija ought to perform; they are intended to satisfy the Bhutas, the Rishis, the men, the gods and the Pitrus.

The Pitrus are forefathers who dwell in the Pitruloka. They possess powers of clairvoyance and clairaudience. When Mantras are recited, they exercise a tremendous influence through their vibrations over the reciter of the Mantras, and his forefathers to whom they are directed. The Pitrus hear the Mantras through their power of clairaudience, and are pleased. They bless those who offer the oblation. In Shraaddha, the essence of food offerings is taken up by Sun’s rays to Suryaloka and the departed souls are pleased with the offerings which reach them through the Sun. Even in Germany, many persons perform Tarpana and Shraaddha. They have scientifically investigated the beneficial effects of such oblations. It is the imperative duty of all householders to perform Shraaddha and Tarpana to propitiate the Rishis and Pitrus. It is only deluded souls with perverted intellect who misconstrue these things and neglect to perform the sacred ceremonies and suffer as a consequence.

Sankirtan Dhvanis

1. Jaya Ganesa Jaya Ganesa, Jaya Ganesa Pahi Mam.
Sri Ganesa Sri Ganesa Sri Ganesa Raksha Mam.

2. Jaya Guru Siva Guru, Hari Guru Ram;
Jagad Guru Param Guru, Sat-Guru Shyam.

3. Adi Guru Advaita Guru, Ananda Guru Om;
Chid Guru Chidghana Guru, Chinmaya Guru Om.

4. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.

5. Jaya Sarasvati Jaya Sarasvati Jaya Sarasvati Saranam Om.
Sri Sarasvati Sri Sarasvati Sri Sarasvati Namah Om.

6. Gauri Gauri Gange Rajesvari.
Gauri Gauri Gange Bhuvanesvari
Gauri Gauri Gange Mahesvari,
Gauri Gauri Gange Mathesvari;
Gauri Gauri Gange Mahakali,
Gauri Gauri Gange Mahalakshmi;
Gauri Gauri Gange Parvati,
Gauri Gauri Gange Sarasvati.

7. Govinda Jaya Jaya, Gopala Jaya Jaya;
Radha Ramana Hare Govinda Jaya Jaya.
8. Raghupathy Raghava Rajaram,
Pathitha Pavana Seetha Ram.

9. Sivaya Namah Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Namah Om Namah Sivaya.
Siva Siva, Siva Siva, Sivaya Namah;
Hara Hara, Hara Hara Namahsivaya.
Siva, Siva, Siva Siva, Sivayanamah;
Bhum Bhum, Bhum Bhum, Namahsivaya.
Siva Siva, Sankara, Hara Hara Sankara,
Jaya Jaya Sankara, Namami Sankara.
Samba Sadasiva, Samba Sadasiva;
Samba Sadasiva, Samba Sivoham Hara.