In the Rig Veda the goddess Usha is consistently associated with and often identified with the dawn. She reveals herself in the daily coming of light to the world. She has been described in the Rig Veda as a young maiden drawn by one hundred horses. She brings forth light and is followed by the sun who urges her onwards. She is praised for driving away, or is petitioned to drive away, the oppressive darkness. She is asked to chase away evil demons. As the dawn she is said to rouse all life, to set all things in motion and to send people off to do their duties. She sends the curled-up sleepers on their way to offer their sacrifices and thus render service to the other gods.

Usha gives strength and fame. She is that which impels life and is associated with the breath and life of all living creatures. She is associated with, or moves with cosmic, social and moral order. As the regularly recurring dawn she reveals and participates in cosmic order and is the foe of chaotic forces that threaten the world. Usha is generally held as an auspicious goddess associated with light and wealth, and is often likened to a cow.

In the Rig Veda she is also called ‘the mother of cows’ and like a cow that yields its udder for the benefit of people, so Usha bares her breasts to bring light for the benefit of human kind. Although she is usually described as a young and beautiful maiden, she is also called ‘the mother of the gods and the ashwins’. Considered as mother by her petitioners she tends to all things like a good matron and goddess of the earth. She is said to be ‘the eye of the gods’ and is referred to as ‘she who sees all’, but is rarely invoked to forgive human transgressions. It is more typical to invoke her in times of need to drive away or punish one’s enemies.

Usha is known as the goddess, reality or presence that bears away youth. She is described as ‘a skilled huntress who wastes away the lives of people’. In accordance with the ways of Rita she wakes all living things but does not disturb the person who sleeps in death. As the recurring dawn, Usha is not only celebrated for bringing light from darkness, she is also petitioned to grant long life, as she is a constant reminder of peoples’ limited time on earth. She is the mistress or marker of time.

The ancient Vedic tradition has viewed Usha as the harbinger of light, awareness, activity. People divided time into the form of day and night. At night all creation rests and in the day the whole of creation is active. The transformation which takes place from night to day is known to be the attribute of Usha, the awareness that stirs up the activity of creation, the light that gives sight to the eyes, that gives power to the senses, that gives power to the mind and intellect, Usha has been regarded as the light, or the dawn of human consciousness.

Another goddess commonly referred to in the Rig Veda is the goddess Prithvi who is nearly always associated with the earth, the terrestrial sphere where human beings live. In the Rig Veda furthermore she is always coupled with Dyaus the male deity associated with the sky. So dependent are these two deities in the Rig Veda that Prithvi is rarely addressed alone but almost always as part of the dual compound Dyaus-Prithvi, Sky-Earth. Together they are said to kiss the centre of the world. They sanctify each other in their complementary relationship. Together they are said to be the universal parents who created the world and the gods. As might be expected, Dyaus is often called ‘father’ and Prithvi ‘mother’.

In addition to her maternal productive characteristics, Prithvi usually, along with Dyaus in the Rig Veda is praised for her supportive nature. She is frequently called ‘firm’, ‘she who upholds and supports all things’. She encompasses all things, is broad and wide, and is motionless. Although elsewhere she is said to move freely, Prithvi with Dyaus is often petitioned for wealth, riches and power. The waters they produce together are described as ‘fat, full, nourishing and fertile’. They are also petitioned to protect people from danger, to expiate sin and to bring happiness. Together they represent a wide, firm realm of abundance and safety, a realm pervaded by the order of Rita, which they strengthen and nourish. They are un-wasting, inexhaustible and rich in gems.

In a funeral hymn the dead one is asked to go now to the lap of his mother earth, Prithvi who is described as gracious and kind. She is asked not to press down too heavily upon the dead person but to cover him gently as a mother covers her child with her skirt. The most extended hymn in praise of Prithvi in vedic literature is found in the Atharva Veda. The hymn is dedicated to Prithvi alone and no mention is made of Dyaus.

The mighty god Indra is her consort and prefects her from all dangers. Vishnu strides over her, and Parjanya. Prajapati and Vishwakarma all either protect her, provide for her or are her consorts. Agni is said to pervade her. Despite this association with male deities, the hymn makes it clear that Prithvi is a great deity in her own right. The hymn repeatedly emphasises Prithvi’s fertility. She is the source of all plants, crops, and nourishes all creatures that live upon her. She is described as patient and strong, supporting the wicked and the good, the demons and the gods, She is frequently addressed as ‘Mother’ and is called to nurse all living things.

Prithvi is also said to manifest herself in the scent of women and men, to be the luck and light in men and to be the splendid energy of maids. In brief, Prithvi is a stable, fertile and benign presence in Vedic literature-It is clear that those who praise her see her as a warm, nursing goddess who provides sustenance to all those who’ move upon her firm, broad expanse. The Rig Veda nearly always links her with the male god Dyaus but in the Atharva Veda and later vedic literature she emerges as an independent being.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Jan, 1991)

Everyone tells everyone else to obey. The parent tells the child to obey. The teacher tells the school-boy to obey. The traffic cop tells the motorist to obey. Even the State tells the citizen to obey.

It is only the wise guru who says ‘Surrender’. For, in the act of surrendering, is the act of both disobeying and obeying. It is like creation. Unless you destroy something, you cannot create anything. When you make ice from water, what are you actually doing? You are destroying this ‘state’ of water and are creating or making ice. The carpenter first destroys the wood to make the chair. Even the guru first destroys all the negativity in the disciple, so that the disciple can be led on the path of spirituality. Thus, obedience and disobedience are actually two sides of the same coin.

Disobedience – every step of the way!

In Patanjali’s Yoga, the eight milestones on the yogic path, maybe we don’t realize it, but we disobey in order to obey, at every stage. Let’s take asanas. If we try to sit still for some time, the chances are, unless we have been practising yoga, we will find it difficult. After a few moments, we will start fidgeting. We will begin to scratch our nose, drive away an imaginary fly, or even shake our ears! That’s because our limbs are obeying their natural instincts to keep moving. So asanas teach us to disobey our natural ‘way of being’ and to control our natural tendencies.

Now, the actual asanas too have disobedience inherent in them. When we sit padmasana, our ankles begin to ache. Our ankles are not used to being folded up. So what do we do? Gradually, stage by stage, we begin to sit longer and longer until we reach a stage where we have totally disobeyed the natural inclinations of our ankles, as we go on obeying our teacher.

Then we find that the very act of ‘obedience’ disappears, and we sit comfortably for a long time. What has actually happened is, while starting to disobey our inclinations, we have begun to obey the instructions of the teacher and gone on to a stage where we are no longer obeying anything at all. We are simply sitting in padmasana. We have surrendered our self to the asana.

As you are learning or rather ‘obeying’ the instructions about the other asanas, you find that your spine, your shoulder blades, your hip joints, your stomach, in fact, different parts of your body in different asanas grumble. But you ‘disobey’ what they don’t want you to do. Instead you go on with your practice. And, as in the case of padmasana earlier, you surrender yourself totally to the asanas, one by one.

Of course, all this does not happen overnight, but in a gradual, continuous process and as days go by, you cease even to notice that your limbs have totally surrendered to the asanas. The same process takes place with pranayama. You or that part in you disobeys what your breathing pattern used to be. You now bring in a certain regularity and soon, you begin to master the different pranayamas. From this, you can now understand that in order to achieve even sthiram, that unique stillness and steadiness you find in a yogic body, one has to disobey many ‘natural’ inclinations.

Neti, neti, neti

However it is not so easy, when you come to pratyahara or the withdrawal of the senses. Since birth, your mind has been ‘obeying’ the messages of the sense organs and acting blindly according to the sensations. In fact, like a disciple surrendering to the guru, the brain has surrendered to your sense organs.

In order to achieve pratyahara, you must teach the brain to ‘disobey’ the sense organs, which were originally created to warn the brain of things happening around. This disobedience of a habit from birth, pratyahara, takes a long time to achieve. In other words, in order to obey the fifth limb or stage in ashtanga yoga, you disobey habits or ‘practices’ from birth. It is a hard task to convince yourself. ‘Not this, not this’.

This sense of ‘disobedience’ is inherent in all the other steps of ashtanga yoga.

Disobedience in evolution

We all know that man and other living beings are continuously evolving. While other living things evolve physically only, it is only man who is evolving both physically and mentally. In fact, more than the mere physical evolution, it is the evolution of the mind or consciousness that sets man apart from other beings, though there is the same atman or soul in every being.

In the tree of evolution, man is sitting right at the top. And he has to evolve his consciousness into that of a divine consciousness. That is the ‘raison d’etre’ of being born a human being. If as apemen we had all been ‘obedient’ in our activities, not straying from the trodden path, we would never have evolved to the present state of consciousness. We would still be lumbering along, eating roots and berries, living in packs instead of in societies, and our bodies would still be covered with long hair.

Somebody at different times had the conviction to question ‘Why?’ ‘Why not this way?’ and so on.

And with each question came an answer in practical terms. No matter if the answer was not really an answer. But the very act rocketed man’s consciousness to the next higher stage of evolution.

Obedience as an act of surrender

Now, disobedience is one aspect of obedience, but implicit obedience is more militaristic. The sense of implicity, obeying without questioning, stresses only on the obedience part of the act. Thus, while one implicitly obeys, the consciousness may be independent of such obedience. Given a chance, one could question.

It’s like shrugging your shoulders and saying, ‘Well, these are orders’, as you might find in a business environment, a state or a political set-up or even in some theoretical religions which go by the book. To quote a book is to quote a rule and your obedience to the rule is limited to a particular time, a particular place or a particular environment. It’s like ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’. What happens when you get out of Rome? What happens when you get out of that age or environment to which the book was relevant? Logically, you are no longer bound by the rule.

You are Free

Yoga, as the path to spirituality, is truth for all times, for all climes, in whatever language you speak. Therefore, implicit obedience cannot be part of spirituality or yoga, unless it represents surrender to the living ideal or path of truth.

So, blind or implicit obedience without awareness is not the answer. Nor is surrender in bits and pieces, grass-hopping to different stages. Instead, we need a steady, maybe even slow, but continuous surrender with total awareness of the act of surrendering. We must go beyond the sense of mere obedience. We must learn to temper obedience with a sense of surrender.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1990)

Nayatma balhinena labhyaya – This atman cannot be attained by the weak- is the upanishadic pronouncement. Obedience is born of strength, faith and devotion. I am an instrument and you are its manipulator. I move as you make me move. I speak as you direct. My doings are all your doings. In ananyaya bhakti, that is the state of unswerving devotion, the sadhaka submits to the spiritualised nature of an illumined one. He recognises nothing but his Lord, and his activities are ever directed towards the divine. He has no individuality apart from the Lord. Obedience is an intrinsic part of him. obedience without ‘self’ consciousness.

Hanuman, the most perfect example of devotion, strength and obedience, was able to leap across the ocean to Lanka on the strength of Ram’s name, while Ram had to build a bridge! Another example of a great yogi who epitomises this sublime state of obedience is Gorakhnath. Guru Matsyendranath, wanting to test his disciples, commanded them to jump from a spot which would have meant certain death. All the disciples took to their heels except Gorakhnath, who unhesitatingly followed his master’s command. He was, of course, saved by Matsyendranath’s yogic powers.

Like guru and disciple, mother and child are also psychically linked. The mother is the slave, and the baby is the divine master. When the babe calls, the mother acts without ‘self’ consciousness. As soon as the babe grows and begins to assert itself, the mother becomes ‘self’ conscious; duality creeps into the relationship.

Likewise, when a ‘self’ conscious state exists in the disciple, there are bound to be fluctuating states of obedience, according to the mental and physical imbalances of the sadhaka. It is this egoistic feeling that ‘I am the doer’ which leads to delusions of grandeur, imagining oneself to be indispensable. This retrogressive state leads the sadhaka downhill.

Before we can realise the role of obedience in relation to spiritual evolution, a stable base has to be created for the mind. Just as when we receive a mantra from the guru, and start practising japa, the mind oscillates from one thought to another. With persistent yoga abhyasa, the mind becomes calm and the trinity begins to take shape. You, your mantra and your guru all merge into oneness. In the same way, one enters the state of spontaneous obedience, where there is no awareness of being obedient. It is a state where the awareness of being obedient is not experienced, because of dis-identification between the thinker and the process of obedience.

This transcendental state of obedience becomes a way of life. No more conflicting thoughts plague the sadhaka. Obedience occurs spontaneously just as one leg moves forward and the other leg follows. No questions are asked; there is no analysing, no doubts or fears, and most of all, no making excuses and justifying one’s act of disobedience. In this sublime state, obedience becomes a role which the less one identifies with, the better one can play it.

This transcendental state of obedience can be compared with humility. Conscious humility in a sadhaka is a form of ego manifesting. A saint is cot aware of his humility; he is humility personified. In other words, awareness of obedience is a transitory stage which has to be transcended in order to obtain the higher experience. This can only be experienced when the ego is erased. There are no shortcuts. In Swami Satyananda’s words, ‘The aim of a sannyasin should be to merge his thoughts and actions with the cosmic will. One must try to follow the gentle voice of intuition, for it is this that whispers the instructions of the cosmic will.’

How do sadhakas, while living in a state of self-complacency, become aware of the cosmic will? When the mind is like a railway station, and precious moments are wasted in useless pursuits and controversial conversations? Self-complacency is spiritual suicide, cancer of the soul! Self-awareness is what distinguishes a man of spiritual calibre from a man of the world. The self-complacent sadhaka lives a life of lies, a spiritually diseased state, and on the road to obedience, self-complacency points in the opposite direction. Sometimes a sadhaka may obey through fear of the preceptor. The guru is then regarded as a rewarder or a punisher. In this diverse state, the sadhaka is unable to experience complete identification with the preceptor. A sadhaka may also be obedient in an ostentatious way, for show, for advertisement, or for self-glorification. These attitudes are detrimental for spiritual progress. In Swami Sivananda’s words, ‘Simply looking at the face of the guru is not devotion. Disobedience even in little things is not devotion. Indiscipline is not devotion. Self-justification is not devotion. Self-assertion is not devotion.’

A true devotee does not deviate from the path of obedience for any reason whatsoever. While being independent in thought and action, he is willing to follow the instructions of the guru and adhere to them. The sublime state of obedience is a stepping stone towards the path of samadhi. Sannyasins as ‘divine soldiers’ should be ever ready to march into hell for a heavenly cause.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1990)

Deity is a quality which controls and governs the actions and thoughts of every living being. There is a beautiful story which describes this in the Kenopanishad.

The devas had a fight with the demons and the devas emerged victorious. In their victory they believed themselves to be all powerful and enlightened. In the process of their jubilation, they forgot the supreme Brahman of which they were a part. So, Brahman came to enlighten them in the guise of a yaksha (spirit).

The devas sent Agni, the god of fire, to investigate who this spirit was, from where he had come and what he wanted. The spirit said, ‘I am nothing. Please first introduce yourself. I wish to know who you are, full of your own splendor.’ Agni boasted, ‘My name is Agni. I am all powerful. I have the strength to burn up the whole creation, the whole universe’.

So, the spirit placed a bit of straw in front of Agni and said, ‘Burn it!’ Agni replied, ‘Oh, that is child’s play for me… poof! ‘But the straw did not burn. He utilized all of Ms strength and depleted himself completely trying to burn that piece of straw, but he was not able to do it. So, he went back defeated.

The devas then sent another deity, Vayu- the god of wind, and the same thing happened. The wind was unable to move that piece of straw from its place. In the same way, one by one, all the different devas came and tried out their strength against the spirit, and they were all defeated.

Finally Indra, the lord of the devas, decided, to come, but as soon as he appeared in front of the yaksha, the spirit disappeared. Indra was completely bewildered. ‘What has happened?’ he thought, ‘Where is the spirit? Who was he?’ At that moment, Uma, the consort of Lord Shiva, appeared and told Indra that the yaksha was not an individual spirit, but the manifestation of supreme consciousness. Then Indra realized his folly and went back to tell the others.

This story represents the relationship of the devas, the dormant human qualities and potentials, with the supreme consciousness. Agni, who came first to enquire, represents vitality, action, movement. When it comes face to face with the supreme consciousness, it cannot match its strength. It is bound by a form, a manifestation, an action, whereas the supreme consciousness is beyond form, beyond manifestation and beyond action. Next Vayu came, which represents the mind. We know that air is never still. Of course, we can close the room and shut out the draft, but there will still be some movement of air. The electrons, the protons, the neutrons, the atoms are constantly in movement, and they are in the air. So, the totality of mind is represented by the element air or wind. Of course, this refers to the gross mind, not the supreme mind.

This gross mind itself cannot meet the strength of the supreme consciousness. It is like all the other qualities which are bound, because devata is a bound quality. All these bound qualities, due to their individuality and grossness, can never match the unbound or supreme consciousness.

Then Indra, the lord of the devas, comes. Indra represents the individual identity, ‘I am’. But even though he is highest amongst the devas, he too cannot meet with the supreme consciousness race to face, because this identity of ‘I am’ singles oneself out. Individual identity acts as a veil and prevents us from seeing the reality which is the supreme consciousness.

Therefore, Uma comes in order to explain the situation, because, being the consort of Lord Shiva, she represents the link between the individual consciousness and the supreme. Suddenly there arises a question in the mind of the individual: ‘Who am I ?’ With this question, the process of gyana yoga begins. As you become more involved in this process of self-understanding and analysis, and you reach various states of perfection in your life, in your actions, in your behaviour, in your personality, you finally meet the daughter of Himavan, enlightenment!

It is through this process, when you lose yourself, when you try to merge yourself completely with the higher consciousness, that you drop your shade of individuality. Through this process you realize, ‘I am not this Individuality; I am nothing but the supreme self. I am That! I am not this finite self; I am that infinite self!’ You see the beauty of it. This is not a direct meeting of the individual consciousness with the supreme consciousness. It is just a simple realization, ‘Oh, so, I am That!’ It is a very beautiful and a very simple realization.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1990)

I was motivated to write this message after reading a passage from a newsletter written by some disciples who had recently had the darshan of Pujya Swamiji. The passage read as follows : ‘And Swamiji said, ‘I do remember you all. but I don’t want to, because it disturbs my sadhana’, and then Swamiji wiped his eyes.” This made me think that we, as disciples, know very little about Swamiji. How little have we been able to grasp in all these years of discipleship, if we still think that a person who has reached such a high stage of awareness is bound by attachment or emotion. While Swamiji was physically present, he was constantly teaching us, but how much did we, with our narrow minds, understand of it?

Swamiji has said that pain and pleasure are only manifestations of nature, and that pain is higher than pleasure. Bat are we ready to accept pain, are we ready to suffer for others even once? No, we only think of Our own comforts and facilities, of our own ego. And how much of Swamiji’s teachings do we practise? How much of the sadhana given to us by him do we do regularly? Very few people have actually kept up with it sincerely, and they are the ones who are not craving for Swamiji’s personal and physical darshan. Those few are the ones who have established an inner link with Swamiji and they are the ones who understand him better.

We all come to this world with our own purpose, and we do not need to envy others in order to fulfil our own desires. We must analyse our own attachments, our own passions and emotions, and our own samskaras in order to live a peaceful life. In order to do this, we must practise yoga as per Swamiji’s instructions. Practices like kriya yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga etc., are all very powerful, and we have had many experiences from these practices, although we may not be aware of it.

However if you really want to follow the path, it is very simple – just try to do what Swamiji has already told you to do. If you go through the Teachings books of Swamiji, I am sure that you will be able to mid the answers to all your queries. Start your mind working on a higher level through the means of yoga practices. Then you will be able to understand the world, and if you understand the world you can live with inner peace.

Swamiji received Paramahamsa diksha long ago. To fulfil his guru’s orders, he could have done something more simple, and it would have been sufficient. However, all that he has accomplished was for us only, to help mankind evolve spiritually. Now, it is our duty in return to see that the mission of yoga continues to grow all over the world. After analysing Pujya Gurudev’s teachings, we come to understand that he has given us everything. He has with great patience shown us the path, however, we prefer to remain blind. Why do we want his darshan? Oh, because we want to discuss a stomach problem we have been having for the last few months, or we want to know if our daughter is old enough to get married. Or, no, it is nothing like that, we want to ask him why it is that we cannot meditate; whenever we sit for meditation all these thoughts come into our mind. How many times has Swamiji explained to us the real cause of our disease? So why don’t we look into that and try to resolve it for ourselves?

Swamiji himself has said, if we were to get the darshan of God in our present state, we would still be asking, ‘Oh God, please help me to get my daughter married.’ Of course, you can always say, ‘Is it not natural that, as a disciple, I would like to have the darshan of my guru?’ But wait a minute, do you know if you are a true disciple yet? And if you are a true disciple, then why do you worry about his darshan? I am sure that if you are a true disciple, he will give you darshan without your craving or asking for it, and not only that, he will guide you, not just for now, but until the end of your life. It all depends on you.

These are things for all of us to think about. We still have time for spiritual development, and we should never give up our aspiration. United, we must try more than ever to continue with our spiritual life in the best possible manner and to have faith. We must remember that Swamiji is now at a higher level of yoga consciousness, and he does not want to come down again and again to repeat what he has been saying to us for so many years. This disturbs him and constantly breaks his inner awareness and sadhana.

If you think that Swamiji is unhappy because he is sleeping in the open air, on the bare ground, or because he is not going to see you again, you are completely wrong. Swamiji has always been a man of strong resolutions. Once he takes a resolution, he will never break it. Swamiji has resolved to become a jivanmukta in this life, and he will achieve it. We should all be proud of being devotees and disciples of such a great soul, especially in this era, when people like him have become very rare, and pray that he will continue to guide us from his higher abode.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1990)

Every disciple has a unique feeling which is individual for his guru. I also have a feeling for my guru. Since early childhood I grew up on his lap, but I have never wanted to see or identify him in the figure of a father, a mother, a relative or even a guru. I have only seen and experienced him as an inspirer who has encouraged us to progress in our lives despite every difficulty and problem. In the future also I wish to continue to see and experience him in this form. In him we see a blend of the fiery brilliance of Parasuramu and the integrated personality of Rama, the wisdom of equanimity of Yoga Vasishtha and the dynamic karma yoga of Bhagavad Gita.

In our history there have been certain persons who have had a higher vision and a higher goal since the time of their birth, and who do not need the help of a particular sadhana in order to reach the spiritual apex. Everything is attained by them with ease. There are certain personalities like Adi Guru Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi and many others who had the spiritual spark within them from birth, and who went through life with total ease, keeping one direction, one goal, one aim, as the target. They didn’t need any sadhanas; they themselves were the living experience of everything.

The chosen path

In the life of our guru, we see this spark of wisdom, this samskara, which is what motivated him to move through life in one direction, with one aim. The path that was chosen by him was of renunciation, wisdom and selfless service. He stayed with Swami Sivanandji for many years, undergoing training and building the foundation for future achievements. Swami Sivananda Initiated him in the tradition of Paramahamsa Sannyasa, and at that time he also instructed him that first through the medium of selfless service he must purify and prepare the mind.

After serving for twelve years, Sri Swamiji left the stage of ashram life in order to fulfil the mandate of his guru. For nine years he travelled around the Indian subcontinent with the purpose of seeing the direction in which the humanity was moving, according to its thoughts and beliefs, and which steps should be taken to awaken the spiritual spark in humanity.

While travelling he came to Trayambakeshwar, one of the jyotir lingams of Lord Shiva. There he received a clear instruction from Lord Mrityunjaya, that he had to establish an institution to propagate yoga, for yoga would present itself as a powerful world culture and would direct the world events. Swamiji accepted this mandate and came to Munger where he established the Bihar School of Yoga and later developed Ganga Darshan.

Yoga knocks at every door

When we look at the history of Bihar School of Yoga, we can see how Swamiji through his selfless effort, worked for the propagation of yoga from door to door and from shore to shore, to fulfil the physical and psychological need for health, equilibrium, balance and happiness, and at the same time, to make people aware of the spark of the divine self inside.

According to the need of the modern age, he started many scientific investigations, therapeutic investigations, literary investigations, into the science of yoga. The aim and purpose of Swamiji was, along with the teaching and practices of yoga, to provide a path or system whereby people could experience the highest truth through which they would be able to realise the element of spirit within them.

Along with this effort on the social level to provide peace, happiness and contentment in the public at large, he also established another institution by the name of Sivananda Math, which was dedicated to the memory of his own guru, Swami Sivananda. The purpose of Sivananda Math was not to propagate yoga but to promote social service.

The second renunciation

In 1988, when all the branches of the International Yoga Fellowship Movement were well established throughout the world, and be was at the apex of achievement, one night Swamiji suddenly decided. ‘Now, I have to leave all this; this was not my aim. This effort was to rid myself of my obligations to my guru, and I have fulfilled them,’ Swamiji says, ‘I am just a wave in the ocean which rises once, and anything that comes in the way of the wave is carried with it. Now other waves have to rise in this ocean, so that they can also contribute to the development of the human society.’

With this attitude, on 8.8.88, Swamiji left the ashram, which was such a vast establishment, fall of all the comforts- But when he left the ashram, he did not have a single rupee in his jhola. After a lot of requests, as a token of respect, we were able to give him 108 rupees, which he gave to somebody after leaving the ashram gates. He only took two dhotis with him in a jhola. While going he only said, ‘Now let me go; let me be free. If you have the capacity, then you develop the work even further. If you do not have the capacity, then let other people carry on with the work according to their capacities.’

After renouncing the ashram and his mission, Sri Swamiji travelled through the various siddha tirthas until finally once again he reached Tryambakeshwar where he had received his first mandate. This time also he received a clear mandate from Lord Mrityunjaya that, ‘You are now free from your obligations to the guru. Your work in this world is over, and now you have to concentrate on sadhana.’

Swamiji started to think, ‘I have received the mandate, but where do I have to go now, to the caves of the Himalayas or the banks the Ganga river ?’ He again received a message, ‘Go to my cremation ground.’ And since the day Swamiji received this message, he dedicated himself fully to his sadhana at the cremation ground of Lord Mrityunjaya.

The highest sannyasa

There are examples in history of many saints and people with higher vision who have started a work which they have later on handed to their disciples, so that the work does not stop with them, but it continues eternally. They have separated themselves from the aim of the institution and established themselves in universal consciousness. This is what we see in the life of Sri Swamiji also, and this is an example of sannyasa life.

In his last letter he had written to us that, ‘For you, I am dead now, and if I am alive, it will be in the light of your spirit. If you want to see me, then try to see me, not with the physical eyes, but with the eyes of the spirit. I do not want that anybody should come to me with their physical or mental problems, because now I am not that person who gives answers. I have removed my robes and I am only a sadhaka. I only have one aim in my sadhana, the experience of higher nature within life and merging with the higher nature. So, for this, let me be free and do not bind me in any way.’

Swamiji has always said that to he a guru is easy, but to be a disciple is very difficult. In his life we see the perfection of discipleship at the highest apex of yoga. He lived like a disciple and followed the mandates of his guru and of God. Therefore, I always consider him as my inspirer.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1990)

(An impromptu seminar at Ganga Darshan, January 1990)

Opening game

Stand up in two’s and we shall play a game. One person is the blackboard and the other person will write on their back. The blackboard should be very clean for writing on, so rub it well before commencing. Now write a number from 0 to 9 and see if your partner (the blackboard) can guess what you have written on their back. If they guess correctly they are very attentive. You can go on to write a letter and even experiment with other shapes depending on how attentive your partner is. Keep on changing round so both of you can try. In order to ascertain the letter, number or shape which has been drawn, you have to prepare your tactile attention because every sense has got its own attention. This game does not allow for absent-mindedness. You have to be constantly vigilant, constantly aware.

Constant

I shall give you one small instance in relation to Swami Satyananda Saraswati regarding awareness in simple everyday living. Some years ago Swamiji visited France for a seminar on transmission. It was held near Paris in a beautiful park in whose grounds stood a castle. Close to this park was a railway line. One afternoon, as we were on our way to lunch with a group of swamis around Swamiji, a train suddenly whooshed by. Swamiji turned to watch it as it sped past and when it was out of sight he turned back and said smiling but very pointedly, ‘It was a goods train with fourteen carriages.’

We were completely taken aback because we had only seen n train flash past. He explained that being attentive to the outside world is the best training for watching the inside world. Being attentive with the five senses teaches us how to prepare for ekagrata, one-pointedness, the finest aspect of dharana, and conversely, attention to the world within helps us to live more fully and attentively in the world outside. We should never be vague or uncertain to any of our interactions with life. We should even, as Swamiji once said, count the stars when we are out at night to keep our mind sharp and alert, keen and acutely perceptive.

In the Mahabharata, when Drona is training Arjuna how to become a fine archer, he trains him how to concentrate on the eye of the bird alone, not on the whole bird, sitting in the tree etc., just the eye to the exclusion of all else. This is one-pointed attention. However, there is another form of attention which has a panoramic view. For instance, in yoga, bhoochari and unmani mudra are practised to obtain such expansive attention. They develop the power of concentration and also of memory, apart from tranquillising the mind in preparation for meditation. You can see everything without seeing anything as it were, while being fully attentive in the process. This is multidirectional attention which is useful in life when you wish to have a very wide view of a situation. Then slowly, slowly it can close up to one point.

Is there some kind of opposition between attention and relaxation?

When a tiger is ready to jump you may think that he is very tensed for the spring but it is not so; he is completely relaxed. This idea that attention is linked to tension is a most false assumption. The best way to be attentive is to simply relax. In our society the reverse prevails; that in order to be attentive you have to be tensed. When your mind is tensed it is difficult for you to absorb anything being taught to you, but if we look at ‘Super Learning’ the process is to completely relax the mind through playing music and yoga nidra like techniques. In this way learning is made easy. However, by the act of tensing, you restrict all your sensory channels. Even when you wish to see from afar you should relax the eyes and not screw them up. So there is no opposition between attention and relaxation. On the contrary, the union of both is one of the great achievements of yoga. Relaxed vigilance is the best formula for learning.

Do you think the mind can be fully attentive to more than one task at a time or can we only concentrate on one thing?

Napoleon Bonaparte used to dictate four letters to four different secretaries simultaneously, and when he had finished dictating the fourth sentence to the fourth secretary who was writing the fourth letter, he would come back to the first letter exactly at the point where he had left off. His mind was so efficient and well-organised that he had quadruple attention. Of course he was an outstanding figure and this ability is very rare but it can be developed through the practices of yoga; and you will find that most yogis and enlightened saints have this ability to a very much higher degree than this great general. When we do kriya yoga we must be attentive to so many things maintaining the asana, movement of breath, visualisation, number of rounds etc., so we are involved in a very complex form of attention.

Is it not better to concentrate on just one thing at a time in order to develop attention?

It is a matter of awareness. When you expand your awareness and do many things at the same time, being attentive to all, that means you have achieved a high state of positive attention. However, when you try to do many things at the same time without being fully aware of any one of them, confusion ensues and instead of building up your attention you are destroying it. For such people it is better to concentrate on just one thing at a time to develop attention. So this is something yoga can teach- how to fix our awareness on just one point and how to expand our attention in all directions.

In France I have a funny little cartoon of an animal reading a book. It is actually an advertisement for a bookshop. This fellow is so engrossed in his book that he is paying not the slightest attention to the fact that his tail is on fire. So, the question is, ‘Is his mind attentive or unbalanced ?’ Certainly he is not a yogi. A yogi is attentive and alert on all sides.

Breath awareness for attention development

We shall close now with ten minutes of breath awareness. Take any comfortable meditation asana and become perfectly quiet and motionless. Be aware only of the breathing process, and unite your awareness with the flow of the natural breath. These two forces, breath and awareness, are moving together up and dawn the frontal psychic passage between navel and throat, between manipura trigger-point or kshetram and vishuddhi trigger-point or kshetram. Awareness is a force, a mental prana, and these two forces of mind and breath constitute our being. They move together within a path of power. Try to feel this movement with ever-increasing attention. Be aware of the energy as the breath moves up and down, up and down, up and down.

Now become aware of a third force moving. The breath is moving and along with it the prana is also moving – breath, prana and awareness. Feel them moving up and down in the psychic passage between manipura and vishuddhi. This movement of prana is neither heavy nor light, neither hot nor cold. It is not a physical sensation. Prana moves in the form of life. Come closer and closer with your attention to the movement of prana.

Then try to visualise the prana as it moves through the psychic passage together with the breath, together with the awareness. You may see it as a tube of golden light, or a tube of transparent glass in which the mercury is rising and falling, or as a beam of red or yellow light. Each practitioner will have his own particular manifestation. There is no set rule for this. The important thing is constant awareness of whatever you can see and/or feel – constant attention to the movement. Get ready to end the practice. Leave your awareness of the psychic passage, of the breath and the prana and become aware of your eyebrow centre – brumadhya, the trigger-point for the command centre, ajna chakra. Fix your attention there and try to see a tiny point of light or a tiny little star. Once you see it try to hold it steady. If you cannot see it you need more practice; it will come eventually. We shall chant Om three times together to end.

Om, Om, Om.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Nov, 1990)

Manipadma Jena

Yoga in all its ramifications is much more significant today than it was a decade ago. An accelerated life style and the consequent stress and strain, both mental and physical, accompanying this mode of living and thinking has drawn man towards yoga, because yoga seems today to have, if not all the answers to modern man’s woes, at least the maximum number and most effective of solutions to his predicament.

In this growing popularity of yoga in all corners of urban India, yoga schools, and mobile yoga instruction teams and self-appointed yoga teachers (this of course is in direct proportion to its popularity in the West) have grown in number. But yoga is a science, not a form of physical exercise. Erroneous yoga practice could be harmful in the extreme. What is needed in order to satisfy the public thirst for yogic know-how is the establishment of authentic yoga schools staffed with persons who have adequate knowledge about the intricacies of yoga in both its physical, mental and spiritual connotations.

The three-day 8th All Orissa Yoga Sammelana was inaugurated on the 10th of this month in the Satyananda Yoga Vidyalay premises in Vidyut Marg, Bhubaneswar. The ground floor of the building of the Vidyalaya was also inaugurated on this occasion. An informative souvenir detailing the activities of the Satyananda Yoga Vidyalaya and carrying comprehensive articles on the yoga science was also released. The souvenir was inaugurated by the then chief minister Sri Janki Ballav Patnaik who has been showing keen interest for the establishment of this Yoga Vidyalaya here. Welcoming Swami Niranjanananda, the gifted sadhak of yogic science of the Bihar School of Yoga the Gajpati Maharaja of Puri and other disciples from all over Orissa and from Munger, the chairperson of the reception committee, Smt. Jayanti Patnaik, stressed the necessity of yoga as a part of modern man’s daily routine. In the face of rising mental turmoil and physical ailments, yogic exercises would to a great extent alleviate man’s problems, she said.

The Gajapati Maharaja of Puri has been consistently taking a keen interest in the establishment of the Satyananda Yoga Vidyalaya. In February 1987 he laid the foundation stone of the Ashram and participated in the bhumi pujan. During the inauguration he spoke about yoga as part of our cultural heritage bequeathed to us by the ancient enlightened souls of our land. Yet foolishly, we, in our blind pursuit of the Western values, have discarded what is truly ours. Only when the West has adopted yoga as a cure to their mental, spiritual, and physical ills, have we been re-inspired to claim our own heritage. He expressed the hope that people would incorporate yogic advice and practice into their lifestyle. Only through yoga, he stressed, would modern man be able to cope with life’s pace.

Swami Niranjanananda, the chairman of the Bihar School of Yoga kept the gathering engrossed with his speech on human nature, and the benefit of yoga.

Man, he said, could be differentiated from an animal because of the presence of viveka in him. Where animals live in a world of instinctive feeling, man is born with intuitive knowledge. By relegating this into the background, by donning blinkers as it were, to this God-gifted faculty man has called his woes on himself. Yoga, stated Swami Niranjanananda, could once again revive this intuitive knowledge. It would bring about a total integration of the mental, physical, physiological, spiritual and social aspects of man. This harmony is education in the true sense and could remove mental imbalance and physical illness. Hence, he urged, yoga should be incorporated as a compulsory part of school.

The misconception that yoga is a religious concept is to be removed from people’s mind, he stressed. This was one reason why the common people kept their distance from yogic organisations. Yoga is in fact, said the Swami, a spiritual concept- a means to bring about inner integration, a symphony of existence as it were. Yoga realigns the mind, develops concentration and mental power, and improves family relations among other things through its asanas, pranayama, mudras and meditation.

The last two days of the Sammelana comprised of question and answer sessions, bhajan, kirtan, yoga practice and discourse. Swami Swarupananda Saraswati and Sri Samarendra Patnaik, secretary of the Yoga Vidyalaya, along with others, contributed to the success of the Sammelana. The question-answer sessions were lively. Many misconceptions of lay minds were removed by Swami Niranjanananda by his lucid answers exemplified by common real experiences. The growing interest of people in yogic science was also evident through the nature and number of questions.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, May, 1990)

Satyam School of Yoga, St. Albans, N.S.W. Australia 22.5.1988

Some people have taken mantra and some karma sannyas initiation, so I will give a few guidelines in mantra sadhana and karma sannyas sadhana.

We have heard and read a lot about mantra, and I think everybody has an idea of what mantra is. Mantra deals with the body, this composition of energy, and the energy field of the body has a vibratory aspect to it. Where there is energy, there is movement, there is some type of vibration, and vibration definitely gives rise to some type of sound. What type of sound we do not know. There are sounds which are beyond and beneath the normal range of the ears. The act of moving an arm creates friction in the air and a sound is being created for a moment. You do not experience the sound as such, but sound does exist as a form of vibration, a form of movement, a pulsation of energy. These vibrations are not confined to the physical body or to the pranic body, they are also in the realm of mind, emotion and intellect.

Yoga is very clear. It says that even when we think, waves are being generated inside the mind which produce definite vibrations and definite sounds. When we become introvert, directing our faculties of mind and perception inside, then the sound is experienced and it is known as nada, the sound of the personality, the sound of being, the sound of the self. This nada is the most subtle sound that we can experience in this dimension. It is not a sound that breaks, it is a continuous sound, and this concept has been defined in kundalini yoga.

When we look at the image of a chakra, we find that every chakra has a beeja mantra and then many other mantras attached to it. Beeja mantra is the sound which controls the chakra, but the other mantras around the periphery are vibrations which awaken or stimulate a particular state of experience of the chakra. Yoga says that the sounds are aksharas, which literally means ‘sounds which do not die’. From the birth of humanity until now we have been using sounds to express these sounds ourselves. We have been utilising externally. We have experienced the quality, the power, the effect of sound externally. In yoga we experience the quality, the effect and the energy of sound internally and the process of that internal experience is known as the mantra experience. This is mantra sadhana.

When we think, what actually happens is we hear the sound inside. Of course it is not that we simply plug our ears and begin to hear the sounds within the body, within the physical or pranic structure. It is a process of becoming more sensitive on the mental or psychic plane and finding the balance between the external and the internal consciousness. When we are eternalised we do not hear the internal vibrations and sounds. When we are internalised in deep meditation we do not experience the external vibrations or sounds. A special branch of yoga has been created which is called nada yoga. It seeks to provide experience of the vibrations of body, mind, thought waves, the desires, emotions and expressions simultaneously; all in one concise shape.

As you become more balanced, as you become more cantered through the process of dhyana (meditation), through the practise of asanas harmonising the body, pranayama creating some sort of organisation in your pranic structure, pratyahara and dharana giving balance to your mental and emotional expressions, then the awareness of nada as the vibration which is behind every action and reaction and movement commences. As long as we live in this world there is movement. When we are just sitting quietly, peacefully, the body does not move, yet the thoughts are creating waves, emotions are creating waves- there is movement.

We are surrounded by an ocean of movement which is taking place in different dimensions simultaneously. When we begin to chant or to repeat a mantra we begin the process of pratyahara which is the gradual withdrawal of the sensory perceptions, and then focus on one particular point. After the process of withdrawal is complete then focussing is total and there is no distraction or dissipation of any type- That is known as dharana. Then mantra gives the ability to achieve the state of dharana, un-fluctuating mind. It can then take you deeper into the experience of the un-fluctuating mind, which later transforms itself into the practice of dhyana.

The definition of mantra is therefore, ‘the force which liberates the mind’. So when we do mantra sadhana a special awareness has to be evolved in the mind and also in the body. It is not just a process of holding the mala and starting to repeat the mantra. Of course, that is acceptable, and we do say that you can repeat the mantra anywhere at anytime- while walking, while sitting, while doing anything in life, one can be aware of the mantra. One can be aware of the mantra expressing itself in every dimension of the personality at any time. However, there is a definite scientific process involved in mantra sadhana which is awareness, not only of the mantra which we are repeating inside our head, but of the effect that it is producing in our whole structure. The mind, the awareness, the consciousness has to become one. It has to merge with the repetition of the mantra. It is not that the mind is wandering here and there and the mantra practice is going on separately. Total identification has to take place with the repetition, with the experience and with the awareness of the mantra.

Swamiji has talked about the process of dhyana. He says there are three things which happen simultaneously at the time of meditation. First is awareness of myself as the practitioner. Second is awareness of the process – that I am practising this particular sadhana. Third is the state of dhyana, the goal that is set in front of us. When all three become one, when the meditative experience is felt inside and we lose body consciousness and mental awareness, and there is nothing but the state of experience – this is called dhyana.

With mantra this same principle applies. The only difference is that we are constantly aware of the vibration, the chanting and the effect. We become one with all this. We become the mantra, we become the living mantra. The mantra becomes a living experience and this is known as liberation of mind. When the concept of duality does not exist and there is only one thing, it is known as liberation of the mind.

Those people who have taken mantra initiation should remember that they should find at least ten minutes in every twenty-four hours where they can be alone, forget everything, and just do mantra sadhana. Initially you will have to become aware of the body, the posture, how you are sitting, whether you are comfortable or not. Initially you will have to become aware of the breath flowing up and down. Afterwards there is awareness of the symbol which has been given with the mantra. Awareness of the symbol is the final state of pratyahara. When we first try to see it, it is a process of pure imagination; we do not see our symbol clearly. When we hold a flower before our open eyes we see colour, we experience the form, the smell, everything, but the experience with closed eyes is different. However, when the mental experience becomes very strong and as powerful as the visual experience, then that is known as the termination point of the state of pratyahara. All the mental energies have been brought together, focused, and the understanding, the awareness, the experience has taken place.

So, after becoming aware of the breath and alter making an effort to visualise, to experience the symbol inside, then start with the repetition of the mantra inside in harmony with the process of inhalation and exhalation. The mantra and the breath are not two different things, they become one. It does not matter whether you breathe in slowly and deeply or if your breath is short and shallow. The mantra has to merge totally with the breath, that is all. This is the first effort of the mantra sadhak. You do this practice for ten minutes every day and when it is finished again eternalise yourself. There is no change in the lifestyle, no change in the thinking pattern. We are not trying to create any change, we are just trying to develop an experience of the mantra. When that experience is awakened it develops by itself and then the changes take place automatically, spontaneously.

Now regarding karma sannyasa. It is an attitude towards life. Those of you who have been initiated have been told very clearly that you have been initiated on behalf of Swami Satyananda and you have to keep his ideals and his mission in mind, which is yoga not as a form of spiritual sadhana, but yoga as a part of our day to day existence. The whole of life then becomes an experience of yoga. There is no separation. It isn’t just ‘every morning I get up and practise asana, pranayama, kriya, meditation’. These are yoga practices, they are not yoga. Yoga means the experience of unity, the experience of harmony and balance in all the strata of our personality. When you become aware of this process throughout the material, the mental, the emotional, the intellectual and the intimate experiences, closer than husband or wife, this is yoga.

Now, what do we expect to get out of yoga? By having this other awareness of matter, energy and consciousness; by understanding the process of body, prana, mind, ego and the super-consciousness, our dharma undergoes a total transformation. We cannot necessarily say that they become more spiritual, but we can say that they become more balanced. Only to have spiritual development is a lopsided development of human nature. Only to have development of the material aspect is also lopsided, unbalanced. Therefore, as sannyasi or karma sannyasi, we are definitely not concerned with either our spiritual state of mind nor our gross state of mind alone, but we are more concerned with trying to bring about a balance in the experience of matter and spirituality.

You have heard of karma yoga; in the life of a spiritual aspirant, if one practises true yoga at all, then it is karma yoga. When I say karma yoga, I do not mean going out to the field and working there until blood and sweat become one; that is only one aspect of it. The true spirit of karma yoga means that every action in life, whether physical, social or intellectual -the thoughts, the analytical and critical processes of the mind, or emotional feelings of anger, frustration, depression, anxiety, hatred, greed, or spiritual experiences of being in harmony, in tune with the self – everything is analysed together. They are observed, they are experienced and they are transcended. That is the spirit of karma yoga- total involvement in the fulfilment of our commitments, obligations, duties, the dharma.

Many people think that dharma means a system, a religion, a philosophy, but it does not mean that at all. There are two types of dharma. One is Sanatana dharma, the eternal duty, the commitments, responsibilities which never change according to the laws of nature and the laws of the divine. The other is the dharma which is relevant to the present time. It might change after a month, after a few years- the ideas, the commitments, the duties, all these things might change after a few centuries. However, the whole thrust here has been aimed at understanding one’s obligations and commitments. We are to improve them, to experience, not neglect them or avoid them. So being established in the dharma is the objective of karma sannyasa.

Karma sannyasa is, of course, more difficult than the process of sannyasa because in full sannyasa there is total dedication to the guru and he manages all your affairs. In karma sannyasa you maintain your spiritual identity and your external identity, and by maintaining both of these identities together you progress further in life. When both the identities, the internal and external, move side by side, we find a centre inside. We then experience the centre of our being.

You know there are two processes. One process is known as the process of becoming; we become, there is effort. Another is the process of being what we are. Full sannyasa is the process of becoming; we become. We become the instrument of the guru and he uses us in the way he thinks fit. Karma sannyasa is the process of being. You are where you are; there is no change. Only one thing is necessary, and that is to have a spiritual awareness. And what is that spiritual awareness?

We can say that the identity of Swami’ is the first spiritual awareness; the identity of ‘Saraswati’ is the second; the name, such as Niranjanananda, this or that is the third spiritual identity that one can have. Swami means ‘one who is master of himself. Of course it is an idea, which we try to approach in the best possible way- It is like obtaining a doctorate degree but you are given the degree first- okay, you can call yourself ‘doctor’ with hopes that you will now do your thesis.

The thesis that a swami has to do is a life long process of self-discovery in which he gains control over the body, the mind and the spirit, the actions of head, heart and hand, the emotions and the intellect.

So, no matter what state of experience you are in, whether it is full of tension and conflict; full of bliss, joy and happiness, or whether it is nothingness, you are understanding it as a swami. ‘I am master of the body. I am not this mind, I am master of the mind, I am not the spirit. I am master of the spirit’. This concept leads to an understanding of transcendental awareness.

Somebody asked Swamiji whether it is possible to experience transcendental consciousness in this life. Swamiji simply said; ‘No’. You might be thinking now, ‘Then what is the purpose? What is the use?’ You want to experience something. But Swamiji went further, he said, ‘If the transcendental mind can be understood by our limited mind, then it would not be called transcendental. In order to experience the transcendental consciousness it is necessary to have a transcendental brain and a transcendental mind.’ So the idea of being a swami is achieving this state. This is the first spiritual identity. From there we observe everything, we become the witness, we become the experiencer.

The second identity is of Saraswati. This is a tradition, an order to which the swamis and karma sannyasins belong. The symbolic representation of Saraswati is the goddess of learning, knowledge and wisdom. What does this mean? Never have tunnel vision. Always see everything. Never say one thing is right and everything else is wrong. That is against the principles of gyana (wisdom), because wisdom encompasses everything.

The third spiritual identity is of the name. The name which is given seems the most suitable one for our personality which is eh pressed outwardly now. For this expressed identity, the name symbolises the aim, the goal. For this body, for this head, for this action, we have a goal We have to experience this, whatever the name may be.

The fourth identity is of course the geru. This is the spiritual identity as well as the external flag of a sannyasi. It is the symbolic representation of fire. Fire can consume anything that you throw into it and yet remain unaffected. Of course if you throw in damp wood lots of smoke will come out through your ears and eyes and nose and mouth. Sometimes black smoke will come out, sometimes stench will come out, that is a different matter. Fire consumes everything- that is the idea. The mind, the personality, the attitude of a sannyasi or a karma sannyasi is of fire.

Remain unaffected. Consume everything, all the bad that the world throws at you, that your mind throws at you and all the good that the world throws at you, that your mind throws at you. There is no negation of one and no acceptance of the other. If there is negation of the bad and acceptance of the good then we are no different. Normal people get shaken up when bad things are thrown at them and they are elated when good things are given to them. If we remain like that even after we have taken sannyasa, if there is not going to be any change, then it is better not to be a sannyasi or a karma sannyasi. Therefore the awareness of fire becomes the fourth symbolic awareness of spirituality, the spiritual identity, these are the various states of experience of a karma sannyasi.

The sadhana of a karma sannyasin is the witnessing sadhana. Sit down comfortably and just observe. Observe what you are experiencing physically and consume it in the fire. Understand it, express it, transcend it. Even when you reach the spiritual level, that also you should understand, express and transcend. Sitting in meditative posture, with the eyes closed, one part of the awareness is separate and it observes everything which is going on in the other areas. Even if you are in a very stressful and tense situation or experiencing very deep conflict with conflicting samskaras, one part of the awareness should always be observing. No matter what you are experiencing or what condition in life you are expressing, always be observant. You are the seer, the drastha. This is the sadhana, for the awakening of a karma sannyasin.

(Courtesy: Yoga Magazine, July, 1990)

Once upon a time a group of friends travelled together to a faraway country. They were an oddly assorted bunch. Body, who had once been young and beautiful, but who now began to feel the passage of time and the ravages of a well-spent youth; the most troublesome was Mind, who could hardly ever stop chattering, planning, complaining and generally trying to spoil anything decided on by the others; the third member of the party was a rather nebulous presence called the Swami- she knew that was so, because that name had been given to her by someone very important, who had even written it down on a piece of paper.

The group was presided over by Sakshi, who often could not even make her presence felt over the noise and chatter of Mind-Body and Mind had lived together for many years, with occasional visits from Sakshi; and then the Swami had joined them and from time to time she imagined that she was in charge of them all- she even thought that she had arranged the trip to the faraway country! The one thing that united the four was their devotion to their teacher, Swamiji, and even Mind (or most of her) was agreed that surrender to such a wise and holy person was the only solution. Many of their friends talked about God and Divine Will and so on, but the Swami and Mind couldn’t understand those concepts at all and preferred to concentrate their efforts on Swamiji. At this point Sakshi sometimes intervened, with a softly whispered “Stop trying -just BE”, but Mind always interrupted, asking “How? What on earth do you mean?” or begging Swamiji to give them all a push in the right direction- as if he wasn’t always guiding and inspiring them.

Anyway, when they reached their destination- a rocky hill overlooking a holy river- they found that it was looked after by a wise and beautiful young Swan, (with the longest eyelashes you ever saw). One day the Swan proposed that anyone who wished could have four days of not working, not doing, not thinking, either of themselves or of anyone else.

“Great ideal” said Body and Swami in one voice. “Not only that, but we’ll do lots of sadhana, and fasting will do us both good and we’ll keep silent too.” Sakshi smiled enigmatically to herself, and Mind- well, Mind decided to go against the Swan’s suggestion of ‘No Mind’ and come along too. Mind also liked the idea that it was bitterly cold and foggy outside, so there would be plenty of activity for her, in spite of instructions to keep quiet.

So they went to their room and without too much planning they found themselves doing some asanas to keep Body warm and to help fix up some of her aches and pains. Then they would chant various sacred verses, as instructed by Swamiji, and the beautiful and magical sound of AUM. Sometimes Mind would become very noisy at these times, chattering on about all kinds of nonsense, past and future; but occasionally she would be peaceful and go off quietly for a while, leaving Sakshi in charge.

Twice in the day a bell would ring for tea, which was hot and sweet and wonderful, otherwise they heated up a cup of water in the room when it became too cold. But Body was very happy with no food, enjoying the rest from hours of heavy work and sitting comfortably during sadhana. The friends came to know that most of the other people on the hill were feasting and having Special Food, and the smell of chips and garlic wafted around on people’s breath and clothing for days, but they remained contented and even Mind had nothing much to say on the subject.

Occasionally they sat by the window and watched the world go by, but because of the fog, things were quiet – sounds were muffled, people stayed at home, and even the holy river was hidden from view. At these times they felt in harmony and were glad that they had come to the faraway land and Sakshi watched over them, just letting things BE.

At other times Sakshi would smile at the cacophony of sounds echoing down the corridor outside their room; musical scales, devotional songs, ancient texts and magical mantras, and the Swami would feel great love for her sisters, who were, in their own way, experiencing these four days without Mind. The occasional heavy sigh or slammed door indicated that not all Minds were happy at being excluded and were making their presence felt.

Eventually the four days were over and it seemed strange to contemplate eating and talking again. Those days spent in the solitary quiet of the room had been good for them all. Mind was complaining a bit at not having had any great cosmic experiences and earth-shattering insights, but then she hadn’t even been invited in the first place. The Swami wished to goodness that she could find a new home for Mind, who was the cause of all their difficulties. She was learning to put up with Body and would gladly leave the day to day organisation to Sakshi, but Mind was a real pain most of the time.

However, much as they all squabbled and argued, they remembered that Swamiji loved and accepted them all unconditionally and that they were greatly blessed to be allowed to love and serve him. Whatever else might happen, in this they were united.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, May, 1990)