Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!

Namaste!

Samskara Raksha—Protection of Spiritual Impressions
by Sri Swami Sivananda

For some months you remain in closed rooms and you progress well with good concentration and meditation. All on a sudden, some disturbance or the other comes and upsets your meditation. Your friends are your real enemies in one way. They drag you for some business or the other into the world. You are drawn forcibly through moral sentiments. It is irresistible. It is, of course, inevitable. You should call this as a form of weakness. To sacrifice your ideal for the sake of pleasing some of your intimate friends is really far from commendable. By your mixing with these worldlings, your new spiritual Samskaras will be obliterated, will be effaced; and you will find it extremely difficult to regain your original state despite your redoubled efforts.

Dangers of Mixing

Mixing with worldly-minded persons is highly disastrous for a Sadhaka. The two currents are diametrically opposite. A worldly-minded man and a Sadhaka move in diametrically opposite poles. A worldly man is very fond of talking. He is garrulous. He suffers from lingual diarrhoea. Gossiping, idle talk, long talk, big talk, tall talk, all afford him the greatest pleasure. Whereas, a Sadhaka is a man of few words, to the point, and that also on spiritual matters. Worldly topics do not interest him at all. On the contrary, they give him acute pain. The mode of thinking also differs in the two cases. In the instance of a worldly man, the thinking consists of wife, children and the ways to amass wealth, the means of sensual enjoyment. The thinking is very shallow. A Sadhaka has sublime thinking of Brahman. A worldly man does an action always with a selfish motive. A Sadhaka does it unselfishly with a strong feeling that the whole world is nothing but his own Self. If a worldly man has Rs. 100 with him, he always thinks of saving for the future. A Sadhaka spends the whole amount the same day. A worldly man is a man of complexity and multiplicity. A Sadhaka is a man of simplicity. A worldly man wants company. A Sadhaka wants entire solitude. You must always remain alone. This is a very, very important matter. I have again to reiterate that this is indispensably requisite. I have to emphatically assert again that solitude is a sine qua non. I have to again impress upon your mind that solitude for Sadhana is a great desideratum.

Read complete article

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A couple of articles by Sri Swami Krishnanandaji have been posted at Sri Swamiji's site. They are:

1. Sankaracharya’s Magnificent Vision of Life
2. India's Ancient Culture - Chapter 2: The Evolution of Culture
3. Isavasya Upanishad for Beginners - Verse 2

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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Book Synopsis

Meditation Know-How
By Swami Sivananda

The goal of life is the attainment of final beatitude. This can be attained by meditation. The Ultimate Truth can be experienced by all persons by regular practice of meditation with a pure heart.

This book deals with how to develop concentration, what is meditation, prerequisites for meditation, favourable places for meditation, suitable diet, guidelines to successful meditation, practice of meditation, the most common obstacles in meditation and all such information which a seeker of Truth wants to know before starting the practice of meditation.

No more words. Enough of discussions and heated debates. Retire into a solitary room. Close your eyes. Have deep silent meditation. Dive deep into the innermost recesses of the heart. Drink the nectar of immortality.

For more information, please see: Meditation Know-How

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THE MASTER’S ENTHUSIASM: Pointing to Swami P., the Master went on to say, “In those days, before the Society was established, he knows how very enthusiastic I was in distributing leaflets and pamphlets. I would ask him also to share my enthusiasm. In the beginning he would not come forward, perhaps due to shyness, but soon he adopted my method. An offering of even five rupees for my personal use would be welcomed and utilised for the printing of leaflets for free distribution. I would always carry with me four bags containing spiritual tracts in different languages. Wherever I went and whomsoever I met, I would at once put into his hand a sheaf of such tracts, whether he cared to read them or not. This was how I used to disseminate spiritual knowledge; and not only that, I was very prompt in commencing a brief conversation with any visitor who came to see me, emphasising to him the need of his spiritual growth. That was how the foundation stone of the spiritual mission was laid. Even now I am pursuing the same task with ever-increasing zeal.

“But look at the apathy now. If a visitor comes here, there is no one to enquire, ‘From where are you coming?’ There is no one to give him some leaflets, magazines or books, or to enquire about his needs. Where has that spirit of service gone?

“No, the spirit is not lost. It is ingrained in every one of you. It is only awaiting rekindling. Plunge yourself in work with all your heart and soul. The spirit of service should be developed, revived, invigorated and made ever intense.

“What a tremendous scope for disseminating spiritual knowledge Swami S. has, even through distribution of leaflets and pamphlets. His work is to move about in outstations in connection with the work of the Society. But he feels shy to give a leaflet to a person who does not ask for it. He feels it below his dignity. Maybe he might distribute some leaflets in a hesitant manner. But he will look here and there, lest his dignity be lowered before the eyes of others! This should not be. No dignity is really lost in the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. It is Jnana Yajna (sacrifice of knowledge), the highest of all sacrifices.

“All of you should know where things are kept that require the attention of others. Take for instance leaflets for free distribution. The other day when I asked for some Gujarati leaflets, it was only Swami S. who could find them. How sad all this is! You should not think that this is my work and that is his work, this is my duty and that is his duty. The sense of brotherhood and co-operation should be ingrained in you. When a person is absent, another should rush in to do his work, unasked.”

“From the very beginning of my Sannyas I took the greatest possible care to further the divine mission. Even now I learn just as a student does. I regularly attend the lectures given at the Satsang and mentally note down the important points. Thus, everyday I learn more and more. Sometimes I write articles and poems on the basis of these points and publish them in different journals and also add to the new publications. So, not only do I personally refresh my mind by attending these lectures, but I convey the same teachings to thousands through my writings. I also earn money through these publications to finance the mission.”

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"Acharya Sankara came before us in historical times for a supreme purpose of harmonising life in its all-completeness, to bring about organisation in every stage of life as a friend of all beings, as a veritable well-wisher of humanity: sarvabhūtahite. It is not religion because it does not worship any particular God, but it is religion because it has no objection to worshipping any God. It is not a philosophy in the sense of a school which is segregated from others, but it is a philosophy in the sense that it accepts every school of thought as a stage in the development of human realisation. Thus, it is a unique religion, a unique philosophy, and a unique purpose it has behind its very advent. I will sum up by saying that it is difficult to understand this magnificent vision of life presented before us by Acharya Sankara, but once we understand it and make it our own, we are thrice blessed." - Swami Krishnananda

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