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

Namaste!

The Rugged Path
by Sri Swami Sivananda

Nothing that is worthwhile is to be achieved without undergoing a corresponding amount of pain and suffering. No enduring ideal can be attained without tire and sweat. The seed splits and perishes to put forth the plant. The flower lays its life to give place to the sweet fruit. It is in the furnace that gold emerges from the ore. Even so, the price of sainthood is to be paid in the interim period of utter loneliness, privation and struggle which the really aspiring soul passes through. Every soul on the path of God-realisation harbours no illusions about the true nature of the spiritual path. There is absolutely no royal road in spirituality.

Adversity is a divine blessing in disguise. Adversity develops the power of endurance and will-force. Adversity develops fortitude and forbearance. All the prophets, saints, Fakirs, Bhaktas and the Yogins of yore had to struggle hard against adverse circumstances. The Almighty Lord puts His devotees under severe tests and rigorous trials. Every soul on earth is being tested by God for his sincerity and patience. He puts the aspirants into various kinds of troubles. He will make man utterly hopeless and helpless and watch and see whether one has the real devotion for Him or not in such straitened circumstances. We cannot say exactly what form these trials will take. But the sincere devotee is never afraid of such kind of tests.

A grim endurance of all vicissitudes and a dogged resolution to persevere to the end are essential if one has to realise his ideal. The aspirant has ever to be alive to the stealthy power of unconscious habits creeping into him. Man is a sybarite by nature. One may be really very zealous in his austerities and vows in the beginning. But if one is not on the very proper guard, slowly the vigour will be relaxed, comforts will creep in the mind and man will be caught very miserably. If the body is allowed to relapse into softness and luxury, it will be found that it is well-nigh impossible to discipline it again. The mind immediately takes advantage of even the least sign of weakness in the most sincere aspirants. It is like a tiger crouching on its haunches about to spring. One has to keep a very close watch over his own self and should be ever alert with a vigilance against the sudden onslaught of Samskaras.

In truth, spiritual life is for eternity, and realisation is infinite. It is not like a period of work, giving place later for a nice vacation. The same high pitch of purity and discipline has to be maintained if life is to mean anything at all. No relaxation of rigour and caution can be afforded. For the mighty power of cosmic illusion is not a trifle to be toyed with. A fit of passion is enough to blow away the result attained by years of slow and painstaking effort. Remembering this, let the aspirant be ever watchful unto prayer, as the mystics have said. Man’s achievements are of no avail before Maya’s charms. She reigns supreme on the stage of the divine play. None can dogmatically say that he is beyond all temptations. It is the Lord’s Grace alone that not only makes a man pure, but also keeps him pure till the very end. Man on his part is but to exercise constant humility and an active vigilance.

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The following article by Sri Swami Krishnanandaji has been posted at Sri Swamiji's site:

1. Isavasya Upanishad for Beginners - Verse 3

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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Book Synopsis

Hatha Yoga
By Swami Sivananda

Among all the systems of physical exercises, Hatha Yoga practised and prescribed by the ancient Rishis and sages stands unrivalled and unique. It is the most perfect system. Brain, muscles, nerves, organs, tissues are toned and energised. All chronic diseases are rooted out. It deals with Shat Karmas, Asanas, Pranayamas, Mudras, Bandhas, and exercises on concentration and meditation.

Asanas pertain to the physical body. They render the body firm and steady and eradicate physical ailments. Bandhas pertain to the Prana. They bind and unite the Prana and the Apana and send the united Prana-Apana along the Sushumna Nadi. Mudras concern the mind. They represent seals. They seal the mind with the soul or the Atman. They do not allow the mind to wander outside towards objects. They direct the externalising mind towards the Atman in the chambers of the heart and fix it there. A combination of all these exercises is needed to have the maximum results.

Hatha Yoga by the saintly author Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is a companion volume to the book Yoga Asanas by him. Besides Yogic exercises, it deals with Pranayamas, Mudras, Bandhas and Shat Karmas in a more detailed and comprehensive manner. It also presents ‘Mula Bandha in Yoga’ and ‘Nava Chakra Viveka.’

Hatha Yoga as delineated and described here is material drawn mainly from the three popular treatises: Siva Samhita, Gheranda Samhita and Hatha Yoga Pradeepika.

For more information, please see: Hatha Yoga

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TEMPTATION: Once the Master was distributing mango sherbet. There was a gentleman present who could not control his palate. The Master knew that the man had a weak stomach and told him that he should not drink much. But the face of the person revealed that he wanted to enjoy the drink without restraint. The Master suggested blandly, “Oh! It does not matter, drink as much as you like. If you fall sick, there is the doctor.”

That was the test! The gentleman did not know and he fell a prey to the bait. He had to be put to bed.

The Master admonished him, “You ought not to have drunk that juice at all. See how hard it is to control the senses!”

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"We do not let go the world and yet we wish to pull out of the world to save ourselves. Thus we are caught up in the chain of birth and death. And so long as we are unaware of the Self and far from the Absolute, we will remain in dark­ness, for we are then under the force of the power of the sense organs and the mind forgets the atman." - Swami Krishnananda

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