Sivananda Day-to-day (500)
Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!
Namaste!
What is Mind
by Sri Swami Sivananda
Mind is the cause for bondage and freedom of man. A mind that is filled with impure Vasanas tends to bondage; whereas a mind that is destitute of Vasanas tends to freedom. Mind is no mind when the Vasanas are destroyed. You become mindless. When you become mindless, intuition dawns and you are endowed with the eye of wisdom. You enjoy indescribable peace.
Mind is Vasanamaya. This world is Vasanamaya Jagat. Mind clings to sensual objects through Vasanas and constantly thinks of objects. If the Vasanas perish, the mind ceases thinking of objects and we attain the state of thoughtlessness.
One of the most common habits of mind is the wandering habit. It cannot stick to one point as it is of the nature of air. Sri Krishna says, "O mighty armed (Arjuna)! The mind is hard to curb and is restless; but it may be curbed by constant practice and by dispassion."
Destruction of desires and control of Indriyas are the essential steps for the control of mind. It is the desire that makes the mind restless. The Indriyas run after objects and the mind also follows the Indriyas just as a dog follows the master. Therefore if you want to check this wandering mind, you will have to renounce all sorts of desires and control the Indriyas first. Then alone will you be successful in the practice of concentration, meditation, will-culture, memory-culture and thought-culture.
The vital point in concentration is to bring the mind to the same point or object again and again by limiting its movement in a small circle in the beginning. That is the main aim. A time will come when the mind will stick to one point alone. This is the fruit of your constant and protracted Sadhana. There should be one line of thought. There should be one continuity of thought like the steady flow of oil from one vessel to another vessel, like the continuous sound of a church bell.
You must be regular in your practice of meditation. You must sit daily both morning and night and at the same hours. The meditative mood or Sattvic Bhava will manifest by itself without exertion. You must sit in the same place, in the same room. Regularity in meditation is a great desideratum and a sine qua non.
We are beginning to make available our ebooks in the epub and mobi file formats. This will enable you to read the books comfortably on your mobile device. For this week, we have posted Sri Swami Sivanandaji's What Becomes of the Soul After Death. You may click on the .epub or .mobi links to download the same.
The following article has been posted at Sri Swami Krishnanandaji's site:
Yours in the service of Gurudev,
Pannirselvam
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Sixty-three Nayanar Saints
by Sri Swami Sivananda
Spiritual aspirants have always loved to study the lives of saints, which are living scriptures, as it were, throwing a flood of light on the spiritual path for the aspirants to walk boldly, fearlessly and joyously, to the goal of immortality. These short biographies from the pen of a great living saint and Yogi, have the added advantage of the best possible presentation.
This celestial scripture, the enthralling story of the Sixty-three Nayanars, the towering spiritual giants of South India, is destined to bring about a spiritual renaissance, nay, a revolution throughout the world. It is a book to jolt you out of your spiritual lethargy, a book to shake you out of your spiritual slumber, a book to heal your chronic spiritual blindness.
Nowhere else in the entire spiritual realm of man are such matchless devotion to and such fathomless love for God to be found. It is a book that will fill your eyes with tears and wring devotion out of your heart—no matter how stony it may be. It is an infallible devotion-injector and an irresistible magnet, powerful enough to convert any hardened atheist.
What spiritual ingredients did the Nayanars use to reach the Abode of God so quickly? They were pure devotion, innocent child-like love, firm faith, persistency and a granite will to overcome whatever obstacles God placed in their path to test their sincerity.
Apart from the biographies of the Sixty-three Nayanar Saints, this book contains an authoritative article on the Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy, the life of Saint Manickavachagar, selections from the utterances of Nayanar saints, and articles on Glory of Lord Siva, and Puja and Ishta Devata, all by Swami Sivananda, and evaluation of the Nayanar’s Message for us by Swami Venkatesananda.
May we all tread the path of devotion shown by the Nayanar saints and attain the Goal of life in this very birth!
For more information, please see: Sixty-three Nayanar Saints
The following books were recently reprinted and released:
ES153 Sermonettes of Swami Sivananda by Swami Sivananda
HO16 Doctor Dharmabhusan Sri Swami Sivananda (in Hindi) by Swami Sivananda
SPECIAL ARADHANA CONCESSION
We are currently having a Special Aradhana Concession on all our publications from 1st July 2018 to 30th September 2018. The discount on publications is as follows:
20% on Orders Upto Rs. 300/-
30% on Orders Upto Rs. 1,000/-
35% on Orders Above Rs. 1,000/-
40% on Orders Above Rs. 25,000/-
40% Special Discount on the following Pictorial Volumes of Worshipful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji and Worshipful Sri Swami Chidanandaji:
1. ES8 Glorious Vision Rs. 650
2. ES4 Gurudev Sivananda Rs. 250
3. EC70 Ultimate Journey Rs. 500
4. EC71 Divine Vision Rs. 300
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DARSHAN OF THE MOTHER: When the Master was in Swarg Ashram during his days of Sadhana, there was a neighbour of his called Rajarajeswarananda, who was a worshipper of the Divine Mother. His worship of Devi went on for twelve years, but he attained no perfection. On the day of a Durga Puja, the Swami longed to worship the Goddess with silk and ornaments, but he had no money. The day before the worship was to begin, there was a knock on his door. He opened and saw some Punjabi girls. Each one carried a plateful of silk cloths, fruit, ornaments and money.
“Swami Sivanandaji, your neighbour, asked us to give these articles to you for your Navaratri Puja,” they said.
Rajarajeswarananda believed their words and accepted the gifts.
“Whose plates are these?” he asked.
“They belong to the almshouse,” replied the maidens, taking back the empty plates and departing from the place.
The Swami could not contain himself. He went to the Master’s hut. It was, as usual, bolted from within. He knocked. The Master opened the door.
“Who were those Punjabi ladies, Swamiji?”
“Which ladies?”
“Those that you sent to me with ornaments and silk cloths for the Durga Puja.”
“I did not send anyone!”
Rajarajeswarananda was mystified. He ran to the office of the alms-house. The maidens were not there!
With tears in his eyes Rajarajeswarananda himself narrated the above incident to a friend.
“I had been doing intense Sadhana for the vision of the Mother for so many years. This Swami Sivanandaji, for all that I know, knew no Tantrik spiritual practice. And yet, when the Mother did choose to grace me with a sight, it was at Sivanandaji’s prompting! She gave me ornaments and silk cloths and gave him Self-realisation.”
“Evil was said of Lord Krishna, Lord Siva, Lord Rama and Sita. The world abounds with scandal-mongers and mischief-mongers. Let these creatures of malice continue their noble work ceaselessly. Be not afraid. You cannot correct the Tamasic portion of this world. This world is like the tail of a dog. Continue your Yoga Sadhana vigorously, rise above Dvandvas or the pairs of opposites and rest in your own Sat-Chit-Ananda Svaroopa.” – Swami Sivananda
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