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

Namaste!

An Analytical Study of Cosmic Consciousness
by Sri Swami Sivananda

The state of Cosmic Consciousness is beyond description. It induces awe, supreme joy and unalloyed felicity. This state of cosmic consciousness is below the absolute consciousness (Nirguna-Brahmic consciousness) wherein the seer, sight, the things seen, or the knower, knowable and knowledge, or the subject and object, become one. In cosmic consciousness there is yet the seer and the seen.

Cosmic consciousness is perfect awareness of the oneness of life. The Yogi feels that the universe is filled with one life, that there is no such thing as blind force or dead matter and that all is alive, vibrating and intelligent. He experiences a sense of universality, a consciousness of Eternal Life. He who has cosmic consciousness feels that the universe is all his. He is one with the Supreme Lord, with the Universal Knowledge and Life. He gets the eye celestial and experiences bliss beyond understanding and description.

A Yogi of cosmic consciousness develops the cosmic sense and has universal understanding. He is conscious of being in the immediate presence of God. During illumination the flood-gate of joy breaks and he realises that the deep, everlasting fountain of joy exists in every heart, that the immortal life underlies all beings, that the eternal, all-embracing, all-inclusive love envelops, supports and guides every particle, every atom of creation. Sin, sorrow, death are now but words for him without meaning. He feels the elixir of life, the nectar of immortality flowing in his veins. His face shines with a radiant light. His eyes are lustrous. They are pools of joy and bliss. He feels that the entire world is bathed in the sea of satisfying love, which is the very essence of life. He feels that the whole world is his body, that all hands and all feet are his. Chair, table, tree—all have a cosmic significance. He could never feel strange or alien to any place.

Cosmic consciousness is an inherent, natural faculty of all men and women. It is inactive or non-functioning in the majority of human beings. Yogic training and discipline are necessary to awaken the exalted blissful state of cosmic consciousness.

The four kinds of Mukti and the Bhava-Samadhi of Bhaktas, the lower Samadhis of a Raja Yogi (viz., Savitarka, Savichara, Nirvichara, Sananda, Sasmita, Ritambhara Prajna, etc.), and the lower Savikalpa Samadhis (viz., Shabdanuvid, Drishyanuvid) of a Vedantin all lead to the experience of cosmic consciousness. The ways of approach may be different but the fruit is the same. The experiences are common. Intuition, revelation, inspiration, ecstasy—are synonymous terms.

Read on the web

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

• Sessions with Ashram Residents - 25: The Self is the Friend and the Enemy of the Self

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Spiritual Experiences
By Swami Sivananda

Spiritual Experiences is a publication that tries to portray the aspirant’s perception of the working of his psyche as well as of the forces of the astral world. Self-realisation is the consummation of all experiences and transcends the realm of the mind, and is, therefore, indescribable. Yet, adumbrations have been attempted herein, through the medium of words, to describe the super-sublime state of cosmic consciousness, and of the other preceding phases of occult perception.

The book has been divided into twelve chapters. The first and second relate to the nature and states of consciousness, and cosmic consciousness, respectively. The third chapter deals with the various experiences that the aspirant has to pass through in the path of Meditation, and in the fourth are continued the different phases of experience found in Samadhi in its various forms and attained through the various paths of Sadhana. Chapters five, six and seven discuss the numerous psychic powers attained by the Yogi, while in chapter eight are given the characteristics of spiritual progress. Chapters nine and ten deal with the experiences of the Jnana Yogi and the state of liberation, respectively. In the last two chapters are given the experiences of some of the South Indian and Christian mystics.

We hope that the book will be found useful to all those who tread the spiritual path.

For more information, please see: Spiritual Experiences

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SPECIAL ARADHANA CONCESSION

We are currently having a Special Aradhana Concession on all our publications from 1st July 2017 to 30th September 2017. 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

Please visit our online bookstore for further details:
http://www.dlsbooks.org/

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THE FOREST UNIVERSITY: On November 12, 1949, two Swiss tourists came to the Ashram temple to meet the Master, who happened to be there at that time. On the way up to the temple the tourists had noticed a big signboard: “The Yoga-Vedanta Forest University”. They had also seen earlier the university’s weekly magazine. The first question to escape their lips when they saw the Master was, “How long does it take one to complete the Forest University course?”

“A lifetime,” chuckled the Master.

“What!” screamed the visitors, struck dumb by his answer.

The Master explained what he meant, “Yes, if you are to pass the final test of the Yoga-Vedanta Forest University, which is Self-realisation, you have to dedicate your life to the study and practice of Yoga and Vedanta. It won’t do just to read a few books and vomit the knowledge on your answer papers at the examination and feel greatly pleased with yourself, thinking, ‘I am a great Yogi now.’ Yoga and Vedanta should become a part and parcel of your very being. You should not only understand intellectually what Yoga and Vedanta say, but should actually feel and realise for yourself the truths that they proclaim.”

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“To behold the Atman in every being or form, to feel Brahman everywhere, at all times, and in all conditions of life, to see, hear, taste and feel everything as the Atman is my creed. To live in Brahman, to melt in Brahman and to dissolve in Brahman is my creed. By dwelling in such union, to utilise the hands, mind, senses and the body for the service of humanity, for singing the Names of the Lord, for elevating the devotees, for giving instructions to sincere aspirants and disseminating knowledge throughout the world, is my creed, if you call it one. To be a cosmic friend and cosmic benefactor, a friend of the poor, the forlorn, the helpless and the fallen is my creed. It is my sacred creed to serve sick persons, to nurse them with care, sympathy and love, to cheer the depressed, to infuse power and joy in all, to feel oneness with each and everyone, and to treat all with equal vision. In my highest creed there are neither peasants nor kings, neither beggars nor emperors, neither males nor females, neither teachers nor students. I love to live, move and have my being in this realm indescribable.” – Swami Sivananda

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