Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!

Namaste!

The Remover of Darkness
by Sri Swami Chidananda

Radiant children of Light! Beloved and blessed Sadhakas upon the spiritual path, sincerely aspiring to lead the spiritual life of servicefulness, worshipfulness, meditativeness and God-awareness. To you all assembled together here, please ponder in whose presence you live and move. You live in the presence of Gurudev, one who is known as a Guru, and your ancient scriptures bring out the implication of this term ‘Guru.’

‘Gu’ and ‘Ru’ together mean ‘the remover of darkness’—the remover of darkness and the giver of light. It means that through his life, teachings and personal example he fulfils the ancient prayer Tamaso ma Jyotir Gamaya (Lead us from the darkness to the light). Now, are you earnestly, enthusiastically and determinedly trying to fulfil in your own life what you are praying for in that prayer? That is a crucial question. You may pray to God for light and for the illumination of your inner being, but at the same time you may live in such a way that in many small details you are shutting out the light—both the light coming from without as well as the light within, so that it has no opportunity to shine and illumine your interior.

There is this prayer towards the end of the Isa Upanishad: "Radiant, shining light in the heavens, please remove this covering that hides You so that we may behold Your shining face." But then, we also have to try to remove the covering from our vision. If we in our personal life and in our relationships with others are not continuously removing from our own eyes anything that hides the vision, then even if God should give us Darshan today—He stands there right in front of us in all His glorious splendour—we will not be able to behold Him, because we have our eyes open only to behold other things. We are not open to see the subtle reality that is hidden within the outer names and forms.

Read complete article

---

July 16^th is the holy celebration of Guru Purnima. There are several articles on our websites with regards to the significance of this day. They are:

1. Guru Purnima by Sri Swami Sivananda
2. Veda Vyasa — The Paragon of Power and Wisdom by Sri Swami Krishnananda

---

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

• Guru Purnima Message: The Perfection of Wholeness

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

---

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Guru Tattva
By Swami Sivananda

In spite of much that has been written on the concept of a spiritual Guru, there is still a good deal of confusion, misunderstanding, and skepticism in the public mind on this vital matter.

Is a Guru absolutely necessary? Who is a Satguru? How far can he help his Chela (disciple)? What are the duties of a disciple? What is the meaning of Initiation? Want of clear-cut and definite answers to these and related questions often impedes the spiritual progress of earnest aspirants.

Under the circumstances, the present book by Satguru Sivanandaji Maharaj should come as a boon to many. Within its pages, the reader will find an authoritative, succinct and bold elucidation of the entire subject of Guru-disciple relationship.

We have great pleasure in releasing this book for the benefit of spiritually thirsty men and women all over the world. May the blessings of the Lord and the Brahma-Vidya Gurus be upon all!

For more information, please see: Guru Tattva

---

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/

---

DIVINE PUSH: A government official complained to the Master, “Although I have fulfilled all the conditions for getting the next promotion, I have not been successful; all my colleagues have been promoted. I think a divine push is necessary to achieve this.”

“Worldly things need a worldly push,” the Master said quietly, “and divine things need a divine push.”

All smiled except the official.

---

“Prayer should be backed by Purushartha (self-effort) to make the prayer one’s own experience. Both should go hand-in-hand. Prayer without Purushartha becomes empty. Purushartha without prayer becomes fruitless and futile. Both are necessary. A motor is necessary, but petrol is also necessary; a motor without petrol will be of no use, and petrol alone without a motor will be of no use. When both of them coordinate together, we have power and movement. Prayer is the life of the inner spiritual structure, and Sadhana is the outer mechanism of the spiritual life, and both coordinate together in oneness.” – Swami Chidananda

---

Sivananda Day-to-day is sent out weekly.
To subscribe to this mailing list please go to:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi

Other Sivananda related lists:
1) Sivananda Daily Readings

2) Sivananda's Thought for the Day

3) Various Selections from Sivananda's Works