Milan Šišmiš

And you are asking me, my brother, where to find the Truth?
It is everywhere, it is within me, it is heaven eternal,
But the one who is not able to distinguish softly, does not find it,
He does not understand, he blunders, continues to search in vain
A small tree hidden in a forest´s young trees.
The one who is not listening, will not hear its soft voice.
Do not search in books – it is inexpressible by words.
The real Truth resounds deep within  yourself.
Swami Brahmananda

In the end of September 2011 a Czech-Slovak-French conference on the topic “How  historians write biographies“ took place in Bratislava. The event was organised by the Historic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Historic Sciences of the Czech Academy of Sciences and their French colleagues. This event inspired me to write this article.

The personalities

When considering biographic research we sometimes get back to the question, who should be the topic of this research. I would like to introduce and interpret the view on personalities from the point of view of the philosophies of vedanta, advaita and yoga.

Patanjali (2nd century b. C.) and the whole row of other representatives of this philosophical school perceive the universe as one organic, harmonious unit. A human, as a part of it, is from this point of view understood as a form of energy, a being, who expresses this energy and (as a difference from other living beings) can work conscientiously with it, to accumulate and direct it.

The differences among humans, their character features and expressions result from how much of this energy they have, how they should spend and utilize it and how they really spend and utilize it. “The yogis teach“, swami Vivekananda puts it, “the highest form of energy in the human body is the power called ojas. This ojas is to be stored in the brain. The more a human has of it, the stronger, brighter and riper s/he is. One is able to express beautiful ideas using beautiful language, but may not be able to affect other people. Another person may not be able to express his/her ideas in this “flowery“ way, but in spite of this his/her words may astonish others: every movement radiates his/her special power. This is the power of ojas.“ (1) Vivekananda adds that this charisma is within each of us, some manifest it less, some more.

Significant, or rather influential personalities

“You must have certainly noticed“, Vivekananda writes in a different place, that “what a contagious power the zeal of some individuals has. People who move the history of the world are gifted with a strong power of will. They are able to bring their prana (life energy) into the state of such high vibrations, which have such a strong power, that in one moment these are able to attract and influence whole masses of people in such a way, that half of the world thinks the same way as the bearers of these vibrations. Great prophets had a tremendous control over their prana which gave them a great willpower. From this control all the manifestations of power (in other words, of life energy or prana) spring out.“ (2)
The yogis developed the techniques enabling to work the most effective way with the prana running through human bodies (on all of its levels) – physical, pranic, mental, intellectual, causal: relaxation, physical exercise, breath exercise – pranayama, concentration and meditation techniques, special purification techniques – hathayoga kriyas etc.). A significant influenece was also given to nourishment (it should be lacto-vegetarian, with milk products, but without meat, fish and eggs) and eating habits (fasting). (3) Many of these techniques require a certain discipline, are well known and were used in our environment, especially in the environment of monastic orders and hermitages. This is also the reason that very many significant personalities came out of these spiritual environments.

Worldy and spiritual personalities

Spirituality can be understood as purity – physical purity (outer and inner), purity in thinking and acting. The human body is filled with toxins, suffers from fatigue and when not purified,  starts to waste away, many of its functions stop working properly which can lead to various health disfunctions, psychic disorders or stop working completly (death). The functioning of the body or to be more exact of the mind is naturally also manifestated by the outer behaviour, reactions and actions of a human. (4) The society and environment, where a human lives, also have a big influence on it.

Extraordinary spiritual personalities

The mission and matter of the life of these people is to help (directly or from a distance, mentally). Their essence is the conscience of love to all. They identify with everything and everyone and “the divine essence“. “They devote their life to God and God shines from all their acting and being. The Christians celebrate them as saints. Also in Eastern cultures there are men and women, who are devoted to God and they bring the message about divine love to all people. They are considered saints as well. Despite this there is a difference between Western and Eastern thinking. In the west it is only after death that these sages are proclaimed as saints – in the East they are worshipped already during their life.“ (5)
For most people the “self-knowing“, revealing of the own self is a process, which requires commitment, effort and renouncing. Those, swami Maheswarananda says, who reached the highest degree of consciousness by diligent exercise (under the guidance of their masters) are called yogis. Those, who were already born with a higher conscience, are in Eastern cultures labelled and worshipped as mahayogsiddhis – “the great perfect, perfectly united“. (6) The first ones (in the process of recognition and perception), as well as others (from their coming into this world) manifest so called siddhis – special abilities, e.g. ability not to be hungry and thirsty, to hear and see from a distance, to heal, influence weather, to be simultaneously in  many places, to see the past and foretell the future etc (there are 24 of the siddhis according to yogic literature). (7)

Examples

Humans, who have fully developed these aforementioned abilities, are unusual phenomena. However the world, swami Vivekananda says, is never without them. There have been many of them in human history. They came and worked in various parts of the world. It was not only about individuals as it may seem. “Many people think“, swami Madhavananda mentions  “that only Jesus was God´s son. The others (like hinduists) believe, that the only God´s son was Krishna. Yet other (hinduists) are persuaded that the only God´s avatar was Rama. All these are images that limit God. God is not limited and neither is the number of his human incarnations.“ (8) When describing this situation the example of fire is also used as the manifestation of energy. When fire is burning at one place, does it mean it cannot burn anywhere else?
Many of these  personalities were well known, became famous and became founders of big religions (Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed...), many were active only locally.

How to write (their) biographies

To write a biography of any person is intricate. What do we know about him/ her? What do we know about our nearest ones, about ourselves? To what extent can we evaluate someone or judge him/her? How can we approach to write any biographies with this equipment, especially those personalities, who lived outside of our environment or far in the past and we only have second hand (recorded) information about them?
Gandhi´s film biographer Richard Attenborough when searching for the answers on similar questions came to this conclusion that also became the motto of his legendary film Gandhi, 1982: “No man’s life can be encompassed in one telling. There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to record and try to find one’s way to the heart of the man...“
In addition to this film there are of course many examples that illustrate and shape the biographies of significant personalities as well as special spiritual personalities. The most valuable are their autobiographies and then the works written by their close colleagues or disciples. Many biographies are generated especially as a resulting from autopsies. If we leave out the oldest ones such as Indian heroic epics (heroic biographies, dynastic sagas) Mahabharata (9) and Ramajana (10), biblical biographies or biographies of the Christian  saints – from Central European environmnet e.g. legends about saint Cyril and Methodius (11), Svorad and Benedict (12), we can instead concentrate on those “more modern“ stories like a popular autobiography of swami Yogananda (13) or the life of Mahaprabhuji for example.

Examples and approaches

As an example let´s have a look at the last of the aforementioned works – the biography of Rajasthan´s saint Mahaprabhuji (1828 – 1965) (14). It is a personality, that is awesome already by the fact, that he had lived for 135 years. From India and also from other environments there are many well known references (remarks) about long-aged people who lived for more than 100 years. However these cases were very unusual and make us astonished even nowadays causing us to ask “How did they manage to reach this age?“
Mahaprabhuji was born in a desert, in the Rajsthan´s “little town“ Hari Vasini, and actually lived all his life there. He had no interest in publicity, however the rumours about him circulated in the whole colonial and later independent India and people, who came to ask him for help, came from various areas, social and religious environments – there were atheists, but also believers: Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and followers of local sects etc. He was of course not interested in their backround: “It is not important to come from, but to come, to come to Truth.“ Gandhi himself knew about him and met him (and Mahaprabhuji interpreted the past to him and foretold the successful ending of his effort – the independence of India).
In the book the events of Mahaprabhuji´s life, stories from the life of his masters, and also some of his followers (including the author himself, his disciple swami Madhavananda, 1923 – 2003) are described. There are tales of his extraordinary abilities, „miracles“ not unlike  those mentioned in the stories of the New Testament or the biographies of other saints. 
“I have collected such a huge amount of the accounts about master´s miraculous deeds“, the author of the work writes, „that this book is not able to take hold of them“. (15) 
Which sources did he use (or had a possibility to use), which heuristic methods did he use? There were means used also in other, similar works (in this case especially those from the category of so called oral history) – maybe with the exception of one: “In the first place I am putting this information into the book which Mahaprabuji himself gave to me“, Madhavananda states. „Of course, I am bringing my own testimony about what I experienced and saw in his presence. Later I recount the stories and events told by witnesses who saw them... I always checked the dates of events and names of the participants to give the message as much authenticity as possible... Eventually I am giving to the readers what was revealed to me in meditation.“ (16)

An unusual research technique?

A European might be surprised by this last information. What do we know about intuition, meditation), revelations...? We know, that meditation is a certain energetic state of our consciousness, a state of maximum peace of so called vrtti, waves in the form of ideas, the state without them. The techniques to enter this state have sufficiently been elaborated. (17) In Europe they were used e.g. in the environment of the orders. There and also in Eastern cultures meditation was also used as an acknowledged research technique – when searching for answers to various questions. Let´s recall the account of how St Constantine the Philosopher searched for the shapes of the Glagolic script for the Slavs: “... The Philosopher proceeded in the manner of an old custom and devoted himself in prayer with other helpers as well. Soon God appeared to him, God who listens to the prayers of his servants, and he immediately composed the letters and started to write the words of the gospel...“ (18)
There are many remarks about the „revelations“ of biographic data. In the preface of Ramayana we can read the following part: “Valmiki entered the yogic meditation and there with the power of his inner sight he could see everything that Rama had to go through, his whole story with all of the details which Narada did not talk about. (... He did not hesitate and started to work. Using 16-syllable verses he composed a song to which he gave the name Ramayana...)“. (19)
Also in Europe there are known Biblical biographic narrations, written based on revelations  and insights like the stories of the life of Christ, first published in 1949 inspired by an impulse of Pope Pius XII. (20)
It is difficult, in fact impossible to evaluate this way of knowing, „collecting the information“ to those, who do not use it, or who have not mastered it. However in the biographies of spiritual personalities both Christian and Eastern it is often mentioned.

About the meaning of writing biographies

Patanjali, who is considered to be the founder of psychology and the other representatives of vedanta philosophy talk about knowledge real and unreal. Intelectual knowing, knowing coming from oustside (not from the inner self), including the books is considered as knowing not direct, not real. (21) However they do not condemn this way. The opposite way they recommend reading (and also writing) of biographies – as one of the techniques which can lead to spiritual development – if it do not create negative vrttis (ideas) in a reader´s mind. (22)
“The biographies of the saints are signposts on the way to the Eternal. Their teaching and deeds reveal the Divine Truth and are invaluable indicators for spiritual seekers. The meaning of human life is to put away the cloak that conceals the Truth. Furthermore it is the saints who inspire us to realize this meaning of life.“ (23)
Similary, as spiritually exceptional men and women, our ancestors also (without difference) tried to search for Truth, happiness (for themselves and also for us) or however we may call the aim of their effort. Despite not always behaving nor acting as „saints“, their countless fights, losses and victories, small or big „miracles“, smaller or bigger steps, which they made on their eternal journey through human life toward knowledge, are definitely worth recording and can inspire us. (24)

ILLUSTRATIVE  QUOTATIONS

“As a freshman only a few things made me as angry as the debates about history with my father. He refused it heretically and his disbelief about its existence was not based on some false  theories, but on something that could be called human logic: “When we were young journeymen with Rybníček“, he said, „Miklóš Figura wanted to become independent. He wrote to his birthplace a request  to send him his birth certificate. They sent him an answer telling him that it seems he was not born there, because they could not find him in the birth record register. Look, if it was not possible to find out then that someone was born 30 years ago in some village“, the father made a significant pause, “how can we know what happened 300 or 500 years ago?“ 
His blasphemous persuasion, that history is only a practical joke of the lords, deeply offended my steady faith in science and scientific research. (In those times I did not learn by intuition how many times let´s say Nestor´s Russian chronicle was rewritten because of the command of the respective ruling princes. I considered history as “magistra vitae“ (teacher of life) and I have never hesitated that the birth of an unimportant watchmaker cannot be compared to the Tatar invasion, or the time of the 30-year war. These all have furthermore been justified by detailed documentation, archeological research and many other pieces of evidence. I took it for granted that the identity of little nameless people must be kept in perspective to a  majestical picture of a historic period which although was created by the great diligence of nameless people, however, their place in history was only as an anonymous brick in an imposing building. 
To understand that these obscure little ants also deserve a right to their historical existence, some of my near ones had to pass away. Only then did I understand and feel, that everyone, even the smallest person continues to live when s/he has a place in our heart and our memory.“
Kornel Foldvari, Populating history (foreword to the work of Juraj Linzboth The caleidoscope of Prespork, published 2007 in Bratislava), p. 5

“It is not easy to explain to people that what they read in many beautiful books is not the truth. Two groups of people write books. The first one are those who have real knowledge. The other ones are pure intellectuals. Books only written by intellect, on the level of the psychic, do not resolve our objective. Real documents are the books written by enlightened souls. The problem is that enlightened souls usually do not have the need to write. Therefore it is their disciples who collect their ideas, but put into it something personal and depict the things the way they understand it.“
Swami Maheswarananda, tape recording from a lecture from 1990s in Ostrava

THE  DESCRIPTION  OF PICTURES

1.Patanjali´s Yogasutras systemize the philosophy of yoga and came into existence in the period 200 – 150 years b. C. They came out from Vedas, one of the oldest written records of humankind (they are supposed to be originated 3 – 8 thousand years ago, until then being in oral tradition). So far the latest (Czech) edition of Yogasutras was introduced by Swami Maheshwarananda in 2006.
2.Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902) was the first one to make popular the yoga philosophy and vedanta in the West. He began his „tour“ in 1893 in Chicago. His ideas spoke to the well known French writer Romain Rolland who wrote his biography (La Vie de Vivekananda et l´Evangile Universel, 1930) and the biography of his teacher Ramakrisna. Both were soon published in Czechoslovakia – under the title The mystical and active life of up-to-date India (Praha, 1931, new edition in 1995). In English speaking countries there were 24 editions so far (the latest one from 2008).
3.Swami Yogananda (1893 – 1952), who predominantly worked in the USA, is considered to be the first yogi who published his own biography (Autobiography of a Yogi, 1946). His work concentrated on the American „saint“ – botanic Luther Burbank. This very popular work was published in approximately 25 languages so far. The Czech version for Czechs and Slovaks was translated by Czech Hindu expert Dušan Zbavitel (Jogananda, Paramhansa. Životopis jógína, Praha, 2003).
4.The example of Gandhi (1869 – 1948), the herald of non-violence and the spiritual father of India´s independence, inspired millions of people around the world. The Slovak readers could get acquinted with his autobiographic „Experiment with Truth“ thanks to Anna Racova (Mohandás Karamčand. Môj experiment s pravdou. Bratislava 1989).

A SAMPLE – A STORY FROM THE BOOK „LILA AMRIT“

(A passage from the autho/biography of swami Madhavananda Lila Amrit, Martin 1995, pp. 54 – 55 according to the Czech translation by Dr. Milena Hubschmannova)

The well in Jalor

Sri Devpuriji stopped to teach in public, but he did not close up to people and he helped everyone who asked him for help. Similarly as a tree gives his shadow to everyone who sits under it, as the rain does not choose the field where he would like to fall, but irrigates the whole earth, as everyone can drink from a stream who is thirsty, also the saints spread welfare without choice. They are here for everyone. They serve the whole world for everything. The saints are the greatest gift humankind can wish for. They purify the world and in India it is said, even the wind that blew around a saint´s dwelling, spreads peace.
Once a group of begging people from the village of Jalor came to Devpuriji. There was a severe drought. Rajasthan is a desert country and droughts torture its inhabitants several times during a period of one human generation. It happens, that in some places not even one drop of rain falls for several years. In the district of Jalore the last residues of water had been dwindled away from the undermost parts of the soil. In the wells there was nothing but mud saturated with salt. Both people and animals suffered from thirst.
“Master, you are the last one who can save us! Only you can help us so that we would not die from hardship“, the villagers were begging in despair. 
Sri Devpuriji set for the journey to Jalor on the very same day, accompanied by his dogs and snakes. In the square he sat under a tree to rest from a tiring journey for a while. The whole village came to welcome him.
“Dear Master, how thankful we are, that you came! What can we do for you?“ 
“You called me not to do something for me, but I shall do something for you, shall I not?“ the master laughed. “If you want to do something, bring hacks and let´s go down to work“. Then he showed the men where to dig. He took a hack himself and started to work as the first. 
“Master, that is not right!“ the villagers were screaming. “It is not proper for a saint person to work with a hack! It is enough if you bless us and we will ceratinly find water!“ In reality most of them doubted, that on a rocky place, which sri Devpuriji marked, they would find water.
The master knew their hidden doubts. “Just do not be afraid“, he encouraged them. “All the men who have healthy hands and legs, just dig properly! You will see what water will spring out here.“
The men encouraged by his words started the competition with the stone. The stronger ones were digging, the weaker ones were putting away the dug soil. All were working in a perfect harmony as a balanced organism in which every part fulfills its function exactly. Everybody was necessary here. One without another would not master what they achieved all together. They worked without break and even did not observe how the time was flying and the light was no longer provided by the sun, but by the big orange moon. And when a new day came from the pale dawn, they found water. It was clear, transparent, cool and exceptionally good.
The inhabitants of a desert praise water in a different way then Europeans do. I have been hearing in Europe everytime it was raining: “Oh God, what weather! It is raining again!“ I was remembering my fellow countrymen who would give all of their posessions for few drops of rain.
When the well in Jalor was filled with clear water up to its brim, the whole village burst into joy. “Sri Devpurij, kee jay!“ Long live sri Devpuridzi.
The well is still there today. Nowadays the women come here for water under a wide-branched banyan tree on the edge of the village. The well does not dry up even during the worst drought. It is here as a symbol of life in a desert. The villagers show it to everyone who comes to Jalor and talk about Sri Devpuriji´s miracles.

REFERENCES

1 Vivékánanda, svámí. Čtyři knihy o józe [VIVEKANANDA, Four Books about Yoga]. Přáslavice (CZ): Fontána Esotera, 2006, pp. 43 – 44.
2 Ref. 1, p. 32.
3 More information for example Mahéšvaránanda, Paramhans svámí. Systém Joga v dennom živote [MAHESHWARANANDA, Yoga in Daily Life – the System]. Wien (AT) : Ibera Verlag/EUP, 2000, 448 pp. ISBN 3-85052-002-1, 2nd Slovak edition Praha (CZ) : Mladá fronta, 2006.
4 More information in Pataňdžaliho Jógasútry. První díl: Samádhi-páda. [Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Vol. I. Samadhi-Pada]. Střílky (CZ) : DNM import – export s.r.o., 2006, ISBN 80-903200-1-5, 216 pp.
5 Mahéšvaránanda, Paramhans šrí svámí. Úvodní slovo. [MAHESHWARANANDA, Introduction]. In Mádhavánanda, Paramhans svámí. Líla Amrit. Život božského mistra Šrí Maháprabhudžího [MAdhavAnanda, Lila Amrit. The Life of the Divine Master Sri Mahaprabhuji]. Martin (SK) : Vydavateľstvo Mahéšvaránanda Joga v dennom živote, 1995; 2nd Czech edition Praha (CZ) : Mladá fronta, 2009, p. 11.
6 Mahéšvaránanda, ref. 5, p. 12.
7 For example Mádhavánanda, ref. 5, pp. 35 – 36.
8 Mádhavánanda, Paramhans svámí. Předmluva [MAdhavAnanda, Foreword]. In Mádhavánanda, ref. 5, p. 16.
9 See for example Mahábhárata. Největší duchovní epos všech dob [Mahabharata. The Greatest Epos of the World]. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, 2002, 986 s. ISBN 91-7149-456-1.
10 See for example the Czech edition Rámájana [Ramayana]. Praha (CZ) : Argo, 2000, 216 pp. ISBN 80-7203-264-X.
1 See for example Život Konštantína Cyrila a život Metoda.  [The Life of Constantin Cyrillus and the Life of Methodius]. Martin (SK) : Matica slovenská, 1994, 99 pp., also Veľkomoravské legendy a povesti. [Great Moravian Legends and Tales]. Bratislava (SK) : Tatran, 1990 (here are also the legends from the lifes of the other saints).
12 Život svätých pustovníkov Svorada vyznávača a Benedikta mučeníka [The Life of Saint Hermits Zorardus the Confessor and Benedictus the Martyr]. In Marsina, Richard. Legendy stredovekého Slovenska [Legends of Medieval Slovakia]. Budmerice (SK) : Rak, 1997, pp. 35 – 43 (here are also the biographies and legends about the other Hungarian saints).
13 Jógananda, Paramhansa. Životopis jógína [YOGANANDA, Authobiography of a Yogi]. Praha (CZ) : Aquamatin & Fontána, 2003, 403 pp. ISBN 80-7336-134-5.
14 Mádhavánanda, ref. 5.
15 Mádhavánanda, ref. 5, s. 16.
16 Mádhavánanda, ref. 5, s. 15 – 16.
17 See for example Mahéšvaránanda, ref. 3, pp. 325 – 349 (Self-Inquiry Meditation, Parts 1 – 8), also Mahéšvaránanda, Paramahansa svámí. Skryté síly v člověku. Čakry a kundaliní [MAHESHWARANANDA, Hidden Powers in Human]. Praha (CZ) : Mladá fronta, 2004 (different pages), also an interesting book in a form of correspondence describing author’s personal experiences with meditation GATTANI, P. D. Božské vnemy. Požehnania Díp Maháprabhudžího [Divine Perceptions. Blessings of Deep Mahaprabhuji]. Martin (SK) : Vydavateľstvo Mahéšvaránanda – Joga v dennom živote, 2003, 106 pp. ISBN 80-967331-5-X.
18 Život Konštantína Cyrila a život Metoda, ref. 11, p. 60.
19 Rámájana, ref. 10, p. 10.
20 Valtorta, Mária. Evanjelium, ako mi bolo odhalené [VALTORTA, Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me]. Bratislava (SK) : Jacobs Light Communication, 2008 – 2011 (10 volumes).
21 Pataňdžaliho Jógasútry, ref. 4, pp. 47, 184.
22 See for example Mahéšvaránanda, Skryté síly v člověku, ref. 17, p. 125, also Systém Joga v dennom živote, ref. 3, p. 386.
23 Mádhavánanda, ref. 5, p. 15.
24 To the subject see also POLTIKOVIČ, Viliam. Touha po absolutnu. Svatí muži Indie [Longing for the Absolute. Saint Men of India]. Praha (CZ) : Mladá fronta, 2003, 213 pp. ISBN 80-204-1063-5, his documentaries (http://www.csfd.cz/tvurce/32487-viliam-poltikovic/), as well as http://www.swamiji.tv.

AUTHOR

Mgr. Milan Šišmiš, Slovak National Library, National Biographic Institute, Nám. J. C. Hronského 1, 036 01 Martin, Slovakia, milan.sismis@snk.sk

Mantra is spoken in the ancient language of Sanskrit. The spiritual masters of India consider this language divine because of its vibrational energy. Sanskrit mantras provide the opportunity to establish a connection with the highest spiritual energies. The practice of Mantra helps to overcome daily worries and concerns. Mantra removes obstacles from the spiritual path and purifies the mind. Mantra is a word or phrase that contains great vibration and powerful spiritual energy. Mantra literally means to ‘liberate the mind’ - it liberates the mind from fear, dependency and sorrow. It gives the mind peace and guides our thoughts. The vibrational energy of the Sanskrit Mantra, as given by an authentic meditation Master, is tuned with the universal source of peace. The great saints, yogis and spiritual leaders of yester-year practiced and perfected Mantras and Prayers before conveying them to humanity for the welfare of all beings. The author of this article His Holiness Swamiji reguarlly visits Australia. you may also view his spiritual lectures and live webcasts on line for free athttp://swamiji.tv/

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means ‘union’. Yoga teaches us to live in unity and harmony, with tolerance and respect for all living beings in the natural world. Yoga Masters around the globe endeavour to create unity among all humans, which is the essential requisite for world peace.

Yoga leads to an understanding of our oneness with all living beings, and the whole of creation. Through the practise of Yoga, we learn that every injury we cause another inevitably comes back to us; that every positive action and positive thought brings happiness to others, as well as to ourselves.

The mightiest power in humans is the power of thought. It is time for us to apply our intellectual energy for the benefit of the world, rather than being the cause of its destruction. The path of Yoga helps us to unearth the valuable treasury of knowledge buried within and put it to good use. Every person is able to contribute something worthwhile to the planet and its recovery, and shape the future so that we may continue to live on this earth.

The aim of my life is to serve people through Yoga. My mission is to reawaken in humans the belief in God, and respect & love for His creation. This includes all living beings. In an endeavour to make the ancient science of Yoga available to people of all ages in this modern world, I developed a systematic method of practice from the authentic traditions of Yoga. It can be fully integrated into our daily life and that is why it is called “Yoga in Daily Life”.

Mantra is spoken in the ancient language of Sanskrit. The spiritual masters of India and Tibet consider this language divine because of its vibrational energy. Sanskrit mantras provide the opportunity to establish a connection with the highest spiritual energies of the Universe, enabling ultimate peace to settle within one’s own heart and mind. Mantra is given by a spiritual master, who hails from a spiritual lineage. It is given in a ceremony called Mantra Diksha which is a very auspicious occasion.

In this ceremony, the spiritual master (the Guru) makes a life-long commitment to guide the soul of the new meditation aspirant. In turn, the aspirant remains dedicated life-long to the teachings of the master, and practices the meditation Mantra with faith. Throughout all of life’s twists and turns, the spiritual master provides simple and practical guidance. Regardless of whether one is in physical proximity to the master or far, it is through the universal potency of the Mantra that guidance is received. In this light, Mantra is truly a great blessing for life.

The authentic spiritual master, the Guru, is likened to the radiant Sun.  All spiritual paths revere that spiritual master who dispels ignorance and suffering, and showers inspiration and wisdom. Gu means darkness, Ru means light. Dwelling within the incarnation of the Guru, is the luminous light of infinite wisdom and knowledge of the Divine. Such a master has the ability to kindle this light of knowledge in the hearts of others through Mantra.

The system of “Yoga in Daily Life” offers a step-by-step guide through eight levels of yoga postures, pranayama (breath techniques) and meditation. It is steeped in the ancient teachings of Yoga and adapted for the modern lifestyle; to help people integrate the authentic teachings into everyday life and relationships. The eight levels are structured to gain the greatest benefits for body, mind and soul, therefore it is recommended that the levels be practiced in a progressive way.

Yoga however, is more than just a system of physical exercise – it is a science of body, mind, consciousness and soul. It is a source of wisdom. Yoga makes it possible for every human to discover the real purpose of life and their own true nature. Those who have recognised and experienced their own inner truth, will never again wage war or use force against others.

Meditation & Mantra 
In the practice of meditation we gain spiritual knowledge which is eternal and unchanging. Spiritual knowledge differs greatly from intellectual knowledge; it cannot be taught, it can only be gained by one’s own experience. It unfolds in the heart through realisation; by following the cosmic laws of the universe, and by practising meditation and mantra.

To acquire spiritual knowledge, it is first necessary to explore and illuminate all levels of consciousness. In the guided practice of Self-Inquiry Meditation the mind is turned to inquire into the content of one’s own consciousness, to examine personal qualities, perceptions and habits. Through this meditation technique, there occurs a recognition and analysis of our own psyche and we come to learn much about ourselves and others. As we regularly repeat the self-inquiry technique, our thinking becomes well ordered and clear. Due to this we are able to overcome and avoid many difficulties in life.

The practice of Mantra also helps to overcome daily worries and concerns. Mantra removes obstacles from the spiritual path and purifies the mind. Mantra is a word or phrase that contains great vibration and powerful spiritual energy. Mantra literally means to ‘liberate the mind’ - it liberates the mind from fear, dependency and sorrow. It gives the mind peace and guides our thoughts. The vibrational energy of the Sanskrit Mantra, as given by a genuine meditation Master, is tuned with the universal source of peace. The great saints, yogis and spiritual leaders of yester-year practiced and perfected Mantras and Prayers before conveying them to humanity for the welfare of all beings.

excerpts from texts ‘The Hidden Power in Humans’ and  ‘Yoga in Daily Life, the System’ authored by His Holiness Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda

The author of this article His Holiness Swamiji reguarlly visits Australial. you may also view his spiritual lectures and live webcasts on line for free at http://swamiji.tv/

In Sanskrit, the cosmic Self is known as Atma. In contrast to the individual soul, the Atma is Universal. It is the "Light of Life" in all beings. The relationship between the Atma, the individual consciousness and spirit can be illustrated by the following example. 
The Atma is the light, the light bulb is the individual, and the beam of light that radiates from the lamp is the spirit. In English the expression "spirit of the soul" is used and in this expression it is clear that the spirit emanates from the Atma. This "spirit" possesses qualities such as clear or unclear, strong or weak, confused, lively, creative, lethargic, etc. But the Atma is completely without attributes, comparable to a cloudless sky or water without waves. The clouds in the heavens, the waves in the sea, a film projected onto the screen, all allude to movement. Mostly, our consciousness identifies with this movement and remains unaware of the background, the "Atma".

In the symbolic image of a lamp we can compare the individual consciousness with the lampshade. How much light radiates from a lamp depends upon how much energy the light bulb is able to receive. It is the same with the lampshade - the amount of light able to penetrate the lampshade depends on whether the shade is clear and transparent or dusty and dirty.

Spirit and consciousness are not the Self, but merely an emanation of the Self from which they manifest. The light of the Atma always remains unchanged, vibrant and pure. The extent to which the light of the Atma can penetrate externally is dependent on the quality of our consciousness, which is shaped by our thoughts, feelings, qualities and actions. Negative qualities and ignorance darken our Phänomen . Divine qualities such a knowledge, wisdom and love  brighten it. The higher the development of our consciousness, the clearer, purer and more transparent it is. The clearer and purer our consciousness is the more the light of the Atma can radiate in its full beauty and splendour; then we speak of enlightenment or realisation.  Holy people are completely pure and clear and have become true channels of God. They radiate light, love, kindness, wisdom and clarity – consider for a moment the halo of Saints. But when there are many layers of karma and ignorance veiling the Atma, this divine light cannot shine through.

The Atma, our inner Self, is the essence of the Cosmic Self whose nature is Maha ananda, supreme bliss. Therefore, the innermost essence of every individual as a part of the Cosmic Self is ananda, bliss.

My brother, I saw a wonderful coach (the body) pulled by ten horses (the senses). Mana (mind) was the reins which controlled the horses and Buddhi (intellect) was the coachman who directed the reins. Inside sat ?tm?, the King, accompanied by Viveka (discrimination), his trusted Minister. Inside the coach resounded the playing of different instruments (sense organs, thoughts). If the light of knowledge arises in this coach it is forever illuminated.

Viveka is the most refined form of the intellect. It carefully considers all thoughts, feelings and experiences and decides according to the reality, and not based on egoistic desires, which is what the mind usually does.

Light is the symbol for knowledge, darkness means ignorance. Where light appears darkness disappears. It is the same with knowledge. When knowledge is awakened within us ignorance is immediately banished.

Who are we? Are we the body? To believe that we are the body is ignorance.
In reality we are pure consciousness!

We are not skin, bones, blood, flesh, nerves or glands. We say: “This is my blood, these are my limbs, my feelings, thoughts, ideas and experiences.”  But who is it that speaks about these things in such a way? Who is it that, consciously or unconsciously, uses the words ‘I’ or ‘mine’?

Take an onion as an example. We hold it in our hand and identify it without further consideration simply as "onion". Now we remove the outer layers of the skin, one by one. We call the individual parts of the onion, the "onion skins". It is no longer called an onion. So what remains of the "onion" now? Is "onion" only a name for the sum of these skins? This cannot possibly be so. An onion, out of which an entire plant comes into being when planted, is something much more comprehensive, more highly organised than the mere fitting together of individual skins!

The Atma is also infinitely much more than the mere sum of its parts. The Atma lives within us. Nobody can see how it enters into the womb or how it leaves the body of a dead person. It comes and goes. The physical body changes, just like we change our clothes. The Atma, the Self, is never born. It is immortal, eternal, divine and unchanging. The Atma itself does not need to develop, it is complete. Only the consciousness must be purified and developed so that it is able to recognise its real nature.

The Atma is life itself, pure energy. For example, contained within the seed of a tree is the whole tree, already laid out in full as the most refined, concentrated energy pattern. This energy, which brings forth everything, and from which everything comes into being, is the Atma. The Atma is the essence of God. It is not divine, but God Himself. Not holy, but holiness itself. The Atma is like a light, an inextinguishable flame. This light within us is only veiled and hidden by our Karmas. Just like fire is covered by smoke or a diamond is made unrecognisable by dust and dirt.

Any flame, be it a candle flame, a torch or a burning pile of wood, is in essence the same. Fire doesn't need to develop, it is and always will be fire. The difference lies in the quantity, not in the quality. In the tiniest spark there is also an infinite potential of energy. When many flames unite an immense power is formed, a sun, and the light that emanates from this is immensely strong. Using the same analogy in terms of the full potential of light becoming manifest in a human, it is then that we speak of a Mahatma, a great soul, a Saint or a Divine Incarnation.

In Vedanta philosophy, the fundamental philosophy of Yoga, the Atma is described as Sat-Chit-ananda - Sat means truth, Chit means consciousness and ananda means bliss. The Atma, the Self, is therefore truth. It is conscious and blissful. And this Self is the Self of all beings.

The use of Mantra purifies and frees the mind so that the Atma can emerge.

Many people ask what they should think about during meditation and what they should concentrate on. Initially one concentrates on the breath, on the body or on the relaxed state of the muscles. Later one can visualise the full moon, sunrise or sunset. But real meditation is Atma Chintan, concentration on the Atma. At this stage our concentration moves beyond concern about the physical body and is no longer occupied with thoughts about the meditation posture. All imagination is surrendered, along with all earthly desires and thoughts. In Atma Chintan there is no visualisation of light, of the moon or sun. There is no thought of the rising of the Kundalin?, the opening of the Chakras or attainment of supernatural powers. All these are only the beginner's level of meditation. Do not cling onto such methods of imagination; meditate only with Atma Chintan. Always be conscious of this - feel and experience it. In order to bring the mind to stillness and to strengthen the power of concentration, Mantra is used as an aid. The use of Mantra purifies and frees the mind so that the Atma can emerge.

At this stage of realisation, a Yogi has only one thought: "Who am I?" This is the contemplation of the Yogi, not only during meditation, but also in each moment and in every life situation. This is the call of the Self, the song of the heart, his Atma. A Yogi doesn’t think: "I strive to come closer to you, my Lord", but asks "Come closer to me, my Lord". We humans often feel ourselves weak and helpless. We think God is far away and difficult to reach. But God is omnipresent; God will certainly find a way to us. In meditation always aim to develop uplifting and confident thoughts, because thoughts have great power and can achieve anything.

As we progress in meditation the ability of spiritual perception develops. Mind and consciousness become the eyes of the Self as our spirit roams throughout the whole Universe (astral travelling). Just like the headlights of a car illuminate the street in front of us, so the spirit perceives all things and transmits this experience and knowledge to our consciousness. However, first we must recognise our Self in each living being, in every atom, and in all planets and stars. This means we must progress to such a degree that we can identify ourselves with all beings and all things. We should not identify with a philosophy, religion, nationality, gender or race, but discover the unity that transcends all external appearances.

Duality is prevalent in today’s world, but a wise person recognises the unity behind the different forms. When he sees two jugs in front of him he is conscious that the material from which both are made, namely clay, is the same. In this way the Self-Realised, the God-Realised, person does not see the external form but rather its inherent reality, the Atma, the Self.

However, it is not enough to understand only with the intellect, one must feel and experience it much more deeply within. Once we have heard the call of the Atma then we no longer desire any Siddhis or miracles. We no longer need anything else in order to be happy. We do not look for someone to extend a hand to us, but hold out a helping hand to others, because we know: "I am the Atma and this Self lives also in others. We are not two, but one. We may dwell in different bodies, but the body is transitory. The reality exists in the unity that is immortal."

As long as we entertain thoughts of duality, thoughts of separateness, we make a serious mistake. We help ourselves when we overcome our dualistic thoughts. Then we recognise that this world is simply a manifestation of our mind, that. in reality our mind has created the world as we see it before us. We realise that all of creation is changeable and transient, like the waves of the ocean. In due time, all waves sink back into the ocean and become one with it. And one day the world as we know it will also vanish and all that we will see everywhere is God, the Supreme, the Atma.

Therefore, always practise Atma Chintan in meditation. Know that you are strong, pure, happy and immortal. You are the Self! In the Self no fear, sadness or guilt exists. However, worldly life should not be condemned. After all, we live in this world and it offers us wonderful experiences. Therefore we should not make life difficult for ourselves, but enjoy life and release ourselves from self-reproach as we sincerely endeavour to remain on the right path.

Live now in the present. Do not brood about the past. Yesterday is gone and will never again come back. Also, do not dream about a "better" future.  The future is still not here and we will never reach it; for the future is only ever the present. Tomorrow remains tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow always remains the day after tomorrow. Always live only in the now.  When we become conscious of this we have overcome time and live in its midst as the observer and witness of all changes. The Self is unchanging, the energy flowing from it moves the cosmos, creating and dissolving.

Our Atma is the divine Self - may everyone recognise this and send their love to It.

The author of this article His Holiness Swamiji reguarlly visits Australia. you may also view his spiritual lectures and live webcasts on line for free at http://swamiji.tv/

One day a young boy found a bird lying on the ground, squawking for help. The boy felt compassion for the bird, petted the bird gently and wanted to help it, but didn’t know how. So he took the bird in his hands, carried it carefully home and showed it to his parents. They washed the bird and found it a little wounded. It would need time and care to recover. As the bird had become dear to his heart, the boy immediately offered to care for the bird.

He began to feed the bird and ran out to collect grass to build a soft nest for it. He put the nest beside his bed. Now the boy and the bird were sleeping together and living together. Soon the boy and the bird became dear friends. The bird was happy and thankful and the boy was happy too having a new friend. The bird got a name and became a dear family member to all. In course of time it really recovered and started to hop and to jump a little bit and to exercise his wings. That made everyone even more happy. Soon it would be able to fly, how wonderful!

But what then? The boy became thoughtful, and started to think. - If the bird would now really start to fly, they would have to keep the windows closed or it may simply fly away one day. But that should not happen. The boy loved his friend so much that he couldn’t imagine anymore to part from him. He should surely stay with him, forever. But how? To keep the windows closed all the time, that was not practical. No, better to buy a cage for the bird. But what would that mean for his friend? The bird would feel imprisoned. It would feel trapped. Its love and thankfulness would turn around into disappointment, grief or even hate. Everything would be destroyed. The boy was puzzled; what to do?

His parents were spiritual people. They told their son: “If you really love the bird, then you should not think of your own interest, but only how to make your friend happy. The nature of a bird is to fly in the open sky, it cannot be happy in a cage.” That was hard for the boy. But finally he opened his heart and opened the windows. And one day the bird really flew away. But see what happened: Whenever the boy saw a bird flying in the sky, he thought: “How happy he is! That must be my friend!” And his bird was really happy and ever thankful to the boy and told it to the other birds. So all birds became his friends and he was now surrounded all the time by birds. Instead of losing a friend he got so many new friends.

When I told this story some weeks ago in a satsang, one lady said: Swamiji, I know you made that story. But that is not a fictitious story, that really happened to some friends of mine. They saved a bird and kept it in an open cage in their garden, so that the bird could come and go as it liked. When it was healed it flew away sometimes, but always came back. Later it even built its nest in there. Now already the third generation of birds lives there.

Attachment is impure love, love mixed with ego and selfishness. Ego divides, love unites. Love wants nothing, love expects nothing. Love is unconditional and selfless. Love binds no one and hurts no one. Love lets free. But indeed, such love attracts everyone, such love is like a magnet. That is the secret of love. And that is the secret of all the saints.

Nowadays the word yoga appears quite often in our everyday life. We can find it in the books, the newspapers, hear of it in the radio, on lectures or during the conversation with our friends. Probably you have already come across this concept and created your own opinion on yoga. Perhaps you associate the word yoga with a healthy and elastic body in an unusual posture, a motionless yogi in meditation or with the philosophy of the East. Yoga is all this and still much more.

It is very difficult to define yoga in just a few words. But surely yoga is one of the most complete and universal systems: it is a complete view of life, of the humankind and other living beings and of the whole cosmos. Yoga teaches us that all aspects of life mentioned above are inseparably connected and that only through realisation and experience of this completeness we can satisfy our inner hunger for the knowledge and everlasting happiness.

The science of yoga is a precious gift from the Indian sages who attained the complete realisation of all laws of existence. In spite of the fact that yoga geographically originates from India, its ancient wisdom is universal and eternal.

Let us take a look at yoga as:

• A universal principle
• A system of methods and techniques for the personal development
• A non-dogmatic and universal spiritual path

YOGA AS UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE:  Yoga is a general concept that represents the wholeness of all cosmic principles. The word yoga means union. Through the union of single elements and cosmic forces our planet and the whole universe were created. In this process of creation the cosmic principle of union is manifested - we can call it God, Cosmic energy, Love or Yoga.

There are thousands of solar systems in the universe and their existence is governed by some consciousness. This one, eternal, unchangeable and constantly awake consciousness is PARABRAHMA, which is present in every atom. PARABRAHMA is not a person; this principle has no form and no name. We just call it Light, Sound, the Absolute, Truth, Eternity, God. This highest principle, which balances and preserves the whole creation, is yoga. 

In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna says to Arjuna: "I gave this yoga to the Sun.". How are we to understand this? The Sun is also not a person. The Sun is a part of the universe, its light and energy enables and preserves our life. This power or energy that through the union and condensation became the Sun, is yoga of which Krishna speaks. This yoga, this principle, is therefore much older than the humankind and it is not something, that was invented by the human.

The interest for yoga awoke in humans when these fundamental questions arose in human minds:

Who am I ? Where do I come from ? Where am I going ? Why am I here ? Am I fulfilling my task ?

Since the beginning of the humankind, man tries to solve the mystery of the meaning of life. We know by experience, that life is connected to suffering. Every single living being is striving one way or another to be happy. But everything we hopefully cling to, sooner or later disappoints us or disappears in time and we find ourselves again at the beginning of our search. But are we indeed nothing but helpless leaves carried by the wind of destiny and circumstances that we cannot change?

Many thousand years ago in ancient Asia a teaching emerged, that offers a different perspective of the world and the universe, a new philosophy and perhaps - the solution. This science, Yoga-Vedanta philosophy, was developed by the Indian yogis and sages, who through deep meditation attained the complete knowledge of all laws of existence, found the meaning of life and liberated themselves from the eternal interchange of pleasure and pain. They were guided by the wish to help all people in different life situations and without any external instruments. They were searching for the method that would depend only on things that are available to everyone: body, intellect and mind.

The essence of Vedanta philosophy is the unity (non-duality) of all existence - we all are one. This may be hard to understand and even harder to realise. We all say: my body, my hands, my head, my thoughts, my feelings, ...and we all identify ourselves with the word "I". But who is the one that says: this is mine and this is me? You are not this body, intellect, thoughts, feelings or experiences. You have all this but this is not you. Who are you then?

You are the Self, the immortal ATMA.

Let us make an experiment: somebody holds a book in his hand and asks you whose book it is. By the gesture of your hand you indicate that it belongs to you. Surely you have pointed to the centre of your chest and thus saying that the book is yours. This gesture does not depend on your culture, country or race, it is international and universal. You have not pointed to your head or stomach, but to the area of your heart. When we write a letter, we always send our heartily greetings and not "greetings from the head". We can say, that this what we call "I", has its place in our hearts. The Self, the Atma dwells in our hearts. It is a divine, living light that never dies. Death can only destroy the body, but it cannot harm the Atma. The Atma lives for evermore, the Atma is life. Yogi says: "I am SAT-CIT-ANANDA ATMA - I am Truth, pure Consciousness, I am blissful, I am divine Self."

How can we explain the words "We are all one"? Take twenty cups and fill them with water. Put them in your garden on the night of the full moon and take a look at them. In every cup you will see the moon on the water surface. But are there twenty moons in the sky? No, there is only one, which reflects itself in all cups. Therefore we say: One in All and All in One.

In all living beings, humans as well as in the animals, dwells the same Atma, which is pure divine light. God reflects Himself in all living beings just as the moon reflects itself in different cups. If the water is not pure enough or its surface is not still, the reflection will not be clear. The moon in the sky, however, is always the same, untouched, only its reflection changes from cup to cup. Similarly, God is always within us, but we are not aware of this because our mind and consciousness are not pure and calm enough.

Can we see God? And with what eyes? God has two aspects: NIRGUNA and SARGUNA. NIRGUNA is His universal form that cannot be seen with our physical eyes. We can perceive it with our inner senses as a transcendental light or sound, or experience it as the universal knowledge and wisdom. And if you want to see God in the SARGUNA form, look at the Creation and discover Him in all living beings. God reflects Himself in every cup of life.

YOGA AS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Everyone would like to be healthy, content and happy and we are all striving in our own way to achieve this. But especially nowadays people all over the world suffer more than ever in the history of the humankind from stress and burdens, which they are not able to control anymore. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to relax, people usually find their comfort in tranquilizers, sleeping pills, alcohol and the like.

Yoga teaches us, that peace and contentment can be attained only by balancing our whole being on all levels of existence. We know that we consist of many aspects: physical body, mental body, subtle body and causal body. If we want to be happy and content, we must balance all of them. Methods and techniques of yoga offer us a perfect way to realise this goal: they lead us systematically and gradually through body postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), relaxation, contemplation and positive way of thinking towards physical health, calmness and knowledge of oneself. They also help us to give up all illusions and complexes, which stand as obstacles on our way towards happy and fulfilled life.

Yoga is, first of all, a practical way - we must realise and achieve everything by ourselves. Nobody can give us health, happiness and contentment, nor can we buy them or attain them by some external means. They lie within ourselves and only our own effort will help us to find and realise them.

On our way towards the Self-realisation we gradually discover all our inner qualities and feelings, be they good or bad. It is said, that the path of yoga is sometimes harder than the fight of a heroic soldier, because a yogi must conquer his inner enemies like lust, anger, attachment, greed, jealousy and pride. In this battle it is very important that we understand and accept ourselves without any feelings of guilt or disappointment, and that we are prepared to give up all bad habits, that are binding our true Self.

Yoga is a system of exercises and methods, which can lead us towards enlightenment, but only if they are practised with confidence, discipline and firm decision. These exercises and techniques are a part of the ancient treasury of knowledge, which has been passed on from the spiritual teachers to their disciples for many thousands of years.

Yoga consists of several ways, which are inseparably connected. Every stage of our development requires a particular kind of yogic discipline, which again depends on the disciple’s inner nature. Karma yoga is the way of selfless work for the benefit of all living beings. Bhakti yoga is the realisation of love and devotion to the noble principles. Gyana yoga means the development of knowledge and understanding of the laws of existence. Raja yoga consists of techniques and exercises that increase the abilities of our body and develop the potentials of our intellect and mind.

YOGA AS NON-DOGMATIC SPIRITUAL PATH

Although we speak a lot of God and say that yoga is the way to God, yoga is not a religion nor a religious sect. God is a universal principle, cosmic light, eternally awake consciousness which pervades all existence. This God is one, and dwells in all. We gave Him different names and images - we call Him Holy Father, Allah, Ishwara, Divine Will, Love, the highest Self and so on. There are as many images of God as there are people on the face of the earth. Everyone creates one’s own image of God and opinion on God according to the level of one’s spiritual development. Who imagines God according to prescriptions of others, has only a "borrowed" picture of Him and no own living vision.

The essence of yoga and all religions is actually the same - spiritual development of the person and the realisation of the Self and God as the final goal. Unfortunately, with all religions this goal somehow faded through time and got nearly lost: simplicity and directness were replaced by mysteriousness and inapproachability, God became something distant, limited by systems of dogmas. On the other hand, the knowledge of yoga is always transferred from people who realised God themselves to those who are still searching for Him. Such people, the real spiritual masters, can still be found nowadays. But we must be very cautious who we give our confidence to, for there are individuals who just imitate spiritual master's behaviour on the outside, but do not have the highest knowledge and their teachings are incomplete or even misleading. We can recognise a real spiritual master not by his looks, but we must listen to our heart.

Yoga unites positive principles of all world religions: non-violence, understanding, help, forgiving, charity, ....

Yoga teaches that everybody can attain and realise God. There is of course no universal recipe, everybody must find his own way. Yoga can help and guide us in our search, it offers to a seeker many thousand years of experiences and living examples of holy men and sages who attained this highest goal.

It is not important which religious belief (or none of them) we belong to, for yoga will support us in every kind of positive thinking and way of life. Yoga unites positive principles of all world religions: non-violence, understanding, help, forgiving, charity, ....

As such, yoga is a universal spiritual path, which is based on one’s own experience and not on the experiences and regulations of others, the meaning of which is changed and lost in the course of time.

Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji says:

"Brothers, you are mistaken if you think that you contradict each other by belonging to different religions! Instead of this you should live next to each other as brothers, for we are all children of one divine father. God is in all of us. It is not important whether you are Moslem, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist or Jain - if you really live according to your religion, you will all realise God."

The author of this article His Holiness Swamiji reguarlly visits Australia. you may also view his spiritual lectures and live webcasts on line for free at http://swamiji.tv/

“May all beings be healthy
May all beings dwell in peace
May all beings attain oneness
May all beings attain fulfilment
May there be happiness in the whole world”

The practise of Yoga and its benefits physical, mental, social and spiritual - allows us to create harmony within.When you start to feel this harmony your whole inner being revives like a desert after rain.  Yoga and Meditation exerts a pleasant, harmonising and healing effect upon ones whole body and psyche.  There comes to exist in one’s heart something so peaceful, which no one can ever take away.

So Yoga means more than doing a headstand or having a good figure.  Though comprehensive as it is, yoga actually includes those things too.  It is said “One in all and all in one.”  But the aim of yoga is discovering inner peace, inner harmony, realizing one’s true Self.  For those who practise seriously it is for finding the answer to the question, “Who am I?”  We suffer all kinds of stress because we don’t know who we really are.  Finding out who we really are is the true purpose of yoga.

We humans often feel ourselves weak and helpless. We think peace and happiness are far away and difficult to reach. But this peacefulness is Omnipresent, it exists within each of us as our true nature. So in meditation, always aim to develop uplifting and confident thoughts, because thoughts have great power and can achieve anything.

As we progress in meditation, the ability of spiritual perception develops. Mind and consciousness become the eyes of the Self (our true nature), as our spirit roams throughout the whole Universe (astral travelling). Just like the headlights of a car illuminate the street in front of us, so the spirit perceives all things and transmits this experience and knowledge to our consciousness. However, first we must recognise our Self in each living being, in every atom and in all planets and stars. This means that we must progress to such a degree, that we can identify ourselves with all beings and all things. We should not identify with philosophy, religion, nationality, gender or race, but discover the unity that transcends all external appearances.

Duality is prevalent in today’s world, but a wise person can recognise unity appearing in many different forms. When the wise one looks at two jugs in front of him, he is conscious that the clay from which they are made is the same. In this way the Self-Realised, the God-Realised, does not view the external form, but rather its inherent reality, the Atma, the Self.

It is not enough however to understand this intellectually, one must feel and experience this more deeply within. Once we have heard the call of the Soul, then we no longer desire any Siddhi (power) or miracle. We no longer need anything else in order to be happy. We don’t seek someone to extend a hand to us, rather we hold out a helping hand to others, because we know, "I am the Atma and this Self lives in others also. We are not two, but one. We may dwell in different bodies, but the body is transitory. Our reality exists in the unity that is immortal."

As long as we entertain thoughts of duality, thoughts of separateness, we make a grave mistake. We help ourselves the moment we overcome dualistic thoughts. Then we recognise that this world is simply a manifestation of our mind, that in reality, our mind has created the world as we see it before us. We realise that all of creation is changeable and transitory. Like waves on the ocean. In due time, all waves sink back into the ocean and unite with it. One day too, the world as we know it will vanish and all that we will see everywhere is God the Supreme, our Atma.

Therefore in meditation, practice Atma Chintan - know that you are strong, pure, happy and immortal. You are the Self! In the Self exist no fear, no sadness and no guilt. Worldly life is not to be condemned. After all, we dwell in this world and it provides us wonderful experiences. Therefore we should not make life difficult for ourselves, but rather enjoy life and be free from self-reproach, as we sincerely endeavour to remain on the right path.

Live now in the present. Do not brood about the past. Yesterday is gone and never again comes back. Also, do not dream about a "better" future. The future is still not here and we will never reach it, for the future is only ever the present. Tomorrow remains tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow always remains the day after tomorrow. Always live only in the now. When we are conscious of this we will have overcome time and live in its midst as the observer and witness of all change.

Our Atma is the Divine Self. 
May all recognise this and offer their love.

A lecture by H.H. Vishwaguru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda(founder of Yoga in Daily Life) - view the spiritual lectures given by Swamiji on swamiji.tv

Learn about the vision that led H.H. Swamiji to build Yoga in Daily Life's international epicentre in India in the form of the symbol OM.  The mantra OM embraces “all that exists” – past, present and future, all spheres of the cosmos, the world and its underlying reality, mind and matter, cause and effect, the path and the goal.  The Mantra OM is the “name of God”, the vibration of the Supreme, the all-encompassing Mantra.  The essence of all wisdom has its roots in this sound.  In the triad A-U-M the divine energy (Shakti) is united in its three elementary aspects as: BRAHM? SHAKTI – the creative power that manifests the UniverseVISHNU SHAKTI – the preserving power that sustains the CosmosSHIVA SHAKTI – the liberating power that brings about transformation and renewal.

Reference: The Hidden Power in Humans by Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda.

For more information visit http://system.yogaindailylife.org/

A mantra is a syllable, a word or a sequence of words with a high spiritual vibration. The GURU MANTRA represents the essence of prayer, and anchors us in God, the Atma and the Supreme Self. It is the first initiation given by the spiritual master to the disciple.  The Mantra is like a “living” word…like a seed that grows into a strong tree, blossoms and produces multitudes of fruit.

 It contains an immense power for enrichment within itself – though only if the disciple always carries it in the mind and practices daily. Continuous practice of Mantra purifies the consciousness and mind, and removes karma in much the same way as constantly walking over weeds on a path crushes them. Only those who continue to work with this gift form the spiritual master are able to harvest its fruits. If it is merely put away and “stored” it withers like flowers without water.

Reference: The Hidden Power in Humans by HH Vishwaguru Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda  
View lectures by HH Vishwaguru Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda on Swamiji.TV

If you are interested in receiving a guru mantra then please contact your closest yoga centre.

Yoga in Daily Life teachings commend the development of four cornerstones for one's spiritual life and four pillars for a successful human life.

The four cornerstones for spiritual development are:

• Bhakti – devotion
• Gyana – wisdom
• Vairagya – detachment
• Satsang – keeping spiritual company

Pray to God to bless you with these four gifts, but if it seems a little presumptuous to ask for so much, then pray for only one. The most important is bhakti! Bhakti (devotion to God) gives us divine light and everlasting bliss.

The four pillars for a successful human life are:

• Dharma - fulfilling one's duty in life
• Artha - work
• Karma - action
• Moksha - liberation

Reference: The Hidden Power in Humans by Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda

View inspirational lectures on Swamiji.TV given by HH Vishwaguru Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda

Nadis are energy channels through which flows PRANA –  energy, life-force, consciousness. Within the human there is a subtle and perfect network of 72,000 Nadis that distribute this life force throughout the whole body. On the physical level the Nadis correspond to the nervous system, but their influence extends beyond this to the astral and spiritual planes of our existence. If all the Nadis are functioning correctly then we are healthy and generally feel happy. But nearly every one of us has some physical or mental problem, which means that some of the Nadis are not working properly and need to be balanced.

Three Nadis are of special importance - Ida, Pingala and Sushumna

• Ida arises in the left side of the body and represents the moon principle.
• Pingala begins on the right side of the body and symbolizes the sun principle.
• Sushumna runs through the central channel of the spinal cord and represents the consciousness.

On the physical level Pingala has its counterpart in the Sympathetic Nervous System, Ida in the Parasympathetic Nervous System, and Sushumna in the Central Nervous System.

Reference: The Hidden Power in Humans by Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda
For more information visit http://www.swamiji.tv or www.swamiji.org.au