Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India

Hari Om

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YOGA OBSTACLES TO SADHANA

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YOGA

Contents

Bhagavad Gita VI:46

Making the World a Better
Place
From , Swami
Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 4
Namaskara means salutation, and salutation means that you
are connecting with, respecting and honouring the other
person.
You can acknowledge another person, smile and say, Good
morning. How are you? or you can ignore them and keep
walking with a grumpy face. It indicates that you are either
humble or arrogant. If you are arrogant, be ready to receive
the result of your arrogance, from people who will not accept

Swami Sivananda says in his autobiography that as a rule

in his life, he would always say Om to anybody he saw. When
walking on the road, he would greet everybody with Om.
Every man, woman or animal he saw on the road, he would
bow to them mentally. That was his awareness and attitude,
expressing humility and not rigidity or arrogance. That was
his inspiration. It was not an intellectual concept; it was an
inspiration that he lived, and what a beautiful way of living
it was.
Just smile at everybody, greet, respect and honour every-
body. Namaskara is an indication of humility. When you
practise namaskara, humility is expressed and arrogance
recedes to the background. Greeting is an expression of the
senses that connects you with a feeling and a mood. When
you greet somebody, when you say Hari Om, when you look
at people and smile, you actually bring happiness into their
lives. If you frown and are angry, you dont bring happiness.
What harm is there if you smile at somebody? It can actually
work miracles.
When you are walking on the street and come across a
complete stranger, look at him and give a big smile. For the
whole day that person will be thinking, Who was that person
who smiled at me this morning? Whenever this person
remembers the smile, he will become happy. Maybe the next
day he will smile at somebody else. Then, this third person
will smile at somebody else. In this way, with respect, honour
and humility, the world will become a better place.

YOGA 5
Namaskara Yoga
Swami Sivananda Saraswati

There is no harm in pros-

trating before all, for all are
manifestations of the Lord.
I do prostrations even to
cow-dung, for everything
is Brahman. Even before
donkeys and other animals, I
do mental prostrations. To my

do namaskara. I behold the

Essence behind all names and
forms. That is real Vedanta in
daily life.
Doing prostrations is by
itself a sadhana, namaskara
sadhana. You should not think,
He is a thief, he is a wicked
man. Sri Krishna Himself has
said, Dhyutam chalayatam asmi
I am the gambling of the
cheat. By doing prostrations,
good health is acquired and
life is prolonged. There was a Maharashtra saint who used to
prostrate before asses and horses. Once he prostrated before
a dead ass and the ass came back to life. Such is the power of
namaskara.
You may not actually prostrate, but are you ready to do
prostrations to pigs, bulls, asses? All are manifestations of God.
So you should have the readiness to prostrate before all. There

wholehearted and sincere.

YOGA 6
Saraswati
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

In India, the arrival of spring is

celebrated in a special manner.
Spring represents emergence
of new life, of greenery on trees
and on the ground. It is the
emergence of beauty in plants
and of a milder climate.

True birth

ing to the jyotish calculations,

is dedicated to the Goddess
Saraswati. This Goddess repre-
sents knowledge. She is not
spoken about much. People
speak more about Durga,
Kali and Lakshmi. Saraswati
represents knowledge and
understanding.
Elders say, This celebration of Mother Saraswati is for
you children. So, go and celebrate it in schools. Say a prayer to
Mother Saraswati, a prayer for wisdom and knowledge, and
she will grant your wish. Parents, on the other hand, pray to
Lakshmi for economic gain.
Saraswati is not really somebody who has captured the

She belongs to the realm of sattwa. Her work, her duty, her
dharma is to bestow knowledge, understanding and wisdom.
According to spiritual principles and thoughts, you can take
birth in this life but it will not be called birth. It is only physical
birth. However, the moment you take birth in knowledge it is

YOGA 7
understanding which will lead you on the path of success and
development in life. If there is no knowledge, understanding
and wisdom, how will you know how to do things? The mind
is not trained.
Without knowledge one does not grow in life. You can
have a lot of money, yet if there is no grey matter active in
the brain, what use is money? You need to activate this grey
matter. You need to know, understand, realize and you need
to take birth in vidya.

YOGA 8
Vidya and samskara
There is a couplet in Sanskrit saying that when we are born,
we are ignorant; and when we take birth in knowledge we are
called twice-born.
Janmana jayate shudrah,
Samskarat dwija uchyate.
That knowledge gives us samskara which is the expression of
life. Samskara and knowledge are interchangeable words. They
are not different for knowledge is knowing and samskara is

knowing.
If you are happy, your face will also look happy. You cannot
hide the happiness from your face if the mind is jubilant. You
cannot hide the frustration from your face if the mind is under
pressure and tension. The subtle and the gross, they respond
to each other.
In the same manner, it is the vidya which becomes the
medium of expression in life, and that is known as samskara.
Saraswati represents the process, experience and achievement.
Saraswati is the primary power, the primary force in the
universe without whose aid we cannot progress. She is the
Goddess of spring, regeneration and rebirth.

Invoking her Grace

It is on this day that the Bihar School of Yoga was established,
founded and inaugurated by Sri Swami Satyananda 53
years ago. Since then, every Basant Panchami is celebrated
as the Foundation Day. On this day, a special invocation to
the Cosmic Power Saraswati is conducted. This invocation
happens with the worship of Sri Yantra. It is the most beautiful,
most ancient practice of the shakta tantras to invoke the Shakti
tattwa as Grace to bring knowledge, wisdom and luminosity
into our life.
Basant Panchami, 12 February 2016, Ganga Darshan

YOGA 9
The Science of Yoga
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

We will start writing about the science

of yoga right from the beginning so that
there shall be no misunderstanding or
misconception about this great and life-
saving science, which the rishis of the
past discovered in the silent practices.
The reference to the word yoga
first appears in the most ancient
book, Rig Veda, in which it is said that
Brahma, the cosmic creator, preached
the science of yoga to Hiranyagarbha, the golden womb. In
Hindu mythology Brahma, the creator, represents the creativity
in the individual and the creative power in the cosmos. In
each and every being, there is that cosmic art of creativity, and
that cosmic art of creativity is the mythological Brahma of the
Vedas, who preached yoga to the people.
The rishis and sages tried this science and in meditation
they had experiences of light, or unconsciousness. These
experiences led them to discover all they could about yoga,
and right from the Rig Veda period they tirelessly investigated
the mystic, the mysterious, the great secrets and wonders that
were being manifested by the human mind unconsciously and
superconsciously.

Patanjali in his sutras on yoga. Today these yoga aphorisms of

Patanjali come to us in Sanskrit with commentaries in different
languages. In the beginning of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali gives

patterns of consciousness. Therefore, following Patanjali, we

shall say that yoga is a method by which we have absolute

YOGA 10
knowledge of all the states of consciousness, of all the patterns
of consciousness.

The individual awareness in us functions in different states

of sleep, dreaming and experience over which we have no
personal control. As such it is not possible for one to harness
the great energies which are inherent in this consciousness, to
realize the great powers which one has in oneself. It appears
that every human being, that every individual has great
power, has great knowledge, great experience and great
understanding in him, which is part of his own self. Consider
how, with the conscious mind, with conscious awareness of
which man has become master, how many miracles he has
been able to realize and how many discoveries he has made.
However, if only he could also master the subconscious forces,
how much more would he be able to accomplish.

individual consciousness even in an unconscious state. The

development of this awareness is realized through meditation
and practices of willpower. Yoga is a method of seeing the
subconscious and unconscious. Yoga is a process of knowledge,
awareness, understanding, observing and fulfilling our

that yoga is an art by which we have complete mastery over all

it is an art by which we become a spectator of all the experiences

of dehypnotization of all the stages of consciousness.

Yoga is a science of consciousness. Yoga is a science of
personality and a science of creativity. Come to yoga, and you

something more to learn, and something more to gain.

Published in YOGA Education and Youth, Indian Institute
of Yoga, Sixth Anniversary Souvenir 1975

YOGA 11
Introspection
From the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The self-existent Brahman created the mind and senses with

outgoing tendencies. The mind has a pernicious habit of
externalization from time immemorial. So you behold the
external universe and not the internal Self.
It is the vikshepa shakti or Maya that draws you out. From
your childhood, you are taught to look to the external world
and not to the internal, psychic world. You have entirely
lost the faculty of introspection. To have a comprehensive
understanding of what is going on in the inner mental factory,
a shuddha buddhi, pure reason, and subtle intellect with power

YOGA 12
of introspection is needed. You will have to turn the mind
inside, then concentrate all its powers and throw them upon
the mind itself, in order that it may know its own nature and
analyze itself.
This is raja yoga. Make a vigorous and earnest search
within. Do not trust the mind and the indriyas. They are your
enemies. In introspection, the mind itself is the subject of study.
A portion of the mind studies the remaining portion of the
mind. The higher mind studies the lower mind.

Become a witness
Introspection is apperception. Just as you watch the work done
by a coolie, a portion of the mind watches the movements of the
rest of the mind. If you are one with the mind, if you identify
yourself with the mind, you cannot know your defects. If you
are a sakshi or the silent witness of the mind and if you practise
introspection, you can know your various defects.
By a careful watch, many defects are detected and removed
by suitable sadhana. Enter a quiet room. Enter into silence daily

Watch the mind carefully. The mind will be doing either

thinking, planning, feeling, knowing or willing. You will have

exactly doing at a particular time. To go through this practice,

you must have antarmukha vritti, a subjective mind and a subtle
buddhi.
Buddhi can be rendered subtle by studying philosophical
books, satsang, control of indriyas, dama, and sattvic food.
The constant utterance of holy names of God as Hari, Om,

the mind introspective.

Be ready to change
You are the best judge of your mind. Introspect by living alone
in solitude or retiring into a calm room for an hour. You must
sit quietly in a solitary room alone, with closed eyes and watch

YOGA 13
the activities of the mind. You will then know your defects and
weaknesses very clearly.
You should afterwards feel the necessity of removing them.
Then your swabhava, your nature, should agree to change. You
must know the right method to remove the defect. You must
apply the method constantly. Then only improvement will set
in. Constant application of the sadhana is an indispensable
requisite.
You must watch the improvement every now and then,
say, once a week, a fortnight or a month. You will have to
keep a record of your progress in a spiritual daily diary.
You must watch carefully whether you are progressing on
the spiritual path, whether you remain stationary or are
retrograding, whether the mind is distracted or concentrated.
If it is distracted, you must remove the distracting causes one
by one with patience and vigilance by suitable methods. If one
method fails to bring about the desired results, you will have
to combine two methods the yogic methods and vichara,
enquiry.

The triplet
Remember the triplet: self-analysis, self-reliance, self-
determination. It will be of immense use in your spiritual
sadhana. Analyze yourself through introspection. Find out
the nature of your vrittis. Find out what guna or quality is
predominant at a particular moment, whether it is sattwa,
rajas or tamas.
lakshya,
the point of meditation, be it God, Brahman, an idea or object,
whether internal or external?

rose alone to the exclusion of all other objects, be it two

is self-analysis.
Rely on yourself alone. You are your own redeemer and
saviour. Nobody can give you moksha. You will have to tread

YOGA 14
the spiritual path step by step. Books and gurus can show the
path and guide you. This is self-reliance.
Make strong self-determination: I will realize God. I
will have atma sakshatkara, self-realization, or Brahmanubhava,
experience of Brahman, this very moment and not in the
uncertain future. This is self-determination.

The worldly nature

Worldly-minded people have no time to think even for a few
minutes over the problems and the mystery of life. They get
up in the morning. Their minds usually run to the special
objects of enjoyment on account of raga, attraction. Their mental
energies are poured forth in the usual grooves and avenues in
thoughts of body, eating and dressing, wife, children, friends

over. The same routine follows day after day, week after week.
Years roll by and life is wasted. It is highly lamentable, indeed!
Only they who do manana
through antarmukha vritti can change their worldly nature.
Only in these aspirants the idea of Brahman can get permanently
lodged.

YOGA 15
Aspiration and Aim
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 16
where the idea and concept of reality changes into something
different. Schizophrenia and phobias are gradually becoming
part of the mental illnesses which people face in their life.
In yoga, the concept of mental illness is not new. It is as old
as the knowledge of physical illness. In the Ramacharitamanas,
mano rog. There
are six sources of mano rog, the mental illnesses: kama, krodha,
lobha, moha, mada, matsarya passion, anger, greed, infatuation,
arrogance and envy. These are the causes of distorted mental
behaviour, which manifest in the form of mental illness.

Names not seed

The entire yogic discipline is geared to manage the six stressors.
They are called stressors, for from them stress arises. The entire
system of yoga, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana, are systems
which are geared to harmonize the negative spikes of the six
conditions in the mind. When the negative spikes of the six
conditions are managed, one is free from mental illnesses,
however, as long as one is not able to manage the mind, one
will have to confront ones mental problems.
Yoga has been clear. Whatever modern name is given to
lunacy, psychotic behaviour, schizophrenia, depression or
bipolar disorder, one is only creating a name to understand
an existing condition. These names do not mean anything, but
the causes mean much, as from there everything comes up,
therefore, the six seeds have to be managed properly.
Once the six conditions are managed, one is free from ones
self-created problems. Most of the problems which human
beings face are self-created based on their perception and level
of understanding. People have to know their mind, deal with
their mind, and stop projecting their mind on other people.

Cultivating the opposite thought

One of the main teachings of our paramguru, Sri Swami
Sivananda, was the cultivation of pratipaksha bhavana. It was

YOGA 17
not the practice of mantra or meditation, asana and pranayama
that he advocated. He advocated the practice of pratipaksha
bhavana. It is the positive connection of mind where one
disassociates with ones tamasic nature and connects with the
positive nature.

person, doing the right thing, thinking the right thing is of

primary concern. This is a quality that has to be developed by
understanding the idea of pratipaksha bhavana.
For example, there cannot be loose and irresponsible
speech. If there is loose talk, then there is no sanyam, restraint,
there is no attainment of yoga. If there is sanyam, one is
connected with positive expression, positive behaviour,
positive thinking. At that time, even anger can become
positive. Passion and desire can become positive, provided
one is connected to the sattwic aspect of oneself and not the
negative and detrimental.

how you hide things and project a side of yourself which is not
true but which is hypocrisy. Only talking about the meaning

to help you in any manner. Connecting with the luminous,

the sattwic nature, will help you for it will help change and
transform the expression of your thought and actions.
Pratipaksha bhavana leads to sadvichar, sadvyavahar and
satkarma. That is the aim of cultivating the opposite thought. It
leads you to the development of right thinking, sadvichar; right
behaviour, sadvyavahar; and right action, satkarma. Therefore, to
overcome the lower vrittis and tendencies of the mind should
be your aspiration and aim.
18 October 2015, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 18
How Can I Control My
Mind?
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Who is controlling who? You say, I want to control my mind.

Are you different from your mind? Who is trying to control the
mind? Or is one aspect of the mind saying, I need to control
the other aspect of my dynamic nature? If you say, I want to
control the mind, it is incorrect and wrong. The mind cannot
control itself. The whole idea of controlling is incorrect.

Observation versus control

Yoga does not speak of control but of becoming the observer, the
drashta. There is a big difference between control and drashta.
In yoga, the use of the word control does not exist. The word
observation is used in the Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali (1:3):
Tada drashtu swaroope avasthanam.
Then the seer is established (abides) in his own essential
nature.

If you are the observer, you are simply a witness to every game
that happens around you. When you see children play, you
are sitting on your chair and watching the children play. You
are not controlling the children. You are simply observing the
children. If you want to control the children, you have to stop
observing and start to involve yourself with them.
Either there is involvement or there is observation. Through
involvement you are trying to control and that is not going
to happen. Through observation you can separate yourself

Then there is no control, only observation and application of

wisdom with observation.

YOGA 19
 How can the mind control itself? It is like saying, I will
control myself. When do you control yourself! Do you control
yourself when you walk? Do you control yourself when you eat?
Do you control yourself when you drink? Do you control yourself
when you speak to people? When can you control yourself?

Extreme and normal behaviour

It is an incorrect idea which becomes reality when you are
in extreme behaviours. If you are angry, somebody can say,
Control yourself, meaning the extreme behaviour of anger.
If you are nervous, somebody can tell you, Control yourself.
Therefore, control is for extreme behaviour.
Control is for extreme behaviour; observation and modu-
lation is for normal behaviour. You cannot control the mind in
normal behaviour and you cannot observe the mind in extreme
behaviour. The roles have to change.
Therefore, do your simple yoga of observation, concentration
and meditation; that is enough. Slow and steady wins the race.
29 November 2015, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 20
Observations in a Yoga Class
for Students with Multiple
Sclerosis
MS (Multiple Sclerosis) is a progressively degenerative, auto-
immune disease of the nervous system in the brain and spinal
column. The myelin layer that usually protects and supports
the nerves becomes inflamed, damaged and eventually
completely destroyed. The communication through the nerve
impulses may break down. The course of the disease can be
different for each person. Often people will experience attacks
of varying duration (days, months or even years) followed by
a restoration period where functions will improve again, only
to then experience another relapse years or even decades later.
All parts of the individual that are controlled by the
nervous system can be affected including functions of vision,
hearing, speech, walking, writing and memory. Muscle
weakness and spasms, fatigue, numbness, and prickling pain
are common symptoms. Decreased concentration, attention

part of the mental changes. As the disease worsens, patients

may experience sexual dysfunction or reduced bowel and
bladder control1. Symptoms can vary during different phases
and among different people.
It is estimated that there are approximately 4,000 people
living with MS in New Zealand. Unfortunately, as Medline
Plus2 states, There is no known cure for multiple sclerosis at
this time. However, there are promising therapies that may
slow the disease. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms
and maintain a normal quality of life. The Happy Families
website3 states that yoga and Tai Chi are good for stretching
and a sense of wellbeing.

YOGA 21
 A study4 in 2004 in the USA showed improvement in fatigue
in the groups that exercised and practised yoga compared to
the control group that performed neither. No effect on attention
or alertness or any clear changes in mood were noted.
Professor Burk5, a leading neurologist in the USA, noted
that people with MS: utilize available resources, have a good
relationship with their health care professionals, educate

and their own information library, learn to say no to work

and family commitments when not well, maintain a healthy
lifestyle including healthy diet, exercise, and adequate rest,
take up recreational activities and hobbies that give positive
support, reduce toxins: alcohol and tobacco and negative
friends and family, reach out to peers with MS to share common
issues, and be an advocate for MS causes.

Implications for a yoga class

The above information suggests that yoga (asana, pranayama,

improving health and wellbeing on the physical, energetic,

mental, emotional and spiritual levels. In fact, yoga is an
excellent complementary therapy for people with MS.
Practising yoga in a group environment on a regular basis
allows clear instructions and assistance from the yoga teacher
as well as encouragement and support from peers. When
people with MS take up yoga, they need to be especially
cautious with balance and standing movements, as well as
being aware of their own limitations so as not to overdo. A

each persons different abilities.

Because students with MS tire easily, the class which we
give in New Zealand is only one hour in duration. We meet
once a week in a gym where exercises are practised on other

They have agreed to start the class sitting up, even though one

YOGA 22
participant cannot do so for extended periods. People either
lean against the wall or sit cross-legged without any other
support during stages 1 to 3 of kaya sthairyam followed by
chanting the mantra Om three times and the Shanti Path.

Some observations on yoga practices

Often, it is a struggle for everyone to be ready on time for an
already short class. Some of the students may take several
minutes to move into any of the base positions. Because most
students cannot stand or are unable to stand without support,
asanas are restricted to those starting from sitting, lying on the

postures has been created to save time by avoiding unnecessary

to postures on all fours and/or vajrasana, to postures starting

from lying on the stomach, then rolling onto the back and

the last 15 to 20 minutes.

In each session, some movements from the pawanmuktasana
(PM) part 1 series are practised while still sitting up.

added (rajju karshanasana, gatyakmak meru vakrasana or

chakki chalanasana). Favourites from vajrasana include
shashankasana and ananda madirasana. Marjariasana and
vyaghrasana are practised with varying outcomes. Lying on
the stomach, asanas like the full locust or half locust as well
as simple backward bends play an important role in keeping

strengthen the abdominal muscles are particularly important

as well as spinal twists.
The willingness of the students to try new asanas keeps
astounding me and often the result is much more encouraging
than expected by me. We have done a vipareeta karani asana
variation against the wall, where apart from getting the legs in
place, the main problem was to keep them from slipping back
down. We have given hasta pada angushthasana and meru

YOGA 23
 BSY

BSY

akarshanasana a go and performed a TTK (tadasana, tiryak

tadasana, kati chakrasana) variation sitting up against the wall.

that may accompany the physical exertion of getting to class, onto

especially supports the growth of new neural pathways, and the

breathing will sustain a sense of wellbeing and connectedness.
Usually pranayama other than yogic breathing in shavasana
just before yoga nidra falls prey to the time shortage.
We introduced ashwini mudra, then vajroli/sahajoli mudra
followed by moola bandha a fortnight later. Within a month
the feedback from the students was that urinary incontinence
had now been mastered without drugs. This possibility was
not known before. Originally the mudras were introduced in
preparation for moola bandha, which was to be taught for pain
control as well as energy preservation.

Students respond
The students are a chatty bunch and focus continues to be a
challenge for some. The mood is always cheerful. People are
determined to see the good in their situation and make the

YOGA 24
best of life, as Brendon says, The word giving up is not part
of my vocabulary.
The students say they are feeling great and relaxed at the

effects remarkable. Brendon comments, Yoga and exercise

complement each other. Since I started practising both several
times a week, I have been able to do things again I couldnt
before. It is a pity not more people attend.
Brian explains, Without yoga and gym I wouldnt be able
to walk now. The yoga class challenges me to give movements
a go I wouldnt think of trying otherwise.
Diane observes, It makes you feel good, the stretching is
so good for our bodies, and we dont get it like we do while
doing yoga, also the breathing is really great, especially for an
asthmatic like me. It also has enabled me to be a much better
sleeper. I relax more fully and concentrate on the eyebrow
centre and can then drift off to sleep which has been a godsend

yoga nidra; it is so good.

The social aspect is important, and the feeling of a support
group shows when a cup of tea and biscuits are enjoyed after
class.

References
1
www.medicinenet.com/multiple_sclerosis/article.htm
2
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000737.htm
3
www.honeybalm.com/diseases/multiple-sclerosis.php
4
Oken BS, Kishiyama S, Zajdel D, Bourdette D, Carlsen J, Haas
M, Hugos C, Kraemer DF, Lawrence J, Mass M, Randomized
controlled trial of yoga and exercise in multiple sclerosis, Neurology,
2004 Jun 8; 62(11):2058-64
5
Snippets from Professor Burks Talks, MS Waikato Trust News-
letter, April 2006, Hamilton: MS Waikato Trust

Sannyasi Samadhimurti, New Zealand (2007)

YOGA 25
Sunday Satsang
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Can an aspirant have the same spiritual experiences as Sri

Swami Satyananda?
We all are of a different brand like the cars on the road.
Some are expensive like Mercedes and Alfa Romeo; some are
accessible and some are low-cost cars. In the same way, we all
are branded. We are not one and the same. No two people in
the world are one and the same.

YOGA 26
 Our brand of life indicates how we function, how we think,
believe, perform, live, act and respond. Our mindset, nature,
personality, belief, everything is contained in the brand to
which we belong. Therefore, the level of experience, the type
and the quality of experience is different.

Your brand
Why say Swami Satyananda, why not anyone of that stature,
in the past or present? Has anybody come to the stature of
Jesus, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Teresa of Avila, Ramana
Maharishi, Yogananda, Vivekananda or Swami Sivananda?
Nobody has come to the level where masters have lived. If
you come to that level, you will become the master. Therefore,
if you are seeking the same experience as Swami Satyananda,

possible.
If you are, then through sadhana you can come to the
same point as Swami Satyananda, Swami Sivananda, Swami
Yogananda or Swami Vivekananda. A Mercedes can compete
with a Mercedes, a Toyota can compete with a Toyota, an
Ambassador can compete with an Ambassador; it is as simple
as that.
If you think that you are of the same stature as Christ and
that through your determined effort you can have the same
experience, you will become the master yourself.

Be yourself
We all have our own samskaras, our own karmas and our
own desires. Sometimes, our desires want us to become
something like somebody else, however our karmas and
samskaras will not allow that to happen. Our desires are not

and karmas.
Once you know that you can make the attempt to at least

you can try to bring about that change.

YOGA 31
 Begin by changing the things that need changing in your
life. Begin with what you need to change qualitatively within
you. Dont try to copy somebody else. If you are copying, you
are not allowing your own expression. You are just a simple
copycat, a photocopy which will fade after some time. You
are not writing the original script. Try to cultivate that which
is good within you instead of copying something else from
somebody.
That is your sadhana. Have an aim, an aspiration which you
can attain and experience, and be yourself. Then it becomes
possible for you to make that metamorphosis and change and
have a glimpse of the state where the enlightened ones, the

s ability

Whether it is mathematics or anything else, it is a vidya,

knowledge, which is attainable. It is not something that you
are acquiring from outside, it is something that you are
experiencing inside. You are bringing vidya out from within
you.

intuitive ability due to meditation and the lifestyle he lived.

Vedic mathematics were revealed by sages and saints who
were in states of meditation.

and progressive. Science like maths can be learnt through

meditation, and that ability can be cultivated through
meditation as well.

What is sparsha yoga?

Pashupata yoga was the original yoga taught by Shiva to

sparsha yoga, bhava yoga, abhava yoga and maha yoga.

YOGA 32
From sparsha yoga, hatha yoga and marma yoga evolved.
What today is known as marma therapy, is marma yoga, the
science of skin. Marma means skin and sparsha means touch.
Therefore, sparsha yoga is the yoga of touch. Touch means an
awareness of the body, of different body parts, of this existence
and of this unit.
What do you do in hatha yoga? You connect with your
body to purify the body, to cleanse the body of its toxic
content. You practise asana to balance the hyper and the
hypoactivity of the pranas. You practise pranayama to
regulate the physical pranas and to elevate them to the
spiritual dimension. In hatha yoga, you are connecting with
the koshas which you are.

kosha, the pranamaya kosha, the manomaya kosha, the

vijnanamaya kosha and anandamaya kosha. Hatha yoga deals
with the awareness, the realization of annamaya, pranamaya
and manomaya koshas. The actual work takes place in these
three, however the aspiration is to go up to anandamaya.
The second aspect of hatha yoga is marma yoga, a more
intense direction of energy. Marma yoga is the mother of
the science of acupressure and acupuncture. It is also the

is able to induce an altered state of mind and harmony of the

hyperactivity of the energy systems.
In sparsha yoga, the main focus has been the two major
branches, hatha yoga and marma yoga. That is the relationship
of sparsha yoga with todays yogic practices and concepts.

Nobody has mentioned a relationship between yamas, niyamas

question about it. Yama represents a state and a quality of mind.

Niyama is the expression of that state and quality. The quality

of the chakra, that particular quality will start to be active.

YOGA 33
Then with the awakening of the quality, the corresponding
behaviour of the mind will change into yama.
Humility and forgiveness are the qualities of ajna chakra
as you have to transcend the experiences of the mind. The
experiences of the mind are contained up to vishuddhi chakra,

The sixth element is ajna chakra which is transcendence of

ahamkara, self-identity; it is transcendence of the lower mind
which retains and holds. Therefore, humility comes in, and
with the release of what you hold onto, you are able to forgive,
kshama. These are qualities of ajna chakra and represent the
mindset of ajna chakra.

What is the meaning of forgive and forget?

The interesting part in forgive and forget is that one is to get
and one is to give.
For indicates that something is to be used or applied in
something; something is for a particular purpose. So when
you say forget, it is for you to get something, and when you
say forgive, it is for you to give something.
What are you getting and what are you giving? You may,
think of forget and forgive as something that you do in your
mind. However, forget means to release something and not
to hold on to it, and forgive means to extend your sympathy,
compassion and love, without holding on to any reaction which
you may be experiencing.
When you are giving your good intention to a person who
has done something bad to you, that is forgiving. When you are
receiving something bad from a person, yet it is not affecting
you, it goes away, then that is forgetting.
21 February 2016, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 34
Brain Metamorphosis
(Extracts)
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Talk given at Vivekananda College, Madras, 9 February 1982

Hari Om to everybody here.

were carried out on the most well-known aspect of yoga called

yogasanas.

Yoga and the mental personality

Later, thinkers began to ponder over the possibility of whether

consciousness. Even now research is going on all over the world

YOGA 35
and the results which we have obtained so far very positively
indicate that some of the other aspects of yoga, not necessarily
asana, can alter the behaviour, chemistry and waves of the
brain. I will try to tell you in laymans language so that you
can carry home the knowledge.
I am not concerned about your practice, that is left to you,
but for me it is more important that I explain to you how
far yoga has been understood by the thinking people of the
world today; not necessarily by Hindus or Muslims but also
by agnostics who dont have any concept of God, reality,
atma or afterlife, who just believe in matter total matter, and
nothing beyond matter. They have come to the conclusion that,
through the practice of yoga, the quality of the contents of the

metamorphosed.
If that be so, how are we going to apply this science of yoga
to our own profession, to our own career and our own station
in life? We are sannyasins, some are businessmen, and you are
students. Everyone has his own career and profession. It is
possible therefore to apply this science of yoga in such a way
that it will improve the quality of our performance, the quality
of our experience, the general experiences we have every day
with the people we come across, including the experience in
interaction with social and national problems. That mental
personality should be developed through yoga. We believe it
is possible, but how?

Archetypes and the genius mind

There is a general opinion now prevalent in western countries,
and certain circles in India as well, that through the practice of
pranayama, dhyana, yoga nidra and antar mouna, the mind of
students can be improved. In Switzerland, educationalists have
been working hard on this and on the behaviour of archetypes
in the brain. These archetypes are in billions and trillions in the
brain and seem to become a barrier in expressing our mental
personality. Many times you feel that you understand things

YOGA 36
better, and sometimes you dont understand. At times you
are experiencing total clarity whether you study geography,
mathematics or history, and at times it seems everything is
clouded and you dont understand. In this connection you
will have to study the behaviour of that mechanism which is
the seat of understanding, and this is the brain.
The archetypes in the brain come in the way of your
expression. They are the substances which lie buried in the
depths of the human mind, not the external mind which is
connected with the senses, that is the externalized mind.
Through the eyes, ears and other mediums of perception, this
mind obtains knowledge; I am not talking of that mind. That

chitta, which you should be able to touch if you want to develop

genius; if you want to be a student of outstanding success. You
dont have to have much to do with this mind, particularly
that part which depends on external sources of the senses,
the indriyas; not even with that mind which depends on the
storehouse or fund of knowledge which you have collected.
There is an area of the mind which you do not know, which
you have never experienced, which has to come out. That mind

The science of yantra and mandala

Scientists, particularly those in Switzerland, have developed,
in connection with the educational system, a science called
yantra and mandala which of course most of you know about
or have seen, but you have not tried to understand exactly

known as Sri Yantra, Kali Yantra or Tara Yantra. We thought

for some time, even in our own country which is the origin
of this culture, that these yantras were a mystical substance.
People did not understand them, but now in order to improve
the quality of understanding in terms of education, and with
mentally retarded children in particular, they are using yantras.
And what do they tell you to do? To concentrate on the yantra

YOGA 37
with eyes open, then close the eyes and visualize the yantra
as long as you can.
When you are not able to visualize with the eyes closed,
then open the eyes again and gaze at the yantra. Go on
practising this system of trataka, dhyana on the yantra, twice

that yantra has the capacity and power to penetrate far into the
depths of the mind, that area of the mind I was talking about,
and manifest or express that mind. Through this practice of
yantra meditation, mentally retarded children are helped in
the countries whose cultural tradition is not yoga, yet in this
country where we have the tradition, we have completely
forgotten what these funny geometrical things are.
The second thing they have been talking about is mandala.

scious and unconscious areas of the mind. They even go to

the extent of saying (you will be surprised) that concentration
on those mandalas can finally stabilize the alpha, beta,
theta and delta waves in the brain which have got voltage,
frequency, ampere and vibration. It is like electricity. If you
can reorganize, reset or restructure the brain wave patterns,
then you can manifest a new quality of brain, a new quality
of understanding.

The pineal gland and a balanced personality

I am not talking about the relationship between yoga and
the mind. I am talking about the relationship between yoga
and consciousness, between yoga and mans personality, his
swabhav, prakriti or nature. It is true that yoga postures help
everyone and you must practise quite a few of them every day
(at least you must practise surya namaskara) but yoga does
not end with that with that yoga begins.
Scientists are talking about a very important thing. At the
age of seven or eight the pineal gland begins to degenerate
in every child and the pituitary is unleashed. It is opened
completely, and with its opening the hormones come into the

YOGA 38
body unchecked, and imbalances in the personality grow. In
order to maintain the health of this gland so that it may survive
for as many years as possible, mantra, pranayama and surya
upasana were introduced.
I am not going to talk about mantra and surya upasana.
I will just speak a few words about pranayama. How does
it affect the pineal gland situated at the top of the spinal
column in the medulla oblongata? In the religious theme it is
known as the Third Eye of Lord Shiva. We call it ajna chakra,
the monitoring centre, from where the respiratory system,
excretory system and all other systems of the body are given
orders and monitored. Even paralysis, pineal paralysis,
muscular atrophy and other diseases can be directly controlled

monitoring centre and that can be trained through pranayama.

Pranayama and balancing the brain

Breathe in through the left nostril; breathe out through the
right, breathe in through the right; breathe out through
the left a simple thing. Just control the breath for one

YOGA 39
 studies that when we breathe
in through the left nostril the
right hemisphere of the brain
is acting contracting and
expanding, contracting and
expanding, contracting and
expanding. When we breathe
through the right nostril, the
left hemisphere acts. In this
way you are training a very
important part of your body
the brain and pineal gland. In
the days when pranayama was
taught it was with the view
that our children would have
this pineal gland maintained in
a healthy condition for many
years so that they would have
a balanced personality: a balance between emotion, thinking
and experience.
So, I did not talk to you about yogasanas and exercise
because I thought many of you know about them. I wanted to

research into yoga. I still believe that just as you can improve
the quality of everything, you can improve the quality of the
brain also it is possible. The brain is not a static substance and
if you are an idiot, it does not mean that you have to remain
an idiot; or that if you have a bad memory, you should always
have a bad memory and nothing can be improved.
In this particular context I ask you to think about yoga but
kindly remember that perhaps the only place in India that gives
you this explanation about yoga is the Bihar School of Yoga.
Printed in YOGA, March 1990

YOGA 40
Bal Yoga Diwas
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Today globally, people are celebrating Valentines Day.

Valentine was a saint. He was a compassionate, kind and
loving person, who used to look after each and every thing in
nature, from bird to animal to poor person to rich person. He
was a person who had equal vision for everybody, atmabhav,
as Sri Swaniji had said. It is in his memory that we celebrate
this day as Saint Valentines Day, so that we too can connect
with the feeling of love, compassion and kindness. It is a day
when we are able to connect with the purity of our spirit, which
is expressed as love for all.

Practice and shiksha

In Munger, we have changed the purpose of Saint Valentines
Day a little bit. We celebrate it as the Childrens Yoga Day on
14th February. If it is to experience compassion, beauty and
kindness inside, it should also be connected with the yogic
principles which can help us attain that experience. The way
of teaching yoga to children and the way of teaching yoga to
adults are totally different. When we teach yoga to adults, it is
for their need. Stress management, back ache, knee ache, head
ache, sinus, abdomen, lungs, liver, kidney, joints, anything.
People want to learn how to be rid of their pain. That is the
yoga taught to grown-ups.
For children the approach of yoga is creative. Learning
and imbibing are two different things. Listening and hearing
are two different things. One can hear many things, but not
listen, however, what one listens to, one understands.
In the same manner, abhyas, practice, and shiksha, education,
are two different things. Practice is for grown-ups, and yoga
education is for children. It allows them to bring out the
positive traits of their nature. Elders have a hard time; they are

YOGA 41
time changing the stereotype of their mind. It is hard to be

next moment. They dont carry the grief, the anger, hatred in
them like adults do. They have the resilience of mind which
can change instantly from good to bad, from bad to good.
Adults cannot change the mind as children can. For an adult
bad remains bad and good is somewhere in the background.
Good only becomes a philosophy, yet the behaviour remains
hard. Children pick up the ability to convert their bad into
good. This happens through a simple education in which there
is feeling, trust, belief and respect for the other person.

From somewhere inside

People say that I was taught in yoga nidra. I dont remember
anything. I have to accept it for elders are saying it, yet as
far as I am concerned, I was fast asleep. The shiksha of yoga
which I received from my guru, Sri Swami Satyananda, was
not in the form of asana, pranayama or other practices. My
education started not with A, B, C, D. My education started
with pratyahara and dharana.
Yoga nidra is pratyahara. If I was given something, it is in
me. I feel that something is there. I dont know what, I have

is there which I can tap into from time to time.

Once, at the age of ten I had to give a lecture to the medical
fraternity at the Charing Cross Medical Hospital in London,
England. I did not know what to speak on. I went to sleep at
night and in my dream I saw myself giving the lecture. When
I woke up, I remembered the points which I wrote down and
four hours later I gave the lecture to the medical fraternity.
They said, Swamiji, where have you learnt medicine? Do
you know what you were talking about? Although I had no
idea, but to save face, I said, Well if I have spoken, I should

YOGA 42
biofeedback system, which we
are only developing now.
From where did that know-
ledge come? It was not logical,
not conscious; it came from the
depth of my mind in my dream.
When time demands, something
happens, something comes. I
dont know from where it comes
or how it happens, yet it is an
indication that there is an aspect
inside everyone which is craving
for expression, for positive
expression, and we have to allow
that to happen with yoga.

To move forward in life

The children who come to Ganga Darshan do their little bit
of asana, pranayama, but they do it in such a perfect manner,
even grown-ups cannot do. They can do headstand without

perfection and mastery which they have. And they do it in a

happy, joyful manner.
Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal is celebrating its Foundation Day
today. The uniqueness of this date is the Bal Yoga Diwas, which
is not celebrated anywhere else in the world except in Munger.
This is the achievement of the children. Twenty years have gone
by and many generations of children have come and gone.
There is a level of feeling and trust. It is that simplicity and
innocence, purity of thought and intention which will always
make these children move forward in life.
One day people will acknowledge that Bal Yoga Mitra
Mandal and Yuva Yoga Mitra Mandal are the best gifts that
Munger can give to the world.
14 February 2016, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 43
Thank You Satyananda Yoga
School
Hello! I am one of the sixteen people who are attending a course
on yoga in the jail in Milan. The course is directed by a man who
comes from outside the prison. His name in the yoga world
is Gyanbodha. I would like to explain my situation, which I
think is common to many people who have been sent to jail.
I entered jail in January 2015. I was frightened and
disoriented. Everything around me, especially the looks of
other people caused a deep sense of fear in me. When I was
called by the educator and asked what activity I would like to
choose among many possibilities, the one I favoured was yoga.
I had always heard about it in a positive way, from people who

due to my work, I never found time to devote myself to it, so

I enrolled in the course.

All about breath

people, one of whom was a prisoner like me. I immediately

listened to the teacher with immense pleasure. He spoke about
positivity, love, consciousness, giving from time to time little
advices, explaining how to prevent and control particular

ended, leaving in me the desire for another lesson in which I

could do something more.
In the following lessons I introduced myself. I explained
that I suffer from a state of anxiety and do not know how to get

a natural way to suppress my fears, and control my thoughts

and worries. I need help! My request was immediately granted,

YOGA 44
and I was shown how to breathe in a controlled way, a practice
that later, I learned, was called pranayama.

breathing, exactly the contrary of what I used to do! I have

learnt to listen to my respiration, to breathe slowly, deeply
and, I believe, better. The breathing that I used more to balance
the left and right brain hemispheres is called nadi shodhana
pranayama. I found out about this name by reading the book
given by Gyanbodha to the people of my section who attended
the course.
Little by little, I realized that my anxieties were gradually
disappearing, my thoughts were carefully kept away from the
place where I live, and were replaced by the consciousness
that no bars can imprison you if you want to be free, even if
you are in jail.

My life as a mandala
What Gyanbodha is doing with us is highly appreciated
by everybody. With him we have the possibility to learn
always new things, even the asanas we are practising more
often are relaxing asanas for the back, given that we sleep on
uncomfortable beds, and our backs become rather crooked.

has expanded. We are also given the possibility to practise the

exercises in the gymnasium.
I want to consider my life here like a mandala, and try to
do the most beautiful and meaningful things I can. When my
term in jail ends, perhaps I will understand that everything
has been temporary.
I conclude with a Thank you, Gyanbodha, may your work
be an encouragement to other people.
Fiorenzo, Italy

YOGA 45
Origin of Ashrams
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

In previous times, when there were less people enclosed in

areas in the form of villages and hamlets, there were certain
people who were knowledgeable in that society. Where they
lived, other people of the community would go for advice,
learning, knowing something and for some solution to their
questions.

A family affair
Where it took a mystical religious turn, those people became the
pandits, the priests, who guided society with their knowledge
and understanding.

YOGA 46
 Where these people had no external, material, social bent

teaching to society. People came for learning, and eventually,

started to live with the munis for extended learning. Then,
children started to come for learning and to develop traits

known as gurukuls, the family of the teacher, the family of the

master.
Just as in a school, you see different classes, in the same
manner in the gurukul, there would be different classes where
the vidya, the knowledge, could be imparted according to the
receptivity of the student. Gurukuls became the main education
centres over a period of time.

sixty-four different social and spiritual disciplines and skills

were taught. These subjects were managed and maintained
by the people who were known as the seers, the rishis, the
knowledgeable, the intellectuals of society, the sadhakas,
practitioners, developers of the society. These gurukuls where
the rishis lived were not bachelor pads. They were households.
The teacher, with the wife and their children were the main
group from whom the learning was derived. It was more like
a family affair.

Ascetics
Out of this group, another group emerged who were the
ascetics. They did not want to live in the human community,
and left the human community to follow their own spiritual
aspirations. These ascetics, tapasvis, were originally known as
yatis. Possibly the word yeti has come from this word yati,
a recluse who does not mingle with people and society. They lived
in isolation and were self-content and self-contained.

evolved the other groups of renunciates and ascetics in which

sannyasins were a group. The sannyasins followed the path

YOGA 47
of asceticism in the past and were well versed in the ancient
scriptural lore. Therefore, they also became the holders of
knowledge, experimenters, exponents and practitioners of
knowledge. The lifestyle of yatis and sannyasins revolved
around this understanding and living.
Later on, the ascetics became quite powerful due to
their austere lifestyle, intense and keen understanding and
perception of nature and the cosmos. They were able to express
many of the abstract truths which were previously only in the
realm of experience in the form of prose and poetry, in the
form of an idea, a thought and a philosophy. From there the
darshanas evolved. The various philosophies from Samkhya
to Vedanta, pre-Shankaracharya, to Nyaya, Vaisheshika, to
the yogas, tantras, Upanishads and Vedas evolved from such
keen insight into nature. Many of these groups were rishis and
many were ascetics, both.

Come to work

where the educationists, the householders lived.

In an ashram where a renunciate was living, people started
to come. If somebody practises meditation, some practical
organization has to be there for maintaining the place, cooking,
purchasing, cleaning. A single person cannot meditate eight
hours, ten hours without any support or help.
Where austere sadhanas used to be practised by the tapasvis
for days and days, or weeks and weeks, a group of people used
to come together to help the ascetic. That became the aa-shram
come to work.
The word ashram is something that developed over a
period of time naturally as an indication that the people who
were helping the tapasvi, were going to an ashram. The tapasvi
used to do his tapas for years and years, and his helpers would

manner, the ashram developed.

YOGA 48
Living and learning
Later, two different groups of people started to come to the
ashram: one group who simply came to live and who were
not interested in philosophy, theory or the discipline of the
ashram; and the other group who came for the teaching which
was their focus, and they were not interested in living.
At Ganga Darshan ashram, there are also two types of
people. Everybody here is not a yoga knower, practitioner, or
a teacher, and they need not be. They have not come for yoga,
they have come for living, and that is perfectly accepted in the
ashram.
Living in an ashram does not make anyone a yoga teacher.
Not everybody knows yoga. Some people dedicate themselves
to yoga, learn, live, develop and propagate yoga. It is one small
group.
In the past, sannyasins have come to society and retreated
back into isolation. They brought something to society and then
they went back to maintain and preserve their knowledge until
the next need came. This happens every time in the propagation
and development of a vidya, knowledge, and understanding.
In Munger, Sri Swami Satyananda never spoke on Vedanta or
on any other philosophy or theory. He only spoke on yoga:

psychic, the mystical, the spiritual. He spoke on every subject,

he established the Bihar School of Yoga. The continuation of

that mandate is: yoga as a vocation, as a profession, as a practice
and yoga as a sadhana, as a lifestyle and as a culture.
Ashrams are not gurukuls or static centres; they are
evolving places following a sequence of growth, development
and evolution where the exposure to something can turn into
a better connection and a deeper experience.
10 January 2016, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 49
We Travel Together

In August 2009, ten women from Bulgaria arrived at Ganga

Darshan for a gurukul lifestyle course. Their age varied and
they had different professions and experience of yoga. Only
little had united them. Everyone had come with their own
dreams, ideas and plans for life.

impression was, This is my place. I want to live here.

Pavitra, another woman, said, I want to go back to Bulgaria,
to roast capsicum, to stock them for winter and to look after
my grandchildren.
I was startled. This vision was something which I was
not able to understand, still the memory of roasted capsicum
was also very dear to me. I grew up with the smell of roasted

I know a place where this dream may come true.

The journey begins

It was the beginning of our journey together with the ashram
discipline, yoga classes and Swamijis promise that we may
attain dynamic samadhi if we follow strictly all his instructions.

YOGA 50
idea how much we had received.

spring together. These women of different ages, different

feelings and different talents were no longer that different.
There was something invisible but very real which united
us: Atmayoga, Durga, Murti, Nadamani, Pavitra, Premantra,
Shantirupa, Sitasharan, Vedajyoti and myself. This alliance
was not an idea or aim. It was trust, understanding and
synchronicity.
With materials in hand, a little creativity and a lot of joy, as

it into a beautiful yoga studio.

We had meetings, discussions and questions about the
matters of life. We were like little kids hidden under the table,
searching for the eternal answers of life. We were turning the
pages of the ashram books, remembering Swamijis satsangs

of our world with our own imagination.

of us started to pack our suitcases, this time for the three-year

to serve at the home front. The people in the rear provided all
that was required for those who left. The sannyasa training
was the second chapter of our journey together. This chapter
enriched our small team with Premgiri, Shanti Devananda and
later on Suryatirth.
On our return to Bulgaria, we opened the third chapter
with a new big project turning an abandoned country house
into our spiritual home. When we opened the doors for the

years of abandonment had done a really good job! This did

not discourage us. Our Accommodation Department began to

doing the work instead of us. Soon everything was clean and
tidy and on the stove ashram-type khichari was simmering.

YOGA 51
 We made one pooja room where we spent unforgettable

ashram, the smell of incense and samagri, and the force of agni.

A dream come true

The whole environment changed very quickly. The garden was

came true. She began to prepare jams for winter for all of us.
On Guru Poornima, the whole house was decorated with

while Pavitras granddaughter was sleeping next to us.

This old country house became a place where we not
only gathered but also had the opportunity to live what we
had learnt in the ashram. Later guests started to come and

without mopping sticks and bring water from the spring. In

this simple way, they came to know that yoga is not something
one practises twice a week in a yoga studio but a way of life.

spontaneous practice of crow walking. This exercise was the

interest in yoga. This practice combined with the instructions

to be aware of movement, breath and feeling fascinated them
so much that they came again and again.
The eternal question, What is the meaning of life? was

to attain a sattwic mind. We practised the yamas and niyamas,

not as a code of conduct but as a powerful method to change
the software of the mind. The SWAN meditation became the
main tool in our effort to understand our own behaviour and
the responses and reactions of others.
We tried to apply the methods of yoga in our life. We soon
discovered that yoga truly worked and our small world became
more beautiful and a better place to live in.
Sannyasi Dharmajyoti, Bulgaria

YOGA 52
Simple Living and Spiritual
Experience
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

What do you mean when you say simple life? Instead of

about it. My observation and experience of various teachers

and masters, who have struggled through life to come to a
state of realization, has been the striking factor that life is not
complicated. Simple living means uncomplicated living, not
negation, not rejection, not change of thought, not change of
idea, not change of anything.
Spiritual life and the spiritual experience also leads to
transcending the complex nature of the mind and connecting
to the simple, untainted expression of the spirit. These are the

YOGA 53
two words: simple living means uncomplicated living. What
makes life complicated? Expectations, desires, ambitions,
attachments, immaturity of mind, immaturity of intellect and
immaturity of emotions.
The dissipated, distracted, disturbed mind is the complicated
mind leading to complicated living. When the complicatedness
of the mind subsides, life becomes easier to live, and that is
called simple living.
In spirituality, the same thing happens. As you go beyond
the gross nature of the mind, by dealing with your short-
comings and strengths, and by cultivating the strengths, you
are observing and dealing with your mind. It is a process of
personal observation and the drive to change.
That process of self-awareness is spiritual. In this process
of self-awareness that we undergo in raja yoga, through
pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, we are making our life simple,
and our spiritual awareness continues to develop.
Making life uncomplicated is simple living, and giving a
clear focus and direction to the mind to develop, evolve and
grow is the spiritual experience. They both go together and
therefore are synonymous with each other. One cannot have
a spiritual experience without simple living, and one cannot
live simply without spiritual experience.
Somebody once asked Buddha, How does one know that
one is progressing in spiritual life? He said, The indication
of that progress is that your desires and dissipations of mind
will become less. The desires which connect you to the world
and make you chase the mirage of happiness will lessen. When
the desires become less, ones involvement and participation
with the world will be streamlined. Once life is streamlined
and there is clarity, direction and focus, peace enters your life.
Life becomes simple, and spiritual awareness develops. This
is not only Buddhas answer. It is the answer inherent in all
spiritual traditions.
9 October 2009, Ganga Darshan, Munger

YOGA 54
 Yoga Publications Trust
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