We're All Enlightened People



"In a sense, we're all enlightened people.

There's enlightenment in us all. However,

it's covered over and sometimes forgotten.

The light is there already. You are not given

the light by anyone—not even by a spiritual

teacher. You are that light. You are the image

of God. God made everything, everybody in

God's image. Nobody has to give you enlightenment.

If somebody has to give you enlightenment, then,

one day, you'll lose it. So you're all already

enlightened, but you don't know that, your mind

doesn't want to accept that. If the mind accepts

that, the mind loses its power. See? The mind

doesn't want to lose its power. In a way, it's

a tug-of-war between you and your mind. The mind

wants you to be its slave. Through Yoga, you are

learning to control the mind.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Love Everybody as Your Own Self



"Once you see the peace and the light within you,

your perception is changed. You see that peace,

that light, everywhere. When you see the Atmic

bliss in you, you don't see anything else outside.

You see everybody as your own Self. Then, you don't

even think that you're helping somebody while doing

something for them. That means that you're doing

something for your own Self. At that level, you

become a better, more service-full person. You can

be useful to the entire humanity in a better way,

because you love everybody as your own Self. Only when

that realization comes, can one love in that way.

Until then, you love as the individual. You are

So-and-So, he is So-and-So and you're loving him

as your friend or as somebody. You can't love the

other person as your own Self if you don't realize

your own Self within you.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Happiness and Unhappiness are in the Mind



"Those living in a body that has been disabled

or handicapped for a long time, or permanently,

should know that it's only the body and not the

soul that's disabled. Don't get depressed. You

can travel far and wide and do a lot of service

through the mind itself. Think well. Pray for all.

You don't have to limit yourself within your body

or the place where you are. If you can't get the

condition corrected or healed, don't worry about

that, accept it. Worrying isn't going to help you.

Don't get depressed. Know that happiness and

unhappiness are in the mind, not in the body.

Whatever the body goes through, let it go through,

and don't allow your mind to get depressed. Don't

get confined within your body. A body is a sort of

prison. It limits you, but, mentally, you can rise above it. !



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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The Unchanging



"All these differences among us are caused by

our wrong perception, by our perceiving what

is not the spirit as the spirit, or by attributing

the mind and bodily changes to the spirit, which

never changes. When we know this, we will see

that there are two entities in us all: the one

that is common and never-changing, and the one

that is always uncommon and ever-changing. A person

and his or her mind changes always—minute by minute,

second by second. We're not the same in that we

don't possess the same body or the same mind, but

we are the same in that we always possess the same

spirit. And that's the same in everybody and in

everything. So that is the real vision of unity in

diversity. Yoga aims for that perception.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Find Peace Within



"There's a saying in English, `Necessity is the

mother of invention.' This saying wakes us. It makes

us think, `How can I handle this situation?' We bring

forth the energy and the knowledge from within.

It's there, stored, but unless there's! the need,

we don't even know that it's there. Maybe you're

searching for the truth, trying to understand the

meaning of life and seeking answers. You never

realize that while you're running around looking

outside, it's all inside. Imagine that you're in

a dark room using a flashlight and wondering where

You search all over the house with the help of what?

With the help of the flashlight. Ultimately, you'll

realize that what you've been looking for is already

there in you as you: `I am that Supreme Peace, Supreme Bliss.'



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

--------------------------------------------------------------

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Going Deep in Meditation



"Many people disturb their meditation. They don't

seem to go deep in their meditation because they

expect something to happen immediately. They wait

for certain visions, or whatever things they've

read about in a book. The moment they close their

eyes, `Oh, this must happen, that must happen,

I read it in the book.' So they put up a barrier,

they become tense and the very tension disturbs

the meditation. That's why, even in the name of

meditation, you should not have any expectation.

Let it come, do your practice and leave the rest

to happen. Just pour the water on the seed you've

planted and leave it. The root will grow in time.

We should not disturb it. Our very expectation, our

haste in getting the root and the fruit, disturbs the seed.







"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

Action without Selfishness



"An action based on selfishness, with a personal

motive, will always be an imperfect one. It is

imperfect in the sense that it will disturb the

person who performs that act, because the very

expectation of the result disturbs his or her mind.

The very attachment to the result of the action

turns it into a selfish action. You want to achieve

something, so you start to do something and you

build up a tension. Even before you progress in

what you are doing, tension is built up in the mind

because there is a kind of attachment behind it:

`I am doing this for my beloved and I have to see

the result.' But if an action is done without any

selfish motive, it can be done very easily with all

tranquility of the mind.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



Follow Swami Satchidananda on Twitter at

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A Divine Mind



"A clean and controlled mind becomes a

divine mind. It draws the entire capacity

of the Self of the individual. The Self is

the image of God. You are made in the image

of the divine. That means we have God within

us. In that case, we should have all the

capacities of God, but we don't seem to

because of the improper instrument through

which the divine potentialities are to be

expressed. The power is there, the light is

there, but it's not expressing itself because

of the enclosure. The mind and the body are

such enclosures. Imagine there is a candle

burning. If there is a dark smoky chimney

placed around it, it will not allow the light

to shine forth. Clean the smoke, and you will

see some light. Clean the mind and you'll see the divine.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



Follow Swami Satchidananda on Twitter at

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Mantra is a Mystic Word



"The mind should dwell on a mantra and its vibrations

so that it will not divert its attention to anything

else. The more you repeat the mantra, the more you

produce that sound vibration within you. After some

time, even without your conscious repeating, you will

be able to feel the vibration within. In other words,

you can hear the sound of the mantra within you and

that will be a sort of hold for you to get into the

higher vibrations. That is why a mantra is a mystic

word, which has its own special vibration and, by

developing that vibration in you, you are developing

a certain kind of wavelength and you will be able to

attract that kind of wavelength from the cosmos.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



  Hear monthly messages from Sri Swami Satchidananda

on the Inspiration Line (434-WOW-GURU).

The key to any successful spiritual approach, whether it is mantra meditation,

breath meditation, or inner prayer (the Jesus prayer, Amita Buddha recitation,

etc.), is continuity of practice, making the inner prayer constant ("pray

without ceasing"). Swamiji's word are affirmation of this.



--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety

<no_reply@...> wrote:

>

>  Mantra is a Mystic Word

>

> "The mind should dwell on a mantra and its vibrations

> so that it will not divert its attention to anything

> else. The more you repeat the mantra, the more you

> produce that sound vibration within you. After some

> time, even without your conscious repeating, you will

> be able to feel the vibration within. In other words,

> you can hear the sound of the mantra within you and

> that will be a sort of hold for you to get into the

> higher vibrations. That is why a mantra is a mystic

> word, which has its own special vibration and, by

> developing that vibration in you, you are developing

> a certain kind of wavelength and you will be able to

> attract that kind of wavelength from the cosmos.

>

> "God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

>

>  Hear monthly messages from Sri Swami Satchidananda

> on the Inspiration Line (434-WOW-GURU).

>

The Inner Voice



"We talk a lot, but the more we talk the more we

miss someone talking from within. Mahatma Gandhi

used to say that it is the Antaratma, the inner soul,

the light within you, that guides you, that speaks

to you always. But unfortunately, because we are too

noisy, we seem to miss that guidance from within.

In deep meditation we try to still the mind. You should

not think that only by talking aloud, you are talking.

Even without any audible sound, you can talk. The moment

you think, you are talking. Every thought is a word.

Thinking has its own form and it disturbs that stillness.

By mere thinking you are talking internally and you

could disturb that stillness, thus missing the talking

of the inner voice or inner consciousness.







"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

Quiet the Mind



"How do we quiet the flow of thoughts? That's a very

good practical question. When thoughts are rushing in,

you can't just stop the thoughts immediately. Instead,

develop one particular thought. Out of these thousands

of thoughts, pick up one—a good thought that won't

ultimately bind you—a prayer or a mantra, or a thought

of a holy image or a holy person. The more you develop

and strengthen that one thought, the more the other

thoughts get weakened. By this development, one day you

will see that you have only one thought and no other

thoughts. This one thought, being a superior kind of

thought, which will not bind you, ultimately loses its

strength also, and you can become thoughtless.







"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

No End to Desires



"If you create a small want in the mind,

then when you are satisfied you say,

`Oh I got it.' Once you fulfill it, you

more or less erase that ripple, that

impression, from the mind. So you get

the balance again. If you try every time

to adjust the mind by fulfilling its wants,

there's no end. Even if you say, `Oh, this

will be the last desire, the last thing I

want and then no more,' how many hundreds

of times would you have said that? You

thought that by fulfilling your desires,

by enjoying them, they can come to an end.

It's something like adding more and more

fuel, thinking you can put out the fire.

Peace of mind cannot be found by giving into

more and more desires. The more you enjoy

them, the more you reconfirm and renew the desires.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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A Simple Equation



"Everything, even the world, outside is your projection.

According to your mental condition, you see things in a

particular way. If you see the city in which you live as

a heavenly one, then there is a sort of heaven within you.

If you see hell in the city, that is how your mind views it.

So the world is nothing but your own projection. Everything

begins from the mind. Within us is a godly element and a

human element. If we remove the human side, we become divine.

If we ignore the divine side we become human.

So the mathematical equation will be:

Divine + mind = human being. Human - mind = divine.

If you don't attach to the mind or feel that you are

the mind, then you'll feel the divine and you'll

always be in heaven. That's the simple equation.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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The Cosmic Sound



"When we stop disturbing the cosmic sound—by breaking

the cosmic sound into many other words and other

sounds—we can hear that cosmic sound within us. That's

possible only when you tune your mind to a particular

wave by stopping all other waves. That is what you call

transcending the mind. The mind is to be made completely

still. When the mind is stilled you can say that you have

transcended the mind. In other words, the very same mind

becomes your very soul. The moment it starts moving it

gets the name, `mind.' Each wave gets the name, `thought.'

Attune your mind to the cosmic sound, the cosmic vibration

and then you will transcend.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Peace Begins at Home



“Peace should be found within oneself first.

If you don’t have peace within yourself, you

can’t find peace outside. Set the person right,

and the world becomes all right. First you

should have peace within yourself in order to

see the peace outside. There’s a proverb:

‘Charity begins at home.’ Not only charity

begins at home, but peace begins at home too.

In the same way, hatred begins at home. Everything

is in the mind, so by changing the mind we can easily

change the world outside.



“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”



Follow Swami Satchidananda on Twitter at

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Without Expectation



"When you do an act, if you have a personal motive

behind it or if you expect a reward by that action,

even before you start doing it, you build up tension.

There is an expectation, there is anxiety. There is

fear of losing something also. So you spoil the mind

with which you are doing the action. Then the action

itself is spoiled. Instead, if the mind is kept free

from any expectation whatsoever and if your action is

done just for the sake of action, for the sake of others,

then that action is a perfect one.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



  Follow Swami Satchidananda on Twitter at

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Love Thy Neighbor



"Once you realize the Self in you, then you become

the master of your own body and mind. With that

realization of the Self, you can see the very same

Self in others. It's only then that you can have

universal love and that you can love everybody as

your own Self. Only then will it be possible for us

to follow this command: `Love thy neighbor as thy own Self.'

Otherwise, how are we going to see our own Self in our

neighbor? To see our own Self in the neighbor, we should

know what our Self is first. So first know thyself, then

see the same Self in your neighbor and then love the neighbor

as your own Self. Gradually the practice of Yoga leads us

to this Self-knowledge.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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The Sun is Neutral



"The sun shines without any like or dislike. Some people

make use of the sun's light for their own good use; some

people make use of it for bad purposes. With the help of

the same sunlight any person can do any act, good or bad.

If you make a good act using the sunlight and if you do

something bad using the same sunlight, the blame will not

go to the sun because it's neutral, just as anything is

in nature and just as is God. God is nature and is neutral,

without likes, dislikes or desires. So, it is up to us how

we make use of what God has given to us. According to our

mental purity, we take in the pure side, we make use of it

for a better purpose. If we make use of it for a better

purpose, we are benefited. If we use it for a wrong purpose,

we are bound by that and, probably later, suffering comes.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



For much more by and about Swamiji:

http://www.swamisatchidananda.org/

The Purpose of Practice



"The purpose of all our spiritual practices is to

slowly make the mind thinner and thinner and thinner.

In order for the mind to get thinner, we should

understand why it gets thickened. The mind is thickened

by the thoughts, by the desires. The more thoughts

in the mind, means the bigger and thicker the mind.

When the thoughts and desires are reduced little by

little, then the mind becomes thinner and thinner.

And in a thoughtless condition, the mind is almost nil.

Think of a piece of cloth. Because the threads are

arranged in a particular way, you call it cloth.

If you slowly pull off the threads, what happens to

the cloth? It vanishes. So, this is how meditation

and other Yoga practices help us to transcend the mind.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

The Secret of Life



"Do you want to know the secret of life? It is very simple.

Play your part well. But, don't identify with that part.

How? Remember who you are. You have a role to play in life.

So act well but, at the same time, do not forget that you

are acting. Then you are always safe. If you forget one side

you are in danger. If you forget the spiritual side and think

that you are a completely worldly person, there's danger that

you'll be lost in maya (illusion). If you think that you are

completely spiritual and forget the world, then there is danger.

People everywhere will say you are madcap, crazy. So, remember

this and be in the world but not of the world.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Shine More



"The same spirit is in everybody. The same current

runs through everyone. But it's the bulb with the

bigger filament that takes more current because of

its construction; by consuming more current, it gives

off more light. The illumination is measured according

to the size of the bulb, but the current is the same.

The divine current is common; it is not partial. It is

given to one and all: a sinner or a saint, a yogi or a

non-yogi. It is everybody's birthright. So, if you

broaden your mind, you become a bigger bulb and you

have a longer filament. Then you are able to attract

more current to give out more light. It's not because

the bulb is greater that the current wants to flow in more.

The current has no decision like that. It's up to you — if

you have a broad mind, purity of the mind, you draw more

of the divine current and shine more.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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The Cosmic Vibration



"One kind of meditation is to meditate on a

universal sound, like `OM' or `Amen,' because

it's that cosmic sound which will be heard

ultimately through your deep meditation.

OM or Amen are both the same, just a little

differently presented; they both symbolize

the sacred cosmic vibration. That cosmic sound

is to be heard within you. It's not that you

have to repeat it constantly, but you begin

with the repetition so that ultimately you'll

hear that sound within. So, sit quietly, watch

the breath for a while, then repeat a little

prayer if you want. Otherwise just go on and

repeat the OM or Amen. The more you repeat that,

the more you produce that vibration within you.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Meditation Takes Preparation



"Concentration is the sixth in the eight-step path

of Raja Yoga. When concentration becomes perfect,

then it becomes meditation. Yet people without any

preparation, without any discipline, without any control,

just go, sit, close their eyes and then say, `Oh, I

don't think I can meditate.' We can't jump into meditation

all of a sudden. We should have a lot of patience.

For many years, we allowed the mind to take the upper

hand. It takes a little time, but, once you train the

mind well, you'll have a wonderful instrument, a very

obedient, very powerful, dynamic instrument with which

you can achieve anything you want in this world. Let us

begin meditation with all the preparations, realizing it's

not to be achieved that quickly; it takes time. If we know

that, we won't be quickly disappointed, but we'll have

patience to continue more and more.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

-------------------------------------------------------------

From Wikipedia:



Eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga



The eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are:



Yama – code of conduct, self-restraint

Niyama – religious observances, commitments to practice,

such as study and devotion

Āsana – integration of mind and body through physical activity

Pranayama – regulation of breath leading to integration of

mind and body

Pratyahara – abstraction of the senses, withdrawal of the

senses of perception from their objects

Dharana – concentration, one-pointedness of mind

Dhyana – meditation (quiet activity that leads to samadhi)

Samādhi – the quiet state of blissful awareness, superconscious(?) state.

Attained when yogi constantly sees Paramatma in his

(jivaatma) heart.



They are sometimes divided into the lower and the upper

four limbs, the lower ones—from yama to pranayama—being

parallel to the lower limbs of Hatha Yoga, while the upper

ones—from pratyahara to samadhi—being specific for the

rāja yoga. The upper three limbs practiced simultaneously

constitute the Samyama.



Yama

Main article: Yamas



Yama (restraints) consists of five parts: Ahimsa

(non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya

(non-stealing), Brahmacharya meaning sexual abstinence,

and Aparigraha (non-covetousness). Ahimsa is perfect

harmlessness, as well as positive love. The five directives

of Yama lay down behavioral norms as prerequisites for

elimination of fear, and contribute to a tranquil mind.[4]



Niyama

Main article: Niyama



Niyama is observance of five canons: Shaucha (internal

and external purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas

(austerity), Svadhyaya (study of religious books and

repetitions of Mantras), and Ishvarapranidhana (self-surrender

to God, and His worship). Niyama, unlike Yama, prescribes

mental exercises to train the mind to control emotions.



Asana

Main article: Asana



Asana in the sense of a posture that one can hold for

a period of time, staying relaxed and with normal (calm)

breathing (or, as some sources say, "without effort").



In English, the Sanskrit word asana means "seat", the place

where one sits; or posture, position of the body (any

position). Asanas (in the sense of Yoga "posture") are

said to derive from the various positions of animals' bodies

(whence are derived most of the names of the positions).

84 asanas are considered to be the main postures, of which

the highest are Shirshasan (headstand) and Padmasan (lotus).



The practice of asanas affects the following aspects or

planes of the human being:



physical (blood circulation, inner organs, glands, muscles,

joints and nerve system)



psychological (developing emotional balance and stability,

harmony)



mental (improved ability to concentrate, memory)



consciousness (purifying and clarifying consciousness/awareness)



From the rāja yoga perspective, it is considered that

the physical postures and pranayama serve to prepare the

body and mind for the following steps: pratyahara, dharana,

dhyana and samādhi (withdrawal of the senses, contemplation, meditation,

and state of expanded or transcendental

consciousness, where the activity of the mind ceases and

"The Knower and The Object of Knowledge Become One").



Prāṇāyāma

Main article: Pranayama



Prāṇāyāma is made out of two Sanskrit words

(prāṇa = life energy; ayāma = control or modification).

Breathing is the medium used to achieve this goal. The mind and life force are

correlated to the breath. Through regulating the breathing and practicing

awareness on it, one learns to control prana.



According to Rāja yoga, there are three main types (phases, units, stadia)

of pranayama:



     purak (inhalation)

     rechak (exhalation)

     kumbhak (holding the breath); which appears as:

         antara kumbhak (withholding the breath after inhalation)

         bahar kumbhak (withholding the breath after exhalation)

         keval kumbhak (spontaneous withholding of the breath)



There are numerous techniques of Pranayama, each with their specific goals. The

main techniques are:



     surya bhedan

     candra bhedan

     nadi shodhan (anuloma viloma)

     bhastrika

     kapalabhati

     ujjaji

     plavini (bhujangini)

     bhramari

     sheetkari

     sheetali

     combination of sheetkari and sheetali

     murccha



All pranayama practice ultimately works toward purification of the nadis (energy

channels) and the awakening of kundalini shakti at the muladhara chakra. The

awakening of kundalini energy (also described as the awakening of divine

consciousness or wisdom), and its ascent to the crown chakra is the final goal

of rāja yoga.

Pratyahara

Main article: Pratyahara



Pratyahara is bringing the awareness to reside deep within oneself, free from

the senses and external world. The Goal of Pratyahara is not to disrupt the

communication from the sense organ to the brain. The awareness is far removed

from the five senses. Pratyahara cannot be achieved without achievement of the

preceding limbs (pranayama, niyama, etc.). The awareness comes to rest deep in

the inner space, and during this time the yogi's breath will be temporarily

suspended. Pratyahara should not just be likened to concentration or meditation,

etc. It is a yogic practice that takes on adequacy with the prior 8 limbs as

prerequisites.

Dharana

Main article: Dharana



Real Yoga starts from concentration. Concentration merges into meditation.

Meditation ends in Samadhi. Retention of breath, Brahmacharya, Satvic (pure)

food, seclusion, silence, Satsanga (being in the company of a guru), and not

mixing much with people are all aids to concentration. Concentration on Bhrakuti

(the space between the two eyebrows) with closed eyes is preferred. The mind can

thus be easily controlled, as this is the seat for the mind.[clarification

needed][citation needed]

Dhyana

Main article: Dhyana in Hinduism



     "Sleep, tossing of mind, attachment to objects, subtle desires and cravings,

laziness, lack of Brahmacharya, gluttony are all obstacles in meditation. Reduce

your wants. Cultivate dispassion. You will have progress in Yoga. Vairagya thins

out the mind. Do not mix much. Do not talk much. Do not eat much. Do not sleep

much. Do not exert much. Never wrestle with the mind during meditation. Do not

use any violent efforts at concentration. If evil thoughts enter your mind, do

not use your will force in driving them. You will tax your will. You will lose

your energy. You will fatigue yourself. The greater the efforts you make, the

more the evil thoughts will return with redoubled force. Be indifferent. Become

a witness of those thoughts. They will pass away. Never miss a day in

meditation. Regularity is of paramount importance. When the mind is tired, do

not concentrate. Do not take heavy food at night.



     The mind passes into many conditions or states as it is made up of three

qualities: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Kshipta (wandering), Vikshipta (gathering),

Mudha (ignorant), Ekagra (one-pointed), and Nirodha (contrary) are the five

states of the mind.



     By controlling the thoughts the Sadhaka attains great Siddhis. He becomes

adept. He attains Asamprajnata Samadhi or Kaivalya. Do not run after Siddhis.

Siddhis are great temptations. They will bring about your downfall. A Raja Yogi

practices Samyama or the combined practice of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi at one

and the same time.



     Control the mind by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion). Any

practice that steadies the mind and makes it one-pointed is Abhyasa. Dull

Vairagya will not help you in attaining perfection in Yoga. You must have Para

Vairagya or Theevra Vairagya, intense dispassion." — Swami Sivananda from Amrita

Gita



Samadhi

Main article: Samadhi



Meditation on OM with Bhava removes obstacles in Sadhana and helps to attain

Samadhi. Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes),

Abhinivesha (clinging to mundane life) are the five Kleshas or afflictions.

Destroy these afflictions. You will attain Samadhi.



Samadhi is of two kinds:



     Savikalpa, Samprajnata or Sabija; and

     Nirvikalpa, Asamprajnata or Nirbija.



In Savikalpa or Sabija, there is Triputi or the triad (knower, known and

knowledge). Savitarka, Nirvitarka, Savichara, Nirvichara, Sasmita and Saananda

are the different forms of Savikalpa Samadhi. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Nirbija

Samadhi or Asamprajnata Samadhi there is no triad.



In the last sutra (4,34), Patańjali says the soul reaches its end in liberation,

enlightenment, kaivalya.

A Good Yogi



"We all need Self-knowledge and, with that knowledge,

we can make the best use of the mind and the senses,

as well as all the talents and capabilities we've been

given. First, know who you are: Who is the one who has

gifts and talents? Know that first, and then you can

feel that you have these gifts and you want to maintain

them. First understand yourself: I am somebody, I have

been given these gifts and I am enjoying them. I am not

those things out there. I am separate; I am the owner

of these things. That feeling should be there. Apply this

to the mind too: I am the owner of the mind, I am not the

mind. Sometimes the mind is playful, sometimes it's happy,

sometimes it's unhappy. It's my mind that is happy or

unhappy, not me. I'm different from the mind.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.



nspiration Line



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Make the Best Use of the Breath



"In Yoga asanas or in yogic breathing, one should

never exert oneself. Let things come in their own time.

Remember: Slow and steady wins the race. Particularly

when retention during pranayama comes in, one must be

very, very careful. Many people think yogic breathing

means to take a deep breath in and hold it as long as

possible until the entire body becomes shaky, and that

they call yogic breathing. It's not that. Pranayama is

a controlled, rhythmic way of breathing. As you inhale,

you make the best use of the breath by holding just as

long as is comfortable and then exhaling, taking twice

the time to exhale as to inhale. That is how to approach

pranayama safely.



"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



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Spiritual Experience



"What is spiritual experience? I can try to describe it,

but it's something to be experienced. Imagine if I told you:

`Go to such and such shop, give so much money, ask for this

particular fruit. The shape will be like this, it will smell

something like this, remove the skin, remove the seed,

in between you have the fleshy part. Put it in the mouth,

then you will know how tasty it is.' That is all I can say.

If you tell me, `Oh, I can't just believe you unless you show

me how the taste is. I can't take the trouble of going to the

shop and buying it and cutting and everything. Unless you show

me the taste, I won't try that.' But, unless you try the fruit,

you won't understand the taste.



"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



  Inspiration Line



Hear an inspiration message from Sri Swami Satchidananda

by calling 434-WOW-GURU. New and improved software brings

an even better sound quality and more reliable system.

New message the first of each month. Call and be inspired

any time and from anywhere you are.

The Solar System Within



"We have a solar system within us. The body itself is

a solar system; we have the sun within us. The inner

sun is the sun of consciousness. With the inner consciousness,

which we call the Self, Atman or the Atmic Sun, we understand everything. And

just as the sun gives light and doesn't have

any partiality but gives equally to everybody, the inner spirit,

or Atman, just shines as pure consciousness itself. In the

world of ignorance, which is darkness, the mind, which is

our moon, receives the light of the consciousness (the Atma,

or the sun) and reflects it on the worldly ignorance, the

darkness. Once the real sunshine comes, the world will appear

to be different—you see the entire world in a different way.

That is the spiritual vision.



"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."



  Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening



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