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| AN INTRODUCTION TO YOGA LIFE The practice of Yoga is purely spiritual and universal. Yoga is an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. To be a Yogi means to abide continuously in Divine Love and to live at peace with all. Yoga is union with Divine Love. Yoga is union with all. Divine Love dwells in all. Yoga brings in perfection, peace, and lasting happiness. You can have calmness of mind by the practice of Yoga, You can have restful sleep. You can have increased energy, vitality, longevity, and a high standard of health. Yoga will infuse in you new strength, confidence, and self-reliance. Yoga brings your emotions under control. Yoga discipline gives poise, tranquility and rebuilds one’s life. Prana is verily the life of beings. Therefore it is called the universal life or the life of all. Whatever moves or works or has life, is but an expression or manifestation of Prana. It is Prana that shines in your eyes. It is through the power of Prana the ear hears, the eyes see, the skin feels, the tongue tastes, the nose smells, the brain and the intellect functions. The smile of a person, the melody in the music, the power in the emphatic words of an orator, the charm in the speech of one’s beloved, are all due to Prana. A healthy, strong person has abundance of Prana or vitality. BLISS DIVINE by Swami Sivananda True Religion is the expression of Divinity already existing in us. It is not rites or ceremonies, creeds or forms. It is Life. It is the mingling of the soul with the Great Life. It is not shut up in temples, but in love for all. Love knows service and sacrifice. There is no place where God consciousness is not. You will not find it in the gorgeous temples made of marble and stone. You will find God in the tears of the poor and the lost. True happiness lies in giving to others, not in self seeking. We should not be worshipers of the God of conventions If you want to experience God consciousness in the most practical way, it is love our fellow beings; feel for others in the same way as we feel for our dear ones; instead of seeing faults in others, we look within ourselves; suffer in the suffering of others and feel happiness in the happiness of others, endure all what comes cheerfully accepting as Divine will. Kirpal Singh 1961 Delhi India Prana is the some total of all energy that is manifest in the universe, the sum total of all the forces of nature. When prana departs from the body, all organs cease to function, for in the body there is no greater force than bio-energy (prana) KARMA YOGA - SEVA - SERVICE: ”What is the object in Seva or service? Why do you serve poor people and the suffering humanity at large? By doing service, you purify your heart. Egoism, hatred, and jealousy vanish. Humility, pure love and sympathy and mercy are developed. Sense of separateness is annihilated. Selfishness eradicated. You get a broad outlook on life. You develop a broad heart, generous views. Eventually, you get Knowledge of the Self. You realize the all-in-One and all-in-One. You feel unbounded joy.” BLISS DIVINE by Swami Sivananda A TIME FOR CARING The ability to care for others is not an intellectual or calculated exercise. It is a spontaneous abundance of heart. When you get in contact with that inspired self, caring is simply an unconscious way of being. Arguments about the true nature of humans have raged for centuries. Are people capable of pure altruism? Or are acts of helping, kindness and generosity always based on necessity or fear or expectation of reward? But if a person is by nature hedonistic, why will they help another? Why do something not in their own self-interest? Cynics assign an ulterior motive to all pro-social behavior; some even go so far as to view altruism as a sign of neurosis, a refusal to cope with the realities of life. The human infant, unlike the young of many species, literally cannot survive without care. Babies who are not held and properly nurtured often die; of those who survive, many become autistic or turn criminal later in life. In pursuit of the life well lived many people have ridden rough-shod over their own better nature. They have all but trampled their need to care and be cared for. Yet caring for each other—and for ourselves—is an integral part of what we need to feel at peace with ourselves and the world we live in. By neglecting and trivializing our caring nature, we are betraying our own best interests. Caring for and about others is caring for ourselves. Caring for others accrues great benefits to us. It increases our self-esteem, attracts the care and concern of others, improves the environment, and enhances the quality of life. The decision to care requires assertiveness and a sense of self-worth that many people just don’t have. Fear, then—of rejection, of being misunderstood, of being laughed at or thought foolish, of being taken advantage of—inhibits caring actions. People refrain from doing anything rash or spontaneous. The risks seem formidable. So they play it cool and keep up their aristocratic, above-it-all facade. The Caring Capacity has been weakened by disuse, lack of reinforcement, and misunderstanding of its potential for growth. Putting it back in working order is a matter of recognizing caring feelings and improving skills. Caring has impact. We feel productive and worthy of others’ care and attention. We see ourselves in a positive light. People are naturally attracted to those who care. They have an alluring energy and radiance. - By George Bach THE GOOD THAT COMES FROM DOING GOOD People who voluntarily help others—no matter how demanding the work they take on—are happier and healthier than the rest of us. Altruism basically means helping others voluntarily with no expectation of external rewards; the help may even be at great personal risk or cost. Altruists do not limit caring to family and friends; they extend it to others. We’re talking about a kind of activity that is a natural and spontaneous expression of well-being and wholeness, not deficiency or neurotic needs. Altruism is a sign of mental health because people who are healthy aren’t worried about themselves. Concern for the world is what’s left over after concern for yourself. The most “fully human” person is someone who is compassionate out of the understanding that all of life is interconnected and is to be lived not in isolation, trying to satisfy only one’s own ego, but rather in service to the community. Altruism, compassion, love, and friendship are the flowering of seeds with which we’re all born. When we voluntarily enter into service even in seemingly stressful activities, we actually relax. In fact, what happens is the opposite of the stress or arousal response—we relax. Metabolism, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing decrease. And we experience a reduction in anxiety, depression, and anger. It’s pretty hard to feel depressed when you see a smile that you helped to create. The act of giving selflessly can also be as effective as exercise in energizing ourselves. Of 3,300 volunteers surveyed in 1989, those who helped regularly were ten times more likely to report better health than those who volunteered only once a year. Personal contact is critical, however; giving money or donating clothes doesn’t have the same benefits.” Recent research reveals how dramatic the positive experience of giving voluntarily may be. A study of 2,700 people for more than a decade showed people engaged in regular volunteer work were two and a half times less likely to die during the research project than those who didn’t volunteer. But altruists do not enter into helping others because they’ve calculated all the benefits to be reaped. There is an inner hunger on the part of a lot of people who feel that the kind of individualistic psychologies that have shaped our lives in the West—together with families breaking down and communities fragmenting—have left them disconnected and alienated, without a sense that their lives or work have greater meaning. But when they decide “I’m going to do something to make a difference,” they find that they experience a sense of fulfillment and joy that they were lacking. - By Mirka Knaster MEDITATION - THE POWER OF NOW: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment "You are not just a meaningless fragment in an alien universe, briefly suspended between life and death, allowed a few short-lived pleasures followed by pain and ultimate annihilation. Underneath your outer form, you are connected with something so vast, so immeasurable and sacred, that it cannot be spoken of - yet I am speaking of it now. I am speaking of it now not to give you something to believe in but to show you how you can know it for yourself." BUDDHIST PRACTICE FROM THE RADIANT MIND The prince born twenty-jive hundred years ago who became the historical Buddha was the only founder of a major world religion who claimed to be neither a god nor a messenger of a god. When asked once just what he was, He replied simply, "I am awake.” Although many legends surround his life, we do know approximately when he lived (c. 563—483 BCE) and what his key teachings were. In ancient and modem times, the Buddha's life has been an ideal of conduct and a source of inspiration. One contemporary teacher put it most succinctly when she said,”The Buddha showed us what is possible. " SILENCE The Infinite, the Eternal, cannot be explained but by deep silence. God consciousness or Brahman is Supreme Silence. Soul is Silence. Peace is Silence. Atma is Silence. Silence is the language of the heart. Silence is the language of the sage. Silence is immense strength. Silence is great eloquence. Silence is God. Silence is the substratum for this body, mind, Prana, and senses. Silence is the background for this sense-universe. Silence is power. Silence is a living force. Silence is the only reality. The peace that passeth all understanding is Silence. The goal of your life is Silence. The aim of life is Silence. The purpose of your existence is Silence. Behind all noises and sounds is Silence—thy innermost Soul. Silence is thy real name. Silence is intuitive experience. Silence helps the intuitional Self to express Itself. To go into Silence is to become God, The message of the desert Sahara is silence. The message of the Himalayas is silence. When the heart is full, when you get overjoy there is silence. Who can describe the glory of this silence? There is no healing balm better than silence for those persons who have a wounded heart from failures, disappointments, and losses. There is no soothing panacea better than silence for those who have wounded nerves from the turmoil of life. What is really wanted is silence of the bubbling mind. You can observe the vow of silence, but the mind will be building images. Sankalpa will be crop ping up. Chitta will be developing memories. Imagination, reasoning, reflection, and various other functionings of the mind will be going on continuously. How can you have real peace or silence now? Intellect should cease functioning. All the waves of the mind should completely subside. The mind should rest in the Ocean of Silence or Brahman. Then only you can enjoy real, everlasting silence Purify the mind and meditate. Be still, and know that you are God. Calm the mind. Silence the bubbling thoughts and surging emotions. Plunge deep into the innermost recess of your heart and enjoy the magnanimous Silence. Mysterious is this Silence. Enter into Silence. Know that Silence. Become Silence Itself. From Bliss Divine by Sivananda MEDITATION AND NATURE Meditation and time meditating in nature. Meditation in Nature is powerful and exquisitely beautiful, a perfect reflection. Being alone with nature is a time to discover what our expression of life is. “In order to embrace the simple essence, it is necessary to return to nature because it is the cast shadow of reality. Nature is a product of the simple essence in its different forms, its most basic manifestation.” “For thousands of years nature has offered the space and time to plunge deep into new insights, face doubts and fears, and find healing and serenity.” “The great teachers through history traverse a varied landscape of culture and tradition - but nearly all have passed through and been strengthened by alone time in nature...” Anonymous quotes Vipassana Practice Conscious Conduct: The Five Training Precepts The first aspect, conscious conduct or virtue, means acting harmoniously and with care toward the life around us. For spiritual practice to develop, it is absolutely essential that we establish a basis of moral conduct in our lives. If we are engaged in actions that cause pain and conflict to ourselves and others, it is impossible for the mind to become settled, collected, and focused in meditation; it is impossible for the heart to open. To a mind grounded in unselfishness and truth, concentration and wisdom develop easily. The Buddha outlined five areas of basic morality that lead to a conscious These training precepts are given to all students who wish to follow the path of mindfulness. They are not given as absolute commandments; rather, they are practical guidelines to help us live in a more harmonious way and develop peace and power of mind. As we work with them, we discover that they are universal precepts that apply to any culture, in any time. They are a part of basic mindfulness practice and can be cultivated in our spiritual life. The first precept is to refrain from killing. It means honoring all life, not acting out of hatred or aversion in such a way as to cause harm to any living creature. We work to develop a reverence and caring for life in all its forms. In the Eightfold Path this is called one aspect of right action. The second precept asks us to refrain from stealing, meaning not to take what is not ours. Not to steal is called basic non-harming. We need to let go of being greedy and not take too much. More positively, it means to use things with sensitivity and care, to develop our sense of sharing this life, this planet We're all interwoven. If we can learn to love the earth, we can be happy whatever we do, with a happiness born of contentment. This is the source of genuine ecology. It's a source of world peace, when we see that we're not separate from the earth but that we all come out of it and are connected with one another. From this sense of connectedness we can commit ourselves to share, to live a life of helpfulness and generosity for the world. To cultivate generosity directly is another fundamental part of living a spiritual life. Like the training precepts and like our inner meditations, generosity can actually be practiced. With practice, its spirit forms our actions, and our hearts will grow stronger and lighter. It can lead us to new levels of letting go and great happiness. The Buddha emphasized the importance of generosity when he said, "If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way." The third precept of conscious conduct is to refrain from false speech. The Eightfold Path calls this right speech. Our speech is powerful. It can be destructive or enlightening, idle gossip or compassionate communication. We are asked to be mindful and let our speech come from the heart. When we speak what is true and helpful, people are attracted to us. To be mindful and honest makes our minds quieter and more open, our hearts happier and more peaceful. The fourth precept, to refrain from sexual misconduct, reminds us not to act out of sexual desire in such a way as to cause harm to another. To refrain from the heedless use of intoxicants is the fifth precept. It means to avoid taking intoxicants to the point of making the mind cloudy and to devote our lives instead to developing clarity and alertness." "A foundation of virtue brings great happiness and liberation in itself and is the precondition for wise meditation. With it we can be conscious and not waste the extraordinary opportunity of a human birth, the opportunity to grow in compassion and true understanding in our life. Concentration of Mind Out of a foundation of conscious conduct, the first steps of the mindful way, grows the second aspect of the path, which is called the development of samadhi, or steadiness and concentration of mind. As we bring the grace and harmony of virtue into our outer lives, so we can begin to establish an inner order, a sense of peace and clarity. This is the domain of formal meditation, and it begins with training the heart and mind in concentration. It means collecting the mind or bringing together the mind and body, focusing one's attention on one's experience in the present moment. Skill in concentrating and steadying the mind is the basis for all types of meditation and is in truth a basic skill for any endeavor—for art or athletics, computer programming or self-knowledge. In meditation, the development of the power of concentration comes through systematic training and can be done by using a variety of objects, such as the breath, visualization, a mantra, or a particular feeling such as loving kindness. . . . Most fundamentally [concentrating the mind] is a simple process of focusing and steadying attention on an object like the breath and bringing the mind back to that object again and again. It requires that we let go of thoughts about the past and future, of fantasies and attachment, and bring the mind back to what is actually happening: the actual moment of feeling, of touching the breath as it is. Samadhi doesn't just come of itself; it takes practice. What is wonderful is the discovery made by the Buddha and all great yogis that the mind can actually be trained. In order to penetrate the nature of the mind and body we must collect and concentrate our resources and observe with a steady, silent mind. This is exactly what the Buddha did: he sat, concentrated his mind, and looked within. To become a yogi, an explorer of the heart and mind, we must develop this capacity as well. Wisdom Built on the foundation of concentration is the third aspect of the Buddha's path of awakening: clarity of vision and the development of wisdom. Wisdom comes from directly observing the truth of our experience. We learn as we become able to live fully in the moment, rather than being lost in the dreams, plans, memories, and commentaries of the linking mind. It is only by being fully the moment that the fundamental questions of the heart can be answered; it is only in the timeless moment that we can come to that intuitive, silent knowing of the truth. It is the intuitive wisdom that liberates us. Inquiry and Observation Wisdom grows out of our clear seeing in each moment. Seeing the arising and passing of our experience and how we relate to it. It arises through our gentle and careful inquiry into the workings of the body land mind and through an open inquiry into how this body and mind prelate to the whole world around us. For insight to develop, this spirit of observation and deep questioning must be kept in the forefront. We lean collect and quiet the mind, but then we must observe, examine, I see its ways and its laws. As we meditate we can learn more about desire, see what its root is, see whether it is pleasant or painful, see how it arises and affects our life. We can equally well observe moments of stillness and contentment. We can also begin to observe the inner workings of cause and effect, the laws of karma. Similarly, the law of impermanence can reveal itself under our attention, how it operates, and whether there is anything in our experience that does not change. As things change, we can also observe how attachment works and see how tension and grasping are created in our body and mind. We can see what closes our heart, and how it can open. Over time we may discover new levels of stillness in ourselves or find lights or visions or a whole array of new inner experiences. We can also discover our shadow and bring our awareness to the fears and pains and deep feelings we have long suppressed in our lives. Insights about the psychological patterns we live by will arise, and we can see the functioning of the level we call the personality. When we bring the same spirit of inquiry and awareness to our relation with the whole world around us, our observation can also show us the illusions of our boundaries and how to truly connect the inner and the outer. Insight meditation [Vipassana] is a path of discovery. It is straightforward and direct, with no frills or gimmicks. It is simple, though not easy. Although the forms vary, the genuine practice of insight meditation is this single quest: to establish a foundation of harmonious action, to collect and concentrate the mind and body, and to see the laws of life by our own true, careful, and direct observation, the way of practice and realizing that meditative life process of awakening, there is only one thing left to undertake it ourselves. By Jack Kornfield |