Gurugram April 2020 | Preface

Greetings from the Sivananda Headquarters.

NEWS

Welcome to all. We hope and pray you are all well in these challenging times. Even if our Centres and Ashrams may be physically closed, we are not going away!!! On-line classes, Satsangs, Workshops, Webinars and much much more are available to keep us all connected. Please check each and every one of our sites. Imagine now, you can be in Sao Paulo, Brasil and virtually join a class at Yoga Camp in Canada; or in Paris, France and join in on a class at the Yoga Farm in California.

“Never Give Up” …says Swami Sivananda. Every cloud has a silver lining. If you have to stay at home, now is the time to catch up on your yoga practice!! Even just a little of asana, pranayama and meditation will set you up for the day. Positivity is the first line of defense against all illness and yoga is a perfect system for keeping us strong in body and mind.

Reports say joining the online Satsangs from any of the Sivananda Ashrams allows us to feel like a family and derive strength and faith for everyday work and Sadhana.

All life is one, all people are members of one human family, all are expression of the One Self – Swami Sivananda Another way to connect is to join us for meditation and chanting session on April 5th 2020 (see below) or chant bhajans with others through Live Facebook, Skype or Zoom; join our online Satsangs and courses; connect with a group study of a scripture, and last, but not least, practice karma yoga. Please watch out for others. Look out for any opportunity to connect with someone, even for a short while, keeping them cheerful and away from anxiety. There are so many ways we can help others.

As Swami Sivananda would say “Always look out for the chance to serve.” Now we have the perfect time.

Our prayers are with you all at this time, and with the grace of the Gurus and God together we can emerge from these trials stronger and more committed to peace on this earth. Health and Peace to all.

UNITE FOR A PEACEFUL PLANET
The Gathering of 100,000 Minds

The mantra Om Namo Narayanaya was given to humanity to be used in time of need to generate powerful waves of harmony and peace.

The Sivananda Organization has launched a worldwide peace action, gathering 100,000 meditation practitioners across the globe at the same time, once a month, every month for a 30-minute practice of meditation, positive intention and repetition of the peace mantra, Om Namo Narayanaya.

We invite all yoga students and anyone wanting to help create a positive future for humanity to participate at home in this large scale peace mission. The focus of our meditation will be the unity of all beings, including our home and Planet Earth. To participate in this peace action, please register on our web site at https://sivanandaorleans.org/unite-for-a-healthy-planet/

UNITE FOR A PEACEFUL PLANET Meditation and Chanting – Sunday April 5 at 1:00pm UTC/GMT

May there be many blessings to the Sivananda family for the year to come. We thank you all for your continued support in sharing the teachings and the mission of Sivananda Organization. We strive to share with humility and truth, becoming stronger and better instruments to carry on the work without compromising the authenticity of the message.
Pranams to all.

Hear the eternal sound of Om in silence. – Sri Swami Sivananda

All upcoming 2020 TTC, ATTC and Sadhana Intensive courses can be viewed here “TTC | ATTC | SI – Calendar” on the NEW Sivananda website, under the tab, Teachers’ Training. You can now conveniently apply for Teacher Training Courses online on the new Sivananda Organization website – www.sivananda.org

Truth is as true today as it was millions of years ago, and as it will be millions of years hence. – Sri Swami Sivananda

Chapter II: “Sadhana Pada – On Spiritual Disciplines”

II.48. TATO DVANDVANABHIGHATAH

‘From that (mastery of “asana”[posture]), no assaults come from the pairs of opposites’

Commentary:
When asanas are mastered, the yogi is not touched by the play of duality. One’s will and concentration are developed to such an extent that heat and cold, pleasure and pain, good and bad, and all other worldly influences do not touch them.

Without God you could not see, could not talk, could not hear, could not think. God is the maker of all scientific laws – the law of gravitation, the law of cohesion, the law of attraction and repulsion, etc. God is the law-giver. – Sri Swami Sivananda

The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, narrated in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita is comprised of eighteen discourses, with a total of 701 Sanskrit verses. The timeless scene takes place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Sri Krishna, through a swift conversation with Arjuna, reveals profound, sublime and soul stirring spiritual truths, plus, rare secrets of Yoga, Vedanta, Bhakti and Karma. Those who study, and endowed with Faith, can reap the full benefits of the Bhagavad Gita, and the science of the Soul.

We continue reviewing Swami Sivananda’s summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Yoga of Wisdom and Realization – Summary of Seventh Discourse:

Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that the supreme Godhead has to be realized in both its transcendent and immanent aspects. The Yogi who has reached this summit has nothing more to know.

This complete union with the Lord is difficult of attainment. Among many thousands of human beings, very few aspire for this union, and even among those who aspire for it, few ever reach the pinnacle of spiritual realization.

The Lord has already given a clear description of the all-pervading static and infinite state of His. Now He proceeds to explain His manifestations as the universe and the power behind it. He speaks of these manifestations as His lower and higher Prakritis. The lower Prakriti is made up of the five elements, mind, ego and intellect. The higher Prakriti is the life-element which upholds the universe, activates it and causes its appearance and final dissolution.

Krishna says that whatever exists is nothing but Himself. He is the cause of the appearance of the universe and all things in it. Everything is strung on Him like clusters of gems on a string. He is the essence, substance and substratum of everything, whether visible or invisible. Although everything is in Him, yet He transcends everything as the actionless Self. Prakriti or Nature is made up of the three Gunas or qualities—Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. These three qualities delude the soul and make it forget its true nature, which is one with God. This delusion, termed Maya, can only be removed by the Grace of the Lord Himself.

Thus far Arjuna has been taught the highest form of devotion, which leads to union with God in His static aspect as also with His dynamic Prakriti. Krishna tells him that there are also other forms of devotion which are inferior as they are performed with various motives. The distressed, the seeker of divine wisdom, and he who desires wealth, worship Him, as also the wise. Of these the Lord deems the wise as dearest to Him. Such a devotee loves the Lord for the sake of pure love alone. Whatever form the devotee worships, the ultimate goal is the Lord Himself. The Lord accepts such worship, knowing that it is directed to Him only.

The more you yearn to turn a new leaf in your life and lead a pure, divine life the more will opportunities come your way. – Sri Swami Sivanandaa