Gurugram February 2023 | Preface
Om Namah Sivaya
Blessed Self
The winter months are conducive to introspection and give us an opportunity to turn within and find a place of peace in the midst of the outer chaos of the world.
All classes and courses continue in the centres and Ashrams and staff are inspired in their sadhana.
We continue our monthly chanting for peace on the theme of “uniting for a healthy planet” every first Sunday of the month. Join us in this effort to raise our minds’ vibratory level through the power of the mantra OM Namo Narayanana.
May you stay well and inspired in your sadhana and service
Om and prem
Swami Kailasananda for the Acharyas of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres
Join us for the monthly Sivananda “Meditation for a Peaceful Planet” on Sunday May 7th, 20223 at 2pm CEST. Check our website for information. https://sivanandaorleans.org/unite-for-a-healthy-planet
Donations: Your donations and financial support would be very gratefully received by any of the International Sivananda Yoga Centres and Ashrams. Please contact any Sivananda Ashram or Centre on how to proceed.
Selfless service is the watchword along the road to salvation. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Upcoming Courses
2023 Update
SIVANANDA YOGA Teachers’ Training Courses are available both Online (TTCOL) and in-person in residence. Please check with each TTC/ATTC location for any TTCOLs.
Please check with each TTC/ATTC location whether COVID-19 has affected your selected course.
The SIVANANDA YOGA Teachers’ Training Courses are available either online (TTCOL) or in residence, depending on the location. Please check with each TTC/ATTC location whether your selected Teacher Training Course is available online or in residence as some Ashrams have opened, while others remain closed. Thank you for your patience as schedules change during COVID.
To view all 2023 TTC/ATTC/SI courses on the Sivananda website: https://sivananda.org/teachers-training/programme-calendar/
See the full list of other international courses and events: https://www.sivananda.org/
There is no greater error than spiritual pride. Moral and spiritual pride is more dangerous than the ordinary pride of wealth and power. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Raja Yoga
From Discourse IV: “Kaivalya Pada – On Realisation”
IV.6 tatra dhyānajam-anāśayam
Of these, the mind born of dhyana is free from past tendencies, samskaras.
Commentary
Of the many individual minds, those which are tempered and directed by meditation become free from useless habits and scattering activity.
The thinker, the experiencer, is not separate from what is experienced. – Sri Swami Sivananda
Bhagavad Gita Quote
Chapter VI: The Yoga of Meditation
VI.20 yatroparamate chittaṁ niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā
yatra chaivātmanātmānaṁ paśhyann ātmani tuṣhyati
When the mind, restrained by the practice of Yoga, attains to quietude, and when, seeing the Self by the Self, he is satisfied in his own Self,
Commentary: Verses 20-23 must be taken together.
When the mind is completely withdrawn from the objects of the senses, supreme peace reigns within the heart. When it becomes quite steady by constant and protracted practice of concentration, and when it is purified and one-pointed, the Yogi beholds the Supreme Self and attains supreme satisfaction in It within.
VI.21 sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam
vetti yatra na chaivāyaṁ sthitaśh chalati tattvataḥ
When he (the Yogi) feels that infinite bliss which can be grasped by the (pure) intellect, and which transcends the senses, and established wherein he never moves from the Reality,
Commentary:
The infinite bliss of the Self, which is beyond the reach of the senses, can be realised by the pure intellect independent of the senses. During deep meditation the senses cease to function, as they are resolved into their cause, the mind. The intellect is rendered pure by the practice of Yama (self-restraint), Niyama (observances and disciplinary practices) and intense and constant meditation.
VI.22 yaṁ labdhvā chāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ
yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vichālyate
Which, having obtained, he thinks there is no other gain superior to it; wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow,
Commentary:
Which: the gain or the realisation of the Self or the immortal Soul.
Wherein: in the all-blissful Self, which is free from delusion and sorrow.
The Self is all-full and self-contained. All desires are fulfilled when one attains Self-realisation. That is why the Lord says: “There is no other acquisition superior to Self-realisation”. If an aspirant gets established in the Supreme Self within, he cannot be shaken even by heavy sorrow and pain, because he is mindless, and identifies himself with the sorrowless and painless Self. One can experience pain and sorrow only when one identifies oneself with the body and the mind. If there is no mind, there cannot be any pain. When one is under chloroform, one feels no pain even when one’s hand is being amputated, because the mind is withdrawn from the body.
VI.23 taṁ vidyād duḥkha-sanyoga-viyogaṁ yogasaṅjñitam
sa niśhchayena yoktavyo yogo ’nirviṇṇa-chetasā
Let that be known by the name of Yoga, the severance from union with pain. This Yoga should be practised with determination and with an undesponding mind.
Commentary:
In verses 20-22 the Lord describes the benefits of Yoga, namely perfect satisfaction by resting in the Self; infinite, unending bliss, freedom from sorrow and pain, etc. He further adds that this Yoga should be practised with a firm conviction, iron determination and non-depression of heart. A spiritual aspirant with a wavering mind will not be able to attain success in Yoga. He will discontinue the practice when he meets some obstacles on the path. The practitioner must also be bold, cheerful and self-reliant.
Never sit idle craving God to help you; but be up and doing. – Sri Swami Sivananda
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Spiritual Calendar
FEBRUARY 2023 01 Ekadasi 05 Full Moon 16 Ekadasi 18 Sri Maha Sivaratri 20 New Moon MARCH 2023 |
Glossary
Aham Brahmāsmi – A Vedantic assertion meaning I am Brahman. From the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (1.4.10). One of the four Mahāvākyas or Great Sayings of the Upaniṣads.
Ahaṃtā – I-ness; egoism
Ahaṅkāra – Egoism
Ahiṃsā – Non-violence
Aiśvarya – Divine powers
Ajāti Vāda – The theory of non-evolution, that is, that the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, unborn eternal.
Ājñā chakra – The centre of spiritual energy between the two eye-brows
Ākāśa – Ether
Ākāśa-vāṇī – Ethereal voice
Akṣara – The imperishable Brahman; the sacred monosyllable OṂ
Āmalaka – The Indian gooseberry
Amara – Puruṣa. The immortal being
Āmnāya – The Vedas. Sacred texts handed down by tradition or repetition.