Teachings of Swami Sivananda's Posts (1031)

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Sivananda daily reading

BHAKTI YOGA
Without renunciation, Bhakti or devotion can never be cultivated in the heart.
God demands complete self-surrender from His devotees.
Love is a tremendous force in the world.
It draws men together.
It is quite as real as electricity or magnetism or gravity.
All life is divine.
All love is basically divine love.
A devotee who has made total self-surrender to God feels that he has no independent existence of his own.
He lives in the Lord.
The way to attain Krishna is to become a Gopi.
Make your body the temple of the Lord.
Become Lord-filled, Lord-intoxicated.

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Sivananda daily reading

BHAKTI YOGA

Loving remembrance is the method of reaching Him.
I have drunk the elixir of God by which all other elixirs have become bitter and worthless.
Many saints came from the so-called lower classes. They were illiterate.
They did manual labour to make both ends meet.
They were persecuted by persons in power.
Sadhana was a dealer in meat.
Dharma was a poor jat cultivator.
Sena was a court barber at Rewa.
Kabir was a weaver.
Raidas was a cobbler.
Tukaram and Namdev were Sudras.
Namdev was a tailor.
Tukaram was a cultivator.

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Sivananda daily reading

BHAKTI YOGA

Love unites the individual soul with God.
It is only love that finds out God.
God is the primal essence.
The vision of God is a gift of God.
It is not an achievement attained by human effort independent of God.
God is revealed to those who love Him and whose minds have been purified by devotion to Holy Scriptures and holy preceptors, practice of Karma Yoga and more than all, Prapatthi or self-surrender.
God is a lover who resides in every heart irrespective of caste and creed, high and low.

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Divya Jivan Newsletter
Sivananda Ashram, Ahmedabad
September 2015
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OM Namo Bhagawate Sivanandaya!
OM Namo Bhagawate Chidanandaya!
OM Namo Narayanaya!
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Lord Sri  Krishna, Divine Incarnation on auspicious Janmashtami (September 5, 2015)
 
Bhagavan Sri Krishna is the immortal manifestation of God in all His splendor, that man was ever given the fortune to behold. Man! Blessed thou art, that hast visualized with thy fleshly eyes the mighty Dignity of the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe! Thou art purified; thy birthright is to realize Him; thy fortune is a part of His Greatness! Sri Krishna may be called the "Collective Man", who represented all beings hungering and thirsting to gain the Highest Freedom and who voiced forth their deepest aspirations in the loudest possible tone. He came to release man from the thraldom of vice and correct his vision so that he could walk along the ever-illumined path to perfection. Sri Krishna is the articulation of the pure longings that are buried in the hearts of people. Sri Krishna is not merely a historical man who came and went, like others, but the Eternal Purusha who dwells even now and shall live in the everlasting future, in the core of all manifestation. It is the Symbol of the Absolute descended into relativity that we call Krishna, the ever-beloved protector of all that breathe and air."
 
 "So Sri Krishna is called an Avatara, a descent of God in the world, of the Whole in the parts, of the Absolute in the relative. An Avatara is different from a Rishi or a Jivanmukta who represents an ascent of man to God, whereas the Avatara is a descent of God to man, consciously and deliberately. Sri Krishna lived the universal life, laughed a universal laughter, and walked on earth as the moving Spirit of the universe. To worship Him is to be in the Presence of God; to know Him is to realize the Self."- Swami Sivananda << More>>
 
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Adoration & Prostrations Holy Master Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj on HIS Birth Anniversary  (Sept 8, 2015) 

"Gurudev’s life after Self-realisation, after becoming an enlightened sage and shining as a great light of the Himalayas, was a saga of selfless service—service of the poor, service of the suffering, service of the sick, service of the distressed, service of spiritual aspirants and seekers, service of all humanity, service of the whole world. In diverse, numerous ways, his entire life was one great, continuous stream of selfless service. He had even forgotten how to think of himself; he could only think of others. He lived thinking of others: "In what way can I be of benefit, in what way can I serve?" That was Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj till the very last days."

"Gurudev declared in one of his eighteen handwritten autobiographical epistles: "I live to serve, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to raise the fallen, to console the distressed. This is my mission in life." And anyone who has known him, anyone who has lived with him, anyone who has seen him instantly recognised: "Here is a totally selfless, dedicated human being." He fulfilled to the very letter the scriptural description of this type of realised soul, who having attained illumination, having done everything that has to be done, having no desires because all their desires have been fulfilled through God-realisation, are seen to be, in the words of the Gita, "intent on the welfare of all creatures."  - Swami Chidananda  << More>>

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Salutation and Prostrations to Gurumaharaj on HIS 100th Birth Anniversary (Sept 24, 2015)
Chidananda Darshan - through Life incidence of Guru Maharaj

Kodanda Rama
After the holy occasion of Sridhara's sacred thread ceremony, when all were returning from Tirupati Sridhar (Poorvashram name of Swamiji) felt drawn by a beautiful idol of Sri Rama in one of the shops and beseeched his parents to buy the image for him. The parents were happy to hear the request and bought for him the wooden idol of Sridhar Sri Kodanda Rama.

Thereafter Sri Kodanda Rama was to occupy a central place in the children's life in the house. The idol was installed by the side of the family deity and offered ceremonial worship on all important occasions. Sridhara was now found to be very meticulous in observing spiritual discipline and rituals of worship. Daily he used to sit down at the feet of Sri Kodanda Rama, in the company of his aunts, brother and sisters and offer his
prayerful worship. A miraculous thing came to be observed at the time of Sridhara's worship. When he used to offer flowers to the Lord, apply fragrant sandal and vermillion to His forehead and light the lamp before Him, the idol seemed to shine with an extraordinary effulgent halo and a celestial smile used to wreathe the divine countenance. The young devotees could see this almost everyday and they were thrilled with joy at this manifestation of divine grace.

"How Rama came into his life is an instructive lesson to every seeker. To him in his childhood He came as the idol Kodanda Rama, whom he worshiped and in whom he had his whole being. At a later stage, He came to him in the shape of the unfortunate lepers. Then a time came when the Lord appeared before him in the form of the inspired words of Ramdas. Next, the life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa rose before him as a beckoning ideal. Saints and mystics blessed him. At last, the Lord gave him Darshan in the form of his Sadguru. Sivananda entered into his very being. He was filled with devotion to Guru. Sivananda dwelt in him and he dwelt in Sivananda "

Birth Centenary Celebration of Guru Bhagawan Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj at Sivananda Ashram, Ahmedabad.
"Be a part of celebrations and Be benefited "

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Yoga Learning from a book " Yoga a way of Life" by Swami Adhyatmananda

Primary Yogasana (Yoga Postures) - The Physical techniques of Yoga are the stepping stones to meditation. According to Patanjali, Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind.
In the beginning the primary prerequisite to peace of mind is posture. Yogasana practiced to gain steady posture, health and lightness in the b ody. All Yoga postures are intended to directly or indirectly quiet the mind. The majority of Asana have been devised to build up different parts of the body and to develop the strength required by the more advanced  Physical disciplines. The purpose of the yogasana is to recondition the system, both mind and body, and to develop the nervous and glandular systems. The different Yoga postures have been devised to bring a rich supply of blood to the brain and to the various parts of the spinal column. The yogasana work by stretching, bending and twisting the spinal column in different directions to promote the health of the nerves. When the body is purified, Prana (vital energy) can be conserved and the individual becomes healthy and conscious.  << More>>

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Highlighting the News & Upcoming events

Chidananda Birth Centenary Tour of  H.H. Sri Swami Adhyatmanandaji to USA, Canada & UK (June 1, 2015 - Sept 1, 2015) Update since the last  - Pujya Swamiji had full three weeks of satsang and programs scheduled in UK that included Mandir Mahotsav at Anoopam Mission (Denham), Sutton, Putney, Bristol and Surrey area. With that concluded Swamiji's three months tour to the West. Sri Swamiji has reached to the Ashram on Sept 1, 2015.

Pujya Swamiji conveys HIS thanks to all the organizers and devotees for organizing His Tour, a part of Chidananda Birth Centenary celebrations. << More >>


Upcoming YTTC ( Dec 11, 2015 - Dec 30, 2015)/ Registration form : Transform your life to Yoga way of Living. Enhance your skill in Yoga, be a teacher and spread the knowledge to others. On completion of three weeks residential YTTC and successfully passing the test including theory and practical, the graduate will receive a diploma certificate recognized by Gujarat University.

 It is organized under the guidance & leadership of  Pujya Sri Swami Adhyartmanandaji Maharaj, who has conducted over 770 Yoga camps in the East & the West. Ashram's holy atmosphere is ideal for enhancing your spiritual growth as well as the skill in the science of Yoga. Contact the ashram for the details - sivananda_ashram@yahoo.com / Registration form

Sivananda Yoga DVD (new) It is a complete guide for  the beginners as well as experts. It contains 84 Yoga postures. It is like Yoga Teachers comes to your home. A "must possess" treasure for not only Yoga lovers but for everyone.

Upcoming Krishna Janmotsav & satsang programs
News and Activity Report for the Month of  August
Divya Jivan / August - September  2015 

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Gitamrutam


"I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings! I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings." (10:20)


"And, I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me are memory, knowledge, as well as their absence. I am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta, and the knower of the Vedas am I." (15:15)


"Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the body of living beings and, associated with the Prana and Apana, digest the fourfold food" (15:18)



"Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not."  (18:66)

_______________________________________________ Chidananda mailing list Chidananda@divyajivan.org http://divyajivan.org/mailman/listinfo/chidananda_divyajivan.org 
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Sivananda daily reading

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR YOGA-STUDENTS

1. Practise Asans and Pranayama in the early morning or three hours after food.

2. Offer prayers to Guru and God before commencing the practice.

3. Take Satvic food; avoid hot, pungent, sour articles of food and stimulants like tea, coffee, etc.

4. Keep a clean room under lock and key; let it be well-ventilated, cool free from insects and from other sources of disturbance.

5. Observe strict Brahmacharya; avoid unnecessary talks.

6. Reduce your wants. Develop contentment.

7. Take bath before the practice; if that is not possible have a wash before and bath at least half an hour after the practice.

8. Sit facing East or North.

9. Be regular and systematic in your practice.

10. Obey your Guru implicitly in all respects.

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Swami Sivananda

THE PRACTICE OF YOGA ASANAS

This system costs nothing.
It is inexpensive.
It is simple.
It is specially suited for the people of the whole world at large.
The benefit of Yoga Asans should be made available to every family in the whole world.
Ethical culture, practice of divine virtues, a rigorous discipline of the mind, spiritual culture and meditation are also very necessary for attaining integral perfection.
Asans and Pranayama are only a part of Yoga.

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Sivananda daily reading

THE PRACTICE OF YOGA ASANAS

The practice of Asans is always accompanied by Pranayam and Japa of Mantra.

Moderation in diet and observance of Brahmacharya are necessary for realising the maximum benefits of the practice of Asanas.

A Yogi should always avoid fear, anger, laziness, too much sleep or waking, and too much food or fasting.

Regularity in the practice of Asans is of paramount importance.

Lakhs of peoples have derived real benefit from the practice of Yoga Asana.

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Sivananda daily reading

THE NEED FOR A GURU

Only the man who has already been to Badrinath will be able to tell you the road leading to it.
In the case of the spiritual path, it is still more difficult to find your way.
The mind will mislead you very often.
The Guru will be able to remove pitfalls and obstacles, and lead you along the right path.
He will tell you: “This road leads you to Moksha; this one leads to bondage.”
Without this guidance, you might want to go to Badrinath, but find yourself in Delhi!

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Sivananda daily reading

THE SATGURU

 

Man can learn only from a man, and hence God teaches through a human body.

In your Guru, you have your human ideal of perfection.

He is the pattern from which you wish to mould yourself.

Your mind will readily be convinced that such a great soul is fit to be worshipped and revered.

Guru is the Moksha-Dvara(gateway to Liberation).

He is the gateway to the transcendental Truth-Consciousness.

But, it is the aspirant that has to enter through it.

The Guru is a help, but the actual task of practical Sadhana falls on the aspirant himself.

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Sivananda daily reading

THE SATGURU

He gives you the rope of knowledge and saves you when you are drowning in this ocean of Samsara.
Do not consider him to be only a man.
If you take him as a man, you are a beast.
Worship your Guru and bow to him with reverence.
Guru is God.
A word from him is a word from God.
He need not teach anything.
Even his presence or company is elevating, inspiring and stirring.
The very company itself is self-illumination.
Living in his company is spiritual education.
Read ‘Sri Granth Sahib’.
You will come to know the greatness of Guru.

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Sivananda daily reading

On the subject of "Sadhana" - Swami Sivananda
 
"Act now. Live now. Know now. Realize now. Be happy now.

Every death is a reminder. Every bell that rings says, "The end is near". Every day robs off from you one part of your precious life. Therefore, you should be very earnest in plunging yourself in constant Sadhana.

Never fall a victim to fruitless regret. Today is the best day. Today is the day of your new birth. Start  Sadhana now. With folded palms, bid good-bye to past mistakes and faults. You have learnt your lessons. March forward now with new hope, determination, and vigilance.

Waver not. Fear not. Doubt not. Do something substantial in the path of Sadhana instead of wasting your time in idle pursuits and lethargy. You have infinite strength within you. There is a vast reservoir of power within you. Therefore, do not lose heart. Obstacles are stepping stones to success. They will develop your will. Do not allow yourself to be crushed by them. Defects remind you of perfection. Sin reminds you of virtue. Chose the positive path."

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Sivananda daily reading

LIFE : A PHENOMENON OF EDUCATION

Life is education and education is life.
Life on earth is a school for wisdom.
Life is a ceaseless striving for perfection, freedom and independence.
Life is an aspiration.
Life means adaptability.
Adapt, adjust, and accommodate.
Life is a great sacrifice.
Pain enriches life.
Life is but an endless series of experiments and awakenings.
Life is based essentially on experience.
Life is a worship of the immanent Spirit.
Life is an eternal search for the All.
Start the quest of Atman.

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Sivananda daily reading

LIFE : A MYSTERY AND AN ADVENTURE

Life is a great mystery.
Life is a voyage in the infinite ocean of Time where every object is perpetually changing.
Life is a blend of contradictions.
Life is a terrible warfare with the mind and the senses.
Life and society cannot exist without struggling or fighting.
Life is a tremendous battle with Ignorance.
Life is an upward struggle, a medium through which we evolve.

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Planets and the Chakras

Before I go into my system I want to look at some other peoples formations to see what they think. Here are four different alignments I've come across:


1: Mars
2: Mercury
3: Jupiter
4: Venus 
5: Saturn
6: Sun
7: Moon

1: Saturn/Moon
2: Pluto
3: Sun/Mars
4: Venus
5: Jupiter/Mercury
6: Neptune
7: Uranus

1: Saturn
2: Jupiter
3: Mars/Sun
4: Venus
5: Mercury
6: Moon
7: No planet

1: Saturn
2: Jupiter
3: Mars 
4: Venus
5: Mercury
6: Sun
7: Moon

I did come across some who did not correspond the planets with the chakras directly but rather showed how the planets effected/affected each of the chakras. This is actually more in line with what I have found. The sun and all the celestial bodies affect each of the chakras in different ways. And while they might have closer connections with one or two of the chakras, I would not personally claim any one planet as ruling over any one of the chakras. Even so, I have aligned the traditional lineup of the planets and chakras to see how they might resonant with each other. 

The Moon and the subconscious plane,
surely that's got something to do with the Root of it all.

Mercury for the sexual plane?
That seems weird,
and yet,
how we use that raw/sexual energy makes a lot of difference in what comes about, and the Mercurial Mind can play a large part in that.

As for Venus, 
are you really fitting for the third chakra?
I mean,
you are the hottest planet in our solar system,
and you do turn as you wish and not conform to the rest of them,
but what about that constant mask you wear:
hidden
contained –
what's up with that?

As for the Heart and Mars,
what is that about?
This is where the system seems to break down,
and yet,
it does take courage to open the heart
to trust
to be willing to work with and integrate with other energies like alchemy:
creating something new.

As for the Sun and Throat,
we learn to speak our Truth,
to heal and uplift,
to allow the Self to shine forth.

As for Jupiter and our Third Eye,
that works,
but what about Saturn?

Most place Saturn at the bottom of it all.

Seriously,
what is up with that.
I guess it might make sense if we were standing on our heads.

The truth is,
Saturn is the furthest extension of the Self,
the last frontier,
the ego's edge.

It is truly the boundary of self-conceptualization:
the greatest attachment of them all.

*That would be the vibrational lineup as they are accorded to traditional speeds and density. As I said above, I do not really see the planets and chakras as a one-to-one correspondence. But, if I were to relate with the Planets only with one Chakra my lineup would be something like this:

1: Moon/Saturn
2: Moon/Venus
3: Mars/Sun
4: Sun/Venus
5: Mercury/Sun
6: Jupiter/Sun/Mercury
7: Saturn/Moon

Though, I personally find this limiting and contrived if I were to tell the truth. I much prefer working with each planet through all the chakras. For instance, let's see what the Moon has to teach us. 

1: Sub/Unconscious Planes
2: Gestation and Birth
3: Passive control as with the tides and emotional power
4: Like water, love fills whatever vessel it is in and seeks stillness and unity
5: Mystical/Magical expression, dreams
6: Seeing deeply into the vast ocean of time and space
7: Reaching into the unknown; moving beyond the ego/lunar-sel

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Sivananda daily reading

MANTRAS FOR SURRENDER

“Sri Krishna Saranam Mama, Sri Krishna Saranam Mama,”

“Hari Saranam,”

“I am Thine, All is Thine, Thy will be done. My Lord”

, are the formulas for effecting self-surrender.

Surrender comes out of intense love and unshakable faith in God.

Intense Bhakti can only be attained by the Grace of God.

This is Prapatti Yoga or the Yoga of Self-surrender.

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Sivananda daily reading

YOGA OF SELF-SURRENDER

If the mind says :
“I am Thine, My Lord”,
if the ego says “I must become the High Court Judge”;
if the intellect says : “I am a great devotee”;
and if the Chitta says :
“I must attain Siddhis,” this will not constitute perfect, unreserved surrender.

This is only cheating the Lord, the inner Ruler and witness.
After surrendering to the Lord, you should not grumble, when any trouble comes.
You should not complain to the Lord : “O Lord, You have no eyes. You have no compassion.”
If you complain then there is no meaning in your surrender.

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Sivananda daily reading

YOGA OF SELF-SURRENDER

Surrender must be complete.
You cannot any part of yours.
Give the power of attorney to God.
Let Him do whatever He wants.
You will have no worry or anxiety.
You will be peaceful.
Surrender contains intense love and faith.
The entire being, mind, intellect, Chitta and egoism, must be surrender to the Lord.
Desire and egoism are two great obstacles to self-surrender.

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Sivananda daily reading

YOGA OF SELF-SURRENDER

Self-surrender is a direct, a valid mode of God-realisation.
Self-surrender is a safe and sure means of God-realisation.
Self-surrender is a easier and surer means of Self-realisation.
Nothing can be achieved without surrender to the Lord.
Surrender yourself and all your belongings at the feet of the Supreme.
Live a dedicated life of godliness.
Think that nothing is yours and everything belongs to God.
This is surrender to God.

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I have four or five things which, as a Hindu, I wish to tell you.
Where elders are respectfully honoured, there prosperity prevails; and where elders - father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts - are treated with contempt, with harshness, with scant respect, there is no prosperity.

These things are not known.
So when people are miserable, when people are unhappy, when people lack prosperity, it is not known why it comes about that way.
It is brought about by oneself by a total breaking of these laws.
And then you try find out the consequences of the bad situation by looking at the diary, or statistics, or expenditure and income account.
Perhaps you blame economic conditions.
But, no - you create your bad conditions by breaking the spiritual laws.
Where elders are treated with respect and honour, are treated with reverence, there, in that family, in that house, prosperity will abide.
In the life of that person who honours his elders, prosperity will always rest.

Secondly, where the women of the house are treated with reverence, where they are put upon the pedestal which they deserve, there is prosperity. Where are we all, where is humanity if it is not for the women ? It is the Supreme Mother who is the very source of the whole universe, and where the mothers, the women, are treated with reverence that is due to them, in that house, there is prosperity. And where women are treated with disrespect, unkindness, harshness, prosperity cannot come. Prosperity does not abide in that house where the wife and the mother are made to weep, where tears of women fall. Prosperity takes wings and flies away from that house where woman weeps.

Thirdly, for the womanfolk themselves, modesty is the magnet of prosperity. For a woman, modesty is the highest ornament. The ornament of a woman, the beauty of a lady, is not in the jewellery she wears or in the type of material or the dress she wears - no, that is not beauty. After all, what is the beauty of the body? The moment you take leave of the body, it is just a useless thing here. So the true beauty and grace of a woman is modesty. If a woman is modest, if she is chaste, she becomes worshipful; and prosperity becomes the servant, the handmaid of that family where women are adorned by the ornaments of chastity, modesty and gracefulness.

Sometimes it is very pitiable to see women getting unsexed in some of the modern, high-born societies. They are losing their feminine quality. After all, the thing that makes a woman a woman is her feminine quality - her tenderness, her grace, her kindness, her forgiving nature, her forbearing nature. These are the things which make a goddess of a woman. If these are not there, if women are sharp-tongued, if they are caustic, if they are bitter, if they are full of hostility, there prosperity cannot come. It cannot come where a woman wants to be, in all respects, like a male. No! She can claim a certain type of equality, but not equality in all ways. If in this craze for being equal with man, woman loses her grace, her modesty and her chastity, then she has lost the most precious thing that God has given to her.

A Vedic declaration says: "Where women are worshipped, there indeed, the gods dance with joy". And where woman loses this right of worship by her own immodesty, there prosperity cannot be.

And, last but not the least, where God is worshipped every day, there the whole house becomes blessed with the highest prosperity. All joy, all blessedness, all prosperity comes to that house where God is worshipped regularly. Say thanks when you get up in the morning, for your health, for your body, for a clean mind, for energy in the body to live a life of usefulness to yourself and to all, and in the evening thank God again for the bounty of a good day, for clear weather, fresh air, good health and energy, opportunity to serve and be useful to yourself and to others. If every day there is thanksgiving and you always worship God in your home, there is bound to be prosperity. Where there is worship, in that place, there is the tangible presence of God, and where there is this tangible presence of the Deity, what to say of prosperity ? Everything that is good, everything that is blessed, will pervade that house, will fill that house.

Where God is, all auspiciousness, all blessedness, all prosperity is there as a matter of course - just as luminosity is there, radiance is there, where there is light. So, if you wish to fill yourself with prosperity, be worshipful. Do not make the church alone the place of prayer and worship. Let every house be a centre of prayer. Let every house be the abode of God. And, let women be the repository of such virtues as modesty, chastity, purity and graciousness, and let the children of the family and the male members give due respect to the ladies and treat them with kindness, treat them with courtesy, treat them with dignity that is due to them, and let the children revere their elders. If these things are followed, if these things are fulfilled, prosperity will become an axiomatic condition. There can be no want, there can be no difficulty, there can be no lack in such a house.

This is the ultimate wisdom of the ancients. They say: "Prosperity is created by the behaviour of the human being". Outside factors are secondary factors only. They are not the main factors.

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Sivananda daily reading

KINDS OF BHAV IN BHAKTI

Sri Hanuman was a Dasya Bhakta.
He had Dasya-Bhav.
He served Lord Rama whole heartedly.
He pleased his master in all possible ways.
He found joy and bliss in service of his master.
In Sakhya-Bhav God is a friend of the devotee.
Arjuna had this Bhav towards Lord Krishna.
The devotee moves with Lord on equal terms.
They used to sit, eat, talk and walk together as intimate friend.

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