An article taken from the writings of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh.

You may perhaps argue that many of the instructions are too rigorous and impossible for following nowadays. “Times have changed a great deal, and the rules too ought to be altered.” But this is a thoughtless comment, for, however difficult of realization an ideal may be, it should not be lowered to suit our convenience. Once the human mind tacitly subscribes to the lowering of any lofty ideal, then the undesirable precedent is se

This unusual article by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh was originally published in Bhavan’s Journal in May of 1959

It would be easy to dismiss the question by saying: “Yes, after a prolonged period of intense austerities and meditation, while I was living in Swargashram, and when I had the darshan of a number of maharshis and their blessings, the Lord appeared before me in the form of Sri Krishna.”

But that would not be the whole truth, nor a sufficient answer to a question relating to God, who is i

One day somebody asked Sri Ramakrishna “What is the greatest wonder?”

Thakur immediately replied, “The life of a sadhu [see definition below]. All – men, devatas, gandharvas, birds, beasts and insects, even trees and creepers, tread one path but the sadhu treads another – just the opposite one, upstream. Everywhere man and woman unite but the sadhu goes alone. Unless one is alone, one cannot attain to Him. Sadhus goes in company for some time – that of the guru – then he has to go alone till th

A commentary on the following verse from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras at the Atma Jyoti Blog:
Yoga Sutra 1:3. Then the Seer [Drashta] is established in his own essential and fundamental nature [Swarupa].

From Swami Nirmalananda's commentary: "Self-forgetfulness is the root of all our problems, the essence of samsara itself. Consciousness (chaitanya) is our essential nature. When asked what the Self is, Sri Ramakrishna simply answered: “The witness of the mind.” We are the seer of our individual life