Blog Posts

The moment of the death of someone you have loved deeply brings your own death into your mind. The moment of death is a great revelation. It makes you feel impotent and helpless. It makes you feel that you are not. The illusion of being disappears.

Anybody will be shaken because suddenly you see that the ground underneath your feet has disappeared. You cannot do anything. Somebody is dying that you love: you would even like to give your life but you cannot. Nothing can be done; one simply waits i

I first discovered yoga in Peru when I was on a retreat. I had a peak experience of body bliss after one particular yoga session. It was a very intense experience for me and it was to awaken a new passion for yoga that I did not know I had before.

Since returning to my country (UK), I have been regularly practicing Kundalini yoga in a local class and practicing the beginners class (complete and mens beginner class) each day or so. I am always very happy to be doing yoga, thinking about doing yoga

There are Six Chakras or lotuses in the body. They are Muladhara (near the anus), Svadhisthana (midway between Muladhara and Manipura which is in the navel). Anahata Chakra in the heart, Vishuddha in the neck and Ajna in the space between the two eyebrows and Sahasrara or the thousand-petalled lotus (Chakra) in the crown of the head.

From: Amrita Gita, by Swami Sivananda.Copyright The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. More from and about Swami Sivananda: Sivananda photos, Sivananda Video

Hatha Yoga itself is not the goal. Meditation helps you to attain Samadhior Superconscious State.

From: Amrita Gita, by Swami Sivananda.Copyright The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. More from and about Swami Sivananda: Sivananda photos, Sivananda Video

Hatha Yoga concerns with the body and the Prana. It helps to control the body and the Prana, through Asanas and Pranayama.

From: Amrita Gita, by Swami Sivananda.Copyright The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. More from and about Swami Sivananda: Sivananda photos, Sivananda Video

Meaning of Hatha Yoga

Hatha means any tenacious practice till the object or end is achieved. “Ha” and “tha” mean the union of the Sun and the Moon, union of Prana and Apana Vayus.

From: Amrita Gita, by Swami Sivananda.Copyright The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. More from and about Swami Sivananda: Sivananda photos, Sivananda Video

While you are contemplating the brainwaves (EEG waves) gets slowed down. Normally brainwaves frequency, while we are fully awake to situations, remains in the range of 14 - 23 cycles/sec, which is known as Beta brain waves. But while contemplating upon some thing (focusing upon) this Beta brainwaves pattern gradually calms down to Alpha (9 - 13 cycles/sec) and on your deeper contemplation, from Alpha to Theta (5 - 8 cycles/sec) brain waves pattern further slowed down. But one need not to slip d

The practice of Hatha Yoga awakens the Kundalini Sakti that lies dormant in the Muladhara Chakra.

From: Amrita Gita, by Swami Sivananda.Copyright The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh. More from and about Swami Sivananda: Sivananda photos, Sivananda Video

Know Thyself and be Free

Be good do good be kind be compassionate.

The Name of the Lord is a potent and unfailing antidote for those who are bitten by the serpent of worldliness. It is a nectar that can confer immortality and perennial peace. The God of Death is terribly afraid of those who repeat the Name of the Lord. He cannot approach them. Repeat the Name of the Lord al all limes and attain the state of fearlessness.
May the Lord guide you in all your activities! May He enlighten your path, enabling you to achieve the goal of life, namely, God-realization!

Unlike him, you have secluded yourself on the banks of the Ganges without entering the political field at all.

God has endowed each man with certain talents and marked out the field of service for
him. Wisdom lies in finding out those talents and utilizing them in selfless service to humanity,
in accordance with His will. Gandhiji’s was a political field of service. Mine is the field of
renunciation, Sannyas and Nivritti. For us to exchange places would be like a cobbler and a
tailor exchanging plac

If this is so, then who goes to hell or heaven?
The real experiencer of anything, in an individualistic way, is neither the Self nor the
physical body. It is the mind that is the centre of individuality, that individualizes and imprisons
a ray of the Atman in what is called the individual soul. And it is this mind, as embodied in the
subtle body, that undergoes the pleasure of heaven or the pains of hell, or for that matter, any
experience through a gross or a subtle body.
The mind appears to have co

Have intense faith in God and have proper understanding of the scriptures. Take refuge in
Vairagya. Do not waste time in idle gossiping. Time is fleeting. Utilise every moment in His
worship and service. Develop humility, Kshama, patience and the spirit of service. Be sincere and
true. The Lord is quiet close to you in your heart. Cling to His Name with leech-like tenacity. You
will enjoy Supreme Joy.
Pray to God for purity, devotion, light and knowledge. Pray in any way you like. Become as
simple as

promising to guide them in their rapid march to the Goal of life, viz., Self-realization, why do you encourage dance, drama and music?

The question betrays an ignorance of the fundamental principles of music and dance.
They are divine. I should request you to remember that Lord Krishna with His inseparable flute
and Mother Sarasvati with Her Veena remind you that music is divine. Lord Nataraja reminds
you that dance had its origin in Him. The wickedness of man would misuse anything. Because
pickpock

Lust is but a natural tendency of the mind. The best method to check the impulse is the
way of intense and deep Vairagya by a study of religious books, by constant Satsang with
Mahatmas (noble souls), by self-enquiry or “Who am I?” enquiry, by close observance of the
ways of the world, and by an understanding of the diseases and the spiritual degradation that
result from over-indulgence. Remember the saying of the Lord in the Gita:
Trividham Narakasyedam Dvaram Nasanmatmanah
Kamah Krodastata Lobhas T

Eat when you are hungry. Do not eat anything between meals. Eat slowly in a calm
mood. Chew properly. Eat moderately. Avoid many combinations of food. Drink a glass of
water one hour before or after food, never with a meal. Fast on Ekadasi. Eat nothing before 9
a.m. or after 7 p.m. Take care of your teeth. Just before or after a meal, avoid all exertion, mental
or physical. Relax at least for half an hour. A long brisk walk is beneficial. Paschimottanasan,
Halasan, Bhujangasan, Salabhasan, Dhanurasa

Lust is but a natural tendency of the mind. The best method to check the impulse is the
way of intense and deep Vairagya by a study of religious books, by constant Satsang with
Mahatmas (noble souls), by self-enquiry or “Who am I?” enquiry, by close observance of the
ways of the world, and by an understanding of the diseases and the spiritual degradation that
result from over-indulgence. Remember the saying of the Lord in the Gita:
Trividham Narakasyedam Dvaram Nasanmatmanah
Kamah Krodastata Lobhas T

Eat when you are hungry. Do not eat anything between meals. Eat slowly in a calm
mood. Chew properly. Eat moderately. Avoid many combinations of food. Drink a glass of
water one hour before or after food, never with a meal. Fast on Ekadasi. Eat nothing before 9
a.m. or after 7 p.m. Take care of your teeth. Just before or after a meal, avoid all exertion, mental
or physical. Relax at least for half an hour. A long brisk walk is beneficial. Paschimottanasan,
Halasan, Bhujangasan, Salabhasan, Dhanurasa

It is the Great Time personified. It is the destroyer of name and form. In the Hindu
pantheon, there are various gods and goddesses who are members of the divine hierarchy. Just as
we have our government here composed of various ministers and officers, the celestials who rule
the world, too, have their own deities who control the various aspects of creation, preservation
and destruction of this world. Some are in charge of the various elements like air, fire and water;
some are in charge of birth, d