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This asana's name has been derived from the sanskrit word 'Dhanu' meaning bow.The body takes the shape of a bow in this asana.For practicing this you have to first lie down on the ground with your face downwards.Inhale deeply.Bend your legs and grasp your ankles with your hands.First raise the hind part of your body and then raise your chest slowly.Looking at the sky,Bend your neck backwards.Now you can notice that your entire body comes to rest on your navel.Bend your body into a bow shape. Rem

Do you really want God? Do you really thirst for His Darshan? Have you got real spiritual
hunger?
He who thirsts for the Darshan of God only will develop love. Unto him alone He will reveal
Himself. God is a question of supply and demand. If there is sincere demand for God, the supply
will come at once.
Pray fervently like Prahlada. Sing like Radha. Repeat His name like Valmiki, Tukaram and
Tulsidas. Do Kirtan like Gouranga. Weep in solitude like Mira over the separation from the Lord.
You will have D

I have been told that if I know this, I will find it easier to meditate. Could you tell me how to discover the answer to this?

The aim of life is God-realization. To become one with Jesus is the goal of life. To
transmute the brutal instincts and to become divine is the goal of life. If you control anger,
eradicate selfishness and develop tolerance, compassion, selflessness, generosity, courage,
forgiveness, you will become divine. Is selfishness good? No. So become selfless. Is greediness
good? Is

A Karma Yogi says: “Do all works without expectation of fruits. This will produce Chitta
Suddhi. Then you will get knowledge of the Self. You will get Moksha or Eternal Bliss and
Immortality.” This is his doctrine.
You will get purity of mind if you work in the spirit of the above doctrine. This is a very
great reward for your actions. You cannot imagine the exalted conditions of a man of pure mind. He
has unbounded peace, strength and joy. He is very near to God. He is dear to God. He will soon
rece

The notion that others depend on you is due to sheer delusion. God alone takes care of
everyone. Being deluded, you think that you are supporting your kith and kin and undergo
endless troubles, miseries and vexations. Even if you turn an anchorite, God will arrange
everything and maintain your family. And no sin will accrue to you, provided you have intense
Vairagya. Swami Ram Tirth had burning Vairagya; so he resigned his job, and leaving behind
his wife and two young sons, took to Sannyas. Similar

When you develop Ruchi or taste for Dhyana and Japa, you will be able to sit longer for
Japa and meditation. Before going to bed, also in the morning at 4 o’clock, and before taking
meal at noon, you should do Japa and meditation. Just as you take tea three or four times a day,
so also, you should do Japa three or four times a day. Do not worry if the mind wanders. By
gradual practice, it will come under your control. Do Kirtan when the mind wanders much. Do
Nama-smaran while walking and working als

An owl says, “There is no light”. Is there no light? Similarly, the ‘owl’ professor says
that there is no superconsciousness. Because an owl professor says that there is no
superconsciousness, does superconsciousness cease to be? Study Yoga Vasishtha which affirms
the existence of superconsciousness. He who denies superconsciousness is like the owl that
denies light simply because it cannot see light.

From "May I answer that" by Swami Sivananda (1987-1963). More Informations on Swami Sivananda: on t

Be righteous always. Never deviate from the path of righteousness. Stand upright. Be bold.
Be fearless. Practise Truth. Proclaim it everywhere.
March forward in the spiritual path. The light is within you. Fix the mind on the Lord. Kill
egoism and pride. Cultivate fellow-feeling and universal brotherhood. Love all. You will have full
life.
Control the senses. Pray fervently with intense faith and sincerity. Have an unshakable
conviction in the existence of God and in the efficacy of spiritual practic

Western psychologists are babies. In the Yoga Vasishtha and in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, it
is mentioned that absolute desirelessness is Moksha. A Jivanmukta has no desires. Desire is
imperfection. A Jivanmukta is a perfected soul. How can there be desires in him? How can
perfection and imperfection go together? So, it is quite possible to be free from all desires.

From "May I answer that" by Swami Sivananda (1987-1963). More Informations on Swami Sivananda: on the Website of Divine Life Society, Ph

Now, think of Lord Rama and repeat Ram, Ram. When you mentally repeat Ram, keep a
picture of Ram. The senses will be withdrawn.
Now the eyes run towards objects and the ears run to various sounds. When you repeat
Ram, Ram loudly, the ears hear only Ram, Ram; and they will not run. The inner eye will see
only Ram’s picture. The mind will be concentrated on God. It will not run towards objects. So,
gaze within, introspect. You can do Pranayam also. Stop the breath. It is Prana that gives
strength to th

May it be, Swamiji, that these places which have had the impress of the saint’s personality, his Tapasya and Siddhi, on
the very atmosphere, retain that sanctity for a long time?

Yes, yes. And not only that. The saint himself may live in those places. The liberated
sage has the option to merge in Brahman or to live in a subtle form and carry on the work of
Lokasangraha, guiding aspirants, awakening in people a religious fervour and so on. This motive
is manifested in some Jivanmuktas in accordance w

It is because Jnana and Bhakti are essentially the same! Look at the various Stotras that
he has composed. They indicate clearly that he had developed devotion to a very high degree.
Atmanivedan or self-surrender leads to Jnana; and Jnana is synonymous with Para Bhakti.
People nowadays condemn Bhakti and think that it is inferior to Jnana Yoga. They have
no understanding of Bhakti. They think that they can jump at once to Jnana Yoga Sadhana.
They have really no faith in God. They just acquire some i

I will become lethargic and lazy. On account of my
various ambitions, I move about hither and thither, I exert and I am energetic. Kindly
remove this doubt of mine. I am quite bewildered.
Contentment can never make you idle. It is a Sattvic virtue that propels man towards
God. It gives strength of mind and peace. It checks unnecessary and selfish exertions. It opens
the inner eye of man and moves his mind towards divine contemplation. It turns his energy in
the inner, Sattvic channels. It transmutes

This is an Ati-prasna or transcendental question. You will find this question coming up to
your mind in various forms: When did Karma begin? When and why was the world created?
Why is there evil in the world? Why did the Unmanifest manifest itself? And so on. The same
question is asked by Rama in Yoga Vasishtha and Vasishtha says: “You are putting the cart
before the horse. You will not be benefited by an enquiry into this question at all. Meditate and
realize Brahman. You Will then know the answer

Compared to the man-of-the-world, a philosopher is a mad person in the sense that the
latter cannot take a lively interest in external appearance as the former does. To the philosopher,
the external world is only an appearance, but to the man-of-the-world, it is all real and eternal.
There is nothing wrong with either of them, since the word ‘mad’ is used only as a mutual,
relative attribute. What the philosopher says, the layman cannot believe; and what the layman
experiences, the philosopher canno

Don’t the sins and evil intentions of the giver of food get mixed up with his charity and thus spoil the mental peace of the Sadhus and Sannyasins by their contaminating influence?

A true Sadhu or a genuine Sannyasin is he who has no attachment to the world even in
the slightest degree. Such Sadhus are Brahma-Nishtha Purushas (persons in the constant thought
of the Divine or Brahman) unmindful of their bare needs even. They should not cook for
themselves. Self-cooking induces in any person a desire

It is difficult even to lie on the sides and breathing has become difficult. In spite of all this, I am
regularly carrying on my Yogic exercises and Kriyas. Kindly write immediately if there is
any cause for alarm. Also suggest some prescription to get rid of this excessive pain on
both sides of the lungs.

There is absolutely no cause for alarm owing to the pain that you experience now. Give
up Nauli and Uddiyan for three or four days. You can practice even Pranayam without any
break, but mind that t

I am slowly understanding why people have difficulty moving forward... We say to ourselves that we have forgiven those that have hurt us, we say we are no longer angry at the decisions we made, we try to forget and not discuss various event of our life...
I want to share that we need to search for the triggers that bring us back to that event and stop us from moving...
I realized my triggers is always pleasing my family, friends, love one and work. I fear failure others. I have changed my thoug

I will explain it to you. Listen attentively.
The first Mahavakya is: “Prajnanam Brahma. Consciousness is Brahman”. This is
Lakshana Vakya. The teacher gives the definition to the student that pure consciousness is
Brahman.
Then the teacher says: “Tat Tvam Asi. Thou art That. You are the all-pervading pure
consciousness”. This is known as Upadesa Vakya.
Then the student contemplates on what the teacher expounded, in the form of the idea,
“Aham Brahmasmi. I am Brahman”. This is Anusandhana Vakya.
Finall

The technique of concentration as given by Sage Yajnavalkya involves a process of
withdrawing the mind and Prana gradually and step by step from one part of the body to another,
starting from the two big toes of the feet and progressing upward by a series of successive acts of
such concentration-cum-withdrawal, through the several occult centers of the body, leading
finally to the crown of the head.
By this process, the mind and Prana are totally drawn away from the entire body and
finally centered i