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We should keep up the progeny of the line. If all people become Sannyasins and go to forests, what will
become of this world?
These beautiful women and wealth are the instruments of Maya to delude you and entrap
you into the nets. If you wish to remain always as a worldly man with low thoughts, debasing
desires, you can by all means do so. You are at perfect liberty. You can marry three hundred and
fifty wives and procreate as many children. Nobody can check you. But you will soon find that
this worl

Jivatman is the individual soul, a reflection of Brahman in Avidya or the mind.
Paramatman is the Supreme Soul, Brahman or the Atman. From the empirical viewpoint, the
Jivatman is a finite and conditioned being, while the Paramatman is the infinite, eternal, Sat-chitananda
Brahman. In essence, the Jivatman is identical with Paramatman when Avidya is
destroyed.

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

clear and there comes some difficulty in doing Pranayam. What shall I do to make the breath flow freely?

Insert the end of a thread into the nostril. You will begin to sneeze. This will clear the
passage. Or lie down for five minutes on the left side if the right nostril is clogged. This also
will relieve. Do four rounds of Bhastrika Pranayam. You will be all right.
From "May I answer that" by Swami Sivananda (1987-1963). More Informations on Swami Sivananda: on the Website of Divine Life Society,

My wife too is a pious lady. Suppose
I take Sannyasa, can I live with her and do spiritual Sadhana?

Now you are not fit for Sannyasa, though you might have a minute trace of Vairagya due
to the death of your child. After Sannyasa, you should not live with your wife. You should not
remain even in your own place, as Moha will be lurking in a corner of your mind. Old worldly
Samskaras will be ever waiting to dupe you. Maya is powerful. You will have to spend all your
energy in waging a guerilla war agai

The practice of Sirshasan for a long time will doubtless help you a lot in destroying your
passion. Your thoughts also should be pure. You should not entertain any lustful thought. Have
Satsang. Take Sattvic food. Do not look at ladies. Develop Vairagya. Control the Indriyas. All
these instructions should be followed if you want sure success. If you happen to entertain lustful
thoughts, if you live in the company of lustful persons, and if you do not take Sattvic food, how
can you destroy your passi

For a new student of Sannyasa, strict seclusion for six years with intense Sadhana is
essential. It depends upon the condition of your mind. In Parivrajaka life, you cannot have
regular and systematic Sadhana. There is distraction everywhere. For some years you should be
away from the sensual objects. Strict seclusion will bring immense benefit. Once in a year, for a
few days, you can go to a place for change of climate. If you find that you are entering into
Tamas, you should combine active service

There was some meaning in the Lord’s choosing the battlefield for the Gita teaching.
Yes. He wanted to point out to us that wisdom should not recline on the armchair. If his wisdom
did not accompany a man to the field of battle, it was no wisdom at all! Any man could talk
philosophy “after dinner”; any man could discourse upon the most intricate points in the Yoga
Shastras sitting comfortably near the fireplace. But that is no wisdom at all; it is mere lip-service
to the supreme science of Knowledge

Yogic practices¾whatever be their variety¾can be resorted to by males and females
alike. In the case of those practices that concern the body, like the Hatha or the Kundalini, the
woman should observe certain limitations owing to the natural sensitivity of her physical frame.
There is absolutely no harm if a woman takes to the practice of Pranayam.
From "May I answer that" by Swami Sivananda (1987-1963). More Informations on Swami Sivananda: on the Website of Divine Life Society, Photographs of Swa

Yes. You must read the instructions several times and understand the technique
thoroughly. If you have doubts, consult some experienced men and then begin the practice.
Have regular and systematic practice. If you want quick progress, you must follow my
instructions given in the first two chapters of my book “Science of Pranayama”. You can
gradually increase the period of Kumbhak to two minutes. In the advanced stages of practice, it
will be better to have the help of a Guru.
From "May I answer that"

In smaller towns and villages, people are often underweight due to poverty or lack of proper dietetic knowledge.

Persons below average weight run the risk of increased mortality and are especially liable to tuberculosis and other acute infectious diseases. A starving person has slow pulse, low blood pressure, marked emaciation, lose of hair and inelastic skin.

Large sums of money are wasted in every country on tonics and vitamins for increasing weight.

Yogic and dietary Recommendations.

1. A high-c

Does it not amount to sinful violence to kill an animal or get it killed, particularly in the case of those
who are out for spiritual advancement? Does it not sound suicidal for a hermit to sit all his
life on the skin of a dead animal and aspire for deliverance or Mukti for himself?

The most important point to remember in connection with the use of deer-skin or tigerskin
as Asana or seat is that the animal is never killed for obtaining its skin. The deer was always
a part of the ancient Ashrams of

The mind is a special, limited particularization of the Soul-consciousness, which is
unlimited and never ceases to be all-pervading. The mind is the form of the collective totality of
desires, and hence, it is inert and powerless. But it appears to be conscious and powerful as the
Inner Self or the Soul is reflected through it. The mind alone is the real person or the individual
and it is the real doer of all actions. It is the experiencer of every condition in the universe, both
objectively and sub

A real Guru is a Srotriya and a Brahmanishtha, one who is learned in the scriptures and
established in Brahman. He who is wise, desireless and sinless can be a true teacher and guide.
The Guru, by virtue of his wisdom and capacity, draws towards himself the souls fit to be guided
by him. When one feels that he is thus spontaneously drawn to a Mahapurusha whom he cannot
help loving, admiring and serving, who is an embodiment of unruffled tranquillity, mercy and
spiritual experience, such a great one

With all that,my troubles and difficulties are multiplying. I have lost my job. I am starving now. What
shall I do? Is this the Grace of the Lord? How can I continue my Sadhana when I have
nothing to eat?
It is said that the Lord gives food even to the frog that lives between the strata of rocks.
Why has He failed in your case alone? This is a great wonder! Has He failed in His duty? This
cannot be. He is all-merciful, all benevolent! Is it because He wants to develop in you the
constructive qualitie

World peace would not depend upon the existence or non-existence of politicians, if only
people, individually and collectively, understand and live up to the canons of perfect
righteousness, wisdom, truth and justice. As long as people do not rise to this level, ‘politicians’,
which is only a name for those who are in charge of the administration, will continue to be
actuated by their selfishness and greed and will accordingly ride roughshod over the feelings and
sufferings of millions and will go o

Then what is the use of being good and doing good when goodness is not recognized and properly rewarded? Please illumine.
Whether goodness pays you well or not from the material standpoint, do good and be
good always. No doubt the worldly-minded generally take advantage of such people as ideal
gullibles to carry their wishes through and even to deceive. It matters nothing, for the Lord is
always on the side of the good and the righteous who stick to Dharma and who rely on Him. No
man is to be consid

“The personal relative self involves the idea of individuality, but the Absolute
does not ... The question arises¾are there two selves? One involving individuality, and the
other, without individuality but universal?
There is really one Self which is the Absolute. The relative self is not something different
from the Absolute Self, but it is only the Absolute Self experienced through the adjunct or the
instrument of the mind. An object has an independent nature of its own, but when it is seen
through

It is the Divine Will that works everywhere. Separation from the body does not mean the
death of the person. What one wishes to do, he shall do even after the death of the body. The
body is not the real doer of anything. What really does actions is never destroyed. It is not
possible to prevent anyone from doing anything by merely killing his body. Gandhiji was a
votary of the Second Chapter of the Gita and he knew very well that the Self in him was
indestructible.
From "May I answer that" by Swami S

but strangely enough, omits to mention anything about the purpose behind
creation. Why did God embark on creation at all?
The Lord’s silence, in the Gita, about the purpose of creation, is truly a demonstration of
His divine wisdom. This very same problem arises in various minds in various forms. How did
Avidya arise in Brahman? When did Karma begin? Why did the Formless assume forms? How
could darkness or Maya exist in the Supreme Absolute Light? And so on. There can be no
answer to these questions.

Abandon the habit. Take a soothing medicine to counteract nervous excitement. Avoid
the company of smokers. Divert the mind to some busy activity. Do not give the mind idle
leisure. Study hygienic principles, the laws of good health and ideal life. Impress well upon the
mind the ruinous effect of tobacco upon the human system. Observe Ahimsa, Satyam and
Brahmacharya. Study spiritual texts and contemplate on their meaning. Practice Asan and
Pranayam. Remember God always. All evil traits will vanish.
F