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Yoga practice, they say, is meant only for men, because it is they who require control. I wonder what work is assigned to women, then! ...

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 15, 2012 at 6:00pm

Sit at home and breed children, I
presume! But, is it a fact that only men need the Yoga practice? Can women not become
great Yoginis in the same way as men become great Yogis? Or, does it depend on the sex
also? Why has sex stood between women and spiritual greatness?

Queen Chudalai was a great Yogini. She had many higher Siddhis. She even converted
her husband Sikhidhvaja and helped him in his salvation. Read the story of Chudalai in Yoga
Vasishtha. Ladies lack in Vairagya and in the power of endura

When I was at Swargashram, your good self told me that we should take eatables from the hands of Mohammedans and should never hesitate from doing so. ...

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 14, 2012 at 6:00pm

But our Shastras teach us that we should not accept eatable things from a great sinner.
Mohammedans eat beef. Why should we accept any eatable thing from their hands?
If you think that a man is full of vicious deeds, do not take food from his hands.

If you think that Lord Siva or Hari dwells even in an evil-minded man, if you entertain this strong idea,
you can eat from anybody’s hands. Your Drishti or angle of vision is very limited now. You are
a beginner in the spiritual line. Your heart is not ex

LET YOUR MIND BE PURE

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 13, 2012 at 7:00pm

The deer falls a prey to the sense of sound, the elephant to that of touch, the moth to that of sight, the fish to that of taste, and the bee to that of smell. But man falls a prey to all these live senses. How difficult it is for man to free himself from the clutches of these five senses and obtain liberation!
When wells and ponds are full during the rainy season, the water is muddy and not fit for drinking. But when the water gets decreased it is clean and sweet. So also, when the mind is fille

Why does God create rogues?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 13, 2012 at 6:00pm

As this is a relative world, there must be rogues and honest men. A rogue is not an
eternal rogue. A rogue is the saint of the future. Roguery is a negative virtue. It is not a separate
entity. Honesty will have no existence in the absence of roguery. The raison d’etre of roguery is
to glorify honesty. Roguery and honesty are the obverse and the reverse of the same coin. They
are mental creations only. Even a rogue has some virtues. There is neither absolute roguery nor
absolute honesty. God Himself

What is God?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 12, 2012 at 6:00pm

If I give you a good slap on your face, who knows that slap? That knower (Vetta), that
knowing subject, is God. When a strong desire is satisfied or gratified, that blissful state wherein
the mind finds rest is God. That which sparkles or glitters in your eyes is God. That which
prompts you to think is God, the Lord of the mind. The source (Yoni) or support (Adhishthan)
for your mind, Prana, senses and body is God.
The tree exists. It shines. It gives delight. These three aspects, existence, shining,

When I was living in Uttarkashi, I had good Nishtha, exalted Vrittis and good Dharma. I have lost them now after entering the plains, even though I do Sadhana. Why? How to raise myself as before?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 11, 2012 at 6:00pm

Contact with worldly-minded people at once affects the mind. Vikshepa comes in. The
mind imitates. Bad, luxurious habits are developed. Bad environments and bad associations
play a tremendous part and produce a bad influence on the mind of Sadhaks. Old Samskaras are
revived. I will ask you to run at once to Uttarkashi, back again. Don’t delay even a single
minute. As the mind is formed out of the subtlest part of the food, i.e., gets attached to that man
from whom it receives its food. Don’t be under

How shall I prepare myself for a contemplative life?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 10, 2012 at 6:00pm

Divide your property between your three sons. Keep something for yourself to keep the
life going. Distribute a portion in charity. Build a Kutir in Rishikesh and live there. Don’t write
letters to your sons. Don’t enter into the plains. Then start meditation. Your mind will rest in
peace now. Do this at once. You must hurry up.

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

If we are tools in the hands of God, are not men free?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 9, 2012 at 6:00pm

Man becomes free only when his individual will becomes merged in the Divine Will.
Licentiousness and autocracy must not be mistaken for spiritual freedom. By becoming a tool
(Nimitta) in the hands of God, the Bhakta destroys the egoism or the little false ‘I’, but gains all
the Divine Aisvarya or the Siddhis of the Lord. He becomes perfectly free. He has become one
with God now.

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

How to get rid of desires?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 8, 2012 at 6:00pm

Develop Viveka or the power of discrimination. Brahman is real. The world is unreal.
There is no Vasana or desire in Brahman. The desire is in the mind. Make Vichara. All desires
will dwindle into nothing. Mark the Doshas in the objects. The objects are Asat, Jada, Duhkha,
impure. Develop burning Mumukshutva. This strong desire for Self-realization will destroy all
other worldly desires. Control the Indriyas also. Develop Vairagya. Give up objects. This is
Tyaga. All desires will melt away.

From "May

Why should there be evil?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 7, 2012 at 6:00pm

This is a question which still remains unanswered by sages, Rishis, Acharyas and
Philosophers. Do not put this question now. You cannot understand it now in your present stage
of evolution. It is inexplicable, inscrutable, Anirvachanee Maya. Brahman or God only knows.
You will understand it only when you get rid of Maya, when you attain the knowledge of
Brahman. This question is put in another way also. Why has God created this universe?
Nobody knows the why and how of this universe. Don’t rack your

How to enter Samadhi quickly?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 6, 2012 at 6:00pm

If you want to enter Samadhi quickly, cut off all connections with friends, relatives, etc.
Do not write letters to anybody. Observe Akhanda Mouna or the vow of continued silence for
one month. Live alone. Walk alone. Take very little but nutritious food; live on milk alone if
you can afford. Plunge in deep meditation. Dive deep. Have constant practice. You will be
immersed in Samadhi.
Be cautious. Use your common sense. Do not make violent struggle with the mind.
Relax. Allow the divine thoughts to f

If I say, ‘Sugar’, ‘Sugar’, I cannot get sugar. If I say ‘Ram, Ram’, I cannot get God.

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 5, 2012 at 6:00pm

You will have to earn money for purchasing sugar. Then you will have to go to the
bazaar to purchase sugar. Here also, you will have to get rid of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride,
jealousy and egoism and then repeat ‘Ram, Ram’ with Bhav (feeling) and single-minded
devotion. Then you will have Darshan of Lord Rama. But, Rama is within. Sugar is outside.
You will have to give your whole heart to Rama.

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

If I say, “I am a king”, I cannot become a king. So also, if I repeat “Aham Brahma Asmi”, I cannot become Brahman.

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 4, 2012 at 6:00pm

Besides saying “I am a king”, you will have to prepare yourself. You will have to gather
a large number of men. You will have to learn many things. You will have to fight. Even so,
you will have to prepare and purify the mind. You will have to acquire the four means of
salvation¾Viveka (discrimination between the real and the unreal), Vairagya (dispassion), Shad
Sampat (sixfold virtues) and Mumukshutva (eagerness for liberation). Then you will have to do
Sravana (hearing of the Srutis), Manana (refle

Is God conscious or unconscious? If He is conscious, He must have a forms for only a being who has a body can be conscious.

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 3, 2012 at 6:00pm

God is pure consciousness. He is omniscient, all-knowing. He is Nirakara, formless or
incorporeal. This physical body has limited our universal consciousness. Consciousness is of
various kinds, viz., physical consciousness, mental consciousness and absolute consciousness.
You will experience the highest consciousness when you transcend the three bodies through
constant and intense meditation. With this physical body and limited senses you can have the
physical consciousness only.

From "May I answer th

Since you are an advocate of equality and your teachings do not take into consideration class distinctions, are you in sympathy with communism?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 2, 2012 at 6:00pm

I have nothing to do with politics, much less with any Godless creed. I do not believe that
religion or religious teachings should have anything to do with politics. I advocate equal vision
in the sense that the One Reality dwells equally in all beings. Names and forms are changing
phenomena. Spirit alone is. In a relative sense, the whole humanity is the family of God; there is
no high or low in His eyes. As such, a spiritual man’s attitude should not be narrowed down by
any kind of distinction, be

The Koran for the Muslims, the Bible for the Christians, the Old Testament for the Jews, the Gathas for the Parsis. What about the Hindus?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 1, 2012 at 6:00pm

The Gita, of course. That is the simple, basic scripture for all Hindus. It contains the
essence of the Upanishads, gives an optimistic and ideally adequate philosophy of life and shows
the main paths of Yoga in an integrated perspective.

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

Do you believe in heaven and hell existing as some independent planes apart from this earth-plane of ours?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on March 1, 2012 at 6:00pm

Why not? They are also planes of existence just like ours. They are as real as the earthly
plane. All the worlds (Lokas) and all the Tirthas (sacred rivers) are existent in the human being
himself, if he has belief in the scriptures. One can enjoy heaven or hell in this birth if he so
wishes. The greater the grossness, the more intense will be the torture and suffering till such
time as the individual is refined and fit for the descent of the Lord’s grace by repeated
calcinations or purificatory proc

Does it not involve the sin of disobedience if a person becomes a Sadhu disregarding the pious wishes of his parents?

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on February 28, 2012 at 6:00pm

No doubt it helps a person if he takes to Sadhuhood or Sannyasahood with the permission
of his parents and other closely related ones; or else, it is likely to affect the interests of the
individual. But there is absolutely no harm if he takes to the Nivritti Marga or the path of
renunciation when there is a very high degree of Vairagya.
No man in the world is related to any other from the absolute metaphysical standpoint and
whatever relationship exists between one and the other is, after all, by di

I meditate every now and then on God’s glory and omnipotence, but seem to derive no tangible results therefrom. Reasons for it please.

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on February 27, 2012 at 6:00pm

There is no use of praying to the Lord by fits and starts or every now and then. Do Japa
and meditation regularly without any break even for a single day. Just as you do not give up tea
and meals even for a single day, and just as you do no forget them too, so also, do not forget
Sadhana - whatever little you can - and then only take your meals. This is a sure and potent way
of goading and compelling the mind to penetrate itself deeply and unavoidably into the spiritual
practices. By following this p

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Yoga practice, they say, is meant only for men, because it is they who require control. I wonder what work is assigned to women, then! ...

When I was at Swargashram, your good self told me that we should take eatables from the hands of Mohammedans and should never hesitate from doing so. ...

LET YOUR MIND BE PURE

Why does God create rogues?

What is God?

When I was living in Uttarkashi, I had good Nishtha, exalted Vrittis and good Dharma. I have lost them now after entering the plains, even though I do Sadhana. Why? How to raise myself as before?

How shall I prepare myself for a contemplative life?

If we are tools in the hands of God, are not men free?

How to get rid of desires?

Why should there be evil?

How to enter Samadhi quickly?

If I say, ‘Sugar’, ‘Sugar’, I cannot get sugar. If I say ‘Ram, Ram’, I cannot get God.

If I say, “I am a king”, I cannot become a king. So also, if I repeat “Aham Brahma Asmi”, I cannot become Brahman.

Is God conscious or unconscious? If He is conscious, He must have a forms for only a being who has a body can be conscious.

Since you are an advocate of equality and your teachings do not take into consideration class distinctions, are you in sympathy with communism?

The Koran for the Muslims, the Bible for the Christians, the Old Testament for the Jews, the Gathas for the Parsis. What about the Hindus?

Do you believe in heaven and hell existing as some independent planes apart from this earth-plane of ours?

Does it not involve the sin of disobedience if a person becomes a Sadhu disregarding the pious wishes of his parents?

I meditate every now and then on God’s glory and omnipotence, but seem to derive no tangible results therefrom. Reasons for it please.

Shefqet Avdush Emini CV,Publications

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