All Posts - Blog Posts - Yoga Vidya International - Yoga, Meditation and Spirituality

May I know if you mean by ‘Sastras’ the age-old, written or unwritten, set and rigid principles of ancient Hindu religious scriptures? ...

Posted by Teachings of Swami Sivananda on February 16, 2012 at 6:00pm

Have these principles not become
time-barred due to the fast-changing conditions? I don’t think any rigid principle can
stand the test of time.

Yes, the age-old, written or unwritten set principles of the ancient Hindu religious
scriptures are termed ‘Sastras’. But because of this, it need not follow that they should become
time-barred. The fundamental tenets of right living are unchanging. There cannot be any sort of
difference in the fundamentals.
Modifications, alterations and adjustments are necess

Is conscience not the mode by which we can listen to the inner Atman?

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

The pure conscience itself is the “Inner Voice”. But the difficulty in the ordinary man is
that the voice of the lower mind, the voice of the brutal instincts, is often misunderstood as the
voice of conscience. As a result of such misunderstanding, guided by his animal tendencies, he
commits colossal blunders, involving danger to others. It requires a great degree of purity and
calmness of mind to hearken the true Inner Voice.

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

How can a married man practice Brahmacharya? Is it possible especially when the couple are young?

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

To live and enjoy Grihastha life, with one’s own wife during the Ritu period subject to
the imposed restrictions of the Sastras is itself Brahmacharya. Sastras say that the married man
should not indulge in sense-satisfaction as and when his senses prompt him to do so. He should
subject himself to the various restrictions imposed even on the enjoyment of sense life. For
details in this respect, study my book, “Advice to Women”. One who observes these Sastraic
injunctions and leads a happy, well-regul

Is procreation a sin?

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

Neither manhood nor womanhood nor procreation is a sin. A seeker after Truth can beget
children and later take to the path of renunciation either in and through the world or entirely out
of the clutches of the world. The moment one begets a male child for the upkeep of the progeny,
one can devote oneself wholeheartedly to Sannyasa if he so wishes, though it is not a hard and
fast rule to have a male child before taking Sannyas. The need for a male child, though not
imperative, is in consonance with t

Perseverance

Posted by Christopher Stewart on February 13, 2012 at 3:00am

(« Goldfish Pulling a Snail Cart » by James Pollock)

« Perseverance » is the fourth of the series of segues composed to join the tracks of an album together into one continuous piece of music.

Each of the junctions highlights a specific quality or knowledge that turned out to be crucial to the completion of a project that demanded many years of sustained striving. As the title indicates, « Perseverance » evokes the capacity to keep going at those times when efforts seem insufficient, and success

What is meant by “killing of conscience”?

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

He who is pure in thought, speech and action, who fears sin and Adharma, who is pious,
God-fearing and equanimous, who is balanced and capable of maintaining equilibrium, will have
his conscience in an unblemished state. He who has abundant Sattva (quality of purity) will
always have an unmarred conscience. Expansion of heart gives rise to the hearing of the voice of
conscience. Inner guidance will always be to that individual who has Sattva in abundant measure
by way of Japa, Svadhyaya, Pranayam, se

Which Yogic Asans can a married lady having children profitably practice without any harm accruing therefrom?

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

A Grihini with children can practice all the Asans subject to certain restrictions just as in
the case of a man. She should not practice during the period of monthly courses and three or four
days thereafter, during any of the ailments peculiar to her sex, and during pregnancy. Sirshasan,
Sarvangasan, Matsyasan, Halasan, Padahastasan, Bhujangasan, Salabhasan and
Paschimottanasan are a few of the important Asans she can practice. To these can be added
Yoga Mudra and Viparitakarani Mudra. Kriyas and Ba

Some people have alarmed me that Pranayam and Sirshasan are dangerous sometimes and it might turn a person mad even....

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

Though I discount such alarms, yet my
conviction is not firm. Kindly write of any possible harm accruing from the practice of
Pranayam and Sirshasan.

Be within your limits while performing Asans and Pranayam. Do not strain yourself to
the point of exhaustion. None turns mad by performing Sirshasan and Pranayam. There is a rule
for everything. Start from the initial stages and gradually increase the period as you find
improvement.

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

On what grounds do you prohibit meat-eating?

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

On medical, psychological, moral and spiritual grounds. The mind is made up of the
essence of the food that a man takes. Tamasic food results in a Tamasic mind. Meat is Tamasic
and hence should be avoided.
When an animal is killed or butchered, a contraction of its nervous system takes place on
account of fear. (And you might have felt certain disturbances in your own stomach when you
have experienced fear.) This leads to the secretion of certain poisons in the liver, etc., of the
animal. These poison

Don’t you believe that Naga Sadhus, when moving in public, are a standing menace to our holy culture?...

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

Have they really risen to that level as to regard this nakedness
as nothing indecent and bad? Is there any spiritual significance to this nakedness of body
in its totality? Kindly illumine.

Our holy culture is essentially spiritual in every respect. Only when the Spirit is
forgotten, dualities like decency and indecency arise. All these dualities exist for the worldly
man and not for him who tries to go beyond them and establish himself in that non-dual,
differenceless state. From the spiritual viewpo

Why is Ganges water regarded so sacred? ...

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

What are the scientific or religious reasons for its water being eternally free from any sort of contamination? Is it a fact that all sins are washed away by a dip in the Ganges?

From time immemorial, Mother Ganges has been associated with sages and saints who
had found immense spiritual benefit by bathing in her waters as well as by drinking it.
Fire can burn all other things, but cannot act upon its own self. Flowing down the
Himalayan ranges which contain many a rare herb that possess disinfectan

What are the methods to develop unruffled serenity and mental composure under all conditions of life ? Is absolute serenity possible of attainment?

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

Yes. By all means. Consider yourself as dead to the world or the world as dead to you.
Develop Atma Vichar Sakti. Identify not with the mind, senses and intellect or with any of the
other modifications of the mind. Always be engaging yourself in the thought of the Divine.
Have no thought of yourself or the surrounding world. Be absolutely indifferent to yourself, as
you ought to be towards the surroundings, the various daily happenings and the worldly
repercussions. Knowledge of the Self, when once a

Essay : On the Meaning of Sin

Posted by Christopher Stewart on February 6, 2012 at 12:30am

View on Issuu

(« Blake's Tarot Liberty Card » by Mary K. Greer)

I spent most of the second half of January writing an essay on the concept of sin, its meaning and its implications.

Actually, this is a matter that has been hovering in and out of my mind since the end of July 2011, but I guess I wasn't ready to tackle it until recently.

Originally, I thought it would take the form of a blog post, albeit a longer than usual one. However, I quickly discovered that I had a lot to say on the subject,

If escape from this world be the goal, where is the incentive for social work?

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

Escape from the world is not the goal, but freedom from worldliness is what is desired.
Social work has got its own valuable part in life until a certain stage, though after a time it is
transcended by a higher consciousness. The value of social work, however, is purely subjective.
It is not that one makes himself a great reformer or a saviour of mankind, but that he offers his
ego as a sacrifice at the altar of universal love and so obtains purity of mind, which is the basis of
all spiritual progres

Is suicide the logical conclusion for a man who has come to believe that life has no meaning for him?

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

Suicide is not the logical conclusion of a meaningless life, but the illogical conclusion
arrived at by the thoughtless and non-discriminating mind which has failed to perceive the
meaning that is in life. Suicide does not remove misery or correct defects, but leads to violent
reactions later on. And the reactions will be more painful than the present condition of
dissatisfactory life. Suicide is pure defeatism.

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

Observance of Brahmacharya would appear to be meaningless, because scientists, through laboratory tests,...

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

have proved that semen cannot be reabsorbed into the system and that the brain has nothing to do with semen.

Semen is a mysterious secretion that is able to create a living body. Semen itself is living
substance. It is life itself. Therefore, when it leaves man, it takes a portion of his own life. A
living thing cannot be put to laboratory tests, without first killing it. The scientist has no
apparatus to test it. God has provided the only test to prove its precious nature, viz., the womb.
The very f

Is not a realized soul selfish as he has sought his emancipation only? Also, if all renounce, what will be the result?

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

The question is based on a wrong hypothesis. If all the women are barren, if all turn out
to be doctors or lawyers or dacoits, what would become of the world? Only a few with an
accumulated wealth of spiritual Samskaras can have Vairagya and renunciation.
The saint purifies the whole world. He is not selfish. Sankara, Ramanuja and others
worked for the entire mankind. Even he who lives in seclusion or leads an ‘Incognito’ life,
influences the world with his thought-currents. Even a novice in the spir

I have been reading the Upanishads and other scriptures and I find one and the same thing in all of them. ...

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

They say that everything we come across is unreal, only God
is real and that we have to think and understand the Truth by ourselves. How are we to do
it, Swamiji?

Reading will help you only to a certain extent. Too much reading will land you in
confusion. You should meditate and concentrate on one particular idea. That particular idea
should serve as the eye-opener. Then alone will you get Vairagya; you will be able to understand
the false nature of things. Take, for instance, the life of Sri Swami Sa

Self-Study

Posted by Swami Saradananda on February 1, 2012 at 4:52pm

OM
For me, the new year began with a determined effort to engage in an intensive study of the spiritual teachings of yoga. If you feel that you are ready to take the next step in your inner work, please join me. I will be posting exerpts from my series of talks. And you may feel inspired to take my e-course: www.flyingmountainyoga.org/text/e-course.shtml

"From self-study, you are able to connect with higher Truths".
- Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.44

Well-being...Yoga, Pilates und Ballett - der gute Vorsatz für das neue Jahr

Posted by Johanna Fross on February 1, 2012 at 10:34am

Yoga, Pilates, Ballett - der gute Vorsatz für das neue Jahr

Der gute Vorsatz für das neue Jahr ist der Wunsch nach Veränderung. Der Vorsatz Sport zu treiben ist die klassische Idee eine neue Bewegungsform zu erlernen. Dies ist im Menschen verankert. Jeder Mensch bewegt sich. Der Begriff 'Bewegungsapparat' beschreibt seine wesentliche Funktion. Die Physis ist mit der Psyche untrennbar verbunden. Körper und Geist sind eine Einheit und es ist ein angenehmes Gefühl wenn beides in Balance ist. Vor all

Blog Posts

All Posts (2318)

May I know if you mean by ‘Sastras’ the age-old, written or unwritten, set and rigid principles of ancient Hindu religious scriptures? ...

Is conscience not the mode by which we can listen to the inner Atman?

How can a married man practice Brahmacharya? Is it possible especially when the couple are young?

Is procreation a sin?

Perseverance

What is meant by “killing of conscience”?

Which Yogic Asans can a married lady having children profitably practice without any harm accruing therefrom?

Some people have alarmed me that Pranayam and Sirshasan are dangerous sometimes and it might turn a person mad even....

On what grounds do you prohibit meat-eating?

Don’t you believe that Naga Sadhus, when moving in public, are a standing menace to our holy culture?...

Why is Ganges water regarded so sacred? ...

What are the methods to develop unruffled serenity and mental composure under all conditions of life ? Is absolute serenity possible of attainment?

Essay : On the Meaning of Sin

If escape from this world be the goal, where is the incentive for social work?

Is suicide the logical conclusion for a man who has come to believe that life has no meaning for him?

Observance of Brahmacharya would appear to be meaningless, because scientists, through laboratory tests,...

Is not a realized soul selfish as he has sought his emancipation only? Also, if all renounce, what will be the result?

I have been reading the Upanishads and other scriptures and I find one and the same thing in all of them. ...

Self-Study

Well-being...Yoga, Pilates und Ballett - der gute Vorsatz für das neue Jahr

Note: this page contains paid content.