Lord Krishna was the Purna Avatara with 16 Kalas. Every word of His teachings and every act of His was full of sublime object lessons of momentous import to humanity.
Study His teachings to Uddhava. Drink the nectar of Srimad Bhagavata. Sing His glories. Repeat His grand mantra OM Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Do total self-surrender unto Him. You will soon attain union with Him.
Continue reading →Perhaps you are faced with a problem that defies your solution; turn to any page and you are sure to find a way if not to solve better still dissolve it. Perhaps you are assailed by doubt or despair that threatens to envelop you in the darkness of gloom; it is then that you will realise the fullest benefit that you can derive from this volume–turn to any page and the light that emanates from it, is sure to dispel the darkness of despair. Every page is filled with Divine Light, Power and Wisdom.
It is the spiritual aspirant, however, who will find that this handy volume is more indispensable to him than his eye-sight; walking the path to the great Goal, through the darkness that is Samsara he needs Light to overcome the obstacles on the Path; to sustain his continuous vigilance, to resist temptations and to march vigorously forward, he needs Power; to save him from error, to keep the flame of discrimination burning bright, and to enable him to realise his own essential nature, he needs Wisdom. They are found in this volume.
Continue reading →Kundalini is the coiled up, dormant, cosmic power that underlies all organic and inorganic matter within us and any thesis that deals with it can avoid becoming too abstract, only with great difficulty. But within the following pages, the theory that underlies this cosmic power has been analysed to its thinnest filaments, and practical methods have been suggested to awaken this great pristine force in individuals. It explains the theory and illustrates the practice of Kundalini Yoga.
Continue reading →This work, a compilation from the published writings of Swami Sivananda, is in the nature of a detailed commentary on select verses of the Bhagavad Gita. While many readers may be familiar with the stanza-by-stanza commentary of the holy Master on the full Gita text, in this volume they will find a considerably more detailed exposition of the implications of Sri Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna which are as valid today as they were at the time of the Mahabharata war.
The book begins with an Introduction which deals with the goal of human life and the vital role of religion and Yoga in the achievement thereof. Life without religion is a dreary waste and Yoga is but an aid in the practice of one’s own religion. Yoga is universal and the Yoga Shastra of Lord Krishna, namely, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, is equally universal. Yoga and the Gita are open to all. And the Master’s most lucid, free-flowing commentary on a wide spectrum of the Gita verses brings the secrets of Sri Krishna’s teachings to the doorstep of every English-speaking household.
Continue reading →It is common nowadays to hear it said that the Puranas are very unreliable scriptures and that they indulge in unlimited exaggeration about very many things. These critics say that the Puranas contain gross overstatements and preposterously puerile attempts to cajole or to cow down the reader with citations like the grandiose descriptions of heavenly regions and their joys as also of the awful pictures of hell fires and its torments. To criticise a subject requires very little wit or wisdom. For simple and direct condemnation without caring to consider the pros and cons of a matter is the inborn nature of the human mind. But even to these biased ones a little thoughtful consideration will forthwith reveal that the sagely writers of the Puranas had a special purpose in writing certain thing in the manner they did. They deliberately emphasised and laid particular stress upon some subjects with a definite end in view. Underneath this graphic and detailed descriptions of the Karmas and their consequences there is a shrewd psychology and insight being put to make a practical purpose.
Continue reading →While it will be accepted on all hands that the first and foremost requisite or qualification for an aspirant treading the path of Ancient Wisdom or Yoga is Vairagya born of pure discrimination, it is strange that nowadays when numberless books on Yoga, Vedanta and other allied subjects are displayed at the sales window, none of these learned treatises has ever thought or taken into head to supply this dire and long felt need of spiritual aspirants. At such a time a book on “HOW TO GET VAIRAGYA” by no less an eminent sage, Yogi and philosopher than His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda should be quite welcome to one and all.
Continue reading →THE HINDUS are a profoundly religious people. Their goal of life is Self-realisation or the attainment of God-consciousness. A religion of some kind they must have–a religion which will stir the depths of the heart and give room for the exercise of faith, devotion and love.
All Hindu festivals have a deep spiritual import or high religious significance. All great Hindu festivals have religious, social and hygienic elements in them. In every festival there is bathing in the morning before sunrise in the river or tank or well. Every individual will have to do some Japa, prayer, Kirtan, recitation of Sanskrit verses and meditation.
Continue reading →His Holiness Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj did not write text books as such. The books he wrote were the outpourings of wisdom from his own direct realisation of the Truth.
From his books you will derive not only the benefit of his wisdom and knowledge of both practical and esoteric matters pertaining to Yoga, but also the power of his spiritual force.
Sri Swami Sivanandaji had a unique style–simple, direct and compelling. His books are not dull treatises on Yoga and philosophy, rather his enthusiasm and eagerness to help all is evident in every page, lifting the reader to new heights of understanding.
Continue reading →To a group of devotees and disciples, the Master said, “Some are very anxious to acquire name and fame. They make a show of themselves. They travel in cars, build clock towers and sky-scrapers. They wear costly dress and employ a number of servants. They pose as great servants of society. Every moment they try to get more fame. But the slightest criticism upsets them. They cannot bear opposition. They wish that everyone should respect them. In spite of all this they do not get the fame they seek and hence get upset and restless.
Continue reading →Even among the inspiring books of Sri Gurudev, this is a unique book. It was written with the special intention of having the entire matter recorded on the gramophone disc. For this purpose Gurudev had given in this book the very essence of his own teachings.
Hence, this book was chosen for being sent to every new member of the Divine Life Society on enrolment. It is, as it were, the ‘Beginner’s Guide to Divine Life’.
Members of the Divine Life Society and spiritual aspirants have added this precious volume to the scriptures which they study daily as Svadhyaya and have derived incalculable benefit by the assimilation of these teachings into their daily life.
This text containing, a valuable treasure of wisdom is placed in the hands of aspirants all over the world in the fervent hope that it will guide them to the great goal of human life, viz., God-realisation.
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