Satsang Bhavan Lectures by Swami Sivananda
Publishers' Note
Blessed, thrice blessed, is the soul of Sri Capt. Srivastava whose generosity took the shape of the Sivananda General Hospital at Sivananda Nagar on the banks of the Holy Ganga. For, even as the Hospital was under construction, as soon as the first hall was completed, Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj made it a satsang bhavan and filled it with the divine vibrations of the Lord's name and sublime spiritual thought-currents. For centuries to come these invisible divine forces would bestow upon the patients who would resort to the hospital, the Lord's healing grace and richest blessings.
Visitors from other parts of India and abroad have constantly gathered in the satsang bhavan. They have not only been eager receptacles for the sage's wisdom to be poured into, but also blessed channels for this wisdom to flow to humanity at large. Even as the flaming words of divine knowledge were emanating from the light fountain, Sri Swamiji Maharaj, the ever-ready pen of Sri Swami Gurusarananandaji has captured them. Those lectures are now published in the book-from for the benefit of all aspirants.
8th September 1957,
Publishers.
THE CALL DIVINE BY SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
In the Isavasya Upanishad there is a combination of karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga. Man thinks, loves and wills. His head, heart and hand must all be developed. Jesus was a synthetic yogi. Lord Krishna was a synthetic yogi. Sankara was a synthetic yogi. There is no use having a lopsided development. It is only ignorant vedantins who condemn bhakti and karma. Only through integral development you will have perfection. You should not ignore selfless service. When you feel that there is only one Atman, that the entire world is only your manifestation, how can you remain without service? There is no incompatibility between jnana and bhakti. You cannot divorce one from the other. Therefore, we should be adepts in selfless service, in singing Lord's name. There must be ruchi for the Lord's name. People talk about what is going on in the world, but they feel shy in singing kirtan. One must be an adept in singing Lord's name. Even in vedanta you will find sama, dama, etc. These are parts of raja yoga. You cannot separate one yoga from the other. Viveka and vairagya in vedanta come in raja yoga.
Japa yoga is of fundamental importance. Japa yoga alone is sufficient. Repetition of Lord's name, doing purascharana, overhauls all vicious samskaras. All the vices are removed through japa and kirtan. For vedanta you must have the sadhana chatushtaya, viveka, vairag, sama, dama, etc. But in bhakti, all impurities are destroyed by kirtan. The bhaktas have a single prescription, "Repeat Lord's name. Sing Lord's name". It removes all impurities in the mind, stops the oscillation of the mind and also removes avarna, the veil of ignorance. Some people do japa for three months and when they do not get an increase in their salary, they give up japa. Pandit Maden Mohan Malaviya, the founder of the Benaras University, was a votary of Gayatri. He did many purascharanas of Gayatri. This is the reason for his success in establishing the Benaras Hindu University and in various other undertakings. His glory is due to recitation of Gayatri purascharanas. What is OM for sanyasins, Gayatri is householders and brahmacharins. It removes ignorance and gives you prosperity, material and spiritual. Vidyaranya, the author of Panchadasi, was also a votary of Gayatri. He had darshan of mother Gayatri. Gayatri gives all prosperity. When there was famine in the land, he caused a shower of gold through the grace of the mother.
Those who do not have spiritual samskaras should cultivate them. Mere study or intellectual acrobatics will not serve the purpose. A M.A., Ph.D is not fit for the spiritual path. His degree is of no use for spiritual progress. A simple servant is more fitted for the spiritual path. You must practise. You must understand the nature of the universe. What is the nature of the world? Where lies lasting happiness? Maya is so powerful that it deludes even intellectual giants. It is only with the grace of the guru and the forces of various virtuous actions that we have done in our previous births that the veil can be removed. If devi's grace is on us, we can reject the whole world as straw. May Lord give us this knowledge; brahma satyam, jaganmitya, jivo brahmaiva na aparah. "Brahman is real, the world is unreal. Jiva is identical with Brahman". Mere intellect is nothing. You might have studied and exhausted all the spiritual books of the library, but it is useless without viveka and dispassion. If you have even a little dispassion, a little viveka, all the objects will have no attraction for you. The man of dispassion is the happy man. He is the king of kings. Dispassion will come when you have understood the real nature of the reality. What is your goal? Satchidananda swaroopa. Do not do parrot-like repetition, but actually feel. You should have satsang.
The gerua cloth should put into your mind the ideals of Sankara, dakshinamoothy. Respect all saints. Feel for what purpose you have taken birth in this world. Is it for a little position, a little bank balance, a motor-car? Even the whole wealth of the fourteen worlds is nothing when compared to half a grain of vairagya. Nothing will tempt you in this world if you have real vairagya. 'Kowpeenavanthah khalu bhagyavantah'. He who wears only a kowpeen is the happiest man in the world.
A man of renunciation operates through the purses and banks of the whole world. Maya stands with folded hands to serve that man who has got real dispassion. Dispassion comes from viveka. Dispassion should be born of discrimination. Smashana vairagya or prasava vairagya will not help one in the spiritual path. Vairagya born of discrimination only will give you real strength. You may have nothing to eat, nobody to help you, yet strength born of discrimination, strength born of regular meditation, will make you bold, fearless and take you to the other shore of fearlessness and immortality. That strength is necessary. Discrimination, dispassion, shad-sampat—he who possesses these alone is the real great man in this world. He is king of kings, and he owns the wealth of the whole world. Even a little mediation of "brahma satyam, jagat mitya" must be ingrained in every cell. The world is unreal. But maya is tempting. It makes you forget the reality. The function of maya consists in making the real appear as unreal and the unreal appear as real. When you begin to meditate, even if you have no success, you must persist. Regularity is of paramount importance. You must have the conviction that you can get nothing from this world. 'Ye hi samsparsaja bhogah dukhayonaya eva te, adyantavanta kaunteya na teshu ramate budhah. Anityamasukham lokam, dukhalayam asaswatam'. You must constantly dwell upon the meaning of these slokas. Then only your mind will be turned inward. A little increase in salary, a little knowledge, a little wealth, makes you separate yourself from the rest of the world, because you feel that you are a great intellectual, a rich man.
How many good actions have you done for relieving the pain of society? Are you one with all? Do you feel for the people? If you have one seer of milk, can you share it with others? Or do you only look at your bank balance and money? Do not care for money. Do not care for a pie (the smallest unit of currency in India, no longer in use). The purses and banks of the whole world will take care of you. Mother nature will take care of your needs. God will take care of you.
Have you got a soft heart like butter? Has it become liquid, so that it can feel for other people's sorrows? Feel that every one is a manifestation of God. Serve every one with narayana bhav again and again, because impurities will repeatedly come and veil your understanding. Serve. Remember always Lord's name. "Sri Ram, Sri Ram. Om Namah Shivaya". Serve the whole world with atma bhav. Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise. Share what you have with others. Then only God's grace will descend. Build up your faith. Let your faith grow stronger and stronger. Always remember Lord's name. Bear insult, bear injury. A little word upsets you. That is maya. Practise friendship with others. You must bear insult and injury. Adapt. Adjust. You must stand like a statue, even if anybody beats you. If one does not return a salute, you are affected. Physically one may be strong. When he gets a little fever, he begins to shiver. You must have internal strength, mental strength. Even if your throat is cut, you must stand like a statue. Simple study will not do. When you go to a sabha, if the first seat is not given to you, if the food is not served first, you get upset. Abhimana is like granite, like diamond. You are nothing. Your intellect is nothing. Frail intellect! When you take a dose of ganja, your intellect does not function. When you do not take food, the intellect does not function. When you get angry, the intellect does not function. Why do you depend upon intellect? The discipline in the spiritual path is quite different. It is the Forest University discipline. Viveka, vairagya, amanitwam.
Share what you have with others. You want everything for your child. You want that your son should go to London and become an I.C.S. You do not do charity. You have a constricted heart. For a little good deed of charity that you did, God has given you some money. For a little knowledge that you imparted to others God has given you a little intellect. You are using your intellect to hold sway over others! You will get nothing. Teach the poor students free. How many good actions you have done every day—you must watch. You must do selfless service. So much has to be done in the spiritual path. Then God's grace will descend.
No more discussions. Stop your discussions. Shave your intellect. Develop a heart. Remember the saints. Serve. Satyam vada. Dharmam chara. 'Yo vai bhuma tat sukham; na alpe sukhamsati'. Then, why are you running after the world? Atman alone is bliss. You should try to find out the Atma. Discipline the senses. Discipline the eye. Take little food. Eat a little, drink a little, sleep a little, meditate a little. How many hours do you sleep? Can you unite with all others? Have you got love for everybody? When a dying man is on the roadside, have you asked him, "Will you take some water or milk?" These are actions which will elevate, mould you and purify your heart. Then God's grace will descend. It will not descend simply by your asking. You have spent your life in asking only. Do something substantial. Do something practical. Remove selfishness. Control anger. Develop these virtues. Develop amanitwam, adambitwam, abhayam, satwasamshuddhi. If you see a cat at night, you are afraid. All these things are very difficult to eradicate. Even to eradicate the tea habit which you developed ten years back is so very difficult. Then how much more difficult it should be to eradicate the vicious samskaras which you have accumulated from time immemorial? If you send money to your uncles or relatives you put it as charity in the spiritual diary. You have no expanded heart. You do not feel for the poor and do charity. The world is full of sorrow. Try to relieve human suffering. Try to be one with them. Then only you can overhaul the old vicious samskaras which are embedded in the subconscious mind. Japa, meditation, Gita study, swadhyaya—all these things will help you in eradicating the old vicious samskaras.
Attainment of discrimination is the purpose of our birth. Every day we have to analyse how far we have developed, what is the strength of our discrimination and dispassion, how much of shadsampat we possess. We may fall down, yet with tottering steps, we must stand up again just like a baby that learns to walk. Just as when you take tea or coffee, you develop a taste for it, though you may not find any improvement in a month's practice, again and again hammer the mind with spiritual ideas and it will develop a taste for spiritual practices. Mere intellectual study will not help us to make even an inch of spiritual progress. You have to practise.
Ego is very very stiff. You must bear insult and injury. Then only the mind will be balanced. Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult, bear injury. This is the highest sadhana. You can analyse and introspect your mind and find out in what plane you stand. It is the most important sadhana—bear insult, bear injury. Pulverizing egoism is very difficult. Gradually you will have to thin out egoism. It is very difficult to find out what egoism is. It has got its retinue. Cultivate virtues. Gradually egoism will be thinned out. We do not know what egoism is, what is its force. It has got a thousand diplomatic lieutenants and captains. Therefore, simply try to destroy the attendants and eventually the egoism will be destroyed. Remove egoism, cultivate virtues, do Japa. God's grace will come. Yoga is not something that you have to get from a Himalayan cave. Many people who come here are not doing Japa. They have no faith. Repeat "Sri Ram, Sri Ram". Yoga is not sitting cross-legged for hours, or burying oneself underground. It is repeating Lord's name. Do not expect increase in salary after three months' practice. The old samskaras will assert themselves again and again. Therefore, repeat the Lord's name again and again. Do it with conviction, with devotion and perseverance. It will give prosperity both in worldly undertakings and in spiritual path. Sri Ram gives light to buddhi. Through his light alone you are able to see. He is all-pervading, everywhere. Remember his qualities. Ram is perfection. Ram is freedom. Ram is infinity. Ram is immortality. Associate these ideals when you do japa. Even in dream you should be able to repeat "Ram, Ram". All are Ram.
Life is short. Time is fleeting. Cut the knot of avidya, and drink the nirvanic bliss. When you are talking, when you are playing, you must repeat "Sri Ram, Sri Ram". That is the essence of jnana yoga, that is the essence of raja yoga, laya yoga and all other yogas. All yogas are combined in sri Ram. By repetition of the Lord's name, all impurities are destroyed, the oscillation of the mind is stopped and the avarna, the veil of ignorance is removed. That is yoga—not nauli, neti, etc. Simply repeat "Sri Ram, Sri Ram." Along with this, observe ahimsa, satyam and brahmacharya. When the doctor gives medicine, he says, "Do not take garlic, etc." He asks you to take restricted diet. So also, when you repeat the Lord's name, observe ahimsa, satyam and brahmacharya. This is the pathya, the restricted diet.
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