Yoga for health

Meditation to Improve Mental and Physical Health

2009-05-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Meditation is a group of mental training techniques. You can use meditation to improve mental health and capacities, to improve your motivation for your goals and also to help improve the physical health. Some of these techniques are very simple, so you can learn them from a book or an article; others require guidance by a qualified meditation teacher.

WHAT IS MEDITATION

Most techniques called meditation include these components:

1. You sit or lie in a relaxed position with closed eyes.
2. You breathe regularly. You breathe in deep enough to get enough oxygen. When you breathe out, you relax your muscles so that your lungs are well emptied, but without straining.
3. You stop thinking about everyday problems and matters.
4. You concentrate your thoughts upon some sound, some word you repeat, some image, some abstract concept or some feeling. Your whole attention should be pointed at the object you have chosen to concentrate upon.
5. If some foreign thoughts creep in, you just stop this foreign thought, and go back to the object of meditation.

The different meditation techniques differ according to the degree of concentration, and how foreign thoughts are handled. By some techniques, the objective is to concentrate so intensely that no foreign thoughts occur at all.

In other techniques, the concentration is more relaxed so that foreign thoughts easily pop up. When these foreign thoughts are discovered, one stops these and goes back to the pure meditation in a relaxed manner. Thoughts coming up, will often be about things you have forgotten or suppressed, and allow you to rediscover hidden memory material. This rediscovery will have a psychotherapeutic effect.

THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION

Meditation has the following effects:

1. Meditation will reduce stress and give you rest and recreation.
2. You learn to relax.
3. You learn to concentrate better on problem solving.
4. Meditation often has a good effect upon the blood pressure.
5. Meditation has beneficial effects upon inner body processes, like circulation, respiration and digestion.
6. Regular meditation will have a psychotherapeutically effect.
7. Regular meditation will facilitate the immune system.
8. Meditation is usually pleasant.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYPNOSIS AND MEDITATION

Hypnosis may have some of the same relaxing and psychotherapeutic effects as meditation. However, when you meditate you are in control yourself; by hypnosis you let some other person or some mechanical device control you. Also hypnosis will not have a training effect upon the ability to concentrate.

A SIMPLE FORM OF MEDITATION

Here is a simple form of meditation. By this meditation technique, you should concentrate in an easy manner. This will allow foreign thoughts to pop up. These are handled one by one as they appear. You proceed as follows:

1. Sit in a good chair in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes and relax all your muscles as well as you can.
3. Stop thinking about anything, or at least try not to think about anything.
4. Breath out, relaxing all the muscles in your breathing apparatus.
5. Repeat the following in 10 - 20 minutes:

-- Breath in so deep that you feel you get enough oxygen.
-- Breath out, relaxing your chest and diaphragm completely.
-- Every time you breathe out, think the word "one" or another simple word inside yourself. You should think the word in a prolonged manner, and so that you hear it inside you, but you should try to avoid using your mouth or voice.

6. If foreign thoughts come in, just stop these thoughts in a relaxed manner, and keep on concentrating upon the breathing and the word you repeat.

As you proceed through this meditation, you should feel steadily more relaxed in your mind and body, feel that you breathe steadily more effectively, and that the blood circulation throughout your body gets more efficient. You may also feel an increasing mental pleasure throughout the meditation.

Natural Remedies for Depression

2009-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Depression is a quite common psychiatric disorder, which is characterized by a symptoms and signs including depressed mood and other emotional problems, inappropriate crying, social problems, and the decreased ability to get any pleasure in almost anything you do. Depression affects between 7% and 19% of the people in the US, with more than twelve million American adults being diagnosed with depression each and every year. Major depression accounts for more than 60% of suicides every year, primarily because only about a third of depressed med and women get medical treatment. Although the exact cause of depression is still unknown, there are many well known natural remedies for depression. The premier natural remedy that can decrease your depression is your diet, which actually plays a huge role in the seratonin levels in the brain. A diet that limits sweets, sweet chocolate, pies, ice cream and other foods packed with sugar can actually decrease the severity of poor moods, for sweets are able to temporarily increase mood by increasing blood sugar levels. But, once the glucose level plummets, dispositions tend to drop farther than before and cause those suffering from depression to enter depressive periods. By keeping your blood sugar at a steady level, major depressive moods can many times be prevented. Avoiding coffee and other drinks like 180, ZipFizz Energy Drink Mix, Jolt Endurance Shot, Socko, Rip It Energy Fuel, Diet Vanilla Coke, Sky Rocket Caffeinated Syrup, Burn as well as dart and Lucaffe espressos that are high in caffeine can also be beneficial. The same goes for any alcoholic beverages. Caffeine and alcohol can both worsen mood, by providing a short period of elation that is usually followed by depression. Those with depression should focus on consuming foods that are able to trigger serotonin production, such as foods rich in B vitamins and magnesium. Nuts, green vegetables, and some varieties of fish can be beneficial, since they can actually trigger a good mood without being followed by a state of depression. St. John�s Wort has been used throughout the world for treating mild depression. Although it has not been useful for treating severe depression cases, it has been shown to actually increase synaptic levels of biogenic amines, such as nor epinephrine. Various studies have been performed, and have shown that St. John�s Wort has actually been as effective as various prescription medications for depression. When used by patients diagnosed with mild depression, it can relieve many of the symptoms, included but not limited to extreme mood changes, loss of appetite, insomnia, and negative feelings. Exercise is one of the most helpful natural remedies for depression, because it can lessen some of the symptoms while keeping the body well toned. Exercise has been shown to increase energy, improve overall mood, and reduce the effects of sleep loss in depressed patients. Exercise has been effective in treating mild to moderate depression, but may take longer than prescription medications to show results. Seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that only occurs during certain parts of the year, has been shown to be successfully treated by extended exposure to artificial and natural sunlight. It is used as an alternative to prescription depression medications, and works by regulating the body clock. Exposure to artificial and natural sunlight can actually trigger chemical changes in the brain, such as melatonin and serotonin production which can improve sleeping patterns. Depression is a serious medical condition, but mild cases can easily be improved with the help of natural depression remedies. Prescription medication come with well known side effects and risk factors, but using natural methods can improve the medical condition without any similar problems. Changing regular activities such as diet, exercise, and even family outings can help to improve depression periods decreasing your depressed mood and other emotional problemsand muscle aches, making those diagnosed with depression able to live a happy and normal life.

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Why People get sick

2009-01-28T03:20:00.000-08:00

Yoga considers that most diseases are due to insufficient life force, either in the body as a whole, or a blockage of life force to one part of the body. This leads to a lowered body resistance or immunity to disease.

Those practicing yoga have learned many centuries ago that most diseases are due to reduced immunity. Medical science is gradually coming to the same conclusion.

When the whole body has lowered life force, the result is a lowered vitality level, poor health and susceptibility to infection. No infections would occur if the body's life force is high enough to fight off the infection. Pathogens (bacteria, viruses and so on) are a normal part of life and will only cause trouble when the body's resistance is too low to keep them in check.

The best way to increase the general life force of the body is by good nutrition, sufficient deep steep, a positive mental attitude and yoga.

A blockage of life force to one part of the body, such as the thyroid gland, is usually caused by a slight misalignment of a vertebra which impinges on the nerve that travels to that particular organ. This causes an interference to the life force (nerve impulses) to the organ. As a result, the organ not functioning at its optimum level. If the spinal misalignment is not corrected, the organ may develop pathology. It is much more difficult to correct at this stage.

The ancient yogis were well aware of the importance of the spine in relation to disease, since most of their asanas or postures were designed to make the spine more flexible to prevent spinal misalignments. Some of the asanas will even correct minor spinal misalignments.

The spine is so important for a high vitality level, good health and the correction of many health conditions that a whole science of healing has been developed to correct spinal misalignments. In fact, chiropractic is now the second largest healing profession after medicine and the fastest growing healing profession in the world.

Real Happiness not in objects

2009-01-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

Man wants happiness. He shuns pain.

He makes various sorts of efforts (Pravritti) to get

happiness from objects and gets himself entangled in the

meshes or snares of Maya. As these objects are perishable,

finite and conditioned in time, space and causation, he fails to

get the desired happiness from the objects.

This world is Apurna (imperfect) and there is uncertainty of life.

A barrister talks at the telephone, ascends the staircase to take

his meals upstairs and dies on the staircase.

There is not an iota of happiness in objects and they are Jada

(insentient). Even the sensual pleasure is a reflection of

Atmic Bliss only.

Just as a dog which sucks a dry bone in the streets

imagines foolishly that the blood comes from the dry bone,

whereas, it really oozes from its own palate, so also worldly-minded

persons foolishly imagine that the happiness they enjoy comes from

the objects only.

There is a mental uneasiness, dissatisfaction, discontent and

restlessness even in multi-millionaires and kings.

Some kind of sorrow, misery or pain is always present even

when you are in the height of enjoyment of worldly pleasures.

When the marriage of your second son is

celebrated the remembrance of your first son who passed away,

torments your mind. Mind is so constituted that the rhythm

of pleasure and pain is kept up like the rhythm of systole and

diastole (contraction and dilation) of heart.

You entertain the idea that the happiness will pass away soon.

This adds pain when you are in the enjoyment of sensual pleasure.

You can find eternal, infinite, supreme peace and bliss, only

in the Atman of your heart. It is an embodiment of bliss

(Ananda Swarupa).

All objects that you see consist of five parts, viz.

Nama-Rupa-Asti-Bhati-Priya (name, form, existence, knowledge, bliss).

Nama and Rupa constitute the world. They are the cause for

human activities and sufferings. Asti, Bhati and Priya are

the Svarupas of Atman or Brahman or Moksha.

Amongst the things desired by human beings of this world,

Moksha alone is the best and highest thing.

The means (Sadhan) for Moksha is Atma Jnana

(knowledge of the Self or Atman),

Vichara of “Who am I?” or significance of “Tat Tvam Asi”

Mahavakya. This is the means for attainment of Brahma Jnana.

Moksha is desired in order to get rid of the pains of Samsara

which are in the form of birth, death, disease, old age, etc.

Moksha can hardly be attained without Sadhana.

Some say, that Karma is the Sadhan for Moksha.

Some other say, that Karma and Jnana

combined (Samucchayavada) is the means.

Sri Shankara has refuted the Karma and Samucchaya

theories by strong, sound, convincing arguments and has

established the Truth that Kevala Jnana (pure knowledge alone)

is the means for Moksha.

Just as fire is the direct means for cooking food,

so also Brahma Jnana is the Sakshat Sadhana (direct means)

for Moksha. The famous Mandana Misra (Sureshwaracharya)

disciple of Sri Sankara has also said in his reputed book Naishkarma

Siddhi that Kevala Jnana alone is the means for Moksha.

Do not say: “Karma. Karma. My Karma has brought me like this.”

Exert. Exert. Do Purushartha. Do Tapas. Concentrate.

Purify. Meditate. Do not become a fatalist.

Do not yield to inertia. Do not bleat like a lamb.

Roar OM, OM, OM like a lion of Vedanta.

See how Markandeya who was destined to die at his sixteenth

year became a Chiranjeevi, an immortal boy of sixteen

years on account of his Tapas! Also note how Savitri brought

back to life by her Tapas her dead husband; how Benjamin

Franklin and late Sri T. Muthuswamy Iyer of Madras High

Court elevated themselves. Remember, my friends,

that man is the master of his own destiny.

Visvamitra Rishi, who was a Kshatriya Raja, became a Brahma

Rishi like Vasishtha and even created a third world for

Trishanku by his power of Tapas. Rogue Ratnakar became

the sage Valmiki through Tapas. Rogues Jagai and Madai of

Bengal became highly developed Saints.

They became the disciples of Lord Gauranga.

What others have done, you also can do. There is no doubt of this.

You can also do wonders and miracles if you apply yourself

to spiritual Sadhana, Tapas and meditation.

Read the book ‘Poverty to Power’? by James Allen with interest

and attention.

You will be inspired. Draw up a programme of your life.

Follow my Twenty Spiritual Instructions and Forty

Golden Precepts. Adhere to the “Spiritual Daily Routine”

prescribed by me. Apply yourself with zeal and enthusiasm

to Sadhana.

Become a Naishtic Brahmachari.

Be steady and systematic in your Yogabhyasa.

Assert. Affirm. Recognise. Realise. Shine in your native

pristine Brahmic Glory.

Become a Jivanmukta. You are the children of light and

immortality.

This is message of hope, success in life,

of peace, of bliss and of the secret of life itself.

Herein will be found the Way to Peace, to Truth, and

to the Abode of Immortality, eternal sunshine, infinite Joy

and Knowledge (Nirvana or Kaivalya) or the final beatitude,

the highest goal of life.

A Dynamic Yoga

2009-01-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

1. It is due to the veil of ignorance that you have forgotten your

real essential nature, the Sat-Chit-Ananda state. It is not at all

necessary for you to renounce the world and run to some Himalayan

cave to regain your lost divinity. Here is an easy Sadhana by which

you can definitely attain God-consciousness, even while living in

the world amidst multifarious activities.

2. You need not necessarily have a separate Meditation Room

or fix some time for meditation. Close your eyes for a minute

or two once in every two hours and think of God and His various

Divine qualities such as mercy, love, joy, knowledge, purity,

perfection, and so forth during work, and mentally repeat:

“Hari Om,” or “Sri Ram,” or “Ram Ram,” or any other Mantra

according to your taste.

3. This should be done even during night whenever you happen

to get up from bed to micturate or on any other account.

Though you are not in the habit of getting up from sleep, you

should do this practice at least occasionally when you slightly

change your posture during sleep.

This sort of habit will come only by repeated practice.

4. Feel all along that the body is a moving temple of God, your

office or business house is a

big temple or Vrindavan, and all activities such as walking, eating,

breathing, seeing, hearing, reading, etc., are offerings unto the Lord.

Work is worship. Work is meditation, when done in the right spirit.

5. Work for work’s sake without any motive without the idea of

agency (I am the doer, I am the enjoyer), and without expectation

of fruits. Feel that you are an instrument in the hands of God

and that He works through your organs. Feel also that this

world is a manifestation of the Lord or Visva Vrindavan and

your children, wife, father, mother and other relations are the

images or children of the Lord. See God in every face and in

every object.

If you develop this changed angle of vision and Divine Bhava

by protracted and constant practice, all actions will become Puja

or worship of the Lord. This is quite sufficient.

You will have God-realisation soon. This is a dynamic Yoga.

This is an easy Sadhana.

Hereafter do not bring your old lame excuse: “Swamiji,

I have no time to do spiritual practices.” Even if you practise

this dynamic Yoga for three months, you will become an entirely

changed being altogether.

Realise right now your identity and intimate relationship with

all beings, with ants and dogs, elephants and tigers, Muslims and

Hindus, Jews and Christians.

There is only a degree of difference in manifestation or expression.

All forms belong to God or Saguna Brahman. When you look at a

tree or a shrub, a Sikh or a Muslim, endeavour to behold behind

the veil of form, the real hidden Consciousness.

If you do this for some time, you will feel inexpressible Joy.

All hatred will cease. You will develop Cosmic Love or unity

of consciousness. This will be a magnanimous experience.

6. Write daily for half an hour in a notebook your Ishta Mantra

observing Mouna and without turning to this side or that.

Write down in bold types on slips of paper:

* SPEAK THE TRUTH

* OM COURAGE

* OM PURITY

* I MUST REALISE GOD NOW

* TIME IS MOST PRECIOUS

* I WILL BE A TRUE BRAHMACHARI BRAHMACHARYA

IS DIVINE LIFE

* I AM AN EMBODIMENT OF COURAGE,

PURITY, MERCY, LOVE AND PATIENCE

and fix them in the bed room, dining hall, front room and

verandahs. Keep some slips in your pocket and diary also.

This is an easy way for developing virtuous divine qualities.

7. Here are some Mantras, formulae, for effecting ungrudging

and total self-surrender.

Repeat them mentally several times daily with Bhava:

“O Lord, I am Thine, All is Thine. Thy Will

be done. Thou art everything. Thou doest everything.”

This practice will remove egoism and mineness and the idea

of agency also.

Benefits of Meditation

2008-12-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

1. This world is full of miseries and sufferings. If you want to get

rid of the pains and afflictions of this Samsara, you must practice meditation.

Meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the royal road to the

Kingdom of Brahman. It is a mysterious ladder which reaches from

earth to heaven (Vaikuntha or Kailasa or Brahman) from error to

truth, from darkness to light, from pain to Bliss, from restlessness

to abiding Peace, from ignorance to Knowledge, from mortality to Immortality.

Meditation leads to knowledge of the Self which brings about the eternal peace, supreme Bliss. Meditation prepares you for the integral experience or direct intuitive knowledge.

2. Truth is Brahman. Truth is Atman. Truth is quite pure and simple

You cannot realise the Truth without reflection and meditation.

Be silent, Know thyself. Know That. Melt the mind in That.

3. Without the help of meditation you cannot attain knowledge of the Self.

Without its aid you cannot grow into the Divine state.

Without it you cannot liberate yourself from the trammels of the mind

and attain Immortality.

If you do not practice meditation, the supreme splendour and

faceless glories of Atman will remain hidden from you.

Tear the veils that cover the soul by practicing regular meditation.

Rend asunder the five sheaths that screen the Atman by constant

meditation and then attain the final beatitude of life.

4. The fire of meditation annihilates all foulness due to vice.

Then suddenly comes knowledge or Divine Wisdom which directly

leads to Mukti or final emancipation.

5. There are many valuable trainings of the mind which are essential

to mental culture, for instance, the training of the memory,

the cultivation of reflection, discrimination, Vichara or enquiry of

'Who am I?’ The practice of meditation itself is a potent clarifier of memory.

The practice of memory-culture powerfully helps the attainment of meditation.

6. Meditation is a powerful tonic. It is a mental and nervine tonic as well.

The holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure the

diseases of the body.

Those who meditate save doctor’s bills. The powerful, soothing

waves that arise during meditation exercise a benign influence

on the mind, nerves, organs and cells of the body.

The Divine energy freely flows like Taila-dhara (flow of oil from

one vessel to another) from the feet of the Lord to the different

systems of the Sadhaka (aspirant).

7. If you can meditate for half an hour, you will be able to engage

yourself with peace and spiritual strength in the battle of life for

one week through the force of this meditation.

Such is the beneficial result of meditation. As you have to move

with different minds of peculiar natures in your daily life,

get the strength and peace from the meditation and you will have

no trouble and worry then.

8. A Yogi who meditates regularly has a magnetic and charming personality.

Those who come in contact with him are much influenced by his sweet voice,

powerful speech, lustrous eyes, brilliant complexion, strong healthy

body, good behaviour, virtuous qualities and Divine nature.

Just as a grain of salt dropped in a basin of water dissolves

and becomes distributed throughout the whole water, just as

sweet fragrance of jessamine pervades the air, so also his

spiritual aura becomes infiltrated to the minds of others.

People draw joy, peace and strength from him.

They are inspired by his speech and get elevation of mind by mere contact with him.

Footprints

2008-12-18T03:06:00.000-08:00

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene,

he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to

him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked

back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was

only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest

times of his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

“Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with

me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most

troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why when I needed You most You would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My son, My precious child,

I love you and would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one

set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Anti-ageing Properties of Yoga: Remain Young Forever!

2008-12-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age. Yoga slows down the aging process by giving elasticity to the spine, firming up the skin, removing tension from the body, strengthening the abdominal muscles, eliminating the possibility of a double chin, improving the tone of flabby arm muscles, correcting poor posture, preventing dowager's hump and so on. Yoga lets you trade in characteristics of old age for characteristics of youth.

Yoga is dynamite to make you feel younger with heightened mental prowness. Longer life often result from following yogic ways of health maintenance. When both external dangers and internal diseases and habits leading to degeneration have been removed, one naturally lives longer

Swami Nikhilananda wrote in ‘Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works’, as follows:

"The result of hatha yoga is simply to make men live long. Health is the chief idea, the one goal of hatha yoga. He is determined not to fall sick, and he never does. He lives long. A hundred years is nothing for him; but he is quite young and fresh when he is one hundred and fifty, without one hair turned gray."

The following are some of the anti-ageing effects of yoga, according to Dr. Paul Galbraith, author of ‘Reversing Ageing’:

Live longer. Yoga affects all the important determinants of a long life: the brain, glands, spine and internal organs.
Increased resistance to disease. Yoga produces a healthy strong body with increased immunity against disease. This increased resistance extends from the common cold to serious diseases like cancer.
Increased vitality due to yoga's effect on the brain and glands.
Rejuvenation of the glands. Yoga has a marked effect on the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and sex glands. This produces a feeling of well-being, prevents premature ageing and extends sexual virility well into old age.
Look and feel younger. Yoga reduces facial wrinkles and produces a natural 'face-lift'. This is mainly due to the inverted postures. By doing the inverted postures for a few minutes each day, we reverse the effect of gravity and use it to our advantage. The result is firmer facial muscles, which cause a reduction in wrinkles, and a natural face-lift.

The inverted yoga postures often convert gray hair back to its natural color and they will certainly delay the onset of gray hair. This is due to the inverted postures causing an increase in blood supply to the hair follicles in the scalp. Also, the increased flexibility of the neck produced by the asanas removes pressure on the blood vessels and nerves in the neck, causing an even greater blood supply to the scalp. The release of pressure on the nerves in the neck also causes the scalp muscles to relax, since the nerves in the neck supply the scalp muscles. This means that the hair follicles are better nourished and thicker healthier hair is the result.

Yoga will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.

Vision and hearing improve. Normal vision and hearing depend to a large extent on the eyes and ears receiving a good nerve and blood supply. The nerves and blood vessels which supply the eyes and ears have to pass through the neck. As we get older, the neck becomes less flexible, like the rest of the spine, and there is a tendency for nerves and blood vessels to be encroached upon as they travel through the neck. This impairs the nerve and blood supply to the eyes and ears, affecting their function. Yoga postures and yoga neck exercises improve the condition of the neck, resulting in better eyesight and improved hearing.
Mental/emotional benefits. Because of yoga's rejuvenation effects on the glands and nervous system, including the brain, yoga results in a positive mental/emotional state. It will help you to feel more confident, enthusiastic and generally optimistic. You will also become more creative in your everyday life.

As you start to feel and look better and unfold more of your full potential, these positive mental and emotional states occur as a consequence.

Within a few weeks you will feel calmer and have better concentration. Within a few months, rejuvenation of the organs will start to occur.

You will take years from your face and add years to your life. As you get older, you will take on an ageless appearance.

Brain and Spain

2008-12-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

Nerves from the brain and spine go to every tissue in the body and therefore the health of every tissue in the body depends upon the health of the brain and spine.

The headstand causes an increase in circulation to the brain, which stimulates the brain's nerve cells. This results in increased vitality and improved brain function (intelligence and memory).

Since the nerves from the spine go to all the organs and glands of the body, a healthy spine obviously plays an important role in vitality and rejuvenation. In fact, the spine is more critical to our well-being than the brain, since the brain is well protected by the cranium or skull bone. Where the spinal nerves leave the spine and pass through the intervertebral foramina is a very vulnerable area. If a vertebra is slightly out of place, it may cause the nerve to be ‘pinched' in the intervertebral foramina. The spinal nerves do not have protection against mechanical insults as the brain does.

The ancient yogis fully understood the vulnerability of the spine and the tendency for slight spinal misalignments to occur. They also knew that if the spine was kept flexible by yoga asanas there would be much less chance of spinal misalignments. Some of the asanas will even correct some minor misalignments.

If you do nothing to improve your spine's flexibility as you get older, your spine will deteriorate further and the spinal nerves will be increasingly impinged upon. This will lead to further deterioration of your organs and glands, until eventually their actual structure becomes diseased. We call this organic disease. At this stage, not only is their function impaired, but their cells are actually dying. If the condition is too advanced, it is irreversible. It's at this stage that many people go to doctors and are told that they have, for example, cancer of some particular organ. The cancer has not appeared overnight; in reality it has been developing for many years.

Happiness Within

2008-12-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

One anna of pleasure is mixed with fifteen annas of pain.

Pleasure that is mixed with pain and fear is no pleasure at all.

If you begin to analyse this one anna of pleasure, you will find that

it is no pleasure at all.

It is mere play or delusion of the mind. Milk gives pleasure to some

and pain to others. Milk brings on retching in fever.

The third cup of milk induces vomiting. What is this? This

is play of Maya.

This is Indra-Jala of Avidya-Shakti. The Indriyas and mind are

deceiving you at every moment.

Beware. Wake up. Open your eyes. Develop Viveka.

If you suffer from cancer of the stomach, can you enjoy

Rasagulla and sweets even though you are a multi-millionaire?

The doctor will put you on a diet of pepper-water only.

If your wife dies, you are drowned in sorrow.

You cannot expect happiness from finite, perishable objects

that are conditioned in time, space and causation.

Nitya Nirupadhika, Niratisaya Ananda, eternal, independent,

infinite bliss can only be had in the Atman that is hidden in your heart.

Search, understand and realise Atman.

What Is Brahmacharya?

2008-12-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

1. It is only within recent years, practically the last forty, that the

scientific attention has been brought to bear upon the subject of the

nature and evolution of the sexual impulse in man.

Psychologists and clinical students have made careful investigations

into the phenomena of normal and abnormal sexual life among the

civilised populations of the present day.

2. The close connection of the subject of sex with religion, both in

social evolution and individual psychology, renders the study of

chastity an extremely important chapter in the past and future

sociology of the race.

3. The gratification of every worldly desire is sinful. Man was

created for a life of spiritual communion with God. Moral

goodness consists in renouncing all sensuous pleasures, in separating

from the world, in living solely after the spirit, in imitating the

perfection and purity of God.

Sensuality is inconsistent with wisdom and holiness.

The great business of life is to avoid impurity.

4. Man has degraded himself to a great degree by becoming a

puppet of passion.

He has become an imitative machine. He has lost his power of

discrimination.

He has sunk into the most abject form of slavery. What a sad state!

What a lamentable plight indeed! If he wishes to regain his lost

divine state and Brahmic glory, his whole being must be completely

transmuted by entertaining sublime divine thoughts and practice of

regular meditation.

Transmutation of sex-desire is a very potent, efficacious and

satisfactory way to realise eternal Bliss.

5. Brahmacharya is the vow of celibacy in thought, word and deed,

by which one attains Self-realisation or reaches Brahman. It means

control of not only the reproductive Indriya but also control of all

senses in thought, word and deed. The door to Nirvana or perfection

is complete Brahmacharya.

Complete celibacy is the master-key to open the realms of elysian Bliss.

The avenue to the abode of Supreme Peace begins from Brahmacharya

or purity.

6. “Rasad raktam tato mamsam mamsanmedhah prajayate; Medasosthi tato

majja majjayah sukrasambhavah—from food comes juice or chyle, from chyle

blood, from blood flesh, from flesh fat, from fat bones, from bones marrow and

lastly from marrow semen.” Semen is the quintessence of food or blood.

One drop of semen is manufactured out of 40 drops of blood according to

the medical science.

According to Ayurveda it is elaborated out of 80 drops of blood.

Just as sugar is all-pervading in the sugar-cane, butter in milk, so

also semen is pervading the whole body.

Just as the butter-milk is thin after butter is removed, so also semen

is thinned by its wastage.

The more the wastage of semen the more is the weakness. In Yoga

Sastras it is said: “Maranam bindupatanat jivanam bindu-rakshanat—

falling of semen brings death; preservation of semen gives life.”

Semen is the real vitality in man. It is the hidden treasure for man.

It imparts Brahma-Tejas to the face and strength to the intellect.

7. If the spermatic secretion in men is continuous, it must either be

expelled or reabsorbed.

As a result of the most patient and persevering scientific investigations,

whenever the seminal secretions are conserved and thereby

reabsorbed into the system, it goes towards enriching the blood and

strengthening the brain.

Dr. Dio Louis taught that the conservation of this element is

essential to the strength of body, vigour of mind and keenness of intellect.

Another writer Dr. E.P. Miller writes: “All waste of spermatic secretions,

whether voluntary or involuntary, is a direct waste of life-force.

It is almost universally conceded that the choicest element of the

blood enters into the composition of the spermatic secretion.

If these conclusions are correct then it follows that a chaste life is

essential to man’s well-being.”

http://kios-pulsa.com/?id=kimen

Way to bliss

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1. God is the dispeller of ignorance, sorrow and fear. He is the bestower of Eternal
Happiness. Know Him. He ever dwelleth in thee.
2. Cultivate a very strong faith in God. Faith is the gateway to God. Faith can work wonders.
3. Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even in your smallest act. This is the secret of
success.
4. Be temperate in eating, drinking, sleeping, amusing and in all other things.
5. Follow the correct principles of living. Strive for health, strength, success and
God-realisation.
6. Give. Give. Give. Give freely and spontaneously. Give everything. Here lies the secret of
abundance.
7. Always act with faith and determination. Be firm in your resolve and fiery in your
determination. Have an iron will.
8. Let bygones be bygones. Let the past be buried. There is a brilliant future for you. Exert.
Exert. Exert.
9. Be always cheerful and smile away your worries. Develop your will by eradicating
desires, egoism and hatred.
10. Sensual indulgence leads you to destruction. Renunciation leads to Immortality. Give
up clinging and attachment.
11. Right thoughts make right deeds, right actions and an admirable character. Therefore
develop right thinking.
12. Keep the reason pure. Free yourself from egoistic notions. Destroy I-ness and
mine-ness. Attain liberation. Be free. Enjoy Bliss.
13. Serve. Love. Give. Restrain (the Indriyas and mind). Be good. Do good. Be kind. Be
pure. Be patient.
14. Grow. Expand. Evolve. Destroy separateness. Mix with all. Develop cosmic love.
Become selfless.
15. Be vigilant and diligent. Watch and pray. Fast and meditate. Persevere. Destroy fear,
worry and anxiety.
16. Serve Sadhus. Have Satsanga. Sing the Names of the Lord. Live in seclusion for a
month. Live on milk and fruits. Meditate.
17. “Who am I? What is Samsara? What is Brahman? What is bondage? What is freedom?
What is Maya? What is Avidya?” Do Vichara.
18. Become dispassionate. Calm the mind. Have a one-pointed and a balanced state of mind
always.
19. Embrace spirituality. Practise purity. Do charity. Develop nobility. Cultivate
magnanimity. Attain Divinity.
20. Have purification. Do concentration. Cultivate reflection. Practise meditation. Achieve
perfection.

Concept of Yoga

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Yoga came into being as an answer to human need, when through experiences in life, the ancients found out that human life here is limited and it is not full.

It is Apurna. There is always some sense of want in the human mind, some sense of incompleteness which man wishes to fulfil.

The satisfaction which the human being derives from external physical objects by means of his senses, the eyes, ears, sense of taste, sense of touch and the sense of smell; is accompanied by much pain and sorrow.

First and foremost, the hankering is there. As long as desire is not fulfilled a person has no peace of mind, and then exertion starts in order to fulfil that desire.

If the exertion ends in failure, he is disappointed. If some one crosses him when he is exerting to fulfil a desire, he gets angry.

If any other man has got that which he has not got then jealousy comes.

After an object has been acquired through much exertion and overcoming all obstacles, fear starts in his mind that the object may get out of his hand.

Then the anxiety to keep the object safe arises.

Anxiety and fear—when these two are there, no peace can be there. After these exertions, fear and anxiety, if the object goes out of his hand, sorrow comes.

If once the mind gets attached to an object, immediately desire starts. Exertion, anxiety, fear, disappointment, sorrow—all these follow.

The mind never gets rest. The very nature of the mind is desire. Constantly thoughts come and they are at once helped by imagination, and imagination takes the form of a desire.

Then will-power comes into play.

It gives orders to the various organs—the hands, feet, etc.,—to fulfil the desire.

From memory thought comes, and thought at once with the help of imagination takes the form of a desire.

And, once the desire is there, the mind is at once at work: ‘How can I fulfil it?’ Now the ‘I’ or

self-arrogating principle comes there. Then the determining faculty appears. Then action, exertion, anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety and disappointment follow.

Disappointment comes because in imagination our conception of an object is one thing, but when we actually get it we find that it falls far short of our expectation.

The reality is different from our conception of it.

This is the case with ninety-nine per cent of our experiences. Conception is one thing and the actual experience is another thing.

And at the end we realise that all names and forms are perishable and all relationships are temporary.

When the objects leave us, or we leave the objects at the time of our death, we experience sorrow.

We must try to get beyond sorrow through getting rid of our desire for sense-objects by subduing the Indriyas.

How to subdue the Indriyas and how to free ourselves from the tyranny of the mind is taught in Yoga.

Yoga is the method to enable us to go beyond the experience of sorrow, anxiety and disappointment and to take us to the highest spiritual experience.

The Secret of Health

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1. Most of the diseases take their origin in over-eating, sexual excess and outbursts of anger

and hatred.

If the mind is kept cool and calm at all times, you will have wonderful health, strength and vitality. Energy is depleted by fits of anger. The cells and tissues are filled with morbid,

poisonous materials, when one loses his temper and entertains deep hatred.

Various sorts of physical ailments crop up.

The blood becomes hot and thin and consequently night pollution results.

Various kinds of nervous diseases are attributable to excessive loss of the seminal energy

and frequent fits of explosive anger or wrath.

2. Let any disease remain in your body. Do not bother too much. Do not fret and fume.

Develop the powers of endurance and resistance. Strengthen your body, mind and nerves.

Take plenty of open-air exercises, substantial nutritious food, medicated oil bath and plenty of rest.

Have mental and physical recreation. Lead a well-regulated life. Be moderate in food, drink and

enjoyments. Lead a spiritual life.

All diseases will leave your body by themselves. All microbes will die, when your vitality, vigour and strength are at a flood tide.

This is the secret of health and happiness.

3. Do not be carried away by the pompous advertisements made by quacks and charlatans.

Lead a simple natural life. You will become all right soon. Do not spend any money in purchasing

the so-called patent medicines and specifics. They are worthless.

Quacks try to exploit the credulous and the ignorant. Beware. Do not go to the doctors very often. Endeavour to qualify yourself as your own doctor.

Understand the laws of nature and the principles of hygiene and health.

Do not trespass against the laws of health.

4. Bask in the sun. Expose your body to the rays of the sun for a short time daily.

This is heliotherapy or sun-treatment. Sun is the source of energy and power. You will derive energy and power from the sun.

5. Soak 12 almonds at night. Remove the skin and take the almonds with some sugarcandy

in the early morning. Or you can make a refreshing beverage by grinding these almonds with a little black pepper and sugarcandy.

This is called ‘thandai’ by the Punjabis. This is a fine, cooling and strength-giving tonic.

6. Rest in bed is necessary. Adjust your diet. Take simple, wholesome, easily digestible,

bland and non-irritating food. Give up hot, pungent curries, chutneys and chilliest Rest the stomach and the small bowels by taking recourse to partial fasts. If you can fast for a whole day, it is all the better.

Fasting eliminates poisons and overhauls the system thoroughly. You can take sago and milk

barley water and fruits like sweet oranges, grapes, etc. If you are thirsty, you can take lemon or

orange juice with sugarcandy.

7. Observe Brahmacharya. Get up at 4 a.m. and practice Japa of ‘Hari Om’ or any other

Mantra and also meditation for one hour. The Name of the Lord is the best medicine or tonic in the world.

You should have intense faith in the power of the Names of the Lord. Incurable diseases are

cured by Japa or singing Hari’s Name.

Meditation creates new, healthy vibrations in all the cells of the body and removes any kind of disease. All the tissues are bathed in the nectar that flows during meditation.

All germs that cause diseases are destroyed. The rationale of this kind of Yogic or spiritual treatment is yet unknown to the medical profession.

8. Why do you unnecessarily introduce foreign drugs into the system? Resort to Nature Cure and Yogic Chikitsa. Practise regularly Pranayama, breathing exercises, Asanas, concentration

and meditation. This is the ideal treatment.

Do not think too much of the disease and too much of the body.

Too much thinking of the disease will intensify the malady. Keep the mind fully occupied in

some way or the other. This is very important.

Take away the mind from the body and think of the diseaseless Atma or Soul within, the bed-rock or substratum for the body and mind.

Friend, cultivate this kind of Atma-chintana and attain the Anamayapada or the Painless State Param Dhama or Immortal Brahman. Cheer yourself up. Have a cheerful countenance always. Meditate on Om. Think of Om. Sing Om. Om is thy real name. Om is the best tonic, specific or sheet anchor, panacea or cure-all, ‘pick-me-up’ or sovereign remedy for all diseases. Smile and laugh.

Thou art bodiless, undying Soul. Never, never forget this.

9. May God bless you with perfect health, high standard of vigour, strength, vitality and

longevity.

May you prosper gloriously! Om Santi!

Who needs Yoga

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There is restlessness everywhere. Selfishness, greed, wrath, lust are havocing. Fights, kirmishes, petty quarrels are polluting the atmosphere and creating discord, disharmony and unrest.
Bugle is blown and soldiers are marching in the battlefield to kill their enemies. One nation is waging war against another nation for acquiring more dominions and more powers.
Side by side peace-movement is working silently for bringing concord, harmony and peace, for eradicating the dire ignorance, the root cause for human sufferings and disseminating Divine Knowledge or knowledge of the Self and infusing devotion into the hearts of people.
Mysterious is the universe, still more mysterious is the silent workings of the unseen God, who prompts Rajasic people on one side to wage war and the Sattvic people on the other side to start Peace Centres for the dissemination of spiritual knowledge and for bringing peace to the suffering humanity at large.
The Goal of life is the attainment of Self-realisation or God-consciousness. There is one supreme undying intelligent principle or Essence or Atman or Brahman or the Supreme Self who dwells in the chambers of your heart.
He exists in the past, present and future.
He is existence absolute, knowledge absolute and bliss absolute.
Ignorant man vainly searches for his happiness and peace in perishable external objects, that are conditioned in time, space and causation.
He has no peace of mind.
His desires are not gratified.
He amasses wealth, begets children, gets titles, honours, name, fame and yet his mind is restless. He has no abiding joy and lasting happiness. He is still in want of something.
He has no feeling of fullness. This feeling of fullness and eternal satisfaction can be obtained by realising one’s own Self through spiritual Sadhana, self-restraint, purity and meditation, and by attaining the highest rung in the Yogic ladder.
Peace and happiness can be found only within.
You cannot certainly find it in external objects.
Wealth, women, children, property, palatial buildings cannot give you the everlasting Peace. Look within. Realise your oneness with that One Supreme Self, who lives in the chambers of our heart.
When you are established in That, which is an ocean of Peace and Happiness, you will not be shaken even by heavy sorrow, loss or failures, inharmonious and disagreeable vibrations.
You will tide over all difficulties or crises of life very easily and will come back with triumph in all
experiences.
Mysterious is this Peace! Marvellous is this Peace! Realise this Peace that passeth all understanding through Yoga Sadhana and be free. Float in this ocean of Peace and rejoice in the Peace of your own Self.
Why do you, O friend, cling to this material life of disappointments, failures, diseases, afflictions, sorrows and uncertainties?
Penetrate into the hidden depths of the vast ocean of eternal life within.
The real Kailas and Manasasarovar are within you. The fountain of Joy, the spring of the
sacred water of immortality, the vast lake of ambrosial nectar, the celestial jewel that bestows on you whatever you want, are within you. What is this ephemeral existence with all sorts of ndane
troubles, this evanescent life like a mushroom or a bubble when compared to the sweet eternal life in the soul within? Will you not start now on a spiritual expedition with determination and an iron resolve to explore the infinite realms of peace and bliss within?
In the present book Easy Steps to Yoga I am giving you useful lessons on the practice of Yoga. According to the temperament and capacity of the Sadhaka, the student can select any course
of Sadhana given in this book and safely proceed higher and higher in the spiritual path and urely
attain the goal of life quickly.
May Peace and Happiness abide in you all!

What is Yoga

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Yoga is right living.
This definition may appear to be simple, but really it is very significant, for the meaning of right living is very wide.
Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj explains in an easy and homely style the basic principles that a beginner in Yoga has to understand and follow.
These Easy Steps to Yoga are laid out with a special view to enable the novice to ascend without much difficulty the heights of spiritual attainment.
Ethical and moral discipline forms the foundation of Yoga. Sri Swamiji has beautifully brought together all the fundamentals: good conduct, non-attachment, dispassion, unselfish work, sense-control, meditation and knowledge to form a connected piece of complete information on the practice of Yoga, beginning with bodily health and training, and ending in Self-knowledge.
We bring out the sixth edition of this precious volume for the edification of students, both in the East and the West, who have no acquaintance with the technicalities involved in the subject, but are eager to have an adequate grasp of the main guiding principles in living a life of wisdom arising out of divine discontent.