Heart of Sivananda
Compiled by
Sri Swami Premananda Saraswati
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Book Code: ES122
Paperback: 183 pages
ISBN: NA
Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.40 inches
Shipping Weight: 240 grams
Table of Contents
| Publishers’ Note | 5 |
| śivānandastutiḥ (Sri Gunde Rao) | 6 |
|
Chapter One: Goal of Life |
13 |
| God, The Only Reality | |
| Light of Lights | |
| Life is Meant for God-realisation | |
| Highest Ideal | |
| Life, a Medium of Evolution | |
| Wake up O Man! | |
|
Chapter Two: Guide to Right Living |
21 |
| Begin Early | |
| Learn and Be Wise | |
| School of Life | |
| Worldly Wise | |
| Lessons of Life | |
| Words of Wisdom | |
| Gunas and Tattwas | |
|
Chapter Three: Live the Divine Life |
34 |
| What is Divine Life | |
| How to Lead Divine Life | |
| Fruits of Divine Life | |
| Glory of Divine Life | |
| Secret of Divine Life | |
|
The Call Divine |
|
|
Chapter Four: Practical Spiritual Life |
43 |
| Advice to Aspirants | |
| Know Thyself | |
|
Sidelights on Sadhana |
|
| Important Requisites | |
| The Self is Raised by the Self | |
| Do Self-analysis: Acquire Wisdom | |
| Exert: Plod on | |
| Way out of Sorrow | |
| Guide to Sadhaks | |
| Cross the Ocean of Illusion | |
| Identify with the Atma | |
| Call of Sadhana | |
| Kindle the Divine Flame | |
| Be Bold: Be Brave | |
| Cultivate Purity Annihilate Egoism | |
| Be Vigilant and Diligent | |
| Necessity of Real Spiritual Experience | |
| Be Steady: Seek the Truth | |
| Injunctions for Evolution | |
| Way to God | |
| Spiritual Preceptor | |
| Learn to be a Disciple | |
|
Chapter Five: Saints and Sages |
66 |
| Godly Beings | |
| Who is a Saint | |
| Divine Characteristics | |
| Jeevanmukta | |
| Realised Sage | |
| Holy Company | |
|
Chapter Six: The Science of Yoga |
73 |
| Light on the Path of Yoga | |
| The Process of Yoga | |
| Some Facts About Prana and Nadis | |
| Secrets of Swara Vidya | |
|
Experiences in Kundalini Yoga |
|
|
Chapter Seven: Divine Love |
80 |
| Love, the Supreme Power | |
| Glory of Divine Name | |
| Faith and Self-surrender | |
| Worship the Lord in Love | |
| Pray Fervently | |
|
Chapter Eight: Karma Yoga |
85 |
| Necessity for Purification | |
| Yoga of Worshipful Action | |
| Hints on Karma Yoga | |
| Law of Karma | |
| Advice to Karma Yogins | |
| Secret of Success in Karma Yoga | |
| Antitheses to Karma Yoga | |
|
Chapter Nine: Self-Culture |
94 |
| Path to Perfection | |
| Means of Happiness | |
| Fear Not | |
| How to Improve Yourself | |
|
Chapter Ten: Righteousness, The Fulcrum of Life |
100 |
| Nature of Dharma | |
| Golden Rules | |
| Life without Dharma is a Waste | |
| Righteousness Brings Blessedness | |
| Character is the Real Wealth | |
| Cultivation of Virtues: (a) Truth (b) Ahimsa, (c) Celibacy and Self-Control, (d) Fortitude and Humility | |
|
Ethics |
|
| Light on Dharma | |
|
Chapter Eleven: The Science of the Self |
110 |
| The Transcendental Reality | |
| Existence Absolute | |
| Wisdom of the Upanishads | |
| Vedanta Shows the Way | |
| Brahman or the Absolute Consciousness | |
| Maya, The Great Mystery | |
| Solve the Mystery | |
| The Individual Soul | |
| Secret of the Three States | |
| Vedantic Pearls | |
|
Chapter Twelve: The Supreme Requisite |
135 |
| Renunciation | |
| Happiness Lies in Renunciation | |
| The Glory of Renunciation | |
| Listen, O Man! | |
| Be Wise, Seek the Lord | |
| Thoughts on Renunciation | |
| Secrets of Renunciation | |
|
Chapter Thirteen: Key to Success and Bliss |
143 |
| Art of Concentration | |
| Meditation | |
| Fruits of Meditation | |
| The Highest Meditation | |
|
Chapter Fourteen: Mysterious Human Mind |
148 |
| Your Mind | |
| Its Mysterious Nature | |
| Vasanas and Vrittis | |
| Secret of Sadhana | |
| Control of Mind | |
|
Chapter Fifteen: Know Thy Ideal |
154 |
| Bharatavarsha, Land of Sages | |
| Thy Treasure is Spiritual | |
| Ideal of Education | |
| The Ideal Hindu | |
| Thus Sayeth Sivananda | |
| Revive Sanskrit | |
|
Chapter Sixteen: Way to Real Peace and Happiness |
161 |
| The Supreme Indispensable Factor | |
| Religion must Guide Science | |
| Essence of Religion | |
| Unity of Religions | |
| Preserve Religion; Behold Unity | |
| World Peace | |
|
Chapter Seventeen: Hindu Philosophy |
172 |
| Basis of Hindu Thought | |
| Universe and Man | |
| Secret of Life | |
|
Chapter Eighteen: Supreme Ideal of India |
179 |
| Voice of Bharat | |
|
Come All! Lead the Divine Life |
Publishers’ Note
These are the outpourings of the Heart of Sivananda. The Heart of Sivananda is filled with infinite love for the entire mankind; every sentence on every page of this book is empowered by that love to dispel the darkness of ignorance that besets the path of the spiritual aspirant and prevents him from marching forward.
Therefore, the Heart of Sivananda is the aspirant’s hope, and indispensable guide. It is offered to the world of spiritual aspirants with the prayer that it might not only serve them as a guide-book, but as a protective armour with which to resist the onslaughts of worldly forces.
We acknowledge with gratitude the services rendered by Sri Swami Premanandaji Maharaj in the preparation of this manuscript.
–THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. Sivanandanagar
8th September, 1957
71st Birthday of Swami Sivananda
śivānandastutiḥ
(Sri Gunde Rao Harkare, Vidyabhaskar)
शिरीषपुष्पादपि कोमलं मनः परार्तिभिर्यस्य सदार्तिपूर्णम्
परार्तिनिर्मूलनकर्मसक्तं महाद्रिनिर्भेदनवज्रकल्पम्
śirīṣapuṣpādapi komalaṁ manaḥ parārtibhiryasya sadārtipūrṇam
parārtinirmūlanakarmasaktaṁ mahādrinirbhedanavajrakalpam
Sri Swami Sivananda’s mind is naturally more delicate than Shireesha flower; being more tender it becomes much afflicted when he comes in contact with people suffering from and pained by the evil results of their own actions. But when he intends to uplift these and remove their calamities, his mind becomes like VAJRA–God Indra’s famous weapon–which cuts even mountains into pieces.
वात्सल्यवारांनिधिरद्वितीयो भवाब्धिभग्नोद्धणैकदीक्षः
क्षेत्रं ऋषीकेशमिहाधितिष्ठन् पुनाति भूमण्डलमध्यखण्डम्
vātsalyavārāṁnidhiradvitīyo bhavābdhibhagnoddhaṇaikadīkṣaḥ
kṣetraṁ ṛṣīkeśamihādhitiṣṭhan punāti bhūmaṇḍalamadhyakhaṇḍam
Swamiji is a great ocean of affection. He pledged himself to the service of the weak drowned in the sea of worldly life which is full of afflictions. He resides here in a small Kutir in Rishikesh but his power is all-pervading. He purifies the whole world.
नन्दन्ति नृत्यन्ति मुलं प्रयान्ति सर्वेऽद्य हृष्यन्ति हसन्ति यस्य
चन्द्रर्क्षभाढ्येव वियत्सभेयं चन्द्रर्क्षभायुर्दिवसोत्सवश्रीः
nandanti nṛtyanti mulaṁ prayānti sarve’dya hṛṣyanti hasanti yasya
candrarkṣabhāḍhyeva viyatsabheyaṁ candrarkṣabhāyurdivasotsavaśrīḥ
Today the devotees are rejoicing and are highly pleased. They are singing and dancing. They are in raptures. They are taking part in celebration of the seventy-first birthday of Sri Swamiji. This is seventy-first (चन्द्र candra means one and Rishi means seven अंळानां वामतोगतिः aṁḻānāṁ vāmatogatiḥ in counting seventy-one) birthday.
Swamiji is shining like the Moon in the assembly of seven Rishis. Bhrigu, Atri and others who constitute seven constellations, Ursa Major in the heaven.
दयानिधे ज्ञानदिवाकर त्वं दुर्मोधसोऽव्याजकृपाकटाक्ष
स्वारब्धकर्मोत्थसुतिव्रतापपापच्यमानान् त्वरयाऽद्य पाहि
dayānidhe jñānadivākara tvaṁ durmodhaso’vyājakṛpākaṭākṣa
svārabdhakarmotthasutivratāpapāpacyamānān tvarayā’dya pāhi
O Swamiji! You are the ocean of Love and naturally are benevolent; free from guile you lavish your kindness on all alike. The people in general are inclined towards wickedness and therefore suffer from the results of their own actions. Be kind and protect them.
* * *
(K.P.R.N. Cheruvallor Nampootiri, Haridwar)
शिवायानन्दमात्राय नवसारखतात्मने
भवामयौषधीशाय भवते भगवन् नमः
śivāyānandamātrāya navasārakhatātmane
bhavāmayauṣadhīśāya bhavate bhagavan namaḥ
Chapter One
GOAL OF LIFE
I. God–The Only Reality
- The Lord is the path and the goal.
- All beings abide in God but He stands apart from them. He is the origin and support and the ultimate destination of all beings.
- God is the source of all happiness. He is the source of life, thought and energy.
- He who is the bestower of divine wisdom and everlasting bliss, whose command all the elements of nature obey, whose shelter is immortality, whose shadow is death. He it is to whom I offer my worship and salutations.
- God is the fountain of goodness. Whatever is good in the world proceeds from Him alone.
- God alone exists. All else is vanity.
- God and supreme goodness is one.
- God alone is your real and sincere Father.
- God is pure Spirit, supremely simple.
- God is the first and the greatest Being.
- The supreme Sovereign of the universe, God, is the storehouse of eternal felicity.
- In and out God exists, nay, He is the universe itself. Yet, alas, how foolish and ignorant are those who declare that God does not exist.
- God is all in all. His name is above all names. He is your nearest and dearest.
- Though He is invisible, He sees all.
- God is beyond all, and yet embraces all.
- God has infinite power, unfathomable knowledge, inexpressible bliss, and ineffable splendour.
- God is infinite ocean of Bliss, Peace and Consciousness. He is the indweller of your heart. He is immortal silence.
- God is the Light of lights. He is knowledge. He is the knower.
- God is the same from age to age. He never changes. He is ageless.
- God has no opposite. He remains hidden.
- God is Truth, Beauty and Goodness.
- God has no religion. He is the source of all religions.
- God is one. All life is one.
- God is Peace. He is universal Harmony.
- God is Love and Law.
- God and His Law are one.
- Just as a lamp cannot burn without oil, so also man cannot live without God.
- Creation reveals that God is.
- God is Dharma. He is the bestower of Grace, which is boundless and inexhaustible.
- The Lord is the Kalpa-taru, Kama dhenu, and Parashmani.
- Personal God is Saguna Brahman. Impersonal God is Absolute or Nirguna Brahman.
- God is jewel and lustre, the germ and life, the bud and flower, the path and destination. He is the same soul in the ant, elephant and man.
- God appears to His devotees who pray to Him sincerely in whichever form they think of Him.
- God has given man conscience to choose between what is right and what is wrong. Positive and negative are two counterparts of life. Without them there can be no life, no creation.
- He who knows and loves God attains illumination of all things.
- God is the brilliance in the sun, the colours in the rainbow, the hues in the flowers. Behold the divine effulgence everywhere.
- Realise God through cultivating and practising goodness.
- Leave aside all worldly greatness and vanity. Be humble. Become like a child. Only then you can approach God.
- God is unfathomable bliss. Worldly pleasures are tinsels, latent with pain. Seek happiness in God. Fix your gaze on Him. Meditate on Him. You will attain immortality, and everlasting peace and bliss.
- What is the meaning of life and the world, and of the relationship of the individual soul with Brahman? Whence are we born? Whereby do we live? On what are we established? What is the goal of life? How to attain the goal? Destined by whom do we live through various conditions of pain and pleasure? These are some of the great problems of life.
- Who are we? Where do we come from? Whither are we bound? Is there any purpose of our existence? What is the aim and value of our actions? What is life’s fulfilment and its ultimate aim? These are some of the eternal problems.
- The main purpose, the main aim of life, is to know and realise God.
- The utility of life lies in God-realisation alone, without which everything is useless.
- The highest among all your duties is self-control and Self-realisation.
- He who does not try to attain Self-realisation commits spiritual suicide.
- He who has a human body and yet does not utilize it for doing virtuous actions and for trying to attain the goal of life, verily wastes his life.
- This mundane life is the gateway to the unseen beyond.
- The world is a great school for evolution.
- Know thyself. Everything else is secondary.
- Service of humanity is a means to Self-realisation.
- To live in God, to get absorbed in him, is the one glorious purpose of life.
- Wake up, wake up from the sleep of ignorance. Life is swallowed by death. Beware, beware friends. Seek the company of sages and saints. Purify, meditate, realise.
- O man! Become fearless. Rise up. Be strong. It is another happy new day. Act. Act bravely, virtuously. Behold the Self. Realise the Atman.
- To live truly is to be conscious of one’s own Self.
- Righteous living is the highest ideal of life.
- To grow spiritually and attain immortal bliss is your birthright.
- Attainment of supreme knowledge is the Ideal of life.
- You will attain God-realisation through steady faith, right perception, spotless life, and perfect knowledge.
- Perfect knowledge is possible only through intuition.
- What do you want to do in life? To accumulate wealth, get titles and procreate? No. Serve. Sacrifice. Realise.
- The life of power, pleasure and fame, politics and luxury, erudition, wealth and soulless learning cannot give everlasting peace and immortality.
- In the rush of modern civilization you have forgotten the existence of a real gem (Atman) you possess in your heart, and you run after false tinsels which are outside. What a lamentable state!
- He who is not meditating regularly, who is not making any enquiry into the nature of Truth or Brahman, is said to be as good as dead.
- There is the divine light of intellect in you. This is your guide in life. Fan and brighten this light.
- A rational understanding of God is the first step towards God-realisation.
- Life is a great mystery. Life is a voyage in the infinite ocean of time where every object is perpetually changing.
- Life is a tremendous battle with ignorance. Life is a terrible warfare with the mind and the senses.
- The conquest of the mind is your solemn duty.
- Man longs for immortality wisdom, eternal bliss and peace. He can attain these through purity, devotion, discrimination, dispassion and meditation.
- Life is an upward struggle, a medium through which to evolve.
- Change is another name for Samsara or world-process.
- Change is the involuntary urge caused by the sense of imperfection and desire for perfection.
- It is the great discontent, which is innate in every life that prompts man to seek God.
- Among all creations, it is only man who has the possibility of rising to the status of full divinity.
- Emancipation from all bondages is Self-realisation.
- Moksha is not a negative state of freedom from misery. It is an experience of positive peace and bliss.
- Moksha is a condition of perfection, the highest ideal of man.
- In this transient world, in the heart of every individual there is strong latent desire to obtain perfect, eternal happiness.
- In every man, in every living, there is a strong aversion to pain and sorrow. It is the first universal feature of life.
- Meditate on the Lord and realise Him. Only his Grace can free you from all pain and sorrow.
- An unprincipled life is a tragic waste indeed.
- Great is the agony of life in the womb. Strive to get rid of birth.
- How uncertain is life on earth! Realizing this one should engage oneself in incessant prayer, Japa, selfless service, and meditation.
- Death is knocking at your door every day. Therefore, do not waste time.
- You are a sojourner here for a short space of time. You are here to seek light and wisdom.
- Arm yourself with discrimination and dispassion.
- Practise balance of mind.
- Make yourself definite of the goal. Make a strong resolve to attain the goal. Do not waver, do not be shaky.
- Life is a trust. Your life is meant for service of others, whereby you only serve yourself.
- Meditate regularly, intensely and deeply. You will have insight, intuition and Samadhi if you are really earnest and persevering.
- The man who is blind from birth does not know what is day and what is night. Even so, the man who has no doubts, does not know what is truth, what is falsehood, what is proper, what is improper, what is beneficial and what is harmful.
- Truth is infinite, and infinite are the ways that lead to it.
- Spiritual paths are divergent, but the goal is the same.
- Life is a continuous divine worship.
- Life is not an empty dream. Awake; awake, from your slumber of delusion.
- Life is precious. Time is precious. Hear the call of life.
- Love truth. Respect reason. Be pure. Practise tolerance.
- He who knows is humble, gentle and noble.
- He who knows not is arrogant, harsh and vain.
- All that glitters is not gold. So, also all that shines and appears to be pleasant and beautiful, may not actually be so in truth.