Bhava Culture by Swami Sivananda Bhava is a Sanskrit term; there is no proper equivalent in English. It means mental attitude or mental disposition. Bhava is internal feeling. There are three kinds of Bhavas, viz., Sattvic Bhava, Rajasic Bhava and Tamasic Bhava according to the nature of the quality that predominates in man. Sattvic Bhava is divine Bhava. It is Suddha Bhava. Just as thought or memory or will can be cultivated or developed by practice, so also, Bhava can be developed. An evil Bhava can be transmuted into a good Bhava. The Bhava of friendliness or enmity is a mental creation. The enemy or friend is not outside. It is the feeling or imagination from within. An intimate friend of long standing becomes a deadly enemy within a second. One hot or harsh word changes the situation completely within the twinkling of an eye. When there is friendly Bhava, Mr. Smith expects and imagines that his friend Mr. Nicholas will serve him when he is sick, that he will have a good loving company in Mr. Nicholas, that his friend Mr. Nicholas will speak loving words, that he can get a loan of money from Mr. Nicholas when he is in distress, and that Mr. Nicholas will show a loving face and receive him with hospitality when he visits his house. These are the feelings of men when friendly Bhava reigns in their minds. When they lose their friendship, Mr. Smith entertains different kinds of feelings towards Mr. Nicholas. He has no confidence in his old friend and colleague. He is afraid of him. He turns his face when he meets his friend. He speaks ill of him. He thinks that Mr. Nicholas will injure him. The whole position is so radically changed. The Bhava has so completely changed now. Vedanta says: “Man is identical with Brahman (Existence-Absolute) when he gets rid of his ignorance.” A human being erroneously identifies himself with his body and wrongly imagines that he is a little Jiva with little power and little knowledge. This is his present Bhava. This is human Bhava. This should be changed into Brahma Bhava by changing the angle of vision and mode of thinking. Think you are Brahman. Think you are pure and all-pervading intelligence, light and consciousness. Think you are immortal. Think you are omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Think you are Sakshi. Entertain Sakshi Bhava and Akarta Bhava: “I am the witness. I am not the doer. I am not the enjoyer.” By this practice you can destroy the idea of agency and of enjoyer, and free yourself from the bondage of Karmas, and attain the state of Brahman or the highest bliss, knowledge and immortality. Vedanta also adds: “See and feel Brahman everywhere and ignore the names and forms.” It teaches you to develop Atma Bhava or Brahma Bhava by Vichara and right thinking and meditation. When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, a mental state or Bhava corresponding to the nature of the idea comes in. Think of your enemy for sometime, an inimical Bhava will manifest. Think of mercy or universal love; Prema Bhava or Karuna Bhava will manifest. Think of universal service; Seva Bhava will come in. Think of Lord Krishna and His Lilas at Brindavan; Krishna-Prema Bhava will manifest. Feeling always accompanies thinking. You cannot separate thinking from feeling. They are like fire and heat. You should be ever watching the mental states through careful and vigilant introspection, and should not allow any negative and undesirable Bhava to manifest. You must immediately change the evil Bhava by thinking of the opposite Bhava. Positive overpowers the negative. A Sattvic Bhava is a valuable spiritual asset for you. You must always try to get established in Brahma Bhava through Sattvic Bhava. The struggle will be keen in the beginning. There will be internal warfare between the Asurika and the divine Bhavas. The former will try its level best to re-enter the mental factory. In the long run, through constant practice, Sattvic Bhava will carry the day. Food has a direct bearing upon Bhava. Sattvic food easily brings in Sattvic Bhava. Put yourself on an exclusive diet of milk and fruits only for a fortnight and study the nature of your mind and Bhava. You will have a wonderful calm mind with Sattvic Bhava. When there is this Sattvic Bhava, the mind naturally moves towards God, and meditation comes by itself without the least possible effort on your part. When the devotee thinks that he is a servant of the Lord, he entertains Dasya Bhava. When he thinks that the Lord is his friend like the immortal Arjuna, he entertains Sakhya Bhava. When he thinks that the Lord is his son, he develops Vatsalya Bhava. When he thinks that the Lord is his husband like Sufis or Rup-kalaji of Ayodhya, he develops Madhurya Bhava or Kanta Bhava. He feels that the Lord is present everywhere-Sarvam Vasudevamiti-and develops Tanmaya Bhava. A devotee always thinks that God does everything and that he is an instrument in the hands of God. He thinks that he is only Nimitta; this is his Bhava. By entertaining this Bhava, he gives up the idea of agency and enjoyment and thus frees himself from the bonds of Karma. He rests in perfect, unalloyed peace by developing this Bhava. He says when anything happens, whether desirable or undesirable, “God is everything. God does everything for my own good. God is just. Thy Will be done. All is Thine. I am Thine, my Lord.” By the practice of this Bhava, he is always happy, under all circumstances and conditions of life. The Bhavas of a Bhakta and a Vedantin differ. The Vedantin entertains Sakshi and Akarta Bhavas. The Bhakta entertains Nimitta Bhava. The Vedantin develops Brahma Bhava. The Bhakta develops Dasya Bhava. The Vedantin identifies himself with Brahman. The Bhakta entertains the Bhava of duality. He worships and adores. Eventually, through Para Bhakti, the Bhakta also gets Jnana and attains the same state

Ethical Culture by Swami Sivananda Do you know the reason why I have chosen this subject as the third item? Atman is the basis of everything. So I have placed spiritual culture in the very beginning. There is intimate relation between Atman and ‘will’. Will is only Atman or God in motion or manifestation. So I have dealt with will-culture after spiritual culture. No spiritual or will- culture is possible without ethical culture. So I have placed this subject as the third important item. Ethical culture will result in ethical perfection. An ethical man is more powerful than an intellectual man. Ethical culture brings in various sorts of Siddhis or occult powers. If you study Yoga Sutras, you will find a clear description of the powers that manifest by observance of the practices of Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. The nine Riddhis roll under the feet of an ethically developed man. They are ready to serve him. The philosopher need not necessarily be a moral or ethical man; but, a spiritual man must of necessity be moral. Morality goes hand in hand with spirituality. Morality co-exists with spirituality. The three kinds of Tapas, viz., physical, verbal and mental that are prescribed in the seventeenth chapter of the Gita, the practice of Yama in Raja Yoga philosophy, and the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddhists, viz., right thinking, right endeavour, right action, right living, etc., are all best calculated to develop the moral side of man. Sadachara or right conduct aims at making a man moral, so that he may be fit for the reception of Atma-Jnana or the realisation of the Supreme Tattva. You should always try your level best to speak the truth at all costs. You may lose your income in the beginning. But, in the long run, you are bound to be victorious. You will realise the truth of the Upanishads: “satyameva jayate nanritam. Truth alone triumphs, but not falsehood.” Even a lawyer who speaks the truth in law courts, who does not coach up false witnesses, may lose his practice in the beginning; but later on, he will be honoured by the judge as well as the client. Thousands of clients will flock to him only. He will have to make some sacrifice at the outset. Lawyers generally complain: “What can we do? Our profession is such. We must tell lies. Otherwise we lose our case.” These are false excuses. There was an advocate, a mental Sannyasin who was practising in Uttar Pradesh, who was a friend and benefactor of Sannyasins, who never coached false witnesses, who never took up criminal cases, and yet, he was the leader of the bar and was revered by the judges, clients and colleagues. O, my friends, barristers and advocates, who are killing their conscience and who are slayers of Atman! Will you all follow this noble example and ideal? Be truthful. You will have a peaceful death. Do not kill your conscience in order to have comfortable living, and in order to please your wife. Life here is evanescent and like a bubble. Aspire to become divine. The various formulae-ahimsa paramo dharmah (Non-injuring is the highest of all virtues); satyam vada, dharmam chara (speak the truth and do virtuous actions); do unto others in the same way as you wish others to do unto you; do as you would be done by; love thy neighbour as thyself-are all best calculated to develop the moral aspect of a human being. Morality is the basis for the realisation of Atmic unity or oneness of life or Advaitic feeling of sameness everywhere. Ethical culture prepares you for the Vedantic realisation of sarvam khalvidam brahma (All, indeed, is Brahman; there is no such thing as diversity). All aspirants commit mistakes in jumping to Samadhi and Dhyana all at once, as soon as they leave their houses, without caring a bit for ethical purification. The mind remains in the same condition although they have practised meditation for fifteen years. They have the same jealousy, hatred, idea of superiority, pride, egoism, etc. No meditation or Samadhi is possible without ethical culture. Meditation and Samadhi come by themselves when one has ethical perfection.

Sadhana Tattva or The Science of Seven Cultures by Swami Sivananda Introduction An ounce of practice is better than tons of theory. Practice Yoga, Religion and Philosophy in daily life and attain Self-realisation. These 32 instructions give the essence of the Eternal Religion (Sanatana Dharma) in its purest form. They are suitable for modern busy householders with fixed hours of work. Modify them to suit your convenience and increase the period gradually. In the beginning take only a few practicable resolves which form a small but definite advance over your present habits and character. In case of ill-health, pressure of work or unavoidable engagements replace your active Sadhana by frequent remembrance of God. Health Culture Eat moderately. Take light and simple food. Offer it to God before you eat. Have a balanced diet. Avoid chilies, garlic, onions, tamarind, etc., as far as possible. Give up tea, coffee, smoking, betels, meat and wine entirely. Fast on Ekadasi days. Take milk, fruits or roots only. Practice Yoga Asana or physical exercises for fifteen to thirty minutes every day. Take a long walk or play some vigorous games daily. Energy Culture 5. Observe silence (Mouna) for two hours daily and four to eight hours on Sundays. 6. Observe celibacy according to your age and circumstances. Restrict the indulgence to once a month. Decrease it gradually to once a year. Finally take a vow of abstinence for whole life. Ethical Culture 7. Speak the TRUTH. Speak little. Speak kindly. Speak sweetly. 8. Do not injure anyone in thought, word or deed. Be kind to all. 9. Be sincere, straightforward and open-hearted in your talks and dealings. 10. Be honest. Earn by the sweat of your brow. Do not accept any money, things or favour unless earned lawfully. Develop nobility and integrity. 11. Control fits of anger by serenity, patience, love, mercy and tolerance. Forget and forgive. Adapt yourself to men and events. Will Culture 12. Live without sugar for a week or month. Give up salt on Sundays. 13. Give up cards, novels, cinemas and clubs. Fly from evil company. Avoid discussions with materialists. Do not mix with persons who have no faith in God or who criticise your Sadhana. 14. Curtail your wants. Reduce your possessions. Have plain living and high thinking. Heart Culture 15. Doing good to others is the highest religion. Do some selfless service for a few hours every week, without egoism or expectation of reward. Do your worldly duties in the same spirit. Work is worship. Dedicate it to God. 16. Give two to ten percent of your income in charity every month. Share what you have with others. Let the world be your family. Remove selfishness. 17. Be humble and prostrate yourself to all beings mentally. Feel the Divine Presence everywhere. Give up vanity, pride and hypocrisy. 18. Have unwavering faith in God, the Gita and your Guru. Make a total self-surrender to God and pray: “Thy Will be done; I want nothing.” Submit to the Divine Will in all events and happenings with equanimity. 19. See God in all beings and love them as your own Self. Do not hate anyone. 20. Remember God at all times or, at least, on rising from bed, during a pause in work and before going to bed. Keep a Mala in your pocket. Psychic Culture 21. Study one chapter or ten to twenty-five verses of the Gita, with meaning, daily. Learn Sanskrit, at least sufficient to understand the Gita in original. 22. Memorise the whole of the Gita, gradually. Keep it always in your pocket. 23. Read the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, the Upanishads, the Yogavasishtha or other religious books daily or on holidays. 24. Attend religious meetings, Kirtans and Satsangas of saints at every opportunity. Organise such functions on Sundays or holidays. 25. Visit a temple or place of worship at least once a week and arrange to hold Kirtans or discourses there. 26. Spend holidays and leave-periods, when possible, in the company of saints or practice Sadhana at holy places in seclusion. Spiritual Culture 27. Go to bed early. Get up at four O’clock. Answer calls of nature, clean your mouth and take a bath. 28. Recite some prayers and Kirtan Dhvanis. Practice Pranayama, Japa and meditation from five to six O’clock. Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana throughout, without movement, by gradual practice. 29. Perform the daily Sandhya, Gayatri Japa, Nityakarma and worship, if any. 30. Write your favourite Mantra or Name of God in a notebook for ten to thirty minutes, daily. 31. Sing name of God (Kirtan), prayers, Stotras and Bhajans for half an hour at night, with family and friends. 32. Make annual resolves on the above lines. Regularity, tenacity and fixity are essential. Record your Sadhana in a spiritual diary daily. Review it every month and correct your failures.

Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions by Swami Sivananda 1. Get up at 4 a.m. daily. This is Brahmamuhurta which is extremely favourable for meditation on God. 2. Asana: Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana for Japa and meditation for half an hour, facing the east or the north. Increase the period gradually to three hours. Do Sirshasana and Sarvangasana for keeping up Brahmacharya and health. Take light physical exercises as walking, etc., regularly. Do twenty Pranayamas. 3. Japa: Repeat any Mantra as pure Om or Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Saravanabhavaya Namah, Sita Ram, Sri Ram, Hari Om, or Gayatri, according to your taste or inclination, from 108 to 21,600 times daily. 4. Dietetic discipline: Take Sattvic food, Suddha Ahara. Give up chillies, tamarind, garlic, onion, sour articles, oil, mustard, asafoetida. Observe moderation in diet (Mitahara). Do not overload the stomach. Give up those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight in a year. Eat simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food as medicine to keep the life going. Eating for enjoyment is sin. Give up salt and sugar for a month. You must be able to live on rice, Dhal and bread without any chutni. Do not ask for extra salt for Dhal and sugar for tea, coffee or milk. 5. Have a separate meditation-room under lock and key. 6. Charity: Do charity regularly, every month, or even daily according to your means, say six paise per rupee. 7. Svadhyaya: Study systematically the Gita, the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama. Lalita-sahasranama, Aditya Hridaya, Upanishads or Yoga Vasishtha, the Bible, Zend Avesta, the Koran, the Tripitakas, the Granth Sahib, etc., from half an hour to one hour daily and have Suddha Vichara. 8. Brahmacharya: Preserve the vital force (Veerya) very, very carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation-Vibhuti. Veerya is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought and intelligence. 9. Prayer Slokas: Get by heart some prayer-Slokas, Stotras and repeat them as soon as you sit in the Asana before starting Japa or meditation. This will elevate the Mind quickly. 10. Satsanga: Have Satsanga. Give up bad company, smoking, meat and alcoholic liquors entirely. Do not develop any evil habits. 11. Fast on Ekadasi: Fast on Ekadasi or live on milk and fruits only. 12. Japa Mala: Have Japa Maala (rosary) round your neck or in your pocket or underneath your pillow at night. 13. Mouna: Observe Mouna (vow of silence) for a couple of hours daily. 14. Speak the truth: Speak the truth at all cost. Speak a little. Speak sweetly. 15. Reduce your wants. If you have four shirts, reduce the number to three or two. Lead a happy, contented life. Avoid unnecessary worry. Have plain living and high thinking. 16. Never hurt anybody: Never hurt anybody (Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah). Control anger by love, Kshama (forgiveness) and Daya (compassion). 17. Do not depend upon servants: Do not depend upon servants. Self-reliance is the highest of all virtues. 18. Self-analysis: Think of the mistakes you have committed during the course of the day, just before retiring to bed (self-analysis). Keep daily diary and self-correction register. Do not brood over past mistakes. 19. Fulfil Duties: Remember that death is awaiting you at every moment. Never fail to fulfil your duties. Have pure conduct (Sadachara). 20. Surrender to God: Think of god as soon as you wake up and just before you go to sleep. Surrender yourself completely to God (Saranagati). Om Santih Santih Santih! This is the essence of all spiritual Sadhanas. This will lead you to Moksha. All these Niyamas or spiritual canons must be rigidly observed. You must not give leniency to the mind.

Realise by Swami Sivananda The realization of oneness in all existences, manifested and unmanifested, is the goal of human life.Until man recognizes the fact that in essence he is the immortal soul, he will not know himself; through ignorance he identifies himself with the body. When knowledge dawns through annihilation of ignorance, identification with the body vanishes. He becomes one with the Supreme Soul and attains knowledge of Brahman. When the electric lamp is covered by many wrappings of cloth, there will be no bright light. When the cloth is removed one by one, the light grows brighter and brighter. Even so, when the self-resplendent Atman which is covered by the five sheaths is stripped off, by meditation on the pure Self and the practice of ‘neti neti’ doctrine, the self-luminous Atman reveals itself to the meditator. All religions are equally good. God is the fruit of any religion truly practiced. Make no mistake about it. God is one. Truth is one. The colour of the cows may be different, but milk is white. Do not run from sect to sect. Do not jump from creed to creed. You will derive no peace. Peace does not come by fretting and fuming. Out of calmness and strength ensues peace. Acquire calmness and strength by living your religion and by practicing its precepts. Dive within; introspect. Search within. See if you are practicing the tenets of your own faith. If the answer comes ‘No,’ make a firm resolve ‘I will be true to my faith right from this moment’ and live up to your resolve. Peace of mind is bound to follow as day follows night.

Self-Realisation by Swami Sivananda Behind this world-show, behind these physical phenomena, behind these names and forms, behind the feelings, thoughts, emotions and sentiments there dwells the silent witness thy immortal friend and real well-wisher-the Purusha or world teacher, the unseen governor or master, the unknown Yogi, the indivisible power of consciousness or hidden sage. That is the only permanent reality and living truth. That is Brahman or the Supreme Being or the Absolute. That is Atma. That is Self. The goal of human life is to realise the reality behind the changing phenomena. The summum bonum of human aspiration is to attain Self-realisation. Self-realisation alone can make you absolutely free and independent. Trust not your body, mind and senses. Have inner spiritual life. Attain knowledge of the Self through steady devotion and discipline. Drink the nectar of immortality, quench the flames of Samsara and allay its tortures, miseries and sorrows. Friends! Is there not a higher mission in life besides eating, sleeping and talking? Is there not any higher form of eternal bliss than these transitory and illusory pleasures? Is there not a dignified life than the sensual life? How uncertain is life here! How insecure is our existence in this earth-plane with various kinds of fear! How painful is this mundane life? Should we not attempt diligently now to reach a place-the immortal abode, our original sweet home of pristine purity and divine splendour-where there is eternal sunshine, absolute security, perfect peace and where there is neither disease, nor death, nor war? Come, come! Become a Yogi. Come out of your narrow holes or ruts. Crush all sorts of superstitions. Aim high. To become an advocate, or a doctor, or an engineer, or a professor, is the height of your ambition. Can this give you freedom? Can this give you eternal bliss? Can this give you everlasting peace? Can this make you immortal? Do you not like to attain perfection or immortality? Do you not wish to achieve the summum bonum of existence-Kaivalya or independence-Atma Svarajya? Then come, struggle for higher things. Be bold! Look not back. March forward! Enquire: “Who am I?” Hear, reflect, meditate and realise the Atmic splendour! Om is Sat-Chit-Ananda. Om is Infinite. Om is Eternal. Om is Immortality. Sing Om. Chant Om. Feel Om. Santi! Santi! Santi! Peace! Peace! Peace!