Idol Worship by Swami Sivananda Idol or Murthy (Vigraha), Sun, Fire, Water, Ganga, Saligram, Linga are all symbols or Prateekas of God which help the aspirants to attain one-pointedness of mind and purity of heart. A symbol is absolutely indispensable for fixing the mind. The Christians also have got the symbol ‘cross’. A gross mind needs a concrete symbol as a prop or Alambana; a subtle mind requires an abstract symbol. Even a Vedantin has the symbol of OM for fixing the wandering mind. In the beginning concentration or meditation is not possible without a symbol. The devotee superimposes on the concrete idol the Lord and His attributes. He does Shodasopachara for the idol, the sixteen kinds of paying respects or service to the Lord such as Padyam (water for washing feet), Arghyam, Asana (seat), Snana (bathing), offering clothes, Achamana (water for sipping), applying sandal paste, offering flowers (Archana), burning incense, waving of lights and camphor; Maha Naivedyam, etc. The wandering mind is fixed now in this form of worship. The aspirant gradually feels the nearness of the Lord. He attains purity of heart and slowly annihilates his egoism. Even in worshipping a small idol, he has to repeat the Purusha Sukta and to think of the Virat Purusha with countless heads, countless eyes, countless hands, who extends beyond the universe, and of the Lord or Atman who dwells in the hearts of all beings. For a Bhakta or a sage, there is no such thing as Jada or insentient matter. Everything is Vasudeva or Chaitanya-vasudevah sarvam iti. The devotee beholds actually the Lord in the idol. Narsi Mehta was put to test by a Raja. The Raja said: “O Narsi, if you are a sincere devotee of Lord Krishna, if as you say the idol is Lord Krishna Himself, let this idol move.” According to the prayer of Narsi Mehta, the idol moved. The sacred Bull Nandi before Siva’s idol took the food offered by Tulasidas. The Murti played with Mira Bai. It was full of life and Chaitanya for her. How sublime is Hindu philosophy and Hindu mode of worship! It does not stop or end with worship of idol alone. The Sadhaka is taken step by step to higher stages of devotion and Samadhi or communion through the worship of the idol. Though he worships the idol, he has to keep before his mental eye the all-pervading Lord. He has to feel His Presence in His heart and all objects. The ways and roles of worship, Puja-Vidhi and the secrets of worship that are described in the Hindu scriptures are scientifically accurate and highly rational. It is only ignorant people who have not studied the scriptures, who have not associated with the devotees and great souls vilify worship of idols or Murtis. Many English educated persons do not attach any importance to Prasad when they get it from the Mahatma. This is a serious mistake. Prasad is a great purifier. As they are brought up in the Western style of living, they have imbibed the spirit of Westerners and forgotten the spirit of the true children of Indian Rishis of yore. Live for a week in Brindavan or Ayodhya or Benares or Pandarpur. You will realise the glory and the miraculous effects of Prasad. Many incurable diseases are cured. Many sincere devotional aspirants get wonderful spiritual experiences from mere Prasad alone. Prasad is a panacea. Prasad is a spiritual elixir. Prasad is the Grace of the Lord. Prasad is a cure-all and an ideal ‘pick-me-up’. Prasad is an embodiment of Sakti. Prasad is Divinity in manifestation. Devotees of Lord Krishna should feel that every form is the form of Lord Krishna. They should not change this Bhava or mental attitude, even if a murderer appears before them to kill them. If they are established in this Bhava, the nature of the murderer will be changed or some other man will kill the murderer. If the Bhava changes, they should cultivate it again and again. Feel His Presence always. Recognise His presence everywhere. Carry His presence wherever you walk. Remember Him always. Live in Him. You need not read many books. You need not roam about in search of Gurus. You need not stand on your head for 12 years. You need not do Aswini Mudra to open the Kundalini. I have given you the essence of all Sadhanas. It is the gist of all Vedas. Practise it. Believe me. It is very easy. It will surely give you Moksha. I assure you. Those who worship Hiranyagarbha go to Brahmaloka or Satyaloka. They wait there for the life-time of Brahma. When the Brahmanda gets dissolved during the Pralaya, they enter the Supreme Self or Para Brahman along with Hiranyagarbha. Then only they lose their sense of individuality. Hiranyagarbha Upasana is the worship of the life-aspect of Ishvara. Meditation on Saguna Brahman wards off calamities. The devotee gets powers though he does not want them. Siddhis roll under his feet. He gets emancipation by successive steps. This is called Krama Mukti or progressive emancipation in contradistinction to the Sadyo Mukti or immediate emancipation attained by a Jnani. The devotee goes to Brahmaloka first and then enters into Nirguna Brahman. This is called Krama Mukti. The Jnani is absorbed into Nirguna Brahman directly. This is the difference. Saguna Upasakas or those who meditate on the image of the Lord should do Trataka first with open eyes till they can visualise a clear-cut, well-defined picture. Later on they can visualise the picture with closed eyes. The picture must be very pleasing to the mind and the eyes. It should have a good, agreeable background. When you have created a strong mental image of your Lord in the mind by continuous practice of meditation on one form, you should not disturb the mental image by changing the picture. Stick to the same picture and strengthen and feed the mental image through repeated practice of Trataka, visualisation and constant meditation on the

The Gist of Bhakti Yoga Sadhana by Swami Sivananda Select an Ishta Devata either Siva, Krishna, Rama, Vishnu, Dattatreya, Gayatri or Sakti according to the advice of your Guru, or your own inclination or on consultation with a good astrologer who will name the Deity according to your planetary influence. Get the proper Mantra also OM Namah Sivaya, or OM Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, OM Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram, or OM Namo Narayanaya. Keep a photo of your Ishtam in front of you in the meditation room. For 6 months, do Trataka on the picture. See the picture carefully with concentration for half an hour without winking till tears flow profusely. Study constantly the Bhagavata, the Ramayana, Narada Bhakti Sutras and Sandilya Sutras. Live for one year in Ayodhya, Mathura, Pandarpur or Nadia, Bengal. Pass through the course of Nava Vidha Bhakti, Sravana, Smarana, Kirtana, Vandana, Archana, Pada Sevana, Sakhya, Dasya, Atmanivedana. Repeat your Guru Mantra constantly, all throughout the 24 hours. Have sleep for 3 hours. Select a Bhava suitable for you, either Madhurya, Sakhya, Dasya or Vatsalya. Make ungrudging, unreserved, true, perfect self-surrender to God. Do Antarika prayer from the bottom of your heart. Prayer can move mountains. Prayer can reach a realm wherein reason can hardly enter. Have Eka Nishtha, devotion to one ideal. The Bhakti must be Ananya, Avyabhicharini (unwavering, one-pointed, single-minded devotion). Develop slowly Anurag, Prem, Preeti, Viraha (pain of separation from God), Bhava, Maha Bhava. In Maha Bhava, the devotee is unconscious of his body and the world and is absolutely merged in God. From Apara or lower Bhakti, the devotee passes on to Para or Abheda Bhakti. A devotee gets Krama Mukti or progressive emancipation after passing through Salokya, Sameepya, Sarupya and Sayujya Mukti. “Dadami Buddhiyogam Tam Yena Mam Upayanti Te: I give the Yoga of discrimination by which they come unto Me.”-Gita, X, 10. After enjoying the lower Mukti, a devotee finally attains Kaivalya Moksha, the same state as that of a Jnani. An earnest Sadhaka with Utsaha (perseverance) can realise within 2 or 3 years. I assure you emphatically. I assure you sincerely and boldly. Make a sincere effort, and watch the results. Follow Lord Krishna’s instructions in the Gita, as described in the terms ‘MACCHITTA’, ‘YUKTA’, ‘MATPARA’.

Important Sadhana in Bhakti Yoga by Swami Sivananda Self-surrender is complete surrendering of the self to God. Self-surrender makes the devotee feel the reality of divine grace and Lord’s readiness to bestow on him help at all times. The divine influence streams into his being and moulds it to make it a fit medium for divine realisation and divine instrumentality. Surrender and grace are inter-related. Surrender draws down grace and grace makes surrender complete. Surrender starts the purification of the heart. Grace completes it. Without grace the complete unification is not possible. Grace divinises your being in order that the constant inflow and inspiration can be received and retained. It is through divine grace alone that his whole being is galvanised, rejuvenated. You can realise the Absolute or the Impersonal by surrender to the Divine. Surrender is not a thing that is done in a week or a month. You cannot make total surrender from the very beginning of your Sadhana. The self-arrogating little ego persists and resists again and again. It clings leech-like to its old habits, cravings and desires. It wages guerilla war. It resists surrender. It demands certain objects for its secret gratification. The whole being should be surrendered. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says, “Tameva Saranam Gaccha Sarvabhavena Bharata-Flee unto Him for shelter with all thy being, O Bharata.” The Chitta, the ego, the mind, the intellect and the soul should be placed at the feet of the Lord. Mira did this and so she obtained Lord Krishna’s grace and became one with Him. The vulgar, stiff, obstinate ego is harder than diamond, reinforced concrete or steel. It is very difficult to melt it. Constant vigilance and ceaseless effort is necessary to slay this dire enemy of peace and wisdom. It keeps subtle desires for its own silent appeasement. Introspect and find out the subtle desires that lurk in the corners of your heart through the search-light of concentration and discrimination and kill them ruthlessly through regular, silent meditation. Do not bother about taking care of your body. God will save it if He needs it for further service in this body. Surrender it at His feet and rest in peace. He will take care of it. A real devotee says, “Let me take millions of births. It does not matter. But let me be attached to the lotus feet of Lord Hari. Let me have spontaneous devotion to the Lord. Let me be endowed with purity, spiritual strength, spirit of selfless service and divine virtues. If you simply say without real inner feeling “I am Thine, O Lord”, this will not constitute real integral self-surrender. It should come from the core of your heart. You must be prepared for a radical change. You should not stick to your old habits, ways and motives. You should not expect that everything should happen in the way you want. You should live to carry out the divine purpose. You should not think of those ambitions which the mind likes to gratify. You should not think of using even the divine grace or the divine force for your own purpose. The irrepressible ego will assert in various ways and refuse to give up its old habits and ways. It will try to get everything from the Divine. It will totally decline to give itself to the Divine. That is the reason why aspirants do not make any substantial progress in the spiritual path even after doing Sadhana for several years. There is no loss in self-surrender. You get from the Lord everything. You enjoy all divine Aisvarya of the Lord. The whole wealth of the Lord belongs to you. Siddhis and Riddhis will roll under your feet. You become one with the Lord. You are freed from all wants and desires and cravings. The spiritually hungry and real thirsty aspirant who yearns for the vision of the Lord turns towards the Divine and is quite willing, eager and happy to consecrate his body, life, mind and soul at the feet of the Lord. The first stage of self-surrender is only a firm resolve to surrender oneself to God or the Preceptor. A Sadhaka who has dedicated his life for the service of his teacher or the service of humanity or for attaining Self-realisation is not at all bound by the actions he performs, subsequent to his self-surrender. Self-surrender becomes perfect only after God-realisation. Renunciation of the family life is the beginning of self-surrender. He who is endowed with burning Vairagya and discrimination and is really earnest for his spiritual rejuvenation can also do complete self-surrender even though he is in the world. In and through the world he realises the Lord by complete surrender of his entire being to Him. But it is only a very few who are capable of doing this. Because, the worldly life is beset with innumerable obstacles and temptations and the aspirant finds it very difficult to attain complete dispassion in the midst of so many dissipations and distractions. Therefore, renunciation of family life makes his path easier and smoother. The seed is now sown. Then the aspirant goes to his preceptor and falls at his feet. Now the seed germinates. He starts the service of his Guru. As he advances in his devotion and sincere service, his surrender becomes more and more perfect and complete. His heart becomes purer and purer and gradually the light of knowledge dawns in him and he cognises the Supreme Atman, which pervades all and everywhere. The actions performed by the Sadhaka after renunciation do not bind him, as he offers all his actions as offerings unto his preceptor or Lord. He does not do any action, which can be considered as selfish. Thus through service of one’s preceptor with utter self-dedication, his heart becomes purified, and ultimately the Lord becomes his preceptor. Now he has completely surrendered himself to the Lord and he attains the highest intuition. In the beginning individual effort is very

The Role of Faith in Bhakti Sadhana by Swami Sivananda Arm yourself with faith in God. Vain argumentation is a sign of ignorance. Faith leads to peace and harmony. Argument produces restlessness. However much you argue you cannot understand the nature of God; even as, however much you try you cannot see your own eye-balls, except in a mirror. That mirror is faith. Faith reflects God; intellect veils Him. God is the Hand that holds the torch of your intellect; it is useless trying to apply your intellect to the Truth of His Existence. What is required is faith. Faith in the Existence of God, faith in the words of saints and sages, will lead to inward peace and joy; and in that stillness you will discover God. You will shine as an embodiment of peace, love and unity. From you will spring forth thoughts, words and actions that will flood the entire world with peace, plenty and prosperity. May you all shine as saints, Yogins, sages and Jivanmuktas! May there be peace in the world and love in the heart of man! May His Divine Power triumph in this universe, now and for ever! May God bless you all with health, long life, peace, prosperity and Eternal Bliss!

Essentials in Bhakti Yoga Sadhana by Swami Sivananda There are different types of mind. People have different tastes, tendencies, temperaments, inclinations and capacities for Sadhana. So various paths are necessary although the goal to be reached, i.e., Self-realisation is always the same. The path of Bhakti Yoga is open to all and is the easiest path for God-realisation in this Iron Age. Anybody can become a devotee. No distinction of caste, colour or sex finds a place in the realm of Bhakti. Devotion has nothing to do with age, caste, position or rank in life. The desire for liberation alone makes one a fit person for developing devotion and taking up the path of Bhakti Yoga. Merits acquired in the previous births generate devotion in the heart of a man in the following birth. Liberation comes to him who is devoted to the Lord. Bhakti is supreme devotion and intense attachment to the Lord. Faith in the existence of God is the foundation of Bhakti. Service of Bhagavatas, Sadhus and Sannyasins, repetition of God’s name, Satsanga, Hari-kirtan, study of the Bhagavata or the Ramayana, stay in Brindavan, Pandarpur, Chitrakuta or Ayodhya-these are the six means of cultivating and developing Bhakti. Navavidha Bhakti or nine modes of devotion should be practised by all aspirants in the path of Bhakti Yoga. They are: Sravanam hearing the Lilas of the Lord, Kirtanam singing His praises, Smaranam remembering God, Padasevanam worshipping the lotus feet of God (service of humanity, country and poor people), Archanam offering of flowers, Vandanam prostration, Dasyam service, Sakhyam friendship and Atmanivedanam complete self-surrender. Bhakti should be of a Nishkamya type. It should be Avyabhicharini also. It should be continuous like the flow of oil. The aspirant should observe Sadachara or right conduct. He should be very very serious and earnest in his devotional practices. These are the five indispensable requisites in the Bhakti Yoga. Then only realisation of God will come quickly. Know that caste, learning, position, beauty and youth are the five thorns in the path of devotion. Beware of the two inner enemies, viz., lust and anger that stand in the way of developing Bhakti. Know that ten kinds of vices follow lust and eight kinds of vices accompany anger. Lajja or shyness for the utterance of the names of the Lord is also a great obstacle for the beginners in the path of devotion. Trishna or internal craving for sensual objects is quite detrimental to the growth of Bhakti. Have true, perfect, living, unswerving faith in God, in His grace and in the power of His name. Faith can work wonders. Faith can move mountains. Faith can take you to the inner Chambers of the Lord. Faith can make you Divine. Faith can give you peace, inner spiritual strength, joy, freedom, immortality and bliss. Therefore have genuine and living faith in the existence of God, in the scriptures, in the words of your Guru and in your own self. God tries His devotees in various ways in the beginning. He puts them to severe trials and tests. Eventually He becomes a slave of the Bhaktas. Lord Krishna says, “I am not in My control. I am under the complete control of My Bhaktas. They have taken entire possession of My heart. How can I leave them when they have renounced everything for My sake only?”de God is full of mercy, compassion and love. He has been described as the ocean of mercy. His mercy flows like the streams of the Ganga and the Yamuna. He willingly suffers endless pain in the eyes of the world in order to alleviate the sufferings of His devotees. He ran with His Chakra to kill the Asura who was in the form of a crocodile, when He heard the cry from Gajendra, the lord of the elephants and gave him salvation. He posed as Inspector of Schools and signed in the register when Roop Kalaji of Ayodhya was very busy in his worship of Lord Rama and forgot all about his inspection work. Lord Rama took the form of a sepoy and did sentinel duty when His sepoy Bhakta in Punjab left his duty and attended a Sankirtan party. Stand up dear friends! Life is short and time is fleeting. Time is more precious. Remember the goal and the purpose for which you have taken this physical body. Struggle hard. Do intense Sadhana. Annihilate egoism, selfishness, pride and hatred. Consecrate everything at the lotus feet of the Lord. Strive in right earnest after the achievement of that great end of human life, the true essence of all religions-Devotion to God’s Divine Prem or Bhakti, which alone can free us from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths and give us highest knowledge, infinite bliss, supreme peace and Immortality. May you all tread the path of devotion and ever rest in the state of divine ecstasy and unalloyed bliss of joy and happiness.