Message of Amrita by Swami Sivananda HEY AMRITA PUTRA! Are you always peaceful? Are you noble? Do you possess self-restraint? Are you endowed with divine virtues? Are you free from ignorance? Do you possess knowledge of the Self? Have you got illumination? Have you realised the immortal, pure Self? How do you stand before these questions? If you have not got these things, then come, sit down and listen? Here is the message of Amrita for you all! Even if you practise a little of this, you will go beyond death, sorrow and pain. Meditate always I am pure consciousness. I am Sat-Chit-Ananda Brahman. I am the immutable, self-effulgent, immortal Self. I am the silent witness of the three states, viz., waking, dreaming and deep-sleep state. I am distinct from the body, mind, Prana and senses. I am distinct from the five sheaths. You will attain Self-realisation soon. You will attain knowledge of the Self (Brahma Jnana). It is bondage when you are attached to your wife, property or body, when you take the body as the pure Self. It is liberation when you are not attached to any object of this world, when you identify yourself with the pure, immortal Atman. Wherever there is Kama (desire), there is no Rama; wherever there is Rama there is no Kama. Wherever there is desire, there is the world. Therefore, go beyond desire by cultivating discrimination (Viveka), dispassion (Vairagya) and by meditating on Brahman or the Supreme Self and be happy. Live without the feeling of ‘I-ness’, ‘mine-ness’ and attachment. Restrain the senses. Observe the rules of right conduct. Get purity of heart. Hear the Truth. Abide in the Self. Be happy. As soon as you realise that you are not this body, you become free from matter and death, you are free from the bondage of Karma, from the fetters of desires, from the mirage of this mundane life and its concomitant evils and miseries. Soul, Supreme Self, Atman or Brahman is that abiding, constantly existing and imperishable entity which is the basis for the world, indivisible, self-luminous, unchanging, all-pervading and the silent witness or Sakshi of the three states. The knower of this attains immortality and enters the abode of bliss and nectar. Brahman is real and eternal. This body is unreal and perishable. From the knowledge of Self (Atman) and not-self (Anatma) springs the stream of immortality or the ancient wisdom of the seers of the Upanishads. Atman is the immortal substance or essence in man. Atman is the origin of thoughts, desires and reasonings. Atman is spiritual because it is beyond matter and mind. It must be immortal because it is spiritual; it is beyond time, space and causation; it is beginningless and endless, causeless and infinite. If you realise this immortal soul which is hidden in your heart and all these forms, if the knots of Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire), and Karma (action) are rent asunder, if the chain of ignorance, viz., ignorance, non-discrimination, egoism, likes and dislikes, Karma, body, etc., is broken, you will be freed from the round of births and deaths, you will enter the city of deathlessness. The ignorant man only runs after sensual objects and falls into the moral coils spread around him. He lives in the midst of darkness. He falls again and again under the sway of the Lord of Death. The way to Moksha is not apparent to him. He is deluded by the sensual pleasures of this world. But the patient, thoughtful man of discrimination and dispassion does not desire the illusory pleasures of this world. He meditates on the Supreme Self and attains Eternal Bliss and Immortality. Moksha is the summum bonum of life. Moksha is the fulfilment of the life’s purpose. Life ends in the earth plane when you attain Moksha, or liberation from births and deaths. The realisation of your real object in life is freedom or Moksha. Moksha bestows on you eternal life of undecaying bliss and perennial joy. Moksha is not annihilation. Moksha is the annihilation of the little self-arrogating ego only. Moksha is realisation of the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. by annihilating this little self, you possess the whole of true universality, you attain life eternal and a fuller life. If you have purity of mind and concentration, you can make the mind assume any Bhava you like. If you think of mercy, your whole being will be saturated with mercy. If you think of peace, the whole being will be filled with peace. The spiritual path is doubtless beset with various difficulties. It is the razor path. The walk in this path is like the walking on the edge of a sharp razor. You will fall down several times but you will have to rise up quickly and walk again with more zeal, boldness and cheerfulness. Every stumbling block will become a stepping stone to success or ascent in the hill of spiritual knowledge. Every fall will give you additional strength to rise up to a great height in the ladder of Yoga. Do not lose sight of the goal. Do not miss the ideal. Do not be discouraged. The Indweller will guide you and push you up. All saints and sages, all prophets and sees had to pass through tremendous struggles and severe ordeals before they reached the goal. March boldly, O fair youth! and reach the goal. It is not true that only one attained Moksha or liberation. History bears evidence of many a Sankara having come into this world. If the past could produce Sankaras, why not the future also? What one has achieved can be achieved by others also. This is the immutable law of nature. Whosoever would attain the knowledge of the Self, like Yajnavalkya of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, like Uddalaka of Chhandogya Upanishad, will also attain Moksha or Immortality. The way to the enlightened sages is sinless. The way to liberation, freedom, perfect happiness and peace is through perfect

Become a Jivanmukta Not through matted locks, not through fiery lectures and erudition, not through the exhibition of miracles does one attain perfection of Knowledge of the Self. He in whom the two currents of Raga-Dvesha, egoism, lust and anger are destroyed in toto is ever happy and he is a Brahmin or liberated Sage or Jivanmukta.If the Vasanas and attachment to the objects of the world vanish entirely and if you are in that immovable state, you have become a Jivanmukta. You will abide in your own Self. You will rest in the non-dual supreme seat. The Jnana vision will arise in you. The light of wisdom will shine unobscured like the sun in the absence of clouds. You will never be attracted to any worldly object. You will be absolutely free from delusion and sorrow. You will actually feel that the Self alone pervades and permeates everywhere in this world. You will shine with Brahmic effulgence. You will possess equal vision and a balanced mind. You will be free from longing for sensual objects because the mind will always be made cool with Brahmic bliss. You will be bathed in the cool ambrosial nectar that dribbles from a contented and quiescent mind.Try to enjoy the sleepless sleep wherein all the senses and the mind remain in a state of quietude and the intellect ceases functioning. This sleepless sleep is Maha Nidra or super-conscious state. It is perfect awareness wherein the individual soul has merged itself into the Supreme Soul. There is no waking from this sleep. This show of names and forms has eventually vanished.

Jivanmukti and Videhamukti by Swami Sivananda Jivanmukti is that state in which the sage gets established in Satchidananda Brahman. He becomes the Brahman. The phenomenal universe does not vanish from his vision. Just as the man who was duped in the beginning by the water in the mirage knows that it is only illusion after careful examination, so also the liberated sage fully knows that this world is mere illusion though it appears to him. Freedom from the Kleshas or afflictions is Jivanmukti. The liberated sage is not affected by pleasure and pain. He knows fully well that pleasure and pain, action and enjoyment are the attributes or Dharmas of the Antahkarana. He has now separated himself from the mind. He now stands as a spectator or witness of the mind. Avarana Sakti and Vikshepa Sakti are the two Saktis of Avidya. As soon as Knowledge of the Self dawns, the Avarana Sakti is destroyed. Avarana Sakti is the veiling power. Vikshepa Sakti is the projecting power. This world is projected through the power of Vikshepa Sakti. On account of the Avarana Sakti you are not able to perceive the Satchidananda Brahman. On account of the destruction of Avarana Sakti, a Jnani is freed from birth and death. But Vikshepa Sakti (Lesha Avidya) remains like a burnt seed owing to the strength of Prarabdha. Therefore, there is appearance of the world for a Jivanmukta. Just as trembling of the body on account of fear remains even after the illusion of snake in the rope is destroyed by the knowledge of the rope, just as the mirage appears even after the illusory nature of the later is understood, so also the world appears for the Jivanmukta even after he has attained Self-realisation, even after he has clearly understood the illusory nature of the world. But just as the man who has understood the illusory nature of the mirage will not run after the mirage for drinking water, so also the Jivanmukta will not run after sensual objects like the worldly-minded people though the world appears to him. That is the difference between a worldly man and a liberated sage. After the death of Dronacharya, there was a fight with Asvatthama. Lord Krishna entered the battlefield with the pure resolve, This chariot and the horses will remain as they are today till I return home after the battle is over. Asvatthama utilised Brahmastra and Agniastra. Though the chariot and the horses of Arjuna were reduced to ashes by the weapons of Asvatthama, yet they remained intact on account of the pure resolve of Lord Krishna. As soon as Lord Krishna returned home, the chariot and the horses were burnt to ashes. This physical body is the chariot. Virtue and vice are the two wheels of the chariot. The three Gunas represent the banner. The five Pranas are the ropes. The ten Indriyas are the horses. The five objects of enjoyment are the path. Mind is the rein. Intellect is the driver. Prarabdha is the Sankalpa. The four means and Sravana, Manana, Nididhyasana are the weapons. Satsanga is the battlefield. Guru is Asvatthama. ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ Mahavakya is the Brahmastra. Knowledge of the Atman is the fire. As soon as the knowledge of the Self dawns, the world and body which represent the chariot and horses are burnt. On account of the force of Prarabdha, the world and the body appear to the vision of the Jnani or the Jivanmukta. Just as the potter’s wheel continues to revolve on account of the force already given by the stick of the potter, even after he has removed the stick, so also the world and body appear for the Jivanmukta on account of the force of Prarabdha, although in reality they are destroyed by the attainment of knowledge of the Self. This is called Bhatitanu Vritti. That which gets destroyed is the Pratiyogi of destruction. by destruction there is the appearance of the Pratiyogi. In Badha there is no appearance of Pratiyogi; but Abhava (non-existence) in the three periods of time appears. This is the difference between destruction and Badha. The Dharma of a man’s Chitta that has the characteristics of agency and enjoyment is fraught with pain and hence tends towards bondage. The control of it (the Chitta) is Jivanmukti. Videhamukti follows when, through the existence of Prarabdha, the removal of the vehicles (of the bodies) takes place like the ether in the pot (after the pot is broken). The destruction of Chitta is of two kinds, that with form and without form. The destruction of that with form is of the Jivanmukta; the destruction of that without form is of the Videhamukta. As soon as the Prarabdha is fully exhausted, the Jivanmukta attains the state of Videhamukti, just as the pot – ether becomes one with the universal ether when the pot is broken. In Videhamukti, the world entirely vanishes from the vision of a sage. There is no Prapancha Pratiti. As soon as Prarabdha is exhausted by enjoyment, Ajnana which assumed the modifications of gross, subtle and causal bodies involves itself into the Brahman. The Lesha Avidya (trace of ignorance that is found even in a Jivanmukta which is the cause for moving, eating, etc.,) along with the effect (Karya) is destroyed by the Chetana (consciousness) that is contained in the Samskaras of Brahma Vidya. Just as the fire in the fuel burns the heap of grass and itself burnt, so also the Chetana that is contained in the Samskaras of Knowledge destroys the world and the Samskaras of Knowledge are also destroyed eventually. Then the pure, self-luminous Satchidananda Brahman remains behind. If one knows through direct intuitive perception, I am Satchidananda Brahman, it is Sakshatkara or Self-realisation. From the very date on which one realises his own Atman, he becomes a Jivanmukta. The Jivanmukta roams about happily in this world as he is free from the three kinds of fevers. He is free from all sorts of attachment and Vasanas.

Who is a Jivanmukta by Swami Sivananda I A JIVANMUKTA is a liberated sage. He is released even while living. He lives in the world but he is not of the world. He always revels in the eternal bliss of the Supreme Self. He has no identification with the body and senses. Hence he has no idea of enjoyment or enjoyer when he exhausts the residue of his Prarabdha. He has no idea of action or agent. He roams about happily without attachment and egoism, with a balanced mind and equal vision. His state is indescribable. He is Brahman Himself. The sage, who has realised that there is no other reality in the universe than Brahman, that he is Brahman Himself and that everything is Brahman, is freed from the round of births and deaths. He has attained freedom, perfection and immortality. He is a Jivanmukta (one who has attained liberation while living). Not through matted locks, not through fiery lectures and erudition, not through the exhibition of miracles, does one attain perfection or knowledge of the Self. He is whom the two currents, Raga-Dvesha and egoism, lust, anger are destroyed in toto is ever happy and he is Brahman or a liberated sage or Jivanmukta. A Jivanmukta or liberated sage is absolutely free from egoism, doubt, fear and grief. These are the four important signs that indicate that one has attained perfection. For a Jivanmukta there is no distinction between a rogue and a saint, gold and stones, high and low, man and woman, man and animal, censure and praise, honour and dishonour. He beholds the one Self everywhere. He sees divinity in everyone. As he is mindless, all differences and barriers have vanished for him. For a Jivanmukta who beholds the all-pervading, immortal, indivisible, self-luminous Atman everywhere, there remains nothing to be attained or known. He has attained perfection, highest bliss and highest knowledge. The sage becomes aware that he is free. He realises that rebirth is exhausted. He realises also that he has fulfilled all his duties and that there is no further return to this world. He further realises that he has obtained everything, that all his desires are gratified, that he has nothing more to learn and that he has obtained the highest knowledge. Raja Janaka asked a sage, O venerable sage! How is it that you do not perform Sandhya at daybreak, middy and sunset? The sage replied, Rajan! The sun of knowledge – Jnana Surya – Is ever shining in Chidakasa of my heart. There is neither sunrise nor sunset for me. How can I perform Sandhya when there is neither sunrise nor sunset? Further my old grand-mother Maya is dead. Janaka bowed his head before the sage and silently left the place. He came to understand that the sage is a real Jivanmukta who is established in Brahmic consciousness. What a great wonder! What meritorious actions did these Jivanmukta do! They have become liberated sages while living. Through their Sat-Sankalpas they work wonders. They are visible Gods on earth. How peaceful they are! They always possess unruffled mind. Wherever they go they influence people. They do not speak and yet teach the aspirants through their silence. Adorations to such exalted beings! A Jivanmukta is a great spiritual hero. He is an enlightened sage who has knowledge of the Self. He is pre-eminent amongst men. He is the conqueror of mind. He is absolutely free from desires, craving, fear, delusion, pride, egoism, etc. He is a powerhouse of spiritual energy. He radiates his spiritual currents to the different corners of the world. Sit before him. Your doubts will be cleared by themselves. You will feel a peculiar thrill of joy and peace in his presence. A Jivanmukta is an ocean of mercy. He tries his level best to rescue the worldly-minded who are deeply immersed in the mire of misery. He guides the aspirants in the attainment of Brahma Jnana which leads to perfect freedom. His very presence is thrilling and inspiring. He guides the students by his mere silence, as the silence Dakshinamurthy guided the four Naishtika Brahmacharis, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatsujata and Sanat Kumara, in days of yore. The way of living in Jivanmuktas or sages differs. One sage lives in a princely style. Bhagiratha lived this kind of life. Another sage lives in a beggarly manner. One sage is always in a meditative mood. He never works. He never talks. He lives always in seclusion. Jada Bharata lived this kind of life. Another sage lives in a busy crowded city. He plunges himself in service. He mixes with the people. He delivers lectures, holds religious classes, writes books, etc. Sankara led this kind of life. This is due to Prarabdha. Every sage has his own Prarabdha. If all sages lead the same kind of life and have the same kind of Prarabdha this world will be like a prison. Variety in manifestation is the nature of Prakrit. If the Vasanas and attachment to the object of the world vanish entirely and if one is in that immovable state, he has become a Jivanmukta. He abides in his own Self. He rests in the non-dual supreme seat. The Jnana vision arises in him. The light of wisdom will shine unobscured like the sun in the absence of clouds. He is never attracted to any worldly objects. He is absolutely free from delusion and sorrow. He actually feels that the Self alone pervades and permeates everywhere in this world. He shines with Brahmic effulgence. He possesses equal vision and a balanced mind. He is free from longing for sensual objects because the mind will always be made cool with Brahmic Bliss. He is bathed in the cool ambrosial nectar that dribbles from a contented and quiescent mind. There at the summit of the hill of eternal bliss you can see now the Jivanmukta or a full-blown Yogi. He has climbed the stupendous heights through intense and constant struggle. He did severe, rigorous spiritual

The Individual Nature by Swami Sivananda The location of the individual in the scheme of things makes it inadequate in every way. Its reactions cannot eliminate some amount of error. All individual experience is a form of error in some degree, though all error becomes an element of perfection in the Absolute. The aim of life of the individual is to overcome the urge for organic reactions in relation to external perceptible objects and to transcend itself in the all-comprehensive Absolute, which is the essential reality of all individuals. These reactions among individual natures are either unconscious or conscious. The unconscious urges are termed instincts and the conscious ones are those which constitute the rational processes in the individuals. Beyond these reactions of a twofold nature, there is the supreme integrating principle, viz., intuition and direct realisation of the highest essence of experience. These instinctive urges are powerful, and being ingrained in the very constitution of the individual, refuse to be easily subdued. The most powerful of these involuntary unconscious urges are those of self-preservation and self-reproduction. The instinct of self-preservation is sometimes wrongly called ‘food-seeking’ instinct. Food is not the end that is sought by the individual; food is only a means to the fulfilment of the will-to-live or the love of life which is inherent in everyone, and which is the end. One does not desire to eat food as an end in itself; the purpose of food and drink is living as an individual personality, possessed of a body. This urge is not within the control of the rational intellect, and it overcomes the other urges by its intensity of expression. It manifests itself in various forms, and has several ramifications, primarily connected with, as well as secondarily related to it. It tethers the individual to bodily life and thwarts all ordinary attempts at turning a deaf ear to it. This instinct, this craving for life, this love of individual personality can be overcome only in a higher understanding and feeling relating to a wider experience transcending gross physicality and distorted psychic personality. But any unwise meddling with this urge, without properly understanding its deeper meaning, may make it run riot and ruin the individual attempting to control it. Intimately connected with the self-preservative urge is the self-reproductive urge, the nature of which has to be analysed before any method of overcoming instincts may be discovered. The self-reproductive instinct is misnamed ‘sex-instinct’. This urge has, really, little to do with the sexual personality, as such; the sexual personality is only a means to the propagation of the species, and it is this urge for the production of a new individual of the species that makes use of sex as a cat’s paw. What becomes the object of craving is not sex, but the pleasure caused by the release of the tension brought about by the urge for being instrumental in bringing forth a new individual. Homosexual intercourse and fixation on objects which do not help actual reproduction are only cases of perversion or regression of this original urge, due either to a defect in the formation of the sex glands, or to frustration and non-fulfilment. The aim of the urge for reproduction is not to bring pleasure to the individual; its purpose is the continuation of the species. Those characteristics of the sexual personality which become the source of attraction for the opposite sex are merely the external indications of the development of the gonadial hormones which, through these indications, make known their maturity and readiness for the act of the production of a new individual. This attraction is not concerned with the pleasure of anyone, but is merely the process of the externalisation of cellular and nervous vibration seeking intercourse with the counterpart of the constitution of the attracted individual. It is not the external feature or the form of the opposite sex that is the source of attraction, but it is the meaning which is read in it by the individual that gives value to it and forces the individual to conform itself to that value. It is the suggestiveness and the expressiveness of the form that evokes the stimulation and vibration of the entire constitution in its counterpart. The more does something mean to one, the more is the value that one attaches to it, and the more is one concerned with it. The reading of meaning in the opposite sex is not a rational act of the individual, but it is the ‘general’ urge of the species that materialises itself in a specific individual as an involuntary instinct for physical action. All stimuli set the organism in vibration, and this disturbs its equilibrium. In this process there is release of nervous energy, affecting, not merely the body, but, to a great extent, even the mind. The pleasure that is experienced at the time of being stimulated by an ‘intended’ external agency is really the warmth and affection felt in yielding to an inner command of the physical nature, when motor reactions take place in the organism, on account of the magnetic properties called forth in it. What ravishes the personality and makes it leap up in ecstasy at the time of a desirable objective reaction in the physical world is the total disintegration of the parts of this organism and the peace that follows as a consequence of the cessation of this disturbance, on the fulfilment of the purpose of this reaction. All instinctive pleasure is ultimately the recognition of harmony and equilibrium and joy in consciousness on account of the banishing of disturbance in it by the fulfilment of the meaning of the instinct through the possession and utilisation of the object which plays the role of an agent in loosening and removing the nervous and psychic tension created by the expression of the instinct. Even the urge for self-reproduction may be explained in terms of the urge for self-preservation. It is really the will-to-live of the individual of the species

Equal Vision by Swami Sivananda The state of equal vision is much misunderstood. Equal vision is with reference to the one common consciousness or Atman or the immortal soul in all beings. Giving apples or grapes to the pigs is not equal vision. They will not like them. They will like only their own delicious food. A Jivanmukta who has equal vision will not embrace all women who pass on the road saying ‘I have equal vision in man and woman’. He will not walk on his head saying, ‘I have equal vision in legs and head’. He will not eat faecal matter saying, ‘I have equal vision in rice and faecal matter’. He will not eat through the anus saying, ‘I have equal vision in anus and the mouth’.Body is mistaken for Atman and licentiousness is practised in the name of Vedantic equal vision by people of small understanding.The Sruti declares, He who sees all beings in the Self (Atman) and the Self in all beings, shrink not from anything thereafter. He who sees the One Atman or the Supreme Self in all beings, how can there be delusion or grief for him, how can he be afraid of anything? (Isavasya Upanishad 7, 6, 7). The Self harmonised by Yoga sees the Atman in all beings, and all beings in the Self; everywhere he sees the same (Gita VI-29). Sages behold the one Atman in a Brahmana adorned with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant and even a dog and an outcaste and thus have equal vision (Gita V-18).Behold the one Atman in all beings. This is equal vision.You can have Bhavana-Advaita. You cannot have Kriya-Advaita. If there are three litres of milk and if there are twenty inmates in an Ashram, the three litres should be given to the six sick persons only.

Preliminary Sadhana by Swami Sivananda Try to know the ways and habits of this Ahamkara. It thirsts for self-aggrandisement or self-advancement, power, possession of objects and enjoyment. Kill this Ahamkara or egoism and selfishness. Be disinterested. Pin your faith to the opposite virtues, spirit of sacrifice and service as the guiding principles of life. At once you will have a rich, expanded spiritual life. Kindle the powers of resistance. Keep up the positive ideal of active service of humanity and pure love. Generate the positive Sattvic counter current of energy to combat the downward negative currents of Vasanas. Keep yourself always in a positive state. Overcome negative thoughts by entertaining positive divine thoughts. Rise from impurity, impotence and faintness of heart. Be bold, be cheerful always. Cultivate Daivi Sampat such as mercy, peace, forgiveness, tolerance, etc. Destroy Asuric Sampat such as arrogance, egoism, pride, anger, lust, etc.; you are bound to attain the highest bliss or Knowledge. O Aspirants! take refuge in your own Self, the immortal Soul. Be steadfast in your resolve. Tread the path of truth and righteousness. Watch your mind very carefully. Be vigilant and diligent. Discipline the turbulent Indriyas. Curb the tongue and the reproductive organ. You will cross the ocean of Samsara and attain Immortality and perennial Peace and Joy.

What is this Ego? by Swami Sivananda Ego or Egoism or Egotism or Ahamkara in Sanskrit is the self-asserting principle or Tattva born of ignorance or Prakriti. Abhimana is egoism. Garva is egoism. The seed of this ego is the differentiating intellect or Bheda Buddhi. It is the ego which has created the idea of separateness from God or the Atman. It is the ego which is the root cause for all human sufferings and births and deaths. This ego identifies itself with the body, mind, Prana, the senses. Wherever there is ego, there are mineness, selfishness, likes and dislikes, lust, anger, greed, hypocrisy, pride, jealousy, delusion, arrogance, conceit, impertinence, Vasanas, Trishna or cravings and Vrittis or Sankalpa, clinging to this earth-life (Abhinivesha), agency, doer (Kartha) and enjoyer (Bhokta). You must have very clear understanding of the nature of this ego, if you want to annihilate egoism. Killing of egoism is killing of mind only. Destruction of thought, desires, cravings, mineness, selfishness, jealousy, pride, lust is really destruction of mind or egoism. Control of senses also is annihilation of the mind or egoism. This egoism assumes a subtle form. The gross egoism is not so dangerous as the subtle egoism. Institutional egoism is a subtle form of egoism. The man identifies himself with the institution and gets attached to the institution or cult. He has no broad-mindedness or catholicity. The working of egoism is very mysterious. It is very difficult to detect its various ways of working. It needs a subtle and sharp intellect to find out its operation. If you practise introspection daily in silence you will be able to find out its mysterious ways of working. This ego likes his own birth place and district, people of his district, own mother tongue, his own relations and friends, his own ways of eating, mode of dressing. He has his own predilections and preferences. He dislikes others’ ways of eating, dressing etc. This ego wants to exercise power and influence over others. He wants titles, prestige, status, respect, prosperity, house, wife, children. He wants self-aggrandisement. He wishes to domineer and rule over others. If anybody points out his defects, his vanity feels offended. If anyone praises him he is elated. This ego says, I know everything. He does not know anything. What I say is quite correct. What he says is quite incorrect. He is inferior to me. I am superior to him. He forces others to follow his ways and views. This ego will lurk like a thief when you start introspection and self-analysis. It will elude your grasp and understanding. You must be ever alert and vigilant. If you obtain the grace of the Lord through Japa, Kirtan, prayer and devotion you can easily kill this ego. Through Lord’s grace only your self-surrender will become Perfect. When this ego melts in the cosmic ego you will attain communion with the Lord or Self-realisation. May you realise the goal of life and attain everlasting Bliss through annihilation of this little ego! by Swami Sivananda

Ahamkara by Swami Sivananda AHAMKARA or egoism is the self-arrogating principle in man. It is a Vritti or modification that arises in the mind. Patanjali Maharshi calls this by the name ‘Asmita’. The same mind assumes the form of egoism when man self-arrogates himself. Ahamkara manifests first and then comes ‘Mamata’. This baneful egoism generates actions, desires and pains. It is the source for all evils. It is illusory. It deludes people. Through it is nothing, it is everything for the worldly people. It is associated with mineness. It is born of Avidya or ignorance. It springs from false conceit. Vanity fosters it. It is the greatest enemy. If one renounces this dire Ahamkara he will be happy. The secret of renunciation is renunciation of egoism. Ahamkara has its seat in the mind. It is under the influence of egoism man commits evils and wrong actions. It is deep-rooted. Anxieties and troubles proceed from egoism. Ahamkara is a veritable disease. Pride, lust, anger, delusion, greed, jealousy, love and hatred are the attendants of Ahamkara. Ahamkara destroys our virtues and peace of mind. It spreads the snare of affection to entrap us. He who is free from egoism is very happy and peaceful. Desires multiply and expand on account of egoism. Our inveterate enemy, egoism, has spread about us the enchantments of our wives, friends, children, etc., whose spells it is hard to break. There is no enemy greater than egoism. He who neither desires nor dislikes anything and who preserves the serenity of mind at all times is not affected by the feeling of egoism. There are three kinds of egoism in the three worlds. Of these, two kinds of egoism are beneficial and of superior nature but the third is of a vile kind and is to be abandoned by all. The first is the supreme and undivided ego which is eternal and which pervades through the world. It is the supreme soul (Paramatman), besides which there is nothing in nature. Meditate on the formula ‘Aham Brahma Asmi – I am Brahman.’ Identify yourself with Brahman. It is Sattvic Ahamkara. The knowledge which makes us perceive our own self to be more subtle than the tail-end of paddy or to be as minute as the hundredth part of a hair and to be ever existent is the second kind of Ahamkara. The two kinds of egoism are found in Jivanmuktas or liberated sages. They lead to the liberation of men. They will not cause bondage. Hence they are of beneficial and superior nature. The third kind of Ahamkara is the knowledge which identifies the ‘I’ with the body composed of the hands, feet, etc., which takes the body for the soul or the Self. This is the worst or basest form of egoism. This is found in all worldly persons. This is the cause for the growth of the poisonous tree of rebirths. Those who possess this kind of egoism can never come to their right senses. Countless persons have been deluded by this form of Ahamkara. They have lost their intelligence, power of discrimination and power of enquiry. This kind of egoism produces baneful results. People come under the influence of all evils of life. Those who are slaves of this form of Ahamkara are troubled by various desires which induce them to do wrong actions. It debases them to the state of beasts. This kind of Ahamkara should be destroyed by the other two kinds of Ahamkara. The more you thin out this egoism, the more you will get knowledge of Brahman or the light of the soul. Again there are three kinds of Ahamkara viz., Sattvic egoism, Rajasic egoism and Tamasic egoism. Sattvic egoism will not bind a man to Samsara. It will help the aspirant to attain the final emancipation. If you try to assert ‘Aham Brahma Asmi’ ‘I am Brahman’ – this is Sattvic egoism. Even in a Jivanmukta there is slight trace of Sattvic egoism. He does actions through this Sattvic egoism. ‘I am a king, I know everything. I am very intelligent’ – this is Rajasic egoism. ‘I am a fool. I do not know anything’ – this is Tamasic egoism. The literal meaning or Vachyartha of ‘Aham’ Pada is Aham Vritti that arises in the mind, the little ‘I’ which identifies itself with the physical body. The indicative meaning or Lakshyartha of ‘Aham’ Pada is Atman or Brahman, the big or infinite ‘I’. Mere illusion (Maya) is the cause of egoism. Knowledge is the cause of egoism. Knowledge is produced through the illusory objects such as the body, tree, river, mountains, cow, horse, etc. If there are no objects, we will have no knowledge of objects at all. Then egoism, the seed of Manas. Will be absorbed. The idea of ‘I’ which is the nest containing all frailties is the seed of the tree of mind. The sprout which at first germinates from the seed of Ahamkara is Buddhi or intellect. From this sprout, the ramifying branches called Samkalpas take their origin. Through such a differentiation, the mind, Chitta and Buddhi are but the different names or qualities of the same Ahamkara. The branches of Vasanas will naturally produce innumerable crops of Karmas, but if with the sword of Jnana you sever them from the heart’s core, they will be destroyed. Cut the branches of the dire tree of mind and eventually destroy the tree at its root completely. Cutting the branches is only a secondary thing, the primary one being the eradication of the tree at its root. If you, through virtuous actions, destroy the idea of ‘I’ at the root of the (mind), then it will not grow up. Atma Jnana or knowledge of the Self is the fire which destroys the conception of Ahamkara, the seed of the tree (mind). There is another classification of egoism, viz., gross (Sthula) and subtle (Sukshma). When you identify yourself with the gross physical body, it is gross egoism. When you

Real Education by Swami Sivananda EDUCATION should teach the pupils to love God and man. Education should instruct the students to be truthful, moral, fearless, humble and merciful. Education should teach the students to practise right conduct, right thinking, right living, right action, self-sacrifice and attain knowledge of the Self. The Devas, the Asuras and the men received education under Prajapati. They learnt the triad of self-restraint, liberality and mercy. This is real education. Indra remained as a student under Prajapati and learnt that the soul is immortal, self-luminous distinct from the waking dreaming and deep-sleep states and that the individual soul is identical with the Supreme Soul. This is real education. Saunaka approached his teacher, Rishi Angirasa, and learnt that this Atman or the Self is to be verily obtained by the continual practice of truth, penance, perfect knowledge and abstinence. This is real education. Maitreyi sat at the lotus-like feet of Sage Yajnavalkya and learnt that the Self is imperishable, unattached, free, and not subject to pain or destruction. This is real education. Narada was a student under Sanatkumara and learnt that the Infinite is Bliss, that there is no bliss in anything finite, and that one should wish to understand the Infinite. This is real education. Uddalaka taught Svetaketu: That, which is the subtle essence, is the root of all; in That, all that exists has its Self; That is the Self; That is the True; That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ This is real education. In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the teacher, after having taught the Vedas, instructs the pupil thus: ‘Speak the truth. Do your duty. Do not neglect the study of the Vedas. Do not cut off the thread of offspring after giving the preceptor his proper reward. Do not swerve from Truth. Do not swerve from duty. Do not neglect your welfare. Do not neglect your prosperity. Do not neglect the learning and the teaching of the Vedas. Do not neglect the duties towards the Gods and the forefathers. May the mother be thy God (Matri Devo Bhava). May the father be thy God (Pitri Devo Bhava). May the preceptor be thy God (Acharya Devo Bhava). May the guest be thy God (Atithi Devo Bhava). Do such actions as are blameless, not others. Those that are good works to us should be performed by thee, none else. Those Brahmins who are superior to us should be comforted by thee with seats, etc. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with joy, modesty, fear and kindness. Then, if there be any doubts as to any action or conduct. ‘In that case, conduct thyself as Brahmins who possess good judgement conduct themselves therein, whether they be appointed or not, as long as they are not cruel but devoted to duty. Then in respect of persons accused to sin, conduct thyself as Brahmins who possess good judgement and conduct themselves therein, whether they be appointed or not, as long as they are not cruel but devoted to duty. This is the rule. This is the teaching. This is the purport of the Vedas. This is the command. This should be followed – this verily should be followed.’ This is real education. Educate your eyes to see God in all faces, to behold unity of Self in all beings. Educate your ears to hear the Upanishadic teachings and the Sweet melodious Kirtans of Lord Hari. Educate your tongue to sing the praise of the Lord and the utter pleasant, loving and truthful words. Educate your hands to do charity and serve the poor. Educate your mind to be always cheerful and calm and to think of the Immortal Atman. This is real education. Our present-day schools and colleges give secular education. There is neither ethical discipline nor spiritual instruction. The students have no spiritual high ideals of life. They learn something in order to eke out their livelihood. They study only to get emoluments. This is very sad indeed. That is the reason why they turn out to be spiritual bankrupts in the end. Education must be best calculated to promote plain living and high thinking. Each student must be taught that his first and foremost duty is to attain Self-realisation and to cultivate universal brotherhood. The real work of all universities must be to unite man with man. The main purpose of education must be to make man a real man with all divine attributes. Gita, Upanishads, Ramayana, Bhagavata, Mahabharata, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Brahma Sutras, Comparative Religion and Philosophy must be taught in Schools and Colleges. Their study must be made compulsory. Practical instructions on ethics, Yoga and meditation and control of mind should be imparted to the students. Study of Sanskrit must be made compulsory. Without the knowledge of Sanskrit, the depths of philosophy cannot be comprehended. The principals and professors of Colleges, the head masters of High Schools must be guided by learned and realised Sannyasins and Yogins. Then only real education can be imparted to students. If students who are equipped with real education come out of the Universities every year, we will have a glorious new India and a new era of peace, plenty and prosperity. World needs men rich in intuition. Awakened souls who have attained illumination are a blessing to the world. They will guide people in the path of righteousness and help them to cross the ocean of ignorance and attain Immortality and Eternal Bliss. They will guide the heads of the educational institutions. May you all be endowed with true knowledge and real education! May the world be filled with real educated persons! May the Universities, Schools, and Colleges become dynamic centres of real education and culture! May you all understand the real purpose of education and the goal of life! May the heads of educational institutions possess right understanding and divine knowledge to guide the students in the right path! May you all enjoy the supreme peace of the Eternal!