The Purpose of Life According to Indian philosophy, it is only through the human birth that the supreme Experience can be attained and the individual soul can finally merge into the Supreme Soul. And that is the purpose and the goal of human birth. Swami Sivananda lays repeatedly great emphasis on this aspect, and assures that you can attain That in this very birth. His teachings on this subject are worth reading, reflecting and contemplating daily. Here are some of his teachings on this subject… The purpose of life is to realise the oneness of all creation and one’s identity with the Divinity. True life is life in God. The goal of life is God-realisation. Never forget this. It is your birthright. To become divine is the aim of life. The purpose of human birth is to achieve Divine Consciousness. You have come here to attain supreme and unalloyed Bliss. The purpose of your existence is to serve with divine bhava (attitude), to purify and steady the mind, to attain freedom and perfection, which is Self-realisation. In one sentence I can tell you what I myself wish to convey to you. It is: “Know thy Self and be free.” This is the very essence of spiritual discourses. Have definite, chief aim – God-realisation. Practise self-control, have a fully ripe and pure mind. Cultivate strong discrimination, burning yearning for liberation. Meditate ceaselessly on your inner Self which is the only Reality, which is pure Consciousness, have perfect faith in guru and God. Do not miss the golden opportunity this life gives you for God-realisation. Let each day dawn for you as a fresh opportunity and occasion, opening up before you to move one step further towards the great attainment of God-realisation. Identify yourself with the pure, immortal Atma, the non-dual Brahman. Man! Wake up. Precious is human birth. It is given to you to do rigorous yoga-abhyasa (practice of Yoga) and to attain the supreme goal of God-realisation. Awaken the soul-force in you. You can work wonders. There is a para-vastu (transcendental Principle) in the innermost recess of your heart – the daharakasha. It is self-luminous, sva-prakasha. Recognise, O Prem, that you are the living Truth. Realise that you are always inseparable from the one Essence that is the substratum of all these names and forms, these false shadowy appearances. Get yourself firmly established in that Brahman, the Light of lights. Nothing can disturb you now. You have become invulnerable. Stand up, O Prem! Follow me. Enjoy the Bliss of Atman. The river of Atmic joy is flowing all around. There is deluge of the Bliss of Self. Drink the nectar to your heart’s content. KARMA YOGA Swami Sivananda maintained that unless the mind becomes free from the impurities of man’s lower nature and man purifies himself by selfless service, he cannot take up the advanced spiritual practices. Karma Yoga or selfless service is the starting block. He used to allot selfless service to new aspirants. Even after attaining the highest State selfless service continues, because the yogi has become totally selfless and it becomes his very nature to help others. In this way, Swamiji’s entire life was a saga of selfless service, and had he helped others without ever thinking about his own self. Swami Venkatesananda has observed: “The world has never seen another person who has rejoiced to give – to give his all, to give himself, to give unasked. Posterity might well call him ‘Give-ananda’ (one who rejoices in giving) instead of Siv-ananda. There is not a thing, which he would not give without the least thought. Giving spontaneously is his second nature, basic urge.” Gurudev Swami Sivananda himself has said: “I take immense delight in service. Service has elevated me. Service has purified me. This body is meant for service. I live to serve everyone and make the whole world happy.” And also, “To give people and to share what I have is my inborn nature. I spent all my energy and time in relieving human suffering by serving the poor and the sick day and night with a sympathetic heart. This kind of selfless service gave me purification of heart and mind and led me to spiritual path.” Karma Yoga is the Yoga of selfless service. It purifies the heart and leads to the descent of Divine Grace, and dawn of wisdom of the Self. God’s plan for man’s evolution is work. Love of God and service of man is the secret of true life. Service of man is service of God. Do service of others with the feeling that God dwells in all and receives your service as worship. Service is worship of God. Do not lose a single opportunity in helping and serving others. Do not expect anything when you serve a man or when you give a gift. Thank him for giving you a good opportunity to serve him. By doing service you purify your heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy, idea of superiority vanish. Humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance and mercy are developed. Selfishness is eradicated. You develop a broad heart with broad, generous views. You realise One-in-all and all-in-One. Sense of separateness is annihilated. You feel unbound joy. Do not expect the fruits of your actions. Give up agency or doership. Feel that you are an instrument in the hands of the Lord and that God does everything. Be balanced in success and failure. Be not attached to the actions themselves. Actions should be performed without attachment, without the feeling of doing. Perform works merely for God’s sake, abandoning even such attachment as ‘May God be pleased’. The spirit of service must be innate or inherent in you. Make others truly happy as you strive to make yourself happy. Speak a helpful word. Give a cheering smile. Do a kind act. Wipe the tears of one who is in distress. Render smooth a rough place in another’s path. You will feel great joy. Work is worship. Work is meditation. Serve all with

Sadhana Swami Sivananda had practised very intense sadhana, which may have no parallel in modern times. He had practised to perfection sadhana in various Paths of Yoga. Through this most intense sadhana, he attained the supreme Bliss, unalloyed Joy and eternal Happiness. And so he tries to awaken man from the slumber of ignorance and gives a call to attain that highest Experience through sadhana. This makes his instructions on sadhana all the more important. Here are some of his teachings on this subject… Now is the time for you to start a spiritual life, not tomorrow. Sadhana is any practice to steady the wandering mind and to fix it on God. He who does sadhana is called a sadhaka. Self-restraint, purification of the mind, cultivation of divine virtues, prayer, japa, kirtan, dharana or concentration, meditation is sadhana. Introspect. Look within. Try to remove your defects. This is the real sadhana. This is the most difficult sadhana. You will have to do it at any cost. Removal of your defects needs a great deal of struggle for many years. Vicious habits will have to be rent asunder. You must have a pure mind if you want to realise the Self. Unless the mind is set free and you cast away all desires, worries, delusion, pride, lust, attachment, likes and dislikes, it cannot enter the domain of supreme peace and unalloyed felicity or the Immortal Abode. Drive off all negative thoughts. Become positive always. Positive overpowers the negative. Mind is compared to a garden. Just as you can cultivate good flowers and fruits in a garden by ploughing and manuring the land, and removing the weeds and thorns, and watering the plants and trees; so also you can cultivate the flower of devotion in the garden of your mind by removing the impurities of the mind, such as lust, anger, greed, delusion and pride, and watering it with divine thoughts. When the garden is clean, when there are no weeds and thorns, you can get good fruits. So also, when the mind is pure, the mind is free from lust, anger, etc., you can have the fruit of deep meditation. Therefore, cleanse the mind of impurities first. Awake, Friends! Get ready for the holy communion. Start japa, kirtan, meditation, enquiry. How sweet is meditation! Hear the sweet music of the inner Soul. Spiritualise all your activities. This is very important. Have satsanga. Meditate. Enquire: “Who am I?” The ignorance will vanish. Brahma-jnana will dawn. Climb steadily and reach the peak of wisdom by intensifying dispassion and practising intense sadhana.. The two obstacles to Self-realisation are egoism and desire. Egoism is the most dangerous weakness of man. It brings downfall of the spiritual aspirant. The moment egoism comes in, there will be immediate blocking to the free flow of the Divine Energy. Therefore, slay this egoism.

Virtue Swami Sivananda had many things common with Lord Buddha. Like Lord Buddha, Swami Sivananda gave great importance to sadachara or ethical and moral life, and advocated a middle path, the path of moderation. Like Maharshi Patanjali, he considers moral life as a prerequisite for the spiritual path. Here are some of his teachings on this subject… Ethics is the science of morality. Morality is religion in practice. Religion is morality in principle. Basic principles of morality are everywhere the same, because it all comes from God. Universality is the very root of morality. Practice of ethics will help you to live in harmony with your fellow-beings and all other people. Your heart will be purified. Your conscience will be cleansed. It will confer on you lasting happiness and final liberation by invoking God’s grace. Ethics lead to restraint of the lower self and thereby the mind is calmed. Through calmness of mind, discrimination dawns and one knows the Self. Without ethical perfection there is no spiritual progress. The way in which a rational being should behave towards other creatures is dealt with in the science of morals or ethics. That aspect of ethical science, which treats of the modes of right conduct, moral living and performance of duty, is sadachara. To speak the truth, to practise ahimsa (not to hurt others in thought, word and deed), not to speak harsh words to anyone, not to show any anger towards anybody, not too abuse others or speak ill of others, and to see God in all beings is sadachara. Conduct has been said to be superior to all the branches of knowledge. To speak the truth, to practise ahimsa – not to hurt others in thought, word and deed- not to speak harsh words to anyone, not to abuse others or to speak ill of others, not to show anger to anyone and to see God in all beings is sadachara. One should be well established in sadachara, if one wants to attain perfection. When you are virtuous, you are nearer to God. Truth can never be realised, except by those who are established in morality and goodness. The man of right conduct always cares for the welfare of all beings. He lives in harmony with his neighbours and all people. He never hurts the feelings of others and never speaks lies. He checks the evil tendencies of the mind and prepares himself through the practice of right conduct to attain the bliss of union with Paramatma. Let all your life be a radiation of virtue, the inner perfection, that is inherent in each soul. Unselfishness is the touchstone of virtue. Be unselfish, humble and pure. Be good, do good. The whole ethics is contained in this. Goodness implies kindness, benevolence and morality. Virtue follows goodness. Doing good is an act of benevolence, compassion, mercy. A good man is ever happy. He always lives with God. Do all the good you can, to all people, at all times, with all zeal, strength, love and heart. To be good is human. A good is never lost. It purifies the heart and leads to descent of Divine Light and the dawn of Divine Grace. Goodness is love in action. Good is conquest of evil. Little words of cheer, encouragement, sympathy and kindness, little acts of kindness, little virtuous deeds, little silent victories over temptations will pave the way to the attainment of eternal Bliss, perennial Joy, everlasting Peace and Immortality. Rigidly observe truth and purity in your thoughts, speech, actions, in your motives and conduct. Be loving, tolerant and charitable in your opinion of men and things, in dealings with others. He who shows courtesy breeds friendship. He who plants kindness reaps love. By virtuous deeds and right thoughts you can disarm destiny. If you want to enthrone God in your heart, you must eradicate all evil vrittis. You will have to remove all the dross of impurities from the mind, if you want to have communion with the Lord, if you want to call upon God earnestly to take His seat in your heart. Virtuous qualities such as generosity, forgiveness, mercy, tolerance, adaptability, courage, patience, balanced state of mind and cosmic love should be assiduously cultivated. Compassion is the best virtue. Compassion is the attitude of the mind, which impels one to help all creatures who are afflicted. Love is the greatest healing power in the world. It is love that sustains life. It is living of life in a noble way characterised by purity, truth, love, compassion, self-control, selflessness and service that takes one towards Self-realisation. Virtue is punya or merit or dharma. Vice is papa or demerit or adharma. That which makes you sattvic, that which elevates you, that which bestows shreyas or salvation is virtue. That which hurls a man down in the abyss of ignorance is vice. Virtue on the human plane is the very emanation of the Divine Essence. On this plane God is expressed as virtue; and so if we pracitse virtue, we grow in godliness. Divine unfoldment is based upon a life of purity, goodness, self-control, selflessness and humility. Purity is the secret key to the mansion of blessedness. By virtuous deeds and right thoughts you can disarm destiny. You have a free will to act. Purushartha is right exertion.

Universal Brotherhood Swami Sivananda had a unique broad outlook right from his boyhood. He gave a call to stick to the fundamental principles of religions, which are common to all of them. He believed that all religions are one; there is only one religion – that of love and universal brotherhood. His advaitic (non-dual) experience enabled him to see the one Cosmic Consciousness, the Atman, pervading every being and even every inert thing. He treated all beings as his own self. As this vedantic vision gives a new meaning to life, we present here some of his teachings on Universal Brotherhood… One soul abides in all. There is one humanity. There is one brotherhood. None is high. None is low. All are equal. Man-made barriers should be ruthlessly broken down. Then alone there will be peace in the world. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one commandment, the commandment of truthfulness. There is only one law, the law of cause and effect. There is only one God, the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient Lord. There is only one language, the language of heart. The highest ideal is cosmic love. Cosmic love is subtler than ether; so it pervades every atom of creation. The cosmic love itself is God, for God is love. The secret of blessed life is cosmic love. Develop cosmic love and universal brotherhood. See God in everything. Leave petty-mindedness. Expand. Evolve. Develop large-heartedness. You will have to develop boundless love for all beings. This is the first and foremost qualification of an aspirant. When one Atman dwells in all living beings, why do you hate others? Why do you sneer and frown at others? Why do you use harsh words? Why do you exploit others? Why are you intolerant? Destroy all barriers and prejudices that separate man from man. Recognise the worth of others. Let all life be sacred. All life is one. The world is one home. All are members of one human family. Cultivate cosmic love. Learn to live as members of a single family. Champion the ideal of one humanity. The whole world is one family of God. Feel this. Realise this. Live in peace in one world. Be happy.

Practical Hints Swami Sivananda was known as a practical vedantin. Even after the transcendental Experience, he showed deep concern and compassion for the men in the world and their welfare with the awareness that for them, this world was the only reality. He tried to inspire them to take up the path of virtue, nobility and purity, and called them to evolve on the spiritual ladder. He advocated perfection in all actions. Here are some of his teachings that will provide guidance in the daily life of man of the world… Share with others what you have, Physical, mental, moral and spiritual. Do not hoard wealth. Do not covet the wealth of others. In sharing there is joy and peace. Sharing generates cosmic love And destroys greed. Sharing removes selfishness And creates selflessness. Sharing purifies your heart. Sharing develops oneness. The three things to cultivate: non-injury, truth, purity. The three things to possess: faith, tolerance, amiability. The three things to be: honest, just, virtuous. The three things to have: patience, compassion, fellowship. The three things to acquire: sincerity, regularity, perseverance. The three things to inculcate: generosity, gentleness, universality. The three things to eradicate: pride, vanity, egoism. The three things to conquer: lust, anger, greed. The three things to renounce: selfishness, desires, hypocrisy. The three things to control: mind, senses, breath. The three things to avoid: backbiting, criticism, crookedness. The three things to repudiate: attachment, infatuation, materialism. The three things to enquire: Who am I? What is Truth? What is Maya? The three things to introspect: the nature within, weaknesses, susceptibilities. The three things to promote: Dharma, peace, welfare. The three things to foster: brotherhood, understanding, amity. The three things to curb: self-justification, self-pity, self-praise. The three things to do: shravan, manan, nididhyasan (hearing of Holy Scriptures, reflection, profound meditation). The three things to follow: teachings of Guru, injunctions of scriptures, dictates of the conscience. The three things: Eat sparingly, breathe deeply, talk kindly. Work energetically, think usefully, stick resolutely. Act rightly, behave properly, speak politely. Pray whole-heartedly, serve lovingly, surrender completely. Contemplate seriously, meditate intensely, realise quickly. Let all your actions be full of love, goodness and purity. Consider your house as the Lord’s temple, every action as service of the Lord. This is the easy way for spiritualising all your actions. Be good, do good. Be kind, be tolerant, be generous, be charitable. Be patient, be persevering. Be pure, be wise. Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, at all times, with all zeal, strength, love and heart. To be good is to be human. Goodness makes life a blessing. A good deed is never lost. It purifies the heart and leads to the descent of Divine Light and dawn of Divine grace. Feed the hungry, nurse the sick, comfort the afflicted, and lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful. Clothe the naked. Educate the illiterate. Feed the poor. Raise the downtrodden. Be a lamp to those who have lost their way. The world is burning with misery and suffering. Wake up, O Man! Serve. Serve with love. Serve untiringly. Do not speak ill of others. Injure not any creature. Do not waste a single moment. Speak the truth at any cost. It gives spiritual power. Control anger by developing patience, kshama (forgiveness), cosmic love, service and daya (compassion). You must cultivate humility, magnanimity (udarata) and courage. You are divine. Therefore, be what you are. Be aware of your divinity and live your life divinely. Your origin is Divine. Check the vritti of doing violence through prayer, worship, meditation, enquiry, pranayama, sattvic food, and study of sacred books. Study the lives of the Apostles of non-violence Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, and others, again and again. Draw inspiration from them. Generate again and again, currents of love by cultivating Atma-bhava (treating others as one’s own self) or Narayana-bhava (seeing the Lord only in every one). Develop keen interest for selfless service. Be kind to all. Love all. Serve the Lord in all. Be tolerant and generous towards all. That is the way to reach the Goal. Behold good alone in everything. Develop again and again the good-finding faculty. Destroy the evil-finding quality to its very root. Rise above good and evil. Good conduct is the one cause of happiness. The rules of conduct are: charity, purity of moral conduct, service of others with courtesy and politeness, and nursing the sick and the elders. In giving you are enriched. Give, give, give. Again give. Give abundantly. A comforting word is charity. Lightening the sorrow of the sorrowful is charity. Speaking kind and encouraging words when a man is in distress is charity. Thinking good of others is charity. Every good action is charity. Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. Convert yourself first before you try to convert others. Reform yourself first before you attempt to reform others. Light the lamp of love. Sow the seed of love. Dispel all darkness of suffering and ignorance with the light of love. Feel everyone’s pain as your own. Serve them and help them with love. Cheer up the depressed. Remain in the world, but do not be worldly-minded. God is in the heaven of your heart. Search for Him in your heart, you will find Him there. Purify your heart first. Remove the weeds of jealousy and lust; withdraw the senses, still the mind, subdue the bubbling thoughts, silence the surging emotions. You can meet now your Beloved. All creation is the family of God. Identify yourself with everything that lives. Live in peace with friend and foe. As far as possible, take sattvic food such as fruits, milk, green leafy vegetables. Love all. Be humble and simple. Discipline your mind and senses through detachment. Have a balanced mind in pleasure and pain. Be patient in difficulties, dangers and troubles. Stand adamant. You will overcome obstacles. The grace of God is proportional to the purification

Religion Swami Sivananda respected all religions equally. He found that the fundamental tenets of all religions are the same. In his teachings, he talks about only those ideals, which are shared by all the major religions. His teachings have, therefore, universal appeal. Here are some of his teachings that reflect his broad outlook on religion… The fundamentals of all religions are the same. Non-essentials only differ. Every religion teaches: There is one, eternal, all-pervading, all-blissful, all-peaceful Supreme Being. Speak the truth. Love all. Serve all. Purify your heart. Never hurt others’ feelings. Be pure. Observe celibacy. Control the senses and the mind. Concentrate. Meditate and attain God-realisation. One religion is as good as another. One road to the Supreme is as good as any other road. There are different kinds of roses but the scent is one. Religion is one, but many are its forms of practice. The essentials of all religions are the same. Let not sectarians blind your vision into a narrow view of religion. All prophets are messengers of God. Their words are infallible and sacred. “Do as you would be done by. Do unto others as you wish others do unto you.” This is the whole of Dharma. Attend to this carefully. Practise this in your daily life. There is only one religion, the religion of love, religion of oneness. Religion consists in doing good to others, and in practice of love, mercy, truthfulness and purity in all walks of life. This is the essence of true religion: Love all beings, serve all with atma-bhava (attitude of being your own self). Slay egoism. Destroy likes and dislikes. Realise the Self or Atma. The universal religion is the religion of the heart or love, the realisation of oneness. That which brings well-being to human beings is dharma. Dharma is termed as duty, righteousness, etc. Do unto others as you wish others to do unto you – this is the whole of dharma. If one wishes his own advancement and prosperity, one should follow the path of righteousness and conduct himself properly. Religion unites the individual Soul with the Supreme Soul. Religion shows the way to Self-realisation and eternal life in Brahman. Religion consists in doing good to others, and in the practice of love, mercy, truthfulness, non-violence and purity in all walks of life. Every religion emphatically declares: “One can attain eternal Bliss and Immortality by God-realisation. Speak the truth, observe celibacy, love others and practise self-restraint.” There is only one religion, the religion of truth and love, the religion of heart, the religion of service, sacrifice and renunciation. It is the religion of goodness, kindness and tolerance. Behold the oneness of all religions. All religions point to one single aspiration of human soul. And that is to transcend the limitations of environment and circumstances and get into the State of final beatitude and sublime peace – the natural craving of the soul. All religions are the fulfilment of the natural urge in man, which is essentially spiritual. Religion is a manifestation of the eternal glow of the spirit within man. The main purpose of religion is the unfoldment of the Divinity within man. Religion is practical philosophy; philosophy is theoretical religion. Religion is not a denial of life. It is fullness of life. Man becomes God through discipline, self-restraint and meditation. That is religion. Religion is living in God. All the prophets have reassured in most emphatic terms the fundamental truth that all religions are branches of the same tree. They have taught that the same sap of universalism flows in all their systems. Be good and do good; this is the essence of dharma. Goodness leads to godliness. By practising goodness, one lays foundation for the highest attainment of God-consciousness. The ringing notes of religion are: Be good. Be pure. Be kind. Be compassionate. Serve all. Love all. See God in all. The righteous man is the truly religious man. Practice of religion is the practice of righteousness, goodness, truth, love and purity. Religion is life. Life is sacrifice. Religion should be a living experience in the life of a man. A life of selfless service and sacrifice, with regular prayer and meditation, is the highest religion. Religion is the source of goodness and happiness, the basis of virtue and prosperity of the individual, and through the individuals, of the nation. A life of purity, virtue, goodness, self-control, selflessness and humility forms the common basis of all yogas, all spiritual attainments and all practical religions. No one can be religious without being ethical-minded and moral in his practical life. The cardinal principle of Hindu ethical teachings is universal love on which is built the magnificent edifice of humanism. That man who practises the religion of universal compassion achieves the highest good.