O YOUTH! O STUDENTS! READ THIS NOW DRUG PREVENTION IS EASIER, CURE IS DIFFICULT. DRUGS & WHAT THEY DO Offered in the service of the students and Youth of India and in the cause of our Nation’s health and for the safety and protection of our country. BELIEVE IT OR NOT Today there are more than 1,00,600 drug addicts in Bombay alone. 5 of them die each day owing to repeated intake of lethal drugs. The parents of nearly all young addicts never imagined that their sons or daughters could fall victims to this dangerous vice. Yes, we all thought that drug addiction was an evil of the West. It is here now-right in our midst. You have a chance to save others and yourself through awareness and knowledge of the hazards of Drug Addiction. WARNING! BEWARE! Types of dangerous Drugs NAME Heroin (also known as Brown Sugar, Thai White, White, Smack, Gard), Hash (also known as Hashish, Charas), Marijuana (also known as Grass Ganja) Bhang, Cocaine (also known as Coke, Snow), Cocaine + Heroin called Speed-bailing, Opium (also known as Ope, Chandu, Medak), LSD/Mescaline (Magic Mushrooms Amphetamines Dexedrin (also known as Speed or Amphetamines). Methaqualone (also known as Mandra or Mandies) 1. Morphine 2. Pethidine 3. Diazepam 4. Fortwin. Above are the gravely dangerous drugs that are degrading young people and destroying their health, welfare and life. NOTE: Tranquilizers and sedatives available as chemicals are also highly addictive in nature and should not be taken without specific & reliable medical advice. WHAT IS BROWN SUGAR? Chemically brown sugar is a semi-synthetic highly adulterated form of heroin. It is one of the most highly addictive, most cheaply available and most lethal of drugs. It is a highly tolerant and easily obtainable substance. The coffee-brown snuff-like powder comes in a small vial or in small wrappings of tissue paper commonly known as “Pudis”. “BROWN SUGAR? NO SORRY” MUST BE THE REPLY OF EVERY CHILD.“BRING AWARENESS” The problem of brown sugar addiction has reached such alarming proportions that there are schools in the city outside which the drug peddlers sell their wares. So it is not just roadside children who are affected. Because brown sugar is so freely available, there is every chance that your child will one day be offered the drug. He or she must be made well aware of the evil effects to be able to refuse it. And it is up to parents and teachers to alert them of the dangers. WHAT LEADS TO DRUG ADDICTION? 1. Emotional. Insecurity, Lack of Love: Nobody takes to drugs in order to become an addict. They are usually taken in order to escape from problems that are either real or imaginary. Lack of parental love at home, impaired and tense relationships between parents and dictatorial handling of children have been traced out as significant root causes. 2. Misuse of Money-Lack of Guidance: Easy availability of and access to money are equally dangerous. They lead to habits such as cigarette-smoking the first step to drug addiction. The next stage, hash-smoking sets in easily. The ‘culture mix’ you belong to, will make you try more and more ‘harmless’ experiments. Proper guidance is required. 3. Curiosity of Experimentation is the most common cause. 4. Peer Pressure. ARE THERE GIRLS WHO ABUSE DRUGS? WHAT IS THE RATIO? Most drug addicts are male, but there are several girls hooked on the drug too. Most girls on the drug are persuaded by their boy friends to try it. Few try it out of frustration. The ratio is 1:25. COMMON SOURCES: Beware of Drug peddlars who usually operate from ‘Joints’ which are mainly in the economically backward area. AVOID COMMON SITUATIONS: In schools and colleges, beware of friends who call you a ‘sissy’ or ‘chicken’ for not indulging in their ‘pastimes’. Never accept cigarettes from them–these may contain drugs. A few strong puffs are enough and you can become a hopeless addict. Be wise and learn to say NO. Always remember your friends are in a trap and they want you trapped too! CAN YOU IDENTIFY A DRUG ADDICT?YES, CERTAINLY. Your child may not easily admit that he or she is taking brown sugar, but you can recognise the evidence in the following early warning signs: THE DANGERS OF BROWN SUGAR         * AIDS and viral hepatitis are spread by drug addicts who inject.         * Brown sugar causes impotence (reversible)         * It can also lead to abscesses, infections of the heart, lungs and brain.     Yes. They display anti-authority behaviour, socially deviant behaviour, suffer from depression, harbour suicidal thoughts which may initially lead to threats and sometimes to action. They also indulge in manipulative behaviour and compulsive lying. IS THERE A CURE? Yes, provided the motivation to give up is strong enough. Giving up the drug is easy but staying away needs tremendous will power. And medication alone is not enough. It must be combined with love, understanding, patience and prayer. Please bear in mind, no addict can be forced (physically or emotionally) to give up his drugs. Force only catalyses disaster. You should consult a psychotherapist/psychiatrist. He would resort to psychotherapy as a follow-up measure extending about 4-6 months. Narcotics anonymous gives good scope for group therapy. Cure is not possible without parental participation and faith in God. Mere hospitalisation is not the answer. Religion therapy and family therapy provide the best results. Please do not force the child into a hospital. It can do more harm than good. TYPES OF MEDICAL TREATMENT The said truth about Drug Addiction:-Every recovered drug addict is just one trip away from his former self. Just one ‘trip’ and he will relapse. DRUG AWARENESS AT COMMUNITY LEVEL INDIA NEEDS STRONG, DRUG FREE YOUTH More than ever before, India’s future depends on the strength and dynamism of its youth. In a fast-changing world accelerated by new advances in electronic technology only a dynamic exuberant generation can put India on a strong footing. Save youth from drugs, save India. HIGH MORALS AND BETTER INDIAN CULTURE CAN

Yoga for Health, Happiness and World Peace By Sri Swami Chidananda May all beings in this world attain happiness. May all beings in this world attain peace. May all beings in this world attain plenitude and fullness. May all beings in this world attain all auspiciousness and blessedness. May happiness be unto all. May freedom from disease be unto all. May all behold that which is good and beautiful. May not sorrow fall to the lot of any being. From passing unrealities, lead us into the Supreme Eternal Reality. From the darkness of spiritual ignorance, lead us into the light of Supreme Divine Wisdom. From death and mortality of earth consciousness, lead us into immortality and everlasting Life in the Spirit. Peace. Peace. Peace unto all beings. Homage and worshipful adorations to the supreme transcendental Cosmic Being, the Universal Spirit, the great Eternal Reality that is the source and origin of all existence; that is the unseen invisible support of all that is this universe and countless unseen universes, the unseen support and sustainer. Adorations, to that Being who is ultimately the supreme goal and fulfilment of all existence, all life, the Alpha and Omega of all beings, in whose presence we have gathered together here in this hall of Hyatt Saujana, in whose presence we have been brought together in spiritual fellowship this evening. His unseen Will, His inscrutable Divine Will, alone makes all things possible. He is the one Reality behind and beyond all religions that exist upon this earth, in this human world today–who existed when creation did not exist, when nothing had been manifested–who existed in His primal state of transcendence, unmanifest, absolute, non-dual Being–who was one without a second Ekameva Advitiyam Brahma. To that Being, who is the source of all that exists, source of this and countless other universes, to that Being who existed when no creation was there, no prophet had appeared, when there was no world, no humanity, therefore, neither was there any religion nor was there any scripture nor did there exist at that time either temple or synagogue or church or mosque or fire temple or vihara; that being who, therefore, is the source of all religions, all scriptures, adored alike, in all places of worship, glorified and described and hymned in all scriptures that exist, and whom all people worship and refer to by different names: the Ahura Mazda of the Zoroastrians, the Jehovah or Yahaweh of the followers of Judaism, the Almighty Father in Heaven of the Christians, the Allah of the Muslims of Islamic faith, the Paranirwana of the Buddhist, the supreme state of perfection of the Jains and the supreme Tao of the Chinese Taoist, to that one Being addressed alike by these different terms and infinite other terms, let us pay our worshipful adorations at this moment, in token of our gratitude and thanks for sanctifying our lives by giving us this occasion to dwell upon him in thought and heart, to dwell upon him, to speak about him, to listen about him and to make him the subject of our consideration, our reflections this evening. For this great opportunity, O Supreme Almighty, light of lights beyond all darkness, our hearts’ grateful adorations. May your divine grace shower upon all those who are gathered together here; grant them all the awareness that in You we find our ultimate oneness of spirit. Apparently different by names and forms and external factors of religion, caste, creed, nationality, race, etc., deep within us there abides a part of You, the breath of the Spirit within, the Nur or the light of Allah in Aadmi (man) that of God within us, the Amsa. In that depth of our essential eternal unchanging identity, we all find our absolute union and oneness in You who are our common source and origin, our sustainer and ultimate fulfilment. May we all be given this continuous awareness of this unity in diversity, of this oneness in spite of outer appearance, divergences and differences. Unified thus in the spirit, may we work together for the common welfare of all of us. May we work together in the spirit of harmony and spiritual brotherhood. May we work together in the spirit of mutual love, help and co-operation, so that all clashes, conflict, hatred, violence, war may cease to exist in the light of this harmony, in the light of this inner feeling of oneness, inner feeling of brotherhood, under the one fatherhood of the Supreme Being. Thus may humanity become united, work together in the spirit of mutual goodwill, in the spirit of brotherhood and oneness, and take us towards the twenty-first century that may still see the world of violence, the world of war, the world recognising the need to work dynamically for peace, unity, harmony and universal wealth and welfare. By the grace and by the blessings and benedictions of all the prophets and saints, the great ancient Vedic seers and sages of the Upanishadic era; the great divine manifestations like Rama and Krishna, the world teachers; the great prophets and messengers of God like Muhammad, Moses, Lord Zoroaster, Jesus, Buddha and Mahawira, may their benedictions make this aspiration and eager expectation and our dream come true. Radiant divinities, blessed children of the one Supreme Universal Reality, God of all humanity. I deem it a great spiritual privilege, I deem it a great blessedness to be amidst you at this moment and to have this opportunity of serving you by sharing whatever ideas I have gained, I have received from the Holy Master whom I had the blessedness and privilege and good fortune to serve. And, therefore, it is with a sense of humble gratitude to the Supreme Being who has given to me this wonderful occasion, this chance and opportunity of sharing with you all, I commence to offer to you these ideas regarding the subject of this evening. Already some valuable ideas have been shared with you by Dato’ K. Padmanaban Ji during his brief, but full words, as the Chairman of this

Yoga–What it is and What it is Not By SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDA In Sanskrit, the primary definition of the term Yoga is the state of union with the Divine or the experience of oneness with the great Reality. Yoga, therefore, represents the experience of Truth, the consciousness of Reality, the union with the Divine. There are also secondary meanings of the term Yoga. Yoga is also a set of scientifically evolved and intelligently formulated practical techniques enabling man to shed himself of all the impurities imposed upon him by the nature of his body, mind and senses, and aiding him to concentrate his thoughts entirely upon the Supreme. Thus Yoga means anything that man may do to purify his lower nature, to restrain his senses, to direct his mind towards God, to come into a deep interior level of worship of the Divine and finally to realise his eternal oneness with the Divine Consciousness. The application of yoga is universal. It may be applied within the religious framework. Yet it clearly transcends religion. It is supra-religious, far beyond any dogma or doctrine. The extent and duration of its applicability is commensurate with the whole of humanity for all time. I shall attempt to show you the significance that Yoga holds for everyone in this great and eventful twentieth century. First and foremost, Yoga is not mere acrobatics. Some people suppose that Yoga is primarily concerned with the manipulation of the body into various queer positions, standing on the head, for instance, or twisting about the spine, or assuming any of the numerous odd poses which are demonstrated in the text-books on Yoga. These techniques are correctly employed in one distinct type of Yoga practice, but they do not form an integral part of the most essential type. Physical posture serve at best as an auxiliary, or a minor form of Yoga. Secondly, Yoga is not the performance of magical feats. I mention this especially because among the many misconceptions that abound about Yoga, this one is due to certain pretensions which have been made by fake Yogins–pseudo-Yogins. Anything that is good is all too easily corrupted by perverted people. At all times in the history of the world this has happened. Behind the deliberate mystification of things pertaining to Yoga there lies a selfish motive. Unfortunately, the distortion of this true science is the consequence. It will not be out of place, therefore, for me to tell you frankly and clearly that not all that has been put across as Yoga is really Yoga. Yoga is certainly not magic, nor is it the performance of any extraordinary or unusual mystical feat. Neither is Yoga ‘Fakirism’, the impression that is obtained by many tourists and travellers, especially by news-people who, with a strong preference for the sensational and the fantastic, have managed to create the fantastic idea that Yoga is some form of self-torture–lying on a bed of nails, burying oneself underground, chewing or swallowing pieces of glass, drinking acid, swallowing nails or piercing oneself with pins and needles. This has nothing to do with Yoga, and real Yogins have nothing to do with all this. Neither is Yoga any weird ceremonial or peculiar rite. It is not hedonism. It is not paganism. It is not palmistry. It is not prophesying. It is not astrology. It is not thought-reading, nor is it the dispensing of charms to ward off evil spirits or ‘possessions’. None of these is Yoga. If people call themselves Yogins and then explain their Yoga by exhibiting any of these unusual feats, then they are misusing the term Yoga. Yoga is not auto-hypnotism or self-hypnosis. It is not doing of incantations or by the monotonous performance of gestures. Yoga is not experiences like those obtained by taking lysergic acid or mescalin or peyote (of Mexican origin) or divine mushrooms. These experiences are not Yoga, nor are they products of Yoga. Neither is Yoga a religious cult. Certain Eastern concepts do lie behind it. This is true. But these concepts do not have anything to do with the evolution of the science Proper. Yoga is comprised of highly evolved and practical techniques which may be applied by persons of any race, nation, caste, creed, church or sect. As philosophical definitions were being formed and as religious concepts of the Hindus were being formulated, the science of Yoga was evolved. Certain metaphysical concepts are peculiarly Hindu and Eastern, but Yoga which is separable from its philosophical and metaphysical background, is a science of universal and practical value. Yoga is essentially a spiritual matter concerning spiritual methods. It is an intensely practical approach towards the realisation of the supreme Reality, the very Centre of all life–God. And it is the heritage of all humanity. Worshipful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj used to tell a beautiful parable regarding the importance and truth about Yoga: There was a big tree in a jungle. On the top of a branch there was a very big honey-comb. But the ascent to the top of the tree was difficult. One had to cut steps on the trunk of the tree and ascend; but that demanded great patience and intelligent work. A slender creeper entwined that tree and reached up to a great part of the height. It appeared to be strong, though it perilously dangled in the air. A greedy man, desirous of possessing honey, without much effort, began to ascend the tree with the sole help of the creeper. He was too lazy to cut steps on the trunk of the tree and thought that the creeper was strong enough to take him to the top. When he was a few feet above the ground, a violent wind broke the creeper and the man fell down and fractured his limbs. Similar is the case with those who try to ascend the tree of Yoga (Divinity), in order to drink the honey of Moksha, with the help of the creeper of Kamya Karmas (actions with

Why Do Sadhana? By Sri N. Ananthanarayanan We want the best food for the body, but we do not care about all the base thoughts and ideas with which we feed our mind. We want to remove all the corns, pimples and blemishes from our skin, but we are not perturbed in the least over the thorns and weeds of jealousy, anger, lust and other vices in the ground of our heart. We are worried about the whitening hair on our head, but we develop no concern if our finer feelings and sentiments get blurred and blunted as we go through life. We care for the superficial outside and not for the real inside. The real self is the inner Self. True culture is the culture of thoughts, feelings, sentiments, motivations. Culturing of the Bhava is the greatest culture. Bhava is one’s feeling, one’s attitude, one’s inclination towards the world and fellow-beings. The man with the noblest Bhava is the best man in the world. But the, ordinary man who is choosy in so far as material objects are concerned is quite indifferent when it comes to higher values. The student who passes out of school seeks admission in the most prestigious college in town. The grownup youth wants the best girl for his marriage partner and the young lady pines for the best boy in her area. When a person goes shopping, his eyes naturally alight on the best suit-length, the best sari, the latest camera, the most fanciful sun-glasses. You always want to eat the most delicious food, read the most interesting novel and see the most exciting picture. Whether you can afford it or not, all your desires are coloured by this strong yearning for the highest and the best…in so far as material and down-to-earth objects are concerned. But talk about finer sentiments, noble thoughts, higher feelings, ethical and spiritual values. Only a few in a thousand care for these richer values, because only a few in a thousand have that introspective vision capable of comprehending and appreciating these extramundane values. All the material objects of this world are but the shell; the kernel is God. The kernel is the Spirit. The average man of the world may think that he has done the wisest thing in buying the best car or acquiring the best cottage. But the car and the cottage are only the best among the shell pieces. They are shell, after all. They are the husk. The kernel, the grain, the substance is elsewhere. This the ignorant man does not realise. The Substance, the Spirit, lies deep within man. It can be attained only by removing all the dross that keeps It buried. Removing the dross is Sadhana. Sadhana is nothing but the exercise of inner purification. But, before a person commences Sadhana, he should know the purpose of doing Sadhana. Sadhana Cannot Be Forced A group of friends were discussing the utility of Yogasanas when one of them asked, “The heart is already pumping blood to all parts of the body. It is already sending blood to the head. Why should I stand upside down to increase the supply of blood to the head?”. Many people ask questions in similar fashion while discussing Yoga and spiritual practice: “Why should I do Japa? Why should I meditate? Why should I go to a temple?”. They do not ask, “Why should I shave my face every day? Why should I cut my nails and hair? Why should I apply skin cream and hair lotion?”. Each man has his aims and ambitions in life. The ambitions of most people are earthly, and naturally enough, their activities are earthly. For the average man living a humdrum life, it is certainly not necessary to send extra blood to the head or to do Japa, or to meditate or to visit a temple daily. He can dispense with all these and still live an apparently successful life in his limited sphere of activity. Yoga is not necessary for him. Spiritual practice is not an absolute necessity for him. Yoga is not essential for all, though it is open to all to practise. Yoga is not compulsory for the worldly person, though Yoga can be helpful even in the pursuit of material aims. Yoga and Sadhana are especially meant for those few among mankind who aspire to become supermen and God-men. Sadhana is meant for that person who wants to get at the Truth of things, who wants to become a saint, who wants to realise God. Sadhana is intended for those who want to become the cream of humanity, the elite of mankind. Sadhana cannot be thrust upon anyone. No one can be compelled to do Sadhana. You may be made to work or slave, but you cannot be forced to do selfless service. You can be robbed, but you cannot be dictated into doing charity of your own free will. You may be compelled by the law of the land to live in peace with your neighbours, but you cannot be compelled to love all with cosmic compassion and purity of motive. Society and circumstances may force you to desist from immoral actions, but they cannot prevent you from indulging in immoral thoughts. In other words, external compulsion cannot make you do Sadhana or practise Yoga. Sadhana is a purely personal affair and can arise only out of your own individual volition and free will. Before embarking on a course of Sadhana, before entering spiritual life, you should yourself feel the necessity to do Sadhana, you should feel that your life is a void without Sadhana. You should be missing something without Sadhana. If this precondition prevails in your life, then only your Sadhana can get off to a good start. How Many Can Realise? Even those people who believe in God and religion, when they hear a discourse on the need for Sadhana and God-realisation, begin to express grave doubts and ask, “After all, how many can

Vegetarianism By Sri Swami Sivananda Sage Uddalaka instructs his son Svetaketu: “Food when consumed, becomes threefold. The gross particles become the excrement, the middling ones flesh, and the fine ones the mind. My child, when curd is churned, its fine particles which rise upwards form butter. Thus, my child, when food is consumed, the fine particles which rise upwards form the mind. Hence, verily, the mind is food”. Three Kinds of Diet Diet is of three kinds, viz., Sattvic diet, Rajasic diet, and Tamasic diet. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna: “The food which is dear to each is threefold. The food which increases vitality, energy, vigour, health, and joy and which are delicious, bland, substantial, and agreeable are dear to the pure. The passionate persons desire foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry, and burning, and which produce pain, grief, and disease. The food which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, and impure, is dear to the Tamasic”. Milk, barley, wheat, cereals, butter, cheese, tomatoes, honey, dates, fruits, almonds, and sugar-candy are all Sattvic food-stuffs. They render the mind pure and calm and play a very important part in the practices of spiritual aspirants, in the mental development of the student, and in the personality- power of the leaders of mankind. Fish, eggs, meat, salt, chillies, and asafoetida are Rajasic food-stuffs; they excite passion and make the mind restless, unsteady, and uncontrollable. Beef, wine, garlic, onions, and tobacco are Tamasic food-stuffs. They exercise a very unwholesome influence on the human mind and fill it with emotions of anger, darkness, and inertia. Stress on Moral and Spiritual Values No doubt, animal diet may produce a strong Sandow, or a dauntless soldier, or a keen, brainy scientist. But, in the Hindu view of life, the real value is placed upon the moral and spiritual worth of the man. Man is more than just body and mind; he is essentially an ever-perfect, ever- pure, and ever-free spirit in his true inner nature. Human birth is given as an opportunity and a means to attain this sublime knowledge of his inner spiritual nature and to regain his divinity. In this process, all grossness and animalistic tendencies have to be totally eliminated from the human personality. Non-vegetarian diet, which is gross and animal by its very nature, is a great hindrance to this process. Whereas, pure Sattvic diet is a great help to the refinement of the human nature. The chemical components of different foods vibrate at varying rate. Each particle of food is a mass of energy. The intake of certain food-stuffs sets up discordant vibrations in the physical body which throw the mind into a state of oscillation and disequilibrium. Concentration of mind is rendered difficult and high thinking is disturbed, because elevating thoughts imply fine vibrations. Meat Diet Generates Diseases Meat generates diseases, excites passions, and produces restlessness of mind. Scientists are coming to the conclusion that there are, in meat, certain things which are absolutely poisonous. A very large number of medical men who have studied the subject of diet in relation to health are forbidding their patients to eat animal flesh, not only as a means of cure for such diseases as gout, rheumatism, etc., but also as a preventive against uric- acid ailments and diseases of many kinds, including consumption, cancer, and appendicitis. Meat is not at all necessary for the keeping up of perfect health, vigour, and vitality. On the contrary, it is highly deleterious to health; it brings in its train a host of ailments such as tapeworm, albuminuria, and other diseases of the kidneys. In large meat-eating countries, cancer mortality is admittedly very high. Flesh-Eating Involves Cruelty Moreover, flesh-eating involves the exercise of cruelty which is not an elevating virtue. It is a bestial quality which degrades man. Cruelty is condemned by all great men. Pythagoras condemned meat diet an sinful food. The cruel slaughter of animals and the taking of innocent lives which flesh- eating entails makes it abhorrent to all right thinking men and women all over the world. Butchery and blood-shed is a great disgrace to civilisation and culture. Killing of animals for food is a great blunder; and the mentality it engenders is fraught with potential dangers for the life of humanity, a recognition of which made George Bernard Shaw say that as long as men torture and slay animals and eat their flesh, we shall have war. Abolish Slaughter-Houses If you want to stop taking mutton, fish, etc., just see with your own eyes the pitiable, struggling condition of the animals at the time of killing. Now mercy and sympathy will arise in your heart. You will determine to give up flesh-eating. If you fail in this attempt, just change your environment and live in a vegetarian hotel where you cannot get mutton and fish, and move in that society where there is only vegetable diet. Always think of the evils of flesh-eating and the benefits of a vegetarian diet. If this also cannot give you sufficient strength to stop this habit, go to the slaughter- house and the butcher’s shop and personally see the disgusting, rotten muscles, intestines, kidneys and other nasty parts of the animals which emits bad smell. This will induce Vairagya (dispassion) in you and a strong disgust and hatred for meat-eating. (Click here if you feel you need to see scenes from a slaughter-house to induce dispassion for meat. If you can’t stomach pictures, you can read about one person’s visit to a slaughter-house.) All slaughter-houses should be abolished, and the use of animal flesh as food should be absolutely given up. Flesh-eating is unnecessary, unnatural, and unwholesome. The countless instances of reputed philosophers, authors, scholars, athletes, saints, Yogins, Rishis who lived on vegetable diet conclusively prove that vegetarian diet produces supreme powers both of mind and body, and is highly conducive for divine contemplation and practice of Yoga. Man is created a frugivorous or fruit-eating creature. This scientific fact is evident

Tantra Sadhana By Sri Swami Krishnananda The system called Tantra has been always regarded as an esoteric and a secret way of spiritual practice, not accessible to the untrained one and to the common folk. The secrecy about the practice seems to consist in the novel outlook of life which the Tantra requires the seeker to entertain, a way of looking at things different from the one in which people are generally accustomed to see, interpret and evaluate things. The teachers of the Tantra hold that a seeker on this path has to outgrow the social and even the human outlook and develop a superhuman and divine outlook in respect of things. Since this would be to expect too much from the common man in the world, Tantra is supposed to be a closed secret whose gates can be opened only with the key provided by a competent Guru. The philosophy of the Tantra is based on the concept of a dual nature of everything. Nothing is single, but everything is bi-polar. The so-called unity of things is only a form taken by a particular manner of the coming together of two forces, Siva and Sakti, we may say, the positive and the negative poles. In order to understand this mystical conception of the universe, we may refer to the traditional doctrine of the Puranas, the Manusmriti and the Mahabharata, that in the beginning there was a universal Uni-Cell, as it were, known as the Brahmanda, which split into two, one part of which was the Cosmic Man and another part the Cosmic Woman. We may call these parts Siva and Sakti, if we so wish. Even our modem science seems to be corroborating this view when it holds that in the beginning the universe was a single Atom, which split into two and then into the multiplicity of the present form of the universe. Since the two parts and their subsequent sub-divisions actually belong to a whole, there is a natural pull exerted by each on the other, there is a mutual attraction between the positive and the negative poles, both at the cosmic level and its lower multiple forms of descent, even down to the atom, which today we learn is constituted of a bi-polar structure with a nucleus in the centre and electrons revolving round it in a most mysterious way. The behaviour of the two parts of any single organism seems to be a double attitude of the consciousness of duality and unity at the same time. There cannot be attraction between the positive and the negative unless they form two poles, and not a single something, and yet, at the same time, there cannot be this attraction if they are absolutely two different things without a basic unity operating in and between them. This is the mystery and the difficulty in understanding the phenomenon known as attraction, usually called love or affection in common language. While the concept of Siva and Sakti, in its highest essence, represents the Supreme Cosmic Duality, and one can imagine only attraction and love operating there, so that Siva and Sakti are considered as inseparable facets of a unitary reality sometimes known as Ardhanareesvara, the Cosmic Androgyne, the principle of repulsion, viz., dislike going with like, hatred going with love, will be seen at the lower levels where the bi-polar unity assumes a multiplicity of forms, so that one bi-polar unit cannot tolerate the interference or sometimes even the presence of another such bi-polar unit, for fear of losing its isolated self-conscious bi-polar unity. This subtle operation can be seen manifest in its grosser forms when one family group finds it difficult to appreciate another family group and bestow equal love upon it, one organisation, one social group, and even one bi-polar individual, cannot look upon another such without some suspicion and reservation. According to the doctrine or the Tantra, the sorrow of life is caused by a bi-polar existence, a split of the one into two, because the truth of things is oneness and not the dual existence in any of its forms. The dual form of life being, in a sense, an unnatural way of life, there is always an ambivalent attitude of like and dislike at the same time between one pole and another, love getting suppressed when hate supervenes, and hate being suppressed when love gains the upper hand, while the fact is that both these attitudes are present in an individual hiddenly and only one of the aspects comes to the surface as and when the occasion demands. To get back from duality to unity is the process of Tantra Sadhana. While this is the objective of every Sadhana, what is the speciality of the Tantra as distinct from other Sadhana in the achievement of this objective? The distinction is very subtle, not easily noticed. In all forms of religious practice, mostly, there is an ascetic injunction towards a rejection of the outer for the sake of the inner, the material for the sake of the spiritual, a cutting off of every desire as a baneful obstacle to Sadhana, and a considering of every joy in life as an evil to be eradicated at the earliest opportunity. To the Tantra, the things of the world, the material forms of perception, are not really obstacles, and a desire for them cannot be overcome by rejecting the desire itself. Everything in the world, the whole world itself, is a passage to perfection. The visible is a way to the invisible and not an obstacle to it. Human desires arise on account of the unintelligent attitude man develops towards desire, and he has a fear of desire since he is being told that all desire is bad and all objects are bondages. The Tantra holds that the object is not a bondage, because of the fact that the object is inseparably related to the subject, the object is the other pole of which the subject is the complementary

Some Valuable Clues to Prosperity in the House By SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDA I have four or five things which, as a Hindu, I wish to tell you. Where elders are respectfully honoured, there prosperity prevails; and where elders – father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts – are treated with contempt, with harshness, with scant respect, there is no prosperity. These things are not known. So when people are miserable, when people are unhappy, when people lack prosperity, it is not known why it comes about that way. It is brought about by oneself by a total breaking of these laws. And then you try find out the consequences of the bad situation by looking at the diary, or statistics, or expenditure and income account. Perhaps you blame economic conditions. But, no – you create your bad conditions by breaking the spiritual laws. Where elders are treated with respect and honour, are treated with reverence, there, in that family, in that house, prosperity will abide. In the life of that person who honours his elders, prosperity will always rest. Secondly, where the women of the house are treated with reverence, where they are put upon the pedestal which they deserve, there is prosperity. Where are we all, where is humanity if it is not for the women ? It is the Supreme Mother who is the very source of the whole universe, and where the mothers, the women, are treated with reverence that is due to them, in that house, there is prosperity. And where women are treated with disrespect, unkindness, harshness, prosperity cannot come. Prosperity does not abide in that house where the wife and the mother are made to weep, where tears of women fall. Prosperity takes wings and flies away from that house where woman weeps. Thirdly, for the womanfolk themselves, modesty is the magnet of prosperity. For a woman, modesty is the highest ornament. The ornament of a woman, the beauty of a lady, is not in the jewellery she wears or in the type of material or the dress she wears – no, that is not beauty. After all, what is the beauty of the body? The moment you take leave of the body, it is just a useless thing here. So the true beauty and grace of a woman is modesty. If a woman is modest, if she is chaste, she becomes worshipful; and prosperity becomes the servant, the handmaid of that family where women are adorned by the ornaments of chastity, modesty and gracefulness. Sometimes it is very pitiable to see women getting unsexed in some of the modern, high-born societies. They are losing their feminine quality. After all, the thing that makes a woman a woman is her feminine quality – her tenderness, her grace, her kindness, her forgiving nature, her forbearing nature. These are the things which make a goddess of a woman. If these are not there, if women are sharp-tongued, if they are caustic, if they are bitter, if they are full of hostility, there prosperity cannot come. It cannot come where a woman wants to be, in all respects, like a male. No! She can claim a certain type of equality, but not equality in all ways. If in this craze for being equal with man, woman loses her grace, her modesty and her chastity, then she has lost the most precious thing that God has given to her. A Vedic declaration says: “Where women are worshipped, there indeed, the gods dance with joy”. And where woman loses this right of worship by her own immodesty, there prosperity cannot be. And, last but not the least, where God is worshipped every day, there the whole house becomes blessed with the highest prosperity. All joy, all blessedness, all prosperity comes to that house where God is worshipped regularly. Say thanks when you get up in the morning, for your health, for your body, for a clean mind, for energy in the body to live a life of usefulness to yourself and to all, and in the evening thank God again for the bounty of a good day, for clear weather, fresh air, good health and energy, opportunity to serve and be useful to yourself and to others. If every day there is thanksgiving and you always worship God in your home, there is bound to be prosperity. Where there is worship, in that place, there is the tangible presence of God, and where there is this tangible presence of the Deity, what to say of prosperity ? Everything that is good, everything that is blessed, will pervade that house, will fill that house. Where God is, all auspiciousness, all blessedness, all prosperity is there as a matter of course – just as luminosity is there, radiance is there, where there is light. So, if you wish to fill yourself with prosperity, be worshipful. Do not make the church alone the place of prayer and worship. Let every house be a centre of prayer. Let every house be the abode of God. And, let women be the repository of such virtues as modesty, chastity, purity and graciousness, and let the children of the family and the male members give due respect to the ladies and treat them with kindness, treat them with courtesy, treat them with dignity that is due to them, and let the children revere their elders. If these things are followed, if these things are fulfilled, prosperity will become an axiomatic condition. There can be no want, there can be no difficulty, there can be no lack in such a house. This is the ultimate wisdom of the ancients. They say: “Prosperity is created by the behaviour of the human being”. Outside factors are secondary factors only. They are not the main factors.

Sin By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA In the din and noise of the world, in the midst of sensual pleasures, the mind is led astray. Temptation forms the ground-work of all sins. Ignorant men yield to temptations and commit sins. Those who put on the appearance of righteous men are more sinful than the unrighteous. They will have to undergo great miseries. Sinning and evil have become so much a habit with man that he never feels that he is committing them, even though day and night he is doing so constantly. Think not lightly of sin. Just as a pot is filled with water by the constant falling of drops of water, even so, the ignorant man fills himself with evil and sin little by little. HOW SIN ORIGINATES Sin is an evil deed. Sin is willful violation of the laws of morality and religion. It is transgression of the Law of God. Vice issues as sins and crimes. Vice is a stain of character. It is a flaw of character. It is a blemish or fault. Vice issues in evil deeds which are called sins. Anger, lust, sorrow, loss of judgment, an inclination to injure others, unkindness, and fear are very powerful enemies of all creatures. These approach men and tempt them from all sides. They goad and afflict a careless or a foolish man. They attack him powerfully, like a tiger jumping upon its prey. From these originate all sorts of grief and sin. It is selfishness that prompts a man to do evil acts. A selfish man injures others, robs their property, and does many sinful actions to satisfy his selfishness. Selfishness is the devil incarnate in every man. It is a sin to be pleased with oneself. By shutting out the possibility of progress, self-inquiry, and introspection, the process of degeneration sets in. Egoism is the greatest sin. The wrong notion, “I am the body”, is the real, original sin. This one thought – the ‘I’ thought – has wrought all mischiefs. This one thought has multiplied into thousandfold thoughts. This one thought separated man from God. This self-arrogating ego is the real, hereditary sin of human nature. All evil Vrittis are hanging on this little ego. WHAT IS VIRTUE? WHAT IS SIN? Papa is sin. Punya is virtue. Remember the motto always: “Do unto others as you wish others do unto you”. This is the Kasoti or test for virtue and sin. You do not wish to be hurt by others. So do not hurt another person. You wish to be helped by others. So help others. You do not wish to be robbed by others. So do not rob others’ property. When you enter the compartment in a train, you wish that others should give you a seat. They should not drive you to another compartment. So, when anyone enters your compartment, give him a seat. Do not drive him away. Hurting another is sin; non-hurting is virtue. Selfishness is sin; helping others is virtue. Robbing others’ property is sin; doing charity is virtue. Driving a man from the compartment is sin; giving a seat to a man in your compartment is virtue. That which elevates you is virtue; that which pulls you down is vice or sin. That which takes you to the Goal is virtue; that which makes you a worldly man is sin. That which helps you attain God-head is virtue; that which hurls you down in the dark abyss of ignorance is sin. That which gives you illumination is virtue; that which causes intoxication is sin. That which purifies your heart is virtue; that which taints your heart is sin. That which gives you peace, joy, satisfaction, exhilaration, expansion of heart, is virtue; that which brings restlessness, dissatisfaction, depression, and contraction of heart, is vice. Service of humanity and Guru is virtue; mischief-mongering is sin. Faith in God, in the scriptures, in the words of the spiritual preceptor, is virtue; doubting is sin. Loving all is virtue; hating others is sin. Unity is virtue; separation is sin. Independence is virtue; dependence is sin. Brahmacharya is virtue; lust is sin. Truthfulness is virtue; falsehood is sin. Generosity is virtue; miserliness is sin. Oneness is virtue; duality is sin. Knowledge is virtue; ignorance is sin. Strength is virtue; weakness is sin. Courage is virtue; cowardice is sin. To behold the One Immortal Self everywhere is virtue; to see diversity is sin. That which you are ashamed to do in public is a sin. That which you dare not admit before your Guru is a sin. Learn to discriminate between virtue and sin, and become wise. The Antaryamin will guide you rightly; hear Him. ATONEMENT Sin is expiated by self-punishment such as fasting, Japa, penance, meditation, and repentance with a contrite heart. Even a wicked man can have communion with God through repentance, prayer, and meditation. The confession of evil deeds is the first beginning of good deeds. Be not ashamed to confess that you have been in the wrong. If you confess your evil actions, you now have more sense than you had before, to see your error. If you confess your sins, you begin your journey towards emancipation. He who is sorry for having done evil actions mends himself and improves quickly. Repentance is a divine streamlet for sinners to wash their sins. Repent with a contrite heart. God will forgive you. If you commit a wrong on a certain occasion, you should not commit it again. There should be no wrong over wrong. You may claim forgiveness, if you are resolute to do the evil thing no more. A woman was charged with adultery. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to pronounce the Mosaic verdict of stoning her unto death. Lord Jesus quietly said, “Let him that is without sin among you, cast the first stone on her”. This powerful utterance of the Lord at once turned the gaze of each one there within himself. Who could be without sin ? Introspection revealed their own defects. One by one, the

A Simple But Powerful Spiritual Practice By Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda It is common thinking throughout the world to make a division between the spiritual life and the secular life. But if all is one, if God alone is, then perhaps the purpose of our spiritual life is to recognise that there is no such thing as secular life, that all life is spiritual. It is a question of where our consciousness is. The purpose of our spiritual practices is to raise our consciousness to a point where we recognise the fact that all life is divine. Most of the time our consciousness seems to be in what we could call a secular level. Is there a simple practice that we could observe during the day that would help raise our consciousness in a steady and consistent fashion? We may not be able to find time during the day for longer periods of spiritual practice, but usually we can find times when we can just sit–in the kitchen, in the office, no matter where–for a few moments, and close our eyes and relax. That practice alone will help to steady our consciousness. If we add to it repetition of God’s name, our mind will become focused, our consciousness will be raised. And as we are repeating God’s name we can recognise that something is aware of that repetition. We don’t create a witness, because that’s just another thought, but whatever is in our mind, we recognise that something is knowing it. That something can never be grasped, but it is never absent whether we are sitting quietly, whether we are active, whether we are dreaming or whether we are in deep sleep. The remembrance of that ungraspable witness raises our consciousness and puts us in another dimension. And all this can be done in a few moments. The spiritual life is not, at its core, something dramatic. Except in very rare circumstances, it is a step by step journey that continues for years. Some time ago one of our senior devotees passed away. She was a housewife who for years and years had followed regular spiritual practices. She didn’t seem to be anything special, but when she was having her health crisis–even though she could have expected to have many more years to live–she was totally resigned to whether she lived or not. Swamiji (Swami Chidananda) marvelled. He said it is a result of her many years of consistent spiritual practice. So we shouldn’t underestimate the inner spiritual power of something like simply–for a few moments as frequently as we can–sitting quietly, repeating God’s name and being aware that there is an unknowable witness who is always silently knowing everything.

Swami Chidananda on Self-Realisation Kind courtesy of “Tapovan Prasad.” This is an interview with our Most Revered President Swamiji Maharaj, published in two partsin November and December, 2003. “Hey, I’m in Nirvana!” We all talk like this when we feel good. But what is it like to actually attain Nirvana, otherwise known as moksha or Self-realisation? How does the world appear to such an exalted human being? Does one acquire supernatural powers? There are few people in India more qualified to answer such questions than SWAMI CHIDANANDA, the President of the Divine Life Society and the successor of the illustrious Swami Sivananda. Swami Chidananda is a soft-spoken, kindly man with sparkling eyes. He is deeply revered by hundreds of thousands of people in India and around the world, who recognise his saintliness, selfless service and great humility. On March 25, 2000, Jujhar Singh met this great saint at ‘Guru Niwas’ in Rishikesh for a two-hour interview on the theme of Self-realisation. Parts of the interview were published in The Times of India and in First City magazine earlier this year. This is the first part of the interview. The second part will be published next month. Q. Vedanta philosophy clearly states that the goal of life is to attain the state of Self-realisation. What is this state and why is this the goal of life? The Vedic rishis found that everything in the world that blooms is also subject to ultimate decay and dissolution. So they wondered–are we, human beings, endowed with intelligence just to live a brief life span and then pass away? They reasoned that life cannot be devoid of some higher purpose, especially when we are the only species of living beings who have the ability to think and reflect. After generations of investigations and after having raised their consciousness to a very subtle level, they came to the Truth through direct experience. They declared that beneath this mortal body seen by the world of man is an immortal spirit unseen by the world of man. And that Eternal in the non-eternal body, that Imperishable in the perishable body is actually part of a vast, infinite, eternal, beginningless, endless, cosmic Spirit. Timeless, beginningless and endless. It exists. It does not exist as an inert piece. It is Consciousness. Very much aware that it exists. It knows–I exist. So it is conscious existence. Existence is Sat, Consciousness is Chit. So it is Sat Chit. And in that state of pure Sat chit (Existence-Consciousness) many are the imperfect, negative experiences man is subject to once he is born in this mortal world–heat and cold, pleasure and pain, loss and gain, honour and dishonour. All these things assail man. But all these travails that man is subject to in this mortal world have no access to that lofty, sublime, transcendental realm, where abides only peace and bliss. There is Ananda in that Sat Chit. So it is Sat Chit Ananda. That is the nearest way you could define or describe that state of eternal Existence, which is also referred to as Brahman. And to realise and enter this state is called Self-realisation. Self-realisation is the goal of life because in that state there are no sorrows. Once you discover that you are the infinite, imperishable, eternal reality–you are liberated from all sorrow. In that state, there is only pure and permanent bliss and joy. Isn’t that the goal of each and every one of us? Q. But there is joy in this mortal world, too? Yes, but it is neither pure nor permanent. If a thing is capable of giving you a pleasurable sensation, that same thing is capable of giving you a painful sensation also. A man marries–he’s is in seventh heaven. Then if she runs off with someone else, or she dies, then he plunges into sorrow. This happens because the world is imperfect and man is imperfect. In one sloka in the Gita, the advice is that pleasure is the womb of pain. In seeking pleasure, you have already created your pain. Thus, pleasure in worldly objects and people is neither pure nor permanent. If you want real, continuous happiness that does not change or end–then rise above petty desires and seek the ultimate Reality. There is supreme Bliss, supreme satisfaction in it–an indescribable joy and peace. So make use of this life. It is a golden opportunity. While fulfilling your duties here, be a seeker of Truth, seeker of Brahman. Seek Self-realisation. In the word, ‘Self-realisation’, ‘Self does not mean your little self. It means your supreme Self. This is why Self is written with a big ‘S’. Know your real Self. Your mortal body is only a vehicle given to you to function upon this earth. But you are distinct from it. You are an immortal part of divinity. And when that is realised, one realises that I am aware, one with that limitless ocean of Sat-chit-ananda. I’m a little wave, but I’m part of the ocean. There’s no difference between the wave and the ocean. The wave may appear separate because it has a size and a form. But that is momentary and then it goes back into the ocean. From the ocean it arises, for a moment it exists, and then it goes back into the ocean. Q. How does the world appear to such a Self-realised person? The world appears just as it is. But he realises that the fabric of the world is not what he thought it was before. He realises that it is nothing but the Brahman principle. Q. And how does his own body and mind appear to him? Same thing. He sees it as part of Brahman. He is completely objective. Q. Is Self-realisation within the reach of every human being? It is birthright of every human being. Because he has been born as a human being. It is not within the reach of any other creature in creation. The moment you reach the status of a human being, the