Sivananda: Biography of a Modern SageHis life, by Swami Venkatesananda
APPENDIX
A Garland of Sivananda Literature
(This beautiful garland, delightful and instructive, has been woven out of the titles of Swamiji’s numerous works.) Titles of Swamiji’s works are printed in this type. (For the complete list of works, see Sivananda’s Elixir.)
Now listen to the Sivananda Vani! Sivananda’s Teachings, the cream of Philosophy and Yoga!
Words of Ancient Wisdom or the Sayings of Swami Sivananda are Wisdom Sparks, the Illuminating Messages which provide you with Religious Education.
“Achieve the Life’s Goal” So Says Sivananda. The Heart of Sivananda is revealed in his Satsang Bhavan Lectures. He gives Sure Ways for Success in Life and God-realisation in his Voice of the Himalayas. The Goal of Life, he declares, is God-realisation or Self-realisation. The Secret of God-realisation he gives in Aphorisms and Parables. Worldly Man! Wake up! Follow the Guide to God-realisation. Listen to his Gospel of Divine Life. Enter in Yoga Maharnava. Reach the Himalaya Jyoti.
Drink the Wisdom Nectar. Practice of Bhakti Yoga, Japa Yoga, Sankirtan Yoga, Practice of Karma Yoga, Hatha Yoga and The Practice of Brahmacharya, are all Aids to God-realisation. But, How to Get Vairagya? Understand The Philosophy of Dreams. Reflect over What Becomes of the Soul after Death. Sing Sangeeta Bhagawath. Study Samadhi Yoga. Practise Jnana Yoga. Know the Secret of Self-Realisation. Offer your Divine Life as Shraddhanjali unto the Lord. This is the Easy Path to God-realisation.
Ensure Health and Happiness by the regular practice of Yoga Asanas or Yogic Home Exercises. Understand well the Science of Pranayama.
Be your own Family Doctor. Study Health and Hygiene; learn Home Nursing and First Aid to the Injured; understand the relation between Health and Diet; and use Bazaar Drugs and Home Remedies: thus become your own Home Physician.
Become an expert in the Practice of Nature Cure and in the use of Practical Household Remedies: and you will know everything about Constipation (Its Cause and Cure), Asthma (Its Cause and Cure), etc.
Take Care of the Eyes.
If you know How to Get Sound Sleep and have Conquest of Anger and Conquest of Fear, you will be free from high Blood Pressure.
Stick to the Ethics of the Bhagavad Gita. Gita is the Universal Mother. It is Adhyatma Yoga Samhita.
The Essence of Ramayana, too, is the Ethical Teachings contained in it! The Beauties of Ramayana can be understood only by one who believes that God Exists and who is eager to know All About Hinduism. To him it is a Treasure of Teachings.
Wear a garland of Pearls of Wisdom or Perennial Teachings. Remember the Moral Lessons of saints (Sivananda Smriti). They are fountains of Light, Power and Wisdom.
Brahmacharya and Spiritual Life are inseparable. Therefore, practise brahmacharya and know How to Live a Hundred Years. Swamiji emphasised the Necessity for Sannyas and exhorted us to cultivate Sadhana Chatushtaya.
Before undertaking the Practice of Yoga, understand the Mind, Its Mysteries and Control. Wear the Vairagya Mala and swim on the Waves of Ganga, the Waves of Bliss. Study daily the Yoga Kundalini Upanishads; practise Kundalini Yoga and attain Yoga and Realisation. Kundalini Yoga gives several Spiritual Experiences, Joy, Bliss and Immortality, as well as Health and Long Life.
Raja Yoga bestows Psychic Influence on you. Therefore, study the Fourteen Lessons in Raja Yoga and know the Philosophy and Meditation on Om. Have Daily Readings of a page from Gita Meditations before your morning practice of Concentration and Meditation. The Jnana Jyoti will illumine your Path to Perfection. Sivananda Upanishad is good for Practical Meditation.
A thorough understanding of the Science of Reality will ensure the Students’ Success in Life. Swamiji’s Lectures on Yoga and Vedanta are the Sadhak’s Guide. They are Easy Steps to Yoga and contain The Essence of Vedanta. Sivananda’s All-India Tour Lectures, Radio Talks and Doon Lectures, Echo the Voice of Sivananda and have effected a Dynamic Spiritual Awakening, we are assured in his “Story of My Tour“. His Inspiring Messages have gone round the world. His Telegraphic Teachings have thrilled thousands. His First Lessons in Vedanta represent the Essence of Teachings of all sages. Siva Gita or Sivananda’s Autobiography reveals the Wisdom of Siva and gives Yogic and Vedantic Sadhana in a nutshell. The Principal Upanishads (including Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Chhandogya Upanishad), Minor Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Moksha Gita, Ananda Gita and Jivanmukta Gita, throw a flood of Light on Yoga Sadhana. Ten Upanishads is Vedanta Jyoti: it is A Wisdom Eye-opener.
Through Revelation, attain Wisdom of the Upanishads; then work for World Peace.
If you want to taste the Bhakti Rasamritam (Essence of Bhakti Yoga), take to Bhakti and Sankirtan, recite Stotra Ratnamala, Stotra Pancharatna, Sangita Lila Yoga, Ananda Lahiri and Devi Mahatmya, and emulate Radha’s Prem or St. Alavandar. Recognise Music as Yoga; sing Inspiring Songs and Kirtans before your Daily Meditation.
The Lives of Great Men and Women are the Light Divine that illumine your Path to God-realisation, leading to Peace and Perfection. The Lives of Sixty-three Nayanars are not merely Illuminating Stories, but an illustration of Narada Bhakti Sutras: and their illuminating, immortal teachings are so many Steps to Self-realisation.
Visit the Ashrams and Saints as also the Temples of India; undertake a Pilgrimage to Badri and Kailas. Carry a Pocket Prayer Book wherever you go. Be devoted to Lord Siva and His Worship, or to Lord Shanmukha and His Worship.
Swamiji’s Advice to Women is that they should grow into Ideal Womanhood and should be familiar with Hindu Fasts and Festivals. They should prescribe Divine Life for Children, teach their children Gems of Prayers, Divine Stories, Spiritual Stories and Philosophical Stories. Early in life the children should be given Spiritual Lessons and Practical Lessons in Yoga. The Lives of Saints and Sages should be their ideal. This is Sthree Dharma, in short. Bequeath Yoga Teachings as your Children’s Divine Treasure.
Hindu children should be taught all about Lord Krishna: His Lilas and Teachings. Christian children should be acquainted with Lord Jesus, His Life and Teachings. Education For Perfection must teach students How to Cultivate Virtues and Eradicate Vices, not only How to Become Rich; and should tend towards Moral and Spiritual Regeneration of the World.
The Yoga of Synthesis is the Yoga for the Modern Man. Narrate Siva Lilas, Stories from Mahabharata, Stories From Yoga Vasishtha. Hold classes in Upanishads for Lay Men and Busy People. Keep The Yoga-Vedanta Dictionary by your side. Discourse on Bhagavad Gita. Initiate only fit people into Swara Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Nada Yoga and Kriya Yoga. Teach Suryanamaskar to all. Practise and preach Triple Yoga. Enact the Upanishad Drama or Brahma Vidya Vilas — get the Dialogues from Upanishads. When you teach Vedanta for Beginners, emphasise Vedanta in Daily Life. Daily offer Pushpanjali to Mother Ganges.
Let your Conversations be on Yoga. Mix (Wisdom) Philosophy in Humour. Write Essays in Philosophy. Get by heart The Essence of all Gitas or The Essence of Gita in Poems. They contain the Essence of Yoga. Enact the Ramayana Drama. You will soon be An Encyclopaedia of Spiritual Knowledge. Dhyana Yoga is the Yoga for the West. Take to Studies in Western Philosophy and know How Westerners Practise Yoga. Study the fundamentals of World’s Religions and realise the Unity of Religions.
Maharishi Sivananda’s Yoga-Vedanta Sutras point out the Life Divine and are your Spiritual Awakener(s) and Life-transformer(s). Inspiring Letters that Transform men’s lives have flowed from Swamiji as his Jnana Ganga, to Alavandariah, Gajanan Sharma, DR. Chhatrapati and Paramananda. They contain the Philosophy and Teachings of Sivananda; and are a valuable Guide to Aspirants, in the Practice of Vedanta. The Sayings of Swami Sivananda are his Select Teachings — our Pocket Gems or Vedantic Pearls.
Yoga Prasnottari means Yoga, Questions and Answers. These Analects of Sivananda are Nectar Drops, which contain the Essence of Principal Upanishads and lead to Self-knowledge. These are Swamiji’s Precepts for Practice; his Message to Mankind.
Books Published Abroad
English Editions:
(1) Yoga for the West.
Published by Sr. Yogiraj Marshall, Florida.
(2) What Becomes of the Soul After Death, (3) Concentration and Meditation.
Published by the Divine Life Society, Yoga Institute, Hong Kong.
Indonesian:
(1) Kundalini Yoga, (2) Yoga Asanas, (3) Bhagavad Gita, (4) Sehat Walafiat Karena Yoga (5) Begitulah Sivananda Bilang.
Translated by Sri Kwee Liong Tian.
Published by the Editor of Penjedar, Malaya, Indonesia. Nos. 5 and 4 published by the Divine Life Society, Indonesia.
Chinese:
Kundalini Yoga.
Translated by Sri Chang Hsiu Jen.
Published by Sri Wai Kai Aah of Hong Kong.
Japanese:
Yoga Asanas.
Published by T. Hate, Japan.
Russian:
Five books translated and published by Sri Yogiraj V. Olshansky of Teheran — compiled by him from Swamiji’s works.
Yugoslavian:
(1) Ovo Djelo Ponizno Posvecujem.
Danish:
(1) Hatha Yoga.
Published by Yogiraj Louis Brinkfort, Copenhagen, Denmark.
(2) Hvad er Yoga.
Translated by Sri Aage Faergemann and published by the Sivananda School of Yoga, Denmark.
Czechoslovakian:
(1) Sivananda’s Integral Yoga, by Swami Venkatesananda, (2) Guru and Disciple (compiled by Sri Swami Satchidananda).
All World Religions’ Federation
(a). The name of the organisation, whose aims and objects are given below, shall be the All World Religions’ Federation.
(b). Its headquarters shall be Ananda Kutir, Rishikesh.
(c). Its aims and objects are as mentioned hereunder:
1. To establish the much needed unity of religions.
2. To do constructive work for the observance in practice of all the ethical and hygienic teaching found in all the prominent religions of the world.
3. To re-establish faith in unchanging ancient truths and preserve ancient traditions in so far as they are not incompatible with modern conditions of life.
4. To develop simplicity in life.
5. To re-model education, to make it an aid to spiritual progress.
6. To preserve the classical languages and revive a taste in them so that all scriptures may be studied in the original.
7. To organise and hold periodical conferences at different centres.
8. To institute local branches in different centres all over the world.
9. To publish magazines, books and leaflets for carrying out the objects of the Federation.
10. To constitute local committees in the various branches.
11. To organise a touring commission in the various branches.
12. To build up a library.
13. To establish a central Administration Committee at the headquarters to be ever in communication with the branches.
14. To constitute an advisory board consisting of members living in different geographical areas but offering advice, in all matters pertaining to the Federation, by correspondence. There need not be a limit to the number of members.
15. To publish monthly progress reports and send them to all active members of the Federation, for information about the activities of the branches all over the world.
16. To do any other act which may be pertinent to the aims and objects of the Federation.
The Spiritual Diary
Month: Dates
Questions 1. When did you get up from bed? 2. How many hours did you sleep? 3. How many malas of japa did you do? 4. How long in kirtan? 5. How many pranayamas did you do? 6. How long did you perform yoga asanas? 7. How many verses of the Gita did you read? 8. How long did you spend in the company of the wise (satsanga)? 9. How long did you meditate in one asana? 10. How many hours did you give in charity? 11. How long in unselfish service? 12. How much did you give in charity? 13. How many mantras did you write? 14. How long did you practice physical exercise? 15. How many lies did you tell, and with what self-punishment? 16. How many times and how long of anger, and with what self-punishment? 17. How many hours did you spend in useless company? 18. How many times did you fail in brahmacharya (celibacy)? 19. How long in the study of religious books? 20. How many times did you fail in the control of evil habits, and with what self-punishment? 21. How long did you concentrate on your Ishta Devata, abstract or concrete meditation? 22. How many days did you observe fast and vigil? 23. Were you regular in your meditation? 24. What virtue are you developing? 25. What evil quality are you trying to eradicate? 26. Which sense-organ is troubling you most? 27. When did you go to bed?
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