Swami SivanandaHis autobiography and his teaching on the Guru
INTRODUCTION
(Swami Sadananda Saraswati)
When I received the set of manuscripts bearing the title Autobiography of Swami Sivananda, I jumped with joy because I expected, as I believe many would expect, that there was a chance to know many of the details of the Master’s life which in spite of my fairly long stay with him (running into many years) I was unable to learn, either from him or from anyone else. But how great was my surprise—not to say disappointment—when I found that I could not obtain even a glimpse of what my little mind was curious to know. Yet, after laying down the manuscripts and thinking about the matter for a while in the manner in which he has trained me to think, I realised the wisdom of his reticence. The one trait which is totally absent in him, and which he completely dislikes in anyone, is idle curiosity and profitless talk.
Sage Tiruvalluvar, who is justly regarded in the Tamil country as not merely a poet but also a lawgiver, has in his immortal poem, Tirukkural, devoted Chapter 20 in “Illaraviyar” (rules about householder’s life), a section of “Arathuppal” (Dharma or code of conduct), to what is called “Payanila Sollamai” which means “non-utterance of what is fruitless.” The truths which that poet expounds in the ten stanzas of that chapter are of inestimable value.
The eighth stanza says: “The wise who are competent to distinguish between what is useful and what is not will never give utterance to futile words.”
Sivananda’s Studied Reticence
Swami Sivananda adopts this rule of conduct in his life and never, even in forgetfulness, swerves from it. He considers it wasteful to write about such incidents in his life as are not directly beneficial for the spiritual progress of the reader. That is the reason why we do not hear a word about why he left the shores of India and went to far-off Malaya in those days when orthodox Brahmin families regarded it a sacrilege to cross the seas. It is well known that Sivananda came from one of the most orthodox Brahmin families.
Again, what special circumstance made him give up a fairly lucrative job in Malaya and come back to our land bent upon pursuing the life of a Sannyasin? There are not a few disciples and admirers of his who wish to know whether he was a householder at any time and what happened to his family if he had one. Even the least curious among those who have the highest regard for his spiritual eminence are eager to know what he did in the Himalayas by way of Tapasya (austerity) and Sadhana (spiritual practices) of the conventional type which is generally undertaken by a novice; for it is their opinion that the pinnacle of spiritual excellence that he has reached is impossible of attainment without arduous and unremitting effort in the right direction. Even these earnest seekers are denied by our Gurudev the pleasure of knowing what he did to make himself the superman that he is.
It is undeniable that his studied reticence regarding these particulars is not due to any shyness in his nature, for where he speaks about himself he exercises no restraint upon his expressions. Perhaps, it is the other way. He often says things with an unparalleled boldness, unconcerned about the possibility of being regarded as boastful of his achievements. No, it is not shyness that has stood in the way. It is only his conviction that no useful purpose can be served by writing about them.
For instance, regarding the reason that prompted him to go to Malaya, suppose it was merely a spirit of adventure, a desire to see far-off lands: how are we as spiritual aspirants going to benefit by this knowledge? Suppose it was a feeling that he should serve the cause of the unfortunate Indian labourers who were in those days being practically decoyed by estate agents and their minions with promises of high wages and comfortable living but were actually subjected to considerable hardship. Even then, this knowledge will not help us to evolve into spiritual personalities. Knowing that a mention of this phase of his life will not prove useful to us, the author of this autobiography has not spoken a word about it.
Again, if there was a special circumstance which produced a radical change in his outlook upon life and made him eager to rush forth in all haste to become a Sannyasin, it is not necessary that everyone who has the urge to renounce the world should have the same experience that Sivananda had. When there is the irresistible divine call, anyone will be drawn automatically. Thus no useful purpose is served in mentioning the reason why the author renounced the world.
Clues to Sivananda’s Sadhana
The same is the answer to the other questions, including the Sadhana that he must have adopted. What one has to remember is that though books are written—and Swami Sivananda has also written many such treatises—about Sadhana with the object of instructing spiritual aspirants, the Sadhana which will be really effective, will be purely subjective and will relate to the particular individual himself and not to any other. All Sadhana is intended to make one’s mind most helpful and least harmful. One’s mind is one’s own and not of anyone else. It reflects the consequences of one’s actions in the past lives and in the present life. Each mind has to be handled in a special way and only the possessor of the particular mind will know from experience and practice that special way. Therefore, even if Swami Sivananda wrote elaborately about what obstacles he had to face in exercising control over his mind and how he faced them, it would be merely a bit of personal history and not anything which would help us in any way, however eager we may be to profit therefrom.
Yet, one cannot say that Sivananda has been completely silent in this matter. In the course of the autobiography, he has given us sufficient information here and there. He says: “The life of a mendicant during pilgrimages helped me to develop in a great measure forbearance, equal vision and a balanced mind in pleasure and pain. I met many Mahatmas and learnt wonderful lessons. On some days I had to go without food and walk mile after mile. With a smile I faced all hardships.”
Surely this is a very brief account. But it is highly revelatory. It is not easy to walk mile after mile on an empty stomach and still preserve equanimity of temper. That is real Sadhana. It elevates the individual more than a hundred malas of Japa sitting in a cosy corner without the pinchings of hunger. One can from such passages of the author understand the nature of the severe austerity that he must have undergone.
In another place he writes: “Self-realisation is a transcendental experience. You can march on the spiritual path only by placing implicit faith in the words of the sages who have realised the truth and have knowledge of the Self”. These words are written in connection with his search for a Guru. Here we have an insight into the nature of his faith. It is by no means the faith of an ignorant person. He knew all the teachings about the Self that are in the Upanishads. Yet he fully recognized the need of a Guru. He knew that unless implicit faith is placed in the words of a Guru, the ego cannot be curbed. He teaches us this truth when he writes about his search for a Guru.
It is in this fashion that we have to learn about the Sadhana that he practised. The fact is that Swami Sivananda is a very practical person. What he learnt from books or men would be put into practice so that he might know how far the teaching suited him. If it did not suit him, he would not condemn it but merely shelve it. So far as he was concerned it was ineffective. That was all. So, whatever he writes about is experienced by him. He does not like torturing the body with the desire to attain spiritual powers and perform miracles. He writes about this too in this book.
Motive of the Autobiography
Sometimes a doubt arises in me as to whether a saint should write an autobiography at all. Is there not, I ask myself, a tinge of vanity in writing about oneself and one’s achievements? It may be pardonable for a worldly man to speak about himself in such a way as to obtain the good opinion of others. But is it right for a self-denying saint to do the same thing?
In answering this question, I find that Swami Sivananda is without any blame whatsoever because his book is only in name an autobiography. It does not contain anything which can be construed to have the motive of obtaining the respect and good opinion of the readers. He has had only one motive. He knows that though he did not plan anything, God had made him found the Divine Life Society, establish the Forest University (now known as Forest Academy), and do similar things all of which are at present satisfying the crying need of people all over the world: to live a life without fear and with faith in the protection of the Lord. He finds that whether he wanted it or not he is at the head of a great mission and, before he leaves the world, he would like to make people know how this noble movement can be used for the benefit of mankind. That is the main purpose, as I understand it, of his publishing this book with the title Autobiography of Swami Sivananda. Naturally the book cannot be compared with autobiographies of others which sprang from different motives.
Valuable Lessons in the Book
It is now possible to examine the value of the book. From the very beginning to the end, the book is of great educative value to the person who wishes to benefit himself. The great regard Sivananda has for his great ancestor, Appayya Dikshitar, is revealed in the opening chapter. Intentionally brief is his account of his parentage and boyhood. His love of the medical profession and the way in which ideal doctors are to do the job are revealed in his account of his Malayan career. How his faith in the injunction of the Srutis—“The day on which you get dispassion, renounce the world”—transformed him is seen in the section “Dawn of a New Vision.” His life as a wandering mendicant, the benefits he derived from pilgrimages, his search for a Guru and his choice of Rishikesh for final stay are stated quite simply, without any embellishments of style. Yet they all have something to teach us. His observations upon the foolishly spiritually ambitious, his decision to adopt a synthesized Sadhana, the way in which he lived it at Swarg Ashram, the lecture tours and the journey to Kailas reveal his early attempts to combine Sadhana with service.
After this formative period in his spiritual evolution, we find him launching upon a career of mass dissemination of spiritual knowledge. He has well described the different stages in which he started the Divine Life mission. Especially valuable are his remarks upon how his unselfishness and largeness of heart won for him the lasting attachment and devotion of his disciples.
The third stage—“The Birth of a Great Institution”—having been reached, he is happy, in witnessing now the noble and invaluable work done therein. He then discovers himself as the cosmic friend and cosmic benefactor because he constantly lives in the spirit of the Upanishadic thought: “Aham Brahma Asmi—I am Brahman.” He also engages himself in improving the natures of those who are by his side. What he does for them and with them is narrated in “Collective Sadhana” and the succeeding chapters. In due course the Divine Life movement gains strength and is found to meet the need of the hour because of the universality of its ideals and of the efficacy of its methods for spiritual perfection.
The author writes just as if he is writing an annual report, but the beauty of the book consists in the fact that the narration reveals in every sentence the nobility of his mind, the sincerity and seriousness with which he goes through his self-chosen task of benefiting mankind, and the love and respect with which he is regarded by his disciples, admirers and even casual visitors. In fact, it is the greatness of the man and his work that are seen through the unvarnished account of what actually happens in his Ashram. The rapid growth of the mission, which he states quite simply in a brief chapter, is proof to us that when a good man does something good there is always God behind to help him. The chapters dealing with the nature of the Divine Life movement, which has no secret doctrines, which explains what true religion is, and which in reality is only a simple and practical way of living with ease and true happiness, are highly illuminating.
When we go on reading about the spiritual conferences, lecture tours, the organisations for Nagar Kirtan, Prabhat Pheri, etc., we see the dynamic work that has been done by Sivananda for ensuring that the maximum use is made of one’s time to live up to the ideals of the Divine Life movement.
The author also gives us instructions about how aspirants are to be cared for, how universal love should be practised and help rendered to all, and how disciples at a distance are to be looked after. The reproduction of some letters which he had written to his disciples reveals the great solicitude that he had for the spiritual and even material welfare of those who attached themselves to his service.
In the later part of the book, the author deals with many diverse matters such as the spirit of accommodation, glory of renunciation, need for renunciation even when one is young, the qualifications to be a good disciple, the need for the purification of the heart, the right attitude towards women, whether women can renounce the world, and many other topics of practical interest. Some of these chapters evidence his breadth of outlook and even a bold departure from time-honoured conventions, suited to the needs of modern times.
There is much valuable advice to Sannyasins about proper meditation, real service, about who can start Ashrams and who should not, about the relation between Sannyasins and politics, the value of initiation by a Guru, and other similar matters. The book, whatever its title, is a mine of most valuable advice and instructions.
Some chapters are devoted to the Master’s books and other publications. There we find how he is very different from others, for he has no attachment for copyright. He has no commercial motive. He wants that, even after his passing away from the world, there must be a permanent stock of useful knowledge available to people in every part of the world. That is why he is a ceaseless writer. His books appear every year in increasing numbers and get distributed freely to thousands in India and elsewhere.
A part of the book deals with practical advice to his disciples not to quarrel, scandalise or even entertain thoughts of hate.
It is not possible to deal here with all the matters that are written about in this book. But this can safely be said: any page may be opened at random and there will be some teaching or other which will transform our inner nature. Every word that is written comes from the author’s inner experience. He has, it is clear from the book, ever been at pains to keep his mind pure, exalted and noble, and been equally at pains to impart this same purity and nobility to his disciples.
Warning on Supernatural Powers
It is usual for the Master to warn us and also write in his books that a real spiritual aspirant ought not to hanker after Siddhis or supernatural powers because, when they are desired, further spiritual progress is arrested. He has seen some instances in which people who were making good progress were caught by the temptation to acquire these powers and from then on they had a serious fall. Nobody can dispute the correctness of the Master’s opinion on this matter. But a doubt comes to me from time to time. Numerous are the letters received at the Ashram from people in different places mentioning many miracles performed by the Master. It cannot be that all who write such letters are uttering falsehood or are under any hallucination. It is likely that there is a small percentage of self-deceiving persons. But judging from the nature of the events reported to have happened—reported with many details and meticulous care in the narration—I have to come to the conclusion that the Master is exercising supernatural powers. If so, will he have a fall? I can safely assert that he cannot have a fall, because he has risen above the states of rising and falling. Since he has reached the stage in which he can identify himself with the Supreme—call It Atman or Satchidananda or Ishwara, as you like—where is the question of rising and falling? When the ego is negated how can there be any kind of danger?
Of one thing we can be certain: The real Siddha who does not want or care for Siddhis but who manifests them for unselfish reasons and as a result of communion with the Lord, is an entirely different person from the little man who has psychic powers to do things which are extraordinary or who has control over spirits. The power over spirits (good or bad) is entirely different from spiritual power. And no real Siddha goes about calling himself a Bhagavan or parading his powers. It can be said that the Siddha does not know that he performs miracles since they are not miracles to him—they are just ordinary things for him because he lives in the plane beyond the reach of the common man. I have to conclude that Swami Sivananda is one such. But he does not reveal himself as such to all and sundry.
Conclusion
Before concluding this introduction I cannot help stating that the author is—very probably unconsciously—revealing his real personality through every sentence he has written. And what a grand personality it is! In this sense, this book is indeed a real autobiography.
We see in him, through his writings, that outstanding trait of his: the passion to help all—small and great, learned and unlearned—to realise, each in his own humble and limited way, that he is heir to the supreme bliss that pervades the entire universe, the bliss “from which all this (what we see as the world) has come, by which it is sustained and into which it merges.” We see in him the unceasing endeavour to transform little natures into noble beings so that they may easily get over their different forms of bondage and live for ever in the eternal abode of bliss which is their birthright as the children of God.