Articles for Saadhana

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.

All of you know more than once very well that Narayanashrama Tapovanam is actually a Brahmavidya Pīṭa. This Brahmavidya is the one thing that you find is taught in the Upanishads, Vedas, in the Bhagavad Gita and also in the Brahma Sutras. Our Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasūtrās are a very clearly written document of the culture, the content of our culture, its detailed pursuit and also the goal of our culture. There cannot be any doubt about what the great culture of this land is. The three texts have got three different relevance and emphasis.

Vedas are prehistoric whereas Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasūtrās are within the sphere of history. Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharatam which was written 5154 years ago by Vyasadeva. The same Vyasadeva is said to have written Brahmasūtrās and he started writing Brahmasūtrās on the Gurupoornima day. About Vedas, we cannot say when they were composed, by whom, what were the circumstances in which they were composed etc. we cannot say except concluding something from the content and the message of the Upanishads and the Vedic literature.

Our country is great. Even if not for any other reason, one reason is that we have been able to preserve this literature from time immemorial. If in one generation there were not people to teach Vedas and the Upanishads and another set of people to learn them, then the whole treasure would have been lost for us. The whole treasure, nidhi, would have been lost for us, nasht hota. In every generation, some people in India have become very austere, ascetic.

There are so many different forms of austerity. It starts from physical and sensory austerity, then oral, keeping mauna etc. Then austerity should spread to the mind where the thoughts, attitudes, emotions, reactions, responses of the mind are filtered, filtered and filtered and they are made better and better. Ultimately the austerity should go to the level of intelligence which should govern everything about our life. In our ashram, the main emphasis is on this mento-intellectual, mind-intelligence austerity and sādhana.

In Vedantic pursuit, what is the ultimate sādhana do you know? I have sometimes mentioned about it.

Pāṇditya bālya maunākhyāni sādhanāni sādhayitavyāni

Pāṇditya means repeatedly reading and remembering, reflecting upon, trying to understand the Upanishadic and Vedic and Bhagavad Gita statements, revelations, truths, principles. If you start reading Bhagavad Gita over and over again, the 700 verses of Bhagavad Gita are sufficient to change your personality and take it to a brahma-nishta level. In every chapter of Bhagavad Gita you will find “brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre”, whatever is said in Bhagavad Gita is brahmavidya and yogaśāstra.

True yoga is not a bodily yoga or a prāṇāyāma yoga. True yoga is mind and intelligence yoga where the thoughts of the mind are merged with the thinker of the mind, the driśya is merged with the drashta. Everything about the mind, intelligence and ego are made to dissolve, sink in the self. That is the only place where one merges with the other to become totally only one. That is why Bhagavad Gita is called yoga-śāstra.

Krishna did not demonstrate any yogāsanā or prāṇāyāma though he makes a partial reference to this. Arjuna only heard, Krishna only said. As Krishna was saying Arjuna was understanding. The understanding brings about such a change that all the doubts and difficulties of Arjuna simply became vapour. And then he became so clear and strong that he got up, took up the bow and arrow and said “I shall fight not one Mahabharata war, a dozen of them if necessary.” In this context I say pāṇditya. Pāṇditya means reading and understanding things very well considering that to be a mento-intellectual mind-intelligence sādhana.

The next is bālya. It is a wonderful word. Every one of you should become child like, innocence. No cheating, no deceit, no stealth, nothing should be there. You should be a free minded, clear minded person. It is not easy. Be straightforward, don’t speak lies. Whatever comes, you say this is. If you have failed you say failed. If you forgot you say “I forgot.” If something is mistaken you say mistaken. Why should we conceal it? Bālya.

Maunākhyāni sādhanāni, the word mauna means not oral mauna, without speech sitting. On the other hand, true mauna is mind and intelligence also should become silent. When mind-intelligence become silent, still, then you have reached your goal. But you should not be sleeping or becoming unconscious. Pāṇditya bālya maunākhyāni sādhanāni sādhayitavyāni. This is the real austerity that you have to perform and pursue.

“Then Swamiji, is there no place for bodily exercises like yogāsanās or physio-therapeutic or other exercises?” Yes. Our body has a number of joints. Everywhere it is joint. The spine itself has got so many segments. Each is a piece. Then only we can bend like this. If it was like a stick we cannot bend. So, many segments are there, everywhere there is a joint, knee is a joint, ankle is a joint, hip is a joint, neck is a joint, shoulder is a joint, elbow is a joint, wrist is a joint, finger is a joint, all these joints should be properly exercised.  When you start taking an exercise, joining, activating these joints, giving them all proportionate beautiful movements, then there will be a very good secretion from the joint which will keep you healthy and there will be no pain at all.

A few days back I had a little back pain. So I had stopped some exercises because the doctor had told me. In spite of his statement I started standing on four legs in my hands and in my legs and I started taking that daṇḍa. When I started taking it, the pain disappeared. I have now re-begun after coming back a very difficult and important exercise of twisting the stomach, squeezing the stomach and twisting the spine. I used to do it, I am not able to do it well but I am trying. I think I have made 10 % or 15 % progress but I hope to achieve substantial measure.

I was told by a medical doctor who practices yoga that pancreas in the stomach when you start sitting in padmāsanā like cross legged, put one leg here and hold it and twist in this manner, the whole spine gets twisted and the stomach gets squeezed like this, in this manner. She says this squeezing directly acts on the pancreas and the pancreas is activated. Diabetes comes only because of pancreas inefficiency. I was always looking for somebody who will explain the āsans properly taking anatomy and physiology into account. So I said, “You should resign your doctor job, start teaching the āsanās, explaining their anatomical and physiological relevance.”

So my dear children, you have to love your body and give the body sufficient exercises. You take exercises bit by bit. Maybe morning some, evening some, if possible, in between some. I am now in a program of reducing my stomach. I have been wondering how it can be done. Now I have decided I will suck my stomach at least 1000 times a day. It is not easy, I should remember also. Today I have already done 350 in the morning. I will do some 100 or 200 at noon if I remember, then in the evening I will do another 250. I want to do it in between my work but because I get so absorbed in my work I am not able to do it.

My dear children, you have to become austere. Our Swamiji seems to have made a remark that the food here is too much. There is no bodily activity for the people, so three times food, then tea or coffee with plantain, biscuits, this is too much. Please remember what a Swamiji has said.

You know when I am asked to take something in between, I don’t take. We have the breakfast and whenever I am given food I say “I am not ready. I don’t want.” I would like to take food a little later when the stomach is hungry. I don’t take coffee. I don’t take milk. I don’t take sugar also. And I say these meals are more than sufficient for me, watching the weight also. So I believe all of you should have a control or a regulation, a discipline on your food and discipline on the structure of the body. I want your body to be flexible.

I have brought special weight which I can hold in my hand. Yesterday I was taking exercises for about 30 minutes, no more than 30 minutes in the evening, lifting the weight, twisting here, twisting there. One doctor was telling me, “Swamiji you should put a weight on the thigh and lift it.” which I have not. I used to put it on my ankles and lift. So I am starting to put.. Whenever I hear something good, this is called jñāna sādhana, whenever I hear something good, instantly I absorb it. When I understand something bad, I like to avoid it.

So the real sādhana and austerity, jñāna sādhana is always trying to include whatever is desirable āśāsya and get away from, eliminate what is anāśāsya, undesirable. I would like you to do this austerity always. Whatever is desirable, the moment you hear it, incorporate it in you. And whatever is undesirable, the moment you hear it, get rid of it. This kind of an honesty you must have, love your body, love your mind, love your intelligence and see that the body is better, the mind is better, your speech is better and your intelligence also is better. This jñāna sādhana including the care of the body by virtue of āsans and exercises, this is what I mean by a good, all-fold austerity. This is very, very important in our life.

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.