YOGALife - Summer - 2008 - Sivananda Yoga

THE ART OF RIGHT LIVING 

Ahimsa by Swami Sivananda 

Control of Mind by Swami Vishnudevananda 

The Art of Yogic Breathing by Swami Sivadasananda 

Sun Salute Modified by Nischala Joy Devi

The Founders 

International Sivananda Yoga 

Vedanta Centres 

SWAMI SIVANANDA (1887-1963) 

The spiritual strength behind the Sivananda 

Yoga Vedanta Centres, Swami Sivananda’s 

teachings are a synthesis of all the formal 

doctrines of yoga. Author of more than 300 

books on yoga, Swami Sivananda was a 

medical doctor before renouncing worldly 

life for the spiritual path. He founded the 

Divine Life Society and the Yoga-Vedanta 

Forest Academy, Rishikesh, Himalayas. His 

main message was: Serve, Love, Give, 

Purify, Meditate, Realise. In 1957 he sent 

one of his foremost disciples, Swami 

Vishnu-devananda to the West to spread 

the ideals of yoga. Swami Sivananda 

entered Mahasamadhi on July 14th 1963. 

SWAMI VISHNUDEVANANDA (1927-1993) 

Born in South India in 1927, Swami Vishnudevananda 

entered the ashram of Swami 

Sivananda at the age of 18. A world famous 

authority on Hatha and Raja Yoga, Swami 

Vishnudevananda founded the International 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in 1957 

and was author of The Complete Illustrated 

Book of Yoga, Meditation and Mantras, 

Karma and Disease and a commentary on 

the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Swami Vishnudevananda 

entered Mahasamadhi on 

November 9th, 1993. 

The Executive Board 

The Executive Board of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is comprised of senior disciples 

of Swami Vishnudevananda, personally chosen and trained by him to direct the 

organisation after his departure. Each of them has had many years’ experience in teaching 

all aspects of yoga. They are renowned for their devotion to Swami Vishnu-devananda 

and Swami Sivananda and for their profound knowledge and inspirational teaching 

and guidance, wisdom imparted to many thousands of students throughout the world. 

Swami Mahadevananda 

Swami Swaroopananda 

Srinivasan 

Swami Durgananda 

Swami Sivadasananda 

Swami Kailasananda 

HEADQUARTERS 

SIVANANANDA ASHRAM YOGA CAMP 

Eighth Avenue, Val Morin, Quebec, Canada JOT 2RO 

Tel: +1 819 322 3226 

email: hq@sivananda.org 

With ashrams and centres located around the world 

see page 52 for addresses 

The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, founded 

by Swami Vishnudevananda is a non-profit organisation whose purpose 

is to propogate the teachings of yoga and vedanta as a means 

of achieving physical, mental and spiritual well-being and 

Self-realisation. 

W 

elcome to the latest edition of YogaLife full of inspirational 

articles on the theme of the Art of Right Living. 

Swami Sivananda writes on Ahimsa, the practice of 

non-violence, guiding us to a deeper understanding of 

how to bring love into our own lives and so into the lives of others. 

Swami Vishnudevananda gives down-to-earth practical advice on 

understanding and controlling the mind. We get glimpses of our 

teachers in three articles; Memories by Prema Venugopal who as a 

teenage girl spent time with Swami Sivananda at his ashram in 

Rishikesh; Sadhana Intensive, reports sent by Swami 

Vishnudevananda to his staff during his stay in the Cave high in the 

Himalayas; and A Day in the Life of Swami Sivananda outlining the 

precise spiritual practice that he undertook on a daily basis. 

Many other articles add to the powerful message that yoga has 

something for all, that its wisdom is timeless and infinite. We hope 

you enjoy the issue. 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre 

June 2008 

One life vibrates in all beings. Life is common in animals, birds and 

human beings. Existence is common. There is one common consciousness. 

If you hurt any other creature, you hurt yourself. If you 

serve another man, you serve yourself. By serving others, you purify 

your heart. 

Do not do any act which brings no good to others or which will make 

you repent later on or be ashamed. Do such acts which are praiseworthy 

and which bring good to you and to others. This is a brief 

description of the art of right living. Swami Sivananda 

Summer 2008 

3

SIVANANDA YOGA 

ADVANCED TEACHERS' TRAINING COURSE 

Advanced Asanas Advanced Pranayama Kriya Techniques Advanced Anatomy & 

Physiology Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Vedanta & the Six Philosophical Schools of India 

Foundation Course in Sanskrit The Nine Modes of Bhakti 

2008 

Grass Valley, California 

31 May - 29 June 

SADHANA INTENSIVE 

*Advanced Pranayama 

*Bandhas *Mudras *Kriyas 


Val Morin, Quebec 

15 June - 29 June 

Orleans, France 

9 August - 24 August 

Netala, North India 

14 September - 28 September 

www.sivananda.org 

4 Summer 2008 


3 August - 31 August 

www.sivananda.org 

Val Morin, Quebec 

3 August - 31 August

6 24 23 18 

Contents 

6 

10 

13 

18 

20 

22 

25 

27 

28 

Ahimsa 

by Swami Sivananda 

Control of Mind 

by Swami 

Vishnudevananda 

Be Up and Doing 

by Swami 

Durgananda 

Tracing the 

Eternal Religion 

in Vietnam and 

Cambodia 

by Swami 

Sitaramananda 

The Sun Salute 

Modified 

by Nischala Joy Devi 

Forgiveness 

by James Allen 

Detach - Attach 


Time 

The Yogic Art of 

Breathing 

by Swami 

Sivadasananda 

30 

35 

42 

44 

46 

48 

49 

50 

52 

Unity in Diversity 

and the 

Philosophy of 

Peace 

by Srinivasan 

Memories of 

Swami Sivananda 

by Prema Venugopal 

Sadhana 

Intensive 

by Swami 


The Rescue of 

Swami 


by Colonel P.P. 

Singh 

A Day in the Life 

of Gurudev 

The Benefits of a 

Sunbath 


Honey 


Prison Project 

Addresses 


Contents 

5


AHIMSA 

The Divine Practice of Non-Violence 


I 

n the regeneration and divinisation of 

man, the first step is to eliminate the 

beastly nature. The predominant trait in 

beasts is cruelty, therefore wise sages 

prescribed ahimsa (non-violence in 

thought, word and deed). This is a 

most effective master-method to counteract 

and eradicate completely the 

brutal, cruel traits in man. O earnest 

aspirant! Ponder the great significance 

and immense importance, value and 

blessings of non-violence, and start its 

practice now - this moment.

Non-violence is not merely non-killing as some think. It is perfect 

harmlessness and love also. It is to abstain even from the 

slightest thought of harm to any living creature -mentally, verbally 

or by deed. There is no excuse nor exception to the 

above rule. 

The path of non-violence is very narrow, but if you practise in 

right earnest you can easily travel this path, since you cannot 

but get the divine grace at every step. The immanent Lord will 

back you up and guide you at all times. You may not get full 

success in the practice of non-violence within a short time, in 

two or three months. You will be established in it only by a constant 

and vigilant endeavour. The practice involves continuous 

suffering, no doubt and you will have to cultivate the practice 

with endless patience and forgiveness. The path of non-violence 

is like a blade or the edge of razor. It is like walking on 

the edge of a sharp sword. If you are careless you will be seriously 

hurt, but if you are vigilant you cannot but attain immortality. 

You have to pay a heavy price indeed if you wish to have 

eternal life and perennial bliss. Ahimsa is the means to an end. 

Ahimsa is the means to an end 

This end is the realisation of the Truth. The 'means' is as 

important as the 'end'. If you take care of the means, you must 

reach the end sooner or later. Keep the ideal before your mind 

always and stick to it tenaciously. In attempting to live up to 

your ideal you may falter or stumble down in the beginning 

several times, but eventually you will be established in the perfect 

state of non-violence and attain the highest, the only 

Truth. If you develop this one virtue all other virtues will cling 

to you by themselves. All sinful and wrong actions are committed 

by you when you are under the sway of anger. Anger can 

be easily subdued by practising non-violence. If anger is under 

your control you cannot do evil actions and you will enjoy 

supreme peace. 

Non-violence is a wonderful quality of the heart. It is a rare 

virtue. It transmutes a man into divinity. He who is established 

in it is God himself. All the celestials and the whole world pay 

homage to him. Its power is greater than the power 

of the intellect. It is easy to 

develop the intellect 

but it is diffi- 

Ahimsa 

cult to develop the heart. The practice of non-violence develops 

the heart in a wonderful way. 

Ahimsa is soul-force. Practice of ahimsa is practice of divine 

life. Hate melts in the presence of love. Hate dissolves in the 

presence of ahimsa. There is no power greater than ahimsa. 

Its practice will make you fearless. He who practises it with 

real faith can move the whole world, tame wild animals, win 

the hearts of all and subdue his enemies. He can do and undo 

things. Its power is ineffable, its glory is indescribable; its 

greatness is inscrutable. The force of ahimsa is infinitely more 

wonderful and subtle than electricity or magnetism. 

Non-violence is never a policy. It is not mechanical. It is a sublime 

virtue. It is the fundamental quality of seekers after Truth. 

No Self-realisation is possible without it. Through its practice 

alone can you cognize and reach the supreme Self or 

Brahman. Those with whom ahimsa is a policy may fail many 

a time. They will be tempted to do violent acts also. On the 

contrary, those who strictly adhere to the vow of non-violence 

as a creed, as a fundamental canon of yoga, can never take 

to violence. You must practise ahimsa in thought, word and 

deed. Practice of non-violence in thought and word is more 

important than the practice in action. He who has control over 

thoughts and who has developed cosmic love will be able to 

get success in this practice, though it takes a long time. 

Patient, continuous struggle is needed. Practice of ahimsa is 

really the practice of killing egoism. The practitioner becomes 

like a block of stone. He develops wonderful will-power. 

Ahimsa is the great universal vow. It should be practised by all 

people of all countries. It does not concern only the Hindus or 

Indians in general. Whoever wishes to realise the Truth must 

practice ahimsa. Whatever difficulties you encounter, whatever 

losses you sustain, you must not give up the practice of 

ahimsa. Trials and difficulties are bound to come in your way 

to test your strength. You should stand adamant. Then alone 

you will be crowned with sanguine success. 

Absolute ahimsa is not possible even to the most conscientious 

sannyasin (renunciate). You cannot avoid killing countless 

creatures in walking, sitting, eating, breathing, sleeping, 

drinking, etc. You can hardly find a single 'non-injurer' in the 

world, but you can protect every living being by some means 

or other. Walk with the head bent low. Don't tread on small 

insects. Don't give pain to anybody. Feel compassion in your 

heart on seeing anyone in trouble. Try to relieve the sufferings 

of others as far as you can. Compassion is the highest spiritual 

practice. 

According to Tilak's school of thought, if by the murder of a 

dacoit thousands of lives could be saved, it is not considered 

as violence. Non-violence and violence are relative terms. 

Some say that one can defend himself with instruments and 

use a little violence when he is in danger, and this is also not 

considered to be violence, but a sannyasin should not defend 

himself and use violence even when his life is in jeopardy. 

English people generally shoot their dear horses and dogs 

when they are in acute agony and where there is no way of 

relieving their sufferings. They wish that the soul should 

be immediately freed from the physical body. Motive 

is the chief factor. It underlies everything. 

You cannot understand the exalted state of high 

souls. They are unaffected or untainted even if 


7

Ahimsa 

they murder millions of persons. The Bhagavad Gita says: "He 

who is free from the egoistic notion, whose reason is not 

affected, though he slayeth these people, he slayeth not, nor 

is he bound." (XVIII - 77) Ordinary worldly-minded persons 

judge others from their own standpoint. They also say: "We 

procreate and kill for the good of the world". This is a great 

delusion and a grave blunder. Even when they kill a goat for 

satisfying their own palate, they foolishly quote scriptures: 

"Weapons cleave him not, nor fire burneth him, nor waters wet 

him, nor wind driveth him away". (Bhagavad Gita II-28). What 

a philosophy they preach! This is the philosophy of demons! 

The law of non-violence is as much exact and precise as the 

law of gravitation. You must know the way to apply it intelligently 

with scientific accuracy. If you are able to apply it with 

exactitude and precision, you can work wonders. You can 

command the elements and nature also. The whole mystery of 

nature will be revealed unto you like a fruit in the palm of the 

hand. The practice of non-violence which is the supreme 

virtue in your daily life, will help you to attain inner spiritual 

strength, serenity of the mind and the realisation of Truth. 

Only the ordinary people think that ahimsa is not to hurt any 

living being physically. This is but the gross form of ahimsa. 

The vow of ahimsa is broken even by showing contempt to 

another man, by entertaining unreasonable dislike or prejudice 

for anybody, by frowning at another man, by abusing another 

man, by hating another man, by speaking ill of others, by 

back-biting or vilifying, by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by 

uttering lies or by ruining another man in any way whatsoever. 

If you practice ahimsa you should also put up with insults, 

rebukes, criticisms and assaults. You should never retaliate 

nor wish ill to anybody even under extreme provocation. You 

should not entertain any evil thoughts against anybody. You 

should harbour no anger. You should not curse. You should 

joyfully be prepared to give up even your life in the cause of 

Truth. The ultimate Truth can be attained through ahimsa. 

You injure another man on account of ignorance. If you see 

God in every man and animal, and always bear in mind that 

God is seated in the hearts of all living beings, you will not 

injure anybody. You begin to injure others the moment you forget 

to see God in others. 

You begin to injure others the moment 

you forget to see God in others 

If you do mental sins, if you injure a man mentally, you also will 

suffer mentally. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. If 

you injure a man in speech, you will suffer through speech 

only. A man may abuse and vilify you. If you injure a man physically, 

you will also undergo physical suffering. If you injure a 

man's eye and make him blind, you will also be rendered blind. 

If you cut a man's finger, your finger will also be cut. 

Understand this law of nature. Always do good actions. You 

will attain supreme peace and eternal happiness. 

A worldly-minded man wishes to get praise from the world and 

tries to avoid censure. He thinks and acts in such a way that 

all people should praise him. Is this possible? No. Never. 

Nobody can please the world. You can shut the mouth of a 

vessel but you cannot shut the mouth of the many-tongued 

world. Some will praise you while others will censure you. You 

8 


should be above praise or censure. You should treat praise as 

the dung of the pig, or poison. You should attain the state of 

being beyond the pairs of opposites. Then only can you be 

always happy. Then only can you be really peaceful and joyful. 

People have not spared even Sri Rama or Sita or Lord Siva or 

Lord Krishna. They speak ill of these great divine beings. They 

attach stigma to them. If such is the treatment of gods, what 

can be said as regards their treatment of ordinary men? 

A white man dislikes a black man and vice-versa. A Samajist 

dislikes a Sanatanist and vice-versa. A South Indian dislikes a 

man of North India and vice-versa. A Saivite dislikes a 

Vaishnavite and vice-versa. A Protestant dislikes a Catholic 

and vice-versa. There is an inherent tendency in man to praise 

his own native place, his own country, his own family, his own 

clan or sect, his own mode of worship, his own religion and his 

own language, and to censure those of others. This is pettymindedness 

born of ignorance. When the heart of man 

expands through spiritual culture, when he gets knowledge of 

the Self, these tendencies will perish. Mark how man is in a 

degraded and deplorable state on account of the influence of 

his innate tendencies. Still he will not try to destroy them. He 

clings to them like a leech and thinks he is always on the right 

path, on account of delusion created by these tendencies. 

Lord Jesus said: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour. 

Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." "Love your enemies, 

do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you and 

pray for them that despitefully use you. Ye shall be the children 

of your Father which is in Heaven. Be ye therefore perfect, 

even as your Father in heaven is perfect, for He is kind to the 

just and the unjust." Root out vices. Plant virtues. Develop 

mercy, unselfishness, forgiveness, pure cosmic love, 

patience, perseverance, peace, etc. Lead an ideal life in God. 

Be good and do good. 

Develop mercy, unselfishness, forgiveness, 

pure cosmic love, patience, perseverance, 

peace, etc. Lead an ideal 

life in God. Be good and do good 

Immortality can be attained only by performing acts of kindness 

continuously. Hatred, anger and jealousy are removed by 

continuous service with a loving heart. Lord Buddha still lives 

in our hearts. Why? Because he was extremely kind, he did 

immense service and he was an embodiment of compassion. 

You will get more strength, more joy, more satisfaction by 

doing kind acts. Your heart will be at rest even when you are 

about to face death. You will be loved by all. Practice of compassion, 

charitable acts and kind services purify and soften 

the heart, turn the heart-lotus upwards and prepare the aspirant 

for the reception of divine light. 

A sympathetic man places himself in the position of the other 

man who is in difficulty or in a miserable state. Then he 

evinces true sympathy and tries to alleviate his sufferings. A 

sympathetic man actually feels the suffering himself when he 

sees anyone in a bad plight. Sympathy is a divine quality. 

Therefore develop and cultivate this virtue to a maximum 

degree.

Forgive your servants one hundred and eight times. Excuse 

their mistakes just as you would excuse your children. Share 

with them whatever you eat. Develop equal vision. This is the 

essence of wisdom. Violence is a deadly enemy of wisdom. It 

separates and divides. It stands in the way of realising unity or 

oneness. Harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is violence. 

To fail to relieve pain or trouble in another is negative 

violence. To approve of another's harsh actions is against nonviolence. 

Avoid strictly all forms of harshness, direct or indirect, 

positive or negative, immediate or delayed. Practice nonviolence 

in its purest form, and become divine. Non-violence 

and divinity are one. 

Non-violence and divinity are one 

It is simple foolishness to think that you are separate from the 

rest of the world. You are one with all. In injuring another you 

injure yourself. In loving another you love yourself. Separation 

is death, unity is eternal life. 

Ill-feelings cease not by ill-feelings, but by love. In thinking evil 

of others we injure ourselves. In loving others, we love 

our own selves. Understand the grand law and its 

working. You will be happy. The law is very subtle. 

It is easy to remain without hurting others, but it is 

very difficult not to be hurt by others. One harsh word 

breaks the friendship of men who were united in love 

for a period of twenty years. A little sneering or frowning, 

a little laughter in contempt or a staring look, 

brings rupture amongst friends, brothers and relatives. 

How stiff is the ego! How strong is self-love 

and identification with this false body, a combination 

of five elements, a mixture of flesh, 

bones, skin, nerves, blood and pus. How 

powerful is this illusory power of the world. 

If you want to practise non-violence you 

should practise self-control to a maximum 

degree. You must keep a calm 

mind even under the gravest 

Ahimsa 

provocation. You must keep the impulses under perfect control. 

Ahimsa is a weapon not of the weak but of the strong. It is a 

shield not of the effeminate, but of the potent. It is really for 

those made of sterner stuff. You will have to practise it carefully 

in your daily life. You may fail one hundred times in your 

attempt, but gradually you will gain strength. Ceaseless practice, 

strenuous struggle and rigorous discipline of the mind, 

speech and the body are necessary. 

If you can be fully established in the practice of ahimsa, not 

injuring any creature in thought, word and deed, you are God. 

You are Brahman in truth. 

All beings - men, animals, birds and poisonous creatures - can 

approach the practitioner of ahimsa without fear and do no 

harm to him. Their hostile nature disappears in his presence. 

The rat and the cat, the snake and the mongoose, being natural 

enemies to each other, give up their hostile feelings in the 

presence of the yogi who is established in ahimsa. Lions and 

tigers can never do any harm to such a yogi. The wolf 

and the lamb, the frog and the cobra will play in his 

presence. Such a yogi can give definite 

orders to lions and tigers. They will obey. 

This is obtainable by the practice of 

ahimsa. The practice of ahimsa will 

culminate eventually in realisation of 

unity and oneness of life, non-dual 

consciousness. It will enable one to 

obtain cosmic love. 


9

CONTROL OF MIND 

E 

very thought affects you. Gurudev Sivananda has written 

about this in his book Thought Power. A bad thought has 

three different effects. First of all, it negatively affects the subconscious 

mind of the person who sent the bad thought. Then 

it affects the person to whom it was directed. Thirdly, it joins 

with the other negative thoughts of other human beings and 

they are all in clouds, black clouds, on the same vibratory 

level. But if you have a pure mind, if your thought is good, if 

you repeat your mantra and practise your meditation, you 

develop psychic armour. Your thought will not tune to their 

thought; it bounces back. 

You attract a thought of a particular nature because you have 

the same wavelength. Once your wavelength is very high 

these negative thoughts will not join your thoughts. But if your 

vibrations are low and you live amongst negative people 

whose vibrations are low you will be affected by their thoughts. 

So you can increase your thought level, that's the only way 

you can help yourself. Just repeating a positive thought, 'I am 

strong, I can help myself, I can bounce all these thoughts' is 

not going to help you. 

Overreaction to words and jumping to conclusions are weakness 

of the mind. The vrittis, the thought waves, must be 

restrained, not only during meditation, but at all times. One 

must be particularly wary of praise, for this too is verbal delusion 

and the ego is ever ready to pounce on any opportunity 

to see itself as better or different from others. This is one of 

the most difficult problems for swamis and yogis and spiritual 

people. 

The mind of a yogi remains calm by chanting mantras and by 

meditation or doing puja (worship). Yogis know how to diffuse 

the fight or flight mechanism. On the vital level they diffuse the 

energy agitated because of the emotional state of the mind by 

doing pranayama. Anger and the wrong type of food can also 

upset the mind. Because of various types of things - anger, 

improper diet, etc. - the energy is unable to flow properly. 

Yogis do pranayama with Gayatri Mantra or inhale Om Namah 

Sivaya, retain Om Namah Sivaya and exhale Om Namah 

Sivaya. They know how to balance the brain, the left and right 

hemispheres, by alternate nostril breathing with Gayatri 

Mantra. You can only experience happiness or peace by bringing 

this mind under control. 

You can only experience happiness or 

peace by bringing this mind under control 

Mind alone is the cause for your freedom and the same mind 

is the cause for your bondage. If you think that you are a mor- 

10 


by Swami Vishnudevananda 

Extracts from the soon-to-be-published Upadesa of Swami Vishnudevananda 

tal sinner it is the mind that created that illusion; but the same 

mind, properly trained, will give you liberation. You are eternally 

free. There is no sinner in yoga. 

Who is a sinner and who is a saint? That Self is like the diamond 

shining equally in all of us. One is in a beautiful king's 

body, another in a saint's body and another in a sinner's body. 

But the diamond is the same. The soul is the same whether it 

is in a woman's body, a man's body, a saint's body, a sinner's 

body, Hitler's body, Mussolini's body, or Jesus' body. The soul 

cannot be tainted. It is the mind that is the cause of this 

bondage because it is the mind that is filled with lust, anger, 

greed and hatred so that the world will appear to be impure. 

There will be suffering and pain. But the moment you reach 

the Self the pain, like an illusion, will disappear like the mist. 

Happiness is a subtle state of mind. When the mind is agitated 

it is like a blur and everything appears shaky. Just as the 

reflected sun appears clearly on still water, the reflection 

appears agitated if the water is agitated. In the same way, 

when the mind is in a state of oscillation, that creates a kind of 

disturbance in your self, the reflected self or apparent self, not 

the real Self. The problem is that we identify with that reflected 

self, the mind, and say 'I am happy', 'I am suffering', 'I am 

angry', 'I am doubtful'. All these emotional disturbances are 

because of the reflection of your mind. The mind is agitated 

or still, or partially still depending on each person's capacity to 

control the mind. Praise and censure are the same for one 

who has got control over the mind. Heat and cold are one and 

the same for a yogi; victory and defeat are one and the same. 

Praise and censure are the same for one 

who has got control over the mind. Heat 

and cold are one and the same for a yogi; 

victory and defeat are one and the same 

You have the infinite power in your mind; believe that. Use it; 

assert it. The infinite power is within you. Only when you 

understand that are you going to be a yogi. 

Your destiny is not in my hands or in anyone else's hands. 

Your destiny is in your own hands. My destiny is in my hands. 

I can show you how to stand on your head, but once you learn 

how to stand on your head or on your own feet, then only can 

you help others. That's why you are here, to learn this discipline, 

to gain this knowledge, the greatest knowledge of yoga, 

the secret of discipline. Discipline means controlling this wild 

horse, this wild mind. There is nothing secret about it. You 

don't have to go anywhere to find out that the enemy is within. 

The enemy you are fighting is not outside. Where is it? It

is your own mind. Mind alone is the cause of your bondage. 

Mind alone is the cause for your liberation. Everything originates 

in thought power. 

When thought power is intensified and made pure it becomes 

will power. When will power becomes stronger and purer, 

you'll have action power in your physical body. Will power 

doesn't come by merely thinking, it comes by action. Practice 

is the only way you get will power. 

We have lost our 

power by wrong living, 

wrong conditions, 

wrong 

thinking. We 

have to relearn 

e v e ry t h i n g , 

just like a 

man who is 

paralysed. 

He goes to 

Control of Mind 

physiotherapy and learns how to use his body, limbs, etc. In 

the same way, our will power is paralysed. Only when you 

have will power can you do anything you want. Nothing can 

stand before you. The only thing that stands before you is lack 

of will. The real achievements done by any human being on 

this planet are done by power of will. Good or bad. You have 

to learn to train this mind. If you are going to take a job, do it 

as well as you can, and make the mind the way you want it. 

Never allow it to have control. 

Thought waves are just like radio waves. Everything is a 

wavelength. Even here you can hear my talk and I can hear 

your laugh because we are tuned to some extent. When there 

is no tuning then this is not possible. Once you understand 

thought waves you will understand what yoga is. 

Thought can be either negative, positive or shallow. When 

thought becomes negative it is very painful and when it is positive, 

it lifts you up. Depending upon the condition into which 

you are thrown, thought plays a most important role in your 

life. You meet a person on the street, you fall in love…just like 

magic, so you call it 'love'. The thought waves take a specific 

pattern and suddenly there is a meeting of thought. Thought 

waves merge. Then after some time, perhaps, the thoughts 

change and instead of 'I love you honey', it becomes 'I hate 

you!' These phrases are only thought, nothing more. It is 

not that the person has changed, it is that the thought 

waves are no longer merging and there is now no 

communication. So there is friction, separation, 

suffering and you will never see that person 

again. The moment you think of that person you 

have unhappiness and pain. Wherever there is 

union of thought it brings peace, love, happiness 

and joy. Whenever thought becomes 

unbearable due to different or opposite 

wavelengths there is suffering, pain, war 

and calamity. So the whole world is nothing 

but a projection of your thought. 

There is nothing but thought. Reality is 

thought! 


11

I 

f we do not know how to act in life, asanas and pranayama 

will not help us much because every wrong action will give us 

both physical and mental pain. Our previous actions have created 

many reactions in the present. Yoga explains how to act 

without creating any more reaction. 

Yoga in Daily Life 

We think we are intelligent. We focus on that kind of knowledge 

which helps us to hold our job and maintain our insurance, 

old age pension, a house, a car, our situation in society, 

clothes, our look and our health. This takes all our time. Like a 

hamster we think that we are running somewhere. Yoga teaches 

us to develop pure intelligence, pure discrimination; it 

teaches us to look a little bit further than just what we see or 

what our impulses are telling us. To just impulsively do what 

you have been doing for many years is not intelligent. What is 

needed is a well-developed power of reasoning, equipped with 

logic. We may talk highly of logic, but it is no more than a discussion 

at the dining table. When it comes to our own life, we 

continue to act impulsively. 

Constant fears prevent us from moving forward. Worrying 

about everything, constantly living in the future or in the past, 

but never in the present - all this leads to a lot of sorrow, as we 

will have to face the reactions this attitude has created. As 

time goes by, depression will be the result. Many doctors say, 

"Well this person is 60 or 70 - it's normal to be depressed." 

And they prescribe pills. It is considered "normal". It is not normal! 

On the contrary, there should be joy! If you have worked 

hard all your life, you should be at peace with yourself and not 

be depressed! This does not just happen to people who have 

obviously been lazy throughout their life. People may be successful 

in their job, wear the right kind of clothes, have the 

right manners, have been to the right school - but still the 

results of their actions lead many of them to depression. 

The Bhagavad Gita says that such a person is evil. But they 

are not killing or stealing. The evil lies in the dissatisfaction. 

You go out to eat and look at the menu: "Oh let's eat something 

expensive! Let's eat some expensive fish, some expensive 

meat and drink some expensive wine. I'm 60 years old 

now. I've worked all my life. Let's get that red wine which costs 

300 euros a bottle. I can afford it now! You want to join me?" 

That is evil because afterwards you do not feel any better. You 

may feel better for an hour. You're already not feeling well 

Be Up and Doing 

-the Yoga of Action 

by Swami Durgananda, Yoga Acharya 

when the bill comes. And when you are home in your bed all 

you have is your heart, your liver, your gall bladder and your 

kidneys complaining. 

We are free to choose, but freedom does not mean that we 

can do whatever we like to do. As a society we have tried this 

and it has not worked. The freedom which we thought was 

freedom is now getting back at us. Families are breaking up. 

If both parents are working, there may be a house and a car, 

but there's no warmth. Who is cooking for the children? Who 

is feeding them? Who is giving them the love they need? 

Many people who come to the Ashrams now are not used to 

eating at regular times, they do not know how to cook, how to 

cut the vegetables, how to wash their clothes or even their 

own bodies. We have to teach them everything. Just learning 

the techniques of asanas and pranayama is not enough. Many 

people neglect the basics of a healthy lifestyle, without which 

yoga cannot be practised successfully. The result is acidity in 

the stomach, lack of absorption in the intestines, and constipation 

in the colon - how can one expect prana, the life energy, 

to flow? 

Also if you sleep too much, the mental energy goes down. It 

becomes a habit. It takes time and effort to slowly overcome 

this habit. It is the same with eating. Don't eat too much, don't 

eat too little. Finding the balance is not easy. This is something 

we have to figure out ourselves because we have no role 

models to show us. 

Three Gunas and the Higher Mind 

Yoga teaches us about the three gunas or qualities of the 

mind, viz., sattva (purity), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia). 

When sattva predominates a person is calm and serene. 

When rajas predominates, he is agitated and excited. When 

tamas is predominant, he is dull and foolish. Often the understanding 

of the gunas is oversimplified: "I'm above everything! 

I'm only looking at the others - oh, how rajasic most people 

are. And this person is still smoking or drinking alcohol - how 

tamasic! I can't even shake hands with this tamasic person." 

This is the beginning stage. We are categorizing the gunas 

like a traffic light: red for stopping, yellow for getting into gear, 

and green for driving. This is how our mind works. But the 


13

The Yoga of Action 

reality is not like this. The gunas are within us and within 

everything. Through the gunas the whole play of maya (illusion) 

takes place. If we understand this play, we learn to discriminate 

and can try to act properly - and then we fail: "Oh! 

It's harder than I thought! Let the Swamis do it. But the 

Swamis are also failing. I thought the Swamis were already 

very sattvic! But look, they're sleeping in meditation - they're 

tamasic! And all they do is run around the whole day - they're 

so rajasic!" 

Sattva can be recognized not only by the action, but also by 

the aim and motive of the action. As long as our observation is 

dominated by rajas, we cannot see these subtle aspects of 

action. A beginner tends to be a rajasic observer and may 

think: "I am separate. I am better than everybody else. I have 

taken the Yoga Teachers' Training Course and I know what is 

real!" It is interesting to note that great people do not think this 

way. This is why we like to be around great people. They are 

ready to learn new things at every moment, while puffed-up 

people who know a little bit are terrible to be around. 

It is easy to look at a person who doesn't shower or who wears 

dirty clothes and say this person is tamasic. However, the real 

tamas is in the mind. A tamasic person thinks that the body is 

real. You can be wearing Italian or French designer clothes 

with the best perfume and you can have a huge car and live in 

the best part of town, but if you think that the body is the only 

thing there is, then your understanding is tamasic. 

The Bhagavad Gita gives a beautiful teaching on the 

three types of happiness: 

"That which is like poison at first but in the end like 

nectar - that happiness is declared to be sattvic." 

When you first arrive at an intensive yoga program 

such as a Yoga Teachers' Training Course, it can 

actually feel like poison: change of environment, 

change of climate, change of rhythm, 

sharing accommodation with other people. 

Another example is fasting: it also 

feels like poison at the beginning. 

The first two or three days you have 

a headache, your bones and joints 

hurt, you are hungry and miserable 

and can hardly look out of your 


eyes. The body eliminates toxins through foul-smelling breath 

and perspiration. But soon after, the experience becomes 

wonderful. Body and mind rejuvenate and inner peace comes. 

If you understand this, you will be able to discriminate properly 

and look out for that happiness which at the end is like nectar. 

"That happiness which arises from the contact of the sense 

organs with the objects, which is at first like nectar, and in the 

end like poison - that is declared to be rajasic." 

In our normal lives, our judgment looks for what is easier 

because we want to avoid difficulties. Where can I make more 

money, what is more comfortable, where do I have to work 

less, which boss is easy-going - that's the job you take! We do 

not look for a job where we have to work on our discipline and 

really challenge our own minds. The only challenge we are 

interested in is money. If you do an action because you expect 

happiness right from the beginning, it's a rajasic choice. It's 

nectar at the beginning but poison at the end. 

"That happiness which at first as well as in the sequel deludes 

the self, and which arises from sleep - that is heedlessness 

and tamas." 

Too much sleep, too much food which excites our senses, 

alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, all the things we are trying to excite 

our senses with - these are tamasic actions 

because they will pull us down into 

addiction. Willpower diminishes 

and we become like a vegetable. 

Life is reduced to eating, 

drinking, sleeping and 

procreation. We call this 

a "nice weekend". Then 

we somehow drag ourselves 

from Monday to 

Thursday and hope for 

the same weekend 

experience again. This 

is tamas.

Teaching Yoga Today 

Asanas you can learn anywhere. You can find a yoga teacher 

in every town. Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnudevananda 

and other great yoga masters of India trained people to lift the 

soul up into real sattva, real purity. This is the essence of the 

Sivananda Yoga Teachers' Training Course. 

Every person acts according to his or her nature. After being 

trained for four weeks every day in asanas and pranayama, 

you're finding out that this way of life goes well with your own 

nature. Passing on the teachings can be just as natural, and it 

should be done without pride. That is proper action. If you're 

proud of what you know, you will create a reaction. "He is not 

filled with the pride that he is the performer of such actions, 

nor does he hope for any gain therefrom." When we are performing 

as a yoga teacher, is it our knowledge we are passing 

on? No, but we forget this. We think it's our knowledge, 

because we are surrounded by people who do not know as 

much. So we say, "I'm the yoga teacher now." We should be 

sharing yoga by being servants of this knowledge. Just like a 

cook serves food, you serve the asanas. You are not better or 

worse, both of you are servants in your own way. If you do not 

forget this, then your action will sattvic, pure. 

In yoga we do not look so much at what a person knows or 

says, but at what a person does. It is by the action that you can 

see where the other person stands, not by what they say. In 

the West we listen to what people say and we think, "Oh, very 

intelligent." And we give them titles: bachelors, masters, PhDs. 

But how do they act? Swami Vishnudevananda was very outspoken 

about this. He said a professor may know about yoga 

philosophy, but he does not necessarily practise it. But for 

preaching it, he may get all the fame. A simple yogi may be 

practising the philosophy daily but is being looked upon as an 

outsider. That is different in India: In the Himalayas and other 

areas you can still find people who seem completely removed 

from the world, but they are not looked down upon. There is 

great acceptance. 

"That by which one sees the one indestructible Reality in all 

beings, not separate in all the separate beings - know thou 

that knowledge to be sattvic." This means we are seeing the 

Self, the Soul or the Breath of God in everyone, recognising 

human beings as reflections of the Creator. This tolerance and 

sattvic thinking will give you peace of mind, because so many 

judgmental thoughts will simply disappear. 

If you announce your name and title to the world, you will not 

last long. You will burn out because you cannot keep it up. 

Accept humbly to be a reflection of this knowledge of yoga. 

Then your actions will be sattvic and you will last because your 

ego does not get burned. There is a beautiful example from 

the scriptures: When you cook rice it should become so soft 

that when you take a grain and press it with your finger there 

will be no resistance. In the same way, if the ego is cooked 

through tapas or action, teaching yoga as karma yoga or service 

to humanity, then it is soft like this grain of rice. If on the 

other hand it is not properly cooked, the rice corn is hard. This 

is a classical example to describe the ego. 

If you remain a practitioner and a student while serving as a 


teacher, you'll learn everything. The students will come to you 

and teach you. Unknowingly the students serve the teachers. 

Sometimes we hear certain spiritual people say, "Thank you 

for coming so that I may serve you." That is so true. How lonely 

the yoga hall would be without the students! We should 

thank the students for coming and giving us the opportunity to 

serve. This is the attitude that Swami Vishnudevananda had 

with us. He always said, "I serve you with all my heart, and if 

you did not understand the teachings, it is not the fault of the 

teachings, but it is the fault of the teacher. I ask you to forgive 

me if I did not make the teachings clear." He would do this at 

the end of the course and prostrate in front of everybody. 

Another time Swamiji told us how as a young man he prostrated 

in front of a great swami and while doing so, his own mind 

thought "Look how humble I am, I'm prostrating." He could say 

this about himself because he was checking his mind all the 

time. If we're honest, our mind is acting in the same way. 

Join the Yoga Peace Movement 

The Bhagavad Gita teaches, "Abandoning all duties, take 

refuge in Me alone: I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not." 

Surrender by working ceaselessly. Put the activity out, untiringly, 

and surrender to the fruits. Don't only act if something is 

in it for you. Do it for the sake of doing that job. Whether you 

are being paid or not. This is surrender. And who is benefiting 

lastly? Your own soul is freeing itself. 

Everybody has to make decisions. If you say "I won't act", you 

have nevertheless made a decision. It has to become clear 

what karma and knowledge really mean. Action uplifts. Many 

people do not want to act because they are afraid of making 

mistakes. They say, "I'd better not act, I'd better stay behind." 

That way you stay behind for the rest of your life. 

When Swami Vishnudevananda would complete the last lecture 

of the Yoga Teachers' Training Course, he would say, "If 

this knowledge has caught your interest, four weeks are not 

enough. Come and be with us for a while, and teach." Those 

who stayed he would call "staff", a very modern term. He 

wouldn't call us disciples, sadhus or yogis. If you have time, 

join staff for a while and become stronger. That's what this 

organisation is for. We are not here to make money. 

Everything the students give us goes back into this organisation. 

We build Ashrams, we maintain the centres, and we feed 

and dress the staff. Being on staff, you cook, clean, teach, do 

accounts, you do everything. It allows you to become more 

flexible in your mind. Most people are not flexible mentally. 

They only want to do what they are good at, and everything 

else they shy away from. In selfless service, you also do those 

things which you are not good at. This is the essence of the 

yoga of the Bhagavad Gita. You cannot not act. Through 

action you purify the gunas, the mind, the body, the emotions, 

the intellect, your whole being. In this way you can realize the 

Self within you and find happiness and inner spiritual strength. 

Then there is no need to take antidepressants. 

Learn how to act without being attached to the fruits of the 

actions. Join us for a month or two or six months or one year. 

Take a sabbatical and come. We have Centres all over the 

world. You can learn languages at the same time. You can be 

in an Ashram or you can be in a Centre. You will learn how to 


15


teach and how to control your mind, your words, and your 

senses. Yoga will become deeply rooted in you. This 

organisation is not there to make the swamis comfortable, 

but it is for new people to come to and practise yoga more 

intensely. 

I came like this one day in the Spring of 1974. I was 

already practising asanas for several years, but I still 

could not do the headstand because I was afraid of falling. 

At that time I was living in San Francisco and Swami 

Vishnudevananda came to the city. He gave a class in a 

school. I thought: "I'd better go - he's famous. Then I can 

say I had a class with Swami Vishnudevananda." At least 

one hundred people were in the hall. Swamiji had everybody 

lined up in straight rows and was quickly moving up 

and down the lanes. Surya Namaskar, no problem. My 

ego said, "No problem, that is easy!" Then Swamiji said 

"Headstand!" I thought with a hundred people in the hall 

he wouldn't see me, and also I am a small person. He 

said, "Make a tripod, position your head, go on your toes, 

walk towards your body." I did that - and then all of a sudden 

I heard "UP UP UP UP!" I thought Swamiji was talking 

to the neighbour but he was speaking to me! He put 

his finger into my lower back and I was somehow stand- 

16 


ing, no problem. I said to myself, "This is great!" - thinking 

that Swamiji was still standing there. But then I heard him 

already three or four people down the row. When I heard 

that, I fell down immediately! But having realised I could 

do it helped me to do the headstand again. And that is 

how I learned it. The simple truth that you can only know 

what the headstand is if you try it, applies to all aspects of 

yoga. 

After that yoga class with Swami Vishnudevananda, I 

thought "Maybe I'll stay with him a little bit. It's not bad 

what he does. He's a really good teacher. Maybe I can 

gain some knowledge." So I went and said, "Swamiji, can 

I join staff?" He took me in his arms and said "Welcome to 

the family!" At that time I did not understand what he 

meant by "family". Now, over thirty years later, I do not 

regret it even for a second. 

Extracts from a lecture given during the Sivananda Yoga Teachers' 

Training Course in Vrindavan, India, in February 2008. 

Swami Durgananda is Yoga Acharya (spiritual director) of the 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Europe. www.sivananda.org/tyrol

• Yoga Teachers' Training Course July 4 – August 2, 2008 

• The Secret of Communication with Animals 

with Amelia Kinkade July 9 – 11, 2008 

• Vedic Astrology, Yoga and Spirituality 

with Stephen Quong July 18 – 24, 2008 

•Bhagavata Saptaha 

with Bhagavad Acharya Sri Venugopal Goswami July 26 – August 1, 


• Yoga Psychology and Mental Health 

with Dr Uma Krishnamurti August 2 – 9, 2008 

• Advanced Teachers’ Training Course August 3 – 31, 2008 

• Sadhana Intensive August 9 – 24, 2008 

• Christmas & New Year Holidays Dec. 19, 2008 – Jan.1, 2009 

Château du Yoga Sivananda 

26 Impasse du Bignon, 45170 Neuville aux Bois 

Fax: +33 (0) 2 38 9118 09 email: orleans@sivananda.net 

Tel: +33 (0)2 38 91 88 82 www.sivananda.org/orleans 

Est 1957 Swami Sivananda 

(1887–1963) 

Swami Vishnudevananda 

(1927–1993)

Tracing the Eternal Religion (Sanatana Dharma) in Vietnam and Cambodia 

V 

isiting temple ruins in order to understand why such magnificent 

temples and culture are only a thing of the past, 

leads the visitor to go deeper into the universal meaning of 

mythology and to reflect on the underlying oneness of religious 

paths. It is also a 

reminder to detach from changing 

social cultures, forms of 

worship, national boundaries, 

the rise and fall of powerful 

empires and kings, and finally to 

contemplate the why and how 

of wars of religion. Such a pilgrimage 

into the religious and 

historical past of a collective 

reminds us of Master's and 

Swamiji's yogic and vedantic 

teachings on "breaking boundaries" 

and "the paths are many 

but truth is one" and "temporality 

of power and politics, of kings 

and barons." It helps us to 

develop detachment from and 

insights into our contemporary 

political and religious movements. 

The Arrival of Indian Culture 

in South East Asia 

South East Asia has been 

inhabited since the Neolithic 

era, but in the first century, it 

had become the hub of a vast 

commercial trading network that 

stretched from the 

Mediterranean Sea to China. 

Indian and Chinese traders 

arrived in the region in great 

numbers, exposing the indigenous 

people to new cultures. It 

was Indian culture that took 

hold in the area, fuelled by 

Brahmin priests. 

The Champa Kingdom in 

Vietnam 

In Vietnam, the original Hindu 

Saivite Cham kingdom occupied 

nearly two-thirds of the 

country now referred to as Central and South Vietnam. 

Founded at the end of the second century, the Cham kingdom 

prospered between the 5th and 15th century. It was essentially 

Hindu, borrowing from India its Saivite cult, its language 

(Sanskrit), its social structure (four classes or castes) and its 

concept of royalty (king-god). The Chams concentrated on 


by Swami Sitaramananda 

maritime activities and became a strong naval power. The 

ancient Cham kingdom was organised as a confederate state 

of five principalities: Indrapura, Amaravati, Vijaya, Kauthara, 

and Panduranga. These states were, one after another, lost by 

the kingdom in a series of wars, 

not only with the Viet, but also 

with the Khmer and the 

Chinese. Hindu Champa 

declined in the 15th century. 

The entire kingdom and culture 

was slowly integrated into the 

conquering, structured 

Vietnamese nation from the 

North including parts of the 

Khmer territory of the Mekong 

Delta in the South. 

In the 19th century, Champa 

had fully declined. The remaining 

Chams converted to Islam 

and were dispersed into hamlets 

belonging to Viet villages. 

Later the Cham were identified 

as one the the 54 minorities of 

Vietnam. With the decline of 

Champa, the Sanskrit language 

died out. With the 15th century, 

the Chinese expanded through 

military conquest into the area 

and the name of the region 

became known as Indo-China. 

Due to the Chinese influence 

and the disappearance of 

Hinduism in Vietnam, 

Mahayana Buddhism, which 

first came to Champa in the first 

century became the dominant 

religion. 

Cham in Present-day 

Vietnam 

In the Vietnam of today, we can 

see vast ruins of ancient Hindu 

temples. The most well-known 

is the holy Sanctuary My Son in 

Central Vietnam, built in the late 

4th century by King 

Bhadravarman I. This temple 

complex was classified by UNESCO as a World Cultural 

Heritage Site in 1999. These temples have survived not only 

the ravages of time but also of bombs in the last war. Of the 

original seventy towers, twenty still remain as ruins. Many of 

the Hindu deities and relics are now kept in the DaNang Cham 

museum. Here we find statues of Ganesha, Siva, Nataraj, Siva

of Ganesha, Siva, Nataraj, Siva lingam, Durga dancing on 

the buffalo, Garuda, Nandi, Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, 

Rama and Sita, Hanuman, Parvati, Uma, Skanda, and the 

vedic gods such as Indra, Surya, Varuna, Kubera, Vayu, 

Agni, Yama and Naga. 

In Po Nagar, a large temple in the beautiful coastal town of 

NhaTrang, we find an Asian- looking Goddess as the central 

figure of worship in place of the lingam. This Goddess is 

worshipped in the Buddhist way with incense, gongs, and 

mantra. Vietnamese city names are transliterated from the 

original Hindu Cham name. For 

example Panduranga becomes 

contemporary Phan Rang. At 

these sites one sees reproductions 

of Ganesha and dancing 

apsara statues as well as the 

Siva lingam. 

The Khmer Kingdom in 

Cambodia 

The early name of Cambodia 

was Kampuja. This name was 

derived from a tribe in North 

India associated with Kambu 

Swayambhuva, the legendary 

founder of the Khmer civilisation. 

Kampuchea was the original 

name of the country up to 

1989. The national language of 

Kampuchea is Khmer. Khmer 

religion, beliefs, iconography, 

art and architecture all 

stemmed directly from India. 

Hinduism dominated until the 

end of the 12th century when it 

gave way for a short time to 

Mahayana Buddhism. Later on 

Buddhism became the state 

religion. 

The Khmer king was considered 

an earthly representation 

of a deity. The cult was 

installed as the official religion 

of Cambodia in 802 by 

Jayavarman II. The famous 

Angkor temple was built originally 

by King Suryavarman II in 

the 12th century and was dedicated 

to Lord Vishnu. 

There are thousands of temples 

in Cambodia. Many of the 

structures of the temple are 

built around the central mass, 

representing the successive concentric levels of Mount 

Meru, the abode of the Hindu Gods. The God Kings Rama 

and Krishna are depicted in numerous temple carvings, with 

intricately-wrought scenes from the Mahabharata, 

Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana. The most commonly-found 

images are the apsaras, the celestial dancers who leapt 

Eternal Religion 

from the foam as the gods churned the oceans to create the 

elixir of life. There are nearly two thousand apsara images 

carved in Angkor Wat alone. 

In the early 12th century King Jayavarman VII declared 

Buddhism the state religion, breaking away from the former 

400-year tradition of Hinduism. He built many temples dedicated 

to Mahayana Buddhism, the most famous of which is 

the Bayon known for its huge faces carved in stone. There 

was a brief Hindu resurgence in the late 13th century. 

However, Buddhism returned 

after this time in the form of 

Theravada Buddhism which 

remains the dominant religion 

of Cambodia today. 

Angkor Wat 

The names of Angkor Wat and 

Angkor Thom derive from their 

classical Sanskrit names 

Nagara-vati and Nagara-dharma. 

Angkor Wat is the largest 

temple in the world dedicated 

to Lord Vishnu. It is visually, 

architecturally and artistically 

breathtaking. It has a massive 

three-tiered pyramid crowned 

by five lotus-like towers that 

rise 65 metres from ground 

level. Surrounded by a moat 

and an exterior wall measuring 

1300 metres by 1500 metres, 

the temple itself is 1km square, 

with the walls of the temple 

covered with stunning bas relief 

and carvings. 

The Khmers of present day 

Cambodia proudly proclaim 

their Indian heritage. The 

Cambodian ruler still carries the 

Indian royal title of Varma. In 

the same manner, the kings of 

Thailand still call themselves 

Rama, the present ruler being 

Rama IX. The influence of 

Indian culture spread far and 

wide not only in Vietnam and 

Cambodia but also in Thailand, 

Burma, Laos, and Indonesia 

and today is still part of the fabric 

of the spirituality and culture 

of these countries and it is in 

this context that the yoga 

movement of today is slowly finding its roots in these countries. 

Swami Sitaramananda is of Vietnamese origin. She is the director of the 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm and a senior disciple of Swami 

Vishnudevananda. 


19

The Sun Salute Modified from The Healing Path of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi 

SEATED VERSION 

This version is done seated in a straight-backed chair. The feet are flat on the floor or on a pillow on the floor. 

Position 1: Sit erect, legs together. Bring the palms together in front of the heart centre. 

Position 2: Lock the thumbs. Stretch the arms out from the heart centre. Look at the hands as you slowly raise the arms overhead. 

Stretch from the base of the spine to the tips of the fingers. 

Position 3: Keeping the arms alongside of the head, look up at the hands and slowly fold forward from the hips. Allow the head 

to relax toward the legs and the arms to relax toward the floor. 

Position 4: With both hands grasp behind the right knee and lift it up. Bring the abdomen toward the thigh. 

Position 5: Continue holding the leg, arch the back, bring the shoulders back and look up. 

Position 6: Bring the head back to centre and release the leg. Stretch out the arms, lock the thumbs, look at the hands, and 

slowly fold forward from the hips. Allowing the abdomen to come toward the thighs, relax the head and the arms toward the 

floor. 

Position 7: Raise the body up and place the palms on the thighs, fingers pointing forward, elbows bent. Arch the back, expand 

the chest, extend the neck, and allow the head to tip back slightly. Look up. 

Position 8: Bring the head back to centre, grasp the left leg behind the knee with both hands, and raise it up. Bring the abdomen 

toward the thigh. 

Position 9: Lift the head, arch the back, bring the shoulders back, and look up. Bring the head back to centre and release the 

leg. 

Position 10: Stretch out the arms, lock the thumbs, look at the hands, and slowly fold forward from the hips. Allowing the 

abdomen to come toward the thighs, relax the head and the arms. 

Position 11: Lock the thumbs, stretch the arms out, look at the hands, and slowly come up to a seated position. Continue to 

raise the arms up toward the ceiling. Look up. 

Position 12: Slowly lower the arms down in front and bring the palms together at the heart centre. 

Relax the arms and be still for a moment, feeling the benefits of the sun salutation. It can be repeated up to three times. 

20 Summer 2008

Sun Salute 

This is part of the adaptation that can be learned in Yoga of the Heart, a yoga therapy certification training for yoga teachers and health professionals to 

learn to adapt yoga for cardiac disease and cancer. Nischala Joy Devi teaches this course annually at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas. 

bd@abundantwellbeing.com www.abundantwellbeing.com 

STANDING VERSION WITH CHAIR 

Stand facing the seat of a straight-backed chair. Be sure that the chair is placed so its back is against the wall for steadiness. 

Position 1: Stand erect, feet together but not touching. Bring the palms together in front of the heart centre. 

Position 2: Lock the thumbs. Stretch the arms out from the heart centre. Follow the hands as you slowly raise the arms up 

beside the head. Stretch up all the way from the feet to the tips of the fingers. Look up at the hands. 

Position 3: Keeping the arms alongside of the head, look at the hands and slowly fold forward from the hips, keeping the knees 

slightly bent. Place both hands on the seat of the chair and allow the head to relax. 

Position 4: Stretch the left foot back, placing it on the floor a few feet behind you. Keep the left leg straight and the right knee 

bent. Look up. 

Position 5: Keeping both hands on the chair and the right knee bent, lower the left knee to the floor. Arch the back. Look up 

and back. 

Position 6: Bring the right leg back to meet the left. The feet are together with both knees on the floor. Pushing with the hands, 

straighten the legs. Look toward the feet. Stretch the heels toward the floor. 

Position 7: Leaving the arms and legs in place, look up. 

Position 8: Bring the left foot forward, bending the knee, the right leg remains stretched back with the foot on the floor. Look up. 

Position 9: Lower the right knee to the floor. Look up and arch back. 

Position 10: Keeping the hands on the chair, straighten both legs as the right leg comes forward to meet the left. 

Position 11: Lock the thumbs, stretch the arms out, look at the hands. Raise the arms up toward the ceiling as you straighten 

the knees and come to a standing position. Look up. 

Position 12: Slowly lower the arms down in front and bring the palms together at the heart centre. Relax. 

Stand quietly for a moment with your hands at the heart centre and be conscious of the heartbeat and the breath. When they 

return to normal, relax the arms, sit down in the chair, and relax. It can be repeated up to three times. 


21

FORGIVENESS 

he remembering of injuries is spiritual darkness; the fostering 

of resentment is spiritual suicide. To resort to the spirit 

and practice of forgiveness is the beginning of enlightenment; 

it is also the beginning of peace and happiness. There 

is no rest for him who broods over slights and injuries and 

wrongs; no quiet repose of mind for him who feels that he has 

been unjustly treated, and who schemes how best to act for 

the discomfiture of his enemy. 

How can happiness dwell in a heart that is so disturbed by illwill? 

Do birds resort to a burning bush wherein to build and 

sing? Neither can happiness inhabit in that breast that is 

aflame with burning thoughts of resentment. Nor can wisdom 

come and dwell where such folly resides. 

Revenge seems sweet only to the mind that is unacquainted 

with the spirit of forgiveness; but when the sweetness of forgiveness 

is tasted then the extreme bitterness of revenge is 

known. Revenge seems to lead to happiness to those who are 

involved in the darkness of passion; but when the violence of 

passion is abandoned, and the mildness of forgiveness is 

resorted to, the it is seen that revenge leads to suffering. 

Revenge is a virus which eats into the very vitals of the mind, 

and poisons the entire spiritual being. Resentment is a mental 

fever which burns up the wholesome energies of the mind, 

and "taking offence" is a form of moral sickness which saps 

the healthy flow of kindliness and good-will and from which 

men and women should seek to be delivered. The unforgiving 

and resentful spirit is a source of great suffering and sorrow, 

and he who harbours and encourages it, who does not overcome 

and abandon it, forfeits much blessedness and does not 

obtain any measure of true enlightenment. To be hard-hearted 

is to suffer, it is to be deprived of light and comfort; to be tender-hearted 

is to be serenely glad, is to receive light and be 

well comforted. It will seem strange to many to be told that the 

hard-hearted and unforgiving suffer most, yet it is profoundly 

true, for not only do they, by the law of attraction, draw to 

themselves the revengeful passions in other people, but their 

hardness of heart itself is a continual source of suffering. 

Every time a man hardens his heart against a fellow-being he 

inflicts upon himself five kinds of suffering-namely the suffering 

of loss of love; the suffering of lost communion and fellowship; 

the suffering of a troubled and confused mind; the suffering 

of wounded passion or pride; and the suffering of punishment 

inflicted by others. Every act of unforgiveness entails 

upon the doer of that act these five sufferings; whereas every 

act of forgiveness brings to the does five kinds of blessedness-the 

blessedness of love; the blessedness of increased 

communion and fellowship; the blessedness of passion stilled 

and pride overcome; and the blessedness of kindness and 

good-will bestowed by others. 

Numbers of people are today suffering the fiery torments of an 


by James Allen 

James Allen (1864 - 1912) was an English writer who retired from a business life when he was 38 to lead a simple life of contemplation 

in the British countryside. Swami Sivananda in his book Sadhana says "read …James Allen with interest and attention. 

You will be inspired". We offer this excerpt from one of the many books that James Allen wrote during his time in seclusion. 

T 

unforgiving spirit, and only when they make an effort to overcome 

that spirit can they know what a cruel and exacting 

taskmaster they are serving. Only those who have abandoned 

the service of such a master for that of the nobler master of 

forgiveness can realise and know how grievous a service is 

the one, how sweet the other. 

Let a man contemplate the strife of the world: how individuals 

and communities, neighbours and nations, live in continual 

retaliations towards each other; let him realise the heartaches, 

the bitter tears, the grievous partings and misunderstandingsyea, 

even the bloodshed and woe which spring from that 

strife-and, thus realising, he will never again yield to ignoble 

thoughts of resentment, never again take offence at the 

actions of others, never again live in unforgiveness towards 

any being. When a man abandons retaliation for forgiveness he passes 

from darkness to light. So dark and ignorant is unforgiveness 

that no being who is at all wise or enlightened could descend 

to it; but its darkness is not understood and known until it is left 

behind, and the better and nobler course of conduct is sought 

and practised. Man is blinded and deluded only by his own 

dark and sinful tendencies; and the giving up of all unforgiveness 

means the giving up of pride and certain forms of passion, 

the abandonment of the deeply-rooted idea of the importance 

of oneself and of the necessity for protecting and 

defending that self; and when that is done the higher life, 

greater wisdom, and true enlightenment, which pride and passion 

completely obscured, are revealed in all their light and 

beauty. 

Then there are petty offences, little spites and passing slights, 

which, while of a less serious nature than deep-seated hatreds 

and revenges, dwarf the character and cramp the soul. They 

are due to the sin of self and self-importance, and thrive on 

vanity. Whosoever is blinded and deluded by vanity will continually 

see something in the actions and attitudes of others 

towards him at which to take offence, and the more there is of 

vanity the more greatly will the imaginary slight or wrong be 

exaggerated. Moreover to live in the frequent indulgence of 

petty resentments increases the spirit of hatred, and leads 

gradually downward to greater darkness, suffering, and selfdelusion. 

Don't take offence or allow your feelings to be hurt, which 

means--get rid of pride and vanity. Don't give occasion for 

offence or hurt the feelings of others, which means-be gently 

considerate, forgiving, and charitable towards all. 

The giving-up, the total uprooting of vanity and pride is a great 

task; but it is a blessed task, and it can be accomplished by 

constant practice in non-resentment and by meditation upon 

one's thoughts and actions so as to understand and purify 

them; and the spirit of forgiveness is perfected in one in the 

measure that pride and vanity are overcome and abandoned.

Forgiveness 

24 


The not-taking-offence and the not-giving-of-offence go 

together. When a man ceases to resent the actions of others 

he is already acting kindly towards them, considering them 

before himself or his own defence. Such a man will be gentle 

in what he says and does, will arouse love and kindness in 

others, and not stir them up to ill-will and strife. He will also be 

freed from all fear concerning the actions of others towards 

him, for he who hurts none fears none. But the unforgiving 

man, he who is eager to "pay-back" some real or imaginary 

slight or injury, will not be considerate towards others, for he 

considers himself first, and is continually making enemies; he 

also lives in the fear of others, thinking that they are trying to 

do towards him as he is doing towards them. He who contrives 

the hurt of others fears others. 

Hatred ceases by non-hatred--by forgiveness, 

which is very beautiful, and is 

sweeter and more effective than 

revenge. It is the beginning 

of love, of that divine 

love that does not 

seek its own; 

and he who 

practises 

it, 

who perfects himself in it, 

comes at last to realise that blessed 

state wherein the torments of pride and 

vanity and hatred and retaliation are forever dispelled, 

and good-will and peace are unchanging and 

unlimited. In that state of calm, silent bliss, even forgiveness 

passes away, and is no longer needed, for he who has 

reached it sees no evil to resent but only ignorance and delusion 

on which to have compassion, and forgiveness is only 

needed so long as there is any tendency to resent, retaliate 

and take offence. Equal love towards all is the perfect law, the 

perfect life, the perfect state in which all lesser states find their 

completion. Forgiveness is one of the doorways in the faultless 

temple of divine love.

DETACH-ATTACH 



Swami Kalyananda asked the Master, "Swamiji, you have written over two hundred books. Instructions are so many that I am 

confused as to which to follow. Will you kindly enlighten me?" 

The Master said, "Detach-attach." 

"Anything more, Swamiji?" 

"Nothing more. Detach-attach. It contains every other instruction. The two hundred books written by me are but commentaries 

on this single advice. Detach the mind from all objects. Detach it from every outgoing tendency, from objective consciousness, 

from the notion of duality. The process of detaching thus is the sadhana (spiritual practice) as well as the goal. 

"Detach. This single word itself sums up the essence of all scriptures and sadhanas. It is self-sufficient, being self-contained. 

Yet the word 'attach' is added only in order to supplement it and to explain as well as simplify the process of detaching. 

"Attach the mind to the Lord. Attach it to the Self. Attach it to the subjective non-dual Consciousness. 

In the process of attaching the mind in this manner, the process of detaching, as explained before, inheres; and the process of 

detaching the mind from its objective tendencies is not possible without attaching it to the Divine Consciousness, since mind or 

energy cannot be extinguished. Detaching and attaching are like the two sides of the same coin. 

"Detach-attach. Though it looks simple, it is the essence of all sadhanas. Concentration, meditation, etc., are but different phases 

of the one single process of detach-attach sadhana. Kirtan, pranayama and other sadhanas are but different outer forms of 

the single inner sadhana of detach-attach. 

"Of what use is it to learn all the scriptures? This one injunction is sufficient to give you liberation. It is a wisdom-tablet of the 

highest potency, by taking which alone can one free oneself from the disease of wordly life. There is no higher sadhana than 

this, nor any sadhana devoid of it. It is the cream or kernel of all sadhanas and teachings. Practise this and attain immortality." 

25

TIME 

BLINK OF AN EYE 

Kala is a unit of time which is defined as follows: take a few petals of the lotus flower 

and place them one over the other to form a small compact bunch. Take a sharp needle 

and pierce the bunch with force. The time taken for the needle to pass through 

each petal is called one lava. Thirty such lavas make up a truti, thirty trutis make up 

a kala, thirty kalas make up a kashta. One kashta is equal to one nimesha which is 

the time required to blink once. 

AEONS OF TIME 

Mahayuga (the four periods of time) 432,000 years 

Manvantara (approx.71 mahayugas) 308,448,000 years 

Kalpa (approx 14 manvantaras) 4,320,000,000 years 

A Day and Night of Brahma (2 kalpas) 8,640,000,000 years 

Year of Brahma (360 kalpas) 3,110,400,000,000 years 

Lifetime of Brahma (100 years of Brahma) 311,040,000,000,000 years 

MAHASAMADHI OF SWAMI 

SAHAJANANDA, SOUTH 

AFRICA 

It is with deep regret that we 

announce the mahasamadhi of HH 

Sri Swami Sahajananda, the spiritual 

head of the Divine Life Society in 

South Africa. 

Swami Sahajananda was a disciple 

of Swami Sivananda for over sixty 

years, during which time he built a 

formidable printing and publishing 

operation in Durban, dedicated to 

the dissemination of Swami 

Sivananda's teachings. He was a 

tireless campaigner for the wellbeing 

of the underprivileged classes 

of South Africa, providing medical, 

educational and social facilities as 

well as teaching yoga in the name of 

H.H. Sri Swami Sivananda to the 

many thousands who came to his 

Ashram to receive his guidance. He 

has been a constant source of inspiration 

throughout the world with his 

humility, his untiring practice of 

karma yoga and his devotion to 

Guru and leaves a legacy that will 

serve society for many years to 

come. May his soul attain the Holy 

Feet of Gurudev. 

Executive Board Members, SYVC 


27

A Pranayama Practitioner will have 

a light body free from disease, very 

fair complexion, a sweet melodious 

voice, and pleasant smell of the 

body. He will have good appetite, 

cheerfulness, a handsome figure, 

good strength, courage, enthusiasm, 

a high standard of health, 

vigour and vitality, and good concentration 

of mind 

Swami Sivananda 

This inspiring description given by 

Swami Sivananda applies not only 

to a few advanced adepts of 

pranayama in the Himalayas, - it is 

a common experience of students 

coming towards the end of a 

Sivananda Teachers' Training 

Course, and even more so at the 

end of the Advanced Teachers' 

Training Course or Sadhana 

Intensive Course. 

However it is not easy for us to 

maintain such a high energy level 

on our return to our daily lives, even 

after completing these courses. The 

change of environment, stressful 

work or family situations or a 

reduced pranayama practice start to 

deplete our energy. It is easy to 

return to our old patterns of breathing. 

Breath Control during 

Physical Exercise 

Breathing is the most vital involuntary 

function of the body, ensuring 

that every cell in the body receives 

an adequate supply of oxygen. 

Involuntary or habitual breathing is 

controlled by the respiratory centres 

in the brain stem. These specialised 

nerve centres monitor the blood 

chemistry through specialised 


The Yogic Art of Breathing 

- why we should practise it every day 

chemo-receptors. They are located 

in the brain stem itself as well as in 

the aorta and its branches, the 

carotid arteries. 

One might expect that these chemoreceptors 

would measure the level 

of oxygen in the blood, -- and in the 

case where there is too little -- trigger 

an alert to stimulate the breath. 

Surprisingly, it is the level of carbon 

dioxide (CO2), the gas eliminated 

from the body each time we exhale, 

which is actually measured. 

by Swami Sivadasananda, Yoga Acharya 

Our illustration shows breath control 

during physical exercise. The 

energy needed for an intense muscle 

work-out is created by a chemical-combustion 

process fuelled by 

blood sugar and blood oxygen. The 

major waste product is carbon dioxide. 

After less than a minute of 

intense exercise, the chemo-receptors 

detect a dramatic increase in 

carbon dioxide. The respiratory centres 

react by stimulating the respiratory 

muscles and as a result breathing 

becomes deeper and faster, 

(Illustration taken from Anatomy & Physiology by Gary A. Thibodeau and Kevin T. Patton with kind permission of Mosby Publishing House)

eliminating carbon dioxide and taking 

in oxygen. There is no doubt 

that if you practise vigorous physical 

exercise regularly your vital 

capacity will increase. During a 

workout the intense nerve impulses 

from the respiratory centres train 

the respiratory muscles and the 

amount of air inhaled and exhaled 

can increase, sometimes up to 5-6 

litres of air within a single breath. 

Even though it takes will-power and 

discipline to practise physical exercise 

regularly, it should be clear that 

the increased vital capacity is still 

the result of an involuntary reaction 

triggered by the respiratory centres. 

Breath Control in Pranayama 

The situation in yogic breathing 

exercise is quite different. If you sit 

quietly in any comfortable crosslegged 

position, the muscle work 

required to hold the body in the 

position is small compared to regular 

physical exercise. Therefore the 

blood level of carbon dioxide also 

remains quite low, with a slow and 

shallow breathing pattern of about 

0.5 litres of air inhaled and exhaled, 

maintained by the respiratory centres. 

What is common to all yogic 

breathing exercises and their periods 

of retention is that through voluntary 

action the breath is made 

much deeper and slower,. This 

training is to be done progressively 

as the involuntary control of the respiratory 

centres is now being consciously 

overridden. 

Physical Benefits of Yogic 

Breathing 

By deepening the respiratory volume 

to 4-5 litres in a restful sitting 

position, the level of oxygen in the 

blood increases tremendously. All 

the cells of the body perform their 

work more efficiently. Yogic breathing 

includes deep abdominal 

breathing with the diaphragm. In 

this case, besides drawing air into 

the lungs, the movement of the 

diaphragm creates a sizeable difference 

in pressure within the 

abdomen. This massages the 

abdominal vein, allowing the blood 

to return to the heart more quickly 

and in a greater amount. This is 

SUGGESTIONS FOR DAILY PRACTICE 

Kapalabhati 

3 rounds of 30, 50 and 70 pumpings, 

and breath retention according 

to your capacity. 

Anuloma Viloma 

(Alternate Breathing) 

If you are a beginner, start the practice 

without retention, in a ratio of 

4:8. First on a single nostril, and 

once this is comfortable, alternating. 

Later on, retention can be added in a 

ratio of 4:8:8, and finally 4:16:8. If 

you are already practising basic alternate 

breathing, try to extend the ratio 

progressively to 5:20:10, 6:24:12, 

etc, up to 8:32:16. 

Yogic Art of Breathing 

especially noticeable during kapalabhati 

breathing exercise: after a few 

rounds of abdominal pumping, blood 

circulation is increased throughout the 

body. 

The Dilemma of Office Work 

When doing mental work in a sitting 

position there is very little carbon dioxide 

released from the muscles into the 

blood stream and therefore the respiratory 

centres are not stimulating the 

lungs to breathe deeply. However the 

brain requires a great deal more oxygen 

than other muscles. Without physical 

exertion breathing remains superficial 

and the brain becomes tired earlier. 

Only one hundred years ago, daily 

life included more physical work even 

in the cities. There were no cars, no 

mechanical stairs or lifts. There was 

no thermostat on the wall ensuring 

heating in the winter or air conditioning 

in the summer. Deep breathing was 

ensured, as physical work creates 

high levels of CO2. 

Today the majority of people in industrialised 

countries work in a sitting 

position. Genetically we are not adapted 

to this major change. It may take 

many more generations to create such 

an important change in the way our 

involuntary breath is programmed. 

What should we do in the meantime? 

Regular practice of pranayama creates 

conscious breathing patterns. If 

you dedicate 20 minutes daily to simple 

pranayama exercises, you will 

soon remember to breathe deeply 

even during mental work. Then you 

will see how much your concentration 

and vitality in daily life will improve. 

Pranayama, the art of yogic breathing, 

is a boon and a real necessity in 

today's world. 

For further information or questions 

consult the Complete Illustrated Book 

of Yoga by Swami Vishnudevananda 

or contact the nearest Sivananda Yoga 

Vedanta Centre. 

Swami Sivadasananda is the director of the 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Madrid. 

He is also Yoga Acharya for the Sivananda 

Yoga Centres in Geneva and South 

America. 


29

S 


Unity in Diversity and the 

Philosophy of Peace 

wami Vishnudevananda set out upon his mission of world 

peace with the seemingly simple slogan - "Unity in 

Diversity". Yet within this slogan lies not only the essence of 

the yoga and Vedanta philosophy, but also a call to action for 

all who wish to realise yoga in this life. Philosophy is a powerful 

tool when it helps us change the attitudes which guide the 

way we relate to and act in the world. All actions are motivated 

by the desire to gain happiness and to escape suffering. 

Through ignorance we attempt to escape suffering by seeking 

escape in the temporary pleasure of exciting the senses without 

considering the long term consequences, and unwittingly 

subject ourselves to even more suffering. Swami 

Vishnudevananda would use the example of the injudicious 

driver who noticing a red light illumine while driving, pulls 

over to the side of the road to fix the problem. He pulls 

out a hammer from the glove compartment, 

smashes the light and merrily drives on. 

We have developed a consumer 

society which is based on 

this principle. We 

look back 

by Srinivasan 

with amusement at the days when the media was inundated 

with advertisements like "I smoke for pleasure"; while today 

the consumption of pain relievers, antidepressants and other 

mood altering drugs and alcohol is at an all time high. We have 

televisions, IPods, CDs, DVDs, cell-phones, radios, and computers 

that keep the senses constantly stimulated. The result 

of this consumer culture is a long list of "life-style" induced 

physical and mental diseases among the individual members, 

diseases that are a result of an inappropriate relationship of 

people with their environment. The onset of these lifestyle diseases 

is insidious, they take years to develop, and once 

encountered do not lend themselves 

easily to cure. They include 

Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, 

cancer, chronic liver disease 

or cirrhosis, Chronic 

Obstructive Pulmonary 

Disease, Type 2


diabetes, heart disease, nephritis or chronic renal failure, 

osteoporosis, acne, stroke, depression and obesity. And collectively, 

as a society, we have created an economy of greed, 

waste and war, addicted to consuming the earth's resources 

like termites. Despite the warnings of global warming, global 

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil 

fuels stood at a record 8.38 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2006, 

20% above the level in 2000. Emissions grew 3.1 % a year 

between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the rate of growth 

during the 1990s. 

Yet, through right understanding we can think and act in ways 

that promote an environment of peace, prosperity, compassion, 

inner strength and freedom insuring optimal health and 

lasting happiness. We live in a society where freedom and 

prosperity are taken for granted. If we responsibly share that 

wealth and freedom compassionately to uplift others less fortunate, 

we generate peace, prosperity, respect and honour for 

all. When the wealthy and powerful exploit their position without 

considering the consequences, then poverty, disease, pollution, 

lawlessness, and war result. Though through conscious 

living the planet can support the entire world population, yet 

the planet lacks the resources to satisfy the desires of even 

one greedy person. 

History is witness to this karmic law of causation, as the forces 

of dharma and compassion confront those of greed and fear. 

Though it is an interesting exercise to witness the play of 

karma and the gunas in different eras and cultures, practically, 

it is only on an individual basis that we can transform the 

world. As is the individual so is the world. The fabric of society 

is woven with the threads of individual thoughts, values, perceptions 

and actions. 

One of the great beauties of the Vedanta philosophy is its ability 

to look at life from multiple perspectives at once. The innate 

defect of the mind is to project prejudices, emotions and values 

to construct a personal reality. It is impossible to know all 

aspects of any situation or object with the limited instruments 

of our individual mind and senses. This is why whenever two 

or more people come together there are as many perspectives 

as individuals. Without an underlying understanding of the unifying 

"truth", behind different perspectives there is the clash of 

egos and no possibility of peace, whether in the family, at the 

workplace, between different communities or different countries. 

Without a vision of unity there is no possibility of living in 

peace with nature or life itself. The philosophy of "Unity in 

Diversity" offers a means to honour different perspectives, different 

individual interests, different cultures, religions, habits, 

values, life forms by honouring the unifying divine essence 

which gives life to all beings. It has become obvious in nature, 

in a forest, or in a stream, or in the sea, that diversity is one 

most essential condition for a healthy ecosystem, and that all 

the life forms contribute to the healthy complexity of the 

ecosystem. In human society it is no different. First we need to 

realise that humans make up only a part of the total ecosystem, 

and we must integrate ourselves into the nature where 

we live. Then even among the subset of the local ecosystem 

of human society, diversity keeps the culture alive, the consciousness 

expanding and even the economy sustainable. 

The evolutionary strength of the human species is that we are 

capable of adapting to different environments by diverse individuals 

with diverse capabilities and responsibilities working 

32 


together in community. 

To "know thy Self", the essence of all philosophy, means to 

both recognise our individual duty and place in the world and 

to recognise the unity of existence, of consciousness and of 

the joy of living that connects us not only with all humanity, but 

with all life. This realisation makes it possible for each person 

to "know the Self and be free", without having to conform to 

others' ideas of religion, culture or values. The Self in Vedanta 

is beyond all qualities. The great diversity of the perspectives 

and expressions of duty, only glorifies the magnificence of 

divine consciousness which is capable of manifesting in 

countless forms. Diversity is the very essence of miraculous 

creation, and the limitless splendour of spirit. 

Christ taught to "Love thy neighbour as thyself." Vedanta 

asserts that our "neighbour" is no other than our true Self, or 

Atman. Once we remove all the filters created on our perception 

by the limited awareness of individual mind and senses, 

this unity becomes self-evident. Thus to "Love thy neighbour 

as thyself", is practical application of Vedanta philosophy. It is 

love that breaks the mind- created barriers. Yet though our 

neighbour is recognised in Vedanta as no other than our own 

true Self, his or her diversity is also honoured as a special 

manifestation of the great mystery of creation. It should also 

be noted, that our neighbour includes not just the persons that 

we like in our community. All people and life in all of its diverse 

forms must be included in the embrace of that love. The goal 

of all yoga practice, God-realisation, or Self-realisation, is the 

mystical experience of all life as divine expression of all-pervasive 

spirit. 

Vedanta does not deny the reality as we perceive it, yet it provides 

the knowledge to recognise that the mind and senses 

not only filter all of our experience, it also acknowledges the 

limitations of trying to find lasting stability in the constantly 

shifting world continuously moved by time, space and causation. 

Thus, like the quantum physicist who looks at reality 

beyond the limitations of human perception, Vedanta recognizes 

the gross limitations of filtered perspective and not only 

postulates another reality, but states that this reality can be 

experienced directly through stilling the mind in meditation. 

This unified understanding of reality is called Brahman, the 

unqualified, all-pervading consciousness, the non-changing 

existence, the limitless love, which animates the whole diverse 

creation. The power of creation is called Brahma; the constantly 

changing nature is studied as prakriti, and the force of 

constant change, stability, and balance in nature is observed 

as the three gunas. Thus the philosophy provides an ethical 

framework in which to move tactfully in a world run by intricate 

laws of right thinking and right action, dharma, of cause and 

effect, karma; and spiritual ideals of purity and compassion 

sattwa, while never forgetting the changeless unified reality, 

Brahman, underlying all the apparent changes in nature. 

From this vedantic understanding it is impossible to reject anyone 

in the world as an "enemy" because all of creation is a 

manifestation of the one pure consciousness or Brahman. Yet 

to practice Vedanta it is essential to respect the laws of cause 

and effect or karma, in order to honor the divine Self in all. A 

pig or a donkey is a divine expression of absolute consciousness 

or Brahman, yet I know that if I allow myself to be greedy 

like a pig or stubborn as a donkey that I will create suffering for 

myself and those around me. I have the choice to cultivate

the guna of sattwa, or purity, in my life, to eliminate the guna 

of tamas, or ignorance, negativity and depression; and to control 

rajas, or passion and activity, that I may be better able to 

see the one Self in all, and to "love my neighbour as my Self". 

The discrimination between what is leading towards liberation 

and that which is leading toward bondage and suffering is 

called viveka, and the awareness which allows me to reject 

the habits and attachments which lead to suffering is called 

vairagya. With these two powerful tools the practitioner of 

Vedanta can transform wrong understanding and destructive 

habits putting the philosophy into practice. By attaining freedom 

from prejudice, raga (likes) and dwesha (dislikes), one 

can realise the unified consciousness, Brahman, which 

resides in the hearts of all, as the universal Self or Atman. 

Furthermore, with an understanding of the law of dharma, 

even though we can set the highest ethical standards for ourselves 

as our personal dharma, we can also accept that others' 

dharma will be different from our own. Even negative roles 

such as a thief or a murderer ultimately serve the whole by 

glorifying the good. Knowing the law of karma, that every good 

action produces a good result and every negative action creates 

a negative result, a yogi will strive to do good actions and 

strive to eliminate negative thoughts and actions. He or she 

will be motivated with the belief that positive thoughts will generate 

good actions. Those actions will benefit the person or 

object of the action and contribute to the universal good while 

generating purity, will and positive habits within themselves. 

Tolerance and compassion are cultivated when the negative 

actions of others are attributed to ignorance. The knowledge 

that ignorance is the cause for our own unskillful thoughts and 

actions generates the courage to transform them once the 

errors are discovered. Cut-throat competition and self-righteousness 

towards others are rejected as offences against the 

universal Self. This dynamic yoga becomes "skill in action" as 

defined in the Bhagavad Gita. With an intuitive vision of a 

"higher Truth" beyond the limited perceptions one's mind and 

senses, the yoga practitioner is inspired to continue growing in 


spiritual awareness and strength, while simultaneously developing 

more and more humility in the face of the universal consciousness, 

or Brahman. Even the spiritual merit, knowledge 

and discipline acquired through spiritual practice and positive 

actions are seen as manifestations of universal consciousness 

rather than personal possessions. There is profound steadiness 

in honoring the absolute equality of Brahman manifest in 

the vast diversity of creation, while making great effort to attain 

perfection in yoga. This is unity in diversity. 

The more a yoga practitioner is able to realize this unity in 

diversity, the healthier, happier and more peaceful their life 

becomes and the more they can generate positive qualities in 

the world around them. This is the "Divine Life" that Swami 

Sivananda inspired us all to lead. Whether the world is meant 

to achieve lasting peace at this time or not is not our concern, 

but how we react to the violence and waste of our age in each 

moment of our lives is our personal responsibility. 

Fortunately, Vedanta is not the only philosophy that upholds 

unity in diversity. In fact, it is an intuitive experience at the core 

of all the major religions. Moreover, the sense of unity and the 

celebration of diversity are preconditions for all loving relationships. 

Yet, Vedanta with its clear concepts of Brahman, 

Brahma, and the three gunas, of karma and dharma and of the 

limitations of the mind builds a peaceful attitude toward all life; 

and provides a spiritual motivation to live a life of truth and 

virtue. 

Freedom and responsibility are the two pillars of Vedanta philosophy. 

It calls us to act responsibly towards all life as limitless 

Self, while offering freedom from the self-imposed limitations 

of identifying with body and mind. It is a philosophy that 

inspires and empowers healthy living, positive thinking and 

peaceful relationships with all life by embracing unity and 

diversity. 

Srinivasan is a senior disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda. He is the 

acharya for the US East Coast Sivananda Yoga Centres and Director of the 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch in New York State. 


33

MEMORIES OF SWAMI SIVANANDA 

A 

nytime I visit the Laurentian Mountains I am always reminded 

of my initial visit to the mountain ashram of Master 

Sivananda. Memories flood my mind as I near the ashram and 

hear its familiar sounds. My heart sings, for I am home. 

Nestled in the hills of the Laurentians is a replica of the 

ashram in Rishikesh, India. How I came to visit Swami 

Sivananda in the first place is an interesting story. I would like 

to share with you my teenage recollection of ashram life with 

Swami Sivananda. 

My third grade teacher Mrs. Chopra went to see Swami 

Sivananda in Rishikesh. She returned and spoke to my parents 

about him. It was May, 1959. I was 14 years old and my 

brother was 11. My father came home one evening after work 

and announced we were going up north for the summer holidays 

to get away from Calcutta's notorious summer heat. My 

brother and I were excited. We asked our dad where we were 

going. He said to an ashram in the Himalayas. He mentioned 

that a sage by the name of Sivananda lived in the foothills of 

the Himalayas in a place called Rishikesh on the banks of the 

Ganges River. We had no idea what an ashram was, or what 

a swami did. We sensed from dad though that this was a very 

special trip. 

My mother promptly became worried about what we children 

would do in an ashram. How was she to keep us occupied? 

Daddy explained patiently to my mother what a good experience 

it would be to expose us to this environment. Every summer 

my parents took us to temples all over India to teach us 

about our rich spiritual heritage. This year, it was more than 

just temple visits and sightseeing tours. This trip we were 

going to the hills! (We had never seen the Himalayas, only pictures 

in books.) Much to my mother's horror my dad enthusiastically 

invited a cousin my age to travel with us. 

The train ride from Calcutta to Delhi was uneventful. We wondered 

and talked about how we should behave in front of a 

sage. (Even though we had no idea what a sage was.) Would 

it be proper to curtsey as we had learned in our Jesuit school 

or do we touch his feet like we did to our elders Indian style? 

Would it be like visiting the Queen? From Delhi we took a taxi 

to Hardwar. We were curious as we approached Rishikesh 

from Hardwar. It was 3:00 p.m. when we arrived at the 

Ashram. 

My first impression of the Ashram was that it was quiet. There 

were some monkeys eyeing us carefully from the trees above. 

A few birds were chirping. A swami (we were told swamis wore 

orange clothes) showed us around. He helped us to settle into 

our quarters on a hill on the path to the Viswanath temple. We 

were given tea and biscuits and told to rest. We were to arrive 

at the ashram for the evening meal and later to attend the 

Ganga puja, kirtan and satsang with Bada Swamiji (literally 

translated the Big Swami). 

We arrived at the Ashram for our evening meal and found 

many swamis and visitors. At twilight we were all given a leaf 

boat with a wick and some oil. To the accompaniment of 

drums, harmonium, and chants, the lamps were floated on the 

river. It was so beautiful watching hundreds of lamps floating, 

that to this day whenever I go to the Laurentian mountains the 

headlights of cars coming down the hill remind me of those 

floating lamps. 

We then moved to the terrace, with Swami Sivananda taking 

his seat on a cement bench to our right wearing a simple cotton 

dhoti that barely came to his ankles. He had a small towel 

draped over his shoulders. He was tall and fair; smiling and 

calm, yet imposing. He was a handsome man about 6 feet tall. 

He seemed more like a grandpa than a spiritual master. Little 

did I know he could be both! He also had a tremendous 

strength to him, not something I can really describe with 

words, just a feeling that this elderly man held great force. The 

resident swamis sang bhajans. This kirtan lasted for an hour. 

Then, Bada Swamiji sang the" ities song." The force of his 

voice startled us. It was soothing not grating. In the still of the 

night his voice would echo into the Himalayas. 

At the satsang he requested a blind professor in the audience 

to recite a few verses from the Gita. Next a young lady from 

South Africa spoke about the need for satsang. A little boy of 

five presented a clay idol of Saraswati which he had made and 

Swami Sivananda, with great affection, took it from the little 

boy's hand. 

Then, we were formally introduced to Swami Sivananda. He 

gave each of us a mango and asked us our names. He welcomed 

us to the Ashram and gave specific instructions to each 

one of us. My father was asked to do asanas in the morning; 

we children were to visit the Viswanath temple at 5 a.m. and 

to take a dip in the Ganges. We were then instructed to wait 

for Master near his kutir to attend the morning satsang. He 

was extra kind to my mother whose constant worried looks 

didn't go unnoticed. In fact he arranged for a glass of milk to 

be sent to her every night. 

Each morning we looked forward to the satsang. The day 

began with a short walk with Swami Sivananda. During this 

walk he would give us nuts and raisins to munch on. Next he 

impressed upon us the importance of feeding the fish in the 

river. He really seemed to love the Ganges fish! We watched 

him feed them lovingly and then we all resumed our walk to 

the yoga hall. 

These sessions were fun as Swami Sivananda spoke on a 

variety of subjects. There was also a question and answer 

period. After satsang I would quietly sit next to his easy chair 


by Prema Venugopal 

35

Memories 

as he dictated to his swamis. Sometimes they were responses to 

letters, at other times they were new books in the making. There 

were always new and interesting people who spoke on just about 

any topic. Swami Sivananda instilled a quality of reverence to his 

words and actions. At times he would sit quietly squinting with one 

eye, his head tilted, his mind fixed on... we children imagined he 

was in samadhi. We heard a few words, which would be meaningful 

only in the future. He was unconditionally loving, always accessible, 

and in turn a stern teacher and awe-inspiring in deep 

thought. 

Once in a while Master would go into the woods for solitude. No 

one was allowed to go with him. We very much wanted to know 

where he was going. We would fidget and wait for him to come 

back to the Ashram to tell us. He often spoke about chin mudra, the 

benefits of silence and other puzzling concepts. It was after one of 

his solo contemplation missions that he gave me a picture of him 

meditating, for my personal altar. 

We tried to follow his lead. We kept silent for a few hours in the 

afternoon. We took small walks alone to practice solitude in true 

Sivananda style. Of course this meant not telling my mother where 

we were going; and this drove my already-worried mother closer to 

the edge. Then my brother with great fervour, inspired perhaps by 

the teachings and/or the thin air, began to sing all the time much to 

our dismay. My brother the songbird stunned the monkeys into 

silence. My brother was taught the Ramayana and Master gave 

him a copy of the Adhyatma Ramayana as a gift. Master loved my 

brother's intensity. He would often sit by Master's side and converse. 

Master also taught my brother to eat his fruit sitting down in 

one of the rooms after being frightened by mischievous monkeys 

who took his fruit. My cousin spent time with Swami Omkarananda 

learning about Vedanta. My mother made things at the Ayurveda 

clinic with a swami who was an expert herbalist. My dad did all 

sorts of seva around the Ashram. 

We also spent many hours with Swami Vishnudevananda's mother 

who regaled us with stories of her son's yogic abilities and his 

recent visit to Chicago. We were told of the great yogi Swami 

Satchidananda who was sent by Master to Ceylon. I remember 

Swami Chidananda's name frequently associated with assorted 

kind deeds and gentle manner. 

Master would watch from his window as we mastered the art of 

bathing in the Ganges. He would ask "who doesn't trust Mother 

Ganga enough to put her head in the water but instead pours water 

from a bottle on her head?" Of course it was me! He taught me to 

dip in a sandy portion of the river, to watch out for scorpions in the 

water, to put my spectacles in my pocket so the monkeys wouldn't 

snatch them. He also sent me to watch cataract surgery with 

Mother Hridayananda at the eye hospital and he sent me to Swami 

Shantananda to learn bhajans. I remember singing at many satsangs 

and even receiving a certificate and title of Sangeeta 

Sudhakara from Master himself. 

Photos: 

1 Photo given to Prema by Swami Sivananda for her altar 

2 Prema is standing behine Swami Sivananda's right shoulder 

3 Prema is sitting to the left of Swami Sivananda 

4 Swami Sivananda with Prema's brother 


2 

1 

3 

4

We were fortunate to have lunch with 

Swami Sivananda on several occasions 

We were fortunate to have lunch with Swami Sivananda 

on several occasions. He told us to eat all our vegetables 

and not just the sweets and fruits. He told my father to 

take us to see the sights around Rishikesh. Then Master 

asked us to take a pilgrimage to Kedar and Badri. We 

went into the mountains with his blessings and we 

enjoyed the trek, the baths in the hot springs, walks over 

the rope bridges, over glaciers and the breathtaking 

scenery at twilight and at dawn. 

We returned to the ashram after ten days of mountaineering 

and it came time for our deeksha. We did paada puja 

to Swami Sivananda on an auspicious day chosen for us. 

Master personally garlanded each one of us, whispered 

our mantra in our ears, and gave a japa mala with instructions 

for japa and meditation. We had our pictures taken 

with Master. We had finally become full-fledged 

ashramites. Mother's worried looks were a thing of the 


Memories 

past. I had learned to bathe in the Ganges, my brother 

and cousin were now a Siva family. 

We returned to Calcutta happy and energized. We continued 

to attend satsangs every two weeks. We also 

received many books from the Ashram. These books 

inspired our questioning adolescent minds to seek and 

question the purpose of our existence. Swami 

Chidanandaji, Mother Hridayanandaji, and Swami 

Shantanandaji all came to visit Calcutta from time to time. 

My brother and I were always eager to see them. I got to 

see them in Canada too when they visited Swami 

Vishnudevananda. 

In a very short time Master had changed the course of our 

thinking and thereby guided us into the future with very 

clear views and goals. I believe he even arranged the past 

fifty years for me to be under the care of his jewel swamis. 

I remain eternally grateful to my parents for giving us this 

wonderful present--the gift of a spiritual preceptor for all 

time to come. Om shanti. 

37

SIVANANDA ASHRAM YOGA CAMP 

QUEBEC, CANADA 

www.sivananda.org/camp 

tel: 1 819 322-3226, 1 800 263 9642 (in Canada) 

hq@sivananda.org 

Teachers’ Training Course 

June 29 –July 26 

August 31 –September 27 

Nov. 16 –December 13 

Advanced Teachers’ 

Training Course 

August 3 – August 31 

Detoxification and Juice 

Fasting Programme 

June 15 –June 29 

Ayurvedic Yoga Course 

July 28 – August 7 

Kids’ Camp 


Meditation Intensive 


Positive Thinking Course 

August 17 - August 21 

Thai Yoga Massage I & II 

August 25 - September 6 

A Yoga Christmas 2009 

December 22 – January 2

The Blind Men and the Elephant 

I 

It was six men of Indostan 

To learning much inclined, 

Who went to see the Elephant 

(Though all of them were blind), 

That each by observation 

Might satisfy his mind. 

II 

The First approached the 

Elephant, 

And happening to fall 

Against his broad 

and sturdy side, 

At once began to 

bawl: 

'God bless me! - 

but the Elephant 

Is very like a wall!' 

III 

The Second, feeling 

of the tusk, 

Cried: 'Ho! What 

have we here 

So very round and 

smooth and sharp? 

To me 'tis mighty clear 

This wonder of an Elephant 

Is very like a spear!' 

IV 

The Third approached the animal, 

And happening to take 

The squirming trunk within his hands, 

Thus boldly up and spake: 

'I see,' quoth he, 'the Elephant 

Is very like a snake!' 

John Godfrey Saxe 

V 

The Fourth reached out his eager hand, 

And felt about the knee. 

'What most this wondrous beast is like 

Is mighty plain,' quoth he; 

''Tis clear enough the Elephant 

Is very like a tree!' 

VI 

The Fifth, who chanced 

to touch the ear 

Said, 'E'en the blindest 

man 

Can tell what this 

resembles most; 

Deny the fact who 

can, 

This marvel of an 

Elephant 

Is very like a fan!' 

VII 

The Sixth no sooner 

had begun 

About the beast to 

grope, 

Than, seizing on the 

swinging tail 

That fell within his scope, 

'I see,' quoth he, 'the Elephant 

Is very like a rope!' 

VIII 

And so these men of Indostan 

Disputed loud and long, 

Each in his own opinion 

Exceeding stiff and strong, 

Though each was partly in the right 

And all were in the wrong! 


41

SADHANA INTENSIVE 

In 1986 Swami Vishnudevananda spent a considerable amount of time in the Sivananda Guha, a cave high up in the Himalayas, 

where he practised intense sadhana. We reprint here an extract from reports he sent back to his disciples around the world. He suffered 

hardship and deprivation in his struggle to conquer duality and eventually was overtaken by the intense cold. Overleaf we 

print the account of Colonel P.P. Singh, the commander who rescued Swamiji from the Cave late in 1986, when gangrene had set in 

and there was a danger of loss of limb and even life. 

Sivananda Guha, Gangotri, 22nd Jan. 1986 1pm 

Venerable Immortal Selves, 

Salutations: OM Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo Bhagavate 

Sivanandaya 

Here is the second report from this holy place of the 

Himalayas. 

The sun which disappeared behind the mountains during its 

southern journey slowly returned after sankaranti which is the 

day the sun starts moving towards the north. For a month 

there was no sun because of high peaks on either side of the 

Ganges towering 20,000 ft and above. The Ganges valley 

itself where the Ganges now flows is about 15,000 ft. The only 

thing about sunset and sunrise is possible when the sun 

shines on high peaks which reflects like the moon to the valley. 

The highest peak here is known as Sudarsan Peak named 

after Lord Vishnu's discus. All twelve months you will see snow 

on this peak. 


The Ganges is still flowing. Only both banks are frozen. It is 

not like Canada where all rivers, oceans etc. are completely 

frozen. Here the temperature is average -5 C to -8 C in day 

time. At night it falls to -10 to -12 C. Inside the cave it averages 

about +3 C to +5 C. For the last few days the sun comes out 

between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I heard the sun shines longer in the 

temple area because the valley is wider compared to the 

Sivananda Cave. So Gangotri mahatmas generally assemble 

near the temple to warm up their body. Now the path from temple 

to Cave is firm by walking of mahatmas who visit me occasionally. 

Food is being prepared by Swami Satyanandaji and 

sent by a messenger who also brings water from Ganges and 

does other essential service. 

By the grace of God Ganga Ma and Gurudev my health is 

alright and as I mentioned before I am enjoying the peace and 

solitude. I am regularly praying for all your health and spiritual 

progress. I heard from G…. that Swami S………..might visit

me. If he got some good shoes and warm clothes he can 

reach by walking in three or four days if there is no other snow 

storm. 

Time is fleeting. Life is being burnt like an oil lamp and many 

of my childhood friends are gone. So also this body is waiting 

to finish its karma. Do not waste time. Use every minute in 

japa, pranayama, and other spiritual activities. Maya is waiting 

to push you from the spiritual path. Before you know you are 

in the old rut, only grace of God and Gurudev will help you. 

Your own effort is successful only when God's grace comes. 

So pray, pray and pray. For me day and night are all same. 

Sixty years of my life is gone just like a dream. Life is like a 

two-day play. Born, grown up and now in old age many things 

only exist in past memory. There is difference between the 

time I spent as a young swami in the Himalayas and now at 

sixty an old swami. In those days body was under control-walking, 

climbing etc were easy but turbulent mind. Now the 

body is weak but by the grace of God mind is calm and strong. 

Younger days mind used to plan too many things. But now 

mind wants solitude. Those days physical discipline was easy. 

Now physical body can do very little. Those days I thought 

only physical action can bring success. Now it is 

opposite. You can do everything by the thought 

alone and the thought is the only reality. Body, 

you feel like a worn out shoe. But with the mind 

you see now the world in a different way. That 

concrete world now only looks like 

a mirage. No permanent 

( …….) people, you see, like 

phantoms moving in shadowy 

world who do not see that 

their exis- 

Sadhana Intensive 

tence is only the darkness. When the light comes their phantom 

body and world will disappear like a mist when the light 

comes. It is beyond any description. Only you can see peace, 

shanti, shalom, but no words. Time disappears. So also day 

and night have no meaning. Good and bad also have no real 

sense here. Your mind becomes like Himalayan snow--nothing 

to compare because there is only white snow everywhere. 

Mind is struggling to go beyond duality. But only a glimpse of 

that non-dual state. It falls back to duality. Just a few minutes 

ago time was unreal but now it strikes like a cobra. Again and 

again mind is moving like a pendulum. At times it does not 

move. At times opposite takes place. It is all maya's play. With 

these few thoughts I close this letter. I pray for all of you. May 

Lord bless you all. 

At the feet of GURUDEV, With Regards, Prem & Om 

Swami Vishnudevananda 3.30pm 


43

Sadhana Intensive 

THE RESCUE OF SWAMI VISHNUDEVANANDA 

THE ARMY'S ROLE WITH HUMANITY Colonel P.P. Singh (Retired) 

1. The Indian Army, the second largest Army in the world 

is known for its professional competence. This has been amply 

proved in various wars, conflicts, counter insurgency role, and 

aid to civil authorities since India gained independence in 1947. 

The role of the Army before 1947 as part of British Army in 

World Wars I & II is too well known all over the world and 

requires no repetition. 

2. The Army has been and continues to valiantly guard 

the international border and line of control - stretching from 

Rajasthan to J & K, Tibet, Arunachal Pradesh and all along 

Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh. 

3. In 1986, I was commanding one of the units deployed 

to guard the Indo-Tibetan border in a high altitude area. The 

troops carried out the task magnificently and needs no elaboration. 

However, various other tasks, roles or commitments 

that that the Indian Army carries out while so deployed rarely 

get noticed or recognition. 

4. Gangotri, a magnificent holy town was located close 

by. Famous for its proximity to Gaumukh (origin of the River 

Ganges), this small place is a haven full of learned Swamis, 

priests and spiritual leaders. During winter, when the tourists 

have gone away and the area is fully covered with snow, the 

place offers an excellent environment for meditation. Hardly 8- 

10 persons stay here during the winter as the living conditions 

are harsh and day to day routine functions are a challenge. 

5. Whenever we used to pass through Gangotri 

(although it involved a detour of about 1 kilometre, a distance 

that is negligible when in ideal weather conditions, but not so 

when the route is covered with snow with no clear demarcation 

of the road alignment) on our way to the forward posts. The 

troops would go to all persons in that area to enquire about 

their health and any other problems. Necessary help was 

always provided. 

6. As the senior-most officer in that region, I would frequently 

go to the forward areas to be with the troops, spend 

time with them and resolve their problems as well as to look 

after their welfare. During one such visit, while passing through 

Gangotri, I had the privilege of meeting Swami 

Vishnudevananda who would come to his Ashram frequently 

especially for meditation or intensive Sadhana. Thereafter, 

whenever I would pass through Gangotri, it was my endeavour 

to always go to Swamiji's ashram to pay my respects and 

spend sometime with him. Winters, although harsh for an ordinary 

person is the ideal season or period for meditation. It was 

these meetings with Swamiji that made me realize the work 

being carried out by Swamiji and his team to bring about 

awareness of yoga, meditation, spiritual healing and world 

peace. 

44 


7. Swami Vishnudevananda in January 1986 was alone 

in the cave doing intensive sadhana, cooking for himself, tending 

the fire and fetching water from the nearby frozen river 

Ganga. 

8. About three days after my last meeting with Swamiji, I 

received a message from Swamiji through a courier informing 

me that due to cold, lack of circulation, frostbite and diabetes, 

slowly, slowly, gangrene had set in. If not taken care of the gangrene 

would develop and the leg would have to be amputated. 

This message was received in the evening. 

9. A party of 17 persons was accordingly dispatched on 

foot immediately to bring Swamiji from the cave. The distance 

of about 20 kilometres one way was fully covered with snow. 

This tremendously slowed the speed. A vehicle was also sent 

along with skid chains to accompany the party but its movement 

was, apart from being very slow, full of risk as snow (rather ice) 

was hindering the movement of the vehicle. Later this vehicle 

was asked to wait at a safe place till the party returned with 

Swamiji. The party reached the cave at night and spent the 

night at Swamiji's place. 

10. Next morning, Swamiji very reluctantly left the cave 

with the party. The men carried Swamiji in a chair that was tied 

to 2 poles. Four men would take turns to carry Swamiji. The 

journey apart from being very tiring for the men was made slower 

due to knee-deep snow throughout the distance. En route, 

an effort was also made to use the vehicle that had been left on 

standby. However this had to be given up almost immediately as 

the vehicle started to skid causing minor injuries to personnel 

including Swamiji. After great effort the party was able to reach 

the destination just before nightfall. I had been monitoring 

progress of the party on wireless set throughout the day. The 

party was able to reach the destination just before nightfall. 

11. I was pained to see Swamiji in this state. Whatever 

medical facilities were available with the medical officer, were 

provided, wounds attended to and proper dressing was done. 

Swamiji spent the night peacefully and next morning after prostrating 

to all soldiers who had brought him to safety left in a vehicle 

for Rishikesh for further treatment. For all of us who had 

assembled to bid him farewell, it was a heart touching farewell 

to such a learned and noble person. This incident would forever 

remain as one of the most touching incidents in our lives. 

12. Army has and continues to provide assistance to all 

whenever the need arises. Our interaction with Swamiji during 

the winter although for a short duration was amply adequate to 

remind us of the necessity for the Army to be even more interactive 

and humane especially when other than military tasks 

come up. Such unique opportunities provide the Army to 

enlarge its role and serve humanity.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF GURUDEV 

P 

eople are generally curious to know about a typical day in 

the life of a great man, sage or a saint: what kind of a discipline 

he followed, what he ate, how he behaved, etc. Such a 

curiosity is not at all uncommon, for even Arjuna was eager to 

know, albeit in a general context about the stita-prajna or a liberated 

soul, as narrated in the Gita. Many devotees and sadhakas 

of Gurudev Sivanandaji Maharaj also wish to know 

about his daily life. 

Usually Gurudev would get up in the brahma muhurta - 

between 3:30 and 4:30am. After completing his morning ablutions, 

he would do his sadhana up to 6:30am. During summer, 

soon after his sadhana, he would have some fruit juice and go 

for office seva after 6:30am, to the Diamond Jubilee Hall. He 

would begin his work after Jaya Ganesha kirtan. He generally 

spent about one and a half to two hours at the office. First he 

would sign outgoing letters, then he would oversee the mailing 

of free literature to various devotees. His way of okaying a particular 

address or parcel was by uttering OM TAT SAT. Now it 

would be time for him to tackle the purely official work; signing 

of papers brought to him by the secretary or other heads of 

departments of the Ashram or dealing with official letters. 

Official duties disposed of, Gurudev would talk to the devotees 

and visitors present and give them books, each according to 

his level of understanding and proficiency in a particular language. 

This would be followed by a short satsanga. He would 

ask the devotees to sing kirtans and bhajans or himself would 

hold a few minutes of discourse. By this time someone would 

have brought the prasad from Visvanatha Mandir and 

Gurudev would distribute it. The satsanga would conclude with 

a prayer, keeping in with Gurudev's axiom, "Start the day with 

God, end the day with God and fill the day with God." For 

Gurudev prayer seemed to be the very breath of his life. No 

work would he start or end without prayer. He was always 

immersed in God-thought. When people around him indulged 

in idle talk and gossip, Gurudev would utter to himself, 'Ram, 

Ram, Ram' as if it were an admonition and immediately 

silence would prevail. 

Guruji was always accompanied by his devotees from his kutir 

to office and back: he would traverse this distance repeating 

the Lord's name. Just before he entered his kutir after office 

work, the devotees following him would take leave of him, saying 

"Sadguru Bhagavan ki Jai" to which he would respond with 

"Sishya Bhagavan ki Jai". 

Entering his kutir, Gurudev was used to take a few minutes 

rest before having his breakfast, consisting usually of a little 

upma or a couple of idlis; a few fruits or a dosa and a cup of 

milk. Resting again for a while, he would get down to his writing. 

His lunch was more varied. Very often devotees would offer 

pada puja to Gurudev, which would be followed by a feast. On 

these occasions Gurudev would call all other Ashramites to 

partake in the feast. He would keep the feast lively with his 

irrepressible humour and endearing buoyancy. On days other 


by Swami Sivananda and his disciples 

than the feast Gurudev's lunch would consist of two plain chapatis, 

some vegetables, curds and few fruits. 

After lunch, Gurudev would rest until four in the evening. Then 

he would come either to his writing room or to the verandah 

and see the incoming mail brought by one of the Ashramites 

assigned with that work. Going through the letters, he would 

give necessary instructions to the assistants for reply. When 

this job was over, any devotee or visitor could seek his darshan 

and hold talks with him. 

It was also a practice of Gurudev, in the evenings, to sit for 

meditation facing Mother Ganga until around six. Then, he 

would get ready for his evening ablutions and supper. At 6:30 

he would sit for his simple supper of a plain roti or dosa or a 

little upma, one or two vegetables and a few fruits. Soon after 

supper he was ready for satsanga. Before stepping out of his 

kutir he would stop at the puja room where the Lord 

Muralikrishna is installed, do arati and apply vibhuti and 

kumkum on his forehead. (This was his practice both in the 

morning and evening.) Since there would be time for the start 

of satsanga, he would sit for a while on the verandah talking 

to devotees or giving instructions to the assistants and secretaries. 

At 7:00pm Gurudev would be at the satsanga in front of 

the Diamond Jubilee Hall. He it was who would begin the satsanga 

by chanting 'OM' three times and reciting Jaya 

Ganesha kirtan. This would be followed by recitation of Sri 

Suktam, etc., before the daily discourse, either in English or 

Hindi, started. On special occasions like Guru Purnima, 

Gurudev used to speak for ten to fifteen minutes and conclude 

the satsanga with mahamantra kirtan and maha mrityunjaya 

mantra followed by arati and prasad distribution. After partaking 

the holy prasad, he would return to his kutir by 9:00 or 

9:30pm. Then, he would have a cup of milk and retire to bed 

by 10pm. 

This multifaceted sage had a peculiarity that exemplified his 

giving nature: he was always followed by his assistants carrying 

some three to four bags, containing clothes of Gurudev, 

first-aid material, literature for free distribution, tulasi malas 

and money. Whoever came to him, Ashramite, visitor or devotee, 

would not return empty handed; Gurudev was never 

happy to see someone leaving him without receiving a gift. In 

the early days, 1954-1957, Gurudev himself would be carrying 

a bag containing cashew-nuts and distribute them to all he 

came across. While on his way anywhere if he saw any needy 

person or sadhu, Gurudev would immediately stretch out his 

helping hand; often it would be financial help. GIVE, GIVE, 

GIVE ……was his motto. No wonder he came to be known as 

Givananda. In giving he rejoiced; in sharing he found happiness. 

Even in the act of giving, he could not repress his 

humour; as if to make light of his munificence, he used to 

employ some code words with his assistants. If he said "Give 

ekamadvaitam", it meant one rupee. "Dvaitam" meant two 

rupees; "pancha-pandava", five rupees. One ravana meant 10 

rupees and ten ravanas, a hundred rupees.

Despite his busy schedule he maintained from morning till 

evening. Gurudev never appeared tired, dull, irritated or angry. 

His calm, composed, serene countenance infused new life 

and enthusiasm in any one who approached him. Even those 

who came to him with their difficult problems would return all 

the better for having met him and sought his aid that was ably 

given. He was not only always cheerful himself, he would dispel 

the gloom of others with his infectious smile and irrepressible 

happiness. 

GURUDEV'S SADHANA 

In early 1956-1957 Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj 

used to go to satsanga exactly at 7pm, and start with chanting 

of OM and Jaya Ganesha kirtan. And before leaving for satsanga 

from the inner resting room of his kutir he would go to 

the puja room, do arati of Lord Krishna there personally. Then 

after smearing vibhuti and sindhur on the forehead he would 

come out and sit on the verandah for a few minutes to meet 

visitors or devotees, or to talk to his personal attendants of 

Ashram officials on any matter that needed urgent attention. 

This was his daily routine before going to satsanga. 

Sometimes after returning from satsanga also he used to sit in 

the same verandah to give instructions to his attendants or to 

the secretary. 

During the year 1960 Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj started 

living in Gurudev's kutir. Since then whenever Gurudev 

came to the verandah he would call Swami Krishnanandaji 

Maharaj to speak to him on any important matter. Sometimes 

Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj would come and prostrate 

before Swamiji and tell him about Ashram affairs. This was 

almost everyday routine up to 1963. In 1963, exactly one 

month before Gurudev attained mahasamadhi, Gurudev one 

day came out to the verandah as usual and sat in the chair. At 

this time Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, Dr Hridayananda 

Mataji, Sri Swami Santanandji Maharaj and myself were present 

there. Gurudev then casually called Sri Swami 

Krishnanandaji Maharaj and said to him, "Krishnanandaji, I do 

my sadhana daily in the morning." Of course Guru Maharaj 

used to get up early in the morning between 3:30 and 4:00am. 

After morning wash he would go to his inner room and until he 

called, no one could enter his room. So we did not know what 

Gurudev's sadhana was. Now Gurudev himself told us about 

his daily sadhana. It was indeed a revelation to us. Gurudev 

said, "I get up daily between 3:30 and 4:00 am. As soon as I 

get up I offer prayers to the Lord. Then I press the calling bell 

and two of my attendants come to my room to help me to go 

to the bathroom. When I see them I think they are two parts 

of virat purusha who has come to help me. First I mentally 

prostrate before them and then with their help go to the 

bathroom. After the bath I come back and sit in my room. 

Then I start my sadhana like this. First I think of the 

omnipotent, omniscient Paramatman and meditate on 

Him for some time. Thereafter I pray mentally to the 

Trimurtis and all gods in all their names and forms. 

Then I mentally visit all holy pilgrim centres and bathe 

in all the holy rivers and seas, in each and every 

place. I prostrate before the presiding deity and worship 

mentally all the devatas. Afterwards I do japa 

of all deities, one mala each. Then I recite four 

mahavakyas and some Vedic hymns 

Life of Gurudev 

from 

the Vedas. Also I recite selected mantras from the Ten 

Upanishads. I got by heart some slokas from the epics of 

Mahabharata, Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam and I 

repeat them. I remember the saints and sages and mentally 

prostrate to them. Then I mentally think of the acharyas - 

Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya and all 

other great acharyas. I prostrate to them mentally. Then I 

recite some of the hymns and stotras taught by them. After this 

I do pranava japa and meditate. After meditation I do a few 

exercises on the bed itself, followed by pranayama. The entire 

routine of my sadhana takes about 2-2 ½ hours. After this I 

ring the bell for my attendants to bring my breakfast. Breakfast 

over, I go to office work. For the convenience of some devotees 

who wish to have a private darshan to talk about their personal 

matters. I sit on the verandah. Before they enter the 

main door I repeat mahamrityunjaya mantra three times and 

pray for their happiness and health, these devotees usually 

come to me to speak about their problems, spiritual or otherwise. 

I listen to them patiently and I pray to God mentally to 

give them courage and strength to overcome their problems 

and difficulties. Afterwards the visitors sit with me in silence. 

Then repeating Tryambaka mantra I distribute the holy prasad 

to them. This has been my sadhana over the years." 


47

The Benefits of a Sunbath 

T 

he sun is the source of all energy and power. You derive 

energy and power from the sun. If the sun does not shine 

for a day or two on account of clouds, your vitality falls to a low 

level and you are not in good spirits. Flowers, plants, animals 

and men rejoice as soon as the sun rises above the horizon. 

The sun supplies energy to all plants and living beings, and yet 

its energy is never exhausted. Its energy is inexhaustible 

because it derives its energy from the inexhaustible source - 

the Atman. 

The rays of the sun bestow on one wonderful health. The 

Vedas have glorified the rising sun. Ayurveda has extolled its 

efficacy. The sages have sung its praise in a variety of ways. 

The rays of the rising sun are a blessing from God for the 

preservation of health as well as for the cure of diseases. The 

rays of the sun possess antiseptic and germicidal properties. 

Expose your blankets, bed sheets, pillows and mattress to the 

sun once in fifteen days. In the rays of the sun you will find a 

cheap and easily available tonic, a disinfectant, an antiseptic 

and potent germicide. 

Sunlight is a food. You can make Vitamin D by exposing your 

body to the sun. The skin and the nerves will absorb the energies 

of the sunlight. The sunlight provides the heat needed to 

sustain life. 

The morning sun gives out ultra-violet rays, as does also the 

evening sun. If persons suffering from leprosy and other skin 

diseases strip themselves of all clothing and remain in the sun 

naked till their body is properly tanned, then the sun's rays will 

penetrate their body and work wonders there. Only the head 

must be protected from the sun. Besides leprosy, tuberculosis, 

rheumatism, obesity, anaemia, neurasthenia, eczema, colds, 

coughs, rickets, diseases of the teeth, etc. can also be treated 

with the sun's rays. 

Practise asanas and physical exercises in the sun. Expose 

your mouth to the rays of the rising sun. Open it wide. Let the 

rays penetrate your nostrils also. Close your eyes when you 

expose your mouth. Practise deep-breathing exercise and 

pranayama in the sun. 

The various parts of the body should receive a regulated sunbath. 

Turn the body round frequently. Bask in the sun. Expose 

your body to the rays of the sun for a short time. Have sunlight 

treatment for the eyes. You will have clear vision. You need not 



take recourse to spectacles. First, sit in the sun. Close your 

eyes. Slowly move your head from side to side. Let the sun 

shine directly on the closed eyelids for ten or thirty minutes. 

Let the eyeballs also move with the movement of the head, 

and not against. Now, turn your back to the sun or come into 

the shade. Do not open your eyes. Cover the eyes with the 

palms of the hands for five or ten minutes. This is palming. 

Have the sun treatment in the morning and the evening, 7 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. Let the exposure of the eyes to the sun be gradual. 

When they eyes get accustomed to the light, you can gradually 

have stronger light. 

The sages of yore who had knowledge of the curative power 

of the rays of the sun, revealed the mysteries of the sun and 

its beneficial rays, and the uses of this radiant energy. 

Whence comes the mysterious power in the sun which causes 

the seeds to germinate and flowers to turn into fruits? 

Whence comes this radiant energy in the sun which bestow 

wonderful health, power and vigour to living beings? Whence 

comes this power to heal? Whence comes the vital energy in 

the sun that invigorates and galvanises the young and rejuvenates 

and vitalises the old? Whence comes this vegetative 

vigour which enables the plants to synthesise the vitamins? 

The sun derives its power and energy from Atman or the 

Eternal, the Absolute, the sun of suns, the Light of lights, the 

Source of everything, the first of all causes, the store-house of 

all energies. Brahman willed; the sun came into being to 

bestow health and happiness to all beings. 

Repeat the twelve names of the sun at sunrise: 

Mitray namah, Ravaye namah, Suryaya namah, Bhanave 

namah, Khagaya namah, Pushne namah, Hiranyagarbhaya 

namah, Maricaye namah, Adityaya namah, Savitre namah, 

Arkaya namah, Bhaskaraya namah. 

He who repeats this at sunrise will possess wonderful health, 

vigour and vitality. He will be free from any kind of disease of 

the eye. He will have powerful eyesight. 

Pray in the sun in the early morning before sunrise: 

O Lord, Suryanarayana, the Eye of the world, the Eye of God, 

give me health and strength, vigour and vitality. 

In the words of the Yajur Veda: 

O Sun of suns! You are all-energy, give me energy; you are allstrength, 

give me strength; you are all-powerful, give me power.

Honey 

Honey is a first-class food and tonic. It is very easily digested 

and assimilated and a most nutritious natural food. It will 

strengthen a weak heart, a weak brain and a weak stomach. 

Honey is the product of the nectar of flowers. It is a mistake to 

say that honey is gathered by bees from flowers. Bees are 

nature's sweet makers. They manufacture sweets better, finer 

and healthier than any sweetmeat maker - with all his skill, 

dexterity, ingenuity and many ingredients - can ever make. 

Green plants manufacture sugar for their own use. This is carried 

with the cell sap to the different parts of the plant either for 

direct assimilation or future use. All the flowering plants concentrate 

a quick supply of food at the base or the bottom part 

of their flowers to help the proper growth of the ovaries. The 

excess solution is thrown out at the base of the flowers. This 

solution of the cell sap with sugar is known as 'nectar'. This 

nectar is changed into honey in their mouths by the honey 

bees. Every hive imparts a new flavour because in every hive 

the nectar is drawn from different flowers and plants. Honey 

contains all the mineral elements found in the human body. 

Honey contains all the mineral 

elements found in the human body 

It contains 80 per cent nutriment in a most assimilable form. It 

contains the sugars levulose and dextrose, formic acid, iron 

and various accessory components. Because it contains 

enzymes which disintegrate or break up complex foods into 

substances that can be easily digested and absorbed, honey 

does not require digestion at all. It is ready for absorption into 

the blood without any change, and goes into the blood stream 

directly. It should form part of your diet. A teaspoonful of honey 

per day will keep the stomach in order. 

Honey is a heart stimulant. It is useful in cases of malnutrition, 

and should be given for general physical repair. Honey kills 

bacteria and thus enables the body to overcome diseases. 

Disease germs cannot grow in honey. Honey is useful in 

bronchial catarrh, sore throat, coughs and colds. It also acts 

as a laxative. As soon as a child is born his tongue is smeared 

with honey. This is the first food that the child takes. 

Honey can be taken with milk, cream or butter. It is a restorative 

after serious illness. It invigorates, energises and vitalises 

the system and improves health. It is more stimulating then 

alcohol. 

Honey is a diffusible stimulant. If you take a tablespoonful of 

honey in hot water when you are tired or exhausted by overexertion 

it will brace you up immediately. You will become 

strong and active again. (If the honey is bitter do not take it.) 

Soak 10 almonds in water at night. Remove the skin in the 

morning. Take them in the morning with one or two tablespoonfuls 

of honey. This is a potent brain tonic. 



49

Prison Project News 

Swami Padmapadananda and Sambasiva 

2007 has been phenomenal. Grace of God and Guru enabled 

us to break all records in the whole history of the Prison 

Project, both in income as well as the number of books sent 

out. Staff Sambasiva has been invaluable in preparing and 

sending the books, and maintaining the mailing list. Many 

people have been generous throughout the year. In the past 

many prisoners who requested books in addition to the CIBY 

were sadly told that this was not possible due to lack of funds. 

Now that problem has been solved, at least for the time being. 

This also means that we have extra work, but of course we are 

happy to fulfill all those pending requests, and help spread the 

teachings further. A number of inmates are asking for books 

written by Master too, and prison libraries are slowly being 

stocked with Eastern material, rare in US prisons. 

Despite the success of the campaign, we still need donations. 

We now have a separate account for the Project, so please 

make out your checks to: Sivananda Prison Project. 

Prisoner Letters 

Greetings: 

Thank you so much for sending the 

Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by 

Swami Vishnudevananda. It appears to 

have arrived with no obstacle whatsoever. 

After reading the introductory material 

within the first five chapters, yesterday 

I began to practice Lesson l of Training 

Table 2. I am 48 and healthy. 

Immediately afterward I felt the difference! 

My lower back has hurt for so 

many years that I had just become 

accustomed to it and have always 

adjusted my posture automatically to 

compensate. After performing just these 

simple introductory moves I was in bliss 

through maintaining normal posture for 

the remainder of the day, without the dull 

background of pain that has been present. 

I can imagine how great I will feel 


Donations can be made using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. 

Please phone to give deails. Prisoners can also receive second-hand 

books; if you would like to spend time searching 

Amazon.com, or check out second-hand bookstores, this is 

also a great way of helping. Thank you. 

In Om and Prem 

Thy Own Self, 

Swami Padmapadananda 

after continued practice. Thank you for 

allowing me this. 

Dear friends 

I received the Illustrated Book of Yoga 

you sent me, and greatly appreciate 

your kindness. This book is full of many 

wonderful topics, and is a great reference 

to refer back to when necessary. 

I am a 245 lb. ex body builder/powerlifter 

who never used to stretch. I have a very 

long way to go before I can hold some of 

these more advanced poses/asanas, 

but in the short time I've been practicing, 

I can already feel a huge difference not 

only in my flexibility, but all around general 

health. Once again, thank you for 

your kindness and generosity. 

Statistics: 553 CIBYs, 15 Meditation and Mantras, 10 Sivananda 

Companion to Yoga, 5 other books 

Income: $7803- 

May peace be with you. 

WJ, Tennessee 

Dear friend, 

I just wanted to thank you so much for 

the yoga book. It was a very pleasant 

surprise to have such a complete book. 

I have been working off a photocopy of 

very limited positions for quite some 

time. To say the least I am very excited 

and cannot wait to begin studying the 

book you sent. Thank you so very 

much. 

Love 

RC, California

THE FLYING SWAMI 

1986 

August 29 Fly Montreal 

August 30 Arrive London 

Sept. 1 Fly to Spain 

Sept. 2 Spain TTC commences 

Sept. 28 TTC graduation 

Sept 29-30 Tel Aviv Programme 

October 1 / 2 Fly to Uruguay 

Oct 4-Nov 1 TTC Uruguay 

Nov 2 / 3 Fly to London 

Nov 4 / 5 Fly to Delhi 

Nov 6 / 8 Travel to cave 

Nov 9 / 17 Stay at cave 

Nov 18 / 21 Travel to Bangalore 

Itinerary of Swami Vishnudevananda 1986-87 

Swami Vishnudevananda was known as 'the Flying Swami' because of his peace missions to the troublespots of the world. But 

the epithet applies equally to his unremitting annual schedule undertaken while he was establishing the International Sivananda 

Yoga Vedanta Centre. 

1987 

Jan 3 / Feb 21 Nassau 

Feb 22 Fly to London 

Feb 24 Fly to Bombay 

Feb 25 Fly to Madras 

Feb 26 SIVARATRI 

Feb 27 / Mar 1 Madras Program: Energy Medicine 

Conference 

Mar 3 Fly to Trivandrum 

Mar 4 TTC Graduation 

Mar 5 Health Symposium Trivandrum 

Mar 6 ATTC inauguration 

Mar 7 Eye Camp inauguration 

Mar 8 Fly to Bombay 

Mar 9 Fly to London 

Mar 10 Fly to Nassau 

Mar 11 / Apr 19 Nassau TTC 

Nov 22 / 23 Bangalore 

Nov 24 / 26 Travel to Trivandrum 

Nov 27 / 28 Trivandrum programmes: 

Mahayajna (Start ayurvedic clinic) 

Nov 29 Fly to Madras 

Nov 29 / 30 Open Madras Centre, inaugurate 

practical clinic, Durga Sakti Sankar 

Mahayajna for World Peace. 

Dec 1 Fly to Bombay 

Dec 2 Fly to London 

Dec 3 / 4 Fly to Canada 

Dec 5 / Jan 2 Canada; possible video promotion 

tour 

Mar 17-26 Easter programme, Nassau 

Apr 21 Fly to East Europe 

Apr 22 / May 15 East European Tour 

May 17 / June 8 West European Tour 

June 1,2,3 Mahayajna, London 

June 9 Fly to Canada 

June 14 / 28 Sadhana Intensive, Val Morin 

June 28 / July 26 Children's Camp, Val Morin 

July 3 Drive to Ranch 

July 4 Ranch July 4th function 

July 5 Drive to Val Morin 

July 5 / Aug 2 TTC Val Morin 

Aug 3 / 16 Centennial Celebrations, Val Morin 

Aug 27 Canada 

Aug 28 Depart for India Tour 

Oct TTC Spain 


51

Ashram and Centre Addresses 

ASHRAMS 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp 

673, 8th Avenue Val Morin 

Quebec J0T 2R0, CANADA 

Tel: +1.819.322.3226 

Fax: +1.819.322.5876 

e-mail: HQ@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch 

P.O. Box 195, Budd Road 

Woodbourne, NY 12788, U.S.A. 

Tel: +1.845.436.6492 

Fax: +1.845.434.1032 

YogaRanch@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat 

P.O. Box N7550 Paradise Island, 

Nassau, BAHAMAS 

Tel: +1.242.363.2902 

Fax: +1.242.363.3783 

e-mail: Nassau@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta 

Dhanwantari Ashram 

P.O.Neyyar Dam 

Thiruvananthapuram Dt. 

Kerala, 695 572, INDIA 

Tel: +91.471.227.3093 / 2703 

+91.949.563. 0951 (mobile) 

Fax: +91.471.227.2093 

e-mail: YogaIndia@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm 

14651 Ballantree Lane 

Grass Valley, CA 95949, U.S.A. 

Tel: +1.530.272.9322 

Fax: +1.530.477.6054 

e-mail: yogafarm@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta 

Meenakshi Ashram 

Near Pavanna Vilakku Junction, 

New Natham Road, Saramthangi 

Village 

Vellayampatti P.O., Palamedu (via), 

Madurai Dist. 625 503 

Tamil Nadu, South INDIA 

Tel: +91.452. 291.2952 OR 

+91.94421.90661 

e-mail: madurai@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Kutir 

(Near Siror Bridge) 

P.O. Netala, Uttar Kashi Dt, 

Uttaranchal, Himalayas, 249 193, 

North INDIA 

Tel: +91.1374.224.159 or +91 

9411.330.495 

Himalayas@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Yoga Retreat House 

Bichlach 40 

A- 6370 Reith bei Kitzbühel, Tyrol, 

AUSTRIA 

Tel: +43.5356.67.404 

Fax: +43.5356.67.4044 

e-mail: tyrol@sivananda.net 


Château du Yoga Sivananda 

26 Impasse du Bignon 

45170 Neuville aux bois, FRANCE 

Tel: +33.2.38.91.88.82 

Fax: +33.2.38.91.18.09 

e-mail: orleans@sivananda.net 

CENTRES 

ARGENTINA 

Centro Internaciónal de Yoga 

Sivananda 

Sànchez de Bustamante 2372 - (C.P. 

1425) 

Capital Federal - Buenos Aires - 

Argentina 

Tel: +54.11.4804 7813 

Fax: +54.11.4805 4270 

e-mail: BuenosAires@sivananda.org 

AUSTRIA 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Zentrum 

Prinz Eugen Strasse 18 

A -1040 Vienna, AUSTRIA 

Tel:: +43.1.586.3453 

Fax: +43.1.587.1551 

e-mail: vienna@sivananda.net 

CANADA 


5178 St Lawrence Blvd 

Montreal, Quebec H2T 1R8, 

CANADA 

Tel: +1.514.279.3545 

Fax: +1.514.279.3527 

e-mail: Montreal@sivananda.org 


77 Harbord Street 

Toronto, Ontario M5S 1G4, 

CANADA 

Tel: +1.416.966.9642 

e-mail: Toronto@sivananda.org 

FRANCE 

Centre Sivananda de Yoga Vedanta 

123 Boulevard de Sébastopol 

F-75002 Paris, FRANCE 

Tel: +33.1.40.26.77.49 

Fax: +33.1.42.33.51.97 

e-mail: Paris@sivananda.net 

GERMANY 


Steinheilstrasse 1 

D-80333 Munich, GERMANY 

Tel: +49.89.52.44.76 

Fax: +49.89.52.91.28 

e-mail: Munich@sivananda.net 


Schmiljanstrasse 24 

D-12161 Berlin, GERMANY 

Tel: +49.30.8599.9798 

Fax: +49.30.8599.9797 

e-mail: Berlin@sivananda.net 

INDIA 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Nataraja 

Centre 

A-41 Kailash Colony 

New Delhi 110 048, INDIA 

Tel: +91.11. 292.40869 

or +91.11. 292 30962 

e-mail: Delhi@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dwarka 

Centre 

PSP Pocket, Sector - 6 (near DAV 

school) 

Swami Sivananda Marg, 

Dwarka, New Delhi, 110075 INDIA 

Tel: +91 11 6456 8526 

e-mail: Dwarka@sivananda.org 


House No.18, Subhash Nagar, 

Vallakkadavu PO, Perunthanni, 

Thiruvananthapuram 

Kerala, 695 008, South INDIA 

Tel: +91.471.245.1398 / 245.0942 

e-mail: Trivandrum@sivananda.org 


3/655 Kaveri Nagar, Kuppam Road, 

Kottivakkam 

Chennai 600 041, Tamil Nadu, INDIA 

Tel: +91.44.2451.1626 

or +91.44 2451.2546 

e-mail: Chennai@sivananda.org 


Plot # 23, Dr Sathar Road 

Anna Nagar, Madurai 625 020 

Tamil Nadu, INDIA 

Tel: +91.452. - 252.2634 / 252.1170 

Fax: +91.452.439.3445 

e-mail: maduraicentre@sivananda.org 

ISRAEL 


6 Lateris St 

Tel Aviv 64166, ISRAEL 

Tel: +972.3.691.6793 

Fax: +972.3.696.3939 

e-mail: TelAviv@sivananda.org 

ITALY 

Centro Yoga Vedanta Sivananda Roma 

via Oreste Tommasini, 7 

00162 Rome, ITALY 

tel: +39 06 4549 6529 

fax: +39 06 9725 9356 

roma@sivananda.org 

SPAIN 

Centro de Yoga Sivananda Vedanta 

Calle Eraso 4 

E-28028 Madrid, SPAIN 

Tel: +34.91.361.5150 

Fax: +34.91.361.5194 

e-mail: Madrid@sivananda.net 

SWITZERLAND 

Centre Sivananda de Yoga Vedanta 

1 Rue des Minoteries 

CH-1205 Geneva, SWITZERLAND 

Tel: +41.22.328.03.28 

Fax: +41.22.328.03.59 

e-mail: Geneva@sivananda.net 

UNITED KINGDOM 


51 Felsham Road 

London SW15 1AZ 


Tel: +44.20.8780.0160 

Fax: +44.20.8780.0128 

e-mail: London@sivananda.net 

UNITED STATES 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center 

1246 West Bryn Mawr Avenue 

Chicago, IL 60660, USA 

Tel: +1.773.878.7771 

Fax: +1.773.878.7527 

e-mail: Chicago@sivananda.org 


243 West 24th Street 

New York, NY 10011, USA 

Tel: +1.212.255.4560 

Fax: +1.212.727.7392 

e-mail: NewYork@sivananda.org 


1200 Arguello Blvd 

San Francisco, CA 94122, USA 

Tel: +1.415.681.2731 

Fax: +1.415.681.5162 

SanFrancisco@sivananda.org 


13325 Beach Avenue 

Marina del Rey, CA 90292, USA 

Tel: +1.310.822.9642 

LosAngeles@sivananda.org 

URUGUAY 

Asociacion de Yoga Sivananda 

Acevedo Diaz 1523 

11200 Montevideo, URUGUAY 

Tel: +598.2.401.09.29 / 401.66.85 

Fax: +598.2.400.73.88 

Montevideo@sivananda.org

AFFILIATED CENTRES 

ARGENTINA 

Centro de Yoga Sivananda 

Carlos y Laura Chiarotto 

Alderete 97- Neuquen (8300), 

ARGENTINA 

Tel: +54.299.4331774/ 4484879 

e-mail: naradaneuquen@hotmail.com 

BOLIVIA 

Centro de Yoga Sivananda Santa Cruz 

Calle Junin #271 

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BOLIVIA 

Tel/Fax: +591.333.1508 

e-mail: marcelaterceros@hotmail.com 

BRAZIL 

Centro Sivananda de Yoga Vedanta 

Rua Santo Antonio, 374 

Porto Alegre 90220-010 -RS, BRAZIL 

Tel: +55.51.3024.7717 

e-mail: centro@yogasivananda.com.br 

www.sivanandayoga.com.br 

Centro Sivananda de Yoga Vedanta 

Rua das Palmeiras n/13 

Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro 

CEP 20270-070 

Tel: +55.21.2266.4896 

www.sivanandayoga.com.br 

CANADA 

Sivaram & Sasi 

"Lakshmi", 108 Des Berges 

Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, J7V 9X2 

Tel: +1.450 510 2656/+1.450 510 2657 

e-mail Psivaraman@sympatico.ca 

Mountain View Centre 

Catherine Gillies (Kumari) 

17, rue Bancroft 

Gatineau (secteur Aylmer) 

Québec, J9H 4N1, CANADA 

Tel: +1.819 684-2084 

e-mail: mountainview404@yahoo.ca 

www.yoga-aylmer.com 


Vancouver 

280-2010 East 48th 

Vancouver, B.C. V5P 1R8, CANADA 

Tel: +1.604 321 9039 

yoga@mail.com 

FRANCE 

Centre de Yoga Sivananda affilié 

17 avenue Julien Panchot 

66000 Perpignan 

Tel: +33.6.64.14.11.99 

GERMANY 

International Sivananda Yoga Centre 

Kleiner Kielort 8 

20144 Hamburg 

Tel: +49.40.41.42.45.46 

e-mail: post@artyoga.de 

www.artyoga.de 

INDIA 


# 79, 4th cross, 4th Block, 16th Main 

Koramangala, Bangalore -560034 

Karnataka State, INDIA 

Tel: +91.80.2563.4991 

e-mail: yogamana@yahoo.co.in 


Swami Sundarananda 

'Laksmi Sadan' 

College Road 

Palakkad, Kerala 678 001 

Tel: +91.491.254.5117 / 254.4549 

e-mail: Palghat@sivananda.org 

Sivananda Yoga Centre 

Ajitha Vijayaraghavan 

E-94 Income Tax Quarters 

Panampilly Nagar 

Kochi, Kerala 682 036 

Tel: +91.484.231.3418 

e.mail: ajiyoga@gmail.com 

T Raghavan 

Kripa, Kundanmur 

Maradu P.O. 

Kochi 682304, Kerala 

e-mail: trmenon@vsnl.com 

Ashram and Centre Addresses 


Sarath Kumar 

Balan K. Nair Road, Asokapuram, 

Kozhikode, Kerala 673 001 

Tel: +91. 495 2771754/2770384 

Mobile +91 944 6953652 

e-mail: mail@sivanandayogacentre.com 


#236,5th Cross, 3rd Block, 

H R B R Layout, 

Bangalore , Karnataka, 560043 

Tel: +91 80 57637144, 

Mobile: +91 9448464448 

e-mail: yogaprabhus@yahoo.co.uk 

Arsha Yoga Gurukulam 

Double Cutting 

Calvarimount Post 

Idukki (Dt), Kerala 680 681 

Tel: +91 480284 6080 

e-mail: harilal_k@yahoo.com 

www.arshayoga.org 

Sivananda Yoga Centre, Gurgaon 

M13/23 DLF Phase II 

and F42 South City 1 

Gurgaon, Haryana 

Tel: +91 11 9810645850 

+91 11 9818865306 

e-mail:yogashowstheway@yahoo.com 


L-12, 26th Street 

Annanagar East 

Chennai , Tamil Nadu, 600102 

Tel: +91 44 26630978 

e-mail : durain@gmail.com 

INDONESIA 

Bali Yoga and Wellness 

Beate McLatchie 

Jl Tunjung Mekar 58 

Br Peliatan, Kerobakan Bali 

Tel: +62 8123804046 

e-mail: info@baliyogawellness.com 

www.baliyogawellness.com 

ISRAEL 


3 Reuven Street 

Jerusalem 

Tel: +972.2.671.4854 

e-mail: syvc@013.barak.net.il 


8 Amnon and Tamar Street, Apt 1 

Herzelia 

Tel: +972.9.9561004 

e-mail: gerag@internet-zahav.net 

Sivananda Yoga Center 

11a Einstein Street 

Haifa 34605 

Tel: +972.4.8111921 

e-mail: narayans@netvision.net.il 

ITALY 

Associazione Yoga Centro 

Sivananda Affilliato 

Via. V. Veneto 5/A 

I-30031 Dolo (VE) 

Tel: +39 041 51 03 709 

Cell: +39 348 89 86 047 

e-mail: yoga.dolo@inode.at 

www.padmavati.net 

Sivananda Yoga Firenze 

Via de' Marsili 1 

50125 Firenze 

Tel +39 055 230 2250 

In Sabina Yoga Centre 

Torri in Sabina 

Lazio 

Tel: +39.340.387.6028 

e-mail: giulialandor@tiscali.com 

www.insabina.com 

JAMAICA 


17 Tremaine Road 

Kingston 6 

Tel: +1 876 381 1504 

Alina133@yandex.ru 

LEBANON 


522 Couraud Street #3A 

Gemayzeh, Beirut 

Tel: +961-1-566-770 

e-mail: 

sivanandabeirutcenter@yahoo.com 

POLAND 

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centrum 

ul.Friedleina 20/6 

30-009 Krakow 

Tel: +48.12.634.43.83 

e-mail: parvati@wp.pl 

www.joga.most.org.pl 

PORTUGAL 

Centro de Yoga Sivananda Vedanta 

de Lisboa 

Av E.U.A., 109 - 3 Frente 

1700 -169 Lisboa 

Tel: +351 217971431 

e-mail: sivananda.lisboa@gmail.com 

SINGAPORE 


Affiliated Singapore 

Harbour Front Centre Post Office 

PO Box 026 

Singapore 910930 

Tel: +65 90679100 

jantitanto@yahoo.com.sg 


Jody Tull (Jyoti) 

73 Crown Street 

Brentwood 

Essex CM14 4BD 

Tel: +44.127.7210372 

e-mail: jodytull@aol.com 

UNITED STATES 

Vishnudevananda Yoga Vedanta Center 

1034 Delaware Street 

Berkeley, CA 94710 

Tel: +1.510.273.2447 

e-mail: mail@vishnuyoga.org 

www.vishnuyoga.org 

Yoga and Inner Peace 

3964 Lake Worth Road 

Lake Worth FL33461-4054 

Tel: +1.561.641.8888 

e-mail: b@yogapeace.com 

Yoga Warehouse 

Shyam and Mohini 

508 SW Flagler Ave. 

Fort Lauderdale 

Florida 33301 

Tel: +1 954 525-7726 

e-mail yogis@yogawarehouse.org 

www.yogawarehouse.org 


53

Temple 

DONATION APPEAL FOR TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION AT THE CHÂTEAU DU YOGA, FRANCE 

The Château du Yoga Sivananda was 

inaugurated in 2003 and has developed 

into a beautiful and dynamic centre of 

Swami Sivananda's and Swami 

Vishnudevananda's work. We started a 

temple there on a small scale with three 

humble wooden shrines on a wooden 

platform in 2004. The shrines are dedicated 

to Lord Krishna, the main deity of 

the temple, Lord Ganesha and 

Mookambika. 

Last summer the wooden platform was 

extended, and a large tent structure 

erected. Two new shrines were installed: 

one to Lord Siva in the form of a Siva 

Lingam, the other to the Navagrahas, 

the nine planets. The energy at the temple 

is now focused and powerful. A 

South Indian priest is in residence from 

April to September, and puja is performed 

daily. Each August 8, the 

anniversary of the temple is celebrated 

in the presence of many devotees and 

well-wishers. 

We now have a new project to further 

54 


develop the temple. We want to build 

more permanent shrines with South 

Indian ornamentation. Sri Tagur, the 

sculptor who builds our shrines throughout 

the Sivananda organisation in the 

West, will be in charge of the project. 

Our goal is to build five cement shrines 

each with a fully decorated and painted 

rooftop. This will change entirely the 

energy of the temple and will become a 

source of great inspiration and upliftment 

for all devotees visiting the temple. 

We need your help to realise this project, 

which will cost in the region of 

40,000 euros. 

We appeal to all devotees of the 

Sivananda organisation to help us with 

this inspiring project. 

Donations, by credit card or by bank 

transfer, can be sent to: 

Château du Yoga Sivananda, 

26 impasse du Bignon, 45170 

Neuville aux bois, France. 

Call us at +33 2 38 91 88 82 

or send an email to 

Orleans@sivananda.org for details. 

We thank you all for your generosity in 

advance. May the blessings of Swami 

Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda 

be with you all. 

OM shanti 

Swami Durgananda, 

Swami Sivadasananda, 

Swami Kailasananda 

European Acharyas

INTERNATIONAL SIVANANDA YOGA TEACHERS’ TRAINING COURSE 

WORLDWIDE DATES 2008 

New York State, USA 

1 June – 29 June 

7 September - 5 October 

Quebec, Canada 

29 June – 27 July 

31 August – 27 September 

16 November – 14 December 


4 July - 2 August 

Aluenda, Spain 


Reith, Austria 


20 December – 17 January 2009 

Ustka, Poland 

30 August - 28 September 

California, USA 

4 October – 2 November 

Netala, North India 


Vrindavan, North India 


Mar del Plata, Argentina 


Neyyar Dam, South India 

16 November - 14 December 

4 January - 2 February 2009 

Madurai, South India 

30 November – 28 December 

Nassau, Bahamas 

1 February - 28 February 2009 

Brazil 

4 January - 3 February 2009 

www.sivananda.org

YOGALife - Summer - 2008 - Sivananda Yoga

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