Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

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MENTAL PROCESSES IN YOGA really use and what makes him or her happy. It is a very efficient exercise in austerity to devote time to someone else. In this way the egoism, which veils the intuition, is reduced. If we still think that we have “no time for Yoga”, then it is even more austerity to give this apparently non-existent time to others. “It requires mental training to keep your balance, which in turn needs energy, and that energy can be drawn from the practice of asanas and pranayama.” Another remarkable exercise of spiritual practice consists in taking a few minutes to see the relativity of things and their finite nature. It is the choice of seeing the glass half full or half empty. If intuition is covered by egoism, then the glass will always be “half empty” because greed has taken the upper hand and always wants more and more for oneself. But once you have determined that the car in the garage is not the basis for your happiness, you have taken a major step. Yoga is a science, because we experiment with ourselves. Therefore it has nothing to do with religion, but rather with an attitude not to resign oneself to negative thinking and to cultivate the power for personal change instead. It all happens only on the mental plane. Outwardly the same things may happen as before: you get sick, you lose the job, etc., but the way you deal with it has changed, by the yogic thinking, which was developed step-by-step. This is one of the most important aspects of the yoga practice and does not require time. All it needs is strength. It is said that the seekers of self-realisation find intuitive knowledge of who we really are and what is really going on in this universe. These intuitive revelations are the source of the yogic scriptures: the Vedas, the various Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita. They tell us that we have a great potential, that there is great wisdom within us, and that this great bliss, ananda, may be experienced. That is the overwhelming message of the scriptures: Yoga can be experienced. However, it requires a change of lifestyle, a transformation of habits. Actually the entire way of life has to be reviewed. Those who deal exclusively with the things which can be experienced by the senses, are veiled by the Unreal, by Maya, the illusion of life. Those who look beyond these things, turn to the Higher, the Divine. The inner path begins when the question arises: “Who am I? What is the meaning of all this?” It is really all about personal practice. Swami Vishnudevananda often told a joke which contains a lot of truth: I am posting a sign next to my bed or in the bathroom which says: “Tomorrow I will practice asanas.” Each time you read it, it says “tomorrow“. We get entangled in many worldly concerns and it becomes difficult to untie the knot. Only practice helps. The longer we practice with sincerity, the easier it becomes to open the knot. This condition of the human mind regarding this situation has hardly changed over the centuries. So many spiritual practices have already been offered and so many really fantastic masters have walked on this earth, but if the respective era is over, it is only history. In this regard, Swami Sivananda clearly emphasised: “Do not make a religion out of me, be practitioners.” Getting oneself entangled in this way happens again and again, so there is no need to feel inferior and think that you are the only one to whom this happens. The whole of humanity gets itself entangled again and again. We live in this world in order to learn not to get ourselves entangled, and to recognise the entanglement and how to get out of it. In this respect the objects of the world serve as a training ground. The objects exist in order to learn how to renounce them. This is the inner path, the necessity of the inner practice. Many practitioners do recognise the entanglement, but do not understand that this is a recurring normality. Therefore they say “I'm not yet ready for this.” It is recommended to be gentle with oneself when the entanglement comes up again, to look ahead and not to fall into apathy and lethargy, to become sleepy and disinterested with regard to the question “Who am I?”. Swami Vishnudevananda often said that many people are actually in a permanent state of sleep with open eyes. It is true that often life situations lead to apathy and disinterest. One is only interested in one’s own area, quickly closes the door and thinks: “Let them all do what they want.” We are lacking strength and this sleepiness is often enhanced by dietary habits, alcohol and the lifestyle in general. The time available to actually educate oneself and to be awake is quite short in one lifetime. During the four week yoga Teachers’ Training course one can see how much one is capable of achieving in a short period of time. This has to be experienced directly. Theoretical study of books cannot give this knowledge. Yoga provides an experience that you did not know before, and this experience is based on one’s own practice. It is about the experience of real happiness that is independent of external things. It is good to remember this, so that yoga is not used exclusively on the material level, for example, to look slimmer, to be more successful or to be more relaxed. When it is seen that this inner happiness cannot be equated with money and success, then one is ready to make changes in life by making it a bit simpler. With this the confidence in the Sadhana will grow. With practice comes experience. This goes beyond belief. You do not believe that yoga is good for you, you know it. This makes you more awake and younger. It may take a while until you have found your path and the right teaching lineage. Therefore Swami Sivananda says that perseverance is especially important. The five points defined by Swami Vishnudevananda appear simple and below the intellectual capacities of even a beginner student. But it may actually take years until you come to under - stand that these five points contain a profound wisdom. It may well happen that one gives up the practice too early, because one does not want to hear or read always the same instructions. There is a lack of perseverance to wait and allow something to develop. The teachings have to become interwoven with daily life and that happens only through persistent practice. There is no way around it. n Taken from lectures given by Swami Durgananda in February 2015 at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Vienna, Berlin and Reith near Kitzbühel, Tyrol, Austria. Swami Durgananda is Yoga Acharya (spiritual director) of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Europe. e-mail: SwamiDurgananda@sivananda.net 10 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015
Fascinating India Rudraprayag, Himalayas 2016 THE QUALITIES OF NATURE Swami Sivananda 1887–1963 Swami Vishnudevananda 1927–1993 International Sivananda Teachers’ Training Courses 20 February – 20 March 2016 22 October – 20 November 2016 Sadhana Intensive 24 October – 8 November 2016 Advanced hatha yoga practice following the instructions of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika India Himalaya Pilgrimage 31 October – 12 November 2016 Yoga Sadhana at the Source of Ancient Wisdom Delhi – Rudraprayag – Badrinath – Rishikesh – Haridwar – Delhi Sivananda Kutir, Uttarkashi Himalayas International Sivananda Advanced Yoga Teachers’ Training Course 20 February – 20 March 2016 Delhi Kedarnath Badrinath Rudraprayag SIVANANDA YOGA VEDANTA RETREAT HOUSE Founder: Swami Vishnudevananda. Est 1957 www.sivananda.eu · Contact: rudraprayag-himalayas@sivananda.net YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015 11
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Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

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