Facets of spirituality: Dioluges and discourses of Swami Krishnananda/
Bhagyalakshmi, S
- Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986.
- 292 p.
PART I: Swami Krishngnanda: THE MAN 22 June 1977 Genesis of the project—God-realisation is duty— Yoga-Therapy and Psychic Theraphy—Rasleela Pictures etc.—Panchikarana—Walking for Sadhaks— Kirtan by a mother and her children. 18 December 1978; A Monday {No morning Darshan on Sundays) Why Durga-Saptasati is divided into three parts— Concern for sick Ashramite—Help in ill-health only in prayer—The fitting in of a 'Sadhak-intent' into the establishments of the Ashram—Maun staggers up energy—"Before Adam was I am". 21 December 1978 Compassion and cosmic-consciousness—Meditation and concentration—Recitation from the Vedas— The aim of life—Ordinary consciousness and higher consciousness—Shakti—Positive and Nega tive Forces—The meaning of Yoga—Yoga—Indi vidual reality and cosmic reality—Intellect, mind, feelings and personality—Jnana Shakti and Kundalini Shakti—Knowledge and wisdom. 23 December 1978 What causes perception of changes—Dream, its rele vance to Yoga—Yoga not a singled out subject— Application of Yoga to remove unhappiness—Spiri tuality, depression, lack of understanding—The re medy—The best religion—I want to stay in the Ashram. 26 December 1978 Simple method of starting concentration—The struc ture of the cosmos—Realisation of the unity of the 'subject' and 'object'—Consciousness, gold in orna ments—Everything is charged with Divinity—After death?—Thoughts need background to understand them—The Absolute and the lesser deities—Kaliyuga in the cycle of four Yugas. 30 December 1978 Why do we have to search for our own soul? 19 March 1979 Difficulty in concentration—Think of God humbly without going into flights of philosophy—God will tell you what Truth is—Four dimensional reality— Sivananda Ashram and Jerusalem—"I will not ans wer that question." 22 March 1979 Control of mind—Relevance of the 'Glory of Gita' to its central study—Idle questions—Karma Yoga. Undated Western philosophers and Acharya Sankara—Reason —Satsanga—Repetition in the Vedas—The Leeks of the Lord—Meditation: thinking on the Divine; the concept of grace; maya and meditation—Zen and the conclusions of the Gita—The World and God. PART II: THE MENTOR Acquisition of strength by Yoga-practice Madhusudan Sarasvati—Lord Krishna s Leelas : a spiri tual interpretation—limit of tolerance—Jesus suffer ed—Negation and transcendence, the difference. Too much book-learning—Isvara: a discussion bet ween Sr. Krishnanandaji and Jim McMicheal No short-cut to God-Realisation—Asking for liberation —The attitudes of man and the Bhaktas to the Sun and God respectively—Meanings of technical terms in spirituality—Use of pilgrimages in spiritual life- God is just—Definition of morality—Intention bereft of understanding—short or long life? Recitation of Mantra—story—celibacy and Sages— Nirguna of the Vedas—Sarva-Mukti—War amongst the Hindu Gods—Sirasasana: benefit—"Avidya", its 'locus'—'Isvara' a name only for relational pur poses Logic and Metaphysics—Consciousness, awareness, self-consciousness—'Ananda'—views— • detachment—religion, religiosity—Truth—Tricks of the mind—Mauni Swami—Meaning of'giving up'— Xbve all, trust few—Japa and meditation—the com mon weal—Mahatma Gandhi—The brain washed mind—The waking and dream consciousness—Has a cat in the bag—God and effort. All problems are only a single one—Single problem of you and the universe—Unanswerable questions— Only Guru can—only a spiritual guide can answer— The universe is travail—stories of Ramadas, Narsi Mehta—Paryanka Vratam—Japanese Gods and the Hindu Gods—It is the soul that keeps asking— Offerings as food and prayers to the departed souls are M.O. to them. Souls need this till they reach God. The effect of these on the souls of the de parted. Blessings and curses—Story of Dharmaputra and the dog—Creation a 'lee!a'—Isvara—World a cosmic dream—Sankara and Ramanuja—The Vyavaharika and the Paramarthika levels of reality—Religion of God and the Atman—Arguing with dogmatised minds—^Technique of teaching other beliefs. The worth of man—Problems in Pranayama—Karmaphalatyagam— Solving an individuaPs personal problems—The Police and the Army, tlieir place in man'slife—Training the mind—Ways of contemplat ing on God—The meaning of 'Mleccha'. Instinct and reason The (naturally) blind professor has sighted wife and Sw. Krishnananda, discussions on philosophy and Sanskrit—Initiation into meditation. The Americans—Iranian Professor—Double devotion to the perceivable world and the abstract form of God—The Saguna and the Absolute—need of proper guide—wanting to build a house and wanting God-realisation through meditation need scientific approach. Yoga begins where philosophy ends. God is a stage of waking up to frightening awareness— Sleep in eternity awareness—Yajnavalkya's Madhu —Why do Gods decorate themselves?—which is better to have, God or the world?—How to work for God? Vidya—'self-love\ Liberation when the Torces' withdraw and the ego goes—universe—Understand structure of God— God has not created the world. Why is the spiritual path so difficult—'Leela' as in the Kurukshetra War—Krishna a Kapata-nataka-Sutradhari— Understanding Him is to ^become' him like the gopis did—God plays like a child does with a mud-house etc. Do not try the logical and intel lectual methods to understand it—Lord Krishna a bundle of contradictions—^Ninda-Stuli' in Kusumanjaii— Knowing the limitations is transcending them—Bhaktas overstep their limitations; their law is different—Connotation of knowledge in the Gilain different contexts as the interpretation of devotion. Sivananda's words of praise—The Gita's authorship— Dharma and Rati—'Namaha'—The tenor of the Mahabharatam—Some doubts cleared—A personal psychological problem resolved—Definitions limit Truth—Affirmations true only for a particular level —Illumined intellect—Intelligence and intellect— Curiosity a desire—Atman the light that illumines— Chitta—Mind—Brahmacharya and its preservation is contextual in the lower and higher level—The whole world dies in one stroke and then?— Difficulties more and more intense in the progress of spirituality. 'Guru' a must—"I am what I am to-day because of Sw. Sivananda my Guru"—Socrates questions val ues—Nyaya-Vaisheshikas—Vedantin Sriharsha and his Khandana-kavyam—Nihilists. Spirit and soul the same—Kindness and goodness— Austerity—Every standard is correct at its level— Does God spare the wrong-doer? Any justification forpujariof Kedarnathto be compelled to bathe even when suffering from typhoid fever? Absolute stan dard only in Krita-Yuga which begins the cycle of Yugas—To the Absolute Kali-Yuga is the same as describing darkness to the solar-Sun—if you want to say 'God exists' add the clause, 'and nothing else exists'—Mind must be gradually trained to this idea—Arjuna was thus trained. Idealism and mania—Should a seeker search for a Guru?—A seeker's attitude to his kith and kin a pre-requisite to become a Sadhak—Trisul of Swami Sivananda—Righteous anger—Truth defined as the uncontradictable is unsound logic—World and God exist if two words are used for one thing—Rishis and dry-leaves—Siddha-purusha and prarabdhas— God's grace intuits higher-knowledge—Fatalism —How does God change ugliness to perfection?— A Consciousness like God's sees only perfection— Sw. Sivananda, an episode in his life as to what the Master means by equal-vision—How to see God in everything, like the cookies and the crunchies? Should not get attached to a principle in following it—American visitors question: Is Prana Truth?— The Yaksha Kanya and Indira—Time, its technical meaning—Madhu-Vidya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad—Anandamaya Kosa. PART HI THE PHILOSOPHER 1. Practical Hints on Sadhana 2. A Talk on the Concluding Day of the Sadhana Week 3. Significance of Japa and Prayer on the Anniver sary of Akhanda Namakirtan 4. On Reason and Higher Life 5. The Path of Devotion in the Epics and Puranas 6. *Excerpts from The Yoga-Vcdanta Forest Uni versity Weeklies (i) What are the Brahma Sutras? 7. Worship the Saints 8. (ii)*Christ to the Spiritual Aspirant 9. The Principles of the Bhagavad Gita 10. The Call of Srikrishna 11. A Pictorial Philosophy of Yoga 12. (iii)*Prayer for the Departed Souls 13. (iv)*An Article from "Panchadasi" Explained 14. Four lectures delivered at the Lai Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie on different occasions: (i) The Cosmology of Yoga Practice (ii) Yoga—The Science of Life (iii) The Organism of Administration (iv) Humanity As Yajna or Sacrifice of Pefection 15. Talk Broadcast: on 27 August, 1980—The Principles of Education 16. Foundations for an Educational Career (An ex cerpt from the journal of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, October, 1982)