Ishavasya Upanishad: Mantra 1

We must renounce our mental world, which is made of bubbles…we must renounce our past, that past that we project as an imagination on the future…we must renounce our expectations. … renounce We must renounce this mental world, in order to yield, to surrender ourselves… to reality…to Kṛṣṇa … to what is.

New Introduction (OR PREFACE) by Gopal dasTo see what is, at it is – what is the meaning of this saying?We all live, act, think in what we believe is reality, but is that truly the case?In this series of talks Swami Ramakrishnananda presents an interesting fact about the way we conduct our lives. We are in this world, but something disconnects us from truly being in reality, and because of that we are sometimes confused, or totally ignorant about what life is, and what we are. In order words, we do not see what is, as it really is.The nature of this confusion we are in, what maintains us in the state of illusion, the problems that surface from this conditions, are but few of the points Swami Ramakrishnananda illustrates in this book. As a renowned authority in the Sanatana Dharma religion, more commonly known as Hinduism, and in the vast science of Yoga, He provides clear and insightful explanations that can help us better understand ourselves. Yoga is an ancient wisdom that contains numerous practices and disciplines, which can be of a tremendous help for those who seek self knowledge, however, taken as mere techniques one may overlook many important points.This work, like the thread of Ariadne, pass through the many complex and bewildering ways in which the human mind works; it clarifies how our desires function, what is the ego, and the significance of going beyond the mind. It also expands to fields that are beyond what might be considered the “usual” scope of Yoga, such as creativity, art, communion, as expressions of our connection or disconnection from life.Swami Ramakrishnananda masterfully presents how these subjects manifest in the various practices of Yoga, while amply referencing to the sacred scriptures and to the teachings of previous Masters, honoring and elucidating this ancient tradition. For the spiritual seeker, the practitioner of Yoga, or any curious soul, these talks hold important ideas to think and ponder about. Swami Ramakrishnananda explains how hatha-yoga, the practice of yogic postures which is so popular today, can take us to the most deep spaces of meditation.

“Brahma spoke the Vedas, but He is not their author. He spoke the Vedas only to reveal their great Maker; he spoke them to perform the holy sacrifices. He spoke them to manifest the True One.”

“Śruti should be accepted as Veda, or revelation, whereas Smṛti refers to the scriptures of the sacred law or tradition. Both are irrefutable in all matters, since religion emanated simultaneously from both.” (Manu-smṛti 2.10)

ॐ ईशावास्यमिद सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्‌ ।

Mantras. In speaking of mantra, we are referring to a tremendous and powerful mystic energy contained within a specific sound structure, a transcendental vibration that encapsulates a power capable of liberating our mind from the claws of māyā. The mantra is a highly important means of trāyate, or liberation, from manas or the mind, as is established in the Kulārṇava-tantra (17. 54):mananāt tattva-rūpasyadevasyāmita-tejasaḥtrāyate sarva-bhayatastasmān mantra itīritaḥ“Through contemplation (manana) on the deity, whose form is Reality and who has unlimited radiance, the mantra saves (trāyate) one from all fear, therefore it is known as mantra.”Mantras are like a genetic code, the mystical DNA that allows us to directly gain access to the essence of yoga. Mantras have a transcendental character and emanate from the spiritual plane. Inasmuch as they are the names of God which have been gathered by the ancient Vedic literature, it is highly important to pronounce and repeat them with profound devotion. Mantras are sounds or sacred vibrations that have the ability to affect our energetic centers or chakras, generating serenity, peace, tranquility, and states of consciousness that are conducive for meditation to take place. In this way, the repetition of the mantra is an invitation for the Transcendental to manifest within us.There is a wide range of mantras that fulfill different purposes. Some are aimed at mundane goals, or bhoga, while others pursue liberation or mokṣa.YantraThe literal meaning of the Sanskrit term yantra is "machine." It is a powerful instrument or tool, capable of awakening different powers and energetic paths in the yogi.According to tantra, every mantra has its visual equivilant, a geometric aspect that is considered the form of that specific sound. The function of these mystic diagrams is analogous to the mantra on the level of sound, serving as a stimulus for meditation and an aid for coming into harmony with the universe. In the same way that there are different mantras for meditation, there are also distinct meditations with yantras that can be led by a knowledgeable spiritual master, if there is a true desire to gain access to the deep wisdom that is contained in these sacred diagrams.

5):na hi kaścit kñaṇam apijātu tiñṭhaty akarma-kṛtkāryate hy avaśaḥ karmasarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ"Todos están forzados a actuar de acuerdo a las cualidades que ha adquirido de las modalidades de la naturaleza. Por lo tanto, nadie puede dejar de actuar ni siquiera por un momento."Es decir que es absolutamente imposible dejar de hacer ni siquiera por un momento, por lo tanto el Bhagavad-gita nos recomienda en el capítulo 5, versos 10 y 11 lo siguiente:brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇisaìgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥlipyate na sa pāpenapadma-patram ivāmbhasākāyena manasā buddhyākevalair indriyair apiyoginaḥ karma kurvantisaìgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye"Quien desempeña su deber sin apego, entregándole los resultados a Dios, no lo afecta el pecado, tal como a la hoja del loto no es tocada por el agua ... los yogis, renunciando al apego, actúan con el cuerpo, la mente, la inteligencia, e incluso con los sentidos, únicamente con el fin de purificarse." ...Es decir que el Gita recomienda actuar de tal manera que nos purifiquemos gradualmente y que a través de nuestras acciones se vaya incrementando la entrega a la Divina Voluntad Suprema ...No se trata de renunciar a lo que hacemos sino que hacerlo como una ofrenda de amor a los pies del Señor ...Desempeñar nuestras acciones con devoción, sirviendo a la humanidad, nunca olvides que servir al ser humano es servicio a Dios ...Relacionado con esto en Bhagavad-gita (9.27), el Señor Krishna dice:yat karoñi yad aśnāsiyaj juhoñi dadāsi yatyat tapasyasi kaunteyatat kuruñva mad-arpaṇam"Oh hijo de Kuntī, ofrece como una ofrenda a Mi todo lo que hagas, todo lo que comas, todo aquello que ofrezcas o regales, así como toda austeridad que realices."En realidad el bhakta vive su vida de acuerdo al Atma Samarpan Mantra, esta antiquísima oración:Kayena vacha manasendriyairvaBuddhyatmana va prakrite swabhavathKaromi yadyad sakalam parasmaiNarayanayeti samarpayami" Ofrezco al Señor Narayana todo lo que hago con este cuerpo, habla, mente o con cualquier otro sentido del cuerpo, con el intelecto o el alma o con mis tendencias naturales innatas.

अन्यथा पातित्यशङ्कया। १३anyathā pātityaśaṅkayā |Translation:Otherwise, the risk of fall and degradation exists.Commentary:In the Bhagavad-Gita (16:23) lord Krishna says:yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjyavartate kāma-kārataḥna sa siddhim avāpnotina sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatimHe, who neglects the sacred scriptures injunctions and acts according to his own desires, does not reach perfection, or happiness, or the supreme goal.The sacred scriptures are a divine and transcendental message, words of God, neglecting them is to neglect God... and if we neglect God, religion or spiritual life is out of the question...The previous verse says that the sacred scriptures should be protected, while this verse talks about the danger in neglecting them, meaning that, indirectly, there is certain reciprocation between man and scripture...Man protects the sacred scriptures, they protect the human being... man keeps dharma, and dharma protects humanity...Hinduism sometimes refers to the sacred scriptures as "Veda mata" or "mother Veda", as they contain within them the guidelines and basic teachings in the art of living, for humanity. The sacred Vedic scriptures guide humanity according to dharma; they are the very base and roots of dharma... if these are neglected, dharma will be forgotten, which will mean the degradation of humanity...Scriptures give great importance to the familiar and social order...Hinduism gives great importance to the family as the base of society, which divides it into four social orders (Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras), and four orders of a spiritual character (Brahmachary, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyas).If religion and the sacred scriptures are not protected, the danger exists that every fall, obviously not for the saint or the enlightened one, but for the church and its congregation, for the collective, the public, the familiar order, and eventually, for society and humanity at large...

तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्‌ ॥ १॥

Humanity will not reach authentic absolute integration until each of us decides to abandon our tiny corner and accept what is rightfully our own: life, and all existence.

..Religion cannot be an effort which result will be love of God, this will form a mere calculative business...Prāpya or "to acquire" does not mean that if we comply with all the suggestions of Rupa Goswami and Prahlada Maharaja, the certain result will be the purest and highest divine love...Love is not some goods that can be bought with prayers and ceremonies, it is not the result of human manipulations...All these advices that we find in the sacred scriptures are suggestions that, when put into practice, help us create the internal ambience, the propitious atmosphere, so that divine love will occur...We can irrigate our garden, extract the weeds, fertilize the soil and so on... but we cannot pull the flowers or do something, that as a direct result of this action the flowers will come out to the surface, the lawn and the flowers grow by themselves... we can only help and create a propitious situation... and wait adequately...Which is to meditate...So, it is important to put things in their place, both are important, although there is nothing we can do in order to obtain divine love or enlightenment as a result, it is of essential importance to exert ourselves in creating the propitious situation so that divine grace could descend upon us...Sadhana opens us, makes us accessible...na śocati or "is not afflicted"... affliction is a mental creation, product of the attachment to the body and to anything which is illusorily connected to it...there is not possibility of sadness for a person who is submerged in the ocean of bliss and the nectar of devotion...In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, verse 11, Krishna says:śré-bhagavān uvācaaśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁprajïā-vādāṁś ca bhāñasegatāsūn agatāsūṁś canānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥWhich means:The blessed Lord said: While speaking wise words, you are so afflicted by what is not worthy of affliction. Those who are really wise are not afflicted neither by the living not by the dead.

The Upaniṣads are texts whose teachings, called Vedānta, are the final section and ultimate conclusion of the Vedas. They unfold a mystical vision characterized by an incomparable subtlety and depth. They are composed of the realizations of the enlightened sages of antiquity, who directly experienced the ultimate truth and wrote these testimonies themselves. Although tradition only accepts 108 texts, their actual number approaches 150.

The Sanskrit word yoga and the term religion have much in common, since the latter stems from the Latin verb religare, which is formed from the words re (“again”) and ligare (“link,” “unite” or “tying”). Thus, since religion means reuniting or reconnecting, the similarity between the two words is clear.

Rātrī Bharadvājī (the seer of the Ṛg-Veda 10,127)

In one of his left hands he carries the sacred trident, and in the other he carries the ḍamaru or tambour.Goddess: The goddess and śakti of this chakra is Shakini or "the defoliated”. She wears a beautiful yellow sari and bestows wisdom and mystic powers. In her four hands we find a bow, an arrow, a noose, and a goad.sudhā-sindhoḥ śuddhā nivasati kamale sākinÄ« pÄ«ta-vastrāśaraṁ cāpaṁ pāśaṁ sṛṇim api dadhatÄ« hasta-padmaiś caturbhiḥsudhāṁśoḥ saṁpÅ«rṇaṁ śaśaparir ahitaṁ maṇḍalaṁ karṇikāyāṁmahā-moká¹£a-dvāraṁ  śriyam abhimata-śīlasya  śuddhendriyasya"Purer than the Ocean of Nectar is the śakti SākinÄ« who dwells in this Lotus. Her raiment is yellow, and in Her four lotus-hands She carries the bow, the arrow, the noose, and the goad. The whole region of the Moon without the mark of the hare is in the pericarp of this Lotus. This (region) is the gateway of great Liberation for him who desires the wealth of yoga and whose senses are pure and controlled." á¹¢aá¹­-cakra-nirÅ«paṇa(30)Element: Ākāśa-tattva or ether. This element is the most subtle of all. Its principal qualities are sound, cold, subtlety and transparency. Ether is the element that is found in the different cavities, for example the nose, the mouth, the digestive system, the respiratory pathways, the tissues, the network of veins and capillaries, and the cells.When the ether is expressed in a negative way, our inclination is to feel bewildered when faced with problems or situations of danger. When it is expressed properly, one enjoys a sensation of expansion. This element is the space that make communication possible, that is to say, one expresses and shares information with others, expresses what occurs in our interior world, both our emotions and feelings and our experiences. Similcarly, it allows us to hear what others want to share with us, which is very important because it gives us the opportunity to see life from different angles.

While inhaling, raise the head and trunk with the help of the elbows that push downwards (Photo Number 26). Carefully elongate the upper back and neck. Then gently arch the back and the neck backwards. While keeping the back arched, slowly lower the body and incline the head backwards (Photo Number 27), until its top touches the ground, or as close to it as possible (Photo Number 28). In the final posture the back is kept arched, while avoiding pressure on the cervical area. When you reach the final posture, stop any movement. Breathe deeply and effortlessly, expanding the rib cage. Relax the legs and the face. Expand the chest as much as you can. Maintain the posture for only 20 seconds in the beginning, and gradually prolong the duration until you can remain in the posture for ten minutes.4. The plough pose or halāsanaRecline on the back (Photo Number 29). Join the feet. Extend the arms on the ground, bringing them closer to the body with the palms of the hands touching the ground. Inhale and flex the feet upwards (Photo Number 30). Exhale and, without separating the back from the ground, raise the extended legs until they form a right angle with the trunk (Photo Number 31). Bring the straight legs over the head raising the back from the ground until the knees draw close to the chest, first stretching the lower back (Photo Number 32). Support yourself firmly with your hands on the floor, pressing the hands firmly against the ground. Draw the knees closer to the face (Photo Number 33). Straighten the joined legs backwards, toes touching the ground, or as close as possible to it (Photo Number 34). With every inhalation, draw the feet away from the head and extend the cervical vertebrae. Here the stretching of the spine is complete. Interlace the fingers and straighten the arms against the ground (Photo Number 36). When you reach the final posture, stop moving and stay in halāsana in complete awareness and relaxation. Breathe as deeply as you can, using the diaphragm and the abdomen. Keep the eyes closed, the legs straight and joined together, the feet flexed, and the heels pointing backwards.

ḍā ca piṅgalā caivasuṣumnā ca tṛtīyagāgāndhārī hasti-jihvā capūṣā caiva yaśasvinīalambusā kuhūś caivaśaṅkhinī daśamī smṛtā"Again, among these (seventy two), the principal nāḍīs for the flow of prāṇa are ten.These are known as: iḍā and piṅgalā and the third, suṣumnā, as well as gāndhārī, hasti-jihvā, pūṣā, yaśasvinī, alambusā, kuhū and the tenth śaṅkhinī. In this way, they have been mentioned."Other highly important nāḍīs are: sarasvatī, vāruṇī, viśvodarī, payasvinī, śūr, saumyā, vajra, citriṇī, rākā, jihvā, etc. All the astral channels are subordinated, in one or another way, to the suṣumnā, since the energy rises from the mūlādhāra-cakra to the “cave of Brahman" or brahma-randhra, which is found situated in the interior of the cerebrospinal column.The suṣumnā is considered the central nāḍī and of the greatest importance, because through it passes all the energy that circulates through the astral body. To its left is found the iḍā-nāḍī, whichchannels the feminine and lunar energy,and to its right is the piṅgalā-nāḍī that channels the masculine and solar energy.In the Yoga-cūḍāmaṇy-upaniṣad (21, 22) we read:evaṁ dvāraṁ samāśrityatiṣṭhante nāḍayaḥ kramātiḍā-piṅgalā-sauṣumnāḥprāṇa-mārge ca saṁsthitāḥ satataṁ prāṇa-vāhinyaḥsoma-sūryāgni-devatāḥprāṇāpāna-samānākhyāvyānodānau ca vāyavaḥ"Thus these nāḍīs, namely, iḍā, piṅgalā and suṣumnā are situated closely attached to the opening part in the paths of the prāṇa. They are the manifestations of the gods Soma (moon), Sūrya (sun) and Agni (fire) respectively and pass the prāṇas through them. The vāyus (that are passed through the passages) are prāṇa, apāna, samāna, vyāna and udāna.

Translation:

Presiding deity:The deity of the sixth center isArdhanārīśvara, composed of two halves. The one on the right side is masculine or Śiva, and is camphor blue in color, while the left side is feminine or Pārvatī, and of a pink color. Ardhanārīśvara teaches us that God cannot remain separated from his Śakti, or creative energy, since Ardhanārīśvara is the union or synthesis of Śiva and Śakti. This deity represents the perfect combination of opposites, the synthesis of masculine and feminine, the disappearance of all duality, the revelation of the totality.This aspect is equivalant to the liṅga and the yoni together. In the right hand He holds the sacred trident, which represents the three modalities of nature, sattva, rajas and tamas, as well as the tri-puṭī of knowledge, knower and known, the material, astral and causal planes, and the past, present and future. The feminine half is dressed in a beautiful red sari, and carries in her hand a lotus flower symbolizing purity.Goddess: The goddess who presides over this center is Hākinī, which has six heads and four arms. The mantra of Hākinī-śakti is Oṁ śrī-hakinyai namaḥ or "Oṁrespectful reverences to ". The goddess wears a red sari and is seated on a lotus flower. Her skin is a beautiful pink color and she is very beautifully decorated with golden jewelry and precious gemstones. In four of her six hands she holds a book as a sign of knowlege, the tambourḍamaruof Lord Śiva, a skull, and a mala, while in the other two hands she offers blessings and performs themudra that banishes fear.ājñānām āmbujaṁ tad dhima-kara-sadṛśaṁ dhyāna-dhāma-prakāśaṁha-kṣābhyāṁvai kalābhyāṁ parilasita-vapur-netra-patraṁsuśubhramtan madhye hākinī sā śaśi-sama-dhavalā vaktra-ṣaṭkaṁ dadhānāvidyāṁ mudrāṁ kapālaṁ ḍamaru-japa-vaṭīṁ bibhratīśuddha-cittā"The Lotus named ājñā is like the moon (beautifully white). On its two petals are the letters Ha and Kṣa, which are also white and enhance its beauty. It shines with the glory of dhyana (meditation). Inside it is the ŚaktiHākinī, whose six faces are like so many moons. She has six arms, in one of which She holds a book; two others are lifted up in the gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons, and with the rest She holds a skull, a small drum, and a rosary.

The universe, with all that is mobile in it, is inhabited by the Lord; therefore enjoy renouncing and do not covet the richness of others.

Neither God nor the Truth are distant. The problem lies in ourselves, and our difficulty in perceiving the close, the intimate.There is no distance between the Truth and ourselves. It is closer to us even than ourselves….the effort of the jñāni to realize the Self does not consist in overcoming the distance but the closeness, which, with its hypnotic capacity to transform the miraculous into the obvious and the mysterious into the evident, envelops him in the grey haze of banality. This happens to us with situations, places and persons. It happens to us with God, the Truth, existence, and finally with ourselves.We ignore the obvious, causing it to lose value and interest…Lost in proximity to our horizon, the ordinary tends to disappear.Faced with the dilemma of nearness, no more existential alternative remains than being.Jñana-yoga reminds us that there is no distance, that we are in fact what we are trying to find. Because we have forgotten this, we search far away, in the future, or somewhere else: everywhere, except where we really are. And we abandon the here, the now, and thus, Reality…We hope that something will happen, forgetting that God, Life is undeniably happening, and that nothing more extraordinary could ever occur...In your illusion, you believe that something has concealed and hidden Reality from you, and you dream of attaining it in the future. Never forget that what you will discover that day will not have arisen in that moment, but is already here now. Observe: because by observing yourself, you will discover that you yourself are the Life, the Reality that you have striven in vain to obtain; you are the very Existence you have been trying to reach.The encounter with ourselves is only possible in the present moment. To renounce the ego is to renounce the past, to give up acting and reacting from the past. By asking “Who am I?” we situate ourselves in the present moment….Your authenticity is not encountered in some distant place. The Self is not a memory, a wish or a hope; it is not a purpose or a goal to achieve.

The concept of 10 avataras is not mentioned in the bhagavatam, it is mentioned in the Garuḍa-purāṇa (1.86.11), and over there the list is:

“The Śrīmad-bhāgavatam is 18,000 verses, the Nārada-purāṇa is 25,000, the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa is 9,000, and the Agni-purāṇa is 15,400.”

As human beings we live with the deep feeling that we are not what we should be or what we are supposed to be, that we lack something, that we are not yet whole…

Commentary:

The group of the seven most famous sages or saptarṣis for the present manvantara, called vaivasvata-manvantara, consists of: Viśvāmitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvāja, Uddālaka Gautama, Atri, Vasiṣṭha and Kaśyapa. As is indicated in the Hari-vaṁśa-purāṇa (1.7.34-35):

The ego consists of the illusion of the wave, believing himself to be an entity separate from the ocean, the illusion of believing oneself to be a part, separate from the Whole. Human misery originates with the efforts of the part to resist the Whole. Believing ourselves to be a part, we will always feel that we lack many things, we will miss the rest of what we are, and we will feel that we lack something needed to be whole... Therefore, together with our resistance to the Whole, we feel a deep sensation of being incomplete, of missing something. From a very young age, since our childhood, a sensation is born in us that we are lacking something in order to be happy. We see our older brother coming back from school and we say to ourselves: "When I go to school, there I will indeed enjoy myself". However, the day comes to start going to school, we enter first grade and slowly we begin to understand that it was not exactly what was missing, maybe quite the contrary. Slowly, over the course of years, we start to nourish the idea that when we go to high school, then it will be different, then we will find "what was missing", then I will be happy. Once again, when we start going to high school we see that it was not that what we needed. And then we think that although here we aren't enjoying ourselves, but, at the university... that so-yearned-for university, there indeed we shall finally enjoy ourselves, there we shall find that which we needed so much. Well, I don't think I have to tell you that this story goes on repeating itself, with the work, the girlfriend, the husband, the children, the house, the family, the business, until finally you find those who are waiting to reach their retirement in order to start enjoying or to finally find that which they were missing so much...

It is the death of a seed that never blossomed. However, one who lives a life of service shall depart in gratitude for having tried to contribute, even if only in a small way, to beautify this world and the lives of others....All human beings, and even their names, will come and go; it is our actions that will remain. Leave golden footprints as you pass through this world so that future generations will be inspired and know that beautiful people passed through here. Never forget that life is not a means to achieve something; it is everything.Karma-yoga invites us to make ourselves accessible and to surrender ourselves to the Transcendental Consciousness. When we are possessed by That, our activities cease to be reflections of illusion, ego and mind, of ignorance and imperfection, and become expressions of Light and Truth.Pay attention to your heart, seek the treasure of your soul and be assured that if you are present here, it is because life - existence, the absolute, God - wishes to do something specific through you.Karma-yoga inspires us to find the treasure that lies within us and to make every effort to preserve it. The path of action teaches us that each human being possesses a hidden treasure in the form of a natural talent. In its desire to realize itself through us in a unique way, the universe touches each of us with its magic wand.However, from our earliest years, society has been whispering in our ear, telling us that we should be doctors, engineers, or lawyers. Training us to seek only results, the collective has urged us to abandon our interest in the work itself. For the sake of our economic success and security, society desires that we turn a deaf ear to our talent and calling, wishing us to remain in ignorance of the treasure that has been placed within us by existence.Our families have tried to convince us to sacrifice our happiness in exchange for success. The collective strives to convince us from a very early age that we must abandon up our passion to paint, examine seashells, dance or chase butterflies, and dedicate our lives to making a fortune or obtaining fame and position.

"Es muy interesante en relación a este verso analizar los impedimentos para el desarrollo y evolución de nuestro bhakti para quienes comienzan a dar sus primeros pasos en el sendero del bhakti-yoga:La primera es atyāhāra o comer o acumular más de lo indispensable.La segunda es prayāsa o realizar esfuerzos exageradamente ridículos por adquirir objetos terrenales o dedicarse a actividades completamente opuestas al desarrollo del bhakti-yoga.Prajalpa significa perder nuestro valioso tiempo charlando acerca de temas innecesarios o hablando acerca de las faltas y defectos de otros, conversaciones de carácter frívolo.Niyamāgraha es sumamente interesante porque significa cumplir con las reglas y las regulaciones que demanda la religión pero sin búsqueda verdadera, sino como una cuestión sólo de tradición o costumbre.Jana saṅga asociarse y entablar amistad con gente de mentalidad mundana que no se interesa en la religión y el desarrollo espiritual...Y laulya o codiciar el supuesto éxito y los logros mundanos...Luego Rupa Goswami nos ofrece en el verso 3 de la misma obra, seis consejos para desarrollar nuestro bhakti y simultáneamente contrarrestar estas dificultades, las cuales pueden ser consideradas favorables para nuestro crecimiento y evolución:utsāhān niścayād dhairyāttat-tat-karma-pravartanātsaìga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥñaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati"Hay seis principios que favorecen el desarrollo del bhakti: 1) ser entusiasta, 2) esforzarse con confianza 3) ser paciente, 4) actuar según los principios regulativos que recomienda el bhakti 5) abandonar la compañía de los pseudo religiosos, y personas ateas 6) seguir los pasos de los Gurus y Maestros Espirituales anteriores. Estos seis principios aseguran, sin duda alguna, el éxito completo del servicio devocional puro."En el Bhagavata Purana, Hiranyakashipu pregunta a su hijo Prahlada, el cual era un gran devoto muy puro... "¿qué es lo más importante que has aprendido o estudiado?". Ante lo cual la réplica de Prahlada fue (Bhagavata Purana 7.5.23):Å

Ishavasyam idam sarvam

Hinduism suggests that the questioning is the response, and that the seeker is the searched-for. In Hinduism, in place of explanations we encounter a series of premises and an existential conclusion, which is the individual himself, his authenticity and intrinsic reality. The response of yoga is existential, and thus found beyond the limits of words. Therefore, the aim of yoga lies not in increasing the volume of our well-informed ignorance, but in changing our life. Yoga creates the space within so that we are transformed into vessels of consciousness. Yoga is not a question of information, but of transformation. It is not something to be debated, but to be lived.

* People used to speak of such an etymology for the word Purāṇa but grammatically speaking, the word means just “of olden times or ancient” (purā bhavaṁ).

This Upanishad bears its name from the first word of this mantra. Isha is the instrumental form of that power which governs, controls and regulates, and which is called Ishwara, or God. This Supreme Power is not a power alien or external to the human being, but it is that in which everything and everyone lies, moves and is. This is the same power that resides in the depth of ourselves, as is confirmed in the sacred Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

”Here the consecration or diksha of initiation is identified through the relevant mantras, that is to say through voice or speech. In such a way initiation is intimately related with vāc.Initiation in the mantraAccording to the ancient tradition of sanātana-dharma, the mantra must be received directly from the lips of a guru belonging to a line of disciplic succession in an initiation ceremony called dīkṣā. A disciple explicitly authorized by his guru can offer initiation, and in this case the initiation is called rittvik.If we wish that the initiation will be really successful, it is of utmost importance to find a qualified guru for this purpose. This spiritual master must have realized God through the mantra; only in this way will the mantra be implanted with true success in the heart of the disciple and manifest its full potential.In relation to this in the Mantra-yoga-saṁhita we find the following verses:dīkṣā-mūlo jayas sarvodīkṣā-mūlaṁ paraṁ tapaḥsad-guror āhitā dīkṣāsarva-karmāṇi sādhayet“Initiation is the root of every victory. Initiation is the root of austerity. Initiation received from the sad-guru is the realization of all actions.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhita, verse 2)adīkṣitā ye kurvantijapa-pūjādikāḥ kriyāḥna phalanti priye teṣāṁśilāyām upta bījavat“Those who perform the actions of japa and worship, etc., without initiation, their (actions) are like seeds sown in a stone.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhita, verse 3)devi dīkṣā vihīnasyana siddhir na ca sad gatiḥtasmāt sarva-prayatnenaguruṇā dīkṣito bhavet“¡Oh Devī!, (the actions) of a non-initiated person will never be successful, will never attain true existence; therefore, in all efforts, you should be initiated by a guru” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhita, verse 4)Initiation is the act of planting a spark to ignite the spiritual energy lying in a potential state in the heart of the aspirant.

¹›á¹£y-ādi mātṛkā-nyāsohy anuṣṭheyatayā mataḥ“In ordinary worship kara-nyāsa and aṅga-nyāsa only are useful. In elaborate worship, however, ṛṣi-nyāsa and mātṛkā-nyāsa should always be performed…” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 48.6)9. Mudrā or "gesture" or "seal": Mudrās are powerful exercises carried out through postures, gestures and attitudes that greatly facilitate concentration. Their practice is highly auspicious and beneficial in all aspects because it delights the devas exceedingly. Within this context, we are referring particularly to mudrās that are performed with the hands, and not to combinations of āsanas, prāṇāyāma and bandhas.modanāt sarva-devānāṁdrāvaṇāt pāpa-santateḥtasmān mudreti vikhyātāmunibhis tantra-vedibhiḥ“Pleasure of the deities is increased through the mÅ«dras and mÅ«dras also destroy the sins of the sādhaka. This is the reason why it was called mÅ«dra by the sages adept in Tantras.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 53.1)atha mudrāḥ pravaká¹£yāmisarva-tantreá¹£u kalpitāḥyābhir viracitābhiś camodante mantra-devatatāḥ“(The God of Gods, Mahādeva, says): I shall now describe the mÅ«dras which have been incorporated in all the tantras and the by the practice of which, at the time of worshipping a deity, the deities of the mantras are pleased”. (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 53.2)10.Tarpaṇa or refreshing: Tarpaṇa is the ritual in which the sages and the devas are invoked and pleased through  the offering of water. It is auspicious since it makes the heavens favorably disposed towards the sadhaka who practices it with devotion. If it is performed properly, it can liberate us from a great number of sinful karmic reactions, even those from past lives, as well as from various weaknesses that hinder our spiritual development and evolution.tarpaṇād devatā-prÄ«tistvaritaṁ jāyate yataḥatas tat tarpaṇaṁ proktaṁtarpaṇatvena yogibhiḥ“As the deities are soon pleased by tarpaṇa (satiating, refreshing especially the Gods and deceased persons, by presenting to them libations of water). Therefore it (tarpaṇa) has been so named by the yogis.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 54.

.. El bhakti nos conduce a través de un proceso de sublimación desde los deseos terrenales y mundanos, pasando por deseos y aspiraciones espirituales las cuales se transforman luego en una intensa atracción por Dios y la iluminación...En el sutra número cuatro, mencionado anteriormente, se menciona la palabra labdhvā o "ganar" y en el cinco, prāpya u "adquirir"...Mientras prāpya nos sugiere un esfuerzo con el objeto de adquirir algo, labdhvā nos da la impresión de un ganar o ser bendecido por la gracia divina sin esforzarse...La religión no puede ser un esfuerzo cuyo resultado será el amor a Dios, ya que consistiría en un mero negocio "calculativo"...Prāpya o "adquirir" no significa que si nos comportamos cumpliendo con todas las sugerencias de Rupa Goswami y Prahlada Maharaja, el resultado seguro será el más puro y elevado amor divino...El amor no es mercancía que puede ser comprada con oraciones, ceremonias o ritos, no es el resultado de manipulaciones humanas...Todos los consejos que encontramos en las sagradas escrituras son sugerencias que al ser puestos en práctica nos ayudarán a crear el ambiente interno, la situación propicia como para que la realización del amor divino ocurra...Podemos regar nuestro jardín, extraer la maleza y la mala hierba, fertilizar la tierra, pero no podemos sacar las flores de la tierra o hacer algo para que éstas salgan a la superficie. El césped y las flores crecen por sí mismas, sólo podemos ayudar a crear la situación propicia... y esperar adecuadamente... Lo cual es meditar...Entonces es importante situar las cosas en su lugar, ambos son importantes, aunque no hay nada que podamos hacer en orden de obtener el amor divino o la iluminación como resultado, es de vital importancia esforzarse para crear la situación propicia para que la gracia divina descienda sobre nosotros ...La sadhana nos abre, nos hace accesibles...Na śocati o "no se aflige"... La aflicción es una creación mental producto del apego al cuerpo y a todo lo que ilusoriamente está conectado a éste.

The simple fact of preparing the appropriate atmosphere provides no guarantee that we will be able to sleep. Sādhanā consists in extending our limits to the maximum, to the farthest point. Only when we have done everything we can, will it become possible for meditation to descend upon us.It is not easy for us, educated and intellectual as we are, to accept that our actual state of consciousness is a kind of sleepwalking and that we don’t perceive life and the world as they are, but as they appear to us in our dream. Just as the acceptance of our ignorance is the beginning of wisdom, the first sign of meditation is accepting the fact that we are beings who are half-asleep. To meditate is not to open the eyes, but to awaken…it is not to look, but to see....Trying to describe meditation to someone who has not meditated is like trying to explain colors to a person who is blind, or musical notes to someone who is deaf. Meditating is not complicated, it requires no effort; it is much simpler than what is generally thought. However, what is simple may become extremely complicated when it is verbalized. Meditation is indescribable to the human mind because it is an experience that transcends the limits of time, space and causality. In our normal, finite and limited cognitive state we are unable to grasp anything beyond these boundaries.Whereas in concentration the mind focuses on an object, in meditation what is being observed is the mind; the observer becomes the observed.Attention is the light of the soul that makes us aware of our actions, thoughts and emotions. In meditation, the meditator is the observed. In this way, we expand our awareness, directing our attention towards the observer, and regain consciousness of ourselves.To meditate is to open the eyes of our soul and dare to look attentively and continuously.To meditate is to separate ourselves from the mental contents and their confusion without coming into conflict with the mind. It is to observe what is, as it is, without making any effort, without judging and condemning, and without even reacting.

To escape from the enslavement of desires it is impossible and unnecessary to repress, control or dominate them; we need only situate ourselves in the now, in this moment.He who is under the control of the mind and its requirements does not live; he only prepares to live. The slave of the desires lives preparing himself for happiness, for peace, for bliss, for love and to live. He lives in constant hope and expectations of a future satisfaction. However, no future, no matter how promising, can alleviate our loneliness, fears and anxieties in the present. Desires drag us away from the now; they are a rejection of the present and thus, of reality. By desiring, we are escaping from the now. There are persons whose attachment is not in the present but is of a nostalgic character. Attachment is not love but desire, and thus it is time. Attachment stems from the past and is projected towards a future, it originates in what was and is directed towards what we would like to be. Love belongs to the sphere of reality and therefore it exists only in the present. It has the vitality of the real, the now. It is clear that desires are an obstacle for love, which cannot manifest in one who lives surrendered to the requirements and whims of his mind.Bhakti does not consider anyone as a spiritual master who has not transcended the demands of his mind. It does not accept as a guru or spiritual guide one who has not overcome the earthly appetites. As we can appreciate in the words Rūpa Gosvāmī in the first verse of his Upadeśāmṛta: vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁjihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegametān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥsarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt"Only that person who has transcended the impulse to speak, the impositions of the mind, the impulse to anger and the requirements of the tongue, the stomach, and the sexual organ, can accept disciples in any place of the world.

Our life unfolds in deep pain and suffering produced by conflict. Our interests move in opposing directions that, on occasion, collide and divide us. They transform us into people who object to hunting, bullfights, and the mistreatment of animals, but who consume meat; or into people who claim to be pacifists and strongly opposed to boxing, war, terrorism and any manifestation of violence, but who are unable to refrain from fighting with our neighbors or engaging in loud arguments with our spouse. We act differently from the way we feel. We feel differently from the way we think, and we think differently from the way we act. We do not behave as we believe we should… When our desires and ambitions are at stake, we forget our principles very easily. Hence, there are so many facets of our personal lives in which disharmony and incoherence reign.

The term āgama comes from the Sanskrit root gam which, together with the prefix ā, means “to come”. It refers to that which has “descended” or “come down” to us; that is to say, the revealed. It is a collection of very ancient texts, manuals and guides for Vedic worship that guide the devotee when performing the personal worship of his iṣṭa-devatā, which means one’s “chosen aspect of the divine”. The Āgamas contain an extensive treasure of profound wisdom that serves as a metaphysical and mystical foundation for the followers of the different lineages and schools that make up the Sanātana-dharma. Each āgama is usually divided into four pādas —or parts— which relate to the following topics:

The karma-yogī simply focuses on the peaceful discharge of his duties, because he knows after all, it is not his money. In this way, he remains situated in a state of complete non-identification.The special consequence of this yoga is to open and expand our hearts. Karma-yoga provides the impetus to take us beyond egoism. We thus transcend the limitations of the tiny and narrow "I" that lives by relating everything that happens to itself.This path teaches us that the ambition for mystical attainments is exactly what blocks their realization because they make us tense and prevent our actions from becoming meditative. The overcoming of the ego, the broadening of our heart, the love, all come indirectly to the yogī as a natural consequence, never as a direct result.In religion, attainments are not the result of our efforts. Grace, meditation, devotion, love, peace, Truth, enlightenment, and all that is elevated, appear only as an indirect consequence of our way of living, and never as the product of our techniques, methods or practices...The karma-yogī utilizes work as a tool, as an instrument, not only in order to obtain energy to survive in the form of rupees, pesos or dollars, not only as a barter of energy for currency or as an exchange of effort for money, but as a means to widen his consciousness, when the work is performed as a selfless service to humanity.God wishes to do something through youServe and you will see that in the depths of your heart you will experience great peace and immense joy.Quickly, you will notice that by serving others, you are the principal beneficiary....Just as in true friendship, just as when we love, the message of this wisdom is not to expect any personal acknowledgement in return for what we do.Of course, to be willing to work only for the happiness and well-being of others requires bravery and immense courage, whereas to live a life preoccupied only with our own interests is a sign of cowardice.Your life is highly significant; it is a unique expression of existence.

Each chakra corresponds to a specific level in the cosmic process of creation is thereforerelated to a specific element that brings certain characteristics and metaphorical qualities to each chakra. The relative material reality of names and forms is composed of five basic elements, called in Sanskritpañca-mahā-bhūtaor pañca-mahā-tattva. They constitute the basic states of matter and are: ether or ākāśa, air or vāyu, fire or tejas, water or apās, and earth orpṛthvī. Obviously, these states should not be understood as a mere clump of earth or theflame of a candle, but in a much more expanded sense, which will encompass all their inherent qualities: the earth and itsweight and solidity; water and its fluidity; fire and its transforming power, its light;air and its lightness,etc.The chakrasare a representation of the creation on the microcosmic level.Before the cosmic manifestation, what exists is the unified totality. The first expression of this unexpressed consciousness will be the vibration of the univeral Oṁ. From this primordial sound is manifested the ether or ākāśa, whose subtle movement brings forth the manifestation of vāyu or air, or ethereal activity.When activity sets up in ether, air is formed and due to the friction caused by the activity, fire is produced. The liquification of fire produces the manifestion of water, from which, duly solidified, earth is born.Regarding the colors of the centers, the descriptions of the scriptures and masters differ. Therefore I have chosento be faithful to two sources: the first is the opinion of my own eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Śrī Śrī Bābā Brahmānanda Mahārāja, and the second is my own experience, which is in perfect agreement with the experienceof my beloved Guru Mahārāja.All the esoteric information about the chakric correspondancesserves to help usintimately relate to the essential nature of each center. Each center lies at the intersection of the two or morenāḍīs. The number of petals in each chakra corresponds to the number of nāḍīs intersecting or emanating from the center in question and are symbolized as lotus flowers, open or closed according to the particular situation of the person involved.

.. El apego se origina en aquella sensación que algo nos falta, el apego busca conseguir algo, obtener a alguien... poseerle...Amar es renunciar, es realizar que el verdadero problema no es lo que falta sino lo que está de más... es ser tal y como eres...Es importante no olvidar que amar es renunciar, pero más todavía que renunciar es amar ... al adentrarnos en el sendero de la religión y aceptar la orden de vida renunciante, o sannyas, es esencial no ver superficialmente sólo el aspecto negativo o el "no" del celibato ...Lo que trato de decir es que ser sannyas no se trata sólo de quedarse soltero o no tener contacto sexual con el sexo opuesto...Sannyas es un romance divino, una relación amorosa con Dios, si una mujer casada le es fiel a su marido o si un marido comprende que debe ser fiel a su esposa, ¿cómo no va a ser fiel aquel cuya pareja es la Divinidad?...Es decir que la renunciación no será una represión si es una expresión de nuestro amor y devoción a Dios...

vedanta-krid veda-vid eva caham

With “the world of ideas”, I am referring to the surface, the superficial. That is to say, we are spouting terms whose actual meaning we don’t really know; we don’t know what they actually symbolize, because terms and words are symbols, but we often we remain in the world of symbols, without really examining deeply what they symbolize.

Yoga is an endeavor to reunite what has never been separated, with the meaning of developing full consciousness that we are not objects, and that no one or nothing exists that can or must be enlightened.

Remember that it is more important to keep both legs straight than to raise them higher. Breathe deeply in the posture: as you inhale, elongate the body from the chest to the feet. As you exhale, arch the back raising the legs higher and further.Maintain the posture for at least ten seconds in the beginning. Gradually increase the duration up to three minutes. If it is difficult for you to maintain śalabhāsana for the indicated time, repeat the posture three times, and rest for a few breaths between one repetition and the next.9. The spinal twist or ardha-matsyendrāsana (literally, half matsyendrāsana posture)vāmoru-mūlārpita-dakṣa-pādaṁjānor bahir veṣṭita-vāma-pādampragṛhya tiṣṭhet parivartitāṅgaḥśrī-matsyanāthoditam āsanaṁ syātmatsyendra-pīṭhaṁ jaṭhara-pradīptiṁpracaṇḍa-rugmaṇḍala-khaṇḍanāstramabhyāsataḥ kuṇḍalinī-prabodhaṁcandra-sthiratvaṁ ca dadāti puṁsām“Having supported the right foot at the base of the left thigh, let the right hand grasp the big toe of the left foot, passing over the back. Next, having placed the left foot at the base of the right thigh, grasp the big toe of the left foot, passing from behind the back. This is the āsana, as described by Śrī Matsyanātha, that increases the appetite and is an instrument to destroy all deadly diseases. Its practice awakens the kuṇḍalinī, and gives people the steadiness of the moon.” Hatha-yoga-Pradīpikā (1.28-29)Sit placing the buttocks on the heels (Photo Number 72). Then slide your buttocks to the right, and place them on the ground (Photo Number 73). Slowly pass the bent left leg over the right leg, firmly placing the left foot on the ground, and leaning the ankle on the external part of the right knee. Extend your back and align the shoulders (Photo Number 74). While coordinating your breathing, raise your left arm (Photo Number 75 ) and place the left hand on the ground behind you, rotating the trunk, the shoulders and the neck to the left (Photo Number 76). Extend and raise your right arm (Photo Number 77) and turn the right shoulder, place the right arm against the external side of the left leg and hold the foot in such a way that the right armpit is close and on top of the left knee (Photo Number 78 ).

Yoga is not a question of study or learning, but of something that happens, and therefore, we can only understand yoga to the degree that it happens to us.

"I am situated in everyone's heart, from me come memory, wisdom and forgetfulness. I am the one to be known through all the Vedas. Truly, I am the compiler of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas".

Fire devours all that can be devoured; it burns all that can be burnt...Fire is like the spiritual master, he does not burn in order to live or continue, but he devours with his flames, making others disappear, and then he himself fuses in the Whole and disappears..."Guide us to wealth through the right path". Our desire for wealth is closed within the ambition to decrease our limitations and expand our possibilities. To elevate ourselves is to elevate our aspirations. As long as we identify ourselves with the coarse body, our aspirations will be limited to that which offers us the greatest pleasure on the level of the coarse senses. While identifying with the mind or the intellect, we will not try to accumulate riches on the level of money or jewels, but we will try to accumulate knowledge. While identifying with our feelings and emotions, we will look for romances and all kinds of emotive experiences. Only when we reach an evolutionary level at which a glimpse of our soul will be revealed, will our aspirations and ambitions be for the spirit... That is to say, our search for any certain kind of riches will greatly depend on our level of evolution and therefore, on our level of viveka or power of discrimination...Spiritual wealth does not consist of possessing, but of ridding ourselves of our inclination and attraction towards anything that gives us pleasure but at the same time deprives us of bliss, which causes us enjoyment but limits our freedom; those painkillers taken as solutions, that make us forget our misery momentarily, causing temporary amnesia, without contributing anything beneficial with regard to our loneliness, pain and sorrow, but rather, perpetuating them...There is a "right" or "appropriate path" in order to obtain wealth. Many times our problems are not only a product of what we wish for, but of the means or paths we use to obtain them. Especially when we have been programmed with an attitude of being unworthy, an attitude that leads us to try to acquire everything, from a relationship, to material things, promotions at work or achievements in sport, in a dishonest manner.

This Divine power is what really dwells and lies within this mobile universe...

All of these blessed incarnations of the Lord descended to Earth with the aim of preserving religion, rescuing the world from great danger and destroying demons, in order to protect devotees. As is explained in the Bhāgavad-gītā (4.7-8):

” “Where, like men cleansing corn-flour in a sieve, the wise in spirit have created language, friends see and recognize the signs of friendship: their conversation retains the imprint of the blessed sign imprinted."“With the (help of the) sacrifice (they, i.e. wise) followed the path of the speech. They discovered her entered into Rsis. They brought her and divided (her) into many places.”“One man has never seen Vāc and yet he sees: one man has hearing but has never heard her. But to another she has shown her beauty as a tender well-dressed woman to her husband.”Vāc refers to Herself in first person in theṚg-veda (10. 125. 5) in the following way:ahám evá svayám idáṃ vadāmi / júṣṭaṃ devébhir utá mânuṣebhiḥyáṃ kāmáye táṃ-tam ugráṃ kṛṇomi / tám brahmâṇaṃ tám ŕṣiṃ táṃ sumedhâm"I, verily, myself, announce and utter the word that Gods and men alike shall welcome. I make the man who pleases me exceedingly mighty, I make him a sage, a seer and a Brahmana.”Statements such as the power to make a man a brahmana suggest to us the relationship of vāc with the sacrifices and rituals. The power of ritualistic language is capable of converting a person into a brahmana in the ceremony of initiation.The relationship betweenvāc and the ceremony of initiation or diksha is very clearly confirmed in the following verse of theKauṣītakī Brāhmaṇa (7. 1)vāg dīkṣā vācā hi dīkṣate prāṇo dīkṣito vācāvai dikṣayā devāḥ prāṇena dīkṣitena sarvānkāmān ubhayataḥ parigṛhyātmann adadhata tathoevaitad yajamāno vācaiva dīkṣayā prāṇenadīkṣitena sarvān kāmān ubhayataḥ parigṛhyātman dhatta“The consecration is speech, for by speech is he consecrated. The consecrated is breath; by speech as the consecration, by breath as the consecrated, the gods having encompassed all desires on both sides, confer them upon themselves. Similarily the sacrificer also by speech as the consecration, by breath as the consecrated, having encompassed all desires on both sides, confers them upon himself.

d. Vyākaraṇa: Vedic grammar. With amazing depth, it explains the most complicated principles of human communication.

In other words, to be what we really are is to be in God...

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, in chapter 18, verse 66:

The sacred Ṛg-veda (10.191.2) advises coherence, both individual and collective:

Om Śrīparamātmane namahOm Śrī Ganeśāya namahOm Srī Gurudevāya NamahDedicated with great esteem, affection and love to my eternal Spiritual Master, that sacred presence who is His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Baba Brahmananda Maharaja ...

The words we read in the present verse can only be pronounced by a master, by someone who sees. The scriptures denominate such a person "rishi" or "seer". This verse is a direct testimony of enlightenment. No one who does not realize what it says here could write or say anything like that... "The universe with all that is mobile in it is inhabited by the Lord"... this phrase is not a part of any sermon, but it is the expression of a soul in which enlightenment has occurred.

vedaḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ pūrvaṁ

The only difference between the state of sleep and wakefulness is our level of attention and awareness. Enlightenment is to be fully conscious or awakened. The enlightened being is awake even when he sleeps, while the ordinary person sleeps even when he believes he is awake. However, the distance between both is not as great as we might suppose. The only difference is that the former focuses his gaze within, while the latter does not even attempt it.

Enlightenment is to open the heart to the Whole...

The scriptures call the Sun Āditya (the son of Aditi), and enumerate its twelve different aspects. The Sun has a different name according to the zodiac sign that is associated with it. From these names originate the twelve mantras that are pronounced in each one of the stages of sÅ«rya-namaskāra:1.        Oṁ mitrāya namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the friend of all.2.        Oṁ ravaye namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the one who causes noise.3.        Oṁ sÅ«ryāya namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to one who sets in motion.4.        Oṁ bhāvane namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the luminous one.5.        Oṁ khagāya namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the one who moves in the sky.6.        Oṁ pūṣṇe namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the one who nourishes.7.        Oṁ hiraṇyagarbhāya namaḥ- Oṁ salutations to Hiraṇyagarbha, who was born from a golden egg.8.        Oṁ mārÄ«caye namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the one bears rays of light.9.        Oṁ ādityāya namaḥ - Oṁ salutations to the son of Aditi.10.        Oṁ savitre namaḥ- Oṁ salutations to the one who awakens.11.        Oṁ arkāya namaḥ- Oṁ salutations to the radiant one.12.        Oṁ bhāskarāya namaḥ- Om salutations to the illuminator.1.        Praṇamāsana or salutation posture: stand with your legs and feet together, palms together in front of the chest. Stretch your body from head to heels without tensing it (photo number 116).2.        Hastottānāsana or raised arms posture: Inhaling deeply, spread your arms above the head (photo number 117) and arch the body backwards.3.        Pāda-hastāsana or hand-to foot pose: rise up, and while exhaling, flex the body forward keeping your knees straight (photo number 118). Place the palms on the floor on both sides of your feet, while touching your knees with your forehead. Press the chin against your chest (photo number 119).

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁpavitram idam uttamampratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁsusukhaṁ kartum avyayam“This is the King of all wisdom and the sovereign mystery. It is pure and excellent. It can be directly experienced, and it is in accordance with dharma, imperishable and easily performed.” Bhagavad-gītā (9.2)In the path of wisdom, we can recognize two different aspects: the realization of the Whole as union with ourselves, and the contemplation of the Whole, or this same unity, as underlying the diversity of the universe of name and forms. It is opening ourselves to the Whole in the depths of our being, while opening our eyes and perceiving that every living being is an expression of this same Totality.Ignorance can lead many to the false conclusion that the jñāni is disconnected from the world and society, a person only interested in himself, and insensitive to others. However, nothing could be further from the truth. To the extent that one awakens to the Whole as the essence of what he is, he becomes aware that diversity is only the manifestation of this unity, in such a way that the realization of the Self does not separate him from others, or situate him above them, but creates intimacy and closeness with everything and everyone.Vicāra or investigationSelf-inquiry is the essential and basic teaching of jñāna-yoga.From its beginning, the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.1.) urges us to inquire into the nature of Brahman… Oṁ athāto brahma jijnāsā, or ““Oṁ, now, one must inquire into Brahman”.Brahma-jñāna, or the wisdom of Brahman is the wisdom of the Self. It is the only thing that can really liberate us from misery and illusion, or māyā.According to the explanation of Ṛbhu to Nidāgha in the Varāhopaniṣad, which is affirmed in the Yoga-vasiṣṭa as well, the second state within the seven levels in the development of wisdom is vicāraṇa or investigation.Vicāra is investigation, while ātma-vicāra is the specific analysis of the Ātma or Self. Consequently, it is also called self-examination, or self-inquiry.

It is to fall in love with the Whole...

..The flute in the hands of the Lord Krishna symbolizes such high state, because the self-surrender consists in emptying oneself... then only the Lord can use us to play his melody, which, although it will be heard through us, will be His divine melody ...It is impossible to surrender our actions without surrendering the doer, actor, therefore self-surrender is the surrender of all our activities ...Only then everything that you do and your whole life, will be a divine melody...This complete consecration to the Lord is confirmed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita (9.27):Yat karoṣi Yad aśnāsiyaj juhoṣi dadāsi YatYat tapasyasi kaunteyaTAT kuruṣva Mad-arpaṇam"Whatever you do, whatever they eat, whatever you offer or any austerities you make, oh, Kaunteya! Do it as an offering to Me."Also Rupa Goswami in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1. 2. 255), reads as follows ...anāsaktasya viñayānyathārham upayuïjataḥnirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandheyuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyateReal detachment from objects and possessions or yukta-vairāgya, within the context of bhakti yoga, consists of krishna-sambandhe or "Relating it with Krishna", meaning, offering service of God ...The verse ends with the following phrase ... "immense sadness to forgetfulness" ...Forgetfulness of God mean distance from the Self...The Lord Caitanya gives a wonderful example of such a transcendental state in their Shiksastaka, verse 7, which reads:yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇacakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitamśūnyāyitaṁ Jagat sarvaṁGovinda-viraheṇa me"Oh, Govinda! Experiencing separation from You, a moment feels like twelve years or even more. Tears are streaming from my eyes as torrents of rain, and in Your absence I feel totally empty in the world."Forgetfulness of God means forgetfulness of the Self, of our authenticity, of what we really are ...While we forget our true essence we identify with a name and form, with the body ...In our ignorance we seek happiness through the body, trying to satisfy our senses ...Lost in the illusion we believe that our misery comes from the lack of sensual satisfaction ... and we are sad because we crave a new car, a bigger house, a spouse, a beautiful wife or a good husband, sex, food, cigarettes, alcohol or drugs .

svasti nas tārkṣyo ariṣṭa-nemiḥ

“When the mind is silenced by yoga, the Self observes the Self and finds satisfaction only in the Self.

The ego is all the knowledge that we have collected about ourselves and which we hold on to, giving it an exaggerated importance in our life. Therefore, the study of the Self is the study and observation of what we believe ourselves to be.  For the majority of us, to study means to add, it is a gathering up of information in the warehouse of the known. However, true learning requires giving up the archived knowledge and putting aside its authority, something which implies silence and attention. Without silence at every level and without the proper attention, the study and knowledge of oneself will be impossible. In the same way in which we know ourselves physically, observing ourselves in a mirror and accepting that image, without rejecting or trying to hide from what we do not find agreeable, we can study ourselves and know ourselves, looking at ourselves in the mirror of our reactions and activities, in the mirror of the world. The path of yoga begins with the physical body, because it begins with the study of ourselves. From the external, we progress to recognizing thoughts, ideas, strategies, emotions, feelings, complexes, etc. We first pay attention to what is occurring on the exterior and slowly become capable of directing our attention towards what is occurring in our mind. Observation leads to the discovery of what we call “I”, which is no more than an accumulation of ideas and conclusions, information and knowledge about what we are, which we have collected in the attempt to gather and accumulate more positive information about ourselves, to enlarge our warehouse of flattery or applause about ourselves. In studying ourselves, it is essential to disidentify ourselves from the mind, to create a distance from it, to separate ourselves, which is only possible when we adopt the attitude of the witness of the mental activity. If you are observing these oranges or those melons, you can be absolutely sure that you are neither oranges nor melons. Indeed, of all that is observable, you can completely sure that it is not you. Clearly, it does not matter what is looked at, since the one who looks cannot be that which is seen; regardless of what is observed, the observer cannot be the observed.

Enlightenment is the realization that nothing can exist apart from the Whole, not even the "I", just as the wave cannot exist apart from the ocean...

sthāpatyaṁ cāsṛjad vedaṁ

atha āsanam:haṭhasya prathamāṅgatvādāsanaṁ pūrvam ucyatekuryāt tadāsanaṁ sthairyamārogyaṁ cāṅga-lāghavam“Due to their being the first step in haṭha-yoga, āsanas are described first. As a consequence of their practice, one will experience a stable posture, health, and physical flexibility.” Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā (1.19)There are yogic postures especially aimed at increasing and strengthen the health of its practitioners. There are others that encourage meditation, of these, the five most highly recommended are: padmāsana (the lotus posture) (photo number 500), siddhāsana (the perfect posture) (photo number 501), svastikāsana (the prosperous posture) (photo number 502) sukhāsana (the simple posture) (photo number 503) and vajrāsana (the diamond posture) (photo number 504).Āsana is the third part of the system of aṣṭāṅga-yoga of Patañjali Maharṣi, who mentions it specifically in the second chapter of his Yoga-sūtras, sūtras 46-48:sthira-sukham āsanaṁprayatna-śaithilyānanta-samāpattibhyāṁtato dvandvānabhighātaḥ"Āsanas should be firm and comfortable. The asana is achieved by eliminating tension and meditating. In accomplishing the āsana, one also attains immunity to the pairs of opposites.”The practice of āsanas unleashes positive effects upon the different organs and functions of the body. For example, it improves the functioning of internal organs, the blood circulation, and the immune, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and nervous systems. At the same time, it also develops the flexibility and elasticity of the muscles, and provides an extraordinary lubrication to all the joints of the body. Not only does it strengthen the muscles, but also the ligaments and tendons, and it significantly increases the flexibility of the spine. The stretching and contraction of the muscles encourages deep relaxation, and hence the regeneration of all body systems, leading to a prolonged and healthy life.Due to the holistic vision of yoga, its definition of health differs slightly from that of the West. For yoga, health is not limited to the absence of disease; it is a state in which the physiological and psychological systems that comprise the human being function in a harmonious and balanced way. In Yoga, disease is considered to be a disturbance of this balance.

Wherever you look, you will no longer see movement of persons, animals, trees or objects, but you will see everything and everyone as an expression of the Whole...you will realize that behind this reality of names and forms there is one and only divine nature, which manifests and expresses itself as everything and everyone...

However, although we are all in agreement with this point with respect to our daily life, curiously, many of us adopt an irresponsible attitude in all that is related to religion and spirituality. If we believed we could grow and develop without the personal guidance of a master, and only with the help of books, this would certainly lead us to stop building schools, colleges or universities , and to build instead, only printing and publishing houses. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6. 14. 2.) says ...ācāryavān puruṣo veda"Only and solely one who has accepted a guru can know the Truth.”To accept a guru in life is not only necessary, it is absolutely vital. One cannot take even the first step on our path towards God without the grace and mercy of our spiritual master…if you yourself are the lamp that illumines your own path, then you must first search for the one who can teach you how to be that lamp.The scriptures are very clear about the necessity of accepting a spiritual master. We read in the Bhāgavata-purāṇa (11.3.21)…tasmād guruṁ prapadyetajijñāsuḥ śreya uttamamśābde pare ca niṣṇataṁbrahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam"Every person who truly aspires to happiness should search for and take refuge in a genuine guru through initiation. The spiritual master must have understood the conclusion of all the scriptures through reflection and argument, and be capable of convincing others of these same conclusions. Those great individuals who have taken complete refuge in the Supreme and let go of all material interests, are authentic spiritual masters.” One must take a spiritual master not for comfort or counsel, but for nothing less than uttamam śreya, or the true bliss and authentic goodness. To be considered a guru, one of the most important requisites that someone should possess is... śābde pare ca niṣṇataṁ ... that is to say, to have both knowledge as well as wisdom. A person who does not possess both the wisdom that transcendental experience brings, as well as erudition in the sacred scriptures, cannot accept a position of spiritual master, since he will not be capable of elevating his followers.

"Where is God found?" - asks the disbeliever...

It is very interesting, in relation to this verse, to analyze the impediments to developments and evolution of our bhakti for those who begin their first steps in the path of bhakti-yoga.The first is atyahara, or eating or accumulating more than is necessary.The second is prayasa or making exaggerated or ridiculous efforts to aquire mundane objects and dedicate oneself to activities which are completely opposed to the development of bhakti-yoga.Parjalapa means losing our valuable time talking about unnecessary topics or talking about the faults and defects of others, frivolous conversations.Niyamagraha is extremely interesting because it means to fulfill the rules and regulations that religions demands without true search, but as a matter of tradition and habit alone.Jana sanga is associating and have friendship with people of mundane mentality that are not interested in religion and spiritual development... and laulya or coveting the so called success of mundane achievements...Later Rupa Goswami offers us in verse 3 of the same scripture, six advices to develop our bhakti and simultaneously to overcome its difficulties, which can be considered favorable for our growth and development:utsāhān niścayād dhairyāttat-tat-karma-pravartanātsaìga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥñaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyatiThere are six principals that are favorable to the development of bhakti: 1) be enthusiastic; 2) make effort with confidence; 3) be patient; 4) act according to the rules and regulations that bhakti recommends; 5) abandon the company of pseudo-religious people, and atheists; 6) continuing the footsteps of the Gurus and previous spiritual masters. These six principals make sure, without any doubt, the complete success of pure devotional service.In the Bhagavata Purana, Hiranyakashipu asks his son Prahlada who was a very pure devotee... what is the most important thing you have studied? And the answer of prahlada was (Bhagavata Purana 7:5:23):śravaṇaṁ kértanaṁ viñṇoḥsmaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanamarcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁsakhyam ātma-nivedanammeaning, the young bhakti described in detail the nine different paths of bhakti:1. Hearing the name, and the stories regarding the Lord.2. Chanting His glories and repeating his name.

yallabdhvā pumān sidhdo bhavati amṛto bhavati tṛpto bhavati Transliteración:Ganar eso (el amor divino), es la perfección, la inmortalidad y la satisfacción. Comentario:Ganar aquel amor... no de tu amor...Tu amor es aquel que proviene de la mente, es aquel que se origina en el plano mental, en el nivel del tú y tuyo... tu amor es adicción con todo el dolor y sufrimiento que ésta conlleva...Tu amor es esclavitud... Aquel amor, o el amor divino, es el que florece y se desarrolla desde el silencio de la meditación, ese amor es Dios, el otro no es más que un llamado a la continuación de la especie... S iddho bhavati... "el devoto realiza la perfección" ...Observando el mundo a nuestro alrededor, hemos llegado a la conclusión que nada ni nadie es perfecto... Aunque el ser humano trata y se esfuerza, no puede alcanzar lo que supone o imagina es la perfección, la ha llegado a situar como un ideal inalcanzable...La perfección es algo a lo que buscamos o aspiramos, sin haberla conocido en realidad más que en nuestra imaginación...Lo que el mundo denomina "perfección" no es más que una fantasía producto de nuestra imaginación... Una de las grandes equivocaciones de la humanidad es que en nuestra búsqueda de la perfección adquirimos casas, autos, personas, tierras, hijos, fama, honor, joyas, títulos etc. Sin darnos cuenta que ésta no florece como consecuencia de que poseemos mucho, de que tenemos grandes cantidades, sino que sólo y únicamente cuando no precisamos nada... el auténtico siddhi o poder no consiste en la adquisición de todo... sino que en la experiencia que no hay nada que precisas obtener... Aparece junto a una profunda experiencia que no es necesario adherir algo... No se manifiesta porque hayas logrado algo, sino cuando deseas darlo todo...No olvides que tú eres divino, que Dios es amor, que tu verdadera naturaleza es amor...Que al amar realizas tu autenticidad...Y tú, tal y como eres, en tu pureza e inocencia eres perfecto, el amor es aquella lámpara capaz de iluminar tu interior mostrándote la perfección en ti... Tú, la vida, la existencia tal y como es.

"Where is He not?" - the sage will answer...

In this book I simply speak of being, of looking, of observing, of separating the apparent from the real, of disappearing by merging into reality. The essence of what is written here is found within you, and you will understand it only to the extent that it happens to you.

Even though it is possible to access the Vedic literature and benefit from it at any stage in life, the spiritual master generally guides his disciple to place special emphasis on the study of those texts in greater harmony with the needs of his particular stage of life, or āśrama. Therefore, the Mantra-saṁhitās are especially recommended for the brahmacārīs brahmacārins, or celibate disciples, who belong to the first of the orders within the structure of Vedic society, and are generally up to 25 years of age. The Brāhmaṇas are for the gṛha-sthas, or those in the order of family life, aged 25 to 50. The Āraṇyakas are for the vāna-prasthas, those who are preparing to accept complete renunciation, or who have adopted a renounced life, having abandoned the life of society to live in nature, in the forests and jungles, and who are generally 50 to 75 years of age. Finally, the Upaniṣads are especially directed towards sannyāsīs sannyāsins, or those who have accepted the order of renounced monastic life. Persons who are particularly interested in yoga, or the direct realization of oneself as an integral part of the Whole, typically put special emphasis on the Upaniṣads, since they constitute humanity’s most ancient source regarding this path.

  vande śrī-mastarāmaṁ brahma-svarūpaṁ vareṇyaṁ gaṅgā-tīre himādrau svānandalīnaṁ dayālum vairāgyāt tyāga-mūrtiṁ premāspadaṁ bhāva-gamyaṁ mukti-dvāraṁ mumukṣor bhakta-prabhuṁ me śaraṇyam