Ishavasya Upanishad: Mantra 3

And for this reason, my definition of meditation is to observe what is, as it is. Not as I would like it to be, not as we wish that it was, not as we think it should be or should have been, but as it is.

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः ।

Therefore the association with an enlightened being or with devotees must be understood as a divine grace. For the bhakta, the pure devotee of the Lord is nothing less than the divine grace of the Lord in a human form. Just finding ourselves in the presence of an elevated soul can liberate us from illusion or maya. As is established by the following verse from the Bhagavata-purana (10. 10. 41),sadhunam sama-cittanamsutaram mat-krtatmanamdarsanan no bhaved bandhahpumso ksnoh savitur yatha“When we are directly in front of the Sun, there is no darkness for the eyes. In the same way, when we are in front of a sadhu, before a devotee completely dedicated and surrendered to God, we cease to be subject to material captivity.”For the bhakti-yogi, the association with a pure devotee is one of the principal reasons to accept a spiritual master, serve him and live in his presence. Just as is stated by the famous Bengali text of Gaudiya Shaivism, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.54)sādhu-saṅga’, ’sādhu-saṅga’--sarva-śāstre kayalava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya"The verdict of all the revealed scriptures is that through just one moment of association with a pure devotee one can obtain all success.”It is of highest importance to learn to recognize an authentic pure devotee of the Lord and to properly value the association and closeness that that we receive undeservedly.The Bhagavata-purana (1.18.13) also states thattulayāma lavenāpina svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavambhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasyamartyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ“The value of a moment of association with a devotee of the Lord cannot be compared even with the attainment of celestial planets or the liberation from the material, nor to speak of the mundane blessings in the form of material prosperity which are for those who are destined to die.”The requirements of bhakti-yogaEach of the different yogic paths has its own requirements and prerequisites to fulfill. To undertake the devotional path and its sadhana, one must have sincere faith in God and in the revealed scriptures. Also important, although not essential, is a certain sensitivity and interest concerning all that is related to the divine, as well as some knowledge of the sacred books.

aitreya uvācaiti bruvānaṁ nṛpatiṁgāyakā muni-coditāḥtuṣṭuvus tuṣṭa-manasastad-vāg-amṛta-sevayā“The great sage Maitreya continued: ‘The nectarian and humble words of King Pṛthu pleased very much the reciters, who continued to glorify the monarch with prayers, according to the instructions of the great sages.’ ”We see here in the word muni-coditāḥ that the counsel and direction of the community of sages is of highest importance.The relation of the disciple to his master is of service, and it is explained in the Ādi Purana..ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārthana me bhaktāś ca te janāḥmad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktāste me bhaktatamā matāḥ “Those are not my devotees who claim to be my devotees. I only consider as my devotees those who are the servants of my devotees.”We also find this verse in the very famous Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu (1. 2.208), making clear the relevance of service as the authentic medium through which we relate ourselves to the Truth.Gurukula Only by being close to the presence of a master and in silence, can we learn from him. The association with, and even the simple company of a guru develops and accelerates one’s evolution. It is for this reason that the traditional Vedic educational system was basically residential; that is to say, the disciples lived with the spiritual master, generally residing in his home. When number of disciples increased, it was called the Gurukula, or “the extended family of the Guru” since the disciples are considered the children of the spiritual master.”Gurudakṣiṇā The term gurudakṣiṇā means “the honorarium given out of respect to the guru”. According to Hinduism, it is considered that something as valuable as religious and spiritual education cannot be bought or sold. Gurudakṣiṇā is not a demand of the master, but an expression of gratitude on the part of the disciple at the moment of leaving the ashram. The master guides his disciple toward God and the disciple reciprocates, demonstrating his appreciation with material things, such as food, land, jewelry or money. It is important to understand that gifts or money are not a payment to the master, because the Truth is priceless, and thus the true debt of the disciple toward his guru can never be paid.

“(Veda-vāni) is without a beginning. It is self created, infinite and eternal.”

तास्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥ ३॥

” (Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, verse 24)   nivartitānām eteṣāṁ tad-vyatirikta-viá¹£ayebhya uparamaṇam uparatir athavāvihitānāṁ karmaṇāṁ vidhinā parityāgaḥ“Uparati is the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than the ones pertaining to them; or it may mean the abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions.” (Vedānta-sāra, verse 21)The word uparati stems from uparam or “to cease acting, to be calm" and it consists in withdrawing and separating oneself from temptations, an abstinence from those activities not essential for the maintenance of the body or our spiritual life. For this reason, it also consists in renouncing the belief in the ego as the “actor” or “doer”.Uparati is a state in which one overcomes the dualities that affect most people, such as pleasure and pain, honor and shame, happiness and sorrow, diversion and boredom, what is agreeable and what is disagreeable. Only he who detaches himself from the pairs of opposites— from attractions and repulsions—will enjoy the steadiness indispensible for the student.Uparati is to refrain from thinking about objects that have been enjoyed in the past. It is the conscious effort to resist stimuli which come from outside. The mind does not react to external stimuli… from this we can clearly see that uparati consists in a resistance to bad habits. However, it is a struggle against our vices and previously acquired habits, not against our true nature. It is not about escaping from society; it is a way of seeing the world, not with worldly eyes, but with the vision of the soul.3d. Titikṣā or tolerance:sahanaṁ sarva-duḥkhānāmapratÄ«kārā-pÅ«rvakamcintā-vilāpa-rahitaṁsā titikṣā nigadyate“The capacity to withstand affliction with resignation and without rebelling is titikṣā, or tolerance.” (Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, verse 24)titikṣā śītoṣṇādi-dvandva-sahiṣṇutā “Titikṣā is the endurance of heat and cold and the other pairs of opposites.

.. therefore that realization will be possible only at the transcendence of any duality, both of pain and pleasure, both sorrow and happiness, both darkness and light. This involves going beyond the mind which is the source of all devision... We can refer to light as the successful result of transcending darkness, however, this would form a new fracture. The Whole is beyond both darkness and light... and that... is you... The majority of religious and spiritual paths teach us techniques and methods to go beyond darkness, to transcend obscurity. The religious effort and the spiritual practices are destined to lead us to that situation beyond darkness. However, there is another curtain which hides The Truth, the veil of Light...You can exert yourself to surpass darkness, but nothing of whatever you practice, do or realize can draw the curtain of Light...The religious path is difficult because it is not only about transcending pain and suffering, but also pleasure and happiness, only beyond duality bliss is found...Bliss and happiness are not the same, the last is only the opposite of pain, sorrow and suffering, while bliss or ānanda is absolute...

As long as opposites exist, there will be conflicts and we will continue to flee from one extreme only to rush headlong to the other, striving to obtain what we like and to reject what we don’t like.

ītāmbaraḥ prathama-yauvana-garva-dhārīśrī-vatsa-kaustubha-dharo dhṛtavedabāhuḥ"May Hari, who is within it(within the bindu, in the middle of svādhiśṭhāna-cakra), whose body is of luminous blue, beautiful to behold, who is dressed in yellow raiment, who is in the pride of early youth, is four-armed and wears the śrī-vatsa curl of hair, and thekaustubha jewel, protect us!"Within the tri-murti or Vedic triad, where Brahmā is the creator, and Śiva the destroyer, Viṣṇu is in charge of the maintaining the cosmic order. Therefore, it is natural that Viṣṇu, the preserver aspect of God, would be the deity of a center related with sexuality, because without sex, living beings would become extinct. The fact that the first place in the Tri-mūrtiis occupied by Brahmā, does not mean that Viṣṇu is secondary or inferior. According to the Padma-purāṇa, LordViṣṇu is the principal deity, because it was He who divided Himself into creator, preserver and destroyer. Vaishnavism considers Viṣṇu to be the supreme God while according to Gauḍīya Vaishnavismthe Supreme Divinity, and the source, even ofViṣṇu, is Lord Kṛṣṇa. Viśṇu, also known as Mahāviṣṇu, represents the sattva-guna, or the modality of benevolence. His name means "omnipresent", indicating that He is both the immanent and transcendant reality. Another common name of Viṣṇu is Nārāyaṇa, which means “He who has made the hearts of human beings His abode”. His bed is the serpent Śeṣa or Ananta, which floats over the waters of the ocean of milk or kṣīra-samudra, also called the “causal ocean”. Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, gently massages his sacred lotus feet.From his navel a lotus flower grows,from which is born Brahmā,creator of the universe. Due to the fact that his skin color is a dark shade of blue, like a cloud heavy with rain, he is described as Nīla-megha-śyāma. He carries a garland called Vaijayantī, which represents the subtle elements or bhūta-tanmātras. His omnipresence is represented by his four arms, which symbolize the four cardinal points, and which hold a lotus flower or padma, a conchor śaṅkha, a disk or cakra and agolden mallet or gadā.

“Then the Maheśvara and the Sāmba, and the Saura, which are collections of all the topics. Another was composed by Parāśara and then the Mārīca and the Upapurāṇa known as Bhārgava.”

aṣṭādaśaṁ samuddiṣṭaṁ

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.

His Holiness Śrī Śrīmat Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī

Therefore it is not a relationship of a “lover” and a “beloved”, because the existence of the lover and the beloved is interdependent. Only for as long as the devotee continues to exist as “someone”, will Īṣvara continue to exist.Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad Gita (11.54)Bhaktyā tv anayayā śakyaAham evaṁ-vidho ‘rjunajnātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvenapraveṣṭuṁ ca parantapa“But only through integral devotion, is it possible to see me in this form, know me and also enter into Me. O! Arjuna! Destroyer of enemies!”The path of bhakti begins with the worship of a divine form and blossoms into knowledge and wisdom, until it finally penetrates the mystery of existence, the Self, God…the mystery of this “Me” that Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks of, lying in the most intimate part of our being. Bhakti is this penetration that Lord Kṛṣṇa is describing. Love for the Self, of the Self, in the Self, from the Self and through the Self-- is experienced deep within…in the depths, where the blessed Self reveals Itself in Itself, as absolute love.

loko|api tāvadeva bhojanādi vyāpārastvāśarīradhāraṇāvadhi | Traducción: Las costumbres sociales y las prácticas también deben seguirse; pero actividades como obtener comida deben continuar en la medida necesaria para preservar la salud del cuerpo y mantenerlo hasta la muerte. Comentario:"Las costumbres sociales y las prácticas también deben seguirse".Al iluminarte abandonarás conceptos e ideas acerca de ti mismo, creencias y conclusiones acerca de lo que eres...Al florecer el amor por Dios en tu corazón, abandonarás naturalmente adicciones y apegos... Sin embargo no abandonarás la religión, las costumbres sociales, la tradición ni las prácticas, reglas y regulaciones recomendadas por las sagradas escrituras...Los principios éticos y morales de yama y niyama evidentemente deben ser mantenidos... Tampoco se trata de abandonar nuestras obligaciones para con nuestro país, sociedad y familia... sino de ampliar nuestro corazón para incluir y abrazar a todos los países, toda la sociedad humana y todas las familias del mundo...El amor es siempre inclusivo y nunca exclusivo...El devoto puro vive en el mundo, sólo que sin pertenecer a éste, sin dejarse controlar por éste... aunque vive en la sociedad no olvida a quien pertenece realmente...Aunque vive entre los hombres su corazón mora en Dios...Vida religiosa no significa abandonar la familia, el trabajo y la sociedad e irse a un bosque a meditar, la vida espiritual no es para escapistas...El devoto puro del Señor lleva una vida ética muy elevada, sin descuidar las buenas costumbres de la sociedad en la cual se ha educado, el hecho de estar situado trascendentalmente no justifica una transgresión de los valores morales..."Actividades como obtener comida deben continuar en la medida necesaria para preservar la salud del cuerpo y mantenerlo hasta la muerte"... Hay una gran diferencia entre alimentarnos para vivir y vivir para comer, la salud es importantísima porque la enfermedad puede ser un serio obstáculo para la vida religiosa, para tal efecto puede ser muy beneficioso mantener una simple dieta vegetariana, sin consumir carne, huevos ni pescados... sin ajo ni cebollas... Tampoco es recomendable el consumo de té, café, cigarrillos... por supuesto tampoco sustancias tóxicas como alcohol o drogas.

Furthermore, these 28 are classified into four groups:

Alternative translation for oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ (more litteral):

Through karma-yoga we understand that instead of observing what is occurring, we have adopted the position of the doer; our error has been to believe ourselves to be the doers of what is happening to us.  When the karma-yogi renounces the position of doer to adopt that of witness, he ceases to ascribe to himself both the actions as well as their results.  Karma is created by our reactions to what is happening. If we observe instead of reacting, the accumulation of karma will end. The action that accompanies a living human being is as natural as his breathing. Breathing can be both an occurrence as well as an action; both something that we do as well as a phenomenon that occurs.  Whether it will be one or the other will directly depend upon our attitude towards it. Just as with our actions, when we breathe, we may take on the role of “the one who breathes”, the “actor”, or “doer”. We may attribute the act of breathing to ourselves, perceiving that we are the one who inhales deeply, and then exhales, completely emptying the lungs. Also, as “the one who breathes” we may perceive ourselves as holding the breath for a specific period of time.However, we can transform the respiratory process from being an action that we perform, to being an occurrence. If we just observe without interfering, the breathing will be simply what happens, what occurs.As the witness or observer, this attitude of not interfering in the process of inhaling and exhaling encourages our disappearance, since there is no need for a “someone” who breathes.Meditation in movement is not only to observe our actions but to observe the doer. Instead of adopting the position of the “doer” of the action, we observe both the action and the actor. This radical departure from the doer to the witness is a matter of consciousness, because to take the position of the witness requires observation and therefore more consciousness. The reactions of the actor are mechanical, making him nothing more than a machine. Karma-yoga is the conversion of robotic reactions into conscious actions, because only this transformation can end the accumulation of karma.

To surrender to God is to disappear as a part and become dissolved in the Whole. What is extraordinary to understand about this process is that surrender, or your disappearance as a separate entity from the Whole, is deeply linked to observation, though which the witness acquires solidity, and the substantiality of the observed is weakened. Thus, the illusion of your existence as an entity will decrease according to the intensity of your attention. You will cease to perceive consciousness and attention as a faculty that resides in you, to experience yourself as an integral part of consciousness and attention. Surrender to God is this letting go, this abandoning yourself to Consciousness. The disappearance of the illusory gives way to the real, gives way to God.

The lotus flower symbolizes the evolution and development of the universe, the seashell symbolizes the five elements or pañca-bhūta, the disk represents the cosmic mind andthe mallet the cosmic intellect. His vehicle is the loyal Garuḍa, Lord of the birds. To Viṣṇu are attributed six different divine glories: jñāna or knowledge, aiśvarya or mystic powers, śakti or potency, bala or power, vīrya or virility, andtejas or radiance.Goddess: The goddess of this chakra is the goddess Rākinī, who is found seated on a two-foldlotus. Her color is blue and her three eyes are reddish. She is heavily adorned with beautiful ornaments. Her protruding teeth give her a ferocious aspect and in her four hands she carries a hatchet, a trident, a lotus flower and a drum. She is the goddess of the vegetable world, suggesting that vegetarianism is essential to transcend this center.atraiva bhāti satataṁ khalu rākiṇī sānīlāṁbujodara-sahodara-kāntiśobhānānāyudhodyatakarairlasitāṅgalakṣmirdivyāṁbarābharaṇa-bhūṣita-matta-cittā"It is here, in the svādhiśṭhāna where Rākiṇīalways dwells. She is of the colour of a blue lotus. The beauty of Her body is enhanced by Her uplifted arms holding various weapons. She is dressed in celestial raiment and ornaments, and Her mind is exalted with thedrinking of ambrosia." Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa(17)Element: Ap-tattvaor water. All liquid in the universe is an expression of the water element. It can be expressed on the macrocosmic level as the seas, lakes or rivers, or on the microcosmic level in our organism as the secretions of the alimentary canal, in the salivary glands, in the blood plasma and the mucous membranes. The relationship of the element of water with the svādhiśṭhāna chakra helps us to understand the connection of this center with fluids such as the circulation of the blood, the urinary excretions, bile, lymphatic fluid, transpiration, saliva, mother’s milk, etc. It is related to the tongue, the appetite, the reproductory apparatus and assimilation. It controls the sexual hormones and has an influence on the bladder, the kidneys, the sexual organs, the blood, the lymph and the gastric juices. When this element positively influences a person, he develops positive feelings towards others.

Our mental and emotional states are clearly manifested through different tones of voice. When we are annoyed, we express ourselves in a specific tone of voice and when we are joyful we do so in another, totally different voice. Emotions such as joy, fear, nervousness, affection, pride, love and dislike can be perceived more easily through the tone of voice. There is no better instrument to transmit enthusiasm and energy than our voice.  Following this path but in the opposite direction, it is possible to positively affect our deeper levels, be they emotional, mental, or energetic, by developing a certain mastery over our voice. Therefore, there are masters that utilize this yogic method therapeutically.Nāda-yoga teaches that the voice is a door towards knowledge of oneself and transcendence.The nāda-yogÄ« is able to harmonize and balance his chakras, his energetic currents and emotions, as well as his physical, astral and causal bodies, through ancient meditations by singing the sargam or ‘notes of the scale’ in their proper order.One of the practices of nāda-yoga is called “the sound of the chakras”. This is very ancient technique that utilizes the voice as an instrument and it is especially focused on awakening the auditory capacity in order to hear the sounds stemming from the chakras. As a consequence of its practice, the chakras are harmonized, and peace and tranquility blossom. In more advanced stages, this practice is capable of creating in us the ideal conditions for enlightenment to occur.Instructions:Seat yourself comfortably in a meditative posture with the eyes closed, keeping your back straight, but relaxed. In this technique we must relax the jaw, because throughout its execution the mouth remains open. Focusing within, direct your attention towards the first chakra. Situate yourself in it completely, and make the sound with your voice that puts you in tune with the first chakra. Then keep silent and try to feel the sound vibration stemming from the first chakra. Proceed in the same way successively, with the second chakra and so on, repeating the process until you reach the seventh energetic center.

Translation:

Music can truly be appreciated only by those souls who have attained purity, who have been stripped of all worldliness, and who see in this path towards the Self, a door to God.More than a matter of intellectual study, nāda-yoga is a wisdom that blossoms from a certain direct and existential experience, which is confirmed in theHaṭha-yoga-pradīpikā, (4.65):aśakya-tattva-bodhānāṁmūḍhānām api saṁmatamproktaṁ gorakṣanāthenanādopāsanam ucyate“Now is described the practice of nāda, which was delivered by Gorakṣanātha, and which can be accepted even by those who are incapable of understanding the principles of the Truth and who are illiterate”.And in the following verse (4.66) we read:śrī ādināthena sapāda-koṭi-laya-prakārāḥ kathitā jayantinādānusandhānakam ekam evamanyāmahe mukhya-tamaṁ layānām"Śrī Ādināntha mentions twelve and a half million ways to reach laya, but we think that the only way is nādānusandhānak, or the exploration of nāda."The divine sound Divinity Itself describes itself as a sound or vibration in this interesting verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (7.8):raso ‘ham apsu kaunteyaprabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥpraṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣuśabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu"¡O, son of Kuntī!, I am the taste of water, the light of both the Sun and the Moon, the sacred Oṁ of the Vedic mantras; I am the sound of ether and the ability of man.”In the Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā (4.1), its author Svātmārāma refers to the Ultimate Reality as being of the nature of nāda, bindu and kalā:namaḥ śivāya guravenāda-bindu-kalātmanenirañjana-padaṁ yātinityaṁ tatra parāyaṇaḥ"Our humble reverences to Śiva, the guru and spiritual master, who is considered nāda, bindu and kalā. He who is constantly dedicated to Him realizes the eternal, transcendental and pure state.”According to nāda-yoga, the entire universe is vibration, from the atom and the cell at the microcosmic level, to the planets and galaxies at the macrocosmic level. According to this ancient path of realization, the entire cosmic manifestation is the projection of a sound vibration. All creation is sound vibrating at different frequencies. Thus, modern science today has reached the same conclusions that Sanatana-dharma has taught for thousands of years.

By himself, the disciple has no separate existence. It is not a Sanskrit name or a ceremony of initiation that transforms someone from an individual into a disciple, but the readiness to renounce his darkness. A true spiritual master has the capacity to awaken and completely destroy the darkness of the disciple, just as light is capable of completely destroying the darkness. Therefore, the disciple is one who has developed the readiness to renounce his shadows, his obscurity and his darkness.We must be very clear that in speaking of the spiritual master we are not referring to a profession such as a lawyer or a doctor, we are referring to religion and spirituality, where everything is intimately connected with the soul, and where authority proceeds from the spirit.oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasyajñānāñjana-śalākayācakṣur unmīlitaṁ yenatasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ"I was born in the obscurity of ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torchlight of wisdom. To my spiritual master I offer my most respectful and humble reverences.” (Gautamīya Tantra).The spiritual master is the most faithful expression of the absolute within the limits of the relative. It is expressed in his silence, in his gaze, in his gestures, in his very presence. To study religion is to seat oneself close to a master, to perceive his silence which is the melody that flows from his soul, and the presence of totality in which he is established, here in the present moment. Perceiving the silence that flows from the master, we recognize the silence in the depths of our soul. As we come near to and encounter the guru, we discover where we really are. The distance that you feel from him is the distance that you experience from yourself because closeness to the master is closeness to ourselves. The relation of the master to disciple is an encounter of the absolute with the dual, of the divine with the human, of wisdom with ignorance, of light with darkness. The dual disappears in the absolute, the human merges with the divine, and ignorance is dispersed by wisdom, just as darkness disappears in the presence of light.

(Just a remark, not meant as suggestion to be put in:

”Other examples of this devotional attitude in the Ṛig Veda are verse 1.171.1, where the saint Agastya honors Indra and the Maruts, verse 8.14.10 in which Indra is praised, verse 1.156.3 in which the glorification of God is mentioned, verse 1.156.2, referring to the repetition of the Holy Names and surrender to the Lord, verse 8.98.11, which mentions the love of God, verse 6.47.17 which refers to the search for God by his devotees, or verse 10.82.3 which refers to God as our most intimate beloved.Sayaṅa has classified the deities of the hymns of the Ṛig Veda into three different groups: the earthly deities (Agni and Soma), the middle world deities (Indra and the Maruts) and the celestial deities (Varuna, the Sun and Uchas).In spite of the fact that the upanishads are the base and foundation of jnana yoga, they are not exempt from the spirit of bhakti. In many of their pages, we can find verses of a devotional character. An example may be seen in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.18)yo bramāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁyo vai vedāṁśca prahiṇoti tasmaitaṁ ha devaṁ ātmabuddhiprakāśaṁmumukṣurvai śaraṇamahaṁ prapadye“First I created Brahmā and then I introduced the Vedas. I, who am a seeker of liberation, take refuge in the radiant Lord who reveals the self-knowledge in the mind.”In the same Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23) we read:yasya debe parā bhaktiḥ yathā debe tathā gurautasyaite kathitā hyarrthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥprakāśante mahātmana iti“He who has transcendental love for the Lord and for his spiritual master is truly a great soul. The truths explained by such a person will reveal their own meaning.”Another example is found in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.23):nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyona medhayā na bahunā śrutenayamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyastasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām“The Self cannot be understood through learning, through the power of the intellect, or by hearing it from many sources. It can only be understood by one whom the Self Itself chooses. Before him, the Self reveals its identity.

After death, the killers of the soul go to the worlds of the demons, covered by blinding darkness.

Ghoṣā Kākṣīvatī (the author of the Ṛg-Veda 10.40.05 and Ṛg-Veda 39.1-14)

Commentary:

Yoga is union with reality in the sense that its system, its words, all that is found in the revealed scriptures, our words, which we are speaking today, do not have as their object to add new information or new ideas or a new concept or doctrine or philosophy; this is not the purpose of what we are doing here, this is not the purpose of religion.

Kuṇḍalinī-yoga considers the cleanliness and purification of the sādhaka in all his different aspects to be essential. Therefore, the sādhana of this yogic path includes kāya-śuddhi or "the cleaning of the physical body”, nāḍī-śuddhior "the purification of the nāḍīs" and citta-śuddhi or"mental purification”.Kāya-śuddhi:physical hygiene is one of the mostbasic requirements of all spiritual practice. The fundamental method is snāna or the washing of our body.Within kāya-śuddhi we find the practice of thevinyāsas andāsanas of haṭha-yoga, whichtones the nervous system, giving it the capacity to withstand the intensity of the awakening and ascension of thekuṇḍalinī.Nāḍī-śuddhi: There are various different methods to purify the nadīs, which can be both samanu and nirmanu, with or without the repetition of thebīja-mantras.In nāḍī-śuddhi different types of mudrās and bandhas are used to regulate the flow of the vital energy. Kriyās andprāṇāyāma exercises are also employed.Citta-śuddhi: In mental purification, japa or the systematic repetition of the mantra is used. Citta-śuddhi occurs as a natural consequence ofdhāraṇā or concentration.To begin our path on the way of kuṇḍalinī, it will be necessary to strengthen ourselves and purify our intentions, because as long as our attitude is that of aspiring for personal gains, then no matter how much we practice, the divine power will not awaken.Therefore, development within this yoga implies a renunciation of our attitude of exploitation and any egoistic desire to obtain health, mystic powers, fame, etc.Since the practice of techniques will evidentally beinsufficient to purify us, it is necessarywhen undertaking this path and its different techniques, to develop the spiritofkarma-yoga, or selfless service.Thus, one can practicekuṇḍalinī-yoga by offering a glass of water to the thirsty, helping the needy or giving food to the hungry.Until we open our heartsand embrace selfless service as an integral part of our lives, we will not know purity.And without this appropriate foundation to create the propitious situation it will be very difficult for anything to really happen.

” (HYP 4.18)And it is also mentioned in the Upanishads:dvā-saptati-sahasrāṇipratināḍīṣu taitilam“In each of the 72,000 nādÄ«s, there is a material which is like oil”. Ká¹£urikopaniá¹£ad 17b2.        The mano-maya-kośa is the mental sheath, which consists of the instinctive mind, and includes as much the manas as the citta; that is to say, the seat of desires and the governance of the sensory and motor organs. It includes the five senses of knowledge, or jñānendriyas, which are: hearing, touch, vision, taste and smell.3.         The vijñāna-maya-kośa is the intellectual sheath, which includes the ego or ahaṅkāra, that is to say, "what we believe ourselves to be", the idea of "I" that relates what happens to itself and perceives itself as “the doer”, and the buddhi, the intellect or discriminating principle that evaluates and decides.Mudrās, bandhas and kriyāsIn addition to the above-mentioned, haá¹­ha-yoga includes mudrās and bandhas, which are practices or techniques that require highly elevated levels of concentration and which are often interrelated. In the Haá¹­ha-yoga-pradÄ«pikā (chapter 3, verses 6 and 7) they are referred to as the "destroyers of old age and death.”mahā-mudrā mahā-bandhomahā-vedhaś ca khecarÄ«uḍḍīyānaṁ mÅ«la-bandhaś cabandho jālandharābhidhaḥ karaṇī viparÄ«tākhyāvajrolÄ« śakti-cālanamidaṁ hi mudrā-daśakaṁjarā-maraṇa-nāśanam“Mahā-mudrā, mahā-bandha, mahā-vedha, khecarÄ«, uḍḍīyāna-bandha, mÅ«la-bandha, jālandhara-bandha, viparÄ«ta-karaṇī, vajrolÄ« and śakti-cālana, this is the group of ten mudrās which destroy old age and death.”tasmāt sarva prayatnenaprabodhayitum īśvarÄ«mbrahmarandra-mukhe suptāṁmudrābhyāsaṁ samācaret"Therefore, in order to awaken the goddess, who is asleep in the mouth of the Brahmarandra (the innermost hollow of the nāḍī suá¹£umṇā) the mudrās must be practiced with the greatest care.” Śiva-saṁhitā (4.

It is said that the Veda is prabhu-sammitam or “given by God”, while the Āgamas are called āpta-vakya, or “the word of the bona fide beings”. While this literature does not claim its authority directly from the Vedas, it is completely Vedic in spirit, and is thus accepted and respected as fully authorized. The texts of the Āgamas are actually not very accessible to the general public.Even today, some are only available in the form of manuscripts, while unfortunately the great majority of those which have come into print have only been published in Sanskrit.

Demons do not deserve rage, hatred or rancor, but only our compassion. Sinners suffer a great deal, even more than their victims, because they only reveal their own internal misery. Their behavior is a mere symptom of self destruction...

His Holiness Śrī Swami Kṛṣṇānanda

Chapter 3Haṭha-yogaIn searching for our true nature, we must search within ourselves. Therefore, it is useless to focus our investigation and efforts on what is far from us. Instead, we must learn to direct our questions toward what is nearest. Haṭha-yoga teaches us that any journey, however long, must begin where we are now. Before buying a ticket to travel to some distant city or country, we need to know our point of departure. This is what this yogic path suggests. It invites us to start on the search from the closest thing to us right now - our own body - it is an invitation to experience - to realize, to live, and finally, to transcend the body.As the Viśva-sāra-tantra (verse 59) says:kāraṇa-śarīra yad ihāsthi tad ānyatrayan nehāsthi na tat kvacit"What is here is everywhere, and what is not found here, is not anywhere."It may seem odd to many people that religion can include an activity like haṭha-yoga, which appears merely physical. They might have the impression that engaging with the body in one way or another is a material and mundane activity having no relation to spiritual life. This misconception is easily understood in view of the negative and misleading attitudes of certain Western religious institutions, which mistakenly view the body as an instrument for sin and an obstacle to spiritual progress. We attribute such attitudes to religious institutions and not to religion, because the Bible instills an attitude of appreciation toward the body, as we find in 1 Corinthians 6.19: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is within you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"In Vedic literature, there are many texts that reflect the attitude of Hinduism and the East toward the human body. For example, in the sacred Bhagavad-gītā (3.8) we may verify the importance that the body holds for Lord Kṛṣṇa:n

In a similar way, through appropriate suggestions and mental messages it is possible to calm muscles that are tired and tense. Relaxation carried out in an attentive and relaxed way, helps to restore the energetic balance of the body, noticeably improving the quality of life. Its practice renews the energy of the organism when it depleted and even prolongs life. 2.         Relaxation in the emotional and mental aspects: Few can relax the mind in a conscious way. Yoga offers us an essential key by teaching that the body and the mind are two aspects of the same phenomenon and that the state of one is directly tied to the other. In this way, we can consciously induce a state of mental calmness through muscular relaxation. The physical body provides us with a path that allows us to influence more subtle spheres of our reality, mental as well as emotional.3.        Spiritual relaxation: Although relaxation brings repose to our physical body, and a certain calmness in the mental and emotional spheres, we realize that true peace is of the soul. Mental and physical relaxation are actually a preparation for spiritual relaxation to happen. The mind can be calmed, but cannot experience peace. Peace is the absence of the mind. Peace is a state in which the constant movement of the thoughts is completely stopped. Spiritual relaxation is only possible when we disidentify with the body and the mind. It means the discovery of our authentic nature as Pure Consciousness. Spiritual relaxation is repose in the Self, it is to relax in God, it is reserved for the great souls who have achieved an elevated level of interior cleanliness and have been graced with purity (photo number 220).The astral bodyThe human being is a multidimensional structure and there are various sheaths that envelop his soul: the physical body, called in Sanskrit the anna-maya-kośa, the astral body, called the liṅga-śarÄ«ra or sÅ«ká¹£ma-śarÄ«ra, and which includes three layers, and the causal body or kāraṇa-śarÄ«ra, with its sheath of bliss called the ānanda-maya-kośa.

Never hate those who have tried to hurt you or harm you, believe me that the destructive conduct of the demons is just the proof of their pain and suffering, as they are burnt in the same fire with which they want to burn...

“For the protection of the pious and the destruction of the faithless, and to establish religion, I manifest in the different ages.”

The reality perceived through this instrument appears evidently fractured, not because it really is, but because the mind has divided reality by projecting itself upon it. Our being is so fragmented that we cannot claim to have an experience of totality, a vision of the Whole. Thus, the main obstacle to a holistic vision of reality is the intellect. Due to its very structure and nature, thought has no chance at all of perceiving life in its totality, because is itself division.

”As well we read in the Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):yasya deve parā bhaktiryathā deve tathā gurautasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥprakāśante mahātmanaḥ“He who possesses transcendental love for the Lord and for his spiritual master is truly a great soul. The truths explained by such a person will reveal their own meaning.”Thus, according to the Sanātana-dharma, it is only possible to attain the Divine through an authentic spiritual master.It is said that the Lord does not agree to receive just anyone who desires to see him. However, He cannot resist satisfying the desire of His devotee, the spiritual master. Therefore, if the devotee asks Him, the Lord will agree to receive us in His blessed presence. For example, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (10.10.25), Lord Kṛṣṇa says:devarṣir me priyatamoyad imau dhanadātmajautat tathā sādhayiṣyāmiyad gītaṁ tan mahātmanā"These two young men are the sons of Kubera, who is extremely rich. I am not concerned with them, but since Devarṣi Nārada is My dearly beloved devotee, and he wishes me to personally present Myself before them, I must do so for their liberation".In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (4.9.3) we find the following:śrutaṁ hy eva me bhagavad-dṛśebhyaācāryāddhaiva vidyā viditā sādhiṣṭhaṁ prāpatītitasmai haitad evovācātra ha na kiñcana vīyāyeti"Because it has been heard from the lips of respectable beings like yourself, that only the wisdom that is learned directly from a guru is capable of guiding us to the supreme. The master then taught him the same thing he had learned , with nothing kept aside and nothing left out. "What this verse is saying is that only wisdom acquired from an authentic spiritual master or ācārya is truly valuable. What is found in the pages of a book can give you knowledge, information and even wisdom, but a book cannot give you the association and interaction with a master, with a saint, and it will be only this association that will finally determine whether the nature of your learning process will be practical, or remain merely theoretical.

The term "killer of the soul" can appear at first sight as a contradiction, as we are taught by the Holy Scriptures that the soul is eternal. It says in the Bhagavad-gita (2.17):

..Es decir que sin la pena no podría existir la alegría y sin la tristeza no existiría la felicidad...Solamente aquello que nos causa pena puede también alegrarnos, así como únicamente lo que es capaz de producirnos goce es capaz de entristecernos...En la misma medida en que expandimos nuestra felicidad, la posibilidad de la tristeza crece, mientras más alegre estés mayor es la posibilidad de estar triste...La miseria está compuesta tanto de felicidad como de tristeza... trascender la miseria significa ir más allá de la alegría y la pena...Trascendiendo la miseria realizas ananda o la bienaventuranza, la dicha divina la cual es absoluta... El devoto vive en la dicha y por lo tanto no se alegra por nada...Se enfatiza la alegría porque para todo aquel que se encuentra en el sendero religioso, es muy fácil trascender el dolor, la amargura y la tristeza... lo que sí es problemático y difícil es ir más allá del placer, la alegría y la felicidad..."No se alegra por nada" ... porque no precisa "algo" o "alguien" para ser feliz ...La dicha no depende de tu cuenta bancaria, tu fama, tus riquezas o del sexo ...La dicha es una manifestación de un estado de conciencia ...El placer es del cuerpo, la alegría y la felicidad de la mente, es psicológica y la dicha es del alma ...El placer calma y otorga alivio ... la felicidad nos ayuda a crecer, enriquece ... la dicha eres tú ...Puedes estar feliz o tener alegría ... dichoso puedes sólo ser ...El devoto es ananda ... es dicha ...Notsāhī bhavati o "no actúa motivado egoístamente"...Corremos tras el dinero, la fama, el honor y el sexo... nos esforzamos por poseer una casa grande, un auto nuevo y riquezas...Corremos buscando poseer a alguien que nos ame, crear una familia que nos ame y dé calor...El esfuerzo por alcanzar ambiciones y satisfacer nuestros deseos personales se origina en el simple hecho que nos percibimos a nosotros mismos como desconectados del Todo... Separados de Dios.

brāhmaṁ purāṇaṁ prathamaṁ

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…

Selfless service is intrinsic to the human beingIn an interdependent reality where unity expresses itself in diversity, no one is exempt from service. Service is an intrinsic quality of the human being. The soldier serves the army; the householder his family; the mother, her child; the worker, the factory; the minister, the government and the president, the citizens. When one does not have anyone to serve, he seeks out a dog, cat, or perhaps a little bird, to be able to serve. We have all known people who boast of not having to serve anyone, who smoke, drink alcohol, consume drugs, and indulge in indiscriminate illicit sex. While they do so believing that they are free to do anything they please and that they serve no one, they are actually serving their own mind with its endless demands. Service is inevitable for everyone, but the choice to serve our mind or to serve God is actually the only freedom that we have in this life. Karma- yoga is the worship of God through our work, our service.The world suffers from misery, hunger, crime, disease and so on. The karma-yogī knows that no matter how much one tries, one can never completely end these evils. Even if he works for the benefit of humanity, there will always be misery in the world; even if he donates all his possessions, poverty will linger on. He knows that building thousands of hospitals will not end the suffering of disease and old age. Even if we managed to succeed in a pacifist campaign to stop all wars and violence on the planet, people would still continue to die. Death is inevitable. We may ask ourselves - why work and serve humanity if we are convinced that we can never put an end to its suffering? In explanation, the karma-yogi would say, this is like asking someone who runs for hours on a treadmill, where he is trying to reach.The runner is not trying to reach a particular destination; he has no intention of reaching anywhere. Instead, running itself is his goal, because it benefits his health, prevents his muscles from withering, improves his circulation, and so on.

“The Śruti and the Smṛti are undoubtedly My teachings. O fair one, while offering your oblations, abide by these (Śruti and Śruti). O Devī, one cannot attain Me, even with all of his possessions, if he surpasses My teachings.”

Herein lies the importance of the care that we must put into everything that arrives to us through the senses. Through the association with the great souls —which is called sat-saṅga— we create saṁskāras of peace, but, if we bring ourselves in contact with rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa through, for example, the movies we watch on television, the music that we listen to, the books that we read or the food that we eat, we can create negative saṁskāras. Therefore, the association with genuine seekers of the Truth is extremely important.The five types of mental modificationsThe vṛittis are mental waves in the lake of citta which comprise the mental activity. The desires give rise to the vṛttis; thus, they are born from ignorance. Even in a normal person, the vṛttis are innumerable. According to the sage Patañjali they can be divided, basically, into five types, as listed in his Yoga-sūtras (1.6):pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidrā-smṛtayaḥ“The five different classes of mental modifications are: correct knowledge, incorrect interpretation, verbal illusion, sleep and memory.”1. Pramāṇa or correct knowledge: valid, reliable and trustworthy knowledge that is based on facts. According to rāja-yoga, three means of cognition exist that are acceptable for the acquisition of valid knowledge. They are described in the Yoga-sūtras (1.7):pratyakṣānumānāgamāḥ pramāṇāni“Correct knowledge is established through direct perception, inference and reliable testimony.”These sources of knowledge are all valid, provided that they do not contradict one another.1.1. Pratyakṣa is perception through our senses, the medium through which we obtain the cognition of objects and their characteristics. This gives us the ability to discern and differentiate. This is the only medium to acquire knowledge that an ordinary person relies upon. Obviously, pratyakṣa will only be valid and trustworthy if the senses are not under the influence of substances such as alcohol or drugs.1.2. Anumāna is inference or deduction, the means by which we know the general characteristics of an object or situation, not necessarily by perceiving them with the senses, but relying on our knowledge of the traits of similar objects which are known to be absent from dissimilar objects. Thus, Ānumānā uses reasoning and logic to acquire knowledge without physical perception.

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.

anno viṣṇuḥ pracodayāt 1.10. The gāyatrī of Mother Lakṣmī is:OṁMahā-devyai Ca VidmaheViṣṇu-patnyai Ca DhīmahiTanno Lakṣmīḥ Pracodayāt 1.11. There are five million different mantras attributed to Lord Gaṇeśa. His gāyatrī is:OṁEka-dantāya VidmaheVakra-tuṇḍāya DhīmahiTanno Dantiḥ Pracodayāt1.12. The gāyatrī of Lord Śiva is:OṁTat-puruṣāya VidmaheMahā-devāya DhīmahiTanno Rudraḥ Pracodayāt1.13. The gāyatrī of Mother Durgā is:OṁKātyāyanyai VidmaheKanyā-kumāryai DhīmahiTanno Durgā Pracodayāt 1.14 The gāyatrī mantra of Mother Sarasvatī is: OṁVāg-devyai Ca VidmaheViriñci-patnyai Ca DhīmahiTanno Vāṇī Pracodayāt1.13 The Śakti-gāyatrī is:OṁSarva-saṁmohinyai VidmaheViśva-jananyai DhīmahiTanno Śaktiḥ Pracodayāt1.14 The gāyatrī mantra of Lord Brahmā is: OṁCatur-mukhāya VidmaheHaṁsārūḍhāya DhīmahiTanno Brahmā Pracodayāt1.15 The Indra-gāyatrī is: OṁSahasra-netrāya VidmaheVajra-hastāya DhīmahiTanno Indraḥ Pracodayāt1.16 The Agni-gāyatrī is:OṁMahā-jvālāya VidmaheAgni-devāya DhīmahiTanno Agniḥ Pracodayāt 1.17 The Nārāyaṇa-gāyatrī is:OṁNārāyaṇāya VidmaheVāsudevāya DhīmahiTanno Viṣṇuḥ Pracodayāt 1.18 The gāyatrī of the spiritual master, the guru, is:OṁGuru-devāya VidmaheParabrahmaṇe DhīmahiTanno Guruḥ Pracodayāt1.19 The Hayagrīva-gāyatrī is:oṁVāg-īśvarāya VidmaheHaya-grīvāya DhīmahiTanno Haṁsaḥ Pracodayāt1.20 The Varuṇa-gāyatrī is: OṁJala-bimbāya VidmaheNīla-puruṣāya DhīmahiTanno Varuṇaḥ Pracodayāt1.21 The gāyatrī of the deity of the Sun or Sūrya-gāyatrī is:oṁBhāskarāya VidmaheDivākarāya DhīmahiTanno Sūryaḥ Pracodayāt1.22 The Candra-gāyatrī is:OṁKṣīra-putrāya vidmaheamṛtatvāya dhīmahitanno candraḥ pracodayātNirguṇa-mantras2.

Attachment is love of the mundane and earthly, love is attachment in full consciousness. When the ego loves, it is called attachment, when the soul is attached we call it love. Love is attachment of the enlightened being. Attachment is love of the earthly, while love is attachment to God. Divine loveThe essence of God is love. Being integral parts of God, the very essence of what we really are is love. In every one of us, there pulsates the innate need to love. Love is for the soul what breathing is for the body. The entire world loves someone or something in one way or another, and that love is a manifestation of the divine spark within everyone.Different people give different directions to their love. There are those who place their love in a country in their family, in a basketball or football team, in a political party or in possessions, in their profession or in money.Similarly, there are those who devote their love towards a canary, a parrot, their dog or cat. However, no matter where we place our love, we will never feel completely content. Ultimately, we will always feel that our affections are only partially returned. The bhakta reaches the understanding that no matter what we love, there is no partial expression of love that can completely totally satisfy this need, because as long as we are drinking from a mirage in the desert, our hearts will remain thirsty.Love is divine, it is “of” and “for” God, it belongs to and is destined for God. If we are thirsty, we will not satiate our thirst by wetting our hands, feet or head. We will only appease our thirst for water by drinking it.In the same way that food is intended to be ingested by the mouth, the highest expression of love is revealed when it is directed to the divine. Although the human body has other orifices, only by offering the food to the mouth can it reach the stomach and allow all of our organs to receive the necessary nutrients naturally.

30-31-32):1.        The yamas or abstentions.The yamas comprise both our internal cleanliness as well as our behavior within human society. They are capable of creating a situation of harmony and peace in our interior world as well as in our relationship with samasṛsapeká¹£a, our surroundings, or society. In cultivating a favorable situation, one cannot ignore our relationship with the social environment.ahiṁsā satyāsteya brahmacaryāparigrahā yamāḥ “Nonviolence (ahiṁsā), truthfulness (satya), abstention from stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacarya) and no acquisition of possessions (aparigrahā) are the restrictions (yamas).” (Yoga-sÅ«tras 2.30) 1.1.                Ahiṁsā: Nonviolence, abstention from hurting any creature by thought, word or action. The commentator Vyāsa offers the following explanation in his famous Bhāṣya on the Yoga-sÅ«tras of Patañjali (2.30):tatrāhiṁsā sarvathā sarvadā sarva-bhÅ«tānām anabhidrohaḥ “Nonviolence is to abstain from injuring any being in any way at any time.”Ahiṁsā finds its highest expression in the discovery that the same essence that lies within every living being, dwells within us. Compassion, love, and nonviolence naturally emerge with the realization of the Self. We avoid doing to others what we would not like done to us, and the others disappear with our awakening to the reality that only God really is, that nothing exists apart from God. The natural consequence of a life based on ahiṁsā will be:ahiṁsā-pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat-sannidhau vaira-tyāgaḥ“Once nonviolence is established, in its presence, enmity is abandoned.” (Yoga-sÅ«tras 2.35)1.2.                Satya: Truthfulness, not lying, because the road of lies leads to misery. In his commentary on Yoga-sÅ«tra 2.30, Vyāsa explains:satyaṁ yathārthe vāṅ-manase yathā dṛṣṭaṁ yathānumitaṁ yathā śrutaṁ tathā vāṅ-manaś ceti“Truthfulness is when speech and mind correspond to reality, i.e. when speech and mind are according to that which has been seen, inferred and heard.

Serve: serve indiscriminately, seeing in everything and everyone the same divine essence that dwells within you.

"Know as indestructible that which is spread in everything. No one can destroy the immutable".

I have the feeling that if one wishes to grasp what I am speaking about, it is not going to be enough for him to remain on the surface of the ideas that I speak of, it will be necessary to go deeper. Because the world of facts, the world of reality is found in the depths.

athitā muni-puṅgavaiḥ“Being helpful in mantra-yoga, chiefly only two postures (āsanas) have been accepted, which are svastikāsana and padmāsana. Āsana-śuddhi (purification of āsana) is done by differentiation of āsana, purification of āsana and practice of āsana. The object on which a sādhaka should sit has been variously specified by the sages in Vedas and tantras..." (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 38.1-2)4.Pañca-aṅga-sevana or the service of the five aṅgas or limbs: Pañca-aṅga-sevana consists in the daily reading of the Bhagavad-gitā and the Sahasra-nāma, or "thousand names of God", as well as the recitation of stavana, or chants of glorification; kavaca, or mantras for protection; and hṛdaya, or hymns of glorification to our Iṣṭa-deva, which are intended to open the heart.The natural consequence of this very powerful method is the directionalization of our attention towards God. The intent of sadhana is not to obtain God as a result, nor is it a form of exchange by which we procure enlightenment. The divine experience is not an acquisition but it is something that happens by divesting oneself of all possessions. Any spiritual practice is intended to create the propitious situation for the celestial to happen to us, to allow something of God to occur in us. This is the idea that lies behind Pañca-aṅga-sevana.gītā sahasra-nāmānistavaḥ kavacam eva cahṛdayaṁ ceti pañcaitepañcāṅgaṁ procyate budhaiḥ svopāsanā-‘nusāreṇagītāyāḥ paṭhanād dhruvamsahasra-nāmādhyayanātsva-paddhaty-anusārataḥ stotrasya kavacasyāpihṛdayasya ca pāṭhataḥyoga-siddhim avāpnotiyogī vigata-kalmaṣaḥ “Gītā, sahasra-nāma (thousand names of the deity), stava (chanting), kavaca (mantras for protection), and hṛdaya (hymns of glorification) have been enumerated by the erudites as pañcāṇga (five organs). By daily reading of Gīta according to one’s own sect of worship and recitation of sahasra-nāma, stava, kavaca and hṛdaya according to one’s own sectarian procedures, a yogi divesting himself of impurities achieves yoga-siddhi (fulfillment of yogic aims)……" (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 40.

Brihaspatir uvaca, yajnavalkyam yandav kuru ksetram devanamdeva-yajanam sarvesham bhutanam brahma sadanam

Religion is an individual phenomenon, unlike blind religiosity, which is a social phenomenon. We must understand that they are very different, and not necessarily compatible, although there may be apparent similarities. Anything genuine can happen only in the individual sphere, never at the mass or public level, for the crowd breeds politics, fanaticism and demagogy. Only at the level of the individual is enlightenment attained.

And in the same Holy Bhagavad-gita (2.20) we read the following:

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.

* 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).

.. The mind is ātma-śakti, it is a mysterious power of the Ātman, it is an enigmatic capacity of the Self, who reveals himself as mind, because it is through the mind that the Divine is expressed as a reality of names and forms, in movement, as diversity, as the universe, God manifests Himself as the very same cosmos, as our whole reality, through the mind.It is through and by means of the mind that Brahman reveals itself as the reality of diversity in names and forms... However, however fast the it may be, wherever it goes, will only prove that the omnipresent Brahman is already there...Wherever the mind is directed to, it will only find that existence has already reached there, that life was already there before, since always and forever... because existence is its origin... just as it is expressed by the Brahma Sūtras ... athāto brahma jigñāsa... and then... janmādy asya yataḥ... The realization of that authentic "I am" or "self" which we find in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8):ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavomattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartateiti matvā bhajante māṁbudhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ"I am the origin of all. Everything emanates from me. This is known by the sage who worships me wholeheartedly"The realization what we really are is a state transcendental to the mind... yogas citta vṛtti nirodhaḥ... and therefore, transcendental to the senses...The mind is not something solid, it is movement and activity, the Self is peace, silence, quietude.In this verse the word devas refers to the senses, as it comes from the sanskrit root div which means "to illuminate", the senses are able to grasp all that is located in a certain distance from them, the objective world of forms...The senses cannot reach him, they are not capable of catching him, not because of remoteness, the reason is not that the Self is found beyond the limits of the universe, but because the Ātman is before them, he is their origin and source, just like the Self cannot be defined with words, not because it would be complicated but because He is found before them, before their source, before the thoughts.

The main bhandhas are as follows:1.        Jalandhāra-bandha: the throat lock, which involves the neck and stretches the upper area of the spine. (Photo number 240)2.         Uḍḍiyāna-bandha: The abdominal lock, which is concentrated in the area between the diaphragm and the pelvis (photo number 241).3.        MÅ«la-bandha: the lock of the perineum.4.        Mahā-bandha: the great lock that combines all three bandhas (photo number 242).It is essential to practice the bandhas on an empty stomach. A regular practice produces a high concentration of prāṇa, which leads to different benefits on the physical level, such as a general strengthening of the body, the curing of diseases, and even the awakening of different mystical powers, called siddhis.More information about these yogic practices can be found in the classic books on haá¹­ha-yoga, such as the Gheraṇḍa-saṁhitā, wherein the third chapter we find a description of twenty-five mudrās and bandhas. In the Haá¹­ha-yoga-pradÄ«pikā we can also find the description of three bandhas and ten mudrās.In addition, there are the kriyās, or intense purification practices that stimulate the awakening of kuṇḍalinÄ«.Haá¹­ha-yoga... being in the presentYoga means union with the authentic, with the real...The mind lives from the past and toward the future; from the yesterday toward the tomorrow; from what no longer exists towards that which does not exist yet, from that stale world of the known, to a world of hopes, expectations, fantasies, dreams and illusions, which draws us into an interminable search for goals and results.As ego, we are the known - we are the yesterday projecting itself as the tomorrow... However, the past does not exist; it lacks concrete existence, while the future is nothing more than imagination. What is, happens here and now. Life is passing by only in the present, at this very moment....This yogic path situates us in the body, which moves and breathes in the present. To be in the body, to situate oneself consciously in the physical, is to be in the present... We cannot move a leg tomorrow or raise an arm yesterday.

The last class (Śaiva) is in turn divided into the Śaiva-siddhānta which developed in southern India, and the Pratyabhijñā system of Kashmir Shaivism in the north.

The two principal schools in the Vaiṣṇavāgamas are the pāñcarātra and the vaikhānasa.

We may be great scholars and know the sacred scriptures from memory, but the only remedy for this fear will be exactly what we fear: death itself, because only with the end of what we believe ourselves to be, will this fear disappear. In other words, this deeply rooted terror will only cease with enlightenment.If we observe each of these afflictions carefully, we will see that they belong to different aspects of the human being, and they affect us on different levels. Both avidyā or “ignorance” as well as asmitā or “egoism” are related to the intellectual aspect, since they cause pride, and make us lose our reason. Rāga and dveṣa belong to the emotional level; the former is attachment, while the latter is hate. As we are controlled and swept away by these feelings of attraction and repulsion, we lose our emotional balance. What people commonly refer to as “love” is merely a combination of these two feelings, and for this reason we see that where there was attachment there can be hate, just as where there is hate, there is the probability of attachment. Finally, abhiniveśa, or the desire to prolong life, originates on the instinctive plane; it stems from our struggle to survive, affecting our sensitivity and making us concerned only with our own well-being.It is interesting to observe that the afflictions are a series of chain reactions that begin with a lack of consciousness, which is the source of ignorance from which the ego and egoism arise. From egoism, attraction and aversion follow, and thus, attachment and hate. Ultimately, living with attachment or a possessive attitude creates the fear of death, since the more we accumulate in our life, the greater our fear of dying becomes.Be extremely careful. You have no idea how dangerous you can be to yourself, nor can you imagine the pain that you are capable of inflicting on yourself. The five afflictions are lingering inside us, in our subconscious, and they are the causes of our misery. Clearly, the wisdom of yoga proposes that we assume responsibility for our lives and become aware that it is we who are solely responsible for our sorrow or happiness.

Out of ignorance, the seemingly beneficial may be nothing more than a misguided whim, causing only damage and harm. Any activity or effort projected by a mental idea cannot be karma-yoga. Only service according to the Vedic scriptures and in compliance with the specific order of our spiritual master is karma-yoga. It must be approved by the revealed scriptures and meet with the explicit approval of an authentic guru. 3. Combined karmaśukla-kṛṣṇa bahiḥ sādhana-sādhyātatra parapīḍānugraha-dvāreṇaiva karma-śaya-pracayaḥ“The white-black is accomplished by the external means. So there, the accumulation of the latent-deposit of karma is caused by means of injury and kindness to others.” (Yoga-sūtra-bhāṣya of Vyāsa on sūtra 4.7)Combined or mixed karma is action which contains a mixture of the positive and negative. Mixed karma can be both beneficial and harmful, such as for example, stealing to buy medicine or food for the poor, or building a hospital with illegally obtained funds.We tend to encounter mixed karma in daily life, because in reality, action is never completely good or completely bad. In every negative action, goodness is concealed, just as in any positive action, something negative is hidden. When we enter the field of action we are speaking of the relative world and setting foot on the dual terrain of the mind.As long as we continue to create karma – whether positive, negative, or combined – we will continue to be chained to this world of birth, sickness, old age and death. Positive karma is like a costly metal such as gold or platinum; mixed karma, a less expensive metal, such as silver; and negative karma, a cheap metal. However, it matters little what metal has been used to craft the bars on the windows of the cell that restricts our freedom. It is not the quality of the chains that is responsible for our suffering, but the chains themselves. As long as our actions are only an escape from the disagreeable and a pursuit of the agreeable, our enslavement by karma will continue.

... Do not waste it on small and egoistic aims. It is a crime to waste your life, using it only as a means to achieve goals, to satisfy your instincts. Do not use your life just for the struggle to obtain food, shelter and sex.... Rise high and fly… not like one more in the flock who flies just to seek food.... Rise higher, experience the nearness of the clouds, and you will see that from there, your egoic reality will seem very insignificant…Never forget that one who has lived in a constant pursuit of egoistic profits and objectives will depart this world in great bitterness, for no one has ever been able to take anything with him when he leaves. Reaching the end of life with empty hands after having only lived to gain and accumulate, will certainly be a very sorrowful and painful experience. 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.One of the paradoxes of mysticism is that all karma-yoga possesses the same value and is equally important because it is transcendental. However, when we see work as a service, we cannot ignore the fact that a particular service may surpass the rest in importance.

In Shaktism, the principle of Śiva-Brahman is inactive, while the Śakti is pure activity. In this context, it is the Śakti that acquires the true importance. The Śāktāgamas, or Tantras, do not accept Śakti as God, but consider Śakti as the creative power, deserving of worship while clearly inseparable from the masculine principal, or Śiva. In these texts, different ways to worship the Divine Mother of the universe are prescribed. The Tantras are of two types: vāma and dakṣiṇa. There are said to be 77 Śāktāgamas or Tantras, but the number may be greater. Many of the Tantras take the form of conversations between Śiva and Pārvatī. Within these Tantras, the most important are the following:

Photo of Swami Ramakrishnananda in the cobra posture)7. The bow posture or dhanurāsanaRecline on your belly, facing down, with the forehead resting on the ground (Photo Number 58). Support the arms on the ground bedside the head and stretch them as much as possible (Photo Number 59). After a few breaths, bend the knees and retract the calves over the thighs (Photo Number 60 and 60.b). Forcefully grab the ankles with the hands, keeping the big toes together (Photo Number 61 and 61.b). As you inhale, smoothly pull the ankles upwards, slowly raising the feet and the thighs (Photo Number 62). Then gently continue lifting the head, chest and pelvis, until the spinal column curves completely, forming a bow (Photo Number 63). The body has to stay in balance on abdomen (Photo Number 64). Relax the face and the legs.Stay in the posture for at least ten seconds. Gradually increase the duration up to three minutes. You can repeat it up to three times, resting a few breaths every time in between.8. The locust posture or śalabhāsanaRecline on your belly. Place the arms straight under the body, and the hands under the thighs. With the back of the hands on the ground, join them and press the fists under the groin, so that they serve as support. The elbows have to be straight. Place the chin on the ground and try to extend the chest and throat on the ground. Join the legs (Photo Number 66). Tighten the entire body, and with an exhalation strongly press the arms and the fists against the ground, using them as levers, and raise the legs straight, joined and extended, as much as you can, keeping the chin in contact with the ground (Photo Number 68). Beginners in this practice will only be able to raise the legs a few centimeters from the ground (Photo Number 69). The stronger and more flexible the back will become, the higher you will be able to bring the legs and the pelvis from the ground (Photo Number 70), and, eventually, even the abdomen (Photo Number 71). However, do not try to go beyond your actual capacity.

It is impossible to give a clear and explicit definition of a ṛṣi, a being who has ceased to be someone and sees all as his own subjectivity. To imbibe the sacred words of these transcendental beings is the best and perhaps only way for us to gain a glimpse of who they were and be able to perceive something of their greatness.

In reaching the sahasrāra there is the completion of the human evolutionary process in which the individual is revealed in the Total, and the personal functions as the universal. Only from this chakra can we speak of enlightenment, since it is a state of the complete absence of mental activity. The realization of the seventh chakra is related to the level of purity of the yogi, and the grace and divine compassion of the spiritual master.List of the properties of thesahasrāra-cakraMeaning of the name: thousand-spoked wheel, also called śūñya or “empty” and cakra-nirālambha-puri or “the city of independance” chakra.Other names of the chakra: In studying the Vedas, the Upaniṣads or the Purāṇas, we can find other names referring to this energetic center. The tantric terminology, for example, refers to thesahasrāra-cakra with the following names:adho-mukha-mahā-padma(the great lotus which is facing downwards), amlāna-padma (the bright lotus), daśa-ṣaṭa-dala-padma,sahasra-cchada-paṅkaja (the thousand-petaled lotus),sahasra-dala (the lotus petaled), paṅkaja (lotus), sahasrābja (the lotus of thousand (petals)),sahasra-dala (thousand petaled)adhomukha-padma(the lotus which is facing downwards,sahasra-dala-padma(the thousand-petaled lotus),sahasra-patra (thousand petals), sahasrāra(thousand-spoked one), sahasrārāmbuja(thousand-spoked lotus), sahasrāra-mahā-padma (thousand-spoked great lotus), sahasrāra-padma(thousand-spoked lotus), sahasrāra-saroruha, śiras-padma(the lotus of the head), Śuddha-padma(the pure lotus), vyoman- (heaven) and vyomāmbhoja(the heavenly lotus). In Vedic terminology up until the lastUpaniṣads we can encounter references to the sahasrāra-cakraunder the following names: akāśa-cakra(ether chakta), kapāla-sampuṭa(the space between the two bowls situated in the head), sahasra-dala, sahasrāra, sahasrara-kamala (-paṅkaja or -padma)-(the thousand-spoked lotus), sthāna(the place), vyoma(heaven) and vyomāmbuja(the heavenly lotus). And in thePurāṇas we encounter references to the seventh chakra with the following names: parama(supreme),sahasra-dala(thousand-petaled), sahasra-patra(thousand-leaved),sahasrāra-kamala(-parikaja or -padma), samjñātita (above our perception),sahasrāra,and samjñātita-pada.Kṣetra or location:found at the crown of the head, in the upper part of the skull.

"The soul is never born; neither does it die. It has not come into being, does not come into being and will not come into being. It is not slain when the body is slain."

en luego en el capítulo 12, versos 6, 7 y 8 dice:ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate teñām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha mayy āveśita-cetasāmmayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya nivasiñyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ"Para aquel que es mi devoto sin desviación, que me adora entregándome todas sus actividades, meditando en Mí, quien está fijo en mí, oh hijo de Pritha, para tal alma soy el rápido liberador del océano de los repetidos nacimientos y muertes. Tan sólo fíjate en Mí y dirige toda tu inteligencia a mí. De esta manera vivirás, sin duda, eternamente en Mi" Udāsīnatā significa indiferencia...La religión consiste en situar a Dios en lugar central de nuestras vidas... La indiferencia hacia todo lo antagónico a la religión será posible sólo después de dejar de reprimir lo mundano...Mientras luches contra lo mundano, esto adquirirá mayor importancia y significado en tu vida, lo ilusorio aparentará ser más real... la actitud represiva te convertirá en un ser obsesivo...Quien ha trascendido la mente y lo mundano, no lo odia ni lo rechaza, simplemente le es indiferente... La indiferencia hacia lo insignificante nacerá en tu vida sólo al descubrir a Dios como lo realmente significante y esencial en ti... meditar con indiferencia ... Tatvirodhiṣu quiere decir aquello que se opone a la entrega absoluta...

arjuna uvāca dṛṣṭvemaṁ sva-janaṁ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati Translation:Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, when I see my friends and relatives present before me so desirous to fight, I feel my limbs trembling and my mouth dried up.Commentary:From this verse we can understand something about the ancient system of Hatha Yoga, which is a part of an even wider system called Raja Yoga. Hatha Yoga is a system of physical, mental, energetic and spiritual development. This wisdom of Hatha Yoga teaches us that there is a very intimate relationship between the mind and the physical body. Different mental and emotional states manifest in the physical plane. Hence the practice of asanas or postures of the physical body, Pranayama or exercises of proper breathing and Shavasana or relaxation, all with the intention of creating in the yogi, on the physical, mental and emotional levels, the optimal conditions, so that something of the divine could happen. Different mental states are expressed in various facial expressions and body postures - fear, restlessness, and so on. Every Asana or posture in Hatha Yoga corresponds a living entity, animal, demigod, king or saint and so on, found in a state of peace, tranquility and profound meditation, in such a way that when practicing them we try to awaken such state in the mental level through a physical posture.In this verse we clearly see how the difficult mental and emotional state of Arjuna is directly expressed through sensations in the physical body.

1.1 The Ṛg-Veda or “the Veda of verses”: This is the principal of the four Vedas. It is a deals mainly with glorification of the devas and the powers of cosmic manifestation. It is divided into ten maṇḍalas or books containing a total of 1,028 hymns, or sūktas, and is composed of 10,580 verses. The Vedic priest who specializes in the chanting of these hymns is called a hotṛ. The principal deities of the Ṛg-Veda are: Indra, Agni, Soma, Mitra, Varuṇa, Uṣas, Savitṛ, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Pūṣan, Bṛhaspati, Pṛthivī, Sūrya, Vāyu, Āpas, Parjanya, Vāc, the maruts, the ādityas, the viśva-devas and the ṛbhus.

In the Bhagavad-gītā (13.3), Kṛṣṇa explains clearly that jñāna is discernment between the kṣetra or the field, our peripheral aspect, and kṣetra-jña, or the knower of the field, the central core of our existence.kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhisarva-kṣetreṣu bhāratakṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁyat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama "O son of Bharata! Know me as the knower of the field in each and every field. I consider wisdom to be knowledge of the field and of the knower of the field."Subsequently, Kṛṣṇa emphasizes that the authentic sage, who has truly gone beyond the duality of this relative world, is one who knows and realizes the difference between the two:kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor evamantaraṁ jñāna-cakṣuṣābhūta-prakṛti-mokṣaṁ caye vidur yānti te param“Those who know through the eye of wisdom the difference between the field and its knower, and who know liberation from material nature (prakṛti) reach the Supreme.” (Bhagavad-gītā, 13.35)Knowledge and WisdomThis path is the way of wisdom, which should not be confused with knowledge.Knowledge and wisdom seem similar, but are completely different. It is important that all seekers clearly recognize the difference between them.Knowledge proceeds always from the other, from one’s neighbor…wisdom blossoms from and within one’s own Self.Knowledge originates always from the external, from outside, from the surface…Wisdom is born in the depths of our existence.Knowledge touches the mind… Wisdom touches us.Knowledge changes our way of thinking… wisdom transforms us.Knowledge is information…. Wisdom is transformation.Knowledge is conveyed by a professor to a student. ….Wisdom belongs to the sphere of the disciple and his master.Knowledge helps to conceal our ignorance…Wisdom makes us conscious of our ignorance.With knowledge, we believe that we know. With wisdom, we know.Knowledge offers us answers. Wisdom inspires us to search for them.Knowledge is a matter of words. Wisdom is a matter of association, of silent communion.

Therefore, in order to understand this term, atma-hana or "killer of the soul", a little explanation will be needed. Evidently, nothing and no one can kill or murder life. However, the human being is capable of living as if his soul was dead. He is able to suffocate it, to murder it, or in other words, to ignore it... The Upanishad refers here to those who live ignoring their authenticity, their inner reality, which is like a kind of suicide, because although we do not annihilate the soul, we live as if we lack it completely...

haja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁgovindaṁ bhaja mūḍha-matesamprāpte sannihite kālena hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ karaṇe"Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, o deluded ones! The law and the grammatical rules will not save you at the moment of death.”Both jñāna as well as bhakti are directed towards the realization of our authentic nature, the Ultimate Reality known as Sat Cit Ananda, or Existence, Consciousness and Absolute Bliss. The only difference lies in the approach. Bhakti accesses the Divine through ananda, or the aspect of eternal and absolute bliss, while jñana uses as a door the cit aspect, or Absolute and Infinite Consciousness. On the absolute plane, there is no difference between them, as they are actually just different aspects of the same reality.Bhakti is a process of contraction before the greatness of Kṛṣṇa. Jnana is an expansive and inclusive process which embraces everything, to include all. The devotee exclaims that God exists both inside and outside of everyone and everything, and that nothing exists which is not Kṛṣṇa. As is clearly indicated in the Śukla-yajur-veda (40.1.a) and the Īśopaniṣad (1.a),oṁ īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁyatkiñca jagatyāṁ jagattena tyaktena bhunjīthāmā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam“The Lord dwells within every living being in the universe. Therefore he enjoys the pleasures that He has renounced. He does not covet the wealth of others.”The bhakta wishes to savor the sweet taste of sugar; the jnani wants to be sugar. The experience of an enlightened jnani sage is “Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah" or in other words, only the Self is. The bhakta is like a little kitten who has confidence in his mother’s protection, while the jnani is like a baby monkey who has to make the effort to embrace his mother in order to receive her protection.Jñana leads us to the realization that all is illusion and that only the Blessed Self is, while the final realization of the bhakta is that there is nothing outside of God. As an example, we can see the commentary of Shankara in the Bhagavad Gītā (11.

The word mūrti means manifestation and refers to that which has adopted a concrete form. It offers a concrete point upon which to fix the attention. The mūrti encourages prayer and meditation, and provides a channel for our devotion towards God.Mūrtiśilpaśāstra, or ancient Vedic iconographic art, is considered a sacred art. In order to craft a mūrti, it is not enough to be a talented sculptor or a great artist. The śilpi or Vedic sculptor receives his spiritual authority through initiation by his guru, from a line of disciplic succession belonging to mūrtiśilpaśāstra.The work of the śilpi is much more difficult than that of an ordinary sculptor, because unlike the latter, the Vedic artist does not possess a visual model of what he wants to sculpt. On the other hand, the mūrti is not a whimsical artistic creation produced by the creativity of a sculptor. The śilpi depends upon the dhyāna śloka, or the verse of the sacred scriptures that describes the specific aspect of divinity that he wants to sculpt. The authentic Vedic sculptor is a devotee who leads a pure and religious life, meditating on the dhyāna ślokas and praying to God to reveal Himself as the desired aspect.The materials used to craft mūrti vary from stone to different metals. Traditionally, craftsmen in the north of India use white marble, while in the south, black granite is preferred, although metals such as bronze are also used. Mūrtis are also crafted with panchaloga, which is a proportional mixture of five metals: copper, zinc, lead, tin and gold. These metals represent the harmony between the five elements: air, water, fire, earth and ether.Mūrtis found permanently installed in temples are called acala or dhruvabera, and are typically sculpted from granite or marble. Wooden murtis are found only in two temples in India: in the temple Trivikrama in Tirukkoilūr and the very famous temple of Lord Jagannātha in Purī. Acala murtis can be of three classes: sthānaka or standing, āsīna or seated, and śayāna or reclining. They are also divided according to their attitudes, into ugra or ferocious, such as Mother Kali or Lord Nrisimhadev, and śānta or serene, such as Their Lordships Radhe-shyam, Lord Hanuman or Lord Ganesha.

To ignore the soul is to live ignoring ourselves, our authenticity, what we really are... It is to live as if we were long dead...

The human being may be compared to a musical instrument, like a guitar or a violin which is a unity with diverse strings. If even one of the strings is out of tune, no melody will sound right, though it may be the loveliest of sonatas performed by the most talented of musicians on an instrument of the highest quality. Incorporating yoga and its sādhanā in a practical way in our life actually means accepting a process of “self-tuning”. Any evolutionary process begins with the sincere aspiration to attune oneself and develop a certain level of coherence.

Rāga DÄ«paka: It is said that the great Tansen, who was one of the Nava-ratnas or young jewels of the court of the Mogul emperor Akbar, was capable of igniting the torches with this rāga. It is an evening rāga, played in the after sunset, at the moment when lamps are lit. Its season is the heat of summer.Rāga ŚrÄ«: It is an ancient, highly auspicious rāga, performed at dusk, and has a mysterious and prayerful mood. The season of rāga ŚrÄ« is late winter.Rāga Megha: This rāga evokes the monsoon with images of clouds, thunder, lighting and rain. It is said that the great Tansen, Miyan Tansen or Pamtanu Pande was capable of making rain with this particular rāga. It is performed late at night, between midnight and three in the morning. Four other renowned classifications are noteworthy:1.        According to LordBrahmā, there are six masculine rāgas: Bhairava, ŚrÄ«, Megha, Vasanta, Pañcama and Naá¹­a. Each one has six rāgiṇīs. (See table 1)2.        According to the sage Bharata, there are six masculine rāgas: Bhairava, Mālakośa,Hindola, Dipaka, ŚrÄ« and Naá¹­a. Each one has five rāgiṇīs, five sons and five daughters-in-law. (See table 2)3.        According to the sage Hanumanta, there are six masculine rāgas: Bhairava, Kauśika, Hindola, DÄ«paka, ŚrÄ« and Megha. Each one has five rāgiṇīs. (See table 3)4.        According to the sage Kallinātha, there are six masculines rāgas: ŚrÄ«, Pañcama, Bhairava, Megha, Naá¹­a-Nārāyaṇa and Vasanta. Each one has six rāgiṇīs. (See table 4)Table 1 – Classification of rāgas according to Lord BrahmāRāgasBhairavaŚrÄ«MeghaVasantaPañcamaNaá¹­aBhairavÄ«MālaśrÄ«MalhārÄ«DeśiVibhāsKāmodÄ«GurjarÄ«TriveṇīSaurātÄ«DevagirÄ«BhÅ«pālÄ«KalyāṇīRāgiṇīsRāmakalÄ«GaurÄ«SāverÄ«V

This stage, which no suffering can alter, is called yoga, the detachment from misery. The path of yoga should be followed with determination and without discouragement.” Bhagavad-gītā (6.20-23)