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Characteristics of His Works
The writings of Swami Sivananda cover a vast range of subjects, in accordance
with his plan of approaching man from every side and every aspect. These works
treat of, in detail, such diverse topics as anatomy and physiology; health,
hygiene and sanitation; physical exercise, first-aid and treatment of diseases;
the discipline of the physical body through the technical Hatha-Yoga processes
of Asanas or bodily postures, Pranayama or the regulation of the vital force
and of breathing, Bhandhas, Mudras and Kriyas - all intricate methods of the
perfection of the body to prepare it for withstanding the onslaughts of
Nature's pairs of opposites, such as heat and cold, hunger and thirst; an
exhaustive psychological analysis of the composition, working and behaviours of
the inner man - the mental, volitional, effective, moral and rational natures,
which so much influence and decide the values of life as a whole; the duties of
man, his relations to family, community and nation; his position in the world
and the universe; his national; international and world relations; the social,
ethical and political structure of individuals; the assessment of the values, both
religious and spiritual; and a comprehensive and penetrating discussion of the
characteristics of the ultimate goal of human life; as well as an intensive
treatment of the nature of the way leading to this goal. In his expositions of
these subjects, so very widely spread in apparently isolated universes of
discourse, Swami Sivananda appeals not merely to the rational and the
scientific man or the intelligentsia of the society, but also to the devout,
the faithful and the believing, the common masses ignorant of higher laws; to
spiritual aspirants, Sannyasins, householders, recluses, businessmen, women and
children, alike. It will be observed, on a careful study of his writings, that
his appeal is more to the heart and the feelings and his admonitions are mostly
of a practical nature adapted for an immediate application in the day-to-day
life of man belonging to every class of society.
His works are, strictly speaking, lengthy gospels on the different Yogas: e.g.,
(1) Jnana-Yoga or the philosophical technique of the rational and the
scientific intellect in unraveling the secrets of Nature and living a life of
the wisdom, truth and justice of the law of the Absolute; (2) Raja-Yoga or the
psychic and mystical way of analysing, dissecting and inhibiting the
constituents and modifications of the mind-stuff, thus enabling man to overcome
its tyrannies and to a comprehension of his position in a universality of the
Spirit or the Purusha; (3) Bhakti-Yoga or the way of spiritual love and
devotion directed to the majestic Sovereign of the universe, the merciful and
compassionate Father of all creation, by which emotions, such as those
fastening man to relations with his parents, his children, his masters, his
friends and his partner in life, are sublimated and ennobled by being centered
in the universal nature of God who promises man, when he has surrendered his
self completely to Him, with the hope of salvation: (4) Karma-Yoga or the
science and the art of spiritual activity, a splendid manner of converting every
action and every duty in life - physical, mental, moral or spiritual - into a Yoga
of the Divine, by linking it up with a ceaseless consciousness of the
omnipresence of the Absolute, of the surrender of personality to God, or of
one's standing as an unaffected witness of the movements of the internal and
the external nature; (5} Hatha-Yoga or the disciplining of the physical body,
the nervous system and the vital forces with a view to preparing the individual
for the practice of the higher Yoga of inner discipline and meditation; (6)
Kundalini-Yoga or the bringing into activity of a highly occult force dominant
and latent in the individual, by a rousing of which through a training of the
Prana and the mind the illimitable resources of Nature are spontaneously placed
at the disposal of man, and he becomes possessed of a consciousness of his true
at-one-ment with the universe; (7) Mantra, Yantra and Tantra Yogas or the ways
of certain purely mystic processes of generating spiritual forces and
vibrations within, as also of relating these to the without, through the
symbology of specific sounds, formulas, diagrams and rituals intended to free
man from confinement to the lower nature and raise him to the regions of the
higher nature; (8) Japa-Yoga or the spiritual practice of the chanting of the
divine Name or certain significant letters, words, phrases or sentences in
order to bring about a condition of harmony and illumination in the inner
nature of man; (9) Laya-Yoga or the method of the dissolution of the mind in the
Spirit by the recession of effects into causes, the merging of the grosser in
the subtler, and the raising of one's consciousness and force from the lower to
the higher. Swami Sivananda displays a great mastery in the synthesis of these
various Yogas for the benefit of men of weak will and assures the
aspirant-world that success is bound to come when practice is backed up by
sincerity, firmness and patience.
His Method of Approach
It is said that a sage of Self-realisation is like a pure crystal which has, by
itself, no colour, but appears to assume the tint of any object that may be
brought near it. He is supposed to behave, speak and act like a child with a
child, an adult with an adult, an old man with an old man, a scholar with a
scholar and an ignorant one with an ignoramus. The idea behind this spontaneous
self-expression, uninitiated by any particularised motive, intention, effort or
will, is a close following of one's true nature with the Divine Will, which is
immanent and active in all beings, and which has neither partiality nor
prejudice, neither preference nor ill-will in regard to anyone. Swami
Sivananda, in his personal life and example, as well as in his writings and
speeches, reflected, spontaneously as it were, the nature manifested and
exhibited by the environment around him, and acted in close keeping with a
purely impersonal life. His works are not so much ennuciations of principles
for the guidance of the intellect and the reason - as is the case with several
rationalistic works of metaphysicians - as practical instructions on the methods
of the life spiritual, meant to go straight into the hearts of aspiring
individuals, whether or not they have carefully thought out beforehand the
conditions and the inner circumstances under which they have been prompted to
take to the spiritual way of living by the inner call to discover what seems to
be hidden in and is above Nature. There is no circumlocution, no periphrasis,
no statement of superficials or throwing of unnecessary side-lights in his
writings, but a clear-cut, well-defined and an open path free from all
mystifications and ambiguities is laid before the seeker with an intention not
merely to give information but to enlighten and guide him at every step of his
Sadhana. His style and expression are remarkably simple, surging from the heart
and the feeling of one who has had not only a vision of the perfection and the
delight of God-Being, but possesses an insight into the sufferings of man, the
depth of his ignorance which is hard to circumvent, and the need for
illumination in the human world to lead a normal life, not only physical,
mental and moral, but also spiritual, extended, outwardly in the society, the
nation and the world. The entire mass of his teachings is powerfully charged
with the dominant spiritual note that all forms of life in society, whether
individual or collective, have ultimately to be based on and to derive meaning
and inspiration from the recognition of a boundless existence deeper than all
the visible and the conceivable orders of Nature. Fired with a deep anxiety to
relieve the world of ignorance and pain, Swami Sivananda girt up his loins to
face the situation in the best possible manner open to him, and spared no pains
in harnessing all his energy for the noble divine purpose which he set before
himself. His works are illustrative of almost every way of contacting man
through literature - metaphysics, ethics, religion, mysticism, psychology,
parables, stories, catechism, Yoga, prayer and ritual.
The qualified student to approach his spiritual literature is, as with the
Yogavasishtha, neither one who is totally ignorant of spiritual values nor one
who has attained to the apex of spiritual life. The aspirant endowed with the
ethical and the moral qualifications of Yama, Niyama and Sadhanachatushtaya;
who has, by his purity of mind, received monitions as to the existence of a
higher life, and is stirred with the zeal to grasp it and realise it in his own
life, but is at the same time troubled by incapacities, doubts and lack of
knowledge in regard to the proper method of approaching it and the spiritual
way of conducting himself, should turn to the works of Swami Sivananda. As is
usually the case with eminent spiritual philosophies and Yoga techniques, most of
his writings begin with a vivid and clear portrayal of the presence and the
nature of suffering in the world, the detection of which is the first
prerequisite and is the fundamental stage of a spiritual way of life. Like
Sankara, the philosopher, Swami Sivananda boldly affirms the existence of a
Supreme Absolute, second to which there can be none, and like the Buddha he
gives a colourful picture of the character of pain in life, makes a careful
diagnosis of the cause of this pain, a detailed analysis of human psychical
conditions, and delineates the laying out of the path running up to the
ultimate perfection and peace of man, together with a dignified description of
the characteristics of his final destiny.
The Philosophic Life
Swami Sivananda emphasises that life is the working out of a philosophy, and
philosophy is the unravelling of the mystery of existence, an all-round
consideration of the deeper implications of experience, and not merely arising
of the mansions of logical systems. Philosophy is more a digging deep into the
abyss of life than a flying into the air of abstract speculation. Swami
Sivananda recognises that any philosophy divested of human concerns is doomed
in the end to failure and can never appeal to the restless and inquisitive spirit
of man. Philosophy, religion and life mean to him one and the same thing, and
they signify not any unworldly or other-worldly concepts, but move in close
association with man's demands for hunger and love, fame and power, value for
life, concern for others, regard for oneself and his ultimate aspiration for
immortality in Brahman. The ringing tone of Swami Sivananda's life and
teachings is that of a supernal love based on proper understanding, a love in
which the obstructing barrier between man and man is broken open and in which
one easily discovers a happy way of participating in the life of others in the
world. Endless hope which seems to be the only foundation of all human
enterprises bespeaks the remote possibility, if not the immediate fact, of a
union of the personal will with the Universal Law of God. It is this love and
this meaning of hope and aspiration that can assure a world-brotherhood, a
world-government based on universal sympathy and altruistic considerations. It
is this principle of humanitarianism, this relevance to the ultimate good of
the human individual and an acute perception of the necessity of rousing
mankind to the presence of an Absolute, an Almighty God, that characterise the
life and teachings of Swami Sivananda. It is said that the Vedas are infinite,
a statement which conveys the idea that knowledge is endless and the wonder of
creation impenetrable. The scripture declares that there is no limit to God's
glories and there is no cessation of man's endeavour to comprehend His Nature
and the path leading to Him. Swami Sivananda caught the significance of this
great truth and so never felt that spiritual teachings can have an end, that
one can ever be tired of teaching the spiritual way of life or of listening to
spiritual instructions, that there could be a limit to the carefulness with
which the Guru has to look after the welfare of his disciples at every stage.
The whole of life is teeming with spiritual import, and hence every moment is
an opportunity for Sadhana, an occasion to exercise unlimited caution in regard
to one's spiritual practices and the chances of temptations, thwartings,
side-trackings and stagnations of mind and spirit in one's life. The
philosophic life is not a strange way of deportment, but the normal flow of a
well-adjusted and perfected activity in the healthy maturity of seasoned
knowledge and profound insight into Truth.
The Secret of World-Peace
The inspiring teachings of Swami Sivananda constitute one long song of
liberation, the liberation of the individual, the society, the community, the
nation and the world; physically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. The
central burden of this eternal song of all-round freedom is Peace, peace to
all, peace everywhere, by learning and imbibing the lesson that Life is One.
Every breath that flows from man, every movement of his limbs, every turn of
his behaviour, is a direct or indirect effort towards the reconstruction of his
personality to suit a better purpose, to bring about an easier and happier condition
of life, with liberty and peace as its emblems. Man represents a microscopic
specimen of what happens in the gigantic cosmos in a colossal scale. The
aspirations, the changes in the forms of consciousness, the attempt to reach
unity, freedom and happiness, which are seen to be vigorously active in man,
can also be seen to be busy in the fulfillment of the purpose of the cosmos. In
one's own personal life, in society and in the state, man struggles to manifest
a regular system and order, abolishing chaos and confusion, an intense passion
for the firm establishment of which seems to be innate in the very structure of
all beings, especially in the self-conscious ones in whom the development of
intelligence has come to the stage of displaying the ability to know the
difference between right and wrong, true and false. The universe does the same
thing, with this difference that, while man strives with insufficient
knowledge, the universe moves freely with an unrestricted expression of this
tendency to realise the highest truth, goodness and freedom in its own bosom.
The changes that take place in the parts are felt in the constitution of the
whole. As every cell in the human body organises itself to live in accordance
with the law that regulates the whole body, and as every error on the part of a
cell in the execution of its meaning brings about a reaction from the entire
body with the purpose of setting right the wrong that has entered into its
being, so does the cosmic Law correct the errors committed by the individuals
constituting the cosmos. Small errors cause mild reactions and great wrongs
lead to tremendous upheavals. Even the so-called unobserved acts in the grosser
world produce mighty vibrations in the subtler regions. The entire teaching and
activity of Swami Sivananda centres round an untiring stress on the possibility
of individual and world peace on the basis of a knowledge and practice of this
Dharma, this Law eternal, this rule of Unity in every level of existence, every
grade of society, in every individual, every man, woman and child. This is his
clarion-call - the ceaseless warning to humanity that peace cannot be had by
warfare, by exploitation, by domination, competition; for these bursting waves
on the surface are raised by the storms of desire and greed; and that there can
be no rest for man until these violent commotions cease through understanding
and co-operation. Man's concept of pleasure is nothing but an outcome of his
erroneous judgment of a present good, his desire is the result of a wrong idea
of a future good, his pain the consequence of a false notion of a present evil,
and his fear the corollary of a mistaken evaluation of the nature of a future
evil. A11 passions and their several variations are veritable diseases brought
on by erroneous thinking. These are to be eradicated, for they are irrational
and founded on ignorance. Man needs proper education of his faculties in the
direction of the real and the good in the highest sense. The unfailing working
of the classes of society and the stages of life, according to their Dharma, is
essential for manifesting in everyday life the peace which is at the bottom of
man, the law of God which sustains all things, and for bringing heaven itself
here on earth. For Swami Sivananda, every form of life can be transformed into
a Yoga of the Divine, provided the requisite knowledge is acquired by study,
contemplation and service.
The revered Mahatma Gandhi did a signal service not only in the field of
politics but also to religion, philosophy and ethics, when he emphasised the
aspect of Truth as God. In the assertion commonly made, viz., God is
Truth, the judgment involved is likely to become questionable, for the
predicate 'Truth' is referred to 'God' whose existence is here presupposed or
taken for granted. Naturally, those to whom the existence of God has not become
an article of faith and whose rational attitude has not been convinced of it
will take the assertion 'God is Truth' as not a demonstrated fact but a
hypothetical proposition. But in the asseveration "Truth is God" no such
sublime inconsequence is involved, for none can deny that there is such a thing
as Truth. And this Truth is identified with what we have to understand by God.
Truth is the law of the universe. This law is not blind but intelligence itself
operating everywhere. Law and Law-Giver in this case are one. And likewise, to
Swami Sivananda, Truth is not merely truth-speaking but "That which is." It is
the unchanging, infinite and eternal Substance, which is at once the law and
the love governing and guiding man, society, nation and world. The true
significance of this Truth and of this Love is not properly assimilated in
ordinary man's life, but is fully realised in the life of the superman who is
not only a world-ruler but also a self-ruler. It is not Nietzsche's egoistic
elevation of man to power, but the Self-realised sage, a veritable embodiment
of the Divine that is the ideal superman, a being who is at one and the same
time a man of the world and a representative of the Absolute. True knowledge is
a knowledge of things in their essences, in their relation to the universe, in
the relation of Truth. This Truth, this Law, when it is supported and
protected, supports and protects everyone. 'Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah.'
It is only when we realise that joy is in the fulfillment of the law of God
that we become truly free and liberated from all bondage. Dharma is the
innermost nature and truth of man and of the universe, for it is the body of
the Divine Will. This is real duty and here is the secret of world-peace. Swami
Sivananda has been living and preaching this deathless truth, this law and
order of Nature, for the solidarity of the world, for all mankind to emulate
and follow, and his divine mission shall be fulfilled when even a modicum of
this knowledge shall succeed in throwing light into the dark corners in man's
mortal nature.
Unity-The Home of Peace
Here is the essence of the law and the love that unites all the world. This is
the rationale behind all the gospels of world-peace and doctrines of universal
love and brotherhood. Scattering broadcast the ancient wisdom of India, the wisdom that discovered the true relation of man to his environment, Swami
Sivananda ceaselessly urges humanity to muster in forces for bringing about
real peace in the world. All his teachings and messages are lessons in the
attainment of unity by the integration of personality in the consciousness of
the Absolute. The aim of life is the practical realisation of the eternal spiritual
essence which finds itself in man in a very limited and obscure form. Every
individual tries to stretch beyond himself by desiring, aspiring, longing.
Desire of any kind is a disclosure, in one's conscious states, that there is
something wanting, something lacking, something inadequate. Give the whole
world to man; he will not be satisfied. Why? Because, there is that something,
beyond the world, lying outside the possession of any earthly individual. Give
him the whole of the heavens. He will still be dissatisfied; because, there is
yet an unfulfilled want. This grievous mishap is the direct result of man's
ignorance of his unity with creation. 'For the magnanimous, the whole world is
one family' says the scripture. There can be no peace to man, unless he begins
to recognise, live and serve his vast surroundings as his own Self, until he
does his best at least to approximate his conduct in daily life to this sublime
ideal. Peace is only in God, and the peace which we can hope to enjoy in this
world depends upon the extent to which we have succeeded in reading and
manifesting this infinitude of the Spirit in our social, national and world
relations. This achievement is not only a consequence of the knowledge and
experience of Truth by man, but also a necessary condition of his attaining any
success in his endless struggle for perfection. This is the teaching, the
religion, the ethics, the philosophy and the gospel of Swami Sivananda to every
son and daughter of this earth, of every station in society. This is the hope
of humanity.
Towards this end, Swami Sivananda has urged the philosophers of the world to
join hands and work together as a confederation of higher rational and
spiritual forces. He sends his message: 'If a major world catastrophe is to be
prevented in time, the foremost philosophers of the world must come forward.
Theirs is this sacred duty; for the Light of Divine Knowledge, the radiance of
the Universal Power that holds all beings together, that supports the whole
universe and sustains it, shines through them.' 'It is not enough today if His
Message is delivered on a battle-field, or on a Mount, or in a holy place, and
allowed to take its own time to spread far and wide. Simultaneously, all over
the world, everybody should hear the Word of God, and take to the right path.
This is possible only through the agency of a united body of
world-philosophers, and therefore Divine Intervention might well take that
form.' 'Without in any way altering the fundamentals of religion, they will be able
to bring about a synthesis of all religions, each religion taking what is the
best from others. Thus will a World Order emerge, through a world-religion.'
'This World Philosophical Congress will provide the correct basis for
scientists, economists and politicians to build their mansions on. Thus guided
by philosophers, scientists will work for the happiness and welfare of
humanity; economists will plan for the commonwealth; politicians will discover
ways and means of living at peace and maintaining the peace of the world.'
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