Dear Devotees
jai Thakur! jai Maa!
Letter 7
Sargachi, 30.4.40
It is very difficult to live alone. And furthermore, what is the necessity of doing so? There is a provision in the scriptures for living alone, but that is only after much progress.
Human life is a very mysterious thing. We remain busy with it day and night, but we don't know anything about its secret. We don't have the slightest control over it. But it is the first thing a person should understand. Most of our suffering comes from not knowing ourselves. All the methods which religious people have adopted to explain this mystery have probably done more harm to mankind than good. Religious people speak of different methods of self-improvement. People have practiced these generation after generation and, as a result, have become filled with terrible superstitions. Only răja yoga can free them from all their delusions.
The institution of sannyăsa was prescribed in the Vedas so that one could be free from all types of national, local, and religious samskăras, and search for truth. A sannyăsí is neither a Bengali, nor an Englishman, nor a German, neither a Hindu nor a Muslim; he is neither even a man nor a god. If one can reduce one's samskăras by adopting this type of attitude, truth will automatically reveal itself to him. To make sannyăsa fully mature, one must practice for a long time in solitude, meditating on the thought, "I am Brahman." All these are scientific methods and not the whims of a particular person or group. This is the sădhană for freeing oneself from all samskăras. To reestablish this sădhană, the Lord has come, together with his companions, "paritrănăya sădhúnătn vinăsăya ca duskrtăm" ("for the protection of the good and the destruction of the wicked" [Giíă IV. 8]).
Gradually the mind must be withdrawn into the body. The first sădhană for this is to sit calmly (ăsana). The second sădhană is to breathe rhythmically (prănăyăma). The third sădhană is to observe the force that moves the lungs (praíyăhă-ra), and so on. Try to understand these things clearly: yama, niyama, ăsana, prănăyăma, pratyăhăra, dhărană, dhyăna, and samădhi (Yoga Sútra II. 29).
Jnăna, karma, and bhakti are automatically included in this sădhană. All these steps can be found within the mind even when doing ordinary household work. You should very carefully read Raja Yoga above all other books. If a good opportunity arises, I shall be happy to discuss these points with you.
Whatever activities we undertake which require tremendous effort can be very easily accomplished if we practice this răja yoga. The acquiring of education, for which great effort is made in schools and colleges, becomes easy for a person who practices a little yoga. You must have noticed that whenever you are in a good mood and sit calmly to study, you can learn many things in a very short time. If you can make this cheerfulness, stability, and healthfulness constant through the practice of yoga, then you can be successful in all your endeavors.
There is so much grandeur, so much joy in this human body. Simply by knowing this, much suffering will be removed. The Lord has assumed a human body in the form of Sri Ramakrishna, and by doing so, has glorified the human body. If you try, you can also attain this yoga power and be an instrument in making Swamiji's dream of a new age a reality. Get rid of this nightmare which recurs life after life; tear asunder the net and be free. Both birth and death are merely dreams.
to be continued
_________________________________________________________________
Vocę sabia que o Windows 7 inicia e desliga mais rápido? Clique e conheça mais.
http://www.microsoft.com/brasil/windows7/default.html?WT.mc_id=1539
|
