Category: Swami Rama

The Niyamas are observances for oneself and are five in number. They are Shaucha or purity, Santosha or contentment, Tapas or practices that lead to perfection of body and mind and senses, Svadhyaya or study that leads to knowledge of the Self and Ishwara Pranidhana or surrender to the Ultimate Reality.

Shaucha involves purity both of the body and the mind. Purity of the body is easily achieved but not purity of the mind. To achieve purity of the mind one should cultivate Smriti or mindfulness and Buddhi or discrimination. That is, one should always be aware of one’s thoughts and should learn to discriminate between pure and impure thoughts on the basis of whether they lead to greater freedom or greater bondage and ignorance. Sincerity and perseverance are essential in cultivating this Niyama.

Santosha or contentment is a state of mind which is not dependent on one’s material status. A beggar can be as content, if not more so, than a king. Man’s desires are insatiable and no sooner is one fulfilled than another arises. The mind is, therefore, in a constant state of agitation. Tranquility is possible only through cultivation of
Santosha. Contentment should not, however, lead to slackening of all effort. Efforts should stem from a sense of duty and service rather than from discontent and anticipation of the fruits of one’s efforts.

Tapas has often been wrongly interpreted as excessive austerity and mortification of the flesh exemplified by hair shirts and beds of nails. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord Krishna clearly states that yoga is not for him who indulges the flesh nor for him who tortures it. Tapas literally means that which generates heat.

This heat arises in one full of spiritual fervor, one with a burning desire for enlightenment. Acts which increase this spiritual fervor constitute Tapas. A simple life free from sensual indulgence, regulated fasting, changing the name of the Lord, serving one’s fellowmen, all constitute Tapas. Through Tapas one develops strength of body and mind and the blaze of spiritual fervor burns brighter.

Svadhyaya is study leading to knowledge of the Self. This study begins with intellectual pursuit and understanding of the scriptures and other books of spiritual value. Rational acceptance of spiritual truths leads upon further reflection and meditation to intuitive insights and then to true understanding of these truths. These insights are supported by the study of the internal states of consciousness. Only then does knowledge of the Self begin to dawn on the aspirant.

Ishwara Pranidhana or surrender to the Ultimate Reality is possible only with infinite faith and dedication. Such a total surrender is achieved only with time, sincerity and perseverance. The ego has great tenacity and resists such a complete surrender. When the ego is transcended knowledge of one’s true nature is attained.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Lectures on Yoga, Practical Lessons on Yoga by Swami Rama, Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA, 1976, pages 19 – 20. This book was later published with the title The Royal Path, Practical Lessons on Yoga.

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Breath awareness is an essential part of meditation. Authentic schools of meditation teach breath awareness before leading a student towards advance techniques of meditation, but some of the modern schools have failed to grasp its significance. That is why their teachers are unable to lead their students to deeper states of meditation.

The mind is in the habit of identifying itself with the objects of the world, and it does not become aware of internal states as long as it remains in this dissipated condition. With systematic discipline, however, the mind starts traveling inward toward the more subtle levels of consciousness, and when one attains a perfect stillness and tranquillity, that which is beyond the mind reveals itself.

In learning to meditate, tranquillity of mind is an important factor, but even more important is breath awareness. The primary step is to find a steady, comfortable, and easy posture. The second step is to develop calm, serene, and even breathing. The third is to calm and steady the mind, which is the only means for experiencing the deeper levels of being. The fourth step is to gain control of the conscious mind, for this control can make one dynamic and creative. In the fifth step, the involuntary system as well as a vast part of the unconscious mind, including the memory, are brought under conscious control, and in the sixth step, the mind becomes aware that it is conditioned by time, space, and causation. Through meditation, the mind can be trained to remain aware of the present moment, the door to eternity. In the seventh step, constant awareness is developed through the regular practice of meditation, and the highest state of turiya is attained. This state is full of bliss, peace, happiness, and wisdom.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Science of Breath by Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes, The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale, PA, 1979, pages 129 – 129.

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The first is to become self-reliant. If you are not happy, you should not expect others to give you happiness. Happiness can never be given by anyone. This is the only concept that can help you be happy in the world, and if you don’t grasp it – if you don’t really learn it – then you will never be happy. If anyone claims that they can give someone else happiness, it is not true. Nobody can give happiness to anyone; they can, at best, only create patches of happiness for them. It is just as if something should happen to your own house. A neighbour could come and help you patch it. But if you were to depend too much on others, after sometime you would be thanking everybody and those thanks would become a curse. You would realize that your whole house was nothing but patches and that it was no longer a sound structure. One day it would collapse. So you should do the rebuilding yourself and not depend on others; otherwise you will let yourself become a house of patches.

You should be self-reliant and learn how to make yourself happy. Many people expect others to make them happy – but they are never happy no matter how much others try to please them. Life is not limited to only the span that is seen. It is a long procession from the unknown to the unknown. Happiness is an attitude of mind coming out of an internal state of tranquillity that allows you to through the procession without disturbance. If you are expecting pleasure, you are also bound to have pain. Life is like a coin of which one side is pain and the other pleasure. You should realize these two inseparable opposites and accept life as it is. If you learn to be self-reliant, then you will be happy.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from A Practical Guide to Holistic Health by Swami Rama, Himalayan Institute Press; Revised edition (February 8, 1999), Chapter “Self-Training”, (pg 95).

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After serious observation and analysis of its functionings, yogis have found that the mind forms the habit of being conditioned, either by remembering past experiences or by imaging the future. There is no technique which helps it become aware of the now except meditation and contemplation. But meditation is not a method of allowing the mind to roam aimlessly. It is a conscious effort of coordinating the body, the breath and the mind. In the monastic tradition teachers do not teach the advanced techniques of meditation unless they see the signs and symptoms of the stillness of the body and the serenity of the breath.

When a student learns to still his body he becomes aware of many tremors, twitching and movements that he was not aware of before. Since childhood he has learned to move, but no one has taught him how to be still, and sitting still is very important, for the less movement there is in the body, the steadier the mind will be. All of the movements, gestures, tremors and twitchings of the body are caused by an undisciplined and untrained mind, and when a student examines his behaviour, he finds that not a single act or gesture is independent. The mind moves first, and then the body moves – and the more the body moves, the more the mind dissipates.

When the student has learned to be still, however, and begins learning the techniques of breath awareness and meditation, he becomes aware that he can have conscious control over his body, his breath and his mind.

So the first thing one must learn is to sit still.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Science of Breath by Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes, The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Honesdale, PA,1979, pages 129 – 130.

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There are three categories of people traveling through the procession of life: time oriented, goal oriented, and purpose oriented. Time oriented people move in the world without understanding why they are moving. They do not have any true vision of the future. They spend their lives fantasizing some idyllic future or analysing triumphs or defeats from the past. They lack a sense of discipline and purpose. Because they are continually living in their projections of the way things might have been, or could be, they fail to appreciate things the way they are, and are thus forever dissatisfied. For such people, staying healthy and finding success is difficult.

The second category of people is those who are goal oriented. They can physically and mentally discipline themselves to a certain extent, and they can conduct their duties according to the circumstances, but their vision remains limited. Their goals are confined to worldly attainments, such as “I will have a house, a wife, a car, a job, and many other comforts.” For lack of a higher purpose their lives remain oriented toward material goals. They think that these things will satisfy them and fulfil the purpose of life, but after attaining them they feel lost because they do not know why they had sought them in the first place.

The third category of people is comprised of those few individuals who are purpose oriented. Whatever they think, speak, or do is in accordance with their purpose in life. They regulate their habits and know that physical and mental health are not two different things, but are inseparable units which are essential for maintaining holistic health. For them maintaining good physical and mental health is like preserving two instruments which can be used to carry out the purpose of life. What label one attaches to this purpose – happiness, perfection, health, a state of tranquillity, nirvana, samadhi, Godhead – is immaterial. The people of this last category are rare, but they are healthy in all respects.

Thus it is clear that the basis of holistic health lies in one’s understanding the purpose of his life and learning how to achieve that purpose. There are many questions that human beings want to answer. However, it is only when they are sick or they don’t have all the normal amenities of life, or when they are befallen by a personal tragedy that they begin asking, “Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? From where have I come? Where will I go?” These are not cultural questions. They are not social or economic questions either. These are inborn questions common to every human being and they arise when one starts examining life. Everyone has to face these questions sooner or later. Without answers to these questions, mere physical health and mental soundness will not fulfil the purpose of life. An emptiness, a void, and a feeling of dissatisfaction within will still remain.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from A Practical Guide to Holistic Health by Swami Rama, The Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, 2nd edition – 1980, pages 11 –13.

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The Current of Consciousness

Are there special procedures, processes, connections, which consciousness follows in running our personalities? The universal consciousness principle may be compared, for our purpose here, to a current into which, through many sockets, various electric appliances are plugged. The same one current supplies cooling power to the cooler, heating power to the heater, helps a radio to tune into sound waves, and the TV to gather and project visual images. So also is the consciousness principle (the primary force from which all other energies are derived, whose variations on the theme they all are) connected into all living beings, supplying to each its/his/her power for will, knowledge, and action.

In human beings this primary consciousness becomes operative through a system of psychophysiological centers. So far we have been traveling along the finest current. Now we begin to look from the opposite, the grosser end called the physical body. This body with all its cells, as we said earlier, is run by prana; the prana is directed by the mind and the mind is guided by consciousness. There are areas in our human personality where these various energies are joined together in close consonance, resonating to each other’s vibrations, deriving the power from consciousness which, however, is absolute in itself and resonates to no other. In these specific areas the vibration passes from consciousness into the mind/prana/body system—and from these areas the energy is distributed into the rest of the personality. These are the psychophysiological centers which are plugged into the current of consciousness, and they respond to its universal rhythms.

Take, for example, our breathing process. What is the origin of breath which, when looked at physically, is nothing but a series of pockets of air trapped into certain cavities? What turns that air into flowing breath? Rhythm of the movement of certain organs. What moves the organs? The prana. What causes the prana to vibrate so that the organs linked to its specific areas should thus move rhythmically? The mind, of course. The mind is moved by consciousness. Again, look at it differently. The universal consciousness, which makes the world dance by its power, sends a tiniest spark of its thrill through the mind into our psychophysiological centers in such locations as the navel, cardiac center, throat, and the pineal area. The thrill creates a pulsation in the prana system which in turn creates certain rhythmic movements in the organs connected therewith. The rhythm is synchronized, coordinated because it originates in the same single original thrill. Through this process, air, which would otherwise remain trapped in the cavities (as in a dead body) begins to flow as a smooth stream, and we say that the child has begun to breathe! On the other hand, when the thrill of consciousness is withdrawn, the breath simply becomes trapped air, and the doctor says that the person is dead. He who understands the source of the thrill knows that the rhythm of his breath responds to the same vibration which produces pulsations in the hearts of suns. It is thus that the yogis give to some of their breathing exercises names such as “piercing through the sun,” Surya-Vedhana.

The Chakra System

We need to elaborate further on the way consciousness becomes operative in the personality. It is not subject to limitations of space, time, dimensions, personalities in its full universal identification. It is sent forth into our being which is made of lower and denser frequencies, like a straight beam of light penetrating through a rocky cave. Because the lower frequency energies vibrate in a time space reference, creating a physical body, a physical locus has to be assumed in us for that light which transcends all loci. So the yogis say that this immense, intense energy beam of consciousness, the kundalini, is located in us in a channel extending from the base of the spine up to and engulfing the entire brain region. Though nonphysical (and therefore not tangible), it is experienced by the yogis in deep meditation as an unceasing flash of rod-like lightning shining with a light like that of ten thousand suns, yet as slim as though it were a ten thousandth of a hair’s breadth in width.

Editor’s Note

Reprinted from Revision, Vol 3, No. 1, Spring 1980

From the beginning of history there have been two major paths that people have taken in life in order to seek the goal of a deeper happiness and peace. A few sincere souls have decided to genuinely renounce the world’s attractions in order to attain the highest wisdom. The path of renunciation actually means not keeping or possessing anything for oneself. Instead, these wise ones serve others, knowing that by doing so they are utilizing their time and energy in the best way. Living their lives in service to others is the characteristic by which you will recognize them.

Most people, however, still experience strong and compelling attractions to many things. They want to fulfil the desires for marriage, parenthood, and the conventional life. Thus, there is a second path, which is travelled by most people in the world, called the path of action. Throughout history, there has been confusion about which of these paths is superior.

A story is told to help clarify this confusion. Once, an arrogant swami, who had meditated in the mountains for many years, boasted about his spiritual advancement, thinking that he was superior to householders. He came down from the mountains to exhibit the powers he had gained in his studies. He had such a powerful gaze that if he looked at a bird flying overhead, its wings would catch fire and burn, and the bird would fall to the ground. He was very egotistical about his supposed spiritual power.

Eventually in his travels, he came to the home of a couple and he said rudely to the woman, “I want food, and I have no time to waste. It is your duty to feed me because I devote all my time to the Lord.”

The woman, who was serving her husband’s dinner at the time, said to him quietly but firmly, “Right now, I am doing my duty toward my husband lovingly, but don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I am as powerless as that bird you killed! I have far more power than you; if you think you can hurt me, you are mistaken!”

The swami was stunned to realize that she had acquired the power to know many things about him while she was still living in the world, doing her duties as a wife. He fell at her feet and said, “Mother, clearly I have yet to understand the path of the world. Now I see that it, too, is a great path.”

But the swami was not unusual; many people do not realize the power of family life. This is a path of living in the world, loving others, and also seeking and attaining the highest wisdom. Some people who want to follow the spiritual path are not content with their lives in the world. They do not appreciate how the path of marriage and parenthood helps them to fulfil life’s ultimate purpose.

The path of a human being is not meant to be that of a loner who travels through life by himself or herself. If we want to express the meaning of life in a single sentence, it is that life means having relationships. Without relationships, life has no significance at all. The closest relationship in the world is that between a wife and husband, and the next most intimate relationship is that between parents and children.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Love and Family Life, pp 27-29, by Swami Rama, published by Himalayan Institute India.

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Kundalini is a word that is frequently used but seldom understood. It has a highly secret meaning according to the highest order of yoga and other branches of Indian philosophy and Tibetan and Chinese philosophies. You cannot understand the deeper spiritual aspects of hatha yoga if you do not understand kundalini.

Devatma Shakti is another term used for kundalini. Deva means bright being, and atma is the soul. Shakti means “power,” and is the power behind manifestation. There are various levels of powers, and not every power is kundalini. The individual soul or jivatman manifests and functions with the help of Devatma Shakti. Whereas the individual soul has individual Kundalini Shakti, the Cosmic Soul is Paramatman
(the Absolute Self, Brahman). Qualitatively they are the same, but not quantitatively. As the power to burn cannot be separated from the fire, Shakti cannot be separated from the individual soul.

Kunda means “bowl of fire,” or the vessel that contains the fire. The vast reservoir of dormant energy within is called the primal force, or the kundalini. It is the finest form of energy that we have. Only a small part of that energy is needed for the functioning of daily life. If all the power of kundalini were at your disposal it would not be possible for you to live as a human being.

Kundalini can only be known through direct experience. The ancient yogic manuals contain detailed descriptions of the chakras, which are centers of pranic energy that are represented as lotuses. Each chakra is associated with a certain number of petals, a specific color, a presiding deity and a particular sound or mantra. In the lowest center, the muladhara chakra, is the serpent-like fire, kundalini, which contains all the latent potential in human beings. It is the aim of yoga to arouse the sleeping kundalini and lead it upward through sushumna, piercing the different chakras, to the sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus at the top of the head. This represents the union of the cosmic potential, Shakti, with cosmic consciousness, Shiva. Through this final union the yoga achieves Self-realization and liberation from all bondage. He merges his individual soul, atman, with the Cosmic Soul, Brahman. In order to arouse the latent kundalini energy, one has to practice and perfect asana and pranayama. Some people want to awaken kundalini because they think they can use that energy for worldly gains and enjoyments. A yogi awakens the kundalini to know the mysteries of the universe.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Sadhana, the Path of Enlightenment, Yoga the Sacred Science, Volume 2, by Swami Rama, Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, 2011, pages 258 – 260.

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The yogis say that only a certain surface of the mind is asleep but that a vast area of the mind never sleeps. For if the entire mind were to sleep, who is it that continues the digestive processes during that time? Who keeps the lungs breathing and the heart pumping? If the entire mind were to sleep, who would wake us up again? Seeing that the body (which is run by the mind) maintains some of its operations during sleep, we surmise that a part of the mind must remain awake; but if we simply depend on body consciousness to experience that mind which remains awake while we sleep, we are left helpless. Yet we know that the will of consciousness is operant in the mind in order to keep the body functioning and to wake us up again. Thus it becomes clear that the finer energies cannot be contained in, or measured by, the denser ones, but the opposite is not the case.

Our greatest concern in a study of the relationship among energies within the human personality is with the question of self identification, called abhimana in Sanskrit. In the average individual, consciousness has gravitated to identification with the densest energy level, the body—or so it appears. But in fact consciousness can identify with each of the forms the energy takes and call them all “I.” This person identifies his relationships with various members of his family. For instance, take these four statements: He is my father, I am his son; she is my sister, I am her brother, she is my wife, I am her husband; she is my daughter, I am her father. In each the “I” is common, but the relationship differs. The person saying “I” has the experience of being in all four roles, those of son, brother, husband, and father. But each of the relatives can play only a single role with him. The wife cannot know him as a son, the sister cannot identify with the father in him. Yet he is all four states within himself. He is also apart from these—just himself—sitting writing a poem to his divine Lover. Then he is free of all human relationships at that time, yet he is even closer to his true identity. It is thus with consciousness. At the level of the body we identify consciousness with the body, and it says, “Yes, body, too, is made of my being, but I also breathe in breath, animate through prana, and think when I am mind, and yet I dwell in my own nature apart from these at all times. They are my modes, but I am not their mode. They are my variations, but I am the theme.”

In other words, even though most human beings seem to identify with only the surfaces of their bodies, consciousness remains wide awake and active elsewhere, too, for if their identifications were truly limited to the surfaces of their bodies (as in the case of someone sleeping), how could they breathe with the lungs, digest with the internal organs, and send out brain waves? Deeper still, how could they have internal emotions and other forms of thought? Obviously, consciousness is operant in and identified with each of these forms of energy even though it appears that their main identification is with the surface of the body. As we cultivate meditative self-awareness, we gradually proceed from the exterior to the interior self identifications of consciousness—first the body, then the prana, then many stages of mind, one after another, and, finally, pure consciousness alone.

A question is often asked, “How did consciousness ever lose its purity in the first place?” The answer is that it never did. Just as one’s whole mind is never asleep even though the sleeping part does not know of the ever awake part, and just as his sister does not know him as his daughter’s father, so body consciousness identification cannot be identified with the pure consciousness one. But the full and pure consciousness continues on, taking care of all its children—the lower level frequencies which are powerless to contain and measure it. Again and again the ancient texts on the nature of consciousness have made this assertion: “Who are you that ask this question?” A being identifying yourself with the consciousness as it extends into the body? Just move a bit on the spectrum. Keep moving. All of those colors reflect the same light. When did light ever cease to be light? The green is green and the red is red, but the light is always light. Only when you identify the light with one of its modes do you see blue or red. See all of consciousness, and your body is included.

Editor’s Note

Reprinted from Revision, Vol 3, No. 1, Spring 1980

Merely knowing what to do without one-pointedness of mind will not lead one to perform his duty accurately. Therefore, the desired results will not be attained. Just as profound knowledge of what to do is essential, so having a one-pointed mind is equally essential. The modern student tends to know intellectually, but does not make sincere efforts to develop one-pointedness of mind. Thus, his mind remains scattered and all his actions result in disappointment. For lack of a one-pointed mind, the modern student jumps from one path to another because he does not understand that it is his scattered mind that is creating barriers for him. He thinks the barriers are outside. Assuming that another path or goal will be better is trickery played by the mind. One already knows what is right, but he does not know how to put it into practice. In childhood, the fundamentals of all great truths are taught to us. Then we spend energy in trying to apply those truths, but we fail. We do not realize that with systematic practice, we can succeed. The key point of practice as well as of success lies in one-pointedness of mind.

Attention is the first step on the ladder to develop one-pointedness of mind. One must pay wholehearted attention to all of the things he does from morning until evening. The aspirant should also understand why he is acting in a particular way. Actions should not be performed as are action without understanding why one does them. The human mind is prone to be reactionary if it is not trained, and an untrained mind crates disorder, disease and confusion. If one does something with full attention, he will increase his awareness and ability to perform his duty. If one forms the habit of attending fully to whatever he is doing, the mind will become trained, and eventually concentration will become effortless. It is a great quality for one to be able to express his knowledge through his speech and action with a one-pointed mind. Thousands of thoughts remain waiting to be entertained. The purpose of sadhana is to attend to those thoughts in a systematic manner so that they do not create unrest in the inner world. Arjuna is instructed to make his mind one-pointed before performing his duty.

Editor’s Note

This passage has been taken from the book Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, pp 77- 78, by Swami Rama, published by Himalayan Institute Press.

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