quotes of wisdom

A great saint, a mahatma, a yogi, a prophet or ajnani lives on this earth like any other human being. He thinks, enjoys and eats like others. The great difference between a yogi and an ordinary man is that he has awakened a dormant faculty in man called awareness. He has unfolded this faculty, whereas the ordinary man has not. He is always aware. He is called a drashta - a seer. He is the witnesser of events. Your aim on the path to realizing and awakening your dormant potential should be to gradually unfold this faculty of awareness within yourself. You should try to become a seer."

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

All the problems that you face in life, all the ups and downs are really the means to your personal evolution. Everything that you face in life, whether pleasant or unpleasant, is really the means to higher awareness. They really help you. Though they may seem to hinder you from a limited and personal viewpoint at this stage, they are really the tests, the means to your eventual transcendence and total understanding of reality. Though mental disturbances during meditational practices, during everyday life may seem obstacles, they are really the things that help you to become aware of, to confront and remove the personal blocks or hindrances that prevent the flight into higher awareness. Without these apparent obstacles you would never become aware of the imperfections in yourself that prevent higher experience. It is only through your enemies that you can recognize personal hang-ups. It is only through unhappiness that you can recognize seeds of disharmony within yourself. Without day to day problems, you would never try to overcome obstacles. All the turmoils of everyday life are the indicators that stimulate you to overcome your own imperfections. So recognize your problems and use everyday life as the means to attain perfection.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

That which can be told is not the Truth. That which can be named is not the Name.

Lao Tse - Tao Teh Ching

Most readers know that the meaning of the word yoga is union, but actually the path, the system of yoga, consists of a process of viyoga - separation. This seems to be a total contradiction, but is not. It means that through yoga practices, one must separate awareness from the mind and body. There must be a personal experience of the difference between the mind-body aspect and the awareness aspect of one's being. Only when this separation and difference is personally experienced can one know the truth behind it. And when this separation occurs between the seer and the seen, then one will understand oneself and life from a new and higher platform. There will be an explosion of new understanding. This viyoga is the first step towards the culmination of yoga; this separation is the first step towards unity. Therefore, in your practices forget all concepts of union - all logical interpretations and understanding are wrong. Only worry about separation: separation of your awareness from mind-body identification. This is the aim of all paths of yoga: find the viyoga (separation) that will lead to yoga (union). Separate the purusha from prakriti, so that they can be united at a higher level. The essence of yoga practices is really separation, not union. Separation is the method, union is the result. So be aware; be aware of everything that you do. Be a witness to all thoughts and actions. Separate your awareness from all other phenomena. This is not easy, but try.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati