I bring this book to you because I’ve been inspired by others. I have seen many yogis sharing online about quotes they’ve read and memes they’ve seen. Inspiration for how to live your life comes from so many sources. So, I thought a yogi could share about how to live as a yogi.
I was surprised to find out that I am quotable. When I was President of Yoga Alliance, I was interviewed by journalists from many different publications. One of them told me, “Every line you say is so quotable.” I was delighted to find that my message comes through so clearly.
Now I realize it is like sutras – short pithy sayings with layers and layers of meaning. A way to capture your mind and heart so the Truth contained in them will echo inside for you.
I know where that clarity comes from, which is why I live in endless gratitude to my Baba. And I recognize that, having been given such a gift, it is my dharma to share.
So I come to you daily, if you allow. In this book, with daily quotes, which we will be using in my daily Meditation Club as well. Let’s bring more light into the world, together.
Before yoga, I had this burning desire to make something of myself. I wanted to go places and do things, big things.
Yet, no matter where I went or how much I did, I didn’t have peace. At least not for long. I knew I was looking for something desperately, but I didn’t know what it was. So I kept looking. The funny thing was I kept thinking, “I need a teacher. I need a teacher.”
I somehow knew without having the vocabulary for it, that I needed a Guru, a spiritual teacher. I found her when I met Gurudevi Nirmalananda. She directed my attention inward to discover what I had been looking for all along. I began to explore the mystery and majesty of my own inner world. I was like a child, re-discovering how to walk and talk, even how to breathe. The highlight of each day became my morning meditations. I never knew what I would experience, but it was always a new wonder.
This wonder extended beyond my meditation seat. For the rest of my day, I had this new quality of ease. Instead of the constant underlying anxiety, I was feeling quite different: calmer, steadier — dare I say peaceful?
Yes. It was peace. And it didn’t matter what was happening on the outside. Life still had its ups and downs. The pressures were still there, yet they no longer had a hold on me like before. Instead, I was drawing from a deep inner well. It was a well of bliss and peace that I had been plumbing in each morning meditation. Their waters nourished me the whole rest of the day. And they continue to do so to this day.
To explain further, I have selected a verse from the teachings of Bhagavan Nityananda, a Great Being in our tradition:
Once you attain perfect inner peace, there is
No need to travel anywhere.
No need to see anything.
No need for pilgrimages to holy places.
All can be seen within.
— Bhagavan Nityananda, “The Sky of the Heart” verse 33
What a shift in perspective! And it comes from meditation. Meditation gives you the experience of inner peace, your own Self. When you are full inside, you have no need.
Yes, you can travel, but you don’t need to. You can go and see great wonders in the world or even right in your hometown, but you don’t need to. You can go to the holiest of places, yet the most holy of them lies right within you. As Nityananda says, “All can be seen within.”
Yet, don’t confuse the message. This is not about isolation and non-participation. Instead, this is about prioritizing your inner state. When you are full, you bring your fullness with you everywhere you go. So instead of going out of need, you go out of choice. You choose to go where you go. You choose to see what you see. And when you are so full from within, you choose to give from your fullness. It is an extraordinary way to live.
Savitri’s father didn’t have any other choice but to agree to her marriage with Satyavan. The marriage happened in a grand scale and the couple went back to the forest hut to start their life together.
Satyavan & Savitri (1)
Savitri cared for her husband lovingly, wearing the clothing of a hermit and living in perfect obedience to her in-laws. After living happily for almost a year, a few days before the predicted death of Satyavan, Savitri took a vow and performed severe austerities.
On the last day, when Satyavan picked up his axe to go into the forest, Savitri rose early and requested him to take her along with him to the forest. While he was cutting wood, she made garlands sitting under a tree. After a while Satyavan felt a little tired and came and lay down resting his head in Savitri’s lap. Suddenly there was darkness and Savitri saw Yama, the God of Death, taking the soul of her husband.
Yama, Satyavan & Savitri (2)
As Yama was leaving, Savitri ran after him pleading for the return of her husband. At first, Yama was surprised, wondering how she could see him. But then he understood the power of her devotion and chastity. So he explained to her that giving her husband’s life back was something that he couldn’t do. So, she asked Yama to take her life, too, along with her husband’s. Yama said that her time has not come yet and for her to go back to her hut.
Savitri was so adamant she refused to return without her husband. She continued following Yama. Yama was amazed by the power of her love and determination. He offered to grant her any boon, except Satyavan’s life. Savitri wisely asked for the boon of sons. “So be it,” replied Yama. Then Savitri asked, “But how can I have sons without my husband?”
Yama knew that he had to return Satyavan to Savitri if she had to have sons. So, Yama gave Satyavan his life back. Satyavan’s body came back to life. He slowly woke up as though he had been in a deep sleep.
The couple returned to the hut and to their surprise Satyavan’s father Dyumatsena had regained his eyesight. Savitri told them all about what had taken place in the forest. As they were praising her, Dyumatsena’s ministers arrived with the news of the death of his enemy. Jubilantly, the king and his entourage return to his kingdom.
Thus, by telling the story of the great Savitri, whose devotion won the life of her husband, Sage Markandeya answered Yudhishthira’s question.
Another of the many stories recited to Yudhishthira and the Pandavas is the story of King Harishchandra.
There once lived a king named Mathithayan who ruled his kingdom righteously. He was a handsome, kindhearted, brave king. Even though he was blessed with a mighty kingdom and happy citizens, he didn’t have a child to continue his legacy and dynasty. So, he prayed and gave alms to sages. After all these good deeds he was blessed with a baby girl who shone like a beautiful full moon. Thus she was named Chandramathi.
There are no words to describe the happiness of the king & queen. Right at that moment there was a voice from the heavens, stating that the child was born with a wedlock necklace in her neck, and whomever who was able to see this would be her husband. The puzzled parents looked at her neck and obviously couldn’t see any necklace.
Everyone treated her as a divine child. Chandramathi grew up to be a beautiful, bright, wise and humble princess. When she attained the age for marriage, the king invited all the kings for a svayamvara, where the princess would choose her husband.
Svayamvara ceremony (3)
On the day of the svayamvara, the Kings from all corners of the world arrived. They were all dreaming that they were going to be the chosen ones to marry the princess. Chandramathi walked into the hall with a garland in her hand with her best maid. The maid introduced each King and announced their bravery and glory.
While passing many kings and proclaiming their greatness, the maid stopped in front of a king and announced, “My dear Princess, the gentlemen in front of you is the king of the Kosala kingdom, Harishchandra. He is ruling from the capital city of Ayodhya, righteously. He is famous for his Truthfulness. Never has he lied in his life. He protects his kingdom like a parent protecting his children.”
Chandramathi was taken by this introduction and paused in front of him. King Harishchandra looked at her and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He was so furious, his eyes turned red. He jumped out of his seat and yelled at the King.
The Wedlock Necklace (4)
“This is very wrong and unrighteous. How could you have a married woman choose another husband, pretending to be a maid? I have never seen this happen ever in my life. I can see her wedding necklace shining brightly in her neck. Another marriage for her while wearing this? Shame on you for inviting all of us and insulting us this way. Is this the way you rule righteously?”
The king rose quietly from his seat and challenged the audience, including the kings who attended, asking them if they could see any necklace on his daughter, the princess’s neck. Except for Harishchandra none of them could see the wedding necklace on her neck.
When Harishchandra thought that he was losing his mind, the king revealed the secret of Chandramathi’s divine birth. Chandramathi threw the garland in the air, and it landed on Harishchandra’s neck. Harishchandra was taken by all what had happened and was very happy to marry Chandramathi.
The marriage happened in a very grand scale with the blessings of all who attended. The newlyweds returned to Ayodhya and lived happily. Chandramathi was a very devoted wife to her husband, and followed his truthfulness herself. After some time, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The parents were delighted to welcome him into the world and named him Devadasan. The glory of Harishchandra and his wife spread all over the earthly realms and to the heavens.
Sage Vasishtha (5)
One day the King of the Devas, Indra, was listening to the stories from earthly realms. He asked everyone in the assembly a question, if there is any king who rules the earth, not only with righteousness, but also with honesty. Sage Vasishtha immediately stood up and shouted Harishchandra’s name and started praising his glory, including his truthfulness and his vow of loyalty to his wife.
Hearing this, his long-time rival, Sage Vishvamitra stood up and challenged what Vasishtha said. The angry Vasishtha asked Vishvamitra to prove him wrong and promised, if that would happen, Vasishtha would give away all his powers of penance. Seeing all this, Sage Narada provoked Vishvamitra to take up the challenge. Vishvamitra then said if Harishchandra succeeded, that he would give half of the powers of his penance to the truthful king.
Vishvamitra & Harischandra (6)
Vishvamitra visited the earthly realm planning to fail Harishchandra. At first, he asked Harishchandra for wealth to perform a yaj~na. The king delightfully gave everything the sage needed. Then Vishvamitra sent wild animals to destroy everything, but the king was able hunt them and chase them away. Next the angry sage sent a wild boar, which the king successfully got rid of too.
Now the sage decided to allure him with beautiful women. He sent two beautiful, heavenly looking women to the king’s assembly. They were singing and dancing beautifully Infront of him in a very provoking manner. The King rewarded them with gifts for their talent, but they refused to accept the gifts and asked the king to marry them. The King humbly refused their request and rewarded them with more gifts. Refusing to accept gifts, they were adamant that the king should marry them. The king got really irritated and angry, and ended up chasing them away.
King Harischandra, Chandramati & Devadasan leaving kingdom (7)
Then Vishvamitra came, claiming that the women were his daughters and demanded the king to marry them. He said to the king, that he had insulted his daughters by his refusal. The king explained to the sage about his vow of loyalty to his wife. The king offered to give all his land and his kingdom.
The angry sage accepted all of that, but only as an initial payment, asking for more. The king requested time to fulfill the payment. The citizens were devastated to see their beloved king leaving the kingdom with his wife and son. They begged the king to stay with them, but Harishchandra was able console them and left the kingdom anyway.
After a long difficult journey, Harishchandra with his family reached Kashi, the holiest city. He lived there in poverty with his family. After a month’s time, Vishvamitra presented himself again and demanded the donation that was promised to him. He suggested the King should break his promise, so that the misery would end.
Harischandra, Devadasan & Chandramathi (8)
But Harishchandra upheld telling the truth as the highest principle and told the sage that he still had time to fulfill his promise. The sage agreed and said that he will return soon to collect the debt.
Harishchandra was so worried as to how he was going to pay his debt. He didn’t even have money to feed his own family. His child was starving, with no food to have for days. Seeing her husband suffering, Chandramathi suggested that Harishchandra should sell her as a slave. Hearing this Harishchandra’s heart broke into pieces. But Chandramathi insisted that it was the only way to uphold satya/truthfulness.
With great hesitation, Harishchandra accepted her proposal and sold her to a grumpy old man. As their son refused to leave his mother, he was sold along with Chandramathi.
See how Gurudevi’s new Calendar Journal helps you celebrate the special days in the year, beginning with Valentine’s Day. Let her teachings seep into your day and fuel your yoga.
February 14 — Valentine’s Day
Since yoga makes you more “you,” you become more loving and more loveable.
February 15
Your love becomes pure and powerful only when you discover the perfection, wholeness and fullness of your Self.
February 16
The infinity of your own svaroopa is made of love — and more.
February 17
Your heart doesn’t need filling. It already encompasses the ocean: the ocean of your own immortality.
I was mesmerized when I heard the song You Raise Me Up, sung by Peter Hollens. Being so full of gratitude, love and devotion, it got me contemplating: whom do I have gratitude for?
Who has raised me up? The composer, Rolf Loveland, states everyone raises one another up. Josh Groban, who wrote the lyrics, says God raises him up. This is Grace.
I have found that Grace has been there throughout my whole life. Perhaps yours, too. Not everything has been easy, but I have gotten help along the way. As I listened to this song, I thought of my family, my teachers, co-workers, friends and God. They all supported me and raised me up to more than I thought I could be.
Then I found a spiritual master, a yoga Guru, Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati (aka Gurudevi). She showed me that I am so much more. More than others think I can be. But more importantly — so much more than I think I can be.
This is the specialty of the Svaroopa® Sciences. They raise you up physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You get it all!
You can’t pull yourself up to such a state by your own bootstraps. You need a Guru. A Guru is an agent of Grace. The importance of the Guru is that they raise you up to what they got from their Guru.
From their Guru, they got the knowing of their own Divine Greatness within, the one Self being everyone and everything. So a Guru is someone who can guide you, inspire you and push you when needed.
For me the Grace of the Guru is described in this verse from “You Raise Me Up”:
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until You come and sit with me.
Soul level is the deepest level of your individual existence, reincarnating from lifetime to lifetime. It empowers you to bring your sense of separation and pain with you, along with all your karma. Your soul needs a way to access the Ultimate Reality — your own Self — that you feel separate from.
To end that sense of separation, meditation is a primary practice. You sit in an easy upright position and wait in silence. But being left alone with your mind and all its thoughts can be a little daunting. In SvaroopaÒ Vidya meditation you are given the mantra of this lineage to repeat. This sacred phrase settles you inward deeper than your mind. Your meditations are deep and easy.
How does the mantra work? The mantra is the portable Guru. When repeating mantra, you are calling the Grace of this lineage to you. With each repetition you are invoking their presence and their blessings. They support you as you undertake your inner exploration of your own Divine Greatness.
One morning during meditation, I suddenly felt like I was being lifted up right off my meditation seat. I was reminded of this meditation experience by the song’s second verse:
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas.
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.
In that meditation experience, I saw and felt the force that was beneath me. It was Bhagavan Nityananda, a Great Being of this lineage. I was being lifted up on his shoulders. Surges of bliss were coursing through my body. Angels were singing his chant, Jaya Jaya Arati. We chant this at the Ashram to honor Bhagavan Nityananda every morning. I was ecstatic.
From that experience, I know I am riding on the shoulders of the great spiritual giants of this lineage. This is Grace. The Gurus raise you up to more than you think you can be.
Once you know your own Divine Greatness, you can stand on mountains. Not only stand on mountains but know you are the mountains, the skies, the oceans and more. You will come to know you are that One Divine Reality that has become everything and is being everything and more.
You have equanimity of mind because you are anchored in the depths of your own Divine Greatness. When based in your own Divine Greatness, you can walk on stormy seas.
Yet, there is more. This is a mystical tradition. In this tradition the Guru is a Shaktipat Guru who gives Shaktipat initiation. Gurudevi is such a Guru. Shaktipat initiation awakens your Kundalini, the Divine Energy within you.
This empowers you to attain the highest goal of human life — knowing your own Divine Greatness, your own Self. This is Grace. When awakened by the Guru, Kundalini climbs your spine from tail to top. She is the mystical force that is the energy of your own Self-Realization, as described in the Sanskrit text, Shree Guru Gita:
You should perceive your joyous Self
Through the gift of Guru’s grace.
This is the Guru’s proven path
Where Self-Knowing shines from within
— Sri Guru Gita verse 110 (1)
It is the gift of Guru’s Grace that raises me up to the knowing of my own Divine Greatness. You can receive this gift as well. Meet my Guru online or in person. She wants you to know your own Divine Greatness, your own Self.
Plan your yoga-year with our “Living Mysticism 2024 Calendar Journal.” The title is a wonderful promise for the year ahead.
Each day has its own dedicated page with a quote from Gurudevi. In these pages, you will find space for organizing your day. In addition, blank space leaves room for journaling and other creative expressions.
Keep this compact book with you on the go. It will help you bring yoga’s teachings into daily life. Stay inspired all year to live a yogic life.
“I want this. I need that. I don’t want this. I don’t want that.”
Want, want, want. Need, need, need. Your mind churns over your desires. Again and again, it reviews what or where or how you are lacking. It’s exhausting both mentally and physically. And worst of all, you too often live your life based on an assumption of “not enough.”
What if you lived your life based on the assumption of enough or — better yet —abundance? The reality is that you are likely amongst the more fortunate in this world. You have Internet, you are literate and you have your basic needs met. This gives you the opportunity to focus on your spirituality. What if you saw the abundance in your life and wanted what you have?
There are many well-known gratitude practices to cultivate a different mindset. You can have a gratitude journal or jar. Our Ashram Staff meetings end with a gratitude moment. Each person shares what they are grateful for. These psychological practices can be powerful for changing your mind’s perspective.
Yet yoga approaches it differently. While psychology changes the content of your mind, yoga targets the source of the problem. Yoga looks at why your mind is thinking those thoughts. You want things because you feel incomplete, empty, not enough and/or alone. Yoga cures this feeling.
How? By revealing to you the fullness and completeness of who you truly are. When you feel like you are lacking something, you are not experiencing your true Essence. When you are being your true Essence, you know and experience that you are full and complete.
Yoga practices are designed to reveal to you the fullness that you are. Over time, the yogic process that you go through fills you up from the inside. You know this from your yoga practices already. You do poses or breathing practices and then feel calmer, more satisfied and at ease.
This is because you are experiencing your fullness on the inside. You learn to live in that fullness all the time. Then you see this same Essence being everyone and everything around you. Living in the fullness of your Essence, you don’t need anything on the outside. You don’t want or need anything to make you feel full.
Your mind becomes free from all desires, for externals and for things promised in the scriptures, giving a state of complete freedom and ease.
When you don’t want things, you gain great freedom. Your mind no longer churns over your desires. This frees up a tremendous amount of mental energy. With your thoughts changed, your words and actions also change. Instead of being a slave to your desires, you are free.
This freedom also includes the freedom to give more, love more and do more. With actions, thoughts and words motivated by getting something, you are limited by what you can do. You are limited by your focus on what you can get. When you are full, you are looking at what to give. Your capacity grows. You have great freedom. It’s the best way to live.
My favorite way to experience the truth of these teachings is by repeating mantra. So many times, I’ve turned to mantra when I have been caught up in my desires. I repeat mantra. Sometimes, it’s for just a few minutes. Sometimes it takes longer. And, without fail, the mantra fills me up from the inside. The mantra reveals my Self to me.
The fullness of my Self leaves no room for desire. Then the same external circumstances look completely different to me. Being full on the inside, my heart overflows. I am looking at what I can give. I care and I want to help. When you fill up from the inside, then you love more as well as care more. You are fully and effectively engaged in the world.
In the sutra above, the Sanskrit word vairaagyam is often translated as non-attachment or dispassion. This can lead to a misconception that you must distance yourself from the world. But it’s the opposite really. Filled up with knowing your own Self, you are freed from neediness and desires. An abundance of love and caring fills you. You stay engaged in the world so you can give from this abundance.
The Pandavas were travelling to holy places in the forest accompanied by Sage Lomasa. They came to a hermitage where Uddaalaka lived, a great sage and teacher of Vedanta. Lomasa told Yudhishthira and the Pandavas the story of that place.
Sage Uddaalaka, who is mentioned many times in the Upanishads, had a disciple named Kahola. Kahola was virtuous but not so knowledgeable. Uddaalaka appreciated his disciple’s virtues, devotion and manners, and gave his daughter Sujata in marriage to him.
Sage Uddalaka (1)
The couple was blessed with a child who inherited the characteristics of his grandfather. It is said that he had learned the Vedas while he was in his mother’s womb. Every time his father made mistakes while reciting the Vedas, the child in the womb twisted his body in pain. As a result, the child was born with eight crooked twists in his body. Due to that, the child was known as Ashtavakra, meaning eight deformities.
Kahola met his end by drowning in the sea, by getting defeated in a debate on the scriptures with Vandi, a court scholar of Mithila. So Ashtavakra pretty much grew up under the guidance of his mother. Yet he became a scholar in Vedas and Vedanta when he was just twelve.
One day Ashtavakra came to know about a King Janaka of Mithila, who was holding great yaj~na and debates on the scriptures by scholars. Accompanied by his uncle Svetaketu, Ashtavakra set out to Mithila to attend the yaj~na and debates.
King Janaka, Guard, Ashtavakra & Uncle Svetaketu (2)
On their way, they came across the king himself with his entourage. The guards were shouting ahead asking people to move away to make way for the king. Hearing and seeing this, Ashtavakra intervened. Stepping forward, he spoke to the guards in a manner that caught the King’s attention. He said that a righteous man, even if he is a king, must make way for the blind, deformed, women, people carrying loads, great beings, and those learned in the Vedas, reminding them that this is instructed in the scriptures.
Astonished by the words of this young wise child, the king accepted the truth in his words and made way for them. When Ashtavakra and Svetaketu were trying to enter the yaj~na hall, they were stopped again by the gatekeepers. The gatekeepers said only wise men learned in the Vedas are allowed into the hall. Ashtavakra politely pointed out that they should not judge anyone by age or appearance. And assured that they both have observed the necessary vows and have learnt the Vedas sufficiently.
The gatekeepers refused to believe how a mere boy could have learned the Vedas and was come to debate with renowned Vedic scholars. They decided that Ashtavakra was simply bragging about himself to enter the court. Ashtavakra insisted that looks is no indication of knowledge or worth, nor is age. And he reminded the guards that those who have understood the truths of the Vedanta will not judge another on mere considerations such as age or appearance. He also emphasized that grey hair does not prove the maturity of the soul. The mature man is the one who has learnt the Vedas and mastered their substance and realized their essence.
King Janaka & Ashtavakra (3)
As this commotion was going on at the gate, the king himself happened to come there. He easily recognized Ashtavakra, the wise boy whom he had met before. King Janaka asked, “Do you know that my court scholar Vandi has defeated many great scholars in the past and caused them to be cast into the ocean? Would that not discourage you?”
Ashtavakra confidently said, “Your renowned scholar Vandi has not yet met someone like me who is an expert in the Vedas and Vedanta. Vandi has become arrogant with easy victories over decent men who were not real scholars. I have come here to repay the debt on the account of my father, who was defeated by Vandi and made to drown.”
Ashtavakra at King Janaka’s court (4)
Saying this, he requested the king to summon Vandi. The king invited Ashtavakra into the debate hall and summoned Vandi for a debate. Ashtavakra and Vandi debated for a while, each devoting their utmost learning and wits to amaze the other.
At the end, the court unanimously declared the victory of Ashtavakra. Vandi accepted his defeat by drowning himself in the ocean. It is said that the soul of Kahola gained peace and joy in the glory of his son.
Completing this story Sage Lomasa gave the teaching on the subject, quoting Kahola, “A son not necessarily should be like his father. A father who is weak may have a strong son and an ignorant father may have a scholarly son. It is wrong to access the greatness of a person by the person’s physical appearance or age. External appearances are deceptive.”
Sage Markandeya (5)
During their time in the forest, Yudhishthira, along with his brothers, heard other stories from various other sages.
Sage Markandeya, to emphasize the importance of controlling oneself and duty, told the story of Kaushika, an ascetic who observed the vow of celibacy. However, Kaushika had anger management issues.
One day, while sitting under a tree and reciting the Vedas, a crane’s dropping fell on Kaushika. His reciting of the Vedas was disturbed by this, so he looked up angrily at the bird and the poor bird died. Kaushika felt so bad and regretted that a sinful thought passing through in his mind in that moment of anger had killed an innocent bird. Yet his anger remained as an issue.
Wife cooking for husband (6)
Another day he went to beg for alms from a household. The lady of the house was serving her husband at that time, therefore was delayed in attending to him. Kaushika got angry and looked at her with fiery eyes. The lady calmly apologized for being late, and politely asked him to control his anger. She said, “I am not a crane, to be affected by your anger, as I was merely doing my duty towards my husband. That’s my dharma.”
Kaushika was taken by this, as he wondered how she knew about the crane. She told Kaushika that anger is the worst enemy that lives in all, and that he was not aware of that. She then asked him to forgive her for the delay. She also requested him to visit Dharmavyadha of Mithila to learn to live one’s life dutifully.
Kaushika visits Dharmavyadha (7)
Astonished by her words Kaushika blessed her and went in search for Dharmavyadha, thinking that he is a great being living in a hermitage far from the city. After searching for him in ashramas and holy places, Kaushika was dumfounded to find him in a butcher’s stall. Kaushika was disgusted by the fact that Dharmavyadha was a butcher, so Kaushika was reluctant to even go close to him.
But Dharmavyadha came running to him and paid his respect and took Kaushika to his home. There Kaushika witnessed Dharmavyadha, after all his hard work at the shop, serving his parents and family dutifully with all his heart. Seeing this Kaushika, learned about duty and dharma, and returned home to take care of his neglected parents, a dharma which he had forgotten to fulfill.
Princess Savitri (8)
The teaching from this story is that the occupation may be one a person is born to perform in society, or forced on to him by circumstances or taken up by choice, but what really matters is the attitude of sincerity and faithfulness with which the person does the life’s work with compassion.
Later one day, Yudhishthira asked Sage Markandeya, whether there had ever been a woman who was devoted to her husband as much as Draupadi. The sage recited the following story.
King of Madra, Ashwapati prayed to the Sun God, wishing to have a son. He was blessed with a daughter whom he named Savitri, honoring the deity. Savitri’s beauty was unmatched. That intimidated all the men, so no one dared to ask for her hand. Thus her father, the king, asked her to find a suitable groom on her own.
Savitri & Satyavan (9)
The princess was sent out on a journey with the chosen best warriors to protect her. She went around the land to find a suitable husband. In the forest, she found a handsome young prince, Satyavan, the son of a blind king, Dyumatsena.
Dyumatsena had been exiled by his enemy and was living as a forest dweller. Satyavan was taking care of his blind father and mother. To take care of them he chopped and sold wood. With the humble income they got, they lived a happy life. Savitri was strongly drawn towards them and fell in love with the young prince.
As her search ended with finding Satyavan, she returned to her father. Sage Narada was visiting the king and alarmed the king that Savitri had made a mistake by choosing Satyavan, for Satyavan destined to die in a year. That didn’t change Savitri’s decision as she was determined to marry Satyavan.
Your own Self is the One Divine Reality, the source and substance of everything that exists.
When you know your own Self, you feel blissful, whole, and complete. But you probably don’t experience the bliss of your Self as often as you would like to. My Guru, Gurudevi Nirmalananda, explains how you can:
Your own Self is always there, always right here, inside. All you have to do is look deeper. The mantra gives you this ability.
With Svaroopa® Vidya meditation, you repeat mantra, and it takes you deeper. It takes you beyond your mind, to the glorious depths of your Self. Beyond your mind?
I didn’t understand how this was possible when I first began to meditate. I’d had tantalizing experiences of my Self, from the start. They were blissful glimpses. But it didn’t make sense to me that I was going beyond my mind. After all, your mind is how you know and understand things, both in the world, and in your own body, mind and heart. And you use your mind to repeat the mantra in meditation.
This is all true. Your mind is important. It is valuable. But it is puny compared to your own Self. Your Self is so much greater than your mind, that your mind can’t hold the whole of your Self. A classic example is a bucket of water under a full moon.
Imagine a clear night sky. The moon is big and full, a luminous ball glowing in the dark. You fill a bucket with water and set it on the ground outside. When you peek in the bucket, you’ll see the reflection of the moon. The whole circle of the moon is glowing on the surface of the water.
But is the bucket holding the whole moon? Could you take your bucket full of moon, spirit it away, and the moon will be gone from the sky? No, the bucket is too small to hold the whole moon. It can only reflect it.
Your mind is like the bucket of water. It can only reflect your Self. The reflection is valid and real, but it’s not the whole. The whole of your Self is much more.
You are not just someone with a bucket full of moon. You are the bucket, the ground beneath you, and the moon and sky above you. You are the whole of the earth. You are the whole of the universe, while being you. You are the One Reality that created this whole universe, is being this universe, and is beyond this universe. That is your Self.
Because you are the Self, you have the capacity to know you are the Self. That knowing is deeper than your mind. But you need help to get to that knowing because it has been hidden from you. That’s why you don’t experience the bliss of your Self all the time. It’s a cosmic set-up.
So you need help from someone who knows. Someone who can point the way. Someone who has the key to unlock your deeper knowing. Someone like Gurudevi. She is a yoga master, in a lineage of yoga masters called Gurus. She has dedicated her life to your upliftment.
You can trust her when she says, “Your own Self is always there, always right here, inside. All you have to do is look deeper.” Except, you don’t have to trust her. That’s because she gives you what you need so you can know for yourself, as she explains, “The mantra gives you this ability.”
The mantra is the key that unlocks your not-knowing. She gives it freely to everyone who asks for it. It is the mantra of Gurudevi’s lineage. The Gurus have enlivened the mantra with the energy of revelation.
This is the cosmic power that reveals your Self to you. Repeating this enlivened mantra propels you beyond your mind. You dive into the depths and infinite expansiveness of your Self.
In the beginning, I didn’t understand how this could be true. But now I know that it is. You can know, too. You are already whole. More than whole, you are holy. Here, now.
And you find your wholeness, you find your holiness, by meditating with the lineage mantra. If you want the mantra, ask Gurudevi. She will give it to you.
