Sivananda daily reading for 9th January - The Peak of Perfection

THE PEAK OF PERFECTION

You can climb the peak of perfection through resolute will, intense dispassion, renunciation and rigorous Meditation. Sublime divine thought is very powerful, it is a dynamic transmuting force. Diligently seek the path of truth; tread it carefully and vigilantly, for you may slip and fall. Love is harmlessness, kindness, compassion. Nothing can tempt you if you are regular in meditation. He who is pure at heart has already found divinity. Renunciation of egoism is the direct way to the eternal.

Knowledge of the imperishable bestows perfect freedom and independence. Where egoism is, immortality is not; where immortality is, egoism is not. Concentration will give you great power. Collect the scattered rays of the mind. Lust and greed make you a spiritual bankrupt. Purity and meditation bestow on you inexhaustible divine wealth.

A yogi becomes the master-builder of the temple of truth. Pass through the gate of wisdom - you will reach the illimitable domain of eternal bliss. He who is endowed with discrimination and power and concentration climbs rapidly to the peak of illumination. Your real guru (preceptor) is your own heart - he is the indweller, the inner ruler.

Longing for final liberation is the hunger for the spiritual food of knowledge of the eternal. Mind is the mirror through which the eternal appears as the universe of names and forms. Be in the world - not of the world. This is the highest yoga. This is the eternal wisdom. The wise man is ever eager to learn, he never poses as a teacher.

This visible world is the mirror of the invisible Brahman. You are a slave of circumstances because you do not meditate regularly. You will easily get illumination in solitude. Solitude has its own charms - prepare yourself for life in seclusion. Control and preserve energy through silence, brahmacarya (celibacy) and pranayama (yoga breathing), - you will have wonderful meditation. Love that man who dislikes you - you will grow strong. Money wasted can be restored, but time wasted is lost forever. Find out your centre - that centre is perfect harmony, eternal bliss, your own immortal soul.

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SIVANANDA DAILY READING FOR 29 OCTOBER

BRAHMAN AND MAYA Like the pot and clay, waves and the sea, ornaments of silver and gold, the universe is non different from Brahman. The cause does not lose its being by appearing as the effect. The world is not an illusion, but it is non different from Brahman. Like heat is inseparable from fire and identical with it, so the universe which is of the nature of Brahman is identical with it.

The world is dependent on Brahman and independently the world is nothing. The play of cit (consciousness) alone shines as this universe. The universe was, is and always will be. There is no beginning or end to creation.

Behind the impermanent material world there is the invisible source of all things, pure, unchanging spirit or Atman. In the presence of God, maya (illusion) creates the world, even as in the presence of the superior officer, the subordinates do their work. Just as a carpenter cannot work without the instruments, and the instruments themselves also cannot do any work without the carpenter, so also, Isvara (God) cannot create the world without maya, nor can maya create the world without Isvara.

This world is an overflow of the love of God. This is the view of a bhakta (devotee). This world is an overflow of the bliss of Brahman. This is the view of a vedantin or sage. Love and bliss are one; God and Brahman are one. This world is nothing but the expression of God's love for Himself. This world is an expression or manifestation of God. It is the outcome of the spontaneous play of love and joy. God expands Himself and manifests as the world.

Atmic sankalpa (the will of the self) makes this universe shine and constitutes it. Every object is surcharged with divine significance. Everything in this world has got a spiritual message to convey. Learn from everything. All is Brahman. When this truth is intellectually recognised and intuitively realised, then all feelings of differences end forever.

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