To attain jitendriyata is to achieve full control over ones senses. This leads to what is called God-realisation. In this controlled state all pain and suffering cease permanently.

There are different paths to achieve this height: Gyan yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, hatha yoga, swara yoga, nada yoga, astanga yoga; all of these lead to the same goal of achieving communion with God. The shortest and most suitable path ordained in this Kali Yuga is bhakti yoga.

Read more here: » Bhakti Yoga: Lasting Happiness Through Bhakti Yoga

Ayurveda and Yoga can be called sister sciences of 'self-healing and self-realisation'. Both evolved from a Vedic background in ancient India, based on the same philosophy, sharing many practices. Ayurveda, the 'yogic form of healing', is aimed at bringing us back into harmony with our true Self or Atman . The great Ayurvedic teacher Charaka defines Ayurveda as the harmony of body, prana , mind and soul. Patanjali defines yoga as controlling the mind in order to realise the Purusha .

(See also: Ayurveda , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Ayurveda: Ayurveda and Yoga - Healing Touch  

ATMA-SAKSHATKARA: Self-realisation

(See also: ATMA-SAKSHATKARA , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

BRAHMANUBHAVA: Self-realisation

(See also: BRAHMANUBHAVA , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

The Vedas describe an ultimate reality, which they call Brahman . The awareness of this 'reality' is attained through the practice of yoga and meditation. " Aham Brahmasmi " (I am Brahman) - is the statement of this realisation and identification, which is synonymous with the concept of nirvana. Conceptions of Brahman and nirvana are integral to the different schools of Indian and Buddhist philosophy. However, untill recently, they had not been subject to scientific scrutiny.

Physicists have discovered that the various quantum fields , which underlie all physical reality, arise from one common source, namely, the unified field. Our goal here is to show an overall connection between two primary realities - the unified field and consciousness.

(See also: New Physics , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » New Physics: Physics of Nirvana - Link Two Realities  

In the whirlpool of fleeting sensual pleasures you have forgotten the purpose of life and goal. You live more for the body than for the soul. In your pursuit after the phantom shows of worldly vanities, you have annihilated the spiritual instincts and longings of the soul. What a sad state! Mysterious is Maya! Mysterious is Moha! Open your eyes now. Wake up from the long slumber of ignorance. Realise the ultimate Reality and enjoy eternal bliss.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: How to Spend Your Holidays

Brahmabhyasa:

Brahmabhyasa: meditation on Brahman;  Nididhyasana; reflection on Brahman; conversing on Brahman;  discussing about Brahman; etc., that is calculated to the  realisation of Brahman.

(See also: Brahmabhyasa , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Atma-sakshathkara:

Atma-sakshathkara (Aathma-saakshathkaara). Direct vision of Atma; Self realisation.

(See also: Atma-sakshathkara , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Science and Spirituality: See the World in a Grain of Salt

Revelation of this excellence in God's creation has been the constant endeavour of science right from the days of Aristotle, Newton and Einstein to the present day.

Realising God's excellence in nature only brought these scientists closer to God - some of them even expressed a feeling of deep religiosity. Einstein said: "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind".

Read more here: » Science and Spirituality: See the World in a Grain of Salt

A full introduction to the practise of meditation.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Meditation: Practice of Meditation

Dream Poetry.

A spiritual view on dreams and the meaning of dreams by Sri Swami Sivananda, an authority in the vedic sciences and traditions.

Read more here: » Philosophy of Dreams XII: Waking Experience Has Relative Reality

"Hey, I'm in Nirvana!" We talk like this when we feel good. But what is it like to actually attain nirvana, otherwise known as moksha or self-realisation?

Self-realisation is the goal of life. Vedic rishis found that everything in the world that blooms is also subject to ultimate decay. Are we here just to live a brief life and then pass away? They reasoned that life cannot be devoid of some higher purpose.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: In Search of the Real 'Me'

 Instructions on Meditation.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Meditation: Special Instructions on Meditation

The Samanya Dharmas must be practised by all, irrespective of distinctions of Varna and Asrama, creed or colour. Goodness is not the property of any one class, creed, sect or community. Every man should possess this virtue.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Dharma: Fundamentals Of Dharma

All are terribly afraid of death. No one wants to die. Even intellectual persons who have grasped the idea that the Soul is Immortal and is distinct from the body are also awfully afraid of death. Yoga is actually a way of conquering Death!

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Conquest Of Death: How Yoga is a way of conquering Death

All followers of a guru, regardless of age , are like his children. He gives them shelter from misery and imparts to them the knowledge of self-realisation without expecting anything in return.

In a satsang the guru teaches meditation and other methods for realising the God who resides within. How does one find a guru? An ancient saying says that when the disciple is prepared, the guru appears. A genuine spiritual guru seeks out good students. If he finds that the student is not yet ready, he will gradually prepare him for higher teachings. And when the wick and oil are properly prepared, the guru lights the lamp.

(See also: Satsang , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Satsang: Satsangs, Gurus, Faith and Truth  

Swami Rama Tirtha rekindled the poetic vision of the Upanishads. His exposition of Vedanta through lectures and talks imparted a transcendental perspective to the ancient texts. He advocated greater brotherhood and bonding through a realisation of the true meaning of the spiritual law.

The essence of this is captured in a beautiful composition called The Faith: "What care I for caste or creed? / It is the deed; it is the deed/ what for class or clan? / It is the man, it is the man /...What for crown or crest? / It is the heart within the breast".

(See also: Swami Rama Tirtha , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Swami Rama Tirtha: Swami Rama Tirtha's View of Vedanta  

Poetry on dreams.

A spiritual view on dreams and the meaning of dreams by Sri Swami Sivananda, an authority in the vedic sciences and traditions.

Read more here: » Philosophy of Dreams XIV: Waking Experience is as False as Dream Experience

Once upon a time, a musk deer went searching for musk. Round and round the forest she went, month after month, quite unaware that the heady fragrance, so desperately sought by her, lay beneath her own belly button. Many times, we humans, too, behave like the musk deer. We search for self-realisation outside, blissfully unaware that it lies within us, all the while untapped.

To experience this bliss, however, the seeker has to put in a different sort of effort with regularity and devotion. One way lies through the world of forms, through the path of bhakti, where the seeker concentrates on any of the manifest forms of the Ultimate.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: The Ideal Way to Get Close to God - Bhakti

As a teenager, Venkataraman (that was the Sri Ramana Maharshi 's given name) had no inclination towards any form of devotion. At 16 years, self-realisation just happened. Sitting in a room Venkataraman felt as if he were dying.

Later, he recounted saying to himself: "This body is dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there be burnt and reduced to ashes. But with the death of body, am 'I' dead?

(See also: Sri Ramana Maharshi , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sri Ramana Maharshi: Discovering the 'I' In Sixty Minutes  

Sundarkand forms part of Ramcharitmanas of Goswami Tulsidas which is commonly known as Tulsi Ramayana. It is the essence of the Ramcharitmanas, and is awarded as much importance as the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata.

Like the Gita, the Sundarkand can be read independently. It has a powerful theme: When you are on a good mission, God gives you strength to overcome all obstacles. Sundarkand commences with Hanuman’s departure for Lanka in search of Sita and ends with Rama and his army’s preparation to reach Lanka across the sea. This entire episode is called sundar or beautiful because every act described in it is auspicious, elevating the human mind and promoting right human values.

(See also: Sundarkand , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sundarkand: All’s Well That Ends Well - Sundarkand  

The main principle is that when awakened, Kundalini Sakti, either Herself or Her eject, ceases to be a static Power which sustains the world-consciousness, the content of which is held only so long as She sleeps; and when once set in movement is drawn to that other static centre in the Thousand-petalled Lotus (Sahasrara) which is Herself in union with the Siva-consciousness or the consciousness of ecstasy beyond the world of form. When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to this world. When She wakes, he sleeps—that is, loses all consciousness of the world and enters his causal body. In Yoga, he passes beyond to formless Consciousness.

Excerpt from the book Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Kundalini Yoga: Essence Of Kundalini Yoga