YOGA Year 2 Issue 10

October 2013
Membership postage: Rs. 50

Golden Jubilee 50th year of

Bihar School of Yoga

Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India

 Hari Om
YOGA is compiled, composed
and pub­lished by the sannyasin
disciples of Swami Satyananda
Saraswati for the benefit of all
people who seek health, happiness
and enlightenment. It contains in­
formation about the activities of
Bihar School of Yoga, Bihar Yoga
Bharati, Yoga Publications Trust
and Yoga Research Fellowship.
Editor: Swami Shaktimitrananda
Saraswati
Assistant Editor: Swami Yogatirth- GUIDELINES FOR SPIRITUAL LIFE
ananda Saraswati
YOGA is a monthly magazine. Late Balance
subscriptions include issues from
January to December. Just as water remains unaffected on the
Published by Bihar School of Yoga, lotus leaf, just as oil floats upon the surface
Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger, Bihar of the water without being affected in
– 811201. any way, one should remain in the world
Printed at Thomson Press India amidst pleasures and difficulties, amidst
Ltd., Haryana – 121007 worldly activities and troubles. One may
© Bihar School of Yoga 2013 fail to keep the balance a thousand and
Membership is held on a yearly one times, but in the long run, one is
basis. Please send your requests bound to succeed if one persists in one’s
for application and all correspond- practice and disciplines the mind. Every
ence to:
failure is a pillar for future success.
Bihar School of Yoga
Ganga Darshan A spiritual aspirant should not expect the
Fort, Munger, 811 201
Bihar, India
return of love, appreciation, gratitude or
admiration from people. He must be free
- A self-addressed, stamped envelope
must be sent along with enquiries to en- from raga and dwesha, likes and dislikes,
sure a response to your request and keep a balanced mind at all times, in
all conditions and under all circumstances.
Front cover: Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati,
1965
—Swami Sivananda
Plates: 1–4: 1973 World Yoga Convention,
Munger; 5–8: 1993 World Yoga Convention,
Munger

Published and printed by Swami Gyanbhikshu Saraswati on behalf of Bihar School of Yoga,
Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger – 811 201, Bihar
Printed at Thomson Press India (Ltd), 18/35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Rd., Faridabad, Haryana.
Owned by Bihar School of Yoga Editor: Swami Shaktimitrananda Saraswati
 Yoga Year 2 Issue 10 • October 2013
(51st year of publication)

Contents
Bihar School of Yoga –
50 years of committment
3 Therapeutic Limitations of Yoga
5 Hatha Yoga and Health
8 Overcoming Fear
10 A Dream Come True
13 Yogic Research in Munger
16 Drug and Alcohol Dependent Children
20 In the Media
24 Yoga and Education
37 BYMM – A Children’s Movement
41 Visit to BSY, Editorial
43 Ashram Life
45 Attaining Balance of Mind
48 The Inner Mirror
51 Reach Within to Embrace Humanity
54 Sutra of Happiness

The Yogi is superior to the ascetic. He is deemed superior even to those versed in sacred
lore. The Yogi is superior even to those who perform action with some motive. Therefore,
Arjuna, do you become a Yogi. (Bhagavad Gita VI:46)
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 Health
According to yoga, total health is harmony in the five dimensions
of body, brain, emotions, mind and spirit; otherwise health is
always incomplete.
Lack of self-acceptance is the basic cause of disease, whether
it is physical or emotional.
The wellbeing of the body, mind and emotions, the sense of
ethics and morality, represents the concept of health, and not
necessarily the absence of disease.
All our lives, from birth to death, we go through this show
of running from pillar to post, trying to find a sense of physical,
mental, emotional, moral and spiritual wellbeing in life, but we
do not find it anywhere. Regulation of lifestyle is the keyword
for wellbeing, and the lifestyle can be regulated by applying the
simple and basic principles of yoga.
Experience of optimum health is a transcendental experience,
where we do not experience any limitations, where we do not
experience any stressful situations, and where there is a free flow
and full awakening of energy.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 2 Oct 2013

Therapeutic Yoga
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

For diseases such as typhoid and pneumonia, yoga should

not be used, but this is the only limitation. Yoga is for chronic
diseases like diabetes, asthma, and for constitutional diseases.
In these cases one can use it safely. For diseases that pertain to
an individual’s behaviour, thinking, temperament, character,
responsiveness and sensitivity, there is nothing better than yoga.
If an individual is suffering from terrible anger, or has an
inferiority complex, or too many wrong notions about himself,
there is nothing better than yoga. It creates a medium for self-
correction. Many of the problems which are considered inborn
are according to yoga physiological in nature.

YOGA 3 Oct 2013

 Anger is intrinsically connected with the adrenal secretion
and which again is intrinsically connected with coronary
excitements. When one is angry there is excitement of the heart,
and therefore, the adrenal secretions have to be balanced. They
can be balanced by the practice of shashankasana, hare pose, for
a period of time up to half an hour.
If there is overstimulation or understimulation of the
adrenal gland, there could be a lot of anger. One could be ready
with the revolver to shoot at anyone. Or perhaps, a person
could be so passive that even if he is slapped on one cheek he
would say, “Alright, the other cheek is ready.”
Similarly, the understimulation or overstimulation of the
thyroids could make a person emotionally hypersensitive or
make him kill his emotions.
We recognize the psychological status of emotions such
as love and hatred, but at the same time we know that they
have a physiological bearing. Anger, love or compassion are
not only psychological, they have a physiological base.
—1970, India

YOGA 4 Oct 2013

Hatha Yoga and Health
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

The word hatha symbolizes two aspects within the body, surya
shakti, solar energy, and chandra shakti, lunar energy. The solar
energy is associated with prana shakti, vital energy, and the
lunar energy is associated with chitta shakti, mental energy.
Hatha yoga balances these two energies. That is its purpose.
You are alive due to the presence of these two energies within
you. Due to prana shakti you experience the vitality in the body
and due to chitta shakti you experience the activities of the
mind. Thus, hatha yoga is the method to create synchronicity,
harmony and balance between body and mind.

Need for a manual

Traditionally, hatha yoga begins with the practices of
shatkarmas, the six practices of physical cleansing. With the
help of shatkarmas one can free the body of vikaras, disorders.
This body is God’s gift to you, but you do not use it properly.
Rather, you misuse it. When you buy a car, it comes with an
instruction manual which contains information about what
you need to pay attention to in order to keep the car in good
condition. It tells you the optimum volume of air the tyres need,
the amount of fluid the brakes and clutch need, the amount of
petrol the engine needs, and so on. If you do not pay attention
to these things, the car won’t run properly for long. The manual
also states how often you need to service the car. If it is looked
after regularly, then even when something goes wrong it will
not take much to repair it. The same rules apply to the body.
The common philosophy followed today – “Eat, drink and
be merry” – ruins the body. A healthy body, free from physical
disorders, is acquired by practising physical restraint, not by
misusing it. Restraint is lacking in people’s lives today. No
restraint is practised in eating or sleeping, activities or thoughts.

YOGA 5 Oct 2013

This spoils the natural habits of the body and mind, resulting in
the formation of blocks in the body, which manifest as disease.

Cleansing and restraint

Ayurveda discusses three doshas, humours, which cause three
kinds of disorders in the body. As long as kapha, mucus, pitta,
bile, and vata, wind, are in a state of balance, one is healthy.
The moment any one of them becomes dominant, the body
begins to experience ill health. This indicates that the body
requires balance and restraint, the lack of which causes
vikaras, disorders. The purpose of hatha yoga is to remove
the vikaras and harmonize the body.
The first lesson in shatkarmas is neti. Neti removes
disorders of the nose, eyes and ears, eases mental tension
and provides energy to the brain. The practices of dhauti and
basti remove disorders of the digestive system, gas, acidity
and mucus, and clean out putrid material from the intestines.
In this way, the practices bring about a complete cleansing
of the body from the head to the anus.
You have never cleansed your body since you were born.
You may have an external bath every day, but you never
clean the insides of your body. You have never cleansed the
digestive system since eating your first morsel of food, nor
have you practised restraint in eating. The speciality of the
digestive system is that whenever you eat something it releases
digestive juices. The system does not see that you are eating
a peanut or a pizza, the amount of digestive juices released is
the same irrespective of what you eat. Therefore, those who
keep munching the whole day long overstrain the digestive
system and experience acidity, gas and indigestion.
This is why hatha yoga emphasizes dietary restraint. It
is said, “Eat your breakfast like a king, eat your lunch like
a common man and eat your dinner like a beggar.” If such
rules are followed, one will never fall sick. One will never
experience digestive disorders and will remain healthy.
By practising dietary restraint and cleansing the body

YOGA 6 Oct 2013

from within, one can free it of all the accumulated dirt and
disorders. When the body acquires a state of purity, the
pranas are able to flow smoothly.

Shatkarmas and nadis

The first three shatkarmas, neti, dhauti and basti, free annamaya
kosha, the food body or physical body, of its defects. The
other three shatkarmas are kapalabhati, nauli and trataka,
which help contain the agitations of the mind and bring it to
a point of focus. Trataka controls the dissipations of the mind.
Kapalabhati removes mental tensions. Nauli awakens the
centre of prana in the body, manipura chakra.
Yoga begins with these practices, not with asana and
pranayama. If you study traditional yoga and try to understand
its comprehensive philosophy, you will discover that yoga
begins with the shatkarmas. Thereafter, the practices of asana,
pranayama, mudra and bandha are introduced. They are
dynamic practices through which you can relieve the stiffness
of the body and prepare it for higher yoga sadhanas.
Hatha yoga is perfected when one has complete control
over prana shakti and chitta shakti. Symbolically, it has been
stated that prana shakti flows through the right nostril and
chitta shakti through the left nostril. The nadi, pranic channel,
through which prana shakti flows is called pingala and the
nadi through which chitta shakti flows is called ida. When the
two are balanced, the flow of a third channel, sushumna, is
experienced.
Hatha yoga is a method of harmonizing the flow of pranas
in the body and bringing the mind from a dissipated state to
a focused state.

When we think in terms of past, present and future we develop a

fatalistic view, but when we see each day as a new beginning we
develop faith, which is more important than fate.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 7 Oct 2013

Overcoming Fear
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

How can yoga help a person overcome the fear of riding on

buses, trains, or planes?
This type of fear usually occurs in people over thirty-five
years of age, and there are two basic reasons for such fears.
Especially in this age group, there is an accumulation of fat
in the nervous tissues and physical organs of the body. In

YOGA 8 Oct 2013

younger people the rate of metabolism is much faster and
prevents the body accumulating excess fat in any organ or
part of the body.
The second cause is due to a physiological process that
occurs in the body as a response to a frightening or confusing
situation. When fear is experienced in the brain it is passed
on to the body via the glandular and nervous systems which
prepare the body for fight or flight.
Experiments conducted on thieves preparing to enter and
steal from a house at night have shown that the flow of adrenal
secretions is greatly increased. Their whole body is fighting
their unconscious fear. As a result, at that time they may feel
like going to the toilet, they may sweat profusely or experience
heavy breathing.
There are two ways of overcoming the fear complex. In the
first case, one should try to metabolize the fat accumulation. In
the second case, one should practise antar mouna, inner silence.
Let the fear come and just witness it, observe the effects it
has on your mind, body and emotions. After some time, you
will realize that the cause of your fear is rooted in a forgotten
childhood experience.
If you practise shashankasana for half an hour daily, you
will be able to control the secretion of adrenaline and fright and
fear will gradually diminish. If you practise shashankasana,
antar mouna and pranayama regularly, after some time you
will relive the childhood experience in your mind and all fear
will vanish like a miracle.
—16 September 1979, Paris, France,
printed in YOGA, Vol. 18, No. 5 (May 1980)

The whole process of spiritual life is to be open and friendly with

all fellow beings, to help, guide, love and live in harmony with
each other.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 9 Oct 2013

A Dream Come True
Tejal Mor, Mumbai

Anshuman, now fifteen years old, walked the seven kilometers

of the Marathon Dream Run, a yearly event in Mumbai. He
cannot run or jog as his muscles are still weak from two years
of leukemia treatment.
I walked a little behind him, keeping an eager eye on his
movements so that I would not lose sight of him amongst
thousands of others. I thought he might require assistance at
any moment. However, it was important to let him be on his
own and gain confidence. He needed to start feeling normal
again.
A few steps behind him, in the midst of thousands of people
cheering, I could not help looking up to the sky and let my
tears flow with a heart full of gratitude and surrender to God
and guru for making me see this day.
A few months ago, Anshuman was in a wheelchair.
Throughout his suffering, months in hospital, high fevers,
chemo and radiation therapy, weight loss and pain, followed
by a relapse and a stem cell transplant, he held on to a dream
that one day he would walk the Dream Run of the Mumbai
Marathon.
As per the guidance of our guru, the Mahamrityunjaya
and Gayatri mantras have become the foundation of each day
for the whole family. The blessed prayer beads remain with
Anshuman at all times protecting him and blessing him. A
thought was enough to make us feel guru’s presence and help
to come out of a difficult situation. For that we bow in complete
surrender and gratitude.
There is a realization that everything is so much beyond
our small human mind. Life has taken a different meaning.
There is an awareness that every breath is a gift of God and
the only purpose is to fill it with complete love and devotion

YOGA 10 Oct 2013

to Him. That is possible by opening our hearts to one and all.
I wish to devote myself completely with love and compassion
to the service of humanity, and therefore to God. I pray to be
guided in this endeavour.
—2012

YOGA 11 Oct 2013

 Research
Science and yoga are coming closer to each other. From the
time of the Greek thinkers, science was dedicated to define
and understand objects, but the picture has changed.
Science has entered into a domain where it is trying to
understand the subject rather than the object.
About four hundred years ago, a French scientist,
Blaise Pascal, had an inner experience. For two and a
half hours, he experienced fire. He was a scientist by
every standard. For him, the atom was reality and
he was dedicated to research into matter. When
he had this experience of fire spontaneously,
he went into a state of ecstasy and wrote,
“Certainly it is bliss; certainly it is joy.” He had
the experience of the object as a scientist
and of the subject as a mystic, a yogi.
Scientists have been thinking that
the consciousness of the observer
in a perception, alters the nature of
perception, the nature of the object,
and it influences the experiment. It is the
consciousness which is important. This
consciousness, even if it is not accepted,
even if one doesn’t want to develop and
experience it for the time being, should be
more expanded.
The consciousness should be devel­
oped in such a way that it does not
alter the object, or the quality of the
experiment. The consciousness of
the scientist, the experimenter and the
observer becomes a decisive factor. This
consciousness has to evolve, and for that evolution the
practices of yoga are important.
Yoga is a science of consciousness, a science of
personality and a science of creativity.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 12 Oct 2013

Yogic Research in Munger
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Munger is isolated; it is not a place of pilgrimage. Those who

come here have to change trains three times, so they think
twice before deciding to make the journey. On the banks of the
Ganga is Ananda Bhavan, the place where I practised hatha
yoga and later decided to stay for I liked this place very much.
Now people are coming to Munger from all over the world
in order to learn yoga, not only Indians but people from all
religions and walks of life. The situation in the world is such
that everyone from king to beggar is perplexed and restless.
People want to learn yoga and concentrate their mind in order
to find peace. This is why our small ashram is transmitting the
message of yoga to the whole world.
Previously yoga was practised only for self-realization, but
today yoga is used by people everywhere to free their body
and mind of disease and tension. All the top scientists and
doctors, whether from America or the socialist countries, are
engaged in research on yoga. From my own investigations,
I found that through meditation, japa, mantra, kirtan, asana
and pranayama changes take place within the physical body
and within the mind.

Research Coordinating Centre

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to open
yogic research centres all over the world. There should be
complete coordination in these investigations, but there is not.
Sometimes news of them is published in different scientific
journals and magazines, but the average person does not
have access to the findings of the research being carried out
in Yugoslavia, France, Australia and India.
Most people know about the latest films, but new
experiments and investigations are hardly discussed. There

YOGA 13 Oct 2013

is no adequate medium to convey the latest yogic research
and its implications to the people in a form which can be
understood by all. For this reason Bihar School of Yoga has
started a Research Coordinating Centre.
Many of my sannyasin disciples are doctors, engineers,
philosophers and psychologists. They have left their countries
and homes to come here and take up this work. Being highly
trained, they have a basic understanding of the scientific yogic
research going on around the world. They will bring here
whatever research is being done on yoga, in the East and West,
correlate it and convey it in a readable form to the people.
I am a member of a large number of institutions, but not one
of them is transmitting its findings to the public in a systematic,
effective and far-reaching way. These investigations cannot be
explained in lectures, for some people may understand but
many will not. We do not expect every person to understand
what alpha intensity is. Therefore, first the doctors and scientists
should become familiar with these ideas, and then they can
explain them to the people in a more comprehensible manner.

Yogic culture
Our aim is to convey information about the investigations
going on in the world. How are alpha waves produced while
doing kirtan? How does japa influence blood pressure? What
is the effect of relaxation on the mind? What does science have
to say about yoga? Through meditation changes can be brought
about in one’s emanations, electrical and magnetic centres.
Physical, emotional and mental health can be improved. This is
not to state that the medical sciences, surgery, or ayurveda are
of no use. Our ancestors developed many systems of medical
treatment to relieve us from diseases, and one of these systems
is yoga. The research being done around the world will throw
much light on the possibilities of yoga therapy.
We must be more aware of our yogic culture. Over the
last five hundred years, we have forgotten it and spiritual
knowledge has nearly disappeared. Today, however, there

YOGA 14 Oct 2013

is a great yogic renaissance going on around the world and
spiritual knowledge is manifesting. More than ever it is
necessary for every person to be reminded of this great yogic
culture before which the whole world bows down.
Finally, to all yoga lovers I express the wish that they may
share their knowledge and experience with us in the form
of assistance and cooperation, so that we can impart this
knowledge to the maximum number of people through our
new Research Coordinating Centre.
—24 January 1977, fourteenth anniversary celebration of the
Foundation Day of Bihar School of Yoga, Sivanandashram,
printed in YOGA, Vol. 15, No. 9 (September 1977)

YOGA 15 Oct 2013

Drug and Alcohol Dependent
Children
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

When I was living in California I went to a drug and alcohol

rehabilitation centre for children aged from about twelve to
twenty-two years. The doctor, who was our student, felt that
the practices of yoga, specifically yoga nidra, would somehow
help a person come out of his addiction. We spoke with the
different people at the helm of administration.
We devised a yoga program without actually knowing what
would be beneficial. We looked at the type of personalities and
considered their nature, whether they were violent and how
they might react to not having any kind of drugs, injections
or medication. We considered what kind of reactions we
might expect from them, what type of understanding they
had about certain practices of yoga, about yoga itself and
whether they would be willing to accept yoga. I had to go
for the initial teaching. Would they accept me in my orange
skin as a teacher?
Taking all this into consideration, we devised a plan which
initially consisted of the normal talk encouraging addicts to
come out of their addiction. This was given by the doctor,
Todd Mekuria. He used to give an introduction which would
last fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the mood of the
addicts. Then he would invite me as guest speaker, but of
course I would not speak. Instead I would say, “Let us do
something.”

Calming practices
We divided the whole group of children into two, one half
having a violent nature and the other half a depressive nature.
To the violent group we taught pranayamas:

YOGA 16 Oct 2013

1. Nadi shodhana: just the simple alternate nostril breathing
was given.
2. Bhramari: we asked them to imagine they were driving
a car and changing gear with the pitch of the bhramari
sound.
3. Ujjayi: we asked them to touch the back of the throat with
their tongue in khechari mudra, without telling them what
khechari mudra was and then breathe with ujjayi.
After six sessions which lasted about forty minutes on a
daily basis, the doctors found that the addicts became quiet,
passive, even docile. They would listen and discuss their
problems, family matters, social conditions, the environment
or the situations which forced them to take drugs or alcohol.
This happened after just six sessions of pranayama.
After six sessions we stopped pranayama completely and
introduced the concept of willpower or sankalpa. From the
second session we started with the simple practice of yoga
nidra, which continued again for six sessions. The doctors
noticed that these young people who used to be dependent
on drugs, nicotine injections, which created some sort of
stimulation in the system, and other kinds of drugs, reduced
their intake by 30 to 40% on a daily basis.
In order to further enhance their mental awareness, to
focus the mind and to develop concentration, we started to
practise ajapa japa without a mantra. They simply observed
the breath while sitting in a chair with the eyes closed, the
body upright and straight, and tried to listen to the sound
of the natural breath. They just had to keep listening to the
sound of the natural breath. The introversion was so powerful
that after the class, many used to say that they could feel and
hear the blood flowing through their veins. Listening to and
talking about the heartbeat is quite obvious as it is a major
movement within the body, but they talked about the flow
of blood which means that their concentration was intense.
Their violent nature subsided as they became more accepting
and understanding.

YOGA 17 Oct 2013

 In the three-week course they had eighteen days of practice:
six days each week with one day of talks. During that time a
great change was felt by the practitioners and the staff who
monitored them.

Stimulating practices
With the depressive group it was slightly difficult to motivate
them to do anything. They simply would not do anything at all. So
we started off not with the common practice of yoga nidra, instead
we created a story and asked them to visualize it. They visualized
a hike in the mountains, or a boat trip on the ocean. Different
stories were created which helped to focus their attention.
It was more like visualization in shavasana than a yoga
nidra. Gradually the concept of different sensations in the
body along with the visualization was introduced.
Once they became interested in this form of storytelling,
visualization and imagination, some pranayama combined
with bandhas was added. Bhastrika was practised for a few
days and later we introduced agnisar without the bhastrika.
They were told that instead of actually breathing rapidly in
and out through the nostrils, they should imagine that they
were doing it, without breathing, through the stomach. The
bandhas were introduced to stimulate blocked energy centres.
Nadi shodhana was the last pranayama to be introduced.
After they had completed this set of practices we started
meditation. This was more in line with chidakasha dharana, for
with the depressive group we tried using only the visualization
techniques for example, imagining that they were writing on a
blackboard – different symbols, names, numbers and colours,
shapes and sizes. Later we practised the advanced form of
chidakasha dharana, where the brain is viewed as a room, and
the practitioner goes deep down into that room.

Achieving balance
While conducting the course, the children became more
outgoing and communicative. The depressive group asked

YOGA 18 Oct 2013

better questions in the question and answer sessions, as if they
were constantly thinking, due to their introverted nature. It felt
as though they were more aware of their feelings, emotions and
needs in life than the group who were reacting to situations
violently. The communication was better with the depressive
group.
The last information I received from this doctor was that he
had trained social workers in the system that we had devised.
They were being sent out to teach in different rehabilitation
centres in the Bay area of California, and were establishing
this yoga program.
—1989, Ganga Darshan, Munger,
printed in YOGA, Vol. 1, No. 3 (May 1990)

YOGA 19 Oct 2013

In the Media
Yoga halves irregular-heartbeat episodes
2 April 2011, by Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Yoga, already proven to lower

high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, can cut in half
the risk of a common and potentially dangerous irregular
heartbeat, according to a US study released on Saturday.
The small study was the first to examine the benefits of
yoga on atrial fibrillation – a problem that is a leading cause
of stroke and is most common in the elderly.
In addition to halving the episodes of atrial fibrillation, the
study found that yoga also reduced symptoms of anxiety and
depression related to the condition.
“These findings are important because many of the
current conventional treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation
include invasive procedures or medications with undesirable
side effects,” said Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, an associate
professor with the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas
City, Kansas, who led the study.

YOGA 20 Oct 2013

 He presented his findings at the annual meeting of the
American College of Cardiology being held in New Orleans.
The study involved 49 patients with the heart rhythm disorder
who had no physical limitations and no prior experience with
yoga. Their episodes of irregular heartbeat were measured for
a six-month period by researchers at the hospital.
During the first three months, patients were allowed
to participate in any physical activity they liked. For the
remaining three months, they underwent a supervised yoga
program that involved breathing exercises, yoga postures,
meditation and relaxation.
Forty-five minute yoga sessions with a certified professional
were held three times each week, and patients were encouraged
to practise daily yoga exercises at home.
Heart monitors measured episodes of irregular heartbeat
throughout the trial, and patients completed short self-
administered surveys to assess their levels of anxiety,
depression and overall quality of life.

Significant impact
On average, yoga cut episodes of irregular heartbeat in half,
while also significantly reducing depression and anxiety scores
and improving scores in physical functioning, general health,
vitality, social functioning and mental health, the researchers
found.
“It appears yoga has a significant impact on helping to
regulate patients’ heartbeat and improving the overall quality
of life,” Dr Lakkireddy said.
Atrial fibrillation causes blood to pool in the upper
chambers of the heart, where it can clot and travel to the brain,
causing strokes. Millions of patients with the condition take
the blood thinner Warfarin every day to lower the risk of such
clots, and thereby prevent strokes.
Considering its low cost and benefits, Lakkireddy said yoga
should be considered in overall treatment of atrial fibrillation
and other heart rhythm problems.

YOGA 21 Oct 2013

 But Lakkireddy cautioned that larger studies are needed
to bear out the findings of his study, and that patients
should continue with standard medical therapy. “Based on
my findings, one should not tell patients that yoga will fix
everything and they can stop taking their anticoagulants. Yoga
is strictly a supplement for everything else they are doing
medically,” he said.
A new wave of promising medicines to prevent such strokes
is being developed by several drugmakers, but the pills come
with side effects, and are expected to cost thousands of dollars
a year, when they reach the market.

Military Uses Ancient Yoga Practice to Reduce Stress

Hinduism Today: Volume 34, No 4 (October/November/
December 2012)

Faced with the highest suicide rates in thirty years, US military

officials have turned to yoga to help treat psychologically
wounded soldiers. The Walter Reed Health Deployment
Clinical Center has developed a three-week treatment program
that includes hatha yoga and yoga nidra (labeled “Integrative
Restoration, iRest) to assuage stress and PTSD (Post Traumatic
Stress Disease). Ten states have implemented iRest programs.

YOGA 22 Oct 2013

 Education
Message to the Children of Yoga
Love and blessings
to the children of yoga
all over the world
who are developing
amidst pure nature and yoga
and living with kirtan
and lots of fun
with swamis
who are dedicated
and have
me in their hearts
and minds.
I remember you all.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 23 Oct 2013

Yoga and Education
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga is one of the few traditions that have survived the

accidents of history and the ravages of time. It has given a
sense of discipline and spiritual direction, not only to India
but to the whole world. The basic purpose of yoga is education
and I have dedicated myself completely to the teaching and
preaching of yoga in every sphere of life, particularly in the
education of our children.
When I talk about yoga in the field of education, it should be
understood that I am not talking about physical exercises. We
don’t intend yoga to become another subject for examination
where teachers have to mark a paper to pass or fail a child.

Beyond the body

Up till now yoga has not been understood in the right
perspective. We think that yoga builds the body, improves

YOGA 24 Oct 2013

blood circulation or increases the supply of oxygen to the
lungs. Maybe it does, but this is not the actual purpose of yoga.
Asanas are certain postures of the body which were revealed
by the great rishis and munis who were the scientists of their
age. Each particular posture stimulates certain glands in the
endocrinal system.
Sarvangasana, the shoulder pose, stimulates the thyroid
gland which has a profound effect on the physical, emotional
and mental development of the child. If the gland secretes
too little hormone the child may become sluggish and sleepy,
because the body’s metabolism slows down. This leads to
intellectual dullness and mental retardation. If the thyroid
gland secretes too much the child will be hyperactive, both
physically and mentally, and unable to sit still or relax.
When you teach children shashankasana, hare pose, they
bend forward in the same way as one prays in the temple.
Shashankasana influences the adrenal glands. By regulating
the secretion of adrenaline, you can help the child to
overcome outbursts of anger, irrational fears and other types
of frustration. Adrenaline affects the degree of tension and
relaxation in the body and mind.
Some children are so afraid of the dark that in the dead
of night they are not able to go to the bathroom alone. They
imagine ghosts coming to take them while they are sleeping,
and so on. These irrational fears can be tackled by the practice of
shashankasana because it exercises an influence on the adrenal
glands which need to be regulated. Other useful asanas which
balance the glandular system are surya namaskara, salutation
to the sun, and marjariasana, cat pose.

To use the whole brain

In schools we find that children are not able to concentrate.
Their minds are like jumping monkeys. Through the practice
of pranayama we can help them integrate the dissipated
forces of their personality while they are studying for school.
Pranayama has long been misunderstood as merely breathing

YOGA 33 Oct 2013

exercises, where as it is actually intended to create a balance
between the mental and physical forces.
In yogic terms these two forces are represented by the ida
and pingala nadis respectively. When these two nadis flow
at the same time and when the temperature is equal in both,
the third nadi, known as sushumna, begins to flow. When ida
is predominant the right side of the brain is active and when
pingala is flowing the left side of the brain is operating. When
both flows are equal, sushumna opens and the whole brain is
activated.
If you are able to awaken sushumna nadi in a child by
the scientific process of pranayama, you can awaken his full,
creative potential which now remains dormant and hidden,
but which is nevertheless a reality. You are bringing the
participation of the whole brain, not only into his studies but
into all spheres of his life.
If a child is not able to concentrate on his studies, obey his
parents or develop his social consciousness, it does not mean
he is bad. It means he is incapable. The ability to understand
situations, retain black and white images, memorize, interpret
and reproduce, are all faculties of the brain. If the child is not
able to do these things, it is because his computer is incapable.
So, we have to tackle the problems of education from this angle.
Through the practices of yoga we can readjust the computer
and make the brain work more efficiently.

Re-education of teachers
The practices of yoga are going to pave the way in solving the
problems of education which have become a great headache
for teachers and officials of the education department. Children
want to rebel, they want to kick. They think, “If I cannot
understand what you are going to teach me, how will I get
through the examination? If I am not going to get through the
exams, to hell with your education system. Are you going to
give me a new capacity, are you going to show me a way of
emotional balance? I am tired of you telling me, ‘Look here, your

YOGA 34 Oct 2013

father was a great lawyer, your
grandfather was a governor.
What will happen to you?’” This
is the wrong way to talk to an
ignorant, unevolved child.
When I talk about yoga
in schools, I don’t mean
long classes or complicated
syllabuses. Syllabuses cannot
change children no matter what
you teach them. I am very
definite in my view that it is
the teachers who have to be
educated first along scientific
lines. Unless you have teachers,
you cannot have students. If you are going to teach children
yoga, what are you going to tell them? When you teach them
surya namaskara and they ask you why they are learning it,
what will you say? If you cannot answer them, they will not
practise it. Instead they will prefer to play tennis, golf, football,
cricket or hockey. You must arm yourselves with sufficient
knowledge of the scientific background and basis of yoga.
It is the teachers who must first be given a thorough
reorientation of their knowledge about yoga, and trained in
the practices and theory of yogasana, pranayama and yoga
nidra. Then yoga can be properly introduced to the students as
a new and creative subject whereby they can learn to relax and
become more familiar with themselves. Yogic exercises must
never be repeated monotonously as part of a routine. Do not
introduce yoga as physical exercise. Teachers must understand
how yoga differs from physical education. It should not be
presented incorrectly by equating it with physical training.

For the future

Yoga is a process of self-training which leads to self-discovery.
What are we? We have a body and we have a consciousness. A

YOGA 35 Oct 2013

process of awareness is going on all the time. We are following a
process of evolution at all levels of existence and there are many
factors to be worked out. The children we are teaching today
will form our culture tomorrow. We have had our turn, now
let us help the children understand the secrets of themselves
and the mysteries of life. Using yoga as a remedy, let us try
to soothe the minds of our restless youth by bringing more
happiness and purpose into the field of education.
—15 March 1979, All-India Tour, Tata Auditorium Bombay House,
printed in Sivananda Math, No. 4 (December 1988)

YOGA 36 Oct 2013

BYMM – A Children’s
Movement
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal (BYMM)

was established in 1995 with
seven children, who became
the nucleus of a movement
which has grown to include
over 80,000 children devoted
to yoga. These children are not
only devoted to or practising
yoga, they are fully trained
and well-versed in yoga. In
Munger there are over 2,800
child yoga demonstrators, over
600 child yoga instructors, and
over 400 child yoga teachers or
propagators.

Three mandates
This is a movement which is created and managed by children,
for children, all in the age group of 10 to 14. The mandate given
to them incorporates three principles: samskara, appropriate
performance in life, swavalamban, independent effort, and
samskriti prem, love for culture. By receiving good samskaras,
they are able to live a good life. Swavalamban means being
like the river that finds its own path. Not being dependent on
anyone but possessing the ability to stand on one’s own feet
and being happy. The third aim, samskriti prem, refers to the
spirituality-based culture of this country. To love and identify
with this culture is an aim given to these children. Samskriti
has been defined as samyak kritena iti samskriti. When every

YOGA 37 Oct 2013

behaviour and action in life is samyak, balanced, then this
balance is called samskriti.
The BYMM children associate with these three aims in life.
Yoga is something they learn naturally, as part of their play,
and when they go out into the world they carry these three
acquisitions with them.

Training
The children receive their training through a four-year syllabus.
It is a progressive course in which the last stage is yoga teacher
training. So at the age of fourteen they are qualified yoga
teachers with four years of experience. For one year they are
yoga demonstrators. They are introduced to yoga practices,
learn asana and pranayama along with the theory so they know
what yoga practices do to their body.
In the second year, they are taken to another level and
become yoga instructors. As yoga instructors they are taught
the intermediate group of practices along with more theory.
At this level they also learn yogic games, which help improve
their awareness, concentration, attention span, creativity
and memory. In the third year they are promoted to yoga
propagators, for this they are trained for one year in advanced
yoga techniques. After completing three years of training, if
they wish, they can become a member of BYMM.

Child development
Swami Sivananda used to say that the mind of children
is as sensitive as the microphone of a tape recorder. It can
pick up everything from the environment. Children are, by
nature, intuitive. The intuitive faculty is active till the age
of eight. Then intelligence kicks in, when they start going to
school and learning a, b, c, d and math, the education process
overshadows the intuitive nature and stimulates the intellect.
However, the intuitive receptivity can be stretched till the
age of fourteen with the practices of yoga. After fourteen,
when other hormones kick in, they need another set of yoga

YOGA 38 Oct 2013

practices. By then they already have a good foundation of
asana, pranayama, the meditative and mantra components of
yoga. They develop a deep understanding of things which one
would consider impossible for a child. This is how we teach
yoga to children.

For a better future

My yogic aspirations are placed on the shoulders of these
children. My priority is these children. They are my children.
They are my wards. Being the spiritual mentor of these 20,000
children in Munger, somebody whom they look up to. Their
safety and security is my responsibility, but the ashram is not
associated with BYMM.
They are the new generation of tomorrow and are
bound to contribute to the strengthening of Indian culture.
Today, these children are receiving the ideals and samskaras
that they could not receive from their guardians. We feel
extremely happy to see the self-confidence, sincerity and
diligence of these children when they move in the outside
world. We are looking towards the future of our society and
country through these children. The beautiful combination
of diligence and sensitivity in their life will help in the
redemption of our culture.
These children make me feel confident that the next
generation will be a dharmic generation. Dharma means eternal
obligation and the three pillars of dharma are appropriate
thinking, appropriate behaviour and appropriate action. These
children who are being trained in yoga will have a dharmic
personality and they will make a difference to our society, our
nation and our world.
The work done now will show results two generations
down the line. Therefore, we need to encourage children and
bring them to the forefront. Children don’t need protection;
they require freedom and guidance to connect with their own
creativity and confidence. This is the message that Bal Yoga
Mitra Mandal conveys.

YOGA 39 Oct 2013

 Lifestyle
Living yoga means organizing the pattern of one’s life.
By living a yogic life, we do not adopt a new religion, become
puritan overnight or change our external lifestyle. By adopting a
yogic way of life, we are able to express our awareness better.
Wealth, wife and children are not the sources of pain, neither
is their absence the foundation of happiness. Real trouble exists in
our attitude. If we cannot change the quality of our mind, we can
never experience happiness.
There is only one secret of meeting the challenges of life: one
has to be sincere and innocent.
For the wise, this life is a bundle of changing values. For those
who are detached, this life is dust. For the yogi, this life is a means
of purifying the mind.
Don’t look back at your past and don’t look too far ahead.
Keep your vision just a little ahead of the present. This is how you
will complete the journey of your life.
The path of spiritual practice and the attainment of perfection
is at first difficult, in the middle it becomes active and energizing
and finally it becomes successful.
Never forget that He alone looks after all your needs.
When it is God’s will, everything is easy. When it is our will,
we have to struggle.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 40 Oct 2013

Visit to BSY, Editorial
The World Wisdom Review, June 2013, Vol. 15, No. 06

Dear Readers,
This month of May I had the wonderful opportunity to visit
the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger. Situated in a remote part
of Bihar, after a five-hour bumpy ride from Patna airport, past
paddy fields, dry arid land and village after village, we arrived
to a tall, elegant compound.
On entering the ashram one is left with overwhelming
sense of awe. There is a stillness that emanates unimaginable
strength. It describes itself as, “An Ashram is not a temple
or monastery, or a place for sannyasins or the guru, it is an
embodiment of simple living, where one can develop a positive
attitude and an understanding of selfless service. It is a place
of inspiration because it does not teach or preach; it exhibits
and you imbibe what is applicable to you.”
The ashram runs like clockwork. Each system is perfectly
fine-tuned to exactness. Starting from the crack of dawn to
late into the evening, there is constant work in progress with
tireless determination.
While I was there to attend the May lecture series, by Swami
Niranjanananda Saraswati, there was time in between to do
karma yoga. I was assigned to the English correspondence
department, which meant sorting out the thousands of letters
received everyday into various piles according to the type of
response they needed, finding labels and pasting them onto
envelopes, responding to subscription letters etc.
In the few days that I performed my duty here I learned
a very valuable lesson, one that taught me the importance
of doing things well and with precision. And more so I
understood the value of hard work.
There was a method for everything. The way the label was
pasted, the manner in which the letter was folded into the

YOGA 41 Oct 2013

envelope, the position of the paper clip between two pages
of paper – it had to be exactly according to the guidelines, so
that when it reached its recipient, it was as perfect as it could
be. This is only one little example of the way in which the
organization runs itself.
The lecture series were for two hours every day, in English
and Hindi, preceded by song and dance put together by the
young girls and boys of the surrounding villages. The brilliance
of the lectures is difficult to describe in words though here
are three things that resonated strongly in my understanding
which I hope to keep reminding myself to follow:
It is important not to become lazy. The ashram is a model of
the antidote to laziness. There is always something happening,
new projects being worked on, systems being improved upon,
singing, listening, meditating, and so on. As someone described
it beautifully, when water is stagnant, it begins to smell, but
when it flows it is glorious and powerful.
Be passionate. If we want to do something, we must do it
wholeheartedly or not do it at all. We get into it with gusto and
spirit and give it our best whatever it might be. A half-hearted
attempt is no attempt at all.
Remain positive. To be positive is a constant effort on our
part. It is far easier to be negative and wallow in sadness,
depression and self-pity, but positivity requires a certain way
of life and thinking.
As Swami Sivananda says, “Put your heart, mind and soul
into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.”
With best wishes,
Priyanka Malhotra
Editor

The whole process of spiritual life is to be open and friendly with

all fellow beings; to help, guide, love, live in harmony with and
cherish each other.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 42 Oct 2013

Ashram Life
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The ashram cannot be a permanent abode for anyone. It is

a place where you can go for a short or long period of time
in order to accelerate your spiritual growth, such is the
atmosphere created there. From ancient times, ordinary people
as well as monarchs have lived in ashrams like sannyasins for
fifteen days up to six months. During this period they would
live in a simple way. They were actually trying to transform
their personality. They would keep minimal possessions, sleep
on the floor, not keep any money, ornaments or valuables with
them, and eat only once a day. Thereafter, they would go back
to their normal householder life and find that they were able
to see the world from a better perspective and manage life in
a better way. Their peace of mind and strength were greater.

Learning detachment
It is not possible for everyone to take sannyasa, but it is
possible for everyone to enjoy and experience sannyasa life
for at least fifteen days. When in the ashram, people must
practise selfless service. In the olden days, ashrams had a lot
of agricultural land and cows, but now ashrams are slightly
different. Nevertheless, one must give oneself selflessly. One
also develops detachment in the ashram. Although one lives
and works with fifty or more people, at the end there is a
realization that one is not at all related to them.
Detachment is an important qualification for a person
who wants to acquire peace of mind and progress spiritually.
Detachment is not carelessness; it does not mean that you
do not love or serve others. In the ashram you learn to love,
serve, work and enjoy without any attachment. Love without
attachment is a difficult idea to understand, but when you
live in the ashram in an atmosphere of peace, tranquillity and

YOGA 43 Oct 2013

friendliness, you know how to manage and live with people
without involving yourself in complicated relationships.

Canvas of the mind

In the ashram all the samskaras come to the surface. In normal
life this does not happen as there are many ways to escape
reality. There are so many objects of sensual pleasure and
distractions that fears, anxieties, insecurities and passions
cannot be seen. However, for ashramites or sannyasins, all
the deep-rooted complexes that were being suppressed come
to the surface. This gives them a chance to know exactly what
is contained. It is an opportunity to bring the deep-rooted
personality to the forefront.
In the calm, quiet and unassuming atmosphere of the ashram,
you can also decide what you can be. Outside, this is not possible.
If you see an artist, you want to be an artist; if you see a sportsman,
you want to be a sportsman; if you see a boxer, you want to be a
boxer; if you see a cinema artist, you want to be a cinema artist;
if you see a politician, you want to be a politician. You have no
knowledge of your reality. In the ashram, your mind is like clean
canvas and you realize what you have to paint on it, what you
are capable of and what you can do.
—September 1981, Zinal, Switzerland

YOGA 44 Oct 2013

Attaining Balance of Mind
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Theoretically, in order to attain balance of mind it is necessary

to be aware, relaxed, centred and happy with every situation
externally, internally, mentally and emotionally, and to
be simple, natural, unassuming, free from pride and from
attraction to the opposites of raga and dwesha, pain and
pleasure. Yogis and the scriptures say that one must try to find
balance by following a discipline which incorporates all these
aspects of self-training, and make one balanced, contented,
joyful and at peace with oneself.
On the practical side, it is more difficult as there are so many
different factors involved. There are so many subtle ideas and
expressions that sustain and nurture a human personality that
it becomes difficult to be an observer. One becomes a part of
things and loses one’s balance, either on the happy or the sad
side.

YOGA 45 Oct 2013

Four points
There are four points that can help one to attain mental balance.
The first is regulating the extremes of the mental projections
in the form of thoughts, emotions, desires or ambitions. The
second is being observant, not just of oneself but also of the
other people around. Just as you are aware of your personal
necessities, in the same way become aware of the personal
necessities of others. If you can do that, your interactions will be
much more harmonious, balanced, creative and constructive.
So, self-awareness has to extend outwards.
The third is to have trust in guru. Trust in guru has helped
me because it has created a link which has taken away any
sense of loneliness and isolation from life. There comes a time
in everybody’s life when they feel alone, and not only alone
but lonely, maybe not needed or wanted. That has not affected
me due to a link, an understanding and a connection with my
guru.
The fourth point is surrendering to the divine will, not in a
religious sense, but as a feeling. When someone sings a kirtan
with the name Niranjanananda in it, I do not identify with that
name, because who is that? Is that person this body which is
sitting here? Then a sense of pride and ego would come up.
Or is it the person who is singing, feeling and thinking about
that unblemished, untainted, immaculate nature and bliss
which the name conveys? I do not identify with the person of
the name, but with the quality of that name.
I see a different dimension to that song, which many may
not be able to see for they are identifying that name with a
figure, a person, and not with the idea or concept it conveys.
I don’t identify with God, although I know He is there.
I think of God at times with full faith and devotion, but the
rest of the time I am totally away from that thought. Similarly,
why should I identify with this body? I may think about this
body when it gets hungry or thirsty or when it needs rest and
sleep, but when the body does not require these things, why
think of it unnecessarily? I think of something that is creative

YOGA 46 Oct 2013

and positive. Each one of us is self-indulgent in one way or
another.
Therefore, the theory and the practicality of attaining
mental balance are two different things altogether. The real
trick is in having willpower, determination, conviction, faith
and trust in oneself and the ability to forge ahead. These are
the qualities necessary for attaining mental balance.
—August 1997, Ganga Darshan, Munger, printed in YOGA
Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jul 2000)

There is no difference between spiritual and worldly life. The same

experience that one had at the time of meditation one can have
while walking along the street talking to someone, or sitting at a
table writing. With common sense one can remove the barrier and
unite both lives.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

YOGA 47 Oct 2013

The Inner Mirror
Emma, UK, Yogic Studies, 2012/2013

At the start of the four-month Yogic Studies course a young

South Korean woman stated more directly than most: “I want
to change my body and I want to change my mind.”

Before and after

Someone suggested that we should take before and after
photographs to track our transformation. It was an offhand
comment, but some people did exactly this, snapping
themselves head-on and in profile. As the cameras flashed,
I thought about the idea of change. What had brought most
of us to the ashram, whether we were willing to admit it
or not, was a desire for change. How would we measure
success though? For people who wanted a narrower waist
or a straighter spine, their progress would be perfectly clear
to see, but what about subtler types of transformation? How
do we gauge psychic change? How do we take a before and
after shot of the mind?
If you want to see your physical self you need something
to help you – a camera, a mirror, a reflective surface. For the
image to be clear, the thing that’s capturing you needs to be
clean, and it needs to be still; compare the quality of reflection
you get in a pure, waveless lake with a filthy rushing river.
The same holds true for seeing inside. Happily for the yogic
studies group the practices we were performing – shatkarmas,
asanas, pranayama, meditation – were helping us to get both
clean and still. Therefore, our main challenge was to look
squarely into the mirror.

Karma yoga
In addition to our formal classes and tutorials we had to do
a few hours of karma yoga every day. The tasks were wide-

YOGA 48 Oct 2013

ranging: lifting, sweeping, mopping, chopping, serving,
constructing, dismantling. Few of the jobs were obviously
yogic, and on several occasions I had to draw on my faith in
the ‘Satyananda way’ in order to apply myself to tasks which
I considered unnecessary (scrubbing a spotlessly clean floor,
for example). As the course progressed, however, I came to
see that there was something to karma yoga: the external
work mattered less than the internal work it generated – to
see ourselves as we really were.
The diary entries I made during my stay in the ashram
serve as useful snapshots of my mental state. Here is one
from 22 September, six days after I arrived at Ganga Darshan:
“Afternoon karma yoga was farcical. We had to redo all the
prasad we prepared yesterday because unbeknown to us,
every bead and grain of powder should have been counted and
distributed evenly. I don’t know whether the administrators
here deliberately give you
incomplete information
and then criticize you in
an attempt to provoke you,
or whether it’s just poor
organization on their part.”
There are several other
entries like this – self-
righteous, defensive, full of
complaint: my co-workers
are lazy, my in-charge is
mean, the systems here
are shambolic. While it
embarrasses me to re-read
my notes, they are useful
to compare with later
observations. Here is another
from early November, a
month and a half into my stay:
“Funny Sunday morning. I

YOGA 49 Oct 2013

arrived at the courtyard at 5:30 am and spent an hour helping
with the set-up for satsang. I then quickly ate my breakfast
so that I could go back to the courtyard to help with seating.
When I got there, I was told we had to put everything away
because the satsang had been cancelled. No explanation was
offered. What struck me was how utterly unaffected I was by
this news, I started stacking the chairs as cheerfully as I had
un-stacked them.”

Witnessing
No grumbling about the loss of the only available lie-in that
week, no regret for the rushed breakfast, no questioning the
lateness of the cancellation. It could simply have been that I
was growing accustomed to the ashram’s unpredictable ways.
However, I think something else was happening: I was slowly
morphing from involved judge to impartial witness, becoming
increasingly even-minded in the process.
As the weeks and months went by it dawned on me that
almost everything we were doing in the ashram was helping
us to cultivate a witnessing mindset. The ultimate aim of the
asana class was not to make us better at paschimottanasana, the
goal of meditation class was not to prepare us for samadhi, nor
was the point of karma yoga to get the clean floor even cleaner.
We were being trained to observe ourselves, to refine our
awareness, to become the drashta, witness, of our experiences.
It was fascinating that by casting ourselves as spectators rather
than doers, and by glancing regularly into the inner mirror,
change arose spontaneously. Muscles softened, feelings settled,
minds steadied.
It wasn’t until I arrived in the ashram, that I discovered
the meaning of the word darshan, which is to see, to observe,
to know. Ganga Darshan was a place where I learned to see
deeply inside, and this naturally led to change. While I didn’t
have any before and after snaps as evidence of my evolution,
what I do now have is a highly polished inner mirror, which
I am sure will come in handy.

YOGA 50 Oct 2013

Reach Within to Embrace
Humanity
Swami Suryaprakash Saraswati, Rotary International Annual District
Awards Function

The theme ‘Reach Within to Embrace Humanity’ that was

chosen by Rotary International for the year 2012 actually
describes the essence of the teachings of yoga.
Swami Sivananda, the paramguru of our tradition, said that
as individuals we are comprised of the dimensions of head,
heart and hands. Our individuality, personality and character
are nothing but a composition of the faculties of head, heart
and hands.
Head represents the ability to think, the intellect, buddhi,
analyzing, understanding, rationalization and mental processes.
The heart represents the sentiments, emotions and feelings that
we experience and express in life. The hands represent the
ability to perform and attain excellence in whatever we do.

YOGA 51 Oct 2013

 The aim of yoga is to integrate and optimize the functions
and the performance of the head, heart and hands. Therefore,
as human beings, as individuals, our expression in life is a
multidimensional expression and the three dimensions have to
be developed to the peak of their potential. If one dimension is
underdeveloped, the whole system fails. Just like in a factory or
company, there is a chain of events that defines the efficiency
of the company. If one step is missed, if there is a deficiency
at any given point in the chain, the whole system collapses. In
the same way, our personality is comprised of certain systems
and faculties.

Yoga discipline
Since ancient times, gurus, saints, rishis and masters of diverse
spiritual traditions have said that life has to be lived to serve
others. One must sacrifice and work for the upliftment of
society and the community.
Yoga is composed of many branches that cater to the
development of the various dimensions of our being. The
physical practices come under the branch of hatha yoga, which
aims at harmonizing the mental and physical energies. Bhakti
yoga is the yoga of emotional management. Karma yoga is the
yoga of attaining excellence in performance. Raja yoga is the
yoga of mind management. Each branch of yoga has a specific
structure and system that must be followed in order to awaken
the inherent potentials within.
At present we are using less than ten percent of our total
potential, but if we are able to attain this much with only ten
percent, what would be the state of twenty or forty percent.
The so-called luminaries and enlightened beings are the people,
who through a process of self-development, have managed to
awaken one hundred percent of their potential.

Question and answer

One day, while undergoing intense training, Swami
Niranjanananda approached his guru, Swami Satyananda

YOGA 52 Oct 2013

Saraswati, and asked, “If according to the masters and
scriptures the aim of spiritual life is to serve other people,
then why do we practise yoga? Everything we do in yoga
is selfish. If we improve our concentration, it is our own
concentration which is improved. If we awaken our dormant
energies, it is our own energies that are awakened. If we
improve our health, it is our own health. Whether it is mental
balance, health, concentration, performance or management
of sentiments, it is all directed towards ourselves. Why is the
process of yoga so selfish when we are told to reach out to
humanity?”
Swami Satyananda gave a beautiful answer, “It is true that
whatever one does in yoga up to a certain point is for self-
development. However, the attainments of those developments
do not belong to the practitioner. They belong to others and
they are to be shared for the upliftment of others.”

Nature’s example
This holds true in every scheme of creation. A plant has to go
through a process of growth and development until it becomes
a huge tree, under whose shelter people may gather. A tree
does not enjoy its own shelter; the shelter of trees is for others.
A tree does not eat its own fruits; the fruits or the attainments
of the tree are for others. Flowers do not enjoy their beauty, it
is for others to enjoy. In the scheme of creation, perhaps only
human beings are endowed with selfishness. This attitude has
to change. The awakening has to take place that one should
learn how to live for others.
‘Reach within’, the first part of the theme, represents the
process of development that we must go through to come
to a certain point of excellence in our lives. ‘To embrace
humanity’ represents the change of attitude that must take
place in order to use those attainments for the upliftment of
others.
—19 June 2011, Bokaro, Jharkhand

YOGA 53 Oct 2013

Sutra of Happiness
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

According to the environment, you live a certain lifestyle.

There is an ashram lifestyle and routine and a lifestyle you
live outside the ashram environment. You lead a natural life
outside, but for the duration of your stay, you have adjusted
to the ashram. This is an achievement. It is an indication that
you are willing to adjust and refine yourself in life.

Yoga and mental attitude

Yoga is one thing and managing life is something else. Yoga
begins in the form of practice: asana, pranayama, mudra,
bandha, shatkarma, and so on. That is what you practise at
home, as part of your routine, which may also include mantra
and meditation, and other forms of pratyahara and dharana
techniques. However, the practice of yoga in itself is not enough
to give you the ability to adjust in life. For that you have to
consciously fine-tune your mental attitudes.

YOGA 54 Oct 2013

 The fine-tuning of mental attitude has to begin with
awareness, asking yourself, “Where am I at present?” Then
the understanding has to develop, “How do I adjust and how
do I become happy in the present moment?” With these two
thoughts in mind, you can fine-tune your attitude. As a student
of yoga, I believe that you are in a position to recognize and
realize this concept – recognizing the present and knowing
what you can do to be happy in that present.

Sutra of happiness
The fine-tuning of attitudes begins from this point onwards.
You have to be alert and aware enough to see the wide variety
of attitudes that you express in daily life. You have to be open
enough to realize, recognize and modify these attitudes. This
is not a matter of experimentation. No. When you take a bath,
you don’t experiment; you know you will get wet. That is the
reality. In the same manner, changing your attitude to adjust
to the outside environment is also a reality.
For those who come from the outside environment to
the ashram environment, it is a reality. For those who adopt
sannyasa, it is also a reality. At every stage, it is the component
of mind which has to be managed in the right perspective and
with the right attitude.
This is the sutra of happiness which is the sutra of success.
The entire journey of life depends on this ability, not on
anything else, not on creativity and not on calmness of mind.
The life journey, from birth to death, from childhood to old
age, with the success and failure of life, ultimately is the
outcome of the management of one’s attitudes. That’s all. A
student of yoga keeps this in mind, for if you adhere to it,
you can go far in life, externally and internally. It will be an
inspiration to others.
With the change of attitude, you will begin to live the
precepts of Swami Sivananda, where your participation in the
world will be seen as service; where your interaction with other
people will be seen as an expression of compassion and love;

YOGA 55 Oct 2013

where your attempt to reach out to other people will be seen
as an effort to give; where your attempt to identify with the
present will be seen as the attempt to purify and to get rid of
the excess baggage that we all carry. In this manner, with the
change of attitude, you will be living the precepts of Swami
Sivananda and that will enrich your spiritual life.
—3 May 2005, Satsang with children of Sivananda
Balakashram, Bhuj, Gujarat

YOGA 56 Oct 2013

 Yoga Publications Trust
Ishavasya Upanishad
97 pp, soft cover, ISBN 978-81-85787-21-2

The Ishavasya Upanishad is a small text of eighteen verses that

comprises the last chapter of the Yajur Veda. Considered to be the seed
of the entire Indian philosophy, it is one of the most profound literary
works to date.
This masterful commentary on the Upanishad by Swami Satyananda
explains the vedantic concepts in the context of deep yogic insights
and personal sadhana. As a result, a different light is thrown on the
mantras, reaching a depth of understanding not conventionally found.
The original Sanskrit text has been translated and explained in a
lucid and comprehensible style, which effortlessly uplifts the reader.
The volume also includes Swami Sivananda’s teachings on Ishavasya
Upanishad.
New edition

For an order form and comprehensive publications price list please contact:
Yoga Publications Trust, Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger, Bihar 811 201, India
Tel: +91-06344-222430 , 06344-228603, 09304799615 • Fax: 91+6344+220169
› A self-addressed, stamped envelope must be sent along with enquiries to ensure a response to
your request

Satyananda Yoga Websites

®
SATYANANDA YOGA

www.biharyoga.net
BIHAR YOGA

The official website of Bihar Yoga. Includes information on: Satyananda

Yoga, Bihar School of Yoga, Bihar Yoga Bharati, Sivananda Math activities,
Sita Kalyanam events, Yoga Publications Trust catalogues.

www.rikhiapeeth.net
The Rikhiapeeth blogspot posts a satsang of Sri Swami Satyananda daily on
a wide range of topics concerning spirituality.

Living Yoga with Swami Niranjan

www.biharyoga.net/living-yoga/. Dedicated to the vision and mission
of Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, the spiritual successor of Sri Swami
Satya­nanda Saraswati, it contains news and articles.

www.yogamag.net
The official website of YOGA magazine. Includes world-
wide links to Satyananda Yoga centres and teachers, a
brief history of Yoga magazine, news and more.

Avahan Online
www.biharyoga.net/sannyasa-peeth/avahan/. Provides online access to Satya ka
Avahan, the bi-monthly magazine of Sannyasa Peeth, which contains the higher
teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda, Sri Swami Satyananda and Swami Niranjanan-
anda, along with the programs of Sannyasa Peeth.
• Registered with the Department of Post, India issn 0972-5717
Under No. HR/FBD/297/13–15
• Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers, India
Under No. BIHENG/2002/6305

Ganga Darshan Events & Courses 2014

Jan 1 Hanuman Chalisa
Feb 1–4 Sri Yantra Aradhana
Feb 1–May 25 4-month Yogic Studies Course (Hindi)
Feb 4 Basant Panchami Celebration
Bihar School of Yoga Foundation Day
Feb 14 Bal Yoga Diwas
Mar 1–21 Teachers Training Course (Hindi)
Mar 3–20 Yoga HMC*: Asthma (Hindi)
Apr 3–20 Yoga HMC*: Diabetes (Hindi)
Jun 1–Aug 25 3-month Yogic Science & Lifestyle Course (Hindi)
July 12 Guru Paduka Poojan
Aug 2014–May 2015 Diploma in Yogic Studies (English)
Aug 1–21 Teachers Training Course (English)
Aug 3–20 Yoga HMC*: Arthritis & Spinal Ailments (Hindi)
Sep 3–20 Yoga HMC*: General (Hindi)
Sep 8 Swami Sivananda Janmotsava
Sep 12 Swami Satyananda Sannyasa Diwas
Oct 1–Jan 25 4-month Yogic Studies Course (English)
Dec 25 Swami Satyananda’s Birthday
* HMC: Health Management Course

Every Saturday Mahamrityunjaya Havan

Every Ekadashi Bhagavad Gita Path
Every Poornima Sundarkand Path
Every 5th & 6th Commemoration of Sri Swami Satyananda’s
Mahasamadhi
Every 12th Akhanda Path of Ramacharitamanas

For more information on the above events contact:

Bihar School of Yoga, Ganga Darshan, Munger, Bihar 811201, India
Tel: 06344-222430, 09304799615, 06344-228603 Fax: 06344-220169
Website: www.biharyoga.net
- A self-addressed, stamped envelope must be sent along with enquiries to ensure a response to
your request