[C]ontinence is a very important part of yoga. If a handful of people come forward with strong wills, nothing is impossible. One Buddha changed half the globe; one Jesus, three quarters of the world. We all have that capacity. (140)
Swami SatchidanandaYou are the cause of your own joy or your own misery. You hold that power. You are your own friend and your own enemy.
Swami SatchidanandaYoga is not only learning to stand on your head but also learning to stand on your feet.
Swami SatchidanandaThe same thing can be both good and bad. Whenever you speak of good, bad is also present. The world is a mixture of both. There is not good without bad. They are both sides of the same coin. Both are necessary. We have been given free will and discriminating capacity to select what is beneficial to us and to avoid what is detrimental to us. Even Cobra poison can be used as medicine.
Swami SatchidanandaMere philosophy will not satisfy us. We cannot reach the goal by mere words alone. Without practice, nothing can be achieved. (3)
Swami Satchidananda[T]he period between four and six in the morning is called the Brahmamuhurta, the Brahmic time, or divine period, and is a very sacred time to meditate. (140)
Swami SatchidanandaAny kind of expectation creates a problem. We should accept, but not expect. Whatever comes, accept it. Whatever goes, accept it. The immediate benefit is that your mind is always peaceful.
Swami SatchidanandaThe cause of bandha and moksha (bondage and liberation) is our own minds. If we think we are bound, we are bound. If we think we are liberated, we are liberated. . . . It is only when we transcend the mind that we are free from all these troubles. (117)
Swami SatchidanandaPeace comes not from doing, but from undoing; not from getting, but from letting go.
Swami SatchidanandaWe can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil.
Swami SatchidanandaThere is one Cosmic Essence, all-pervading, all-knowing, all-powerful. This nameless formless essence can be approached by any name, any form, any symbol that suites the taste of the individual. Follow your religion, but try to understand the real purpose behind all of the rituals and traditions, and experience that Oneness.
Swami SatchidanandaAt various points in our lives, or on a quest, and for reasons that often remain obscure, we are driven to make decisions which prove with hindsight to be loaded with meaning. (225)
Swami SatchidanandaWe don’t exhaust the Bible even after reading it hundreds of times. Each time we read it we see it in a new light. That is the greatness of the holy scriptures. They are that way because they were created by holy prophets who experienced the truth. Each time we read these works we elevate ourselves to see a little more. (81)
Swami SatchidanandaIf you have done something meritorious, you experience pleasure and happiness; if wrong things, suffering. A happy or unhappy life is your own creation. Nobody else is responsible. If you remember this, you won’t find fault with anybody. You are your own best friend as well as your worst enemy. (99)
Swami SatchidanandaWhen you win and the other fellow loses, what do you see? A losing face. There is great joy in losing and making the other person win and have a happy face. Who will be the happiest person? The one who brings happiness to others.
Swami SatchidanandaIn not only the physical science, but in the real mental silence, the wisdom dawns.
Swami SatchidanandaThe moment you understand yourself as the true Self, you find such peace and bliss that the impressions of the petty enjoyments you experienced before become as ordinary specks of light in front of the brilliant sun.
Swami SatchidanandaIf you do not pour water on your plant, what will happen? It will slowly wither and die. Our habits will also slowly wither and die away if we do not give them an opportunity to manifest. You need not fight to stop a habit. Just don’t give it an opportunity to repeat itself. (67)
Swami SatchidanandaNot only does charity begin at home. Everything begins at home, including spirituality.
Swami SatchidanandaThe stones of a river start out rough, but with the current continually bumping and polishing them, they end up being beautiful.
Swami SatchidanandaNow will never leave. It is always here. Like a clear canvas, it awaits our painting.
Swami SatchidanandaYoga says instinct is a trace of an old experience that has been repeated many times and the impressions have sunk down to the bottom of the mental lake. Although they go down, they aren’t completely erased. Don’t think you ever forget anything. All experiences are stored in the chittam; and, when the proper atmosphere is created, they come to the surface again. When we do something several times it forms a habit. Continue with that habit for a long time, and it becomes your character. Continue with that character and eventually, perhaps in another life, it comes up as instinct.
Swami SatchidanandaEquality comes in realizing that we are all doing different jobs for a common purpose. That is the aim behind any community. The very name community means let's come together to recognize the unity. Come ... unity.
Swami SatchidanandaTemples and churches have become social centers. They have lost their original purpose because the minds of the people are more attracted to worldly things than to prayer. The lips repeat the prayer mechanically like a phonograph record, but the mind wanders to other places. (23-24)
Swami SatchidanandaThe five points of yama, together with the five points of niyama, remind us of the Ten Commandments of the Christtian and Jewish faiths, as well as of the ten virtues of Buddhism. In fact, there is no religion without these moral or ethical codes. All spiritual life should be based on these things. They are the foundation stones without which we can never build anything lasting. (127)
Swami SatchidanandaIf your heart is beautiful, your face will be beautiful, your life will be beautiful, everything will be beautiful.
Swami SatchidanandaWe are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing? (136-137)
Swami SatchidanandaJust as a little bird cracks open the shell and flies out, we fly out of this shell, the shell of the body. We call that death, but strictly speaking, death is nothing but a change of form.
Swami SatchidanandaDo you want to know the secret of life? If you want to have everything, don’t want anything. Everything will run after you.
Swami SatchidanandaYoga believes in transforming the individual before transforming the world. Whatever change we want to happen outside should happen within. If you walk in peace and express that peace in your very life, others will see you and learn something.
Swami SatchidanandaDon't give up your power to change things. Negativity and unhappiness are caused by you. You can change your attitude.
Swami SatchidanandaThough we can't always see it at the time, if we look upon events with some perspective, we see things always happen for our best interests. We are always being guided in a way better than we know ourselves.
Swami SatchidanandaEverything begins in the mind. If you want to see clearly, you need clear vision.
Swami Satchidananda