[Sivananda] Divya Jivan Newsletter, January 2018

[Divya Jivan Newsletter]

Divya Jivan Newsletter
Sivananda Ashram, Ahmedabad
January  2018
OM Namo Bhagawate Sivanandaya! ====================================
OM Namo Bhagawate Chidanandaya!
OM Namo Narayanaya!
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New Year Message -Swami Sivananda

On this glorious New Year’s day make a strong resolve to wipe away all 
the old worldly Vasanas or tendencies and bad impressions and to control 
the senses and the mind.

Know the value of time. Time is most precious. Utilise every second 
profitably. Live every moment of your life for the realisation of your 
ideal and goal. Do not procrastinate. That "tomorrow" will never come. 
Now or never. Abandon idle gossiping. Kill egoism, laziness and inertia. 
Forget the past. A glorious and brilliant future is awaiting you.

Equal vision is the touchstone of knowledge. Unselfishness is the 
touchstone of virtue. Brahmacharya is the touchstone of ethics. Oneness 
is the touchstone of Self-realisation. Humility is the touchstone of 
devotion. Therefore, be unselfish, humble and pure. Develop equal 
vision. Be in tune with the Infinite. -Swami Sivananda << Read More>> 
<http://divyajivan.org/sivananda/index.htm>


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Early Morning Meditation Talk from " Ponder These truths" by Swami 
Chidananda

"This Moment"
This moment is God. God comes to you as this moment. He does not descend 
in some sort of supramundane shape and size with lights flashing and 
sound emanating. He comes silently as this moment. Now is God. He 
constantly keeps coming to you as now, as this moment. We have to help 
God to help us when He comes as kaloham—I am time, I am life.

And what is life and what is time if it is not now, if it is not this 
moment? Without any distinction of age or sex or caste or creed or race 
it is given to everyone, saint or sinner. That is the equal vision of 
the Divine. It is not withheld from anyone. It is given to everyone. God 
comes to everyone as this moment. This is life. This is the I AM 
God—here, now. That is the greatest thing. This moment is the most 
tremendous thing that can happen to you. It is the greatest thing that 
can be given to you. Be wise. Make use of this moment and bless yourself 
eternally. - Swami Chidananda<< Read More>>
<http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm>
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New Year Greetings from Swami Adhyatmananda

Radiant Immortal Atman ! Beloved and blessed children of the Divine !

Happy New Year to you. Prayers and best wishes for the Year 2018.

Last year, we welcomed year 2017 with all glamour, pomp and show. And 
now again, we have to welcome year 2018 with all enthusiasm. Time rolls 
on. New becomes old and old becomes new again. Today is the most 
auspicious New Year’s day. God has given you another chance this year to 
enable you to strive for your salvation. Avail yourself of this golden 
opportunity, struggle hard and reach the goal of life. Make the best use 
of every moment of this New Year. Unfold all latent faculties. Here is a 
chance to begin life anew, to grow and evolve and become a superhuman or 
a great dynamic Yogi. << Read more>> 
<http://divyajivan.org/adhyatmananda/New%20year%20message%202018%20.htm>

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Learning of "Jeevan Yog" <http://divyajivan.org/Jeevan%20Yoga/Index.htm> 
from a Yoga Acharya Swami Adhyatmananda
Through TV episodes of "Jeevan Yoga" Series by Doordarshan Girnar

Primary Yogasana (Yoga Postures) - The Physical techniques of Yoga are 
the stepping stones to meditation. According to Patanjali, Yoga is the 
cessation of the modifications of the mind.
  In the beginning the primary prerequisite to peace of mind is posture. 
Yogasana practiced to gain steady posture, health and lightness in the 
body. All Yoga postures are intended to directly or indirectly quiet the 
mind. The majority of Asana have been devised to build up different 
parts of the body and to develop the strength required by the more 
advanced  Physical disciplines. The purpose of the yogasana is to 
recondition the system, both mind and body, and to develop the nervous 
and glandular systems. The different Yoga postures have been devised to 
bring a rich supply of blood to the brain and to the various parts of 
the spinal column. The yogasana work by stretching, bending and twisting 
the spinal column in different directions to promote the health of the 
nerves. When the body is purified, Prana (vital energy) can be conserved 
and the individual becomes healthy and conscious <<  Read More>> 
<http://www.divyajivan.org/Yoga_Book/yoga%20_postures.pdf>
Jeevan Yoga Series <http://divyajivan.org/Jeevan%20Yoga/Index.htm>

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Highlighting the news and upcoming events
News & Activity report For the Month of December 2017 
<http://divyajivan.org/News%202017/News_December%202017.htm>
News through event photos <https://photos.app.goo.gl/W4x6jCDS9hCHWVF13>
Divya Jivan <http://divyajivan.org/divya_jivan/index.htm> /December 2017 
<http://divyajivan.org/divya_jivan/DJ_Dec2017/DJ_Dec2017.pdf>
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Q & A on Spiritual Life and Sadhana from “May I Answer That?”- by Holy 
Master Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj.

God is all-pervading formless Being. How can He be confined to an idol? 
What is the use of idol worship?

The divinity of the all-pervading God is vibrant in every atom of 
creation. There is not a speck of space where He is not. Why do you then 
say that He is not the idols?

The idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop of his spiritual 
childhood. A form or image is necessary for worship in the beginning. It 
is not possible for all to fix the mind on the Absolute or the Infinite. A
concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practicing 
concentration.

Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels 
through which the heart of the devotee flows towards God. Though the 
image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it 
and pours out his devotion unto it. The idol remains an idol, but the 
worship goes to the Lord.

To a devotee, the image is a mass of Chaitanya or consciousness. He 
draws inspiration from the image. The image guides him. It talks to him. 
It assumes human form to help him in a variety of ways. The image of 
Lord Siva in the temple at Madurai in South India helped the fuel-cutter 
and the old woman. The image in the temple at Tirupati assumed human 
form and gave witness in the court to help His devotees. There are 
marvels and mysteries. Only the devotees understand these.

Idol worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. The Christians worship the 
Cross.They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans 
keep the image of the Kaaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The 
mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one in kind, 
but only one of degree.

All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in 
the mind and make the mind dwell on that image. Everyone is an idol 
worshipper.Pictures and drawings are only a form of Pratima. A gross 
mind needs a concrete symbol as a prop or Alambana; a subtle mind 
requires an abstract symbol. Even a Vedantin has the symbol OM for 
fixing the wandering mind. It is not only pictures or images in stone 
and wood that are idols. Dialectics and leaders also become idols. So, 
why condemn idolatry?

Swami Vivekananda Jayanti <http://divyajivan.org/Vivekananda/index.htm> 
( January 12, 2018)



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