YOGA Year 1 Issue 9

September 2012
Membership postage: Rs. 50

Golden Jubilee 50th year

of publication

Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India

 Hari Om
2012 marks the Golden Jubilee of
YOGA, which began publication in
1963. 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 GUIDELINES FOR SPIRITUAL LIFE
Saraswati
Assistant Editor: Swami Yogatirth- To the Children
ananda Saraswati
YOGA is a monthly magazine. Late No one is born perfect. Everyone has the
subscriptions include issues from possibilities to improve. Trials and difficul-
January to December.
ties make you a better individual. Do not
Published by Bihar School of Yoga, allow them to create complexes and con-
Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger, Bihar
– 811201.
strict your mind and heart. Life is but a se-
ries of awakenings.
Printed at Thomson Press India
Ltd., Haryana – 121007
You should develop all the faculties God
© Bihar School of Yoga 2012 has given you. One-sided development
Membership is held on a yearly will soon lead to dullness, whereas all-
basis. Please send your requests round development will bring about full-
for application and all correspond- ness. Put your heart, mind, intellect and
ence to:
soul in even your smallest acts. That is the
Bihar School of Yoga
Ganga Darshan
secret of success.
Fort, Munger, 811 201
Bihar, India Do not deviate from your ideals and prin-
- A self-addressed, stamped envelope
ciples even a fraction of an inch, but re-
must be sent along with enquiries to en- member the goal and purpose for which
sure a response to your request you have taken this physical body.

Front cover: Sri Swami Sivananda, Divine Life —Swami Sivananda

Society, Rishikesh
Plates: 1: Sri Swami Sivananda; 2–3: Sri Swami
Satyananda with the kanyas & batuks of
Rikhia; 4–5: Swami Niranjanananda with the
Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal children; 6–7: Swami
Satyasangananda with the kanyas & batuks of
Rikhia; 8: Sri Swami Satyananda

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 1 Issue 9 • September 2012
(50th year of publication)

Contents
Swami Sivananda Saraswati
2 Training Students Through
the Post
3 Will and Memory
11 The Boy who Purchased
One Brinjal for the Rupee
13 Brahmacharya
18 Starting Life with Samskaras
22 Dharma
Swami Satyananda Saraswati
29 Yoga Training
38 Question and Answer
45 Yoga for Children

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)
¦ã¹ããäÔÌã¼¾ããñçãä£ã‡ãŠãñ ¾ããñØããè —ãããä¶ã¼¾ããñçãä¹ã ½ã¦ããñãä£ã‡ãŠ: ý ‡ãŠãä½ãü¾ãÍÞãããä£ã‡ãŠãñ ¾ããñØããè ¦ãÔ½ãã²ããñØããèè ¼ãÌãã•ãìöã ýý
Training of Students through
the Post
From the Autobiography of Swami Sivananda

I have no stereotyped, printed lessons on yoga for coaching

students by post. I usually send some of my books suitable
to the taste of the students. I give them lessons through cor-
respondence. The lessons are well graded. They write to me
about their daily routine, welfare and progress. They maintain
the spiritual diary and follow my ‘Twenty Important Spiritual
Instructions.’
I help them with advice and remove their troubles and
obstacles. I send my thought-currents of peace. Thousands
of students in all countries have made wonderful progress
through this personal attention. For the advanced courses
they come to the ashram and stay with me for some weeks or
months and receive initiation. They all like this kind of indi-
vidual attention.
I do not take any fees from anyone for the training given
in yoga, and do not demand any money for their maintenance
at the ashram. Invariably, all students who come to me pay
me liberally or take pleasure in voluntarily contributing to
the progress of the institution and helping the society in its
dissemination of knowledge. Through such acts, they obtain
chitta shuddhi, mental purity, and spiritual progress.
I emphasize to all, the moral and ethical ideals. I exhort others
to emulate – in short, I show the way to lead the divine life.

All the great men in history were able to think spontaneously

like children. They had childlike qualities. They were not childish.
Children are never childish. It is adults who are childish. We have
to become childlike.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 2 Sep 2012

Will and Memory
From the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Will can work wonders, if it is rendered pure and irresistible.

There is nothing impossible for a person of strong will to
achieve. The vast majority of people have no consciousness
of will or mind or intellect. Their will has become impure and
weak through desire. When a desire is controlled it is turned
into will. Sexual energy, muscular energy, anger and so on,
are all transmuted into willpower when they are controlled,
and the fewer the desires, the stronger the will.
You will have to be very careful in the use of your will. It is
always advisable to reserve the willpower for the achievement
of higher spiritual success. Worldly success is nothing. This
life is a mere bubble. This world is a long dream. Worldly
success will not give you everlasting peace and happiness.

YOGA 3 Sep 2012

Try your will in one or two instances in worldly matters. You
will understand and realize its power. Then apply the will in
the realization of the Self. Ignore mundane affairs which are
worthless like straw or dung.

How to develop willpower

Attention, power of endurance, overcoming aversion, dislikes
and irritations, fortitude in suffering, austerity, fasting, and
keeping up a daily diary pave the way in developing the will.
Patiently hearing the words of others though they are not
interesting, develops will and wins the hearts of others.
Never complain against bad environments but create your
mental world wherever you go. There are some difficulties
and disadvantages wherever you go. If the mind deludes
you at every moment and at every step, try to overcome the
obstacles and difficulties by suitable means. Do not try to run
away from bad, unfavourable environments. God has placed
you there to make you grow quickly. If you have all sorts
of comforts in a place you will not grow strong. Try to live
happily in any place under any condition. You will become
a strong and dynamic personality.
The practice of concentration is of great help to strengthen
the will. You must have an intelligent understanding of the
habits of the mind: how it wanders and how it operates.
You must know easy and effective methods to control the
wandering of the mind. The practices of thought-culture, of
concentration, of memory-culture are all allied subjects. All
these are of immense help in the practice of will-culture. You
cannot draw a line of demarcation to denote where the practice
of concentration or memory-culture ends and the practice of
will-culture begins. There is no hard and fast rule.
Those who want to become magnetic and dynamic
personalities or prodigies should use every second to the
best possible advantage and try to grow mentally, morally
and spiritually every second. Idle gossiping should be given
up entirely. Every one of us should realize the value of time.

YOGA 4 Sep 2012

Will is bound to become dynamic if one uses one’s time very
profitably. Application and tenacity, interest and attention,
patience and perseverance, faith and self-reliance can make a
person a wonderful world figure.
You will have to apply your will according to your capacity,
otherwise your will deteriorates. You will become discouraged.
So make a program of work or daily routine according to your
capacity and see that it is carried out daily. Keep only a few
items. If you keep several items which cannot be executed daily,
which is beyond your capacity, your interest will slowly wane
and your enthusiasm will gradually decline. Your energy will be
dissipated and scattered. Your brain will become tired. Whatever
you wish to do daily must be carried out to the very letter.
Nimbarka Acharya willed that the sun should not pass
beyond the neem tree that was in front of his house; it came
to pass exactly. Nalayani willed that there would be no
daybreak; it came to pass accordingly. These people had strong
willpower. You cannot succeed if you apply your will like this
in the beginning when you are a neophyte and have developed
your will only to a very small extent.

Right thinking
Thinking too much is a hindrance in the execution by the will.
It brings confusion, diffidence and procrastination. There is
slackening of the force of will. The opportunity will slip away.
You may hesitate to put the thing in action. Think for some time
correctly and then decide. As soon as you have resolved you must
‘will’ immediately. There must not be any unnecessary delay.
Sometimes you ‘will’ and do not succeed. This is due to a lack of
right thinking and right feeling. You must think rightly and at
the same time feel rightly. Then your will is bound to succeed.
Right feeling should invariably accompany right thinking.

Cool and balanced mind

He who is attempting to develop the will should always
try to keep a cool head. He should keep a balanced mind

YOGA 5 Sep 2012

 under all conditions. He will
have to train or discipline the
mind. Balance of mind is one
of the vital characteristics of a
developed jnani or yogi. That
yogi who can keep a balanced
mind at all times is really a
strong and happy man. He
will have success in all his
undertakings.
Do not be carried away by
undue sentiments and bubbling
emotions. Control them and
reflect how the calamity,
trouble or catastrophe has
come. There is always scope
for suitable, effective and easy
methods to tide over the crisis
or trying situation. Develop
discrimination and fore-sightedness. Many obstacles and
calamities can be obviated quite easily. Do not brood over
failures, defects and mistakes. This will weaken your will.
Let the defects remain there. They will be removed quickly
when the will grows and becomes purer and purer, stronger
and stronger.
An unruffled state of mind, poise, cheerfulness, inner
strength, the capacity to turn out difficult work, success in
all undertakings, power to influence people, a magnetic and
dynamic personality, a magnetic aura on the face, sparkling
eyes, a steady gaze, powerful voice, a magnanimous gait,
unyielding nature, and fearlessness are some of the signs or
symptoms that indicate one’s will is growing.

Free will
A person must learn to separate himself from the vehicles in
which he desires, thinks and acts, to know them as part of the

YOGA 6 Sep 2012

‘not-self’, as material and external to life. Thus, the energy that
went out to the objects for lower desires becomes the higher
desire, guided by the mind, and is prepared to be transmuted
into will.
As the lower mind emerges into the higher, and the higher
into that which is wisdom, the aspect of pure will emerges as
the power of the spirit, self-determined, self-ruled, in perfect
harmony with the Supreme Will, and therefore free. Then
only, all bonds are broken and the spirit is unconstrained by
anything outside itself. Then and then alone can the will be
said to be free.

Memory and the subconscious mind

The subconscious mind is termed chitta in Vedanta. Much of
your subconsciousness consists of submerged experiences,
memories thrown into the background but recoverable. When
you show symptoms of losing your memory as you grow old,
the first symptom is that you find it difficult to remember
the names of people. All the names are arbitrary, they are
like labels. There are no associations along with the names.
The mind generally remembers through association, as the
impressions become deep thereby. You can remember well in
old age some passages that you had read in school, but you
find it difficult to remember in the evening a passage you read
in the morning.
The reason is that the mind has lost its dharana shakti, power
of grasping ideas. The brain cells have degenerated. Those
who overwork mentally, who do not observe the rules of
brahmacharya and who are afflicted with much care, anxieties
and worries lose their power of memory soon.
Only ten percent of the mental activities come into the
field of consciousness. At least ninety percent of our mental
life is subconscious. We sit and try to solve a problem, and
fail. We look around, try again, and again, but fail. Suddenly,
an idea dawns that leads to the solution of the problem. The
subconscious processes were at work. The subconscious

YOGA 7 Sep 2012

mind is your constant companion and sincere friend. When
you repeatedly fail at night to find a solution for a problem in
arithmetic or geometry, in the morning when you awake you
have a clear answer. This answer comes like a flash from the
subconscious mind. Even in sleep it works without any rest,
incessantly. It arranges, classifies, compares, sorts all facts and
figures, and works out a proper satisfactory solution.
With the help of the subconscious mind you can change your
negative nature, by cultivating healthy, virtuous qualities that
are opposed to the undesirable ones. If you want to overcome
fear, mentally deny that you have fear and concentrate your
attention upon the opposite quality, the ideal of courage. When
courage is developed, fear vanishes away by itself. The positive
always overpowers the negative. This is an infallible law of
nature. You can establish new habits, new ideas, new ideals,
new tastes and a new character in the subconscious mind by
changing the old ones.
All actions, enjoyments and experiences leave an
imprint in the subconscious mind in the form of subtle
impressions or residual potencies. The samskaras are the
root of causing rebirth and experiences of pleasure and
pain. Revival of samskaras induces memory. When you
desire to remember something, you will have to make a
psychic exertion to go down into the depths of the different
levels of the subconscious and then pick up the right object
from a curious mixture of multifarious irrelevant matter.
Just as the mail-sorter takes up the right letter by moving
the hand up and down along the different pigeon holes, so
the subconscious mind goes up and down along the pigeon
holes in the subconscious and brings the right thing to the
level of normal consciousness.

Memory culture
The Sanskrit term for memory is smriti. Smarana is remembering.
This is the function of the subconscious mind or chitta. The
samskaras of thinking and acting are deeply impressed in

YOGA 8 Sep 2012

the chitta which is like the sensitive plate of a camera. All
the impressions are indelibly recorded there. If you have
a clairvoyant vision or astral eye you can clearly watch all
subterranean movements of these images in the subterranean
workshop of the mind. The following are the four characteristics
of good memory:
1. If you read a passage and can reproduce the same, it is
termed sugamata.
2. If you can reproduce the same thing without increase or
decrease, it is called avaikalya.
3. If you can preserve a fact or passage for a very considerable
period of time, it is called retentive memory, dharana.
4. If you can reproduce a passage at once without any
difficulty, it is called upaharana.
Knowledge of the workings of the subconscious mind is very
necessary for those who want to develop their memory. It
works throughout the twenty-four hours. It is the subconscious
mind which wakes you up in the morning when you make the
firm resolve ‘I should catch the train at 3 am’. It is a most faithful
servant, provided you know the technique for manipulating it
in a masterly manner. All the prodigies or intellectual giants of
the world know the art of handling and tapping this portion
of the mind.
Before you go to bed, give orders to the chitta to do any
kind of work. It will keep the answer ready for the morning.
The chitta analyzes, sorts and takes out old records from the
various pigeon holes of the mind and produces a clear balance
sheet of facts for your perusal and review.
Brahmacharya, dietetic adjustment, and discipline of the
indriyas, senses, are essential for developing memory. The
seminal energy has a direct, intimate connection with the
cells of the brain. You should try your extreme level best to
preserve every drop of the vital fluid. Bad memory is largely
due to heavy loss of this life-giving energy. Japa, meditation,
prayer, devotion, sirshasana (headstand pose) and pranayama
develop memory wonderfully.

YOGA 9 Sep 2012

Exercises for developing memory
1. Meditate on and assert:
“I have a very strong memory” – Om Om Om
“I can remember things now nicely” – Om Om Om
“My memory has very much improved” – Om Om Om
“I have a wonderful retentive memory” – Om Om Om
2. You can talk to your subconscious mind just as you talk
to your friend or servant, “Look here, subconscious mind,
I have forgotten an important passage in The Merchant of
Venice and another in As You Like It. Bring them now in
my memory. I need them badly tomorrow morning. Do it
quickly.” Give the order in clear terms.
3. Practise self-analysis or self-examination for ten minutes
before you go to bed. Sit comfortably on a chair and close
your eyes. Think of all the actions, good and bad, that you
did during the course of the day. Think of all the mistakes
you committed consciously or unconsciously. By daily,
regular and systematic practice you will be able to visualize
clearly the actions and mistakes of the day. The mind
becomes sharp and subtle by the practice of introspection.
It dissects, analyzes, groups, classifies and brings the list of
actions in the twinkling of an eye. This practice will develop
your memory and reduce the number of mistakes.

Conclusion
First create interest in a certain subject and memory will
automatically follow. One should be in perfect knowledge of
one’s subject and have a general knowledge of all subjects. A
versatile and all-round nature is laudable. Try to become a
versatile genius. A strong, retentive memory, a powerful will,
and the practice of daily concentration and meditation will
certainly make you a versatile prodigy.
Printed in YOGA, Vol 1, Issue 6, November 1990

YOGA 10 Sep 2012

The Boy who Purchased One
Brinjal for the Rupee
From Parables of Sivananda

A man had two sons. One

day he gave them ten rupees
each and said to them, “These
ten rupees you can spend as
you like, but please bring me
some brinjals for tonight’s
dinner.” They both went away
to the bazaar. The foolish
boy produced the ten-rupee
note to the vegetable seller
and said, “Please give me ten
brinjals for the whole amount;
my father wants to give a
good dinner tonight.” The
vegetable seller at once noticed the foolishness of the boy, gave
him ten rotten brinjals and sent him away.
The wise boy went to the shop and produced a ten-rupee
note and said, “Look, I want ten brinjals, the best ones at the
cheapest rate. And, give me the balance.” He got the brinjals for
four annas. With two rupees he did pooja in the local temple
and took the Lord’s prasad. He gave away five rupees in char-
ity to poor boys who heartily blessed him and his family. For
the balance he purchased the best spiritual books available in
the bookshop.
The boys returned to the father and produced what they
had brought. “Look, father what I have brought! Ten brinjals
for ten rupees; they ought to be wonderful,” said the foolish
boy, and produced the ten rotten brinjals. The father threw
away the brinjals in great disgust, remarking, “You have not

YOGA 11 Sep 2012

only lost the money, but purchased rotten brinjals which would
spoil the other good dishes. What a fool you are!” Turning to
the other boy, the father asked, “What have you brought?”
The wise boy lay before the father the good brinjals, the sacred
prasad from the temple, the spiritual books, and added, “Fa-
ther, all this cost me only five rupees. I distributed the other
five rupees in charity. How happy the poor boys were! They
sent up heartfelt prayers to the Lord to bless us all. Surely, the
Lord is well pleased with us.” The father warmly embraced
the wise boy and appreciated his wisdom. “You are my own.
I am well pleased with you. I hereby make you the sole heir
to all that belongs to me. You and I are one.”

Moral
The Lord gives riches to people in order that they might use
them properly. Artha, material wealth and attainment, should
be used in such a way that it satisfies the three other purush-
arthas: dharma, fulfillment of one’s duties and righteousness,
kama, sensual enjoyment, and moksha, striving for liberation.
Artha should not be used to satisfy only kama.
The foolish person, however, spends all his wealth, en-
ergy and time, on the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. But
are these pleasures that he purchases at such expense really
pleasures? No, they are pain and rotten at the very core. They
are useless.
The wise person, on the contrary, spends sparingly on the
necessities of life, and lavishly on those items that enhance
dharma and earn moksha for him. He does charity. He spends
on pooja. He obtains jnana, wisdom, with the help of his wealth.
He feeds mahatmas and sadhus, and looks after their bodily
comforts, so that they impart jnana to him and look after his
spiritual progress.
The Lord is well pleased with the wise person. He embraces
him and they become one. The person inherits divine aishwarya,
spiritual wealth and attributes, and shines as His divine heir,
as a saint, siddha and jivanmukta on earth.

YOGA 12 Sep 2012

Brahmacharya
From the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati

If you compare the present system of education with our

ancient gurukul system, there is a wide gulf between the
two. At the present moment, education ignores the moral
side completely. Every student in the gurukul was pure and
received perfect moral training. This was the predominant
feature of ancient culture. Every student had knowledge of
pranayama, mantra yoga, asanas, the code of morals, the
Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Upanishads.
Every student possessed humility, self-restraint, obedience, a
spirit of service and self-sacrifice, good behaviour, politeness,
a courteous nature, and a desire to acquire atma jnana,
knowledge of the self.

Today’s youngsters
College students today do not possess any of the above virtues
at all. Self-control is a thing unknown to them. Luxurious
living and self-indulgence begin from their very childhood.
Arrogance, impertinence and disobedience are deep-rooted
in them. They have become confirmed atheists and rank
materialists. Many are ashamed to say that they believe in the
existence of God. They have no knowledge of brahmacharya
or self-control. Fashionable dress, undesirable food, bad
company, frequent visits to the theatre and cinema have
rendered them weak and passionate.
In the ancient gurukul, boys were healthy and strong and
lived long. It has indeed been detected that the health of the
students has deteriorated throughout India. Moreover, the
vices and bad practices that are ruining their health are on
the increase. There is no ethical culture in modern schools and
colleges. Modern civilization has enfeebled boys and girls who
lead now an artificial life.

YOGA 13 Sep 2012

Unfortunate experiments
I reiterate with force that the present system of education in
India needs a thorough and drastic overhauling. Any system of
education, which is not based on the principles of brahmacharya
is bound to fail. Those who are responsible for giving a
proper system of education to the young are ignorant on this
important point, hence the numerous unfortunate experiments
in education.
Professors of some colleges insist that the students put on
fashionable dress. They even dislike students who wear clean
but simple clothing. What a great pity! Cleanliness is one thing
and fashion is another. This so-called ‘fashion’ takes root in
worldliness and sensuality. Cleanliness in life is necessary for
physical and spiritual growth.

Need for vitality

Boys and girls suffer in silence, misusing their bodies on
account of ignorance, thus draining their vitality and holding
back normal mental and physical progress. When the human
system is deprived of its natural secretions, there will be a
corresponding decline in nervous energy. This is the reason
why functional disorders develop. Young boys suffer from
anaemia, bad memory and debility and have to discontinue
their studies. Diseases are increasing.
Thousands of injections have come into the pharmacy,
hospitals and dispensaries. Thousands of doctors have opened
their clinics and shops. Yet, every day misery is increasing.
People do not meet with success in their enterprises or business
on account of the wastage of the vital force, or semen, through
improper habits and immoderate sexual intercourse.

Importance of character
A great and onerous duty rests with the teachers and professors
to train their students in the path of sadachara, or right conduct,
and to mould their character properly. Brahmacharya includes
character-building, or the right moulding of character.

YOGA 14 Sep 2012

They say that knowledge is
power. But I assert boldly, with
great assurance and practical
experience, that character is
power. Character is far superior
to knowledge. Every one of you
should endeavour your level best
to mould your character properly.
Your whole life and your success
in life depend entirely upon the
formation of your character. All
of the great people in this world
have achieved their greatness
through character and character
alone. The brilliant luminaries of
the world have won their laurels
of fame, reputation and honour through character alone.
Teachers should be strictly moral and pure. They should
be endowed with ethical perfection, otherwise it will be like
the blind leading the blind. Before taking to the profession of
teaching, every teacher should feel the high responsibility of
his position in the educational line.

Adolescence
When students reach the age of maturity, certain growths
and changes take place in the physical body. The voice
changes, new emotions and sentiments arise. Naturally, the
youngsters become curious. They consult the street boys, are
ill-advised and begin to ruin their health with bad habits. A
clear knowledge of sexual health, hygiene and brahmacharya,
of how to attain longevity, and how to control passion should
be imparted to them early on.
Parents should teach their children the various stories from
the Mahabharata and Ramayana that relate to brahmacharya and
right conduct. Parents should advise their children again and
again on the subject of brahmacharya. This is their imperative

YOGA 15 Sep 2012

duty. Candid talks to boys and girls are very necessary when
they begin to show signs of puberty.
There is no use beating around the bush. Matters that
relate to sex should not be kept hidden. It would be only false
modesty if parents feel too shy to talk to their children about
this important subject, and silence will only excite the curiosity
of adolescent children. However, if they can understand things
clearly ahead of time, surely they will not be misguided by
destructive companions and will not develop bad habits.

Responsibility of elders
Teachers and parents should give proper instructions to boys
and girls on how to lead a clean life of brahmacharya. They
should get rid of their false sense of modesty and shame, which
are a good deal responsible for the ignorance of boys and girls.
There has been more suffering caused by ignorance regarding
these matters than by anything else. You are paying the price of
ignorance and of false modesty by thinking that matters of sex
and sexual physiology should not be discussed. Teachers and
parents should diligently watch the conduct of the youngsters
and clearly impress upon their minds the vital importance of a
life of brahmacharya, as well as the dangers of an unclean life.
Teachers and parents should explain to the boys and girls
the importance of brahmacharya and instruct them in the
various methods by which they can preserve the veerya, the
soul-force, or atma shakti, that is hidden in them.

Future
Blessed is he who truly endeavours to make his students
brahmacharis. Twice blessed is he who tries to become a real
brahmachari himself.
The future destiny of the world rests entirely with the
teachers and students. If teachers train their students in the path
of righteousness, the world will be filled with ideal citizens,
yogis and jivanmuktas who will radiate light, peace, bliss and
joy everywhere.

YOGA 16 Sep 2012

 Poochandi

Mothers generate poochandi-samskaras in the minds of their

children. When children cry, when they refuse to take food, or
when they do any mischief the mothers frighten them and say,
“Poochandi, the ghost, will come and take you away.” Children
get frightened and the poochandi-samskaras remain deeply
implanted in their subconscious mind, and make them timid
when they reach adolescence.
The mind is like the sensitive plate of a camera. Whatever is
exposed to the lens is registered in the sensitive plate behind.
Whatever is seen or heard is permanently impressed in the
sensitive mind-plate. The minds of children are very impressionable
and plastic.
Mothers and teachers should be careful when they deal with
children. They should not tell them anything that will frighten
them. On the contrary, they should tell them stories of chivalrous
persons, which will make them bold and courageous. During the
period of pregnancy, mothers should read inspiring books like
Ramayana, Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, if they wish to bring forth
intelligent and brave children.
Mothers, fathers and teachers should have at least an
elementary knowledge of psychology. Then alone can they
mould the children properly.
—Swami Sivananda Saraswati

YOGA 17 Sep 2012

Starting Life with Samskaras
From the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The rites that pertain to the stages of life are called samskaras.
They are purificatory rites which sanctify life and give a spiritual
touch to the important events in the life of the individual, from
conception to cremation. They mark the important stages of a
person’s life and are the samskaras of childhood, adolescence,
middle-age, old age and death.

First three samskaras

The garbhadana, conception or entering the womb, sanctifies
the creative act. The husband prays fervently from the core
of his heart that a child may be conceived. The new child is
conceived amidst the vibration of mantras. Good impressions
are impressed in the brain cells of the embryo. For a person
who is endowed with pure intellect and right understanding,
the sexual union is not for the sake of mere enjoyment. He
uses the divine, creative, vital energy for the formation of the
human body. Husband and wife should be cheerful and pious
when they have intercourse. When their minds are perturbed
or agitated they should avoid copulation.
If they have the image of Arjuna, they will have a chivalrous
and wise son. If they have the image of Lord Buddha, they will
bring forth a son with mercy and other virtues. If they have the
image of Dhanvantari, they will get a son who will turn out
to be a reputed ayurvedic doctor. If they think of Surya, the
sun-god, they will bring forth a lustrous son with splendour
and effulgence.
In the third month, the pumsavana ritual is performed with
mantras. The food sheath, annamaya kosha, and the vital sheath,
pranamaya kosha, of the child are formed. It is the first time the
child stirs in the womb. The simantonnayana ritual is performed
in the seventh month with recitation of vedic mantras. This

YOGA 18 Sep 2012

protects the mother from negative influences and bestows
health on the child.
The above three samskaras protect the mother and child.
The body of the child develops nicely. The harmonious
vibrations set up by the recitation of mantras and the
performance of the ceremonies help in shaping the body of
the child beautifully.

The child
The next samskara, the ceremony performed immediately after
the birth of the child, is the jatakarma. The father welcomes
his newborn child. He prays for its long life, intelligence and
wellbeing, and feeds it with honey and butter.
Namakarana is the naming ceremony. The newborn child
is given a name on the tenth, eleventh or twelfth day with
recitation of mantras. In the sixth month, when the child is
given solid food for the first time, the annaprasana samskara
takes place. Mantras are recited and oblations are offered to
the various deities.

YOGA 19 Sep 2012

 The chudakarma, the tonsure or shaving of the head, is
performed in the first or third year. The karnavedha or ear-
boring ceremony is performed in the fifth or seventh year or
at the end of the first year with the chudakarma. The body of
the child is protected and harmonized by these ceremonies.
Any hereditary defect that arises from defect of semen and
embryo is removed.
Vidyarambha, introducing the alphabet, is another samskara.
This samskara is also known as aksharabhyasa. These
samskaras pertain to the child stage of life.

Upanayana
The most important ceremony which marks the beginning
stage of youth is upanayana. It is a landmark in the life of the
child, his second or spiritual birth. The word upanayana means

YOGA 20 Sep 2012

bringing near. The child is brought near his guru or spiritual
teacher. The preceptor invests him with the sacred thread,
yajnopavita, initiates him with the Gayatri mantra, and gives
him a staff.
This is the beginning of brahamacharya ashrama, the period
devoted to study and learning, during which brahmacharya,
perfect celibacy, is instructed. He is to begin the life of study.
The initiation makes him a dwija, twice-born. The father and
mother gave birth to the child from mutual desire. This is his
physical birth. Initiation into Gayatri mantra is his true birth.
According to Yajnavalkya, the upanayana ceremony is
performed at the eighth year for a Brahmin, eleventh for a
kshatriya and twelfth for a vaishya. Manu gives the age in
the fifth year for a Brahmin, the sixth for a kshatriya and the
eighth for a vaishya.
The children were initiated into three practices to help
them in their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
growth: surya namaskara, nadi shodhana pranayama and
the Gayatri mantra.

Significance of the sacred thread

The sacred thread or yajnopavita consists of three threads
knotted together. He who wears the thread should have triple
control over his mind, speech and body or thought, word and
deed. The holy thread signifies the various traits which exist
in the world such as: sat, chit and ananda, truth, consciousness
and bliss; creation, preservation and destruction; the three
states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep; the three qualities
of sattwa, rajas and tamas; and the trimurtis Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva.

The innocence, the simplicity, freedom from inhibition, the sweetest

and purest smile, love and tenderness, these are the things which
you have to relearn from children.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 21 Sep 2012

Dharma
From the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The Sanskrit term dharma is difficult to define. There is no

equivalent word for it in English. Dharma is generally defined as
righteousness or duty. It is the principle of holiness and unity.
Bhishma says in his instructions to Yudhishthira that whatever
creates conflict is adharma, and whatever puts an end to conflict
and brings about unity and harmony is dharma. Anything
that helps to unite and develop pure divine love and universal
brotherhood is dharma. Anything that creates discord, split
and disharmony, and foments hatred is adharma.
The rules of dharma have been laid down for regulating the
worldly affairs of people. Dharma brings happiness, both in
this world and in the next. If you transgress it, it will kill you.
If you protect it, it will protect you. It is the sole companion
after death and the sole refuge of humanity.
That which elevates is dharma. It leads to the path of
perfection and glory. It helps to have direct communion with
the Lord. Dharma makes one divine and is the ascending
stairway to God. Self-realization is the highest dharma. God
is the centre of dharma. Dharma has its root in mortality and
the controller of dharma is God himself.
Rishi Kanada, founder of the Vaisheshika system of
philosophy, has given the best definition of dharma: “That
which leads to the total cessation of pain, and the attainment of
prosperity in this world and eternal bliss in the world hereafter
is dharma.”

It holds and elevates

The Lord is the embodiment of dharma, the controller and
protector of dharma, and the fountainhead of dharma. Dharma
alone holds the people and everything. The word ‘dharma’ is
derived from the root dhr, ‘to hold’. Its etymological meaning

YOGA 22 Sep 2012

is ‘that which holds’ this world, the people of the world,
the whole creation from the microcosm to the macrocosm.
The entire creation is held together and sustained by the all-
powerful, eternal, and divine law of God. Practice of dharma
means recognition of this law and living by it.
That which brings wellbeing is dharma. Dharma supports
this world and upholds the people. It secures preservation of
beings and leads to eternal happiness and immortality.
Dharma is truth. Whosoever speaks the truth is said to
speak dharma, and whosoever speaks dharma is said to speak
the truth.
Dharma includes external deeds, as well as thoughts which
tend to elevate the character of an individual. Dharma comes
from the divine and leads to the divine.

The changing dharma

In the matter of dharma, the Vedas are the ultimate authority.
You cannot know the truth about dharma through any source
of knowledge other than the Vedas, which are the oldest
scriptures of the world. Reason cannot be the authority in the
matter of dharma.
Dharma depends upon time, circumstances, age, degree
of evolution and the community to which one belongs. The
dharma of this century is different from that of the tenth
century.
Just as a doctor prescribes different medicines for different
people according to their constitution and nature of the disease,
different duties are prescribed for different people. Rules for
women differ from the rules for men. But non-violence, truth,
non-stealing, cleanliness and control of the senses are duties
common to all people. There are conditions under which
dharma may change its usual course in times of extreme
distress and calamity.
What is dharma in one set of circumstances becomes
adharma in another set of circumstances. That is the reason why
it is said that the secret of dharma is extremely profound and

YOGA 23 Sep 2012

subtle. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (16:24):
“Therefore, let the scripture be your authority in determining
what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having
known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, you
should act here in this world.” The way of dharma is open to
all and has been traversed by a great realized soul.

Benefits
Of the four grand objects of human aspiration, the purusharthas:
dharma, artha, prosperity, kama, emotional fulfilment, and
moksha, liberation, dharma is given the foremost rank in
the scriptures. Dharma alone is the gateway to moksha,
immortality, infinite bliss, supreme peace and highest
knowledge. Only through the practice of dharma can one
hope to achieve moksha, the crowning glory of all human
endeavours, the best and highest of all desirable goals.
Practice of dharma leads to the perfect realization of
essential unity. The practitioner experiences peace, joy,
strength and tranquillity within himself. His life becomes
thoroughly disciplined. His powers and capabilities are
intensified, and he realizes that there is one underlying
homogeneous essence, a living truth, behind the many names
and forms. He is transmuted into divinity. His whole nature
is transformed and he becomes one with the eternal. He
beholds Brahman above, Brahman below, Brahman to the
right, Brahman to the left, Brahman in front and Brahman at
the back, Brahman within, Brahman without and Brahman
pervading the whole world.

Sanatana dharma
Sanatana dharma means the system of eternal values, the
ancient law based on the Vedas. It is the oldest of living orders.
Hinduism is known by the name of Sanatana dharma.
The foundation of Sanatana dharma is shruti, revelations
that were heard; smritis, texts transmitted by memory, are
the walls; Itihasas, books of legendary heroic history, and the

YOGA 24 Sep 2012

Puranas are the support. In ancient times, the shrutis were
learnt by heart. The teacher sang them to the pupils and the
pupils repeated them. They were not written in book form.

YOGA 25 Sep 2012

Sects and philosophical systems appeal to the shruti as the final
authority. The smritis stand next in authority to the shruti.
Sanatana dharma stands unrivalled in the depth and
grandeur of its philosophy. Its ethical teachings are lofty,
unique and sublime. It is highly flexible and adapted to every
human need. It is a perfect religion by itself and in no need
of anything from any other religion. No other religion has
produced so many great saints, patriots and warriors. The
more one knows of it, the more one will honour and love it.
The more one studies it, the more it will enlighten and satisfy
one’s heart.

Fundamentals of dharma
The Vishnu Samhita enumerates forgiveness, truthfulness,
control of the mind, purity, practice of charity, control of the
senses, non-violence, service of the guru, visiting places of
pilgrimage, compassion, simplicity, absence of greed, worship
of the gods and the brahmanas, and absence of malice as the
ingredients of samanya dharma, the general law for all men.
The Mahabharata enumerates the performance of shraaddha
or offering oblations to the forefathers, religious austerity,
truth, restraint of anger, satisfaction with one’s own wife,
purity, learning, absence of envy, knowledge of the Self and
forbearance as the fundamentals of dharma.
It is said in the Padma Purana that dharma proceeds from
continence, truthfulness, austerity, charity, self-control,
forbearance, purity, non-violence, serenity, and non-stealing.
One should recognize dharma by these ten factors. According
to this Purana, bestowing gifts on deserving persons, fixing
one’s thoughts on Lord Krishna, adoration of one’s parents,
offering a portion of the daily meal to all creatures and giving
a morsel of food to a cow are the characteristics of dharma.
According to the Matsya Purana, freedom from malice,
absence of covetousness, control of the senses, austerity,
celibacy, compassion, truthfulness, forbearance and fortitude
constitute the fundamentals of Sanatana dharma.

YOGA 26 Sep 2012

 The exponent of the raja yoga philosophy, Rishi Patanjali,
recommends in the Yoga Sutras that ten virtues should
be practised by all people. The first five are: ahimsa, non-
violence, satya, truthfulness, brahmacharya, celibacy in thought,
word and deed, asteya, non-stealing, and aparigraha, non-
covetousness. They constitute the yamas, or rules of conduct,
and self-restraint.
The other five virtues are: saucha, internal and external
purity, santosha, contentment, tapas, austerity, swadhyaya,
self-study and study of scriptures, and ishwara pranidhana
consecration of the fruits of one’s work to the Lord. These
constitute niyama, rules of personal discipline.
The Bhagavad Gita enumerates the following virtues as daivi
sampati, or divine qualities (16:1–16:3):
Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in yoga and
knowledge, alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice,
study of scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness;
harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation,
peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards
beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of
fickleness; vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence
of hatred, absence of pride – these belong to one born in a
divine state, O Arjuna!

Universal virtues
All these virtues are manifestations of the four fundamental
virtues: (1) non-violence, (2) truth, (3) purity and (4) self-
control. These virtues are enumerated in the Noble Eightfold
Path of Buddhism, and they are the virtues prescribed by Lord
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
The development of divine qualities is indispensable for the
attainment of self-realization. The eternal Brahman is purity
and truth. He cannot be attained without practising purity and
truth. Brahman is fearlessness and cannot be attained unless
one becomes absolutely fearless.

YOGA 27 Sep 2012

 Advice to Children

Go to bed early and get up early; you will be healthy and strong.
Exercise daily. Eat only the food that is good for your health and do
not overeat. Let nature heal you, and know that all diseases begin
in the mind. Good health is the best of all possessions.
Be busy as a bee. Keep the mind occupied in some useful work
because an idle brain is the devil’s workshop. Keep the company
of good friends. Stick to a daily routine, develop the power of
observation, and you will have a wonderful memory and willpower.
Together with school lessons, study daily the Bhagavad Gita,
Ramayana, Upanishads and other sacred scriptures. Put into practice
what you have learnt and you will progress in spiritual life.
Give, give, give. This is the secret of abundance. Give willingly
to charity and share what you have with others. This will purify
your heart and lead to the vision of God.
Remember that a laughter a day keeps the doctor away. Be
ever cheerful in whatever difficult conditions you may be placed.
A cheerless mind is a diseased mind. Cheerfulness will let you tap
the power within you. It will turn failure into success.
Just before retiring to bed, think of the mistakes you made
during the course of the day. Ask God for forgiveness. Benjamin
Franklin kept a daily diary and correction register. You can also do
the same, and your weaknesses will be removed. You will shine
like a star.
Therefore, think deeply.
Decide correctly.
Act carefully.
Speak truthfully.
Move tactfully.
Work diligently.
Talk gently and
Behave properly.
—Swami Sivananda Saraswati

YOGA 28 Sep 2012

Yoga Training
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

In the system of yoga, there are many practices which

contribute to the efficiency of the body and mind of a child and
adult. The purpose of yoga is to evolve the dormant potential
faculties in the brain. It is not only adults who need yoga for
their development, but children need it too. Many thousands
of years ago in India, the education began with yoga. Here is
a bird’s eye view.

Pineal and pituitary glands

In India, the education of children started at the age of six,
seven or eight. This was considered to be an important stage

YOGA 29 Sep 2012

in the life of a child. Education of the child began with three
practices.
The first practice was surya namaskara, salutation of the sun,
the second practice was Gayatri mantra and the third practice
was nadi shodhana pranayama, alternate nostril breathing. These
three practices comprise the yogic education.
There is a scientific reason behind this. The pineal gland in
the human body usually begins to decay from the age of seven
or eight. The pineal gland is situated at the top of the spine,
and it is like a stop cork. It controls and is able to regulate the
function of the pituitary gland. The pituitary is the master
gland which is responsible for all actions in the body.
The posterior pituitary secretes twenty-one hormones to
the body. When these hormones intermingle in the physical
body, they create various manifestations on the mental,
physical, emotional and sexual planes, but this pituitary body
needs a controller. If this pituitary body begins to secrete these
hormones at the age of eight, nine or ten, then it will cause a
lot of imbalance in the child’s personality. Imagine if a child
of eight begins to think like a person of twenty-five. What will
be the state of his mental balance?
As much as mental retardation is a disease, mental
acceleration is also a sickness. If the pituitary gland goes
unchecked, then there is an abnormal symptom in human
life which we call emotional, nervous, sexual acceleration. A
child of eight can experience frustration. A child of ten can
experience carnal passion, but his body is not ready, his nerves
are not strong, his balancing faculties are not yet developed.
Therefore, it is most important to control this acceleration.
As long as the pineal gland is healthy, the pituitary will be
under control. The pineal gland is the stop cork or regulator,
and therefore the first motive of yoga practice is to teach
children how to keep their pineal gland healthy. For many
years surya namaskara, nadi shodhana pranayama and mantra
were practised in order to maintain proper functioning.

YOGA 30 Sep 2012

Dharana
Apart from these three, there is another important practice
for maintaining the health of the pineal gland. It is called
dharana. Dharana is a practice which means conceptualizing,
feeling, reacting, and visualizing many, many things through
the mind and sensorial mediums. This practice relates to the
past experiences of the child, and they are able to improve the
quality and efficiency of the mind.
In the Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali it is written that in
dharana the mind becomes efficient. When the mind becomes
efficient, it is able to function in every sphere. Children should
be taught dharana which relates to the various experiences of
the sense organs.
We have ten sense organs: five motor organs, karmendriyas,
and five sensorial organs, jnanendriyas, through which we
experience sound, touch, smell, taste and form. These fivefold
experiences are experienced through five channels, and the
impulse or effect is conveyed to the mind. The influx of these
experiences keeps on flowing through the five mediums into
the brain.
When you are listening, the influx of sound through the
organ of audition is being conveyed to you. Similarly, when
you are looking, the form is being conveyed into you. In this
way, throughout the day, you keep on receiving the sense
impressions through five channels and these expressions or
experiences are recorded there. After these sensorial experiences
are recorded, you need to reproduce them from time to time.
Therefore, there has to be a ratio between registration and
what we call expression or reproduction.

Quality of reproduction
Reproduction is the first training we have to impart to children
in the field of raja yoga. It is so helpful for spontaneous
performance in school. The quality of reproduction has to
be developed in them. However, the quality of reproduction
depends on the quality of the process of registration. If the

YOGA 31 Sep 2012

registration is direct into the subconscious mind, or the deeper
layers of the mind, reproduction is easy. If the mind of the child
is dissipated, the registration cannot take place directly.
Here is a very simple example. You look at your face in
the mirror. It reflects you exactly, but if the mirror is broken,
how will it reflect your face? That is the mind of a child who
is sometimes dissipated. This could be due to social factors,
endocrinal influences, or imbalances of hormonal interaction.
Therefore, registration becomes an inefficient process.

YOGA 32 Sep 2012

Deciding factor
Therefore, the first task the teacher has to accomplish is to
initiate in him a process of one-pointedness. The process of one-
pointedness can be accomplished by two methods. The first
method is to ask the child to concentrate on one point. Some
children find this easy while others find it difficult. The other
practice is, you ask the child to close his eyes, and gradually
you take him through a process of inner dharana. You use
the dharana related to all the five channels. You ask him to
experience the taste of chocolate, to experience the smell of a
flower, to remember the tune of a particular song or the sound
of an instrument, to remember an experience of the touch of
his mother, brother, sister or friend. In this way you can ask
him to exercise the capacity of dharana.
You will see that the child may not succeed in practising
dharana on all five senses, but with one of the five he will be
successful. This will be the deciding factor. Either the child’s
optic system or tactual sense is sensitive. It is on that basis the
teacher will have to fix a system of registration.
Many people have difficulty understanding when they
hear something, but when they read a book, the understanding
is very fast. When I was a student, I could read a book and
understand everything by one glance, but when my teacher
spoke about the topic for one hour, I did not know what he
spoke and I could never reproduce it.
This is the secret. Teachers have to understand, first of all,
the most sensitive organ of the child and then develop it. The
brain is connected to five channels and all five are not equally
efficient. By constant practice, however, they can be made
efficient.

Power of stories
One of the practices you can teach your children in the school is
this dharana of raja yoga. Instead of developing their capacities
in relation to a particular subject, you should try to develop their
capacities in general. You select a story for them, and it must

YOGA 33 Sep 2012

contain human beings, different types of elements, different
natural settings, various sounds, various types of fragrances and
different types of temperatures or feelings of touch. And this
should be so properly organized that it looks like a story.
First you must talk to the conscious mind of the children. You
can teach them the things or they can read from an illustrated
book, or you can explain everything to them. When they have
understood it through the conscious mind completely, then
you must have a small class of ten to fifteen minutes in which
you go on speaking and the child goes on practising dharana.
He is visualizing the form; he is hearing a sound; he is trying
to recapitulate a type of touch. These lessons must be changed
from time to time otherwise they become monotonous.
It is not necessary for children to remember them. After
a week or so, you change the whole lesson, and then have a
new set of dharana. In the course of time, you will find that
your children are able to reproduce and register as efficiently
as possible.
This practice must continue for about fifteen to twenty
lessons. After this, this faculty must be applied to their
educational system. You can apply this faculty in mathematics,
in geography and in almost all fields, and you can teach them
their lessons when they are reposing in dharana. Also, in order
to improve the quality of dharana, you can teach them some
breathing techniques.

Omnipotent cells
Education is not a system which is put into the child from
outside. Education is not an injection. Education should be
the expression of the faculty which is already in the child. No
child is an idiot. Every child has complete and total faculties
embedded, dormant and inbred within. The seed is pregnant
with knowledge, and therefore a system has to be improvised
which will help the child to express what is already inside.
The external form of knowledge acts as a stimulus. Within
the human brain there are millions and millions of forms,

YOGA 34 Sep 2012

or mandalas. They are not mythological objects. It has been
found by eminent thinkers, scholars and scientists that these
forms are present not only in the brain, but in each and every
cell of the body. Each and every cell of the body is intelligent,
as intelligent as the brain, and these cells in the body are in
billions and billions.
These cells are so potent, even omnipotent. When one
studies these cells it appears that they are a complete person.
They are not mechanical entities. They are very intelligent. It
has been found that before the onset of cancer, these cells fight
with the cancer cells like an intelligent army, with all kinds of
strategies. If this is the reality of the physical body, how can
one say that the child is an idiot?

Blocks
Often many idiot children are only so at school but intelligent
elsewhere. They don’t understand their lesson; they don’t
understand what is taught to them, because their capacities
are not adjusted accordingly. If the child is to be properly
educated in the modern system, the block of that personality
will have to be removed.
Here is a simple example. When I was at school, I was very
bad at mathematics. In history, geography and every other
subject, I scored more than first-class marks, but mathematics,
zero. During examinations I used to go into the class. I did
not understand anything. I closed the book and came out. My
teachers used to be very sorry. They did not know where this
mathematical block was. So, I did not study mathematics. I
wanted to study science, but not mathematics. I studied Eastern
and Western philosophy. However, today I am first class in
mathematics. I do not have to multiply and divide by writing
on paper. I just do it mentally with my inner computer. I can
understand numbers today much better than letters.
How this change has taken place, I do not really know. I
have not studied any special way of mathematics, but I know
that the block has gone. In the same way, a child is never

YOGA 35 Sep 2012

an idiot. There is a block, and that block must be related
to his physiological constitution. I do not deny the reality
of psychological blocks, but these bio-physiological or bio-
chemical structures in the body are so important that they
should be looked into first.

Yantra and mandala

Mandala is a form which has a force. Every form has energy,
whether it is a flower, tree or mountain. It is a form, but not
just matter. It is a manifestation of force.
These mandalas are in the forms of animals, human beings,
divine beings, in the form of half human and half animal. These
are the most important mandalas, known as theomorphic and
anthropomorphic mandalas. They were known to the Greeks,
but later this idea was destroyed. Therefore, for thousands of
years, the Western culture did not know about mandalas, but
now the psychologists have been working with the force of
symbols. They have discovered that within the human brain,
many symbols are present in the form of certain formations.
The most important form is yantra. The yantra is a
geometrical formation which represents the whole person, the
whole child, the whole of his personality. These geometrical
formations are not just a few, they are many.
Once upon a time, these geometrical formations were current
in every culture of the world. The ancient Celtic, Babylonian,
Judean and Egyptian cultures had these geometrical diagrams
or yantras. If you expose children to these yantras and
mandalas properly, it will explode various faculties from their
deeper mind.

Living experience
Visualization is an important beginning. Just as children
are taught the primary alphabets, then small words, small
sentences, small paragraphs, small lessons, and finally
literature, in the same way the brain must be developed. First
visualization, then seeing the objects, hearing the sounds,

YOGA 36 Sep 2012

until the difference between outside and inside experience
is minimized.
At first the sound is imagined, later the imagination
becomes stronger, and for a short time one hears the sound
internally. Finally, one hears the sound so clearly that the
external and internal sounds appear similar.
Here is an experiment you can do. Try to feel that somebody
is pricking a needle in your arm, and you experience pain.
Perhaps you can imagine the pain, if not try again. As the
imagination becomes deeper you will also imagine the pain
a little more. There will come a moment when you will feel
that someone is pricking you with a needle, you actually feel
the pain and jump up. It is not mere imagination. It is a living
experience.
Dharana improves the efficiency of the mind. Dharana
produces the living experience of a thought, it is philosophic
attention. This is important for children because genius
children have the capacity of philosophic attention.
—23 June 1984, Condorcet College, Paris, France

YOGA 37 Sep 2012

Question and Answer
From the teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati

How can we best help

children develop their
potential?
Everybody has poten-
tial, but the potential
of the child is easy to
express. If the child is
given the opportunity
to develop spiritually
while receiving his
education, he will do
so much better than
us grown-ups. This is
because the child has no
conditioning. His mind has not been brainwashed and is like a
fresh flower. His soul and personality can be mended if spiritual
opportunities are provided during the days of schooling.
Children should receive their education in a culturally
international atmosphere. It is not books, prayers, church
or temple which should become the basis of their spiritual
culture. The spiritual education of a child should begin with
self-work. Whether he lives in an ashram, monastery, hostel or
at home with his parents, he should be given the opportunity
to participate in day-to-day work. Work is the best way of
inculcating spiritual experiences and spiritual samskaras,
impressions. The barriers which exist in the personality of the
child can never be removed by religious admonition, but they
can easily be removed by karma yoga.
The destiny of the whole world depends on the little children.
If you want to see the silver lining on the horizon, it is not you
and me but the children who have to be spiritualized.

YOGA 38 Sep 2012

Does transmission have a role to play in children’s
education?
In the classroom children do not respond favourably to the
teachings. They respond out of compulsion and out of fear. Their
only objective is making it through the examination hall. In the
yogic system however, education is carried out by a process
of transmission. Children are psychically very sensitive and
respond much better to a transmitted form of knowledge. Their
capacity to imbibe is fantastic. It isn’t necessary to tell children
all the intellectual or academic details. Nature has provided
them with a necessary amount of intuition to know what is good
and what is bad. Unfortunately, this natural gift which has been
provided to the children is gradually being destroyed by the
modern methods of teaching. Therefore, in trying to educate the
children, we must remember the word ‘transmission’.

What is discipline and how can it be developed in children?

When the child reaches his twenties, the metabolism slows
down slightly, and the body begins to accumulate waste.
When that waste is not thrown out, it reacts on the biological,
physiological and mental structure. At this time, in his twenties,
he needs a system and a discipline.
I am talking about self-discipline, not about institutional,
religious or social discipline. I have my own definition of
discipline. I know what I should and should not do. There is a
system of balance in the physical body. If you know the secret of
how to create harmony between the energy patterns in the body,
you can automatically create an idea of discipline in the child.
Imagine, you have a nice motor car, but the wheels are out
of alignment. When you drive the car it always swerves to the
right, so you have to continually turn the steering wheel to the
left. Is this the way to discipline the car? Better send it to the
mechanic who will fix the alignment.
Discipline is an expression of profuse harmony in body and
mind. Discipline is not teaching the gospel to children. Imposed
discipline and morality are the first thing that mankind has

YOGA 39 Sep 2012

to leave behind and forget. Adults think that they have great
wisdom and that it is their duty to teach children the right
way. Maybe the children are right and we are wrong. There is
a difference between them and us. They can’t understand us
and we can’t understand them. It has been my difficulty with
young disciples: I think my own way and they think theirs.
Nevertheless, this is a difference I understand. The children
have to be disciplined by indirect methods, through the practice
of certain yogic postures and pranayama.
I always hated the word ‘discipline’ right from my childhood.
I used to tell my master, “I am not a soldier in the military. You
don’t have to tell me left, right, about turn, right turn.” If I’m
tired, I’ll walk slowly; if I have to catch a train, I’ll run. I don’t
think that genius is necessarily an outcome of discipline. Most
geniuses have been very undisciplined people, but I do not
mean to say that undisciplined people become geniuses.

What yogic concentration practices can help develop

willpower and one-pointedness in students?
A concentrated mind is a powerful mind and a dissipated mind
is a weak mind. Those who want to develop willpower must
first of all develop a concentrated mind. A dissipated mind
cannot have willpower. Take a magnifying glass and put it in
front of some paper in the sun. The rays of the sun will quickly
burn the paper because the rays have been concentrated.
Remove the magnifying glass and the rays of the sun can do
nothing to the paper, because the sun’s rays are dissipated.
When the rays of the sun are concentrated, they develop such
power that they can burn paper or almost anything.
In the same way, thoughts are either dissipated or
concentrated. If they are scattered, then they can be brought
into concentrated focus by specific yogic practices. The mind
will become so powerful one can influence other minds. One
can influence one’s character, whole life and health or sickness.
If one has a stomach, mental disorder or breathing disorder,
or any other disorder, one can remove it by willpower alone.

YOGA 40 Sep 2012

The secret to develop willpower is to learn to concentrate the
mind on one point.
What type of point should be used? Any point: a black
dot, star, little flower or the flame of a candle. One can select
any one point upon which to focus the mind. Gradually, with
practice, one will find that the mental focus becomes smaller
and smaller. One will start to develop enormous willpower
and many benefits will come into one’s life.
If you want to get up at four o’clock in the morning it will
not be necessary to put on the alarm clock. You will be able
to tell your mind to get up at 3:50 or 3:55 am and at exactly
that time you will wake up, because the mind is more capable

YOGA 41 Sep 2012

than an alarm clock. Of course, at present, if you have weak
willpower, you will have to continue to depend on an alarm
clock to wake up.

What is a strong mind?

A strong mind is one which can fulfil its decisions. In contrast,
a weak mind thinks but does not do, “From tomorrow I am
going to work hard in my studies; from tomorrow I am going
to do asana and pranayama; from tomorrow I am not going to
do this or that . . . “ But next morning you forget everything.
You are still the same wretched being, because your mind is
dissipated.
The great people one reads about in history, whether they
were painters, artists, sculptors, saints, politicians, statesmen,
writers, novelists, engineers or scientists were not made by a
freak of nature. They became great just by the quality of their
mind. Rabindranath Tagore became a great poet, not because he
had faculties that you do not have, but because he had a strong
mind. He had a concentrated and, hence, a gifted mind.

What effect does shashankasana have on children?

When you teach children shashankasana, hare pose, they bend
forward in the same way as one does when praying in the
temple. Shashankasana influences the adrenal glands. By
regulating the secretion of adrenalin, one can help the child to
overcome outbursts of anger, irrational fears and other types
of frustration. Adrenalin 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.
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 marjari asana, cat pose.

YOGA 42 Sep 2012

Will teaching children yoga make them better citizens of
tomorrow?
We should expose children to the practices of yoga in a gradual
way, not only in schools and other educational institutions, but
yoga schools also must have a separate wing for children. To
teach yoga to children is the easiest of all jobs. In fact, children
are the gurus and we are the disciples.
All over the world, most people have children who are
going to be the good and bad citizens of tomorrow. If their
personality is not completely integrated, that will be the
structure of society. Whether it is politics, social events or a
great war, the children of today will be directing the affairs.
If you want to produce scientific thinkers and statesmen, the
children are there. Let us create products of the finest quality
by teaching yoga to children.
The children we are teaching today will form the culture of
tomorrow. We have had our turn, so let us help the children
understand the secrets of themselves and the mysteries of life.

YOGA 43 Sep 2012

 Absolwte Relaxation

In yoga there is a lot of emphasis on ajna chaka. It has been

seen that when one is absolutely relaxed in deep sleep, then one
practises spontaneously shambhavi mudra, where both pupils are
concentrated in the mid-eyebrow centre.
When a healthy child is sleeping, first of all, the breath becomes
sonorous, it becomes ujjayi pranayama. Secondly, when one lifts
the eyelids one will find that both pupils are centralized in the mid-
eyebrow centre.
These two symptoms indicate absolute relaxation.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 44 Sep 2012

Yoga for Children
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Children need not be told to practise yoga. Psychological

experiments and a lot of observations discovered the truth
that children imbibe everything from their parents and elders.
If you do your yoga regularly, your children will practise
too. Children do imbibe the spiritual qualities, and it is not
necessary that you give lessons on yoga or lessons on spiritual
life. Give them the yogic atmosphere.
There is a natural law which controls and guides everything,
not only in children but also in the fabric of the whole universe.
Every chemical action, every physical action, every mental
or emotional action, has a law. Just as you have laws in
mathematics, similarly there are psychological and emotional
laws. These laws are known by various names such as the laws
of nature, and the doctrine of karma in philosophy. When the
laws permit, children will start practising yoga either at the
age of six, seven, eight or ten. Children are always guided by
the laws of nature.

Parents’ whims
Parents are always concerned about their children, and this
concern is guided by attachment. They are over impatient
because they have funny ideas of perfection; they have funny
ideas of progress and limited ideas about the development
in children. The way they want their children to develop is a
limited and narrow way because they are narrow. Their mental
capacities are not broad. Their ethical values are restricted
and narrow and they are not aware of the law of nature. Most
parents have formulated social, moral, and ethical laws on the
basis of their whims and fancies.
Their plans about teaching yoga to their children cannot be
accurate. It can be wrong because if they teach surya namaskara,

YOGA 45 Sep 2012

salutation to the sun, and bhujangasana, the cobra pose, to a
child of six, his structure will be disturbed, and the hormonal
processes could be accelerated. They may be putting undue
strain on the thyroid glands. Later, at the age of twelve, the
child could become like a football, or suffer from hyperthyroid
or hypothyroid.
Parents’ knowledge about themselves, and the events
and processes in the body of a child are so limited. Parents
are ignorant. They don’t even know how to give birth, how
the child has to be conceived, how his genes or DNA have
to be influenced when he is in the womb. There are many
mythological stories which shed a light on the possibility of
influencing the genetic structure, DNA structure and molecular
structure of the child, but how many parents can do it?
Children are not allowed to be free but they are tempered
and tempered. They are pushed into modes of behaviour
which are not natural to them. Parents cast the shadow of their
personality on the children. Parents want their children to be
religious, to speak the truth and never tell lies. Children should
not insult the parents but always obey them. They should talk
sweet and behave in what is called a ‘positive’ way. But these
ways are only exaggerated moral fantasies.

Need for mistakes

Children must make mistakes. They must tell lies and do
mischief. Childhood is the age when the mind has to grow,
when the brain has to grow. Without conflict the brain can not
grow. Therefore, in a society the children who are very good
are also very dull. The children who are mischievous develop
fast because the growth of a child is related to the growth of
the brain, to the grey matter. The grey matter will only grow
when there is conflict.
This must also be kept in mind in regard to yoga. Yoga
should not be pressed or imposed on children. When they
grow up and become eighteen, nineteen and twenty they
can be told about yoga. At that age, they understand and

YOGA 46 Sep 2012

appreciate the physiological, biological, therapeutic, spiritual,
and moral values. At the age of eight, they cannot understand
when they are told to practise yoga and become a good boy
or girl.

Need for progress

What is goodness after all? Goodness is a concept which has
to come after intellectual growth. Actual goodness – I do not
understand. Goodness is a relative term. What is goodness in
one age doesn’t remain goodness at other times. Many values
in our social and religious concepts are relative to time, to
social, economic and political conditions.
This is how the whole community has to be disciplined. The
code of discipline in the form of religion, morality, and ethics
has to change from time to time. It cannot remain the same.
The people who expect a static order, who believe in a static
order, will have a society which will remain static. Progress,
economy, and intellectual growth will stagnate. The best thing
to do is to live the way you would like your children to live and
they will imbibe your lifestyle. Therefore, keep your children
free and let them learn only through imbibing.
—15 June 1987, Ganga Darshan, Munger, India

YOGA 47 Sep 2012

 Little Children

Little children and young roots

Must get protection
And they must also have
The means to develop.
Ashram life is therefore
A necessity for children
Where they can have conditions
Necessary for their development.
Work of the whole day
Done scientifically,
All this will help them
Develop their personality.

—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

YOGA 48 Sep 2012

 Yoga Publications Trust
Yoga Education for Children
Volume Two
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
400 pp, Soft cover, ISBN 978-81-86336-77-9

Yoga Education for Children, Volume Two is designed to stimulate those

who work or interact with children to be creative in their use of yoga
practices, empowering children to become creative and emotionally
stable citizens of the future. It includes a look at the real goal of education,
beginning before a child is born, and yoga in special needs education; a
presentation of two highly successful experiments in youth empower-
ment in India: Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal in Munger and the kanya-batuk
project in Rikhiapeeth; asana and pranayama techniques for children of all
ages to stimulate interest and imagination, facilitate easier learning and, Reprint
most of all, introduce fun into the whole process of yoga for children.

For an order form and comprehensive publications price list please contact:
Yoga Publications Trust, Ganga Darshan, Fort, Munger, Bihar 811 201, India
Tel: 91+6344+222430 • 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 catalogs.

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.yogavision.net/ly/inspire. Dedicated to the vision and mission of Swami
Niranjanananda Saraswati, the spiritual successor of Sri Swami Satyananda
Saraswati, containing 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.yogavision.net/ly/sannyasapeeth/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
Niranjanananda, along with the programs of Sannyasa Peeth.
• Registered with the Department of Post, India issn 0972-5717
Under No. MGR-10/2011–13
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Ganga Darshan Events 2012

Sep 8 Sivananda Janmotsava
Sep 12 Swami Satyananda Sannyasa Diwas
Jan 2–6 2013 Ashram Life, Yoga & Satsang Week

Every Saturday Mahamrityunjaya Havan

Every Ekadashi Bhagavad Gita Path
Every Poornima Sundarkand Path
5th & 6th of every Commemoration of Sri Swami
month Satyananda’s Mahasamadhi

Bihar School of Yoga & Bihar Yoga Bharati

Courses 2012
Aug 1–Jan 25 6 Months Gurukul Lifestyle Course
Oct 1–Jan 25 Yogic Studies Course, 4 months (English)

An Invitation
As the Golden Jubilee World Yoga Convention will be held in
Munger from 23rd to 27th October 2013, Bihar School of Yoga and
Bihar Yoga Bharati will not be offering any courses next year.
In order to prepare for this historic event, the organizers would like
to invite interested people to spend whatever time they can manage
in the ashram to participate in seva and karma yoga. If you think you
can contribute effectively and efficiently towards the convention,
please contact the ashram.

For more information on the above events contact:

Bihar School of Yoga, Ganga Darshan, Munger, Bihar 811201, India
Tel: 06344-222430, 09304799615 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