Teachings of Satchidananda
The Process of Concentration
“Do one thing at a time. When you read something, apply the entire mind to that. When you eat, see that the mind is concentrated on your eating. If you train your mind all throughout the day, it becomes easier for you to fix the mind when you sit to meditate. When you meditate, always select something holy to focus on, something that can elevate you, something that can make you go further toward the goal. That degree of concentration is possible when you practice focusing the mind in the ordinary life also. Slowly train the mind in such a way that it is always under your control, and, whenever you want, you will be able to make it still.
“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”
All That You Do is Yoga
“Yoga means perfection in action. When you do something, do it with one hundred percent of the mind. Don?t do it half way. Whatever you do, do it with full concentration. That is Yoga. It?s not that you are just going into a corner, sitting with the spine erect and then doing some japa or some breathing and that is Yoga. My Yoga is everything. All that you do is Yoga. When you start doing something, do only that— one hundred percent that. ‘Yogaha karmasu kaushalam,’ the Bhagavad Gita says. That means perfection in your every action is Yoga.
“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”
There is No Division Among the Prophets
“Some religious leaders seem to tell people that there is only one way and that their understanding is the only correct one. That cannot be avoided as long, as people use their egos to interpret the teachings of the great prophets, sages and saints. Actually, there is no division among the prophets who gave us all the religions. The people who interpret their scriptures have created the division. The world is getting tired of these divisions. We are slowly coming together by making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. In fact, all the religions tell us to clean up the ego in this way, so that we can live together as spiritual brothers and sisters.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
Detach Yourself
“Even a great saint, a jivanmukta, will have his or her parabdha karma. That means the body and mind have been brought into birth due to past karmas. That is why even great saints like Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramana Maharshi had cancer. People ask, ‘Why should such great men have cancer and even appear to have suffered a little?’ Here is the answer: The Self of each saint never had cancer. Their bodies had the cancer, and their minds might have felt the pain a little, but they were watching. Simply, the Self was witnessing the cancer, the pain, everything. We should learn to detach ourselves like that.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
What Makes You Beautiful?
“The more you worry about your weight, the more sick you become. The worry itself causes increase in weight because many people eat a lot when they worry. The more you think of weight, the more weight you will have. As you think, so you become. Worry is the most dangerous disease. Keep the mind healthy always. If someone doesn’t want to like you because of your weight, that person is interested only in your flesh, not in your qualities. What will make a person beautiful? The beauty of wisdom that dawns through tranquility of mind. We have enough troubles and worries. Yogis should not be bothered with weight issues. Let us think of more important things in life that could bring peace, joy and harmony.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
Samadhi
“Many people think that samadhi means you just sit like a rock, motionless, going into an unconscious state. If you stay in that samadhi, you are of no use to anybody. Sahaja Samadhi means a natural samadhi, always present. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, your body and mind are involved in those activities, but your inner state is always the same, unaffected. Self-realization means you realize that you are the Self. You are different from the body and mind, so you remain in that state of Self and allow the body and mind to function for the benefit of humanity. You can be in the material world and still be in the samadhi state. Then nothing can affect you and you can perform your duties well.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
Mental Purity
“If we are going to practice Yoga continually and a little more deeply, then naturally we must have mental purity. That is why Bhagavan Patanjali says Yama and Niyama (the ethical precepts of Yoga) are very, very important for a person who wants to be a yogi. When you become more established in Yama and Niyama, your concentration becomes easy. Many people say, ‘I sit and meditate and within a few seconds the mind runs here and there; it never stays in one place for a few seconds.’ Why should it run? Because it has accumulated so much of worldly desires, so it doesn’t want to stick to one place. If you are a person who leads a contented life without much anxieties and worries and desires, you can much more easily concentrate.
“God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”