Chapter Twenty - Swami Krishnananda

IN THE LIGHT
OF WISDOM | | |
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Swami Krishnananda
The Divine Life Society
Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India
Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org [pic]
About This Edition Though this eBook edition is designed primarily for digital readers and
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CONTENTS Foreword 5
Publisher's Note 7
Short Biographical Sketch of Swami Krishnananda 10
Auspicious Beginning 14
Chapter 1: Attunement With Reality 20
Chapter 2: The Right Relationships Between Things 39
Chapter 3: Subject Knowing Object 60
Chapter 4: Yoga is Balance 76
Chapter 5: How We Perceive 96
Chapter 6: God, World and Soul 115
Chapter 7: The Changes that Yoga Brings About 135
Chapter 8: Possessing Nothing 142
Chapter 9: The Ignorance of The Mind 166
Chapter 10: The Operation of The Eternal Law 186
Chapter 11: Skilled Preparation 207
Chapter 12: Another Type of Meditation 227
Chapter 13: The Necessity for Yoga 231
Chapter 14: The True Relationship With God 249
Chapter 15: The Laws of Proper Conduct 266
Chapter 16: Questions That Arise 283
Chapter 17: What Meditation Is 302
Chapter 18: The Tendency Towards The Cosmic Being 310
Chapter 19: Proper Asana 332
Chapter 20: The Right Channelisation of Energy 354
Chapter 21: The Kingdom of Heaven Is Within 377
Chapter 22: To Rest In What We Truly Are 399
Chapter 23: The Universal and the Internal are One 401
Chapter 24: The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath 422
Chapter 25: How the Senses Fool Us 443
Chapter 26: Seeing Through the Delusion of Desire 466
Chapter 27: The Removal of Sorrow 488
Chapter 28: The Leap Into the Unknown 491
Chapter 29: The Disentanglement of the Personality 515
Chapter 30: Detached Perception 537
Chapter 31: Dissociating Objects From Their Connections 559
Chapter 32: Overcoming Obstacles 583
Chapter 33: All-Consuming Devotion to God 607
Chapter 34: Longing for Realisation 629
Conclusion 645
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms 660
FOREWORD Millions of prostrations at the feet of Holy Master Sri Swami Sivanandaji
Maharaj, the Mahapurusha of the past century! Countless prostrations at the
feet of Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, one of the foremost direct
disciples of Sat Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj!
Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj joined Sivananda Ashram in 1944 and held the
post of General Secretary of The Divine Life Society from the year 1960
until just before his mahasamadhi in 2001. He was an able administrator.
His devotion to Gurudev was unparalleled. He wrote many books and gave
numerous talks on different occasions right from his arrival at the Ashram. This present book contains thirty-four talks given in the year 1970 to
students participating in a special session of the Yoga-Vedanta Forest
Academy. At the request of numerous Yoga students, especially from the
West, Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj agreed to give these talks in the form
of lessons. The thirty-four lessons began on January 14, 1970 and concluded
on March 4, 1970. This book is a Yoga manual. It is a handbook of Yoga. It
contains everything that a Yoga student needs to know. Swamiji explains
that Yoga, in the simplest terms, is a steady movement of the individual
soul towards the Supreme Soul. Yoga is a steady ascent to the Divine.
These lessons were recorded on cassettes and then transcribed by Sri
Shankara (Rudy), a Yoga student from the Aalst Divine Life Society Branch (
Belgium). He presented me with a bound copy which was lying with me for
nearly 35 years. Now and then I used to read it. Later on I loaned it to
our revered Sri Swami Atmaswarupanandaji Maharaj. He showed it to an
American visitor, Mr. Scott Morrow, an ardent devotee of Sri Swami
Krishnanandaji for many years. Mr. Morrow felt that it was very useful,
especially for beginners, and so took it back to the U.S.A. with him. There
he carefully edited the manuscript and prepared it for publication by our
Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press.
I am greatly indebted to Sri Sankara of the Aalst D.L.S. Branch, to Sri
Scott Morrow and to the Press staff for bringing out this invaluable book
for the benefit of seekers of Yoga from all over the world. It is my
earnest hope and desire that these lessons will greatly help the readers by
removing wrong conceptions of Yoga and serving as a useful guide.
May the Grace of the Divine ever be upon you all. -Swami Vimalananda
PUBLISHER'S NOTE How rare it is to find a teacher of supreme truth whose knowledge is
without equal, whose ability to teach is unparalleled and whose primary
concern is to render the utmost benefit to the students seated before him!
Such a one was Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj. Not only was he a master
of yoga, Vedanta, the scriptures of India and the philosophy of both the
East and West, he was also a saint and sage of great attainment. He was not
someone who merely lectured from book knowledge; when he spoke, it was with
a voice filled with the conviction manifested in a person who has realised
the highest in his own vast and profound experience. Swamiji was able to
explain the most philosophical concepts with clarity and insight. Once
having heard him speak, the listener would have the feeling that everything
that was needed had been provided.
As was mentioned in the Foreword, the lectures that make up the content
of this book were given to a small group of students who had come to the
Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India in the winter of 1970 to be instructed
in the fundamentals of yoga. Swami Krishnanandaji began the lectures on the
auspicious day of Makara Sankranti (January 14th) in the Bhajan Hall and
spoke five days a week over a period of eight weeks-giving 34 talks
altogether, up until the conclusion on March 4th, 1970. These talks were
recorded and transcribed, and for many years the resulting manuscript was
with Sri Swami Vimalanandaji, a senior monk of the Sivananda Ashram, who
reverently used the text for his own study and meditation. Out of a
conviction that these wonderful teachings should be made available to a
wider audience, Swami Vimalanandaji eventually gave the manuscript to a
devotee who has edited the text into its present form.
The talks here are meant to be immensely helpful to a seeker on the
spiritual path who wants to understand the concepts of yoga and put them
into practice. Swami Krishnanandaji has gone into great detail, but at the
same time he has taken care to explain things slowly and concisely so that
one could easily follow the lessons without confusion. His emphasis was on
the philosophy, psychology and practice of yoga according to the teachings
of sage Patanjali. The first seven limbs of yoga as expounded by Patanjali
(yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana and dhyana) form the
basis of the instructions found herein.
Although there are a number of Sanskrit words used in the text, one need
not be conversant with Sanskrit to follow the meaning. If a Sanskrit word
is not explained through the context of the paragraph, an English
translation is provided beside the word. In addition, there is a Sanskrit
glossary at the end of the book to aid the reader. Most of the Sanskrit
words have been italicised, with the exception of certain familiar words
such as yoga, guru, karma and others that have become a part of common
English. Readers from North America should take note that the grammar and
spelling in the book accord with British standards of usage.
The editors would like to thank those who have helped in the work of
bringing out this book and those donors whose gracious contributions made
its printing possible. May the blessings of Sri Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji
be on all those who take to the study of this valuable book.
-The Divine Life Society
January 14th, 2005
SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OF SWAMI KRISHNANANDA Worshipful Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj took birth on the 25th of
April, 1922, and was named Subbaraya. He was the eldest of five children in
a highly religious and orthodox Brahmin family well versed in the Sanskrit
language, the influence of which was very profound on the young boy. He
attended high school in Puttur (South Kanara District, Karnataka State) and
stood first in the class in all subjects. Not being satisfied with what was
taught in the class room, young Subbaraya took to earnest self-study of
Sanskrit with the aid of Amarakosa and other scriptural texts. While still
a boy he studied and memorised the entire Bhagavadgita, and his simple way
of doing it was not having breakfast or even lunch until a prescribed
number of verses were memorised. Thus, within months Subbaraya memorised
the whole of the Gita and recited it in full every day; such was his
eagerness to study scripture. Reading from the Srimad Bhagavata that Lord
Narayana lives in sacred Badrinath Dham, the young boy believed it
literally and entertained a secret pious wish to go to the Himalayas, where
Badrinath is located, and see the Lord there.
By the study of Sanskrit works such as the Bhagavadgita, the U