In the Regeneration and Divinisation of Human Beings

4 .HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR GURU If you find peace in the presence of a Mahatma (great soul), if you are inspired by his speeches, if he is able to clear your doubts, if he is free, from greed, anger, and lust, if he is selfless, loving, and I-less, you can take him as your Guru. He who is able to clear your doubts, he who is sympathetic in your Sadhana, he who does not disturb your beliefs but helps you on from where you are, he in whose very presence you feel spiritually elevated-he is your Guru. Once you choose Your Guru, implicitly follow him. God will guide you through the Guru. Do not use your reason too much in the selection of your Guru. You will fail if you do so. If you fail to get a first-class Guru, try to follow the instructions of the Sadhu (a spiritual person) who is treading the path for some years, who has purity and other virtuous qualities, and who has some knowledge of the scriptures. Just as a student of the Intermediate class will be able to teach a student ...

3. THE NEED FOR A GURU : For a beginner in the spiritual path, a Guru is necessary. To light a candle, you need a burning candle. Even an illumined soul alone can enlighten another soul. Some do meditation for some years independently. Later on, they actually feel the necessity of a Guru. They come across some obstacles in the way. They are unable to know how to obviate these impediments or stumbling blocks. Then they begin to search for a Master. Only the man who has already been to Badrinath will be able to tell you the road. In the case of the spiritual path, it is still more difficult to find your way. The mind will mislead you very often. The Guru will be able to remove pitfalls and obstacles, and lead you along the right path. He will tell you: "This road leads you to Moksha (liberation); this one leads to bondage". Without this guidance, you might want to go to Badrinath, but find yourself in Delhi! The scriptures are like a forest. There are ambiguo...

2.THE SADGURU To be a Guru, one must have a command from God. Mere study of books cannot make one a Guru. One who has studied the Vedas, and who has direct knowledge of the Atman (Self) through Anubhava (experience), can alone be enrolled as a Guru. A Jivanmukta or liberated sage is the real Guru or spiritual preceptor. He is the Sadguru. He is identical with Brahman or the Supreme Self. He is a Knower of Brahman. A Sadguru is endowed with countless Siddhis (psychic powers). He possesses all divine Aisvarya (powers), all the wealth of the Lord. Possession of Siddhis, however, is not the test to declare the greatness of a sage or to prove that he has attained Self-realisation. Sadgurus generally do not exhibit any miracle or Siddhi. Sometimes, however, they may do so in order to convince the aspirants of the existence of superphysical things, give them encouragement, and instill faith in their hearts. The Sadguru is Brahman Himself. He is an ocean of bliss, knowledge, ...

                                                                                                                    Sri Swami Sivananda 1. INTRODUCTION : The Guru is God Himself manifesting in a personal form to guide the aspirant. Grace of God takes the form of the Guru. To see the Guru is to see God. The Guru is united with God. He inspires devotion in others. His presence purifies all. The Guru is verily a link between the individual and the immortal. He is a being who has raised himself from this into That, and thus has free and unhampered access into both the realms. He stands, as it were, upon the threshold of immortality; and, bending down he raises the struggling ind...

THE SAGE LIVES FOR EVER The sage lives for ever. He has attained life everlasting. Cravings torture him not. Sins stain him not. Birth and death touch him not. Pains and tribulations torment him not. A Jivanmukta may give up his body in any place, at any time. Just as the falling leaves and fruits of a tree will not affect the tree itself, so also, the dropping of the body will not affect the Atman, which survives like the tree. His Pranas do not depart elsewhere for transmigration. They are absorbed in Brahman after the exhaustion of his Prarabdha, the results of past actions that have already begun to bear fruit. He is freed from further births. The Jivanmukta is freed from the trammels of mind and matter. He is absolutely free, perfect, independent. He is absolutely free from hatred, lust, cares, worries, and anxieties. Everybody will surely like this state of beatitude or final emancipation. It is the final goal of life. It is the end of all human aspirations. The s...

A BLESSING TO THE WORLD A Jivanmukta is a sustainer of the world. He is a source of perpetual inspiration. He is an embodiment through which divine grace is transmitted to the unregenerated men. Like flowers that bloom to scent and purify the air around, great souls like Sadasiva Brahman, Yajnavalkya, spring up in the world to gladden men's heart and to lead them to immortality and perfection. The Jivanmukta is a power-house of spiritual energy. He radiates his spiritual currents to the different comers of the world. Sit before him. Your doubts will be cleared by themselves. You will feel a peculiar thrill of joy and peace in his presence. The Jivanmukta, like unto holy waters, purifies others by mere sight, touch, and the utterance of his name. Sometimes he remains unnoticed. Sometimes he becomes known to those who desire welfare. He eats food offered to him by pious devotees and burns up their past and future evils or impurities. A Jivanmukta or a saint is the u...

PHYSICAL NUDITY AND MENTAL NUDITY A Brahma Jnani or Jivanmukta need not be a genius. He need not be an eloquent speaker, orator, lecturer, or professor. But he is calm, serene, and tranquil. He is taciturn and silent. His silence is superior eloquence. He has divine wisdom and intuitive knowledge. In his presence, all doubts are cleared. Householders make wrong judgments in deciding the nature of a Jivanmukta. They take into considerate only the external conditions of a Jivanmukta. Even educated people commit mistakes in this regard. A Sadhu may be physically nude. He may not keep anything with him. He may use his hands as the begging bowl and live underneath a tree. He may live in a forest. Yet, he may be the greatest scoundrel; he may be the most worldly- minded man with internal and external attachments. He may dance in joy when he gets an eight-anna piece (money) for his opium-smoking. His mind may be full of distractions and disturbances. Whereas, a man may live in ...

HOW THE JIVANMUKTA LIVES AND WORKS : A Jivanmukta is not a whimsical man. He is not bound by the rules of Sastra (scripture) or society. And yet, he will not deviate from Dharma (righteous conduct). All that he does will be in strict accordance with the scriptures or sacred books. He spontaneously does only what is good. An expert dancer never makes a false step. So is a Jivanmukta when he works. The sage works without effort, without agency, without egoism, attachment and desire. Like a child, his conduct is neither good nor evil. The Jivanmukta acts only like a child. The sense of right and wrong will be natural in him independently of scriptural teachings. He has destroyed all egoism. He is above Karma, and Karmas cannot touch him. He may, for the instruction of the world, perform works or refrain from forbidden acts. The Jivanmukta does not care for public criticism. He keeps a cool mind even when he is assaulted. He blesses those who persecute him. He beholds onl...

SAMADHI JNANI AND VYAVAHARA JNANI The way of living of Jivanmuktas or sages differs. One sage lives in a princely style. Bhagiratha lived this kind of life. Another sage lives in a beggarly manner. One sage is always in a meditative mood. He never works. He never talks. He lives always in seclusion. Jada Bharata lived this kind of life. Another sage lives in a busy crowded city. He plunges himself in service. He talks with the people. He delivers lectures, holds religious classes, writes books, etc. Sri Sankara led this kind of life. This is due to Prarabdha. Every sage has his own Prarabdha. If all sages have the same kind of living and the same kind of Prarabdha, this world will be like a prison. Variety in manifestation is the nature of Prakriti. The Jnani who has desire for worldly activities or Vyavahara and works in the world is a Vyavahara Jnani. The Jnani who withdraws himself completely from the universe is a Samadhi Jnani. Knowledge is the same in these two types...

COSMIC VISION : The Jivanmukta beholds the one Reality or God everywhere and in all things. For him there is no distinction between a rogue and a saint, gold and stone, honour and dishonour. He actually feels that all is himself only, that snakes, scorpions, tigers, bears, and lions are as much part of himself as his own eyes, nose, ears, hands, and feet. He is one with the flower, ether, sun, ocean, mountain, and sky. He has cosmic vision and cosmic feelings. Swami Sivananda To be continued  ...

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WORLDLY MAN AND A LIBERATED SAGE : The phenomenal universe does not vanish from the vision of the Jivanmukta. The Jivanmukta sees the world as a dream within himself. Just as the mirage appears even after the illusory nature of the water is understood, so also, the world appears for the Jivanmukta even after he has attained Self- realisation, even after he has clearly understood the illusory nature of the world. But, just as the man who has understood the nature of the mirage will not run after the mirage for drinking water, so also, the Jivanmukta will not run after sensual objects like the worldly-minded people, though the world appears to him. That is the difference between a worldly man and a liberated sage. When he is absorbed in Brahman, the Glory of glories, the Soul of souls, the Jivanmukta will not be able to work. But, when he comes down from his full Brahmic consciousness owing to the force of Prarabdha (destiny) and Vikshepa Sakti (tossi...

3. THE DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS OF A JIVANMUKTA : A man who stands in water up to his neck has a twofold experience. His head is exposed to the sun. He experiences both heat and cold. Such is the experience of a Jivanmukta. He has double consciousness. He enjoys the bliss of Brahman (God). He also has the experience of this world. He is like a man who knows two languages. Just as the pot in which asafoetida or onion is kept emits a certain amount of smell even when it is cleaned several times, so also, a small trace of ignorance still remains in the mind of a Jnani even. The Jivanmukta has a consciousness of the body in the form of a Samskara (impression in the subconscious mind). That is the reason why he eats and drinks. Though the instinctive mind with low desires is destroyed, the Sattvic (pure) mind does not perish in the Jivanmukta. How will he be able to do Vyavahara or worldly dealings without an instrument, viz., the mind? Swami Sivananda To be continued ...

2. SIGNS OF A JIVANMUKTA : The Jivanmukta or liberated sage is absolutely free from egoism, doubt, fear, and grief. These are the four important signs that indicate that one has attained perfection. The Jivanmukta has perfect contentment, unruffled peace of mind, deep abiding joy and bliss, possession of supersensual spiritual knowledge, and ability to clear any kind of doubt of aspirants. Doubts vanish when one remains in his company. The Jivanmukta does not care even for the wants of the body. He is not afraid of death. He has no longing to live also. Maya or Prakriti (Mother Nature) is his obedient and sweet nurse. She attends upon him carefully. Bodily wants come by themselves. Prakriti arranges everything for him beforehand. This is her look-out. Balanced mind, equal vision, indifference to pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, censure and praise, heat and cold, success and failure-these are the marks of a Jivanmukta. Jivanmuktas are not frightened or aston...

1. INTRODUCTION A Jivanmukta is a liberated sage. He is released even while living. He lives in the world, but he is not of the world. He always revels in the eternal bliss of the Supreme Self. He is Ishvara (God) Himself. He is a God on earth. The Jivanmukta or full-blown Jnani (a person with full wisdom) is full of pure love, compassion, mercy, exquisite gentleness, and hidden power and strength. Love and lustre shine through his brilliant eyes. The Jivanmukta has not a bit of selfish interest in him and is absolutely free from worries, difficulties, troubles, tribulations, sorrows, and anxieties under all circumstances. Even when pains and the rest attaching themselves to his body exhibit themselves on his face, his mind never writhes under them and their antithesis. He is not a slave of his moods; he is ever cheerful and peaceful. His higher excellences have been perfectly unfolded; all divine attributes are fully awakened in him. Every one of his weaknesses and limit...