Happy New Year.

Why do you worry without cause?
Whom do you fear without reason?
Who can kill you?
The soul is neither born, nor does it die.
Whatever happened,
happened for the good;
whatever is happening,
is happening for the good;
whatever will happen,
will also happen for the good only.

You need not have any regrets for the past.
You need not worry for the future.
The present is happening...
What did you lose that you cry about?
What did you bring with you,
which you think you have lost?

What did you produce,
which you think got destroyed?
You did not bring anything,
whatever you have, you received from here.
Whatever you have given, you have given only here.
Whatever you took, you took from God.
Whatever you gave, you gave to Him.
You came empty handed,
you will leave empty handed.

What is yours today,
belonged to someone else yesterday, and
will belong to someone else the
day after tomorrow.
You are mistakenly enjoying the thought
that this is yours.
It is this false happiness that is
the cause of your sorrows.

Change is the law of the universe.
What you think of as death,
is indeed life.
In one instance you can be
a millionaire, and
in the other instance you can
be steeped
in poverty.

Yours and mine, big & small
erase these ideas from your mind.
Then everything is yours and
you belong to everyone.
This body is not yours,
neither are you of the body.
The body is made of fire, water, air, earth and
ether, and will disappear into these elements.
But the soul is permanent - so who are you?

Dedicate your being to God.
He is the one to be ultimately relied upon.
Those who know of his support are forever
free from fear, worry and sorrow.
Whatever you do,
do it as a dedication to God.
This will bring you the
tremendous experience of
joy and life-freedom forever.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race _ Swami Satchidananda

“In Yoga asanas or in yogic breathing, one should never exert oneself. Always make sure you do the practices easily, without straining. That is a safe rule. There is no strenuous aspect in Yoga practices. In meditation, if you are going to fight with the mind, then the mind will become rather violent and it will threaten you. Then, whenever you sit for meditation the mind will revolt. So there is always an easy way of doing things, and we should not be hasty in our desire to get the real benefits. Let things come in their own time. Our duty is simply to do the practices continuously. If you do them slowly and steadily, you’ll win the race.

“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”

Yoga and Business - Swami Satchidananada

“The yogic attitude is to do business for the sake of others, to serve others. You are entitled to get your share—a reasonable share. If you expect more, then you get more worries, more anxiety and more misery. So we can’t live both a yogic life and an ordinary worldly life. Yoga will never make greedy people greedier or fulfill their greedy desires, because all these cravings are only mental attitudes, desires of the mind. Some people desire several million dollars and are happy when they get that. Other people desire only several hundred dollars, and they are happy with that. It’s all about different mental attitudes. However, you can apply Yoga to the worldly life. Yoga can help you fulfill your normal duties in a more balanced way, without any anxieties or worries.

“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”

Be the Witness - Swami Satchithananda.

“Witnessing the mind means that you just watch anything and everything that happens in the mind just as you allow children to play and you watch them. Do not interfere. Let any thought come in and simply go on watching it. When you do it continuously, you will see that the thoughts themselves slowly subside. Let the thoughts feel that you are witnessing them. Once they know that you are witnessing them, they won’t be restless. They will slowly calm themselves, and that is the idea behind observing the mind. So, locate the real witness within you and feel that you are that.

“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”