BIHAR YOGA®

2013 Golden Jubilee edition

Conversations on the Science of Yoga

®
Karma Yoga Book 2

Karma Yoga Book 2

Conversations on the Science of Yoga
SATYANANDA YOGA

Experience of Life
BIHAR YOGA

Conversations on the Science of Yoga is an encyclopaedic series presenting

the vast, timeless culture of yoga topic by topic through the voice of
three generations of masters – Swami Sivananda Saraswati, Swami From the teachings of
Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. The two great luminaries of the 20th century
teachings are given in question and answer format with the inclusion
of verses from the scriptures, connecting the modern experience with
the classical tradition.
Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Karma Yoga Book 2: Experience of Life is an in-depth journey into the Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati
eternal questions of existence. What is the cause and role of desire?
Can suffering be overcome? What is the relationship between pain and
evolution? How can disease be understood? Are we driven by destiny
or freewill? Understanding these themes provides a framework for
practising karma yoga, which views life as an opportunity for spiritual
evolution. Karma yoga encourages conscious, positive interaction with
life as a way of connecting with one’s deepest nature, which is spirit.
Through the wisdom of these masters, a complete understanding
of karma yoga and a vision for its application in the modern era is
interpreted for yoga aspirants around the world.

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ISBN : 978-93-81620-32-8

Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

Karma Yoga Book 2
Experience of Life
Conversations on the Science of Yoga

Karma Yoga Book 2

Experience of Life

From the teachings of

two great luminaries of the 20th century,

Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Including answers from the satsangs of

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

© Bihar School of Yoga 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

transmitted or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any
means, without permission in writing from Yoga Publications Trust.
The terms Satyananda Yoga® and Bihar Yoga® are registered trade­marks owned by
International Yoga Fellowship Movement (IYFM). The use of the same in this book
is with permission and should not in any way be taken as affecting the validity of
the marks.

Published by Yoga Publications Trust

First published 2013

ISBN: 978-93-81620-32-8

Publisher and distributor: Yoga Publications Trust, Ganga Darshan,

Munger, Bihar, India.

Website: www.biharyoga.net
www.rikhiapeeth.net

Printed at Aegean Offset Printers, Greater Noida

 Dedication
In humility we offer this dedication to
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, who initiated
Swami Satyananda Saraswati into the secrets of yoga
and to our guru Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati
who continues to inspire and guide us
on our spiritual journey.

1210 siv+sss dedication-conversai i 2/11/2012 2:56:40 PM

 Contents

Preface ix
Introduction 1
1. Desire: Cause of Creation 6
2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise 35
3. Suffering 72
4. Health and Disease 122
5. Destiny and Free Will 144
Appendices
A: Index of Questions 169
B: Index of Scriptural Quotes 177
Glossary 185
General Index 201

vii
 Preface

CONVERSATIONS ON THE SCIENCE OF YOGA

Conversations on the Science of Yoga is an encyclopaedic

series which brings together the collected teachings of
two generations of masters – Swami Sivananda Saraswati
of Rishikesh and Swami Satyananda Saraswati of Munger.
Satsangs given by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati on his
numerous national and international tours also provide
the answers to many questions on this vast subject. These
luminaries represent a living tradition in which the eternal
knowledge and wisdom of yoga has been passed from guru
to disciple in a dynamic continuum from the early twentieth
century to the first decades of the twenty-first century.
The series consists of sets of books which present the
vast, timeless culture of yoga topic by topic, in question
and answer format. In this way, complex and profound
subjects such as karma yoga, hatha yoga and bhakti yoga,
are presented in clear, simple language. These conversations
on yoga reflect an ancient and enduring approach to the
transmission of wisdom, in which spiritual aspirants seek
answers to their questions at the feet of the guru.
Many of the answers also include verses from the various
relevant scriptures, connecting the modern experience with
the classical tradition. It is through the lives and teachings
of the masters that the scriptures are correctly and intuitively
ix
interpreted for each generation, ensuring that the light of
these revelations continues to illumine and inspire the hearts
and minds of all who aspire for spiritual upliftment.
Conversations on the Science of Yoga has been compiled from
the rich archive of satsangs and writings, both published
and unpublished, which is held at the Bihar School of
Yoga, Munger. The organization of this material into the
major branches of yoga and related topics creates a unique
interpretation of the classical yogic sciences for the benefit
of humanity in the modern era. Deeply founded in tradition,
the teachings are both systematic and practical, addressing
the needs of individuals and society at a time when
adjustment to constant change is placing unprecedented
pressure on people all over the world.

The Bihar Yoga tradition

Bihar School of Yoga is ideally placed to produce this major
contribution to yogic literature. Founded in 1963 by Swami
Satyananda Saraswati, the system known in India as Bihar
Yoga and internationally as Satyananda Yoga, seamlessly
integrates all facets of the yogic tradition, including the
various branches of yoga, the philosophies which are
fundamental to the yogic culture and the dynamism of self-

x
realized preceptors which ensures that the teachings remain
fresh and relevant in any age. This all-inclusive approach
means that yogic practices are available as tools for holistic
life management, while other vidyas, spiritual sciences,
such as Tantra, Vedanta and Samkhya provide a broad
philosophical base. Emerging from this living tradition,
Conversations on the Science of Yoga is a unique and precious
offering to humanity.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963)

Swami Sivananda was a towering spiritual force in the yogic
renaissance which developed in India in the first half of the
twentieth century. After serving as a doctor in Malaya, he
returned to India to pursue his spiritual aspirations, and in
1924 was initiated into Dashnami sannyasa in Rishikesh. He
founded the Divine Life Society, toured India extensively,
wrote hundreds of books and inspired thousands around
the world to practise yoga and lead a divine life. Swami
Sivananda’s eightfold path of yoga – serve, love, give,
purify, do good, be good, meditate, realize – expresses his
philosophy of service to humanity and continues to guide
the work of the Bihar School of Yoga.
xi
Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923–2009)
Swami Satyananda was initiated into Dashnami sannyasa
by his guru Swami Sivananda, in 1947. After serving his
guru’s mission in Rishikesh for twelve years, he founded the
International Yoga Fellowship in 1956 and the Bihar School
of Yoga in 1963. From that base he took the teachings to the
rest of the world, fulfilling the mandate of his guru to ‘spread
yoga from door to door and shore to shore.’
Through his genius and compassion, many ancient,
complex and esoteric practices were systematized, simplified
and made available to people of all ages, cultures and creeds.
Swami Satyananda’s blend of charisma and pragmatism
attracted multitudes of devotees wherever he went, giving
rise to a global movement and creating a far-reaching
network of ashrams, yoga centres and teachers. Meanwhile,
the headquarters in Bihar continued to expand its many
programs, including the publishing division, producing
numerous books that both preserve and disseminate the
incredibly rich seam of practical wisdom which flows through
this lineage.
In 1988 Swami Satyananda renounced his mission in
order to live as a paramahamsa sannyasin, performing higher
xii
spiritual and vedic sadhanas in an isolated location. During
this chapter of his life, he also realized his guru’s teaching
of ‘serve, love, give’, by establishing Sivananda Math, an
organization dedicated to raising the living standards of the
weaker and underprivileged sectors of society.
At midnight on 5 December 2009, Sri Swami Satyananda
Saraswati attained mahasamadhi.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati (1960)

A yogi from earliest childhood, Swami Niranjanananda
joined the Bihar School of Yoga in 1964 and was initiated
into Dashnami sannyasa in 1971. At the age of eleven he
was sent to live abroad by his guru Swami Satyananda,
giving him direct experience and understanding of people
from a vast array of cultures and walks of life. These years
instilled in him a rare, cross-cultural insight into human
nature, enabling him to communicate and interact with the
international community with familiarity, ease and humour.
Combined with his depth of spiritual and yogic know­
ledge, this background equipped Swami Niranjanananda to
guide the Bihar School of Yoga and the international yoga
movement from 1983 until 2008, when he began handing
xiii
over the administration to the next generation. During this
time he also authored many classic books on yoga, tantra and
the upanishads and founded Bihar Yoga Bharati, the world’s
first yoga university, while continuing extensive national and
international touring.
Following retirement from his role at the Bihar School of
Yoga, Swami Niranjanananda established Sannyasa Peeth for
the development and training of sannyasins, and for his own
pursuit of the higher sadhanas of sannyasa.
As the spiritual successor to Swami Satyananda, Swami
Niranjanananda continues to inspire aspirants around the
world.

Yoga is not a philosophy, it is a practical science. Philosophy

gives you knowledge, yoga gives you experience. This is
the beauty of yoga. That experience is a manifestation of
your inner being.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati

xiv
 Introduction

A contented mind is a continual feast. Contentment is

one of the greatest virtues.
—Swami Sivananda

It is said that the human birth is difficult to attain, that it is

precious and that even the gods desire it. Why? Because it
is only through the human birth that one can consciously
evolve, ultimately transcending the limited nature through
self-realization. And yet, the experience of life is complex,
often painful and fraught with duality. The desire for
happiness drives and motivates actions and decisions about
how to spend one’s days and years, yet pain and suffering
seem to regularly intervene. Peace of mind is elusive,
contentment is short-lived, and underlying anxieties,
disturbances and frustrations continually return, even when
one’s external life is safe and prosperous. How can suffering
be overcome? If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is
there so much pain? If the purpose of life is self-realization,
why is everyone so removed from that state? Is everything
predestined or can the individual direct the course of his
life? The philosophers and thinkers have much to say, yet the
questions, theories and problems continue.
The yogic culture, being essentially practical, takes the
matter beyond philosophy, offering a solution which is at

1
once pragmatic and deeply intelligent. This solution provides
a practical system in which life itself becomes a method of
yoga, a sadhana for evolution, a process that transforms
mundane activities into opportunities for transformation.
That system is known as karma yoga, the yoga of action.

The role of karma yoga

Karma yoga is the yoga that can be practised all day,
whatever one is doing or involved with. The drama of life
provides the materials for the practice: just as salt and
water are needed for shatkarmas, and a peaceful place for
practising pranayama or meditation, the events of life are
needed for practising karma yoga.
In the process of practising karma yoga, one’s interaction
with life is examined and attempts are made to understand
and manage the mental fluctuations and reactions. This
inevitably brings one face to face with two universal aspects in
the experience of life: the play of desire and the presence of
suffering. The spiritual culture of India gives much attention
to the roles of desire and suffering, placing a great deal of
importance on how they are dealt with. It could even be
said that from a spiritual point of view, one’s management
of desire and suffering determine the outcome of life. It is
the view of many spiritual traditions that wise handling of
desire is the key to liberation from duality, which is seen as the
source of suffering. It is apt, therefore, that Karma Yoga Book 2:
Experience of Life presents a close look at the wisdom of three
modern yogic masters on these topics. In question and answer
format, Swami Sivananda, Swami Satyananda and Swami
Niranjanananda explain complex ideas in simple terms and
show how these driving forces in life can be used to further
one’s evolution and growth towards spiritual maturity.

The controversy of desire

Desire is a controversial subject. While many philosophies say
that bliss comes when desires are eliminated, society is obsessed
with promoting them as a source of happiness. The consumer

2
culture, which is fast becoming global, is based on constant
and continual craving, both for material items and gratifying
experiences. Many people do not know any other way of being
in the world; they are completely caught up in a self-centred
existence, based on the fulfilment of desires and devoid of skill
in dealing with pain when it comes. In spite of the attractions
of a life spent chasing desires, it is fundamentally flawed, as
the gratifications are short-lived, the desires can never all be
fulfilled and the inner life is neglected. Change, however, often
comes in the form of a crisis, and a search for a new way of
experiencing life begins. At such a time, karma yoga offers a
path to gradually balancing the outer and inner lives. It does
not advocate denial of desire or denial of suffering. It accepts
human nature and simply says, become aware, become a
witness, observe oneself and see what happens next.
The method of karma yoga is to use the attributes of the
human birth as the means to lifting oneself to higher levels
of consciousness: the characteristics that so often pull one
down need to be purified, not denied. Desires can be pure
and impure, blindly followed or managed. The energy of
desires can be squandered in sensual living or sublimated
and channelled for spiritual purposes. Swami Satyananda
realistically advises, “Instead of trying to eliminate or avoid
desires, it is better to change the quality of the desire.” As
one progresses on the spiritual path, the nature of desire
changes and desires as one knows them gradually drop
away. According to Swami Niranjanananda, “In yoga,
desires are not just blindly followed, but rather used to
uplift the personality. The only indication that exists in yoga
to measure the progress of spiritual development is the
reduction of desires. As one evolves spiritually, the desires
become fewer and fewer.” This process is facilitated by the
practice of karma yoga.

Suffering as a path to liberation

No one wants suffering. Yet the yogis say that suffering
should be welcomed, not rejected. Pain and evolution, they

3
say, go hand in hand. Swami Sivananda is straightforward
about this, declaring that, “Misery is a blessing in disguise.
Misery is the eye-opener in this world. Every suffering,
every pain, every adversity moulds one little by little into
the image of God.” This can be a difficult concept to grasp;
common notions are being turned on their head: the
desires, the things that appear to bring happiness, are to be
reduced, while suffering, a state of pain, is to be welcomed.
Experience of Life looks at suffering from a number of angles,
bringing helpful perspectives to this important but confusing
aspect of living. What are the causes of suffering? What is
the relationship between pain and evolution? How should
ill health and disease be understood? What is the yogic
approach to crisis?
Quotes from scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga
Vasishtha, Ramayana and the Holy Bible, as well as verses from
the mystic poets, Mirabai and Kabir Das, lend their timeless
resonance to the words of the modern seers. For example, in
the Bhagavad Gita (6:23), Sri Krishna advises Arjuna:
Let severance from union with pain be known by the
name of yoga. This yoga should be practised with
determination and with a non-despondent mind.
Thus he explains that it is identification with suffering and
a weak mind that cause pain, declaring yoga to be the way
out of that state.

Destiny and free will

When people suffer, they often wonder what they did to cause
such misfortune. They wonder if it could have been avoided
or was it their destiny, and therefore out of their hands? If fate
or destiny prevails in life, then what of free will? What can be
done to improve one’s lot if all is predestined? Experience of
Life investigates these questions of destiny and free will from
the yogic point of view, including the place of astrology.
The concept of karma is intimately connected with
ideas about destiny and free will. Karma is often taken to

4
mean that every occurrence in life is predestined due to
deeds done in past lives. On closer inspection, however,
this is not logical, as free will must have prevailed in the
doing of those past deeds. Far from being a fatalistic theory,
Swami Sivananda states that, “The doctrine of karma is
diametrically opposed to the doctrine of fatalism. Rather,
it is an incentive to act in order to better one’s condition
as it presupposes freedom of will. Freedom is the essence
of karma, which gives opportunities for growth and
evolution.”
This freedom is fundamental to the practice of karma
yoga, which is based on the belief that one can move
beyond conditioned reactions so that behaviours and
actions are conscious and performed without attachment.
By performing actions without attachment or identification
with them, one does not accumulate further karmas from
those actions. This simply means that one’s mind is free
of entanglements arising from actions and interactions.
The responsibility rests with the individual to manage
their desires, to learn from suffering, to discover how to
base thought and action on a higher level of knowing, and
so gradually bring oneself into alignment with the divine
nature. The experience of life can only become a pathway
to liberation when it becomes a conscious process, so that
choices can be made with awareness and discrimination.
The philosophy of karma yoga is an optimistic one,
viewing life as a platform and opportunity for upliftment. It
says that through conscious and selfless management of life’s
experiences, one can not only have success at the worldly
level, but also connect with one’s deepest nature, which
is spirit. In this way, through the process of life, harmony
between the external and inner lives is attained.

5
 1
Desire: Cause of Creation

ORIGIN AND ROLE OF DESIRES

What is the cause of desire?

Swami Sivananda: The cause of desire is the existence of
outside objects. Curiosity becomes a desire in the mind.
Interest and feeling precede a desire. Hope and expectation
fatten the desire. Desires arise because there is no spiritual
bliss.

What is the origin of desire?

Swami Satyananda: From time immemorial man has
cherished one resolve deep within himself which cannot
be uprooted, and that is the desire to become many.
According to the Upanishads, man inherited this prim­
ordial desire from Brahman or Paramatma, who became
bored being alone and sought to become many. This basic
desire, therefore, is indestructible. Desires, wishes and
cravings, kamana, iccha and vasana, are endless. Even the
wish for bhakti, devotion, or moksha, liberation, is a desire.
The form has changed, but basically it is one and the same
wish.
Man is born into a physical body with desire, and nobody
can say, “I am free from desire.” Desire is born out of one’s
association with the objects of life.

6
What are the basic types of desire?
Swami Satyananda: Desires can be broadly classified into
three or four types. The shastras say that man has three basic
desires: (i) putreshana, desire for progeny, (ii) dareshana, desire
for a partner, and (iii) vitteshana, desire for wealth. Normally
people have the desire for wealth in the form of money,
property, a car, house, building or farm. They have the desire
for sexual gratification from men or women, and they have
the desire for progeny, children, tribe, nationality and race.
People think, “May I have a child”, “May my family prosper”,
“May my tribe increase”, “May my nation become great”,
“May my religion flourish” or “May I have many disciples.”
These are the three basic types of desire, but there is a
rare fourth group, which is not developed in everybody. This
is lokeshana, the desire for name, fame and power, seen in
people such as Sikander, Alexander the Great, Napoleon,
Hitler, and politicians. A person with this type of desire thinks,
“May I become the Secretary General of the United Nations,
or the President or Prime Minister of India or Greece or Italy
or France.” This person may have the ambition to be a king,
monarch or ruler, to be known all over the world, to construct
or raise an edifice so that he is immortalized, to have books
written about him, to have statues of himself erected or roads
named after him. This fourth type is a refined form of desire,
which only a few people have.
These desires are responsible for generating karma. The
karmas give rise to destiny and are the cause of suffering and
pain. It is, therefore, important that everyone understands
these fourfold desires.
The first type of desire, for children, progeny, tribe and
race, creates karma and brings about the chain of cause and
effect. This chain goes on building itself, as the desire for
progeny, family and tribe is an instinctive desire in humanity.
Everybody has this desire deep inside. Nature has established
this desire throughout the entire animal kingdom. Those
organisms which do not have progeny through sexual
interaction have still found a way to procreate. The desire for

7
progeny is rooted deep in the consciousness of man. Even if
the children are a problem, the parents still want them. This
is a result of compulsion by the force of nature. This is one
source of karma which builds up in the course of time.
The second type of desire is to have a relationship with
the opposite sex. This interaction is not only sexual, it is
emotional as well. It includes all types of relationships,
not only the intimacy between a man and a woman. It can
be the relationship between a brother and sister, mother
and son, or father and daughter, or friends. It can be in
the form of friendship, marital relationship, or sexual
relationship. This type of desire produces emotion and
passion, infatuation, sexual attraction and attachment. This
complete involvement of human attachment with someone
is the second group of desires.
The relationship between the two sexes is guided by the
laws of nature. Desire is instinctive, but sometimes it is also
intellectual. Animals desire instinctively. During the infertile
period animals live separately and do not come together.
At the time of fertility, however, they come together under
the compulsion of nature; they do not have to be brought
together. Nature has provided refined smelling abilities
which enable them to find a mate. In animals this coming
together is guided purely by instinct, but in human beings it
is also guided by the mind, intellect and desire. Desire in the
mind is a conscious motion. When someone wants a boy or
a girl, the person knows that they want this, but if the desire
is analyzed, it cannot be understood because the cause is
controlled by natural instinct. It is not possible that a person
will not desire.
When two people come together, a family begins
naturally. The first forms of desire are now interacting, help­
ing and cooperating with each other. Many animals mate
and separate immediately, like cows, horses and dogs, while
other animals live together just for some time or for life. For
example, birds live together for a certain period, tigers and
lions live together for some time, but dogs do not care.

8
 There is another important group of desires related to
wealth, property, money, gold and precious objects. It might
be a desire for a bank account, a big factory or industrial
complex, many ornaments, or a nice car. In ordinary people
this type of desire is for a house and money. In some special
people it is for the acquisition of an empire or kingdom.
This form of desire is specific to human beings and is
rarely exhibited in animals and birds. There are certain
creatures, like rats, honey bees and ants, that store, but
the larger animals, such as cows, deer, horses, buffalo and
tigers, do not store. If leopards have a little extra meat, they
dig a hole and keep it underground. Indian crows also have
a tendency to store useless objects in their nests. Even so,
the desire to acquire is not strong in animals and it is rare,
but it is strong in man. In raja yoga it is called parigraha,
which means acquisition, collecting and keeping.
These are the three forms of desire which propel
everyone to do karma. Nobody is free from these three
desires. There are hardly any exceptions to this rule. Those
who try to find freedom from these desires through sadhana
are wasting their time, for they will never be successful. I was
never freed from the desire for progeny – instead of sons, I
got disciples. I wanted to get away from money and wealth,
so here I am sitting amidst gold and silver. These are the laws
of nature, which cannot be avoided.
The longing for children, for prosperity, for sensual love are
the origins of all other desires. These three create all desires,
lead to action and cause the dualities, such as happiness and
misery, achievement and disappointment. They suppress the
yogic fire within a person. These are the desires which are the
root cause of man’s suffering and reincarnation.

What role does desire play in karma and in life?

Swami Niranjanananda: When one becomes aware of karma,
one also becomes aware of what one likes and dislikes,
wants or does not want. The entire interaction with life is
based on what ‘I’ desire and do not desire. There is always

9
the expectation of results from the karmas. Three aspects
are important when considering the role of desire in life:
(i) identification with ‘I’ as an individual, (ii) attraction to
the world of objects for satisfaction and fulfilment, and (iii)
repulsion or rejection of that which is not desirable.
These three aspects continuously change and alter the
perceptions of one’s personality. ‘I’ identification changes the
expression of the personality. Attraction and rejection change
the expression of the personality. Linked with the identity of
‘I’, with attraction and repulsion, is the desire for a satisfying
result. If the result does not culminate in satisfaction and
fulfilment, another form of craving arises to take the place
of the first desire, another way to attain satisfaction and
fulfilment in life. This is the realm or dimension of karma.
There are three faculties in every human being, known as
iccha shakti, sankalpa shakti and kriya shakti. Every creature
in creation is motivated by desires, which give the will to
think, to act and to move. In the absence of desire, one
cannot become anything. The whole of life revolves around
desire. Desire is represented by iccha shakti: ‘I want, I desire
to have it, I wish to possess it.’ When one sets one’s will on
the attainment of a particular desire, it takes the form of
sankalpa shakti, one-pointed awareness, one-pointed desire,
one-pointed will. The motivating process, the force which
enables one to carry out the achievement that has been
resolved upon, is known as kriya shakti.

What are the two aspects of desire?

Swami Niranjanananda: Desire has two aspects: one is positive
desire, which is conducive to the development and growth of
the total human personality, and the other is negative desire,
which is detrimental to expression and growth. The yoga
shastras say that negative desires are the bahya vrittis, external
vrittis, which direct the attention and perception to the gross
material plane, inhibiting the expression of the faculties
and energies which are inherent within. At the same time
the antar vrittis, inner vrittis, the subtle desires or motivating

10
forces, are conducive to the attainment of perfection. Sage
Valmiki says in Yoga Vasishtha (1:3:11):
Vaasanaa dvividhaa proktaa shuddhaa cha malinaa tathaa;
Malinaa janmano hethu shuddhaa janmavinaashinee.
Desires are of two kinds, pure and impure. The impure
desires are the cause of transmigration, while the pure
desires serve to destroy it.

In the course of human evolution, the gross desires

distract the individual from the attainment of perfection.
Yoga says that perfection is the result of the ultimate union
between the faculties of body, mind and spirit, the union
of the individual atma and Paramatma. The positive and
negative desires are the attributes which give the experience
of ‘being here now’. Something is liked, something is
disliked. Something is accepted, something is rejected.
This is the general trend. At some stage in life there comes
a recognition that this process is happening, and an effort
may be made to sublimate gross desire, bahya vritti, into the
experience of antar vritti, subtle desire. At this change-over
point the journey into spiritual life begins. The particular
vritti which is at present extroverted can be transformed by
making it more introverted, subtle and aware.

Where do desires originate?

Swami Satyananda: Desires are the mental invocations that
one makes. The body does not have desires, nor do the
karmendriyas, the motor organs, or the jnanendriyas, the sense
organs. They only have the power of action and perception,
but no volition or will. The karmendriyas have the power
to act, the jnanendriyas have the power to perceive. They
have the capacity of physical experience, like the experience
of heat and cold or good and bad, but willpower does not
reside in the karmendriyas, jnanendriyas or the muscles of
the body. Willpower and emotions are only in the mind. It is
said in Yoga Vasishtha (4:54:2):

11
 Anantasyaatmatattvasya sattaasaamaanyaroopinah;
Chitashchetyonmukhatvam yattatsankalpaankuram viduh.
Desire or will is situated in the mind or mental part of the
one eternal, universal and spiritual substance of God.

Why are desires important?

Swami Satyananda: Desire is a normal action of the brain.
Not having desire is an abnormal action of the brain. The
brain is a progressive organ which is able to leave many
primitive things behind and develop new areas and new
objects of experience and cognition. Every time the brain
learns something new, the person desires something new. A
hundred years ago people thought about acquiring a good
horse and cart; now people think about acquiring a good car.
After a hundred years, people may desire a small two-seater
aircraft. The desire is the same, but the objects differ. Such
desire is normal and to be without desire is abnormal. In the
Bible (Proverbs 13:12) it says:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled
is a tree of life.
Most people have many desires. Some people appear to
have no desires due to certain fears, suppressions or shocks
which they have received or which they don’t know about
consciously. This means the karmas and desires exist, but
they are in a suppressed state. Sometimes the mind and
brain react to certain experiences in life by suppressing
desires. In this case the desires go into the background and
may never arise.

What is the function of desires in life?

Swami Satyananda: Desire is the most important thing in
human life; it is the identity of man. Desires are necessary
because they are a recognition of life. Through desire one
can come to know one’s personality and situation in life.
There are some people who cannot desire, and others who

12
desire all day long. Through proper analysis, one will come
to know that desire is an innocent force in the mind. In
childhood one desires toys, in youth friends, then a job and
money, family life and children. Later one desires position,
name and fame, then mental calmness, peace, yoga,
relaxation, meditation and God-realization.
In vedic philosophy, life is based on four aims: artha,
motivation, kama, desire, dharma, duty, and moksha, libera­
tion. Desire is one of the basic elements of a good life. One
cannot evolve without it. If desires were eliminated through
the process of yoga, everything would be destroyed. What
would it be like if everybody in the family, city, country
and world were free of desires? Of course, this is not going
to happen, but if it were to happen, there would be many
more problems. If there is no desire, something is wrong
somewhere. A person who is unable to desire is either a
liberated sage or abnormal.
Nature or God has created suffering, and there must
be desires along with suffering. There must be the desires
for a family, children and a nice home. There must be the
desire to have a guru, to practise yoga, to have plenty of
time to read the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and other
philosophies. In life there must be desires, and desires
bring suffering.
In life there is a lot of suffering, and this brings a person
nearer to the inner self. Those who don’t believe this should
read the lives of saints. There must be suffering, as suffering
opens the inner eye. A person who has no desire has no
suffering, and a person who does not suffer cannot evolve
spiritually. All the saints have suffered. Christ was crucified
and Mahatma Gandhi was shot. Suffering makes one strong,
but suffering is a product of desire.

How do desires change?

Swami Satyananda: Desire is an expression of one’s person­
ality. Desire is a manifestation, quality or particular state of
mind. When the mind is sick and ailing, insecure or hungry,

13
there will be more desires. When the mind is completely
satisfied, healthy and secure, the desires will be less. Desires
are relative, and they keep changing according to a person’s
situation, development, age and experience. When a person
grows tired of one desire, he automatically goes to another.
Desires are present in all the stages of life: brahmacharya
ashrama, grihastha ashrama and vanaprastha ashrama,
but the objects of desire change according to one’s age. In
childhood one desires games and sports, like cricket and
hockey. In youth one desires wealth, women and progeny. In
the later years one does not have the same desires.

What is the process of expressing desire?

Swami Niranjanananda: In the course of life, the subtle ideas,
desires and thoughts manifest themselves at the gross level.
There is an intimate link between the subtle mind, the
nature which is more subtle than the mind, consciousness,
and the visible world of objects and senses. There is a flow of
information which comes from the consciousness to the mind
and into the body. The body is simply a medium through
which the mind expresses itself. Therefore, it is important
not to differentiate between the thinking nature and the
acting instrument, which is the body. Instead, it needs to be
seen as the flowing stream of an idea coming from the subtle,
the invisible, to the manifest, the visible.
Here is an example: an idea evolves at the deepest levels
of one’s nature; the idea becomes a desire, the desire creates
a plan of action, and that plan of action is later implemented
by the senses and the body. The instinct of self-preservation
gives birth to desire. The interaction between the external
world and the senses creates the cycle of idea, desire,
motivation and implementation. This concept is related to
ahamkara, the ego principle or ‘I’ identity. The concepts in
life originate in the dimension of the ‘I’ identity, the nature
of individuality.
At a later stage this concept filters down to the lower
levels of the mind: the intellect, memory and reflective

14
processes, and is identified as a desire or need. This desire
or need is then linked with one’s aspirations, strengths and
weaknesses. It takes a definite form to fill the vacuum that is
felt when one engages in self-reflection. Desire simply means
a wish to attain something that is felt to be lacking at present
in one’s life. How is this lack identified? An intricate process
of analysis happens at the unconscious level, where the subtle
mind, the ego principle, observes and analyzes the needs,
which one then tries to fulfil in the course of life.
The concept is converted into desire, desire is converted
into a need, the need is converted into an action, and
the action is converted into a result. In this process,
consciousness, mind, senses and body work as one integrated
unit. At present, there is no direction to the flow of mental
energy and no control over the channelling of the mental
forces that manifest in the body. There is internal confusion,
psychological confusion and unconscious confusion. How­
ever, there is no awareness of this internal confusion until it
comes to the forefront of the conscious mind.

What is the state of pure bliss?

Swami Sivananda: Desire excites the mind and senses.
When desire is gratified by enjoyment, satisfaction, tripti, is
temporarily experienced. The cause of pleasure is desire.
Without desire there can be no pleasure. It is said in the
Bible (Proverbs 27:7):
He who is sated loathes honey, but to one who is hungry
everything bitter is sweet.
When there is no hunger, delicious food can give no plea­
sure. When there is no thirst, a refreshing beverage will have
no effect. So, hunger is the best sauce! The first cup of hot
milk gives pleasure, but the second cup induces disgust.
After the enjoyment is over, the feeling of satisfaction comes.
Hence, disgust arises when the second cup is taken. There is
no real pleasure in milk. The happiness is in the atman only,
but it is reflected in the object (milk), owing to ignorance, or

15
bhranti, illusion; it is bhrantisukha, illusory pleasure. If there
were real happiness in milk, it would induce pleasure always
and in every person, but this is not the case.
A desire arises in the mind and it creates a vritti, mental
modification. This vritti agitates the mind until satisfaction
is gained through enjoyment of the desired object. There
is shanti, peace, or happiness after the enjoyment is over.
Then another desire arises in the mind. Now, in the interval
between the gratification of one desire and the manifestation
of another there is pure bliss, as there is no mind at that
point. The mind is at rest, and one is in union with Brahman.
That state of pure bliss in between two desires is Brahman.
If one can prolong that period of bliss through sadhana, by
keeping up the idea of Brahman and not allowing another
vritti or desire to crop up, one will be in samadhi. The
period in between one vritti and another is the real sandhi,
or juncture.

What are the tantric aspects of bhukti and mukti?

Swami Niranjanananda: When one comes into this world
the senses, mind, intelligence and emotions become the
dominant factors to realize life. In the process of realizing and
experiencing life, the senses and mind find sense objects with
which they attach themselves and associate. The association of
the senses and mind with sense objects gives birth to the sense
of pleasure and disappointment. The entire drive in life is to
discover pleasure, fulfilment and happiness, which is directed
by desires. Whenever a desire appears in the mind, it indicates
that something is lacking within.
In order to fulfil that absence, a desire comes forth.
With the desire begins the process of acquiring what is
desired. Desire becomes the cause of associating with the
world of sense objects, and this association gives birth to
the experiences of happiness and suffering. This process is
known as bhukti, the enjoyment of happiness, contentment
and bliss, but at the same time one is subject to the influences
of pain, suffering and distress.

16
 The drive to experience happiness exists because it has
never been experienced, and therefore one constantly seeks
happiness. If the drive is to attain peace, it is because peace
has never been experienced. It has remained a concept.
Bhukti or enjoyment combines absence and attainment. The
bhukti state of receiving the negative and the positive is one
aspect of tantra.
The other aspect of tantra is mukti, liberation or freedom.
There is also an innate desire and drive to free oneself from
the limiting and restricting bondage of one’s expressions,
to become more efficient, creative and whole. The concept
of mukti allows the positive virtues to surface, and one
experiences the flowering and creative nature of life. The
purpose of spiritual traditions is to move from bhukti,
material involvement, towards mukti, total freedom of the
self, to move from material identification and enjoyment
towards freedom and transcendence.

Is there a difference between spiritual and other desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: Desires are desires. Both spiritual
and worldly desires are born out of a need for fulfilment.
If there is no need for satisfaction, there will be no desire.
Desires only indicate a need for satisfaction in a person’s
life. Whether the attention is in the direction of material
gain or spiritual gain is another matter, but desires provide
a motivation for one’s actions. Appropriate desire combined
with action leads to fulfilment. The question is how to guide
and direct the desires: that is the real training.

VASANA

What is a vasana?
Swami Sivananda: Vasana, deep-rooted desire, is a wave in the
mind-lake. Its seat is the karana sharira, causal body or seed
body. It exists there in the form of a seed and manifests in the
mind. Just as flowers are latent in seeds, vasanas are latent in
the antahkarana, mind, and the karana sharira. New flowers

17
blossom daily and then fade within a day or two. Similarly,
vasanas blossom like flowers one by one, come to the surface of
the mind, generate sankalpas, or thoughts, in people’s minds,
and goad them to strive to possess and enjoy the particular
objects of enjoyment. Vasanas cause actions, and actions
strengthen the vasanas: it is a vicious circle. With knowledge
of Brahman, all vasanas are destroyed. Vasana is the cause of
mental restlessness. As soon as a vasana manifests, there is an
intimate connection between the mind and the object. The
mind will not retrace its steps until it gets the object and enjoys
it. The restlessness continues until the object is obtained. The
vritti flows towards the object until it is enjoyed.

How can vasana be explained?

Swami Satyananda: Vasanas are hidden desires. Vasana means
the craving to live and the thirst for life. Everyone wants to
exist, no one wants to become extinct. Although the desire
for moksha may be felt, deep down in the subconscious mind
no one wants their existence to cease. It is said in the Yoga
Sutras (4:10) of Sage Patanjali:
Taasaamanaaditvam chaashisho nityatvaat.
There is no beginning to them and the desire to live
is eternal.

This sutra describes the source of vasana. The deepest vasana

in everyone is to exist forever, for all time, and to maintain a
sense of individuality in all of one’s life forms. Vasana is the
bed on which the samskaras, impressions, and the karmas are
formed. It is said in the Yoga Sutras (2:9) of Sage Patanjali:
Svarasavaahee vidusho’pi tathaaroodho’bhiniveshah.
Abhinivesha, fear of death, is the desire for life sustained
by its own force which dominates even the learned.

The monk Totapuri, who initiated Ramakrishna Parama­

hamsa, asked him why he smoked a hookah. Ramakrishna

18
replied, “In order to live one needs the link of vasana.”
Similarly, a kite must have a thread in order for one to
fly it. If the thread is cut, the kite is lost. As long as there
are vasanas, the desire to live and the attachment to the
latent samskaras of the past or present exist. If there are no
vasanas, existence is finished. Such a person is a liberated
being who flies away from the body. Existence depends upon
a person having vasanas in relation to objects. Vasanas cause
clinging to this existence, but once removed, one by one, a
person cannot exist any longer.
The process of accumulating impressions is without a
beginning. It is eternal, hence vasanas are called anadi,
beginningless. They are the latent impressions of desires and
they manifest in the form of desire whenever an opportunity
arises. The beginninglessness of vasanas is proved by the
eternity of the will to live, which is found in all living beings
from birth. There is no creature that is free of the will to live.
Hence, vasanas are beginningless.

What is bondage?
Swami Sivananda: Avidya, ignorance, kama, desire, and
karma bind one to this wheel of birth and death. The real,
essential nature is forgotten. There is ignorance of the
satchidananda swaroopa, the form of truth, consciousness and
bliss. Therefore, it feels as if happiness lies in the external
objects of the senses and desire arises for them. Exertion to
obtain the objects of desire results in karma, which brings
about birth and death.
It is the vasanas in the mind that cause attraction towards
objects and brings about bondage. With the disappearance of
vasanas, bondage naturally vanishes. Therefore, in order to
free oneself from birth and death, one must free oneself from
desires, attachments, impure vasanas, and ultimately, from this
primordial ignorance. In Yoga Vasishtha (5:17:5) it is said:
Baahyaarthavyasanochchhoonaa trishnaa baddheti raaghava;
Sarvaarthavyasanonmuktaa trishnaa mukteti kathyate.

19
 The desire to enjoy external objects is verily the bondage
of the soul, while indifference to worldly enjoyments
constitutes freedom in this living state.

What is the difference between desire, vasana and

craving?
Swami Satyananda: There are various levels of desire in the
human mind: desire for food and sleep, desire for money
and property, desire for a husband or wife, children, friends
and relatives, desire for love and affection. ‘I want this’ and
‘I want that’ is desire. One is aware of the ordinary, simple
desires on the conscious mental plane, but there are hidden
desires deep within which project themselves directly and,
more frequently, indirectly. These hidden desires are known
as vasanas. Apart from desire there is craving, which remains
even when a person is drugged or when the frontal lobes have
been removed in an operation. There is craving in a person
who is unable to desire, plan or respond. Craving is instinctive
and it is in everyone, whether one is intelligent or not. Small
babies and children show the symptoms of craving.

What is the difference between vasana, samskara and

karma?
Swami Niranjanananda: Vasana means deep-rooted desire.
Samskara means an impression or conditioning of con­
sciousness which expresses itself in this life. Karma means
the result of an action which one is going to experience.
Desires come at any time, either to please the senses, or
due to a need or the desire to own and to possess. One may
look at a beautiful, fragrant flower and desire it. When the
desire to have and appreciate the flower becomes intense,
that is known as vasana. One may be in love with somebody
and that person becomes the object of continuous attention.
That is also vasana. One may be a workaholic. The desire to
remain busy and engaged in work all the time is a vasana.
Vasana is a desire, and it is an expression of the mind which
is manifesting in the body and personality.

20
 A samskara is an impression, like a genetic imprint. In
each life one adds to the samskara, information or imprint.
It becomes dormant, but it is there in the form of memory,
experience, performance and the ability to work, think,
understand, act and react.
When these samskaras become manifest, they become
the swabhava, one’s expressive nature. The information, the
mat­urity, the advancement towards spiritual awakening which
one attains in life becomes part of the body of samskaras.
Samskaras represent the process of evolution.
The theory of evolution means a process of continuous
growth, development and advancement. Whether it is a
spiritual belief and philosophy or a scientific belief and
understanding, both accept that there is a forward movement
in time and space of human consciousness. As there is this
forward movement of human consciousness in time and
space, each block of experience represents a samskara.
Karma is the outcome of something one has done in
the past. If one puts a finger in a fire and the fire burns the
finger, it becomes charcoal. That is the karma of putting a
finger in the fire. If one is absolutely thirsty and gets a drink
of cool water, the sensation, satisfaction and enjoyment is
the karma of drinking cool water when one is absolutely
parched. It seems that karma takes one away from the source
and point of origin. The ultimate aim of karma, however,
is to bring one back to the source or origin. Karma is the
motive, the dynamic force of destiny.

What does the battle between Ravana and Rama illustrate?

Swami Satyananda: Craving is an important aspect of the
mind, and there is a well-known story which illustrates this.
Rama, the banished prince of Ayodhya, invaded the empire
of Ravana in Lanka. Ravana was a Brahmin, but he was
known as a demon with ten heads. There was a big fight
when Rama and Ravana confronted each other. Rama went
on attacking Ravana, chopping his heads off one by one, but
he couldn’t finish the job, for by the time he chopped the

21
second head off, the first head had come back to life. Rama
didn’t know what to do.
At that point, Ravana’s brother Vibhishana, who had been
insulted by Ravana and afterward sought refuge with Rama,
told him, “Ravana’s ten heads always grow back and he never
dies, because of a drop of nectar in his navel that gives him
immortality. His entire system is constantly rejuvenated by
the nectar, so that no matter how many times his heads are
chopped off, they grow back again.” Rama asked what he
should do and Vibhishana replied, “The only way to defeat
Ravana is to burn the nectar in his navel – then he will die.”
Rama asked, “How can this be?” Vibhishana replied, “No
matter how many times one may kill desires, they will come
back again and again, as long as there are cravings.”
It is not the suspension of desire which is important,
therefore, but the suspension of the primitive, instinctive
cravings. Those cravings are so subtle that a person doesn’t
know what cravings he may have. Nobody ever knows what
their cravings are, as they are such a subtle influence. In this
room there are electromagnetic waves, but they can’t be seen.
Likewise, craving is a remarkably subtle phenomenon in
human life. This craving is the nectar of vasana. The desires
and attachments live due to this craving, and the individual
lives and grows due to it.

How do hidden cravings come to the surface?

Swami Satyananda: There is an inner karma which is not
known about. Deep within the mind there are cravings which
one is sometimes aware of and sometimes not. A person has
many desires, ambitions, passions and hatreds, but most
people don’t know what they are. When one faces the desired
object, however, one thirsts for it. This is the great mystery
of the human mind. A person may ask himself, “Do I have
passions? No, I don’t;” “Do I want money, do I crave for
money? No, no!” but actually the desire is there.
There is a big gap between instinct and desire in the
human mind. This must be realized. There are many instincts

22
in the mind that one doesn’t know about. How are they to be
expressed? For that purpose, nature has created desire and
passion. If there is desire and passion, the instincts will be
expressed, so they can be seen and recognized.
Many people talk about purification of the mind. If a
person who has never been to the garbage room is talking
about purification of the mind, what is going to be purified?
Has that person been inside and does he know the instincts?
What will be purified? In order to purify the mind, one has
to know oneself. The purpose of this life of attachment,
detachment and involvement is to develop understanding
of one’s instinct.

What is the relationship between vasanas and desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: Vasanas are inherent desires in
everybody’s life. Vasanas are also instincts. Sexuality is a
vasana and also an instinct. Craving is a vasana and also
an instinct. Fear is a vasana and also an instinct. Sleep is
a vasana and also an instinct. These are the four broad
categories in which all the different desires can be classified.
They direct the actions, motivations and behaviours of every
individual.
Progress in spiritual life is always indicated by the
reduction or lessening of vasanas, or inherent desires. These
inherent desires are related to the instincts, the craving
for satisfaction and fulfilment, the need to procreate,
the insecurities and fears which make a person feel he is
losing his grip on life, and sleep or disconnection from the
world.

What is the purpose of vasanas?

Swami Satyananda: The mind is made up of innumerable
vasanas and is coloured by them. Vasana is the original,
primitive unconscious vehicle of desire. Vasanas are the main
incentive for creation on the lower plane, but they do not act
on the higher plane of supreme awareness. Thus, it should
be understood that the mind, which always clings to the

23
objects of the lower world, is full of attachments, sufferings,
desires and so on.
Nevertheless, those spiritual aspirants who are tortured
by vasanas and attachments should not feel pessimistic, as
that same mind is not there for itself, but has purusha the
supreme being, as its aim. The mind, although coloured
by innumerable impressions and desires, is really there for
purusha; it always works for purusha and is meant wholly
for the purpose of purusha. The countless vasanas do not
form the objective or purpose of the mind. For instance,
when one eats, some portion of the food is retained in
the body and the rest is eliminated, so the various dishes
that are experienced are not the purpose of one’s eating,
or experiencing. Similarly, the chitta is not experiencing
for the sake of the vasanas but for purusha, the master
or objective purpose of the mind. The mind has so many
vasanas only because it has to produce various experiences
for purusha. It is said in the Yoga Sutras (4:24) of Sage
Patanjali:
Tadasankhyeyavaasanaabhishchitramapi paraartham
samhatyakaaritvaat.
Although the mind is variegated by innumerable vasanas,
it acts for purusha because it works in association.

Aspirants should not feel depressed, therefore, when

the vasanas work in the mind. They should understand
that the ultimate purpose of the pilgrim is purusha. The
various vasanas are ultimately serving an essential purpose
of purusha. Life after life, birth after birth, the mind goes on
migrating from one sphere of consciousness to another, from
one plane of evolution to the next higher plane. Ultimately,
there comes a point where it is able to reflect the seer and
the seen, the knower and the known at the same time. Then
there is an end to the vasanas, as they have served their
purpose of creating bhoga, enjoyment or experience, for
purusha.

24
Why does yoga emphasize the elimination of vasanas and
samskaras?
Swami Satyananda: The mind, with the help of the senses
in association with objects, creates an external sensual
experience. Throughout life, all experiences during waking
or during dreaming are an outcome of a combination of
the mind, senses and object. It has to be remembered that
the mind, object and senses themselves do not create an
experience. For experience, there must be a seed, there must
be sankalpa, determination, there has to be passion, vasana. If
there is no karma, then the mind, object and senses can create
nothing.
In the system of yoga it is said that the vasanas must be
stopped in order to consume the samskaras, otherwise more
and more will be supplied. Vasanas add to samskaras, and
eliminating samskaras is hard work. As long as there are
vasanas, how can samskaras be eliminated? And as long as
there are samskaras, how can vasanas be eliminated? They
are mutually supporting each other.
Therefore, through the practices of yoga one doesn’t kill
the mind, one doesn’t kill the senses and one doesn’t renounce
the object; one only tries to roast the potential seed. In the
Yoga Sutras (1:15) of Sage Patanjali it is said:
Drishtaanushravika-vishayavitrishnasya vasheekaarasanjnaa-
vairaagyam.
When an individual becomes free of craving for sense
objects which he has experienced as well as those of which
he has heard, that state of consciousness is vairagya,
non-attachment.

How do vasanas come to an end?

Swami Satyananda: Vasanas are beginningless, but they
come to an end when their cause or support disappears.
Cause and effect are bound together. Similarly, the
substratum and the object are bound together, so if one
disappears, the other will too. The cause of vasanas is the

25
kleshas: avidya, ignorance; asmita, awareness of ‘I am’;
raga, attraction; dwesha, repulsion, and abhinivesha, fear of
death. The effect of vasanas is birth, experience and life.
The substratum of all the experiences of life is chitta, the
individual consciousness, and it is the substratum of the
vasanas. The alambana, or basis, of the vasanas is the objects
of enjoyment.
The cause (kleshas), the effect (life), the substratum
(chitta) and the basis (alambana) of the vasanas go together
continuously throughout the cycle of birth and death. If
these four factors are removed, naturally the vasanas will
also come to an end. If there is no cause, there can be no
effect. Similarly, if there is no substratum or support, the
object will not exist. If the kleshas are finished, there cannot
be life, birth and experience, for these are the effects of the
kleshas. If there is no birth, there can be no chitta. If chitta
is not there, there is no support for the vasanas.
Thus, it can be seen that vasanas are dependent on these
four factors. By the elimination of these four, the vasanas
will also disappear. It is said in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
(4:11):
Hetuphalaashrayaalambanaih sangriheetatvaadeshaam­
abhaave tadabhaavah.
Since cause and effect, support and object are
bound together, by their disappearance that also
disappears.

PLAY OF THE MIND

Can desires ever be fully satisfied?

Swami Sivananda: The mind plays havoc through desires. As
soon as a desire arises, the mind feels that happiness will be the
outcome of its fulfilment. With exertion, the desire is achieved.
With it comes a little satisfaction or gratification, tushti, but only
for a short time. It is said in the Mahabharata (13:93:47):

26
 Kaamam kaamyamaanasya yadaa kaamah samridhyate;
Athainamaparah kaamastrishnaa vidyhati baanavat.
When one desire cherished by a person becomes satisfied,
immediately there originates another whose satisfaction
is sought and which pierces him like an arrow.
Again, the mind becomes restless because it wants new
sensations. The feelings of disgust and dissatisfaction grow
as the mind wants new objects for its enjoyment. That is the
reason why the Vedantins view this world as mere kalpana,
imagination.
Desires are innumerable, insatiable and unconquerable.
Enjoyment cannot bring satisfaction, and it is a mistake to
think so. Enjoyment fans desire, like pouring ghee on fire. It
strengthens, increases and aggravates a desire.

What causes people to run after desires?

Swami Satyananda: Somewhere within the depths of one’s being
a person is crying. One has never seen this inner person and
only knows the outer person. The person who presents himself
during sleep and dreams has been seen, but that person who is
beyond sleep has not been discovered. The awareness of man
extends across these three bodies, but the consciousness also
exists beyond these. The communication, however, between
this mind and that consciousness has not been established. If it
were, a sad little soul would be seen sitting in a corner crying.
Why? His promise has been unfulfilled, and what he has been
doing has not brought him any satisfaction. Man does not know
his inner unhappiness. Sometimes he is happy; sometimes he
is unhappy. But only this outer experience is known; the inner
unhappiness is not known.
People are constantly running after external pleasures
due to inner unhappiness. By indulging in pleasures, people
try to cover up this inner sadness. Many great thinkers
have spoken about this subject. Ramana Maharshi used to
say, “Think it through well: Who am I?” But people do not
understand. They do not know what self-realization means.

27
Self-realization means that one knows the depths of one’s
mind, the depths of one’s being.
A person should know his complexes, inhibitions and
ulterior purposes, and he should understand why he is
weeping. Once a person withdraws his mind and goes deep
into the depths of his consciousness, he sees the beautiful
things there. Then that little soul becomes happy, and life
comes into it.

Why do people search for happiness outside?

Swami Sivananda: The musk is in the deer’s navel, but it
runs here and there, looking for the source of the smell. The
chain is on the damsel’s neck, but she runs hither and thither
in search of it. The precious diamond is within, but one runs
after broken pieces of glass in vain. The ocean of bliss is
within, the fountain of joy is within, and yet everybody runs
here and there in search of it. The sun of suns is ever shining
inside, but blind eyes cannot behold it. The eternal sound is
ringing within, but cannot be heard by deaf ears.
Real happiness is within. It is in the atman. It is subjective
and manifests when the mind is concentrated. When the
indriyas are withdrawn from the objects outside, when the
mind is one-pointed, when one becomes desireless and
thoughtless, bliss begins to dawn.

How do desires dominate one’s life?

Swami Sivananda: Man is a bundle of desires, cravings,
emotions, appetites and thoughts. He is a conglomeration
of desire, will and action, and he becomes extinct only if the
fire of desire is extinguished. He thinks and acts to obtain
the objects of desire. Thinking is the real action. He may sit
quietly with closed eyes, but this is not inaction, as his mind
may be working and planning. Wherever there is desire,
wherever there is action, there is imperfection. A desire is the
outcome of imperfection and finitude.
Man is finite, imperfect and full of limitations. He
depends upon objects for his happiness. Swayed and

28
impelled by desires, he becomes a slave of desires and
objects.
Desires dominate man and he turns his face away from
God. He has forgotten his essential, divine nature and thinks
he is a separate individual. If man kills his egoism and sense
of separateness, if he annihilates desires and cravings, if he
identifies with the Infinite, then limitations, imperfections
and miseries will end. He will attain immortality and eternal
bliss.

How does maya give birth to desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: The mind, thoughts, expectations
and aspirations are guided by maya, the power of illusion.
Even in the life of a spiritual aspirant, maya becomes strong.
Swami Sivananda gives the example of people who have
various qualities and skills. Somebody can be a musician,
another can be an artist. Swami Sivananda says that when
people with certain skills come to the ashram, they are given
an avenue to express their skills. For example, a musician
may have a good voice and be able to sing beautiful kirtans,
so he is placed in the kirtan group.
After some time, maya takes over, in the sense that
the singer begins to think he is a very good kirtanist. The
song becomes a method to attract other people. Spiritual
understanding or awareness disappears and music becomes a
means to attract others, so that they will say, “Oh, this person
sings very good kirtan.” The musician begins to sing louder,
thinking, “Oh, they like my song.” This is an example of how
maya can influence the mind without one realizing it. Maya
affects the ego or ahamkara principle. When ahamkara, the ego
identity and self-identity, is associated with maya, it gives birth
to many other desires and expectations, known as vasanas.

What is the mechanism of desire?

Swami Satyananda: Desires are responsible for generating
karmas, which generate destiny and are the cause of
suffering. Attachment results from the enjoyment of desires.

29
Desires lead to actions, actions bear fruits, and attachment
and aversion again arise from these fruits. This is truly a
vicious circle.
The desire which the mind entertains is karma. The mind
produces sankalpa and vikalpa, the process of thought and
counter-thought, which are the two forces in everyone. When
there is a great tug-of-war between sankalpa and vikalpa,
there is conflict. Sometimes sankalpa and vikalpa become
antagonistic to each other, and at that time schizophrenic
behaviour arises.
Desires arise through sankalpa and vikalpa. When the
desires are not fulfilled, and of course they never are, there is
frustration. Whenever there is frustration, there is a natural
tendency to become angry. When someone is angry, the mind
becomes deluded, hypnotized, and loses sight of reality. The
discriminating power is destroyed, and when that power is
destroyed, everything is destroyed. This is also said in the
Bhagavad Gita (2:62–63):
Dhyaayato vishayaanpumsah sangasteshoopajaayate;
Sangaatsanjaayate kaamah kaamaatkrodho’bhijaayate.
Krodhaadbhavati sammohah sammohaatsmritivibhramah;
Smritibhramshaad buddhinaasho buddhinaashaatpranashyati.
When a man thinks of objects, attachment to them
arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire
anger arises. (62)
From anger comes delusion; from delusion, loss of
memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of
discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination
he perishes. (63)

When a person introspects honestly, he recognizes that

throughout life there has been desiring and desiring and
further desiring. These desires are karma. Everything one
does is the outcome of desire, for one has been urged by
desire, pressured by desire. When the desire arises, one goes

30
to the market, buys pakoras, samosas and rasgullas and eats
them. None of this would happen if there were no desire.
Even if a person doesn’t know that he has desires, he still
has them, but has tried to conceal them due to some peculiar
psychological make-up. Not everyone is like this, but most
people are to some degree. Every human being is born with
desire, which is a manifestation of the ego. One can have the
desire to lead a spiritual life, to commit suicide, to become a
singer, a minister, an anarchist, an atheist, or maybe even to
do nothing. Everybody is born with a desire, and whatever
type of desire one may have, it is binding. Whether one is
tied by a golden chain or a steel chain, it’s all the same. A
desire is a chain. A good desire is a golden chain and an evil
desire is an iron chain.
The wise person must avoid these chains. Lord Buddha
said, “What is the ultimate aim of desire? Every desire
brings another desire. There is an endless chain of desires
and no desire is ever satisfied.” As a result one suffers from
frustration and disappointment.

What is the difference between ambition and evolution?

Swami Satyananda: Personal ambitions are given to people by
their wretched society, they are not inborn. In human beings
there is a natural growth and evolution. Ambition is not a
part of evolution. Evolution is always natural. A ten-year-old
girl wants to become a young woman, but she can’t; she has
to evolve. Her ambitions will not make her a young woman
or a lady. She wants to become a great lady and marry some
youthful boy, but she is only ten so how can she do it? She
has to wait, and this waiting is called evolution. Evolution is
natural, ambition is not natural. Ambition is an outcome of
a social system and social compulsion. It has nothing to do
with nature, which operates according to the laws of nature.
If one goes through the path of nature, one goes in the
right direction. If one goes according to one’s whims and
fancies, mistakes can be made anywhere. Follow nature.
Accept what is natural and ignore what is not natural.

31
Is there a positive aspect to desires?
Swami Niranjanananda: By becoming aware of and under­
standing the desires, they can be changed into a strong
positive force which can open the eyes to other realities.

Are there good desires and bad desires?

Swami Satyananda: The mahapurushas, saints, spiritual
masters and godmen have said that the river of desire flows
in two opposite directions: good and bad, auspicious and
inauspicious. Everyone has thoughts which flow in good
and bad directions. Where there are good thoughts, there is
prosperity and happiness. People may have good thoughts
for their near and dear ones, such as children and friends,
but they also entertain bad thoughts about people they
dislike. They think well of those who are nice to them and ill
of those who treat them with disrespect.
Good and bad thoughts are the two reactions of the mind.
This is not the real nature of the mind, but a reactionary
nature. The mind has two natures, the natural and the
reactionary. The mind is the supreme manager, the chief
secretary, and good and bad reactions are its modifications.
Therefore, it is best to leave the mind alone. One should
not attack the reactionary mind for its desires, wishes and
cravings. One should not hate desires or feel guilty about
having them. Sometimes one feels upset at seeing one’s bad
thoughts, but this does not help.
Perhaps it is not so much a matter of good and bad
desires, but of positive and negative desires. It can be said
that instead of negative or destructive desires, it is better
to have desires which are beneficial and fruitful. A positive
desire is unselfish; there is more concern about the welfare
of others than for oneself. A negative desire is selfish; there
is only concern with one’s own welfare and others are not
considered. It’s simple: if the desire is selfish, it is negative;
if the desire is unselfish, it is positive. Desires can be
distinguished easily in this way.

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How do desires produce karmas?
Swami Satyananda: Karma is the rendering of desire into
action. Karma gives a practical form to ambitions. The
expression or external form of ambition is karma. Desire
makes one work, so in that way it translates into karma. It is
said in Manusmriti (2:4):
Akaamasya kriyaa kaachiddrishyate neh karhichit;
Yadyaddhi kurute kinchittattat kaamasya cheshtitam.
Not a single act here appears ever to be done by a man
free from desire; for whatever a man does is the result
of the impulse of desire.

Those who do not perform karma do not give free expression

to their desires, which remain suppressed. The Bhagavad
Gita explains that the ordinary person is motivated by desire,
and so makes an effort to fulfil his desire. In his mind he
hopes that the results of his efforts will yield his desire; that is
karma. When he does not get the desired results, he becomes
unhappy. If, however, he gets the results that he hoped for, he
feels happy. Hence, karma gives happiness or unhappiness.

How does desire relate to action?

Swami Niranjanananda: If one analyzes everyday situations,
it becomes apparent that behind every action there is a
desire. The first function of the mind is the creation of
desire. Without desire, the mind cannot exist. Desire is the
first expression of the mind, and it is self-oriented: “I wish to
attain, I wish to receive, I wish to acquire, this is my need.”
From the basic to the imaginative, one desires things
that are either a need or a fantasy. Desires can be actual
and also unattainable ambitions, but nevertheless they
exist. Desires indicate the mood, the state of mind
according to the guna predominant in the mind at that
particular time.
With desire comes action, which is the second stage.
When the desire is clear in the mind, actions take place

33
aimed at obtaining the desired results. Thus, life is a play of
desire and action, desire and performance. There is nothing
beyond the two.

What is the role of desires?

Swami Satyananda: Desires have only one role to play: they
keep one hypnotized throughout life, otherwise the mind
becomes rudderless.
When there is constant thinking about sensory objects,
there is association with these objects. If the association with
the objects is not wanted, one must stop thinking about
them. There are normal and abnormal ways of thinking
about objects. While living in the world, many things are
needed and it is natural to wish to have them. Such desires
are normal and natural; they are not constantly dwelled
upon. A desire arises when it is necessary. The desires for
children, money, a good job, a good home, good friends
and good health are normal and natural, and should not
be curbed. The process of life will become unbalanced if
anything is done to subjugate or subdue these desires. The
abnormal way of thinking about sensory objects is in the
form of neurosis. Some people dwell constantly on one
thought. When a person dwells constantly upon one desire,
involvement with the object of desire takes place.
When the mind is not preoccupied, it occupies the
person. When the mind occupies a person, it torments and
molests him. When a person suffers from an illness, seventy-
nine percent of the problem is mental, and only twenty-one
percent has a physical basis. This preoccupation of the mind
is necessary for mental, psychic and spiritual growth, and
that is why God created desire. If there were no desire, there
would be no preoccupation of the mind. Instead, a person
would always be occupied by the mind, and it would play
havoc. Therefore, God has said, “A person should fulfil his
desires until he becomes detached, until he becomes a pure
and true sannyasin!”

34
 2
Desire: Enemy of the Wise

LIVING WITH DESIRES

What is the way to peace?

Swami Sivananda: Desire is the greatest enemy of peace. More
wealth means more worry. It is not the objects of the world
that bind, but the desires. The fulfilment of desires only
multiplies desires. They can never be rooted out by feeding
them. Unless one is desireless, one can never have peace. In
the Bhagavad Gita (3:38–3:39) it is said:
Dhoormenaavriyate vahniryathaadarsho malena cha;
Yatholbenaavrito garbhastathaa tenedamaavritam.
Aavritam jnaanametan jnaanino nityavairinaa;
Kaamaroopena kaunteya dushpoorenaanalena cha.
As fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and
as an embryo by the amnion, so is this enveloped by
that. (38)
O Arjuna, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy
of the wise in the form of desire, which is unappeasable,
like fire. (39)

Which branches of yoga help to manage desires?

Swami Sivananda: In order to tackle desires, practise the
ashtanga yoga of Sage Patanjali, the bhakti yoga of Rishi

35
Narada, the jnana yoga of Shankaracharya, the karma yoga
of Sri Krishna, or the yoga of synthesis, which is most suitable
for this modern age.

How should desires be dealt with?

Swami Satyananda: The first principle is that one should fulfil
one’s desires. The second principle is that desire cannot be
satisfied. Therefore, the third principle is that one must
practise both. If possible, one should aim for fulfilment of
desires and desirelessness at the same time.
Desire is an expression of the personality. If there is a dirty
rag in a room, the foul smell cannot be killed by spraying
it with perfume, as the source of the smell is still there; the
dirty rag has to be removed. In the same manner, one should
not try to reduce the desires. Instead, the aim should be
transformation of consciousness, the very frame of the mind,
in such a way that it automatically becomes desireless.
Instead of trying to eliminate or avoid desires, it is
better to change the quality of the desire. Desires cannot
and should not be eliminated. It is dangerous and it is not
a good idea. One must have desires, otherwise there will
be unhappiness. Desires can never be satisfied, and desires
can never be suppressed or killed. If a person is thinking of
killing his desires, he will never succeed. Desire can only be
channelled or sublimated.
The law of nature shows one how to walk along the
natural path. The three basic desires for sexual gratification,
wealth and progeny are part of human nature, just like
hunger, sleep and excretion. A human being must have an
outlet for desires and passions. He must have food, a place
to sleep, some security and something to fulfil his passions.
These are the four primary instincts of every human being:
ahara, food, nidra, sleep, bhaya, security, and maithuna, sex.
At the same time, these basic instincts can be managed with
proper awareness and regulation.
Swami Sivananda used to say that it is not possible for
everybody to become free from desires, as desires are created

36
by the forces and laws of human incarnation. A balance
has to be found, otherwise the whole structure of life will
collapse. Life has its structure and evolution depends on
that structure. If the structure is destroyed, there will be
regression. If one doesn’t have desire or ambition, there is
no incentive. No one will work, and if one doesn’t work, the
mind will not improve. Therefore, desires and passions and
renunciation have to be balanced properly.
It is also not good to become desireless before the
maturity of one’s spiritual practices. Therefore, one should
try to minimize the quantum of desires only after going
through the experiences of karma, after facing frustrations,
disappointments and satisfactions, and realizing that these
are part of life experience. Nevertheless, there is still
something to be accomplished or fulfilled, not because of a
desire to accomplish, but because the karma has not yet been
worked out.
The best thing for a rajasic or dynamic person is to desire
for others and not for oneself. This can be called selfless desire,
when the self is not involved but there is still desire. There is
thinking and wishing, but for somebody else, not oneself.
Desire is not an ordinary function of life. It is said in the
Mahabharata (12:217:36):
Soocchya sootram yathaa vastre samsaarayati vaachakah;
Tadvatsamsaar sootram hi trishnaasoochya nibadhyate.
As a weaver drives his threads into a cloth by means of
his shuttle, similarly the threads that constitute the fabric
of the universe are woven by the shuttle of desire.

Desire is the prevailing force. Compelled by desires, there

are initiatives. Therefore, desire is a creative force. It should
not be dealt with it in any way one likes. The easiest and best
way to deal with pains and troubles or desires is to plan life;
that is the systematic way.
The vedic tradition has a system, called ashrama dharma,
in which the lifespan is divided into four ashramas, or stages

37
of life. The lifespan of the human body is one hundred years,
and this is divided into four periods of twenty-five years each.
There is also a second tradition called vairagya dharma, which
means ‘the inclination born of dispassion, which arises at a
young age’. There are some children who have dispassion at
the age of four, five, eight or ten. There are also people who
marry at the age of eighty. Therefore, everybody has their
own way of thinking, but this means that one has to plan
one’s life.
The person who wants to take the long way should
listen and hear what to do. Go and join a monastery. Kill all
the desires; curb them all. Whenever passions arise in the
mind, take the Bible and read it. Whenever desires become
overwhelming, say to the Lord, “My God! Please, help me.”
That is the long way: renouncing desires and praying to
God for help. It is okay to pray, but don’t fight with desire,
because He created desire for everyone’s good. Desire has
two faces: one is ugly and frightening, the other beautiful
and pleasant. One face of desire is called Devi, the divine
Mother, the other is rakshasa, demonical.
Everyone should know what desire is, how to conduct it,
and how to go beyond it. Is there any religion in the past
or present which believes that kama, passion, can be used
as a springboard for evolution? The truth of nature must
be accepted, not because the vedic or tantric traditions
are trying to justify it, but because the minds of millions of
people could become normal through this understanding.

What is the difference between control and suppression?

Swami Niranjanananda: There is a big difference between
control and suppression in spiritual philosophy, not just
in yoga, but also in tantra, Vedanta and Samkhya. The
difference is that in suppression one is not aware of the
reactions that may be taking place or that will take place later
on, but in control one is aware. The key factor is awareness.
Lack of awareness is suppression and having awareness is
control.

38
 Take food as an example. Suppose that after having spent
one year in the ashram eating dry chappatis, rice and dal, a
person goes out and sees a sumptuous meal. What does he
do? He gorges himself! The desire for such food has been
there all the time, but it has been suppressed in the ashram.
So he eats till he is full, and when his stomach is bloated, he
cries, “Oh, I feel so heavy, I feel sick, what should I do?”
When there is control, however, one eats with restraint
according to the capacity of the stomach, being aware of
the desire that has been suppressed during one’s stay in
the ashram. If it can be controlled, that desire governed by
awareness does not create a problem. The desire has been
there all the time and has been building up. Awareness
makes all the difference between suppression and control.
Desires are always for some kind of self-satisfaction.
Even desiring one’s own development is selfish. Desiring
to help others is still selfish. Desiring realization is also
selfish. Desires can never be neutral or transcendental.
Prayers to God are similarly selfish. Only the object of desire
has changed from money to realization, from wealth and
prosperity to serving others. The attitude has changed but
the desire is still there, and desire is selfish.
It is necessary to change the attitude and perception, but
this can only happen when one is not sunk in ignorance.
The realization must come that the attitude needs to change.
Instead of doing something for one’s own fulfilment, one
needs to do something to help others. It is the attitude of the
ego which has to change.
The first step in this effort to understand the mental
processes is self-analysis through the techniques of pratyahara,
dharana and dhyana. Once one is able to understand what
kind of thoughts, emotions, desires and experiences take place
within, the attitudes can be slowly changed. Suppression will
become control. Once that control has been developed, there
will also be the ability to allow everything that is bottled up,
emotions, feelings, ambitions, desires and so forth, to come
out in a systematic and controlled way.

39
Why is it important to plan life?
Swami Satyananda: A person should earmark a certain span
of life for the fulfilment of desires. Cities are planned and
families are planned. Why don’t people also plan their lives?
The period from twenty-five to fifty years of age is considered
to be the time when desires have to be properly worked out.
This stage of life is known as grihastha ashrama. The shastras
have been saying this for thousands of years, but still people
feel that twenty-five years is not enough. They want to go on
satisfying their desires up to the age of eighty or ninety.
Common sense says that the fulfilment of desire must
follow the strength of the body. In middle age, after fifty
years, the body begins to lose its strength. In old age the body
becomes weak. Of course, desires never grow old! Cravings
have no grey hairs! In old age the body trembles, but the
cravings and desires never tremble. Desires and cravings are
always in the prime of youth. A person may be eighty years
old, but if the desire is asked, “How old are you?” it will reply,
“Oh, I am young, sixteen years old.” A young desire in an
eighty-year-old body is not a nice combination.
Heart attacks and nervous breakdowns take place, as the
body and brain cannot carry the load, pressure and demand
of desire anymore. Desire compels a man of sixty to eat so
much meat every day, but the physical body cannot digest
it, so he ends up with many diseases, such as cancer, gastric
ulcer, hernia, prostate problem, high cholesterol or coronary
thrombosis.
It is important and scientific, therefore, to plan one’s
life. Nothing should be said against desires, for they are
natural. There is nothing unnatural about desire, but every
desire should be related to the condition of the body. When
a desire is related to the condition of the body, it solves the
problems.

What attitude should one have towards desires?

Swami Satyananda: In order to overcome desires, one should
not fight with them. One should not hate or avoid them or

40
do anything in the spirit of animosity. One must befriend
them; that is the first principle in spiritual life.
The psychological law is that hating one’s desires and
wanting to eliminate them creates a split in the mind. The
same mind that desires is trying to eliminate the desire.
One wants it and doesn’t want it; this is called conflict. It is
conflict between the ego and the superego. When this conflict
is narrow, it only influences the day-to-day behaviour. When
the conflict becomes wider, it becomes schizophrenia and
one has to go to the mental hospital. Everybody in western
countries is mentally split, as religion says one thing and the
culture is completely opposite.
There is a great gap between the teachings of society
and religion. A part of the mind is religious, as one has
faith in it, and another part of the mind is social and says
something else. Here is a gross example: religion talks
about purity and chastity, but what does society teach? What
does the psychology of Dr Sigmund Freud teach? Just the
opposite of what religion has taught. In day-to-day life one
lives in society and succumbs to it, but from time to time the
religious beliefs come up and one feels guilt and thinks that
one is bad. One enjoys but feels guilty about it.
Desires should not be curbed. By curbing desires, the
opportunity to act is killed. For example, there is the desire
to have a child. A wife or husband is needed in order to fulfil
this desire, and a home, job, business and so many other
things follow. This keeps the untrained mind busy all the
time; this is how karma keeps the devil beat. The mind is a
great force, a supramental force. If this force is not properly
used, it will feed the wrong centres in the personality and
perhaps become destructive. Therefore, nature has created
karma. There should be no suppression or repression. If
desires are knowingly suppressed, it is dangerous.
The shastras, classical texts and modern psychology
affirm that desire and passion cannot and should not
be killed. Freud has said in unequivocal terms that the
suppression of desires and natural instincts leads to mental

41
sickness and neurosis. Suppression and repression are
the cause of all diseases. Modern western civilization has
grown out of this Freudian theory. Suppression of desires
strengthens the hidden desires. These hidden desires project
themselves in dreams, visions and meditation, and they
manifest continuously in the different stages of meditation.
Sometimes, in trying to suppress a vasana, a death blow is
dealt to the personality. A person who attempts to extinguish
his desires will never succeed.
A person can stop himself for some time by his
intellectual force, but nature will not pardon him. There
are certain natural desires in man which must be expressed,
now or a little later; one cannot help it. In society there is an
idea that one should not speak this way or act that way, but
this is suppression. At some point one’s entire life is going to
explode.
As a result of this suppression, the evolution of the soul is
retarded. If desires are suppressed, no progress is possible. If
the desires were eliminated, no one would make any karma
and man’s psycho-spiritual evolution would come to a halt.
In order to speed up the evolution of the soul, the best thing
would be to let the soul function freely. Therefore, desires
must not be curbed. Those who want to be free from desires
had better try a positive method. They should either fulfil
them completely or else realize their uselessness.

How can one experience true contentment in life?

Swami Niranjanananda: There are certain principles that
guide the desires, aspirations and motivations. In yoga
these are known as the SWAN principle. In order to be fully
content in life, one has to know the SWAN theory. SWAN
is an acronym which represents ‘Strengths, Weaknesses,
Ambitions and Needs’.
Every individual has his strengths, which can manifest
in the intellect, emotions, willpower, clarity of mind and
performance of action. They help one to move forward in
life, providing the stamina to continue. At the same time,

42
everyone is subject to weaknesses which are experienced or
felt, such as fear, insecurity, lack of self-confidence, lack of
willpower and lack of mental clarity.
Ambition is the third aspect of the SWAN theory.
Ambition can also take many forms, such as fantasies which
are beyond one’s strength and means to attain. Ambition
is a motivating force. Some people desire the moon and
others desire something which is simple to attain. Ambition
is not something physical or mental. The Sanskrit word
for ambition is mahatvakanksha, which means a desire that
manifests in the realm of mahat, the greater mind, or buddhi.
By the time it filters down to the level of rationality at the
surface of the mind, it has been changed, shaped and altered
by many other attributes, circumstances and situations.
The fourth aspect of the SWAN theory is need. The body,
the emotions and the mind all have certain needs which are
vital for their maintenance and sustenance. In order to have
santosha, contentment, it is necessary to develop awareness
and recognition of these four different aspects of the SWAN
theory. When these four aspects of the personality are
harmonized and balanced, contentment is achieved.

What is the importance of harmony in life?

Swami Niranjanananda: The inability to harmonize one’s
deepest, innermost thoughts or philosophy with one’s actions
and external thoughts is experienced at a certain stage of life.
An individual’s philosophy is based on some kind of spiritual
or creative aspiration. The thoughts are based on external
influences, and actions are based on the need and drive of
the physical and mental senses. Most of the time one is unable
to harmonize these three: action, desire and philosophy. A
person’s philosophy of life leads in one direction, where there
is some experience of internal harmony. The desires move
one in another direction, where there is external fulfilment.
The actions performed in the pursuit of these two directions
sometimes create conflict. The incompatibility between
philosophy, desire and action is the cause of confusion.

43
 Yoga aims at providing the missing harmony. Yoga
is a means to integrate the faculties of head, heart and
hands, meaning intellect, emotion and action. For many
people yoga is a physical process, but for others yoga is a
spiritual process. Whatever one’s concept of yoga may be,
in order to be efficient in life, there must be integration
and harmonization of the actions which are performed, the
desires which motivate, and the personal philosophy which
guides an individual through life. When harmonized, these
three aspects give the realization of dharma. After that, the
karmas are altered and changed.

FULFILLING DESIRES

Why is it important to fulfil desires and ambitions?

Swami Satyananda: Fulfilment of desire and ambition is
necessary for spiritual growth. Karma is necessary for
spiritual growth. Karma is the rendering of desire into
action. Karma is the action that gives a practical form to
one’s ambitions. A person has a desire and that desire
makes him work, so a desire is translated into karma.
The desires of those who do not perform karma remain
suppressed.
Man is made up of desires. He cannot live without
desires, but still he suffers from guilt. On account of this
guilt, often he thinks that desires are not required and are
no good, or he convinces himself that they are not present.
So there are two types of people: those who just work and
do not care for spiritual life, and those who only follow
spiritual life and do not work. Desires, however, must be
fulfilled in both types, otherwise they remain suppressed. If
desires are suppressed, there will be no spiritual progress,
no matter what meditation is done. The performance of
karma is a process of eliminating the suppressed vasanas.
As such, renunciation of desires is not tenable, even for a
spiritual aspirant. A person’s endeavour to achieve a spiritual
objective depends upon his desire.

44
How do the gunas relate to vasanas?
Swami Satyananda: Nature has made certain conditions
that are important for everyone. The soul evolves from the
tamasic and rajasic states to the higher sattwic state. A person
who is tamasic or rajasic in evolution needs vasanas. If a man
is lazy and has no desires, he will become lazier. When a
person is lazy or procrastinating, he should be injected with
vasanas, which compel him to become active. He is not going
to evolve at all without vasanas. Evolution is from tamas to
rajas, not directly to sattwa. Therefore, vasanas should be
stimulated in the tamasic state, while in the rajasic state they
should be balanced, and in the sattwic state they should be
eliminated gradually.
The presence of vasanas is necessary until one is
established in sattwa. In one person the desire may be for
alcohol, in another for wealth or name and fame. From
what I have seen in different cultures people who have
exhausted or overused their vasanas have developed spiritual
awareness. Those who have not had the opportunity to fulfil
their vasanas are finding ways to do so now. They are mad
after them! People who do not suppress their vasanas, but
fulfil them, develop a keen intellect and intuition in the
course of time. Artists, poets and musicians are talented
and gifted people, but their vasanas are quite surprising;
sometimes they are just like animals.
Passion and activity, therefore, are really a means to
higher awareness. They are not negative aspects of life to be
suppressed. They should be used, especially in the earlier
stages of development. The natural drives can help one’s
growth, so one should use them, and in the course of time
try to transform one’s activities into karma yoga.

How should desires be fulfilled?

Swami Satyananda: Most people have many desires and
ambitions. In themselves these are not bad, but when one
makes their fulfilment the sole purpose of life, the divine
direction is lost. At this point, life becomes a cursory

45
existence full of frustration, dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
People who are always looking outside themselves for
pleasure and contentment never find it. This is why nobody
is satisfied. Nowhere is it possible to find any satisfaction or
peace in this world. Therefore, one must make one’s own
peace and one’s own higher, simpler and satisfying life.
There are times when sensory pleasures should be
fulfilled in order to work out karma. In this particular
respect, one thing should be accepted without any doubt.
The life of the senses and the mind is not anti-evolutionary,
it is pro-evolutionary. Fulfilment of desires in life is a part of
spiritual illumination, but at the same time, an aspirant must
remember his purpose. This path of life is being followed for
the fulfilment of a spiritual vision, not for the fulfilment of
sensual life. All spiritual practices ultimately lead to the point
of awakening.
Once the objective is clear, each and every aspect of life
must be designed accordingly. The life one chooses, the
religion one follows, the food one eats and so on should be
in accordance with the fulfilment of this purpose. Similarly,
the austerity, control and restraint that are practised must all
have a purpose; only then can one ensure that life does not
become an empty religious ritual.
Desires are not fulfilled in order to satisfy them
completely, but to realize that they cannot be satisfied. As
Swami Vivekananda said, “Desire is increased by desire.”
Vasanas cannot be satisfied; they are insatiable. There is
no end to the gratification of vasanas, but this has to be
experienced in order to be understood.
The aspirant has to transform himself in such a way that
all the desires are present, but they do not cross a certain
limit in the mind. He should follow the example of the
ocean, which accepts all the rivers flowing into it but never
overflows. Likewise, one should gratify the desires for a child,
a woman or man, and wealth, but they should not be allowed
to upset one’s balance of mind in spite of living amidst them.
It is said in the Bhagavad Gita (2:70):

46
 Aapooryamaanamachalapratishthamsamudramaapah
pravishanti yadvat;
Tadvatkaamaa yam pravishanti sarve sa shaantimaapnoti
na kaamakaamee.
He attains peace in whom all desired objects enter as
waters enter the ocean, which filled from all sides remains
unmoved, but not the man who is full of desires.

How should desires be regulated?

Swami Niranjanananda: In yoga, desires are not just blindly
followed, but used to uplift the personality. In normal life,
people blindly seek to experience contentment by fulfilling
every desire, no matter how insignificant it may be. In
the process of yoga, the desires have to be observed and
analyzed. As progress is made in spiritual life, one learns to
contain that aspect of human nature which craves fulfilment
through whatever means possible. Desire is also influenced
by social conditioning, culture, religion and so on. In
creation, desire was the first link forged between divinity and
humanity. It is also the last link which has to be broken in the
process of evolution. If, however, one simply waits for this last
desire to drop away, one may be waiting indefinitely.
To get to the mind, the desires and aspirations need to
be managed and controlled. It is not necessary to get rid
of them completely. Just as one prunes a tree continuously
to maintain it at a certain height, so too the desires have
to be managed in such a way that one can perform the
necessary tasks appropriately and also fulfil personal needs.
Desires that are not beneficial are pruned and those that are
beneficial are maintained.
Spiritual development is measured by a lessening of desires.
As one evolves spiritually, the desires and ambitions become
fewer and fewer. With the reduction of desires, there is reduc-
tion of karma, and with this there is the experience of inner
freedom. Taking charge of one’s life is the goal of all the tradi-
tions that advocate realization, moksha, nirvana or samadhi.

47
 Desires won’t finish, but their grip on the personality,
which forces one to look for emotional, sensual and
intellectual fulfilment, will reduce. Reduction of desire means
that one is not obsessed about a desire, one doesn’t run
after it or lose one’s balance due to it. The involvement with
desires gives birth to feelings of attraction and repulsion,
possessiveness and rejection. The push and pull of duality,
which arises as the result of desire, is the factor that creates
confusion and conflict in one’s priorities. The root cause of
pain and suffering is not that one has desires – every living
being has desires – but that one is aware of the desires, which
are a strong force. Everyone has desires, even sannyasins.
The only difference is that a sannyasin tries to become a
witness of the desire while a householder is immersed in the
desire. It is a change of mentality, feeling and outlook.
Stability in spiritual life, therefore, is not a question
of transcending desire, but of knowing how to channel
the direction of desire, as this leads to growth. It is not
even necessary to be concerned with personal desires or
aspirations. It is sufficient to have a goal, a focus, and keep
on walking that path.
The aspirant should always remain true to the goal. It is
like being on a journey and moving from one city to another.
On the road one may stop many times for something to eat,
as a result of accidents or to admire the scenery. The aspirant
can stop as many times as he likes, but the aim is still to reach
the destination. Similarly, once the aspirations and direction
for life have been set, one should keep that aim in mind. The
aspirant should continue to walk towards the fulfilment of
that goal, and at the same time manage the desires as and
when they manifest, by determining their usefulness for his
own fulfilment and growth in life.

How should one answer wishes and desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: There are two methods. One method
is introspection, reflection and deciding what one’s needs are,
knowing what one’s ambitions are, learning how to manage

48
the weaknesses and utilizing the strengths. This is the SWAN
principle or theory: strength, weakness, ambition and need.
Most desires, likes, wishes and attractions fall under the
jurisdiction of these personality traits. Often desires arise
due to an ambition and often due to a need. One should be
able to differentiate and discriminate between those born of
a need, expectation or ambition.
There is no harm in following the wishes of the mind,
provided one is aware that one is following the whims of
the mind and provided one is able to contain oneself when
the mind tends to go overboard. Meditation helps one
to discover what the needs are and how to differentiate
them from the ambitions. In the life of a spiritual aspirant,
evolution of the self, the growth of human nature, can be
determined by observing the lessening of desires.
As one evolves along the spiritual path, desires become
less and the aspirant becomes more content. With lack of
contentment, more desires will surface. This has been the
experience of many practitioners. People want to be alone
with themselves and not interact unnecessarily with others.
Sometimes they feel threatened by these changes and don’t
like it, feeling isolated from normal life. But this is a natural
outcome for those who meditate and practise pratyahara and
dharana. There should be no fear. It is a stage of life which
indicates some form of inner control, balance and purity.
The other way of dealing with desires, likes and dislikes is
to ignore them and not be obsessive about them. To ignore
desires, however, one needs to have a different kind of
character, a firm approach to life and clarity about what one
desires from life.

What are the ways to deal with the sexual urge?

Swami Niranjanananda: The Sanskrit word brahmacharya means
abstinence from sensual pleasure. It is a combination of the
two words Brahma, meaning the supreme self or consciousness,
and acharya, meaning ‘to follow in the footsteps of ’. Those
who follow in the footsteps of the supreme consciousness are

49
brahmacharis, or celibates. The concept behind this is that when
the desire to attain self-awareness or self-realization becomes
intense within, one has to let go of the attachment to sensory
and sensual pleasure. Many people limit brahmacharya to
the relationship between male and female, but that is not the
meaning of brahmacharya.
There are two schools of thought, vedantic and tantric.
Vedantic philosophy says that aspirants should practise
austerity, tapasya, firmly committing themselves to a strict
discipline and following it, and not giving fuel to the vasanas
and kamanas, desires. One of the most powerful desires and
the most difficult to overcome is the sexual desire. Since
few have the ability to say ‘no’ to a sensual desire, vedantic
philosophy advocates a total cut-off from this type of intimate
relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, so
that the physical act does not fuel the desire to have more
and more, thus becoming lost in sensual pleasure.
According to tantric philosophy, sexual relationships are
permitted, but with the mind directed towards the higher
experience behind the relationship. It is not just the sensual
or sensory experience, or merely a physical experience,
but more of a psychic experience. When comparing the
two different ideas of Vedanta and Tantra, one finds them
contradictory, but regarding sadhana, having a normal,
everyday relationship is more conducive to spiritual growth
and development if an aspirant is able to follow the system
outlined in the tantras. For those, however, who are weak-
minded, have a weak nature and get caught up in the
trivialities of life, the vedantic system is good.

Is there a desire that should always be sustained?

Swami Satyananda: There should be one desire which
holds a person permanently, and that is the desire for self-
realization, divine realization or enlightenment. The word
desire is actually not used in this context; this desire is called
mumukshutva, meaning the intense yearning for liberation.
An aspirant should always keep this ultimate desire in mind

50
and should never abandon it or grow tired of working
towards its fulfilment. All other longings lead to mental
distortion, as they are born of ajnana, ignorance. Only this
one desire is helpful to a sadhaka.
Swami Sivananda used to say, “The desire for liberation
will destroy all worldly desires.” One maintains the state of
desire in the mind while the spiritual desire to attain liberation
develops. When the desire for enlightenment becomes
stronger and all-permeating, the other desires are nullified
and rent asunder. If there is only one desire, the desire for
enlightenment, meditation and samadhi become easy. Then,
after one has attained samadhi, even this desire is nullified,
and one is able to live the life of a renunciate while actively
carrying out duties on the worldly plane.
When a person aims for liberation, he forgets the
external desires, so spiritual yearning is not desire. In the
beginning, however, this desire can be created to help with
the continuation of sadhana.

How can a person attain something he really aspires for?

Swami Satyananda: In order to attain anything in life, a
person should have just one aim at all times; there should
be no second aim. For example, if a person wants to earn
money, he should think only of that without allowing any
attachments to interfere. He should have no attachments
to children, wife or anything. In order to attain an
important goal, one needs to develop one-pointedness and
detachment. Personal relationships and involvements should
not be a diversion. Detachment does not mean not having
relationships. One still lives with people and loves them, but
remains detached by keeping the one desire in mind.

How should one renounce desires?

Swami Satyananda: Renunciation of desires leads to self-
realization. The greater the degree of renunciation, the
greater the abandonment of desires and longings, the
greater will be the resulting sense of fullness. But this

51
abandonment must be sincere, as in the case of an apta kama,
a realized sage, whose desires have been fulfilled, and not
filled with concealed longing for the state of their fulfilment.
The world does not know this technique and thus reacts
powerfully to any instruction relating to vairagya, but it is a
fact that the more one runs after one’s shadow, the greater
will be its forward movement. Yet once the shadow is kept
behind, it begins to follow. If selfish attachments are given
up, everything is gained.
However, most people who say that desires must be
renounced do not know the truth about spiritual life.
Sometimes people undergo an intellectual exercise of
renouncing of desires. They begin to think, “I don’t want
this; I should not have that,” but this is merely an intellectual
process. Nothing can be done about attachment. That is
where mistakes are often made. People try to overcome
attachment. Most people who have become a little bit
spiritual, a little bit wiser, or who claim to be wiser, start out
by trying to resolve their attachments. It’s a natural reaction
of the human mind, but it is a mistake, as attachment is not
something that can be destroyed. Attachment has its roots
in craving, and that craving is essential nutrition for man’s
creation. If there were no craving, no one would have lived
and no one would have been born.
When the inner awareness is heightened, in the course of
time the unnecessary desires automatically fall away, just as
in winter the leaves fall and the trees become bare. Once the
karmas die, the desires, cravings, passions and attachments,
which are the motivating forces for karma, gradually wither.
The practice of abandonment of desires slowly fosters a
desireless attitude, and when one becomes desireless as a
matter of course, no attempt to give up desires is necessary.
Even as a serpent sheds its skin at the proper time, in
the same way, a yogi gives up unnecessary desires without
fighting with them. It is not known which desires are
necessary and which are unnecessary, so one must let the
unnecessary desires fall away of their own accord.

52
 Most religious preachers and philosophers teach renun­
ciation of desires and thereby a kind of suppression sets
into the personality. Desire does not have to be renounced.
Renunciation of desire is the royal road to the destruction of
society and the nation. One should remember this always.
Therefore, desires have to be redirected and re-channelled,
and after some time they should be sublimated.

SUBLIMATING DESIRES

What happens to desires in the course of life?

Swami Satyananda: Desires cannot be kept in waiting and
desires cannot be finished. The only way is to change the
direction of the mind. This can be made clear with an
example.
A small girl plays with her dolls and toys. If one doll
breaks, her heart is broken and she cries. But the mother
cannot understand it – after all, it’s just a doll! Of course, the
child is unable to conceive that, as she has limited thinking.
When the same child is twelve or thirteen, her interests are
different. She is involved with school, sports and games, and
she runs after boys and girls. The dolls and toys she used to
play with are locked away in a storeroom. Some of them have
been lost and others are broken, but she is not disturbed by
this. How did she transcend her desires? It was a natural,
automatic process. Her mind evolved from one stage to
another, so her values changed.
When the same child is twenty-one, she is concerned
with her job, her flat, her motor car or scooter, having a nice
boyfriend, and so on. If she loses her boyfriend, her heart is
broken. If she loses her money, she is distraught. If anything
shatters her lifestyle, she’s finished. But she does not care
what happens to her toys; they’re well and truly forgotten.
Suddenly, one fine day, she comes into contact with a swami
or a yoga teacher and begins to learn yoga. Now, her car,
nightclub and good clothing don’t matter. Even the situa­tions
and standards of life do not mean much to her. She doesn’t

53
care who comes into her life and who goes. She becomes a
sakshi, a witness or seer.
The same person who desired toys as a child, who was
attached to her games and friends as a teenager and who
was concerned with establishing a pleasant and comfortable
lifestyle as a young woman, now cares for nothing. How
did this happen? Were her desires finished? No. When the
consciousness changes, the quality of desire also changes.
Today she desires successful meditation and samadhi, which
means that all of her desires have formed a new alignment.
Desire is not a particular thing. It is a force,which picks up
anything.
Desires can be channelled into one force, known as the
desire for liberation. This desire for liberation or freedom is
inherent in every human being. Every human being wants
to be free. No one wants to remain a slave of petty desires.
Since this desire for liberation is present in everybody, it is
possible that the other types of desires can be channelled. If
this can happen, much of the work is accomplished.

What does sublimation or channelling of desire mean?

Swami Satyananda: Ultimately, desires should be channelled
in such a way that they lead to desirelessness. Most people
believe that channelling or sublimation of desire means
renunciation of the act itself, but this is not correct. A proper
frame of mind is necessary in order to channel desires. The
interpretation of sublimation is influenced by the guilt that
people suffer. The sublimation of sex is a good example.
Some people think that they should give it up: that is how
the words sublimation and channelling are interpreted.
Those who do this, however, may end up in mental hospitals,
for what is natural must be expected and respected. Personal
ideologies and personal philosophies cannot be imposed
on the laws of nature. If someone is suffering from guilt in
relation to sex, that is a great misfortune.
Sublimation and channelling are scientific, metaphysical,
philosophical and psychological processes. From the word

54
sublime comes the word sublimation. In order to sublimate,
there is no need to renounce anything. Just realize that it
is sublime! What one has been thinking was a sin becomes
sublime from today. Similarly, channelling presupposes
a purpose, an objective. It does not mean blocking the
flow. The purpose of sexual interaction is pleasure for
some, progeny for others, and samadhi for the seeker.
The objective determines the absolute interpretation
of channelling. If sexual interaction has been used for
pleasure or procreation so far, now one can channel it for
samadhi.
Sublimation and channelling, therefore, do not require
one to put a full stop to the fulfilment of desire. Desire
is not bad, but the energy of nature working through the
individual. A person who is not able to control his desires
is not able to contain that energy. The same desire for the
ordinary things of life will later become the desire for moksha,
liberation. When desire is directed towards worldly things, it
is called ordinary desire. When the same desire is directed
towards spiritual experience, it is called moksha.
Didn’t Mirabai have passion? Why did she look upon
Sri Krishna as her husband, and not as her son, father or
brother? She had passion, and therefore she chose the Lord
as her husband and lover. The words that Mirabai used in
her poetry are all charged with eroticism:
What can I say? I have no words
To convey my longing;
Pray come, and quench
This fire that’s searing my heart.
Lord, You know all;
Then why do you torment me thus?
Pray, have mercy,
Come and meet Mira
Who, for ever your slave,
In love surrenders at Your feet.

55
The difference, however, is that her passion was directed
towards God, so it elevated her to sublime heights. It was
the same with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In Christianity
the idea of a conjugal relationship between man and God is
present. Man is the bride and God is considered to be the
bridegroom. Therefore, desire has to be redirected and re-
channelled in order to achieve the highest goal in life.

How does yoga manage the four instincts?

Swami Niranjanananda: When swadhisthana chakra awakens,
there is a much stronger manifestation of the samskaras
which relate to the four main instincts of life: (i) sexual urge,
(ii) fear, (iii) desire for food, and (iv) desire for sleep. These
four instincts have their seats in mooladhara, swadhisthana,
manipura and anahata chakras respectively.
How can one control or eliminate those samskaras? First
they are exploded or made more manifest by the different
sadhanas of hatha, kriya and kundalini yoga. Second, their
effects are channelled and the released energy is used
positively. Here the sadhanas of karma yoga and bhakti
yoga become essential. Third, the more meditative approach
of laya yoga can be employed by undergoing a process of
contemplation, reflection and reasoning.

What is the approach of laya yoga towards desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: Once mooladhara chakra is active,
both positive and negative experiences will manifest.
Negative experiences will manifest in the form of increased
sensitivity and insecurity, increased intensity of the sexual
urge and increased desire for some kind of satisfying
relationship in which one feels secure. These experiences
appear to be negative, but actually they are related to
one’s external life. How does one fulfil that craving which
is experienced inside with the awakening of mooladhara?
Often the only way is by running wild in external life.
When one begins to practise laya yoga, however, the
complementary attributes or qualities for these states are

56
awakened. If insecurity is manifesting intensely, through
the process of observation the complementary factor will
be developed so that the vacuum is not felt. If there is an
intense desire, through the process of observation another
quality will be developed. How to direct the mind away from
the trap of intense desire is taught through this meditative
process.

How can vasanas be sublimated?

Swami Satyananda: There are three ways of sublimating
vasanas. One way is through karma yoga, doing social ser­vice,
like Mahatma Gandhi did. He sublimated or transformed his
vasanas in such a way that they no longer remained personal.
Serving others selflessly and doing good turns transforms
desire into noble inclinations. The second way is to attain
samadhi. Practise half an hour of meditation on shoonya,
the void. In karma yoga, the vasanas become dissipated and
weakened, but in samadhi they are burnt completely. There
is a third way, which is difficult: leave everything to God and
let Him do what He likes.
Desires can also be dedicated to a higher reality, such as
guru or God. This may take various forms, such as, “Let me
have more money, so that I can give something to my guru”,
“Let me have more money, so that I can feed the hungry”,
“Let me have more political power, so that I can help many
people”, or “Let me have more strength, so that I can serve
my wife, children and family.”
The transformation of desire is an important topic.
Desires should be channelled and rationalized as far as
possible. However, the desires related to the three basic
human drives: sexual interaction, progeny and prosperity,
have to be fulfilled.

How do sama and dama help eradicate vasanas?

Swami Sivananda: Through the practice of sama, equanimity,
the aspirant destroys the vasanas one by one. He crushes
them as soon as they try to raise their head on the surface of

57
the mind-lake. He must not allow them to sprout forth. This
is called vasana tyaga, renunciation of subtle desires. A man
of equanimity is neither exulted when he obtains a desired
object, ishta, nor depressed when he gets an undesired
object, anishta. He keeps a balanced mind always and has no
enemies. Sama is one of the four sentinels of moksha. If one
has sama, one will be in the company of the three friends:
santosha, contentment, vichara, enquiry into the nature of
truth, and satsang, association with the wise and saintly.
Sama alone, however, is not sufficient. The senses must
be rendered blunt by dama, self-control. A vasana for sweets,
for instance, should be destroyed by sama through vasana
tyaga, crushing the vasanas within as soon as a desire arises.
The desire which arises through the sight of sweets should
be destroyed by withdrawing the eyes when moving about
the market and by giving up sugar. Dama supplements sama
in control of the mind. It is an auxiliary for the complete
eradication of vasanas.
If a person gives up an old habit of drinking tea, he
has controlled to a certain extent the sense of taste. He has
destroyed one vasana. It will give some peace, as the craving
for tea has gone and he is freed from efforts and thoughts
about getting tea, sugar and milk. Thinking is pain, seeing
is pain, hearing is pain for a philosopher and a sadhaka. It
is all pleasure for a worldly person. The energy that made
one run after tea is now transmuted into will. Peace and
willpower are gained by giving up one thing. If fifteen things
are given up, the peace of mind will be still greater and the
will more powerful. This is the fruit of tyaga. One is not a
loser, but gains more knowledge, bliss and power. It is giving
up something in favour of something higher. If one vasana
is controlled, it will be easy to control other vasanas, too, as
strength and power are gained.

How can the energy of desire be sublimated?

Swami Satyananda: Every desire and thought which comes
into the mind is a manifestation of energy; it is not a

58
psychological substance. Desire, thought, passion, love and
hatred are not psychological; basically they are energy.
The mental energy is called ida, and the pranic energy is
known as pingala. These two energies flow in this physical body
as the electrical energy flows in a cable. Ida flows through the
left side and pingala flows from the right, each crossing all the
chakras up to ajna chakra. These are the two different forms
of energy which maintain every rhythm in the physical body.
If the desire is abnormal, it means the ida complex is
out of harmony. If hunger, passion, anger or aggression is
excessive, the pranic force is out of harmony. When ida nadi
is predominant and pingala nadi is subservient, the desires
are insatiable. When pingala nadi is predominant and ida
nadi is subservient, all the physical actions are agitated.
Desire is a mental disease, but its root has to be discovered
in the physical body.
In order to resolve the unnecessary desires, something
has to be done. If nothing is done, the physical and mental
diseases will definitely creep into the body. Sublimation is a
way to handle desire.
In order to sublimate this energy, certain channels have
to be created. In India, there are ashrams. The word ashram
means ‘a place of hard work’. This hard work and hard
life in the ashram should be experienced by everybody:
the residents, the visitors and even the builders of the
ashram, as leading a hard life is the first act of sublimation
or channelling. A way has to be paved, a trend has to be set
and a channel created to direct the bad or negative thoughts
into good or positive ones. The shastras say to put the
inauspicious thoughts on an auspicious track. Rishi Vasishtha
said to Sri Rama in Yoga Vasishtha (2:9:30):
Shubhaashubhaabhyaam maargaabhyaam vahantee vaasanaasarit;
Paurushena prayatnena yojaneeyaa shubhe pathi.
The current of desires flows in between the two channels
of good and evil; by the exertion of activity one must
turn it to the right course.

59
Auspicious or good thoughts are generated by good actions
and good turns done to others. It is said again and again,
be involved in good work. One should start doing good
to others and to oneself. Singing God’s name, visiting
pilgrimage places and temples are good acts. Serving the
country or community, building hospitals, schools and
orphanages are good actions. But the best action is to help
women, as the female principle is the basis of creation.
All the heroes, saints and godly men were born of
women. Rama, Sri Krishna and Hanuman were all born of
mothers. Mothers are the manufacturing plants for babies.
Therefore, if women are served well, the babies of the com­
ing generation will be of a high quality. The baby daughters
born of good mothers will not be mentally deficient and dull,
but intelligent and capable. In the present times, the best
action is service to the mother. The mother should be served,
one’s own as well as others.
Small girls are all future mothers. By serving them, the
turmoil of desires and passions within subsides and serenity
prevails. The root cause of desire and passion is a woman; there­
fore, begin to serve the root cause and the result will be amazing.
Passions and cravings will be subdued and toned down.

What is the role of sannyasa ashrama in the sublimation

of desires?
Swami Satyananda: Sannyasa is necessary, as it provides
an opportunity to give a new direction to one’s desires. It
is a turning point. I do not claim to be free of desire. If I
were to make such a false claim, it would be dishonest. But
I have given a new turn to my desires. During youth and
middle age, one leads a life of bhoga, pleasure. But when
old age comes, desires still play havoc, they never wane.
Therefore, the shastras suggest turning towards sannyasa
life at that time. Shave the head and enter an ashram, or
become involved in a life of service, for example, by opening
a hospital. Once the mind is engrossed in the work of the
hospital, the desires will change their direction and form.

60
How does sannyasa redirect desire?
Swami Satyananda: Although sannyasa is the way of renun­
ciation, one initially decides to tread this path due to
desire. Every person’s real desire is for the higher life,
and in sannyasa, the gratification of all lesser desires is re-
channelled towards this single major aim. One can have
ambition, social ideals, sensual expression, or any form of
desire, large or small, and still be a renunciate.
How are these transcended in spiritual life? While
everyone has desire, the spiritual aspirant uses and directs
it to strengthen and stabilize the highest states of awareness.
The sannyasin sees, feels and experiences everything before
him, but he totally renounces the feeling that is experienced
when something is taken away. He renounces not the object,
but the feeling. The object will always be there, but the
attachment to the object, the craving for the experience of
the object, must be eliminated.
The energy that is directed towards any desire is so
powerful and has so much force behind it that it has to be
expressed in some way in order to avoid suppression and
disease. Most people express it externally on the physical
plane in a way that is never full or complete. Thus it leaves
buds that flower and produce the fruits of dissatisfaction,
discontent, restlessness, frustration and emptiness. The
sannyasin, however, learns to link and direct this dissipated
energy towards a higher and greater fulfilment. Through
selfless service and total dedication the desires become
unified into a single desire. As energy and concentration
increase, the mind becomes extremely powerful, like a laser
beam, able to pierce the very core of existence.
There are other methods as well as sublimation for
dealing with desires. One method is disassociation. Get out
of that environment and go away somewhere. Leave that
work and do some other work. Leave this kind of food and
have another kind of diet. Leave this group of people and
go to another group. This is called disassociation.

61
How does disassociation work?
Swami Sivananda: There is no desire for an object until one
knows what it is like. It is only after one has seen it or heard
of it or touched it that one gets a longing for it. Therefore,
the best principle is not to take, touch or see anything that
is likely to taint the imagination. One will have to turn aside
the attention resolutely and particularly the imagination
from the subject. In the course of time, all objectionable
desires will die out.
A plant is starved by depriving it of water. Similarly,
obnoxious desires may be starved by not allowing the mind
to dwell on them. It is said in Yoga Vasishtha (4:54:16):
Sankalpo yena hantavyastena bhaavaviparyayaat;
Apyardhena nimeshena leelayaiva nihanyate.
He who wants to destroy his desire can do it in a trice,
by forgetting the thought of his desired object.

LIVING WITHOUT DESIRES

Does a time come when one decides to drop desires?

Swami Satyananda: Desires are never-ending. An inspector wants
to be a director, a lawyer wants to go to the high court, a high
court lawyer wants to become a judge, a session judge wants
to become a high court judge and a high court judge wants
to become a supreme court judge. There is no end to desires.
When one desire is fulfilled, a person goes after another.
Desires cannot be satisfied and fulfilled. There is a
moment when this process has to come to an end. A person
can go on desiring for ten, twenty, thirty and forty years,
always thinking, “Once my desires are satiated, I won’t desire
anymore.” But the wise say this never happens, as desires
can never be satiated. Therefore, at a particular point in
life, those who have greater common sense, understanding,
and wisdom decide, “No more desires now.” They close that
chapter and become desireless. It’s hard to understand. It is
said in Yoga Vasishtha (6(2):160:22):

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 Yaani sankalpajaalaani pratishthaamaagataanyalam;
Tyaktaikadrishyajaalasthadehaanaam dridhachetasaam.
The web of desires that I have been fondly weaving so
long proved at last to be fragile and frail. Hence people
of firm minds learn betimes to abandon their desires
for the whole range of visible objects.
Desires are like the demoness, Surasa. When Sita was
abducted by Ravana, Rama went in search of her. After some
time he found a powerful person to help him, Hanuman,
the monkey god. It was discovered that Sita was in Lanka.
Hanuman said that he would find her himself. He went to
the seashore and from there he jumped across the sea and
reached Lanka. He came across the demoness Surasa, who
said, “I want to eat you.” She made her mouth big enough
to swallow him, so he also enlarged his body and become
double in size. She went on increasing the dimension of
her lips, and he also started increasing the dimensions of
his body and became very big. Then Hanuman suddenly
decreased the dimensions of his body. He became as small as
a mosquito, went into her mouth and came out of her ear.
Premature desires are like this. A person goes on fulfilling
his desires, and suddenly he stops all desires – that is, he
‘comes out of the ear’. He becomes desireless. When this
happens, suddenly all the jumping and acrobatic feats of the
mind stop. It is said in Yoga Vasishtha (1:3:9):
Ksheenaayaam vaasanaayaam tu cheto galati satvaram;
Ksheenaayaam sheetasantatyaam brahmanhimakano yathaa.
The absence of desires leads to the extinction of mental
actions, in the same manner as the absence of cold is
conducive to the dissolution of small particles of ice.

Desire is the only propelling force that makes one think and
act, that makes one work hard, that makes one practise yoga.
Everything is done because of desire, whether the desire
is materialistic or spiritual. Desire is desire, regardless of

63
whether if it is for the ordinary, transitory, perishable and
fleeting objects of life or for nirvana, samadhi or kaivalya.
They are all desires. It doesn’t matter which chain binds
the hand, a golden chain or an ordinary chain. A chain is a
chain. Sage Vasishtha said in Yoga Vasishtha (4:57:19):
Baddho hi vaasanaabaddho mokshah syaadvaasanaakshayah;
Vaasanaastvam parityajya mokshaarthitvamapi tyaja.
The man bound to his desires is a bondsman, and the
person freed from them is set free from his slavery.

This state of desirelessness is difficult to attain, but there is

a time in life when some people must practise it. One has to
be desireless, for one gets what one is destined to get, not
what one desires.
If this world were to follow the pattern of one’s desires,
there would be no contentment. For people who are full of
desires, this life becomes an abode of discontent. For those
full of longings, this life is an abyss of despair. For devotees
of God, this life is the road leading to God. For the wise,
this life is a bundle of changing values. For those who are
detached, this life is as dust. For those who have no control,
this life is a consuming fire. For the coward, this life is a
bundle of sins. For the yogi, this life is a means of purifying
the mind.

Is it possible to experience enjoyment without being

subject to desire?
Swami Sivananda: Suppose a man was a terrible smoker for
fifteen years. Then he gave up smoking for five years and
with it the craving for smoking also died. In the sixth year
one of his friends offers him a cigar, but he has no craving
for smoking anymore. If he takes it and enjoys it just to
please his friend, it will be shuddha bhoga, or pure enjoyment,
as he has enjoyed it without craving or desire. It is said in the
Bhagavad Gita (5:20):

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 Na prahrishyetpriyam praapya nodvijetpraapya chaapriyam;
Sthirabuddhirasammoodho brahmavid brahmani sthitah.
Resting in Brahman, with steady intellect and
undeluded, the knower of Brahman neither rejoices
on obtaining what is pleasant nor grieves on obtaining
what is unpleasant.
The same way of experiencing can be applied to love and
marriage. One can observe brahmacharya, where there is
enjoyment without desire, action without fruits. These terms
appear opposed to each other. A person with a gross buddhi,
intellect, can hardly understand this idea. A subtle, pure
intellect is needed. Ishwara enjoys shuddha bhoga.

Which desires need to be renounced?

Swami Niranjanananda: Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad
Gita (18:49) that one who is in control of the self and devoid
of desire is a true renunciate, and a true renunciate attains
enlightenment:
Asaktabuddhih sarvatra jitaatmaa vigatasprihah;
Naishkarmyasiddhim paramaam sannyaasenaadhigachchhati.
He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who
has subdued his self, from whom desire has fled, by
renunciation he attains the supreme state of freedom
from action.

The first point of the statement is being in control of the self

and the second point is being devoid of desire. Both points
are abstract terms, dealing with the last aspect of karma, the
seed of desire.
When one begins the spiritual journey, the motivating
factor is a desire. “I wish to . . .” is the form of one’s desire.
It is not elimination or renunciation of this desire, but the
renunciation of other limiting desires that is necessary. Sage
Vasishtha said in Yoga Vasishtha (4:57:20–21):

65
 Taamaseevaasanaah poorvam tyaktvaa vishayavaasitaah;
Maitryaadibhaavanaanaamneem grihaanaamalavaasanaam.
Taamapyantah parityajya taamirvyaharannapi;
Antahshaantasamasteho bhava chinmaatravaaasnah.
Forsake first your foul, tamasic desires. Then be freed
from your desire of worldly possessions. Foster your better
wishes next, and finally, be inclined towards pure and
holy teachings. After having conducted yourself with pure
desires, get rid of these at the end. Then, freed from all
desires, be inclined towards and united with your intellect,
knowing all and longing for nothing. (20–21)

One must know which are the limiting desires that hold
one back and the propelling desires that push one forward.
This can be understood by combining karma yoga with raja
yoga and following the process of pratyahara, dharana and
dhyana. Renunciation is an attribute of karma yoga.

What does it mean to renounce desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: In material life, a person is in a
state of technological and material hypnosis. In this state
he increases desires instead of reducing them. As the
desires increase more and more, the consciousness becomes
more gross and material and constantly craves pleasure.
This is how the rat race begins. When a person begins to
practise yoga and analyze his personality, he can overcome
the conditionings that are detrimental to the growth and
unfoldment of human nature. When one overcomes the
conditionings which limit the inherent creativity and
expression of wisdom, many unnecessary desires and
attachments are simply left behind. This is the concept of
renunciation.
Generally, people think that renunciation means leav­
ing many things behind that are dear to them. In fact,
renunciation is not something that is left behind but
something which is attained. If someone has to go up some

66
stairs, they place their foot on the first step, and only when
that foot is firmly placed on the step will the other foot
leave the ground and go to the next step. When the other
foot is placed firmly, the first one will leave that step and
reach up to the next step. Each step must be attained before
the previous one is left. Attainment always comes before
renunciation.

How does yoga help transcend desires?

Swami Niranjanananda: Desire can never be controlled. There
are various kinds of desire which manifest according to the
strengths and weaknesses of each individual. There are
physical desires, social desires and mental desires which have
to be fulfilled in order to induce a sense of security. There are
emotional desires that need to be fulfilled. There are psychic
desires in the dimension of the chakras and kundalini, and
there are spiritual desires.
Desires represent an urge to attain something and are
generally related to a life of sensory and sensual pleasure.
Generally they represent the fulfilment of the need for
security. It is difficult to transcend them through the
practices of yoga. Even in the last stage of samadhi desire
still exists. Even God has desire! If He could not transcend
it, how can man? God had the desire to create. The whole
world is His creation!
In yoga it is said that once one is on the path of yoga
or realization, one has to leave desire, the wish to attain
something, aside, whether it is physical, social, external,
internal or spiritual, and live in the present without having
any expectation. To become desireless is difficult but it is
possible to live in the present without any expectation. This
will provide an understanding of how desires shape and
guide life and destiny.
Finally, it is through the process of sadhana that one can
reach a shoonya state beyond desire. Desires are passing
scenes on the road to moksha. One cannot remove or
destroy them but they can be left behind. Once one reaches

67
the destination, they are not even remembered. Only
memories remain in the form of photographs one has taken
along the way.

How does fulfilling desires enable one to turn away from

them?
Swami Sivananda: A person tries to find happiness in sensual
objects. Too much sensual indulgence wears out the senses
and brings disgust and disease of all kinds. The more sexual
pleasures one enjoys, the greater the passion becomes. One
learns bitter lessons. One learns that happiness does not lie
in satisfying the desire of the body and the senses. At last one
seeks to find happiness in his own atman within.

Why is contentment important?

Swami Sivananda: A contented mind is a continual feast.
Contentment is one of the greatest of virtues. For one who is
content, all the wealth of the world will have no attraction. A
contented mind is ever peaceful and joyous. To such a mind,
the enjoyment of sensual pleasures is like poison. The mind
of a truly contented man is always turned towards God and
higher spiritual pursuits. Eradication of desires leads to the
sublime state of supreme peace.

How can one be without desires?

Swami Satyananda: There is a state called desirelessness, but
it is not attained through a negative method, such as trying
to be detached, renouncing, hating, avoiding or bypassing
the objects of life. Some sort of wisdom or cosmic link has to
be discovered and realized. Swami Vivekananda said, “The
jivanmukta, the liberated sage, has conquered all desire by
rising to the knowledge that he is the One, and there is
nothing left to wish for.” It is also said in the Bhagavad Gita
(2:55, 6:18):
Prajahaati yadaa kaamaansarvaanpaartha manogataan;
Aatmanyevaatmanaa tushtah sthitaprajnastadochyate.

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 When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the
desires of the mind and is satisfied in the self by the
self, then he is said to be one of steady wisdom. (2:55)

Yadaa viniyatam chittamaatmanyevaavatishthate;

Nihsprihah sarvakaamebhyo yukta ityuchyate tadaa.
When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the self
only, free from longing for the objects of desire, then
it is said, “He is united.” (6:18)
How is this realization possible? Either one is born like that,
or one becomes aware that nothing has to be done, nothing
has to be gained and nothing has to be accomplished; there
is a great nature which is already functioning within, and a
great power which is taking care of everything. Only then can
one experience fullness and totality. It is said in the Bhagavad
Gita (3:17–18):
Yastvaatmaratireva syaadaatmatriptashcha maanavah;
Aatmanyeva cha santushtastasya kaaryam na vidyate.
Naiva tasya kritenaartho naakriteneha kashchana;
Na chaasya sarvabhooteshu kashchidarthavyapaashrayah.
But for that man who rejoices only in the self, who is
satisfied with the self, who is content in the self alone,
truly there is nothing to do. (17)
For him there is no interest whatsoever in what is done
or what is not done; nor does he depend on any being
for any object. (18)

One must feel that, ‘I am a medium. I have no desire of my

own, no plans of my own.’ A medium is like a flute upon
which any tune can be played. The flute has nothing to do
with the choice of tune that is played on it. In the same way,
I am a medium of somebody. He is working through me,
thinking through me and speaking through me. I don’t
have to do anything. I realized that I was a medium in 1964.

69
Before that I knew it intellectually and I thought about it,
but in 1964 I experienced it. There is a difference between
knowledge and experience. That experience confirmed that
I am not the doer; I am the medium.
Desires disappear as soon as discriminative knowledge aris-
es. All actions remain suspended and the mind becomes pure.
The pure intelligence is awakened and the pure aware­ness
manifests. In the words of Sri Ramana Maharshi, “The state
free from vasanas is the primal and eternal state of purity.”

Are there different types of desirelessness?

Swami Satyananda: Desirelessness is of many types. Ramana
Maharshi lived without desire. I saw him over a period of at
least ten or fifteen years. I used to walk around Arunachala,
and I would go to him. He was not concerned about himself,
about whether he ate or not. He was desireless. He had not
suppressed his desires; he was above desires.
When I was in the ashram of Swami Sivananda, I used to
practise ashtanga yoga. I tried aparigraha, non-possession. I
would never keep anything in my room, for the rule is that a
sannyasin should keep the minimum. However, Swamiji said,
“You selfish fellow, you live only for your own sake, for your
own happiness and satisfaction. You can keep the minimal
requirements for yourself, but have some things with you
for others. Keep twenty tumblers, three beds, twenty-five
mattresses, fifteen dhotis and some money. Distribute
these things to anybody who comes to you; help everyone.”
Swamiji would often tell me, “Keep tea, coffee, blankets and
many things. Give them to anyone who needs them.” I liked
this suggestion; this is another form of desirelessness.
One form of desirelessness is not to desire at all, neither
for oneself nor for others. The other form is not to desire
anything for oneself but desire for the sake of others, for that
is not desire. It is said in Yoga Vasishtha (3:22:5):
Yeyam tu jeevanmuktaanaam vasanaa saa na vaasanaa;
Shuddhasatvaabhidhaanam tatsattaa saamaanyamuchyate.

70
 The desire of jivanmuktas is not properly any desire
at all, since it is the pure desire relating to universal
wealth and happiness.

Compassion and mercy for other people is not desire.

Desire is guided by selfishness. If there is no selfishness,
if there is selflessness, that is not desire. It is said in the
Bhagavad Gita (4:19):
Yasya sarve samaarambhaah kaamasankalpavarjitaah;
Jnaanaagnidagdhakarmaanam tamaahuh panditam budhaah.
He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and
selfish purposes, and whose actions have been burnt by
the fire of knowledge, him the wise call a sage.

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 3
Suffering

BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Why is suffering something positive?

Swami Sivananda: Misery is a blessing in disguise. Misery
is the eye-opener in this world. Every suffering, every
pain, every adversity moulds one little by little into the
image of God. In suffering there is more purification,
and in enjoyment there is more bondage. Were it not for
the presence of pain and misery, no one would attempt to
attain salvation. Pain is the best thing in the world. Never
forget this.

Why is there so much pain and misery in the world?

Swami Sivananda: Virtuous people treat suffering as a
blessing, as it develops the powers of endurance and
mercy, and makes them remember God always. They
welcome suffering and do not want worldly pleasure and
prosperity. They have a changed vision and always keep
a balanced mind in pleasure and pain. They rejoice in
suffering. Kunti Devi said: “O Sri Krishna! Let me always
remember You. Give me pain always. I may forget You if I
get pleasure.” Bhaktas rejoice in suffering. They welcome
pain always. Stoics do the same. A worldly mind cannot
understand this state.

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Is suffering inevitable?
Swami Satyananda: Everyone who is born in a body has to
undergo the ills of the body, but the difference is that the
wise undergo suffering calmly and the idiots wail. No human
relationship is complete, whether between spouses, parents
and children or other family members. Nowhere is there
absolute completeness. There is no perfection in this world
of plenty and affluence. Happiness is not complete, nor
are sorrow and misery. When this is the state of affairs, the
outlook and way of thinking must be changed.

Is it possible to fulfil all of one’s desires and always

experience happiness?
Swami Satyananda: There are three types of karmas, three
types of fruit and three types of enjoyers of the senses. The
three types of karmas are: ordinary action, great action and
evil action. Out of all the actions performed in the world
there are three types of result or fruit. Any action that is
performed or any relationship that is started can produce
three types of result: desired, undesired and mixed. Either
the result is positive, negative or a mixture of both. The
result that is wanted is a positive result, the result that is not
wanted is a negative result, and that which is both wanted
and not wanted is a mixed result.
When everything is received according to the desires
of the mind, this is called the desired fruit of action. The
second fruit of action is undesired: something was desired,
but something else was received. The third fruit of action is
mixed or blended. For example, the father had hoped that
his son would go to London to qualify as a lawyer, but instead
he studied law in India. This is a mixed fruit of action. The
desire was partly fulfilled and partly unfulfilled. In this way,
there are three types of fruits of action.
Similarly, there are three types of enjoyers of the senses.
The first group consists of the happy people, who are
enjoying the desired fruits of their actions. These people
are happy, as their desires are fulfilled. The second group

73
consists of the unhappy people who are experiencing the
undesired fruits of action. The unwanted keeps happening to
them, so they always have to suffer. The third group consists
of those people who never get exactly what their mind
desires. They are neither happy nor unhappy. For example,
a man’s wife never listens to him, but nevertheless his son is
very capable. This person experiences mixed fruit of action.
There are other examples: a man is of good character,
capable and respected, but he has health problems. A man is
a genius, who does great work, but his character is not good.
These are people who experience mixed fruit of action. In
this way it can be seen that there are three types of enjoyers
of the senses in the world.
In this human existence, however, there is no purely
positive or purely negative result; it is a mixture of both.
Therefore, in life one sometimes obtains positive results and
sometimes negative results. It is just not possible that all of
one’s desires are fulfilled. In the same way it is not possible
that all one’s wishes remain unfulfilled.
My personal opinion is that nobody in the world has ever
experienced only happiness, nor has anyone experienced
only unhappiness. Those who are intelligent will notice that
everyone who lives in the world experiences both happiness
and unhappiness by turn. In a person’s life there are both
unhappiness and happiness. A negative result depresses
and a positive result gives elation. Therefore, a person is
always experiencing emotional ups and downs, which make
him more ambitious and more insecure. When happiness
comes, there is unhappiness, due to the knowledge that the
happiness may not last. This completely disturbs the balance
of life.

Is the human mind affected more by happiness or

unhappiness?
Swami Satyananda: Unhappiness leaves a deep impression
on the mind and happiness is suppressed. If there is a
wedding in the house and somebody dies in that house on

74
the same day, would a wedding band be playing or would
there be mourning in that house? Obviously, there would be
mourning; this is the custom.
No one would ask, why does the band not play, why
is there only mourning? The mind is more affected by
unhappiness than by happiness. When happiness and
unhappiness come at the same time, unhappiness alone
takes charge and happiness ends. Happiness is mild and
unhappiness is strong. Even a little unhappiness will ruin all
the happiness, but the greatest happiness cannot suppress a
little unhappiness. This is the way of the world. Unhappiness
creates a greater impression on the mind than happiness;
that is the rule.
A person is always averse to death, disease, poverty, insult,
discomfort and hostility, and he desires prosperity, sympathy,
comfort and friends. This is the peculiarity of human nature,
and the absence of the desired thing or the presence of the
undesired thing has a strong effect on the mind.

It is said that all of life is suffering, that every experience

in life involves suffering. How can this be understood?
Swami Satyananda: In Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:15) it is
said:
Parinaamataapasamskaaraduhkhairgunavrittivirodhaachcha
duhkhameva sarvam vivekinah.
In the case of one who has discrimination, viveka,
all is painful because of pains due to change, acute
suffering, samskaras, and also due to gunas and vrittis
in opposition.

Everything in life is painful, even the so-called happiness

of success, position, power and so on, for one who has
developed discrimination, who has analyzed life thoroughly,
who is able to know truth and untruth, and who is able to
know the difference between light and darkness. The logic
behind this is that every action is always accompanied by

75
three things: change, misery and impression. For example,
a man may acquire much property. He may look happy, but
there will be acute anxiety in the deeper layers of his mind.
In this way, anything enjoyable is painful in the ultimate
analysis. This psychic pain is at the root of everything.
The first pain is change or parinama, milk becomes curd,
life changes into death. The next pain is acute anxiety, tapa.
Any achievement, success, love affair and so on gives rise to
anxiety at some time. Unfair dealings and illegal business
cause anxiety. The third factor is samskara, or habit. A person
is so used to happiness and luxury that he is afraid of losing
it. He becomes a slave to circumstances and habits, and that
gives rise to pain. Property and wealth become the cause of
anxiety, as one is afraid of losing them. This is usually not
understood by psychiatrists, and they go on enquiring about
petty matters, which may not be the real cause of anxiety.
One should go to the root of anxiety, and only then can it be
removed. It should be understood that everything is painful
at the bottom, if not at the surface.
There is always a conflict between the three gunas and the
mental tendencies, or vrittis. For example, I want to relax; I do
not want to work. This is the demand of tamo guna, but there
is also the thought, “I have to feed my wife and children, so I
have to work.” This gives rise to conflicts. The gunas compel
one course of action, when there is a desire or need to do
something altogether different. Thus there is conflict between
the gunas and the mental tendencies; they never agree. So
long as there is this disagreement, there will be pain. This is
especially true of intelligent, sensitive people. There is always
a conflict at the conscious or subconscious level.
Everything in life is painful in essence. Someone may
not like his job, but he has to do it. A desired change may
not come, which gives rise to pain. Even great and learned
people have mental conflicts. They may read and learn the
scriptures, philosophy, religion or science, but their mind is
not free from conflict. Even a spiritual aspirant experiences
conflict. His mind may wish to have a deeper or different

76
sadhana because he feels dull. He may want to follow
another master or tradition, so there is conflict. Conflict in
the personality proves that everything that one experiences
in the world is full of pain.

Why doesn’t God fulfil all desires and make everyone

happy?
Swami Satyananda: God has given illness, but He has also
given intelligence. If a patient asks the doctor for the
medicine of his choice, will the doctor give it to him? If he
asks for poison, the doctor will not prescribe it. He will give
the medicine that is necessary. If a child wants to put his
hand in the fire, the mother will never allow it. Similarly,
God fulfils some of man’s desires and not others.
Every person definitely has some strength within. One
person becomes a learned scholar and another an artist or
a gifted singer. Why should one be unhappy, when actually
some desires have been fulfilled? If God has given a house,
children and prosperity, why should a person be unhappy
when his father dies? God has given everything else, hasn’t
He? God has given a powerful mind, so why be unhappy?
Unhappiness comes from a person’s mistakes. God does
not give anyone unhappiness or happiness. One should not
accuse destiny and God when the body is ailing, when one
is deserted by one’s lover, or when the situations in life are
hard. One should not say, “God cursed me”. This is an insult,
just as it is an insult to say that a mother punishes her child.
No. A mother loves her child; she cannot punish him, and
God cannot punish you.

What are the forms of suffering?

Swami Niranjanananda: A person suffers when he is unable
to eliminate negative mental stuff. This suffering can take
the form of physical disease, mental imbalance, emotional
or spiritual crisis due to suppression and misunderstandings
in life. Suffering has been divided into three categories:
adhidaivika, adhibhautika and adhyatmika. Adhidaivika

77
suffering is due to natural causes, such as earthquake, flood,
famine, fire and other catastrophes. It stems from cosmic
or divine influences and is beyond the control of a human
being.
Adhibhautika suffering stems from material causes and
is inherent in physical existence. It is generated by wrong
lifestyle and changing situations in the world, which one is
unable to adjust or cope with. It includes most of the diseases
and illnesses that are encountered today. Another form of
this suffering is the fear or threat of other people or beings.
Supposing a tiger were to suddenly appear, everyone would
run away and stay away until the threat had passed.
Adhyatmika suffering comes from within and is due to
spiritual, personal or inner causes, such as insecurity, fear,
anxiety and unhappiness. This form of suffering is related
to the body, mind, emotions and society.

Why does God allow wicked persons to flourish, while

good people suffer?
Swami Sivananda: This is an age-old question, as old as the
world itself. In the Mahabharata, the great Bhishma shed
tears while lying on his death-bed. When asked why, he
replied that the Pandavas were great devotees of the Lord
and always abided by the laws of dharma. Above all, the Lord
was constantly with them in the form of Sri Krishna, and yet
they suffered so much. Some wicked people do flourish in
this world of hypocrisy, but it does not mean that they are
free from suffering. The good souls do not suffer as much
as the ‘flourishing’ wicked ones, for peace is in their hearts.
Abiding by the ideals that they hold sacred is in itself a great
cause of happiness.
The welfare and misery of people can be explained
only by the law of karma. Good persons suffer because of
the mistakes they committed in past incarnations. Wicked
persons, who seem to be well off, are reaping the results of
their past good actions, but later they will have to pay the
price of their present bad ones. The law of karma controls all

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the good and bad conditions of humanity. God is above this.
If God were responsible for the individual state of affairs,
the enjoyment or suffering of every person, God would cease
to be God. A partial God, dishing out favours to some and
withholding them from the others, would be no God at all.
The law of karma is inexorable. Everyone reaps the
fruits of their previous births. A good person may suffer a
lot because he is forging ahead in the spiritual march. Many
of his evil karmas have to be worked out or purged quickly
in order to hasten his salvation in this current life. But God
gives him extraordinary endurance through His grace. An
aspirant or a good man may face many difficulties and
sufferings, but he rejoices, even in suffering and destitution,
due to the descent of the Lord’s grace. He voluntarily
welcomes these sufferings. The single best thing in this world
is pain or suffering, as it opens the eyes to God.
The devotee is certainly not left to the mercy of his
poorva karma, foremost karma; he is beautifully clothed in
the protective shield of His grace. Just as in the worst winter
or most violent storm, those in warm clothing in their house
remain unaffected, in the same way, the devotee does not
feel suffering at all and is ever happy and blissful in His
remembrance, although to the onlookers he appears to be
poor, sick or suffering.

CAUSES OF SUFFERING

How can suffering be defined?

Swami Niranjanananda: The original philosophy of yoga
as expounded by the ascetic Shiva to his disciple and
consort Parvati came about when she asked, “How can
one overcome pain and suffering in life?” To this Shiva
answered, “Suffering is not necessarily pain, but a change
in the static existence of life.” This can be observed in
one’s life. When one is not able to handle change, it is
experienced as suffering, but if one is comfortable with
change, it does not become suffering.

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 It is disturbance in the natural ease and comfort of life
which changes the mental behaviour and emotional makeup.
It changes everything. If the weather is cold, the body begins
to shiver. The natural ease of the body is disturbed and that
is felt as suffering. If sufficient warm clothes are worn, the
cold still exists, but one does not perceive it as suffering.
Anyone who is born into this life and becomes a life
member of this planet is subject to suffering or change. That,
however, is not the problem. The problem is the inability to
adjust to change, due to the association with the senses and
sense objects.

How do karmas and kleshas interact in the cycle of birth

and death?
Swami Satyananda: The afflictions, kleshas, exist in the past,
present and future births. It is said in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras (2:12):
Kleshamoolah karmaashayo drishtaadrishtajanmavedaneeyah.
This storehouse of karmas, karmashaya, which is the root
cause of afflictions, is experienced in the present and
future births.

This means that one’s karmas are caused by these afflictions.

While the afflictions remain, they lead to the experience
of present and future births, for every individual has to
undergo the effects of past karmas. If the karmas are to be
annihilated, it is essential to go back to their source, namely,
the fivefold afflictions: avidya, ignorance, asmita, I-ness,
raga, attraction, dwesha, repulsion, and abhinivesha, fear of
death and the instinct of self-preservation. It is a two-way
process; the karmas cause kleshas and the kleshas give rise
to fresh karmas. With the fresh karmas one accumulates fresh
samskaras, and those samskaras again strengthen the cause
of afflictions. Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:13) also state:
Sati moole tadvipaako jaatyaayurbhogaah.

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 So long as the root of karmashaya, the storehouse of
karmas, is there, it ripens and gives birth, class, span of
life and experience.

As long as the root is there, the tree will flourish. If the tree
is not disturbed, its fruit must also ripen. This life is the tree
and the afflictions are its roots. If the root is cut, that is, if the
fivefold afflictions are removed, naturally this great tree of
life would become lifeless and could produce no further fruit.
The span of life is nothing but different experiences. These
experiences are of three kinds: enjoyable, painful and mixed.
The span of life may be long or short. The birth one takes in
a particular country, society or family is called jati. All these
three things are the fruits of the karmashaya. As every fruit
is connected with the tree, and every tree with the roots, so
the situation of one’s birth is connected with one’s life, which
is the result of the past karmas.
Similarly, the karmashaya is dependent on the roots of
afflictions. If the fruiting is to be stopped, the tree must be
destroyed, and for this, the roots, or the afflictions, must
be removed. So long as there are afflictions, there will be
karmashaya, which will certainly produce its effects. The
causal body, karana sharira, is the sleeping place of karmas
and is rooted in the afflictions. One cannot merely cut down
the trunk of a tree to destroy it. The roots must also be
destroyed. Therefore, the karana sharira and especially its
roots, the afflictions, should be removed.

What is the basis of suffering, according to the Yoga

Sutras?
Swami Satyananda: People think that their miseries are the
only miseries, due to egoistic tendencies. Philosophers and
psychologists have tried to discover the basis of pain and they
have found that pain is not rooted in the present, but in the
distant past. In Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:3) it is said:
Avidyaasmitaaraagadveshaabhiniveshaah kleshaah.

81
 Ignorance, I-feeling, liking, disliking and fear of death
are the pains or afflictions.

According to yoga, suffering is a klesha, or affliction, a

kind of agony which is inside one’s being. Everyone feels
subconscious pain, but the superficial daily activities do not
allow one to be aware of it; otherwise one would see pain
in all its vividness. The outer person is different from the
inner person. One school of psychology, known as ‘depth
psychology’, says that there are various dimensions of human
existence, and that the inner self behaves in a different way
to the outer. While one speaks truth outwardly, one lies
inwardly. The behaviour of the outer person and the inner
person are opposite.
The student of yoga should know about depth psychology,
which says that real happiness is not skin deep. The inner
life may be different to the outer life, so one cannot judge
a person on the basis of his outer life. A rich and educated
person, who appears happy from the outside, may be
extremely unhappy within, whereas a poor and uneducated
man may have happiness and bliss inside.
The kleshas must be viewed from the point of view of
depth psychology. Usually people are never free from the
kleshas. A great yogi can overcome them, but they are found
in all other persons. So long as the kleshas are there, it is
impossible to realize the higher self.

What is the fundamental cause of suffering?

Swami Satyananda: Every karma is capable of producing an
effect; this is a universal law. Karmas accumulate due to
past and present actions. The fruits of bad karmas cannot
be counteracted through good karmas and vice versa. Both
the good and bad effects must be undergone, but there
is a method by which the stock of ancient karmas in the
karmashaya, storehouse of karmas, can be exhausted. There
is one cause of karma that must be avoided in order to
prevent suffering, which is the effect of karma. That cause

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is the union or association of the seer and the seen. In Sage
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:17) it is said:
Drashtridrishyayoh samyogo heyahetuh.
The union between the seer and the seen is the cause
of heya, that which is to be avoided.

There is an identification or association of the seer and

the seen. Suffering starts due to this association. A person
suffers due to his relationships and identification with
situations. Nothing in this world is a cause of suffering.
Everyone is responsible for their sorrows. It is just the
identification with external events which brings grief.
In order to avoid the cause of suffering, one must
understand the process of union between the seer, drashta,
and the seen, drishya, between the subject and the object.
Everyone is familiar with this type of wrong identification.
When one watches a film or stage play, one tends to
identify with the character that is being portrayed and one
experiences corresponding emotions of sorrow, joy, fear, like,
dislike and so on. Although the actors are only playing a role,
one tends to identify with them and forget that one is merely
a spectator. In the same way, purusha is only a witnessing
consciousness, but having forgotten his true nature, he
identifies with chitta and its patterns or modifications to such
an extent that it is difficult to extricate himself.
The cause for the union of purusha and prakriti is
ignorance. It is said in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:24 and 2:5):
Tasya heturavidyaa.
Anityaashuchiduhkhaanaatmasu nityashuchisukhaatma­
khyaatiravidyaa.
The cause of union is avidya. (24)
Avidya is mistaking the non-eternal, impure, negative
and noumenon for the eternal, pure, good and atman
respectively. (5)

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Avidya is a mistaken idea, which has come with the jivatman
from the beginning. Avidya is the divine illusion, a kind of
veil, a defect of psychic vision. This avidya is the supreme
power called maya, which the scriptures have not been
able to define. On account of maya, a veil is created and
through that veil prakriti is born. Avidya is the source of
I-ness, attraction, repulsion and fear of death. Just as the
seed is the cause of the whole tree, in the same way, avidya
is the source of the other four kleshas or afflictions. Avidya
is the parent of them all. From avidya, asmita is born;
from asmita, raga; from raga, dwesha, and from dwesha,
abhinivesha.

How does the sense of I-ness arise?

Swami Satyananda: Asmita, or I-feeling, is an offshoot of
avidya and is defined in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:6):
Drigdarshanashaktyorekaatmatevaasmitaa.
Asmita is the identity of purusha with buddhi.

Generally, the awareness that ‘I am’ is mixed with the

awareness of this existence as the body, mind and actions.
A prince in the garb of a beggar is identifying himself with
the role he is playing; this is asmita. Purusha, the totality
of consciousness, identifies with buddhi, the vehicle. For
example, one sees the bus coming, but really the bus is
being driven by a driver. When purusha is realized, there
is no identification with the body or the intellect. But at
present one is not aware of purusha, and this non-awareness
is asmita.
At a young age, Ramana Maharshi saw his own dead body
in meditation, and he also saw that he was observing his own
dead body. There were three persons: the dead body, the
seer of it, and the seer of that seer. Asmita is the blending
together of this threefold principle. Most people are in
asmita, the feeling of “I am”, which is the identification of
the atman with the lower emanations.

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How do ego and attachments lead to suffering?
Swami Satyananda: People think that they would be happy if
they did not have a family or obligations, if they had a lot
of money in the bank and did not have to work. There is a
tendency to think, “I have to work for my family, parents
and children, and that is why I have so much suffering.”
Work, however, is not the cause of suffering, and interaction
between two individuals is not the cause of suffering. The
consequences of karma are not the cause of suffering. The
cause of suffering is a person’s involvement with his own ego
and attachments.
People feel that happiness and unhappiness spring
from the results of their actions, from the karma, but this
is not true. No karma causes pain. Pain springs from the
attachment to the consequences or the result of the karma.
The mind desires a certain result. There will be no pain
if that desire, that mental impulse, is controlled and the
concern is only with the performance of the karma. It is the
desire that keeps the consequences of karma in the mind,
which has to be renounced. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad
Gita (5:22):
Ye hi samsparshajaa bhogaa duhkhayonaya eva te;
Aadyantavantah kaunteya na teshu ramate budhah.
The enjoyments that are born of action are the generators
of pain only, for they have a beginning and an end, O
Arjuna! The wise do not rejoice in them.

It is human nature to live a life of attachment. This instinct

of attachment is so peculiar that it not only binds one by
attachment to a large property, but also binds through
attachment to a small needle, and the sufferings are the
same. Suffering is not one’s ill luck. When actions are
performed with personal attachment, the suffering starts.
Actions done without attachment will not bear any fruit,
either positive or negative. One who can love everybody in
the world without involving himself will never suffer; one

85
who cannot will suffer. Even if there is attachment to just one
person, there will be suffering. In The Light of Asia by Edwin
Arnold, Lord Buddha says in his first sermon:
You suffer from yourself.
None else compels you.
None other holds you that you live and die,
And whirl upon the wheel, and hug and kiss its spokes of agony,
Its tire of tears, its nave of nothingness.
Suffering arises with the sense of possession. A person stays
somewhere for some days and feels that it is his place. He
stays with a person for ten or twelve years and that person
becomes his. He lives in a house for fifteen years and thinks
it is his. He tills the land for a number of years and feels
that he owns it. Man has a sense of possession, a sense of
belonging; that is called mamta. The human mind is like
a reed that clings if one touches it. If a person stays with
someone or something for a long time, it becomes his habit.
People have all sorts of habits: tea habit, drinking habit,
marriage habit.
God gives and God receives. People are just instruments
of God. They come with a bundle of karmas and return
leaving the results of their karmas behind. They take nothing
back with them. Whatever they earn here will have to be left
behind. Tell me, can any person take anything with him
when he leaves this world? When one proceeds on the final
journey, one does not carry earthly acquisitions. No material
wealth, land or cattle can be taken. The cars, the fleets of
vehicles are left behind. The wife is left behind; she goes
only to the doorstep. The physical body goes only as far as
the burial ground.
Only the deeds performed during this lifetime are
carried on the last journey. Everyone meets the same fate.
Sometimes one lives in a fool’s paradise and boasts of one’s
worldly possessions, but actually no one is great. Everyone
becomes insignificant when reduced to ashes. One comes
empty-handed and will return empty-handed. In between, if

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something is acquired, one claims to be the sole owner and
boasts, “This is mine.” But the fact is that this nest does not
belong to anyone; it is like the resting place of a bird.

How do raga and dwesha cause suffering?

Swami Sivananda: The two currents of the mind, namely raga
and dwesha, attraction and repulsion, are what constitute the
world or samsara. In the Yoga Sutras (2:7–8), raga and dwesha
are defined:
Sukhaanushayee raagah;
Duhkhaanushayee dveshah.
Raga is the liking accompanying pleasure. (7)
Dwesha is the repulsion accompanying pain. (8)

The mind gets intensely attached to pleasant objects through

attraction; it derives pleasure from them. Wherever there is
the sensation of pleasure, the mind is glued to the object that
gives pleasure. This is called attachment, which only brings
bondage and pain. When the object is either withdrawn or
perishes, the mind feels unspeakable pain. Attraction is the
root cause of human suffering.
The mind runs from those objects which give pain and the
feeling of hatred arises. For instance, nobody likes a cobra, a
tiger or a scorpion. Attraction and pleasure, repulsion and
pain coexist. A worldly man is a slave of these two mighty and
devastating currents, which toss him about hither and thither
like a piece of straw. He smiles when he receives pleasure and
weeps when he receives pain. He clings to pleasant objects and
runs away from objects that cause pain. The desire for sensual
enjoyment is deeply rooted in the minds of all. The rajasic
mind is so framed that thoughts of enjoyment of one kind or
another occupy it constantly.
People invent various sorts of subtle enjoyments. Modern
science has made a marvellous contribution towards bringing
forth refined ways of enjoyment. Modern civilization is

87
another name for sensual enjoyment. Hotels, cinemas and
radios intensify sensual enjoyments. People invent new dishes
and new drinks to satisfy the palate. Fashion in clothing and
hairdressing makes vast strides every year. Even the person
treading the path of truth wishes to find more lasting and
intense sensual enjoyments by means of yogic practices.
He wants to move about in celestial cars. He wants to taste
the nectar of immortality underneath the kalpa vriksha,
wish-fulfilling tree, side by side with Indra and other gods.
He wants to hear celestial nymphs and gandharvas singing
and dancing. These are all subtle temptations. The sincere
aspirant will resolutely turn his back on all these refined,
subtle, intense enjoyments now and hereafter. He will treat
them all as vomited matter, as offal, as the urine of a donkey,
or as poison.
This world is full of difficulties and troubles. No one, save
a yogi, bhakta or jnani, is free from worldly miseries and
anxieties. No matter where one goes, it is all the same. Likes
and dislikes are the causes for doing good and bad deeds
which bring pleasure and pain. Thus the round of births and
deaths proceeds from time immemorial due to the six-spoke
wheel of like, dislike, virtue, vice, pleasure and pain.

Do external events in the world cause suffering?

Swami Sivananda: The world can never hurt one. The five
elements are the best teachers and they help in a variety of
ways. The objects created by the Lord are all beneficial. Only
the creation of man brings pain and misery through the five
kleshas. Ignorance is the fertile soil which bears an abundant
crop of the rest. Egoism manifests only due to ignorance.
Egoism is a specific form of ignorance. Wherever there is
egoism, likes and dislikes invariably exist alongside it. The
mind becomes attached wherever there is pleasure. If the
mind likes pomegranate, it becomes attached to this fruit,
as it derives pleasure from eating it. The mind runs after
objects that have been associated with agreeable experiences
in the past. This is attachment due to liking. The mind runs

88
away from objects which have caused pain; this is dislike.
Clinging to bodily life, or fear of death, is born of liking only.
It is nothing but attachment.
The kleshas are the faults of man himself. They bind
him to the outside objects and reduce him to piteous slavery.
The five afflictions remain as tendencies, even when they
are not overtly operating. These afflictions and tendencies
can be attenuated by yogic discipline; the object of yoga is
to weaken them. The five kleshas are stumbling blocks to
the attainment of self-realization. On account of ignorance
people have forgotten their original divine glory, their
true status of godhood and their immortal, blissful, divine
nature. Owing to ignorance the physical body has been
mistaken for the Self. This is the primal mistake, but it is a
serious mistake indeed.
Wherever there is egoism, there is the play of the two
currents, raga and dwesha, attraction and repulsion, or
like and dislike. A person performs actions due to likes
and dislikes, and takes birth in bodies to reap the fruits
of those actions. Avidya or ignorance is the root-cause of
human suffering and tribulation. It is the cause of karma
and rebirth. One can only become free from avidya through
knowledge of the imperishable atman. In this state one is
victorious over death and merges in the immortal sat-chit-
ananda Brahman, the absolute.
One can attain knowledge of the Self by changing the
mental outlook and by purifying the heart and intellect.
The mind, prana, body and senses are only instruments.
The real seer is the Self, who is pure, unchanging, eternal,
self-luminous, self-existent, self-contained, infinite and
immortal. When one begins to identify with this immortal,
all-pervading Self, all miseries will come to an end. The
flame of a lamp destroys immense darkness. Similarly, the
knowledge of the Self destroys ignorance. Therefore, one
should attain knowledge of the Self, become illumined and
go about happily.

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 PAIN AND EVOLUTION

How do pain and suffering help anyone?

Swami Sivananda: Pain is a silent teacher. Pain corrects,
educates and disciplines the soul. It infuses mercy in the
heart. It softens and purifies the hard heart. It develops
willpower. It fills the heart with sympathy. It makes a proud
person humble. Just as iron is shaped on the anvil by heating
it, so also a person’s character is moulded by blows, knocks
and pains. Just as impure gold becomes pure by melting it
in the crucible several times, so also a person becomes pure
by being burnt in the furnace of pain.
Philosophy aims at finding out the cause of this pain and
tries to eradicate the pain by prescribing suitable remedies.
Yet it is this pain that turns the mind of a person towards
God. Knocks and blows of a severe type wean the mind from
sensual objects and turn it towards the spiritual path.
Pain and poverty, evil and misery mould the character
more than pleasure and wealth. Poverty has its own advan­
tages. Censure and blows are better teachers than praise
and honour. Pain is a better teacher than pleasure. Poverty
is a better teacher than wealth. Pain and poverty develop
endurance. Adi Shankaracharya, the greatest philosopher and
genius the world has ever produced, was born in a poor family.
Lord Jesus was born the son of a carpenter. Poor people exert
to achieve greatness, whereas the sons of rich people lead
happy-go-lucky lives of luxury and inertia.
Several knocks immediately produce viveka and vairagya,
change the angle of vision and raise the spiritual fire that
lies within. One learns useful lessons daily through pain,
suffering, poverty, privation and sickness. Pain is the sweet
messenger from God and will turn the mind towards God.

How does one benefit from suffering?

Swami Satyananda: Pain purifies one and, in the same way,
every situation faced in life is meant for one’s evolution.
Suffering is necessary for purification of karma, but nobody

90
likes to suffer. Nobody wants suffering. No one prays, “God,
make me suffer.” Who would ever ask this? People only pray
for a good husband or wife, pretty children, a comfortable
home and everything to be nice: no sickness, no quarrels, no
divorce, no theft, no accident and no death. But this is not
the right way! One should never be afraid of suffering. What
do saints pray for? They say, “God, give me more suffering,
so that I will remember you every minute of the day and
night. God make me suffer more and more, physically,
mentally and emotionally, so that my soul will analyze and
enquire, and thereby become more and more self-aware.”
Those people who have suffered have reached the heights,
and those nations which have suffered have also reached the
heights.
In ordinary life, nobody wants to suffer, but everybody
is suffering. Everybody wants happiness, but nobody has it;
people are always unhappy. Suffering is the basic law of life,
the basic process of evolution. What is evolution? A plant
evolves from a seed, a flower from the plant, and fruit from
the flower. Evolution is the progressive unfoldment of the
essence of everything. Man has to evolve spiritually, not
physically. In spiritual life suffering has to be understood in
the light of evolution.
The suffering that comes into one’s life is meant to
accelerate one’s evolution. If one suffers from physical
disease, one will learn to live in a healthier way. If one gets
into trouble due to misbehaviour, one will learn how to
behave better.
Most of the jivanmuktas, saints, prophets and avatars
had tragic lives. Christ, Rama and Sri Krishna were
powerful people. They could have avoided tragedy, but
they realized that pain was a blessing. Pain is the crucible
for one who wants to become a superman. In the words of
Swami Sivananda: “Pain is a crucible into which Nature
throws a man whenever she wishes to mould him into a
sublime superman.” This applied to Christ, Rama and Sri
Krishna.

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 Rama was born into a royal family with all its riches,
but how was his life spent? For twelve years he lived in the
ashram of his guru, Vasishtha. There he slept on the floor,
tended the cows, cleaned the ashram and worked day and
night. When he returned home after twelve years, he was
married. That was a joyful part of his life. After that, he
was exiled to the forest for fourteen years. Then Sita was
kidnapped by Ravana, and Rama had to organize an army
and fight for her. When Sita was back and they both returned
to Ayodhya after fourteen years, there were scandals and
ultimately Sita had to be abandoned. Isn’t this story that is
told in the Ramayana a tragedy?
What is the story of Christ’s life if not a tragedy? The
life of Sri Krishna was also a tragedy. Before he was even
conceived by his mother he was on the hit-list of Kamsa,
who was his uncle and the king of Mathura. Throughout his
life he was on the run, and in the end he was assassinated.
If these great men were avatars, why were their lives filled
with tragedy? If Christ was the son of God, why did he have
to undergo suffering? Without suffering nothing improves,
nothing grows, nothing evolves and nothing becomes
brilliant or illumined.
That is why sannyasins and monks impose suffering on
themselves if they have no suffering in their lives. They must
live lives of suffering. If one studies the life of Saint Francis
of Assisi, one will know how he suffered.
Many people who were born on this earth have endured
suffering and thereby risen to greatness. Mahatma Gandhi
brought freedom to India without weapons, with dignity,
pride and gentleness, but one fine evening an assassin shot
him. Why do such people experience tragedies? If they were
to avoid suffering, they would set a bad example. Mankind
would also try to avoid suffering. If there is no pain in life, one
should impose suffering and poverty on oneself in order to
purify the mind. Suffering is certainly better than enjoying.
Suffering makes the mind more alert and the body more
resilient. Each and every atom of the physical body, each

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and every thought of the mind is alert. During suffering
the whole body is on an emergency setting. While enjoying
the pleasures of life, bhoga, most of the senses are doped.
Therefore, the great saints and rishis and other awakened
people have chosen suffering rather than enjoyment. They
have always prayed, “Give me more suffering so that I
may develop a better quality of enlightenment!” Here the
purpose of suffering is enlightenment. The suffering is not
important when the purpose is enlightenment.

Why is it that an aspirant may sincerely practise sadhana

and austerities and yet continue to suffer in life?
Swami Sivananda: The Lord gives food even to the frogs
that live between the rocks. Why has He failed in the case
of an aspirant? This is a great wonder! Has He failed in His
duty? This cannot be. He is merciful and benevolent! Is it
because He wants to develop the constructive qualities of
courage, presence of mind, endurance, mercy and love, thus
making His instrument fitter for His divine lila, His divine
play? Yes, this must be the case. The struggling and sincere
aspirant experiences many troubles and difficulties, for he
has to march quickly on the path to reach the doorway to the
kingdom of supreme peace and bliss.
Princess Mira renounced the pomp and glory of the
palace and walked into the burning sands of Rajputana. She
starved on her way to Vrindavan. She slept on the ground
and lived on alms. The Pandavas underwent countless
sufferings, even when Sri Krishna was their companion.
Draupadi was placed in a situation of great distress, even
though she had Bhima, Arjuna and Dharmaputra to fight
for her. Ordinary sufferings are nothing when compared to
the persecutions borne by the five Pandavas, Sri Rama, and
Mira. King Harischandra had to serve in a cremation ground
and do the work of an untouchable to maintain truthfulness.
Suffering develops the will and moulds an aspirant on the
spiritual path.

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Is suffering really necessary on the path of spiritual
evolution?
Swami Satyananda: Who would agree that enlightenment
is possible for those who are involved in gross sensual life?
This may be said in order to encourage people and to draw
them towards spiritual life, but frankly speaking, it is not
true! I may say to people, “Oh, you can lead any life and still
have enlightenment,” but this is not true. There is a process
of enlightenment. There is definitely a road that takes one
to enlightenment, and it takes one through suffering. This
suffering can be considered as penance.
Who will tell people to undergo suffering? A politician,
an industrialist? No. Only the sages and saints, the people
who have a little knowledge about the inner life, have said
this. No monarch, intellectual or shopkeeper has said it.
Only saints and sages with certain intuition have said it.
Naturally, there is no need to doubt their intentions as
they have nothing to do with how society runs. They are
only concerned with how one will get a better quality of
experience and a better quality of enlightenment.

Why should one welcome suffering?

Swami Satyananda: My mother loves me, but if I have a
physical problem, she will have me operated upon. At the
time of the operation, I will cry with pain, but I cannot say
that my mother is cruel. Tulsidas says:
Although the child, while being operated upon,
Feels the pain and cries helplessly,
The mother does not mind the child’s agony,
Her sole aim being to relieve his disease.
In the same way the Lord removes the pride
Of His servant for the servant’s own welfare.
Shaking off all suspicions and doubts,
Tulsidas implores one to worship such a Lord.
What is suffering? Suffering is a blessing in disguise.
Everyone is afraid of suffering, and no one wants to suffer.

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However, suffering is a means of realizing and exterminating
evil karma. It should be welcomed, just as one welcomes
a lifesaving operation. There are people who do not like
suffering, and therefore they feel it more. There are those
who enjoy suffering; thereby they are able to increase their
tolerance and will.
Fortunate was Christ, who was crucified; fortunate were
Socrates and Mansoor. What about Mira and Dayananda?
How unfortunate is a person who finds himself allured
by praise and favours, flowers and merits? Misfortune is
unsurpassed! When trials come to one’s door, one cries
aloud for help to kick them away, but one only kicks divine
chances. Is this understood?

Why is suffering necessary?

Swami Satyananda: Pain and suffering strengthen the
nervous system and make the body and mind strong. This
is the principle, but most people have difficulty accepting
it. Nobody wants to suffer from physical pain, mental
agony, affliction or discomfort. When one is amidst the
pleasures of life, the mind regresses into a tamasic state,
as there is no conflict. The mental conflicts are more or
less resolved or at least subdued, as everything is pleasant.
When one gains pleasure and solace from friendships and
establishes oneself in comfortable situations, there is an
end to physical, mental and emotional evolution. The key
to evolution is conflict.
The mind evolves from the tamasic to the rajasic state
and from the rajasic to the sattwic state. Mental growth is
divided into five stages: dull, dissipated, oscillating, one-
pointed and controlled. These five stages of the mind range
over the three levels of the gunas. The level of tamas is
either predominantly or totally dull. It is dull because it has
no desires, no conflict, no frustrations, no agony, nothing. If
it obtains things, that’s all right; if it doesn’t, that’s also all
right. The mind constantly compromises, so that it can avoid
having to take action, either to attain something or to cope

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with the disappointment. That is precisely why yoga begins
with disappointment, mental depression and frustration.
Everybody has expectations. One expects something
from life, whether one is married or single, a businessman
or a swami, a family man with a steady job or a homeless
vagabond. When a person expects something from life, he
is evolving in one particular direction. If the expectation is
fulfilled, the direction remains unchallenged. When a person
gets what he wants, whether it is money, love, friendship,
power, peace, cooperation or whatever, he just enjoys it, but
it doesn’t help develop any other realm of awareness.
Suppose a person has been working towards a goal
for many years and finally finds it can’t be attained. What
happens? An extra awareness develops within his mind
and takes the form of frustration, mental agony, worry or
conflict. If there is frustration or depression in the mind,
but no conflict, one loses the battle. If there is frustration
and conflict, however, one accepts the challenge. Once the
challenge is accepted, the conflict is followed by struggle. Of
course, struggle is never without conflict, but conflict can be
without struggle. The struggle brings one back and forth and
from point to point.
From time to time people’s ideas and evaluations of life
undergo changes, as they are not decisive about what they
are going to do. One moment they are going to do this and
the next they are going to do that. This means the mind is
confronted by two ideas, and this direct confrontation gives
momentum to the development of awareness and the mind.
When the mind is torn between two ideas, there is definitely
physical and mental suffering. This is a positive experience,
as there is an effort to bring an end to suffering and an
attempt to understand the meaning behind suffering or to
transcend the experience of suffering.
A person who can accept suffering will, therefore, have
deeper and more enduring spiritual experiences. Most
people, however, have weak minds and suffer from infirmity
of will. They want their lives to pass pleasantly and smoothly.

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They wish for amiable friends, obedient children, loving
parents, a friendly society, a luxurious centrally heated house
and a lot of money, as they do not want to subject their mind
to worry. This is called tamoguna, the dull state of mind.
When the mind becomes sattwic, almost one-pointed
or completely controlled, it doesn’t matter whether the
circumstances in life are pleasant or unpleasant. It makes no
difference so far as the evolution of the mind is concerned.
The people who are prepared to suffer are the ones who
survive emotional, mental, social and political accidents and
all the catastrophes of nature. Such people have enabled
mankind to survive for all these millions of years.

Why should suffering be accepted or chosen? What are its

benefits?
Swami Satyananda: Yoga and similar sciences advise people
to expose themselves to a little suffering precisely for the
purpose of strengthening their personal endurance. In
fact, voluntary suffering, tapasya, penance or austerity, is an
essential practice for those who have the conveniences and
luxuries of life, if progress is to be made in spiritual life. Sri
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (18:5):
Yajnadaanatapahkarma na tyaajyam kaaryameva tat;
Yajno daanam tapashchaiva paavanaani maneeshinaam.
Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be
abandoned, but should be performed; sacrifice, gift
and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.

Under this system, people renounce comforts, tasty food,

nice clothes, beautiful homes and live a simple life for a
while. Of course, this cannot be the permanent structure of
life; one just puts oneself through a training period. During
this time, reorientation of the mind takes place. The bad
habits, false values of life and dependent tendencies of the
mind are completely eradicated, and confidence develops.
A person who can tolerate every form of suffering will have

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great confidence. There are many stories about people
who have suffered. They are the ones who enacted deeds
of confidence, which have gone down in history and are
remembered even to this day.
Sadhakas, yogis, swamis and householders should
remember that a period of life must be devoted to self-
imposed suffering. That is one of the most important parts
of yoga. Suffering is the salt of life. Gold is derived only after
entering the furnace. Suffering is not one’s enemy; it is one’s
friend. Happiness comes to destroy one. Spiritual seekers
must understand that God is the only source and the only
support. If He wants one to do sadhana, one should do it. If
He wants one to enjoy life, one should enjoy it. If He wants
one to suffer, one must suffer. One must become His servant.
One has no choice, because a servant has no choice.
After all, why did He send us here in human form? After
evolving through a great many incarnations, we have become
human beings. Yet, even after becoming human, we behave
in the same way as an animal behaves.

What is the positive outcome of accepting pain?

Swami Niranjanananda: Swami Sivananda was fond of the
philosophy of pain and suffering. He felt that through
pain, no matter what form it took, the creative faculties and
energies became manifest. When there is suffering and pain
and the acceptance of pain, willpower and determination will
increase and new methods to transcend the suffering and
pain will be investigated.
To improve the mind, therefore, pain is necessary. Pain
represents the evolutionary process of consciousness. If there
is pleasantness and pleasure all the time, the faculties of the
mind do not evolve, and a kind of stagnation takes place
within the personality.
Pain and suffering are not accepted, as everyone is under
the influence of the vrittis, the modifications of mind, and
always wants something which is pleasant and beautiful. In
the spiritual tradition, tapasya or austerity has been accepted

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as being a means to become physically, psychologically and
spiritually strong.
Only realized souls can use pleasure, contentment and
joy in order to reach higher dimensions of consciousness.
Others do not have that ability and, therefore, at some stage,
acceptance of suffering is a must.

SUFFERING AS A GOAL

What kind of suffering can be avoided?

Swami Satyananda: The present suffering has to be under­
gone and finished, but one can avoid what is yet to come.
According to the law of karma, the present suffering that
has become ripe cannot be set aside and must be finished
by experiencing it, but the future pain and misery can be
changed. It is said in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (2:16):
Heyam duhkhamanaagatam.
Suffering which has not yet come should be avoided.

For example, the harvest that is being reaped cannot be

altered, but the next harvest can be modified by changing
the seeds and other conditions. The bullet that has been
fired cannot be brought back, but the one which has not yet
been shot can be stopped.
Similarly, the future fruits of karma can be modified,
depending on what is done now. In human life there are
certain karmas which become ripe, and their effects must be
experienced in the form of destiny, in the form of happiness
and misery. One should use discrimination, do tapasya and
sadhana, and undergo these karmas. However, the karmas
which are due to ripen in the future may be avoided by
taking right action now. According to the law of karma,
there is one department of karma which is beyond a person’s
control, but there is another department of karma which can
be amended or modified. Thus the sutra declares that the
suffering which is yet to come can be avoided.

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Is it all right to seek relief from present suffering in some
way, or should it be approached differently?
Swami Satyananda: One can turn to God, seek the satsang
of sadhus, go on pilgrimages, undertake austerities or
cry bitterly, but after some relief has been obtained, one
should leave the source and means of such solace. One
unconsciously tries to transcend the pain, to separate oneself
from that experience. That is what happens in yoga. One
separates oneself from the experience of ‘I am’ and becomes
a witness, a sakshi. As a witness, one is always enjoying and
learning everything, but unconsciously. People are in the
school of life all the time, but the tragedy is they don’t realize
it. That is why in every course there is a compulsory test.
The examinations have to be taken: birth and death, pain
and pleasure, suffering and enjoyment, tragedy and comedy.
How does one pass? How does one come out untouched,
unhurt and unscathed?
Sometimes one runs away when wounded, but all one
needs to do is become aware and remain aware of all the
tests that are being taken. During youth, school is attended
formally, but education continues throughout life. In the
classroom one learns about algebra and geometry theorems
and what a triangle and a hexagon are. Similarly, in previous
lifetimes one has already learned about jealousy, love,
hatred, anger and cravings. That knowledge comes in handy
now. All animals and creatures belong to the primary class.
Man is like a matriculate. He is out of high school and on
the threshold of college education. After entering college
on the basis of what he has already learned at school, he
understands more.

Isn’t it better to remove the present suffering, if possible?

Swami Satyananda: Death is better than sacrificing one’s
principles. If someone says, “I will be able to serve humanity
better if I have treatment and get well,” it is egoism. God is
doing everything. Who is anyone to do it? Human beings are
born in the world like kernels of corn on the cob. Thousands

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of people are born and thousands die every second. What
will happen if I or someone else dies? Nothing will happen.
Much better personalities will be born. After all, the world
has not produced only one soul to guide humanity.
Someone may say, “I am undergoing this treatment
for your benefit.” But I would say, “No, I don’t want you
to.” He might say, “That is because your mind is different
and you cannot understand the realities. You speak of
something very high.” Then I would say, “No. I understand
the realities better than you do. Let the suffering come. It is
better to suffer for the sake of one’s principles.” If suffering
is removed by medicine, by yoga, or by controlling certain
laws of nature, a person will be all right for a while. The
prarabdha keeps quiet; the whole process goes underground.
But the suffering comes up again the moment the mind is
disturbed or the body becomes weak; only it is more intense
and keen. Suffering in life cannot be minimized.

How should one look at suffering and happiness?

Swami Niranjanananda: After acquiring a body and mind,
one looks for happiness. That is the law of life; a child looks
for happiness as much as an old person. The main struggle
in life is to be free of suffering and discover happiness.
Everybody makes every effort to experience happiness. The
present mental make-up, however, does not correspond to
the experience of happiness, for happiness is the state of
ananda, bliss. That state of bliss is experienced only by a
mind which is not under bondage.
When the mind is not free, one may get a glimpse of
happiness but will be unable to stabilize its experience. That
glimpse will be followed by sorrow. When one feels happy,
the mind is completely free. How elated one feels; the whole
world shines, the mind feels light, the body feels light, one
is riding on high waves. That is the experience of freedom,
liberation. When sorrow appears, it feels as if there is a
mountain load on top; one feels tied down to the experience
of narrowness and restlessness. The meaning of moksha,

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liberation, is freedom from sorrow. It means to free up that
which is bound. The bondage that ties a person down is not
the senses or the mind. The senses and the mind are always
there. One can be free of the results, the circumstances that
take away the state of happiness, which are the sorrows,
the afflictions, ignorance and fear of death. Karmas are
connected to these joys and sorrows. The gunas and the
instincts are affected by joy and sorrow. Even a tamasic
person will experience sattwa, peace and bliss, when there
is happiness, and a sattwic person will experience tamasic
conditions due to suffering. Therefore, the aim of karma in
this world is the acquisition of happiness through different
means.
God thought of happiness and sorrow, and prakriti
has implanted them in one’s nature. Joy makes one weak,
while suffering awakens the tendency of purushartha, self-
effort. Those who run after happiness remain weak, but
those who endure suffering acquire strength of mind. The
finest achievements in the world have taken place due
to confrontation with suffering, not due to pleasure. If
Siddhartha hadn’t seen human suffering, he would not have
become Buddha. Therefore, the sages say to make suffering
the basis of evolution. The inclination for exertion that will
awaken within, the sattwa that will be acquired as a result, is
unparalleled.
Kunti said the same thing to Sri Krishna at the end of
the Mahabharata war. The great war was over, Yudhishthira,
Kunti’s son, had been crowned king, and there was peace and
prosperity in the kingdom. Sri Krishna decided to return to
his kingdom. He bade farewell to everyone, but Kunti began
pleading with him not to leave. She said, “Now that we have
peace and prosperity, you are leaving, but when we were full
of sorrow, you were always in our hearts. I wish for suffering
always in our lives so we can remember you and always be in
your presence.” Kunti realized that suffering has a spiritual
purpose. When there is suffering, God is present. When there
is happiness, there is separation for Him

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 Who goes towards spirituality, to God and to saints and
sages? Only a person who is unhappy. Suffering brings one
closer to God. Joy and sorrow are due to prakriti, not due
to God. God does not want anyone to be happy or unhappy.
He wants everyone to be content, whatever their condition.
Prakriti manifests as yoga and maya and brings forth both
joy and sorrow. One who achieves the end of desires receives
jnana, knowledge. The rest continue to struggle with pain
and pleasure. Many come to spirituality in search of joy.
Joy and happiness should be experienced, but without
forgetting the aim of life. The aim of life is to free oneself
from bondage so that total freedom can be experienced.

What is the importance of having a goal in order to

transcend suffering in life?
Swami Satyananda: Those people who are suffering due to
lack of intelligence are not going to obtain any spiritual
benefits by suffering. Only those who are dedicated to a goal
can purify the mind, open the doors of perception and be in
touch with the deeper parts of the mind through suffering.
The goal may be spiritual or non-spiritual. There
are sufferings and hardships which people undergo with
a purpose. Many saints, rishis and munis, scientists,
expeditionists, mountaineers, leaders and even astronauts
undergo hardships in life. But these hardships don’t mean
anything to such people, as they have their goals before
them. Marco Polo travelled by the Silk Route to China. It was
not easy to travel from Europe to China in those days; it was
a hardship, but he had a goal in life. The rishis and munis
went to the Himalayas, isolated themselves, took frugal meals
and lived on almost nothing, without wife, children or family.
This was hardship, but they had a goal in view.
A person with a definite goal, therefore, doesn’t mind
undergoing hardship in order to achieve that goal. It is not
that one likes to undergo hardship; nobody likes it. Nobody
should invite it, but while pursuing the goal, one comes
across many hardships. Some people break down amidst

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hardships, but a few survive them. Hardships are worthwhile
when one knows what is to be achieved through them, but
there is no meaning in suffering and hardship unless one
is pursuing a goal. A mountaineer may be left on an icy
mountain peak without a sleeping bag, cigarette or brandy.
That is suffering, but what is important is the goal which he
is pursuing.
However, if sufferings come to a person without any goal
and he accepts them, they will destroy him. Suffering has
destroyed many people and civilizations. Many people in the
world are suffering from starvation or deprivation, but their
suffering won’t give them emancipation or purification. A
person must have a purpose, a goal; otherwise suffering must
be avoided. One should fight such suffering; one should not
compromise with it. Suffering without any goal takes one into
the dark areas of human evolution.
A person with a goal in life does not even recognize pain
and pleasure. A man who decides to start a business may
have lots of difficulties with suppliers, money, employees, or
the government. He does not invite these difficulties; he is
simply pursuing his goal. He wants to make money or produce
something; there may be a selfish or an unselfish motive. In
any case, he undergoes hardship, but this is all right. Such
difficulties are natural and he must bear them.
A wealthy textile merchant in America lost his business
when his store burned down and he became a pauper
overnight. He returned to his home town for a while. One
day he read in a newspaper about the possibility of gold
deposits in the northern part of America. The government
was encouraging different agencies to investigate it. So
he went to the market and purchased a gold detector, a
jeep, some supplies, and off he went. He met with a lot of
hardships in the mountains, but finally he found the gold
deposit. On his way down from the mountain he collapsed
and was picked up by a patrol party. Within three days of his
return, he sold his discovery and became a millionaire. This
is one simple example of hardship with a purpose, even to

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the point of death. There are many other examples of great
warriors, saints and explorers.
In India, there is a love story about Laila and Majnu.
Laila was a beautiful girl and Majnu a handsome young
man. They both loved each other. Majnu wanted to obtain
Laila and he underwent great hardship for that purpose.
There was another couple, Shiri and Farhad, who loved each
other, but the father of the girl said to the boy, “Okay, you
can marry her, but you have to dig a canal, a waterway, from
this place to that place before sunrise.” The whole night
the fellow was digging, suffering hardship, but the goal was
there.

What exactly is meant by a downfall?

Swami Satyananda: I have noticed that many times people
submit to lower situations in life. Perhaps they are exhausting
their karma. After all, everyone has to exhaust karmas,
and not all the karmas are auspicious. What about the
inauspicious karmas? During a certain stage of life, when
inauspicious karmas are being exhausted, it may seem as if
there has been a fall. It is not a question of where someone
is, what he does, or how far he falls. The question is: what
has this event got to do with karma? Even though the mind
is disturbed by the passion of life, a person is simultaneously
plodding along the spiritual path. This is important for
everybody to understand.
As long as a person has a path and a destination in life,
and his energies and pursuits are focused, no matter what
he does, what he is, what he feels, how tragic or wretched he
may become, it is not a downfall. But if there is no path and
no destination, if his pursuits are not focused, even the best
and most noble life is of no consequence. A person may be
charitable, compassionate, helpful, truthful, non-violent and
pure, but if he doesn’t have a path and a goal in life, he is
nowhere.
One must remember, therefore, what a person is striving
for when considering his downfall. A child wants to stand

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up on his two feet, but he falls down. Is this a downfall? No,
it is a process of finding stability in his body. Every time
he falls, he tries to get up again. Maybe he will fall for two
years, but finally he will be able to walk and run fast. Why?
Because he wants to. Everybody should have a path and a
goal, as without these the mental condition will be wretched.
A person with a destination will always remain optimistic.

Why isn’t suicide an effective answer to suffering?

Swami Sivananda: Pleasure and pain in life are the rewards of
the good and bad actions of an individual. If a man suffers,
it reminds him to ennoble his life and make his future happy
through the performance of good deeds, self-discipline
and right effort. When a convict escapes from prison, the
law demands that he should be rearrested and given added
punishment, as he not only committed an offence but tried
to avoid punishment. So it is with a person who tries to
escape from suffering by inflicting death on himself, rather
than attempting to improve his future or accepting what is
beyond help. The person who commits suicide will suffer
further in a spirit body for a period of time, and then take
a lower form of birth to work out his karma. Putting an end
to the present gross physical body by force does not help to
end suffering.
The sufferings and pleasures that are due to a person
because of past actions won’t go away until and unless he
experiences them completely. On the contrary, one invites
more miseries by suicide, for it may take some time to obtain
another gross body in which the effects of past actions can
be experienced. During this interim period, one may have
to move about in the form of a preta or ghost. Besides, one
has no right to take a life, even though it may be one’s own.
Suicide is a crime not only in the eyes of God but also in
the eyes of social law. Both suicide and the killing of other
beings are considered to be great sins, as they block the
course of evolution of the jiva. There is no benefit to be had
by committing suicide.

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What are the spiritual consequences for a person who takes
their own life?
Swami Satyananda: Suicide interferes with a person’s
evolution. This delays the process of spiritual life, as after
suicide one remains in darkness for a long time before being
reborn. The person who commits suicide is always more
attached to the life that he has renounced and left. This
attitude blocks further progress, and the transmigration into
another body becomes difficult and is hopelessly delayed.
Proper rituals must be conducted, therefore, for a person
who has committed suicide to free him from that bondage.
Souls who have committed suicide are invisible, they have
subtle bodies. The use of mantra can help to free them. From
the spiritual point of view, suicide is not freedom from any
problem; it is getting into another problem

If a person does not want to live, what should he do?

Swami Niranjanananda: People who do not want to live have
no focus in their lives. It is necessary for everyone to have
a specific focus, direction or aim in life. One has to strive
and be determined in order to attain that aim; the effort
should not be half-hearted. One should have the sankalpa
shakti, the willpower to achieve what one aspires for in life.
Life is successful and fulfilled when there is a focus. Life has
no meaning when there is no focus. The focus should not
only be on having money, property, good friends and family.
These are not the only parameters of success in life. They are
the outcomes of a person’s effort, wisdom and understanding
and ability to manage situations and circumstances.
Therefore, they cannot be the focus.
The focus should be transformation of the gross nature
of the mind. Whether one is a renunciate or deeply involved
in worldly activities, whether a yogi or a bhogi, a recluse or a
social activist, success in life is attained only when the lower,
gross and animal tendencies have been transformed into
positive qualities. If depression, frustration, dissatisfaction,
social or financial problems become the cause of the desire to

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take one’s life, the soul is not free. The spirit remains bound
by the karmas, samskaras and desires, and that bondage of
spirit is anti-evolution. God does not give individuals life so
that they can take it away. God gives life so one can learn to
cherish, respect and use it for the welfare of everyone.
The members of a family are naturally concerned for
each other’s welfare; that is one stage. The same concern and
care can expand to others, to many people. That is another
stage, where the quality of caring and nurturing expands
to such an extent that the concept of family is not confined
to the few who live nearby such as one’s husband, wife and
children, but encompasses other people who are not one’s
own. In that way attending to the welfare of all becomes a
selfless act and not a selfish act. True happiness comes with
selfless action. There is happiness in selfish acts also, but that
is temporary. Stability of happiness is attained when one is
able to perform a selfless act.
God has given this opportunity, this life, to express the
appropriate human qualities and to become a master of
the environment, situations and circumstances, not a slave
to them. Appreciation of the human qualities, strengths
and weaknesses becomes the trademark of life. When
appreciation becomes the trademark of life and when there
is focus in life, then life is fulfilled.

YOGIC APPROACH TO SUFFERING

Which methods help to overcome suffering?

Swami Satyananda: The great, enlightened people have
all realized the same thing, but the language and symbols
are different. In tantra, it is called liberation, in Buddhism
nirvana, in Christianity salvation. Christianity talks about
suffering; in yoga it is called austerity, in Buddhism
spiritual effort. The terminology is different, the method of
explanation and expression is also different, but ultimately
they speak about the same thing. There is an eternal
existence which is beyond pain and suffering. In order

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to experience this eternal union one has to pass through
various phases of the mind, including dukha or suffering.
Christianity teaches that suffering can be overcome. In
Buddhism there are four eternal truths: (i) there is pain, (ii)
there is a cause for the pain, (iii) the pain can be removed, and
(iv) there is a way to remove it. Similarly, yoga and tantra say
that one suffers if one is far from the self. If one is close to the
spirit, one is not unhappy. The purpose of yoga is to eliminate
the root of all suffering. What is the root of suffering? The
mind is the root of suffering. How to eliminate the root? By
transforming the mind. All the great people and the scriptures
talk about one and the same thing.

How does transforming the mind overcome suffering?

Swami Satyananda: Suffering is known as dukha and enjoyment
as sukha, and pleasure and pain are qualities of the mind.
When the mind is withdrawn in deep sleep, there is no
awareness of pain or pleasure. The experience of pleasure
and pain does not belong to the object, it belongs to the mind.
What is pleasant today can be painful tomorrow, and what
is painful today can be pleasant the next day. No object is
absolutely pleasant or painful. An individual or an object that
one loves today is pleasant, but the same person or object can
give one pain in due course. This is completely dependent on
the mind.
In order to overcome suffering, therefore, one has to
totally transform the mind. Up to a particular point the
mind experiences pain and pleasure, but after some time it
does not. This is the philosophy of suffering. People suffer
on account of the incompleteness of their experience. If one
were able to see more broadly, there would be no suffering.
Desire, attachment, jealousy, fear and frustration cause
suffering. These are the things which should be overcome.
How to overcome desire, fear and jealousy? This is what
must be understood. Just because fear or desires are known,
does not mean that they can be transcended. The mind must
be transformed. Transformation of the mind is important if

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one wants to transcend pain and suffering. When the mind
expands, one transcends suffering.

According to the various traditions, how can suffering be

overcome?
Swami Niranjanananda: Yogis knew that suffering would
increase in the future. Yogis are thinkers who are able
to apply certain aspects of yoga in order to improve the
conditions of normal life. In antiquity, only one tradition
existed. It emphasized the discovery of the inner nature and
harmonizing the inner nature with the outer nature. In this
process people from different parts of the world learned
how to go within and devised practices of meditation,
contemplation and introspection. At the same time they
tried to understand and harmonize the outer nature and to
build a bridge between the inner and outer nature. Their
form of understanding the inner nature was through a
process of worship, going back to nature, appreciating the
environment, worshipping the cosmic forces. They realized
that the cosmic forces are represented inside and the internal
forces are represented in the cosmos. It was a natural and
spontaneous way of life.
Something happened along the way and the spontaneity
of life was overshadowed by another kind of search. That
search was to find happiness and to overcome the suffering
and pain that are encountered in day-to-day life. Overcoming
this suffering became the focal point of many of the ancient
traditions. For example, Buddha spoke about overcoming
human suffering. He spoke about knowing the cause of
suffering, knowing what suffering is and overcoming it. He
said that freedom from pain and suffering can be attained
in the state of nirvana. Many other masters, thinkers and
philosophers also say that evolution in life depends on the
ability to manage and overcome personal, social and cosmic
suffering.
Each tradition evolved a philosophy and set of practices
by which it was possible to find harmony in life. Buddhism,

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Samkhya, Vedanta, Tantra and Yoga all came into existence
as a result of this search. Each philosophy took the idea
of overcoming suffering one step further. Buddhism said:
overcome the suffering which affects the personality, mind
and nature through a process of meditation. Tantra said:
overcome the limitations and suffering by observing life
and by expanding the individual consciousness, so that it
will not be confined to personal experience but will be able
to encompass a broader range of experience. Overcome
the limitations and suffering in life by awakening and
harmonizing both the personal and cosmic forces.
Vedanta said: overcome the limitations of life by realizing
the true nature of the Self. The true nature of the Self is
unlimited whereas all the events and experiences of the
world are limited. The vedantic concept said that truth is
real and the world of name, form and idea is false. This
world does not represent reality but is only a reflection of
the cosmic reality. The reflection one sees in a mirror is not
the real self. In the same way the self sees its reflection in the
world and identifies with the world. The self identifies with
the body and mind, with events and conditions, but these are
only reflections, not the real identity.
Similarly, yoga said that to realize and know the inner self
one has to find a balance between outer and inner life, which
is one’s true nature. These ideas show that the different
traditions and beliefs have only one aim: to improve the
quality of life and to overcome the conditions of the mind
and personality which inhibit the growth of human nature.

How can suffering be endured?

Swami Sivananda: To bear with suffering and accept it as
coming from God, as a blessing in disguise is great wisdom.
Sri Adiguru Shankaracharya said in Aparokshanubhuti (v. 7):
Sahanam sarvaduhkhaanaam titikshaa saa shubhaa mataa.
The patient endurance of all sorrow and pain is known
as titiksha, which is conducive to happiness.

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Those who develop the power of endurance train themselves
to rejoice in suffering. They think that everything is done by
God for their own betterment and upliftment. By welcoming
pain as a messenger of God, they remember Him, and that
infuses more mercy and greater power of endurance in
them. Such persons enjoy real bliss even amidst suffering.
For them, pain will not be pain and suffering will not be
suffering. There will be no necessity for the selfish worldly
struggle to accumulate wealth. Greed and turmoil will vanish.
Such people will rest in peace, they will rejoice within. This
is not the philosophy of the stoics or the teaching of the
pessimists. This is wonderful optimism that goads one on to
realize the deep, abiding, eternal joy and unruffled peace of
the Self within.

What is the importance of adjusting to suffering?

Swami Niranjanananda: One’s perspective and attitude
towards oneself and one’s participation and involvement
in life need to change. Social ills, personal problems and
conflicts will always exist in the world and there is no way one
can avoid or remove them. Therefore, it is advisable to learn
how to accept and manage them. There is no need to look to
the scriptures, to solutions from a counsellor or to the book
of a master or teacher. One just has to work with oneself and
cultivate a different dimension of the personality. This is the
aim of yoga. It allows one to live, just as the soft tongue lives
surrounded by thirty-two strong, hard and biting teeth.
A person who tries to find a solution to pain and
suffering will not find any. The solution, however, comes
naturally when one is able to adjust to it. When one adjusts
to suffering, it ceases to be suffering. There is no such thing
as pain or pleasure; it is only a symptom of adjustment. This
process of adjustment is learned through yoga. One does
not have to alter anything externally: it is only a positive
adjustment in one’s perception of life. In this way, every
moment of the day becomes a practice of yoga, not only
the hour spent in the classroom. If one can observe and

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harmonize oneself, that is the real yoga – observation and
harmonization. Yoga becomes a practice that is performed
every moment of the day. That is the real essence of yoga,
and it has to be combined with one’s lifestyle.

What is the approach of spiritually realized people to

suffering?
Swami Satyananda: Such persons do not care at all for
karmas. They do not worry about where their destiny is
going to lead them or how the karmas will affect them. As
a result, the process of exhaustion takes place more quickly.
For most people suffering seems intense, but for them there
is no suffering. The condition of mind is responsible for the
expression and understanding of pain and pleasure. It is
neither pain nor pleasure that is important. Peace and joy
are one’s heritage, not suffering. The story of Mansoor, the
great Sufi saint, illustrates this point well.
Mansoor often said, ‘Anal-Haq’, which means ‘I am the
reality’. In Islam, they don’t believe that God is within. When
the priests heard him crying, “Anal-Haq” in the morning
hours while they were saying “Alla Hoo”, they asked, “Who
is this heretic who says, ‘I am God’?” They called him to
court and the Nawab asked, “What are you saying?” Mansoor
replied, “Anal-Haq.” First they whipped him a number of
times, but Mansoor went on repeating the japa of Anal-Haq
constantly. So they said, “This man has practised so much
japa he is unable to feel the whips. Now peel off his skin.”
They cut his skin and began to peel it off. At that time the
sound of ‘Anal-Haq, Anal-Haq, Anal-Haq’ came from every
nerve and cell of his body. As long as they went on peeling
off his skin they heard the mantra. Mansoor sacrificed his life
as that was his conviction. He had to do it.

If yogis must also undergo the effects of karma, why are

they said to be beyond suffering?
Swami Satyananda: Ordinary people have to suffer because
they have no control over the fruition of their karmas. The

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yogi, on the other hand, has complete control over the
conditions which give rise to the effects of the karmas. There
is one level of consciousness, one level of karma, one level of
mind that undergoes suffering and enjoyment, according to
the natural law of karma, but there is another level of mind
which is absolutely free. This is the decisive point of yoga
and hence must be understood clearly. Thus, a yogi has two
minds. One undergoes the effects of prarabdha in daily life
and enjoys the good and bad results of his past karma like
ordinary people do. Then the yogi develops another inner
channel in himself called nirmana chitta, which is the higher
vehicle of consciousness, due to meditation on mahatattwa, or
asmita. At this level of consciousness there is no enjoyment
of pain or pleasure. The average person has only the lower
mind, hence he suffers. The yogi, on the other hand, has
neither good nor bad karmas, due to the nirmana chitta.
Kabir has said that nobody is an exception to the rule;
everyone who has a body has to undergo pain and pleasure.
But still there is a difference. While the foolish man of the
world undergoes the effects of karma with sorrow, crying
and wailing, the yogi and the jnani undergo suffering with
absolute knowledge, understanding and power. This is the
secret that most people are confused about. Even a yogi
cannot go beyond prarabdha. No one can escape the law
of karma, but the yogi remains unaffected in the stream of
karmas and their effects on nirmana chitta. Thereby the yogi
discovers the door through which one escapes the cruelties
of life and evolves a new method to face this life.

How can suffering be overcome?

Swami Sivananda: No one is free from pains, diseases,
troubles and difficulties. One has to rest in the divine nature
in order to overcome suffering; only then can strength
be drawn to face the difficulties of life. Everyone is divine
and should try to live up to it by feeling and realizing their
divine nature. Do not murmur when difficulties come.
Every difficulty is an opportunity to develop the power of

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endurance and to grow strong. In this way the difficulties
can be conquered one by one. One must be courageous and
endure troubles with patience.
This is the beginning of a new life, a life of expansion,
glory and divine splendour. Aspire to grow and expand.
Build up all the daiva-sampatti, positive qualities, the
fortitude, patience and courage which are dormant at
present. Cultivate serenity of mind, tread the spiritual
path and realize, “I am the Immortal Self ”. Turn the mind
towards God and never weep, even at the loss of near and
dear relations. Birth and death are two illusory scenes in the
marvellous drama of this world. They are all the jugglery
of maya. In reality, nobody comes and nobody goes. Atman
alone exists. Atman is Brahman, the immortal soul.
In order to overcome suffering always be hopeful and
face all difficulties, tribulations and anxieties in life with
a smile. Repeat the formula, “Even this will pass away.”
Always try to be beyond grief and sorrow. By educating the
will, develop tremendous inner spiritual strength whereby
spiritual progress will be rapid. Allow the waves of love to
arise constantly in the heart and bask in the sunshine of
divine love. Meditate daily and experience the supreme bliss
of eternal life.

What is the importance of equilibrium in life?

Swami Niranjanananda: The spiritual traditions say, keep to
the middle path. Buddha advocated the middle path. He
said, don’t be a rightist, don’t be a leftist (not in the political
sense), but walk the middle path. Don’t walk on the right side
of the road or on the left side; be in the middle from where
both sides can be seen.
The Upanishads have defined this middle path as being
as sharp as the razor’s edge. One has to tread carefully, since
a little slip will cause one to bleed to death. This happens in
life too. If one loses one’s focus and is distracted, the journey
stops there. The intentions and motivations stagnate at that
point and there is no moving forward. Where there is a slip,

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to the left or to the right, the journey ends there. If, however,
one keeps walking carefully, with awareness, maintaining
one’s balance, equilibrium and equipoise, the distance of the
journey can be covered. Therefore, equipoise, samatvam, is
the highest quality of human life.
When equipoise becomes a powerful quality in life, a
harmony sets in wherein one is not affected by desires and
there is no hankering, craving or obsession for a result.
This means that one has to change the conditioning of the
mind. Even a baby hankers for things. Children and young
adults desire other things. As one grows up, the world
is viewed differently. As more experience is gained, the
world is understood in a different light. This is the process
of maturity. In each state, in each condition of life, there
needs to be understanding of that particular condition, that
particular desire and that particular need for the fulfilment
of an expectation. This hankering after fulfilment is the
cause of happiness or suffering, resulting in a self-oriented
awareness.
People are so self-oriented that they often reject and hide
from their own weaknesses as well as their own light. If there
is one thing that a human being is afraid of in this world,
it is their own luminosity. All desire luminosity, but when
confronted with luminosity they say, “Enough.” It happened
to Arjuna. He said to Sri Krishna on the battlefield, “Show
me your cosmic form.” When Sri Krishna showed him the
cosmic form, Arjuna said (11:45–46):
Adrishtapoorvam hrishito’smi drishtvaa bhayena cha
pravyathitam mano me.
Tadeva me darshaya devaroopam-praseeda devesha
jagannivaasa.
Kireetinam gadinam chakrahastam-ichchhaami tvaam
drashtumaham tathaiva.
Tenaiva roopena chaturbhujena sahasrabaaho bhava
vishvamoorte.

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 I am delighted, having seen what has never been seen
before; and yet my mind is distressed by fear. Show me
Your previous form only, O God! Have mercy, O God
of gods! O abode of the universe! (45)
I desire to see You as before, crowned, bearing a mace,
with the discus in hand, in Your former form only, having
four arms, O thousand-armed Cosmic Form! (46)
Arjuna begged Sri Krishna, “Please come back to your
normal form, I like that one better. I can identify with that.
I can’t identify with your cosmic form, I can’t identify with
your luminosity. I can identify with you when I see you as
myself.”
The gunas associate with karmas and give birth to the
experience of joy and sorrow. Joy and sorrow are associated
with success and failure. Finding a balance between the two
is yoga. If there is inner balance in the success and failure
of karmas, it is karma yoga. If there is inner balance in the
success and failure of the intellect, it is jnana yoga. If there is
inner balance in the emotions that flow towards desires and
aspire to flow towards God, that is the beginning of bhakti
yoga, and if the principle of balance is applied to the body,
hatha yoga can be mastered.
Balance is a state of mind, not a practice of yoga.
Therefore, the first yogic sadhana should be acquiring
balance, harmony and equanimity. Asana and pranayama are
physical practices. The internal sadhana should be the effort
to achieve equanimity. This can be done through japa, mantra,
observation of the mind, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana,
kundalini yoga, kriya yoga – there are many practices. These
are all methods, but there comes a time when knowledge is
achieved and one’s karma becomes attached to yoga.

Is it possible to minimize suffering through yoga?

Swami Satyananda: Suffering in life cannot be minimized,
but the awareness of the suffering can be minimized by
desensitizing some of the neurons in the brain and by

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elevating the consciousness and the responses of the mind.
The same suffering comes to me now that came twenty
years ago, but now I do not feel the pain as my awareness
is different. Before I was weeping and wanted to commit
suicide, but now I am unaffected. The suffering is the same,
the person is the same, but in different periods, under
different conditions, it is felt more or less. Even a jivanmukta
suffers due to prarabdha, but he does not feel it, as his
consciousness has been elevated to such a great height. An
ordinary man undergoes the same suffering, but he weeps
and cries and may even lose his mental balance or commit
suicide. In the Bhagavad Gita (6:23), Sri Krishna says:
Tam vidyaad duhkhasamyogaviyogam yogasanjnitam;
Sa nishchayena yoktavyo yogo’nirvinna chetasaa.
Let severance from union with pain be known by the
name of yoga. This yoga should be practised with
determination and with a non-despondent mind.

When suffering comes in any form, it should be accepted

as a challenge, and an effort should be made to maintain
steadiness of mind, intelligence and judgement. If the
suffering is terrible, it is even more necessary to elevate the
condition of the mind than to simply treat the body. One
only has to elevate the mind and nothing else. If the mind
does not suffer, the body also does not suffer. If the sufferings
are so intense that one is unable to bear them, they must
be suffered in the spirit of total surrender, resignation and
patience – not with a view to getting better, but with a view to
surrendering and being patient in the name of the supreme
being, God or Purusha.
If someone says, “I have a headache,” I say, “Do not take
medicine. Practise surrender, resignation and patience.” One
should be able to bear the difficulties in life with the same
spirit. That is the path of the gods, not the path of ordinary
men. All the scriptures on bhakti speak of surrender,
resignation and patience. It is the sum total of what they had

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to say. Were they all wrong? Well, logically maybe, but not
as far as reality is concerned. There must have been some
reason behind what they said. The people who wrote the
scriptures were not unreliable. The ultimate truth is always
spoken by the seers and saints, who have come to different
countries at different times and with different names, but
with one voice.
There must be one principle in life. My principle is
surrender, resignation and patience, as that is what I have
learned from the seers. Everybody should have a strict
principle in life. A person must say, “No, I surrender to God.
Let His will be done,” and he must practise it from moment
to moment. There might be failure. I have failed a number
of times. It is not possible to be one hundred percent true to
one’s convictions, and I am aware of that. But still I should
practise, as I know that the trial will come, and at that time
I must also do my best to practise this principle at every
moment.
I believe in the will of God, not in the will of people.
The will of the Lord reigns supreme, and this will goes
on through me and through everyone. I do not know the
will of God but I surrender, I resign, I let it be, that is all.
Everything that happens is the will of God.

Is one’s karma affected when helping someone who is

suffering?
Swami Satyananda: Helping others is good karma; it
eliminates the karmic stock and purifies the mind. If a close
relative is suffering, it is natural to feel sorry, but suffering
on behalf of a stranger shows unselfishness. It also means
the individual personality has been transcended, which
is why there is feeling for the stranger. When one feels
the suffering of one’s own people, it is called sympathy,
but when one feels the suffering of others, it is called
compassion. Mercy without selfishness is compassion, and
mercy with self-interest is pity or sympathy.

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What is the best way to remove suffering and bring
happiness to others?
Swami Sivananda: One cannot completely remove all the
suffering from this world. Just as in gout and rheumatism
the pain and swelling shifts from one joint to another, so
also if suffering is eradicated in one place, it manifests in
another. The world is crooked. It is like the tail of a dog. So
many avataras, yogis, acharyas, saints and prophets came
into the world and preached, but still it is crooked, still it is
in the same state. Therefore, one should not bother much
about reforming the crooked world. This can never be done.
One should reform oneself first, and then the whole world
can be reformed.
How can one help the world when one is weak and
ignorant? It is like one blind man leading another blind man.
Both will fall into a deep abyss. The greatest help or service
that can be done in the world is imparting the knowledge of
God. Spiritual help is the highest help that can be rendered
to mankind. The root cause of human suffering is avidya or
ignorance. Only if this ignorance is removed can people be
eternally happy. That sage who tries to remove ignorance
is the highest benefactor of the world. If a person removes
the hunger of another by giving food, it is only temporary
physical help. The physical need is removed for three hours,
then the hunger manifests again and the man remains in the
same miserable state. The building of hospitals, rest houses
and kitchens for the distribution of free food is not the
highest kind of help. Miseries are not eradicated. The world
will continue to remain in a miserable state even if one builds
many hospitals and hostels.
One should obtain brahmajnana, divine knowledge, and
distribute this knowledge everywhere in order to remove
ignorance in people. Only then will all kinds of miseries,
tribulations and evils be completely eradicated. Happiness
does not come from wealth. The western nations are quite
restless despite their enormous wealth. From this it can be
inferred that spiritual life alone can give real, everlasting

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peace and happiness. Yoga removes all sorts of pain, misery
and tribulation. It gives freedom from the rounds of birth
and death with their concomitant evils of disease, old age
and other sufferings. It bestows all the divine powers and
final liberation through super-intuitional knowledge. The
propagation of yogic and spiritual knowledge removes
ignorance, eradicates human sufferings and gives eternal
happiness. It is the crowning glory of human activities. This
is the greatest yajna or yoga. This is jnana yajna, the highest
of all yajnas.

How do divine life and God’s grace help one to overcome

suffering?
Swami Sivananda: Divine life is life in God or the immortal
soul. He who leads the divine life attains immortality,
perfection, freedom, independence, eternal peace, supreme
bliss and perennial joy. He radiates joy, peace and light
everywhere. He is free from cares, worries, anxieties,
miseries, sufferings and tribulations. He is not troubled.
He feels Lord Shiva’s grace and mercy at every step. He has
perfect unswerving faith in His grace. All difficulties will melt
away like mist before the sun.

How can one find true, lasting happiness in life?

Swami Satyananda: To find the path of happiness, one should
catch hold of the present without attachment and without a
sense of possession. Nothing except the present will come
to the rescue, to help. Understand this completely and
remember this basic principle: “One who catches hold of the
present, attains everything.”

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 4
Health and Disease

DEFINITION OF HEALTH

What is health?
Swami Sivananda: Health is a state wherein the mind and all
the organs of the body work in harmony and concord. The
person enjoys peace and happiness, performing life’s duties
with comfort and ease.

What is the yogic concept of health and disease?

Swami Satyananda: Yoga is a science of human health. In yoga,
health is not limited to the body, but it includes the overall
condition of the body, energy, mind, intellect, emotions
and psyche. High blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatism,
arthritis, lumbago and such are not the only kinds of
diseases. Depression, jealousy, anger, agitation, dissatisfaction,
restlessness and inability to concentrate are also diseases. In
this broad view of health, the area of therapy is not limited;
rather it applies to all aspects of human life.

How does yoga define health?

Swami Niranjanananda: Yoga sees health not merely as the
absence of disease from the body, but more as the ability
to manage deficiencies, illnesses and imbalances in the
physiological, psychological and spiritual dimensions of
human life.

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 The concept of yogic health is defined in the word
swasthya. Swasthya is derived from the Sanskrit word swa,
meaning ‘self, the personal or individual self ’, and sthah,
meaning ‘to become established in’. Therefore, swasthya
which has been broadly translated as health, means being
aware of the nature which is manifesting at present in the
body, personality, behaviour, thoughts and actions. Lack of
self-acceptance is the basic cause of disease, whether it be
physical or emotional.

What is the approach to health in yoga?

Swami Niranjanananda: The concept of health in yoga is to
realize the natural stamina, strength and ability of the body,
mind and emotions. As one comes closer to the natural
self, the functioning of the organs improves and there are
fewer imbalances in the nervous and hormonal systems or
in the emotional structure. Disease can be overcome by
correcting such imbalances. This approach is both effective
and beneficial for physical health. With regular practice of
yoga, people do not become sick so easily. Of course, it is
natural to have an upset stomach, diarrhoea or constipation
occasionally, but that tends to be the extent of illness in a
practitioner of yoga. If the lifestyle is balanced, and one
remains at ease with oneself, there is simply no place for
disease.

Who is a healthy person?

Swami Sivananda: In a healthy person the three doshas or
humours of the body: vata, wind, pitta, bile and kapha,
phlegm, are in equilibrium. Health is that condition in which
the appetite and digestion are good, and the breathing and
pulse are normal. There is a good quantity and quality of
blood and the nerves are strong. The mind is calm and stable
in a sound body. There is free movement of the bowels and
normal urine. There are rosy cheeks, a shining face and
sparkling eyes. Health is that state in which a person jumps,
sings, smiles, laughs, whistles and moves about hither and

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thither with joy and ecstasy. In that condition one can think
and speak properly and act with clarity, nimbleness and
vigilance. Health is the birthright of humanity, not disease.

Why is good health important?

Swami Sivananda: Life without good health is a miserable
condition, even if one is the Lord of the whole earth. The
state of good health is coveted by all. A life with good health
is a great blessing indeed. Good health is needed in order
to achieve the four kinds of efforts or purushartha: dharma,
righteousness, artha, wealth, kama, desires, and moksha,
liberation. Each purushartha follows on from the last: by
virtuous deeds wealth is gained and with wealth worldly
desires can be gratified. Once these three needs are met,
liberation of the self can be attempted. Without good health,
these needs of life cannot be progressively fulfilled.
Nishkama karma yoga, selfless service, cannot be performed
without good health. One cannot do asana and pranayama
without good health. This body is a boat to cross the ocean
of samsara, the cycle of births and deaths. It is an instrument
for doing virtuous deeds and attaining moksha. An aspirant
needs to be free from adhi and vyadhi, diseases of mind and
body, if he wants to do karma yoga and attain knowledge of
the higher self.
The attainment of atmajnana, realization of the identity of
the jiva, the individual soul, and Brahman, the supreme soul,
alone can put an end to the wheel of birth and death with its
concomitant evils of disease, old age, pain, suffering, worries
and the various other trials of life. Atmajnana alone can give
unalloyed eternal bliss, supreme peace, highest knowledge
and immortality.

How is good health linked to karma?

Swami Sivananda: A person enjoys good health on account
of good karmas done in the previous birth. The person who
has done meritorious services in his previous incarnation,
who has shared what he had with others, who has helped

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the poor and the needy, who has done worship, meditation,
yogic kriyas and pranayama in his previous birth, enjoys
sound health in this birth. The law of causation is unyielding
and unrelenting.

CAUSE OF DISEASE

What is the cause of disease?

Swami Satyananda: Everyone is involved in life through
connections with family, children, property, job, business, and
so on. Whatever happens in the family, business or society has
repercussions on the individual. A person’s health depends on
how such repercussions are received and accepted. Sometimes
things are pleasant and sometimes not. Sometimes people
bring happiness and sometimes not. Everything has an effect
on the mind, and the assimilation of that effect is called
karma, which results in suffering and disease.
Migraine, diabetes, high blood pressure, gastritis
or slipped disc are really the effects and influences of
relationships with one’s family, friends, job or profession,
which have contributed to these disease states. The cause of
disease is found not only in viruses, bacteria or hereditary
principles, but also in the way the personality has reacted to
favourable and unfavourable situations in life.
For example, a child that was wanted for many years is
born and the parents are very happy. But after two years
the child dies, and its death leaves an effect on the parents’
minds. These effects are not merely psychological; they also
penetrate into the physiology and can develop into asthma
or even cancer. Medical doctors are consulted for treatment,
but they don’t understand that the events of life can cause
disease. Conditions such as gastritis or peptic ulcer are not
necessarily due to physical causes. Many states of disease are
due to the ‘bacteria’ issued by the individual’s personality
and philosophy.
This may not be the usual way of thinking, but yogis
think this way. Many ordinary diseases, including insomnia,

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depression, loneliness, and frustration, are actually due to an
improper, unscientific, and unyogic relationship with life.
The following analogy helps in understanding the role of
unconscious impressions. A movie camera placed outside a
building will record everything that happens within its range.
At any time a particular frame of the film can be viewed; for
example, a photograph of a crime that took place within the
range of the camera. The police can use the photograph
to catch the criminal. In the same manner, everything the
brain perceives throughout a person’s life is photographed,
significant or insignificant, good or bad. Everything is
recorded without exception, and all of this information is
stored in the collective unconscious.
Scientists say that atoms bounce back and forth from
each and every personality and one ceaselessly acquires
impressions in this way. What happens to these impressions?
Do they die? Are they lost? If they are lost, how does a person
remember them or dream about them? One is able to see,
reproduce and re-enact these impressions again, and that is
proof that they are not lost. Maybe a few impressions become
mingled with other major impressions. Maybe some are
more powerful and intense while others may be secondary or
insignificant. Yoga, however, says that all of these impressions
are indestructible karmas.
In yoga, therefore, the word karma signifies not only
action, but also the impressions of life, the impressions
gained by the mind from objects through the senses. These
impressions assume a shape and may be linked to the spirit,
the ego, the psyche or the body. At any given moment,
particular impressions are triggered and they surface.
One does not know how this happens, but an insignificant
experience in childhood or youth may ultimately result in a
serious disease. It is clearer if one talks of physical disease,
ego disease, psychic disease and spiritual disease.
Spiritual diseases are very obstinate, and there is no
system of diagnosis for them. Even psychic diseases are
difficult to diagnose. In yoga, the mind is considered to be

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an energy force. Just as energy can be spoken of in terms of
voltage, amperes or watts, in the same way, the mind is seen
as a force or energy. It is very difficult to decide whether
an infirmity is mental or physical. In yoga, the problem
of disease is considered holistically. If one has a physical
disease, yoga says there is a mental cause.
Mental diseases are complicated. Just knowing about
them is not enough. If there is fear, it is necessary to discover
the cause of the fear, but how? It is difficult to find the cause.
If something goes wrong in the family or in the business,
a person becomes anxious. When asked why he is anxious,
he replies, “My family is not doing well or my business is
not doing well.” That is all he knows, but this is only the
apparent cause. The person who is suffering does not know
the real cause of his anxiety, as it is rooted in the karma from
his childhood, or maybe from his previous incarnation.
How can anyone know what his karmas are? How can one
even know what happened in childhood? When a person
was a child in his mother’s lap, in his mother’s womb, or in
a previous incarnation, so much happened. All those things
are registered in the mind, and they are the real and deep-
rooted cause of the anxiety that is suffered today due to some
failure in family and business.

According to the theory of karma, what is the origin of

disease?
Swami Niranjanananda: Disease is both sanchita, accumulated
karma, and kriyamana, current or fluid karma. If one decides
to live in a heavily polluted place and develops lung cancer,
or if one decides to live in a clean place and be healthier, that
is kriyamana karma; it is a choice. What one is subjecting
the body and mind to is kriyamana karma. Disease is not
destined. It occurs in the process of moving towards death.
Transformations, weakening or strengthening of an organ of
the body or an area of life, happen continuously.
If one is in bed for a month, the muscles become weak
and the circulation is affected. When one tries to stand up,

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there is trembling. When one tries to walk, the legs can’t
support the body, but gradually, with use, they become strong
and again support the whole body. Therefore, the body goes
through its biorhythms. Ageing is a biorhythm of the body,
and disease is a biorhythm of the body.

According to the theory of karma, how is illness

categorized?
Swami Niranjanananda: Yogis have recognized that it is
impossible to become disease-free. A person who takes
birth is subject to vyadhi, illness, and old age, jara. Vyadhi
is a natural condition of the body. Illness, disease and
disharmony are the natural conditions of the body when it is
interacting with the environment, with nature, with society
and with the prevailing circumstances. Therefore, being the
nature of the body, illness cannot be totally eradicated. Illness
has been broadly categorized in three groups: adhibhautika,
adhidaivika and adhyatmika.
In the context of health, adhibhautika means diseases
coming from outside due to external conditions, such as
environmental and dietary factors, pollution, viruses and
germs. Bhautika means the material dimension, the external
dimension. In relation to illness and disease, adhibhautic
means looking at the external environment: the soil, air,
water, the elemental causes of problems like pollution.
Adhidaivika is destined ill-health. It can be said to be
genetic; it becomes part of the body and of one’s destiny
from the time of birth. Daivika here does not mean divine,
but something that human beings have no access or control
over. It is beyond the range of human effort. Plague,
natural calamity, floods, volcanic activities and earthquakes
also become factors which give birth to new illnesses and
diseases.
Adhyatmika means something which is coming out of
one’s own being due to either unconscious psychological
frustration or emotional tension. The source is within one’s
self. Atmic means spiritual, adhi means stemming from.

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Adhyatmika means stemming from the self, karmic, genetic,
inherited samskaras, plus the unconscious, psychological
imbalances that one experiences.

How does karma manifest as ill health?

Swami Satyananda: There are three important ways in
which karma manifests as ill health. The first is when a
disciple’s illness is taken on by the spiritual master, such as
Ramakrishna, Christ and others. In that case it is not their
karma. They are without karma, but they take on the karma
of their devotees due to compassion.
The second way occurs within a family. Whatever
happens in the family affects the other family members.
Whatever the wife, husband or children do affects the
other family members. Similarly, if something happens to
a person’s business, job or property, he is affected by it.
This may not affect everybody in the family, but it will affect
those who take the karmas of the family on themselves.
Of course, one does not want to do this but it happens
through a spontaneous process of thinking. There is so
much cancer and heart disease because family members
take on the karma of the person they are attached to. This
is the second phase of sickness: it is not necessarily that
person’s karma, but it is the karma of the family members.
The karma of others can be taken on through attachment
and identification.
The third way that karma manifests as sickness is through
the expression of personal karma. An individual’s karma can
cause a disease. A person’s thought can create a disease, his
food can cause a disease. The personal karmas may belong
to this life or to a previous life. Medical science says that a
disease can be inherited from previous generations. Today
a person’s DNA can be analyzed and it can be determined
when the disease originated, maybe four or five generations
back. Even though someone may be living a very good life,
the karma of a previous life or a previous generation can
create disease in him today.

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 MANAGING ILL HEALTH

What is the role of disease?

Swami Sivananda: Diseases are karmic purgations. They
are guests of this house, this physical body. They are sweet
messages from Mother Kali.

What is the purpose of disease?

Swami Satyananda: According to yogic philosophy, disease is
a process of elimination of karma. The purpose of disease is
not suffering; the purpose is to expel the toxins of karma, just
as toxins are expelled by diarrhoea, abscess or fever. When a
person is suffering from sickness, he should understand that
his karmas are being released. If he thinks properly at that
time, the disease will create new wisdom and insight.
Sickness must be gone through as it is the process by
which nature expels toxins. If the natural release of these
poisons is suppressed, nature will try to push them out by
force through a fever, for example. Illness must be treated
very systematically. All kinds of sickness should be treated,
whether insomnia, schizophrenia or a physical disease. But
the treatment should not obstruct the law of nature, as nature
is an all powerful and omnipresent force. Nature controls the
entire universe by certain laws which are inexorable. Nature
is a very organized system with invisible laws. Behind all
sickness, there is a karmic law.

Is seeking medical treatment interfering with the ex­

pression of one’s unalterable prarabdha karma?
Swami Satyananda: Those karmas which are being considered,
which are not yet fixed, can still be changed. Medical
treatment can come under the category of prarabdha in the
making. When someone falls ill, that person stops eating.
This can be considered a form of treatment, but it does not
interfere with the prarabdha. It interferes with the karma
that is not yet fixed; that is the difference. Nothing can
interfere with the prarabdha because everything in that area

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is already marked, decided and destined. The things come
up as they have been written. The small person thinks that
he is changing these laws, but he is not.
He should change his present habits and lifestyle, but
without interfering with the prarabdha, which is the cause of
his suffering. The prarabdha should be allowed to exhaust
itself without suppression, then the illness will go away and
not return.

When you were ill, why didn’t you seek medical treatment?
Swami Satyananda: I stand by my own principles and
convictions. Even if I get a bullet in my side, it will remain
as it is. I don’t mind – I have faith in myself. I have set
convictions and I will never go one inch this side or one
inch that side, even if the whole ashram is burned down. I
have lived by these convictions for years and years together.
If my bones had been broken, I would have lived with that
condition throughout my life. That was one contention I had
with my guru throughout my ashram training. I said, “No
doctor should enter my room.” I don’t like it when somebody
talks about a philosophy but does not practise it. When one
knows there is some higher power at work, why does one take
a different view in practical life?
I have always been true to this conviction, from the very
beginning. In 1944 when I had an attack of tuberculosis, my
left lung was not functioning, but still I refused to be treated.
I was to be sent to a hospital, but I said, “No. I may die, but
I will not go to the hospital and get treated.” It came to me
unconsciously at that time, but now I am conscious. Due to
my condition I had to leave the ashram for some time, so
I went to Rishikesh. It was a hopeless place as far as food,
shelter and atmosphere were concerned. I ate rough rotis,
half baked and half unbaked. Every day I would eat eighteen
to twenty double-size rotis with ten to fifteen green chillies. I
think it was the green chillies that saved my life. If anything
at all could have interfered with my karmas, it was the green
chillies. In three months I was all right.

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 Normally, if one goes to a sanatorium, it takes two years
to recover from tuberculosis. I decided I would not go to a
sanatorium, even if I had a little money. I said to myself, “I
will not take any medicine, and as long as I am alive, I will
just eat whatever I can get.”

If somebody breaks a leg, isn’t it better to put it in a plaster

cast and let it mend rather than becoming an invalid?
Swami Satyananda: I can understand this viewpoint, but
others will never understand mine. With this viewpoint,
suffering will continue lifelong, but with my viewpoint,
suffering will never be nearby. It cannot come, as prarabdha
karma is afraid of a person who wants it. However, if a per­son
dislikes a particular karma, it will come with greater force.
If a person is afraid of illness, it will strike much sooner. If
one tries to avoid the prarabdha karma, it will come with
redoubled force. That is the law of karma.

If physical suffering is due to past karma and serves a

purpose, why should one alleviate it at all?
Swami Niranjanananda: Lord Buddha used to say that the
entire world is suffering, and nirvana is liberation from that
suffering. Certain theories say that suffering is a reflection
of past actions. Nobody disputes that. But if one analyzes
one’s situation in life according to the concept of evolution
and growth, it can be seen that suffering is the instrument
by which one evolves. It is the catalyst for evolution. If there
were no suffering, there would be no search for health and
peace. If there were no disease, there would be no medicine.
In the normal evolutionary process, suffering becomes the
catalyst for growth and change and, therefore, it becomes a
natural law.
If suffering in this life is due to one’s prarabdha karma or
past karmas, and one wants to purify it, why worry about the
suffering? There are, however, only a few people with that
mentality. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was one such person.
He said, “I have throat cancer and I can ask the Mother to

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help me, but I won’t.” There was an acceptance of suffering.
He said, “No, I am not going to do anything about it, as I
know that it is my karma.” Only a few people can have that
approach and suffer the pain with happiness.
Humans are weak individuals, always in search of a state
of comfort. In the search for comfort, pain and suffering
are avoided. As long as the mind is weak, an effort should
be made to overcome the suffering, as mental weakness will
enhance and increase the potency of the suffering. The effort
one is making to improve and alleviate the suffering is more
mental than physical. When an effort is made to overcome
suffering, one is dealing with the mind and managing the
fear. Once fear goes away, disease will run its course, without
increasing or intensifying.
Yoga helps people to reorganize and rebalance their
system. Once that is done, disease will run its natural course
and be eliminated fast.

As the fulfilment of karma is necessary for spiritual

evolution, should one undergo an organ transplant in
order to overcome a diseased condition, or would this
interfere with the process of karma?
Swami Satyananda: If a person requires an organ transplant,
why not do it? It would be better to live on and practise yoga
in this life rather than wait for the next life. The full span
of human life is one hundred years. Every machine has a
warranty period of one year, five years or ten years. This
body can live for one hundred years, if a person looks after
it well. Therefore, transplanting the heart or another organ
is not against the injunctions of yoga, but one must make a
sankalpa to live an absolutely spiritual life.

Would the donation of an organ interfere with the karma

of the recipient?
Swami Satyananda: The karma of the recipient is to receive
the organ and the karma of the donor is to give it. Destiny is
not so rigid that donating an organ means interference with

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karma. Let me make it clearer. A man was blind and he died.
During his lifetime he remained blind because the scientists
and medical doctors had not discovered how to work with
that particular law of nature by which he could see again.
But once that law of nature is understood and it becomes
possible to have a cornea transplanted from one person
to another, the blind man can be made to see. The laws of
destiny, therefore, are not that rigid.
The person who donates the organ has not destroyed the
logical formation or process of destiny. He has added a new
dimension to a man’s life. He has added an amendment to
the rigidity of destiny. Maybe in a few years time it will be
possible to keep a man alive for two thousand years! This is
not playing with destiny or the law of nature it is working
within the framework of nature. Nature is a process where
there is a lot of potential and possibility, but there is no
intelligence in nature. Nature or prakriti is a law, a system,
with no individual intelligence. Purusha is intelligent – that
is the point.
Nature keeps on moving, therefore, just as it always has,
unless somebody reveals a new law, as the scientists have been
doing in many ways. They have discovered and understood
many of the laws of nature, and by doing so they have altered
the rigidity of destiny. Man can live for two thousand years
– it is possible. The physical body can become immortal. This
may not be wished for, but it is possible.

Is the donation of organs accepted in the East?

Swami Niranjanananda: If it is certain that someone is dead,
their organs can definitely be donated. When an old car is
taken to the dump, the reusable parts are removed. The
unusable parts are crushed together, packed and sent for
recycling. Similarly, if other people can be helped with the
same parts one has used, there is no harm in giving them,
provided the parts are in good working order. If one is in
good health and the body mechanics are in full working
order, donation of organs, ang daan, is considered to be the

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greatest form of charity. Ang daan is the gift of a physical
body part and it is also accepted in eastern thought.

How should a karma yogi look after the health of the

physical body?
Swami Sivananda: A karma yogi should have a sound, healthy
and strong physical body. How can an aspirant serve others
if he has a poor physique? Regular practice of asanas and
pranayama, physical exercise and nourishing food taken at
regular mealtimes are necessary to keep up a high standard
of health. The karma yogi should take great care of the body,
but should not have the least moha or attachment to it. The
karma yogi should never think of this body as ‘mine’, for
even jackals and fish will claim, “this body is mine”. The
karma yogi should be ever ready to sacrifice his body for a
noble cause. He should bear the pain of disease and have the
power of endurance. Only such a person can become a good
karma yogi and do real and useful service to the country and
to suffering humanity.

What are the three conditions of life?

Swami Niranjanananda: Swami Satyananda has always said
that a human being is a composition of the three qualities of
head, heart and hands. Head represents intellect, knowledge
and wisdom, heart represents the emotions and deeper
feelings, and hands represent purushartha or action. These
are the prime ingredients of life. The absence of one makes
life miserable, whereas harmony of the three will lead one
to experience life in its full glory and potential. That is the
basic philosophy of yoga.
If the components of life are analyzed and observed
objectively, it will be discovered that one has a body, through
which sickness and wellbeing, disease and health are
experienced, which is the prarabdha or destined karma of the
body. It has also been stated in the scriptures that when one
comes into this life, three stages must be undergone: disease,
vyadhi, old age, jara, and death, mrityu. Sickness and health

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come in sequence and are the prarabdha or destiny of the
body.
This has been understood by professionals, intellectuals,
and scientists throughout the world. They have come to
realize that the attainment of health is not necessarily the
absence of disease, but harmony of the various aspects of the
human nature and personality.
Everyone has to pass through the three conditions of
disease, old age and death, which can alter the mind frame.
Vyadhi is disease, illness, pain, suffering, conflict, imbalance,
stress and anxiety. No one can avoid it Even saints cannot
avoid it. Only their perception of vyadhi has changed, so
that they are not affected by it, whereas others are affected
by it. Vyadhi is an integral part of this life. Nobody is
perfectly healthy. There is some imbalance somewhere in
the human personality, whether it is in the body in the form
of arthritis, rheumatism, asthma or diabetes, or something
in the mind in the form of being unable to manage mental
problems, frustrations and anxieties. There is karmic,
mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual disease. Can anyone
hope to attain absolute and total health?
Jara, the second condition, is old age and infirmity,
and mrityu, the third condition, is death. Can anyone
stop themselves from ageing and dying? No, these are the
conditions that everyone has to face in life.
It is a scientific fact that there is no stability in continuity.
Evolution is continuity, which is universal and individual.
No one can be perfect in life. The moment one defines
perfection, it creates a limit to the concept of perfection.
Perfection represents the concept of an evolved nature, of an
evolved and sublimated human personality. Yoga says that
life is continuity and, by realizing this, one should accept life
as it comes.
Humans, however, have a particular tendency; they are
unable to accept life as it comes. They tend to live in the past
and in memories of past events; they tend to become fearful
of the future and to ignore the present. Yoga philosophy says,

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let bygones be bygones, the past is past. It cannot be altered
or changed, but wisdom can be derived from the experiences
of the past. Be in the present, try to be harmonized in
the present. The moment the present can be managed
properly, the future becomes a beautiful, evolving, unfolding
experience of human nature.

SPIRITUAL HEALING

Why should one undergo sickness when it could be

removed through psychic healing or other siddhis?
Swami Satyananda: Karmas must be undergone in order to
evolve. Sickness is a process of evolution within the body
and mind. Here is a story to illustrate this. Once Ramdas
had a very high fever. He had a consultation with Shivaji on
that day, which was of utmost importance, so he transferred
the fever to his tiger skin. When Shivaji came he met with
Ramdas and as he was leaving he noticed that the tiger skin
was shivering. Ramdas said, “Lord Shivaji, don’t worry, it is
my fever. I transferred it there for the time being in order to
meet you.” Shivaji replied, “But if you can transfer a fever
from your body to the tiger skin, why don’t you just throw
it away?” Ramdas said, “I must suffer, I must undergo the
karma.”

Why is giving spiritual healing not advised?

Swami Satyananda: When trying to heal a sick person, it must
be understood why he is sick. There is a chain of action
and reaction, equal and opposite. That is the first law of
science and the first law of life. In healing someone, the first
priority is to see that the karmic process of that individual is
corrected and reorganized. If this is not done, and only the
disease symptoms are removed, there will be sickness after
sickness.
Spiritual healers often become terribly sick. This has
been the experience of most spiritual healers in the West.
Many spiritual healers have chronic and incurable diseases

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that medical science, acupuncture and homeopathy fail to
cure. However, one asana can make them all right in a day,
because it is the karma that is actually affecting them.
Many spiritual healers encounter another difficulty:
when they accept a patient, they take on the same disease
the patient has. For example, a person is suffering from
rheumatism and the healer treats him. The patient may
improve, but in the end the healer has the rheumatism. The
healer doesn’t understand how he has taken on the illness of
his patient, because he doesn’t know the laws of nature. Few
people know these laws.
Spiritual healing is a good science and sometimes it
helps people, but the healers should know that it is not the
ultimate healing of human suffering. It provides relief at the
time of agony, but ultimately the karma must be changed.
The whole structure and organization of the body, mind and
spirit must be transformed.

Why shouldn’t siddhis be used to help suffering people?

Swami Satyananda: Siddhis are the offshoots of a concentra­ted
mind. By every standard they are something wonderful. But
who is to decide that a person should be helped, when one
does not know his karma? His suffering may be an inevitable
consequence of his karma, and he needs to suffer to expel
the karmic dung. The use of siddhis to remove a person’s
suffering may delay his evolution. Therefore, unless one has
a penetrating insight into the law of karma, siddhis should
not be used to help anyone.
Suppose a man is constipated: he goes to the doctor, who
gives him a prescription. The man takes the prescription,
purchases the pills, takes them and goes to sleep. The next
morning he seems all right, so he goes to his office. After
five days he feels unwell at work. He faints and his blood
pressure goes up. Fortunately, his boss is a yogi and asks,
“What happened to you?” The man answers, “I have fever
and a headache and for the last fifteen days I have had no
bowel movements.” The boss understands the cause of the

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problem, so he gives the man a few glasses of warm saline
water. The man has a clearance. In four days he is cured and
the cure lasts for a long time.
This story illustrates how sufferings arise on account of
hidden factors called karma. If I want to help a person, I first
see that he goes the right way, that his mental and emotional
personality are properly stabilized and his physical habits are
improved. If he agrees to do that, I will help him through
clairvoyance or clairaudience, otherwise not. The use of
siddhis must be disciplined and controlled. For this reason
a person who practises sincere, earnest yoga must have a
guru. Just as every car must have a driver, every disciple must
have a guru. Although the ultimate guru may be the inner
guru, still an outer guru whose language can be understood
is needed, because he says, “Hey! Don’t do it.”

Did you ever use siddhis to heal others?

Swami Satyananda: When I was practising yoga and living with
my guru, Swami Sivananda, in Rishikesh, I became proud
because I developed the healing touch due to my mantra
practice. My guru was definitely much greater than me, but
I became very egoistic. When sick people went to him, he
dealt with them in a special way. When the unfortunate souls
narrated their maladies, he used to say, “I will pray to God
that you will be all right.” But when they came to me, I used
to say, “Okay, sit down here and you will be all right.”
A time came when I thought I had perhaps developed
greater achievements than my guru, but what happened one
day brought good sense to me. I healed a witch and when I
healed her, her disease came to me. I tried everything to cure
it, but nothing worked: antibiotics, ayurveda, homeopathy,
naturopathy all failed. Every time I treated myself, the
disease grew wilder and I never knew what was happening to
me. The witch was healed, but I had taken her karma upon
myself.
When the suffering grew intense, I had no choice but to
bring my condition to the notice of my guru. I went to him

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and said, “I am completely overcome. I am not able to work.
My energies are depleted.” He smiled at me and said, “Don’t
use siddhis and don’t pose as a healer.”
He explained, “If somebody comes to you for healing,
tell him to practise yoga. Ask him to change his diet, habits
and temperament, to change his social and emotional
relationships, or to reform his body, mind and emotions.
Then you will be serving the cause of God. Siddhis are like
prostitutes and you are living with them. God has all the
siddhis. He could make everybody all right in one day; he
could take away all disease, but everybody is suffering. Why
is that? Everyone must work out the process of evolution. By
using siddhis, you are destroying the drama of God. He has
a purpose behind the variety of events in creation and you
should understand that greater scheme.”

What responsibility does one have towards one’s fellow

men and women? What is real help? When should one
interfere in other people’s karma?
Swami Niranjanananda: Firstly, one has both no responsibility
and a lot of responsibility towards one’s fellow men and
women. There is no responsibility in the sense that one has
one’s own life to lead and others have their lives to lead.
No one should interfere in the life of another individual.
One should just concentrate on one’s own development and
evolution, and once a certain stage of mental and psychic
evolution is reached, the desire to help others and a method
of helping them will automatically manifest. One does not
have to try. At that stage, when asking what responsibility
one has towards others, the answer will be that one has many
responsibilities.
Every individual shares the basic qualities of humanity,
and the growth, understanding and creative utility of
these basic personality traits must be encouraged. This
understanding will come after one has evolved through the
first stage. But first the individual should ask himself where
he stands in life, what his limitations and abilities are, and

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learn how to recognize the manifestations of his personality,
mind and so on. Only then can he try to help others. Unless
realization of one’s qualities takes place, unless one knows
how to work, one cannot tell others how to work. Unless
one knows a system, process or method, one cannot impart
a system to others. Therefore, first individual consciousness
has to evolve and then universal consciousness. Both answers
are therefore applicable.
Secondly, what is real help? There are different concepts
of ‘help’. It is understood one way in a social context and
another in a personal context. The spiritual context is
different again. Individual help is according to one’s capacity
to encourage and assist people to manage their lives, in
terms of moral and emotional support, and trying to find a
solution to the problem. In the social context, help can come
in the form of assisting communities, groups or businesses to
become self-sufficient, to stand on their own two feet. Maybe
some kind of charity will be required.
Help takes on a different meaning according to the
areas of life and individuals involved. It must always be
remembered that everybody has limitations. No one should
over-extend themselves, because the moment they do,
problems will arise and they will fail. One should learn how
to express oneself in a qualitatively better way, according
to one’s own capacity. If even five percent of this aspect of
human creativity can be generated, that is more than enough
to help practically the whole of humanity.
The problem is that people are not creative, but self-
centred. They try to satisfy their own ego, and where the
ego is involved, creativity cannot take place. The spiritual
concepts of self-observation and self-abstinence are involved
and the principles of yama, rules of conduct, and niyama,
rules of personal discipline, must be followed.
Thirdly, it is not possible to interfere with anyone’s
karma. No one can interfere with their karma, so how
can they interfere with somebody else’s? Only the masters
or gurus have that ability. Therefore, do not worry about

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interfering with somebody else’s karma, as that possibility
does not even exist.

How is it possible for a person to take on another person’s

karma?
Swami Satyananda: Transference of karma takes place if there
is a deep communication or psychic link between two people.
The depth of awareness is responsible. It is an automatic
process if a person loves somebody greatly, whether friend,
husband, wife, child or lover. One can even take on the
karma of an enemy if one is constantly aware of him. In the
guru-disciple relationship, if the two are unified in spirit and
consciousness, the karmas of the disciple are automatically
transferred to the guru, and the knowledge of the guru is
also automatically transmitted to the disciple. But if the guru
and disciple are not unified in consciousness, this does not
happen.
In India, there are many sadhus and mahatmas who
take on other people’s karma. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,
Swami Vivekananda and also Adi Shankaracharya are some
examples. There is a long list of such saints who have taken
the karma of others in order to free them. In this case,
the disciple would become free of his karma, be it illness
or something else. Powerful souls are able to take upon
themselves some of the karmas of their disciples at will.
Saints like Swami Sivananda and Ramana Maharshi were able
to take on the karmas of their disciples. But they can only
take on the kriyamana or current karmas and the sanchita or
accumulated karmas. Those karmas are still being processed
and are not yet in the form of vibrations.
The proof for the transference of karma is purely
individual, and it is difficult to ascertain in most cases. For
example, a lady is suffering and the moment she touches
the left foot of a man, she becomes all right and he starts
suffering. That is the proof. He receives the disease, but the
lady will continue to suffer for some time, depending on her
development. If she is spiritually advanced and has decided

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to change her behaviour, there would be the possibility of
complete elimination of the karma, but if she continues in the
same way, she is bound to suffer again due to other karmas.
As far as the man is concerned, he has received the disease,
but he will not suffer it, as his state of mind is different. If the
mind does not suffer, the body also does not suffer.
If an unqualified person interferes with the karmas of
another, he will take those karmas on himself and, at the
same time, make the other person suffer the same karmas
equally. The karmas are split into two. It is something like two
people committing murder – both receive capital punishment.
Therefore, every person should face the consequences of his
own actions. Let the joy be his and also the sorrow.

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 5
Destiny and Free Will

ASTROLOGY

Can one’s destiny be known?

Swami Satyananda: Destiny exists on many levels: physical,
mental, astral, and also on higher levels, but one cannot
know this destiny without asking someone else. It is necessary
to be guided, so a person should go to an expert in the
science, who will guide him. I personally never wanted such
guidance. I thought that even if I became a victim of my own
destiny, I did not want any astrologer to come to my aid.

Can destined events be prevented?

Swami Satyananda: This is beyond everyone. Even the master
of destiny, who has created it, cannot change it. When the
prarabdha karma is completely formed, the experiences are
absolutely set. No one can stop it, regardless of the stature
of the person. Everyone has their fixed quota of happiness
and sorrow. This is the truth and I have experienced it. This
has also been said in the Ramacharitamanas (Ayodhyakanda,
doha 77):
Considering an individual’s good and bad actions,
The Lord weighs the cause and sanctions the result.
The result is the outcome of the action in totality,
The scriptures, justice and everything confirm it.

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 I had a friend who was a forest officer. One day he went
to an astrologer, who looked up his son’s chart in the Bhrigu
Samhita and found that it predicted his early death. My
friend came to me and I told him that everything happens
first in time and then in space. This incident had already
happened in time and now all that remained was for it to
happen in space. When the time arrived for this incident to
happen in space, sure enough, the car in which the son was
travelling with his wife overturned and both of them were
killed. The father knew of this prediction beforehand and so
did I, but he still asked me how that incident was possible. I
told him that when something has to happen, it first occurs
in eternity, then in time and last in space. Nothing happens
all of a sudden. However, there is no need to worry while
performing one’s worldly duties, as every success has the
name of the entitled person written on it, and that person
will definitely reap that success.

How do astrological positions influence one’s destiny, and

is there any yogic practice which can alter this?
Swami Satyananda: Astrology is a science which is both
microcosmic and macrocosmic. The macrocosm is the
extended universe in which there are planets and stars
that orbit and interact with one another. In the microcosm
every organism down to the minutest atom is exactly
proportionate to the macrocosm. If there is a sun outside,
there is a sun within an atom. If there are planets revolving
around the sun, there are particles that revolve around
the atom; the process of everything is the same. There
is a universe outside and a universe inside and they are
duplicates of one another. They are not different, even by
the smallest fraction. This body is a microcosmic universe,
a microcosmic miniature.
Vedantic philosophy states that the replica of the
absolute, the eternal, God, Allah, Brahman or atman is
present everywhere, in each and every speck of creation.
There is no field, no thought, no place in this universe as

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far as it extends, where that substance, that central element
is not present. This cannot be understood by logic; it can
only be understood through deeper experiences. Modern
science is coming very close to this realization, but vedantic
philosophy has been talking about it for a long time.
Scientists have discovered the moon, Mars, Saturn, Venus
and many other heavenly bodies. They have made certain
statements regarding their fixed orbits and movements.
When Galileo said the earth rotates but the sun does not,
the authorities of his country thought he was a heretic.
He accepted their accusations and surrendered before
the court because he did not want to face the Inquisition.
But the moment he came out of the court, he kicked the
ground three times and said, “The earth moves.” This fact
was known in India long before Galileo’s time. They never
believed that the sun revolves; they realized that the planets
rotate around the sun.
There were no telescopes in India at that time, so how
did they know this? They knew because they explored the
heavenly bodies within themselves. If a person can adjust his
vision in meditation, he can see the movement of the planets
inside his body. He can see this heavenly drama unfold
within as though his body were a planetarium. Through
the practices of yoga, one can have the vision of the whole
planetary system within oneself. The planetary positions,
which are shown in the horoscope, can also be seen in the
same order in the physical body. The external planetary
positions are in absolute correspondence with the planetary
positions within the physical body.
This means that the moon, sun, Venus, and Jupiter, which
are outside in the galaxy, are also found inside the body in
the same corresponding positions. The time of birth, when
the head emerges and the first breath enters the nose, is the
instant that determines the planetary position of one’s life.
This moment of disconnection and connection is considered
to be the muhurta, and the astrological chart is cast according
to that moment.

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 Physical, mental, and emotional conditions, successes
and failures, profession, business and education, love affairs
and marital affairs are dependent upon the movement of the
macrocosmic universe and its influence on the microcosmic
universe within.
Among the practices of yoga, the power of mantra is
great. Although the mantra is a simple word, it is the shakti
of nada, the force of sound. When this sound is repeated
hundreds and thousands of times with concentration of
mind, it starts to vibrate from the same point where one
was born twenty, thirty or forty years ago. At that time the
entire relationship between the planetary positions in one’s
life changes. Accordingly, the destiny or events to come are
mended and in certain cases changed.
In yoga, the mantra is selected on the basis of the zodiac
sign. The mantras belong to frequencies related to particular
astrological or heavenly positions within the body. In this
way, one’s entire destiny can be changed by the practice of
mantra yoga.

Does the date of initiation into sannyasa have an influence

on destiny?
Swami Niranjanananda: When a person is initiated into
sannyasa, it means that he has left behind his previous
worldly ties and taken a new birth in this very life. Therefore,
it is a tradition with sannyasins to use the date of sannyasa
initiation when making their horoscope and astrological
charts. They use the date of sannyasa as their spiritual birth
date, as a change in the usual pattern of consciousness takes
place with that initiation. A new identity develops with the
idea: “I am a sannyasin; I am following a spiritual path, a
spiritual tradition, and I am striving to make myself better.”
This attitude eventually moulds the life of a sannyasin and
changes his destiny.
In the case of sannyasins, saints and highly evolved souls,
the horoscope that is made according to the initiation date
is more correct than the actual birth date, for initiation is a

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more internal process than an external one. A person who
takes sannyasa has the wish to leave behind all the previous
attachments and ways of thinking and living, and to mould
his personality into that of a sannyasin. If he takes sannyasa
for one or two years and then resumes life in the world, it will
not make much difference. But if he follows the disciplines
of a sannyasin for the rest of his life, it will make a very
big difference in the formation of his personality and the
patterns of his consciousness, and will definitely alter his
karma and destiny.

How have the predictions in your astrological chart come

true and how have they been influenced by your willpower
and grace?
Swami Satyananda: When I was born, my family members
had my astrological chart made. All the bad stars were
in the forefront of that chart. The astrologer predicted,
“This boy will be a loafer and a vagabond.” I did become a
loafer, but in Sanskrit, this is called parivrajaka, wandering
mendicant.
He also said I would be poor, and so I am, even today.
But from the time I was with my guru up to this day, I have
helped the institution with millions of pounds and dollars.
I also support many institutions in other places, although
I do not have a bank account of my own. I remained poor
as predicted, but I have overseen cheques worth thousands
and millions being signed and changing hands, just as a
policeman watches the morning traffic. I just changed the
connotation of the word ‘poor’ a little. Instead of penniless,
I became a tyagi, a renunciate.
He also predicted, “This boy will be the destroyer of
the family.” I did destroy the family line by remaining
unmarried. As I have no children, who will perform my last
rites? The family line has ended, but what kind of an end is
that? Now I have many sons and daughters. I just sit here
and my sons and daughters run the show, carry out all the
ashram programs, run the kitchen and keep the accounts.

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 When my horoscope was cast, it predicted everything bad
about me, and the man who cast it knew what he was doing.
It predicted that I would remain sick throughout my life. I
do not have any experience of constipation, but I think about
disease twenty-four hours of the day. When I close my eyes,
I hear sick people talking to me. When I think, thoughts
always come about suffering, physical, mental, emotional,
psychic and spiritual suffering! When I talk to people, they
tell me about their suffering. Whenever I communicate, I
only hear about suffering.
In this way all the predictions were made, but everything
changed when I became a swami. The horoscope did not
indicate that I would renounce, although the predictions
were basically correct. The horoscope indicates the quality
of a person’s existence, but the determining factor is not
indicated in the horoscope. It rests purely with a person’s
willpower, and once a person renounces his kith and kin,
hearth and home, he definitely has willpower. Without strong
willpower it is very difficult to think of renunciation, much
less maintain it. I met a guru who influenced the direction
of my life, although the astrologer gave no clue about this.
Guru’s grace came down upon me. The astrologer had no
inkling of this event and could not read this aspect of my life
in my chart.
A horoscope does not determine a person’s destiny – it
is only a map! There is something else which determines a
person’s destiny: his own willpower and enlightenment. I am
not a thorough scholar in astrology, but I consider it to be a
science. Whatever a person may be, he is all right. He just
has to put himself to such use that he will become contented
and happy. If I were to die today, I would have no regrets. I
would die a happy man.

How much influence do the planets have on one’s life, and

how much of a person’s destiny is in his own hands?
Swami Niranjanananda: A person makes his destiny and
destroys himself through his own ignorance. If somebody

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is walking the path of righteousness, there is no power in
the world that can change his destiny. If a person decides
to do something from the bottom of his heart and keeps
going, despite every difficulty that comes in the way, he
will succeed. But if that determination, or sankalpa shakti,
is not there, after two slaps he will say, “Oh, my stars are
responsible for that.” Astrology definitely has an influence,
but it fails when confronted by the force of the human mind
and nature. In his ignorance a person tries to put the blame
for his own inability on someone else, or if not, on the stars.
The planets do reflect on one’s life, but the human mind is
a more powerful influence than any star.

Can destiny be transcended?

Swami Satyananda: Each and every being in this world,
including those of the mineral and vegetable kingdoms,
is moving in accordance with the definite predetermined
laws of nature. As long as a person is weak and incompetent
mentally and physically, he is also subject to the laws of
destiny. But as he develops greater awareness, he gradually
transcends the dictates of destiny and karma and is able
to create a new law and order for himself. The moment a
person starts to cross barrier after barrier, boundary after
boundary of his consciousness, destiny cannot trouble him,
although it will keep him bound in some way or another until
he becomes a jivanmukta, or liberated being.
Anybody can change his own destiny by transcending a
certain level of consciousness. The future is changed by the
human mind, the human psychic state, but not all can do it.
For those who cannot, the astrological predictions hold true.
When one is weak-minded, he has to flow with the current
of life. But once he gains strength by concentration of mind
and resolute willpower, he can definitely shape his destiny
and change the course of events. Mankind has done this and
will continue to reshape his own destiny.

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 DESTINY

What is the aim of destiny?

Swami Sivananda: Destiny is man’s own creation. His final
destiny, however, is the realization of the immortal through
this mortal frame.

How is destiny created?

Swami Satyananda: Destiny is based on the law of action and
reaction. Every action, every karma, has a reaction. Just as
a pebble thrown into a lake creates ripples, in the same way,
karma creates ripples in the cosmos. Karma is not only a
physical action; a thought or feeling is also karma. The word
karma means ‘movement’. Wherever there is mobility, there
is karma. Each action creates a reaction, and the reaction
makes another reaction. In the course of time, this chain
reaction is multiplied into million-fold reactionary forces in
life, and that creates destiny.

What is destiny?
Swami Satyananda: Destiny is a part of the evolutionary plan.
It is the outcome of the constant accumulation of karma. If
one sees a fruit or a flower, one must presuppose that they
come from a tree or a plant. The fruit and flower are the
destiny of the tree. It is said in Yoga Vasishtha (2:9:4):
Siddhasya paurusheneha phalasya phalashaalinaa;
Shubhaashubhaarthasampattirdaivashabdena kathyate.
The good and bad results which proceed from the
accomplished acts are expressed by the word destiny.

Yogis believe in destiny, the chain of action and reaction.

Every karma has to be paid for, and one cannot get out of
it. In yoga and tantra, this is known as prarabdha karma.
Prarabdha is the fructification of the totality of the karmas
from life in previous incarnations. Adi Shankaracharya says
in Aparokshanubhuti (v. 92):

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 Karma janmaantarakritam praarabdhamiti keertitam.
The actions of the previous births are known as
prarabdha.
Destiny is derived not only from previous incarnations, but
also from the karmas of the parents and previous generations.
A person is also responsible for the karmas of the society in
which he lives. There are three sources of destiny:
1. Karmas of previous incarnations that come with a person’s
individual consciousness;
2. Karmas of parents and previous generations, which have
come with the mind;
3. Karmas belonging to the society in which a person is
living.
One has to enjoy and suffer the karmas of all these three
sources. There is no doubt that destiny is a complete and
logical science. Destiny is the law of nature and one can’t
ignore it.

Is there a difference between aims in life and destiny?

Swami Satyananda: Yes, there is a difference between aim and
destiny. Suppose I want to be a great scholar, a rich man or
a person who has a lot of fun in life. These are all aims, and
an aim has a limit. For example, when a person who wants
to be a lawyer becomes a lawyer, his aim is fulfilled. After
achieving this aim, he may want to be a lawyer in the High
Court, then in the Supreme Court, and finally to become a
judge. In this way, aims go on changing. To become a lawyer
is not one’s destiny; destiny is one’s intimate relationship
with the events in life.
There is an aim which one creates for oneself, and there
is also a destiny which is common to everyone. One makes
an aim for oneself due to one’s expectations, desires or
personality, but one does not make a destiny. My aim may
be to have a rose garden so that I can grow beautiful flowers
and sell them, or make a nice bouquet and present it to
somebody. But that is not my destiny.

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 Destiny means the ultimate process of nature, concerning
oneself and all others. When living in society, one has
certain aims related to one’s social system, accomplishments,
knowledge, friendships and family members. There is also
an inner relationship, however, between oneself and the
happenings of life; this is called destiny.

What does destiny determine in one’s life?

Swami Satyananda: Destiny concerns certain matters such as
life and death, good and bad reputation, disease and health,
suffering and enjoyment. These eight things are under the
control of destiny and everything else is beyond its control.
Sri Rama says in the Ramayana (Ayodhyakanda, 22:22):
Sukhadukhe bhayakrodhau laabhaalaabhau bhavaabhavau;
Yasya kinchit tathaabhootam nanu daivasya karma tat.
Joy and sorrow, fear and anger, gain and loss, birth
and death, and whatever similar experience comes to
a particular individual, that is unquestionably the work
of providence.

Everyone is bound by their destiny, and this can be seen

everywhere. I am different from you, and you are different
from others. Nobody is alike; that is destiny. Every object
in this creation has its own nature. Every flute has its own
nature. Every mineral has its own distinct nature. That
nature is its destiny. In fact, the entire universe is under the
law of destiny. Destiny relates not merely to the body or to
happiness and unhappiness. Everything in this universe has
a destiny somewhere.

What is the relationship between man and destiny?

Swami Niranjanananda: Destiny is a sequence of events over
which an individual has no control and no power, just as
there is no control over the decay of the body from birth to
old age. It happens not sporadically but continuously. It is an
everyday event, yet one is unable to stop it from happening.

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It is an inevitable sequence of events which shapes the
physical body, affects the intelligence and maturity and
decides one’s nature or swabhava. Destiny decides which guna
is predominant. It decides how far an individual is going to
travel in life. It is the controlling factor of life. Human beings
do not control or create destiny.
The ruler of destiny, the lord of destiny, is someone with
whom one has the closest relationship. One does not have
that kind of relationship with any other being. That lord of
destiny controls the body, the function and performance of
the various bodily organs, the nature, the gunas, the karmas,
the evolution, the samskaras, the maturity of the mind and
emotions. Even the process of enlightenment is subject to the
control of the lord of destiny.
In other stages of its expression, this lord of destiny is
recognized as some other power. It can be recognized as
spiritual power or as a social transformative power. It is a
force that guides each and everybody’s life from birth to
death and possibly even beyond. It is not limited to this
dimension, to this space, to this time. That power exists in
infinity. Infinity has a destiny, just as finite beings have a
destiny.
Whether it is called swabhava, nature, prakriti, spiritual
shakti, or the masculine and feminine aspects of the
transcendental nature, what determines the role of every
individual in creation is destiny.
The intimate relationship with the lord of destiny is a
subtle and intricate link, like two strands of string which
entwine and become string. They are life and existence after
death. Existence in life and existence in death is the link with
the lord of destiny.

Can destiny that is already formed be changed before it

manifests?
Swami Satyananda: Destiny is adrishta, which means ‘unseen
processes’. It is not in the form of mental or thought
vibration. It is subtler than vision and emanates from the

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unconscious, not the subconscious. Once it emerges from
the unconscious, it goes straight up to the conscious mind
and manifests in the behaviour. It does not give one any
time to change it. Much of what is in the subconscious can
be changed, but as soon as it goes down to the unconscious,
it is beyond one’s jurisdiction.
Some seers can see the subconscious mind and the
samskaras going down into the unconscious. Therefore, they
understand the events to come, and if they want to interfere
at all, they only interfere with those karmas or samskaras
which are going towards the unconscious. They are alert, but
the karma which is in the unconscious, in the formed state,
cannot be exploded out – it is not possible. Karma can only be
exploded directly to the conscious state, which one is in now.

How should destiny be faced, whether it is positive or

negative?
Swami Satyananda: Ramana Maharshi wrote to his mother
after he left home: “The Creator makes each person play his
role in life according to his karma. That which is not destined
will not happen despite every effort. What is destined is
bound to happen; this is certain. Therefore, the best course
is to remain silent.”
Destiny fulfils itself in the conscious state in this life, and
if one suffers it silently, the karmas are exhausted. When one
does not suffer destiny calmly, silently, with dignity and self-
respect, and with the strength at hand, new karma is formed.
That karma is brought down to the subconscious plane,
where it remains in the upper, middle or bottom region,
according to its gravity. The heavier it is, the quicker it will
sink into the unconscious. There it will become prarabdha,
and again it will be shot forth to be experienced again.
Destiny cannot be changed, so it must be accepted,
whether good or bad. If one’s destiny is positive, it should
be faced with humility and prayers. If it is negative, it should
be faced with forbearance and accepted as the will of God.
That will reduce the strength of the samskaras. Destiny is

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unavoidable and everybody has to face it, whether saints or
sinners, householders or sannyasins. Birth is destiny, life
is destiny, death is destiny and rebirth is also destiny. No
one can get out of this cycle, but everyone can maintain the
attitude of viveka and jnana, understanding and knowledge.
Negative and positive destinies come and go, like day
and night. Negative destiny causes dukha, pain, and positive
destiny causes sukha, pleasure. When pleasure comes, one is
puffed up, intoxicated, and thinks this experience will never
end. One does not realize that positive destiny is subject to
change. During the periods of positive destiny one should
be humble in attitude. One should also be sensitive during
these periods, as the day will pass and the night will come.
Throughout the periods of sukha, one should live as though
one were in dukha; only then can one face the negative
destiny.
However, things usually happen differently. During
negative destiny, or dukha, one is broken completely. One
curses God, humanity, nature and oneself. One cries out,
“Why has God punished me? What did I do to deserve
this? Why is God so cruel?” And one always prays, “God,
please put an end to this ordeal; I can’t take any more.”
When one has a positive destiny, God is not in the picture.
The person becomes proud and says, “Yes, I built up this
business through hard work, skill and good judgement. I
built this beautiful house with my own hands.” God is always
in the picture during the times of dukha, but He is never
present during sukha. Whenever a person passes into a
phase of sukha, he is immediately changed. Within a few
days he begins to talk differently; the voice is lighter, the
thoughts become positive and the conversation is cheerful.
He completely forgets that he had a dark night.
Be very careful, therefore, to maintain the correct attitude
towards destiny in order to deal with the karma, samskaras
and vasanas. Prarabdha karma is afraid of a man who wants
it, but it comes again with redoubled force to someone who
dislikes it or is afraid of it. That is the law of karma. Destiny

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must come to pass; no one has a way out of it. For that one
has to change one’s philosophy and nature.
Once born in the human body, destiny has to be faced, but
with a difference. A person with a wise philosophy will face
destiny with wisdom. A foolish or ignorant person, however,
undergoes destiny with pain, weeping and heartbreak. A jnani,
or person of knowledge, faces his destiny with cheerfulness.
He does not grieve and ruin his health, he just faces it. Adi
Shankaracharya said in Aparokshanubhuti (v. 89):
Praarabdham akhilam bhunjan nodvegam kartumarhasi.
While experiencing the fruit of past actions, one need
not be anxious about anything.

When Socrates was imprisoned and sentenced to death, he

was happy. He accepted his destiny and never tortured his
brain over it. In any case, whether one faces the situations of
life like an ignorant person or a jnani, it is the quality of the
soul that is responsible for the experience of destiny. There
is only one way to meet destiny - one must have a great
philosophy! Let it happen, if it happens and as it happens.
Never worry about anything. Events take their destined
course automatically.
This universe does not work according to one’s wishes,
it works on certain principles. There are certain laws of
action and reaction. This world is perfect, and was made by
a perfect being. God is all merciful. He has no imperfections.
Whatever he does, He does to perfection. Whatever He has
created, He has created with absolute laws. God has made a
program for everyone; He has made one for me too. There
is no use in worrying. One should just do one’s karma and
follow one’s dharma, that is all. Kabir Das has said:
This world is not a permanent place to stay.
It is a traveller’s lodge in a foreign land.
This world is like a folded piece of paper,
Which dissolves even with a drop of water.

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 This world is a garden of thorns
In which one dies after being entangled.
This world is a thick, impassable jungle,
Which must be burned by fire to clear the way.
Kabir says, O men of wisdom, remember
That the safest abode is the name of the Lord.

Is destiny or free will the decisive factor in life?

Swami Satyananda: Today, in the evening of my life, I have
come to one conclusion. Destiny is the deciding factor, rather
than personal will and effort. When one sows a seed and
looks after it well, what is the deciding factor in the success
of its growth: the seed, the soil or the care? The seed is the
storehouse of destiny. According to its individual nature,
the seed will bring wheat, carrots or cauliflowers. When one
looks after it, puts it in the right soil and gives it proper
water, this is called purushartha, personal effort. But personal
effort will not produce a cauliflower from a wheat seed. Only
the seed of a cauliflower will produce a cauliflower; that is
its destiny.
Along with choice, one must have the power to achieve
one’s choice, which means that destiny alone is not totally
applicable. Most people, however, are weak-willed and
bound by their own desires and passions, so they have to
accept destiny. Maya is built up on the basis of one’s nature.
If one can change it, one can change tragedy into comedy
or comedy into tragedy. If one can change one’s aspirations,
ambitions and thoughts, one can definitely change the script,
but it is very difficult.
For many years while studying Vedanta and Samkhya
in their original texts, I would think about what cause and
effect and destiny were and be confused. But today I can say
very definitely that destiny is the ultimate factor in human
life, and to change destiny is difficult. To change the quality
of life is easy. If one attends satsang and does some yoga
practices, one can change the quality of one’s life, speech,
thinking and behaviour. One’s whole life can be changed, but

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one cannot change the quality of one’s personality. Destiny
is inescapable and cannot be avoided.

Do yoga practices interfere with destiny?

Swami Satyananda: The purpose of yoga is not to interfere
with destiny, but to change the karma before it is recon­
stituted. Yoga is concerned with the destiny that is still to be
formed, not with the destiny that is already formed.

FREE WILL

How can there be free will if Ishwara, the supreme

consciousness, determines all?
Swami Sivananda: The whole universe is determined by
Ishwara’s creative will. Ishwara is the basis of cosmic activity
as well as individual action, yet is not involved in the
individual’s actions. Everything is determined in Ishwara; the
past, the present and the future are all Ishwara’s being alone.
From the limited standpoint of the individual, there is an
apparent freedom of action imposed by his individuality in
spite of the fact of a changeless, universal law. Although the
individual’s freedom of thought and action is not the final
truth, it assumes a relative importance.

Do humans have free will?

Swami Sivananda: The consciousness of the higher self
makes one feel ever-free. The idea of freedom is ingrained
in the mind of everyone, hidden in the consciousness of the
Self. Even though a person may have nothing to eat, or be
in adverse circumstances, there is a peculiar instinct that
prompts him to think that he is always free.
He feels free because the nitya-mukta, ever-free, atman is
behind his mind, sentiments and feelings. He knows that he
is bound and encased in this tabernacle of flesh. He is fully
aware that he is a slave of maya and avidya, limitation and
ignorance, and yet at the same time something inside tells
him that he is free. He has this double feeling, for in essence

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he is the all-pervading mass of wisdom, vijnanaghana
atman. He gets these flashes or glimpses of freedom, even
while he labours under strained circumstances. There are
encouragements for the struggling soul that come from
within.
Even if he is dying and doctors have pronounced the
case as absolutely hopeless, there is still a voice from within
that says, “I am immortal; I am free.” He cherishes an
inherent feeling, “I am free, although I appear to be bound;
this bondage is illusory.” In the Bhagavad Gita (6:5–6), Sri
Krishna speaks of the freedom of a person in doing karma:
Uddharedaatmanaatmaanam naatmaanamavasaadayet;
Aatmaiva hyaatmano bandhuraatmaiva ripuraatmanah.
Bandhuraatmaa’tmanastasya yenaatmaivaatmanaa jitah;
Anaatmanastu shatrutve vartetaatmaiva shatruvat.
Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone; let him not
lower himself, for this self alone is the friend of oneself,
and this self alone is the enemy of oneself. (5)
The self is the friend of the self for him, who has
conquered himself by the Self; but to the unconquered
self, this self stands in the position of an enemy like the
external foe. (6)

A human is a free agent, swatantra, independent, in doing

actions. Whatever one’s present condition may be, one can
have a glorious future through right exertion and right
thinking. The Kathopanishad (1:3:13–14) echoes the same
idea:
Yachched vaan manase praajnastad yachchejjnaana aatmani;
Jnaanamaatmani mahati niyachchet tad yachchhchchhaanta
aatmani.
Uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan nibodhata;
Kshurasya dhaaraaa nishitaa duratyayaa durgam pathastat
kavayo vadanti.

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 The wise man should merge speech in mind, mind in
intellect, intellect in the great Self, the Atman, and the
great Self in the peaceful Self. Awake, arise! (13)
Learn this wisdom from the great ones. As narrow as
the razor’s edge is that path, difficult to traverse and
hard to tread, say the wise. (14)
Many have achieved success and greatness; many have
reached the goal of life through right exertion, purushartha.
This is true for all humans; they are ever free. May freedom
be the goal of life! May all exert in the right direction to
achieve freedom, the human birthright! May that supreme
being, the antaryamin, guide all one’s actions.

Can willpower and effort overcome a destiny that is

already formed?
Swami Satyananda: One can develop willpower and one
can make some amendments to the destiny of one’s life,
but destiny cannot be completely escaped as long as one is
in the human body. One may be a great yogi, a perfected
siddha, even an incarnation of divinity, an avatar, messiah,
or prophet, but one still cannot totally overide this destiny.
According to history, even the prophets and saints were
under the control of destiny to some extent when they
were born. One can help matters become a little better by
developing one’s willpower as much as possible, but one
should not think of completely escaping destiny. In order
to escape destiny one would have to become a master of
nature.

Given that everyone is subject to prarabdha karma, what

should be the proper attitude towards people who commit
crimes?
Swami Satyananda: The acts of a criminal or a murderer
are not under his control. Whether a person is a murderer,
thief, infidel or crook, it is not his karma alone it is also
the karma of his parents. Thus, genetic, spiritual and

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environmental influences can compel a person to commit
a crime.
Why should the criminal be blamed when things are not
under his control? Suppose I am under someone’s control.
What am I to do if he gives me a revolver and says, “Shoot
that person!” I may not want to shoot him, but I will do it,
because I am under his control. Similarly, what can that
poor man do who is under the control of circumstances, the
karma of his previous life and the biological factors that are
transferred to him through his parents?
A criminal has no choice or control. If criminals were
properly treated by society or the community, they could
develop into great saints, as the basic qualities of a saint and
a criminal are similar. The saint, however, has a different
environmental atmosphere surrounding him. He receives
proper treatment from his parents and society, whereas the
criminal is always mistreated. He is put in jail and that is
the basic mistake. Jails do not reform criminals, rather they
make them into hardened criminals. Jails were created to
contain criminals, as kings and rulers, administrators and
governments had no alternative. If I committed a crime
and was put in jail, would I come out reformed? No, I
would come out with greater vengeance towards society.
There is no philosophy or system anywhere, East or
West, whereby criminals are properly treated and reformed.
They need biological treatment. It has been scientifically
proven that genetic transfer is one of the major causes of
crime. Until society is able to recognize the root causes of
crime, how can there be any reformation? The divinity in a
criminal has to be recognized. People with common sense
and wisdom should neither hate the crime nor the criminal.
Crime is the human being’s longstanding weakness. When
the human being was created, his first act was a crime. He
learnt dharma much later from the saints and sages who
guided him to start practising dharma.

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Can the sanchita or accumulated karma be influenced
before they form unalterable prarabdha karma?
Swami Satyananda: Whatever has been destined must happen
to a certain extent. But destiny is not carved for all time; it
differs from individual to individual. In a certain person the
destiny is chalked out for twenty-five years, which means
the blueprint is already made, so he cannot change it. After
the twenty-five years, however, everything is undecided. I
have seen karmas strictly binding a certain individual for
nineteen years. I knew that at the end of the nineteenth
year this particular suffering would finish, but what turn
the prarabdha would take from the twentieth year was not
yet known, as it was still unformed. Those who understand
the law of karma can interfere with the unformed destiny
by introducing a method, such as bhakti yoga, jnana yoga,
religion or austerity, but one should know the karmas.
When the prarabdha is completely formed, the sufferings
are absolutely set, something like a man who has committed
many crimes receives the punishment of fifteen years
imprisonment, but after that the turn of his prarabdha is
unknown as it has not yet been formed. If one understands
the entire range of karma, it can be seen that after fifteen
years a particular type of karma is going to be rewarded in
his life. The reward can be anything; that is up to destiny.
One cannot decide it, but one knows which type of karma is
being considered. That karma can still be changed after a
day or two, a month or a year.

How does fate or destiny relate to free will?

Swami Sivananda: Fate is the result of the exercise of one’s
free will in the past. How far a person is a free agent of his
actions must be understood in the light of Vedanta. Only
then can a satisfactory answer and solution be found. In the
West, various competent people have discussed this matter
from various standpoints, but they have not come to any
definite conclusions. They have taken only the present into
consideration, which is a sad mistake. The present is only a

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fragment of infinity. If the infinite past and infinite future
are also taken into consideration, they will surely arrive at
a definite conclusion that will bring peace and solace to the
restless mind.
Determinists say that the human will is as much bound
by the law of causation as the rest of the phenomena of the
universe. Ethics, however, will fall to pieces if there is no
freedom for the human being. Surely there cannot be moral
responsibility where there is no freedom of action. How could
a person be made to account for his actions unless he is a
free agent of his deeds? How could reward or punishment
be meted out with justice to a person who has done an action
out of compulsion, but not out of free choice? Man would
be like an automaton or a block of wood, his hands and feet
chained down tightly.
The doctrine of karma is diametrically opposed to
the doctrine of fatalism. Fatalism causes inertia, lethargy,
weakness of will and bondage. It annihilates faith, induces
terrible fear, destroys ethics and checks growth and evolution.
On the other hand, the doctrine of karma is an incentive
to act in order to better one’s condition; it is a source of
solace and gives an assurance of a broader and happier life.
It presupposes freedom of will. Freedom is the essence of
karma, which gives opportunities for growth and evolution.
The doctrine of karma offers a rational and scientific
explanation of fate. It gives a positive word of assurance
that although the present of which one is the creator is
unalterable and irrevocable, one may better one’s future
by changing the thoughts, habits, tendencies and mode of
action.
This gives great comfort, strength, encouragement and
consolation to the desperate person. It provides a strong
impetus to struggle and exert for improvement. Even a
forlorn and helpless person is made cheerful when this
doctrine of karma is understood. The doctrine of karma
brings hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, joy to the
cheerless and new strength to the weak. It braces up a sunken

164
person, and is an ideal ‘pick-me-up’ for the depressed and
gloomy.
It teaches, “Do not blame anybody when you are
suffering. Do not accuse God; blame yourself first. Every­one
will have to reap what they have sown in their previous birth.
Your present sufferings are due to your own bad karma in the
past life, so you are the author of this present state yourself.
The present is unchangeable, so do not weep. Do not cry
over spilt milk because nothing will be gained by doing so.
Instead of weeping over the failure of crops during the last
year, go on ploughing and there will be abundant rain and
a rich harvest this year. In the same way, do virtuous actions
now. Think and act rightly. You will have a brilliant and
glorious future. Do not say, “Karma! Karma! My karma has
brought me to this.” Exert; do purushartha. Do not yield to
inertia. Do not bleat like a lamb. Roar Om, Om, Om like a lion
of Vedanta. Apply yourself with zeal and enthusiasm, because
you are the master of your own destiny.”

165
Appendices
 Appendix A

Index of Questions

1. Desire: Cause of Creation

ORIGIN AND ROLE OF DESIRES
• What is the cause of desire? 6
• What is the origin of desire? 6
• What are the basic types of desire? 7
• What role does desire play in karma and in life? 9
• What are the two aspects of desire? 10
• Where do desires originate? 11
• Why are desires important? 12
• What is the function of desires in life? 12
• How do desires change? 13
• What is the process of expressing desire? 14
• What is the state of pure bliss? 15
• What are the tantric aspects of bhukti and mukti? 16
• Is there a difference between spiritual and other desires? 17
VASANA
• What is a vasana? 17
• How can vasana be explained? 18
• What is bondage? 19
• What is the difference between desire, vasana and craving? 20
• What is the difference between vasana, samskara and karma? 20
• What does the battle between Ravana and Rama illustrate? 21
• How do hidden cravings come to the surface? 22

169
• What is the relationship between vasanas and desires? 23
• What is the purpose of vasanas? 23
• Why does yoga emphasize the elimination of vasanas and
samskaras? 25
• How do vasanas come to an end? 25
PLAY OF THE MIND
• Can desires ever be fully satisfied? 26
• What causes people to run after desires? 27
• Why do people search for happiness outside? 28
• How do desires dominate one’s life? 28
• How does maya give birth to desires? 29
• What is the mechanism of desire? 29
• What is the difference between ambition and evolution? 31
• Is there a positive aspect to desires? 32
• Are there good desires and bad desires? 32
• How do desires produce karmas? 33
• How does desire relate to action? 33
• What is the role of desires? 34

2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise

LIVING WITH DESIRES
• What is the way to peace? 35
• Which branches of yoga help to manage desires? 35
• How should desires be dealt with? 36
• What is the difference between control and suppression? 38
• Why is it important to plan life? 40
• What attitude should one have towards desires? 40
• How can one experience true contentment in life? 42
• What is the importance of harmony in life? 43
FULFILLING DESIRES
• Why is it important to fulfil desires and ambitions? 44
• How do the gunas relate to vasanas? 45
• How should desires be fulfilled? 45
• How should desires be regulated? 47
• How should one answer wishes and desires? 48

170
• What are the ways to deal with the sexual urge? 49
• Is there a desire that should always be sustained? 50
• How can a person attain something he really aspires for? 51
• How should one renounce desires? 51
SUBLIMATING DESIRES
• What happens to desires in the course of life? 53
• What does sublimation or channelling of desire mean? 54
• How does yoga manage the four instincts? 56
• What is the approach of laya yoga towards desires? 56
• How can vasana be sublimated? 57
• How do sama and dama help to eradicate vasanas? 57
• How can the energy of desire be sublimated? 58
• What is the role of sannyasa ashrama in the sublimation of
desires? 60
• How does sannyasa redirect desire? 61
• How does disassociation work? 62
LIVING WITHOUT DESIRES
• Does a time come when one decides to drop desires? 62
• Is it possible to experience enjoyment without being subject
to desire? 64
• Which desires need to be renounced? 65
• What does it mean to renounce desires? 66
• How does yoga help transcend desires? 67
• How does fulfilling desires enable one to turn away from
them? 68
• Why is contentment important? 68
• How can one be without desires? 68
• Are there different types of desirelessness? 70

3. Suffering
BLESSING IN DISGUISE
• Why is suffering something positive? 72
• Why is there so much pain and misery in the world? 72
• Is suffering inevitable? 73

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• Is it possible to fulfil all of one’s desires and always experience
happiness? 73
• Is the human mind affected more by happiness or
unhappiness? 74
• It is said that all of life is suffering, that every experience in
life involves suffering. How can this be understood? 75
• Why doesn’t God fulfil all desires and make everyone happy? 77
• What are the forms of suffering? 77
• Why does God allow wicked persons to flourish, while good
people suffer? 78
CAUSES OF SUFFERING
• How can suffering be defined? 79
• How do karmas and kleshas interact in the cycle of birth and
death? 80
• What is the basis of suffering, according to the Yoga Sutras? 81
• What is the fundamental cause of suffering? 82
• How does the sense of I-ness arise? 84
• How do ego and attachments lead to suffering? 85
• How do raga and dwesha cause suffering? 87
• Do external events in the world cause suffering? 88
PAIN AND EVOLUTION
• How do pain and suffering help anyone? 90
• How does one benefit from suffering? 90
• Why is it that an aspirant may sincerely practise sadhana and
austerities and yet continue to suffer in life? 93
• Is suffering really necessary on the path of spiritual
evolution? 94
• Why should one welcome suffering? 94
• Why is suffering necessary? 95
• Why should suffering be accepted or chosen? What are its
benefits? 97
• What is the positive outcome of accepting pain? 98
SUFFERING AS A GOAL
• What kind of suffering can be avoided? 99
• Is it all right to seek relief from present suffering in some
way, or should it be approached differently? 100

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• Isn’t it better to remove the present suffering, if possible? 100
• How should one look at suffering and happiness? 101
• What is the importance of having a goal in order to transcend
suffering in life? 103
• What exactly is meant by a downfall? 105
• Why isn’t suicide an effective answer to suffering? 106
• What are the spiritual consequences for a person who takes
his own life? 107
• If a person does not want to live, what should he do? 107
YOGIC APPROACH TO SUFFERING
• Which methods help to overcome suffering? 108
• How does transforming the mind overcome suffering? 109
• According to the various traditions, how can suffering be
overcome? 110
• How can suffering be endured? 111
• What is the importance of adjusting to suffering? 112
• What is the approach of spiritually realized people to
suffering? 113
• If yogis must also undergo the effects of karma, why are they
said to be beyond suffering? 113
• How can suffering be overcome? 114
• What is the importance of equilibrium in life? 115
• Is it possible to minimize suffering through yoga? 117
• Is one’s karma affected when helping someone who is
suffering? 119
• What is the best way to remove suffering and bring happiness
to others? 120
• How do divine life and God’s grace help one to overcome
suffering? 121
• How can one find true, lasting happiness in life? 121

4. Health and Disease

DEFINITION OF HEALTH
• What is health? 122
• What is the yogic concept of health and disease? 122
• How does yoga define health? 122

173
• What is the approach to health in yoga? 123
• Who is a healthy person? 123
• Why is good health important? 124
• How is good health linked to karma? 124
CAUSE OF DISEASE
• What is the cause of disease? 125
• According to the theory of karma, what is the origin of
disease? 127
• According to the theory of karma, how is illness categorized?128
• How does karma manifest as ill health? 129
MANAGING ILL HEALTH
• What is the role of disease? 130
• What is the purpose of disease? 130
• Is seeking medical treatment interfering with the expression
of one’s unalterable prarabdha karma? 130
• When you were ill, why didn’t you seek medical treatment? 131
• If one breaks a leg, isn’t it better to put it in a plaster cast and
let it mend rather than becoming an invalid? 132
• If physical suffering is due to past karma and serves a
purpose, why should one alleviate it at all? 132
• As the fulfilment of karma is necessary for spiritual evolution,
should one undergo an organ transplant in order to overcome
a diseased condition, or would this interfere with the process
of karma? 133
• Would the donation of an organ interfere with the karma of
the recipient? 133
• Is the donation of organs accepted in the East? 134
• How should a karma yogi look after the health of the physical
body? 135
• What are the three conditions of life? 135
SPIRITUAL HEALING
• Why should one undergo sickness when it could be removed
through psychic healing or other siddhis? 137
• Why is giving spiritual healing not advised? 137
• Why shouldn’t siddhis be used to help suffering people? 138
• Did you ever use siddhis to heal others? 139

174
• What responsibility does one have towards one’s fellow men
and women? What is real help? When should one interfere
in other people’s karma? 140
• How is it possible for a person to take on another person’s
karma? 142

5. Destiny and Free Will

ASTROLOGY
• Can one’s destiny be known? 144
• Can destined events be prevented? 144
• How do astrological positions influence one’s destiny, and is
there any yogic practice which can alter this? 145
• Does the date of initiation into sannyasa have an influence
on destiny? 147
• How have the predictions in your astrological chart come
true and how have they been influenced by your willpower
and grace? 148
• How much influence do the planets have on one’s life, and
how much of a person’s destiny is in his own hands? 149
• Can destiny be transcended? 150
DESTINY
• What is the aim of destiny? 151
• How is destiny created? 151
• What is destiny? 151
• Is there a difference between aims in life and destiny? 152
• What does destiny determine in one’s life? 153
• What is the relationship between man and destiny? 153
• Can destiny that is already formed be changed before it
manifests? 154
• How should destiny be faced, whether it is positive or
negative? 155
• Is destiny or free will the decisive factor in life? 158
• Do yoga practices interfere with destiny? 159
FREE WILL
• How can there be free will if Ishwara, the supreme con­
sciousness, determines all? 159

175
• Do humans have free will? 159
• Can willpower and effort overcome a destiny that is already
formed? 161
• Given that everyone is subject to prarabdha karma, what
should be the proper attitude towards people who commit
crimes? 161
• Can the sanchita or accumulated karma be influenced before
they form unalterable prarabdha karma? 163
• How does fate or destiny relate to free will? 163

176
 Appendix B

Index of Scriptural Quotes

APAROKSHANUBHUTI OF ADI
SHANKARACHARYA 178
BHAGAVAD GITA 178
HOLY BIBLE 180
KATHOPANISHAD 180
MAHABHARATA 180
MANUSMRITI 180
POETRY BY KABIR DAS 181
POETRY BY MIRABAI 181
RAMACHARITAMANAS OF TULSIDAS 181
RAMAYANA OF SAGE VALMIKI 182
YOGA SUTRAS OF SAGE PATANJALI 182
YOGA VASISHTHA OF SAGE VASISHTHA 183

177
 APAROKSHANUBHUTI OF ADI SHANKARACHARYA
3. Suffering
(v. 7) The patient endurance of all sorrow and pain is known as
titiksha, which is conducive to happiness. 111

5. Destiny and Free Will

(v. 92) The actions of the previous births are known as
prarabdha. 152
(v. 89) While experiencing the fruit of past actions, one need
not be anxious about anything. 157

BHAGAVAD GITA
1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(2:62) When a man thinks of objects, attachment to them arises;
from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises. 30
(2:63) From anger comes delusion; from delusion, loss of
memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination;
from the destruction of discrimination he perishes. 30

2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise

(3:38) As fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and
as an embryo by the amnion, so is this enveloped by that. 35
(3:39) O Arjuna, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy
of the wise in the form of desire, which is unappeasable, like
fire. 35
(2:70) He attains peace in whom all desired objects enter as
waters enter the ocean, which filled from all sides remains
unmoved, but not the man who is full of desires. 47
(5:20) Resting in Brahman, with steady intellect and undeluded,
the knower of Brahman neither rejoices on obtaining what is
pleasant nor grieves on obtaining what is unpleasant. 65
(18:49) He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has
subdued his self, from whom desire has fled, by renunciation
he attains the supreme state of freedom from action. 65
(2:55) When a man completely casts off, O Arjuna, all the desires
of the mind and is satisfied in the self by the self, then he is said
to be one of steady wisdom. 69

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(6:18) When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the self only,
free from longing for the objects of desire, then it is said, “He
is united.” 69
(3:17) But for that man who rejoices only in the self, who is
satisfied with the self, who is content in the self alone, truly
there is nothing to do. 69
(3:18) For him there is no interest whatsoever in what is done
or what is not done; nor does he depend on any being for any
object. 69
(4:19) He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and
selfish purposes, and whose actions have been burnt by the fire
of knowledge, him the wise call a sage. 71

3. Suffering
(5:22) The enjoyments that are born of action are the generators
of pain only, for they have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna!
The wise do not rejoice in them. 85
(18:5) Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be
abandoned, but should be performed; sacrifice, gift and also
austerity are the purifiers of the wise. 97
(11:45) I am delighted, having seen what has never been seen
before; and yet my mind is distressed by fear. Show me Your
previous form only, O God! Have mercy, O God of gods! O
abode of the universe! 117
(11:46) I desire to see You as before, crowned, bearing a mace,
with the discus in hand, in Your former form only, having four
arms, O thousand-armed Cosmic Form! 117
(6:23) Let severance from union with pain be known by the name
of yoga. This yoga should be practised with determination and
with a non-despondent mind. 118

5. Destiny and Free Will

(6:5) Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone; let him not
lower himself, for this self alone is the friend of oneself, and
this self alone is the enemy of oneself. 160
(6:6) The self is the friend of the self for him, who has
conquered himself by the Self; but to the unconquered self,
this self stands in the position of an enemy like the external
foe. 160

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 HOLY BIBLE
1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(Proverbs 13:12) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a
desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 12
(Proverbs 27:7) He who is sated loathes honey, but to one who
is hungry everything bitter is sweet. 15

KATHOPANISHAD
5. Destiny and Free Will
(1:3:13) The wise man should merge speech in mind, mind in
intellect, intellect in the great Self, the Atman, and the great
Self in the peaceful Self. Awake, arise! 161
(1:2:14) Learn this wisdom from the great ones. As narrow as
the razor’s edge is that path, difficult to traverse and hard to
tread, say the wise. 161

MAHABHARATA
1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(13:93:47) When one desire cherished by a person becomes
satisfied, immediately there originates another whose
satisfaction is sought and which pierces him like an arrow. 27

2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise

(12:217:36) As a weaver drives his threads into a cloth by means
of his shuttle, similarly the threads that constitute the fabric of
the universe are woven by the shuttle of desire. 37

MANUSMRITI
1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(2:4) Not a single act here appears ever to be done by a man
free from desire; for whatever a man does is the result of the
impulse of desire. 33

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 POETRY BY KABIR DAS
5. Destiny and Free Will
This world is not a permanent place to stay.
It is a traveller’s lodge in a foreign land.
This world is like a folded piece of paper,
Which dissolves even with a drop of water.
This world is a garden of thorns
In which one dies after being entangled.
This world is a thick, impassable jungle,
Which must be burned by fire to clear the way.
Kabir says, O men of wisdom, remember
That the safest abode is the name of the Lord. 157–158

POETRY BY MIRABAI
2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise
What can I say? I have no words
To convey my longing;
Pray come, and quench
This fire that’s searing my heart.
Lord, You know all;
Then why do you torment me thus?
Pray, have mercy,
Come and meet Mira
Who, for ever your slave,
In love surrenders at Your feet. 55

RAMACHARITAMANAS OF TULSIDAS
5. Destiny and Free Will
(Ayodhyakanda, doha 77)
Considering an individual’s good and bad actions,
The Lord weighs the cause and sanctions the result.
The result is the outcome of the action in totality,
The scriptures, justice and everything confirm it. 144

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 RAMAYANA OF SAGE VALMIKI
5. Destiny and Free Will
(Ayodhyakanda, 22:22) Joy and sorrow, fear and anger, gain and
loss, birth and death, and whatever similar experience comes
to a particular individual, that is unquestionably the work of
providence. 153

YOGA SUTRAS OF SAGE PATANJALI

1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(4:10) There is no beginning to them and the desire to live is
eternal. 18
(2:9) Abhinivesha, fear of death, is the desire for life sustained
by its own force which dominates even the learned. 18
(4:24) Although the mind is variegated by innumerable vasanas,
it acts for purusha because it works in association. 24
(1:15) When an individual becomes free of craving for sense
objects which he has experienced as well as those of which he has
heard, that state of consciousness is vairagya, non-attachment. 25
(4:11) Since cause and effect, support and object are bound
together, by their disappearance that also disappears. 26

3. Suffering
(2:15) In the case of one who has discrimination, viveka, all
is painful because of pains due to change, acute suffering,
samskaras, and also due to gunas and vrittis in opposition. 75
(2:12) This storehouse of karmas, karmashaya, which is the root
cause of afflictions, is experienced in the present and future
births. 80
(2:13) So long as the root of karmashaya, the storehouse of
karmas, is there, it ripens and gives birth, class, span of life and
experience. 81
(2:3) Ignorance, I-feeling, liking, disliking and fear of death
are the pains or afflictions. 82
(2:17) The union between the seer and the seen is the cause of
heya, that which is to be avoided. 83
(2:24) The cause of union is avidya. 83

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(2:5) Avidya is mistaking the non-eternal, impure, negative and
noumenon for the eternal, pure, good and atman respectively. 83
(2:6) Asmita is the identity of purusha with buddhi. 84
(2:7) Raga is the liking accompanying pleasure. 87
(2:8) Dwesha is the repulsion accompanying pain. 87
(2:16) Suffering which has not yet come should be avoided. 99

YOGA VASISHTHA OF SAGE VASISHTHA

1. Desire: Cause of Creation
(1:3:11) Desires are of two kinds, pure and impure. The impure
desires are the cause of transmigration, while the pure desires
serve to destroy it. 11
(4:54:2) Desire or will is situated in the mind or mental part
of the one eternal, universal and spiritual substance of God. 12
(5:17:5) The desire to enjoy external objects is verily the
bondage of the soul, while indifference to worldly enjoyments
constitutes freedom in this living state. 20

2. Desire: Enemy of the Wise

(2:9:30) The current of desires flows in between the two channels
of good and evil; by the exertion of activity one must turn it to
the right course. 59
(4:54:16) He who wants to destroy his desire can do it in a trice,
by forgetting the thought of his desired object. 62
(6(2):160:22) The web of desires that I have been fondly weaving
so long proved at last to be fragile and frail. Hence people of
firm minds learn betimes to abandon their desires for the whole
range of visible objects. 63
(1:3:9) The absence of desires leads to the extinction of mental
actions, in the same manner as the absence of cold is conducive
to the dissolution of small particles of ice. 63
(4:57:19) The man bound to his desires is a bondsman, and the
person freed from them is set free from his slavery. 64
(4:57:20–21) Forsake first your foul, tamasic desires. Then be
freed from your desire of worldly possessions. Foster your better
wishes next, and finally, be inclined towards pure and holy
teachings. After having conducted yourself with pure desires, get
rid of these at the end. Then, freed from all desires, be inclined

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towards and united with your intellect, knowing all and longing
for nothing. 66
(3:22:5) The desire of jivanmuktas is not properly any desire at
all, since it is the pure desire relating to universal wealth and
happiness. 71

5. Destiny and Free Will

(2:9:4) The good and bad results which proceed from the
accomplished acts are expressed by the word destiny. 151

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 Glossary

Abhinivesha – fear of death; one of the five kleshas described

in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. See Klesha.
Acharya – spiritual preceptor, master.
Adhi – mental pain. See Adhibhautika. See Adhidaivika. See
Adhyatmika.
Adhibhautika – suffering which proceeds from extrinsic
causes, such as other people, beasts, birds or inanimate
objects; in Samkhya philosophy, one of the three miseries
caused by avidya (ignorance).
Adhidaivika – extrinsic suffering due to supernatural causes;
environmental hardship and pain; in Samkhya philosophy
one of the three miseries caused by avidya (ignorance).
Adhyatmika – pertaining to the atma (soul); suffering which
proceeds from intrinsic causes, such as disorders of the
body and mind; pain which is coming out of one’s own
being due to either unconscious psychological frustration
or emotional tension; in Samkhya philosophy, spiritual
hardship and pain, one of the three miseries caused by
avidya (ignorance).
Adrishta – unseen, unknown; that which is beyond the reach
of observation or consciousness.
Ahamkara – faculty of ego, awareness of the existence of ‘I’.
See Antahkarana.
Ahara – third instinct; craving satisfaction, food or nourish­
ment.

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Ajnana – ignorance of reality; non-cognizance; unawareness;
one of the five kleshas described in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras. See Klesha.
Alambana – primal idea or basic cause; support.
Anadi – beginningless.
Anahata chakra – psychic/pranic centre situated in the spine
behind the sternum; associated physically with the cardiac
plexus, heart and lungs, mentally with emotion, especially
love, and spiritually with atma, the spirit. See Chakra.
Ananda – pure bliss; natural state of consciousness.
Anishta – undesired; bad, evil.
Antahkarana – literally, ‘inner tool’, inner organ of
consciousness, consisting of: ahamkara, manas, buddhi
and chitta.
Antaryamin – inner ruler; the supreme being present in every
object of creation and guiding all creatures.
Aparigraha – abstention from greed; one of the five yamas
described by Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras as a
preliminary practice of yoga. See Yama.
Apta kama – one whose desires have been fulfilled; one who
has renounced all worldly desires and attachments; a
realized sage.
Arjuna – name of the third Pandava brother, who was the son
of Lord Indra and Kunti. In the Bhagavad Gita, he received
a divine revelation from Sri Krishna.
Artha – prosperity; material need; accomplishment; attain­
ment in all spheres of life; one of the four purusharthas.
See Purushartha.
Ashram – place of spiritual practice and growth through
internal and external labour.
Ashrama dharma – the special duties of each stage of life.
Ashtanga yoga – the eight limbs of yoga described by
Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras: yama, niyama, asana,
pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi;
the eight limbs of yoga presented by Swami Sivananda:
serve, love give, purify, do good, be good, meditate,
realize.

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Asmita – notion of ‘I’ or ‘I-ness’; awareness of ‘I am’
superimposed on the body, action and mind; the feeling
of ‘I’ identified with an action; one of the five causes of
affliction (kleshas) described by Sage Patanjali in the Yoga
Sutras. See Klesha.
Atma, atman – the self beyond mind and body; principle of
life; highest reality, Supreme Consciousness, spirit, soul.
Atmajnana – direct knowledge of the self.
Avatara – descent or incarnation of God to the mortal
plane.
Avidya – ignorance of reality; ignorance. See Klesha.
Bhagavad Gita – literally, ‘divine song’; Sri Krishna’s
discourse to his disciple Arjuna delivered on the battlefield
of Kurukshetra at the commencement of the great
Mahabharata war; one of the source books of Hindu
philosophy, containing the essence of the Upanishads
and yoga.
Bhakta – devotee.
Bhakti – complete devotion to the higher reality of life; love
for all beings; devotion as service; channelling of emotion
to a higher force.
Bhaya – second instinct; fear; fear of death, fear of losing
one’s identity and associations.
Bhima – the second Pandava brother in the Mahabharata epic,
son of Vayu and Kunti.
Bhoga – sensual enjoyment; external experience.
Bhranti – confusion; mistake; false idea or impression, wrong
notion, delusion.
Bhrantisukha – illusory pleasure, deluding happiness.
Bhrigu Samhita – a selection of prose as a code of conduct,
written by Sage Bhrigu.
Bhukti – material enjoyment.
Brahmacharya – being absorbed in higher consciousness;
sensual restraint; celibacy; conduct suitable for proceeding
to the highest state of existence; one of the yamas
described by Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras as resulting
in indomitable courage. See Yama.

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Brahmajnana – experience and knowledge of Brahman, pure
Consciousness or the Absolute; divine knowledge.
Brahman – etymologically ‘ever expanding, limitless
consciousness’; name of Supreme Consciousness or cosmic
intelligence according to Vedanta philosophy; God as
creator; monistic concept of Absolute Reality.
Buddha – the enlightened one; generally referring to the
founder of Buddhism.
Buddhi – discerning, discriminating aspect of mind; aspect of
mind closest to pure consciousness; one of the four parts of
the antahkarana, or inner instrument. See Antahkarana.
Chakra – circle, wheel or vortex; pranic/psychic centre;
confluence point of energy flows (nadis) in the body; the
seven major chakras for descent of divine energy or for
human evolution are sahasrara, ajna, vishuddhi, anahata,
manipura, swadhisthana and mooladhara.
Chela – disciple, one who follows the path.
Chitta – individual consciousness, including the subconscious
and unconscious layers of mind; thinking, concentration,
attention, enquiry; storehouse of memory or samskaras;
one of the four parts of the antahkarana, or inner
instrument. See Antahkarana.
Daiva sampatti – positive qualities, divine virtues.
Dama – control of the outer senses; self-command through
self-restraint and curbing the passions.
Dareshana – desire for relationship with another, particularly
emotional connection and sexual interaction.
Devi – female deity, goddess.
Dharana – practice of concentration or complete attention;
sixth stage of ashtanga yoga described in Sage Patanjali’s
Yoga Sutras as holding or binding the mind to one
point.
Dharma – the natural role one plays in life; ethical law; duty;
the laws or fundamental support of life; righteousness.
Dharmaputra – literally, ‘son of dharma’; an epithet used to
describe Yudhisthira, a character in the Mahabharata epic;
one who observes righteousness.

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Dhyana – spontaneous state of meditation; one-pointedness
of mind through concentration on either a form, thought
or sound; absorption in the object of meditation; seventh
stage of Sage Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga.
Dosha – three humours of the body described in ayurveda:
mucus (kapha), bile (pitta) and wind (vata). Their imbalance
prevents the flow of energy in sushumna nadi.
Drashta – witness, uninvolved observer, onlooker, seer; the
consciousness which knows what is going on; the inner
self.
Draupadi – great devotee of Sri Krishna, daughter of King
Drupada of Panchala and wife of the five Pandava brothers,
in the Mahabharata epic.
Drishya – the seen.
Dukha – suffering, pain.
Dwesha – repulsion, aversion; hatred, enmity, dislike; one
of the five causes of suffering (kleshas) described in Sage
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as aversion to the unpleasant. See
Klesha.
Gandharvas – celestial beings who engage in musical arts,
dancing and singing.
Grihastha ashrama – the second stage of life according to the
ancient vedic ashrama tradition, i.e. household or married
life from 25 to 50 years of age.
Guna – quality; the three gunas, qualities or aspects of prakriti
are sattwa, rajas and tamas.
Harischandra – name of a king of the solar dynasty who was
famous for his liberality, probity and unflinching adherence
to truth. He was put on ‘fire’ through a test by Sage
Vishvamitra to prove his noble qualities. Finally, the worthy
king was elevated to heaven along with his subjects.
Heya – that which is to be avoided.
Iccha – wish, desire, will.
Iccha shakti – creative force or that desire which is the first
manifestation of the greater mind.
Ida nadi – a major pranic channel running from the left
side of mooladhara chakra to the left side of ajna chakra,

189
 governing the left side of the body and the right side
of the brain. The ida energy flow criss-crosses the spine
through the major chakras between mooladhara and ajna,
conducting the passive aspect of prana manifesting as
the mental force, lunar force or chitta shakti; also called
chandra nadi as the lunar energy flows through it.
Indriya – sense organ; power of the senses.
Ishta – object of desire; the chosen ideal; the particular form
of God one is devoted to.
Ishwara – higher reality; God; non-changing, indestructible
principle or quality.
Jara – old age.
Jati – lineage, race, caste; community; relative.
Jiva – principle of life; individual or personal soul; living
being.
Jivanmukta – liberated in life; an enlightened person, a
person purified by true knowledge of the Supreme Reality
and freed from future births while still embodied.
Jivatma, jivatman – individual or personal soul.
Jnana, jnanam – knowledge, cognition, wisdom; higher
knowledge derived from meditation or from inner
experience.
Jnana yoga – yoga of knowledge and wisdom attained through
spontaneous self-analysis and investigation of abstract and
speculative ideas; leading a discriminative lifestyle, living
with wisdom.
Jnanendriya – organ of sense perceptions and knowledge;
five in number, viz. ears, eyes, nose, tongue and skin.
Jnani – one who expresses wisdom in daily life.
Kaivalya – final liberation; highest state of samadhi; that state
of consciousness which is beyond duality.
Kalpa – aeon, era; one day in the life of Brahma (4,320,000,000
human years); rules and regulations of religious work;
seed.
Kalpa vriksha – wish-fulfilling tree; a psychic centre closely
linked with anahata chakra.
Kalpana – imagination; idea conceived in the mind.

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Kama – emotional, sensual love; lust.
Kamsa, King – a tyrannical king killed by Sri Krishna.
Kapha – mucus, phlegm, one of the three humours (doshas)
described in ayurveda. See Dosha.
Karana sharira – causal body; also called anandamaya
kosha.
Karma – action and result; law of cause and effect.
Karma yoga – yogic path of action; union with the Supreme
Consciousness through action; action without attachment
to the fruits of action.
Karmashaya – deep layers of consciousness where the
karmas are stored in the form of impressions, symbols
or archetypes; repository of karma; aggregate of work
done.
Karmendriya – motor organ; there are five physical organs
of action, viz. vocal cords, hands, feet, genital organ and
anus.
Klesha – pain, affliction, suffering; five afflictions or causes
of suffering described in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, viz.
avidya (ignorance), asmita (sense of ‘I’ identity), raga
(attraction), dwesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear
of death); in yoga the five kleshas are the sources of all
suffering or troubles, with ignorance being considered
the chief klesha.
Kriya shakti – power or faculty of acting.
Kriyamana karma – karma being performed now; the effects
of the deeds of the present life which are to be experienced
in the future; literally, ‘which is being done’; also called
agami karma.
Kunti – daughter of Yadava and the first wife of Pandu in the
Mahabharata epic.
Laya yoga – literally, union by absorption; yoga of conscious
dissolution of individuality.
Lila – literally, ‘play’; activity of prakriti and its three
gunas.
Lokeshana – desire for name and fame; attachment to any
expectations from people or the world.

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Mahabharata – epic of ancient India said to be composed by
Sage Veda Vyasa, involving the history and consequences
of the great battle between the Kaurava and Pandava
princes. It consists of eighteen sections and the Bhagavad
Gita is a part of it.
Mahapurusha – great man; sage; person who has realized
the totality of consciousness.
Mahat – greater mind; the total mind which includes manas,
buddhi, chitta and ahamkara; universal intellect.
Mahatattwa – literally, ‘the great element’; great essence.
Mahatma – literally, ‘great soul’; used with reference to a
person who has destroyed the ego and realized the self
as one with all.
Mahatvakanksha – ambition; a desire that manifests in the
realm of mahat, the greater mind, or buddhi.
Maithuna – physical union; the first basic instinct; copulation;
fusion of male and female energies.
Mamta – feeling of mineness; sense of belonging, owner­
ship.
Manipura chakra – literally, ‘city of jewels’; psychic/pranic
centre situated in the spine behind the navel; associated
with the solar plexus and digestive organs and mentally with
willpower; source of vitality and energy. See Chakra.
Manusmriti – a highly respected book on dharma shastra
(code of conduct), indicating one’s duty to self and society
and defining the purushartha; compiled by Sage Bhrigu,
believed to be a disciple of Manu; literally, ‘a text based
on memories of the teachings of Manu’.
Mathura – name of an ancient town which is the birthplace of Sri
Krishna, situated on the right bank of the river Yamuna.
Maya – means by which Brahman creates the phenomenal
world; power of creation; illusive power; in Vedanta
philosophy, the two powers of maya are: 1. the power
of veiling, and 2. the power of projection; in Samkhya
philosophy, another name for Prakriti.
Mirabai – (born 1502) Indian poet saint devoted to Sri
Krishna.

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Moha – delusion; infatuation.
Moksha – liberation from the cycles of birth and death and
the illusion of maya.
Mooladhara chakra – the lowest psychic/pranic centre in
the human body; situated in the perineal floor in men
and the cervix in women; associated physically with the
coccygeal plexus, excretory and reproductive organs, and
mentally with the instinctive nature; spiritually it is the
seat of kundalini. See Chakra.
Mrityu – death, one of the three inevitable conditions of
life.
Muhurta – instant; an auspicious time.
Mukti – release, liberation, final absolution of the conscious­
ness from the chain of birth and death and from the
illusion of maya.
Mumukshutva – intense yearning for liberation.
Muni – one who contemplates; one who has conquered the
mind; one who maintains silence or stillness of mind.
Nada – sound; subtle sound or vibration created by the union
of the Shiva and Shakti tattwas; the first manifestation of
the unmanifested Absolute.
Nidra – fourth instinct; deep sleep; isolation from the mind
and senses; disassociation.
Nirmana chitta – the higher mind where there is no
enjoyment of pleasure and pain; consciousness beyond
the mind.
Nirvana – cessation of suffering; final liberation or emancipa­
tion in Buddhist thought.
Nishkama karma – action done without desire; action without
expectation of fruits and done without personal interest
or egoism. This type of action purifies the mind and heart
without creating new bondage.
Nitya mukta – eternally free; the Supreme Being.
Niyama – observance of rules or rules of personal discipline
to render the mind tranquil in preparation for meditation;
the second step of the eight limbs (ashtanga yoga) of Sage
Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.

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Pandavas – sons of Pandu: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna,
Sahadev and Nakula; the five brothers who held an
inter-family feud against the Kauravas as recorded in the
Mahabharata epic. See Mahabharata, Kauravas.
Paramatma – cosmic soul or consciousness; supreme self; the
atma of the entire universe; God.
Parigraha – acquisition, collecting and keeping.
Parinama – transformation, change.
Parivrajaka – wandering mendicant; ascetic; stage of life
lasting for twelve years in the traditional training of a
sannyasin.
Patanjali, Sage – author of the Yoga Sutras; an ancient rishi
who codi­fied the system of raja yoga including ashtanga
yoga.
Pingala nadi – a major pranic channel in the body which
conducts the dynamic pranic force manifesting as prana
shakti from the right side of mooladhara chakra, criss-
crossing the spine through the major chakras to the right
side of ajna chakra; associated with the mundane realm of
experience and externalized awareness; also called surya
nadi as the solar energy flows through it.
Pitta – bile, one of the three humours (doshas) described in
ayurveda. See Dosha.
Poorva karma – previous karma.
Prakriti – nature; manifested shakti; manifest and unmanifest
nature composed of the three gunas; counterpart of
purusha in Samkhya philosophy.
Prana – vital energy force sustaining life and creation,
permeating the whole of creation and existing in both the
macrocosmos and microcosmos.
Prarabdha karma – actions already performed which, like
arrows shot from the bow, cannot be retrieved; previous
karmas which have matured enough to give fruit; that
portion of one’s actions which is bound to fructify in the
present life and cannot be averted.
Pratyahara – restraining the sensory and motor organs;
withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the

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 domination of the senses and sensual objects; training the
senses to follow the mind within; fifth stage of ashtanga
yoga described by Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.
Preta – ghost
Purusha – literally, ‘the one who lives in the city (of the
body)’; the soul; pure consciousness according to Samkhya
philosophy, undefiled and unlimited by contact with
prakriti or matter; can also refer to a man or a human
being.
Purushartha – human attainment; the four basic needs or
desires to be fulfilled in life, viz. artha (wealth), kama
(desire), dharma (duty), moksha (liberation).
Putreshana – desire for progeny, for one’s own children.
Raga – passion; affection; attachment; one of the five causes
of affliction (kleshas) described in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras as attraction or attachment to what gives pleasure.
See Klesha.
Raja yoga – the supreme yoga; union through control of
the mental processes and concentration of the mind; the
most authoritative text is Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras which
contain ashtanga yoga, the eightfold path.
Rajas – one of the three gunas or attributes; dynamism; state
of activity; creativity combined with full ego involvement.
See Guna.
Rakshasa – demon, evil spirit.
Ramacharitamanas – a version of the Ramayana written by
Tulsidas. It is composed in poetic form and is chanted by
devotees throughout India.
Ramayana – one of the most famous ancient Indian epics,
relating the life of Sri Rama, the most widely known version
was composed by Sage Valmiki, containing about 24,000
verses in seven chapters.
Ravana – the ten-headed demon king who kidnapped Sita,
Sri Rama’s wife, and was slain by Sri Rama; his ten heads
symbolize attachment to the phenomenal reality.
Rishi – seer; realized sage; one who contemplates or meditates
on the Self.

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Sadhaka – one who practises sadhana; a spiritual aspirant
Sadhana – spiritual practice or discipline performed
regularly.
Sadhu – good or holy person, sage, saint.
Sakshi – that which observes the phenomenal reality without
being affected at all; witness. See Drashta.
Sama – equanimity.
Samadhi – the culmination of meditation, state of oneness of
mind with the object of concentration and the universal
consciousness; self-realization; the eighth stage of raja
yoga.
Samatvam – equipoise.
Samkhya – one of the six systems of Indian philosophy.
Attributed to Sage Kapila, Samkhya is a spiritual science
based on the division of all existence into the two eternal
principles of purusha and prakriti, and the twenty-three
elements of creation; the philosophical basis of the yoga
system.
Samsara – illusory world; the course or circuit of worldly life;
unending cycle of birth and death.
Samskara – mental impression stored in the subtle body as an
archetype; the impressions which condition one’s nature,
causing one to react or respond in a certain way.
Sanchita karma – stored karma; accumulated experiences
and involvement in life which have been registered by the
consciousness and although not influencing one’s life at
the moment, will manifest in the future.
Sandhi – union; juncture; interval; pause.
Sankalpa – positive resolve; purpose, aim, intention;
willpower.
Sankalpa shakti – the power of one-pointed awareness, one-
pointed desire, one-pointed will.
Sannyasin – one who has taken sannyasa initiation,
surrendering everything to the guru and the spiritual
journey.
Santosha – contentment, satisfaction; one of the five niyamas
enumerated in the Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali.

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Satsanga – gathering in which the ideals and principles of
truth are discussed; spiritual association; association with
the wise and the good.
Sattwa – one of the three gunas, or attributes of nature; state of
luminosity, harmony, equilibrium and purity. See Guna.
Shakti – primal energy; manifest consciousness; power,
ability, capacity, strength, energy; counterpart of Shiva;
the moving power of nature and consciousness; in
Hindu mythology Shakti is often symbolized as a divine
woman.
Shankara – name of Shiva, referring to his auspicious
nature.
Shanti –peace, tranquility; absence of passion, complete
indifference to all worldly enjoyment.
Shiva – state of pure consciousness, individual and cosmic,
original source of yoga; Lord of yogis; auspicious,
benevolent one; name of the god of the Hindu trinity who
is entrusted with the work of destruction; destroyer of the
ego and duality.
Shoonya – void, state of transcendental consciousness; space
behind the eyebrow centre.
Shuddha bhoga – pure enjoyment; enjoyment without craving
or desire.
Siddhartha – name of Buddha before he became ‘the
enlightened one’.
Sita – daughter of King Janaka and the wife of Sri Rama, as
recorded in the epic Ramayana.
Sri Krishna – literally, ‘black’ or ‘dark’; eighth incarnation
of Vishnu; avatara who descended in the Dwapara Yuga.
Sri Krishna is perhaps the most celebrated hero in Hindu
mythology and seems to be an historical figure. To
uphold dharma he orchestrated the Mahabharata war. His
teachings to his friend and disciple Arjuna during that war
are immortalized in the Bhagavad Gita.
Sri Rama – the seventh avatara of Vishnu and embodiment of
dharma, hero of the epic Ramayana; a heroic and virtuous
king.

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Sukha – pleasure, enjoyment.
Sutra – thread; condensed statements strung together to
give an outline of a philosophy, such as the Yoga Sutras of
Sage Patanjali.
Swabhava – one’s own essential nature.
Swadhisthana chakra – literally, ‘one’s own abode’; second
psychic/pranic centre; located in the coccyx; associated with
the sacral plexus and governing the urogenital system; the
storehouse of subconscious impressions. See Chakra.
Swami – literally, ‘master over the mind’; master of the self;
title of sannyasins.
Swatantra – independent.
Tamas – one of the three gunas or attributes of nature; inertia,
stability; ignorance, darkness; unwillingness to change.
See Guna.
Tantra – most ancient universal science and culture which
deals with the transition of human nature from the present
level of evolution and understanding to a transcendental
level of knowledge, experience and awareness; a particular
path of sadhana including mantra, yantra and other
esoteric practices.
Tapas – austerity; a specific type of pain and hardship; this
pain is of three types: adhyatmika, spiritual, adhidevika,
natural or environmental, and adhibhautika, physical.
Tapasya – practice of austerity.
Titiksha – endurance; bearing heat and cold and other pairs
of opposites without complaint.
Tripti – satisfaction.
Tushti – satisfaction, gratification.
Tyagi – one who has renounced.
Upanishads – the philosophical portion of the Vedas,
traditionally one hundred and eight in number, containing
intimate dialogues and discussions between guru and
disciple on the nature of the Absolute and the path leading
towards it; literally, ‘to sit near and listen’ (to the spiritual
teacher); regarded as the source of Vedanta, Yoga and
Samkhya philosophies.

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Vairagya – non-attachment; absence of sensual craving and
desires; detachment; supreme dispassion.
Vairagya dharma – the inclination born of dispassion, which
arises at a young age.
Vasana tyaga – renunciation of subtle desires.
Vasishtha, Sage – a celebrated rishi and seer of the Vedas;
author of many vedic hymns. His teachings are recorded
in Yoga Vasishtha, one of the greatest expositions of jnana
yoga.
Vata – wind, gas; one of the three humours (doshas) described
in ayurveda. See Dosha.
Vedanta – one of the six principle systems of Indian
philosophy; literally, ‘ the last part of the Vedas’; the school
of Hindu thought based primarily on the Upanishads; the
doctrine of non-dualism (Advaita).
Vichara – reflection; enquiry into the nature of the self,
Brahman or truth.
Vijnanaghana atman – the all-pervading mass of wisdom;
abode of knowledge; literally, ‘cloud of spiritual know­
ledge’; the atma which is the abode of pure knowledge
Vikalpa – fancy, unfounded belief, imagination; oscillation
of the mind; one of the five modifications of mind listed
in Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. See Vritti.
Vitteshana – the desire for money, material possessions or
security.
Viveka – discrimination; right knowledge or understanding;
sense of discrimination between the self and what is not
the self, between the eternal and the transitory, between
consciousness and unconsciousness, between prakriti and
purusha.
Vritti – a modification arising in the mind related to a thought
pattern; a particular state or condition.
Vyadhi – disease, sickness, illness; one of the unavoidable
sufferings of life.
Yajna – sacrifice; yajna consists of three syllables, ‘ya’, ‘ja’ and
‘na’, which refer to the three processes involved in every
act performed and which must be balanced – production:

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 ‘ya’, distribution: ‘ja’, and assimilation: ‘na’; yajna has three
components: ritual or worship, satsanga and unconditional
giving.
Yama – self-restraints or rules of conduct which render
the mind tranquil; first stage of the eight limbs of yoga
(ashtanga yoga) of Sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
Yoga – union; the root is yuj, meaning ‘to join’, ‘ to yoke’; a
system of practice leading to a state of union between the
individual and universal awareness; practices, philosophy
and lifestyle to achieve peace, power and spiritual wisdom
as well as perfect health, a sound mind and a balanced
personality; one of the six main systems of Indian
philosophy.
Yoga Shastras – the yoga system of philosophy and practice
where the chief aim is to teach the means for the human
soul to unite completely with the supreme spirit; elaborate
rules for the proper practice of concentration of mind.
Yoga Sutras – ancient authoritative text on raja yoga by Sage
Patanjali.
Yogi – an adept of yoga; follower of the yoga system of
philosophy and practice.
Yudhishthira – literally, ‘firm in battle’; name of the eldest
Pandava brother in the Mahabharata epic.

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 General Index

Ambition 31 Destiny 4–5; definition

Anxiety 75–77, 125–127 144, 149–150, 151–154;
Astrology 144–150 management 132–134;
Attachment 22, 85–87, 87, 89 manifestation 154; origin
Attraction and repulsion 80, 144–148, 151; purpose 151
87–88, 89
Avidya, see ignorance Dharma 157
Disassociation 61–62
Brahmacharya 49–50, 65 Disease, definition 128–129;
Brahman 6, 16, 18, 65, 89, management 130–135,
115, 124, 145 135–140; manifestation 129;
Buddhi 43, 65, 84 origin 125–128; purpose 130
Dosha 123
Compassion 71, 119, 129 Duality 48
Crime 161–162 Dwesha, see attraction and
repulsion
Dama, see self-control
Death 75–76, 135–137 Ego 29, 84–87, 89, 139–140,
Desire 2–3; cause 6; definition 141
7–11, 23, 26, 33; effect Equanimity 57, 117
14–15, 28–31; management Evolution 1–4, 21, 31, 38, 42,
32–33, 35–71; origin 6, 11– 45–46, 49, 90–99, 106, 132,
12, 27–28; purpose 12–14, 133, 137–139, 151
16–17, 32–34
Desirelessness 36, 54–56, Freedom 5, 159–161, 164
64–65, 68–71 Free will 4–5, 158–159,
163–164

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God 77, 78–79, 86, 103, 121, 157 Raga, see attraction and
Grace 79, 121 repulsion
Guna 45, 75–77, 95–97, 102 Rajas, see guna
Guru 139–140, 141, 148–149 Renunciation 51–53

Happiness 77, 82, 85, 101–103 Samskara 25, 76, 154, 155
Health 122–125, 135 Sannyasa 60–61, 147–148
Sattwa, see guna
Ignorance 80, 81–84, 88–89, Self-control 58
120–121 Self-effort 102, 124, 155–159,
Immortality 124, 134, 151, 161, 165
160 Self-realization 49–51, 54, 67,
Instinct 56 89, 102, 124
Selfless service 124
Karma, definition 4–5, 73, Siddhi 137–140
126–127, 151–152; effect Soul 15, 28, 89, 121, 124,
73–74, 78–79, 82–83, 159–161
161–162; management 85, Spiritual healing 137–140
141–143, 155; manifestation Suffering 3–4, 75–77;
129; origin 80–81 definition 72–73, 77–78,
Karma yoga 1–3, 124, 135 79–80; effect 90–99;
Klesha 80–84 management 99–106, 108–
121; origin 7–9, 48, 78–79,
Macrocosm and microcosm 80–84, 85–89; purpose 90
145–147 Suicide 106–108, 118
Mantra 147 Surrender 118–119
Maya 29, 84, 103, 115, 158 SWAN principle 42–43, 49
Mind 24, 26–34, 58, 61, 68,
74–75, 87, 88, 95 Tamas, see guna
Moksha, see self-realization
Vasana, definition 17–22, 23;
Non-doership 100, 101 management 22–23, 25–26,
57–58; purpose 23–24
One-pointedness 28, 51, 97 Vedanta 50, 111
Organ donation 133–135 Vritti 10–11, 16, 18

Prakriti 134 Willpower 10, 11, 90, 107,

Prarabdha karma, see destiny 148–149, 161
Purusha 24, 83–84, 134 Witness 48, 54, 100
Purushartha, see self-effort Women 60

202
Notes
Notes
 BIHAR YOGA®
2013 Golden Jubilee edition
Conversations on the Science of Yoga

®
Karma Yoga Book 2

Karma Yoga Book 2

Conversations on the Science of Yoga
SATYANANDA YOGA

Experience of Life
BIHAR YOGA

Conversations on the Science of Yoga is an encyclopaedic series presenting

the vast, timeless culture of yoga topic by topic through the voice of
three generations of masters – Swami Sivananda Saraswati, Swami From the teachings of
Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. The two great luminaries of the 20th century
teachings are given in question and answer format with the inclusion
of verses from the scriptures, connecting the modern experience with
the classical tradition.
Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Karma Yoga Book 2: Experience of Life is an in-depth journey into the Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswati
eternal questions of existence. What is the cause and role of desire?
Can suffering be overcome? What is the relationship between pain and
evolution? How can disease be understood? Are we driven by destiny
or freewill? Understanding these themes provides a framework for
practising karma yoga, which views life as an opportunity for spiritual
evolution. Karma yoga encourages conscious, positive interaction with
life as a way of connecting with one’s deepest nature, which is spirit.
Through the wisdom of these masters, a complete understanding
of karma yoga and a vision for its application in the modern era is
interpreted for yoga aspirants around the world.

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ISBN : 978-93-81620-32-8

Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India