Sacred Jewels of Yoga: Wisdom from India's Beloved Scriptures, Teachers, Masters, and Monks
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Sacred Jewels of Yoga: Wisdom from India's Beloved Scriptures, Teachers, Masters, and Monks
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| ISBN-13: | 9781608680412 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | New World Library |
| Publication date: | 07/20/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 449 KB |
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Sacred Jewels of Yoga
Wisdom From India's Beloved Scriptures, Teachers, Masters, and Monks
By Dave DeLuca
New World Library
Copyright © 2011 Dave DeLucaAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60868-041-2
CHAPTER 1
Creation Hymn
There was not then what is
nor what is not.
There was no sky, and no
heaven beyond the sky.
What power was there? Where?
Who was that power?
Was there an abyss of fathomless waters?
There was neither death nor immortality then.
No signs were there of night or day.
The One was breathing
by its own power, in infinite peace.
Only the One was: there was nothing beyond.
Darkness was hidden in darkness.
The All was fluid and formless.
Therein, in the void,
by the fire of fervor,
arose the One.
And in the One arose love:
Love, the first seed of the soul.
The truth of this the sages found
in their hearts:
seeking in their hearts with wisdom,
the sages found that bond of union
between Being and non-being.
— RIG VEDA
The Supreme Treasure
Where there is unity,
One without a second,
That is the world of Brahman.
This is the supreme goal of life,
The supreme treasure,
the supreme joy.
Those who do not seek this supreme goal
Live on but a fraction of this joy.
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
For The Sake of the Spirit
The wife loves the husband not for the husband's sake,
but for the sake of the Spirit that is in the husband.
The husband loves the wife not for the wife's sake,
but for the sake of the Spirit that is in the wife.
Children are loved not for the children's sake,
but for the sake of the Spirit that is in the children.
Wealth is loved not for wealth's sake,
but for the sake of the Spirit that is in wealth.
The universe is loved not for the sake of the universe,
but for the sake of the Spirit that is in the universe.
Everything is loved not for its own sake,
but for the sake of the Spirit that lives in it.
This Spirit has to be realized.
Hear about this Spirit and meditate upon Him.
When you hear about the Spirit,
meditate upon the Spirit,
and finally realize the Spirit,
you come to understand everything in life.
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
The Self-Existent
The Lord of Love willed:
"Let me be many!"
And in the depths of His meditation
He created everything that exists.
Meditating, He entered into everything.
He who has no form assumed many forms;
He who is infinite appeared finite;
He who is everywhere assumed a place;
He who is all wisdom caused ignorance;
He who is real caused unreality.
It is He who has become everything.
It is He who gives reality to all.
Before the universe was created,
Brahman existed as unmanifest.
Brahman brought the Lord out of himself;
therefore He is called the Self-existent.
— TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD
This Self Is Brahman
The Self,
who can be realized by the pure in heart,
who is life, light, truth, space,
who gives rise to all works,
all desires, all tastes,
who is beyond words,
who is joy abiding —
this is the Self dwelling in my heart.
Smaller than a grain of rice,
smaller than a grain of barley,
smaller than a mustard seed,
smaller than a grain of millet,
smaller even than the kernel of
a grain of millet is the Self.
This is the Self dwelling in my heart,
greater than the earth, greater than the sky,
greater than all the worlds.
This Self,
who gives rise to all works, all desires, all tastes,
who pervades the universe,
who is beyond words,
who is joy abiding,
who is ever present in my heart —
This Self is Brahman indeed.
To him I shall attain when my ego dies.
— CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD
Wisdom in the Self
Brahman is the first cause
And the last refuge.
Brahman, the hidden Self in everyone,
does not shine forth.
He is revealed only to those
who keep their mind one-pointed
on the Lord of Love,
and thus develop a superconscious
manner of knowing.
Meditation enables them to go
deeper and deeper into consciousness,
from the world of words,
to the world of thoughts,
then beyond thoughts,
to wisdom in the Self.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
The Eternal One
I know the Self, the sage Shvetashvatara said,
to be immortal and infinite.
I know this Self who is the Self of all,
whom the sages call the Eternal One.
May the Lord of Love, who projects himself
into this universe of myriad forms,
from whom all beings come
and to whom all return,
grant us the grace of wisdom.
He is fire and the sun, and the moon and the stars.
He is the air and the sea, and the Creator, Prajapati.
He is this boy, He is that girl,
He is this man, He is that woman,
and He is this old man, too, tottering on his staff.
His face is everywhere.
He is the blue bird, He is the green bird
with red eyes; He is the thundercloud,
and He is the seasons and the seas.
He has no beginning, He has no end.
He is the source from which the worlds evolve.
From His divine power comes forth all this
magical show of name and form, of you and me,
which casts the spell of pain and pleasure.
Only when we pierce through this
magic veil do we see the
One who appears as many.
— SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD
In That Unitive State
As a man in the arms of his beloved
is not aware of what is without
and what is within,
so a person in union with the Self
is not aware of what is without
and what is within,
for in that unitive state,
all desires find their perfect fulfillment.
There is no other desire
that needs to be fulfilled,
and one goes beyond sorrow.
In that unitive state there is
neither father nor mother,
neither worlds nor gods,
nor even scriptures.
In that state there is neither
thief nor slayer,
neither low caste nor high,
neither monk nor ascetic.
The Self is beyond good and evil,
beyond all the suffering of the human heart.
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
The Lord Is The Supreme Reality
The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.
Thus working may you live a hundred years.
Thus alone will you work in real freedom.
The Self is one. Ever still, the Self is
swifter than thought, swifter than the senses.
Though motionless, he outruns all pursuit.
Without the Self, never could life exist.
The Self seems to move, but is ever still.
He seems far away, but is ever near.
He is within all, and he transcends all.
Those who see all creatures in themselves
and themselves in all creatures know no fear.
Those who see all creatures in themselves
and themselves in all creatures know no grief.
How can the multiplicity of life
delude the one who sees its unity?
— ISHA UPANISHAD
Two Selves
There are two selves,
the separate ego
and the indivisible Atman.
When one rises above
I and me and mine,
the Atman is revealed
as one's real Self.
When all desires
that surge in the heart
are renounced,
the mortal becomes immortal.
When all the knots
that strangle the heart
are loosened,
the mortal becomes immortal.
This sums up the teaching of the scriptures.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
The Joy of the Atman
The joy of the Atman ever abides,
but not what seems pleasant to the senses.
Both these, differing in their purpose,
prompt us to action.
All is well for those who choose
the joy of the Atman,
but they miss the goal of life
who prefer the pleasant.
Perennial joy or passing pleasure?
This is the choice one is to make always.
The wise recognize these two,
but not the ignorant.
The first welcome what leads to abiding joy,
though painful at the time.
The latter run, goaded by their senses,
after what seems immediate pleasure.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
The Highest Mystical Teaching
Like oil in sesame seeds, like butter in cream,
like water in springs, like fire in firesticks,
so dwells the Lord of Love, the Self,
in the very depths of consciousness.
Realize Him through truth and meditation.
The Self is hidden in the hearts of all,
as butter lies hidden in cream.
Realize the Self in the depths of meditation —
the Lord of Love, supreme Reality,
who is the goal of all knowledge.
This is the highest mystical teaching;
This is the highest mystical teaching.
May we harness body and mind to see
the Lord of Life, who dwells in everyone.
May we ever with one-pointed mind
strive for blissful union with the Lord.
May we train our senses to serve the Lord
through the practice of meditation.
— SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD
The One Self Of All
The Lord of Love
is the one Self of all.
He is detached work,
spiritual wisdom,
and immortality.
Realize the Self
hidden in the heart,
and cut asunder
the knot of ignorance
here and now.
Bright but hidden,
the Self dwells in the heart.
Everything that moves,
breathes, opens, and closes
lives in the Self.
He is the source of love
and may be known through love,
but not through thought.
He is the goal of life.
Attain this goal!
— MUNDAKA UPANISHAD
In the Heart Made Pure
Above the senses is the mind,
above the mind is the intellect,
above that is the ego,
and above the ego
is the unmanifested Cause.
He is formless,
and can never be seen
with these two eyes.
But He reveals Himself
in the heart made pure,
through meditation and sense-restraint.
Realizing Him one is released
from the cycle of birth and death.
When the five senses are stilled,
when the mind is stilled,
when the intellect is stilled,
that is called the highest state by the wise.
They say yoga is this complete stillness,
in which one enters the unitive state,
never to become separate again.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
The Chariot
Know the Self as lord of the chariot,
the body as the chariot itself,
the discriminating intellect as charioteer,
and the mind as reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses;
selfish desires are the roads they travel.
When the Self is confused
with the body, mind, and senses,
they point out, He seems
to enjoy pleasure and suffer sorrow.
When one lacks discrimination
and his mind is undisciplined, the senses
run hither and thither like wild horses.
But they obey the rein like trained horses
when one has discrimination
and has made the mind one-pointed.
Those who lack discrimination,
with little control over their thoughts
and far from pure,
reach not the pure state of immortality
but wander from death to death;
but those who have discrimination,
with a still mind and a pure heart,
reach the journey's end,
never again to fall into the jaws of death.
With a discriminating intellect as charioteer
and a trained mind as reins,
they attain the supreme goal of life,
to be united with the Lord of Love.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
As We Act, So We Become
As a person acts, so he becomes in life.
Those who do good become good;
those who do harm become bad.
Good deeds make one pure;
bad deeds make one impure.
We are said to be what our desire is.
As our desire is, so is our will.
As our will is, so are our acts.
As we act, so we become.
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
The Lord Is the Operator
The Lord is hidden in every heart.
He is the eternal witness,
beyond the gunas,
watching our work from within
as pure consciousness.
The Lord is the operator; we are
but His innumerable instruments.
May we, in our consciousness,
realize the bliss He alone can give us.
Changeless amidst the changing,
consciousness of the conscious,
He grants all our prayers.
May we, in our consciousness,
realize the freedom He alone can give us.
Neither sun nor moon nor star nor fire shines;
everything reflects the light of the Lord.
— SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD
The Self Reveals Himself
Not through discourse,
not through the intellect,
not even through
the study of the scriptures
can the Self be realized.
The Self reveals Himself
to the one who longs for the Self.
Those who long for the Self
with all their heart
are chosen by the Self
as His own.
— MUNDAKA UPANISHAD
All of Life Is One
"What is that wisdom, Father?" asked the son.
Uddalaka said to Shvetaketu,
"As by knowing one lump of clay, dear one,
we come to know all things made out of clay:
that they differ only in name and form,
while the stuff of which all are made is clay;
"As by knowing one gold nugget, dear one,
we come to know all things made out of gold:
that they differ only in name and form,
while the stuff of which all are made is gold;
"As by knowing one iron tool, dear one,
we come to know all things made out of iron:
that they differ only in name and form,
while the stuff of which all are made is iron;
"So through that spiritual wisdom, dear one,
we come to know that all of life is one."
— CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD
You Are That
Father, please instruct me in this wisdom.
"Yes, dear one, I will," replied his father.
"In the beginning was only Being,
One without a second.
Out of Himself He brought forth the cosmos,
and entered into everything in it.
There is nothing that does not come from Him.
Of everything He is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; He is the Self supreme.
You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that."
— CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD
The Immemorial Self
The wise, realizing through meditation
the timeless Self, beyond all perception,
hidden in the cave of the heart,
leave pain and pleasure far behind.
Those who know they are
neither body nor mind
but the immemorial Self,
the divine Principle of existence,
find the source of all joy
and live in joy abiding.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
The Indivisible Unity of Life
As long as there is separateness,
one sees another as separate from oneself,
hears another as separate from oneself,
smells another as separate from oneself,
speaks to another as separate from oneself,
thinks of another as separate from oneself,
knows another as separate from oneself.
But when the Self is realized
as the indivisible unity of life,
who can be seen by whom,
who can be heard by whom,
who can be smelled by whom,
who can be spoken to by whom,
who can be thought of by whom,
who can be known by whom?
Maitreyi, my beloved,
how can the knower ever be known?
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
The Sea Of Pure Consciousness
As a lump of salt thrown in water
dissolves and cannot be taken out again,
though wherever we taste the water it is salty,
even so, beloved, the separate self dissolves
in the sea of pure consciousness,
infinite and immortal.
Separateness arises from
identifying the Self with the body,
which is made up of the elements;
when this physical identification dissolves,
there can be no more separate self.
This is what I want to tell you, beloved.
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
The Presence of God
All is change in the world of the senses,
but changeless is the supreme Lord of Love.
Meditate on Him, be absorbed in Him,
wake up from this dream of separateness.
Know God and all fetters will fall away.
No longer identifying yourself with the body,
go beyond birth and death.
All your desires will be fulfilled in Him
who is One without a second.
Know Him to be enshrined
in your heart always.
Truly there is nothing more in life to know.
Meditate and realize that this world
is filled with the presence of God.
— SHVETASHVATARA UPANISHAD
Those Who Know the Self, Become the Self
What the sages sought
they have found at last.
No more questions
have they to ask of life.
With self-will extinguished,
they are at peace.
Seeing the Lord of Love in all around,
serving the Lord of Love in all around,
they are united with him forever.
They have attained
the summit of wisdom
by the steep path of renunciation.
They have attained to immortality
and are united with the Lord of Love.
When they leave the body,
the vital force returns to the cosmic womb,
but their work becomes a beneficial force in life
to bring others together in the Self.
The flowing river is lost in the sea;
the illumined sage is lost in the Self.
The flowing river has become the sea;
the illumined sage has become the Self.
Those who know the Self,
become the Self.
— MUNDAKA UPANISHAD
Behold the Glory of the Self
Hidden in the heart
of every creature
exists the Self,
subtler than the subtlest,
greater than the greatest.
They go beyond sorrow
who extinguish their self-will
and behold the glory of the Self,
through the grace of the Lord of Love.
— KATHA UPANISHAD
DA-DA-DA!
The children of Prajapati, the Creator — gods, human beings,
and the godless — lived with their father as students.
When they had completed the allotted period the gods said,
"Venerable One, please teach us."
Prajapati answered with one syllable:
"Da."
"Have you understood?" he asked.
"Yes," they said. "You have told us Damyata,
be self-controlled."
"You have understood," he said.
Then the human beings approached.
"Venerable One, please teach us."
Prajapati answered with one syllable:
"Da."
"Have you understood?" he asked.
"Yes," they said. "You have told us Datta, give."
"You have understood," he said.
Then the godless approached.
"Venerable One, please teach us."
Prajapati answered with the same syllable:
"Da."
"Have you understood?" he asked.
"Yes," they said. "You have told us Dayadhvam,
be compassionate."
"You have understood," he said.
The heavenly voice of the thunder
repeats this teaching. Da-da-da!
Be self-controlled! Give! Be compassionate!
— BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
Learning and Teaching
Practice right conduct,
learning and teaching;
Be truthful always,
learning and teaching;
Master the passions,
learning and teaching;
Control the senses,
learning and teaching;
Strive for peace always,
learning and teaching;
Rouse kundalini,
learning and teaching;
Serve humanity,
learning and teaching.
— TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Sacred Jewels of Yoga by Dave DeLuca. Copyright © 2011 Dave DeLuca. Excerpted by permission of New World Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction xix
Rig Veda Creation Hymn 3
The Upanishads
The Supreme Treasure 4
For the Sake of the Spirit 5
The Self-Existent 6
This Self Is Brahman 7
Wisdom in the Self 8
The Eternal One 9
In That Unitive State 10
The Lord Is the Supreme Reality 11
Two Selves 12
The Joy of the Atman 13
The Highest Mystical Teaching 14
The One Self of All 15
In the Heart Made Pure 16
The Chariot 17
As We Act, So We Become 18
The Lord Is the Operator 19
The Self Reveals Himself 20
All of Life Is One 21
You Are That 22
The Immemorial Self 23
The Indivisible Unity of Life 24
The Sea of Pure Consciousness 25
The Presence of God 16
Those Who Know the Self, Become the Self 27
Behold the Glory of the Self 28
Da-Da-Dal 29
Learning and Teaching 30
Om 31
The Effulgent Self 32
Two Golden Birds 33
The Lord of Love 34
The World Is the River of God 35
The Bhagavad Gita
Reality Lies in the Eternal 36
The Yoga of Works 37
Enemy That Is Selfish Desire 38
All Paths Lead to Me 39
True Sustenance Is in Service 40
Take Up the Path of Yoga! 41
Free from the Bondage of Self-Will 42
Shines Like the Sun 43
True Renunciation 44
Reshape Yourself 45
Meditation 46
In the Still Mind 47
The Path of Yoga 48
I Am Ever Present 49
My Necklace of Jewels 50
That One Is Me 51
I Am 52
Those Who Worship Me 53
Worship Me Always 54
Surrender Yourself to Me 55
My Devotee 56
Show Good Will to All 57
Perfection 58
By Loving Me 59
Make Every Act an Offering to Me 60
Asravakra Samhita
How Can Liberation Be Attained? 61
You Are the One 62
As One Thinks, So One Becomes 63
The Self Is Witness 64
Desire Consciousness Alone 65
Brahman Exists in All Things 66
Nothing But the Self 67
Light Is My Very Nature 68
I Am the Stainless Self 69
The Shoreless Ocean 70
This Is Knowledge 71
Bliss Itself 72
Oh, Knower of Truth 73
The Liberated One 74
He Who Has Transcended All 75
As Brahman Itself 76
The Wise One 77
The Knower of the Self 78
The Yogi of Indescribable Nature 79
Yogic Consciousness 80
One Who Shines as the Infinite 81
Go About Happily 82
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
Knowledge of the Atman 83
Non-attachment 84
The Word That Expresses Him Is om 85
The Many Paths to Freedom 86
Concentration 87
The Obstacles 88
Ignorance and Egoism 89
False Identification 90
Knowledge of the Atman 91
The Eight Limbs of Yoga 92
Yama and Niyama 93
Steadfastness 94
Asaria, Pranayama, and Pratyahara 95
Concentration, Meditation, and Absorption 96
Sanama 97
The Pure Consciousness 98
Narada's Bhakti Sutras
Bhakti Is Intense Love for God 99
Whole-Souled Devotion 100
The Characteristics of Divine Love 101
Until Love Comes 102
Who Overcomes Maya? 103
Supreme Love 104
Giving Up the Fruits of Action 105
For Love's Sake Only 106
Lovers of God 107
The Greatest Love 108
The Supreme Goal of Life 109
Srimad Bhagavatam
That Truth Supreme 110
Spontaneous Devotion 111
Unshakeable Love for the Lord 112
The Supreme Being as an Absolute Reality 113
One Ultimate Truth 114
Salutations to the Blessed One 115
Suffused with Happiness 116
Our Salutations 117
Dhammapada
All That We Are 118
On the Good Path 119
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
To Discover Our True Self 120
The Supreme Is the Inmost Self 121
God's Own Men and Women 122
Swami Vivekananda
You Are the Infinite Spirit 123
The Glory of Our Own Soul 124
I Worship Him as You 125
Children of Immortal Bliss 126
The Doctrine of Love 127
Universal Religion 128
God Alone Remains 129
I Am Brahman 130
The Oneness of Everything 131
Viveka 132
The Voice of Our Higher Self 133
The Sacrifice of the Little Self 134
The More Shall We Love 135
Stand Aside and Let God Work 136
Conquer Yourself 137
Bhakti Yoga 138
Love, Lover, and the Beloved Are One 139
Approaching the Center 140
Sri Ramakrishna
Not I, but Thou 141
All Paths Lead to Truth 142
I Am Thy Servant 143
Thou Art the Master 144
One under Different Names 145
His Names Are Many 146
The Jnanis 147
The Bhaktas 148
The Reality Is One 149
Pure Love for Thee 150
God Is the Doer 151
The Reality Is One and the Same 152
The Salt Doll 153
The Chameleon 154
The Lotus Feet of God 155
The Elephant 156
Beyond Virtue and Vice 157
To Enjoy Its Own Bliss 158
Truth 159
The Same Lord with a Thousand Names 160
God Alone Is Real 161
The Power of the Divine Mother 162
Tears of Devotion 163
Restless for God 164
One's Own Self 165
Everything Is Its Manifestation 166
All Pure Spirit 167
om Is Brahman 168
Glossary 169
Acknowledgments 175
Sources and Credits 177
Books Recommended for Further Study 181
About the Editor 183