"See life as a whole. All life is one... The world is one home. All are members of one human family... No man is independent of that whole. Man makes himself miserable, by separating himself from others... Unity is eternal life... Include all. Embrace all... Destroy all barriers that separate man from man... Let all life be sacred... Smile with the flower and the green grass. Play with the butterflies, birds and deer. Talk to the rainbow, wind, stars and the sun… Develop friendship with your neighbours… Then you will have a wide, perfect, rich, full life. You will realise oneness or unity of life."  Swami Sivananda

The Self

The Self, or Supreme Soul, is the essential nature of man – the common consciousness in all beings. A thief, a king, a saint, a dog, a cat, a rat – all are in essence the same common Self. Full awareness of the Self, which can be attained through yoga, is bliss itself.

Ignorance

It is due to ignorance that we perceive diversity rather than unity. The apparent difference between the individual, the world and the Self is only an illusion. This illlusion works at great speed by the fluctuations and imaginations of the mind. However real time and space may appear, they are nothing but mental creations, as unreal as dreams. The timeless, spaceless Self is the only reality.

Liberation

By breaking down the barriers of separate existence, the unity of the Self can be experienced. It is not attainment of liberation from an actual state of bondage, but it is the realisation of the liberation that already exists. It is freedom from a false notion of bondage.

Desire

The cause of ignorance or the ‘apparent bondage’ mentioned above is desire. Desire creates thoughts that veil the real nature of the Soul, which is blissful and eternal. Practically speaking, there is nothing wrong with having desires and satisfying them. The problem is that no matter how many you satisfy, new ones constantly arise, creating endless frustration. But when desires are reduced and finally transcended through self-discipline, intuitive knowledge of the Self dawns in the individual.

Reason

Reason and intellect are finite instruments that can achieve wonders in the realm of finite duality, but are powerless in the realm of infinite non-duality. For example, reason or logic is able to design and build a space shuttle (duality), but it cannot give a satisfying answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ (non-duality). Knowledge of the Self is a non-dual, intuitive experience, while the dualistic knowledge of objects through mind and senses is a mere knowledge of appearances.

Intuition

Intuition dawns like a flash. It does not grow bit by bit. The immediate knowledge of intuition unites the individual soul with the Self, or Supreme Soul. Intuitive knowledge is imperishable knowledge of Truth. Without developing intuition, the intellectual man remains imperfect. Meditation leads to intuition.

Matter and spirit

The fundamental error of all ages is the belief that the spiritual and material worlds are separate. Matter is really Spirit seen through the senses. The world is an expression of the Self or the Absolute. Matter is the power of the Supreme Soul. It is the light that shines in various forms, the one voice that speaks in various languages, the one life that thrills through every atom in the universe.

Good and evil

All life is alike. Just as one thread penetrates all flowers in a garland, so also one Self penetrates all living beings. The world is neither good nor bad. The mind creates good and evil. To a good person, the world is full of good, but to the bad, the world is full of evil. The evil is not in the world; it is in the mind. By seeing the Self everywhere, good can be seen everywhere.

Unity of existence

There is only one race, the race of humanity. None is high, none is low, all are equal. Man-made barriers should be ruthlessly broken down. Humanity is one single family.

Yoga and religion

Religion is a manifestation of the eternal glow of the Spirit within man. The main purpose of religion is the unfoldment of divinity within man. Religion is living, not speaking or showing. Real religion is religion of the heart.

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