ARTICLES

MANTRAS AND MANTRA YOGA

One of the main directions of yoga and meditation is Mantra Yoga. Nowadays, many people like to listen to beautiful Mantras performed by both Eastern and Western musicians. Among Western musicians who perfectly perform mantras are Devi Primal, Boris Grebenshchikov, George Harrison, Sati Kazanova. In addition to famous musicians, there are many wonderful recordings by the Russian meditation and yoga teacher Vladimir Muranov. The most energetically strong part of the Mantra Yoga tradition is the Bija Mantras. It is about this unique direction that we will talk about in more detail. It is very useful to listen to Mantras, they can sound like background music, which creates a pleasant atmosphere, harmonizes internal states, and has a healing effect. The much stronger effect of the Mantra is manifested during independent practice. The only correct way to study Mantra Yoga, and especially Bija Mantras, is through direct training from an experienced teacher. Bija Mantra is the strongest source of vital energy. When practicing Mantras, it is important to work competently with a positive intention. 

While practicing Mantras, it is important to keep positive and bright thoughts. Your goals and aspirations, at least, should not harm other people, it is better if by practicing Mantras you will be tuned into the well-wishes of all living beings. Your thoughts and emotions are extremely important at the time of the Mantra practice, so you should be attentive and conscious. Mantras are practiced in Sanskrit, the ancient language of the Aryans. The word Bija means "seed sound." At the beginning of time, the universe was manifested through these sounds. It is very important to pronounce these sounds correctly, otherwise the meaning and vibration will be distorted.

Kriya Yoga Meditation is the Science of Breathing

An important basis for the breathing system in Kriya Yoga Meditation is Ujaya, the hissing breath. It allows you to inhale and exhale gradually, slowly, consciously. Hissing breath has a therapeutic effect on the entire nervous system and brain. More and more people from different countries are practicing meditation, mantras and yoga, asking philosophical questions. The apparent availability of ancient knowledge does not make it easier to apply, understand, practice.

Goals of Yoga

In ancient times, the famous emperor Janaka lived in India, he was not only a wise ruler, but also a practitioner of meditation and yoga. Once the emperor learned that Sage Ashtavakra had settled in the forest near his city. The emperor instantly left his palace and went on foot to the forest hut of Sage Ashtavakra. Upon entering the shelter of the Sage, Emperor Janaka modestly sat in front of him and asked several important questions about the essence of the spiritual path. This is how a wonderful philosophical text called Ashtavakra Gita appeared. This text is a philosophical conversation between Emperor Janaka and Sage Ashtavakra. Reading texts on the philosophy of Vedanta, one should see the deep meaning. The disciple asks his question, the Guru gives the answer, this is how the ancient texts of Vedanta are built. In relaxation and openness, all unnecessary disappears and eternity remains. Some prefer to call "this" Consciousness, some God. It makes no difference what you call eternity, words are the fruit of human intellect, they give rise to concepts, that is why in the Vedas they sometimes say “That” to describe eternity. The word “That” ideally reflects the transcendence of the Absolute Consciousness.

YOGA AND MEDITATION IN THE MODERN WORLD

Yoga is a system of ancient practices and knowledge that has existed for many eras. More and more Western people around the world are starting to practice meditation and yoga. Anyone who wants to practice meditation and yoga accurately must have seriousness of intention and a high level of discipline. Regularity and consistency play a special role in the practice of yoga. There are many schools and directions of yoga. It is important to understand what directions and schools of yoga exist in order to choose the right direction that will best suit your tasks. What is yoga, what are the directions of modern yoga, how to choose a yoga system, what schools and directions of ancient yoga we know, what is the brief history of yoga, what is meditation, how to build a daily practice correctly?

Yoga is….

Yoga is an ancient philosophical system consisting of many techniques and methods which can improve the inner world of a person. What are the features of the philosophical system of yoga? The philosophy of yoga is a system of exercises that helps a person find harmony. The basis of the yoga philosophy is Advaita. The essence of this philosophical system is the search for infinite Absolute Consciousness in the depths of the inner world of a man.

The most basic Advaita texts are: Ashtavakra Samhita, Avadhuta Gita, Viveka Chudamani, Upadesha Sahasri, Atma Bodha. All these philosophical texts have long been translated into Russian, they are freely available on the Internet. All the listed texts are written in a simple style, in most cases they can be studied without additional comments. All these texts indicate the oneness of man and God, every person is always in unity with God, but only with the help of Yoga and Meditation can we realize the primordial unity with God.

Sathya Sai Baba on the earthly life of Jesus Christ

Sai Baba told many facts about the life and the spiritual path of Jesus Christ. The large number of lectures given about Jesus Christ that people learned from Baba were truly unique and very original, all the information provided could not be found in the canonical texts of the Gospel or other sources.

If you think of him as a completely ordinary person, then you involuntarily ask yourself a question - where did such detailed knowledge about the earthly life of the great Jesus Christ and about the peculiarities of his spiritual mission come from? But the situation becomes clearer for those who realize the divine origin of Sai Baba, in this case the stories about the journey of life and the experience of the inner search for the spiritual path of Jesus Christ become even more valuable.

All the famous stories of Sai Baba about life situations, teachings and the search for the spiritual meaning of Jesus Christ are a unique treasure for humanity. Such stories come from the most reliable information source and allow you to find out details about the thoughts and feelings of Jesus that were hidden until recently.

Sai Baba: What is Spiritual Self-Realization

The essence of Sathya Sai Baba's worldview lies in self-realization, the exploration of a person's very rich inner world. It is obvious that the deep feeling of "I" live is inherent in all. The very existence does not require proof, it is characteristic of a person of any nationality and age, gender, national culture, social status, education and religion. People can be happy or heartbroken, forget to find a definition for their mysterious “I”, experience happiness or suffering. They cannot give an explanation of who reflects, speaks, performs certain actions, or who is aware of the world around him.

Any question is preceded by the main one - who is "I". A person concentrates his attention on the goal that he wants to achieve, often forgetting to figure out who the real “I” is. Sathya Sai Baba introduced the skills of meditation, self-realization of a person in his activities by telling amazing and instructive stories that are described by the old Vedic ritual scriptures. But the main issue should remain the deep analysis of human nature, understanding the unity of his inner worldview and God, which is self-realization.

Sathya Sai Baba - "Yoga of Action"

According to Sathya Sai Baba, the ancient Indian emperor Janaka is the best example for modern man to live in harmony. The exact years of his life have long been lost, the traditional Indian assumptions on this matter are fundamentally different: in one version the fifth millennium BC is mentioned, while the second one mentions the period about twenty thousand years ago.

SATSANG
Author: Svetlana Dubyanskaya

The word Satsang comes from ancient Sanskrit, meaning communication with true spiritual seekers, being in the company of real yoga and meditation practitioners. It is also associated with communication with a guru. Satsang can be translated as "association" or "union". Satsang usually includes reading the scriptures, contemplation, discussion, and joint meditation. For many esoteric traditions, Satsang is a spiritual practice that helps achieve spiritual realizations.

The idea of satsang​ is an auspicious spiritual environment, such as the presence of holy people and a guru, listening to scriptures or beautiful music, which allows one to raise his mind. Satsang is one of the main practices along with meditation, self-exploration and self-control. The great gurus of the Kriya Yoga tradition speak about the importance of Satsang.

Satsang comes from the Sanskrit words "sat" (being, essence) and "sanga" (communication). Yogananda, the great guru of the Kriya Yoga tradition, named his hermit abode Sat Sangha, which means "communication with the truth." The word Satsang refers to communication with people having similar spiritual aspirations, as well as communication with God in meditation.

Sathya Sai Baba - rare questions

We continue our series of articles dedicated to Sai Baba. You can learn more about his biography from other articles on this website. In this article, we continue to discuss amazing stories about his life, miracles and spiritual instructions. Only Sai Baba could decide which visitor needed direct communication with him more, then Baba personally invited this person and provided a unique opportunity to ask questions.

General meetings were called Darshan, they were held in a large hall, usually several tens of thousands of people attended such meetings. Occasionally some had the opportunity to speak personally with Sai Baba in his small room. These face-to-face meetings were called interviews, and they usually lasted an hour or an hour and a half.

I was lucky enough to be present at the interviews. Sometimes Sai Baba invited me personally, and sometimes together with this or that group. He invited ten to twenty people for interviews. Each year the number of visitors increased, and there were fewer opportunities to get a personal audience.

In the 90s, Russian-speaking groups came for a month. Sometimes such groups received interviews with Sai Baba. He knew that people needed direct communication with him, and invited them to a separate room. Each time it was the decision of Sathya Sai Baba, and it was impossible to go and sign up for an audience, only he decided who he wanted and had to talk directly.

Sathya Sai Baba: personal experience

I was fortunate enough to be Sathya Sai Baba's translator for several years. I first came to Puttaparthi in 1993, from then on I came and lived in Puttaparthi there for several months every year until Sathya Sai Baba left this world in 2011.

Many times I have had the privilege of attending interviews with him, it is difficult to say how many, probably more than 200 times. Sathya Sai Baba spoke in English and I translated for Russian-speaking devotees. It was a unique experience, I witnessed numerous miracles as well as spiritual teachings that Sathya Sai Baba gave to his devotees and visitors.

In this article I will not write about all the amazing details of my personal experience with our beloved Sathya Sai Baba. I have published three books with my memories, which have become widely known in Russia, and they can also be bought at the bookstore in the Sathya Sai Ashram in Puttaparthi.

Thanks to these books, I even got a membership in the Union of Russian Writers, who highly appreciated the literary style of the works. The titles of the books: "Sathya Sai Baba - the embodiment of a dream", "Sathya Sai Baba - the miracle of the blessed life", "Sathya Sai Baba - the eternal God and perfect man."

In the 19th century Sai Baba incarnated as Shirdi Sai Baba. In the 20th century he incarnated as Sathya Sai Baba. In the 21st century he incarnated as Prema Sai Baba. By his incarnations, he shows the eternity of consciousness and the manifestation of His infinite love.

In this article I will tell you about my experience of communicating with a unique boy named Pritam, who is the next incarnation of Sai Baba, in the future we will call him Prema Sai Baba. In this article, I describe the period from 2015 to 2018, the period of his childhood from 3 to 6 years old. All the events and miracles described in this material are my personal experiences, I was the direct witness of all the events.

Mahavatar Babaji - Immortal Guru

Many amazing books can tell the secret of the life of the Himalayan Guru Mahavatar Babadji, reveal more details about the meaning of his wise teachings and magnificent mission. But the primacy in this belongs to Yogananda Paramahamsa, 1946 marked the publication of an epoch-making work - "Autobiography of a Yogi". Its pages opened the immortal prophet to humanity, and also told the ancient mysteries of meditation and self-knowledge of Kriya Yoga.

Maha from ancient Sanskrit is translated as "great", avatar - "divine incarnation", and Babaji - as "respected father". The immortal yogi leads a secretive life somewhere at the top of the Himalayas, but easily materializes anywhere in the world to meet with his followers. It is amazing that his physical body is immutable, and has spent many epochs on Earth, being in the highest and absolute level of God-realization. The Himalayan Master transfers his experience selectively to a small community of Kriya Yoga practitioners.