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Date Posted: 10:14:32 04/15/04 Thu
Author: Sundarar - 24 Mar 2004
Subject: Re: Work and yoga - a personal opinion
In reply to: ketch - 23 Mar 2004 's message, "Re: Work and yoga - a personal opinion" on 10:13:35 04/15/04 Thu

Friends

This is surely a giant dilemma for most. Anyone that attempts rapid progress in kriya while maintaining a modern lifestyle soon confronts the situation.

Swami Sivananda in many of his books (such as Karma yoga, practice of yoga, necessity for sannyas) agrees with the points Ketch made. He gives new chelas 3 years of intense karma yoga focussing on emptying bedpans, etc to reduce the ego. He started as a medical doctor and says service of the suffering is the best way to purify the chittwa. When the aspirant gets chittwa shuddi (purity)evidenced by cheerfull disposition and other sattvic signs, then the chela is usually told to go in to seclusion for deep meditation. Sivananda did this himself, as did Aurobindo, Swami Ramdas, and many others. They all talk of moderation in the world, but did they follow it? No. But there is little point in forcing someone to 12 hours of meditation.
Sivananda's autobiography tells he went to Rishikesh for 12 years and came out of the kutir only for a hour or so a day. He got his one meal a day and served sick sadhus. One hour a day he also took interviews and put a sign on the kutir: "interviews, 3 to 4 pm only--5 minutes each." He dispatched them with yogic advice for their problems. He allowed no guru worship.
If the student got tamasic in the kutir Swami Sivananda would let them do seva that they liked, such as teaching hatha or something. This is why Vishnudevananda came to the West. He tried the cave life and was too rajasic and Sivananda sent him here.
Someone asked Daya Mata if anyone there was ready for this and she said "when you are ready I'll let you know." My opinion is no one in the ashram really cares, but perhaps a few. Anandamoy said in Convocation 1996--"I was in my cave last life, and I'm going back there..." Further, when he asked a friend why he wanted to be a monk the friend said so as to live a simple life. Anandamoy replied, "this is not a simple life--we're businessmen!"
I lived in and around the SRF ashram for years and I have to tell you do not join the ashram if you want to meditate! Your best course is remain single and work part time. This was the advice of Devananda of SRF to me. The postulants and novices have a hour meditation morn and evening in a group. 1st they do the energizations together, then chant, so you got 25 minutes of meditation time left. Incidentally the sannyasis are not required to go and supposedly can meditate in their rooms which I'm not convinced they do. Maybe 25% of sannyasis show up to the group meditations anyways out of good will. Now postulants and novices are supposed to do an hour on your own before this group thing morning and evening, but there are so many duties on you, particularly by the time you are a bramachari, that people are so damn tired they don't do it. They are either working or sleeping, and many are glad! Few of them do the 2 hours morning and evening, maybe 30 percent or so is my estimate. Most are lucky to get an hour morn and evening. This matches the report of the Ananda situation. Is this going to get you far?

Of course Baktananda only sleeps 3 hours a day so he probably meditates 6-8 hours a day. This was Pranabananda's modus operandi. Until you reach this ability you are strained to work a full 40 hours, let alone have a house, wife and kids. Fuggitt abbboudditt!!! Any serious kriyaban better not stick his head in that noose. That is Sivananda's opinion in Practice of Bramacharya.

I think one has to really go deep into his own capacity regarding this situation. What is capacity?--where mind, emotions and spirit match, thats your capacity. I have not been working at all for 3 months and have been in a house alone. I have been living this dream of yoga only. Yet the world is a theater where we can test or mind emotions and speech. It is no obstacle.

pranams

Sundarar

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