Mountain Retreat Yoga Sangha

"If truth is infinite, there must be infinite ways of going there. Therefore in all the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita , different ways has been prescribed, so you have Dhyan Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga , Abhyasa Yoga and so on." ~ Sri M

"The aim of Yoga is to come face to face with the Truth in the yogic way. The philosophy of yoga says that an ordinary mind which is always caught up in tensions, ups and downs, achievements and non achievements, success and failure, cannot find the truth. The mind has to settle down and Yoga is the tool which makes the mind settle down." ~ Sri M

"Savikalpa Samadhi is when the mind is very quiet, the seeds of desire are still there but for the time being they are submerged and you are enjoying something beyond. As you advance you reach a stage which is called Nirvikalpa. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi the seeds have been washed out and the mind reaches the highest state and can remain there for a long time. The vrittis are no longer there or temporary vrittis are produced to deal with the situation and then taken off, which only an expert Yogi can do." ~ Sri M

"Nirvikalpa Samadhi gives moksha because once you have reached that state one need not go in Samadhi or come out of Samadhi but one is always in Samadhi and one is free." ~ Sri M

"The word Kaivalya is used in Sāṁkhya and in Yoga Darshanas, here and there it has been used in Vedanta but the actual word or Kaivalya in Vedanta is moksha. Kaivalya also means freedom which is the same as Moksha. A yogi whose mind has become totally purified and quiet and tranquil, free from opposing thoughts, such a mind has removed all its Vrittis." ~ Sri M

"When you say ‘I’ that itself is a Vritti because you are still there. Ego is also a vritti . As it is said in the Upanishads that the Supreme Reality cannot be conceived by the mind, which is nothing but thoughts. If this is true then you are also a part of the illusion. In reality you do not exist. You exist because of your thoughts and ego. The mind without thoughts and without you, is not you anymore. Then, there is a greater mind which can contact you, but you cannot contact it." ~ Sri M

"According to psychology there are conscious mind, subconscious mind and unconscious mind. according to yogic psychology there is another thing which is called the super consciousness mind which is the basis of unconscious subconscious and conscious mind. It is the background. It is the ocean from where these waves arrive. Which unfortunately neither the subconscious or unconscious mind can comprehend but the conscious mind can touch it when it is quiet." ~ Sri M

"So when you are practicing any part of Kriya, if you come to a state where you feel that you should meditate, or you feel you are in a meditative state, stay there. Stay there as long as you can. Then after a while the mind will start acting up. Go back to practicing Kriya. This is normal . We all pass through this." ~ Sri M

"The Atman is like the electricity that comes in your mainline and the ego is like the instrument which uses the electricity. Without the electricity the bulb cannot light but the electricity is not the bulb. So through the electricity you can light the bulb or run a fan,but the electricity remains going always. This is what the Atman is, it provides energy to you to do everything. But sometimes when the ego becomes too powerful the Atman withdraws, then the ego cannot do anything! So you should be constantly keep your ego in check and be eternally thankful to the atman." ~ Sri M

"Do you know what the word alone means? It is made of two words - all and one, instead of alone you can say all one. Do you get what I’m trying to say, that there is nothing alone in this universe, everything in the universe is interconnected. I may be sitting alone but there are beautiful presences going around us. Never think you are alone ! If you are alone and your mind is peaceful and quiet then that alone is not your ego but it is your atman. What more do we want? Staying with the atman is the greatest blessing possible!" ~ Sri M

"The idea of pranayama is to still the Prana so that the thought waves are also stilled. This is the connection between Pranayama and Chitta Vrittis." ~ Sri M

"In Vyasa’s Vedanta Sutras, Brahman, the core of all beings, is described or defined as ‘Asti Bhati Priya’ instead of Satchidananda. Asti means that It exists – It is there; Bhati means the consciousness, the effulgence, the light; and Priya means love, which is very close to ananda. These are predominant qualities of the Brahman or Atman, if you prefer to call it that." ~ Sri M

"Dharana is through pranayama to pratyahara, the Yogi develops the capacity to fix the attention on any one object, or one sound, or one idea, or one symbol anything, exclusively there without any attention on anything other than that object." ~ Sri M

"Pranayama is also Swashayama because the breath is called Swasha and the Prana or the life force is linked closely to the Swasha. If you control the breath you can control the Prana." ~ Sri M

"Tips for spiritual success: try and follow as much as possible the rules and regulations, practice daily, so that the mind gets into the habit and don’t lose hope, continue till you find the quietness which is very blissful. Once you have touched the state your whole life will change. And lastly have no fear, believe me, everything will be set into place." ~ Sri M

"In yoga when you say Ishwara, you may think of Mahavishnu or Shiva or the formless Supreme Reality, it doesn’t matter. The choice of the belief in the Ishwara is entirely the initiates prerogative. In yoga Darshanas for the first time Patanjali says that this Ishwara can be in communion with the human soul and the human soul can surrender to this Ishwara." ~ Sri M

"The true mind or the pure mind of a seer or a yogi has no fluctuations or conflicts or agitation and this state is the usual state of such a mind. It is always calm but normally for us the mind is full of conflict and fluctuations. We can call it brain. I’m saying as long as there is conflict and agitation and fluctuations you’re still operating within the territory and limitations of the brain. But when the brain is free of afflictions through the practice of Yoga, then the brain ceases to exist, and the true mind comes back into being. This true mind is the essence of consciousness." ~ Sri M

"The fluctuations of the mind can be reduced through practice and through dispassion, meaning not being ruled by emotions, not reacting to emotions, good or bad, and through restrain. How do you practice restrain? Through practice only. Dispassion simply put, means not being at the mercy of your emotions. When one is firmly established in the dispassionate space, the brain instead of moving towards becoming, just is." ~ Sri M

"So at some point when the mind is busy becoming or indulging as it always does in this world, you have to say ‘hey let’s stop for 10 minutes, let’s not become anything, let’s be as we are. You will see that a becoming and indulging mind always creates problems for us. A quiet and tranquil mind on the other hand is the tarmac to take off for higher levels of consciousness." ~ Sri M

"If you have everything and if you have not come to terms with the inner reality, there is no use of all that you have." ~ Sri M

"The Shad Darshanas or the Six Philosophies are not just philosophies but they are means to be face to face with the Truth." ~ Sri M

"Yoga is the capacity, consciously developed to get rid of the vrittis of the chitta. Vrittis can be good or bad , vrittis are the movement of thoughts. Chitta is the mind." ~ Sri M

"Shravana means one pointedly listening without being distracted. The next step is Manana , when you go out wherever you go, do the manana, contemplate, go through what was heard. To let the mind understand what was said and how it has to be applied in your life. Nididhyasana means the real implementation of the teachings. When these three things work together, it’s like the seeds which have been sown slowly start to sprout." ~ Sri M

"When you start on your spiritual journey, start with a clean slate. The Upanishads say ‘Purna madah. Purna idam “, so we should not think that we are useless, so start in a positive way. Say, ‘may I also move in that direction, the direction of purnata or completeness.’ This is a good way to start so that the negativity is prevented from coming. Yes, there is no quick fix, in this matter but there is also no need to be despondent or desperate. So start with a positive frame of mind." ~ Sri M

"I think Jesus was an extraordinary person, an extraordinary being, I won’t say biologically Son of God or anything of that sort , I can’t say that. But metaphorically Son of God , Yes. I think he was an individual who was a typical wandering Yogi, moving from place to place, not having a place to stay. You know that famous quote ‘Foxes have dens and the snakes have holes but the son of man knows not where to lay his head.’ In Bhagavad Gita such a Yogi is called Aniketa, one who has no home." ~ Sri M

"If you look at the sermon on the Mount only, you find the essence of what one would call a spiritual being and spiritual life being beautifully explained there. In fact it appears more akin to Hindu and Buddhist teachings." ~ Sri M

"The universal message at the heart of the Hindu teachings, Buddhists teachings and Christian teachings is Care, Love and Service and to seek peace in the depths of your being. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. Nobody said blessed are the Christians for they shall be called the children of God. The moment you cease to be a peacemaker, you are no more a Christian from that point of view." ~ Sri M

"According to the teachings we are Amritasya Putras or children of immortality. We are not useless, we are useless as we see ourselves but not so in reality. Self observation is good and it helps us grow but not self criticism. If you criticize yourself all the time, there is no way you can improve yourself. However much you fall, get up and get going." ~ Sri M

"When you reach a core where you are all settled then whether you are or you are not supported by your family and friends, you can handle it.You can handle all kinds of situations. This is my understanding and my experience. It has to do with myself, not with the other person. If I am okay then the other person will fall into place. If i am not and i keep pushing then it’s not going to work." ~ Sri M

"'Tapas' comes from the word 'tapah' which means heat and heat is generated in the mind, not physically. Those days of tapasya, standing in the water up to your neck with your hands up, have gone now. Now 'tapasya' means that when everyone is swimming along the stream, one fellow stands up and says ‘no, I don’t agree to this. I’m going to swim against the stream.’ Now when that happens, a lot of heat is generated. Physical heat, mind heat, social heat, all kinds of things happen. Heat means friction. That is tapasya, there, if you can hold on and say, ‘whatever happens, I will swim against the stream'. Interesting, after some years you’ll see that others who were swimming along the stream are also swimming with you." ~ Sri M

"Swadhyaya means to do self study and also to study the self. Study oneself is not simply hearing or reading something but finding out by exploring yourself and finding out how it affects you. There may be times in your life when you did whatever you were supposed to do, still things didn’t work out. Then you accept that there is an infinite Ishwara, who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, surrender to that saying that ‘this limited brain of mine has not been able to solve this problem.’ If you truly do this from your heart, not to show anybody, then help comes." ~ Sri M