Mountain Retreat Yoga Sangha

“While in the midst of all the activities, is it possible for the mind to be silent? First you should have a deep desire for that silence. But the problem is ‘you’ cannot have it because when ‘you’ are not there, it is there. But in the human life is it possible to forget oneself? The answer is yes, when you are fully absorbed in something for example listening to music, then you are no longer there, and if you are no longer there then you are free of this entity and only the reality is left behind which is absolute peacefulness . According to the Upanishads that peaceful reality is your true ID“ ~ Sri M

“Your true identity is that which doesn’t have a personal ‘I’ but which is the essence of the ‘I’ness that is happening to your personal ‘I’ and which is therefore called the Atman. And those who have touched it or delved into it have said that they are free from all tensions and problems.” ~ Sri M

“If you have touched that which is not your selfish usual self then everything is quiet and everything is there in abundance, why, because normally when you are not enjoying and somebody else is enjoying, you have this division, you might be jealous. What if you enjoy when the other guy is enjoying, where is the divide. There is no division because in actuality there is only one. “ ~ Sri M

“If you can get rid of the ‘ahankar’ and the diseases associated with it, like I and mine and therefore that is yours and different, it’s possible that in deep meditation, this ‘I’ will dissolve. You don’t ‘actually’ lose anything. You only lose the trinkets and find the treasure.” ~ Sri M

"According to the sages, this abstractness called Brahman is the only true reality, the only true existence. Our intellect can go a step further than our sense only to acknowledge and understand that the Brahman cannot be intellectually grasped. That pure existence, behind the insubstantiality of the world and constantly changing forms, is realized only in deep meditation, beyond the intellect and the mind, when thoughts have completely ceased.” ~ Sri M

"You may think spirituality is the solution to all your problems, but for that your thirst for spirituality needs to be very deep and strong. You also need a lot of patience. That patience will strengthen the bond with the teacher, and a strong bond will smoothen the path of spirituality." ~ Sri M

“Suppose you are witnessing your own deep sleep, Turiya is like that. You can’t even say that Turiya is experienced. Turiya just is. Let me put it this way. I see you all, why do I see you all because I have eyes. That I see you all is the proof of the existence of my eyes. I cannot see my own eyes. I can see in the mirror but that is only a reflection. But I can’t say that my eyes do not exist because without them I wont be able to see the world. Turiya is somewhat like that. None of the definitions apply to it. When it is reached, it is reached. You cannot give any explanation. But once it is reached it will remain forever, in all states of consciousness.” Sri M

“Yoga Nidra is not deep sleep. In yoga Nidra you are kind of conscious. One may say that Yoga Nidra is very similar to self hypnosis.“ ~ Sri M

“I want to make it very clear to you that however much Kriya you do, Kriya is just a technique, don’t mistake it for the goal. The goal is tranquility of the mind so you must meditate for as long as period as you can, there is no limit to it.” ~ Sri M

“You have to look at yourself carefully and find out what it is that is keeping you from reaching your spiritual goals. You have to figure it out yourself, I can’t point it out to you. And then nip it in the bud. If you find it out, then we can discuss further. This is why Swadhyaya is important. Also the state of mind is understood only depending on how it reacts with the outside world. Therefore you have to find out your flaws living amidst the world.” ~ Sri M

“If the mind which is always acting in opposites, for example, i like, I don’t like, pleasure, and pain. So if a mind theoretically or through the practice of yoga, or through spontaneous devotion, or through the blessings of somebody who has touched Turiya, the ego is so purified, the mind is so purified that is has no likes and dislikes and no fears. Such a mind even in deep sleep, shushupti, experiences Turiya. If the mind's agitations or vrittis through some process or the other are removed, all the ripples are quietened, that mind understands what is Turiya and that mind is in Turiya while it’s awake, dreaming or in deep sleep. There is only Turiya for such a mind.” ~ Sri M

"One should not rejoice on attaining what is pleasant. In the course of one’s life, one may attain many pleasant things. When one attains what is pleasant, one should not suddenly become exhilarated, for it's possible that it may soon disappear. It is the way of the world – high one day and low the other.“ ~ Sri M

“Each one of us is a lovely stream flowing into the great ocean of love and compassion, of goodness and energy, the Supreme Reality, which is God. Different we may be, but we emanate from the same source and to the same source we return.” ~ Sri M

“Patience is of the essence because when everybody is swimming along the stream and allowing themselves to be carried away by the stream in one direction, one person in a million is changing direction and trying to swim against the stream, so it is not easy. So, therefore, to get it done, one has to have infinite patience, there is no other way but to have infinite patience. “ ~ Sri M

“AUM covers everything. According to the Upanishads AUM is the bridge between this world and that which is beyond. Which means it is a link that makes us realize that it is not only there but also here and it’s a pure sound.”~ Sri M

“Kriya or any spiritual practice is also like storing for a rainy day. So while we pass through our lives, many times everything is okay but there are times when there are some difficult situations and sorrow. If you start your spiritual practice even when you are happy, then you are storing honey for a rainy day. If there comes a time when there is difficulty and trouble then you have something to hold on to and sail this boat of life across the rough seas.” ~ Sri M

“Samadhi means that state, that super conscious state into which one goes through the practice of yoga, any yoga. That ultimate samadhi is Kaivalya, freedom. You are not practicing yoga to fly in the air or walk on the water or to produce rudrakshas or any such things. You are practicing yoga or Kriya to reach a high level of consciousness which is a part of your own inner being. Which is blissful and which will complete the process of your life.” ~ Sri M

“The mind when it is still and quiet, this is not an easy thing but when it is, it enters into a state of Samadhi, where it understands that it is not the limited entity that it thinks it is, but something more than that. Where it has access to infinite sources of energy.” ~ Sri M

“If you discover that under all circumstances you remain unperturbed, at least most of the circumstances. Second your joy does not depend upon something external, it is within you. Three, you recognize the divine in all beings, fourth you don’t hate anyone. These are some of the signs of your progress in the spiritual field. One more step is you realize the impermanence of everything around you so whatever is happening, in some way it doesn’t affect you. To accept the principle of life in which constantly something is coming in and something is going out is a sign of going deeper into your own self. “ ~ Sri M

"To be eternally vigilant of one’s own mind is the beginning of the spiritual journey. The amount of effort you put into it has its own reward. After a while such a mind becomes so sensitive that nothing can escape it, then you don’t have to deliberately do it.“ ~ Sri M

“When you say Ahimsa does it meaning only ‘non-killing’ or does it mean ‘non-violence’ or does it mean ‘physical violence’ or ‘thought violence’, these are things which we need to consider. Ahimsa basically means the attitude of saying ‘I will not cause injury to any living beings’ you cannot cause injury to non living things anyways.” ~ Sri M

"When you say Ahimsa does it meaning only ‘non-killing’ or does it mean ‘non-violence’ or does it mean ‘physical violence’ or ‘thought violence’, these are things which we need to consider. Ahimsa basically means the attitude of saying ‘I will not cause injury to any living being’ you cannot cause injury to non living things anyways.” ~ Sri M

“For me, success can be defined as reaching a state of complete satisfaction, tranquility and bliss, independent of anything else inside or outside. It is also the aim of all the great philosophies or Darshanas in India.” ~ Sri M

“Yoga is a gift given to the world by this land of ours called India.” ~ Sri M

“The one thing in which there is complete free will, is to discover your own true self. While certain conditions are there which cannot change but there is still the free will to find your own true self. Everyone has the right to turn in.”~ Sri M

"The symbol of the Akashamudra or Chinmudra tells that you and the world are not different but are the same. You and I are not different, we are the same. The thumb represents ‘we’, with the index finger, we usually point to say ‘you’. So when in the picture, in Chinmudra when the thumb and index finger come together, or become one, they form the sign of zero bringing out the aspect of Shunyata. Then the other three fingers signify that what remains is Sat, Chit and Ananda." ~ Sri M

“Karma yoga means you work but not to be too caught up with the fruits of your work, even when there is no good results, not to fall into depression.” ~ Sri M

“Meditation is the capacity that one needs to develop so that one is not pulled down by anything, no matter what, and say ‘I will move on this path, I will not change my direction because I had a failure.’“ ~ Sri M

“To get the mind free of the material world’s trappings, I would say the only way is to live in the midst of it. Get guidance from one’s teacher and work towards handling it. Come to terms with the world so that one may transcend it at the proper time.” ~ Sri M

“The purpose of life is to find true happiness but when people realize that true happiness cannot be found in this world, they start pursuing the spiritual path.” ~ Sri M

“Renunciation is same as yoga and so is selfless action. Any action which is not for oneself only but also for others is called in the Gita as selfless action. The mind gets purified in dong such selfless actions and such purified minds automatically becomes the mind of a Yogi. This is also yoga, not just standing on your head. That’s physical Yoga.” ~ Sri M