Om Namah Shivaya Gurave

This is a very ancient chant which encompasses some of the main, core teachings of yoga. It has been adopted by Anusara as it's primary invocation, chanted three times at the beginning of practice.


OM, OM, OM
OM Namah Shivaya Gurave
Satchitananda Murtaye
Nisprapancaya Shantaya
Niralambaya Tejase
OM

Meaning: (there can be many shades of meaning with sanskrit)
I bow to (Divine Consciousness) the true teacher within
I am pure awareness and at one with Source of all things
Forever expanding and fully peaceful
Depending on nothing else, I am radiant and powerful

When you hear the mantra Om Namah Shivaya being chanted, you can experience how natural and easy it is to chant the mantra, to be in the body of sound.  It is so easy for the mind to relax and let go.  You feel that you could continue chanting Om Namah Shivaya for hours.  You have no desire to do anything else because chanting this mantra will purify you, will give you a meditation, will give you the experience of the Divine, will give you just about everything.


~S. Chidvilasanada

The Path of Discipline

Discipline gives total freedom;
it allows you to go beyond limitations,
to break through boundaries and reach the highest goal.
The path of discipline will not only save a person's life,
it will also give it meaning.  How?
By intorducing him to deeper joys and deeper longings,
by creatinig a scilence in which
the whisper of the heart can be heard.
Truly, discipline is the road to liberation.

Tapas/tapasya (lit. heat) 1. Austerities. 2. The experience of heat that occurs during the process of practicing yoga.  The heat is generated by friction between the senses and renunciation.  It is said that this heat, called "the fire of yoga," burns up the impurities that lie between the seeker and the experience of the Truth.
On the list of niyamas is austerity, tapas, which literally means heat.  This is the fire of yoga.  First, it burns up the impurities in the body.  Then it reveals itself as the great fire, the blazing light of the supreme Self.  For a mediator, tapasya also includes accepting whatever happens as the best thing for your sadhana, and not being disturbed by any discomforts. inner and outer, that you may experience.

Austerity develops endurance, which is the backbone of yoga.  In yoga, your need the power of endurance.  Constantly enduring whatever happen, never falling apart.  You should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because when you do, it becomes a tendency, and it happens over and over.  Endurance is an invaluable quality that strengthens a mediator and helps him overcome the obstacles on the path.  The path is strewn with many obstacles, so you can't let one obstacle stop you.  You have many obstacles to overcome, so you must gain strength as you walk the path.

Even though at times you feel very tired and depleted, so tired that you feel you can't go on, even then, remember cleanliness, remember the purification that has already happened.  Remember that austerity is good.  It is the real fire that will burn the impurities and obstacles.  Do not let yourself become completely exhausted.  Without austerity, it is easy to give in to temptations and fall back on the indulgences that are so much a part of the lower self and the world of sense objects.  So a yogi, a seeker, must always remember to ascent higher and higher.  There should be nothing in the closet to revert to.   Many people think if they put their bad habits in the closet, somehow no one will see them.  Then, if they really want to indulge themselves, they can.  But it's better to keep the closet clean.

Austerity has the power to mold a person into a sturdy vessel capable of holding the immense energy of yoga.  This energy, this shakti, is very strong.  In order to hold it, your need a strong body, a strong vessel.  To sum it up, every part of your being profits from austerity, which curbs the appetites and purifies the will.

Well, the sages say, if you want to realize the purpose of human birth and enter the abode of supreme bliss, then you have to change your view on life.  It's that simple - you have to change.  Much of your life has been created from your unlimited supply of negative concepts.  Purify them.  Give your ,mind a break.  Have you ever thought about it?  Have you ever considered what your mind must think about you?  Give your mind a break avery now and then.  It wants to be free from your clutches.

Consciousness is the very nature of the mind, and Consciousness is totally free and steady at the smae time.  So let the mind become still; it wants to become still and savor its own elixer.  Let it eb.  Don't drag it off to go shopping with you.  Let the mind become sserenc; then a fountain od joy will flow within you.  When a meditator learns to strengthen the mind and the heart by invoking the presence of contentment within he drinks from that fountain of joy.

(p.31)

Bliss

Gunas - The scriptures of India identify three essential qualities of nature, which determine the inherent characteristics of all created things. They are sattva (purity, light harmony, and intelligence); rajas (activity and passon); and tamas (dullness, inerta, and ignorance).

Sattvic happiness arises from the discipline of the mind and the senses.

Once again, tamasic happiness is wretched and thrives on laziness and others' pain.  Rajasic happiness seems like nectar in the beginning, but turns to poison in the end.  Sattcic happiness is born of restraint, and though it may seem bitter at first, in the end produces a fountain of nectar.

Beyond these three kinds of happiness is the pure bliss of the Self, which transcends the three gunas.  Bliss is absolutely free from the stains of this world.  Bliss is the very nature of Consciousness.  When you say, "The sunrise of supreme bliss shimmers in every particle of the universe," you acknowledge its presence.  You give it the honor that is due.  You make the experience your own.  It is not someone else's; it belongs to you.  Supreme bliss belongs to you; you actually take possession of it.  Then whenever you or someone you know goes through something less than bliss, you begin to experience deep compassion.  There is a point below which your spirits never fall.  You are no longer devoured by maya, by illusion.

What kinds of happiness have you experienced in your life?  There may have been times when you experienced tamasic happiness.  And than, once in a blue moon perhaps, you were happy for no reason at all.  Just simply happy.  You didn't see a deer in the woods you were just happy.

What kind of happiness have you known best?  Sweet happiness?  Bitter happiness?  Bittersweet happiness?  Pure happiness?  Impure happiness?  Happiness that is mixed, both pure and impure?  Something to contemplate.

The human body is equipped with the incredible ability to open doors to subtler realms.  Just as gold is found in a gold mine and lotuses in a pond, just as pine cones are found on a pine tree, wisdom on the tongue of a scholar, creativity in the hands of a painter, innocent laughter in a chid, lightning in rain clouds, steam in hot water, and tenderness in a generous heart, in the same way, the great Self can be found in this human body.  It does exist; and its nature, which is bliss can be experiences.


And do you know what the best part is?  This experience does not have to be a one-time thing.  It can become an unfading source of inspiration, bringing forth ver-new and ever-fresh experiences.  The bliss of the Self is inexhaustible.  It is unlike anything else.  A gold mine can rn dry.  The more gold you take out, the less remains - until all that's left is dirt and rock.  But when you tap into the bliss of your own inner Self, the more emerges.