Quotes from Swami Rama

Many times a day the mountains change their colors, because the sun is at the service of these mountains.

The breath is a bridge between body and mind.

Ordinary sleep gives partial rest, while yoga nidra gives total rest to the body and the conscious mind. Dreaming may be therapeutic in many ways, but dreams that consume sleeping hours are never healthy. Waking, dreaming, and sleeping are the states of mind, and if mind is trained by the practice of yoga nidra, one can consciously go to deep sleep and wake up without being haunted by nightmares and fearful dreams. Here I am

Mind desired physical existence and so evolved a body in which to manifest itself.

Religions are social sciences which help to maintain culture and tradition and support the lawful structure of human society. Yoga

The breath has, then, a profound effect on man's physical and psychological functioning since it is the link between the body and mind. The nose, therefore, as the major portal of breath into the body, plays a crucial role.

vayu. Another

I still remember a few striking lines from Tagore's poems: I read in the problem of life and the world, The twist of tears and joy. I see before myself the busy feet of the wind, Suggesting humanity and law. The wind hastens to the shadow whose passion lies; Shall we go abroad and start anew, O wind, To build again a better life and song?

One who has learned to control prana has learned to control all the energies of this universe—physical and mental. He has also learned to control his body and mind.

It is true that the charms, temptations and attractions of the world are very powerful, but a burning desire for enlightenment does not allow an aspirant to be distracted from his path.

breathing freely through both nostrils is also said to aid in harmonizing the active and passive systems of the body, and so the neti wash has been found to be a helpful practice before meditation.

svarodaya, the science of breath

Humor is an important quality that makes one cheerful in all walks of life. To cultivate this quality is very important. When the poison was given to Socrates, he was very humorous and made a few jokes. When the cup of hemlock was given to him he said, "Can I share a bit of it with the gods?" Then he smiled and said, "Poison has no power to kill a sage, for a sage lives in reality, and reality is eternal." He smiled and took the poison.

And the key to perfect self-mastery, these yogis maintain, is svarodaya, the science of breath.

Breathing is the one physical function which is both involuntary (it goes on by itself) and voluntary (we can control our respiration consciously). The staggering significance of this simple insight was obvious to India's inner explorers: the breath is therefore the key to control over the autonomic nervous system, that part of our functioning we Westerners were taught lies outside our awareness and runs entirely unconsciously.

stories in this book represent only the tip of the iceberg.

That which you call the devil is part of you. The myth of the devil and of evil is imposed on us by our ignorance. The human mind is a great wonder and magician. It can assume the form of both a devil and a divine being any time it wishes. It can be a great enemy or a great friend, creating either hell or heaven for us. There are many tendencies hidden in the unconscious mind which must be uncovered, faced, and transcended before one intends to tread the path of enlightenment.

A master's divine love is not that of human love but is something which only the heart, and never the mind, is capable of understanding. In a true spiritual tradition the teacher gives so much to his student that the student's life is over-whelmed and transformed.

Sorrow, pain, and anger, for instance, each disrupt the smooth, relaxed pattern.