Self-Knowledge - Journal of Adhyatma Yoga and Advaita Vedanta

[Guest guest]

Self-Knowledge - Journal of Adhyatma Yoga and Advaita Vedanta

 

Self-Knowledge is a journal dedicated to the spiritual tradition

called Adhyatma Yoga, a means towards realization of the true Self.

The Yoga is based on the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta which provides

a non-dual explanation of reality.

 

This journal has been published since 1950 by Shanti Sadan, a

traditional centre of Adhyatma Yoga, which was established in 1933 by

Hari Prasad Shastri according to the wishes of his own teacher the

Mahatma Shri Dada of Aligarh.

 

Self-Knowledge includes articles on all aspects of the Yoga

philosophy and practice, and also on art, science, history and

culture where these illustrate spiritual truth and beauty.

 

Who am I?

" ..for the traditional teachers of Yoga, there is no ignorance; there

is no world of plurality; there is no teacher, no pupil, no texts, no

bondage and no liberation. There is only the one universal,

undifferentiated Self. Without giving away one jot of that

standpoint, the traditional teachers come down to the standpoint of

us, the students, and construct various patterns of teaching to

enable us to climb out of our spiritual and metaphysical ignorance

and solve our problems.. "

from the Autumn 2006 issue.

 

Yoga and Love

" The true Guru is a gateway from the ordinary human loves to the

higher divine love. He stands on the borderline and helps his

disciples over it. By giving him love - which means in Christian

theology by seeing and worshipping the image of God in him - the

disciple opens himself to the possibility of receiving the knowledge

which he has. The other gurus can be paid in cash for their services,

but the Sadguru does not accept that currency. He has to be paid in

the heart's blood, which is love. What else could be paid for the

pearl beyond price?... "

from the Summer 2006 issue.

 

Realize What You Really Are

" Yoga is an investigation into the ultimate nature of our own being.

It is not a belief system or a set of practices to make us feel

better for a time. It is a way of confirming in our own personal

experience that our true nature is spiritual and is far greater than

anything we may have imagined possible. Ever peaceful, self-

illumined, the one reality behind all appearances, the innermost

being of man transcends the difficulties and restrictions of life.

The purpose of Yoga is to realize our intrinsic identity with this

spiritual nature... "

from the Spring 2006 issue.

 

World Within the Mind

" Self-realization is the realization of the fully revealed nature of

our own consciousness and being. It is also called God-realization.

The term `God' is used in an abstract sense, not associated with a

form or with any particular religion. Rather, this word God is used

to indicate the presence of a supreme spiritual Force, the author and

sustainer of the Universe, the pure and infinite Being whose nature

is Consciousness Absolute and Bliss Absolute, and in whom the world

appears, not as a real production, but as a phenomenal appearance

only, which, from the standpoint of enlightenment, is illusory and

not real. So perhaps it is better to replace the word `God' with the

Sanskrit term `Brahman', which retains this abstract connotation, and

comes from a root that suggests vastness and greatness... "

from the Autumn 2005 issue.

 

Self Reliance

Rumi, the Persian mystic, also speaks of listening to the inner

silence and resting in the simple awareness of this moment. He

says: " This silence, this moment, every moment, if it is genuinely

inside you, brings what you need. There is nothing to believe. Only

when I stopped believing in myself did I come into this beauty. Sit

quietly, and listen for a voice that will say, `Be more silent.' Die

and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign that you've died. Your old

life was a frantic running from silence. Move outside the tangle of

fear-thinking. Live in silence. " `Die and be silent' here means die

to our old self, the egocentric mind, to stop believing in its

interpretation of the world and instead to rely on the silence, the

simple awareness which is always present and brings what we need...

from the Autumn 2005 issue.

 

Brahman and Atman

" In the Upanishads and the writings of the great and holy Bhagavan

Shankaracharya, there are two words used that often bring confusion

to Western minds. These two words are `Brahman' and `Atman'. A short

time ago, a professor contributed an article showing the difference

of meaning between the two words, but in fact it is not so: they mean

one and the same thing... "

The full text of an article by Hari Prasad Shastri, specially

reproduced from the Summer 2005 issue.

 

The Sants

" The Sants have their own way of expressing the spiritual Truth.

Having assimilated from Vichar Sagar (The Ocean of Enquiry) and other

Hindi classics the rudiments of the spiritual philosophy, they

propagate it to groups in their characteristic way. They care neither

for education nor learning; their watchword is 'to be'... "

From the Spring 2005 issue.

 

Masters of Yoga

" The teachings of Vedanta revolve round the quest for true self-

knowledge, and their teaching is that the real Self of man is not

something to be achieved, but rather to be discovered, since it is

already present at the innermost core of the personality... "

From the Winter 2005 issue.

 

Self-Knowledge - Journal of Adhyatma Yoga and Advaita Vedanta

http://www.self-knowledge.org/index.htm