SRV - What is Taught?

What is Taught in SRV: The Four Yogas

Increasing our capacity to live a divine life ~ This is the emphasis at each SRV center.

" ...O mind, return to your own abode, your eternal home.   You are a foreigner in this foreign land. Why do you roam about aimlessly with no real purpose?
   ...O mind, set yourself on the path of Truth and walk every moment lighting your way with the lamp of devotion.
     There is a roadside inn known by the name, 'Holy Company'.
     Take rest there if you are tired and weary."
- Mono Chalo Nija Niketaney, a Bengali devotional song

What is the basis for a divine life?

The most direct answer is revealed in our own times by Sri Ramakrishna: "the only purpose for human existence is to realize God." The Vedic scriptures tell us of three great boons indispensable for God-realization: a human body, the company of a great Soul, and the desire for liberation. To these, the Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi, has added a fourth, the grace of one's own mind. Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda have stated in various ways that bondage and ignorance (of our true nature) exist only in the mind. For this reason, our centers concentrate on spiritual disciplines (sadhana) that remove ignorance from the mind by focusing attention on our eternal union with God. These disciplines fall under four main categories that are to be harmoniously practiced and integrated.

Jnana Yoga, the Path of Knowledge

"Shining like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme in them, in whom ignorance is destroyed by Self-knowledge." - Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita V:16

Aspirants devote time each day for reading or listening to the teachings of the scriptures and the lives of saints, sages and other great beings. From the scriptures and the exemplary lives of the illumined, we learn the nature of Reality: the Soul is immortal and one with God; It is completely independent of the changing phenomena of the universe and is never subject to birth, growth, depression, decay, or death; It is one with all existence. These inspiring and ennobling truths, presented in myriad ways, are then deeply contemplated continually until the aspirant ceases to identify with any limited condition of body, mind, ego, or intellect. Classes in the scriptures are offered weekly by the teachers of each center. Our Spiritual Director, Babaji Bob Kindler, visits the centers several times every year during which he offers daily classes on Jnana Yoga.

Suggested Reading:
Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
Self-Knowledge (Atmabodha) by Swami Nikhilananda
Vivekachudamani, The Crest Jewel of Discrimination, by Shankaracharya
Drg Drsya Viveka, (The Discrimination Between the Seer and the Seen), by Shankaracharya
Strike Off Thy Fetters!*, by Babaji Bob Kindler
Hasta Amalaka Stotram*, translation and commentary by Babaji Bob Kindler
We Are Atman All-Abiding, 108 Verses on the Atman*, by Babaji Bob Kindler

Bhakti Yoga, the Path of Devotion

" ...this truth about the Atman (Soul) never dawns on the minds of those who are without devotion to Me." - Sri Ramachandra, Adhyatma Ramayana

"Worship is for the purpose of cultivating Devotion. From Devotion comes Atmajnana, knowledge of the Self." - Swami Aseshananda

How do we put the non-dual teachings into practice? Sri Ramachandra teaches that without devotion for the Lord one will be incapable of assimilating spiritual knowledge. Worship is the practice of uniting thought, word and action in an atmosphere of divine love. When practiced from the standpoint of ultimate unity, the aspirant is led from external worship to ananya bhakti, the devotion of nonseparation. During ceremonial worship, we sacrifice our limited individuality and learn to feel the Blessed Lord and the Divine Mother abiding within us. After acknowledging and worshiping Divinity at the altar in the shrine room, we learn to perceive this Sacred Presence everywhere. This is a process that ultimately unites the individual soul with the Supreme Being. Weekly and daily worship services are offered at the SRV centers, which include traditional Puja (worship with offerings of light, incense and flowers), chanting of the Divine Names, and devotional singing. Additionally, each center celebrates special holy days in honor of specific Divine Aspects (Mother Kali, Sri Durga, Sri Krishna and Lord Shiva) and the manifestations of Avatar (such as Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, Lord Jesus, Lord Buddha and others).
See SRV Centers page for details. Click

Suggested Reading:
Bhakti Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
Narada's Way of Divine Love by Swami Prabhavananda
Bhagavad Gita translated by Swami Chidbhavananda

Karma Yoga, the Path of Selfless Action and Service

"Motivated action is far inferior to that performed in the equanimity of mind; take refuge in the evenness of the mind; wretched are the result-seekers." - Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, II:49

"With the mind purified by karma yoga, and the self disciplined, and the senses subdued, one who realizes one's self as the Self in all beings, though acting, is not affected." - Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, V:7

"Abandoning the fruit of action, the yogi attains peace born of steadfastness; impelled by desire, the non-yogi is bound, attached to fruit." - Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, V:12

" 'Who sows must reap,' they say, and cause must bring the sure effect: good, good; bad, bad, and none escape the law. For who so wears a form must wear the chain. Too true; but far beyond both name and form is Atman, ever free. Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say: Om Tat Sat, Om!" - Swami Vivekananda, from "Song of the Sannyasin"

The results of self-centered actions, arising from the sense of ownership, agency and separation, lead beings from negative to positive actions through the law of cause and effect over many lifetimes. Entering into a conscious spiritual life, however, the aspirant begins to systematically neutralize the effects of both negative and positive actions by using the mind's discrimination to transcend the relative values of good and bad. He or she then learns to abide in a spontaneous, God-centered state where the individual will is merged in the Divine Will.

This is accomplished in two ways: by offering all actions and their results to one's Chosen Ideal (God with form), thereby transforming the "rascal ego" into the servant, devotee or child of the Lord and Mother; and by training the mind to scrupulously adhere to a discipline of intense dispassion for the results of all action, thereby abiding in the knowledge that all action is part of nature, while the Self, in truth, is actionless, free from nature. Karma Yoga begins as a practice for purification of the mind as the aspirant learns to detach from the self-centered ego. In time, this yoga becomes the spontaneous pathway of divine expression. The difficult phase of spiritual discipline performed with concentrated self-effort then gradually transforms into joyful divine preoccupation.

All experience is spiritual experience. Aspirants at the SRV centers strive to take the teachings into daily life to infuse their practice of Karma yoga with inspiration and devotion in order to efface the erroneous distinction between spiritual life and secular life. In addition, there are opportunities at each center for aspirants to offer seva (service) in an atmosphere of holiness.

Suggested Reading:
Karma Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
The Doctrine of Karma by Swami Abhedananda

Raja Yoga, the Path of Meditation

"The one whose happiness is within, whose delight is within, whose illumination is within only, that yogi becomes Brahman and gains the Beatitude of Brahman." - Sri Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, V:24

"The mind keeps well when engaged in work. And yet, japa [repetition of the mantra], meditation and prayer also are specially needed. You must at least sit down once in the morning and again in the evening. That acts as a rudder to a boat." - Holy Mother, In the Company of the Holy Mother, p. 357-58

"Meditation is feeling the presence of God." - Babaji

The Self is infinite. For this reason we can never find ultimate fulfillment in pleasure derived from the objects of the senses that necessarily arise in time and pass away in time. The Infinite can only be satisfied by what is Infinite. Patanjali, the father of Yoga, has given to all beings a complete set of practices, "the Eight-limbed Yoga," by which to collect the scattered energies of the psycho-physical being and concentrate them upon the Eternal Reality abiding within us. The Eight Limbs are:
1) yamas: non-injury, truthfulness, non-covetousness, continence, non-ownership
2) niyamas: austerity, purity (body and mind), study of the scriptures, contendedness, worship of the Divine Being
3) asana: posture (the single posture best suited for meditation)
4) pranayama: control of the vital energy
5) pratyahara: withdrawing the mind and senses from external objects
6) dharana: concentrating the mind within the heart
7) dhyana: meditation
8) samadhi: divine union
Meditation is the natural culmination of all the yogas. When, in Jnana Yoga, the aspirant identifies only with the perfect Freedom of the Soul, the mind becomes calm and rests naturally in a state of meditation. When, in Bhakti Yoga, the devotee realizes that the Blessed Lord and the Divine Mother are the Self within, that state of union is one of perpetual meditation. When, in Karma Yoga, all action becomes divine action, all will, divine Will, and the sense of agency has disappeared altogether, then the actionlessness of the Self becomes the meditation from which all beneficial action occurs. Meditation with the sangha at the SRV centers is available according to schedule. During his visits, Babaji gives instruction in meditation privately and in group settings. SRV retreats, in particular, provide extended periods of instruction and application enabling aspirants to establish a routine of meditation and to intensify their existing practice.

Suggested Reading:
Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda
Meditation and Spiritual Life, Swami Yatiswarananda
Concentration and Meditation, Swami Paramananda

The four yogas, briefly described above, are explained in great depth for the contemporary world by Swami Vivekananda. The following is a selection of books to enhance one's study of each of these four yogas.

Books on Jnana Yoga:
Jnana Yoga, Swami Vivekananda
Self-Knowledge (Atmabodha), Swami Nikhilananda
Vivekachudamani, The Crest Jewel of Discrimination, by Shankaracharya
Drg Drsya Viveka, (The Discrimination Between the Seer and the Seen), by Shankaracharya
Strike Off Thy Fetters!*, by Babaji Bob Kindler
Hasta Amalaka Stotram*, translation and commentary by Babaji Bob Kindler
We Are Atman All-Abiding, 108 Verses on the Atman*, by Babaji Bob Kindler
Books on Bhakti Yoga:
Bhakti Yoga, Swami Vivekananda
Narada's Way of Divine Love, Swami Prabhavananda
Bhagavad Gita, Swami Chidbhavananda translation.
Books on Karma Yoga:
Karma Yoga, Swami Vivekananda
The Doctrine of Karma, Swami Abhedananda
Books on Raja Yoga:
Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda
Meditation and Spiritual Life, Swami Yatiswarananda
Concentration and Meditation, Swami Paramananda
Books on all the Yogas:
Bhagavad Gita, we recommend translations/commentaries by swamis of the Ramakrishna Order
The Four Yogas, by Swami Adiswarananda

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