Mountain Retreat Yoga Sangha

“That Absolute energy, in manifestation or movement, when it begins to work, is called Shakti. When it is in its potential form, absolutely at rest, without a single movement – That completeness is Shiva, the Absolute Being.” ~ Sri M

“For a Yogi Vijayadashami is celebrated when the energy or Shakti has reached the Sahasrara Chakra through the shushumna nadi, in the spine. This ecstasy is celebrated by the great Sanyasin Adi Shanakara in his text “Saundarya Lahiri” meaning the ‘Ecstasy of Beauty’.” ~ Sri M

“Nobody actually gives Sri Vidya Upasana to anybody without first giving the Bala Mantra. Let’s say Goddess Tripura Sundari is a fully developed lady, Bala is a little girl, eight years old, so the Bala is the gateway or doorway to enter into Sri Vidya Upasana. So only after a person does sadhana of the Bala Mantra for specific time, is the Sri Vidya usually given.” ~ Sri M

"If your mind is restrained and detached, it can work better. A calm mind has more power of attention and concentration than an agitated mind." ~ Sri M

"The ego is called Ahamkara, and the Atman is the Consciousness. The ego owes its existence to the Atman which is Consciousness. But it begins to feel at some point that it is a separate entity, it’s not. Without Consciousness the ego cannot function. But then the ego becomes very proud of itself and says it can do anything. When the ego becomes stronger than the Atman, we become egotistic." ~ Sri M

"If acute desire to be free of suffering arises in a human mind, that mind need not be extraordinarily intellectual. It can be just an ordinary person with that desire; then one can completely direct oneself towards that which one can be free.” ~ Sri M

"The world is what we make of it, but something excess, there is no doubt that, so the vedantin says ‘There is existence but the forms and ideas we have about that existence are very relative, since they are not absolute, they are not true. They may say that they are relatively real but since they are not absolute, they are not true. But the witness is there and that is true." ~ Sri M

"Self knowledge is the creeper which yields the fruit of cessation of craving, till then effort is required. It is only when the self is seen that the highest form of dispassion is firmly rooted in the heart. Not before that. Here one should try to behold the self through intelligent enquiry and try to get rid of the craving for pleasure." ~ Sri M

"Self realization and the cessation of craving should proceed hand in hand, simultaneously, through study of scriptures, service to the teacher and having dispassion as a constant companion." ~ Sri M

"For self realization self exertion is very important. Don’t blame it on god or angel or anything of that kind. If you are not making spiritual progress, you are certainly not putting the effort that is required. All dependence on external factors should be abandoned." ~ Sri M

"Satsangs and company of holy men bring about dispassion in us. It helps arise the spirit of enquiry and give contempt for the objects of pleasure." ~ Sri M

"How to chant AUM. How to catch on to this sound AUM, which is a bridge between this world and that which is beyond. If you want to have the maximum effect of moving forward on the spiritual path, when you start chanting AUM, start from down, bring it up and let it go. Give complete attention to it. After sometime, you will not be anywhere in the picture, only the sound of AUM will be there. If this happens then know that you are moving towards the centre of your consciousness. Also if you behave properly in the outside world following the Yama, niyamas then there is no doubt that you will reach the goal." ~ Sri M

"The sacred word AUM appears in all Upanishads and all sacred texts. Therefore AUM is very important. Chant AUM." ~ Sri M

"It’s only during the last incarnation of a human or an asura, that devotion arises in the heart. Devotion cannot be manufactured. It is a spontaneous occurrence in the heart. If it happens you can only say I am fortunate. If it doesn’t happen you can only say that I am unfortunate. There are ways and means to work towards it but you cannot manufacture it. You cannot pretend to have devotion." ~ Sri M

"If a person has achieved moksha, there is no going in and there is no coming out of that state, it is always there. It need not be there only when the eyes are closed or in Samadhi. It has to be there even when the eyes are open. When you have finally attained moksha, then you have to do nothing about it because it is always there." ~ Sri M

"Even in the greatest of samadhi(absorption) one can be brought back to normal consciousness, I mean to waking state, through either Pranava or through the conch sound or through some holy sound like the ringing of the bell. It is not like waking up the ordinary man who is sleeping because he will be the same man who went to sleep. But when one wakes up from a trance called samadhi. The person who wakes up will not be the same person who he was before samadhi. The wisdom is already in him therefore you cannot fake samadhi." ~ Sri M

"Shruti is something which is heard. Not what is studied, taken home and commented upon and discussed. Shruti is pure sound and therefore Vedas declared that the Shruti is the original voice of Truth. Therefore, when a student is perfectly prepared, Shruti once said is enough. There is no more need to attend the talks." ~ Sri M

“The whole exercise is to make the mind so sensitive that when the Shruti strikes, it has its effect. All Sadhana is done for that.” ~ Sri M

"When you meditate, keep your mind like a flame without any wind, no flickering, protected from all winds, make it steady." ~ Sri M

"Miracles can happen only if you change the attitude of your mind and implement your resolutions.” ~ Sri M

"Fear and depression are of no use to a human being. At turning points in life, have faith in the inner reality which resides in your heart and move forward.” ~Sri M

“If you want to delve deep into the layers of your consciousness and finally reach the essence, then meditation is a must.”~ Sri M

"Bhakti, the highest state of bhava, is when you declare that ‘I am completely helpless, so please take over.’ It’s all in God’s hands. We realize that however much we think we can, we are truly helpless. That is bhava. That is spiritual enquiry. Not that you shouldn’t do anything. Bhava is something that has to come spontaneously. Bhava is essential on the spiritual path.” ~Sri M

“The wise say that there is a stage in spiritual realization when the wheel stops turning. There is no more seeking, grasping or holding on. There is no fear of it being snatched away, hence there is no holding on. From the point of view of the highest spiritual experience, when the mind has become absolutely quiet, it is total and complete freedom. This is definitely accompanied by a surge of bliss and happiness that is so intense that nothing else compares to it in this world or beyond.” ~ Sri M

"How to get out of the cosmic illusion ? When the mind stops linking itself to the past and to the future then it becomes no mind. Is it possible? Well yes and no, actually if you look carefully, coming out of this illusion of continuity, the only thing that exists is now, what happened yesterday does not exist, it’s only in our memory, it is not happening now. But very soon, connecting yesterday’s memory with what’s happening today we project a future illusion, which is for tomorrow but in reality nobody knows the future. Therefore when we understand this deeply then at any given point the mind remains in here and now. It takes a lot of self effort." ~ Sri M

"All knowledge is memory. But the Supreme Reality cannot be a memory, a thing of the past, it has to be here and now. It cannot be part of any knowledge. Why? Because all knowledge is a part of memory. The all pervading Supreme Reality has to be in the present, fresh, here and now. Therefore when the mind is completely obliterated, we can touch the Supreme Reality. Otherwise the mind will create images of the Supreme reality and prevent us from realizing it." ~ Sri M

"When you sit to meditate, be yourself, your inner self, don’t try to get this experience or that experience, because by trying you will be successfully blocking the experience which might have come to you." ~ Sri M

"Traditionally in the Samkhya system Atma, Buddhi and Manas are one triangle. Manas is the mind. Buddhi is the discriminating faculty. Atma is pure consciousness or Purusha. Consciousness works through the brain but it is not a part of the brain." ~ Sri M

"The mind is fickle and difficult to control , it is always moving and turbulent but we can bring it under control through effort, dispassion and spiritual practice. Through constant practice of meditation one can make the mind tranquil." ~ Sri M

"The qualities of the mind which has to be developed by the practitioners of meditation also is in being kind and in doing service to others, all this helps and supports the practice of meditation. Compassion is a tremendous thing in the heart, you cannot cultivate compassion. The bodhisattvas have so much compassion that they are ready to come back again and again to help others. The Yogis considers everybody as his/her own, therefore help others as much as he or she can. He or she also practices meditation. Both have to go hand in hand." ~ Sri M

"A prayer comes when we are helpless or when we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, so there is a feeling to ask for help. The desire to pray happens only when we understand our limitations. If there is a Supreme Being then prayer is the only way to connect. You have already surrendered because you feel powerless, the ego is already chopped to pieces and you are suffering and calling for help. The prayer becomes so strong because you have demolished yourself, otherwise why would you pray? You will say oh I will do it, but here you know that you can’t do anything and are helpless. Then help comes. Even when the almighty knows everything, there is no harm in reminding." ~ Sri M