Mountain Retreat Yoga Sangha

"Consciousness is what nobody till date has been able to define but I can say this from my understanding, that consciousness is not confined to the brain. Consciousness is an all pervading reality which works through different centers, like the human minds and for advanced beings through their minds." ~ Sri M

“The brain is an excellent computer, I think it is one of the most advanced one and the operator is the consciousness.” ~ Sri M

“We human beings have one unique capacity to be aware that there is consciousness, which is through meditation. When the mind is still something takes over which you cannot actually call brain. You can call it intuition or presence or essence. But it is necessary to bring the mind to that state of stillness through meditation to recognize that there is something beyond itself. The process to realize the existence of consciousness also frees you from all conditionings.” ~ Sri M

“Consciousness and soul are two sides of the same coin. You cannot think of a soul without consciousness but consciousness can be there without the soul. The soul is the subtlest element in the universe which can perhaps connect to the consciousness. We can say that Consciousness is the father the soul is the Son.” ~ Sri M

“Religion starts very pure and then sometimes it gets sidetracked and gets diluted by human impulses. Go to all the universal religions, of course as far as Hindu system of thought is concerned it is not even a religion. It is a system of thought because there were many Rishis or teachers. Look at the other religions. Let’s say who has one teacher, one book, all of them started with the mystical experience of one individual but then when it became formalized and then it got connected with imperialistic designs. It became more and more suited to that purpose, this is where it became diluted.” ~ Sri M

“You cannot say that I am a spiritual person and not do service. That’s not possible. Look, if I see a light inside of me, it cannot be that I am peculiar and that only I have that light. The light is in everybody’s heart. It may be covered, it may be hiding, but it’s there. So if you serve somebody, you are actually serving God. Every human being is a walking speaking temple of God. We can build temples with concrete and stone but this is a living temple. You can ring the bells and do service there, but this is real service. I think this kind of service on one hand helps the other, who are getting served, and on the other it deepens your own spiritual journey.” Sri M

“I am of the opinion that once the trees disappear from this Earth, we are finished. The earth does not exist really if we don’t have greenery. People plant trees but then they don’t take care of them. People should adopt a tree and take care of it.” ~ Sri M

“I think Jesus was an extraordinary person, an extraordinary being, I won’t say biologically Son of God or anything of that sort, I can’t say that. But metaphorically Son of God, Yes. I think he was an individual who was a typical wandering Yogi, moving from place to place, not having a place to stay. You know that famous quote that ‘Foxes have dens and the snakes have holes but the son of man knows not where to lay his head.’ In Bhagavad Gita such a Yogi is called Aniketa, one who has no home.” ~ Sri M

“If you look at the sermon on the Mount only, you find the essence of what one would call a spiritual being and spiritual life being beautifully explained there. In fact it appears more akin to Hindu and Buddhist teachings.” ~ Sri M

“The universal message at the heart of the Hindu teachings, Buddhists teachings and Christian teachings is Care, Love and Service and to seek peace in the depths of your being. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. Nobody said blessed are the Christians for they shall be called the children of God. The moment you cease to be a peacemaker, you are no more a Christian from that point of view.” ~ Sri M

“There is as such no spiritual content in the school curriculum. This is the reason why the young people face the problems of anxiety, depression, addiction and loneliness. If they knew there is more to life than earning a living then perhaps they will want to explore more. They might start to think that there may be an alternate way of living. They will start to reflect more on spirituality and start their spiritual journey.” ~ Sri M

"One should not rejoice on attaining what is pleasant. In the course of one’s life, one may attain many pleasant things. When one attains what is pleasant, one should not suddenly become exhilarated, for it's possible that it may soon disappear. It is the way of the world – high one day and low the other.“ ~ Sri M

“Each one of us is a lovely stream flowing into the great ocean of love and compassion, of goodness and energy, the Supreme Reality, which is God. Different we may be, but we emanate from the same source and to the same source we return.” ~ Sri M

“Patience is of the essence because when everybody is swimming along the stream and allowing themselves to be carried away by the stream in one direction, one person in a million is changing direction and trying to swim against the stream, so it is not easy. So, therefore, to get it done, one has to have infinite patience, there is no other way but to have infinite patience. “ ~ Sri M

“AUM covers everything. According to the Upanishads AUM is the bridge between this world and that which is beyond. Which means it is a link that makes us realize that it is not only there but also here and it’s a pure sound.”~ Sri M

“Kriya or any spiritual practice is also like storing for a rainy day. So while we pass through our lives, many times everything is okay but there are times when there are some difficult situations and sorrow. If you start your spiritual practice even when you are happy, then you are storing honey for a rainy day. If there comes a time when there is difficulty and trouble then you have something to hold on to and sail this boat of life across the rough seas.” ~ Sri M

“Samadhi means that state, that super conscious state into which one goes through the practice of yoga, any yoga. That ultimate samadhi is Kaivalya, freedom. You are not practicing yoga to fly in the air or walk on the water or to produce rudrakshas or any such things. You are practicing yoga or Kriya to reach a high level of consciousness which is a part of your own inner being. Which is blissful and which will complete the process of your life.” ~ Sri M

“The mind when it is still and quiet, this is not an easy thing but when it is, it enters into a state of Samadhi, where it understands that it is not the limited entity that it thinks it is, but something more than that. Where it has access to infinite sources of energy.” ~ Sri M

“If you discover that under all circumstances you remain unperturbed, at least most of the circumstances. Second your joy does not depend upon something external, it is within you. Three, you recognize the divine in all beings, fourth you don’t hate anyone. These are some of the signs of your progress in the spiritual field. One more step is you realize the impermanence of everything around you so whatever is happening, in some way it doesn’t affect you. To accept the principle of life in which constantly something is coming in and something is going out is a sign of going deeper into your own self. “ ~ Sri M

"To be eternally vigilant of one’s own mind is the beginning of the spiritual journey. The amount of effort you put into it has its own reward. After a while such a mind becomes so sensitive that nothing can escape it, then you don’t have to deliberately do it.“ ~ Sri M

“When you say Ahimsa does it meaning only ‘non-killing’ or does it mean ‘non-violence’ or does it mean ‘physical violence’ or ‘thought violence’, these are things which we need to consider. Ahimsa basically means the attitude of saying ‘I will not cause injury to any living beings’ you cannot cause injury to non living things anyways.” ~ Sri M

"When you say Ahimsa does it meaning only ‘non-killing’ or does it mean ‘non-violence’ or does it mean ‘physical violence’ or ‘thought violence’, these are things which we need to consider. Ahimsa basically means the attitude of saying ‘I will not cause injury to any living being’ you cannot cause injury to non living things anyways.” ~ Sri M

“For me, success can be defined as reaching a state of complete satisfaction, tranquility and bliss, independent of anything else inside or outside. It is also the aim of all the great philosophies or Darshanas in India.” ~ Sri M

“Yoga is a gift given to the world by this land of ours called India.” ~ Sri M

“The one thing in which there is complete free will, is to discover your own true self. While certain conditions are there which cannot change but there is still the free will to find your own true self. Everyone has the right to turn in.”~ Sri M

"The symbol of the Akashamudra or Chinmudra tells that you and the world are not different but are the same. You and I are not different, we are the same. The thumb represents ‘we’, with the index finger, we usually point to say ‘you’. So when in the picture, in Chinmudra when the thumb and index finger come together, or become one, they form the sign of zero bringing out the aspect of Shunyata. Then the other three fingers signify that what remains is Sat, Chit and Ananda." ~ Sri M

“Karma yoga means you work but not to be too caught up with the fruits of your work, even when there is no good results, not to fall into depression.” ~ Sri M

“Meditation is the capacity that one needs to develop so that one is not pulled down by anything, no matter what, and say ‘I will move on this path, I will not change my direction because I had a failure.’“ ~ Sri M

“To get the mind free of the material world’s trappings, I would say the only way is to live in the midst of it. Get guidance from one’s teacher and work towards handling it. Come to terms with the world so that one may transcend it at the proper time.” ~ Sri M

“The purpose of life is to find true happiness but when people realize that true happiness cannot be found in this world, they start pursuing the spiritual path.” ~ Sri M

“Renunciation is same as yoga and so is selfless action. Any action which is not for oneself only but also for others is called in the Gita as selfless action. The mind gets purified in dong such selfless actions and such purified minds automatically becomes the mind of a Yogi. This is also yoga, not just standing on your head. That’s physical Yoga.” ~ Sri M