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

"When one touches the supreme state, then naturally everything happens to that person without much planning, he moves on in life. It’s like the flowing river, the flowing river makes its own boundaries, it doesn’t decide what boundaries have to be made, such is the state of mind of a person who has touched the infinite. This goes totally against the idea that everything has to be planned!!" ~ Sri M

"Thoughts can condition you and make you think that ‘you cannot do something’, and thought can also be conditioned to say, ‘Yes, I can do it!’ “ ~ Sri M

"When your mind is ever set on attaining the Supreme truth, and you abandon the fruits of all your work saying ‘all this is yours’ not easy but it is possible. When you get good result you say ‘you have given me good results’ when you get bad results you say ‘you have taught me a lesson’ ‘I surrender to you’. The mind of the person who has dedicated all the fruits of his action to the Divine has no weight. Because he is no more the agency. His mind becomes light and clear." ~ Sri M

"In Gita Krishna says If you find it difficult to fix your mind steadily on the me in the beginning because it keeps wandering, learn how to do it through the systematic practice of Yoga. Here systematic practice of Abhyasa yoga means yoga of meditation. Kriya yoga is also such a practice." ~ Sri M

"When you begin to help others, without looking for profit or loss, wholeheartedly then you are no longer thinking only of yourself, so I am moving out of my selfishness, so my mind expanding. Through service, through helping those who are unfortunate we can expand our mind and reach the Supreme truth." ~ Sri M

"In Vyasa’s Vedanta Sutras, Brahman, the core of all beings, is described or defined as ‘Asti Bhati Priya’ instead of Satchidananda. Asti means that It exists – It is there; Bhati means the consciousness, the effulgence, the light; and Priya means love, which is very close to ananda. These are predominant qualities of the Brahman or Atman, if you prefer to call it that." ~ Sri M

"When all the attention from the worldly objects are directed to the divinity then it is surrender. You are in control of your senses but directing your whole attention towards the lord. You are saying ‘I am meditating because you have allowed me to meditate’, ‘I have moved forward because you have allowed me to move forward’ and ‘I will reach there because you said i will reach there.’ Thus you have surrendered all your actions to the Lord. And that takes load off the mind." ~ Sri M

"According to the Māṇḍūkya Upanishad, turīya is that Witness which exists throughout: in the waking state, in the dream state, as well as in deep sleep. According to the Vedantists, the yogi is one who recognises or has come to understand that that Witness which remains unaltered – it is called just Sākṣī, bare Witness – doesn’t get altered by any of the different changes that take place during the waking state, during the dream state, and during deep sleep. Vedānta says that, this Witness is the real you." ~ Sri M

"Peace is a state of mind that comes from inside. If you are not peaceful with yourself you cannot be at peace anywhere.” ~ Sri M

"Without the old dying off, there is no space for the new.” ~ Sri M

“When we say ‘GOD’, we mean the energy that creates, preserves and destroys. ‘G’ to generate, ‘O’ to operate what is generated and ‘D’ to destroy what is created.” ~ Sri M

“When all becoming ceases, then there is only That which is.” ~ Sri M

“Divine love is to fall in love with the Supreme Being. A person is ready to give up anything to touch the feet of the deity or embrace it. Spiritual love for the deity is called Bhakti. This cannot be cultivated.” ~ Sri M

“A person who has touched That freedom, Moksha or Mukti, or completeness, lives an unprejudiced life of total freedom, not influenced by the stereotyped images that one encounters in day to day life.“ ~ Sri M

“The Gita is meant for applying the principles in daily life. If you cannot, there is no point in reading the Gita. It is not just theory, it is a practical text on how to move forward.” ~ Sri M

“If you have a healthy body, if you have a healthy mind, then you can meditate and move forward.” ~ Sri M

“In the Vedas and the Upanishads, most of the things which the rishis describe are intuitive. They go beyond ordinary understanding.” ~ Sri M

“When it comes to how to make the mind, one pointed and free it from agitations that constantly assail it, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say there is only one way to - ‘Nairantarya deergha kale abhyaasa’, which means ‘Practice, practice, practice for a long, long time.” ~ Sri M

“The great Kabir Das said many hundred years ago, ‘kal karey so aaj kar, aaj karey so ab’ meaning, ‘What you have to do tomorrow, do it today, and what you should do today, do it right now!’. Postponement always ends in failure.” ~ Sri M

‘Let go’ doesn’t mean ‘give up’. It means, let go of all unpleasant memories, the hurts, the wounds, the bitterness that are in your mind - let it all go.” ~ Sri M

“All ideas of being trapped and wanting to break free are built in these three-dimensional ideas from imperfect data fed through the senses. Solutions begin to appear even a little bit when one understands that there must be something beyond this data provided by the senses.” ~ Sri M

“Spiritual Truth or this Spiritual Understanding is not an exclusive, hidden ‘mumbo jumbo’ behind the closed doors. It is as open and as beautiful as the Sun that shines.” ~ Sri M

"There is a total subsiding of all movement that will come as a result of your practice or meditation. There is complete balance, no more reaching or grasping. This comes only when you practice what you are taught regularly.” ~ Sri M

“The lotus grows best in muddy water but when it blooms it is pure and clean. Even if you put a drop of water on it, that does not stick but flows down. Live like that in the world; be pure, don’t let the mud stick to you.” ~ 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