Swami Kripalvananda
Swami Kripalvananda Quotes about God
The five yamas are: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, brahmacharya and non-attachment. The five niyamas are: purity, contentment, study of the self, tapas (austerity) and surrender to God. The yamas and niyamas are the first two components of yoga’s eight integral components which are: yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Yoga sadhana can only be performed within the protective fortress of the yamas and niyamas. Without this foundation, the seeker is condemned to endless disturbances.
You can bathe the body, but the mind is also impure. With what water can you bathe the mind? Chanting God’s name is the water to use for cleaning the mind.
Temples are not the madhouses of people who believe a stone image to be God. Temples are schools of humanity, abodes of peace, lands of compromise and purification, centers of hope and centers of inspiration and concentration.
Human efforts are of four types since there are four ends or objectives of life: Artha (wealth), kama (desire), dharma (religion), and moksha (liberation). The first two drag one towards worldly things while the last two lead one towards God. The first two result in one’s downfall and ignorance whereas the last two culminate in one’s upliftment and knowledge.
When a train of problems comes to me, I will regard it as God’s grace.
On the yogic path, various experiences occur which help increase the sadhaka’s faith, courage, knowledge, enthusiasm, devotion to his Guru, devotion to yoga, and finally his or her devotion to God. Initially, the sadhaka gains an understanding of the lower chakras; later the understanding of the middle; and finally understanding of the higher chakras unfolds. Besides this, the understanding or various asanas (postures), mudras (gestures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal from sense objects) and jyoti darshana (vision of divine light) is accessible through experience. Thus the practice of yoga itself unfolds the knowledge of more advanced states of yoga.