Spiritual Message for the Day – Secret of Svadhyaya by Sri Swami Chidananda
Baba Times Digest© | 23 March 2015 16.57 EST | New York Edition
Secret of Svadhyaya
Divine Life Society Publication: Students, Spiritual Literature and Sivananda by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om! Om! Om!
Q: What books should I take up to begin with, Swamiji?
A: Always choose those books which inspire noble feelings in you, which bring new, uplifting ideas to your mind. By reading a book, you should always become better. The book should always take you higher and higher, in every way. Again, read those books which add to your fund of real, useful knowledge. Read the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. They are full of morals and inspiring stories. Read abridged editions, if you have no time for the originals. Read some of the books written by Guru Maharaj. He gives the essence of religion in simple language. As you know, he has written many books specially for young boys and girls. Read his “Ethical Teachings,” “Sure Ways for Success in Life and God-realisation,” “Practice of Brahmacharya,” “Students’ Success in Life,” “Divine Stories,” “Divine Life for Children,” “Gita for the Young,” “Gita Essence for Children” etc. Study his works on Mind Control and the Cultivation of Virtues. You will be immensely benefited.
Q: What is the benefit of reading books like the Ramayana and the Gita, again and again, every day, Swamiji?
A: I shall tell you why repeated Svadhyaya or study of spiritual literature is necessary. You will understand it better if I give you an illustration. Take a nail and try to hammer it somewhere, in one stroke. The whole of the nail will not go in. You will have to hit it repeatedly, several times before it gets in well. Also if you wish your body to grow or a plant to grow you don’t simply feed or water it once and sit quiet. You have to take nourishment daily. You water the plant daily. You do this day after day without fail. Similar is the case with study of spiritual literature. It is only by daily reading that the ideas will get deeper and deeper into our mind. The mind will be gradually purified. Study of sacred scriptures like the Gita set up beneficial vibrations and thought-currents in your mind. They will shape your life nicely and you will also gradually become a hero like Arjuna or Bhishma or Hanuman by constantly dwelling on their noble virtues. Even if you read these holy scriptures without understanding their meaning, the atmosphere wherein you read them will be purified—just as a cheerful atmosphere is created when you meet your friends and exchange some words of greeting which may not have any significant meaning. Reading of scriptures is always good and when it is done with a knowledge of the meaning, the benefits are increased manifold.
Moreover, as you breathe fresh air regularly, constantly and continuously in order to sustain your Prana and similarly eat food daily month after month, and year after year in order to nourish your physical body, even so you must understand that the moral and the spiritual being of man need to be given their own nourishment. Devotional and spiritual practices are the indispensable nourishment for our soul. They form the essential spiritual sustenance to the inner being. Man is not merely a physical body and animal activity. He is an ethical being and his essential nature is Divine Consciousness. To nourish these latter, higher aspects, to develop and strengthen them and to attain perfection the inner spiritual life is very necessary. Svadhyaya or daily reading of spiritual books forms an important and indispensable item in this inner spiritual life. By such reading and study, there is a daily intake of noble, pure, elevating and inspiring spiritual ideas. These ideas are an effective safeguard to prevent the mind succumbing to temptations or sliding down from its true ideals. They help most effectively to keep the heart and mind ever uplifted and highly pure and in an inspired state. They infuse the person with moral and spiritual strength, make life sublime and ultimately lead to all-round perfection in life.
Q: Swamiji, how many hours daily would you advise me to devote to the study of spiritual literature?
A: Obviously, students cannot devote much time for reading outside of their own school texts. While a retired man can possibly spare six or seven hours for daily Svadhyaya, you might try to set aside at least a couple of hours every day for this purpose. Of course, you will be able to read more in your holidays. On the other hand, during examination time, you need not worry about Svadhyaya, but may confine yourself to your daily prayers. In these matters, you must always use your individual discretion, because you know your circumstances best. But, however, you must adhere to this main principle, namely, that some fixed time must be set apart for the daily reading of elevating, inspiring and ennobling spiritual literature. The length of time may, of course, be adjusted to suit different periods of the year.
Q: What is the best time for studying spiritual literature?
A: Early morning, and at night after supper, is the best time for reading spiritual books. In the morning hours, our minds are fresh and free from struggling thoughts. At that time, we can concentrate our minds wonderfully on whatever we read. On the other hand, if you start reading in the evening, a number of thoughts and worries arising out of your day’s life will come to the surface of your mind and you will not be able to concentrate on the book in hand. Therefore, always make it a habit to get up at 4 a.m. in Brahmamuhurta and start your day with some prayer, some Asanas and Pranayama and some reading of spiritual literature. What we read in the early morning hours will be so deeply absorbed in our minds that we will be guided throughout the day by the noble thoughts. The whole day will thus be converted into a continuous Brahmamuhurta for us. A little reading before you retire at night (perhaps after your homework with school texts) will enable you to go to bed with a mind filled with sublime ideas and divine feelings.
Excerpts from: Secret of Svadhyaya - Students, Spiritual Literature and Sivananda by Sri Swami Chidananda
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