Self-Realization through Yoga Meditation of the Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra

Home Site Map  

 

 

 


Download Files

SwamiJ.com 

If you are going to look at these files more than once, please download them onto your computer to save the bandwidth of the website.
(To open PDF files you will need to have a current copy of Adobe Reader)

To download, use Right Mouse click and "Save Target as..."

Spanish: The Swami Rama Teachings booklet and The Path are now in Spanish translation in addition to English; scroll down to see the links. Other Spanish translations of articles on SwamiJ.com are also now available.

Swami Jnaneshvara

Summary of Practices Handout: This is a 7-page file designed for your personal use, as well as for meditation retreats, classes, and one-to-one coaching sessions. As the name implies, it is a summary of the basic practices of the tradition. The first page is the most important, as it outlines all of the practices in bullet point format.

Summary of Practices: This paper is an expanded explanation of the 7-page Summary of Practices paper, and directly follows the outline on the first or summary page of that handout. The purpose of this longer paper is to complement meditation retreats, classes, and one-to-one coaching sessions.

Self-study Guide: This is a 23-page outline of articles, books, and videos that you may want to review. It includes suggestions on tracking your progress, as well as information about coaching in the principles and practices.

Self-Awareness Assessment: This is a Self-Awareness Assessment outline. Our approach to teaching and training at Abhyasa Ashram is one of coaching in one-to-one or small group sessions (satsang). The purpose of coaching sessions on the Self-Assessment outline is to help you learn how to self assess. The Self-Assessment is truly intended to be an assessment by yourself of yourself. The coach is not here to analyze you or diagnose you like a typical medical or psychological assessment might be done. It is your personal exploration of your own current state of life and being. The coach has done this before and is here to facilitate your own introspection and observation. The items of self-awareness listed below are from the perspective of yoga as seen through the tradition. By increasing self-awareness one gradually comes to see that these are not who we really are, which leads to the realization of the witness of these, the true Self, Atman.

The Path: This paper was written by Swami Jnaneshvara in 1997 as an aid to the Residential Program at Swami Rama's Ashram, Rishikesh, India. It was designed to help program participants better know what to look for when studying Swami Rama's descriptions of the path to enlightenment, which he continually said was easy and systematic, but that he also often said few understood or were doing. If one diligently pursues the wisdom Swami Rama has shared, maybe he or she can actually understand and do what he suggested for so many years. And maybe, just maybe, the aspirant will find that he has told the truth--that the path is both systematic and easy.
(PDF; 49 pages; 202 kb) (Spanish translation)

Real Yoga Will Not Wreck Your Body: The New York Times published an article on January 5, 2012 entitled “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”. This article has since spread like wildfire throughout internet. I am writing comments below to strongly refute much, if not most of what William J. Broad (the author) has said. I have copied the original article here, and then inserted comments within the body of that article. I have broken some of the original paragraphs so that I can easily comment on individual sentences where appropriate. Other than that, I have not changed Broad’s article in any way; it is exactly as I copied it from the New York Times website. My comments are indented in a way that it should be clear which parts are the original article (not indented) and which are my comments (indented with italics).
(PDF; 16 pages; 208 kb)

Vedic Psychology for the Ills of Human Civilization: This paper was presented by Swami Jnaneshvara at The Clash of Civilizations Symposium of the World Association of Vedic Studies Conference of 2004. The clash of civilizations begins with the clash of the contents of the individual mind. If we want to do something about the course of civilizations, it is imperative that we do something about the deep-seated clash of attractions, aversions, and fears, which lurk in the individual and collective unconscious. Modern psychology explores the mind and personality to improve upon who we are. The psychology of the ancient sages explores the mind and personality to discover who we are not, but have mistakenly come to believe we are.
(PDF; 8 pages; 42 kb)

Swami Rama

Swami Rama Teachings booklet: This file is a booklet on the teachings of Swami Rama. Originally published in printed and bound format, the booklet is entitled Understanding and Practicing the Teachings of Swami Rama. It was created by Swami Jnaneshvara in 1997 after having led six one-month residential training programs at Swami Rama's Ashram in Rishikesh, India, at the instruction of Swami Rama. Although the program has not been available at the ashram for several years, many people continue to find the information in this booklet useful to their studies and practices of meditation and contemplation.
(PDF; 39 pages; 257 kb)

Swami Rama Demo and Interview with Probe Magazine- 1973: This is a June 1973 magazine cover story in Probe the Unknown magazine. The article is entitled Proving the Power of Meditation. Swami Rama makes some amazing demonstrations of self-regulation, while at the same time explaining that he is not trying to be a magician, but wanted to show that one can control one's bodily functions, including the so-called involuntary muscles. Such demonstrations were done not only for this magazine, but also many others, including research scientists.
(PDF; 7 pages; 903 kb)

Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook of Science and the Future - 1973: Excerpted from "The Psychic Boom" by Samuel Moffat. Briefly outlines the demonstrations of mind control done in research setting by Swami Rama.

Science Year - The World Book Science Annual - 1974: Research on Swami Rama published in the 1974 Science Year of The World Book Science Annual. Report "Ins and Outs of Mind-Body Energy by Elmer and Alyce Green. Describes Swami Rama moving an object with his mind, and creating a photo image with energy through his hand. (large file; over 7mb)

Beyond Biofeedback - on Swami Rama: Describes scientific research done on Swami Rama in the voluntary controls program at Menninger Foundation in Kansas. The research included moving of objects with only mind, regulating mind at will on eeg, changing temperatures, significantly changing heart rate with mind alone, and stopping blood flow in the heart.

Miscellaneous

Handout of "Circles" Chart: This image is used in many places on the website and is a very useful tool for conversations and classes. If you want a large version you can take it to many photo copy stores and have a large version made. One standard size (in US) is three feet wide.

Yoga Sutras 

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Interpretive Translation: This is an interpretive translation of the Yoga Sutra, expanding the number of English words, so as to allow the practical instructions to be more clear. For example, sutra 1.2 defines Yoga with some 25 English words, rather than only four Sanskrit words. By providing, expanded, interpretive translations, the practical meaning of the suggestions more easily comes through. The individual transliterated Sanskrit words also have a large number of English translations, so as to give a more thorough understanding.
(PDF; 60 pages; 264 kb)

Yoga Sutras - Narrative Translation: The purpose of this narrative translation is to make it easier to get an overview of the entire Yoga Sutra. By clustering the 196 sutras together into 39 groups, and presenting them in paragraph format, most readers can study this in a familiar way that is more like the many other books or papers we have studied. As you come to understand the Yoga Sutra in this way, your further studies of more detailed commentaries and Sanskrit translations might come more smoothly, especially when done in conjunction with oral guidance and personal practices of meditation.
(PDF; 12 pages; 67 kb)

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Questions: These questions and answers serve as an enjoyable way to review the principles and practices of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Each question includes a reference to the sutra that answers the question. The questions are designed to focus on the practical application of the teachings. This page can also be used effectively for group discussions.
(PDF; 5 pages; 41 kb)

Yoga Sutras - Summary: This is a table, which outlines all 196 of the Yoga Sutras in 39 chapters. It will print on two pages, which can be taped together, allowing you to view the entirety of the Yoga Sutras on a single page. For our local classes, we have that single large page photocopied onto 11" x 17" pages and laminated so that we can see the "big picture" in one glance. It is then quite easy to move around in the discussions during the class.
(PDF; 2 pages; 20 kb)

Yoga Sutras Basics
Summary of the first five sutras of the Yoga Sutras, which summarize the entire message of the Yoga Sutras. (2 pages)

 

-------

This site is devoted to presenting the ancient Self-Realization path of the Tradition of the Himalayan masters in simple, understandable and beneficial ways, while not compromising quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or practices is the highest Joy that comes from the Realization in direct experience of the center of consciousness, the Self, the Atman or Purusha, which is one and the same with the Absolute Reality. This Self-Realization comes through Yoga meditation of the Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of which complement one another like fingers on a hand. We employ the classical approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra Yoga. Meditation, contemplation, mantra and prayer finally converge into a unified force directed towards the final stage, piercing the pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the Absolute.