swami rama

Know Yourself
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"The simple method to enlightenment is to first know yourself."
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"There is only one real book to study and learn from—the greatest of all books—and that is the very manuscript that you, yourself, are."
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"Above all else, remember this one thing:It is easy to meet that Infinity within you—to attain that awareness, you just have to be silent and quiet."
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"The best and deepest of the teachingsis not communicated throughbooks, speech or actions, but through silence.That special teaching is understood only when you are silent."
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"I am telling you to face this reality: the path to enlightenment and unfoldmentis not really so austere, abstruse, or difficult—it’s actually very easy.The easiest way to make progress is just to “know thyself”—to accept and understand yourself on all levels."
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"There have been many scholarly commentaries on the Yoga Sutras, but all the commentaries miss something very practical. Such commentaries can only satisfy the intellect, but do not actually help you beyond that: 'yogash chitta vritti narodha'—yoga is the control of the 'modifications' of the mind. Narodha means control; there is no other English word for it. Control doesn't mean suppression, but channeling or regulating."
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"All sadhanas (spiritual practices), techniques, and disciplines are actually means to train the mind. And the foremost part of the trainingis to make the mind aware that Reality lies beyond itself."
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"Meditate, meditate, meditate. That's my message to you. I am only a man messenger, a child of the Himalayan sages. I don't claim any more than that. I speak the wisdom which was sprinkled on me in my childhood."
"I want you to be happy. But remember this: happiness is never borrowed, never bought, never earned; it's already within you. If you want to be happy go inside, deep down, in the inner chamber of your being and there you'll find happiness lies in a state of silence. Learn to practice that everyday."
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"There was once a swami who used toteach students every day.One of the students listened attentivelyand heard the swami speaking about vairagya,the philosophy of non-attachment,and the student took off for a forest dwellingand there, he was enlightened.
"After dwelling there for twelve years,he wondered what had happenedand what had been the fate of his friends,with whom he used to learn.
"So he returned to that place, andeveryone was still sitting there exactly like before,and the swami was still lecturing.What a waste of time!
"The point is that you don’t need much external information;you already have true knowledge within.You need to learn how to apply the knowledge that you have.
"You are taught: 'Be good, be nice, be gentle, be loving.'You have all been taught that,but you should learnto practice, understand, and to apply that knowledge to yourself.
"You need to understand how you function,and the process that results in your actions."
—Swami Rama