Swami Satchidananda

How to Meditate

Whenever you feel in a peaceful state of mind, meditate. Just close your eyes and relax, even if it’s only for a minute. If you wish to deepen your meditation, then schedule some time daily for this practice. From the physical to the mental to the spiritual...

How to Meditate with a Mantra

Japa, the practice of repetition of a mantra, focuses the mind, makes it one-pointed and leads it into meditation. In this calm state, the powerful forces which are stored up in the unconscious get released and raised up to the conscious or subconscious level. The...

Ajapa-Japa Practice

In this article, Swami Satchidananda explains the science behind the relationship between sound vibrations and prana (subtle energy). He teaches the practice of ajapa-japa—concentration upon the natural sound of the  breath which continually repeats the mantras Soham...

The Breath of Life

Quite other than this physical sheath which consists of food and interior to it is the energy sheath that consists of breath. This is encased in the physical sheath and has the same form. The one is filed with the other. This first has the likeness of a human being,...

Yoga is Not Another Religion

Yoga is not another religion or new philosophy to be added to the many that are there already. Instead, the teaching of Yoga is the essence of them all. What Moses gave us as the Ten Commandments, what the Buddhists call the Dasa Sila or Ten Virtuous Practices, and...