Sri Sathya Sai on Asana

Aasana: One should have a steady pose in sitting, that is to say, one should not either shake or sway. But, even if one sits like a rock, motionless and with all joints locked, it can never be called Aasana. That is not the sign of real Aasana. Aasana means both steadiness of the physical frame and inner joy that blooms in the heart. So whatever the pose adopted by the sadhaka of Yoga, it must be both steady and comfortable. That is why Pathanjali has advised, Sthirasukham-aasanam. I am telling you the same thing, in another way: which is the best and most success-yielding Aasana? It is that pose in which one is most un-affected by the external world. It is that pose which comes of the practice of the moral life, meritorious in the world and in accordance with the Vedic path. It is absolute lack of interest in matters unconnected with Paramatma. When some one whose ways you do not appreciate comes near you, there is no need to find fault with him; there is no need either to laugh at him or show him your contempt. It is enough if you continue to do your work, unaffected by his arrival. Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Spiritual discipline

Spiritual discipline is more arduous than physical discipline. Imagine the tremendous amount of effort undergone by the lady who runs along a wire stretched across the ring underneath a circus tent. The gain is just a few rupees after all. The same steadfastness and systematic effort aimed at a higher reward can endow you with mental balance and you can maintain your equilibrium under the most adverse or the most testing circumstances. But for such spiritual achievements the intellect and other instruments of perception are more important than the limbs. The intellect is the key. Make the intellect the master of your mind and you will not fail. You will fail only when the senses establish mastery over the mind. - Sathya Sai Speaks, Feb 20, 1964.

Baktha of asanas

Being a baktha in the asana does not make us a baktha of God. It is God's prerogative to call one a devotee and not the other way around.

Body is only an instrument

We need to be very clear- the body is an instrument to reach God, but God cannot be reached by perfecting the body through asanas. As Hatha yogis we neglect the inner transformation and we often proudly declare how perfect we are in asana practise and how we can retain our consciousness in one asana but thats of little avail in the spiritual world where we need quality transformation of our very being.

Divine unsullied love is the supreme yoga

In this world, there is no power greater than Prema, pure selfless love. All the yogas (paths) mentioned in the Bhagawat Gita such as Jnana (knowledge), Karma (action), etc., are contained in Bhakthi Yoga (path of pure love towards God). There is nothing beyond this. Each and every yoga contains an element of selfishness. But that of Prema, is free from selfishness and all other impurities. It is only because of the absence of such selfless love that chaos, conflicts and confusion are prevalent in the world today. One who is interested in the welfare of humanity should practise this principle of true love. Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Divine Discourse, May 6, 1995.

The path needed is not hatha yoga

With a little reasoning you can know for yourself the path you need to take, thereafter, it can be trodden step by step until the goal is reached. Whatever be the path, retain this knowledge that attachment causes pain and detachment results in joy. But you cannot easily detach yourself from activity; the mind clings to something or other. Make it cling to God, let it do all things for God and leave the success or failure, the loss and the profit, the elation or the dejection, to God. Then you have the secret of peace and contentment. To get this attitude of surrender and dedication, you must have Faith in God. God, whose play this world is. This world is not an empty dream; it has a purpose and use. It is the means by which one can discover God. See Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order and the majesty of Nature. Sathya Sai Speaks, Mar 28 1965.

Devotion

The person devoted to God knows no failure. The name of the Lord, if taken sincerely overcomes all obstacles.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

We need to be more devoted to God than hatha yoga. 

Dr Krishna Raman 

The mind

Today, your mind flies about anywhere and squats on all sundry objects in the Universe. Like the fly that sits on fair and foul, your mind too flees from one thought to another. The fly will be destroyed if it sits on fire. So too, your mind will be destroyed when it dwells on God. Know that your mind is but a pattern of desires, woven with the warp and woof of the same material. When Rama (God) enters your mind, kama (desire) flees away. This state is called the death of the mind (Mano-naashana) or the merging of your mind (Mano-laya). Each one of you must make your own heart an abode of peace (Prashanthi Nilayam). Analyse your words, deeds and thoughts. Get rid, slowly but surely, of the evil ones that harm you and others. Cultivate fortitude, firm peace and speak only the truth. Let this transformation begin, this very moment in you. 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sense control is the need of the hour

Asana control and breath control are needed, but sense control is the key- for this we don't need asana or pranayama practice. We need to look within. All of do have, and use this capacity in varying degrees in daily life. We need to consciously harness this force.

Steadiness of mind

There is no scar on the sky, though clouds, stars, the sun and the moon all appear to streak across it. So too let a thousand ideas streak across the mind, ensure that your mind remains unaffected and serene. Get firm in mind; then, your reason also will not deviate. Without that equanimity or shanthi, you can get no soukhyam (happiness). Saint Kabir had no food for three days – but he thanked God for giving him the coveted chance of observing a ritual fast. The great devotee of Rama, Saint Ramadas was confined in prison – and he thanked God that he got a place where he could meditate on Him without disturbances. Such is the attitude of the saintly, those who are the beloved of the Lord. Sri Sathya Sai Baba - Divine Discourse, May 23, 1965.