Baba Hari Dass Quotes

Work honestly, meditate every day, meet people without fear, and play.

Your body is the temple of your soul. Your soul is God's temple.

Yoga is defined as a method – the process of nirodha (mental control) – by which union (the goal of yoga) is achieved. Yoga is therefore both the process of nirodha and the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process). The word yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state..., or as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation.

When I was building Kenchi Ashram, which is in Nainital District, I was told by the villagers that Hariakhan Maharaj used to live in a cave there. I preserved that cave, which is behind Hanuman Temple at Kenchi.

No religion can grant enlightenment or salvation. Your own faith, devotion, and love for God can bring about enlightenment. Your spiritual practices and your desire to attain God are the main thing.

The Self is beyond birth, death, gender, class, and religion - only the body wears those labels.

Without watching ourselves we can't be aware of the tricks the mind plays. So a yogi should be alert all the time.

Human birth is the highest. It is for attaining liberation. If we don't consciously try for liberation, then we are misusing our human birth.Every action, thought, and word should be spiritual. It happens only when the mind is purified by sadhana (spiritual practice).

Q: What is silence?
A: Silence is an austerity. You control your desire to talk. By talking, people try to impress others, which you can't do if you are in silence. In silence you have to develop tolerance. At first it is difficult to do because you separate yourself from others by not expressing yourself. But gradually the mind reduces that ego and an aspirant accepts the situation, which develops tolerance and reduces anger.

Q: I understand that to walk the path one must do it alone. Why is it so much easier to do a yoga class in a group rather than to have the discipline of doing it alone?
A: In the modern system, Yoga is becoming a group thing. I did not grow up with this kind of system. In my discipline, doing Yoga in front of anyone was forbidden. Because it's a personal thing. That is why yogis chose to live in seclusion.

Q: Is life a dream or a meditation? A: Life is a meditation when you know it is a dream.

Q: What can I do to overcome my fear of death?
A: Attachment to the body causes fear of death. It is the strongest attachment. Even a newborn infant has this attachment. To overcome the fear of death it is necessary to accept that we all have to die.

The aim of life is to attain peace. No one can give us peace. We can't buy or borrow it. We have to cultivate it by practicing yama and niyama (yoga restraints and observances).

Control of the mind can be achieved by understanding yourself, the aim and the energy which is blocking us from progressing. Between God and the Self, the blocking energy is the ego.

Among creations I am the beginning, the middle, and also the end, O Arjuna, I am the science of the Self, and I am the logic of all arguments.