The book "Taming the Kundalini" is a collection of letters written by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Sivananda, to one of his female disciples, a yogini.
These letters are actually detailed instructions given to his disciple in order to guide her in her sadhana (spiritual practices) and to transform her into a real yogi. The letters include instructions on hatha yoga, meditation, and much more.
I found these letters incredibly inspiring, motivating, and full of wisdom.
Before I read this book I thought that the Sivananda and Satyananda tradition of yoga was only focused on the Hatha Yoga practices, the physical yoga, with little or no focus on meditation and real spiritual development.
After reading this book I realized that I was completely wrong, and it has even become one of my favorite yoga books.
I have read it multiple times, again and again.
Whenever I need some inspiration to continue working on my sadhana, I just open this book and read one of the many paragraphs that I have previously highlighted.
Let me share with you a few of my favorite quotes:
Quotes from Swami Satyananda's Taming the Kundalini
"One must realize in experience that it is He who makes us do everything. Never believe that you are the doer"
"First know Him to be the doer in all ordinarily matters. Slowly, as this practice matures, you will be convinced that you are the same entity. Think that you are not you, that you do not exist, but that it is That power which works through you in all things. Eventually, practice will reveal this secret."
"By day and night you will have to remember this: He resides unseen within me and He makes me perform all actions. When this idea is firmly rooted in the mind, every act of yours will be an act of yoga."
"If I make a determination to do something, I shall surely accomplish it. If I am unable to perform even an ordinary thing, how can I ever execute any great task?
Great tasks have small beginnings. I desire you to become a dynamo and work for eighteen to twenty hours a day, move like a rocket, speak like a leader, think like me, sleep like Napoleon, live in the world like a jivanmukta, and move into every nook and corner of life like a hurricane.
Give up your ideas about femininity. Like a soldier of God, be independent, frank, fearless and forward."
"Everything comes from your mind, everything depends on the way you think, your moment to moment concepts. Do you label things negatively or positively?
The heaviest suffering, what we call hell comes from your own mind; the greatest happiness, what we call enlightenment, comes from your own mind."
Amazing, isn't it? There is so much more but I rather let you discover it by yourself.
If you need some inspiration to intensify your own sadhana, and if you want to have a bit of a taste of the guru-disciple relationship I strongly recommend this book.
The book also includes a ten-page glossary of the Sanskrit terms used in the letters. Very handy and useful for learning some Sanskrit words.
If you want more information about the book you can visit Taming the Kundalini, by Swami Satyananda Saraswati on Amazon.com (affiliate link).
Other yoga books by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
There are two other inspiring books by Swami Satyananda Saraswati that I've written about in:
- Samatvam is Yoga, Equanimity is Yoga: Swami Sivananda's Teachings
- Steps to Yoga and Yoga Initiation Papers, Swami Satyananda Saraswati
My top 10 spiritual books
If you would like to find other truly inspiring books like this one, you can visit 10 Yoga Philosophy Books That Will Change Your Life. These are a few of the books that have made a big impact on my spiritual path.
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