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Swami Venkatesananda like his master, Swami Sivananda, can be regarded as a sage of practical wisdom, and like Swami Sivananda, such wisdom was passed along in books, public talks and discussions. Although we talk about wisdom as if it were a supreme form of intellectual knowledge, wisdom surfaces in relationship, expressing itself by those who live a life free of conflict.
A fundamental difference between knowledge and wisdom is that wisdom requires some self-knowledge. Such self-knowledge cannot be learned from another but requires actual insight into our own thoughts and actions in our own daily lives.
It manifests there and continues to radiate as an ongoing meditation. For Swami Venkatesananda this was a constant occupation, an ongoing endevor throughout his life. He had a word for this. He called it vigilance. While he had an abiding appreciation for traditional yogic teachings, his discussions were not so much to make us learned about the yogic tradition, but rather to shine a light on the necessity for this vigilance, not just in morning and or evening meditation, but throughout the day.
Swami Venkatesananda likened the spiritual path to the "Razor's Edge," with problems and misteps too imperceptibaly subtle for the non-meditative mind to observe and avoid. Like his close friend, J. Krishnamurti, he cautioned against blindly following the advice or teachings of others. In place of reliance on others, our own vigilance should light our way.
Just as being good will guide our way to do good work in this world, Swami Venkatesananda championed vigilance as the answer to living a harmonious life free of conflict. Towards that end, we wecome you to SwamiVenkatesananda.org!
