PONDER THESE TRUTHS
Early Morning Meditation Talks
By
Sri Swami Chidananda
Sri Swami Sivananda
Founder of
The Divine Life Society
SERVE, LOVE, GIVE,
PURIFY, MEDITATE,
REALIZE
So Says
Sri Swami Sivananda
Sri Swami Chidananda
A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION
First Edition:
1991
(3,000 Copies)
World Wide Web (WWW) Edition: 2000
WWW site: http://www.SivanandaDlshq.org/
This WWW reprint is for free distribution
© The Divine Life Trust Society
ISBN 81-7052-090-4
Published By
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR—249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh,
Himalayas, India.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Early morning group meditation has long been a part of the life at Sivananda Ashram.
Usually held in the sacred Samadhi Shrine of His Holiness Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, the
saintly founder of the Divine Life Society, it includes chanting, kirtan, guru stotra, santi path and
silent meditation, followed by a message from one of the senior Swamis.
For many years these prayer gatherings were a daily occurrence, but by the 1980’s they
were being held only on special occasions. One such special occasion was the birthday celebration
of Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj on September 24, 1984. During his short talk, Swamiji
suddenly said: “What would really be a wonderful birthday gift for me is if you were to hold these
group meditations every morning at this time. And if you will, I promise that whenever I am in the
Ashram I will come and give the message.”
Immediately, one of the senior Swamis offered to lead the prayers, and the very next
morning the regular early morning gatherings were resumed. They have continued to this day, and,
true to his word, whenever Swamiji is in the Ashram, regardless of the condition of his health or the
weather, he has never failed to attend and give a message.
Many of the Ashram residents noticed that there was a very special quality about these