Svadhyaya. To seek spiritual knowledge (Niyama)

Svadhyaya means reading spiritual texts, scriptures, and biographies of spiritual masters and gurus, read their books, listen to their lectures, attend satsangs, and gain knowledge that uplifts you and allows you to experience your real nature.

We need to study laws of the universe:

What is karma?
What is reincarnation?
How to live life?
How to develop inner virtues?
How to realize our true nature (Who Am I)?

It is important to know who we are, about our inner world, and about outer world. Otherwise we don’t know how to live life.

We can find answers in Vedic scriptures. Teachers recommend reading scriptures many times because from 1 time it’s not always possible to understand it. Reading and listening to scriptures can help you to overlap information that you have inside. We all were watching movies and listening to music, and this information, like trash, is sitting inside our minds. So when we read or listen to scriptures or good lectures or attend satsangs, it helps us to overlap this negative information that we put inside.

Your evolution can go upwards or downwards. There is no middle point. So choose wisely because every action that you do today will give you consequences in this and in future lives.

Sad, but usually society offers you to live only for yourself (an egoistic, selfish way of living). If we don’t know how to live, our actions lead to suffering.

Benefits of Svadhyaya

1) You become better as a person.
2) You remember all laws of this life and how to live life.
3) You get rid of your bad qualities like anger, aggression, jealousy, greed, ignorance.
4) You remember who you are and why you came to this life.
5) You avoid suffering (or it doesn’t show that strong).
6) You become much better on the spiritual path, in self development.

How to practice Svadhyaya

1) Read spiritual texts, scriptures, biographies of spiritual masters, gurus, and sages, read their books, listen to their lectures, attend satsangs, and watch their videos. Read Mahabharata, Yoga Vasistha, and Ramayana.
2) Study laws of this life: The Law of Karma, reincarnation, Yama Niyama, and others.
3) Look for knowledge that helps you to remember who you are and why you came to this life.
4) Chant mantras because it cleans surroundings and purifies yourself.
5) Think less about yourself and more about others.