Sattvic Ananda
Definition
Sattvik Ananda is the joy which comes to you by non-violent activities like puja, kirtans and unclutching and puts you in Bhava Samadi.
“We are Shaivites, we are joyful people... Sadashiva himself, I tell you guys, when he lands in you, he will create an intense joy in your system. That is the way he will land. He’s Lord of Ananda!” - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
Etymology
Sattvik is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘non-violent’ or goodness, and Ananda is a Sanskrit word meaning bliss.
Sattvic Activities
Yoga
When you do yoga, you experience your entire body becoming Amrita Sharira (body filled with nectar). It becomes an ecstatic body just by the air, without any external touch.
Panchakriya
Panchakriya involves 5 powerful processes to remove toxins and impurities from the system. Just like how we take a shower everyday to clean the external parts of our body, pancha kriya is a powerful cleansing process which cleanses the internal organs of our body, keeping it cool. These techniques not only cleanse our body, but bring peace and balance to our mind and lightness and bliss to our being.
Puja
In Puja, you experience the space of Bhakti, devotion. The space of surrender that occurs to you from this devotion moves you from the “I” which is so heavy, to God or Guru. This surrender allows us to drop all the unnecessary baggage from the head.
One of the beautiful pujas in Hinduism is Rudrabhishekam. In Rudrabhishekam, we offer sacred bath to a Shiva Linga, while chanting powerful Mantras. The Shiva Linga is a deity which beautifully represents the Divine. Its form indicates how God is beyond form and formless. We sit down and connect with God by performing Rudrabhishekam - “Oh Sadāshiva - Oh God, I know you are source of everything, you are everything and you are in this Shiva Linga and you are in this body. Let me connect with ME. Let you reveal yourself to me.”
When we sit in that bhāva - When we sit with that context, and do the action of Rudrabhishekam, we experience Bhava Samadhi. Only Bhāva Samādhi can give us the higher taste and higher joy in life. Rudrabhishekam is a beautiful ritual which allows us to experience the Bhava Samadhi of Shivoham “I am the Divine”.
Kirtans - Powerful Technique for Sattvik Ananda
If you participate in kirtans and dance, so much Sattvik Ananda will enter your bio-memory. Especially when you jump and dance, the bliss is inhaled by every pore of your body. It becomes part of your muscle memory and bio memory.
Even though other activities like puja are surely Sattvik Ananda, you don't use the whole body to do them. But with kirtans, the whole body is used. Paramahamsa Nithyananda mentions that from the way your body flows with that, you can tell the level of integrity you have, your efficiency, and the vision about life.
The Morning Routine
Paramahamsa Nithyananda on the Morning Routine:
“A person who is in love will wait to spend time with the beloved. If you are a Seeker you will be waiting for this five hours every day, because that is the time you get near what you are seeking, closely. Morning 5-9, its not even 5 hours; 4 hours, yoga, pancha kriya, Puja, Kirtan and Satsang. It’s only 4 hours.
A person who is in love will be waiting to spend time with the beloved. A person who is seeking will be waiting to spend this 4 hours, because this is the time you get closest to what you are seeking, your seeking takes shape into the system. When your beloved comes near you, if you are tired the love is gone, dead. During the morning 4 hours if you are bored, your seeking is dead, gone, you need thorough over hauling inside you, you need to ask yourself. You need to question many of your answers. You need to bring pure questioning back to your life.” - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
Unclutching
The Antidote for Pitta
As part of Shashtanga Yoga in the Agamas (the system we follow is Shastanga Yoga, not Ashtanga Yoga), Sadashiva gives an important instruction. He gives an instruction – Tremendous Sattvik Ananda, bliss from non-violent activities. That is the antidote for cleansing your layer of pitta. Pitta is the thin subtle layer your brain gets covered with, which puts you in certain delusion, constantly making you believe your assumptions and assumed fears as a part of your reality. It is the layer which makes you powerless, tired and withdrawing from the life for no reason. Imagine what happens to you if you come face to face with your mother-in-law, boss, or the people whom you don't want to see. It is the same thing when the pitta layer spreads. Sattvik Ananda has the capacity to break the pitta layer and make you see life with a larger vision.
Non-violent spiritual activities such as puja, kirtans and unclutching, brings joy and bliss in your system. Through this, you develops the Rudra energy which makes your system eat all the dead cells and clean up. This cleaning up is very vital to keep you young, energetic, healthy, and blissful. As long as this Rudra energy is alive in you, you will not die, you’ll be immortal. You will be glowing. Radiating Sattvic Ananda is an amazing beauty technique.
A Technique to Live Integrity
A joyful person will be always highly efficient and highly integrated. - Paramahamsa Nithyananda
When there is a high level of water in Ganga, you will not have to worry about the stones in the river bed. You can just go in the boat or ship. However, if the water level is low, you need to worry about the stones and everything else in the river bed. Boat cannot travel comfortably. Similarly, only in the high joy can the Integrity boat travel in your life.
When you have Sattvik Ananda, your brain does not have the coating of pitta, and therefore, you will not believe suffering and pain as your innate tendency. You will simply know Integrity as the strategy for life. Integrity means being aligned and straight to the words you utter and the way you hold yourself for yourself and others. Integrity will be your life. Paramahamsa Nithyananda mentions that if at all we can add Sattvik Anandas to people’s life, the whole world will become integrated.
All your lack of Integrity is because of your wrong belief about life. Add Sattvik joy for a larger vision about life.
Surround Yourself with Sattvikally Happy People
“Whole sangha should put the energy everywhere to encourage more and more Sattvik Ananda activities. Everywhere sangha should go on be encouraging, be active about the activities to awaken Sattvik Ananda in people. Yoga, Puja, Meditation, kirtan, all this - more and more should be encouraged.” - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
You can give up anything to live with sattvikally happy people. That is Satsanga. Plan sincerely to make that kind of a Sattvik Ananda in your home and workplace. The non-violent joy will actually make your workplace productive. Even in the Nithyananda Sangha, Paramahamsa Nithyananda mentions that only the people who are joyful are productive. Only joyful people are supporting pillars - highly efficient and highly integrated.
Manifesting Sadashivatva through Sattvik Ananda
“All activities for Sattvik Ananda is directly worshipping Sadashiva, manifesting Himself in you; because your brain becomes the antenna to receive the wavelength of Sadashiva. It’s like how you turn your dish to receive certain frequencies, to certain direction. Sattvik Ananda is the way you turn your brain to receive Sadashiva.” - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
Sattvik Ananda is an important alchemy that needs to be done in you for you to manifest Sadashivoham. It works on your physical, physiological, psychological layers, muscle memory, bio memory and your whole Consciousness. Building Sattvik Ananda will empower you to manifest all the powers of Sadashiva.
Sattvic Ananda - The only currency out of the Matrix
“I tell you, Sattvik Ananda is the only currency you can earn which will be useful for you when you are going to be out of this matrix.” - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
References
Grow 'Sattvik Ananda', the Non-violent Bliss from Sashtanga Yoga- www.nithyananda.org/video/find-immortality-you-amritatvam#gsc.tab=0