Monday, September 20, 2021
Monday, September 06, 2021
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
My Paramguru Lahiri Mahasaya carried all the burdens and responsibilities of family life, yet never ceased to commune with the omnipresent Spirit. This great Yogavatar, who introduced Kriya Yoga in India and taught it to all receptive seekers, said that the requisites for spiritual liberation are association with a Christlike soul or meditation on him, fellowship with other spiritual aspirants, and the faithful practice of meditation. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Monday, July 19, 2021
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Pointing to the heart, the Master used to say, "He who has God here, has Him also there [pointing to the external world]. He who does not find God within himself will never find Him outside of himself. But he who sees Him in the temple of his own Soul, sees Him also in the temple of the universe." - Sri Ramakrishna.
Wednesday, July 07, 2021
Sunday, July 04, 2021
Prayer for a Disciple
By Sri Aurobindo
Mother, be with me, now and always. Envelope me with your presence. Raise and purify me with your touch. Inhabit me with your living image. Transform all dullness and darkness into bright and perfect faith. Transform all restlessness and agitation into inviolable calm and peace. Transform all attachment into a deep and stainless purity. Mother, liberate and change me, perfect your child.
By Sri Aurobindo
Mother, be with me, now and always. Envelope me with your presence. Raise and purify me with your touch. Inhabit me with your living image. Transform all dullness and darkness into bright and perfect faith. Transform all restlessness and agitation into inviolable calm and peace. Transform all attachment into a deep and stainless purity. Mother, liberate and change me, perfect your child.
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Friday, June 18, 2021
Fear
By Khalil Gibran
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
Who am I? What do I really enjoy doing? How can I serve people using what I really enjoy doing? What is life all about? Is it about me? Is it about others? How important is money? The answer to all these questions is more important before we care about any degree. The whys are far more important the hows and whats. Figure out your whys. - Anonymous.
Just as a piece of iron, which had been covered with the dust of centuries, might be lying near a magnet all the time, and yet not be attracted by it, but as soon as the dust is cleared away, the iron is drawn by the magnet; so, when the human soul, covered with the dust of ages, impurities, wickedness, and sins, after many births, becomes purified enough by these forms and ceremonies, by doing good to others, loving other beings, its natural spiritual attraction comes, it wakes up and struggles towards God. - Swami Vivekananda.
"A mother has several children, to one she has given a toy, to another a doll, to a third some sweets, so that absorbed in these things they forget their mother. But among them, the child who throws aways his playthings and cries after the mother, 'Where is my mamma?' - draws her to himself. She runs quickly to him and takes him up in her arms and soothes him. So, O Man! You are absorbed in the thoughts of lust and greed. When you throw them off and cry for the Divine Mother, She will come to you and take you up in her arms." - Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Monday, April 26, 2021
Then life is sweet, and death a dream
When Thy Song flows through me.
Then health is sweet, and sickness a dream
When Thy Song flows through me.
Then praise is sweet, and blame a dream
When Thy Song flows through me.
Then life is sweet, and death a dream
When Thy Song flows through me.
- Paramahansa Yogananda.
Sunday, April 25, 2021
Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live with all - with wife, and children, Father and Mother - and serve them. Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you. Everything belongs to God alone. A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home. She brings up master’s children as if they were her own. She even speaks of them as ‘My Rama’ or ‘My Hari'. But in her own mind, she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all. - Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna Dev.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
To be calm is the greatest asset in the world. It's the greatest siddhi, the greatest power you can have. If you can only learn to be calm you will solve every problem. This is something you must remember. When you are perfectly calm, time stops. There is no time, karma stops, samskaras stop. Everything becomes null and void. For when you are calm you are one with the entire energy of the universe and everything will go well with you. To be calm means you are in control. You're not worried about the situation, the outcome - what is going to happen tomorrow. To be calm means everything is alright. There is nothing to worry about, nothing to fret over. This is also the meaning of the biblical saying, "Be still and know that I am God." To be calm is to be still. The only spiritual life you need is not to react. - Anonymous.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
True religion (Soul/Spirit science) is entirely transcendental. Every being that is in the universe has the potentiality of transcending the senses; even the little worm will one day transcend the senses and reach God. No life will be a failure; there is no such thing as failure in the universe. A hundred times man will hurt himself, a thousand times he will tumble, but in the end, he will realize that he is God. We know there is no progress in a straight line. Every Soul moves, as it were, in a circle, and will have to complete it, and no Soul can go so low but there will come a time when it will have to go upwards. No one will be lost. We are all projected from one common centre, which is God. The highest as well as the lowest life God ever projected, will come back to the Father of all lives. "From whom all beings are projected, in whom all live, and unto whom they all return, that is God." - Swami Vivekananda.
Monday, April 12, 2021
Saturday, April 10, 2021
Thursday, April 08, 2021
Every time you listen to a philosopher or spiritual teacher and take their values, you trust "their" process. Ironically the highest place they can ever get you to is to trust "your" (own) process. Why not cut to the chase and trust your process and trust "the" process as it unfolds in you, for you, as you, and through you. - Nithya Shanti.
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
If I say “Buddha,” today most people think of Gautama the Buddha. Gautama was not the only Buddha. There were many before him, many at that time, and many more after him. Buddha is not his name. His name was Gautama Siddhartha. He became a Buddha. The word "Bu" means buddhi or the intellect. One who is above his intellect is a Buddha. There is probably no one in the world who has not heard of Gautama's name. Though there have been many Buddhas, his name has lived on. He has been one of the greatest spiritual waves and probably the most successful spiritual teacher on the planet. In his own lifetime, he had forty thousand monks and this army of monks went out to bring a spiritual wave. He did not do anything very new as such, but he offered spirituality to society in the way that it works. Till then, the spiritual process was offered only in the Sanskrit language in that part of the world and Sanskrit was available only to a certain community of people. Others were barred from learning it because this language was seen as the key to the Divine. For the first time, Gautama spoke in Pali, which was the common language of the day. He opened up the floodgates of spirituality for all kinds of people. - Sadhguru.
Tuesday, April 06, 2021
Monday, April 05, 2021
Friday, April 02, 2021
Thursday, April 01, 2021
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
The habit of being inwardly in the calm presence of God must be developed, so that day and night that consciousness will remain steadfast. It is worth the effort; for to live in the consciousness of God is to be done with enslavement to disease, suffering, and fear. Just be with God; that is the be-all and end-all of life. If one resolves never to go to sleep at night without meditating and feeling the Divine Presence, into one's life will come happiness beyond all expectations. Effort is necessary, but that effort will make one a king enthroned in the kingdom of peace and joy. Time spent in the pursuit of extraneous material things is a waste of man's precious opportunities to know God. I am telling you this from my heart: Blessed is he who makes up his mind never to rest until he has found God. - Paramahansa Yogananda.
Friday, March 19, 2021
Thursday, March 18, 2021
That sage who has solely engaged himself in drinking the nectar which is no other than the Brahman, the nectar which is the outcome of incessant mediation, that sage becomes the greatest of ascetics, Paramahansa, and a philosopher free of worldly taint, Avadhuta. By the sight of him, the whole world becomes consecrated. Even an ignorant man who is devoted to his service becomes liberated. - The Upanishads.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Gaudapada (Adi Shankara's Guru's Guru) in his treatise Agama Shastra (which is an exploratory vision of Manudkya Upanishad) gives an allegory: An empty pot has space inside it and outside it. The space inside may be an absolute state of bliss so far as the pot is concerned; however, the pot still separates the space inside it from the space outside. This pot must be shattered and broken to pieces so that the inner being melts into the oneness. When this barrier breaks, this layer of the pot (the space inside it) is no different from the space outside it - it just melts into oneness. The shell (layer of the pot) only acts as a tool that finally dissolves (breaks open) leaving the pure emptiness inside to surface and merge with the emptiness outside.
It is like a bucket of water dipped into the well. A rope is controlling the bucket through the pulley on top of the well. The bucket is full of water (Godliness) inside and is immersed in the water of the well (pure Godliness) on the outside; the bucket still "lingers" about in the water as it is tied to the rope suspended through the pulley. Even though the "water in the bucket" (the being of the one who is meditating) is the same as the "water in the well" (Godliness), the rope (ego) still dangles between the pulley and the water in the well. Meditation also takes you beyond (in Sanskrit this is called Thuriya or Shoonya) to a place where neither the meditator nor the meditation exists. It is the free flow state where the water in the bucket and the water in the well have melted into one another and there is no entity of either the rope or the bucket (or the well). Pure infiniteness, pure isness floats infinitely. - Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young man went to the forest and said to his spiritual master, "I want to have unlimited wealth, and with that unlimited wealth, I want to help and heal the world. Will you please tell me the secret to creating affluence?" And the spiritual master replied, "There are 2 Godesses that reside in the heart of every human being. Everybody is deeply in love with these supreme beings. But there is a certain secret that you need to know, and I will tell you what it is. Although you love both Goddesses, you must pay more attention to on of them. She is the Goddess of Knowledge, and her name is Saraswati. Pursue her, love, her, and give her your attention. The other Goddess, whose name is Lakshmi, is the Goddess of Wealth. When you pay more attention to Sarasvati, Lakshmi will become extremely jealous and pay more attention to you. The more you seek the Goddess of Knowledge, the more the Goddess of Wealth will seek you. She will follow you wherever you go and never leave you. And the wealth you desire will be yours forever." There is power in knowledge, desire and spirit. And, this power within you is the key to creating affluence. - Anonymous.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Monday, March 15, 2021
Don't allow the world to make you bitter. Don't allow people and so-called loved ones to make you petty. Don't let your self-respect be measured in financial terms or personal gains. Don't ever judge people. Be happy. Be cool. Let the child within you and the madness always keep you young at heart. Always live life as though your Master is standing next to you, seeing you, observing you, nurturing you. - Ruzbeh Bharucha.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Tuesday, March 09, 2021
Monday, March 08, 2021
Friday, March 05, 2021
Clinging to the known you will miss life. People live but go on missing life. It needs courage. It needs the courage to move with life wherever it leads because the paths are unchartered, there exists no map. One has to go into the unknown. Life can be understood only if you are ready to go into the unknown. - Osho.
We are all joined together in interdependence. Everything in existence is interdependent. You are dependent on others, others are dependent on you. It is a brotherhood, it is relatedness. Even the smallest grass leaf is related to the greatest star. If you can understand this, a tremendous love will arise from all that exists. - Osho.
Express your uniqueness in whatever you do. There has never been a person like you before, there is nobody else like you in the whole world, and there will never be anybody like you, you are a masterpiece - unrepeatable. You are not here to copy others. You are here to add something unique. To seek and search for your uniqueness is a great thrill, a great adventure. - Osho.
Don't just grow old, grow up. Maturity has nothing to do with your life experiences. It has something to do with your inward journey., experiences of the inner, the more you go deeper into yourself, the more you grow up. Just as a tree has to send its roots deeper into the ground to grow higher. - Osho.
Thursday, March 04, 2021
If
By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Wednesday, March 03, 2021
Desiderata
By Max Ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Tuesday, March 02, 2021
Don’t worry. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you have given your best to whatever you are doing, son. Only mankind is interested in results. Nature only wants to know your intentions. A dog just wags its tail happily. It is not bothered about whether its tail has wagged with finesses or whether it looks funny. It only knows how to love its master. It gives its best. It may make a mess of things regularly but then you don’t mind. Why? Because you know the dog’s heart is in the right place. It is giving its best to you. The same way Nature and God don’t judge you by your performance or your results. They just want to know whether your intentions are proper, your heart is in the right place and that you are giving your best to whatever you are doing. Every thing else is just pure statistics... it was ‘why you did-what you did’, that was more important than, ‘what came about what you did’ that really mattered to the heaven’s above. That the Angels heard the purity in the prayer rather than the prayer itself or the fancy words mouthed.. - Ruzbeh Bharucha.
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Tuesday, February 09, 2021
You may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger; Ride the lion and play with the cobra; By alchemy, you may earn your livelihood; You may wander through the universe incognito; Make vassals of the Gods; be ever youthful; You may walk on water and live in fire: But control of the mind is better and more difficult. - Thayumanavar.
A spiritual awakening is usually not pleasant. Often it feels like confusion, frustration, anger, sadness, grief, or being "out of place". A spiritual awakening can be uncomfortable and challenging because it's an intense time of personal growth. But despite how difficult it may feel, you are not going crazy; you are evolving. - Anonymous.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Thursday, December 17, 2020
My dear, in the midst of hate, I found there was, within me an invincible love. In the midst of chaos, I found there was within me an invincible calm. I realized through it all that in the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there is something stronger, something better, pushing right back. - Anonymous.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind. - J. Krishnamurti.
Sunday, December 06, 2020
Wednesday, December 02, 2020
After becoming President, I asked some of my bodyguard members to go for a walk in town. After the walk, we went for lunch at a restaurant. We sat in one of the most central ones, and each of us asked what we wanted. After a bit of waiting, the waiter who brought our menus appeared, at that moment I realized that at the table that was right in front of ours there was a single man waiting to be served. When he was served, I told one of my soldiers: go ask that man to join us. The soldier went and transmitted my invitation. The man stood up, took the plate, and sat next to me. While eating, his hands were constantly shaking and he didn't lift his head from the food. When we finished, he waved at me without even looking at me, I shook his hand and walked away! The soldier said to me, "Madiba, that man must be very sick as his hands wouldn't stop shaking while he was eating." "Not at all! The reason for his tremor is another", I replied. They looked at me weird and said to them, "That man was the guardian of the jail I was locked up in. Often, after the torture I was subjected to, I screamed and cried for water and he came to humiliate me, he laughed at me, and instead of giving me water, he urinated on my head. He wasn't sick, he was scared and shook maybe fearing that I, now that I'm president of South Africa, would send him to jail and do the same thing he did with me, torturing and humiliating him. But that's not me, that behavior is not part of my character nor my ethics. Minds that seek revenge destroy states, while those that seek reconciliation build Nations.′′ - Nelson Mandela (From Echeverría Martínez ′′ Chicali Wall ′′) via Geoof Pentz.
Monday, November 23, 2020
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Monday, November 16, 2020
Fear
By Khalil Gibran
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.
The river can not go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Sunday, November 08, 2020
Friday, September 18, 2020
Sanskrit words for Teacher based on their unique abilities:
- The Teacher who gives you information is called Adhyapak
- The one who imparts knowledge combined with information is called Upadhyaya
- The one who imparts skills is called Acharya
- The one who is able to give a deep insight into a subject is called a Pandit
- The one who has a visionary view on a subject and teaches you to think in that manner is called Dhrishta
- The one who is able to awaken the wisdom in you, leading you from darkness to light is called Guru
Sanskrit is perhaps the only language that has such a refined vocabulary to distinguish the different kinds of Teachers.
A Teacher takes responsibility for your growth.
A Guru makes you responsible for your growth.
A Guru makes you responsible for your growth.
A Teacher gives you things you do not have and require.
A Guru takes away things you have and do not require.
A Guru takes away things you have and do not require.
A Teacher answers your questions.
A Guru questions your answers.
A Guru questions your answers.
A Teacher requires obedience and discipline from a pupil.
A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil.
A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil.
A Teacher clothes you and prepares you for the outer journey.
A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey.
A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey.
A Teacher is a guide on the path.
A Guru is a pointer to the way.
A Guru is a pointer to the way.
A Teacher sends you on the road to success.
A Guru sends you on the road to freedom.
A Guru sends you on the road to freedom.
A Teacher explains the world and its nature to you.
A Guru explains yourself and your nature.
A Guru explains yourself and your nature.
A Teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego.
A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego.
A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego.
A Teacher instructs you.
A Guru constructs you.
A Guru constructs you.
A Teacher sharpens your mind.
A Guru opens your mind.
A Guru opens your mind.
A Teacher reaches your mind.
A Guru touches your spirit.
A Guru touches your spirit.
A Teacher is a systematic thinker.
A Guru is a lateral thinker.
A Guru is a lateral thinker.
One can always find a Teacher.
But a Guru has to find and accept you.
But a Guru has to find and accept you.
A Teacher leads you by hand.
A Guru leads you by example.
A Guru leads you by example.
When a Teacher finishes with you, you celebrate.
When a Guru finishes with you, life celebrates.
When a Guru finishes with you, life celebrates.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Friday, September 04, 2020
Monday, August 31, 2020
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
A really mature person cannot be serious, there is nothing to be serious about. The whole of life is fun, it is a play, a play of consciousness. And that's what meditation reveals to you - that the whole of life is a beautiful play of energy. The same energy is in the trees, in the stars, in the rivers, in the mountains, in you, in animals. It is the same energy dancing in different forms. We in the East have called it 'Leela'. Leela means God's play. - Osho.
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Detaching yourself from all that makes you restless means detaching from all such thoughts. The origin of all your emotions is only thought and if you decide not to entertain these thoughts that create restlessness then those thoughts will let away. Please remember that your life is only what your mind gives attention to! The only attention that does not create any emotion is attention to the silence within your meditation. - Anonymous.
Monday, August 24, 2020
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
God dwells in you, as you, and you don't have to 'do' anything to be God-realized or Self-realized, it is already your true and natural state. Just drop all seeking, turn your attention inward, and sacrifice your mind to the One Self radiating in the heart of your every being. For this to be your own presently lived experience, Self-inquiry is the one direct and immediate way. - Ramana Maharishi.
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