Always keep a beautiful picture of yourself in your mind. Full of all good qualities, like love, sympathy, sacrifice, patience, tolerance, perseverance, endurance, hope, confidence, fearlessness, truthfulness, straightforwardness, transparence, non-laziness, calmness, peace, joy and so on ..
Read MoreTake away from your mind, O Arjuna, all sense of difference about the spiritual pursuit. It is the mind and intelligence that work in both cases. In Jñāna-niṣṭhā, they become very specific and exclusive. And in Karma-niṣṭhā, their application is broad, including all activities of worldly life. So, remove even the least sense of difference between the two niṣṭhās. For, they have the same emphasis as well as goal. Each will take the seeker to the same spiritual goal of inner fullness, abundance and ecstasy.
Read MoreThe truth being about our own Self, a mere theoretical knowledge either from the scriptures or from lectures will not be sufficient. We must discover the truth of our identity ourselves. We must live the truth.
Read MoreSwamiji slowly exposed me to the enormous potentials of the mind. He taught me how the mind can handle and overcome every difficult emotion and situation and remain stable. Gradually he led me onto the path of discovering one’s real identity, the knowledge of which alone enables one to remain unaffected in the face of all stress and adversities.
Read MoreDo not animals and birds live? Do they have desires like humans have? What about plants, trees and creepers? You cannot attribute desires to them. All of them live; their lineages also continue. They never indulge in desires. Learn the lesson from them and live, move and pursue the natural course of life joyfully, harmoniously, in a fulfilling manner.
Read MoreRely fully on the same Supreme Power from now on. This reliance has nothing to do with That. But it has everything to do with your mind, yourself.
Read MoreOrdinary people who see only the objects with their senses, do not perceive the truth about objects. The sights do not allow them to grasp...
Read MoreRepeatedly saying the same thing, nagging, is to be avoided. Make the children respond to words and suggestions given once. Tell them not to make it necessary to speak to them on the same point several times. Keep quiet, and take to mauna (silence). More than repeated exhortations, mauna will be heeded.
Read MoreCultivate the habit of doing everything, when told just once. It should not be necessary to tell you anything more than once. Such sensitiveness and response makes one worthy, skillful.
Read MoreMan remains oblivious of the fact that, with the rising and setting of the sun, life is shrinking every day. He is so much engrossed in the heavy burden of worldly activities that never is he aware that time, which is very precious, which could have been used for the pursuit of liberation, is simply passing by and is getting wasted.
Read MoreNow and then have a break from your study sessions. Come out of your room or place of study and have some good diversion – talk to your relatives in a friendly manner, with interest. Laugh or weep when you get an occasion to do so. By both, your system will get the needed relaxation and will be strengthened and purified.
Read MoreThe best way to live in this world happily is to appreciate and congratulate any one with superior qualities, without envy.
Read MoreSri Rama said: “How the human misery could be alleviated, is the only thought that consumes me like wildfire. “What is this strange world where...
Read MoreAs soon as I started studying Physics, I fell in love with it. Study of Physics has always given rise to impersonality and humility in my mind. I would not like to study a science subject that could not be related to deeper harmony and the concept of unity in diversity. So, studying Physics was verily a spiritual sādhanā for me.
Read MoreBy spiritual practice, you must be able to absorb and assimilate any input from the world, and at the same time, generate timely response to deal with whatever difficult situations and impacts you face.
Read MoreSet up your home in such a style and sublimity that the thoughts and reflections on the Lord within the body will be encouraged, deepened and perpetuated.
Read MoreAs Swamiji and some other devotees carried the armchair, Bābā was amused and he started shouting “Hari bol Hari bol”– as it is done in Bengal, but while carrying a dead body! The few railway staff present in the deserted station at that unearthly hour watched curiously the strange procession. Did they know that the reminder about mortality of the body was coming from an Immortal Soul while being carried by another Immortal Soul?
Read MoreAcceptance of the world is acceptance of plurality. Acceptance of plurality means being influenced by it. And to be influenced by dvandvas (pairs of opposites) means to be afflicted by desires, ego and possessiveness. These notes alone and nothing but these very notes of your own mind are the source of your afflictions. Their disappearance contributes to spirituality. When these notes begin to fall one by one, the worldliness dissolves and godliness shines forth.
Read MoreOn the slope of the hill, opposite the last house of the village stood a thicket of sunflowers. It grew from a seed thrown by somebody who had passed by a long time ago. It was delightful to see the big leaves on stems as high as eight feet and flowers with brown seeds crowned by yellow petals looking like small suns, swaying in the breeze.
Read MoreThe word ‘yuktaḥ’ refers to one whose senses, mind and intelligence are integrated with the blissful Self, making his whole personality and its interaction with...
Read MoreOnly when you ensure that throughout the day, whatever actions or reactions you have, there is a progressive enrichment and purification taking place in you, can you be considered a sādhaka. The extent to which you are able to remain equal, able to accept favourable and unfavourable outcomes with equanimity, will depend on the purity of the mind.
Read MoreWhat is the correct sādhanā? How long should it continue? What is the actual goal? When will I achieve it? Poojya Swamiji, graciously, addresses the seekers, throwing light on these matters.
Read MoreAttraction and repulsion arising in the mind are mind’s own creations. Mind has full freedom not to be attracted and repelled. It is here that...
Read MoreWhat is purity? How to gain it? The Upanishads are not merely enlightening, but through a process of enlightenment they also compel purity. So, by reading this verse a seeker has to focus on the task of purifying himself.
Read MoreA devotee may initially seek God – a glimpse or vision of the God of his imagination. But as he progresses on the path of devotion, the focus shifts from God to his own personality.
Read MoreThe God who is seated in your heart and in your devotion, will burn off all curses and all evil influences — this kind of faith you should have. Either you will have a faith or you will have an understanding. Proceed in this manner; do not miss your focus.
Read MoreYou may wonder how this śraddhā or subtle refinements are going to help you in God-realization. In the pursuit of God-realization, your focus should always be on your mind. It is your mind that has to be purified.
Read MoreThe entire spiritual pursuit and perfection rest upon the fusion of the emotional mind with the rational intelligence. For a discriminating thinker, the whole subject...
Read MoreWhat is spiritual vision in the end? To love and live in this world, FINDING IT GOD, the most beautiful. In this beauty, ugliness will dance, cruelty will sing, compassion and grace will play their notes too. But indifference must reign.
Read MoreIt is wrong to think that we cannot work without desires. Desire need not be a motivating force at all if one learns to live naturally. Does the earth need any desire to go around the sun? Do the trees grow and blossom motivated by any desire? In fact, desires hinder our natural efficiency and perfection.
Read MoreIt is one thing to say that ‘may the mind delight in the Lord’s Lotus-feet’, and it is altogether different to make the mind actually delight in the Lotus-feet.
Read More– Veelayudan Nair [Note: Veelayudan Nair is Secretary of SIRD Malaysia and was appointed overall coordinator for this social welfare programme.] Call to Action Poojya...
Read More– Unnikrishnan Menon, Subashini Raghavan, Sithaletchumi Ramamurthi Under Poojya Swamiji’s guidance, we at SIRD have come to appreciate the immense potential within ourselves and others....
Read MoreThe dream is inside the body. It is individualistic in nature. But wakefulness is a state, recurring regularly with many together remaining awake alike for...
Read MoreYou should read and hear, but only to reflect upon what you have heard and read. By reflection the seeker must become clear about the...
Read MoreWhen we came to know that the 90th birthday of our beloved Swamiji falls on 13th May, we devotees got inspired and sitting with Somnath Dada (from Jamshedpur), planned to celebrate Swamiji’s birthday. Sweet words, lisping speech in Bengali, affectionate gaze, soft heart, ochre dress and headgear, always busy surrounded by devotees, serving the suffering people as Nara-Narayana – such is our beloved Swamiji.
Read MoreWhen our Lord’s message arrived that we shall be doing the Guru-pādapooja in Poornashram this time, there was a flood of joy, tears of delight filling our faces.
Read MoreHari Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru. Today is a very auspicious day. I always describe Gurupoornima as the most holy and benedictory day...
Read MoreAny spiritual institution is founded only on the Guru-bhakti of the founder. It survives only because of Guru-bhakti.
Read MoreDoes not viveka, therefore, demand that between the short-living and everlasting goals, the discreet mind should choose the everlasting, not the short-living? Is not then one courting inferiority, downfall, if he refuses to accept buddhi-yoga and prefers to stick to the elusive path of desire-based ritualistic and secular actions?
Read MoreWhile interactional sadhana strengthens, deepens and enhances your individual pursuit, both these are verily enriched and empowered by taking up collective sadhana. Only when there is a collective programme, all of you will come together and join.
Read MoreFor a karma- yogi, action is not a mere activity, but a full-fledged sadhana ennobling, elevating and enlightening. When imbued with such a note, action...
Read MoreGita does not deal with the objective results of actions at all, where the rules and laws of the objective world prevail. Krishna, as well as Vedanta, speaks only about spirituality, the science of inner mind, intelligence and Self. Possession, dispossession, delusion, clarity, enlightenment, etc. are concepts that relate to the inner personality of the human.
Read MoreTrue seeker should be given to self-restraint, self-regulation and self-harmony. Mind should be under the sovereign, sublime guidance of intelligence. Intelligence should relentlessly reflect upon the blissful Self. This kind of inner attunement and steadfastness in it, makes one verily an Ātmavān.
Read Moreby Participants [Nutan Swamiji’s “Enlightened Living – Walking the Inner Path” Residential Retreats first started in Jamshedpur in 2013. This year, for the first time,...
Read MoreThe influence intelligence sheds in the mind is marvellous, subtle and deep. Mind can be acted upon by intelligence alone. That is why Krishna highlights buddhi, intelligence, and says it has to become clear, stable and resolute.
Read MoreFostering equality and impartiality towards sukha and duhkha alike is the only option for the wise, to live in this world and move forward steadily and gloriously. Every time you do so, you become more and more spiritual, sublime and expansive. The practice is in the mind, guided by intelligence. But, the benefits are to one’s life as a whole.
Read MoreToday is our gift to discover the new riches in our own little world, to explore other lovely interesting paths, to find new potential and new pleasures.
Read MoreIf we look into the various phases of Poojya Swamiji’s life, then we understand that it is the constant working of one quality called sincerity that made him live each phase with full dedication and outlive it with ease to follow the call of the next.
Read MoreMrinalini Appadurai [On 22 October 2022 during the San Jose leg of the USA Sadhana Shibiram, Nutan Swamiji and a small group of...
Read More[As always, Nutan Swamiji was hosted in the homes of devotees during his Sadhana Shibiram in USA: Anuradha and Pankaj Bhatia hosted in Virginia, Deepa...
Read MoreAny earnest seeker will not have a question on the need for having a Guru to lead him safely and fast to his goal. You want to reach somewhere. You do not clearly know the destination. If someone knows and is ready to help you, why think further about it at all?
Read MoreTrue spiritual wisdom as well as the instructions on its basis, is not detached from the facts and truths of our life and its purpose. Spirituality as a science and direct experience is in full harmony with one’s life and seeking, to fulfil his ultimate needs and compulsions.
Read MoreIn the body of all, the indwelling ‘I’, the Self, is always unkillable. Know that all beings have equally the same single Self, which cannot be acted upon by anything whatever. Therefore, you do not deserve to grieve at all, thinking of death and what death brings about.
Read MoreThe Self cannot be reached by mental or intellectual deliberations. As it is indistinct to the senses, it is equally so to the mind and...
Read MoreSoul is all-pervading, hence present in all bodies. By dropping a body, it does not become bodyless. As is the air present in all bodies, so is the presence of ‘I’, the Self, the Soul, in all bodies.
Read MorePoojya Swamiji exhorts us to employ our intelligence and realize the truth, no matter where we are and what we are out to do! Inner knowledge pursuit is not deterred by any external activity.
Read MoreSwamiji explains that the discovery of inner eternal Presence takes away all sense of conflict and contradiction from the mind and makes one harmonious, even-minded and poised.
Read MoreIt has been the tradition of our great land that during the ‘Chaatur-maasya’ (four month period) following Gurupoornima, disciples and devotees come to the hermitage...
Read MoreEvery year, just before the holy Gurupoornima Day, there is a special programme where Ashram assistants, workers and many others associated with Ashram activities – auto & taxi drivers, coconut-pluckers, electricians, plumbers, masons, fabricators, gas-burner repairer, et al – are invited and honoured.
Read MoreSwamiji told us in no uncertain terms that he is what he is today purely due to his association with his beloved Baba. It was the loving relationship with his Guru that led him to a life free from worldliness, floating always in the glory of inner Self. Swamiji blessed us with Gurutva in our life--to develop substantial depth, profundity, nobility and greatness.
Read MoreThe word ‘Gurutva’ means profundity, solemnity, dignity and loftiness. In spiritual life, it implies the ability to receive, retain, and give. As one progresses, he must ultimately resemble the sky and God!
Read MoreIn this letter, Poojya Swamiji discusses the art of attaining a deep note of harmony amidst sukha-duhkhas, while tossed around by interactions of all kinds.
Read MoreBring the message of Bhagavad Gita into your lives. One should not just study Bhagavad Gita; one must live it.
Read MoreWhen the intelligence is applied, it throws light into the situations, showing us that there is no permanent happiness in anything of the world.
Read MoreWhen we have challenges, when we are in trouble, we do not think of God. We brood and complain and say, “Why me?”
Read MoreFrom the time I stepped onto this path, there was a new meaning in my life.
Read MoreImmortality, moksha, is the goal of human life, especially of a seeker. For, he always aims at freedom (moksha). What is freedom? It is certainly not the physical freedom from anything. The freedom or moksha the seeker aims at is ‘inner’. It is freedom from the shackles our mind and intelligence seemingly impose.
Read MoreIf the earth is divine, then whatever has grown on the earth is also divine, including our own body. Instead of realizing this divinity which is already there in us and around us, we construct temples to install God there.
Read MoreExpectations must become extinct. Liberation is vāsanā-tānavam—extinction of desires. Desires will not fall the way you want, but will fall. Recognize the place for extinction of desires, and allow them to settle.
Read MoreAll the interactions senses have with the world objects do bring about only the sukha-duhkha dvandvas, nothing more or different. When you are able to meet and dissolve the sukha-duhkhas, you can deal with the world as a whole, in full. Is this not a clear, inner victory over the world?
Read MoreDoubt is nothing new. Krishna made Arjuna introspect over his doubt and grief and automatically the doubt vanished.
Read MoreWhy does interaction become difficult at times? It is because of raga-dvesha (likes and dislikes). We like some people and are happy to be with them. Some we don’t like, so we do not want to interact with them.
Read MoreIn spirituality the ‘I’ in us, the inmost Truth of our being, is finally discovered as God. So, spiritual sadhana starts when we stop looking outside and start looking within to find out “Who am I”.
Read MoreThe power that sustains your life in good and bad, in prosperity and adversity, in success and failure, is called dharma.
Read MoreWhen there is a close harmony between the knowing intelligence and the willful mind, equally between the external body and senses, good and effective actions proceed and they bring about the desired outcome. Otherwise not. Whether you believe in God or not, does not matter. What is required is a conscientious striving.
Read MoreNourishment for intelligence is Knowledge, for mind is emotions. So, you must develop good emotions – love, sympathy, sacrifice – for the mind, and elevate your intelligence with greater and greater Knowledge.
Read MoreModeration is the watchword for every one of you. Krishna says the Yoga of Bhagavad Gita will become relevant and effective, provided we are moderate. Eat moderately, sleep moderately, exert moderately, listen to moderately and speak moderately.
Read MoreThe Dharmakshetra aggravated Duryodhana’s wickedness and made him behave condescendingly to his elders while Arjuna, though gravely aggrieved, was led to a deep spiritual enquiry which crowned him with supreme inner enlightenment.
Read MoreBhagavad Gita presents the most puzzling interactional human life, enlightening and enriching you with the knowledge, skills and merits to face and overcome interactional challenges, unhurt and unaffected.
Read MoreThis is a message from Poojya Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha to devotees at the start of the 'On Bhagavad Gita' monthly letter series , in which he will be discussing the great ‘Administrative Treasure Trove’ Bhagavad Gita.
Read MoreHow to give children a taste of a liberal mindset, a value-oriented life? Perhaps stories will help them understand the real taste of human values. Of course, thereafter they have to live the values to get established in them.
Read MoreOne day, during the early morning darshan, a brahmachārin came and prostrated at his feet. Apparently, he was one of the most intelligent students learning Sanskrit from Maharaj Ji. The brahmachārin mentioned that he had been listening to the Ramayana Katha of the famous exponent, held in the Ashram premises.
Read MoreThroughout the day, during satsangs, Maharaj Ji, through his words, interactions and bhāva, was distributing as ‘prasāda’ manifest lessons of love, humility, renunciation and equal-vision. It was for us seekers to pick up these treasures and enrich ourselves.
Read MoreA Mahatma had a rich disciple who, in spite of repeated advice of the Guru, would make no effort to purify his heart and mind. But at the same time, the disciple used to pester the Guru for bestowing on him Brahma- jnāna (knowledge of Truth – Brahman).
Read MoreThis is India. This is our heredity and legacy. We have always stood for propriety, ethics and righteousness. We cannot behave in any manner we like. There should be dignity and elegance in whatever we do.
Read MoreAn enlightening, moving and heart-warming correspondence between Nutan Swamiji and a young girl, which addresses the difficulties of many intellectuals.
Read MoreThe Experiential Vedanta program, in my earnest opinion, has the unique and divine ability in the participant-seeker to trigger a sublime process of internal enhancement, empowerment, and fulfillment.
Read Moreगुरुर्न स स्यात्स्वजनो न स स्यात्पिता
न स स्याज्जननी न सा स्यात् ।
दैवं न तत्स्यान्न पतिश्च स स्यान्न
मोचयेद्यः समुपेतमृत्युम् ॥
gururna sa syāt–svajano na sa syāt–pitā
na sa syājjananī na sā syāt |
daivaṁ na tatsyān–na patiśca sa syān–na
mocayedyaḥ samupeta–mṛtyum ||
I think all should share with their children such instances and thoughts as will make them confident, bold and adventurous. Mind has no limit. If at all, sky is its limit.
Read MoreTo have appeal is verily to possess merits that will touch others’ intelligence. To lead people is verily to lead the minds and intelligence of others. Thus, the knowledge exposure is something extremely valuable and dear. In the period to follow, enhance your vision, sensibility and creative thinking
Read MoreThe interaction you have in life will also be with the good and bad, and the consequences will definitely be experienced by you. Rather than worrying about who is good and who is bad, particularly who is bad – because the ‘bad’ makes you suffer – why don’t you focus on the important factor that “it is I who suffer”?
Read MoreSwami Nirviseshananda said: “I don’t know of a time when my mind was not given to seeking the Truth. In that quest I have found scientific pursuit and spiritual sadhana always in complementary role – each strengthening and refining the other. Both physics and spiritual seeking used to give me the sublimity of unification and expansion, the joy of arriving at greater and greater harmony underlying the world variety.
Read MoreDear son, understand that embodiment itself is transitory. And all the relationships are also transitory. Everyone and everything is to be left – even the body in which you live, and for the sake of which you have courted all the relationships! So, do not worry any more about family, people and the like. You have done whatever they needed and was possible for you.
Read MoreGive everyone the freedom to like or to dislike you. But inwardly, in your heart, like one and all. Let there be no dislike-feeling within you towards others. Mind should make a provision for all kinds of people, including those who dislike you.
Read MoreFor gaining courage in increasing and resourceful measures, you have to look, however, to your own within. Break through the mortal sheaths of your body. Rise above the mind-sheath. Penetrate the intellectual one also.
Read Moreवयमिह परितुष्टा वल्कलैस्त्वं दुकूलै:सम इव परितोषो निर्विशेषो विशेष: ।स तु भवतु दरिद्रो यस्य तृष्णा विशाला मनसि च परितुष्टे कोऽर्थवान् को दरिद्र: ।। vayamiha parituṣṭā valkalaistvaṁ dukūlaiḥ sama iva paritoṣo nirviśeṣo viśeṣaḥ |sa tu bhavatu daridro yasya tṛṣṇā viśālā manasi ca parituṣṭe ko'rthavān ko daridraḥ ||
Read Moreनिष्किंञ्चना मय्यनुरक्तचेतसः शान्ता महान्तोऽखिलजीववत्सलाः। कामैरनालब्धधियो जुषन्ति यत् तन्नैरपेक्ष्यं न विदुः सुखं मम ।। niṣkiṁncanā mayyanuraktacetasaḥ śāntā mahānto'khilajīvavatsalāḥ| kāmairanālabdhadhiyo juṣanti yat tannairapekṣyaṁ na viduḥ sukhaṁ mama ||
Read Moreनायं जनो मे सुखदुःखहेतु र्न देवतात्मा ग्रहकर्मकालाः। मनः परं कारणमामनन्ति संसारचक्रं परिवर्तयेद्यत्।। nāyaṁ jano me sukha-duḥkha-hetur-na devatātmā graha-karma-kālāḥ | manaḥ paraṁ kāraṇam-āmananti saṁsāra-cakraṁ parivartayed-yat ||
Read Moreआकाशवल्लेपविदूरगोहं
आदित्यवद्भास्यविलक्षणोऽहम् ।
अहार्यवन्नित्यविनिश्चलोऽहं
अम्भोधिवत्पारविवर्जितोऽहम् ।।
ākāśavallepavidūrago'haṁ
ādityavadbhāsyavilakṣaṇo'ham |
ahāryavannityaviniścalo'haṁ
ambhodhivatpāravivarjito'ham ||
पूर्णे मनसि संपूर्णं जगत्सर्वं सुधाद्रवैः।
उपानद्-गूढपादस्य ननु चर्मास्तृतैव भूः ॥
pūrṇe manasi sampūrṇaṃ jagat-sarvaṃ sudhādravai: |
upānad-gūḍhapādasya nanu carmāstṛtaiva bhū: ||
Ma tells us how we should be grateful to the Universal Lord who being present in our heart enlivens our entire being – the body, mind and the intelligence; how, remembering this great Truth, we should prostrate at His holy feet in reverence and gratitude.
Read MoreWhile feeding the child, have the thought that the feed should instill in him good and sustainable health and inner stimulations. Whichever sense-organ of the child responds, through that provide the most sublime and elevating sensation.
Read MoreLet your focus be on these: Expansion of the mind; elevation of your attitude; and excellence in action. When all these three are blended together, it becomes a truly transformed personality – a new personality. This is the true purpose of religion and spirituality.
Read MoreThe real monuments of India’s ancient cultural heritage are the Vedas, Epics and other texts constituting the vast Sanskrit literature bequeathed to us through generations. It is because of the fact that these numerous scriptural compositions were composed in Sanskrit, the most scientific and refined language in the world, that we are still able to understand them with the same clarity and emphasis, as it was thousands of years ago.
Read MoreYou carry an infinitely potent mind. Never fail to recognize this great potency of the mind. We call it mind, but actually it is a projection or expression of the Self, the Supreme Reality, which has created and which is preserving this great endless Universe
Read MoreThe word ‘Hindu’ is formed by the first letter of Himalayas (Hi) and the second letter of Indu (ndu) sarovara (lake). On the north we are sheltered by the Himalayas. On the other three sides we are encircled by the sea. This wonderful place called Hindusthana, we hold, is built by God (deva-nirmitam desham).
Read MoreYou should develop an austere temper as a result of which, even under physical sickness – of course, you should give proper medical attention to it – your mind is not subdued by it. Let not any physical sickness paralyse or weaken your spiritual mind. If the body suffers from ill-health attend to the physical condition medically, but for most part rely on the virtue of your mind – its strength and inspiration.
Read MoreAny obstinate note is a killing factor! It takes away peace; it takes away the blessedness; it takes away health; it destroys inner wealth; it destroys the person.
Read MoreWhen we look at the human civilization in this comprehensive way, we understand how gratefulness as a quality will enrich human life in ample measure.
Read MoreThrough the Teacher’s responses to various situations, we get a touch of his vision – his love and his dispassion. In receiving his comments and accepting the corrections, our ego gets sublimated. In working with the co-disciples and accommodating others lovingly as the Guru does, our minds expand.
Read MoreMoksha is a clarity, a freedom that you need from whatever troubles you have now. If there is no trouble, you don’t need moksha.
Read MoreFor the worldly-minded, siddhi and asiddhi relate to worldly efforts. For the seeker, these relate to his sadhana. Equanimity applies to both alike. So, be indifferent or harmonious, and carry on.
Read MorePurify your mind. Sublimate your mind. Understand that the mind, in ultimate analysis, is the very Self. The power of the Self is identical with the power of the supreme Lord.
Read MoreMind can also be said to be something alien to the Soul, which veils the latter in a mysterious manner. It is all a question of which description suits your taste and becomes comprehensible for you
Read MoreThe real purpose of all religious as well as spiritual practices is to purify and transform our own mind.
Read MoreIt is only to inculcate purity that all the religious and spiritual practices and disciplines have been evolved. Through all these practices, once purity is attained, meditational absorption will become easy and spontaneous.
Read MoreIf you are able to sublimate desire, intolerance and fear, the mind becomes most flexible, most refined and delightful. It is a very, very simple process.
Read MoreThis colour also represents earth. Earlier, Sannyasins used to dye their cloth with a special ochre coloured earth called ‘Geri-mitti’.
Read MoreApply intelligence and also be thoughtful and introspective. Assess your own thoughts, views, speech and action. Never be selfish.
Read MoreBirth and rebirth are tentative propositions, one visible and the other invisible, to help man think about continuity of existence. When his sense of enquiry grows and deepens, this continuity will be probed, dissected as it were, to take him to the nonobject, the Subject entity,
Read More"Watching the thoughts" means witnessing them come and go without getting involved in them. Normally we are always getting involved in the current thought. When depressing or happy thoughts arise, we "become depressed or happy". Witnessing means we have to see the happy thoughts, depressing thoughts, without becoming happy or depressed.
Read MoreAll these qualities basically represent a Knower, call him/her sthita-dhee or bhakta or Jnānee or Gunāteeta.
Read MoreA time comes in the life of a serious seeker, when he eagerly seeks the ultimate and feels the need for one path guided by one Guru. Holding on to one is important in making the divergent mind convergent.
Read MoreEverything is the effect of guṇas. Work, cessation, dream, sleep, wakefulness — all. But within these, the guṇas alone make you think, enquire, seek etc. See all as guṇas and flow with them. Do when you feel like doing. Stop and leave when you feel so. Be natural.
Read MoreA routine work I really loved was to look after the animals of the Ashram – the cows and the calves, to which I later added the team of squirrels, birds, cats and kittens. I used to take the cows and the calves for grazing, feed the cats, squirrels and the birds timely everyday, give them names and talk to them lovingly in Bengali.
Read MoreTo think that the practice of samādhi is the finale in spiritual life is wrong. The man of perfection is not one who is permanently immersed in samādhi. Even Samādhi is a state or avastha.
Read MoreWhatever you do, wherever you are, you can pursue constant introspectional sadhana of refinement and purification. In fact it should be so.
Read MoreFulfillment will be had when the mind is properly treated to become pure and the hindrances to fulfillment are removed. And, when the mind is properly developed to have fulfillment, will it need any of these external objects, situations or possessions?
Read MoreSuppose you have a little depression or disinterestedness today – what of that? Let it remain. Be at home even with that. Know that as it has come in so also will it pass off. If you keep this elevated attitude, soon you will find that the depressive moods will become less frequent.
Read MoreThe spiritual thinkers of India realized that the only way to sustain a civilization on the auspicious path, was to keep people anchored to their own inmost Self.
Read MoreVairāgya makes our mind free of possessiveness and selfishness. It liberates us from the fear of losing what we like and facing what we dislike, from preferential clinging and prejudicial intolerance.
Read MoreWe are born with an insufficiency or lack that makes us look for happiness. We are born with the delusion that something from the world will fulfil that lack, will make us happy.
Read MoreAll sorrow, confusion and difficulties about death will vanish when the mind and intelligence reflect upon the supreme Truth of immortality of the Soul
Read MoreMany of you get confused about what in us gets liberated. My reply is, whichever part in you now feels bound, will start feeling the absence of bondage.
Read MoreRight from birth, we are slave to our attraction and repulsion towards worldly objects and situations. Our mind constantly undergoes elation, depression, and agitation, depending on whether the objective situation we face is to our liking or disliking. We are fearful of losing what we like and facing what we dislike. Bhagavadgeeta wants us to transform this slavery into mastery by cultivating the “Yoga” attitude.
Read MoreWhy drop thy career? Why now, at this age?”They’ve heard not the Promise, proclaimed by my Sage.
Read MoreThey were fighting with each other for a vantage area near the compound wall to warm up themselves in the sunlight. Their clothes were anything to write about except for the folded torn saris wrapped around their tiny thin bodies, tied at the neck and made into a hood.
Read MoreAll I could feel was deep, deep calm, Because I knew you were with me, within me,Filling me with joy and bliss. At last I could surrender.
Read MoreFor Jnana, meditation is a necessary step. But, for getting the Knowledge established, to become a Jnanin, the seeker has to outlive meditation and practise a continuous and wholesome sadhana.
Read MoreDo not then look at thoughts or memories as disturbances, unfriendly or alien. Let them come or not, mind remains as Consciousness alone. Legs are legs whether they walk or run or sit. Think of this truth and allow all the mind-work to be on
Read MoreSo, do not lose heart or make any room for disappointment. Be strengthened and enlightened more and more, through everything that comes. With that gain, go forward. You have my blessings for right growth and fulfilment. The world is wide and extensive. You will have what you rightly deserve and in the hands of which you will find elevation and fulfilment. Be sure.
Read MoreEvery look of yours, thought, attitude and aim, must be soaked in this note of detachment. See whether it is so, and improve every time. When the child grows, then also tell him about your attitude and bring him up in that light. The child is yours and you can mould him as you wish.
Read MoreIf the insight or ambition fostered earlier does not fit in with the present situation, all that is called for is a patient re-examination of your own mind and its outlook, and then a timely correction and re-orientation, by which your mind will survive with what is the best and outstanding in it.
Read MoreCan you forestall your own death, and the resultant loss to your children? Why then construe unnecessary misery in what, through your father's death, has befallen your lot? Better wisdom lies in assimilating the event, understanding it in its own place, and developing a larger, deeper and higher mind and emotions.
Read MoreThe existence of the Atma is always absolute. Its manner of expression includes that which you call ‘the world’. This is the truth. But this truth will remain a mystery until the seeker’s mind becomes crystal clear, desire-free and stable under all conditions. The least trace of impurity any time will impair his vision
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