Guna means virtue and each one of us is blessed with three gunas. They emerge from Prakriti creating the essential aspects of all nature—matter, energy and consciousness. These are tamas (darkness and chaos), rajas (activity and passion) and sattva (beingness and harmony). These gunas are constantly in flux and they are responsible for creating maya (illusion). As human beings we can consciously alter our levels of gunas in our body and mind. Continue reading
Tag Archives: bhagavad gita
582 – Are you aware of your missing moments
Most of us do not think about it. It is a mundane exercise, performed by us 24/7. Now my dear ones, I am going to startle and shock you. There is a pause between our inhalation and exhalation and after. What is this pause? Can you account for it? It has gone forever from our lives. Continue reading
550 – 11 advices how to live our lives
According to the Bhagavad Gita.
- Whatever you do in a daily life, do not bother about the results. Krishna says that we should focus on our karma (actions).
- Be objective in every action.
- Embrace love, compassion and faith in life.
- Have faith in yourself and take simple steps daily.
- Accept change, it is a part of life.
- Meditate for five minutes at least daily.
- Try to understand your food habits and change them if needed.
- Practice self-observation.
- Identify your fears, let them go and just focus on karma.
- Focus on the fact that we are equal.
- Connect with nature, people and the whole universe.
525 – Atmabhava makes us dear to God
Quotes from the Bhagwada Gita,
One is dearest to God who has no enemies among the living beings, who is nonviolent to all creatures. I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them.
He alone who truly sees the Lord the same in every creature… seeing the same Lord everywhere, he does not harm himself or others.
Be fearless and pure; never waver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life. Give freely. Be self-controlled, sincere, truthful, loving and full of desire to serve… Learn to be detached and to take joy in renunciation. Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all. Cultivate vigour, patience, will, purity; avoid malice and pride. Then you will achieve your destiny.
471 – Love’s doors are always open
Proverbs about love are universal.
Love understands all languages. – Romanian
Love has to be shown by deeds, not words. – Swahili
The heart that loves is always young. – Greek
The course of true love never did run smooth. – William Shakespeare.
In the Gita, Krishna said there are various paths for spiritual progress—karma yoga, jnana yoga, dhyana yoga and bhakti yoga. He also mentions throughout his discourses that there is a secret message; a secret that only a heart filled with love can fathom. (Bhagavad Gita 4.3)
The Gita is essentially a revelation of divinity’s love for humanity as well as a love call for humanity’s love for reciprocal love for divinity. Let us tread the path of love as revealed by Krishna. Let us love and be loved. – Swami Prabhupada.
For those who have conquered the mind, it is their friend. For those who have failed to do so, the mind works like an enemy. – Bhagavad Gita 6.6
My dear ones, attend to your mind, liberate it by banishing anger, hate and fears. Open the doors of love.
Aim Hrim Klim
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
362 – Inspiration from Satyam Speaks
Yes, do read the Bhagavad Gita whenever you get time. But, my child, this life itself is a ‘never-ending’-Gita. Study this wonderful-life-Gita and put the same into practice. Continue reading
333 – Four qualities we must cultivate
1. Discrimination, as described in the Bhagawad Gita (2:62-63) by Sri Krishna, “When one thinks of objects, attachment for them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises; from anger comes delusion; from delusion loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination, one perishes.” Continue reading
310 – Bhakti Yoga
Sri Krishna spoke about Bhakti Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita 5000 years ago. He said, “One who hates no creatures, who is friendly and compassionate to all, free from attachment and egotism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving (is dear to me).” Continue reading
Overcoming anger with the vedic method of Neti-Neti | Pot-clay discimination to realise the self
What is superimposition?
How do you discriminate between your true self and what you belief to be your self. Learn the vedic method of ‘Neti-Neti’. Don’t identify with your body. Why did Arjuna choose Krishna instead of getting a big army in the battle? Arjuna struggels when he sees who he is supposed to fight against. He gets unhappy, doesn’t want to fight. This is our situation: We are unhappy and are searching a fundamental method to get happy in life. Perception from senses is unreal. We need to restrain our senses, to see the reality. Pot-clay comparison. What changes, doesn’t exist. The ‘I’ doesn’t change, everthing that changes – emotions, personality, job – are names and forms. They appear to be real. But names and forms aren’t real. All we know is a product of a word and an appearance. They are passing. They don’t exist. You are unaffected by everything in this dream. All ideas are in your mind, just like in the dream. The only reality in the dream is the consciousness that we call ‘I’. Here is only consciousness, not mine, not you. Consciousness can’t be heard, touched. But it is self-illuminate. You know it exists. You’ll become more tolerant and less pulled by thoughts and objects. Listen to the sprinkling talk of Chandra Cohen for beginners. With humour and convincing arguments.
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Om Shanti 🕉
James Swartz – Karma Yoga and Dharma – Talk 7
Recap of the last session. Freedom as the number one priority
in life. Nondual bhakti is exclusive love of the self. To progress
spiritually you have to commit yourself to the vedic tradition:
work through all stages. Skipping of the purification by karma
yoga is not useful. Understand the progression. Take care of
all instruments. Dual love is there to qualify for nondual love.
Nondual relationship. Samsara is a zero-sum-reality. You can’t
win and you can’t loose. Karma yoga is suitable to get out of
samsara: prepares you for jnana yoga, jnana yoga gives you
knowledge and knowledge sets you free. You need a noble
idea for your life. All beings are a set of rules by Isvara that
form their nature. Svabhava and svadharma of a human
being. Nature of animals. Karma yoga dharma. Example of
Arjuna. Karma yogis honor samanya dharma or universal
values. Vishesha dharma or situational ethics have no simple
formula. Dharma yoga. React appropriately in relation to
dharma in every situation to avoid bad karma. Krishna: I am
the desire that is not opposed to dharma. Adharma: Going
against your nature or to go against universal values.
Adharmic action creates mental and emotional agitation.
Pollute the environment and living in it is adharmic.
Svadharma of someone commited to Vedanta: be a karma
yogi, develop discipline. Karma yoga is build into the indian
society, that is a dharmic society. Svadharma and profession.
Karma yoga makes less stressful. You start thinking: who is
this Isvara? 4. Upasana. Listening, reasoning (reflecting and
getting rid of opinions that are not in harmony with the
teaching), actualize the knowledge “I am the self”. Getting rid
of obstacles to perfect satisfaction: by continuing the sadhana.
Total sense of confidence.
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James Swartz – Karma Yoga, Teachers and Scriptures – Talk 6
Karma yoga is bhakti yoga. Swami Vivekananda, Freud,
consequences of technology. Psychological designation in
Vedanta appeared. Multipath confusion. Better to integrate all
parts of the psyche. All stages of devotion are necessary, must
be practised. For karma yoga you need a guru and the
scripture. Only a mature person can surrender to Isvara.
Mantra “sadāśiva samārambhāṁ
śaṅkarācāryamadhyamām…” The self is the guru. Self is
beyond perception and inference. You need a guru because
the tendency for self-deception is immense. Dead gurus don’t
reveal your self-deceptions. You should manage your own life
based on the knowledge. Desire produces anger, depression
and delusion. Karma yoga as right action: dharmic lifestyle is
necessary. 5 daily practices: worship teacher, worship of
ancestors (tvam eva mātā…), worship deity, service to
humanity, protect environment. Desire hides your self from
you. Karma yoga turns an extroverted and subjective mind
into an introverted and objective mind. Inner child becomes an
inner adult. Relationship of guru and disciple: Krsna and
Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Sakhya bhava. Karma yoga is an
appropriate use of your free will. Described in chapters 1-6 of
the Bhagavad Gita.
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Karma Yoga and Devotion – Vedanta, Self Growth and Self Discovery with Swami Nityabodhananda
Talk 2 of Swami Nityabodhananda at Yoga Vidya Center in Cologne, Sept 2019.
Subject: Karma Yoga and results of actions. Prasadam. Attitude of Devotion to Ishvara. Roles in life. Vers 2:51 Bhagavad Gita. Clarity of purpose. Atma and body. Substance and form.
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Intuition of Reality – Vedanta Talk 17 by Ira Schepetin
Revision and conclusion. What is the meaning of ignorance? The oneness of the individual and the supreme reality. The method of Vedānta. How to get a sattvic mind. Jñāni. You are the happiness you are looking for. You have to go beyond the gunas but in the end there are not even gunas. Direct experience of the self. Tat tvam asi. Neti neti.
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Intuition of Reality – Vedanta Talk 16 by Ira Schepetin
How Ira met Swami Dayānanda. Q + A. Books of Shankaracharya. Study Brahma Sutras only with a qualified teacher. Vivekacūḍāmaṇi. Are Advaita Vedānta and Yoga Philosophy harmonious? Vedantic dhyana. Kaṭhopaniṣad and vedantic meditation. Books and articles of Ira.
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Intuition of Reality – Vedanta Talk 15 by Ira Schepetin
Introversion of the mind and the witness. Intellectual knowledge is not helpful. Discriminative wisdom comes only to bhaktas. Bhakti means love of god. Unless you turn your mind to him he won´t reveal himself to you. The highest teaching in Vedānta is not this not this. Q + A. Ira and his teacher. Mumukshuttva.
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