What are the three things that most people do not know? And they wish to know them? Tevijja and Trayi Vidya describe these three virtues. Tevijja comes from Buddhism and Trayi Vidya is from Hinduism.
Tevijja describes these qualities: Continue reading
Trust is a word used by us frequently and its meaning is very powerful. The first and foremost is ‘Trust in God’.
Noun: Trust means the belief that someone is good, honest and sincere. One would not be cheated or tricked by him/her. Trust also means that there is a legal arrangement by which a person looks after the wealth for somebody until they are of age.
Verb: to believe that someone is honest and will not cheat or harm one.
Trust is having faith, belief or confidence in someone. Continue reading
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
The Latin root of Ether is aether, which means, “the upper, pure, bright air.” Ether was described as a substance that was said to fill all space and make up all bodies. Ether is the fifth and highest element after air, fire, water and earth. It is believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies. Continue reading
Om Akashaay cha Vidhmahe
Nabho Devaay Dheemahi!
Thanno Gaganam Prachodayaat Om! Continue reading
In the Jataveda form, fire is defined as he who knows all creatures. Agni acts as the divine model for the priest. He is the messenger who carries the oblation from humans to the gods, bringing the Gods to sacrifice and intercedes between gods and humans. (Rig Veda. 26.3) Continue reading
Divine grace is the ultimate answer to all our problems. You feel the presence of your friends, children, pain, worries and problems all the time, but one does not know how to feel the presence of God. Continue reading
Swamiji visited Hamburg in 1968. He said, “Yoga was the union between individual consciousness and divine consciousness. Yoga was not a religion, but a science, which when practiced brings tranquility within. Yoga is an act through which we go inwards, that is all; it is a process of communion with one’s inner self to unite the two different personalities.” Continue reading
Give your full attention to whatever you are doing and recognize the constant renewal of life all around you. Appreciate the beauty and spiritual radiance in people. Open your heart with compassion and accept people as they are. Lastly leave the past to God’s mercy, the future to his discretion. Live in the present with awareness and empathy. In your heart resides your soul. Let us make this our life long celebration of Easter. Continue reading
What is a mental selfie? A mental selfie is as you wish to see yourself. A beautiful self. What is a beautiful self? A beautiful self is when your face is lit up with love and kindness. How is that to happen? My dear ones, you will have to read a little more to understand. Continue reading
The more I live, the more I become convinced everyday that every human being is divine. In no man or woman however vile, does that divinity die… You must know what you are, what your real nature is. You must become conscious of that infinite nature within. Then your divine bondage will burst. – Swami Vivekananda
The main idea in Tantra is having faith in oneself, which according to Tantra is equivalent to having faith in God because neither Tantra nor Vedanta views God as something different from the person. Therefore, if we leave aside the idea of God sitting somewhere up in heaven while we are down here faith in God simply means having faith in ourselves, in what we do and express and achieve to the best of our ability—slowly and slowly developing the creative aspect of our personality. – Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Swami Satyananda Saraswati wrote:
The Vedas, Upanishads, rishis and munis have told us that atmabhava, sympathy and feeling oneness with others, identifying with their woes is Sarvatmabhava, all-encompassing affection for the creatures of the whole world.
God is here and now among human beings. Look for him where he is most needed, not in the temples where people are pouring their wealth on his idol. That God is very rich but the God living among the poor and the down trodden in the guise of a lame or blind person is needy. Go and look for him in destitution, hunger and poverty. Peace of mind is there in the temples but that is not the ultimate in life. You have to search for God. You have to find him in alleys, lanes and houses. This is the duty of saints, holy people as well as house holders. It is the duty of humanity.
Even though I practiced many hard and intense sadhanas I found that I was stationary. Only when a trace of atmabhava awakened within me that I started moving on the spiritual path.
Bolt your doors, remember the pin (code, key) and you will be safe. We have pins and passwords for all our activities. Without the pin we cannot function. There are hackers, who can hack into our accounts. We are afraid that we can have our password broken and it would wreak havoc in our lives. Continue reading
Yesterday I wrote about the daily practice of atmabhava and making it a part of our life. I also wrote about the different days of the week dedicated to the Gods. The point I am making is that we must be aware of God’s presence all the time. Many of us by fasting, only remember the specific God, because we desire something. The point here is fasting is good, it purifies one only if we have unconditional love for the divine. There is to be no expectations. The outcome is the divine is all knowing and without demanding, one’s wishes are fulfilled. Continue reading
The practice of Atmabhava (love for humanity) is like being aware of all the gods 24/7. We have seven days in the week and each day is allocated to a God.
Monday is dedicated to Shiva. Devotees fast for the whole day and can have one meal only. Fasting starts after sunrise. After rising from the bed, one should meditate on Shiva. Then have a bath and offer prayers to Shiva and Parvati. If fasting, wear white clothes. White flowers and white food are offered. Benefit is to receive Shiva’s blessings. Continue reading