Reflected Awareness Sadhana
We are what our thoughts have made us; so, take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. – Swami Vivekananda
It is Valentines’ Day and there are so many expectations about it. The excitement for young persons is about how many valentines and gifts one will get. As we get older, we still have an element of wishful thinking, maybe one’s ego comes into play. Continue reading
The bard William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets describe love in an immortal way. We do not have to go deeper.
Love is not love, which alters when its alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken. – Sonnet 116
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore, is winged cupid painted blind. – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, scene 1, Lines 240—241
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain. – Venus and Adonis, line 799
The course of true love never did run smooth. – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, scene 1, line 136
When you depart from me, sorrow abides and happiness takes his leave. – Much Ado About Nothing, Act 1, scene 1, lines 99—100
Aim Hrim Klim
Dear ones, do you make lists? If you do, what is in your list? I will not pry but I have been making lists since I could write. I have taught my sons to do the same. Writing a list, frees one of anxiety. Sometimes it makes one so free, that one forgets what had to do. I am coming to something different now. Continue reading
I quote from The Tirukkural, translated by Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
When one has an envious or jealous thought, or one is ruthless in criticizing someone how does one feel? Look at your face in the mirror and within your heart. Continue reading
Swami Sivananda describes love as Sara Vastu (true substance) in this world.
It is eternal, infinite and undecaying. Feel that all beings are images of God. Feel that your body is a moving temple of God. Whatever activity you are performing, it is an offering. Become a witness and you will enjoy the highest peace and bliss.
Who is a Sufi? A Sufi is a member of an Islamic religious group that attempts to become united with God by living a simple life by praying and meditating and can also be a roaming Dervish. A Dervish is a member of a Muslim religious order (Sufi), noted for devotional exercises. He is one who whirls or dances with abandonment. Continue reading
I know dear ones what you are thinking. Do I love unconditionally or conditionally. Look around you.
Who loves you unconditionally? Shall I tell you? A dog. A dog serves you, wakes you up in the morning, makes you feel good and loved. Never makes demands on you and is always understanding if the meal is delayed. If you accidentally step on the dog, it will lick you and say I know that you did it unintentionally. Continue reading
Live in the presence of the Divine Mother. Close your eyes and visualize nature. Nature with her diamond, dazzling stars, the milky way, the flowers, the birds, clouds, mountains, sky – the countless beauties of creation – is the Divine Mother. In nature you behold the divine aspect of God, which is the mother. It is full of human kindness, beauty, gentleness and kindness. The beauty in the world bespeaks the creative motherly instinct of God, and when we look upon all good in nature, we experience a feeling of tenderness within us – we can see and feel God as Mother in nature. – Swami Yogananda
Dear ones, all of us love nature and it does not matter whether we are females, males or trans. This love that we experience is maternal love and love which is unconditional. We all have it in us and it has nothing to do with what gender we are. And that is the miracle of God. Continue reading
O Love, I see Thy glowing face in the gems. I behold Thy shy blush in the blossoms. I am enraptured, hearing Thee warble in the birds. And I dream in ecstasy when my heart embraces Thee in all hearts’ love, I met Thee in all things – only a little and for a while – but in Omnipresence I clasp Thee entirely and forever, and I rejoice in Thy joy evermore.
Love is a golden mansion in which the King of Eternity homes the entire family of creation. And at God’s command, love is a mystic fire that can melt the grossness of the cosmos into the invisible substance of eternal love.
Like a river, love flows continuously through humble, sincere souls; but it bypasses the rocks of egotistic, selfish, sense-bound souls, because it cannot pass through them.
Divine Romance by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda. Continue reading
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break,
that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know of pain. – Khalil Gibran
Mothers are a special category of human beings. They are filled with unconditional love and they are forgiving. One does not have to be a mother to have Matri bhava (maternal love). One can have love for people and other God’s creatures, which is also considered Matri bhava. Matri Devo Bhava means one for whom Mother is God. Continue reading
Dear ones, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I came across these eight, Greek words for love. Some will make your heart light and joyous. Continue reading
Do we recall the gift God gave us in Jesus? What comes in our minds when we think of Christmas? We worry about our gifts exchange. We think that if our gift is not right, it will be misunderstood. Have we forgotten that we are loved, are never alone and can hope for the future? Continue reading
Love and Friendship
Love is like the wild rose briar,
Friendship like the holly–tree
The holly tree is dark, when the rose–briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?
The wild–rose briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till the winter comes again
And who will call the wild–briar fair?
Then scorn the silly rose–wreath now
And deck thee with holly’s sheen,
That when December
Blights thy brow
He may still leave the garland green.
By Emily Bronte. Continue reading
We are always told to tell the truth and most of us respect it. Have you considered the definitions of truth. Half-truth means that only part of the truth is told and it is used deliberately in order to mislead someone. It is also described as a cowardly lie. White lie means an exaggeration for a half truth. Other words which are used to describe a half-truth are story, stratagem, fiction, rumor etc. It is what we chose to believe. Continue reading