What does it mean? It is a word to describe “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive.”
How is it possible for us to name this horrible word as the word of the year? It is the kind of word, which needs no explanation. Continue reading
How do I love thee? Sonnet 43.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height.
My soul can reach when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being an ideal grace.
A Red, Red rose. – Elizabeth Barret Browning
A story from Sikkim about two rivers. The tale goes that two rivers as lovers were created by the Goddess Ibn-moo. The names of the rivers were Rangeet and Rongnyu also known as Teesta. Continue reading
Yielding completely to God is called Atma nivedan. One’s faith should be so deep in God, that one submerges oneself fully in Him. In the Ramacharitamanas, it says “By the systematic practice of Navadha bhakti, one can reach a point of total self-surrender.” Continue reading
Which is it to be, my heart or my mind? I have read and thought about it and I share with you what the Gurus say.
The only basis for a true and lasting unity
Of all humanity is the religion of the heart.
People can only be united if they are free from jealousy, hatred and petty mindedness.
Purify your heart first.
Meet hatred with love and malice with goodwill.
The purer you make your heart,
The greater will be the power of your love. – Swami Sivananda
Look into your heart. Find out what special talent God has given you. Develop it and use it for the good of others. Eradicate negative qualities by practicing their opposite virtuous traits. Virtue begets virtue. If one virtue is developed, another virtue will automatically come to you. – Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Trees are like poems that the earth writes upon the sky. – Khalil Gibran
What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another. – Mahatma Gandhi
Continue reading
Which word do I prefer? Compassion or love. I will deal with love first.
Love is such a beautiful word. Just saying it makes one heart feel light. ‘To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.’
Compassion is that ‘We must treat others as we wish others to treat us.’ Continue reading
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