I desire you
More than food
And drink.
My body
My senses
My mind
Hunger for your taste
I can sense your presence
In my heart.
Although you belong
To all the world
I wait with silent passion
For one gesture
One glance
From you.
Whom do we desire, who are we seeking? Continue reading
A mind not to be changed by place or time
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heaven. – John Milton
Dear ones, how can we help ourselves? Our mind likes to be in charge and how is it in charge? It is in charge because it is full of thoughts, which are tugging at our feelings and emotions. It is compounding all our issues. We are beings led by our thoughts. Continue reading
Sri Swamiji said,
It should be understood that pratyahara means withdrawing the mind from the objects of sense experience, then the senses function according to the mind, and not vice versa. The capacities of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing are withdrawn from their objects and then the senses begin to follow the mind inward and not outward. This is withdrawal of the mind from the sense activities so that the sense organs also become introverted with the mind; they imitate the mind and follow it inside.
This is his description of pratyahara. Continue reading
Life is life—whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage. That which we call the Hindu religion is really the Eternal because it embraces all. Continue reading
Do you want to be always happy?
Then give up fighting
For negativity.
And learn the beautiful art
Of self-encouragement. – Sri Chinmoy
Space is a word used so freely. I was thinking about this word and the descriptions given are numerous. We use it in many ways. Giving examples, safe space, happy space, comfort space, emotional space, toxic space, unhealthy space. Continue reading
I am searching for a heart inside me
That’s ebullient by swallowing the entire pain of creation
That’s jubilant by accepting the entire tears of the world
That’s effervescent and clean
May I be able to share with all a heart
Like the earth and sky
Never exhausted by giving. – Nepalese poet Suman PokherelHeart endures when eye does not see. – Turkish Proverb
Meditate on the lotus of your heart. In the center is the untainted; the exquisitely pure, clear and sorrowless; the inconceivable; the unmanifest, of infinite form; blissful, tranquil, immortal; the womb of Brahma. – Kaivalyopanishad
In Sanskrit, the heart is defined as bhava, feeling or sentiment. It is not guided by the intellect or mind. It is natural and spontaneous. When the heart is guided by the mind, then there is constant change in behavior. The outcome is that as long as intellect guides the heart there is emotional and psychological struggles. Continue reading
Om Akashaay cha Vidhmahe
Nabho Devaay Dheemahi!
Thanno Gaganam Prachodayaat Om! Continue reading
“We can live freely within the essence of nature
Or stay in the confines of individual consciousness.
Our mind is modified by right and wrong knowledge,
Fancy, sleep, and memory.
Neither right nor wrong knowledge brings wisdom.
Fancy is not based on reality.
Sleep fails to release awareness.
Memory clings, giving no freedom.
Some of these things are painful,
Some are not painful
But burn them all together and find peace.” Swami Satyananda Saraswati
We read about seers and saints slipping into samadhi. There is a story about a Zen nun, who was returning with a pot of water on her head. The pot slipped from her head and with that accident she attained samadhi. Continue reading
There are two wars we all have to fight. One war is waged on the battlefield and the second war is within us. The first war is waged against external enemies and the second war is waged against our thoughts. Yoga enables us to fight the war within. Continue reading
The cotton tree yields cotton. This cotton is transformed into thread and then again into a piece of cloth. Then one dyes the cloth, cuts it and stitches it into a shirt, dress or coat. The substance is still cotton, but it has undergone various stages of transformation. Continue reading
’No’ is a two-letter word and yet it is a powerful word. ‘No’ can be looked at in many ways. Let us start with how does one feel when one says ‘No’? Is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? How would you view it? Continue reading
Maya is the greatest artist and juggler. She casts a spell on us and makes the impermanent permanent, the impure pure and pain becomes pleasure. We imagine that we will always have desires, passion and will always be in love. The whole world is a net of maya to ensnare us. Continue reading