Many of you are familiar with the German word, Innenwelt, which refers to the ‘inner world’. The inner world is the mental experience of the inner self which accompanies I. It can also be described as a mirror of oneself. It is a complicated and complex meaning and it manifests itself in one’s dreams. Continue reading
All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it…
And here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye…
But the eyes are blind, one must look with the heart.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. – Dalai Lama
Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another. – Alfred Adler
Feel the sentiments of others being like one’s own self. This is what Atmabhava means. It is a Sanskrit word that means the existence or being of one’s self. It is composed of the words atman and bhava. It also means all-encompassing affection, which is sympathy and feeling oneness with others, identifying with their woes. It is a pure form of worship of the Supreme Divine Being, the consciousness or God. 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 The capacities of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing are withdrawn from their objects and then the senses begin to follow the mind inward and not outward.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
We start our day with good morning, and end with good night. What is the meaning of this four-letter word?
As a noun, it can refer to our behavior that is morally right or acceptable. It can be something that will help somebody/something: advantage. Continue reading
Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky. – Hafez
Hafez is one of the most celebrated of poets in Iran. Continue reading
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to unmasked, it has no choice. – Franz Kafka
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that: Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. – Martin Luther King Jr.
So many of us enable and help others and then we feel that we have not been thanked. We say that person is ungrateful.
Swami Sivananda said that one should help those people, who do not even know that they have benefitted from our help. Continue reading
Dear ones, none of us is free from our thoughts? They are the culprits, who build on our feelings and emotions. They are very comfortably sitting on the sofas of our mind. They are chilling out and clapping their hands, when we listen to them and feel worse. What is interesting is that they are in everyone’s minds and they do not need to step out. Continue reading
From “Alice in Wonderland”.
If everybody minded their own business, the world would go faster than it does.
Concentrate on what you are doing and do not peer over other people’s shoulders.
If you believe me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain.
We must trust each other and be kind. That is all it takes to live in peace.
I don’t see how he can ever finish if he doesn’t begin.
This quote is about motivation. If we do not make an effort, how can we ever accomplish anything.
It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.
Do not live in the past. We are different each day and we should enjoy and accept this.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.
This is what we are constantly trying to understand, who are we. Let us apply these quotes to ourselves.
Aim Hrim Klim
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash
Revenge and despair are strong words. We can advise others not to seek revenge and not despair. As an advisor, one can offer comfort and counsel, but it is described as cold comfort. Continue reading
How do I surrender my ego? The most precious pearls of wisdom were given by my Guru Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He shares his experience of when he met Swami Sivananda. He felt his overwhelming influence. Continue reading
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
How do you look at yourself and your life? Do you perceive yourself as others view you in their mirror or see yourself in your own mirror? Are you your own person or do you dance to the tune of your friends? So many questions. How does one answer them? Do you accept the conflicting opinions around you, about yourself? Are your thoughts getting influenced by others? Continue reading
The Gita’s understanding of war includes a call to action for virtuous warriors, but also a prescription for the conduct that warriors should exhibit in battle. Call to action is to urge virtuous warriors to fight against vicious opponents.
Conduct in battle as prescribed by the Gita: A balance disposition towards pleasure and pain, gain and loss and victory and defeat. Warriors should be free of passion and hatred and instead exhibit restraint. Continue reading