All followers of God, seek salvation.
Salvation has many meanings. We want preservation from harm, ruin and loss. We want freedom from our sins and karma. We desire liberation of our spirit. We want redemption, and restoration for ourselves and earth. We want to salvage our environment and restore it to its pristine form. Continue reading
There are five sacrifices which we must offer daily and these are spoken about by all Gurus. There are five Gods also associated with the sacrifices.
Each one of these has an outer and external meaning. Continue reading
by Dr Radhakrishnan and Swami Sivananda
Dr Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most learned of Hindu Scholars. He was a philosopher, author, statesman and educationalist. His birthday on 5th September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. He was a former President of India and a professor of Eastern Religions at Oxford university. He was also named “Knight of the Golden Army of Angels,” the Vatican’s highest honor for a Head of State. Continue reading
Where the mind is without fear
And the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is lead forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my
Father let my country awake. – Rabindranath Tagore
This poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore during India’s pre-independence days. The poet is writing that a country should have people living without fear and with dignity. 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
Butterflies can’t see their wings. They can’t see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well. – Anonymous
Behold the joys of beauty. Admire the brilliance of the diamond in the darkest coal mine. Look at the luster of the eyes in the ugliest face. To one blessed with insight, whatever s/he sees is touched by the divine painter, who expresses himself in such infinite and ineffable beauty. – Swami Sivananda
We all love our possessions and are happy to be possessed by them. Many of us tend to think of our loved ones as possessions. When you look at the meaning of this word, it means ownership, custody. Is it possible to own someone? What happens to us when we think of some object as belonging to us? It grasps us and we wish to have it with us, permanently. Continue reading
Chaitra Navratri signifies the creation of the universe and the beginning of the universe and beings. Durga Ma was engaged in the procreation of the world and therefore this festival is considered to be the beginning of the Hindu year. It also demonstrates the synergy between Devi and Rama. What is our role and how can we celebrate Chaitra Navratri with our hearts and souls. Continue reading
Osho spoke,
The third eye is where one puts the tilak, the vermilion mark on the forehead. It was devised as a symbol of that unknown world. This point is not in the same place for everyone. It is said that if someone has meditated for a long time in his/her past lives and has had a small experience of samadhi his/her third eye will be lower down. If no meditation has been done, the place on the forehead is higher up. It can be determined by the position of this point, what the state of one’s meditation was in one’s past life; it will indicate whether the state of samadhi ever happened to one in one’s past life. If it happened often then, this point will have come down lower, it will be at the same level as one’s eyes—it cannot go lower than that. If this point has come in line with one’s eyes, then one can enter samadhi. The happening is so small that it is insignificant.
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.
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
Today it is Rishi Sukadev’s 60th birthday. Happy Birthday. Celebrate with us this special day by always remembering what Swami Sivananda said in the Yoga of Synthesis:
Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize, be good, do good, be kind, be compassionate. Continue reading
As spoken of by a Guru.
In the world of sorrow,
pain and trouble,
desires go on erupting.
Bear with everything,
This world is a festival
That lasts for a very short time.
It is a very powerful sentence. Love automatically refers to one being kind and generous to the loved one. Serve means that one is happy to serve a loved one. Lastly giving one’s loved one makes one happy. The answer here is that to love, serve and give completely to all.
Do everything in love. – Corinthian 16:14
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is what you give of yourself that you truly give. – Khalil Gibran
It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out. The value of man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving. – Albert Einstein
No one has ever become poorer by giving. – Anne Frank
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. – Pablo Picasso
Love, serve, give. – Swami Sivananda