Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Hindu Proverb

If given with love, a handful is sufficient.

- Hindu Proverb

Perennial Joy or Passing Pleasure?‏

Perennial joy or passing pleasure?
This is the choice one is to make always.
The wise recognize these two, but not
The ignorant. The first welcome what leads
To abiding joy, though painful at the time.
The latter run, goaded by their senses,
After what seems immediate pleasure.

-Katha Upanishad

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Egotistical, Violent, Arrogant, Lustful

Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.

-Bhagavad Gita 16:13–18

The Cavern of the Heart

From him come all the seas and the mountains,
The rivers and the plants that support life.
As the innermost Self of all, he dwells
Within the cavern of the heart.

-Mundaka Upanishad

Friday, July 18, 2008

Swami Vivekananda Speech at Chicago - Welcome Address

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Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

- Swami Vivekananda

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-- Welcome Address to World Parliament of Religions September 11th 1893

-- Picture of Swami Vivekananda at World Parliament of Religions 1893

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Destiny's Last Days

Destiny's last days may surge with oceanic change,
Yet men deemed perfectly good remain, like the shore, unchanged.

-Tirukkural 99:988

As a great fish swims

As a great fish swims between the banks of a river as it likes, so does the shining Self move between the states of dreaming and waking.

-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Cheerful Smile

Better than a gift given with a joyous heart
Are sweet words spoken with a cheerful smile.

-Tirukkural 92

Pure Awareness

Two from one!
This is the root of suffering.

Only perceive
That I am one without two,
Pure awareness, pure joy,
And all the world is false.

There is no other remedy!

-Ashtavakra Gita 2:16

Friday, July 11, 2008

Patanjali on the Laws of Life

The laws of life are five:
Nonviolence,
Truthfulness,
Integrity,
Chastity,
Nonattachment.

These laws are universal. Unaffected by time, place, birth, or circumstance, together they constitute the "Great Law of Life."

-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2:30-31

The Abode of the Universe

I rejoice in seeing you as you have never been seen before, yet I am filled with fear by this vision of you as the abode of the universe. Please let me see you again as the shining God of gods.

-Bhagavad Gita 11:45

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The whirling spokes of time

Some look upon the sun as our father
Who makes life possible with heat and rain
And divides time into months and seasons.
Others have seen him riding in wisdom
On his chariot, with seven colors
As horses and six wheels to represent
The whirling spokes of time.

-Prashna Upanishad

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Cling to the Feet of a Master

Cling to the feet of a master who can introduce you to yourself.

-Swami Veda Bharati