Sunday, April 12, 2009

Filled with Joy

"'You are the creator and destroyer,
And our protector. You shine as the sun
In the sky; you are the source of all light.

"'When you pour yourself down as rain on earth,
Every living creature is filled with joy
And knows food will be abundant for all.'"

-Prashna Upanishad

Make Flow the Streams

As rivers flow into the ocean but cannot make the vast ocean overflow, so flow the streams of the sense-world into the sea of peace that is the sage. But this is not so with the desirer of desires.

-Bhagavad Gita 2:70

Meditate on OM

Let us meditate on OM the imperishable, the beginning of prayer.

For as the earth comes from the waters, plants from earth, and man from plants, so man is speech, and speech is OM. Of all speech the essence is the Rig Veda, but Sama is the essence of Rig, and of Sama the essence is OM, the Udgitha.

This is the essence of essences, the highest, the eight rung, venerated above all that human beings hold holy. OM is the Self of all.


-Chandogya Upanishad

Paradise

In paradise there is [no such thing as] fear;
Thou art not there, nor shrinks one from old age.
Hunger and thirst, these two transcending,
Sorrow, surpassing, a man makes merry in paradise.

-Katha Upanishad

Wisdom Speaks Well

Wisdom speaks well, conveying each meaning clearly,
And listens for the subtlest sense in others' speech.

Men of wisdom befriend the wise and keep that friendship constant,
Not opening and closing like the petaled lotus.

-Tirukkural 43:424-425

Equal Eye

The infinite joy of touching Brahman is easily attained by those who are free from the burden of evil and established within themselves. They see the Self in every creature and all creation in the Self. With consciousness unified through meditation, they see everything with an equal eye.

-Bhagavad Gita 6:28-29

No Bounds

"The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my Mother." God reveals Himself in the form which His devotee loves most. His love for the devotee knows no bounds.

-Ramakrishna

Grow in Divine Consciousness

If you want to be a true doer of divine works, your first aim must be to be totally free from all desire and self-regarding ego. All your life must be an offering and a sacrifice to the Supreme; your only object in action shall be to serve, to receive, to fulfill, to become a manifesting instrument of the Divine Shakti in her works. You must grow in the divine consciousness till there is no difference between your will and hers, no motive except her impulsion in you, no action that is not her conscious action in you and through you.

-Sri Aurobindo

Friday, April 3, 2009

Light of Supreme Truth

In the light of the Sun
there is no difference between day and night.
In the light of the Supreme Truth
there is no difference between Shiva and Shakti.

-Jnaneshwar (also known as Jnanadeva)

Jubiliant Heart

A jubilant heart rejoices upon seeing
those who give without scoffing or scorning.

Deprived of beggars, this vast and verdant Earth would
become uncharitable, a ball for the play of wooden puppets.

-Tirukkural 106: 1057-1058

He is Serene

It is all the same to him.
Man or woman,
Good fortune or bad,
Happiness or sorrow.

It makes no difference.
He is serene.

-Ashtavakra Gita 17:15

Control over Thoughts

Whatever decision we think we are making is actually being made for us, because the decision is the end result of a thought and we have no control over the arising of the thought.

-Ramesh Balsekar

The Thirst of Material Pleasures

As clouds are blown away by the wind, the thirst for material pleasures will be driven away by the utterance of the Lord's name.

-Sri Sarada Devi

Sorrow

If a man inflicts sorrow on another in the morning,
Sorrow will come to him unbidden in the afternoon.

-Tirukkural 32:319

Preserve Good Conduct

Virtuous conduct leads a man to eminent greatness,
Therefore, it should be guarded as more precious than life itself.

In your striving, be mindful to preserve good conduct.
In your deliberations, discover it is your staunchest ally.

-Tirukkural 14: 131-132

Forget Everything

Let Hari teach you,
Or Brahman, born of the lotus,
Or Shiva Himself!

Unless you forget everything,
You will never live in your heart.

-Ashtavakra Gita 16:11

The Light of Brahman

The light of Brahman flashes in lightning;
The light of Brahman flashes in our eyes.
It is the power of Brahman that makes
The mind to think, desire, and will.
Therefore
Use this power to meditate on Brahman.

He is the inmost Self of everyone;
He alone is worthy of all our love.
Meditate upon him in all. Those who
Meditate upon him are dear to all.

-Kena Upanishad

Should you Trust a Stranger ?

To trust a stranger without investigation invites troubles
so endless that even descendants must endure them.

Without investigation, trust no one. Having investigated,
entrust a man with matters for which he is trustworthy.

To trust a man who has not been tested and to suspect a man
who has proven trustworthy lead alike to endless ills.

-Tirukkural 51: 508-510

The Wheel of Life

The Self is the hub of the wheel of life,
And the sixteen forms are only the spokes.
The Self is the paramount goal of life.
Attain this goal and go beyond death!

-Prashna Upanishad

Action and In-action

What is action and what is inaction? This question has confused the greatest sages. I will give you the secret of the action, with which you can free yourself from bondage. The true nature of action is difficult to grasp. You must understand what is action and what is inaction, and what kind of action should be avoided.

The wise see that there is action in the midst of inaction and inaction in the midst of action. Their consciousness is unified, and every act is done with complete awareness.

-Bhagavad Gita 4:16-17