"Be an Angel with Divine Powers"
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Mystic Secrets of a Yogi
Mystic Secrets of a Yogi
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Tasting the Divine Romance
Tasting the Divine Romance
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Travelling Along the Mystical Path
Travelling Along the Mystical Path
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Entering the Secret Gate
Entering the Secret Gate
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Journey of the Spiritual Birds
The Journey of the Spiritual Birds
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Knowledge of the Gods
Knowledge of the Gods
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Prayer of the Angels
Prayer of the Angels
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Pilgrimage of the Sacred Birds
Pilgrimage of the Sacred Birds
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Divine Dialogue
The Divine Dialogue
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Song of the Lord
The Song of the Lord
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Song Celestial
The Song Celestial
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Whisper of the Gods
The Whisper of the Gods
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Decoding the Ancient Wisdom
Decoding the Ancient Wisdom
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Alchemy of Ecstasy
The Alchemy of Ecstasy
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Tale of the Mystic Birds
The Tale of the Mystic Birds
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Conference of the Angels
The Conference of the Angels
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Songs of the Mystic Weaver
The Songs of the Mystic Weaver
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Whispers from the Mystic Woods
Whispers from the Mystic Woods
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Book of Mystic Meditations
The Book of Mystic Meditations
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Whispers of the Gods
Whispers of the Gods
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Breadth of Eternity
Breadth of Eternity
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Wisdom of the Ancient Sages
Wisdom of the Ancient Sages
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Wisdom of the Forest
Wisdom of the Forest
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Divine Revelation of Cosmic Beauty
Divine Revelation of Cosmic Beauty
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Brilliant Play of the Mystic Light
Brilliant Play of the Mystic Light
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Essence of the Cosmic Womb
The Essence of the Cosmic Womb
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Cosmic Death and Rebirth
Cosmic Death and Rebirth
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Great Awakening of the Cosmic Fire
Great Awakening of the Cosmic Fire
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Praise and Worship Through Singing
Praise and Worship Through Singing
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Sea of Eternity and Perfect Peace
Sea of Eternity and Perfect Peace
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Divine Chorus In the Mystic Valley
Divine Chorus In the Mystic Valley
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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अनंत काल का सागर और उत्तम शांति
अनंत काल का सागर और उत्तम शांति
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Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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In Celebration of Belief and Faith
In Celebration of Belief and Faith

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Birth of the Spiritual Man and Ideal Society
Birth of the Spiritual Man and Ideal Society

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Awakening of Divine Intelligence
The Awakening of Divine Intelligence

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Magic of Divine Consciousness
The Magic of Divine Consciousness

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Heavens Gift of Soul Consciousness
The Heavens Gift of Soul Consciousness

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Hidden Cosmic Secrets and Miracle of Creation
Hidden Cosmic Secrets and Miracle of Creation

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Evil and Darkness
Evil and Darkness

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Understanding Death and Dissolution
Understanding Death and Dissolution

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Escaping the Prison House of Death and Birth
Escaping the Prison House of Death and Birth

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Death Whispers in the Silent Night
Death Whispers in the Silent Night

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Escaping the Prison of Desire
Escaping the Prison of Desire

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Chasing Cosmic Destiny and Fate
Chasing Cosmic Destiny and Fate

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Whispers of Eternity
Whispers of Eternity

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Secret World of Divinity
The Secret World of Divinity

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Bondage and Freedom
Bondage and Freedom

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Knowledge of Angels and Men
Knowledge of Angels and Men

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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The Sacred Path of Meditat
The Sacred Path of Meditat

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Songs for Mother Earth
Songs for Mother Earth

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Hearing the Pure Mystic Voices from the Eternal Deeps
Hearing the Pure Mystic Voices from the Eternal Deeps

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Prayers from the Heart
Prayers from the Heart

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Celebration of Our Ancestors
Celebration of Our Ancestors

Author: Anand Krishna

Author: Anand Krishna
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Poem On: Death
O Life Why Do You Leave Me in Such a Hurry

O life why don’t you take me along in the final journey.
O life why are you so heartless.
O life why do you discard me.
O life why are you so heartless.
O life why don’t you listen.
O life why do you leave me in such a hurry.

O life why don’t you take me along.
O life why do you leave me as well as all that I own.
O life why do you forsake the palace that I built.
O life why do you leave the queen in my palace.
O life why do you forsake the progeny that I bred.
O life why do you leave me in such a hurry.

O life why don’t you be my lifelong partner.
O life why do you render me lifeless.
O life why do you put me to the pyre.
O life who do you allow me to burn to ashes.
O life did he not bring us together.
O life why do you snap the divine link.
O life why do you leave me in such a hurry.

Why build a palace for thee! O mortal!
Do you know where your corpse shall lie on your death.
Don’t you know your real need.
Why do you crave for more.
Why do you confiscate so much of land.
When all you need is a place to be buried.
O life why do you leave me in such a hurry.

On my death my body shall be covered with shroud.
On my death my life’s final journey shall start.
On my death all my mortal links vlxx shall snap.
On my death the burning logs shall be my only companion.
On my death the burial ground shall be my only abode.
O life why do you leave me in such a hurry.

Poem from   The Songs of the Mystic Weaver    By Anand Krishna
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The Practice of Religion
Author: Swami Vivekananda

We read many books, many scriptures. We get various ideas from our childhood, and change them every now and then. We understand what is meant by theoretical religion. We think we understand what is meant by practical religion. Now I am going to present to you my idea of practical religion.

We hear all around us about practical religion, and analysing all that, we find that it can be brought down to one conception — charity to our fellow beings. Is that all of religion? Every day we hear in this country about practical Christianity — that a man has done some good to his fellow beings. Is that all?

What is the goal of life? Is this world the goal of life? Nothing more? Are we to be just what we are, nothing more? Is man to be a machine which runs smoothly without a hitch anywhere? Are all the sufferings he experiences today all he can have, and doesn't he want anything more?

The highest dream of many religions is the world. ... The vast majority of people are dreaming of the time when there will be no more disease, sickness, poverty, or misery of any kind. They will have a good time all around. Practical religion, therefore, simply means. "Clean the streets! Make it nice!" We see how all enjoy it.

Is enjoyment the goal of life? Were it so, it would be a tremendous mistake to become a man at all. What man can enjoy a meal with more gusto than the dog or the cat ? Go to a menagerie and see the [wild animals] tearing the flesh from the bone. Go back and become a bird! . . . What a mistake then to become a man! Vain have been my years — hundreds of years — of struggle only to become the man of sense-enjoyments.

Mark, therefore, the ordinary theory of practical religion, what it leads to. Charity is great, but the moment you say it is all, you run the risk of running into materialism. It is not religion. It is no better than atheism - a little less. ... You Christians, have you found nothing else in the Bible than working for fellow creatures, building . . . hospitals ? . . . Here stands a shopkeeper and says how Jesus would have kept the shop! Jesus would neither have kept a saloon, nor a shop, nor have edited a newspaper. That sort of practical religion is good, not bad; but it is just kindergarten religion. It leads nowhere. . . . If you believe in God, if you are Christians and repeat everyday, "Thy will be done", just think what it means! You say every moment, "Thy will be done", really meaning, "My will be done by Thee, O God." The Infinite is working His own plans out. Even He has made mistakes, and you and I are going to remedy that! The Architect of the universe is going to be taught by the carpenters! He has left the world a dirty hole, and you are going to make it a beautiful place!

What is the goal of it all? Can senses ever be the goal? Can enjoyment of pleasure ever be the goal? Can this life ever be the goal of the soul? If it is, better die this moment; do not want this life! If that is the fate of man, that he is going to be only the perfected machine, it would just mean that we go back to being trees and stones and things like that. Did you ever hear a cow tell a lie or see a tree steal? They are perfect machines. They do not make mistakes. They live in a world where everything is finished. ...

What is the ideal of religion, then, if this cannot be practical [religion]? And it certainly cannot be. What are we here for? We are here for freedom, for knowledge. We want to know in order to make ourselves free. That is our life: one universal cry for freedom. What is the reason the . . . plant grows from the seed, overturning the ground and raising itself up to the skies? What is the offering for the earth from the sun? What is your life? The same struggle for freedom. Nature is trying all around to suppress us, and the soul wants to express itself. The struggle with nature is going on. Many things will be crushed and broken in this struggle for freedom. That is your real misery. Large masses of dust and dirt must be raised on the battlefield. Nature says, "I will conquer." The soul says, "I must be the conqueror." Nature says, "Wait! I will give you a little enjoyment to keep you quiet." The soul enjoys a little, becomes deluded a moment, but the next moment it [cries for freedom again]. Have you marked the eternal cry going on through the ages in every breast? We are deceived by poverty. We become wealthy and are deceived with wealth. We are ignorant. We read and learn and are deceived with knowledge. No man is ever satisfied. That is the cause of misery, but it is also the cause of all blessing. That is the sure sign. How can you be satisfied with this world? . . . If tomorrow this world becomes heaven, we will say, "Take this away. Give us something else."

The infinite human soul can never be satisfied but by the Infinite itself .... Infinite desire can only be satisfied by infinite knowledge — nothing short of that. Worlds will come and go. What of that? The soul lives and for ever expands. Worlds must come into the soul. Worlds must disappear in the soul like drops in the ocean. And this world to become the goal of the soul! If we have common sense, we cannot he satisfied, though this has been the theme of the poets in all the ages, always telling us to be satisfied. And nobody has been satisfied yet! Millions of prophets have told us, "Be satisfied with your lot"; poets sing. We have told ourselves to be quiet and satisfied, yet we are not. It is the design of the Eternal that there is nothing in this world to satisfy my soul, nothing in the heavens above, and nothing beneath. Before the desire of my soul, the stars and the worlds, upper and lower, the whole universe, is but a hateful disease, nothing but that. That is the meaning. Everything is an evil unless that is the meaning. Every desire is evil unless that is the meaning, unless you understand its true importance, its goal. All nature is crying through all the atoms for one thing — its perfect freedom.

What is practical religion, then? To get to that state — freedom, the attainment of freedom. And this world, if it helps us on to that goal, [is] all right; if not — if it begins to bind one more layer on the thousands already there, it becomes an evil. Possessions, learning, beauty, everything else — as long as they help us to that goal, they are of practical value. When they have ceased helping us on to that goal of freedom, they are a positive danger. What is practical religion, then? Utilise the things of this world and the next just for one goal — the attainment of freedom. Every enjoyment, every ounce of pleasure is to be bought by the expenditure of the infinite heart and mind combined.

Look at the sum total of good and evil in this world. Has it changed? Ages have passed, and practical religion has worked for ages. The world thought that each time the problem would be solved. It is always the same problem. At best it changes its form. ... It trades consumption and nerve disease for twenty thousand shops.  . . . It is like old rheumatism: Drive it from one place, it goes to another. A hundred years ago man walked on foot or bought horses. Now he is happy because he rides the railroad; but he is unhappy because he has to work more and earn more. Every machine that saves labour puts more stress upon labour.

This universe, nature, or whatever you call it, must be limited; it can never be unlimited. The Absolute, to become nature, must be limited by time, space, and causation. The energy [at our disposal] is limited. You can spend it in one place, losing it in another. The sum total is always the same. Wherever there is a wave in one place, there is a hollow in another. If one nation becomes rich, others become poor. Good balances evil. The person for the moment on top of the wave thinks all is good; the person at the bottom says the world is [all evil]. But the man who stands aside sees the divine play going on. Some weep and others laugh. The latter will weep in their turn and the others laugh. What can we do ? We know we cannot do anything. ...

Which of us do anything because we want to do good? How few! They can be counted on the fingers. The rest of us also do good, but because we are forced to do so. ... We cannot stop. Onward we go, knocked about from place to place. What can we do? The world will be the same world, the earth the same. It will be changed from blue to brown and from brown to blue. One language translated into another, one set of evils changed into another set of evils — that is what is going on. ... Six of one, half a dozen of the other. The American Indian in the forest cannot attend a lecture on metaphysics as you can, but he can digest his meal. You cut him to pieces, and the next moment he is all right. You and I, if we get scratched, we have to go to the hospital for six months. ...

The lower the organism, the greater is its pleasure in the senses. Think of the lowest animals and the power of touch. Everything is touch. ... When you come to man, you will see that the lower the civilization of the man, the greater is the power of the senses. ... The higher the organism, the lesser is the pleasure of the senses. A dog can eat a meal, but cannot understand the exquisite pleasure of thinking about metaphysics. He is deprived of the wonderful pleasure which you get through the intellect. The pleasures of the senses are great. Greater than those is the pleasure of the intellect. When you attend the fine fifty-course dinner in Paris, that is pleasure indeed. But in the observatory, looking at the stars, seeing . . . worlds coming and developing — think of that! It must be greater, for I know you forget all about eating. That pleasure must be greater than what you get from worldly things. You forget all about wives, children, husbands, and everything; you forget all about the sense-plane. That is intellectual pleasure. It is common sense that it must be greater than sense pleasure. It is always for greater joy that you give up the lesser. This is practical religion — the attainment of freedom, renunciation. Renounce!

Renounce the lower so that you may get the higher. What is the foundation of society? Morality, ethics, laws. Renounce. Renounce all temptation to take your neighbour's property, to put hands upon your neighbour, all the pleasure of tyrannising over the weak, all the pleasure of cheating others by telling lies. Is not morality the foundation of society? What is marriage but the renunciation of unchastity? The savage does not marry. Man marries because he renounces. So on and on. Renounce! Renounce! Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing. But to get the higher. But who can do this? You cannot, until you have got the higher. You may talk. You may struggle. You may try to do many things. But renunciation comes by itself when you have got the higher. Then the lesser falls away by itself.

This is practical religion. What else? Cleaning streets and building hospitals? Their value consists only in this renunciation. And there is no end to renunciation. The difficulty is they try to put a limit to it — thus far and no farther. But there is no limit to this renunciation.

Where God is, there is no other. Where the world is, there is no God. These two will never unite. [Like] light and darkness. That is what I have understood from Christianity and the life of the Teacher. Is not that Buddhism? Is not that Hinduism? Is not that Mohammedanism? Is not that the teaching of all the great sages and teachers? What is the world that is to be given up? It is here. I am carrying it all with me. My own body. It is all for this body that I put my hand voluntarily upon my fellow man, just to keep it nice and give it a little pleasure; [all for this body] that I injure others and make mistakes. ...

Great men have died. Weak men have died. Gods have died. Death — death everywhere. This world is a graveyard of the infinite past, yet we cling to this [body]: "I am never going to die". Knowing for sure [that the body must die] and yet clinging to it. There is meaning in that too [because in a sense we do not die]. The mistake is that we cling to the body when it is the spirit that is really immortal.

You are all materialists, because you believe that you are the body. If a man gives me a hard punch, I would say I am punched. If he strikes me, I would say I am struck. If I am not the body, why should I say so? It makes no difference if I say I am the spirit. I am the body just now. I have converted myself into matter. That is why I am to renounce the body, to go back to what I really am. I am the spirit — the soul no instrument can pierce, no sword can cut asunder, no fire can burn, no air can dry. Unborn and uncreated, without beginning and without end, deathless, birthless and omnipresent — that is what I am; and all misery comes just because I think this little lump of clay is myself. I am identifying myself with matter and taking all the consequences.

Practical religion is identifying myself with my Self. Stop this wrong identification! How far are you advanced in that? You may have built two thousand hospitals, built fifty thousand roads, and yet what of that, if you, have not realised that you are the spirit? You die a dog's; death, with the same feelings that the dog does. The dog howls and weeps because he knows that he is only matter and he is going to be dissolved.

There is death, you know, inevitable death, in water, in air, in the palace, in the prison - death everywhere. What makes you fearless? When you have realised what you are — that infinite spirit, deathless, birthless. Him no fire can burn, no instrument kill, no poison hurt. Not theory, mind you. Not reading books. . . . [Not parroting.] My old Master used to say, "It is all very good to teach the parrot to say, 'Lord, Lord, Lord' all the time; but let the cat come and take hold of its neck, it forgets all about it" [You may] pray all the time, read all the scriptures in the world, and worship all the gods there are, [but] unless you realise the soul there is no freedom. Not talking, theorising, argumentation, but realisation. That I call practical religion.

This truth about the soul is first to be heard. If you have heard it, think about it. Once you have done that, meditate upon it. No more vain arguments! Satisfy yourself once that you are the infinite spirit. If that is true, it must be nonsense that you are the body. You are the Self, and that must be realised. Spirit must see itself as spirit. Now the spirit is seeing itself as body. That must stop. The moment you begin to realise that, you are released.

You see this glass, and you know it is simply an illusion. Some scientists tell you it is light and vibration. ... Seeing the spirit must be infinitely more real: than that, must be the only true state, the only true sensation, the only true vision. All these [objects you see], are but dreams. You know that now. Not the old idealists alone, but modern physicists also tell you that light is there. A little more vibration makes all the difference. ...

You must see God. The spirit must be realised, and that is practical religion. It is not what Christ preached that you call practical religion: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Was it a joke? What is the practical religion you are thinking, of? Lord help us! "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." That means street-cleaning, hospital-building, and all that? Good works, when you do them with a pure mind. Don't give the man twenty dollars and buy all the papers in San Francisco to see your name! Don't you read in your own books how no man will help you? Serve as worship of the Lord Himself in the poor, the miserable, the weak. That done, the result is secondary. That sort of work, done without any thought of gain, benefits the soul. And even of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is within us. He is there. He is the soul of all souls. See Him in your own soul. That is practical religion. That is freedom. Let us ask each other how much we are advanced in that: how much we are worshippers of the body, or real believers in God, the spirit; how much we believe ourselves to be spirit. That is selfless. That is freedom. That is real worship. Realise yourself. That is all there is to do. Know yourself as you are — infinite spirit. That is practical religion. Everything else is impractical, for everything else will vanish. That alone will never vanish. It Is eternal. Hospitals will tumble down. Railroad givers will all die. This earth will be blown to pieces, suns wiped out. The soul endureth for ever.

Which is higher, running after these things which perish or. . . . worshipping that which never changes? Which is more practical, spending all the energies of life in getting things, and before you have got them death comes and you have to leave them all? — like the great [ruler] who conquered all, [who when] death came, said, "Spread out all the jars of things before me." He said "Bring me that big diamond." And he placed it on his breast and wept. Thus weeping, he died the same as the dog dies.

Man says, "I live." He knows not that it is [the fear of] death that makes him cling slavishly to life. He says "I enjoy." He never dreams that nature has enslaved him.

Nature grinds all of us. Keep count of the ounce of pleasure you get. In the long run, nature did her work through you, and when you die your body will make other plants grow. Yet we think all the time that we are getting pleasure ourselves. Thus the wheel goes round.

Therefore to realise the spirit as spirit is practical religion. Everything else is good so far as it leads to this one grand idea. That [realization] is to be attained by renunciation, by meditation — renunciation of all the senses, cutting the knots, the chains that bind us down to matter. "I do not want to get material life, do not want the sense-life, but something higher." That is renunciation. Then, by the power of meditation, undo the mischief that has been done.

We are at the beck and call of nature. If there is sound outside, I have to hear it. If something is going on, I have to see it. Like monkeys. We are two thousand monkeys concentrated, each one of us. Monkeys are very curious. So we cannot help ourselves, and call this "enjoying". Wonderful this language! We are enjoying the world! We cannot help enjoying it. Nature wants us to do it. A beautiful sound: I am hearing it. As if I could choose to hear it or not! Nature says, "Go down to the depths of misery." I become miserable in a moment. ... We talk about pleasures [of the senses] and possessions. One man thinks me very learned. Another thinks, "He is a fool." This degradation, this slavery, without knowing anything! In the dark room we are knocking our heads against each other.

What is meditation? Meditation is the power which enables us to resist all this. Nature may call us, "Look there is a beautiful thing!" I do not look. Now she says, "There is a beautiful smell; smell it! " I say to my nose, "Do not smell it", and the nose doesn't. "Eyes, do not see!" Nature does such an awful thing - kills one of my children, and says, "Now, rascal, sit down and weep! Go to the depths!" I say, "I don't have to." I jump up. I must be free. Try it sometimes. ... [In meditation], for a moment, you can change this nature. Now, if you had that power in yourself, would not that be heaven, freedom? That is the power of meditation.

How is it to be attained? In a dozen different ways. Each temperament has its own way. But this is the general principle: get hold of the mind. The mind is like a lake, and every stone that drops into it raises waves. These waves do not let us see what we are. The full moon is reflected in the water of the lake, but the surface is so disturbed that we do not see the reflection clearly. Let it be calm. Do not let nature raise the wave. Keep quiet, and then after a little while she will give you up. Then we know what we are. God is there already, but the mind is so agitated, always running after the senses. You close the senses and [yet] you whirl and whirl about. Just this moment I think I am all right and I will meditate upon God, and then my mind goes to London in one minute. And if I pull it away from there, it goes to New York to think about the things I have done there in the past. These [waves] are to be stopped by the power of meditation.

Slowly and gradually we are to train ourselves. It is no joke — not a question of a day, or years, or maybe of births. Never mind! The pull must go on. Knowingly, voluntarily, the pull must go on. Inch by inch we will gain ground. We will begin to feel and get real possessions, which no one can take away from us — the wealth that no man can take, the wealth that nobody can destroy, the joy that no misery can hurt any more. ...

All these years we have depended upon others. If I have a little pleasure and that person goes away, my pleasure is gone. ... See the folly of man: he depends for happiness upon men! All separations are misery. Naturally. Depending upon wealth for happiness? There is fluctuation of wealth. Depending upon health or upon anything except the unchangeable spirit must bring misery today or tomorrow.

Excepting the infinite spirit, everything else is changing. There is the whirl of change. Permanence is nowhere except in yourself. There is the infinite joy, unchanging. Meditation is the gate that opens that to us. Prayers, ceremonials, and all the other forms of worship are simply kindergartens of meditation. You pray, you offer something. A certain theory existed that everything raised one's spiritual power. The use of certain words, flowers, images, temples, ceremonials like the waving of lights brings the mind to that attitude, but that attitude is always in the human soul, nowhere else. [People] are all doing it; but what they do without knowing it, do knowingly. That is the power of meditation. All knowledge you have — how did it come? From the power of meditation. The soul churned the knowledge out of its own depths. What knowledge was there ever outside of it? In the long run this power of meditation separates ourselves from the body, and then the soul knows itself as it is — the unborn, the deathless, and birthless being. No more is there any misery, no more births upon this earth, no more evolution. [The soul knows itself as having] ever been perfect and free.

Reference: http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info
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Prayer for God's Blessing of One's Daily Work

 

O Lord, My God, Creator and Ruler of the universe it is Your Will that human beings accept the duty of work. May the work I do bring growth in this life to me and those I love and help to extend the Kingdom of Heaven. Give all persons work that draws them to You and to each other in cheerful service.

I beg Your Blessing upon all my efforts, help me to do the work You have asked and come to the reward You have prepared.

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Adapt an Astrological Name
Find the best baby name for your child which is perfect based on astrology and your child's Zodiac Sign. This is an astrology based names finder to find a name which brings him/her good luck and fortune in future.
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Priorities

 

You have exactly one life to live to do everything you ever wanted. Stop wasting it caught up in things that don’t matter.

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Srimad Bhagavad Gita
(Geeta Verse - 7)
 
Mere knowledge of agreeable and disagreeable senses is not bad. But attachment with and aversion to them is a fault. Not to be affected by such an evil is expressed by the term ‘endure them’. Moreover, body, the sense organs and their actions have a beginning and an end. But the perceiver, the ‘I” never changes and therefore we should remain unaffected by such transitory and fleeting experiences which is called ‘endurance’.
 
WHAT GOOD COMES TO HIM WHO ENDURES THESE DESIRABLE AND UNDESIRABLE SITUATIONS?
 
yam hi na vyathayantyete purusham purusharshabha
samaduhkha sukham dheeram so’mritatwaaya kalpate // 2.15 //
That calm man who remains unchanged in pain and pleasure, whom these cannot disturb, alone is able, O greatest amongst men, to attain immortality.
 
Titiksha or the power of endurance of the pairs of opposites advocated here does not mean a meek submission to sorrows in life (Stoic philosophy) but signifies the equipoise of mind in both pleasure and pain entertained by a wise man based on the knowledge of the Soul’s immortality.
 
Endurance, coupled with the discrimination between the real and the unreal and detachment from the worldly objects and pleasures, prepares the aspirant for right knowledge, which alone leads to liberation.
 
Vedanta defines endurance as the bearing of all afflictions without wishing to redress them, while being free from all anxiety or regret on their account.
 
This perfect sameness or equanimity amidst the ills of life means full and unbroken consciousness of our oneness with the immortal Self. At that stage a person becomes fit for attaining immortality or knowledge of Self - the ultimate goal of life. Immortality means the infinite experience of the Eternal and the Permanent. Eternal life does not mean survival of death, but it is the transcendence of life and death.
 
HOW THE SOUL IS ETERNAL AND HOW THE CONTACTS WITH SENSORY OBJECTS ARE TRANSITORY? THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE REAL AND THE UNREAL. ADDITIONAL EXPLANATIONS.
 
naasato vidyate bhaavo naabhaavo vidyate satah
ubhayorapi drishto’ntastwanayos tattwadarshibhih // 2.16 //
The unreal has no existence. The Real never ceases to be (never ceases to exist). Men possessed of the knowledge of the Truth fully know both these.
 
This verse indicates that the mental tranquility can accrue only through right interpretation of life. Right interpretation of life involves knowing what is Real and what is un-Real. The distinction between these two is dealt with here.
 
The Real is that which has no change and remains the same in all periods of time - past, present and future. It always is. The unreal is that which does not remain the same for two successive moments. Whatever did not exist in the past or will not exist in the future cannot really exist in the present. That which is not in the beginning and which will not be in the end, but which seemingly exists in the present is called un-Real. Any object conditioned by the law pf cause and effect is not absolutely real because every effect is a change brought about by a cause and every cause is temporary.
 
The life is finite. The body changes every moment, mind evolves and intellect grows with the passage of time. Each change in the body for example from childhood to youth and from youth to old age results in the constant death to its previous state. Body, mind and intellect constitute the continuous succession of the changes and all of them cannot be real. A thing which never remains the same for any given period is un-Real. The whole of the phenomenal world must be unreal because no one state in it endures even for a fraction of the time.
 
But there must be some real entity behind these changes. For the changes to take place there must be some changeless substratum just as a river bed is necessary for the rivers to flow. In order to hold together innumerable experiences at the levels of body, mind and intellect and to give them a cohesive whole which is called life, a changeless substratum is required for all.
 
That something which remains unchanged all through the changes is The Real and it is nothing other than the Self in all, the Pure Awareness, and Consciousness. What is changing must be unreal and what is constant must be real. When the soul is overpowered by ignorance, the un-Real which is the names and forms of the phenomenal world, veils the unchanging reality - the Atman, Consciousness - which is for ever manifest and which is not conditioned by causality. This Self is the unchanging Witness of the changes in the relative world as in the case of the river bed and a flowing river.
 
This Awareness by which one becomes conscious of things in one's life - because of which one is considered alive, but for which one will have no existence in the given embodiment - That Spiritual Entity, Eternal, All Pervading, Unborn and Undying, the One Changeless factor is the Infinite in him. And this is the Atman, Consciousness which is the Real.
 
Therefore the men of knowledge and wisdom have known the implications of these - the Real and the Un-Real, the Self and the Non-Self, which in combination is called the world.
 
Embedding this exposition into the practical world, we notice that Arjuna is grieved by thinking that the warriors will die. So, the Lord explains that the real never dies and the unreal never exists as it is continuously dying (changing). Therefore it is not wise to grieve.
 
WHAT THEN IS THAT WHICH IS ALWAYS REAL ?
 
avinaashi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam
vinaasham avyayasyaasya na kaschit kartum arhati // 2.17 //
Know `That' to be indestructible, by whom all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable.
 
‘That’ is Brahman or the unchangeable Consciousness. It is the self of all. It is The Real that envelops everything that exists. It is the very substance of all the world of perceptions, the world of names and forms, which we experience. Brahman is the Witness and the innermost essence of the changeable world.
 
Different mud pots have different names and shapes depending upon the things they contain or the purposes for which they are made use of. Yet all of them are permeated with the same stuff i.e. mud without which no pot can exist. All the pots come from mud exist in mud and when they are destroyed all their forms and names merge back in mud. So the mud is The Reality holding all pots together.
 
So too, the world of finite objects and changes is enveloped by The Real, the Changeless Brahman. Sri Krishna says that there is no possibility of this Real ever getting destroyed at all. Destruction of an object is caused by the loss of its parts as in the case of the body or by the loss of something belonging to it. As Brahman is without parts and is One without a second, there is no question of its destruction.
 
The immutable Consciousness or Atman in the individual is the same as the all pervading Consciousness or Brahman in the universe.
 
The idea here is that while the soul is imperishable, the body is perishable and is perishing every day. Nobody can check the process of such destruction. Whether Arjuna wages the war or withdraws from it, the imperishable cannot be destroyed and the perishable cannot be saved from destruction.
 
WHAT IS THE UNREAL WHOSE NATURE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE?
 
antavanta ime dehaa nityasyoktaah shareerinah
anaashino'prameyasya tasmaad yudhyaswa bhaarata // 2.18 //
Only the bodies, of which this eternal, imperishable, and incomprehensible Self is the indweller, are said to have an end. Therefore, O descendent of Bharata (Arjuna) fight.
 
Arjuna's grief which deters him from his duty is born of ignorance as to the true nature of the soul. Hence Sri Bhagavan's persisted attempts to illumine him on the subject.
 
The physical body may be injured or destroyed by illness or death. The Self is subject to neither of these. The Self is said to be incomprehensible because it is not comprehended by the senses, by the mind, or by any other instrument of knowledge. The self is svatahsiddha, determined by Itself. Being the knowing Consciousness, It cannot be known by any other instrument. Everything is known by the Self just as no other light is required the see the light of the Sun which is self-effulgent.
 
 
 
Information Source:
Translation & Brief Explanation By T.N.Sethumadhavan
Published In Esamskriti.com and Medhajournal.com

 

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Kshama Prarthana sloka

Samudra-Vasane Devi Parvata-Stana-Mannddale |

Vissnnu-Patni Namas-Tubhyam Paada-Sparsham Kssamasva-Me ||

समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले ।

विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्वमे ॥

Meaning:

1: (Oh Mother Earth) The Devi Who is having Ocean as Her Garments and Mountains as Her Bosom,

2: Who is the Consort of Sri Vishnu, I Bow to You; Please Forgive me for Touching You with my Feet.


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Take heed of drowsiness in hearing; drowsiness shows much irreverance. How lively are many when they are about the world, but in the worship of God how drowsy. ...In the preaching of the Word, is not the bread of life broken to you; and will a man fall as
'Thomas Watson'
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Goal
 
 
“There are only two ways of getting on in the world; by one's own industry, or by the stupidity of others."
 
 
- Jean de La Bruyere
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Eckankar (“Eck”) Emblem

(DIVINE SELF): The emblem of Eckankar, a spiritual group founded in 1965 by former Scientologist and Yoga initiate John Paul Twitchell. The philosophy of “Eck” follows that of numerous Eastern traditions that a divine sound current (“Om”) emanates throughout creation, becoming increasingly denser and entangled within the material. Mimicking the divine sound helps one to attune to that current and purifies matter, bringing one closer to the divine source.
The symbol itself is simply “Ek,” short for eckankar, a corruption of the words “Ek Onkar,” God is one or one essence; ‘omkar’ means, literally, ‘om creator’ and can be likened to the First Cause.
Omkar written in Sanskrit letters is what we commonly refer to as the “Om symbol.”
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A Bee

A bee
staggers out
of the peony.

Poet   Matsuo Basho
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