Pearls of Wise

Direct practice is Now itself, just Being itself, not waiting for the next moment or the next thought or the next life to accomplish something . - Papaji. ( H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji) ) Devotee of Sri Ramana Maharishi

Every woman is a mother to me. Achalananda used to stay here now and then. He would drink a great deal of consecrated wine. Hearing about my attitude toward women, he stubbornly justified his own views. He insisted again and again : - 'Why should you not recognize the attitude of a "hero" toward women'? Won't you admit the injunctions of Siva? Siva Himself is the author of the Tantra, which prescribes various disciplines, including the "heroic".' I said to him : - 'But, my dear sir, I don't know. I don't like these ideas. To me every woman is a mother. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,

Everybody has a secret It is so unique a secret That it makes them proud And fearful of losing. Everybody holds the key To their inner chamber Where golden treasure is hidden, Their liberation. And yet everybody acts Innocently - No, I am just anybody, I have no secret, no hidden treasure, No key to liberation. Only sometimes, when there's no audience At curtain's fall, no more show, Then every actor turns within And looks at the secret treasure. Don't play the hypocrite And the miser, my friend You know very well Your share in the Lord's heritage. Use it, my friend, reveal the secret. Free yourself from the fear. Open the key, give up the mask, Stop the play! This is the real secret! Swami Sitaramananda, from "Darshan, a Vision of God"

As traditionally understood, Samadhi is a state of consciousness that is totally absorbed in the Absolute, devoid of content of “names and forms” and abstracted from the outer world and its forms, forces, powers and events. There are several stages of Samadhi, such as that “with seed” and that “without seed” representing the idea that certain forms of the trance-state still hold the ability to recreate the names and forms, while others are so far developed that nothing can disturb it, and it is essentially a total absorption. Sri Aurobindo has already observed that Samadhi in the integral Yoga must take on a new meaning, which he defines here: “…a certain self-gathered state of our whole existence lifted into that superconscient truth, unity and infinity of self-aware, self-blissful existence is the aim and culmination; and that is the meaning we shall give to the term Samadhi. Not merely a state withdrawn from all consciousness of the outward, withdrawn even from all conscious...

Devotee .: Saguna upasana (worship of the personal God) is said to be imperfect. It is also said that nirguna upasana (devotion to the impersonal) is hard and risky. I am fit for the former only. What is to be done? Maharishi .: The Saguna merges into the nirguna in the long run. The saguna purifies the mind and takes one to the final goal. The afflicted one, the seeker of knowledge, and the seeker of gains are all dear to God. But the Jnani is the Self of God. source: Talk 619 Sri Ramana Maharishi

This sense universe is a play of nerves. It is a false show kept-up by the jugglery of Maya, mind and nerves. You enjoy the sensual pleasure for a period of twenty years when the senses are strong. What is this short evanescent period of twenty years in eternity? What is this despicable jarring monotonous sensual life in the immortal Self within? If the nerve of taste, the glosso-pharyngeal, gets paralysed, you cannot enjoy the different kind of palatable dishes. Swami Sivananda

Once upon a time, there was a painting spider, one of those artistic species of spider, that live in the basements of museums and galleries. They live there alongside paintings left and forgotten for years; certainly a suitable place to spin the most impressive of webs. Our spider spun the best webs in the whole museum, and his house was really spectacular. All his efforts went into looking after the web, which he considered to be the most valuable in the world. Swami Chinmayananda

Innocence is something abstract. It is there before you acquire any knowledge and after you acquire all knowledge. It is never found in between. A child and an all knowing Saint are said to be innocent beings. This innocence gives you Godhood and take you very near the Almighty. So , meditate, expand your right intellect, be fulsome in knowledge and then you see innocence blooming in you like a flower. Swami Udit Chaithanya

Vishvam Darpanna-Drshyamaana-Nagarii-Tulyam Nija-Antargatam  Pashyann-Aatmani Maayayaa Bahir-Ivo[a-U]dbhuutam Yathaa Nidrayaa |  Yah Saakssaat-Kurute Prabodha-Samaye Sva-[A]atmaanam-Eva-Advayam  Tasmai Shrii-Guru-Muurtaye Nama Idam Shrii-Dakssinnaamuurtaye ||1||  Meaning:  (Salutations to Sri Dakshinamurthy Who Awakens the Glory of the Atman within us through His Profound Silence)  The Entire World is Like a City Seen within a Mirror, the Seeing happening within One's Own Being,  It is a Witnessing happening within the Atman, (the Witnessing) of the Externally Projected World; Projected by the Power of Maya; As if a Dream in Sleep, One Experiences this Directly (this Play of Maya) during Spiritual Awakening within the Non-Dual Expanse of One's Own Atman, Salutations to Him, the Personification of Our Inner Guru Who Awakens This Knowledge through His Profound Silence; Salutation to Sri Dakshinamurthy. Sri Ramakrishna ...

Stand upon the Self (Atman),  only then can we truly love the world. Take a very high stand; knowing our universal nature, we must look with perfect calmness upon all the panorama of the world. Swami Vivekananda

Sri Aurobindo observes that the status of purity and that of concentration are necessary to one another. “Purity and concentration are indeed two aspects, feminine and masculine, passive and active, of the same status of being; purity is the condition in which concentration becomes entire, rightly effective, omnipotent; by concentration purity does its works and without it would only lead to a state of peaceful quiescence and eternal repose.” By achieving the types of purity of the being that allow the higher understanding to operate in a clear and direct manner without dilution or admixture, we can bring about a state of concentration that is incredibly focused and powerful. We also find that where the impurity yet exists, the diffuse and varied impulses, emotions, suggestions, desires, cravings, thoughts and wishes all seem to jostle around inside the being creating a chaotic and unruly environment where concentration is basically impossible. Sri Aurobindo notes that “impuri...

Devotee .: Does not God work His Will through some chosen person? Maharishi .: God is in all and works through all. But His presence is better  recognised in purified minds. The pure ones reflect God’s actions more  clearly than the impure minds. Therefore people say that they are the  chosen ones. But the ‘chosen’ man does not himself say so. If he thinks  that he is the intermediary then it is clear that he retains his  individuality and that there is no complete surrender. source: Talk 594 Sri Ramana Maharishi

Control the mind skilfully and tactfully. Think correctly and clearly. Discipline the organ of speech. Speak sweetly, gently and truthfully. Become a man of measured words. Be humble and do prostrations mentally to all. Feel the Divine Presence everywhere. Give up vanity, pride and hypocrisy. Never hurt a man in thought, word and deed. Always do good and kind actions. You will attain supreme peace and eternal happiness. Attune your heart to the Lord by means of fervent and sincere prayer daily. Be humble and simple. Practise morality. Develop contentment. Drink the bliss of the Soul. Swami Sivananda

A very sensitive heart all the time on your own sleeve will easily get bruised with words and looks. Keep the heart where the Lord has kept it :-- well protected by the ribs! Don’t be sensitive; rise above while dealing with others. Get out of yourself and watch and hear yourself performing, standing in their shoes. Swami Chinmayananda

What is yours nobody can take away from you ! What is not, you can bend heaven and hell, you will never retain it for long. That is the law of the universe. Merging with God and being in tune with one's own self, while being in a state of positive surrender while giving life your best is the only real way to live. Swami Udit Chaithanya

The Swami was admitted to the hospital 10 days back. His condition kept fluctuating all these days. Swami Dayananda Saraswati passed away at his ashram in Rishikesh on Wednesday night ( 23/09/2015). He was 85. He had been ailing for quite sometime. Born in 1930 in Manjakudi, Natarajan, as the Swami was known in his pre-monastic days, was drawn to Indian philosophy, particularly the Advaita school, listening to Swami Chinmayananda. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, his association with Swami Chinmayananda grew closer as he began taking Vedanta lessons. In 1962, he took ‘Sanyas’ to become Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He continued his association with Swami Chinmayananda for a long time and the two set up Sandipani Sadhanalaya in the then Bombay to train people in Vedanta. His contribution there and subsequently with Arsha Vidya Gurukulam saw hundreds of people learn Vedanta, take up renunciation and spread the Vedic message. Creating teachers in Vedanta along with setti...

"One's sensibility is lost if one has no control over one's speech." -Sri Saradadevi

You cannot get rid of an ailment without the help of a physician. But it is not enough to be in the company of religious people only for a day. You should constantly seek it, for the disease has become chronic. Again, you can't understand the pulse rightly unless you live with a physician. Moving with him constantly, you learn to distinguish between the pulse of phlegm and the pulse of bile.  The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.  Swami Vivekananda

Disciple of Sri Ramana Maharishi ( Sri Anandamayi Ma ) Existence or Consciousness is the only reality. Consciousness plus waking we call waking. Consciousness plus sleep we call sleep. Consciousness plus dream, we call dream. Consciousness is the screen on which all the pictures come and go. The screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on it. Sri Ramana Maharishi

Meditation is the most powerful mental and nervine tonic. The holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure the various diseases that human flesh is heir to. Those who regularly meditate save the doctor’s bills. The powerful soothing waves that arise during meditation exercise a benign influence on the mind, nerves, organs and cells of the body. The divine energy freely flows like the flow of oil from one vessel to another, from the Feet of the Lord to the different systems of the practitioner. Swami Sivananda

In his lectures on Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda provides an extended description of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and their meaning. To a great extent, this text is a primer on the power of concentration and its application for the practitioner of Yoga. Raja Yoga can be seen as the art and science of concentration. One of the powers described by Swami Vivekananda is “samyama’, essentially a total, absorbed concentration on any object which results in the complete knowing by identity of whatever was the focus of the concentration. In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the disciple is urged to undertake “concentration in thought”, as translated by Sri Aurobindo, because “concentration in thought is the Eternal.” The power of concentration is central to any practice of the Yoga of Knowledge. Sri Aurobindo provides a description of three powers of concentration in achieving the spiritual aim: “By concentration on anything whatsoever we are able to know that thing, to make it deliver up its co...

The entire Bhagavad-gita is a screaming cry to end ego and egocentric desires and then relate yourself to things, beings, and situations. Then you are free to give love, to show anger, to express tenderness — without getting yourself involved, bound, tied down, gagged by your own emotions. Swami Chinmayananda

No human heart is denied empathy. No religion can demolish that by indoctrination. No culture, no nation and nationalism - nothing can touch it because it is empathy. Swami Dayananda Saraswati

You need a lot of discipline to succeed in anything . People without discipline indulge themselves in everything and are not focussed in anything. We need to have a streamlined direction. Swami Udit Chaithanya