Pearls of Wise

1. I practised all sorts of sadhana. There are three classes of sadhana: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. In the sattvic sadhana the devotee calls on the Lord with great longing or simply repeats His name; he doesn't seek any result in return. The rajasic sadhana prescribes many rituals: purascharana, pilgrimage, panchatapa, worship with sixteen articles, and so forth. The tamasic sadhana is a worship of God with the help of tamas. The attitude of a tamasic devotee is this: 'Hail, Kali! What? Wilt Thou not reveal Thyself to me? If not, I will cut my throat with a knife!' In this discipline one does not observe conventional purity; it is like some of the disciplines prescribed by the Tantra. 2. During my sadhana period I had all kinds of amazing visions. I distinctly perceived the communion of Atman. A person exactly resembling me entered my body and began to commune with each one of the six lotuses. The petals of these lotuses had been closed; but as each of the

(Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 8, 1900) 9. Think of this. Compare the great teachers of religion with the great philosophers. The philosophers scarcely influenced anybody's inner man, and yet they wrote most marvellous books. The religious teachers, on the other hand, moved countries in their lifetime. The difference was made by personality. In the philosopher it is a faint personality that influences; in the great prophets it is tremendous. In the former we touch the intellect, in the latter we touch life. In the one case, it is simply a chemical process, putting certain chemical ingredients together which may gradually combine and under proper circumstances bring out a flash of light or may fail. In the other, it is like a torch that goes round quickly, lighting others. Swami Vivekananda   To be continued  ....

4. Our minds are highly susceptible to the influence of our companions. When we associate with good people, we get a spark of positive emotions which help us deal with the problems that are a normal part of life. Ramayana is a masterpiece on family relationships. It teaches us that we are in charge of the relationships we create. We have to make the right choices. Nothing will come by itself. Open the doors to opportunities for satsang. Satsangs become a platform for nurturing and cultivating positive relationships. ENDS Swami Udit Chaithanya

7. Without the recognition of this reality, life loses life and becomes an emptiness, devoid of meaning and purpose, dead, as it were. To live in the divine is to die to the narrowness of the sense-world; and to be confined to the latter is to ‘destroy oneself’ (in the words of the Ishavasyopanishad). The present trend of life has to be overhauled, and a re-orientation in it brought about in the light of morality, ethics and spirituality. The change that is required is not merely in the outward form but in the very perspective and the inner constitution of the system of living. This can be done when man’s ideals are based on the truths of the spirituality of Oneness, lifted above blind beliefs, differences and materiality. When this is achieved, man would have fulfilled his great duty here. For the man scorched in the waterless desert of worldliness, the only hope is in the cool waters of the Ganges of wisdom, flowing from the Himalayan heights of the sages of the

Very often we found ourselves caught in the trap of outmoded customs and conventions  that discriminated against the less fortunate,  especially women and the lower castes. Bhagavan was strict in treating all equally. He often said, “The Ashram does not see any differences. There are no untouchables here. Those who do not like it may eat elsewhere. At Skandashramam there used to be  the same trouble with mother.  She would not give food to the man  who brought us firewood. She would insist that I eat first,  then she would eat and then the woodcutter  could have the remnants left outside the Ashram. I would refuse to eat until the man was decently fed. At first she would not yield and would suffer  and weep and fast, but I was adamant too.  She then saw that she could not have her way in these matters. What is the difference between man and man?  Am I a Brahmin and he a pariah?  Is it not correct to see only God in all”? We were all astounded. The rebuke

Dedicated TO MY HOLY MASTER SATGURU SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ Sri Swami Premananda 4. Historical Facts-2. The king of Videhas, Raja Janaka is accepted as a monarch and a saint of high order. Lord Rama, the eldest son of Dasaratha is the hero of epic Ramayana, whereas Sita, the daughter of Raja Janaka is the heroine. Three brothers of Lord Rama are Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna and they were married with the daughters of the Videhas, namely Mandavi, Urmila and Srutakirti respectively. Their sons were founders of great cities and kingdoms as stated under, which flourished in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries before the Christian era. Next : 5. Historical Facts-3. Sri Swami Premananda To be continued  ...

(Spoken on October 19, 1972)  20. No human being ever said, “I am perfectly happy. I am okay in every respect.” If we go on probing into the mystery of the life of someone, we will find finally that he has some sorrow. Whatever be the social position someone may occupy, he is unhappy. We have a small unhappiness which worries us from within which assumes large proportions to spoil the value of our whole life. The reason is, there is a stigma attached to our every effort, a fundamental error of attitude in general, on account of which, life has become ultimately a kind of failure. Swami Krishnananda To be continued  ...

4. For the harmonious life of the individual and society certain laws are made which are given out as do’d and dont’s. The knowledge of these laws, as the do’s and dont’s is also dharma. It is called Vidhi-nishedhatmak dharma. Depending on the age, place, position, sex etc of the person, he has certain duties toperform. Non-performance of the same would cause harm to himself and others. For eg. the King’s duty is to rule with justice, protect his subjects etc. The students duty is to study, teh teachers’s to teach whole heartedly etc. The knowledge of these duties is also dharma (Vishesha dharma). Furthermore, for gaining spiritual unfoldment, special actions are prescribed called sadhanas or upaasanaa. They are also dharma. For gaining special worldly or divine powere (siddhis), certain actions are indicated. They too are dharma. Rites and rituals too are dharma. Hence we see the wide range of meaning encompassed by the word Dharma. The scriptures that talk of one or mor

3. TWELVE KEYS TO HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS -4. 4. Conserve Your Energy Then you must conserve your energy. Never waste your energy in useless pursuits. Too much talking and gossiping, aimless wandering, habit of worrying, losing your temper frequently—all these drain away your energy. Give up all habits that are likely to have an adverse effect on health. Smoking and illegal drugs are a curse upon students. Be established in perfect Brahmacharya. Abstain from sexual activity. Preserve health, conserve energy, develop physical and mental strength and thus lay the foundation of a successful life. Next :  5. Value Character  Swami Chidananda  To be continued  ....

The Yoga of devotion takes up the basic nature of the human being and both acknowledges and accepts the idea that the part of our being that is capable of emotion, relationship, love and devotion actually has its rationale and basis and that we can approach the Divine from this inherent aspect of our nature. The path of devotion does not accept the finality or sole existence of the Impersonal Divine without a personal aspect. Sri Aurobindo explains: “We can obey it as a Law, lift our souls to it in aspiration towards its tranquil being, grow into it by shedding from us our emotional nature; the human being in us is not satisfied, but is quieted, balanced, stilled.” This highlights the essential difference in approach between the Yoga of knowledge and the Yoga of devotion: “But the Yoga of devotion, agreeing in this with Religion, insists on a closer and warmer worship than this impersonal aspiration. It aims at a divine fulfilment of the humanity in us as well as of the impe

3. Human mind is made up of emotions. Our birth is a product of emotions between mother and father. Along with mother’s milk, we are also fed with emotions. As we grow up , the environment, family, society….. all contribute to our emotional makeup. In short, we grow in emotions. Emotions are very important in one’s life. But the most important thing is how to manage the emotions in our life. When our emotions become more mature, we gain a greater serenity within ourselves. We seldom realise that there are all kinds of emotions in our mind. A single emotion arising from an inappropriate thought could result in unpleasant consequences. Sita was enchanted with the golden deer and panicked when Maricha cried out in imitation of Rama’s voice. Her misjudgement of the situation coupled with not heeding to Lakshmana’s advice had very severe repercussions. Eventually she became a victim of Ravana. Swami Udit Chaithanya To be continued ...

Dedicated TO MY HOLY MASTER SATGURU SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ Sri Swami Premananda 4.Historical Facts-1. Time lent higher and greater lustre to the achievements of these gifted races and the age in which they flourished appeared to their descendants as the Golden Age of Bharatavarsha. Dasaratha, the king of the Kosalas, is considered as an ideal king, who laboured for the good of his subjects. His capital was Ayodhya on the bank of the river Saryu. The ruins of his fort and palaces and Hanuman Garhi are still there, approximately six miles from Faizabad, in Uttar Pradesh. Next : 4. Historical Facts-2. Sri Swami Premananda To be continued  ...

3. TWELVE KEYS TO HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS -3. 3. Guard Your Health Now we come to the factors upon which  depends the proper working out of your programme of life. Health is the key factor. Without health you can do nothing. Without health you can succeed neither in studies, nor in character-building, nor in sports and social activities, nor in home-life. Health is a matter of careful living. It is got not only from things you eat and drink, but it is also obtained from your wise and careful avoiding of such things that are not good for your health. Eat for your health. Eat for your strength and not for your taste. Eat to live and to serve. Do not live to eat. Eat simple food. Go to bed early and get up early. Acquire healthy habits. Do regular exercise daily. Be moderate in eating and drinking. Chew your food thoroughly. Do not overeat. Do not eat without hunger. Avoid things that do not agree with you. Next :  4. Conserve Your Energy  Swam

(Spoken on October 19, 1972)  19. There is no hope of happiness in this world as long as we connect our happiness with an object of the world because no object can last long and no object can give us pleasure for all times. Today’s satisfying object is tomorrow’s object of detestation. What we like today, we may not like tomorrow. Also, even if we like the same thing for a long time, it may not last long. Here is the secret of being happy. You can be happy or you need not be happy, as you like. It is in your hands ultimately, and nobody else can make you happy or unhappy. If you are unhappy it is your own making, and if you are happy also it is your own making. So do not complain, grudge and make remarks because all remarks are again quantitative remarks. It is a foolishness of the mind. Any remark that you make, any statement that you utter, is a statement or a remark made in respect of an object outside on which you have hung your faith and which you regard as final, whi

Religious scriptures, particularly in the Judeo-Christian tradition, see man shaped and created in the “image of God”. Yet, when we look at the way people tend to view or imagine the God (or Gods) they worship, we see a clear tendency to have God take on human motives and tendencies, and react in particularly human ways. The Gods of ancient Greece had favorites, carried on love affairs, fought wars and expressed anger, jealousy and hatred on a regular basis. Of course, they also had occasion to express their positive powers of intelligence, beneficence and a sense of justice in their dealings. God in the Old Testament encouraged and supported his “chosen people” to fight wars and destroy people and societies that worshipped other Gods. The history of Christianity is riddled with instances of God being called upon to defend the faithful and destroy the “heretics” or “heathens”, and a victory in warfare was seen as a validation of God’s Will and the justness of the cause. This

3. The individal performs actions in the world and reaps results thereof. So the Law of Action- Karma Siddhanta and it’s discussions is also ‘dharma’. By actions one gains various fields of experiences, material objects (job relations etc), or other world (heaven, hell etc) or various other bodies (plant, animal etc.). Hence this knowledge is also called Dharma. An action is measured not only by the outer performance, but also by the intention behind it. If one serves a rich man with an intention of gaining wealth, it is not called selfless service. These intentions depend on the values of life that we possess. Hence discussion on values is also dharma. The universal values are also samanya or maanav dharma as they are common to humanity under all circumstances, in all places and at all times. It is what makes us humane. They are truth(satya), non-injury(ahimsa), self-control(brahmacharya), etc. The application of these may differaccording to circumstances but that does not de

6. Education of humanity in the right direction is the precondition of world peace. Materialism, atheism, scepticism and agnosticism which are rampant in these days, and which have robbed man of his reverence for the Supreme Absolute, are mainly responsible for the increasing selfishness, craving, confusion, violence and agitation of minds that are seething in the world. Man should learn that behind the appearance of materiality, discreteness, externality, doubt and impermanence, there is the reality of spirituality, unity and infinity, certainty. Sri Swami Sivananda  To be continued  ....

(Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 8, 1900)   7. The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man-making. But, instead of that, we are always trying to polish up the outside. What use in polishing up the outside when there is no inside? The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow. The man who influences, who throws his magic, as it were, upon his fellow-beings, is a dynamo of power, and when that man is ready, he can do anything and everything he likes; that personality put upon anything will make it work. Now, we see that though this is a fact, no physical laws that we know of will explain this. How can we explain it by chemical and physical knowledge? How much of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, how many molecules in different positions, and how many cells, etc., etc. can explain this mysterious personality? And we still see, it is a fact, and not only that, it is the real man; and it is that man that lives and moves and works, it is that man tha

Devotee.: I understand but I cannot feel it so. Maharishi.: Whose is the ignorance? Find it out. D.: All this is so difficult. M.: The idea of difficulty is itself wrong. It will not help you to gain what you want. Again I ask: “Who finds it difficult?” D.: I see that I am coming round to ‘I’. M.: Because you are always that and never away from that. There is nothing so simple as being the Self. It requires no effort, no aid. One has to leave off the wrong identity and be in his eternal, natural, inherent state. Sri Ramana Maharishi

12. 1. Do you know the nature of a good man? He never troubles others. He doesn't harass people. The nature of some people is such that when they go to a feast they want special seats. A man who has true devotion to God never makes a false step, never gives others trouble for nothing. 2. Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: 'O God, Thou are the Master, and I am Thy servant. Thou art the Mother, and I am Thy child.' Or again: 'Thou art my Father and Mother. Thou art the Whole, and I am a part.' He doesn't like to say, 'I am Brahman. 3. The one goal of life is to cultivate love for God, the love that the milkmaids, the milkmen, and the cowherd boys of Vrindavan felt for Krishna. When Krishna went away to Mathura, the cowherds roamed about weeping bitterly because of their separation from Him. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

(Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 8, 1900)   7. Coming to great leaders of mankind, we always find that it was the personality of the man that counted. Now, take all the great authors of the past, the great thinkers. Really speaking, how many thoughts have they thought? Take all the writings that have been left to us by the past leaders of mankind; take each one of their books and appraise them. The real thoughts, new and genuine, that have been thought in this world up to this time, amount to only a handful. Read in their books the thoughts they have left to us. The authors do not appear to be giants to us, and yet we know that they were great giants in their days. What made them so? Not simply the thoughts they thought, neither the books they wrote, nor the speeches they made, it was something else that is now gone, that is their personality. As I have already remarked, the personality of the man is two-thirds, and his intellect, his words, are but one-third. I

2. Ramayana is a depiction of the ups and downs in the life of various characters, teaching us lessons in moral values. Ramayana means “ the ayana (march) of Rama in search of human values”. We should embrace the positive and negative sides of life. Most of us possess Dasharatha-like traits . We celebrate life when everything goes smoothly, but are unable to face adversity and get into a downward spiral. Rama represents the mind. The mind is continually remoulding itself in response to its social interactions. We should associate with good-hearted and positive people. When we constantly communicate with such people, our mind gets diverted away from negative thought patterns and our untapped potential will unfold and be nurtured. Most people suffer because they lack association with good people (satsang). Kaikeyi’s association with Manthara magnified the severity and gravity of the problem. Swami Udit Chaithanya To be continued ...  

1. There are three kinds of devotees: superior, mediocre, and inferior. The inferior devotee says, 'God is out there.' According to him God is different from His creation. The mediocre devotee says: 'God is the Antaryami, the Inner Guide. God dwells in everyone's heart. The mediocre devotee sees God in the heart. But the superior devotee sees that God alone has become everything; He alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles. He finds that everything, above and below, is filled with God. 2. A man may not know the right path, but if he has bhakti and the desire to know God, then he attains Him through the force of sheer bhakti. Once a sincere devotee set out on a pilgrimage to the temple of Jagannath in Puri. He did not know the way; he went west instead of south. He no doubt strayed from the right path, but he always eagerly asked people the way, and they gave him the right directions, saying, 'This is not the path; follow that one.' At last the

5. The sages have again and again stressed: "If one knows It (i.e., the Immortal Being) here, then there is the true end of all aspirations; if one does not know it here, great is the loss for him" (Kena-Upanishad). And sage Yajnavalkya says that all great deeds done in this world without the knowledge of the One Imperishable Being are not worth anything. Humanitarian services, fasts and charity, one’s political, national, social and individual life, should all be based on the feeling of universal brotherhood which is the external expression of the Reality of universal Selfhood. Humanity can hope for peace when this condition, discovered and laid down by the Rishis, viz., abiding by the Law of the Divine, is fulfilled. Peace can be had only to the extent the system of the Divine is adhered to in life. And this peace is inversely proportional to the love of body, individuality and its relations in the world, in which humanity is generally steeped. An ‘awakening’ of a hi

Devotee : But is it not funny that the ‘I’ should be searching for the ‘I’? Does not the enquiry, ‘Who am I?’ turn out in the end an empty formula? Or, am I to put the question to myself endlessly, repeating it like some mantra? Maharishi : Self-enquiry is certainly not an empty formula; it is more than the repetition of any mantra. If the enquiry, ‘Who am I?’ were a mere mental questioning, it would not be of much value. The very purpose of Self-enquiry is to focus the entire mind at its source. It is not, therefore, a case of one ‘I’ searching for another ‘I’. Much less is Self-enquiry an empty formula, for it involves an intense activity of the entire mind to keep it steadily poised in pure Self-awareness. Self-enquiry is the one infallible means, the only direct one, to realise the unconditioned, Absolute Being that you really are. Sri Ramana Maharishi