Pearls of Wise

CH-4. ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS-4 Thursday, August 24, 1882. Sri Ramakrishna was talking to Hazra on the long northeast verandah of his room, when M. arrived.  He saluted the Master reverently. Spiritual disciplines necessary at the beginning : MASTER: "I should like to visit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar a few times more.  The painter first draws the general outlines and then puts in the details and colours at his leisure.  The moulder first makes the image out of clay, then plasters it, then gives it a coat of whitewash, and last of all paints it with a brush.  All these steps must be taken successively.  Vidyasagar is fully ready, but his inner stuff is covered with a thin layer.  He is now engaged in doing good works; but he doesn't know what is within himself.  Gold is hidden within him.  God dwells within us.  If one knows that, one feels like giving up all activities and praying to God with a yearning soul." So the Master talked...

Some time ago, when a Bengali youth asked similar questions, Bhagavan explained to him at great length. His doubts not being cleared, that youth asked, “You say that the Self is present at all times and at all places. Where exactly is that ‘I’?” Bhagavan replied with a smile, “When I say you are present at all times and at all places and you ask where is that ‘I’, it is something like asking, when you are in Tiruvannamalai, ‘Where is Tiruvannamalai?’ When you are everywhere, where are you to search? The real delusion is the feeling that you are the body. When you get rid of that delusion, what remains is your Self. You should search for a thing which is not with you but where is the need to search for a thing which is always with you? All sadhanas are for getting rid of the delusion that you are the body. The knowledge that ‘I am’ is always there: call it Atma, or Paramatma or whatever you like. One should get rid of the idea that ‘I am the body’. Sri Ramana Ma...

(Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 8, 1900) 17. The utility of this science is to bring out the perfect man, and not let him wait and wait for ages, just a plaything in the hands of the physical world, like a log of drift-wood carried from wave to wave and tossing about in the ocean. This science wants you to be strong, to take the work in your own hand, instead of leaving it in the hands of nature, and get beyond this little life. That is the great idea. Man is growing in knowledge, in power, in happiness. Continuously, we are growing as a race. We see that is true, perfectly true. Is it true of individuals? To a certain extent, yes. But yet, again comes the question: Where do you fix the limit? I can see only at a distance of so many feet. But I have seen a man close his eyes and see what is happening in another room. If you say you do not believe it, perhaps in three weeks that man can make you do the same. It can be taught to anybody. Some persons, in five...

NOTE- Members, "BLIND FOLLOWERS OF CHRISTIANITY AND ESPECIALLY ISLAM - MUST READ THIS AND KNOW THE STATUS OF GITA OVER AND ABOVE ANY OTHER WORLD RELIGIOUS BOOKS. READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AND KNOW THE TRUTH, THEREAFTER MEDITATE UPON GITA, THUS SILENCE YOUR MIND, YOU ARE VERY VERY NEAR TO PARAMATMA." 7. Our culture was not inspired by one individual alone. It owes its origin to the wealth of knowledge of so many great souls, men and women alike, authentic with their own, true, personal experiences in their lives. The holy Vedas and Upanishads are known in the form of sounds and words (Mantras). It is only through the understanding of the Upanishads, that you truly understand the soul of India. The Upanishads are more than a hundred in number and  written in Sanskrit. The essence of all these Upanidhads is capsuled by Maharshi Veda Vyasa in the form of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, which is the heart and soul of his greatest epic Mahabharata. Mahabharatha, with it...

If you want to make a difference in your life, feel you are blessed. Break through all the barriers and feel that you Are Blessed. This Is The One And Only Step You Have To take – the rest will all happen. This deep sense of feeling that “I am blessed” can help you overcome any obstacles in life. It gives you courage and confidence and it will open your lid for grace to be poured in. Once you realise that you are blessed, then : - All the complaints disappear All the grumbling disappears All the insecurities disappear A sense of feeling unloved disappears Wanting love disappears. If you don’t realize you are blessed, then the doership begins. And especially for those on this path of knowledge, there is no reason for you to not feel blessed. So, feel you are blessed. This is the first step towards the Self. Blessing comes to you in many forms. If you are generous, blessing comes to you as abundance. If you are hardworking, blessing comes to you as happiness. ...

(Speech delivered by Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj on the 26th December 1954, at Sivanandashram, Rishikesh, for the celebration of the 34th birthday of Sri Swami Venkatesanandaji.) 8. This clearly proves there is rebirth. You come down here with your Samskaras. You wanted to become an engineer; God has given you birth that will enable you to fulfil your ambition. But this will not give you satisfaction. In your old age you will suffer from all sorts of diseases and lead a miserable life. Your mind is full of evil Vasanas. How many selfless acts have you done?     How many people try to do selfless service? All are selfish. Close your eyes and practise self-analysis and find out for yourself what are the various kinds of impurities that are lurking in the mind, and what are the good qualities that you are possessing.     “Amanitwam Adambhitwam Ahimsa Kshaantiraar javam,     Acnaaryopaasanam Saucham Sthairyam Aatmavinigrahah.     In...

Dedicated TO MY HOLY MASTER SATGURU SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ Sri Swami Premananda 12.Travel Diary of The Soul-2. Parading of modern empirical researches has often become these days a major theme in many recent journals and papers, learned editorials which denounce the super-physical nature of life and shout down anything that is superhuman. Man himself is more than man! He strides the very heavens in an inner reach of his own being. These are the regions explored in the mighty epics. One should wish more caution and patience from these distortions of modern scholarship. This sevak is not a writer and his intellect is a poor match to the unlimited glory and exploits of Lord Rama. I may even not be qualified to write anything by way of this exceptional approach. I hope that the generous readers will hail this new attempt believing that there may be some divine purpose, some play of divine Grace, behind this novel urge which has in one way or the other ins...

(Spoken on October 19, 1972)  28. The Universal is the supreme quality behind the total of the quantities of the world so that even if we are the emperor of the whole world we cannot be happy because, again, it is a quantity. To possess the whole physical cosmos cannot make us happy because it is, again, a perishable quantity. The Universal transcends the cosmos. It is superior even to the totality of universal relationships. It is not a mathematical, arithmetical quantity; it is a supernal, inscrutable mysterious something, speaking in the language of infinity and eternity within you yourself. So the happiness is within you, and you can be happy if you want to be happy merely by revealing what you really are at the bottom of your being. Thus, to reiterate, you can be happy merely by being, merely by existing, and not by possessing. Merely because you are, you are happy. God is; you are. All that which is in its essentiality is free, unhampered, and the...

1. Personally, I am no advocate of violence. But violence, too, has its rightful place in life, life does not preclude death. The average Indian has been moulded into a particular national mentality of quixotic tolerance. His attitude is shaped into its distinct pattern by the ideologies and moralities preached in our national literature. And no single work in our classics has gained such a wide influence on our people as the Bhagawad Gita :-  and in, this century, no other single message had such a universal appeal to our countrymen as the single line, "Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah" -- "Non - Violence is the greatest Dharma." This line in its over – emphasis, has sapped both initiative and energy in our millions, and, instead of making us all irresistible moral giants, we have been reduced to poltroons and cowards. And banking on this cowardly resignation of the majority, a handful of fanatics have been perpetrating crimes which even the most barbaro...

11. Serve Others The vexing problems of this modern world, its clashes and conflicts, its greed and exploitation, its hatred and hostilities, its mad craze for selfish acquisition will never cease or be relieved until and unless there is a change of outlook in man towards his neighbours and towards the life around him. Man makes life what it is. And life around man is but a reflection of what he is. The only rational and lasting solution to the afflictions that beset the organised society of civilised persons is a reinstating of the spirit of selfless giving into its rightful place. The more you give of yourself, the greater will be your conquest over sorrow and suffering and your ascent into peace and bliss. There can be no greater joy than seeing the smile on someone’s face whom you have helped. The gift of giving comes back a hundred fold in inner peace and contentment. It is a greater good to find ways to help those outside the family. Don’t be afraid to off...

The mind tries to create an artificial separation between the paths of knowledge, works, and love. While each follows its own primary line of development, at a certain point they all can recognize the aspects of each other. For the seeker of the Yoga of love and devotion, the early stages may include an exclusive concentration on the heart and the emotional development of the nature, but eventually, the Bhakta can realize the truths of Oneness that accompany the practice of the Yoga of knowledge, as Sri Aurobindo observes: “This integral devotion of our being to God does not turn away from knowledge; the Bhakta of this path is the God-lover who is also the God-knower, because by knowledge of his being comes the whole delight of his being; but is in delight that knowledge fulfils itself, the knowledge of the transcendent in the delight of the Transcendent, the knowledge of the universal in the delight of the universal Godhead, the knowledge of the individual manifestation in the d...

CH-4. ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS-3 August 13, 1882. Many names of one God : "You may say that there are many errors and superstitions in another religion. I should reply: Suppose there are. Every religion has errors. Everyone thinks that his watch alone gives the correct time. It is enough to have yearning for God. It is enough to love Him and feel attracted to Him : - Don't you know that God is the Inner Guide? He sees the longing of our heart and the yearning of our soul. Suppose a man has several sons. The older boys address him distinctly as 'Baba' or 'Papa', but the babies can at best call him 'Ba' or 'Pa'. Now, will the father be angry with those who address him in this indistinct way? The father knows that they too are calling him, only they cannot pronounce his name well. All children are the same to the father.  Likewise, the devotees call on God alone, though by different names. They call on one Person...

M.: There is neither Past nor Future.  There is only the Present. Yesterday was the present to you  when you experienced it, and tomorrow will be also the present  when you will experience it. Therefore experience takes place  only in the present, and beyond experience nothing exists. Q.: Are then Past and Future mere imagination? M.: Yes,  even the Present is mere imagination,  for the sense of time is purely mental. Space is similarly mental; therefore birth and rebirth,  which take place in time and space  cannot be other than imagination. Sri Ramana Maharishi

(Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 8, 1900) 16. Now, can we not hasten the growth of individuals? We can. Can we put a limit to the hastening? We cannot say how much a man can grow in one life. You have no reason to say that this much a man can do and no more. Circumstances can hasten him wonderfully. Can there be any limit then, till you come to perfection? So, what comes of it? — That a perfect man, that is to say, the type that is to come of this race, perhaps millions of years hence, that man can come today. And this is what the Yogis say, that all great incarnations and prophets are such men; that they reached perfection in this one life. We have had such men at all periods of the world's history and at all times. Quite recently, there was such a man who lived the life of the whole human race and reached the end — even in this life. Even this hastening of the growth must be under laws. Suppose we can investigate these l...

(Speech delivered by Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj on the 26th December 1954, at Sivanandashram, Rishikesh, for the celebration of the 34th birthday of Sri Swami Venkatesanandaji.) 7.  God has given you this chance—this human birth—to rise above sensual things and to realise the goal of life. How many of you are attempting to do so? Mere study of the scriptures will not do. You can talk. But, have you got that burning Vairagya, the burning aspiration, which Lord Buddha had, which Raja Gopichand had? Then only can you become the king of kings. If you do not attempt to possess these, then you fail in your duty.     You forget this truth. It is difficult to give up, to renounce these sensual objects. But, if you are sincere, the path will be easy; it is easy for those who resort to Satsanga, who close their eyes and make a little enquiry :-  “What is this world, what is the goal of life, what is mind?” Only such enquiry will lead you to ever...

 Swami Chinmayanada said, NOTE :- READ THIS : CAREFULLY, THEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE PRACTICE IN BHARATHAM SINCE ANCIENT TIMES BEFORE THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM CUM OTHER WORLD RELIGIONS IS "SANATANA DHARMAM" WORLD  RELIGIONS BEGAN WITH A PROPHET IS NEVER EQUAL OR ABOVE "SANATANANA DHARMAM" ALL OF THEM MERELY "SAMPRADAAYAS" 11. Now let us think on the words ‘Philosophy’ and ‘Religion’ in the context of the word dharma.  What is their relationship ? Is dharma the same as philosophy or religion? Is philosophy the same as religion? Or do they enjoy a part – whole relationship? Dharma has both philosophy and religion, and religion and philosophy do not have a part – whole relationship. Philosophy basically is the knowledge of the essential relation of the Jeeva – Jagat – Ishwara. It also encompasses the transactional relation, the Law of Karma, Theory of creation and Universal values. In our culture Philosophy is called ‘...

(Spoken on October 19, 1972)  27. We have to be very honest and utterly dispassionate in our probe into Truth. When we ask for Truth, we must be sure that we are asking for Truth alone, and not something else. When we say we want to learn yoga, we must be sure we want yoga and nothing else because we may say we want yoga but really want something else in our heart of hearts. It is an object of satisfaction that we are asking, though we say we want yoga. But satisfaction is not an object; it is a subjective universal realisation. The great art of yoga is a step taken towards the universality of things. No one can conceive what universality is. It is not a total of particulars. The joining together of all the contents of the cosmos cannot give us the Universal. The total of multitudes of things is not the Universal; it is its quality, again remember. Swami Krishnananda To be continued  ...

10. Be Absolutely Truthful : You must be rooted in absolute truthfulness. Even at the cost of your life, never utter falsehood. Never be dishonest in any of your dealings with anyone in this world. Be a person of integrity, of verity. Become established in truthfulness in thought, word and deed. Truth is God. One who practises truthfulness rigidly will attain God. God is present in this human world as the sublime principle of truthfulness. Next : 11. Serve Others Swami Chidananda  To be continued  ..

It is both easy, and understandable, that the Bhakta, enraptured in the emotional intensity of divine love, will seek to limit other activities and concentrate on the devotional acts which bring him closer to the Divine, and which intensifies the rapture of the embrace of God. As the identification with the Divine grows, however, it becomes possible to put aside this intense, limited focus and recognize that God is in all beings, all forms, all actions and is the mover and actor in all that occurs in the universe. It is also possible thereby to see that carrying out action in the world consistent with the Divine Will is itself an expression of devotion and can lead to the experience of the delight of manifesting the Divine intention. Sri Aurobindo observes: “So too this God-lover will be the divine worker, not for the sake of works or for a self-regarding pleasure in action, but because in this way God expends the power of his being and in his powers and their signs we find him,...

1.Women have both gentleness and strength. Indian scriptures place tremendous amount of power in women. In fact, the primordial energy known as Shakti which is the life force behind the whole creation is feminine. That is why our scriptures honour women as the highest aspect of divinity- the Aadhya Shakti. 2.Women bring together the finest aspects of society. The ability to create and the transformational ability to make a difference in the society. Women bring us to the planet and teach us how to live. A mother is our first Guru, our first teacher. Women teach us our first behaviour, our first step in life. And then women also have a great role to play in the society. She can be a strong peacemaker; at home, in the community, in society and in the world. Women can glue differences and bring people of diverse nature together – she does it in her home all the time! In this fast pace of life, we need to balance our inner peace, beauty and ethical values with the external c...

NOTE- Members, "BLIND FOLLOWERS OF CHRISTIANITY AND ESPECIALLY ISLAM - MUST READ THIS AND KNOW THE STATUS OF GITA OVER AND ABOVE ANY OTHER WORLD RELIGIOUS BOOKS. READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AND KNOW THE TRUTH, THEREAFTER MEDITATE UPON GITA, THUS SILENCE YOUR MIND, YOU ARE VERY VERY NEAR TO PARAMATMA." Unfortunately, the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Epics are considered ,or rather demoted to be merely the religious texts of the Hindus. This led to the separation of other religions from these precious treasure houses of Knowledge, beyond time and space. We must understand that our ancient Scriptures do not proclaim the glory of one specific God, His kingdom or His commandments. They offer nothing less than the complete science of Spiritual Psychology. They talk about living minds, our own minds. The mystery of mind and its power are still unknown to modern Science.  Various behaviours, cultures and differences add to its mystery. Where has it come from...

Dedicated TO MY HOLY MASTER SATGURU SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ Sri Swami Premananda 12.Travel Diary of The Soul-1. Far from being tales and legends, they rise above the ground of mortal comprehension to the height of a majesty which can only be described as a travel diary of the sojourn of the soul in the cosmos. Written in tumultuously powerful styles and with a virility that can brook no comparison, the epics of the world are the depiction of the soul of man as the chief hero in the drama of creation. Who can read these masterpieces without an electrifying touch of the supernormal, felt within The epic poets are the messengers of eternity who speak in the language of man, charging it with the force that they receive from the depths they have plunged and the heights they have scaled. Under such circumstances, it should look idle to cavil and carp at the messages of the epics as a grandmother’s story, a myth, a fable, a fantasy, something ‘unhistorical’. And w...

1.Dharma is the nature. The body has its nature. If the body wants to sleep you have to provide it with rest. But, what do we do if the body wants to sleep? We put on the television because of an interesting movie. We are going against the body. Dharma, the body has its demands. 2. Artha is the means, kama is the desire and moksha is the release from the desire. 3. Suppose the body has a desire to eat and even though you have eaten, the desire has not vanished. Your stomach is full, but the mind wants you to eat. So the desire to eat still remains. Can you relate to this situation? This is where moksha comes in. Moksha means release from the desire. Dropping of desire is moksha. 4. If there is no co-ordination between these four faculties, then life will be a total chaos. 5. It will be a misery. When there is co-ordination between the four faculties, the desire and the nature are co-ordinated. The means and fulfillment are co-ordinated. Liberation can be taken to mean fu...

NOTE- "BLIND FOLLOWERS OF CHRISTIANITY AND ESPECIALLY ISLAM - MUST READ THIS AND KNOW THE STATUS OF GITA OVER AND ABOVE ANY OTHER WORLD RELIGIOUS BOOKS. READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AND KNOW THE TRUTH, THEREAFTER MEDITATE UPON GITA, THUS SILENCE YOUR MIND, YOU ARE VERY VERY NEAR TO PARAMATMA." 5. Imagine, this was stated 5000 years ago, when there were no laboratories to conduct experiments on human psychology and no universities to award academic credentials for the exemplary studies. What a great mind was this Sage! Each one, in the endless list of characters in the great epic Mahabharatha symbolizes a particular ‘mind culture’. Life always offers mixing and interacting with various kinds of characters and cultures. We get close to ‘like minded’ people very easily. On the contrary, we get into clashes with people who have opposite or very different mindsets and tend to stay away from them. Understand, both these create pain and uneasiness in our minds and ...

Dedicated TO MY HOLY MASTER SATGURU SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ Sri Swami Premananda 11. Difference Due To Ages : 3. Here it would not be out of place to add a few words on the role of the epics in the literature of the world. The “Mahabharata”, the “Ramayana”, the “Illiad” , the “Odyssey”, the “Aeneid”, the “Divine Comedia”, the “Paradise Lost and Regained” the “Shahnama” of Firdaus may be mentioned as perhaps the greatest epics of the world. We may add the Iceland “Eddas” & the Silappadikaram in Tamil as masterly specimens in this category. Translations of the “Ramayana” such as that of Kamban stand, again, unparalleled in epic literature, and do they tell us only stories for our leisure hours? Sri Swami Premananda To be continued  ...