Pearls of Wise

16/09/2018 Respect is to never laugh at someone. Every one of us is unique. So be respectful; keep yourself equidistant between strength and weakness. With a child, not saying: you’re such a good painter, but just giving it paper and brushes; with a child, not saying: you’re a hopeless painter, but just giving it paper and a pen instead. Never ignore weakness, for that is disrespect, just provide a different focus. Where there is real respect, there is the understanding that talents are constantly changing and sometimes it is just a matter of where the light is falling and what is seen. Where the sun isn’t shining doesn’t indicate a gap; only that something is resting in the shadows. You just never know what’s there, so it’s best not to categorise people. Respect values space, for everyone needs a pause, a chance to breathe quietly, alone. Where there has been disregard for anyone or anything, there is hurt. The repercussions are enormous. Where a person has been hurt, the ...

16/09/2018 A seeker once asked me whether there is something like useless karma If you establish that there is useless karma, the world itself will become useless because karma or activity is an essential part of the world The Bhagavad Gita (3:16), describes the whole world as a cosmic wheel of activity governed by the laws of nature, and whosoever is not able to adhere to it, only leads a meaningless life It adds (1848) that even if there is a measure of evil in the karma you are to perform, don’t abandon it. All undertakings in the universe are associated with a measure of evil Krishna says that there is no option to act or not act because all activities are designed and maintained by Nature that has three spiritual constituents - satva, rajo and tamo gunas Satva guna represents light, happiness and wisdom, rajo guna represents all forms of activity and the causes for them such as attraction, repulsion, and jealousy Tamo guna represents ignorance, lethargy and sleep These thr...

15/09/2018 SWAMI SHANTATMANANDA recounts anecdotes about two key leadership qualities that Swami Vivekananda exhibited all through his life Swami Vivekananda suits the adage,‘Leaders are born and not made’. His leadership qualities were evident even from his boyhood. He was not a leader in the ordinary sense of the term, such as exercising one’s power and position to lord over lesser mortals. He was an extraordinary leader and his concept of leadership was founded on the twin ideals of sacrifice and service. He said, “The national ideals of India are renunciation and service. Intensify her in those channels, and the rest will take care of itself.”All other qualities such as fearlessness, ability to take team members along, leading from the front and enlightened leadership are based on these two principles. Vivekananda exhibited plenty of leadership qualities in his childhood — and all were based on these principles. There is this famous anecdote about Vivekananda: He was sett...

15/09/2018 Sharing of knowledge is far more empowering than giving of material wealth, says Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati Everyone should share their wealth. It’s a noble gesture. The scriptures talk about it. By all means keep aside some for your use, but know that you are essentially a trustee of your wealth. It is like a well in the forest where all animals come to drink. It does not belong to that land alone. The Giving Habit Daan, loosely translated as charity or philanthropy, helps you overcome greed, selfishness and possessiveness. The spirit of daan needs to be encouraged right from childhood. Earlier, parents would bring home a toy or a few toffees and ask the older child to share them with younger ones. Today, they buy separate toys and chocolates for each child, so that children have the goodies all to themselves. It may avoid quarrels, but it also creates an attitude that what is mine, is mine alone, and not to be shared. Giving should be accompanied by a sense ...

14/09/2018 Practical application of the values explained in the Bhagwad Gita in our daily lives can be very rewarding.  When knowledge sinks in and is really absorbed, then it automatically comes into play in our life. There is no gap between knowledge and its practical application. When knowledge is comprehended intellectually, but not assimilated or internalised,  then this contradiction becomes evident — I know something,  but do not know how to apply it to my life.  The Bhagwad Gitateaches us how to live with things, beings and experiences that we come across in our daily life. If we really understand what is taught,  we will be able to use it.  Knowledge is meant for practical use.  If it is not used, then such knowledge is useless for us.  It is said in the Gita: Jnatva sastravidhanoktam karma kartumiharhasi— ‘Having understood what is stated in the scriptures,  act accordingly. ’ The sentence appears simple;let us see its impl...

14/09/2018 14/09/2018 Swamini Nishtananda had, for some years, reservations about doing a pada puja- worship of the Guru’s feet. She thought that whatever worship she does, she should do in private, resisting the public nature of a pada puja. Thus, for already ten years she had never performed a pada puja for Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda. Then, during the last year of Swamiji’s life, she was sitting in satsanga with him near his kutiya [residence] during a Vivekachudamani Camp there. Swamiji said to someone, “Tell the video people that the lecture will be held at 6 p.m., not 6:30. Inform the kitchen people also.” Someone asked, “From tomorrow onward, Swamiji?” “No. Now!” And then he added in Sanskrit, “Any auspicious resolve must be carried out immediately.” The Sanskrit phrase suddenly convinced the Swamini that she must perform pada puja, to actualise a thought that had been gathering in her mind. She felt as though Swamiji had just given her a specific instru...

13/09/2018 According to ancient Vedas it is said.... MATA BHOOMI PUTROHAM PRITHIVYAH which means Earth is my Mother and all creations on earth are her beloved children. YATHA AUSHADHAYA DEVEDYA TRIYUKAM PURAH MANDAMI BABRUNAAM AHAM SHADHAM DHAAMANI SAPTHAHJHA..... The plants and trees are children of nature. My heart rejoices at the mere sight of these innumerable varieties of creations. In ancient India these slokas show that, nature was considered to be the most important part of human life. Animals and Plants were looked after as part of their families. They were never seen as a mere resource for human consumption, while Today the earth is taken for granted and used for enjoyment. The Vedic Seers advocate a caring and reciprocal attitude. The verses of the Vedas reveal a deep respect towards the earth. Nature’s relationship to humans should be seen as a Mother Child relationship .Mahabharata..... Dharmo Rakshathi Rakshita.... those who protect Dharma they alone will be p...

13/09/2018 15. We cannot by any means think that the Supreme Universal Spirit has got some sense of humour that He sends these individual souls into the world of pain and death and suffering and then gets some kick out of it. We cannot think of that all-compassionate, all-loving, all-good Supreme Being in that manner. He is not like Nero who ordered people to set fire to some parts of Rome and then went on the hillside and played upon the fiddle. They say that Nero fiddled while Rome burnt. Then how come, if this world is a world of Janma, Mrtyu, Jara, Vyadhi, Duhkha (birth, death, old age, disease and suffering) one great fact, one great truth about this human life in this earth, is suffering, how come He has sent us here? Very simple. This is inevitable. He did not send us because He wanted to send us to a world of suffering. He sent us here because, if rightly lived, rightly made use of, this human state of ours can become the royal road to supreme blessedness, supreme bli...

12/09/2018 12. This is the goal of life towards which everyone is moving. 'You' and 'I', and everyone else, not merely human but even the other levels of existence are all tending towards this mysterious culmination of the values of all life, and what can be a greater call, what can be a more solacing message than this wondrous word that we hear from the adepts who have trodden this path, seen through the vicissitudes of life, and plumbed the depths of existence. At this auspicious moment, I invoke the blessings of the Almighty upon you all, that, in the words of the great Mantra called the Gayatri, we have our understandings properly directed. We have no other prayer except this, that our understandings move in the direction of Reality. We need understanding and nothing else. Understanding itself is satisfaction. Chit (Consciousness) is Ananda (Bliss). The more you understand, the more do you become happy. It is wisdom that gives you satisfaction and not mat...

12/09/2018 4.2 - Call of the Flute : The flute is the symbol of Pranava. It is this flute that attracted the devoted Gopis, the maidens of Vraja to meet their beloved Lord on the banks of the sacred Yamuna. The divine melody of the flute was enchanting. It had wonderful power. When it entered the core of the heart through the cavity of the ears, it made the hearer forget all his dear relations, the world, and even his own self. It made the hearer dance in ecstasy and filled his heart with pure love. The sound of this divine flute thrilled the heart with rapturous delight and instilled new life and joy. It produced God-intoxication in all beings and infused life even in insentient objects. The sweetness of the music was unsurpassed. He who heard once the music of Krishna’s flute, cared not for the nectar of heaven or the bliss of Moksha. The flute and its music had stirred the souls of the Gopis. They were not masters of themselves. The world was nothing to them. They felt i...

11/09/2018 The first group of religious ideas that we see coming up — I mean recognised religious ideas, and not the very low ideas, which do not deserve the name of religion — all include the idea of inspiration and revealed books and so forth. The first group of religious ideas starts with the idea of God. Here is the universe, and this universe is created by a certain Being. Everything that is in this universe has been created by Him. Along with that, at a later stage, comes the idea of soul — that there is this body, and something inside this body which is not the body. This is the most primitive idea of religion that we know. We can find a few followers of that in India, but it was given up very early. The Indian religions take a peculiar start. It is only by strict analysis, and much calculation and conjecture, that we can ever think that that stage existed in Indian religions. The tangible state in which we find them is the next step, not the first one. At the earlie...

11/09/2018   The basic principle of the physical world is one of highly defined order of Matter and the relationships between material objects.   Atoms, molecules, and the material substances created by them tend to act in regular and predictable ways.  This principle of order is automatic, a basic characteristic of Matter when it manifests in our world. When the life principle enters in, we see an enormous profusion of movements, shapes and actions which are not “orderly” in the sense of the world of matter, and which may seem to the mind’s eye, to be absolutely chaotic.  There is a riot of different shapes, forms, beings, and reactions.  The interactions on the life-plane are fluid, dynamic and to some degree unpredictable, although even here certain basic principles of action apply and can be found out through patient observation and recording of data and assembly of that data into patterned awareness. When the mental intelligence begins to man...