Pearls of Wise

(Spoken on May 1, 1983) 01/12/2018 3. We are, at the present moment, in the political, social, and physical level of existence. We are overly concerned with our political associations, requirements and involvements. Whatever be our spiritual, moral or philosophical longing in our leisure hours, there is no gainsaying that as a citizen of a particular nation a person is conscious of his or her involvement in what is called the national setup. There is an involvement in human society, in the community to which one belongs and from which relationship one cannot easily extricate oneself. And there are the fundamental involvements which are the ingredients of our own psychophysical individuality. While it is true that we are units in a politically organised nation, and are individuals related to human society in a particular manner and not totally independent of human relations, there is something more about us than what is visibly available in this manner. We are apparently a phys...

01/12/2018 1. Salutations again and again at the Holy Feet of the great Sage, Sri Vyasa Bhagavan or Sri Krishna Dwaipayana, who edited the Vedas, composed the Brahmasutras, and wrote the Mahabharata and the eighteen Puranas including the Srimad Bhagavata; salutations to the Brahmavidya Gurus, all Saints and Sages of yore up to the present day. Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya, who was an Avatara of Lord Siva, delved into the precious wisdom of the Upanishads and brought out the most rare gem in the form of the unparalleled Advaita philosophy or the Monistic idealism which gives you, in a nutshell, the glorious truth that you are in essence Divine beings, ever perfect, free, full and blissful. This idea is contained in his famous memorable Sloka: ‘Slokardhena pravakshyami yaduktam granthakotibhih, Brahma satyam jaganmithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah.’ This gives the very essence of all spiritual wisdom, and it is the last word in the transcendental realisation expressed in the form ...

30/11.2018 1. SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE : 1.1 Householders should not forget even for a moment that marriage is a sacred thing. The sanctity of marriage has to be realised in all its fullness and in all its seriousness. Marriage is a sacrament. It is not just the union of two bodies. That is the least important part of it. Marriage is bringing together by God two souls in this vast, vast phenomenon called life, in the vast stream of  existence where countless  millions of souls are moving in their individual planes of spiritual evolution towards the Divine. Through the grace of God, through the Divine Will, and through the operation of certain mysterious laws that govern this universal life, two souls are brought together. That is the meaning of marriage. 1.2 Through the coming together of these two souls, God means an important process to be worked out, and that is the sharing of the spiritual  impulse between the two. The husband and the wife are to share wha...

 30/11/2018 For much of human history, people lived in ignorance of others living far away, and even those who lived nearby were frequently little impacted by the actions of one group or another, setting aside, of course, the active attempt to control or subjugate neighboring groups through invasion and warfare.  The consciousness of humanity was clearly fragmented and divided and did not consciously identify all human beings as being inter-dependent and inter-connected.  The age of exploration, during which Europeans went out and tried to understand the planet, the oceans and land masses, and the peoples who resided in those various places, represented a first real awakening to the global scope of humanity and began the process of bringing people together, albeit for a long period of time in a decidedly negative manner of exploitation and domination.  During the 20th century, however, a deeper consciousness began to express itself, as the tools of commu...

13/11/2018 Happiness lies deep within us, in the very core of our being. Happiness does not exist in any external object, but only in us, who are the consciousness that experiences happiness. Though we seem to derive happiness from external objects or experiences, the happiness that we thus enjoy in fact arises from within us. Whatever turmoil our mind may be in, in the centre of our being there always exists a state of perfect peace and joy, like the calm in the eye of a storm. Desire and fear agitate our mind, and obscure from its vision the happiness that always exists within it. When a desire is satisfied, or the cause of a fear is removed, the surface agitation of our mind subsides, and in that temporary calm our mind enjoys a taste of its own innate happiness. Happiness is thus a state of being — a state in which our mind’s habitual agitation is calmed. The activity of our mind disturbs it from its calm state of just being, and causes it to lose sight of its own innermo...

13/11/2018 (Extract from an address delivered at Airlie Lodge, Ridgeway Gardens, England) People who are capable of seeing only the gross external aspect of things can perceive in the Indian nation only a conquered and suffering people, a race of dreamers and philosophers. They seem to be incapable of perceiving that in the spiritual realm India conquers the world. No doubt it is true that just as the too active Western mind would profit by an admixture of Eastern introspect ion and the meditative habit, so the Eastern would benefit by a somewhat greater activity and energy. Still we must ask: What may be that force which causes this afflicted and suffering people, the Hindu, and the Jewish too (the two races from which have originated all the great religions of the world) to survive, when other nations perish? The cause can only be their spiritual force. The Hindus are still living though silent, the Jews are more numerous today than when they lived in Palestine. The philos...

12/11/2018 Sri Ramakrishna had a unique way of imparting spiritual instructions.   The following story told by him shows a very practical approach to religion. In a forest there lived a holy man who had many disciples.  One day he taught them to see Narayana (God) in all beings and hence have a reverential attitude towards everyone.  The disciples once went inside a forest to gather wood for sacrificial fire.  Suddenly, they heard a warning “get out of the way, a mad elephant is coming”.  All the disciples except one ran away and took shelter in a safe place.  But, one disciple reasoned that since the Guru had taught them to see Narayana i.e. God, in every being, the elephant is also God in another form and if so why should he run away from it.  He stood still, bowed before the elephant and started chanting some stotras.  The Mahout of the elephant shouted, “Run Away !, Run Away!”, but the disciple didn’t move.  The animal li...

12/11/2018 Chapter 2 - Bhagavan Shri Krishna's feet The essence of the Bhagawad Geeta or Samkhya Yoga unfolds in the second chapter. After giving a patient hearing Lord Krishna shakes Arjuna out of his apathy. He analyses his problem and chides him, “You talk like an intellectual but in reality you are confused and sorrowful. You do not recognize yourself as you really are.” After this mental shake the Lord begins the teaching of the Gita. This chapter is a direct introduction to the Atman and eloquently describes the state of a Sthitaprajna Purusha. We must attain the state of a Jeevan Mukta, not after death but here and now…in this life. The jnani is content in Himself. He revels in His own Self or the Atman. The world is Atmaswarupa and the Lord is all-pervasive. This can be achieved by freeing our minds from desires and becoming absorbed in the Atman. To realize this, we have only to recognize ourselves as we are. We don’t have to go anywhere. We don’t have to ge...

11/11/2018 We are mesmerised by the outer world, the great drama of life. Seldom do we spend time to think about the glory and the potential of the mind,of the universe within. We tend to think first of the downside. The mind is passionate,prejudicial, fearful and jealous. Maybe it's hereditary entrapment. Rarely does one try to find out: Is it the outer world and its allure that i have to enjoy and rejoice in, or is there something even more wonderful in the inner world? Take a fresh look, cultivate a new outlook. The mind is a wide panorama; it's expanse is infinite, as is its power. Don't get bound by negative thoughts. Understand that the mind is capable of spinning and weaving enormous confidence, creating incalculable loftiness,impenetrable depth and immense magnitude. When you start dwelling upon these positive, pleasant and benevolent features of the mind, your fear about the negative will disappear. The beauty of your face you cannot always see. If you ...

11/11/2018 What is true victory? Is it about acquiring wealth or conquering the world? Such a victory is not lasting. Abiding victory comes when we have conquered our own minds. If the mind is the ruler and it controls us then we end up living a life of defeat. For example, I decide to get up at 5 o’ clock in the morning. The mind says, “Why should you get up so early? Even birds get up early in the morning, but what do they achieve? So go to sleep!” If you give in, you are defeated. One little thought can defeat you. When a person is addicted to a cigarette or some other substance, that one little object defeats him completely. He becomes weak, that addiction becomes his weakness. Victory in the true sense is one where a person gains victory over himself. This kind of victory is abiding, whereas any external or physical victory is only temporary. It will be here today, gone tomorrow. Sometimes it doesn’t take more than a fraction of a second to vanish. A life of dynamism n...

10/11/2018 In our previous discussion, we saw Arjuna asking Krishna to show him the enemies he has to fight. This verse is very important in the first chapter of Gita. The devotee needs the help of Bhagavan to see who he has to fight. Often in life we fight other people because we don’t know who our real enemies are. For eg. If you listen to some people talk, they are quick to judge others, without making an effort to understand their situation. Mahabharata is one story where every person is right in his/ her perspective. Today’s lesson: This lesson is very much applicable today. Every person is right in his or her perspective. The difference in thinking, attitudes, likes, dislikes are all established by the upbringing, education, social interactions, experiences in life etc., yet each person feels…... he thinks right !!! If that is the case, the real enemy we need to fight is sitting within us….. As our wrong approach to the situation at hand. If you are able to see things f...

10/11/2018 Tryst with Sri Anandamai Ma! : *PreciousMemories : CHINMAYA MISSION In the spring of 1979, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda was among a group of distinguished swamis who were invited to speak at the 83rd birthday celebration of Anandamai Ma held in *Bangalore. It is said that Anandamai Ma showed great affection for Swamiji on that day. Gurudev also reciprocated with much *reverence and affection. He had previously met Anandamai Ma on two occasions: She had been a guest at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya *Powai in 1975; and, although the exact date of his first meeting with her is unknown, it was sometime during his days in Ananda Kutir when he was a student of *Vedanta. Swamiji had developed a problem with his practice of *pranayama (breath-control exercises advocated in Yoga) and Swami Sivananda had sent him to Anandamai Ma for assistance. Pranayama had led him to be constantly #hungry, no matter how much he ate. It is reported that Anandamai Ma asked for four rot...

09/11/2018 18. So, morning and evening, counter this constant entry of outer impressions, gross earthly impressions, by elevating, inspiring, uplifting, spiritual study, wherein you take into your mind inspiring ideas, elevating ideas, uplifting spiritual ideas, through study of the scriptures, UPANISHADS or whatever scriptures of the religion that you belong to or the works of great saints, supreme realised souls, perfected masters—they are vibrant with the spiritual force and power. Therefore it is a daily renewal of the mind. Going deep within you and cleansing the mind. Throwing out all that is gross and earthly, and creating day by day a wealth of inspiring, uplifting spiritual ideas that is called the Sadhana Swadhyaya. Great emphasis has been laid upon it by all the great sages, all the Upanishads and all the scriptures. NEVER NEGLECT YOUR DAILY SPIRITUAL STUDY. It is not mere routine Paarayanam (reading), but study. Last but not least, the fifth process that gives an...

09/11/2018 (Spoken on May 1, 1983) 2. If philosophy is essentially the tracing of effects to their causes and the attempt to interpret every event, every occurrence, every phenomenon in the light of a cause behind which there is no further cause, then the instruction that permanent and perennial success or happiness can be had only where Krishna and Arjuna are seated in one chariot may have a deeper meaning than what is visible on the surface. It is perhaps evident to any inquisitive understanding that Krishna and Arjuna have to be in one chariot at every level of being, and not merely in the physical field of the Mahabharata. The gospel of the Bhagavadgita itself is a teaching that is given from many angles of vision, inasmuch as the problems of life are multifaceted and so the remedies also have to be of similar character and potency. Our difficulties do not arise from one side only. Misfortunes never come singly, as the old saying goes. It drops on our head like a hailst...

08/11/2018 End of Parikshit :- Once upon a time Parikshit went on a hunting excursion. He got fatigued and felt intense thirst. So he entered the cottage of the sage Samika. The sage was absorbed in meditation and so he was not aware of the presence of the king. Parikshit was very much annoyed that the sage did not treat him with hospitality. Further, he was very much tormented by hunger and thirst. He thought, “This sage is pretending to be absorbed in contemplation in order to avoid the usual courtesies and the ordinary hospitality due to me. He is showing his contempt to me.” Then he picked up with the edge of his bow the carcass of a serpent, threw it as a garland over the neck of the sage and walked away. The youthful son of the sage, Sringi, who was playing on the bank of the adjoining river with other boys, came to know from some playmate that King Parikshit had put a dead serpent over the neck of his father. He cursed the king and said that the serpent Takshaka shoul...

08/11/2018 The king, sovereign, monarch, chief executive of the State assumed powers primarily initially in external affairs, including military and international relations and only later, in the consolidation of power, began to bring together the various economic, legislative and judicial powers internal to the State.  The judicial power previously tended to be diffused in local or even ad hoc bodies, where citizens or leaders within smaller sub-units of the State, such as clans or tribes, would for a judicial council or act as the key decision-maker for judicial needs.  This inevitably caused judicial process to be localized and diverse in its application within the larger nation.  Eventually, the drive towards centralisation, however, brings the executive power to look at how to consolidate and make uniform the judicial functions. Sri Aurobindo observes:  “Human societies, therefore, in their earlier development retained for a long time an aspect of great ...