Pearls of Wise

  Chinmaya Mission : Chinmaya Vrindavan Cranbury, a spiritual organization, recently organized a new event in Balavihar called Bhajanotsav. It was a beautiful showcase of devotion and talent by the children. Each group was guided by an adult mentor and practiced together to sing two bhajans, some with instruments. The event was inaugurated by Swamini Radhikananda ji, who presented a beautiful bhajan to set the tone for the evening. There were 17 teams in total. The audience was deeply moved by the children's enthusiasm and devotion. The atmosphere was filled with bhakti as the children performed a variety of songs on different deities and in different languages. It was a great success for Chinmaya Vrindavan Cranbury, who organized the event to encourage and support the children's spiritual growth. ========================================================================= Sunday  14  May, 2023. 05:30.  1.The Preparation : ===============================================...

========================================================================= Saturday, 13 May, 2023. 05:30. ========================================================================= THE PECULIARITY of the Gita among the great religious books of the world is that it does not stand apart as a work by itself, the fruit of the spiritual life of a creative personality like Christ, Mahomed or Buddha or of an epoch of pure spiritual searching like the Veda and Upanishads, but is given as an episode in an epic history of nations and their wars and men and their deeds and arises out of a critical moment in the soul of one of its leading personages face to face with the crowning  action of his life, a work terrible, violent and sanguinary, at the point when he must either recoil from it altogether or carry it through to its inexorable completion. It matters little whether or no, as modern criticism supposes, the Gita is a later composition inserted into the mass of the Mahabharata by its author...

======================================================================= Friday, 12 May, 2023. 05:30. ======================================================================= Whenever a physical action is undertaken, it is very clear and implied that there is an objective before it. In fact what is an action? An action is a process during which, you begin from a point and reach the end point called the outcome or objective. It is like a line which necessarily connects two given points. So an action is itself designed with a view to produce an outcome. If the action is pursued to completion, the outcome will necessarily follow. Sometimes there can be factors that intercept the process of action. Then you may think about those factors, which are likely to intercept and try to safeguard against them. That is part of the action. To that extent everything is okay. Now, what is this further expectation? While doing an action, do you have to keep on saying, "By this action, I expect such a...

========================================================================= Thursday 11 May, 2023. 19:30. Dharma and Brahman : ========================================================================= Video :  Kautilya’s Instructions on Public Governance - Prof Gauri Mahulikar Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF) :    Tomorrow we are starting a unique camp on Nitividhana, civilizational public policy.  This short video explains Kautilya's perspective.  A genuine IKS approach behind making and executing policies for public! ======================================================================== The Vedas talk about dharma and Brahman and following this dharma leads us to Brahman. If we follow our own connotations of dharma we will not reach Brahman. It is like the path to Mount Everest. On making inquiries we discover the route to the top, but if we don’t follow the map we will not reach the peak. The earlier portion of the Vedas is known as karmakanda and the ...

========================================================================= Wednesday, 10 May, 2023. 05:30. Bhagavad Geeta : Source: Sikkim Express Chinmaya-admin at  6th December 2021 ========================================================================= On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna, a mighty warrior, a great achiever and celebrated hero suffers a psychological breakdown. At the very crucial moment, when weapons were about to be raised, he was assailed by a temporary state of confusion about his duty and the very purpose of the war. In the grip of despondency, he crumbled, sat down and refused to fight. Arjuna was overwhelmed by his emotions, by his attachment to his grandsire, Bhishma, and teacher, Dronacharya. Viewing the war from the pinhole of a limited, egocentric and narrow standpoint, created anxieties, fears and intense emotions in his mind. Whenever we become overly emotional due to sadness, anger, vengefulness or frustration, our thinking becomes clouded. T...

======================================================================== Tuesday, 09 May, 2023. 05:30. Published by  chinmaya-admin at  29th December 2013. ======================================================================== Q. Swamiji, your becoming the Mission Head was so sudden. Was it too drastic a move in your eyes? Do you feel as if you are forced to wear shoes too big for your feet? A. Pujya Gurudev during Suvarna Tulabharam in 1991 had first hinted to me that I will have to return from USA and take up His organizational work. This he repeated many times thereafter and in 1993 he specifically had written to me to return to India and take up CCMT work. Then I thought that he would train me under his guidance for which I was mentally prepared. But then very suddenly the situation took turns and I was placed in this position. So in a way I was prepared, in another I was not. But I do not feel overawed, for though technically I am the Head, I feel I am only a servant of...

======================================================================== Monday, 08 May, 2023. 05:30. (Source: Sikkim Express, June 25th 2020) http://www.sikkimexpress.com/news…/religion-and-spirituality Published by  chinmaya-admin at  30th June 2020 ========================================================================= Religion and spirituality are the same if we understand them correctly. Generally, we can say that religion is that which involves various rituals, dogmas, worship and pilgrimages. However, once we begin to inquire about ‘who is God’, ‘what is worship’ and ‘who am I’, spirituality truly begins. Normally people are satisfied doing various rituals, going to the temple, praying and so on. Very few inquire further. One need not be ritualistic in order to be spiritual. But rituals are not against spirituality. For instance, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, a spiritual giant, used to worship Mother Kali Devi. Then the question arises whether religion, spirituality an...

Sandeepany Himalayas, Chinmaya Tapovan, Sidhbari ========================================================================= Sunday, 06, May, 2023.  05:30. From Bharathiya (Hindu) Fasts & Festivals celerbrated by the people following Sanatana Dharmam - Swami Sivananda ========================================================================= THE IDOL is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop in his spiritual childhood. A form or image is necessary for worship in the beginning. It is an external symbol of God for worship. It is a reminder of God. The material image calls up the mental idea. Steadiness of mind is obtained by image worship. The worshipper will have to associate the ideas of infinity, omnipotence, omniscience, purity, perfection, freedom, holiness, truth and omnipresence with the form of worship he chooses. It is not possible for all to fix the mind on the Absolute. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practising concentration. To behold God everyw...