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Sharing Teachings from Scriptures of Sanātanaḥ Dharmaḥ and Self Realised Masters. Owner - @Vasudevom #spiritual #sanatandharma #hinduism
Brahman is brilliant, because the sun, the moon and stars, the fire and lightning, shine by the light of Brahman.
Brahman is subtler than the subtlest grain or atom. It is also bigger than the biggest, such as earth
Brahman is the abode or support of this world with all its inhabitants. He is life, speech, mind and all the instruments.
Brahman is the Prana of Pranas, mind of minds, ear of ears, eye of eyes. Prana, mind, eye, etc, derive their power and intelligence from Brahman.
This immortal Brahman is the internal intelligence of Prana, mind and the senses. Therefore Brahman is true and endless.
~ Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
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Do not allow the desires to control your thoughts. Do not be carried away easily by all sorts of desires through emotion.
When a desire manifests, cogitate, think well. Reason out whether this particular desire towards the particular object will bring maximum happiness and minimum pain. If it is otherwise, reject it ruthlessly. Do not try to fulfil it. You must control desire through thoughts.
You must not allow a desire to overrule the thought. You must slowly gain the strength to control a desire. A desire, when controlled, becomes transmuted into will. You will gain will-force.
Many people fall a prey to their desires and are tossed about hither and thither helplessly like a straw in the wind. This is a great pity. That man who has gained control over desires and thoughts is really a powerful and happy man.
~ Swami Sivananda - Practice of Karmayoga
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Happiness has for ever been the prime aim of every human being. All activities of man are directed towards acquiring the maximum happiness in life. But, through the wrong deluded notion that objects will give happiness, man searches for it outside.
The result is that in spite of all his lifelong efforts, he gets disappointment only. Vexation and misery alone are to be seen everywhere. The real lasting happiness lies within man. Such happiness or Ananda is the Inner Self, the Antaratman. The very nature of Atman is pure Joy.
This is never perceived because the mind is completely externalised. As long as the mind is restlessly wandering about amidst objects, ever fluctuating, excited, agitated and uncontrolled, this true joy cannot be realised and enjoyed. To control the restless mind and perfectly still all thoughts and cravings is the greatest problem of man. If he has subjugated the mind, he is the Emperor of emperors.
~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati
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A boat may stay in water, but water should not stay in boat. A spiritual aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live within him.
~ Paramahamsa Ramakrishna
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Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
~ Tao
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We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary.
~ Swami Vivekananda.
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Life is a mirror. You see in it what you show it. If you make a pleasant face, a pleasant face looks back at you. If you make an unpleasant face, an unpleasant face looks back at you. Happiness and misery, favourable and unfavourable environments depend to a very large extent on our state of mind.
Happiness is not contained in things, situation or environment outside. It is in how we look at it through our mind. It is the situations within.
~ Swami Chidananda Saraswati
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An Aspirant and a Worldly Man.
What does a passionate man do? He repeats the same ignoble act and fills his stomach as many times as he can.
What does an aspirant with burning desire for Self-realization do? He takes a little milk and repeats the process of meditation the whole day and night, and eventually enjoys the bliss of the immortal Self.
Both the worldly man and the aspirant are busy in their own ways. The former is caught in the wheel of births and deaths while the latter attains immortality and peace.
The mind can be controlled only by continuous practice. You must always keep it occupied in divine contemplation. If you slacken in your efforts, idle thoughts will at once enter.
~ Swami Sivananda Saraswati
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"Every duty is holy, and devotion to duty is the highest form of the worship of God."
"When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond. Do it as worship, as the highest worship, and devote your whole life to it for the time being."
~ Swami Vivekananda
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Why do we worry so much?
Most of us are uncomfortable with our past, we are worried about our future and we are concerned about our present. We are stressed about the state of affairs, economy and a million other things
The most amusing and disturbing thing is that mostly we worry about things that are completely beyond our control.
Even though we have no control over the past, you may be bothered by what others think of you, or why do not they love you or recognise you, but once again, you cannot control their thoughts.
A bit of worrying is okay because it helps you to plan your life and it makes you think through your actions. Excessive worrying, however, is a disease.
The question is: Why do we worry about things that we well know we cannot do anything about? The answer is simple.
Worrying is a habit.
And, two things make it persistent.
Firstly - Fear.
Secondly - Uncontrolled thoughts.
Fear can be tackled by taking the right action while meditation can help you tame uncontrolled thoughts.
The one who has mastered the art of channelising thoughts wades through the river of life as effortlessly as a lion navigating the jungle.
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Questioner: When I love a person and he gets angry, why is his anger so intense?
KRISHNAMURTI: First of all, do you love anybody?
Do you know what it is to love? It is to give completely your mind, your heart, your whole being and not ask a thing in return, not put out a begging bowl to receive love. Do you understand?
When there is that kind of love, is there anger?
And why do we get angry when we love somebody with the ordinary, so-called love? It is because we are not getting something we expect from that person, is it not?
I love my wife or husband, my son or daughter, but the moment they do something “wrong” I get angry. Why?
Why does the father get angry with his son or daughter? Because he wants the child to be or do something, to fit into a certain pattern, and the child rebels.
Parents try to fulfil, to immortalize themselves through their property, through their children and, when the child does something of which they disapprove, they get violently angry.
They have an ideal of what the child should be, and through that ideal they are fulfilling themselves; and they get angry when the child does not fit into the pattern which is their fulfilment.
Have you noticed how angry you sometimes get with a friend of yours? It is the same process going on.
You are expecting something from him, and when that expectation is not fulfilled you are disappointed—which means, really, that inwardly, psychologically you are depending on that person.
So wherever there is psychological dependence, there must be frustration; and frustration inevitably breeds anger, bitterness, jealousy, and various other forms of conflict.
That is why it is very important, especially while you are young, to love something with your whole being—a tree, an animal, your teacher, your parent—for then you will find out for yourself what it is to be without conflict, without fear.
But you see, the educator is generally concerned about himself, he is caught up in his personal worries about his family, his money, his position.
He has no love in his heart, and this is one of the difficulties in education.
You may have love in your heart, because to love is a natural thing when one is young; but it is soon destroyed by the parents, by the educator, by the social environment.
To maintain that innocence, that love which is the perfume of life, is extraordinarily arduous; it requires a great deal of intelligence, insight.
Think on These Things
By J Krishnamurti
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Merits (punya) and sins (papa) are not visible, nevertheless they subtly cast their influence on the life-force, mind and sense-organs of the individual.
Sins cause mind etc. to shrink while merits cause them to expand. Performance of meritorious deeds leads to the termination of the remnants of sin. As sins vanish, mind functions even more effectively. Longevity increases.
The sense-organs turn sharp
and work in the prescribed, right direction.
When a person leads a disciplined life along with performance of meritorious deeds, he is automatically pushed towards spiritual growth.
Mind is the master of the senses. When it weakens, longevity reduces. The senses that are totally dependent upon mind and longevity, automatically shrink. Material pleasures supply only temporary joy to the mind, but in no way can they shower it with peace and bliss. It is spiritual sadhana, performance of japa, meditation and other practices that provide the mind with real bliss and peace!
Just as ministers, soldiers and other citizens prosper only when the king prospers, only when the mind is healthy and positive, senses and longevity get strengthened.
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Understand the meaning of life.
Eating, sleeping and other natural functions, without an understanding of the purpose of life, makes an animal of man. To be a human being, one needs to know the purpose of life. That purpose is liberation, and liberation can be achieved through non-attached actions. Any obstacle in life can also become a means to liberation.
Whatever gives you pain can also give you liberating knowledge. It is not the objects of the world but our attitude toward them which gives us pleasure and pain.
~ Swami Rama, Freedom From The Bondage Of Karma.
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Sri Ramakrishna and principle of yoga – ‘lust and greed’ are impediments to yoga
“You ask me why you don’t develop deep dispassion. There is a reason for it. You have a strong desire for sense enjoyments, your mind is filled with worldliness. I say the same to Hazra. In the countryside before they bring water to the fields, they make mud ridges on all four sides of the field so that water can’t flow out. They are mud ridges, but they have water outlets here and there. There are holes. Water is brought with full force to the field, but it goes out through the holes.
Our desires are like these holes, outlets. You maybe practicing japa (repetition of God’s name) and austerities, but at the back of your mind, you have desires for sense enjoyments. From the outlets of desire, everything leaks out.
“One catches fish with a bamboo trap. Ordinarily bamboo is straight, but when bent to the ground, it acts as a fish trap. Desire for sense enjoyments is the fish, so the mind remains bent toward the world. If there is no desire, the mind naturally orients itself upwards, toward the Lord.
“Do you know how it is? Like the needles of a scale. Because of the weight of ‘lust and greed,’ the upper needle does not align itself with the lower needle. Thus one strays from the path of yoga.
Our mind is spread out in different directions. You have to collect this mind and concentrate it to a point.
~ Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
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Those without erudition, ambition, magnanimity, character, virtue, and righteousness are only a burden on the earth and in the mortal world; they are animals wandering in the guise of humans.
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SILENCE
You should sit in silence before deciding about any important matter, asking the God for his blessing.
- Then behind your power is God's power;
- Behind your mind His Mind;
- Behind your will his will.
~ Sri Paramahansa Yogananda,
"The Law of success"
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The subtle truths of Vedanta cannot be grasped by a gross and impure mind. The mind should be rendered pure, subtle and sharp-pointed Only then will it be fit to practise concentration and meditation, and comprehend the subtle truths of the Upanishads.
Tapas and celibacy contribute to the purification of the mind.
He who practises the vow of celibacy. should avoid these following eight breaks in Brahmacharya -
1- Thinking about women with evil thoughts.
2- Talking about them.
3- Playing with them
4- Looking at them with lustful eyes
5- Talking with them in a solitary place
6- Desiring them
7- Trying to obtain them
8- Enjoying them
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Do not wish evil for others. Do not speak ill of others. Do not obstruct anyones activities.
~ Guru Nanak
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Man has forgotten his essential divine nature on account of ignorance, and so the mind runs after sensual pleasures. Ignorant men, who have no right understanding and discrimination, run after external objects of desire, and so they fall into the meshes of widespread or omnipresent death. They get into the wide-extended snare of Yama.
Ignorance (Avidya), desire (Kama) and actions (Karma) are the three knots of the noose of Yama. They suffer from the pangs of birth, death, old age, sickness, etc. The term 'death' includes other modifications of life also, viz. birth, disease, decay or old age.
But the wise (the knowers of Brahman), having known what is immortal and eternal and unchanging, do not covet the ephemeral, unstable objects here.
The Inner Self, neither increases nor decreases by Karma. Hence, It is constant and immutable. The wise who enjoy the eternal Bliss of the Atman, do not care for The little sensual pleasures. The sum total of the pleasures of this world is a mere drop when compared to Bliss of Atman.
The Atman is ocean of bliss. They know that the sensual objects are enemies of Atman. They're fully aware that sensual objects are opposed to Self Realisation.
~ Kathā Upaniṣad
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Atman is transcendental, ie, beyond all sense-perceptions.
It is without sound, without touch, without form, without taste and without smell.
It is beyond matter It is pure Self. It is absolute Consciousness. It is beyond the reach of mind and speech. It does not possess the properties of matter such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell. It is of the nature of pure Bliss and Knowledge.
This earth is gross. This space is subtle. But the Atman is subtler than the subtlest.
The attributes of matter such as sound, etc, do not exist in the Atman, Brahman. Therefore, It does not decay. It can neither increase nor decrease.
A thing that decays is ephemeral. That which has a beginning is an effect. It is absorbed into its cause. Therefore, it is not eternal.
But, this Atman has no cause into which it could be absorbed, As It is the cause of all, it is not an effect. As it is not an effect, it is eternal. Decaying objects like trees, body, etc. Have a beginning and an end. But this Atman is beginningless and endless as it is eternal.
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Disciple: Who impels the mind to alight on its objects? At whose command does Prana proceed to function? At whose command do men utter speech? What intelligence directs the eyes and the ears (towards their respective objects)?
Guru: lt is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, tongue of the tongue (the speech of speech) and also life of the life and eye of the eye.
Behind the mind, breath and the senses there is Brahman or the Supreme Self. He who knows this Brahman attains immortality.
lgnorant people identify themselves with the body, mind, Prana and senses on account of ignorance or Avidya. They mistake these false perishable limiting adjuncts or vehicles for the pure immortal Atman, and so they are caught in the round of births and deaths. But some wise people abandon this false identification, separate themselves from these limiting adjuncts through enquiry, discrimination and practice of Neti-neti doctrine (l am not this body, I am not this Prana, I am not this mind, I am not the senses), identify themselves with the all-pervading, immortal, pure Brahman, obtain knowledge of Brahman and attain immortality.
Just as the water in a cup borrows its heat from the fire, so also the mind, Prana and senses borrow their light and power from the Atman. The Atman is the source for all these organs.
- The ear hears through the light of the Atman.
- The tongue speaks through the power of the Atman.
- The mind thinks through the intelligence of the Atman. and
- Prana performs its function through the power of the Atman only.
Mind and these organs are inert and non-intelligent. They appear to be intelligent through the light and power of the Atman.
Brahman or the Atman gives to the ear the power of hearing, gives to the mind the power of thinking, gives to the tongue the power of speaking, gives the power of life to the first prana, gives to the eye the power of seeing.
~ Kēna Upaniṣadaḥ
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Those who wish to attain God or make progress in their devotional practices should particularly guard themselves against the snares of lust and wealth. Otherwise they will never attain perfection.
If there is a small hole at the bottom of a jar of water, the whole water will leak out. Similarly, if there is the smallest tinge of worldliness in the aspirant, all his exertions will come to naught.
~ Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.
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All Sadhana, all Yoga-Abhyasa have one aim — to remove distraction of the mind and focus it. And thus bring about a state of one-pointedness, concentration, and to integrate your life, your thoughts, feelings, emotions, sentiments, imagination and aspirations towards one unified quest, one clearly defined goal.
All Sadhana – Japa, meditation, Kirtan, Puja, Upasana – should make you totally absorbed, one-pointed, completely focussed.
The focussing of the mind is Sadhana, that is Abhyasa. It is the key to success. It is the solution to all problems.
~ Swami Chidananda Saraswati
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Unlock the power of your mind
Your brain is the most powerful super computer on Earth. More powerful than you or I can comprehend.
However, the modern world has programmed your brain to be weak and useless. Your mind is filled with absolutely useless thoughts.
Look at the thoughts of the average person on a day to day basis.
They think about the most useless things. Random worries. Meaningless objectives. Useless stats about their sports teams. Events going on throughout the world. Trends on social media. Thoughts that bring them no joy. Thoughts that do not spiritually progress them in life.
So they live an average and depressing life.
How can you entertain divine thoughts and grow spiritually?
- Study the teachings of gurus and scriptures.
- Associate yourself with other spiritual aspirant, discuss and understand the matters that reflects divine values and virtues.
- Do worship of your ishtadevata.
- Practice Pranayama/Japa/Meditation everyday.
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Śubhā dīpāvalī.
May lakṣmī dispel your darkness which is born out of ignorance and grant you material and spiritual wealth of knowledge to attain santōṣaḥ, aiśvaryaṁ, and mōkṣa.
If the aspirant has the nature of being offended easily over trifling things, he cannot make any progress in meditation. He should cultivate an amiable, loving nature and adaptability. Then this bad quality will disappear.
Some aspirants easily get offended if their bad qualities and defects are pointed out. They become indignant and begin to fight with the man who points out the defects. They think that the man is concocting them out of jealousy and hatred. This is bad.
Other people can very easily find out our defects. A man who has no life of introspection, whose mind is of outgoing tendencies cannot find out his own mistakes.
The self-conceit acts as a veil and blurs the mental vision. If an aspirant wants to grow he must admit his defects if they are pointed out by others.
He must try his level best to eradicate them and must thank the man who points them out. Then only can he grow in spirituality and meditation.
Swami Sivananda - Practice of Karmayoga
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Those who -
• Take pleasure in doing those activities which should be avoided at any cost.
• Are devoid of Dharma and kindness
• Are associated with the wicked
• Are always disinterested in scriptures that can provide welfare and enlightenment
• Stay away from associating with the virtuous
• Puffed with self-pride and indulge in eulogizing one’s own qualities
• Are arrogant with the possession of wealth and position
• Are filled with demonic qualities and totally lack any kind of divine attributes
• Have a disturbed and unstable mind
• Are entangled in a mesh of delusions
• Always are immersed in fulfilling desires after desires
Above people are certainly bound to suffer.
The same has been said in Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta -
yē narāḥ jṇānaśīlāśca tē yānti paramāṁ gatim |
pāpaśīlā narāṁ yānti du:khēna yamā yātanām ||
Those who are realized (knowledge about the real and unreal) shall attain the supreme state, while, those who are engaged in acts of vice are sure to suffer the pain of torture of Yama.
Another very important thing that one should always remain conscious about is that those who tread the path of evil are sure to suffer here in this world also.
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How to control Mind?
If you want to collect water it has to be kept in a vessel or a glass, but you want to collect it on the ground where it will run off in different directions. The way has clearly been defined in Ramacharitamanas:
Those who collect strings of attachment Body, wealth, house, friends and family, With mother, father, relations, sons, wife, Make a rope out of them and tie it to my (Rama's) feet.
Those who are impartial, having no desires, In whose heart there is no place For happiness and sorrow, courage and fear, Such bhaktas reside in my heart, In the same manner as riches Reside in the heart of a greedy man.
If you want to collect water, get a glass ready first and then pour the water into it, so the water is contained in one place. You have to provide a base so the water does not run everywhere.
In the same way, you need a base for the mind so that it becomes stable. You need a basis to control the mind. At present, your basis is defective. It is like a container with a hundred holes; the water escapes as soon as you pour it into the container. It is better to get a new container rather than plugging up the holes. The cost is the same.
Stabilizing the mind in one place is called yoga. The mind is always active. This is a truth. Everyone's mind is always restless.
Yoga is fixing the mind at one point. The means adopted to reach this end is also called yoga. Yoga is the means and the end.
The mind is your friend when it is under control. When the mind is not under control it is your worst enemy. In fact, man's mind is the cause of both his bondage and his freedom. You should know the totality of the mind: the vrittis, sankalpas, passions, karmas, influences, innate desires, instincts. You should know everything. Once you know the mind, you will know how to serve it, because the mind is not your enemy, it is your friend.
~ Swami Satyananda Saraswati
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Real Misfortune is to Forget God.
O man, no matter where you are, always chant the Name of God! Do not forget God. Remember Him and chant His Name.This is your highest good. No matter in what condition you are, no matter in what company, in what clothes, in what mood you are, how you are living, none of this matters. Always chant His Name.
Whether you are in ideal conditions, whether you are worshipping God, whether you are enjoying the world, or whether you are suffering with disease, no matter what the condition is, chant His Name.
Remember Him, worship Him, adore Him. That is most important.That is the one thing that is meaningful and worthwhile.
You have no other business than to be in God, to link up with Him, to dwell in Him, to be centered in Him. That is Life. When it is there, all is well. When it is not there, life is not life. Misfortune is not misfortune and good fortune is not good fortune, as we normally say in this world.
Real misfortune is to forget God. Real good fortune is to remember God. Forgetfulness of Harī or Śivā is true misfortune.
~ Swami Chidananda Saraswati
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Five characteristics of a fool are:
1- Arrogance
2- Bad mouthing
3- Uncontrollable anger
4- Strongly held views, and
5- Intolerance of opinions held by others.
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