Friday, February 29, 2008

Quotes from Bhagawat Gita



Quotes from Bhagawat Gita

 
  • Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.

  • Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace.

  • Action is the product of the Qualities inherent in Nature.

  • It is better to do thine own duty, however lacking in merit, than to do that of another, even though efficiently.


Quotes by Sri Shirdi Sai Baba



Quotes by Sri Shirdi Sai Baba

 
  • Ø Make your life a rose that speaks silently in the language of the heart.

  • Ø There is only one religion, the religion of Love; There is only one language, the language of the Heart; There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity; There is only one law, the law of Karma; There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.

  • Ø Start the Day with Love; Spend the Day with Love; Fill the Day with Love; End the Day with Love; This is the way to God.

  • Ø Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.


Quotes by Paramhansa Yogananda



  • Ø As soon as your consciousness is right, God is there. He is not hiding from you, you are hiding from Him.
  • Ø Whether a man is born in India or in America, he someday has to die. Why not learn how to 'die daily' in God, like St. Paul?
  • Ø It is all right to enjoy life; the search of happiness is not to become attached to anything. Enjoy the smell of the flower; but see God in it.
  • Ø FOLLOW the path of truth steadfastly. Remember that out of thousands, only a few seek God, and out of those seekers perhaps only one really knows Him.
  • Ø He who is persistent will realize God. So try your best to make meditation a regular experience in your life.
  • Ø I have realized by searching for lasting love, that it was someone else who cared for me through all human loves.
  • Ø The divine has loved me as mother, as father, and as friend, behind all friends. I searched for that one Friend behind all friends, that one lover whom I now see glimmering in all your faces. And that friend never fails me.
  • Ø LOVE Him. Talk to Him every second of your life, in activity and in silence with deep prayer, with the unceasing desire of your heart, and you shall see the screen of delusion melt away.
  • Ø I pray that God gives you the imperishable gift of His love.
  • Ø Most people consider the course of events as natural and inevitable. They little know what radical changes are possible through prayer. Every morning I offer my body, my mind and any ability that I posses, to be used by Thee, O infinite creator, in whatever way Thou dost choose to express Thyself through me. I know that all work is Thy work, and that no task is too difficult or too menial when offered to Thee in loving service.
  • Ø Glory of God is great. He is real, and He can be found in this life. In men's heart there are many prayers--for money, health---prayers for all manner of things. But the prayer that should be first in every heart in the prayer for God's presence.
  • Ø PRAY is... Go to your room and shut the door...make no fuss. Sit down and talk to God. Practice meditation. Let your mind become so intense that the next time you sit to meditate you won't have to make effort. Pray to him: Lord you are the master of creation, so I come to you. I will never give up until you talk to me and make me realize your presence. I will not live without you...
  • Ø WHEN you have found it impossible to fulfil some urgent wish by your own effort, you turn to God in prayer. Thus every prayer that you utter represents a desire. But when you find God, all desires vanish, and there is no need for prayer. I don't pray. In fulfilment of the wish or prayer for Him lies joy eternal..
  • Ø GOD made this earth as it is on purpose; in His plan it is man's part to make the world better.
  • Ø THOSE who do not give time to their RELIGION can not expect to know all at once about God and the hereafter.
  • Ø It is important to develop intuition, for he who is God-conscious is sure of himself. He knows and he knows that he knows . We must be sure of God's presence, as sure as we are that we know the taste of orange. It was only after my Guru had shown me how to commune with God and after I had felt His presence everyday that I assumed the spiritual duty of telling others about Him.
  • Ø Every day undertake something that is difficult for you and try to do it. Though you fail 5 times, keep on, and as soon as you have succeeded in that direction, apply your concentrated will on something else. You will thus be able to accomplish increasingly greater things. Will is the instrument of the image of God within you.
  • Ø Between the eyebrows is the door to heaven. The centre in the brain is the seat of will. When you concentrate deeply there and calmly, whatever you are willing shall come about.
  • Ø Never do anything that taints your mind. Wrong actions cause negative or evil mental vibrations that are reflected in your whole appearance and personality . Engage in those actions and thoughts that nurture the good qualities you want to have.
  • Ø To meditate truly is to concentrate solely on spirit. This is esoteric meditation. It is the highest form of activity that man can perform, and it is the most balanced way to find GOD.
  • Ø To be able to concentrate is essential for spiritual progress; without concentration you shall never find God. Learn how to shut out of your consciousness all sounds and other earthly distractions.
  • Ø IT is important to develop intuition, or some direct knowledge, for he who is God conscious is sure of himself.
  • Ø THOSE who go deep enough in their concentration will penetrate that 'third' eye and see 'God'.
  • Ø I condemn no man - only man's BELIEF and oblivion of God. He can be known by using the technique of meditation. Then he shall throb as wisdom in your mind, and as joy in your heart, and you will be more active and more successful than you have ever been before. You must believe in the possibility of what you are praying for.......
  • Ø IF you dive really deep you will find pearl of His presence. Unless we apply definite methods of science in practicing RELIGION, it becomes little more than a slave for our conscience.
  • Ø THE true practice of RELIGION is to sit still in meditation and talk to God.


Quotes by Jaggi Vasudev



  • How can you love one and hate the other, when the same divine exists in all.

  • Mind is just a garbage bin.

  • Spirituality is about acting out of your inner humanity, if you go deeper, you’ll be acting out of inner divinity. This has nothing to do with morality…the maximum damage to this world has been done with good intensions.

  • A world full of love, light and laughter - its time has come.

  • As many colors of the rainbow are an outcome of one pure light, many religions of the world are an expression of the same divine source.

  • Religions of the world are not bout one man’s belief against another, but an opportunity for all humans to each to their common ultimate source.

  • Individual transformation is the way to global transformation.



Quotes by Swami Sivananda



A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love or hate.

Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.

Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself.

Desire is poverty. Desire is the greatest impurity of the mind. Desire is the motive force for action. Desire in the mind is the real impurity. Even a spark of desire is a very great evil.

Desire nothing, give up all desires and be happy.

Do not love leisure. Waste not a minute. Be bold. Realize the Truth, here and now!

Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred.

Go beyond science, into the region of metaphysics. Real religion is beyond argument. It can only be lived both inwardly and outwardly.

God is all-full. He is self-contained. He is eternal satisfaction.

It is divinity that shapes, not only your ends, but also your acts, your words and thoughts.

Know that wealth, sex-delights, power, learning are all bondage. This is the beginning of wisdom.

Meditation is painful in the beginning but it bestows immortal Bliss and supreme joy in the end.

Practice meditation regularly. Meditation leads to eternal bliss. Therefore meditate, meditate.

Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize.

Terrible is the fight put up by the senses. Fight bravely! Conquer them you must.

That Director of the mind, intellect and senses, is no other than the all-merciful Lord, your, your inner ruler, Antaryamin. Know Him and be free.

The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.

The real spiritual progress of the aspirant is measured by the extent to which he achieves inner tranquility.

Today is you own. Tomorrow perchance may never come.

Desire nothing, give up all desires and be happy

It is divinity that shapes, not only your ends, but also your acts, your words and thoughts

Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.

There is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see that now. Time will reveal it. Be patient.

There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment.

Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate destination.

Life is short. Time is fleeting. Realize the Self. Purity of the heart is the gateway to God. Aspire. Renounce. Meditate. Be good; do good. Be kind; be compassionate. Inquire, know Thyself.

Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.

Your duty is to treat everybody with love as a manifestation of the Lord .

Thinking of disease constantly will intensify it. Feel always 'I am healthily in body and mind'.

If you do not know the laws of right conduct, you cannot form your character.

Always do good to others. Be selfless. Mentally remove everything and be free. This is divine life. This is the direct way to Moksha or salvation.

Moral values, and a culture and a religion, maintaining these values are far better than laws and regulations.

Give up salt, give up sugar, give up spices, give up vegetables, give up chutnies, give up tamarind. Serve Bhangis, serve rogues, serve inferiors, remove faecal matter. Do not revenge, resist not evil, return good for evil, bear insult and injury. Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred

Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even into your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.

A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.

Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle!




Wednesday, February 27, 2008

AtmaShatak / Nirvan Shatak




Shri Adi Shankaracharya
If you cannot read this article then please copy paste in your word doc.


શ્રીમદ્ શંકરાચાર્ય વિરચિત

આત્મષટક્ / નિર્વાણષટક્
્


मनोबुद्ध्यहंकारचित्तानि नाहं
न च श्रोत्रजिव्हे न च घ्राणनेत्रे ।
न च व्योमभूमिर्न तेजो न वायुः
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . १ .

હું (આત્મા) મન, બુદ્ધિ, અહંકર કે ચિત્તસ્વરુપ નથી; તેમ જ હું કાન, જીભ, નાક કે આંખો નથી. વળી હું આકાશ, પ્રુથ્વી, તેજ કે વાયુ નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૧

न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पंचवायु –
र्न वा सप्तधातुर्न वा पंचकोशः ।
न वाक् पाणिपादौ न चोपस्थपायू
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . २ .

હું પ્રાણ નથી, હું પાંચ વાયુ (પ્રાણ, અપાન, વ્યાન, ઉદાન અને સમાન) નથી. હું સાત ધાતુ (રસ, રક્ત, માંસ, મેદ, અસ્થિ, મજ્જા અને શુક) નથી. હું પાંચ કોશ (અન્નમય, પ્રાણમય, મનોમય, વિજ્ઞાનમય અને આનંદમય) નથી. વળી હું વાણી, હાથ, પગ, ઉપસ્થ (જનનેન્દ્રિય) કે પાયૂ (ગુદા) નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૨

न मे द्वेषरागौ न मे लोभमोहौ
मदो नै व मे नैव मात्सर्यभावः ।
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्षः
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . ३ .

મને દ્વેષ કે રાગ નથી, લોભ કે મોહ નથી તેમ જ મદ કે ઈર્ષ્યા નથી. વળી મારે માટે ધર્મ, અર્થ, કામ, મોક્ષ (કોઈ પણ પુરુષાર્થ) નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૩

न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्य न दुःखं
न मंत्रो न तीर्थ न वेदा न यज्ञाः ।
अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . ४ .

મને પુણ્ય નથી, પાપ નથી, સુખ નથી, દુઃખ નથી. તેમ જ મારે મંત્ર, તીર્થ, વેદો કે યજ્ઞો (ની જરૂર) નથી. વળી હું ભોજન (ક્રિયા), ભોજ્ય (પદાર્થ) કે ભોક્તા (ક્રિયા કરનાર - ભોગવનાર) પણ નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૪

न मे म्रुत्युशंका न मे जातिभेद:
पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्म ।
न बंधुर्न मित्रं गुरुनैव शिष्यः
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . ५ .

મને મ્રુત્યુની શંકા (ભય) કે જાતિભેદ નથી. મારે પિતા નથી કે માતા નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૫

अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो
विभुर्व्याप्य सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् ।
सदा मे समत्वं न मुक्तिर्न बन्ध:
चिदानंदरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् . ६ .

હું નિર્વિકલ્પ, નિરાકારરૂપ છું (મારે કોઈ સંકલ્પ નથી, મને કોઈ આકર નથી) . હું સર્વ ઇન્દ્રિયોમાં છું. સર્વ સ્થળે વ્યાપી રહેલો વિભુ છું. મારે હમેશાં સમભાવ છે, મને મુક્તિ નથી તેમ જ બંધન નથી. હું તો મંગલકારી, કલ્યાણકારી ચિદાનંદસ્વરૂપ છું. ૬

. इति श्रीमच्छङकराचार्यविरचितं आत्मषटकं सम्पूर्णम् .















Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Quotes by Swami Chinmaya





  • The highest form of grace is silence.  

    To read more about Swami Chinmaya and his visit his website

  • Alone to ALONE all alone all the way.


  • Out of purity and silence come the words of power.


  • Remember, `Even This Will Pass Away'.


  • It is sure to be dark if you close your eyes.


  • The end of ego is the `Mystic Death' of the mediator.


  • `Surrender inspite of Freedom' is the way of wisemen.


  • Sandalwood perfumes even the axe that hurls it down! The more we rub sandalwood against a stone, the more its fragrance spreads. Burn it, and it wafts its glory through the entire neighbourhood. Such is the enchanting beauty of forgiveness in life.


  • Mind at rest is the Temple of Joy. So long as it is gurgling with its desires, passions and attachments in its stormy surface, the signature of joy gets ruffled out.


  • Some act till they meet obstacles, others act inspite of obstacles and conquer them; but some act not fearing the possibility of some obstacles, that might arise enroute.


  • There is no destiny beyond and above ourselves; we are ourselves the architects of our future.


  • Out of purity and silence come words of power.


  • Without devotion, knowledge is tasteless. Without knowledge, devotion is mere empty idol worship.


  • Faith is, `To believe what you do not see', the reward of which is, `you see what you believed'.


  • A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.


  • The glory of life is not never falling. The true glory consists in rising each time we fall.


  • Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket.


  • If I rest, I rust.


  • Sin is never in action, it is always in reaction.


  • A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.


  • `Moksha' is not `Freedom from Action' but, `Freedom in Action'.


  • Seek it. Centred in it, act and live.


  • Be strict and intelligently critical about yourself and your own weakness and follies. But, cushion your words and attitudes with Love. Love is the greatest persuasive power we know in life.


  • To remember the ever present Divine at all times, even while acting in the world, is the most positive practice for a seeker who is striving to evolve. He will thereby transform his inner personality from its present condition, to a state of harmony and efficiency.


  • Not to do what you feel like doing is freedom


  • Hindu culture is essentially based upon the sacrifice implied in duty, and not upon acquisition, which is implied in rights.


  • Success or achievement is not the final goal. It is the 'spirit' in which you act that puts the seal of beauty upon your life.


  • Substitute wisely, grow steadily and be free.


  • Comfort - Comes as Guest, Lingers to become Host and stays to ENSLAVE us.


  • Disappointment can come only to those who make Appointment with the future.


  • Temper takes you to Trouble, Pride keeps you there.


  • He who depends on chances and situations to be happy, is a Sansari


  • Mind alone is maya at play.


  • In all adversities there is always in its depth, a treasure of spiritual blessings secretly hidden.


  • Alert and vigilant living itself is a `Sadhana' in the true sense.


  • Grace is only to be found by effort, although it is here and now.


  • Appreciating the mind as `ALL SILENCE'. `I AM' is meditation.


  • To say, `LORD IS' is Gyanam. But `THE LORD IS I' is Vigyanam.


  • To forget oneself totally, one's mind should keep awake at every moment. A mind that has forgotten the past and the future, that is awake to the now, to the present, expresses the highest concentration of intelligence. It is alert, it is watchful, it is inspired. The actions of a man who has such a mind are exceptionally creative and perfect. Verily to forget oneself totally, is to be in perfection.


  • Wisdom is the assimilated knowledge in us, gained from an intelligent estimation and close study of our own direct and indirect experience in the world


  • Temper brings you to trouble. Pride keeps you there.


  • Silently hear everyone.


  • Bhakti is the attitude of the mind, and jnana is the attitude of the intellect, both flow towards the Lord.


  • Practise meditation before you preach it.


  • Taste goodness before you recommend it.


  • Gain bliss before you offer it to others.


  • To be patient means to suffer something that hinders or hurts us, and still retain our self-composure. How many difficulties, with their consequent unpleasantness and discord, could be smoothed over and almost entirely eliminated by patience. Patience always elevates and strengthens our character. We need it not only with others but also with ourselves. 
For More Quotes please visit this website

Quotes by Sri Ramana Maharshi





  • To become aware of anything is to disconnect the mind from the Self and that is unhappiness.

  • First you should know how is inside you, then the same god will show you who is inside others.

  • Total surrender of the EGO to the SELF (atman, supreme being) is the real bhakti.

  • Atman is also known as MAUN, where there is not even a trace of EGO.

  • Do not let this doubt enter into your mind "is it possible to uproot all the karmas which is have committed in my past lives", but dive deeply and more deeply into yourself (by meditating on your self with the help of self enquiry 'WHO AM I').

  • If one wants to abide in the thought-free state, a struggle is inevitable. One must fight one's way through before regaining one's original primal state. If one succeeds in the fight and reaches the goal, the enemy, namely the thoughts, will all subside in the Self and disappear entirely.

  • Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind.

  • You need not aspire for or get any new state. Get rid of your present thoughts, that is all.

  • The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress.

  • No one succeeds without effort... Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.

  • If you go on working with the light available, you will meet your Master, as he himself will be seeking you.

  • It is not enough that one surrenders oneself. Surrender is to give oneself up to the original cause of one's being. Do not delude yourself by imagining such a source to be some God outside you. One's source is within oneself. Give yourself up to it. That means that you should seek the source and merge in it.

  • If one wants to abide in the thought-free state, a struggle is inevitable. One must fight one's way through before regaining one's original primal state. If one succeeds in the fight and reaches the goal, the enemy, namely the thoughts, will all subside in the Self and disappear entirely.

  • Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.

  • Nearly all mankind is more or less unhappy because nearly all do not know the true Self. Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone. All else is fleeting. To know one's Self is to be blissful always.

  • ...Bliss is not something to be got. On the other hand you are always Bliss.

  • This desire [for Bliss] is born of the sense of incompleteness. To whom is this sense of incompleteness? Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful. Now you are not so. What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss? It is the ego. Seek its source and find you are Bliss.

  • Nobody doubts that he exists, though he may doubt the existence of God. If he finds out the truth about himself and discovers his own source, this is all that is required.

  • 'That inner Self, as the primeval Spirit, Eternal, ever effulgent, full and infinite Bliss, Single, indivisible, whole and living, Shines in everyone as the witnessing awareness. That self in its splendour, shining in the cavity of the heart. This self is neither born nor dies, Neither grows nor decays, Nor does it suffer any change. When a pot is broken, the space within it is not, And similarly, when the body dies the Self in it remains eternal.

  • We loosely talk of Self-realization, for lack of a better term. But how can one realize or make real that which alone is real? All we need to do is to give up our habit of regarding as real that which is unreal. All religious practices are meant solely to help us do this. When we stop regarding the unreal as real, then reality alone will remain, and we will be that.

  • "Heart" is merely another name for the Supreme Spirit, because He is in all hearts. The entire Universe is condensed in the body, and the entire body in the Heart. Thus the Heart is the nucleus of the whole Universe. Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.

  • You and I are the same. What I have done is surely possible for all. You are the Self now and can never be anything else. Throw your worries to the wind, turn within and find Peace.

  • There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality. We think that there is something hiding reality and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. How ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh at all your past efforts. That which will be the day you laugh is also here and now. 

  • Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.

From `Happiness and God's Grace' - by Ramana Maharshi

Every living being longs always to be happy, untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, which indeed he daily experiences when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the inquiry 'Who am I?' in quest of the Self is the best means."

-The Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Page 39, Samuel Weiser Edition 1977)

Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself.

-'Be As You Are', The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Edited by David Godman

God dwells in you, as you, and you don't have to 'do' anything to be God-realized or Self-realized, it is already your true and natural state." Just drop all seeking, turn your attention inward, and sacrifice your mind to the One Self radiating in the Heart of your very being. For this to be your own presently lived experience, Self-Inquiry is the one direct and immediate way.

It is false to speak of realisation. What is there to realise? The real is as it is always. We are not creating anything new or achieving something which we did not have before. The illustration given in books is this. We dig a well and create a huge pit. The space in the pit or well has not been created by us. We have just removed the earth which was filling the space there. The space was there then and is also there now. Similarly we have simply to throw out all the age-long samskaras [innate tendencies] which are inside us. When all of them have been given up, the Self will shine alone.

-"Be As You Are" - The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Edited by David Godman

'I exist' is the only permanent self-evident experience of everyone. Nothing else is so self-evident as 'I am'. What people call self-evident, that is, the experience they get through the senses, is far from self-evident. The Self alone is that. So to do self-enquiry and be that 'I am' is the only thing to do. 'I am' is reality. I am this or that is unreal. 'I am' is truth, another name for Self.

-"Be As You Are" - The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Edited by David Godman

Relative knowledge pertains to the mind and not to the Self. It is therefore illusory and not permanent. Take a scientist, for instance. He formulates a theory that the Earth is round and goes on to prove it on an incontrovertible basis. When he falls asleep the whole idea vanishes; his mind is left a blank. What does it matter whether the world remains round or flat when he is asleep? So you see the futility of all such relative knowledge. One should go beyond relative knowledge and abide in the Self. Real knowledge is such experience, and not apprehension by the mind.
-"Talks with Ramana Maharshi"



Quotes by Swami Vivekananda





  1. Ø Everyone should know that there is no salvation except through the conquering of desires.
  2. Ø Purity is strength. Spiritual truth is purity.
  3. Ø The powers of the mind should be concentrated and the mind turned back upon itself; as the darkest places reveal their secrets before the penetrating rays of the sun, so will the concentrated mind penetrate its own innermost secrets.
  4. Ø The power is with the silent ones, who only live and love and then withdraw their personality. They never say “me” and “mine”; they are only blessed in being instruments.
  5. Ø Hold to the idea, “I am not the mind, I see that I am thinking, I am watching my mind act,” and each day the identification of yourself with thoughts and feelings will grow less, until at last you can entirely separate yourself from the mind and actually know it to be apart from yourself.
  6. Ø The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful.
  7. Ø The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are, the better for us and the more the amount of work we can do. When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work.
  8. Ø The powers of the mind should be concentrated and the mind turned back upon itself; as the darkest places reveal their secrets before the penetrating rays of the sun, so will the concentrated mind penetrate its own innermost secrets.
  9. Ø There is only one sin. That is weakness.... The only saint is that soul that never weakens, faces everything, and determines to die game.
  10. Ø Do any deserve liberty who are not ready to give it to others? Let us calmly go to work, instead of dissipating our energy in unnecessary fretting and fuming.
  11. Ø Both the forces of good and evil will keep the universe alive for us, until we awake from our dreams and give up this building of mud pies.
  12. Ø Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; just let God work, it is His business.
  13. Ø Blows are what awaken us and help to break the dream. They show us the insufficiency of this world and make us long to escape, to have freedom.
  14. Ø “Comfort” is no test of truth; on the contrary, truth is often far from being “comfortable.”
  15. Ø “Face the brutes.” That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.
  16. Ø When we come to nonattachment, then we can understand the marvelous mystery of the universe: how it is intense activity and at the same time intense peace, how it is work every moment and rest every moment.
  17. Ø Neither seek nor avoid; take what comes. It is liberty to be affected by nothing. Do not merely endure; be unattached.
  18. Ø Learning and wisdom are superfluities, the surface glitter merely, but it is the heart that is the seat of all power. It is not in the brain but in the heart that the Atman, possessed of knowledge, power, and activity, has its seat.
  19. Ø Thank God for giving you this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world.
  20. Ø The more you think of yourself as shining immortal spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free of matter, body, and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
  21. Ø The power is with the silent ones, who only live and love and then withdraw their personality. They never say “me” and “mine”; they are only blessed in being instruments.
  22. Ø This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon anyone outside, but stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find that is always true. Get hold of yourself.
  23. Ø Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize the supreme truth—Brahman. Those who work at a thing with their whole heart receive help from God.
  24. Ø Don't look back—forward, infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring, and infinite patience—then alone can great deeds be accomplished.
  25. Ø Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet.
  26. Ø All who have actually attained any real religious experience never wrangle over the form in which the different religions are expressed. They know that the soul of all religions is the same and so they have no quarrel with anybody just because he or she does not speak in the same tongue.
  27. Ø We must approach religion with reverence and with love, and our heart will stand up and say, this is truth, and this is untruth.
  28. Ø The power of purity—it is a definite power.
  29. Ø 'The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourself strong.'
  30. Ø 'FEEL like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.'
  31. Ø 'THE will is not free- it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect -but there is something behind the will which is free.'
  32. Ø 'THERE is nothing beyond God, and the sense enjoyments are simply something through which we are passing now in the hope of getting things.'
  33. Ø 'As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.
  34. Ø 'THROUGH prayer, the love of God grows and assumes a form which is called supreme devotion. Forms vanish, retuals fly away, books are superseded, images, temples, churches, religions and sects, countries and nationalities - all these little limitations and bondages fall off by their own nature from him who knows this love of God.'
  35. Ø IT is good to love God for hope of reward, but it is better to love God for love's sake; and the prayer goes: O Lord, I do not want wealth nor, children nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth. But grant me this, that I may love thee without the hope of reward--'love'' unselfishly for love's sake.
  36. Ø 'My nature is love Him. And therefore I love. I do not pray for any-thing. I do not ask for anything. Let Him place me wherever He likes. I must love Him for love's sake. I can not trade in love.'
  37. Ø 'HOW to worship Him? through love. He is to be worshipped as the one beloved dear than everything in this and the next life .'
  38. Ø 'GOD of truth, be Thou alone my guide..'
  39. Ø You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.
  40. Ø We must approach religion with reverence and with love, and our heart will stand up and say, this is truth, and this is untruth.
  41. Ø It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.
  42. Ø Learning and wisdom are superfluities, the surface glitter merely, but it is the heart that is the seat of all power.
  43. Ø 'TO worship God even for the sake of salvation or any other reward is equally degenerate. Love knows no reward. Give your love unto to God, but do not ask anything in return even from Him through pray.'
  44. Ø 'PRAYER is divine love alone. When this highest ideal of love is reached, philosophy is thrown away. Who will then care of it ? Freedom, salvation, nirvana- all are thrown away. Who cares to become free while in the enjoyment of divine love? '
  45. Ø Purity in thought, speech, and act is absolutely necessary for anyone to be religious.
  46. Ø That which tends to increase the divinity in you is virtue, and that which tends to increase brutality in you is vice.
  47. Ø 'We see that the apparent contradictions and perplexities in every RELIGION mark but different stages of growth. The end of all religions is the realizing of God in the soul. That is the one universal religion.'
  48. Ø To me the very essence of education is concentration of the mind, not the collecting of facts.
  49. Ø Let all your nerves vibrate through the backbone of your religion.
  50. Ø The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful.
  51. Ø There is only one sin. That is weakness.... The only saint is that soul that never weakens, faces everything, and determines to die game.
  52. Ø Desire, ignorance, and inequality—this is the trinity of bondage.
  53. Ø If superstition enters, the brain is gone.
  54. Ø Learning and wisdom are superfluities, the surface glitter merely, but it is the heart that is the seat of all power. It is not in the brain but in the heart that the Atman, possessed of knowledge, power, and activity, has its seat.


Quotes by Swami Tadrupanand


  
  1. Don’t accept (select), don’t reject, just neglect.
  2. To fulfill your personal demands you can approach gods and goddesses, but you should approach a saint only if you want to uproot your demands.
  3. Destruction of desires is nothing but liberation.
  4. Liberation cannot be created in time, in space with the help of human efforts.
  5. You do not need to find god, but you need to know god (or know yourself).
  6. Bhagawat Gita talks about the god (within you) which is present everywhere and not of the god which is present somewhere at a distance place (like heaven).
  7. Always be alert and aware of satva, rajas and tamas gunas. This is the true living.
  8. Maya is the material cause for the entire creation.
  9. Kosha means 'Aavaran' or the container which encloses the content. Just as the container hides the content and is an obstacle in viewing the content, all these five Koshas (i.e. annamayakosha, pranamayakosha, manomayakosha, vigyanmayakosha, anandmayakosha) hide the aatman.
  10. Just as a silk worm tries to hide itself for protection by wrapping the silk threads generated by himself, and as a result of this process, it dies duo to suffocation. This silk threads are responsible for his death. In the same way this panchkoshas (five bodies) entrap the jiva and forces the jiva into a vicious circle of death and rebirth .
  11. If the final destination is shunya avastha (zero state or state of non existence), then who is the knower of this zero state? Who is the one saying or describing this shunya avastha? (It is no one but atman or the self.)
  12. Lesser the number of dissatisfied desires, more is the peace within us.
  13. The Observer wants to become observed – From the discourse of Ashtaavakra Gita.
  14. Limited efforts cannot produce limitless Results.
  15. There are 2 types of Discourses one in which the audience is kept in the centre and other in which the Truth is kept in the centre. In the first type, care is being taken by the lecturer that his audience understands his discourse. In the Second type, it is left to the listener to understand. He/she, according to the caliber/qualification absorbs the teachings.
  16. Give an appointment to your self
  17. Sun (object of observation) is outside us, but the knowledge that this is the Sun is within us.
  18. Creator, Creation and Creature are one.
  19. Out of compassion a man helps the poor, but who is the motivating force which is triggers compassion within us?
  20. While worshiping an idol of God (dualistic approach), who is giving inspiration to worship the idol? Think. The same divine force is within us which is being worshiped inside any form of God.
  21. Guru never tries to make disciples. He always tries to make another Guru.
  22. Rivers loose their identity when they merge with the sea. Bhakta looses himself/herself in God, forgets his/her identity. (U-4B)
  23. If you call yourself as the devotee of God, then you accept that you and God are different. This is Duality and Duality is death.
  24. If you remove the attributes of God like all powerful, omnipresence, creator of universe, etc and if you remove the attributes of Jiva (incarnicated soul) like Dependent on nature, limited powers,, bound by space and time, ignorant of true nature etc, then what is left in both (God and Jiva) is nothing but pure consciousness, Atman. This is our true nature.
  25. People Go to temples, join hands and close their eyes to worship God (in any form). If you want to close your eyes, then what is the point of going to the temple? You can sit anywhere and close your eyes. The purpose of closing eyes is to try to understand (and later know and see) that the God inside the idol is also within you. It is there to convert an extrovert mind to introvert.
  26. Seed contains tree in unmanifested form. Can you find seed in the tree? Entire tree is the seed itself. Seed has itself transformed into tree. God himself has is transformed into the universe and so is present in every atom of universe.
  27. We are all temporary bhaktas who remember god only for a short period of time A Bhakta is the one who is not a ViBhaka i.e. he does not forget god even for a moment.
  28. In order to make noise, one has to make an effort, like to clap one need to move hands. But to remain still what kind of effort is needed?
  29. Mind has two attributes, one to select and other to reject. Meditation takes your mind into third dimension of awareness & stillness.
  30. Shastras teaches us to be Samadarshina and not samavartina i.e. one has to see god in everybody but does not need to behave in the same way in front of each and everybody.
  31. The purpose of karma Yog is Chhita Shuddhi, to develop Sattvik qualities within us.
  32. One question can have two correct answers, but they are correct for two different persons with different mindset.
  33. Vikshapa comes to Jnanis also but it cannot touch them.
  34. There is a difference between a devotee and a disciple. Any one can be a devotee, but only a (Self Realised) Guru selects his /her disciples. There can be thousands and lakhs of devotees but disciples can be counted on finger tips.
  35. Parents are there only for one life but a guru is with us for many lives.
  36. Nobody can give Jnana, Guru can only remove Ignorance
  37. What is our true nature cannot be renounced
  38. The qualities like peace, love, bliss and Sat-Chit-Anand cannot be renounced as it is our nature
  39. Tyaga of vasanas (desires) can calm down mind. Vairagya is the absence of desires (in mind). Absence of desires brings deep peace and bliss. It is long lasting and there is less of mental agitation.
  40. Upvasa (fasting) is also an ananda (Happiness / Bliss). When one is so engaged in the worship of God / Meditation, then one gets absorbed in peace and bliss. Unaware of time one stays in this state for as long as possible skipping lunch or dinner. Fasting in this way turns up into ananda.
  41. True surrender is to accept the prarabdha with a smiling face. True surrender is not to interfere with Gods divine plan.
  42. Ignorance + Ego = Action
  43. When one sees that everything is Brahman or if he knows that ‘I am Brahman. I and only I exist’, then one has realized his true nature.

UPDATED ON 15th August 2010

Quotes by Sri Ramakrishna




  1. Once you know maya, it runs away, it can no more influence you.
  2. Only god is truth, everything else is false.
  3. The one you has created the laws of nature also has the powers to break the laws of nature.
  4. He who has faith has everything, and he who lacks faith lacks everything. It is the faith in the name of the Lord that works wonders, FAITH IS LIFE & DOUBT IS DEATH.
  5. You can also ask for Brahma Jnana to divine mother.
  6. The magnetic needle always points to the North, and hence it is that the sailing vessel does not lose her direction. So long as the heart of man is directed towards God, he cannot be lost in the ocean of worldliness.
  7. Man’s sufferings and worries spring only from his persistent thought that he is the doer. – Ramakrishna
  8. The sum and substance of the whole matter is that a man must love God, must be restless for Him. It doesn't matter whether you believe in God with form or God without form. You may or may not believe that God incarnates Himself as man. But you will realize Him if you have that yearning. Then He himself will let you know what He is like. If you must be mad, why should you be mad for the things of the world? If you must be mad, be mad for God alone.
  9. You will feel restless for God when your heart becomes pure and your mind free from attachment to the things of the world. Then alone will your prayer reach God. A telegraph wire cannot carry messages if it has a break or some other defect.
  10. Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: "0 God, Thou art the Master, and I am Thy servant. Thou art the Mother, and I am Thy child." Or again: "Thou art my Father and Mother. Thou art the Whole, and I am a part." He doesn't like to say, "I am Brahman."
  11. The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love [bhakti]. The path of love too leads to this goal. The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love.
  12. A man does not have to suffer any more if God, in His grace, removes his doubts and reveals Himself to him. But this grace descends upon him only after he has prayed to God with intense yearning of heart and practiced spiritual discipline. The mother feels compassion for her child when she sees him running about breathlessly. She has been hiding herself; now she appears before the child.
  13. It -is His will that we should run about a little. Then it is great fun. God has created the world in play, as it were. This is called Mahamaya, the Great Illusion. Therefore one must take refuge in the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Power Itself. It is She who has bound us with the shackles of illusion. The realization of God is possible only when those shackles are severed.


The above content is taken from the following link

http://www.ramakrishna.org/

God-vision is nothing but to realize and feel His presence within yourself and everywhere about you, because God is an all-prevailing spirit, permeating the entire universe. The manifested worlds are not different from Him, since they are but His own expression in terms of name and form.

Everything is Brahman, but this has to be realized; merely saying that you are Brahman cannot make you realize the truth. You ought to experience that state, rising above all sense of duality by freeing your mind from illusion. Your 'I' should no longer be the local, narrow individual 'I' but the universal, eternal and absolute 'I'. To realize this ineffable, perfect state, sadbana is necessary. Mind and its desires have to be conquered by concentration and purification

To control the mind the best and easiest method is to repeat constantly God's Name. Concentration is attained by fixing the attention on the sound of the Name. As the mind is concentrated, there must follow meditation upon the glorious attributes of God. Continuous practice of utterance of the Name and meditation stops the restlessness of the mind and merges it into the blissful, eternal and universal Self. God remembrance is not possible unless you have an intense longing to realize Him. This intense desire is called bbakti [devotion]. This longing must so seize your mind that you should feel a sensation of acute pain when you forget God on account of selfish desires. Your actions should also go to purify your mind, I.e., they should be done in a spirit of nisbkama [desirelessness]. Purity of mind means freedom from lust, wrath and greed. For a pure mind alone can see God. Concentration itself is purity. Forget not that the God that you seek is within yourself.

Forget not the central truth that God is seated in your own heart. Don't be disheartened by failures at initial stages. Cultivate the spirit of surrender to the workings of His will in you and outside you, until you have completely surrendered up your ego-sense and have known He is in all and He is all, and you and He are one. Be patient. The path of self-discipline that leads to God-realization is not an easy path. Obstacles and sufferings are on the path; the latter you must bear and the former overcome - all by His help. His help comes only through concentration. Repetition of God's Name helps concentration

God, who is absolute existence, consciousness and bliss, is within you-nay, you and He are not different. Unless you realize Him, there can be no true liberation and lasting peace.

The only way to control the mind and free it from the evils you mention is always to take the Name of God, meditate upon His great attributes and surrender all your actions to Him

Know in the first place that the God you seek is within yourself. He is the life and soul of the universe and to attain Him is the supreme purpose of life. Evil and sorrow are due to your belief that you are separate from this universal Truth. The ego has set up this wall of separation. Have a strong and intense longing to realize Him, that is, to know that your life is one with the life of the universe. Then surrender up the ego by constant identification with Him through prayer, meditation and performance of all action without desiring their fruit. As you progress on this path, which is the path of devotion, knowledge and self-surrender, your attachment to the unrealities of life will slacken, and the illusions of the mind will be dispelled. Now your heart will be filled with divine love, and your vision purified and equalized, and your actions will become the spontaneous outflow of your immortal being, yielding you the experience of true joy and peace. This is the culmination of human endeavor and fulfillment of the purpose of life

The true saguna or body of the Lord is the universe itself, in which He is immanent. And by His power He is causing, in this manifestation, birth, growth, and dissolution of all beings and things. He is also transcendent as pure spirit. Your body is one of His expressions. Your activity has its inception in the infinite power of God. Don't be deluded by a desire to behold things which are conditioned and momentary-mere phantoms of your mind. Have the true longing to realize your immortal nature and your union with the omnipotent and omnipresent God, who is the supreme Lord of the universe. Purify your mind and heart by proper discipline and entitle yourself to this glorious vision, and attain perfect freedom and eternal bliss

The only way to control the mind and free it from the evils you mention is always to take the Name of God, meditate upon His great attributes and surrender all your actions to Him


The above content is taken from the following site

http://www.onelittleangel.com/wisdom/quotes/saint.asp?mc=68


God is Love

If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God… Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God.


God is True Knowledge

If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you. When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low… Good and evil cannot bind him who has realized the oneness of Nature and his own self with Brahman.


God is in Your Heart

Because of the screen of Maya (illusion) that shuts off God from human view, one cannot see Him playing in one's heart. After installing the Deity on the lotus of your heart, you must keep the lamp of remembering God ever burning. While engaged in the affairs of the world, you should constantly turn your gaze inwards and see whether the lamp is burning or not.


God is in All People

God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.


God is Our Father

As a nurse in a wealthy family brings up her master's child, loving it as if it were her own, yet knowing well that she has no claim upon it, so you also think that you are but trustee and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord himself.


God is Infinite

Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached.


God is Truth

Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth. One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.


God is above all Arguments

If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled.


God is Work

Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand alone.

God is the End

To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.

The above content is taken from the follwoing website

http://hinduism.about.com/od/gurussaints/a/godis.htm

"If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God.
Without this regard for truth he gradually loses everything.
If by chance I say that I will go to the pine- grove,
I must go there even if there is no further need of it,
lest I lose my attachment to truth.
After my vision of the Divine Mother, I prayed to Her,
taking a flower in my hand:
'Mother, here is Thy knowledge and here is Thy ignorance.
Take them both and give me only pure love.
Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy good and here is Thy evil.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy righteousness and here is Thy unrighteousness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love'.
I mentioned all these, but I could not say:
'Mother, here is Thy truth and here is Thy falsehood. Take them both'.
I gave up everything at Her Feet,
but could not bring myself to give up truth".


The above content is taken from the following website

http://www.angelfire.com/ma/ramakrishna/

Please visit this website for many more inspiritional quotes



 
^

Powered by BloggerINDIASPIRITUALITY Lite by UsuárioCompulsivo
original Washed Denim by Darren Delaye
Creative Commons License