Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Selected sayings from Upanishads

 

  • Know the Self to be sitting in the chariot, the body to be the chariot, the intellect (buddhi) the charioteer, and the mind the reins. The senses they call the horses, the objects of the senses their roads. When he (the Highest Self) is in union with the body, the senses, and the mind, then wise people call him the Enjoyer. Katha Upanishad

  • As large as this ether (all space) is, so large is that ether within the heart. Both heaven and earth are contained within it, both fire and air, both sun and moon, both lightning and stars; and whatever there is of him (the Self) here in the world, and whatever is not (i. e. whatever has been or will be), all that is contained within it. Chandogya Upanishad

  • Know that all this, whatever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God. Therefore find your enjoyment in renunciation; do not covet what belongs to others. Ishavasya Upanishad

  • That which is not uttered by speech, that by which the word is expressed, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped. That which one does not think with the mind, that by which, they say, the mind is thought, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped. That which man does not see with the eye, that by which man sees the activities of the eye, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped. That which man does not hear with the ear, that by which man hears the ear’s hearing, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped. That which man does not smell with the organ of smell, that by which the organ of smell is attracted towards its objects, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped. Kena Upanishad

  • As a spider projects forth and absorbs back (the threads), as plants grow on earth, as hairs grow on the body, the universe emerges from the Imperishable Being. Mundaka Upanishad

  • In the beginning was verily this non-manifested. From that was generated the manifested. That made Its self by Itself. Therefore it is called Self-made. That one who is Self-made is verily the joy. Having attained this joy, human being becomes blessed. Taittiriya Upanishad

  • “Verily, my dear Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be realized, should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realization of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
                                                      

PAUL BRUNTON


The illuminated man's conduct in this world is a guided one. His senses tell him what is happening in the world about him, but his soul guides him to a proper evaluation of those sense reports. In this way he lives in the world, but is not of it. Of him alone is it true to say that his is a spiritual life.

                                                     

RAMANA MAHARSHI


“The purpose of all these illustrations is to direct the seeker’s mind towards the one Reality underlying them all.”

                                                            

EKNATH EASWARAN, MEDITATION, PART 1

 


**The Three Stages of Meditation
If the whole vista of the spiritual journey lay before us we would see that it divides into three stages, each culminating in a remarkable discovery. These are profound experiential discoveries, not intellectual ones. They bring a different way of seeing life and the power to make our words and deeds compatible with this new vision. Mere belief or theory is never enough; we must change ourselves. As one Christian mystic observed, "Our knowledge is as deep as our action."
Language cannot describe these inner experiences very well. When I say stages, I am only approximating. There are no sharp boundaries; everything takes place gradually over a long period. But perhaps a few analogies will make these discoveries easier to grasp.
In the first stage, we discover experientially that we are not the body.
Not the body? A startling realization! We have been lured into believing precisely the opposite: that we are essentially bodies, and that a worthwhile life is one well packed with sense-stimulation and pleasure, with all the delights of food and drink, sun and surf, luxurious fabrics and devastating fragrances**

                                                

** TEACHINGS FROM ISHA UPANISHAD**


**He who sees everything and all beings in the Atman (Self), and the Atman (Self) in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that realization.** **When, to the man of realization, all beings become one with his own Atman, his own Self, then what delusion and what sorrow can there be for that seer of oneness?** **When one sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he hates no one.** **Renunciation is renunciation of the ego, of selfishness and not of life.** **Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fear.** **The whole creation is filled with Divinity**





🕉 Ishavasya Upanishad

 Know that all this,

whatever moves in this moving world,
is enveloped by God.

Therefore,
find your enjoyment in renunciation;
do not covet what belongs to others.

                     

                                              




copernicus

 







Sunday, August 29, 2021

Why look to the west when we have a treasure like the Upanishads?

 


                                           

                                               

The Four Mahavakyas

 

  1. Prajnanam Brahma–Brahman (Ultimate Reality) is supreme consciousness.
  2. Aham Brahmasmi–I am Brahman (the Supreme Self )
  3. Tat Tvam Asi–Thou art that.
  4. Ayam Atma Brahma–Atman (True Self) is Brahman (Ultimate Reality).
                                         

                      

The Upanashashds

 

  • 1. Makes you realise you are Brahman (take you closer to Brahman)
  • 2. Loosens the bonds of samsara ('wandaring', 'change', a journey of the soul)
  • 3. Destroys ignorance. Vedanta ( anta 'the end' or 'last portion') is the essence and culmination of all the knowledge within the Vedas. Vedas ( vid - ...
  • 2. Brahman qualified by limiting conditions (Saguna Brahman) The ultimate Brahman is devoid of attributes. The entire phenomenal universe is subject .
                                 
                                                               

Paramahansa Yogananda


** Know that this universe is nothing but a dream bluff of nature to test your consciousness of immortality.**

                                                             

Jack Kerouac



“Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don’t know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright forever and forever and forever. Close your eyes, let your hands and nerve-ends drop, stop breathing for 3 seconds, listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot, which was taught in immense milky way soft cloud innumerable worlds long ago and not even at all. It is all one vast awakened thing. I call it the golden eternity. It is perfect. We were never really born, we will never really die. It has nothing to do with the imaginary idea of a personal self, other selves, many selves everywhere: Self is only an idea, a mortal idea. That which passes into everything is one thing. It’s a dream already ended.”

                                                         

     

Saturday, August 28, 2021

MADHUDVISA DASA


Thus far, in line with the traditional West­ern approach, we have considered the conscious self and the mind to be synonymous and have distinguished between them and the body. Here we would like to briefly men­tion that in Bhagavad-gita a further dis­tinction is made between the conscious self and the mind. According to the Gita, the mind is composed of subtle material ele­ments that are capable of interacting with the brain. In this conception, the mind is really a part of the material body, and in­deed can be referred to loosely as the subtle body.
****The Bhagavad-gita explains that the conscious self is higher than both the mind and the body because it possesses an im­perishable, nonphysieal nature. When we say that the Supersoul is the link between the conscious self and the body, what we really mean is that the Supersoul is the link between the conscious self and both the subtle and gross material bodies. The inter­action between the Supersoul and the con­scious self is, undoubtedly, difficult to evaluate experimentally, but the two are so intimately connected there is full potential within each person for direct awareness of the Supersoul ****

                                                        

RUMI



do you know what you are?
You are a manuscript of a divine letter. You are a mirror reflecting a noble face. This universe is not outside of you.
Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you are already that

                                                           

Consciousness

 


Friday, August 27, 2021

Upanishads Quotes

 

Brahman is Reality, Knowledge, and Infinity.
(Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1.3)

Brahman is Consciousness.
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.13)

All this that we see in the world is Brahman.
(Chhandogya Upanishad 3.14.1)

Brahman is bliss (Ananda)
(Taittiriya Upanishad 3.6.1)

Aum. Asato ma sad-Gamaya; tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya; Mrityor-ma amrutam Gamaya. Aum. Shanti, Shanti Shanti.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.3.28)


                                                 


 

Bhagavad Gita

 


Thursday, August 26, 2021

Kahil Gibran

 


According to an old Hindu legend...


There was once a time when all human beings were gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away from them and hide it where it could never be found.
Where to hide their divinity was the question. So Brahma called a council of the gods to help him decide. “Let’s bury it deep in the earth,” said the gods. But Brahma answered, “No, that will not do because humans will dig into the earth and find it.” Then the gods said, “Let’s sink it in the deepest ocean.” But Brahma said, “No, not there, for they will learn to dive into the ocean and will find it.” Then the gods said, “Let’s take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there.” But once again Brahma replied, “No, that will not do either, because they will eventually climb every mountain and once again take up their divinity.”
Then the gods gave up and said, “We do not know where to hide it, because it seems that there is no place on earth or in the sea that human beings will not eventually reach.”
Brahma thought for a long time and then said, “Here is what we will do. We will hide their divinity deep in the center of their own being, for humans will never think to look for it there.”
All the gods agreed that this was the perfect hiding place, and the deed was done. And since that time humans have been going up and down the earth, digging, diving, climbing, and exploring—searching for something already within themselves.
- Author unknown

                                            

Tsoknyi Rinpoche

 "You don't have to say anything. You don't have to teach anything. You just have to be who you are: a bright flame shining in the darkness of despair, a shining example of a person able to cross bridges by opening your heart and mind."



Ribhu Gita

 


Shri Vishnu



Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Bhagavad

 


RAM DASS

 


“Remember, we are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we’re so deeply interconnected with one another. Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is the supreme creative act.”

                                                          

Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, My Submission


"The true master gives us the technique to conquer death by making us cross the gates that lead us to and beyond it. We are able to return to this physical body at will after traversing these higher planes of existence. We remain alive and remember precisely what we have seen within. The philosopher Plutarch says that at the moment of death the soul experiences the same impressions and passes through the same process experienced by those who are initiated into the Great Mysteries. In summary, our soul is the conscious entity that is seated behind and between the eyes [Third Eye]. As long as we do not die the REAL death, the death while living, the cycle of our births and deaths will never end. This state of dying while living is attained by faithfully following the master's instructions and becoming a gurumukh [devoted disciple], one who has dedicated his life to the master. One thus attains self-realization and one's mind is in complete accord with the Creator. One who has practiced and experienced death while living knows the Lord and is accepted in his court with honor."

                                  


                                       

By Robert Rabbin “Everything that lives, lives not alone, nor for itself.” –William Blake


We are each expressions of a fundamental reality, an essence that some call God, some spirit, some consciousness, some love. It doesn’t matter what you call it. It doesn’t care. It is beyond names. But it is real, and thus we all belong to the same family. My blood is the same as yours, my heart is the same as yours, my body is the same as yours. We seem to stand apart from each other, but our essence is one. We only seem to be different, but we are all parts of a whole. Naturally, whatever any one part does touches and affects the whole. If we think that we do not effect the whole, we are wrong. We can say that whatever we do to ourselves, we do to each other: each action is a stone thrown into the pond of our common existence. Within minutes, or hours, or days we will feel the ripples of our actions wash over everything. This is why we cannot war our way to peace, because the killing keeps coming back. We have to wage peace, not war. And then peace will keep coming back.
Not only do we belong as brother and sister to other human beings, but we belong as brother and sister to all living things. We are not meant to have dominion over other creatures or the Earth, though we behave as though we are. This wrong thinking is based on the idea of separation, of being independent from the whole. This wrong thinking leads us to believe we are entitled to do anything we please, to usurp Nature for our own purposes. We are not entitled to do as we please. We must live within the law of universal truth, within the heart where we are all brothers and sisters under one roof, in one house, with one father and mother.**

                                                            

RAM DASS

 

The ego is frightened by death, because ego is part of the incarnation and ends with it. That is why we learn to identify with our soul, as the soul continues after death. For the soul, death is just another moment.

                                                 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Sama Veda, Chandogya Upanishad III, 1 - The Honey-Doctrine (Rig-Veda), 2-3

 The eastern rays of the sun are the eastern honey-cells. The Rik-verses are the bees. The ritual laid down in the Rig-Veda is the flower. The water of the sacrificial libations is the nectar of the flower. These Riks heated the Rig-Veda. From it, thus heated, issued forth-as its essence-fame, radiance of the body, vigour of the senses, virility and the food that is eaten.