"We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened. But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen." Thomas Merton.
Perfect renunciation is difficult to attain without performing action. But the wise, following the path of selfless service, quickly reach the Brahman. - Bhagavad Gita 5:6
From verse 153 of 'Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra' Yair eva poojyate dravyais tarpyate vaa paraaparah; Yash chaiva poojakah sarvah sa evaikah kva poojanam. "The oblations and the worshipper by which verily the transcendental is worshipped are all one and the same. What then is this worship?" The translation of this verse was borrowed from the excelent "Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra: The Ascent" translations and commentary by Svami Satyasangananda Sarasvati of the Bihar Yoga Bharati University.
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. Sri Ramakrishna.
The student asked: Established in total union with the all-pervading Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, which is beyond all change, how can we offer any puja or worship to it? How can we invoke the presence of the All-Pervading? What seat can we offer to that in which the whole universe sits? And how can offer of water to wash hands and feet and to rinse the mouth to the Ever Pure? How can we bathe the Immaculate? What clothes can we offer the Womb of the Universe? For the one who is beyond lineage and caste, how can we offer the sacred thread? How can we apply sandalwood paste to that to which nothing sticks? What flowers can we offer to one who is beyond all fragrance (there is a lovely pun here - the word vasana means both fragrance and desire)? What jewels can we offer the One who is beyond all objects? And what ornaments can decorate the Formless? What incense can we offer the Pure? What lamp can we light before the Witness of All? And what feast can we offer to the One who is totally satiated with Its own blissful nature? What mouth freshener can we offer the One who keeps the whole world fresh and joyful? How can we perform aarati before the Self-illumining Consciousness in whose light the sun and the stars are illumined? What light can we wave before the One who all scriptures praise? How can we perform pradakshina (circumambulation) of the Infinite? How can we prostrate before the Non-dual Self? How can we sing the glories of that which the scriptures also say is beyond all description? And how can we bid farewell to that which resides both inside and outside all things?
Hare Krishna! "Living this life is like living through sweet and bad dreams. We realize the moment we wake up in a different world. After waking it may be a pain or a relief for some time." ...............Source - Random thoughts.
"The frontiers of the Ignorance shall recede, More and more souls shall enter into light.... Nature, shall live to manifest secret God, The Spirit shall take up the human play, This earthly life become the life divine. " Sri Aurobindo 'Savitri'.
"We can see the same spirit in everybody only when we know we are that spirit, Atman or Self. Only a person who has understood his own Self can see that Self in everybody" -Swami Satchidananda “The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others.” -Paramahansa Yogananda The self is like a pearl. To find it you must dive deep down into silence, deeper and ever deeper until it is reached." -Ramana Maharshi “Life is a challenge, meet it! Life is a dream, realize it! Life is a game, play it! Life is Love, enjoy it!” -Sathya Sai Baba The Divine is present in everyone, in all beings, in everything. Like space it is everywhere, all pervading, all powerful, all knowing. The Divine is the principle of Life, the inner light of consciousness, and pure bliss. It is our very own Self. -Mata Amritanandamayi "Enquire: 'Who am I?' and you will find the answer. Look at a tree: from one seed arises a huge tree; from it comes numerous seeds, each one of which in its turn grows into a tree. No two fruits are alike. Yet it is one life that throbs in every particle of the tree. So, it is the same Atman everywhere." -Sri Anandamayi Ma
Definitely from 'other sources', in fact from Shelley’s Queen Mab. The man Of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys. Power, like a desolating pestilence, Pollutes whate'er it touches; and obedience, Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth, Makes slaves of men, and, of the human frame, A mechanized automaton.
"Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn't more complicated that that. It is opening to or recieving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it." ~ Sylvia Boorstein One of my favorite quotes.
Don't sit around waiting for God's grace. Look deeply at the present and see all the ways in which Grace is already here. - Morari Bapu
'My Blakean Year' - Patti Smith. In my Blakean year I was so disposed Toward a mission yet unclear Advancing pole by pole Fortune breathed into my ear Mouthed a simple ode One road is paved in gold One road is just a road In my Blakean year Such a woeful schism The pain of our existence Was not as I envisioned Boots that trudged from track to track Worn down to the sole One road is paved in gold One road is just a road Boots that tramped from track to track Worn down to the sole One road was paved in gold One road was just a road In my Blakean year Temptation but a hiss Just a shallow spear Robed in cowardice Brace yourself for bitter flack For a life sublime A labyrinth of riches Never shall unwind The threads that bind the pilgrim's sack Are stitched into the Blakean back So throw off your stupid cloak Embrace all that you fear For joy shall conquer all despair In my Blakean year So throw off your stupid cloak Embrace all that you fear For joy shall conquer all despair In my Blakean year
I don't remember the exact quote...but Ramakrishnaji once said the winds of God's Grace are always blowing, we just need to put up our sails.
We are constrained by the self organizing principle of life. It is our only prohibition. In that single prohibition we may find grace.
Swami Chinmayananda often talked of it in terms of sunshine. If you draw the curtains closed and complain that it is dark in your room, what can the sun do?!
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"--you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that." James 4:13--15
Self-awareness is yoga. -- Nisargadatta Maharaj If we continuously maintain self-awareness, we will be able to experience peace and happiness. -- Mata Amritanandamayi To disconnect the mind from self-awareness and to become aware of anything else is nothing but unhappiness. -- Ramana Maharshi Abhyasa ( spiritual practice ) consists in withdrawal within self-awareness every time you are disturbed by thought. It is not concentration or destruction of the mind but withdrawal into self-awareness. -- Ramana Maharshi Meditation is constant self-awareness. -- J.Krishnamurti
In every moment you only have one real choice: to be self-aware or to identify with the body and the mind. -- Annamalai Swami Body-consciousness is the source of all misery. -- Ramana Maharshi