Inspiring quotes from hinduism and other sources

Having taught the Vedas, the teacher says:
"Speak the truth. Do your duty. Neglect not
The scriptures. Give your best to your teacher.
Do not cut off the line of progeny. Swerve not
From the truth. Swerve not from the good.
Protect your spiritual progress always.
Give your best in learning and teaching.
Never fail in respect to the sages.
See the divine in your mother, father,
Teacher, and guest. Never do what is wrong.
Honor those who are worthy of honor.
Give with faith. Give with love. Give with joy.
If you are in doubt about the right conduct,
Follow the example of the sages,
Who know what is best for spiritual growth.
This is the instruction of the Vedas;
This is the secret; this is the message."

-Taittiriya Upanishad

 

Hare Krishna!



The worst sin is to separate mother from her child.

 

Hare Krishna !


To acknowledge gratitude is taking one step forward towards the Lord.

 

ÒThere was once a Guru who wanted to move to a village. He sent two of his disciples to that village to enquire about the nature of the people living there.

One of the disciples visited the place and returned. He told his Master that the people in that village were the most wicked people imaginable. They were robbers, killers and prostitutes. Nowhere else could you find such evil souls, he said.

When the second disciple returned, he said to the guru, 'The people in that village are very good. Never before have I met such good people.' The Guru wondered how the two disciples could have such contrasting opinions about the same village. When he asked them to explain, the first disciple said, 'In the first house I entered, I was greeted by a murderer; in the second house lived a robber, and in the third house I saw a prostitute. I felt so discouraged that I didn't bother to go any further; I turned around and came back. How can I say anything good about a village where such bad people are residing?'

The Guru then asked the second disciple to describe what he had seen. The disciple said, 'I went to the same houses as he did. At the first house, I saw a murderer. When I arrived at the place, he was outside taking care of a poor man who was lying on the road. It struck me that even though he was a murderer, he still had some compassion in him; his heart was not entirely bereft of compassion. When I saw this, I felt so much love for him. A robber was living in the second house I came to. When I reached that place, he was busy feeding the poor. He was in the habit of feeding all the starving people in the village. He would find out who didn't have enough food and he would feed them. When I saw this, I was filled with joy. I then went on the the third house, which belonged to a prostitute. There were three children in the house. When I asked about them, I was told that they were all orphans and that the prostitute had taken them under her wing and was raising them. When I discovered that there were such good qualities even in those who are considered to be the worst people in the village, I couldn't even imagine how much more noble the other villagers would be! By visiting those three houses I got a very good impression about the people of that village.'

Children, even within those who are fallen, divinity lies dormant. By trying to awaken the divinity in them, we, in fact, awaken the divinity within ourselves.Ó


-Amma

 

Very nice story, and a good illustration of how we are affected by labels.


Although we see positive qualities that they might have, we should always be wary of criminals.

 

"It cannot be seen by the eye, and yet it is the eye within the eye. It cannot be heard by the ear, and yet it is the ear within the ear. It cannot be smelt by the nose, and yet it is that which makes the nose to smell. It cannot be uttered by the mouth, and yet it is that which makes the mouth to speak. It cannot be grasped by the hand, and yet it is that which makes the hand to grasp. It cannot be reached by the feet, and yet it is that which makes the feet to walk. It cannot be thought by the mind, and yet it is the mind within the mind. It is the Primal One without past or future. Its form is free from age and sickness. It manifests as father and mother. It blossoms as the Self-Existent. It cannot be described as one or two. No artist can portray It. It is That which lies 'twixt good and evil. It ever abides in the hearts of the wise. It permits no distinction between Vedanta and Siddhanta. It is That which dances at the zenith beyond the realm of sound."- Satguru Siva Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lanka's most renowned contemporary spiritual master

 

e is the inner Self of all,
Hidden like a little flame in the heart.
Only by the stilled mind can he be known.
Those who realize him become immortal.
He has thousands of heads, thousands of eyes,
Thousands of feet; he surrounds the cosmos
On every side. This infinite being
Is ever present in the hearts of all.
He has become the cosmos. He is what was
And what will be. Yet he is unchanging,
The lord of immortality.

-Shvetashvatara Upanishad

 

i doubt therefore i might be

 

An object has a reflection: When looking we see two images, yet there is only one thing. Likewise, this world is a reflection of the Supreme Lord. We may see two, yet only One existsÉ

-Jnaneshwar

 

Hidden in the cave of the heart,
Leave pain and pleasure far behind.
Those who know they are neither body nor mind
But the immemorial Self, the divine
Principle of existence, find the source
Of all joy and live in joy abiding.
I see the gates of joy are opening
For your Nachiketa.

-Katha Upanishad

 

"This is the gist of all worship: to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva. And if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste or creed or race or anything, with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples." - Swami Vivekananda

 

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for meÉ
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Galatians 5:25-6:10

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each man will have to bear his own load.

Let him who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

 

That is exactly the kind of negative attitude embedded in the Bible which I don't like. It isn't in accord with reality to imagine that humans, a living miracle, are 'nothing'.
To imagine we are nothing is a prescription for a sick and ultimately negative culture, just like we have at present, thanks at least partly to the anti-life nature of religions like christianity.
If we are nothing, then throwing away our lives in someone else's war for example, isn't that bad. We come to accept a basically negative conception of life, and believe it is 'normal'. Since we're useless anyway, it's no surprise that we continually mess things up.

On the contrary, we are something wonderful.The universe is something wonderful, and we are unique among living creatures here in our capacity to know and experience the full joy, bliss and ecstacy that is existence.
Through us, the universe knows it's own innate joy of being.

 

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

-Albert Einstein

Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
-Richard Feynman

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
-Albert Einstein

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in.
-JFK

Spock! It's solid beef, baby!
-Captain Kirk

 

Dedicate yourself to the Lord of Life,
Who is the cause of the cosmos. He will
Remove the cause of all your suffering
And free you from the bondage of karma.

-Shvetashvatara Upanishad

 

Hare Krishna!




"My child, this mind is just like a wild elephant. It races like wind. Therefore, one should discriminate all the time. One should work hard for the realization of God. What a wonderful time I had at that time! Somebody used to play on a flute at night at Dakshineswar. As I listened to the sound, my mind would be extremely eager for the realization of God. I thought that the sound was coming from God, and I would enter into Samadhi."

...............The Holy Mother, Ma Saradamani.

 

Hare Krishna!



"The mind is everything. It is in the mind alone that one feels pure and impure. A man, first of all, makes his own mind guilty and then alone he sees another man's guilt.

The mind is by nature restless. Therefore at the outset, to make the mind steady, one may practise meditation by regulating the breathing (Pranayama) a little. That helps to steady the mind. But one must not overdo it (Pranayam). That heats the brain."

...............The Holy Mother, Ma Saradamani.

 

Hare Krishna!



" I tell you one thing. If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own."

.......................... The holy Mother, Ma Saradamani.

 

First I gave up action,
Then idle words,
And lastly thought itself.

Now I am here.

Ridding my mind of distraction,
Single-pointed,
I shut out sounds and all the senses,
And I am here.

-Ashtavakra Gita 12:1-2