Inspiring quotes from hinduism and other sources

from wiki, maybe not a quote but what the heck,


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Nisargadatta's teachings are grounded in the Advaita Vedanta interpretation of the Hindu idea Tat Tvam Asi, literally "That Thou Art", meaning You are one with Divinity.

According to Nisargadatta, our true nature is perpetually free peaceful awareness, in Hinduism referred to as Brahman. Awareness is the source of, but different from, the personal, individual consciousness, which is related to the body. The mind and memory are responsible for association with a particular body; awareness exists prior to both mind and memory. It is only the idea that we are the body that keeps us from living what he calls our "original essence", the True Self, in Hinduism referred to as Atman.

He describes this essence as pure, free, and unaffected by anything that occurs. He likens it to a silent witness that watches through the body's senses, yet is not moved, either to happiness or sadness, based on what it sees.

For Nisargadatta, the Self is not one super-entity which knows independently, regardless of things; there is no such super-entity, no Creator with infinite intellect, no God as such. What is, is the "total acting" (or functioning) of the Ultimate/Absolute Reality along the infinite varying forms in manifestation. This Absolute Reality is identical to The Self.

Nisargadatta also predicates the radical idea that there is no such thing as a "doer". According to him and other teachers of Vedanta, since our true nature or identity is not the mind, is not the body, but the witness of the mind and body, we, as pure awareness, do nothing. The mind and body act of their own accord, and we are the witness of them, though the mind often thinks it acts. This false idea (that the mind is the self) is what keeps us from recognizing our Self. Nisargadatta cautions:

'"The life force [prana] and the mind are operating [of their own accord], but the mind will tempt you to believe that it is "you". Therefore understand always that you are the timeless spaceless witness. And even if the mind tells you that you are the one who is acting, don't believe the mind. [...] The apparatus [mind, body] which is functioning has come upon your original essense, but you are not that apparatus."

 

Food, clothing and such are not much different among people,
It is modesty that distingiushes good men from others.
All life clings to a body,
Perfect goodness clings to all that is modest.

-Tirukkural 102:1012-1013

 

We wave palms because, like the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem and gave thanks for their healing by Jesus, we too can really be healed in body, mind, and spirit.


-Kevin Gray



John 12:1, 12-33

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz'arus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"

And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass's colt!"

His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Laz'arus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. The Pharisees then said to one another, "You see that you can do nothing; look, the world has gone after him."

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Beth-sa'ida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus.

And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name."

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

He said this to show by what death he was to die.

 

"I say there is but one remedy for one too anxious for the future Ñ to go down on his knees."

"Can you see your own eyes? God is like that. He is as close as your own eyes. He is your own, even though you can't see Him."

"When once you consider an action, do not let anything dissuade you. Consult your heart, not others, and then follow its dictates."

- Swami Vivekanandaji

 

"girl, you really got me now.. you got me so i cant sleep at night" - sanjaya malakar

 

'something's going to happen - something wonderful'

Silent Brothers 'Departed'


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=93784656

(Datum summer 06 remix is my fave on this page)

 

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel.

Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"

Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand."

Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me."

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"

Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean."

When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

"Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?"

Jesus answered, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward."

Peter said to him, "Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times."

John 13:1-17, 31-35


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Sudama was a poor brahmin boy who became a close friend of Krishna in sage Sandipani's hermitage. Krishna learnt to chant from Sudama.

Once, Sandipani's wife asked Sudama and Krishna to get some wood from the forest. While they were collecting the wood, a storm came and they got lost. Sudama was scared. Krishna held his arms and assured his safety. When the storm was over, they found their way to the hermitage. Sudama was relieved. Sandipani blessed them with a long life and happiness.

After completing their studies, Sudama and Krishna went their own ways. Krishna became the king of Dwarka and married princess Rukmini, the goddess of prosperity. Sudama, on the other hand, married a simple brahmin girl and began to lead the life of a devotee, reading scriptures, praying, forsaking worldly pleasures. Everyone loved Sudama. His family was quite happy.

Then Sudma's wife gave birth to two children. Because of Sudama's austere life style, the family began to face difficult days, with little food to eat and no clothes to wear. Sudama's wife was extremely devoted to her husband but when her children began to suffer, she was concerned.

Finally on a cold night, when her children were without blanket, she approached Sudama and humbly said, "Aren't you and Krishna, the lord of Dwarika, friends? And, Krishna married to the goddess of prosperity, Rukmini?"

Sudama replied, "Yes."

Sudama's wife dreamed of seeing an improvement in her family's poor condition. She earnestly said, "Go my lord, I beseech you, for the sake of our dear children, meet Krishna."

The very prospect of meeting Krishna, his old friend, made Sudama happy. "I will go and see him, but I will not ask him for anything." Sudama's wife could hardly conceal her joy. She happily said, "Even a visit to Krishna will bless our family. Do not ask anything from him. I will be content my lord."

Just before his departure for Dwarka, Sudama came to his wife. Both had the same thought. "What will I give to Krishna when I see him after such a long time?"

Sudama's wife suddenly remembered, "My lord you used to tell me that Krishna immensely loved Powa, the flattened rice!" Sudama too remembered Krishna's great liking for Powa. Sudama's wife ran to her neighbor's house and they happily gave her the gift of Powa in a small bundle. Sudama then set out on his long journey to Dwarka.

When Sudama came to the palace, surprisingly enough, no one stopped him.

He looked through various rooms and finally located Krishna and Rukmini. When Krishna saw Sudama he ran to embrace him. Then Krishna sat down and washed Sudama's tired feet with warm water and put sandalwood paste on them. As he did, tears of love rolls from his eyes and with these he washed his friend's tired feet.

After the royal meal, they all settled down to chat. Krishna and Sudama exchanged the happenings of their lives since they departed from Sandipani's hermitage. Suddenly Krishna noticed a small bundle on Sudama's waist. He remarked, "Ah! You have brought a present for me!"

Sudama hesitated, "How do I give a king, a poor man's Powa?" When Krishna noticed that Sudama was ashamed to give him the bundle, he remarked, "Sudama, the poorest gifts given to me with love is dearer to me than the richest of gifts given without love." Krishna was thoughtful, "He has not come to ask anything for himself. He came out of love for his wife and me." Then he quickly snatched off the bundle and opened it. There it was, his favorite Powa! He tossed some in his mouth with great satisfaction. Then they talked and talked, as old friends, to their heart's content. Sudama could not ask anything from Krishna.

Next morning Sudama bid Krishna and Rukmini farewell. The long road back home did not seem to be that hard as he thought of Krishna. When he reached home, he was amazed to see that a huge mansion was standing in place of his poor hut. His wife and children, wearing new clothes, came to receive him. He could hardly recognize them. Sudama felt the touch of the all-knowing Krishna who had rewarded Sudama for his gift of love.

Sudama continued to lead the life of a hermit while his family enjoyed the generous gifts of wealth from Krishna.

 

In paradise there is [no such thing as] fear;
Thou art not there, nor shrinks one from old age.
Hunger and thirst, these two transcending,
Sorrow, surpassing, a man makes merry in paradise.

-Katha Upanishad

^ I def. had to post this because I just heard a lecture on the Katha Upanishad and I found it ironic this was in my inbox . Enjoy.

 

O Christ, beloved Son of God! thou didst embark on a storm tossed sea of prejudiced minds. Their cruel thought waves lashed thy tender heart. Thy trial on the Cross was an immortal victory of humility over force, of soul over flesh. May thine ineffable example heaten us to bear bravely our lesser crosses. O Great Lover of Error Torn Humanity!

In myriad hearts an unseen monument has arisen to the mightiest miracle of love-- thy words: "Forgive them for they know not what they do."

Mayest thou remove from our eyes the cateracts of ignorance, that we see the beauty of thy message: "Love thine enemies as thyself. Sick in mind or asleep in delusion, they are still thy brothers."

O Cosmic Christ, may we, too, conquor Satan of dividing selfishness that prevents the gathering in sweet accord of all men in the one fold of Spirit. As thou art Perfection, yet wert crucified, teach us not to resent the inevitable tests of life: the daily challenge of our fortitude by advesaries, our self-control by temptation, and our goodwill by misunderstanding. Purified by contemplation on thee, innumerable devotees perfume their lives with emanations from thy flower soul.

O Good Shepard! thou leadest thy countless flock to the evergreen Pastures of Peace. Our deepest aspiration is to see the Heavenly Father with open eyes of wisdom, as thou dost and to know that like the we are verily His sons. Amen"

Paramahansa Yogananda

 

"Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky, how beautiful it is? All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness there is a poem, there is a song. Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring. When the spring comes it again fills the tree with the music of many leaves, which in due season fall and are blown away. And that is the way of life." - "All the Marvelous Earth," J. Krishnamurti

 

Flowers fade never to return, but Jesus only slept to obey the sweet command of Nature, and woke again to declare His mastery over Her. Jesus has silenced the laughter of unbelieving eyes and the audacious poetic assertion that no traveller has ever returned from deathÕs bourne, by coming back from the place from which no one ever returned before. Christ hid Himself again to show that He could not only resurrect His eternalness in the body of Jesus, but also in every blossom, and in every living Being that would ever smile in the garden of Creation through endless aeons. Christ was resurrected not only on Easter Morn, but He reanimates Himself in the dawn of each SoulÕs awakening. Our Souls die every day, whenever we are buried in the tomb of ignorance, and we resurrect ourselves again in Cosmic Wisdom. Banish the death-consciousness perceived during the sleep of delusion, and resurrect your Soul in the ever-reigning Light of Immortality. Let this be your Easter Awakening. Ñ Paramahansa Yogananda, Inner Culture, April 1935

 

In the world people think they can attain glory by having cows and horses, elephants and gold, family and servants, fields and mansions. But I do not call that glory, for here one thing depends on another. Utterly independent is the Infinite.

-Chandogya Upanishad

 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Text 69

ya nisa sarva-bhutanam
tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani
sa nisa pasyato muneh

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

 

My mind fell like a hailstone
into the vast expanse of Brahman's ocean.
Touching one drop of it.
I melted away and became one with Brahman.
This is wonderful indeed!
Here is the ocean of Brahman,
full of endless joy.

-Sankara

 

O Lord my God,
Teach my heart this day where and how to see you,
Where and how to find you.
You have made me and remade me,
And you have bestowed on me
All the good things I possess,
And still I do not know you.
I have not yet done that
For which I was made.
Teach me to seek you,
For I cannot seek you
Unless you teach me,
Or find you
Unless you show yourself to me.
Let me seek you in my desire,
Let me desire you in my seeking.
Let me find you by loving you,
Let me love you when I find you.

- St. Anselm

 

I know that the more I humble myself to others, the broader my understanding of God has actually become.


-Francis Frangipane



Psalm 104

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty, who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent, who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters, who makest the clouds thy chariot, who ridest on the wings of the wind, who makest the winds thy messengers, fire and flame thy ministers.
Thou didst set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken.
Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst appoint for them.
Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.
Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart.
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.
In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.
Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they get them away and lie down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening.
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, which teems with things innumerable, living things both small and great.
There go the ships, and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.
These all look to thee, to give them their food in due season.
When thou givest to them, they gather it up; when thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good things.
When thou hidest thy face, they are dismayed; when thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground.
May the glory of the LORD endure for ever, may the LORD rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

 

"Fear not what is not real, never was and never will be.
What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed."

- Bhagavad Gita​

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Like strangers in an unfamiliar country
walking over a hidden treasure, day by day
we enter the world of Brahman while in deep
sleep but never find it, carried away by what
is false.

-Chandogya Upanishad

 

Listen friends, love is like the sun.
The heart without love is nothing but a piece of stone.

- Kabakli ​

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"There is no path to truth, because truth is a living thing, it is not a fixed, static, dead thing.."

"...I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organised... The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth...

Then you will naturally ask me why I go the world over, continually speaking. I will tell you for what reason I do this... As an artist paints a picture because he takes delight in that painting, because it is his self-expression, his glory, his well being, so I do this not because I want anything from anyone...

You are depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else.... No man from outside can make you free..... No one holds the Key to the Kingdom of Happiness. No one has the authority to hold that key. That key is your own self, and in the development and the purification and in the incorruptibility of that self alone is the Kingdom of Eternity..."

Jiddu Krishnamurthy speaking on 3 August 1929 announcing the dissolution of the Order of the Star, Ommen Camp