Last night we had some discussion on mantra-japa. Mantra is a kind of compact formula in which an idea or attitude is expressed. S was repeatedly asking me whether the mantra will mean everything in the life of a seeker. My dear boy, for a serious seeker, mantra means everything! Everything related to his spiritual life as well as otherwise.
KEEP READINGQ&A with Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha (Published in Speaking Tree)
KEEP READINGComing back from Jamshedpur, I wrote to Swamiji: “Like all the previous years, your holy association has been very enriching. This time it has given a significant turn to my sadhana. For long I was strongly obsessed by the thoughts that I had to progress in sadhana as quickly as possible, I had to read many shastras as fast as I could, etc.
KEEP READINGWhat is spiritual excellence? – its nature, scope and potency? Normally, the coveted aim before an earnest spiritual seeker is to know the Supreme Truth himself, to actualize it as a personal living experience, and thereby to become ‘fulfilled’. The path followed is essentially of self-absorption and withdrawal from world involvements to transcend the dwandwaas (dualities) posed by the mind and to reach a state of oneness of vision and experience.
KEEP READINGDestiny is a word which finds repeated place in our common parlance. But it is an extremely abstruse concept, when it comes to a question of discussing it and trying to make one understand what exactly it denotes in our life, experiences and actions. The reasons are first psychological, intellectual next and philosophical last.
KEEP READINGMeditation is an exclusive effort – an exclusive pursuit and application of the mind. Sitting in front of a deity and chanting God’s name need not be meditation. Meditator sits in a comfortable pose of stillness and the effort is made by the mind and mind alone. The effort is to make the mind clear and still.
KEEP READINGWho is a Leader?- A leader is one who is able to lead the minds and intellects of the others around. If he thinks that he can lead by order and command, he is grossly mistaken. It will never work. Understand that everyone is directed by the mind, and the mind is directed by the intelligence.
KEEP READINGYoga is the stable and un-flickering nature of our very intelligence. It is when our inner personality is so unshakable that it will not be dislodged by any kind of input from the world. We must evolve from our limited, constricted “well-dimensional” mind, to that of a “sea-dimensional” mind. Every situation has a fulfilling role, and must be faced with neither fear nor reluctance.
KEEP READINGSwami Bhoomananda Tirthaji begins this segment by declaring unequivocally, that “Activity is the rule of life and living”, thereby shattering the misconception that spirituality is meant to be pursued after retirement.
How can one achieve fruition of sānkhya yoga (yoga of Self-Knowledge) while remaining intensively active? Sri Krishna’s answer comes in one of the defining shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita explains that Nature divides the activities of people according to their inherent qualities shaped by the three Gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. A human being can attain perfection by pursuing work suitable to his potentials (Svabhaava karma) sincerely and devoutly.
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