Monday Music

Thursday Quote

"The guru will guide and share his wisdom with the student and eventually show the location and how to get in direct contact with the Supreme Guru that resides within the student. The spiritual preceptors or gurus are always alert and radiating love and peace 24 hours a day, every day."


-Sri Dharma Mittra

Monday Music

Have you made your sankalpa for Guru Purnima 2013? Learn more here.

Thursday Quote

"There are three kinds of devotees: superior, mediocre, and inferior. The inferior devotee says, ‘God is out there.’ According to him God is different from His creation. The mediocre devotee says: ‘God is the Antaryami, the Inner Guide. God dwells in everyone’s heart.’ The mediocre devotee sees God in the heart. But the superior devotee sees that God alone has become everything; He alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles. He finds that everything, above and below, is filled with God."

-Sri Ramakrishna





Click here to lead about Ramakrishna Mission monks bringing aid to areas of flood-stricken Uttarakhand that officials have not been able to reach.

Monday Music

Thursday Quote

Prajapati had three kinds of offspring: gods, men and demons. They lived with Prajapati, practising the vows of brahmacharins. After finishing their term, the gods said to him: "Please instruct us, Sir." To them he uttered the syllable da [and asked]: "Have you understood?" They replied: "We have. You said to us, 'Control yourselves (damyata).'" He said: "Yes, you have understood."

Then the men said to him: "Please instruct us, Sir." To them he uttered the same syllable da [and asked]: "Have you understood?" They replied: "We have. You said to us, 'Give (datta).'" He said: "Yes, you have understood."

Then the demons said to him: "Please instruct us, Sir." To them he uttered the same syllable da [and asked]: "Have you understood?" They replied: "We have. You said to us, 'Be compassionate. (dayadhvam)'" He said: "Yes, you have understood."

That very thing is repeated [even today] by the heavenly voice, in the form of thunder, as "Da," "Da," "Da," which means: "Control yourselves," "Give," and "Have compassion." Therefore one should learn these three: self-control, giving and mercy.

-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Monday Music

THURSDAY QUOTE

"Yoga can be called dharmic spiritual practice, Yoga Dharma [dharma refers to the laws of truth that govern the universe]. Yoga is a dharmic approach to the spiritual life, which is the way of Self-realization. It instructs us to follow our higher dharma, which is to give up outer seeking and strive to know our true nature. All the methodologies of yoga are dharmic in nature, helping us harness natural law and the spiritual forces in nature to transform our consciousness from ignorance to enlightenment.

"Ayurveda can be called dharmic medicine. Ayurveda represents a dharmic approach to health and everyday living - natural healing based upon natural law, conscious healing following the laws of consciousness. Ayurveda is the science of health based upon dharmic principles, which seeks to uphold the dharma both in treatment and in its lifestyle regimens. Dharmic living gives us health and happiness, putting us in contact with cosmic forces of beneficence. Adharmic living, life contrary to dharma, brings pain and disharmony to all. A dharmic life is the basis of all ayurvedic treatment and all ayurvedic lifestyle regimens. Most psychological problems and emotional disorders are rooted in adharmic living, living out of harmony with the universe. Most physical diseases are based on it as well."



-David Frawley (Vamdeva Shastri)

Monday Music

Thursday Quote

"Know and realize that your faculty is intended for the good of others. Learn lessons from nature. The various and innumerable products, roots, fruits, silver, gold, all lay themselves bare for the use of man. But man always absorbs but never gives. Let all learn and emulate form nature and resolve that life is to give and not to take."


-Swami Sivananda

Monday Music

Swami Adhyatmananda will lead hatha yoga classes June 30 to July 3 and give a lecture June 30 at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago.

Thursday Quote

"One succeeds in all Yogas through energetic practice—even if one is young, old, very old, sick, or weak."

~Svatmarama, in The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Brian Dana Akers translation)

Monday Music

....appearing 7/14 as part of the Eye on India Festival.

Thursday Quote

“How often does a man ruin his disciples* by remaining always with them! When men are once trained, it is essential that their leader leave them, for without his absence they cannot develop themselves. Plants always remain small under a big tree.”


― Swami Vivekananda





*and, may we add, how often does a disciple ruin his chances at reaching The Goal by remaining too long with the guru (and expecting him/her to do their work for them).

Monday Music

Thursday Quote(s)

"Honor your Self, Worship your Self, Meditate on your Self; God dwells within you as you."

"See God in Each Other."



-Swami Muktananda

Seven. Hours. at. LaGuardia

What does one do when the 8:55pm flight is repeatedly delayed, until it becomes apparent that it will leave LaGuardia after 2am - or not at all?


japa
asana
svadhyaya





* * *





Text updates from airline: 10
Conflicting updates from gate: 8
Air ticket: 283.80
Taxis: 100
Parking: 42
Hotel: 150.67
Tuition: 160
12.5 hours with the Guru:










priceless

Monday Music

Thursday Quote

"As a lump of salt dropped into water becomes dissolved in water and cannot be taken out again, but wherever we taste [the water] it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless infinite Reality is Pure Intelligence alone. [This Self] comes out [as a separate entity] from these elements and with their destruction [this separate existence] also is destroyed. After attaining [oneness] it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear."


-Yajnavalkya to Maitreyi, in the Upanishads

Monday Music