Vedanta in practice – The Ancient Greeks
In the act of self-sacrifice for promoting the interests of the State, every citizen became conscious of spiritual freedom, and as it were, realized his “True Self.” As Thucydides says of the citizens of ancient Athens, “their bodies they devote to...Organization
Your league should be with Truth alone. Even if you are obliged to stand alone, live with Truth, die in Truth. If on the ethereal heights of Truth-living thou art left alone, the Sun of Righteousness should be companion enough for you. Comrades will begin to pour in...Saving Advice
Whatever happens, O man of God, trace its ultimate cause in your own self, instead of wasting your time and energy in criticising others for it. Raise yourself to Godhead and the whole chain of causation in the universe becomes immediately subservient to you. The...Society or Solitude ?
Our safety is in the skill with which we keep the diagonal line. Solitude is impracticable and society fatal. We must keep our head in the one and our hands in the other. Keep your independence, yet do not lose your sympathy. Says Montesquieu: “Countries are...Pure Form
Reason. Can it not go ” beyond the horizon of our senses?” Leverrier, even before Galle, directed his telescope to the place where the planet had been calculated to be. * * * * The only begotten son of God is LOGOS Idea (Gr.), Reason (Latin). Pure form Maya. * *...Faith and reason
This unity is an article of faith in as much as it is an axiom and postulate of our innermost being. We may have practically verified it only in a limited number of cases, but happy they who see it in all concerns of life. We verify the relation between hyperbola and...The Story of Lila
An elderly gentleman, formerly a co-worker with B. V. Narasimhaswami and author of some Visishtadvaita work, visited the place for the first time. He asked about rebirths, if it is possible for the linga sarira (subtle body) to get dissolved and be reborn two years after death.
Zen Stories
Two monks, one older, one young, came to a muddy ford where a pretty girl was waiting to cross. The elder picked her up and carried her over the water. As they went along, the younger, horrified at the act of his brother monk in touching a woman, kept on commenting upon it, until at last the elder exclaimed: “What! Are you still carrying that girl? I put her down as soon as we crossed the water!”
An Incarnate Abbot Explains
Asked about reincarnation, Sri Bhagavan remarked, “See how a tree grows again when its branches are cut off. So long as the life source is not destroyed it will grow. Similarly, latent potentialities withdraw into the heart at death but do not perish. That is how beings are reborn.”