"Lead me in the center of thy silence to fill my heart with songs."
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) celebrated Bengali writer who won the Nobel Prize Literature in 1913.
It was the beginning of term at a primary school in Brooklyn. The teacher asked the children their names, one at a time, and for each to spell the name out loud. When she came to a young boy and asked his name….. "Ravishankar Venkataraman Bannerjee," he replied. "How do you spell that?" asked the teacher. "My mother helps me," said the little boy.
A man went into his psychiatrist's office and said, "Doc, you've got to help me! Every night I keep dreaming that I'm a sports car. The other night I dreamed I was a Trans Am. Another night I dreamed I was an Alpha Romeo. Last night I dreamed I was a Porsche. What does this mean?" "Relax," said the analyst, "You're just having an auto-body experience."
Of all the scriptures in the world, it is the Vedas alone that declare that even the study of the Vedas is secondary. The real study is "that by which we realize the Unchangeable." And that is neither reading, nor believing, nor reasoning, but superconscious perception, or samadhi. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
If our country is to produce robust, intellectual, and long-lived children who believe in God, we must, in my humble opinion, learn ways to control our sense organs. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, from his book, Yoga Mala
Two fish are in a tank. One asks the other, "Do you know how to drive this thing?"
"Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale skinny people who look half-dead. In a steak house you see robust, ruddy people. They're dying, of course, but they look terrific." Bill Cosby, actor
You are your own friend and your own enemy. Yogaswami of Jaffna (1872-1964)
Dean, to the physics department: "Why do I always have to give you guys so much money for expensive laboratory equipment. Why couldn't you be like the math department? All they need is money for pencils, paper and waste-paper baskets. Or even better, like the philosophy department. All they need are pencils and paper."
I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants. A. Whitney Brown, American Humorist
As the dawn breaks on a New Year, let us give thanks for all we hold dear: Our health, our family, our friends, the grace of God which never ends. Let us release our grudges, anger and pains, for these are nothing but binding chains. Letus vow to live each day in the most pious, God-conscious way. Let us vow to serve all who are in need, regardless of race, caste, gender or creed. Let us vow to keep God in our heart, to chant His name each day at the start. Let us vow to lead the world from darkness to light, from falsehood to truth, and from wrong to right. And let us vow to remember that we are all one, embracing all, discriminating against none. May your year be filled with prosperity and peace, and love and joy which doesn't cease. May you have success in all you do. And may God's blessings be showered upon you. Anonymous
To have someone or some child get on your nerves is to be without love. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
A journalist dreamed that he interviewed God and asked Him what surprised Him most about people. God answered, "That they get bored being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then later long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health."
Strange how people who don't even know their neighbors are extremely curious to know if there's extraterrestrial life.
People rarely disclose their character so clearly as when they describe someone else's.
I just took up meditation. I like to have an espresso first just to make it more challenging. Betsy Salkind
DID YOU KNOW?
Pillar Facts
Carving a temple by hand is no simple task. To understand a bit about how time-consuming it is, we talked with our resident temple architect, Shanmugam Stapathi, in charge of the construction of Iraivan Temple, at the Kauai Ashram home of Hinduism Today. We asked him for some facts regarding the fancy 13.7 foot tall Badra Sthambam pillar (see right). He explained that the pillar took more than 1,335 man-days to craft by hand from quarry to completion. The pillar is made in four parts, the base, the pillar, and the two top pieces. The quarried stones totaled 191 cubic feet and weigh 15 tons. By the time they are finished, five tons of granite are re
moved, leaving them at 128 cubic feet and weighing 10 tons. Over 62,500 chisels are used and sharpened for these stones. According to him, there are five levels of carving, from the extremely rough shape to the very fine final detail work. Each level has a different chipping rate from two strokes per minute to 60 strokes per minute. He estimated that the carvers chip for about seven hours each day. Calculating the time used with each kind of stroke, he said over 17,000,000 chisel strokes were used to make this one pillar! And there are 40 pillars in the temple.
Avoidance of Covetousness
Tirukural 171:In the very attempt towrongly gain another'swealth,a manforfeits hisfamily's future and his ownfaultlessness.
Tirukural 173:Those who seek immortalblisswill not succumbto immoral deedsthat follow desirefor fleetingdelights.
Tirukural 176:Desiring graceand doing his duty, a man who desires wealth but acquires itwrongly is destroyed nevertheless.
Tirukural 178:To protect one's own prosperityfrom decline, one must not cravethe propertyheld by others.