SWAMI SIVA NANDA (1887-1963), FOUNDER OF THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
True gurus are available in every religion. They may not be in the ordinary world of strife, for such a world does not want them, nor have they any use for it. Go, therefore, in search of a true master. He is ever available and is only waiting for a symptom of real earnestness in you. If you have true humility and earnestness to see God, he will solve all your doubts and show you God in no time at all. Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati (1912-1954), 34th pontiff of the Sarada Peetham
Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralyzing ones. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
When a person is always right, there is something wrong. Anonymous
Love is the only reality, and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Indian poet and Nobel laureate
The rainbow is a gift from Him who is in all things. Hopi Native American proverb
There are no impediments to meditation. The very thought of such obstacles is the greatest impediment. Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), South Indian mystic
It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about? Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author, poet and philosopher
Hinduism is a living organism. One and indivisible at the root, it has grown into a vast tree with innumerable branches– knowledge is limitless and also limitless is the application of Truth. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Look at you, you madman! Screaming you are thirsty and dying in a desert, when all around you there is nothing but water! Saint Kabir (1440-1518)
The more we are conscious of God's presence in daily life, the more intense is the fullness of the joy we experience. God means infinitely more to our existence than the light of the sun means to the plants and trees. Swami Omkarananda, (1930-2000), founder of Omkarananda Ashram, Rishikesh
To have an altar at home alters our life. Swami Tejomayananda, spiritual head of Chinmaya Mission
Find God. That is the only purpose in life. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886), Swami Vivekananda's guru
"First tested on humans." Note on the label of the Cain & Able line of natural shampoos for dogs
I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead continue to exist. Socrates (470-399 bce), Classical Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Western philosophy
A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five! Groucho Marx (1890-1977), American comedian
Do you want God to be yours? Then you must first become His! Dada J.P. Vaswani, spiritual head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Man has now conquered almost everything in nature except human nature. Anonymous
One day three wise, blind elephants were discussing what humans were like. Failing to agree, they decided to determine what humans were like by direct experience. The first blind elephant felt the human and declared, "Humans are flat." The other blind elephants tested and said, "We agree."
G-o-d, d-o-g. both the same. Top and bottom. See God in everything. You must do that! Satguru Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lanka's revered contemporary mystic
Only the guru is father, mother and brother. He is also friend, well-wisher and the only wealth. Thus everything should be surrendered to him. The disciple, fully surrendered to the guru, sees him as God, and then becomes God himself. Chandra Jnana Agama, 2.68
Truth is a snare: you cannot have it without being caught. You cannot have truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it catches you. Soren Kierkegaard, (1813 -1855), Danish philosopher and theologian
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Khalil Gibran (1883 1931), Lebanese American mystic, poet and writer
DID YOU KNOW?
The Hindu worshipful ritual called puja is precisely and extensively regulated by the Agamas, ancient scriptures explaining the methods of contacting the Gods. According to the Agamas, when a puja is conducted divine energies are invoked and temporarily reside within the murti (image). During an abhishekam–oblations with liquid offerings–the various substances used interact with the living energies resident in the murti and those energies radiate subtly through the materials offered, moving out into the surrounding region. The poured offering, so enlivened, creates a blessing, which then affects all devotees present and even beyond, into the neighboring areas and homes.
Each substance has a specific effect as it resonates with the divine shakti of the Deity. Milk brings health to all, while sugarcane juice repels natural calamities. Sandalwood water attracts knowledge and learning; coconut water and rosewater ward off diseases; holy ash, vibhuti, dismisses disharmonious conditions and bestows protection. Panchamritam manifests blessings and auspiciousness to householders, and honey brings growth of the arts–music, dance, painting and drama.
BASICS OF HINDUISM
GOD AND THE GODS
Hindus believe in one supreme Being, the Supreme God, who created an extensive hierarchy of Gods, said to number three hundred and thirty-three million. In the Vedas, The Supreme is called Brahman, who simultaneously exists as absolute, transcendent Parabrahman, as omniscient consciousness or Parashakti and as Parameshvara, the personal Deity. The word Brahman comes from the Sanskrit root Brh, meaning to grow, manifest, expand. Brahman is simultaneously Purusha, the Primal Soul, who is perfection of being, the original soul who creates innumerable individual ones–including the Gods. Some Gods did not undergo evolution as we know it, but were emanated as mature Mahadevas from God to govern and interpenetrate specific orders of space and time. They are so close to the Supreme that they fulfill their cosmic functions in perfect accord with God's wisdom, intent and action. These Mahadevas are real soul beings, and down through the ages ordinary men and saints alike, in all cultures, have had visions of them. Their decisions and actions are so vast in their implications and complexity that we could never comprehend them with our human faculties and understanding.