“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Humanity—so colorful in its own eyes!—is seen by a master to be divided into only two classes: ignorant men who are not seeking God, and wise men who are. Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (1855-1936), guru of Paramahansa Yogananda
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There is no greater Truth than the Guru, no greater penance than the Guru, no knowledge greater than the Guru—therefore to that Guru I ever pay my homage. Guru Gita 77
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In death the many become one; in life the one becomes many. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
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He is the inner Self of all, hidden like a little flame in the heart. Only by the stilled mind can He be known. Those who realize Him become immortal. He has thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, thousands of feet; He surrounds the cosmos on every side. This infinite being is ever present in the hearts of all. He has become the cosmos. He is what was, and what will be. Yet He is unchanging, the Lord of immortality. Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3.13-15
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The arrogance of being knowledgeable is more dangerous than having no knowledge at all. Sri Rameshabhai Oza, katha performer and our Hindu of the Year 2006
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In the beginning, love arose, which was the primal germ cell of the mind. The seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom, discovered the connection of Being in Nonbeing. Rig Veda 10.129.4
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The ways are two: love and want of love. That is all. Mencius (372-289 bce), Chinese philosopher
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The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. Frank Lloyd Wright (1967-1959), architect
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It is the nature of desire never to be fulfilled, but he who utterly gives it up is eternally fulfilled at that very moment. Tirukural 370
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The statement below is true.
The statement above is false.
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Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886)
There is a proverb in our language: ‘If I want to be a hunter, I’ll hunt the rhinoceros; if I want to be a robber, I’ll rob the king’s treasury.’ What is the use of robbing beggars or hunting ants? So if you want to love, love God. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
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Teacher: “If you had Rs. 50 and you asked your father for another Rs. 50, how much would you have?” Naseem: “Rs. 50.” Teacher: “You don’t know arithmetic.” Naseem: “You don’t know my father.”
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Whatever good you wish to do, do it now and here. Do not wait for the tomorrow. A day will come whose tomorrow we shall not see. Dada J.P. Vaswani, head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission and our Hindu of the Year 2002
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The tragedy of human history is that there is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing comforts. Swami Chinamayananda, (1916-1993)
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The major way a family person makes spiritual progress is by fulfilling all duties— duties to spouse, duties to children, duties to parents, duties to community. When we fulfill our duties as best we can, we make spiritual progress. We don’t have to go anywhere else. We don’t have to give up our duties and spend time in a cave. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
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Hinduism is such a joyous religion, freed of all the mental encumbrances that are prevalent in the various Western faiths. It is freed of the notion of a vengeful God. It is freed of the notion of eternal suffering. It is freed from the notion of original sin. It is freed from the notion of a single spiritual path, a One Way. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
THE INDIAN ROOTS OF CALCULUS
ALITTLE-KNOWN SCHOOL OF scholars in southwest India discovered one of the founding principles of modern mathematics hundreds of years before Newton, according to new research published by the University of Manchester in England. The article, by mathematician George Gheverghese Joseph, says the Kerala school identified the infinite series—a basic component of calculus—in about 1350. That discovery is currently attributed to Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz at the end of the seventeenth century. Joseph’s team also discovered that the Kerala school used infinite series to calculate pi correctly to 9, 10 and later 17 decimal places. There is strong evidence that the Indians passed on their discovery of infinite series to mathematically knowledgeable Jesuit missionaries who visited India during the fifteenth century. That knowledge, they say, may have eventually been passed on to Newton himself. Joseph made the discoveries while researching for his book The Crest of the Peacock: The Non-European Roots of Mathematics (Princeton University Press). He writes: “The beginnings of modern mathmatics are usually seen as European achievements, but the discoveries in medieval India between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries have been ignored or forgotten. The brilliance of Newton’s work stands undiminished. But other names from the Kerala school, notably Madhava and Nilakantha, should stand shoulder to shoulder with him, as they discovered the other great component of calculus—infinite series.”
Infinite series: In this visual example, we have a 1 by 1 square, with an area of 1. We can approximate the area by adding together a “series” of 1/2 of the square plus 1/4 plus 1/8th and so on. The sum will come closer and closer to 1, but never reach it. The “infinite series” method of calculus, where an infinite number of fractions is summed, gives the “limit” and correct answer of exactly 1.
B A S I C S O F H I N D U I S M
STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE
THERE ARE THREE WORLDS OF existence: the physical, subtle and causal, termed Bhuloka, Antarloka and Sivaloka. The physical plane, or Bhuloka, is the world of gross or material substance in which phenomena are perceived by the five senses. It is the most limited of worlds, the least permanent and the most subject to change. The material world is where we have our experiences, manufacture karma and fulfill the desires and duties of life in a physical body. It is in the Bhuloka that consciousness is limited, that awareness of the other two worlds is not always remembered. The subtle plane, or Antarloka, is the mental-emotional sphere that we function in through thought and feeling and reside in fully during sleep and after death. It is the astral world that exists within the physical plane. The astral plane is for the most part exactly duplicated in the physical plane, though it is of a more intense rate of vibration. The causal plane, or Sivaloka, pulsates at the core of being, deep within the subtle plane. It is the superconscious world where the Gods and highly evolved souls live and can be accessed through yoga and temple worship. The causal plane is the world of light and blessedness, the highest of heavenly regions, extolled in the scriptures of all faiths. It is the foundation of existence, the source of visions, the point of conception, the apex of creation, abode of Lord Siva Himself. The Sivaloka is the natural refuge of all souls.