Be unknown. God is unknown.
Satguru Siva Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lankan mystic
Only two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over-crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing. Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), famed guru of Swami Vivekananda
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Realize the truest reality, the real power, that you are; Infinite you are, above all danger and difficulty. Swami Rama Thirtha (1873-1906), Hindu teacher and lecturer
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All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian writer
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Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Hindu guru and advaitist philosopher
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Aim high, aim at the highest, and all lower aims are thereby achieved. It is looking below on the stormy sea of differences that makes you sink. Look up, beyond these and see the One Glorious Real, and you are saved. Ramana Maharishi (1879-1950), Indian guru
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Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American writer and poet
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A kindness done in the hour of need may itself be small, but in worth it exceeds the whole world. Tirukural 102
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Don’t forget love; it will bring all the madness you need to unfurl yourself across the universe. Mirabai (1498-1557), mystic poet
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In shallow men the fish of little thoughts cause much commotion. In oceanic minds the whales of inspiration make hardly a ruffle. Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (1855-1936), guru of Satyananda Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda
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The Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every seed; put false pride away and seek the Lord within. Saint Kabir (1440-1518), mystic poet
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We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in the future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
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Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born theoretical physicist
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In the long run, we only hit what we aim at. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author, poet and philosopher
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After the game, the King and the Pawn go into the same box. Italian proverb
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What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. African proverb
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As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter, architect and inventor
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Nonviolence is all the offerings. Renunciation is the priestly honorarium. The final purification is death. Thus all the Divinities are established in this body. Krishna Yajur Veda, Pranagnihotra Upanishad 46.413
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Perhaps the crescent moon smiles in doubt at being told that it is a fragment awaiting perfection. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), mystic poet
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Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. Alan Watts (1915-1973), British-born philosopher and writer
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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain (1835-1910), American author
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Who is there who can conquer those who have relinquished all hostilities? Tirukural 855
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We are already divine. No one has to redeem us; Divinity is in there. We just have to find it. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of HINDUISM TODAY
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Selfless service to mankind makes you free in the world of mortals. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)
COPYRIGHT © 2001 LEIGH RUBES
On the family trip to nirvana
D I D Y O U K N O W ?
THE MYSTIC POONDISWAMI
DURING A PILGRIMAGE IN INDIA IN 1969, two of the future editors of HINDUISM TODAY arrived at the hut of Poondiswami, an ascetic who lived on the side of a road. Poondiswami greeted all, blessed all and ate anything people gave him, even cigarettes. He never stood up, a discipline that caused his legs to totally atrophy. He was sitting on a simple mat, his deep eyes seeming to contain the cosmos, his white-grey hair matted atop his head with a flower to grace his jata. Moved by this man’s sadhana, the editor asked, “Swami, why have you decided not to move from this spot for so many years.” The holy man’s gaze flooded the inquisitor, and Poondiswami softly retorted, “Mind absorbed in God, no place to go.”
POONDISWAMI.COM [http://www.poondiswami.com]
According to a 1988 article in Saipatham magazine, Sri Poondiswami was first seen around 1935 in a village called Kalasapakkam, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. At first the people dismissed him as just another madman, but a miracle showed them he was something much more. One day, Swami was meditating in a nearby riverbed when suddenly there was a flash flood. All those who saw him sitting on the river bed thought he would surely be swept away and drowned in the waters. Once the flood had ebbed, the villagers rushed to the spot where they had last seen the swami and to their amazement, he was still alive, buried up to his neck in sand. They dug Poondiswami out and he walked away calmly, as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
B A S I C S
THE HOME SHRINE
EVERY HINDU HOME CENTERS around the home shrine, a special room set aside and maintained to create a temple-like atmosphere in which we conduct puja, read scripture, perform sadhana, meditate, sing bhajana and do japa. Here the presence of the Gods is always felt, and we remember them especially morning and evening and before meals, which we offer to them before we partake.
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Worship traditionally begins before dawn, with the simple act of dedication for the coming day. Before we attend or conduct a puja, we should carefully bathe the body, rinse the mouth and dress in fresh clothing. Throughout these preparations we may sing hymns or chant mantras or God’s holy names silently or aloud, taking care to keep the mind free from worldly matters. We then gather offerings for the Deity. If mealtime is near, we eat only after puja has been concluded. Our worship is only as meaningful and effective as we make it. Although the outer details of our worship are important, it is our inner feelings and thoughts, our love and devotion, which are the truest offering we can make.
The morning puja may include the repetition of the Gayatri or other mantras, followed by sadhanas given by one’s guru. The form of home worship, atmartha puja, is simple: the Deities are invoked and offerings are made. After the final arati, or offering of the light, we supplicate them to bestow their grace on us, our family and all devotees. Evening devotionals include a simple arati, bhajana, meditation and reading of scripture, which carries one to lofty celestial realms during sleep. The Agamas affirm, “Worship of one’s chosen Linga by anyone in their own home for divine protection is called atmartha puja.”