A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear that results from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl.
-S. Heller

After observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

-William Faulkner

Entrance

Whoever you are: in the evening step out
of your room, where you know everything;
yours is the last house before the far-off:
whoever you are.
With your eyes, which in their weariness
barely free themselves from the worn-out threshold,
you lift very slowly one black tree
and place it against the sky: slender, alone.
And you have made the world. And it is huge
and like a word which grows ripe in silence.
And as your will seizes on its meaning,
tenderly your eyes let go. . . .

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

from: The London Spirituality Network 2007.   

"The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances." - Martha Washington
Who says Disneyland is the happiest place on earth? According to a survey released earlier this month, that title goes to Denmark. The US government-funded World Values Survey, questioning some 350,000 people in 52 countries, found that the most important element for happiness with one's country is the degree to which people have free choice in the way they live their lives. Democracy, peace and social equality all figured high in the happiness quotient. The other top five countries are Puerto Rico, Colombia, Iceland and N. Ireland. You may want to avoid moving to Zimbabwe, Armenia, Moldova, Belarus and the Ukraine - voted the five most miserable places to live.
Denmark was found to be the world's happiest country but is it also the world's richest?
No. It just goes to prove that money doesn't buy happiness. The United States is the world's richest nation, but only ranks at No. 16 on the list of happiest countries. Denmark and the other countries that ranked highest in the study (conducted by the World Values Survey and directed by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research) are all prosperous, however. - from :Answer.com
 

How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
-William Shakespeare

I am not here anymore.
Somewhere else is where I am.
A place so hard to find,
you cannot see me here
or visit me there
or wish me out of this anywhere.
If this is where I am supposed to be,
why can't I find me?
-Joanne Koenig Coste
 

Dawn like a dancer puts on her ornaments; as a cow yields her udder, so she bares her bosom. She creates light for all living beings, flinging wide the gates of darkness, as cows their enclosure. We have beheld the radiance of her shining. Advancing, she drives away the horror of the night. Like a colored post, anointed at the sacrificial feast, so the Dawn, Heaven's daughter, is adorned with wondrous splendor. Now we have crossed to the other shore of darkness. Dawn, shining forth, brings a limpid clarity. She smiles like an enchantress, shining in glory. Her beautiful countenance awakens us for joy. The singing priests have praised radiant Dawn, the daughter of Heaven, the bringer of graces. You, O Dawn, strengthen us with offspring and Men; you make us rich in horses and cattle. O Dawn, grant us renown, stalwart sons and servants, ample treasure and possession of horses. You who shine forth in glory and splendor, impelled by your own powers, bring blessings to Men. Gazing out over all the world and spreading her light rays westward, Dawn shines. She wakens to motion all living creatures and heeds the voice of every worshiper. This ancient of days is continually reborn, adorning herself with similar colors. As a bird catcher holds in his power flying creatures, so this Goddess diminishes the life of mortals. Now she discloses heaven's farthest horizons, chasing far away her sister the Night. She reflects the splendor of the Sun, her lover, and makes the score of days of all creatures to dwindle. Bright Dawn, the blessed One, spreads forth her rays like grazing cattle or expanding floodwaters; never infringing divine precepts, she appears with escorting sunbeams, visible to all. Ample, O Dawn, is your store of treasure. Grant us your wondrous boons that we may nourish our children and our children's sons. Your shining evokes sweet sounds of life. Grant us your favor this day that we may abound in herds of cattle and in horses. , made more splendid by holy worship, yoke to your car your reddish steeds and bring to us all felicity. O powerful Spirits, with one mind and will direct your chariot toward our home and make it rich in cattle and gold. You who brought down from heaven sweet song, a light that enlightens the race of Men, grant to us now, O Spirits, strength. May those who wake at dawn bring hither the Gods, the givers of refreshment and doers of marvels, on paths of gold that they may drink Soma. - Rig Veda I, 92, 4 - 18

As the bee takes the essence of a flower and flies away without destroying its beauty and perfume, so let the sage wander in this life.
Dhammapada 50

This is what I say: Your mind is spiritual and so too is the sense-perceived world. The spirit is timeless and it dominates all existence as the great law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes crude nature into mind, and there is no being that can't be transformed into a vessel of truth.

-Brahmajala Sutra

As the man and the woman in me
unite in love,
the brilliant beauty
balanced on the two-petal led lotus
within me
dazzles my eyes.
The rays
outshine the moon
and the jewels
glowing on the hoods of snakes.

My skin and bone
are turned to gold.
I am the reservoir of love
alive as the waves.
A single drop of water
has grown into a sea,
unnavigable.

-Lalan

If someone does you a favor, you never forget it; if you do someone else a favor, never mention it.

-Arabic saying

In taking birth there is suffering; much more suffering there is at the time of dying. In the Shastras it is said that when you die the anguish can be greater than the stings of thousands of scorpions. If one scorpion stings it is torment to endure the pain. If thousands of scorpions sting then guess what may be the torment of the period of demise.

The pains of birth/death are additional to those of our lifetimes which are without end. Without Ishwar (God) it is impossible to become released from this. Making the mistake of being worldly/transmigrated then you have to fall again and again. You should argue desires that are impure and afterwards should have only one strong desire for getting God. You will not progress until this desire [for God] has become stronger than any other.

 - 'Shri Shankaracharya Upadesh Amrita Kana 10 of 108, of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati;

Edited by Rameshwar Tiwari [1969]

It's not that some people have willpower and some don't.

It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.
-James Gordon, M.D

Morality is the birthright of high families,
While immoral conduct's legacy is lowly birth.



-Tirukkural 14:133

Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say that the world is hungry for our help and our love. Whether we seek to help people, animals, or the earth itself, the world's need for our service has never been greater. And the funny thing is, the more we help, the more energy we get. That's because when we make a difference in life, we forget about our own problems, which are really what make us feel old.

My country, my language, my assets, my culture, my people, my caste, my ancestry - all these kinds of thoughts are just false. It is mental calamity. No language, no country, and no culture - nothing is permanent but change is more permanent. It is actually foolishness to shout these as permanent. Nothing belongs to me. Just live and die. Do not attach your self to any thing. Do nothing. No body did anything so far. Every one thinks that they are doing every thing. Any one can bind me with kindness only.

 Looking after the cows is not an easy thing as you think.
 You must have bodily strength and keep calm.
 Most cows are yet uncontorollable.
 You should not beat them.
 Once they have been harmed they just stop growing up.
 Milking will be lessened.
 Pulling them and controlling them requires more strength.
 Once you get acquainted with them, you will not wish to get away for any other jobs.
 Certain selected youngsters being trained on veterinary, specially on cows.
  Also breath control, contemplation, medicine, astronomy and astrology.
  Those who succeed in these become village officers.
  Geography and history too considered important.
(these descriptions belong to the period, when Lord Krishna was engaged in looking after the cows, while he was growing up in the cow herds community.)

After receiving grace of a God, the devotee can never be the same again, never look at life again in the old way. By grace we are directed deeper into spiritual life, pointed in the right direction, carefully guided on the San Marga, the straight path to our supreme God. After grace has been received, our thoughts are enlivened, our life is inspired with enthusiasm and energy, and we live daily in the joyous knowledge that everything is all right, everything is happening around us in accord with our karma, our dharma and God's gracious will.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today
( I wish to endorse on this.)

find that it is not the circumstances in which we are placed, but the spirit in which we face them, that constitutes our comfort.
-Elizabeth T. King

I am living while thinking of him. If I forget him, I am nearly died. It is being very difficult to remember his name. But if a man become hungry about the name of god that particular holy hungriness makes all his sufferings to become ash. Yes, god is truth and the truth is the name of godson, mother, how can I forget my god. If I praise small part of his name people get tired. Any how these people never think of the god's real value. If all these people get together and praise him, god never grows bigger than he was earlier. He never decreases because of their praise. He never dies. He never suffers. He just gives away every thing he has but his treasury never gets bankrupted. This is the great wonder of the god. He is not a being and he is always being. There is no one like god. My god, you are great. Your gifts are also great. You bring the day time. He who forgets all these is a person of a lower birth. Oh Nanak, He who is without the name of the god is far worse than the lower birth. - Nanak

journal for feeling grateful for every one who helped me.
We must worship our mother for the sufferings she underwent to produce us. Our mother fed us with her milk immediately after our birth. Both our parents provided with everything for us to grow in this world. As a kind of thanks giving, we offer these flour balls as a gesture towards them. These grains were grown on this earth. They will be use full to some one any how. What we have made into a ball is eaten by crows and other small birds, and then the balance will be eaten by ants and other insects. Bacteria not visible to us will have the balance left by the insects. Foods we prepare belong to all kinds of living beings. We plough the land, sow the seeds, harvest, cook it, make rice balls and provide to crows. 

devotion towards the teacher

Guru is greater than the eswara.Teacher is the greatest.Devotion to the teacher is best than the devotion to the eswara. Why? No one seen the eswara.We can see a person , who is more pure and has wisdom and having a chidda which is not wavering and without any dirt, if such aperson becomes our guru(teacher) , we need not go insearch of mental peace towards eswara, that particular peace could be easily obtained or reached from the guru.

Hindu society has been the meeting point as well as the melting pot of as many spiritual visions as the human psyche is capable of springing up spontaneously. It has been a willing and welcoming platform for as many seers, sages, saints and mystics as have responded to the deeper stirrings in the human soul. It has been a repository of as many metaphysical points of view as human reason can render in human language.
Sita Ram Goel (1921-2003), Hindu renaissance thinker and writer, founder of Voice of India

KABEER DAS

 

His job was to make foot wear and repair them. He was born in Islam but he lived as a Hindu. He achieved the power of repeating the god's name. Ram was his deity. He tells thus, "He who repeats the name of the lord (god) even in his dreams, I will make foot wear out of my skin for his feet." Because only he knows the worth of it.

 

This is not as difficult as you think. If you start repeating the name all the time without stopping it will continue in your dreams too.

 

All the time means , even while standing, walking, sitting, bathing, eating, working, sleeping, rising up, etc. non stop repetition. Even if you stop, do not worry, just continue again.

 

Most important is, while you train your mind to attend to this process, it will just get deep into it automatically, after that you are nowhere; the entire world will be at your feet.

 

"A few minutes in the morning, or just count the rosary, or a 108 numbers in the morning and evening, "you may have heard this often but these procedures for the practice of this process. If you train your mind for continuous repetition, the next step will come in automatically in search of you.

 

Some people say, that if you complete billion times of repetition (so you will become a billionaire - joke) god will appear before you in person. Do not expect some thing for what you are doing, do not count how much you have finished. It will be done by the supreme power. You just continue with your repetition and that is what we call repetition of the name - ‘Nama Japa'.

 

When you do repetition, every thing will happen automatically. You need not do anything every thing will happen on its own. You need not worry about any thing, think of any thing, even before you think it will be done. God will be guiding you properly. You are just surrendering to him.

It lies in our hands in crystals
too intricate to decipher
It goes into the skillet without being given a second thought
It spills on the floor so fine we step all over it
We carry a pinch behind each eyeball
It breaks out on our foreheads
We store it inside our bodies
in secret wineskins
At supper, we pass it around the table
talking of holidays and the sea.

~ Lisel Mueller ~

Poem has been featured in the Poetry and Stillness for Heart and Soul programme, Courtesy: The London Spirituality Network 2007.   

The intense desire for God-realization is itself the way to it.

-Sri Anadamayi MM

Nothing should be prized more highly than the value of each day.
-Johann von Goethe

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been.

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEz-V4i3XCw
The world joins together to create a global shift on the summer solstice 2008 to usher in the Golden Age of Peace. Centered at West Yellowstone Montana (USA), 444 people will use the power of intent along with others around the world who will step into sacred formations to call forth Oneness, as the Shekinah and the Metatron move into Sacred Union through all who participate in the global sacred geometry.