On The Way to Absolute Truth

Trust in God

2011-08-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

United with me, you shall overcome all difficulties by my grace.
(Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita)

Things to do

2011-08-07T11:13:00.001-07:00

Seek to do brave and lovely things that are left
undone by the majority of people. Give gifts of love and
peace to those whom others pass by.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, Spiritual Diary)

Natural Renunciation and Discrimination

2011-07-12T10:39:00.001-07:00

Bhakti, love of God, is the essence of all spiritual discipline. Through love one acquires renunciation and discrimination naturally.
(Ramakrishna, `The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna')

Convert myself

2011-07-03T02:53:00.000-07:00

You should transfer your attention from failure to success, from worry to calmness, from mental wanderings
to concentration, from restlessness to peace, and from peace to the divine bliss within. When you attain this state of Self-realization the purpose of your life will have been gloriously fulfilled.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, "The law of Success")

THE IMPERFECTION OF TIME

2011-02-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Our history tears us to pieces. Drop it as you do a dream when you wake up.

The whole world is like Alice in Wonderland, a madhouse. As long as you see everything slide by in reasonable sequence, one thing firmly tied to another, you are a bound person. When you realize there is no sequence, no congruity, you are free.

Swami Ashokananda
Shafts of Light: Selected teachings of Swami Ashokananda for Spiritual Practice
Compiled and Edited by Sister Gargi and Shelley Brown

Patience and Impatience

2011-02-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

A person who is not afflicted by time - he alone has patience, endurance.

Do you know that patience is another name for eternity? Impatience is a state of mind that is to be condemned in every phase of life.

Do you know what is behind impatience? We are not willing to undertake as much trouble as we should. We want to get it over with quickly and get on to something else. Impatience can do you a great deal of harm.

Swami Ashokananda
Shafts of Light: Selected teachings of Swami Ashokananda for Spiritual Practice
Compiled and Edited by Sister Gargi and Shelley Brown

The impossible dream

2011-01-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

Lyrics to "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA (1972)

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Fighting Bad Habits

2010-12-18T23:16:00.000-08:00

Shall you be better able to fight [bad habits]
tomorrow than today? Why add today's mistakes to
yesterday's? You have to turn to God sometime, so isn't
it better to do it now? Just give yourself to Him and say:
"Lord, naughty or good I am Your child. You must take
care of me." If you keep on trying, you will improve.
A saint is a sinner who never gave up.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda')

Work in Truth - SV

2010-12-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

In every attempt there will be one set of people who will applaud, and another who will pick holes. Go on doing your own work, what need have you to reply to any party? "Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. Through truth alone lies the path of the gods" (Mundaka Upanishad, 3.1.6). Everything will come by degrees.

Be afraid of nothing

2010-11-14T05:10:00.000-08:00

Trials will never be lacking in religious life, nor does God want them to be. Since he brings souls there to be proved and purified, like gold, with hammer and the fire (Eccles. 2:5), it is fitting that they encounter trials and temptations from human beings and from devils, and the fire of anguish and affliction….
The religious must undergo these trials and should endeavor to bear them patiently and in conformity to God's will, and not so sustain them that instead of being approved by God in this affliction he be reproved for not having wanted to carry the cross of Christ in patience.
(St. John of the Cross)

I am speaking practical truth to you, practical sense; and giving you a philosophy that will take away all of your consciousness of hurt. Be afraid of nothing. If death comes, all right. What is going to happen, will happen. Refuse to be intimidated by this dream. Affirm: `I will not be frightened by ill health, poverty, and accidents. Bless me, O Lord, that when You put me through trials, I realize their delusive nature and become victorious over them by positive action and by remaining inwardly united to You'…
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `A World in Transition')

Those whom Love draws near are the most severely tried.
(Islam, Attar)

Have Faith

2010-10-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
(Christianity, Matthew 17.20)

By faith you shall be free and go beyond the world of death.
(Buddhism, Sutta Nipata 1146)

The true believers are those whose hearts are filled with awe at the
mention of God, and whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His
revelations. They put their trust in their Lord, pray steadfastly, and give in alms of that which We have given them. Such are the true
believers. They shall be exalted and forgiven by their Lord, and a
generous provision shall be made for them.
(Islam, Qur'an)

Sorrow looks down, Worry looks around, but Faith looks up.
(Unknown )

DO NOT LOSE YOUR INWARD PEACE

2010-09-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in God's bosom…Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to God's eternal love for you.
(St. Francis de Sales)

Fix your mind inwardly between the eyebrows [as in meditation] on the shoreless lake of peace. Watch the eternal circle of rippling peace around you. The more you watch intently, the more you will feel the wavelets of peace spreading from the eyebrows to the forehead, from the forehead to the heart, and on to every cell in your body. Now the waters of peace are overflowing the banks of your body and inundating the vast territory of your mind. The flood of peace
flows over the boundaries of your mind and moves on in infinite directions
(`Paramahansa Yogananda, Metaphysical Meditations')

Peace…be still…and know…that I am God.
Peace…be still…and know…that I am.
Peace…be still…and Know.
Peace…be still.
Peace…be
Peace…
Peace…
Peace.
(Peace Pilgrim, `Peace Pilgrim')

Overcoming fear and desire

2010-09-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Deliver me, O Jesus,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the desire of being popular,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being suspected.
(Mother Teresa, `Mother Teresa, A Simple Path')

Some SV thoughts

2010-09-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Who is independent? Not our body, for it depends upon external conditions; nor our mind, because the thoughts of which it is composed are caused. It is our soul that is independent. The Vedas say that the whole world is a mixture of independence and dependence, of freedom and slavery, but through it all shines the soul independent, immortal, pure, perfect, holy.

----
Interviewer: Swami, what you claim is that all is good?
Vivekananda: By no means. My claim is that all is not--only God is! That makes all the difference.

----
Teach yourselves, teach everyone his real nature, call uon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.

Courage to begin

2010-08-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed
- David Viscott

Troubleshooting a rebooting Nokia N95 8GB

2010-07-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Faced a frequently rebooting N95 8GB phone in this week. The error message that was coming was sim card not registered or similar.

Uninstalled extra applications from the phone while in offline mode. Went to the customer care of mobile operator and got a replacement sim card. No problems since the activation of the replaced sim. The old N95 8 GB works like new.

My Didama's native place in India's pre-partitioned East Bengal

2010-06-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Our forefathers happen to come from then East Bengal before 1947 partition of India. In my effort to show my maternal grandmother, her fond memories of childhood in Chittagong in 1920s,30s and 40s, I corresponded and got the help of people from US, Canada, India and current Bangladesh sometime in 2007. I got great help from Bangali-Bondhu yahoogroup. Finally I was able to get a few photographs of the place of her childhood. It is called Ranir Dighi in colloquial in Chittagong Bangladesh

The house is one of the houses visible on the east side of Ranir Dighi. However my grandmother(Didama) was unable to pin-point the exact house as lot of things seem to have changed in last 70 years.

My Grandmother - Alo Rani Roy also remembers her classmates in school who had participated in the Chittagong uprising against British.

Lot of thanks are due to my friends Arnab of Canada, Xiaur Rahman of Chittagong and other friends in Bangali-Bondhu yahoogroup.

My grandmother happens to be a spirited lady and quite well-learned for her times. Being part of the times of Chittagong revolution, she is always filled with nationalistic fervour. When she named her younger son Shibaji after the maratha warrior king Shivaji little did my grandmother know how her elder daughter would be living major part of the adult life in Maharashtra.

Essence of Upanishadic Teaching

2010-02-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

Essence of Upanishadic Teaching
( From Hindu Dharma by Shri ChandraShekarendra Sarasvati Swamiji of Kanchi)

In the view of modern science the phenomenal world exists in the time space frame. The Upanishads declare that being freed from the time and space factors, we can grasp the ultimate-truth
That is at the source of Cosmos. How to transcend Time and space? Is it possible?

An example can be citied from everyday life. We lap up the newspaper reports of the fighting going on in a distant country, say Iraq. If a dispute or trouble erupts in our home or country like Pakistan, we forget Iraq and turn to Pakistan. The newspapers themselves push reports of Iraq to some corner and highlight developments in Pakistan. But when a quarrel breaks out even nearer, say a quarrel over Tiruttani between Tamils and Telugus Pakistan is forgotten and the boundary quarrel claims all our interest. Now when we come to know about a street brawl in our neighbour hood, we throw aside the newspaper to go out and see for ourselves what the trouble is all about. Again, when we are watching the street fight, a friend or relative comes and tells us that a war is going on in our own home, a fight between wife and the mother. What do we do then? We forget the street brawl and rush home at once.

On an international level Iraq war is perhaps of great importance. But we pass from that to quarrels of decreasing importance. Why? Iraq is far away in space. We are more concerned about what happens nearer us than about far away happenings.

The time factor is similar. How inconsolably we wept when our father died ten years ago. How is it that we do not feel same intensity of grief when we think of his death today? On the day a dear one passes we weep so much but not so much on the following day. Why is it so? Last year we earned a promotion or won a prize in a lottery. We jumped for joy then, didnt we? Why is it that we dont feel the same thrill of joy when we think about it today?

Now let us turn our gaze inward. If we become aware of the battle going on within us, the battle fought by the senses, all other quarrels will become distant affairs like Iraq war. Just as nearness in space is a factor in determining how we are affected by an event, so too is nearness in time. An event occurred far away in space and long ago in time, loses its impact even when we are turned outward and remain conscious of time and space.

So Confidence Arises that we can be totally freed from time and space if We Turn Inward.
When we are asleep we are oblivious of space and time without any effort on our part. But we do not have the awareness of being free from them. We must go to the state in which we sleep without sleeping and are immersed in bliss of Jnana as well as freedom from space and time. In such a case even we receive a stab wound we will not be affected by it. It would be like happening in a remote land like Iraq.

Now let us think about our real goal what is it? Peace and tranquility. Let us consider what we must do for this goal. So if we are to remain detached we must think that what happens close by is happening in a remote place. We must also learn to think that all happy and unhappy incidents of the moment occurred some ten years ago. We must remain in the absolute state of being ourselves.

The essence of Upanishadic message is the burning desire to be free from time and space. All that we need to do is to pray to lord and make an effort to develop the will and capacity to put the happenings of the moment, back in time and distant in space.

The first of the ten major Upanishads, Ishaavaasya Upanishad, says:
Tadejati tannaijati taddoore tadvantike
Tadanatarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyaasya bahyatah.

It is afar yet it is near. It is indeed within. This statement refers to time and space, and creates the urge in us to be freed from both. The next mantra,

Yastu sarvaani bhootaani aatmanyevaanupashyati
Sarva bhooteshu aatmaanam tato na vijugupsate.

This mantra asks us to see, time, space and all the creatures, in our self itself. Then there will be no cause for hatred, delusion or sorrow. Nothing will affect us. This truth of being free from time and space, this truth of Upanishads, is to be realized within as an experience.

Soul is unbound

2010-02-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

That which is bound is nature, not the soul.

-Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda - The world is a gymnasium

2010-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

This world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

All healthy social changes are the manifestations of the spiritual forces working within, and if these are strong and well adjusted. Society will arrange itself accordingly. Each individual has to work out his own salvation; there is no other way, and so also with nations. It is very easy to point out the defects of institutions, all being more or less imperfect, but he is the real benefactor of humanity who helps the individual to overcome his imperfections under whatever institutions he may live. The individuals being raised, the nation and its institutions are bound to rise.

Men in general lay all the blame of life on their fellowmen, or, failing that, on God, or they conjure up a ghost, and say it is fate. Where is fate, and who is fate? We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise. The wind is blowing; and those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is the fault of the wind?

I was once traveling in the Himalayas and the long road stretched before us. We poor monks cannot get anybody to carry us, so we had to make all the way on foot. There was an old man with us. He said, Oh, Sir, how to cross it; I cannot walk any more; my chest will break. I said to him, Look down at your feet. He did so, and I said, "The road that is under your feet is that you have passed and is the same road that you see before you; it will be soon under your feet. The highest things are under your feet, because you are Divine Stars"

The history of world is of six men of faith, six men of deep pure character. We need to have three things: the heart to feel, the brain to conceive, the hand to work. Make yourself a dynamo. Feel, first for the world. Ask yourself, does your mind react in hatred or jealousy? Good works are continually are being undone by the tons of hatred and anger which are being poured out on the world. If you are pure, if you are strong, you, one man, are equal to the whole world.

-Swami Vivekananda

Book Review: The Imaginary Institution of India

2010-01-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

One of the fine books on this topic and especially interesting in the analysis of Indian history. There is the very abstract and delicate reasoning throughout the book. The author has followed various historical strands of the composition of India as political idea with an emphasis on the period of colonialism and later. The development of modern Indian nation is looked from a intellectual position with as far objectivity possible when viewed back in time from the present.

The subject is discussed in implicit and sometimes explicit reference to stronger, well-established and well-defined nations. Notably, the conceptual boundary of nation is itself under dynamic change in these times of the global village.

A unique description of the events leading to 1857 uprising and the importance of Gandhi as a political phenomenon in the development of idea of India. The discussion on Gandhi and his original way to bridge the gap between literate and illiterate parts of the population is especially illuminating. The managing of contradictions to forge the Indian national concept by Gandhi is discussed in some detail.

The important feature of the this book is an extensive discussion of the effect of multiple languages and its effects on the India politics and nation-state throughout history. The author also discusses how the successive emergence of Sanskrit to Persian/Urdu and English through history has accompanied the change of stable governments over the Indian sub-continent.

Summarizing the review, this book comes across as a thought provoking and enlightening discussion to broaden our understanding of India. This is also relevant in these times of globalisation with the emergence of India on the world horizon following China as the other similar Asian nation in most dimensions but excluding the immense polyglot nature of Indian nation.

Freeing bad habits

2010-01-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Habits of thought are mental magnets that draw to you certain things, people, and conditions. Weaken a
bad habit by avoiding everything that occasioned it or stimulated it, without concentrating upon it in your
zeal to avoid it. Then divert your mind to some good habit and steadily cultivate it until it becomes a
dependable part of you.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, "The Law of Success")

Why did Lord Dutta acquire knowledge from twenty four Gurus?

2009-12-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

The eleventh skandha (volume) of the Shrimadbhagvat narrates a conversation between Yadu and Avadhut. Here Avadhut names His Gurus and narrates what He learnt from them. [The word Guru used in this context means the teacher. The features of a true Guru are given in ˜Science of Spirituality : Chapter 6 - Path of Guru's Grace (Gurukrupayoga)]

Everything in the universe is a Guru because one can learn something or the other from it. From bad things one learns what defects to reject and from good things what good qualities to acquire. For example I accumulated knowledge from the twenty-four Gurus enlisted below and converted it into an ocean. Then bathing in it, I cleansed all my sins.

1. The earth: One should acquire the virtues of endurance and tolerance of duality from the earth.

2. The wind: One should be detached like the wind. Just as the wind blows both in the hot and cold regions without being influenced by their qualities or defects so also those desirous of Liberation (mumukshus) should wholeheartedly tread along the path prescribed by the Vedas (Shrutis) in the hot and cold regions without paying attention to virtues or defects of others.

3. The sky: Just like the sky the soul pervades all animate and inanimate objects yet it remains unaltered, single and steady.

4. The water: Just like water one should behave with affection towards all. One should never be partial to anyone. Just as water retains its impurity at its bed and cleanses others of their impurities so also should man renounce the impurities arising from attachment to the physical body, acquire the treasure of spiritual knowledge and cleanse people with vices, of their sins. Just as water flows from a higher altitude uprooting impudent trees, nurturing humble vegetation on its way to the low lying land so also liberated souls should destroy the vain and wealthy, punish the hypocrite evildoers and redeem those who surrender to them, of their sins. Man is akin to water which becomes impure by stagnation and gets purified as it flows. Hence men with a spiritual attitude should visit various places of pilgrimages (tirthakshetras) instead of living in one place.

5. The fire: Like fire, man should undertake austerities and get illumined with knowledge. He should partake of whatever is available, refrain from bad deeds and utilise his virtues only at the opportune moment for a worthwhile cause.

When on a pilgrimage, etc. one should eat whatever is available without accumulating it.
Always remaining pure like the fire one should behave with equality towards all.
Fire delivers the oblations to the deities made in it amidst chanting of their respective Names.

In order to realise the transient nature of the body the flame of fire is considered as a Guru. Just as hardly any time is required to kindle and extinguish a flame so also creation and dissolution of a body from the five cosmic elements does not take long.

6. The moon: There are in all sixteen phases of the moon including the subtle phase of the new moon and the fifteen of the fortnight. Though there is waxing and waning of the moon, it remains unaffected by them. Similarly, the soul is not affected by changes in the body.

7. The sun: The sun stores water taking the future into account and benevolently showers it on the earth at the appropriate moment. In the same way man should store useful things and make them available to all living organisms impartially, considering the time, place and the prevalent conditions.

8. The pigeon: A man who lives with intense attachment for his wife and children feeling that worldly life is pleasurable is destroyed with time just like a pigeon along with its family is devoured by a falcon. Thus a seeker desirous of Liberation (mumukshu) should be mentally detached from all this.

9. The python: The python lies in one place fearlessly having faith in its destiny. It is content with whatever food it gets and has no preferences about the quantity, taste, etc. It does not feel threatened if no food is available for sometime and inspite of having the strength does not make use of it. Similarly those desirous of the Final Liberation should partake of whatever little is available reposing faith in destiny and at times if nothing is available then they should become introverted and remain engrossed in meditating on the soul.

10. The sea: During monsoons just as the sea is neither pleased if the rivers bring in plenty of water nor is displeased if they do not, and consequently does not swell or shrink, so also man should remain steadfast to his duties and should neither feel elated if he experiences worldly pleasures nor unhappy if he is faced with tragedy. He should always remain immersed in Bliss.

One should not let anyone perceive one's virtues just as the sea keeps its length, breadth, depth and the treasures in its bed hidden from everyone. However one should always utilise them favourably, for the sake of others.

11. The moth: The moth enchanted by the alluring radiance of the lit lamp, dives at it and is soon charred to death. A man who is similarly fascinated by a woman's beauty and youth for the sake of sexual pleasure finally perishes in it just like the moth.

12. The queen bee and the honey collector The queen bee: The queen bee builds a hive encountering several difficulties in a cumbersome location high up on a tree and collects honey in it. It neither eats it itself nor lets others feast upon it. Finally all of a sudden the honey collector kills it and takes away the hive along with the honey. In the same way the miser who accumulates wealth with relentless efforts finally either becomes unhappy when it is suddenly lost in the fire, stolen by thieves or taken away by the king or when unrighteous progeny is born to him which misuses it or if he dies issueless. Thus after his death the wealth either remains where it is or is acquired by someone unrelated to him. If at the time of death he still has attachment for that wealth then he harasses the one who enjoys it in the form of a spirit or a serpent. Thus learning that accumulation of wealth leads to sudden death like the honey bee, one should stop amassing wealth.
The honey collector: Just as the one who collects the honey acquires it effortlessly so also a male seeker should partake of food cooked in the home of a householder instead of spending time in making a fire, collecting utensils, firewood, etc. and should devote that time to realise God. Such seekers desirous of Liberation partake of food from householders and ultimately uplift them.

13. The elephant (Gajendra): Although the elephant is so powerful, man tries to capture it by digging a pit in the ground, covering it with grass and placing a wooden cow elephant covered with elephant skin on that pit. Infatuated by the cow elephant the elephant craves for sexual pleasure and runs towards that wooden cow elephant with speed and falls in the pit. Thus it is easily made a captive by man. Similarly man lured by sensuous pleasure is instantly entrapped in bondage.

Men allured by adulterous women are destroyed in the same way as elephants overcome with lust die fighting amongst themselves.

14. The bumble-bee: The sunflower which blooms with sunrise closes with the sunset. At that time if a bumble-bee is seated on it, then it gets trapped in the flower. Thus realising that attachment to object pleasure gives rise to bondage, one should refrain from such attachment.
Just as the bumble-bee savours the fragrance of several sunflowers instead of one so also seekers desirous of Liberation should realise that every science will not be easy to grasp and hence should try to understand their implied meaning.

15. The Musk deer: The musk deer which is as swift as the wind and can be captured by none, gets enchanted with melodious music and loses its life to others. Keeping this in mind one should not get entrapped in any kind of attachment.

16. The Fish: When a fish-hook fastened with bait is thrown into the water, the fish lured by the bait swallows the hook and gets caught. Thus it loses its life. Man too is trapped in satisfying his taste buds and thus continues to suffer in the whirlpool of births and deaths.

17. The prostitute - Pingala: One night despite a long wait not a single client approached her. As she restlessly waited pacing up and down, hoping for a client she was finally bored and suddenly developed detachment. As long as man has desire he cannot sleep peacefully. The one who sacrifices desire is unaffected by unhappiness.

18. The lapwing: Seeing the lapwing fly with a fish in its beak hundreds of crows and eagles began chasing it, pecking at it and tried to snatch the fish, thus harassing it. This flock began following it wherever it went. Finally exhausted it dropped the fish. Just then an eagle caught the fish. No sooner had the eagle caught the fish than all the crows and eagles began chasing it. The lapwing however calmly perched itself on the branch of a tree. In this world there is peace only if sense objects are rejected, otherwise it leads to great distress.

19. The child: Forsaking respect and disrespect, believing that the universe is governed by destiny one should live carefree like a child and enjoy the Bliss.

20. The bangles: When two bangles strike each other a jingling sound is generated. The more the bangles the greater is the sound. Similarly when two persons live together it leads to conversation and when many persons live together there is strife. In both circumstances there is no peace of mind. Hence those doing meditation, yoga, etc. should search for an isolated place and live there in seclusion.

21. The artisan: One day an artisan was chiselling the blade of an arrow with great concentration. A king's procession to the accompaniment of music passed by that way. A man arriving later approached the artisan and enquired, Have you seen the king's procession passing by this way, just now? The artisan replied, I was so engrossesd in my work that I was not aware of anything. Just like this artisan a seeker desirous of Liberation (mumukshu) should meditate surrendering all his sense organs to The Lord.

22. The snake: Two snakes never live or wander about together. They move around cautiously never making any sound. Instead of making a home for themselves they occupy someone else's habitat. They neither move around freely, criticise without reason nor get angry unless injured by someone. Thus two intellectuals should not move around together, should speak limitedly, should not quarrel with one another or ridicule anyone, should act thoughtfully, should not address a gathering and should spend their lives living anywhere instead of building a house for themselves. By building a house one develops vanity and consequently attachment develops.

23. The spider: The spider spins a web secreting a fluid from its belly and plays in it day and night. When it feels like it, it swallows the entire web and becomes free again. Similarly God creates the world when He wishes and indulges in various kinds of play in it. When He feels like it, with a resolve He destroys it and becomes single again. Just as a spider can weave a web with its fluid repeatedly so also can God create the universe by a mere resolve, dissolve it within Himself and recreate it at His will. Hence one should not attach importance to worldly events.

24. The wasp: The one who regularly meditates on an object finally merges into it. The wasp builds a house from mud and keeps a worm in it. It lightly blows air over the worm time and again. Consequently the worm meditates on the wasp and finally also becomes a wasp. A seeker desirous of Liberation should in the same manner meditate on God as advised by the Guru so that he merges into God.

Interviews With Swami Vivekananda -THE ABROAD AND THE PROBLEMS AT HOME

2009-10-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Interviews With Swami Vivekananda -THE ABROAD AND THE PROBLEMS AT HOME

[Our representative met the Swami Vivekananda in the train at the Chingleput Station and travelled with him to Madras. The following is the report of the interview]

Q.- "What made you go to America, Swamiji?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Rather a serious question to answer in brief. I can only answer it partly now. Because I travelled all over India, I wanted to go over to other countries. I went to America by the Far East."

Q.- "What did you see in Japan, and is there any chance of India following in the progressive steps of Japan?"

Swami Vivekananda- "None whatever, until all the three hundred millions of India combine together as a whole nation. The world has never seen such a patriotic and artistic race as the Japanese, and one special feature about them is this that while in Europe and elsewhere Art generally goes with dirt, Japanese Art is Art plus absolute cleanliness. I would wish that every one of our young men could visit Japan once at least in his lifetime. It is very easy to go there. The Japanese think that everything Hindu is great and believe that India is a holy land. Japanese Buddhism is entirely different from what you see in Ceylon. It is the same as Vedanta. It is positive and theistic Buddhism, not the negative atheistic Buddhism of Ceylon.

Q.- "What is the key to Japan's sudden greatness?"

Swami Vivekananda- "The faith of the Japanese in themselves, and their love for their country. When you have men who are ready to sacrifice their everything for their country, sincere to the backbone ” when such men arise, India will become great in every respect. It is the men that make the country! What is there in the country? If you catch the social morality and the political morality of the Japanese, you will be as great as they are. The Japanese are ready to sacrifice everything for their country, and they have become a great people. But you are not; you cannot be, you sacrifice everything only for your own families and possessions."

Q.- "Is it your wish that India should become like Japan?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Decidedly not. India should continue to be what she is. How could India ever become like Japan, or any nation for the matter of that? In each nation, as in music, there is a main note, a central theme, upon which all others turn. Each nation has a theme: everything else is secondary. India's theme is religion. Social reform and everything else are secondary. Therefore India cannot be like Japan. It is said that when 'the heart breaks', then the flow of thought comes. India's heart must break, and the flow of spirituality will come out. India is India. We are not like the Japanese, we are Hindus. India's very atmosphere is soothing. I have been working incessantly here, and amidst this work I am getting rest. It is only from spiritual work that we can get rest in India. If your work is material here, you die of ” diabetes!"

Q.- "So much for Japan. What was your first experience of America, Swamiji?"

Swami Vivekananda- "From first to last it was very good. With the exception of the missionaries and 'Church-women' the Americans are most hospitable, kind-hearted, generous, and good-natured."

Q.- "Who are these 'Church-women' that you speak of, Swamiji?"

Swami Vivekananda- "When a woman tries her best to find a husband, she goes to all the fashionable seaside resorts and tries all sorts of tricks to catch a man. When she fails in her attempts, she becomes, what they call in America, an 'old maid', and joins the Church. Some of them become very 'Churchy'. These 'Church-women' are awful fanatics. They are under the thumb of the priests there. Between them and the priests they make hell of earth and make a mess of religion. With the exception of these, the Americans are a very good people. They loved me, and I love them a great deal. I felt as if I was one of them."

Q.- "What is your idea about the results of the Parliament of Religions?"

Swami Vivekananda- "The Parliament of Religions, as it seems to me, was intended for a 'heathen show' before the world: but it turned out that the heathens had the upper hand and made it a Christian show all around. So the Parliament of Religions was a failure from the Christian standpoint, seeing that the Roman Catholics, who were the organisers of that Parliament, are, when there is a talk of another Parliament at Paris, now steadily opposing it. But the Chicago Parliament was a tremendous success for India and Indian thought. It helped on the tide of Vedanta, which is flooding the world. The American people ” of course, minus the fanatical priests and Church-women ” are very glad of the results of the Parliament."

Q.- "What prospects have you, Swamiji, for the spread of your mission in England?"

Swami Vivekananda- "There is every prospect. Before many years elapse a vast majority of the English people will be Vedantins. There is a greater prospect of this in England than there is in America. You see, Americans make a fanfaronade of everything, which is not the case with Englishmen. Even Christians cannot understand their New Testament, without understanding the Vedanta. The Vedanta is the rationale of all religions. Without the Vedanta every religion is superstition; with it everything becomes religion."

Q.-"What is the special trait you noticed in the English character?"

Swami Vivekananda- "The Englishman goes to practical work as soon as he believes in something. He has tremendous energy for practical work. There is in the whole world no human being superior to the English gentleman or lady. That is really the reason of my faith in them. John Bull is rather a thick-headed gentleman to deal with. You must push and push an idea till it reaches his brain, but once there, it does not get out. In England, there was not one missionary or anybody who said anything against me; not one who tried to make a scandal about me. To my astonishment, many of my friends belong to the Church of England. I learn, these missionaries do not come from the higher classes in England. Caste is as rigorous there as it is here, and the English churchmen belong to the class of gentlemen. They may differ in opinion from you, but that is no bar to their being friends with you; therefore, I would give a word of advice to my countrymen, which is, not to take notice of the vituperative missionaries, now that I have known that they are. We have 'sized' them, as the Americans say. Non-recognition is the only attitude to assume towards them."

Q.- "Will you kindly enlighten me, Swamiji, on the Social Reform movements in America and England?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Yes. All the social upheavalists, at least the leaders of them, are trying to find that all their communistic or equalising theories must have a spiritual basis, and that spiritual basis is in the Vedanta only. I have been told by several leaders, who used to attend my lectures, that they required the Vedanta as the basis of the new order of things."

Q.- "What are your views with regard to the Indian masses?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Oh, we are awfully poor, and our masses are very ignorant about secular things. Our masses are very good because poverty here is not a crime. Our masses are not violent. Many times I was near being mobbed in America and England, only on account of my dress. But I never heard of such a thing in India as a man being mobbed because of peculiar dress. In every other respect, our masses are much more civilised than the European masses."

Q.- "What will you propose for the improvement of our masses?"

Swami Vivekananda- "We have to give them secular education. We have to follow the plan laid down by our ancestors, that is, to bring all the ideals slowly down among the masses. Raise them slowly up, raise them to equality. Impart even secular knowledge through religion."

Q.- "But do you think, Swamiji, it is a task that can be easily accomplished?"

Swami Vivekananda- "It will, of course, have gradually to be worked out. But if there are enough self-sacrificing young fellows, who, I hope, will work with me, it can be done tomorrow. It all depends upon the zeal and the self-sacrifice brought to the task."

Q.- "But if the present degraded condition is due to their past Karma, Swamiji, how do you think they could get out of it easily, and how do you propose to help them?"

The Swamiji readily answered "Karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom. If we can bring ourselves down by our Karma, surely it is in our power to raise ourselves by it. The masses, besides, have not brought themselves down altogether by their own Karma. So we should give them better environments to work in. I do not propose any levelling of castes. Caste is a very good thing. Caste is the plan we want to follow. What caste really is, not one in a million understands. There is no country in the world without caste. In India, from caste we reach to the point where there is no caste. Caste is based throughout on that principle. The plan in India is to make everybody a Brahmin, the Brahmin being the ideal of humanity.

If you read the history of India you will find that attempts have always been made to raise the lower classes. Many are the classes that have been raised. Many more will follow till the whole will become Brahmin. That is the plan. We have only to raise them without bringing down anybody. And this has mostly to be done by the Brahmins themselves, because it is the duty of every aristocracy to dig its own grave; and the sooner it does so, the better for all. No time should be lost. Indian caste is better than the caste which prevails in Europe or America. I do not say it is absolutely good. Where would you be if there were no caste? Where would be your learning and other things, if there were no caste? There would be nothing left for the Europeans to study if caste had never existed! The Mohammedans would have smashed everything to pieces. Where do you find the Indian society standing still? It is always on the move. Sometimes, as in the times of foreign invasions, the movement has been slow, at other times quicker. This is what I say to my countrymen. I do not condemn them. I look into their past. I find that under the circumstances no nation could do more glorious work. I tell them that they have done well. I only ask them to do better."

Q.- "What are your views, Swamiji, in regard to the relation of caste to rituals?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Caste is continually changing, rituals are continually changing, so are forms. It is the substance, the principle, that does not change. It is in the Vedas that we have to study our religion. With the exception of the Vedas every book must change. The authority of the Vedas is for all time to come; the authority of every one of our other books is for the time being. For instance; one Smriti is powerful for one age, another for another age. Great prophets are always coming and pointing the way to work. Some prophets worked for the lower classes, others like Madhva gave to women the right to study the Vedas. Caste should not go; but should only be readjusted occasionally. Within the old structure is to be found life enough for the building of two hundred thousand new ones. It is sheer nonsense to desire the abolition of caste. The new method is ” evolution of the old."

Q.- "Do not Hindus stand in need of social reform?"

Swami Vivekananda- "We do stand in need of social reform. At times great men would evolve new ideas of progress, and kings would give them the sanction of law. Thus social improvements had been in the past made in India, and in modern times to effect such progressive reforms, we will have first to build up such an authoritative power. Kings having gone, the power is the people's. We have, therefore, to wait till the people are educated, till they understand their needs and are ready and able to solve their problems. The tyranny of the minority is the worst tyranny in the world. Therefore, instead of frittering away our energies on ideal reforms, which will never become practical, we had better go to the root of the evil and make a legislative body, that is to say, educate our people, so that they may be able to solve their own problems. Until that is done all these ideal reforms will remain ideals only. The new order of things is the salvation of the people by the people, and it takes time to make it workable, especially in India, which has always in the past been governed by kings."

Q.- "Do you think Hindu society can successfully adopt European social laws?"

Swami Vivekananda- "No, not wholly. I would say, the combination of the Greek mind represented by the external European energy added to the Hindu spirituality would be an ideal society for India. For instance, it is absolutely necessary for you, instead of frittering away your energy and often talking of idle nonsense, to learn from the Englishman the idea of prompt obedience to leaders, the absence of jealousy, the indomitable perseverance and the undying faith in himself. As soon as he selects a leader for a work, the Englishman sticks to him through thick and thin and obeys him. Here in India, everybody wants to become a leader, and there is nobody to obey. Everyone should learn to obey before he can command. There is no end to our jealousies; and the more important the Hindu, the more jealous he is. Until this absence of jealousy and obedience to leaders are learnt by the Hindu, there will be no power of organization. We shall have to remain the hopelessly confused mob that we are now, hoping and doing nothing. India has to learn from Europe the conquest of external nature, and Europe has to learn from India the conquest of internal nature. Then there will be neither Hindus nor Europeans — there will be the ideal humanity which has conquered both the natures, the external and the internal. We have developed one phase of humanity, and they another. It is the union of the two that is wanted. The word freedom which is the watchword of our religion really means freedom physically, mentally, and spiritually."

Q.- "What relation, Swamiji, does ritual bear to religion?"

Swami Vivekananda- "Rituals are the kindergarten of religion. They are absolutely necessary for the world as it is now; only we shall have to give people newer and fresher rituals. A party of thinkers must undertake to do this. Old rituals must be rejected and new ones substituted."

Q.- "Then you advocate the abolition of rituals, don't you?"

Swami Vivekananda- "No, my watchword is construction, not destruction. Out of the existing rituals, new ones will have to be evolved. There is infinite power of development in everything; that is my belief. One atom has the power of the whole universe at its back. All along, in the history of the Hindu race, there never was any attempt at destruction, only construction. One sect wanted to destroy, and they were thrown out of India: They were the Buddhists. We have had a host of reformers — Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya. These were great reformers, who always were constructive and built according to the circumstances of their time. This is our peculiar method of work. All the modern reformers take to European destructive reformation, which will never do good to anyone and never did. Only once was a modern reformer mostly constructive, and that one was Raja Ram Mohan Ray. The progress of the Hindu race has been towards the realisation of the Vedantic ideals. All history of Indian life is the struggle for the realisation of the ideal of the Vedanta through good or bad fortune. Whenever there was any reforming sect or religion which rejected the Vedantic ideal, it was smashed into nothing."

Q.- "What is your programme of work here?"

Swami Vivekananda- "I want to start two institutions, one in Madras and one in Calcutta, to carry out my plan; and that plan briefly is to bring the Vedantic ideals into the everyday practical life of the saint or the sinner, of the sage or the ignoramus, of the Brahmin or the Pariah."

[The Hindu, Madras, February, 1897- Our representative here put to him a few questions relative to Indian politics; but before the Swami could attempt anything like an answer, the train steamed up to the Egmore platform, and the only hurried remark that fell from the Swami was that he was dead against all political entanglements of Indian and European problems. The interview then terminated.]

The Power of One

2009-10-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

ONE

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room.
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom.
One heart can know what's true.
One life can make the difference,
you see it's up to You!
(Unknown)

Buddhist Mantras

2009-10-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Buddhist Mantras Videos

extract from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna ...

2009-09-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Do you know what one feels in meditation? The mind becomes like a continuous flow of oil - it thinks of one object only, and that is God. It is not aware of anything else.

- from "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" (Abridged Edition): Sri Ramakrishna at Syampukur

Asato Ma Sad Gamaya

2009-07-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Divine Touch

2009-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I went ahead and found Swamiji [Swami Vivekananda] standing at the door. On seeing me he said, 'You are the first to come; come along.' Saying so he took me to a small room, and sitting down on a small rug asked me to sit on another.

Soon, Swamiji entered into a meditative state and passed into the realm of savikalpa samadhi- the body still, limbs motionless, spine erect, eyes fixed and bright; with feeling, power, love, and bliss welling up in his face; and gravity intensifying all the other moods. ...

After remaining immersed in samadhi for quite some time, he controlled his mind and taking my right hand in his own remained quiet for a while. Next he started telling me about my past. ... When Swamiji was holding my hand, all my desires and thoughts subsided. There was neither inclination nor disinclination-no desire, no wish; even bhakti and mukti were gone. All was peace; the world was peaceful, steady and calm. Creation was, Creation was not; [all was] filled with bliss. And there was something beyond bliss that I cannot describe in words-I began to enjoy that. Peace, peace, supreme peace-- all-pervading peace. ...

I do not know how long I was in that state. Slowly I found my mind descending from that high state and entering my body, and I started faintly apprehending the room and other objects, like one just awakened from sleep. ... But one new thing became evident- a sweetness and peace pervaded all objects. Every object appeared holy and dear to me, something to be reverenced. I saw that the wind was holy, space was holy, the waters were holy, the directions were holy, every created being was holy!

--SWAMI SADASHIVANANDA

Vocal Indian Classical Music Vol 2

2009-07-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

Vocal Indian Classical Music Vol 2

Vocal Indian Classical Music Vol 1

2009-07-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Vocal Indian Classical Music Vol 1

Political Movement:Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission

2009-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

The devotee had said,"the whole country has been churned from top to bottom, should not we do anything? Will you consider that we have absolutely no relation with this movement? Don't you think that we too have a duty at this moment? Sir, don't you feel anything for this country? Can't we do something?

Swami Shivananda ( Mahapursuhji maharaj) sat quiet for some time after the devotee's talk and then in a grave tone said: "The questions you have been asking are all right. But there is a divine incarnation like Sri Ramakrishna, whose method of work, is beyound understanding of common person like us. How can we understand his action on the spiritual level? The work of incarnation is not restricted to a country or a society, it is for the whole mankind. Sri Ramakrishna was, after all an image of perfect purity. The best manifestation of purity is spiritual faith. In order to place this thought before the world, he brought with him a very powerful follower. Could not have Vivekananda understood that our aspiration could be fulfilled only by following the path of a political movement? And if he had thought in his mind, wouldn't he have shaken this entire country from top to bottom? Was not his feeling of patriotism very intense? The loud cry, which erupted from his heart for the crores of the poor and the oppressed in this country, in the hearts of how many more persons could we erupt the same intensity? Even then he did not choose the path of politicial movement. Had he felt that it was desirable in the end, then he would have certainly adopted it. We too, to the best of our ability, could do something like this, but our Master (Sri Ramakrishna) has not granted such permission to us. His incarnation was for the walefare of the whole world. Please keep your trust in this. In what words can i tell you what we feel for the people of our country? But Swamiji has put a restriction on our method of work. We can not cross it".

five kinds of samadhi

2009-07-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

There are five kinds of samadhi. In these samadhis, one feels the movement of the spiritual current to be like that of an ant, a fish, a monkey, a bird, or a serpent.

- from "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" (Abridged Edition): Some Intimate Disciples

Hindu Culture Mala

2009-07-12T00:18:00.000-07:00

A Mala or a rosary is a symbol of devotion. There are 108 beads in it. A man takes 21,600 breaths in a day. If we subtract hours of the night then we are left with 10,800 breaths. According to this the religious teachers said man should recite God's name 10,800 times a day. But God's name recited once with faith is equivalent to 100 times. And so on the basis of this argument it was decided to have 108 beads in a rosary. A religious person can do his/her daily chores with God's name at every breath. No karma can come in his/her way. A person who uses his mala with faith can call for God's blessing.
We have received the body of a human being after good action of many lives. It is a sign of foolishness to waste such a valuable life only in worldly pleasures. God has made our body. Mind, wisdom, actions, ear, eye, tongue, hand, leg, etc. are his gifts. The true yagna is to do good work by coordinating harmoniously all these gifts. The true yagna or devotion is done when man lives with the intention of welfare of not only human beings but also of animals, birds, insects, trees, minerals, i.e., the welfare of all. Such man prospers by receiving God's love and blessings.

One puts water and prashad on tulsipatra at the time of making offerings to God and then he says: "This is not mine, I am offering you what is yours" After that we take this offering as Prashad. On the same basis this body is not mine but it is given by God. Tulsipatra should be put on the body to show the intention of submission to God. Since this is not easy and practical everyday, our religious teachers made a mala of tulsi beads and recommended that we wear them on our necks. On waking up in the morning we see this mala and it reminds us: "This body is not yours, it has been offered to God, and so you should only do that which pleases God" i.e., do good deeds. So religious teachers inspire people to do good deeds by making them wear the mala. This is the importance of tulsi mala.
People have forgotten the true reason for having a mala these days. Today the mala has become just a symbol of some sects. It will be a great service to humanity if people, by understanding its wider meaning of the welfare of whole mankind, can revive the bhakti offered to God through the mala.

To the Fourth of July

2009-07-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

To the Fourth of July

Behold, the dark clouds melt away,
That gathered thick at night, and hung
So like a gloomy pall above the earth!
Before thy magic touch, the world
Awakes. The birds in chorus sing.
The flowers raise their star-like crowns —
Dew-set, and wave thee welcome fair.
The lakes are opening wide in love
Their hundred thousand lotus-eyes
To welcome thee, with all their depth.
All hail to thee, thou Lord of Light!
A welcome new to thee, today,
O Sun! Today thou sheddest Liberty!
Bethink thee how the world did wait,
And search for thee, through time and clime.
Some gave up home and love of friends,
And went in quest of thee, self-banished,
Through dreary oceans, through primeval forests,
Each step a struggle for their life or death;
Then came the day when work bore fruit,
And worship, love, and sacrifice.
Fulfilled, accepted, and complete.
Then thou, propitious, rose to shed
The light of Freedom on mankind.
Move on, O Lord, in thy resistless path!
Till thy high noon o'erspreads the world.
Till every land reflects thy light,
Till men and women, with uplifted head,
Behold their shackles broken, and
Know, in springing joy, their life renewed!

— Swami Vivekananda

On the 4th of July, 1898, the anniversary of American Independence, Swami Vivekananda prepared this poem to be read aloud at the early breakfast. Swami Vivekananda passed away on the 4th of July, 1902.
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 5, pg 439-440.

KEEP GOOD COMPANY

2009-07-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

...Another thing - company is vitally important; it is stronger than will power. If you mix with saintly people, you think their life is the way to live. And if you mix with worldly or evil people, you think theirs is the only way. Mind is influenced by environment. Do not be a victim of your environment; choose good company that inspires your continuous self-improvement.

(Paramahansa Yogananda)

Impressions of Vedas and similar scriptures on Scientists

2009-06-27T04:59:00.000-07:00

Some concepts of sanatana dharma

2009-06-27T04:45:00.000-07:00

FREEDOM IN DETACHMENT

2009-06-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

Desires are the most unrelenting enemies of man;
he cannot appease them. Have only one desire: to
know God. Satisfying the sensory desires cannot
satisfy you, because you are not the senses. They are
only your servants, not your Self.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, 'Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda')

Visited Stockholm

2009-06-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Stockholm a beautiful city. The notable part is the care and good use that history is put to. A potentially win-win situation for everybody.

The toys available at some of the gift shops based on Historical Swedish army units are actually "Made in China" as seen from the labels.

Hello world!

2009-06-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

Moved into wordpress from Yahoo 360 today!!!

THE WILL OF GOD

2009-05-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

If you think you have a need, you can then place it before God and ask whether it is a legitimate prayer. If you feel inwardly that your need is just, then pray: `Lord, you know that this is my need. I will reason, I will be creative, I will do whatever is necessary. All I ask of You is that you guide my will and creative abilities to the right things that I should do.
Be fair with God. Perhaps He has something better for you than what you are praying for. It is a fact that sometimes your most fervent prayers and desires are your greatest enemies. Talk sincerely and justly with God, and let Him decide what is right for you. If you are receptive, He will lead you, He will work with you. Even if you make mistakes, don't be afraid. Have faith. Know that God is with you. Be guided in everything by that Power. It is unfailing. This truth is applicable to every one of you.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `Journey to Self-Realization')

MAYA AND FREEDOM--SV thoughts

2009-05-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

MAYA AND FREEDOM

In one form or another, we are all in it. It is a most difficult and intricate state of things to understand. It has been preached in every country, taught everywhere, but only believed in by a few, because until we get the experiences ourselves we cannot believe in it. What does it show? Something very terrible. For it is all futile. Time, the avenger of everything, comes, and nothing is left. He swallows up the saint and the sinner, the king and the peasant, the beautiful and the ugly; he leaves nothing. Everything is rushing towards that one goal destruction. Our knowledge, our arts, our sciences, everything is rushing towards it. None can stem the tide, none can hold it back for a minute. We may try to forget it, in the same way that persons in a plague-striker city try to create oblivion by drinking, dancing, and other vain attempts, and so becoming paralysed. So we are trying to forget, trying to create oblivion by all sorts of sense-pleasures. And this is Maya.

Two ways have been proposed. One method, which everyone knows, is very common, and that is: "It may be very true, but do not think of it. 'Make hay while the sun shines,' as the proverb says. It is all true, it is a fact, but do not mind it. Seize the few pleasures you can, do what little you can, do not look at tile dark side of the picture, but always towards the hopeful, the positive side." There is some truth in this, but there is also a danger. The truth is that it is a good motive power. Hope and a positive ideal are very good motive powers for our lives, but there is a certain danger in them. The danger lies in our giving up the struggle in despair. Such is the case with those who preach, "Take the world as it is, sit down as calmly and comfortably as you can and be contented with all these miseries. When you receive blows, say they are not blows but flowers; and when you are driven about like slaves, say that you are free. Day and night tell lies to others and to your own souls, because that is the only way to live happily." This is what is called practical wisdom, and never was it more prevalent in the world than in this nineteenth century; because never were harder blows hit than at the present time, never was competition keener, never were men so cruel to their fellow-men as now; and, therefore, must this consolation be offered. It is put forward in the strongest way at the present time; but it fails, as it always must fail. We cannot hide a carrion with roses; it is impossible. It would not avail long; for soon the roses would fade, and the carrion would be worse than ever before. So with our lives. We may try to cover our old and festering sores with cloth of gold, but there comes a day when the cloth of gold is removed, and the sore in all its ugliness is revealed.

Is there no hope then? True it is that we are all slaves of Maya, born in Maya, and live in Maya. Is there then no way out, no hope? That we are all miserable, that this world is really a prison, that even our so-called trailing beauty is but a prison-house, and that even our intellects and minds are prison-houses, have been known for ages upon ages. There has never been a man, there has never been a human soul, who has not felt this sometime or other, however he may talk. And the old people feel it most, because in them is the accumulated experience of a whole life, because they cannot be easily cheated by the lies of nature. Is there no way out? We find that with all this, with this terrible fact before us, in the midst of sorrow and suffering, even in this world where life and death are synonymous, even here, there is a still small voice that is ringing through all ages, through every country, and in every heart: "This My Maya is divine, made up of qualities, and very difficult to cross. Yet those that come unto Me, cross the river of life." "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." This is the voice that is leading us forward. Man has heard it, and is hearing it all through the ages. This voice comes to men when everything seems to be lost and hope has fled, when man's dependence on his own strength has been crushed down and everything seems to melt away between his fingers, and life is a hopeless ruin. Then he hears it. This is called religion.

-Swami Vivekananda
(From Jnana-Yoga Complete Works Vol.2)

Yoga in India(Discussion of SV with disciple)

2009-05-09T02:26:00.000-07:00

Disciple: How is it, Swamiji, that you do not lecture in this country? You have stirred Europe and America with your lectures, but coming back here you have kept silence.

Swami Vivekananda: In this country, the ground should be prepared first; then if the seed is sown, the plant will come out best. The ground in the West, in Europe and America is very fertile and fit for sowing seeds. There they have reached the climax of Bhoga (enjoyment). Being satiated with Bhoga to the full, their minds are not getting peace now even in those enjoyments, and they feel as if they wanted something else. In this country you have neither Bhoga nor Yoga (renunciation). When one is satiated with Bhoga, then it is that one will listen to and understand the teachings on Yoga. What good will lectures do in a country like India which has become the birthplace of disease, sorrow, and affliction, and where men are emaciated through starvation, and weak in mind?

Disciple: How is that? Do you not say that ours is the land of religion and that here the people understand religion as they do nowhere else? Why then will not this country be animated by your inspiring eloquence and reap to the full the fruits thereof?

Swami Vivekananda: Now understand what religion means. The first thing required is the worship of the Kurma (tortoise) Incarnation, and the belly-god is this Kurma, as it were. Until you pacify this, no one will welcome your words about religion. India is restless with the thought of how to face this spectre of hunger. The draining of the best resources of the country by the foreigners, the unrestricted exports of merchandise, and, above all, the abominable jealousy natural to slaves are eating into the vitals of India. First of all, you must remove this evil of hunger and starvation, this constant anxiety for bare existence, from those to whom you want to preach religion; otherwise, lectures and such things will be of no benefit.

Disciple: What should we do then to remove that evil?

Swami Vivekananda: First, some young men full of the spirit of renunciation are needed — those who will be ready to sacrifice their lives for others, instead of devoting themselves to their own happiness. With this object in view I shall establish a Math to train young Sannyasins, who will go from door to door and make the people realise their pitiable condition by means of facts and reasoning, and instruct them in the ways and means for their welfare, and at the same time will explain to them as clearly as possible, in very simple and easy language, the higher truths of religion. The masses in our country are like the sleeping Leviathan. The education imparted by the present university system reaches one or two per cent of the masses only. And even those who get that do not succeed in their endeavours of doing any good to their country. But it is not their fault, poor fellows! As soon as they come out of their college, they find themselves fathers of several children! Somehow or other they manage to secure the position of a clerk, or at the most, a deputy magistrate. This is the finale of education! With the burden of a family on their backs, they find no time to do anything great or think anything high. They do not find means enough to fulfil their personal wants and interests; so what can be expected of them in the way of doing anything for others?

Disciple: Is there then no way out for us?

Swami Vivekananda: Certainly there is. This is the land of Religion Eternal. The country has fallen, no doubt, but will as surely rise again, and that upheaval will astound the world. The lower the hollows the billows make, the higher and with greater force will they rise again.

Disciple: How will India rise again?

Swami Vivekananda: Do you not see? The dawn has already appeared in the eastern sky, and there is little delay in the sun's rising. You all set your shoulders to the wheel! What is there in making the world all in all, and thinking of "My Samsara (family and property), my Samsara"? Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village, and make the people understand that mere sitting idly won't do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say, "O ye brothers, arise! Awake! How much longer would you remain asleep!" Go and advise them how to improve their own condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the Shastras (scriptures), by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. So long the Brahmins have monopolised religion; but since they cannot hold their ground against the strong tide of time, go and take steps so that one and all in the land may get that religion. Impress upon their minds that they have the same right to religion as the Brahmins. Initiate all, even down to the Chandalas (people of the lowest castes), in these fiery Mantras. Also instruct them, in simple words, about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc. If you cannot do this then fie upon your education and culture, and fie upon your studying the Vedas and Vedanta!

Disciple: But where is that strength in us? I should have felt myself blessed if I had a hundredth part of your powers, Swamiji.

Swami Vivekananda: How foolish! Power and things like that will come by themselves. Put yourself to work, and you will final such tremendous power coming to you that you will feel it hard to bear. Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even thinking the least good of others gradually instils into the heart the strength of a lion. I love you all ever so much, but I wish you all to die working for others — I should rather be glad to see you do that!

Disciple: What will become of those, then, who depend on me?

Swami Vivekananda: If you are ready to sacrifice your life for others, God will certainly provide some means for them. Have you not read in the Gita (VI. 40) the words of Shri Krishna, " — Never does a doer of good, O my beloved, come to grief"?

Disciple: I see, sir.

Swami Vivekananda: The essential thing is renunciation. With out renunciation none can pour out his whole heart in working for others. The man of renunciation sees all with an equal eye and devotes himself to the service of all. Does not our Vedanta also teach us to see all with an equal eye? Why then do you cherish the idea that the wife and children are your own, more than others? At your very threshold, Nârâyana Himself in the form of a poor beggar is dying of starvation! Instead of giving him anything, would you only satisfy the appetites of your wife and children with delicacies? Why, that is beastly!

Disciple: To work for others requires a good deal of money at times, and where shall I get that?

Swami Vivekananda: Why not do as much as lies within your power? Even if you cannot give to others for want of money, surely you can at least breathe into their ears some good words or impart some good instruction, can't you? Or does that also require money?

Disciple: Yes, sir, that I can do.

Swami Vivekananda: But saying, "I can", won't do. Show me through action what you can do, and then only I shall know that your coming to me is turned to some good account. Get up, and put your shoulders to the wheel — how long is this life for? As you have come into this world, leave some mark behind. Otherwise, where is the difference between you and the trees and stones? They, too, come into existence, decay and die. If you like to be born and to die like them, you are at liberty to do so. Show me by your actions that your reading the Vedanta has been fruitful of the highest good. Go and tell all, "In every one of you lies that Eternal Power", and try to wake It up. What will you do with individual salvation? That is sheer selfishness. Throw aside your meditation, throw away your salvation and such things! Put your whole heart and soul in the work to which I have consecrated myself.

With bated breath the disciple heard these inspiring words, and Swamiji went on with his usual fire and eloquence.

Swami Vivekananda: First of all, make the soil ready, and thousands of Vivekanandas will in time be born into this world to deliver lectures on religion. You needn't worry yourself about that! Don't you see why I am starting orphanages, famine-relief works, etc.? Don't you see how Sister Nivedita, a British lady, has learnt to serve Indians so well, by doing even menial work for them? And can't you, being Indians, similarly serve your own fellow-countrymen? Go, all of you, wherever there is an outbreak of plague or famine, or wherever the people are in distress, and mitigate their sufferings. At the most you may die in the attempt — what of that? How many like you are being born and dying like worms every day? What difference does that make to the world at large? Die you must, but have a great ideal to die for, and it is better to die with a great ideal in life. Preach this ideal from door to door, and you will yourselves be benefited by it at the same time that you are doing good to your country. On you lie the future hopes of our country. I feel extreme pain to see you leading a life of inaction. Set yourselves to work — to work! Do not tarry — the time of death is approaching day by day! Do not sit idle, thinking that everything will be done in time, later on! Mind — nothing will be done that way!

-(From complete works of swami vivekananda volume 5)

MAYA AND FREEDOM

2009-04-21T02:05:00.000-07:00

"Trailing clouds of glory we come," says the poet. Not all of us come as trailing clouds of glory however; some of us come as trailing black fogs; there can be no question about that. But every one of us comes into this world to fight, as on a battlefield. We come here weeping to fight our way, as well as we can, and to make a path for ourselves through this infinite ocean of life; forward we go, having long ages behind us and an immense expanse beyond. So on we go, till death comes and takes us off the field — victorious or defeated, we do not know. And this is Maya.

Hope is dominant in the heart of childhood. The whole world is a golden vision to the opening eyes of the child; he thinks his will is supreme. As he moves onward, at every step nature stands as an adamantine wall, barring his future progress. He may hurl himself against it again and again, striving to break through. The further he goes, the further recedes the ideal, till death comes, and there is release, perhaps. And this is Maya.

A man of science rises, he is thirsting after knowledge. No sacrifice is too great, no struggle too hopeless for him. He moves onward discovering secret after secret of nature, searching out the secrets from her innermost heart, and what for? What is it all for? Why should we give him glory? Why should he acquire fame? Does not nature do infinitely more than any human being can do? — and nature is dull, insentient. Why should it be glory to imitate the dull, the insentient? Nature can hurl a thunderbolt of any magnitude to any distance. If a man can do one small part as much, we praise him and laud him to the skies. Why? Why should we praise him for imitating nature, imitating death, imitating dullness imitating insentience? The force of gravitation can pull to pieces the biggest mass that ever existed; yet it is insentient. What glory is there in imitating the insentient? Yet we are all struggling after that. And this is maya.

The senses drag the human soul out. Man is seeking for pleasure and for happiness where it can never be found. For countless ages we are all taught that this is futile and vain, there is no happiness here. But we cannot learn; it is impossible for us to do so, except through our own experiences. We try them, and a blow comes. Do we learn then? Not even then. Like moths hurling themselves against the flame, we are hurling ourselves again and again into sense-pleasures, hoping to find satisfaction there. We return again and again with freshened energy; thus we go on, till crippled and cheated we die. And this is Maya.

So with our intellect. In our desire to solve the mysteries of the universe, we cannot stop our questioning, we feel we must know and cannot believe that no knowledge is to be gained. A few steps, and there arises the wall of beginningless and endless time which we cannot surmount. A few steps, and there appears a wall of boundless space which cannot be surmounted, and the whole is irrevocably bound in by the walls of cause and effect. We cannot go beyond them. Yet we struggle, and still have to struggle. And this is Maya.

With every breath, with every pulsation of the heart with every one of our movements, we think we are free, and the very same moment we are shown that we are not. Bound slaves, nature's bond-slaves, in body, in mind, in all our thoughts, in all our feelings. And this is Maya.

There was never a mother who did not think her child was a born genius, the most extraordinary child that was ever born; she dotes upon her child. Her whole soul is in the child. The child grows up, perhaps becomes a drunkard, a brute, ill-treats the mother, and the more he ill-treats her, the more her love increases. The world lauds it as the unselfish love of the mother, little dreaming that the mother is a born slave, she cannot help it. She would a thousand times rather throw off the burden, but she cannot. So she covers it with a mass of flowers, which she calls wonderful love. And this is Maya.

-Swami Vivekananda

(From Jnana-Yoga Complete Works Vol.2)

Fearlessness

2009-03-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

Fearlessness means faith in God: faith in His
protection, His justice, His wisdom, His mercy, His Love,
and His omnipresence....To be fit for Self-realization,
man must be fearless.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `God Talks With Arjuna--The Bhagavad Gita')

Compressed export

2009-03-17T04:04:00.000-07:00

the garden of Realization of Self

2009-02-25T03:28:00.000-08:00

Beyond the land of peace, beyond the land of dreams,
beyond the land of silence lies the garden of Realization of Self.
(Paramahansa Yogananda)

God is at work even in midst of suffering

2009-02-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited

island.

He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and everyday he scanned

the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of

driftwood to protect himself from the elements and to store his few

possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little

hut in flames with smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened! Everything was lost!

He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger: "God, how could you

do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was

approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal!" they replied.

Moral of the story:

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we

shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the

midst of pain and suffering.

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the

ground: it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

You may want to consider passing this on … because you never know who

feels like their hut is on fire today!

"Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to
practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also."

CW I p.33.Complete works of Swami Vivekananda.Volume I.

"Can anyone get
liberation, my child, unless He Himself removes shackles? Have deep faith
in God. Look upon the Master as your refuge, even as children regard their
parents."

TN348.Swami Tapasyananda and
Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother;
Life and Conversations. Madras:
Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1977.

Spirituality in Married Life

2009-01-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

After the birth of one or two children, husband and wife should live as brother and sister and talk only of God. Then the minds of both will be drawn to God, and the wife will be a help to the husband on the path of spirituality. None can taste divine bliss without giving up his animal feeling.

- from "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna"

Work unto death

2008-12-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Work unto death — I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes —wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!

— Swami Vivekananda

The Lord knows the course of our thoughts ...

2008-12-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

os version details within database

2008-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

select dbms_utility.port_string from dual;

I got the following output

Connected.

PORT_STRING

HP9000/800-64.0.8.1.0

1 row selected.

To check for Oracle block corruption

2008-09-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

To check for Oracle block corruption :-

use DBV for each file

dbv file=/db_1/system01.dbf blocksize=8192

use rman

run {
allocate channel disk1 device type disk ;
allocate channel disk2 device type disk ;
backup validate check logical database;
}

select count(*) from v$database_block_corruption;

Query Tuning

2008-09-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Effective-Oracle-By-Design basic
Cost-Based-Oracle-Fundamentals advanced

One of the discussions with Swami Vivekananda

2008-09-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Q. — Whom can we call a Guru?

Swami Vivekananda — He who can tell your past and future is your Guru.

Q. — How can one have Bhakti?

Swami Vivekananda — There is Bhakti within you, only a veil of lust-and-wealth covers it, and as soon as that is removed Bhakti will manifest by itself.

Q. — What is the true meaning of the assertion that we should depend on ourselves?

Swami Vivekananda — Here self means the eternal Self. But even dependence on the non-eternal self may lead gradually to the right goal, as the individual self is really the eternal Self under delusion.

Q. — If unity is the only reality, how could duality which is perceived by all every moment have arisen?

Swami Vivekananda — Perception is never dual; it is only the representation of perception that involves duality. If perception were dual, the known could have existed independently of the knower, and vice versa.

Q. — How is harmonious development of character to be best effected?

Swami Vivekananda— By association with persons whose character has been so developed.

Q. — What should be our attitude to the Vedas?

Swami Vivekananda— The Vedas, i.e. only those portions of them which agree with reason, are to be accepted as authority. Other Shâstras, such as the Purânas etc., are only to be accepted so far as they do not go against the Vedas. All the religious thoughts that have come subsequent to the Vedas, in the world, in whatever part of it have been derived from the Vedas.

Q. — Is the division of time into four Yugas astronomical or arbitrary calculation?

Swami Vivekananda—There is no mention of such divisions in the Vedas. They are arbitrary assumptions of Paurânika times.

Q. — Is the relation between concepts and words necessary and immutable, or accidental and conventional?

Swami Vivekananda— The point is exceedingly debatable. It seems that there is a necessary relation, but not absolutely so, as appears from the diversity of language. There may be some subtle relation which we are not yet able to detect.

Q. — What should be the principle to be followed in working within India?

Swami Vivekananda— First of all, men should be taught to be practical and physically strong. A dozen of such lions will conquer the world, and not millions of sheep can do so. Secondly, men should not be taught to imitate a personal ideal, however great.

Then Swamiji went on to speak of the corruptions of some of the Hindu symbols. He distinguished between the path of knowledge and the path of devotion. The former belonged properly to the Aryas, and therefore was so strict in the selection of Adhikâris (qualified aspirants), and the latter coming from the South, or non-Aryan sources, made no such distinction.

Q. — What part will the Ramakrishna Mission take in the regenerating work of India?

Swami Vivekananda—From this Math will go out men of character who will deluge the world with spirituality. This will be followed by revivals in other lines. Thus Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas will be produced. The Shudra caste will exist no longer — their work being done by machinery. The present want of India is the Kshatriya force.

Q. — Is retrograde reincarnation from the human stage possible?

Swami Vivekananda—Yes. Reincarnation depends on Karma. If a man accumulates Karma akin to the beastly nature, he will be drawn thereto.

Q. — Does the Kundalini really exist in the physical body?

Swami Vivekananda—Shri Ramakrishna used to say that the so-called lotuses of the Yogi do not really exist in the human body, but that they are created within oneself by Yoga powers.

Q. — Can a man attain Mukti by image-worship?

Swami Vivekananda—Image-worship cannot directly give Mukti; it may be an indirect cause, a help on the way. Image-worship should not be condemned, for, with many, it prepares the mind for the realisation of the Advaita which alone makes man perfect.

Q. — What should be our highest ideal of character?

Swami Vivekananda—Renunciation.

Q. — How did Buddhism leave the legac
y of corruption in India?

Swami Vivekananda—The Bauddhas tried to make everyone in India a monk or a nun. We cannot expect that from every one. This led to gradual relaxation among monks and nuns. It was also caused by their imitating Tibetan and other barbarous customs in the name of religion. They went, to preach in those places and assimilated their corruptions, and then introduced them into India.

Q. — Is Maya without beginning and end?

Swami Vivekananda—Maya is eternal both ways, taken universally, as genus; but it is non-eternal individually.

Q. — Brahman and Maya cannot be cognised simultaneously. How could the absolute reality of either be proved as arising out of the one or the other?

Swami Vivekananda— It could be proved only by realisation. When one realises Brahman, for him Maya exists no longer, just as once the identity of the rope is found out, the illusion of the serpent comes no more.

Q. — What is Maya?

Swami Vivekananda—There is only one thing, call it by any name — matter, or spirit. It is difficult or rather impossible to think the one independent of the other. This is Maya, or ignorance.

Q. — What is Mukti (liberation)?

Swami Vivekananda— Mukti means entire freedom — freedom from the bandages of good and evil. A golden chain is as much a chain as an iron one. Shri Ramakrishna used to say that, to pick out one thorn which has stuck into the foot, another thorn is requisitioned, and when the thorn is taken out, both are thrown away. So the bad tendencies are to be counteracted by the good ones, but after that, the good tendencies have also to be conquered.

Q. — Can salvation (Mukti) be obtained without the grace of God?

Swami Vivekananda— Salvation has nothing to do with God. Freedom already is.

Q. — What is the proof of the self in us not being the product of the body etc.?

Swami Vivekananda— The "ego" like its correlative "non-ego", is the product of the body, mind etc. The only proof of the existence of the real Self is realisation.

Q. — Who is a true Jnani, and who is a true Bhakta?

Swami Vivekananda—The true Jnani is he who has the deepest love within his heart and at the same time is a practical seer of Advaita in his outward relations. And the true Bhakta (lover) is he who, realising his own soul as identified with the universal Soul, and thus possessed of the true Jnana within, feels for and loves everyone. Of Jnana and Bhakti he who advocates one and denounces the other cannot be either a Jnani or a Bhakta, but he is a thief and a cheat.

Q. — Why should a man serve Ishvara?

Swami Vivekananda— If you once admit that there is such a thing as Ishvara (God), you have numberless occasions to serve Him. Service of the Lord means, according to all the scriptural authorities, remembrance (Smarana). If you believe in the existence of God, you will be reminded of Him at every step of your life.

Q. — Is Mayavada different from Advaitavada?

Swami Vivekananda—No. They are identical. There is absolutely no other explanation of Advaitavada except Mayavada.

Q. — How is it possible for God who is infinite to be limited in the form of a man (as an Avatara)?

Swami Vivekananda—It is true that God is infinite, but not in the sense in which you comprehend it. You have confounded your idea of infinity with the materialistic idea of vastness. When you say that God cannot take the form of a man, you understand that a very, very large substance or form (as if material in nature), cannot be compressed into a very, very small compass. God's infinitude refers to the unlimitedness of a purely spiritual entity, and as such, does not suffer in the least by expressing itself in a human form.

Q. — Some say, "First of all become a Siddha (one who has realised the Truth), and then you have the right to Karma, or work for others", while others say that one should work for others even from the beginning. How can both these views be reconciled?

Swami Vivekananda— You are confusing one thing with the other. Karma means either service to humanity or preaching. To real preaching, no doubt, none has the right except the Siddha Purusha, i.e. one who has realised the Truth. But to service every one has the right, and not only so, but every one is under obligation to serve others, so long as he is accepting service from others.

Operation Trojan Horse in British India

2008-08-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

According to a book released on October 28th, 2007 named "Some Hidden Facts: Martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh", it carries the subtitle “Secrets unfurled by an Intelligence Bureau Agent of British-India”, written by K.S.Kooner, the ‘execution’ of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev marked the execution of a conspiracy code-named “Operation Trojan Horse”, which, in effect, facilitated the pacification of the British officers in general and the prospective in-laws of the late J P Saunders in particular. Accordingly, Bhagat Singh and his associates did go through the formality of ‘hanging’ but only to the extent of breaking their necks; semi-conscious, they were taken to the Lahore Cantonment where the ‘Death Squad’, comprising Saunder’s family, shot them to quench their thirst for revenge.
Since doing all this during day time could have invited a violent reaction from the people, the ‘execution’ was performed at night; for the same reason, the bullet-ridden bodies were neither sent for postmortem nor handed over to the relatives. Instead, most surreptitiously, these were taken in a lorry to a pre-fixed isolated place on a kutcha-road (6 miles away from Lahore, on the right bank of the Beas where it meets the Sutlej) and burnt to ashes. And, to put the people on the wrong track, some flesh and bones were half burnt and buried on the western bank of the Sutlej, near Hussainiwala. Two Indian agents were sent to Lahore to pose as volunteers and tell the Congress people that they had seen at Ganda Singh Wala a big burning pyre from a distance.

Believing the story, some people (including Bhagat’s sister Bibi Amar Kaur) reached the ‘hot’ spot, dug up the flesh and half-burnt bones (plus one big broken but uncharred bone which they surmised must have been the arm of Bhagat Singh, the tallest of the three) that lay buried there, and took these back to Lahore where the half-burnt stuff was ‘properly’ cremated on the bank of the Ravi in the midst of sloganeering crowds, all in tears.

This was precisely what the ‘Operation Trojan Horse’ meant to achieve — the British way of denying the martyrs the honour of a glorious farewell by the people.

Archive gap on oracle db

2008-07-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

1) Query v$archive_gap;

2) Note difference between low sequence and high sequence.

3) Copy the files to standby_archive_dest.

4) Do alter database register logfile for all the copied archive logs.

5) Managed recovery.

6) On the standby database, query the V$ARCHIVED_LOG view to verify the archived redo log was applied.

SQL> SELECT SEQUENCE#,APPLIED FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG ORDER BY SEQUENCE#;

Doing the 4th step updates the standby control file. The MRP process is checking the control
file when the managed recovery is activated and applies the new archive logs in the stdby control
file. In normal log-shipping, the update to the control file is done by the RFS.

Have no fear - Swami Vivekananda

2008-07-11T03:25:00.000-07:00

First, believe in the world—that there is meaning behind everything.

Don't look back—forward, infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring, and infinite patience—then alone can great deeds be accomplished.

This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon anyone outside, but stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find that is always true. Get hold of yourself.

Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner the better.

This life is a hard fact; work your way through it boldly, though it may be adamantine; no matter, the soul is stronger.

This I have seen in life—those who are overcautious about themselves fall into dangers at every step; those who are afraid of losing honor and respect, get only disgrace; and those who are always afraid of loss, always lose.

"Face the brutes." That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.

Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize the supreme truth—Brahman. Those who work at a thing with their whole heart receive help from God.

I, for one, thoroughly believe that no power in the universe can withhold from anyone anything they really deserve.

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you free.

Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.

spiritual flower

2008-06-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

Do not look for a spiritual flower every day. Sow
the seed, water it with prayer and right endeavor.
When it sprouts, take care of the plant, pulling out the
weeds of doubt, indecision, and indifference that may
spring up around it. Some morning you will suddenly
behold your long-awaited spiritual flower of Realization.
(Paramahansa Yogananda)

On Second thoughts in Pune

2008-06-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

The anecdote is among the early days in pune when I was searching for a room. One day I went to a place called dahanukar colony in the kothrud area looking for a room. I had to urgently get a printout of the emails to my personal mail id listing the other places where I could enquire for accomodation. I was searching for a cyber cafe and looked high and low for one. After some enquiry and walkabout, I located a good-looking cyber cafe on the main road. Just after the entrance of the cyber-cafe two young (good-looking) ladies were standing in jeans and t-shirts.

With thoughts of urgency about my room-search filled in my mind I went inside ,after opening the door and asked them matter-of-factly "What is the hourly rate?" . They were confused so I looked elsewhere inside the cyber-cafe and I realised that the manager was sitting slightly out of sight of the main entrance. He seemed to have overheard the conversation but waited for me to ask the same question again. Rs.10/- he said. When I was at my seat, he started giving a strange smile to me. He was still smiling at me when I left the cyber-café.

Only couple of days back, I realised what he was trying to interpret wrt to my question to the two ladies !!!! Very bad , wot say???

Weakening a bad habit - Paramhansa Yogananda

2008-04-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

Habits of thought are mental magnets that draw to you certain things, people, and conditions. Weaken a bad habit by avoiding everything that occasioned it or stimulated it, without concentrating upon it in your zeal to avoid it. Then divert your mind to some good habit and steadily cultivate it until it becomes a dependable part of you.

Devotion over reasoning

2008-04-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

One should not reason too much; it is enough if one loves the Lotus
feet of the Mother. Too much reasoning throws the mind into
confusion. You get clear water if you drink from the surface of a
pool. Put your hand deeper and stir the water, and it becomes
muddy. Therefore pray to God for devotion.
(Ramakrishna, `The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' )

Research defined by Albert Einstein

2008-03-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?

-Albert Einstein

Photograph on Bangladesh war

2008-03-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Photograph on Bangladesh war

http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/distances/

Doing copy of archive logs using a counter as a reference

2008-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

until cancel

/usr/bin/touch /tmp/arc_cp_cntr_1

ls -l /tmp/arc_cp_cntr_1

sleep 15

find /oracle/oraarch01/ -name "*.arc" -newer /tmp/arc_cp_cntr_1|awk '{print "cp",$1,"/tmp/tmp_arch"}'|sh

done

executing df -k and ls -ltr repeatedly

2008-02-29T03:12:00.000-08:00

until cancel
> do df -k .
> ls -ltr
> sleep 20
> done

Best Posture for Prayer

2008-02-25T01:44:00.000-08:00

Three priests were discussing the best posture for prayers. The fist
one said, "I have tried all the postures several times and I think
that the best one is kneeling down. My best prayers come when I am
praying kneeling down." The second one said, "You are right, but all
the yogies and mystics recommend the cross-legged lotus posture
because that is most conducive to a relaxed mental state. The best I
have ever prayed is when I am in lotus posture" The third said,
"Agreed, but you know what, I have found that the weather has an
important role. My best prayers come when its sunny-bright and I am
looking up at the clear blue sky, whatever be the body posture."

An electrician was working close by and listening to the priests. He
came over and said to them, "For all you know fellows, the best prayer
I have ever said was hanging down by one leg from an electric pole in
a thunderstorm. And I bet none of you has ever prayed as good as I did
that day."

The moral of the story is "urgency". A great saint once said that you
will find God when you want Him as much as a drowning man wants air.
Its about how urgently, how desperately you want a response from God.
Correct postures have their place in spiritual discipline but nothing
can take the place of that burning urgency by which an electrician
prays while hanging by one leg from an electric pole in a
thunderstorm. We need to cultivate that intensity of desperation and
urgency in our search for God.

WHO UNDERSTANDS YOU

2008-02-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

WHO UNDERSTANDS YOU

The guru is the only one who understands you. I always thought that
if I just explained myself clearly people would realize what I was
trying to convey to them. It shocked me when they didn't. Twice
Paramahansaji said to me, "Don't expect others to understand you."
Apparently I needed to hear it twice.
(Mukti Mata, `Self-Realization magazine')

In the greatest torments of soul I am always alone, but no--not
alone, for I am with You, Jesus; but here I am speaking about (other)
people. None of them understands my heart, but this does not
surprise me anymore, whereas I used to be surprised when my
intentions were condemned and wrongly interpreted; no, this does not
surprise me now at all.
(Blessed Faustina, 'Divine Mercy in My Soul')

Be in the world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.
(Islam, Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 40)

Story of two sculptors

2008-02-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

Two Sculptors

Once a king was looking for the best sculptor in his kingdom. Two excellent sculptors presented themselves to him and he needed to give them a test to decide who was best. He asked them to carve an image on two opposite walls of his palace. A curtain was hung between the walls so that they could not see each other’s work. After many months, both sculptors reported that they had finished the work and the king could view it.

Both the works were covered with curtains. First, one curtain was raised that revealed a
beautiful image and everyone clapped in appreciation. Then the opposite curtain was raised, here there was no image on the wall - instead the wall had been polished so finely that it gave a perfect reflection of the opposite image. In fact, it looked sharper than the original, as so much effort had been made in polishing the wall.

The second sculptor won the contest.

The story illustrates an interesting Vedantic tenet:

Really, we do not have to conjure up an image of ‘God’ in our minds. All we have to do is polish
the mind - just remove the blemishes. Purify it. That is our task. God already exists. It is just
that he is reflected more clearly in a pure mind.

Manasvi - meaning

2008-02-15T01:57:00.000-08:00

manasvi means : A person who can control his heart.It derives the meaning from the one who can control his indriyas. That obviously can be no one else besides god himself. So manasvi is also used as synonym for god. Manasvi is a sanskrit name.

http://www.geocities.com/qqplus/subhashitmala.htm

For netaji

2008-02-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Letters to Emilie Schenkl

The Rediff Interview/Anita Bose Pfaff

Netaji's wife

Had Netaji Lived

Netaji could have prevented pakistan problem

Interview of Capt.Lakshmi Sehgal

Interview of Captain Ram Singh - composer of patriotic songs of INA

Possibility ,Pipedream or Conspiracy Theory?

2008-02-12T11:29:00.000-08:00

http://files.filefront.com/ENDGAME+320x180+250kmov/;8889221;/fileinfo.html

On the Self in the body - Kena Upanishad

2008-02-05T02:26:00.000-08:00

The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak? Who is that
Invisible one who sees through my eyes
And hears through my ears?"

The teacher replies:
"The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
The wise realize the deathless Self."

-Kena Upanishad

On pride as a Hindu-SV

2008-01-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

Ay, when a man has begun to hate himself, then the last blow has come. When a man has begun to be ashamed of his ancestors, the end has come. Here am I, one of the least of the Hindu race, yet proud of my race, proud of my ancestors. I am proud to call myself a Hindu. I am proud that I am one of your worthy servants. I am proud that I am a countryman of yours, you the descendents of the sages, you the descendents of the most glorious Rishis the world ever saw. Therefore, have faith in yourself, be proud of your ancestors, instead of being ashamed of them.

-Swami Vivekananda

Fearlessness

2008-01-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

Fearlessness means faith in God: faith in His
protection, His justice, His wisdom, His mercy, His Love,
and His omnipresence. ...To be fit for Self-realization,
man must be fearless.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `God Talks With Arjuna--The Bhagavad Gita')

Times of India article for museum on Indian partition

2008-01-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

Article for museum on partition on Indian subcontinent

Estudante da Vedanta

2007-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

http://geocities. yahoo.com. br/estudantedave danta/

Entry for December 08, 2007

2007-12-07T02:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.esnips.com/doc/3d4bfd9b-717b-4268-9048-f2343e52d5e0/WORLD-THINKERS...

Entry for December 08, 2007

2007-12-07T02:42:00.000-08:00

Impressive list on Swami Vivekananda

http://www.esnips. com/web/uttishth ata-PowerPoint

Important queries on 10g performance

2007-11-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

to get breakup of wait

-------------------

select wait_class,time_waited from v$system_wait_class order by time_waited;

pga target allocation

----------

select pga_target_for_estimate "size",
pga_target_factor "factor",
estd_extra_bytes_rw/1000000 "extra Mb r/w",
estd_overalloc_count "over allocations"
from v$pga_target_advice;

db_cache advice

---

select name,size_for_estimate, size_factor, estd_physical_reads from v$db_cache_advice;

quotes from swami vivekananda

2007-11-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

People always insist to do whatever makes one happy. Therefore, we see that everyone doing what makes them happy. In this way, this is what has happened-

A group of people believes smoking makes them happy and they are smoking.

Some believe that happiness lies in alcohol and they are consuming it.

Some see happiness in movies and hotels so they go there.

Some see happiness in flirting, and they are doing so.

Some believe that happiness is in making materialistic relationships with others, so they do so and hurt others.

Some people get happiness in burning crackers (money), so they do so.

Now, a group of people feels that happiness lies in killing others, in doing bomb blasts..so they are doing so.

We see, that everyone is thinking of happiness, but not about the truth...about the right and the wrong.

I feel, that the target should be the truth and not happiness.

Irrespective of outcome, if everybody starts according to their own will, it seems very likely that there will be confusion, chaos everywhere, which is exactly seen in today' world.

Especially in a country like India, where the greatest saints have taken birth, the place from where all the holy texts come from.... It is very surprising to see the ignorance of our people about our culture.

I can see in many educational institutions and organisations that there are cultural days and festivals are celebrated. In most of these celebrations, we have loud noise, cheap hindi songs and dance, alcohol and sort of Page 3 scene....... ..

I feel pity for those who feel that Indian culture is about clothes, crackers, loud music...etc.

At the same time, human beings like Swami Vivekananda make me feel proud of my Indian culture, which is not about clothes and crackers, but which is of human values.

Its high time, we realise that our culture doesn't lie in alcohol, tobacco, clothes, parties, loud music, but Indian culture is about human values.

I remember Swamiji's comments about India-

"....when religion in the West is only in the hands of the ignorant and the knowing ones look down with scorn upon anything belonging to religion, here comes to the fore the philosophy of India, which displays the highest religious aspirations of the Indian mind, where the grandest philosophical facts have been the practical spirituality of the people. This naturally is coming to the rescue, the idea of the oneness of all, the Infinite, the idea of the Impersonal, the wonderful idea of the eternal soul of man, of the unbroken continuity in the march of beings, and the infinity of the universe.( CW3 FIRST PUBLIC LECTURE IN THE EAST )"

"But mark you, if you give up that spirituality, leaving it aside to go after the materialising civilisation of the West, the result will be that in three generations you will be an extinct race; because the backbone of the nation will be broken, the foundation upon which the national edifice has been built will be undermined, and the result will be annihilation all round."( CW3 REPLY TO THE ADDRESS OF WELCOME AT RAMNAD )

"Go back to your Upanishads the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy and part from all these mysterious things, all these weakening things. Take up this philosophy; the greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence. The truths of the Upanishads are before you. Take them up, live up to them, and the salvation of India will be at hand.( CW3 MY PLAN OF CAMPAIGN )"

"In India, religious life forms the centre, the keynote of the whole music of national life; and if any nation attempts to throw off its national vitality the direction which has become its own through the transmission of centuries that nation dies if it succeeds in the attempt. And, therefore, if you succeed in the attempt to throw off your religion and take up either politics, or society, or any other things as your centre, as the vitality of your national life, the result will be that you will become extinct. To prevent this you must make all and everything work through that vitality of your religion. Let all your nerves vibrate through the backbone of your religion. ( CW3 MY PLAN OF CAMPAIGN )"

"You must go out to preach your religion, preach it to every nation under the sun, preach it to every people. This is the first thing to do. And after preaching spiritual knowledge, along with it will come that secular knowledge and every other knowledge that you want; but if you attempt to get the secular knowledge without religion, I tell you plainly, vain is your attempt in India, it will never have a hold on the people. Even the great Buddhistic movement was a failure, partially on account of that.( CW3 MY PLAN OF CAMPAIGN )'

"We must go out, we must conquer the world through our spirituality and philosophy. There is no other alternative, we must do it or die. The only condition of national life, of awakened and vigorous national life, is the conquest of the world by Indian thought. ( CW3 THE WORK BEFORE US )"

Let us remember Swami Vivekananda' s words regarding conversions:

"And then every man going out of the Hindu pale is not a man less, but an enemy more."

At the same time, let heed his warning:

"Religion and religion alone is the life of India , and when that goes, India will die, in spite of politics, in spite of social reforms, in spite of Kubera's wealth poured upon the head of every one of her children."

In the above context of Swamiji's words, India has not progressed anywhere, and it is high time we think seriously about these statements.

LONGING FOR GOD

2007-11-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

`Sir, how can one develop divine love?'

Through restlessness- -the restlessness a child feels for his mother.
The child feels bewildered when he is separated from his mother, and
weeps longingly for her. If a man can weep like that for God he can
even see Him.
(Ramakrishna, `The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' )

Developing such deep, dynamic inner whispers is sure to bring a
response from God. Constantly, unceasingly, whisper to Him of your
eternal love, of your burning desire to commune with Him.
Of greatest help in your development is the habit of mental
whispering to God. You will see a change in yourself that you will
like very much. No matter what you do, God should be constantly in
your mind…Transmute petty desires into one great desire for Him.
Your mind should continually whisper, `Night and day, night and day,
I look for Thee night and day.'
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `God First, a Retreatant's Pocket Companion)

Desire Me, you are under My Grace; desire Me, your God; desire Me,
your Father - let Me feel that you do not belong to the world. Please
Me flower and turn to Me, seeking My Light. Be thirsty for Me. Just
like a flower which needs a keeper to maintain its beauty, need Me,
need My Light, need My Springs. … Come now, rest in Me. We, us?
Forever!
(Jesus to Vassula, True Life in God)

on fanaticism

2007-11-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

MAYA AND ILLUSION - Swam Vivekananda
Shall we not work to do good then? Yes, with more zest than ever, but what this knowledge will do for us is to break down fanaticism. The Englishman will no more be a fanatic and curse the Hindu. He will learn to respect the customs of different nations. There will be less of fanaticism and more of real work. Fanatics cannot work, they waste three-fourths of their energy. It is the level-headed, calm, practical man who works. So, the power to work will increase from this idea. Knowing that this is the state of things, there will be more patience. The sight of misery or of evil will not be able to throw us off our balance and make us run after shadows. Therefore, patience will come to us, knowing that the world will have to go on in its own way. If, for instance, all men have become good, the animals will have in the meantime evolved into men, and will have to pass through the same state, and so with the plants. But only one thing is certain; the mighty river is rushing towards the ocean, and all the drops that constitute the stream will in time be drawn into that boundless ocean. So, in this life, with all its miseries and sorrows, its joys and smiles and tears, one thing is certain, that all things are rushing towards their goal, and it is only a question of time when you and I, and plants and animals, and every particle of life that exists must reach the Infinite Ocean of Perfection, must attain to Freedom, to God.

Let me repeat, once more, that the Vedantic position is neither pessimism nor optimism. It does not say that this world is all evil or all good. It says that our evil is of no less value than our good, and our good of no more value than our evil. They are bound together. This is the world, and knowing this, you work with patience. What for? Why should we work? If this is the state of things, what shall we do? Why not become agnostics? The modern agnostics also know there is no solution of this problem, no getting out of this evil of Maya, as we say in our language; therefore they tell us to be satisfied and enjoy life. Here, again, is a mistake, a tremendous mistake, a most illogical mistake. And it is this. What do you mean by life? Do you mean only the life of the senses? In this, every one of us differs only slightly from the brutes. I am sure that no one is present here whose life is only in the senses. Then, this present life means something more than that. Our feelings, thoughts, and aspirations are all part and parcel of our life; and is not the struggle towards the great ideal, towards perfection, one of the most important components of what we call life? According to the agnostics, we must enjoy life as it is. But this life means, above all, this search after the ideal; the essence of life is going towards perfection. We must have that, and, therefore, we cannot be agnostics or take the world as it appears. The agnostic position takes this life, minus the ideal component, to be all that exists. And this, the agnostic claims, cannot be reached, therefore he must give up the search. This is what is called Maya -- this nature, this universe.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page :101 ] (Lecture Delivered in London)

Sri Ramakrisna Sutras @ urge for religion/god

2007-11-11T04:29:00.000-08:00

MASTER: "Yes, it is good to listen to these things. But nothing will happen except at the right time. What can quinine do for a fever patient when he runs a high temperature? Only when his temperature comes down through the use of 'fever mixture' or a purgative should quinine be prescribed. There are patients who get rid of their fever even without quinine. A child said to his mother, when he was put to bed, 'Mother, please wake me up when I feel the call of nature.' The mother said: 'My child, I shall not have to wake you. The urge itself will wake you.'

on youngsters and sadhana

2007-10-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

"The youngsters are now in the stage of sadhana. They are aspirants.
For them the only thing now is renunciation. A sannyasi must not look
even at the portrait of a woman. I say to them: 'Don't sit beside a
woman and talk to her, even if she is a devotee. You may say a word or
two to her, standing.' Even a perfect soul must follow this precept
for his own protection and also to set an example to others. When
women come to me, I too say to them after a few minutes, 'Go-and visit
the temples.' If thev don't get up, I myself leave the room. Others
will learn from my example
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Excerpt from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Swami Nikhilananda Pub
1944) Vol 2: At the Star Theatre (I): Friday, September 19, 1884

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrisna

2007-10-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrisna

Self in the body

2007-10-21T03:55:00.000-07:00

Story Indra and Virochana

A god (Indra, the supreme among the gods) and a demon (Virochana) went to learn about the Self from a great sage. They studied with him for a long time. At last the sage told them, 'You yourselves are the Being you are seeking.' Both of them thought that their bodies were the Self. They went back to their people quite satisfied and said, 'We have learned everything that was to be learned; eat, drink, and be merry; we are the Self; there is nothing beyond us.' The nature of the demon was ignorant, clouded; so he never inquired any further, but was perfectly contented with the idea that he was God, that by the Self was meant the body. The god had a purer nature. He at first committed the mistake of thinking: I, this body, am Brahman: so keep it strong and in health, and well dressed, and give it all sorts of enjoyments. But, in a few days, he found out that that could not be the meaning of the sage, their master; there must be something higher. So he came back and said, 'Sir, did you teach me that this body was the Self? If so, I see all bodies die; the Self cannot die.' The sage said, 'Find it out; thou art That.' Then the god thought that the vital forces which work the body were what the sage meant. But, after a time, he found that if he ate, these vital forces remained strong, but, if he starved, they became weak. The god then went back to the sage and said, 'Sir, do you mean that the vital forces are the Self?' The sage said, 'Find out for yourself; thou art That.' The god returned home once more, thinking that it was the mind, perhaps, that was the Self. But in a short while he saw that thoughts were so various, now good, again bad; the mind was too changeable to be the Self. He went back to the sage and said, 'Sir, I do not think that the mind is the Self; did you mean that?' 'No,' replied the sage, 'thou art That; find out for yourself.' The god went home, and at last found that he was the Self, beyond all thought, one without birth or death, whom the sword cannot pierce or the fire burn, whom the air cannot dry or the water melt, the beginningless and endless, the immovable, the intangible, the omniscient, the omnipotent Being; that It was neither the body nor the mind, but beyond them all. So he was satisfied; but the poor demon did not get the truth, owing to his fondness for the body.
This world has a good many of these demonic natures, but there are some gods too. If one proposes to teach any science to increase the power of sense--enjoyment, one finds multitudes ready for it. If one undertakes to show the supreme goal, one finds few to listen to him. Very few have the power to grasp the higher, fewer still the patience to attain to it.
But there are a few also who know that even if the body can be made to live for a thousand years, the result in the end will be the same. When the forces that hold it together go away, the body must fall. No man was ever born who could stop his body one moment from changing. Body is the name of a series of changes. "As in a river the masses of water are changing before you every moment, and new masses are coming, yet taking similar form, so is it with this body." Yet the body must be kept strong and healthy. It is the best instrument we have.

But we must always remember that these are only the means; the aim, the end, the goal, of all this training is liberation of the soul. Absolute control of nature, and nothing short of it, must be the goal. We must be the masters, and not the slaves of nature; neither body nor mind must be our master, nor must we forget that the body is mine, and not I the body's.

- Swami Vivekananda

Entry for October 05, 2007

2007-10-05T02:25:00.000-07:00

arranged marriages in the west???

CHISELED BY OTHERS

2007-09-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

CHISELED BY OTHERS

…you are like the stone that must be chiseled and fashioned before
being set in the building…Some will chisel you with words, telling
you what you would rather not hear; others by deed, doing against you
what you would rather not endure; others by their temperament, being
in their person and in their actions a bother and annoyance to you;
and others by their thought, neither esteeming nor feeling love for
you.
You ought to suffer these mortification and annoyances with
inner patience, being silent for love of God and understanding that
you did not enter the religious life for any other reason than for
others to work you in this way, and so you become worthy of heaven.
(St. John of the Cross)

The day you make up your mind to smile, you will see that everything
seems to conspire to try to make you cry! That is life. The day you
make up your mind to be patient and forgiving, it will seem that
others suddenly become harder to get along with. That is life. We
are often crucified by others, but their meanness should not affect
our resolutions to be kind. Let others pursue their way; you be
bigger and adhere to your way.
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `Journey to Self-Realization' )

Thus the wise man, indifferent to himself, is the greatest among
them, and taking no care for himself, he is nevertheless preserved.
By being the most unselfish he is the most secure of all.
(Lao-tse, ` The Adepts in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition')

reader discretion requested

2007-09-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.thercg.org/books/siud.html

anyway

2007-09-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

ANYWAY

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered,
LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will accuse you of
Selfish, ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
If you are successful,
You will win false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spent years building may be
Destroyed overnight
BUILD ANYWAY
People really need help
But may attack you if you help them,
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY
Give the world the best you have
And you'll get kicked in the teeth
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY.

the definition of minority

2007-09-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

The over emphasis on particular aspect of an individual's associations in the duration of their existence has played havoc with the lives of numerous people.

THE REAL NATURE OF MAN - Swami Vivekananda (cont'd)

2007-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

THE REAL NATURE OF MAN - Swami Vivekananda
We are not individuals yet. We are struggling towards individuality, and that is the Infinite, that is the real nature of man. He alone lives whose life is in the whole universe, and the more we concentrate our lives on limited things, the faster we go towards death. Those moments alone we live when our lives are in the universe, in others; and living this little life is death, simply death, and that is why the fear of death comes. The fear of death can only be conquered when man realises that so long as there is one life in this universe, he is living. When he can say, "I am in everything, in everybody, I am in all lives, I am the universe," then alone comes the state of fearlessness. To talk of immortality in constantly changing things is absurd. Says an old Sanskrit philosopher: It is only the Spirit that is the individual, because it is infinite. No infinity can be divided; infinity cannot be broken into pieces. It is the same one, undivided unit for ever, and this is the individual man, the Real Man. The apparent man is merely a struggle to express, to manifest this individuality which is beyond; and evolution is not in the Spirit. These changes which are going on -- the wicked becoming good, the animal becoming man, take them in whatever way you like -- are not in the Spirit. They are the evolution of nature and manifestation of Spirit. Suppose there is a screen hiding you from me, in which there is a small hole through which I can see some of the faces before me, just a few faces. Now suppose the hole begins to grow larger and larger, and as it does so, more and more of the scene before me reveals itself and when at last the whole screen has disappeared, I stand face to face with you all. You did not change at all in this case; it was the hole that was evolving, and you were gradually manifesting yourselves. So it is with the Spirit. No perfection is going to be attained. You are already free and perfect. What are these ideas of religion and God and searching for the hereafter? Why does man look for a God? Why does man, in every nation, in every state of society, want a perfect ideal somewhere, either in man, in God, or elsewhere? Because that idea is within you. It was your own heart beating and you did not know; you were mistaking it for something external. It is the God within your own self that is propelling you to seek for Him, to realise Him. After long searches here and there, in temples and in churches, in earths and in heavens, at last you come back, completing the circle from where you started, to your own soul and find that He for whom you have been seeking all over the world, for whom you have been weeping and praying in churches and temples, on whom you were looking as the mystery of all mysteries shrouded in the clouds, is nearest of the near, is your own Self, the reality of your life, body, and soul. That is your own nature. Assert it, manifest it. Not to become pure, you are pure already. You are not to be perfect, you are that already. Nature is like that screen which is hiding the reality beyond. Every good thought that you think or act upon is simply tearing the veil, as it were; and the purity, the Infinity, the God behind, manifests Itself more and more.

To be continued..

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 80 ] (Delivered in London)

teachers' day entry

2007-09-06T05:26:00.001-07:00

Former President of India Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s message

on the eve of Teachers’-Day (05.09.2003)

(few introductory sentences could not be recorded)

To begin with, I am going to talk to you about my father who taught me as a teacher.

My father taught me a great lesson when I was a young boy. What was that lesson? It was just after India got independence. At that time, Panchayat board election took place at Rameshwaram. My father was elected as Panchayat board member and on the same day he was also elected as President of Rameshwaram Panchayat Board. Rameshwaram island was a beautiful place with 30,000 population. That time, they elected my father as Panchayat Board President not because he belonged to a particular religion or particular caste or spoke a particular language or for his economic status. He was elected only on the basis of his nobility of mind and of being a good human being. Dear listeners, I would like to narrate one incident that took place on that day he was elected President of Panchayat board. I was at that time studying in School. Those days we did not have electricity and we used to study under rationed kerosene lamp. I was reading the lessons loudly and I heard a knock on the door. We never used to lock the door at Rameshwaram in those days. Somebody opened the door, came in, and asked me where my father was. I told him that my father has gone for evening Namaz. Then he said he has brought something for him, Can I keep it here? Since my father had gone for Namaz, I shouted for my mother to get her permission to receive the item. Since she was also under Namaz, there was no response. I asked the person to leave the item on the cot. After that, I continued my studies. I used to learn by reading aloud in my younger days. I was reading loud and fully concentrating on my studies. At that time my father came in and saw a tambulam kept in the cot. He asked me, “What is this? Who has given that?” I told him somebody came & he has kept this tambulam on the cot. He opened the cover of the Tambulam and found there was a costly Dhoti, Angavastram, some fruits, some sweets and he could see the slip that the person has left behind. I was the youngest child of my father. He really loved me and I also loved him a lot. He was upset at the sight of the Tambulam and gift left by someone. That was the first time I saw him very angry. And also that was the first time, I had got a thorough beating from him. I got frightened and started weeping. My mother embraced and consoled me. Then, my father came and touched my shoulder lovingly with affection and advised me not to receive any gift without his permission. He quoted an Islamic haziz, which states that “when the Almighty appoints a person to a position, he takes care of his provision. If a person takes anything beyond that, it is an illegal”. Then, he told me that it is not a good habit, gift is always accompanied with some purpose and a gift is a dangerous thing. It is like touching a snake and getting the poison in return. This lesson stands out always in my mind even when I am in my seventees. This incidence taught me a very valuable lesson for my life. It is deeply embedded in my mind. I would like to also to mention a writing in Manu Smriti which states that “by accepting gifts, the divine light in the person gets extinguished”. Manu wants every individual against accepting gifts for the reason that it places the acceptor under an obligation in favour of the person who give the gift and ultimately it results in making a person to debt which are not permissible according to law. I am sharing these thought with all of you, particularly the young ones. Do not be carried away by any gift that comes with a purpose and through which one loses one’s personality greatly. Do you think you can follow this in your life? I will be very happy if you can practice this sincerely.

My second teacher, primary school teacher, Sri Sivasubramani Iyer. When I think of my second teacher, I am reminded of my childhood days when I was studying in 8th class at the age of 13. I had a teacher, Sri Sivasubramani Iyer; he was one of the very good teachers in our school. All of us liked to attend his classes carefully. One day he was teaching about a bird’s flight. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard depicting beak, tail, the body structure with the head. He explained how the bird takes the lift and fly, he also explained how they change the direction while flying nearly for 25 minutes. He gave the lecture with various information about lift, drag, how the bird fly in the formation of 10, 20 and 30. At the end of the class he wanted to know whether we understood how the birds fly. I said, “I did not understand how did the bird fly”. When I said this, the teacher asked the other students whether they understood or not. Many students said that they could not understand. He did not get upset by the response since he was a committed teacher. Our teacher said that he would take all of us to the seashore. That evening the whole class was at the seashore of Rameshwaram. We enjoyed the roaring sea-wave, knocking at the sandy hills in the pleasant evening. Birds were flying in the formation of 10 to 20 in numbers. We saw the marvelous formation of birds with a purpose and we were all amazed. He showed us the birds and asked us to see how the birds fly, what they looked like. We saw the wings flapping. He asked us to look at the tail portion with the combination of flapping wings and twisting tail. We noticed carefully and found that the birds in that condition flew in the direction they desire. Then he asked us a question. Where the engine is, and how it is powered. Bird is powered by its own life and the motivation of what it was. All these things were explained to us with in 15 minutes. We all understood the whole bird’s dynamics from this practical example. How nice it was! Our teacher was a great teacher. He could give us a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example available in nature. This is a real teaching. I am sure many of the teachers in schools and colleges will follow this example. For me, it was not an understanding of how birds fly. The bird’s flight entered into me and created a special feeling. From that evening, I thought that my future study has to be with reference to flights and flight systems. I am saying this because of my teacher’s teaching and the event I observed I decided about my future career. Then, one evening after the classes I asked the teacher, “Sir, please tell me how to progress further in learning all about flight?” He patiently explained to me that I should complete 8th class, and then go to high school, and then I should go to engineering college that may lead to education on flight. If I complete ordinary education with excellence, I may do something connected with flight sciences. This advice and the bird’s flying exercise given by my teacher really gave me a goal and a mission for my life. When I went to the college, I took Physics, and then I went to Engineering in Madras Institute of Technology and took Aeronautical Engineering. Thus, my life got transformed as a Rocket Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, and technologist. That one incident of my teacher teaching the lesson, showing the visual life example proved to be turning point in my life, which eventually shaped my profession.

A student during his school life up to 10 + 2 spends 25,000 hours in the school campus. His life is more influenced by the teacher and the school’s environment. Therefore, the schools must have the best of teachers with ability to teach and live teaching and bring moral qualities. Teacher should become a role model. Similarly, the student must be allowed to build himself or herself with the best of qualities and to get ignited with vision for his or her future life.

My third teacher, the design teacher Prof. Dhawan. I would like to share with you another experience with my teacher Prof. Satish Dhawan. First I worked in Delhi with Ministry Of Defense, later I
joined Defense Research and Development Organisation in 1958 at Aeronautical development establishment in Bangalore. There, with the advice of the Director, I took up the development of Hovercraft. Hovercraft design needed the development of a ducted contra-rotating propeller. I didn’t know how to design the contra rotating propeller, though I knew how to design conventional propeller. Some of my friends told me that I could approach Prof. Satish Dhawan of Indian Institute Of Science who was well-known for his Aeronautical Research and he would help in designing the ducted contra-rotating propeller. I took permission from my Director and went to meet Prof. Satish Dhawan who was sitting in a small room in Indian Institute Of Science with lot of books in the background and the blackboard on the wall. Prof. Satish Dhawan asked me what the problem was that I would like to discuss. I explained the problem to Prof. Satish Dhawan about my project work. He told me that it is really a challenging task he would teach me the design if I attend his class in Indian Institute of Science between 2 pm. to 3 pm. on all Saturdays for next 6 weeks. He was a visionary teacher. He prepared the schedule for the entire course and wrote it on the blackboard. He also gave me the reference material and books I should read before I start attending the course. I considered this as a great opportunity and started attending the discussions and starting meeting with him regularly. Before commencing each meeting, he will ask critical questions and assess my understanding of the subject. That was the first time that I realised how a good teacher prepares himself for teaching, with meticulous planning and prepares the student for acquisition of knowledge. This process continued for the next six weeks. I got the capability for designing the contra-rotating propeller. Professor told me that I am ready for developing the contra-rotating propeller for the Hovercraft configuration. That was the time I realised that Prof. Satish Dhawan was not only a teacher but, also a fantastic development engineer of aeronautical systems. Later, during the critical places of testing Prof. Dhawan was with me to witness the test and find solution to the problems. After reaching the smooth test phase, contra-rotating propeller went through 50 hours of continuous testing. Prof. Satish Dhawan witness the test himself and congratulated me. That was a great day for me when I saw the contra-rotating propeller designed by my team performing to the mission requirement in the Hovercraft. However, at that time, I didn’t realise that Prof. Satish Dhawan will become chairman, ISRO and I would get the opportunity to work with him as the project-Director in the development of a satellite launch vehicle SLV3 for injecting the Rohini Satellite into the Orbit. Nature has its own way to link to the student’s dream and the real life later. This was the first design in my career, which gave me the confidence to design many complex aerospace systems in future. The Hovercraft could fly just above the ground level carrying two passengers. I was the first pilot on this Hovercraft and I could control and maneuver the vehicle in any direction. Through this project, I learnt the techniques of designing and developing the contra-rotating propeller. Above all, I learnt that in a project problem will always crop up and we should not allow the problems to be our masters but we should defeat the problems. Then, the success will sparkle.

The three teachers in my life, what did they give me? In an integrated way it can be said that any enlightened human being can be created by three unique characteristics. One is moral value system that I got from my father, the hard way. Secondly, the teacher becoming a role model, not only does the student learn but, the teacher shape his life with great dreams and aims. Finally, the education and learning process have to culminate in the creation of professional capability given to confidence and will power to make a design, to make a project, to make a system bravely combating many problems. What a fortune and blessings I had from my three teachers.

Among the listeners, there may be many parents, many teachers and a large number of students. Every one of us in this planet creates a page in human history irrespective of who he or she is. I realise the experience is a small dot in human life. But that dot has a life and light. That light let it light many lamps. My best wishes to all of you on this occasion of “Teachers’ day”.

Thank you.

Please visit this link and put your comments.

http://www.uttishth ata.org/2007/ 09/05/teachers- day/

teachers' day entry

2007-09-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

THE NECESSITY OF RELIGION - Swami Vivekananda

2007-08-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

What is needed is a fellow-feeling between the different types of religion, seeing that they all stand or fall together, a fellow-feeling which springs from mutual esteem and mutual respect, and not the condescending, patronising, niggardly expression of goodwill, unfortunately in vogue at the present time with many. And above all, this is needed between types of religious expression coming from the study of mental phenomena -- unfortunately, even now laying exclusive claim to the name of religion -- and those expressions of religion whose heads, as it were, are penetrating more into the secrets of heaven though their feet are clinging to the earth, I mean, the so-called materialistic sciences.

To bring about this harmony, both will have to make concessions, sometimes very large, nay more, sometimes painful, but each will find itself the better for the sacrifice and more advanced in truth. And in the end, the knowledge which is confined within the domain of time and space will meet and become one with that which is beyond them both, where the mind and senses cannot reach -- the Absolute, the Infinite, the One without a second.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 68 ] (Delivered in London) The End.

Excerpt from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

2007-08-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

One can realize God through intense renunciation.
But the soul must be restless for Him, as restless as one feels for a
breath of air when one's head is pressed under water.

A man can see God if he unites in himself the force of these three
attractions: the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly
man, the husband's attraction for the chaste wife, and the child's
attraction for its mother. If you can unite these three forms of love
and give it all to God, then you can see Him at once.

THE NECESSITY OF RELIGION - Swami Vivekananda

2007-08-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

THE NECESSITY OF RELIGION - Swami Vivekananda

We can see it in its effects. It is the greatest motive power that moves the human mind. No other ideal can put into us the same mass of energy as the spiritual. So far as human history goes, it is obvious to all of us that this has been the case and that its powers are not dead. I do not deny that men, on simply utilitarian grounds, can be very good and moral. There have been many great men in this world perfectly sound, moral, and good, simply on utilitarian grounds. But the world-movers, men who bring, as it were, a mass of magnetism into the world, whose spirit works in hundreds and in thousands, whose life ignites others with a spiritual fire -- such men, we always find, have that spiritual background. Their motive power came from religion. Religion is the greatest motive power for realising that infinite energy which is the birthright and nature of every man. In building up character, in making for everything that is good and great, in bringing peace to others and peace to one's own self, religion is the highest motive power and, therefore, ought to be studied from that standpoint. Religion must be studied on a broader basis than formerly. All narrow, limited, fighting ideas of religion have to go. All sect ideas and tribal or national ideas of religion must be given up. That each tribe or nation should have its own particular God and think that every other is wrong is a superstition that should belong to the past. All such ideas must be abandoned.

As the human mind broadens, its spiritual steps broaden too. The time has already come when a man cannot record a thought without its reaching to all corners of the earth; by merely physical means, we have come into touch with the whole world; so the future religions of the world have to become as universal, as wide.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 66 ] (Delivered in London)

THE NECESSITY OF RELIGION - Swami Vivekananda

2007-08-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

THE NECESSITY OF RELIGION - Swami Vivekananda

Thus, apart from the solid facts and truths that we may learn from religion, apart from the comforts that we may gain from it, religion, as a science, as a study, is the greatest and healthiest exercise that the human mind can have. This pursuit of the Infinite, this struggle to grasp the Infinite, this effort to get beyond the limitations of the senses -- out of matter, as it were -- and to evolve the spiritual man -- this striving day and night to make the Infinite one with our being -- this struggle itself is the grandest and most glorious that man can make. Some persons find the greatest pleasure in eating. We have no right to say that they should not. Others find the greatest pleasure in possessing certain things. We have no right to say that they should not. But they also have no right to say "no" to the man who finds his highest pleasure in spiritual thought. The lower the organisation, the greater the pleasure in the senses. Very few men can eat a meal with the same gusto as a dog or a wolf. But all the pleasures of the dog or the wolf have gone, as it were into the senses. The lower types of humanity in all nations find pleasure in the senses, while the cultured and the educated find it in thought, in philosophy, in arts and sciences. Spirituality is a still higher plane. The subject being infinite, that plane is the highest, and the pleasure there is the highest for those who can appreciate it. So, even on the utilitarian ground that man is to seek for pleasure, he should cultivate religious thought, for it is the highest pleasure that exists. Thus religion, as a study, seems to me to be absolutely necessary.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 65 ] (Delivered in London)