Showing posts with label Swami Sarvadevananda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swami Sarvadevananda. Show all posts

June 6, 2016

Paranirvana



If you want to
Know Buddha, it's pointless
To seek him in the temple;
The Buddha is simply you
Wishing to see Buddha.


The mind seeking
Buddha outside
Is the worst
Illusion of all.



Translated by Soiku Shigematsu
A Zen Harvest : Japanese Folk Zen Sayings (Haiku, Dodoitsu, and Waka)







Give up anger, give up pride, and free yourself from all bondage. No sorrow can be fall those who never try to possess people and things as their own. Those who hold back rising anger like a rolling chariot are real charioteers. Others merely hold the reins. Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth. Be truthful; do not yield to anger; give freely, even if you have but little: by these three steps you will come near the gods. More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm. More than your mother, more than your father, more than all your family, a well disciplined mind does greater good. 
-Dhammapada, 221-225, 42-43






May 1, 2016

All for Her

No one is a stranger my child, 
make the whole world your own.



- The Divine Mother -

I am the empress of all that lives.
I am the sovereign power in all the worlds.
I am the bestower of all treasure.
I am the knower of the supreme.
Among those to whom homage shall be offered,
I am the first.
Everywhere the gods worship only me,
who am diverse in form
and permeating everything.
Whoever breathes,
whoever eats or sees or hears,
does so through me alone.
Unknowing,
they depend upon me.
Hear now, one and all,
the truth as I declare it.
This truth revered by gods and men alike,
I am myself revealing to you.
Whom I will, I make terrible or benign.
Whomsoever I wish, I make mighty—
a brahmana, a seer, a sage.
I transcend heaven above
I transcend earth below.
This supreme greatness have I attained.

– Vag-Ambhrni Sukta (Devi Sukta), Rig Veda








Swami Chetanananda signing his book 
at Santa Barbara Vedanta Society March 2016
ORDER BOOK





The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. A mother’s heart is a patchwork of love. 

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers. A mothers love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. A mother is the truest friend we have, when suffering and heavy trials befall us. The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which we will always find forgiveness. Mothers can reach farther down into the heart and offer healing love that can pull a soul back into light from darkness. A mother never gives up hope for her child. Never finding fault with others she will fight to the death when her precious offspring is faced with unjust treatment or needless suffering. A moms hug lasts long after she lets go.



Quick to forgive she is the first to offer food and the last to eat. She assumes the best in those around her and works tirelessly to make them comfortable and included. Encouragement is something she does naturally. A Mother's love is the spirits fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. A mother always has faith that a child can change their errant ways. Being a mother means that your heart is no longer yours; it wanders wherever your children do. Mother is a verb, not a noun.










That which is Shakti is also Brahman.
That which has form, again, is without form.
That which has attributes, again, has no attributes. 
Brahman is Shakti;
Shakti is Brahman.
They are not two.
These are only two aspects, male and female, 
of the same Reality, 
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss
Absolute.

- Ramakrishna -




Watch Video





Perfection will come when you are completely identified with the Divine Mother and feel yourself to be no longer another and separate being, instrument, servant, or worker but truly a child and eternal portion of her consciousness and force. Always she will be in you and you in her ; it will be your constant, simple and natural experience that all your thought and seeing and action, your very breathing or moving come from her and are hers. You will know and see and feel that you are a person and power formed by her out of herself, put out from her for the play and yet always safe in her, being of her being, consciousness of her consciousness, force of her force, Ananda of her Ananda. When this condition is entire and her supramental energies can freely move you, then you will be perfect in divine works; knowledge, will, action will become sure, simple, luminous, spontaneous, flawless, an outflow from the Supreme, a divine movement of the Eternal.















February 1, 2016

Teacher of Truth to the West


Swamiji was a man of wisdom, an ideal worker, a yogi, and a devotee; he was a monk, an ascetic, a sage, and a mystic; he was a leader, an orator, a poet, an artist, a writer, a conversationalist, a debater, a singer, a musician, and a humorist; he was a philosopher, a linguist, an educator, a patriot, a humanist, and a reformer. Swami Vivekananda was the perfect man.

- Swami Turiyananda





What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, O' mighty one, and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the Self alone that predominates, and not matter. Know that all sins and all evils can be summed up in that one word, weakness. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil doing; it is weakness that is the source of all selfishness; it is weakness that makes men injure others; it is weakness that makes them manifest what they are not in reality. Weakness is the one cause of suffering. We become miserable because we are weak. We lie, steal, kill, and commit other crimes, because we are weak. We suffer because we are weak. We die because we are weak. Where there is nothing to weaken us, there is no death nor sorrow.

This is the one question I put to every man, woman, or child, when they are in physical, mental, or spiritual training. Are you strong? Do you feel strength? — for I know it is truth alone that gives strength. I know that truth alone gives life, and nothing but going towards reality will make us strong, and none will reach truth until he is strong. Strength, therefore, is the one thing needful. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease. Strength is the medicine which the poor must have when tyrannized over by the rich. Strength is the medicine that the ignorant must have when oppressed by the learned; and it is the medicine that sinners must have when tyrannized over by other sinners.

Make your nerves strong. What we want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel. We have wept long enough. No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men. It is a man-making religion that we want. It is man-making theories that we want. It is man-making education all round that we want. And here is the test of truth — anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison; there is no life in it, it cannot be true. Truth is strengthening. Truth is purity, truth is all-knowledge; truth must be strengthening, must be enlightening, must be invigorating.

Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future. Stand firm like a rock. Truth always triumphs. He who falters at first will get stronger and stronger, and the voice will increase in volume until the truth takes possession of our hearts, and courses through our veins, and permeates our bodies. Delusion will vanish as the light becomes more and more effulgent, load after load of ignorance will vanish, and then will come a time when all else has disappeared and the Sun alone shines.
-Swami Vivekananda








January 1, 2016

Divine Shakti


My child, you have been extremely fortunate in getting this human birth. Have intense devotion to God. One must work hard. Can one achieve anything without effort? You must devote some time for prayer even in the midst of the busiest hours of the day. Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will remove all your impurities, relieve your mental anguish, and give you enlightenment.
-Holy Mother Sarada Devi

To the Divine Shakti embod­ied in human form, the giver of boons and dis­peller of fear, who quenches the fire of mis­ery and fills with joy the hearts of those who take refuge in Her; to Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Redeem Thy chil­dren, bestow­ing Thy mercy, full of faults, deluded, and with­out merit as we are! A ver­i­ta­ble ship fer­ry­ing us across the ocean of Sam­sara art Thou;
To Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Aban­don­ing the flow­ers of worldly enjoy­ment, always drink, O hon­ey­bee of my mind, the nec­tar of eter­nal peace at the lotus of Mother’s feet—the sure panacea for the dis­ease of world­li­ness. To Thee my salu­ta­tions, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the worlds!

Bestow Thy grace, O great Divin­ity, on us Thy chil­dren, bow­ing in pros­tra­tion before Thee, and grant us shel­ter at Thy feet, O Com­pas­sion­ate One. To Thee our salutations!

Though ever cov­ered with the veil of mod­esty, Thou, O Mother Sarada, art really the Power that bestows spir­i­tual illu­mi­na­tion on human beings. Pro­tect us from sins ever­more, O grace embod­ied! To Thee our salutations!

To Her whose life is fused into one with Ramakrishna’s, whose delight con­sists in absorp­tion in thought and talk of His glory, whose per­son­al­ity is soaked and suf­fused with His spirit; to Her our salutations!

To Her whose nature is sanc­tity, to Her whose life is sanc­tity, to Her who is the very embod­i­ment of sanc­tity; to Her I bow down, again and again!

To the gra­cious Mother Sarada, the embod­i­ment of mercy and the granter of devo­tion and knowl­edge, to Her who is wor­shipped by the chief of yogis, to Her who (with Sri Rama­kri­shna) has given a new rev­e­la­tion for the present age, and who relieves the mis­eries of devo­tees tak­ing refuge at Her feet; to Her do I ever bow down in worship.

Bind­ing our mind to Thee with the bonds of Thy love, Thou does trans­mute our very vices into virtues. Com­pas­sion­ate as Thou art with­out any con­sid­er­a­tion of merit, Thou dost, lo! Take even unwor­thy ones into Thy lap!

Mother, be pro­pi­tious and grant what I in humil­ity beseech. May Thou be ever affec­tion­ate to us, Thy chil­dren; and cast­ing even a drop of Thy love on our long-parched heart, ren­der it cool and peaceful.

Tak­ing shel­ter at the lotus feet of the Mother, Sarada Devi, and Rama­kri­shna, the teacher of the world, I salute them again and again.





October 1, 2015

No Thought Zone


Sri Ramakrishna says retire to solitude and seek him with tears and spiritual discipline. Free of family and friends pray to God and make efforts to realize him. Churn the butter of the mind in solitude and focus on the heart center, the butter of love & devotion will prevail. In Silence, stillness, solitude as the inner witness is realized. Free from outer distraction by practice of Meditation we realize the oneness (Atman) within.

Seeking our true nature we connect with our inner peace devoid of ripples, thoughts and waves, distractions. The conscious awareness of the infinite space inside our heart will reveal inner purity, truth, love & bliss.

Thought vibrations (vrities) of the mind carry real force... Energy. 
Because it is our special nature, our true divine nature, we must keep our thoughts in check. The goal is to increase the space between thoughts. Happiness, calmness, and the underlying joy of the Atman will be realized as the veil of Maya is lifted.

Peace will result when we can train the monkey mind by meditation practice and prayer. This is the power of stillness and refusing to engage or quarrel over worldly matters. 
Stop yacking and chattering!... Disturbance is caused by our break with our divine peaceful silent nature. Rather, think and then say.... Listen and observe. Find space in between... Let the divine shine... Try to connect with silence outside and silence inside will happen. Hold the tongue in non reaction and the victory will be yours. Love is greater than hate. Greater than external silence is inner silence. Be the observer.... Be the witness.... Be silent.... "Beginner's Mind".

Even the space between words on a page gives us the opportunity for divine silence. Like the space bar on a computer keyboard, our language has a built in silent pause where the still bliss of our inner nature will reveal itself, if we will only stop and take notice.


A fixed time of day and meditation location is crucial to making progress on the Raja Yoga path. Sunrise 6am, 12 noon, sunset 6pm, and midnight will give a boost to our spiritual practice. Concentration of mind on our (Mantra) divine name, or chosen Ishta will create a space of stillness where self realization can become manifest.


Grow joy thru inner silence. God is in our hearts and we are in the heart of a God. Self realization can be kindled by noticing the beauty of nature, by the calm peaceful mind of the observer. When ever we feel Oneness it is really the True Divine Love of God in our soul. Such is the sweetness of The Lord.
From "Stillness & Silence" lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

February 18, 2015

Sri Ramakrishna the Peacemaker








Under the gen­tle breeze of mercy,
Waves have risen in the Ocean of Form­less­ness;
Merged in the undi­vided, with­out begin­ning or end,
Thou, through Thine inscrutable power,
Hast assumed a human form.
On the side of the mind there is a realm unknown
Where nei­ther the sun nor the moon can enter,
But even there Thine infi­nite smile
Sheds its rays and lumines with charm­ing light.
Thy body is made of love
And puts to shame the God of Beauty;
And what sweet light Thine eyes bestrew!
Who­ever sees Thee longs to offer at Thy feet
His body, life and mind.
Many ages, come and gone, have awaited Thee,
But today all doubts have van­ished;
Oh, receive the gift of all I have—
I ded­i­cate my life to serve Thee!

This hymn was writ­ten about Sri Rama­kri­shna by Swami Pre­me­shananda. 
The Eng­lish trans­la­tion is by Swami Ashokananda.




An Inspiration for this Age











February 11, 2015

Swami Sarvadevananda

I bow down to the Sadguru
The spiritual teacher who dispels the darkness of ignorance.
Who is the embodiment of Brahmananda
The inexpressible absolute bliss of Brahman.
Who bestows that supreme joy on others.
Who stands alone entirely unattached.
The very personification of spiritual wisdom who has gone 
Beyond the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, 
Heat and cold, that characterize relative existence.
Who is vast as the sky.
Who is indicated by the great Vedic phrase of the Mahabharata, "That thou art."
Who is one without a second, eternal, stainless, and immovable.
The witness to all that arises who has gone beyond all states of mind 
And is free of the three gunas: tamas, rajas, and even sattva.
To him the true Guru do we bow down in adoration.
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti









February 1, 2014

Swami Brahmananda Spiritual Dynamo

Swami Brahmananda 
January 21, 1863 - April 10, 1922


"Religion is a most practical thing. 
It doesn’t matter whether one believes or not. 
It is like science. 
If one performs spiritual disciplines, 
the result is bound to come. 
Although one may be practicing mechanically—
if one persists one will get everything in time. 
And if you go one step towards God, 

God will come a hundred steps towards you. 
Why did God create us? 
So that we may love him."

-by Swami Brahmananda


April 1, 2013

Swami Brahmananda


Swami Brahmananda 
1863-1922

Considered the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna 
Swami Brahmananda was the first president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.



The Eternal Companion
Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda



August 13, 2012

Cultivate Remembrance of Your Ishtam



Meditate upon your Ishtam (Chosen Spiritual Ideal) in the lotus of your heart. Let your inner eye feast upon the beauty of the light within. Make your body the actual temple of God by concentrating all your faculties on the object of adoration. God is the master of the body, mind, and spirit. By one pointed devotion to the Ishtam, the aspirant may realize the highest goal; but sincerity, simplicity, and selfless devotion are required. Love is the bridge which connects you to your higher Self. The highest goal of bhakti yoga is infinite love, or God.