Luminous One

Bliss of Identity

by Sri Aurobindo

All Nature is taught in radiant ways to move,

All beings are in myself embraced.

O fiery boundless Heart of joy and love,

How art Thou beating in a mortals breast!

It is Thy rapture flaming through my nerves

And all my cells and atoms thrill with Thee ;

My body thy vessel is and only serves

As a living wine-cup of Thy ecstasy.

I am a centre of Thy golden light

And I its vast and vague circumference,

Thou art my soul great, luminous and white

And Thine my mind and will and glowing sense.

Thy spirit's infinite breath I feel in me;

My life is a throb of Thy eternity.

The Vision of the Universal Form

Lecture by Swami Atmajnanananda

I have no plan for my life.
I accept the plan life has for me.
I follow that plan and what it provides me moment to moment.
I am not the roles I play in following the plan.
I am the witness of all that I interact with in my life.
I was a child, an adult, and will soon be an old woman.
I was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother.
I was an artist, a business owner, a dancer, a spiritual practitioner, a friend.
I have been healthy, sick, successful, a failure, awake, and asleep.
Behind all those changing experiences, 
I am the changeless consciousness that is constantly present.
I am that I am, in spite of the changes that "I am" experiences.
I AM THAT.
My present is pregnant with all my past.
My future unfolds from the way I live my present.
My being manifests in the present.
I AM PRESENT.
I am at home in the eternal now, living the plan life has for me.

- Amrit Desai

The Moral Gymnasium

Lecture by Swami Brahmarupananda

Remember: 

Though weighed down by past life samskaras, 

The soul (ball of energy) within you is a part of 

The mother field of Brahman (God). 

You are this ball of energy. 

You are NOT what you see in the mirror. 

YOU were born with the stars.

Evolution is in nature, 

Not in the soul. 

Evolution of nature, 

Manifestation of the soul.

- Swami Vivekananda

Shine On

I am awestruck by the wisdom of fortune cookies these days. Is the Dalai Lama secretly writing these messages? Really, these are profound words from the mouths of cookies. Given at the end of a Chinese meal, their heady wisdom a conversation starter to be sure. Today, a clever note in a fortune cookie gave me much to reflect upon. This simple message of truth sounded like something my Swami would have said, reminding me of a fundamental Vedantic principle. That is, consciousness is the SHINE. It is the source of illumination, the very light by which the material world is reflected to our eyes. Apart from objects we see in the waking world, consciousness never, ever, changes. Irregardless of whether we are in the waking world or in dream sleep, the eternal conscious witness is always present in all three states: waking, dreaming and sleeping. Cosmic consciousness watches for eons and eons apart from the body mind complex. Blazing forth like a thousands suns, shining forever as pure, perfect, God consciousness. The God who shines love within, is the same God who reflects love without. And that's the way this fortune cookie crumbled today!

Melting into the Light, I am the unattached Light that shines.

The Light shines, the Light which is Brahman.

That which I am is nothing but Brahman.

I exist and I exist as the Light of Brahman.

I myself, offer myself, into the infinite Light which is myself.

OM peace, peace, peace be unto us all.

God the Eternal Witness 

Lecture by Swami Sarvapriyananda

Panchadasi 
by Sri Vidyaranya Swami

Translated by Swami Swahananda

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

The Gurus Role in Our Lives

Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

Do You Need a Guru?

Lecture by Swami Shantarupananda

Guided Meditation 
Swami Sarvadevananda

OM Time

Sacred Word OM

The sound OM is Brahman. The rishis and sages practiced austerity to realize that Sound-Brahman. After attaining perfection one hears the sound of this eternal Word rising spontaneously from the navel. "'What will you gain', some sages ask, 'by merely hearing this sound?' You hear the roar of the ocean from a distance. By following the roar you can reach the ocean. As long as there is the roar, there must also be the ocean. By following the trail of OM you attain Brahman, of which the Word is the symbol. That Brahman has been described by the Vedas as the ultimate goal."

-- The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

OM, literally means God. And sometimes you just have to take an OM Break. You know what I'm saying. A chance to have a moment of peaceful contemplation and turn inside. A welcomed pick me up after a frustrating or hurried day. A moment of stopping which gives the power to act from a resourceful, skillful place. Introspection and meditation seem to work for me and offers that much needed time to center myself and reaffirm what is the real goal of life. Oneness with God. The symbol OM means God in Sanskrit and as a spoken vibration on the lips is the Divine God made manifest. Whenever and wherever I am I've found I'm never too busy to have a chat with God. Ideally I try always to silently chant my mantra, the golden thread of oneness behind my daily householder life. Many times life's challenges and trials come bursting into my life unannounced and without prior warning. Quick put out the fire of the latest personal crises!!! But if I rest in stillness a moment and repeat my OM's with intention, soon the dust settles, my mood lifts, unity and comfort is achieved. My new centered focus and joy is embraced. Holy Latte!

Power of the Mantra 

Lecture by Swami Bhaskarananda

Japam: Instrument of Love for God’s Name 

Article by Swami Tathagatananda