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

Ma Durga

To look upon God as Mother 

is the purest and highest form 

of spiritual practice.

-Sri Ramakrishna

Vande Mataram

(Translation of Bankim Chandra's song)

by Sri Aurobindo

Mother, I bow to thee!

Rich with thy hurrying streams,

Bright with thy orchard gleams,

Cool with thy winds of delight,

Dark fields waving, Mother of might,

Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams

Over thy branches and lordly streams,

Clad in thy blossoming trees,

Mother, giver of ease,

Laughing low and sweet!

Mother, I kiss thy feet,

Speaker sweet and low!

Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands,

When the swords flash out in seventy million hands

And seventy millions voices roar

Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?

With many strengths who art mighty and stored,

To thee I call, Mother and Lord!

Thou who savest, arise and save!

To her I cry who ever her foemen drove

Back from plain and sea

And shook herself free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,

Thou art heart, our soul, our breath,

Thou art love divine, the awe

In our hearts that conquers death.

Thine the strength that nerves the arm,

Thine the beauty, thine the charm.

Every image made divine

In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,

With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen,

Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,

And the Muse a hundred-toned,

Pure and perfect without peer,

Mother, lend thine ear.

Rich with thy hurrying streams,

Bright with thy orchard gleams,

Dark of hue, O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair

And thy glorious smile divine,

Loveliest of all earthly lands,

Showering wealth from well-stored hands!

Mother, mother mine!

Mother sweet, I bow to thee,

Mother great and free.

Mother Durga Worship

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

Durga Durga Ma-Ha-May-A 

Na-Mah DurgaYa

Namo Na-Mah

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

God Intoxication - Bhakti Yoga - Devotion

Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

Pre-Internet Brain

Remembering to seek that still small voice of God in our daily meditation practice may be the hardest challenge facing modern spiritual seekers. Perhaps our reliance on electronic devices has become so en grained that it over shadows our need for a relationship with God. Our meditation practice squeezed out between our busy lives and new instantly accessible information. Our electronic devices, a buzz with rampant activity, a dizzying distraction of sound bytes that have little lasting meaning. Yes! Some days I do miss my Pre-Internet brain. It can be very challenging to be a spiritual being in an age of distraction. Therefore, we must set aside time and silence our personal electronics. Vow to unplug them for the weekend and form a lasting connection with our true divine nature. That understood, I whole heartily believe we can use the World Wide Web to the glory of the Supreme Godhead. Digital media is the future and it's here to stay. It's not going away! Its value being one of the first ways many of today’s young people will ever hear the harmonious message of Vedanta. Prompting some to take action and reach out in face to face fellowship with other devotees. Some may be drawn to learn meditation, read spiritual ebooks, hear a lecture online, or even attend a puja at their local Vedanta Society. Through Internet and its power to inform and transform our spiritual universe expands exponentially. May the new digital media be used to the glory of Brahman!

The Supreme Connection

Lecture by Pravrajika Virajaprana

Artist and writer Douglas Coupland (see photo) probes the way that contemporary life and digital technologies affect our understanding of the world around us.

Jai Sri Durga : Glory to Goddess Durga

To her who presides over the elements 

and the senses and is ever present in all beings, 

to the all-pervading Devi, salutations again and again.

To her who pervades this entire world 

and abides in the form of consciousness, 

salutation to her, salutation to her, 

salutation to her, again and again.

(DM 5.77-80)

Lecture: Worship of Divine Mother

by Swami Gautamananda

Listen to a Chandi Recital

By Swami Tyagananda 

at Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India

Article: Message of The Chandi

By Devadatta Kali

Read: The Devi Mahatmya 

Sri Sarada Devi

Hymn to the Divine Mother

"Sarva Mangala Mangalye" Vespers

O Thou the Giver of all blessings,

O Thou the Doer of all good,

O Thou the Fulfiller of all desires,

O Thou the Giver of refuge,

Our salutations to Thee,

O Mother Divine.

O Thou Eternal Mother,

Thou hast the power to create,

To preserve, and to dissolve,

Thou the dwelling place and embodiment 
of the three gunas,

Our salutations to Thee,

O Mother Divine.

O Thou the Savior of all who take

refuge in Thee, the lowly and the

distressed, O Mother Divine,

we salute Thee, who takest

away the suffering of all.