What is so special about Kriya yoga? It expands your consciousness; it enables you to move up from the ridiculous to the sublime - from say, matters of state, politics and (Cauvery) disputes to a deeper understanding of nature of the Self.

I got this divine intuition some days ago which prompted me to travel to Babaji's cave in Uttaranchal - he used to meditate there. I've been initiated into practising Kriya yoga through divine dispensation. I'd been through hardly a year's basic training before my intuition took me to Babaji's cave...

(See also: Kriya yoga , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Kriya yoga: From The Ridiculous To the Sublime  

Meditation is a good stress-reliever. It calms the senses, making the mind inactive and the body, passive. Meditation usually involves concentrating on an object - a flower, a burning candle, a circle, a sound or word, or even one’s own rhythm of breath. Over time, random thoughts peter off. Meditation could also be objectless - just sitting, doing nothing.

Most forms of meditation involve turning your attention inward, away from your usual preoccupations and activities. In the process, you make a simple but significant shift from thinking and doing, to just being. With repeated practice the mind begins to settle down and your breathing slows, and you get into a relaxed, peaceful, harmonious state.

(See also: Meditation , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Meditation: Do-it-Yourself Tips For Meditation  

In 61 aphorisms, the Nirvanopanishad describes the attributes of one who has achieved Jivanmukti or liberation, while remaining in the physical body. At the very beginning, this Upanishad makes it clear that when one says: “Brahman encompasses the universe”, one is still assuming that there is duality, of the Brahman and the universe. The Jivanmukta, or the realised one, does not see the Brahman as being separate from the universe. For him, the universe does not exist. Therefore, he himself does not exist. The only existence is of the Brahman.

(See also: Jivanmukti , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Jivanmukti: A Jivanmukta Lives In Non-duality  

(See also: Spiritual Music , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Music: Palliative Effects Of Good Music  

Studying the myths of various cultures leads to a better understanding of their social and religious underpinnings. By turning the myths inwards, inviting them into our lives and learning their language of imagery and symbolism, we learn more about ourselves.

In almost every culture, the metaphor of descent serves as a powerful, sacred and mythic image for women. One of the earliest such accounts is the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess and Queen of the Upper World. She was worshipped in Sumer from the third millennium BCE (before the common era) to the first millennium BCE.

(See also: Spiritual Mythology , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Mythology: Mythology Reveals Power of Descent  

Nothing exists apart from the Absolute. Yet, the Absolute, being transcendent, does not suffer from the limitations of the sense-organs, of attributes, of time. It is imperceivable, eternally pure, unqualified and is bliss.

By knowing the Absolute everything is known , and fear and delusion remain no more. The ultimate resting place exists in the Absolute. It is the knowledge of the Absolute that brings about the fulfilment of the nature of man, and the desire for the experience of Being is characterised by peace.

(See also: The Absolute , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » The Absolute: Absolute Bliss, Within and Without  

In Hindu devotional practice, three kinds of external symbols are used for worship of the Supreme Being, who is actually formless and nameless. The most external is that of divine images cast in human form, with paraphernalia symbolising supra-human divinity.

The most subtle is that of the mantras or divine names with certain sounds. A mantra is divine power clothed in sound. Between these two come the yantras or chakras , representing the deity in geometrical diagrams. Worshippers of Shakti consider the Srichakra the holiest and most significant of divine symbols.

(See also: Srichakra , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Srichakra: Role Of Srichakra In Devi Worship  

The sage, Narad, visiting Krishna in Dwaraka, was surprised to find that his Lord’s favourite pastime was to hear the story of Vraja-Vrindavan , its people and His own activities there. It is a story set in a particular time and space - however, its nature cannot be bound by time and space. The beauty of Vrindavan lies in it being both the seed and the fullest manifestation of the tree contained in that seed. The theme of all the stories of this lila is only one, and that is prem , love.

(See also: Vraja-Vrindavan , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Vraja-Vrindavan: A Salubrious Stage For Krishna - Vraja Vrindavan  

The Lalitasahasranama enumerates the one thousand names of Devi as Lalita-parameshwari . When Manmata , the god of love, was reduced to ashes by Shiva’s opening his third eye, the ashes were collected by Chitrakarman, one of Shiva’s attendants, who used it for drawing the figure of a man.

When Shiva glanced at the figure, it leaped into life at once. The artist advised the person so created to pray to Shiva, by reciting the Sata-Rudriya. Pleased at his devotion, Shiva blessed him with the overlordship of the world for 60,000 years. On hearing this, Brahma cried in dismay, '' Bhand, Bhand ’’ and so the person came to have the name Bhanda.

(See also: Devi Lalita , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Devi Lalita: One Thousand Names Of Devi Lalita  

Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the DNA, presented what he called the “Astonishing Hypothesis”: Human behaviour is merely the sum of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. But, can human consciousness be explained in physical terms?

Those who embrace challenge the validity of Crick’s astonishing hypothesis.

Scientists, however, claim that mind and consciousness are only a pack of neurons, made up of a chain of lifeless molecules and atoms. Therefore, it can be fully explained in terms of “lower level sciences” of chemistry and physics.

(See also: Consciousness , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Consciousness: Can Consciousness Be Reduced To Matter?  

The chanting of the Divine Name or nama japa has an important place in bhakti tradition. Nama japa can be in the form of japa or stotra. Japa is silent repetition of a mantra while stotra is uttered out loud.

The sahasranama stotra is perhaps the most popular of all stotras. There are sahasranamas of most of the deities of the Hindu pantheon of which two have attained great popularity. These are the Lalita Sahasranama in praise of the Divine Mother and Vishnu Sahasranama in praise of the Lord conceived as Vishnu.

(See also: Sahasranama , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Sahasranama: Power of Chanting The Sahasranama  

The mind as a separate live entity does not exist, for it is an instrument in the hand of God. The only thing that remains is 'Being', which covers both existence and non-existence, which is beyond words or ideas. Pure awareness dawns through an understanding of one's own nature. The sage's instruction demands no strenuous effort either through physical rigour or austere practices such as chanting.

(See also: The Mind , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » The Mind: Discover the 'I', Be One With God  

In vedanta, the second capsule of the Brahma Sutras is the most fundamental, cardinal, sacrosanct, and is also the most famous. Janmadyasya yatah - Brahman is that from which the birth and the evolution of the universe follow.

It says Brahman is that ultimate 'world’ which we gain access to by distilling the world down to its inmost content, or the furthest stop from where we get off by travelling backwards in time-space. Astronomical observations have confirmed more or less beyond doubt that stars, galaxies and clusters of super galaxies are receding from the earth and from one another.

The clinching evidence comes from the Doppler Effect or the Red Shift. The shift in the spectral lines towards the longer wavelengths identified by the red colour in the spectrum confirms that the source of light is moving and is not at rest.

(See also: Big Bang Theory , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Big Bang Theory: Vedanta's Version Of the Big Bang  

The Vedas describe an ultimate reality, which they call Brahman . The awareness of this 'reality' is attained through the practice of yoga and meditation. " Aham Brahmasmi " (I am Brahman) - is the statement of this realisation and identification, which is synonymous with the concept of nirvana. Conceptions of Brahman and nirvana are integral to the different schools of Indian and Buddhist philosophy. However, untill recently, they had not been subject to scientific scrutiny.

Physicists have discovered that the various quantum fields , which underlie all physical reality, arise from one common source, namely, the unified field. Our goal here is to show an overall connection between two primary realities - the unified field and consciousness.

(See also: New Physics , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » New Physics: Physics of Nirvana - Link Two Realities  

The Lord’s Prayer ("Our Father Who Art in Heaven...") is the best known and most popular prayer of Christians. Jesus taught his disciples this prayer when they asked him how to pray.

Analysing The Lord’s Prayer, Gerhard Ebeling says that " Abba father", the words Jesus used to call on God, signify "My father" or "our father", which is an invocation we can use when all words fail, when we become speechless. We can approach God in the familiar confident way a child approaches a loving parent.

(See also: Lord’s Prayer , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Lord’s Prayer: Lord’s Prayer: Common Prayer For Uncommon Wisdom  

A group of senior managers was asked to associate words for 'organisation'. Their responses included these words: Hard, rules, procedural, hierarchy, top-down, pressure, challenges.

When asked to give associative words for 'organism', they offered these: Living, evolving, responsive, death, change, linked, inter-dependent. But we don't have sufficient operating images of 'organism' to guide our planning and decisions. To be effective organisations should apply the principles of biology, seeing the organisation as organism.

(See also: Spiritual Management , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Management: Organise Naturally For Best Results  

For the living, death is certain and for the dead, birth is certain. Since death is definite for all embodied beings, the Bhagavad Gita enjoins the seeker to aspire for that state of attainment, after which there is no return or rebirth.

Among the paths leading to the deathless state, Krishna discusses jnana -yoga, the path of contemplation, and karmayoga , the path of action. All actions, he says, finally culminate in knowledge.

For the common man, whose senses and desires are rooted in this world and who craves desired results, the shrutis - the Vedas and the Upanishads - prescribe various types of yajnas . Among the yajnas , the Maharudrabhisheka is accorded high status.

(See also: Mantra , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Mantra: Mantra that Helps Conquer Death  

Science attempts to define the nature of reality. Reality, however, presents itself in a variety of names and forms: Physical, mental and psychological realities; linguistic and mathematical realities, and with the advent of computers and Internet, digital reality. But science is yet to define physical reality conclusively... hence the quest continues.

(See also: Absolute Reality , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Absolute Reality: Ultimate Answer to All Your Questions  

Indologist and scholar of Hindu jurisprudence, Gunther Dietz Sontheimer focused on living folk cultures and traditions. He created his own delicately balanced working model for the study of what the world identifies as 'Hindu’ civilisation.

His sophisticated approach avoided reductionist 'fundamentalism’ and positivistic 'simplification’ and was open to new findings and novel interpretations. His views are relevant not merely for their academic import; they are equally important in the context of the rise of Hindu fundamentalism and revivalism.

(See also: Hinduism , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Hinduism: Retelling Hinduism In Six Chapters  

It is important to recognise the difference between bhagavan bhakti (love of God) and religious fundamentalism - however, desh bhakti (love of country) has its own significance. After all, you have to begin with a smaller constituent. People have to get on with their lives. Can you sit back and do nothing if your nation’s security is threatened? Or even if one state’s safety is compromised?

(See also: Peace on Earth , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Identity Crisis - Desh or Dharma  

The word God combines with the five material elements or tatvas to constitute the body, which is an equipment of action without cause. The inert material elements are imbued with the faculties of feeling, thought and action through the organs of the body.

Consequently, assumption of doership, ego and duality arise in this state. This intellect tends to oscillate between sublime consciousness and materialism. This conflict, antar-dhvan , continues till the intellect settles down in a state of reintegration, which is samta in its unmodified source - utter sublime consciousness.

(See also: Samta , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Samta: Reach Intellectual Bliss with Samta  

Pranayama or breath control signifies stretching, extending and regulating our breathing process. Pranayama can be used as a preparation for meditation wherein it cleanses the body and the mind. It also helps to maximise the benefits of the practice of yogasanas and also focusing the mind.

(See also: Pranayama , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Pranayama: Breathe Some Life Into Your Soul - Pranayama