The Bhagavata Purana and other works tell us stories of how the divine is always trying to break away from its divine fetters. When you are pervasive and omnipresent, how can you have the freedom to play? Being omnipresent, you are constantly watched by those who adore you, worship you and serve you. You need a disguise.

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

Read more here: » Bhagavata Purana: Bhagavata Purana's Eternal Krishna  

One thing that I would like to remind you of at this point is, in this world, on this planet, most of the harm, most of the pain, most of the suffering has been caused to people, to humankind, only with good intentions, not with bad intentions. The maximum slaughter and killing has happened on this planet only with good intentions.

If you look at the world, the fight is not between the good and the bad. It is always the good people who are fighting. If you are a good Indian, you fight a good Pakistani; if you are a good Hindu, you fight a good Muslim. The better you are, the more you fight. It is not the bad people who are fighting each other. It is always good people with good intentions....

(See also: Essence of Affirmations , Affirmations, Practising Affirmations, Life Transforming Affirmations, Essence of Affirmations, Faith and Belief, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Essence of Affirmations: Become a joyous human being

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  

Ananta is Sanskrit for infinity. It is equated with the Supreme Brahman - infinitely powerful and so infinitely free. It is bigger than any quantity that can be imagined; it is bigger than any finite number. Infinity is one of the fundamental axioms upon which contemporary mathematics is based.

Sanskrit grammar and interpretation in ancient India were closely linked to the handling of high value numbers. Studies relating to poetry and metrics initiated sastragnaas or scientists to both arithmetic and grammar. Grammarians were just as competent at calculations as professional mathematicians. Indian sastragnaas or scientists, philosophers, astronomers and cosmographers - in order to develop their arithmetical, metaphysical and cosmological speculations concerning ever higher numbers - became at once mathematicians, grammarians and poets.

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

Read more here: » Infinity: Zero To Infinity In Indian Mysticism  

Godhra is a major electoral issue as Gujarat goes to the polls. The likes of Gujarat’s politicians could not have occasioned Basile’s remark: ''Memory is the cabinet of the imagination, the treasury of reason, the registry of conscience, and, the council chamber of thought.’’ This is not so when memory is used to imagine annihilation, reason for carnages, exhort those in majority to shun their conscience, and banish civilised thoughts of religious coexistence.

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

Read more here: » Politics: Politics of Memory - Reliving the Pain  

“All religions are ancient monuments to superstition, ignorance and ferocity,” said the French materialist phi-losopher Baron d’Holbach. Religion has been described as the root of human misery and conflict - that more people have been killed in the name of God than in any other cause.

Religion has never been the root of man’s miseries. The problem with man has been man. Religion is but an instrument; man its wielder. Like any instrument or organisation, religion can be misused. But, with religion there exists an agonising and eternal irony: it is the only path to transform the materialists who abuse it.

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

Read more here: » Religion: Clash of the Titans: Faith vs Reason  

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  

Do you know who I am? I am a questioner. I am the possessor of an invaluable gift to wonder. Most people forget to wonder along the way or channel it into logical, empirical, scientific questioning. I did not. I turned to others for answers, I looked within myself. I looked in the abstraction of pure wondering for answers. I found some, but not most.

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

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: This Question Was Also the Answer  

Some people are compulsive exhibitionists. You can find them almost anywhere; they would do anything to get noticed. At a wedding, they want to be the bride and at a funeral, the corpse.

Julius Caesar, who was an incorrigible egotist, was kidnapped when he was a child. He was held for a ransom of 11,000 gold pieces. Horrified, he exhorted his captors to raise the ransom amount to 2,50,000 gold pieces so as to preserve his prestige!

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

Read more here: » Humility: Learning To Take A Back Seat  

Two images of Mary have dominated the Christian consciousness through the years. One is that of the Madonna, whom artists depict as holding a naked newborn, offering the world life.

The second popular image of Mary is that of the Pieta - the mother of the suffering servant, the sorrowful mother. Artists never tire of painting Mary standing in solitude at the foot of the cross, the woman whose heart was pierced with a sword.Theologian Richard Rohr writing on Mary says that we are mothered into life and mothered out of life.

(See also: Mary mother of Jesus, , Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Mary mother of Jesus,: Madonna - A Life Of Supplication  

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  

What is a human being’s dharma?

Every entity and idea has its own distinct characteristic which differentiates it from another. Water has the property of making things wet. As long as it has this property, people will call it water. Similarly, as long as fire has the property of burning things, it will be called fire. When it loses this property, it will no longer be called fire.

Human beings also have a dharma, which marks them as human. The corporeal body is not the limit of our consciousness.

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

Read more here: » Bhagavata Dharma: Limitless Pleasure - Bhagavata Dharma  

Yours faithfully - A letter ends there. However, faith is the beginning of the human quest for self-discovery and the Absolute. Faith can be neither forced nor taught; it is an experience that transcends trust, reason, belief and ideology.

Belief in religious scripture confines the mind; the trust we repose in an individual, too, is a limiting factor. The intellect can only too often weave a cobweb of theories, and reason can cause mistrust, taking us away from discovering the great scope and depth of an infinite power that's faith, that can otherwise serve as an effective spiritual guide.

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

Read more here: » Faith and Belief: Faith: Staircase to God  

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  

" That is the essence of science: Ask an impertinent question and you are on the way to the pertinent answe r", wrote Dr J Bronowski in Ascent of Man.

This statement is probably equally - or perhaps more - valid in our spiritual quests. The Kathopanishad starts with Nachiketa posing a question to his father Vajasravasa, who was giving away gifts after a Yagna .

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

Read more here: » Spiritual realisation: Impertinent Query, Profound Answer  

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  

Do human brains play any role in spiritual contemplation? Is the spiritual experience real? And, if so, is the spiritual urge programmed into the brain's neural structure? Is the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain understandable?

Neurotheology

Scientific studies have explored the genetic basis of our systems of belief, giving rise to a new discipline - Neurotheology

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

Read more here: » Spirituality and Science: Divine Experience And Neurobiology - Neurotheology  

Spirituality and sustainability go hand in hand. Living in a sustainable manner helps in spiritual growth. This week, representatives of more than a hundred countries are congregating in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss and perhaps come to an agreement on how to create sustainable living on Planet Earth.

However, none of the information handouts made available so far have given any indication that there will be discussions on the subject of spirituality and its effects on sustainability.

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

Read more here: » Spirituality and sustainability: Spiritual Counsel For Rio Plus Ten  

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra forms the basis of all yoga that is practised today. It contains knowledge which is useful for all, whether one is an evolved yogi, a developing sadhaka or an uninitiate.

In the Astanga Yoga, the eight constituents of yoga are discussed. Of these, the first constituent talks of the five Yama. These are the restraints every human being is advised to practise in day-to-day living.

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

Read more here: » Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Patanjali’s Guide To Self-Evolution  

Today is the martyrdom day of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed. In 61 Hizrat (680 AD) a battle took place at Karbala, Iraq, on the banks of the river Euphrates.

A large army mobilised by Yazid, descendant of the Umayyad regime, besieged a small group led by Imam Husain, and forced them to pay allegiance to the Caliph and submit to his authority. Husain and his small group put up a brave resistance but were killed in the fierce battle.

(See also: Imam Husain , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Imam Husain: Husain's Sacrifice To Uphold Truth  

The Vedic concept of Saraswati was three-fold: First, she is like the sacred river which gave birth to the Aryan civilisation. Second, she was vak or speech personified, as expressed in the Rig Veda’s Vak Sukta . 'Speech’ basically refers to the sacred-word or the Vedas themselves.

The third and most important aspect is Saraswati’s identification with Gayatri, although the Gayatri mantra is worship of the Sun-god, Suryanarayana. The Sun-god symbolises three female deities: Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati, to be invoked in the morning, noon and evening respectively.

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

Read more here: » Saraswati: Three Divine Aspects Of Mahasaraswati  

If we meet no Gods, its because we harbour none, said Emerson. For us, God is not a remote, abstract figure; He is a living, loving Presence. The nirguna or formless God of Shankara’s Advaita is difficult to relate to - but give Him a sweet form and through saguna upasana or worship He can become your very own because of the wonderful ease it creates in human divine encounter.

The predominant religious motif of practising Hinduism is this archanam andpadasevanam - the worship and adoration of a God made visible to our eyes in beautiful images, in homes and in temples. It is the ornamental centrepiece of the Vaishnav bhakti tradition set in motion by acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhava and Vallabha.

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

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: Devotional Worship And Service to All