Legendary Tales Of True Sanyasis

A true sanyasi is one who has no attachments to worldly things. He has no self interest and whatever he does is for the benefit of society. This is more a state of mind and does not depend on whether he is a grihasth, brahmachari or sanyasi. Once Swami Vivekananda was invited to Mysore. The king had arranged for a grand reception befitting royalty that included a dance by a dasi. When Vivekananda heard of it, he chose not to attend the reception. The dasi, overcome by sadness, sang a song to express her feelings:

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Infinity: The Infinite Nature Of Our Universe

Infinite translated in Sanskrit is anant which means 'without end'. Mathematically speaking, infinity is an indeterminate quantity and has two values - one positive and the other, negative. In Sanskrit these values are described as anaadi and anant , that is, without beginning and without end. Any discussion on this topic can only reveal human ignorance and so humble and inspire us to becoming better human beings.

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Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrian Faith

Fire has been revered and worshipped in ancient cultures worldwide. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus, out of his great love for mankind, disobeys Zeus and steals fire from heaven and brings it down to earth for human use. As punishment, Zeus chains Prometheus to the Caucasus mountain since mankind was not yet considered to be ready for this great gift of the gods.

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Quran - Koran: Qur'an Revealed During Ramzan

Prophet Muhammad would often sit alone in the cave of Hira, near Mecca, to pray and meditate, asking the Creator of the Heavens and earth for answers to the questions that surged through his mind. What is man's true role in life?

What does the Lord require of us? From where does man come, and where will he go after death? The Prophet would meditate alone, surrounded by nature, seeking answers to all these profound questions.

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Inspiration to persist

Using in part the life of Joseph in the Bible as an example of one who persisted and found fulfillment despite severe obstacles, "Inspiration to persist" presents how the author has found that inspiration enables him to persist even when the going gets rough.

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Spirituality and Business: Corporate & Personal Search for Identity

In a reputed business school, a session on cause-related marketing and social responsibility of business was in progress. Two volunteers from the class had to simply describe themselves as persons as if to Ômarket' that idea like a product or service to the class.

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Kabbala: Mystical Dimension Of Jewish Thought

The word Kabbala originally meant Ôreception' and related to the oral Jewish tradition handed down by Rabbis from generation to generation. The mainspring of the Kabbala is a deep rooted belief in a perpetual inter-relationship between God as the infinite power and man in the physical world as we know it.

Man can get close to God by subduing his own negative inclinations and bring about spiritual regeneration of mankind, through prayers, meditation and interpretation of the divine mysteries hidden in the Torah. Kabbalists emphasise the importance of mystical formulas in the recitation of prayers.

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The more I talk to my angels, the more I learn. Here are ten lessons they have taught me that have changed my life.

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God as Mother: Celebration of the Mother Principle

Durga Puja is to Bengal what Ganesh Chaturthi is to Maharashtra - an occasion to celebrate, worship, bond together, to get festive, to exhibit one's artistic abilities, and all in the name of the Divine Mother.

Relating to God as Mother forges a personalised relationship, strengthening the bond between bhakta and bhagvan, as between a child and mother. Celebrated as Navratri in other parts of India, these nine nights are devoted to the worship of the Divine Mother - some do it through dancing the Garba or Dandiya Raas as in Gujarat, and some do it through austerities and fasting.

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The Dual Nature Of Our Consciousness

All things that have consciousness may be divided into two categories - those that move and others that cause movement. That which moves is matter, and that which makes the matter move is awareness.

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Electronic Voice Phenomena

Juergenson was a film producer in Sweden who, in 1959 while making a documentary, had decided to tape bird songs. As he began recording, little did he realize that what was to follow would change the course of not only his earthly life but of that he would lead in the world beyond after his death. When he played the tape back he was startled to hear, in among the tweeting and chirping, his mother's voice say in German, "Friedrich, you are being watched. Friedel, my little Friedel, can you hear me?"

An in-depth article about Electronic Voice Phenomena.

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When Jesus said: - The kingdom of God is within - what He meant was that heaven itself would be a disappointment to restless, worldly people.

If a person has no true joy in his heart, he will not find true joy outside though he be in heaven itself, and in the company of angels. Heaven must be experienced right here, right now, within ourselves if we are to experience it ever.

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The symbolic images on the Tarot cards activate and speak to a deep intuitive part of ourselves which the logical, conscious mind cannot understand or control. This part of ourselves is known as the subconscious. This subconscious aspect of being represents our inner self, those deep, highly personal feelings and qualities which provide the foundation for our entire being and give us the motivation behind our behavior, thoughts, emotions, etc. This is the realm of instinct, gut reactions, innate knowing, and personal potential. It is the home of our psyche.

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Krishna - The Loveable Hero-God

The Ekashloki Bhagavatam encapsulates his entire life in one stanza, the Krishna-shtakam attempts to define him in eight couplets, the Madhurashtakam describes him as the Emperor of Sweetness, the Gita Govinda immortalises his love, Vyasa's Srimad Bhagavatam details his glories.

Iconised as a hero-god, Krishna has charmed poets, philosophers and devotees for the last 3,500 years.

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Dharma and Religion - Many Paths to One

A four-line verse of wisdom in Sanskrit - Subhashit - pronounces the commonness among animals and men of certain primal appetites and urges, and proclaims the supremacy of Dharma in man's actions and life, without which he would be no different from animals. Here, Dharma is to be understood as encompassing man's entire life, including all his thoughts and deeds, and is not to be confused with any religion.

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Raghunath ki Kahani - Epic for All Time

The Ramayana is one of the most popular epics of India. Ramayana-lovers are to be found all over the world. All are not necessarily followers of Hinduism. With its engaging storyline, it holds readers of all denominations and backgrounds spellbound. Narrated in an engaging fashion, the story of Rama entertains as well as informs, while presenting to us the model of an ideal human being.

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Science and Spirituality: See the World in a Grain of Salt

Revelation of this excellence in God's creation has been the constant endeavour of science right from the days of Aristotle, Newton and Einstein to the present day.

Realising God's excellence in nature only brought these scientists closer to God - some of them even expressed a feeling of deep religiosity. Einstein said: "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind".

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 If we accept that dying is not the end of our existence but simply the end of the body that carried our consciousness, and that our soul survives and exists somewhere else, then we can accept that it might be possible to make contact with the consciousness and all the emotions and memories that continue on.

Spirit contact is thought-generated by both the medium and contacting spirit. When a medium sits with a client, the medium is in effect filled with thoughts about that client; these thoughts are then transmitted by the medium into the world of spirit.

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Theism is the Basis of High-end Hinduism

Since we believe in the Paramatma or Supreme energy that is beginningless and endless, it is clear that Hinduism in its purest form is theistic. Theism is hindusim basic premise.

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Jaina Kalpasutra - A Visual Treat

The Kalpasutra is held in great honour especially by the Svetambara sect of Jainism. A work in Prakrit, its composition is originally attributed to the celebrated author Bhadrabahu (BC 433 to 357).

The Kalpasutra shows the early stage of the development of Jainism, the succession of pontiffs and the rules for Jaina monks during the four months of monsoon or chaturmasa when the monks are not on the move. The text records the five auspicious events - the descent from heaven, birth, initiation, obtaining of omniscience, and death - and many legends of the last three Pathfinders or Tirthankaras: Aristanemi, Parsvanatha, and Mahavira, and those of Rishabhanatha, the first of the 24 Tirthankaras. The arrangement of Bhadrabahu's book moves back in time.

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Sravana, a Month Devoted to Shiva

The devout spend the entire month of Sravana in austerities and worship of Shiva, culminating in the Sravana Purnima on Raksha Bandhan day. Shiva is beyond the gunas, as His trident represents all three, sattva, rajas and tamas. The elephant skin attire indicates that he is beyond pride; the tiger skin symbolises his going beyond lust, and the snake around his neck represents wisdom and eternity.

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Shodoshi: The Holy Mother's Mission of Grace

According to a tantric school, Shodoshi is the highest manifestation of Divinity. In tantra, each deity has a mantra or mystic formula which represents her nature.

In Shodoshi, it is the Trikuta mantra and it has three parts: Vagbhavakuta signifying speech and knowledge through worship of Saraswati , Kamarajakuta representing human will or Kali and Shaktikuta or Durga , the supreme manifestation of divine power and energy.

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