A personal reflection on God by Yana Gupta. ”I don't believe in God. Why do I need to believe in something I feel so strong about? When you feel angry, you don't say: "I believe I'm angry.'' When you are in love, you don't say: "I believe I'm in love.'' You know you are in love, because the feeling is so strong, that you can hardly think of anything else than the person you love. ”

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: God and I by Yana Gupta

A personal reflection on God by Aftab Shivdasani. ”God occupies a very important place in my life. He is my friend because I don't pray to Him. I talk to Him everyday. I just ask God to give me the strength and the courage to go on with my life, to overcome all the hurdles, to achieve my goals, to keep my near and dear ones happy and most of all, I ask Him to make me a good human being.”

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: God and I by Aftab Shivdasani

A personal reflection on God by Tom Alter. ”It is rather difficult to explain how I feel about God. If at all I see God in anything, it is in nature and love between human beings. I was brought up in a very religious atmosphere. My father was a priest. In fact, folks from my father and mother's side were priests. As a child, I used to pray in school, but it was never done with conviction. As I grew up, I realised that I didn't believe in the concept of one god.”

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: God and I by Tom Alter

Death perhaps is the only certainty in this world. Yet, the fear of death stalks most people. Literature — western and Indian — regards the fear of death as an intriguing and ubiquitous part of human life. We know we are mortals, yet we are afraid of the inevitable. We know we will die one day; yet we continue to behave as though we believe we are going to live forever. However, for people of knowledge, for the wise, death is the door to liberation, the passage to moksha.

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: Moksha - Break Free from Fear of Death

An inspiring article by Manish Maladkar about how we can take responsibility for our lives and our own happiness.

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: Learn to be Free, To be Joyous

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: Fire Free Bird

A personal reflektion on God By Iravati Harshe. ”God for me means love and light. I do believe in God but I’m not particularly orthodox in matters of religion. Certain habits which I imbibed from my mother, I'm grateful for and these remain a part of my life to date - rituals like lighting a diya every morning and reciting the shlokas . I remember as a child, I had a lot of fears and I believed God was my rescuer.”

Read more here: » Spiritual Inspiration: God and I by Iravati Harshe

It does not matter to a man of awareness whether he is successful or unsuccessful, well-known or absolutely unknown, powerful or just a nobody. To a man of awareness, these dualities don't matter at all, because awareness is the greatest treasure. When you have it, you don't want anything else. You don't want to become the president or prime minister of a country.

Those who pursue power suffer even in success - they live in the eternal fear that they might lose it. At first they suffered because they were not successful; now after being successful, too, they are suffering because of a feeling of insecurity.

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

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: The Truth Beyond Success and Failure

It is very easy to advise others. Only the one who suffers knows the extent of the pain. At the same time there is no difference between one person'spain and another"s, whether that person is rich or poor.

No philosophy, sermon or concept will help relieve that suffering immediately. It is useful, however, to remember that at the core of any pain-causing conflict there is duality. We are part of a cycle that contains both pain and pleasure, creating a split between mind and body, delaying the healing process.

Duality is all-pervasive; it is present in everything around us. Even that oft-quoted line from Shakespeare reflects this: "To be or not to be".

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

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Find the Oneness Beyond Duality

"The park bench was deserted

as I sat down to read,

Beneath the long, straggly branches

of an old willow tree."

"Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,

For the world was intent

on dragging me down."

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: This Was The Most Beautiful Flower

Detachment is not renunciation. It is a re-orientation of attitudes and lifestyles. It is a creative endeavour that involves a shift in consciousness. Free-flowing consciousness helps us reach a state of creative calm.

According to Sri Aurobindo , when one withdraws from the turmoil of outer life, the evolving consciousness becomes centred and observant like a detached witness or sakshi . The witness state, sakshi bhav , is a continual disassociation from worldly desires and sense-identification. It is a state of neutrality that goes beyond body and mind to communicate with the spirit.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Limitless Love Is Free Of Bondage

The very concept of God has given rise to many theological disputes and religious warfare. In fact, God is an enduring in-depth experience in the midst of ever-changing mental and sensate experiences - God is the inexhaustible source of love, harmony and peace.

Happiness is sought by everyone. But the search is not focused in the right direction. We waste precious time seeking happiness in the mirage of objects, places and people; in relationships and ideologies; in possessions and wanton indulgences.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Self-awareness Can Bring Happiness

Metta Bhavna is a Pali word meaning meditation of loving kindness. The Buddha taught this meditation in Metta Sutta to 500 monks to cure them of their ailments and to protect them from evil spirits.

Metta Bhavna is also practised to purify our mind of defilements like anger, jealousy, hatred and self-pity. We cannot stop the suffering of the world. We can only stop it in our mind, because we know our minds and we generate anger, hatred, and jealousy in our own mind. The only way we can still our minds is by practising Metta Bhavna.

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

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Metta Bhavna For Good Health

Why do sad people attract sad incidences in life? Why do happy people attract happy situations in life?

Depending on what state of being we are, we attract situations. We have to focus on heightening our state of being rather than changing situations in life. If our state of being is low, then the external situation, even though sacred, will be pulled down to our level of being. For example, a poor man in a palace will make the palace into a gutter.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Ultimate Joy Is Inner Growth

Dear Children,

I like being with children and talking to them and, even more, playing with them. For the moment I forget that I am terribly old and it is very long ago since I was a child.

But when I sit down to write, I cannot forget my age and the distance that separates you from me. Old people have a habit of delivering sermons and good advice to the young.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Nehru's Letter To Children

Chanting mantras inspires the body to heal itself, the mind to become calm and the soul to grow strong. Chanting makes room for divine energies. Mantras are vibrations - they unlock hidden centres and help to dissolve the ego; they help us build invisible tools for shaping a better life. We start discovering resources within.

A young farmer, simple and ego-less, was rearing goats. One day a realised soul in ordinary attire visited him. The poor farmer welcomed him with respect without knowing that he was a great guru. Affectionately, he offered goat milk to the visitor. The guru left after some time. His blessings created a great spiritual armour around the farmer, unbeknownst to him.

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

Read more here: » Mantra Yoga: Transform Yourself With Mantra Yoga

Art is a great healer. By supplanting apprehension with inspiration and trading stress for relaxation, it tempers human physiology and attitude.

Scientifically speaking, it improvises human brainwave pattern, autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance, brain neurotransmitters, immune system, and blood flow to various organs. Through self-expression, it rejuvenates the creator with an enlightened perception of within and without.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: Life Must Imitate Creative Art

The tradition of sanctifying various trees and plants dates back to the Vedic period. Though wood as a fuel was a basic need and trees in general were treated with care and respect, some trees such as the Peepal, Banyan and Neem, commanded more respect than others.

The Tulsi (Basil) plant was grown in every household in the centre of the courtyard and ritually watered. The rituals served an important purpose - they made people aware of the environment and its importance and so indirectly helped preserve and nurture it.

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

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Man and Environment: A Symbiotic Bond

Despite the stupendous achievements in various fields today, peace and happiness continue to elude humankind. Although peace and happiness have to be generated from within, we have started relying more and more on external factors to solve our internal problems.

The progress we see today is mainly of the external world. But, this is no measure of individual evolution. If the individual wants to be peaceful and happy, he must uplift himself.

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

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Value Systems for Total Competence

Most of us experience anger in some form or other almost every day. Anger is a negative emotion; it can cause violence, it can ruin relationships, it can lead to serious illnesses and it is known to kill. Yet, few make the effort to try and overcome this emotion. So anger continues to affect millions worldwide.

As children, we are taught to contain anger. An angry child is asked to be quiet. This is the conventional approach. As a result, the anger is suppressed.

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

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: How To Oust Anger From Our Lives