The Way to Soul-Satisfaction
A storm rages outside. Snow, driven by furious wind, is falling on the earth. Probably in a day or two the storm may be followed by a sunny day. There is an inner storm raging in our being. The rain of desires incessantly invades our heart. In the event of acceptance of a desire, the…
Read MoreThe Supreme Spirit: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15
Life presents us with a mystery and our deepest desire is to solve it. Sometimes the mystery presses on us as a question demanding an answer, at others as a vague feeling of incompleteness. The world proceeds in space and time according to the laws of cause and effect. The origin of all this is…
Read MoreThe Self as Bliss
Shankaracharya (c.700), the foremost authority on the non-dual teachings, had a contemporary called Mandana Mishra whose work called the Brahma Siddhi later became influential in Shankara’s own school. One of the aims of Mandana’s teaching is to defend the Upanishadic doctrine of liberation as the realisation of one’s true nature as infinitude and bliss. It…
Read MoreThe Alchemy of Happiness
The Muslim philosopher and sage, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), begins his short book, The Alchemy of Happiness, with the words: ‘Know, O beloved, that humankind was not created in jest or at random, but marvellously made and for some great end.’ The book shows how this goal transcends the limitations of our life in the…
Read MoreThe Way to the Goal of Life
Part of a lecture given by Hari Prasad Shastri I offer you some practical teachings that, if applied in daily life, will enable you to discover the highest Good in the mind itself. There are two worlds: the external world extended and divided by time and space, and the inner world of thoughts, emotions, ideals,…
Read MoreFreeing the Will
It was fashionable, at one time, to divide the mind into a number of distinct faculties, like the will, reason and emotions. Immanuel Kant, for instance, speaks of the mind in this way. But since William James, Western psychology has come much nearer to the yogic teaching, which is that these different parts of the…
Read MorePoem: My Friends
God in His mercy, has favoured me with many precious gifts which I hardly deserve. Among them He has given me friends. The world is my friend because it is a good instructor in patience, forgiveness and forbearance. Nature is my friend because in it I see a reflection of the infinite beauty of my…
Read MoreContentment: How Much is Enough?
The practice of contentment is widely recommended on the paths to inner illumination. The Buddha taught that the way to freedom from suffering is freedom from craving. And according to the gospel, Christ told his followers that whatever happens, the best prayer is: ‘Thy will be done’. Contentment, or Santosha, as it is called in…
Read MoreGolden Opportunities
The human mind is the real wonder of the world, but its normal processes, however erudite and versatile, fail to yield lasting satisfaction, nor do they shed light on life’s ultimate meaning and purpose. The self-training prescribed by the yoga of self-knowledge rectifies this omission. Through the practices and way of life revealed by this…
Read MorePoem – Light a Candle
Light a candle in your dark room. It is dangerous to move about in darkness, Which hides the beautiful vases, The Japanese scrolls, the Moghul miniatures. Darkness conceals the odes of Hafiz, The sublime poetry of Valmiki. Is it still dark? Is not the light of one candle adequate? Then light another candle, and yet…
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