Creative Peace
Love means to enjoy the eternal in the passing by creating forms of beauty and ideas of truth, to understand nature and to transform the raw and chaotic into harmony. We cannot be happy unless we understand our place in nature, and make progress in learning, virtue, and in appreciation of beauty all around. We…
Read MoreWater as a Teaching Simile in the Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita, as a long poem or song (gita), includes about twelve verses that mention water, usually to illustrate some particular point, either practical or philosophical, or both. The teaching is always relevant to our own experience, and is intended to awaken us to a higher state of consciousness. It gives us methods for…
Read MorePoem – There Was a Time
There was a time When my heart thawed on seeing a rose, And my eyes lingered on each bud and flower. The cherry blossoms intoxicated my brain And the dancing tulips Drew my lips nearer and nearer to them. In every cool and clear waterfall, I loved to bathe my head. Then I met You,…
Read MorePractice in Challenging Times
The public health crisis that began in Spring 2020 meant that meetings could not be held at Shanti Sadan. Presentations of the non-dual teachings and meditation practices had to be immediately adapted to the changed circumstances and provided initially on-line and then in print. Below are some of the talks and meditations given by the…
Read MoreThe Deeper Concentration
Our mental energy, flowing through the senses, reveals to us the wonder and complexity of the outer world. We have learnt how to extend that knowledge, and have come to regard human development, at least on the material plane, as a process of continuous improvement. Boundaries are to be transcended, records broken, feats surpassed. Everything…
Read MoreThe Supreme Secret
The Supreme Secret: Bhagavad Gita Chapter Nine In chapter nine of the Bhagavad Gita the teacher reveals to the pupil and to us all a ‘supreme secret’. The first verse of the chapter says: To you who do not cavil, I shall declare the highest secret, a combination of knowledge and discernment that will set…
Read MoreMeditation Practice
A session led by the Warden of Shanti Sadan It has been said that meditation is the best preparation for the day, and the day lived with mindfulness is the best preparation for meditation. The observation refers to both sides of our life: the ‘me-time’ we devote to meditation, and the me-in-the-world situation that we…
Read MoreMind your Mind – Help from Stories
In the world’s wisdom traditions, stories are indirect means of imparting profound truths. To preach virtue is one thing; to relate a story like that of the good Samaritan provides a pictorial narrative that stays in the mind, prompts self-examination and reveals deeper meaning the more it is pondered. This is a characteristic of stories…
Read MoreAdhyatma Yoga—An Overview
As a way of interior practice and reflection, yoga may be viewed as a response to the deepest urge of the human heart. This is the desire to expand in joy and knowledge, and to transcend limitations. Any teaching that shares this aim, and provides effective means to achieve it, is a form of yoga,…
Read MoreAn Analysis of Introspection
Why has our intellect been made introspective? Introspection is not a direct help, either to self-preservation or to the preservation of the species. Organisms other than man, are experts in self-preservation and in the care of their offspring. The fox knows many more tricks to defeat its enemies than a military expert can demonstrate. It…
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