Wisdom
There are two worlds, the external and the internal, the objective and the subjective. They are not hostile to each other, but both are the two aspects of the One. To which of the two worlds does the human spirit belong? To none; it is the witness of both. The spirit is a self-conscious entity,…
Read MoreThe Truth at the Centre of Life
In the non-dual tradition, what is the ultimate aim of our interest, study and practice? It is that we may become knowers of Truth. The phrase ‘knower of Truth’ has a special meaning. It denotes that one in this position is inwardly free, fearless and completely fulfilled. The greatest of discoveries is that knowledge of…
Read MoreWe Live in Hope
In his last interview*, the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre spoke about the human condition. Some may be surprised by the references to ‘hope’ that follow, since Sartre is generally classed with those thinkers who view despair as more characteristic of life than hope. But in the interview, Sartre explained that his interest in despair was…
Read MoreThe Point of Stillness
Through the practice of meditation we learn valuable skills such as how to concentrate, relax and consciously manage our mental focus. The more we thus become masters, or competent managers, of our minds, the more we become aware of the key fact that we are more than our minds. It has been said that we are…
Read MoreAdhyatma Yoga and Philosophy
The term philosophy has a wide range of meanings and is used to cover a number of quite different mental activities. Western philosophy may be broadly and very roughly summed up as the attempt to approach truth through the medium of the sense-perceptions and the comparing and classifying part of the mind, known as the…
Read MoreThe Sound of Silence
The origins of language are a mystery, but it seems clear that many words echo sounds heard in nature. Words like bang, clang and hiss, are vocalised imitations of noises occurring in the material world. Our representation of sounds made by animals or birds also has an imitative form, as with warble, twitter, howl, bark,…
Read MoreMeditation on OM
Ever I meditate on OM, Home of purity and holiness, The all-pervading, The treasury of the essence of the supreme knowledge, The source and support of the Vedanta wisdom, The essence of the universe, The source of the creation, maintenance and withdrawal of the world, Proclaimed by the multitude of sacred texts, The taintless objectification…
Read MoreRelease
To speak from the wisdom point of view, life is pursuit of an ideal. What is the ideal? It must be the fulfilment of our deepest and most earnest desires and urges. Subscribe or enrol for free guest access to read all of this article and Self-Knowledge online. Already subscribed or enrolled? Log in:
Read MoreSeeing Through Illusion
On some teachings from Chapter Seven of the Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita is one of the scriptures of the world which reassure us that there is a transcendental reality that is beyond the range of our mind but which is also the ground of our being and the ultimate source of help and fulfilment.…
Read MoreMeditation Practice
A recent session led by the Warden of Shanti Sadan What does it mean to be truly awake? The usual meaning of ‘to awaken’ is to be roused from sleep. But there are added meanings and these are to do with insight—with something understood that was not understood before. We may even say: ‘At last,…
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