Journal Content Archive

What Am I

Cover of Self-Knowledge Journal Autumn Issue

Some teachings given in lectures by Hari Prasad Shastri One great thing which our life needs is inner illumination. We must increase the Light within ourselves, and we can do so as long as we live. In our physical life what is the most important thing? The light which comes from the sun. But there…

The Meaning of Adhyatma Yoga

Yoga is a Sanskrit word which derives from the verbal root ‘yuj’ which means ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. In the course of time, the name of yoga has come to be applied to almost any form of practice which has for its aim a yoking or uniting of apparently conflicting elements, with the result…

I Adore Thee

In the silent, tranquil temple of my heart, lit by the lamps of forgiveness, patience, charity and compassion, I adore Thee. The roof of the temple is faith; it is supported by the pillars of inner and outer control; it is adorned by the altar of devotion, and here, O Lord, O Life, O Love,…

The Greatest Freedom of All

Let us remind ourselves of life’s supreme possibility—that of freeing our mind from fear, doubt, sorrow and frustration, and awakening to the greatest freedom of all—the freedom of enlightenment. Nowadays, we may think of freedom as a feature of a civilised and benevolent society. Sadly, we are all too aware that many societies do not…

Achieving Inner Stillness

Everything in nature is on the move: the earth gliding and spinning through space; the bemusing choreography of the sub-atomic world; the hidden systems in the body; the continuous generation of thought. ‘The tree of man was never quiet’, said the poet, A E Housman. Yet those who pursue the science of meditation tell of…