Gerard Manley Hopkins
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS (1844-1889) is generally considered to be a difficult poet, owing to the strangeness of his style and condensation of thought which obscures his meaning. But close study reveals the thought of a profound religious poet with the power to kindle the heart and uplift the mind of the reader. Hopkins was born…
Read MoreThe Inner Path to Fulfilment
A man once consulted a fortune-teller seeking to know the time and place of his death. He explained that such information would help him plan the rest of his life more effectively. The fortune-teller replied that none was granted that knowledge, for it was withheld by the Creator. The man pleaded: ‘Can’t you give me…
Read MoreAn Outline of Patanjali’s Yoga
YOGA in its wider meaning stands for the age-old methods whereby we, who suffer while we believe ourselves to be confined within a body and narrow individuality, can come to recognise our innate freedom and infinitude. The traditional view is that the highest Yoga is a divine gift revealed by the Lord and through His…
Read MoreWeaving the World: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14
Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita begins with these five verses: I shall explain again the sublime knowledge through which the sages have reached perfection. Those who turn to this knowledge and attain identity with Me are not born at the time of creation nor disturbed at the end. The great Brahman is my womb.…
Read MoreThe Light of Lights
From a Lecture by Hari Prasad Shastri I have known the great self-effulgent essence beyond darkness, knowing which one overcomes death. There is no other way to proceed. Shvetashvatara Upanishad 1:11 A lamp shines under the light of electricity; electricity shines under the light of the sun; the sun shines under the light of the…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Reality Check
The term ‘reality check’ denotes a critical stepping back from a situation, a plan, a conclusion, or even a state of mind, to ensure that our understanding or judgement is grounded in reality and practicality, and has not strayed into fantasy or deception. We are more apt to prescribe a reality check for other people…
Read MoreMaking a Good Impression
No one is known to another so intimately as he is known to himself, and yet no one is so well known, even to himself, that he can be sure as to his conduct on the morrow. This observation, made by St Augustine in a letter more than 1500 years ago, still rings true. We…
Read MoreBeing True to One’s Higher Self
Never was there a time when the Self (Atman) did not exist, nor will it ever cease to exist in the future. The Self pervades all and is indestructible. It is above birth and death. It does not come into being. It is unborn, changeless, all-pervading, ever-fixed, eternal is the Self. Bhagavad Gita The saying…
Read MoreNon-duality and Mysticism
The main doctrines of the non-dual philosophy may be described as mystical, not in the sense of being mysterious or magical, but in their firm focusing on what is beyond the realm of appearances and which transcends the subject-object dualism of everyday experience. What are the chief doctrines that we are concerned with? 1. Reality…
Read MoreThe Holy Quran
The Quran is the scripture of the Muslim faith. It was revealed inspirationally to Mohammed, whose reception of the teachings was unplanned and unanticipated. Their importance was immediately recognised by him, and his words expressing them were carefully written down by his companions. By the end of his life, hundreds of teachings had been communicated…
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