Drop All Conclusions About God Almighty

It takes enormous courage for a person to look beyond the conditioning of his belief systems and admit that he knows nothing about even the most basic aspects of his life.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: Drop All Conclusions About God Almighty

Jainism: Tension of Opposites Central to Existence

According to Acharya Mahaprajna, opposition is a fundamental rule for existence. "There is no type of existence in which opposites do not co-exist. In a sense, existence may also be defined as the coming together of opposites. It is the principle of the quest for unity between two apparently different characteristics of a substance. It tries to point out that the characteristics which differences have, also have an identicality. Reconciliation, which is a principle of anekant , comes about only with the recognition of the identity principle.''

Read more here: » Tension of Opposites: Tension of Opposites Central to Existence

Chanting mantras inspires the body to heal itself, the mind to become calm and the soul to grow strong. Chanting makes room for divine energies. Mantras are vibrations - they unlock hidden centres and help to dissolve the ego; they help us build invisible tools for shaping a better life. We start discovering resources within.

A young farmer, simple and ego-less, was rearing goats. One day a realised soul in ordinary attire visited him. The poor farmer welcomed him with respect without knowing that he was a great guru. Affectionately, he offered goat milk to the visitor. The guru left after some time. His blessings created a great spiritual armour around the farmer, unbeknownst to him.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Mantra Yoga: Transform Yourself With Mantra Yoga

A young boy went to a guru and asked him how he could find God. The guru realised that the boy had spiritual leanings but was far too young to be educated in the abstract knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads . He asked the boy who he loved the most. The boy replied: "My calf. I play with him all the time. He is my companion". The guru asked the boy to meditate on the calf.

After a few months when the guru went to meet the young disciple, he found him crying. "I am losing my mind", he said. "The calf has become so small that it sits on my palm". The guru advised the disciple to continue meditating on the calf.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Thinking It Through, You Can Be Happy

The tradition of sanctifying various trees and plants dates back to the Vedic period. Though wood as a fuel was a basic need and trees in general were treated with care and respect, some trees such as the Peepal, Banyan and Neem, commanded more respect than others.

The Tulsi (Basil) plant was grown in every household in the centre of the courtyard and ritually watered. The rituals served an important purpose - they made people aware of the environment and its importance and so indirectly helped preserve and nurture it.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Man and Environment: A Symbiotic Bond

Our actions are based on the seeking of results. We are engaged in a process of causation, trying to produce one thing through another. Such action is, in a sense, dishonest. We are doing one thing only to arrive at something else. The result is more important than our regard for what we are actually doing.

We seldom do anything for its own sake. Our action is not direct and present. It follows an ulterior motivation and a looking to the future. Our action works through time, which is the past and the future, and the denial of the present that is awareness.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Action and the Process Of Transformation

In a conversation with his consort Parvati, Shiva is believed to have said that through self-knowledge, one can attain salvation. People are born as human beings due to their past good samskaras, but to attain liberation they will have to attain self-knowledge.

In ancient times, Parvati symbolised the spirit of enquiry. She would pose questions to Shiva, and Shiva's answers provided deep insight into the nature of spirituality. Parvati's questions are collectively known as the Nigama shastra. Shiva's answers are philosophical; they are also of great practical value.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Spiritual Evolution Is The Key To Salvation

Despite the stupendous achievements in various fields today, peace and happiness continue to elude humankind. Although peace and happiness have to be generated from within, we have started relying more and more on external factors to solve our internal problems.

The progress we see today is mainly of the external world. But, this is no measure of individual evolution. If the individual wants to be peaceful and happy, he must uplift himself.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Value Systems for Total Competence

Gujarat is the land of Krishna and his clansmen, the Vrishnis . Krishna'skingdom was Dwaraka. The recent events in Gujarat echo the story of the end of Dwaraka and the Vrishni clan.

They were not destroyed by any invader; they killed one another in a fratricidal strife. According to the Bhagavatha Purana they were intoxicated by a drink called Maireyaka .

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Self-destruction of Vrishnis - A Replay?

We are all subject to conflict and pain because people believe in different things - what is real for some is unreal for others. Naturally, conflict cannot be avoided. People might be able to avoid conflict for some time, but some day they will fight. When each believes that only his way is right, people are bound to fight.

Though all religions started as an instrument to find the inward path, over time, they have undergone many changes and become different sets of beliefs. Though all religions speak of the value of human life, for the sake of the same religions, today people are willing to take each other'slives.

This is because people believe in something which is not yet a reality for them.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Attain Peace and Joy

A beautiful woman is one who values herself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Beauty is the total impact of all these aspects. Mind and body are inter-related; the state of one reflects on the other.

Yet another dimension is the soul, the inner beauty. It is more a part of us than mere body and mind; it is indestructible. Beauty includes inner beauty. To be a complete person, you have to work on not only your external beauty; you have to develop your inner beauty also.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: Enter The Temple Of Inner Beauty  

In the alienated and fragmented world we live in today, the human heart cries out for friendship or affirmation from others. That is because we are meant to see in the human faces we encounter, the face of God.

Tell someone that I am here, is the cry of the human heart. Fernando Silva, who runs a children's hospital in Managua, reports the incident of a lonely child in the hospital in search of a human hand to grasp. One Christmas eve, when he stayed in working late into the night amidst revelry, he heard footfalls behind him. On turning, he recognised the sick child who had no one in the world. Fernando drew close to the child and touched him lightly with his hand. The child whispered: "Please tell someone that I am here".

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: True Friends are God's Angels

Krishnaraj Dasaji will introduce you to some of the basic principles of Samskara Shuddi and also share some of his personal experiences from his spiritual path

Read more here: » Enlightenment: Krishnaraj Dasaji about Samskarashuddhi

Vipassana Meditation: The practice of the sound current in Vipassana meditation, also known as the divine sound, is a foundational practice of linking directly with the soul and I AM Presence. It comes from the Himalayan masters of ancient India, and is a foundation for the practice of nada yoga, sahaj yoga, Babaji’s kriya yoga, as well as Sikh practices like shabda yoga.

Read more here: » Vipassana Meditation: The Sound Current and Vipassana Meditation

He was a small, thin boy with a mole on his face. But what he told our seventh standard class many years ago still bothers me. The moral science teacher had given us homework. We had been asked to pen an essay on ‘happiness'. We all thought it was easy. But when we started writing it, we realised our limitations.

Some of us wrote about the happy moments surrounding birthdays; some spoke of the emotional highs on getting a first in class; others remembered kites and whoops of joy. But the small, thin boy saw nothing in the events that excited us. Nothing at all. He was uninterested.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: The Small Boy And the Leaf

The life of a plant is hidden in the roots beneath the ground. If the roots are not taken care of, the flowers and the leaves will die no matter how much you care for them. By taking care of the roots, the flowers will get nourished automatically. For, the flowers come out of the roots, and not the other way round.

The head or the heart are perceived to be the most important parts of the human body. But the truth is that our roots are more important. Just as the plants have roots in the earth from which they draw their life-energy, in the human body, there are roots which draw life-energy from the soul. The day those roots become feeble, the body begins to die.

Read more here: » Spiritual Growth: Reach For Your Soul - Nurture Your Roots

A flower, a thing of beauty, brings joy - but not forever. Soon, it withers and dies. Its transience helps us to understand the value we attach to flowers. Their ephemeral qualities, their fragility and vulnerability, make flowers precious. Flowers are transient like life itself.

In all creation, change is eternal. This and their sensory qualities, particularly colour and scent, have made flowers popular as a universally loved symbol of greeting and felicitation. Whether traditionally worn in the hair of women, in the cap of a Himachali farmer or in the buttonhole of a gentleman's tuxedo, flowers are the ultimate in personal adornment, their freshness, unsullied purity and natural perfection enhance the celebratory spirit of the wearer.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: A Bouquet of Thoughts for Weekend Cheer

Generally, quietude, calmness, peace, silence and stillness are taken to be identical states of mind. But in reality, this is not so. All these are states of a deepening order of consciousness, silence being the deepest. In a state of deep silence, there are no thoughts, feelings or mental movements that can disturb or alter the peace of the inner-being.

The human mind gets absorbed in the core of silence where it touches the original source of energy, love, purity and bliss of The Being, and discovers the soul. The mind is transmuted into the Mind of Light. This transmutation is the bridge that leads us to our true Self within. There, God becomes a living presence, and silence a conversation of the soul with God, wordless and wonderful.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: The Wonderful Depths of Silence

Suryayog is a dynamic spiritual yoga which brings us in tune with nature and the inner self. We are drawn towards eternal light, from saguna swaroop to nirguna swaroop - from the human to the Supreme.

Suryayog is a meaningful way of life taught by Himalayan Masters and practised by yogis who survive without food and sustenance for days. They draw power from Surya or the Sun, whose vibrant energy transforms and changes the bio-electric powers in all beings, fusing body, prana, mind and soul into a divine experience of cosmic consciousness.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Suryayog: Surya, The Healer And Energiser

Kabir highlighted the importance of santosh or contentment in our lives. Indian culture teaches us to be content in all situations. But today, we are not happy with the grades our child gets, our pay packet, our spouse, or our ageing parents. Much of the stress in our lives is the result of our inability to be content with what we have.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Contentment is the Kernel of Happiness

When we seek the perfect diet, what is it we are really seeking? At the soul level, beyond appearances and the everyday concerns of the outer self, the longing for absolute physical health reflects deeply held convictions about transcending earthly limitations, about going beyond sickness and disease to a state of perfection. We must remember, however, that immortality and perfection do not represent the human experience in the physical realm.

Read more here: » Body Mind and Soul: Nourishing the Spirit

We always look for the healing touch after someone has hurt, humiliated or insulted us. Samuel Johnson in " The Rambler " writes that a wise man will make haste to forgive because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.

On the other hand, anger is a short-lived madness; when a man grows angry, his reason rides out. Fury and anger carry the mind away.

(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Forgiveness Helps Contain Anger