“I think therefore, I exist" said the great thinker and philosopher Descartes. This is true at the mental plane of our existence. Mind being not aware of is unconsciousness, a vegetable existence indeed. Indian philosophy does not stop at the mental plane but goes beyond to inquire into what energizes mind to think, eyes to see, ears to hear, nose to smell, tongue to taste, skin to feel, heart to beat, blood to circulate, bowels to digest and organs of action to function. Read more
What is Dharma? Word Dharma has acquired different connotations and meanings depending on the context and usage. Most commonly, however, it is used to mean duty. There is no equivalent word in English language for what dharma represents in Sanskrit. Duty has a certain no-option compulsion element in it, while dharma is restricted to mean only the righteous duties and conduct flowing from its nature without the compulsion element implied in duty. Duty-for-duty-sake conveys an “end in itself” attitude whereas Dharma is a means to spiritual progress. Read more
What is Self and Non-self? What is their nature? Why is the Self, the witness, the Atman, called the real and eternal? Why the body-mind-intellect is called the unreal, non-self and perishable? Logically that which is ever present, un-changing and un-tainted is the real and that which is changing, decaying and perishing is unreal. Former is the Self and the latter is the non-self. Therefore, Self is real and non-self unreal. Read more
Your own Self-Realisation is the greatest service you can render the world.
-- Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi
What is self? The core of a thing in the absence of which or cessation of which the thing itself is not existent. For e.g. Sweetness is the core of sugar. Sugar cannot continue to be called sugar if its core property ‘sweetness’ is absent. Core of a Being is the ‘life principle’. If this is gone or absent in a being, it is no more a being or not to be called a being. Therefore, life principle i.e Existence-Consciousness is the SELF of all beings. Life principle (i.e. Self) is eternal. It is not Life principle if it should be subject to cessation or life-lessness. Eternity implies that Self’s nature is un-changing, un-caused, un-bounded, un-tainted and independent. Nature is that which never ceases to persist as long as that one is persisting. Self i.e. Existence-Consciousness cannot be denied because that would amount to saying “I do not exist” which is absurd. Self i.e. Pure Consciousness is imperishable because if you say it is perishable, then that awareness of perishability is the consciousness which is referred here as Self. Read more
Karmas – Living the present
Broadly there are three types of Kamya Karmas; Actions prompted by selfish good, prompted by common good, & those prompted by selfish good through common good. The common factor in all these actions is they are desire prompted. Hence they are called Kamya karmas in spiritual texts. Nishkamya karmas are those actions not prompted by desires, i.e., Actions undertaken without attachment to fruit of action, i.e., action taken for love of dong it or as a matter of duty. Read more
Chittha-Shuddhi (Ego-lessness)
‘Chittha’ is the body-mind-intellect complex. Chittha Shuddhi means cleansing of the body-mind-intellect complex, i.e., ego-lessness plus desire-lessness is Chittha Shuddhi. Ego & Desire put together leads to bondage and self-destruction. Together, they lead to degeneration of the universally accepted eternal human values, such as, Purity (hygiene, purity in speech & conduct), Truthfulness (in speech & conduct), Non-violence (non-hurting, non-harming by speech & conduct), Non-covetousness & self-control of senses. Read more
Adi Sankara classifies Existence in two categories, namely, Absolute Existence (Sat) and Relative Existence (Mitya). That which is eternal , unchanging, the substratum, the ultimate reality is Absolute Existence. That which we believe to be true and seen as existing in our day to day experiences is Relative Existence. Brahmn, the eternal and the unchanging is the Absolute existence, says Sankara. Read more
Thoughts, desires, perceptions, ideations, cognition, reasoning, discrimination and decision are the products of mind. Sensations of sense organs are conveyed through nerves to the mind. Mind on receipt of sensation makes sense of these by comparing and evaluating with past impressions or past experiences or past knowledge and thus perception, cognition, thoughts, desires take place. Read more
When intelligence matures and lodges securely in the heart, it becomes wisdom
When that wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes devotion
Knowledge which has become mature is spoken of as devotion
-- C.Rajagopalachari
It is customary for the commentators of Bhagwad Gita to speak of the three-fold paths to salvation laid out for us, namely,
Path of Action, Path of Devotion and Path of Knowledge in an exclusive and self-enclosing fashion
. Read more
We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance - Benjamin Disraeli
Karma theory, the theory of cause and effect determining rebirth of an individual is well-founded and is in harmony with the universal belief about God being the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Read more
