July/August/September 2003
Though many people use God as a spare wheel, we need God in each and every moment of our life.
His Divine Holiness, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Puroshottam Swaminarayan Sanstha
There are higher objects in life than mere living, and only by turning to religion can you secure such objects. Do not ignore your spiritual welfare in the interests of mere living. Jagadguru Sri Chandra Sekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal (1912-1954), 34th pontiff of the Sarada Peetham
While the still-searching ask, "Am I? Who Am I" the knowers of the Self declare, "I am who I am."
In my opinion the Sanskrit text Satyam bruyat priyam bruyat, Na bruyat satyamapriyam means that one should speak the truth in gentle language. One had better not speak it if one cannot do so in a gentle way, meaning thereby that there is no truth in a man who cannot control his tongue. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Think twice before you talk; think thrice before you act. Sri Sivaratnapuri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal, spiritual head of Sri Kailasa Ashram, Bangalore
John F. Kennedy loved a little proverb he thought was Irish, but actually came from the Indian epic Ramayana: There are three things which are real’ÄîGod, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third.
Children, love can accomplish anything and everything. Love can cure diseases. Love can heal wounded hearts and transform human minds. Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, or "Ammachi, " founder of many social, educational and medical charities
Draw on God for the solution of all your problems. Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), founder of Self-Realization Fellowship
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountaintop, then you shall begin to climb. And when the Earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. Should we all confess our sins to one another, we would all laugh at one another for our lack of originality. Should we all reveal our virtues, we would also laugh for the same cause. Saint Kabir (1440-1518)
The body is cleansed by water, the internal organ is purified by truthfulness, the individual soul by sacred learning and austerities, the intellect by true knowledge. Laws of Manu 5.109
An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed his students to punctuate it correctly. The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." The women wrote: "Woman: without her, man is nothing."
Truth is a great virtue. A man by remaining true to his words can swim over the ocean of life. Ramayana
When we engage every moment without the cares and fears of the beyond, we are able to harness the spirit of sadhana, and every moment is filled with Divinity. Swamini Mayatitananda, founder of Wise Earth School and Mother Om Mission
If you want the rainbow, you've gotta put up with the rain.
A group of four to eight-year-olds were asked the question "What does love mean?" The answers they gave were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined: "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth" (Billy, age four). "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired" (Terri, age four). "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend whom you hate" (Nikka, age six). "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well" (Tommy, age six). "You really shouldn't say "I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget" (Jessica, age eight). "There are two kinds of love: our love, God's love. But God makes both of them" (Jenny, age four).
If we look at the past and we look at the future as both a series of dreams, and the only thing that we are concerned with is our immediate reactions and what we carry with us now, we see that the past is there to test us and the future is there to challenge us. We cannot change the past, but we can change how we react to what has happened to us in the past, and we can change the future, anytime we want to. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001),
founder of Hinduism Today
DID YOU KNOW?
Siva's South Facing Form
Dakshinamurti is the subtle form of Siva as the primordial guru who teaches a spiritual knowledge beyond the intellect. He remains silent, and that silence is the potent awakener of the seeker's own inner knowing, or intuition. He faces South, like this masterwork near the Hinduism Today editorial offices, which symbolizes His facing the world, as the North symbolizes the Himalayas or higher superconscious planes. The banyan tree under which He sits represents the strength and inclusiveness of Sanatana Dharma, which offers its shade to all. In His hands He holds the drum of creation, the fire of dissolution and the Vedas, and He blesses all with jnana mudra, or chinmudra, symbol of the union of Paramatman and jivatman.
From the Dakshinamurti Stotram I beheld under the banyan tree the Primordial Preceptor, the receptacle of undiminishing compassion, driving away the darkness of ignorance of great sages by mere silence that is adorned by a gentle smile. I offer my obeisance to that Preceptor of preceptors who, by His ambrosial glances marked by unlimited grace, was looking at the sages afflicted by the intense heat of that fierce misery of worldly existence. May my Primordial Lord, dwelling at the foot of the banyan tree, out of divine mercy appear before me, offer instruction in the mystic lore "Aum" and dispel the darkness of nescience. Verses 2, 4 & 5
Charity
Tirukural 221:
Giving to the poor is true charity. All other giving expects some return.
Tirukural 223:
Men of good birth graciously give, never uttering the wretched excuse, "I have nothing."
Tirukural 225:
Great, indeed, is the power to endure hunger. Greater still is the power to relieve others' hunger.
Tirukural 227:
The fiery scourge called hunger never touches the man who shares his daily meal with others. Tirukural 229: More bitter than even a beggar's bread is the meal of the miser who hoards wealth and eats alone.
Return to the Table of Contents
Return to Hinduism Today Home Page
|
