There is no physical world for me. All I see, I see as the glorious manifestation of the Almighty.
Swami Sivananda (1887-1963)
Truthfulness alone constitutes the spiritual discipline of the Kali Yuga. If a man clings tenaciously to Truth, he ultimately realizes God. Without this regard for Truth, one gradually loses everything.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
God defined is God denied. To define is to limit. Yet, the deepest of my consciousness calls on Him as pure love.
Sadhu Vaswani (1879-1966), founder of Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Gross utility kills beauty. We now have all over the world huge production of things, huge organizations, huge administrations of empire—all obstructing the path of life. Civilization is waiting for a great consummation, for an expression of its soul in beauty. This must be your contribution to the world.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), mystic poet
Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them.
Seneca (4 bce-65 ce), Stoic philosopher
When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
Lao Tzu (4th or 6th century bce), author of Tao Te Ching
Hinduism especially in its oldest, Shaivite form, never destroyed its past. It is the sum of human experience from the earliest times. Nondogmatic, it allows everyone to find his own way.
Alain Daniélou (1907–1994), French Indologist
Fall down seven times, get up eight.
Japanese proverb
I shall not make my body a tomb for other animals.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian polymath, Renaissance luminary, a vegetarian
If you’re scared of escalators, there are steps you can take.
Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves.
Nikola Tesla
Progress is not achieved by preachers and guardians of morality, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels and skeptics.
Stephen Fry, British actor, comedian and writer
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
Voltaire (1694–1778), French author and philosopher
He who takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of his doctors.
Chinese proverb
Divisions are imaginary lines drawn by small minds.
Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), founder of Self-Realization Fellowship
Even in search of extraordinary gains, the wise will never speak trivial or useless words.
Tirukkural 198
I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you, and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.
Crazy Horse (1840-1877), Oglala Lakota Sioux Native American
The mind cannot know what is beyond itself; but the mind is known by what is beyond, that essence of timelessness and spacelessness which makes everything perceivable, yet itself is beyond perception.
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981),Hindu sage
We cannot change anything until we accept it.
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychiatrist
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman
Karma is movement in the mind. When the mind remains motionless, there is no karma.
Satguru Siva Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lankan mystic
An imperfect world goads us to improve.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today
The most important rule of honesty is to be honest to oneself, to be able to face up to our problems and admit that we have been the creator of them. To be honest with oneself brings peace of mind.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001),founder of Hinduism Today
Did you know?
Sannyas: The Path of the Renunciate
Sannyas is the ancient hindu tradition of monastic renunciation. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit root meaning “to throw down” or “to abandon,” signifying the conscious relinquishment of worldly life in pursuit of God Realization. A sannyasin is not merely one who withdraws from society, but one who has been formally initiated by a realized guru into a life wholly dedicated to the Divine. Far from being a rejection of life, true sannyas is understood as its highest fulfillment: the abandonment of the transient in favor of the eternal.
Sannyas has always represented a decisive turning inward, a break with mundane obligations and a binding unto the Divine. The sannyasin renounces the dharma of the householder and accepts an even more exacting discipline: lifelong chastity, poverty and obedience to his tradition. Through austerity, daily spiritual practices, meditation and inner worship, he undertakes the purification of body, mind and emotions, restraining the restless movements of thought and unfolding an ever-deepening love of God. His worship is predominantly internal, seeking Truth within, culminating in the realization of the transcendent Absolute.
Saivite monasticism predates recorded history, with references in the Vedas to munis and yatis—ascetics clothed in ocher, living in seclusion and contemplation. For centuries, renunciation was a distinctly Saivite phenomenon. Later Vaishnavism developed parallel monastic forms, often with extra emphases on devotional bhakti. Despite subtle differences, modern Hinduism includes sannyas in all major sects, including Saiva, Vaishnava, Shakta and Smarta traditions.
Initiation into sannyas traditionally follows brahmacharya diksha—vowing a lifetime of chastity and entering a path of service and self-reflection. There is a classical distinction between lifelong sannyas, ideally entered before the age of twenty-five, and the later-life renunciation that follows completion of family and social duties, usually after age 72. The shastras also recognize diverse motivations for entering sannyas—such as spontaneous spiritual realizations, philosophical yearning, refuge from worldly sorrow or final withdrawal at life’s end.
At its core, sannyas preserves a living ideal: the liberated soul who, freed from personal ambition, serves as a spiritual exemplar. Through his peace, wisdom and illumination, the sannyasin uplifts humanity while standing as guardian of the eternal truths of the Sanatana Dharma.