Of Passion and Compassion

We know what passion is hence it is not very difficult to understand what compassion may be Passion means a state of biological fever - it is hot. You are almost possessed by biological unconscious energies. You are no longer your own master, you are just a slave. Compassion means you have transcended biology and physiology. You are no more a slave, you are master. Now you function consciously. You are not driven, pulled and pushed by unconscious forces; you can decide what you want to do with your energies. You are totally free. Then the same energy that becomes passion is transformed into compassion. Passion is lust, compassion is love. Passion is desire; compassion is desire-less-ness. Passion is greed, compassion is sharing. Passion wants to use the other as a means; compassion respects...

Make Human Life Meaningful

Meaning: According to the Athervaved 2/11/4 — "O men! To make this human life meaningful, obtain knowledge; be bright to physically strong; instead of being satisfied with your present situation, and try to progress further. Message: In the ancient times when the disciples left their Guru's hermitage, the Guru used to advise them, "Satyam Veda, Dharmum chara, Swadhayanum pramadaha" which means, speak the truth, tread the religious path, and never neglect self-study. This advice is appropriate also because howsoever much one had acquired the knowledge, but if it is not revised again and again, then over a period of time it becomes useless. It does not do to scrub and wash the utensils once only. The atmosphere tarnishes them. To keep them clean and useful, they have to be scrubbed and...

Learned People Never Quarrel and Gives us Right Path.

Meaning: According to the line of Athervaved 3/30/4 — "The learned people never quarrel or indulge in jealousy and malice. Study of good literature is required to make man's thinking appropriate." Message: The world is full of men with different streams of thought. Each one's method of assessing a situation, arriving at a conclusion and then acting on its basis is different. It is not at all necessary that every man's thinking is in agreement with ours and that he will act accordingly. Jealousy and malice are born out of conflicts in thinking only. What follows is criticism and counter criticism, increasing bitterness and difficulties in the road of progress. People slander each other as a result of obstinate insistence for their vain knowledge, vain pride, vain talk and falsehoods. The...

Learn From Learned Person

Meaning:  According to the line of Rigved 1/90/3, — "Let us learn only from those who are learned and doing good deeds. One should always keep away from men of bad nature. Every man's salvation lies in this only." Message: In our country, the public has a lot of faith in monks, saints and learned people; therefore, it is also the responsibility of these respected persons to contribute in return for the faith response in them. In the days past, the people of this class used to give the total benefit of their high character, great knowledge and generous spirit of service to the public and used to be so selfless as to leave the worry of food and clothing to God. This class of people used to utilize a part of their time in God's worship, reading scriptures, increasing knowledge and purification...

Apply All Good Moral in the Conduct

Meaning: According to the line of Rigved 10/71/4 — "One who hears good advice but not imbibe it in one's conduct is like a blind and deaf person." Message: Rishis Parampara (the tradition of sages) is the main basis of Nepalese culture. The society consists of both intelligent and unintelligent persons. Every man is not able to read and write nor can a literate person be able to understand the real meaning in the scriptures, whereas the rishis used to spend their entire lives in studying and acquiring knowledge. Every time while thinking and contemplating they used to worry about the fulfillment of the mental needs of man. The religious heads and the learned ones have always very seriously and eagerly made an analysis of the human mind. By finding out the solution to unfavorable situations...

Pleasantness in Speech, Dealing and Action

Meaning: According to Athervaved 1/34/3 — "All people love him whose speech, dealings and actions re pleasant. Only they do good deeds and oblige others in the world whose nature is pleasant." Message: Pleasantness, gentleness and humility are the characteristics of excellent men. As against that, people of mean activities are always hard and of harsh speech. Generous people, with a tendency to help others, are also very polite. Just as the fruit-laden branches of a tree hang downwards, clouds filled with water come downwards, similarly those who are excellent and obliging they are not proud of their wealth or luxuries and are always polite. One in whose heart there is the feeling of divine spirituality for every life; his dealings are also polite and pleasant. He always makes an effort...

Pleasantness in Speech, Dealing and Action

Meaning: According to Athervaved 1/34/3 — "All people love him whose speech, dealings and actions re pleasant. Only they do good deeds and oblige others in the world whose nature is pleasant." Message: Pleasantness, gentleness and humility are the characteristics of excellent men. As against that, people of mean activities are always hard and of harsh speech. Generous people, with a tendency to help others, are also very polite. Just as the fruit-laden branches of a tree hang downwards, clouds filled with water come downwards, similarly those who are excellent and obliging they are not proud of their wealth or luxuries and are always polite. One in whose heart there is the feeling of divine spirituality for every life; his dealings are also polite and pleasant. He always makes an effort...

Fight Against the Difficulties

Meaning: According to the Athervaved 20/5/3 — "Let us be powerful so that we can fight whatever obstacle coming in the path of progress. Message: God has created this world not only for us. Innumerable living beings are partners in it. There are facilities and satisfaction for everyone as also innumerable difficulties, for which physical and mental efforts are required to solve them. It is impossible that all situations be created as we wish them to be and every person should do as we desire. The heat of sunlight and the cool shade of the trees, day and night, suitability and unsuitability, everything is here only. Life would be uninteresting if we never had to face difficulties, unsuitable circumstances and failures. Competition and progress are the special qualities of human life, and...

Faithful Deeds

Meaning: The line of Rigved 10/151/1 states that — "Only the deeds performed with faith have the capability of achieving the goal. Therefore a man should be full of faith". Message: Faith is the basis of human life. There is great inspiring power hidden in it. Nothing is possible without solid support. If someone wants to take a jump, the ground from where he wants to jump, must be firm. If it is hollow, granular or muddy, the jumper will fall down, and cannot reach the goal. The support must be strong. The support for water, i.e. its container must not be cracked. The stand for the pot must not be wobbly, and the ground must not be slopping or slanting. Similarly if we want to hang something on the wall, the peg must be strong, otherwise the peg will break and the material will fall...

Faithful Deeds

Meaning: The line of Rigved 10/151/1 states that — "Only the deeds performed with faith have the capability of achieving the goal. Therefore a man should be full of faith". Message: Faith is the basis of human life. There is great inspiring power hidden in it. Nothing is possible without solid support. If someone wants to take a jump, the ground from where he wants to jump, must be firm. If it is hollow, granular or muddy, the jumper will fall down, and cannot reach the goal. The support must be strong. The support for water, i.e. its container must not be cracked. The stand for the pot must not be wobbly, and the ground must not be slopping or slanting. Similarly if we want to hang something on the wall, the peg must be strong, otherwise the peg will break and the material will fall...

Faith Makes the Sentiment of Dedication

Meaning: In the line of Rigved 10/151/3 gives us the instruction about sentimental dedication. According to the Mantra — "The sentiment of dedication is produced towards the country, race, caste and culture when there is faith in the heart for them. Only faith has that strength to produce solid dedication for any work." Message: No deed in this world can be carried out without the flame of faith and no renunciation, nor sacrifice can be made without faith. For any achievement, some sort of renunciation or sacrifice is necessary. Whatever direction we wish to progress, we should always be ready for self-sacrifice. The objective for which sacrifice is to be made, that objective should always be within our mind. It is not possible without faith. Faith and intelligence are not mutually opposite....

Excellent Moral Character from Religion

Excellent Moral character from Religion Meaning: The line of Athervaved 17/1/29 has described about our deeds, that can be expressed as — "Human life will be safe only with good deeds and religious conduct. Therefore let us be sinless and praise worthy and always go on acquiring higher knowledge". Message: Religiousness means religious conduct. To respect religion in every field of life to follow the injunctions of religions, is itself called 'dharma-achaaran' (or religious conduct).'Dharma' not only means religion (as regards spiritual science and worship), but it has several other meaning including 'moral duty', but unfortunately politicians and the so-called intellectuals are twisting the interpretation of the word 'dharma' to suit their selfish ends. In reality religion is beneficial...

Everyone Should Purify His Moral Conduct

Meaning: According to the line of Yajurved 35/11 — "The man who purifies his conduct and makes others clean, May we get their nearness so that the mind's dirt and wicked sins get destroyed." Message: Fire gets lighted with fire, life gets brightened with life, love is enhanced by love and enmity increases with revenge. A chameleon changes colors on seeing another chameleon. If we want to reform others, then first we will have to bring a revolution in our lives, will have to become a magnet ourselves, and will have to create some specialty in our lives. Only then is the uplift of others possible. One lighted lamp can light a million extinguished lamps but a million snuffed lamps cannot light a single lamp. Similarly a great man with 'jeevan-jyoti' (the light of life), can bring others...

Duty of the Learned Man

Meaning: According to the Rigved 6/10/7 — "It is the duty of learned men that they should carry out excellent deeds and make others do the same. By such deeds, bad tendencies get eradicated and there is an increase in strength, intelligence, learning and longevity." Message: Whom can we call a learned person? Those who have the knowledge of physical matter and creation, those who keep themselves in formed about the human society, those who understand the principles of life and are familiar with spiritual knowledge, they are called the learned ones. Knowledge means to know and understand anything in its proper form. The learned person knows the difference between knowledge and ignorance. 'Avidya' or ignorance means to understand that the world and body and similar temporary matter as...

Divine Sentiment is the Part of Our Character

Meaning: According to the line of Yajurved 38/21 has given us instruction about the formation of character, that can be explain as — "O men, just as Good protects and nurtures everyone by being everywhere, similarly you protect and nourish all the living beings by achieving excellence." Message: The desire for progress and the fulfillment of one's material desires are two entirely different matters. The common forms of both appear similar, but on minute observation, the vast difference as between the sky and the earth, can be seen. Progress is the name for that need in life which illuminates the individuality, unfolds the personality and increases the worthiness. It means the development of those capabilities which can make the body, mind, nature and the deeds clean and will developed....

The River of Life

Two young girls Laukika and Samatha, set off on an adventure. Both of them had completed their formal education and before venturing into their respective samsaric enterprises, they thought of taking a break to contemplate life. And thus was born this hedonistic idea of journeying down the river. Laukika was so over whelmed with the river’s speed, energy and her own enthusiasm that she said to her friend: “I’m going to jump into the river, Samatha, and be carried along with its great energies. Meet you later”. So saying, she took the plunge, without waiting for her friend to respond. Laukika enjoyed the initial adventure. At times the river frightened her, its strong current sweeping her along. But she dismissed her fears as she was taken up by the full flow of the river. The current...

Transcend All Identities

If we human beings are mortal, then how is it that we desire eternal existence, knowledge and bliss? Human beings devoid of the attributes of existence, knowledge and bliss, logically cannot express the desire to live in this world eternally, to attain complete knowledge and complete bliss. Beyond the existence of the physical body, you can directly feel the existence of mind, intellect and perverted ego. As we are of a finite nature, our mental and intellectual capacities are also finite. The existence of perverted ego can be perceived by the presence of specific thoughts such as thinking that one belongs to this or that country; this or that religion; that one speaks this or that language or belongs  this or that group - whatever it may be. It may be questioned whether after death...

The Life Forces

The whole universe and absolutely everything in it is full of the One divine spirit, the pure life-force energy Isha Upanishad May my limbs, speech, prana (life force) sight, hearing, strength and all my senses gain in vigor. All is the Brahm (Supreme) Kena Upanishad Start the practice of self-control with some penance; begin with fasting. Mahavira Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness Quran 39.10 Blood itself cannot explain in life........ the universal vitality is a subtle, mobile, invisible substance, superadded to the structure of muscles...... as magnetism is to iron, and as electricity is to various substances with which it may be connected. John Abernethy Compassion and love are not mere luxuries. As the source both of inner and external peace, they are...

The Self Alone Exists

The concept of an adept teacher lies at the heart of Upanishadic dialogue in which the guru clarifies the doubts of his pupils and inspires them to think deeply on matters of consciousness. Since experience is the only true touchstone, the ancients focused first on the evolved state of a guru, who could awaken others to a higher consciousness. This focus characterizes the Ashtavakra Samhita, the discourse-dialogue centered on Self-realization, between the young sages. Ashtavakra and the elderly king of Mithila, Janaka, who discussed knowledge as being ever conscious of the eternality of one-self, and understanding it as inextricably linked to the question of what constitutes bondage and liberation. "Non-attachment for sense-objects is liberation love for sense-objects is bondage..." Ashtavakra...

Water is Life

Meaning: The line of Rigved 10/9/12 says us that - water is beneficial to man. By using it, the outer and inner dirt is removed. Message: The glory of motherhood lies in the welfare of the children. A mother is always alert about her child's good health and good habit, and God knows how much hardship she suffers for the child's sake. A woman's life becomes glorified by children with good qualities and good habits and right from the time of conception to the child's birth and even thereafter her remaining life she spends for the welfare of her children. Similarly, God the Supreme Father keeps this world going with the desire for the welfare of His children. He gives happiness, like the happiness through a mother’s tender care, for all the living beings and makes arrangements for feeding...

You are Designed to Bounce Back

There is a lot in life that we are not meant to take seriously - your nasty boss, for instance, or an unkind colleague who put you down. Why remember those who never valued us in the first place? Why recall repeatedly, all those occasions when we were slighted or overlooked? we were never meant to take these things to heart. And yet we keep running into folks who are discouraged by the slightest thing. There is something inbuilt into life itself that could help us overcome trials and difficulties - a kind of survival mechanism that supports us, teaching us to keep boosting ourselves and our self esteem, particularly when faced with flake. People are often judging us from a perspective that is narrow. So what if the first draft did not make the mark? What if I failed in a task, or if...

The River of Life

Two young girls Laukika and Samatha, set off on an adventure. Both of them had completed their formal education and before venturing into their respective samsaric enterprises, they thought of taking a break to contemplate life. And thus was born this hedonistic idea of journeying down the river. Laukika was so over whelmed with the river’s speed, energy and her own enthusiasm that she said to her friend: “I’m going to jump into the river, Samatha, and be carried along with its great energies. Meet you later”. So saying, she took the plunge, without waiting for her friend to respond. Laukika enjoyed the initial adventure. At times the river frightened her, its strong current sweeping her along. But she dismissed her fears as she was taken up by the full flow of the river. The current...

The Ideal of Proper Diet

Meaning: The line of Yajurved 12/76 has given the information about our diet as follows - body is the principal means for 'dharma, artha, kama and moksha'. Therefore, good health must be maintained by proper diet, disciplined daily routine and benevolent conduct. Only a disease-free body is the source of all happiness. Message: The joy of heavenly bliss and salvation is possible in this life itself. But it so happens that we do not properly understands our life's objective and makes all attempts in the wrong direction for attaining it. We can achieve the above four goals of life i.e. 'dharma, artha, kama and moksha' only by a healthy body. We can remain alive by maintaining physical health. Unhealthy, ill and weak persons are already like half-dead. This is because they suffer not only the...

The Company You Keep

The impact of the company we keep, on our mental state and our actions, is tremendous. Even a person with all positive attributes may end up pursuing undesirable activity because of bad company. For example, you may be quite averse to the idea of accumulating wealth through dishonest means by the effect of a close friend who is untruthful may push you to do so. To cultivate dedication, as Ramkrishna mentions, it is important to be in the company of those who have taken the path of renunciation. If you spend a great deal of time with materialistic persons discussing worldly affairs all the time, you are bound to become like them, irrespective of the meditation you might be practicing. You can begin to feel intense love for God only when you come in contact with those who are experiencing...