Guest guest Posted February 8, 2001 Report Share Posted February 8, 2001 Respected members, This is my first post to this group. I thought some of you may find the following links interesting. It is the story of a man who decided to live his life using the gita as his guiding principle. I thought it may be relevant to this list in the light of the "cogitations" series. http://www.sulekha.com/cgi-bin/column.cgi? resource=rr_revolution http://www.swadhyay.org/ Sincerely, Shuba ______________ Get your own "800" number Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more http://www.ureach.com/reg/tag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2001 Report Share Posted February 9, 2001 Namaste, Thank you, Shuba-ji. Here is another expression of the same ideal. THE GOD OF THE VEDANTA IS A LIVING GOD by Swami Vedananda All the world over people are seeking for God. This phenomenon is found not only among the civilised nations of the world but also among the most primitive races. The question however is , where shall we seek for God ? We shall try to understand the answer the Vedanta proposes to this perplexing question. Some seek for God high above in the heavens, others seek for Him in Churches, some others worship Him in Temples, and others in imaginary beings. Some worship God in symbols, some others in images, and still others in Historical and Mythological person ities of bygone ages. The Vedanta shows us a higher form of worship, the worship of a living God, for it says there is nothing but God in the whole universe. We are seeing God all the time and are living and moving in Him, but not knowing this we worship at the Altar of dea symbols. The moment you feel " I am "you are conscious of that existence which is of the essence of God. Where shall we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being ? Here is a beautiful passage from one of the Upanish s: " Thou art the Woman, Thou art the Man,Thou art the Youth and the Maiden, too. Thou art the Old Man who totters along, leaning on the staff. Thou art born with faces turned in all directions." (Svetasvatara Upan. Ch. 4, v. 3 )*. Thou art all that exi s, a wonderful living God, who is the only fact in the Universe. The ideal of the Vedanta in one word is to know man as he really is, and its message is that if you cannot worship your brother man, the manifested God, how can you worship a God who is unmanifested? The Vedanta,however, does not condemn the worship of these symbols and ceremonials of God, it recognises that man travels from lower Truth to higher Truth. It says the worship of these symbols & images is good, but already better symbols exist than we n ever invent. We can invent an image through which to worship God, but a better image already exists - the living man, We may worship in a Temple, but a much better one, a much higher one already exists, the living human body. In this context Swami Vivekananda says: ` This ( the above ) seems to many to be a terrible contradiction to the traditional God who lives behind a Veil somewhere and whom nobody sees. The Vedanta says that there is nothing but God. It may frighten many f us, but we shall understand it by degrees. The living God is within us and yet we are building Churches and Temples, and imagining all kinds of nonsense. The only God to worship is the human soul in the human body. If I cannot worship in that, no othe Temple will be of advantage; the moment we have realised God sitting in the Temple of every human body, the moment we shall stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment we shall be free from bondage' .( Swami Vivekananda mplete Works Vol. II, Practical Vedanta Part II p. 321, Jan. 1989 Edition, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta.) Let us all awaken to this wonderful idea of worshipping a living God, the human soul in every human body, a God who is within us all the time saying `I am, I am, I am'. "tva.n strii tvaM pumaanasi tva.n kumaara uta vaa kumaarii . jiirNo daNDena vaa~nchhasi tva.n jaato bhavasi vishvatomukhaH .. [shvetashvatara Upanishad IV:3] ( Swami Vedananda,[10-Kalyanagar,Gaddianaram,Hyderabad,,500- 060,India],during his visit to the U.S. in June 97, was kind enough to make this article available to all devotees in the U.S., and particularly to the Indian community, as it is this Imperson idea alone that could attract the 2nd generation of Indians. He also feels that our Hindu spiritual centers may be re-oriented and re- dedicated to these impersonal Ideas, which form a very important aspect of our Sanatana Dharma- the Eternal Principle of Life). Regards, s. ["aate jaate saa.nsapara karo nirantara dhyaana . paramaananda ki khojakaa yaha hai sarala sulabha sopaana .." Breathing in or breathing out, reflect without a pause, Stairway straight and easy this, to Beatitude's terraced repose. advaitin, Shuba <swamis@u...> wrote: > Respected members, > > This is my first post to this group. I thought > some of you may find the following links > interesting. It is the story of a man who decided > to live his life using the gita as his guiding > principle. I thought it may be relevant to this > list in the light of the "cogitations" series. > > http://www.sulekha.com/cgi-bin/column.cgi? > resource=rr_revolution > > http://www.swadhyay.org/ > > Sincerely, > Shuba > > ______________ > Get your own "800" number > Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more > http://www.ureach.com/reg/tag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2001 Report Share Posted February 9, 2001 Namaste. 'Living life as per Gita' is a wonderful subject. Wonderful because of its practical nature as per the title. Let me take the liberty to offer some open questions on Gita so far as its practical application goes: 1. How does one apply Gita when standing in a line for a train ticket. 2. How does one apply Gita when watching a music/dance programme. 3. How does one apply Gita when realizing that the train one needs to take is delayed and this means a tandem of missed appointments. Many many more such questions are possible from our daily lives. With Love and Regards, Raghava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2001 Report Share Posted February 9, 2001 <P>Beautiful1Ultimate Truth!See your spouse as living God or Goddess!See your Children as none other thanGod! See you friends,and all around you as God!See in your sareeram and all indriyas and organs,which are wonders of wonders as only God! Humbly,lovingly worship God,who is so close to you! Of course the deities in the temples are none other than God! In this Truth,nothing is lower and nothing higher as God is all!</P> <P>Lord Sri Krishna asserts: Aham sarwaani Bhootani--I am all living Beings </P> <P>Blissfully realize this spiritual as well as scientific wonder and Rejoice in the Lord!</P> <P>Ananda Sagar<BR></P> <P> <BR> <P> <B><I>sunderh</I></B> wrote: <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"><HTML><BODY><TT>Namaste,<BR><BR> Thank you, Shuba-ji. Here is another expression of the same <BR>ideal.<BR></TT><TT><BR>Messages Folder: <A href="advaitin/messages">/g\ roup/advaitin/messages</A><BR><BR></TT><BR></BLOCKQUOTE> Get personalized email addresses from Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2001 Report Share Posted February 9, 2001 Namaste, Here are my favorites! : > 1. How does one apply Gita when standing in a line for a train ticket. antakaale cha maameva smaranmuktvaa kalevaram.h . yaH prayaati sa madbhaava.n yaati naastyatra sa.nshayaH .. tasmaatsarveshhu kaaleshhu yogayukto bhavaarjuna .. > 2. How does one apply Gita when watching a music/dance programme. pashya me paartha ruupaaNi shatasho.atha sahasrashaH . naanaavidhaani divyaani naanaavarNaakR^itiini cha .. > 3. How does one apply Gita when realizing that the train one needs to take is delayed and this means a tandem of missed appointments. tasmaadaparihaarye.arthe na tva.n shochitumarhasi .. One can make a garland of Gita verses to suit one's mood! Gurudeva Ranade made one such, called dhyaana-giitaa. Regards, s. advaitin, raghavakaluri wrote: > Namaste. > > 'Living life as per Gita' is a wonderful subject. Wonderful because > of its practical nature as per the title. > > Let me take the liberty to offer some open questions on Gita so far > as its practical application goes: > > > Many many more such questions are possible from our daily lives. > > With Love and Regards, > Raghava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2001 Report Share Posted February 10, 2001 Raghavarao gaaru Welcome back. sorry I did not get to your e-mails related to accessability of the adviatin. Looks like you have solved the problem using Gita way of life! May be you can provide us the answers to your question - particularly how you have applied in all these cases you have mentioned. Hari Om! sadananda >raghavakaluri >advaitin >advaitin > Re: Living life as per the gita >Fri, 09 Feb 2001 19:25:59 -0000 > >Namaste. > >'Living life as per Gita' is a wonderful subject. Wonderful because >of its practical nature as per the title. > >Let me take the liberty to offer some open questions on Gita so far >as its practical application goes: > >1. How does one apply Gita when standing in a line for a train ticket. >2. How does one apply Gita when watching a music/dance programme. >3. How does one apply Gita when realizing that the train one needs to >take is delayed and this means a tandem of missed appointments. > >Many many more such questions are possible from our daily lives. > >With Love and Regards, >Raghava > _______________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2001 Report Share Posted February 10, 2001 I will add to the list one more sloka which I think is important maatras sparshaastu kounteya siitoshhNa sukhaduHkhadaaH aagamaapayino antityaaH tan titikshaswa bhaarata| all anxities or suffering are only due to contact of the senses with the world. World, jagat being what it is - jaayate gachchhate iti jagat that which continuously changes, there will never be a environment that is all the time that will be conducive to ones vaasana-s. Hence Krishana says - these comforts and discomforts are keeps coming and going. One shoud be concerned only if they are permanent but when they are temporary why should one worry? Hence stong advice of Krishana - tan titikshasva bhaarata - One has to bear them and no one is free from them. These are infact an opportunities given by the Lord to think of His glories. Divert the mind to His alter. Then His play can be seen as beautifully. There is a beautiful story of one Alwar in VishishhTadvaita - All he had was a piece of cloth that he was using to protect himslef from cold and rain. Once due to heavy winds even that cloth flew away. He was singning and dancing with joy, saying how commassionate That Almighty is! Now he doesnot have to worry about holding on to the cloth. He is free a bird! It is all in the attitude once we realize that all this the play and the play will be boring if there are no kicks in life. Geeta helps us to see that it is indeed a play - leela vibhuuti! Hari Om! Sadananda >sunderh >advaitin >advaitin > Re: Living life as per the gita >Fri, 09 Feb 2001 22:20:01 -0000 > >Namaste, > > Here are my favorites! : > > > 1. How does one apply Gita when standing in a line for a train >ticket. > >antakaale cha maameva smaranmuktvaa kalevaram.h . >yaH prayaati sa madbhaava.n yaati naastyatra sa.nshayaH .. > >tasmaatsarveshhu kaaleshhu yogayukto bhavaarjuna .. > > > > 2. How does one apply Gita when watching a music/dance programme. > >pashya me paartha ruupaaNi shatasho.atha sahasrashaH . >naanaavidhaani divyaani naanaavarNaakR^itiini cha .. > > > > 3. How does one apply Gita when realizing that the train one needs >to take is delayed and this means a tandem of missed appointments. > >tasmaadaparihaarye.arthe na tva.n shochitumarhasi .. > > >One can make a garland of Gita verses to suit one's mood! >Gurudeva Ranade made one such, called dhyaana-giitaa. > > >Regards, > >s. > > _______________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2001 Report Share Posted February 10, 2001 advaitin, "Kuntimaddi Sadananda" <k_sadananda@h...> wrote: > Welcome back. Thank you, Sir. >May be you can provide us the answers to your question - particularly > how you have applied in all these cases you have mentioned. > > >1. How does one apply Gita when standing in a line for a train ticket. > >2. How does one apply Gita when watching a music/dance programme. > >3. How does one apply Gita when realizing that the train one needs to > >take is delayed and this means a tandem of missed appointments. > > I had not applied them before, though I only thought of their application. However, let us give it a try. 1)I had recently seen in two instances that those standing in the line for a long time tend to get upset for the slightest reasons, and sometimes even get into verbal altercations, with which the onlookers may sometimes derive free amusement with smiles on their faces as if to break the monotony. As was pointed out by Shree BTA Sagar in a previous post, I think, the way out is to see all those in the line(queue) and the booking clerk as the divine Self(Krishna). Each person's job is as precious as everyone else's. With this approach, perhaps, the wait-time and booking-time may yield better understanding of Karma Yoga. In one instance in an airport recently, the booking clerk gave me away some extra food coupons because I treated her with respect while many others,for no fault of theirs, were upset at the counter because of missed connections. Of course, some of them were likely to get upset more if they knew that I got extra coupons. Food coupons are of no interest to me or anyone in this list,but, the possibilities as to new insights into the nature of Brahman seem to be ever increasing. 2 and 3) Shree BTA Sagar's post may be extended. With Love, Raghava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2001 Report Share Posted February 11, 2001 I think, the > way out is to see the booking clerk as > the divine Self(Krishna). Each person's job is as > precious as everyone > else's. With this approach, perhaps, the wait-time > and booking-time may > yield better understanding of Karma Yoga. > ---------------------- This reminds me of each and every visit of ours to Tiruppati for a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara! Invariably, we have found that people standing in the queue there are always frustrated and very often lose their temper at fellow devotees in the line,especially when some people from the back try to bypass them and move forward sometimes,understandably, to join their own group members who might be ahead of them! The only difference is,here,the booking Clerk is Lord Venkateshwara! Hari Om! Swaminarayan Get personalized email addresses from Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2001 Report Share Posted February 11, 2001 advaitin, Swaminarayan T <tvswaminarayan> wrote: > > This reminds me of each and every visit of ours to > Tiruppati for a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara! > Invariably, we have found that people standing in the > queue there are always frustrated and very often lose > their temper at fellow devotees in the line,especially > when some people from the back try to bypass them and > move forward sometimes,understandably, to join their > own group members who might be ahead of them! > > The only difference is,here,the booking Clerk is Lord > Venkateshwara! > We visited Tirupati recently and our experience too was similar. I think, there is a much bigger problem here, in this case. Devotees are growing exponentially each year and the capacity to serve them is not growing accordingly. In fact, at the darshan time, everyone one was being pushed away in a sequence by employees, understandably to let everyone have darshan in a reasonable time. I was more mindful not to fall down because of the physical push operations than to see the Lord ! We need a much better infrastructure here - something like moving platforms instead of pushing devotees. A devotee must truly feel elevated to have taken the trouble to visit the temple and seen the Lord; and such impediments must be removed which come in the way. By the way, monkeys are now non-existent on the hill and even on the way to the hill. Some monkeys also must be placed to retain fun. With Love, Raghava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2001 Report Share Posted February 11, 2001 --- raghavakaluri wrote: > We need a much better infrastructure here - > something like moving > platforms instead of pushing devotees. A devotee > must truly feel > elevated to have taken the trouble to visit the > temple and seen the > Lord; Dear Shri Raghava, You will be surprised! During our last visit to Tiruppati we were actually told that there is a move to instal a moving platform from the main entrance door inside the temple and back, very much like the conveyor belts we see in Airports for baggage claim ..This will then avoid the physical handling and pushing of devotees by the temple staff that man the inside of the shrine.Every time we visit the Shrine we decide that we should not go there again,but,believe me, we land up there again even before a year is passed!! Such is the LOVE of the LORD! Hari Om! Swaminarayan Get personalized email addresses from Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2001 Report Share Posted February 12, 2001 :-) I was just imagining --- what if the so-called devotees push each other on the moving platforms? :-) (please don't take it seriously) > > Swaminarayan T [tvswaminarayan] > > Dear Shri Raghava, > > You will be surprised! During our last visit to > Tiruppati we were actually told that there is a move > .This will then avoid the physical handling and > pushing of devotees by the temple staff that man the > inside of the shrine.Every time we visit the Shrine we > decide that we should not go there again,but,believe > me, we land up there again even before a year is > passed!! > > Such is the LOVE of the LORD! > > Hari Om! > > Swaminarayan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2001 Report Share Posted February 12, 2001 advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@m...> wrote: > :-) I was just imagining --- what if the so-called devotees push each other > on the moving platforms? :-) (please don't take it seriously) > If enough monkeys are placed on the hill-town, pushing will reduce. :-) :-) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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