Courage

[Guest guest]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in TBP,

 

Love and Love alone....

 

Here is an encouraging and very thought provoking exhortation from

Swami Vivekanda. Let us learn to live like that. Hari Om

Love and Love alone....

P. Gopi Krishna

 

 

Courage

 

 

There are two sorts of courage. One is the courage of facing the

cannon. And the other is the courage of spiritual conviction. An

Emperor who invaded India was told by his teacher to go and see some

of the sages there. After a long search for one, he found a very old

man sitting on a block of stone. The Emperor talked with him a

little and became very impressed by his wisdom. He asked the sage to

go to his country with him. " No, " said the sage, " I am quite

satisfied with my forest here. " Said the Emperor, " I will give you

money, position, wealth. I am the Emperor of the world. " " No, "

replied the man. " I don't care for those things. " The Emperor

replied, " If you do not go, I will kill you. " The man smiled

serenely and said, " That is the most foolish thing you have ever

said, Emperor. You cannot kill me. Me the sun cannot dry, fire

cannot burn, sword cannot kill, for I am the birthless, the

deathless, the ever-living omnipotent, omnipresent Spirit. " This is

spiritual boldness, while the other is the courage of a lion or a

tiger.

 

In the midst of all miseries and all the Self come out, faint and

imperceptible though it be at first. You will gain courage, and at

last like a lion you will roar out, " I am It! I am It! " " I am

neither a man, nor a woman, nor a god, nor a demon; no, nor any of

the animals, plants, or trees. I am neither poor nor rich, neither

learned nor ignorant. All these things are very little compared with

what I am: for I am It! I am It! Behold the sun and the moon and the

stars: I am the light that is shining in them! I am the beauty of

the fire! I am the power in the universe! For, I am It! I am It! "

 

Say to your soul in regard to vanities, weakness, etc., " This does

not befit thee. This does not befit thee. "

 

First of all, try to understand this: Does man make laws, or do laws

make man? Does man make money, or does money make man? Does man make

name and fame, or name and fame make man? Be a man first, my

friend, and you will see how all those things and the rest will

follow of themselves after you. [selections from CW of Sw.

Vivekananda]

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

 

Forgive me for putting forth the following perspective, I do not mean

to disagree, but am hoping for furthur input from the members of this

community in order to better understand the higher concepts.

 

But I find the sage's position to display cowardice rather than

courage. If by sharing his knowledge and wisdom with all mankind,

mankind would benefit in being able to lead better and perhaps more

purposeful lives.. why not go out into the world when asked?

 

What purpose does he serve by remaining in the forest, except to

further his own " spiritual " growth, while leaving his brothers to

struggle? The knowledge and wisdom he has gained has been by the

grace

of Devudu.. for we are all created with certain abilities and

skills..born into set circumstances.. and by those abilities, some of

us can perhaps gain things.. knowledge, wisdom, wealth, power..

easier

than others..

 

If we then horde what we have gained through God given blessings..how

can we call ourselves " spiritually advanced " ?

 

 

I hold our values, ideals and philosophy with the highest of respect,

but sometimes I feel like we are going backwards. Devudu gave us life

on earth as humans.. should we then not see life, love, and God in

those around us first.. then search for the divinity in ourselves?

poetry_007 <poetry_007

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

 

Looking at their creative output, it would be difficult to think that

they lacked courage.

Any act of sacrifice needs a good amount of courage. By choosing to

live in forest depriving themselves of the common comforts of life

in order to understand the facts of nature and life, these sages have

indeed done great sacrifices. To say No to wealth and plenty is

indeed extremely difficult and they did precisely that in order to

pursue superior knowledge which cannot be obtained in normal

circumstances.

With reference to sharing their knowledge with common man. There is

such a thing as eagerness, aptitude and hard work the like which

qualities are lacking in the common run of mankind. Moreover, the

broad subject matter of their studies concerned transcending the EGO.

There are no quick fix solutions on the matters which were subject of

their probes. More generally, we may say that they were undertaking

Subjective studies. We are more used to Objective studies only. There

is a ocean of difference. That is the difference betwen Brahma Vidya

and Laukika Vidya.

 

Choudur Satyanarayana Moorthy

[Guest guest]

The answer is available in Chapter 2 and 3 of Shri Bhagvathgita. Karma

Yoga is supreme to Jyana yoga. There is no such problem/question that

is not answered in Bhagvathgita.

vedula narasingh rao <vedulanar

[Guest guest]

Dear Poetry,

 

Love and Love alone....

 

I am sorry, since you have not disclosed your

identity, I have to address you like the above. Kindly

bear with me, and in future, kindly disclose your

identity.

 

As you have no disclosed your identity, some great

saints and rishis, do not wish to disclose their

identity, while preaching and teaching to the world

silently. One such great saint was/is/will be Bhagawan

Sri Ramana Maharshi. He seldom spoke and His silence

was more eloquent than His words. He preached through

silence only. So, my sincere request (to you) is let

us (do not) try to understand the Great Saints and

Souls with (y)our limited understanding and knowledge.

To worship Siva, one has to become Siva, so also, to

understand a saint, one has to become a saint first.

 

I hope you appreciate and understand my feelings.

 

Love and Love alone...

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

====

 

Re: Courage

Posted by: " poetry_007 " poetry_007

 

Sat Dec 16, 2006 6:31 pm (PST)

Dear Sir,

 

Forgive me for putting forth the following

perspective, I do not mean to disagree, but am hoping

for furthur input from the members of this

community in order to better understand the higher

concepts.

 

But I find the sage's position to display cowardice

rather than courage. If by sharing his knowledge and

wisdom with all mankind, mankind would benefit in

being able to lead better and perhaps more purposeful

lives.. why not go out into the world when asked?

 

What purpose does he serve by remaining in the forest,

except to further his own " spiritual " growth, while

leaving his brothers to struggle? The knowledge and

wisdom he has gained has been by the grace of Devudu..

for we are all created with certain abilities and

skills..born into set circumstances. . and by those

abilities, some of us can perhaps gain things..

knowledge, wisdom, wealth, power.. easier than

others..

 

If we then horde what we have gained through God given

blessings..how can we call ourselves " spiritually

advanced " ?

 

I hold our values, ideals and philosophy with the

highest of respect, but sometimes I feel like we are

going backwards. Devudu gave us life on earth as

humans.. should we then not see life, love, and God in

those around us first.. then search for the divinity

in ourselves? poetry_007 <poetry_007 >

 

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Messenger. Download

Now! http://messenger./download.php

[Guest guest]

Dear None,

 

Love and Love alone....

 

I appreciate, but do you live in what you believe? If

so, my unreserved salutations to you. If not, my

sincere request to you is, put into practise. It is

very easy to say a lot and even use all our vocabulary

to criticise anything and everything, but one knows

the sweetness of sweet only when one eats sweet. Is it

not? Mere vocabulary will not lead to anywhere, except

strengthening our ego and emboldening our

body-consciousness.

 

If you shed two tears out of pain, when you happen to

see pain of others and when you shed two tears of joy

when you see happiness of others, you are one with

them and their pain and happiness. But, most of us,

will turn our heads away and go our way. I am sorry,

we are NOT bound by this materialistic world at all.

We think we are and we are, that is all. But, the fact

is we are NOT. To realise this truth, we need to dive

deep into ourselves. If we (you) are (one with) That,

who is Brahma, who Vishnu and who Siva? Aham

Brahmasmi. Is it not? Think it over with all love and

introspect with humility, and we (you) will get the

answer.

 

How can you offend me, if there is love between us

when you are not different or separate from me?

Argument should not be for the sake of just argument,

but should enlighten us and pave the way for our

spiritual progress.

 

Do not use any pessimistic words. You have the courage

and capability to become one with the Universal Love

and a saint, but the only requirement is believe in

that and in your ability to reach that.

 

Love and Love alone...

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

--- none none <poetry_007 wrote:

 

> Dear Sir,

>

> Love and Love alone...

> would reach out to the world..

>

> For to truly love, is to know that we are all

> one..

> If the beggar on the street suffers..

> If the depressed suffer..

> If the criminals suffer..

> If the diseased and dying suffer..

>

> So too do you and I..

> Atma is Paratma.. Devudu is all pervading.. he

> exists in all.. so if we suffer, so too does he..

> What else is meant by prema and bhakti?

>

> We are bound by this material world.. by our

> physical bodies.. bound to duality.. as such we must

> honor it.. and in doing so, honor the powers of

> creation, destruction, and preservation.. Brahma,

> Shiva, and Vishnu.

>

> I am sorry if I have offended you by my response

> to your message.. that was not my intention.. you

> are right in saying that my (our) understanding and

> knowledge is limited.. as such, I simply chose an

> article randomly to enter into discussion with.

 

> I could never hope to come even close to becoming

> a saint, so discussion and reading the literature of

> our culture is all that is left to me, for I do not

> seek perfection (if I was perfect, I would not have

> been born), but to simply try to live my small life

> as best as I can, knowing full well that my

> understanding is limited.

>

>

> Gopi Krishna <p_gopi_krishna wrote:

> Dear Poetry,

>

> Love and Love alone....

>

> I am sorry, since you have not disclosed your

> identity, I have to address you like the above.

> Kindly

> bear with me, and in future, kindly disclose your

> identity.

>

> As you have no disclosed your identity, some great

> saints and rishis, do not wish to disclose their

> identity, while preaching and teaching to the world

> silently. One such great saint was/is/will be

> Bhagawan

> Sri Ramana Maharshi. He seldom spoke and His silence

> was more eloquent than His words. He preached

> through

> silence only. So, my sincere request (to you) is let

> us (do not) try to understand the Great Saints and

> Souls with (y)our limited understanding and

> knowledge.

> To worship Siva, one has to become Siva, so also, to

> understand a saint, one has to become a saint first.

>

> I hope you appreciate and understand my feelings.

>

> Love and Love alone...

>

> P. Gopi Krishna

>

> ====

>

> Re: Courage

> Posted by: " poetry_007 " poetry_007

>

> Sat Dec 16, 2006 6:31 pm (PST)

> Dear Sir,

>

> Forgive me for putting forth the following

> perspective, I do not mean to disagree, but am

> hoping

> for furthur input from the members of this

> community in order to better understand the higher

> concepts.

>

> But I find the sage's position to display cowardice

> rather than courage. If by sharing his knowledge and

> wisdom with all mankind, mankind would benefit in

> being able to lead better and perhaps more

> purposeful

> lives.. why not go out into the world when asked?

>

> What purpose does he serve by remaining in the

> forest,

> except to further his own " spiritual " growth, while

> leaving his brothers to struggle? The knowledge and

> wisdom he has gained has been by the grace of

> Devudu..

> for we are all created with certain abilities and

> skills..born into set circumstances. . and by those

> abilities, some of us can perhaps gain things..

> knowledge, wisdom, wealth, power.. easier than

> others..

>

> If we then horde what we have gained through God

> given

> blessings..how can we call ourselves " spiritually

> advanced " ?

>

> I hold our values, ideals and philosophy with the

> highest of respect, but sometimes I feel like we are

> going backwards. Devudu gave us life on earth as

> humans.. should we then not see life, love, and God

> in

> those around us first.. then search for the divinity

> in ourselves? poetry_007

>

>

>

> P. Gopi Krishna

>

> Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your

> Messenger. Download Now!

> http://messenger./download.php

>

>

>

>

> Tired of spam? Mail has the best spam

> protection around

>

 

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Messenger. Download

Now! http://messenger./download.php

[Guest guest]

If it is my generation and the generations to follow that is to carry on and

preserve our culture, how can we do so if our challenges and exploration of the

higher principles are filtered out rather than met.

 

Dear Sir,

 

I am just a young woman trying to make her way in the world.. I do not live by

any higher principles for I am as yet trying to understand them in some small

way.

 

I was raised in a tradional family though I grew up in the Western culture. I

respect our ways, but there is much I disagree with. As a result, I can either

turn my back on it and go my own merry way, or try to understand what I have

never lived in.

My world is divided, when I go home to visit my parents, I wear panjabi

dresses or saris; in my daily life, I study and hang out with my friends at

clubs or go to fine restaurants.

 

But in the center of my world, there lies a belief.. in my own power and

insignificance.. by the grace of Devudu..

I look around and see so much suffering and pain.. wether it be here in the

western world where there much comfort but spiritual poverty or in the eastern,

where there seems to be much spiritual richness, but aslo much material poverty.

 

I read recently in a statistical study that suicide rates are highest in the

lowest of socioeconomic states and also in the highest socioeconomic states.

Both the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich suffer so much they

choose to take their own lives. Why? what is missing in both their worlds?

Physical sustanace in one, mental and emotional sustanace in the other..

 

I have made many mistakes in my short life, and one thing that I have learned

is that pain and suffering is manifested by our choices. If we are hurt by

someone, we have the ability to enlarge our hearts and forgive, yet the majority

of us will strike back without thinking.

 

Povertry, war, starvation.. these were also created by us.. by the same simple

principle as above.. we created nations, we choose arrogance in saying that we

can kill others to protect those man-made nations,.. ruining economies,

destroying good agricultural land.. taking the lives of loved ones..

then, we decide that those who have become ensared in their poverty,

illiterate and uneducated, begging for a pitiful life.. are simply bound by the

circumstances they were born into deserve their fate.. for it was karma.. so we

allow them to wallow in their misery while we luxuriate in philosophy and pat

" saints " on the back for their great understanding..

 

Every time I go to India, I am forced to turn my back on a begging child or

step around a maimed grandfather. I walk by women and children sleeping on the

dirt strewn streets.

If I choose to take a hundred dollars from my purse and convert them to change

and sit there all day and hand them out.. simply because i was asked.. what do

you think the great telugu people of our " elevated " society would say?

most likely something like " Picchi.. thanu pani thanu chesukunte chalu. "

 

And they would most likely be right.. for in the end.. we are all born into

our circumstances.. the world was the way it is when I was born, and I cannot go

out by my little self and change it..

 

the Bhagavad-Gita says

" Your own duty done imperfectly

is better than another man's done well..

 

" Men who always follow my thought,

trusting it without finding fault,

are freed

even by their actions. "

 

So all I can do is live my own little life, enjoying and being happy in small

ways.. knowing that happiness and pain are manifested by my own choices..and

wait to see if Devudu will give me an opportunity some day to reach out in some

small way.

 

I am an ignorant creature, but I love our philosophy and our literature.. they

hold so much beauty in their simple words.. but we have lost much knowledge and

wisdom.. Patanjali's yoga sutras say that they were preserved in a concise,

short-note form for Patanjali thought some things were so basic that they didn't

need to be written down.. he never realized how far it was possible for society

to loose.. and so we read his verses blind.. like trying to learn physics from

short-hand review books.. never realizing how much theory is lost that way..

 

As my right hand does not know what my left hand is doing, my individual self

does not know the suffering of the beggar on streets.. but some part of my, our,

soul suffers.. and Devudu who is the head, who knows both what the right hand

and left hand are doing, suffers the most.

 

To turn our backs on those who wish to learn, in pursuit of our own " spiritual

enlightenment " is to turn our backs on God himself.. for he exists in those

around us.

By sharing knowledge, Saraswathi, through compassion and kindess.. only then

can the world start to get better..

Knowledge is the breath of life for it gives purpose to our actions and helps

temper our motivations..

 

And when I look at AP, or even India, I realize that is what we have done..

turn our backs on God,

So what is the worth of the works of Vivekananda or the example of Sri

Ramakrishna when all that has manifested from their wisdom is lying dying on the

streets as the educated, wealthy and well to do walk past happy and content in

their own knowledge..

 

I pray with all my heart that one day I can truly have faith in God.. but for

now all I can do is learn.

 

I wish you the best dear sir.

Thank you for your time and patience.