It is indeed a privilege to speak on the greatness and glory of Sanskrit. Sanskrit is often hailed as a divine language - Deva Bhasha. Therefore, only celestials are qualified to expatiate on the matchless splendor of this language, and not mere mortals like me. In reality, Sanskrit is as resplendent as the Sun. Therefore, it's intrinsic worth and value cannot be brought out in full measure in words. Nonetheless, let us share with all something about the history of the growth and development of Sanskrit in ancient India.
How old is Sanskrit? Well, it is as old as the nature. According to modern day historians, the exact antiquity of Sanskrit cannot be established with any degree of certainty. This is because, they have written records only for the past 5000 years. Therefore, histories beyond that period are in the realm of fancy and conjecture for them. The Rig Veda, the oldest among the Vedas, is said to be 10,000 years old, if not older. But, there are no written records to prove this fact. But, the fact remains that Sanskrit was the lingua franca of India for thousands of years.
Sanskrit is the foundation of Hinduism. In fact, it can be said without fear of contradiction that without Sanskrit, there is no Hinduism. The four Vedas and the Upanishads, the Brahma-Sutra written by Veda Vyasa, the two epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita, which forms part of the Mahabharata, are all in Sanskrit. There are numerous devotional works and hymns in Sanskrit.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SANSKRIT?
There are four reasons.
1. The accuracy of grammar, beauty of the expressions and the sound of Sanskrit is not found in any other language of the world. It provides the basis for all other Indian languages like what Greek and Latin are for the western languages.
2. Indian culture rests on Sanskrit. Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, Yoga sutras are all in Sanskrit. It is these that have bonded India together.
3. Sanskrit is rich in literature by poets like Vyasa, Valmiki, etc., It is not that it deals only with spiritual matters. It caters to all needs of all people including finance, politics, law, mental health, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, engineering and many others.
4. It provides values applicable to the whole humanity. It not only provides a hope for the individual that he can rise to the level of the divine and through that concept, one can identify with every one else and thus helps in developing brotherhood in the whole world.
SPECIALITY OF SANSKRIT
1. Expressions of vowels and consonants. Consonants have no independent expression without the vowels. This system is not seen in other languages. (Example: - FRY, DRY. In come and coma, "co" has different expressions. TOP, MOP, JUM, CHUM - here, O AND U have expression like "a".) Such anomalies are not found in Sanskrit.
2. From the root word, it is possible to create a number of words in Sanskrit. There has been no change in either the words or their meanings from times immemorial.
3. There has been no change in the rules of grammar and hence the same type of poetical works is there irrespective of when the works were created.
4. There is a specialty in the literature connected to Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas. Although there is a difference in the style in these works, there is no difference in the words used.
Let us now learn about Sanskrit history as told by our modern day historians. Sanskrit grew from strength to strength, so long as India was ruled by Hindu Kings. It reached the pinnacle of its glory during the Golden Age of the Guptas. Indeed, the Golden Age of the Guptas was also the Golden Age of Sanskrit. Kalidasa, the one of the literary figures in Sanskrit and author of plays like Meghaduta, Abhijnana-Sakunthalam, Kumara Sambava, Raghuvamsa etc. lived during the Golden Age of the Guptas. It is not only literature, but also all forms of art and science had a luxuriant growth and development during the Gupta rule. Varahamihira, an eminent scientist, lived during the Gupta age and wrote brilliant works on various faculties like astronomy, geography and botany. His brilliant works include Brihat Samhita and Loghu jataka. Arya Bhatta, the great mathematician, laid the foundation of the Number system. Zero was invented by him. He was also a great astronomer who wrote Surya Siddhanta, in which he proved that the earth revolved round its axis. Many such examples can be cited to prove that it is not only arts and literature, but science and technology also made rapid strides during the Golden Age of the Guptas. Decimal system, for example, was invented only during the Gupta period.
There were standard books in Sanskrit on almost all the disciplines in ancient India including science, technology, mathematics, astrology, astronomy, medicine etc. So, it is not as if Sanskrit is literature alone, including devotional literature, and nothing else.
DECLINE OF SANSKRIT LANGUAGE
But the decline of Sanskrit began with the establishment of the Muslim rule in India. Mohamed Ghazni was a marauder who invaded India seventeen times only to despoil India of its wealth. Also, Mohamed Ghauri, not only invaded India, but established Muslim rule in India in the twelfth century. He replaced Sanskrit with Persian, as the language of administration. Since then, Sanskrit was on the wane, though it did not become extinct, thanks to God's grace.
The British rule came as deliverance to the Hindus who were oppressed, suppressed and depressed because of the tyrannical and ruthless Mughal rule. But the British were no different either. They introduced English as the official language of India in 1835. Some Englishmen did learn Sanskrit with avidity and realized its immeasurable value. One such distinguished Englishman was Sir William Jones, Chief Justice of India, Calcutta. It must be remembered that till 1911, Calcutta was the capital of India during the British regime. It was only in 1911 that New Delhi became the capital of India. The British rule, however enabled Western scholars to learn Sanskrit with a motive to degrade the valuable knowledge of the Vedas, which were available in Sanskrit language. Max Mueller of Germany was undoubtedly the greatest among such cheats. He became such an erudite scholar in Sanskrit that he was able to translate Rig Veda, the oldest among the Vedas and ten principal Upanishads into English, which actually became the foundation for the downfall of peoples' belief in the Vedic knowledge. Mueller's translation of the Vedas was like milk touched by snakes. This was what the British contributed to Indian culture.
When India became independent on August 15, 1947, Sanskrit should have been adopted as the official language of India. Instead, Hindi was adopted as the official language of India in 1950. It was an egregious blunder, because Hindi is an undeveloped language, not at all on the standard of Sanskrit. Except for Tulasidasa's Ramayana, there is no other outstanding literary work in Hindi. Besides, there are no standard works in Hindi on various disciplines, as in Sanskrit.
Cynics and skeptics may well ask whether Sanskrit, a language which fell into disuse eight centuries ago can be revived and made the official language of India and medium of instruction in education. They must cast their eyes wide and see what happened in Israel. Hebrew was the language of the Jews for thousands of years. But, it fell into disuse because the Jews did not have a homeland of their own for a long time and were persecuted in several countries for mote than tow thousand years.But, the Jews had their own homeland when the State of Israel came into existence in 1948 and Ben-Gurion became the first Prime Minister of Israel. It was Hebrew, and not any other language which was adopted as the official language and medium of instruction in education in Israel. But, Israel is none the worse for having adopting Hebrew as the official language, and medium of instruction in education. On the contrary, it had made rapid strides in various realms of human endeavor. Emulating the shining example of Israel, we too can adopt Sanskrit as the official language instead of Hindi, a hybrid language, in a phased manner. But, English should continue to be an associate official language or link language, as well as the medium of instruction in education, especially higher education. But Sanskrit can be introduced as an alternate medium of instruction in education by and by so that in course of time, it can become an effective alternate medium of instruction in education.
This suggestion is of course based on sound commonsense. A person who has been fasting for several days should not be given solid food immediately after he breaks his fast. Likewise, since Sanskrit fell into disuse eight centuries ago, it cannot be made either the official language or the alternate medium of instruction in education overnight. It will take quite some years before Sanskrit becomes an effective official language as well as an alternate medium of instruction in education.
SANSKRIT - A SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE
Is Sanskrit a scientific language? Is it not an anachronism in this age when science and technology has made rapid strides? Instead of answering these questions directly, let us see quotes of Western scholars about the scientific value of Sanskrit.
A German magazine, which deals with world history of facts about India, has recorded the following facts about the scientific advance of India in ancient times, when Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in education.
I think all of you will agree with me that medicine is a science. The German magazine says:
(1) "Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
Charaka, the father of Ayurveda, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago." Today, Ayurveda is gaining ground in the U.S and other countries. Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in Ayurveda in ancient times and there are several standard books on Ayurveda in Sanskrit.
(2) Again, the German magazine of Germany says:
"Susruta, is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago, he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like caesarians, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anaesthesia was well-known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipments were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, philosophy, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts." Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in medicine in ancient times.
(3) You will agree that astronomy is a science. The Forbes magazine says:
"Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart." As stated earlier, Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in astronomy too during the Golden Age of the Guptas.
(4) Forbes magazine brought out from the U.S. had published a report in its issue of July 1987 that of the languages in the world, Sanskrit is most suitable for computer software, which means that is is most useful for modern technology. Therefore, when Western scientists and technologists say that Sanskrit will fill the bill as a scientific language, doubting Thomases must give up their imaginary misgivings and accept the reality as it is.
Sanskrit and the growth of Indian culture and civilization had been indissolubly bound together in ancient and medieval India. The German magazine says that the world's first university was established in Takshasila (Taxila) in 700 BC, and more than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievement of ancient India in the field of education. Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in both these universities.
However, we have lost our moorings after the advent of independence and relegated Sanskrit to the background. This is a massive tragedy. One Western scholar who had mastered Sanskrit recently bewailed that "Sanskrit is slowing dying in India". But, the silver lining in the dark cloud is that more and more Western scholars are learning Sanskrit with avidity, and realizing much to their pleasant surprise that is a veritable treasure trove.
So, if thousands of foreign scholars well-versed in Sanskrit wax eloquent on the glory of Sanskrit and also write a number of books on the greatness and glory of Sanskrit, explaining in detail that it will be a valuable vehicle of thought even in science and technology, then our Indian politicians will sit up and take notice and eventually veer round to the view that Sanskrit can be introduced as the official language of India and also as an alternate medium of instruction in education. Therefore, till enlightenment dawns on our Indian politicians, a number of whom are either semi-literature or illiterate, we must wait patiently for the restoration of Sanskrit to its pristine glory. There is a famous saying in English: "Those who wait shall also serve". Therefore, if we wait patiently, then at least our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will serve the cause of Sanskrit, as and when it is introduced both as the official language of India and as alternate medium of instruction in education. Hindi, will soon be drowned by the weight of its own inherent weakness and inadequacies, not to speak of its innumerable dialects, making confusion worse confounded and Sanskrit, which is now like the resplendent Sun completely obscured by the dark clouds, will re-emerge from the dark clouds and scintillate lustrously with re-charged luminosity like the Phoenix, the mythical bird which burnt itself on the funeral pyre and re-emerged from the ashes with renewed vim and vigor. Let us, therefore, pray to God with unflinching faith and what is wishful thinking at present will become a tangible reality in the foreseeable future.
SOURCE: www.ariseindiaforum.org
रविवार, 25 जुलाई 2010
Did lord Ram eat meat
Dr Zakir naik and his colleagues at the IRF believe so. Dr. Shuaib Sayyed, Research Manager, Islam and Comparative Religion, (IRF) says, "It is mentioned in Ayodhya Khandam chapter 20, 26 and 94 that when Rama was sent for Banavas he told his mother that he would have to sacrifice his tasty meat dishes. If Rama had to sacrifice his tasty meat dishes, it means that Rama had meat. If Rama can have meat, why can't the Hindus have meat? ... Sita asked Rama to kill the buck (deer)...What will Sita do with a dead pet? The only logical answer is that she wanted to have the meat of the buck. If Rama and Sita can have meat then why can't the other Hindus have meat?" Let us examine if these allegations have any truth.
Valmiki Ramayana, the original narration of Ramayana, has a total of 537 chapters, and over 24,000 verses, arranged into six kandas, or books. There are only two references to meat, and over a hundred references to vegetarian diet. The Ayodhya Kanda has 119 chapters. Chapter 20 describes Mother Kaushalya's grievous lamentation on hearing from her son Rama, that He has been banished to the forest. Rama tells her in verse 29, "I shall live in a solitary forest like a sage for fourteen years, avoiding meat and living with roots, fruits and honey". Can we validly infer from this that Lord Rama ate meat while in Ayodhya, and now He promises to avoid it in the forest? The exact words used are 'hitva aamishham'. 'aamisham' refers to meat and 'hitva' refers to 'disregarding' or 'with the exception of' (Monnier Williams dictionary). Traditionally, in Vedic culture, when a son leaves home to go to distant lands, he reassures his parents, that he would abide by strict moral codes and never deviate from the religious principles. Say a student promises his parents when going to stay in the hostel, "I won't drink alcohol while in the hostel." Does this mean that he is drinking it while at home? Obviously not. Similarly it's in this mood that Lord Rama assures His mother that he wouldn't stoop low. In Chapter 26 Lord Rama tells Mother Sita of His decision to go to forest and instructs her to stay at Ayodhya. There is no reference to any eating- meat or otherwise-in any verse of this chapter. Moreover in almost all the verses of chapter 94, (which also Dr. Sayyed quotes), Lord Rama glorifies the various fruits, trees, and flowers at the forest of Chitrakuta, with absolutely no reference to any meat- eating whatsoever.
Did Mother Sita ask Lord Rama to kill the deer? In the third book, Aranya kanda(forest trek),chapter 43, Mother Sita spots the golden deer and asks Lord Rama to fetch it. She asks, "Oh, nobleman's son, that delightful deer is stealing my heart, oh, dextrous one, bring it round, it will be our plaything." [3-43-10]. In the next eight verses she rejoices at the prospect of taking the deer back to Ayodhya where the animal will delight all the palace residents. She clarifies that if the deer is to be killed at all (Laksman had earlier warned it to be a demon), then they could use the deerskin as a seat. (3-43-19, 20). The forest dwelling sages used kusa grass and deer skin as seats during the earlier ages when flora and fauna was in abundance. Here again there is not even a hint that Lord Rama or Sita wanted to eat the flesh of the golden deer. In the 36th chapter of sundara kanda (Book of Beauty), Hanuman assures Mother Sita that Lord Rama would cross over the ocean and defeat Ravana. He reveals that although Lord Rama is in great sorrow of separation from Mother Sita, he hasn't fallen down to intoxicants or meat eating. (verse 41)
'Mamsa' has another meaning; the flesh of a fruit. In the South Indian temple town of Srirangam, when priests offer mango to Lord Ranganath, they chant the prayer, "iti aamra mamsa khanda samarpayami" ("I offer mango 'mamsa' -mango flesh- for the Lord to eat). Thus even if there are occasional references to 'mamsa', we should know it refers to a mango.
Valmiki Ramayana, the original narration of Ramayana, has a total of 537 chapters, and over 24,000 verses, arranged into six kandas, or books. There are only two references to meat, and over a hundred references to vegetarian diet. The Ayodhya Kanda has 119 chapters. Chapter 20 describes Mother Kaushalya's grievous lamentation on hearing from her son Rama, that He has been banished to the forest. Rama tells her in verse 29, "I shall live in a solitary forest like a sage for fourteen years, avoiding meat and living with roots, fruits and honey". Can we validly infer from this that Lord Rama ate meat while in Ayodhya, and now He promises to avoid it in the forest? The exact words used are 'hitva aamishham'. 'aamisham' refers to meat and 'hitva' refers to 'disregarding' or 'with the exception of' (Monnier Williams dictionary). Traditionally, in Vedic culture, when a son leaves home to go to distant lands, he reassures his parents, that he would abide by strict moral codes and never deviate from the religious principles. Say a student promises his parents when going to stay in the hostel, "I won't drink alcohol while in the hostel." Does this mean that he is drinking it while at home? Obviously not. Similarly it's in this mood that Lord Rama assures His mother that he wouldn't stoop low. In Chapter 26 Lord Rama tells Mother Sita of His decision to go to forest and instructs her to stay at Ayodhya. There is no reference to any eating- meat or otherwise-in any verse of this chapter. Moreover in almost all the verses of chapter 94, (which also Dr. Sayyed quotes), Lord Rama glorifies the various fruits, trees, and flowers at the forest of Chitrakuta, with absolutely no reference to any meat- eating whatsoever.
Did Mother Sita ask Lord Rama to kill the deer? In the third book, Aranya kanda(forest trek),chapter 43, Mother Sita spots the golden deer and asks Lord Rama to fetch it. She asks, "Oh, nobleman's son, that delightful deer is stealing my heart, oh, dextrous one, bring it round, it will be our plaything." [3-43-10]. In the next eight verses she rejoices at the prospect of taking the deer back to Ayodhya where the animal will delight all the palace residents. She clarifies that if the deer is to be killed at all (Laksman had earlier warned it to be a demon), then they could use the deerskin as a seat. (3-43-19, 20). The forest dwelling sages used kusa grass and deer skin as seats during the earlier ages when flora and fauna was in abundance. Here again there is not even a hint that Lord Rama or Sita wanted to eat the flesh of the golden deer. In the 36th chapter of sundara kanda (Book of Beauty), Hanuman assures Mother Sita that Lord Rama would cross over the ocean and defeat Ravana. He reveals that although Lord Rama is in great sorrow of separation from Mother Sita, he hasn't fallen down to intoxicants or meat eating. (verse 41)
'Mamsa' has another meaning; the flesh of a fruit. In the South Indian temple town of Srirangam, when priests offer mango to Lord Ranganath, they chant the prayer, "iti aamra mamsa khanda samarpayami" ("I offer mango 'mamsa' -mango flesh- for the Lord to eat). Thus even if there are occasional references to 'mamsa', we should know it refers to a mango.
सोमवार, 1 फ़रवरी 2010
SAYINGS OF VIVEKANANDA
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.
The first sign of your becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful
All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.
If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
Face the brutes.” That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.
“The earth is enjoyed by heroes”—this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.”
A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.
All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.
All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that. Do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. Stand up and express the divinity within you.
Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet.
Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.
Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest.
Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.” Tell this to everyone—“Have no fear.”
Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you. Even though you know you are going to be killed, fight till you “are killed.” Don’t die of fright. Die fighting. Don’t go down till you are knocked down.
Be not afraid, for all great power throughout the history of humanity has been with the people. From out of their ranks have come all the greatest geniuses of the world, and history can only repeat itself. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work.
Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; just let God work, it is His business.
Be strong! Don’t talk of ghosts and devils. We are the living devils. The sign of life is strength and growth. The sign of death is weakness. Whatever is weak, avoid! It is death. If it is strength, go down into hell and get hold of it! There is salvation only for the brave.
Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.
Brave, bold people, these are what we want. What we want is vigor in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery. There is no mystery in religion.
Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.
Do not look back upon what has been done. Go ahead!
Each work has to pass through these stages—ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.
Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.
Experience is the only teacher we have. We may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth until we experience it ourselves.
Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.
Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
Freedom can never be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
God is not to be reached by the weak. Never be weak. You have infinite strength within you. How else will you conquer anything? How else will you come to God?
Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. … Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.
Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free.
However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Soul is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.
If superstition enters, the brain is gone.
If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word “fearlessness.”
If there is no strength in body and mind, the Atman cannot be realized. First you have to build the body by good nutritious food—then only will the mind be strong.
Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no other way to know.
Let us not depend upon the world for pleasure.
Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that there may be nothing else left in the mind; no place for anything else, no time for anything else.
Oh, to live even for a day in the full light of freedom, to breathe the free air of simplicity! Isn’t that the highest purity?
Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God.
Our supreme duty is to advance toward freedom—physical, mental, and spiritual—and help others to do so.
Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore, make your own future.
Strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal. Weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced. Others are mere talking machines.
Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner the better.
Thank God for giving you this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world.
The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves! If you do not exist, how can God or anybody else exist?
The greatest sin is to think that you are weak. No one is greater: realize that you are Brahman. Nothing has power except what you give it.
The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the greatest cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
The weak have no place here, in this life or any other life. Weakness leads to slavery. Weakness leads to all kinds of misery, physical and mental. Weakness is death.
The weak, the fearful, the ignorant will never reach the Atman. You cannot undo what you have done; the effect must come. Face it, but be careful never to do the same thing again. Give up the burden of all deeds to God. Give all, both good and bad. God helps those who do not help themselves.
The will is stronger than anything else. Everything must go down before the will, for it comes from God. A pure and strong will is omnipotent.
There cannot be friendship without equality.
There is only one sin and it is: weakness. When I was a boy, I read Milton’s Paradise Lost. The only good man I had any respect for was Satan. The only saint is that person who never weakens, faces everything, and determines die game.
There is only one sin. That is weakness.... The only saint is that soul that never weakens, faces everything, and determines to die game.
Those who grumble at the little thing that has fallen to their lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling they will lead a miserable life…. But those who do their duty putting their shoulder to the wheel will see the light, and higher and higher duties will fall to their share.
To succeed you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. “I will drink the ocean,” says the persevering soul, “at my Will Mountains will crumble.” Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work hard, and you will reach the goal.
To the person who desires nothing and does not get entangled in desires, the manifold changes of nature are one panorama of beauty and sublimity.
Try a little harder, and meditation comes. You do not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever give rest to your system. Not even the deepest sleep will give you such a rest as that.
We are suffering from our own karma. It is not the fault of God. What we do is our own fault, nothing else. Why should God be blamed?
We reap what we sow. we are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
We want to know in order to make ourselves free. That is our life: one universal cry for freedom.
What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made.
What the world wants is character. The world is in need of those whose life is one burning love—selfless. That love will make every word tell like a thunderbolt. Aware, awake, great souls! The world is burning in misery. Can you sleep?
What the world wants today is twenty men and women who can dare to stand in the street yonder and say that they possess nothing but God. Who will go? Why should one fear? If this is true, what else could matter? If it is not true, what do our lives matter?
When once you consider an action, do not let anything dissuade you. Consult your heart, not others, and then follow its dictates.
Whenever we attain a higher vision, the lower vision disappears of itself.
Who makes us ignorant? We ourselves. We put our hands over our eyes and weep that it is dark.
Work unto death—I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes—wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better, to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!
O man, be not weak. Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz., how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us.
Arise Awake and Stop not till the Goal is reached.
The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves. That faith calls out the divinity within. You can do anything!
Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God.
One may gain political and social independence, but if one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom.
With five hundred men, ... the conquest of India might take fifty years: with as many women, not more than a few weeks.
The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness. This is my new gospel.
My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
As long as I live, so do I learn
If any one of you believes what I teach, I will be sorry. I will only be too glad if I can excite in you the power of thinking for yourselves.
Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In India boys and girls are taught to do this.
Try a little harder, and meditation comes. You do not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever give rest to your system. Not even the deepest sleep will give you such a rest as that.
Whatever you do, devote your whole Mind, Heart, and Soul to it.
Go on bravely. Do not expect success in a day or a year.
All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that.
Work, work, work - let this be your motto.
Struggle hard to get money, but don't get attached to it.
To me the very essence of education is concentration of the mind, not the collecting of facts.
Brave, bold men, these are what we want. What we want is vigor in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery.
Strength does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Either in this world or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is the sure cause of degradation and sin. It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignorance of our own nature. Each of us is heir-apparent to the Emperor of Emperors.
Know that all sins and all evils can be summed up in that one word - weakness. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil-doing. It is weakness that is the source of all selfishness. It is weakness that makes men injure others. It is weakness that makes them manifest what they are not in reality What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel-gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose in any fashion even if it meant going to the bottom of the ocean and meeting Death face to face.
Get up, and set your shoulder to the wheel-how long is this life for? As you have come into this world, leave some mark behind. Otherwise where is the difference between you and the trees and stones? - they too come into existence, decay and die.
Be bold! My children should be brave, above all. Not the least compromise on any account. Preach the highest truths broadcast. Do not fear of losing your respect or of causing unhappy friction. Rest assured that if you serve truth in spite of temptations to forsake it, you will attain, a heavenly strength, in the face of which men will quail ro speak before you things which you do not believe to be true. People would be convinced of what you would say for them, if you can strict serve truth for fourteen years continually, without swerving from it. We are all the sparks of the infinite. How can we be nothing? We are everything, ready to do everything, we can do everything and man must do everything, Therefore, my brethren, teach this life- saving, great, ennobling, grand doctrine to your children, even from their very birth. This marvelous doctrine of the soul, the perfection of the soul, is This faith in themselves was in the hearts of our ancestors, this faith in themselves was the motive power that pushed them forward and forward in the march of civilization; and if there has been degeneration and if there has been defeat, mark my words. You will find degradation to have started on the day our people lost this faith in themselves.
There I saw that inside the national hearts of both Europe and America resides the tremendous power of the men's faith in themselves. An English boy will tell you, '1 am an Englishman, and I can do anything". The American boy will tell you the same thing, and so will any European boy.
Can our boys say the same thing here? No, nor even the boys' fathers. We have lost faith in ourselves. There is not one system in India, which does not hold the doctrine that God is within, that Divinity reside within all things. Every one our Vedantic systems admit that all purity and perfection and strength are in the soul already.
Born with the consciousness that they were of to be great, they became great.
Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects, or churches or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man which is spirituality and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that first, acquire that and criticize no one. Show by your lives that religion does not mean words or names, or sects, but that it means spiritual realization. -
Sincerity of conviction and purity of motive will surely gain the day, and even a small minority, armed with these is surely destined to prevail against all odds. -
Truth, purity and unselfishness - wherever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.
It is only in our scriptures that this adjective is given to The Lord-Abhih, Abhih. We have to become Abhih, fearless and our task will be done. Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached!
Strength, manhood, Kshatra-virya, Brahma-teja. All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us believe now-a-days. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of any one.
Strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak. ~ Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz., how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us.
Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength and every time strength. And the Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Therein lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world; the whole world can be vivified, made strong energized through them.
They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, the miserable, and the downtrodden of all races, all creeds and all sects to stand on their feet and be free. Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom, and spiritual freedom are the watchwords of the Upanishads. What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made. Strength, manhood, Kshatra-virya, Brahma-teja. All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us believe now-a-days. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of any one. All power is there. Stand up and express the divinity within you.
What puerile creatures may be saying against you. Indifference! Indifference! Indifference! Bear in mind the eyes are two in number, and so the ears, but the mouth man of action, the lion-heart, that the goddess of wealth resorts. No need of looking behind. Forward! We want infinite energy, infinite zeal; infinite courage, and infinite patience; then only will great things be achieved.
Weakness is the one cause of suffering. We become miserable, because we are weak. We lie, steal, kill and commit other crimes, because we are weak. We suffer, because we are weak. We die, because we are weak. Where there is nothing to weaken us, there is no death, no sorrow.
Your country requires heroes; be heroes. Stand firm like a rock. Truth always triumphs. What India wants is a new electric fire to stir up a fresh vigor in the national veins. Be brave, be brave; man dies but once.
What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, oh, mighty one! and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the Self alone that predominates and not matter. It is those foolish people who identify themselves with their bodies that piteously cry, 'Weak,weak, we are weak'. What the nation wants is pluck and scientific genius. We want great spirit, tremendous energy and boundless enthusiasm; no womanishness will do. It is the man of action, the lionheart that the goddess of wealth resorts to.
Strength is life, weakness is death; strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal! Weakness is constant strain and misery. Weakness is death. Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood.
Strength is the one thing needful. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease. Strength is the medicine which the poor must have when tyrannized over by the rich. Strength is the medicine which the ignorant must have when oppressed by the learned. And it is the medicine that sinners must have when
tyrannized over by other sinners.
Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future.
Thinking all the time that we are diseased, will not cure us; medicine is necessary. Being reminded of weakness does not help much. Give strength; and strength does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.
What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel - gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose even if it meant going to the bottom of the ocean and meeting Death face to face.
We speak of many things parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything. We must strengthen it. First of all our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through a study of the Gita. You will understand Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet and you feel yourselves as men.
Be moral, be brave, be a whole-hearted man - strictly moral, brave unto desperation. Don't bother your head with religious theories; cowards only sin, brave men never. Try to love anybody and everybody.
Faith, sympathy, fiery faith and fiery sympathy! Faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God - this is the secret of greatness.
This faith in themselves was in the hearts of our ancestors, this faith in themselves was the motive power that pushed them forward and forward in the march of civilization; and if there has been degeneration and if there has been defect, mark my words, you will find degradation to have started on the day our people lost this faith in themselves. Losing faith in one's self means losing faith in God.
He who can properly prepare a chhilam of tobacco can also meditate properly.
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.
The first sign of your becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful
All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.
If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
Face the brutes.” That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.
“The earth is enjoyed by heroes”—this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.”
A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.
All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.
All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that. Do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. Stand up and express the divinity within you.
Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet.
Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.
Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest.
Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.” Tell this to everyone—“Have no fear.”
Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you. Even though you know you are going to be killed, fight till you “are killed.” Don’t die of fright. Die fighting. Don’t go down till you are knocked down.
Be not afraid, for all great power throughout the history of humanity has been with the people. From out of their ranks have come all the greatest geniuses of the world, and history can only repeat itself. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work.
Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; just let God work, it is His business.
Be strong! Don’t talk of ghosts and devils. We are the living devils. The sign of life is strength and growth. The sign of death is weakness. Whatever is weak, avoid! It is death. If it is strength, go down into hell and get hold of it! There is salvation only for the brave.
Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.
Brave, bold people, these are what we want. What we want is vigor in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery. There is no mystery in religion.
Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.
Do not look back upon what has been done. Go ahead!
Each work has to pass through these stages—ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.
Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.
Experience is the only teacher we have. We may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth until we experience it ourselves.
Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.
Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
Freedom can never be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
God is not to be reached by the weak. Never be weak. You have infinite strength within you. How else will you conquer anything? How else will you come to God?
Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. … Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.
Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Think day and night that this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free.
However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Soul is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.
If superstition enters, the brain is gone.
If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word “fearlessness.”
If there is no strength in body and mind, the Atman cannot be realized. First you have to build the body by good nutritious food—then only will the mind be strong.
Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no other way to know.
Let us not depend upon the world for pleasure.
Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that there may be nothing else left in the mind; no place for anything else, no time for anything else.
Oh, to live even for a day in the full light of freedom, to breathe the free air of simplicity! Isn’t that the highest purity?
Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God.
Our supreme duty is to advance toward freedom—physical, mental, and spiritual—and help others to do so.
Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore, make your own future.
Strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal. Weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced. Others are mere talking machines.
Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner the better.
Thank God for giving you this world as a moral gymnasium to help your development, but never imagine you can help the world.
The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves! If you do not exist, how can God or anybody else exist?
The greatest sin is to think that you are weak. No one is greater: realize that you are Brahman. Nothing has power except what you give it.
The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the greatest cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
The weak have no place here, in this life or any other life. Weakness leads to slavery. Weakness leads to all kinds of misery, physical and mental. Weakness is death.
The weak, the fearful, the ignorant will never reach the Atman. You cannot undo what you have done; the effect must come. Face it, but be careful never to do the same thing again. Give up the burden of all deeds to God. Give all, both good and bad. God helps those who do not help themselves.
The will is stronger than anything else. Everything must go down before the will, for it comes from God. A pure and strong will is omnipotent.
There cannot be friendship without equality.
There is only one sin and it is: weakness. When I was a boy, I read Milton’s Paradise Lost. The only good man I had any respect for was Satan. The only saint is that person who never weakens, faces everything, and determines die game.
There is only one sin. That is weakness.... The only saint is that soul that never weakens, faces everything, and determines to die game.
Those who grumble at the little thing that has fallen to their lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling they will lead a miserable life…. But those who do their duty putting their shoulder to the wheel will see the light, and higher and higher duties will fall to their share.
To succeed you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. “I will drink the ocean,” says the persevering soul, “at my Will Mountains will crumble.” Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work hard, and you will reach the goal.
To the person who desires nothing and does not get entangled in desires, the manifold changes of nature are one panorama of beauty and sublimity.
Try a little harder, and meditation comes. You do not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever give rest to your system. Not even the deepest sleep will give you such a rest as that.
We are suffering from our own karma. It is not the fault of God. What we do is our own fault, nothing else. Why should God be blamed?
We reap what we sow. we are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
We want to know in order to make ourselves free. That is our life: one universal cry for freedom.
What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made.
What the world wants is character. The world is in need of those whose life is one burning love—selfless. That love will make every word tell like a thunderbolt. Aware, awake, great souls! The world is burning in misery. Can you sleep?
What the world wants today is twenty men and women who can dare to stand in the street yonder and say that they possess nothing but God. Who will go? Why should one fear? If this is true, what else could matter? If it is not true, what do our lives matter?
When once you consider an action, do not let anything dissuade you. Consult your heart, not others, and then follow its dictates.
Whenever we attain a higher vision, the lower vision disappears of itself.
Who makes us ignorant? We ourselves. We put our hands over our eyes and weep that it is dark.
Work unto death—I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes—wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better, to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!
O man, be not weak. Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz., how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us.
Arise Awake and Stop not till the Goal is reached.
The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves. That faith calls out the divinity within. You can do anything!
Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God.
One may gain political and social independence, but if one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom.
With five hundred men, ... the conquest of India might take fifty years: with as many women, not more than a few weeks.
The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness. This is my new gospel.
My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
As long as I live, so do I learn
If any one of you believes what I teach, I will be sorry. I will only be too glad if I can excite in you the power of thinking for yourselves.
Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In India boys and girls are taught to do this.
Try a little harder, and meditation comes. You do not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever give rest to your system. Not even the deepest sleep will give you such a rest as that.
Whatever you do, devote your whole Mind, Heart, and Soul to it.
Go on bravely. Do not expect success in a day or a year.
All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that.
Work, work, work - let this be your motto.
Struggle hard to get money, but don't get attached to it.
To me the very essence of education is concentration of the mind, not the collecting of facts.
Brave, bold men, these are what we want. What we want is vigor in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery.
Strength does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Either in this world or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is the sure cause of degradation and sin. It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignorance of our own nature. Each of us is heir-apparent to the Emperor of Emperors.
Know that all sins and all evils can be summed up in that one word - weakness. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil-doing. It is weakness that is the source of all selfishness. It is weakness that makes men injure others. It is weakness that makes them manifest what they are not in reality What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel-gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose in any fashion even if it meant going to the bottom of the ocean and meeting Death face to face.
Get up, and set your shoulder to the wheel-how long is this life for? As you have come into this world, leave some mark behind. Otherwise where is the difference between you and the trees and stones? - they too come into existence, decay and die.
Be bold! My children should be brave, above all. Not the least compromise on any account. Preach the highest truths broadcast. Do not fear of losing your respect or of causing unhappy friction. Rest assured that if you serve truth in spite of temptations to forsake it, you will attain, a heavenly strength, in the face of which men will quail ro speak before you things which you do not believe to be true. People would be convinced of what you would say for them, if you can strict serve truth for fourteen years continually, without swerving from it. We are all the sparks of the infinite. How can we be nothing? We are everything, ready to do everything, we can do everything and man must do everything, Therefore, my brethren, teach this life- saving, great, ennobling, grand doctrine to your children, even from their very birth. This marvelous doctrine of the soul, the perfection of the soul, is This faith in themselves was in the hearts of our ancestors, this faith in themselves was the motive power that pushed them forward and forward in the march of civilization; and if there has been degeneration and if there has been defeat, mark my words. You will find degradation to have started on the day our people lost this faith in themselves.
There I saw that inside the national hearts of both Europe and America resides the tremendous power of the men's faith in themselves. An English boy will tell you, '1 am an Englishman, and I can do anything". The American boy will tell you the same thing, and so will any European boy.
Can our boys say the same thing here? No, nor even the boys' fathers. We have lost faith in ourselves. There is not one system in India, which does not hold the doctrine that God is within, that Divinity reside within all things. Every one our Vedantic systems admit that all purity and perfection and strength are in the soul already.
Born with the consciousness that they were of to be great, they became great.
Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects, or churches or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man which is spirituality and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that first, acquire that and criticize no one. Show by your lives that religion does not mean words or names, or sects, but that it means spiritual realization. -
Sincerity of conviction and purity of motive will surely gain the day, and even a small minority, armed with these is surely destined to prevail against all odds. -
Truth, purity and unselfishness - wherever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.
It is only in our scriptures that this adjective is given to The Lord-Abhih, Abhih. We have to become Abhih, fearless and our task will be done. Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached!
Strength, manhood, Kshatra-virya, Brahma-teja. All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us believe now-a-days. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of any one.
Strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak. ~ Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz., how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us.
Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength and every time strength. And the Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Therein lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world; the whole world can be vivified, made strong energized through them.
They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, the miserable, and the downtrodden of all races, all creeds and all sects to stand on their feet and be free. Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom, and spiritual freedom are the watchwords of the Upanishads. What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made. Strength, manhood, Kshatra-virya, Brahma-teja. All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us believe now-a-days. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of any one. All power is there. Stand up and express the divinity within you.
What puerile creatures may be saying against you. Indifference! Indifference! Indifference! Bear in mind the eyes are two in number, and so the ears, but the mouth man of action, the lion-heart, that the goddess of wealth resorts. No need of looking behind. Forward! We want infinite energy, infinite zeal; infinite courage, and infinite patience; then only will great things be achieved.
Weakness is the one cause of suffering. We become miserable, because we are weak. We lie, steal, kill and commit other crimes, because we are weak. We suffer, because we are weak. We die, because we are weak. Where there is nothing to weaken us, there is no death, no sorrow.
Your country requires heroes; be heroes. Stand firm like a rock. Truth always triumphs. What India wants is a new electric fire to stir up a fresh vigor in the national veins. Be brave, be brave; man dies but once.
What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, oh, mighty one! and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the Self alone that predominates and not matter. It is those foolish people who identify themselves with their bodies that piteously cry, 'Weak,weak, we are weak'. What the nation wants is pluck and scientific genius. We want great spirit, tremendous energy and boundless enthusiasm; no womanishness will do. It is the man of action, the lionheart that the goddess of wealth resorts to.
Strength is life, weakness is death; strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal! Weakness is constant strain and misery. Weakness is death. Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood.
Strength is the one thing needful. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease. Strength is the medicine which the poor must have when tyrannized over by the rich. Strength is the medicine which the ignorant must have when oppressed by the learned. And it is the medicine that sinners must have when
tyrannized over by other sinners.
Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future.
Thinking all the time that we are diseased, will not cure us; medicine is necessary. Being reminded of weakness does not help much. Give strength; and strength does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.
What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel - gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose even if it meant going to the bottom of the ocean and meeting Death face to face.
We speak of many things parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything. We must strengthen it. First of all our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through a study of the Gita. You will understand Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet and you feel yourselves as men.
Be moral, be brave, be a whole-hearted man - strictly moral, brave unto desperation. Don't bother your head with religious theories; cowards only sin, brave men never. Try to love anybody and everybody.
Faith, sympathy, fiery faith and fiery sympathy! Faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God - this is the secret of greatness.
This faith in themselves was in the hearts of our ancestors, this faith in themselves was the motive power that pushed them forward and forward in the march of civilization; and if there has been degeneration and if there has been defect, mark my words, you will find degradation to have started on the day our people lost this faith in themselves. Losing faith in one's self means losing faith in God.
He who can properly prepare a chhilam of tobacco can also meditate properly.
रविवार, 31 जनवरी 2010
Journey Of Soul
In this topic, lemme introduce you to the journey of our soul.
It is said that every soul attains the form of 84 lakh forms of life on this earth before the human form is attained which will go on. There are three storage boxes for deeds of every soul, they are:
1) Sachitam 2) Prarartham 3) Agami.
Of these three,
sachitam stores the deeds
prartham is what going to happen
agami is what happened
So, how are the deeds stored ? lets see
Our deeds are stored in the five elements of life - air, water, fire, land, sky.
That is the reason one cant live without the five elements. You release some kind of vibrations for every deed which are stored in these elements. These vibrations will again return to you whatever form you attain.
See, some times the pujari says that you have problem with water and warns not to go near it. Reason is same, the vibrations stored in water
These five elements love God. So, by repeating the name of God, the vibrations will be neutralised.
Also, whats happening now, praratham, has relation with sachitam. the deeds stored in sachitam will start coming back to you in praratham depending on the situation. This can be controlled by the repetition of name of God. For example, say you are travelling on bike, some stupids came rashly and dashed you and both fell, but you are chanting the name of God, then you will get less injuries ( It really happened to my sir who told us of these things).
So, if anyone beats you, dont beat him, he will have one deed in his sachitam than yours which will be neutralised if you beat him.
But, one thing no one can change is agami. Agami is what happened. so, you cant repeat history. If you do some bad, you cant recover it. It returns to you whatever form you are born with. You will keep on attaining the form of human unless all the deeds are neutralised. Might be some unlucky souls may have to see animal forms again from human forms due to the worst of the deeds
My friends, I thus want you all to remember all these things before commiting bad deeds
It is said that every soul attains the form of 84 lakh forms of life on this earth before the human form is attained which will go on. There are three storage boxes for deeds of every soul, they are:
1) Sachitam 2) Prarartham 3) Agami.
Of these three,
sachitam stores the deeds
prartham is what going to happen
agami is what happened
So, how are the deeds stored ? lets see
Our deeds are stored in the five elements of life - air, water, fire, land, sky.
That is the reason one cant live without the five elements. You release some kind of vibrations for every deed which are stored in these elements. These vibrations will again return to you whatever form you attain.
See, some times the pujari says that you have problem with water and warns not to go near it. Reason is same, the vibrations stored in water
These five elements love God. So, by repeating the name of God, the vibrations will be neutralised.
Also, whats happening now, praratham, has relation with sachitam. the deeds stored in sachitam will start coming back to you in praratham depending on the situation. This can be controlled by the repetition of name of God. For example, say you are travelling on bike, some stupids came rashly and dashed you and both fell, but you are chanting the name of God, then you will get less injuries ( It really happened to my sir who told us of these things).
So, if anyone beats you, dont beat him, he will have one deed in his sachitam than yours which will be neutralised if you beat him.
But, one thing no one can change is agami. Agami is what happened. so, you cant repeat history. If you do some bad, you cant recover it. It returns to you whatever form you are born with. You will keep on attaining the form of human unless all the deeds are neutralised. Might be some unlucky souls may have to see animal forms again from human forms due to the worst of the deeds
My friends, I thus want you all to remember all these things before commiting bad deeds
सदस्यता लें
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