Discernment helps us distinguish the right from the wrong, the good from the bad, the healthy from the unhealthy. When it is time to choose, we instinctively choose to attach ourselves to whatever makes us happy and detach from whatever makes us unhappy. Thus detachment is a natural follow-up to discernment. What does this mean to my life as a spiritual seeker?
Among all the uncertainties of life, there is only one thing absolutely certain—and that is, we will die one day. We plan for many things that may or may not happen. Do we have a plan for our eventual death? A death without any preparation can be a disaster. With preparation and planning, it becomes an art, which transforms the inevitable into an opportunity to be wise and free.
What is the thinking behind calling the Vedanta Society’s Sunday programs “Satsang” and “Antar Yoga”? What do these terms mean—and how are they related to spiritual life, and to our personal spiritual practice?
We all have insufficient information about others (sadly, often even about ourselves) to be able to judge accurately what kind of people they are—even more importantly, what kind of people they will be in the months and years ahead.
Discernment helps us distinguish the right from the wrong, the good from the bad, the healthy from the unhealthy. When it is time to choose, we instinctively choose to attach ourselves to whatever makes us happy and detach from whatever makes us unhappy. Thus detachment is a natural follow-up to discernment. What does this mean to my life as a spiritual seeker?
Among all the uncertainties of life, there is only one thing absolutely certain—and that is, we will die one day. We plan for many things that may or may not happen. Do we have a plan for our eventual death? A death without any preparation can be a disaster. With preparation and planning, it becomes an art, which transforms the inevitable into an opportunity to be wise and free.
We visit a temple to have darśan and we stand before the altar to see the Deity. Are we aware of the fact that the Deity is seeing us too? In fact, God is seeing us everywhere, all the time, even when we are not even thinking about God. If I make it a habit to always remember that “God is seeing me”—how will that change my life?
Hospitality is not just about food. Even a kind word or a smile or a friendly nod goes a long way. If God is in everyone and in everything, what excuse do I have to be nasty to others? If I want to change my life for the better, all I need to remember is that, no matter in which direction I look, I am seeing God and no one else.
The more we do our duty because we want to do it—not because somebody is compelling us to do it—the more freedom we experience. A slave’s work gives no joy. The work we do must be out of freedom. The slave is bound. It is the master’s work that the slave does. The work must become ours, not someone else’s.
Most of us have faced situations in life when we are confused and unsure about how to proceed. We have wondered: “What is my duty in these circumstances?” Often we just muddle through the confusion and use whatever justifications the mind can think up to determine the best course of action. What if we yearned for scriptural guidance in this matter? Do our ancient books have any useful insights that may help us figure out what our duty is?
No one is going to hold it against us if we are disappointed with the world. Life was messy even before the pandemic, but now it’s gotten messier still. While we try to figure out the best way to deal with our disappointments, it is helpful to remember that disappointments have the potential to kickstart a serious pursuit of spiritual life.
If someone tells me, “You are stupid,” I hear the sound, I understand what those words mean, and I hear this person tell me, “You are stupid.” That’s the ordinary type of hearing. But then, almost immediately, I also hear this inside me: “How dare you?” Or “Me, stupid? You moron, you are stupid.” Or, “Why do people think I am stupid? I am not stupid.” …
