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.
Swamiji Vivekananda asks: “What is this universe? From what does it arise? Into what does it go?” And this is his answer: “In freedom it arises, in freedom it rests, and into freedom it melts away.” Swamiji’s words on the trinity of bondage and the trinity of freedom are useful springboards for our own personal reflections on the subject.
When I look at a person, do I really see the person? When I look at myself, do I really see myself? Considering how little I know about others and about myself, I am not really seeing anything and anyone as they truly are. What’s the point of living a superficial life, skimming the surface and ignoring the truth that lies within?
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?
Masks are playing a big role in our lives in the last two years. Some like them, others tolerate them, and some others hate them. Some feel that masks are still needed, others feel it’s time to throw them away, and still others feel they were never useful. So what do we do with these masks? Today’s reflection is a deep dive into the world of masks, seen and unseen.
Everyone forgets things. But when we forget things that really matter, we pay a heavy price. No price is heavier than being condemned to a life of unstoppable aging, inevitable sickness, and eventual death, not to mention anxiety, stress and worry. Vedanta teaches that this is the result of forgetfulness, and it can be overcome.
Having addressed a few questions about the world and about the self, we must now turn our attention to God, who is probably the most significant among the triad of religious inquiry. What kind of questions come to mind when we begin to think about God? Here are a few.
Death is inevitable. Do we have any choice in the matter? Yes, we do. Not necessarily about when to die, but how to die. The external circumstances of death are beyond our control. But the internal preparation for death is entirely within our control. Only if we know how to die well, we’ll know how to live well.
We hear sounds and voices throughout the day. They come from outside as well as from inside. If we cannot control them, the ability to hear can get overwhelmed and leave us exhausted. What chance do we have, then, to hear the mantra clearly, as we are expected to do in the practice of Japa? How can I make Japa an activity that I will look forward to everyday?
