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?
In Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, Śaṅkarācārya’s masterly manual of Vedanta, we read of the three rare blessings which are received only through God’s grace. What are those blessings? What do we do with them?
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.
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.
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.
Dialogue occurs not only through personal conversations and encounters but also via letters and emails, essays and books. It happens both in real time and also spread over days, years, even centuries. It’s the exchange of ideas that is central to a dialogue, not when or how that exchange takes place.
