“You” is clearly whoever is in front of me. “Me” is myself, whatever my notion of “self” may be. “This” is whatever is relatively closer to me than “that” which is farther away. How are these personal and demonstrative pronouns employed in Vedanta?
Looking But Not Seeing
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?
Worldliness
The Last Day
God Is Seeing Me
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?
"Where Shall I Stay?"
When Śrī Rāma was exiled to the forest by his stepmother, he first went to the hermitage of Sage Vālmīki and sought his advice about a good place to stay in the forest for the next fourteen years. Vālmīki’s answer to Rāma’s question has become a luminous guide to devotees seeking to fill their hearts with God’s presence.
Should Masks Go?
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.
The Third Eye
Overcoming Forgetfulness
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.
Keeping It New
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Questions About God
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.
Questions About Me
Questions About the World
The Flow
Death by Choice
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.
Hearing the Mantra
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?
Looking Deeply
What is my true nature? Why does the real me remain hidden? How am I connected with everyone and everything? Śrī Śaṅkarācārya’s Vivekacūḍāmaṇi addresses these questions, and shows the relationship between me and everything else. All I need to do is to look deeply—and keep looking deeply until I see the truth in its fully glory.