22 October 2012 Sri Sri Durga Puja

"(And We commanded:) Let the People of the Gospel judge by what God sent down therein; and whoever does not judge by what God has sent down, those are indeed the transgressors" (Quran 5:47).

"By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God 'made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 602).

"Concentration is Samaadhi, and that is Yoga proper; that is the principal theme of this science, and it is the highest means" (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1, 291).

"Do I want for any fruits?

The fruit that makes my life fruitful, that I have.

For in my heart is planted the tree that bears the fruit of liberation -- Sri Rama"
(Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, Vol. 1, 57)

21 October 2012 Sri Sri Durga Puja

"Swans fly on the path of the sun; men pass through the air by psychic powers; the wise are led away from the world after vanquishing Mara and his host" (Dhammapada 175).

"The moment we learn to be humble we begin to feel His grace" (Narada's Way of Divine Love, 72).

"Then a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quails from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground" (Numbers 11:31).

"Aum, beloved Śakti of Śiva, Fullness everlasting and fully manifest as this food; O, Mother of the universe, nourish us with this gift of food so that we may attain knowledge, dispassion and spiritual perfection" (Loving Ganeśa, 200).

"Yogaswami: 'You are in me.' Robert: 'You are in me.' Yogaswami: 'I am in you.' Robert: 'I am in you.' The devotees present were astounded. No one  had ever talked in such a way with Yogaswami since the days of Chellappaguru" (The Guru Chronicles, 416).

"But that's the way of the Gospel, the way of the saints. You begin to pray with tears and pain for the good of the other. You pray in such a way that gradually Grace may visit and soften the heart of the other person by bringing clarity and understanding to his mind" (Inner River, 106).

"Do not be dejected. You have got immeasurable strength and power within. There is a glorious future awaiting you. Face all difficulties with a smile. Pain is the real eye-opener and real guide. God is putting you to this severe test to make you more strong and more powerful. Understand this secret well. Never be despondent. Ever laugh, jump, whistle and smile" (Sadhana, 686-687).

"Some look at It [the Self] with wonder" (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1, 462).

"Even when not in samadhi, he remained in a state of ecstasy" (Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, Vol. 1, 8).

20 October 2012 Sri Sri Durga Puja

"The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2527)

"He [God] has put you in the world; it is good that you stay there. Again, He may lift you from there and carry you to a better place. Let it happen as it will" (Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, Vol. 1, 318).

"By Pranayama impurities of the body are thrown out; by Dhaaranaa the impurities of the mind; by Pratyaahaara impurities of attachment; and by Samaadhi  is taken off everything that hides the lordship of the Soul" (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1, 310).

"There is a grain of truth in every statement of every individual according to his own experience. Remember this" (Sadhana, 636).

"It is a matter of the re-cognition of phenomena and the independent self, not of excluding phenomena and annihilating oneself. It is a matter of Ecstasy rather than inversion" (The Enlightenment of the Whole Body, 518).

Those are they who disbelieve in the messages of their Lord and meeting with Him, so their works are vain. Nor shall We set up a balance for them on the day of Resurrection" (Quran 18:105).

"In every moment of God-Communion, attention is liberated from all forms of mind and desire, and the body-mind dissolves in the Blissfulness of God-Realization" (Love of the Two-Armed Form, 397).