Daily Hindu Wisdom

[Green Gaia]

It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be conquered, Arjuna, through regular practice and detachment. Those who lack self-control will find it difficult to progress in meditation; but those who are self-controlled, striving earnestly through the right means, will attain the goal.

-Bhagavad Gita 6:35-36

 

[Green Gaia]

The joy of health abides in the man who eats moderately.
Even so, the pain of illness dwells with him who eats excessively.

The thoughtless glutton who gorges himself beyond
His digestive fire's limits will be consumed by limitless ills.

-Tirukkural 95:946-947

 

[Green Gaia]

Sleeping, sitting, walking,
Nothing good or bad befalls me.

I sleep, I sit, I walk,
And I am happy.

-Ashtavakra Gita 13:5

 

[Green Gaia]

Love alone will abide thee.


-Tamil Proverb

 

[Green Gaia]

The Lord of Love is before and behind.
He extends to the right and to the left.
He extends above; he extends below.
There is no one here but the Lord of Love.
He alone is; in truth, he alone is.

-Mundaka Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Live in the world like an ant. The world contains a mixture of truth and untruth, sugar and sand. Be an ant and take the sugar.

-Ramakrishna

 

[Green Gaia]

Perfect renunciation is difficult to attain without performing action. But the wise, following the path of selfless service, quickly reach the Brahman.

-Bhagavad Gita 5:6

 

[Green Gaia]

The head which cannot bow before the Feet of the Possessor
Of eight infinite powers is like the senses lacking the power to perceive.

The boundless ocean of births can be crossed,
But not without intimate union with Infinity's Holy Feet.

-Tirukkural 1:9-10

 

[Green Gaia]

Let Hari teach you,
Or Brahman, born of the lotus,
Or Shiva Himself!

Unless you forget everything,
You will never live in your heart.

-Ashtavakra Gita 16:11

 

[Green Gaia]

Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose. Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.

-Bhagavad Gita 16:13–18

 

[Green Gaia]

Shiva and Shakti are one,
Like air and the wind,
Like gold and its luster.

Shiva and Shakti cannot be separated.
They are like musk and its fragrance,
like fire and its heat.

-Jnaneshwar (also known as Jnanadeva)

 

[Green Gaia]

Realizing that from which all words turn back
And thoughts can never reach, one knows
The bliss of Brahman and fears no more.

-Taittiriya Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Cling to the feet of a master who can introduce you to yourself.

-Swami Veda Bharati

 

[Green Gaia]

A long and joyous life rewards those who remain firmly
On the faultless path of Him who controls the five senses.

They alone dispel the mind's distress
Who take refuge at the Feet of the Incomparable One.

They alone can cross life's other oceans who take refuge
At the Feet of the Gracious One, Himself an ocean of virtue.

-Tirukkural 1:6-8

 

[Green Gaia]

Without blame or praise
Anger or rejoicing.

He gives nothing.
He takes nothing.

He wants nothing,
Nothing at all.

-Ashtavakra Gita 17:13

 

[Green Gaia]

Enlightenment is merely an impersonal happening. We give it the taint of personal achievement. Therefore the question arises, "What is an enlightened being like?" There is no such thing as an enlightened person. Enlightenment is merely another event. There is a flood, a fire, an earthquake; there is enlightenment, just as one happening in the whole process, all part of the phenomenal process.

-Ramesh Balsekar

 

[Green Gaia]

The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak? Who is that
Invisible one who sees through my eyes
And hears through my ears?"

The teacher replies:
"The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
The wise realize the deathless Self."

-Kena Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

O Lord of creatures, Father of all beings,
you alone pervade all that has come to birth.
Grant us our heart’s desire for which we pray.
May we become the lords of many treasures!

-Rig Veda

 

[Green Gaia]

Some offer wealth; others offer sense restraint and suffering. Some take vows and offer knowledge and study of the scriptures; and some make the offering of meditation. Some offer the forces of vitality, regulating their inhalation and exhalation, and thus gain control over these forces. Others offer the forces of vitality through restraint of their senses. All these understand the meaning of service and will be cleansed of their impurities.

-Bhagavad Gita 4:28-30

 

[Green Gaia]

Adversity and prosperity never cease to exist. The adornment
Of great men's minds is to remain unswervingly just under both.

-Tirukkural 12:115