Daily Hindu Wisdom

[Green Gaia]

For Brahmins confused those who regard them as separate from the Self. Kshatriyas confuse those who regard them as separate from the Self. The universe confuses those who regard it as separate from the Self. Gods and creatures confuse those who regard them as separate from the Self. Everything confuses those who regard things as separate from the Self.

-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Pleasures conceived in the world of the senses have a beginning and an end and give birth to misery, Arjuna. The wise do not look for happiness in them. But those who overcome the impulses of lust and anger which arise in the body are made whole and live in joy. They find their joy, their rest, and their light completely within themselves. United with the Lord, they attain nirvana in Brahman.

-Bhagavad Gita 5:22-24

 

[Green Gaia]

It is a fool who blames the sun for his own blindness….The scriptures even proclaim aloud: “There is in truth no creation and no destruction; no one is bound, no one is seeking Liberation, no one is on the way to Deliverance. There are none Liberated. This is the absolute truth.” My dear disciple, this, the sum and substance of all the Upanishads, the secret of secrets, is my instruction to you.

-Shankaracharya

 

[Green Gaia]

Before advancing against men weaker than yourself,
Ponder when you stood before those more powerful.


-Tirukkural 25:250

 

[Green Gaia]

Know you are one,
Pure awareness.

With the fire of this conviction
Burn down the forest of ignorance.

Free yourself from sorrow,
And be happy.


-Ashtavakra Gita 1:9

 

[Green Gaia]

It is but few who hear about the Self
Fewer still dedicate their lives to its
Realization. Wonderful is the one
Who speaks about the Self; rare are they
Who make it the supreme goal of their lives.

-Katha Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Arjuna: "What is the force that binds us to selfish deeds, O Krishna? What power moves us, even against our will, as if forcing us?"

Sri Krishna: "It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the guna of rajas; these are the appetites and evils which threaten a person in this life."


-Bhagavad Gita 3:36-37

 

[Green Gaia]

High Truth, unyielding Order, Consecration,
Ardor and Prayer and Holy Ritual
uphold the Earth; may she, the ruling Mistress
of what has been and what will come to be,
for us spread wide a limitless domain.


-Rig Veda

 

[Green Gaia]

Banishing the folly of rebirth and thus beholding
Perfection's True Being - that is wisdom.


-Tirukkural 36:358

 

[Green Gaia]

You are always the same
Unfathomable awareness,
Limitless and free,
Serene and unperturbed.

Desire only your own awareness.


-Ashtavakra Gita 1:17

 

[Green Gaia]

The wise see the Lord of Love in the sun,
Rising in all its golden radiance
To give its warmth and light and life to all.


-Prashna Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

All actions are performed by the gunas of prakriti. Deluded by his identification with the ego, a person thinks, "I am the doer." But the illumined man or woman understands the domain of the gunas and is not attached. Such people know that the gunas interact with each other; they do not claim to be the doer.

-Bhagavad Gita 3:27

 

[Green Gaia]

Impart to us those vitalizing forces
that come, O Earth, from deep within your body,
your central point, your navel; purify us wholly.
The Earth is mother; I am son of Earth.
The Rain-giver is my father; may he shower on us
blessings!


-Rig Veda

 

[Green Gaia]

The great teacher Prajapati said: “The Self is pure, free from decay and death, free from hunger and thirst, and free from sorrow. The Self desires nothing that is not good, wills nothing that is not good. Seek and realize the Self! Those who seek and realize the Self fulfill all their desires and attain the goal supreme.”

-Chandogya Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Arjuna: O Krishna, the stillness of divine union which you describe is beyond my comprehension. How can the mind, which is so restless, attain lasting peace? Krishna, the mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent, trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind.

Sri Krishna: 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 6:33-36

 

[Green Gaia]

Light illumines the Sun,
But the Sun itself
creates that light.
The glorious Sun and its light
are one and the same.

-Jnaneshwar (also known as Jnanadeva)

 

[Green Gaia]

Relieving the ravaging hunger of the poor
Is the most secure use of a rich man's wealth.

The fiery scourge called hunger never touches
The man who shares his daily meal with others.

-Tirukkural 23:226-227

 

[Green Gaia]

Knowing yourself as That
In which the worlds rise and fall
Like waves in the ocean,
Why do you run about so wretchedly?


-Ashtavakra Gita 3:3

 

[Green Gaia]

Prajapati said to them: “When you look into another’s eyes, what you see is the Self, fearless and deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme.”

“Venerable One,” asked the two disciples, “what is it we see reflected in the water or in a mirror?”

“It is the Self you see in these,” he said to them. “Now look at yourselves in a bowl of water, and ask me anything you want to learn about the Self.”

They looked at themselves in a bowl of water.

“What did you see in the water?”

“We have seen the Self, even the hair and the nails.”

“Put on your best clothes, adorn your body, and look again in the water.”

They did so, and came back to Prajapati.

“What did you see in the water?” he asked.

“We have seen the Self, well dressed and well adorned,” they replied.

“That is the Self, fearless and deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme.”


-Chandogya Upanishad

 

[Green Gaia]

Sri Krishna: I have revealed to you the nature of the field and the meaning and object of true knowledge. Those who are devoted to me, knowing these things, are united with me.

-Bhagavad Gita 13:18