Inspiring quotes from hinduism and other sources

All those who take refuge in me, whatever their birth, race, sex, or caste, will attain the supreme goal; this realization can be attained even by those whom society scorns. Kings and sages too seek this goal with devotion. Therefore, having been born in this transient and forlorn world, give all your love to me. Fill your mind with me; love me; serve me; worship me always. Seeking me in your heart, you will at last be united with me.

-Bhagavad Gita 9:32-34

 

A mess of quotes today:

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."--Charles Dickens

"There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become."
---Orison Swet Marde

"Where there is joy, there is creation."
---The Upanishads

"As you think, so shall you be."
---Benjamin Disraeli

"Be really whole and things will come your way."
---Lao Tze

"You must do your own investigation of truth."
---B'hai Teachings

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
---Mahatma Gandhi

"Keep a green tree in your heart and the singing bird will come."
---Chinese Proverb

"We need silence everyday to stay open to our inner voice, the voice of universal spirit."
---Unknown

"Simplicity and Sincerity."
---Van Day Truax

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Sing like no one's listening. Dance like no one's watching."
---Unknown

"My mind can go in a thousand directions.
Now I walk in peace.
Each step creates a warm breeze.
With each step, a lotus blooms."--- Andrew Weiss

 

"I am in all things,
From Brahma to a blade of grass."

When you know this,
You have no thought
For success or failure
Or the mind's inconstancy.

You are pure.
You are still.

-Ashtavakra Gita 11:7

 

From Essays on The Gita.



The Supreme, the all-conscious Self, the Godhead, the Infinite is not solely a spiritual existence remote and ineffable; he is here in the universe at once hidden and expressed through man and the gods and through all beings and in all that is. And it is by finding him not only in some immutable silence but in the world and its beings and in all self and in all Nature, it is by raising to an integral as well as to a highest union with him all the activities of the intelligence, the heart, the will, the life that man can solve at once his inner riddle of self and God and the outer problem of his active human existence. Made Godlike, God-becoming, he can enjoy the infinite breadth of a supreme spiritual consciousness that is reached through works no less than through love and knowledge. Immortal and free, he can continue his human action from that highest level and transmute it into a supreme and all-embracing divine activity,—that indeed is the ultimate crown and significance here of all works and living and sacrifice and the world's endeavour.


Sri Aurobindo.

 

Give Us, O Lord, a Steadfast Heart

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you...

- Thomas Aquinas

 

From ‘The Sunlit Path’ – conversations with Sweet Mother.

Q: What attitude should one take to get out of the ego?

Attitude? It’s rather a will isn’t it? You must will it…What should one do, you are asking that?

The surest means is to give oneself to the Divine; not to try to draw the Divine to oneself but to try to give oneself to the Divine. Then you are compelled at least to come a little out from yourself to begin with. Usually, you know, when people think of the Divine, the first thing they do is “pull” as much as they can into themselves. And then, generally, they receive nothing at all. They tell you “Ah! I called, I prayed and I did not have an answer. I had no answer, nothing came” But then, if you ask, “Did you offer yourself?” – “No I pulled” – “Ah yes, that is why it did not come” It is not that it did not come, it is that when you pull you remain so shut up in your ego….it raises a wall between what is to be received and yourself. You put yourself in prison and then you are astonished that in your prison you feel nothing.
Prison, and still more, with no windows on the street. Throw yourself out (Mother opens Her hands), give yourself without holding back anything, simply for the joy of giving yourself. Then there’s a chance that you may feel something.

 

"The Searcher of Hearts wants only your sincere love. He is like a little child: someone may offer Him his whole wealth and He doesn't want it; and another cries to Him, 'O Lord, I love You!' and into that devotee's heart He comes running."- Paramahansa Yogananda

 

"He is a great observer, and looks
Quite through the deeds of men"

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.

 

"In this world it is rare to find souls that do not measure God's omnipotence by their own narrow thoughts. The world is always ready to admit exceptions. Only God is denied that liberty."


Therese of Lisieux.

 

“A considerable percentage of the people we meet on the street are people who are empty inside, that is, they are actually already dead. It is fortunate for us that we do not see and do not know it. If we knew what a number of people are actually dead and what a number of these dead people govern our lives, we should go mad with horror.”


Gurdjieff.

 

Today's DailyOM :

March 15, 2006

Staying Afloat
Riding The Wave Of life

Our lives are continually in motion, buoyed by the wave that is the universe's flow. As the wave rises and falls, we are carried forward, through life's high and low points. The universe's flow may take us to a place in life where we would rather not be. As tempting as it can be to fight the direction and size of this wave that propels us, riding the wave is intended to make life easier. When you ride the wave, your life can evolve naturally and with minimal effort. Riding the wave, however, is not a passive experience. It is an active process that requires you to be attentive, centered, and awake. You must also practice stillness so you can flow with, rather than resist the wave's motion.

Because life is dynamic and always changing, it is when we try to make the wave stand still or resist its direction that we are likely to get pulled under by its weight. If you try to move against the wave, you may feel as if you are trapped by it and have no control over your destiny. When you reach a low point while riding the wave and find your feet touching bottom, remember to stay standing so that you can leap forward along with the wave the next time it rises. Trying to resist life's flow is a losing proposition and costly because you waste energy.

Riding the wave allows you to move forward without expending too much of your own efforts. When you ride the wave, you are carried by it and your head can "stay above water" as you go wherever it takes you. It can be difficult to trust the universe and let go of the urge to fight life's flow, and you may find it easier to ride the wave if you can stay calm and relaxed. Riding the wave will always take you where you need to go.

 

Established within themselves, they are equal in pleasure and pain, praise and blame, kindness and unkindness. Clay, a rock, and gold are the same to them. Alike in honor and dishonor, alike to friend and foe, they have given up every selfish pursuit. Such are those who have gone beyond the gunas.

-Bhagavad Gita 14:24-25

 

"You do not realize your own situation. You are in prison. All you can wish for, if you are a sensible man, is to escape. But how to escape?...If a man is at any time to have a chance of escape, then he must first of all realize that he is in prison. So long as he fails to realize this, so long as he thinks he is free, he has no chance whatsoever. "



Gurdjieff.

 

"The sun is the prana of the universe,
And it rises to bring light to our eyes.
The earth draws the lower fire of apana;
The space between sun and earth is samana,
And the moving air is vyana.

"Fire is udana. When that fire goes out,
The senses are drawn back into the mind
And the person is ready for rebirth.

"Whatever the content of consciousness
At the time of death, that is what unites us
To prana, udana, and the Self,
To be reborn in the plane we have earned."

-Prashna Upanishad

 

Prayer for the World's People

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.


Shinto
source: The Peace Abbey

 

If you want peace,fight for justice - Unkown

 

"If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together, they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way."

Gurdjieff.

 

The Prayer of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.

 

"I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them."

-Bhagavad Gita 9:29

 

A Decalogue of Canons for Observation in Practical Life

1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.

-Thomas Jefferson