Rainproofing Our Mind
In the last century (!) millions of people listened to a vinyl Beatle croon: I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in, And stop my mind from wandering.… I’m filling the cracks that ran through the door And keep my mind from wandering.… As … Continue reading
How to Counter Critics of Sanatana Dharma
Why say anything to critics of Sanatana Dharma? They obviously have their minds made up. Do not bother with the fault-finders, accusers and nay-sayers. Sri Ramakrishna said that when an elephant walks down the road the little dogs bark, but the elephant keeps walking on and leaves them behind.
How “Wisdom” Can Get It Wrong
Arjuna looked out at the battlefield, and seeing those he loved and even revered was overwhelmed with the enormity of killing them, and expressed his feelings to Krishna. Krishna’s reaction to this impassioned speech was to smile and say: “Your words are wise, Arjuna, but you are wrong.”
How to Deal With the Illusions of Life
Simply saying: “It is all an illusion,” really does very little. Consider how we attend a play or a motion picture and become completely engrossed in the spectacle, responding with various emotions. All the time we know it is just pretend, but that does not keep us from responding as though it were real. How is this? It is the nature–yes, the purpose–of the mind!
Podcast: What Is the Bhagavad Gita, and Why Is It So Valuable?
In today’s podcast our friend Jonathan Mahoney asks Abbot George about the Bhagavad Gita, its story and its value for the spiritual seeker. Abbot George discusses Vyasa, the pivotal figure in early Hinduism, and the author of many works, including the epic Mahabharata, from which the Bhagavad Gita is taken.
There Are No Dead
“Lead me from death to immortality” is not a petition to gain a state where we will nevermore experience bodily death, but a plea to be led from the outward-turned consciousness that produces death to the in-turned consciousness that produces life. It is spirit itself that is immortality–nothing else. “Change and decay all around I see. O Thou Who changest not: abide with me.” What we are praying for is consciousness itself.