Commentaries on various scriptures and other wisdom
Meditation is not an end in itself, but rather the means to an end–to the daily living out of the illumined consciousness produced by meditation. We go into meditation so we can come out of meditation more conscious and better equipped to live our life.
We have added Swami Nirmalananda’s Commentary on some of Shankara’s works, which we have called “The Catechism of Enlightenment.” Read this uselful introduction.
“Even if he is fond of quoting appropriate texts, the thoughtless man who does not put them into practice himself is like a cowherd counting other people’s cows, not a partner in the Holy Life” (Buddha, from the Dhammapada 19).
The illumined know that they are the immortal Self whose ultimate Self is the Immortal Itself. We are spirits within Spirit, in a wondrous way both ourselves and Brahman, both finite and infinite. Find out more here.
“For the born, death is certain; for the dead there is certainly birth. Therefore,… you should not mourn.” (from the Bhagavad Gita) Find out how to apply this in your life.
We have often collected the sayings of the wise here at Atma Jyoti Ashram, so that we can benefit from their frequent study. Here are a few quotes about renunciation from Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna and Mahendranath Gupta (“M”).