God and The Self: What is True?
True awareness of oneself as a conscious entity is known as Asmita: I-ness; the sense of “I am;” “I exist;” the sense of individuality. And the true awareness of the Self is expressed as “Soham asmi.”
Learn to Discern the True and False in What is Taught as “Advaita”
To a friend who sent a great deal of quotations for my opinion/evaluation that are really mostly part of the Fools’ Parade of half-baked “Advaita” that sound good (often the more extreme and bombastic the better they sound) but are untrue.
Who Is the Worthy Person?
The following verse from the Dhammapada relates to any who claim to be spiritual and even teach others, not just monastics. “The man who wears the yellow-dyed robe but is not free from stains himself, without self-restraint and integrity, is unworthy of the robe. But … Continue reading
You Are the Guru
All spiritual life is self-initiated from within; we are both guru and disciple as Krishna and Arjuna symbolize in the Bhagavad Gita. Ultimately the yogi must be guided by the Divine from within his own consciousness. The God-illumined mind becomes our guru.
Viveka: How to Walk Safely in the Jungle of Delusion, Illusion and Deception
“All that glitters is not gold,” is a maxim that can prevent a great deal of mistaken action and thought, including acceptance of ideas that on the surface appear truthful, but if examined prove utterly foolish. Many people love high-flown and seemingly spiritual–and even cosmic–statements that if accepted unquestioningly can appear to be supreme truths throughout one’s life, yet really be foolish or harmful untruths. Learn to be objective.
You Know More Than You Think You Do
The famous “baby doctor,” Dr. Spock, opened his book on caring for infants with a statement that astounded everyone. Addressing the mothers reading the book he said: “You know more than you know you do.” And urged them to rely on that knowledge. What he was saying, actually, was that they possessed “mother’s intuition” and should learn to tap it and act on it.