Ishavasya Upanishad: Mantra 1

The ego consists of the illusion of the wave, believing himself to be an entity separate from the ocean, the illusion of believing oneself to be a part, separate from the Whole. Human misery originates with the efforts of the part to resist the Whole. Believing ourselves to be a part, we will always feel that we lack many things, we will miss the rest of what we are, and we will feel that we lack something needed to be whole... Therefore, together with our resistance to the Whole, we feel a deep sensation of being incomplete, of missing something. From a very young age, since our childhood, a sensation is born in us that we are lacking something in order to be happy. We see our older brother coming back from school and we say to ourselves: "When I go to school, there I will indeed enjoy myself". However, the day comes to start going to school, we enter first grade and slowly we begin to understand that it was not exactly what was missing, maybe quite the contrary. Slowly, over the course of years, we start to nourish the idea that when we go to high school, then it will be different, then we will find "what was missing", then I will be happy. Once again, when we start going to high school we see that it was not that what we needed. And then we think that although here we aren't enjoying ourselves, but, at the university... that so-yearned-for university, there indeed we shall finally enjoy ourselves, there we shall find that which we needed so much. Well, I don't think I have to tell you that this story goes on repeating itself, with the work, the girlfriend, the husband, the children, the house, the family, the business, until finally you find those who are waiting to reach their retirement in order to start enjoying or to finally find that which they were missing so much...

.. Surprisingly, we find that by locating ourselves in the body, our identification with it decreases; we become less a body and more a being....To enter and leave each posture slowly, consciously, attentively, and with intense observation, is an invitation to explore the presence of what we really are; to reveal the infinite in the here, and the eternity in the now, to be conscious of the Real...In the execution of every āsana, the body, which is no more than an expression of the mind, adopts a relaxed and motionless posture. It is easy to forget the body when it is calm and still...Egoism is to constantly remember an artificial center. The forgetting of the body suggests therefore the beginning of a mind that forgets itself. And, when the mind forgets, we remember who we truly are. The haṭha-yogī recognizes in the carnal a door toward the spirit; from the material he becomes established in the spiritual. In his body begins a long path that leads to the soul.Every posture, performed with complete attention, invites us to be here and now, to be conscious of this eternal union and harmony with Reality... because in our pursuit of the physical, we caress the soul... and we realize that the beyond has always been here. We rediscover the body, not as an instrument of sin, but as the temple of God.

ॐ ईशावास्यमिद सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्‌ ।

" Oh Kṛṣṇa! When irreligion increases in the family, the women are degraded, and from the corruption of women, oh descendant of Vṛṣṇi, comes undesired progeny, varṇa-saṅkaraḥ."It is very sad to observe our modern society and notice that this verse is practically a prophecy about our days of Kali Yuga. Day after day we see how both prostitution and commerce of women increase, as well as the number of children abandoned by their parents.

तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्‌ ॥ १॥

They think that the Hindu religion is polytheistic, or that it accepts the existence of many different gods. They do not understand that these are various aspects of the divine, just as one person can have many different aspects, and can be a son for his mother, a husband for his wife, a father for his sons, a friend for his collegues at work, an employee for his manager, etc. The Ṛg Veda (1.164.46) says:indram mitram varunamagnimaahurathodivyaha sa suparno garutmanekam sadvipraa bahudhaa vadantiagni yamam matarishwanmahuhu“(They call him) Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān.The truth (or reality) is one, the sages call it (or Him) variously, they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.”Īśvara can possess an infinite number of aspects according to the relationship that we establish with Him, without ever ceasing to be one and the same supreme controller of the universe.We find the principle of Īśvara in each and every one of the monotheistic religions, be they Semitic or Eastern. However, while the principal message of the great majority of these religions is of faith in the Supreme Self, that of Hinduism is of its correct understanding. Perhaps, more than an intellectual understanding we are referring to a comprehension of a spiritual character or a revelation that occurs in the devotee.Bhāva and Rasa in Bhakti-yogaOne of the primary difficulties for the study of bhāva and rasa within bhakti-yoga is the fact that these terms do not possess exact equivalents in other languages.Bhāva refers to a state of ecstasy whose essence is pure sattva. Rasa is the divine taste of the devotional state. Rati is the devotional affection for the Lord.Bhāva refers to a state of ecstasy whose essence is pure sattva, rasa is the divine taste of the devotional state, while rati is the devotional affection for the Lord.The appearance of bhāva indicates that a true relationship has been established between the devotee and God. Bhāva and prema are one, qualitatively, but they are different quantitatively. Bhāva precedes the appearance of prema. When bhāva is manifested in the heart of the devotee, we can be completely secure that it is only a question of time before prema will flourish.

" Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa (46)śiva-sthānaṁ śaivāḥ parama-puruṣaṁ vaiṣṇava-gaṇālapantīti prāyo hari-hara-padaṁ kecidaparepadaṁ devyā devī-caraṇa-yugalāṁbhoja-rasikāmunīndrāpy ante prakṛti-puruṣa-sthānam amalam "The Śaivas call it the abode of Śiva; the Vaiṣṇavascall it the place of Parama-puruṣa; others again, call it the place of Hari-Hara.Those who are filled with a passion for the Lotus feet of the Devī call it the excellent abode of the Devī; and other great sages (munis) call it the pure place of Prakṛti-puruṣa." Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa (44), in "The Serpent Power" by Sir John Woodroffe.It is here that the yogi is completely removed from all personalism to awaken to his universal reality.It is the end of a long path that has spanned many lives from here to here. It is the place of the great divine re-encounter, the true religion, where the individual is reabsorbed in the totality. It is the place of the re-integration that is the final step in the great cosmic process of consciousness. It is the door from the mundane to the transcendental, from the relative to the absolute, from slavery to freedom. To reach it is to cross the boundary from the human to the divine.It corresponds to the Absolute Truth because it represents the transcendence of all relativity; that is say, the reintegration of duality in the unity which is its source and origin.The fusion of Śiva and Śakti implies the evaporation of all duality. Śakti disappears to emerge together withŚiva as the sole, absolute reality. When the kuṇḍalinī is absorbed, and there occurs an integration with totality and a fusion of the knower, knowledge and the known, then the cognitive platform of subject-object is dismantled. When the divine fire reaches the crown chakra, the sense of separation disappears, along with the elimination of concepts such as space and time and the perception of the “I” idea. The yogi transcends himself, with all his baggage of desires and ambitions, even the desire for enlightenment. The entire person, with his emotions, longings and desires is taken, to be reabsorbed in the source or origin, pure consciousness.

" Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇabhruvor madhye śiva-sthānaṁmanas tatra vilīyatejñātavyaṁ tat-padaṁ turyaṁtatra kālo na vidyate“In between the eyebrows is the place of Śiva; the mind is absorbed there. This place named turīya should be sought for, where there is no death”Haṭha-yoga-pradīpika(4. 48)The sixth chakra is the seat of the cognitive faculties, such as buddhi, citta, ahaṅkāra, and manas, and of thesenses, or indriyas. The ājñā-cakra is intimately linked with the vision, the frontal lobe of the cerebrum and the involuntary functions.In focusing the attention, we directly engagethis chakra, which will be affected proportionately according to the intensity of our concentration.Upon awakening the ājñā-cakra, we experience more mental clarity and we observe our situation in life with more freshness. The sixth center is related to the capacity for imagining and the ability to fantasize.Just as our physical eyes allow us to see on the coarse plane, the third eye makes possible the vision of those subtle dimensions that are found far beyond that plane. Along with the awakening of this center, extrasensory powers develop. It is here that clairvoyance and the intuitive faculties are expressed. Both the vision that allows us to perceive auras, as well as the superior intelligence through which we gain access to the visions of the future or past, are found intimately connected with the forehead center.Together with the awakening of the ājñā-cakra, observation sharpens considerably and intuition arises, which implies the end of mental, emotional and spiritual myopia. Both reaching the ājñā-cakra as well as maintaining it in balanced functioning, is a symptom of the highest spiritual level. The number of great souls or mahātmas who have transcended all attachment and egoism, having reached this center, is infinitesimal.Here we find the rudra-granthi or "the knot ofŚiva", the valve that blocks the ascent of the kuṇḍalinī-śakti towards the sahasrāra-cakra for aslong as one has not transcended the sensation of separation, the idea of an “I”. The ājñā-cakra points to the beginning of our true awakening, it corresponds tosavikalpa-samādhior samādhi with diversity”. When the kuṇḍalinī-śakti reaches this point it produces an expansion on the level of consciousness in which it is possible for the yogi to perceive Divinity, while still perceiving himself as different from That.

You are not the thoughts, but they are youFebruary 20th, 2010oṁoṁoṁ  oṁ gaṁ gaṇapataye namaḥoṁ guṁ gurubhyo namaḥom aiṁ sarasvatyai namaḥ oṁ saha nāvavatu saha nau bhunaktu saha vÄ«ryaṁ karavāvahai tejasvi nāv adhÄ«tam astu mā vidviṣāvahai oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥhariḥ oṁ tat satThe great question, or at least one of the most important questions for any religious person, for any seeker—I would say for any dreamer of freedom, for anyone who yearns for freedom, for all who live with this yearning—the main question is:  is freedom possible? And what does this freedom mean? What is it? It is not just freedom as it is conceived of on the surface.There is a lot of talk of freedom, especially when we are speaking about politics. There are those who think, hearing the word freedom, that politics is being discussed. However, freedom from communism or imperialism, freedom from the Chinese or the Arabs or the Jews, or from my husband or wife, is not true freedom, because in this type of freedom, we are still completely focused on other people, on the “other”. It is external and superficial. It is what might be termed “material freedom.”Much introspection is needed to understand that while it is not possible to change what happens, what is important is that the one to whom everything happens, changes the way he sees it. Or as they say, it is not about trying to change what is happening to you, but about changing your attitude towards what is happening.So, when we are speaking in this sense about freedom, when we are speaking of true freedom, we are speaking about freedom from ourselves. Is it possible to be free of our behavior patterns, to be free of this mind, which is what we are, or at least what we believe ourselves to be?It is a mind made up of pain, misery, fears, ambitions, complexes and desires, and everything   in it has been added by others. And all of this is what I believe myself to be, or what I am, let’s say, speaking in terms of facts.

All of these blessed incarnations of the Lord descended to Earth with the aim of preserving religion, rescuing the world from great danger and destroying demons, in order to protect devotees. As is explained in the Bhāgavad-gītā (4.7-8):

yeṣāṁ pūrveṣām aśṛṇor ṛṣīṇām

6. Uttara-mīmāṁsā: This system was founded by the sage Vyāsadeva. The term uttara-mīmāṁsā means "ultimate inquiry” or “highest inquiry”. It is also called by the names Vedānta, or “the final conclusion of the Vedas”, since it presents the Upanishadic truths in a methodical way. In his book, the Vedānta-sūtra, Vyāsadeva brought about the unprecedented accomplishment of systematizing the subtle truths contained in the Upaniṣads. This great text was commented upon by many different sages, from which arose a wide variety of spiritual schools and lineages. Commentaries such as Śaṅkarācārya’s Śārīraka-bhāṣya and his school of Kevalādvaita, the commentary Bhāskara-bhāṣya of Bhāskarācārya and his doctrine of Bhedābheda, the Śrī-bhāṣya of Rāmānujācārya and his doctrine of Viśiṣṭādvaita, the Pūrṇa-prajña-bhāṣya of Madhvācārya and his doctrine Dvaita, the Vedānta-pārijāta-saurabha of Nimbārkācārya and his Dvaitādvaita, the commentary Śrī-kaṇṭha-bhāṣya of Śrīkaṇṭhācārya and his Śaiva-viśiṣṭādvaita, the commentary Śrīkara-bhāṣya of Śrīpati Paṇḍita and his Vīra-śaiva-viśiṣṭādvaita, the Aṇu-bhāṣya of Vallabhācārya and his doctrine Śuddhādvaita, the Vijñānāmṛta-bhāṣya of Vijñāna Bhikṣu and his Avibhāgādvaita, the Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa that reflects the Acintya-bhedābheda of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The three fundamental texts of Vedānta are the Vedānta-sūtra, the Upaniṣads and the Bhāgavad-gītā. Together, these are known as prasthāna-traya or "the triple foundation” of this system. This darśana is intimately linked with the Pūrva-mīmāṁsā, as both share an effort to synthesize the teachings of the Vedas. However, whereas the Pūrva-mīmāṁsā is concerned with explanations about material found in the Mantra-saṁhitās and Brāhmaṇas, the Uttara-mīmāṁsā is dedicated to clarifying the intricate metaphysical teachings of the Āraṇyakas and the Upaniṣads.

A religion that aspires to return to the original source will unquestioningly be tolerant, pluralist and universal.

This state of tranquility and peace is paradise on earth.  Since sensory enjoyment tends to increase our identification with the physical aspect, the greater our addiction to pleasure of the senses, the greater this identification will be. While we don’t suggest purposely seeking out difficulties, the fact remains that inconvenience on the level of the physical body creates a much more conducive situation for a disidentification with the body and the mind, and therefore, a more beneficial condition for meditative states. We will understand the logic of tapas only if we appreciate it in relation to the second step in kriyā-yoga, the study of ourselves, in which disidentification allows for greater clarity in observation.Tapas and repressionHinduism is not a religion that negates life; its attitude toward life is profoundly positive. The sacred scriptures recommend austerity, but do not accept repressive attitudes. We can see this very clearly reflected in the definitive words of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (17. 5-6)...aśāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁtapyante ye tapo janāḥdambhāhaṅkāra-saṁyuktāḥkāma-rāga-balānvitāḥkarṣayantaḥ śarīra-sthaṁbhūta-grāmam acetasaḥmāṁ caivāntaḥ-śarīra-sthaṁtān viddhy āsura-niścayān“You should know that, those who out of ostentation and vanity, and dragged along by the force of their egoistic desires, practice severe austerities that have not been recommended by the scriptures, without discernment and torture the limbs of the body as well as Me, who lives within them, are persons with evil (infernal) inclinations.” It is very important to understand the difference between austerity or tapas, and blind repression. Although they appear to be very similar, in reality they are completely different. Confusion between them can be tragic in our lives, because each leads us to very different places. While a healthy discipline is the natural consequence of austerity, the result of repression is obsession. Repression is blindness, because it is the ego’s resistance to accepting reality. In a certain way it is another strategy, another mechanism of the ego. Lacking the understanding of observation, it involves resistance without comprehension. It is not easy to understand at first glance the simple fact that, as with any defense mechanisms of the ego, repression is destructive.

Translation:

Stemming from the Vedas and sharing in common the Vedic revelation, that is to say, sharing the same roof as the Sanātana-dharma religion, there emerged different metaphysical schools that grouped themselves into six orthodox, or āstika lines. Each one of these is a darśana, coming from the Sanskrit root dṛś which means “vision” or “point of view”. As the word “vision” suggests, the philosophical systems of Hinduism are more than mere doctrines, theories, or products of mental speculation. The sages did not arrive at philosophical conclusions through a reasoning process, and the Vedic message is not the result of any intellectual endeavor, but consists of metaphysical truths, revelations received directly from the ṛṣis , who experienced the transcendental and spoke of their experience. The ṛṣis not only saw, but they shared this vision with the rest of humanity.

The universe, with all that is mobile in it, is inhabited by the Lord; therefore enjoy renouncing and do not covet the richness of others.

We learn the pronunciation of the Veda in the two first limbs. The comprehension of the Veda proceeds from the next two limbs, while the last two limbs teach us how to use the Veda.

Nadya (the seer of the Ṛg-Veda 3.33)

Religion is an individual phenomenon, unlike blind religiosity, which is a social phenomenon. We must understand that they are very different, and not necessarily compatible, although there may be apparent similarities. Anything genuine can happen only in the individual sphere, never at the mass or public level, for the crowd breeds politics, fanaticism and demagogy. Only at the level of the individual is enlightenment attained.

The ego is all the knowledge that we have collected about ourselves and which we hold on to, giving it an exaggerated importance in our life. Therefore, the study of the Self is the study and observation of what we believe ourselves to be.  For the majority of us, to study means to add, it is a gathering up of information in the warehouse of the known. However, true learning requires giving up the archived knowledge and putting aside its authority, something which implies silence and attention. Without silence at every level and without the proper attention, the study and knowledge of oneself will be impossible. In the same way in which we know ourselves physically, observing ourselves in a mirror and accepting that image, without rejecting or trying to hide from what we do not find agreeable, we can study ourselves and know ourselves, looking at ourselves in the mirror of our reactions and activities, in the mirror of the world. The path of yoga begins with the physical body, because it begins with the study of ourselves. From the external, we progress to recognizing thoughts, ideas, strategies, emotions, feelings, complexes, etc. We first pay attention to what is occurring on the exterior and slowly become capable of directing our attention towards what is occurring in our mind. Observation leads to the discovery of what we call “I”, which is no more than an accumulation of ideas and conclusions, information and knowledge about what we are, which we have collected in the attempt to gather and accumulate more positive information about ourselves, to enlarge our warehouse of flattery or applause about ourselves. In studying ourselves, it is essential to disidentify ourselves from the mind, to create a distance from it, to separate ourselves, which is only possible when we adopt the attitude of the witness of the mental activity. If you are observing these oranges or those melons, you can be absolutely sure that you are neither oranges nor melons. Indeed, of all that is observable, you can completely sure that it is not you. Clearly, it does not matter what is looked at, since the one who looks cannot be that which is seen; regardless of what is observed, the observer cannot be the observed.

Commentary:

लोकवेदेषु तदनुकूलाचरणं तद्विरोधिषूदासीनता। ११lokavedeṣu tadanukūlācaraṇaṁ tadvirodhiṣūdāsīnatā |Translation:Performing secular and sacred activities, one only performs those which are favorable, and maintains oneself indifferent toward the negative actions.Commentary:During my life I knew many religious people who never know a religion... and also many people who know religion living and acting cruelly and anti-religiously.That led me not to accept religions but to love religion, I noticed that those who had realized in their lives the ideals of religion do not seem very religious...Favorable is everything that in one way or another contributes to create the appropriate situation for the blossoming of love, which gets us near to our true nature or God... negative or unfavorable is exactly the contrary, everything that takes us far away from the pure consciousness and of divine love. In other words, the good and the bad are directly related to what helps or hinders the development of our Bhakti... Rupa Goswami, the great bhakti-yogi of the Guadiya lineage of Sri caitanya, mentions in the second verse of his book Upadesamrita, the nectar of instruction, the principal obstacles that hinders the proper development of bhakti in the heart of the bhakti, meaning, the activities that are considered unfavorable.atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś caprajalpo niyamāgrahaḥjana-saìgaś ca laulyaṁ cañaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyatiBhakti can be destroyed especially by the following six faults: 1) eating more than is necessary, or accumulating more funds than is required; 2) striving too much for mundane things that are not obtained easily; 3) talking about mundane subjects without necessity; 4) following the rules and regulations of the scriptures only for continuing them as matter of tradition and not in order to develop spiritually, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and work in an independent or whimsical way; 5) associating with people with mundane inclinations that are not interested in development or evolution; 6) aspiring mundane achievements.

In integral yoga, renunciation of the body is not essential to reach the soul. If enlightenment is the realization of totality, our aspiration must be inclusive; never exclusive.

Ishavasyam idam sarvam

26):patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁyo me bhaktyā prayacchatitad ahaṁ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ"If a person offers me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it."In this verse, Kṛṣṇa does not request money, jewels, precious stones or objects of great value. On the contrary, he assures us that he will accept very simple offerings. The only condition for His acceptance of a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a little water, is that it be seasoned with the sincere devotion of the worshiper. The only requirement is love.The nature of worship, or archana, must not consist in an effort to manipulate divine will. We must be careful not to turn religious ceremonies into a form of spiritual trade or business, since offerings made with an intention to receive personal gains or benefits are not in accordance with the spirit of bhakti. Instead, the sole aim of worship in the devotional spirit is to express our love and devotion to God.Through the pūjā we connect ourselves both to God as well as to the spiritual master. It is an effort to communicate with the spiritual world from the physical plane, an intention to contact the transcendental from the relative, the absolute from the dual. The pūjā is a powerful meditation in which we approach the Divine from the world of names and forms. Meditation typically pursues divinity deep within us. Pūjā reminds us that God lies equally in the exterior, beyond each individual, and that “inside” and “outside” and nothing more than ideas founded upon an illusory concept which we have incorrectly utilized as a point of reference to create such imaginary directions.Ultimately, the highest level of arcana is reached by the devotee when he offers himself and his life as offerings on the altar of his heart....The mūrtiA mūrti is an image that represents God, or one of his aspects, incarnations, or manifestations, in a concrete form on the physical plane. The mūrti is fashioned from different elements according to the descriptions contained in the Śilpaśāstras.

This Upanishad bears its name from the first word of this mantra. Isha is the instrumental form of that power which governs, controls and regulates, and which is called Ishwara, or God. This Supreme Power is not a power alien or external to the human being, but it is that in which everything and everyone lies, moves and is. This is the same power that resides in the depth of ourselves, as is confirmed in the sacred Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

Her mind is pure (Śuddha-citta)” Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa (32)Element: The element of the forehead center is the mind, which, when looking towards the relative, is the center of knowledge, but wheninteriorizingand mergingin its source and origin,gives rise to wisdom.Power associated with this center: The possibility to enter into and take another body. Acquisition of mystic powers.Color: whiteEsoteric symbolism of the chakra:Number of petals: 2Mantras of the petals: Kṣaṁ and HaṁMantra of the chakra: OṁShape of themaṇḍala:roundThe diagram of the ājñā-cakra has two petals which represent the two eyes with which we perceive physical reality. Similarly, between both there lies a circle that represents the third eye and the eye of the soul, which is the place where all duality fuses, to be converted into integrated consciousness. The two petals of this center arealsosaid to represent the ātma and the Paramātma. The letters of these two petals are Kṣaṁ and Haṁ. These two letters are the bīja-mantras of Śaktiand Śiva. The two petals are also said to represent the iḍā and piṅgalānāḍīs which are found here in the same place and merge with the principal nāḍ īor suṣumnā-nāḍī, before ascending to the sahasrāra-cakra, where there is the experience of the fourth state or turīya, a state that lies beyondthe other three states, which are jagrat (state of vigilance) svapna (sleep with dreams) and suṣupti (deep sleep). The vibration of the heart of the center has its own mantra, which is Oṁ.Loka or plane:Tapo-loka or Tapa, the plane of austerity.Sense: the mind or the cognitive functions.Gland: pituitary, also known as the hypophysis.Sensory organ or jñanendriya: the mindMotor organ or karmendriya: mindNāḍī :iḍāandpiṅgalāVāyu: prāṇa, apāna,vyāna, samānaandudānaKoṣa: vijñana-mayaG

..Es nuestra ilusoria sensación de separación del plan divino, lo que nos impulsa a preocuparnos obsesivamente de nuestras necesidades y nuestra situación, sentimos que si no nos preocupamos por nosotros mismos, nadie lo hará...Nos creemos un ente aparte de la inteligencia divina, lo cual crea en nosotros temor...El egoísmo no es más que miedo...No importa que al creer adoptar la vida religiosa o espiritual comencemos a correr tras la iluminación, el cielo, el paraíso y Dios, esto continuará siendo un obstáculo en el sendero a la luz... porque el mismo esfuerzo ayuda a fortalecer en nosotros la idea de separación...Luchamos y nos esforzamos para unirnos a Dios porque nos creemos separados...Cuando los rayos del amor puro por Dios iluminan tu alma realizas que hay un plan divino tras todo lo que ocurre, y que tú eres parte de ese plan...

3. Remembering God.4. Serving the feet of Divinity.5. Archana, or offering flowers to God, worshiping the deities in the mandir with 16 different items.6. Offering reverences and prayers to God.7. Acting as servants of God.8. Developing a friendship with God.9. Total surrender of our self to God.In reality, these are not only nine activities favorable to the development of love to God, but together, make the base to the process called bhakti...

lokavedeṣu tadanukūlācaraṇaṁ tadvirodhiṣūdāsīnatā |Traducción:Realizando tanto actividades seculares como sagradas, sólo lleva a cabo aquellas que son favorables, asimismo se mantiene indiferente hacia las negativas.Comentario:En el transcurso de mi vida he conocido a muchos religiosos que nunca conocieron una religión... Y también a muchos conocedores de una religión viviendo y actuando de manera sumamente cruel y antirreligiosa...Esto me condujo a no aceptar las religiones pero si a amar la religión, me di cuenta que quienes han realizado en sus vidas los ideales de la religión no se ven tan religiosos...Favorable es todo aquello que de una u otra manera contribuye a crear una situación propicia para el florecimiento del amor, que nos acerca a nuestra auténtica naturaleza o Dios... Negativo o desfavorable es exactamente lo contrario, todo lo que nos aleja de la conciencia pura y del amor divinoEn otras palabras, lo bueno y lo malo están directamente relacionados con aquello que propicia u obstaculiza el desarrollo de nuestro bhakti...Rupa Goswami, el gran bhakti-yogi de la línea Gaudiya de Śri Caitanya, menciona en el verso 2 de su obra Upadesamrita, El Néctar de la Instrucción, los principales obstáculos que dificultan el adecuado desarrollo del bhakti en el corazón del bhakta, es decir las actividades consideradas desfavorables:atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś caprajalpo niyamāgrahaḥjana-saìgaś ca laulyaṁ cañaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati"El bhakti puede ser destruido especialmente por las siguientes seis faltas; 1) Comer más de lo necesario, o acumular más fondos de los requeridos; 2) esforzarse demasiado por cosas terrenales que no son obtenidas fácilmente; 3) hablar sobre temas mundanos sin necesidad; 4) seguir las reglas y las regulaciones de las Escrituras sólo por seguirlas como cuestión de tradición y no para desarrollarse espiritualmente, o rechazar las reglas y regulaciones de las Escrituras y trabajar de manera independiente o caprichosamente; 5) asociarse con personas de inclinaciones mundanas que no se interesan en el desarrollo y evolución; y 6) codiciar logros mundanos y terrenales.

Every day we hear of another “neo-master” whose neo-disciples speak about the ancient truths of the Vedic scriptures without having the slightest idea of what the Upaniṣads, or the Bhagavad-gītā really are. What is worse, they do so with the innocent belief that these truths are a product of “neo- enlightenment: of their “neo-masters”. These people deny that they are preaching a religion, and say they are teaching a “way of life”, while the “neo-master” takes all the credit that belongs to Hinduism, its sacred scriptures and its sages and holy ācāryas. These days there are many who explain their concepts, ideas, and personal conclusions about yoga and the Viśva-dharma in books, courses, conferences and workshops, but very few who truly inspire us to study the conclusions of Yoga and Hinduism about ourselves. For this it is essential to study the sacred Vedic scriptures. The Vedānta-sūtras (1. 1. 3) state:śāstrayonitvāt"The sacred scriptures are the source of the knowledge of Brahman.”With respect to this verse of the Vedānta-sūtras it is interesting to qualify that it can be translated in two different ways, one being “Brahman is omniscient, and therefore is the source of the sacred scriptures”, and the other being “The sacred scriptures are the source of the knowledge of Brahman”. It doesn’t matter which tradition we accept, it is obvious that this authoritative text establishes the prime importance of the Vedic scriptures.And next, in the same Vedānta-sūtras (2. 1. 27):śrutes tu śabda-mulatvat"However this is not so according to the holy scriptures. And the Absolute can only be known by the Holy Scriptures. " According to the Vedānta-sūtras, the śāstra is the pramāna of highest authority for the ordinary person, and the only genuine source of authentic knowledge within this relative reality, when speaking of what can be perceived through the mind and the senses. Logical arguments or inferences cannot approach the Truth because of the limitations of the senses and the mind.

“May we humans receive brighter light!” Sāma-Veda (3.7.9)

Since the world is a projection of the mind, we realize that the essence of this entire reality of names and forms surrounding us is “emptiness”. Finally, through the observation of emptiness by emptiness, both subject and object disappear, because the essence of both is that same “nothingness”…and who remains to observe the “nothingness”? Although the observer is typically considered to be the subject, or subjective aspect, and the observed is considered the object or objective aspect, the great revelation of the transcendental experience is that both observer and observed are simply two different aspects of the witness. However, the witness should not be confused with observation. Only after both aspects of the witness merge, implying its dissolution, does observation, which is our authentic nature, emerge in its totality.As this experience deepens, we will begin to exist less as substance, but more as presence…until we are transformed into an experience lacking an experiencer…until we discover ourselves as nothing and no one in particular, but as everyone and everything.It is an experience in which we are, but are not somewhere; an experience in which it is impossible to locate the observer, because the observer is nowhere, but everywhere, not existing as something or someone, but as presence. What is produced is the phenomenon of an expansion of the witness in space—or the internal mental field—in which one loses substantiality and gains in presence.The more we meditate, the less we are somewhere, but the more we are; we become less substance, but more presence. This experience is of presence unconfined to any particular place, undefined by any tangible space; it is to be that presence whose center is found everywhere. It is the incredible miracle of “being”, without being somewhere. Authentic yoga is a long path of internalizing the consciousness, because what we are searching for is not outside or far from ourselves. It is not something that can be acquired or added, it is not external or different, nor is it a lack or need. The term pratyak-cetanā or “internalization of the consciousness” suggests that we have never lost what we are seeking, but that it is lying in the very depths of our interior.

We suffer from an internal fracture; we live divided. The body, the mind and the heart are moving in different directions. The physical, mental and emotional pursue antagonistic interests. The mantra is an integrating element that occupies the different aspects simultaneously, permitting their observation. As word, it occupies the physical; as thought, the mental. The devotion toward the deity that presides over the mantra captures our heart, transforming our feelings into devotion. Similarly, repeating the mantra aloud installs it on the physical plane; repeating it mentally sows its seed in the mind; and chanting the mantra, or kirtan, situates it in the heart and increases devotion.As you observe, you will slowly discover that illusion is noise, while reality is silence; the ego is words, but the soul is silence; the mind is noise and you are silence; what you believe yourself to be is just talk, but what you really are is silence. The mantra is a vessel that can carry us from the world of verbalizing to the paradise of peace.The color black is the absence of light, while white light contains the full spectrum and is thus the synthesis of all colors. The silence which we experience when we withdraw from the mind is not an absence, because it contains all that can be said. Music includes all melodies. The silence of which I speak is not a repression of sound; it is not cultivated or obtained as the product of any practice, nor is it an external cosmetic layer superimposed from the outside. It is not the opposite of noise, because it is not of a dualistic or relative nature. It is absolute, a silence not only on the physical level, but on the emotional and mental levels as well. We perceive this silence only when our memories and expectations, our nostalgias and hopes, our thoughts, ideas, judgments, and concepts become stilled…only when our deceptions, attachments, resentments, frustrations, guilt and disappointment are silenced.The different mantras correspond to the different vibratory levels of existence, from the superficial to the most profound and intimate layers of the universe, in which we find the mantra Oṁ, not a word, but a vibration from the core of existence, a pulsation at the very heart of the cosmos.

“The Brahma-purāṇa is 10,000 verses and the Padma-purāṇa 55,000, the Śrī Viṣṇu-purāṇa is 23,000, and the Śiva-purāṇa is 24,000.”

vedanta-krid veda-vid eva caham

The human being may be compared to a musical instrument, like a guitar or a violin which is a unity with diverse strings. If even one of the strings is out of tune, no melody will sound right, though it may be the loveliest of sonatas performed by the most talented of musicians on an instrument of the highest quality. Incorporating yoga and its sādhanā in a practical way in our life actually means accepting a process of “self-tuning”. Any evolutionary process begins with the sincere aspiration to attune oneself and develop a certain level of coherence.

The king knew and was perfectly well aware of the Pandavas virtue and the sanctity of the place. He knew perfectly well that the Pandavas virtue, influenced even more by the sacredness of that place of pilgrimage, can compel them to decide to leave the fight and by that avoid bloodshed, pain, death and violence...

"I am situated in everyone's heart, from me come memory, wisdom and forgetfulness. I am the one to be known through all the Vedas. Truly, I am the compiler of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas".

Out of ignorance, the seemingly beneficial may be nothing more than a misguided whim, causing only damage and harm. Any activity or effort projected by a mental idea cannot be karma-yoga. Only service according to the Vedic scriptures and in compliance with the specific order of our spiritual master is karma-yoga. It must be approved by the revealed scriptures and meet with the explicit approval of an authentic guru. 3. Combined karmaśukla-kṛṣṇa bahiḥ sādhana-sādhyātatra parapīḍānugraha-dvāreṇaiva karma-śaya-pracayaḥ“The white-black is accomplished by the external means. So there, the accumulation of the latent-deposit of karma is caused by means of injury and kindness to others.” (Yoga-sūtra-bhāṣya of Vyāsa on sūtra 4.7)Combined or mixed karma is action which contains a mixture of the positive and negative. Mixed karma can be both beneficial and harmful, such as for example, stealing to buy medicine or food for the poor, or building a hospital with illegally obtained funds.We tend to encounter mixed karma in daily life, because in reality, action is never completely good or completely bad. In every negative action, goodness is concealed, just as in any positive action, something negative is hidden. When we enter the field of action we are speaking of the relative world and setting foot on the dual terrain of the mind.As long as we continue to create karma – whether positive, negative, or combined – we will continue to be chained to this world of birth, sickness, old age and death. Positive karma is like a costly metal such as gold or platinum; mixed karma, a less expensive metal, such as silver; and negative karma, a cheap metal. However, it matters little what metal has been used to craft the bars on the windows of the cell that restricts our freedom. It is not the quality of the chains that is responsible for our suffering, but the chains themselves. As long as our actions are only an escape from the disagreeable and a pursuit of the agreeable, our enslavement by karma will continue.

tāmābhṛtyā vyadadhuḥ purutrā

“Śruti should be accepted as Veda, or revelation, whereas Smṛti refers to the scriptures of the sacred law or tradition. Both are irrefutable in all matters, since religion emanated simultaneously from both.” (Manu-smṛti 2.10)

One of principle ways to ingest this food rich in spiritual vitamins that give inspiration is to ingest it through the daily reading and contemplation of the Holy Scriptures.  We can never forget that in religion, to know the truth does not only mean to be able to explain it to others, or to speak about it without living according to it. Rather, the genuine elucidation of the sacred scriptures cannot be relegated only to the theoretical level but must be put into practice in our daily life. Worldly instruction brings erudition, but religious education leads to wisdom. A knowledgeable or erudite man can give highly interesting lectures but does not necessarily live according to what he teaches; on the other hand, a sage shares with others what he himself has experienced.The study and learning of the scriptures is not a mere storing up of information. Without reflection and without including them in our life in a practical way, book knowledge and the memorizing of verses, cantos and chapters is of no value in spiritual terms, and can lead to intellectual pride and arrogance. With pride and a lack of humility learning is impossible, since to learn it is essential to develop humility, to put aside the authority that we have given to our own ideas, our acquired information, concepts and conclusions, our knowledge which has been accumulated in the past. To study without humility is not learning, but is only a reaction to our accumulated information. From here we see the importance of humility before the spiritual master, which is the principle source of the wisdom of the disciple.Please read these lines with care, as I don’t want to be misunderstood. I am not saying that the knowledge of the sacred scriptures is unnecessary; it is indispensable. What I seek to clarify is that if we don’t reflect on this knowledge and put it into practice in our daily life, it will have no value.The importance of the sacred scripturesThese days we often encounter the term "neo", as in "neo-Vedanta", and "neo-Tantra", in connection with the presenting of the ancient wisdom of Hinduism without even mentioning or relating it to its sacred scriptures.

This Divine power is what really dwells and lies within this mobile universe...

The Upapurāṇas —or subsidiary purāṇas —are a collection of literary works that preserve the priceless wisdom that was put into writing by Vyāsa. The fact that this great literature, which is so rich in spiritual teachings, has remained relatively unknown in the West is always a cause for surprise. The Upapurāṇas are different from the Mahā-purāṇas because they are each dedicated with great fervor toward a particular deity, his pastimes and teachings. While there are 18 traditionally accepted Upapurāṇas, their actual number may be larger. If we prepared a list taking into account all the different versions, it would include: Āditya, Āścharya, Auśanasa, Bhāskara or Sūrya, Devī, Devī-bhāgavata, Durvāsasa, Kālikā, Kalki, Kapila, Maheśvara, Mānava, Marīchi, Nandikeśvara, Nārada or Vṛhan, Nṛsiṁha, Parāśara, Śāmba, Sanat-kumāra, Śiva-dharma, Sūta-saṁhitā, Auśanasa, Varuṇa, Vāya, Vṛhan and Yuga. Included in this list are other scriptures that are also considered mahā-purāṇas: the Śaiva purāṇa, Skanda-purāṇa, Brahmāṇda-purāṇa, and the Nāradīya-purāṇa or Vāmana-purāṇa.

The following are two comments given by the editor about the word Pujaries. I think we can either keep pujaries and priests in (pūjārīs) or as I suggested there, or replace it with Purohitas what do you think?

” That is to say that the mind or antaḥ karaṇa catuṣṭaya, the internal organ of four parts, consists of four aspects or different functions: manas, citta, buddhi, and ahaṅkāra, or the ego.1.Manas:saṁkalpa-vikalpātmakaṁ manaḥ"The very essence of manas is the presentation of concepts and their alternatives (saṅkalpa and vikalpa).” (Tattva-bodha of Śaṅkarācārya, Chapter 2).Manas is the conscious mind or mental function, which is characterized by the vacillation or restlessness of the mind as it moves from one object to another in search of pleasure, acting like a virtual sixth sense or extra sense. As noted by the Tattva-bodha, its main activity is to evaluate saṅkalpa and vikalpa, or pros and cons. Thus it refers to doubt, as indicated byŚrī Subhodinī. Manas pertains to the instinctive or animal state of the human being. Its function is comparable to a radar that searches, takes in and observes the phenomenal world that surrounds it, asking, “Is this a tree, a plant, a shrub?” It is a function that organizes sensations and stimuli into clear perceptions and translates different needs into reflexes, involuntary impulses, patterns of conduct and responses at the instinctive level. It is called the conscious mind because it is that which sees, feels, hears, senses, and constantly delivers impressions to the subconscious mind. Our experiences are captured by manas and remain imprinted upon our mind. Manas is the point of contact of the jñānendriyas, or “senses of knowing”, namely: vision, hearing, taste, touch, and the senses of smell, and the karmendriyas, or “senses of action”, that is to say:speech, manipulation, locomotion, excretion and procreation) with the buddhi, or the faculty of discernment.2. Citta:Citta is the memory, the subconscious aspect of the mind. It is formed from memories, and comprises the repository of life experiences at the individual level, referring to past lives as much as to the present one. It is like an immense warehouse containing all that we have ever perceived.3. Buddhi:The buddhi is equivalent to the mahat, or universal mind, but on the individual level. It is the intellectual aspect or function of the mind.

that the apparent separation or division between cause and effect is only a mental creation.The mind sees the consummation of the work in its fruit. The egoic phenomenon tries to see in the result the consummation of the action, and to strive to find the meaning of the present in some future, in order to perpetuate itself by means of the effect. The division between the act and its result has never been more than a product of our mind, because in reality, cause and effect are one. Enlightenment is liberation from the prison whose bars are that illusory feeling of stability and continuity of the “I”, whose chains are the identification with what one does, and whose shackles are the seeking of rewards for our activities. Since this “I” identifies with the activity, he believes himself to be its agent, and presumes that he is the doer of his actions. Thus, illusion consists in efforts to experience pleasure and escape from pain, which are carried out by a mental phenomenon that calls itself “I” that relates all activity to itself, establishing itself as the executive center or central actor.Clearly, illusion or māyā is maintained on the basis of two fundamental errors: the first, believing ourselves to be the “doer”, and the second, desiring the fruits, or results of our actions.Ultimately we will understand that the solution lies not in doing something that will lead us to bliss, not in accomplishing the correct action that will provide us with the long-awaited and long sought-for contentment, but in that wisdom of the Self, which, like the light of the Sun, extinguishes the darkness of ignorance, and reveals our authenticity, as is explained so beautifully in theĀtma-bodha (3) of Śaṅkarācārya.avirodhitayā karma nā vidyāṁ vinivartayetvidyāvidyāṁ nihanty eva tejastimirasaṅghavat"Activity does not have the ability to annihilate ignorance, because it is not in conflict with it. Only wisdom is capable of removing ignorance, in the same way that light removes darkness.”Karma-yoga offers us deliverance from the enslavement of the wheel of saṁsāra by revealing to us another door that leads out of the prison of our mind.

In other words, to be what we really are is to be in God...

We interpret our body as an organism because we see that a mutual dependence exists, for example, between the brain and the muscles, between the heart and the lungs. However, it is difficult for us to accept that there also exists interdependence between the body and oxygen, between water and food, the Earth and the planets of the solar system, and between the sun and the galaxies.

arvadhÄ«sāká¹£ibhÅ«taṁbhāvātÄ«taṁ triguṇarahitaṁsadguruṁ taṁ namāmi"I offer my most humble and respectful reverences to the Sadguru, who is the very bliss of Brahman and who brings the most sublime bliss. He is absolute, he is knowledge itself personified. Transcendental to duality, all-penetrating like the sky, and the object of the great conclusion of the Upanishads, "Thou art That”. He is one, eternal, pure and stable. He is the witness of all thoughts. He is higher than all the modifications of the mind and the body and free of the three gunas."  Sri Guru GÄ«tā (89)And I say that the disciple must open himself because the door to that which the master wants to show us is found in our innermost depths.

También en el Javalopanishad 1: 2 se describe al lugar de Kurukshetra como un Yajna-sthali, es decir, un lugar destinado a sacrificios, tanto para los devatas o semidioses, como para todas las entidades vivientes. En el Sat-Patha Brahmana se dice:

La historia del rey Dhritarashtra es muy significativa, después de la muerte de Vichitravirya, su madre envió a su primer hijo, el gran sabio Vyasa a visitar a las dos esposas de Vichitravirya, Ambika y Ambalika con el objeto de garantizarles progenie. Al ver Ambika frente a sí al sabio Vyasa, el cual venia del bosque, sucio y mal oliente reaccionó cerrando sus ojos, esta no actuo de acuerdo al deseo de su suegra. Fue este cerrar voluntario de los ojos frente a la sabiduría y la Verdad la causa de la ceguera con la cual nació Dhritarashtra, quizas para ensenarnos que un maestro no debe ser apreciado solo superficialmente ... mientras que el temor y palidez de Ambalika dio como resultado que su hijo fuera pálido o "Pandu" ...

The words we read in the present verse can only be pronounced by a master, by someone who sees. The scriptures denominate such a person "rishi" or "seer". This verse is a direct testimony of enlightenment. No one who does not realize what it says here could write or say anything like that... "The universe with all that is mobile in it is inhabited by the Lord"... this phrase is not a part of any sermon, but it is the expression of a soul in which enlightenment has occurred.

..Serán como mapas en manos de quienes ya conocen el terreno, tal y como lo confirma el Señor Kṛṣṇa en el Bhagavad-gita (2.46):yāvān artha udapānesarvataḥ samplutodaketāvān sarveñu vedeñubrāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ"Todos los propósitos que cumple un pequeño pozo, puede cumplirlos fácilmente un gran depósito de agua. De modo similar, todos los propósitos de los Vedas pueden ser cumplidos por aquel que ha realizado a Brahman, el cual es su esencia misma."Sin embargo es importantísimo comprender que las escrituras pueden ser trascendidas, pero nunca deben ser transgredidas... que libertad no es lo mismo que libertinaje...El auténtico maestro espiritual o santo no tira las escrituras sino que las protege, estudiarlas y profundizar en ellas es una manera de protegerlas...Un gran hombre sirve de ejemplo a la masa, el maestro recibe el nombre de acharya, es decir alguien que enseña a través de su propio ejemplo, tal y como lo confirma el Bhagavad-gita (3.21):yad yad ācarati śreñṭhastat tad evetaro janaḥsa yat pramāṇaṁ kurutelokas tad anuvartate"Las actividades de un gran ser son un ejemplo a emular por los demás. Y cualesquiera que sean las pautas que él establezca mediante sus actos, estos constituirán un ejemplo para el público, el cual los seguirá."Cuando un buscador de la Verdad se refiere a las Sagradas Escrituras, el énfasis reside en las Escrituras... la autoridad reside en la Escritura...Cuando un maestro se refiere a las Sagradas Escrituras, la autoridad es del maestro, el énfasis debe ser puesto en el maestro...Cuando el iluminado habla y utiliza las Sagradas Escrituras, no trata de probar la veracidad de estas, sólo las cita a modo de ilustración...Dentro del bhakti existen diferentes niveles, en las etapas básicas la guía de las Escrituras es imprescindible, no así en las etapas más avanzadas...De acuerdo a Rūpa Gosvāmī en su famosísimo Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu (1.

It does not propose a blind repression or the denial of feelings, but it aspires to an inner alchemy. The devotional process is an integrating path that reunites the feelings and unifies the emotions. The bhakta withdraws his heart from the mundane to direct it and project it consciously towards God. Devotion, unlike emotion, has order and direction; it integrates the feelings by directing them towards the absolute. Through worship, prayers, hymns, mantras and rituals, the devotee creates the appropriate situation to make possible a sublimation of the passions from the unconscious level towards the divine. This sublimation consists in the transformation of our attachment and addiction to the earthly, into authentic love.This yogic path transforms the human being, leading him from the instinctive towards the Divine by sublimating passion and feeling to convert them into devotion and love.Bhakti-yoga can be considered the wisdom of the emotions. Through it, it is possible to understand our emotional activity, observe it and finally transcend it.Bhakti-yoga, its history and the holy scripturesBhakti is the principle devotional current within the Sanatana-dharma religion. Its influence was particularly felt between the seventh and tenth centuries, as it expanded from southern India throughout the continent, inspiring both art as well as culture in general.It is not a post-Vedic spiritual movement, as many western scholars mistakenly believe. Even the very word “rg” means “praise”, and we can see a devotional attitude from the first verse of the Ṛig Veda (1.1.2):agniḥ pÅ«rvebhir ṛṣibhir Ä«Dyo nÅ«tanair uta |        sa devām eha vaká¹£ati ||“Agni has been the object of worship both for the ṛṣis of the past as well as those of the present day. He will bring the Gods here.”Later we find the beautiful supplication of the devotee who requests God to make him accessible. The request comes from the devotee who pleads like a son asking his father (1.1.9):a naḥ piteva sÅ«nave agne sÅ«pāyano bhava |sacasvā naḥ svastaye ||“Therefore, become accessible for us like a father to his son, stay with us for our well being.

1) atrādhyātmaṁ gṛhītvaivalakṣyaṁ syācchreyasā yutaḥantar-yāgasya mahimāsarva-śreṣṭhaḥ prakīrttitaḥ“It is all the more beneficial to incorporate a spiritual aim in the ūpacāras of a yāga. The glory of antaryāga (internal yāga) is above all.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 57.2)nāpekṣitā deśā-śuddhirnāpi kāla-śarīrayoḥyoge jape mānase vaitathā karmaṇi niścitamsarvadā śakyate kartuṁmānasī nikhilā kriyā“For mānasa yāga, mānasa japa and manasa karma, there is no necessity of kāla-śuddhi (purification of time), deśa-śuddhi (purification of place) and śarīra-śuddhi (purification of body), because they can be performed at all times and in all conditions.” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 57.3) divya-deśeṣu kasyāpideśasyāśrayato bhavetyāgasya sādhanaṁ sthūlātsūkṣme koṭi-guṇaṁ phalam“It is proper to practice yāga at any one of the sixteen divya-deśas (divine places). Subtle place (sūkṣma-deśa) is a million times more fruitful than a gross place (sthūla deśa).” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 57.4) yāga-siddhyā japaḥ siddhodhyāna-siddhis tataḥ paramtataḥ samādhi-siddhiḥ syādetayā deva-darśanamāvir bhavantīṣṭa-devādivya-deśeṣu nityaśaḥ“After the siddhi of yāga, along with the siddhi of japa comes the siddhi of dhyāna (concentration), and with the siddhi of dhyāna comes samādhi. With the siddhi of yāga one can have a vision of the deity. Also the deity manifests in the divya-deśas…” (Mantra-yoga-saṁhitā, 57.5)In understanding the word yajña not only in its ritualistic aspect, we see that it refers to any action performed with the objective of satisfying others and without the expectation of a personal gain. If we see humanity as the manifestation of the divine, and we serve it through our actions, we are living our life as a true sacrifice to God.

He also knew very well that Arjuna can decide to go back to the desert, to the forest, something that in a certain moment does arise in Arjuna's mind. This desire or hope, a logical one according to the rules of human mind, is what that the monarch seeks in his question. However, the king did not take into consideration the participation of Lord Krishna, the perfect spiritual master, the presence of the transcendental, who is absolutely beyond any vice and virtue, who ordered Arjuna to fight, to go beyond vice, but also beyond virtue; to fight as a service to Divinity...

Enlightenment is to open the heart to the Whole...

.. To love is to renounce, it is to realize that the real problem is not what is missing but what is in excess... it is to be just as you are...It is important not to forget that love is to renounce, but even more than that, that to renounce is to love... when we advance in the path of religion, and accept the order of renounced life, or sannyas, it is essential not to see superficially only the negative aspect, the "no" of celibacy...What I try to say is that being a sannyas is not only about being single and not having sexual contact with the opposite sex...Sannyas is a divine romance, a loving relationship with God. If a married woman is faithful to her husband, or if a husband understands that he has to be faithful to his wife, how will one whose spouse is the Divine be unfaithful?...In other words, renunciation will not be repression if it is an expression of our love and devotion to God...

It is to fall in love with the Whole...

..It also recommended not consuming tea, coffee and cigarettes... and obviously no toxic substances like alcohol and drugs... we cannot neglect our own body...

Enlightenment is the realization that nothing can exist apart from the Whole, not even the "I", just as the wave cannot exist apart from the ocean...

The Vedic sages were humanity’s first poets, physicians, engineers, architects, artists and scientists. They possessed an infinite number of virtues, and one of the most fundamental was their complete and absolute truthfulness or satya-vacas. According to the Amara-kośa (2.7.42) the definition of the word ṛṣi is :

It is not uncommon to hear of people who invest all their time, energy and effort in body building or in some other sport, completely neglecting their mental aspect. On the other hand, others may develop a certain indifference toward the physical aspect in favor of the intellectual, as with scholars or academics incapable of running twenty feet to catch a bus. Still others may stifle their feelings and emotions to coldly develop their intellect or pursue politics or business. Some are so immersed in social life and worldly matters that they have no interest at all in spirituality, while others are so preoccupied with what they consider spirituality or the call of God, that they disregard their physical aspect, or lose all interest in this world and humanity.

Wherever you look, you will no longer see movement of persons, animals, trees or objects, but you will see everything and everyone as an expression of the Whole...you will realize that behind this reality of names and forms there is one and only divine nature, which manifests and expresses itself as everything and everyone...

Lopāmudrā (the seer of the Ṛg-Veda 1.179.1-2)

vādhyāya as the study of the Self The study of ourselves is not directed at accepting certain information about ourselves in the same way that we study geography or history. It is not that after studying, we will know new information about ourselves that we didn’t know before, or store up a little more knowledge that up until now we had not possessed.For persons who have been accustomed to studying to obtain recognition, to earn a livelihood, to obtain a diploma and be someone in life, to win the affection and pride of our parents, to obtain power, a job, honor, money, admiration, fame, etc., it is very difficult to understand the true meaning of a religious education, which is not designed to obtain or add anything but to rid us of everything.Religious and spiritual education prepares us, not to obtain a job in society or secure a place for us in the other world, but to perceive reality without this mental phenomenon that is called the ego, to perceive life without the prism of the mind. To really learn, we need to understand that the magnitude of life far outweighs any job, certificate or profession. The study of the Self is an impossibility. I can study about oranges or melons, because there exists a distance between myself and the oranges or the melons, because I am not an orange or a melon, and what is more important, because there are other objects that are neither oranges nor melons. On the other hand, the study of the Self presents problems. For example, there does not exist any distance between you and the Self; you are the Self and the worst of the matter is that there is nothing that is not the Self. Therefore there is nothing like “to know the Self”, because one can only be the Self, or in other words, to know the Self is to be the Self.In the process of studying the Self in order to attain the realization of the Self, one observes the “I” - idea, observing oneself as an egoic phenomenon.

pramāṇaṁ paramaṁ śrutiḥ

The Śrīmad-devī-bhāgavatam (1.3.19) informs us that in the beginning, the sacred Veda was only one, but that later it was divided by Śrīla Vyāsadeva:

"Where is God found?" - asks the disbeliever...

.. Beyond the different names and forms and the diversity, we center in the in the Self, the center of existence...Each and every one of the branches of yoga offers different practices in order to create the appropriate situation in which this awakening to the self as the center and origin of all there is, could happen... Just as it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8):ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo,mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartateiti matvā bhajante māṁ,budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ"I am the source of everything and everyone. Everything emanates from Me. The sages who know this, worship Me in devotion, with all their hearts"... Enlightenment is that phenomenon where the dreamer becomes the awakened one...RELIGIONReal religion does not only consist of rites and ceremonies, it is not only about ways to dress and long lists of prohibitions, it is not only to talk, comment and analyze what has happened in extraordinary beings in the distant past. Religion is something that has to occur in you...Religion without direct realization quickly becomes religiosity, which is something like a corps...Without a spiritual master who has realized the Truth, religion will not be more than philosophy, doctrine and theology, but lack of life...If we really want religion we have to approach a spiritual master... tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā... someone who is a tattwa darśinaḥ... a seer of the Truth...Without the master... without anyone who experiences... there is no religion but only a kind of "templism" or "churchism"...What this mantra presents is the same upaniṣadic vision that Lord Kṛṣṇa presents in the Holy Bhagavad-gītā (13.27-28):yāvat sañjāyate kiñcitsattvaṁ sthāvara-jaṅgamamkṣetra-kṣetrajña-saṁyogāttad viddhi bharatarṣabha"One who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling equally in every being, the imperishable in the perishable, actually sees".samaṁ sarveṣu bhūteṣutiṣṭhantaṁ parameśvaramvinaśyatsv avinaśyantaṁyaḥ paśyati sa paśyati"One who sees the same Lord dwelling equally in everything and everyone, does not destroy the Self by the Self, actually sees".

"Where is He not?" - the sage will answer...

.. The existence of everything besides Ātman depends on others; even your body has depended on an interaction among your parents, your mind, and your character. You, as an ego or personality, have been created by your relatives, professors, bosses, friends, the media, society, etc.Whatever you believe to be that is not Ātman is a creation of others...The Self is self-sufficient because life and existence are so...