At the age of sixteen, Vasudeva decided to become a monk to fulfil his life's mission of spreading bhakti to Lord Vishnu amongst the masses. He joined a monastery in the village of Karey near Udupi, which was headed by Achyutapreksa
A relative of mine called me from Mumbai. He read my previous columns and was quite annoyed that though I belong to the Madhva sampradaya (followers of Madhvacharya who follow Shuddha Dvaita or pure dualism), I have been studying & following
We often hear people saying, "the message is important, not the messenger." That may be true of impersonal or material sciences like chemistry or engineering where the life of the teacher has no direct link to what is taught. However, in
The three gates to downfall: "Lust, anger and greed are the three gates to hell and ruin the soul. Therefore, one should give them up. Freed from these, man attains liberation. (16.21-22)" However, let us not forget that every
Last Friday was Gita Jayanti. It is believed that this wonderful conversation between Krishna and Arjuna took place on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the month of Margasirsa (which usually falls in Nov-Dec) during the Mahabharata war. Incidentally,
Six qualities: a) Shama means a resolute mind and trained will which do not yield easily to the pulls of situations and personal likes and dislikes; b) Dama is restraint or control over the senses and avoiding those sensory
A student of Vedanta needs to acquire certain qualities, which will enable him to grasp the profound teachings in the right spirit. Acquiring these qualities involves preparatory work and practice that makes the student eligible to study Vedanta in depth. Such
What it means and what it doesn't - ...FAQs contd Last weekend, I had been to a workshop on 'Vedas and Education' organised by the Web of Life Makers group (WEBOLIM) at Madurai. It is heart warming to see that the
What it means and what it doesn't- FAQs The ancient teachings of Vedanta have been enveloped in the haze of popular opinions and inaccurate interpretations with the passage of time. In fact, one of the central themes of Vedantic teaching is
What it means and what it doesn't A reputed Belgian scholar of Indology is said to have criticised recently, the belief that the Vedas are 'timeless' scriptures, not revealed by any single prophet. According to him, this is a non-verifiable belief
Every human being at one point of time or the other has to face that fundamental question which cannot be evaded - what is the purpose of life? The lower forms of life - plants and animals do not seem to
I had an interesting encounter last week at a bookshop when I went to purchase Sarah Mc Donald's 'Holy Cow,' a humorous account of Australian's mystical adventures in India. The owner of the bookshop opened up a friendly chat with me
Sai Ram. Are you intrigued by the title? Well, read on and see for yourself whether it makes sense or not. I am sure you have seen a monkey. If you haven't seen one lately, I suggest you go to the
When I wanted to submit this article, I found that it would be published under Yoga-Spirituality. So, I first thought of requesting the editor to change the last part of the link from yoga to spirituality to differentiate it from yoga,
Greetings to all seekers of spiritual truth. This column on spirituality is being launched during the auspicious Navaratri celebrations, 2006. The whole of India is immersed in the devotional fervour of Durga Puja. What better way to begin this series than
Preliminary Preparations For students of Vedanta
The Monkey of a Mind!
Union Of The Jeevatma With The Paramatma
