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Wisdom and teachings of
Hinduism

921 quote(s) | Page 27 / 37

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T he soul acts, to be sure, but the activity of the soul is not independent. It acts itself, but the Lord causes it to act.
Moreover, the Lord in causing it to act now has regard to its former efforts, and He also caused it to act in a former existence, having regard to its efforts previous to that existence.

quote 3694 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Commentaries on The Vedanta Sutras; Vol. II, 2:3:42; Thibaut, 1962, p. 61

B ecause all selves are essentially non-different, and their apparent difference is due to nescience only, the individual soul, after having dispelled nescience by true knowledge, passes into unity with the supreme Self.

quote 3693 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Commentaries on The Vedanta Sutras; Thibaut, 1962, Vol. 11, p. 173

T he Self is the witness, beyond all attributes, beyond action. It can be directly realized as pure Consciousness and infinite bliss. Its appearance as an individual soul is caused by the delusion of our understanding, and has no reality. By -its very nature, this appearance is unreal. When our delusion has been removed, it ceases to exist.

quote 3692 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Vivekachudamani; Prahhavananda, 1947; p. 76

T he Self never undergoes change; the intellect never possesses consciousness. But when one sees all this world, he is deluded into thinking, "I am the seer, I am the knower." Mistaking one's Self for the individual entity, one is overcome with fear. If one knows oneself not as the individual but as the supreme Self, one becomes free from fear.

quote 3691 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Atma Bodha: 26-27

M aya is neither real nor unreal, nor both together; She is neither identical with Brahman nor different from Him, nor both; She is neither differentiated nor undifferentiated, nor both. She is most wonderful and cannot be described in words.

... Everything, from the intellect down to the gross physical body, is the effect of Maya. Understand that all these and Maya itself are not the [absolute] Self, and are therefore unreal, like a mirage in the desert.

quote 3690 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Vivekachudamani; Prahhavananda, 1947; p. 59-62

T he yogi who knows that the entire splendor of the universe is his, who rises to the consciousness of unity with the universe, retains his Divinity even in the midst of various thoughts and fancies. (1) ... This entire universe is a sport of Consciousness. One who is constantly aware of this is certainly a liberated being (jivanmukta). (2)

quote 3689 | Tantric scriptures
(1) Ishvarapratyabijna, 11-12 ; (2) Spandakarika, 3:3

T hough in reality there is no bondage, the individual is in bondage as long as there exists the feeling of limitation in him. ... In fact, there never has been any veiling or covering anywhere in reality. No one has ever been in bondage. Please show me where such bondage exists. Besides these two false beliefs, that there is such a thing as bondage and such a thing as an individual mind, there is no bondage for anyone anywhere. (1)
... The individual soul (jiva) is Shiva; Shiva is jiva. When in bondage, it is jiva; freed from bondage, it is Shiva. (2)
... The knowledge of the identity between the jiva and Shiva constitutes liberation; lack of this knowledge constitutes bondage. (3)

quote 3688 | Tantric scriptures
(1) Tripurarahasya ; (2) Kudarnava Tantra, 9.42 ; (3) Ishvarapratyabijna Vimarshini

W hen the bliss of Consciousness is attained, there is the lasting acquisition of that state in which Consciousness is one's only Self, and in which all that appears is identical with Consciousness. Even the body is experienced as identical with Consciousness. (1)

... Awareness of the perceiver and the perceived is common to all beings. But with Self-realized yogis it is different; they are aware of them as one.

quote 3687 | Tantric scriptures
(1) Kshemaraj, Pratyabijnahridayam ; (2) Vijnanabhairava

F rom his transcendent station, the Lord in the form of the Guru frees one from all bondage. (1)
... The Guru is the means [to enlightenment]. (2)
... Initiation [by the Guru] is the first ladder to the terrace of Liberation. (3)
... The touch of the hand of the Guru destroys the impurities of the world and converts the base metal [of the disciple] into gold. (4)

quote 3686 | Tantric scriptures
(1) Kularnava Tantra, 12.25 ; (2) Vasugupta, Shiva Sutras, 2.6 ; (3) Parainananda Tantra ; (4) Jnanarnava Tantra, 24.41

Y oga is the restraint of the thought-waves of the mind

quote 3685 | Patanjali
Yoga Sutras, 2

D ay after day, let the yogi practice the stilling of the mind, in a secret place, in deep seclusion, master of his thoughts, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. Let him find a place that is pure and a pose that is restful... In that place let him rest and practice yoga for the purification of the soul; with his mind and prana [vital energy] stilled, let him be silent before the One.

With his soul in peace, and all fear gone, and firm in the vow of purity, let him hold his mind steady, focusing his intention on Me, the supreme Lord. When the mind of the yogi is steady, and finds rest in the Spirit, when all restless desires have vanished, then he is a yukta, one who has attained yoga. ... Then he knows the joy of eternity; he sees with his mind far beyond what the senses can see. He remains steady in the Truth, unmoving. ... This supreme joy comes to the yogi whose heart is still, whose passions have found rest; he is free from all sin, and is one with Brahman.

quote 3684 | The Bhagavat Gita
6:10-28

W hen the five senses and the mind are still, and the reasoning intellect rests in silence, then begins the highest path. This calm steadiness of the senses is called yoga. Then one should become watchful, because yoga comes and goes.

quote 3683 | The Upanishads
Katha Upanishad, 6

I t is the Lord alone who is to be loved and adored at all times with a mind free from external care. To those devotees who love Him and sing His glory, He reveals Himself. This is the highest path, to love the one absolute, eternal, Truth. Truly, this divine love is the Highest.

quote 3682 | The Bhakti Sutras
74-81

O ne should not engage in theological disputes; there is room for many different viewpoints, and no single viewpoint is the final truth. One should reflect, instead, on the means to awaken devotion, and one should engage oneself in the practice of those means.

quote 3681 | The Bhakti Sutras
74-81

O ne does not need to avoid the world to attain divine love, nor is it necessary to avoid the world after attaining it. Actions must undoubtedly continue to be performed; it is only the desire for the fruits of actions that is to be abandoned.

quote 3680 | The Bhakti Sutras
62-66

S ome teachers think that knowledge (inan) alone is the means to attain divine love (bhakti); others think that these two are mutually interdependent. But Narada thinks that a fruit must come from a tree of the same kind. Therefore, to attain to supreme love, the only means worthy of acceptance is love.

quote 3679 | The Bhakti Sutras
28-33

N arada holds that divine love manifests as the dedication of all activities to God, complete surrender to Him, and extreme anguish in the event of forgetting Him.

quote 3678 | The Bhakti Sutras
19

O ne becomes intoxicated and enthralled, continually immersed in the inherent bliss of the Self.

This love is not the same as worldly love; by its very nature, divine love turns away from all worldly love. By "turns away," I mean that all one's intention is "turned toward" God. This leads to union with God, and indifference toward all else. Union with God is attained by giving up all other supports.

quote 3677 | The Bhakti Sutras
7-9

D ivine love (bhakti) is of the nature of nectar (amrit), gaining which, one becomes perfect, divine, and contented; and having gained which, a man has no further desire. (1)

... It is impossible to describe the nature of divine love precisely; one Is in the same predicament as a mute person asked to describe the taste of sugar. That inherent love may arise at any time or in any place within one who is fit to receive it. It has no distinctive characteristics, except that it is free of selfish motive. It is an extremely subtle inner experience of all-pervading Unity.

... Once that divine love is obtained, one looks only to that, one speaks only of that, and one contemplates only that, It is easily recognized; love requires no proof outside of itselfit is its own proof. It appears in the form of inward peace and supreme happiness. One who has attained it has no anxiety about worldly struggle; he has completely surrendered himself, the world, and everything to the Lord. (2)

quote 3676 | The Bhakti Sutras
(1) 3-5 ; (2) 51-61

T herefore, offer to Me all your works and rest your mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight your fight.

quote 3622 | The Bhagavat Gita
3:30; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

T he man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has his satisfaction and his peace, that man is beyond the law of karma (actions and rewards). He is beyond what is done and not done. He is beyond the world of mortal beings. In freedom from the bonds of attachment, do, therefore, the work to be done; for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme.

quote 3621 | The Bhagavat Gita
3:17-19; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

S et your heart upon your work, but never on its reward. Work not for a reward; but never cease to do your work. ...

quote 3620 | The Bhagavat Gita
2:47; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

W hen a man surrenders all desires that come to the heart, and by the grace of God finds the joy of God in himself, then his soul has indeed found peace.

quote 3619 | The Bhagavat Gita
2:55; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

A man attains perfection when his work is worship of God, from whom all things come and who exists within everyone.
Greater is your own work, even if it is meager, than the work of another, even if it is great. When a man does the work that God gives him, no sin can touch him.
And a man should not abandon his work, even if he cannot achieve it in full perfection; because in all work there is some imperfection, as in all fire there is some smoke.
... It is better to perish in your own work, than to flourish in another's.

quote 3618 | The Bhagavat Gita
18:46-48 and 3:35; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

B ecause I am beyond the perishable, and even beyond the imperishable, in this world and in the Vedas I am known as "the Supreme."
One who, with a clear vision, sees Me as "the Supreme," knows all there is to be known; his soul is merged in Me.
I have revealed to you the most secret teaching, Arjuna. He who has realized it has realized the Truth, and his task in this world is done.

quote 3617 | The Bhagavat Gita
15:18-20; based on Mascaro, Juan, 1962

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