Moment to Speak

Thoughts generate in the mind and travel from one mind to another. Mānas, or mind-substance, fills all space like ether, and it serves as the vehicle for thoughts, as Prāna (life force) is the vehicle for feeling, as ether is the vehicle for heat, light, and electricity, and as air is the vehicle for sound, so says Swami Sivananda . Divine thought involves the alignment and conformity of our thought process to realise the Supreme Consciousness. It also involves thoughts or insights originating from a higher or divine source through śruti or that which is heard ( vedas ), and ś mriti , or remembrance ( Puranas, Itihasas, Bhagavad Gita, Dharmaśāstra and Dharmasūtra ). Srutis are revealed to sages and rishis, and that way they descend down to other beings in this universe. It suggests that certain thoughts or inspirations are not solely products of our own but are influenced or guided by a transcendent or spiritual power. In the śruti tradition, sages, rishis, prophets, and mess...

Desireless is Brahmān (Cosmic Self,  or the Supreme Being). I am the basis of the formless Brahmān , the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma, and of unending divine bliss, as Sri Krishna axiomatically says in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita . brahmaṇo hi pratiṣhṭhāham amṛitasyāvyayasya cha śhāśhvatasya cha dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya cha Brahmān  is pure intelligence, infinity bliss, and beyond space-time-causation. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, "Activities do not taint Me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. One who knows Me in this way is never bound by the karmic reactions of work." He is transcendental to the fruitive reactions of work. na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛihā iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate Desire engulfs every other being, but the range of variation varies from the divine-spiritual realm to the material realm. Desire-driven activities are bound by karmic (action-based) reactions to fruitive results....

Brahmān  (Sanskrit:  ब्रह्मन् ),  or Supreme Being, or Cosmic Self, or Absolute, is beyond the cognition, description, and comprehension of a mortal embodied being.  Brahman is the Vital force and the essence of that which is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined ( Brihadāranyaka Upanishad , 2.3.5). As It is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined, the best description would be ‘Not this, not this.’ Because there is no other and more appropriate description than this ‘Not this.’ Now its name is ‘The Truth of Truth’. The vital force is truth, and It is the Truth of that ( Brihadāranyaka Upanishad , 2.3.6).   Brahmān is infinite, this universe is infinite, and It is the infinitude of the infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite; taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahmān alone.  Brahmān , or Ātman , or the Supreme Self, according to Swami Sivananda , is self-luminous. The doctrine of self-luminos...

Consciousness is not limited to words, thoughts, or perception but rather goes beyond the level of cognition and awareness. It is beyond the reach of any description by words or mind. Swami Sivananda says words and languages are imperfect to adequately express our thoughts and ideas on consciousness. Rather, it may be expressed, if not imperfectly, as inward awareness to perceive the Ātman (inner spirit or inner self) embodied in every being. It is an elevating experience towards the realisation of divine consciousness and ultimate supreme consciousness, or Brahmān  (Supreme Being, or Cosmic Self) consciousness. That way, it is an undifferenciated part of the universal self, or Brahmān.  It is the core self of every creature or being. It transmigrates on the demise of the ephemeral gross body ( Sthula sarira ) to remain unmanifest until its migration to another one. This process goes on until full liberation, or moksha . The Self is the Ātman (inner self or inner spiri...

Knowledge, or Jñāna,  is to unravel the Truth. This has been brusquely stated in various scriptures and Mahāvākyas   (Great Sayings) of Sanatana Dharma (eternal righteousness and order) . The Truth is eternal and beyond time-space-causation. What is its nature? Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) is the Brahmān (Cosmic Self, or Absolute Existence). There are three aspects of the Brahmān : Sat (Truth), Chit (consciousness), and Anand (eternal Bliss).  Truth is; untruth is not, so tersely expresses Swami Sivananda . He says that it is not absolutely correct even to say that Truth is one, for Truth is Existence itself and is neither one nor not one. The Truth is undivided. He says Truth constitutes the essence of the Vedas. Control over passions constitutes the essence of truth. Self-denial, or refraining from worldly pleasures, forms the essence of self-control. These attributes are always present in a virtuous man.  He further says, Truth is rig...