Guest guest Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 OM NAMAH SIVAYA Critical times test the faith of the devotee. He who has faith in the Lord must pass through the fire of suffering. Suffering is not misfortune; it helps one to grow. Suffering and pain open the door to wisdom. "Not to be hurt by others", is more difficult than, "not to hurt others". Blessed are those that suffer because suffering helps them to evolve quickly - suffering is the substance of spiritual life. The individual soul is a business man - his karmas (actions) are his commerce - good and bad fruits of his good and bad actions are his profit and loss. The world is his business house. Think well and judge what is right before you act. Involuntary, unintentional or unconscious actions do not constitute karma, because volition is the most important factor in determining karma, and here it is absent. Sin is only a mistake, misdirected energy. Mistakes are lessons in wisdom. The essence of evil and sin is belief in things that perish. The essence of religion is truth and the essence of law is virtue. Two birds, inseparable friends, cling to the same tree. One of them eats sweet and bitter fruits and the other watches without eating. The tree is the body. One bird is the individual soul who enjoys the fruits of his actions - pleasure and pain. The other bird is the Lord who remains as a witness without eating. Respect of the soul is praiseworthy. Respect of the body is despicable. A scientist conquers external nature but a yogi conquers the mind and internal nature. The sinner of today is the saint of tomorrow. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Your goal is God. Your centre is God. Your ideal is God. Turn back to God and realise everlasting bliss. Resting on him you will be saved. As the lamp cannot burn without oil, so too, you cannot live without God. God is within you all the time, inspiring you, lifting you up. Withdraw. Aspire. Meditate. Realise. -Swami Sivananda JAI MA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 >Respect of the soul is praiseworthy. >Respect of the body is despicable. Oh, the poor, despised body. It is one thing to elevate the body to a cult, to "feed the beast" by indulging appetites without any discrimination, or to be proud of what an accomplished yogi, or whatever, you are -- but to love this little bit of earth in compassion for its transience is a way of seeing Devi in everything. So many people hate their bodies. How can this be right? It is just that the body does not come first, and is not who we ultimately are. But so many have gone down the path of mortifying the flesh in the mistaken belief that it is evil. It too comes from the Divine Mother. >As the lamp cannot burn without oil, so too, you cannot live >without God. God is within you all the time, inspiring you, lifting >you up. Withdraw. Aspire. Meditate. Realise. Yes, yes, absolutely. -- Max Dashu Suppressed Histories Archives Global Women's History http://www.suppressedhistories.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 "Respect of the soul is praiseworthy. Respect of the body is despicable". This leapt out at me too. I think having a sort of light respect and compassion for the body is important, because, as you say, it's impossible to spiritually evolve without it. To me, this is important, especially as seeing our Western culture is just emerging from that that lovely tired old paradigm of spirit vs. matter! Mother doesn't ask us to hate or mistreat our bodies. As far as I understand it, she asks us not to identify completely with them. To take care of them as needed, then forget about it. To me, she is a wonderful example of embodied consciousness. Ammachi, Max Dashu <maxdashu@l...> wrote: > > >Respect of the soul is praiseworthy. > >Respect of the body is despicable. > > Oh, the poor, despised body. It is one thing to elevate the body to a > cult, to "feed the beast" by indulging appetites without any > discrimination, or to be proud of what an accomplished yogi, or > whatever, you are -- but to love this little bit of earth in > compassion for its transience is a way of seeing Devi in everything. > > So many people hate their bodies. How can this be right? It is just > that the body does not come first, and is not who we ultimately are. > But so many have gone down the path of mortifying the flesh in the > mistaken belief that it is evil. It too comes from the Divine Mother. > > >As the lamp cannot burn without oil, so too, you cannot live > >without God. God is within you all the time, inspiring you, lifting > >you up. Withdraw. Aspire. Meditate. Realise. > > Yes, yes, absolutely. > -- > Max Dashu > Suppressed Histories Archives > Global Women's History > http://www.suppressedhistories.net > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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