You Are Part of the Whole
“As manifested beings we appear to be separate, but our reality is one, and the less we think of ourselves as separate from that One, the better for us. The more we think of ourselves as separate from the Whole, the more miserable we become.” — Swami Vivekananda Spend an hour on a hill, by […]
You Can’t Walk on Quicksand
“Avoid evil company because the scars of old wounds are in you, and evil company is just the thing that’s necessary to call them out. In the same way, good company will call out the good impressions that are in us, but which have become latent.” — Swami Vivekananda How do you feel around unhappy […]
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
“Or we try to cover up this emptiness with ideas, beliefs, creeds, fancies; then opinion, goodwill, and experience of others take on powerful import; then ceremonies, priests, Masters, saviors become essential and destroy self-reliance; then authority is worshipped.” — J. Krishnamurti The terms “principle” and “ideology” might appear similar, but they’re as different as apples […]
How To Attain Moksha
“Poverty of being is revealed when we try to overcome it by covering it up with possessions, with the worship of success and even virtues. Then things, property, come to have great significance; then class, social position, country, pride of race assume great importance and have to be maintained at all costs; then name, family, […]
Reading as a Proxy for Learning
“He whose book of the heart has been opened needs no other. Their only value is to create desire in us. They are merely experiences of others.” — Swami Vivekananda It’s easy to mistake reading about productivity for being productive, to assume that watching parenting videos makes one a great parent, or to consider oneself […]
What Will Future You Think of Present You?
“The problems which have troubled mankind can only be solved by conquering the kingdom within, not by harnessing the forces of Nature to the service of comfort and luxury, but by mastering the forces of the intellect and the spirit, by vindicating the freedom of man from within as well as without and by conquering […]
Excessive Happiness Is Also Harmful
“Excessive mirth makes us unfit for serious thought. It fritters away energy of the mind in vain. The stronger the will, the less yielding [the mind is] to the sway of emotions. Excessive hilarity is quite as objectionable as too much of sad seriousness, and all realization is only possible when the mind is in […]
Will Bitterness Make Things Better?
“Hate begets hate, ill will begets ill will. Very often in our relationships, this spirit of retaliation breeds only more violence and more antagonism.” — J. Krishnamurti You have a friend who speaks without thinking when she gets angry (which is often). Sometimes, her words hurt you or embarrass you in public. To teach her […]
Thinking Evil Thoughts Is Also Violence
“The test of Ahimsa is the absence of jealousy. Any man may do a good deed or make a good gift on the spur of the moment or under the pressure of some kind of superstition or priestcraft; but the real lover of mankind is he who is jealous of none.” — Swami Vivekananda Your […]
Relationships Are Mirrors Into Ourselves
“Relationship is a process of self-revelation — revelation of oneself through contact with others. Others can help us to see ourselves as we are, but this revelation is denied to us if we depend upon them or use them for our gratification or happiness.” — J. Krishnmurti If our partner forgets a special date, we […]