Discover the Divinity Within You!
“I meditate, I practice Raja Yoga, yet have no spiritual experiences. Does this mean that Swami Vivekananda’s teachings are not true? Was he brain-washing me?” Someone asked me this question.
Actually in order to test the validity of the Vedanta teachings of Swami Vivekananda, one does not need ANY spiritual experiences. We can easily test their validity in our day to day life itself.
How to do Mantra Jap properly? Maharshi Ramana explains that while doing mantra jap we must focus our mind on the Infinite Divine Consciousness (God, Soul) and not try to think of the mantra’s meaning.
Suppose we buy a nice car and our friend becomes jealous. “We feel shocked! How can she feel so jealous of my success? She is a bad person.”
But the fact that we are shocked means that the SAME bad quality exists somewhere within us too.
“Maharishi Ramana bestowed enlightenment upon Annamali Swami by a mere touch. He also gave enlightenment to HWL Poonja (Papaji) by merely looking at him.
So can you facilitate a meeting of mine with a great sage, who can transmit complete enlightenment to me by merely looking at me?” Someone asked me this question…
The one thing necessary for realization is whole-hearted and whole-souled devotion to God. Muslims, Christians and Hindus are all longing for the same God; but they do not know that He who Krishna is also Christ and Allah.
God is one, but He has many names. The Substance is one, but is worshipped under different names according to the time, place and nationality of His worshippers. All the different Scriptures of the world speak of the same God.
Everyone of us will die. A day will come when we will have to give up the body. When death is so certain, we should learn the skill of dying peacefully.
“We are all the time, from our childhood, trying to lay the blame upon something outside ourselves. We are always standing up to set right other people, and not ourselves.”
– Swami Vivekananda
A story narrated by Sri Ramana Maharshi to illustrate his teaching that Occult/Tantric Powers should be sought only AFTER attaining to God-Realization. With the ego having been burnt in the process of God-Realization, occult powers can no longer lead a person astray. The God-Realized person can then use occult powers safely to help others.
Those who seek occult powers before attaining God Realization run the risk of experiencing a great spiritual downfall. Hence such powers are better sought once the ego has been vanquished.
“Can the voice of the Divine Mother really be heard? Could it be that you were simply hallucinating?” A devotee once asked Swami Vivekananda. Find out Swami Vivekananda’s amazing reply as well as the details of his profound spiritual experience!
Is there any free will? Or are we mercilessly bound by the coils of destiny? Some people posed this question to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa…
People think that their happiness is tied to their material possessions (house, car, money etc). So they seek happiness by chasing these things in the outside world. BUT do we find true everlasting happiness there? We do not. Then where should we look?
“Do you want to see Samadhi or to have it yourself? I get Samadhi myself, and I can make you have it!” – Swami Vivekananda
An incident revealing how Sri Ramana Maharshi had prior knowledge of the smallest of things related to his disciple’s lives. No one had to tell him, he already knew.
Whoever will practice unbroken Brahmacharya for twelve years will surely have the same oratorical powers that I do – Swami Vivekananda
In this video we see how Swami Vivekananda and Sarada Ma both broke the prejudiced customs Hindu society practiced against Mlecchas. Swami Vivekananda even went ahead and gave deeksha to many foreigners and taught them Vedanta, an act which the Hindu orthodoxy found most shocking at that time.