Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 30 of 30

Guru Raghavendra Swami's quotes before attaining Jeeva Samadhi  

 

On Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671, Raghavendra Swami gave a soul-stirring speech in Kannada and Telugu to hundreds of devotees who had gathered to watch the event. Some quotes from that speech are as follows -

• "Without right living, right thinking will never come. Right living is performing one's ordained duties according to one's station in life without hankering the after fruits of the actions and on the other hand offering all one's activities to the Lord. This is real sadachara (right living). This is real karma yoga."

• "Social work done for the good of worthy people should also be considered as the Lord's worship. In short, our life itself is a worship. Every action is a puja. This life is precious. Every second of our life is precious. Not even a second that has gone will come back. Listening to the right shastras and always remembering Him is the highest duty."

• "Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles without following the shastras and yet call themselves God or guru. I have performed miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadvacharya. These are based on yoga siddhi and the shastras. There is no fraud or trickery at all. These miracles were performed only to show the greatness of God and the wonderful powers that one can attain with His grace. "

• "Right knowledge (jnana) is greater than any miracle. Without this no real miracle can take place. Any miracle performed without this right knowledge is only sorcery. No good will come to those who perform such miracles and also those who believe in them."

• "Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion should never be blind faith. Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is true devotion. Blind faith is not devotion. It is only stupidity. We should have devotion, not only for the Lord, but also for all other deities and preceptors in keeping with their status."

After this speech, Sri Raghavendra entered the Brindavana specially constructed for him with stone brought from Madavara village, near Manchale. Per his advice these stones were sanctified by Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana's footsteps when they visited the village during Treta Yuga.

He had advised his disciples to start arranging slabs around him once the japamala rolling by fingers in his hand become still.

He began reciting the pranava mantra and slipped into deep samadhi. Once his japamala became still, his disciples arranged the slabs up to his head and then, as per his earlier instructions, they placed a copper box containing 1200 Lakshminarayana saligramas that had been specially brought from Gandaki river in Nepal. Then they placed the covering slab over it and filled it with earth. They poured twelve thousand varahas (abhisheka) over the brindavan that they had built.

Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami attained Jeeva samadhi on Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671. This date is celebrated each year as Sri Raghavendra Swamy Aradhana at Brindavans all over the world. The Raghavendra Mutt in Mantralaya housing his Brindavan is visited by thousands of devotees every year.

It is believed he would live for

• 76 years physically on the Earth.
• 300 years in the Brindavana, through his literary work among the people.
• 400 years in the Brindavana without a physical form.

Totally 700 years in the Bridavana helping the society and the mankind to come-out from troubles and miseries.

Cheers!

Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 29 of 30

 Shirdi Sai Baba sayings

1. Meditate on me either with form or without form, that is pure bliss.

2. Give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked. Then God will be pleased.
 

3. Do not be obsessed by egotism, imagining that you are the cause of action: everything is due to God.
 

4. Those who think that Baba is only in Shirdi have totally failed to know me.
 

5. Harsh words cannot pierce your body. If anybody speaks ill of you, just continue on unperturbed.

 

6. Choose friends who will stick to you till the end, through thick and thin.
 

7. I give my devotees whatever they ask, until they ask for what I want to give.
 

8. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get.
 

9. Have faith and patience. Then I will be always with you wherever you are.
 

10. Spend money in charity; be generous and munificent but not extravagant

 

Cheers!

Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 28 of 30

Quotes by Swami Chinmayananda

1. The tragedy of human history is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing comforts.

2. Faults become thick when love is thin.

3. Temper takes you to Trouble, Pride keeps you there

4. Remember, `Even This Will Pass Away'.

5. To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves.

6. A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.

7. Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket.

8. To forget oneseff totally, one's mind should keep awake at every moment. A mind that has forgotten the past and the future, that is awake to the now, to the present, expresses the highest concentration of intelligence. It is alert, it is watchful, it is inspired. The actions of a man who has such a mind are exceptionally creative and perfect. Verily to forget oneself totally, is to be in perfection

9. Silently hear everyone. Accept what is good. Reject and forget what is not. This is intelligent living.

10. Bhakti is the attitude of the mind, and jnana is the attitude of the intellect, both flow towards the Lord.

Cheers!

Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 27 of 30

Quotes by Sri Ramana Maharshi

1. Mind is consciousness, which has limitations. We are originally unlimited and perfect. Later on we take on limitations and become the mind.

2. Meditation depends upon the strength of mind. It must be unceasing even when one is engaged in work. Particular time for it is meant for novices.

3. When one makes the mind stick to one thought, the mind becomes rock-steady and the energy is conserved.

4. The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts have their root in the I-thought. Whoever investigates the True "I" enjoys the stillness of bliss.

5. When the mind is left without anything to cling to, it becomes still.

6. The inquiry "who am I" turns the mind introvert and makes it calm.

7. There is no mind to control if you realize the self. The mind having vanished, the self shines forth. In the realized man, the mind may be active or inactive, the self remains for him.

8. Meditation helps concentration of the mind. Then the mind is free from thoughts and is in the meditated form.

9. Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness; by constant meditation it gains strength.

10. When we turn the mind inwards, God manifests as the inner consciousness.

Cheers!

Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 26 of 30

Quotes by Swami Vivekananda

1. All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

2. Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.

3. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

4. The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.

5. You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

6. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

7. As different streams having different sources all mingle their waters in the sea, so different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to God.

8. If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.

9. Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak. 

10. The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.

Cheers!

Daily dose of Inspiration - Part 25 of 30

Quotes by Buddha

1. All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? 

2. An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind. 

3. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

4. Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

5. Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

6. Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

7. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

8. However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?

9. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

10.The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood. 

Cheers!