Be Calmly Active and Actively Calm
“I will be calmly active, actively calm. I am a prince of peace, sitting on the throne of poise, directing the kingdom of my activity.”
- Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 - 1952)
Brahma Satyam. Jagan Mithya. Jivo Brahmaiva Na Parah.
Brahma Satyam. Jagan Mithya. Jivo Brahmaiva Na Parah.
Word for word, the above Sanskrit verse translates roughly as follows:
God alone is real. The world is illusory. The individual is none other than God.
As per Adi Shankaracharya in his Advaita Vedanta teachings on Hinduism, human suffering is due to Maya or illusion (also known as Mithya or Vaitathya). Only knowledge of Brahman can destroy Maya. When Maya is removed, Satyam or the truth that “the individual is none other than God” is realised.
Hamsa or Swan in Advaita Vedanta Hinduism
The swan, or “Hamsa”, in Sanskrit is an important motif in Advaita Vedanta, a school of thought in the Hindu philosophy that has endeavored to penetrate its name. Ham-sa when inverted reads as sa-ham, which in Sanskrit means the oneness of human and the divine. During pranayama, which is a yogic exercise of breath control, the inhalation is believed sound like ham, while the exhalation is believed to sound like sa. Thus, a hamsa came to epitomize the prana, the breath of life. It symbolises two things: first, the swan is called “hamsah” in Sanskrit (which becomes hamso if the first letter in the next word is /h/). Upon repeating this hamso indefinitely, it becomes so-aham or soham, meaning, “I am That”. Second, just as a swan lives in water but its feathers are not soiled by water, similarly a liberated being lives in this world full of maya but is untouched by its illusion.
Be Wisely Selfish, Not Foolishly Selfish.
If we make consistent effort, based on proper education, we can change the world. We are selfish, that’s natural, but we need to be wisely selfish, not foolishly selfish. We have to concern ourselves more with others’ well-being, that’s the way to be wisely selfish. We have the ability to take the long-term benefit into account. I think it is possible to make real change in this century.
~ Dalai Lama ~
The Quieter You Become The More You Are Able To Hear
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.”
- Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.
