Your Real Nature is Perfection
That is perfection, this is perfection. Out of perfection comes forth perfection. When perfection is removed from perfection Perfection alone remains. This verse comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It was revealed by an enlightened seer of Truth. These words indicate non-duality—the direct experience of ultimate reality. This experience is not something that comes and goes.…
Read MoreDiscovering Our Infinite Nature
We function in the world of time but the roots of our being are in eternity. We seem to be limited but there is something in us which is not at all limited, and which is at the root of our being. Hari Prasad Shastri The chief purpose of the Yoga of Self-Knowledge is to…
Read MoreMeditation Practice: the Essence of All
A meditation practice session led by the Warden at Shanti Sadan Let us use this precious time to establish ourselves in the peace and harmony which always prevails at the centre of our being whether we are aware of it or not. In order to prepare for meditation, we consciously turn our attention inwards. Not…
Read MoreProgress in Self-Knowledge: Part One
Self-knowledge has many levels of meaning, depending on which aspect of our nature is being considered. Many would agree that it is better to have some understanding of our psychological makeup than risk living in a way that may be based on self-deception. This sort of self-knowledge includes a willingness to pause and reflect about…
Read MoreActualization and Fulfilment
From a lecture by Hari Prasad Shastri We are in this life in order to fulfil ourselves and to actualize our higher potentialities. There is peace hiding in the cave of our soul. There is delight which surpasses all delight, and that delight is serene, not excitement or the fulfilment of desire. We fulfil ourselves…
Read MorePoem by Mira
The key to unlock the gate of the palace was applied, For desire had been expelled from my mind. My mind is not a shallow roadside pond— Who can travel in a puddle? I have no use even for the Ganges or Yamuna now, I have reached the sea. Subscribe or enrol for free guest…
Read MoreThe Bhagavad Gita – From Grief to Peace
In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita the pupil is led from grief to a vision of transcendent peace through a swift traversal of the essential points in the teaching. At the start of the discourse we find the pupil in a situation where he is expected to go into battle with people he…
Read MoreThe Eternal Wisdom
Continuing Hari Prasad Shastri’s imaginative portrayal of the life and teachings of the sages of ancient India Shri Yajnavalkya was about to retire for the night after his evening meal, and was sitting on a blanket slowly removing his flowing robe, when Katyayani softly entered his apartment with some almonds mixed with cream, for she…
Read MoreOur Spiritual Awakening
O my mind, wake up, wake up! For a long while you have not seen perfect happiness. Experience now this highest state of beatitude in front of you. H.P.S. Adhyatma Yoga focuses on the original Yoga teachings, which are spiritual in their methods and purpose. The aim is to awaken our highest potentiality and find…
Read MoreLight Relief
To be human is to be visited by worry and anxiety. Our body is perishable, our mind sensitive, and there are times when life is a struggle. If we were creatures of steel, there could be no understanding of the sufferings of others, no compassion, and social harmony would be impossible. In this sense it…
Read More