Posts Tagged ‘Members’
Meditation Practice: Universal Consciousness
A session led by the Warden at Shanti Sadan If we practise meditation regularly, we find we have a great inner support that helps us in many ways. For meditation becomes a source of strength, a way to peace and a means of expanding our consciousness. This leads to fulfilment independent of outer aids and…
Read MoreExistence is Revealed by Contemplation Alone
By Hari Prasad Shastri The human mind has two purposes. Its lower function is to work for the preservation of the species, and its higher function is to know the Truth and be free. Souls not yet developed devote their mental faculties to their individual and selfish ends, that is, they work for the sustenance…
Read MoreHow to Be Inwardly Rich
Within the hope of man alone The highest goal draws nigh. He chooses, raises up his soul To that which is on high. He can duration to the moment give, He can in Time the Eternal live. From Rudolph Eucken, The Truth of Religion How to be inwardly rich? What does it mean? In the…
Read MoreThe Sufi Path from Fear to Love
This article is about Hasan al Basri, who lived from 642 to 728 of the common era, and Rabia Basri (about 715-801 CE), both of whom in their different ways exemplified qualities associated with the Sufi tradition of Islamic mysticism. Their expressions and teachings were bound up with the circumstances in which Hasan al Basri…
Read MorePerfection
By Hari Prasad Shastri We all love perfection in virtue, truth and beauty, some in themselves and some in others—mostly in those who are dead. The ordinary view of perfection is an abundance of some great power, talent, wealth and so forth. But what is the yogic view of perfection? In a relative sense, we…
Read MoreLight from the Upanishads
Let us explore some of the ideas that are transmitted to us through these ancient, yet modern, sources of wisdom, the Upanishads. In their written form they are ancient, dating back to the millennium before the common era, but the teachings could be much older, having been passed on by word of mouth and memorised.…
Read MoreThe Cave of Meditation
Many people comment that they have made several attempts down the years to practise meditation, but that each time their thoughts tended to run ‘here, there and everywhere’, and so regular practice is postponed. It does seem that, in spite of the promise of peace and depth, the would-be meditator encounters an internal barrier that…
Read MoreMeditation Practice: the Light that Reveals
A session led by the Warden at Shanti Sadan When we practise meditation, the initial aim is to bring our mind to a state of relaxation. In relaxation our body and mind function at their best. When we are tense or anxious, this puts a strain on our body and interferes with the free flow…
Read MoreOur Higher Mind—A Power for Peace
My children, I have lived lovingly, I have cherished beauty, I have meditated on the one Supreme Truth—and I am fully satisfied with my life… All honour is due to One only, the all-pervasive, immanent and transcendent Reality. Shri Dada of Aligarh ‘I am fully satisfied with my life.’ Anyone, whether one is a saint,…
Read MoreThe Song of the Flute
From the Archives: the following article first appeared in the Winter 1953 issue of this Journal There is a story told by the Sufis of Islam. It is said that one day the Prophet called Ali to him alone, and revealed to him all the spiritual mysteries, placing him under a vow not to divulge…
Read More