Friday, April 25, 2008

Gradual Realization of Higher Truths





"Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God,
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant."
-Psalm 135



"The holy name of Krishna is the sweetest of the sweet and the most auspicious of all auspicious things. It is the self-effulgent and beautiful fruit of the Vedic desire tree. O best of the Bhrgus, when the holy name is uttered once without offense, either attentively or inattentively, it immediately ensures the deliverance of all human beings from the bondage of illusion."
-Hari-bhakti-vilas 11.234



"Muhammad gave this indication of how to know what's
real. When you feel

a peaceful joy, you're near the truth. Unquiet and
off center, jealous or

greedy, what you do seems pretentious and those around
you insincere. Speak

the clearest truth you know, and let the disease heal.
If words are tinged with

lying, they're like water dripping into an oil lamp. The
wick won't light, and
the pleasure and rest of your love room will diminish."
-Rumi


"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance."
Shri Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.8-12


"I worship that youthful cowherd boy whose complexion resembles the hue of fresh monsoon rain clouds, whose ears are decorated with fragrant campaka blossoms, whose gently smiling face defies the beauty of a lotus in full bloom, who wears dhoti the color of molten gold, whose crown is decorated by a peacock feather, and who is the mainstay of all the three worlds. May that son of Maharaj Nanda, Krishna, always protect me. His face is more charmingly iridescent than the full moon in autumn. He is the ecstatic ocean of divine pastimes. His exquisite hand holds a ball for playing boyish games, and He is the very life and soul of the damsels of Vraja. His entire body is covered with the fine dust raised by the hooves of calves, and He carries a flute tucked into the dhoti tied around His waist. His mellifluous voice captivates all the cows."
-Shrila Rupa Goswami, Stava-mala

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Prabhu, you've mentioned Rumi several times, including in this blog. Maybe you could devote a seperate blog just to Rumi. For example, who is he, what are his major teachings, when did he live, etc. I am not as familar with Rumi, maybe other people are, but I would like to know more. This is my humble request.