The great South Indian sage Thiruvalluvar said, “What is tapasya (penance)?” Tapasya doesn’t mean go and close your eyes and meditate. That’s easy, comfortable. Tapas means to burn. A spiritual seeker is supposed to practice tapasya. Thiruvalluvar says, “The more you...
What is Yoga? In simple words: to remain with ease and peace. You might wonder what that ease is. I am talking about that ease, which you disturbed and then called yourself dis‑eased. Even to become a diseased person you should have had ease before, is it not so? If...
Live in the golden present, then you won’t have any anxiety or any fear of losing anything. Look at the sparrows, they just fly around. If they are hungry they just go and pick up a grain from anywhere. They are not constantly worried about what will happen tomorrow,...
In North America, the Spring season will soon be behind us giving way to the Summer Solstice in June. Spring has long been a time of transition, when the dark and barren days of winter give way to light, warmth and new growth. Before summer is upon us, this month’s...
If we want to make all our days holy days we should think of the inspiring thoughts of the great sages and saints. Otherwise, when we celebrate this holiday season, it will be just once a year fun. Instead, let us utilize the season to reaffirm that we wish to lead...
We all look for excitement, thinking that it is a plus. But what is a plus? A minus crossed. A pendulum won’t swing to the plus side and remain there. When it swings to one side, it automatically has to come back to the other. When you want excitement, and swing to...
In order to have a better world we must learn to think of the globe as a whole. Our world leaders need to be more selfless and sacrificing. Only by having a universal and spiritual vision can we bring positive change into the political field. A person who is really...
Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source...
Spirituality means feeling the Spirit, knowing the real you. If you want to feel the Spirit, you have to put your focus there, more than on the body and senses. The foods we eat won’t help us to experience our essential nature. Thinking often about what to eat, where...
We seem to do many things each day that create our problems. But, we can undo everything in a meditation practice. You just sit. You don’t need to do anything but = be aware of yourself. In meditation you are the witness that sits behind the body and mind. When you...
Sometimes one person is ready and the other is not. If you want to give to another, but do not yet feel ready, then don’t worry about it. If you are not ready, don’t give. Even a tree doesn’t want to give all the fruits until they are ripe. When the fruits are ready,...
Happiness is not something that can come from the outside. One of the things we seem to depend upon for our happiness is physical beauty. We don’t want to accept the fact that we will get old and our bodies will change. When we see others getting old we may think to...
How do we find peace and joy in the middle of a chaotic world? In the midst of the chaos, find the balance, and then you find the peace. When are you peaceful? When there is nothing to disturb your peace? That is not the true test of real inner peace. When there is...
Shanti. I see God as Shanti. Shanti is the nature of God. My God is Shanti and has no form no other name. God is all peaceful, all serenity—the peace that cannot be expressed by words. Even to say the word “peace,” in a way limits, the expression of that very peace....
If you want to love all, serve all, and spread peace you first have to learn to love yourself. You also have to find peace within yourself. If you recognize the peace and joy within, then you will be able to give the same to everyone else. And you are not actually...
The world constantly changes. Nothing stays permanent for even a second. So, find the middle path, the center—neither this way nor that way. In the midst of the changing world, you have to find the one the essential part that never changes. So, what is it that...