Thought of the Month Archive

Sankeertana (singing in unison with others) is of four kinds: guna sankeertana; leela sankeertana; bhava sankeertana and nama sankeertana. Guna sankeertana: Applies to the kind of bhajan (devotional song) in which the devotee recites

It is the bounden duty of man in this life, as also in later lives, to know and experience the basic cause of the universe and all the love and sweetness it evokes in

For man, health is the greatest wealth. From time immemorial, many countries have been delving in ways to preserve good health and disseminating the knowledge among all. In the absence of sound health, human

There is not one dharma [right action] for Indians and another for Westerners. Dharma is universal. Yes, there is a test that may be applied to any action and you may thereby determine if

The mind wills, yearns, prompts, and insists on effort and action. This process is named sankalpa. These are like commands. Everyone has to be aware of the variety and validity of the actions induced

Today people worship God in various ways. They pray to God, “Oh Lord!  Let me have a vision of you! Free me from all my troubles.” When one listens to these prayers, one is

All  appear  as devotees and all proclaim their spirit of sacrifice. Everyone declares himself or herself as a sadhaka (spiritual aspirant). Every believer claims that he is seeking God. One must enquire whether it

While in this transient world, wading through joy and grief, man has sore need of one of his kind to whom he can communicate his feelings, with whom he can share his discoveries and

Swami says that we should discipline our children and not allow them to wander about without control. He further says: Discipline is the mark of intelligent living. Parents should not allow children to fall

Life sustained by food is short; life sustained by the atman (Divine Spirit) is eternal. Do not lay claim to long life, but to divine life. Do not pine for more years on earth,

The body performs actions; the mind distinguishes between right and wrong. The atma [individual soul] functions as the witness. Although these three appear to differ from each other, they are interrelated; it is only

Through activity man attains purity of consciousness. In fact man has to welcome activity with this end in view. And why strive for a pure consciousness? Imagine a well with polluted and muddy water