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Five Basic Elements of
Nature |
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Earth
– functions as the root, ground, or source within each
phenomenon, solidity.
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Water
– entails flow, continuity, penetration.
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Fire
– entails life, heat, activity, clarity in the mind
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Air
– depicting change, movement, maturity, life supporting.
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Space
– intelligence, communication, formlessness, and creative
potential.
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Bhagavad Gita
Quotes |
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Freedom.
Governing sense, mind and
intellect, intent on liberation, free from desire, fear and
anger, the sage is forever free.
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Feelings. When the senses contact sense objects,
a person experiences cold or heat, pleasure or pain. These
experiences are fleeting they come and go. Bear them patiently.
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Senses.
The senses have been conditioned by
attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant: a man
should not be ruled by them; they are obstacles in his path.
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Doubts.
Neither in this world nor elsewhere
is there any
happiness in store for him
who always doubts.
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Disarray..
The disunited mind is far from
wise; how can it meditate? How be at peace? When you know no
peace, how can you know joy?
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Failure.
On this path effort never goes to waste, and
there is no failure.
Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you
from the greatest fear.
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Gratitude.
Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart – a leaf, a
flower, fruit, or water – I accept with joy..
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Honor.
For one who has been honored,
dishonor is worse than death.
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Altruism.
That one I love who is incapable of
ill will, and returns
love for
hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mind, and of pain and
pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, with all
his heart and all his mind given to Me
– with such a one I
am in love.
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Self-Mastery.
Those who have conquered themselves...live in
peace, alike in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, praise and blame...To such
people a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same...Because they are
impartial, they rise to great heights.
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Infinity.
Offer unto me that which is very
dear to thee
– which thou holdest
most covetable. Infinite are the results of such an offering.
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Meditation.
When meditation is mastered, the
mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.
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Detachment. Better indeed is
knowledge than mechanical practice.
Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is
surrender of attachment to results, because there follows
immediate peace.
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Brainstilling.
Still your
mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you
shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.
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Worshiping.
I look upon all creatures
equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But
those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to
life in them.
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Integral
Yoga
Values of the Indian
Philosophy for Today's Life |
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Focus on
keeping it simple
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Capacity to provide multiple choices
in pursuit of the ultimate
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Viewing each individual as having
high potential for excellent
performance
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Man is God-potential
Indian philosophy has viewed each individual as
trying to realize his identity. Rama,
a combination of the Divine in the human and the human in the Divine, is the
supreme example of how people should conduct themselves in the world, how a
country should be governed, how the integrity and morality of human beings
should be protected. High-minded actions, ideal qualities, and sacred
thoughts are basic foundations of his character. "Rama is immanent in the
entire cosmos. Rama is present everywhere. Hence you have to love all, serve
all..."3
"Indian philosophy has always encouraged people
to raise themselves above day-to-day trappings of life, seek meaning with
factors which go beyond the usual and connect purpose of life with a
super-ordinate meaning."1
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gītā (Song of God), also more simply known as
Gita, is a Sanatana Dharma or Hindu scripture produced from the colloquy
given by Sri Krishna to Arjuna during the Kurukshetra War. Its philosophies
and insights are intended to reach beyond the scope of religion and to
humanity as a whole .
The Bhagavad Gita is revered as sacred by the majority of
Hindu traditions, and especially so by followers of Krishna. It is at times
referred to as the "manual for mankind" and has been highly praised by not
only Indians but also by Western great thinkers.
The Bhagavad Gita is considered among the most important
texts in the history of literature and philosophy. It comprises exactly 700
verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The verses, using the range and
style of Sanskrit meter (chandas) with similes and metaphors, are very
poetic; hence the title, which translates to "the Song of the Divine One",
of Bhagavan in the form of Krishna.
The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is
revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) Himself, and is
referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.
The context of the Gita is a conversation between Lord
Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before
the start of the Kurukshetra War. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral
dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his
duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and
Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita
often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a
practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna
reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan),
blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gītopaniṣad, implying its
having the status of an Upanishad, i.e. a Vedantic scripture. As it is taken
to represent a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is also called "the
Upanishad of the Upanishads". Another title is mokṣaśāstra, or "Scripture of
Liberation"...
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