Bharatheeyam : ( 08/11/2012. )

An orphan - he does not know who his father is, or who his mother is. He has been cared for all these years in an orphanage. He comes out with nobody to support him, to call his own, nobody to love him and none to love. Such a person will try to get money somehow, by fair means or foul, just to feed himself. He will plunder, burn, shoot and kill, if necessary, to achieve this end. Why does he do so? Because he has no self - respect. On the other hand, an individual who belongs to a family, knows who his father and mother are, and who knows the tradition and the family - even when he is starving, he will not think of stealing, but rather of some constructive way of creating comfort. He may, under the pressure or the urgency of the need, come down a little, but there will always be a limit set by himself, thus far and no further. Why? Because I belong to that family, I respect my father – a kind of restraint comes upon him. The quality of your behaviour will depend upon the respec...

Monday, Oct 07, 2013. SAYINGS ON THE BHAGAVAD GEETA : Dr Annie Besant Among the priceless teachings that may be found in the great Hindu poem of the Mahabharata, there is none so rare and precious as this "The Lord's Song." Since it fell from the divine lips of Sri Krishna on the field of battle, and stilled the surging emotions of the disciple and friend, how many troubled hearts has it quietened and strengthened, how many weary souls has it led to Him! It is meant to lift the aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are renounced, to the loftier heights where desires are dead, and where the Yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation while his body and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to his lot in life. That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with divine life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie, not outside us, but within ...

Madan Mohan Malaviya : I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy as the Bhagawadgeeta... It brings to men the highest knowledge, the purest love and the most luminous action. It teaches self-control, the three-fold austerity, non-violence, truth, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma).... To my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world's literature so high above all as the Bhagawadgeeta, which is a treasure-house of Dharma not only for Hindus but for all mankind. 

Saturday, Sep 28, 2013. SAYINGS ON THE BHAGAVAD GEETA : Aurobindo Ghose  What is the message of the Geeta and what is its working value, its spiritual utility to the human mind of the present day, after the long ages of transformations of thought and experience? The human mind always moves forward, alters its view-point and enlarges its thought-substance, and the effect of these changes is to render past systems of thinking obsolete, or, when they are preserved, to extend, to modify and, subtly or visibly, to alter their value. The vitality of an/any ancient doctrine consists in the extent to which it naturally lends itself to such a treatment; for that means that whatever may have been the limitations or the obsolescences of the form of its thought, the truth of substance, the truth of living vision and experience on which its system was built, is still sound and retains a permanent valid significance.  The Geeta is a book that has worn extraordinarily well, ...

Thursday, Sep 26, 2013. SAYINGS ON THE BHAGAVAD GEETA  : 1. Mahatma Gandhi The Geeta is the universal mother. She turns away nobody. Her door is wide open to anyone who knocks. A true votary of the Geeta does not know what disappointment is. He ever dwells in perennial joy and peace that passeth understanding. But that peace and joy come not to the sceptic or to him who is proud of his intellect or learning. It is reserved only for the humble in spirit who brings to her worship a fullness of faith and an undivided singleness of mind. There never was a man who worshipped her in that spirit and went back disappointed. I find a solace in the Bhagavad Geeta that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Geeta. I find a verse here and a verse there, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies--and my life has been full of external tragedie...

Veda Vyasa  Maharishi : Veda Vyasa is perhaps the most revered of all the sages in India and is considered by Hindus as a partila incarnation of Lord Narayana. Also known by the names "Badarayana", "Krishna Dwaipayana". Because he classified the unorganised vedic lore into four distinct vedas, he was popularly known as Veda Vyasa.  The life history of Ved Vyas is an interesting one. The author of the great epic Mahabharata, Ved Vyas was the first and greatest acharya of Sanatan Dharma. He is responsible for classifying the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas and recited the great Mahabharata. In fact, the Mahabharata is often called as the fifth Veda. The most important and the most glorified section is the Bhagawad Geeta, the lesson recited to Arjuna by Lord Krishna on the battlefield. The biography of Ved Vyas is very vivid and makes an interesting read.  Around some 5000 years ago, he was born on an island on the holy river Yamuna. His father was Parashar...

As the global community becomes increasingly capitalistic, the quest for spirituality grows in urgency.  Bharatham, its people, its infrastructure, and indeed its very soil, encourage and breed Spiritualism, allowing religions to thrive, flourish and prosper. Bharatham boasts the presence of every major religion in the world, as well many of their off-shoots and facets, all being supported, nourished, and living in comparative harmony. Many of these religions were conceived in Bharatham, and others have come to Bharatham seeking a safe haven from persecution after being created in their own lands. The age-old environment has always supported such freedom of belief. We will thus find Judaism, Islam, The Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism amongst the major religions being practiced in India, together with a variety of The Lesser Known Religions. Since religion is the most enduring preservative of social customs, architecture...