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Be As You Are - Sri Ramana Maharishi

Tamid — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:26:05 CDT

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
Click here to read more of Sri Ramana's e-books

"It was in 1896, about 6 weeks before I left Madurai for good (to go to Tiruvannamalai - Arunachala) that this great change in my life took place. I was sitting alone in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it nor was there any urge in me to find out whether there was any account for the fear. I just felt I was going to die and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or any elders or friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: 'Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies.' And at once I dramatised the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out still as though rigor mortis has set in, and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed so that no sound could escape, and that neither the word 'I' nor any word could be uttered. 'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this body is dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burn and reduced to ashes. But with the death of the body, am I dead? Is the body I? It is silent and inert, but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of I within me, apart from it. So I am the Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the spirit transcending it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.' All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truths which I perceived directly almost without thought process. I was something real, the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with the body was centered on that I. From that moment onwards, the I or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death vanished once and for all. The ego was lost in the flood of Self-awareness. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time. Other thought might come and go like the various notes of music, but the I continued like the fundamental sruti [that which is heard] note which underlies and blends with all other notes."

Links to a Variety of Spirit Related Topics

ToYouWhoHaveEars — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:58:59 CST

The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life

SPIRITVIEW — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:33:45 CDT

By Drunvalo Melchizidek

vol. 1

Recently scribd removed the Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life ("copyright infringement")

But you can download it free here on my Mediafire page... it's a must read! Enjoy!

NOTE: IT APPEARS THAT MEDIAFIRE HAS ALSO REMOVED THE BOOKS REFERENCED ABOVE 09/09/11

http://www.mediafire.com/file/nwgynijmzzt/Drunvalo Melchizedek - Ancient Secret of The Flower of Life (vol.1).pdf

http://www.mediafire.com/file/qzczejhktmm/Drunvalo Melchizedek - Ancient Secret of The Flower of Life (vol.2).pdf

The Australian Aborigines

SPIRITVIEW — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:07:28 CDT

Rainbow Serpent, Dreamtime and Historical Overview

Aboriginal dancers telling Dreamtime stories at the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony. Image source unknown.

According to Aboriginal cosmology, the great Dreamtime Ancestors shaped the earth, its continents,

mountains, oceans, and rivers, its lodestones and its veins of crystals, pigments, and metals.

Their activities still resonate in the shapes and energies that bathe the earth and all

life processes. These energies are often referred to symbolically as

the Rainbow Serpent, which, like electromagnetism and all

energy fields, exists as a spectrum of various

colors, frequencies, or powers.

The 'serpent dreaming' myths

are most prevalent in the sinuous river

country of northern Australia, yet they are found

in stories told through-out the entire continent. They are

part of the oldest continuous documented religious theme in the world.

The story-images are recorded in cave paintings going back more than 20,000 years.

The serpent is always associated with vibration and flowing energy fields. (see below...about Voices of the First Day by Robert Lawlor)

Rainbow Serpent

"She is held in awe because of her apparent ability to renew her life by shedding her skin and emerging anew."--Murray Garde

The rainbow serpent is a powerful mythological figure for all aboriginal people throughout Australia. Characteristics of the rainbow serpent

vary from group to group and also depending on the site. Often viewed as a female generative figure, the rainbow serpent can also sometimes

be male. She has both powers of creation and destruction and is most strongly associated with rain, monsoon seasons, and of course the colors

seen in Rainbows which arc across the sky like a giant serpent. - Maningrida (Australian)

Voices of the First Day by Robert Lawlor

Australian aboriginal people have lived in harmony with the earth for perhaps as long as 100,000 years; in their words,

since the First Day. In this absorbing work, Lawlor explores the essence of their culture as a source of and guide

totransforming our own world view. While not romanticizing the past or suggesting a return to the life of the hunter/

gatherer,Voices of the First Day enables us to enter into the mentality of the oldest continuous culture on earth

and gain insight into our own relationship with the earth and to each other.

This book ( not available as an e-book... yet) offers an opportunity to suspend our values, prejudices, and

Eurocentrismand step into the Dreaming to discover:

• A people who rejected agriculture, architecture, writing, clothing, and the subjugation of animals

• A lifestyle of hunting and gathering that provided abundant food of unsurpassed nutritional value

• Initiatic and ritual practices that hold the origins of all esoteric, yogic, magical, and shamanistic traditions

• A sexual and emotional life that afforded diversity and fluidity as well as marital and social stability

• A people who valued kinship, community, and the law of the Dreamtime as their greatest "possessions."

• Language whose richness of structure and vocabulary reveals new worlds of perception and comprehension.

• A people balanced between the Dreaming and the perceivable world, in harmony with all species and living each day as the First Day.

Voices of the First Day is illustrated throughout with100+ extraordinary photographs, bark paintings, line drawings engravings. Many of these photographs are among the earliest ever made

of the Aboriginal people and are shown here for the first time.

About the Author(s) of Voices of the First Day

Robert Lawlor is a writer and film producer living in Australia who has studied aboriginal culture firsthand. His published works include Sacred Geometry:

Its Philosophy and Practice (Thames & Hudson, 1982), Earth Honoring: The New Male Sexuality (Inner Traditions 1991), and the translation of the works

of Schwaller de Lubicz and Alain Daniélou.

Praise for Voices of the First Day

"The best of what the Aboriginals have let outsiders know about their ecological and shamanic practices, origin myths and kinship rituals, social and spiritual

practices. The illustrations are spectacular, more than 150 color and duotone illustrations include some of the earliest photographs of Aboriginal people, shown

here for the first time."

Whole Earth Review

"This is a compelling work. Lawlor writes clearly, his research is impeccable, and his dedication to the Australian peoples is made clear by the donation of the

book's profits to aboriginal organizations."

Pat Monaghan, ://store.innertraditions.com/Product.jmdx;jsessionid=C7B2B4A34C6AA85B445CD86EE7AC06BD?action=displayDetail&id=235&searchString=0-89281-355-5

The Original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal People-Josephine Flood (e-book link below)

Offering insight into the life and experiences of the world’s oldest culture, this account of Australia’s Aboriginal history spans the mythologies of the Dreamtime through the modern-day problems within the community. Culture and history enthusiasts will get answers tosuch questions as Where did the Aborigines come from and when? How did they survive in such a harsh environment? and What was the traditional role of Aboriginal women? This story emphasizes the resilience and adaptability of the Aboriginal people, especially throughout their relationship with the Europeans who eventually colonized the continent. (rich full color photos and Illustrations google e-book)

http://books.google.com/books?id=h0Ph5GLwWOQC&pg=PA287&lpg=PA287&dq=Jouney+in+Time+,+Reed+1993&source=web&ots=gcybIvnKHA&sig=ksrVpFswjV_F9Nx6IVY-QoU59Mw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result

Mystical Aboriginal Sculptures Blend into the Rain Forest

Hidden deep within a lush Australian rainforest are a set of mystical Aborigine sculpturesseemingly merged into the natural

surroundings. Moss covered torsos of men, women and children protrude from tree trunks and boulders.

Some reach heavenward with widespread wings, others envelop each other protectively –

all are symbols of the relationship the Australian Aborigines have with nature.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/intricate-rainforest-sculptures-of-olinda/2094

~ LINKS ~

Austrailian Aborigine Dream Beliefs

http://www.dreamhawk.com/oz.htm

Australian Aboriginal Artist's Gallery

http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2008/

Australian Aboriginal Culture, Art , Digeridoo Source

http://www.didjshop.com/shop1/AbCulturecart.html

Aboriginal Art online with good explanations of Aboriginal Beliefs

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/rainbow.php

Australian Government Site (excellent source of information, photos and Links)

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/dreamtime/

This Publishing Source offers Many books available here on Australian Aboriginal Art on this mega link below

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/103012.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cornstalk.com.au/absart.htm&usg=__lg4C12xbHWU2qRLtnQABNPRYw74=&h=600&w=469&sz=83&hl=en&start=72&um=1&tbnid=HiyiwIPTezlFBM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3DPhotos%2Bof%2BAustralian%2BAborigines%26start%3D54%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aborigine

This area for new material and new images not yet organized on these pages

The Master...

brennas — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:08:04 CDT

If you are not the Master of your anger, The anger is the Master of you, If you are not the Master of your thoughts, the thoughts are the Master of you, If you are not the Master of your suffering, the suffering is the Master of you,	Tamid
"If you know what you don't know, you're doing great. If you don't know what you don't know, you're sick. The only way To get rid of that sickness is to be sick of it. The Masters aren't sick, because they got sick of being sick." - Tao Te Ching, Ron Hogan's Contemporary Translation	brennas

Fluoride and it's effect on the pineal gland

brennas — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:17:40 CDT

W A R N I N G: Brushing your teeth may be hindering your spiritual practice!

I found out about this very recently and it scared me to think that I've been brushing my teeth with fluoride toothpaste and drinking water with a very high fluoride content for almost 20 years of my life. I have adjusted accordingly, as I have came to realize that there is no more important task beset to me than to protect my pineal so it may serve it's important function as well as possible. I'm surprised that there wasn't anything about this on the site already, so please help me to spread the word about this. We need to individually eliminate this intruder from our diets if we are to become more aware of ourselves and the nature of consciousness.

BE AWARE!!!!

links & videos on the subject:

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/pineal/
http://www.naturalnews.com/026364_fluoride_pineal_gland_sodium.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis

The Maxims of Chanakya Pandit

Tamid — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:26:58 CDT

The
Maxims
of Canakya PanditChapter 11. Humbly bowing down before the Almighty Lord Sri Vishnu, the Lord of the three worlds, I recite maxims of the science of political ethics (niti) selected from various shastras.2. That man who by the study of these maxims from the shastras acquires a knowledge of the most celebrated principles of duty, and understands what ought and ought not be followed, and what is good and what is bad, is most excellent.3. Therefore with an eye to the public good, I shall speak that which, when understood, will lead to an understanding of things in their proper perspective.4. Even a pandit comes to grief by giving instruction to a foolish disciple, by maintaining a wicked wife, and by excessive familiarity with the miserable.5. A wicked wife, a false friend, a saucy servant and living in the house with a serpent in it are nothing but death.6. One should save his money against hard times, save his wife at the sacrifice of his riches, but invariably one should save his soul even at the sacrifice of his wife and riches.7. Save your wealth against future calamity. Do not say, What fear has a rich man of calamity? When riches begin to forsake one, even the accumulated stock dwindles away.8. Do not inhabit a country where you are not respected, cannot earn your livelihood, have no friends, or cannot acquire knowledge.9. Do not stay for a single day where there are not these five persons: a wealthy man, a brahmana well versed in Vedic lore, a king, a river and a physician.10. Wise man should never go into a country where there are no means of earning one’s livelihood, where people have no dread of anybody, have no sense of shame, no intelligence, or a charitable disposition.11. Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.12. He only is a true friend who does not forsake us in time of need, misfortune, famine, or war in a king’s court, or at the crematorium (smashana).13. He who gives up what is imperishable for that which is perishable loses that which is imperishable; and doubtlessly loses that which is perishable also.14. A wise man should marry a virgin of a respectable family even if she is deformed. He should not marry one of a low-class family through a beauty. Marriage in a family of equal status is preferable.15. Do not put your trust in rivers, men who carry weapons, beasts with claws or horns, women, and members of a royal family.16. Even from poison extract nectar, wash and take back gold if it has fallen in filth, receive the highest knowledge (Krishna consciousness) from a lowborn person; so also accept a girl possessing virtuous qualities (stri-ratna) even if she be born in a disreputable family.17. Women have hunger two-fold, shyness four-fold, daring six-fold and lust eight-fold as compared to men.

Chapter 2
1. Untruthfulness, rashness, guile, stupidity, avarice, uncleanness and cruelty are women’s seven natural flaws.2. To have ability for eating when dishes are ready at hand, to be robust and virile in the company of one’s religiously wedded wife, and to have a mind for making charity when one is are the fruits of no ordinary austerities.3. He whose son is obedient to him, whose wife’s conduct is in accordance with his wishes, and who is content with his riches, has his heaven here on earth.4. They alone are sons who are devoted to their father. He is a father who supports his sons. He is a friend in whom we can confide, and she only is a wife in whose company the husband feels contented and peaceful.5. Avoid him who talks sweetly before you but tries to ruin you behind your back, for he is like a pitcher of poison with milk on top.6. Do not put your trust in a bad companion nor even trust an ordinary friend, for if he should get angry with you, he may bring all your secrets to light.7. Do not reveal what you have though upon doing, but by wise counsel keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.8. Foolishness is indeed painful, and verily so is youth, but more painful by far than either is being obliged to live in another person’s house.9. There does not exist a ruby in every mountain, nor a pearl in the head of every elephant; neither are sadhus to be found everywhere, not sandal trees in every forest.10. Wise men should always bring up their sons in various moral ways, for children who have knowledge of niti-shastra and are well-behaved become a glory to their family.11. Those parents who do not educate their sons are their enemies; for as is a crane among swans, so are ignorant sons in a public assembly.12. Many a bad habit is developed through overindulgence, and many a good one by chastisement, therefore beat your son as well as pupil; never indulge them (Spare the rod and spoil the child.)13. Let not a single day pass without your learning a verse, half a verse, or a fourth of it, or even one letter of it; not without attending to charity, study and other pious activity.14. Separation from the wife, disgrace from one’s own people, an enemy saved in battle, service to a wicked king , poverty, and a mismanaged assembly: these six kinds of evils., if afflicting a person, burn him even without fire.15. Trees on a river bank, a woman in another man’s house, and kings without counsellors go without doubt to swift destruction.16. A brahmana’s strength is in his learning, a king’s strength is in his army, a vaishya’s strength is in his wealth and a shudra’s strength is in his attitude of service.17. The prostitue has to forsake a man who has no money, the subject a king that cannot defend him, the birds a tree that bears no fruit, and the guests a house after they have finished their meals.18. Brahmanas quit their patrons after receiving alms from them, scholars leave their teachers after receiving education from them, and animals desert a forest that has been burnt down.19. He who befriends a man whose conduct is vicious, whose vision is impure, and who is notoriously crooked, is rapidly ruined.20. Friendship between equals flourishes, service under a king is respectable, it is good to be business-minded in public dealings, and a handsome lady is safe in her own home.

Chapter 31. In this world, whose family is there without blemish? Who is free from sickness and grief? Who is forever happy?2. A man’s descent may be discerned by his conduct, his country by his pronunciation of language, his friendship by his warmth and glow, and his capacity to eat by his body.3. Give your daughter in marriage to a good family, engage your son in learning, see that your enemy comes to grief, and engage your friends in dharma (Krishna consciousness).4. Of a rascal and a serpent, the serpent is the better of the two, for he strikes only at the time he is destined to kill, while the former at every step.5. Therefore kings gather around themselves men of good families, for they never forsake them either at the beginning, the middle or the end.6. At the time of pralaya (universal destruction) the oceans are to exceed their limits and seek to change, but a saintly man never changes.7. Do not keep company with a fool for as we can see he is a two-legged beast. Like an unseen thorn he pierces the heart with his sharp words.8. Though men be endowed with beauty and youth and born in noble families, yet without education they are like the palasa flower which is void of sweet fragrance.9. The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly person in his scholarship, and that of an ascetic in his forgiveness.10. Give up a member to save a family, a family to save a village, a village to save a country, and the country to save yourself.11. There is no poverty for the industrious. Sin does not attach itself to the person practicing japa (chanting of the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) Those who are absorbed in maunam (silent contemplation of the Lord) have no quarrel with others. They are fearless who remain always alert.12. . . .13, What is too heavy for the strong and what place is too distant for those who put forth effort? What country is foreign to a man of true learning? Who can be inimical to one who speaks pleasingly?14. As a whole forest becomes fragrant by the existence of a single tree with sweet-smelling blossoms in it, so a family becomes famous by the birth of a virtuous son.15. As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.16. As night looks delightful when the moon shines, so is a family gladdened by even one learned and virtuous son.17. What is the use of having many sons if they cause grief and vexation? It is better to have only one son from whom the whole family can derive support and peacefulness.18. Fondle a son until he is five years of age, and use the stick for another ten years, but when he has attained his sixteenth year treat him as a friend.19. He who runs away from a fearful calamity, a foreign invasion, a terrible famine, and the companionship of wicked men is safe.20. He who has not acquired even one of the following: religious merit (dharma), wealth (artha), satisfaction of desires (kama), or liberation (moksha) is repeatedly born only to die.21. Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, comes of Her own accord where fools are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do not quarrel.
Chapter 4
1. These five: the life-span, the type of work, wealth, learning and the time of one’s death are determined while one is in the womb.2. Offspring, friends and relatives flee from a devotee of the Lord; yet, those who follow him bring merit to their families through their devotion.3. Fish, tortoises, and birds bring up their young by means of sight, attention and touch; so do saintly men afford protection to their associates by the same means.4. As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant, try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do?5. Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons. Like a mother , it feeds you on your journey. Therefore learning is a hidden treasure.6. A single son endowed with good qualities is far better than a hundred devoid of them. For the moon, though one, dispels the darkness, which the stars though numerous, can not.7. A still-born son is superior to a foolish son endowed with long life. The first causes grief for but a moment while the latter like a blazing fire consumes his parents in grief for life.8. Residing in a small village devoid of proper living facilities, serving a person born of a low family , unwholesome food, a frowning wife, a foolish son, and a widowed daughter burn the body without fire.9. What good is a cow that neither gives milk nor conceives? Similarly, what is the value of the birth of a son if he becomes neither learned nor a pure devotee of the Lord?10. When one is consumed by the sorrows of life, three things give him relief: offspring, a wife, and the company of the Lord’s devotees.11. Kings speak for once, men of learning for once, and the daughter is given in marriage once. All these things happen once and once only.12. Religious austerities should be practiced alone, study by two, and singing by three. A journey should be undertaken by four, agriculture by five, and war by many together.13. She is a true wife who is clean (suchi), expert, chaste, pleasing to the husband, and truthful.14. The house of a childless person is a void, all directions are void to one who has no relatives, the heart of a fool is also void, but to a poverty-stricken man all is void.15. Scriptural lessons not put into practice are poison; a meal is poison to him who suffers from indigestion; a social gathering is poison to a poverty-stricken person; and a young wife is poison to an aged man.16. That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection.17. Constant traveling beings old age upon a man; a horse becomes old by being constantly tied up; lack of sexual contact with her husband beings old age upon a woman; and garments become old through being left out in the sun.18. Consider again and again the following; the right time, the right friends, the right place, the right means of income, the right ways of spending, and from whom you derive your power.19. For the twice-born the fire (Agni) is a representative of God. The Supreme Lord resides in the heart of his devotees. Those of average intelligence (alpa-buddhi or kanista adhikary) see God only in His Sri-murti, but those of broad vision see the Supreme Lord everywhere.
Chapter 5
1. Agni is the worshipable person for the twice born; the brahmana for the other castes; the husband for the wife; and the guest who comes for food at the midday meal for all.2. As gold is tested in four ways by rubbing , cutting, heating and beating - so a man should be tested by these four things; his renunciation, his conduct, his qualities and his actions.3. A thing may be dreaded as long as it has not overtaken you, but once it has come upon you, try to get rid of it without hesitation.4. Though persons be born from the same womb and under the same stars, they do not become alike in disposition as the thousand fruits of the badari tree.5. He whose hands are clean does not like to hold an office; he who desires nothing cares not for bodily decorations; he who is only partially educated cannot speak agreeably; and he who speaks out plainly cannot be a deceiver.6. The learned are envied by the foolish; rich men by the poor; chaste women by adulteresses; and beautiful ladies by ugly ones.7. Indolent application ruins study; money is lost when entrusted to others; a farmer who sows his fields sparsely is ruined; and an army is lost for want of a commander.8. Learning in retained through putting it into practice; family prestige is maintained by good behavior; a respectable person is recognized by his excellent qualities; and anger is seen in the eyes.9. Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.10. Those who blaspheme Vedic wisdom, who ridicule the life style recommended in the shastras, and who deride men of peaceful temperament, come to grief unnecessarily.11. Charity puts an end to poverty; righteous conduct to misery; discretion to ignorance; and scrutiny to fear.12. There is no disease (so destructive) as lust; no enemy like infatuation; no fire like wrath; and no happiness like spiritual knowledge.13. A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good or bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or to the supreme abode.14. Heaven is but a straw to him who knows spiritual life (Krishna consciousness); so is life to a valiant man; a woman to him who has subdued his senses; and the universe to him who is without attachment for the world.15. Learning is a friend on a journey; a wife in the house; medicine in sickness; and religious merit is the only friend after death.16. Rain which falls upon the sea is useless; so is food for one who is satiated; in vain is a gift to one who is wealthy; and a burning lamp during the day time is useless.17. There is no water like rain water; no strength like one’s own; no light like that of the eyes; and no wealth more dear than food grain.18. The poor wish for wealth; animals for the faculty of speech; men wish for heaven; and Godly persons for liberation.19. The earth is supported by the power of truth; it is the power of truth that makes the sun shine and the winds blow; indeed all things rest upon truth.20. The Goddess of wealth is unsteady (chanchala), and so is the life breath. The duration of life is uncertain, and the place habitation is uncertain; but in all this inconstant world religious merit alone is immovable.21. Among men the barber is cunning; among birds, the crow; among beast the jackal; and among women, the malin (flower-girl).22. These five are your fathers: he who gave you birth, girdled you with sacred thread, teaches you, provides you with food, and protects you from fearful situations.23. These five should be considered as mothers; the king’s wife, the preceptor’s wife, the friend’s wife, your wife’s mother, and your own mother.
Chapter 6
1. By means of hearing one understand dharma, malignity vanishes, knowledge is acquired, and liberation from material bondage is gained.2. Among birds the crow is vile; among beasts, the dog; the ascetic who sins is abominable, but he who blasphemes others is the worst chandala.3. Brass is polished by ashes; copper is cleaned by tamarind; a woman, by her menses; and a river by its flow.4. The king, the brahmana, and the ascetic yogi who go abroad are respected; but the woman that wanders is utterly ruined.5. He who has wealth has friends. He who is wealthy has relatives. The rich one alone is called a man, and the affluent alone are respected as pandits.6. As is the desire of Providence, so functions one’s intellect; one’s activities are also controlled by Providence; and by the will of Providence one is surrounded by helpers.7. Time perfects all living being as well as kills them; it alone is awake when all others are asleep. Time is insurmountable.8. Those born blind cannot see; similarly blind are those in the grip of lust. Proud men have no perception of evil; and those bent on acquiring riches see no sin in their actions.9. The spirit soul goes through his own course of karma and he himself suffers the good and bad results thereby accrued. By his own actions he entangles himself in samsara, and by his own efforts he extricates himself.10. The king is obliged to accept the sins of his subjects; the purohit (priest) suffers for those of the king; a husband suffers for those of his wife; and the guru suffers for those of his pupils.11. A father who is a chronic debtor, an adulterous mother, a beautiful wife, and an unlearned son are enemies (in one’s own home).12. Conciliate a covetous man by means of a gift, an obstinate man with hands folded in salutation, a fool by humoring him, and a learned man by truthful words.13. It is better to be without a kingdom than to rule over a petty one; better to be without a friend than to befriend a rascal; better to be without a disciple than to have a stupid one; and better to be without a wife than to have a bad one.14. How can people be made happy in a petty kingdom? What peace can we expect from a rascal friend? What happiness can we have at home in the company of a bad wife? How can renown be gained by instructing an unworthy disciple?15. Learn one thing from a lion; one from a crane; four from a ****; five from a crow; six from a dog; and three from an ass.16. The one excellent thing that should be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.17. The wise man should restrain his senses like the crane and accomplish his purpose with due knowledge of his place, time and ability.18. To wake at the proper time; to take a bold stand and fight; to make a fair division (of property) among relations; and to earn one; own bread by personal exertion are the four excellent things to be learned from a ****.19. Union in privacy (with one’s wife); boldness; storing away useful items; watchfulness; and not easily trusting others: these five things are to be learned from the crow.20. Contentment with little or nothing to eat although one may have a great appetite; to awaken instantly although one may be in a deep slumber; unflinching devotion to the master; and bravery: these six qualities should be learned from the dog.21. Although an ass is tired, he continues to carry his burden; he is unmindful of cold and heat; and he is always contented: these three things should be learned from the ass.22. He who shall practice these twenty virtues shall become invincible in all his undertakings.
Chapter 71. A wise man should not reveal his loss of wealth, the vexation of his mind, the misconduct of his own wife, base words spoken by others, and disgrace that has befallen him.2. He who gives up shyness in monetary dealings, in acquiring knowledge, in eating, and in business, becomes happy.3. The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquillity is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving about here and there.4. One should feel satisfied with the following three things: his own wife, food given by Providence and wealth acquired by honest effort; but one should never feel satisfied with the following three: study, chanting of the holy names of the Lord (japa) and charity.5. Do not pass between two brahmanas, between a brahmana and his sacrificial fire, between a wife and her husband, a master and his servant, and a plow and an ox.6. Do not let your foot touch fire, the spiritual master or a brahmana; it must never touch a cow, a virgin, an old person or a child.7. Keep one thousand cubits away from an elephant, a hundred from a horse, ten from a horned beast, but keep away from the wicked by leaving the country.8. An elephant is controlled by a goad (ankusha), a horse by a slap of the hand, a horned animal with the show of a stick, and a rascal with a sword.9. Brahmanas find satisfaction in a good meal, peacocks in the peal of thunder, a sadhu in seeing the prosperity of others, and the wicked in the miseries of others.10. Conciliates a strong man by submission, a wicked man by opposition, and the one whose power is equal to yours by politeness or by force.11. The power of a king lies in his mighty arms; that of a brahmana in his spiritual knowledge; and that of a woman in her beauty, youth and sweet words.12. Do not be very upright in your dealing for you would see by going to the forest that straight trees are cut down while crooked ones are left to stand.13. Swans live wherever there is water, and leave the place when the water dried up; let not a man act so - come and go as he pleases.14. Accumulated wealth is saved by spending just as incoming fresh water is saved by letting out stagnant water.15. He who has wealth has friends and relations; he alone survives and is respected as a man.16. The following four characteristics of the denizens of heaven may be seen in the residents of this earth planet; charity, sweet words, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and satisfying the needs of brahmanas.17. The following qualities of the denizens of hell may characterize men on earth: extreme wrath, harsh speech, poverty, enmity with one’s relations, the company of the base, and service to men of low extraction.
18. By going into the den of a lion pearls from the head of an elephant may be obtained; but by visiting the hole of a jackal nothing but the tail of a calf or a bit of the hide of an ass may be found.19. The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it from the bites of insects.20. Purity of speech, of mind, of the senses, and the purity of a compassionate heart are needed by one who desires to rise to the divine platform.21. As you seek fragrance in a flower, oil in the sesame seed, fire in wood ghee in milk, an jaggery (guda) in sugarcane; so seek the spirit that is in the body by means of discrimination.
Chapter 8
1. Low class men desire wealth; middle class men both wealth and respect; but the noble, honor only; hence honor is the noble man’s true wealth.2. . . .3. The lamp eats up the darkness and therefore it produces lamp black; in the same way according to the nature of our diet (sattwa, rajas, or tamas) we produce offspring of similar quality.4. O wise man ! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet. The rain water enlivens all living beings of the earth both movable (insects, animals, humans, etc.) and immovable (plants, trees, etc.) and then returns to the ocean its value multiplied a million fold.5. The wise who discern the essence of things have declared that the yavana (meat eater) is equal in baseness to a thousand chandalas ( the lowest class), and hence the yavana is the basest of men; indeed there is no one more base.6. After having oil rubbed upon the body, after encountering the smoke from a funeral pyre, after sexual intercourse, and after being shaved, one remains a chandala until he bathes.7. Water is a medicine for indigestion; it is invigorating when the food that is eaten is well digested; it is like nectar when drunk in the middle of a dinner; and it is like poison when taken at the end of a meal.8. Knowledge is lost without putting it into practice; a man is lost due to ignorance; an army is lost without a commander; and a woman is lost without a husband.9. A man who encounters the following three is unfortunate: the death of his wife in his old age, the entrusting of his money into the hands of relatives, and depending upon others for food.10. Chanting of the Vedas without making ritualistic sacrifices to the Supreme Lord though the medium of Agni, and sacrifices not followed by bountiful gifts are futile. Perfection can be achieved only through devotion (to the Supreme Lord) for devotion is the basis of all success.11. . . .12. . . .13. There is no austerity equal to a balanced mind, and no happiness equal to contentment; there is no disease like covetousness, and no virtue like mercy.14. Anger is a personification of Yama (the demigod of death); thirst is like the hellish river Vaitarani; knowledge is like a kam idhenu (the cow of plenty); and contentment is like Nanadanavana (the garden of Indra).15. Moral excellence is an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct, for high birth; success, for learning; and proper spending, for wealth.16. Beauty is spoiled by an immoral nature; noble birth, by bad conduct; learning, without being perfected; and wealth, by not being properly utilized.17. Water seeping into the earth is pure; and a devoted wife is pure; the king who is the benefactor of his people is pure; and pure in the brahmana who is contented.18. Discontented brahmanas, contented kings, shy prostitutes, and immodest housewives are ruined.19. Of what avail is high birth if a person in destitute of scholarship? A man who is of low extraction is honored even by the demigods if he is learned.20. A learned man is honored by the people. A learned man commands respect everywhere for his learning. Indeed, learning is honored everywhere.21. Those who are endowed with beauty and youth and who are born of noble families are worthless if they have no learning. They are just like the kimshuka blossoms (flowers of the palasa tree) which, though beautiful, have no fragrance.22. The earth is encumbered with the weight of flesh-eaters, wine-bibblers, dolts and blockheads, who are beasts in the form of men.23. There is no enemy like a yagna (sacrifice) which consumes the kingdom when not attended by feeding on a large scale; consumes the priest when chanting is not properly done; and consumes the yajaman (the responsible person) when gifts are not made.
Chapter 9
1. My dear child, if you desire to be freed from the cycle of birth and death, then abandon the objects of sense gratification as poison. Drink instead the nectar of forbearance, upright conduct, mercy, cleanliness and truth.2. Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents who stray onto ant hills.3. Perhaps nobody has advised Lord Brahma, the creator, to impart perfume to gold; fruit to the sugarcane, flowers to the sandalwood tree; wealth to the learned; and long life to the king.4. Nectar (amrita) is the best among all medicines; eating good food is the best of all types of material happiness; the eye is chief among all organs; and the head occupies the chief position among all parts of the body.5. No messenger can travel about in the sky and no tidings come from there. The voice of its inhabitants is never heard, nor can any contact be established with them. Therefore the brahmana who predicts the eclipses of the sun and moon which occur in the sky must be considered as a vidwan? (man of great learning).6. The student, the servant, the traveler, the hungry person, the frightened man, the treasury guard, and the steward: these seven ought to be awakened if they fall asleep.7. The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not be awakened from sleep.8. Of those who have studied the Vedas for material rewards, and those who accept foodstuffs offered by shudras, what potency have they? They are just like serpents without fangs.9. He who neither rouses fear by his anger, nor confers a favor when he is pleased can neither control nor protect. What can he do?10. The serpent may, without being poisonous, raise high its hood, but the show of terror is enough to frighten people - whether he be venomous or not.11. Wise men spend their mornings in discussing gambling, the afternoon discussing the activities of women, and the night in hearing about acts of theft. (The first item above refers to the gambling of King Yuddhisthir, the great devotee of Krishna. The second item refers to the glorious deeds of Mother Sita, the consort of Lord Ramachandra. The third item hints at the adorable childhood pastimes of Sri Krishna who stole butter from the elderly cowherd ladies of Gokula. Hence Chanakya Pandit advises wise persons to spend the morning absorbed in Mahabharata, the afternoon studying Ramayana, and the evening devotedly hearing Srimad Bhagavatam.)12. By preparing a garland for the Deity with one’s own hand; by grinding sandal paste for the Lord with one’s own hand; and by writing sacred texts with one’s own hand - one becomes blessed with opulence equal to that of Indra.13. Poverty is set off by fortitude; shabby garments by keeping them clean; bad food by warming it; and ugliness by good behavior.
Chapter 10
1. One destitute of wealth is not destitute, he is indeed rich (if he is learned); but the man devoid of learning is destitute in every way.2. We should carefully scrutinize that place upon which we step (having ascertained it to be free from filth and living creatures like insects, etc.); we should drink only that water which has been filtered (through a clean cloth); we should speak only those words which have the sanction of the shastras; and do that act which we have carefully considered.3. He who desires sense gratification must give up all thoughts of acquiring knowledge; and he who seeks knowledge must not hope for sense gratification. How can he who seeks sense gratification acquire knowledge, and he who possesses knowledge enjoy mundane sense pleasure?4. What is it that escapes the observation of poets? What is that act women are incapable of doing? What will not a drunkard prate? What will not a crow eat?5. Fate makes a beggar a king and a king a beggar. He makes a rich man poor and a poor man rich.6. The beggar is a miser’s enemy; the wise counselor is the fool’s enemy; her husband is an adulterous wife’s enemy; and the moon is the enemy of the thief.7. Those who are destitute of learning, penance, knowledge, good disposition, virtue and benevolence are brutes wandering the earth in the form of men. They are burdensome to the earth.8. Those that are empty-minded can not be benefited by instruction. Bamboo does not acquire the quality of sandal wood by being associated with the Malaya Mountain.9. What good can the scriptures do to that man who has no sense of his own? Of what use is a mirror to a blind man?10. Nothing can reform a bad man, just as the posteriors cannot become a superior part of the body though washed one hundred times.11. By offending a kinsman, life is lost; by offending others, wealth is lost; by offending the king, everything is lost; and by offending a brahmana one’s whole family is ruined.12. It is better to live under a tree in a jungle inhabited by tigers and elephants, to maintain oneself in such a place with ripe fruits and spring water, to lie down on grass and to wear the ragged barks of trees than to live amongst one’s relations when reduced to poverty.13. The brahmana is like a tree; his prayers are the roots, his chanting of the Vedas are the branches, and his religious acts are the leaves. Consequently, effort should be made to preserve his roots for if the roots are destroyed there can be no branches or leaves.14. My mother is Kamala devi (Lakshmi), my father is Lord Janardana (Vishnu), my kinsmen are the Vishnu-bhaktas (Vaishnavas) and, my homeland is all the three worlds.15. (Through the night) a great many kinds of birds perch on a tree but in the morning they fly in all the ten directions. Why should we lament for that? (Similarly, we should not grieve when we must inevitably part company from our dear ones).16. He who possesses intelligence is strong; how can the man that is unintelligent be powerful? The elephant of the forest having lost his senses by intoxication was tricked into a lake by a small rabbit. (This verse refers to a famous story from the Niti-shastra called Panchatantra compiled by Pandit Vishnusharma 2500 years ago.)17. Why should I be concerned for my maintenance while absorbed in praising the glories of Lord Vishwambhara (Vishnu), the supporter of all. Without the grace of Lord Hari, how could milk flow from a mother’s breast for a child’s nourishment? Repeatedly thinking only in this way, O Lord of the Yadus, O Husband of Lakshmi, all my time is spent in serving your lotus feet.18. . . .19. . . .20. . . .
Chapter 11
1. Generosity, pleasing address, courage and propriety of conduct are not acquired, but are inbred qualities.2. He who forsakes his own community and joins another perishes as the king who embraces an unrighteous path.3. The elephant has a huge body but is controlled by an ankusha (goad): yet, is the goad as large as the elephant? A lighted candle banishes darkness: is the candle as vast as the darkness? A mountain is broken even by a thunderbolt; is the thunderbolt therefore as big as the mountain? No, he whose power prevails is really might; what is there in bulk?4. . . .5. He who is engrossed in family life will never acquire knowledge; there can be no mercy in the eater of flesh; the greedy man will not be truthful; and purity will not be found in a woman-hunter.6. The wicked man will not attain sanctity even if he is instructed in different ways, and the nim tree will not become sweet even if it is sprinkled from the top to the roots with milk and ghee.7. Mental dirt cannot be washed away even by one hundred baths in the sacred waters, just as a wine pot cannot be purified by evaporating all the wine by fire.8. It is not strange if a man reviles a thing of which he has no knowledge, just as a wild hunter’s wife throws away the pearl that is found in the head of an elephant, and picks up a gunj ( a type of seed which poor tribals wear as ornaments).9. He who for one year eats his meals silently (inwardly meditating upon the Lord’s prasadam); attains to the heavenly planets for a thousand crore of years.
(Note: one crore equals ten million)10. The student (brahmachari) should completely renounce the following eight things - his lust, anger, greed, desire for sweets, sense of decorating the body, excessive curiosity, excessive sleep, and excessive endeavor for bodily maintenance.11. . . .12. He alone is a true brahmana (dwija or twice-born) who is satisfied with one meal a day, who has had the six samskaras (or acts of purification such as garbhadhana, etc.) performed for him, and who cohabits with his wife only once in a month on an auspicious day after her menses.13. The brahmana who is engrossed in worldly affairs, brings up cattle and is engaged in trade is really called a vaishya.14. The brahmana who deals in lac-die, articles, oil, indigo, silken cloth, honey, clarified butter, liquor, and flesh is called a shudra.15. The brahmana who thwarts the doings of others, who is hypocritical, selfish, and a deceitful hater, and while speaking mildly cherishes cruelty in his heart, is called a cat.16. The brahmana who destroys a pond, a well, a tank, a garden and a temple is called a mleccha.17. The brahmana who steals the property of the Deity and the spiritual preceptor, who cohabit s with another ‘s wife, and who maintains himself by eating anything and everything is called a chandala.18. The meritorious should give away in charity all that they have in excess of their needs. By charity only the fame of Karna, Bali and King Vikramaditya survive even today. Just see the plight of the honeybees beating their legs in despair upon the earth. They are saying to themselves, Alas ! We neither enjoyed our stored-up honey nor gave it in charity, and now someone has taken it from us in an instant.

Chapter 12
1. He is a blessed grihasta (householder) in whose house there is a blissful atmosphere, whose sons are talented, whose wife speaks sweetly, whose wealth is enough to satisfy his desires, who finds pleasure in the company of his wife, whose servants are obedient, in whose house hospitality is shown, the auspicious Supreme Lord is worshipped daily, delicious food and drink is partaken, and who finds joy in the company of devotees.2. One who devoutly gives a little to a brahmana that is in distress is recompensed abundantly. Hence, O Prince, what is given to a good brahmana is got back not in an equal quantity, but in an infinitely higher degree.3. Those men are happy in this world who are generous towards their relatives, kind to strangers, indifferent to the wicked, loving to the good, shrewd in their dealings with the base, frank with the learned, courageous with enemies, humble with elders and stern with the wife.4. O jackal, leave aside the body of that man at once, whose hands have never given in charity, whose ears have not heard the voice of learning, whose eyes have not beheld a pure devotee of the Lord, whose feet have never traversed to sacred places, whose belly is filled with things obtained by crooked practices, and whose head is held high by vanity. Do not eat it, O jackal, otherwise you will become polluted.5. Shame upon those who have no devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, the son of Mother Yashoda; who have no attachment for describing the glories of Srimati Radharani; and whose ears are not eager to listen to the stories of the Lord’s lila. Such is the exclamation of the mridanga sound of dhik-tam dhik-tam dhigatam at kirtana.6. What fault of spring that the bamboo shoot has no leaves? What fault of the sun if the owl cannot see during the day time? Is it the fault of the clouds if no raindrops fall into the mouth of the chatak bird? Who can erase what Lord Brahma has inscribed upon our foreheads at the time of birth?7. A wicked man may develop saintly qualities in the company of a devotee, but a devotee does not become impious in the company of a wicked person. The earth is scented by a flower that falls upon it, but the flower does not contract the odor of the earth.8. One indeed becomes blessed by having darshan of a devotee; for the devotee has the ability to purify immediately, whereas the sacred tirtha gives purity only after prolonged contact.9. A stranger asked a brahmana Tell me, who is great in this city? The brahmana replied, The cluster of palmyra trees is great. Then the traveler asked, Who is the most charitable person? The brahmana answered, The washerman who takes the clothes in the morning and gives them back in the evening is the most charitable,. When he asked, Who is the ablest man? The brahmana answered, Everyone is expert in robbing others of their wives and wealth. The man then asked the brahmana, How do you manage to live in such a city? The brahmana replied, As a worm survives while even in a filthy place so do I survive here!10. The house in which the lotus feet of brahmanas are not washed, in which Vedic mantras are not loudly recited, and in which the holy rites of swaha (sacrificial offerings to the Supreme Lord) and swadha (offerings to the ancestors) are not performed, is like a crematorium.11. (It is said that a sadhu, when asked about his family, replied thusly:) Truth is my mother, and my father is spiritual knowledge; righteous conduct is my brother, and mercy is my friend; inner peace is my wife, and forgiveness is my son: these six are my kinsmen.12. Our bodies are perishable, wealth is not at all permanent and death is always nearby. Therefore we must immediately engage in acts of merit.13. Arjuna says to Krishna, Brahmanas find joy in going to feasts, cows find joy in eating tender grass, wives find joy in the company of their husbands, and know, O Krishna, that in the same way I rejoice in battle.14. He who regards another’s wife as his mother, the wealth that does not belong to him as a lump of mud, and the pleasure and pain of all other living beings as his own truly sees things in the right perspective, and he is the true pandit.15. O Raghava, the love of virtue, pleasing speech, an ardent desire for performing acts of charity, guileless dealings with friends, humility in the guru’s presence, deep tranquillity of mind, pure conduct, discernment of virtues, realized knowledge of the shastras, beauty of form and devotion to God are all found in you. (The great sage Vashishta Muni, the spiritual preceptor of the dynasty of the sun, said this to Lord Ramachandra at the time of His proposed coronation.)16. The desire tree is wood; the golden Mount Meru is motionless; the wish-fulfilling gem chintamani is just a stone; the sun is scorching; the moon is prone to wane; the boundless ocean is saline; the demigod of lust Kamadeva lost his body (due to Shiva’s wrath); Bali Maharaja, the son of Diti, was born into a clan of demons; and Kamadhenu (the cow of heaven) is a mere beast. O Lord of the Raghu dynasty! I cannot compare you to any one of these (taking their merits into account).17. Realized learning (vidya) is our friend while traveling, the wife is a friend at home, medicine is the friend of a sick man, and meritorious deeds are the friends at death.18. Courtesy should be learned from princes, the art of conversation from pandits, lying should be learned from gamblers and deceitful ways should be learned from women.19. The unthinking spender, the homeless urchin, the quarrel monger, the man who neglects his wife and is heedless in his actions - all these will soon come to ruination.20. The wise man should not be anxious about his food; he should be anxious only to be engaged in dharma (Krishna consciousness). The food of each man is created for him at his birth.21. He who is not shy in the acquisition of wealth, grain and knowledge, and in taking his meals, will be happy.22. As centesimal droppings will fill a pot so also are knowledge, virtue and wealth gradually obtained.23. The man who remains a fool even in advanced age is really a fool, just as the Indra-Varuna fruit does not become sweet no matter how ripe it might become.Chapter 131. A man may live but for a moment, but that moment should be spent in doing auspicious deeds. It is unless living for even a kalpa (43,200,000 X 1,000 years) and bringing only distress upon the two worlds (this world and the next).2. We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal only with the present moment.3. It certainly is the nature of the demi-gods, men of good character, and parents to be easily pleased. Near and distant relatives are pleased when they are hospitably received with bathing facilities, food, and drink and pandits are pleased with an opportunity for giving spiritual discourse.4. Even as the unborn babe is in the womb of his mother, these five are fixed as his life destiny; his life span, his activities, his acquisition of wealth and knowledge, and his time of death.5. O see what a wonder it is ! The doings of the great are strange: they treat wealth as light as a straw, yet, when they obtain it, they bend under its weight.6. He who is overly attached to this family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.7. He who is prepared for the future and he who deals cleverly with any situation that may arise are both happy; but that fatalistic man who wholly depends on luck is ruined.8. If the king is virtuous, then the subjects are also virtuous. If the king is sinful, then the subjects also become sinful. If he is modiocre, then the subjects are modiocre. The subjects follow the example of the king. In short, as is the king so are his subjects.9. I consider him who does not act religiously as dead though living, but he who dies acting religiously unquestionably lives long though he is dead.10. He who has acquired neither virtue, wealth, satisfaction of desires nor salvation (dharma, artha, kama, moksha), lives an utterly useless life, like the nipples hanging from the neck of a goat.11. The hearts of base men burn before the fire of other’s fame, and they slander them being themselves unable to raise to such a high position.12. Excessive attachment to sense pleasures leads to bondage, and detachment from sense pleasures leads to liberation; therefore it is the mind alone that is responsible for bondage or liberation.13. He who sheds bodily identification by means of knowledge of the indwelling Supreme Self (paramatma), will always be absorbed in meditative trance (samadhi) wherever his mind leads him.14. Who realized all the happiness he desires? Everything is in the hands of God. Therefore one should learn contentment.15. As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so the (good or bad) deeds of a man follow him.16. He whose actions are disorganized has no happiness either in the midst of men or in a jungle- in the midst of men his heart burns by social contacts, and his helplessness burns him in the forest.17. As the man who digs obtains underground water by use of a shovel, so the student acquires the knowledge possessed by his preceptor through his service.18. Men reap the fruits of their deeds, and their intellects bear the marks of deeds performed in previous lives; even so the wise act after due circumspection.19. Even the man who has taught the spiritual significance of just one letter ought to be worshipped. He who does not give reverence to such a guru is born as a dog a hundred times, and at last takes birth as a chandala (dog-eater).20. At the end of the yuga, Mount Meru may be shaken; at the end of the kalpa, the waters of the seven oceans may be disturbed; but a sadhu will never swerve from the spiritual path.21. There are three gems upon this earth: food, water and pleasing words - fools (mudhas) consider pieces of rocks as gems.Chapter 141. Poverty, disease, sorrow, imprisonment and other evils are the fruits borne by the tree of one’s own sins.2. Wealth, a friend, a wife, and a kingdom may be regained; but this body when lost may never be acquired again.3. The enemy can be overcome by the union of large numbers, just as grass through its collectiveness wards off erosion caused by heavy rainfall.4. Oil on water, a secret communicated to a base man, a gift given to a worthy receiver, and scriptural instruction given to an intelligent man spread out by virtue of their nature.5. If men should always retain the state of mind they experience when hearing religious instruction, when present at a cremation ground, and when in sickness - then who could not attain liberation?6. If a man should feel before, as he feels after, repentance-then who would not attain perfection?7. We should not feel pride in our charity, austerity, valor, scriptural knowledge, modesty and morality for the world is full of the rarest gems.8. He who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he may really be nearby.9. We should always speak what would please the man of whom we expect a favor, like the hunter who sings sweetly when he desires to shoot the deer.10. It is ruinous to be familiar with the king, fire, the religious preceptor and a woman. To be altogether indifferent of them is to be deprived of the opportunity to benefit ourselves, hence our association with them must be from a safe distance.11. We should always deal cautiously with fire, water, women, foolish people, serpents, and members of a royal family; for they may, when the occasion presents itself, at once bring about our death.12. He should be considered to be living who is virtuous and pious, but the life of a man who is destitute of religion and virtues is void of any blessing.13. If you wish to gain control of the world by the performance of a single deed, then keep the following fifteen, which are prone to wander here and there, from getting the upper hand of you:
the five sense objects (objects of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch); the five sense organs (ears, eyes, nose, tongue and skin) and organs of activity (hands, legs, mouth, genitals and anus).14. He is a pandit (man of knowledge) who speaks what is suitable to the occasion, who renders loving service according to his ability, and who knows the limits of his anger.15. One single object ( a woman) appears in three different ways: to the man who practices austerity it appears as a corpse, to the sensual it appers as a woman, and to dogs as a lump of flesh.16. A wise man should not divulge the formula of a medicine which he has well prepared; an act of charity which he has performed; domestic conflicts; private affairs with his wife; poorly prepared food he may have been offered; or slang words he may have heard.17. The cuckoos remain silent for along time (for several seasons) until they are able to sing sweetly (in the Spring) so as to give joy to all.18. We should secure and keep the following; the blessings of meritorious deeds, wealth, grain, the words of the spiritual master, and rate medicines. Otherwise life becomes impossible.19. Eschew wicked company and associate with saintly persons. Acquire virtue day and night, and always meditate on that which is eternal forgetting that which is temporary.Chapter 151. For one whose heart melts with compassion for all creatures; what is the necessity of knowledge, liberation, matted hair on the head, and smearing the body with ashes?2. There is no treasure on earth the gift of which will cancel the debt a disciple owes his guru for having taught him even a single letter (that leads him to Krishna consciousness).3. There are only two ways to get rid of thorns and wicked person; using footwear in the first case and in the second shaming them so that they cannot raise their faces again thus keeping them at a distance.4. He who wears unclean garments, has dirty teeth, is a glutton, speaks unkindly and sleeps after sunrise -although he may be the greatest personality - will lose the favor of Lakshmi.5. He who loses his money is forsaken by his friends, his wife, his servants and his relations; yet when he regains his riches those who have forsaken him come back to him. Hence wealth is certainly the best of relations.6. Sinfully acquired wealth may remain for ten years; in the eleventh year it disappears with even the initial stock.7. A bad action committed by a great man is not censured (as there is none that can reproach him),
and a good action performed by a low-class man comes to be condemned (because none respects him). Just see: the drinking of nectar is excellent, but it became the cause of the demon Rahu’s demise; and the drinking of poison is harmful, but when Lord Shiva (who is exalted) drank it, it became an ornament to this neck(nila-kanta).8. A true meal is that which consists of the remnants left after a brahmana’s meal . Love which is shown to others is true love, not that which is cherished for one’s own self. To abstain from sin is true wisdom. That is an act of charity which is performed without ostentation.9. For want of discernment the most precious jewels lie in the dust at the feet of men, while bits of glass are worn on their heads. But we should not imagine that the gems have sunk in value, and the bits of glass have risen in importance. When a person of critical judgement shall appear, each will be given its right position.10. Shastric knowledge is unlimited, and the arts to be learned are many; the time we have is short, and our opportunities to learn are beset with obstacles. Therefore select for learning that which is most important, just as the swan drinks only the milk in water.11. He is a chandala who eats his dinner without entertaining the stranger who has come to his house quite accidentally, having traveled room a distance and is wearied.12. One may know the four Vedas and the Dharma Shastras, yet if he has no realization of his own spiritual self, he can be said to be like the ladle which stirs all kinds of food but knows not the taste of any.13. Those blessed souls are certainly elevated who, while crossing the ocean of life, take shelter of a genuine brahmana, who is likened unto a boat. They are unlike passengers abroad an ordinary ship which runs the risk of sinking.14. The moon, who is the abode of nectar and the presiding deity of all medicines, although immortal like amrita and resplendent in form, loses the brilliance of his rays when he repairs tothe abode of the sun (day time). Therefore will not an ordinary man be made to feel inferior by going to live at the house of another?15. This humble bee, who always resides among the soft petals of the lotus and drinks abundantly its sweet nectar, is now feasting on the flower of the ordinary kutaja. Being in a strange country where lotuses do not exist, he is considering the pollen of the kutaja to be nice.16. (Lord Vishnu asked His spouse Lakshmi why She did not care to live in the house of a brahmana, when She replied) O Lord, a rishi named Agastya drank up my father (the ocean) in anger; Brighu Muni kicked you; brahmanas pride themselves on their learning having sought the favor of my competitor Saraswati; and lastly they pluck each day the lotus, which is My abode, and therewith worship Lord Shiva. Therefore, O Lord, I fear to dwell with the brahmana and that properly.17. There are many ways of binding by which one can be dominated and controlled in this world, but the bond of affect on is the strongest. For example, take the case of the humble bee which, although expert at piercing hardened wood, becomes caught in the embrace of its beloved flowers (as the petals close at dusk).18. Although sandalwood be cut, it does not forsake its natural quality of fragrance; so also the elephant does not give up sportiveness though he should grown old. The sugarcane does not cease to be sweet though squeezed in a mill; so the man of noble extraction does not lose his lofty qualities, no matter how pinched he is poverty.19. . . .Chapter 161. . . .2. The heart of a woman is not united; it is divided. While she is talking with one man, she looks lustfully at another and thinks fondly of a third in her heart.3. The fool (mudha) who fancies that a charming young lady loves him, becomes her salve and he dances like a shakuntal bird tied to a string.4. Who is there who, having become rich, has not become proud? What licentious man has put an end to his calamities? What man in this world has not been overcome by women? Who is always loved by the king? Who is there who has not been overcome by the ravages of time? What beggar has attained glory? Who has become happy by contracting the vices of the wicked?5. . . .6. A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because he sits on the top of a tall building?7. . . .8. The man who is praised by others as great is regarded as worthy though he may be really void of all merit. But the man who sings his own praises lowers himself in the estimation of others though he should be Indra (the possessor of all excellencies).9. If good qualities should characterize a man of discrimination, the brilliance of his qualities will be recognized just as a gem which is essentially bright really shines when fixed in an ornament of gold.10. Even one who by his qualities appears to be all-knowing suffers without patronage; the gem, though precious, requires a gold setting.11. I do not deserve that wealth which is to be attained by enduring much suffering, or by transgressing the rules of virtue, or by flattering an enemy.12. . . .13. Those who were not satiated with the enjoyment of wealth, food and women have all passed away; there are others now passing away who have likewise remained unsatiated; and in the future still others will pass away feeling themselves unsatiated.14. All charities and sacrifices (performed for fruitive gain) bring only temporary results, but gifts made to deserving persons (those who are Krishna conscious) and protection offered to all creatures shall never perish.15. A blade of grass is light, cotton is lighter, the beggar is infinitely lighter still. Why then does not the wind carry him away? Because it fears that he may ask alms of it.16. It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment’s grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one’s life.17. All creatures are pleased by loving words; and therefore we should address words that are pleasing to all, for there is no lack of sweet words.18. There are two nectarean fruits hanging from the tree of this world: one is the hearing of sweet words (such as Krishna-katha) and the other, the society of saintly men.19. The good habits of charity, learning and austerity practiced during many past lives continue to be cultivated in this birth by virtue of the link (yoga) of this present life to the previous ones.20. One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.
Chapter 17
1. The scholar who has acquired knowledge by studying innumerable books without the blessing of a bonafide spiritual master does not shine in an assembly of truly learned men just as an illegitimate child is not honored in society.2. We should repay the favors of others by acts of kindness; so also should we return evil for evil in which there is no sin, for it is necessary to pay a wicked man in his own coin.3. That thing which is distant, that thing which appears impossible, and that which is far beyond our reach, can be easily attained through tapasya (religious austerity), for nothing can surpass austerity.4. What vice could be worse than covetousness? What is more sinful than slander? For one who is truthful, what need is there for austerity? For one who has a clean heart, what is the need for pilgrimage? If one has a good disposition, what other virtue is needed? If a man has fame, what is the value of other ornamentation? What need is there for wealth for the man of practical knowledge? And if a man is dishonored, what could there be worse in death?5. Though the sea, which is the reservoir of all jewels, is the father of the conch shell, and the Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi is the conch’s sister, still the conch must go from door to door for alms (in the hands of a beggar). It is true, therefore, that one gains nothing without having given in the past.6. When a man has no strength left in him he becomes a sadhu, one without wealth acts like a brahmachari, a sick man behaves like a devotee of the Lord, and when a woman grows old she becomes devoted to her husband.7. . . .8. There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.9. The woman who fasts and observes religious vows without the permission of her husband shortens his life, and goes to hell.10. A woman does not become holy by offering charity by observing hundred of fasts, or by sipping sacred water, as by sipping the water used to wash her husband’s feet.11. . . .12. The hand is not so well adorned by ornaments as by charitable offerings; one does not become clean by smearing sandalwood paste upon the body as by taking a bath; one does become so much satisfied by dinner as by having respect shown to him; and salvation is not attained by self-adornment as by cultivation of spiritual knowledge.13. . . .14. The eating of tundi fruit deprives a man of his sense, while the vacha root administered revives his reasoning immediately. A woman at once robs a man of his vigor while milk at once restores it.15. He who nurtures benevolence for all creatures within his heart overcomes all difficulties and will be the recipient of all types of riches at every step.16. What is there to be enjoyed in the world of Lord Indra for one whose wife is living and virtuous, who possesses wealth, who has a well-behaved son endowed with good qualities, and who has grandchildren born of his son?17. Men have eating, sleeping, fearing and mating in common with the lower animals. That in which men excel the beasts is discretionary knowledge; hence, indiscreet men who are without knowledge should be regarded as beasts.18. If the bees which seek the liquid oozing from the head of a lust-intoxicated elephant are driven away

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Tamid — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:21:54 CDT

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book 10, Chapter 29, or

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Chapter 1: The Description of the Rāsa Pastime

1.Śrī Śuka, the son of Bādarāyaṇa, said:

‘Even Bhagavan, God Himself, beholding those nights, with autumnal jasmine [mallikā] flowers blossoming, called upon his divine power of yogamāyā, and turned his thoughts towards enjoying love.

2. At that time, the moon, king of the constellations, arose in the east, covering the face of the heavens with its copper-coloured soothing rays. It wiped away the cares of the onlookers, like a lover who has been absent for a long time wipes away the cares of his beloved.

3. Seeing that full disc, heralder of the white night-lilies, reddened with fresh vermilion powder, its splendour like the face of Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and seeing the forest coloured by its silky rays, Kṛṣṇa played [his flute] softly, capturing the hearts of the beautiful-eyed women.

4. The music aroused Kāma. When they heard it, the women of Vraj, enchanted by Kṛṣṇa, came to their lover, their earrings swinging in their haste, and unknown to one another.

5. Some, who were milking cows, abandoned the milking and approached eagerly. Others had put milk on the fire, but then came without even removing [the milk or] the cakes [from the oven].

6-7. Others interrupted serving food, feeding their babies milk, and attending to their husbands. Still others were eating, but left their food. Others were putting on make-up, washing, or applying mascara to their eyes. They all went to be near Kṛṣṇa, their clothes and ornaments in disarray.

8. Their hearts had been stolen by Govinda, so they did not turn back when their husbands, fathers, brothers and relatives tried to prevent them. They were in a state of rapture.

9. Some gopīs, not being able to find a way to leave, remained at home and thought of Kṛṣṇa with their eyes closed, completely absorbed in meditation.

10-11. [The karma] from their impious deeds was destroyed by the intense and intolerable pain of separation from their lover, and their auspicious deeds were diminished by the complete fulfillment resulting from the intimate contact with Acyuta that they obtained through meditation. Their bondage was destroyed, and they immediately left their bodies made of the guṇas. Uniting with the supreme soul, they considered him their lover.

12. Śrī Parīkṣit said:

‘O sage, they related to Kṛṣṇa as their supreme lover, not as brahman, the absolute truth. So how did the flow of the guṇas, in which their minds were absorbed, cease for the gopīs ?’

13. Śrī Śuka said:

‘This was explained to you previously: in the same way as the king of the Cedis, Śiśupāla, attained perfection despite hating Hṛṣīkeśa. What then of those dear to Adhokṣaja [Kṛṣṇa]?
14. God appears for the supreme good of humanity, O king. He is immeasurable and eternal. As the controller of the guṇas, he is beyond the guṇas.

15. Those who always dedicate their desire, anger, fear, affection, sense of identity and friendship to Hari enter for certain into his state of being.

16. You should not show such surprise at Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is unborn and the master of all masters of yoga. From him the whole universe attains liberation.

17. The Lord saw that the women of Vraj had arrived in his presence. Being the best of speakers, he addressed them, captivating them with the charm of his words:

18. “Welcome—you are most fortunate. What can I do to please you? Is everything well in Vraj? Tell me the purpose of your coming.

19. This fearsome dark night is frequented by ferocious creatures. Go back to Vraj, O slender-waisted ones; this place is not fit for women.

20. Your mothers, fathers, sons, brothers and husbands are worried because they cannot find you. Do not cause your relatives concern.

21-22. You have seen the forest, adorned with flowers, coloured by the rays of the full moon, and made beautiful by the blossoms of the trees quivering playfully in the breeze of the Yamunā river. Therefore hurry now to the cow-pen and serve your husbands—you are chaste ladies. The babies and calves are crying; suckle them and milk them.
23. The highest dharma [duty] of a woman is to serve her husband faithfully, to ensure the well-being of her relatives, and to nourish her children.

25. A husband who is not a sinner, even though he be of bad character, ill-fated, dull-headed, sick or poor, should not be abandoned by women who desire to attain heaven.
26. Without exception, the adultery of a woman of good birth does not lead to heaven. It is scandalous, fear-laden, worthless, fraught with difficulty and abhorrent.

27. Love for me comes from hearing about me, seeing me, meditating on me and reciting my glories—not in this way, by physical proximity. Therefore, return to your homes.”

28.Hearing Govinda speak those unwelcome words, the dejected gopīs had their aspirations dashed and were inconsolable in their distress.

29. They stood silently, their red bimba-fruit coloured lips faded by their sighs, and the vermilion powder on their breasts smeared by the mascara carried by their tears. Casting down their faces out of sorrow and scratching the ground with their feet, they were weighed down by extreme unhappiness.

30. Wiping their eyes, and having checked their tears somewhat, the gopīs spoke to Kṛṣṇa, their beloved, with voices faltering with agitation. They were utterly devoted, and had sacrificed all desires for his sake, but he had replied to them as if he were anything but their beloved:

31. “You should not speak to us in such a heartless fashion, O Lord. Renouncing all enjoyments of the senses, we are devoted to the soles of your feet. Reciprocate, you obstinate one, just as the Lord, the original being, reciprocates with those who desire liberation. Do no reject us.

32. You, the knower of dharma, have declared that the occupational dharma of women consists of attending to friends, husbands and children. Then let this be our dharma when it comes to you, the source of this advice, O Lord—after all, you are the soul within all relatives. Indeed, you are the most dear of all embodied beings.

33. You are the eternal beloved, O soul of all, and so the learned place their affection in you. What is the use of husbands and children who simply cause problems? Therefore, O supreme Lord, be pleased with us. Do not dash our hopes. They have been sustained by you for such a long time, O lotus-eyed one.

34. Our hearts, which were absorbed in our households, have been stolen away with ease by you, as have our hands from domestic chores. Our feet cannot move one step from the soles of your lotus feet. How can we go to Vraj? And, besides, what would we do there?

35. O beloved, pour the nectar of your lips on the fire dwelling in our hearts which has been kindled by your musical harmonies, your glances and your smiles. If you do not, we will traverse the path to your feet through meditation, our bodies consumed by the fire born of separation.

36. Lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, you are dear to the forest-dwelling hermits. Somewhere or other, for a moment, we providentially touched the soles of your feet, which belong to the goddess of fortune. Alas, from that moment, instantly enamoured of you, we became incapable of remaining in the presence of any other man.

37. The goddess of fortune aspires to the dust of those lotus feet which is worshipped by your servants, even though she has obtained a place on your chest along with Tulasī. Other gods, even, strive to attract her personal glance. In the same way, we solicit the dust of your feet.

38. It is you who banish distress—therefore be compassionate to us. In the desire to worship you, we have given up our homes and arrived at the soles of your feet. Allow us, whose hearts are burning with intense desire born from your beautiful smiles and glances, to be your servants, O ornament of men.

39. We have gazed on your face covered with curls, with its smiles and glances, and on your honeyed lips placed between your cheeks made beautiful with earrings. And we have beheld your two strong arms, which bestow fearlessness, and your chest, which is the exclusive delight of the goddess of fortune. After this, we have become your servants.

40. Dear Kṛṣṇa, what women in the three worlds would not stray from the behaviour proper to Ᾱryans, when thrown into turmoil by the melodies of your flute, which vibrates harmoniously? And what woman would not stray after seeing this, your form, which brings good fortune to the three worlds and causes the hair of cows, birds, trees and deer to stand on end with bliss?

41. It is clear that you have accepted birth to remove the tribulations and fears of Vraj just as the Lord, the primeval person, protects the denizens of heaven. Therefore, since you are the friend of the afflicted, place your lotus hands on the burning breasts and heads of your servants.”’
42. Śrī Śuka said:

‘The master of the masters of yoga, hearing their despairing words, laughed and engaged in amorous pleasures from compassion, even though his satisfaction is self-contained.

43. Kṛṣṇa, the infallible one, whose conduct is upright, shone forth with the assembled gopīs, who were dazzling with jasmine teeth and broad smiles. As the gopīs’ faces blossomed from the glances of their beloved, Kṛṣṇa appeared like the moon surrounded by stars.

44. Praised in song, and singing loudly himself, the Lord of hundreds of women, wearing a garland of vaijayantī flowers, frolicked in the forest, making it beautiful.

45-46. Accompanied by the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa approached the bank of the river. Its cool sand was swept by a wind bearing the scent of kumuda flowers and refreshing from its contact with the waves. Arousing Kāma in the young women of Vraj with jokes, smiles and glances, playfully scratching their
breasts, girdles, thighs, hair and hands with his nails, and embracing them with outstretched arms, he gave them pleasure.

47. Such attention from Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, the supreme soul, made the gopīs proud. Indeed, they thought themselves to be the best of women on earth.

48. Keśava [Kṛṣṇa] saw their pride, which was born from the exhilaration of their good fortune, and vanished from the spot out of kindness, in order to moderate [their pride].’

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book 10, Chapter 30, or

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Chapter 2: Searching for Kṛṣṇa in the Rāsa Pastime

1. Śrī Śuka said:

‘When Bhagavān suddenly vanished, the women of Vraj were filled with remorse at his disappearance. They were like female elephants who had lost sight of the leader of the herd.

2. Intoxicated by the pleasing glances, playfulness and words, as well as by the quivering glances, smiles of love and movements of Kṛṣṇa, the husband of Ramā, the goddess of fortune, their minds were overwhelmed. They acted out each of those behaviours, their hearts [dedicated] to him.

3. Those beloved women were so bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes that their bodies imitated their darling in the way they moved, smiled, glanced, spoke, and so forth. With their hearts [dedicated] to him, the women declared: “I am he!”

4. Singing loudly in unison only about him, they searched from grove to grove, like mad women. They asked the trees about the supreme being who, like space, is inside and outside living creatures:

5. “O aśvattha tree! O plakṣa tree! O nyagrodha tree! Have you seen the son of Nanda at all? He has stolen our minds with his glances and smiles of love, and has gone.

6. O kurabaka, aśoka, nāga, punnāga and campaka trees! Has the younger brother of Balarāma [passed] by here? His smile steals away the pride of haughty women.

7. O auspicious tulasī plant, you who are dear to Govinda! Have you seen your most beloved, Acyuta, wearing you [as a garland covered] with swarms of bees?

8. O mālatī plant! O mallikā plant! O jāti plant! O yūthikā plant! Has Mādhava passed by, awakening your love with the touch of his hand? Have you seen him?

9. O cūta [mango], priyāla, panasa [bread-fruit], asana, kovidāra, jambū [rose apple], arka, bilva [wood-apple], bakula, āmra [mango], kadamba and nipa trees, and those others which grow on the shore of the Yamunā river and which exist to benefit others? Point us to the path [taken] by Kṛṣṇa. We have lost our hearts.

10. O earth, you are beautiful in that the hairs of your body [the trees] stand up from the bliss of the touch of the feet of Keśava. What ascetic practice have you performed? Is the cause of this these very feet [of Kṛṣṇa]? Or is it because of the step of Urukrama? Or rather from the embrace of the body of Varāha?

11. O wife of the deer, has Acyuta passed by here with his beloved, his limbs giving pleasure to your eyes? O friend, the scent from the jasmine garland of the Lord of our group is wafting here—a garland coloured with breast saffron contracted from the body of his lover.

12. O trees, did the younger brother of Balarāma wander here? Was he followed by swarms of bees, blinded with intoxication, on his tulasī [garland]? With his arm placed on the shoulder of his beloved, he [must have been] holding a lotus flower. And did he acknowledge with glances of love your bowing down?

13. As these creeping plants! Just see, although they are embracing the arms of the forest tree, they surely must have been touched by his fingernails, for they are bristling with ecstasy.”

14. The gopīs [uttering] these crazed words, became perplexed in their search for Kṛṣṇa. With their hearts [dedicated] to him, each of them imitated the līlā of Bhagavān.

15. One, who was acting as if she were Kṛṣṇa, suckled the breast of someone else, who was playing the part of Pūtanā. Another became an infant, began crying, and then kicked another one, who was acting as a cart, with her foot.

16. After changing into a demon, one gopī kidnapped another, who was imagining herself to be the child Kṛṣṇa. Yet another crawled around, dragging her two feet, accompanied by the sounds from her jewellery.

17. Two gopīs enacted the roles of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, and others behaved as gopas. Yet another struck a gopī who had become Vatsa, the calf demon, while someone else there struck the gopī who was playing the role of Baka, the crane demon.

18. One called the cows who were far away, as Kṛṣṇa would have done. Others praised one gopī who was sporting and playing the flute in imitation of him: “Bravo!”

19. Another, wandering about, placed her arm on someone else, and said: “There can be no doubt that I am Kṛṣṇa. Look at how gracefully I move.” Her mind was intent on him:

20. “Do not fear the wind and the rain. I have arranged protection.” Saying this, one gopī, exerting herself, lifted up her garment with one hand.

21. Another gopī mounted and stepped on the head of another with her foot, O king, and said: “Go, wicked snake! There is no doubt that I have undertaken birth as the chastiser of the wicked.”

22. Someone there said: “Hey gopas, look at the terrible forest fire! Close your eyes, I will with ease arrange for your protection!”

23. One slender-waisted gopī was tied to a mortar with a flower garland by another one. The former, her beautiful eyes afraid, covered her face and adopted a posture of fear.

24. Inquiring thus after Kṛṣṇa from the creeping plants and trees of Vṛndāvana, the gopīs noticed the footprints of the supreme soul in a certain part of the forest:

25. “These footprints are certainly those of the great soul, the son of Nanda,” they said. “They are recognizable from such marks as the flag, the lotus flower, the
thunderbolt, the goad and the barley.”

26. Following Kṛṣṇa’s tracks further, footprint by footprint, the women noticed that they were clearly interspersed with the footprints of a young woman. They discussed this together in distress:

27. “Whose footprints are these? She is going with the son of Nanda, his forearm placed on her shoulder, like a female elephant with a male elephant.

28. She has worshipped Bhagavān Hari, the Lord. Consequently, Govinda was pleased, and so has abandoned us and led that gopī to a secluded place.

29. Just see, O friends, how fortunate are these particles of dust from the lotus feet of Govinda. Brahmā, Śiva and the goddess of fortune, Ramā [Śrī], place them on their heads to remove their sins.

30. The footprints of that woman are causing us great distress because she alone of the gopīs is enjoying the lips of Acyuta in a secluded place.

31. Now, right here, her footprints are no longer visible: the lover has lifted up his beloved, whose feet with their delicate soles are bruised by the blades of grass.

31a. Look, gopīs, at these deeper footprints of lusty Kṛṣṇa weighed down by carrying the younger woman. And here the beloved has been put down by that great soul in order to [gather] flowers.

32. Here, the lover plucked flowers for the beloved: these two footprints are incomplete because he stood on tip-toe.

33. Here, lusty Kṛṣṇa decorated that lusty woman’s hair. Surely he sat here while making his lover a crown with those [flowers].”’

34. [Śrī Śuka said]:

‘Kṛṣṇa took pleasure with that gopī, although he is complete, content within himself and delights in his own self. He was displaying the wretchedness of lusty men and women because of their depravity.

35-36. The dispirited gopīs wandered about pointing [things] out in this way. The gopī whom Kṛṣṇa had taken to the forest after abandoning the other women, then thought that she was the best of all women: “Kṛṣṇa, my beloved, has abandoned the [other] gopīs who were impelled by Kāma and dedicated himself to me.”

37. Then, after going to a spot in the wood, the proud woman spoke to Keśava: “I am unable to walk any further. Take me wherever your mind [desires].”

38. At this request, Kṛṣṇa told his beloved that she should climb on his shoulder, but then he disappeared. The young woman was filled with remorse:

39. “O Lord, lover, dearest! Where are you? Where are you, mighty-armed one? Reveal your presence to me, friend—I am your miserable servant!”’

40. Śrī Śuka said:

‘The gopīs, searching for the path of Bhagavān, saw a distressed girl not far away who was disoriented by the separation from her beloved.

41. Hearing her story of how she had first received respect from Mādhava, and then humiliation because of her bad faith, they were astounded.

42. After this, they went as far into the forest as the moon gave light. Then, seeing that the darkness had descended there, the women returned.

43. Their minds aborbed in Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs’ conversations focused on him, their activities centred on him, and they dedicated their hearts to him. Simply by singing about his qualities, they forgot their own homes.

44. Meditating on Kṛṣṇa, they reached the bank of the Kālindī [Yamunā] river again. Gathering together they sang about Kṛṣṇa, longing for his arrival.’

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book 10, Chapter 31, or

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Chapter 3: The Gopīs’ Song in the Rāsa Pastime

1. The gopīs said: “Vraj has become pre-eminent because of your birth; indeed, Indirā [Lakṣmī] resides there permanently. O loved one, show yourself! Your devotees, whose lives are sustained in you, are searching for you everywhere.

2. You are taking our life, O Lord of autumn; your glance excels in beauty the heart of a beautiful lotus perfectly born in autumn from a pool of water. We are your maidservants [and do not ask for] any payment. Isn’t this killing us, O bestower of favours?

3. O bull among men, we have been continuously protected by you from destruction from the poisonous water, from the wicked demon, from the winds and rains, from fire and lightning, from the bull [demon] Ariṣṭa, from the [demon] son of Maya [Vyomāsura], and from fear from all sides.

4. You are not, in fact, the son of a gopī. You are the witness of the inner self of all embodied beings. Being petitioned by Brahmā, you become manifest in the family of the Sātvatas, O friend, for the protection of the universe.

5. Place your lotus hand on the head of those who have approached you out of fear of the material world, O foremost of the Vṛṣni clan. Your hand, which holds the hand of Śrī [Lakṣmī], bestows fearlessness and fulfils desires, O lover.

6. You are the hero of women, and you take away the pain of the people of Vraj! The pride of your devotees is annihilated by your smile! Accept your maidservants, friend! Show us your beautiful lotus face!

7. Place your lotus feet upon our breasts. Your feet have been placed on the hoods of the serpent [Kāliya] and follow the animals to the pasture. They are the abode of goddess of fortune, Śrī, and they remove the sins of submissive embodied beings. Excise Kāma, who dwells in our hearts.

8. O hero, these women obedient to your will are stunned by your sweet voice, your charming words which please the mind and the intelligence, and your lotus eyes. Reinvigorate us with the intoxicating liquid of your lips.

9. Those who repeat the sweetness of your words in this world are munificent. These words are praised by poets, spread abroad, and are auspicious to hear. They are life-giving for those who are suffering. They remove sins and bring good fortune.

10. Your bursts of laughter, pleasing looks of love, and pastimes are auspicious to contemplate. Those meetings in secret places touch our hearts, you cheater, and perturb us thoroughly.

11. When you go from Vraj grazing the animals, O Lord, your feet, beautiful as lotuses, are troubled by blades of grass and corn stubble, and so we feel distress. You are our beloved.

12. You possess a lotus face, surrounded by blue locks of hair which you constantly display covered with thick dust at the end of the day. You arouse Kāma in the heart, O hero.

13. O lover, place your most beneficent lotus feet on our breasts. They fulfil the desires of the humble and should be meditated upon in trouble, O destroyer of anxiety. They are worshipped by the lotus-born Brahmā, and are the ornament of the earth.

14. Bestow upon us the nectar of your lips, O hero, which have been thoroughly kissed by the flute as it plays music. It destroys sorrow, increases the pleasures of love, and causes men to forget other passions.

15. When you, Lord, go to the forest during the day, a moment becomes a yuga for those who do not see you. He who created eyelashes is dull-witted, form the perspective of those beholding your beautiful face, with its curled locks of hair.

16. Acyuta, you are the knower of [people’s] movements. Bewildered by your song, we have thoroughly neglected our husbands, sons, family, brothers and kinsfolk, and come before you. Who would abandon women in the night, you rogue?

17. We have become unsettled from contemplating your broad chest, the abode of Śrī, the goddess of fortune, as well as your looks of love, your smiling face and the meetings in secret places which aroused Kāma. We long for you intensely all the time.

18. Your incarnation is for the good of the universe, and dispels the distress of the people of Vraj. Deliver a little of that [medicine] which removes the ailment from the hearts of your devotees to us. Our hearts yearn for you.

19. We gently place your tender lotus feet on our rough breasts with trepidation. You wander in the forest on them and our
minds are disturbed: what if they have been hurt by small stones? Your Lordship is our life.”’

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book 10, Chapter 32, or

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Chapter 4: The Gopīs’ Lamentation in the Rāsa Pastime

1. Śrī Śuka said:

‘Thus the gopīs sang and spoke inco-herently in various ways. Longing to see Kṛṣṇa, O king, they wept loudly.

2. Kṛṣṇa, the descendent of Śura, bewilderer of the mind of the mind-bewilderer Kāma himself, appeared in their midst, his lotus face smiling. He was wearing yellow garments, and bore a garland.

3. Seeing that their beloved had returned, the women, their eyes wide with love, sprang up simultaneously as if the vital air of the body had returned.

4. One ecstatic woman caught hold of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus hand in her folded hands. Another placed his arm, decorated with sandalwood paste, on her shoulder.

5. A slender woman accepted his chewed betel nut with folded hands. Another, burning [with desire], placed his lotus feet on her breast.

6. Yet another, trembling with the fury of love, was biting her lips with her teeth, her brows knitted in a frown. She glared at Kṛṣṇa as if she could strike him with a look of rebuke.

7. Another woman dwelt on his lotus face with unblinking eyes. Although she drank it in with her eyes, she was not fully satisfied, just as a saint is not fully satisfied [by meditating on] Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

8. Some other woman, drawing Kṛṣṇa into her heart through the apertures of her eyes and then sealing them shut, stood embracing him [in her heart], like a yogī immersed in bliss.

9. All rejoiced at the wonder of seeing Keśava, and let go the distress they had felt at separation, as people are joyful after encountering a wise man.

10. Bhagavān, Acyuta, surrounded by the women who had shaken off their sorrow, shone brilliantly, like the supreme being surrounded by his śakti powers.

11-12. The supreme ruler took the women along and enjoyed himself on the auspicious bank of the Kālindī. There were bees with six legs and breeze fragrant with blossoming jasmine and mandāra flowers. Its soft sands were lapped by the waves that were like the hands of Kṛṣṇa river [Yamunā]. The darkness of the night was dispelled by the full rays from the autumn moon.

13. The heartache of the gopīs had been assuaged by the bliss of seeing Kṛṣṇa, just as the Vedas attained the culmination of their hearts’ desire. The gopīs made a seat for the friend of their heart with their outer garments, which were smeared with the kuṅkum powder from their breasts.

14. Bhāgavan, the Lord, whose seat is fixed within the hearts of the masters of yoga, sat down there. He was worshipped as he sat in the company of the gopīs, and revealed himself in a form that was a unique embodiment of beauty in the three worlds.

15. Those women worshipped that inciter of Kāma by massaging his hands and feet, which they had placed on their laps. They praised him, their eyebrows quivering, with playful looks and laughter. Then they spoke, somewhat angrily.

16. The beautiful gopīs said: “Some serve those who serve them. Some do the opposite of this [i.e., serve those who do not serve them]. And some do not serve either. Can you explain this for us clearly?”

17. Śrī Bhagavān said: “Friends, there are those who serve each other reciprocally but their exchange is exclusively out of self-interest; there is no dharma or friendship there. Personal gain and nothing else is the motive.

18. Those, like mothers and fathers, who serve those who do not serve [them] are truly compassionate. There is perfect friendship in dharma in this, O slender-waisted ones.

19. Some do not even serve those who serve [them], let alone those who do not serve [them]. They include those who take pleasure in their spiritual self, those whose desires are fulfilled, the ungrateful and the guru-haters.

20. I do not serve even those beings who serve me to enhance their devotional state of mind, O friends. The case is like that of the poor man who is not conscious of any-thing else when the wealth that he had gained is lost, but continues to contemplate that wealth obsessively.

21. In this way, O women, when I disappeared from your presence—you who had abandoned relatives, the [injunctions of the] Vedas, and the world for my sake—it was really to further [your dedication] to me. I was serving you. Therefore, beloved ones, you should not be displeased with your beloved.

24. You have broken the enduring shackles of the household, and have served me. You are full of goodness and without fault, and I am unable to reciprocate, even in the lifetime of a god. Therefore, let your reward be your own excellence.”

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Book 10, Chapter 33, or

The Rasa Pañcādhyāya

Chapter 5: The Description of the Rāsa Pastime

1. ‘Hearing the Lord’s winning words spoken in this way, the gopīs relinquished their distress at separation, but their aspirations increased from touching his limbs.
2. Govinda began the rāsa pastime there, in the company of those devoted jewels of women, who linked arms happily together.

3. The festival of the rāsa dance began, featuring a circle of gopīs. The Lord of all yogīs, Kṛṣṇa, inserted himself between each pair of gopīs, and put his arms about their necks. Each woman thought he was at her side only. Meanwhile, the sky was crowded with hundreds of the vehicles of the gods, who were accompanied by their wives and carried away with excitement.

4. Kettledrums resounded then, streams of flowers fell, and the chiefs of the gandharvas and their wives sang of Kṛṣṇa’s spotless glories.

5. There was a tumultuous sound of bracelets, ankle-bracelets and the bells of the young women in the circle of the rāsa dance with their beloved.

6. Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, the son of Devakī, was radiant in their company, like a great emerald in the midst of golden ornaments.

7. The consorts of Kṛṣṇa, their braids and belts securely fastened, sang about him with hand gestures and dancing feet. Their faces were sweating, their earrings rolling on their cheeks, and the garments on their breasts slipping. Their waists were bent, and they smiled, their eyebrows playful. They shone like lightning in a circle of clouds.

8. They were intent on amorous pleasure and overjoyed by Kṛṣṇa’s touch. Their throats decorated with dye, they sang loudly as they danced, and the world reverberated with their songs.

9. One gopī led a duet in harmony with Mukunda. Kṛṣṇa was pleased and praised her: “Well done! Well done!” Then she led the refrain and he heaped praises on her.

10. Another, tired by the rāsa dance, her mallikā flowers and bracelets loosened, laid her arm on the shoulder of Kṛṣṇa, the wielder of the club, who was standing by her side.

11. Kṛṣṇa placed his arm on the shoulder of one of the gopīs. Smelling it, fragrant as a blue lotus and smeared with sandalwood, she kissed it, the hairs of her body tingling with rapture.

12. Kṛṣṇa gave his chewed betel nut to another gopī as she placed her cheek, adorned with the glitter of earrings in disarray from the dancing, next to his cheek.

13. Yet another gopī who was singing and dancing, her belt and ankle-bracelets jingling, became fatigued. She placed the soothing lotus hand of Acyuta, who was at her side, on her breast.

14. The gopīs won their lover Acyuta, who is the exclusive beloved of Śrī, the goddess of fortune. Their necks encircled by his arms, they delighted in him as they sang.

15. The gopīs, with glowing faces, cheeks adorned with locks of hair, and lotus flowers behind their ears, were beautiful. They danced with the Lord in the circle of the rāsa to the musical accompaniment of the bees complemented by the sound of their anklets and bangles. Wreaths of flowers fell from their hair.

16. Thus Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Lakṣmī, sported with the beautiful girls of Vraj with freely playful smiles, amorous glances, and with caresses and embraces. He was like a child enraptured by his own reflection.

17. The senses of the women of Vraj were alive with pleasure from the contact of his limbs. Their ornaments and garlands were awry, and the women could not keep their garments or their hair or the cloth covering their breasts in order, O best of the Kuru Dynasty.

18. The women of the celestial realm travelling in the air were stricken with desire at seeing Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, and became entranced. The moon and its entourage [the stars] were full of wonder.

19. Although content within himself, the Lord became manifest in as many forms as there were gopī women, and enjoyed himself with them in līlā pastimes.

20. With great compassion, Kṛṣṇa lov-ingly caressed with his very soothing hands the faces of those gopīs who were exhausted from the pleasures of love.

21. The gopīs paid homage to their hero with sideway looks and honeyed smiles. Their beautiful cheeks glowed with locks of hair and the glitter of golden earrings. Thrilled by the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s fingernails, they sang of his auspicious deeds.

22. When he tired, Kṛṣṇa went into the water with them. He was pursued by bees, who [sang] like gandharva-chiefs, because of his garland. Crushed by contact with the limbs of the gopīs, it was stained with the kuṅkum powder from their breasts. Kṛṣṇa was like the king of the elephants who had lost all inhibitions with his female elephants.

23. With looks of love, the young women around him laughed and splashed him vigorously, O King! Worshipped with showers of kusuma flowers by the celestial beings in their aerial chariots, Kṛṣṇa disported himself like an elephant in līlā pastimes, even though he is content within himself.

24. Later, he strolled in the groves of the Yamunā river, surrounded by groups of young women and bees. The furthest corners of the river, both on land and on the waters, were pervaded by a wind bearing the fragrance of flowers. He was like an elephant exhilarated by the company of his female elephants.

25. Kṛṣṇa’s desires are always fulfilled, and his propensity for enjoyment is fulfilled within himself, but during all those nights he participated in this way in the company of throngs of young women. Such nights, brilliant with the rays of the moon, are the setting for rāsa in poetry and prose that describe autumn.’

26. Parīkṣit said:

‘God, the Lord of the universe, has descended into the world along with his expansion [Balarāma] for the establishment of dharma, and for the suppression of adharma, non-dharma.

27. He is the original speaker, exemplar and protector of the injunctions of dharma. How could he behave in a manner contrary to dharma, O brāhmaṇa, by touching the wives of others?

28. The Lord of the Yadu dynasty, who is content within himself, has performed an abhorrent deed. What was his purpose? You who are true to your vows, please take away our doubt.’

29. Śrī Śuka said:
‘Just as fire consumes everything [without being polluted], so it is seen that the blatant transgressions of dharma by the more powerful of rulers are not faults.

30. One who is not a powerful being should certainly never behave in that fashion, not even in his mind. Otherwise, acting out of foolishness, he will be destroyed, just as one who is not Śiva will be destroyed [by drinking] the poison churned from the ocean.

31. The words of powerful beings are truth, and so is whatever is performed by them. The wise will act in accordance with their words.

32. O master, those who are devoid of personal ego do not accrue benefit for themselves through appropriate behaviour, nor undesirable results through its opposite.

33. What then of the applicability of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness to the supreme being of all supreme beings and of all living entities, whether celestial, human or animal?

34. Satisfied by worshipping the dust of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, even the sages act according to their own free will. The bondage of all their karma has been destroyed through the power of yoga, and so they are never bound. How, then, can one speak of bondage for Kṛṣṇa, who accepts forms according to his own will?

35. He lives within the gopīs, their husbands and all living beings. He is the supreme witness who has assumed a form in this world for the purpose of sport.

36. Manifest in a human form, he indulges in such pastime as a favour to the devotees. Hearing about these, one becomes fully devoted to him.

37. Confused by his power of illusion, the menfolk of Vraj were not resentful of Kṛṣṇa; each thought his own wife was present at his side.

38. The gopīs held the Lord dear. When the duration of Brahmā’s night had expired, they went home unwillingly with the approval of Vāsudeva.

39. The sober person who is endowed with faith should hear and describe these pastimes of Viṣṇu with the maidens of Vraj. Achieving supreme devotion to the Lord, one quickly frees oneself from lust, the disease of the heart.’

AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:57:01 CST

BOOKS:

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is	vedabase.net/bg	bhagavadgitaasitis.com- medium
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam	vedabase.net/sb	srimadbhagavatam.com- the largest
Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta	vedabase.net/cc	caitanyacaritamrta.com- large
Teachings of Lord Caitanya	vedabase.net/tlc	lordcaitanya.com- small (who is he?)
Nectar of Devotion	vedabase.net/nod	nectarofdevotion.com- medium
The Nectar of Instruction	vedabase.net/noi	nectarofinstruction.com- small
The Topmost Yoga System	vedabase.net/kc	topmostyogasystem.com- being built
The Krishna Book	vedabase.net/kb	thekrishnabook.com- being built
Teachings of Lord Kapila	vedabase.net/tlk	lordkapila.com- being built
Teachings of Queen Kuntī	vedabase.net/tqk	toqk.com- small
Śrī Brahma-saṃhitā	vedabase.net/bs	brahmasamhita.com- small
Śrī Īśopaniṣad	vedabase.net/iso	sriisopanisad.com- small
Mukunda-mālā-stotra	vedabase.net/mm	mukundamala.com- small
Nārada Bhakti Sūtra	vedabase.net/nbs	naradabhaktisutra.com- small
Śrī Śikṣaṣtaka	vedabase.net/ss	srisiksastaka.com- being built

James (Tamid) - Enlightened Awareness

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:15:16 CST

For Satsang visit my ning site: every 7pm PST we have a Satsang on the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition..
http://www.nifkcon.ning.com

Documentaries:

The Emerald Tablets of Thoth

Archives of interviews with Enlightened Teachers

The Ra Channelings

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:00:36 CST

The Ra Material

Audio Files	VBR MP3	Ogg Vorbis	64Kbps MP3
Episode Eight - The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness	28 MB	18 MB	11 MB
Episode Eleven - Bartholomew, Reflections Of An Elder Brother	48 MB	30 MB	19 MB
Episode Five - Operation Terra (Part One)	43 MB	26 MB	17 MB
Episode Four- Notes On The Fifth Day	19 MB	12 MB	7.4 MB
Episode Nine - The Unified Field	43 MB	20 MB	17 MB
Episode One- _Ra Speaks From The Miracle_	40 MB	21 MB	16 MB
Episode Seven - We, The Arcturians	32 MB	18 MB	13 MB
Episode Six - Ascension Is A Process	56 MB	36 MB	22 MB
Episode Ten - Saint Germain / Earth's Birth Changes	59 MB	37 MB	24 MB
Episode Three-The Teachings Vol. One (part 2)	53 MB	30 MB	21 MB
Episode Two - _The Teachings For The Fourth Density Aquarian_	44 MB	24 MB	18 MB
Episode Eighteen - The Starseed Transmissions	62 MB	41 MB	25 MB
Episode Fifteen - P'taah, Transmissions From The Pleiades	45 MB	28 MB	18 MB
Episode Fourteen - Oneness	59 MB	38 MB	24 MB
Episode Nineteen - Bashar, Blueprint for Change	52 MB	31 MB	21 MB
Episode Seventeen - Hatonn	45 MB	25 MB	18 MB
Episode Sixteen - A Tour Of The Galaxy	58 MB	36 MB	23 MB
Episode Thirteen - The Great White Brotherhood	46 MB	29 MB	18 MB
Episode Twelve - A Call To The Lightworkers	31 MB	20 MB	12 MB
Episode_Twenty_-_Seth_Speaks.mp3	39 MB	25 MB	16 MB
Episode_Twenty_Eight_-_Lazaris_The_Sacred_Journey.mp3	49 MB	30 MB	20 MB
Episode_Twenty_Five_-_Earth_School.mp3	53 MB	34 MB	21 MB
Episode_Twenty_Four_-_Serapis_An_Ascension_Handbook.mp3	45 MB	38 MB	22 MB
Episode_Twenty_One_-_The_Hathor_Material.mp3	51 MB	34 MB	20 MB
Episode_Twenty_Seven_-_Dialogue_On_Awakening.mp3	49 MB	28 MB	20 MB
Episode_Twenty_Six_-_The_Kyrian_Letters.mp3	60 MB	40 MB	24 MB
Episode_Twenty_Three_-_The_Star-Borne.mp3	49 MB	28 MB	20 MB
Episode_Twenty_Two_-_An_Interview_with_David_Icke.mp3	87 MB	49 MB	35 MB

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:57:26 CST

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

Sri Ramana's teachings about Self-Enquiry can be classified as the Path of Knowledge (Jnana marga) among the Indian schools of thought. The teachings are non-dualistic (Advaita Vedanta). The path of Self Inquiry, "Who Am I?". Ramana Maharshi suggested that Self Inquiry is the most direct way to self realisation. "Ramana Maharshi suggested a path into your true center. He suggests you ask yourself, "Who is doing this?" The answer is, "Me". When you then ask, "Who is me?", it brings you back into the center. When you come to that center you find that you are joy, bliss, silence and peace.

Read more Sri Ramana Maharshis teachings here

Matthew - ThouArtThat

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:56:04 CST

Post Videos Here =)

Playlists:

Poetry

Earth Ship Village Ashram - Land Fundraiser

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:06:06 CST

http://www.myearthshipashram.com

Kriya Yoga is basically a fusion of everything that most of us have been practicing, the Bhakti of Love and Devotion of God, the Zen of Meditation, the Wisdom of Jnana Marga, and the direct experience of Kundalini Shakti. Together these form Kriya Yoga, however in Kriya Yoga each of these elements is transmitted directly by the Siddha Guru.

It must not only be our goal to practice Kriya Yoga, it must also be our goal to extend the practice to the general public and help them to see what we are doing.. What are we doing anyway? Most of us are just sitting around practicing on our own, why not come together in an Ashram as has been done traditionally for thousands of years to further the practice of all.. where all can be exposed to the energies of the Kriya Yog practice as transmitted by a spiritually Enlightened Master.

This venue is absolutely necessary right now as well is the creation of similar venues like it. Please consider donating money or talking to us about ways that we can work together to make this come to fruition. Let's all come together and build in the physical as well as on the digital!

The Golden Avatara: Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:55:54 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Entheogens/Psychedelics

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:54:26 CST

The 7 Ray Paths

Tamid — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:53:57 CST

The text for the 7 Ray Paths was taken from Master DK's (The Tibetan) epic canon 'A Treatise On Cosmic Fire' and should be taken at face value as being truthful. He claims that the information came from ancient texts which are stored in Tibet which have never been revealed to man.

Each Initiate passes on one of 7 Paths which correspond to the 7 rays at any given point in systemic evolution, one can change from one path to another in due time, but at present all are only upon one path, (but have likely treaded others before)

Ray

(Theosophy)One of seven streams or chanels of force, or emanations, from the Logos; the seven qualities of God expressing individualized attributres of divine nature. Each bequeaths its quality, color, and sound as it impacts consciousness.The seven Rays are divided into three major Rays of aspect and four minor Rays of attribute. The Rulers, or Chohans, of the Rays are also known as SevenSpirits, or Elder Brothers before the Throne, or (in Eastern thought) Seven Great Rishis.
They are:

I-will, power (red);Path 1: The Path Of Earth Service

II-love, wisdom (blue);Path 2: The Path Of Magnetic Service

III-intelligence (yellow);Path 3: Training For Planetary Logoi

IV-art, harmony, beauty (green);Path 4: The Path To Sirius

V-scientific understanding (orange);Path 5: The Ray Path

VI-devotion (indigo or rose);Path 6: The Path Our Logos Himself Is On

VII-ceremonial order (purple)Path 7: The Path Of Absolute Sonship

'It should be carefully borne in mind that when the term PATH is used, it is simply an energy term, and streams of energy are indicated, - seven streams which blend and merge to form one Path. It should also be noted that the Adept Who undergoes the discipline and who passes through initiatory rites which will enable him to tread those seven Paths, has transcended color, has passed beyond the veil and has expanded His consciousness so that he is at-one with the conscious life of His planetary Logos. He has therefore arrived at a stage incomprehensible to man now; He is passing out of the realm of substantial forms altogether into the realm of energy. He knows the life of the two aspects, the soul and the body, and is passing away from the realm of awareness altogether. This will sound to the average reader as a foolish jingling of words and a splitting of hairs but he who reasons by the Law of Correspondences and who has grasped the basic essential relativity of the three aspects to each other has arrived at the knowledge that back of all form is a subjective Life which is known by its quality, its color, and its attributes; he has expanded his consciousness until gradually he has ascertained and made a part of his own conscious ensemble those attributes and qualities. But the pulsating dynamic vibration which is the producing cause of both the subjective life and its qualitative form is as yet - to him - the mystery of mysteries and the ineffable secret. It becomes the goal of his endeavor as he sets foot upon one of the seven Paths which face him after the fifth Initiation. If a Master of the Wisdom and the one who has unified both the manas (intellect) and wisdom (buddhi) knows not what shall be revealed to him as he treads the cosmic Path which is his choice, surely it is needless for us to try and comprehend (at our relatively low stage of evolution) what is the true [1242] connotation of the word "Spirit." Pondering upon these matters is (for the average man) not only useless but also dangerous. He has not yet the apparatus of thought necessary for its safe undertaking. It is as if one tried to force a child in the first grade in school to comprehend the differential calculus and the laws of trigonometry.

These seven Paths, when trodden, prepare a man to pass certain cosmic initiations, including those upon the Sun Sirius. One hint may here be given. Each of these Paths eventually leads to one or other of the six constellations which (with ours) form the seven centers in the body of the ONE ABOUT WHOM NAUGHT MAY BE SAID. Those adepts therefore who stay for a prescribed length of time upon our planet are a correspondence to those greater initiates who remain for many kalpas within the solar system, taking certain mysterious initiations concerned entirely with solar evolution. Their work is concerned with the system as a center in the body of that Existence Who vitalizes the Logos of our own system.

It might be of value here to list the seven cosmic Paths as follows: **

Path I - The Path of Earth Service.
Path II - The Path of Magnetic Work.
Path III - The Path of the Planetary Logos.
Path IV - The Path to Sirius.
Path V - The Ray Path.
Path VI - The Path of the Solar Logos.
Path VII - The Path of Absolute Sonship.

It must be borne in mind and no confusion of thought must be permitted that these terms are the generic names given in the mystic parlance of the Lodge of Masters to the seven methods of work, of endeavor and of aspiration whereby the perfected sons of Earth's humanity pass on to specific cosmic Paths or streams of energy, making in their totality one great cosmic WAY.

The seven paths at a certain stage which may not be defined become the four paths, owing to the fact that our solar system is one of the fourth order. This merging is effected in the following way:

The initiates upon Path I "fight their way" on to path VI.
The initiates upon Path II "alchemise themselves" on to Path VII.
The initiates upon Path III through "piercing the veil" find themselves upon Path V.
This leaves Path IV to be accounted for. Upon this Path pass all those who, through devotion and activity combined, achieve the goal but who lack as yet the full development of the manasic principle. This being the solar system of love-wisdom, or of astral buddhic development, the fourth Path includes the larger number of the sons of men. In the hierarchy of our planet the "Lords of Compassion" are numerically greater than the "Masters of the Wisdom." The former must therefore all pass to the sun Sirius there to undergo a tremendous manasic stimulation, for Sirius is the emanating source of manas. There the mystic must go and become what is called "a spark of mahatic electricity."

These seven Paths are not concerned with nature or the balancing of the pairs of opposites. They are concerned only with unity, with that which utilizes the pairs of opposites as factors in the production of LIGHT. They deal with that unknown quantity which is responsible for the pairs of opposites; therefore they are primarily concerned with that which lies outside the manifested forms, with the true abstraction or the Absolute. Spirit and matter are never dissociated during manifestation; they are the duality lying back of all that is objective. Yet some factor is responsible for them - that which is neither Spirit nor matter, that which will be regarded as non-existent by anyone except the initiate. At the third Initiation some glimmering light upon this Abstraction is sensed by the initiate, and by the time the fifth Initiation is reached enough is apprehended by him to enable him to set forth with ardor on the search for its secret.

** Students must be careful to distinguish in their minds between these seven cosmic Paths and the seven ray Paths upon which all humanity are found and which have been earlier treated in this Treatise. As we have already seen the seven ray paths become three when units upon the four minor rays merge themselves into one of the three major rays. These three form the synthetic ray of Love-Wisdom by the time the sons of men have taken the final systemic Initiations. When this stage is reached and men realize the unity of the solar system not only theoretically but also as a practical reality with which they have identified themselves, then there is borne in upon their consciousness a something which transcends consciousness altogether and which can only be expressed by the limiting word identification. This identification is a cosmic and not a systemic process, and is itself sevenfold in nature. This sevenfold process for lack of a better term we call the sevenfold cosmic Path.' - DK

Thought Power - Sri Swami Sivananda

Tamid — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:34:02 CST

"You live in a world of thoughts. First is thought. Then there is the expression of that thought through the organ of speech. Thought and language are intimately connected. Thoughts of anger, bitterness and malice injure others. If the mind which is the cause of all thoughts vanishes, the external objects will disappear.

Thoughts are things. Sound, touch, form, taste and odour, the five sheaths, the waking,the dreaming and deep sleep states—all these are the products of mind. Sankalpa, passion, anger,bondage, time—know them to be the result of mind. Mind is the king of the Indriyas or senses.Thought is the root of all mental process.

The thoughts that we perceive all round us are only the mind in form or substance.Thought creates, thought destroys. Bitterness and sweetness do not lie in the objects, but they are in the mind, in the subject, in thinking. They are created by thought.:"

Hexagram Symbolism

Tamid — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:54:38 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Path 7: The Path of Absolute Sonship

Tamid — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:47:32 CST

Path VII. The Path of Absolute Sonship

This Sonship is a correspondence on the highest plane to that grade of discipleship which we call "Son of the Master." It is the Sonship to a Being higher than our Logos of Whom we may not speak. It is also the great controlling Path of Karma. The Lipika Lords are upon this Path, and all who are fitted for that line of work, and who are close to the Logos in a personal and intimate sense pass to this seventh Path. It is the Path of the special intimates of the Logos and into their hands He has put the working out of karma in the solar system. They know His wishes, His will and His aim, and to Them He entrusts the carrying out of His behests. This group, associated with the Logos, forms a special group linked to a still higher Logos.

These two paths enter into cosmic states of consciousness as inconceivable to man as the consciousness of the Ego of a human being is to an atom of substance. It is unnecessary and profitless therefore to enlarge further upon these exalted states. [1267]

STANZA IV
(From Archive 63)

PATH VII. The Path of Absolute Sonship.

That which hath no beginning and no end; That which is seen and yet remains unknown; That which we touch and yet find unattained, That is the One Who passeth on His WAY.

That which we call the Father and the Son; That which we deem too high for words to grasp; That which the Mother deems her Lord and God, That is the One Who mounts the cosmic stair.

That which is seen when each point of heavenly light sends out its beam upon the midnight blue; That which we hear in every cosmic note and sense beneath the sound of every form, That is the One Who chants the heavenly lay and lends His light to swell the cosmic fire.

That which is known by every Son of God, who masters step by step the Path of Gold; That which is heard by every deva lord who hears the Word go forth as the aeons pass away; That which sounds forth the triple cyclic AUM, reserving yet another sound for higher cosmic planes, That is the One unknown, the Unrevealed, the One Who chants a note within a cosmic chord.

That which in every aeon cometh forth and passeth through His cycle upon a cosmic Path; That which in greater kalpas will play a godlike game; That [1282] which in all the cosmic spheres is called "the One above the Son of violet hue," That is the One Who shineth in the galaxy of stars.

Such is the One to Whom the sons of glory give everlasting homage as He passes on His WAY. To Him be glory as the Mother, Father, Son, as the One Who hath existed in the past, the now and That which is to come. [1283]