New year resolution

Doing things just because everyone else  is doing, would probably entail low risk, but the results  are guaranteed to be average. Break throughs can only come when you attempt something  that others normally don't.  Of course, there could be an  associated high risk.

What is more  prudent is to do things after due thought. So, 'thought before act'  is the best strategy.

This probably could be a good New Year resolution.

Best wishes 

for another new year

 

PS:  Not a Buddha quote, to my knowledge.

New year gift

I just released one more book for the new year. 

It is a gift for all my readers and it is FREE

Meditation - Important things you need to know

Pages  : 70 approx on Kindle

Click for a preview on amazon.com

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Synopsis

Meditation is a powerful means not only to enhance general well being, but also as a practice that can lead one to peaks of human experience.

But unfortunately, there is lot of mystery around it and many practices propagated today don’t have a clear explanation on how they work. Such clarity is needed to make meditation not only effective but also safe without adverse consequences.

This book provides lot of insights into various aspects of meditation, explained in an easy to understand manner. An ideal book for anyone who wants to take up meditation seriously.

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Hopefully, sometime next week, this will be available in all online stores (amazon, Apple, Barnes and Nobel, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd and almost 20 others ).

It is available in amazon and smashwords right away.

amazon may decide to charge a minimum fee since it does not support free books. Use the 'suggest lower price' option on amazon product page to force amazon to give it free. I will also try to request them.

Why is the Upanishadic concept of oneness relevant? (Upanishads…)

In the previous several posts, I discussed some interesting views expressed by one of the most ancient of the scriptures namely the Upanishads. Whether one agrees with whatever is discussed in the Upanishads or not, I personally feel that their core messages are very relevant today. 

The implausible act of ‘one becoming many’ (Upanishads)

Almost every religion has a creation myth. The religions that believe in a personified God, have elaborate stories about how this all powerful God created this entire universe, over a period of time by its sheer ‘power’. What do Upanishads say about the creation of the world? 

What happens when one restrains the mind? (Upanishads)

In the previous post, we were talking about the well known chariot analogy of the Kathopanishad. To recapitulate – our body is like the chariot drawn by our sense organs, (horses), that normally move on the path of worldly pleasures. If we choose to, we can use our intellect, (charioteer), and rein in the horses, by restraining our mind. What happens then?

New book : "Upanishads - A journey into the unknown"

I just published my new book  "Upanishads - A journey into the unknown (Essence of timeless insights attained through deep states of meditation)

Who is 'self' ? (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we said that only 'Self realization' can give eternal peace. Who is this 'self'? How do Upanishads view an individual? As I said earlier, Upanishads employ nice allegories to explain subtle concepts. In this post we will see one such well known allegory. 

Only self realization can give eternal peace (Upanishads...)

Many of the narratives in the Upanishads really amaze me! Not because I consider them to be ultimate truths but because of their simplicity and ‘the matter of fact’ style of conveying profound ideas.

Illusion! For whom? (Upanishads...)

The Advaitic concept of Maya or illusion is often taken for granted and projected as the obvious conclusion of the Upanishads. But is it really that obvious?

The rope that appears like a snake! (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we saw a very interesting allegory used by a Swami to explain the concept of Turïya – the ultimate reality as per the Advaita philosophy. The original allegory used by the well known Advaita philosopher Šankara is what I am going to explain now.

New podcast: Does soul exist?

Where is the silver screen? (Upanishads...)

There is an interesting allegory given by one Swami of Rämakrishna order (successors of Swami Vivekananda). The allegory tries to explain how Turïya is the substrate of the entire world we see around, but still it is not apparent. The allegory goes as follows.