Devotion does not mean rituals

For many of us devotion means erecting some grand place of worship, wearing some religious attire, and making all pomp and show. Are these really needed?

What does one achieve by devotion?

The obvious outcome of selfless devotion to God is getting closer to God. Getting closer to God is fine. But is that all?

The path of devotion

Most of us are emotionally oriented. Emotions come naturally to us. The path of devotion is a natural option for emotional people who can’t follow other paths such as path of inquiry (Jnyaana Maarg), or path of selfless action (Karma Maarg), or path of Yoga or Meditation. How does one go about on this path of devotion?

Is any form of God as good as any other?

In the previous post we saw how all forms of God are expressions of the same single God. Naturally, one may ask – in that case, can I worship any form of God and attain the same results?

BookTalk: A Mantra to enhance your mental capabilities

In today’s book talk I am going to discuss about my book “A Mantra to enhance your mental capabilities”.

Which God is the best?

For a Christian, God means Jesus Christ. A devout Muslim swears that there is no God other than Allah. A Hindu is more flexible – he has a wide choice of Gods ;-)

Isn’t devotion irrational?

In the previous discussion, I said that devotion or Bhakti can be a good alternative to a person – a person who cannot follow intellectual pursuit, a person who cannot do selfless service, a person who cannot meditate – an optiion to make spiritual progress.

Devotion to some God is definitely a faith based concept. These days we come across many self claimed intellectuals who frown upon religious beliefs and faiths. They say that faith is the bane of all our present day ills. If that is the case, should we not discourage devotion that is faith based ?

Baby monkey or baby cat – which is easier?

You probably have noticed a baby monkey clinging on to its mother while the mother jumps from tree to tree. The mother is not at all concerned with the infant. It is the responsibility of the infant to take care of itself.

Compare this to what a kitten does. It just cries aloud for its mother and the mother comes running to protect it from any danger. The kitten does nothing to protect itself other than calling its mother.

Ultimate realization – how easy it is to attain?

In the previous post, we talked about what is meant by the ultimate realization which is worth attaining. But the million dollar question is “can anyone ever attain it?”

BookTalk: Ancient wisdom - Modern viewpoints

In today’s book talk I am going to discuss about my book “Ancient wisdom modern viewpoints”.

Higher level view of the Universe

In a previous post, we started with two approaches to understand the universe and the concept of universal identity. One is through concepts that can be comprehended by our senses and the mind. The other one is purely abstract and more or less beyond comprehension.

We discussed the former in the previous post. Now let us try to understand the other , namely the abstract view of the Universe.

Lower level view of the Universe

In the previous post, we started with two approaches to understand the universe and the concept of universal identity. One is through concepts that can be comprehended by our senses and the mind. The other one that is purely abstract and more or less beyond comprehension.

What is this universal identity?

After a brief detour from our original discussions on Bhagavadgeetha, let us come back. In a previous post we saw that at the culminating stage of meditation one attains ‘universal identity’. What is this universal identity?

Where is Kundalini ("Serpent power")?

Today, Yoga means a practice that revolves around the mystic force Kundalini. Most modern Gurus swear by various theories of this mythical force that is believed to be lying dormant in the human body, just waiting to be awakened.

BookTalk: Psychology behind Yoga

In today’s book talk I am going to discuss about my book “Psychology behind Yoga”.

Only determined effort can take you ahead

In the previous post, we saw how one can attain the ultimate goal of Yoga which is par excellence. But is it easy to attain that state?

Climax of meditation

“Prolonged meditation greatly calms down the mind. The mind stops wavering and being unstable.

You can now listen to my blog posts!

Starting today, you can listen to my blog posts instead of just reading.

How does one meditate?

Having seated in the way as described in the previous post, one goes ahead with meditation or Dhyana – the most important step of Yoga.

Asana – the most misunderstood word

Today, asana or body postures is projected as synonymous to Yoga. If one studies the history of Yoga, it is easy to see that it is a more recent phenomenon – hardly a couple of centuries old - as compared to thousands of year long history of Yoga.

Meditation – Important things you need to know

From today, I am going to start a new series of posts, once in two weeks. It is about some interesting bits connected with my books.

How to subscribe to my blogcast?

 

You can subscribe to the following   feeds

 

“Let's think : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya”  for English posts.

"Tiempo para Pensar : Por el Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya"  for Spanish posts.

"Gedankenzeit: Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya"  for German posts.  

"विचारमंथन : Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya for Hindi posts.

"భావమథనం : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya for Telugu posts.

"ವಿಚಾರ ಮಂಥನ : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya" for Kannada posts. 

 

Preparatory steps to Yoga of Krishna

Patanjali’s Yoga has in all 8 steps – Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Among these, the first 5 can be looked at as preparatory steps. Does Bhagavadgeetha also talk about these steps?

Yoga as it was

Today, various things are projected as Yoga. For majority of people, Yoga stands for various body postures and breathing exercises. For some, it is a technique to awaken the dormant power Kundalini within one’s body to attain mystic experiences or powers.

Meditation is the way to remain blissful

In the previous post we saw how a person can be in an ever blissful state by attaining the ultimate realization. But how does one attain this realization?

If all of us are souls, then why are we different ?

Each one of us is different in our own way. Some are very intelligent, some are dull headed, some may be arrogant and others may be even animal like.

If we are all souls, then why are we different?

How should one act?

In the previous post we saw that the root cause of problems created by action is not the action itself but wrong association - wrong association with the agent (i.e. the body) that actually performs the actions.

It is not the action that creates the problem

In the previous post we saw that any action creates problems irrespective of whether these actions are good or bad. At the same time, there is no way we can totally abstain from action! What is the way out?

Action or Inaction – which is better?

Actions produce results – good or bad. Though on the face of it, it may appear that actions that result in good are good, it is not so.

The best ritual

An action oriented person has a fancy for rituals. The Vedas describe several fire rituals called Yajnyas. These rituals are meant to provide a person with all material comforts as well as guarantee heavenly abode after death.