Flashes from Vedanta
Here is a collection of revelations that Bhagavan has had.
Philosophical note: Brahman, Atman, the Self, Truth, Absolute Knowledge and Consciousness are all different names for the same thing, the non-dual One without a second.
1. Bliss of solitude is not in solitude. It can be felt even in multitude. It is not in living alone, but in the Self.
2. Peace is within you. Eternal peace cannot come from without as it is your Self.
3. The cause of our happinesses and woes is our living in our states of consciousness. But to be conscious of the feeler of these states is peace.
4. Life is nothing but the search for Truth.
5. He is truly wise who can utter in the deepest sorrow, ‘O Lord! You are everything’.
6. Vairagya is the degree of clinging to Truth in the adverse.
7. See the Creator behind every creation.
8. We are alone in the world, and the day we realise this, we will slowly but surely start becoming perfect.
9. That which helps us to overcome superstitious beliefs is spirituality.
10. Religion is an instrument that gives us the opportunity to achieve Truth.
11. Always stick to Truth.
12. True religion is total concentration on work.
13. Be pure and perfect, and Truth will surely reflect on you.
14. Spirituality leads us from the individual to the universal.
15. Complete faith is complete Knowledge.
16. Our mind is nothing but a cluster of thoughts.
17. We see, feel and judge others by our own thoughts.
18. Meditation is concentration on one object.
19. One becomes what one thinks.
20. Never be afraid. Your Self is the only Truth. To know the Self is the Supreme Knowledge.
21. Think your thought.
22. The world is nothing but the apparent projection of the Self.
23. Think of the Infinite, the thought will cease, and you will become the Infinite.
24. Each wave is but the ocean itself.
25. We are always in consciousness. The distance between the world and ourselves is merely an illusion.
26. We ourselves create our own world and get entangled in it.
27. If we are to enjoy more, we must sacrifice our individuality.
28. Fortunate are they indeed who in the Supreme Self have lost their identity.
29. Observe – within you shall you find the root of all thoughts.
30. Desire the desireless state.
31. Sight exists, because there is a seer.
32. The seer is truer than the sight. The sight may be many but the seer is one and indivisible.
33. There is no relation between the Absolute Truth and the relative truth.
34. The Atman is a stationary platform on which our desires and wants are always dancing.
35. Thinking of matter, we make ourselves cheaper.
36. Is there any moment when you do not feel your Self? But you believe you feel others. This is ignorance or illusion.
37. As fire consumes everything, but nothing can consume fire, similarly the Atman is the Supreme Knower and itself does not become an object of Knowledge.
38. Who has got more right than I to know my Self? I always use my Self and yet am not conscious of it!
39. Atman is my refuge; Atman is my repose.
40. The Self and Atman are one and the same.
41. Self-realisation ends all superstition.
42. To know that we are already free is called Knowledge of the Self (Brahmajñana).
43. To realise Truth is to become Truth.
44. Self-Realisation is the only means to destroy ignorance.
45. Upon waking up from the dreams of worldly illusions, we shall not be afraid of worldly problems.
46. The instant we know our Self to be more precious than the matters of the world, we shall find all our desires and wants, the disturbances will vanish, and we shall find eternal peace.
47. The Knowledge, which enables us to know about a matter, itself gets veiled by material knowledge.
48. Vibrant consciousness is the apparent world.
49. The more one remains near the Self, the closer to perfect one becomes.
50. We must realise the Universal Consciousness, for then alone can death cease, then alone can misery cease, when we are One with Happiness; then alone can error cease, when we are one with the Perfect.
51. See yourself in everyone; search for yourself in everything; feel yourself in everyone.
52. Being one with the Atman is the highest state and whoever attains it is the highest being.
53. It is preparation that requires time; Self-discovery needs no time.
54. I always search for my Self in others that are utterly unaware of it.
55. To think my Self different from God is atheism.
56. Ignorance about the Self is death; Knowledge of the Self is immortality.
57. Want of want is Knowledge Supreme.
58. Realisation is an unflickering flame whose light is called spirituality.
59. The only way to know the vibrant world is to go beyond vibration.
60. Be without thoughts; that is the Atman, which is none but your Self.
61. I am the aspirant; I am the Goal; I aspire to my Self.
62. Static and dynamic are but the states of the Atman and not the Atman itself. The Atman is beyond both.
63. Ignorance about a thing is made unknown to us by the Knowledge itself.
64. Never is there ignorance in Knowledge. Can ever Knowledge be ignorance?
65. Knowledge is naked and free from all prejudices.
66. I am One without a second.
67. Vibration is pollution, even if it be the finest.
68. It is thought that destroys the Supreme Silence.
69. Consciousness is always Consciousness and cannot be felt. What we feel is a state. We feel these states as consciousness - this is Maya, illusion.
70. The Atman is beyond any cause or effect.
71. Worldly love is limited; unlimited is the love of Atman.
72. Love “Love”.
73. Vedanta aims at universal Oneness and not at universal brotherhood.
74. Vibrant knowledge is the world; non-vibrant Knowledge is Brahman.
75. Atman is the Ultimate – whatever the path.
76. In the nature of Atman we are ever one and undivided.
77. Consciousness is the only matter that matters.
78. The thought of Brahman consumes the thought of materialism.
79. We are unconscious of that Consciousness that enables us to know everything.
80. Knowledge realises Knowledge with the help of Knowledge.
81. Effort itself is ignorance.
82. Atman is the abode of Eternal Knowledge and Love.
83. Silence is the greatest eloquence.
84. The Goal is set; the path is laid; march on.
85. Will, determination and concentration are the key to one’s goal.
86. There is nothing tough. Be tougher and the tough will become easy.
87. Respect yourself first; only then can you respect others.
88. Be like a Lion - fearless and alone.
89. One can have faith in others only if he has faith in himself.
90. Accept Truth; else you are dead.
91. Analyse yourself instead of analysing others.
92. Love if you want to live for others, as their Self are your Self.
93. It is not so important how much you know. It is more important how much you feel.
94. Thinking of the future, we lose our present.
95. That which brings pleasure surely brings sorrow too.
96. What is worldly knowledge but ignorance!
97. What is worldly love but lust!
98. A man may cross many hurdles. But until he overcomes his passions and desires he is a slave, and a slave has no freedom.
99. It is fear that destroys a man.
100. To get life give life.
101. Never try to please others at the cost of your ideal.
102. For the bold and courageous is the path of spirituality, and so must be he who adopts it.
103. See the present moment as your last; see the man in front of you as your God; see the work you do as your final work.
104. Spiritual help is the best help as it is the only permanent help.
105. Livelihood is for life and life is for Truth.
106. The world is what we think.
107. Each and every object is Atman by nature, but man is the only medium through which it is manifested.
108. There is no gradual manifestation of Truth; we ourselves are manifested as we search for Truth.
109. From Truth does the universe spring; to Truth shall the universe dissolve. Hence the universe has to accept Truth, for if the tree denies its seed it shall die.
110. Religion is the discovery of the Self.
111. To know the Self is Knowledge; to not know it is ignorance.
112. Our works are the gross manifestation of our thoughts.
113. What we want to do is more important than what we do do.
114. A true devotee loves God simply for the joy of Loving Him, as God is his Beloved.
115. If we are to work for anyone, we must work for God. If we are to be the servant of anyone, we must be the servant of God.
116. He who loves his Self, loves God.
117. There is no way to peace, but peace is the way.