Articles

Secret of Mahashivaratri

Happy Maha Shivaratri to you and yours! Maha_Shivaratri ("the Great Night of Shiva") is said to be one of the four most sacred/blessed nights in a year for a spiritual seeker. phaalgunakrshnachaturdashyaamaadidevo mahaanishi shivalingatayodbhootah kotisooryasamaprabh Meaning: On the 14th day of the waning moon in the month of Phalguna appeared a pillar of light (having neither beginning nor end), shining like billions of Sun. And that day is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Celebrated every year in the Hindu month of Phalgun, Mahashivaratri is of the most spiritual significance. Although this celebration is rooted in the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism, its true ...
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Seeing a Part of the Whole Truth

The varying views of religionists are akin to the story told in India about six blind brothers who were washing an elephant. The first brother proclaimed that the elephant is like a huge wall; he had been washing the sides of the pachyderm. Hearing this, the second brother disagreed, asserting that the elephant is like a flexible bamboo pole; he had been washing the trunk. The third, thinking those two brothers were fools, insisted that the elephant is like two banana leaves; he had been washing the ears. Hearing these absurd pronouncements, the fourth brother corrected them with his definition ...
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How to Get Rid of Jealousy?

Envy is when you lack what someone else has, but jealousy is a reaction to a real or imaginary threat of losing someone. Envy and jealousy have become synonymous, with jealousy now including envy. Jealousy is the most prevalent negativity. It creates misery. Many relationship problems arise from jealousy. There are many forms of jealousy such as love jealousy, money jealousy, property jealousy, sibling jealousy. Many murders and suicides are committed due to extreme jealousy. How is Jealousy created? Jealousy is created through your own wrong understanding. Misunderstanding about love creates love jealousy. Remember, a mind that can be jealous ...
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Sleep Less, Refresh More

Sleep is vital to keep the body and mind healthy. Since we spend close to one-third of our lifetime in sleep, it is important that we understand what sleep really is, and how to get full refreshment and contentment out of it. In other words, it is not the quantity (number of hours), but the quality of sleep that should matter the most. What is Sleep? Sleep is a state that our mind experiences. According to Carl G. Jung’s analytical psychology, our mind can be at any one of three levels of depth: conscious mind (the waking state experienced in ...
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Why Does Man Kill Man?

Killings, motivated by political, religious, or social issues, are a common occurrence in our world today. What can we do about this situation? “If you turn back the pages of the history books and try to find an answer as to why man kills man, the only intelligent explanation that will come to your mind is that man has not been able to effect a change in his inner nature. And the reason why he hasn’t been able to do this is simply because he has not known how,” observed Satyananda (1923–2002), a spiritual master from India. Although retaliation and ...
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How Are Souls Reborn On Earth?

The knowledge of how to conceive a child is vital to bring forth good souls on earth for building a better world. The mental state of the couple at the time of conception determines whether a good or evil soul will be attracted to enter the womb. Yogananda, the world-famous author of Autobiography of a Yogi, said: “At the time of physical conception, there is a flash of light in the ether. Souls in the other world that await physical rebirth, when the vibrations of that light are compatible to their own, rush towards it. Sometimes more than one soul ...
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Understanding Meditation

"Meditation applies the brakes to the mind." – Ramana Maharshi Meditation is a part of yoga. According to sage Patanjali, the father of modern yoga, complete stillness of mental tendencies is yoga. Meditation (dhyana in Sanskrit) denotes the seventh of the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The eight limbs of yoga are yama, niyama, aasana, pranayama, pratyahar, dharana, dhyana (meditation), and samadhi. Although the Sanskrit word "dhyana" is commonly translated as meditation, it really has no English equivalent. The English word "meditation" is derived from the Latin verb meditari, which means "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder, to ...
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How Do Thoughts Travel?

In the past fifty years, some Americans, notably, Theodore "Ted" Judd Serios (1918 – 2006), have done experiments in the transmission of thoughts (telepathy). The transmission of thoughts is real. It could be very useful in space exploration. Thoughts travel far and wide in all directions. Actually, thoughts travel faster than light! Corresponding to four bodies - gross body, subtle body, causal body, and supracausal body, there are four levels of thoughts: 1. Vaikhari (gross level of thoughts, the speech of the tongue). 2. Madhyama (throat chakra level- thoughts have taken form but have not yet emerged) 3. Pashyanti (heart ...
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How to Get Rid of Fear?

There are all sorts of fear: fear of death, fear of old age, fear of disease, fear of losing wealth, fear of losing position, fear of enemies, fear of opponents, fear of losing dear ones, fear of examination, fear of evil spirits, fear of public criticism. There are also unnatural fears, or phobias, such as snake-phobia, rat-phobia, height-phobia, claustrophobia, you name it! Phobias are endless. Fear is caused by attachment to the body and to outside objects (fame, money, property, dear ones, etc.). Anxiety is the effect of fear. One of our greatest fears is the fear of death—we know ...
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The Law of Cause and Effect

God will be unjust if He allows things to happen without a cause. Whatever action is performed has its intrinsic consequence -- reward or punishment. For example, WHILE you are angry, you are suffering. “Good actions result in inner peace of mind whereas bad actions disturb the mental peace. A bad person may appear to enjoy outer wealth while suffering inwardly because of wrong actions. Conversely, a good person may seem to suffer outwardly while enjoying inner peace of mind because of good actions performed.” (Building a Noble World, p. 10) Question: Why should we be punished for mistakes that ...
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Call for Reforming the UN Security Council with Regional Unions as New Members

It has been more than 72 years since the United Nations (UN) came into being. Its membership has grown from 51 to 193 since then. However, the UN’s main decision-making body, the UN Security Council, has been subjected to criticisms from many quarters, questioning its ability to maintain international peace and security. This voice has been particularly magnified with the Council’s failure to prevent the Iraq war of 2003. There has also been dissatisfaction expressed by member nations regarding the veto privileges given to the five permanent members, the P5, comprising of Russia, China, France, the UK and the United ...
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