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Turning a New Leaf by Swami Ishwarananda

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(Reprinted from the original article in Tapovan Prasad Magazine, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust - Spiritual Monthly of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, Vol.46, No. 11, Nov. 2008) “Perhaps I should quit my job – it is only causing constant stress!” declared Rajesh Sharma when he sat down on the chair in front of me. His eyes were moist and face expressed anguish. I have known him for many months and on every visit our conversation would begin with the similar note. It has become customary that I hear him for an hour before suggesting him certain change of perception to take care of his immediate problem. He would assure me that he would change his attitude, only to come back soon with frustration about another predicament! “No success comes without some dose of stress”, I said looking into his eyes. A mother who does not want the child to slip and fall can never see him walking. Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji said, “We are not created by God to become failures”. Failure is like
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BMI - The Genius of the Chart

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He never tired of explaining it, though he must have done so more times than I can count: The chart shows the relationship between the Real and the relative reality. At that first lecture as I was listening to him, I thought, "Oh, oh, here is another term I don't understand. I wonder what he means by ‘relative reality'? Reality is reality!" As though reading my mind, he proceeded to answer my question. (This happened quite often at his lectures: He started to answer my silent question seconds after I had entertained that thought in my mind. Later I learned that many other people had experienced similar moments of synchronicity.) Do you see the Om at the top? Om stands for the Real. We only One, lt is Timeless and does not change. This changeless factor, which illumines all changes, is the Consciousness by which we experience this World of ever-changing phenomena. What we call relative reality is everything other than Om, and it is this everything else whic
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Words of Wisdom

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His Holiness Swami Tapovanam  All will admit that joy is to be found in peace and not in the agitations of the mind. But some look upon that goal of human life as the cessation of all sorrow, some take it as the realization of Self through the distinction between the real and the unreal, some others consider it as sheer non-existence (shunya), and yet others conceive of it as the height of happiness reached in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures. The unique state of serene peace can be attained only in a non-dual state. So long as man recognizes an entity outside himself—in other words, so long as a world and a God exist apart from him, he cannot have complete detachment or absolute peace. Nothingness (shunya), because it is nothing, cannot be Peace, for the existent and the non-existent cannot be placed on the same footing.By mistake, people find in comparative peace unlimited peace and liberation, fulfillment of life’s purpose. Absolute peace can exist in nothing except Bra
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What is Prayer?

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“Sowmya, what is special for Dinner tonight?” asked Shankar when he saw Koushik and Mahadev walking back home. “Poori Bhaaji, Bisi Bele Bath, Gulab Jamun, and a special Bagala Bath done by Sneha”, Sowmya replied as she spread the items on the dining table. Sneha and Shankar joined in to get the dining table ready. The aroma as they entered raised the appetite to both Mahadev and Koushik, and right away they prepared to attack the food. Washing their hands and feet, they got into action mode. “Vow, this is worth the trouble of travelling all the way to your house Shankar” said Mahadev excitedly. Shankar: In fact, Sneha is equally adept in cooking as well. Mahadev: That is great, but why was Sneha so quiet last time, she was silent and did not join my discussion with Koushik. Sneha: Uncle, I have my own views on the topic, and did not want to disturb your discussion.  Mahadev: If you have a view, you should raise it, why not? Uncle, Amma keeps saying, “My success is
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What is Sādhanā?

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PROGRESS ON THE PATH The material world generally accepts quantitative evaluations as measures of prosperity and success:  How much have you earned? How much did you save, produce, sell and acquire? Material success depends on how much, how many, or how often. Spiritual seekers habitually apply the same quantitative measures in estimating their own inner achievements. Automatically they congratulate themselves on the quantity of their “glorious sadhana”. However, quantitative measures are false indicators of spiritual progress. In spiritual practice -  It is not how much we read,  But how much we understand and  Reflect and meditate upon the concepts that assures success.  The quality, intensity, sincerity, devotion, understanding, and enthusiasm of the heart with which we do our sādhanā determine the true heights to which we rise in our self-mastery. Spiritual seekers often suffer chronically from lack of progress on the path. From their diaries, it is c
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