To grow spiritually is to develop your potentials

- By: Sulamita Berrezi, 2008-02-21

To grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipments, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a result, our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are muddled. How can we strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives?

To grow spiritually is to look inward.

Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically examining your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in provide useful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it gives you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation. Like any skill, introspection can be learned; all it takes is the courage and willingness to seek the truths that lie within you. Here are some pointers when you introspect: be objective, be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas for improvement.

To grow spiritually is to develop your potentials.

Religion and science have differing views on matters of the human spirit. Religion views people as spiritual beings temporarily living on Earth, while science views the spirit as just one dimension of an individual. Mastery of the self is a recurring theme in both Christian (Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. The needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Beliefs, values, morality, rules, experiences, and good works provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being. In Psychology, realizing one’s full potential is to self-actualize. Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. James earlier categorized these needs into three: material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual. Perhaps the difference between these two religions and psychology is the end of self-development: Christianity and Islam see that self-development is a means toward serving God, while psychology view that self-development is an end by itself.

To grow spiritually is to search for meaning.

Religions that believe in the existence of God such as Christianism, Judaism, and Islam suppose that the purpose of the human life is to serve the Creator of all things. Several theories in psychology propose that we ultimately give meaning to our lives. Whether we believe that life’s meaning is pre-determined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We do not know the meaning of our lives at birth; but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in. As we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs and values that we reject and affirm. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use; sustains us during trying times; and gives us something to look forward to---a goal to achieve, a destination to reach. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.

To grow spiritually is to recognize interconnections.

Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus we call other people “brothers and sisters” even if there are no direct blood relations. Moreover, deity-centered religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship between humans and a higher being. On the other hand, science expounds on our link to other living things through the evolution theory. This relatedness is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow. Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and become stewards of all other things around you.

Growth is a process thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further spiritual growth is made possible.

Sulamita work on macchinari lavorazione vetro, and attrezzature industriali and forniture alberghiere per ristoranti

Article Source : Article Wisdom

Cultivate Universal Friendship !

Cultivate Universal Friendship to win all hearts
Look upon others as Thyself !


As Universal Love is the greatest quality, we have to cultivate friendship with all. Then only can we fulfill the divine humanity in ourselves. By being friendly with all, loving all and serving all we fulfill our divine duty. Others should be looked as ourselves, as our mirror images !

Can the Divine Crown be given to a weakling ?

This is the question asked by the masters of Yoga. The Divine Crown or Self Actualistaion cannot be given without any effort.

The aspirant who follows the path of Yoga has to face many dangers - poverty, persecution, humiliation, suffering etc. But then these dangers are all in the game and have to be transcended.

The path is not easy either. It is long, ardous, dangerous and difficult.

The formidable inner war going on in the human mind can take a heavy toll of physique and psyche. The fortunate One is he who has conquered his negative aspect and risen to the divine level. This requires heavy effort, heavy sacrifice and holding on to Cosmic Truth despite adversities !

The intellect may be great, but the heart is greater !

The heart is 60 times more powerful than the head. The heart should be followed and not the intellect, which justifies both Thesis and Antithesis.

What the intellect justifies is true; the inverse is also true.

The pro and contra arguments are always there for every issue. In the Court of Law, we hear both pro and contra arguments. Both will be intellectual and logical and it is difficult to arrive at a resultant conclusion.

So it is better to follow the Heart than the Head, which advances both Thesis and Antithesis !

Universal Love is All Conquering !

It can conquer all. It is the representative of Heaven on earth.

It rules the court, the camp and the grove
All men below and saints above
It liveth not in fierce desire
And it fierce desire it doth not die !

It is Nature's second Sun and is Omnipotent !


What is this greatest positive Quality? It is Universal Love !

Let us cultivate this noble passion. Enstein said " We have to free ourselves from this ego-prison" and this quality alone can free us from this earthly ego-prison.

Let us love humanity and Nature in her beauty in their entirety !

The Immortal Self

He who shall say, “Lo! I have slain a man!” He who shall think, “Lo! I am slain!”

those both Know naught! Life cannot slay. Life is not slain! Never the spirit was born;

the spirit shall cease to be never;

Never was time it was not; End and Beginning are dreams!

Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spirit for ever;

Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems!

Who knoweth it exhaustless, self-sustained, Immortal, indestructible,--shall such Say, “I

have killed a man, or caused to kill?”

Nay, but as when one layeth

His worn-out robes away,

And taking new ones, sayeth,

“These will I wear to-day!”

So putteth by the spirit

Lightly its garb of flesh,

And passeth to inherit

A residence afresh.

I say to thee weapons reach not the Life;

Flame burns it not, waters cannot o’erwhelm,

Nor dry winds wither it. Impenetrable,

Unentered, unassailed, unharmed, untouched,

Immortal, all-arriving, stable, sure,

Invisible, ineffable, by word

And thought uncompassed, ever all itself,

Thus is the Soul declared! How wilt thou, then,--

Knowing it so,--grieve when thou shouldst not grieve? How, if thou hearest that the man

new-dead Is, like the man new-born, still living man—

One same, existent Spirit—wilt thou weep?

Article Source : UNODC

Bikram Yoga

- By: Robert Thomson, 2008-02-17


Hot Yoga or what is also known as Bikram Yoga is getting more and more popular. So what are the benefits of this form of Yoga?

Some of the many benefits of Bikram Yoga include, body strengthening, building endurance and emotional balance as well as improving your health. Some of these benefits can be contributed to the use of heat while performing the posture series.

With the help of a heated room, you are able to get into your postures better, and your muscles stretch more readily. In a heated room you will also find that you will lose weight more rapidly if this is your goal. Another advantage is that your metabolism speeds up and this helps to breakdown glucose and fatty acids.

The heat also helps to move oxygen to your body tissue and organs, which promotes healing as well as aids in removing harmful toxins. Another great benefit of Bikram Yoga is unlike many other forms of Yoga; it will raise your heart rate and promote cardiovascular health.
Beyond the obvious benefits of Yoga, this form has been known to actually help repair damaged tissue and ligaments as well as helping to cure those who are plagued with chronic ailments.

The health benefits alone may be a good reason to try Bikram Yoga, but this is by far not the only benefit to this form of Yoga. There are many others, including a means in which we can find balance in our lives.
Additional areas in which Bikram Yoga may be helpful include, relieving stress. This is important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Stress can be a killer and the better we learn to manage our stress, the better our health can be.
The endurance required in Bikram Yoga helps you to learn how to focus your energies. This is undoubtedly a good trait to master. The better we can focus in our everyday lives, the more we can accomplish and the better we will feel about ourselves.
Though Bikram Yoga is not necessarily a highly spiritual form of Yoga, it can help in spiritual transformation. When we feel better about ourselves, it is easier to reach to a higher spiritual self.

Bikram Yoga is a wonderful form of Yoga, but it may not be for everyone. Essentially, the postures can be performed by most anyone of any age, though you may find it difficult at first unless you are in good shape and have a high tolerance for heat. It might be a good idea to begin with Hatha Yoga first and then move on to Bikram Yoga. Once you have mastered Hatha Yoga, you can be fairly certain you are ready for Bikram Yoga.
Once you reach the point that you feel you are ready to begin Bikram Yoga, you may be truly astounded by how good you begin to feel.

Thomas T is the owner of Yoga Instruction Lots of free info about Bikram Yoga, and more about Yoga Instruction.



Article Source : http://www.articlewisdom.com

To India !

Sir Edwin Arnold consecrated " The Song Celestial ", a magnificent translation of the Geetha to India. He wrote

To India

So have I read this wonderful and spirit-thrilling speech,
By Krishna and Prince Arjun held, discoursing each with each;

So have I writ its wisdom here,--its hidden mystery, For England;
O our India! as dear to me as She!

He was a great scholar skilled in English as well as Sanskrit. One can say he became immortal with his glorious book !

Article Source : UNODC

Such is the likeness of the Yogi’s mind

Steadfast a lamp burns sheltered from the wind;

Such is the likeness of the Yogi’s mind

Shut from sense-storms and burning bright to Heaven.

When mind broods placid, soothed with holy wont;

When Self contemplates self, and in itself Hath comfort; when it knows the nameless joy

Beyond all scope of sense, revealed to soul—

Only to soul! and, knowing, wavers not, True to the farther Truth; when, holding this, It

deems no other treasure comparable, But, harboured there, cannot be stirred or shook By

any gravest grief, call that state “peace,” That happy severance Yoga; call that man The

perfect Yogin!


Article Source : UNODC

Being is Twofold ( Apara & Para Brahman, Relative Being & Absolute Being )

For in this world

Being is twofold: the Divided, one;

The Undivided, one. All things that live

Are “the Divided.” That which sits apart,

“The Undivided.”

Higher still is He


Article Source : UNODC

The Way to Immortality !

Know thou that Nature and the Spirit both

Have no beginning! Know that qualities

And changes of them are by Nature wrought;

That Nature puts to work the acting frame,

But Spirit doth inform it, and so cause

Feeling of pain and pleasure. Spirit, linked

To moulded matter, entereth into bond

With qualities by Nature framed, and, thus

Married to matter, breeds the birth again

In good or evil yonis.[FN#29]

Yet is this

Yea! in its bodily prison!--Spirit pure,

Spirit supreme; surveying, governing,

Guarding, possessing; Lord and Master still

PURUSHA, Ultimate, One Soul with Me.

Whoso thus knows himself, and knows his soul

PURUSHA, working through the qualities

With Nature’s modes, the light hath come for him!

Whatever flesh he bears, never again

Shall he take on its load. Some few there be

By meditation find the Soul in Self

Self-schooled; and some by long philosophy

And holy life reach thither; some by works:

Some, never so attaining, hear of light

From other lips, and seize, and cleave to it

Worshipping; yea! and those—to teaching true—

Overpass Death!

Article Source : UNODC

Live like the Lotus Leaf !

The Lord of Yoga asks us to live like the Lotus leaf that lives on water, but is never moistened by water !



So is the perfect one! to his soul’s ocean

The world of sense pours streams of witchery;

They leave him as they find, without commotion,

Taking their tribute, but remaining sea.

Yea! whoso, shaking off the yoke of flesh Lives lord, not servant, of his lusts; set free

From pride, from passion, from the sin of “Self,” Toucheth tranquillity! O Pritha’s Son!

That is the state of Brahm! There rests no dread When that last step is reached! Live

where he will, Die when he may, such passeth from all ‘plaining, To blest Nirvana, with

the Gods, attaining.

Article Source : UNODC

Quantum Mysticism or Bridal Mysticism ?

This argument has been going on for centuries ! Which path is greater ?

Quantum Mysticism ( Jnana Yoga ) or Bridal Mysticism ( Bhakti Yoga )?

Quantum Mysticism has been defined as that Art of Mysticism where eternal truths are verified by Quantum Physics. The Mystic view that Reality has dual properties - as Relative Being & as Absolute Being - stands validated by Quantum Physics, which maintains that Matter has dual properties, the wave and the particle aspects !

Q M tells us to remove the veils of Ignorance, which is Mind and arrive at Reality which is Self. But imagine not that the path is easy !

The greatest enemy which is Mind
When subdued, shows us Reality !
Its conquest is the noblest conquest !

While this path is difficult and tedious, the same Seer Poets advocated another path, the Path of Bridal Mysticism, where Self is the Lover, Self is the Bride !

The world is multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-national, multi-religious and only Universal Love can redeem this world !

Love all beings
That is enough !

By loving all and serving all, we can unite with Him, who is Universal Love !

The same Seer Poets said that Bridal Mysticism is the noblest !

The noblest conquest is the conquest by Love !

Conquest by the sword is fraught with dangerous consequences.

He who overcomes by force
Hath overcome but half his foe !

The conquered resents the conquest. That grudge will continue for centuries.

The noblest conquest is the conquest by Love. When Love triumphs, both, the conqueror and the conquered, win !

The noblest conquest is the conquest of oneself !

Buddha's realisation was that Mara or Satan was an aspect of himself, his own negative aspect.

We all have a dark side, symbolised in Eastern Literature as the dark form of Diti. Only after we conquer our negative aspect, can we hope for Self Acutalisation.


I walk on the Razor's edge alone,
The path is narrow, the way Unknown !

So let us embrace Universal Love, Universal Brotherhood and Friendship. Let us remove our negative aspect and embrace all of humanity and Nature in her beauty, as Einstein said !

Yet till evil is slain in its own house
And Light invades the world's inconscient base
And perished has the Adversary Force
He must still labour on, his work half done !

The Noblest Conquest is the Conquest of Mind !

The most dangerous enemy which is Mind
Conquer it and he who does so wins !
Subjugated becomes Sorrow worldly
Fortunate indeed is the winner, the Mystic !

Mano Jaya eva Maha Jaya - the noblest conquest is the conquest of Mind !

Manasvasthathaiva Ananda - The greates bliss is mental peace !

Thus say the wise !

The Razor's Edge

Somerset Maugham came to India to learn about her philosophy and the quintessence of the Upanishads he wrote as the "Razor's Edge".

The Law of the Way is as dangerous as the Razor's Edge. ( Kshurasya dhara nishitha durathyaya durgam pathasthat kavayo vadanti ).

Says the Upanishadic verse

Arise, awake
And stop not till the Goal is reached !
Like the Edge of the Razor
So is the path difficult to tread !

Those who have travelled that Path and reached the Goal triumphant, to them belongs eternal fame !

They alone are the conquerors
The conquerors of the Spirit !
The Self Actualised Poets
Whose fame body knoweth no disease !