http://www.vedantauk.com/magazine/2011/Mar-Apr2011.pdf
Swami Bhuteshananda
Moulding Our Lives
with Sri Ramakrishna’s Teachings
One of the sayings of Sri Ramakrishna which he repeated
many times, was, “I have made the mould and leave it for...
Dear Rosemary,
Have been hearing on the News about the terrible
tornadoes in North Carolina.
I trust that you and your family are OK.
Om Shanthi Om
==============
Photo from "Late and Soon" showing the young Betty Leggett
(Thought some of you would like to see my review as appears at Amazon. com)
A Buried Treasure!
Overlooked in our time, this book contains a message for the ages.
The well heeled stars of th...
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right. You believe lies so eventually you learn to trust no one but yourself. And sometimes good things fall a...
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I left work early today to go to "Friends of the Library" Booksale at the Sudan Temple. While searching through many of the books on the "Religion" table, I saw a lot of Christian books and some books that I was interested in on the lif...
This passage from Tantine is very moving.
Tantine, the Life of Josephine MacLeod, Friend of Swami Vivekananda, Pravarajika Prabuddhaprana
pp. 116 - 118
On the sixteenth Joe met Bois in front of the great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta. She took him the next...
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My email has been down, so I have many messages to read more closely. As I have skimmed through, however, a thought came to mind.
I feel safe in affirming that Swami Vivekananda is likely to have said things that appear harsh to us r...
Dear Tom,
I couldn't help but to go ahead and answer in kind.
First of all, please thank your kid brother for the compliment to my blog. Also, congratulations on the upcoming happy event of the birth of your grand daughter. It is certainly a sweet event.
H...
Dear Tom,
As you advised this is a continuation of the Holy Company thread - picking up with your quote concerning Holy Mother contracting the parasitic disease, kala-azaar (previously mis-spelled-sorry for the wild goose chase) in 1920...
Poor Mother must have...
Perhaps the only way that I will ever be able to "keep Holy Company" is by reading the books written about the devotees and by talking with my old friends here, at Holy Mother's Courtyard.
The closest Vedanta Center to me is 2 hours and 45 minutes away from me in...
I've been enjoying the discussion of music and movies as I enjoy both. Not long ago I listened to a fun Christian spiritualist lecture comparing country music with biblical teaching about how we are to dance the dance of life without getting caught up in it.
And...
I wanted to share this photo, in case someone had missed it. This is a photo of the painting that hung in Jadu Mallick's parlor. When Sri Ramakrishna visited Jadu Mallick, he had an intense reaction to the subject matter of this painting and the reaction lasted for...
Dear Ones,
It has been too long a time since I have entered Holy Mother's Courtyard. Namaste to all, old and new friends, who visit here.
My dear friend, Ankur, has given me a great blessing by recommending that I read two of Sister Gargi's great books on the...
Holy Mother is always behind me and i forget sometimes to just turn around and see. I have been gone dealing with health problems...most diabetic related stuff...i was supposed to get knee replacement then a heart problem showed up---Oh Boy! but keeping calm and as...
NOTE: From Nahabat Web Admin:
In honour of this day, celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ, we are offering the following excerpt from a lovely article, from the Tines of India entitled: "Christmas eve at the Ramakrishna Mission" :
Sri Ramakrishna spent time un...
Mother is so wonderful. I remember reading Mother's words so long ag, for the first time. I wondered what the deal was? so simple and so clear. soon, though i was hit by what was happening. it was as if my won simple and loving mom was there next to me...tell me it w...
Vivekananda’s Maha-Samadhi
REGARDING THE SWAMI’S DEATH, JULY 4, 1902,
AND
HIS 1898 POEM “TO THE FOURTH OF JULY.”
The cause of Swami Vivekananda’s death on the 4th of July, 1902, has been long debated as whether it was a del...
Where is everyone? so sad to see Mother's courtyard always empty. i remember it being full a few years ago and always talking to Brothers and Sisters about the day to day happenings of our lives and the way Holy Mother helped us on out way..remember? All Blessings...
NOTE: Some books about HOLY MOTHER. For more info, click HERE
Please click on the image above for daily readings from:
"In The Company Of The Holy Mother"
Please click on the image above for daily readings from:
"The Vivekananda Letters"
NOTE: From Nahabat Web Admin:
In honour of this day, celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ, we are offering the following excerpt from a 2008 article, from the Tines of India entitled: "Christmas eve at the Ramakrishna Mission":
Sri Ramakrishna spent time under...
Continued from Part-II
29. Ijyananda Ji loved Swami Vireswarananda Ji, Holy Mother’s Disciple and the 10th President of the Ramakrishna Order very much. He used to speak now and then of him, and the life of Vireswarananda Ji brought out by Belur Math was alw...
Continued from Part -I
Shri Raha babu informed me that he had seen Ijyananda Ji himself going out walking with an umbrella in the scorching sun to get a mistri or skilled labourer for the construction. Deka khura told me that the present junior Vice-President Maha...
Revered Ijyananda Ji
Among the people I have interacted with in life so far, I have noticed that there are some few whose association, however brief, left a lasting beneficial impression on the mind. Included among these few are some senior monks of the Sri Rama...
Narada's Temptation
Mimi Frazer
One day the great sage, Narada, was wandering through the Himalayas when he came upon a sacred cave of most unusual beauty. In this pure and holy place, Narada vowed to end his wanderings forever that he might worship day and night...
[A short extract from a lecture by Swami Bhavyananda entitled 'Spiritual Life', transcribed by David Black. Source:Vedanta Magazine, March-April 2004]
There must be strict discipline. Nothing can be achieved in spiritual life without hard struggle and practice. So...
Salutations, Brothers and Sisters:
I have been informed that Sister Jayanti is going through some challenging times these days.
Let us think of her in our daily prayers.
Om Shanthi Om
No postings for about a month. Hence submitting some quotes.
Regards,
Ankur
Some Quotes of the Swami Vivekananda
In the world take always the position of the giver. Give everything and look for no return. Give love, give help, give service, give any lit...
Image: Compliments of www.belurmath.org
In honor of this auspicious occasion, we offer the following excerpt from the SRi Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, entitled:
"Sri Ramakrishna’s Birth Anniversary Celebrated in Dakshineswar"
Sri Ramakrishna (to M.)...
Tomorrow, January 12th, 2009, is the 146th Birthday of Swami Vivekananda. In honour of this momentous occasion, if it pleases the Holy Trio, we shall be presenting daily readings from Swamiji's Letters. Simply click on the image above, to access this NEW resource...
The hereditary peasant does not give up tilling the soil though it may not rain for twelve years; but a merchant who has recently taken to agriculture is discouraged by one season of drought. The true believer is never discouraged even if he fails to see God in spite...
NOTE: From Nahabat Web Admin:
In honour of this day, celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ, we are offering the following excerpt from a recent article, from the Tines of India entitled: "Christmas eve at the Ramakrishna Mission" :
Sri Ramakrishna spent time un...
Greetings to everyone on Holy Mother's birth day (18 December) according to the lunar or Indian reckoning.
Some Sayings of Holy Mother
I tell you one thing-if you want peace, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the wor...
Mother's children are everywhere and wherever there may be suffering we can imagine Her soothing presence offering comfort and hope to those who are in need.
Yet is difficult not to feel a special concern for any of our sisters and brothers in Mumbai especially wh...
THE SADHU AND THE THREE STONES
In 1949 the inauguration of Mother’s Temple took place, and the dedicated labour of ten years was consecrated in Sri Bhagavan’s presence. In front of the Matrubhuteswara Shrine,the Jubilee Hall was built to accommodate the...
Hello Sister Jayanti,
Your both email addresses are not working:
inquiry@srisarada.org
info@srisarada.org
I know that the latter email address has been out of order for some time, but now I notice that the inquiry@srisarada.org is also not functioning.
No activity for some time. So giving some quotes from an article of conversations with Swami Turiyananda, direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.
“This world is a bad place. But if one does not worry about himself but thinks of others and acts accordingly, one f...
I have a favourite quote regarding pre-destination. The quote is by Sri Ramana Maharshi, the greatest Jnani of the 20th century. The quote goes as follows:
"The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their prarabdhakarma (destiny to be worked out...
"You know, Brother Leo, man clings to a tiny blade of grass. Angels and devils tug at him and try to tear him away from this blade of grass. He is hungry, thirsty, the sweat gushes from his forehead, he is covered with blood, he weeps and curses...but does not let go...
Greetings, esteemed brothers & sisters:
Here is an interesting quote from:
"In The Company of The Holy Mother"
(available at all Vedanta Centres)
Page 353
Swami Ishanananda:
Mother: "Alas, how I wept and prayed to the Master for all this! And that is...
Received from my sister Samikhya Acharya.
Ankur
TWO BEAUTIFUL STORIES
Story 1:
There was once this guy who was very much in love with his girl.
This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes as a gift to his girl.
Although, at that time...
"Thakur used to say, ‘The musical notation has to be brought to the fingers. What is the use of merely speaking it?’ Thakur had just this to say, ‘Do something.’ Everything about him is practical. He used to say that one should do it eighty fi...
Swami Vivekananda's birthday by Indian reckoning today. Greetings and good wishes to all on this occasion! May we all keep walking, keep walking while inquiring within what next, what next?
Regards,
Ankur
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am thinking I should share some sad news. Swami Tadatmananda, whose painting of Mother graces our courtyard, is gravely ill. He has been suffering from a blood disorder for several years, caused by his many years as an artist. It seems...
May the light of the Baby Jesus be reborn in our hearts. May Mother Mary guide and nurture us and may Joseph protect us.
Merry Christmas to all of my brothers and sisters.
MAHA-SAMADHI OF SWAMI GAHANANANDAJI MAHARAJ
14TH PRESIDENT
RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND RAMAKRISHNA MISSION
With deep sorrow we announce the passing away of Swami Gahananandaji, President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, on 4 November 2007 at 5.35...
Brothers & Sisters,
Let us offer our prayers for the folks in Southern
California, to have strength to deal with this
terrible event, and to get on with their lives.
Incidentally, Sister Jayanti lives in the San Diego area.
Click on http://groups.google.co.in/group/holy_trinity/web/vivekanandas-visit-to-gwalior-gharana
- or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that doesn't
work.
Regards,
Ankur
Swami Vivekananda’s Passing Away
A New Finding
Chandrashekhar Chattopadhyay
(Translated from Bengali by Swami Chetanananda)
4July 1902 was a memorable day. Swami Vivekananda, a great prophet of modern India, passed away at about 9:00 pm wh...
Greetings to my sisters and brothers.
I apologize for the ads that are now appearing here in the Courtyard. I forgot to renew the yearly subscription that removes the ad banners Hopefully these will be gone again in a week or two.
Blessings to all on Sri Rama...
Due to the nature of Mother's maya, with its play of positive and negative, we have had to cancel info@srisarada.org. It was getting overwhelming amounts of distasteful junk mail. I grew weary of "filtering" with the hope setting filters. All may be Mother's play, b...
Worldwide Ramakrishna Math and Mission President Swami Gahanananda Ji is at present hospitalized since last few days and is as yet unable to speak. Contributors to the Holy Mother's Courtyard may kindly add their prayers to all those who are already praying for his s...
My heartfelt appreciation to each and all of you who have shown that this is indeed Mother's own courtyard. Both those who have continued posting, ever mindful of Mother's presence, and those who quietly come for Mother' darshan and holy company with other devotees...
Once upon a time, there was a rich King who had four wives.
He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the third wife very much and was always s...
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
"Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.
"Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
"That's none of your business. Wh...
Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
The following excerpt from: "In The Company Of The Holy Mother", describes the very great suffering that Mother endured, in order to fulfill her Divine Mission.
Om MAhAShakti Om
=======================
A READING from: "...
Respected sister Jayanti,
have published in my blog below conversations with my master Sri Fhanindra. You and other members of the Mother's Courtyard may just like to go through them. The blog address is:
http://yearn-for-home.blogspot.com/
With regards,
Ankur
Greetings brothers & sisters,
During the early stages of the struggle for home rule in India,
Bengal was a hotbed of illegal political activity.
In the following quote from "In The Company Of The Holy Mother", we see
that Mother felt very strongly about th...
THE VISION OF SHIVA
Dark Mother! Always gliding near with soft feet,
Have none chanted for Thee a chant of fullest welcome?
Walt Whitman
It may have been that the forefathers saw it in the mountains. Or it may have been elsewhere. Somewhere it came to the Hin...
Shankaracharya says (in Vivekachudamani, 79):
"The crocodile of desire clutches by the neck those who proceed to cross the sea of the world without taking with them the antidote of detachment for their journey, makes them turn round and forcibly drowns them in the...
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:...
AN INTERCESSION
“These are the days that must happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is called riches.
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve.
You but arrive at the city to which you are destined,
You hardly settle yourself to...
Greetings to the visitors in Mother's Courtyard.
Today, I am offering to you another priceless quote from Holy Mother's book.
This was less than two years before her MAhAsamAdhi, on Tuesday, July 21, 1920.
A READING from: "In The Company of The Holy Moth...
Greetings to the visitors in Mother's Courtyard.
Here is a wonderful quote from Mother's Book, telling about the Master's saying to Sri Sarada Devi's mother:
"...Mother, your daughter will have so many children, you will see, that her ears will ache at hearing...
I come to Mother's Courtyard to be with my brothers and sisters in Mother's presence. They are celebrating Swam Vivekananda's birthday in Hollywood now. We had our San Diego puja last Sunday. Mother knows Swamiji is my spiritual hero!
I think now how hard he tried...
January 1, Kalpataru Day - special discount on books at Ramakrishna Maths
Book discount sale
The Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama will be observing January 1, Kalpataru Day, or Sri Ramakrishna's Self-Revelation Day, with a special discount on books on Sri Rama...
The Master and the Missing Two Hundred Rupees
A READING from: "In The Company of The Holy Mother"
(available at all Vedanta Centres)
Page 193
Sarayubala Devi:
18 September, 1912 :
The Holy Mother said:
"Whoever prays to him earnestly, sees him....
Holy Mother's Limitless Compassion,
excerpted from:
"In The Company Of The Holy Mother"
Page 176
Sarayubala Devi:
14 May, 1911:
Men and women of different parts of the country lived in the plot of land, in front of Mother's house. They earned their live...
Greetings to visitors in Mother's Courtyard.
Here is an interesting quote, excerpted from:
"In The Company Of The Holy Mother", on the topic of
"God-Vision".
Swami Arupananda:
Udbodhan (Prayer Room) 30 September, 1918:
It was about ten in the morning. A...
"May all...who have been nurtured by a mother’s love be themselves filled with a mother's affection, which is unconditional love, and express it toward others."
--Paramahansa Yogananda
I ran across this statement about a man converting to Hinduism. The context of this surrounds a man who was formerly Jewish ...
"Also, you cannot convert to Hinduism. It's a contradiction in terms. Hinduism decrees that we are all born into a caste (or tribe). He...
With the escalation of heated terrorism in the last century, the Swami's words are a cooling balm.
There can be hardness in religion and there can be softness. By the Swami's words, I get the impression that the softness is the stronger.
ADDRESS AT THE FINAL SES...
I have read the the power of chanting the mantra is extremely powerful on its own accord. ie. If the mantra is chanted it will have effect.
However i wonder can this be true when the person chanting the mantra is not moral.Will it still have the same effect? will...
Nobody has posted anything for long. So I thought I would share something. It is now Durga Puja in India. The Divine Mother actually comes down to Earth for ten days and is worshipped from the sixth day in images across this part of the country, I mean Eastern India....
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.
He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwo...
Jai Ma!
i have some problems with praying, and wonder if anyone has any thoughts..
am aware of certain changes i need to make in my lifestyle, and yet seem to lack the strength to do anything..(i have a problem with certain kinds of intoxicants).
This is obvi...
The students of Yoga Sutras may find it useful to read the explanation of sutra 15 in Chapter 1 by Swami Krishnanada (of the Divine Life Society) on the following web site:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/patanjali/raja_27.html
If you would like a copy of this...
Sri Ramakrishna — Cry with a very yearning heart and you shall see God. People shed pitcherfuls of tears for wife and children, they weep streams of tears for money. But who cries for the Lord? ‘Call out to God with a longing and yearning heart.R...
Dear Souls,
Today is the 86th Anniversary of Sri Sarada Devi's Mahasamadhi.
Here is a quote from: "In the Company of the Holy Mother" available at all Vedanta Centres:
"On Tuesday, July 21, 1920, at half past one in the morning she breathed heavily several...
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey....
One day when Narendra was on the ground foor, meditating, the Master was lying awake in his bed upstairs. In the depths of his meditation Narendra felt as though a lamp wre burning at the back of his head. Suddenly he lost consciousness. It was the yearned-for, all...
The Master's teachings on the question of free will and self-surrender can be classified into two categories. On the one hand we find him saying to his devotees: "I have cooked the food, just sit down to partake of it"; "The mould is prepared, now cast your own minds...
In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling, the lotus
of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within
that space is the fulfillment of our desires. What is within
that space should be longed for and realized.
As great as the infinite space beyond is...
Dear friends,
This is my first appearance on this bulletin devoted to Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother.
I have been a devotee of Holy Mother (and Sri Ramakrishna) for nearly eight years now. Swami Swahananda initiated me into Vedanta at the Vedanta Center o...
Will someone interpret for me this dream. Just keen to know your thoughts. It is about the Holy Mother and the only dream about her that I remember almost clearly, more than a decade down memory lane.
I dreamt that I was standing and Holy Mother came sailing in re...
I was thinking of posting this subject, but decided not to...then, I saw Ankur's post regarding a beggar woman and changed my mind...
I came across some panhandlers on Sunday with outstretched hands. In fact, there was a near crowd of them in the city I visited....
So many things keep me running back all the time. I have a list of things that I am so sad, and so wondering about...My really close friend in Texas has died, then my dear buddy moved away...he and i were like brothers, and lived together for 20 years.. it's hard to...
Namaste,
As many of the visitors to Mother's Courtyard are aware,
we have been featuring daily readings from the precious
book entitled: "In The Company of The Holy Mother" on
our Nahabat Guestbook
Tomorrow's reading, which follows, presents an interesting...
Dear all i often wonder is there much spiritual merit in fasting? why do people fast? is it there in our scriptures that fasting is a meritorious thing?
anybody know what is the logic behind it. Is it that you are voluntarily sacrificing something.
A book published recently which is causing considerable stir, argues that current religious education has made a bad mistake in setting aside the idea of hell. The concept of a place of punishment is very useful in encouraging better behaviour, and so should not be a...
