Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi

A Place where devotees gather to share inspiration.


"Holy Mother" painted by Swami Tadatmananda

Used courtesy of the Vedanta Society of Southern California

http://www.vedanta.org




Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi
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Re: Some Questions

I have discovered that appreciation is one of the deepest human needs that we have.

Location: North Carolina

Re: Re: Some Questions

Indeed it is, Rosemary. Coming directly from that longing to be recognized as our true Self. No human can grow or even survive well without experiencing appreciation.

Holy Mother taught appreciation of everyone and even everything. To Mother, even a broom deserves proper respect, because it gives service.

I cannot think of any spiritual -- higher spiritual -- teaching that says we are not entitled to respect and appreciation. Rather, higher spirituality says that we are worthy of the highest appreciation, that of divine beings!

And the greatest appreciation of all is our own appreciation. Because unless we have appreciation for our Self, we cannot appreciate others; unless we love ourselves, we cannot love others; without self-respect, we cannot respect others.

Each of these has a higher and lower manifestation. The lower, driven by the ego, is narrow and need-based. It's driven by selfishness born from attachment. It is weak and fragile because it is based on the idea that we are separate from one another.

The higher is Spirit-based, open and Self-fulfilled. No longer limited and needy, it embraces all and feels the interconnection. It is strength, and gives one self-assurance

Spiritual practice is the path that takes us from the lower to higher. It cannot do this, however, from a standpoint of unworthiness. Jesus never taught unworthiness in connection with spiritual teachings. Sri Ramakrishna found unworthiness the bane of religion. "If you think you are a sinner, a sinner you will be!"

Spiritual practice begins with a kernal of worthiness, and leads to full realization.

Location: San Diego, California, USA

Re: Some Questions

First of all my heart felt wishes for doing neoman services whatever u can...like u said everyone tries to provoke ur doing...that someone.. is other than the ma..herself..I believe she is testing her child ..to see whether her child has attained the thing that one needed to get awaken from the deep sleep of worldly pleasures..Praise them for giving a golden opportunity..& stay thankful whoever ..testifies & questions ur doings...keep ur heart unidirectional to the one...

Location: b'lore

Re: Re: Some Questions



Excerpted from:
Each is Great in His Own Place
"It is the most difficult thing in this world to work
and not care for the result, to help a man and never
think that he ought to be grateful, to do some good
work and at the same time never look to see whether
it brings you name or fame, or nothing at all.

Even the most arrant coward becomes brave when the world
praises him. A fool can do heroic deeds when the approbation
of society is upon him, but for a man to constantly do good
without caring for the approbation of his fellow men is indeed
the highest sacrifice man can perform."


Swami Vivekananda

Excerpted from: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
Click Here to read whole article

Location: montreal