Only by knowing the Self does on become immortal – Shvetashvatara Upanishad Teachings

The body of the individual self depends on food and drink for its birth and growth. Similarly, his thinking (sankalpa), physical contact (sparsha), and looking (drishti) at things produce his attachment (moha). This attachment determines his behavior, and his behavior ultimately results in his assumption of various forms. (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 5, 11)

There is nothing higher than or different from Him. Nothing is greater or minuter than Him. Seated in His own glory He stands like a tree, one without a second and immovable. By that Purusha (Supreme Being) the whole universe is filled (pervaded). (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3, 9)
In this vast wheel of Brahman, which creates all things and in which all things rest, the living being flutters about, thinking – my silent self and the world are two different things. But in truth they are not different. Some wise people see them as one, and those people rest in evenness. They gain eternal happiness.
Just as a mirror shines bright once it has been cleaned of dust, so those who have seen the Self shine in mind and body. They are always and forever filled with happiness.
Only by knowing the Self does on become immortal. There is no other path.

Sri Ramakrishna on the concept of Neti Neti

In the concept of neti, neti – First the seeker tries to separate his individual self from all diversities by negating them as mere superimpositions of the deluded mind. Simultaneously he affirms that his individual self is the only reality and that it is the focus of the universal Self, the common Self of all beings and things.

First of all you must discriminate, following the method of “Neti, neti”: He is not the five elements, nor the sense-organs, nor the mind, nor the intelligence, nor the ego. He is beyond all these cosmic principles.” You want to climb to the roof; then you must eliminate and leave behind all the steps, one by one. The steps are by no means the roof. But after reaching the roof you find that the steps are made of the same materials—brick, lime, and brick-dust—as the roof. It is the Supreme
Brahman that has become the universe and its living beings and the twenty-four cosmic principles. That which is Atman has become the five elements.


Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Chinmoy – Pearls of Wisdom

If we know the divine art of concentration, if we know the divine art of meditation, if we know the divine art of contemplation, easily and consciously we can unite the inner world and the outer world.

There comes a time in the seeker’s life when he discovers that he is at once the lover and the beloved. The aspiring soul which he embodies is the lover in him. And the transcendental Self which he reveals from within is his Beloved.
Divine time means timeless time. When you are consciously thinking of something divine, immediately eternal time comes and shakes hands with you.


Sri Chinmoy

veda vyasa teachings

What is the enemy difficult to conquer? – Anger

What is the best of riches? – Knowledge.

What is the best happiness? – Contentment.

What is courage or bravery? – Being able to control the five senses.

By destroying ego and arrogance one become lovable.


Veda Vyasa

Kalidasa teachings

Everything is not good, merely because it is ancient. New innovations should not be looked down upon, because they are new. Wise persons accept ideas after due examination and consideration. Only the fool has his intellect influenced by others.

A fool is guided by the convictions of others.
A lover sees a reflection of his own fancies in the acts of his beloved.
A Self-willed person never listens to captious tongue.

Kalidasa

Sri Aurobindo quotes- calmness belongs to the strong

True quietude is a very great force, a very great strength.

Man becomes God and human activity reaches its highest and noblest when it succeeds in bringing body, heart and mind in touch with spirit.

Desire is the chief enemy of spiritual perfection.

Calmness belongs to the strong.

Man’s greatness is not in what he is but in what he makes possible.

To recognize one’s weakness and to move away from them is the step towards liberation.

 The language of the Veda itself is sruti, a rhythm not composed by the intellect but heard, a divine Word that same vibrating out of the Infinite to the inner audience of the man who had previously made himself fit fot the impersonal knowledge

.

Sri Aurobindo

Mata Amritanandamayi – Pearls of Wisdom

Turning away from a reality like that is like creating darkness by closing one’s own eyes.
By recognizing the Universal Truth that is God, and living in accordance with that Truth, we can have a trouble-free passage through life.
Knowing one’s own mind and its lower tendencies while constantly trying to transcend them should be the focus of a sincere sadhak or spiritual aspirant.
Life brings various experiences and situations to different people according to their past karma or actions and the way they live and act in the present.
Whoever you are or whatever material heights you gain, only living and thinking in a dharmic or righteous way will help you attain perfection and happiness in life.

Mata Amritanandamayi

Saint kabir das thoughts

No meditation equals truth,
Equal to falsehood there is no sin;

In whoever’s heart lies the truth,
Know it is that heart where God dwells in.

The sweeter a man speaks, the more
You should be careful of him
Since he first shows shallow waters
But later leads to sink in deep water

You are the cage
I, a little parrot of yours
How can that cat Yama
Harm me.

Kabir 

The Secret of Success - From the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chinmayananda

A verse from the Bhagavad Gita discloses the secret by which success can be assured for spiritual seekers
‘To those who worship ME alone, thinking of me alone, thinking of no other, ever self-controlled, I secure that which is not already possessed (yoga) by them, preserve for them what they already possess (kshema)’ (IX:22).


If we consider this as a tip for the people who are sweating and toiling in the world, the verse yields a code of instructions by which they can assure for themselves complete success in their life.
If a person is capable of maintaining self-willed thought (sankalpa) consistently and with singleness of purpose, he is sure to succeed in any undertaking.


But unfortunately, the ordinary person is not capable of channelizing his thoughts. Therefore, his goal seems to be ever receding. Since his goal seems to be ever changing, his determination to achieve a particular goal constantly changes. To such a man of weak determination no progress is possible in any line of undertaking.


The greatest tragedy seems to be that we ignore the fact that thoughts alone create. Activities gain potency from the power of thought that feeds them. When the feeder is choked and dissipated, the executing power of the external activities becomes feeble. Thoughts from a single-pointed mind must flow steadily in full inspiration, enthusiasm and vigor towards the determined goal that the individual has chosen for himself in life.


Channelizing the thought power towards the goal is the first step for gaining success in one’s endeavors. But mere thinking is not sufficient. Many of today’s youths, though capable of consistently maintaining a goal, are not ready to enter the field and invoke the possibilities dormant in the situation. Hence the need to do Upasana (worship). Through worship we invoke the ‘deity,’ meaning ‘the potential in any given field.’ This should be a total effort for carving out one’s victories in one’s field of endeavor.
Swami Chinmayananda