Articles by Swami Rama golden_leaf

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The Pull of the Strings of Attachment

16 April, 2017 @ 5:17 pm

You create stress for yourself because you do not know how to perform your duties, though you have imposed them on yourself. The only way is to learn to love your duties. If you only love the objects of joy, and you think that your partner is an object like your home, your furniture, and other things in life, you can never be happy.

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Transformation of Thoughts

5 April, 2017 @ 12:42 pm

The sages say that the only difference between you and them lies in the nature of your thoughts and your mind. If someone tells you that you are bad or have done something wrong you accept it, and you become bad. If you even think it, then you feel bad. You cannot forget about that. You want to forgive yourself, but you have a habit of retaining such negative thoughts. Some people retain good and helpful thoughts, and others retain negative and passive thoughts.

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The Real and Un-real

5 March, 2017 @ 10:55 am

The treasure according to Vedanta is Atman, the Self or absolute Reality, that exists within all individuals. In the language of the Bible, Atman is the image of God, that which is identical to Brahman, pure consciousness, ultimate Reality, or however else we attempt to express with words that which is indescribable. Atman and Brahman are one, just as Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.”

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Intellect, Sadhana and Wisdom

11 February, 2017 @ 3:59 pm

Theologians, scholars, and priests theorize and write commentaries on scriptures such as the Vedas. Yet, however profound their theoretical knowledge may be, they cannot assimilate that knowledge and live according to it without sadhana. Intellectualization is easy, but sadhana is difficult. Many scholars make erudite speeches on the Vedic verses, but they themselves have not realized the full meaning of those verses. Therefore, Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna to practice and assimilate the knowledge.

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Sadhana in Relationships

4 January, 2017 @ 10:26 am

Do not think that you can accomplish the task of becoming enlightened outside the world. Yes, you need time to do practice, but you have that, you need to adjust your time in the world. There are some people who are systematic in their practice, but they are dry and harsh with others. They bother their spouse and children. But there are other people who are loving and adjust their personal lives to attain enlightenment in this lifetime, here and now. You have to have determination.

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Mastery Over Death

18 December, 2016 @ 10:30 am

I have personally witnessed yogis casting off the body consciously on many occasions. In the year 1938 when I was sent to Benares to stay with a Bengali couple, I was informed that the couple would drop their bodies at the same time. The couple had been meditating together for several years. They announced the date of their death and I was one of the witnesses.

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The Journey of Love

2 November, 2016 @ 2:13 pm

As love travels on its way it becomes increasingly powerful. In fact, love is the only force that can every really change the world or help people to grow. The greatest kind of strength that a human being can have is the gentle strength of love. Once, many years ago, in my travels in the Himalayas, I went to see a sage living far away from anyone else. As evening approached he told me that I should leave, because he needed to make dinner for his children, and I was very surprised to think that he had children there in the wilderness.

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Exercise and Good Health

18 October, 2016 @ 10:47 am

The two different kinds of physical exercise essential to good health are stretching exercises such as the yoga postures and aerobic exercises such as jogging. Both are very beneficial for cleansing, relaxing, and revitalizing the body and for helping it function properly.

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Understanding the Mind

5 October, 2016 @ 3:00 pm

The journey on which we are now treading and being led is an internal journey, a journey within. On an external journey, you move faster and faster until it is complete – but on this journey you do not move, and yet you go ahead. The laws of this internal journey are entirely different. They comprise the science of yoga. You want to be an interior researcher; you want to know something is valuable. To do that, the first thing you need to do is to understand the four states of consciousness: the waking state, the dreaming state, the state of deep sleep and the state beyond.

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Personal Philosophy of Life

3 September, 2016 @ 3:39 pm

The sun, the moon, the stars, and all the lights that you can imagine in the entire external world are but fragments of that one great Light that is within you. It is the light of knowledge, the light of discrimination, the light of understanding, the light of life, the light of sharing and love, the light of Being that you are. “Thou art that.”

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