Articles by Swami Rama 
To the Mother
14 October, 2021 @ 10:21 am
I sing my songs by myself. I find need for no one to sing them for me. My songs are filled with delights; they are never empty or vacant. They are hymns of the Mother Divine. She is the beloved Mother of all.
Examine your Fears
15 September, 2021 @ 7:26 am
You should learn to examine your fears. Why are you committing the mistake of not examining your fears? Learn to examine your fears. Why think negatively all the time? Do you know what happens, what you are doing to yourself? Fear invites danger, remember this. Don’t put yourself in danger.
Love and Forgiveness
17 August, 2021 @ 9:51 am
”I forgive you.” These three words are so powerful that they can suddenly change the darkness that we experience about us into the pure light of a new day. As soon as you experience forgiveness your whole demeanor, your attitude and your personality change dramatically. Instead of being tormented by the hate and vengeful feelings that are carried inside in seeking justice, you experience a warm expansiveness. As you let go of those negative feelings, and of the rationalizations that gave you the excuse to get even you find yourself beginning to experience a common bond you share with others. The sense of rigidity and of being shut off within yourself is replaced by a feeling of comfort. All this is achieved by simply saying, “It’s no big thing, I don’t have to get even. I’ll just let go.” When you practice forgiveness and love you find that others begin to treat you differently. Instead of reacting to your revengeful attitude with their own closed-off distrust, other people begin to open up and share their warmth with you. As they become aware of your forgiving attitude, they realize that they no longer have to fear judgment and wrath. They can be themselves and be comfortable with you. Others will appreciate this to such a degree that they will open themselves to you and give whatever they can. So, in forgiving others, we become the recipients of comfort, peace and happiness. It turns out that the way we treat others creates a situation that leads us to be treated in the same way. When we forgive others we soon find that they begin to hold less against us. We need not to be so fearful of their harsh judgments. This law of human existence was clearly expressed long ago in the Lord’s Prayer: ”Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Many people look at this statement as merely a request, asking the Lord, who is seen as separate from them, that they be forgiven the way they forgive others. But no request need to be made, for there is an exact and inevitable correspondence: to the extent that we forgive others we are forgiven, and the very act of forgiving is in itself a forgiveness of ourselves. This is the law of forgiveness. There is an exact correspondence between our experience of forgiving and the experience of being forgiven. We can only open ourselves up to the experience of the other’s forgiveness to the extent that we ourselves have developed a forgiving attitude. For we are being forgiven always but we do not know it when we are preoccupied with judging ourselves and others. It is not necessary to take our word that such a law exists. You can test it for yourself. Merely become aware of where and when you feel judgmental and critical of others, or feel that you have been abused and wish to get back. Then just sit quietly and think for some minutes of forgiveness until you genuinely feel yourself forgiving the other, letting go of judgment or criticism. See for yourself how your attitude changes and what psychological effect is produced. Have you lost something or have you gained? Become aware when a critical, condemning attitude arises within you and each time work with yourself in this way. Try it for only one week and notice the reaction of others. See how relationships change. You might say, ”How can I forgive people who have abused and mistreated me?” But if we could see more deeply into our relationships we would realize that we bring these experiences on through our own actions, we would see that there is nobody to be forgiven. The people who mistreat us are often acting out the part that we assign to them. There is a line in a prayer by St. Francis: it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.” In the act of pardoning we think we are doing something wonderful for the person we are forgiving, but actually we are doing something much more wonderful for ourselves. For that very act creates for us an entirely different frame of reference. Because love and forgiveness allow us to experience the world in such a harmonious way it turns out that we are really pardoning ourselves. We are throwing off all the hate and the vengeance that we ordinarily harbor and acquiring a new sense of freedom. What could be more perfect justice than that? Some people might feel that in forgiving others they are opening themselves to being taken advantage of. They might say, “If I keep forgiving everyone they’ll get away with all kinds of things.” This is a misconception. In fact condemnation often does not prevent behavior but fans the flames so that the unwanted behavior increases. If the other person sees that it gets you upset he may do the same thing again for that very reason. Forgiving does not mean allowing people to walk all over you and abuse you. Nor does it mean that you should not try to prevent others from overstepping their bounds, from being callous and inconsiderate. Setting limits for another person is often helpful to him, whereas letting that person take advantage of you merely teaches him that he can hurt and injure others without concern. This does not give him a chance to develop respect and care for the other. The person who allows others to take advantage of him is not practicing forgiveness but is actually attempting to repress his hostile and aggressive feelings, hiding them beneath external acquiescence and acceptance. Often we see this quality amongst those who have been following a set of religious precepts. In trying to practice forgiveness they mistakenly decide that they should allow themselves to be used by others. While they outwardly appear to be pleasant and forgiving, there may be smoldering resentment beneath the surface. There is a vast difference between outward acquiescence which masks resentment and a genuine inner forgiveness.
Meditative Discipline
14 August, 2021 @ 10:30 am
Meditation expands awareness, but this does not mean that awareness should be external. It is a natural tendency of the mind to roam toward the objects of the world. This also can be considered awareness, but such awareness is completely dissipated and gross. The schools of meditation use awareness in a different way. Meditation teaches the student to make the mind one pointed and inward. To some degree all human beings are aware of their environment and the things related to them. This is the dimmest and most superficial state of human consciousness, and we are not discussing that sort of awareness here. Human consciousness flows through various degrees and grades from the center of consciousness, and systematically going back to the source of consciousness within is the purpose of meditation.
Guru Purnima Message
19 July, 2021 @ 12:21 pm
Today is the greatest day of all the year called Guru Purnima Day. The word Guru is not used for any particular person or being. It is used for the center of consciousness, for the knowledge.
3 Prime Conditionings
5 April, 2021 @ 12:17 pm
You all want to know that reality or truth which is eternal; you want to experience that state of peace and equilibrium that is your essential nature. And yet the mind and personality prevent you from experiencing that finest level of yourself – the Center of Consciousness within. In the ancient teachings it is said that time, space, and causation are the three primary conditionings or filters that affect the mind; however, you can lead your mind beyond these conditions.
Atman
10 March, 2021 @ 10:53 am
There are two aspects within us all, the real Self and the mere self. The latter is but a reflection of the former. One is imperishable and beyond change, and the other is the enjoyer and the sufferer.
The Unfoldment of Human Potential
13 February, 2021 @ 3:17 pm
The highest human potentials are expressed by those willing to be silent and peaceful and to forgo status and power. They quietly and lovingly go about their work, teaching and helping others without expectation of reward.
Action and Inaction in Bhagavad Gita
15 January, 2021 @ 1:31 pm
Even great leaders and heroes sometimes become bewildered in deciding between right action, action that is opposed to right action, and non-action. When faced with a decision, how is one to determine which is the best response? Perhaps the action one chooses will have an effect opposite to what is anticipated and will create conflict, disharmony, or grief. In that case is it better not to act at all?
Learning to Use the Mantra
13 December, 2020 @ 3:43 pm
Once a student has received a mantra, he or she should seek to practice that mantra for some time, bringing it to increasingly subtle and fine levels of experience.