Atmānanda- Laharī

  20. Adhyātma jñāna nityatvam  There is a beautiful castle with a self lit candle Jiva, jagat, Isvara, three doors of triangle Sravana, Manana, Nididhyasana three steps of the castle  Scriptures called Upaniṣads have cryptic codes and phrases 'Ṣad' implies three meanings To disintegrate, to destroy and to reach  'upa' means nearest of the near 'ni' means well ascertained dear Cook time for rice may be calculated Time to understand self, cannot be estimated Cryptic mahāvākya has to be inquired  It is not just a mystical statement  It has to be unfolded word by word  Teacher has two qualifications Learned & knows methodology to teach Steady in the vision of the truth  Listening to the teachings is ṣravana Reflecting to clarify doubts is manana Abiding to remove habitual erros is nididhyasana  Means of knowledge are five But self is unavailable to them Vedanta is a means by itself Sraddha is necessary key to open  It is not a matter of...

Tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam What is the purpose of life? Eat, sleep, drink, work? Grow, earn, marry, reproduce? Sleep, dream, wake up? Questions arise with curiosity  Goals are fourfold for humans Dharma is following the ethics Artha is seeking security  Kāma is enjoying pleasures Mokṣa is the discovery of freedom Freedom from insecurity  Freedom from unhappiness Freedom from birth and death Freedom is the only purpose Mokṣa is puruṣārtha  It is not prarabdha It happens against all odds It happens despite you  Just like a flowing river  pass through obstacles Keep mokṣa as goal and continue śravanam Desire to be free is mumukṣutva Desire to know is jijñāsā Discover the limitlessness Discover the irreducible reality  Inspiration - The Value of Values book- Swami Dayananda Saraswati 

  Aratiḥ Jana-saṁsadi Shining moon of the starless sky  Happy with oneself in quietude Complements the quality of solitude Contented in utmost gratitude Neither revels, nor hates company No escape from stars or self Happy with or without people Happy with roaring Ocean  Happy with absolutely no motion No craving for social interaction No objection, only accommodation No guilt, no hurt, not disturbed  Non reacting, fresh and simple  Appreciative, contemplative mind  Ready for unfoldment of the truth Tangible, intangible everything is visible God, universe, myself, all non-divisible  Inspiration - The Value of Values book- Swami Dayananda Saraswati 

  Who is God? Is he a King in the sky? Is she the Queen of maya who moves everywhere? Is he the Bishop who orders rituals? Is she the Rook of time that clicks? Is he the knight of death who jumps? Does he control the life of pawns, the jīvās? Answer may sound odd Truth is who is not God?  There are not many gods, There is not one God, There is only God! Pawns line up in the game  to get knocked off by names, to get crushed by forms  to get elated by senses, to get choked by rituals, to get carried away by time. As the rook of time clicks Maya, the queen move around The lord of death jump around Snatches life young and old children, women, men all suffer War and crisis make one tougher. Seeking for peace  jīva walks in silence there comes the teacher who gently reaches wiping the tears  Guru unfolds the truth. One move by the Guru  It is called check! Ahaṇkāra stumbles down! Another move is made it is called checkmate  Ahaṇkāra enjoys the checkmate...