Gems from the Vedanta-30:

Truth alone triumphs, not untruth; the path to the luminous reality is spread out with truth only.

Gems from the Vedanta-29:

This Teaching invites you to question everything. Faith in dogma requires that you question nothing. The “journey” only begins when questioning begins. The “journey” only continues if questioning continues.

Gems from the Vedanta-28:

You are already in your true state. Because of the mind, duality comes in and therefore you are afraid.

Gems from the Vedanta-27:

One may as well go to a desert and try to benefit and improve or cleanse or purify or straighten out a mirage. How can anyone cleanse a mirage, purify a mirage, heal a mirage, straighten out a mirage, make a mirage that is wrong into a mirage that is right, or stop mirages? It is impossible. The mind will dissolve if you see every lie that is stored in it.

Gems from the Vedanta-26:

Nirvana can be attained here and now; we do not have to wait for death to reach it. Nirvana is the realization of the Self; and after having once known that, if only for an instant, never again can one be deluded by the mirage of personality.

Gems from the Vedanta-25:

Because we already are That, there is not, strictly speaking, anything that we can do to become That. Once the ignorance of the fact is removed, the already existent truth is revealed.

Gems from the Vedanta-24:

Vedanta is the legitimate property of every section, every caste, every community, and every race, of the followers of any faith and persons of both sexes.

Gems from the Vedanta-23:

You are in a play, playing a role, and believing that the role and the play are both real. Why would you believe such nonsense? Because “your mind” is the playwright, the author of every scene.

Vedanta from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedanta

Links to related interesting sites from Vedanta Society of Southern California:

• • 
    

    An Introduction to Hinduism

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    Swami Shivananda-Rishikesh

    International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

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    Ramana Maharshi Site

    The Society of Abidance in Truth is a spiritual nonprofit organization consecrated to the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, especially as revealed by Sri Ramana Maharshi. These teachings emphasize nondual Self-Knowledge and deal with Self-Realization.

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    Advaita Vedanta

    This site is an attempt at providing an easy and structured online introduction to the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, as taught by SankarAcArya and his followers.

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    The Future of Hinduism

    From the banks of the Ganges to the cities of North America and Europe, this ancient faith is on the move. The future of Hinduism — in its intellectual, political, artistic, and cultural facets — has an increasingly globalized manifestation. Patheos add

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    Official Ramana Maharshi Website

    This website is dedicated to Arunachala and the great saints and sages who were attracted by it thoughout the ages, including that of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

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    Gitananda.org

    Gitananda is a spiritual non-profit dedicated to the international presentation of the PATH OF LOVE through Eternal, Absolute spiritual principles universally applicable to humanity and to be achieved through personal interviews and spiritual guidance.

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    Making Vedanta Relevant to Today’s Children

    One doesn’t have to ignore Vedanta until one reaches a certain age, or level of experience. The attempt here is to present a case study of practically implementing the education of basic Vedantic concepts to children.

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    Ancient Indian Scriptures (The Bhagavad Gita and The Dhammapada)

    It is not surprising that thinkers as diverse as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Mahatma Gandhi have found inspiration in the Bhagavad Gita, the great Hindu religious poem.

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    Bhagavad Gita (in different languages)

    The Bhagavad- Gita is considered by eastern and western scholars alike to be among the greatest spiritual books the world has ever known.

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    Bhagavad Gita (Theosophical University Press)

    Recension by William Quan Judge. Combined with his Essays on the Gita.

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    The Upanishads

    The Sacred Books of the East started off with the Max Müller translation of the Upanishads; complete extexts of these key works are available here. This edition contains a dozen of the most important Upanishads, which are fundamental texts of Hinduism.

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    Hindu Website

    Provides comprehensive information on Hinduism, Hindu dharma, Hinduism resources, the Dhamma teachings of Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy and practice, main aspects of Jain dharma, beliefs and practices of Jainism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism.

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    The Sanskrit Web Site (English/Spanish)

    Here you will find massive contents about Sanskrit language, Indian philosophies, translations, sacred sounds, hatha yoga postures, Sanskrit names and so forth. (Aquí hallarás contenidos masivos sobre lenguaje sánscrito, filosofías de India, traducciones,

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    Academic Info: Hinduism

    Hinduism Gateway – Directory of Online Resources

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    Institute of Vedanta and Sanskrit

    Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is an institute for the traditional study of Advaita Vedanta, Sanskrit, Yoga, Ayurveda, astrology, and other classical Indian disciplines.

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    Knowledge of India (Vidya Bharata, in Italian)

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    Shaivism

    The word Shaivam refers to “associated with shiva”. Also known as Shaivism. http://www.shaivam.org is dedicated to worship of lord Shiva

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    Worship/Puja

    Hindu worship known as puja is the act of showing reverence to a god or to aspects of the divine. This online guide for educators offers background information, activities, a bibliography and a resource list about puja.

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    Kali Mandir

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    Vedanta Spiritual Library

    Vedanta Literature, Hindu Scriptures, Spiritual Books and other writings related to Sanatana Dharma [Bhagavad Gita, Brahma-Sutra, 108+ Upanishads, Vedic Hymns, 60+ Stotras of Adi Sankara, 410+ Other Stotras, Purana Stories and 280+ Carnatic Music Kritis]

• Grateful thanks to the Vedanta Society of Southern California and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gems from the Vedanta-22:

You Are That Which Is, Was, and Shall Be, devoid of body or mind or personality when unmanifested and capable, via Full Realization, of being free of body identification and a corrupted “mind” and personas while manifested. You are invited to see how all desire and longing and fear can be transcended when you no longer embrace the limited identity of a physical body or the corrupted “mind” or any fictional personality.

Gems from the Vedanta-21:

From the unreal, lead us to the real! From darkness, lead us to light! From death, lead us to immortality! – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Gems from the Vedanta-20:

A personality is great to the extent he embraces principles.

Gems from the Vedanta-19:

Lord! You are the Inner Light; lead me to the Inner Light.

Gems from the Vedanta-18:

Keep the body virile and the mind serene.

Gems from the Vedanta-17:

In man, consciousness is the axle on which the body and mind move and evolve.

Gems from the Vedanta-16:

When invoked, the dormant spiritual power in man becomes dynamic and vibrant.

Gems from the Vedanta-14:

Give willingly. Do not give unwillingly. Give according to your resources. Give with modesty. Give with sympathy.

From My Spiritual Diary-59: "The Spirit of Vedanta"

…I came here to represent a philosophy of India, which is called the Vedanta philosophy. This philosophy is very, very ancient; it is the outcome of that mass of ancient Aryan literature known by the name of the Vedas. It is, as it were, the very flower of all the speculations and experiences and analyses, embodied in that mass of literature — collected and culled through centuries. This Vedanta philosophy has certain peculiarities. In the first place, it is perfectly impersonal; it does not owe its origin to any person or prophet: it does not build itself around one man as a centre. Yet it has nothing to say against philosophies which do build themselves around certain persons. In later days in India, other philosophies and systems arose, built around certain persons — such as Buddhism, or many of our present sects. They each have a certain leader to whom they owe allegiance, just as the Christians and Mohammedans have. But the Vedanta philosophy stands at the background of all these various sects, and there is no fight and no antagonism between the Vedanta and any other system in the world.

One principle it lays down — and that, the Vedanta claims, is to be found in every religion in the world — that man is divine, that all this which we see around us is the outcome of that consciousness of the divine. Everything that is strong, and good, and powerful in human nature is the outcome of that divinity, and though potential in many, there is no difference between man and man essentially, all being alike divine. There is, as it were, an infinite ocean behind, and you and I are so many waves, coming out of that infinite ocean; and each one of us is trying his best to manifest that infinite outside. So, potentially, each one of us has that infinite ocean of Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss as our birthright, our real nature; and the difference between us is caused by the greater or lesser power to manifest that divine. Therefore the Vedanta lays down that each man should be treated not as what he manifests, but as what he stands for. Each human being stands for the divine, and, therefore, every teacher should be helpful, not by condemning man, but by helping him to call forth the divinity that is within him.

It also teaches that all the vast mass of energy that we see displayed in society and in every plane of action is really from inside out; and, therefore, what is called inspiration by other sects, the Vedantist begs the liberty to call the expiration of man. At the same time it does not quarrel with other sects; the Vedanta has no quarrel with those who do not understand this divinity of man. Consciously or unconsciously, every man is trying to unfold that divinity.

Man is like an infinite spring, coiled up in a small box, and that spring is trying to unfold itself; and all the social phenomena that we see the result of this trying to unfold. All the competitions and struggles and evils that we see around us are neither the causes of these unfoldments, nor the effects. As one of our great philosophers says — in the case of the irrigation of a field, the tank is somewhere upon a higher level, and the water is trying to rush into the field, and is barred by a gate. But as soon as the gate is opened, the water rushes in by its own nature; and if there is dust and dirt in the way, the water rolls over them. But dust and dirt are neither the result nor the cause of this unfolding of the divine nature of man. They are coexistent circumstances, and, therefore, can be remedied.

….There are moments when every man feels that he is one with the universe, and he rushes forth to express it, whether he knows it or not. This expression of oneness is what we call love and sympathy, and it is the basis of all our ethics and morality. This is summed up in the Vedanta philosophy by the celebrated aphorism, Tat Tvam Asi, “Thou art That”.

To every man, this is taught: Thou art one with this Universal Being, and, as such, every soul that exists is your soul; and every body that exists is your body; and in hurting anyone, you hurt yourself, in loving anyone, you love yourself. As soon as a current of hatred is thrown outside, whomsoever else it hurts, it also hurts yourself; and if love comes out from you, it is bound to come back to you. For I am the universe; this universe is my body. I am the Infinite, only I am not conscious of it now; but I am struggling to get this consciousness of the Infinite, and perfection will be reached when full consciousness of this Infinite comes.

Another peculiar idea of the Vedanta is that we must allow this infinite variation in religious thought, and not try to bring everybody to the same opinion, because the goal is the same. As the Vedantist says in his poetical language, “As so many rivers, having their source in different mountains, roll down, crooked or straight, and at last come into the ocean — so, all these various creeds and religions, taking their start from different standpoints and running through crooked or straight courses, at last come unto THEE.”

…This is one of the great lessons that the Vedanta has to teach. Knowing that, consciously or unconsciously, we are struggling to reach the same goal, why should we be impatient? If one man is slower than another, we need not be impatient, we need not curse him, or revile him. When our eyes are opened and the heart is purified, the work of the same divine influence, the unfolding of the same divinity in every human heart, will become manifest; and then alone we shall be in a position to claim the brotherhood of man.

When a man has reached the highest, when he sees neither man nor woman, neither sect nor creed, nor colour, nor birth, nor any of these differentiations, but goes beyond and finds that divinity which is the real man behind every human being …

Excerpt from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

Gems from the Vedanta-13:

Austerity is the means to change the material man into the spiritual man.

Gems from the Vedanta-12:

Renouncing all self-will, be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty. Great achievements and emancipation are possible that way.

Gems from Vedanta-11:

When the mental growth of man expands into infinitude his individuality merges in the Absolute Reality, Brahman.

Gems from Vedanta-10:

Man grows in spiritual excellence when he gives up all attachments to sense-objects which are evanscent.

Gems from Vedanta-9:

The Jivatman or the individual soul is the shadow of Paramatman, the Cosmic Substance.

Gems from Vedanta-8:

Obstructed desire turns into anger. It is the worst enemy of man.

Gems from Vedanta-7:

When man becomes a worthy channel, Divinity manifests of its accord in and through him.

Gems from Vedanta-6:

The core of man is unbroken bliss. It is delusion to think that it gets broken at intervals.

Gems from Vedanta-5:

Man must revert to his original simplicity when he desires to know Brahman – Vedanta

Gems from Vedanta-4:

It is possible for man to remodel himself on a superior pattern. Sublimation is the secret of self-amelioration – Vedanta

Gems from Vedanta-4:

It is possible for man to remodel himself on a superior pattern. Sublimation is the secret of self-amelioration – Vedanta

Gems from Vedanta-3:

Do not deviate from truthfulness. Truthfulness builds man’s character – Vedanta

Gems from Vedanta-2:

Atonement leads to Enlightenment – Vedanta