In the service of God and humanity
Part three of the lecture: Pujya Swamiji gives this lecture after visiting a Bangalore prison. He talks about how we are imprisoned by our anger and our desires, and how we can become free. There is a funny segment about Thanksgiving where Pujya Swamiji sympathizes with the "poor turkeys." A wonderful lecture, full of love and wisdom....
One of the greatest plagues of human beings is our insatiable desires. We truly never feel satisfied. We never feel that we have had “enough.” We are always looking for more and more and more. This pertains to almost every area of our lives. Obesity, diabetes and heart disease are sky-rocketing because we always want “just one more” ladoo, gulabjamun or piece of chocolate cake. Our bank accounts are getting fuller but our lives are getting emptier because we are always striving to close “just one more deal” or to...
Once a father had three sons whom he feared were going astray. They were beginning to partake of alcohol, drugs and other activities of which their father did not approve. Every time he approached them, they said, “No problem, Dad. We have total control. We can stop whenever we want to.” The father, however, was quite wise. One day he gathered the three sons together and took them into the backyard. He pointed to a small sprout coming up out of the ground. He told one of his sons, “Uproot that sprout.”...
On April 5 we celebrated the divine occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. One of the greatest lessons from the life of divine Hanumanji is fearlessness in the name of God. Hanumanji flew across the ocean, journeyed alone to Lanka in search of Sitaji, fought a raging battle against the demons of Lanka, carried a Himalayan mountain back for Lakshman and performed so many other feats of fortitude and courage.However, whenever he was praised for his feats and whenever he was questioned on the source of his strength, his answer was always the same:...
A man once went to see a doctor complaining of aches and pains all over his body. “Doctor my whole body hurts me,” he moaned. The doctor asked him to show exactly where the pain was. The man explained, “When I touch my shoulder, it hurts. When I touch my back it hurts. When I touch my legs, they hurt.” The doctor did a thorough examination and told the man, “Sir, there is nothing wrong with your body. Your finger is broken. That is why it hurts wherever you touch. Get your finger...
Once, Swami Rama gave a demonstration in front of a large class. He drew a horizontal line on the chalkboard and asked the class the following question: “Is there anyone in the room who can make this line appear shorter without erasing it?” The students thought and thought. They concluded that the only possible way to reduce the size of the line would be to erase part of it from either side. Thus, they told Swamiji, “No, there is no way to reduce the size of the line without erasing...
I heard a beautiful story of an ancient village where one day the villagers found a large boulder in the middle of their main pathway. The busy, rich businessmen and merchants had their servants carry them around it. Others simply turned back and returned in the direction from which they’d come, realizing that to try to pass was futile. Others gathered around the site of the boulder to criticize the King of the area for not taking better care of the roads. They stood by as the boulder obstructed passage...
Dear Divine Souls, A group of visitors just came to Parmarth Niketan from America. They were a beautiful, dedicated group. In our question-answer session, one woman said to me with tears in her eyes, “How do you overcome fear? I live my life so afraid all the time. The object of my fear changes as time passes, but the fear remains.” April 4-5 mark the Hindu New Year. Even in the non-Hindu, Western world, Spring is a time of new birth. It is a time of “Spring Cleaning.” It is a time...