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A few observations and much reasoning leads to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth. ~ .Alexis Carrell Record enough facts, and the answer will fall to you like a ripe fruit. ~ Christopher Hitchens Making good judgments when one has complete data, facts, and knowledge is not leadership - it's bookkeeping. ~ Dee Hock

Mohanji is a modern spiritual master, and the following is a description of his awakening process... https://mohanji.org/mohanji-life-journey/

Most people with superficial knowledge of Hinduism claim that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. This however is far removed from the truth.The Advaitan philosophy in Hinduism teaches that the unitary Brahman (which in its essence is pure consciousness) alone is true, and that matter, energy, space, time and causation are its diverse manifestations.These two sayings of female enlightened masters in Hinduism reflect clearly the above theme... The gods themselves are said to have arose from Brahman. The Vedas themselves proclaim this... From this vedic saying, one can see that the multiplicity of gods themselves sprung from the unitary Brahman.There are also many strictly monotheistic sects in Hinduism like the Kabir Panthis, Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Lingayats, Mahima Dharma and Prajapita Brahmakumaris where God is worshipped as incorporeal.The Hindu monotheistic sects have also brought about social reforms in India getting rid of obsolete traditions like casteism, untouchability, Sati, discrimination on the basis of gender and so on.The ideals of fraternity, equality and liberty were imprinted in Hindu society by these sects considering that all were children or offspring of one God.The Brahmo Samaj was instrumental in abolition of Sati, while the Indian scholar and president S.Radhakrishnan creditted the Arya Samaj for the progressive reforms in society and the Indian constitution.The S.N.D.P formed by Sree Narayan Guru, also had as its motto, 'One caste, one religion, one God' and was instrumental in removing the evils of casteism in southern India empowering the masses with social, cultural, religious and literary reforms.The Prajapita Brahmakumaris is the world's only spiritual organization led, administered and taught by women with its own unique theological and religious doctrine . The empowerment of women as spiritual and social leaders is a dominant theme of the Brahmakumaris.

Teachings of the Masters on Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity.... Act. Do not react. --Sri Ravi Shankar Sin is never in action. It is always in reaction. -- Swami Chinmayananda Virtuous ( proactive) action increases intelligence, while sinful ( reactive ) acts decreases intelligence. --Vidura Neeti ( Mahabharatha ) If you want to progress in your life and grow, act not to react. --Harbhajan Yogi Bhajan Respond. Do not react. --Osho Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it. --Swami Chidanand Saraswati Be proactive. Do not be reactive. --Stephen Covey ( Author of 7 habits of highly effective people ) Habitually we react to external stimuli, that is we are generally overwhelmed by retaliatory emotional forces within us demanding appropriate action. But surely this cannot be called 'action' , it is in fact ' re-action' . Discipline of the reasoning mind controls the reactive forces and results in appropriate 'action' rather than 're-action', one should endeavour to establish control and avoid retaliatory behaviour. --Acharya Mahaprajna Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response. -- Stephen Covey Because of the space between stimulus and response, people have the power of choice; therefore,leaders are neither born nor made — meaning environmentally trained and nurtured. They are self-made through chosen responses, and if they choose based on principles and develop increasingly greater discipline, their freedom to choose increases. -- Stephen Covey Reaction is unconscious. You do not know exactly that you are being manipulated. You are not aware that you are behaving like a slave, not like a master. Action out of consciousness is response. -- Osho You can act in two ways -- one is reaction, another is response. Reaction comes out of your past conditionings; it is mechanical. Response comes out of your presence, awareness, consciousness; it is non-mechanical. The ability to respond is one of the greatest principles of growth. You are not following any order, any commandment; you are simply following your awareness. You are functioning like a mirror, reflecting the situation and responding to it -- not out of your memory from past experiences of similar situations, not repeating your reactions, but acting fresh, new, in this very moment. Neither the situation is old, nor your response -- both are new. -- Osho One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give in to impulsiveness. Those who react are the ones who are living mindlessly. So in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation. -- Anandmurti Gurumaa So action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. Most of our thoughts are the result of the past, of time. A mind that is not built on the past, that has totally understood this whole process of reaction, can act every minute totally, completely, wholly. — J. Krishnamurti Action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. — J. Krishnamurti

In any situation we have two choices : either to wisely respond or to impulsively react.Obviously reactivity and emotivity leads to lower emotional strength and inner weakness , leading to deterioration of the situation we may find ourselves in.Thus the mind should be trained through spiritual practice and austerities in responding intelligently and patiently at all times rather than reacting impatiently and foolishly. Our mental equanimity and self-awareness at any moment reflects the depth of our spiritual practices or sadhana.A stable and equanimous mind enhances self-awareness which results in being able to respond the right way at all times.

The need of the hour is for us to increase our inner powers of emotional resilience, which means no matter what pressures come up, we do not get sucked into them.” ~ Sister Shivani ( Brahmakumaris) The problem is as big as the amount of pain we create. If we are stable, the problem appears to be very small and easy to face. ~ Sister Shivani “We need to empower ourselves mentally and emotionally to not only overcome any adversity with stability, but also learn how to remain calm, no matter what,” ~ Sister Shivani

We meditate to regulate our minds. An unregulated mind is pulled by wishes and desires, fears and habits, in many different directions. The mind becomes weak as it scatters in many different channels. In contrast, a regulated mind brings focus, and promotes well- being. Unless and until we meditate properly, and unless and until we regulate our minds properly, our consciousness will not evolve. ~ Daaji ( Heartfulness meditation) Meditation even regulates the mind, and so also help us better contemplate and refine our thinking.~ Daaji Feelings usually overpower thinking. Emotions can overwhelm us. If we are able to regulate our emotions and listen to feelings within, coming from spirit or listen to what we understand as in-spirit-ation, then we can know even without much thinking what is right and what is not. This is inherent wisdom of the soul, heard via heart. Meditation on heart really helps in this. ~ Daaji

Insightful article by the Brahmakumaris on creating a methodical roadmap to overcome old negative habits and addictions, as well as making new positive and productive habits . This can be useful for those making new year resolutions for the coming next year. https://www.brahmakumaris.com/blog/how-to-overcome-old-habits/

Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna on the Divine Mother... All women are manifestations of the Divine Mother. "Women whether naturally good or not, whether chaste or unchaste should always be regarded as images of the Blissful Divine Mother." Thus, do I realise that all women are so many forms in which the Divine Mother appears. Hence, I revere all women alike — be it an unchaste woman, or an ideal wife who is an example to others of conjugal love and devotion. He who is face-to-face with Reality, who is blessed with the vision of God, does not regard women with any fear. He sees them as they really are, images of the Divine Mother of the universe. All women are parts of the Divine Mother and, therefore, they should be looked upon as mothers by all. "Women are, all of them, the veritable images of Shakti." All women are portions of that Blessed One and should be looked upon as mothers. Women whether naturally good or not, whether chaste or unchaste, should always be regarded as images of the Blissful Divine Mother. When I see good women of respectable families, I behold in them the Divine Mother in purity; and when again I look at public women of the city, seated in their open verandahs exhibiting themselves, in them also do I see the Divine Mother sporting only in a different attire. "The knowledge of oneness makes me see that everything is but a manifestation of God the Absolute on the plane of the senses. Thus do I realize that all women are so many forms in which the Divine Mother appears. Hence I revere all women alike." The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kali temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The image was Consciousness, the water was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water vessels were Consciousness, the doorsill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness-all was Consciousness. The divine Mother is always playful and sportive. This universe is Her play. She is self-willed and must always have Her own way. She is full of bliss. She gives freedom to one out of a hundred thousand… . The Divine Mother revealed to me: There is only One, without a second - it is Sat-chit-ananda alone who has assumed different forms. God Himself has become the living beings and the phenomenal world - indeed everything. It is He who has become food. "A man forgets God if he is entangled in the world of maya through a woman. It is the Mother of the Universe who has assumed the form of maya, the form of woman. One who knows this rightly does not feel like leading the life of maya in the world. But he who truly realizes that all women are manifestations of the Divine Mother may lead a spiritual life in the world. Without realizing God one cannot truly know what a woman is." God dwells in all people but the manifestation of this inner Divinity varies from person to person. In saintly people there is greater manifestation of God. Women are special manifestations of Divine Mother of the Universe, and so are to be treated with respect. "Why do people worship virgins? All women are so many forms of the Divine Mother. But Her manifestation is greatest in pure-souled virgins. Sri Krishna has a peacock feather on His crest. The feather bears the sign of the female sex. The significance of this is that Krishna carries Prakriti, the female principle, on His head. When Krishna joined the circle of the gopis to dance with them, He appeared there as a woman. That is why you see Him wearing women's apparel in the company of the gopis. Unless a man assumes the nature of a woman, he is not entitled to her company. Assuming the attitude of a woman, he can sport with her and enjoy her company.

All that is good and auspicious flows from self-control. All evil is dispelled by self-control. No gain, no pleasure in this world or in heaven is comparable to the delight of self-control. ~ Yoga Vasistha SELF-CONTROL, O Rama, is the best remedy for all physical and mental ills. When there is self-control, even the food you eat tastes better, else it tastes bitter. He who wears the armour of self-control is not harmed by sorrow. ~ Yoga Vasistha These four — CONTENTMENT, SATSANGA (holy company), the SPIRIT OF INQUIRY and SELF-CONTROL are the four surest means by which they who are drowning in this ocean of samsara can be saved. Contentment is the supreme gain. Satsanga is the best companion to the destination. ~ Yoga Vasistha The Spirit of Inquiry itself is the greatest wisdom and, Self-control is supreme happiness. If you are unable to resort to all these four, then practice one; by the diligent practice of one of these, the others will also be found in you. The highest wisdom will seek you of its own accord.~ Yoga Vasistha

India is considered to be the only country on earth which has never persecuted its Jewish population. Indian Jewish poet Zika Joseph’s new of book of poetry, ‘Sweet Malida: Memories of a Bene Israel Woman,’ dips into the culture and mythology around the subcontinent’s largest Jewish community. https://forward.com/culture/617986/indian-jewish-food-poetry-bene-israel/

You can consider these articles and statements made by Jews themselves... https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/india-only-nation-with-no-history-of-antisemitism-diaspora-supports-israel-123102400069_1.html https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/india-only-nation-with-no-history-of-antisemitism-diaspora-supports-israel-123102400069_1.html The article in the OP is also from Jewish media where the Jewish author states thus to a question... https://forward.com/culture/617986/indian-jewish-food-poetry-bene-israel/

There are no nazi or neo-nazi movements in India. Many dark-skinned Indians have also been victims of racism in europe and the west, and it s their increasing wealth and influence that has made immune to such discrimination later on. The Jews, I repeat have never faced such discrimination in India as there are no nazi or neo-nazi movements in India unlike those in the west and Australia and New Zealand. Hate speech indulging in anti-semitism has been a regular feature of these neo-nazi movements in these countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Australia#:~:text=Antisemitism in Australia is the,established in the 18th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_New_Zealand Since you mentioned Ecuador, I had to mention Spanish south america, as Ecuador is a part of it. Hope you got it ! Many westerners with anti-semitic views have come to India as tourists and may have disseminated some of their propaganda here and leave after their visas expire. Hindus and Indians welcome them as they do for all tourists with an eye on the money and investments they bring to the region.This is all there is to it. There are relatively much more Jewish buildings and architecture in India , and Zionism was also considered as a model by Hindu nationalists which would explain the warm relationship between India and Israel in present times. Savitri was a French European woman who tried to blend some elements of Hinduism with nazism . Her views are laughable and comical as far as I am concerned, and it shows how human beings can be deluded by their imagination to hold absurd notions. The Gita teaches reincarnation , and the concept of reincarnation means that she herself can be born as a Jew in her next life. So hatred and prejudice becomes illogical in the light of reincarnation. A hindu can be reborn as a muslim or Christian in his next life so hatred becomes superficial and irrational in the long run. Indians in the nineteenth and early twentieth century was fighting against British and western colonialism (French,Portuguese) and so adopted nationalistic movements modelled upon that in Ireland, the US, Japan and also Germany and Italy. Communism had also influenced many Indians at that point of time due to influence of neighboring China and Russia. They used whatever models of nationalism available in other countries to fight and triumph over western colonialism. Even Islamic and Zionist models as well were also adopted as models for Hindu nationalism or Hindutva. Hindutva or Hindu nationalism was also mainly a reaction to prosleytising efforts and persecution by Islamic and Christian invaders which had projected the Hindus as heathens due to religious conditioning, and wrecked their temples and religions institutions using violence and brutality. Inquisitions and jihads, jizya taxes were common in regions where they had attained control and so there was a lot of wars and battles by the Hindus to gain control of their land and prevent the persecution. You can see that the Jews, Zoroastrians, Tibetan Buddhists, Bahais who arrived in large numbers to India as refugees were treated well by the same Hindus and not shunned or discriminated upon. They were non-violent and peaceful and consequently never encountered problems of any sort in India.

I am not aware of contact between Jewish merchants and the indigenous native Australians in Australian history. With respect to the state of Australia in modern times after european colonialism, I am aware of Neo-nazi movements in both Australia and New Zealand which obviously have anti-semitic tropes in their ideology. In Spanish south america, the jews were labeled as heretics , avoided major urban centers and survived by camouflaging their personal and group identity. Indian jews never faced such issues.

Pleasure is the greatest incentive to evil. ~ Plato If we wish to accomplish anything of value in our life, we will have to ensure that we do not allow our lower nature the liberty to manifest itself. - Swami Mukundananda Discipline is a choice. It's simply consistently choosing the hard right over the easy wrong. ~ Rory Vaden Anything worthwhile in life can be had only by going uphill. ~ Swami Mukundananda Successful people have all had to do things they didn't feel like doing in order to get where they are. ~ Rory Vaden

Balakishore of Brahmakumaris expounds on the necessity for synergy between Principle, Context and Practice for optimal results. This also enables elimination of misunderstandings and conflicts between various groups leading to promotion of universal harmony. https://balakishore.in/articles/principle-context-practice/

Positive emotions like enthusiasm, optimism and cheerfulness are taken for granted as they are considered as part of virtuous conduct in Hinduism, and ensure relationship building as well as problem solving. I would say Sadhvi was talking about negative emotions here that may amplify the problem like regret, bitterness, reactivity, despair, anger, pessimism and frustration. Bertrand Russell has also correlated negative emotions with ignorance and had stated in this regard, "The degree of one's emotion varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts-the less you know the hotter you get."

Insightful article by Sadhvi Amba on problem solving through change of perception. https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/ministers-message-living-in-the-moment/

Listen to the conscience: Once you understand what is right nobody can influence you to do anything that is not right. ~ Dadi Jank, Brahmakumaris Your conscience is your core, innately pure and divine. It is always there to guide your actions but its voice is unheard by the noise of your waste thoughts. Your only effort is to silence your mind by the tool of awareness and your peace will emerge. ~ Brahmakumaris Conscience will guide and align you with truth when you learn to relax and silence your mind. ~ Brahmakumaris

Not true. You can meet them if you have made the efforts for it. There are fraudsters and genuine enlightened sages. Like anything in life, you need to do your research to distinguish between the two so as to benefit from the latter. The only guru who comes to mind in this regard is Sadhguru, who was already a successful businessman in the construction industry and had other revenue streams as well. He earned a good living for himself with his hard work even before he was a Guru so it is not correct to harbor envy against him, imho. As a Guru he continues to drive motorbikes as he used to in his youth to show that spirituality and materialism should complement each other. He rides helicopters after getting a licence in it, so as to reach venues faster and due to reasons of better logistics. That is your loss. Krishna and Buddha were similarly reviled in their time as fraudsters but now people are advocating their scriptures and path. You must exercise your intelligence and judgement and not get carried away by superficial opinions of some.

Prana means life-force in sanskrit and is an integral element of eastern medical arts like Ayurveda, Tibetan medicine, acupuncture, reiki, pranic healing as well as martial arts. It is known as Chi in Chinese and Ki in Japanese. Every sentient being possess a certain amount of prana, and low prana levels are supposed to correspond with poor physiological and psychological health. High levels of prana is associated with good physiological and psychological health, faster healing, youthfulness and being mindful or aware without much effort. Eastern religious and medical philosophies thus focus on increasing and stabilising prana for human betterment and well-being. Here is an insightful article by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the nature of prana, and ways to increase it. https://www.artofliving.org/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/yagna

Talk on prana by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar... https://wisdomfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/2010/01/

Having basic human ethics is the root of Dharma. If one does not have even worldly level morality, It is absolutely impossible to ever uphold The way of Dharma. ~ Mipham Rinpoche If a person has self-control, even if he has nothing else, This suffices for a hundred other good qualities. This is the root of human values. Without it, There is no hope for other qualities [to blossom]. ~ Mipham Rinpoche

If the master is enlightened, you can benefit just by being in his or her presence. There is no need to listen or learn anything. The prana/chi levels within oneself increases, and there will be meditation happening spontaneously. The rising chi levels is a reason why there are physical and mental healing experiences around enlightened sages. This can be amplified by being in the presence of a master in the proper frame of mind, positive and equanimous.

Yes, as Ayya Khema stated, "The more we abandon ill-will and hatred, the easier it will be to meditate. " Practice of virtuous conduct and morality helps to develop the faculties of the mind such as mental equanimity, critical thinking and a positive frame of mind that makes meditation easier. The nature of vices like hatred, lust, greed is to agitate the mind, making it unfit for meditation. I have noticed that people with positive behavioral characteristics seems to go deeper and faster in meditation than those who lack the same.