The Courage to Speak the Truth and Expose the Crimes of the Powerful – A Lesson from the Ramayana
It is an increasingly common trend today, to put down and belittle our ancient texts such as the Ramayana. Many WhatsApp messages circulate to this effect. Since most people these days have never actually read the Ramayana, they easily succumb to these false narratives, 2 of which are: Ravana was the virtuous one instead of […]
Part 5: Does an Avatar Have Free Will, OR Is He Bound by the Law of Karma? (VIDEO)
Does an Avatar i.e. an incarnation of God, have the absolute free will to choose the time and place of his (or her) birth? Or is an Avatar, like us ordinary people, also forced to be born under those circumstances which are suitable for the working out of his past Karmas? Stated differently, is an […]
Is Idol Worship Wrong or Right? Answer from Sri Ramakrishna (VIDEO)
Does God have a form as is depicted by the idols of the Hindu Gods & Goddesses? Or is God the formless Infinite as is portrayed in the other religions of the world? In this video Sri Ramakrishna reveals the true nature of God, through a beautiful story. Free Book Referenced In This Video This […]
Are There Temples in India Which Ban Men? Fake News About 4 Temples Exposed
Does the Brahma temple in Pushkar ban married men from entering its premises? Does the Kamakhya Devi temple in Assam allow only women to enter? Are the priests at Kamakhya all female? Does the Trimbakeshwar temple prohibit both men and women from its inner sanctum in order to promote gender equality? Are married men and […]
Can Lord Ayyappa’s Brahmacharya Shake if Women Enter the Sabarimala Temple?
In this 2 part video series we examine the Vedantic validity of the top 3 justifications that have been submitted by the Sabarimala Temple Authorities before the Supreme Court, in support of the temple’s practice of banning women in the menstruating age group of 10 and 50 years from entering the shrine. In this particular […]
Do Hindu Gods & Goddesses Actually Exist? | 3 Experiences of Swami Brahmananda
Do Hindu Gods such as Kali, Krishna and others really exist? Does God have a human form such as that of Lord Krishna, or of Mother Kali; or is God a Formless entity? In this video we visit the Vedantic answer to these questions through the direct spiritual experiences of Swami Brahmananda, the God-realized sage […]
3 Superb Translations of the Bhagavad Gita to Read (VIDEO)
Some of you have been asking me: “Which Bhagavad Gita should I read? Can you recommend a good translation?” So in this video I outline 3 translations of the Bhagavad Gita that I personally read and refer to constantly. Books Referenced In This Video The Holy Geeta by Swami Chinmayananda The Bhagavad Gita by Swami […]
Difference between Bhagavad Gita & Bhagavatam | Why is the Gita Revered?
Is there a difference between the Bhagavad Gita & the Bhagavatam? Many times people get confused between the Srimad Bhagavad Gita & the Srimad Bhagavatam so in this video let us understand the difference between the two. Book Referenced In This Video This video references Vedantism – A lecture delivered by Swami Vivekananda, and published […]
What is the Spiritual Significance of Sashtanga Dandavat Pranam? (VIDEO)
It is often in India that we see sadhaks offering pranam (salutations) to the Divine by lying prostrate on the floor. This type of pranam is called as Sashtanga Dandavat Pranam. So why do sadhaks offer this type of pranam? What profound spiritual truth are they trying to represent by prostrating before the Divine in […]
When a Sincere Person Speaks His Words Destroy Falsehood & Hypocrisy
The following moral story about cultivating the spiritual quality of sincerity (straightforwardness and lack of deceitfulness); has been taken from Mother Mirra’s book Words of Long Ago (Volume 2). In it Mother narrates an incident from the Ramayana, which acts as a wonderful metaphor for the truth that sincerity is a quality which endears us […]
Stories From Mother Mirra | Prudence – Dasaratha’s Rashness and Death of Shravankumar
The following moral story about cultivating the spiritual quality of prudence – of wisdom and foresight, of thinking about the consequences before initiating any action; has been taken from Mother Mirra’s book Words of Long Ago (Volume 2). In it Mother narrates an incident from the Ramayana, concerning King Dasaratha (father of Lord Rama) and […]
One Does Not Need to Take Sannyas (Monkhood) to Attain God-Realization
There is an age old misconception prevailing in India concerning two groups of people: Sannyasins and householders (those who have married). The misconception centers on how they view each other. Sannyasins, who are monks, who have renounced the world and its material comforts, tend to feel spiritually superior and look down upon householders as lesser […]
God Does Not Care About Externals – He Sees the Innermost Heart
The following poignant excerpt has been taken from the introduction to the book: A Guide to Spiritual Life: Spiritual Teachings of Swami Brahmananda. It has been authored by Swami Chetanananda of the Ramakrishna Mission. In it is recounted an incident which occurred in the life of Swami Brahmananda, which highlights not only the tremendous repression […]
What is Tapasya? Real Tapasya Is Not In Feats Of Torturing The Body
“The Sastras declare: Health is the vital factor in spiritual practice. This means that one should see that the vitality of the body remains unimpaired. One should eat healthy food, avoiding that which excites or produces lethargy.” – Swami Brahmananda Whenever the word Tapasya (penance, austerity) comes up, most of us imagine some sort of […]
Himalayas – Not Ordinary Mountains, But The Divine Protectors of India
The Himalayas have always been considered in India as mountains ensouled in divinity, where Rishis are constantly immersed in meditation. This fact was brought out in an even more profound way by Swami Vivekananda, when he explained to a 14 year old boy, the opening verse of the poem Kumarasambhavam, written by the great poet […]
Merely Visiting Temples is NOT Religion – When Unholy People Gather, Holiness of Tirtha Vanishes!
The following talk was delivered by Swami Vivekananda at India’s famous and most ancient Rameswaram Temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This talk was given in the year 1897, when Swami Vivekananda had just returned back to India, after introducing Vedanta to the West. To the enclosed talk of Swamiji’s, paragraph headings have been […]
Ramayana Summary | A Concise Retelling by Swami Vivekananda
Foreword to the Summary of the Ramayana The Ramayana is the first of India’s most ancient spiritual epics. It predates even the Mahabharata, which itself is at least 3,500 years old. The Ramayana narrates the life story of Rama and Sita, the two great Incarnations of God. Rama being the incarnation of “Chit”, the infinite […]
Mahabharata Summary | A Concise Retelling by Swami Vivekananda
The following summary of the Mahabharata was presented by India’s great spiritual mind Swami Vivekananda, before an American audience in Pasadena, California in the year 1900. In this engaging narration Swami Vivekananda recounts the entire story of the Mahabharata, the second of India’s two great ancient epics (the first being the Ramayana) comprising over 100,000 […]