Learning Contentment

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "Learning Contentment"
Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 11:00am

How can we make this life complete? How do we learn contentment in our daily living? Recall the beautiful biblical passage: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil, neither do they spin." With elegant simplicity this image brings to our mind something which we may study in our own lives—the simple efforts of living our seemingly complex lives. 

What is Religion?

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "What is Religion?"
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 11:00am

As human beings we are blessed to able to bring to mind the most sublime ideals and lofty inspirations. We can draw such thoughts from the beauty that surrounds us as well as from the infinite source of peace within us. But there are times when we reflect on human history and begin to wonder where has humanity gone wrong. We wonder how could the very practice of worship become a source of conflict? 

We understand the benefit of many paths, the variety of traditions and the diversity of scriptures. And yet we often fail to see the unity amidst the diversity. Gandhi said there are as many religions as there are humans on this earth. And yet, we face the continual challenge that religion seems so often to be used as a force to divide communities. Some even wish to remain agnostic in the face of formalized "institutions" of religion. In the world that exists today, what does religion mean to us?

Power of Observation

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "Power of Observation"
Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 11:00am

Each of us has a power. At times we may feel powerless to affect the world around us. We may even feel overpowered by the very life we attempt to live. And yet, we have the power of observation to draw from our senses the experience and wisdom of life.

Seeking a path through the darkness requires employment of the senses — but which ones? Do we turn on the light so that we may see more vividly? Do we calm and quite ourselves so that we can hear more clearly? What powers have we been granted to guide our lives in this changing world?

Thy Celestial Purity

Achariya Jeffrey Bauer
Spekas on "Thy Celestial Purity"
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 11:00am

The “celestial purity” of God! What a wonderful and inspiring way to conceive of that pure, liberating, infinite, immortal, guiding light that is beyond all limitations (hence celestial), yet within the innermost heart of each of us. In our daily deep meditation may we bathe our consciousness in that cleansing and purifying light; in our daily life may we let that light of celestial purity shine forth through our thoughts, words and deeds.

- Achariya Jeffrey Bauer

Divine Music

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "Divine Music"
Sunday, October 8, 2017 at 11:00am

A divine symphony plays all about us. But this musical awareness requires our attunement. All the world is part of this holy vibration. But often we do not perceive it.

The mystic is a musician - attuning to the vibration of life itself. What senses are required? Must one have perfect “hearing”? Must one be able to see and read the music? Must one have perfect rhythm to move the body as an instrument? What senses are required to experience divine music? 

-Srimati Karuna

Symbolic Scriptures of Soul

Achariya George Adams
Speaks on "Symbolic Scriptures of Soul"
Sunday, October 1, 2017 at 11:00am

The various scriptures of mankind reveal to us in symbolic language our own spiritual journey and life purpose. These stories are guiding lights to assist us to gain a deeper understanding of our true nature and purpose as well as inspire us to fulfill our spiritual life mission. This Sunday we will meditate on three metaphoric stories, namely the life of King David in the Old Testament, the Dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna in the Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita and the life of Jesus of Christ Consciousness. In order to understand fully these stories, one must keep in mind their spiritual significance within the story. Each of the characters refer to the same reality under different aspects. So, for example, in the Old Testament account of King David, he, Samuel, King Saul, Goliath, and King Solomon refer to the same reality under different aspects. The same holds true for Krishna, Arjuna, Dhritarashtra and Sanjaya as well as the various characters in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus of Christ Consciousness. There are other similarities which we will discover together as we learn that the same truths are conveyed in different forms in each story in their own unique manner. Please join us this coming Sunday at 11am for our worship service.

What the World Cannot Take Away

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on: "What The World Cannot Take Away"
Sunday, September 24, 2017 at 11:00am

Our life in this world may seem to be out of our control. We look to external sources for security, for appreciation, and for understanding. But once we begin to realize that the peace which we desire is something that cannot be given nor taken away, we will find the strength, comfort and joy that God enshrines within us.

Rest in Peace

Achariya Jeffrey Bauer
Speaks on "Rest in Peace"
Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 11:00am

“Rest in Peace” is an epithet that is found on many tombstones and a phrase that is used at many funerals. The implication is that only in death do we find that deep and abiding peace we all so yearn for. Is this true? Perhaps… but what aspect of us needs to “die” in order to attain that peace? What did St. Paul mean when he said “I die daily?”

Finding Solace

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "Finding Solace"
Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 11:00am

Where do we turn for solace?

In our lives we all experience pain and sorrow. It is not only our own hardships we face but out of the compassion of soul we also "feel" the pain of others. We commiserate by sharing the heartache and despair of our fellow beings. But we also try to console and bring comfort to one another. 

We turn to sources of beauty, inspiration and strength to lighten our burden and to lift our minds. We seek guidance to empower us and those around us. We seek rays of hope that will enlighten our lives and lift us out of the darkness. 

In our spiritual study, reading is an act of prayer. We read for realization rather than for information. We find solace in the healing waters of divine expression and sacred word.

-Srimati Karuna

Return to the Source

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on "Return to the Source"
Sunday, September 3, 2017 at 11:00am

Each year our summer recess is a time when we go our different ways, some to travel and some to spend a little time in solitude. We then return to our Church in the attitude of service and the ideal of fellowship.

Last weekend we gathered to refresh and renew our temple grounds. This is always a time to reunite in the attention and care of our spiritual home.

As we return to our weekly congregational worship we look forward once again to sharing together our spiritual ideal: a life of self-dedication, self-purification and self-realization. 

You will note that the "Temple Offerings" we share with you each week will have a fresh look and design. The purpose of this devotional offering of thought is to turn our reflections toward the sublime. From time to time submissions will be invited for inclusion in our "Temple Offerings." You will have more to look forward to each week in the expression of our Church.

Now let us return to the source of our inspiration, guidance and wisdom.

—Srimati Karuna

Think of God

Srimati Karuna
Speaks on “Think of God”
Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 11:00am

Upon this summer solstice, we are all thinking of our final Sunday together before we disperse for July and August. We will all have various plans — projects, personal study, travels and visits with family or friends, and perhaps even a time of solitude. However we fill our days, let us live them consciously, contributing to our spiritual purpose and fulfillment.

—Srimati Karuna

FROM GURUS AND SWAMIS:

“Why does the thought of thee exalt my entire being with the feeling of purity and holiness, devotion and peace? It is because thou art the reality of absolute divinity and the essence of love and bliss. Thou hast revealed thy purpose in my life. With thy blessing I am dedicated to fulfill thy will with all my life and devotion.”

—Swami Premananda, The Inner Path to God

“‘Knowing God’ means to some people nothing beyond a vague notion of what the Creator does or has done. Yet knowing God truly means infinitely more: It means discovering the reality of His presence within ourselves; learning how to switch on the light within us to find Him revealed throughout life, and by way of our own illumination becoming free, overcoming death, being consciously one with God. ‘God-realization’ and ‘Self-realization’ are philosophic terms appropriately describing the spiritual perfection of man.”

—Swami Kamalananda, Reflections on Still Waters

NOBLE THOUGHTS:

“Knowledge is limitless and so also the application of truth. Everyday we add to our knowledge of the power of Atman, and we shall keep on doing so. New experience will teach us new duties, but truth shall ever be the same. Who has ever known it in its entirety? The Vedas represent the truth, they are infinite. But who has known them in their entirety? What goes today by the name of the Vedas are not even a millionth part of the real Veda—the Book of Knowledge. And who knows the entire meaning of even the few books that we have? Rather than wade through these infinite complications, our sages taught us to learn one thing: ‘As with the Self, so with the Universe’. It is not possible to scan the universe, as it is to scan the self. Know the self and you know the universe. But even knowledge of the self within presupposes ceaseless striving—not only ceaseless but pure, and pure striving presupposes a pure heart…”

—Mahatma Gandhi
 

“How do I listen to others? 
As if everyone were my Master
Speaking to me His cherished
Last words.”

—Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz

Our Father, A Living Metaphor

Achariya George Adams
Speaks on "Our Father, A Living Metaphor"
Sunday, June 18, 2017 at 11:00am

We begin our meditation with gratitude to God for the life and example of our earthly fathers.  Each of us has special memories of our relationship with our father that we treasure in our hearts, and on this special day, we extend our love and thankfulness for his life, idealism, example, love and gift of our life.

There are other “fathers” for whom we should be grateful.  These are the “father figures” who have influenced our journey through life by their example and who have inspired us along the way. We extend our gratitude to these “fathers” as well. 

In addition, we extend a special thankfulness to God for the life, guidance and ideal of our “spiritual fathers.”  These God-realized individuals include such enlightened souls as the Gurus, Buddha, Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi and the many other spiritual lights who have graced our life.   In particular, I know that the fellow devotees of our Church are immensely grateful to Swami Premananda and Swami Yogananda for their love, guidance and spiritual example.

Finally, we thank God, our Father, for the most precious gift of all, the gift of our Soul.  God in me is my Soul.  God in you is your Soul.   You and I are sons and daughters of God.  We are one in Soul. 

Each of us is on a journey of spiritual perfection. The ancients described this journey as a journey from “the unknown to the known, from darkness to light, from death to immortality."  This journey is exemplified in the life of the Christ, the soul, God, within each of us.

The Blessed Nazarene used the metaphor of his relationship with his Heavenly Father to teach his disciples the truths about themselves and their journey to perfection.  This Sunday, in honor of our earthly fathers, we will explore these eternal truths and how this metaphoric journey of the soul pertains to each of us.

—Achariya George Adams

 
From Gurus and Swamis: AUM

“…Look at the great and spiritual work of the Kriyaban Jesus; ‘The Father in me doeth the works’ he said with wisdom, humility and inspiration.  He taught his disciples to meditate.  He initiated them into the light of Kriya, and he gave them the charge of bringing the greatest ministry the world can receive from any servant of God: ‘Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’”

—The Mystic Cross by Swami Kamalananda
 

“O God, thou Father of the universe, 
The whole creation is thy manifestation.
Heaven and earth proclaim thy glory.
In the immensity of space and the eternity of time,
The sun, the stars and the planets play thy mystic symphony.
O thou Almighty,
Thy will guides the destiny of creation,
Life moves in obedience to thy command.
O thou omnipresent Being,
Thy presence permeates all.
Thy harmony shapes the beauty of the universe.
Thy love fills it with peace and joy.
Inspire us to realize thy beauty, love, peace and joy everywhere.
But let us realize thy glory within us first.
For thou art the soul of man, as of all created beings.”

—Prayers of Self-Realization by Swami Premananda
 

Noble Thoughts: "Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side." —Rig Veda

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” 

“The Father in me doeth the works.”

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” 

“The Kingdom of Heaven cometh not with observation.  The Kingdom of heaven is within.”

“My Father’s house has many mansions.  I go now to prepare a place for you that where I am ye may be also.”

“None come to the Father except by the Son.”

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

—Jesus of Christ Consciousness

"Purnam adah purnam idam
Purnat purnam udacyate,
Purnasya purnam adaya
Purnam eva avasisyate.
SHANTI SHANTISHANTI”

“That is Perfect; this is perfect;
Out of That Perfection emanates this perfection;
In the ocean of Perfection surge the waves of perfection; 
Yet That Perfection is never lost
PEACEBLISSPEACE”

—Ancient Invocation

God Be With You

Achariya Ajay
Speaks on "God Be With You"
Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 11:00am

Our philosophy is Advaita Vedanta, absolute Oneness. We believe that God is the One reality from whom we and the entire universe are projected. “I am God, naught else but God,” asserts an ancient and most sublime Vedic prayer. Why, then, do we so often refer to God as if he is other than ourselves? We call God our friend, our companion, our guide, our Father, our Mother … Why? This is a fair and good question and will be elaborated upon this Sunday. Until then, God be with you!

—Achariya Ajay

From Gurus and Swamis: AUM

“God's love is your union.
The One you love is God – at the heart of each loving relationship.
Your sweetness, compassion, and happiness,
The radiant transformation of two-into-one draws you to Him.

The soul's first desire is to illumine life with love, revealing God alone.
May God's presence in your love grow until you are One."

—Swami Kamalananda, "Reflections on Still Waters"
 

"Thou hast awakened the voice of eternity within me.
Who art thou?
This little heart of mine, imbued with thy immensity, proclaims, 

"Thou and I are one."
Every cell of my body, joining the chorus, sings within me, "I am immortal."
All that was finite, all that was limited in me, is gone, forever gone.
Whoever thou art, thou art my friend, my comrade, my self.”

—Swami Premananda, "The Magnetic Power of Love"

"Dear God I know Thou art love, because my mother and my father love me. Thou art my Heavenly Father and my Heavenly Mother.

My friends love me, for Thou art present in their hearts. Thou art my best friend. Thou art my divine teacher. Even as Thou lovest me, teach me to love Thee."

—Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, “Whispers from Eternity”

Noble Thoughts: "Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side." —Rig Veda

"When he [God] admits you to his presence ask from him nothing other than himself.
When he has chosen you for a friend, you have seen all that there is to see.
There's no duality in the world of love; what's all this talk of 'you' and 'me'?
How can you fill a cup that's full already?"

—Hakim Sanai, "The Walled Garden of Truth"
 

"We cannot escape the dangers which abound in life without the actual and continual help of God. Let us, then, pray to Him for it continually. How can we pray to Him without being with Him? How can we be with Him but in thinking of Him often? And how can we often think of Him unless by a holy habit of thought which we should form?"

—Brother Lawrence, "His Conversations and Letters on the Practice of the Presence of God"
 

"I have come to thee to take thy touch before I begin my day,
Let thy eyes rest upon my eyes for awhile.
Let me take to my work the assurance of thy comradeship, my friend.
Fill my mind with thy music to last through the desert of noise!
Let thy Love's sunshine kiss the peaks of my thoughts and linger in my life's valley where the harvest ripens."

—Rabindranath Tagore, "Crossing"

Dawn to Dusk

Srimati Carrie
Speaks on: “Dawn to Dusk”
Sunday, June 4, 2017 at 11:00am

During this holy month of Ramadan people all around the Earth fast and pray to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. This spiritual practice is one of deep reverence. Though personal and individual, it is also a shared fellowship in the consciousness of God. This time of sacred observance, from sunrise to sunset, is a devotional act of self-purification offered in the Light and Perfection of God.

—Srimati Carrie

From Gurus and Swamis:

“We can affect the quality of each day by bringing divinity to life. By being gentle, kind, considerate, truthful and respectful—not in an abstract way, but with our whole approach to life. We can awaken to the extraordinary beauty and goodness of life, desiring to help others and bringing a deep love to each moment through the harmony, wisdom and peace of our Soul.”

— Swami Kamalananda, Reflections on Still Waters
 

“This is the beauty and secret of the path of devotion. A devotee remembers God always, and in everything. This constant remembering purifies the heart and awakens an intense love for God, a love that desires nothing but God.”

— Swami Premananda, The Magnetic Power of Love
 

NOBLE THOUGHTS:

“Invoke God, or invoke the Most Gracious: by whichever name you invoke Him, He is always the One — for His are all the attributes of perfection.”

— Qur’an: Al Isra 17:110
 

"Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure Consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul."

— Rumi
 

“But into still greater darkness of ignorance do those fall whose minds are overpowered by the objects of the phenomenal world. I am a devotee of absolute Truth; oh, remove Thy veil for my illumination. Remove all self-limiting concepts from our minds; guide us on the path of the Pure Self. AUM: I remember the state of my illumined Self: I remember.”

—Isha Upanishad
 

"I take refuge in the light of your countenance whereby all darknesses are illuminated and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered. O Lord, show me things as they are.”

—Prayers of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him

The Immortal Soul

Srimati Carrie
Speaks on "The Immortal Soul"
Sunday, May 28, 2017 at 11:00am

“The Immortal Soul”

We give thanks and remember those who sacrifice greatly for our life and freedom.

We think of those who save lives everyday such as doctors, nurses, and firefighters. 

And sometimes we think of that one small act of kindness by a stranger that may save us from pain, sorrow, or worry.

What is the salvation we seek? From what do we want to be saved? Are we concerned with preserving our physical life only? Or is it the soul for which we are afraid? What will free us?  What is our moksha?  What will lead us from death to immortality?

— Srimati Carrie

FROM GURUS AND SWAMIS:

“We talk of religions and philosophies as if by our mental pursuit of them we could achieve the divine fulfillment of human evolution!

“We try to readjust the personality and ego according to relative consciousness of birth and death and this life’s pleasures and pains as if that could bring us eternal bliss.

“Instead we should work to develop that consciousness by which we surpass the functions of the mind.

“Our potential and destiny is realization of the life of the soul in wisdom and bliss.

“To realize its consciousness, immortal existence and peace we meditate.”

— Swami Kamalananda, Reflections on Still Waters

“God has created the soul of man and has sent it to journey through the universe of his cosmic manifestation. Finally he receives the soul and makes it one with his being until it attains to the glory of his absolute perfection.

“When the soul of man becomes one with the soul of God, it no longer exists as an individual soul but as the cosmic God, omniscient in infinite consciousness, omnipotent in all-pervasive self-manifestation and omnipresent in universal oneness. This is the salvation of soul in the perfection of God.”

—Swami Premananda, Sayings of Shyamacharan Lahiri

NOBLE THOUGHTS:

“Hence in a season of calm weather
Though inland far we be,
Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither,
Can in a moment travel thither,
And see the children sport upon the shore,
And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.”

— William Wordsworth, Ode, Intimations of Immortality (lines 164–170)

“The man who is kind and who practices righteousness, who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all creatures on earth as his own self, he attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.”

— 100 Poems of Kabir, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
 

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”

— Ecclesiastes, XII. 7

Sacred Waters

Srimati Carrie
Speaks on "Sacred Waters"
Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 11:00am

From baptizing in the river Jordan to bathing in the holy Ganges, the sacred waters of religious worship and devotion symbolize life and purity.  They represent birth into the existence of pure consciousness.

When a new planet is discovered, scientists look for any source of water that may exist, making life possible.  Did you ever think of the fact that we call this planet “Earth” yet it is made up of mostly water? Even the human body is, to a large extent, water. 

Water is vital to life as we know it. Is it any wonder the current of life flowing within and around us should be considered sacred and divine?

—Srimati Carrie

From Gurus and Swamis: AUM

“Creation is an ever-moving wave on an infinite ocean of life-consciousness. As a wave it has three modifications (gunas): passivity, generative activity and equilibrium. Adrift on the surface of creation we ride its crests and hollows as in a rudderless boat until we learn these two things: how to navigate the guna-waves masterfully and how to reach the peace of the profound depths.”

—Swami Kamalananda, REFLECTIONS ON STILL WATERS
 

“The infinite is the universal; beneath the ripples of all diversity flows the current of eternal unity. Each life is linked with all other lives of the universe, each is a part of the cosmic life.”

—Swami Premananda, THE INNER PATH TO GOD

Noble Thoughts: "Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side." —Rig Veda

“Few are the lovers who know the Beloved. The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the streams of Ganges and Jumna; In his heart the sacred water flows day and night; and thus the round of births and deaths is brought to an end.”

—Kabir
 

“The season which we seem to live in anticipation of is arrived—the water indeed reflects heaven because my mind does—such is its own serenity—its transparency—& stillness.”

—Thoreau

The Noble Qualities of Mother

Achariya George Adams
Speaks on "The Noble Qualities of Mother"
Sunday, May 14, 2017 at 11:00am

This Sunday, Mother’s Day, we have chosen for our meditation the subject “The Noble Qualities of Mother.”

It will be a day when we honor our Mothers with gratitude and love.  We can never repay our debt to our Mothers, but we can show our appreciation and gratitude for the myriad of blessings and joy they have brought to our life. 

Next to God, our Mothers are the closest to the human heart.  God has given us our soul; our Mothers have given us the body in which our soul manifests. Soul is made in the substance of God; body is made of the substance of the Mother.

Our Mothers, however, are the source of much more than the body.  They are our first teachers.  By their example they inspire us to manifest such noble qualities as unconditional love, patience, gratitude, forgiveness, spiritual idealism, courage, humility, dedicated service, understanding, and many other of the noble qualities of God within us.

On this special day set aside for our Mothers, let us honor them with love and appreciation for their contribution to our lives.

—Achariya George  

From Gurus and Swamis: AUM

"What are the attributes of love?  The first is love itself.  Love is a divine attribute.  It is the noblest and at the same time the sweetest of all qualities of righteousness.  It lifts vision and consciousness to transcendental idealism and fills our heart and life with happiness and joy.  Love is spiritual in its essence as well as in its qualities. Love and God are inseparable.  In truth love is God.  Love is the basis of the divine attributes of universality, infinity and eternity.  God is all-pervading in love.  Love is oneness in spirit.  It is enshrined in our soul."

—ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NOBLE QUALITIES by Swami Premananda
 

Unconditional love is divine love.  Absolute love is divine love.  Love that is free from all limitations of time, space and causality is divine love.  Perfect love is divine.  Divine love is eternal.  It is not subject to any limitations. Divine love includes all.  It excludes none. No matter how imperfect the object of love may be, it has a place in divine love.

—THE MAGNETIC POWER OF LOVE by Swami Premananda

Noble Thoughts: "Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side."—Rig Veda

"What does the word “mother” mean?  It comes from matri in Sanskrit which is the basis of all languages.  From this root was the Latin mater and Slavic mati. …Matri means “to measure” so the mother was the “measurer.”  Is it not true that the mother measures or manifests all the divine attributes and offers the standard by which we come to realize selfless love, patience, understanding, forgiveness and other godly qualities, and in reality there is no cruel mother in the universe."

—SEVEN MYSTIC HOLYDAYS by Swami Premananda
 

"To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heart throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life."

—Helen Keller

Be Patient, Oh Bharata

Achariya Ajay
Speaks on "Be Patient, Oh Bharata"
Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 11:00am

How do we reconcile our ideal of oneness with God in serene tranquility with the “reality” of day-to-day living? In this world we all experience pleasure and pain, beauty and ugliness, life and death, and so forth. How do we reconcile these life experiences with our chosen ideal when the two appear to be almost antithetical to one another? This was the crisis that Arjuna (Bharata, the soul) faced in the Bhagavad Gita, that most sublime scripture of the spiritual journey all souls must undertake. Krishna (God) counseled him: “These [pleasure, pain, etc.] come and go. They are temporary in their nature. Bear them patiently, O Bharata. He alone is fit to attain immortality, O best among men, who remains serene and undisturbed in pleasure and pain.”

—Achariya Ajay

From Gurus and Swamis: AUM

"The cultivation of patience is requisite to happiness: It is that little bit of transcendental peace that blesses our daily life. Without it we cannot feel the joy of self-unfoldment. Our patience is the awareness of the ever-abiding perfecting self within."

—REFLECTIONS ON STILL WATERS by Swami Kamalananda
 

"The calm composure of the soul is patience. Our soul is serene and self composed. Within each of us there is a state of divine stillness. It is the sublime tranquility of the soul. Patience has its source in our soul. The more we realize the immensity of our soul, the greater becomes the depth of our patience. Patience is a noble virtue. It inspires tenderness in our hearts. It is gentle and sweet in it's effect. Inner contentment is a gift of patience. Serene peacefulness is the abiding grace of a heart that is blessed with patience." 

—ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NOBLE QUALITIES by Swami Premananda

"Eternity is the timeless time of God. Infinite are the attributes of his being. He is without beginning and without end because he is the transcendental reality of absolute perfection. When we are consciously aware of his presence within and around us, we dwell in the light of God. The presence of his attributes is everywhere and always because he is all-pervading and eternal."

—SAYINGS OF SHYAMACHARAN LAHIRI by Shyamacharan Lahiri
 

Noble Thoughts: "Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side." —Rig Veda
 

"Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can your remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?"

—Lao-Tzu, TAO TE CHING, translated by Stephen Mitchell
 

"I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait."

—Walt Whitman, LEAVES OF GRASS

"Let me not grope in vain in the dark
but keep my mind still in the faith
that the day will break and truth
will appear in its simplicity."

—Rabindranath Tagore, FIREFLIES

The Mystic Path

"The philosophy of Nirvana, based upon the wisdom and revelation of Buddha, true to its absolute monistic idealism, recognizes man as the very Self of Pure-Consciousness and not as the egotistic sense-identified self-consciousness. It does not accept as the eternal man the continuously flashing ego, born of incessant sense-perceptions. It recognizes that man is not a sensory being but the absolute Self. Man is impersonal, universal, infinite, eternal, perfect, hence blissful, transcendental Reality. Man in his true and transcendental nature is God."

- THE PATH OF THE ETERNAL LAW: DHAMMAPADA
Introduction and translation by Swami Premananda

Srimati Carrie Speaks on
"The Mystic Path"
Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 11:00am

We are guided along the innermost path by all noble souls. By turning our minds and hearts to the lives of great souls, we learn of the devotion and determination with which they pursued the greatest wisdom.

The story of Gautama the Buddha enriches our study in untold ways. He set the course of his life in the direction of the highest aspiration. This led him to engage in the subjective struggle along the path of self-realization. Certainly his commitment to his inner search has been an example of illumined and righteous effort for all the world.

- Srimati Carrie

FROM GURUS AND SWAMIS:

"The greatest teachers of life have been the mystics. The nature of their mystical knowledge has compelled them to emphasize the eternal more than the historical. They have stressed the Reality to be known rather than themselves as its personal agents, and they have humbly served humanity with the encouraging promise of their experience of truth. They have not placed strict proclamations or doctrines before us but have guided us to the path of enlightenment within ourselves."

- REFLECTIONS ON STILL WATERS, by Swami Kamalananda
 

"It appears strange but inspiring that Gautama, the son of a mighty king, was born under a tree attended by the royal courtiers; regained the supreme state of self-realization (Nirvana) in absolute identity with the Cosmic Consciousness (God), under a tree surrounded by the noble virtues of his soul; and while speaking words of wisdom, encouragement and comfort to his beloved disciples, as Buddha, a Saviour of mankind, in vivid consciousness and peace, discarded his mortal garb under a tree by the side of a village path." 

- THE WAY OF WISDOM AND SELF-LIBERATION by Swami Premananda
 

NOBLE THOUGHTS:

"Most people are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in air, flutters, and falls to ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path." 

- SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse

“What I want to achieve, what I have been striving and pining to achieve all these years is self-realization, to see God face to face. I live and move and have my being in pursuit of this goal. All that I do is directed toward this end.”

- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Art of Living

Srimati Carrie
Speaks on "Art of Living"
Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 11:00am

We are all striving for the perfection of life.  We want perfect love, perfect understanding, perfect beauty.  But how do we go about attaining such perfection? What is the secret to the “perfect” life?

What motivates us? What drives us forward? What knowledge bring us closer to our goal? How do we practice the art of living?

— Srimati Carrie

FROM GURUS AND SWAMIS:

“True human life is a process of sacrifice of the immediate, the individual, and the apparent for a realization of life that is eternal, infinite and formless.”

— Swami Kamalananda, Reflections on Still waters p 40

“If we attune to that harmony of life we master it and we master life.” 

— Swami Kamalananda, The Mystic Cross, p 77

“Life receives a new light when love of God is awakened in the heart.”

— Swami Premananda, The Inner Path to God, p 77

NOBLE THOUGHTS:

“So shall we come to look at the world with new eyes. It shall answer the endless inquiry: What is truth? And what is good?...  Build, therefore, your own world. As fast as you conform your life to the pure idea in your mind, that will unfold its great proportion.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"One who speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness abides with him as his own shadow.”

— Buddha

“Let me make my life simple and straight like a flute of reed to be filled with music.”

— Rabindranath Tagore

“Purity of life is the highest and truest art.”

— Mahatma Gandhi