Tag Archives: life

Guidelines for Devotees of Ramakrishna Math

Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj is said to have written this list of ten guidelines for the devotees of Ramakrishna Math. (Highlights are mine.) 1. Be regular and steady in your spiritual practices. This is the best way of serving one’s Guru. … Continue reading

Posted in spiritual life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Purpose of Life – A Perspective Based on Evolution

This material Universe began with the Big Bang more than thirteen and a half billion years ago. The Universe evolved from a mass of energy to subatomic particles. It took more than a hundred million years for the Universe to … Continue reading

Posted in hinduism, spiritual life, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sadhana Panchakam in the Bhagavad Gita

The Sadhana Panchakam of Sri Adi Sankaracharya is very popular. In that, forty sadhanas (साधना) or spiritual disciplines are given in five verses. Here is a set of five slokas in the Bhagavad Gita that gives a sequence of about … Continue reading

Posted in hinduism, spiritual life, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rumi’s Philosophy

(I prepared this as a part of an assignment for a course.) The Sufi tradition claims its origin with the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali abn Abi Talib. It has incorporated the teachings of several spiritual traditions around the world like Christianity, … Continue reading

Posted in religion, spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Panca Kosha Viveka – Analysis of the Five Sheaths

The Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and other texts like Tattvabodha present an analysis of panca koshas (five sheaths) that manifest our individuality. We can understand our true nature by this analysis. The outermost sheath is the annamaya kosha (physical sheath). This … Continue reading

Posted in advaita, hinduism, religion, spiritual life, vedanta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment