Vedanta Society of Kansas City

You see, my son, it is not a fact that you will never face dangers. Difficulties always come, but they do not last forever. You will see that they pass away like water under a bridge.

Maa Sayings... "Is the mind the cause of troubles only? Even when you try to attain to Brahman, you shall have to carry with you the mind, too. When you attain ...to It, none of them will be there. At the present stage the assistance of the mind is very necessary. It is the pure mind which shows man the path." Shree Maa... Om Namo Bhagavate Ramakrishnaya!!!

"I see people who talk about religion constantly quarrelling with one another. Hindus, Mussalmans, Brahmos, Saktaa, Vaishnavas, Saivas, all quarrel with one ano...ther. They don't have the intelligence to understand that He who is called Krishna is also Siva and the Primal Sakti, and that it is He, again, who is called Jesus and Allah. There is only one Rama and He has a thousand names." - Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna Dev.

Thanks for the Blessings. Life tends to give us what we need, it may not be what we want but it will be what we need. Actions - Reactions throughout our lives... we receive what we need to grow and learn in this lifetime. If we grasp such lessons and grow accordingly we will become spiritually enlightened. Instead of wasting our life complaining of the things that have happened, and the problems we face. Let us Step back for a moment on a regular basis and discover and appreciate the many blessings in our lives. Let's Make a list of all your blessings. We will be amazed at how many wonderful things there are to give thanks for. Leave the materialistic things aside. They are shallow and meaningless. Pay attention to and focus on the things that are free and bring joy and humility to your life. For example, our mind, body, spirit, health, family, friends, flowers, trees, sea, sun, love, faith, knowledge, the countryside, animals, birds, etc., the list is endless. When we appreciate the true wonders of life and let go of the materialistic things we are bound to enjoy our life more.

Maa Sayings... 'Sri Ramakrishna spoke about nothing but God. He used to tell me, 'Do you notice this human body? Today it is and tomorrow it is not. And coming ...to this world it suffers no end of misery and pain. Why should one worry about taking another birth? God alone is eternally true. If one can call on Him, it is good. Taking a body one has to suffer from its accompanying troubles!' Shree Maa... Om Namah Sri Bhagavate Ramakrishnaya...

The Master saw dabchicks floating, diving and swimming in the water of Haldar’s pond, but there would be not a drop of water sticking to themthey would just sh...ake it off. He gave their example and said that in this world one should live like theselive in the midst of worldly possessions, but from one’s mind one should completely shake off the attachment for them. The Master used to teach everybody to live in the world completely unattached. See more

"My child ! Those who have taken shelter, those who haven't come yet, those who are about to come; all are blessed with my love and blessings." - Sri Sarada Dev...i ! , , -- , -

Inspiring Sayings of Swami Vivekananda

Open your grief-stricken heart to the Lord. Weep and sincerely pray, ‘O Lord, draw me towards You; give me peace of mind.’ By doing so constantly you will gradually attain peace of mind.

Sri Ramakrishna's method was peculiar. He did not tell a man to give up everything. On the contrary, he would say : "Go on, My Children and enjoy all you wish. ...The Divine Mother has given this universe for your enjoyment. But as you enjoy, remember always that it does not come from yourself but out of mother's bounty. Never forget Her in your pleasure, but always recognize that it is from Her." In this way, by becoming mindful of the Mother, the person would gradually lose all taste for the pleasure of the senses. - 'God Lived with Them' (Life Stories of sixteen Monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna) By Swami Chetananada.

[03/10/2020] HOLY MOTHER SRI SARADA DEVI'S UNBOUNDED FREEDOM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -... - - - - - WHENEVER ONE GETS THE OPPORTUNITY ONE MAY CALL ON HER Come one and all! The Holy Mother is waiting with open arms to embrace all to her oceanic bosom. Any one can call upon her at any time, at any odd hour, in rain or shine. Worry not about the time of her rest or convenience, all her time and toil is for our sake. Worry not if you have nothing to offer, have not read a single scripture, or have committed many blunders. Her very sight would fill you with joy indescribable. Her very glance would dispel all your ignorance and sorrows. She is none other than the Divine Mother descended in this valley of woes to take us across this transmigratory ocean of life and death. A girl desperately wanted to see Sri Maa, but her husband didn't approve. She pressed Kshirodbala, her friend, to accompany her to Mother's house after her husband had left for the office. It was the Mother's rest time when they arrived. Golap- ma scolded Kshirodbala for bringing the girl at that time and disturbing Maa's rest. Kshirodbala heard Mother calling her: 'Who is this girl dear? Did Golap scold you, because you have come at this hour? Well, it is the Master's kingdom! No rules and regulations are valid here. Here the door is open to all. Whenever one gets the opportunity one may call on me.' The Gospel Of The Holy Mother JAI MAA

Maa Sayings... "Repeat the Name of God in the innermost core of your heart, and in all sincerity take refuge in the Master. Do not bother to know how your mind ...is reacting to things around. And do not waste time in calculating and worrying whether or not you are progressing in the path of spirituality. It is Ahamkara to judge progress for oneself. Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta." Shree Maa... Om Namah Sri Bhagavate Ramakrishnaya!!!

You see, in one form He is the Absolute and in another He is the Relative. What does Vedanta teach? Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. Isn't that so?... But as long as God keeps the 'ego of a devotee' in a man, the Relative is also real. When He completely effaces the ego, then what is remains. That cannot be described by the tongue. But as long as God keeps the ego, one must accept all. you removing the outer sheaths of the plantain-tree, you reach the inner pith. As long as the tree contains sheaths, it also contains pith. So too, as long as it contains pith, it also contains sheaths. The pith goes with the sheaths and the sheaths go with the pith. In the same way, when you speak of the Nitya, it is understood that the Lila also exists; and when you speak of the Lila, it is understood that the Nitya also exists. It is He alone who has become the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. When He is actionless, I call Him Brahman; when He creates, preserves, and destroys, I call Him Sakti. Brahman and Sakti are not different from each other. Water is water, whether it is still or moving. It is not possible to rid oneself of 'I-consciousness'. And as long as one is aware of this 'I-consciousness', one cannot speak of the universe and its living beings as unreal. You cannot get the correct weight of the bel-fruit if you leave out its shell and pits. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, (Photo: Sri Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna Mission Delhi -3rd September 2020) #sriramakrishna #realization #sadhana #Knowledge #yoga #Meditation #Atman #consciousness #Mother #Gita #Vedas #Jnana #Bhakti #faith #god #swami #vivekananda #devotee #vijnana #renunciation #Narada #Rama

"Such is life, here today, gone tomorrow ! Nothing goes with one, except one's merit and demerit ; good and evil deeds follow one even after death. One must be ...patient like the earth. What inequities are being perpetrated on her, yet she quietly endures them all. Man too should be like that. The Master (Sri Ramakrishna) used to say : * 'Sha, Sha, Sha' - Exercise patience in everything." - Holy Mother, Sri Sarada devi. *(Three consonants of the bengali alphabet having similar sounds. In this context they stand for bengali word - Sahya ie 'Forbearance' Thus the expression means : Forbear, Forbear, Forbear.)

Here in India, there are several dangers. Of these, the two, Scylla and Charybdis, rank materialism and its opposite arrant superstition, must be avoided. Ther...e is the man today who after drinking the cup of Western wisdom, thinks that he knows everything. He laughs at the ancient sages. All Hindu thought to him is arrant trash philosophy mere child’s prattle, and religion the superstition of fools. On the other hand, there is the man educated, but a sort of monomaniac, who runs to the other extreme and wants to explain the omen of this and that. He has philosophical and metaphysical, and Lord knows what other puerile explanations for every superstition that belongs to his peculiar race, or his peculiar gods, or his peculiar village. Every little village superstition is to him a mandate of the Vedas, and upon the carrying out of it, according to him, depends the national life. You must beware of this. I would rather see every one of you rank atheists than superstitious fools, for the atheist is alive and you can make something out of him. But if superstition enters, the brain is gone, the brain is softening, degradation has seized upon the life. Avoid these two.

A real Guru is one who is born from time to time as a repository of spiritual force which he transmits to future generations through successive links of Guru an...d Shishya (disciple). The current of this spirit-force changes its course from time to time, just as a mighty stream of water opens up a new channel and leaves the old one for good. Thus it is seen that old sects of religion grow lifeless in the course of time, and new sects arise with the fire of life in them. Men who are truly wise commit themselves to the mercy of that particular sect through which the current of life flows. Old forms of religion are like the skeletons of once mighty animals, preserved in museums. They should be regarded with the due honour. They cannot satisfy the true cravings of the soul for the Highest, just as a dead mango-tree cannot satisfy the cravings of a man for luscious mangoes.

[28/06/2020] SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S PHENOMINAL SURRENDER TO GOD , TO HIS GURU SRI RAMAKRISHNA (3) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "All my life I have been taking every circumstance as coming from Him and calmly adapting myself to it. At first in America I was afraid that I would have to cater for myself - and what a horrid piece of ingratitude was that! I now clearly see that He, who was guiding me on the snow tops of Himalayas and the burning plains of India is here to help me and guide me. Somebody or the other gives me a shelter and food, somebody or other asks me to speak about Him and I know He sends them and mine is to obey." CW, 7 JAI THAKUR JAI SWAMIJI

"Don't be afraid. Call upon the Lord and repeat His sacred and potent name; nothing else will be needed." - Swami Shivananda

[16/06/2020] ONENESS ALONE IS LOVE AND FEARLESSNESS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Onenes...s alone is love and fearlessness; separation leads us to hatred and fear. Oneness fulfils the law. Here, on earth, we strive to enclose little spaces and exclude outsiders, but we cannot do that in the sky, though that is what sectarian religion tries to do when it says, "Only this way leads to salvation, all others are wrong". Our aim should be to wipe out these little enclosures to widen the boundaries until they are lost sight of, and to realise that all religions lead to God. This little puny self must be sacrificed. This is the truth symbolised by baptism into a new life, the death of the old man, the birth of the new the perishing of the false self, the realisation of the Atman, the one Self of the universe. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA:C.W. Volume 8 JAI SWAMIJI