Monthly Archives: December 2008

The True Christmas Spirit

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Especially in the United States, Christmas has become a commercial holiday — people of all religious backgrounds and ethnicities celebrate this holiday, regardless of whether or not they even know the religious significance of the holiday. Even in my house, we celebrate Christmas just as an excuse to give and receive presents to one another…this [...]

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Intersection of the four yogas

Thursday, December 25, 2008

In Karma Yoga, Swami Vivekananda says the following:
“So karma, bhakti, and jnana all meet here; and this is what was meant by all the great preachers of ancient times when they taught that God is not the world. The world is one thing and God is another; and this distinction is true. What they mean [...]

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The world is like a dog’s curly tail

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Swami Vivekananda, in his lecture series on Karma Yoga, said:
“This world is like a dog’s curly tail, and people have been striving to straighten it out for hundreds of years; but when they let it go, it curls up again.”
For the longest time, this quote really bothered me — how could anyone, especially a saintly [...]

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