Om Swami's Blog, page 8

Expansion of Consciousness

You have probably heard me and other meditators use the phrase “expansion of consciousness”. It is one of the most phenomenal rewards of prolonged quality meditation. Two related questions that I’ve been often asked are: is meditation the only way? ... Read more →

Six Aspects of Enlightenment

“I’ve studied the discourses of the Buddha, I’ve reflected on my own path and the purpose of life, and yet, I remain unclear and confused as ever,” said the valiant king Gautamiputra.“Unclear about what? O King!” Nagarjuna questioned.“About the whole ... Read more →

Four Kinds of Maturity

Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself. ((Quote by Tom Wilson.)) Funny but true. We normally assume that people mature with age, however, many just age and don’t mature. A couple of months ... Read more →

A Beetle’s Life

At times, I feel sorry for the Beatles…err, I mean the beetles I find here and there in the ashram. One lay just outside my door this morning, it was resting casually while I had been working hard. It seemed ... Read more →

What Makes You a Saint

I was quite excited. The year was 2008 and we had organized the recitation of the Srimad Bhagavatam ((Srimad Bhagavatam, narrating the glories of Lord Vishnu, is one of the chief holy scriptures of Hinduism.)) in Haridwar. Although it doesn’t ... Read more →

Disrespect

At seventy-three years of age, the great and once-austere Kalanos sat unflinchingly on a raging pyre. “This body has grown old,” he had said. “It is becoming useless with each passing day. I no longer wish to lug it around.” ... Read more →

Maturity

Do you ever feel that life is playing some kind of a prank on you? Strike that, actually. Life is a prank. In other words, as much as the outcome may catch you by surprise, it was supposed to be ... Read more →

Will You Regret it?

How do you make decisions in life? I mean, when you have to think about whether you should do something, how do you arrive at a decision? Do you have some sort of criteria or you simply go with your ... Read more →

When the Dog Barks

The master storyteller, Osho, in Living on Your Own Terms cites a beautiful story about dogs by Kahlil Gibran. Although I do not recall reading any such fable in Gibran’s works nor could I find a reference online. Admittedly, he did write The ... Read more →

The Four Noble Truths

Have you noticed that we often admire others based on not how they are in reality but on what image of them we hold in our minds? And, when we fall in love with the image or idea of a ... Read more →