If Truth Be Told: A Monk's Memoir

by Om Swami

Verses from the Yajur Veda are used in the invocation of various

forms of divine energies.

This is what happens with most people: they are not in search of truth, they don’t want to know the truth; in fact, they are scared of the truth. They have an idea or belief that brings them solace and they merely

want someone to validate it for them. They will run hither and thither until someone agrees with them.

‘Spiritual practice and doubt are like light and darkness. They don’t go together. Have faith.’

getting. It is human nature to think that we are merely the subjects and that someone else, perhaps God, is calling the shots. It is convenient to believe that we are being punished or

But where to go looking for a

A few days later, New South Wales Police

(Many mothers give birth to sons, but a real mother is the one whose son devotes his life to a good cause. Otherwise, her going through the labour pain is a waste. A woman who expects welfare from a selfish son is better off being barren).

Suffering results in two types of people: those who become soft and gentle and do everything they can to ensure no one else has to suffer; and those who become hard and bitter, subjecting others to what they went through.

dakshinachara, the right-handed path; vamachara, the left-handed path; kaulachara, a school introduced by the Saivites of Kashmir, which emphasizes the Siva–Sakti union; samayachara, where the primordial energy of Mother Divine is worshipped within the body above the navel and descending into the lower chakras, and sexual union with a female consort is forbidden; and mishrachara, a system that allows mixed

practices depending on the state and stage of the seeker. Vamachara and kaulachara almost always involve rituals and sexual union with a consort of the opposite sex. Dakshinichara and samayachara, on the other hand, emphasize complete abstinence whereas mishrachara permits it at the discretion of the guru. The five paths of tantra originate from the Atharva Veda, the fourth Veda.

tantrik does not find union after death attractive; he wants to unite with the Supreme Soul while in the body. This requires complete annihilation of one’s societal conditioning of good and bad because a tantrik will engage in rituals that may be completely unacceptable to society. But tantra says that in order to experience and see God in everything, you must not be afraid of anything, you must face and experience all circumstances

The tantric way of worshipping Krishna involves invoking his eternal consort, Shakti, through Radha.

Kamakhya, the foremost tantra peetha, the land of tantric practices.

Basically, you can’t win people over if they don’t want to be won over by you. It’s not that they don’t want love or devotion; they do, but just not from you. They have invested their emotions somewhere else. You want to be their pet but they only see you as a dog, a watchdog perhaps. You are attached to them but they aren’t attached

saints have meditated in the Himalayas, and you can still feel their divine energy there. I don’t have any proof, nothing to substantiate this claim. But, having been around the world, I can say without the slightest hesitation that when it comes to spiritual vibrations and a certain purity, there is no other place in the world like the Himalayas.

The mountains of Switzerland, the meadows of New Zealand, the landscapes of

North America, the beaches of Australia, the sunny coasts of the Caribbean, the French countryside … I’ve been there, and these places simply don’t match the divinity that runs through the Himalayas. Those places offer exquisite beauty, no doubt; at times, they surpass the Himalayas when it comes to magnificence, unobstructed views, even the quietude and solitude...

Himalayas, you cannot get...

Meditation is predominantly of two types: concentrative and contemplative. In the first kind, you build your concentration. In the second, you use it to reflect on the nature of reality and your own

existence. Contemplative meditation gives birth to insight, and it is this insight that changes how you see and interpret the world around you. Deep concentration leads to samadhi, and deep contemplation allows you to maintain that state while dealing with the challenges of the world. I alternated between the two types of meditation.

‘Self-realization is not an instantaneous act. We may

Enlightenment teaches us how to live in the world with grace, independence and joy.’