Yesterday I had tea with Swami Yogeshananda. I have met Swami a couple of times at different interfaith meetings here in Atlanta. He is a very interesting guy. He was raised Presbyterian, worked for the American Friends Service Committee during World War II and then became a Hindu. He told me about the Vedanta Center where he lives and works, giving me a couple of books to read about Hinduism. He asked me what I wanted to do in life. I started to answer and then just explained that I use to know what I wanted to do, but now I am just honestly not very sure. He said that not knowing what you want to do is a very good thing, because it makes you dig deep within yourself to get to know yourself better. It was such a relief to admit that I don't really know where I am headed from here. And it was wonderful to get assurance from him that taking the time to get to know myself was exactly what I need to be doing.
Today's quotations are in honor of Swami
Chhandogya Upanishad (pronouns modified)
"The Self is below, Self is above, the Self is behind, in front, to the right and to the left. The Self has become all this. She who understands this and thinks this way has her pleasure in the Self, her delight in the Self, her bliss in the Self, She is independent and has freedom of movement in all the worlds. But those who think otherwise are ruled by other and have no freedom.
2 comments:
i'm glad you talked with that guy. and i agree, it is kind of a gift to be forced to dig into yourself; because with you, you know you're going to find some awesome jewels and stuff. :)
Swami... is that a name or a title? Makes me think of that time we asked Dr. Griffith how he addressed the Dali Llama in class.
My Yogi tea bag this morning tells me that "wisdom, character and consciousness conquer everything." I think that'll be my quote for today. I've always wanted to conquer things!
Post a Comment