Vedanta Quotes

“Draw some dashes on a paper. Now mentally try to create a line by joining two of more dashes. Did you do it? Where is the line you just created? It’s in your mind. It has no existence except in your mind.

The relationship between you and the line you just created is same as the relationship between the supreme soul (Paramaatma) and soul. The souls have no separate existence.”
― Shunya

“Good-bad, hot-cold, high-low, left-right: When you rise above all these pairs, you experience the final pair which seems to encapsulate everything else. Different Yogis call his final pair with different names: Shiva-Shakti, Existence-Nonexistence, Srishti-Shunya, Pure Masculine-Pure Feminine, Being-Nonbeing. You must transcend this final pair too. The desire to cling to one side of this final pair, the desire to always be Shunya or Shiva or Feminine or Nonbeing, stops you from having the absolute experience of Paramatma. You have to realize that Shiva and Shakti are same. Srishti as a whole is Shunya. Pure Masculine is pure Feminine.”
― Shunya

“In Banaras, I asked a monk, “To hold onto human character, one must have at least one desire. What is your desire.” He replied, “I have only one desire: Moksha or liberation from mortal bodies.”

I said, “You are using the desire to leave the body to hold on to the body. Isn’t that contradiction? Aren’t you stuck in a loop of contradiction?”
Recently, I met an old man in Chamundi Hills. He was singing praise of Maa Chamundi. I asked him, “Baba, what is your one desire that you are using to hold onto this body?” He replied, “Desire to sing songs in praise of Maa Chamundi.”

I asked, “What about the desire of Moksha? Don’t you want to be free from this bondage?” He replied, “There is just one soul who is free- the Paramatma. I am that.”

I said, “But how come you are stuck in this human body?” He said, “Young man! My mortal form is only in your mind. When you let go of your mind, you can meet me as Paramatma - the free soul. Then there is no you and me. There is just Paramatma.”
― Shunya

“It’s interval time in a multiplex cinema hall. You just watched first half of Movie-1. It was boring. You wish you could have watched Movie-2 instead which is running parallely in another auditorium.

A manager called “Paramatma” approaches you with a solution. He puts your head between two electrodes and erases first half of Movie-1 from your mind. Then he transfers first half of Movie-2 directly in your mind.

Now you enter inside the auditorium where Movie-2 is running and watch its second half. After watching the movie-2, you come out. Manager Paramatma says, “I migrated you from Movie-1 to Movie-2 in interval. I hope you are satisfied with my service.”

You say, “What the hell are you talking about? I only watched Movie-2 from start to finish. I never watched Movie-1. If I had watched, I would remember.”

Paramatma smiles and says, “Thank you for your positive feedback.”
― Shunya

“At a place, I heard the river talking to the banks, “I have travelled so far, how far to go before I reach the ocean? Please guide.”

The banks were silent. But there was an answer in the silence, “From the origin to the end, you are a single unit, 0 River! Stop identifying yourself as water. You, the river, are already in touch with the ocean.”
― Shunya

“Treat the entire external world - thoughts, things and people - as a single unit, a single person. Her name is Maya. You, the soul, are in a unique relationship with her. For any happy relationship, space is important. So, leave her alone once in a while. In other words, meditate!”
― Shunya

“A man called Mr. Mind died. His wife Mrs. Soul was in the process of transferring all his property papers in her name. Then she came across his death certificate. She said to her lawyer, “I want all his papers in my name and this paper also belongs to him. Transfer it in my name.” Lawyer did that. Now she was also legally dead! She could no longer claim her husband’s properties. She was absolutely nothing now.
This is the last step in spiritual journey. The concept of soul has to die so that only the soul remains. The concept belongs to the mind. If you don’t let go of it, you are still attached to the mind.”
― Shunya

“Mind is like a wild horse that either runs after something or runs away from something. You are not the mind. You are the rider sitting still.”
― Shunya

“The journey to know the “I” is called inward journey. Whether you are studying galaxies or blackholes or quantum particles, never forget that your purpose is to know the “I”, not what the “I” is seeing.

Watch “I” changing its location. When you are eating delicious meal “I” is body. When you are reading book, “I” is mind. Who is watching mind? Another partition of mind. When you keep watching “I”, you will realize that “I” is “nothingness” and it just gets attached things like body or mind.”
― Shunya

“Imagine that a scientist creates a human clone in a lab based on the genes of a real man called Raghu. It looks exactly like Raghu. Through virtual reality (VR), its mind is fed with experiences and memories of Raghu so that now it believes that it is Raghu. Now both of them -Raghu and the clone - behave exactly the same way. They cry on same things, laugh on same things. How would you find out which one of them has a soul?”
― Shunya

“If all cards were same, there would be no game. When you start seeing the one supreme power in everything and everyone, the game of Maya (Space-Time) is over.”
― Shunya

“Mind can't go inward. It can only go in opposite direction- from pleasure to pain, from chaos to discipline.”
― Shunya

“Mind can't go inward. It can only go in opposite direction- from pleasure to pain, from chaos to discipline.

While trying to find the path which is beyond all opposites, you will realize that you are not mind.”
― Shunya

“The Upanishads teach monism, that all is God or the Absolute, Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma, “Everything is Brahman”. But they do not do this in simply an abstract manner. That One Being is present in all of us as our own deeper and immortal soul and Self, the Atman, Aham Brahmasmi, “I am Brahman” or the Absolute. In this regard, the Upanishads probably first clearly set forth in human history a way of Self-Knowledge taking us to the Absolute. Yet theism is also present in many places in the Upanishads, a recognition of One God or Isvara as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe and the ability to unite with Him (or Her) through meditation. The Upanishads also say Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam, “All this universe is pervaded by the Lord”
― David Frawley, The Principal Upanishads: The Essential Philosophical Foundation of Hinduism

“By fulfilling his dharma a man marches along the path of progress until he attains the supreme dharma of all beings, namely, the realization of Truth. (p. 28)”
― Adi Shankaracharya, Self-Knowledge: Atmabodha

“The universe is dark and infinite. Then how come this little scene happening before me so vibrant with colours, shapes, patterns, sounds, sensations? This childlike wonder will keep you in eternal bliss. On the other hand, human characters and stories will give you highs-lows, pain-pleasure, hope-fear, stress-release and so on.”
― Shunya

“Suppose you believe in the theory that this universe is just energy. All people, objects and thoughts are just different forms and frequencies of energy. Ok. But then this whole theory itself is just energy. It helped you to unhook from everything. Now why don't you unhook from this theory too? Most seekers don't unhook from the last hook and their mind becomes twisted.”
― Shunya

“The unity of existence is the foundation of all ethical codes. Properly understood, it widens the bounds of charity beyond humanity to include the animal world as well. Self-love is the mainspring of man‘s action and the raison d'être of his love for others. We learn from Non-dualistic Vedanta that the true Self of man is the Self of all beings. Therefore, self-love finds its expression and fulfilment in love for all. – Swami Nikhilananda”
― Adi Shankaracharya, Self-Knowledge: Atmabodha

“A character can't get out of a story. But thankfully, you're not a character. You are just attached to a character.”
― Shunya

“Body-mind seems like a movie character and life becomes enjoyable like a movie when you (soul) slightly detach from body-mind.

That detachment can't be forced. It happens like a ripe fruit detaching from tree. To become ripe, surrender and let the universe take you through certain life experiences.”
― Shunya

“This world is an illusion." Only the awakened beings have the right to make this statement. They feel compassion for even a broken car because they can see God in everything. Other people may draw a completely negative meaning out of this statement.”
― Shunya

“Man has infinite power within himself, and he can realise it - he can realise himself as the one infinite Self. It can be done; but you do not believe it. You pray to God and keep your powder dry all the time.
“The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.3573, Manonmani Publishers”
― Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

“Ein großes kosmisches Spiel. Lila ist das Sanskrit-Wort dafür. Es ist Maya, eine große Illusion, denn die einzige Wirklichkeit ist DAS, vor dessen Augen sich dieses Spiel vollzieht: Atman. Unsere Essenz. (s. 64)”
― Ralph Skuban, Die Bhagavad Gita

“Yoga ist der Weg der Reinigung. Er beginnt mit dem Körper und führt zum Geist. Wenn der Geist rein ist wie ein Kristall, dann durchstrahlt ihn das innere Licht, das ist Samadhi. Buddha nannte diesen Zustand Nirvana. Im Zen heißt er Satori oder Kensho. Jesus nennt ihn Himmelreich. (S. 76)”
― Ralph Skuban, Die Bhagavad Gita

“When you're 'nothing', you're the origin of your reality. When you're a body-mind, you're the prisoner of your reality.”
― Shunya

“What if these people and things (including your body-mind) are just an illusion appearing on a screen? What if you are the only reality? What if you're the only one in the universe? What if you're the Paramatma?”
― Shunya

“All human beings, according to the conception of the Vedic seers, form the physical body of the Purusha, or Cosmic Person. The spiritual men form, as it were, his head, the warriors His arms, the merchants and traders His thighs and the labourers His feet. A healthy co-ordination among these four classes of people sustains the strength and the well-being of a society, as a harmony among the four principal physical parts insures the strength and well-being of a body. (p. 30)”
― Adi Shankaracharya, Self-Knowledge: Atmabodha

“All this is but the reflection of the truth. Nothing but the one Brahman exists. ‘I am different from this’ is pure fancy: give it up, O Rama. The one self perceives itself within itself as the infinite consciousness. Therefore, there is no sorrow, no delusion, no birth (creation), nor creature: whatever is, is. Be free from distress, O Rama. Be free of duality; remain firmly established in the self, abandoning even concern for your own welfare. Be at peace within, with a steady mind. Let there be no sorrow in your mind. Rest in the inner silence. Remain alone, without self-willed thoughts. Be brave, having conquered the mind and the senses. Be desireless, content with what comes to you unsought. Live effortlessly, without grabbing or giving up anything. Be free from all mental perversions and from the blinding taint of illusion. Rest content in your own self. Thus, be free from all distress. Remain in an expansive state in the self, like the full ocean. Rejoice in the self by the self, like the blissful rays of the full moon. – Vasistha”
― Venkatesananda, Vasistha's Yoga

“Crying is sacred. When you break down and cry, your mind loosens its grip on the soul. (Mind's grip on the soul is root cause of all misery).”
― Shunya

“All your spiritual knowledge will just remain a theory until you go in full solitude. How long will you keep talking to your shadows (people around you)?”
― Shunya