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I don't regret that I'm no longer young. It's a wast of time, and anyway, I've done being young. I had a great time, but now I'm having a great time being old.
- Michael Caine (written in his 85th year)  (public domain photo www.pixabay.com) Many yoga studios and all Hindu temples display stone or metal deity images. These are referred to disparagingly by Christians who accuse yogis of idol worship. This is, of course, a fraudulent accusation. Hindus and yogis do not worship and venerate a human crafted “idol.” Rather the image is used to feel divine energies such as love, compassion, generosity as well as awakening reverence, deepening spirituality and generating wisdom. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains that the “idols” or images of the Gods “are the form through which their love, power and blessings flood forth into this world. We may liken this to our ability to communicate with others through a phone. We do not talk to the phone itself: rather we use it as a means of communication with another person. With the telephone, we could not converse across long distances; without the sanctified icon in the temple, we cannot easily commune with the Deity.” The yogic diet is vegetarian. There are three reasons for this.
First, animals are considered sentient beings. Therefore, they are entitled to respect and compassion. They are not to be killed in order to please the palate. Secondly, yogic practitioners seek to protect and strengthen the body. So meat eating is discouraged for health reasons. This is in keeping with modern scientific research which reveals that a vegetarian diet offers these benefits: better cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, increases life longevity, prevents obesity, reduces cancer risk and more. Thirdly, a vegetarian diet sustains and supports an expansive spiritual life. Yogic scholar Georg Feuerstein observes: “Vegetarianism is definitely the rule within Hindu Yoga. Behind this dietary preference lies the strong moral conviction that in order to reach enlightenment, we must avoid harming others. Meat eating clearly involves harming.” Don't be afraid of failure. I have found failure to be a great teacher, whose lesson is 'Don't do that again.' - Michael Caine
This planet is our home. Taking care of our world and of our planet is like looking after our own home. - Dalai Lama14th
A great deal of what comes into our lives is beyond our control. However, the one area where we do have control is in how we treat ourselves. It is completely within our power, within our control to treat ourselves as we would a good, close, invaluable friend. When a cherished companion has experienced a failure we do not add to the pain telling them they were careless, inept, foolish. Yet, when we have a similar disappointment, too often we deepen the hurt by thinking and speaking negatively, harshly to ourselves. This does not need to happen. When it does, exercise self control. Treat yourself compassionately. - VMP
Many people complain, 'I'm busy, busy!' What are they so busy with? They're busy being used by their delusory desires. That's all. - Homeless Kodo Sawaki
Without a doubt, our simple breathing meditation contains the seed of enlightenment. - Tulku Thondup
“I am in favor or birth control. Birth control methods should be publicized and promoted. Forbidding this on ancient religious grounds is definitely harmful sometimes. But how can we make rules more flexible? It is quite normal the the Pope should be directly influenced by the religious traditions he represents. Thus, he is attached to the principle that human life is precious and the maximum number of beings should benefit from it. But there is another principle which contradicts this. It involves a different kind of respect for life: the wish to protect all live, not only human life but also the lives of animals and all living beings. These two principles are in conflict. For Buddhists, no choices are ever absolutely right. It seems to me that our intelligence is there so we can use it to be flexible and adaptable. An intelligence that is blocked is not intelligent.” - Dalai Lama 14th
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
December 2023
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