This spirit of service, in a way, was nurtured through these experiences. Swami Atmasthananda and others like him have held my hand throughout my journey, constantly guiding me at every step.
What is the problem with the greed on Wall Street that's actually creating such a destabilization in our own economy? The atman, the living force within us is perfect.
The "Bhagavad Gita" gives the example that the body is a machine. And the atma is the person who animates the machine. As long as the driver is in the machine, the machine works.
But it appears to be alive, because of the presence of the atma . But that atma has its own requirements, just like the body does. And if we pay too much attention to the body and neglect the needs of the atma , we will feel frustrated.
But actually, there is no death. That soul-- that atma , I should say-- that atma has no birth or death. And this is a very important point.
Like even within the Vedic literature, there's a nice example that the atma is like a spark, and the jiva-atma is like a fire. So when the spark falls out of the fire, it loses its fiery quality.
We hate people, thinking of them as the body. But when the atma leaves the body, we cry. I mean, if we love the person, we cry.
The eyes, the nose, the years, the tongue-- all the parts of the body are there, but the person is gone. So that atma is the person, not the body. And so the param-atma , the supreme person,
So that atma is the person, not the body. And so the param-atma , the supreme person, is also a person.
And if they speak the same language, the potential for a relationship is even greater, and so many things. So the atma , jiva-atma , has the potential for a relationship with the param-atma , because they're both atmas , spiritual, and persons.
So the atma , jiva-atma , has the potential for a relationship with the param-atma , because they're both atmas , spiritual, and persons. And they have a natural relationship, because the jiva-atma is like a part of the param-atma .
comes from "yoga." So "bhakti yoga" means to be connected or united, reunited with the param-atma or Krishna. Krishna is a name for the param-atma .
So yes, animals do have a soul. And when the atma leaves the body-- I've described the ideal, that it goes to the spiritual realm.
So yes, animals do have a soul. So the jiva-atma 's naturally attracted to the param-atma .
So yes, animals do have a soul. Just like we're atmas , they are also atmas , but they're in that kind of body.
But the soul, the atman, is beyond all these things. But when the atman, due to the ahamkar, or the false ego, identifies with this temporary body and this mind, instead of understanding I am in my body, when we think I am this body, I am observing life through this mind, I am this mind,
But some things go on. And that something is the atma . And that is of a different quality than the body.
And they couldn't actually touch him. So knowing that we're the atma , that we're not the body, and that the atma will continue to exist after the demise of the body, it is worth considering where we go after we leave that body.
"No, my father is gone. My father is gone." Because the atma is gone. That's your real father.
During his life, you might have identified him as the body, but when the atma leaves the body, you know that body is not him. So the person is the atma , not the body. The eyes, the nose, the years, the tongue-- all the parts of the body are there, but the person is gone.
And according to the "Bhagavad Gita," if that supreme person-- if you think of the param-atma at the time of death, then you go to the param-atma . And because you're a person, jiva-atma , and he is a person, param-atma , so you have a relationship.
with the param-atma or Krishna. Krishna is a name for the param-atma . But generally, the param-atma , when we refer to param-atma , means "within the heart." The jiva-atma and the param-atma are both within the area
So yes, animals do have a soul. And we know that the atma 's there, because they're conscious.
So yes, animals do have a soul. And if we understand that the atma is eternal, we'll know that that person is still
A few years before that, I brought a group of teenagers to King's Canyon, where the biggest Sequoia trees in Sanskrit is called the Atma .
Then, we can really fulfill our self-interest. And the "Bhagavad Gita" says that person is the atma . Now, where does death come in?
Krishna is a name for the param-atma . But generally, the param-atma , when we refer to param-atma , means "within the heart." The jiva-atma and the param-atma are both within the area of the heart when they are in the body.
So yes, animals do have a soul. So we really have to become attached to the param-atma , which is natural.
So yes, animals do have a soul. So if we have that attachment for the param-atma , then-- the "Bhagavad Gita" gives another example
So yes, animals do have a soul. And it is a fact that when the atma leaves the body,
So you can pick up one when you go. And then we also have this program called "Atma ." They have some flyers out there. So this, of course, is on the "Bhagavad Gita." Some of us are doing here.
And so, during all of the conflict and difficulty that's been happening in Baltimore, every day The Holistic Life Foundation, Ali and Atman Smith and Andy Gonzales, they've been doing these mindfulness days in the park. So while the city was burning, they were getting people together to be able to meditate on what those really difficult emotions that
But to understand the unity within diversity is the secret of actually finding peace and being an instrument of peace within this word. That atman, or that living force, that soul, is the true self. And at the time of death, according to the "Gita," when this car of the body is no longer suitable to us, we go
For every action, there's an equal corresponding reaction. But the soul, the atman, is beyond all these things. But when the atman, due to the ahamkar, or the false ego, identifies with this temporary body and this mind, instead of
and what is my relationship with others. The "Bhagavad Gita" tells , that we are the atma , the living force that is seeing through the eyes and tasting through the tongue, and hearing through the ears.
That spark is a person, and the fire is a big person. Not persons like the body, but the atma . In fact, that big spark has its own name, which is param-atma .
if you think of the param-atma at the time of death, then you go to the param-atma . And because you're a person, jiva-atma , and he is a person, param-atma , so you have a relationship. You can have a relationship when there's common factors.
But the one thing we don't lose is our consciousness. And if we make that effort to realize our relationship with the param-atma , then that exists. And that's, in a way, all that matters.
So yes, animals do have a soul. who you are, understand the jiva-atma and the param-atma , and the relationship between them.
But to know what our real self-interest is, we have to know what or who our real self is. And the "Bhagavad Gita" tells us that that self, that "atma "-- "atma " means "self"-- is not material. It's not physical or chemical.
It never actually is alive. But it appears to be alive, because of the presence of the atma . But that atma has its own requirements, just like the body does.
But that atma has its own requirements, just like the body does. And if we pay too much attention to the body and neglect the needs of the atma , we will feel frustrated. And many people do.
it can sound impersonal. Like even within the Vedic literature, there's a nice example that the atma is like a spark, and the jiva-atma is like a fire.
Because again, if we analyze, personality could be caused either by the consciousness-- the atma -- or the body. Now, when the atma leaves the body, there's no more personality in the body. We love people. We adore people.
with the param-atma , because they're both atmas , spiritual, and persons. And they have a natural relationship, because the jiva-atma is like a part of the param-atma . And we are satisfied in that position in that relationship.
And that can be realized even within this very life, and in this body. And that process of linking or reuniting ourselves, the jiva-atma with the param-atma , is called bhakti yoga.
So yes, animals do have a soul. that the change of body is like, we've fixed on the param-atma in this body, and we'll stay fixed on the param-atma .
This spirit of service, in a way, was nurtured through these experiences. Among them, I formed a special bond with Swami Atmasthananda Ji.
This spirit of service, in a way, was nurtured through these experiences. - And for people who don't know that moment in Ramakrishna mission ashram with with the monk Swami Atmasthananda, as you mentioned.
"That shining, everything else shines. the one consciousness. This one consciousness known as Brahman or Atman in Advaita Vedanta, is nondual, Advaita, not two,