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Dec. 8th, 2009

What is Spiritual Practice?

Had a lovely time catching up with Stacey yesterday and remember that one of the questions she asked had been about spiritual practice. The thought came to share SSRF's guidance on some of the basic principles and aspects of spiritual practice for those that may be interested :) Hope it helps give a more well rounded understanding :)

Definition of Spiritual Practice

Basic Principles of Spiritual Practice

1. There are as many paths to God as there are people
2. Going from many to one
3. Progressing from gross (tangible) to subtle (intangible)
4. Undertaking spiritual practice as per the spiritual level or spiritual capacity
5. Doing spiritual practice relevant to the times
6. Offering to God as per your talent or capacity


Aspects of Spiritual Practice

1. Prayer
2. Study of the science of Spirituality
3. Chanting as per the religion of your birth
4. Company of the Truth (Satsang)
5. Service unto the Truth (Satseva)
6. Sacrifice (Tyaag)
7. Spiritual Love - Love without expectations (Preetee)
8. Spiritual Emotion (Bhaav)
9. Removing Personality Defects
10. Reducing Ego


Posted at 10:33 am | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Dec. 7th, 2009

Article written about the Ancestors Workshop

A Langara journalist student wrote a short article for their school's newspaper on the most recent workshop on the spiritual research conducted on ancestors :)
(Click image to enlarge)

Posted at 11:27 pm | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

"Spirituality prepares us for natural disasters and unexpected events"

An article by Rajal, a very nice seeker from Toronto :)

Science has failed to predict calamities which have never been experienced before. Saints, on the other hand, have predicted such things.

On the evening of August 20, 2009, the Canadian city of Vaughan (just north of Toronto) got hit by a series of tornadoes. The tornadoes were completely unexpected as the “Tornado Alley” of the region runs much further west of Vaughan. A later search on Wikipedia showed that there hadn’t been any reported tornadoes in Vaughan up until then.

I was interested in this because while I live in Toronto, and we did not get the tornadoes, I witnessed the storm that brought them. My first reaction to the storm was that of disbelief which soon changed to awe tinged with fear. Watching it, I forgot what I had been doing when it started.

It would not seem easy to prepare oneself for something like a natural disaster, or for any kind of emergency for that matter. Even safely tucked away in my apartment, I could not help getting absorbed in the event which was unfolding before us as I observed the might of nature.

Although many rationalists of the 21st century boast about the progress made by science, nobody was actually able to warn about many of the serious disasters of the last few years, such as the South Asian tsunami or the more recent China earthquake. The limitations of science can be observed during such calamities.

One of the reasons given by the Indian weather observatory for not predicting the 2004 tsunami was, “India has never before experienced a tsunami, which made it hard to predict”. Even in the scientifically advanced and hurricane-prone US, hurricane prediction specialists admit that although hurricane predictions are improving, there is a lot to be wished for. This shows that though science has advanced, to a large extent it is still not able to understand nature.

Science has failed to predict calamities which have never been experienced before. Saints, on the other hand, have predicted these things.

His Holiness Gagangiri Maharaj has said that the coming period will be so bad that even Saints think that They would be better off leaving Their gross body during such bad times. Thus, as predicted by Saints, the upcoming times are going to be difficult. As found through SSRF’s spiritual research too, there will be more natural disasters. The natural disasters will cause scarcity of day-to-day necessities like food, water, electricity, petrol.

However the most important thing is that Saints haven’t just given warnings but have even suggested the means to overcome these calamities by guiding people to increase their devotion towards God. Our devotion can be increased by performing daily spiritual practice as per the six basic principles. It is by following these basic principles, and learning how to offer our body, mind and wealth that we can build enough spiritual strength to sustain ourselves in difficult circumstances.

While I was very lightly affected by the unexpected tornado storms, for me they were a welcome reminder of the predictions given by Saints, and of the need to intensify my spiritual practice in order to prepare for the times ahead.


Some related links to future predictions given by Saints & guidance on spiritual practice:
Armageddon & World War III
Start your Spiritual Journey
Who is a Saint?


Posted at 10:58 pm | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Nov. 30th, 2009

"How to Have a Peaceful Life" - H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda

The ultimate quest of the entire world is peace. Only in peace do we have joy. Not by acquiring things, not by doing things, not by earning or learning, but by dedication. Your entire life must be a sacrifice. Think for the sake of others. To such a person, peace is guaranteed.

For this, you don't need to go to a monastery or sit in a cave somewhere—because it is not in renouncing actions that you will find peace, but in renouncing your attachment to the results of the actions. A truly dedicated person is the king of kings, the richest person in the world. Who is the richest person? The one who wants nothing.

There is only one cause for all mental problems, worries and anxieties: selfishness. Restlessness of mind is caused by disappointments. Only selfishness can cause unhappiness. To maintain your tranquility you must keep your mind away from duality—pleasure, pain; profit, loss; praise, blame. If you can keep your mind away from duality, you can still have ideas and perform actions, but they won't affect you. When you renounce your attachment, there is nothing to shake you. It is the feeling of possession, of clinging, that disturbs the mind.

Test all your desires and actions. Ask yourself, "Is this going to cause restlessness to my mind?" Which should you choose, peace or the other thing? Peace is worth preserving more than anything else, even at the cost of your life. Actually peace is God.

Dedicate your life in the name of God or humanity and your mind will always be clean and calm. You will reflect your true nature always. That is the goal of all the different paths: to keep the mind clean and calm.

If you lose your peace, you won't be able to help anyone else, let alone yourself. Still, many people ask, "How can we do all these things for our own peace when the world is so full of suffering?" Normally, we think of the world first. But Yoga believes in transforming the individual before transforming the world. Whatever change we want to happen outside should happen within. And if you walk in peace and express that peace in your very life, others will see you and learn something.

Posted at 11:11 pm | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Nov. 26th, 2009

Spiritual Workshop - December 19th, 2009

The fourth workshop in the series will be held in the coming weeks :)
Please do pass on the invitation to anyone else you may know that may be interested.


You are invited to attend a free workshop on the spiritual research conducted on the causes and treatment of addictions.

* What are addictions?
* Causes of addictions
* Why do some people become addicts and others do not?
* Suggested preventive treatment
* What are the critical success factors?

Date: Saturday, December 19, 2009
Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: 1455 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver BC

Please register for the event as there are limited seats:
spiritualresearchfoundation.org/events

The Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) is a non-profit organisation that over the past 20 years has undertaken extensive and exhaustive research in the spiritual realm. It has recently begun to publish its spiritual research on its website www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org. In doing so, the SSRF intends to demistify the spiritual realm and provide research that will help humanity to effectively alleviate difficulties in life.

Even if you are unable to attend the workshop, there are articles published on this topic:
spiritualresearchfoundation.org/articles/id/spiritualresearch/mentalhealth/addiction


Posted at 09:19 am | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

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