Biographies

Śivānanda is amazed by Eliade's progress in mastering basic yoga techniques. He predicts that Eliade will become a second Swami Vivekananda, destined to bring the western world back to the origins of spirituality. »

Nāgārjuna is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers. »

Nan Huai-Chin was a spiritual teacher of contemporary China. He was considered by many to be the major force in the revival of Chinese Buddhism. »

Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu was a British Theravada Buddhist monk and translator of Pali literature. After having been taught the basics of Pali by Nyanatiloka Mahathera, Ñāṇamoli acquired a remarkable command of the Pali language and a wide knowledge of the canonical scriptures within a comparatively short time. »

“Young yogi, I see you are running away from your master. He has everything you need; you must return to him. Mountains cannot be your guru. The Himalayas in India and Tibet have no monopoly on saints. As soon as the devotee is willing to go even to the ends of the earth for spiritual enlightenment, his guru appears near-by.” »

Praise is nonsense - empty and unfounded. Fame just results in a swollen head. Creating a cache of riches out of offerings creates a cache of bad karma. Having given up all these three, may I, Old Dog, die like a dog. »

Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110-1170), was one of the three main disciples of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen who established the Dagpo Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, and also a disciple of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158) one of the founders of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. »

Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith was an English Indologist, a member of the Indian education service and among the first Europeans to translate the Vedas into English. »

Thou seest many stars at night in the sky, but findest them not when the sun rises. Canst thou say that there are no stars, then, in the heaven of day? So, O man, because thou beholdest not the Almighty in the days of thy ignorance, say not that there is no God. »

"Fear of death had vanished once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time on. Other thoughts might come and go like the various notes of music, but the ‘I’ continued like the fundamental śruti note that underlies and blends with all the other notes." »

Rāmānujā was considered the first thinker in centuries that disputed Śaṅkara's theories and offered an alternative interpretation of Upanishadic scriptures. »

The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was born on August 14, 1924, in Denkhok, Derge province, in the Kham region of Tibet. He was recognized as the Karmapa, the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, at a very young age. »

I was, O Guru, formerly Thy Favoured One, / And now, alas! not even have I the power to behold Thy Body. / Though I may not have power to see Thine Actual Form, / Yet may I be blessed by seeing even Thy Countenance. »

“Every time I generate negativity, look, I am the first victim of my negativity. I become so miserable.” »

Sergiu Al-George is born in Târgu Mureș, Romania. His mother, Antonina Donos, was originally from Soroca county and came from a family with strong Orthodox traditions. »

All philosophical arguments are defeasible and are not sufficient evidence to believe in any philosophical view. »

Srisa Chandra Vasu was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, judge, writer, and translator of numerous works. He translated major yoga texts such as the Yogaśāstra, the Gheranda Samhita, and the Śiva Saṁhitā into English, several through his own publishing setup called the Panini office in Allahabad. »

“During the ages of five to eight, I could, in some intuitive manner, explain the purport of the Sanskrit verses of the Gītā. I could also demonstrate the various Yogic postures […].” »

“I saw the Swami giving direct knowledge to the people he was teaching. This resolved all my conflicts. My problems with Vedanta had been my mistaken notion that it was a system.” »

Swami Kuvalayananda was a researcher and educator who is primarily known for his pioneering research into the scientific foundations of yoga. He started scientific research on yoga in 1920, and published the first scientific journal specifically devoted to studying yoga, Yoga Mimamsa, in 1924. »

There is a point twixt sleep and waking, / Where thou shalt be alert without shaking: / Enter into the new world where forms so hideous pass, / They are passing, - endure, do not be taken by the dross. / Then the pulls and the pushes about the throttle (...) »

There is no noise in the world. There is no peace in the Himalayas. Both are within you. You have much more within than you know. Man is infinite. His mind is powerful and capable, but he has not realized this yet. The individual awareness is potentially cosmic. »

You cannot have light and darkness at the same time. If you want to enjoy spiritual bliss, you will have to renounce sensual pleasures. Even if one of my disciples lifts up his head from the quagmire of Saṃsāra, I have justified my existence. »

"I won't easily accept you as a disciple; there must be complete surrender by obedience to my strict training." »

Do not stand on a high pedestal and take 5 cents in your hand and say, here, my poor man, but be grateful that the poor man is there, so by making a gift to him you are able to help yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in the world, and thus become pure and perfect. »

One who is established in a comfortable posture while concentrating on the inner self alone naturally becomes immersed in the spontaneous arising of the heart's ocean of bliss. »

Gendun Drup (1391–1474), a disciple of the Gelugpa founder Je Tsongkapa, was the ordination name of the monk who came to be known as the "First Dalai Lama", but only from 104 years after he died. »

The experience of the tantric yogi is like this: The outer world is seen as a sacred mandala circle, and all living beings seen as divine beings. All experiences become transformed into blissful primordial awareness; And all of one’s actions become spiritual, regardless of how they conventionally appear. Every sound that one makes, becomes part of a great cosmic song. »

“Buddhist or not Buddhist, I have examined every one of the great religious systems of the world, and in none of them have I found anything to surpass, in beauty and comprehensiveness, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha.” »

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. Often referred to as "the father of modern yoga," Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as one of the most influential yoga teachers of the 20th century. »

This life is as impermanent as a water bubble; Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow follows the body, The results of negative and positive karma ensue. »

Vedānta Deśika was an Indian philosopher, Śrī Vaiṣṇava guru, a poet, logician, mathematician, and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Śrī Vaiṣṇavism in the post-Rāmānuja period. »

“Oh nobly born Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz, listen. Now you are experiencing the Radiance of the Clear Light of Pure Reality. Recognize it, o nobly-born…” »