Karthigai Deepam

This year, 2007, the Karthigai festival commences on Nov 15th and Deepam is on November 24th.

There is no mind

Q: How to give up the false idea that the mind is real?

Annamalai Swamy: If this does not happen spontaneously when you hear the truth from the teacher, keep telling yourself, 'I am not the mind, I am not the mind. There is no mind; there is no mind. Consciousness alone exists.'

If you have a firm conviction that this is the truth, one day this firm conviction will mature to the point where it becomes your direct experience.

Having love for all creatures

Bhagavan Ramana's sense of equality was legendary. When visitors came to see him - it made no difference whether they were VIPs, peasants or animals - they would all be treated with equal respect and consideration. His egalitarian concern even extended to the local trees; he discouraged his followers from picking flowers or leaves off them and he tried to ensure that whenever fruit was taken from the ashram trees it was
always done in such a way that the tree only suffered a minimum amount of pain.

Taken from "Be As You Are", Introduction, edited by David Godman.

Rejoice abundantly

1. My devotees have the qualifications to rejoice abundantly,
like children of an emperor.

-- Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
See Arunachala Ramana.