Buddhism

"Hinduism takes a comprehensive view of the human condition and classifies all the things people seek in the world and beyond into four broad categories called purushaarthas, kama, artha, dharma and moksha."

"Basic Life Attributes. Four purusharthas or goals of the life be, So very crystal clear in life undisputedly: 1 Artha getting useful wealth and prosperity, Finding the meaning for living herein truly; 2 Kama fulfilling desires, acting repeatedly, It the physical, material desire fulfillment be; 14 Dharma - the foundation of all human goals be, Refers to obligations, conduct, moral duties; 25 Moksha - the liberation from the web of maya be, Freedom from the cycles of birth and death clearly; 33 As all the rivers must lead to the sea eventually, All spiritual paths leading to the same goal finally; 43 And all of the variety of life are created certainly, By combination of the three Gunas undisputedly. 44 That the backdrop for the Bhagwad Gita surely be, All three gunas so held to delude the World clearly: 75 World deluded by Three Gunas does not know Me: Who beyond these Gunas, imperishable does be. 76 If Brahman an infinite ocean, then Atma a wave within be, Ocean not different from its waves, the waves as ocean be; They are but one and the same very similar in actuality, So Brahman and Atma are one and the same in reality."

"The first three goals pertain to the world we know, whereas moksha involves freedom from the world and from desires... Moksha, although the ultimate goal, is emphasized more in the last two stages of life, while artha and kama are primary only during Grihasthshram, the householder stage.... Hindus themselves prefer to use the Sanskrit term sanatana dharma for their religious tradition.... According to Hinduism, our experience, our reason and our dialogue with others - especially with enlightened individuals - provide provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth..."

"Because the goddess has come to the great mountain Nilakuta to have sexual enjoyment with me [Shiva], she is called Kamakhya, who resides there in secret. Because she gives love, is a loving woman, is the embodiment of love, is the beloved, she restores the limbs of Kama, she is called Kamakhya. Now hear of the great glory of Kamakhya, who, as primordial nature, sets the entire world in motion."

"Desire (kama) as a cosmogonic force, even more than the w:Purusha|purusa motif of Rg 10.90, imparts a [[psychological tone to the present hymn, for the impulse behind the creation of the universe is here said to be a familiar human emotion occurring in the divine mind. p.22"

"Of these desire (kama), and volition (kratu) have already been noted. These two attributes of manas relate to sankalpa as creative conceptualization in what is perhaps a surprising way, i.e. through the mechanism of karma and rebirth."

"Thereafter rose Desire [Kama] in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit, Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent."

"There are lovely figures [in Khajuraho temples of India] the most beautiful females in numberless gaysome postures: Playing with ball, holding a mirror, writing a letter, waiting on the threshold, removing thorn from the foot, uncovering under intense Kama—passion, bathing, dancing, playing on the flute, and worshipping; their rounded legs, rich marble thighs, thin waist, fully developed rounded and voluptuous breasts and shapely arms present several perfect eras of ideal feminine beauty"

"A man practicing Dharma, Artha and Kama enjoys happiness both in this world and in the world to come. The good perform these actions in which there is no fear as to what is to result from them in the next world, and in which there is no danger to their welfare. Any action which conduces to the practice of Dharma, Artha and Kama together, or of any two, or even one of them should be performed. But an action which conduces to the practice of one of them at the expense of the remaining two should not be performed."

"A person acquainted with the true principles of this science, who preserves his Dharma (virtue or religious merit), his Artha (worldly wealth) and his Kama (pleasure or sensual gratification), and who has regard to the customs of the people, is sure to obtain the mastery over his senses. In short, an intelligent and knowing person attending to Dharma and Artha and also to Kama, without becoming the slave of his passions, will obtain success in everything that he may do."

"Karma is the enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling, assisted by the mind together with the soul. The ingredient in this is a peculiar contact between the organ of sense and its object, and the consciousness of pleasure which arises from that contact is called Kama."

"Kama is also learnt from the Kama Sutra (aphorisms on love) and from the practice of [[citizens."

"When all three viz., Dharma, Artha, and Kama together, the former is better than the one which follows it, i.e., Dharma is better than Artha, and Artha is better than Kama. But Artha should be always practiced by the king, for the livelihood of men is to be obtained from it only. Again, Kama being the occupation of public women, they should prefer to the other two, and these are exceptions to the general rule."

"Man, the period of whose life is one hundred years, should practice Dharma, Artha, and Kama at different times and in such a manner that they may harmonize, and not clash in any way. He should acquire learning in his childhood; in his youth and middle age he should attend to Artha and Kama, and in his old age he should perform Dharma, and thus seek to gain Moksha, that is, release from further transmigration."

"In Atharva Veda, Kama is associated with the broad range of human desire; wanting enemies to be defeated; wanting lovers to reciprocate feelings of infatuation, lust, affection, wanting more money and more power; in short wanting to be successful in love and work."

"This god of desire is known as Kamadeva, literally the god (deva) of desire/passion (Kama). Just as passion forms the backdrop for good stories everywhere, the passion evoked by Kamadeva promises captivating and amusing drama, as well as an exploration of the myriad ethical and philosophical questions raised by desire."

"Kama dies in the central story involving his struggle with Shiva, but is resuscitated out of his own ashes so that life can continue. A world without Kamadeva is shown repeatedly to be barren, dry, leafless — indeed, unbearable."

"When the Indians describe Kama in terms of sexual relations they do not mean to restrict the operation of this attitude to just those objects with which one can come into a sexual relationship, but are rather pointing to sexual relationships as typically involving instances of the taking of this kind of attitude."

"According to Brahma, in the moment the male and female beheld one another, desire simply happened. Overwhelmed with the beauty of Sandhya, Brahma looked up to see Kama, fully formed and well armed, with his own beauty, five flower arrows, and a seductive gaze."

"Identifying desire with memory, passages from ancient texts such as the Atharva Vedas refer to Kama as Smara, and contemporary literature continues to use this epithet for the god of desire. Indeed, connections between desire and remembering are found throughout Sanskrit literary and philosophical texts."

"Rather, after being struck and burning Kama, Shiva returns to the steadfast depth of his meditation. The message of these narratives is that asceticism is stronger than desire. The serious ascetic will defeat even the most powerful form of desire."

"Without announcing himself, Kama pervades our environment and disturbs our equanimity. On another level, the revival of Kama as invisible establishes the dominance of Shiva over Kama, the possibility that ascetic discipline can conquer craving."

"This Shiva Purana variant establishes a specific power relationship between desire and discipline, as Kama becomes Shiva's gana, one of his troops, permanently attached to the great god."

"That steadfast Kama, begotten of Vasudeva [Krsna] in Rukmini, that one who was known as the destroyer of Sambara, was the handsome Pradyumna who looked like Kama."

"A man endowed with tAmasic bhakti has burning faith. Such a devotee literally exhorts boons from God, even as a robber falls upon a man and plunders his money. 'Bind! Beat! Kill!'—that is his way, the way of the dacoits."

"Bhakti is the attitude of the mind, and jnana is the attitude of the intellect, both flow towards the Lord. In life to handle yourself, use your head, but to handle others, use your heart."

"Rigveda is the Veda of knowledge, Yajurveda is the Veda of Karma, Sama Veda is the Veda of Bhakthi and Atharva Veda is Brahma-Veda, an umbrella celebrating the Divine Presence."

"There is no sect [or, indeed, Hindu movement] without some element of bhakti."

"This whole sphere, this whole world of Knowledge and the Master and, practicing, and devotion, and participation and all that— This is traditionally in India called the path of devotion, bhakti marg."

"Both the Sandilya and the Narada quote the Bhagavad Gita on the one hand, and later Bhakthi literature on the other."

"The Narad Bhakthi Sutra takes a leap immediately into the doctrine of devotion and analyses its various aspects, and sets a ban against mere philosophical constructions."

"Narad Bhakthi sutra surpasses not merely sandilya by its easy eloquence and fervid devotion but it may be even regarded as one of the best specimens of Bhakthi literature that have ever been written. The Sandilya-sutra is more philosophical than Narada-Sutra. It goes into the question of nature of Brahman and Jiva, their inter-relation, the question of creation, and so on."

"The Sandilya and Narada bhakthi sutras like the Bhagavata are fundamental works of mysticism. Sandilya bhakthi sutras seem to be older on account of its archaic tone and is evidently modeled on the pattern of the great philosophical Sutras. Narada Bhakthi sutra quotes sandilya but the sandilya does not quote Narada."

"Bhakti is knowledge of Brahman, an unfailing recollection of the supreme Lord, a constant meditation on Him which develops into direct perception of Him....Disinterested performance of obligatory rituals removes the obstacles to knowledge, such actions become the means of attaining the constant memory of God."

"A seeker must acquire a true knowledge of the individual self and the Supreme; He must devote himself to meditation, worship and the adoration of the Supreme; This knowledge with discipline leads him to the realization of the Supreme."

"A brAhmin without this love is no longer a brAhmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated."

"An aspirant possessed of rAjasic bhakti puts a tilak on his forehead and a necklace of holy rudrAksha beads, interspersed with gold ones, around his neck. At worship he wears a silk cloth."

"...bhakti devotion may be sattvic. A devotee who possesses sattvic bhakti, meditates on God in absolute secret, perhaps inside his mosquito net. Others think he is asleep. Since he is late in getting up, they think perhaps he has not slept well during the night. His love for the body goes only as far as appeasing his hunger, and that only by means of rice and simple greens. There is no elaborate arrangements about his meals, no luxury in clothes, and no display of furniture. Besides, such a devotee never flatters anyone for money."

"No one can say with finality that God is only 'this' and nothing else. He is formless, and again He has forms. For the bhakta He assumes forms. But He is formless for the jnani, that is, for him who looks on the world as a mere dream. The bhakta feels that he is one entity and the world another. Therefore God, reveals Himself to him as a Person. But the jnani — the Vedantist, for instance — always reasons, applying the process of 'Not this, not this'. Through this discrimination he realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream. Then the jnani realizes Brahman in his own consciousness. He cannot describe what Brahman is."

"The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine primary forms of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada as:(1) w:śravaṇa|śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Kṛṣṇa and his companions), (2) kīrtana ("praising," usually refers to ecstatic group singing), (3) smaraṇa ("remembering" or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu), (4) pāda-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dāsya (servitude), (8) sākhya ([[friendship), and (9) ātma-nivedana (complete surrender of the self)."

"In their hymns the Nayanars celebrate specific visions they had of specific manifestations of Siva in particular places in the Tamil land, thus revealing the continuity of their conception of the sacred with the pre-bhakthi civilization."

"The veneration of sixty-three saints called ‘Nayanar’(Nayanar:saint; plural nayanmar) is an important element of Saiva devotional (bhakti) religion in the Tamil region."

"...devotion is love springing forth from God’s incomparable sweetness (madhurya-pradhana-bhakti) rather than reverence at His incomparable greatness (aishvaraya- pradhana-bhakti)"

"On the path of bhakti there are no restrictions of time or place for meditation. You can meditate anytime, anyplace. There is also no required posture for meditation. The only requirement is that you should be remembering Radha Krishn."

"Complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through Self-inquiry or through bhakti marga."

"Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, consists of surrender to the Divine within the heart. The Maharishi considered the most important yoga path after self-enquiry and usually recommended the two together. Surrender [Bhakti] can be done in four ways:To the Supreme Self (Atma-Bhakti);To God or the Cosmic Lord as a formless being (Ishvara-Bhakti);To God in the form of various Gods or Goddesses (Ishta Devata-Bhakti) and ; To God in the form of the Guru (Guru-Bhakti)."

"The final emancipation called mokhsha for the beings who are bound to the problems of samsara can be attained by intense devotion to the Lord with the true knowledge of HIM."

"The sixth school is that of bhakti or devotion...taught to a large extent in the Bhagavad-Gita; indeed, we find it in every religion among those true devotees who put their trust entirely in the Divine— who do not pray for personal favours, but are quite convinced that God is perfect master of his world, that he knows what he is doing, and that therefore all is well; they are therefore more than content, they are thrilled with ecstasy, if they can but have the opportunity and the privilege to serve and obey him in any way."

"The second school of yoga is that of Shri Krishna, particularly expounded in the great poem the Bhagavad-Gita... This teaches above all else the doctrine of love. The disciple Arjuna, to whom the Guru spoke, was a great lover of mankind; according to the scripture this great soldier sank down upon the floor of his chariot before the battle of Kurukshetra began, full of sorrow because he loved his enemies and could not bear to injure them. The teacher Shri Krishna then explained to him, amid much philosophical teaching, that the greatest thing in life is service, that God himself is the greatest server—for he keeps the wheel of life revolving, not because any benefit can possibly accrue to him in consequence, but for the sake of the world—and that men should follow his example and work for the welfare of mankind. Many Great Ones, he said, had reached perfection by following this path of life, by doing their duty without personal desire. To love without ceasing is the way of the second Ray; in the Gita it is shown how this love should be directed to men and other beings in karma yoga (the yoga by action or work) and to God in bhakti yoga (the yoga by devotion)."

"It [Kathak] was quintessential theatre, using instrumental and vocal music along with stylized gestures, to enliven the stories. Its form today contains traces of temple and ritual dances, and the influence of the bhakti movement."