Discourse

"The exercise of one coercion always makes another inevitable."

"Naturally it takes a good deal of Pencil to say a long thing like that."

"He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument."

"Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine; —& they are the life, the soul of reading; — take them out of this book for instance, — you might as well take the book along with them."

"A gap – small or big, g hisyorical, linguistic, social, or ecological in nature develops between the past and present cultures,... Digression bridges this gap, making the unknown known, irrational rational, obscure clear, incredible credible..."

"That digression business got on my nerves. I don't know. The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting and all. … Oh, sure! I like somebody to stick to the point and all. But I don't like them to stick too much to the point. I don't know. I guess I don't like it when somebody sticks to the point all the time. The boys that got the best marks in Oral Expression were the ones that stuck to the point all the time — I admit it. But there was this one boy, Richard Kinsella. He didn't stick to the point too much, and they were always yelling "Digression!" at him. It was terrible, because in the first place, he was a very nervous guy — I mean he was a very nervous guy — and his lips were always shaking whenever it was his time to make a speech, and you could hardly hear him if you were sitting way in the back of the room. When his lips sort of quit shaking a little bit, though, I liked his speeches better than anybody else's.… It's nice when somebody tells you about their uncle. Especially when they start out telling you about their father's farm and then all of a sudden get more interested in their uncle. I mean it's dirty to keep yelling "Digression!" at him when he's all nice and excited. I don't know. It's hard to explain."

"Digression is the soul of wit. Take the philosophic asides away from Dante, Milton or Hamlet's father's ghost and what stays is dry bones."

"Namo Uvajjhayanam - Green and Blue Color: Upadhyay is a teacher, which shows how to awaken powers and maintain balance of body, mind, and soul. Green or Blue color represents Upadhyay."

"Namo Loe Savva Sahunam - Black Color: Sadhu (monk) is a spiritual practitioner. The practitioner must be protected from worldly attachments and must destroy negativity. Black color represents monk."

"The Adi Granth opens with the Mul Mantra, the basic statement of belief: “There is one Supreme Being, the Eternal Reality. [This Supreme Being] is the Creator, without fear and devoid of enmity, immortal, never incarnated, self-existent, known by grace through the Guru."

"Namo Arihantanam - White Color: Arihant is a perfect human being. White color represents Arihant. The white color is the mother of all colors; it is a blending of all colors. It represents pure knowledge."

"This is the first happiness among all forms of happiness."

"In the above prayer, Jains salute the virtues of the five benevolent. They do not pray to a specific Tirthankara or monk by name. By saluting them, Jains receive the inspiration from the five benevolent for the right path of true happiness and total freedom from the misery of life. Jain prayers do not ask for any favors or material benefits from their Gods, the Tirthankaras or from monks and nuns."

"These five salutations are capable of destroying all the sins. Mangalancha Savvesin:Padhamam Havai Mangalam:"

"Siddhanam - Red Color: Siddha is a pure consciousness or a soul without any Karma attached to it. Both Arihant and Siddha are known as Gods in Jainism. Red color represents Siddha."

"If this mantra is carved onto rocks and mountains, and a human or non-human being comes into contact and sees it, he or she will develop the conditions to be a Bodhisattva in the next life, and thereby relieve suffering."

"The body of those who keep this mantra will transform into a vajra body, the bones will transform into relics of the Buddha and ordinary mind will transform into the wisdom of the Buddhas."

"Whoever recites the mantra even once will obtain immeasurable wisdom. He or she will eventually develop compassion and be able to perfect the Six Paramitas (virtues). He or she will be born as a universal monarch. She or he will achieve the irreversible stage of a Bodhisattva and finally attain Enlightenment."

"It is said that the sands of the Ganges and drops of water in the ocean can be counted but not the merits resulting from the recitation of this mantra."

"w:Mul Mantar}Mool Mantra means Root Formula for Life and Liberation. The mantra is:"

"Every day Jains bow their heads and say their universal prayer, the Navkar mantra. All good work and events start with this prayer of salutation and worship."

"It is said that the merits of Om mani padme hum, the Six-Syllable mantra, are innumerable and cannot be fully described even by the Buddhas of the three times."

"Namo Airiyanam - Yellow and Orange Color: Acharya is a head of the Jain congregation. It symbolizes the organizational power,Yellow or orange color represents Acharya. Both Yellow and Orange show wisdom, power to accomplish the goal, and discipline or strong will power in the life."

"Each syllable is considered to purify a specific human failing or "obscuration"."

"In many tantric Buddhist practices, but most notably during Guru Yoga, wherein we link with the continuity of a lineage, we meditate on OM, AH and HUNG as the Three Lights."

"Om is white and placed at the brow. It represents the Form Body or Nirmanakaya. It is associated with w:VairocanaBuddha Vairochana."

"Each one of the 6 syllables is directed at one of the six realms of existence. Saying the mantra is like praying for and helping individuals in all possible situations. When you say this mantra, you are behaving as a Bodhisattva, with the mindful intention of working towards the enlightenment of all sentient beings, without exception."

"A mantra is a powerful word or phrase that may or may not have meaning in the same way as a sentence. Compare spells, incantations and prayer formulas in other spiritual traditions. The term is a Sanskrit word mantram that combines the root manas (mind) with tram (protection) so the literal meaning is mind-protection."

"The Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara who is called in Tibetan, Chenresi [often spelled Chenresig or Chenresik] is said to have given a special mantra to Nagarjuna who left it to Lion-face Dakini to transmit to Padmasambhava, whose activity confirmed Buddhism as the predominant religion in Tibet."

"This [mantra] is the 'Six Syllable - 'or the 'Mani Mantra' Om Mani Padme Hum."

"When Tibetans chant a mantra associated with a particular Buddha, they are not simply asking for the blessings and aid of the Buddha – the final goal of the practice is to become buddhas themselves, since buddhas are sentient beings who have actualized the highest potential that we all possess."

"Ah is red, placed at the throat centre, and represents the enlightened speech of the Buddha. It is associated with the Sambhogakaya or Enjoyment Body. It relates to Buddha Amitabha and the lotus family of deities."

"Shanti is the Sanskrit word for peace. If the quality you have chosen is calmness or peace then you can repeat “Shanti” as your mantra....add Om with the Sanskrit word for my goal. Repeating “Om Shanti Om” would be an effective alternative. Om is a powerful mantra used extensively in the East. Combining Om with Shanti gives the mantra a beautiful chant like quality and is a joy to repeat over and over again."

"Shanti – peace - is a most essential quality expressed in the ancient Vedic texts of the Upanishads. It is invoked at the beginning and the end of each Upanishad chapter."

"This wonderful mantra is an invocation to the Sun—of course really to the Solar Logos, who stands behind that grandest of all symbols; and the great shaft of light which immediately pours down upon and into the reciter comes as though from the physical Sun, in whatever direction that Sun may happen to be. This shaft of light is white tinged with gold, and shot with that electric blue which is so often seen in connection with any manifestation of the power of the first Ray; but when it has filled the very soul of the reciter it promptly shoots from him again in seven great rays or cones having the colours of the spectrum. It is as though the singer acts as a prism; yet the colour rays which dart forth are of a shape the reverse of what we usually find in such cases. Commonly when we send out rays of spiritual force they spring forth from a point in the body—the heart, the brain, or some other centre; and as they shoot out they steadily broaden fanwise, as do those shining from a lighthouse. But these rays start from a basis wider than the man himself—a basis which is the circumference of his aura; and instead of widening out they decrease to a point, just as do the rays of a conventional star except that they are of course cones of light instead of mere triangles."

"Actually, it doesn't matter – Krishna or Christ – the name is the same. The main point is to follow the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures that recommend chanting the name of God in this age."

"There is group of special shanti mantras found in vedic texts, such as the Upanishads. At he close of each Upanishad chapter, for instance, the word shanti is chanted three times, as a mantra. This is to remove the three kinds of suffering – personal, external and atmospheric"

"Gayatri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She is present, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayatri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayatri, our faith in existence is Gayatri. Gayatri has five faces, they are the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they are ‘Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Vareñyaṃ, Bhargo, Devasya’. Mother Gayatri nourishes and protects every being and she channelizes our senses in the proper direction. ‘Dhīmahi’ means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. ‘Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt’ - We beseech her to bestow on us everything we need. Thus Gayatri is a complete prayer for protection, nourishment and finally, liberation."

"It will protect you from harm wherever you are --traveling, working, or at home. Westerners have investigated the vibrations produced by this mantra and have found that when it is recited with the correct accent as laid down in the Vedas, the atmosphere around becomes visibly illumined. So Brahma-prakāsha, the Divine Effulgence, will descend on you and illumine your intellect and light your path when this mantra is chanted. Also repeat shanti thrice at the end, for that repetition will give shanti or peace to three entities in you --body, mind, and soul."

"The use of Mantras is deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. They are short prayers that are thought to subtly alter one’s mind and and make a connection with a particular Buddha."

"The Gayatri is perhaps the greatest and most beautiful of all the ancient mantras. It has been chanted all over India from time immemorial... in an antiquity so remote that the very memory of it has been forgotten, the altruistic use of such mantras was fully comprehended and practiced. It begins always with the sacred word Om, and with the enumeration of the planes upon which its action is desired—the three worlds in which man lives, the physical, the astral and the mental;"

"Hum (or in Tibetan, hung) is blue. Placed at the heart center, it represents the Dharmakaya or Truth Body. It stands for Enlightened Mind, associated with Akshobya and the vajra family of buddhas."

"Gayatri is “Vedas” in a nutshell. It is out of Gayatri the Vedas have come and into Gayatri Vedas have converged. This sacred worse adorns all the vedas. It occurs in Rigveda III 62.10, in Yajur Veda III-35, XX-II-9, XXX-2, and XXXVI-3 and in Sama Veda XXX-6-3-10."

"...It is the supreme prayer, described the mother of the Vedas, named after its metre which means “the saviour of the singer”, revealed to sage Vishvamitra. Gayatri is the mantra of the real Guru, the Omniscient God. The writers of the scriptures call it the “Soul of the Vedas’."

"There is no higher mantra than Gayatri, there is no higher deity than one’s mother."

"He who repeats Gayatri always attains Heavens"

"Vedic ritual practice honoured the sun with daily recital of Gayathri Mantra to Savitr and sacrifices to Surya."

"Perfect prayer does not consist in many words, silent remembering and pure intention raises the heart to that supreme Power."

"Om is the Brahman, the indestructible Life force. Om is this universe. It is nameless, the Divine. It is the totality of you, I, and the whole creation. It is the totality of past, present and future of this existence."

"Silence is the language of Om. We need silence to be able to reach our Self. Both internal and external silence is very important to feel the presence of that supreme Love."