Pujya Gurudev’s Daily Dose of Anecdotes
Swami Siddhananda Ji has been collecting, composing and publishing an anecdote a day for several years. Search the full text of every anecdote, not just the titles, by a word, a phrase or an anecdote number. Anecdotes with your exact phrase are listed first, then those with all your words, then those with some of them.
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 14/22
Leaving the place behind, you proceed four miles and then you see a little way out, the fine site of the ashrama where the great Rishi Jamadagni lived with his wife, Renuka Devi. The hermitage had been built on a mountain peak equ…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 13/22
There is no limit to God's mercy. Only those who care nothing for His mercy suffer. Why should the faithful grieve? In any state, under any conditions, the faithful have cause only to rejoice. From Tehri the path goes forward thro…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 12/22
It is but a small town, with a small population, a few buildings, and a little trade. Even though it is a small and unostentatious place, it is still beautiful. Situated 2,275 feet above sea level, between the Bhagirathi and her t…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 11/22
As Shakespeare puts it, such a man finds 'sermons in stones, books in the running brooks and wisdom in everything.' For fellows with lackluster eyes who see nothing and learn nothing, everything is new and puzzling. But he, who un…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 10/22
Woman and gold are the bones of contention everywhere. Of the two species of monkeys found in these forests, the red-faced fellows are the more mischievous. The black-faced ones are gentle and pious. They sit quietly on the top of…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 9/22
It is from Rishikesh that I generally proceed to Uttarkashi. If my readers want to enjoy the holy and beautiful sights along the Himalayan route from Rishikesh to Uttarkashi, get ready to follow me. I am sure everyone of you will …
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 8/22
The beautiful sights from the mountain more than compensated for the labour and the fatigue of the climb. The great mountain ranges extending to the south as far as the plains of Hindustana, the dark Rocky Mountains to the north a…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 7/22
Two miles to the north of the temple is. situated a rather extensive field where paddy is cultivated in the season. If you proceed still higher up, you reach the junction of the Asi (a tributary of the Ganga) and the Ganga. Still …
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 6/22
Into that holy presence of Viswanatha, Lord of Uttarkashi or Soumya Kasi as it is sometimes known, I came for the first time in April 1924. The Himalaya seemed to welcome me, a newcomer, to his home with peals of thunder and showe…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 5/22
So long as man, however learned, remains in this bondage of illusion, there is hardly any difference between him and the meanest worm. God has given them both power to know and power to do. Both remain attached to bodily senses; b…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 4/22
In the pursuit of woman and gold, man suffers infinitely. Yet alas! he will not abandon that mad pursuit. If enjoyment is the body, suffering is its head. Nobody can live without the head. Still, man forgets that the more he enjoy…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 3/22
Their experiences have been embodied in a number of invaluable books which have hardly any parallel in the literature of any other nation. But that Golden Age is gone. God alone knows whether, at any time in the future, India will…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 2/22
Uttarkashi is surrounded by high mountains on all sides. To the east is Hariparvatha; to the south is the high Valakhilya mountain famed in the Puranas. Even today one may see in the Valakhilya mountain the wonderful caves where R…
“Uttarkashi” ~ by Swami Tapovanam – 1/22
Celebrated in the Puranas and centrally situated in the Himalayas is a mountain called Varanavata. Its top and sides are covered with forests of deodar and various other kinds of trees. The sides of the mountain are dotted with sm…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 17/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda The fruits of his prolonged life of sadhana in seclusion and his rich inner life of realizations, he wishes to bestow upon all for their benefit and upliftment. It contains the most valuable …
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 16/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda Being no dry Vedantin, he may therefore be rightly likened to an Upavanam full of blossoms and fruits. No doubt, no seeker can go to him but will return with his spiritual hunger fully appeas…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 15/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda A few years back when he wrote his beautiful and inspiring Sri Soumya Kasisha Stotram at North Benares, he performed a rigorous anushtan for 41 days during which he had the spontaneous outpou…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 14/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda One who has realized the absolute vanity of the world knows that the wealth of wealth is in the Atman and kicks aside without hesitation the paltry pelf of this earth, for he is convinced as …
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 13/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda His exemplary character is brightened by shining realism. With all his Vedantic realization, he realizes the true value and force of practical example in the vyavaharic field. His life reveal…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 12/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda To the vast majority Uttarkashi means Sri Swami Tapovanam ji. The Mahatmas there sit at his feet and drink the highest knowledge of the Vedanta that rains from his lips. They crowd before his…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 11/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda Even so, Vedanta without sannyasa becomes an impregnable, essence less rock and does not serve its purpose. Vedanta cannot be grasped without emptying the ego through sannyasa, and sannyasa b…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 10/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda Thus, he is ever immersed in the Supreme. He dwells there, a sage of deep wisdom rooted in Brahman. Sri Swami Tapovanam ji is one, as the famous Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad says, “who is att…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 9/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda True to the classic tradition of rigid sannyasa, Swamiji has taken himself to the forest vastness of the upper Himalayas and for very many years past he has taken his abode in sacred Uttarkas…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 8/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda Anyone who had the good fortune to watch him during this part of his life would not have failed to notice that all the time he was anxious to be vigilant lest he should pass from Tweedledum t…
An Embodiment of Ideal Sannyasa – 7/17
Sri Swami Tapovanam by Swami Sivananda An erudite scholar that he was, he withal restrained his Vach-Indriya and sublimated the yearning to pour himself out and shed the light of learning that filled his heart on one and all who c…