This is a collection of quotes and teachings of Swami Shantananda Puri.
The main obstacle in self realization is our identification with our body as ‘I. ’ We consider ourselves as separate individuals with different bodies. Just as the electricity generated from a generator goes into all the bulbs and is linked with each other by the continuous flow of current, the Supreme Energy called as the Self or Paramatman pervades all the bodies and thus forms one indivisible Totality. The identification with the individual body as the Self is the main sin we have all committed and it is this which has led us into all miseries and sufferings.
The main obstacle in self realization is our identification with our body as ‘
Enlightenment can never be obtained through any amount of rituals, pujas, havan or sacrifices nor can it be obtained by accumulating abundant wealth. Renunciation through repeated contemplation will alone lead one to immortality. (Source – Book – Sadhanas from Kaivalyopanishad)
A guru is a small window into the Infinite.
If you can learn from the river and the mountain, sun and the moon, the flora and the fauna, the Infinite itself would become your Guru.
The one whose thirst for the Lord is intense has to take the leap with all his fears and doubts. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Even by observing Nature, including the insentient objects like the trees, mountains, water, the birds, animals, reptiles etc, which are all around us, one can get a lot of lessons, negative as well as positive, which will equip us in our quest for liberation and teach us how to remain happy while living our life in this world.
All our fears are our own shadows – A Story
A thirsty dog came to a river bank. When it bent down and saw the waters of the river, another dog was seen inside the waters. He was afraid.
When he barked at the second one, the latter could be seen barking in return. The dog was very thirsty. Its thirst was so torturing. So after hesitating again and again and shaking with terror it had to jump into the river in spite of its fear.
The moment it plunged into the river, the second dog disappeared and it was not seen.
After all, the second dog was its own image – a shadow. It never existed. All our fears are our own shadows. Jump into the infinite and the duality will disappear. (Source – A Quintessence of Uddhava Gita – Swami Shantananda Puri)
On The Path to Spirituality through Materialism - Swami Shantananda Puri
It is not possible for the majority of the people to ignore their deplorable financial condition, etc, and to proceed on the path of spirituality. It is not practicable too. So when a person finds that all his endeavors to progress in the material life are rendered futile and get stumped, he begins to realize that there is an invisible supreme power which controls his destiny, which is not only all powerful but is also compassionate and mother like. He supplicates and surrenders himself to that power, thus subordinating his ego.
Thus by slowly chanting Suktas, Stotras, Japas etc, a love for God begins to dawn in his heart and a stage comes when he will yearn for God, disregarding the gifts he used to beg for. That is why Lord Krishna has categorized such seekers riches also as his devotees in the same rank as a jnani, a man of knowledge.
In the 7th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna has titled them as Artharthis (seekers of wealth and other objects).
Source – Sri Suktam an Exegesis - Swami Shantananda Puri – Page 35 - 36