20 Quotes from the Ancient Scriptures of Hinduism

1

Most humbly we bow to You, O Supreme Lord.

At Your command moves the mighty wheel of time.

You are eternal, and beyond eternity.

(Artharva Veda)

2

The one who loves all intensely

begins perceiving in all living beings

a part of himself.

He becomes a lover of all,

a part and parcel of the Universal Joy.

He flows with the stream of happiness,

and is enriched by each soul.

(Yajur Veda)

3

The human body is the temple of God.

One who kindles the light of awareness within

gets true light.

The sacred flame of your inner shrine

is constantly bright.

The experience of unity

is the fulfillment of human endeavors.

The mysteries of life are revealed.

(Rig Veda)

4

Sing the song of celestial love, O singer!

May the divine fountain of eternal grace and joy

enter your soul.

May Brahma, (the Divine One),

Pluck the strings of your inner soul

with His celestial fingers,

And feel His own presence within.

Bless us with a divine voice

That we may tune the harp-strings of our life

To sing songs of Love to you.

(Rig Veda)

5

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

(Chandogya Upanishad)

6

Meditating on the lotus of your heart,

in the center is the untainted;

the exquisitely pure, clear, and sorrowless;

the inconceivable;

the unmanifest,

of infinite form;

blissful, tranquil, immortal;

the womb of Brahma.

(Kaivalyopanishad)

7

Those in whose hearts OM reverberates

Unceasingly are indeed blessed

And deeply loved as one who is the Self.

The all-knowing Self was never born,

Nor will it die. Beyond cause and effect,

This Self is eternal and immutable.

When the body dies, the Self does not die.

(Katha Upanishad)

8

The whole mantram AUM

Indivisible, interdependent,

Goes on reverberating in the mind.

Established in this cosmic vibration,

The sage goes beyond fear, decay, and death

To enter into infinite peace.

(Prashna Upanishad)

9

O Almighty!

You are the infinite; the universe is also infinite!

From infinite the infinite has come out!

Having taken infinite out of the infinite, the infinite remains!

O Almighty! May there be Peace! Peace! Everywhere!

(Ishawashya Upanishad)

10

O seeker, know the true nature of your soul,

and identify yourself with it completely.

O Lord, (may we attain) the everlasting consciousness

of Supreme Light and Joy.

May we resolve to dedicate our life

to the service of humankind,

and uplift them to Divinity.

(Yajur Veda)

11

O Brahma, lead us from the unreal to the real.

O Brahma, lead us from darkness to light.

O Brahma, lead us from death to immortality.

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Om.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad)

12

Look to this day,

for it is life, the very breath of life.

In its brief course lie

all the realities of your existence;

the bliss of growth,

the glory of action,

the splendor of beauty.

For yesterday is only a dream,

and tomorrow is but a vision.

But today, well lived,

makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,

and every tomorrow

a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

(Ancient Sanskrit)

13

The highest Self, all endless bliss,

the unconditioned limitless consciousness,

being realized, whether through the great texts,

or through Yoga, in all experience whatever—

let one lose himself in the ecstasy of Realization,

for he has forever lost all touch

with bondage of every description.

(Svarajyasiddhi)

14

A particle of Its bliss

supplies the bliss of the whole universe.

Everything becomes enlightened in Its light.

All else appears worthless after a sight of that essence.

I am indeed of this Supreme Eternal Self.

(Vijnanananka)

15

The knower catches in the ecstasy of his heart

the full light of that Brahman (that Divine Essence)

which is indescribable—all pure bliss, incomparable,

transcending time, ever free, beyond desire.

(Vivekachudamani)

16

Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.

Everything that moves, breathes, opens, and closes

Lives in the Self. He is the source of love

And may be known through love but not through thought

He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

(Mundaka Upanishad)

17

All is change in the world of the senses,

But changeless is the supreme Lord of Love.

Meditate on him, be absorbed by him,

Wake up from this dream of separateness.

(Shvetashvatara Upanishad)

18

O mysterious and incomprehensible Spirit!

In the depths of my heart, there is only You—You, for all time.

(source unknown)