We can see the same spirit in everybody only when we know we are that spirit, Atman or Self. Only a person who has understood his own Self can see that Self in everybody.
Interpretation
Understanding one's true self allows for the recognition of the same essence in others.
This quote by Swami Satchidananda emphasizes the interconnectedness of all beings through the understanding of the 'Self' or 'Atman.' It suggests that true perception of unity among individuals arises only when one recognizes and understands their own true essence, allowing for a deeper connection and empathy with others.
In practice
In a discussion about self-awareness and personal growth, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of understanding oneself.
If you have done something meritorious, you experience pleasure and happiness; if wrong things, suffering. A happy or unhappy life is your own creation. Nobody else is responsible. If you remember this, you won’t find fault with anybody. You are your own best friend as well as your worst enemy. (99)
Begin with little things daily and one day you will be doing things that months back you would have thought impossible.
Anything that you throw comes back. All your actions are echoes.
. . . I feel we don’t really need scriptures. The entire life is an open book, a scripture. Read it. Learn while digging a pit or chopping some wood or cooking some food. If you can’t learn from your daily activities, how are you going to understand the scriptures? (233)
When you win and the other fellow loses, what do you see? A losing face. There is great joy in losing and making the other person win and have a happy face. Who will be the happiest person? The one who brings happiness to others.
Yoga is not only learning to stand on your head but also learning to stand on your feet.
In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.
There is no faculty of the human soul so persistent and universal as that of hatred.
Being able to live without having to be defined by your skin color is the hallmark of privilege.
Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity.
We are not merely passive pawns of historical forces; nor are we victims of the past. We can shape and direct history.
That we are surrounded by deep mysteries is known to all but the incurably ignorant.
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