Achariya Fritz Kramer
Spekas on "Peace on Earth"
Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 11:00am
During this season of holy days, it is only natural to feel a deep desire to meditate on love, joy and peace. Yet, in a world filled with so much conflict, what does peace mean in our time? Dissolution? Resolution? Mitigation? Let us join together this Sunday to contemplate what the narratives of Hanukkah and Christmas reveal to us on this matter, lifting our hearts and minds to the ideal of Peace on Earth.
—Acharya Fritz
From the Gurus and Swamis: AUM
Those who remove our troubles, dispel our doubts, and bestow peace are true teachers. They perform a Godlike work.
—Swami Sri Yukteswar
Be at peace. Do not disturb yourself. You never were in bondage, you never were virtuous r sinful. Get rid of all these delusions and be at peace.
—Swami Vivekananda
Peace emanates from the soul, and is the sacred inner environment in which true happiness unfolds.
—Swami Yogananda
Noble Thoughts: ("Let Noble Thoughts come to us from all sides." —Rigveda)
"Rabbi Jacob used to say:
Better a single moment of awakening in this world
than eternity in the world to come.
And better a single moment of inner peace
in the world to come than eternity in this world.
Why?
A single moment of awakening in this world
is eternity in the world to come.
The inner peace in the world to come
is living in this world with full attention.
The two are one, flip sides of a coin
forever tumbling and never caught."
—Pirke Avot 4:22, quoted in "Essential Mystics" by Andrew Harvey
"In the larger spiritual context, peace is the setting in which all beings at all levels of existence dwell in concord with each other within the embrace of the divine Heart. In traditional Indian perspectives, peace holds the universe together: all beings everywhere, in all realms - on the earth, in the skies and in the heavens above them—are joined to each other through peace. It is for this reason, in part, that the study and recitation of sacred texts in the yogic context, as with other spiritual practices, often begin and end with a threefold affirmation: shanti, shanti, shanti."
—William K. Mahoney, "Exquisite Love, Heart-Centered Reflections on the Narada Bhakti Sutra"
"Evoking the presence of the Great Compassion, let us fill our
hearts with our own compassion - towards ourselves and
towards all living beings.
Let us pray that all living beings realize that they are all
brothers and sisters, all nourished from the same source of life.
Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be the cause of
suffering to each other.
Let us plead with ourselves to live in a way which will not
deprive other beings of air, water, food, shelter, or the
chance to live.
With humility, with awareness of the existence of life, and
of the sufferings that are going on around us, let us
pray for the establishment of peace in our hearts and
on earth. Amen"
—Thich Nhat Hanh, quoted in "Earth Prayers" by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon