Many of the following selections are from The Spirit of Vedanta, a slim treasure of a book that’s been around for over 100 years. Vedanta is one of Hinduism’s many expressions. Its rich language articulates the Divine within and the Divine in all.

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1
“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)

2
“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)

3
“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)

4
“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)

5
“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)

6
“A particle of Its bliss
supplies the bliss of the whole universe.
Everything becomes enlightened
in Its light.”
(Vijnanananka)

7
“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)

8
“Of everything he is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.”
(Chandogya Upanishad)

9
“Those in whose hearts OM reverberates
Unceasingly are indeed blessed…
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)

10
“The whole mantram AUM
indivisible, interdependent,
goes on reverberating in the mind.
Established in this cosmic vibration,
enter into infinite peace.”
(Prashna Upanishad)

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SOURCES (Partial List)

1.  Kerry Brown, ed.  The Essential Teachings of Hinduism: Daily Readings from the Sacred Texts. London, Arrow Books Ltd., 1990; (originally published by Rider, 1988). (NOTE: I found this fantastic, packed-with-wisdom book in a Kathmandu bookstore. Surprisingly, I have never seen it anywhere else.)

2.  Yogi Ramacharaka, The Spirit of the Upanishads. Chicago, The Yogi Publication Society, 1907. This book is over a century old, but it is an artful, timeless translation that draws from many sources.

3.  Pandit Satyakam Vidyalankar, The Holy Vedas: A Golden Treasury. Delhi, India, Clarion Books, 1983. This is a particularly accessible introduction to the earliest scriptures of what became Hinduism.

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