Being made in the image of God, man can live in the body completely separate from physical sensations. But instead he adopts the conditions of the body as though they were his own. To be free of sensations, one has to separate himself mentally from the body. Therefore, the saints teach mental detachment from both pleasure and pain. To understand an

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What can we do when we are forced to face death? Do we continue ignoring it or do we weave it into our understanding, possibly creating a more nuanced appreciation for both the fleetingness of life and its interconnected nature? I find that it is this very activity that can arm us with the tools needed to continue living in a world that no longer p... See more

To the question of Janaka as to how freedom can be achieved, the answer given by Aştävakra is simple. 'Know the Self as Pure Consciousness, the unaffected witness of the phenomenal world, and you will be free' (I. 3). In reality the Self is always free; freedom is not attained, but simply realized and discovered. The impediment to selfrealization a

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