Inspiration on Taking Refuge

This fortnight we share with you some inspiring quotes on taking refuge (sharanagatam):

"Take refuge in God - one's friends or relatives will not take a person to heaven. Salvation is gained through wisdom." - Shree Maa

"Whoever is able to do atma samarpan (surrender of his or her own soul in equilibrium) to the Sri Guru's Feet - giving up all their attachment - this is samadhi and siddhi (attainment of perfection). This is the path of the Guru." - Satsang with Shree Maa and Swamiji

"Maintain the association of true people, take refuge with devotion in the Supreme Divinity, and with all your capacity try to befriend the universe, and very quickly renounce the fruits of your labors." – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D., from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

With the blessings of our Gurus, we continued to make japa of the Sharanagata Mantra in 2008 and have offered more than 80,000 mantras. Thank You! The Japa totals as of January 31st 2008 are as follows:

Ananda Kaanta	26460
Aparna	3348
Brindavanshakti	2268
Devi	7776
Eric	2484
Jennifer	3888
Jun	2376
Kalachandra	2592
Kaliananda	2592
Kanda	1512
Leela	2484
Morningsong	2484
Nanda	1080
Parvati	2592
Ramya	2592
Rosario	2052
Sivakumar	2592
Srini	2592
Usha	11664
Total	85428