Bhakti Cards
Meditation deck · Bhakti Cards
Bhakti for Beginners life's first questions
From the race that never ends — to the first simple step. Meaning, happiness, anxiety, time, love — in plain words. Point your camera and hear the lecture.
108 meditation cards · 9 themes

A deck for those who came for the first time: the race that never ends, the questions underneath it and the first simple step. Three boxes, one for each part of the path; the print kit is in the bot.

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I
The Race That Never Ends
12/12
01You have a thousand — you want a hundred thousand. You have a hundred million — you want a billion★★★ready ▸ 02The more you feed a desire, the hotter it burns★★★ready ▸ 03The bird lunges in every direction to be free. The thread on its ankle brings it back to the same post every time★★ready ▸ 04Hunger goes once you eat; anger cools once you vent it. Greed alone is never spent★★ready ▸ 05The deer runs toward the water, and the water withdraws by the same step. Finish school, get a job, marry, and then I will live★★★ready ▸ 06Coffee, phone, fifteen tabs — the mind leaps and can't stop★★★ready ▸ 07Stir the water and you will not make out your own face in it. The mind works the same way★★ready ▸ 08The mind starts to storm and you are already inside it. Step back and watch it pass★★ready ▸ 09Another's looks, brains, money — they burn. Yet the ruler you measure by isn't even yours★★★ready ▸ 10Measure yourself against others and you swing high and low all day. Krishna gives a measure that sets you side by side★★ready ▸ 11The instrument draws anxiety as jagged spikes. While the same line runs inside you, you take its shape for yourself★★★ready ▸ 12One wave reaches the shore and the sea looks calm. Count how many are coming behind it★★ready ▸
II
Where Happiness Really Is
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01A fish on land won't be happy on the softest sand — it's not its element★★★ready ▸ 02Pleasure comes from contact — and from the very same place comes pain. Examine everything built by work: what of it has stayed forever★★★ready ▸ 03One glance — and poison entered the heart through the eyes. A whole life derailed★★★ready ▸ 04We call two weeks of holiday a year happiness. The fire kept burning the whole time — we were simply given a short break★★ready ▸ 05Anxiety contracts the mind into claustrophobia — and in that tightness only two emotions remain★★ready ▸ 06For ninety minutes you watch only the ball — and you are happy. The whistle blows, the mind contracts, and you are already looking for the next fix★★★ready ▸ 07Happiness and distress rotate like spring and winter. Whoever stays even through both becomes eligible for immortality★★ready ▸ 08A beggar on the street waits for a coin in his tin bowl. The richest man in the world wakes up and asks for the same — only from his own senses★★ready ▸ 09The vulture soars high — and lands only on what is dead. The mind works the same way★★ready ▸ 10He is no duller than anyone. His mind has simply long been turned toward the nearer gain★★★ready ▸ 11One shelter wears out, and so does the next. Peace opens up on a different floor of consciousness★★ready ▸ 12A photon leaves the sun and travels out into the dark of space. So do you — a particle of light that drifted far from its Sun★★ready ▸
III
Who I Really Am
12/12
01You are the one behind the wheel. The body is a car you change after a few years★★★ready ▸ 02A radio with no musician stays silent. The brain without the soul is only a receiver — the music comes from beyond★★★ready ▸ 03One blind man cannot see. A million blind men, arrange them however cleverly, still will not see★★ready ▸ 04You never step into the same river twice — the water has already moved on. The body flows the same way, and we call it a solid thing★★ready ▸ 05On the plane it feels like you're not moving. So too you watch time flow by — because you yourself stand outside it★★★ready ▸ 06On the screen no one was born and no one died — yet the viewer weeps. Look closely, the same is true of you★★ready ▸ 07The intellect is the driver, the mind the reins, the senses five horses. And all along you are the passenger★★ready ▸ 08Your body slept in bed — yet in the dream you were heading to work. So who was asleep?★★★ready ▸ 09You dreamed you woke up — yet you're still asleep. So "I'm surely awake" proves nothing★★ready ▸ 10'I'm a taxi driver, a banker, a student' — all these are roles for a while. The one who plays them doesn't change★★★ready ▸ 11The soul is there, but it doesn't know who it is. The ego runs all the affairs★★★ready ▸ 12The beggar orphan on the street is really a rich man's son. He just hasn't seen his DNA test yet★★★ready ▸
IV
What This Life Is For
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01A seed has one calling — to become a huge tree. A person can live a whole life and never leave the sandpit★★★ready ▸ 02Ants, birds, dogs, cows — eight million four hundred thousand species. Only one of them is handed a ticket out★★★ready ▸ 03A bowl of fruit: everything quietly decays. There's no shelter in anything you can lose★★★ready ▸ 04Legs are given for walking. Where to walk — legs will never tell you★★★ready ▸ 05We're like refugees: evicted from body after body, with no home anywhere★★★ready ▸ 06Only one species on earth is able to ask "what is all this for?". If the question never comes, nothing sets us apart from the animal★★ready ▸ 07We measure growth by the numbers in the account. Real growth is the soul clawing its own way out of the swamp★★ready ▸ 08Even behind bars men laugh and make a life. And you are free — and you have lain down to die★★ready ▸ 09Animals long for what you already have: hands and ten fingers. All that is left is choosing what to spend them on★★ready ▸ 10Pleasure arrives on its own — by time and by karma. The highest good you have to go for yourself★★ready ▸ 11We sort people into the important and the worthless. The one who lives in every heart sees them all the same★★ready ▸ 12Either the world is only atoms in the void, or the world exists with a purpose. There is no third option★★ready ▸
V
Time Is Slipping Away
12/12
01Every day is a limited edition with a number. Once it's gone, it's gone for good★★★ready ▸ 02Fast-forward your life by a hundred thousand years. On the scale of eternity it is still the blink of an eye★★★ready ▸ 03Power and wealth are gathered to keep us safe. And yet time crushed even the mightiest like ants★★ready ▸ 04You arrive empty-handed and you leave empty-handed. And the argument over who owns what is an argument over someone else's property★★ready ▸ 05Being born human comes rarely. And the window it opens is very narrow★★ready ▸ 06Twenty years away from that place. The same friends — except now they are the grandchildren★★★ready ▸ 07Don't cry once the birds have eaten the crop and you never set up a scarecrow★★★ready ▸ 08Approach study as if a long life lies ahead. Approach the soul as if this is your last hour★★ready ▸ 09Do the good thing today — tomorrow never comes. Postpone the bad one and think it over a hundred times★★ready ▸ 10It is always other people who die — so each of us quietly assumes. Caesar had a servant posted against exactly that★★★ready ▸ 11Drop a tomato from a height and there is nothing left to pick up. In a shell that fragile lives the one who never dies★★★ready ▸ 12Those who spent a life collecting rewards stare into emptiness at the end. Those who prayed leave smiling★★★ready ▸
VI
The Love We're Looking For
12/12
01Everyone wants to love and be loved. But who is this "I" that wants?★★★ready ▸ 02Millions, a Ferrari and a yacht — but no one to share it with. So all along, what we were seeking was love★★★ready ▸ 03A broken laddu returned for a broken one looks like love — but it's an exchange★★★ready ▸ 04"I love you" — and below it, in small print, the terms and conditions★★★ready ▸ 05Some hearts are already broken. Others simply haven't had their last dance yet★★ready ▸ 06You seek your other half to feel whole. But the false ego is built so that nothing is ever enough★★ready ▸ 07We look in an app for someone to fill us. But two empty people arrive, each waiting for the other to do it★★★ready ▸ 08While you brought the gifts home, they loved you. Now they set a plate in front of you and go★★ready ▸ 09Love your dearest ones on earth with all your heart. And remember, even that closeness is only a shadow of the real thing★★ready ▸ 10Beauty lives in the eyes that look. The more you love, the more beauty you see★★★ready ▸ 11Liberation as an exit from the game is Game Over. And we want music, colour and love★★★ready ▸ 12The tree itself stands burning in the sun. And in that very hour it gives shade to others★★★ready ▸
VII
There Is One Behind It All
12/12
01It seems a face is a limit, and true greatness is faceless. Yet God's face is His freedom — to wink at you, smile, embrace you★★★ready ▸ 02A lump of clay fell off a cliff — and out came David? A form always lives first in someone's mind★★★ready ▸ 03To explain a house you need four answers: the plan, the bricks, the builders, and whom it is for. About the world, science answers two★★ready ▸ 04Tell the whole world that God is electricity, empty space. Then who is going to come to Him on a date?★★★ready ▸ 05Look away from the sun, and a dark blot floats over everything. Turn your mind from God, and the whole world looks dead★★★ready ▸ 06We have installed God in our world as its supervisor. He has a world of His own, where He is the center of love for everyone★★★ready ▸ 07Power lifts God above everyone — and away. Love brings Him down to a friend, even a servant★★★ready ▸ 08To a deity you offer incense and step away. An infant you feed, wake, and carry all day long★★★ready ▸ 09God did not wind the world like a clock and walk off. He is both the maker and the very fabric — holding every atom this very moment★★★ready ▸ 10When the sun goes down, no torch will find it. It rises by its own will and shows itself by its own light★★★ready ▸ 11You can argue for the truth till morning and convince no one. Beauty asks for no proof: you see it, and the heart stops★★★ready ▸ 12Open a dictionary at 'charisma': attractiveness that awakens devotion. That is the very meaning of the name Krishna★★★ready ▸
VIII
Letting Go of Control
12/12
01The heaviest pain is the mental one: what about next month, next year. And next month and next year are held by your best friend★★★ready ▸ 02While you do the chanting, it is your own labour. Say "I am Yours" — and the Name begins to sing★★★ready ▸ 03Do the work with your own hands. Give the fruit away before it ripens★★★ready ▸ 04The snake in the dark turns out to be a rope. Most of our fear works this way★★★ready ▸ 05Everything that comes is held by one hand. And that hand belongs to a friend★★★ready ▸ 06We find someone to blame and stop right there. But that 'closing' is what keeps the mind small★★★ready ▸ 07A whole river lies at her feet — and the cātaka lifts her head, waiting for a drop from the cloud★★★ready ▸ 08Be grateful for a little and more is given. Take it all for granted and your progress stops★★ready ▸ 09The person who torments you is your best teacher. He trains the tolerance without which you cannot sit in silence★★★ready ▸ 10Millions of blades of grass — and not one shouts, 'look at me, here's my Instagram'★★★ready ▸ 11It feels as if you are making your own decisions. Yet you are led along like a bull by the ring in its nose★★★ready ▸ 12What worked out — "my doing." What fell apart — "no fault of mine." One same law made them both★★ready ▸
IX
Where to Begin
12/12
01"You can't grasp Vedanta — just chant." You don't have to be "worthy" to begin★★★ready ▸ 02You stumbled over a syllable — and the Name has already sounded. It works even through a fumble★★★ready ▸ 03One contact is enough — through the eyes, the ear, the skin. Then what will a whole life with the Name give?★★★ready ▸ 04A crystal on a red cushion glows red, on a blue one blue. You become whoever you sit beside★★★ready ▸ 05You become the company you keep. Your one real choice is whom to follow★★ready ▸ 06The mind is a mirror with the dust of everything you have lived settled on it. The holy name does a deep cleaning★★★ready ▸ 07You cannot argue a craving for a cigarette or a coffee away. Sit with the Name — and the senses grow quiet on their own★★★ready ▸ 08Chant louder — the thoughts have no room to squeeze in. The sound itself carries you★★★ready ▸ 09Nobody sits down at a piano and plays a symphony straight away. First the scales — and only then your own music★★★ready ▸ 10Begin with no taste at all — out of habit alone. The taste will come on its own and take you by surprise★★ready ▸ 11At a wish-fulfilling tree you ask for what you want. The fruit on the branch is what the tree wants to give★★★ready ▸ 12Philosophy is verified by the eyes of the soul. Take up the beads — and begin verifying today★★ready ▸