Wisdom of the Masters

This is a reading for meditation of selected teachings/sayings of the Desert Mothers, taken from 'Apophthegmata Patrum' (Sayings of the Desert Fathers & Mothers) translated by Benedicta Ward; and Philokia: compiled in the eighteenth century by Macarius of Corinth (1731-1805). The teachings spoken here are from the Mothers - Amma Theodora, Amma Syncletica and Amma Sarah.The Desert Mothers lived primarily in the fourth and fifth centuries, withdrawing to the arid regions of the eastern Mediterranean at a time when Christianity had become legally protected and increasingly institutionalized. Like their male counterparts, they sought the desert as a place of stripping away — a landscape where distractions fell silent and the soul was exposed before God.Some lived in loose monastic communities; others inhabited abandoned tombs, caves, or simple mud-brick cells. Their days were shaped by prayer, fasting, manual labor, and long periods of silence. Water was scarce, food minimal, and illness common. The desert was not romantic — it was a place of bodily weakness and spiritual testing.They were called ammas, meaning “mothers,” a title that conveyed both intimacy and authority. This was not sentimental language. To be an amma was to be recognized as someone whose life had been tested and whose counsel could be trusted. 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or we have a WISE account with the above email address or using the direct link if you have a WISE account: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wise.com/pay/me/margarets448⁠⁠

Readings of passages from the text 'A Soul of Silence' by Μ. M. AM. du Couer de Jesus, O.D.CSaint Elizabeth of the Trinity (Élisabeth Catez, 1880–1906) was a French Carmelite nun and one of the most luminous contemplatives of the modern Christian mystical tradition. Entering the Carmelite monastery in Dijon at the age of twenty-one, her short life was inwardly intense and theologically profound, centered almost entirely on the mystery of the indwelling Trinity.Her core spiritual insight was radical in its simplicity: God dwells within the soul as living Presence, and the task of the spiritual life is to become consciously united with this indwelling God through silence, recollection, and loving surrender. Elizabeth spoke of becoming “a praise of glory,” meaning a life so surrendered that it reflects God’s own life from within, without self-assertion or resistance.For Elizabeth, contemplation was not an escape from suffering but a way of inhabiting it from the inside. During her final illness, she understood pain as a place of communion, where the soul could consent ever more deeply to divine life. Her spirituality emphasized interior stillness, self-forgetfulness, and an unwavering trust in God’s presence at the heart of ordinary experience.She left behind letters, retreats, and prayers of striking depth, written in clear, almost crystalline language. Canonized in 2016, Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity is remembered as a teacher of inner silence and divine intimacy, offering a vision of holiness grounded not in extraordinary experiences, but in abiding awareness of God already present within.________________________________Music: Solitude - ambient music - Clavier-MusicWith thanks to Clavier for sharing his gift of music for this channel. You can find this track and more on his Spotify and YouTube channels here:👉 https://youtu.be/2yrqI-9l2kg?si=dr-2I-Tp0szRzDGw👉 https://open.spotify.com/artist/33E9vDqkOnIuX4JKWEhGRr?si=dK9l88y9QoiNjEMsaZYfuA🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.🔆 Thank you to everyone who has written to inquire about offering a donation or gift. You are welcome to do so, and all offerings will go towards supporting monastic requisites and overheads at Viveka Hermitage.There are two options to donate using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPalor using this link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage Alternatively, donations can also be made via 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐄 - you can use this direct link:https://wise.com/pay/me/margarets448or please contact us on the email above for account details if you have problems.

Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE) was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher and mystic who lived in Alexandria, one of the great intellectual centers of the ancient world. Deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures and equally fluent in Greek philosophy—especially Plato and the Stoics—Philo sought to show that true philosophy and authentic revelation were ultimately one.Philo’s distinctive contribution lies in his mystical interpretation of Scripture. Reading the Torah allegorically, he taught that beneath its literal narratives lies a spiritual map of the soul’s journey toward God. Biblical figures such as Abraham, Moses, and Jacob symbolize inner states of awakening, purification, and union. For Philo, the highest purpose of human life is not ethical conformity alone, but direct experiential knowledge of God. Central to his mysticism is the idea of ecstasy (ekstasis)—a state in which the soul transcends discursive thought and is lifted beyond itself into divine illumination. In this condition, the ordinary mind falls silent and the soul becomes receptive to God’s presence. Philo insists that such knowledge cannot be grasped by reason or language, but is given through divine grace when the egoic self is relinquished.🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.🔆 This podcast is not monetized through advertising and the like. Thank you to everyone who has written to inquire about offering a donation or gift. You are welcome to do so, and all offerings will go towards supporting monastic requisites and overheads at Viveka Hermitage.There are two options to donate using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPalor using this link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage Alternatively, donations can also be made via 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐄 - you can use this direct link:https://wise.com/pay/me/margarets448or please contact us on the email above for account details if you have problems.

Reading of excerpts from Dr Raghavan's essay 'Consciousness and Existence'. The full text can be found here: ⁠https://theosophytrust.org/⁠Professor Raghavan N. Iyer (1930 -1995) was an internationally known philosopher, political theorist, and spiritual practitioner who devoted his life to the intellectual and spiritual uplift of human society. The only Rhodes Scholar from India in 1950 to Oxford, he secured First Class Honors in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and later earned a D. Phil. Degree in moral and political philosophy. He was professor of political philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara for 21 years.His message is that a renewed humankind is now emerging, and his writings address the causes of the global situation, the nature of this evolution, and the manner in which individuals can participate fully in this collective transformation.Dr Iyer was a practitioner and member of the Theosophical Foundation and wrote that:"Initiation into Theosophical metaphysics is more than an intellectual or moral enterprise; it is a continuous spiritual exercise in the development of intuitive and cognitive capacities that are the highest available to humans, a process that includes from the first a blending of the head and the heart through the interaction of viveka and vairagya, discrimination and detachment. 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.🔆 Thank you to everyone who has written to inquire about offering a donation or gift. You are welcome to do so, and all offerings will go towards supporting monastic requisites and overheads at Viveka Hermitage.There are two options to donate using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPalor using this link: ⁠⁠⁠https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage⁠⁠⁠ Alternatively, donations can also be made via 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐄 - wise.com/pay/me/margarets448