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Navaratri: The 9 Divine Nights

2008-10-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights."

This festival is observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter.

What's the Significance of Navratri?
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life.

She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power).

It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything.

Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory
that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?
We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children.

"Why mother; why not father?", you may ask.

Let me just say that we believe that God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God.

Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother.

In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.

Why Twice a Year?
Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because:

(1) We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the universe.

(2) Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our physical and mental balance.

Why Nine Nights & Days?
Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme Goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects.

The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth.

The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati.

In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

Why Do You Need the Power?
Thus, I suggest you join your parents in worshipping "Ma Durga" during the Navaratri. She will bestow on you wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge,
and other potent powers to cross every hurdle of life.

Remember, everyone in this world worships power, i.e., Durga, because there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or the other.

VAIKUNTA EKADASHI

2006-12-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

Vaikunta Ekadashi falls in the month of Margaseersha (December-January). This festival is observed with all solemnity in the temples of Lord Vishnu. It was on this day that during the "Sagara Mathana" (churning of the ocean), 'Amrit' (nectar) emerged out of the ocean and was distributed to the Gods. The Hindus consider this day very auspicious and it is believed that those who die on this day are freed from the rounds of birth and death; they directly reach Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu. It is for this reason that the Great King Bhishma waited long on his bed of arrows, to leave his last breath.

FastingFasting is prescribed on all Ekadashis, that is, the 11th day of the lunar fortnight, twice a month. In this Kali Yuga, even if just one 'Ekadashi' is observed with dispassion, faith and devotion, and if the mind is wholly fixed on Hari, one is freed from the rounds of birth and death. There is no doubt about this. The scriptures give us their assurance on this point.

Results of Fasting : All sins are destroyed and mind is purified.

Hindu God : Lord Vishnu

Religion : Hindu

In the month of : December - January

On Vaikunta Ekadashi day devotees fast the whole day, observe vigil the whole night and do 'Japa' (meditation) and 'Hari Kirtan' (devotional songs). Some do not take even a drop of water. Those who are unable to fast completely can take some light fruit and milk.

A BeliefNo rice should be taken on Ekadashi days and this is very important. It is said that the sweat that fell down from the head of Brahma assumed the form of a demon and he asked the Lord to provide him an abode to dwell. Brahma said to the demon to go and dwell in the rice particles eaten by men on Ekadashi day and become worms in their stomach. For this reason rice is prohibited on Ekadashi.

If one observes the Ekadashi fast regularly, Lord Hari is propitiated. All sins are destroyed and the mind is purified. Devotion gradually develops and love for God becomes intense. Orthodox people in South India observe complete fasting and vigil even on ordinary Ekadashi days. For the devotees of Lord Vishnu, every Ekadashi is a very sacred day.

LegendsOnce there was a demon, 'Mura', who oppressed the gods. The gods approached Lord Hari for protection. Hari sent Yoga Maya to kill the demon. Yoga Maya carried out the behests of the Lord successfully. The Lord said to Yoga Maya that those who will observe Ekadashi will be freed from all sins, and Yoga Maya will be caned by the name Ekadashi.

King Ambarisha was a great votary of Lord Hari. He practised the Ekadashi Vrata for a year. Ambarisha obtained His Grace. On one occasion he fasted for three consecutive days. He was about to break the fast when Rishi Durvasa appeared as his guest. The king received him with due respect and requested him to take his meals. The Rishi agreed and went to bathe in the river. The king waited patiently for a long time, but the Rishi did not return. Time was running out; if the king did not eat anything before the day ended his Vrata would not bear fruit and if he ate, he would be showing disregard to the Rishi. As a compromise the king took a little water to serve both the conditions.

When Durvasa returned from his bath, he knew exactly what had happened, and was angry. He tore a hair from his tuft and charged him to king Ambarisha. The king was unmoved. The discus of Lord Vishnu destroyed the power of the hair of Durvasa. It now followed the Rishi wherever he went and tried to destroy him.

Rishi Durvasa went to Brahma and Shiva for help, but to no avail. He went to Lord Hari who said that he is in the possession of his devotees. Lord said that the Rishi should go to Ambaisha abd beg for his forgiveness. Ambarisha there upon prayed to the charged hair to desist from its course, and saved the Rishi. Durvasa thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

Saraswathi Devi

2006-12-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Saraswati is a goddess worshipped in the Vedic religion. She is the goddess of learning and the arts (e.g., music). She is also worshipped as the goddess of thoughts of truth and forgiveness. She is mentioned in the Rig Veda as well as in Puranic texts. It is likely that She originated as a river Goddess because her name in Sanskrit means "she who has lakes or pools". She is also referred to as Shonapunya, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘one purified of blood’.

In Vedanta, she is considered to be the feminine energy and knowledge aspect--shakti--of Brahman. As in ancient times, she is the goddess of knowledge, speech, poetry and music. Vedantins believe that only through the acquisition of knowledge does one reach the final path to moksha, or liberation from reincarnation. Only by worshiping Saraswati and continuously seeking true knowledge with one's complete attention can one attain the enlightenment necessary for moksha.

Saraswati is a Hindu goddess of learning. She is the goddess of speech (Vac), the Flowing-One. She represents the union of power and intelligence from which organized creation arises. Saraswati posseses all the learnings of the the Vedas, scriptures, dancing, musical power and poetry. She revealed language and writing to man. Her origin is the lost Vedic river Saraswati. This is the source of her profound connection to fluidity in any aspect (water, speech, thought, etc.). She is wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendour and devotion. This page is dedicated to this Beautiful Goddess of Intellect.

Names of Saraswati
Bharati - eloquence; Mahavidya - transcendent knowledge; Vac - speech; Mahavani - transcendent word; Arya - the noble one; Brahmi - power of the immense being; Kamadhenu - the wish cow; Bijagarbha - womb of the seed or womb of the elements of speech; Dhanesvari - divinity of wealth; Vacdevi - divinity of speech; Vinapani - the one that holds the vina; Sarada - giver of essence; Vageshvari - mistress of speech; Brahmi - wife of Brahma and Gayatri.

The Gayatri Mantra

2006-12-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

Aum bhur bhuvah svah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

"We meditate on the transcendental glory of
the Deity Supreme,
who is inside the heart of the earth,
inside the life of the sky,
and inside the soul of the heaven.
May He stimulate and illumine our minds. "

One who chants the gayatri-mantras is gradually delivered from the material clutches. In other words, that which delivers us from material entanglement is called gayatri.

Bhakti: The Means and the Goal

2006-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

Bhakti means love of God or, as Srila Prabhupada would often translate the word, pure devotional service to God. (The Sanskrit root of the word bhakti is bhaj, which means “loving service.”) Bhakti is the essence of the eternal relationship we souls have with Krishna. In material existence, our Bhakti is covered by our material consciousness and misdirected away from Krishna and toward the temporary things of this world. Therefore we are never fully satisfied. We can awaken our natural Bhakti by practicing Bhakti. In other words, we can awaken our love for Krishna by performing acts of love for Him. Since yoga means “connection, ” the process by which we connect with Krishna through acts of love is called Bhakti yoga.

There’s much more to loving God than just saying, “I love God. ” We attain pure love for Krishna through a gradual process that takes us through progressively higher realms of Bhakti. Fortunately, we can begin the process at any point in life or wherever we are in our spiritual journey.

The Bhakti process is systematic and is laid out in detail by the followers of Sri Chaitanya in books such as Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (presented by Srila Prabhupada as The Nectar of Devotion). These books provide not only instructions but also guideposts by which the student of Bhakti can evaluate his or her progress.

The awakening of Bhakti takes place in three progressive stages: (1) regulated practice, (2) attachment, and finally (3) pure love.

My Prayer

2006-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Eternal Father of my soul,
let my first thought today be of You,
let my first impulse be to worship You,
let my first speech be Your name,
let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.

For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness:
For the love with which You love mankind:
For the love with which You love me:
For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life:
For the indwelling of your Spirit in my heart:
For the sevenfold gifts of your Spirit:

I praise and worship You, O Lord.

Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of You. Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day;

Keeping me chaste in thought:
Keeping me temperate and truthful in speech:
Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work:
Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself:
Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealings with others:
Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past:
Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Yours.

Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.

(Taken from Richard Foster’s Devotional Classics, pp. 126-127.)

The Goal of Life

2006-12-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

The goal of human life is to re-awaken our original pure love for God, Krishna. We souls exist to have an intimate loving relationship with Him. We can never be happy by rejecting that relationship and denying our true nature.

The things we do in this world indicate our true, eternal nature. We have to love; it’s unavoidable. Having turned away from Krishna, we try to fulfill our need to love and be loved by searching for ideal relationships in this world. But exchanges of love here are never perfect and cannot last forever.

Awakening pure love for Krishna is perfection. Nothing else will satisfy us. Everything that exists in the material and spiritual worlds is meant to support our relationship with Krishna. Human life is a chance for us to reestablish that relationship. That endeavor should be the focus of our lives.

Because love includes service, pure love for God is called pure devotional service, or Bhakti. The ways to awaken Bhakti are the substance of the practice of Bhakti yoga.

Do not blame others

2006-12-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Our Indian culture is great. The rules it provides make everyone lead an ideal life. According to our shastras, it seems, a person who blames others (unnecessarily) gets half of the entire paapam of the person blamed and in addition gives away half of his entire punyam to the person blamed! So there a big loss for the person who blames and a big gain for the person blamed. The following is a small story showing how careful one needs to be while doing Dharma nirnayam and eventually blaming others.

Once a poor braahmana, with hunger, came to a person’s house and asked for bhiksha. The kind woman in the house took pity on him and immediately offered food. She asked the brahmana to sit under the shade of a huge tree in their house and she brought food for him. Before the braahmana cleaned himself, prayed to the God and started eating, a very unfortunate thing happened. There used to live a poisonous snake under the shelter of the tree and vidhi vashah it spilt its poison and it directly fell into the food the braahmana was going to eat. The braahmana unknowing that the food is poisoned, ate food and died.

Now, who needs to be blamed? Is it the woman who gave the food, or the snake or the owner or the braahmana himself. It seems that the person who decides and makes a decision that a particular individual is to be blamed will get the brahma-hatyaa-paatakam.

So did you notice how critical is a dharma-nirneta’s role. How many shastras should he have learnt before taking the seat of dharma-nirneta? How careful and unbiased should his thinking be? Imagine how great is Yamadharmaraaja to be able to do perfect justice for so many people for such huge amount of time. That is why He is called ‘Samavarti’. He has one of his legs in Shri-chandanam and the other in fire. Both are same for Him and thus very unbiased and impartial.

Morals in the story:
A lot of thinking needs to be done before putting blame on others.
A person should be highly knowledgeable and learned in order to be a dharma-nirneta. That is why it is customary in our Indian culture to always say “As far as i know, this is Dharma….” or “This is what I heard from my elders, hence …..”.

Message:
Atleast on hearing to this story, we hope all the govt. officials will be still more careful in performing their duties. The pathetic state of today’s nyaayasthaanas is well-known. The power given to a nyaayaadhikaari is immense. The story also shows how impartial, unbiased, honest and most importantly learned must the nyaayaadhikaris be… One may assume everything is going fine, but at sometime or the other one must experience the effects of his own karma.

Creation of the material world

2006-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

In a corner of the spiritual sky of brahmajyoti a spiritual cloud sometimes appears, and the covered portion is called the mahat-tattva. The Lord then, by His plenary portion as Maha-Visnu, lies down within the water of the mahat-tattva, and the water is called the Causal Ocean (Karana-jala). While Maha-Visnu sleeps within the Causal Ocean, innumerable universes are generated along with His breathing. These universes are floating, and they are scattered all over the Causal Ocean. They stay only during the breathing period of Maha-Visnu. In each and every universal globe, the same Maha-Visnu enters again as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and lies there on the serpentlike Sesa incarnation. From His navel sprouts a lotus stem, and on the lotus, Brahma, the lord of the universe, is born. Brahma creates all forms of living beings of different shapes in terms of different desires within the universe. He also creates the sun, moon and other demigods.

Vedic Cosmology - Planetarium

2006-12-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

This is a simplified way to understand the wanderings of a spirit soul within samsara, the cycle of birth and death. It shows the basic facts needed to understand this world and the life in it and helps to learn about the different ways of life leading to elevation or degradation. With this information you can be more in control of your life, in harmony with the universe and its laws:

"We cannot break the laws - we can only break ourselves against the laws."

I am jiva, spirit soul, part and parcel and eternal servant of the Lord. My svarupa, spiritual body, is similar in form to any of the material bodies in the material world but it is of the same quality as myself and the whole spiritual world (sac-cid-ananda). Although I could stay here eternally in Lord's loving company and participate in His lila (pastime), I decided to explore the material world thus beginning my journey...

The Lord does not interfere with my free will by preventing me from leaving Him but is unlimitedly happy when I return to Him again:

"Having attained me [Sarupa], a friend more dear than life, as if He had not seen me for a long time, taking my hand in His lotus hand, asking me wonderful questions, bringing happiness to all the people of Vraja, and walking as gracefully as an elephant, the handsome Lord entered the village of Vraja." (Brhad-bhagavatamrta 2.6.76, by Sanatana Goswami)

"After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection." (BG 8.15)

Aandaal - Few Facts

2006-12-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

Twelve saint (poet) devotees of the 1st millennium CE- the great Aalwaars lived their lives dedicated to expressing their devotion to MahaVishnu - considered to be the supreme manifestation of Divinity in the Vaishnava system of beliefs.. These saints composed verses in chaste tamil, and revitalized the religious spirit of the region, sparking off a renewal of devotional worship in what is generally referred to as the Bhakti movement. Perhaps the best known of the Alwars, is Aandaal.

Srivilliputtur in southern Tamilnadu, is home to Perialwar , and his foster daughter Aandaal; the works of Aandaal are very well known to the tamil world. The Tiruppaavai hymns written by Aandaal (a manifestation of the mother Goddess) are chanted in congregations throughout Tamilnadu during the cold month of Maargazhi, in the cool pre-dawn hours, in temples as well as in the streets that surround temples. The 30 hymns constituting Tiruppaavai have been recorded by several artists, and the national radio station All India Radio (used to) broadcast(s) a hymn each day throughout the month of Margazhi. Also composed by Andal is 'Vaaranam Aayiram' (Kanaakkanden Tozhi), describing Andal's dream of her marriage to Narayanan (Vishnu). This work is chanted during Sri Vaishnava weddings. A popular version of Vaaranam Aayiram sung by S. Janaki hit the charts in 1990.

Aandaal is also known by the phrase Soodikkodutta Sudarkkodiyaal - the lady who offered garlands to Vishnu, after trying them out herself. Indeed, this is the central theme of the legend of Aandaal, which culminates in the divine marriage between the Saint Poetess, and Maha Vishnu himself.

Legend has it that Periaalwar discovered a beautiful infant girl in in a lush grove in the vicinity of the Srivilliputtur temple, in the 9th century CE, in the Tamil month of Aadi (Cancer), in the Pooram asterism, in the fourth phase of the bright half of the month on a Tuesday. A delighted Periyaalwaar, brought up this infant, considered to be an incarnation of Mother Earth (in a manner similar to Sita's birth, in the Raamaayana), as his own daughter, naming her Kodai. A devout poet himself, Periaalwaar, brought up his foster daughter in his own footsteps.

The young damsel Kodai, spent her time assisting her father in serving the Srivilliputtur temple, and in meditating upon Vishnu, with the desire of being his bride. Assigned the task of making garlands for the presiding deity at Srivilliputtur, with flowers picked from the grove in which she was discovered, Kodai would try out the garland on herself, without the knowledge of her foster father, and only then have it sent to the temple. Upon discovering a strand of hair on a garland meant for the presiding deity, a distraught Periaalwaar suspended the offering of the garland to the temple. It is said that the presiding deity of Srivilliputtur appeared in the saint poet's dream, and revealed to him that he actually preferred garlands that had been pre-worn by Kodai. Realizing that Kodai's purpose in life was a special one, Periyaalwaar named her 'Aandaal' or Soodikkodutta Naachiyaar, and looked upon her as an incarnation of Divinity.

When Periyaalwaar, attempted to find a groom for the nubile Aandaal, she thwarted his efforts with the assertion that she was destined to be the bride of none other than Maha Vishnu. She urged him to describe to her the attributes of Vishnu enshrined in several of the shrines that he knew of. Upon hearing of Vishnu enshrined at Sri Rangam, Aandaal decided that she was to become the bride of Vishnu's manifestation of Ranga Mannaar at Sri Rangam.

Aandaal then spent her youth in purposeful pursuit of her aim to realize oneness with Maha Vishnu - Ranga Naathar (i.e. to become his bride). Her literary masterpieces Tiruppaavai and Naachiyaar Tirumozhi exhibit the passion expressed by a lover yearning for her beloved, and the rigorous penance of Paavai Nonbu, undertaken to achieve her surreal objective.

In Tiruppaavai, Aandaal visualizes Srivilliputtur as Brindavanam, the grand temple there as the home of Nandagopan, and the presiding deity of Srivilliputtur as Krishna.

Perhaps, one of the most romantic works of Aandaal is Kanaakkanden Tozhi, in which - she narrates in vivid detail, her dream of marrying Narayanan (Vishnu). This is a celebrated work - an essential part of the Sree Vaishnavite liturgy, chanted during wedding rituals even today, in a manner similar to the recitation of Vedic hymns.

Legend has it that Ranganathar appeared in Periyaalwaar's dream and directed him to bring his bride Aandaal to the temple at Srirangam, where he would marry her. Following the divine ordinance, Periyaalwaar led Aandaal in a bridal procession to the grand temple at Srirangam, where Aandaal walked in with a sense of purpose and disappeared into the sanctum of the temple.

The colorful story of Aandaal has its parallels, with the much more known legends associated with the more recent Saint Poetess Mirabai of North Western India. Both these poets are known for their inspiring poetry as well as their passion for Krishna. While Mirabai lived upto a ripe old age, singing praises of Krishna, visiting shrines associated with the life of Krishna, Aandaal of South India, is said to have merged with her consort at Srirangam, as a young bride. The only two Sree Vaishnavite shrines directly associated with Aandaal are Srivilliputtur and Srirangam, although she has referred to Mathura, Brindavanam (Aaippaadi), Tirukkannapuram, Azhagar Koyil, Tirupati, Dwarka in her Tamil hymns.

Aandaal is regarded as more than a saint or a poet, although she is considered to be one of the Aalwaars, by virtue of her contribution in Tamil verse - to Sree Vaishnavite liturgy. Aandaal is regarded as Bhu Devi - or Mother Earth, the consort of Vishnu, and a shrine to Aandaal adorns several of the Sree Vaishnavite shrines. She is also regarded as a symbol of the strength of womanhood, a person with a sense of sublime purpose, complemented with a strong determination to attain the purpose successfully. An acknowledgement of these virtues is reflected in the belief that prevails that reliving this determination, through the chanting of the Tiruppaavai hymns would aid one in attaining their objectives.

Thoughts...... !

2006-12-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

As you start on this journey, there are some things you should know,it's all about life's mystery ...quite a magical show.Wild waves on the water ~ a mirage of the mind,plus words that have meaning, direction and rhyme.

You could surf through these pages, enjoying the art...or study its reason ~ give the poems some deep thought.What I want you to see and read in my words,is that the real world is not obvious ...but rather absurd!

You must see through the surface to understand what is there ~take time to reflect life, even if you don't really care.Someday you'll be older & wiser and see,or you'll still be a traveler on this path eternally.

Unlocking the secrets that are hidden inside,through doors of erception ...Yourself you could find.

You can run as fast as you want to,
you can stop for every pretty face.
The real surprise is no surprise,
the turtle won the biggest race.

Only One Mother

2006-12-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

Me N My Solitude

2006-12-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

Come out of this MAYA you will realize the same…

The quest for all is often within me
To chase my dream and destiny
In a journey of life I still realize
That I have gained and lost nothing

To people darkness is a fear
But an evolution of beings
To people sun is a bright light
But it is twilight to the west

Life is a wonderful Experience
People act according to their incidents
For me there is no sin or blasphemy
For me there is no formula for success

But the zeal to know the ultimate truth
To discover the life’s origin and purpose
I shall go from where I have come from
I shall crave for happiness that lasts forever

Transformation and change are inevitable
Let us cease from abusing each other
Let us ignite the minute formless within
To liberate ourselves with no fear and qualm

-Dinnu

Hinduism - Few facts

2006-12-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

Hinduism Few Facts

1) Why do we light a lamp?
A) Lamp gives light and drives away darkness, like that we are praying to God to drive away the darkness present in us and light the spiritual light in us i. e spiritual enlightens.

2) Why do we have a prayer room?
A) Keeping a separate room for prayer where we do only prayer so that to develop concentration and mental satisfaction with out distracting by the worldly matters.

3) Why do we do namaste?
A) None is inferior in this world. All are equal. In spiritual they say all are god, it means we must respect our fellow beings. so it is respecting our fellow beings so that a person won't develop ego.

4) Why do we prostrate before parents & elders?
A) What ever are how much we develop in life, to be in that position this body is given by our parents. because them where in this world. so treating them as God who created us and we prostrate before them. Eldersareborn before us, seeing in a view as they are knowledgeable person and experienced person than us we prostrate before them.

5 why do we marks(tilak,bottu) on the forehead?
A) They are 7 chakras in our body according to Indian medicine. 1 1/2 deep in to our forehead there is a 6th chakra called aaghnya. in olden days the tilak are made by different components, so by keeping those tilak mind and glands present in that region are maintained nicely and healthy, by that healthy mind one can become knowledgeable and also it controls all other chakras also.

6) Why do we not touch papers, books & people with the feet?
A) In scientific view reg. books and papers if we touch them with feet and after with hands it causes infection to us because feet is filthy area and also not to develop reckless towards anything or towards anyone. To get that shraddha towards everyone and everything it is looked as sacred and god because we believe that god has created all.

7) To touch another with the feet is considered an act of misdemeanor. Why is this so?
A) Not to develop egoism and to develop well manners we consider all are equal. so to implement it in practical we consider God is there everywhere and in everything It is respecting others.

8) Why do we apply holy ash?
A) Holy ash is made by different components. so it is good for healthy mind, so it is applied on forehead to we healthy mind. Because according to Indian medicine 11/2 deep in to forehead region there is 6th chakra which maintains mind and glands and controls all other chakras also.

9) why do we offer food to the lord before eating it?
A) we work hard and get the food feel that we are everything and great because we are independent, so not to get it in to head and develop egoism, we believe that God is the doer n we are instruments in his hands. he has given us everything so we are giving to him what he has given to us and praying him to bless us and get the food like this in future also.

10) Why do we fast?
A) Scientifically to purify our digestive system. Another view is that checking how self-control we on us. Spiritually fast in the name of god i. e we can sacrifice are not i. e detaching ourselves from this wordly tempthations by controlling our tongue from tasting different tastes. (by taking variety of food).

11) why do we do pradikshina?
A) theyaretwo. we do self pradikshina and another we do pradikshina around an idol. wedanta says we are aham brahmasmi, im god, we believe that each is divine,so we do pradikshina to our self. When we see god in an idol we worship it and do pradikshina around it.

12) why is pradikshina done only in a clock wise manner?
A) v prefer right hand to eat food and also right hand is used for doing sacred things. we use right hand mostly. so it is belief that it is good if turn from right to left so we do it in clockwise manner.

13) why do we regard trees & plants as sacred?
A) v water the plantsarenot it grows and every part of it is useful to us in many ways to us. so we do it anything to it are not it is selflessly useful to us. so we believe in everything god is there,so we consider them as sacred.
14) why do we ring the bell in a temple?
A) in hindu mythology it is believed them different gods lives in diff lokas. so they are wery far from earth. it is an indication to god thatyourdevotee came. it's just drawing god's attention towards us.

15) why do we worship kalasha?
A) According to Hinduism the world is maintained by three main gods. they called as sruchti,stithi,laya karulu. brahma creates the world, vishnu maintains it and shiva destroys it. so whatever pooja are sacred things we do, we do in the name of the three. kalasha=container. it shape is compared to our life cycle symbolically. it has base i. e birth(brahma),it becomes broadened in the middle that is life(vishnu) and becomes narrow at the tip i. e death(shiva). so we are praying the three in one idol i. e kalasha.

16) why do we consider the lotus as special?
A) lotus will be in mud water. mud will be there beneath the flo we are but the lotus will be clean and the mud won't be to it. so in spiritual view eventhough we live in this world, the worldly matters should not we any influence on us and we must be spiritually enlightened.

17) why do we worship tulasi?
A) our scientist called dhanvantari considered as God wrote about the medicine. in that tulasi is used for medicines to cure diseases. it is favorite of lord vishn you,he we are on his neck. because vishnu is the lord of maintaining life according to hinduism. tulasi is antiseptic, antiviral, anti-bacterial. it as many medicinal fallows so it is considered as gift given by god to save our lives. so it is considered as sacred and worshiped.

18) why do we blow the couch?
A) different customs has different meaning. one is by doing pooja and yagna all those sacred things that they not only give mental satisfaction but also good for health scientifically. by blowin couch it increases one's lung capacity.

19) why do we say shanti thrice?
A) as i said before according to Hinduism human life is maintained by three main gods. brahma(gives birth),vishnu(maintains life),shiva(death). so whatever pooja are sacred thing we do,v do in the name of god. so shanti mantra is said thrice in the name of three gods.

20) why do we offer a coconut?
A) coconut is hard at outside and has s we et water inside. like our spiritual is covered by our egoism. so how hard it may be one should break his egoism and enjoy the sweetness of humanity in them by spiritual enlightens.

21) Why do we chant om?
A) By praying one get mental satisfaction. Mind becomes calm negate calmness and enjoy the peacefulness within us. And scientifically the word om is pronounced in such a way that there is movement from umbilicus to the mouth. by this the impure air with in us is sent out and fresh air is taken in. it is good for health.

22) why do we do aarti?
A) after pooja is done aarti is given are simple aarti is given, it means by praying to you, what all knowledge we got is due to you, have enlightened our souls. That is dedicated to you. Hinduism is way of life to realize one self. Rituals are given by enlightened souls what are to be following we do to lead a discipline, proper life so that we get spiritual enlightens.

I answered out of my best knowledge if any wrong is there please ignore it and give the right one. I think I tried my best to make some thing clear. I think it helps. Thanks.

Pain is Real or Unreal ?

2006-12-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

They say “Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional”, I agree with this and attempting to practice it, I agree the fact that I failed many times but still I’m happy for the reason that I found a permanent solution for the illness which we will have for a life time.

Face the Pain helps people who suffer low self-esteem, in other words, most of us. This self-help book shows the mechanism of suffering. Understanding how we suffer reveals a choice we can wield.

Most people do not know about the virus infecting them since birth. Most people do not know their unfased emotions seethe under the surface and build until some kind of eruption (physical ailment or emotional outburst) becomes inevitable. Most people do not know how they suffer. Many have not examined what they really want and most do not know who they are, which is why this book is so important today. People are ready for freedom. Timely, simple and direct, Face the Pain, Spiritual Help to Realize Freedom, explores how we suffer. Understanding the mechanism of suffering reveals a choice we can wield. This self-help, inspirational book offers guidance to people who suffer from depression, addiction, their relationships, or a general dissatisfaction with life. It can also help those who feel fine, but would like assistance with understanding a family member or friend. For Seekers... the book points not only to freedom from suffering, but also to Freedom It Self. Although words, however inspired, cannot describe exactly what That is, they can attempt to evoke the direct experience of That... which reveals my intention for all these words: may I and they serve Love.

Importance of 18 steps in Shabarimala

2006-12-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you heard about 18 steps in Shabarimala, read the following to know what exactly they represent !

Built on a plateau about 40 feet high, the Ayyappan temple commands a lofty view of the mountains and valleys all around. The ancient temple has been rebuilt after a fire in 1950, consisting of a sanctum sanctorum with a copper-plated roof and four golden finials at the top, two mandapams, the belikalpura which houses the altar,and the flag-staff Replacing the earlier stone image of the deity is a beautiful idol of Ayyappa in panchaloha, an alloy of five metals, about one and a half feet tall.

There are several explanations regarding the significance of the Patinettampadi, but in all of them, the emphasis is on the number 18. One popular belief is that the first 5 steps signify the five indriyas or senses, the next 8 the ragas, the next 3 the gunas, followed by vidya and avidya. Crossing these would take the devotee closer to self-realisation.

Originally it was granite stone of 5 to 6 feet wide. Now it is covered by panchloha in the year 1985. The steep steps are so important and holy, no one can climb them without fasting for 41 days and carrying the holy irrumudi on head.

There are many mythology associated with the holy Patinettampadi. Some believe the eighteen steps denotes the 18 puranas. Some say that 18 weapons with which Lord Ayyappa destroyed the evil denotes the 18 steps. Others are of the belief that the first five steps denotes the indriyas (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin). The next eight steps signifies the ragas (tatwa, kama, krodha,moha, lobha, madha, matsraya, and ahamkara. The next three steps signifies the gunas (satwa, rajas and thamas). The seventeenth and the eighteenth denotes vidhya and ignorance.

The Patinettampadi can be used only twice - once for ascending the temple and once for descending below leaving the hill. Before ascending or descending the steps, pilgrims break coconut as an offering to the steps. One needs to have the sacre Irumudi on head while going up or down the 18 steps. While descending the steps the devotees climb down backwards facing the sanctum sanctorum.

One who climbs the Patinettampadi for 18 times shall plant a sapling of coconut in Sabarimala.
The first five steps represents the Five Senses (Panchendriyas) i.e, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile. These signify theortal' nature of one's body.

The next eight steps represents the eight Ashtaragas viz Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Maltsarya, Asooya, Dhumb(Love, Anger, Avarice, Lust, Pride, Unhealthy Competition, Jealousy and Boast fulness).

The next three steps represents the three Gunas (nature-born qualities), Satv, (perspicuity, discernment), Rajas (activity, enjoyment) and Thamas (inactivity, stupor).

The last two steps represents Vidya (Knowledge) and Avidya (Ignorance).

It is assumed that after climbing up these eighteen steps reverently, one symbolically detaches oneself from all the worldly ties that bind one physically and mentally to the world . It is only then that a person will be in a receptive condition to be `one' in consonance with the concept of 'The Ultimate Creator.
The details given above represent the most prevalently accepted version of the significance of the Holy Pathinettam Padi. Other versions are:-

Ayyappa was a master of 18 weapons and the steps signify these.

Ayyappa before merging into the idol at the Sanctum Sanctorum, surrendered his 18 weapons, one at each step of Pathinettam Padi.

The steps represent the 18 hills existing in and around the region of Sabarimala.

The following are the 18 sacred chakras and upachakras:

18. Sahasrara
17. Mahabindu
16. Unmana
15. Samana
14. Vyapika
13. Sakti
12. Nadanta
11. Nada
10. Rodhini
09. Ardhacakra
08. Bindu
07. Ajna
06. Visuddhi
05. Lambika
04. Anahata
03. Manipura
02. Swadhishtana
01. Muladhara

Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa !

~ Chakri

Three Things........... !

2006-12-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

Three things in life once gone never come back.
1. Words. 2. Opportunity. 3. Time.

Three things in life are never sure.
1. Dreams. 2. Success. 3. Fortune.

Three things in life that make you a great person.
1. Hard work. 2. Sincerity. 3. Success.

Three things in life are most valuable.
1. Love. 2. Self respect. 3. Friends.

Three things in life must not be lost.
1. Peace. 2. Hope. 3. Honesty.

Three things in life that destroy a person.
1. Greed. 2. Pride. 3. Anger.

YOUR EYES ARE POWERFUL

2006-12-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was a child, I have been in love with nature and curious about the mystery of the Universe. I was inspired by flavor, sounds, images and feelings and I developed deep awareness of supernatural and spiritual power. My soul explores the powerful experience of living in a world of cultural juxtapositions in which past, present, future, tradition and contradiction, are interwoven with dreams and consciousness.

A deep reverence for nature illuminates the beauty of an evolving human spirit.

Crisis of ecology, political turmoil, social repression and economic development are affecting each creature as civilization becomes increasingly globalized. This phenomenon inspires me to envision a path in which this cycle of cultures can harmonize to a shared rhythm - together riding in the music of joy, anger and sadness.

I feel that what is most important is to give selflessly from a pure and truthful place in the heart. Generosity that seeks to be truly humble creates the capacity of experiencing life in a way that brings joy and fulfillment to the labyrinthine depth of the soul.

To Grow Out You Must Grow In

2006-12-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Growing in means the development of inner resources. When you build a tall building, the crucial aspect that determines success is the building's foundation. To build high, you must dig deep.

A building's foundation is not tested until the exact stress for which its foundation was designed comes to bear upon it. The foundation's strength is then tested and the soundness of its construction is most crucial at this time.

Changing Your Attitude

The first place that God needs to work is in your heart. The heart is the major battle ground.

How does one become successful as spiritual leader, as a businessman, or in any other profession? You first must change your heart attitude. How can you change your heart attitude? You must inspect your vision. If you have the wrong vision or if your vision is too small for the ability God has granted you, your heart attitude is also going to be wrong and you'll find yourself discouraged, bewildered, and depressed.

Some cover up their failures by using catch phrases that sound spiritual. God wants us to grow and to grow in a big way. Being satisfied with smallness may reveal a lack of spiritual insight of God's kingdom purposes. Or perhaps it is a lack of compassion for a world that doesn't know the Lord or for believers that are struggling. How else can we serve God and help others unless we ourselves are successful. This is no time to be satisfied with the status quo in your life. This is the time that God will work in your heart for great growth both spiritually and materially. Don't be fearful when you consider the possibility that God has great things for you. God has called you for special purpose. You must work on your heart to find His purpose for your life.

A Man's Vision Will Also Limit His Behavior.

We can never be any more than we dream of being. As we set our eyes on God's holy word and develop a deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit, our vision is changed. How can you change your vision? You can't, but the Holy Spirit can and will.

I had to be delivered from the concept that the Holy Spirit was just an experience and come to the realization that the Holy Spirit was a real, divine person.
As I began to wait upon him and talk to him, he then became very real to me and began to change my vision. In fact, as we set our gaze upon the Holy Spirit, he takes the brush of faith, dips into the ink of the Word of God and draws beautiful pictures upon the canvas of our hearts. After he gives us a new picture to strive for, we find a new internal motivation.

...there is no obstacle that can discourage a man who's been given a vision by the Holy Spirit. One of the main obstacles to overcome is the opinion of those who say, "It's impossible. It has never been done before." What is their problem? They have never seen what God has shown you. Once God has granted you a vision, then you must learn to spend time dreaming over that vision.

Visions and Dreams

This is the essence of my philosophy. It covers all of the principles of congregational growth work. I call it "visions and dreams." As I travel throughout the world, I've seen evidences of the fact that the application of vision and dreams really works in changing one's heart attitude.
Most men I've seen are satisfied with the status quo. They have congregations of 30 to 50 members and since most tithed, they could live comfortably without expanding. So their congregations become exclusive little clubs. When this happens, the desire for growth will not develop.

Expand Your Vision

Sometimes our actions limit our vision. At times we find ourselves in a situation where we have to choose the level of money we're going to spend for something. Perhaps you're visiting a place and need to stay in a hotel. What kind of a room should you stay in? Does God really want us to stay in a nice place? Does he want us to stay in Spartan surroundings so as to conserve money? This a difficult question, which only you can you answer. Yet sometimes, I've found that people don't believe God for great things, especially when it comes to them selves. This may come from a sense of inferiority, or a false humility or spirituality.

That week I spent much time teaching the leaders to begin to expand their vision and dreams. As amazing as it sounds, it seems that our heavenly Father allows his representatives on earth to limit his activity through a lack of vision. I believe the same thing applies to prayer. God voluntarily limits Himself by our prayers. He can do anything, but He chooses to limit the scope of His authority by vesting it in us.

So here is how it works. Our heart attitude is changed by catching a fresh vision from the Holy Spirit. Once the vision is imparted, we must dwell upon it and dream about it until the vision comes into reality.

AMMA

2006-12-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

For all the Mothers...

To The living god of the world

When I was in your womb for nine months

For every moment you have been stoical

Then I cross the threshold into the new world

The deeds by you cannot be paid back

The kindness of you cannot be gauged

For me life was not known completely

Until you gave me your breath to live

The one who pampered my inner beauty

The one to be behind regardless of my flaws

For me unconditional love was not known

Until you bestowed it on me gracefully

I owe you my character

I owe you my knowledge

I owe you my health

I owe you my wealth

I owe you my every thing

MAA TUJHE SALAM - Dinnu

Frustration

2006-12-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Motiovational

2006-11-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

Inspirational

2006-11-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Material World

2006-11-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

At present, the material world is the only world we know. Science tells us that we're on one planet among many, in one galaxy among many, in one solitary universe of incomprehensible size and complexity.

The Vedas tell us more. They say that this universe is one among countless others, each at least as big and complex as this one.

The Vedas also tell us that the material world has a creator, and He created it with a purpose. In pursuit of that purpose, He has placed living beings on every planet in every universe, most in forms now imperceptible to us.

"This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti [Arjuna], producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again." –Sri Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 9.10

Jeeva Paramanuvu - Livings in Universe

2006-11-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

Universe consists of 8,400,000 species of plants, animals and humans.

There are 900,000 species living in the water.

There are also 2,000,000 non-moving living entities (sthavara) such as trees and plants.

There are also 1,100,000 species of insects and reptiles.

There are 1,000,000 species of birds. As far as quadrupeds are concerned there are 3,000,000 varieties.

There are 400,000 human species.

As written in Padma Purana I started believing in the following statement "I became an animal subjected to the gunas and my free will was replaced by the instincts. Gradually I will be elevated to the uncivilized human level. This may take me longer time if I am killed by ignorant humans while in the animal body"

Pancha Bhootha & Loka

2006-11-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

All the universes are clustered together up and down, and each and every one of them is separately sevenfold-covered. The watery portion is beyond the sevenfold coverings, and each covering is ten times more expansive than the previous covering.

The extent of the cosmic phenomenon is calculated to be diametrically (both ways) four billion miles. Then the coverings of the universe begin. The first stratum of the covering (earth) is calculated to extend eighty million miles, and the subsequent coverings of the universe are respectively of fire, effulgence, air and ether, one after another, each extending ten times further than the previous.

1 yojan = 8 miles = 12,8 km

Dhruvaloka, the polestar, is 3,800,000 yojanas above the sun. Above Dhruvaloka by 10,000,000 yojanas is Maharloka, above Maharloka by 20,000,000 yojanas is Janaloka, above Janaloka by 80,000,000 yojanas is Tapoloka, and above Tapoloka by 120,000,000 yojanas is Satyaloka. Thus the distance from the sun to Satyaloka is 233,800,000 yojanas, or 1,870,400,000 miles. The Vaikuntha planets begin 26,200,000 yojanas (209,600,000 miles) above Satyaloka. Thus the Visnu Purana describes that the covering of the universe is 260,000,000 yojanas (2,080,000,000 miles) away from the sun.

Paramatma - Voice of God

2006-11-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."

"Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted."

"One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramatma, is situated in every living entity's heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes."

The Mystery of Life

2006-11-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

The time has come to face up to the truth,
whatever the consequences, those are the rules.
Nothing happens by luck or by chance,
the timing is perfect and your world is enhanced.

You're reading this message because of a light,
that has guided you inward, to see toward what's right.
Some of the travelers who get on this ride,
are not ready to see it, to think or decide.

They just need a push, a shove or a guide,
the great illusion is inward, and not just outside.
It's the secret of life that flows in us all,
but why understand it and why climb this wall?

Nothing is simple as we hide under our beds,
all is a paradox and it's all in our heads.

Fantasy is lucid on this trip through the dream,
the path travels inward ~ building high self esteem.
Overcoming all images of fear and of strife.
thought creates reality ...that's the Mystery of Life!

Cause & Effect

2006-11-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

The search for the answers to life and its laws, is rooted in everything, since effects have their cause.It's as easy as saying when words hit a wall, they come back at the speaker like a red rubber ball.

You can't hide any garbage, or mess up in this dream... all your actions are viewed from beyond the mainstream.The ancients all looked for that place ~ Shangri-La,
and reflected in the knowledge of what is known as Karma.

You can study the ancients for all that's concealed, or you can look toward intentions to have all be revealed.It's as simple as saying that your thoughts are alive, they create actions & reactions unseen to the eyes.

It's difficult understanding that life's a charade, or that fears create reality ...if you're slightly afraid. A guru can teach you the path that's unsaid,
these words try to show you that it's inside your head.

Mother Nature

2006-11-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

I once read a book about the secret of things,
only to start wondering about truth & meanings.
It was a vision of life that came from within,
and it filled me with destiny about the world we live in.

It was written in symbols, in numbers and forms,
the nature of perfection, from the seed to reborn.
All the aspects of life you must discover in self,
and rise to accomplish all you hope to yourself.

But the path to the answer is traveled within,
revealed to the mind by a study of Yin...
The Yang is the outer and a view of contradictions,
you're fighting & struggling all of life's oppositions.

Yin power is quiet & peaceful and still,
and your mind is in focus to understand ...and it will.
As the road curves in and your purpose is changed,
...it's to give you the viewpoints from both youth & old age.

Moments In Life

2006-11-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!

When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

Find the one that makes your heart smile.Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!

Om

2006-11-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

Om (also Aum ) is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism, in which Vedic tradition it originated.

The syllable is sometimes referred to as the "Udgitha" or "pranava mantra" (primordial mantra); not only because it is considered to be the primal sound, but also because most mantras begin with it. As a seed syllable (bija), it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism. In Devanagari it is written ॐ and in Tibetan script.

Origin of OM

Found first in the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Aum has been seen as the first manifestation of the unmanifest Brahman (the single Divine Ground of Hinduism) that resulted in the phenomenal universe. Essentially, all the cosmos stems from the vibration of the sound 'Aum' in Hindu cosmology. Indeed, so sacred is it that it is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu mantras and incantations. It is undoubtedly the most representative symbol of Hinduism.

Use of this sound in rituals, may have originally started by imitating a similar territorial call of the male tiger.

The OM symbol's left part, which is like a figure 3, is also a component of some Devanagari letters, where it means "this syllable has no initial consonant".

Philosophy of OM
Gods and Goddesses are sometimes referred to as Aumkar, which means Form of Aum, thus implying that they are limitless, the vibrational whole of the cosmos. Ek Onkar, meaning 'one god' is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. In Hindu metaphysics, it is proposed that the manifested cosmos (from Brahman) has name and form (nama-rupa), and that the closest approximation to the name and form of the universe is Aum, since all existence is fundamentally composed of vibration. This is considered by some to be remniscent of some current physical theories such as quantum physics and super string theory, which describe the universe in terms of vibrating fields or strings.

It is frequently used to represent three subsumed into one, a common theme in Hinduism. It implies that our current existence is mithya, or 'slightly lesser reality,' that in order to know the full truth we must comprehend beyond the body and intellect and intuit the true nature of infinity, of a Divine Ground that is immanent but also transcends all duality, being and non-being, that cannot be described in words. Within this metaphysical symbolism, the three are represented by the lower curve, upper curve and tail of the ॐ subsumed into the ultimate One, represented by the little crescent moon-shape and dot, known as chandrabindu.

Essentially, upon moksha, mukti, samadhi, nirvana, liberation, etc. one is able not only to see or know existence for what it is, but to become it. In attaining truth one simply realizes fundamental unity; it is not the joining together of a prior manifold splitting. When one gains true knowledge, there is no split between knower and known: one becomes knowledge/consciousness itself. In essence, Aum is the signifier of the ultimate truth that all is one.

Examples of Three into One:
Creation (Brahma)- Preservation (Vishnu)- Destruction (Shiva) into Brahman
Waking- Dreaming- Dreamless Sleep into Turiya (transcendental fourth state of consciousness) Rajas (activity, heat, fire)- Tamas (dullness, ignorance, darkness)- Sattva (purity, light, serenity/shanti) into Brahman Body, Speech and Mind into Oneness Etc.

The Chandogya Upanishad (1.1.1-10) states, "The udgitha is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth."

"Aum" can be seen as Sri Ganesh, whose figure is often represented in the shape of Aum. He is thus known as Aumkar (Shape of Aum). Sri Nataraja, or the Hindu god 'Shiva' dancing his dance of destruction, is seen in that popular representation mirroring the image of Aum. It is said to be the most perfect 'approximation' of the cosmic existence within time and space, and therefore the sound closest to Truth.

"The First Word Om (Aum) It is also called Pranav because its sound emanates from the Prana (vital vibration), which feels the Universe. The scripture says "Aum Iti Ek Akşara Brahman" (Aum that one syllable is Brahman).

When you pronounce AUM: A - emerges from the throat, originating in the region of the navel U - rolls over the tongue M - ends on the lips A - waking, U - dreaming, M - sleeping It is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human throat. It is the primordial fundamental sound symbolic of the Universal Absolute." Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, 'Aum' can be seen virtually everywhere, a standard sign for Hinduism and a vast but economical storehouse for the deep mythology inherent in the world's oldest religion.

It has been argued that Aum can be translated, into English, as "Eternal Yea". Notes the Chandogya Upanishad, "That syllable, is a syllable of permission; for, whenever we permit anything, we say Aum." However, this is seen by others as a myopic perspective because the same Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads, that aver this function also attribute to it the divine property of the source of the universe. Aum is seen as the source of existence as we know it within the causal dimensions of time and space, and thus affirmatory meanings in languages are a natural progression. Aum is not only affirmation, but negation, and transcends both.

The AUM sound is sometimes called "the 3-syllable Veda". The third syllable arises because in Devanagari and similar alphabets, a consonant at the end of a word is sometimes written as a separate consonant letter with the virama "no vowel" sign, and this combination is treated as a syllable when talking about Devanagari writing rather than about phonetics.

The Sanskrit word omkāra (from which came Punjabi onkār, etc), literally "OM-maker", has two families of meanings:-Brahma (god) in his role as creator, and thus a word for "creator".

Some quotations from Hindu scriptures regarding AUM / OM
In the Rig-veda we find the following information; "One who chants om, which is the closest form of Brahman, approaches Brahman. This liberates one from the fear of the material world, therefore it is known as tarak brahman."

"O Vishnu your self-manifest name, om, is the eternal form of cognizance. Even if my knowledge about the glories of reciting this name is incomplete, still, by the practice of reciting this name I will achieve that perfect knowledge. "He who has unmanifested potencies and is fully independent, manifests the vibration omkara, which indicates Himself. Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are the three forms He manifests."

Om takes the form of Gayatri, then Veda and Vedanta sutra; then it takes the shape of Srimad Bhagavatam and the lila, the divine pastimes, of the Lord."

Shakthi - The Power

2006-11-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

Shakti translates literally as power In most South Asian languages.

In Hinduism, Shakti is an aspect of Devi, and a personification of God as the Divine Mother who represents the active, dynamic principles of feminine power. Alternatively, Shakti represents the power of God, who is in Hinduism is Vishnu or Shiva. For Vaishnavites, God's power or Shakti is Yogamaya. For Shaivites, God's power is Parvati.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a prominent worshipper of Shakti and was a Shakta.

In the Hindu scripture 'Devi Mahatmyam', Mahamaya (Great Maya) is said to cover Vishnu's eyes in Yoganidra (Divine Sleep) during cycles of existence when all is resolved into one. By exhorting Mahamaya to release Her illusory hold on Vishnu, Brahma is able to bring Vishnu to aid him in killing two demons, Madhu and Kaitabh, who have manifested from Vishnu's sleeping form. Shri Ramakrishna often spoke of Mother Maya and combined deep Hindu allegory with the idea that Maya is a lesser reality that must be overcome so that one is able to realize his or her true Self.

Shaktism

Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. In Shaktism, as Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, along with other scholars, noted, emphasis is given to the feminine manifest by which the masculine Un-manifest Parasiva is ultimately reached. The Divine Mother is thus the mediatrix, and bestows advaitic moksha on those who worship Her. Hence, Shaktism is effectively a sub-denomination of Saivism as Devi is worshipped in order to attain union with Siva, who in Shaktism is the impersonal unmanifest Absolute.

Shaktism as we know it today developed between the 4th and the 7th centuries CE in India. It was during this development that the many religious texts, known as the Tantras, were written.

One may consider themselves a Shakta (a devotee of Shakti), a Shaiva (a devotee of Shiva), and a Vaishnava (a devotee of Vishnu) all at the same time.

This form of Hinduism is strongly associated with Vedanta, Samkhya and Tantra Hindu philosophies and is ultimately monist, though there is a rich tradition of Bhakti yoga associated with it. The feminine energy (Shakti) is considered to be the motive force behind all action and existence in the phenomenal cosmos in Hinduism. The cosmos itself is Brahman, the concept of the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality that is the Divine Ground of all being, the "world soul". Masculine potentiality is actualized by feminine dynamism, embodied in multitudinous goddesses who are ultimately reconciled in one.

The keystone text is the Devi Mahatmya which combines earlier Vedic theologies, emergent Upanishadic philosophies and developing tantric cultures in a laudatory exegesis of Shakti religion. Demons of ego, ignorance and desire bind the soul in maya (illusion) (also alternately ethereal or embodied) and it is Mother Maya, shakti, herself, who can free the bonded individual. The immanent Mother, Devi, is for this reason focused on with intensity, love, and self-dissolving concentration in an effort to focus the shakta (as a Shakti worshipper is sometimes known) on the true reality underlying time, space and causation, thus freeing one from karmic cyclism. A common hymn describing the 1000 names of Devi is the Lalitha sahasranama.

Among the manifestations of Devi most favoured for worship by Shaktas are Kali, Durga, and Parvati.

Prayer !

2006-11-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Krishna Ni Bhe Gha-Ni, Baroo !
Krishna Ni Bhe Gha-Ni, Baroo !

Darkness coming around,
And every body fight with the brother
Every body wants control,
Don't hesitate to kill one-another

So come back as Jesus
Come back and save the world
Bless all the future of every boy and girl
Come back as Rama,
Forgive us for what we've done
Come back as Allah,
Come back as anyone

Religion is the reason,
The world is breaking up into pieces
Colour of the people,
Keeps us locked in hate please release us

So Come down and help us,
Save all the little ones
They need a teacher,
And you are the only one
We can rely on,
To build a better world
A world that's for children,
A world that's for everyone

Time is healer, and time moves on
Time don't wait for any one
So, Tell me you'll be back
But that will take some time

Come back as Jesus
Come back and save the world
We need a teacher,
and You are the only one
Come back as Rama
Forgive us for what we've done
Come back as Allah
Come back for every one.......

The meaning of human life

2006-11-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

The question of the meaning of one’s life gets inevitably raised before any man who matures in his development, moving up from the instinctive-reflexive stage to the really human one, at which intellect begins to dominate in choosing one’s way of living and conduct.

Many philosophers have been racking their brains over this question. But the majority of them were not able to comprehend the true God’s philosophy, while perverted conceptions created by numerous sects could not satisfy them. As a result the question about the meaning of human life was “declared” by many philosophers to be a “pseudo-question”, i.e. the one that cannot be answered by its own nature. This atheistic concept assumed, in fact, that man is not dramatically different from animals and the objective meaning of his existence on Earth is just... reproduction, ensuring the survival of the human race and creation of material values for the descendants. Therefore no spiritual efforts are necessary, and ethics in relationships with other leaving beings can be neglected...

“What’s our life? — A game... Good, evil — only dreams... Work, honesty — just tales for the females...” And a suicide “when the time comes” is the only right move for those worthy of respect...

But the Truth is that there is the meaning of human life.

It consists in development of consciousness, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Qualitative development consists in intellectual and ethical perfection, as well as in refining of consciousness. Quantitative aspect implies a direct increase of the amount of the refined energy of consciousness.

The latter reflects, among other things, the level of so called “personal power” — the psycho energetic might of the particular individual mass of consciousness that depends on the quantity of the energy of consciousness, or in other words on the size of a given soul.

According to this quantitative criterion souls are classified by God into “minor” and “major” ones But regardless of this classification each of them can possess both positive and negative properties. God calls the “minor” souls that have developed negative properties demoniac ones; if in addition to this they have accumulated significant amount of “personal power” they are considered diabolic, or devils. They could be encountered either in embodied or non-embodied form. Hell is their abode while they are in the non-embodied state; when they do get embodied — this takes place in “hellish” conditions, where they will be experiencing the results of their bad karma (the fate they created for themselves). In this way God suggests that they experience what the pain, which they were causing to other living beings, is like. He does this in order to help them to become better, to make it urgent for them to think about their ways, about the meaning of human life, about God and the Path to Him...

But those people who develop in the right direction at increasing speed rush into embraces of their beloved God; their lives become filled more and more with Divine happiness and exultation of Divine Love.

So, what does God want us to become, specifically?

Very Meaningful

2006-11-02T23:35:00.000-08:00

Q: What are the 7 secrets of success?

A: I found the answers in my room.

· Roof said: Aim high
· Fan said: Be cool
· Clock said: Every min. is precious
· Mirror said: Reflect before you act
· Window said: See the world
· Calendar said: Be up-to-date

· Door said: Push hard to achieve your goals.

.:: Thatwamasi ::.

2006-11-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Tat Twam Asi means....That You Is...in pure english That is you...

What you are to the world the world will be to you...Like if you are good to someone the other person will be good to you...If you stand in front of mirror The reflection will smile at you ..if you frown ..the reflection will frown..Tattwamasi means the same..Here it the God who is in front of the mirror and you are its reflection...God is in you...You are Gods reflection...

The Reflection is nothing on its own no life or existance, its not real...That means you are nothing on your own...But as in the example of mirror we feel its all real...Its all his maya..which u think is real...Tattwamasi measn God is the real one and all are his manifestations..

God has created the world...but not difficulties or greviances...Its your thinking of Self...which creates difficulties nad problem...Thats the funda of vratham also...forget your self... be one with god...VAratham teaches us...to leave our self..our Ego...and be one with God..

Hinduism is the mother of all religions and it is individual's (jeevatma) association with the Supreme (Paramatma), and the ultimate objective of religion is realization of Truth. Forms which symbolize Truth are only indications; they are not Truth itself, which transcends all conceptualization. The mind in its efforts to understand Truth through reasoning must always fail, for Truth transcends the very mind which seeks to embrace it. (Tatwamasi)

It is unique among the world's religions. We may boldly proclaim it the greatest and oldest religion in the world. To begin with, it is mankind's oldest spiritual declaration, the very fountainhead of faith on the planet. Hinduism's venerable age has seasoned it to maturity. It is the only religion, to my knowledge, which is not founded in a single historic event or prophet, but which itself precedes recorded history. Hinduism has been called the "cradle of spirituality," and the "mother of all religions," partially because it has influenced virtually every major religion and partly because it can absorb all other religions, honor and embrace their scriptures, their saints, their philosophy. This is possible because Hinduism looks compassionately on all genuine spiritual effort and knows unmistakably that all souls are evolving toward union with the Divine, and all are destined, without exception, to achieve spiritual enlightenment and liberation in this or a future life.

Any religion in the world is considered as a mind stratum within people. It is a group of people who think consciously, subconsciously and subsuperconsciously alike and who are guided by their own superconsciousness and the superconsciousness of their leaders which make up the force field which we call a religion. It does not exist outside the mind. People of a certain religion have all been impressed with the same experiences. They have all accepted the same or similar beliefs and attitudes, and their mutual concurrence creates the bonds of fellowship and purpose, of doctrine and communion.

The people in Hinduism through a shared mind structure can understand, acknowledge, accept and love all the peoples of the world, encompass them within their mind as being fine religious people. The Hindu truly believes that there is a single Eternal Path, but he does not believe that any one religion is the only valid religion or the only religion that will lead the soul to salvation. Rather, the Eternal Path is seen reflected in all religions.

The will of God or the Gods is at work in all genuine worship and service. It is said in Hindu scripture that "Truth is one. Paths are many." The search for Truth, for God, is called the Sanatana Dharma, or the Eternal Path because it is inherent in the soul itself, where religion begins. This path, this return to his Source, is ever existent in man, and is at work whether he is aware of the processes or not. There is not this man's search and that man's search. And where does the impetus come from? It comes from the inside of man himself. Thus, Hinduism is ever vibrant and alive for it depends on this original source of inspiration, this first impulse of the spirit within, giving it an energy and a vibrancy that is renewable eternally in the now.

The Hindu feels that his faith is the broadest, the most practical and effective instrument of spiritual unfoldment, but he includes in his Hindu mind all the religions of the world as expressions of the one Eternal Path and understands each proportionately in accordance with its doctrines and dogma. He knows that certain beliefs and inner attitudes are more conducive to spiritual growth than others, and that all religions are, therefore, not the same. They differ in important ways. Yet, there is no sense whatsoever in Hinduism of an "only path." A devout Hindu is supportive of all efforts that lead to a pure and virtuous life and would consider it unthinkable to dissuade a sincere devotee from his chosen faith. This is the Hindu mind, and this is what we teach, what we practice and what we offer aspirants on the path.

Footprints in the Sand Poem

2006-10-18T11:42:00.001-07:00

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.” The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

LIFE IS A THEATER

2006-10-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

LIFE IS A THEATER
Invite Your Audience Carefully

Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives.
There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a DISTANCE.
It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of, or at leastminimize your time with, draining, negative, incompatible,not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships.Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention.Which ones lift and which ones lean?Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know or appreciate you?The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of Your Life."If you cannot change the people around you, CHANGE the people you are around."Remember that the people we hang with will have an impact on both our lives and our income. And so we must be careful to choose the people we hang out with, as well as the information with which we feed our minds.We should not share our dreams with negative people, Nor feed our dreams with negative thoughts.It's your choice and your life..... It's up to you who and what you let in it......

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

2006-10-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

People always come into your life for a reason, a season and a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a godsend to you, and they are. They are there for a reason,you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die, Sometimes they just walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilleed; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.

LIFETIME, relationships teach you a lifetime of lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being part of my life.....

Relationship - Trust

2006-10-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.

The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.

" The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand."

"What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father.

"There's a big difference," replied the little girl.

"If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go.

But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter whathappens, you will never let my hand go.

" In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.

So hold the hand of theperson whom you love rather than expecting them to hold urs...

Does God exist ?

2006-10-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.

They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, He saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:"You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.

"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed.

"Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! " answered the barber.

"What happens, is, people do not come to me. "

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer.

"That's the point! God, too, DOES Exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

Value - Too Good

2006-10-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!

Life Still Has A Meaning

2006-10-14T20:14:00.002-07:00

If there is a future there is time for mending-
Time to see your troubles coming to an ending.

Life is never hopeless however great your sorrow-
If you're looking forward to a new tomorrow.

If there is time for wishing then there is time for hoping-
When through doubt and darkness you are blindly groping.

Though the heart be heavy and hurt you may be feeling-
If there is time for praying there is time for healing.

So if through your window there is a new day breaking-
Thank God for the promise, though mind and soul be aching,

If with harvest over there is grain enough for gleaning-
There is a new tomorrow and life still has meaning.

Trust in God. Always !

2006-10-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

I asked for Strength.........And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom.........And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity.........And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage.........And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.........And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors.........And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ........I received everything I needed!

Whatever You Imagin Is what you Become

2006-10-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dreams... I believe in my dreams, talk about my dreams, think about my dreams, plan for my dreams, create opportunities for my dreams, and I see myself already in my dreams. The only way to achieve a dream is to talk about it, believe it, see yourself in it and create opportunities for it.

There is a great will-power that follows whatever you imagine. This will-power gets you going despite all odds and the dreams that are supposed to take you ten to twenty years to achieve are achieved in a shorter period.

Paper plans are not enough for dreams! Just see yourself acting out what you have imagined and by the time you get into it, you may think you are still in the process of imagination.

What you believe is what you achieve. What you imagine is what you become. What you think is what you experience.

Only One Mother.....

2006-10-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the world wide over.

Mother's DayThe kindest face I'll ever see,
The kindest voice I'll ever hear.
The one who cares the most for meIs my own mother dear.

All through the yearI'll try to doThe things that showMy love for you.
And not be happy just to say,"I love you, Mother," on Mother's Day.

Take an angel from the skyAnd send her down this way.
Then send some little boys and girlsTo keep her company.
Then fill her heartWith Mother love,
Give her a smile of cheer.
And you'll have a kind of MotherJust like my Mother, dear.

LIFE IS....

2006-10-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

~ by Mother Theresa

20 Extraordinary Human Capacities:

2006-10-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

1. People have a tremendous capacity for outstanding achievement. There are also many extraordinary capacities that allow them to become high achievers.

2. Here are seventeen extraordinary capacities that make human beings remarkable. When we recognize and use these capacities, the quality of our lives can become more joyful than ever before.

3. Helping someone in their time of tragedy or need shows the capacity for human goodness.

4. Listening closely to another's words and experience shows the capacity for soulful communication.

5. Understanding the pain, sorrow, or loss of another person shows the capacity for empathy.

6. Believing the best about others, and offering time, support, and friendship shows the capacity for trust.

7. Apologizing for a past mistake shows the capacity for strong character and trustworthiness.
8. Forgiving the errors of a fellow human being shows the capacity to receive forgiveness.

9. Supporting the truth, even when it is unpopular, shows the capacity for honesty and integrity.

10. Compromising when it is best for the welfare of others shows the capacity for teamwork.

11. Giving time and effort to assist others to be successful shows the capacity for sincerity.

12. Being curious about life, its people and its mysteries, shows the capacity for learning.

13. Praying for the welfare of family, friends, and all of humanity shows the capacity for love.

14. Waiting for God's answer to a prayer shows the capacity for faith and patience.

15. Accepting the answer to a prayer, whatever it might be, discovering its blessings, and then moving on shows the capacity for gratitude.

16. Believing in a God-given purpose throughout long and difficult seasons of scarcity shows the capacity for determination and hope.

17. Taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from all experiences show the capacity for being human.

18. Getting up after having fallen down or suffered failure shows the capacity for resolve.

19. Persisting resolutely to navigate life's rapids, scale its mountains, move beyond its perceived limitations, and arrive at its finish line with faith and dignity shows the capacity for achievement.

20. When we use our mental and spiritual capacities, our lives will be filled with more love, contentment, and achievement than we can imagine. When we cultivate a deep faith in a Power greater than ourselves, we never have to travel life's journey alone. There will be powerful sources of wisdom and guidance walking with us every step of the way.

DETERMINATON

2006-10-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so.""Crazy men and their crazy dreams.""It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Unconditional Love

2006-10-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.

"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."

"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."

"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!

There's a miracle called Friendship That dwells in the heart You don't know how it happens Or when it gets started But you know the special lift It always brings And you realize that Friendship Is God's most precious gift!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

BE PATIENT

2006-10-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is a true story which happened in the States.
A man came out of his home to admire his new truck.

To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck.

The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp as punishment.

When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital. Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands.

When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, " Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?"
The father went home & committed suicide.

Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge. Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't.

Too often we fail to recognise the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.

People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Forgive & forget. Love one and all.
If you judge people, you have no time to love them. -- Mother Teresa

A W E S O M E - Inspiring

2006-10-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

"EVERY MORNING IN AFRICA A DEER WAKES UP,IT KNOWS IT MUST RUN FASTER THAN THE FASTEST LION OR IT WILL BE KILLED.

EVERY MORNING A LION WAKES UP.IT KNOWS IT MUST RUN FASTER THAN THE SLOWEST DEER OR IT WILL STARVE TO DEATH.

IT DOESN'T MATTER IF U R A LION OR A DEER,WHEN THE SUN COMES UP,YOU'D BETTER BE RUNNING."

12 Jyotirlingas Shrines

2006-10-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Somanatham ca - Saurastre - SomnathThe Somanath Temple, one of the 12 most sacred Jyotirlingas in India, stands magnificently on the coast of the Arabian Sea in the state of Gujarat. It is said that the temple was originally built by Soma, the Moon God, in penance and worship of Lord Shiva who had laid a curse upon him. Ransacked and destroyed several times by many invaders like Muhammad of Ghazini in 1025 A.D. and later by Allaudin in 1296 A.D., the present structure was once again rebuilt, this time in the original spot by a committe that was appointed after Independence. The temple was once decorated with gold and silver, but only the stone remains to display it's beauty. In the recesses of the balconied corridor, the mutilated form of Nataraja, the dancing Shiva can be found.

Srisailam - Mallikarjunam - Mallikarjuna
Mallikarjuna is located on the banks of the river Krishna, in the state of Andhra Pradesh on a mountain called Shri Shaila. Fort walls 6 meters high enclose this ancient temple. The temple faces the East was built in Dravidian style. The center mandapam has several pillars with a huge idol of Nadikeswarar. With spacious courtyards and numerous statues and monuments, the temple sculptures narrate in stone the epics from the great Hindu epics - Ramayana Mahabharata. The last photo of a stone carving, shows the serpent form of Shiva and goddess Shakti, courtesy of Martin Grey.

Mahakalam - Ujjayinyam - Ujjain

This Jyotirlinga is located in Ujjain by the Mahakal forest on the right banks of the river Kshipra. The temple courtyard is dominated by the shikhara soaring into the sky. There are five levels, four above ground and one underground, lit with brass lamps. The last photo is of Shiva in his form as Mahakaleshvar, the "Ruler of Death," photo courtesy of Dr. James G. Lochtefeld, Assoc. Prof. of Religion, Carthage College, Kenosha, WI.

Omkaram - Amalesvaram - Omkareshwar

This Jyotirlinga is located on the Narmada river on the sacred island of Omkareshwar. The white dome of the temple is constructed of soft soap stone displaying intricate carvings on the upper portions and stone roof of the temple. Verandhas with columns which are carved in circles, polygons and squares encircle the shrine. The tower or Shirkhar was built in Nagara style and consists of 5 layers, each representing a different deity.

Vaidyanatham ca - Paralyam - Vaidyanath

This Jyotirlinga is located at Deogarh in Bihar. The temple complex consists of twenty two other temples. The courtyard is bounded by stone walls and the main temple consists of several huge pillars. The top of the Shiva Lingam is slightly broken, keeping with the legend that it was chipped away when Ravana tried to uproot it.

Bhimshankaram - Dakinyam - Bhimashankar

This Jyotirlinga is located at a village called, Bhuvanagiri in the Puna district of Maharashtra. This temple built in the Nagara style is surrounded by the thick forest of the Bhimashankar Wild Life Sanctuary. Also found inside the temple are gorgeous carvings.

Ramesam - Setubandhe tu - Rameshwaram

This Jyotirlinga is located on the eastern side of the island Rameswaram, at the extreme south eastern point of the Indian peninsula. The temple structure, known for its 1200 gigantic columns, has three parakarams and several mandapams with mini shrines to many other deities. Night time photo of Rameshwaram Temple photograph courtesy of Martin Grey.

Nagesam - Darukavane - Nageshwar at Dwarka
The Nageshwar Temple in Gujarat , is currently being renovated, this image shows the upper section of the temple. It was originally constructed in the Nagara Style with its splendid‘shikharas’(steeples) and samrans’(pyramidal roof) that reaches a height of 110 ft above the ground. The architectual drawing below shows the complete temple design by Subhash Bhoite and Associates, Temple Architects.

Visvesam - Varanasi

This Jyotirlinga is located at Kasi Viswanathar in Uttar Pradesh. According to legend, the Lord himself declared this spot as his Royal residence. The original temple was destroyed as a result of the mughal invasion. It was reconstructed in the 18th century with gold plating added in the 19th century on the Shikhara (steeple).

Tryambakam - Gautamitate - Trimbakeshwar

This Jyotirlinga is located at Trimbakeshwar, in Maharashtra. The construction of the temple was done in the Nagara style of architecture. It is surrounded by a massive stone wall and adorned with many sculptures. The structure today is a result of reconstruction done during the 18th century by the Peshwa Balaji Bajirao. The sanctum tower is crowned with a giant amalaka and a golden kalasha. Inside you will find Lord Shivas mount, the bull called Nandi.

Kedaram - Himalaye tu - Kedarnath

This Jyotirlinga is located in the Himalayan mountains, in the Gharwal district of Uttar Pradesh. It is believed that this temple is very ancient, having renovations over the centuries. The entrance holds a statue of Nandi, the divine bull. The temple interiors are filled with many exquisite carvings.

Ghrishneshwar - Kusmesam - Sivalaye

This Jyotirlinga is located at Devagiri near Ellora caves in Maharashtra. This
ancient 18th century temple was built by Ahilyabhai Holkar, who also reconstructed other temples. This Shiva temple is rich, with beautiful carvings and exquisite architecture in red sandstone.

What Vairagya ?

2006-09-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

Vairagya is mental detachment from all connections with the world. That is all. A man may live in the world and discharge all the duties of his order and stage of life with perfect detachment. He :may be a householder. What if? He may live with family and children. But at the same time he may have perfect mental detachment. He can do his spiritual sadhana. That man who has perfect mental detachment while remaining in the world is a hero indeed. He is much better than a sadhu living in the Himalayan caves, ,because the former has to face the innumerable temptations of life every moment.

Wherever a man may go, he carries with him his fickle, restless mind, his vasanas and samskaras. Even if he lives in solitude, still he is the same worldly man if he is engaged in building castles in the air and thinking of the objects of the world. In such case even the cave becomes a big city to him. If the mind remains quiet, if it is free from attachments, one can be a perfect vairagi even while living in a mansion in the busiest part of a city like Calcutta or Bombay. Such a mansion will be converted into a dense jungle for him.

A dispassionate, man has a different mind altogether. He has a different experience altogether. He is a past master in the art or science of separating himself from the impermanent, perishable objects of the world. He has absolutely no attraction for them. He constantly dwells on the Eternal or the Absolute. He identifies himself every moment of his life with the witnessing consciousness that is present in pleasure and in pain, in joy and in sorrow, in censure and in praise, in honor and in dishonor, in all states of life. He stands adamantine as a peak amid a turbulent storm, as a spectator of this wonderful world show. He is not a bit affected by these pleasant and painful experiences.. He learns several valuable lessons from them. He has, in other words, no attraction for pleasant objects and repulsion for painful ones. Nor is he afraid of pain. He knows quite well that pain helps a lot in his spiritual progress and evolution, in his long journey towards the Goal. He stands convinced that pain is the best teacher in the world.

Vairagya also may come and go, if you are careless and mix promiscuously with all sorts of worldly-minded people. You should develop vairagya, therefore, to a maximum degree. The mind will be waiting for golden opportunities to get back the things once renounced. Whenever and wherever the mind hisses or raises its hood (for the mind is verily like a serpent), you should take refuge in viveka and in the imperishable fortress of wise, dispassionate mahatmas. There are different degrees in vairagya. Supreme dispassion comes when one gets him self established in Brahman. Now the vairagya becomes perfectly habitual.

A man can develop inner mental detachment from pleasure and pain while living in the world, He should see that he is not carried away by the pleasant experiences of the world. He should not cling to them. He should simply remain as a silent spectator. If he thus practices for some years, every experience will be a positive step in his ascent of the spiritual ladder. Eventually he will be crowned with sanguine success. He will then have an unruffled mind. He will have a poised mind also, A dispassionate man is the happiest and the richest man in all the three worlds. He is also the most powerful man. How can Maya tempt him now?

What Vairagya is Not
Vairagya does not mean abandoning social duties and responsibilities of life. It does not mean detachment from the world. It does not mean a life in the solitary caves of the Himalayas or in the crematorium. It does not mean living on neem leaves, cow's urine and dung. It does not mean wearing of matted hair and a kamandalu made of fence-gourd or cocoanut shell in the hand. It dose not mean shaving of head and throwing off clothes.
Remember the Sayings of the Gita

Meditation on the following sloka of the Bhagavad Gita will induce true vairagya. “The delights that are contact-born, they are verily the wombs of pain, for, they have beginning and ending, O Kaunteya, not in them may rejoice the wise” (5:22). “Indifference to the objects of the senses, and also absence of egoism, insight into the pain and evil of birth and death, old age and sickness” (13:8). “That which from the union of the senses with their objects is at first as nectar, but in the end is like venom” (18:38). “Having obtained this transient, joyless world, worship.”

Stages in Vairagya
There are four stages in vairagya: (1) Yatamanam. This is an attempt not to allow the mind to run into sensual grooves. (2) Vyatirekam. In this stage some objects are attracting you and you are endeavoring to cut off the attachment and attraction. Slowly vairagya develops for these objects also. Then the vairagya matures. When some objects tempt and delude you, you should ruthlessly avoid them. You will have to develop vairagya for these tempting objects and it must also mature. In this stage you are conscious of your degree of vairagya towards different objects. (3) Ekendriyam. The indriyas stand still and subdued, but the mind has either raga or dwesha for objects. Mind is, in other words, the only indriya that functions independently. (4) Vasikaran. In this highest stage of vairagya, the objects no longer tempt you. They cause no attraction. The indriyas are perfectly quiet. Mind also is free from likes and dislikes (raga and dwesha). Then you get supremacy or independence. Now you are conscious of your supremacy. Without vairagya no spiritual progress is possible.

Vairagya is of three kinds, viz., dull (mandha) intense (theevira) and very intense (theeviratara). Dull vairagya cannot help you much in the attainment of your goal.
Vairagya is the opposite of raga. It is dispassion or non-attachment. It is indifference to sensual objects herein and hereafter. Vairagya thins out the fatty sensual mind. It turns the mind inward (antarmukh vritti) This is the most important qualification for an aspirant. It is the one and the only means to enter into nirvikalpa samadhi.

Vairagya that is born of vikalpa is lasting and steady. If you seriously think of the various kinds of pain in this samsara such as birth, death, worries, depression, suffering, disease, loss, hostility, disappointment, fear, etc., if you understand intelligently the defects of sensual life (dosha drishti) and the transitory and perishable nature of all objects of the world, vairagya will immediately dawn.

Lord Maha Vishnu

2006-09-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

Lord Vishnu is the all-pervasive Lord who expands into everything. He is the maintainer of the universe and the complete cosmic creation. He is called Vishnu because He overcomes all.1 He represents sattva-guna, or the mode of goodness by which everything is sustained. He is also called Narayana, which means the shelter, resting place or ultimate goal of all living entities. It also means the one whose abode is the causal waters (Karana Ocean), and one who lives in the hearts of all living beings. It is this sattva nature which gives the living beings the tendency to grow toward a higher truth, the light, a more cohesive and intense reality. In this sense, Lord Vishnu is also called Hari, or one who removes the darkness of illusion. This illusion ultimately means the idea that the living beings live separate from, or without connection to, the Lord.

References to the glories of Lord Vishnu are found in such early books as the Rig-veda. Many of them are in relation to His form as Vamanadeva, the dwarf incarnation who begged for only three steps of land from Bali Maharaja and with those three steps covered the whole universe. A few of these verses are as follows:

“The gods be gracious unto us even from the place whence Vishnu strode, through the seven regions of the earth. Through all this strode Vishnu; thrice His foot He planted, and the whole was gathered in His footstep’s dust. Vishnu, the Guardian, He whom none deceiveth, made three steps; thenceforth establishing His high decrees. Look ye on Vishnu’s works, whereby the Friend of Indra, close-allied, hath let His holy ways be seen. The princes evermore behold that loftiest place where Vishnu is, laid as it were an eye in heaven. This, Vishnu’s station most sublime, the singers ever vigilant, lovers of holy song, light up.” (Rig-veda, 1.22.16-21)

A similar reference to Lord Vishnu’s abode and His pastime as Vamanadeva is found in the Rig-veda (1.154.1-5). A few of the verses read as follows: “Him whose three places that are filled with sweetness, imperishable joy as it may list them, Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the earth, the heaven, and all living creatures. May I attain to His well-loved mansion where men devoted to the Gods are happy. For there springs, close akin to the Wide-Strider, the well of meath in Vishnu’s highest footstep.”

Another quote that shows Lord Vishnu’s superiority over the demigods reads like so: “Far-shining, widely famed, going Thy wonted way, fed with the oil, be helpful, Mitra-like, to us. So, Vishnu, even the wise must swell Thy song of praise, and he who hath oblations must pay thee solemn rites. He who brings gifts to Him, the Ancient and the Last, to Vishnu who ordains, together with His spouse [Lakshmi], who tells the lofty birth of Him, the Lofty One, shall verily surpass in glory even his peer... The Sovran Varuna and both the Asvins wait on this the will of Him who guides the Marut host. Vishnu hath power supreme and might that finds the day... ”2

Lord Vishnu is often portrayed resting on the huge serpent of Sesha. We see that the thousand heads of Sesha are all turned inward, representing a tranquil mind, and looking toward the Absolute Truth of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is also seen in the yogic sleep called yoga-nidra. The yoga-nidra (yoga or the root yuj meaning to connect or join) is a cosmic sleep wherein the Lord is focused on the Infinite Reality of His own identity.

Lord Vishnu is also seen standing on the whirl of a lotus flower with four hands, which represent the four directions and indicates His absolute power in the four corners of the universe. Each hand holds an item, such as a disc, lotus, conch, and mace. Of the four items, the conch represents the five universal elements. When the conch is blown, it is said to produce a sound related to the original vibration of universal creation. The Lord also blows His conch in calling everyone to turn to the higher reality rather than remaining in the darkness of material existence. This calling is the inner voice which nudges all beings of conscience to seek the Absolute Truth. If man does not heed the call, then the Lord may still use His conch to cut asunder the ego and material attachments of those who do not turn toward the spiritual path.

The disc or chakra signifies the universal mind or awareness.3 It rids all darkness wherever it appears, and thus shows the path to higher awareness. The disc is called Sudarshan, the limitless power and light that destroys all forms of ignorance. Thus, Lord Vishnu allows it to cut off the heads of envious demons. It has six spokes and shows the revolving nature of the universe (maya) around an unmoving and changeless center. The Sudarshana Chakra, when shown alone, is often viewed as a person with four, eight, or sixteen arms, holding such items as a bow, arrow, trident, noose, and a poker. These are said to represent the will and power of the Lord to not only create but to also destroy the universe.

The mace represents the cosmic intellect or knowledge. It is called Kaumodaki, meaning that which captivates the mind. It is also associated with time, which destroys all, and is thus also related to Kali, the power of time.4 When pictured as a deity, it is viewed as a female with two hands, positioned in respect. The lotus being twirled in His hand shows the revolving or changing nature of the universe.5 It also indicates the real purpose of human existence, which the Lord invites all to follow.

The Vaijayanti garland (garland of victory) with five rows of flowers that the Lord wears indicates the five senses and the Lord’s illusory power which affect the senses.6 Its fragrance represents the subtle elements found within the material manifestation. All this reflects the Lord’s mastery of the whole universe, which is created out of the mixing or revolving of the five elements and the universal mind and intellect. The Srivatsa or lock of hair on the Lord’s chest, which indicates the Goddess of Fortune, represents the products of the material creation, or the objects of enjoyment for which all living beings seek.7 And the gem, called Kaustubha (Treasure of the Ocean) represents the one who enjoys these products. Thus, this world of the enjoyer and the enjoyed is but a piece of decoration for the Lord, a spark of His energy.

Lord Vishnu is also sometimes seen with additional items, such as a bow, called Sharnga. This represents the darker form of false-ego that makes one think he is nothing but the material body, not connected to the Lord. The arrows are the activities of the intellect, which can cut through false-ego when used properly. His fish shaped earrings represent the two processes of knowledge, such as through the sankhya (intellectual) and yoga (intuitive) methods. His armlets represent the three goals of worldly life, namely dharma (righteousness), artha (economic success) and kama (pleasure). Lord Vishnu’s crown represents the highest and incomprehensible reality. The yellow cloth that He wears (Pitambara) is said to indicate the Vedas. Through the Vedic hymns the divine reality is revealed, just as the Lord’s dark color can be seen through the cloth that He wears. And His sacred string, made of three threads, is said to indicate the three letters of the hallowed word AUM.

The various forms of Lord Vishnu are composed of the different arrangements of the four symbols He holds in His four hands. For example, in one form He holds the conch in His lower right hand, the disc in His upper right, the mace in His upper left, and lotus in the lower left. In this form He has the name of Keshava, meaning the Lord with long hair, according to the Padma Purana (Book Four, Chapter 79). In other forms, in which case He holds the items in different hands, He has the names that include, Narayana (the universal shelter), Govinda (saver of the Earth and protector of cows), Madhava (Lord of knowledge), Madhusudana (the destroyer of the demon Madhu), Trivikrama (the one who conquered the three planetary systems), Vamana (the dwarf incarnation), Shridhara (the possessor of fortune), Hrishikesha (Lord of the senses), Padmanabha (whose navel produced the universal lotus), Damodara (who is self-restrained), Sankarshana (who reabsorbs), Vasudeva (one who dwells within), Pradyumna (who has the most wealth), Aniruddha (who no one can oppose), Purushottama (best of all men), Adhoksaja (the expanse of the universe), Nrisimha (the half-man and half-lion form), Achyuta (the inconceivable), Krishna (the dark and all-attractive one), Hari (He who removes obstacles or sorrow), Janardana (He who gives rewards), and Upendra (the brother of Indra). Many other names of Lord Vishnu are found in the Vishnu-sahasranam, the Thousand Names of Vishnu, located in the Anushasan Parva (149.14-120) of the Mahabharata.

Lord Vishnu is also called Nilameghashyama for having a dark blue complexion. This represents a number of things, including pure consciousness, the infinite, and the all-pervading power.

At other times Lord Vishnu is seen resting on the coils of the serpent Shesha, also called Ananta. Sheshanaga is the expansion of Lord Balarama, Lord Krishna’s brother, and serves the Lord in this way as the Lord’s support and paraphernalia. Shesha has a thousand heads swinging to and fro over the form of Lord Vishnu, creating a shelter and couch for the Lord. Ananta means endless, and Ananta is endlessly singing the praises and glories of the Lord from His thousand hoods without ever reaching the end. His hoods are also supporting the many planetary systems in the cosmic creation that are orbiting throughout the universe above His heads. Ananta also means endless in terms of the endlessness of cosmic time. This is also represented by His thousand hoods as divisions of time. The material worlds are created within the element of time, and are thus sustained by time. During the process of the universal annihilation, time ceases to exist, in which case the material planets are also forced into obliteration.

Lord Shesha is often seen floating on the causal waters of the Garbhodaka Ocean, which exists on the bottom of the universe. Lord Vishnu is thus resting on Sheshanaga as They float on the ocean. At other times, They are viewed floating on the Kshiramudra, or an ocean of white milk. This represents the Prakriti or the ingredients of the unmanifest material nature in its purest form.

Sometimes, Lord Vishnu is also seen riding on his carrier bird, Garuda. This is a half-man and half-eagle bird, whose name means “Wings of Speech.” It is described that he is huge and has a fierce expression. His color is that of molten gold. He has the head of an eagle with a red beak and feathered wings, and two arms like a man.8 Different divisions of the Vedas are parts of the body of Garuda. The sound of his wings reflect the utterances of the Vedic hymns, which can carry a person to another world with the speed of light and power of lightning. Thus, it is also the sound of the Veda that carries Lord Vishnu, and which can also transport Him into the hearts and minds of people.

According to the Puranas, Garuda is a son of Kashyapa and Vinata, who was a daughter of Daksha.9 He is also the younger brother of Aruna. Garuda is known for his dislike of snakes, which he will eat. One reason for this is explained in the Mahabharata (1.20-35). Vinata once quarreled with her co-wife, Kadru, who was the mother of the serpent species known as nagas. It was from her that he inherited this hostility toward snakes. Then Garuda, with his wife Unnati, produced six sons, from whom descended all the bird species that eat snakes.

LORD VISHNU IS AN EXPANSION OF LORD KRISHNA

Many people think that Lord Vishnu is the source of all other incarnations of God. This is true, but not in the case of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is actually the source of Lord Vishnu. When Lord Krishna descends into this world, He appears as Himself and not as an expansion of Lord Vishnu. To verify this, let me present the following details.

It is explained that for the maintenance of the universe Lord Krishna descends in the form of Lord Vishnu, who is His personal plenary expansion and the director of the mode of goodness. Thus, Lord Vishnu is above the influence of the material energy. However, being in the category of svamsha (another form of God with unlimited potencies), Vishnu’s opulences are almost equal to Lord Krishna’s. Yet Krishna is the original person and Vishnu is His personal expansion. This can be compared to one candle lighting the flame of another. The second burns separately in a different position, but its illumination is equal to the original candle. In the same way, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality, expands Himself into the different forms of Vishnu, who are equally bright and powerful.10

Furthermore, it is described that outside the boundaries of the unlimited spiritual Vaikuntha planets is the transcendental sky known as the Brahman effulgence. Beyond that is the :

Karana or Causal Ocean, which is also spiritual.11 This is what surrounds the innumerable material universes. Lord Vishnu in His form as Karanadakashayi Vishnu, or Maha-Vishnu, : lies on the Causal Ocean and creates the universes merely by glancing upon the material nature. Thus, Lord Krishna personally has nothing to do with the material creation, nor does He ever come in touch with the material energy. He remains absorbed and unaffected in Goloka Vrindavan, the highest planet in the spiritual sky. The material energy never comes in contact with the spiritual world, nor even the Causal Ocean, as explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.22.17):

“In the beginning of creation nature assumes, by the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, its form as the embodiment of all subtle causes and gross manifestations within the universe. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not enter the interaction of material manifestation but merely glances upon nature. As the material elements, headed by the mahat-tattva, are transformed, they receive their specific potencies from the glance of the Supreme Lord, and being amalgamated by the power of nature, they create the universal egg.”

Before the mahat-tattva, however, there is the pradhana, which is the sum total of all material energy in its subtle and undifferentiated stage. Material nature is always existing in its subtle form as the energy of the Lord. Sometimes, under the direction of the Supreme, it manifests its temporary existence in the form of the material cosmos.

In spite of the fact that everything comes from the Supreme Being, He is still aloof from it all. He does not disengage Himself from His eternal pleasure pastimes with His devotees in the spiritual realm. So in the process of creating the material worlds, the Supreme expands Himself into various forms, which are His plenary parts. Krishna is the primeval Lord, the original Personality of Godhead, so He can expand Himself into unlimited forms with all potencies. They are no different from Him, but may exhibit differences in form.

It is explained that Lord Krishna first expands Himself into Baladeva, or Balarama, who is considered Krishna’s second body and brother. Balarama assists in Lord Krishna’s innumerable spiritual pastimes in both the spiritual and material realms.

Lord Balarama is also Lord Sankarshana, the predominator of the creative energy. He creates and is the shelter of the material and spiritual worlds. By the will of Krishna and the power of the spiritual energy, Lord Balarama creates the spiritual world, which consists of the planet Goloka Vrindavana and the Vaikuntha planets.12 Lord Balarama especially assists Lord Krishna in the creation of the material worlds. After Balarama has expanded Himself into Lord Maha-Sankarshana, He expands Himself into four different forms, including: 1) Karanadakashayi Vishnu [Maha-Vishnu], 2) Garbhodakashayi Vishnu [the expansion in each universe], 3) Kshirodakashayi Vishnu [the Supersoul in each individual], and 4) Sesha, also called Seshanaga. These first four plenary portions assist in the material cosmic manifestation. Sesha is Balarama’s form who assists in the Lord’s personal service. He is also called Ananta, meaning unlimited, because He assists the Lord in His unlimited variety of pastimes.13

All expansions of the Lord begin with Sri Krishna. For His pastimes in one of the highest levels of the spiritual realm, called Dvaraka, Sri Krishna expands Himself into Balarama, who then expands Himself into Pradyumna and Aniruddha. These four (Krishna, Balarama, Pradyumna and Aniruddha) expand into a second quadruple which is present in the unlimited Vaikuntha planets of the spiritual sky. The second quadruple is known as Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. They are changeless, transcendental expansions of the Supreme Lord, Krishna. In this second quadruple, Vasudeva is an expansion of Krishna, and Sankarshana is a representation of Balarama.

In the Vaikuntha sky there is the pure, spiritual creative energy called Shuddha-sattva that sustains all of the spiritual planets with the full opulences of knowledge, wealth, power, beauty, etc., all of which pervade the entire spiritual kingdom and are fully enjoyed by the residents there. This energy is but a display of the creative potencies of Balarama, Maha-Sankarshana. It is also this Sankarshana who is the original cause of the Causal Ocean where Karanodakashayi Vishnu (Maha-Vishnu) sleeps, while breathing out the seeds of innumerable universes. When the cosmic creation is annihilated, all of the materially conditioned, although indestructible, living entities merge back into the body of Maha-Vishnu where they rest until the time of the next creation. So Balarama as Sankarshana is the origin of Maha-Vishnu, from who originates all of the potencies of the material manifestation.14

So to summarize, for His spiritual pastimes in the Vaikuntha realm, Lord Krishna has four original expansions, namely Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Maha-Vishnu is an expansion of Sankarshana; Garbhodakashayi Vishnu is an expansion of Pradyumna; and Kshirodakashayi Vishnu is an expansion of Aniruddha.15

THE FUNCTIONS OF LORD VISHNU
To begin explaining the purpose and function of these Vishnu expansions, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.6.42) describes that, “Maha-Vishnu (Karanadakashayi Vishnu) is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord in the process of creating the material worlds. He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, elements, material ego, the modes of nature, senses, the universal form of the Lord (Garbhodakashayi Vishnu) and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.”

It is further explained that Maha-Vishnu, who appears in the Karana Ocean and is an incarnation of Lord Sankarshana, becomes the resting place of the jiva-shakti.16 This is the collective energy of the individual spirit souls, the jivatmas. “There is one marginal potency, known as the jiva. Maha-Sankarshana is the shelter of all jivas.”17 It is this Sankarshana who is the original source of all living entities because they are expansions of His marginal potency. Some become conditioned by the material energy while others are under the protection of the spiritual nature.18

Lord Maha-Vishnu is the source of thousands of avataras in His thousands and thousands of subjective portions. He is the creator of countless individual souls. He is also known by the name of Narayana, meaning the shelter of all the individual jiva souls. From Him springs forth the vast expanse of water known as the spiritual Causal Ocean wherein the material creation takes place. Maha-Vishnu then reclines in the waters of the Causal Ocean in a state of divine sleep, called yoga-nidra. Thus, it is said that the universal creation is but the dream of Maha-Vishnu.19

Then Maha-Vishnu lies down in the Causal Ocean, also called the Viraja River, which is the border between the spiritual and material worlds.20

Since the water of the Causal Ocean, known as the Karana Ocean, come from the body of Maha-Vishnu, it is completely spiritual. The sacred Ganga (Ganges River) is but a drop from that ocean, which has entered this universe and can purify the fallen souls.21

It is Lord Balarama who expands into the great serpent known as Ananta, or Seshanaga. He reposes on the Causal Ocean and serves as the couch upon whom Lord Maha-Vishnu reclines.22 That Ananta-Sesha : is the devotee incarnation of God who knows nothing but service to Lord Krishna. With His thousands of mouths He always sings the endless glories of Lord Krishna. He also expands Himself to serve as Lord Krishna’s paraphernalia, including such items as the umbrella, slippers, bedding, pillow, garments, resting chair, residence, sacred gayatri thread, and His throne in the pastimes of Lord Krishna. Thus, He has attained and exhibits the ultimate end of servitude to Lord Krishna.23

At the time of creation, after the Supreme has been sleeping for some time, the first emanations from the breathing of Lord Maha-Vishnu are the personified Vedas who serve Him by waking Him from His mystic sleep. They begin to enthusiastically sing His glories, pastimes, and praises, just as a King is awoken in the morning by poets who recite his heroic deeds.24 This shows the eternal nature of the Vedic literature. They are not merely the writings of men, but they are spiritual vibrations that exist before and after the material creation, and which emanate from the Supreme Lord.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.50) when the personified Vedas are offering their prayers to Lord Narayana [Maha-Vishnu], they relate His all-powerful position. “He is the Lord who eternally watches over this universe, who exists before, during and after its manifestation. He is the master of both the unmanifest material energy and the spirit soul. After sending forth the creation He enters within it, accompanying each living entity. There He creates the material bodies and then remains as their regulator. By surrendering to Him one can escape the embrace of illusion, just as a dreaming person forgets his own body. One who wants liberation from fear should constantly meditate upon Him, Lord Hari, who is always on the platform of perfection and thus never subject to material birth.”

Once the Lord is awoken, He : casts His glance upon the material energy of maya. This glance is how the Supreme impregnates material nature with all the original seeds of the living beings. Thus, the Lord does not personally touch the material energy, but by His functional expansion He places the living entities into the material nature by His glance. Then maya, the material nature, becomes agitated.25 This functional expansion of the Lord takes the form as Shiva, known in this activity as Shambhu. It is Shambhu who carries the living entities in the glance of the Lord into the material energy.

So the Supreme Being in His feature as Maha-Vishnu impregnates the material nature by His glance. Through this glance, which is the impregnation of consciousness, and by the influence of the time element, the innumerable living beings appear.26 The Supreme Being then, out of His own body, sowed the seeds of universal manifestation within the mahat-tattva.27 In this way, the Lord, who is the controller of all energies, by His own potency creates eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and their particular nature. At the end of the cosmic creation He again merges them back into Him.28

The Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.9.16-18) relates that the Lord of the universe, Narayana, Maha-Vishnu, is the worshipable Lord of all beings. With no other assistance, the Lord creates the universe by His own potency, and at the time of annihilation He destroys the universe through His expansion of time. He withdraws the complete universe and all materially conditioned living beings into Himself. In this way, His unlimited Self is the shelter and reservoir of all potencies. The Lord stands alone after the universal annihilation. He is the supreme worshipable object for all beings, such as liberated souls, demigods, and ordinary conditioned souls. He is eternally free from the material energy and constitutes the totality of spiritual bliss, which one can experience by seeing the Lord’s spiritual form. Thus the Lord exhibits the full meaning of liberation.

The countless souls that appear within the material energy in the variegated species of life are all spiritual in nature, they are all spiritual beings. However, they can also become deluded by material energy. When they are thus deluded, they hanker for material activities and attractions. In order to accommodate this, the Supreme provides this material world as a playground in which they can work out their material desires. This means that regardless of species, whether it is Lord Brahma, or humans, animals, birds, or even tiny insects, material nature is the mother and the Supreme Lord is the seed-giving, universal Father.

After agitating material nature into three qualities, which are the modes of nature in the form of passion, goodness and ignorance, they become active and material nature begins to give birth to the total material energy known as the hiranya-mahat-tattva. This is the sum total of cosmic intelligence. Thus, material nature becomes agitated by the destinations of the conditioned souls as determined by the influence of the modes of nature.29 Simply by the glance of Maha-Vishnu consciousness is created, which is known as the mahat-tattva. The predominating Deity of the mahat-tattva is Lord Vasudeva, another expansion of Lord Krishna. This explains how the material energy is like the mother of the living beings while the Lord is the Supreme Father of everyone. Just as a woman cannot give birth without the contact of a man, or at least his seed, so material nature cannot create without the contact of the Supreme Being.

So first the total material energy is manifest, and from this arises the three types of egotism, which are the original sources of all the demigods [the minor controlling deities], the senses, and material elements. By combining the different elements, the Supreme Lord creates all of the unlimited universes. Once the material elements have been manifested, and the full potential for creating the universes has been established, the innumerable universes begin to emanate from the pores of the body of Maha-Vishnu, and from His exhalations. They appear just like atomic particles that float in sunshine and pass through a screen. When Maha-Vishnu inhales at the time of the universal annihilation, they return to His body. In this way, Maha-Vishnu is the Supersoul of all the universes.30

Brahma, the demigods, and each universe remain alive for the duration of one of His exhalations.31 However, there is no limit to the exhalations of Maha-Vishnu.32

Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, who is known within the universe as Hiranyagarbha and Antaryami, the Supersoul, is glorified in the Vedic hymns. He is the master of each and every universe and shelter of the external or material energy. However, being transcendental, He is completely beyond the touch of the external energy.

Next is the third expansion of Vishnu, called Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, who is the incarnation of the quality of goodness. He is the universal form of the Lord and expands Himself as the Supersoul within every living entity. He is known as Kshirodakashayi Vishnu because He lies on the ocean of milk (kshira) on the island of Svetadvipa. These are the three expansions of Lord Vishnu who oversee and make the creation of the material worlds possible.33

Before the creation within the universe takes place and after the Lord enters the universe, there is a period of non-activity for one thousand celestial years. All of the living entities that have been injected into the mahat-tattva are divided among all the universes with each incarnation of Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, and all of them are as if dormant in the Lord until the birth of Lord Brahma. From Brahma all other demigods and living entities are born.34

Once all of the universes are created, which are unlimited, Maha-Vishnu expands Himself into unlimited forms and enters each universe as Garbhodakashayi Vishnu. Once He is in each universe, He sees that there is no place to reside. Then, after some consideration, He fills half of the universe with water from His own perspiration.35

On that water He creates his own residence as an expansion of Vaikuntha and rests in the waters on the bed of the great serpent, Lord Ananta, Seshanaga.36 Although He appears to be in slumber, enjoying transcendental bliss in his internal potency, His eyes are slightly open. When He is ready to begin the act of creation, a golden lotus springs from his navel that becomes the birthplace of Lord Brahma. Within the stem of that lotus are the fourteen planetary systems.37 Then Lord Brahma is manifested as described in the previous chapter.

Not only do the creations and annihilations of the cosmos go on continually, but the maintenance of the universe also takes constant supervision. It is explained that as long as the Supreme Being as Maha-Vishnu continues to glance upon nature, the material world continues to exist. Thus, the variegated flow of universal creation perpetually manifests through procreation.38 So, we can see that time and nature have no power to act independently, but are under the supervision of the Supreme.

However, it is also described that it is not only the material nature that is maintained, everyone in it is also given the ability to act and function through the power of the Supreme in His form as the Supersoul. He creates the entire variegated universe and then enters into it as the Supersoul. Through this means He provides the life force and consciousness of everyone, and, thus, maintains the creation. As Sri Krishna further explains, “As the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in ethereal space, know that in the same manner all beings rest in Me.”39 As the Supersoul, He also enters into each planet, and by His energy they maintain their orbits.40 Thus, the Lord’s energy enters each planet, every living being, and : even each atom, by which everything is appropriately manifested and maintained. Without this, everything would revert back to chaos and deterioration.

Another way that the Lord maintains the universe is by personally appearing within it, or by manifesting His plenary expansions. The scriptures proclaim that Lord Krishna descends to take away the burden of the earth. However, it is Krishna’s expansion as Lord Vishnu who primarily engages in maintaining this universe. It is Lord Vishnu who makes the adjustments for the proper administration of the cosmic creation. When Lord Krishna personally appears, His primary mission is to simply display His transcendental pastimes and attract the conditioned souls for going back to the spiritual domain. However, since Lord Krishna is the source of all incarnations of the Supreme, all other incarnations and expansions combine together within Him when He descends. In this way, all other lila or pastime incarnations, the yuga-avataras, the manvantara incarnations, and as many other incarnations as there are, even Lord Vishnu, all descend in the body of Sri Krishna when He appears. Thus, He is the complete Supreme Personality and can do whatever He likes to exhibit His power and maintain the universe when He descends.41

The Supreme Being also sets up the universal demigods to continue overseeing the maintenance of the universe. For example, it is explained that Indra, after receiving benediction from the Supreme Lord, maintains the living beings by pouring sufficient rains all over the planets. Furthermore, in every yuga, the Supreme Lord assumes the form of Siddhas, such as Sanaka-kumara, to preach transcendental knowledge. He assumes the form of great saintly persons such as Yajnavalkya to teach the way of karma. He assumes the form of great souls, such as Dattatreya, to teach the system of mystic yoga. In the form of Prajapati Marici, the Supreme creates progeny; becoming the king, He kills rogues and thieves; and in the form of time, He annihilates everything. All of the different qualities of material existence are aspects and a display of the energy of the Supreme Absolute Truth.42

So because of the benediction and power given by the Supreme to the demigods, they can provide the living beings with all necessities. However, Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita (3.14-15) that all living entities subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains, which is manifest through the performance of spiritual activities prescribed in the spiritual writings of the Vedic scripture and the teachings of the Lord and great sages. Consequently, the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.

This is all a part of the process of how the Lord and His expansions of Vishnu maintain the world. As mankind engages in acts of sacrifice or spirituality, which simply means the worship of the Supreme, the Lord and the demigods are automatically satisfied to supply everyone with all necessities of life. In this way, there can be proper cooperation between man, nature and God so that everyone can be peaceful and content with the facilities for living in this world.

Lord Venkateshwara

2006-08-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Who Am I Now?

2006-08-11T00:31:00.000-07:00

Typically, at the start of a new year, many of us feel the urge to set new goals. The slate feels as if it has been wiped clean with the sweep of the clock into a new year, and we are inspired to imagine we can accomplish great things.

This upcoming year, why not try a new way of ‘going goalless’. Focus on who you are becoming rather than any tangible, specific goals. Make a plan to develop qualities of your SELF that will shift you into a new space and direction in your life and your business.

Stop chasing your purpose in life. Instead, become fully engaged in your present and let your purpose find you. It will come, I promise, most likely as something that just feels right to do next.

This is the perfect time of year to clarify your values and what you want your life and business to be about. You are a different person than you were a year ago. Bring yourself up to date with where you are now. Nothing is more interesting than your own life. Take the time to re-evaluate where you are and where you’re going.

Here’s a writing exercise that can change the direction of your life and business this coming year. Answer the following questions with your focus totally on the present moment and without reference to the past or future:

1. Who am I now? Instead of asking yourself the general question, ‘Who am I’, narrow it down to ‘Who am I now’. Bring yourself up to date, into the present moment.

2. How will I live my life this coming year? Aristotle asked, “How shall I live my life”. This is too broad a question for our minds to handle at times, too general and abstract. Focus only on the next year. Don’t worry for this exercise about the past or the future beyond that; this is irrelevant right now.

3. What am I doing right now, and why am I doing what I’m doing right now? Ask yourself this question instead of the general question ‘What is my purpose in life?’ Your answers will give you clues as to your purpose and the direction you could take this coming year to fulfill that purpose. Look at your life in the present (again, without regard to past or future) and take an inventory.

4. What am I doing currently that I do not want to be doing? Evaluate all of the things you need to let go of: actions that don’t support your success, too many commitments, procrastinating, habits that sabotage reaching your goals, thoughts that hold you back, thinking small.

5. Who do I want to be by the end of the upcoming year? This is an important question to ponder. Who do you want to be, rather than the typical, ‘what do I want to do.’ This is the time to think bigger about what’s possible for you and how you can make a difference.

6. What do I often dream about doing that I’ve never, ever done? What do you desire that is not in your life or work right now? Go back to childhood and adolescence for clues to this one. The answers may seem impossible to you. Act as if there were no limits. These questions may help you clarify your values.

7. How shall I structure my life and business in the coming year to enhance the direction in which I want to move? Consider support or resources you will need to be all that you can be. What kind of structure do you need to stay focused on your vision and start thinking bigger?

Once you have the answers to these questions, ask yourself what action you would need to take on a weekly basis to make these shifts.

Practice listening deeply to yourself, listening to the still small voice of your intuition. What gentle urgings is it communicating to you?

Set an intention for what you want to happen, and be on the lookout for coincidences and synchronicities that will help you manifest your intention for who you want to be and what difference you know you can make in the world.

Start each day with a commitment to achieving the positive shifts you want in your life and your work, and watch for magic to happen to help you step into your greatness!

Be Up And Doing

2006-07-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Today only is yours. Yesterday is gone. There is no certainty of tomorrow. Hence make the best use of the present moment, the present life. Be up and doing. Live this day a life of helpfulness and worshipfulness. Waste not your precious time in vain gossips, scandal-mongering, talebearing, vain hopes and chitchats lest you may pass out regretted and lamented.

Who knows whether this golden opportunity would come again or not? So when everything is conducive for rising high towards the shining peaks lofty ideals, take care that the enthusiasm dies not due to slackness.

So do not postpone for tomorrow. Postponing means losing forever.

Remember this.

Towards the world, let our motive be one of goodness, friendliness and selflessness. Let us live for the good and peace and happiness of others, even of those who deceive us and inflict injury upon us. Mind not dear Sadhaka! For this is not your lasting abode. You are a quick passenger to your eternally shining original abode. So, on your way, while you are here for a short while, try to bring about a little happiness to others, try to lessen the discomfort, fear and anxiety of your neighbours, try to wipe out tears from others’ eyes. Try to remove as far as you can the gloom, despair and sorrow of your fellow-beings.

This should be the attitude for your Bahiranga Jivan (external life, relative living).

Through Paropakara (doing good to others) you worship the one Supreme Lord residing in the hearts of all, for “Eko Devah Sarvabhuteshu Gudhah”—the one Lord hides in all beings.

So bear sympathy for the poor and try to see Him through the humblest of His creation.

As to our Antaranga Jivan (internal living), it should be one of Yogic life, living in constant awareness of your divine relationship.

Increase the stuff of Sattva by daily prayer, worship, Bhajan, Kirtan and Japa-Yajna. This Japa-Yajna is the surest, safest and easiest path specially suitable for Kali Yuga, this iron-age.

Sometimes the mind would refuse to put forth effort on account of inner Tamas (inertia) and lethargy. Don’t yield to this inertia. Remove it by constructive activity, study and Kirtan.

Remove slothness by being “Up and Doing.”

Maha Shiva

2006-07-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

Shiva is 'Shakti', Shiva is power, Shiva is the destroyer, the most powerful god of the Hindu pantheon and one of the godheads in the Hindu Trinity. Known by many names - Mahadeva, Mahayogi, Pashupati, Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava, Bhole Nath - Lord Shiva is perhaps the most complex of Hindu deities. Hindus recognise this by putting his shrine in the temple separate from those of other deities.

Shiva As Phallic Symbol
Shiva, in temples is usually found as a phallic symbol of the linga, which represents the energies necessary for life on both the microcosmic and the macrocosmic levels, that is, the world in which we live and the world which constitutes the whole of the universe. In a Shaivite temple, the linga is placed in the centre underneath the spire, where it symbolises the naval of the earth.

A Different Deity
The actual image of Shiva is also distinct from other deities: his hair piled high on the top of his head, with a crescent tucked into it and the river Ganges tumbling from his hairs. Around his neck is a coiled serpent representing Kundalini or the spiritual energy within life. He holds a trident in his left hand in which is bound the 'damroo' (small leather drum). He sits on a tiger skin and on his right is a water pot. He wears the 'Rudraksha' beads and his whole body is smeared with ash.

The Destructive Force
Shiva is believed to be at the core of the centrifugal force of the universe, because of his responsibility for death and destruction. Unlike the godhead Brahma, the Creator, Shiva is the dissolving force in life. But Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the medium for rebirth into a new life. So the opposites of life and death and creation and destruction both reside in his character.

The Most Fascinating of Gods
He is also often portrayed as the supreme ascetic with a passive and composed disposition. Sometimes he is depicted riding a bull called Nandi decked in garlands. Although a very complicated deity, Shiva is one of the most fascinating of Hindu gods.

The God Who's Always High!
Since Shiva is regarded as a mighty destructive power, to numb his negative potentials he is fed with opium and is also termed as Bhole Shankar, one who is oblivious of the world. Therefore, on Maha Shivratri, the night of Shiva worship, devotees, especially the menfolk, prepare an intoxicating drink called Thandai (made from cannabis, almonds, and milk) sing songs in praise of the Lord and dance to the rhythm of the drums.

The Night of Shiva More of this Feature
Maha Shivratri, the night of the worship of Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna. It falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction. Shivratri (Sanskrit 'ratri' = night) is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava Nritya or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. The festival is observed for one day and one night only.

Origin Of Shivratri
According to the Puranas, during the great mythical churning of the ocean called Samudra Manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. The gods and the demons were terrified as it could destroy the entire world. When they ran to Shiva for help, he in order to protect the world, drank the deadly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This turned his throat blue, and since then he came to be known as Nilkantha, the blue-throated one. Shivratri celebrates this event by which Shiva saved the world.

A Festival Especially For WomenShivratri is considered especially auspicious for women. Married women pray for the well being of their husbands and sons, while unmarried women pray for an ideal husband like Shiva, who is the spouse of Kali, Parvati and Durga. But generally it is believed that anyone who utters the name of Shiva during Shivratri with pure devotion is freed from all sins. He or she reaches the abode of Shiva and is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

Shiva Rituals
On the day of Shivratri, a three-tiered platform is built around a fire. The topmost plank represents swargaloka (heaven), the middle one antarikshaloka (space) and the bottom one bhuloka (earth). Eleven urns or kalash, are kept on the swargaloka plank symbolising the eleven manifestations of the Rudra Shiva. These are decorated with bilva (woodapple leaves) and mango leaves atop a coconut representing the head of Shiva. The uncut shank of the coconut symbolises his tangled hair and the three spots on the fruit Shiva's three eyes.

Bathing The Phallus
The phallus symbol representing Shiva is called the lingam. It is usually made of granite, soapstone, quartz, marble or metal, and has a yoni or vagina as its base representing the union of the male and female sexual organs. Devotees circumambulate the lingam and worship it throughout the night. It is bathed every three hours with the five sacred offerings of a cow, called the panchagavya - milk, sour milk, urine, butter and dung. Then the five foods of immortality - milk, clarified butter, curd, honey and sugar are placed before the lingam. Dhatura and jati, though poisonous fruits, are believed to be sacred to Shiva and thus offered to him.

"Om Namah Shivaya!"
All through the day the devotees keep severe fast, chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra "Om Namah Shivaya", make offerings of flowers and incense to the Lord amidst ringing of temple bells. They maintain long vigils during the night, keeping awake to listen to stories, hymns and songs. The fast is broken only the next morning, after the nightlong worship. In Kashmir, the festival is held for 15 days. The 13th day is observed as a day of fast followed by a family feast.

A Contrast Between Hanuman And Ravana

2006-07-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

What was the secret of Hanuman’s infinite strength? How could he cross the ocean by a single jump?

It is because he was a faithful votary of the Divine Name. It was the Bhakti (unflinching devotion) in him that gave him infinite strength to overcome all Rakshasas. Nothing could stand before Hanuman. He was matchless in his valour.

His strength was infinite, but then he stands in striking contrast to another personality in Ramayana, whose strength was also infinite, at whose strength all the three worlds trembled—Ravana—the person who could lift up Kailasa, who had conquered all Devas and made the god of Agni (the fire-god) his cook, the god Varuna (the water-god) water his garden, and all the Ashtadikpalas his slaves. The Navagrahas (nine-planet-gods) were steps to his throne. Such was the might of Ravana. But then what did Ravana do? This might of Ravana, this great strength which had to be subdued by no other than the Incarnation of Lord Vishnu Himself, was destroyed and spoiled by Ahankara, and also this was allied to Adharma. Egoism and Adharma completely vitiated and perverted this great power which Ravana possessed and, as a striking contrast, we have the grand personality of Hanuman towering in his height, but yet most wondrous, most beautiful, example of perfect humility and self-effacement. Always we see the picture of Hanuman with folded hands.

“Yatra Yatra Raghunatha-Kirtanam,
Tatra Tatra Kritamastakanjalim,
Bashpavari-Paripurnalochanam,
Marutim Namata Rakshasantakam.”

With all the strength, courage, heroism and other divine virtues, Hanuman of incomparable humility possessed a heart which was ever melting in tears of Prem and which ever cherished the attitude of servitude and humility. It is an object lesson for humanity both in its collective aspect, as nations of the world, and in its individual aspect—how they ought to subserve their entire capacities, abilities and strength to the service of the Lord, and how the strength and capacity should be characterised by utter humility. That is the great important lesson that Hanuman’s personality teaches to mankind for all times. If that is not there, we have the contrast of Ravana and we have the inevitable fall.

Hanuman’s name has been immortalised became his infinite strength was accompanied by immeasurable humility—humility as vast and deep as the ocean, and the perfect spirit of obedience and service. Hanuman is ever the servant of Rama, with folded hands and utter surrender, ever waiting for an opportunity to do some service to Lord Rama. He was a perfect devotee, a perfect servant and Sevaka, and he was a perfect spiritual aspirant for he kept his ego always in subjugation. Never do you find him raise his head, he always keeps it bent low. And therefore, Rama gave him the foremost place. When the Pattabhisheka time came, Rama placed Hanuman in front of Him. It was the reward of that perfect devotion, humility, spirit of service, absolute self-effacement and self-absorption.

Once Hanuman was questioned, “What is the day of the week today?” and “What is the star, the Tithi?” To this he replied, “I know neither the day nor the star. I know only Rama, His Name and His love.”

His life meant only the love of Rama and the result of such a love is that Rama places him ever in front of Him. That is the ultimate position occupied by him. There is no Rama without Hanuman.

He is the ideal aspirant characterised by ideal humility, perfect surrender and obedience. If you analyse the whole life of Hanuman, it is nothing but unremitting service of Lord Rama to the very end. The most important aspect of Hanuman’s personality that we should remember is Rama-Prem and his humility which made him immortal. Therefore, strength when it is allied to devotion to God and worship of God becomes fruitful in immortal glory, becomes fruitful in eternal union with the Lord. The highest that man can achieve comes to him who allies all his faculties of body and mind with virtue, devotion, humility, the spirit of service, and absolute surrender. To be ever absorbed in the repetition of the Name of the Lord and to be ever absorbed in the service of the Lord—this is the shining ideal of devotion that the grand personality of Hanuman presents before humanity for all time. Such is the glory of his personality and such is the importance of this ideal personality to us, spiritual aspirants as well as to all human beings in this world—to ally strength with Dharma and thus to attain the divine realisation of eternal oneness with the Lord.

Death -- Sleep -- Birth

2006-06-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

WE FEAR WHAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND
In all ages men have pondered over the problem of death, and asked the question: "Is this the end of our existence, or is there a life after death?"

We do not want to lose contact with our loved ones. We have interests that we would like to follow up; dreams and hopes we would like to see fulfilled; and all of us have made mistakes which we want a chance to make good. In many ways we have just learned how to live when old age and death overtake us. It is not strange, therefore, that we should seek an answer to the foregoing question. But at the same time, we are reluctant to take it up, for it evokes fear and gloom. And so we put off a consideration of it until some time in the future, with the result that it remains as dark shadow in the background of mind.

Man fears what he does not understand. If he could lift, even little, the veil of mystery that surrounds the problem of death, the subject might lose much of its terror.

SLEEP AND DEATHThe Ancient Teachings have much of an illuminating and hopeful nature to tell us on this subject, the keynote being found in the ancient Greek proverb, "Sleep and Death are Brothers." The same succession of events that takes place in death, also takes place in sleep. In sleep the Ray of Consciousness withdraws from the outer plane to inner and invisible planes of existence. In death it also withdraws to inner planes, but the withdrawal is complete and long-lasting.

When we go to sleep it often happens that the Ego becomes unconscious, only to return to consciousness again, a process that may repeat itself several times before sleep is definitely entered into. Often death also follows this pattern. The Ego has periods of consciousness on this plane, alternated with periods of consciousness elsewhere. Usually the latter periods are passed in silence, but sometimes the person may talk to himself of his experiences in scarcely audible tones.

Sleep begins with a period of unconsciousness which later is followed by dreams. Death also begins with consciousness followed by a dream state, deeper and more real than that of sleep. After sleep we return to the same body. After the rest-period that follows death, we return to earth in an infant's body, which we then build up for a new life on the material plane. Sleep is a miniature rehearsal of what takes place in death. Every time we lie down to sleep we "die an incomplete death." Every time we wake up we experience a rebirth into matter.

There is no difference in what happens to the indwelling consciousness, except in degree, but there is a difference in what happens to the vehicle, the body. In sleep the body lies dormant and inactive, but it retains its capacity for recuperation. In death the body breaks up and disintegrates.

The reason we have become accustomed to look upon death with horror is that we have fixed our attention on the rapid destruction of the body that takes place after death, and this, coupled with the erroneous assumption that man is identical with his body, has misled us to think that the destruction of the body meant the destruction of the indwelling consciousness.

The great mistake made in studying this subject in the Occident, is that too much attention has been paid to the body or vehicle side of man's nature, and not enough to the real man, the indwelling consciousness.

Man is a composite entity, and the death of the body is only the discarding of the outermost garment used by the consciousness in the material world. The discarding of this vehicle causes a change in the state of our consciousness, since the Ray of Consciousness now transfers its center of activity to higher vehicles of its inner constitution, but our essential self is not annihilated or destroyed by this change.

When we realize that every time we go to sleep we have a preview of what will happen to us in death, the thought of death will lose its terror. And when we reflect on the feeling of relief with which we drop the cares of the day and welcome the peace and rest of the night, we can visualize the still greater sense of release that will come to us when we abandon the worn-out body completely.

The Sufi poet Jalal-ud-din describes the relation between the consciousness and the body during sleep in the following beautiful poem:

Nightly the souls of men thou lettest fly
From out the trap wherein they captive lie
Nightly from out its cage each soul doth wing
Its upward way, no longer slave or king.
Yet for a while each night the Spirit's steed
Is from the harness of the body freed:
"Sleep is Death's brother": come, this riddle read.
But lest at daybreak they should lag behind,
Each soul He doth with a long tether bind,
That from these groves and plains He may revoke
Those errant spirits to their daily yoke.
The same life which is lived piece-meal and in snatches during sleep is lived uninterruptedly after death.

THE RAY OF CONSCIOUSNESS WITHDRAWS
The higher principles of man's constitution exert a constant upward attraction on the Human Ego during its entire life. In youth and maturity, however, these attractions are crowded into the background by the interests and demands of physical existence. But when old age approaches, the worldly attractions lose their force and the spiritual attractions begin to dominate.

As these attractions become ever stronger, the Ray of Consciousness begins a gradual withdrawal from man's compound constitution which manifests on the outer plane by a more and more enfeebled condition of the physical body. This keeps increasing until finally the heart stops like a run-down clock. The primary cause of death is the withdrawal of the Ray of Consciousness, but the resulting decline of the body in its turn has the secondary effect of speeding the withdrawal of the Ray.

In the case of a normal old age after a life well-lived, death comes as a longed-for rest and a welcome relief. In case of sickness the breakdown of the vehicle may force the withdrawal of the consciousness before its regular time. The same is true of death caused by accident, violence, or suicide. (For a very illuminating treatment of these special cases, as well as the entire subject of death, the reader is referred to Chapters XXVII and XXVIII of The Esoteric Tradition by G. de Purucker, as well as other of his works, which are the source of most of the information given here.)

In all these cases the course of events that follows after death differs in the earlier stages from death following old age, but even in these cases the Ego will at a later stage pick up the thread of events and meet with the same experiences it would have met had death followed a normal course.

THE PARTNERSHIP DISSOLVES
Reviewing briefly what has been stated regarding man's constitution: his central core is a Ray of Consciousness, a spark of the Universal Life. The highest foci of this ray, which collectively we called "Man's Inner God," are not directly active in the waking state of the ordinary human being, but rather illumine his consciousness as a light that shines overhead. Although not directly active as yet, we must not lose sight of these higher principles, for without them the lower principles would be non-existent.

The active partners that together produce the waking state of consciousness are the Human Ego aspect of the Ray, or the I-AM-I; the lower mind with its brain-vehicle; and the body. During the waking state these principles merge and blend into an active partnership.

Death and sleep both consist in a dissolution of this partnership. In sleep the dissolution is incomplete and temporary; in death it is complete and permanent. The separated partners are not annihilated in the process, but their mode of existence is entirely different from that of the united partnership, just as the elements of a chemical compound differ in appearance and characteristics from their combined product.

What happens to the various principles of the human being when they separate after death?

The highest principles return instantly to their spiritual home, the "Father in Heaven." The lowest part, the physical body with its lower energies and model body, no longer vitalized by the controlling consciousness, begins to disintegrate. (This process can be hastened and the liberation of the Human Ego from its lower partners greatly aided by cremation.) The lower mind ceases to function, in death as it does in sleep, when the Ray of Consciousness withdraws its vitalizing force from the brain.

This explains what happens to the higher and the lower principles of man's constitution, but still leaves the intermediate part, the Human Ego with its various aspects, to be accounted for.

The withdrawal of the Ray of Consciousness from the brain is not instantaneous, and long after the last heartbeat and the last breath, when the body to all outward appearances is lifeless, the process of dying continues on inner planes. During this first postmortem period -- which may last many hours, perhaps longer -- the brain automatically dislodges from its innermost recesses every memory that was stored in it during the life just ended.

The Ego then sees passing in review before its inner vision every detail of its past life, beginning with its first conscious experience in early childhood and ending with its last moment of self-consciousness before death. The memory of these experiences is then stored as a permanent record in the imperishable part of man's inner nature. By this panoramic vision the Ego is enabled to see the justice of all that has happened to it and to realize what the effect of this life will be on its future incarnations.

It is not uncommon in cases of near-drowning, when the victim was rescued at the last moment, that he will relate having had just a panoramic vision of his past life. The writer has a firsthand account of such an experience from an old friend, who as a boy nearly lost his life by drowning; and who related how the memory of every event of his life, "every mean little thing I had done" (and presumably also the good ones) came back to him in the greatest detail and with extreme vividness and lucidity.

This postmortem review of the life just ended may be compared to the retrospective view the Ego takes when just before losing consciousness in sleep, it reviews the events of the day just ended and realizes the effect that these events will have on the future.

There is this important difference, however, that the pre-sleep experience takes place in the lower mind, while the panoramic vision occurs in the higher mind. The use of the higher mind is made possible because the Human Ego at death is temporarily raised into union with the Higher Ego, and thus enabled to condense a whole life's experiences into a relatively brief period of time.

Referring to the period following upon the apparent death of the body, one of the Masters who was instrumental in forming the Theosophical Society writes:

Speak in whispers, ye, who assist at a death-bed and find yourselves in the solemn presence of Death . . . . . Speak in whispers, I say, lest you disturb the quiet ripple of thought, and hinder the busy work of the Past casting its reflection upon the Veil of the Future. The Mahatma Letters, p. 171
After the panoramic vision, the Human Ego finds itself unable to maintain its union with the Higher Ego, unless during earth life it has accustomed itself to live in this part of its nature. The change of focus of the consciousness from the familiar brain-mind to the unfamiliar higher mind is too sudden and too great for the Human Ego to remain in this high state, and so it lapses at first into a state of unconsciousness.

We have a similar experience in daily life when we fail to keep ourselves mentally and otherwise on the higher levels that we attain occasionally, and where we would like to remain always.

A PROCESS OF SEGREGATION
The Human Ego that sinks into the dormant or unconscious state at the end of the panoramic vision, is a combination of high aspirations and ideals -- originating in the Higher Ego -- and worldly interests and earthly desires, originating in the lower mind. The better part of the Human Ego, the truly human part, must now free itself from all the dross by which it is weighted down, before it can rise into union with the higher Ego. It therefore has to pass through a process of segregation, during which it has to face not its creator, but its own creation, that accumulation of effects it has built up during life by its thoughts and deeds, feelings and uncontrolled appetites.

The ease or difficulty with which the Ego disentangles itself from the lower qualities of its nature depends on the kind of life it has led while embodied, and therefore differs for different individuals. The average decent man passes through the sloughing-off process with relative ease, and in a dreamlike or scarcely conscious condition. A very spiritual man is hardly aware he is undergoing a purification, and passes through this state very quickly.

A man who has lived a grossly material life and habitually indulged in passions, selfishness or evildoing, is, on the other hand, deeply entangled in the webs of his lower nature and will naturally require a much longer period of liberation before he can free himself from all the base elements of his nature. It is a serious and sobering thought, this, to realize that one day after we have left this material plane we shall have to face the labor of freeing ourselves from the bonds we ourselves so thoughtlessly and perhaps recklessly forged while embodied.

No one is entirely free from taint, and no one is so evil but that there is something good in him to be liberated. Therefore all must pass through the segregation process. The conditions met in this after-death state vary as much as the experiences met within material life. The time spent also differs greatly, all according to the life lived on earth, but long or short, difficult or easy, there is an end to the separation period. In every case there comes a time when all the base materials, have been cast aside and the higher part of the Human Ego is free to join its "Father in Heaven." This final casting off by the Human Ego of its last impediments is what the Ancients called "the second death."

THE RAY ABSORBS ITS PROJECTION
During the waking state the Ray of Consciousness is active through its projection -- the Human Ego.

When we go to sleep the Ray of Consciousness withdraws this projection and thus temporarily absorbs the Human Ego back into itself. The Ray of Consciousness then begins to act on the next higher plane through the Higher Mind, as the Higher or Reimbodying Ego. The Human Ego being unable to rise to this high level of existence and being dislocated from its daytime habitation, the brain-mind, loses consciousness and is unaware that it has been reabsorbed by the Higher Ego.

It sometimes happens that due to the condition of the body, the Ray is unable to withdraw its projection completely from the brain, with the result that some small portion of consciousness is still active there. This fractional remnant of the Ray then rummages around among the various memory-deposits in the brain and produces the confused and incoherent dreams that we know so well. In this case the withdrawal of the Ray was incomplete, and the Human Ego was not fully absorbed into the Higher Ego, with the result that the sleep was restless and not as beneficial as it would have been if the absorption had been complete.

If, on the other hand, the withdrawal is complete, the Human Ego is fully absorbed into the Higher Ego and a restful and beneficial sleep is the result, with no memories of any dreams. A complete withdrawal, then, is the prerequisite for the most beneficial sleep.

After death the same withdrawal of the Ray occurs, and here too the withdrawal in its initial stages is incomplete. For although the higher part of the Ray of Consciousness frees itself immediately, yet its projection, the Human Ego, is still entangled in its lower qualities.

While it is struggling to free itself from these, it exists in a confused, chaotic dream-state comparable to an ordinary, confused night dream. But after the second death, when it has freed itself completely from the lower qualities, the Human Ego is reabsorbed into the Higher Ego, and by slow degrees awakens to a partial consciousness in the Higher Mind. It is the higher, truly human part of the Human Ego that has this awakening; the castoff lower personal part remains dormant.

The case, then, is similar to that of sleep except that in sleep the Ego is still encumbered by its lower qualities, and therefore not pure enough to experience an awakening in the Higher Mind. Also the period is too brief to allow time for the necessary segregation. For these reasons the period of absorption during sleep seems to be one of unconsciousness and is not recollected by the Human Ego after awakening.

REST-PERIOD BETWEEN EARTH-LIVES
After the second death, when the Ego slowly awakens to consciousness in the Higher Mind, there begins for it a new state of consciousness. This resembles a dream state during which the Ego lives over again all its happy experiences of earthlife, unalloyed by any sad or discordant memories. The body and all the lower qualities have been cast aside and the limiting and retarding effect of these on man's spiritual aspirations and nobler feelings is removed. The Ego is now free, and in its consciousness carries to fulfillment all the good resolutions of its former earthlife; brings to completion the lofty plans it had built in imagination while embodied, but could not then realize.

The function of the Ego during this phase of its existence is not one of producing new causes, but is rather a period of rest during which the Ego assimilates and permanently incorporates into its own nature all that was good during its past earthlife. It weaves all these experiences into its character, which is ennobled thereby, and when the Ego, reinvigorated and refreshed after its long rest, returns to earth again, the better side of its character has thus been strengthened and recrystallized into a new and improved mold for the life that is about to begin.

The duration of the rest-period between incarnations varies greatly for different individuals and depends on the nature and direction of their interests and longings during earthlife.

Those whose lives have been filled with spiritual longings and idealistic endeavors have much material for contemplation and assimilation, and their rest-period is of long duration. Those whose interests have been chiefly with material concerns, with few thoughts of self-forgetfulness, love, or yearnings of a lofty character, have a small harvest of a spiritual nature to occupy their attention. Those who have lived base and ignoble lives have a very meager harvest, and their stay in the rest-period is relatively short, and the greater part of it is spent in almost complete unconsciousness.

The appropriate average time between incarnations for the whole human race is said to be about 1500 mortal years. So vivid are the experiences of the Ego in its blissful contemplation, however, that it does not notice the passage of time, which in this state is not divided into hours, days and years as it is on earth. Centuries and even thousands of years may go by without the Ego being aware of their passage. It is the same as in ordinary sleep: if we wake up while it is dark we cannot tell whether we have slept a few minutes or several hours.

CHARACTER SEEDS
The foregoing accounts for what happens to the higher part of the Human Ego after it has separated itself from the lower qualities at the second death. But what happens in the meantime to the lower elements, discarded by the Ego during the segregation period?

Each such vehicle or garment disintegrates on the plane to which it belongs, but in each case it leaves behind a residue, a kind of "seed," that retains in a latent state the nature and characteristics of the discarded element or garment.

These "seeds" lie dormant on their respective inner planes of Nature, and thus preserve in germ-state the characteristics of the perishable part of the former entity. The higher principles of the entity, including the higher part of the Human Ego, do not disintegrate. These, together with the "seeds" of the lower elements, then, are the repositories for the entire character of the human being, so that in future ages, when the Ego returns to earth life, it will again be clothed in the same basic character it had at the end of its former existence, but now made better by former efforts at self-improvement.

THE RAY RE-ENTERS MATTER
After ages spent by the Human Ego in its blissful rest following the second death, there comes at last a time when the Ego has carried to its ultimate completion every hitherto unfulfilled aspiration and made it a part of its character. The material for its dreams has gradually been exhausted and the Ego begins to long for a more active existence. Vague memories of former earth lives now begin to haunt the imagination. The Ego longs to revisit old familiar scenes and to test again its strength in the activities of earthlife. Just as, prior to death, the spiritual aspirations exerted their "upward" pull, so now do the longings for earthlife grow ever stronger, until finally the Ego starts on its earthward journey.

During its descent to the material plane, the Ego follows the same pathway it used in the ascent, but now travels in the opposite direction. Slowly it loses consciousness of the plane of spiritual aspirations, and gradually passes into a state of complete unconsciousness. As it descends through the intermediate and lower planes of Nature, it passes on each one of these planes the "seeds" it left behind on its ascent. These seeds now feel the stimulating and vitalizing effect of the presence of their Master, and just as iron filings are drawn to a magnet, so do these "seeds" now attach themselves to the returning Ego, and in due course rebuild the garments that formerly enshrouded it. Therefore, when the Ego is ready to re-enter the material plane, it is equipped with all the essentials required to rebuild its former vehicles just as they were before.

It is said that just before the Ego re-enters earthlife it has a brief period of vivid consciousness, during which it sees again the same panoramic vision of its former earthlife that it saw at the end of that life, starting as before with the earliest memory of childhood, showing the entire life with all its details and ending with its last conscious moment before death.

The Ego recognizes its responsibility for all its acts and sees the consequences that must follow from these acts. Then, we are told, it sees a preview of the new earth life that is about to begin, and sees the justice of all the experiences that will come to it.

It is psycho-magnetically attracted to those parents, that can furnish the heredity and circumstances of life most closely corresponding to its deserts. Love is the strongest bond that brings parents and children together, but hate can also be a factor in those unfortunate cases where problems of dislike and disharmony were left unsolved in the past. Such Egos are again brought together until they learn to understand each other and come to realize that "hatred ceases not by hatred; hatred ceases only by love," as all great religious teachers have taught.

As the Ego in the distant past left this plane through the door of Death, so does it now re-enter it through the door of Birth. The little infant body is of course a very weak and imperfect instrument, and this must now be strengthened and built up. This task Nature tackles with vigor, for the infant spends almost its entire time eating and sleeping, the first prerequisite for growth. Only occasionally and for brief periods do we see the consciousness beginning to assert itself. It seems to come and go. It tries to use its little instrument, but the latter is too weak and feeble and undeveloped. The view it gets of this world through the "windows of the senses" is blurred and misty. The consciousness gives up the effort and returns temporarily to its more familiar dream plane, only to return again and again.

As weeks and months pass by and the body develops, the consciousness can remain for longer and longer periods before the little body is overstrained by its presence, and sleep with unconsciousness of this plane again becomes necessary.

It is a slow "awakening" of the Ego to consciousness on this material plane, a process that extends over months and years before the Ego has developed self-consciousness. It repeats on a larger time scale what happens when we half-wake up in the morning only to fall asleep again, an act that may recur several times before the Ego finally becomes fully conscious on this plane.

During its waking periods the Ego seems to realize that it must now become acquainted with the new world it has just entered, for we notice that whenever the consciousness is active on this plane, it is observing and studying its surroundings. The baby watches its fingers move, feels the bedclothing, handles some little toy and puts it in his mouth. He watches the light in the ceiling and reaches for it, only to find to his surprise that distance or space is one of the characteristics of this new, strange world.

Parents often complain that the baby so soon "tires of his nice new toys" and always wants something else, but quickly tires of that also. When the baby gets hold of a new object he looks at it, feels it and usually also puts it in his mouth. To the baby this toy is not an object with which to pass away idle time. It is an object of serious research, a bit of the new world to get acquainted with. But after the baby has handled it a sufficient number of times and knows its characteristics, the object has served its purpose and holds no further interest; baby wants some new object to study.

We see that whenever the consciousness is present, its activity is that of observer, learner, experiencer, in the little limited world in which it exists.

But the years pass and gradually the soil becomes suitable for the germination of the character seeds that had been lying dormant since the end of the former earthlife, and slowly the character of the incoming Ego begins to manifest itself. This is the "inheritance" the Ego willed to itself by its own thoughts and deeds during its former existence, and that now shows itself in disposition, temperament, talents and aptitudes, or the lack of these. As the Personal Ego draws on its stock of day-to-day memories stored in the brain, so does the higher part of the Human Ego draw on the deeper and more lasting memories in the permanent storehouse of the character.

Finally, after more years have come and gone, the individual has passed through adolescence to maturity. The Higher Ego has again projected its Ray into the human constitution where it now functions as the Human Ego working through the Personal Ego. The co-partnership of the former life is again assembled, the body is full grown and functioning. The brain and lower mind are revitalized and active and the Human Ego is back at its observation post. The Ray of Consciousness has again "fallen into matter" and is ready to continue its evolution, using its rebuilt vehicle which is virtually a duplicate of the one used in its former existence on earth.

Thus as the Ego at night goes to sleep and after a period of rest awakens in the same body, so does the Ego after death have its period of rest, after which it slowly "awakens" in a new -- and if it has so deserved -- better body. As the individual is rested and refreshed after a night's sleep and is ready to tackle the duties of a new day, so is the Ego reinvigorated and filled with youthful enthusiasm, ready and eager to tackle the duties of a new life.

PHYSICAL BODY USEFUL FOR PHYSICAL EXISTENCE ONLY
Going to sleep is a process of disimbodiment, after which the Ego loses consciousness of this plane and passes beyond the reach of those who remain conscious here. Death is also a process of disimbodiment, followed by the same sequence of events.

The two events, then, are identical, except that in the case of sleep the disimbodiment is temporary while in death it is permanent. Since the consciousness frees itself from the body in both cases, the relative value or usefulness of the body to the consciousness is also the same in both cases. Inasmuch as the body was of no use in sleep and may even be a hindrance, it should be reasonable to conclude that the body is equally unnecessary to the Ego's existence after death. Since it is possible for the consciousness to exist and be active during sleep without the use of the body, it should also be possible for it to exist and be active after death without the use of the body, and the destruction of the latter does not mean the destruction of the indwelling consciousness.

OUR ENTRANCE INDICATES PRE-EXISTENCE
When the consciousness withdraws from the body in sleep and death, those who remain conscious on this plane are unable to follow it further. At this point the thread of the story is lost in an impenetrable mist, and further investigation in this direction is blocked.

Since we are unable to follow the consciousness as it departs from this plane, our next best approach would seem to be a study of our entrance here, for an understanding of this may throw some light on our future.

Taking a retrospective view of life from the present time -- going back to youth and early childhood, even to the first event that we are able to recollect -- we know that we were one and the same Ego that passed through all the experiences of life, and we are positive of our existence that far back. Is the fact that we can remember nothing earlier than this event a proof that the Ego did not exist before this, its first memory?

Let us go back in imagination to the day in early childhood when something unusual happened that made a deep impression on us and that later turned out to be our earliest conscious memory. Let us think of ourselves as we were then. We know that on this day we would remember what happened to us on the previous day. We would probably remember much farther back than that, perhaps a month, perhaps several months. In each case let us go back in imagination to that earlier date which we could then recollect, and continue the process of retracing our conscious existence as far back as possible. Finally we would reach a point where the picture would be too hazy, but in each and every case as we went farther and farther back in our imaginary journey toward infancy, we would recognize ourselves on that day as the same Ego, the same I-AM-I as on the "yesterday" before it. We know by this that the Ego did not come into existence with its first conscious memory, but that it existed, was active, and observing events much earlier, and that it had a day-to-day recollection of other and earlier events which it later forgot. We can confirm all this, for it becomes very evident, if we watch a two or three-year-old child, that the Ego is present, active and observing, much earlier than the child will be able to recollect later in life.

Our interests and our fields of experience vary greatly during the different periods of our life. In maturity they may extend over a wide range, while in infancy they are limited to the four walls of the nursery. But no matter whether the field is great or small, the nature and essential function of the Ego is to observe and learn from life, and this is characteristic of the infant just as much as it is of the full grown man. Right from the start and all through life the occupation of the Ego is that of spectator and experiencer of life.

When we took the retrospective view, trying to determine if the Ego came into existence with its earliest memory, we arrived at a point where the Ego was probably unable to recollect any event in its earlier existence because the picture was too hazy. Does this mean that the Ego had no existence prior to its first faint recollections?

If we watch an infant in its earliest months, even shortly after birth, we notice that during its relatively brief waking periods, part of the time there is an observing consciousness present, for we can see the eyes following the mother as she moves around the room. But at other times the eyes, as if exhausted, stare vacantly into space, and though the body is not asleep, the consciousness has absented itself, much as it does when an adult is "day-dreaming." After awhile sleep returns and the consciousness is completely absent. This appearance and disappearance of the consciousness keeps repeating itself with gradually shortening sleep periods and lengthening periods of conscious existence. In this we see a duplication of what often happens to an adult when he awakens only to fall asleep again, and we see a "repetition in reverse" of what so often occurs at death when the consciousness withdraws, only to return again, perhaps several times before final withdrawal.

What happens to the infant's consciousness during its absent periods? There seem to be two possible alternatives: 1. The consciousness passes out of this plane onto some other plane of consciousness where it dwells until it returns to this plane, or 2. The consciousness is annihilated each time it goes, and a new consciousness comes into existence each time the infant wakes up. If the second alternative were true we would have a new consciousness coming into existence with each waking-sleeping cycle. That would make a whole string of different consciousnesses coming into being, only to be snuffed right out again, and each time the baby woke up there would be one more to add to the list. The idea does not appeal to the reason.

The first alternative is supported by the fact that as soon as memory begins to operate we have proof that it is the same consciousness that comes and goes, for the infant in one conscious period will remember events from a former, even though the two periods were separated by intervals of unconsciousness. The fact that the memory was non-operative in the earliest stages should not produce a change in the status of the consciousness itself. And if it is the same consciousness unit coming and going after memory is developed, it should be reasonable to conclude that is the same consciousness unit, the same Ego, that has been present ever since birth.

If then, during its absence from this plane, the consciousness has retreated to some other plane, it must have had some kind of vehicle for existence on this, to us, invisible plane. If it can exist in this vehicle and on this inner plane during the periods of its absence from the body and the material plane, it can just as well exist in this same vehicle on this same inner plane before its first visit to the body, or before the body existed. So it seems that there is nothing in our knowledge regarding the first appearance of consciousness in the body contradicting the ancient teaching that this consciousness existed before the birth of the body.

A circumstance that also points to an existence of the consciousness before its entry into the body is the early appearance in children of definite gifts, aptitudes and talents. These gradually come to the surface without being in any way prompted or inculcated by the parents. For instance, there may be two children in the same family, one of which has distinct artistic ability that the other completely lacks. The first one will produce with a few lines scrawled on a piece of paper the picture of a natural and even good-looking face, while the other child, even with help and instruction, can produce only a crude caricature -- a "goblin-face."

The artistic child did not acquire his ability in this life; neither did prodigies in music, mathematics and other fields learn these subjects in this one life. When and where could these arts have been mastered then, except in former existences?

Does not the growth from infancy through childhood and youth show every sign of an incoming soul overshadowing, vitalizing and gradually taking possession of a material body furnished it by Nature? It is the soul that left a dying body sometime in the far distant past that is now "waking up" in a new body, gradually displaying the heritage it brought with it.

OUR EXIT INDICATES CONTINUITY OF EXISTENCE
It might be said that a man's house is in one sense a part of himself, for it is a necessary adjunct to his life here. Every time he passes out through the door he finds himself in open space where the conditions are vastly different from those inside the four walls of the house. Perhaps his work keeps him out-of-doors all day, but in the evening he returns and re-enters his home where he again finds the old familiar surroundings. But a house will in time get out of repair; perhaps the foundation settles, and one evening when he comes home the door jams, and he finds himself locked out.

The passing of the man from indoors to out-of-doors did not change the man except that it enlarged his view and perhaps put him in a different frame of mind. The fact that he could not return through the jammed door did not in any way change his condition in the out-of-doors.

Man's consciousness lives in a body, a "house" of flesh. Every twenty-four hours it passes out of this house through the door of unconsciousness into sleep, and then finds itself in some sort of "out-of-doors" of consciousness, with conditions of existence very different from those inside the "house." When morning comes, the same consciousness, the same I-AM-I returns to the body, so that whatever its condition had been during sleep, this in no way changed its identity or interfered with the continuity of its existence.

Preceding death the consciousness also passes out of its "house" through the door of unconsciousness and may remain absent for long periods, only to return and repeat this coming and going many times before final withdrawal. During each of these absent intervals the consciousness has some sort of an existence in some "out-of-doors" of consciousness, which for all we know to the contrary is the same or similar to that experienced in sleep.

Each time when the consciousness returns after one of these pre-death absences, it is the same Ego, the same I-AM-I as before, so that in this case also the out-of-the-body existence did not change the identity of the Ego and did not interfere with its continuity of existence.

Now let us suppose for the sake of illustration, that the Ego passes into unconsciousness six times, and six times returns to consciousness, but the next time it loses consciousness it does not return. Does the number of times it returns have any influence on the out-of-the-body existence of the Ego? Suppose it had come back a seventh time; would it not still have been the same essential Ego as the one that came back the fifth, fourth or third time? And suppose it came back many more times; would it not still be the same Ego as before? Does not this indicate that the Ego had a continuous existence whether in or out of the body? And may it not be possible that even when the Ego failed to return, it had tried to re-enter the body this time also, but found it too far disintegrated? The Ego was locked out as the man who could not re-enter his house, because of the jammed door, but the Ego had not ceased to exist any more than the man who was locked out.

And why should we think, when the consciousness failed to return after its last disappearance, that its condition in the "out-of-doors" on the other side of death was any different from what it would have been if the door had not jammed and the consciousness had returned this time also?

Is there not a remarkable similarity, operating in reverse, between the consciousness slowly, gradually and intermittently taking possession of the body after birth, and that same consciousness slowly and alternately interrupted by briefer and briefer return visits, gradually withdrawing from the body at death?

Death then, is the opposite to Birth, not the opposite to Life. Life is continuous. Consciousness comes into this material plane through the door of birth from some "out-of-doors" of consciousness. It sojourns on this plane for a period of years and then leaves through the door of death to re-enter the "out-of-doors" of consciousness from which it came.

CHANGING SCENERY DOES NOT CHANGE THE TRAVELER
But what happens to the consciousness after it has left this material plane and entered the great "out-of-doors" on the other side of the portal of death?

Here as also in sleep the ordinary human consciousness is unable to follow. The friends who watch at a deathbed are like those who gather on the seashore to bid farewell to a departing friend whose boat is slowly passing out to sea. At first it is within hailing distance but gradually it passes farther and farther out of reach and approaches closer and closer to the horizon. Finally it seems to pass the line where it drops out of sight behind the horizon, and to those on shore it seems that a sudden and complete change has taken place. But to the man in the boat there was no sudden change, for it all came gradually and naturally. He is gone from the sight of his friends on shore, but to him there are opened other horizons, new vistas, new experiences in other states of consciousness -- other mansions of life.

But the traveler does not remain permanently in any one place. He continues his journey farther and farther, like a ship that keeps sailing always in the same direction, to the West, let us say. When, after months or years, this ship finally returns to its starting point, it comes not from the West where it disappeared, but from the East, where it seems to come out of nowhere. While out of sight to those who stayed at home, it has still existed and been busily engaged in circumnavigating the globe.

This may be considered a figurative representation of what happens after death, for during the long absence of the consciousness between earth lives, when it is completely out of touch with this world, it journeys through many mansions in the house of life, and when it returns to earth life, it makes its entry at the opposite side of the stage from where it left. It enters at birth.

TRUST NATURE
When we go to sleep we do so in the full conviction that we shall awake the next morning. We know that we shall become unconscious, but that does not frighten us in the least, for we know that in the morning our consciousness will return to its familiar setting, pick up the threads from yesterday and continue life where it left off.

We know so well the complete cycle of activity and rest which we experience every twenty-four hours, that we hardly give it a thought. It feels so good to lay down the tired body after a day's hard work and forget it all, especially as during the night Nature will renew the worn out tissues and in the morning we shall awaken rested and refreshed. All in all then, sleep is both a happy experience and a beneficial one.

We should feel the same way with regard to the longer sleep of death, says the Ancient Wisdom, for sleep and death are both rest-periods for the Human consciousness. And as sleep is followed by an awakening in the same body, so is death in due course followed by an awakening in the body of a newborn child.

It should be with a feeling of relief that we lay aside the aged, worn-out instrument, in the knowledge that we shall again start out in life with a new instrument that should be -- and if we have lived right will be -- stronger and better than the old.

Even when we grow old we should not center our attention on death, for it is only death to the body. It is only one step in the universal process of repetition that we see everywhere in Nature. It is the consciousness disappearing from one plane in order to appear on another. It is the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new, and even if we do not understand the details of the process, we should have confidence that Nature has the same ability to lead us gently out of this existence that she had in leading us into this life.

OLD AGE
Old age need not and should not be a period of retrogression or decrease in man's spiritual and intellectual faculties. At this period of life the body vitality is reduced and this gives greater freedom for the expression of man's spiritual and intellectual faculties. These can and should be active and expanding until even a few hours before death.

The body, of course, grows feeble with advancing years, but it is not uncommon to hear aging people, who have not lived chiefly in the material side of their natures, say: "I don't feel a bit older than when I was twenty. Perhaps in some ways I feel even younger."

There will still be much that we can do and much that we can learn, remembering that no effort is wasted and that even if we cannot in this life make use of these late experiences, it will be that much gained for our next incarnation.

We should have our inner vision directed forward, not backward, even to the last, remembering with Victor Hugo that "Death is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight; it opens on the Dawn."

Lord Ganesha

2006-06-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

This God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak ( knowledgeable ) or Vighneshwer (god to remove obstacles). He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any auspicious performance for blessings and auspiciousness.

He has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his hands he carries a rope (to carry devotees to the truth), an axe (to cut devotees' attachments), and a sweet dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward devotees for spiritual activity). His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people.

A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.
Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — has become one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also shows how popular and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.
The Lord of Success
The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

Ganesh Chaturthi
The devotees of Ganesha are known as 'Ganapatyas', and the festival to celebrate and glorify him is called Ganesh Chaturthi.

Significance of the Ganesha Form
Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head
The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

However, there's another less popular story of his origin, found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana: Shiva asked Parvati to observe the punyaka vrata for a year to appease Vishnu in order to have a son. When a son was born to her, all the gods and goddesses assembled to rejoice on its birth. Lord Shani, the son of Surya (Sun-God), was also present but he refused to look at the infant. Perturbed at this behaviour, Parvati asked him the reason, and Shani replied that his looking at baby would harm the newborn. However, on Parvati's insistence when Shani eyed the baby, the child's head was severed instantly. All the gods started to bemoan, whereupon Vishnu hurried to the bank of river Pushpabhadra and brought back the head of a young elephant, and joined it to the baby's body, thus reviving it.

Ganesha, the Destroyer of Pride
Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is the personification of material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations. "All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian belief," says D N Singh in A Study of Hinduism. "He is both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all Hindus."

Hindu Temples - Unknown Facts

2006-06-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

4 yugams and colours
There are 4 yugams and each yugam of Thirumaal is said to have 4 colours.
1. Tretha yugam - White (Swetha varnan)
2. Kretha yugam - Pavazham (Pravesa varnan)
3. Dwapara yugam - Green (Maragatha varnan)
4. Kali yugam - Dark blue (Shyamala varnan)

Mohini Avathar
Sri Vishnu took the avathar of Mohini and the same is found in Thiru Moghur divya desam. The worship of Sri Sudharsana alwar is also said to be special in this Divya desam.

Ekapathni Sevai
Sri Vishnu gives as the "Ekapathini" (giving His seva along with one Naachiyar) Sevai in Sri Villiputhoor, Thiru Maalirunsolai, Thiru meyyam, Thirukkurungudi and Thirukkotiyoor divyadesam and in Nava tirupathi Divyadesam.

Padithaanda pathini
The thaayar of Thirukkundanthai Divya desam is Komalavalli Naachiyaar. She does not comes out of the temple during the Veedhi purappadu as she always doesn't want to leave the Perumal and wanted to dedicate her seva to the Perumal. And because of this, she is called as "Padithaanda pathini".

Netrikkan (eye on forehead) Perumal
Thiruvaheendrapuram Sri Devanatha Perumal represents Lord Brahma having the lotus flower in his hand and representing Lord Shivan having the eye in his fore - head and representing Sri Vishnu along with Sangu and Chakkaram.

Sri Lakshmi Hayagreevar
The Thiru Aaradhanai Perumal - Sri Lakshmi Hayagreevar of Swami Desikar is installed in Thiruthanka (thoopul) divya desam in Kanchipuram.

Sri Devi on left side
Sri Devi thaayar who has to reside on the right hand side of the Perumal is found on the left hand side in ThiruIdaventhai and in Thiruputkuzhi Divyadesam.

All 108 Divya Desa Perumal in one Temple
In Thiru Narayoor divyadesam (also popularly called as Naachiyar koil), all the 108 Divya Desa Perumal vigrahams are found. So by visiting this temple, you can see all the Perumal of all the 108 Divyadesams.

Panja Krishna Sthalams
1. Thirukkannamangai
2. Thirukkannapuram
3. Kabisthalam
4.Thirukkoviloor and
5. Thirukkannankudi are collectively called as "Panja Krishna sthalam".

Panja Aayuthams - Nithya Soorigal
Chakkaram, Sangu, Gadhai, Sword and Bow are called "Panja Aayudham" and also called as "Nithya soorigal". And among these 5, Sri Sudharsana Chakkaram is said to be the chief.

5 Thirukkolams in one temple
Sri Oppiliappa Perumal gives the other sevas in the form of Ponnappan, Meyyappan and Thiru Vinnagarappan.

Paramapadha Vaasal
In the entire Thondai Naatu Divyadesams, only in Kanchipuram - Sri Ashtabhujam temple, the Paramapatha Vaasal is found. This is said to be so unique that none of the other temple has the Paramapadha Vaasal.

Mudhal Alwars
The first 3 alwars (Mudhal alwars) - Poigai, Bhutham and Pei Alwar met among themselves in Thirukkoviloor divyadesam.

Swayam Vyaktha sthalams
Temples, which originates on itself are called as "Swayam vyaktha sthalam". Sri Rangam, Sri Mathura, Tirupathi, Salagramam, Naimisaranyam, Pushkar, Sri Mushnam and Thiru Narayanapuram are some of the Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams.

Perumal Dharshan through 3 vaasals
The Perumal of Thiruvananthapuram divyadesam - Sri Anantha Padmanabha swamy gives His seva through 3 Vaasals. Through one vaasal, we can see the thiru mugham (face), through another vaasal, we can see his thiru maarbhu and through the final third vaasal, we can get the Thiru paadha seva.

Kovil, Tirumalai and Perumal Kovil
In Sri Vaishnavite terms, "Kovil" refers to Sri Rangam, "Thiru Malai" refers to Thiru Venkatam (Tirupathi) and "Perumal Kovil" is referred to Kanchipuram.

4 Thirukkolams
In Thiru Neermalai divyadesam, the Perumal gives His seva in 4 forms - Nindran, Irundhan, Kidanthan and Nadanthan.

Sri Rangam
The Perumal of Thiruvarangam is called as "Periya Perumal", thaayar - Periya piratti, Periyalwar - he gave his daughter to get married to the Perumal, Mandapam - Periya mandapam, Jeeyar - Periya jeeyar and finally, the kovil - popularly called as "Periya Kovil".

Bhoga Srinivasar
In Tirumalai - Thiru Venkatam, the Srinivasar, who is found at the feet of the Moolavar is called as "Bhoga Srinivasar". Daily Thiru Manjanam is done for him only.

Jaganatha Puri
In Jaganatha Puri, on the Moolasthanam Sri Krishnar gives his seva along with Subhathrai (sister) and Balaramar (brother).

Hand of Sita Piratti
In Madhuranthakam, we can see Sri Kothanda ramar holding his hand with Sita Piratti. This is one of the unique thirukkolam of Sri Ramar along with Sita piratti.

Scar in Perumal's face
We can see the wound scars on the thiru mugham (face) of the utsavar of Thiruvellikkeni Divyadesa Perumal. It is said it is because the Perumal accepted the arrows struck by Bheeshmar. Since he was the therotti (charriot driver) for Arjunan, He accepted the arrows.

Family of Sri Krishnar
The Perumal of Thiruvellikkeni is called with the thiru naamam "Sri Venkata Krishnan". He gives his seva along with Rukmani piratti, saathyaki, Balaramar, Prathyumnan (son) and Anirudhan (grandson) showing the 3 levels of generation. This Divyadesam is located in Chennai.

9 forms of Sri Narasimhar
In Ahobilam, 9 forms of Sri Narasimhars are found. They are Ugra Narasimhar, Krodha Narasimhar, Jwala Narasimhar, Malola Narasimhar, Chathravata Narasimhar, Yogananda Narasimhar, Bhavana Narasimhar, Karanja Narasimhar and Barghava Narasimhar. The Utsavar name is "Sri Prahaladha Varadhan".

Yoga Narasimhar
In Sholingar Divyadesam, the Moolavar is "Sri Yoga Narasimhar" and utsavar is found in a separate temple.

Sangu on right side
Generally, the Sangu will be found on the left hand of the Perumal. But, in Thirukkoviloor divyadesam, it is found on the right hand.

Sri Vishnu in Shivan temple
In some of the famous Shivan temples like Sikkal, Chidhambaram, Thiru Naavaloor, a separate sannadhi for Sri Vishnu is found.

Sri Vishnu in Amman temple
Thirukkalvanoor is one among the Divya desam found inside Sri Kamakshi amman temple, Kanchipuram. He is found on the right side in a pragharam of Amman main sannadhi.

A great dedication
For Kanchi Varadhar, Robert clive has dedicated a Magarakandi, a special and very precious ornament. He gave this ornament as a dedication of his great bhakti.

Serve Humanity And Seek Divinity

2006-06-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

O Blessed Friend! When will you wake up from this deep sleep of ignorance and enter into the reality of your true real nature—Divine Nature? You are not merely the body and intellect.

Come, come, wake up now. Claim your birthright. Recognise your identity. Enter into experience of the Divine Joy, Peace and Wisdom which is your Eternal Svarupa (essential nature). O beloved friend! O Radiant Atman! Do it now. You are indeed Divine. You are unchangeable, infinite, immortal Atman.

Life is Sadhana. Living is spiritual process. All actions—mental, verbal and physical—constitute Yajna. Yajna or self-giving is the fundamental principle and PAROPAKARA (doing good to others) is the Mulamantra (the basic sacred formula) of this life.

Live with understanding and wisdom. Understand the meaning and purpose of life. Understand your real nature and why you are here. Here on earth you are but a passing traveller. Here all things are temporary. All things pass. Therefore seek the eternal. Your real nature is not earthly. It is spiritual and deathless. To realise your Reality, your eternal identity is the purpose of your life. While you strive diligently for this inner experience cultivate Ideal Relationship with the world around you. To all beings relate yourself with nobility, sympathy, kindness, love, selflessness and the desire to serve all.

Compassion to all is the key to blessedness. Humility is the highest virtue. Truthfulness is the greatest treasure. Self-control is the supreme wealth to possess. Egoism is the worst blemish and hence to be eradicated in toto.

Be an ideal individual. Become a spiritually-illumined soul. Thus crown your life with Wisdom, Peace and Blessedness. You will then become a blessing to all mankind. I wish you joy and peace.

Tulsi: The Holy Power Plant

2006-06-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

The holy Indian basil is a miracle plant
The 'tulsi' plant or Indian basil is an important symbol in the Hindu religious tradition. The name 'tulsi' connotes "the incomparable one". Tulsi is a venerated plant and Hindus worship it in the morning and evening. Tulsi grows wild in the tropics and warm regions. Dark or Shyama tulsi and light or Rama tulsi are the two main varieties of basil, the former possessing greater medicinal value. Of the many varieties, the Krishna or Shyama tulsi is commonly used for worship.

Tulsi As A Deity
The presence of tulsi plant symbolizes the religious bent of a Hindu family. A Hindu household is considered incomplete if it doesn't have a tulsi plant in the courtyard. Many families have the tulsi planted in a specially built structure, which has images of deities installed on all four sides, and an alcove for a small earthen oil lamp. Some households can even have up to a dozen tulsi plants on the verandah or in the garden forming a "tulsi-van" or "tulsivrindavan" - a miniature basil forest.

Places that tend to inspire concentration and places ideal for worship, according to the Gandharv Tantra, include "grounds overgrown with tulsi plants". The Tulsi Manas Mandir at Varanasi is one such famous temple, where tulsi is worshipped along with other Hindu gods and goddesses. Vaishnavites or believers of Lord Vishnu worship the tulsi leaf because it's the one that pleases Lord Vishnu the most. They also wear beaded necklaces made of tulsi stems. The manufacture of these tulsi necklaces is a cottage industry in pilgrimages and temple towns.

Tulsi As An Elixir
Apart from its religious significance it is of great medicinal significance, and is a prime herb in Ayurvedic treatment. Marked by its strong aroma and a stringent taste, tusli is a kind of "the elixir of life" as it promotes longevity. The plant's extracts can be used to prevent and cure many illnesses and common ailments like common cold, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning and malaria. Essential oil extracted from karpoora tulsi is mostly used for medicinal purposes though of late it is used in the manufacture of herbal toiletry.

According to Jeevan Kulkarni, author of Historical Truths & Untruths Exposed, when Hindu women worship tulsi, they in effect pray for "less and less carbonic acid and more and more oxygen - a perfect object lesson in sanitation, art and religion". The tulsi plant is even known to purify or de-pollute the atmosphere and also works as a repellent to mosquitoes, flies and other harmful insects. Tulsi used to be a universal remedy in cases of malarial fever.

Prof Shrinivas Tilak, who teaches Religion at Concordia University, Montreal has made this historical citation: In a letter written to The Times, London, dated May 2, 1903 Dr George Birdwood, Professor of Anatomy, Grant Medical College, Bombay said, "When the Victoria Gardens were established in Bombay, the men employed on those works were pestered by mosquitoes. At the recommendation of the Hindu managers, the whole boundary of the gardens was planted with holy basil, on which the plague of mosquitos was at once abated, and fever altogether disappeared from among the resident gardners."

Tulsi In Legends
Quite a few myths and legends found in the Puranas or ancient scriptures point to the origin of importance of tulsi in religious rituals. Although tulsi is regarded as feminine, in no folklore is she described as the consort the Lord. Yet a garland solely made of tulsi leaves is the first offering to the Lord as part of the daily ritual. The plant is accorded the sixth place among the eight objects of worship in the ritual of the consecration of the Kalasha, the container of holy water.

According to one legend, Tulsi was the incarnation of a princess who fell in love with Lord Krishna, and so had a curse laid on her by his consort Radha. Tulsi is also mentioned in the stories of Meera and of Radha immortalised in Jayadev's Gita Govinda. The story of Lord Krishna has it that when Krishna was weighed in gold, not even all the ornaments of Satyabhama could outweigh him. But a single tulsi leaf placed by Rukmani on the pan tilted the scale.

In the Hindu mythology, tulsi is very dear to Lord Vishnu. Tulsi is ceremonially married to Lord Vishnu annually on the 11th bright day of the month of Karttika in the lunar calendar. This festival continues for five days and concludes on the full moon day, which falls in mid October. This ritual, called the 'Tulsi Vivaha' inaugurates the annual marriage season in India.

Sai Baba

2006-06-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Indian Gods

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Sri Krishna

2006-05-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

The Devotee Becomes Invulnerable

2006-05-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

It is a common fallacy to suppose that people, who follow the path of devotion, who cultivate devotion, who take recourse to prayer, surrender and the Name of the Lord become effeminate, weak and they are not strong like the Vedantins. The Vedantins are always strong; they bring the picture of a lion, the king of the forest, which fears nothing and is full of strength. Even so, the lion of Vedanta is supposed to roar like a lion.

The real devotee is also equal to the Vedantin. He fears nothing in this world. His strength is infinite, because his strength is not the strength of an individual personality. The source of his strength is infinity, in which he has established himself. The source of strength for a Vedantin and the source of strength for a devotee are the same. The Vedantin relies upon Atman, but the devotee relies on the Lord. The Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) and the Nirguna Brahman (Brahman without attributes) are one. Therefore, if a devotee feels within him a sort of fear or weakness, then it means that his practice of Bhakti is not correct. There is something lacking in him. Some error is there. If he is a real devotee, he should be perfectly fearless. He should say, “I have got the Name of the Lord on my lips. Nothing equals the Name of the Lord in the whole world. To me no fear from the world can come.” So a real devotee fears nothing. Maya cannot do anything to him. He who has got the Name of the Lord ever upon his lips, defies the guiles of Maya.

He who has got faith and devotion to the Lord becomes invulnerable. His defences are impregnable. Nothing can happen to him. It depends upon faith.

Such faith was there in Hanuman, whose glorious personality stands radiant before us in the pages of Ramayana. He is the ideal of a true devotee, the devotee who is full of strength, full of courage, full of heroism. True devotion gives strength. Real Prem (love) gives infinite courage and boldness.

What is the source of all strength that sustains an aspirant in his struggle to overcome Maya? The strength is the Name of the Lord. That strength is the strength of true love and devotion to the Lord. That strength is the strength of absolute faith in the Lord, faith in the grace of the Lord, faith in His Name, to exemplify which the glorious Name of Hanuman stands as an ideal before us.

A devotee fears nothing. No obstacle deters him from pursuing the path that leads to the blessed union with the Lord. If this real devotion is not there, then timidity and other things come.

Follow Their Foot-Prints

2006-05-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

To all those who were instruments in bringing about suffering to the saints, their attitude was one of forgiveness and returning good for evil. They tried to do good to the man who did them the greatest harm. To endure everything, to be always firm and unshakeable in their faith in the Lord and a spirit of continuous forgiveness-this is the nature of saints, and these characteristics are found in saints all over the world. All people who have risen to spiritual heights and have become worshipful by mankind—they have always manifested these wonderful qualities. To the saints, God is not a distant entity. To them God is an ever present living reality. Just as we are present to each other, to them, too, God is ever present. They turn to Him at every moment of their life. Whenever they were in need of help, solace, strength, guidance or light, they immediately turned to God even as a child turns to its parents. God was ever present before them and thus their lives were transformed by this ever present awareness of a superior being whom they felt to be their very own. They melted all the differences between themselves and God. They felt themselves to be very intimate with God. They felt God to be their own.

We also express this intimacy with God everyday through our prayers and hymns but we do not feel it intensely enough. In troubles, we trust our money or other external aids of the world rather than the indweller. We lack the sense of God’s presence.

On the contrary, the saints, even while living in the external world, are always in close contact with the Lord. Therefore they are God-men. They live a life in God and they always consider God to be the only real treasure, the greatest wealth, the only object worth having in life. They never have any other desire. Their desirelessness found ultimate rest in God alone and filled their heart with perfect contentment.

All saints stood above caste and creed. They belonged to one family—the great cosmic family of God. Absolute purity, absolute trust in God, absolute compassion, contentment, desirelessness, perfect guileless nature and total dependence on God alone—these you find in all saints.

Take anyone of the western saints. You will find the same simplicity, the same humility, the same frankness. Even if a man was about to cut their throat, they embraced him. That was the saintly reaction. They were filled with the spirit of this divine quality. In short, they fulfilled the spirit of the Amritashtaka, the last eight verses of the Twelfth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad Gita wherein Sri Krishna describes the characteristics of a lover of God, one who is dear to the Lord.

We should also try to delve into the heart of these saints and feel as they felt in their hearts—an overflowing love for God, total forgiveness, motherly compassion, intensity of faith which alone could enable them to bear everything that came on their way and the Himalayan type of perseverance and patience they exhibited on the path of God-Realisation.

And if with our open hearts after removing all bias, we try to delve deep into the nature of the saints, then all the noble traits of their personality will come before us and we can engrave and emulate these noble traits in our hearts. That indeed will be the only effective manner in which we can worship these great souls by which we make an effort to carry out their teachings with sincerity and in a true spirit of respectability and try to emulate their lofty ideals and characters.

This emulation will be the greatest tribute we can pay to these saints.

We should try to emulate them. We should try to emulate the great ideal they have set before us through their exemplary lives. Therefore, to make ourselves adherents of the pattern of divine life which they have worked out, to make ourselves faithful reproductions of these great ideal lives would be the most effective manner in which we can offer our tribute and honour to these saints.

Durga Matha

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Sri Maha Vishnu

2006-04-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Reincarnation

2006-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

DISIMBODIMENT AND REIMBODIMENT
As stated in previous chapters the evolution of all Monads or life-units, is accomplished through experience gained during repeated embodiments in the various forms of nature.

To comprehend the doctrine of reincarnation, as man's reimbodiments are called, it is necessary to have an understanding of man's complex nature and what happens to its component parts when these have separated after death. We will therefore review briefly what has been said earlier on this subject.

It will be recalled that the core of man's being and the origin of his existence is a Ray of Divinity, a part of the Universal Consciousness. The different principles of man's nature are but different aspects of this Ray acting through different vehicles on various planes of Nature.

When the Ray is active on the outer plane it functions through a human, mental-physical vehicle, a human body with its brain and mind.

This vehicle acts as a "lens" that focuses a certain portion or aspect of the Ray and the combination of vehicle and Ray produce a sense of I-AM-I-ness or egoic consciousness which we call the Human Ego.

When the body dies, the Human Ego loses consciousness of the mental-physical plane, for the lens that focused it here is broken. It then enters on a series of experiences as related in Chapter VI -- on "Death -- Sleep -- Birth" to which the following details are added.

After the second death the Human Ego is dependent on its mental-spiritual vehicle or spiritual body for conscious existence on the mental-spiritual plane. Without this vehicle there would be no lens to focus the consciousness on this plane, and the Human Ego would remain unconscious. While still embodied on the outer or mental-physical plane, the Ego lived in and made use of, its spiritual body during its periods of aspiration and while engaged in unselfish work. It is therefore already somewhat acquainted with this vehicle and its new life on the spiritual plane is a continuation of all that was high and noble in its former life. Since the mental-spiritual vehicle used before death is the same as that used after death, the Ego still retains its sense of identity and thinks of itself as the same I-AM-I as that of its earthly existence.

The blissful state into which the higher part of the Human Ego enters after the second death resembles that of a "daydream," but it is much more vivid and absorbing than an ordinary experience of this kind.

During this time it lives over again all the happy experiences of its former life and carries to completion all the high aspirations, which remained unfulfilled during earth-life.

When, after ages, the store of spiritual energies which was built up during the Ego's former earth-life, has been exhausted and the last happy memory faded away, there is no longer any material left, pertaining to the former Human Ego on which the Ray may focus its attention. The Ray then withdraws to its focus on the next higher plane and the Human Ego loses consciousness of the mental-spiritual plane as it earlier lost consciousness of the mental-physical plane, when the Ray withdrew from the physical body.

When the Human Ego loses consciousness of the mental-spiritual plane, its essence passes into a latent state and remains dormant, like the life-germ of a seed, within the Ray as this withdraws to higher planes.

All the experiences and lessons learned during the past life of the Human Ego have been shared by the Ray and these are now added to other experiences gained in former existences. This is the sublimated essence of that human life and constitutes the permanent harvest gained by the Ray through its human vehicle.

The whole human being now exists "in plan" on the several planes of Nature, to which the various principles belong. Its highest aspect is a projection of the Ray and this is preserved in the Ray itself to which it has returned. The intermediate and lower parts exist "in plan" as "seeds," each on its own plane. Each such seed with its life-germ contains potentially all the tendencies and peculiarities of character, good or bad, impressed on it by the entity during its previous existence.

During the period between incarnations the highest portion of the Ray is active on its own plane, but when it has finished its cycle of activity there, it is ready to continue its evolution on the material plane. It then starts the Ego on its earthward journey down through the various intermediate planes, where the dormant "seeds" are awaiting the return of the vitalizing and unifying Ray. This journey has already been outlined in Chapter VI under the heading: "The Ray Re-enters Matter."

The Ray must now build a new mental-physical vehicle before it can re-establish contact with the material plane. It therefore projects the sleeping life-germ of the former human ego, a portion of the Ray itself, into material existence and this life-germ, animated by the Ray, is the vitalizing force of the human embryo as it begins to form according to the "plan" carried over from its previous existence.

The entity now coming into being is therefore in reality a portion or projection of the Ray itself and this projection of the Ray is the permanent part of the Human Ego. It is the same projection that produced the Human Ego of our last life and of all our former lives. It will be the same in our next life and in all our future ones, but as the ages pass it will be an ever greater portion of the Ray that will manifest through the gradually improving human constitution.

The mental-physical vehicle with the purely personal consciousness, the "lens" in other words, is new, but since it is produced by the same Ray and built around the same character, according to the "plan" carried over from the last incarnation, it is virtually an exact copy of its former self.

A human entity is therefore in its higher part a continuation, and in its lower part a reproduction of its former self.

EXISTENCE OF EGO CONTINUOUS; SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS OF EGO INTERMITTENT
The Higher or Reincarnating Ego exists continuously, and is continuously conscious on its own plane -- the mental-spiritual.

The higher part of the Human Ego, which is a projection from the Reincarnating Ego, exists continuously, but is not self-conscious continuously. It is self-conscious on the outer plane when it functions through its mental-physical vehicle. In sleep it is unconscious of the outer plane, and it may be either completely unconscious or it may he partly conscious on the mental-spiritual plane.

After death it is first completely unconscious. After the second death it gradually awakens to a partial consciousness on the mental-spiritual plane, where it experiences the happy, postmortem dream state previously referred to. In the case of a very gross or material nature, the Human Ego may remain completely unconscious between incarnations.

During the period of its blissful postmortem dreams, the Human Ego still identifies itself with the human entity of its last incarnation. At the end of the dream-period it passes into complete unconsciousnes and loses all memory of its former identity. When the Human Ego loses consciousness of the mental-spiritual plane, it becomes completely inactive and remains dormant until, provided with a new physical body, it again becomes self-conscious on the outer plane.

The lower aspect of the Human Ego, or the Personal Ego, which during physical existence identified itself with the body, loses consciousness and fades out when its vehicle, the body disintegrates.

The higher aspect of the Human Ego, then, exists continuously, part of the time self-conscious and active on the outer plane through a human vehicle; part of the time dormant, either unconscious or partly conscious on inner planes.

Between two incarnations there has been a break in the continuity of the vehicle and therefore, a break in the continuity of the Ego's self-consciousness, but no break in the continuity of it existence. The Ego bridges over the gap between two incarnations, by receding to inner planes, just as the life in the foliage of the perennial plant recedes into the root between two active growing-seasons.

In sleep there is also a break in the continuity of the lens, a temporary paralysis of the body, a "little death," and therefore a break in the continuity of the Ego's self-consciousness.

In the case of sleep we have definite proof that a break in the continuity of our consciousness does not mean a break in the continuity of our existence, for in the morning our consciousness reestablishes itself just as it was before we went to sleep. It recognizes its identity with its former self, for the brain retains the store of memories of its former experiences.

In sleep as in death, the Ego bridges over the gap between two conscious periods by receding to inner, invisible planes. No ordinary Human being has a clear understanding of what takes place during sleep, even though he passes through this experience every twenty four hours.

If, in the case of sleep, when the body is still present and intact, we are unable to carry with us a complete picture of our experiences, during our absence from the physical plane, it should not surprise us that we are unable to recall our experiences in the period between incarnations, when we have no physical body to help us to regain consciousness on this plane and to reestablish our identity with our former self.

The ordinary human being can not cross the thresholds of sleep and death and retain his self-consciousness, because he has not yet learned to live in his mental-spiritual vehicle, which is necessary for this purpose. There are exceptions to the general rule, however, for there have always been and still are on earth, human beings, whose evolution has advanced far beyond that of the ordinary individual. These beings are the "Elder Brothers" of the human race, the Masters of Wisdom, sometimes referred to as Adepts or Mahatmas, a Sanskrit term which means "great soul."

The Adepts live, even while physically embodied, in their mental-spiritual vehicle, which exists independent of the physical body, and are therefore able to retain full self-consciousness even when the physical body is paralyzed in sleep or after it has disintegrated in death. It is this ability that has enabled them to enter the invisible planes of existence and bring back to their less evolved brothers a description of the experiences the Human Ego meets in these to us unknown states of consciousness.

The power possessed by the Adepts is the result of self-directed efforts continued through many lives. They have, even while embodied, lived more and more in their mental-spiritual vehicle, so that in their case the Human Ego has in reality been raised to and become one with the Higher Ego. They started out as ordinary human beings, but have by their continuous efforts hastened their evolution and accomplished in relatively few lives what it will take the average human being ages upon ages to accomplish.

Since the Adept can pass unhindered from plane to plane and return while retaining full self-consciousness, he recognizes the continuity of his existence and the identity of his Ego throughout all of these changes. Being fully conscious in the permanent part of his nature, where all his past lives are recorded, he is able to remember not only his last incarnation, but all his former existences.

Until we ourselves have raised our Human Ego into becoming one with the Higher Ego we shall be unable to retain our self-consciousness in crossing the thresholds of sleep and death and will therefore be unable to remember our past lives.

Every member of the whole human race, who does not deliberately choose evil, is destined in time, however, to evolve to the point where he too will have become one with his Higher Ego, and will then be able to recognize the continuity of his existence through all phases of life.

As we have definite proof that the interruption of self-consciousness in sleep is not a break in the continuity of our existence, which proof is furnished by our human consciousness when this re-establishes itself in its waiting body, so do the Adepts have definite proof that death of the physical body causes no break in the continuity of their existence, for they are continuously established in their mental-spiritual vehicle, which is unaffected by death.

Whether the ability to remember our past lives in our present stage of development would be a help or a hindrance in our evolution is a subject that will be discussed in connection with "Reincarnation and the Loss of Memory."

DUALITY -- INDIVIDUALITY -- PERSONALITY
Opposing Attractions.

By observing and examining the changing thoughts, feelings and interests within ourselves, as we know them from daily experience, we can differentiate between those belonging to the enduring and those belonging to the perishable side of our nature. Such analysis will show a duality of interests and tendencies within ourselves, and it will therefore be convenient to place these into two groups and for the time being consider man's nature as dual.

There is a side in our nature that recognizes its relationship with something greater than itself. It knows itself to be a member of a family, a community, a nation, and feels a strong attachment to these greater life-aggregates. It is the oneness of all life that produces this feeling within us and that forms the invisible, but unbreakable link between us and our fellow beings. It is through this side of our nature that we can understand and sympathize with other members of the human race, and it is this that arouses us to action when fellow beings are in distress.

But there is also another side in our nature that feels its separateness from others. It closes itself within its own shell and thus blinds itself to the sufferings and needs of others.

We feel intuitively that life should be harmonious and happy. We have visions of a better world, free from suffering and want and feel an urge to try to make it so. But there is another side in us that cares little how others have it, if we can only make ourselves happy.

There is something within that speaks to us as the Voice of Conscience, something that urges faithfulness in the performance of duties, even when these are unpleasant or monotonous. It is the tie that links us with others that makes us realize our duty towards them. But there is also a part in us that wants to evade its obligations when these are unpleasant or irksome.

There is a side in our nature with interests far beyond its own immediate sphere -- something that wants to study the beauties of nature and the wonders of the stars, that ponders over the problems of life and the purpose of existence. And there is another side that identifies itself with the body and is chiefly concerned with its pleasures and comforts.

When we seek to determine what is characteristic of these two divergent currents within us, we note that in one case these are directed to our relations with our fellow men -- to Nature and the Universe, while in the other case they are directed to the personal self and its little sphere of interests.

Between these two poles of its being, and constantly affected by their opposing attractions, stands the Human Ego, unconsciously yielding to, or consciously choosing one or the other.

The Individuality -- A Higher Source Within Ourselves.

When we contemplate the stars and our mind is filled with the grandeur of the Universe and then think of our own little Personality, we realize the insignificance and impermanence of this, and we can see what an unimportant part it plays in the Universe.

That part of our nature which is thus able to stand aside and realize the impermanency of its vehicle is not a part of this vehicle. It belongs to the permanent side of our nature.

We are aware of our own existence as the I-AM-I or Human Ego, whose identity has remained unchanged during our entire life. We know that even in our waking state this Ego is something different from body, brain-mind, memory and feelings, for it can stand apart, observe, direct and dominate all these. It must therefore even now have an existence independent of all these shifting currents within, and if it does now, while embodied, it can also have this same independent existence after these changing aspects have disappeared in death.

When we feel the ties that bind us to our fellow men, it is because there is something of our fellow men within ourselves.

When we marvel at the wonders of the Universe and reach out, however feebly, towards the Infinite trying to form some conception of it, it is because there is something of the Universe and Infinitude within ourselves.

Thoughts cannot rise higher than their source any more than water can rise to a level higher than the reservoir from which it flows. Thoughts and intuitions that deal with interests far beyond our personal self cannot have their origin in that self. They must come from a source within us, which is akin to the subjects with which they deal, and that source is the Ray of Universal Consciousness acting in the Higher or Spiritual Mind. This higher side of our nature with its vehicles exists on planes above the mental-physical, independent of the physical body.

This higher source already exists within us and does not need to be "developed." It is the Human Ego that has to evolve to a higher state of consciousness so that it may rise into conscious union with its higher source.

This raising and refining of the Human Ego is accomplished by translating into deeds and words, here and now, white embodied, the higher impulses that reach us from within. Just as we became accustomed to, and learned to use our physical body by living in it and exercising its various functions, so must we become acquainted with and learn to use our mental-spiritual vehicle by thinking such thoughts and practicing such deeds as are akin to our Higher Nature and the plane on which it exists.

The characteristic of this higher plane is its greater proximity to the One Universal Life and hence existence on this plane results in a greater realization of the unity of all life and therefore in understanding, sympathy and love for all that lives.

On the spiritual plane our fellow men are in reality other aspects of the same Universal Life of which we are parts. Actions pertaining to this plane therefore always take into account the interests and welfare of others. When we sacrifice some personal interest or advantage in order to render a service to the common good; when we want to give rather than take; when we try to spread happiness and sunshine rather than seek happiness for ourselves alone, we, the human part of us, are for the time being, living in and making use of the more universal part of ourselves -- our mental-spiritual vehicle. We are then true to our "other selves" -- our fellow men, true to all -- altruistic. We have entered the path that will lead to conscious union with our Higher Ego and conscious use of our mental-spiritual vehicle.

Since this is the vehicle in which our consciousness shall have to live after death, we can understand the importance of becoming accustomed to live in it while we are still embodied. We can also see why ethical teachings have always been so strongly emphasized by all great religious teachers. Such teachings have more than one purpose. They not only help us to live in harmony with our fellow men, but they also raise the individual into closer union with his Higher Ego and gradually prepare him to live consciously in his mental-spiritual vehicle.

That part of the Human Ego that responds to the higher of the two currents within, and takes an interest in the welfare of others and in matters greater than itself, is in reality an aspect of the Higher Ego. This, together with the higher foci of the Ray of Divinity, exists on planes higher than the mental-physical and is therefore unaffected by the death of the body. They constitute the altruistic pole of our nature and since they are not divided by death, they may be referred to collectively as the Individuality of the man.

Separateness Breeds Selfishness.

Just as there are people who live in the higher part of their nature and radiate friendliness and good will to all whom they contact, so there are others who seldom look beyond the interests of their personal self and take little or no interest in the welfare of others. They are aware of their existence as the Personal Ego only, and live and act in this capacity alone. They too have the altruistic pole in their nature, but seldom live in it. In their case the Personal Ego regards itself as the apex of the whole human constitution. It has become so absorbed in its own concerns that it turns away from its higher pole and even fails to recognize the existence of this side of its nature. The Personal Ego then makes the mistake of considering itself the one-and-only Ego, the whole of the Ego, when in reality it is only a minor part, a projection, of the Higher Ego captivated by the personal apparatus.

The mental-physical vehicle of an individual is of course separate from that of other individuals, and when the consciousness persistently turns in the direction of this vehicle, the Personal Ego also acquires a sense of separateness; this Ego then becomes the dominating element of the human entity. There has been a reversal of polarity and the projection of the Ray of Consciousness has been deflected from its true course by the gross materiality of its focusing lens. It has been turned away from its altruistic pole with its ever expanding consciousness, in the opposite direction to a consciousness limited by its own personal self.

As long as the consciousness is focused in the mental-physical vehicle, this sense of separateness will persist and the Personal Ego will fail to recognize its oneness with its Higher Ego and hence its oneness with its fellow men.

When we promote our own interests to the detriment of others, when we seek advantages at their expense, it is evident that we do not feel the tie that binds us to them.

When we are uncharitable or critical of others; when we feel arrogance and pride and seek in some way to establish our superiority over them, we are evidently not realizing our oneness with them. If we were, we would not push ourselves ahead at their expense; we would rather share with them any advantage that we might possess.

When we are indifferent to the hardships and sufferings of others, and are content as long as we ourselves are comfortable, it is because we feel separate from them and have failed mentally to put ourselves in their place.

If we have no interests beyond ourselves it is because we have shut ourselves off within the shell of our lower selfhood, the mental-physical vehicle.

Selfishness in all its forms can be traced directly back to this sense of separateness that exists in the Personal Ego-consciousness. It is this sense of separateness that makes so many turn their life's effort in the wrong direction by seeking to promote the interests of the personal self, while in so doing they lose the opportunity of becoming at home in their Higher Nature.

It is as though we were living in a cave that expands towards the light, but grows ever narrower towards the rear. When our attention is centered on our own interests alone, we are looking towards the rear of the cave and turn our back on the opening. We stand in our own light and see only the small fraction of light that filters into the rear. If we turned in the opposite direction we would face the opening of the cave and a view that would keep expanding the farther we advance in this direction.

The Personality -- A Temporary Vehicle.

The self-centered pole of our being includes the physical body, the model body, our self-centered desires, emotions and thoughts as well as the Personal Ego with its brain-mind and its day-to-day memories of current events stored in the brain. This group of qualities, taken collectively, constitute the self-centered pole of our nature and will in the following be referred to as the Personality.

The Personality came into active existence at birth or later. It remains as a unit during life, but breaks up into its component elements at death.

The material for the body comes from nature and returns to nature. Medical science tells us that every day millions of cells leave our bodies, while millions of new ones take their places. This change goes on constantly so that after a number of years -- generally set at seven -- we have a completely new body. A person who reaches the age of seventy years has therefore used and abandoned ten different physical bodies in his lifetime.

This fact is the basis for the Hindu metaphor that "Man stands in a flowing stream of matter." "Man" here refers to the Individuality, the permanent part, that remains unchanged, in spite of the constant change that takes place in his body.

The reason that the body retains its outward appearance relatively unchanged, except for such modifications as naturally accompany an advance in years, is that the model-body, on whose framework the physical cells arrange themselves, itself remains relatively unchanged. The model-body changes only as the character slowly changes. After death the model-body disintegrates just as the physical body does.

On account of the temporary nature of the Personality, it becomes evident that it would be very short-sighted to concentrate one's chief efforts on satisfying purely personal interests and concerns. The fruit of all such efforts will have to be left behind, while altruistic efforts will help us to gain and preserve consciousness in our mental-spiritual vehicle, which is unaffected by death.

The use of the term "Personality" to designate the vehicular part of man's nature is very appropriate, when we consider the origin of this word. It comes from the Latin word "persona," which means "mask." Persona in its turn is made up of two words, per, meaning "through" and sona "to sound, to speak." It was customary in dramatic performances of ancient times for the actors to wear masks during the entire play and copies of such masks were commonly used as motifs for decorations in theaters, until quite recent times, when they were replaced by modernistic decorations. The masks had openings for eyes and mouth through which the actor could see and speak, and thus constituted a sort of tool or mouthpiece by means of which the real actor, himself unseen, could play his part and make himself heard. It is in this sense that the Personality is both an instrument used by the Individuality for contact with the material plane, and a mask behind which the Individuality is hidden.

The Individuality Endures Continually. The Personality a Recurring Manifestation.

If we consider the subject of Reincarnation without reference to details, it is the Individuality that is the real, the immortal part of man and it is this that incarnates, from life to life. The Individuality is the "cause," the Personality is the "effect." There would be no Personality if there were no Individuality to produce it. For each incarnation the Individuality builds for itself a new Personality, which then becomes the instrument through which the Individuality works on the material plane.

The character, the accumulated effect of all our past thoughts, deeds and experiences, is the governing factor in shaping, equipping and endowing the new Personality. We can alter our character while embodied, but since this character remains unchanged between incarnations, the new Personality will in all essentials be a reproduction of the Personality as it was at the end of our last incarnation.

The Personality is the "reflection in matter" of the Individuality; it is "Man, made in the image of God." But this image, this personal self, lives a life of its own during the waking state. It has free will and can choose between the prompting of its Higher Self and the impulses from the lower, animal self. When it chooses the latter course the "image" becomes disfigured as the reflection of the sun on the ruffled surface of a pond.

The Thread-Self -- In Eastern Philosophy the Individuality is referred to as the "Thread-Self," to which the various Personalities are added as beads are threaded on a string. The Personalities differ, but the string that supports them, the Individuality, is the same through life after life.

The Actor and his Parts -- There is another illustration that is often used to describe the relation between the Individuality and the Personality. An actor plays many different parts on the stage during his lifetime. One evening he may represent Hamlet, another time King Lear, or again, perhaps Othello. The audience sees these characters on the stage, but may not even know the off-stage name of the actor. The stage characters are temporary and unreal. King Lear does not know of Hamlet, who appeared the night before nor of Othello, who will appear tomorrow, but the real actor knows these parts and many more.

The various stage parts are "masks," put on for a day and then discarded, while the actor is the real entity behind the mask, just as the Personality, lasting but a lifetime, is the "mask" through which the Individuality expresses itself.

Just as the actor continues to exist after he has removed his stage-clothing, and disappeared from the theater, so does the Individuality continue to exist after it has dropped its "mask," the Personality and disappeared from this plane as it does both in sleep and death.

And as the actor after leaving the theater enters upon his normal off-stage life, so does the Individuality, after it is freed from the hampering limitations of the Personality, recede to inner, higher planes of consciousness where it now enters upon its real existence.

REINCARNATION AND THE LOSS OF MEMORY
Reincarnation -- Part of Nature's Plan.

As will be seen from the foregoing the doctrine of Reincarnation in its broad outline is not difficult to understand. But there are naturally many questions that will arise in the mind of an inquirer to whom the subject is new. Since these have occurred to many others in the past they can be anticipated and the most common ones will be discussed below.

In seeking the answer to these questions we should bear in mind:

1) That there is a purpose in life: -- the advancement of the soul towards ever higher states of being.
2) That there is a plan in Nature to accomplish this purpose: i.e. evolution by means of repeated experiences on the material plane.
3) That the time required for these experiences is provided for by an almost endless chain of embodiments in human form.
4) That Man is a part of Nature and therefore subject to the same laws that govern the rest of Nature. In experiencing repeated embodiments Man is simply following the law of periodicity or cyclic activity that we see operating everywhere in Nature.

Reincarnation, therefore, is not just a theory, but is an explanation of how one of Nature's most fundamental processes operates when it applies to Man. It should not be studied as an isolated event, but should be seen in its relation to other doctrines of the universal plan.

If we have lived before, why don't we remember it?

The question implies that since we do not remember, we could not have lived before; in other words it is based on the assumption that what we cannot remember, we could not have experienced.

A little thought will show that this assumption is not well founded, for we know of many experiences that we must have passed through and that we still do not remember.

For example the first few years of our lives are completely forgotten. Many, perhaps most, events of common occurrence are forgotten. In old age memory frequently fails the individual completely. Victims of amnesia may have whole years of their lives blotted out from their memory as already noted under the heading "Abnormal States of Consciousness."

In all these cases the fact that we have no memory of events, or even of whole years of our lives, does not prove that we did not live during these forgotten periods. If a human being, while living in the same physical body and using the same physical brain can forget whole years of its life it should not be surprising that a former existence, lived in another body and using another brain, is forgotten. But this brings us to another question:

Is an existence and experience that is forgotten of any value to the Individual?

We have forgotten the tumbles we took and the bruises we got when we took our first steps, but we have not forgotten how to walk. We have forgotten when we learned the alphabet but we have not forgotten how to read. Those who daily use mathematics in their work have usually forgotten the detailed steps they had to take in order to acquire this knowledge. But if later in life they have to teach mathematics to others they will find that they will have to go back over much forgotten ground and repeat the steps they had formerly taken. The steps had been forgotten, but the fruit of those steps had been used unwittingly in practical application of the knowledge. Is it not plain, then, that experiences, although forgotten, can have taught us valuable and permanent lessons?

More than one kind of Memory exists.

Memory includes two functions, storing up and bringing back or re-collecting. Inability to recollect does not necessarily mean that the memory is not there. Have we not often to our embarrassment been unable to recollect the name of an individual that we meet on the street, although we are positive that his name is known to us?

An event experienced in youth may be completely forgotten. A similar experience in later life may bring back memory of the earlier experience with vivid details. The memory was there, recorded, all the time but we were completely unaware of it.

When we speak of memory in general, we usually have in mind a record of events and details of every-day life. This record is stored in the brain, and no part of it can extend farther back than the early years of childhood, neither can it last beyond the life of the brain. But this is not the only kind of memory we have. Every event we have experienced, every act we have performed, every thought we have harbored, down to the smallest detail, is permanently recorded in the interior structure of the Higher or Reincarnating Ego. It is a memory stored in the Higher or superconscious Mind. This record is not accessible to the Human Ego during normal conditions of its earth life, however.

Our memory is like the filing system of a business concern. The memories stored in the brain are like the active records kept in the office files where they are handy for ready reference. But copies of all records are simultaneously stored in the vault, where they are kept under lock and key. There is one vault for each incarnation, but the Human Ego has lost the key to all except the office file.

Sometimes under abnormal conditions, a door to one of these memory-vaults may spring open, and knowledge, unknown to the individual in his normal state now becomes available to him.

An instance of this nature that has aroused much attention in California medical circles, is that of Pat Marquis, a Los Angeles boy, twelve years of age at the time referred to (the case is reviewed in the Theosophical Forum of October, 1936). When in a semi-trance this boy reveals a remarkable knowledge of subjects of which he is totally ignorant in his ordinary state.

His super-normal powers were demonstrated one time before 150 physicians at the Hollywood Hospital and another time before 200 physicians at a meeting of the County Medical Association. He has also appeared before professors at the California Institute of Technology at Pasadena, etc.

When he enters the semi-trance state, he seems to become a different personality -- an ancient Persian physician who calls himself "Napeji," a Parsi who lived in the Himalayas in the eleventh century A.D. Though normally he does not know a word of Persian, he writes in that language in reply to questions from one of the investigating scientists Dr. Ameen Fareed, a Persian himself and a physician. Pat Marquis in the character of "Napeji," can also write in Persian when Dr. Fareed is not present. He sometimes uses an archaic form of that language. He correctly describes Persian customs, and his manners are those of a very dignified personage, not at all those of a lively youngster of twelve. When asked technical questions about the seat of consciousness in the brain, "Napeji" replied in the language of a trained anatomist. Dr. C. Reynolds, F.R.C.S., who presented Pat Marquis to the Hollywood committee of physicians, said, "How he could know anatomy and modern medical terms is beyond me. Certainly the boy knows nothing of them."

On another occasion, after being completely blindfolded, and in the trance required, the boy, now being in the personality of "Napeji," took up the foils in a fencing-bout with Mr. F. Cavens, an expert fencer. Pat Marquis knows nothing of fencing, but apparently "Napeji" is a master of the art, for Mr. Cavens said, "I know of no master of fencing in the world who could do it. The fact that he can see my point coming and parry, and not be deceived in his parry with the point menacing him, and make the correct retreat is remarkable. I defy any great expert to do it. It would be utterly impossible for me." Sixty seconds after the fencing-bout "Napeji" had disappeared and the laughing, healthy schoolboy had resumed his normal personality.

Other instances dealing with such memory-storage of hidden knowledge could be cited. A most remarkable one is that of Edgar Cayce, whose life-story is told in a book called "There is a River," by Thomas Sugrue.* Although completely ignorant of medicine and anatomy in his normal state, Mr. Cayce, when in a self-imposed trance, was able to diagnose many ailments correctly and prescribe suitable remedies. Hundreds of complete case reports containing affidavits of the patients and reports by physicians exist.

* Henry Holt and Co. N.Y., 1943.
Since it is impossible in a brief summary to do justice to the vast mount of material contained in this book it will be necessary to refer the interested reader to the book itself for details.

Do not such facts as those related above show that there is a "reservoir" of memory, which is not ordinarily accessible, but can under certain conditions be "tapped" and then reveal a store of unsuspected knowledge?

But there is still another kind of memory, a sort of general or collective memory which is summarized in our character. It is an intuitive awareness of the memories held by the Reincarnating Ego, but with all details left out. It is the harvest of permanent value that we have retained from numberless experiences and lessons long since forgotten, just as the ability to walk and to read is the fruit of lessons from a forgotten past.

Although rooted in the past and lacking in details as to how it was acquired, this character-memory is so vital and dynamic that it strongly affects our life, our thoughts and acts here and now.

All the lessons and experiences of the past, although never recorded in our present brain as memories, are thus found to influence us every day of our lives.

If we have lived before, why are we unable to identify ourselves with specific individuals of former existences?

Because in each incarnation we have a new brain that had no part in the experiences of our former lives and therefore is a blank in regard to these. The Ray of Consciousness projected into this life and the Individuality is the same as in our former existences, but since the vehicle is new, the egoic consciousness resulting from this new partnership naturally identifies itself with its new vehicle, and since there is no tangible connection between the old and the new vehicles, the Human Ego is unable to identify its present self with that of its former incarnation. It therefore thinks of itself as a new "creation" whereas in reality it is a re-creation of its former self.

Is a future life, in which we are unable to identify ourselves with our present self, worth accepting as personal immortality?

The doctrine of Reincarnation does not teach personal immortality or a continuity of personal consciousness from one incarnation to the next. It teaches the continuity of Individuality and a periodic reproduction of the Personality. This reproduced Personality is in all particulars the Personality of the former incarnation with a new name. Why should not this teaching satisfy Man's hope for immortality or a continuity of existence? Let us go back in imagination to our last existence here on earth and since we are now what we were then, we must then have speculated on life and "our future existence." Suppose we had been told then that after a long period of rest we would again return to this earth and that we, in "that future time" (i.e. now), would be the same Personality as in that former incarnation, but that we should forget the details of that life and our former name. Suppose further that we had known then what we know now about our present existence -- had known that the I-AM-I or Human Ego, that we identify ourselves with, would again be here continuing its existence where it had left off before and that this cycle would be repeated again and again until we reach some higher state of being -- suppose we had known all this then, would it not have satisfied our hope for immortality and given us assurance of continuity of our existence? And if it had satisfied our hopes then, should not the same knowledge now give us assurance and hope for the future?

Suppose we did remember.

Suppose we were unable to blot out the memories of our former lives. We would then remember the details of not only our last life, but also of numberless other existences, and we would remember them in detail just as we do with this one.

Have we not enough to control the thoughts and memories of this one life? How could we manage if we had the memories of hundreds of incarnations streaming in on us? Instead of a single station on the radio, it would be as though we turned on all at once. Would not such a flood of memories, many perhaps of a sad or terrifying nature, overpower us and prevent us from attending to the duties of this life and the all-important present moment? Do we not waste enough time now in useless thought about unimportant details of this present life?

Our memories would, of course, not all be unhappy. There would be many happy ones and we would enjoy recalling these, but it should not be forgotten, that if our happy memories returned to us, the sad ones would also come back, and how would we know that the happy memories would outweigh the sad ones?

As we look back on history we see civilizations rise, reach a climax and then decay, often wiped out by hordes of barbarians and followed by periods of ignorance and spiritual and intellectual darkness. We lived during all these periods and took part in all those events. If we look upon some of the more primitive races of humanity today and note their way of life and then realize that we too in some distant past were members of just such races and lived and acted as they now do, then it must occur to us, that our own record must contain many discreditable episodes, that we too must have taken part in many tragic events, must have had many harrowing experiences. Is it not a fact that people who have experienced some tragic event often receive therefrom such a shock, such a lasting impression, that they are unable to shake it off, for the remainder of their lives, and that the memory of the tragedy henceforth exerts a paralyzing effect on all their activities? How could we attend to present day duties if we were haunted by not one, but many such memories from numberless incarnations in the past?

Let us hope that all such scores have been balanced during many intervening incarnations. But suppose that there still remained some unsettled score, that was bound to return to us, perhaps in the form of some accident. Would not the anticipation of this event have such a depressing psychological effect that both our mental and physical activities would be seriously retarded thereby?

Does it not appear, then, on deeper thought, as a merciful arrangement that the memories of the past are shut off from our view, and that we are given a new brain, and, unhampered by the "ghosts" of the past, can start this life with a clean slate?

Suppose we could identify our former personalities.

Seen from another angle the notion that we should remember our past lives takes on an aspect that borders on the ridiculous.

If we remembered our past lives, as we do this, we should be able to identify ourselves with our former Personalities. We would also remember our friends and enemies of those days and they would remember us. This would be true not only of our last life, but also of countless preceding ones. We would of course have many friends to meet, but we would also have many enemies, and many old scores to be settled. Every time we met a person we would be asking ourselves: "How much do I owe this man -- what is he going to dun me for?" We would he running down side streets trying to dodge creditors only to run into other ones, for all our financial transactions and transgressions would of course also be remembered.

If we carry the picture a little farther in imagination, we can see, that if all our memories were preserved, this would be a very uncomfortable world to live in.

Have we not got along very nicely so far without this knowledge and is not life made easier by its absence, for, without it, we are free to look upon every person we meet as a former friend or a potential friend? If it is an old friend we will soon be drawn towards each other, for "the friends I seek are seeking me" as Walt Whitman puts it.

If, on the other hand, it happens to be an old enemy, the sooner we make him into a friend, the better for both of us, and the less we know about former disagreements, the easier the transformation can be made.

What could be gained by knowing who we were in former incarnations?

If it happened to be one of the great characters of history of course it would be pleasing to our vanity, and those who profess to remember their past incarnations generally claim to have been some great ruler or military leader, princess or other famous individual of the past. There is hardly a mental institution that does not have at least one Napoleon, sometimes several, and there are not a few Joan of Arcs floating around. Occasionally someone modestly announces that he is an incarnation of Jesus.

The only difficulty with these claims is that no ordinary human being can remember his past lives in detail until he has reached union with his Higher Ego and then he is no longer an ordinary human being. We are told that the Masters of Wisdom, who have attained this union, do remember their past lives, but that those who do, never lay claim to this power publicly. Individuals who make such claims are subject to self-deception, which may be entertained honestly, but it is nevertheless deception or delusion.

Could we gain anything by knowing who we were in a past incarnation, something that would outweigh the disadvantages of this knowledge?

Would our present life have taken a different direction if we had known? We would still have had the same character, the same collective memory of all our past lives, and if we had the same character, would we not eventually have ended up in about the same place whether we did or did not recognize our past personalities?

Evolution and loss of Memory.

The purpose of life is advancement towards higher states of being and the means to this end is experience gained during repeated existences. To get the greatest benefit from our existence here it is necessary that our whole nature should be untrammeled and free to concentrate its full attention on its duties here, and this would be impossible if our minds were littered with all kinds of memory -- debris from former existences. The only way we can take full advantage of the opportunities offered by a new life is to start it with a mind free from such mental debris and this is just what Nature provides for by giving us a new body and a new brain.

The Personality is our vehicle for the time being, but when it has served its purpose it is cast aside as an empty shell. The kernel is in the character and in the permanent part of the Human Ego.

The ancient Greeks, who still retained some of the Wisdom Teachings, realized that before the Soul returned to earth for another incarnation, all memories of former existences had to be blotted out. They presented the idea symbolically by teaching that the Soul, in its descent from higher spheres, and before entering material existence had to cross Lethe, "the river of forgetfulness" and drink of its waters. This blotted out memory of not only past incarnations but also of the blissful dream-state between incarnations and the Soul's knowledge of its divine origin. Unless such forgetfulness intervened the detailed memories of past existences would retard our progress, and a constant longing for the peace and bliss that are experienced in higher states of being, might make us impractical day-dreamers, instead of active individuals engaged in bringing that peace and bliss into practical life right here on earth.

Record kept in Higher Ego.

While detailed memories are blotted out from the consciousness of the Human Ego, a perfect record of these is preserved in the permanent part of the Higher Ego. It is by looking into this record that the Human Ego, under the special conditions that prevail at death and just before birth, is able to get the "panoramic vision" of its past and future life.

It is because of this record that the Higher Ego sees that the future is but the outcome of the past, and recognizes the justice of all that is to come to its agent, the Human Ego, in its next incarnation, and it is because the Human Ego intuitively senses this super-conscious knowledge, that the average human being accepts the often lowly station in life that has been assigned to him by what looks like "Blind Fate."

For is it not a remarkable fact that the vast majority of men take up the burden of life and carry it patiently to its end, in spite of the apparent injustice under which most of them suffer?

A Solemn Ordeal.

Sometime in the future when the Human Ego has become one with the Higher Ego, the complete record of all its former lives will be unrolled before its inner vision. The Masters of Wisdom who have passed through this experience tell us that in almost every case this retrospective view is taken with a feeling of extreme sadness and regret. An ordinary human being could not stand the shock -- it might bring insanity or death, but it is a necessary step in our evolution and must sooner or later be taken by all.

No one who has passed through this solemn ordeal would talk flippantly about remembering past incarnations, but once the vision had been seen, would be glad to shut the door on the past and turn instead to the future.

The fact that we do not remember our past lives, then, is no proof that we did not live those lives, and it is a most merciful arrangement and best suited for our unhampered growth and evolution.

Why does the population of the Earth vary?

How can the variation in the Earth's population be explained when the Ancient Wisdom teaches that it is the same souls that incarnate over and over again and no new souls are "created" and no old ones annihilated? Under these conditions, should not the population of the Earth remain constant?

The number of human souls that have their "home" on this Earth is constant, but out of this vast number only a small fraction is incarnated in physical bodies at any one time. The far greater portion exists on inner, spiritual planes of being.

The idea might be explained by the following illustration: Let us assume that a city with fixed limits has a large hall in its center for the transaction of business. The population inside the city limits is fixed and constant, but the number of visitors in the hall varies from time to time; a greater number in the hall means a smaller number outside and vice versa. Similarly an increase or decrease in the Earth's population means a corresponding decrease or increase in the number of ex-carnate entities, but no change in the sum-total of entities that belong to the Earth.

Why should the Ego return to this Earth? Why not to some other planet?

Because the Universe is a "School of Experience" and this Earth is the "class-room" that corresponds most closely to our stage of development. It is therefore the place most suited for us and the place where we can learn most quickly and easily.

We must pass through all experiences, learn all lessons on our march towards perfection, and even if we could escape to another planet or state of consciousness, we still would have to learn the lessons that we failed to learn here and then under possibly less favorable circumstances.

A little boy upon his return after his first day at school was asked how he had made out, to which he answered: "Not very well. I have to go back again tomorrow." Before we realize the magnitude of the task ahead of us, we too may think that we should graduate in one day, but as mother the next day takes Junior back to the same school, where he is beginning to get acquainted, so also does Mother Nature take us back to the school that we are most acquainted with until we are ready to graduate.

But there is still another reason why we should return just to this Earth instead of going elsewhere. It is that this Earth is the field in which we sowed our seeds of thoughts and acts in former lives and just as a farmer reaps his harvest in the field where he planted it, so we too must come back here and reap our harvest where we did our planting.

How shall we find our friends and loved ones in another life?

The same way that we found them this time. We came into a family circle that brought us loving parents and perhaps brothers and sisters, and in our next life we will again be associated with them, perhaps not in exactly the same relationship, but as close as our mutual attraction will draw us.

Our friends outside the family circle we will meet in diverse ways, just as we did this time. We sometimes hear a person say, after meeting a stranger: "It seems to me as if I had known that person all my life." The stranger may turn out to be someone with whom we have many interests in common and perhaps form a life-long friendship. It is an old friend with whom we have renewed a tie.

Others we meet seem antagonistic to us and a similar feeling wells up within ourselves towards them. It is an old antagonist we face again, someone that we perhaps have wronged, or that may have wronged us. All scores must be settled; balance and harmony must be restored wherever they have been disturbed says the Ancient Wisdom. Ill feeling must be replaced by good will for "hatred ceases not with hatred; hatred ceases with love." We must try to understand this individual and see the good in him, for it is there, and the sooner we begin the task the better, for he will cross our path again and again until we have learned to understand each other.

Alternating cycles of activity and rest promote Man's evolution.

If our evolution requires so much time, would it not be better if we remained alive continuously, rather than die and be re-born?

We spend one third of every twenty-four hours in sleep and we do not consider this a waste of time, for we recognize the benefits that come to us from this interruption in our physical activities. What seems to us an insurmountable task, when we are exhausted after a day's labor, may be easily accomplished after a night's refreshing sleep. A problem that we could not solve with a tired, dull brain may easily yield to a fresh attack the next morning. If we tried to keep active twenty-four hours day after day we would gradually accomplish less and less and eventually have a physical and nervous collapse.

On the greater time-scale, too, the body wears out and the consciousness grows weary. It must rest and refresh itself and, just as Nature, with her wise arrangement of day and night, practically compels us, for our own benefit and protection, to take a daily rest, so also, and for the same reason, does she compel man to take the longer rest of death, during which he renews his vitality by an existence on inner, spiritual planes.

And there are other benefits made possible through these cyclic interruptions and resumptions of our physical existence.

We cannot wear the same suit of clothes from infancy to old age; if it did not wear out, it would be outgrown. The suit that fits a child would be a misfit on an adult and would hamper his actions. The adult must have a new suit that fits his size and is better adapted for his enlarged activities.

Likewise an individual may outgrow his environment and Nature's method of "giving him a new suit" or placing him in a new set of circumstances, is by the method of reincarnation.

A continuous existence, with small gradual changes would not give the same chance for improvement as a complete change. When a house is outmoded a few alterations here and there will not produce a modern dwelling -- this requires the tearing down of the old structure, and, using some of the old material and some new, rebuilding to a new and better plan.

Nature constantly repeats her processes. The trees and plants have their seasonal activity in spring and summer and their rest period in fall and winter. This break of continuity is a benefit, not only to the trees and plants, but also to the farmer, who may have neglected to control the weeds in his fields. When the winter frost comes the weeds are killed, and when spring follows, the farmer has a new chance to watch his crop and uproot the weeds, while they are still young and tender.

We human beings are parts of Nature and subject to its laws. We too know how hard it is to uproot or overcome a habit or a fault that has been allowed to grow during a lifetime, and what an advantage it is if this work of forming good habits and molding noble characters can be started in childhood or in early youth.

Nature offers us this chance of making a new start with each new birth into physical existence.

DISPROPORTIONATE PERIODS OF TIME
Why is the period between incarnations so long as compared to incarnated existence? We human beings are parts of something far greater than our human selves, and during the interval between earth-lives, while the Human Ego is experiencing its blissful postmortem dreams, or rests unconscious waiting for its next incarnation, this higher side of our nature is pursuing its own evolution in spheres far above that where the Human Ego dwells. The time periods required for these experiences are proportionately as much greater than those of incarnated existence as the higher principles within us are greater than our human consciousness.

The time of our incarnated existence is therefore only a fraction of a greater time-cycle, a recurring interlude between two much longer periods, during which the Ray is active on spiritual planes.

As "daytime to the body is night-time to the soul," so is the inner God deprived of its freedom of action during incarnated existence. But death breaks the bond with the lower part of the human constitution, and this leaves the higher principles free to return to their respective planes of origin. As "the night time of the body is the daytime of the soul," so the higher principles now become fully active on their own planes and begin what is to them their real existence. It is these activities that require such immense time periods, that the duration of incarnated existence seems insignificant in comparison.

WHY DOES THE INNER GOD EVER DESCEND TO LOWER PLANES OF BEING?
If man's Inner God has its real existence on spiritual planes far above the physical, why does it ever have any connection with this material plane?

Because Nature, visible and invisible, is one vast organism of interdependent entities in which all life-units mutually aid each other in their evolution. The more highly evolved aid those less evolved, while at the same time this experience promotes their own evolution. Thus man's Inner God, his Father in Heaven, is constantly seeking to help and raise its "child," the human being, by radiating its spiritualizing influence into man's consciousness.

During incarnated life the Inner God voluntarily limits its own freedom and "steps down" its rate of activity to the plane where the Human Ego functions. It is like a bit of slow-motion in the middle of a rapidly moving film, which the less evolved Human Ego is able to profit by. It is during this time that the Human Ego has its opportunity for advancement.

But at the same time that the Human Ego is benefited the Inner God also gains experiences which it could not obtain any other way. It is like the relationship between parents and children. The child benefits from the aid it receives, but, unknown to itself, it also teaches lessons to its parents, which the parents can learn in no other way. They have to give up much of their freedom and in a sense sacrifice themselves for the protection and welfare of the child, but this in turn brings out sympathy, understanding, compassion, thus promoting the evolution of the spiritual side of their nature.

Plotinus (205-270 A.D.), the great philosopher of the Neo-Platonic school, in a wonderful word-picture gives us the reason for the soul's descent into matter and the benefits it receives therefrom, and shows that the soul must experience material life, the better to appreciate its spiritual existence.

Plotinus' statement is quoted below. Within the brackets is the writer's interpretation of certain terms used.

The soul, though of divine origin, and proceeding from the region on high, becomes merged in the dark receptacle of the body, and being naturally a posterior god [a god in the making], it descends hither through certain voluntary inclination, for the sake of power and of adorning inferior concerns [to add meaning and dignity to material life]. By this means it receives a knowledge of its latent powers, and exhibits a variety of operations peculiar to its nature, which by perpetually abiding in an incorporeal habit, [a disimbodied state], and never proceeding into energy [active use of latent powers], would have been bestowed in vain . . . . Through an abundance of desire the soul becomes profoundly merged into matter, and no longer totally abides with the universal soul. Yet our souls are able alternately to rise from hence, carrying back with them an experience of what they have known and suffered in their fallen [embodied] state; and whence they will learn how blessed it is to abide in the intelligible [spiritual] world, and by a comparison, as it were, of contraries will more plainly perceive the excellence of a superior state. For the experience of evil produces a clearer knowledge of good. This is accomplished in our souls according to the circulations of time [cyclic incarnations], in which a conversion takes place from subordinate to more exalted natures [the human evolves into the divine].

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE CRUCIFIXION
The period of incarnation, while the Inner God is linked with and illumines the intermediate and lower parts of the human being, is in a sense a "crucifixion" of the Inner God on the "cross of matter" and it is this that has given rise to the story of the crucifixion of Christ.

In this story, which should be taken symbolically rather than literally, the human body and the Personal Ego is "the cross of matter," the "burden," which the Inner God has voluntarily taken upon itself to carry, and to which it is "nailed" during the period of incarnation.

In the symbolism of the robbers crucified with Christ, the repentant one to whom Christ is quoted as saying: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," (St. Luke XXIII, 43), represents that part of the Human Ego that during life has aspired upwards. This is the higher aspect of the Human Ego, which, after the second death, enters the blissful postmortem dream-state. The unregenerate tendencies of Man's lower nature are represented by the other robber.

SPECIAL CASES
An Actual Memory of a Former Life.

An ordinary individual can not under normal conditions remember his past lives for reasons that have already been explained. Genuine exceptions to this rule are few, but once in a while we hear of someone who remembers a former life with details that are subject to verification.

One such case was reported in the "American Weekly" section of the San Francisco Examiner of Dec. 1, 1937. This report, which is accompanied by photographs, and covers more than two pages, newspaper size, is submitted by a committee of three prominent citizens of Delhi, India, who investigated the case. The head of the committee was the managing director of the leading newspaper of Delhi. With him served a leader of the National Congress party of India and a close associate of Mohandas Gandhi, also one of the leading attorneys of Delhi (names given).

The committee took all possible care to check all data that came to their attention. From this report, which is very complete, and gives names, addresses and dates, we learn that a little girl in Delhi, 11 years old at the time of the report, began talking at the age of four to her parents about things she remembered from her former life, which she said was spent in Muttra, a city 90 miles from Delhi.

When she grew older she said that she had been married in Muttra, gave the name of her husband and said that he was a cloth merchant. She said her former body died at the age of 23 years, one year before she, the present child of eleven, was born. In the former life she had a daughter and a son. She gave the address of the former store, described details of the house as well as a temple in the neighborhood and streets and roads leading to her former home. She said that there was a well in one corner of the yard, and that in one room she had hidden some money under the floor.

The former husband in Muttra was reached by correspondence and he verified the information given as substantially correct. Later the husband with a son -- the child of the deceased woman whose soul is now embodied in the eleven year old girl -- traveled to Delhi to meet the girl, who immediately recognized her former husband. Questions that only his former wife could answer were put to her by the husband and were answered correctly. The husband became fully convinced that it was the same soul as of his first wife.

A man, whom she had not seen before, came to visit her and asked her if she knew him. She answered correctly that he was the younger cousin of her former husband.

The committee then took the girl by train to the city of Muttra, her former hometown.

Getting off the train she recognized an older brother of her former husband in a small crowd on the station platform.

Leaving the railroad station she was placed in the front seat of a carriage and told to direct the driver to her old house. She showed the way without difficulty, commenting that the road was not tarred before, recognizing buildings along the road and correctly answering questions regarding these, pointed out new buildings and finally directed the carriage to stop at a lane on which the old house was located. The color of the house had been changed, but she located it without much difficulty. She pointed out the room where she used to live and showed that she was very familiar with every nook and corner of the house.

She asked to be taken to her other house (for she had lived in two places). She alone led the party there and later recognized her second house also without any difficulty. It was here that she had hidden the money and where the well was supposed to be located.

This was the place she said, where she had spent the major portion of her former life and she entered the house as if she were still its mistress.

Asked to point out the well she used to tell about in Delhi, she ran to the small courtyard in the house and was very much perturbed not to find any well there, but pointing to a certain corner said confidently: "the well was here." The removal of a stone exposed the well, which had been closed some years earlier.

When asked about her so-called treasure she led the company to her former room, and, pointing to one spot in a corner, said that the money was hidden under that spot. The floor was opened and a receptacle used for keeping valuables under ground was found, but there was no money. The girl insisted that the money must be there, but it could not be found. Later it was learned that the money had been taken out by her former husband after the death of his former wife.

While she was in Delhi she had very little recollection of her parents, in her previous life, but when she was taken to her "parents' " house in a neighboring street in Muttra she not only recognized it, but was also able to identify her old "father" and "mother" in a crowd of more than fifty persons.

The son born to her in her former life whose birth was the indirect cause of her death, was now twelve years old, a year older than herself, yet she felt a mother's affection for him. She felt closer ties of relationship with this son and her former husband, than she did with members of her new family, and was heartbroken when she had to leave the old setting and return to Delhi.

The report ends with a sworn statement by the cousin of the former husband, recording a series of questions asked by him and answers given by the girl. As a result of this interview the cousin became convinced that the girl was his own relative "now personating in another body."

Here, then, is a case, as well authenticated as any reasonable investigator could expect, telling of a soul, an Ego, that remembers its former life and gives proof of doing so. The case is abnormal, for reincarnation took place almost immediately after death. If it had been normal there would have been an interval of hundreds or thousands of years between incarnations, and we would never have heard of it, for no detailed memories could have bridged such a gap. It is due to its abnormality that this case can serve as an outward visible demonstration that reincarnation is a reality.

What caused this abnormality?

Why it happened to just to this soul may be easier to understand after studying Ch. VIII "Karma."

How it happened is difficult to explain. Possibly an unusually strong attachment to her loved ones together with the fact that her lifespan was broken off prematurely, was sufficient to overcome the natural tendency to glide into the normal postmortem states and draw her back to incarnation. There might be some material for explanation of the transfer of memory in the fact that the model body and psychologic energies of the personal nature, did not have time to scatter completely. One can only speculate. It would require the insight and wisdom of a Master to give a full explanation.

It is a sad case and very unfortunate for the soul that has to experience it, for it finds itself placed between conflicting interests and duties that exert their pull in different directions. It shows the complications that might arise and perplex us if we all were to remember our past lives, and it shows how fortunate it is for us that we are not able to do so.

The Adepts know by experience.

To those who have succeeded in raising their Human Ego into conscious union with their Higher Ego, reincarnation is not only a working hypothesis, it is a demonstrated fact, for they have undergone this experience in full possession of their egoic consciousness.

It is their teaching on this subject that H. P. Blavatsky and her successors have made available to us in various Theosophical works.

The inquirer, who wishes to pursue the study of this subject further, is referred especially to The Esoteric Tradition by G. de Purucker, chapters on "Reimbodiment as Taught through the Ages" and "How Man is Born and Reborn."

TRANSMIGRATION: MISUNDERSTOOD AND TRUE
Popular Misinformation on the Subject.

One reason why the doctrine of reincarnation has met with so much opposition is the fact that the uninformed have taken it to mean the re-birth of the human soul into an animal body.

This popular misconception, which has existed for ages, is very general and has resulted in much unwarranted criticism and much ridicule being directed against the true teaching. Thus it is not uncommon, when the word reincarnation is mentioned, to hear someone burst into a roar of laughter and exclaim: "I don't want to come back a cat." The joke that seems so amusing is based on the ignorance of the critic and has no application to teachings of the Ancient Wisdom on this subject. Those definitely state that once the Monad has evolved to the human stage it can not embody itself in anything sub-human. The lesser can not contain the greater and an animal brain and mentality is as incapable of accommodating a human consciousness as a pint measure is incapable of holding a gallon of liquid. Furthermore the march of evolution is forward and upward and there would be no inducement for the Monad to step down to a lower stage, even if it could do so.

Another factor that has contributed to the misunderstanding of this subject is the confusion that exists in regard to the terms used to denote the re-birth of the human soul.

Sadhana - Concentration

2006-04-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sadhana is the purpose for which we have come to this plane. It is this earth-plane alone upon which Sadhana for Self-realisation can be done.

Sadhana means right living—living a God-oriented life. Root out falsehood from your heart. Become an embodiment of Truth.

You are ever-pure and spotless. Express that ever-pure, spotless nature in your thoughts, words, in the pattern of your desires and inner motives in your daily life. Practise that, live that, radiate that—that is Sadhana. You are the Truth, the Supreme Reality. Express this Truth.

Let not your life be a contradiction of what you are. Be WHAT YOU ARE. This is the essential Sadhana. It is the direct path to live a divine life, to be divine in thought, word and deed.

The supreme Sadhana is a life lived divinely where every act, thought and word is permeated with the divine quality.

Be victorious over circumstances. Even when you are working do not leave this inner awareness. Assert it at every moment in all things. Be the conqueror of your mind, the subduer of your desires and a master of your destiny; for you are the Master.

May you develop noble character and walk the path of the good and pure, the path of Truth, purity and goodness, and move towards that glorious goal which awaits you. This is your birthright which you can claim and experience in this very birth. Do not postpone it. Be up and doing.

Sri Murugan

2006-03-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Duraasha leads to difficulties

2006-03-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

The story of the great Shibi chakravarti is well known. He is very famous for his daya and daana gunas. Even in his kingdom, there used to live a krupana by name Naarayana. Naaraayana had earned ten crores, but never gave anybody anything. Leave aside giving food to co-existing animals and neighbours, he never even gave proper food to his own mother.

One day he had to buy some fruits, so he started bargaining in the shop in his village. Feeling that the cost is very high, he walked all the way to the near by town to get for a lesser price. If the shopkeeper said 1 ana, he used to ask for 1/2 and so on. Finally in his greed he decided to go to a farm and steal them, since then he will get for free. We walked a very great distance to a farm. Though he was not young enough, he put effort and climbed the tree. With great difficulty he got some fruits and continued because of his greed. He in the greed started ascending the tree more and more. Suddenly he slipped and was hanging from a branch of the tree, which was pretty high from the ground.

Fortunately a maavati (Elephant master) was going along and naaraayana shouted for help. He also offered half of his property in case the maavati helped him. The maavati, in greed for naaraayana's money, went with the elephant near to him and stood on it and was trying to bring naaraayana down. Meanwhile, the elephant saw the near pond and it went away to drink some water, leaving the maavati hanging on to naaraayana. Maavati then begged naaraayana, "swamy I will give my elephant to you, please hold the branch tightly". To the relief of them there was a saahini (a horse rider) passing by. The maavati shouted to him for help and offered his elephant in return of favour. Saahini in greed for the elephant, went to help them and the horse too took the way of the elephant.

Morals in the story:

One must never be greedy. Because of greed a man stops thinking and acts foolish.
A greedy man not only destroys himself but also others.
People must help each other with love and affection, but not for money.

Hanuman

2006-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

Sri Ashta Lakshmi – God as Mother of Prosperity

2006-02-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

During the crouching of Thiru Paarkadal, lots of precious things came out from that. And one among them was Sri Lakshmi with brightness.

After coming out from the Paarkadal, she resided on to the thiru Maarbu (Chest) of Sriman Narayanan.

Various Puranams say that Sri Lakshmi originated from Agni, Water, Land etc; but instead of analysing them, let us know about the great Goddess and how does She extends Her thirukKaram towards us.

Thiru Naamams of Sri Lakshmi:Sri, Malar magal, Lakshmi, Padma, Padmaja, Padmasini, Sri Devi, Narayani, Thilakavathy, Kamalavathy etc are some of the name of Sri Lakshmi.

Different forms of Sri Lakshmi:
Sri Lakshmi gives her form in 8 ways and they are
Sri Aadhi Lakshmi
Sri Gaja Lakshmi
Sri Dhana Lakshmi
Sri Dhaanya Lakshmi
Sri Santhana Lakshmi
Sri Vijaya Lakshmi
Sri Vidhya Lakshmi
Sri Veera Lakshmi (Dhairya Lakshmi)

All these 8 forms of Sri Lakshmi are collectively called as "Sri Ashta Lakshmi" and with all of these Sri Lakshmi grace, we will get all sorts of wealths, health and the final destiny - the Moksham.

Other than these great 8 forms, she also gives her seva as Graha Lakshmi, Anna Lakshmi, Bala Lakshmi, Seetha Lakshmi, Subhu Lakshmi, Baghya Lakshmi, Santha Lakshmi.