Wednesday, October 22, 2008

karma yoga




Still, the main importance must be given to Karma Yoga. Without Karma
Yoga it is not possible to progress in life - not only to achieve
material progress; Karma Yoga is essential for spiritual perfection,
as well. I consider an inactive man a dead man. Only through Karma
Yoga can you advance in your life; your heart becomes purified, your
thinking will be good. Karma Yoga is also beneficial for your health;
you will sleep well and have good appetite. A man with good appetite
and sound sleep is always a healthy man and with good health he can
achieve anything in life.

I have told you before that there are many kinds of Yoga, but Karma
Yoga is of supreme importance. Karma Yoga must come first, then others
types of Yoga can be added. In the name of Lord Rama, advance and
progress through Karma Yoga.



Thursday, October 09, 2008

navaratri




Night and Day Nine:
Siddhidatri - She Who is of great spiritual Powers and knowledge
Siddhidatri begins at Sunset Oct. 7 and ends at Sunset Oct. 8.
(Usually, the final day?s activities wrap up after lunch time on the ninth day.)

Siddhidatri: Siddhidatri means the giver of siddhis (magical or spiritual powers for the control of self, others and the forces of nature). It is said in Devipuran that the Supreme God, Lord Shiva received all of these powers by propitiating the Maha Shakti. The Goddess is sometimes shown atop a lion and sometimes atop a lotus. She is shown as having four arms, which hold a club, a conch shell and a lotus. The fourth hand forms a gesture of granting. Siddhidatri is considered to be the most powerful of all the nine forms of Durga.

Durga is said to be extraordinarily beautiful; she does not use her beauty for seduction, but rather entrapment. She entices her victims and then defeats them. She rides a lion, and it appears whenever her strengths are needed. Her role is not that of creator, but rather that of a maintainer: she maintains cosmic order by defeating demons that plague the universe.

Durga is not only a powerful force for cosmic order but also a protector of her devotees. She listens to her devotees and attends to their needs.

Goddess Durga keeps up the play of the divine universal God through the three attributes of Nature, namely, Satva (equilibrium and serenity), Rajas (dynamism and kinesis) and Tamas (ignorance and inertia). Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, all are Her forms. Maha Saraswati is Her Sattviki Shakti or power of equilibrium. Maha Lakshmi is Her Rajasik Shakti or power of activity. And Maha Kali is Her Tamsik Shakti the power of destruction. All these are feminine forms.

Shiva's power is Shakti, the dynamic creative mother aspect of the Godhead. It is she who creates and at the time of dissolution, it is she who swallows her own creation. Shakti cannot exist without Shiva and Shiva cannot personify without Shakti.

Our beloved Mother, Saraswati, the goddess of learning, knowledge, music, speech and all the creative arts. She is the Flowing-One. She represents the union of power and intelligence from which organized creation arises. Saraswati possesses 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...). She is wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendor and devotion.



Monday, October 06, 2008

navaratri - night 8




SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of
Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine Guidance on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.

Night and Day Eight:
Mahagauri - The Great White Goddess
Mahaguari begins at Sunset Oct. 6 and ends at Sunset on
Oct. 7

Goddess Saraswati is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a mala in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:

a.. The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.

b.. The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand.

c.. The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and
the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.

d.. The mala signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation,
leading to samadhi, or union with God. A mala in the rear right hand
representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.

e.. The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in
Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.

f.. Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is
said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world.

g.. A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting to
serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge.
- Bansi Pandit



Sunday, October 05, 2008

kalaratri




SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine
Guidance on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most
efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.

Night and Day Seven:
Kalaratri - Kali Night of no Moon
Kalaratri begins at sunset on Oct. 5 and ends at sunset on Oct. 6
The goddess called Night of Time, Kalaratri, represents nirvana.

What is Nirvana?

Nirvana literally means "The blowing out of a candle". The fire that goes out
does not pass away, but merely becomes invisible by passing into a conscious
experience of union with All That Is. It refers to entry into another mode of
existence and experience. The fire that comes forth is the fire of the self.
This is the "emptiness" which is referred to in many of the teachings. It is an
ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy; the ability to consciously
pause the mind. Om Namah Shivaya.

You are the ONE who makes the difference-- right here and right now!!
Help just one other person to breathe easier.