Cosmic Mother

 

The entire symbology of an ekchali durga pandal for me, is mesmerising. It comes across as a representation of the entire cosmic movement. The Devi killing the Asura, has karuna in her. She is not a represented as a vengeful wronged woman, driven by vendetta, seeking her pound of flesh. On the contrary she comes across to me as merciful and loving mother. The anger she projects, is for corrective reasons and not for personal validation. She is disciplining, and restoring the cosmic balance. She is helping the asura to come out of his negative vritti's. In her consciousness there is Shiva, the auspicious.
She is a mother, her children are of various vocations. She supports and nurtures them. The children in turn are her strength and her will. Her actions affect the universe. She can take any form and role to care for them. She is master of many devices. She can not only match, but she outwits the destructive powers. While she is the manifest power of Devas, she is benevolent and purposeful. She is not distracted by luring and admiring proposals. All elements of nature are entered in this archetype, the sky, earth, water, fire, living and non living beings. The archetype represents the elements of modern times. The creativity, itself is the Mothers expression through the artist. The medium is also her own creation. 

That entire pandal for me, is a holographic representation of the cosmos.
It is like a trance.

Saundarya Lahari, The Descent

Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati on Saundarya Lahari

This book provides a wonderful way to resolve the difficulties and distress faces in life, whether as a grihasta, householder, or a sannyasin,  a renunciate. It is a book of worship and prayer, which is the highest attitude the mind can assume. This attitude arises when the mind comes under the influence of the atman, or soul. The same gross mind constituted of the twenty-six tattwas,  which is subject to time,  space and object is refined to the highest degree, and begins to act in conjuction with the heart and soul. Such a mind projects the higher traits of love, compassion, devotion, surrender, faith and belief,  because these are the qualities of the soul.
Worship requires a one-pointed mind and a pure heart. It also requires a disciplined body and the constant, unbroken attitude of surrender. In addition, the intellect must be balanced so that it does not disturb the mind by undue reasoning, which interrupts the worship. By performing Saundarya Lahari, sadhana in this way, you are simultaneously practicing raja yoga, bhakti yoga, hatha yoga,  karma yoga and jnana yoga. This Saundarya Lahari sadhana is the culmination of yoga, intended to draw or your highest potential.

Taken from Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India book,  Saundarya Lahari, The Descent by Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati

Love is Be-ing ...

19/05/2017

It has been quite a while since I keyed (penned, hmmm miss it) my thoughts. I am a morning person. It is not like I have not had thoughts, that I needed to share. There were many I felt like, though never got the opportunity to do so. Either in a rush to leave for the early morning Yoga class or driving. I wish I could thought-write them. :D :D

I was on a detox leave for a fortnight. Though not much went on to detox my body. What I did, was just speculate and re-worked on my schedule and diet to fit in the early work hours and yet not miss a decent breakfast on my working days. I am ok with skipping lunch (sometimes) and dinner. I am very thankful to my students for their co-operation and love and kindness… Hey but cooperation and kindness is love, isn’t it?

Ah Love, such an over rated and abused word. It has lost its pristine truth and purity. The overly commercialised word to SELL about anything and bargain for anything. I remember when I studied marketing, how branding of a product is so important. The 5 Ps of Philip Kotler, Product, Packaging, Pricing, Promotion and Placement. Placement, was to get into the heart of the matter, emotions. So there. I understood this interesting and bang on target concept. Branding an object using the emotional connect with the product. "Mother's love", "Nature's Goodness", "Complete Man" etc.

However, coming back to subject of love, and here I am not even trying to sell or buy anything, I am simply grateful and wish to express my gratitude and include my students and supporters in this feeling.
So, what is Love? Is it enough to say "I want to thank you for your love"? To  me, it sounds all encompassing, "your love". It means such a lot, includes so many good feel attitudes.

I had often wondered about Love. When i was very young, I had written in my notebook my thoughts on Love. It intrigued me. I was not convinced with what was presented as the notion of love, and had to come up with a bigger thought than what I could perceive then, at that age, with the information and limited exposure i had to the world and relationships. I knew of the world through many books, Amar Chitra Katha's, Reader's Digest and 3 hours of Television.

Love, for me back then was not limited to the romantic opposite gender thing we saw in films. Love was an universal emotion that one could feel for anything, anyone at most times, when one felt a sense of connected-ness. Love was an expression of that connected-ness between parent child, friends, siblings or maybe books.
And today again I was wondering what is love really all about?

This is how i feel about Love, and posted on my FB page with this appropriate downloaded image (someone shares my feelings)

"Do Preet Meditation adopting the Love Asana / Premasana :))

When you love,

it includes many attitudes positive -

trust, empathy, care, kindness, humane, compassion, understanding, tolerance, truthful, open, forgiving, empowering, courage, faith, belief, silence, speech, patience, non-violence, non-covetous, abstinence, stability of emotions, action, strength, freeing, independence, non-attachment, prayers, giving, service, accepting, selfless, generosity, non-judgemental, equanimity, gratitude etc...;

In this space of positive-ness resides the soul of love.

In the direction opposite lies the otherness of love, which is laced with negative attitudes of selfishness, fear, trepidation, suspicion, anger, jealousy, binding, bondage, unforgiving, unkind, unyielding, addiction etc.

And you could get absorbed in either. Intoxicated stupor of uniting with your Be-ing."

Love is like being inside this Big Balloon which is filled with so many heart-warming and good feel attitudes. When we are in this space the universe is Amazing ! Beautiful ! Divine !💓💞💓
What is also striking is, it is the same heart and emotions which is capable of feeling exact opposite.

This heart (mind) which is incapable of being all encompassing, becoming exclusive and punishing, is the same heart which is capable of the other.

It is simply the otherness of love that divides us, separates us and gives us all a race, color, name, nationality, species, gender, status, state, nature etc. We are all different, divided by our otherness. When we rise above this otherness, we Love. We feel. We are sensitive to existence and everything about it.

Love is something that happens with the evolution of consciousness. Conversely, when we work on becoming more universal in our attitudes, more loving that is the consciousness just evolves. It is a music to which the soul dances in bliss.

Stay Love!⚘💕🎕

Un-Being - Un-Ness of Positive Being

unbeing dead isn't being alive. e.e. cummings

Un-ness of positive being

Un-happy

Un-easy

Un-loved

Un-wanted

Un-educated

Un-fed

Un-expressed

Un-good

Un-sure

Un-fulfilled

Un-kind

Un-cared

Un-satisfied

Un-clean

Un-well

Un-beautiful

Un-sympathetic

Un-listening

Un-spoken

Un-rendered

Un-heard

Un-seen

Un-accomplished

Un-passionate

Un-positive

From Un-ness of positive being let us get to Being-ness of positive being and it is simple

Un-happy

Un-easy

Un-loved

Un-wanted

Un-educated

Un-fed

Un-expressed

Un-good

Un-sure

Un-fulfilled

Un-kind

Un-cared

Un-satisfied

Un-clean

Un-well

Un-beautiful

Un-sympathetic

Un-listening

Un-spoken

Un-rendered

Un-heard

Un-seen

Un-accomplished

Un-passionate

Un-positive

Mantra

Sound

Sound is all around us, all kinds of sound at all the time. Every hour of the day has it's characteristic sounds. For me the chirping of birds is a sign of dawn, while a cacophony of excited birds, dusk. The mornings a clutter of utensils and cooking in kitchen, vehicles on street etc. Afternoons are quiet with the T.V. chattering in the next room. The most beautiful sound hours are, the Night and Early morning hours. There is a divine rhythm vibrating at that hour. The serenity and depth of those hours are relaxing and calming. As if the nature is meditating and the vibrations are reverberating through us. Wow !

Songs and poems are there with us since childhood. In the form of lullabies and later songs. A poem written to depict joy brings joy to us when we listen to it. Though it was another's experience. A song of patriotism raises our patriotic spirit. A song or sound of pathos makes us sad. Sometimes we cry. An inspirational song fills us with courage. These feelings are triggered or evoked from inside us whether we understand the language or not. Often listening to National Anthems of different countries, during Olympics, used to make me feel for that country and it's nationals. Mantras are a spiritual followers sound choice. :)

Spiritual Anthem. 

Mantra

A mantra is a verbal expression of an elevated state of being. A vibration, sound and collection of words that is connected with that state. When we repeat it, whether we understand or not, it recreates that state within us. Be it Mahamrityunjay Mantra, Maha Mantra, Gayatri Mantra, Saundarya Lahari, Vishnu Sahsranaman or Shiv Shadakshar Stotra or Durga Dvatrinsha Mala. Any mantra has within it the frequencies and energies of of its state. Sound is energy of varying frequencies and amplitudes. There are audible sounds and there are humanly inaudible sounds that effect us, as well. Sounds are constantly effecting us at gross level. A mantra effects us at deeper levels of sub conscious and unconscious. Loud chanting of mantras in groups for a prolonged period on a regular basis at a regular spot increases the vibration of the environment manifolds. It gets imprinted/recorded into the magnetic field of the space. Just as sound used to be recorded on magnetic audio cassette tapes.

Everything around is emitting sound radiation which we can tune in to, if we wish. We can also tune in to our internal frequency. The Guru Mantra is a bridge to our personality. The other path is Silence or Mauna. 

Mauna

When we are silent. Really silent our inner sound starts coming through clearly without the external clutter. These may manifest as inspired words or music or song or compassion. Mauna is a very powerful practice. It helps us develop focus and mental clarity. It stops the dissipation due to extreme verbosity. Most of us are insecure and uncomfortable around silence or quiet people. We start chattering and making small talks. Those who practice Mauna have a sweet, deep and steady personality. They appear more gathered and kind. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was a Muni.

Kirtan and Bhajans

One of the best way to heal from the kleshas (disorders) in this complex times, is Kirtan. The Kirtan is way of connecting with the divine. The words extol the virtues of great devotees and the devoted beings. Bhajans are a way of re-aligning our frayed emotions. We live in times where we feel lost and faithless. There is no one we can trust. Values are being challenged, There is new order of living coming into existence, which we do not want to accept. We are comfortable with old out dated ways and feel comfortable only that way. Kirtans and Bhajans give us a feeling of serenity and stability.  we feel more and more inclined to accept changes. We feel courageous and confident in the new order. We don't feel left out. We develop tolerance and feeling of connecteness. It is generally a community activity. People do it in gatherings, either on regular basis or occasionally for special events.

Atah Yoga Anushasanam

(A couple of paras from the article "Mind Management in Everyday Life" in the BSY Magazine publication Yoga Mag September 1999 issue)


When we try to enforce or live or bring a concept into our lives, it becomes a philosophy or an idea with which we identify. But when the concept becomes a philosophy it is not translated into action. There is a split between our personal philosophy and our actions in the outer world. Why? Lack of discipline, lack of awareness. Yoga has been very clear in saying that the beginning of yoga is through discipline – discipline which is not enforced but which is the outcome of the awareness spanning all the different dimensions of the human personality.






In the first statement of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali says that yoga is anushasanam. This word has been translated in English as discipline, but it is not discipline. Anushasan means 'awareness of the inner personality that is manifesting in the outer world'. Anu means 'subtle', shasanam means 'to rule, to govern, to be in control of'. Therefore, according to Patanjali, yoga is a form or method of governing the inner nature. It is a method of directing the inner nature harmoniously so that it can manifest externally. And this is the beginning of yoga.


~Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Dealing - Objective path to Healing

On an introspective note, i wondered about the attitudes that make our life. The inability to deal with pain and difficult situations often lead us to sickness mental or physical. There are so many of us who are depressed, disillusioned, struggling or have simply given up. Then comes prayers to get healed and nourished once again.

I can relate to those feelings. I have been through there. I wondered what i did or did not. The attitudes at the root of those moments. 

Perhaps, the one thing that worked most effectively was the attitude of "dealing with it". May sound like a strong command. I found it powerful. Facing the situation squarely. It works. Maybe, we need to work more on the dealing attitude than on the healing. Healing is spontaneous. Nature heals. However, dealing is a conscious step taken with awareness. I am not saying that one should not think of healing energies. Of course, one must do so. While doing that, i would say my approach is taking a conscious step towards the RESULT you seek through the healing. If you break a bone. It will heal naturally whether you do something about it or not. Then again, even if done deliberately and yet not done properly it will heal improperly. So if it is done consciously with the objective of healing and joining it as original to restore to normal action, then the result is bound to be more effective and desirable. With such an objective, you are set in a direction to find the correct resources and means to achieve it. You will find solutions. If your resolve is to heal effectively, you will work with balance and directed energy. Your positivity will attract the solution. Your resolve will guide you through the obstacles. Half the battle is won, simply by making a positive resolve. Having an objective. The resolve will shape the outcome.

"Dealing With It" is an essential attitude towards taking charge of your life. As long as we live we will do the right things and the wrong. Things will happen to us, Fantastic and Pathetic stuff. And we have to live through it.

The best part of situations in life is, we are passing through them. Being a reluctant student of Physics, I liken the life situations we pass through to the process of Annealing, making it a life science. Shaping our personality through it all. Maintaining balance and stability and dealing with these situations objectively, would be useful for us to come through them gracefully and beautifully. We are stronger, gentler and more compassionate beings at the end of each of these trial and glories. They will go on and on.

Living consciously would make a great deal of difference in passing through life stories. Healing energies charge our conscious efforts in a positive way.

We need the Healing Power, like a battery to run an equipment. Healing Energies give life to effort. Healing Power along with conscious efforts would result in effective outcome. Faith and Belief are very important in guiding our thoughts and efforts. In creating our resolve, Sankalpa. Bringing in a collaboration of the matter, mind and the spirit is essential.

It is very satisfying and settling at the end of it, when we are healed effectively.

To sign of this post with a few nice quotes:

"When you're going through something, whether it's a wonderful thing like having a child or a sad thing like losing somebody, you often feel like 'Oh my God, I'm so overwhelmed; I'm dealing with this huge thing on my own.' In fact, poetry's a nice reminder that, no, everybody goes through it. These are universal experiences." ~ Caroline Kennedy

"A lot of life is dealing with your curse, dealing with the cards you were given that aren't so nice. Does it make you into a monster, or can you temper it in some way, or accept it and go in some other direction?" ~ Wes Craven

"Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people." ~ Carl Jung

Surreal but Nice

Those moments of life, when you are not so sure if you are awake or asleep. If all that is happening is actually just a dream which happens to feel real. And i am not to take it seriously at all and just experience as i would experience a movie. Those moments of disconnected connectedness.

And there are times we come alive in our dreams and wake up talking, physically reacting, walking and making motor reactions. Taking them seriously, as if it is actually happening. On the edge of real and unreal. Nightmare if bad and unnerving. Most times the events are related to intense emotions so much that in some ways we actually feel and experience them. We believe it is happening.

But what i am talking of and am interested in right now is the one i mentioned first, the other way round. A real event where one feels disconnected, almost like an outsider viewing the whole thing happen. Not sure if anything you say or do, will have any effect at all. You know, it is those moments when we pinch ourselves. Honestly, i feel even a pinch would make no sense. The distance is greater, the view larger and distant, such that a pinch may not cause a connect. A kind of conscious and waking OBE.

You are in safe custody

There was this little child. One day he was taken to the beach by his parents. There he built a sand house and made friends he loves. He was so engrossed and involved in making the house, it became his reality. He was living in that world he created totally oblivious of his surrounding. With great attention he collected shells, stones, and anything that caught his attention. He decorated his house. Around him there were other kids playing, there was noise, his parents and siblings were sun bathing and cheerfully sitting in the background. He was oblivious to all of that.He was unaware of the sound of the approaching tides. So immersed in his world was he, he could not even hear the voice of his parents calling out to him for coconut water. He did not even realize when he even took a few sips and returned back to his sand house. He could hear his sand friends. He spoke to them.

Finally it was getting dark and the tide was really close. His mother decided to pull him away before the castle got swept, but he started sobbing, crying and begging that he wants his castle. His friends need him. His mother tried to explain the approaching tides. Somehow as the mother gathered him in her arms and started walking away, the child kept crying louder and thrashing and then ... to his shock he saw a huge tide crash on his castle and as it withdrew, the castle and friends were gone. He became quiet at the sight. The mother saw him and shook him a little. He suddenly broke out of his reverie and looked at his mother as if he were seeing her for the first time. Slowly he came to.

Yet he was quiet for the rest of the evening. He stayed close to his mother. Remembering the castle and friends and mumbling to her. The mother washed him clean, freshened him, dried him up, put fragrant powder, changed his clothes into night clothes.

She then fed him lovingly as she heard his stories about his castle and friends. Then holding him very close to her bosom, she rocked him, The child remembered the wave crashing onto his castle and friends and became sad and there was small tear in his eyes and he started sobbing. The mother held him softly closer and said said shh.. and cooed into his his ear. That all will be fine. He will get back his castle, and his friends will be back. The child holds on closer to the mother wiping his tears in the hollow of her neck. Reassuring him all along and smiling, she talks of beautiful things and says nice things to him till he falls asleep. The mother puts him to bed, covers him, puts the light off, makes the room comfortable, whispers a final comforting goodnight.

Next morning the child gets up sweet and happy. He hobbles to his mother and holds around her legs and burrows his head into the comfort of her warmth. He can smell her, he can smell the yummy pancakes too. He smiles and the sunshine lights up his face.

This is how we all are....  finding it difficult to let go. The gift of surrendering to God's will is most valuable. The gift of surrendering to its love and healing touch is most precious. Greater gifts await us when we let go. We cry and hold on to the sand castles. The child's virtue is his faith in his mother and surrender to her care and love. This gives him, strength, courage and confidence.

The faith and belief in God needs to be firm and unshakable in the face of adversity. Know that, when he takes away a little, he is going to give you something of more value and better.... and more powerful. 

God prepares you for that gift. Without fail.

Ek baar commit kar diya to.... the Divine is committed to you.

Have faith in god, Belief in your self and let go.

18 "ITIES"

A kirtan on the qualities you should possess. Simply put by our Sadguru Swami Sivananda Saraswati in his usual fun style.

SERENITY, REGULARITY, ABSENCE OF VANITY,
SINCERITY, SIMPLICITY, VERACITY,
EQUANIMITY, FIXITY, NON-IRRITABILITY,
ADAPTABILTY, HUMILITY, TENACITY,
INTEGRITY, NOBILITY, MAGNANIMITY,
CHARITY, GENEROSITY, PURITY,
PRACTISE DAILY THESE EIGHTEEN 'ITIES',
YOU WILL SOON ATTAIN IMMORTALTY.

BRAHMAN IS THE ONLY REAL ENTITY.
LISTEN! GO AND SOW SOME GOOD NOW GENEROSITY,
YOU WILL ABIDE IN ETERNITY AND INFINITY.
YOU WILL BEHOLD UNITY IN DIVERSITY.
YOU CANNOT ATTAIN THIS IN THE UNIVERSITY,
MADRAS UNIVERSITY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY,
OR EVEN OXFORD UNIVERSITY,
BUT YOU CAN ATTAIN THIS IN THE YOGA VEDANTA FOREST ACADEMY.

Wordlessness

There is a proverb "The pen, is mightier than the sword"
Word has such power
Words are living entity so as we are. Words, those loose strands of life floating and attaching to our fabric and bringing into being a tapestry of thoughts.
A sound by a little flower, rippling into eternity would resonate in the stars far away.


Words make, words break hearts. Words soothe, words give wound.
Word has  body. It touches us. Remember when a word touched ur skin and gave you goose bumps, or it touched you ever so tenderly and made you blush. Words that stabbed into your heart and the pain made you cry in pain.
Words are companions. They stay with us as long as there is a language in our head in our hearts, as long as there is a need to connect.
 Word is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent

Then what is wordlessness?
The thought itself is like a magnet, a black hole. An unknown power that is at the same time mysterious and attractive. Have you evr been wordless. Even in sleep there are words.

Institutions of Love and Family Members...

Some of us want to create a legacy, a family, an institution, organisation etc. And all of us are already part of atleast one institution viz. family. An Institution needs members... and so partnership (marriage, contract etc) is formed. Members are born, attracted, hired etc.

Even an ashram, whether it is grihast or gurukul ashram has members. That is the domain of learning and evolving. It is in duality and exchange that growth & transformation occurs.

However after creating an establishment (family or ashram) and having members, one wants it to last. And definitely it has a purpose. How does one make the members stay (if that is the need). When an ashram/institution times out, members leave. It loses its power. An ashram / institution by its very own quality, fabric and basic structure and foundation does not need to make an effort, it is a manifestation of the need for evolution, a need of life itself. It has its own life force and sustains almost magically.

Lets look at an effort to retain an institution. One can retain members by instilling fear, threat, punishment, force, conditions, prohibitions... it is the easiest way to control. It works. But the members stay as long as they can draw benefit from it, and put up with regulations and threats against their will and happiness. Members usually are needed to feel lesser than their potential qualities, as it is itself based on fear of loss, insecurity and insufficiency. Environment is generally overpowering rather than empowering. Members go through the "suffering", sure that it will end some day, it wont last and... one fine day some member does end it some day and they cut off ties with that environment. For it no longer benefits them. Such an environment provides a material, temporary, emotional or social sanctuary. Such institutions do have their place and purpose in the bigger scheme of life.Members who stay are usually the one's who prefer such a place.

HOWEVER creating an environment which evolves with the passing time and individual members and generations are one in million. There are familieas and institutions with ancient thread continuously running. Most of us would love to have belonged or to be associated with such a family, ashram or institution. Because of its nature of continuity, sanatan quality, one finds a need to go back all the time. It is Home. The resting place where the skylark returns after a day of flight in the vast skies.

In my humble opinion and miniscule experience, an environment where one finds Home and family, could possibly exist by creating & inspiring  self-control and dedication takes consistency, tenacity, effort and patience. Not to say empathy and love. A deicated environment which nurtures with tender care, protects and grooms. Where one feels easy to share, care, love, serve and give. Being is spontaneous, efforts are effortless and seem a joy to perform. There is toughness and hard work to retain and maintain the sanctity and objective of the institution. Sometimes it may be a put off. Like the ashram time table and food (initially) :D)) yet as one settles in, one finds it energising and empowering. Family/Institution/Ashram members may sometime go for a reason, but the natal chord always keep the ties intact. Even distance makes the heart grow fonder and ever so connected, carrying and spreading the tradition, the fragrance and flavor around.

At the helm of such an institution there is usually a powerful personality who is firm, sets the standards by example and yet he is loving, reachable and nurturing. He is the one whose aura, icchha, vichar, sankalp and kriya shakti holds the institution together. Its impresses, energises and inspires the spirit of the members. Such a personality has qualities of mother, father, teacher in him. In a spiritual institution it has an aura of beauty, truth and auspiciousness. He is Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and Sakshat Parabrahma. In an worldly sense they are upholders and custodians of a profound legacy and tradition which is evolving.

A positive and giving environment, not only attracts, but one is drawn towards the environment of the ashram, seeking that environment. Waking early morning, doing seva whether one chooses it or not, keeping mauna, singing, eating and dancing, maybe working till late hours. A balanced and sometimes imbalanced life. A flexibility of spirit ready for any turn of event or instruction by maybe someone years younger than you or outdated and out of sync. Also rules are broken and mischiefs indulged in. The Little Krishna is an eternal presence in us, na? :)

And indeed there needs to be conditions and limitations to maintain the overall balance and sanctity of the institution. The limits are not rigid and thorny as on prison-walls to be shot dead if one escapes, but that of self restraint, of spontaneous offering and alignment into the environment. One experiences this when one enters a divine spot like a church, temple, meditation centres, presence of divinity etc. One just starts behaving in a particular way. One loves, serves and gives like it was the most natural and normal thing to do.

let us live in and create Institutions of Transformation and Evolution, Institutions of Love, not prisons of war !!!

Let us be family members not inmates.

SWAN Sadhana

In a Lifestyle which is constantly getting cluttered muddled and in tangles, I have found SWAN sadhana the most useful technique for defragmenting the mind.

Navaratri and Saundarya Lahari Upasana

The deities of Kali yuga are Devi and Ganesha. They are manifesting everywhere and have infiltrated  our very lives.  Ganesha represents good living, comfort, luxury, good food. good clothes, art, literature and music. Devi symbolizes immense wealth and unlimited power, coupled with beauty and glamour. Is that not what the whole world is mad about today? So this attraction for Shakti has filtered down through the ages to the present day, inspite of the overshadowing influence of other religions and cultures. India is the only land that addresses women as Devi. Whether a mother, sister, daughter or wife, she is regarded as Devi.

Ma Tripura Sundari

Devi is a combination of Lakshmi, Parvati, Durga and Saraswati. All of her roles are sacred and enacted in every home, such is her immense influence on this land. Twice a year Devi is worshipped throughout India for nine days during Navaratri. This worship is conducted in Christainity also and is known as Novena, nine days worship of Mother Mary. navaratri means the nine nights when the soul has to journey through immense darkness to experience light. The nine nights represent the eight apara prakriti, which are the five tattwas, mind, buddhi and ahamkara, the symbols of darkness, and the one para prakriti, the symbol of illumination.

Significantly, both periods of Navaratri occur at specific times of the year when nature is in transition. The first occurs in March, when nature transits from winter to spring, and the second in October, when it transits from autumn to winter. At these times nature is in motion and vibrant with prana to facilitate this transition. The Navaratra worship is very special, because at these times Shakti comes alive. this gives immediate and immense benefits to the worshipper, which can range from the mundane to the sublime. Like Rama, Arjuna and much later (Adi) Sankara(charya), we too are in dire need of help during times of distress. There are moments of crisis in our lives when we do need divine intervention, and in this lies the importance of Saundarya Lahari.

Saundarya Lahari can also alleviate mental conflicts such as fear, turmoil, insecurity, depression, disappointment, lack of self confidence, despair, worry and anxiety. It can be utilized for the cure of disease that are adhidaivika in nature, due to some unknown, mysterious causes that no medicines can heal. Most modern day ailments, which are not of an infectious nature, come under this category.

~ excerpt from Sri Saundarya Lahari, The Descent by Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati. Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

Worshipping Shakti - Mother Nature

Image Credit: Vimanika Comics

Shakti has to be worshipped and revered if you are to experience her full benefits. Since she present in everything, you will have to inculcate an attitude of reverence for all that you are, all that you have, and all that you experience. A culture that regards Shakti as an energy to exploit, use and strip naked can never attain her full glory, which is of immense and unimaginable potential. From the day you were born, you have been surviving on her handouts. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, the homes you live in are all the gifts she has bestowed upon this earth. The iron, steel, gold, silver, gems and wealth are all her creations. No creature has used nature for this sort of benefit, apart from man.

Shakti is abundant with prosperity which she reflects through her cosmic nature. She is always replenishing the creation which she has given birth to. So, if you wish to experience the full force of her benevolence, you will have to develop an attitude of reverence towards her, not arrogance. That is the secret key to release the great power of Shakti.

~ excerpt from Sri Saundarya Lahari, The Descent by Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati , Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

Karma Yoga - Kriya

Let me share with you my education at the most premiere institution of Life .. Guru Sharan!

Whenever we go to Ashram, we do Seva aka Karma Yoga. The way it works is pure magic. Scrubbing that our ego and minds. Evrytime something new comes up. The task maybe as menial as cleaning the garden of dry leaves. (I am sure those from the old school of RK Mission, Narendrapur, have gone through this experience also). Or cleaning lavatories. You are supposed to do just that, without any thought or question, giving it everything. It is such a habit, that today when i clean my house, i do it imagining my Guru will come home. I write something or devlop some program, i believe it will be seen by my guru. I cook thinking my Guru will eat. It has become a habit. Even when i was working for a MNC, i believed my work was meant the way my Guru wants me to do it.
who is Guru? The Ultimate, The Perfect. You want to give nothing but your all towards it. It may not be that we are always giving ourself totally, yet the daily effort slowly slowly becomes a habit for perfection dedicated towards perfection.

Krishna - God of Love

This has been taken from rikhiapeeth blog

http://www.rikhiapeeth.net/2012/08/krishna-god-of-love.html

Satsang by Swami Satyananda

Sri Krishna was the avatar of love, the incarnation of celestial love on earth, an element that is missing everywhere today. At present we have everything, but we lack love. Love is that aspect of emotion where you think about others, not about yourself. Love is giving, not taking. Love is not an act. Love does not expect anything. Love is just sacrifice. It is total consecration of your emotions. Sri Krishna was the symbol of that aspect of life.

When he walked, it was love that walked, when he smiled, it was love that smiled and when he laughed, it was love that laughed. Madhuradhipaterakhilam madhuram - "O God! You are nothing but sweet love."

Krishna is the symbol of God with all His attributes. He lived as a man but he was a superman, a perfect man, a poorna purusha. He incarnated many thousands of years ago at the end of the cycle of Dwapara Yuga in order to destroy evil and restore righteousness. Before he was even conceived, he was on the hit list of Kamsa, who was his uncle and the king of Mathura. Although he was born into a royal family, his actual birth took place in a prison in Mathura. As a newborn he was smuggled to Gokul where he lived incognito for many years.

Prior to Krishna's birth, atrocities were being committed in the world. When the people prayed for relief from suffering, their prayers were heard. When prayers from the heart reach God, He manifests in a human form. Krishna destroyed the demons and lived in a playful way, sometimes stealing butter, sometimes duping people, sometimes teasing, sometimes dancing with the gopis and becoming their heartthrob.

Sri Krishna has brought life to philosophy and religion so that we can also smile. There is only one culture and civilization in this world where the gods dance, sing and play with the gopis, where they playfully steal and participate in wars and at the same time give enlightenment. Where will you find such a civilization, except in India! We still long to see such a man as Krishna descend to earth. Krishna was a great teacher. The love between Radha and Krishna was like that of the individual soul and the cosmic soul, like prakriti and purusha. He behaved like her disciple.

Sri Krishna was an incarnation of God, not an ordinary child. He took birth to teach the other children. Sri Krishna led a very natural life. He was a good child, a great child, a powerful child, a philosopher, a god, a friend and a warrior. At the same time he loved all the girls of his time. The gopis did not marry because Krishna loved them all.

The story is told in the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is also told in the Krishnavatar series, where Krishna is a child full of divinity. The story is told with sweetness, with melody, in a way that we can understand. It is one of the best stories about God. God must become the subject matter of stories, music, dance, discussion and dialogue. God is not beyond the mind. God is just here.

You should have a relationship with God in such a way that you can understand Him, just as you understand your son, your father, your brother or anyone else. If you start with the hypothesis that God is unknowable, it is a problem. God is knowable. Once you are told that God cannot be realized, you think that is final. Close your books and start from where you can feel Him. The love you express for your child is a glimpse of God.

Krishna has many followers throughout the world. He was a playboy, a philosopher, an orator, a yogi, a fighter and a saint. He is the epitome of beauty, grace, love and dynamism. He is also the indweller of all hearts, especially in this modern age.

Krishna Janmasthami 9^th August 2012

Bhadrapad Krishna Asthami, the birth of Sri Krishna, is celebrated as Janmashtami throughout India. This auspicious day will be celebrated in Rikhiapeeth with akhanda kirtan and by offering prayers to Bal Gopala.

Power of concentration

Once, in America, Swami Vivekananda was watching some boys. They were
standing on a bridge trying to shoot at egg-shells that were floating
on the river. The egg-shells bobbed up and down. The boys could not
hit any of them. They fired the gun many times, but always missed the
target!

They noticed that Swami Vivekananda was watching them. So they called
out to him: 'Well, you are watching us. Do you think you can do
better?'

Swami Vivekananda smiled and said: 'I will try.'

Then the boys said: 'It's not so easy as you think!'

Swami Vivekananda took the gun and aimed at the egg-shells. He stood
very still for a few minutes. Then he fired the gun. He fired twelve
times, and every time he hit an egg-shell! The boys were very
surprised. How could any man shoot egg-shells like that? They
thought. They said to Swami Vivekananda: 'Well, Mister, how did you
do it? You must be a practised hand.'

Swami Vivekananda laughed and assured them he had never handled a gun
before.

'Whatever you are doing,' he explained, 'the secret of success lies
in the power of concentration. Put your whole mind on it. If you are
shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then you will never
miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In
my country boys are taught to do this.'


The power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of
knowledge.

--Swami Vivekananda

Significance of Mahashivaratri - Tantra perspective

Satsang by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Shivaratri, the cosmic merger of Shiva and Shakti, is celebrated on the dark moon of Magha (February /March). This union symbolizes the concept of kundalini yoga in which Shiva goes to meet Shakti. It represents the awakening of consciousness at the material level of existence and uniting with shakti at the higher point of evolution. Shiva means higher consciousness and ratri means night, referring to the 'dark night of the soul', the state just before illumination. Shivaratri is considered to be the most aus­picious day for sannyasins and for taking sannyasa diksha.

As the story goes, on Shivaratri, the darkest night of the year, Shiva, lord of yogis, sets out for the home of Parvati, daughter of the Himalayas. Shiva is an ascetic, and covered in snakes. His marriage party of demons and ghosts, sym­bolizing the instinctive and animal propensities of which he is controller, is equally horrendous. Some have no head, some walk on only one leg or maybe three. Some have huge elephant ears which flap in the breeze, others have a red eye in the middle of their forehead or in their belly.

However, no sooner do Shiva and his companions enter Parvati's Himalayan kingdom than they are all instantly transformed into lovely beings with beautiful faces, fine clothes and glittering ornaments. Instinct becomes intuition. Thus the marriage takes place amidst great wonder, joy and merrymaking. Then Shiva and Shakti go up to the top of Mount Kailash, symbolizing sahasrara chakra, where they embrace and merge in the highest bliss of cosmic consciousness.

After consummating their marriage, Shiva and Shakti descend together, symbolizing that the highest conscious­ness is now manifesting on the plane of duality. Having become one, Shiva and Shakti are now able to act in the world as two. This event is of great significance for the evolution of all beings because it also represents the process taking place in every aspirant who experiences a spiritual awakening and then returns with heightened awareness to work in the world.In tantra, Shiva represents the male principle, consciousness beyond all action and change. Shakti represents the female principle, eternal evolution through action. She is negative to his positive; he initiates, she receives and transmits. Shakti is the creative energy that manifests the universe in response to the inspired consciousness of Shiva. We perceive them as two, but really they are the complementary aspects of the one, for energy without consciousness is dissipated and consciousness without energy is impotent. They are inherent in each other, like brightness in the sun, and their union is the primal image of blissful communion and awareness of oneness through duality.

On the physical plane, the sages have long maintained, and science now agrees, that matter, consciousness and energy are one. The basic unit of matter, the atom, is now known to be a static, positive core of energy balanced by a dynamic, negative force field - the union of Shiva and Shakti. What applies to the microcosmic atom also applies to the macrocosm which is held together by intermeshing energy fields.

In the realm of the human psyche, the union of Shiva and Shakti is a deep-rooted archetype of the personal integration achieved when, through yoga, we come to understand the forces that constitute our personality. Within everyone is the masculine and feminine ideal, and by exploring this complementary inner nature, we can pass through to a richer mode of being. Through tantra we explore the dark terrain of the unconscious mind, granting conscious recognition to the unruly passions, violent impulses and irrational fantasies that are suppressed in the daily business of living. This instinctive part of our nature, symbolized by Shiva's demonic companions, is transformed when we yoke together the opposites within ourselves ­positive and negative, masculine and feminine, Shiva and Shakti. An awakening takes place and the unfulfilled potential within our psyche becomes actualized, revealing our true inner nature. What we have long considered monstrous becomes divine.

Shiva is the eternal faculty of awareness, the unchanging, unmoving spark of the divine in each of us. Shakti gives us the mind and body that are our tools for the direct perception of this divine awareness. Shakti is the power that propels us to the peaks of expanded awareness. On the spiritual plane, the union of this cosmic couple is the primal image of blissful union in the Absolute. In sexual rapture we forget our isolated selves and experience a fragment of joy, but this is just a foretaste of the eternal ecstasy that dissolves the individual consciousness into the supreme.

The union of Shiva and Shakti is the primordial symbol of eternal communion with the divine. Here there is neither purity nor impurity, neither affirmation nor denial, neither form nor formlessness, but a state of superconscious being that is beyond all duality. The union of man and woman becomes the union of Shiva and Shakti; the physical union becomes psychic union in the highest state of transcendental consciousness. The ordinary man and woman, the creatures of passion and ignorance, are transmuted into transcen­dental Shiva and Shakti, unconditioned and free.

Of Adages and Stories

As time goes by, words have different effects on us. They reveal themselves in different light.
Maybe they get subtler, finer and polished.
Like many of us, i had some favourite quotation, proverbs, sayings, adages and stories.
There are some adages, from my experience, that have lost power. Some got redefined and then new ones came into limelight.

I believe Guru or Guiding light or Inspiration (whatever one chooses to name it) manisfests in form of words (mantras?)

Mind over Matter.
This was an important adage that kept me going, and not letting body dictate the limits. I "believed" and it would work. Though this is still a wonderful thought. Now i think... There is Guru's Grace above all of this. Spirit over mind over matter.

Dont get mad, get even.
Hmmm.... This is a world of competition, revenge, vendetta. Kali Yuga. :) There is so much hardness, harshness and crudeness around. Covering up the heart deep within which is still full of love, High above the Spirit is at peace. we tear away our eyes from compassion, love and forgiveness. This mantra was given to me, when i stepped into the corporate world. and the material world in general. Now there is no need to get even any more. I have found way to channelise that anger constructively. And reminding myself, there is no wrong being done, it is fine and perfect.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Again the race is on.  Adrenalin.... Ya ya.. I'd subscribed to this like bible. Like animals pitted against each other in a cage. A F1 car race. CHALLENGE, CHALLENGE., CHALLENGE.. WIN.. WIN... WIN... GO... GO... GO... So much that, one cannot operate without resistance. Then one burns out, just when the climax is reached. There was no joy of accomplishment. Then i got bored with the peace and tranquility. Wtf.. GIMMEE more challenges. how do i act?

This adage lost power... Firstly, When the going gets tough, it is a blessing.
Secondly, something is tough or easy comes from comparison. A situation is simply a situation. Either one does it or one does not. Any which way it is fine.

As time passed, newer adages took precedence and begin governing the direction of my thoughts.

From a vision board in a clinic
Lord give me the serenity to accept what i cannot change, the strength to change what i can and the wisdom to know the difference.


From Dale Carnegie.
Be generous, honest and truthful in your appreciations. This stays put on the list of favorits, from school times.

Allama Iqbal
1. Raise yourself to the heights of courage and strength of spirit, such that God himself would need to ask before he writes every bit of your destiny.

2. In the strife ridden material life, the battle of existence, Belief in Self, Faith in God and Universal Love, are the weapons of the brave.

Bhagavad Gita
Athah Yogah Anushashanam
Sthita Pragya
Yoga Samatwam Uchyate

Sri Ramakrishna

1. You dont have to drop any habit, when the time comes the powerful gale of the transformation will do the neeedful
2. You become what you pretend to be
3. A spiritual person is gentle (soft) in demeanour

Swami Vivekananda
Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached.

Anonymous (Dont remember where i read this)

Be like the grass that survives the flood and not the tree which wont bend and gets uprooted in the flood

From Yoga School Shri Yogendra
Awareness is Yoga

Our Guru, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
The prayer of the Disciple: Protect me from trauma, NO, thats not my prayer. I only pray that i be able to face all the adversities with confidence, equanimity and humility.

Ramnavami, Yoga teacher, friend and guide 
To live life and do your duties you need Guru's Grace, material resource, and wisdom. Siddhi, Riddhi and Buddhi.


There are two stories which reinforce the thoughts "Remain steadfast and solid in your beliefs, Be true to your nature" which i shall elaborate on.
From Kulkarni Sir:
There was this guy Surendra, who is used to buy newspaper from the gate everyday. Surendra's frinad Tanay usually accompanied him. After buying the newspaper, Surendra said thank you to the vendor without fail. For which he never got any response. One day Tanay tells him, why bother thanking that fellow, he is not even bothered. To which Surendra says, to say so is my nature, to not respond is his. I do what is closest to my heart. :)

The second story was told by my Guru, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati to us during a Satsang. Once Sant Dnyaneswar (Dnyanoba) found a scorpion lying in the sun not finding any stone to hide under. he picked it up and started walking towards the river bank, where there were many rocks. The scorpion stings him and falls of from his hand. Onlookers gasp and panic yet Dnyanoba picks it up again, and again the scorpion stings and falls off. This way finally Dnyanoba manages to place the scorpion near the rocks on the river bank. It scampers away under  a rock. One among the onlooker asks him, why were you even bothered to help that thankless and wretched creature which stung you though you were helping it. Dnyanoba said, to sting is the scorpion's nature and compassion mine. Each of us was doing our dharma.