OM TAT SAT

The reflection

2011-05-23T20:00:00.001+03:00

Hidden behind the veil of mystery, Beauty is eternally free from the slightest stain of imperfection. From the atoms of the world, He created a multitude of mirrors; into each one of them He cast the image of His Face; to the awakened eye, anything that appears beautiful is only a reflection of that Face.

Now that you have seen the reflection, hurry to its Source; in that primordial Light the reflection vanishes completely. Do not linger far from that primal Source; when the reflection fades, you will be lost in darkness. The reflection is as transient as the smile of a rose; if you want permanence, turn towards the Source; if you want fidelity, look to the Mine of faithfulness. Why tear your soul apart over something here one moment and gone the next?

Jami, translation by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut - 'Perfume of the Desert'

Happy Maha Shivaratri!

2011-03-02T23:36:00.003+02:00

May the blessing of Lord Shiva be with You!

On this Maha Shivaratri night may all your wishes come true!

JAI SHIV SHANKAR!

NAMAH SHIVAY

Svetasvatara-Upanisada

2011-03-02T17:53:00.004+02:00

tasyābhidhyānād yojanāt tattvabhāvād bhūyaś cānte viśvamāyānivṛttiḥ /1.10/

By meditating upon Him, uniting with Him, through the constant practice of reflecting upon His nature, one can over come the ubiquitous maya of this world.

***
The one who is without color,
diversified by its union power,
distributes many colors in its hidden purpose,
and into this, its end and beginning, the universe dissolves.

It is divine.
May it endow us with clear intellect.
It is fire; it is the sun; it is air, and it is the moon.
It is the seed; it is God;
it is the waters; it is the creator.

***
What good are the sacred verses,
in the highest heaven where all the gods are seated,
to the one who does not know this?
Those who know this are assembled here.

Sacred poetry, sacrifices, ceremonies, vows,
the past, the future, and what the scriptures declare,
all this the illusion-maker projects out of this,
and in it by illusion the other is confined.

Thus know that nature is illusion
and that the great Lord is the illusion-maker.
The whole world is filled
with beings who are parts of this.

The one who rules over every source,
in whom the universe comes together and dissolves,
the Lord, giver of blessings, divinely loving,
by revering this, one finds peace.

That which is the source and origin of the gods,
sovereign of all, may Rudra, the great seer,
who saw the golden germ when it was born,
endow us with clear intellect.

Who is the master of the gods on whom the worlds rest?
Who is the Lord of the two-footed and four-footed here?
To what god shall we reverently give offerings?

Subtler than the subtle in the middle of confusion,
the creator of all in various forms,
the one embracer of the universe,
by knowing this as kind one attains eternal peace.

It is the protector of the world in time,
the master of the universe, hidden in all creatures,
with whom the seers of God and the gods are joined in union.
By knowing this, one cuts the ties of death.

By knowing as kind the one who is hidden in all things,
very fine like clarified butter, richer than butter,
the one who encompasses the whole universe---
by knowing the divine you may be released from bondage.

This God, the world-builder, the great soul,
always seated in the heart of creatures,
is reached by the heart, by understanding, by the mind.
Those who know that become immortal.

When there is no darkness, then there is no day or night,
no being or non-being, only the kind one alone.
That is the imperishable, the splendor of Savitri;
from that came primal wisdom.

Not above nor across
nor in the middle has one grasped this.
There is no comparison to that whose name is great glory.
Its form cannot be seen; no one ever sees it with eyes.
Those who know it in heart and mind
as living in the heart become immortal.

From english version by Sanderson Beck.

Shiv 108

2011-03-01T15:41:00.002+02:00

Tum eik Gorakh Dhanda Ho

2011-02-21T12:44:00.002+02:00

Sometimes I looked for you here, and some times there
To have your sight I’ve been ruined and I’ve everywhere
The dear ones vanished, but No one got a lead to you

You are not, yet you are at every place,
You are a puzzle

With what splendour you can be seen in every speck
But the mind is puzzled what you look like and what you are
You are a puzzle

I looked for you in the houses of worship, but couldn’t find you
Yet I found you residing in my heart,
You are a puzzle

I couldn’t find you anywhere
But the spectacle is that You are there, where we are
You are a puzzle

If there is none but you
Then I cannot understand why veil Yourself
You are a puzzle

You manifest-in the houses of worship
Your light is resplendent in these places
You are a puzzle

He who is lost in your love, He is rewarded
You could not be found either in a temple or Ka’bah
But you could be found in a broken heart
Sometimes you are hidden as non-existence and somewhere you appear as existence
If you are not then why deny?
Even the negation confirms your existence
The one I call my Existence who is that if not you?
If you didn’t come in my thoughts
Then how did I learn you are God?
You are a puzzle

What puzzles me is who and what are You
You’re an idol when You come by and if not then You are God
You are a puzzle

How did the one who entered wisdom could become Everlasting? How did one who comes into mind’s grasp become God
The philosopher doesn’t find God in an argument
He is trying to untangle the cord but cannot find the top
You tell all You are homeless
But surprisingly You dwell in a broken heart
You are a puzzle

If there is none but You 0 God,
Then what is all this commotion about?
You are a puzzle

You don’t hide, You don’t show Yourself
You show the manifestation but don’t show Yourself
You don’t remove the conflicts of the manner of worship
You don’t reveal the exact things
I’m surprised how You accommodated in my heart?
When the two worlds are not enough for You
You are in the houses of worship
You are faithless for not showing Your countenance
You are a puzzle

The puzzle taken strange possession of my heart
A confused picture it’s drawn within it
I do not understand what all this puzzle is
What is this game You’ve been playing since the beginning of time
You made the soul the prisoner of the body’s cage and then put the guard of death on it
You make the bird of contrivance fly ‘ yet you’ve spread the net of fate everywhere
For years you adorned the world and hereafter yet you have also made the plan of destruction
Though you claim to be homeless
Yet you preached about home, kith and kin
This is bad, this good, this is hell, this is heaven
Please tell me what is in this perplexity?
For Adam’s crime you punish his children
Is that the standard of your justice?
By giving the earthly vicegerency to the man,
You have made it into a spectacle
For Your own recognition you created all
But you hide yourself from all
You are a puzzle

You draw and erase yourself
I don’t know which crime of desire you punish us
Sometimes you’ll turn a pebble into a diamond
Other times you’ll turn a diamond into dust
The one who revived many dead
You made him to adorn the crucifix
The one that longed to have your sight on the Mount Sinai
You reduced the Mount to ashes with the Lightning of your Manifestation
You wished Abraham to be thrown into Nimrud’s Fire
Then you turned that fire into flowers yourself
Sometimes you throw a Canaanite into the well of Canaanites
And then deprive Jacob of his sight
You make Joseph to be put into the slave-mart of Egypt
And then you also make him the king of Egypt
When someone reaches to the destination of higher spirituality
You make him to voice: I’m the Truth
Then allow the verdicts of infidelity against Him
You send yourself Mansoor to the crucifix
One day he too loses his life
Whom You make to see Your sight
If a Ranjha goes in Your quest
You make him in the charity of Jhang
If some Majnun goes in Your quest
You make him a beloved of some Laila
If Your love awakens in Sassi’s heart
You scorch her in a burning desert
If Sohni imagined you as her Mahinval
You drowned her into the ragging currents
You do as You wish by summoning to the Heaven
And in a single night You can make the Prophet’s Accession to Heaven
You are a puzzle

You’re Your Veil
You are a puzzle

I accept what I say You mind it a little
But still I’ve a little complaint to make
You sat quiet on your Throne and watched Muhammad’s grandson the scorching desert of Karbala
How he was giving his blood for Your Love though he was thirsty for three days
His enemies were after all enemies, but it’s sad even you didn’t provide him with a little Water
Every favour of oppression is the inheritance of the oppressor
But the oppressed is neither consoled nor comforted
Yesterday he who had a crown on his head
Today I see him with a begging bowl
What is this? If I ask, your answer is
That no one can get acquainted with this secret
You are a puzzle

You are a world of astonishment
You are a puzzle

You are Omnipresent but I do not know where
I have heard your name but I do not know your location
You are a puzzle

Once the heart’s wish is fulfilled it glows
And when eyes are gratified they are filled With tears
When a person is lost in spiritual love
He is elevated and becomes like Bahu the poet
No one comes to harm under a dagger
But the arrow in an infant’s throat becomes the scale of justice
You are a puzzle

How carefree you are.
A long story you are
You are a puzzle

Inquiring about you cause confusion at Every step
I see discord between the circumstances and Ideas
I become a picture of distress
Whenever I see in the mirror of the world
I see so many contradictions in a single eye
I see one place divided into so many parts
Somewhere I see the autumnal smoke of hardship and somewhere I see the monsoon showers of blessing
Here I see hissing rivers and there silent Mountains
Here I see a forest, there I see a desert and somewhere else I see a garden
This style of division writhes me
I see some rich and some poor here
In Day's share, I see only one sun shinning
While the night is bedecked with millions of stars
Here I see the withered flowers of truth
There I see the thorns of lies abloom
Somewhere I see Shamas skinned alive
Somewhere I see Sarmad’s head severed
What is night? What is morning?
What is light? What is darkness?
After all I’m also your deputy, why You say "what is yours?"
You are a puzzle

What would a person see of you?
You are veiled in every way
You are a puzzle

These mosques, temples and taverns
Some believe in this and some believe in that
All are your abodes dear,
Some believe in this and some believe in that
We are convinced of your Oneness
Someone leans towards negation
But You know the truth
Someone believes in this and someone believes in that
One includes him with the creation
The other stays aloof from all
Both are Your devotees
Some believe in this and some believe in that
If all are the devotees of your name
Then why the conflict of your names?
You are a puzzle

You are in every house of worship
You are in both the worlds wherever one is
You are there for him
In everywhere You are Unique
You are a puzzle

You are the centre of our quest, the world of colour and scent
You manifest all the time, You are Omnipresent
In Bahu’s surrounds there is only You
You are the beloved, very Handsome
You are the Glory and Honour of the Heavens
You are the gain of longings of the two worlds
You gave eyes and makes us perform ablution with the tears
Now give us a flask of your manifestation
Come out of the veil before me
For a short meeting and a conversation
Naaz will tell his beads place to place, street to street
Allah is one, He has no partner
Allahu, Allahu, Allahu......................

Cin-Mudra

2010-05-04T19:02:00.003+03:00

Cin-Mudra (“consciousness seal”) is the symbolic psychic gesture of consiousness.
The three fingers standing out represent body, mind and intellect i.e standing out, going beyond or transcending one's body, mind and intellect.
The index finger bending - Meaning - surrendering or annihilating one's ego.
The result of the above two is a circle formed by the index finger touching the thumb - i.e one realizes the Supreme.

The conclusions of Rig and other Vedas,
The heart of Sivagama and allied scriptures
Are but the divine hand-gestures of Cin Mudra;
In them who realized this but once in their heart
Will the Waters of Bliss forever well up.
Tayumanavar/1409 - (52.2)

RUDRAM

2010-02-12T16:07:00.003+02:00

RUDRAM
Eighth Anuvaka

Namah Somaya cha Rudraya cha
Salutations to Him who is with His consort Uma and Him who destroys illusions.

Here Soma is translated as Siva/Shakti, or with Uma as His other half, or Ardhanarishvara. Usually there is more than one meaning to these words, and therefore Soma is also translated as 'the moon glow of the mystics vision', which would be obvious to the meditator.

When in meditation, looking afar, up above the sahasra chakra, we see a pale blue sky with the moon at high noon. This is Soma. Its/His spreading rays (Cipivista aka Vishnu) bathes us in His Glory. This explains the crescent moon on the head of the One Lord in His icon, as Somanatha.

Indra was a great drinker of Soma; before his confrontation with Vritra he drank rivers of it to gain the strength needed to overcome the fearsome dragon who obstructed the fertile flow of the waters. Agni also consumed it in large amounts. Soma was what gave the Vedic gods their strength and immortality.

The Rig veda (8.48) states, "We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods."

This sutra is often taken to show that soma is a juice or ambrosia; but it really means that Soma is a Lord who has penetrated the stilled mind of the worshipper, who has been filled with the joy of Soma, a condition of enlightenment, the state of immanent satchidananda.

When Soma flows (the glow of the moon in meditation) it makes the mind pure. The moon-glow, Cipivista, drenches the mind, makes it clear, and provides all kinds of medicines for ailments. The clear and stilled mind is the mind of Rudra. This clears the confusion as to who, or what is Soma.

From the RUDRAM:

Namaste astu Bhagavan Visvesvaraaya Mahadevaaya,
Triyambakaaya Tripurantakaaya Trikaagnikaalaaya Kaalaagnirudraaya Nilakantaaya Mrtyunjayaaya,
Sarvesvaraaya Sadasivaaya SrimanMahadevaaya namaha.

Trikaagnikaalaaya is translated as 'one who alone holds awareness of God, Soul and the World'.

The many Hindu philosophies are attempts to understand the nature of these 3 entities, although we are told by Kutsa, that only He, Rudra, knows, and the relationship between these 3 entities cannot ever be known (explained) by others.

Concluding verse in the RUDRAM:

Praanaanaam Grantirasi Rudro
O Rudra, you are even the veil that comes between us!
Maa Visaantakah Tenaan nenaa apyaa yasva.
Let that which separates us be consumed by you!

Shiva sankalpa

2010-02-11T23:39:00.002+02:00

The Divine Essence that goes far away,
from the waking, and likewise from the sleeping,
and that one far-traveling Light of lights,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (1)

That by which wise men, skillful in rituals,
and steady in assemblies, perform their tasks,
that peerless Spirit that lies in all creatures,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (2)

That which is deep knowledge, intellect, memory,
that which is the deathless Flame in living beings,
without which nothing whatever is done,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (3)

That immortal Essence by which all
the past and present world is comprehended,
by which the ritual spreads with the seven priests,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (4)

That in which the Rik, the Sāman, the Yajus are held firm,
like spokes in the nave of a chariot-wheel,
in which all thoughts of living beings lie interwoven,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (5)

That which guides men like a good charioteer
who controls fleet-footed horses with the reins,
that which abides in the heart, most swift and active,
On that - the Auspicious Will of the Divine - may my mind dwell. (6)

Śukla Yajurveda/Book 34

Translated by: R. L. Kashyap

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Perfect 10

2009-12-29T16:18:00.005+02:00

Ten in Sanskrit is dashan (dasan).
Ten is the first double digit number formed by the coming together of one and zero. The zero stands for nirguna Brahman. The one stands for both Saguna Brahman and the individual Atman. In the number 10 thus we find a very deep symbolic significance. The number symbolically represents the incarnation of God, the conscious and willful coming together of the transcendent and the immanent, of the mortal and the immortal, with God manifesting himself fully in earthly form with his splendor and energies. In a less significant way it also symbolizes a self realized yogi who has experienced Brahman or Atman in human body. An awakened being is complete and different from an ordinary mortal because she has the internal awareness of 10 while the latter has only that of 01.

Durga is depicted as having eight or ten hands. These represent eight quadrants or ten directions in Hinduism. This suggests that she protects the devotees from all directions.

The eminent Shankaracharya classified renunciants into ten categories, giving
them names based mostly on natural and geographical variety.

The Rig Veda Samhita contains ten books of hymns to various deities.

The tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh wrote dasam Granth (Tenth Granth).

The villain in the Ramayana was RavaNa. He had ten faces. Therefore he is also
known as Dasakantha the ten-headed or the ten necked one. He is said to be an embodiment of dashendriya: five organs of knowledge and five motor organs.
Lord Rama is knownas dasaripu as he killed the ten headed demon king Ravana in the battle. The story is probably an allegory of a egoistic man (01) trying to compete with an incarnation (10) with the strength and knowledge of ten egoistic individuals but without the aid of the inner self (one) and God (zero).

The father of the epic hero Rama was called Dasharatha because he had ten chariots which went along ten directions which consist of the four cardinal directions (East, West, North, and South), the four diagonal ones (Northeast,Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest), as well as the upward and downward directions. He is said to have had full control over his ten as he had control over the ten horses.

In the Hindu framework the Divine manifests itself periodically here on earth
for the welfare of human kind. According to Hindu tradition Lord Vishnu's incarnations are ten in number of which nine have already taken place and the tenth is yet to come. Elevation of the humblest, the fish, the most ignored, the tortoise, and the man's headstrong antagonist, the boar, first three of Vishnu's ten incarnations, to the status of the Supreme Being, not only generated reverence for all beings but also helped cosmic unity and equilibrium.

The tenth and last day of the Navaratra festival is called Dassara
(Dusshera). It is dedicated to the Mother Goddess in some parts of India or taken
to celebrate Rama's victory (Vijayadashami) in other region.

The Sanskrit writer Dananjaya (10th century C.E.) wrote a work on theater theory
entitled Dashar√pika. Here he listed ten kinds of dramatical works. (Recall
that categorization is a science in which classical Hindus excelled.)

It's possible to continue long...
For ex., in Buddhism: taken as a group of ten fingers, the hands represent the Five Buddhas (right) and their consorts (left), the ten symbolic prongs of the vajra, the ten perfections or the ten virtues...

The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) accepted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

Realy, ten is perfect! HAPPY 2010!

Pen and Tablet

2009-12-22T19:38:00.003+02:00

The Pen and the Tablet are mentioned in a few Koranic verses and some sayings of the Prophet. Referring to itself, the Koran says, "Nay, but it is a glorious Koran, on a guarded tablet" (85:22). The commentators explain this tablet as an invisible spiritual reality on which the Koran, the eternal and uncreated word of God, is written. The Koran refers to the Pen in the first verses which were revealed to the Prophet: "Read out! And thy Lord is the most generous, Who taught by the Pen, taught man what he knew not" (96:1-5). In another verse. God swears by the Pen: "By the Pen and what they inscribe" (68:1). These short and rather enigmatic verses provided a great deal of food for meditation, especially since the Prophet himself added a certain amount of interesting clarification. For example, he said:

The first thing God created was the Pen. Then He created the Tablet. He said to the Pen, "Write!" The Pen said, "What should I write?" God said to it, "Write whatever I dictate to you!" So, the Pen inscribed in the Tablet everything that God dictated to it, and that was His knowledge of thecreation. He would create until the Day of Resurrection.

Here the Prophet has told us that God's first creation was the Pen. He also said that the first thing God created was the intellect. Hence, he identified the cosmic Pen with what the cosmologists call the 'First Intellect'. All creatures are latent and un-differentiated in the Intellect's knowledge, just as ink is present inside the Pen. Then, by means of the Intellect, God creates the whole universe.

It should be clear that the term 'Pen' alludes to the yang side of the first spiritual creation, while the term 'Intellect' alludes to the yin side of this same reality. The Muslim cosmologists, like the Chinese, never saw anything as exclusively yang or exclusively yin. Each thing in the cosmos has both yin and yang dimensions to it. These can be brought out by investigating the various relationships which each thing establishes with other things. Thus, for example, the First Intellect is called by the name 'Intellect' at least partly because it has a receptive and feminine side to its nature. It has a face turned toward God through which it contemplates God and takes constant replenishment from His light. In contrast, this same reality is called a 'Pen' because of the active and masculine side to its nature. It has a face turned toward the universe, which it brings into existence by the act of writing upon the Tablet.

Without the Tablet, no duality could appear within spiritual existence, and without duality, there could be no physical universe, which depends upon multiplicity. Just as the Pen is called the 'First Intellect', so also the Tablet is called the 'Universal Soul'. In relationship to God, the First Intellect is receptive, dark and yin, but in relationship to the Universal Soul it is active, luminous, and yang. This principle has important repercussions in psychology, where spirit and soul in the human being correspond to the First Intellect and the Universal Soul in the cosmos. Ebnol-'Arabi describes all the realities in the cosmos as manifestations of different divine names. He fmds the archetype of the Pen and Tablet in the Koranic verse, "God governs the affair and He differentiates the signs" (13:3). The Pen manifests the divine name, He who governs', while the Tablet manifests the name, 'He who differentiates'. On a lower level of existence, the spirit manifests the name, 'He who governs', in relation to the body. The spirit, which is the principle of life and awareness, governs, controls and directs the body in the same way that the Pen governs, controls and directs the Tablet.

Without the Tablet, the Pen could not write. The Tablet takes what is undifferentiated in the Pen and manifests all of its details. It allows for the articulation of all the existential words of God at a spiritual level of existence. This symbolism of the divine creative words is central to Islamic cosmological thinking, no doubt because a large number of Koranic verses allude to it. One of the most often cited support for the idea that all things are words of God is the verse, "God's only word, when He desires a thing, is to say to it 'Be!', and it is" (16:40). Hence, say the cosmologists, each creature is a unique expression of the divine word, 'Be'. The Pen writes out these divine words on the Tablet, thus manifesting the spiritual essences of all things. The spirit of each and every thing in the cosmos is brought into existence as a unique word on the Tablet. Both Pen and Tablet, are necessary for the spiritual realities of all things to come into actuality.

Have an illuminating Diwali!

2009-10-17T11:55:00.001+03:00

9ratri

2009-09-20T16:35:00.002+03:00

NAVRATRA or nine auspicious nights signifies the basic principle of yoga that energies should involute back to the primal source to rejuvenate the individual form, which is the human body. This return brings out the union of the microcosmic individual, Pinda, and the macrocosmic consciousness, Brahmanda, passing through the entire cyclic process of creation because time and space are self-perpetuating.

In Navratra, Nav means nine and Ratra means night. In Indian philosophy the number nine is closely associated with the process of creation in the cosmic time cycle. The entire cosmic cycle consists of three phases -- creation, preservation and dissolution. Each of these three parts split into triads (3x3=9) brings the numerical order to nine. Adi Sankaracharya in the 8th century AD clearly indicated the significance of number nine in the Soundaryalahiri, 11th sloka: ``The four Siva chakras and five Sakti chakras create the nine Mula-Prakratis or basic manifestations, because they represent the source substance of the whole cosmos''.

These nine cosmic wombs or Nava-Yoni have a parallel nine categories of nature in the macrocosm. This nine-fold division is projected in nine apertures of the body -- two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, genitals and anus, nine psychic centres, nine planets, nine divisions of time -- ghatika, yama, ahoratra, vara, tithi, paksha, masa, ritu, nine gems, nine moods or Navras and nine forms of Goddess Durga or Tripurasundari worshipped during Navratras.

The intricate relationship of the number nine with creation is clearly visible in the nine months' gravidity of the human being. According to the Tantric concept of cosmic involution from the Sahasrara chakra, 56 rays are said to proceed to Muladhara chakra to constitute earth element, 52 in Manipur to form water element, 62 in Svadhistan to establish fire element, 54 in Anhata chakra pertains to the character of the air element, 72 in Visudhi chakra forms ether element and 64 in Ajna chakra shapes manas or mind.

In total, there are 360 rays or potencies of universal sakti represented by Maha Tripurasundari. It is vindicated in the form of a circle which has a 360 degree angle indicating fullness. This 360 digit again totals to nine, the number of creation. The universe is also composed of 36 tatvas unfolding from primal unity or Parama Shiva which again has the numerical value of nine. The days representing the 16 phases or kalas of the moon constitute a fortnight or poksha and two pakshas -- waxing and waning -- make a month. These tithis are also 360 in a lunar year again depicting a total of nine. Nine is considered to be complete, puran, because any number multiplied by nine gives a figure that totals to nine. Likewise nine added or deducted from any number gives a figure with the numerical total unchanged. This concept is explained in the famous santi path mantra of the Upanishads.

The other significant part of Navratras is ratra or night. The Rig Veda clearly says that before creation began everything was shrouded in the darkness of night and from that darkness creation came about. The same idea is reflected in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. These nine nights occur on equinoxes or equal nights when the sun is vertically overhead at the equator or centre. Hence the human body also attains equilibrium with nature and meditation and worship of Sakti with Beej mantras revitalises the body.

Therefore forms of Durga are worshipped with their respective yantras. Barley is sown in homes as a symbol of the creative power of the mother Goddess. In recognition of the importance of sakthi or feminine force, traditionally, little girls are symbolically worshipped on the eighth day, Ashtami.

The Navratras also celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana and many chant the famous Ramrakshastotra in the mornings. In Bengal these nine days resound with devotion and dedication to Godess Durga. Durga Puja was initiated by the landlord Kans Narayan of Bengal in the 16th century. In South India, especially in Mysore, Dussehra celebrations , symbolises the triumph of virtue over vice.

Kumbh mela

2009-09-20T16:06:00.003+03:00

WATER is the basis of all life on earth. Of the Panchmahabhut or the five natural elements, water is considered to be the key to life. Human beings feel a close affinity to it, since three-fourths of the human body is constituted of water. In this respect, our body is like a microcosm, as the surface of the earth (the macrocosm) is constituted similarly, being three-fourths, water.

The confluence of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati at Prayag stands for the meeting of Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis at Muladhar Chakra known as Yukta Triveni. Kumbha symbolises the arousing of six chakras to reach Ajna Chakra where these three nadis meet again to form the Mukta (Liberation) Triveni for yogis.

The Ganga always flows and rushes very fast to the sound of Gama-Gam (meaning go-go) while the Yamuna moves slowly with a placid flow to the sound of Yam-Yam (meaning control-control). Likewise whether one acts fast in life or acts after deliberate thinking, it must be decided by his knowledge and temperament. And both these aspects should be supported by the invisible Saraswati, the faculty of Jnan (knowledge). The meeting of these three rivers in the spiritual realm represents the three gunas or qualities of the native, i.e. Sattvic or subtle represented by Saraswati; Rajasic or the vibrant Ganga; and Tamasic or the dark Yamuna. These three rivers also signify the three saktis, Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati; the three sacred fires of sacrifice; the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh; and the three notes of music, Sa for Saraswati; Re for Yamuna; and Ga for Ganga.

Further deep in the spiritual sphere, these three rivers represent the three phases of time i.e. present, past and future; the triangle or minimum space enclosed in time; Nad, Bindu and Kala; and the three humours, vata, pitta and kapha. The Triveni also denotes the three basic philosophies of the Gita, i.e. Jnan Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.

The Kumbha occurs in a cycle of every 12 years - the most sacred or auspicious time is calculated on the basis of a specific planetary configuration, considering its cosmobiological effect on the human body and mind. Various astronomical conjugations during Kumbha represent various stages of the solar cycle which has a direct influence on human beings and the biosphere. The ritual bath or snan on specific days i.e. full moon, new moon and Basant Panchami have been specifically prescribed on the basis of the bio-effects of lunar phases. The imposed electromagnetic fields on water are transmitted into the human beings taking bath in the Holy Prayag giving them great health benefits. The number 12 here signifies time or Kal as there are 12 adityas, 12 zodiac signs, 12 months, and 12 Jyotirlingas (self-emergent sivalingas). The entire world exists in time, moves in time and space, and is controlled by time. According to Atharvaveda, Kumbh is the representation of space situated in Kal supervising all of us. Spiritually the holding of Kumbha at an interval of 12 years symbolises the need for purifying the body by sublimating the inherent vices of the 12 sense organs, i.e. Panchkarmendriyas (five organs of action), Panchjnanedriyas (five organs of perception, the mind and the intellect - and thereby to arouse the six psychic centres or chakras separated from each other at a distance of 12 angulas for attaining the Amrit Kumbha or pitcher of nectar.

There is another mystical explanation of the Kumbha. The human head and neck form an inverted pitcher or Kumbha from where Amrit or nectar flows downwards into the body. The two eyes represent the sun and moon gods, the nostrils represent Ganga and Jamuna, the tongue is Vani or Saraswati and it spans 12 angulas of space.

Astrologically during Kumbha the three grahas, Jupiter, Sun and Moon, play a prominent role in the two Zodiac signs, Taurus and Capricorn respectively. The presence of Sun in Capricorn or Makara signifies the Swadhishtan Chakra, the centre of procreation representing the water element. Makara also signifies the Kama as Kamdev, popularly knows as Makaradhwaj. It is therefore that one of the famous Shahi Snans occurs on Basant Panchami, the day of Kamdev. Likewise Jupiter's or Jiva's (life force) presence in Taurus signifies the creative power of universe, Shiva Shakti or the Male and female forces.

Jnanadev

2009-09-05T17:25:00.002+03:00

Sant Jñāneshwar / Sant Dnyāneshwar (1275-1296), also known as Jñanadeva, was a 13th century Maharashtran saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition. Traditionally Jnanadev is said to have felt he had completed his purpose in life and left the body in conscious mahasamadhi (the final spiritual union of a saint at death), exiting life at the young age of 21, having already been acknowledged as a great saint and poet.

Changdev Paasashti, translation by Swâmi Abhâyânanda.

Salutations to the Lord of all, Who is concealed within the visible universe. It is He who causes this universe to appear and it is He who causes it to vanish as well. // When He is [fully] revealed, the universe disappears; when He is concealed, the universe shines forth. Yet He doesn’t hide Himself, nor does He reveal Himself; He is always present before us at every moment. // No matter how diverse and varied the universe appears, He remains unmoved, unchanged; and this is just as one would expect, since He is always One, without a second. // Though gold may be wrought into many ornaments its “gold-ness” never changes. In the same way, He never changes, though the universe contains so many varied forms. // The ripples on the surface of a pond cannot conceal the water; this universe of many forms— can it conceal His Being? (1-5) … Truly, everything is Himself, and He is the cause of everything. (8)

The condition of separation does not exist in one whose vision is clear; He remains alone, amidst all duality. To him, the perceiver and the perceived are one. (10)

It’s the one pure Consciousness that becomes everything— from the gods above to the earth below. Objects may be seen as pure or impure, but the ocean of Consciousness, ever pure, is all that ever is. (12) // … Though the shadows on the wall are ever changing, the wall itself remains steady and immobile. Likewise, the forms of the universe take shape upon the one eternal and unchanging Consciousness. (13) // Consciousness always remains in its pristine state, unmoved by feelings of sorrow or joy; even though It may suddenly become aware of Itself, Its state and Its unity remain forever undisturbed. (16) // From within Its own divine pure depths, It gives birth to the perceivable world. The perceiver, the perceived, and the act of perception: these three form the eternal triad of manifestation. // Throughout the triad of perceiver, perceived, and the act of perception, One pure and primal Consciousness enchantingly shines and sparkles alone. // Though It always has existence, It sees Itself only when this “mirror” [the triad] is present. Otherwise, there is no vision; there is only the [formless] Awareness of Itself. // Without causing any blemish in Its unity, It expresses Itself through this triad as substance; these three are the ingredients in the creation of this perceptible universe. (18-21) // … The three dissolve [ultimately] into absolute unity; then, only One exists. The three exist in the void of imagination; only Oneness is real. All else is a dream. (25)

By no means may It be understood by the intellect. It is always complete and whole…. // The pupil of an eye cannot see itself! … In the same way, even the Self-realized Yogi is helpless to see the Seer. Knowledge cannot know Itself; the Perceiver cannot perceive Itself. // Where Wisdom-Knowledge (Jñâna) is perfect and full, ignorance cannot exist at all; so how could even the desire to know Itself arise in Knowledge absolute? // Therefore, one should address It through silence by being nothing, if one would be free, all-knowing, all-pervading; for in that “nothing” all power exists. (30-3) // It is Seeing, without an object; It is Vision, clear, perfect, and free. It exists alone, without anything else; within Itself is everything—and nothing. // … It sees without any object to see. It enjoys without any object to enjoy; It is complete and whole in Itself. (35-6)

Jñânadeva says to Chângadeva: Your listening to my words is like my own hand accepting the clasp of my other hand. It is like words hearing themselves being uttered, or like taste having a taste of itself, or like a ray of light hoping to give light to other rays already bright. // It is like the attempt to improve gold by mixing it with gold, or like a perfect face becoming a mirror in order to see itself. // Our conversation, O Cakrapâni, … [is] like sweetness trying avidly to taste itself. Would its mouth not overflow with itself? So also shall our mutual love. (38-41)

A grain of salt went to fathom the ocean’s depths, but when it became immersed, where did it go? What can it do and what can it measure when it has altogether ceased to exist? // My plight is like the plight of that grain of salt; though I desire to see you, to play my role, how and where shall I find you? It is beyond my imagination to conceive! // Like one who awakes in order to encounter sleep, and misses encountering it, here I am in order to encounter you who are completely pure and free like Nothingness. // It is certain that there is no darkness in the light of the Sun, and it is just as certain that there is no awareness of “I” in the absolute Self. // Thus, when I embrace you in purity, “I” and “Thou” will swallow each other. Truly, our meeting shall take place when “I” and “Thou” are both devoured. (46-50)

… It is in this place of inner vision that we shall see the place where ‘I’ and ‘Thou’ both die. // Therefore, swallow altogether these limitations of ‘I’ and ‘Thou,’ and we shall meet, the pure harmony and joy of such a meeting we shall surely relish always. // It will be like taste eating itself for the sake of enjoying taste, or like an eye becoming a mirror in order to see itself. // … The perfect meeting with the Infinite is eternally within ourselves. // (52-4,57)

Regard yourself as a shining flame burning brightly, without name or form. (56)

Jñânadev says: You and I are one, without name or form; we are identical to the one blissful Existence in whom the blessed merge. //

O Chângaya, this knowledge has reached your door unbidden, of its own accord. Go now beyond both knowledge and what is known and reach the final state. // O Chângadev! My Guru [and older brother], Nivrittinâth, has spread this delicious feast for you with boundless, motherly, love. Please enjoy its sweetness. Thus, Jñânadev and Cakrapâni have met and merged, like two mirrors reflecting each other in the eloquent silence that is Eternity. // If anyone were to read these verses, using them as a mirror to see themselves, it’s certain they would find the pure and blissful Self of all. // Where there is nothing, what can one know? The eyes can see, but can they see themselves? How can knowledge be of use when all is oneself? To become one with the Self, surrender all the impulses of the mind. // Then you will know the ‘sleep’ beyond sleeping, the ‘awake’ which goes beyond waking.

Now this garland is at last complete, fashioned of the word-flowers which Jñânadev breathed.

Tantra’s ontology

2009-08-09T16:55:00.002+03:00

According to one prominent school, Kashmir’s Pratyabhijna, Tantra’s ontology (model of existence) comprises thirty six principles or categories (tattva). These evolve out of the ultimate Reality, or Parama-Shiva, who or which is called a metaprinciple (atattva). in descending order, these are as follows:

I. Universal Principles
1. Shiva (the Benevolent) – the masculine or consciousness aspect of the ultimate bipolar Reality.
2. Shakthi (Power) – the feminine or power aspect of the ultimate bipolar Reality, which polarizes Consciousness into “I” (aham) and this (idam) or subject and object, but without separating them dualistically.
3. Sadakhya (That which is named Being [sat] or Sada Shiva (Ever Benevolent0 – the transcendental will (iccha) that recognizes and affirms “I am this”, with the emphasis still on the subjective “I” rather than the objective “this” of the bipolar One.
4. Ishavara (Lord) – the Creator, corresponding to the realization of “this I am”, subtly emphasiing the objective side of the One and thereby setting the stage for cosmic evolution.
5. Sad – Vidya (Knowledge of Being) or Shuddha Vidya(Pure Knowledge) – the state of balance between the subjective and the objective, which are now clearly distinguishable within the One.

II. Limiting Principles
Maya (She who measures0 – the power of delusion inherent in the ultimate Reality by which the One appears to be limited and measurable through the separation of subject and object, which marks the beginning of the impure order of existence.

The Five “COverings” (Kancuka) associated with Maya:

7. Kala (Part) - the principle by which the unlimited creatorship of Consciousness becomes limited causing limited effectiveness.

8. Vidya (Knowledge) – the principle by which the omniscience of Consciousness is curtailed, causing finite knowledge.

9. Raga (Attachment) – the principle by which the wholeness (purnatva) of Consciousness is reduced to temporal existence marked by past, present and the future.

11. Niyati (Necessity) – the principle by which the independece and pervasiveness of Consciousness is curtailed, bringing about limitation relative to cause, space and form.

III. Principles of Individuation

12. Purusha (Man) or Anu (Atom) – the conscious subject or Self, which experiences the objective reality.

13. Prakriti (Creatrix) – the fully objectified reality, or nature, which is particular to each conscious subject.

IV. Principles of the “Inner Instrument” (Antahkarana)

14. Buddhi (Understanding) – the mental faculty of intelligence, which is characterized by the capacity for making distinctions.

15. Ahamkara (I- maker) – the principle of individuation by which a person appropriates experiences (”I am such and such,” or posess such and such’)

16. Manas (Mind) – the mental faculty that synthesizes the incoming sensory impressions into whole concepts and images.

V. Principles of Experience

The Five Powers of Cognition (Jnana-Indriya):

17. Ghrana (Smell) – the olfactory sense.

18. Rasa (Taste) – the gustatory sense.

19. Cakshus (Eye sight) – the visual sense

20. Sparsha (Touch) – the tactile sense.

21. Shravana (Hearing) – the auditory sense.

The Five Powers of Conation (Karma-Indriya)

22. Vac (Speech) – the faculty of communication.

23. Hasta (Hand) – the faculty of manipulation.

24. Pada (Foot) – the faculty of locomotion.

25. Payu (Anus) – the digestive faculty.

26. Upastha (Genitals0 – the procreative faculty.

The Five Subtle Elemtns (Tanmatras)

27. Shabda-Tanmatra (Subtle Element of Sound) – the potential for auditory perception.

28. Sparsha – Tanmatra (Subtle Element of Touch) – the potential for tactile perception.

29. Rupa – Tanmatra (Subtle Element of Sight) – the potential for visual perception.

30. Rasa – Tanmatra (Subtle Element of Taste) – the potential for gustatory perception.

31. Gandha Tanmatra (Subtle Element of Smell) – the potential for olfactory perception.

VI. Principles of Materiality

32. Akasha-Bhuta (Element of Ether) – the principle of vacuity produced from the subtle element of sound.

33. Vayu-Bhuta (Element of Air) – the principle of motility produced from the subtle element of touch.

34. Agni-Bhuta (Element of Fire) – the principle of formation produced from the subtle element of sight.

35. Apo-Bhuta (Element of Water) – the principle of liquidity produced from the subtle element of taste.

36. Prithvi-Bhuta (Element of Earth) – the principle of solidity produced from the subtle element of smell.

Nirvanashtakam

2009-07-20T01:13:00.004+03:00

Nirvanashtakam of Shankara

Mano Buddhi-ahankaara Chithaani Naaham

Na Cha Shrotra Jihve Na Cha Ghraana Netre

Na Cha Vyoma Bhoomir Na Tejo Na Vaayuhu

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or memory.

(the 4 aspects of Antah Karanaas)

Nor am I the ears, tongue, nose, eyes (and skin)

(the 5 organs of perception)

I am not the space, earth, fire, air (and water)-

(the 5 great elements)

I am pure Knowledge and Bliss.

I am the self spiritual joy of pure

Consciousness Shiva, Shivoham, Shivoham.

2. Na Cha Praana Samjno Na Vai Pancha Vaayuhu

Na Va Sapta Dhaatur Na Va Pancha Koshah

Na Vaak Paani Paadau Na Chopastha Paayuh

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I am not the Praana,

I am not the 5 vital airs.

I am not indeed the 7 materials,

Surely not the 5 sheaths,

Not the organ of speech,

nor hand, nor leg,

And not the genital organ, nor the anus.

I am of the nature of pure Knowledge and Bliss. I am Shiva, the most

Auspicious, I am Shiva.

3. Na Me Dvesha Raagau Na Me Lobha Mohau

Mado Naiva Me Naiva Maatsarya Bhaavah

Na Dharmo Na Chaartho Na Kaamo Na Mokshah

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I have neither hatred nor liking,

I have neither greed nor delusion,

I have indeed neither pride

nor jealousy,

I have no duty (to perform),

nor any wealth (to acquire),

I have no craving (for pleasure),

I am not being bound (for

liberation),

I am of the nature of Pure

Consciousness and Bliss,

I am all Auspiciousness,

I am Shiva.

4. Na Punyam Na Paapam Na Saukhyam Na Dukham

Na Mantro Na Teertham Na Vedo Na Yajnaha

Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhoktaa

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I have neither virtue nor vice,

nor pleasure, nor pain,

nor the sacred chant of

mantras nor pilgrimage,

nor the scriptures,

nor the sacrificial rituals,

I am neither the act of enjoying,

nor the enjoyable object,

nor the enjoyer,

I am pure Knowledge and Bliss,

I am shiva, the

Auspiciousness itself.

5. Na Me Mrityu Shankaa Na Me Jaati Bhedah

Pita Naiva Me Naiva Maataa Na Janma

Na Bandhur Na Mitram Gurur Naiva Shishyah

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I have no fear of death,

nor have I any distinction

of Caste,

I have neither father,

nor mother, nor even birth,

nor relation, nor friend,

no teacher, no disciple,

I am pure Knowledge and Bliss,

I am all Auspiciousness,

I am Shiva.

6. Aham Nirvikalpo Niraakaara Roopaha

Vibhur Vyaapya Sarvatra Sarvendriyaanaam

Sadaa Me Samatvam Na Muktir Na Bandhah

Chidaananda Roopah Shivoham Shivoham

I am devoid of dualities,

and I am formless,

I exist everywhere,

pervading all the senses,

always I am the same,

I have neither freedom nor

bondage,

I am pure Knowledge and Bliss,

I am Auspiciousness,

I am Shiva.

Thyagaraja

2009-07-03T21:01:00.003+03:00

Like science, music is a lofty expression of the human spirit. In the Indic tradition, music is as ancient as the Sama Veda which goes back to the second millennium before the Common Era.
Thyagaraja (1767 - 1847)is a star of the first magnitude in the firmament of carnatic music.The songs that flowed from Thyagaraja's heart were not contrived
constructions of a calculating composer, but the powerful outpouring of love
and longing for the Divine. What Milton Cross wrote about Johann Sebastian
Bach is just as true of Thyagaraja: "He lived but to worship god and to write music." We cannot fathom by what magic music becomes God's instrument to give us a taste of mystical rapture.
In the traditional framework, action (karma), knowledge (jnana), and devotion (bhakti) are the recognized paths (margas) to God-realization.
Thyagaraja adopted music as another marga. For him, joyous bhajan songs were not just prayers in tunes, but powerful means for attaining spiritual fulfillment. His divyanama sankirtanams and utsava sampradaya kirtanams were meant explicitly for this purpose.
At least 400 of Thyagaraja's songs are still sung. His music has inspired many to both singing and creativity. His name has become synonymous with Carnatic music. Thyagaraja was a saint who not only experienced the highest order of spiritual fulfillment for himself, but also helped many generations to have a taste of the same.

Baul

2009-06-07T14:58:00.003+03:00

"I do not obey any master or order. Man-made distinctions don’t affect me. Love knows no separation, but only the meeting of hearts forever. That is why, brother, I have become a crazy Baul."
This is an extract of a traditional poem, sung by Bauls from the Bengali region in India. Bauls are a community of wandering singers whose roots are reaching back as far as the Middle Ages. Although they refer to Hinduism, they do not accept caste divisions and believe in equality and freedom of faith. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many different streams to the sect, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnavite Hindus and Sufi Muslims. The joy of being alive appears to be the main motive of their mystical art and that is what makes them ‘God’s fools’ – the meaning of their name in English. Music is also very important for them; they make their own instruments and love to improvise.
Baul music celebrates celestial love, but does this in very earthy terms, as in declarations of love by the Baul for his boshTomi or lifemate. With such a liberal interpretation of love, it is only natural that Baul devotional music transcends religion and some of the most famous baul composers, such as Lalon Fakir, have been of Muslim faith. The famous Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore was greatly influenced and inspired by Bauls. Here is a famous Rabindrasangeet (Tagore song), heavily influenced by Baul theme:

AmAr prANer mAnuSh Achhé prANé
tAi heri tAye sakol khAne
Achhe shé nayōntArAy, Alōk-dhArAy, tAi nA hArAye--
ogo tAi dekhi tAye JethAy sethAy
tAkA-i Ami Jé dik-pAné

The man of my heart dwells inside me.
Everywhere I look, it is he.
In my every sight, in the sparkle of light
Oh, I can never lose him --
Here, there and everywhere

Origin and end

2009-05-10T19:13:00.006+03:00

In the beginning there was neither existence nor non existence. Nothing was there. Suddenly Brahma and Vishnu sprang forth from Nowhere, and were wondering who they were, and from where did they come from, what they should do, and whether they should create the world, and if so, who should do it. Then they were astonished to see an infinite linga of light arise from the Nowhere. So they decided to find its origin and end in order to prove their own greatness.

Today, like the two gods, scholars want to do the same thing. They want to 'measure' god, find the ends, figure out and map the entire route, leave no mystery behind, no stone unturned. Isn't this what all philosophers do - try and "measure" God? We are the "gods" searching for causes and reasons for creation, and just how exactly dissolution is going to take place, all in minute detail, step by step, frame by frame detail, with footnotes thrown in.

Even Brahma and Vishnu couldn't and surrendered in abject humility. Only then He revealed it to them, and even after that, the gods could not describe it for the benefit of us all, for posterity. We better do the same thing. I propose we too surrender so that He may reveal to us. It seems like a wiser idea.

The state called parashiva, which cannot be explained. In this transcendent state no one can even say if God exists or not, or if soul exists or not, let alone the relationship is one or two. In this area, its best to leave it as an inexplicable mystery that only Rudra would know.
The same logic applies in that matter of creation of souls and worlds. We will only end up with very logical and rational explanations but based on non falsifiable postulates. Understanding cosmic dissolution may give us some understanding on creation.

We observe atrophy in this universe and its logical to infer that dissolution in the world is already taking place. We are well into mahapralaya. The texts tells us that all including the gods and all iconic forms will dissolve into that great Nothingness, the inexplicable parasiva. At that point only Rudra exists, and there will be no one to ask Him any questions, like, why? There will be no one to observe what He does after absorbtion. And how long the period of rest lasts. (This does not arise as time and space too will be absorbed.)

Nobody knows. The questions don't arise as there is no one around to ask and record for posterity, and accordingly there are no answers. The same applies on creation. This is where we must stop the "measuring". The ends - creation and dissolution should always remain as the mysteries of god, and not as subjects of philosophies.

Kaivalya

2009-05-10T19:04:00.000+03:00

Kaivalya, Symphony of Meditation, Flute.

Sri Narasimha

2009-04-17T19:36:00.005+03:00

Om Narasimhaya Namah

"All glories to you, O Lord of the universe, who took the form of a man-lion. As easily as crushing a wasp between your fingers, you tore apart the demon Hiranyakashipu with the pointed nails of your bare hands, which are beautiful like the lotus flower".

"The Man-Lion (Narasimha): a demon had been granted the boon that it could not be killed by man or animal; inside or outside its house; by day or by night. It roamed the world causing distress and chaos. Vishnu became half-man, half-lion to kill the demon. He was neither man nor animal. He executed the demon on its threshold, neither in nor out of the house, at sunset - neither day nor night".

108 Names of Lord Narasimhadev

1. Om narasimhaya namah
Obeisances unto the half-man half-lion Lord

2. Om mahasimhaya namah
Obeisances to the great lion

3. Om divya-simhaya namah
Obeisances to the Divine lion

4. Om mahabalaya namah
Obeisances to the greatly powerful

5. Om ugra-simhaya namah
Obeisances to the angry terrifying lion

6. Om mahadevaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord of lords

7. Om stambha-ja-aya namah
Obeisances to One who appeared from the pillar

8. Om ugra-locanaya namah
Obeisances to one who possesses terrifying eyes

9. Om raudraya namah
Obeisances to the angry one

10. Om sarvadbhutaya namah
Obeisances to one who is wonderful in every way

11. Om srimanaya namah
Obeisances to the most beautiful

12. Om yoganandaya namah
Obeisances to the source of yogic bliss

13. Om trivikramaya namah
Obeisances to Lord Vamana (Who took three great steps)

14. Om harine namah
Obeisances to Sri Hari Who takes our troubles away

15. Om kolahalaya namah
Obeisances to the roaring (Varahadeva - Varaha-nrisimha)

16. Om cakrine namah
Obeisances to Him Who carries the disk

17. Om vijayaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is always victorious

18. Om jaya-vardhanaya namah
Obeisances unto Him Who has ever increasing glories

19. Om panchananaya namah
Obeisances unto Him Who is five-headed

20. Om param-brahma-aya namah
Obeisances unto Supreme Absolute Truth

21. Om aghoraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who for His devotees is not horrible

22. Om ghora-vikramaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who has terrifying activities

23. Om jvalan-mukhaya namah
Obeisances to One Who has an effulgent face

24. Om jvala-maline namah
Obeisances to Him with effulgent garland of flames

25. Om mahajvalaya namah
Obeisances to He Who is most effulgent

26. Om maha-prabhuhaya namah
Obeisances to the Supreme Master

27. Om niti-laksaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who possesses all good qualities

28. Om sahasraksaya namah
Obeisances to the thousand-eyed One

29. Om durniriksyaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is difficult to see (difficult to look at)

30. Om pratapanaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who oppresses His enemies with great heat

31. Om mahadamstraya namah

Obeisances to Him Who possesses huge teeth

32. Om yudha-prajnaya namah
Obeisances to the Supremely intelligent in battle (ready to fight)

33. Om canda-kopine namah
Obeisances to Him Who is likened to an angry moon

34. Om sada-sivaya namah
Obeisances to the All auspicious Lord

35. Om hiranyakasipu-dhvamsine namah
Obeisance to Him Who destroys Hiranyakasipu

36. Om daitya-danava-bhanjanaya namah
Obeisances to He Who destroys the masses of the race of demons and giants

37. Om guna-bhadraya namah
Obeisances unto Narasimha Who is full of wonderful qualities

38. Om mahabhadraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is very auspicious

39. Om bala-bhadraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is auspiciously powerful

40. Om subhadrakaya namah
Obeisances to the extremely auspicious One

41. Om karalaya namah
Obeisances to He Who possesses a wide open mouth

42. Om vikaralaya namah
Obeisances to Him with very wide open mouth

43. Om vikartaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who performs wonderful activities

44. Om sarva-kartrikaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who performs ALL activities

45. Om sisumaraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who also appears as Matsya

46. Om trilokatmaya namah
Obeisances to the Soul of the three worlds

47. Om isaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord known as the controller

48. Om sarvesvaraya namah
Obeisances to that supreme controller

49. Om vibhuaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who is the BEST

50. Om bhaivaradambaraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who causes terror by roaring in the sky

51. Om divyaya namah
Obeisances to That Divine Person Narasimha

52. Om acyutaya namah
Obeisances to our infallible Lord Nara-simha

53. Om kavine namah
Obeisances to the Supreme intelligent (poet)

54. Om madhavaya namah
Obeisances to the husband of Srimati Laksmi devi

55. Om adhoksajaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is beyond understanding (or beyond explaining)

56. Om aksaraya namah
Obeisances to the infallible One

57. Om sarvaya namah
Obeisances to He Who is the origin of everything

58. Om vanamaline namah
Obeisances to Him Who wears garland of forest flowers (or adorned by His loving devotees)

59. Om varapradaya namah
Obeisances to the Merciful Lord Who grants boons to the deserving like Prahlada

60. Om visvambaraya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who maintains the universe

61. Om adbhutaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is wonderful

62. Om bhavyaya namah
Obeisances to He Who determines the future (Who is the future for His devotees)

63. Om sri-visnave namah
Obeisances to that Narasimha Who is the all pervading Lord Vishnu

64. Om purusottamaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who is the Supreme Enjoyer

65. Om anaghastra namah
Obeisances to Him Who can never be wounded by weapons

66. Om nakhastraya namah
Obeisances to Him Who has sharp nails for weapons

67. Om surya-jyotine namah
Obeisances to Narasimha the source of Suns rays

68. Om suresvaraya namah
Obeisances to Narasimhadev, Lord of devatas

69. Om sahasra-bahu-aya namah
Obeisances to Nara-hari the thousand-armed Lord

70. Om sarva-jnaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is the all-knowing

71. Om sarva-siddhi-pradayakaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who awards all perfections to the sadhakas (devotees)

72. Om vajra-damstraya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who has teeth like lightning bolts

73. Om vajra-nakhaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who possesses nails like piercing lightning bolts

74. Om mahanandaya namah
Obeisances to the source of supreme bliss - Atmananda - Narasimha

75. Om param-tapaya namah
Obeisances to the source of All austerities, spiritual energy (and taptah - heat)

76. Om sarva-mantraika-rupa namah
Obeisances to that Divine Personality Who although one, he appears as the many mantrika formulas

77. Om sarva-yantra-vidaramaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who destroys all machines (demoniac plans/arrangements/vehicles for demoniac works)

78. Om sarva-tantratmakaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha the essence of, and proprioter of all tantras (ritual rites - pujas)

79. Om avyaktaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who appears unmanifest

80. Om suvyaktaya namah
Obeisances unto Nara-simha Who for His devotees becomes wonderfully manifest from the pillar (or when needed)

81. Om bhakta-vatsala namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who always has the well-being of His devotee at heart

82. Om vaisakha-sukla-bhototthaya namah
Obeisances to That Narasimhadeva Who appeared during waxing moon of the month of Visakha (April-May)

83. Om saranagata-vatsalaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who is kind to those surrendered to Him (like the mother lioness who is kind to her cubs)

84. Om udara-kirtine namah
Obeisances to Nara-simha Who is universally famous

85. Om punyatmaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is the essence of piety

86. Om mahatmaya namah
Obeisances to That great personality, Nara-simha

87. Om candra-vikramaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is the performer of moonlike or great deeds, or who performs deeds that eclipse all others.

88. Om vedatrayaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord of the three original Vedas (Rg, Yajur, Sama)

89. Om prapujyaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who is supremely worshipable

90. Om bhagavanaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha the Supreme Personality of Godhead

91. Om paramesvaraya namah
Obeisances to He Who is the Supreme Controller (Nara-simha-deva)

92. Om srivatsamkaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord Who is just like Krishna, being marked with symbol of Laksmi

93. Om jagat-vyapine namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who pervades the entire universe

94. Om jagan-mayaya namah
Obeisances to the Supreme Mystic Who makes the material world seem real

95. Om jagat-palaya namah
Obeisances to the protector of the universe (Nara-simha)

96. Om jagannathaya namah
Obeisances to the Lord of Universe

97. Om mahakhagaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who moves in the air or with the movement of the air (is everywhere)

98. Om dvi-rupa-bhrtaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who has double form (man-lion)

99. Om paramatmaya namah
Obeisances to Him Who is the Supersoul of All beings

100. Om param-jyotine namah
Obeisances to Him (Nara-simha) Whose effulgence is the source of Brahman

101. Om nirgunaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Who possesses transcendental qualities (not those of the material nature)

102. Om nrkesarine namah
Obeisances unto Him man-lion (or having a lion's mane while appearing part human)

103. Om para-tattvaya namah
Obeisances to the Supreme Absolute Truth (One Who is of the Supreme nature)

104. Om param-dhamaya namah
Obeisances to He Who comes from the Supreme Abode

105. Om sat-cit-ananda-vigrahaya namah
Obeisances to Narasimha Whose Form is made of eternal knowledge and bliss

106. Om laksmi-nrsimhaya namah
Obeisances unto the Man-Lion Form together with the Supreme Goddess of Fortune Srimati Laksmi-devi

107. Om sarvatmaya namah
Obeisances unto the universal, primeval soul (the Supreme Personality of Godhead - Narasimhadeva)

108. Om dhiraya namah
Obeisances unto Narasimha who is always sober (being never bewildered)

Sri Nrisimha Kavacha of Prahlad from Brahmanada Purana.

.. shrii nR^isi.nhakavachastotram.h ..

nR^isi.nhakavachaM vakshye
prahlaadenoditaM puraa .

sarvarakshakaraM puNyaM
sarvopadravanaashanam.h .. 1 ..

## I shall now recite the Narasimha-kavacha, formerly spoken by Prahlaada Mahaaraaja. It is most pious, vanquishes all kinds of impediments, and provides one all protection. ##

sarva sampatkaraM chaiva
svargamokshapradaayakam.h .

dhyaatvaa nR^isi.nhaM deveshaM
hemasi.nhaasanasthitam.h .. 2 ..

## It bestows upon one all opulences and can give one elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation. One should meditate on Lord Narasimha, Lord of the universe, seated upon a golden throne. ##

trinayanaM
sharadindusamaprabham.h .

lakshmyaaliN^gitavaamaaN^gam.h
vibhuutibhirupaashritam.h .. 3 ..

## His mouth is wide open, He has three eyes, and He is as radiant as the autumn moon. He is embraced by Lakshmiidevii on his left side, and His form is the shelter of all opulences, both material and spiritual. ##

chaturbhujaM komalaaN^gaM
svarNakuNDalashobhitam.h .

sarojashobitoraskaM
ratnakeyuuramudritam.h .. 4 ..

## The Lord has four arms, and His limbs are very soft. He is decorated with golden earrings. His chest is resplendent like the lotus flower, and His arms are decorated with jewel-studded ornaments. ##

kaaJNchanasankaashaM
piitanirmalavaasasam.h .

indraadisuramaulishhThaH
sphuranmaaNikyadiiptibhiH .. 5 ..

## He is dressed in a spotless yellow garment, which exactly resembles molten gold. He is the original cause of existence, beyond the mundane sphere, for the great demigods headed by Indra. He appears bedecked with rubies which are blazingly effulgent. ##

virajitapadadvandvam.h
sankhachakradihetibhiH .

garutmatma cha vinayat.h
stuyamanam.h mudanvitam.h .. 6 ..

## His two feet are very attractive, and He is armed with various weapons such as the conch, disc, etc. GaruDa joyfully offers prayers with great reverence. ##

kamalasamvaasaM
kR^itvaa tu kavachaM pathet.h .. 7 ..

## Having seated Lord Narasimhadeva upon the lotus of one's heart, one should recite the following mantra: ##

me shiraH paatu
lokarakshaarthasambhavaH .. 8 ..

## May Lord Narasimha, who protects all the planetary systems, protect my head. ##

.api stambhavaasaH
phalaM me rakshatu dhvanim.h .

nR^isi.nho me dR^ishau paatu
somasuuryaagnilochanaH .. 9 ..

## Although the Lord is all-pervading, He hid Himself within a pillar. May He protect my speech and the results of my activities. May Lord Narasimha, whose eyes are the sun, and fire, protect my eyes. ##

paatu nR^ihariH
munivaaryastutipriyaH .

naasaM me si.nhanaashastu
mukhaM lakshmiimukhapriyaH .. 10 ..

## May Lord Nrihari, who is pleased by the prayers offered by the best of sages, protect my memory. May He who has the nose of a lion protect my nose, and may He whose face is very dear to the goddess of fortune protect my mouth. ##

vidyaadhipaH paatu
nR^isi.nho rasanaM mama .

vaktraM paatvinduvadanaM
sadaa prahlaadavanditaH .. 11 ..

## May Lord Narasimha, who is the knower of all sciences, protect my sense of taste. May He whose face is beautiful as the full moon and who is offered prayers by Prahlaada Mahaaraaja protect my face. ##

paatu me kaNThaM
skandhau bhuubhR^idanantakR^it.h .

divyaastrashobhitabhujaH
nR^isi.nhaH paatu me bhujau .. 12 ..

## May Lord Narasimha protect my throat. He is the sustainer of the earth and the performer of unlimitedly wonderful activities. May He protect my shoulders. His arms are resplendent with transcendental weapons. May He protect my shoulders. ##

devavarado
nR^isi.nhaH paatu sarvataH .

hR^idayaM yogisaadhyashcha
nivaasaM paatu me hariH .. 13 ..

## May the Lord, who bestows benedictions upon the demigods, protect my hands, and may He protect me from all sides. May He who is achieved by the perfect yogiis protect my heart, and may Lord Hari protect my dwelling place. ##

paatu hiraNyaaksha\-
vakshaHkukshividaaraNaH .

naabhiM me paatu nR^ihariH
svanaabhibrahmasa.nstutaH .. 14 ..

## May He who ripped apart the chest and abdomen of the great demon HiraNyaaksha protect my waist, and may Lord Nrihari protect my navel. He is offered prayers by Lord Brahmaa, who has sprung from his own navel. ##

koTayaH kaTyaaM
yasyaasau paatu me kaTim.h .

guhyaM me paatu guhyaanaaM
mantraanaaM guhyaruupadR^ik.h .. 15 ..

## May He on whose hips rest all the universes protect my hips. May the Lord protect my private parts. He is the knower of all mantras and all mysteries, but He Himself is not visible. ##

manobhavaH paatu
jaanunii nararuupadR^ik.h .

jaN^ghe paatu dharaabhara\-
hartaa yo.asau nR^ikesharii .. 16 ..

## May He who is the original Cupid protect my thighs. May He who exhibits a human-like form protect my knees. May the remover of the burden of the earth, who appears in a form which is half-man and half-lion, protect my calves. ##

raajyapradaH paatu
paadau me nR^ihariishvaraH .

sahasrashiirshhaapurushhaH
paatu me sarvashastanum.h .. 17 ..

## May the bestower of heavenly opulence protect my feet. He is the Supreme Controller in the form of a man and lion combined. May the thousand-headed Supreme enjoyer protect my body from all sides and in all respects. ##

puurvataH paatu
mahaaviiraagrajo.agnitaH .

mahaavishhNurdakshiNe tu
mahaajvalastu nairR^itaH .. 18 ..

## May that most ferocious personality protect me from the east. May He who is superior to the greatest heroes protect me from the southeast, which is presided over by Agni. May the Supreme Vishnu protect me from the south, and may that person of blazing luster protect me from the southwest. ##

paatu sarvesho
dishi me sarvatomukhaH .

nR^isi.nhaH paatu vaayavyaaM
saumyaaM bhuushhaNavigrahaH .. 19 ..

## May the Lord of everything protect me from the west. His faces are everywhere, so please may He protect me from this direction. May Lord Narasimha protect me from the northwest, which is predominated by Vaayu, and may He whose form is in itself the supreme ornament protect me from the north, where Soma resides. ##

paatu bhadro me
sarvamaN^galadaayakaH .

sa.nsaarabhayataH paatu
mR^ityor.h mR^ityur.h nR^ikesharii .. 20 ..

## May the all-auspicious Lord, who Himself bestows all-auspiciousness, protect from the northeast, the direction of the sun-god, and may He who is death personified protect me from fear of death and rotation in this material world. ##

nR^isi.nhakavachaM
prahlaadamukhamaNDitam.h .

bhaktimaan.h yaH pathenaityaM
sarvapaapaiH pramuchyate .. 21 ..

## This Narasimha-kavacha has been ornamented by issuing from the mouth of Prahlaada Mahaaraaja. A devotee who reads this becomes freed from all sins. ##

dhanavaan.h loke
diirghaayurupajaayate .

kaamayate yaM yaM kaamaM
taM taM praapnotyasa.nshayam.h .. 22 ..

## Whatever one desires in this world he can attain without doubt. One can have wealth, many sons, and a long life. ##

jayamaapnoti
sarvatra vijayii bhavet.h .

bhuumyantariikshadivyaanaaM
grahaanaaM vinivaaraNam.h .. 23 ..

## He becomes victorious who desires victory, and indeed becomes a conqueror. He wards off the influence of all planets, earthly, heavenly, and everything in between. ##

vR^ishchikoragasambhuuta\-
vishhaapaharaNaM param.h .

brahmaraakshasayakshaaNaaM
duurotsaaraNakaaraNam.h .. 24 ..

## This is the supreme remedy for the poisonous effects of serpents and scorpions, and Brahma-raakshasa ghosts and Yakshas are driven away. ##

talapaatre vaa
kavachaM likhitaM shubham.h .

karamuule dhR^itaM yena
sidhyeyuH karmasiddhayaH .. 25 ..

## One may write this most auspicious prayer on his arm, or inscribe it on a palm-leaf and attach it to his wrist, and all his activities will become perfect. ##

manushhyeshhu
svaM svameva jayaM labhet.h .

ekasandhyaM trisandhyaM vaa
yaH paThenniyato naraH .. 26 ..

## One who regularly chants this prayer, whether once or thrice (daily), he becomes victorious whether among demigods, demons, or human beings. ##

maN^galamaN^galyaM
bhuktiM muktiM cha vindati .

dvaatri.nshatisahasraaNi
pathet.h shuddhaatmanaaM nR^iNaam .. 27 ..

## One who with purified heart recites this prayer 32,000 times attains the most auspicious of all auspicious things, and material enjoyment and liberation are already understood to be available to such a person. ##

kavachasyaasya mantrasya
mantrasiddhiH prajaayate .

anena mantraraajena
kR^itvaa bhasmaabhirmantraanaam.h .. 28 ..

## This Kavacha-mantra is the king of all mantras. One attains by it what would be attained by anointing oneself with ashes and chanting all other mantras. ##

vinyasedyastu
tasya grahabhayaM haret.h .

trivaaraM japamaanastu
dattaM vaaryaabhimantrya cha .. 29 ..

## Having marked ones body with tilaka, taking aachamana with water, and reciting this mantra three times, one will find that the fear of all inauspicious planets is removed. ##

yo naro mantraM
nR^isi.nhadhyaanamaacharet.h .

tasya rogaH praNashyanti
ye cha syuH kukshisambhavaaH .. 30 ..

## That person who recites this mantra, meditating upon Lord Narasimhadeva, has all of his diseases vanquished, including those ofthe abdomen. ##

garjantaM gaarjayantaM nijabhujapatalaM sphoTayantaM hatantaM
ruupyantaM taapayantaM divi bhuvi ditijaM kshepayantam kshipantam.h .

krandantaM roshhayantaM dishi dishi satataM sa.nharantaM bharantaM
viikshantaM puurNayantaM karanikarashatairdivyasi.nhaM namaami .. 31 ..

## Lord Narasimha roars loudly and causes others to roar. With His mulitudes of arms He tears the demons asunder and kills them in this way. He is always seeking out and tormenting the demonic descendants of Diti, both on this earth planet and in the higher planets, and Hs throws them down and scatters them. He cries with great anger as He destroys the demons in all directions, yet with His unlimited hands He sustains, protects, and nourishes the cosmic manifestation. I offer my respectful obeisances to the Lord, who has assumed the form of a transcendental lion. ##

.. iti shriibrahmaaNDapuraaNe prahlaadoktaM
shriinR^isi.nhakavachaM sampuurNam.h ..

## Thus ends the Narasimha-kavacha as it is described by Prahlaada Mahaaraaja in the BrahmaaNDa PuraaNa. ##

Dogon

2009-04-10T23:04:00.003+03:00

The Dogon it's a West African tribe in Mali living mainly along a 90 mile escarpment of canyon, cliffs, and plateau called the Cliffs of Bandiagara. The Dogon number approximately 300,000 and are well known for their ornate ritual masks, costumes, and dance.
Dogon’s mythology is remarkably rich and centers around the idea of language. It is the “word” that manifests itself in every aspect of creation: “The constituent materials and morphology of speech are seen to correspond to those of cereals, of man, of woven cloth, of the whole cosmos. The same intricate harmony of images is drawn down and across from one level of experience to the next. Reading it is like gazing through a microscope at a flourishing form of life...” (anthropologist Mary Douglas). According to this eschatology the word is the manifestation of cosmic energy stewarded by the nommo, divine beings who are both part and participant of continual creation. For the Dogon, the word is not just speech, but also action and ritual. Speech, action, and ritual all reflect the primary interrelatedness the individual has with cosmos and vice versa. The grain of millet, the foetus in the womb, and the earth under heaven are all the same thing, differentiated only by a slight oscillation of the primordial word. Such an ontological understanding has enduring consequences. For the Dogon, to say something is to make and/or do it.
The Dogon mask and accompanying ritual are representations/manifestations of the word. Wearing a mask and performing the rite associated with the mask re-establishes sacred time and space (Eliade), pronounces the creative word (Douglas), initiates the mask-wearer as a co-creator of the cosmos (Grillo), which provokes a cosmic harmony ideally at every level of nature (Griaule).

Symbolism of Lord Hanuman

2009-04-08T22:56:00.003+03:00

writed by Jayaram V from http://www.hinduwebsite.com

Lord Hanuman symbolically stands for pure devotion, complete surrender and absence of ego or the lower self. His character tells us what we can do in our lives by becoming pure devotees of God, aligning ourselves with the forces of good, helping the weak, with self control, unconditional faith and total surrender. As a prominent warrior of the monkey race, he symbolically represents the lower or animal (neanderthal) nature in man, which when refined and transformed becomes stabilized in God and serves the divine cause in total surrender, just as it happened in case of Hanuman. As the son of Vayu, he represents symbolically the subtle bodies, namely the breath body, the mental body and the intelligence body. The breath body is responsible for the movement of life energy or prana in our bodies. It is especially strong in people who lead ethically clean and celibate lives, performing austerities, for which Anjaneya was particularly famous. The mental body is made up of the thought currents that float in our chitta or consciousness. It is responsible for our imagination, astral travel and dream experiences. The intelligence body is made up of buddhi or discretionary intelligence, which is considered one of the highest tattvas or principles of Nature. Our buddhi is said to be a direct reflection of divine intelligence. It is responsible for our decision making ability, rational thinking and conscience. As an epitome of virtue and supernatural prowess, Hanuman represents all these abilities. In this article we will examine the symbolic significance of Hanuman as the mental body representing the human mind and its various qualities and powers.

The mind is fickle (like a monkey) and jumps from place to place, going after things, engaging itself in innumerable activities that disturb the peace of the place. The mind, like Hanuman can also travel where it wants to. It can fly in the air, cross the continents and the worlds in an instant with the speed of thought and reach any one and anything it wants to mentally.
It can also expand or contracts itself at will (again like Hanuman). So long as it remains under the control of pure animal passions and the activities of the sense, it remains unstable and mischievous, causing a lot of the disturbance in the world of the individual.
But once it surrenders to the inner self and becomes devoted to it completely and unconditionally, it assumes miraculous powers and performs stupendous feats like Hanuman, working for the divine cause helping the lower self (Sita) and the Soul (Rama) to come together and become united.
By killing all the evil thoughts with its determination, it also lays a firm foundation for the kingdom of God (Ramarajya) to become established in the body. Hanuman is thus symbolically the mind principle ever absorbed in the contemplation of God and totally surrendered to Him.

But this is not the only interpretation available for Hanuman. As "Hanuman", he is the one without any doubt (anuman) as to the existence of Rama (God). As anjaniputra, he is the one who comes accidentally into this world, but by his efforts ascends to the greater heights of spiritual evolution.

Hanuman is known by many names. When he is cheerful he is called Prasannanjaneya. When he is in a ferocious mood he is called Veeranjaneya. When he is in a meditative mood he is called Dhayananjaney and when he is absorbed in devotion he is called Bhaktanjaneya.

As Vayuputra he is the breath body in us and can help the lower self (Sita) that is lost to ignorance to reunite with its true companion, the inner soul (Rama). As Veeranjaneya, he is the source of courage and confidence for many a timid heart.

As Bhajarangbali, he is strong in both devotion and physical strength. He is an ocean of virtues and friend of the pure hearted. He loves the ascetic qualities in man because only those who are detached and mentally free from the luxuries of life and desires of their bodies can truly concentrate on the divine and attain Him.

Hanuman is regarded as the Superman, the perfect man, the knowledge body (gnana guna sagara) in man, the immortal man (chiranjeevi), the animal man and the flying human (va+nara).
He is a perfect example of true devotion and complete surrender. He also symbolizes the story of animal man in us who through the path of devotion and service to God, can purify himself and attain immortality.
Truly in the entire Hindu pantheon there in none like Shri Hanuman, for he was an evolved God, born strangely as a manifestation of Lord Shiva, but became a great devotee of Shri Mahavishnu through Lord Rama.

JAI HANUMAN!

Two Dionysius

2009-04-07T19:06:00.005+03:00

Dionysius the Areopagite (born - unknown/died - unknown)was the judge of the Areopagus who, as related in the Acts of the Apostles,was converted to Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
In the early 6th century, a series of famous writings of a mystical nature, employing Neoplatonic language to elucidate Christian theological and mystical ideas, was ascribed to the Areopagite. They have long been recognized as pseudepigrapha and are now attributed to "Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite".
His works are mystical and show strong Neoplatonic influence. Dionysius' portrayal of the "via negativa" was particularly influential among contemplatives and mystical theologians.

He is neither number nor order; nor greatness nor smallness; nor equality nor inequality; nor similarity nor dissimilarity; neither is He still, nor moving, nor at rest; neither has He power nor is power, nor is light; neither does He live nor is He life; neither is He essence, nor eternity nor time; nor is He subject to intelligible contact; nor is He science nor truth, nor a king, nor wisdom; neither one nor oneness, nor godhead nor goodness; nor is He spirit according to our understanding, nor a son, nor a father; nor anything else known to us or to any other of the beings or creatures that are or are not; ...
... He suffers no change, corruption, division, privation or flux; none of these things can either be identified with or attributed to Him

He is super-essentially exalted above created things, and reveals Himself in His naked Truth to those alone who pass beyond all that is pure or impure, and ascend above the topmost altitudes of holy things, and who, leaving behind them all divine light and sound and heavenly utterances, plunge into the Darkness where truly dwells, as the Oracles declare, that ONE who is beyond all.

That divine Darkness is the unapproachable light in which God dwells. Into this Darkness, rendered invisible by its own excessive brilliance and unapproachable by the intensity of its transcendent flood of light, come to be all those who are worthy to know and to see God.
We pray that we may come unto this Darkness which is beyond light, and without seeing and without knowing, to see and to know That which is above vision and above knowledge
The higher we soar in contemplation, the more limited become our expressions of that which is purely intelligible; even as now, when plunging into the Darkness which is above the intellect, we pass not merely into brevity of speech, but even into absolute silence, of thoughts as well as of words ... and, according to the degree of transcendence, so our speech is restrained until, the entire ascent being accomplished, we become wholly voiceless, inasmuch as we are absorbed in Him who is totally ineffable.

Leave the senses and the workings of the intellect, and all that the sense and the intellect can perceive, and all that is not and that is; and through unknowing reach out, so far as this is possible, toward oneness with him who is beyond all being and knowledge. In this way, through an uncompromising, absolute, and pure detachment from yourself and from all things, transcending all things and released from all, you will be led upwards toward that radiance of the divine darkness that is beyond all being.
Entering the darkness that surpasses understanding, we shall find ourselves brought, not just to brevity of speech, but to perfect silence and unknowing.
Emptied of all knowledge, man is joined in the highest part of himself, not with any created thing, nor with himself, nor with another, but with the one who is altogether
unknowable; and in knowing nothing, he knows in a manner that surpasses understanding.

Song of dakini

2009-04-05T23:05:00.002+03:00

I am the Vajra Dakini, of light the color of crimson roses and flowing blood
I transmute the life energies into their spiritual origin
By filtering out gross elements, and giving them form
By changing weak currents into strong ones, dribbling energy into pounding waves
Opening blocks and barriers so that pain and pleasure may be experienced in their full strength

I cause dry channels to become full, dying plants to become lush
Weak reed stalks to become as trees, redwoods in strength and beauty
I am the guide and introducer of men to the spiritual path
I strengthen and purify them that they may encounter the great Buddhas of Light
I prepare them for the Great Awakening

I am visualized as such: The heart is cleared of all attachments
A mandala of a circle within a square is placed within it
It is surrounded by fragrant flowers, roses and lotuses, whose scent rises to the heavens
The mantra Ram encircles the whole in a ring of fire
Within the mandala is my throne
I act as teacher as well as dancer
The lotus throne lies within the dark waters at the mandala's center
Around it are triangles, looking like lightning in the waters
From here I judge and send out rays of compassion
Within the waters are distant sparks of light
Which, when approached, turn into the lotuses of Buddhas and enlightened beings

Within the mandala I stand
I harmonize the spiritual striving of all beings
I call them forth, into the realms of the enlightened ones
That they may pass through the dangerous waters
To watch the rising of the sun upon the other shore

Blessings of the roses of passionate love
within the silken scarves of the mind

Ya Devi

2009-03-27T12:35:00.004+02:00

Devi, the Mother Goddess is the symbol of all the auspicious and true qualities which define the Supreme Being. Of all her forms, Devi Durga is the ultimate representation of infinite power, purity and strength of purpose, which resides within the divine essence of every being. In Hindu symbology, negative qualities within the individual such as excessive ego, anger, attachment etc are presented metaphorically as demons. The narrative of Devi Durga's destruction of these demons epitomizes the inner spiritual struggle of the individual soul as it strives to conquer ignorance and having gained victory realizes the Supreme power of one's own Self.

Om Jayanti Mangala Kaali Bhadra Kali Kapalini
Durga Kshama Shivaa Dhaatri Svaha Svadha namostute
Om. She Who Conquers Over All, All-Auspicious,
the remover of Darkness,
the Excellent One Beyond Time,
the bearer of the Skulls of Impure thought
the reliever of difficulties, loving, forgiveness,
supporter of the Universe, take the oblations of the
devotee who is one with you,
take the oblations of ancestral praise,
We bow to you.

Jayanti mangala kali bhadrakaali kapaalinee
Durga kshamaa shivaa dhaatree svaahaa svadhaa namostute
Jatathvam devi chamuNdae jaya bhootharthihaariNee
Jayasarvagathae daevi kaalaraathri namostute

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Vishnumaayeti Shabdita
Namastasyei Namastasyei Namastasyei Namo Namah
Salutations to Divine Mother - Shakti Devi
The power of Lord Vishnu, who abides in all beings

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu chaethanaethyabhi dheeyathae
Namastasyei namastasyei namastasyei namo namah
Who abides as the eternal consciousness in all beings.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu shakti roopaeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who manifests as power in all beings.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu kshaanthi roopaeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who abides in all beings in the form of forgiveness.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu shaanthi roopaeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who manifests in all beings in the form of peace.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu shraddhaa roopaeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who manifests in all beings in the form of faith.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu kaantirupeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who abides in all beings in the form of beauty.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu dayaarupeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who abides in the form of compassion in all beings.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu maatri rupeNa samsthithaa
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah
Who abides in all beings in the form of delusion.

Indriya-anaam Adhis-tatri Bhutaana-amcha
Akhilesh-ucha Bhuteshu Satatam Tasyei
Vyapti-devyei Namo Namah
The ruler of all senses and sensation
The ruler of all elements
The ruler of all creation and beings
To This Divine Mother, My Heartfelt Salutations

Chiti-rupena Ya Kritsnamaetat Vyapya Sthitha Jagat
Namastasyei Namastasyei Namastasyei Namo Namah
Shakti Devi pervades this entire universe and abides in
all beings in the form of consciousness.
Salutations to Her again and again

Aehi durgae mahaabhaagae rakshaartham mama sarvadaa
Roopam daehi yasho daehi bhagham bhaghavathi daehimae
Puthraan daehi dhanam daehi sarvaan kaamaan pradaehimae

Jai Mata Di

Adi Granth, a sikh prayer

2009-03-25T10:56:00.004+02:00

Adi Granth: literally means "the first book." This is the early compilation of the Sikh Scriptures by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1604. This Granth (Book) is the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs.

Section 01 - Jup

Part 1
One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace ~
Chant And Meditate:
True In The Primal Beginning. True Throughout The Ages.
True Here And Now. O Nanak, Forever And Ever True. ||1||
By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times.
By remaining silent, inner silence is not obtained, even by remaining lovingly absorbed deep within.
The hunger of the hungry is not appeased, even by piling up loads of worldly goods.
Hundreds of thousands of clever tricks, but not even one of them will go along with you in the end.
So how can you become truthful? And how can the veil of illusion be torn away?
O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will. ||1||
By His Command, bodies are created; His Command cannot be described.
By His Command, souls come into being; by His Command, glory and greatness are obtained.
By His Command, some are high and some are low; by His Written Command, pain and pleasure are obtained.
Some, by His Command, are blessed and forgiven; others, by His Command, wander aimlessly forever.
Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command.
O Nanak, one who understands His Command, does not speak in ego. ||2||
Some sing of His Power-who has that Power?
Some sing of His Gifts, and know His Sign and Insignia.
Some sing of His Glorious Virtues, Greatness and Beauty.
Some sing of knowledge obtained of Him, through difficult philosophical studies.
Some sing that He fashions the body, and then again reduces it to dust.
Some sing that He takes life away, and then again restores it.
Some sing that He seems so very far away.

Part 002
Some sing that He watches over us, face to face, ever-present.
There is no shortage of those who preach and teach.
Millions upon millions offer millions of sermons and stories.
The Great Giver keeps on giving, while those who receive grow weary of receiving.
Throughout the ages, consumers consume.
The Commander, by His Command, leads us to walk on the Path.
O Nanak, He blossoms forth, Carefree and Untroubled. ||3||
True is the Master, True is His Name-speak it with infinite love.
People beg and pray, "Give to us, give to us", and the Great Giver gives His Gifts.
So what offering can we place before Him, by which we might see the Darbaar of His Court?
What words can we speak to evoke His Love?
In the Amrit Vaylaa, the ambrosial hours before dawn, chant the True Name, and contemplate His Glorious Greatness.
By the karma of past actions, the robe of this physical body is obtained. By His Grace, the Gate of Liberation is found.
O Nanak, know this well: the True One Himself is All. ||4||
He cannot be established, He cannot be created.
He Himself is Immaculate and Pure.
Those who serve Him are honored.
O Nanak, sing of the Lord, the Treasure of Excellence.
Sing, and listen, and let your mind be filled with love.
Your pain shall be sent far away, and peace shall come to your home.
The Guru's Word is the Sound-current of the Naad; the Guru's Word is the Wisdom of the Vedas; the Guru's Word is all-pervading.
The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi.
Even knowing God, I cannot describe Him; He cannot be described in words.
The Guru has given me this one understanding:
there is only the One, the Giver of all souls. May I never forget Him! ||5||
If I am pleasing to Him, then that is my pilgrimage and cleansing bath. Without pleasing Him, what good are ritual cleansings?
I gaze upon all the created beings: without the karma of good actions, what are they given to receive?
Within the mind are gems, jewels and rubies, if you listen to the Guru's Teachings, even once.
The Guru has given me this one understanding:
there is only the One, the Giver of all souls. May I never forget Him! ||6||
Even if you could live throughout the four ages, or even ten times more,
and even if you were known throughout the nine continents and followed by all,
with a good name and reputation, with praise and fame throughout the world-
still, if the Lord does not bless you with His Glance of Grace, then who cares? What is the use?
Among worms, you would be considered a lowly worm, and even contemptible sinners would hold you in contempt.
O Nanak, God blesses the unworthy with virtue, and bestows virtue on the virtuous.
No one can even imagine anyone who can bestow virtue upon Him. ||7||
Listening-the Siddhas, the spiritual teachers, the heroic warriors, the yogic masters.
Listening-the earth, its support and the Akaashic ethers.
Listening-the oceans, the lands of the world and the nether regions of the underworld.
Listening-Death cannot even touch you.
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||8||
Listening-Shiva, Brahma and Indra.
Listening-even foul-mouthed people praise Him.
Listening-the technology of Yoga and the secrets of the body.
Listening-the Shaastras, the Simritees and the Vedas.
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.

Part 003
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||9||
Listening-truth, contentment and spiritual wisdom.
Listening-take your cleansing bath at the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage.
Listening-reading and reciting, honor is obtained.
Listening-intuitively grasp the essence of meditation.
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||10||
Listening-dive deep into the ocean of virtue.
Listening-the Shaykhs, religious scholars, spiritual teachers and emperors.
Listening-even the blind find the Path.
Listening-the Unreachable comes within your grasp.
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||11||
The state of the faithful cannot be described.
One who tries to describe this shall regret the attempt.
No paper, no pen, no scribe
can record the state of the faithful.
Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord.
Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind. ||12||
The faithful have intuitive awareness and intelligence.
The faithful know about all worlds and realms.
The faithful shall never be struck across the face.
The faithful do not have to go with the Messenger of Death.
Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord.
Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind. ||13||
The path of the faithful shall never be blocked.
The faithful shall depart with honor and fame.
The faithful do not follow empty religious rituals.
The faithful are firmly bound to the Dharma.
Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord.
Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind. ||14||
The faithful find the Door of Liberation.
The faithful uplift and redeem their family and relations.
The faithful are saved, and carried across with the Sikhs of the Guru.
The faithful, O Nanak, do not wander around begging.
Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord.
Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind. ||15||
The chosen ones, the self-elect, are accepted and approved.
The chosen ones are honored in the Court of the Lord.
The chosen ones look beautiful in the courts of kings.
The chosen ones meditate single-mindedly on the Guru.
No matter how much anyone tries to explain and describe them,
the actions of the Creator cannot be counted.
The mythical bull is Dharma, the son of compassion;
this is what patiently holds the earth in its place.
One who understands this becomes truthful.
What a great load there is on the bull!
So many worlds beyond this world-so very many!
What power holds them, and supports their weight?
The names and the colors of the assorted species of beings
were all inscribed by the Ever-flowing Pen of God.
Who knows how to write this account?
Just imagine what a huge scroll it would take!
What power! What fascinating beauty!
And what gifts! Who can know their extent?
You created the vast expanse of the Universe with One Word!
Hundreds of thousands of rivers began to flow.
How can Your Creative Potency be described?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One! ||16||
Countless meditations, countless loves.
Countless worship services, countless austere disciplines.
Countless scriptures, and ritual recitations of the Vedas.
Countless Yogis, whose minds remain detached from the world.

Part 004
Countless devotees contemplate the Wisdom and Virtues of the Lord.
Countless the holy, countless the givers.
Countless heroic spiritual warriors, who bear the brunt of the attack in battle (who with their mouths eat steel).
Countless silent sages, vibrating the String of His Love.
How can Your Creative Potency be described?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One. ||17||
Countless fools, blinded by ignorance.
Countless thieves and embezzlers.
Countless impose their will by force.
Countless cut-throats and ruthless killers.
Countless sinners who keep on sinning.
Countless liars, wandering lost in their lies.
Countless wretches, eating filth as their ration.
Countless slanderers, carrying the weight of their stupid mistakes on their heads.
Nanak describes the state of the lowly.
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One. ||18||
Countless names, countless places.
Inaccessible, unapproachable, countless celestial realms.
Even to call them countless is to carry the weight on your head.
From the Word, comes the Naam; from the Word, comes Your Praise.
From the Word, comes spiritual wisdom, singing the Songs of Your Glory.
From the Word, come the written and spoken words and hymns.
From the Word, comes destiny, written on one's forehead.
But the One who wrote these Words of Destiny-no words are written on His Forehead.
As He ordains, so do we receive.
The created universe is the manifestation of Your Name.
Without Your Name, there is no place at all.
How can I describe Your Creative Power?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One. ||19||
When the hands and the feet and the body are dirty,
water can wash away the dirt.
When the clothes are soiled and stained by urine,
soap can wash them clean.
But when the intellect is stained and polluted by sin,
it can only be cleansed by the Love of the Name.
Virtue and vice do not come by mere words;
actions repeated, over and over again, are engraved on the soul.
You shall harvest what you plant.
O Nanak, by the Hukam of God's Command, we come and go in reincarnation. ||20||
Pilgrimages, austere discipline, compassion and charity
-these, by themselves, bring only an iota of merit.
Listening and believing with love and humility in your mind,
cleanse yourself with the Name, at the sacred shrine deep within.
All virtues are Yours, Lord, I have none at all.
Without virtue, there is no devotional worship.
I bow to the Lord of the World, to His Word, to Brahma the Creator.
He is Beautiful, True and Eternally Joyful.
What was that time, and what was that moment? What was that day, and what was that date?
What was that season, and what was that month, when the Universe was created?
The Pandits, the religious scholars, cannot find that time, even if it is written in the Puraanas.
That time is not known to the Qazis, who study the Koran.
The day and the date are not known to the Yogis, nor is the month or the season.
The Creator who created this creation-only He Himself knows.
How can we speak of Him? How can we praise Him? How can we describe Him? How can we know Him?

Part 005
O Nanak, everyone speaks of Him, each one wiser than the rest.
Great is the Master, Great is His Name. Whatever happens is according to His Will.
O Nanak, one who claims to know everything shall not be decorated in the world hereafter. ||21||
There are nether worlds beneath nether worlds, and hundreds of thousands of heavenly worlds above.
The Vedas say that you can search and search for them all, until you grow weary.
The scriptures say that there are 18,000 worlds, but in reality, there is only One Universe.
If you try to write an account of this, you will surely finish yourself before you finish writing it.
O Nanak, call Him Great! He Himself knows Himself. ||22||
The praisers praise the Lord, but they do not obtain intuitive understanding
-the streams and rivers flowing into the ocean do not know its vastness.
Even kings and emperors, with mountains of property and oceans of wealth
-these are not even equal to an ant, who does not forget God. ||23||
Endless are His Praises, endless are those who speak them.
Endless are His Actions, endless are His Gifts.
Endless is His Vision, endless is His Hearing.
His limits cannot be perceived. What is the Mystery of His Mind?
The limits of the created universe cannot be perceived.
Its limits here and beyond cannot be perceived.
Many struggle to know His limits,
but His limits cannot be found.
No one can know these limits.
The more you say about them, the more there still remains to be said.
Great is the Master, High is His Heavenly Home.
Highest of the High, above all is His Name.
Only one as Great and as High as God
can know His Lofty and Exalted State.
Only He Himself is that Great. He Himself knows Himself.
O Nanak, by His Glance of Grace, He bestows His Blessings. ||24||
His Blessings are so abundant that there can be no written account of them.
The Great Giver does not hold back anything.
There are so many great, heroic warriors begging at the Door of the Infinite Lord.
So many contemplate and dwell upon Him, that they cannot be counted.
So many waste away to death engaged in corruption.
So many take and take again, and then deny receiving.
So many foolish consumers keep on consuming.
So many endure distress, deprivation and constant abuse.
Even these are Your Gifts, O Great Giver!
Liberation from bondage comes only by Your Will.
No one else has any say in this.
If some fool should presume to say that he does,
he shall learn, and feel the effects of his folly.
He Himself knows, He Himself gives.
Few, very few are those who acknowledge this.
One who is blessed to sing the Praises of the Lord,
O Nanak, is the king of kings. ||25||
Priceless are His Virtues, Priceless are His Dealings.
Priceless are His Dealers, Priceless are His Treasures.
Priceless are those who come to Him, Priceless are those who buy from Him.
Priceless is Love for Him, Priceless is absorption into Him.
Priceless is the Divine Law of Dharma, Priceless is the Divine Court of Justice.
Priceless are the scales, priceless are the weights.
Priceless are His Blessings, Priceless is His Banner and Insignia.
Priceless is His Mercy, Priceless is His Royal Command.
Priceless, O Priceless beyond expression!
Speak of Him continually, and remain absorbed in His Love.
The Vedas and the Puraanas speak.
The scholars speak and lecture.
Brahma speaks, Indra speaks.

Part 006
The Gopis and Krishna speak.
Shiva speaks, the Siddhas speak.
The many created Buddhas speak.
The demons speak, the demi-gods speak.
The spiritual warriors, the heavenly beings, the silent sages, the humble and serviceful speak.
Many speak and try to describe Him.
Many have spoken of Him over and over again, and have then arisen and departed.
If He were to create as many again as there already are,
even then, they could not describe Him.
He is as Great as He wishes to be.
O Nanak, the True Lord knows.
If anyone presumes to describe God,
he shall be known as the greatest fool of fools! ||26||
Where is that Gate, and where is that Dwelling, in which You sit and take care of all?
The Sound-current of the Naad vibrates there, and countless musicians play on all sorts of instruments there.
So many Ragas, so many musicians singing there.
The praanic wind, water and fire sing; the Righteous Judge of Dharma sings at Your Door.
Chitr and Gupt, the angels of the conscious and the subconscious who record actions, and the Righteous Judge of Dharma who judges this record sing.
Shiva, Brahma and the Goddess of Beauty, ever adorned, sing.
Indra, seated upon His Throne, sings with the deities at Your Door.
The Siddhas in Samaadhi sing; the Saadhus sing in contemplation.
The celibates, the fanatics, the peacefully accepting and the fearless warriors sing.
The Pandits, the religious scholars who recite the Vedas, with the supreme sages of all the ages, sing.
The Mohinis, the enchanting heavenly beauties who entice hearts in this world, in paradise, and in the underworld of the subconscious sing.
The celestial jewels created by You, and the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage sing.
The brave and mighty warriors sing; the spiritual heroes and the four sources of creation sing.
The planets, solar systems and galaxies, created and arranged by Your Hand, sing.
They alone sing, who are pleasing to Your Will. Your devotees are imbued with the Nectar of Your Essence.
So many others sing, they do not come to mind. O Nanak, how can I consider them all?
That True Lord is True, Forever True, and True is His Name.
He is, and shall always be. He shall not depart, even when this Universe which He has created departs.
He created the world, with its various colors, species of beings, and the variety of Maya.
Having created the creation, He watches over it Himself, by His Greatness.
He does whatever He pleases. No order can be issued to Him.
He is the King, the King of kings, the Supreme Lord and Master of kings. Nanak remains subject to His Will. ||27||
Make contentment your ear-rings, humility your begging bowl, and meditation the ashes you apply to your body.
Let the remembrance of death be the patched coat you wear, let the purity of virginity be your way in the world, and let faith in the Lord be your walking stick.
See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world.
I bow to Him, I humbly bow.
The Primal One, the Pure Light, without beginning, without end. Throughout all the ages, He is One and the Same. ||28||
Let spiritual wisdom be your food, and compassion your attendant. The Sound-current of the Naad vibrates in each and every heart.
He Himself is the Supreme Master of all; wealth and miraculous spiritual powers, and all other external tastes and pleasures, are all like beads on a string.
Union with Him, and separation from Him, come by His Will. We come to receive what is written in our destiny.

Part 007
I bow to Him, I humbly bow.
The Primal One, the Pure Light, without beginning, without end. Throughout all the ages, He is One and the Same. ||29||
The One Divine Mother conceived and gave birth to the three deities.
One, the Creator of the World; One, the Sustainer; and One, the Destroyer.
He makes things happen according to the Pleasure of His Will. Such is His Celestial Order.
He watches over all, but none see Him. How wonderful this is!
I bow to Him, I humbly bow.
The Primal One, the Pure Light, without beginning, without end. Throughout all the ages, He is One and the Same. ||30||
On world after world are His Seats of Authority and His Storehouses.
Whatever was put into them, was put there once and for all.
Having created the creation, the Creator Lord watches over it.
O Nanak, True is the Creation of the True Lord.
I bow to Him, I humbly bow.
The Primal One, the Pure Light, without beginning, without end. Throughout all the ages, He is One and the Same. ||31||
If I had 100,000 tongues, and these were then multiplied twenty times more, with each tongue,
I would repeat, hundreds of thousands of times, the Name of the One, the Lord of the Universe.
Along this path to our Husband Lord, we climb the steps of the ladder, and come to merge with Him.
Hearing of the etheric realms, even worms long to come back home.
O Nanak, by His Grace He is obtained. False are the boastings of the false. ||32||
No power to speak, no power to keep silent.
No power to beg, no power to give.
No power to live, no power to die.
No power to rule, with wealth and occult mental powers.
No power to gain intuitive understanding, spiritual wisdom and meditation.
No power to find the way to escape from the world.
He alone has the Power in His Hands. He watches over all.
O Nanak, no one is high or low. ||33||
Nights, days, weeks and seasons;
wind, water, fire and the nether regions
-in the midst of these, He established the earth as a home for Dharma.
Upon it, He placed the various species of beings.
Their names are uncounted and endless.
By their deeds and their actions, they shall be judged.
God Himself is True, and True is His Court.
There, in perfect grace and ease, sit the self-elect, the self-realized Saints.
They receive the Mark of Grace from the Merciful Lord.
The ripe and the unripe, the good and the bad, shall there be judged.
O Nanak, when you go home, you will see this. ||34||
This is righteous living in the realm of Dharma.
And now we speak of the realm of spiritual wisdom.
So many winds, waters and fires; so many Krishnas and Shivas.
So many Brahmas, fashioning forms of great beauty, adorned and dressed in many colors.
So many worlds and lands for working out karma. So very many lessons to be learned!
So many Indras, so many moons and suns, so many worlds and lands.
So many Siddhas and Buddhas, so many Yogic masters. So many goddesses of various kinds.
So many demi-gods and demons, so many silent sages. So many oceans of jewels.
So many ways of life, so many languages. So many dynasties of rulers.
So many intuitive people, so many selfless servants. O Nanak, His limit has no limit! ||35||
In the realm of wisdom, spiritual wisdom reigns supreme.
The Sound-current of the Naad vibrates there, amidst the sounds and the sights of bliss.
In the realm of humility, the Word is Beauty.
Forms of incomparable beauty are fashioned there.
These things cannot be described.
One who tries to speak of these shall regret the attempt.
The intuitive consciousness, intellect and understanding of the mind are shaped there.
The consciousness of the spiritual warriors and the Siddhas, the beings of spiritual perfection, are shaped there. ||36||
In the realm of karma, the Word is Power.
No one else dwells there,
except the warriors of great power, the spiritual heroes.
They are totally fulfilled, imbued with the Lord's Essence.
Myriads of Sitas are there, cool and calm in their majestic glory.
Their beauty cannot be described.
Neither death nor deception comes to those,
within whose minds the Lord abides.
The devotees of many worlds dwell there.
They celebrate; their minds are imbued with the True Lord.
In the realm of Truth, the Formless Lord abides.
Having created the creation, He watches over it. By His Glance of Grace, He bestows happiness.
There are planets, solar systems and galaxies.
If one speaks of them, there is no limit, no end.
There are worlds upon worlds of His Creation.
As He commands, so they exist.
He watches over all, and contemplating the creation, He rejoices.
O Nanak, to describe this is as hard as steel! ||37||
Let self-control be the furnace, and patience the goldsmith.
Let understanding be the anvil, and spiritual wisdom the tools.
With the Fear of God as the bellows, fan the flames of tapa, the body's inner heat.
In the crucible of love, melt the Nectar of the Name,
and mint the True Coin of the Shabad, the Word of God.
Such is the karma of those upon whom He has cast His Glance of Grace.
O Nanak, the Merciful Lord, by His Grace, uplifts and exalts them. ||38||
Shalok:
Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all.
Day and night are the two nurses, in whose lap all the world is at play.
Good deeds and bad deeds-the record is read out in the Presence of the Lord of Dharma.
According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away.
Those who have meditated on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and departed after having worked by the sweat of their brows
-O Nanak, their faces are radiant in the Court of the Lord, and many are saved along with them! ||1||

Agni

2009-03-13T23:28:00.003+02:00

Om Mahajwalyei Vidmahe
Agnidevaya Dhimahi
Tanno Agnih Prachodayat

Agni (fire) is the deity that represents all the other deities. Agni is said to be the mouth of the gods. Agni is known as the messenger of the gods. Whatever man has to say to the gods, to the higher powers, he conveys it through Agni.
The importance of Agni is chronicled quite elaborately in the Vedas, with more than two hundred Sooktas in its praise. It would be no exaggeration to term Fire as among the most important of the Vedic Pantheon of Deities. Two of the four Vedas begin with eulogies to Agni. The very first hymn of the hoary Rig Veda is devoted to this mighty bull among deities—“Agnim eedE PurOhitam Yagyasya dEvam Ritvijam” says the first verse, exhorting us to pay obeisance to Agni as the leader and the deity of all sacrifices. This is no mere flash in the pan, for we find the venerated Sama Veda too devoting its very first verse to this fiery god—“agna AyAhi veetaye, griNAnO havya dAtayE”.

What is the reason for the extremely high pedestal on which the Shruti places the FireGod? Why should this august body of unauthored wisdom devote litany after elaborate litany to this element? Though the other four elements are no less in importance, we find the Vedas almost obsessive in their focus on Fire. The reasons are not far to seek. It is Agni, which makes Sacrifices, the various Yagas and Yagyas, possible. As we know, everything has its roots in Yagyam--all Creation came out of a Yagyam performed at the Cosmic Beginning, as described by the Purusha Suktam.
In the order of Creation, Agni is the third to emerge, the first being Atmosphere, says the Shruti—“Atmana Akaasa: sambhoota:, Akaasaat Vaayu:, Vaayo: Agni:”.
Only from Fire did the other two elements, Earth and Water, came into being—

“Agne: Aapa:, Adbhya: Prithivi”. The Purusha Sukta ascribes exalted origins to Agni—right from the Lord’s face (mouth) -

“Mukhaat Indrascha Agnischa”.

Apart from being one of the five basic elements, Agni is also acclaimed to be the hidden essence of Water—“na apsu mootra pureesham kuryaat--guhyo vaa esha: Agni: iti vadanta:”. The very same Shruti tells us that birds do not stay on earth in the night, because it appears to burn in the night. Thus, Agni’s influence extends over the other elements too.
Management experts speak of having a “Fire in the Belly”, to describe an unquenchable urge for achievement. They would be surprised to know that everyone has fire in their belly—achievers as well as others. Shastras tell us that it is the “Jaataraagni” or the digestive fires located in the intestines, which enable assimilation of food and afford nutrition to the body. The Lord says in the Gita that it is He Himself, who resides in beings as this “Jaataraagni” and enables digestion of all kinds of food—

“aham Vaisvaanaro bhootvaa praaninam deham aasrita:
Praana apaana samaayukta: pachaami annam chatur vidham”.

The BrihadaaranyakaUpanishad too bears out this proposition of the Lord being the Digestive Fire, without whose aid no food could be assimilated—

“ayam Agni: Vaisvaanaro yo yam anta: purushe yena idam annam pachyate”

Paradoxically, this Holy Fire is more beneficial to us, the closer we get to it, and tends to scorch us only if we stay away due to indolence or ignorance.

108 Names of Lord Shiva

2009-02-23T16:02:00.003+02:00

OM SHIVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Auspicious One

OM MAHESHVARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Great God Shiva

OM SHAMBHAVE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who exists for our happiness alone

OM PINAKINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva, who guards the path of dharma

OM SHASHISHEKHARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who wears the crescent moon in his hair

OM VAMADEVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is pleasing and auspicious in every way

OM VIRUPAKSHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God of spotless form

OM KAPARDINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord with thickly matted hair

OM NILALOHITAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God splendid as the red sun at daybreak

OM SHANKARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the source of all prosperity

OM SHULAPANAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who carries a spear

OM KHATVANGINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who carries a knurled club

OM VISHNUVALLABHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva, who is dear to Lord Vishnu

OM SHIPIVISHTAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord whose form emits great rays of light

OM AMBIKANATHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Ambika's Lord

OM SHRIKANTAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to he whose throat is shining blue

OM BHAKTAVATSALAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who loves His devotees like new born calves

OM BHAVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is existence itself

OM SARVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who is all

OM TRILOKESHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who is the Lord of all the three worlds

OM SHITAKANTHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the primal soul whose throat is deep blue

OM SHIVAPRIYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the god who is dear to Shakti

OM UGRAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva whose presence is awesome and overwhelming

OM KAPALINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God whose begging bowl is a human skull

OM KAMARAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who conquers all passions

OM ANDHAKASURA SUDANAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who killed the asura Andhaka

OM GANGADHARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who holds the Ganges River in his hair

OM LALATAKSHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord whose sport is creation

OM KALAKALAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who is the death of death

OM KRIPANIDHAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is the treasure of compassion

OM BHIMAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva whose strength is awesome

OM PARASHU HASTAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who wields an axe in his hands

OM MRIGAPANAYAE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who looks after the soul in the wilderness

OM JATADHARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who bears a mass of matted hair

OM KAILASAVASINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who abides on Mount Kailas

OM KAVACHINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is wrapped in armor

OM KATHORAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who causes all growth

OM TRIPURANTAKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who destroyed the three demonic cities

OM VRISHANKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God whose emblem is a bull (Nandi)

OM VRISHABHARUDHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who rides a bull

OM BHASMODDHULITA VIGRAHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord covered with holy ash

OM SAMAPRIYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God exceedingly fond of hymns from the Sama Veda

OM SVARAMAYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who creates through sound

OM TRAYIMURTAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is worshiped in three forms

OM ANISHVARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the undisputed Lord

OM SARVAGYAYA NAMAHA

Obeisances to the God who knows all things

OM PARAMATMANE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Supreme Self

OM SOMASURAGNI LOCHANAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the light of the eyes of Soma, Surya and Agni

OM HAVISHE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who receives oblations of ghee

OM YAGYAMAYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the architect of all sacrificial rites

OM SOMAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Moon-glow of the mystic's vision

OM PANCHAVAKTRAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God of the five activities

OM SADASHIVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the eternally auspicious benevolent Shiva

OM VISHVESHVARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the all-pervading ruler of the cosmos

OM VIRABHADRAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva the foremost of heroes

OM GANANATHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God of the Ganas

OM PRAJAPATAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Creator

OM HIRANYARETASE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who emanates golden souls

OM DURDHARSHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the unconquerable being

OM GIRISHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the monarch of the holy mountain Kailas

OM GIRISHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord of the Himalayas

OM ANAGHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who can inspire no fear

OM BUJANGABHUSHANAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord adorned with golden snakes

OM BHARGAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the foremost of rishis

OM GIRIDHANVANE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God whose weapon is a mountain

OM GIRIPRIYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is fond of mountains

OM KRITTIVASASE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who wears clothes of hide

OM PURARATAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is thoroughly at home in the wilderness

OM BHAGAVATE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord of prosperity

OM PRAMATHADHIPAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is served by goblins

OM MRITUNJAYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the conqueror of death

OM SUKSHMATANAVE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the subtlest of the subtle

OM JAGADVYAPINE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who fills the whole world

OM JAGADGURAVE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the guru of all the worlds

OM VYOMAKESHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God whose hair is the spreading sky above

OM MAHASENAJANAKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the origin of Mahasena

OM CHARUVIKRAMAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva, the guardian of wandering pilgrims

OM RUDRAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is fit to be praised

OM BHUTAPATAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the source of living creatures, including the Bhutas, or ghostly creatures

OM STHANAVE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the firm and immovable deity

OM AHIRBUDHNYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who waits for the sleeping kundalini

OM DIGAMBARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva whose robes is the cosmos

OM ASHTAMURTAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who has eight forms

OM ANEKATMANE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is the one soul

OM SATVIKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord of boundless energy

OM SHUDDHA VIGRAHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to him who is free of all doubt and dissension

OM SHASHVATAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva, endless and eternal

OM KHANDAPARASHAVE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who cuts through the mind's despair

OM AJAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the instigator of all that occurs

OM PAPAVIMOCHAKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who releases all fetters

OM MRIDAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who shows only mercy

OM PASHUPATAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the ruler of all evolving souls, the animals

OM DEVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the foremost of devas, demigods

OM MAHADEVAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the greatest of the gods

OM AVYAYAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the one never subject to change

OM HARAYE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who dissolves all bondage

OM PASHUDANTABHIDE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the one who punished Pushan

OM AVYAGRAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who is steady and unwavering

OM DAKSHADHVARAHARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the destroyer of Daksha's conceited sacrifice

OM HARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who withdraws the cosmos

OM BHAGANETRABHIDE NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who taught Bhaga to see more clearly

OM AVYAKTAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to Shiva who is subtle and unseen

OM SAHASRAKSHAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord of limitless forms

OM SAHASRAPADE NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is standing and walking everywhere

OM APAVARGAPRADAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the Lord who gives and takes all things

OM ANANTAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the God who is unending

OM TARAKAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the great liberator of mankind

OM PARAMESHVARAYA NAMAHA
Obeisances to the great God

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Samudra Manthan

2009-02-23T01:53:00.005+02:00

In Hinduism, Samudra manthan (Devanagari: समुद्र मंथन) or the churning of the ocean of milk is one of the most famous episodes in the Puranas and is celebrated in a major way every twelve years in the festival known as Kumbha Mela.
According to legend, during the Samudra Manthan a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. This terrified the gods and demons as the poison was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help.

Thence, bursting like a mighty flame,
A pestilential poison came,
Consuming, as it onward ran,
The home of God, and fiend, and man.
Then all the suppliant Gods in fear
To S'ankar, mighty lord, drew near.
To Rudra, King of Herds, dismayed,
'Save us, O save us, Lord!' they prayed.
Then Vishnu, bearing shell, and mace,
And discus, showed his radiant face,
And thus addressed in smiling glee
The Trident wielding deity:
What treasure first the Gods upturn
From troubled Ocean, as they churn,
Should--for thou art the eldest--be
Conferred, O best of Gods, on thee.
Then come, and for thy birthright's sake,
This venom as thy firstfruits take.'
He spoke, and vanished from their sight.
When Siva saw their wild affright,
And heard his speech by whom is borne
The mighty bow of bending horn, 1b
The poisoned flood at once he quaffed
As 'twere the Amrit's heavenly draught.
Then from the Gods departing went
S'iva, the Lord pre-eminent. (Ramayana/CANTO XLV)

To protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. Because of it, his throat turned blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world.

Maybe, the story represents the spiritual endeavor of a person to achieve self-realisation through concentration of mind, withdrawal of senses, control of desires and practice of austerities and asceticism.

The Devas and Asuras represent the positives and negatives respectively of one's personality. The participation of both the Devas and the Asuras signifies that when one is seeking bliss through spiritual practice, one has to integrate and harmonise both the positive and negative aspects and put both the energies to work for the common goal.
The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness. The mind is like an ocean while the thoughts and emotions are the waves in the ocean.
Mandhara, the mountain symbolises concentration. The word Mandhara is made up of two words Mana (mind) and Dhara (a single line) which means holding the mind in one line. This is possible only by concentration.
Mount Mandhara was upheld by Lord Vishnu as a Kurma (tortoise). The tortoise here symbolises the withdrawal of the senses into oneself (just as a tortoise withdraws its head into its shell) as one practices mental concentration and meditation or contemplation.
Vasuki symbolises desire. Vasuki used in the churning of the ocean denotes that the Devas and the demons held desire (to seek immortality) as a rope and churned the mind with the help of concentration and withdrawal of the senses. Desire, if not controlled will overpower and destroy an individual.
The Halahala poison symbolises suffering and pain (counter-reaction of the mind and body) that one undergoes at the beginning of spiritual sadhana (practice). When the mind is subjected to intense concentration, the first thing that comes out of the process is intense suffering and great inner turmoil. These must be resolved otherwise further progress is not possible.

Though interpretation is always opened...

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Simurgh An Old Persian Fairy Tale

2009-02-23T00:39:00.004+02:00

All Persian fairy tales begin with the sentence "There was being and nonbeing, there was none but God." This may be replaced by "Once Upon a time . . ."). In the old, old times there was a king (The guardian of the throne of wisdom) who had three sons: Prince Jamshid (King of the golden age of Iranian epics), Prince Mohammed, and the youngest, Prince Khorshid (Sun, light, divine wisdom. He had no mother because he was selfborn -- an initiate), who had no mother. He was the king's favorite because he was the bravest of all.

In the garden of the palace there grew a pomegranate tree (The treasure of secret knowledge) with only three pomegranates; their seeds were fabulous gems that shone like lamps by night. When ripe, the pomegranates would turn into three beautiful girls who were to become the wives of the three princes. Every night, by the king's order, one of his sons guarded the tree lest anyone should steal the pomegranates.

One night when Prince Jamshid was guarding the tree he fell asleep and, in the morning, one pomegranate was missing. The next night Prince Mohammed was on guard, but he also fell asleep and the next morning another pomegranate was missing. When it came Prince Khorshid's turn, he cut one of his fingers and rubbed salt on it so the burning would keep him awake. Shortly after midnight a cloud appeared above the tree and a hand, coming out of it, picked the last pomegranate. Prince Khorshid drew his sword and cut off one of the fingers. The hand and the cloud hurriedly disappeared.

In the morning when the king saw drops of blood on the ground he ordered his sons to track them, find the thief, and bring back the stolen pomegranates. The three princes followed the blood drops over mountains and deserts until they reached a deep well where the trail ended. Prince Jamshid offered to be lowered down the well with a rope to investigate. Less than halfway down he screamed: "Pull me up, pull me up, I am burning." His brothers pulled him up. Next, Prince Mohammed went down and soon he also cried out that he was burning. When Prince Khorshid decided to go down he told his brothers that no matter how loudly he shouted, they should not pull him up but let the rope down farther; and they were then to wait for him only until dark. If there was no sign of him, they could go home.

Prince Khorshid entered the well and, in spite of unbearable heat, went all the way down to the bottom where he found a young girl, beautiful as a full moon. On her lap lay the head of a sleeping diev (Giant: tyranny of human ignorance and weakness), whose thunderous snores filled the air with heat and smoke. "Prince Khorshid," she whispered, "what are you doing here? If this diev wakes up, he will surely kill you as he has killed many others. Go back while there is still time."

Prince Khorshid, who loved her at first glance, refused. He asked her who she was and what she was doing there.

"My two sisters and I are captives of this diev and his two brothers. My sisters are imprisoned in two separate wells where the dievs have hidden the stolen wealth of almost all the world."

Prince Khorshid said: "I am going to kill the dievs and free you and your sisters. But I will wake him first; I do not wish to kill him in his sleep." The prince scratched the soles of the diev's feet until he opened his eyes and stood up. Roaring, the diev picked up a millstone and threw it at the prince, who quickly stepped aside, drew his sword, and in the name of God cut the diev in half. Thereafter he went to the other two wells, finished off the dievs and rescued the sisters of his beloved. He also collected the treasure.

As it was not yet dark, his brothers were still waiting for him and when he called them they started to pull up the rope. The girl whom Prince Khorshid loved wanted him to go up before her, because she knew that when his brothers saw the jewels they would be jealous and would not pull him up. But the prince insisted she go up first. When she saw that she could not change his mind she said: "If your brothers do not pull you up and leave you here, there are two things you should know: first, there are in this land a golden cock (This represents Saroush [Sarousha in Pahlavi]. Sarousha is a godlike bird who is the most powerful of the gods, since he is the manifestation of righteousness, honesty, and striving. He fights the diev of frailty and weakness. In some versions of this story, the golden cock in a chest is a golden nightingale in a golden cage) and a golden lantern (The light of wisdom. In some versions, Prince Khorshid must bring back a golden lantern, in others a golden handmill which represents the wheel of destiny [or civilization and culture].) that can lead you to me. The cock is in a chest and when you open it, he will sing for you. And when he sings, all kinds of gems will pour from his beak. The golden lantern is self-illuminated, and it burns forever. The second thing you should know is this: later in the night there will come two oxen that will fight with each other. One is black (Terrestrial life leading to darkness), the other white (Terrestial life leading to light). If you jump on the white ox it will take you out of the well, but if, by mistake, you jump on the black one, it will take you seven floors farther down."

As she had predicted, when the princes Jamshid and Mohammed saw the girls and the boxes of gold and silver, they became jealous of their brother's achievements. Knowing that their father would surely give him the kingdom, they cut the rope and let him fall to the bottom of the well. Then they went home and told their father that they were the ones who had rescued the girls, killed the dievs, and brought all the treasure, and that Prince Khorshid had not come back.

Prince Khorshid was heartbroken. He saw two oxen approaching and stood up as they started to fight. In his excitement he jumped on the back of the black ox and dropped with it seven floors down. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a green pasture with a view of a city in the distance. He started walking toward it when he saw a peasant plowing. Being hungry and thirsty he asked him for bread and water. The man told him to be very careful and not to talk out loud because there were two lions nearby; if they heard him they would come out and eat the oxen. Then he said: "You take over the plowing and I will get you something to eat."

Prince Khorshid started to plow, commanding the oxen in a loud voice. Two roaring lions came charging toward him, but the prince captured the lions, turned the oxen loose and hitched the lions to the plow. When the peasant returned, he was very much taken aback. Prince Khorshid said: "Don't be afraid. The lions are harmless now and will not hurt you or your oxen. But if you are not comfortable with them, I will let them go." When he saw that the farmer was still reluctant to approach the lions, he unfastened them and they went back where they had come from.

The man had brought food but no water. He explained: "There is no water in the city because a dragon is sleeping in front of the spring. Every Saturday a girl is taken to the spring so that, when the dragon moves to devour her, some water runs through the city's streams and people can collect enough for the following week. This Saturday the king's daughter is to be offered to the dragon."

Prince Khorshid had the peasant take him to the king: "What will be my reward if I kill the dragon and save your daughters life?" The king replied: "Whatever you wish within my power."

Saturday came and the prince went with the girl to the spring. The moment the dragon moved aside to devour her, Prince Khorshid called the name of God and slew the monster. There was joy and celebration in the city. When Prince Khorshid, asked to name his reward, announced that his one wish was to return to his homeland, the king said: "The only one who could take you up seven floors is Simorgh (In Persian literature Simorgh [Saena in Pahlavi] has many manifestations; besides divine wisdom, it may symbolize the perfected human being. According to some Pahlavi texts, Simorgh is a bird whose abode is in the middle of a sea, in a tree which contains all the seeds of the vegetable world. Whenever Simorgh flies up from the tree one thousand branches grow, and whenever she sits on it, one thousand branches break and the seeds fall into the water.

In Ferdowsi's Shah Nameh (Book of Kings) -- originally called Khoday Nameh (Book of God) -- Simorghs abode is on top of the mountain Ghaph, by which is meant Alborz mountain.). She lives nearby in a jungle. Every year she lays three eggs and each year her chicks are eaten by a serpent. If you could kill the serpent, she surely would take you home."

Prince Khorshid went to the jungle and found the tree in which Simorgh had her nest. While he was watching, he saw a serpent climbing up the tree to eat the frightened chicks. In the name of God he cut the serpent into small pieces and fed some to the hungry chicks who were waiting for their mother to bring them food. He saved the rest for later and went to sleep under the tree. When Simorgh flew over the nest and saw Prince Khorshid, she thought he was the one who each year ate up all her chicks. She was ready to kill him, when her chicks shouted that he was the one who had saved them from the enemy. Realizing that he had killed the serpent, she stretched her wings over Prince Khorshid's head to make shade for him while he slept.

When he awoke, the prince told Simorgh his story and asked whether she could help him. Simorgh urged him to go back to the king and ask him for the meat of seven bulls. "Make seven leather bags out of their hides and fill them with water. These will be my provisions for the journey; I need them to be able to take you home. Whenever I say I am hungry you must give me a bag of water, and when I say I am thirsty you must give me the carcass of a bull." On their way up to the ground Prince Khorshid did exactly as Simorgh had instructed him until only one bag of water was left. When, instead of saying she was hungry Simorgh said she was thirsty, Prince Khorshid cut off some flesh from his thigh and put it in Simorgh's beak. Simorgh immediately realized it was human flesh. She held it gently until they reached their destination. As soon as he dismounted, the prince urged Simorgh to fly back at once but, knowing he could not walk without limping, she refused and with her saliva restored the piece of his flesh to his thigh. Having learned how brave and unselfish the prince was, she gave him three of her feathers, saying that if he were ever in need of her he should burn one of them, and she would instantly come to his aid. With that she flew away.

Entering the town, Prince Khorshid learned that three royal weddings were about to take place: for Prince Jamshid, and Prince Mohammed, and the third for the Vizier's son, because the youngest son of the king, Prince Khorshid, had never returned. One day some men came to the shop where Prince Khorshid was apprenticed, saying they had been to all the jewelry stores in town but no one would undertake to make what the king had ordered. Prince Khorshid asked them what it was and was told: "The girl who is to marry the Viziers son has put forward one condition to the marriage! She will only marry one who can bring her a golden cock from whose bill gems will pour when it sings; she also wants a golden lantern which is self-illuminated and burns for ever. But so far no jeweler can build such things."

Prince Khorshid, recognizing the signs, spoke up: "With my master's permission I can build you a chest with such a golden cock and also the golden lantern by tomorrow. The men gave him the jewels needed to build those items and left. Prince Khorshid gave them all to his master for, he said, he did not need them.

That night Prince Khorshid left the town and burned one of the feathers. When Simorgh came, he asked her to bring him what the girl had demanded, and she did so. In the morning, the astounded men took the precious items to the king, who at once summoned the young man to the court and was overjoyed to discover it was none other than his favorite son. Prince Khorshid told his story but he begged the king not to punish his brothers for the wrong they had done him.

The whole town celebrated his return and there were three weddings indeed. The king made Prince Khorshid his successor to the throne and all lived happily every after.

Rudram-Namakam-Chamakam

2009-02-14T00:24:00.002+02:00

All great religions have tried to praise the Highest God in musical and sonorous praise befitting their great theme. One of the most thrilling and spiritually gratifying of such praises is the Vedic Sri Rudram in Sanskrit in India. Appayya Dikshitar, that polymath of learning, was enamoured of it. He was often regretful for not being born in the Krishna Yajurveda Sakha.

Sri Rudram-Chamakam occupies a very important place in Vedic literature and in the practice of Vedic Religion. It is the heart of Krishna Yajurveda and is treasured in the centre of Taittiriya Samhita. Sri Rudram is known as Rudropanishad. Though it forms part of Karma Kanda, it ranks at par with the Upanishads of the Jnana Kanda. And as it is seen in all the 101 Shakhas of the Yajurveda, it is called 'Satarudriyam'.

Among the Vidyas, the Vedas are supreme; in the Vedas the Rudra Ekadasi is supreme; in the Rudram the Panchakshari Mantra NAMASIVAYA is supreme; in the Mantra the two letters SIVA is supreme. As by pouring water at the root of a tree, all its branches are nourished, so also by pleasing Rudra through Rudra Japa, all the Devas are pleased. This is the best atonement (Prayaschittam) for all sins and the foremost sadhana for attainment of cherished desires.

A verse in the Vayu Purana says: " A person reciting and applying daily the Namakam, Chamakam and the Purusha Sooktam is honoured in the Brahma loka."

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Indra's net

2009-02-13T22:46:00.004+02:00

Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infintely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring.

Buddhist concepts of interpenetration hold that all phenomena are intimately connected; for the Huayan school, Indra's net symbolizes a universe where infinitely repeated mutual relations exist between all members of the universe.This idea is communicated in the image of the interconnectedness of the universe as seen in the net of the Vedic god Indra, whose net hangs over his palace on Mount Meru, the axis mundi of Vedic cosmology and Vedic mythology. Indra's net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in all of the other jewels.

Murugan

2009-02-06T18:39:00.003+02:00

When the demonic personage SUrapadman and his associates who were then ravaging
the world, saintly spirits went to Lord Siva and pleaded with him to do something about the havoc: and so was Murugan born. He emerged when a spark from Siva's third eye merged with Agni in a forest of thickets (Sharavana). We see the parallel with the genesis of Rama when VishNu was thus approached at a time when RAvaNa was playing mischief. Murugan is taken as the Tamil equivalent of KArttikeya.
The sacred history of Murugan, from birth to the final defeat of SUrapadman who,
upon repentance, was transformed into a peacock which became Murugan's vehicle,
is narrated in the magnificent Tamil epic by Kacciyappa SivAcArya. Known as Kanda PurANam and composed in the 14th century, this work has all the majesty and meaning of other great epics. In its massive content of 10,345 verses, we not only read of exploits of grand proportions, but also savor the delights that Tamil can offer, and recognize deeper meanings of relevance and value in the conduct of everyday life: For that is the ultimate goal of sacred history.
And there are hidden meanings as well behind the exciting episodes. Thus, when we read that Murugan won two brides, VaLLI and Deiva-yAnai, one may wonder how a God could engage in bigamy. But as we probe deeper, we find a symbolism here.
Deiva-yanai was a daughter of Indra. She sought Murugan's hand and obtained it.VaLLi was raised by a hunter. When Murugan in disguise went to have her as his consort, she resisted at first. Upon being frightened by an oncoming wild elephant, she rushed to Murugan's arms. The symbolism here is that the Supreme Principle takes unto itself not only those evolved souls (Indra's daughter) who seek it, but also the unevolved (hunter's daughter) ones whom it seeks out. When we are unable to recognize the Divine in its many forms, fright and fear sometimes draw us to it.
Murugan is known by many other names in the Tamil world. They include Kandan,
Guhan, VElAyudan, SubrahmaNian, TangavElu, KumAran, SvAminAthan and Sharavana-bhavan. A great many temples are consecrated to Murugan in the Tamil country and beyond. The more important of them include the temples at Pazani,SvAmimail, Torupparankuram, and Tirukkazukkuram.

Om Sharavana-bhavaya Namaha !

GYaanashaktidhara skanda valliikalyaaNa sundara
devasenaa manaH kaanta kaartikeya namo.astute
OM subrahmaNyaaya namaH !

Vishvakarma

2009-02-05T21:13:00.007+02:00

Vishvakarma or Vishwabrahmin (Sanskrit: विश्वकर्मा vivá-karman "all-accomplishing; all-creator") is the Hindu presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects, Vishvakarman being rather identified with Prajapati himself as the creator of all things and architect of the Universe; in the hymns RV 10.81 and 10.82 he is represented as the universal Father and Generator, the one all-seeing God, who has on every side eyes, faces, arms, and feet; in the Brahmanas he is called a son of Bhuvana, and Vishva-karman Bhauvana is described as the author of the two hymns mentioned above.

Coomaraswamy has categorically declared: “Art is religion, religion is art, not related, but the same.” According to Hindu tradition, all the arts and crafts are of divine origin, having being revealed and handed down to certain individuals by “the miraculous genius” Lord Visvakarma—the creative archetypal power. The Primordial Creator and Supreme Patron of Arts, Crafts, Science and Creativity is Lord Visvakarma. He is at once the Great Architect of the Universe, Spirit of the Creative Process, and a symbol of Total Centered Consciousness. As the highest of the gods, he is synonymous with Brahma of the Hindu trinity,said to have originated in the primeval waters, as the Golden Germ, the World Womb-Egg (Hiranyagarbha) containing all the other gods in the world. Like Brahma, Visvakarma, the Creator, is one of the many names which may be applied to almost any of the gods at the will of the worshipper. In the two hymns in the Rig-Veda he is described as “the one all-seeing god, who, when producing heaven and earth, blows them forth (or shapes them) with his arms and wings; the father, generator, disposer, who knows all worlds, gives the gods their names, and is beyond the comprehension of mortals.”

Visvakarma represents an active creative power, and for this reason he is often depicted in red—the color red being related to creative force, passion and activity in ancient texts. ‘I shall be many’ (sodkamayat aha bahusya prajayeyam)” declared the god of creativity.

The Visvakarma craftsman, being His worldly counterpart, is thus also an image of the
cosmos. In the workshop, the cosmic drama of integration and disintegration takes place, and at its center stands the Visvakarma as sacrificer and ritualist. The Visvakarma becomes the universe himself. In the world view of the Visvakarmas, the two poles of cosmic life are Kali and Shiva. The result of the drama is a product which is a symbolic representation of the world.

"He is Visvakarma; that is, in a multiplicity of forms and forces lies his outward manifestation in nature; but his inner manifestation in our soul is that which exists in unity. Our pursuit of truth in the domain of nature therefore is through analysis and the gradual methods of science, but our apprehension of truth in our soul is immediate and through direct intuition.We cannot attain the supreme soul by successive additions of knowledge acquired bit by bit even through all eternity, because he is one, he is not made up of parts; we can only know him as heart of our hearts and soul of our soul; we can only know him in the love and joy we feel when we give up our self and stand before him face to face." (Rabindranath Tagore)

Cosmology in architecture - 2

2009-02-04T21:59:00.004+02:00

Mandala

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle. The circle is the expression of perfection, equality in all directions, as well as the origin and the culmination of all polygons, containing and underlying them. The circle has always been regarded as a symbol of eternity. Without beginning and without end it stands outside time. The square depicts four cardinal directions in physical space and time.

The earliest mandalas are Paleolithic sun wheel designs that were scratched into rocks about 25,000 years ago. Yogis and priests of early Hinduism and Buddhism marked circles around themselves as representations of their sacred space. Their location in the center of the circle was identified with the center of the world. The sky seemed to be a huge hemispherical tent with holes pierced in it. Altars were considered to be access routes through which spirits could enter and leave the world. And the Pole Star, around which the whole sky revolved, was seen as the divine tent pole.

The mandala is a symbolic replica of the world, a geometric projection of it reduced to an essential pattern. In its geometry it acts like a spiritual or psychological wheel of many spokes, each intersecting with the center. By extension it represents the center of the universe, because the mandala, being the center, is connected to the Cosmic Center or world axis (axis mundi). The axis of the mandala is thus a line of communication between the powers above and humanity below. The mandala is also an aid to the process of becoming at one with the world and the universe in meditation -- the mediator identifies with the center and allows themselves to be transformed by a process of involution.

The stupa can be seen as a sphere merged with the earth with only its upper half exposed. Seen from above the stupa is a mandala. If the mandala is architectonic, and the stupa is a mandala, then the relation of one to the other is a reflective idea wherein one is the image of the other. The stupa is thus an image of the world.

Subhân Allâh

2009-02-02T13:36:00.004+02:00

"Glory to God" -- this phrase is often used when praising God or exclaiming awe at His attributes, bounties, or creation.

Said Mohammed bin AbeeBakr Abdulqader al-Razee, in his book "Mukhtar al-Sihah" one of the classic Arabic-wordbooks:

The meaning of subhanallah is, making Allah pure, and it is bound to its original word (sabh, meaning void) as if he said, I verily absolve Allah from all evil.

The origin for the word is sabh, voidness, or tasbeeh, making something void. So the direct literal meaning of the phrase is Allah is void... And there is a part that is unpronounced which is "void of all evil". And this is the way that it is used in the Quran. For example it says; "Subhanallah amma yasiffon - Void/Free is Allah from that (evil) which they ascribe (to Him)" and "Subhanalla amma yoshrikoon - Free is Allah from those polytheistic deeds that they do."
The word Subhan is also closely related to the Sanskrit phrase Subaha commenced during rituals. It's often used after reciting one deities name.

From the site http://wahiduddin.net/words/subhan_allah.htm :

The Arabic root s-b-h can certainly mean to praise or to glorify, but in a deeper sense, this root also points toward a sense of swimming in something, or being immersed in something, or to be be floating in something, or to have something spread out in front of you as far as the eye can see.
Armed with these insights, we have a whole new vision of this word subhân... a delightfully expansive view, as though one is immersed in a vast sea that spreads out infinitely in all directions, a vast sea that one is floating in and the one is totally supported by.
What a powerful and magnificent metaphor this is for our existence in Allâh, portraying the vast Ocean of Allâh, and our utter dependence upon Allâh for all of our support.
The deepest loneliness arises when we forget that we are immersed in this Magnificent Ocean. The Ocean is not something to seek. It's already here. The challenge of life is to become aware of what we already have.

Oh, that is so beautiful.

Subhân Allâh!

Saraswati Puja

2009-01-30T21:55:00.007+02:00

Saraswati Puja, the ritual worship of the goddess Saraswati, is done on Vasant Panchami day every year. The festival is celebrated to pay obeisance to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning. Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma and is the Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge. She is the personification of knowledge - arts, science, crafts. She represents Shakti, creativity and inspiration and presents herself when the weather is pleasant and Nature is in its full grandeur. It is a season of inspiration and passion.

Shri Sarasvati ShatanAma Stotram (108 names):

sarasvatI mahAbhadrA mahAmAyA varapradA
shrIpradA padmanilayA padmAkShI padmavaktragA
shivAnujA pustakadhR^it j~nAnamudrA ramA parA
kAmarUpA mahAvidyA mahApAtakanAshinI
mahAshrayA mAlinI cha mahAbhogA mahAbhujA
mahAbhAgA mahotsAhA divyA~NgA surava.nditA
mahAkAlI mahApAshA mahAkArA mahA~NkushA
sItA cha vimalA vishvA vidyunmAlA cha vaiShNavI
cha.ndrikA cha.ndravadanA cha.ndralekhAvibhUShitA
sAvitrI surasA devI divyAla.nkArabhUShitA
vAgdevI vasudhA tIvrA mahAbhadrA mahAbalA
bhogadA bhAratI bhAmA govi.ndA gomatI shivA
jaTilA vi.ndhyavAsA cha vi.ndhyAchalavirAjitA
cha.nDikA vaiShNavI brAhmI brahmaj~nAnaikasAdhanA
saudAminI sudhAmUrtissubhadrA surapUjitA
suvAsinI sunAsA cha vinidrA padmalochanA
vidyArUpA vishAlAkShI brahmajAyA mahAphalA
trayImUrtI trikAlaj~nA triguNA shAstrarUpiNI
shuMbhAsurapramathinI shubhadA cha sarvAtmikA
raktabIjaniha.ntrI cha chAmuNDA chAMbikA tathA
muNDakAya praharaNA dhUmralochanamardanA
sarvadevastutA saumyA surAsuranamaskR^itA
kAlarAtrI kalAdhArA rUpa saubhAgyadAyinI
vAgdevI cha varArohA vArAhI vArijAsanA
chitrAMbarA chitraga.ndhA chitramAlyavibhUShitA
kA.ntA kAmapradA va.ndyA vidyAdharA sUpUjitA
shvetAsanA nIlabhujA chaturvargaphalapradA
chaturAnanasAmrAjyA raktamadhyA nira.njanA
ha.nsAsanA nIlaja~NghA brahmaviShNushivAtmikA

evaM sarasvatI devyA nAmnAmaShTottarashatam.h iti shrI sarasvatyaShTottarashatanAmastotram sampUrNam

Sarasvathee namasthubhyam varadae kaamaroopinee

Vidyaarambam karishyaami siddhirbhavathumae sadaa

Yaa daevee sthooyathae nithyam vibudairvedapaaragaihsaa mae vasathu jihvaagrae brahmaroopa sarasvathee

Sree vidyaroopini sarasvathi sakala kalaavalli chaaru bimbhaadharee

s(h)aradaa devi s(h)asthravalli veenaa pusthaka dharinee vanee kamala paanee vaagdevee varadaayaki pusthaka hasthae namasthae

Yaa devee sarva bhoothaeshu smruthi roopaena samsthithaa

Namasthasyai namasthasyai namasthasyai namo nama:

Yaa kundendu thushaara haara davalaa yaa s(h)ubra vasthraavruthaa

Yaa veena varadanda mandithakaraa yaas(h)wetha padmaasanaa

Yaabrahmaachyutha s(h)ankara prabrithibhih daevaih sadaa poojithaasaamaam paathu sarasvathi nisaesha jaadyaapahaa

Om sri saraswati namah

Triveni Sangam

2009-01-30T21:44:00.003+02:00

Triveni Sangam is the confluence of three rivers (Ganga, Yamuna and the legendary Saraswati River) near Allahabad, India. The Triveni Sangam in Allahabad is a confluence of 2 rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna. Of these three, the river Saraswati is invisible and is said to flow underground and join the other two rivers from below. The point of confluence is a sacred place for Hindus. A bath here is said to wash away all one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth. The sight of the Sangam is a treat to the eyes. One can see the muddy and pale-yellow waters of Ganga merging with the blue waters of Yamuna. The Ganga is only 4 feet deep, while Yamuna is 40 feet deep near the point of their nexus. The river Yamuna merges into the Ganges at this point and the Ganges continues on until it meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal. At the confluence of these two great Indian rivers, where the invisible Saraswati conjoins them, many tirtha yatris take boats to bathe from platforms erected in the Sangam. This, together with the migratory birds give a picturesque look to the river during the kumbh, in the month of January. It is believed that all the gods come in human form to take a dip at the sangam and expiate their sins.
The Triveni Sangam is believed to be the same place where drops of Nectar fell from the pitcher, from the hands of the Gods. So it is believed that a bath in the Sangam will wash away all one's sins and will clear the way to heaven. Devout Hindus from all over India come to this sacred pilgrimage point to offer prayers and take a dip in the holy waters. The sacred Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Sangam. According to myth, the Prakrista Yajna was performed here by Lord Brahma. That is how Allahabad received its ancient name, Prayag. Allahabad is also called Tirtha-Raja (Prayag Raj), king of all holy places. It is said that Lord Rama visited Allahabad when he was in exile.
Sangam means confluence, a meeting point of two or more rivers, a place where diverse cultures meet and flow together, a place where people of different origins, different cultures merge into one whole combined identity.

Native american indian prayer

2009-01-28T17:23:00.003+02:00

Oh, Great Spirit

Whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world.

Hear me.

I am a man before you, one of your many children - I am small and weak. I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have made, my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise, so that I may know the things you have taught my people - the lesson you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy - myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes, so when life fades as a fading sunset my spirit may come to you without shame.

Meru yantra

2009-01-28T15:34:00.006+02:00

Mount Meru (Sanskrit: मेरु) (also called Sumeru i.e the "great Meru") is a sacred mountain in Hindu, Buddhist cosmology, and Jain mythology considered to be the center of all physical and spiritual universes.
The Iranians claim that the Aryans came from Mount Hara. Har is another name of Shiva, who has His abode in this mountain. Some beliefs, local to that area of the Himalayas, associate mythical Mount Meru with a mountain called Kailasa near the Lake Manasarovar in Tibet,which can be traced to some later layers of Mahabharata.
For the equivalent central mountain in Buddhist cosmology, see Sumeru.
The Meru Chakra or Sri Chakra is a three-dimensional Shri Yantra, the embodiment of Sri Lakshmi (abundance) and Tripura Sundari (beauty). It is the yantra of Sri Vidya, sacred knowledge of the Goddess. It can also be seen as the unification of Masculine Divine and Feminine Divine: Shiva and Shakti, Lakshmi and Narayana, Purusha and Prakriti.
The Shri Yantra consists of triangles arranged in five levels around the center. The Meru Chakra has these same levels arranged in different heights, with the centermost level the highest. The Meru is the three dimensions of the Sri Chakra. If we returned to the two dimension Sri Chakra, and imagine that the bindu in its center is the peak of a mountain. The imagine that the mountain is built up in tiers, each tier being one of the circles of triangles or lotus petals, with the outermost square representing ground level. Now, imagine a vertical spine down the center of the mountain, then at each point that the spine and a tier intersect, there is a chakra. The peak represents Mount Meru, abode of the Gods.

The Basics of Sri Yantra:
Before starting the worship it is advisable to know about the way the Sri Yantra is constructed, what all it represents, about the 9 Avaranas, the deities, their gunas and significance, so that your worship is more meaningful. The following are the authentic details as given in various Tantra & Mantra scriptures.
Five downward pointing triangles representing Devi intersect with four upward pointing triangles representing Siva, forming 43 triangles including the central triangle.
From the five Shakti triangles comes creation and from the four Shiva triangles comes the dissolution. The union of five Shaktis and four Fires causes the chakra of creation to evolve.
At the centre of the bindu of the Shri Yantra is Kamakala, which has three bindus. One is red, one is white and one is mixed. The red bindu is Kurukulla the Female form, the white bindu is Varahi the Male form, and the mixed bindu is the union of Shiva & Shakti - the individual as the potential Shri Cakra. Varahi, the father-form, gives four dhatus to the child and Kurukulla, the mother-form, gives five dhatus to the child. Theses represent the nine dhatus of the human body.
Varahi’s four fires are the 12 (4 x 3) sun Kalas, the 12 Zodiac constellations. Kurukulla’s five triangles are the 15 (5 x 3) Kalas of the moon, 15 lunar Tithis. These nine triangles also represent the nine stages of growth of the human child in the womb.
Surrounding the 43 triangles formed by the intersection of the nine triangles is the 16 petals circle. Surrounding the 16 petal circle is an 8 petal circle. After that the 3 lines and at the outermost part of the Sriyantra there are 3 lines called the Bhupura. The 43 triangles constitute the six inner sections called Avaranas, the two circles of petals are two more avaranas and the Bhupura of 3 lines is the last Avarana.
These 9 Avaranas of the Sri Yantra have various presiding Devis. They are the Devi’s Parivar (retinue) of total 108. In the Srichakra pooja they are systematically worshipped one by one with their names and mantras. The presiding Deity of Srichakra, Devi, is Known as Lalita Tripura Sundari. The form of Devi Kamakshi of Kancheepuram is the closest resemblance of the Devi as described in the scriptures.
As the Supreme Will, Shakti is described as Consciousness-Bliss. The Saundarya Lahiri describes the universe in its subtle and gross forms as the trans- formation of Shakti. Though undergoing actual trans- formation into all these elements in their gross macro-cosmic aspect as the universe and in their subtle micro-cosmic aspect as the six chakras in the body, Shakti is not lost in the effects - she retains her identity as the Supreme Will or Consciousness-Bliss.

"Whoso Knoweth Himself..."

2009-01-27T18:07:00.001+02:00

From Whoso Knoweth Himself, attributed to Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, and Him we ask for aid:

Praise be to God before whose oneness there was not a before, unless the Before were He, and after whose singleness there is not an after, except the After be He. He is, and there is with Him no after nor before, nor above nor below, nor far nor near, nor union nor division, nor how nor where nor when, nor times nor moment nor age, nor being nor place. And He is now as He was. He is the One without oneness, and the Single without singleness. He is not composed of name and named, for His name is He and His named is He. So there is no name other than He, nor named. And so He is the Name and the Named. He is the First without firstness, and the Last without lastness. He is the Outward without outwardness, and the Inward without inwardness. I mean that He is the very existence of the First and the very existence of the Last, and the very existence of the Outward and the very existence ofthe Inward. So that there is no first nor last, nor outward nor inward, except Him, without these becoming Him or His becoming them.

Understand, therefore, in order that thou mayest not fall into the error of the Hululis: He is not in a thing nor a thing in Him, whether entering in or proceeding forth. It is necessary that thou know Him after this fashion, not by knowledge ('ilm), nor by intellect, nor by understanding, nor by imagination, nor by sense, nor by the outward eye, nor by the inward eye, nor by perception. There does not see Him, save Himself; nor perceive Him, save Himself. By Himself He sees Himself, and by Himself He knows Himself. None sees Him other than He, and none perceives Him other than He. His Veil is (only a part of) His oneness; nothing veils other than He. His veil is (only) the concealment of His existence in His oneness, without any quality. None sees Him other than He - no sent prophet, nor saint made perfect, nor angel brought nigh knows Him. His Prophet is He, and His sending is He, and His word is He. He sent Himself with Himself to Himself. There was no mediator nor any means other than He. There is no difference between the Sender and the thing sent, and the person sent and the person to whom he is sent. The very existence of the prophetic message is His existence. There is no other, and there is no existence to other, than He, nor to its ceasing to be (fana'), nor to its name, nor to its named."

Sri Varahi

2009-01-26T00:45:00.003+02:00

Sri Varahi is one of the seven sakthis incarnating from the Mother. She is described to have human body with eight arms, head of a boar and also having three eyes.
In the Sri Vidhya tradition, she is also called the Danda-natha (Lady Commander of the forces of the mother-goddess, symbolizing the might of Sri Vidya). As Varahi (hog-faced or the great consumer) she destroys evil forces that obstructs the devotees progress, paralyses the enemies and lead the devotees ultimately to Sri-Vidyas. She is classed as the fifth among the seven mother-like divinities (Saptmatrukas) and hence also called Panchami.
With Kurukulla, she is accorded the parental status to Sri-Chakra (Lalitha Tripura-Sundari). While Kurukulla represents the full moon, Varahi (the devoured) represents the new-moon. And while Varahi represents the illumination (prakasa) aspects of the mother-goddess, Kurukulla is the deliberation (vimarsa) aspect.
In another aspect, Varahi is also said to be one of the Yoginis, taking the form of a boar. She is said to lift up the earth with her tusks to confer benefits on all creatures. She is imagined as an eight-armed and three-eyed lady with a face of a hog, seated under a Palmyra tree, and functioning as a trusted attendant of the Goddess as her chief counselor.
In this form she is known as Chaitanya-bhairavi (the devotee's association of strength) She is being described as a fierce (Maha-Ghora) and as Commander of the forces, she moves about in a chariot drawn by boars. She is said to reside in the ocean of sugar-cane juice (ikshu), one of the four oceans that surrounds the mother goddess, holding her court in the island of nine-jewels, and facing the mother-goddess. This prayer seeks her blessings.
The Lalita Sahasranama, a collection of 1000 names of the Supreme Mother, hails Sri Varahi as the destroyer of demon Visukran, who was born from the right hand of demon Bhanasura. She was also the commander-in-chief of the armies of Goddess Kali in the war against demon Tharukasura; of Goddess Sandi in the war against demon Sumbasura; and commander-in-chief of the forces of Sri Lalita in the war against demon Pandasura.
Saint-poet Sri Abirami Bhattar in his evergreen composition – Abirami Andadhi – cites the names of Sri Varahi as another name of the Supreme Mother.
Sri Devi Bhagavata hails Sri Varahi as one who “dispels the fear and bestows victory.” Many Puranic lores revere Sri Varahi (in the form of Thandini) and Sri Shyamala (in the form of Manthrini) – the two forces without whose permission the Supreme Goddess cannot be beheld. That is Sri Shymala is the sugarcane in the sugarcane bow adorning the hands of the Supreme Mother while Sri Varahi is the sharp arrows shot from it to kill the enemies.
‘Girichakra’ is the chariot on which Sri Varahi is seated and is worshipped in nine forms, much similar to Sri Durga. Sri Varahi is also revered in the names of Ashvaarooda Thandini Devi, Panchami Devi, Swapna Devi, Vaarthali Devi, Madhu Varahi, Manthrini Varahi, Bhakta Varahi and Pakaalamukhi. Out of these names Sri Varahi as Panchami is regarded the most powerful, as She is the manifestation of the supreme powers of Lord Sadashiva.

In the well-known Buddhist tantric text Chakrasamvaratantra, which is very popular with Newar Buddhists, Vajravarahi is the presiding goddess who unites with the god Chakrasasmvara, also known as Heruka. In one of the descriptions in the iconographic compendium called Sadhanamala, she is called the "first queen of the god Sri-Heruka" (ibid., p. 217). She is also loosely characterized as a dakini and Vajrayogini, though the latter is a different deity.
What does distinguish Vajravarahi from other similar goddesses (another being Nairatma, the consort of Hevajra) is the sow's-head excrescence behind her right ear, which refers to the "varahi" component of her name. She dances on a corpse in the posture known as ardhaparyanka, which means "one leg on the thigh." Her other emblems, such as the chopper in the right hand, the skull cup in the left, and the tantric staff (khatvanga) in the crook of the left arm, are missing here. But the red complexion, the third eye, the garland of severed heads (of enemies of the religion), and the bone apron that serves as her only apparel are some of the other features that distinguish the deity.

End of Varahi Anugrahashtakam:

Kim dushkaram thwayi mano vishayam gathayam,
Kim durlabham thwayi vidhanu vadarchithayam,
Kim durbharam thwayi sakruth smruthi magathayam,
Kim durjayam thwayi krutha sthuthi vada pumsam.

What is not reachable for him, when he has you in his mind?
What is not available to him, when he worships you?
What is beyond him, when you enter his mind?
Where is the defeat for him who offers a prayer to you?

Yin and Yang

2009-01-23T00:28:00.003+02:00

Chang Tsai, (1020-1078), philosopher:

No two of the products of creation are alike. From this we know that although the number of things is infinite, at bottom there is nothing without yin or yang [which differentiate them]. From this we know also that the transformations and changes in the universe are due to these two fundamental forces.

Material force moves and flows in all directions and in all manners. Its two elements unite and give rise to the concrete. Thus the multiplicity of things and human beings is produced. In their ceaseless successions the two elements of yin and yang constitute the great principles of the universe.

Only after [the One] is acted upon will it begin to penetrate [through yin and yang]. Without the two forces there cannot be the One.
If yin and yang do not exist, the One (the Great Ultimate)" can not revealed If the One cannot be revealed then the function of the two forces will cease, Reality and unreality, motion and rest, integration and disintegration, and clearness and turbidity are two different substances. In the final analysis, however, they are one.

The negative and positive spiritual forces (kuei-shen) are the spontaneous activity of the two material forces (yin and yang). Sage hood means absolute sincerity (1) forming a unity with Heaven, and spirit means the Great Vacuity in its wondrous operation and response. All molds and forms in the universe are but dregs of this spiritual transformation.

Shao Yong(1012-1077), philosopher:

Without physical substance, the nature (of man and things) cannot be complete. Without nature, physical substance cannot be produced. The yang has the yin as its physical substance and the yin has the yang as its nature. Nature is active but physical substance is tranquil. In heaven, yang is active while yin is tranquil, whereas in earth yang is tranquil while yin is active. When nature is given physical substance, it becomes tranquil. As physical substance follows nature, it becomes active. Hence yang is at ease with itself but yin is fast moving without control.

As the Great Ultimate becomes differentiated, the Two Modes (yin and yang) appear. Yang descends and interacts with yin, and yin rises to interact with yang, and consequently the Four Forms (major and minor yin and yang) are constituted. Yin and yang interact and generate the Four Forms of Heaven: the element of weakness and the element of strength interact and generate the Four Forms of Earth; and consequently the Eight Elements (heaven, water, fire, thunder, wind, water in motion, mountain, and earth) are completed. The Eight Elements intermingle and generate the myriad things. Therefore the one is differentiated into the two, two into four, four into eight, eight into sixteen, sixteen into thirty-two, and thirty-two into sixty-four. Thus it is said (in the Book of Changes) that "they are distinguished as yin and yang and the weak and the strong are employed in succession. Thus in the system of Change there are six positions and the pattern is complete. Ten is divided to become 100, 1,000, and 10,000. This is similar to the fact that the root engenders the trunk; the trunk, branches; and the branches, leaves. The greater the division, the smaller the result, and the finer the division, the more complex. Taken as a unit, it is one. Taken as diffused development, it is the many.

Intimacy

2009-01-21T17:24:00.005+02:00

Two citations separated by over a millennium illustrate the consistency of the ultimate aim of the Sufi path. The first is a holy tradition (hadith qudsi)by the
prophet Muhammad, while the second is a soliloquy by the eminent Sufi master Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731). Both describe what Sufism is all about, one from God’s point of view, the other from the Sufis’ perspective. Sufis regard the message of this holy tradition as constituting the ultimate aim of the spiritual experience and the cornerstone of mystical knowledge. Speaking through the Prophet, God says:

“Nothing is more pleasing to me, as a means for my servant to draw near unto me, than worship which I have made binding upon him; and my servant ceases not to draw near unto me with added devotions of his free will until I love him; and when I love him I am the hearing wherewith he hears and the sight wherewith he sees and the hand whereby he grasps and the foot whereon he walks.”

It is this intimacy with divinity that underpins the Sufis’ vision, aspirations, and devotional practices. In the following soliloquy, the late Damascene Sufi master al-Nabulusi, an ardent follower of Ibn Arabi, shows how the prophetic tradition is personalized in the mystical experience. Al-Nabulusi writes:

My Lord said to me: “you are good for me.” I said: “how can I be good for you while I am perishable?” He said: “nothing is good for me except the perishable.” I said: “how can I be good for you when my character is bad?” He said: “I complement it with my good Character.” He then said to me: “O my
servant, I am you, but you are not me; O my servant, I am who exists, not you; O my servant, all people are the servants of my benefaction (nima), whereas you are the servant of my Self (dhat).” I said: “but how am I the servant of your Self?” He said: “you are the servant of Being (al-wujud), not the servant of a being (al-mawjud). Being is me, while a being is other than me, because beings are by me and I am by my Self. This is the reason why I said to you I am Being.” He then said to me: “O my servant, do not fear other than me, because I am that other. I am your Lord, appearing unto you by my subsistence in you. There is no divinity if it be not me, and no one is adored other than me. In any state, if by me that I make you rich, truly, then, I have made you rich; but if I do so by other than me, I then have made you poor; there is no divinity if it be not me.” I said to him: “O Lord, how am I in your regard?” He said: “you are to me amongst those who are drawn near (almuqarrabin), and so is everyone who loves you: I love you and love everyone that loves you.” I said to him: “O Lord, what is the sign of your loving me?” He said: “it is my guiding you to what I love and am pleased with.” I said to him: “O Lord, people are harming me.” He said to me: “all of this is of benefit to you; look within yourself for the result of their harm, you become nearer to me, and inevitably you will rise above them.”

The Transcendent Unity of Religions

2009-01-21T17:20:00.003+02:00

Religion, the source of heavenly truths without an awareness of which humanity would eventually bring about its own destruction, is presented as having two related aspects: exoteric and esoteric. The exoteric aspect reveals the diverse,the different, whereas the esoteric contains the same, the essential. It is the unifying core, the summit to which all paths lead and at which they all converge.
“In the spiritual world and, still more, the universal order,” Guénon writes, “it is unity that presides at the summit of the hierarchy.” The mountain metaphor is frequently used to illustrate the shared conviction that all religions are but so many roads that lead to one and the same summit. In “Paths That Lead to the Same Summit,” Coomaraswamy takes an ethical stance to argue that all great religions of the world have valid claims to truth, which must be respected and understood in a comparative mode and not just tolerated. Doctrinal differences, conspicuous at the mountain’s wide base, should not prevent us from recognizing the inner meanings or seeing the peak where all differences vanish. Such recognition does not necessarily demand a change in the path that one finds oneself on naturally, for “he who goes round about the mountain looking for another is not climbing.” Asserting the necessity of this approach for cross-religious understanding, Coomaraswamy writes: “The greatest of modern Indian saints actually practiced Christian and Islamic disciplines,that is, worshiped Christ and Allah, and found that all lead to the same goal: he could speak from experience of the equal validity of all these ‘ways,’ and feel the same respect for each, while still preferring for himself the one to which his whole being was naturally attuned by nativity, temperament and training.”
To illustrate the difference between metaphysical and theological knowledge, and indirectly to emphasize the unity of religions, Schuon uses the metaphor of light. He compares metaphysical knowledge to the awareness of the “colorless essence of light and its character of pure "luminosity” and theological knowledge to the assertion of light’s particular colors. Although both modes overlap in their distinction between light and darkness, they differ in the level of reality they disclose. Metaphysics discloses universal truths, whereas theology discloses divine revelations, which are but particular expressions of the universal truths. Philosophy is further removed from theology in that it deals with rational concepts. Religions, thus viewed, translate universal truths into dogmatic languages that are accessible by the wider public through faith. But the colorful variations of the dogmatic beliefs fade at the level of universal truths where all religious differences disappear. In brief, the reality of the transcendent unity of religions is shown to reside in the oneness of the Truth that governs all modes of manifestation and existence, and in the oneness of the human race that alone has the capacity of tracing the process of differentiation back to its transcendental source.

Cosmology in architecture - 1

2009-01-21T16:59:00.005+02:00

In his famous Ihya Ulum al-Din (Reviving the Sciences of Religion), al-Ghazali (d. 1111), the celebrated Muslim theologian and mystic, cites an intriguing analogy. He says: “As an architect draws (yusawwir) the details of a house in whiteness and then brings it out into existence according to the drawn exemplar (nuskha), so likewise the creator (f atir) of heaven and earth wrote the master copy of the world from beginning to end in the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahf uz) and then brought it out into existence according to the written exemplar.”
In contrast to the current understanding of a boundless and infinitely expanding universe, premodern Muslims thought of and described the cosmos as being finite, founded, and with astronomically definable limits. The entirety of the cosmos was graspable by means of geometry, numbers, and the alphabet.
It was conceived in the form of concentric circles, at the center of which humans dwelled and at the outer limit stood the all-encompassing divine Throne.Space and time, as we know them, terminated at the divine Throne, which formed the threshold into the divine realms of being. There and beyond, different modalities of space and time prevailed. The Throne, the outer limit of the universe, was also visualized to be “quadrangular” in form but with a sense of spatiality that was distinct from our own. Marking a transitional zone, the Throne was seen to partake in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. Within this geometrically defined and ordered cosmos things were interrelated; they occupied definite positions within an intricate hierarchy. Nothing stood in isolation or ambiguity; everything was carefully positioned. Premodern Islamic sources provide very detailed descriptions of the cosmos, and the Sufis, among other Muslim thinkers, present numerous geometrical diagrams that illustrate the fundamental order of being and the basic design of the world, translating into visual idioms the “textual” contents of al-Ghazali's exemplar.
The move is explored in a variety of contexts and manifestations. The first trace of this move unfolds the metaphysial order, which is then traced in the cosmic order, which is in turn traced in the architectural order. Spatially, the move refers to the deployment of space from a central point along the three axes of what the French philosopher and metaphysician René Guénon describes as the “threedimensional cross.”
The Islamic cosmos consisted of the seen and unseen, the divine and human domains, with each having its own inhabitants, landscape, and order. The seen world was constructed of nine concentric spheres, seven planetary ones encompassed by the sphere of the fixed stars (the divine Footstool) and the utmost encircling sphere without stars (the divine Throne). The seven heavens rest on seven earths in the form of domed structures decreasing in size and positioned one within the other. As for the workings of the cosmos, it was seen to be regulated by a quaternary natural order of the four elements, mediated by many sets of four—four seasons,
four natures, four humors, four directions, and so forth.

Only with His Grace

2009-01-18T15:27:00.003+02:00

There are many valiant metaphysical souls who tried greatly to explore on their own different ways to understand BEING and settle down with the satisfaction that at long last they know BEING. Such individuals set up religions cults schools of metaphysical thoughts, very practical methods like Yoga and so forth only to learn that there is NO CERTAINTY in all these ways. BEING always remains supremely ELUSIVE towards all human attempts to fathom the MYSTERY that surrounds BEING.
The point is all such efforts are egoistic and indulging in such efforts is in fact strengthening the Ego and which will always cast a screen across BEING so that He can never be understood and the soul shine forth in the Glory of His presence.

But Manikkar,a mystic, has achieved this and asks rhetorically who can explain this remarkable metaphysical feat.But of course he already indicates the reasons for his success.
He has allowed himself to be possessed by BEING and in that possession he willingly became his devoted servant, the one at His feet and which is a metaphor for servitude. This really means that Manikkar slowly learned to KILL his ego without which becoming the servant of BEING is impossible. With this inner resistance dissolved BEING overpowers the soul disclosing Himself in various ways so that a genuine understanding is enjoyed by the soul. The kind of understanding of BEING is that over and above that He stands as the cosmic reality he also stands as the Civan, the metaphysically illuminating Supreme Radiance that dispels the Malam from the soul so that it becomes translucent clear and pure.

Tiruvasakam- Tiruccatakam : MeyyuNartal 9

Bavan empiraan pani maa matik kaNNi viNNoor perumaan
Civan empiraan enai aaNdu koNdaan
En ciRumai kaNdum
Avan empiraan enna naan adiyeen enna ipparicee
Puvan empiraan teriyum paricu aavatu iyambukavee

Meaning:

BEING my lord is the Cosmic Reality and the Great Lord of all the celestial beings and who enjoys wearing the cool Crescent Moon as His head garland. My Lord of Shivan, the resplendent Power who overpowered me despite the fact that I am dirty with Malam infecting me. He is my Lord and I am His servant always serving Him. It is only because of this I understand this BEING as the whole of the cosmos. Now can any one tell me how my servitude also has enabled me to understand BEING thus?

Places of Worship

2009-01-17T17:46:00.003+02:00

The Gods of Greece resided on Mount Olympus, which Homer described thus: "Olympus, abode of the gods, that stand fast for ever. Neither is it shaken by winds nor wet with rain, nor does snow fall upon it, and the air is outspread clear and cloudless, and over it hovers a radiant whiteness." This reminds us of the Himalayan peak where Shiva and Parvati of Hindu lore reside. The gods could well be up above in the vast expanse of extra-terrestrial space, beyond the starry firmament. The ancient vision was that the Gods resided way too far for ordinary humans to climb and reach.

Because they are so distant every religion constructed halls and altars where the divine might come to reside, where men and women can gather to pay homage to the Almighty. Temples were built for Minerva and Jupiter on the hills of Rome.
The grand edifices built for them have crumbled down for archeological probes or they have been renovated to attract tourists. All man-made gods have a history.

In ancient India there were devalayas (Houses of Gods) for the Sun-God Surya and the Sky-God Indra, but now we have mandirs and koyils consecrated to Rama and Krishna, Shiva, Kali and Murugan.

In the Judaic tradition, the place of worship was also a place where people went together (synagog). It was in the synagogue that religious teachings were proclaimed to the faithful: i.e. the synagogue also served as a kind of public school for religious studies. The Jewish scholar Arthur Herzberg explains that "The central function of the synagogue was to cultivate a value perhaps more important that prayer to Jewish faith, the study of the Torah." On Sabbath, people gathered in the synagogue to hear a reading of a passage from the Torah and to gain understanding of its interpretation. To this day, this is enshrined in the central act of public worship in Judaism on every major occasion.

In the Christian world assemblies for common worship services became churches. When Paul and Peter initiated such groups, perhaps they did not realize that some day churches would spread to every corner of the world, just as, when the first temples were erected in India no one foresaw a day when there would be temples in Malaysia and Madagascar, in London and Pittsburgh.

Periodic calls to prayer through a hearty proclamation that God is great is an important feature in the worship centers of the Islamic world. Here the traditional mode is to prostrate as a gesture of surrender to the Almighty: which is why the place is called a masjid, which literally means a place for prostration. Known as mosque in English, it has a wall without doors with a niche called mihrab which points to the direction (qilba) of Maccah where the Prophet had established the very first mosque of the tradition. Then there are the stupas and the multi-layered pagodas of Buddhism. To these may also be attached residence halls for the monks of the tradition. The architectural elements of the building are also regarded as worthy of reverence. Though Buddha himself was indifferent to questions about God's existence, he has been symbolically deified in the tradition. Therefore his images are revered and worshiped in Buddhist temples. The gurudwara (Doorway to the Master) is the Sikh place of worship where the faith's scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) is all that is worshiped in reverence, and the One God is invoked as waheguru.

Places of worship are the sanctified centers one expresses gratitude to that which caused the world and humans to be. In such centers, the human spirit invokes in humility the magnificence of the Unfathomable Mystery that has actualized this world: This is a lofty goal of religions.

108 names of Vinayaka

2009-01-13T17:12:00.003+02:00

Akhuratha One who has Mouse as His Charioteer
Alampata Ever Eternal Lord
Amit Incomparable Lord
Anantachidrupamayam Infinite and Consciousness Personified
Avaneesh Lord of the whole World
Avighna Remover of Obstacles
Balaganapati Beloved and Lovable Child
Bhalchandra Moon-Crested Lord
Bheema Huge and Gigantic
Bhupati Lord of the Gods
Bhuvanpati God of the Gods
Buddhinath God of Wisdom
Buddhipriya Knowledge Bestower
Buddhividhata God of Knowledge
Chaturbhuj One who has Four Arms
Devadeva Lord of All Lords
Devantakanashakarin Destroyer of Evils and Asuras
Devavrata One who accepts all Penances
Devendrashika Protector of All Gods
Dharmik One who gives Charity
Dhoomravarna Smoke-Hued Lord
Durja Invincible Lord
Dvaimatura One who has two Mothers
Ekaakshara He of the Single Syllable
Ekadanta Single-Tusked Lord
Ekadrishta Single-Tusked Lord
Eshanputra Lord Shiva's Son
Gadadhara One who has The Mace as His Weapon
Gajakarna One who has Eyes like an Elephant
Gajanana Elephant-Faced Lord
Gajananeti Elephant-Faced Lord
Gajavakra Trunk of The Elephant
Gajavaktra One who has Mouth like an Elephant
Ganadhakshya Lord of All Ganas (Gods)
Ganadhyakshina Leader of All The Celestial Bodies
Ganapati Lord of All Ganas (Gods)
Gaurisuta The Son of Gauri (Parvati)
Gunina One who is The Master of All Virtues
Haridra One who is Golden Coloured
Heramba Mother's Beloved Son
Kapila Yellowish-Brown Coloured
Kaveesha Master of Poets
Kirti Lord of Music
Kripalu Merciful Lord
Krishapingaksha Yellowish-Brown Eyed
Kshamakaram The Place of Forgiveness
Kshipra One who is easy to Appease
Lambakarna Large-Eared Lord
Lambodara The Huge Bellied Lord
Mahabala Enormously Strong Lord
Mahaganapati Omnipotent and Supreme Lord
Maheshwaram Lord of The Universe
Mangalamurti All Auspicious Lord
Manomay Winner of Hearts
Mrityuanjaya Conqueror of Death
Mundakarama Abode of Happiness
Muktidaya Bestower of Eternal Bliss
Musikvahana One who has Mouse as His Charioteer
Nadapratithishta One who Appreciates and Loves Music
Namasthetu Vanquisher of All Evils and Vices and Sins
Nandana Lord Shiva's Son
Nideeshwaram Giver of Wealth and Treasures
Omkara One who has the Form Of OM
Pitambara One who has Yellow-Coloured Body
Pramoda Lord of All Abodes
Prathameshwara First Among All
Purush The Omnipotent Personality
Rakta One who has Red-Coloured Body
Rudrapriya Beloved Of Lord Shiva
Sarvadevatman Acceptor of All Celestial Offerings
Sarvasiddhanta Bestower of Skills and Wisdom
Sarvatman Protector of The Universe
Shambhavi The Son of Parvati
Shashivarnam One who has a Moon like Complexion
Shoorpakarna Large-Eared Lord
Shuban All Auspicious Lord
Shubhagunakanan One who is The Master of All Virtues
Shweta One who is as Pure as the White Colour
Siddhidhata Bestower of Success and Accomplishments
Siddhipriya Bestower of Wishes and Boons
Siddhivinayaka Bestower of Success
Skandapurvaja Elder Brother of Skand (Lord Kartik)
Sumukha Auspicious Face
Sureshwaram Lord of All Lords
Swaroop Lover of Beauty
Tarun Ageless
Uddanda Nemesis of Evils and Vices
Umaputra The Son of Goddess Uma (Parvati)
Vakratunda Curved Trunk Lord
Varaganapati Bestower of Boons
Varaprada Granter of Wishes and Boons
Varadavinayaka Bestower of Success
Veeraganapati Heroic Lord
Vidyavaridhi God of Wisdom
Vighnahara Remover of Obstacles
Vignaharta Demolisher of Obstacles
Vighnaraja Lord of All Hindrances
Vighnarajendra Lord of All Obstacles
Vighnavinashanaya Destroyer of All Obstacles and Impediments
Vigneshwara Lord of All Obstacles
Vikat Huge and Gigantic
Vinayaka Lord of All
Vishwamukha Master of The Universe
Vishwaraja King of The World
Yagnakaya Acceptor of All Sacred and Sacrficial Offerings
Yashaskaram Bestower of Fame and Fortune
Yashvasin Beloved and Ever Popular Lord
Yogadhipa The Lord of Meditation

Sankashtnashana sthothra:

Om Pranamya shirasa devam Gowriputhram vinayakam
Bhakthavasam smarenithyam ayuh kamarthasidhaye
Prathamam vakrathundam cha ekadhantham dwithiyakam
Thratheeyam krishnapingaksham gajavakram chathurthakam
Lambodharam panchamancha shashtam vikatamevacha
Sapthamam vighnarajendram cha dhoomravarnam thathashtamam
Navamam balachandram cha dashamam tu Vinayakam
Ekadhasham ganapathim dwadasham tu gajananam
Dwadashithani namani thrisandhyam yaha patennaraha
Na cha vighnabhayam thasya sarvasidhikaram prabho
Vidhyarthi labhathe vidhyam dhanarthi labhathe dhanam
Puthrarthi labhathe puthran moksharthi labhathe gathim
Japedh ganapathi sthothram shadbhir masam phalam labheth
Samvathsarena siddhim cha labhathe nathra samshayaha
Ashtebhyo brahmanebhyashcha likithvayaha samarpayeth
Thasya vidya bhaveth sarva ganeshasya prasadathaha
Ithi sri narada purane
Sankashta nashana ganapathi sthothram samaptham

OM vinaayakaaya namaH

Makara Sankaranti

2009-01-13T16:58:00.000+02:00

Aum Mitraya namah ||Aum Ravayé namah||Aum Suryaya namah||Aum Bhanavé namah||Aum Khagaya namah||Aum Pushné namah||Aum Hiranyagarbhaya namah||Aum Marichayé namah||Aum Adityaya namah||Aum Savitré namah||Aum Arkaya namah||Aum Bhaskaraya namah||

Makar Sankranti is of great significance to a devote Hindu and is one of the most important dates in the Hindu Calendar. Lord Surya (Sun God) is worshiped on this day. Every living and non-living being merges with the Brahman and Sun is the Pratyaksha-Brahman or the Brahman that can be seen.

The importance of Sun to earth and to the living beings was understood by Hindus from the very beginning. And the importance of it can be found in the Gayatri Mantra chanted to Sun (Surya) daily.

Makar Sankranti signals the end of winter and the onset of spring throughout the northern hemisphere. The period is referred to as Uttarayan Punyakalam and is considered auspicious. For the next six months, the days are longer and warmer. Legend has it that the Devas wake up after a six-month long slumber during this period.
There is also a symbolic meaning to Makara Sankranti. ‘Makar’ means crocodile. Sankranti means ‘to cross into or change.’ The ‘Makara’ or crocodile represents the materialistic world and ‘Sankranti’ gives an opportunity to get away from the clutches of the crocodile or the materialistic world.
The six month long Uttarayana begins on the Makar Sankrant day. From this day, the harshness of winter subsidizes and the days get longer. Symbolically, the Sun slowly removes darkness and ushers in the light of knowledge. Uttarayana is also the daytime of the Devas and therefore auspicious activities takes place during this period.
There are also numerous legends and myths which add to the importance of Makara Sankranti. One of the most important myths is the death of Bhishma Pitamaha in the Mahabharata. Bhishma chose Makar Sankranti day to die. (Bhisma had got a boon from his father that he will only die when he wishes.) It is believed that people who die during Uttarayana merges with the Brahman, thus ending the cycle of rebirth.

Shri Rudra

2009-01-09T19:03:00.004+02:00

Rudra it's a name of Shiva. There are several meanings to the word Rudra.
“Rtam (dam) Samsaara dukham draava yat iti Rudrah”.He destroys the sorrows of the world i.e. (Rudra).
“Rodati Sarvamantakala”. The one who makes one to suffer.
“Rtou Naadaante dravati – draavayateeti Rudrah". The end note of the musical sound i.e. (Rudra).
“Rtya – Vedarupaya, dharmadinava-loka yati praayateeti vaa Rudrah”. In the form of Veda Dharma is promoted i.e. (Rudra).
“Rtya-vaagrupaya, vaakyam, prapayateeti Rudrah”. In the form of Speech, brings out the importance of the meaning of words i.e. (Rudra).
Rtya-Pranava rupaya svatmanam prayateeti Rudrah”. In the name of pranava (OM) He makes one to realize him.
“Rudroroutiti satye rorupamaano dravati pravashati martyaaniti Rudrah”. In the form truth he enters humans.
“Rtam Sabdam Vedaatmaanam Brahmane dadati Kalpaadaaviti Rudrah”. Rudra presented Vedas to Brahma at the Commencement of kalpa. Rudras also means the persons created by Rudra as Sadrusha.
Rtim Raati is responsible for the sound. He is praana Svarupa. Granter of praana (life).

Rudram is i.e. light Teja and Ruth who binds and attracts. Rudram is fire itself. He has tow forms one terrible and the other auspicious i.e. reflected in this Brahmana.
“Taam bhakte draavayati". He is even capable of driving away hat Shakti (energy).

From Rudra Hridaya Upanishad:

...There do not shine the bodies of the sun, moon or the stars. There does not blow the wind, there do not exist many Devatas. He, the One Lord only exists. He only, the Purity of purities, shines for ever and ever.
There are two birds in this body, the Jiva and the Paramatman. The Jiva eats the fruit of his Karmas, but the Paramatman is untouched by anything. The Paramatman is only the Sakshi. He does not do anything. He only assumes the form of the Jiva through His Maya, just as the Akasa inside a pot seems to be different from the Akasa outside and assumes the form of the pot. In reality all is Siva, Advaita, the One Absolute. There is no difference of whatever kind.
When all is understood to be One, Omkara, the Absolute, there is no sorrow, there is no Maya. Then the attainment of the Advaita-Paramananda is very easy. Think that you are the basis of all this universe, you are the One, Kevala, Sat-Chit-Ghana. All people cannot understand this Truth. Those devoid of Maya can know this secret. After knowing this, the Atman does not move towards any place at any time. It becomes one with the Absolute, just like Ghatakasa with Paramakasa. Just as Akasa does not move anywhere, similarly this Atman does not have any movement. It becomes one with OM.
One who knows this great secret Truth is the real Muni. He becomes the Para-Brahman Itself. He becomes Satchidananda. He attains permanent peace.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

||Om Tat Purushaya Vidhmahe
Mahadevaya Dheemahe
Thanno Rudra Prachodayath.||

Sri Rudram:

Nataraj and Chidambaram

2009-01-09T14:01:00.000+02:00

Saint Thirumoolar, whose legend is intricately woven with Chidambaram, says in his Thirumanthiram:

mAnudarAkkai vadivu sivalingam

mAnudarAkkai vadivu chidambaram

mAnudarAkkai vadivu sadAsivam

mAnudarAkkai vadivu thirukkoothe

Meaning: “Sivalingam is of the form of the human body; So is Chidambaram ; So is Sadasivam ; And so is his divine dance”.

Symbolism behind the structure of a Shiva Temple:
1. The temple is so constructed as to resemble the human body with all its subtleties.

2. The five walls encircling one another are the kosas ( sheaths) of human existence .
a. The outermost is the Annamaya kosa , symbolizing the material body.
b. The second is Pranamaya kosa , symbolizing the sheath of vital force or prana.
c. The third is Manomaya kosa, symbolizing the sheath of the thoughts, the mana
d. The fouth is the Vignyana maya kosa, symbolizing, the sheath of the intellect
e. The fifth and innermost is the Ananda maya kosa, symbolizing the sheath of Bliss.

3. The sanctum which is in the prakara symbolizing the Ananda Maya Kosa sheath ,
houses the lord, seated as the Jiva within us. It is to be noted that the sanctum is an unlit space, just as if within the heart closed on all sides.

4. The entry Gopuras are likened to the feet, as resembling a person who is lying on the back with the toe up.

5. The flag post depicts the sushumna nadi which raises from the Mooladhar (base of the spine ) to the sahasrar ( vertex in the head).

6. Some temples will have three prakarams. There they represent the stoola, sukshma
and karana sareeras (bodies) of a human being Some temples have only one and they
represent all the five.

Nataraja is the cosmic dancer form of Shiva.A separate South-facing shrine for Nataraja exists in all the Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu maintained in accordance with the Saiva Agamas.

Symbolism behind the structure of a Chidambaram temple:

The main edifices of the temple are the five Sabhas or Halls: the Cit Sabha, Kanaka Sabha, Deva Sabha, Nritta Sabha, and the Raja Sabha. There are five steps leading to the Chit sabha from the Kanaka sabha depicting the five lettered Panchakshara mantra ( Na ma chi vA ya).
At the centre of the temple is situated the sanctum sanctorum or holy of holiest, called the Cit Sabha or Cit Ambalam. This means the ‘Hall of Wisdom’. It is the main shrine where Lord Shiva Nataraja accompanied by his consort Parvati performs His Cosmic Dance, the Ananda Tandava or Dance of Bliss. A unique feature is that the structure of the actual Sabha is made of wood, which has so far not been botanically classified. It is rectangular in form and here Shiva is worshipped in his three aspects:

· As Form ---> Nataraja the murti or image of Shiva
· As Formless-Form ---> The crystal linga called Chandramaulishvara
· As Formless ---> The yantra which is the Akasha Linga

The world is the embodiment of the Virat Purusha, the colossal human form. Chidambaram is the centre of this form, the place of the heart, where Shiva performs the Cosmic Dance.
The Chidambaram temple is laid out as a Purusha. For this reason the devotees may approach the central shrine from two sides. As blood flows to and from the heart. The nine stupas topping the golden roof represent the nine orifices of the human body, and also symbolise the nine Matrikas or goddesses. The roof is made of 21.600 tiles, representing inhalations and exhalations of breath. The links and side joints symbolise the connecting veins.
In the Chidambaram temple the Dancing Shiva is the Presiding Deity, and all rituals are conducted on the basis of the Vedic doctrine. These are the two features which distinguish the Shiva Nataraja temple from all other temples in India. Shiva Nataraja’s dance is seen as the visualisation of the processes of cosmos. In his murti or physical image we can see his five activities.
a) creation:
Visualised in the small, hourglass-shaped drum, called damaru, which he holds in his upper right hand. It represents the vibration of the Big Bang, which is the sacred sound OM.
b) preservation:
Is seen in his lower right hand. It signals protection; fear not. Nataraja faces south and thus dispels the fear of death for the humanity.
c) dissolution:
Is symbolised by the flame in his upper left hand. At the end of the lifetime of the universe everything will be dissolved in fire.
d) illusion:
Is in his stable right leg, which dances on the dwarf, pressing him down. This symbolises his conquest of Maya, Illusion.

e) Salvation:His lower left hand points the attention of the devotee towards his raised, dancing left foot. Here in his dance one can realise the Salvation he offers to the humanity.

His dance also makes the five Elements out of which the universe is formed, become visible. The damaru represents the Element Air. The air inside it makes the sound, the vibration, possible. The flame in his left hand represents the Element Fire. The goddess Ganga, in his matted hair, from which flows the sacred river Ganges, represents the Element Water. The Element Earth is the dwarf on whom he dances. The fifth Element, Akasha or Ether, is invisible to us. It is the empty space, the Void, between his stable right leg and his lifted foot.

Kripa samudram sumukham trinetram
jatadharam Parvati vama bhagam
Sada Sivam Rudram anandarupam
Cidambaresam hridi bhavayami

O Lord, you are the ocean of mercy,

Your shining face adorned with three eyes,With matted hair,
Goddess Parvati permanently with you on your left,
You are the eternal and cosmic form of bliss,
Presiding Lord of Chidambaram,
Dancing the Ananda Tandava,
You are dwelling in the heart of the devotees.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

"Nataraj" -- From the enhanced CD "Sublime" by Jaya Lakshmi:

To Light

2009-01-06T21:23:00.004+02:00

1. In the White Light

Here the meditator goes into a realm where there is a brilliant white light pervading everywhere. He has consciousness of himself and the White Light, and nothing else. He is not aware of his body, mind or the world. Only two things remain - his awareness and the white light. It's a duality.

2. In the Dark Inner Space

Next, from the realm of the white light the experiencer moves into another realm where there is what we call the Dark Inner Space pervading everywhere. It looks like the physical outer space above the stratosphere but this is inner, within us, and it is dark. The meditator has consciousness of himself and this Dark Inner Space and experiences deep peacefullness. He is not aware of his body, mind or the world. Only two things remain - his awareness and the dark endless space. It's a duality.

3. In the Golden Light

Next, the experiencer moves from the realm of the dark inner space into another realm where a yellow-golden light is experienced. It is not really a 'move' from one realm into another but rather the realm of the dark inner space transforms into this Golden Light pervading everywhere. It is formless form. The meditator has consciousness of himself and this Golden Light. He is not aware of his body, mind or the world. All these things cease to exist. Only two things remain - his awareness and the golden light. Its a duality.

4. Entering the Golden Light

Next, the experiencer 'moves' from merely being aware of the golden light to entering it, or, becoming the golden light. This is a transition phase, where the consciousness of the experiencer merges into the golden light. He is only aware of the merging.

5. Becoming the Golden Light

Next, the transition is complete, and the experiencer has become the Golden Light. He is the Golden Light. He has lost awareness of his own personal consciousness. There is no duality. Only One Thing exists in this realm. The experiencer sees himself as All, has all knowledge and bliss, but no power.

6. Entering the Nothing

Next, the experiencer as the Golden Light, moves or transforms, into The Nothingness. There is no duality. He is only aware of himself as the golden light entering another dimension and becoming The Nothing. This is another transition phase really.

7. Becoming the Unknown

Next, the experiencer 'moves' from experiencing The Nothing to merging into the Nothing and becoming what we call as The Unknown. Nothing is describable in this state. It cannot be said if anything exists or does not exists.

State 6 & 7 is what we term as parashiva, parabrahman, atattva (beyond the 36 tattvas). Buddhists call state 6 as nirvana. The relationship cannot be described, (if there is one, that is) except as not two.

State 3, 4 & 5 is what we term as satchitananda, parashakti, Shiva or Saguna Brahman, tattva 1 & 2. Oneness and twoness is experienced here.

How do we know if this was made up or a fake. Check any veda, upanishad or agama and you will not find any such knowledge there. Only living jivanmuktas can describe all these stages with such clarity, precision and exactitude. It cannot be corroborated otherwise ...

only you Self.

The Song of The Sannyasin

2009-01-02T18:11:00.002+02:00

The Song of The Sannyasin
by Swami Vivekananda

Wake up the note! the song that had its birth far off, where worldly taint could never reach, in mountain caves and glades of forest deep, whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame could ever dare to break; where rolled the stream of knowledge, truth, and bliss that follows both. Sing high that note, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Strike off thy fetters! bonds that bind thee down, of shining gold, or darker, baser ore--love, hate; good, bad; and all the dual throng. Know slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;for fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind.Then off with them, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Let darkness go; the will-o'-the-wisp that leads with blinking light to pile more gloom on gloom. This thirst for life forever quench; it drags from birth to death, and death to birth, the soul. He conquers all who conquers self. Know this and never yield, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

"Who sows must reap," they say, "and cause must bring the sure effect: good, good; bad, bad; and none escapes the law. But who so wears a form must wear the chain." Too true; but far beyond both name and form is atman, ever free. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

They know not truth who dream such vacant dreams as father, mother, children, wife and friend. The sexless Self--whose father He? whose child? whose friend, whose foe, is He who is but One? The Self is all in all--none else exists; and thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

There is but One: the Free, the Knower, Self, without a name, without a form or stain. In Him is maya, dreaming all this dream.The Witness, He appears as nature, soul. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this world nor that can give. In books and temples, vain thy search. Thine only is the hand that holds the rope that drags thee on. Then cease lament. Let go thy hold, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Say, "Peace to all. From me no danger be to aught that lives. In those that dwell on high, in those that lowly creep--I am the Self in all! All life, both here and there, do I renounce, all heavens and earths and hells, all hopes and fears." Thus cut thy bonds, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Heed then no more how body lives or goes. Its task is done: let karma float it down. Let one put garlands on, another kick this frame; say naught. No praise or blame can be where praiser, praised, and blamer, blamed, are one.Thus be thou calm, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Truth never comes where lust and fame and greed of gain reside. No man who thinks of woman as his wife can ever perfect be; nor he who owns the least of things, nor he whom anger chains, can ever pass through maya's gates. So, give these up, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend? The sky thy roof, the grass thy bed; and food what chance may bring--well cooked or ill, judge not. No food or drink can taint that noble Self which knows Itself. Like rolling river free thou ever be, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Few only know the truth. The rest will hate and laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed. Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help them out of darkness, maya's veil. Without the fear of pain or search for pleasure, go beyond them both, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

Thus day by day, till karma's power's spent, release the soul forever. No more is birth, nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The "I" has All become, the All is "I" and Bliss. Know thou art That, sannyasin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om."

An Upanishadic insight

2008-12-17T17:53:00.002+02:00

naranilan curan iyakkan nAnalan anataNan maTRu
aracanum vaNikan cUttiran allan naRpiracAri
kirakiyum vAnappirattan kETakal canyAci
niraiyinil yArumallEn nicapOta vaTivinAmE

A man, a demigod, a dog, I am not;
Nor a brahmin am I.
A kshatriya, vaishya, shudra, I am not;
Nor in one of the four stages am I.
Not a bachelor or householder,
Not a renunciant or forest-dweller.
I am none in any hierarchy.
Forms of our consciousness are we.

This verse is from NUTRiraTTu which is attributed to the saint RamaNa who in turn presented this as AttAmalakam, a Tamil version of a Sanskrit philosophical work HastamAlakam. The word literally means "gooseberry in the hand." It is derived from the expression: to have gooseberry in one's hand which meant in the language, to say something that is crystal clear.

It is said that once a woman who wished to take a dip in a sacred river left her infant to the care of an ascetic on the bank. Unfortunately, while the saintly man was deep in meditation the child crawled into the waters and drowned. When the mother returned and discovered the tragedy she began to wail. The spiritual man, realizing what had happened, took the body of the dead child from the river, and let his own soul seep into it. The child was revived, but it did not speak. The yogi in the boy's body saw no need to talk. Some years later, the great ShankarAcArya happened to run into the seven-year mute child. The philosopher-saint asked the boy who he was, and who his parents were. Now the lad suddenly spoke, and uttered the above words of wisdom.

The life principle manifests itself in a variety of ways. In the traditional worldview they may even be as unearthly beings. Here on earth they could be humans or animals. We as human beings refer to ourselves as of this race or nation, of that creed or caste. Then again we recognize ourselves as being in different stages in life: as child or adult, as spouse or parent or grandparent.
In the midst of all these apparent differences and transformations we often forget that at the core we are all but bits of the same cosmic self. This Upanishadic insight is what is conveyed in the poem above.

In a society in which one still fights about jAti and VarNa, it is good to recall the wisdom of our sage-poets. But it is far more important to internalize these great truths and translate them into practice.

Khwaja Mere Khwaja

2008-12-04T19:20:00.002+02:00

Khwaja Mere Khwaja, a song from the movie Jodhaa Akbar.

Sung & Composed By A.R. Rahman:

Khwajaji, khwaja
(O saint khwaja)
Khwajaji, khwaja, khwaja ji
(O saint khwaja) ; (O saint khwaja)
Ya gharib nawaz
(The one who cherishes/soothes the poor)
Ya moinuddin, ya khwaja ji
(O Moinuddin Chisti), (O khwaja saint)
Khwaja mere khwaja
(O saint khwaja)
Dil mein sama ja
(Reside in my heart)
Shaho ka shah tu
(You are the king of kings)
Ali ka dulara
(Ali’s beloved)
Khwaja mere khwaja dil mein sama ja
(O saint khwaja); (Reside in my heart)
Beqaso ki taqdeer, tune hai sawari
(The destiny of the ones in despair, you have changed for the better)
Khwaja mere khwaja
(O saint khwaja)
Tere darbar mein khwaja
(At your door, o khwaja)
Door toh hai dekha
(I’ve seen it from afar)
Sar jhuka te hai auliya
(Your confidents/protectors/confessors bow down to you)
Tu hai Hindalwali khwaja
(You are the hindalwali Khwaja)
Rutba hai pyara
(Your status is glorious/great)
Chahne se tujhko khwaja ji mustafa ko paya
(By wishing/worshipping you Khwaja, I have found Muhammad [the chosen one])
Khwaja mere khwaja
(O saint khwaja)
Dil mein sama ja
(Reside in my heart)
Shaho ka shah tu
(You are the king of kings)
Ali ka dulara
(Ali’s beloved)
Mere peer ka sadka
(The alms of my old age)
Hai mere peer ka sadka
(It is the charity of my old age)
Tera daaman hai thama
(That I have come in your refuge)
Khawajaji
Tali har bala humari
(All my problems/crisis have been averted)
Chaya hai khumar tera
(Your trance is all over me)
Jitna bhi rashk kare beshak
(No matter how much one may envy (rashk) be jealous)
Toh kam hai ae mere khwaja
(Its just too less, o khwaja)
Tere kadmo ko mere rehnuma nahi chodna gawara
(Its not acceptable(gawara) , o my guide(rehnuma), to leave your feet(kadmo)now.)
Khwaja mere khwaja
(O saint khwaja)
Dil mein sama ja
(Reside in my heart)
Shaho ka shah tu
(You are the king of kings)
Ali ka dulara
(Ali’s beloved)
Khwaja mere khwaja dil mein sama ja
(O saint khwaja); (Reside in my heart)
Beqaso ki taqdeer, tune hai sawari
(The destiny of the ones in despair, you have changed for the better)

Rumi

2008-12-04T18:52:00.000+02:00

White Tara

2008-11-25T23:15:00.003+02:00

Goddess Tara, a female Buddha and meditational deity, is arguably the most popular goddess in the Buddhist pantheon. She is considered to be the goddess of universal compassion who represents virtuous and enlightened activity.White Tara is, of course, white in colour. Her white colour indicates purity, but also indicates that she is Truth complete and undifferentiated.
White Tara (Sitatara) is associated with long life. Her mantra is often chanted with a particular person in mind. She’s another representation of compassion, and she’s pictured as being endowed with seven eyes (look at the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and her forehead) to symbolize the watchfulness of the compassionate mind.
When the 1000 White Taras are named the tone of the planet will shift from one of fear to one of compassion, of love. It is something like the Durga myth. When the world was on the brink and the Gods threw their hands up in surrender and called on Durga to save this world, Durga came. She cut away greed and avarice and restored harmony. The Gods asked her to stay and be our goddess but she said , "No, that wasn't the deal I signed onto, but if you need me again you can call on me". And so we are. We are calling her to cut away avarice and we are calling on White Tara to remove the fear, thus allowing this to happen, through compassion... through love.

Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Mama Ayuḥ Punya Jñānā Puṣtiṃ Kuru Svāhā

Kaala Bhairava

2008-11-19T15:21:00.004+02:00

Kaal Bhairava - the Lord of the March of Time.
Lord Kaala Bhairava is that manifestation of Lord Shiva who oversees the march of time. Bhairava means "terrifying" and it is an adjective applied to Shiva in His fearful aspect. Seen as Siva Himself, Bhairava reveals the 64 Bhairava Agamas to Shakti (Bhairavi), which are the source of Kashmir Saiva philosophy. In Kashmir Saivism, Bhairava is said to be derived from bha (bharana; maintenance) + ra (ravana; withdrawal) + va (vamana; bring out or create). So, Bhairava is Siva Himself, the supreme, who brings forth, sustains and withdraws creation back into Himself.

In the Vijnanabhairava Tantra:

Understand that the spatial reality of Bhairava is present in everything, in every being, and be this reality. (verse 124)

Bhairava is one with your radiant consciousness; singing the name of Bhairava, one becomes Siva. (verse 130)

O beloved, when the mind, intellect, energy and (the notion of) limited self vanish, then appears that wonderful Bhairava. (verse 138)

The Rudrayamala Tantra, quoted in a puja manual Bhairava Upasana, describes the worship of Vatuka Bhairava, or Bhairava as a small boy, and gives his mantra as

hrim vatukaya apadudharanaya kuru kuru batukaya hrim.

From the yogic point of view, if an individual applies the Bhairava Mudra, he or she looks both outwards and inwards at the same time and is one with Shiva-Shakti. Bhairava is terrible, terrifying, because He represents pure consciousness, before which the kleshas (obstacles) and conditioning of an ignorant human being crumble.

|| śrī kālabhairavāṣṭakaṁ ||
devarājasevyamānapāvanāṁghripaṅkajaṁ vyālayajñasūtraminduśekharaṁ kṛpākaram |
nāradādiyogivṛndavanditaṁ digaṁbaraṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 1 ||

bhānukoṭibhāsvaraṁ bhavābdhitārakaṁ paraṁ nīlakaṇṭhamīpsitārthadāyakaṁ trilocanam |
kālakālamaṁbujākśamakśaśūlamakśaraṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 2 ||

śūlaṭaṁkapāśadaṇḍapāṇimādikāraṇaṁ śyāmakāyamādidevamakśaraṁ nirāmayam |
bhīmavikramaṁ prabhuṁ vicitratāṇḍavapriyaṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 3 ||

bhuktimuktidāyakaṁ praśastacāruvigrahaṁ bhaktavatsalaṁ sthitaṁ samastalokavigraham |
vinikvaṇanmanojñahemakiṅkiṇīlasatkaṭiṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 4 ||

dharmasetupālakaṁ tvadharmamārganāśanaṁ karmapāśamocakaṁ suśarmadhāyakaṁ vibhum |
svarṇavarṇaśeṣapāśaśobhitāṁgamaṇḍalaṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 5 ||

ratnapādukāprabhābhirāmapādayugmakaṁ nityamadvitīyamiṣṭadaivataṁ niraṁjanam |
mṛtyudarpanāśanaṁ karāladaṁṣṭramokśaṇaṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 6 ||

aṭṭahāsabhinnapadmajāṇḍakośasaṁtatiṁ dṛṣṭipāttanaṣṭapāpajālamugraśāsanam |
aṣṭasiddhidāyakaṁ kapālamālikādharaṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 7 ||

bhūtasaṁghanāyakaṁ viśālakīrtidāyakaṁ kāśivāsalokapuṇyapāpaśodhakaṁ vibhum |
nītimārgakovidaṁ purātanaṁ jagatpatiṁ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṁ bhaje || 8 ||

kālabhairavāṣṭakaṁ paṭhaṁti ye manoharaṁ jñānamuktisādhanaṁ vicitrapuṇyavardhanam |
śokamohadainyalobhakopatāpanāśanaṁ prayānti kālabhairavāṁghrisannidhiṁ narā dhruvam ||

|| iti śrīmachaṁkarācāryaviracitaṁ śrī kālabhairavāṣṭakaṁ saṁpūrṇam ||

kāśikāpurādhinātha kālabhairavaṁ bhaje !

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Prakasha & Vimarsha

2008-11-14T18:11:00.004+02:00

In Tantric Metaphysics, the Original Absolute or Ultimate Reality, called Paramashiva ("Supreme Godhead") or Parasamvit ("Supreme Consciousness") is described as Prakasha. This is the Absolute Reality as pure, static, nondual Consciousness.

And just as Shiva is Prakasha, so Shakti - the dynamic self-expression of the Absolute - is Vimarsha. Vimarsha is the self-contemplation of Prakasha, it is Prakasha reflecting Itself, surveying Itself, Experiencing Itself. As one Shakta Tantric text, the Kamakala vilasa, puts it, "Vimarsha is the mirror in which Prakasha reviews itself" [Shankaranarayanan, Sri Cakra, p.20]

Thus the Godhead, which is of the nature of Prakasha, transcendentally and non-dualistically experiences (Vimarsha) Its own intrinsic nature. This is the state of Shiva and Shakti, Prakasha and Vimarsha, in total identity and union, the Ground of Being, Infinite Consciousness. Through Vimarsha, the Absolute emerges from Its original Latency, to become Self-Conscious (Vimarsha) of Its own Infinity and Its own Infinite attributes.

All Creation and all existence comes about through Vimarsha, through the Absolute experiencing Itself.
At the level of the Unmanifest Absolute (Parabrahman, Parasamvit, etc), Shiva and Shakti, Prakasha and Vimarsha, abide in total identity and union. Parabrahman is eternal and unchanging; the Quiescent Absolute Light and Truth which is beyond Light and Dark, Truth and Falsehood.

The Sufi Jili, a disciple of the great Ibn Arabi, spoke of stages of unfoldment within the Godhead Itself, in which the original simple Essence, the "Dark mist" (al-`Ama), develops consciousness and qualities by passing through various stages of manifestation, which modify Its original simplicity [R. A. Nicholson, Studies in Islamic Mysticism, pp.83-4].

The "Dark mist" (al-`Ama), the Unmanifest
|
Abstract Oneness (Ahadiyya)
|
He-ness (Huwiyya) and I-ness (Aniyya)
|
Unity in plurality (Wahidiyya)

are all transcendent stages of Divine being. From Wahidiyya arise Mercifulness and Lordship, which pertain to God's relation with his Creation.
And Sri Aurobindo states that the Supermind has three "poises" which are outlined as follows:
"...The first founds the inalienable unity of things, the second modifies that unity so as to support the manifestation of the Many in One and the One in Many; the third further modifies it so as support the evolution of a diversified individuality which, by the action of Ignorance, becomes...at a lower level the illusion of the separate ego..."

The Sufi Jili gives a visionary account in which the Ruh or Divine Spirit conversed with him regarding its origin and its nature, saying: "I am the child whose father is its son and the wine whose vine is its jar....I met the mothers who bore me and I asked them in marriage..."

Mono- and Poly-theism

2008-11-13T17:37:00.004+02:00

In the major religious traditions of humankind god is always used in the singular. In Judeo-Christian thought as in Plato as well in Islam, we find explicit affirmation of there being but one God. This firm belief in a single god is referred to as monotheism. On the other hand, there are (and have been)religious systems which freely recognize a variety of gods. In ancient Egypt,Persia, and Greece, for example, many different gods were worshipped. We call this belief polytheism.

In the vision of Hinduism there are no simple answers to complex questions. If we ask the Hindu tradition, which of the two views, a single god or many gods is correct, the answer would be, both: There is but one god, and there are also many.

Confusing as such an answer might seem, a little reflec-tion will show that it carries much meaning if we recognize that God is not an object or an entity that is to be spotted at some place and time, but an inherent feature of the cosmos that is to be grasped as an inner experience. We may approach the question through an analogy.

Consider music. Is there such a thing as music ? The answer clearly is yes, but only to those who have heard music. A person born deaf may deny the existence of music or at best agree with a hearing person who tells him so. But no one can intellectually grasp music: It is to be experienced, not defined. Now let us ask: Is there one music or many ? Music is one, but its expressions are countless. What is more, at least for most of us, we can only know music through its many expressions. Perhaps, at the highest level, one may be able to grasp music as such without reference to any particular piece. This, roughly, is the Hindu view of god. There is but one god, but its manifestations are many. And god is best experienced through one or more of its multiple manifestations.

It is possible to enjoy a variety of music and yet be fond of one particular piece more than any other. If we were to ask an avid music lover which is the most im-portant or enjoyable piece of music, she could very well say, "The one I am istening to at a given moment." For each piece has its own charm and beauty,and while one is in the joys of listening to a particular piece, all others recede into silence. So too, in the Hindu mode, of the many manifestations of god, the one that is being adored is the most important at the moment. Others may, at other times, take on the primary role.

In the Hindu attitude to the Divine, the one God is manifest in many different forms of co-equal importance, yet with one of them taking on major significance to an individual in a given context. Furthermore, just as every music lover may have his or her own favorite piece, a Hindu (or Hindu family) may have a favorite divine form; that is, One Who is worshipped regularly as one's own hereditarily adopted deity. Such a godhead is called an ishta-devata or chosen god. And we are told, pratim?rathamo pr?han?the m?is the first step in worship.

Monotheism is a grand vision, if the term only implied belief in a single God. Sadly, it often includes a constraining corollary: "That One God is the God which I worship." It is no small irony of history that there have been more bloody confrontations between monotheistic religions and among sects within monotheistic religions than between any of them and a polytheistic one: not a happy commentary on Middle-Eastern monotheism.

Theologians and leaders of all religions would do well to consider Hinduism's view on this matter. There is a precious aphorism in the Rig Veda which says it all:

ekam sat; vipra bahuda vadanti

Truth is one; the learned call it by different names.

The word sat means truth, essence, and also God. God is essentially the ultimate truth, the quintessence of the Cosmic Whole. In the Hindu framework, by truth one means that which is real, and by real one means that which is eternal, and not subject to transformation or decay. Thus, God is the only Reality with a capital R. Reality with a small r is the passing and perishing panorama that we experience every waking hour.

Quintessential Truth, however, is infinite, and it can be grasped only in parts and only parts of it can be grasped by the human mind. So every description of the Divine, whether from revelation or through speculation, whether from reading or by reflection, can only be partial. So we all proclaim it in many different ways. One is not right and the other wrong in this matter. Like the six blind men who wanted to know about the elephant, we all obtain a glimpse of the Ultimate. Truth about the Ultimate is like the glitter of a gem, it shines in different ways when viewed from different angles. For the enlightened heart and mind, God can be seen in the star of David as in the Cross, in the Crescent inspired by the Koran as in the abstract sound of the sacred Om.

Sohni-Mahiwal

2008-11-03T18:42:00.002+02:00

This love legend has the Chenab river as the central motif and the water of the river plays the role of bringing together the lovers and then parting them forever.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in his famous qawwali sung of Sohni as the one who lost her all for love. As the tale goes, Sohni, a potter’s daughter in Gujarat and an artist in her own right, baked the most beautiful pots ever. Mahiwal, the prince of Bukharo, came to Gujarat and saw the pots made by Sohni and led from the pots to Sohni, he fell in love with her. Sohni too gave her heart away to the prince charming. The social order would not accept this love for a man from afar and so to be near her, he became a buffalo herd, thus the name Mahiwal.

However, Sohni was married off to someone else but the lovers continued to meet. Sohni would swim past midnight with an earthen pitcher for support to meet her Mahiwal on the other side of the Chenab. He would await her arrival with a fire lit outside his hut. However, her sister-in-law discovered this secret rendezvous and one ill-fated night replaced the earthen pitcher with a half-baked one. Sohni was drowned in the Chenab and her corpse reached her lover.

The legend of Sohni-Mahiwal first captured the imagination of poets like Fazal Shah and Qadir Yaar who are considered the "Sohni specialists", just as Waris Shah and Damodar are the specialists of the saga of Heer.

Qadir Yaar (1802-1892) wrote of the love of Sohni in the Sufi strains where Ishq Majazi (human love) is considered a shortcut to Ishq Haqiqi (love for God) poignantly penned the last night of the qissa of Sohni thus:

Across the Chenab his hut beckoned her

Like a lamp flickering on a grave

On that stormy night the breath of the

Chenab was torn, clouds screamed

To test Sohni, God created this night

Cold, violent and strangely rain-drenched

Speaking Allah’s name she lifts her pot

Knowing intuitively it is half-baked…

Lights of DIWALI

2008-10-28T21:02:00.002+02:00

Diwali, being the festival of lights, thousands of lamps are lit in and outside every home on the day.

Lamp or “Deep” is the symbol of knowledge. Lighting the lamp of knowledge within us means to understand and reflect upon the significant purpose of each of the five days of festivities and to bring those thoughts in to our day to day lives.

Kalpasutra mentions that the King Chetaka of Vaishali with several confederate kings, had a great lightning of lights, since they said:

"since the light of intelligence (Vardhamana Mahavira) is gone,

let us make an illumination of the material matter"

HAPPY DIWALI!

Chandi

2008-10-06T00:44:00.004+03:00

The most important legend which is central to Durga Puja is about Durga, and forms the theme of Chandi. In the Chandi, Durga is mostly referred to simply as Devi, the Goddess, and occasionally as Ambika. She is an independent, supreme Goddess, not the consort of any male God. Chandi is described as the Supreme reality who is a combination of Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati.
The story of the goddess who protects and restores order to the universe is told in the 700 verse Chandi Path, also known as the Durga Saptashati. As already mentioned, the Chandi is one of the oldest scriptures on Mother Worship. It was obviously composed before the sectarian divisions of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism entered Hinduism. Hence Devi is referred to in this book as the Power of Vishnu and also addressed as Narayani repeatedly.

Durga in Chandi

The Chandi is divided into three parts. In the first part Devi appears as Mahamaya which is described as yoga-nidra of Vishnu. That is to say, Mahamaya is the power of Tamas which makes people lethargic, indolent and sleepy. Under the influence of this cosmic delusive Power, Lord Vishnu went to sleep. At that time two demons by name Madhu and Kaitabh came out the ears of Vishnu and attacked Brahma the Creator God. Brahma then praised the Divine Mother as Mahamaya or Yoga-nidra. Pleased with the petition, she withdrew herself from Vishnu's body. Vishnu now woke up and killed Madhu and Kaitabh.

In the second part Devi appears as Mahishasura-mardini and is also called Chandika. The story goes that when a powerful demon by name Mahishasura was the king of the Asuras (demons), they attacked the Devas (gods) and vanquished them. The defeated gods went to Shiva and Vishnu and complained about the atrocities of Mahishasura. Hearing this, Vishnu, Shiva and other presiding Deities became angry. The rays of their anger combined to form a supremely powerful and dazzlingly bright female Being - the Devi known also as Chandika and Ambika. Seeing the dazzling brightness of the Devi, Mahishasura first sent his army to attack Her. But the Divine Mother exterminated them all. Then Mahishasura, who had the form of a buffalo, himself attacked Her. Devi at once jumped upon his body, pressed his neck with her foot, struck his chest with her spear, and finally cut off his head. The gods being extremely relieved and pleased, praised the Devi, and their praise takes up the rest of the second part of Chandi.

In the third part of the book, Devi appears first as Parvati and then, out of her form, there arises another form known as Kalika. But she continues to be referred to as Ambika. The third part narrates another valorous act of the Divine Mother. Once upon a time two brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha became lords of the three worlds, and the gods lost everything. Coming to know of the beauty of Kalika, they sent word to her asking her to come to them. When she spurned their order, they at first sent two demons, Chanda and Munda, to capture her. Seeing them, Ambika became angry and out of that anger there issued forth a terrible form known as Kali who fought with the demons. Finally Kali cut off the heads of Chanda and Munda. She thus came to be called Chamunda. Now Shumbha and Nishumbha themselves rode in their chariots and attacked Ambika and Kali. After a protracted battle Ambika herself destroyed Shumbha and Nishumbha.

The image of Durga as Mahishasuramardini epitomizes the Chandi. To understand the significance of the image we have to understand the significance of the Chandi.
Sri Ramakrishna used to say: Jini Brahma tini Shakti, tini i Ma "He who is Brahman is Shakti, and He himself is the Mother of the Universe".

In modern times the Divine Mother, born as Sri Sarada Devi, has given us this assurance: ''Always remember, there is somebody behind you … Place your burden upon me and remain unperturbed.'' This is also the last message of the Chandi.

Aim Hrim Klim Chamundaye Vichhe

Navratri

2008-10-01T20:51:00.006+03:00

Worship of God as Mother has prevailed in India from prehistoric times. It was perhaps in vogue in Mohenjodaro-Harappa civilization. In the Rig Veda, there is a wonderful hymn known as Devi-Suktam (which is chanted during Durga Puja days) in which the Divine Mother declares that She moves with the Rudras, Vasus, Adityas, and all other gods, that She is the power of all gods, that She is the Queen of the world, and so on.

The Durga Puja is celebrated in various parts of India in different styles. But the one basic aim of this celebration is to propitiate Shakti, the Goddess in Her aspect as Power, to bestow upon man all wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge (both sacred and secular), and all other potent powers. Whatever be the particular or special request that everyone may put before the Goddess, whatever boon may be asked of Her, the one thing behind all these is propitiation, worship and linking oneself with Her. There is no other aim. This is being effected consciously or unconsciously. Everyone is blessed with Her loving mercy and is protected by Her.

Durga represents the Divine Mother. She is the energy aspect of the Lord. Without Durga, Shiva has no expression and without Shiva, Durga has no existence. Shiva is the soul of Durga; Durga is identical with Shiva. Lord Shiva is only the silent witness. He is motionless, absolutely changeless. He is not affected by the cosmic play. It is Durga who does everything.
Shakti is the omnipotent power of the Lord, or the Cosmic Energy. The Divine Mother is represented as having ten different weapons in Her hands. She sits on a lion. She keeps up the play of the Lord through the three attributes of Nature, namely, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, are all Her forms.
Devi worship is, therefore, worship of God's glory, of God's greatness and supremacy. It is adoration of the Almighty. It is unfortunate that Devi is ignorantly understood by many as a mere blood-thirsty Hindu Goddess. No! Devi is not a vicious demoness nor is She the property of the Hindus alone. Devi does not belong to any religion. Devi is that conscious power of God. The words Devi, Shakti, etc., and the ideas of different forms connected with these names are concessions granted by the sages due to the limitations of the human intellect; they are by no means the ultimate definitions of Shakti.

The Upanishad also says: "The supreme power of God is manifested in various ways. This power is of the nature of God, manifesting as knowledge, strength and activity".

Om Hrîm S’rîm Dûm Dûrgâyai namah
Om Hrîm S’rîm NavaDûrgâyai namah

Brahma sutras

2008-09-08T00:27:00.003+03:00

One of the most fascinating and useful aspects of the Vedic Literature are the Brahma Sutras.
The Brahma Sutras are composed of four Adhyaya (Chapters):
Samanvaya - Samanvaya means "reconcilation" or "establishing harmony"
Avirodha - Avirodha means "non-conflict"
Sadhana - Sadhana is "means"
Phala - the "fruit" or "bliss"

The Brahma Sutras are pointers to the transcendental, beyond the mind. If we attempt to understand the Brahma Sutras on the surface level of the meaning of words, then the mind will become caught up in the words and we will miss Brahman. Brahman is not a thing to be known. Brahman is for Being. Brahman is the essence of Being, the silence of Being.

The Brahma Sutras are to be known in silence and are revealed in silence. The true knowledge of Brahman is in the gap between the sutras. Think a sutra then transcend. The manifestation of the sutra will spring forth with the fullness of Brahman. Each sutra has this power, this mission and this glory.

The first sutra points the way to the dawn of Brahman Consciousness - the desire for knowledge of Brahman:

Athato Brahmajijnasa
Now, therefore, the enquiry into Brahman.

Atha: now, then, afterwards; Atah: therefore; Brahmajijnasa: a desire for the knowledge of Brahman (the enquiry into the real nature of Brahman).

In the second sutra we are given the pointer to the origin of the world:

Janmadyasya yatah

(Brahman is that) from which the origin etc., (i.e. the origin, sustenance and dissolution) of this (world proceeds).

Janmadi: origin etc.; Asya: of this (world); Yatah: from which.

The third sutra is about the importance of Sastra. Sastra is sometimes translated as scriptures or holy texts. What makes the Sastras holy texts is their ability to reveal Brahman. Sastras may be in the form of sutras, as in the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali, or the Brahma Sutras. Sastras may be in the form of prose, such as the Bhagavat Gita, or the Srimad Bhagavatum. In all cases, Sastras are writings that have as their sole purport the knowledge of Brahman.

The ultimate author of all Sastras is Lord Brahma, the creator of our Universe. Our Universe is a dream in the Mind of Lord Brahma and we are His dream creatures. When those who are awake record the thoughts of Lord Brahma, Sastras are the result.

The proper way to study Sastras is through the practice of samyama. One must not allow the mind to get caught up in trying to "understand" the Sastras. This understanding that the mind offers is very superficial and will not get at the Truth. Instead we do NOT try to understand the Sastras, we simply, innocently read the Sastras and then look inward for the revelation of the Truth they contain.

Sastrayonitvat
The scripture being the source of right knowledge.

Sastra: the scripture; Yonitvat: being the source of or the means of the right knowledge.
The Omniscience of Brahman follows from His being the source of scripture.

The fifth sutra reminds us that thinking about Brahman is not realization of Brahman:

Ikshaternasabdam
Thinking about (Brahman) is not (Brahman because thinking) is not subtle (enough for the realization of Brahman).

Ikshateh: on account of seeing (thinking); Na: is not; Asabdam: not subtle.

Katha Upanishada

2008-09-07T22:00:00.002+03:00

As indivisible air getting into the world becomes essence of every nature, so the indivisible "Self" of all existing stays also beyond.

The Katha Upanishad tells the story of Naciketas, a student who is initiated into traditional Upanishadic wisdom regarding the nature of reality. Naciketas offers to be sacrified by his father who is giving away all his possessions. He is sent to Yama, the god of death, who tests Naciketas for his qualifications to seek wisdom and eventually leads him on a gradual path to enlightenment.

Chapter II
1

There is a city with eleven gates belonging to the unborn Atman of undistorted Consciousness. He who meditates on Him grieves no more; liberated from the bonds of ignorance, he becomes free. This, verily, is That.

2

He is the sun dwelling in the bright heavens. He is the air in the interspace. He is the fire dwelling on earth. He is the guest dwelling in the house. He dwells in men, in the gods, in truth, in the sky. He is born in the water, on earth, in the sacrifice, on the mountains. He is the True and the Great.

3

He it is who sends prana upward and who leads apana downward. All the devas worship that adorable One seated in the middle.

4

When the soul, identified with the body and dwelling in it, is torn away from the body, is freed from it, what then remains? This, verily, is That?

5

No mortal ever lives by prana, which goes up, nor by apana, which goes down. Men live by something different, on which these two depend.

6

Well then, Gautama, I shall tell you about this profound and eternal Brahman and also about what happens to the atman after meeting death.

7

Some jivas enter the womb to be embodied as organic beings and some go into non—organic matter—according to their work and according to their knowledge.

8

He, the Purusha, who remains awake while the sense—organs are asleep, shaping one lovely form after another, that indeed is the Pure, that is Brahman and that alone is called the Immortal. All worlds are contained in Him and none can pass beyond. This, verily, is That.

9

As the same non—dual fire, after it has entered the world, becomes different according to whatever it burns, so also the same non—dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, becomes different according to whatever It enters. And It exists also without.

10

As the same non—dual air, after it has entered the world, becomes different according to whatever it enters, so also the same non—dual Atman, dwelling in all beings, becomes different according to whatever It enters. And It exists also without.

11

As the sun, which helps all eyes to see, is not affected by the blemishes of the eyes or of the external things revealed by it, so also the one Atman, dwelling in all beings, is never contaminated by the misery of the world, being outside it.

12

There is one Supreme Ruler, the inmost Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold. Eternal happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves—not to others.

13

There is One who is the eternal Reality among non—eternal objects, the one truly conscious Entity among conscious objects and who, though non—dual, fulfils the desires of many. Eternal peace belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves—not to others.

14

The sages realise that indescribable Supreme Joy as "This is That." How can I realise It? Is It self—luminous? Does It shine brightly, or not?

15

The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings—not to speak of this fire. He shining, everything shines after Him. By His light all this is lighted.

Mahadeviyakka

2008-09-06T18:05:00.006+03:00

Akka Mahadevi lived during the 1100s in Karnataka, a region on the southwest coast of India.

Tradition says that although she wished to remain an unmarried devotee of Shiva, her family insisted she marry the ruler of her land. Asserting that Shiva, whom she called Cenna Mallikarjuna /Channamallikarjuna, (Lord white as jasmine), was her only lover and husband, she ran away (either before or after her marriage, depending on the source). She then wished to join a community of Virasaivas (a new and radically democratic group of Shiva devotees), and many of her poems are from the report of her successful attempt to prove to the male Virasaiva leaders gathered in the city of Kalyana that she was worthy to be part of their community. She is believed to have died in her 20s.

Akka Mahadevi's poems are vacanas (literally, "sayings"), free verse lyrics written in the Kannada language.

--------------------------------------------------------
"It gives me faith and then makes me forget."
--------------------------------------------------------

[On the difficulty of devotion. Maya is illusion, samsara the cycle of rebirth:]

Even if I want to stay apart,
Your maya will not leave me;
Even if I struggle against it, this maya stays unbroken;
Your maya doesn't leave even if one stands firm;
Those struggling to break this maya
Are themselves broken.
To the yogi, your maya became the yogini;
To the ascetic, maya was the fair woman ascetic.
For the god, the assumption of monthly
Offerings was the illusion;
If one climbed the mountain, maya,
Restless, climbed after.
If one goes into the deep forest, maya goes along;
O samsara, it does not leave my back, my hands;
It gives me faith and then makes me forget.
O mercy maker, I am afraid of your maya,
O supreme master, Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Have mercy.
What else, O what shall I do, O great god,
O snake-adorned one, do have mercy, O god. [Chaitanya, p. 97]
-----------------

One body only I have, one only mind:
With what mind, then, to meditate,
O Lord, and with what mind engage
In the world's business, pray?
Alas, alas, I'm utterly lost
Between this world and the other world,
Like a calf loosed to suck two cows!
How could I hold together in my hand
Two different fruits,
O Cenna Mallikarjuna? [Menezes & Angadi, p.89]

---------------------------------------------------------------
"The body's wrong is like mother turning vampire."
---------------------------------------------------------------

[On the human body:]

If one could
draw the fangs of a snake
and charm the snake to play,
it's great to have snakes.

If one can single out
the body's ways
it's great to have bodies.
The body's wrong
is like mother turning vampire.

Don't say they have bodies
who have your love,
O lord
white as jasmine. [Ramanujan, p.131]

---------------------------------------
"...then remains eternal space."
---------------------------------------

[On the value of experience over ritual:]

All the Vedas, scriptures and
Sacred lore, canons and codes
Are but grist and husk ground in the mill.
Why grind this, why winnow?
When you behead the mind that
Flows here and there,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Then remains eternal space. [Chaitanya, p.59]

--------------------------------------------
"Like puppet at the end of string..."
--------------------------------------------

[On her conversion:]

Like monkey at the top of pole,
Like puppet at the end of string,
I played as Thou did make my play,
I lived as Thou did make me live,
Until Cenna Mallikarjuna, who drives
The world's machine, said, "It's enough." [Menezes& Angadi, p.99]

-------------------------------------------------
"...no bond nor fear no clan no land...."
-------------------------------------------------

[Comparing human lovers to Shiva]

I love the Handsome One:
he has no death
decay or form
no place or side
no end nor birthmarks.
I love him O mother. Listen.

I love the Beautiful One
with no bond nor fear
no clan no land
no landmarks
for his beauty.

So my lord, white as jasmine, is my husband.

Take these husbands who die,
decay, and feed them
to your kitchen fires! [Ramanujan, p.134]

-------------------------------------------------
"Through Thee have I forgotten Thee!"
-------------------------------------------------

[On the effects of union with Shiva:]

What is the use of knowing everything
If one does not know the self?
When one knows in oneself
Why ask others?
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Yourself becoming knowledge,
Showed me the way.
I know you through yourself. [ [Chaitanya, p.114]
-------------

After my body became
Thyself, whom could I serve?
After my mind became
Thyself, whom could I invoke?
After my consciousness was lost in Thee,
Whom could I know?
Being Thyself in Thee,
O Cenna Mallikarjuna Lord,
Through Thee have I forgotten Thee! [Menezes & Angadi, p.109]

-------------------------------------------------
"Like an elephant lost from his herd...."
------------------------------------------------

[On her desire for a renewal of union with Shiva:]

Like an elephant
lost from his herd
suddenly captured,

remembering his mountains,
his Vindyas,
I remember.

A parrot
come into a cage
remembering his mate,
I remember.

O lord white as jasmine
show me
your ways.
Call me: "Child, come here,
come this way." [Ramanujan, p.136]

-------------------------------------------------
"I will play on the swing of happiness."
-------------------------------------------------

[And on her determination to worship, no matter what:]

Lord, if you will listen, listen;
If you won't, don't---
I can't bear to live without singing of you.
If you will look, look;
If you won't, don't---
I can't bear life unless I look at you and be happy.
If you will agree, agree;
If you won't don't---
I can't bear life unless I embrace you.
If you will be pleased, be pleased,
If you won't, don't---
I can't bear life unless I worship you.
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Offering you worship, I will play
On the swing of happiness. [Chaitanya, p. 33]

------------------------------------------
"And if I want companionship..."
------------------------------------------

[On the life of a devotee:]

It's difficult to be small,
Not difficult to be great!
Not difficult to be a devotee.
It's difficult to be a sign, though not
To be the Tranquil One,
O Cenna Mallikarjuna Lord! [Menezes & Angadi, p.122]
---------------

Should I feel hungry, there be alms;
Should I feel thirsty, well, there be
Tanks, streams and wells;
Ruins of temples for my sleep;
And if I want companionship,
Why, Thou are there,
O Cenna Mallikarjuna Lord! [Menezes & Angadi, p.20]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...how would these, these mosquitoes on the buffalo's hide?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[On non-devotees:]

Would a circling surface vulture
know such depths of sky
as the moon would know?

would a weed on the riverbank
know such depths of water
as the lotus would know?

would a fly darting nearby
know the smell of flowers
as the bee would know?

O lord white as jasmine
only you would know
the way of your devotees:
how would these,

these
mosquitoes
on the buffalo's hide? [Ramanujan, p.123]
-------------

Like a statue listening
To the recital of a wax parrot,
The one reciting has no life,
The listener has no knowledge;
The devotion of one
Who does not know you
Is like the statue listening to the wax parrot,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender. [Chaitanya, p. 80]

Ganesha Chaturthi!

2008-09-01T21:02:00.011+03:00

Ganpati Bappa Moriya!

The Ganesha festival-birthday, Ganesha Chaturthi, is celebrated on the fourth day of the month of Bhadrapad in the Hindu calendar, 3 september 2008.

It is believed that the Hindu sages conceptualised the rup or murti (forms) of the different gods in keeping with the attributes they wanted to portray through them. When we look at the number of meanings in the rup of Ganesh, this does seem very true. Here are some of the most important symbols associated with Ganesh.
His broad crown is an invitation to think big.

The tiny eyes speak of the importance of concentration and attention to detail for success in any foray.

One chief form of concentration is to listen to others more, and talk less. This is symbolised by the huge elephantine ears and small mouth He sports.

Ganesh has only one tusk, with the other broken off. This symbolises the importance of holding on only to the good and discarding the bad.

The trunk of Ganesh symbolises the importance of being efficient and adaptable in order to be successful in one's ventures. The curvature is also said to represent the rising of the kundalini (spiritual energy that is believed to be coiled serpent-like at the base of the spine) powers.

His large tummy points to the necessity of digesting all that life has to offer—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness) of His lower right hand symbolises Ganesh's blessings and protection on a person's journey through life, especially the spiritual one.

In His upper right hand, Ganesh usually holds an axe, with which He is said to cut of all attachments.

He pulls the devotee nearer to the spiritual path by the rope that He carries in His upper left hand.

He offers rewards for penances (sadhana) done with the modak (type of confection, usually made from rice flour and a stuffing of jaggery, coconut, etc.) He holds in His lower left hand.

The bowls and baskets of offerings at Ganesh's feet are there to symbolise that the entire world, and all its choicest pleasures, are out there for the taking.

Ganesh's tiny pet and vehicle, his mouse, bowing down close by, is there to indicate that though a little desire is good, it is essential for one to master it. You have to ride your desires and not vice versa.

Ganapati Aarti: Jai Dev Jai Dev!

Sukhkarta Dukharta:

Sukhkarta Dukhharta Varta Vighnachi ...
Nurvi Purvi Prem Krupa Jayachi
Sarvangi Sundar Uti Shendurachi ...
Kanti Jhalke Mal Mukataphalaanchi
Jaidev Jaidev Jai Mangal Murti ....
Darshan Maatre Mann Kaamna Phurti
Jaidev Jaidev Jai Mangal Murti ....
Darshan Maatre Mann Kaamna Phurti

Ratnakhachit Phara Tujh Gaurikumra ...
Chandanaachi Uti Kumkumkeshara
Hirejadit Mukut Shobhato Bara
Runjhunati Nupure(2) Charani Ghagriya
Jaidev Jaidev Jai Mangal Murti
Darshan Maatre Mann Kaamna Phurti ...
Lambodar Pitaambar Phanivarvandana
Saral Sond Vakratunda Trinayana
Das Ramacha Vat Pahe Sadna
Sankati Pavave Nirvani Rakshave Survarvandana
Jaidev Jaidev Jai Mangal Murti ....
Darshan Maatre Mann Kaamna Phurti

Ganeshaya Dheemahi:

Gananayaka Ganadaivataya Ganadaksha Yadhimahi
Guna shariraya Guna Manditaya Guneshanay Dhimahi
Gunaditaya Gunadhishaya Guna pravishtaya Dhimahai
Ekadantaya Vakratundaya Gauri tanahaya yadhi mahi
Gajeshanaya Bhalchandraya shree ganeshaya dhimahi

Gaanachaturaya ganaapranaya gaanantaratmane gaanot
sukhay
Gaanamattaya gannott sukha mana se
Guru pujitaya, Guru daivataya, Guru kulasthaine
Guru Vikramaya, Guiyya pravaraya Gurave guna gura ve
Gurudaitya kalakchetre, Guru dharma sada rakdhyaya
Guru putra paritratre Guru pakhand khand khaya
Geet saraya, Geet tatvaya Geet kotraya dhimahi
Gudha gulfaya, Gandha Mattaya Gojaya pradaya dhimahi
Gunaditaya Gunadhishaya Guna pravishtaya Dhimahai
Ekadantaya Vakratundaya Gauri tanahaya yadhi mahi
Gajeshanaya Bhalchandraya shree ganeshaya dhimahi

Gandharva rajaya gandhaya Gandharva gana shravan
pranaime
Gaadha anuragaya granthaya geetaya grantatarth
tanmaiye gurileee.
Gunavateee.. ganapatayeee..
Granta geetaya granta geyaya grantanta ratamane

Geeta leenay geetaa shrayaya
Geetavadya vadya padave, dheya charitaya gaya gavaraya
Gandharvapri krupe gayakadhina vighra haya
Gangajala pranayavate Gauri stanamadhaya Gauri hridaya
nandanaya
Gaur bhanu sukhaya Gauri ganeshwaraya
Gauri Pranyaya Gauri pravanaya Gaur bhavaya dhimahi
Ohasa hastraya gowardanaya gopa gopaya dhimahi
Gunaditaya Gunadhishaya Guna pravishtaya Dhimahai
Ekadantaya Vakratundaya Gauri tanahaya yadhi mahi
Gajeshanaya Bhalchandraya shree ganeshaya dhimahi

Aarti Jai Dev Jai Dev for Morgaon.

The Mayureshwar or Moreshwar temple lies along the Karha River in Morgaon, a village in Maharashtra state of India. The idol of Moreshwar is a self-incarnated (swayambhu) form of Lord GANESH - as was found, or not sculpted by human hands, and is one of the famous Ashta-Vinayakas (eight Ganapatis found in this region of India)

And... Ganesha kathak!)

Vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha.
Nirvighnama kurumedeva shubhakaryeshu sarvada

"O mighty God with a trunk, your brilliance is like that of a thousand sun

free my path of all obstacles in all auspicious works that I undertake."

गणेश Om gam ganapataye namah

Mantra Pushpam

2008-09-01T20:53:00.002+03:00

Mantra Pushpam - Vedic Hymns

From Taithreeya Aranyakam of Yajur Veda.

Lyrics & Meaning:

Yopam puspam veda
Puspavan prajavan pasuvan bhavati
Candramava Apam puspam
Puspavan, Prajavan pasuman bhavati
Ya Evam Veda
Yopa mayatanam Veda
Ayatanam bhavati.

He who understands the flowers of water,
He becomes the possessor of flowers, children and cattle.
Moon is the flower of the water,
He who understands this fact,
He becomes the possessor of flowers, children and cattle.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Agnirva Apamayatanam
Ayatanavan Bhavati
Yo agnerayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati
Apovagner ayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ya Evam Veda
Yopa mayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati

Fire is the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of fire,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Vayurva Apamaya tanam
Ayatanavan bhavati.
Yova Yorayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati|
Apovai va yorayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya Evam veda
Yopamayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan Bhavati

Air is the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of air,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Asowvai tapanna pamayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Yo musya tapata Ayatanan Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati
Apova Amusyatapata Ayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ya Evam Veda
Yopa mayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati

Scorching sun is the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of scorching sun,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Candrama Vama pamayatnam
Ayatanavan bhavati.
Yascandra masa Ayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati
Apovai Candra masa Ayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ya Evam Veda
Yo pamayatanam veda
Ayatanavan bhavati

Moon is the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of moon,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Nakshtrani va Apamayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Yo Nakshtrana mayatanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati
Apovai Nakshtrana mayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ye evam Veda
Yopamaya tanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati

Stars are the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of stars,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Parjanyova apamayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Yah parjanyasya syayatinam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati
Apovai parjanya Syayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ye Evam veda
Yopa maya tanam Veda
Ayatanavan bhavati

Clouds are the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of clouds,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows the source of water,
Becomes established in himself,

Samvastaro Va Apamayatanam
Ayatavan bhavati
Yassavatsa rasyaya tanam Veda
Ayatavan bhavati.
Apovai samvasara ayatanam
Ayatanavan bhavati
Ya Evam veda
Yopsu Navam pratistitam veda
Pratyeva tistati

Rainy season is the source of water,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself,
Water is the source of rainy season,
He who knows this,
Becomes established in himself.
He who knows that there is a raft is available,
Becomes established in that raft.

Bahauddin Valad

2008-08-07T00:15:00.003+03:00

Bahauddin Valad, Father of Rumi (1150-1231)

Alif Lam Mim.

If God says We, meaning I AM, then any pronoun I use becomes superfluous. Designations fall like petals. Wisdom comes, and I feel such pleasure flooding me that I fear losing my sense of it. I tell myself: Inquire into how lover, beloved and the other ways of loving exist as one thing.

As it is with God's qualities and human beings, so there is a unity with love. In the heart there is no room for differentiation, only oneness and the Beloved. I would give away books, lands, my virtues and reputation, everyone, for one hour inside that Presence.
(Maarif 1:172-173)

This is how God talked with Muhammad, saying, 'We have given you victory' (Quran, 48:1), There was companionship between them, 'We have sent down to you a book' (4:105), and 'Have we not expanded your heart' (94:1)?

They spoke together like friends. Has anyone else had such an experience? And since the divine mystery is part of everything and everyone, must there not be such nearness inside everyone?

An answer came to this wondering argument. There are ways unique to each soul. One gets handed pain, another love, another lust. One must go through terrible punishment, another extensive comforting.

But the way of God with prophets is on another level, where miracles and grace and visions of the unseen world come. Aspire to that plane. Otherwise you will continue to speak to God about heat and cold, food, livelihood, sleep, walking, and the various human theories about mystery.

May prayer is this. When I am alone with You, let me feel pleasure of a surrendered love. Give me the oneness as I sit by myself beyond the satisfaction of any desire.
(Maarif 1:174-175)

Someone asked me what is the knowing I speak of and how does the love I mention feel. I said if you don't know, what can I say? And if you do know, what can I say? The taste of knowing love has no explanation, and no account of it will ever give anyone that taste.
(Maarif 1:143 )

When I was sick, it came to me that there are two approaches to work. One is bold and quick, fearless in action. The other is worried and constricted with concern about things that could possibly go wrong. If action flows from anxiety, the outcome is murky and disturbed. But if action moves with a swift joy and courage, the world begins to resolve its difficulties and grow whole.
(Maarif 2:24)

I am afraid for anyone to see my faults, my baldness, my privates, the body flaws I hide with clothers. But bride and bridegroom see everything about one another. They can be many ways with each other, tender and mocking, playfully rough, any way at all, because they have no fear with each other. Likewise, the mystery of God knows everything about me. Here, out in the open in front of that, I say, Do whatever you want with this body. Every part of me stands naked in front of you, like a new bride ready for whatever will happen-- love, fear, service, difficulties, humiliation, delight.
(Maarif 2:139-140 )

from The Drowned Book
Ecstatic and Earthly Reflection of Bahauddin, The Father of Rumi
by Coleman Barks and John Moyne

Parinirvana

2008-08-02T21:13:00.002+03:00

However, just to quote Buddha Shakyamuni:

"There is that sphere where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither the infinitude of space, nor the infinitude of consciousness, neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor stasis; neither passing away nor arising: without stance, without foundation, without support. This, just this, is the end of Dukkha (suffering)"- (Udana VIII.1-Nibbana Sutta, `Total Unbinding')