Ode to Joy

O friends, no more these sounds !
Let us sing more cheerful songs,
A song full of joy!
Joy !

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Exhilarated with your fire,
Heavenly being, we enter Thy sanctuary.

Thy magic power reunites,
All that was strictly divided by custom ;
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.

Whoever has the great good fortune,
To enjoy mutual friendship,
Whoever has taken a loving wife,
Let him join us in celebration !

Yes ! Even he who has nothing in the world
To call his own but his soul !
But he who cannot rejoice,
Let him steal weeping away from our circle.

All creatures partake of joy
At Nature’s breast ;
All, just and unjust,
Follow in her wake of roses.

She gave us kisses, the vine,
A friend tested in death.
The worm is in ecstasy,
and the cherub stands before God.

And the cherub stands before God.
Joyfully, as the suns as they hurtle
through the glorious expanse of heavens;
Brothers, you should run your course,
As joyful as a hero on his way to triumph.

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Exhilarated with your fire,
Heavenly being, we enter Thy sanctuary.

Thy magic power reunites,
All that was strictly divided by custom ;
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.

Be embraced, you millions !
Here’s a kiss for all the world !
Brothers ! - Above the starry vault
There must dwell a loving Father.

Do you fall prostrate, you millions ?
World, do you sense your Creator ?
Seek him beyond the stars !
Above the starry vault he must dwell !

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Exhilarated with your fire,
Heavenly being, we enter Thy sanctuary.

Be embraced, you millions !
Here’s a kiss for all the world !

Joy !
Do you fall prostrate, you millions ?
World, do you sense your Creator ?
Seek him beyond the stars ! Brothers !

Above the starry vault - there must
dwell a loving Father.
Joy, Daughter of Elysium !
Thy magic power reunites,
All that was strictly divided by custom ;

All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.
Be embraced, you millions !
Here’s a kiss for all the world !

Brothers ! - Above the starry vault
there must dwell a loving Father.
Be embraced, you millions !
Here’s a kiss for all the world !

 Shiller and Beethoven

July conversations

I had luck to speak with you this July. You can see I not forgot to speak yet. I am so grateful to you for that you have allowed me to break my silence for some time. It not a problem to tell about so many fine themes  but the theme of personal experience I consider unnecessary and even sometimes harmful . And it not only because I have such bad english :) 

"There are as many paths to God as there are souls on Earth"(hadith). All is made  in everyone remarkably anew and individually. In general, this is truly one of the most radical changes one can experience or live through. For me personally it demands a mystic silence. 
 I need to plunge in it more and more deeply. Immersed as I am, it was excruciating to endure, but I sat there, recognizing my feebleness and the only thing I can possibly do at this point is surrender. It's not a cruelty but a blessing. We are conditioned to avoid pain, but for the mystic the pain of the heart is the voice that leads us in silence underwater. And you know what the sound underwater have a speed that is five times greater than in the air? Yes, it's strong but do not attribute to me a masochism or pessimism please. 
Once when I began to perceive others as "I" their suffering became mine. Now, it is facilitating runaway in my small pain in comparison with feeling of others. 
But eventually it is impossible to run away from pain. You cannot run away from that that has a source in your breast. You can try, but it will catch up you more strongly than earlier. I resisted so long that it nearly has killed me. Then I surrendered to it. 
If you have made decision to immerse yourself in it, be convinced at first if you have a heart good condition, otherwise it might be better just to opt out. But not at any stage it is possible. It is unessential to make the testament :) but nevertheless something should leave. 
Rûmî says:

Longing is the core of mystery.
Longing itself brings the cure.
The only rule is, Suffer the pain.
Your desire must be disciplined,
 and what you want to happen
in time, sacrificed.

I have called Rûmî here because of his authority for you. And what your reasons to consider me as authority? Probably, it is my personal perception only. 
But I know precisely that in the middle of my deep night, there is no fear. Love banishes a fear and heals us from the sufferings. Love leads us deeper in night but  take away from the prison. It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out in darkness. 
And... It is the letter "Waw", which in Arabic means "and."

  The Sufis call it the letter of Love, because without it, nothing can come together. It is also the letter of the traveler, because it gathers together things and beings. But sometimes we drag a heap of things in this travel and after all it is much easier to reject it. 

May God's blessing be with us as our journey continues!

Kailasa Temple

For me, this is the best place in India. I can speak about Ellora so long how to be there. For this reason it is necessary to divide the story on themes. But I’m sure you know about this remarkable place.
Emblazoned as UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ellora caves epitomizes the Indian rock-cut architectural heritage as well as religious harmony prevalent in India since ages. The art work in these caves is representative of three different religious faiths Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and considered as fine specimens of ancient Indian art. Each of temples is worthy a separate theme. But Kailashnath (or Kailasa), the most beautiful of the rock-cut stractures of India, is Ellora's crown jewel

This rock-cut temple (cave 16), dating from the 700's, is a replica of Mount Kailash, the Himalayan home of Shiva and Parvati. Well-known for being carved out of single solid rock from top to bottom, it is richly embellished three-storey high temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. When I have entered there for the first time, I had to leave for a short because of feelings which have fallen to me. It is really incredible. I don’t think the pictures do the justice, you should reach there to see it yourself.

My short video around the Kailasa Temple from the cliff. Press the title for full HD:

View through the courtyard to the huge elephants supporting the main temple.

The pillars look painfully light or slender when considered as supporting the improbable cargo of plain rock over them. It is when standing in its shadow and looking upwards, towards the vimana, that we become aware of the grandeur of the composition, and feel that the ancient architectural picture is not surpassed. 

Gajasura-vadha-murti. 

Matrikas in the sacrifice hall (yajnashala).

  The amount of sculpture, both religious, historical and architectural, that covers every part of the Kailasa adds immensely to the impressive but mysterious effect of the whole, and its variety is as remarkable as its quantity.  

There are, for instance, two bas-reliefs, one on each side of the great Vimana. The one here given represents Ravana's conquest of Ceylon. On the lower part, and at the right-hand side, the giant Ravana is seen defending his castle, and throughout the picture of Sri Hanuman, with his army of monkeys, are seen lending their aid to their human allies : in the second lowest tier, bringing the rocks with which Ramasetu is said to have been constructed in order to enable the invading army to pass from the continent to the island. 

Other pendant to the bas-relief  represent the episodes in the lives of the Pandavas ; the peaceful occupations, ending in a battle as a matter of course, and closing with a group of prisoners, the principal of whom is being strangled or having his head cut off.

Ravananugriha-murti: Shiva and Parvati sitting on Mount Kailash while the demon Ravana is shaking him.

It is not, however, the art of these sculptures that makes the Kailasa so wonderful so much as their quantity and variety ; for after you have examined all those of the Temple itself, with its porches, and those of the stone bridges that connect one part with the other, there is still the others beautiful temples cut in the rock, which make up together an exhibition of human labour and religious fidelity seldom surpassed.

It had no beginning, middle,or end... Linga fire-pillar

In the main shrine.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

To Heaven by Heaven

Speaking about heavens in plural in religion, we do not refer to some place in the universe, we refer to something much bigger and more difficult to define with our limited human concepts.
Nevertheless, in christianity the highest level is the seventh heaven, in which God can be seen and where anything is possible. That there is a place in God for christians .

 Antonio Campi Les Mystères de la Passion du Christ (detail) 

In hinduism the seven upper lokas (worlds) are:
Bhurloka (earth), Bhwar-loka (space between earth and the sun, inhabited by semi-divine beings), Swar-loka (region between the sun and polar star, the heaven of the god Indra), Mahar-loka (the abode of great sages and saints), Jana-loka (abode of the sons of the god Brahma), Tapar-loka (abode of other deities), and Satya-loka or Brahma-loka (abode of Brahma, where souls are released from the necessity of rebirth).
Brahmaloka is the highest heaven, where fortunate souls repair after death and enjoy spiritual communion with the personal God, and at the end of the cycle attain liberation. Corresponding to every world here, there is a corresponding sheath of consciousness within every human being, reflecting the correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm.

Islamic texts refer to several levels of heaven: Firdaus or Paradise, 'Adn, Na'iim, Na'wa, Darussalaam, Daarul Muaqaamah, Al-Muqqamul, Amin & Khuldi. Each Heaven or “ss-samawat” consisting of seven levels, the first and lowest level of as Dunyah, which covers the known universe and all within it. The highest level is the seventh heaven, in which God can be seen and where anything is possible. The parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised!- beneath it flow rivers: perpetual is the enjoyment there of and the shade therein: such is the end of the Righteous; and the end of Unbelievers in the Fire.(Quran013.035)

But while we are on the earth any concepts about heavens remain only the concepts for us. And while we are here - heaven does not belong to the geography of space, but to the geography of the heart. God instead never passes and all of us exist because of his love. We exist because he loves us and God receives in his eternity what now, in our life, made up of suffering and love, of hope, of joy and sadness, grows and comes to be. All human life are "in his eyes".
And Katha Upanishad says: "When all the desires that dwell in the heart fall away, then the mortal becomes immortal and here attains Brahman."

Spiritual friendship

Angelos Akotantos The Embrace of the Apostles Peter and Paul 

The friend in general can be defined as the other half of myself, indeed another "I". But the spiritual friendship is shined by eternal light of supreme Love and consequently I consider these relations as one of the higher displays of human spirit. When these relations are consecrated by identical aspiration to the higher, you become as two mirrors reflecting each other and these reflexions are lost in Infinity. The perfect meeting with the Infinite is eternally within ourselves. We listen the words of each other as revelation told to ourselves. It is like taste having a taste of itself. In such mirror we start to see real self. Certainly, if we do not start to deform the images and the rupture can occur then. When a rupture occurs, it as something is broken off in we wounding it with spiritual pain. In my case it has caused a deep dissonance with myself on all levels: physical , mental, psychological... And this rupture was more serious as it was a spiritual one.  For some time we have lost contact with the divine vibration that drove us towards our deep spirituality. Certainly it has occurred because of our imperfections . Otherwise it could not happen. As wrote Michelangelo :

If there is a chaste love, a heavenly pity,
an equal fortune between two lovers,
a bitter fate shared by both,
and if a single spirit and one will governs two hearts;
if one soul in two bodies is made eternal,
raising both to heaven on the same wings;
if love with one blow and one golden arrow
can burn and pierce two hearts to the core;
if each loves the other rather than himself,
with a pleasure and delight so rewarding,
that to the same end they both strive;
if thousands upon thousands are not worth a hundredth
part of such a loving bond of such a faith;
then shall anger alone break and dissolve it?

But after you have let someone in open self it is impossible to stop it. And till now I place my friend in an inner sanctum of my heart. How it is possible to betray the force which united us?
Unless all of us are divided now? Really?

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

Bodhisattva Vow

Ellora 2012

May I be a guard for those who are protectorless,
A guide for those who journey on the road;
For those who wish to go across the water,
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall,
And a lamp for those who long for light;
For those who need a resting place, a bed,
For all who need a servant, may I be a slave.

May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of plenty,
A word of power, and the supreme remedy.
May I be the trees of miracles,
And for every being, the abundant cow.

Like the great earth and the other elements,
Enduring as the sky itself endures,
For the boundless multitude of living beings,
May I be the ground and vessel of their life.

Thus, for every single thing that lives,
In number like the boundless reaches of the sky,
May I be their sustenance and nourishment
Until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering

Shantideva, a great master, scholar, and bodhisattva

O night, o sweet

O night, O sweet though sombre span of time!—
All things find rest upon their journey's end—
Whoso had praised thee, well doth apprehend;
And whoso honours thee, had wisdom's prime.
Our cares thou canst to quietude sublime;
For dews and darkness are of peace the friend:
Often by thee in dreams upborne, I wend
From earth to heaven, where yet I hope to climb.
Thou shade of Death, through whom the soul at length
Shuns pain and sadness hostile to the heart,
Whom mourners find their last and sure relief!
Thou dost restore our suffering flesh to strength,
Driest our tears, assuagest every smart,
Purging the spirits of the pure from grief.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, sonnet Xliv, transl.by Symonds

Potuit Decuit Ergo Fecit

In frequent disputes there are different themes about that God could do something or not. It is certainly amusing - to argue on these themes. The omnipotence of God is not a subject to the human logic. During the later middle ages, Franciscans established a famed theological principle:

Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit

 God could do it;
it was fitting that He should do it;
therefore He actually did it.

This latin phrase is only approach of human logic to divine. But this argument does not pretend to be a syllogism or even logically necessary. It is used since God is free and not required to do anything. Even if to the human mind it does not make sense but does to be the best way to do things.

Argala Stotra

This is Argala Stotra of Durga Saptasathi or Devi Sooktham, in which are contained great Mantras.
This Stotram has a beautiful refrain, a prayer to the Divine Mother: rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi - Give us your form, give us victory, give us welfare, remove all hostility.
"Give us your form" means let us reflect the form, the appearance of the Divine Mother entirely in our every action, every thought.

atha argalAstotram.h

OM namashvaNDikAyai
mArkaNDeya uvAcha .
OM jaya tvaM devi chAmuNDe jaya bhUtApahAriNi .
jaya sarvagate devi kAlarAtri namo.astu te .. 1..
jayantI maN^galA kAlI bhadrakAlI kapAlinI .
durgA shivA kshamA dhAtrI svAhA svadhA namo.astu te .. 2..
madhukaiTabhavidhva.nsi vidhAtR^ivarade namaH .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 3..
mahiShAsuranirnAshi bhaktAnAM sukhade namaH .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 4..
dhUmranetravadhe devi dharmakAmArthadAyini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 5..
raktabIjavadhe devi chaNDamuNDavinAshini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 6..
nishumbhashumbhanirnAshi trilokyashubhade namaH .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 7..
vanditAN^ghriyuge devi sarvasaubhAgyadAyini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 8..
achintyarUpacharite sarvashatruvinAshini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 9..
natebhyaH sarvadA bhaktyA chAparNe duritApahe .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 10..
stuvadbhyo bhaktipUrvaM tvAM chaNDike vyAdhinAshini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 11..
chaNDike satataM yuddhe jayanti pApanAshini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 12..
dehi saubhAgyamArogyaM dehi devi paraM sukham.h .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 13..
vidhehi devi kalyANaM vidhehi vipulAM shriyam.h .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 14..
vidhehi dviShatAM nAshaM vidhehi balamuchchakaiH .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 15..
surAsurashiroratnanighR^iShTacharaNe.ambike .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 16..
vidyAvantaM yashasvantaM lakshmIvantaJNcha mAM kuru .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 17..
devi prachaNDadordaNDadaityadarpaniShUdini .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 18..
prachaNDadaityadarpaghne chaNDike praNatAya me .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 19..
chaturbhuje chaturvaktrasa.nsute parameshvari .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 20..
kR^iShNena sa.nstute devi shashvadbhaktyA sadAmbike .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 21..
himAchalasutAnAthasa.nstute parameshvari .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 22..
indrANIpatisadbhAvapUjite parameshvari .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 23..
devi bhaktajanoddAmadattAnandodaye.ambike .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 24..
bhAryAM manoramAM dehi manovR^ittAnusAriNIm.h .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 25..
tAriNi durgasa.nsArasAgarasyAchalodbhave .
rUpaM dehi jayaM dehi yasho dehi dviSho jahi .. 26..
idaM stotraM paThitvA tu mahAstotraM paThennaraH .
saptashatIM samArAdhya varamApnoti durlabham.h .. 27..
.. iti shrImArkaNDeyapurANe argalAstotraM samAptam.h ..

Mysticism and magic

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker

This complicated question about a parity of these concepts is actual now more than ever. In our time all can be using up everything. Why do some people always seem to take advantage of spiritual things?
In the west as in the east, people always tend to practical advantage. How it can be condemned? It is a private affair of everyone what interests it puts on the first place. But a problem in that that as a result the principles of mysticism and magic - it is constantly confused. I will not consider now a case when practical application of religion consider as magic. It's a big separate theme. And I will not tell about a tantra concept now which was confused strongly enough in west.
No, I speak about principles.
Mysticism and magic are not only different, but frequent opposed.
Mysticism is a spiritual force while magic is a natural force.
Mysticism is freedom, magic is power.
Mysticism is communion with God, magic is communion with cosmic forces generating power. Magic was the first technical means at man's disposal in his struggle against inimical forces, against spirits and demons but it is not pleasant to me when it turns out that it was a source of power over other people or even the higher forces.  
Occultism is related to magic. Magical elements find their way into spiritual life, although magic is never spiritual. Mysticism is, however, always spiritual. Its distinguishing quality is freedom of spirit - a quality denied to magic, which remains, indeed, the servant of maya's duality.

Namavali

 Namavali means names of God. Any religion that came up in the places where the local language has the facility of using adjectives as nouns has tis tradition. Any part of language that glorifies God comes under the similar category of Namavali. Some religions formulate a particular method for it, while other religions prescribe other means, but the point of it is to since the Namavali are equal to the Highest Mantras.  I think here not so much rules but the main thing is sincere fidelity. In a some sense, when one is reciting the epithets of a particular devata in puja, one is also addressing them to oneself. The repetitioner and the name become one. The Lord’s Name is all-bliss, and when it is chanted, the mind merges in this bliss, it loses its individual identity: it becomes one with the bliss itself.

I did not try to do it specially to receive something but to as a result received such big pleasure and immersed in inexplicable joy. How sweet is God's Name! A finite, limited intellect surely cannot understand the nature of the infinite, of the limitless. And there is no limit to God's Name.

In this blog ( follow links):

12 Names of Ganesha 
108 Names of Vinayaka
108 Ganesha's Names in puja format - Vighneshvarashtottara Satanamavali
1018 Names of Vakratunda Mahaganapati
Sri Ganapati Sahasranama
Sri Ganesha Gakara Sahasranamavali:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
10000 Names of Sri Samba Sadashiva:
Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
108 Names of Lord Shiva
108 Names of Sri Bhairava
108 Names of Sri Mrityunjaya 
108 Names of HariHara
108 Names of Sri Dattaatreya
Natesha Sahasranama Stotram
96 names of Shiva Arunachala
Sri Kali Sahasranama and adapted version
100 Names of Sri Kali
1000 Names of Sri Vishnu in stotram
1000 Names of Sri Vishnu in namavali version
108 Names of Sri Rama
108 Names of Sri Krishna
Varaha Sahasranama Stotram
Sri Krishna Ashtottara Shatanama Stotram
Sri Durga Lakshmi Saraswati Ashtottara Shata Namavali
Sri Lakshmi Sahasranamavali
Sri Mahalakshmi Rahasya Namavali
Sri Ashtalakshmi Ashtottara Shatanaamaavali
Sri Durga Dakaradi Sahasranama Stotram
Sri Durga Dakara Dwathrimsa Nama
Sri Parvati Sahasranama Stotram
Sri Lalita Trishati Nama Stotra
1008 Names of Gayatri Devi
108 names of Shakti
108 names of Goddess Durga 
108 names of Goddess Varalakshmi
108 names of Goddess Saraswati    and namavali version
108 names of Goddess Chinnamasta 
Chinnamasta Sahasranama Stotram
108 names of Goddess Lalita
108 names of Goddess Annapoorna
1008 names of Goddess Parvati
108 names of Goddess Gauri 
108 names of Goddess Ganga
108 names of Goddess Varahi
12 names of Goddess Varahi
100 names of Goddess Bagalamukhi 
Bagalamukhi Shatanama Stotram
Gayatri Ashtottara Shatanaamaavali
108 names of Hanuman
1000 names of Hanuman 
108 names of Surya
108 names of Shani Dev
Sri Shani Sahasranama Stotra
Shanaishchara Sahasranamavali
108 names of Chandra
108 names of Rahu
108 names of Sri Narasimha
1008 names of Sri Narasimha
108 names of Nandikeshvara
108 names of Sri Kubera
108 names of Angaraka 
108 names of Sudarshana
64 Yoginis namavali

Captivates my soul and my heart
The beauty of the Name of God
Quenches my spiritual thirst
The Majesty of the Name of God.

If you seek intimacy with the Real,
Be one of them who sit together in His Name
Look! Intimacy with God is
In the intimacy with the Name of God.

Between the Name and the Named
When there is no difference
Look you! Only in the self disclosure of the Names lies
The perfection of the Name of God.

---Hazrat Muinuddin, translated by Irshad Alam

Chinnamasta’s 108 names

Her name and images show her own severed head, which she holds in her hands, is drinking one stream of blood spurting from the arteries of her neck, and while at her side are two naked Shaktis each of whom drinks another stream of blood. Chinnamasta is been generally shown as if she is standing on the body of God of love. And it is inexpressibly delightful. This symbolism's treatment should be based on your experience and her stotra of 108 names is as follows:

Chinnamasta
Mahavidya (great knowledge goddess)
Mahabhima (great fierce one)
Mahodari (great bellied one)
Candesvari (fierce goddess)
Candamata (mother of fierce beings or the fierce mother)
Candamundaprabhanjini (killer of demons Canda and Munda)
Mahacanda (great fierce one)
Candarupa (fierce form)
Candika (fierce one)
Candakhandini (destroyer of Canda)
Krodhini (wrathful one)
Krodhajanani (creator of wrathful beings)
Krodharupa (wrathful form)
Kuhuh (new moon day)
Kala (skillful one)
Kopatura (afflicted with rage)
Kopayuta (filled with rage)
Kopasamharakarini (destroyer of rage)
Vajra
Vajravairocani (adamantine one)
Vajrakalpa (competent with a vajra)
Dakini
Dakinikarmanirata (involved with the work of dakinis)
Dakinikarmapujita (worshipped as the work of dakinis)
Dakinisanganirata (delighted in the company of dakinis)
Dakinipremapurita (filled with love of dakinis)
Khatavangadharini (holder of a khatvanga)
Kharva (mutilated one)
Khadgakharparadharini (holder of a scimitar and a skullcup)
Pretasana (feeder of pretas [hungry ghosts])
Pretayuta (united with pretas)
Pretasangaviharini (plays or dwells in the company of pretas)
Chinnamundadhara (holds a severed head)
Chinnacandavidya (fierce mantra of the one with the severed body)
Citrini (having variegated forms)
Ghorarupa (terrific form)
Ghoradrsta (terrific to behold)
Ghorarava (having a terrific roar)
Ghanodari (firm abdomen)
Yogini (practices yoga)
Yoganirata (practitioner of yoga)
Japayajnaparayana (absorbed in sacrifice and recitation)
Yonicakramayi (possessing yonicakra)
Yonih (embodying the yoni)
Yonicakrapravarttini (arising from the yonicakra)
Yonimudra (has the yonimudra)
Yonigamya (accessible to the yoni)
Yoniyantranivasini (abides in the yoniyantra)
Yantrarupa (has the yantra form)
Yantramayi (possesses the yantra)
Yantresi (goddess of the yantra)
Yantrapujita (worshipped with a yantra)
Kirtya (renowned one)
Kapardini (has matted hair)
Kali
Kankali (emaciated)
Kalavikarini (constantly transforming)
Arakta (being slightly red)
Raktanayana (having red eyes)
Raktapanaparayana (quaffing blood continuously)
Bhavani
Bhutida (gives prosperity)
Bhutih (prosperity)
Bhutidatri (bestows prosperity)
Bhairavi (formidable one)
Bhairavacaranirata (engaged in the practice of bhairavas)
Bhutabhairavasevita (served by fierce beings)
Bhima (formidable one)
Bhimesvaridevi (goddess who is lord of the formidable one)
Bhimanadaparayana (having continuous formidable sounds)
Bhavaradhya (praised by Sankara)
Bhavanuta (worshipped by all)
Bhavasagaratarini (crosses over the ocean of existence)
Bhadrakali (a form of Kali)
Bhadratanuh (having a beautiful body)
Bhadrarupa (beautiful form)
Bhadrika (goodness)
Bhadrarupa (embodies goodness)
Mahabhadra (magnanimous)
Subhadra (wonderful goodness)
Bhadrapalini (protectoress of goodness)
Subhavya (exceedingly beautiful)
Bhavyavadana (having beautiful face)
Sumukhi (good face or mouth)
Siddhasevita (served by siddhis)
Siddhida (gives siddhis)
Siddhanivaha (has the collection of siddhis)
Siddha (accomplished one)
Siddhanisevita (honoured by siddhas)
Subhada (gives auspiciousness)
Subhaga (elegant)
Suddha (pure)
Suddhasattva (has pure sattva)
Subhavaha (bearer of auspiciousness)
Srestha (excellent)
Drstamayi (embodies the right view)
Devi
Drstisamharakarini (capable of destroying by her gaze)
Sarvani (Siva’s wife)
Sarvaga (omnipresent)
Sarva (complete)
Sarvamangalakarini (creator of all auspiciousness)
Siva (pacifier)
Santa (peaceful)
Santirupa (embodiment of peacefulness)
Mrdani (gladdened)
Madanatura (indomitable by Kamadeva)

Yajnarupam yajnadatrim yajnagrahanakarirnim /
moksadam sarvasattvebhyaschinnamastam namamyaham//

Work as Temple Elephant

Elephant is India's much-loved animal and an integral part of the culture and mythology. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of wisdom, is probably the most worshipped Hindu deity in the country today.
The elephant is associated with Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth and prosperity. One of Her eight manifestations (Ashtalakshmi) is known as Gajalakshmi. In the history of Buddha it was a white elephant which descended from the heavens and announced to Queen Maya the coming birth of Prince Gautama.
It is traditional to have elephants in Hindu temples. It is considered auspicious to be blessed by one. Those on India tours are likely to see elephants if they visit a Hindu temple, where the creatures are an important part of traditional ceremonies, blessing pilgrims and devotees with their raised trunks as well as performing other physical duties.

Parvathi, Madurai Meenakshi Temple elephant, 2012

The elephant is used to perform various tasks in and around the temple. However, it is important that these animals are well looked after.
Life as a temple elephant can be quite hard. The elephant may be kept chained by the ankles and may be trained with the use of the ankush, a hook, which is painful. Even if treated fairly well, the temple elephant is expected to stand for many hours on pebbles or cobblestones, in the hot sun, greeting, bowing to, or touching the heads of the temple visitors, so it is a difficult life. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the government is has set rules to be followed in the care of captive elephants. The elephant will also be provided a place to rest in clean, healthy surroundings, with shade. A bathing pool is required, and the elephant will need to be bathed in the summer at least twice a day. On reaching the age of 60, the elephant will be retired and will no longer be working. These rules will be a great help to protecting and ensuring the safety of the elephants.

They bless us so let God will bless them!

Thekkady 2012

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Ayat al Kursi - the Verse of the Throne

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah! There is no God but He,

the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.

No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.

All things in heaven and earth are His.

Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?

He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.

Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what
He wills.

His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,

and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,

for He is the Highest and Most Exalted.

 [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255] 

Battle with the Angel

Rembrandt van Rijn The Struggle between Jacob and the Angel

This story in Genesis 32, in which Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, is very strange and mysterious. As however always when the higher forces contact to the man. Certainly, all can be considered it from the metaphorical point of view. It is a metaphor for human struggle: personal or spiritual. Our life is like this long night of battle .
Before the encounter, Jacob is scheming in life to ensure survival. He is filled with fear. The odds are against him succeeding. He is driven to prayer: to seek God`s blessing. He is a wilful man. He knows what he wants and he is determined to get it. He was not going to take "no" for an answer. But did he realise that he may have to pay a price or that something needed to be done before his prayer would be answered .
And if the object of one's desire is a relationship with God, his blessing and his love, then the battle cannot but culminate in the gift of oneself to God, in the recognition of one's own weakness, which triumphs precisely when we reach the point of surrendering ourselves into the merciful hands of God.
In a straight contest of wills between man and God, man`s struggle is doomed to failure. But by the struggle and subsequent surrender to God`s will, he is rewarded through God`s mercy and is transformed. He is given a new name and is declared the victor. His will is aligned to God`s will.
His fear is overcome.

Love Her, Mind

Odilon Redon The Golden Cell

Love Her, Mind;
She can ferry you across
the sea of birth and death.

Taxes must be paid in this worthless marketplace,
but it's stupid to trust in wealth and family.
Have you forgotten your past?
Where were you? Where have you come to?
Where are you going?

You wear nothing
but a costume in the world.
The Enchantress makes
illusion dance, so you dance.
And you sit on Her lap
in Her prison.

Egotism, hatred, love, attachment to pleasing things --
why did you share
your kingdom with these?
Tell me that!

What you've done can't be helped;
the day is almost over.
On a jeweled island
Siva sits in Siva's house.
Contemplate Her always.
Prasad says,
Durga's ambrosial name libertates.
Repeat it without ceasing;
drench your tongue in nectar.

Ramprasad (1718 - 1775) translated by Rachel Fell McDermott

Mount up with birds

Vishnu and Garuda

“ They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." (Isa. 40: 31) 
Probably the birds, denoting symbolically the angels, symbolise certain spiritual hierarchy.
And often birds participate in struggle of the angels against the demons. That is, the opposition between higher and lower states. In the Hindu tradition this is the struggle of the Devas against the Asuras and also, the combat of Garuda against the Nāga. The Garuda is the vahana of the God Vishnu usually and is the eagle, who regarded by many cultures as the 'sacred messenger'. The birds thus played the part of “messengers” and assist in matters of higher knowledge.  For example, the dove as spirit messenger bringing communication between the realms of the conscious and the unconscious.
Many Hindu gods such as Lakshmi, Brahma, and Kama are portrayed riding upon peacocks. According to Sufi legend the original Spirit was created in the shape of a peacock. When it saw itself in the mirror of the Divine Essence it was so overwhelmed by the beauty it saw therein that great drops of sweat flew from its body. It was taught that from these drops all other living creatures were formed. They are sometimes seen drinking from Eucharistic chalices or near the Tree of Life. Because of their association with the Tree of Life, peacock thrones were popular in ancient Babylon and Persia.
 Birds in general represented the element air, but at the same time, their flight was identical to the ascension to heaven. And the phoenix also incorporated the element fire, thus portraying the union of two elements and its transformative – regenerative – outcome. The phoenix bird builds its nest which at the same time is its funeral pyre, and then setting it alight cremates itself. But it arises anew from the ashes transformed. The birds of alchemy - the Black Crow, White Swan, Peacock, Pelican, and Phoenix - which are descriptive of certain stages of the alchemical process. Thus, in Phenix we have captured the alchemists experience of spiritualisation, that he is no longer dependent upon his physical body as a foundation for his being.
For hindus this stage can be symbolised by a swan - hamsa. White swan is the vehicle of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. Paramahamsa (supreme swan from sanskrit) it's a symbol of spiritual perfection and this title of honor is applied to teachers who can always distinguish between the Real (so) from the unreal (ham).
And what means a condition of a bird for the person which has not reached this stage?
In medieval 'Book of Beasts' translated by Terence White we read:

...when the eagle grows old and his wings become heavy and his eyes become darkened with a mist, then he goes in search of a fountain...and he dips himself three times in it and he is renewed with a great vigour of plumage and splendour of vision...Do the same thing, O Man, you who are clothed in the old garment and have the eyes of your heart growing foggy. Seek for the spiritual fountain of the Lord...

Cathedral of S Lorenzo, Genova

Six-winged

The name Seraphim means "the burning ones." In chistianity they are the caretakers of God's throne and continuously shout praises: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is filled with His Glory."
The Seraph which had three pairs of wings, has to be interpreted as a symbol of a philosophical and religious idea. It is possible to explain the symbol of the six-winged Seraph as the six stages of illumination, which begin with God's creatures and lead up to God. The wings become stages in the process of the mind's elevation to God, and their position on the body of the Seraph indicates the heights of the stages of the soul's powers by which we mount from the depths to the heights, from the external to the internal, from the temporal to the eternal...  As if, on the six wings by which the mind of the truly contemplative man grows strong to rise, filled with the illumination of supreme wisdom.

Detail of seraphim, Hagia Sophia

God's Answer to Job

©Estate of Ben Shahn/Vaga, NY/Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX

For me, the most powerful story in the Old Testament of the Bible is the Book of Job. It's completely beautiful and I highly recommend reading it.

Job suffers from from injustice as he considers, ask the eternal questions all the book. And it receives the answer in the last four chapters where Lord informs Job who's Who and what's What.  Each of us could ask these painful questions of Job. But not everyone is worthy to receive and to hear the answer.
 Chapter 38


1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and you answer me.

4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.

5Who has determined the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line upon it?

6On what are its foundations fastened? or who laid its cornerstone;

7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9When I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10And prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,

11And said, Thus far shall you come, but no farther: and here shall your proud waves be stopped?

12Have you commanded the morning since your days began; and caused the dawn to know its place;

13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14It is turned as clay under the seal; and they stand out as a garment.

15And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the uplifted arm shall be broken.

16Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in search of the depths?

17Have the gates of death been revealed unto you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.

19Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is its place,

20That you should take it to its domain, and that you should know the paths to its home?

21Do you know it, because you were born then? or because the number of your days is great?

22Have you entered into the treasury of the snow? or have you seen the treasury of the hail,

23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24By what way is the light distributed, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?

25Who has divided a channel for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;

27To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender grass to spring forth?

28Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29Out of whose womb came the ice? and the frost from heaven, who has given it birth?

30The waters harden like a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31Can you bind the cluster of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in its season? or can you guide Arcturus with its children?

33Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set their dominion in the earth?

34Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?

35Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto you, Here we are?

36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?
...

Chapter 42

1: Then Job answered the LORD: 

2: "I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.

3: `Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4: `Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.'

5: I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee;

6: therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." 

What would you like done with me?

St. Teresa is Bernini's sculpture

For you I live and come to be --
What would you like done with me?
Sovereign, awful majesty,
Knowing till eternity --
Goodness, gracious to my soul,
Highness, godhead, one and whole,
Look at this nonentity
Singing of her love for thee --
What would you like done with me?

I am yours, because you made me,
Yours, because you then redeemed me,
Yours, because you suffered for me,
Yours, because you clamored for me,
Yours, because you did not lose me,
What would you like done with me?

What commands then, good my lord,
By such a creature should be done?
Or what office have I won,
Being but a slave abhorred?
Can't you see me, my sweet one?
Me, my sweet one, can't you see
What would you like done with me?

Right here is my heart, you see,
Lo, I put it in your hand,
My body, soul, all I command,
My entrails and my loving thee.
Redeemer sweet who married me,
Since I gave my all for thee,
What would you like done with me?

Give me life or give me death.
Give me honor, give me shame,
War or peace, it's all the same.
Give me sickness, give me health.
Weakness, strength, I won't complain.
Come what may, I'll let it be.
What would you like done with me?

Give me wealth or poverty,
Give me rest, or anguish fell,
Give me sadness, give me glee,
Give me heaven, give me hell.
Light of life, pray hear me tell
How I surrendered all for thee.
What would you like done with me?

If you will, teach me to pray.
If not, give me aridity.
From all good things your praise I'll say --
Or else, give me sterility.
O thou sovereign majesty,
Peace I find alone in thee.
What would you like done with me?

Wisdom give me, if you will,
Or, if you choose, give ignorance.
Give me wealthy circumstance,
Or give me thirst and hunger still.
Give me shade or light until
I'm tossed about unceasingly.
What would you like done with me?

If you command, at rest I lie,
For your love's sake I'll idle be.
Or if my labor's your decree,
Working hard, I want to die.
Tell me, "Where and how and why?"
Sweetest love, I ask of thee.
What would you like done with me?

Give me Tabor or Calvary,
Desert or the fruitful earth.
Be I Job in his sad dearth
Or John at bosom sucking free.
Perhaps I'll flourish gracefully,
Or sterile stay, if such must be --
What would you like done with me?

Be I Joseph, cast in jail,
Or Joseph, lord of Egypt's shore,
Be I David, punished sore,
Or David, king whom all men hail.
Be I Jonah in the whale,
Or Jonah safe, miraculously
What would you like done with me?

Be I silent, be I speaking,
Bearing fruit or bearing naught,
Let the Law show forth my fault,
Or Gospel soothe, if such you're seeking.
Be I happy, or by pain caught,
I only live when I'm with thee!
What would you like done with me?

For you I live and came to be --
What would you like done with me?

Saint Teresa of Avila  (1515-1582)
– translated from the Spanish by Alan D. Corré