Tantroktam Lakshmi Kavacham

om asya shree lakshmee kavacha stotrasya
shree eeshvaro devataa
anushTup Chandaha
shree lakshmee preetyarthe paThe viniyogaha ||

om lakshmee me chaagratah paatu kamalaa paatu prushThataha
naaraayaNee sheershadeshe sarvaange shree svaroopiNee ||
raamapatnee tu pratyange sadaa avatu shameshvaree |
vishaalaakshee yogamaayaa kaumaaree chakriNee tathaa || 2 ||
jayadaatree dhanadaatree paashaaksha maalinee shubhaa |
haripriyaa hariraamaa jayankaree mahodaree || 3 ||
krishNa paraayanaa devee shreekrishNa manamohinee |
jayankaree mahaaroudree siddhidaatree shubhankaree || 4 ||
sukhadaa mokshadaa devee chitrakooTa nivaasinee |
bhayam haratu bhaktaanaam bhavabandham vimuchyatu || 5 ||
kavacham tan mahaapunyam yah paThet bhakti samyutaha |
trisandhyam ekasandhyam vaa muchyate sarva sankaTaat ||
etat kavachasya paThanam dhana putra virdhanam |
bheetih vinaashanan chaiva trishu lokeshu keertitam || 7 ||
bhoorjapatre samaalikhya rochanaa kunkumena tu |
dhaaraNaat galadeshe cha sarvasiddhih bhavishyati || 8 ||
aputro labhate putra dhanaarthee labhate dhanam |
mokshaarthee moksham aapnoti kavachasya prasaadataha ||
garbhinee labhate putraM vandhyaa cha garbhinee bhavet |
dhaarayet api kanThe cha athavaa vaama baahuke || 10 ||
yah paThen nityam bhaktyaa sa eva vishnuvat bhavet |
mrutyu vyaadhi bhayaM tasya naasti kinchin maheetale || 11 ||
paThedvaa paaThayedvaa api shruNuyaat shraavayet yadi |
sarvapaapa vimuktastu labhate paramam gatim || 12 ||
sankaTe vipade ghore tathaa cha gahane vane |
raajadvaare cha noukaayaam tathaa cha raNa madhyataha ||
paThanaat dhaaraNaat asya jayam aapnoti nishchitam |
aputraa cha tathaa vandhyaa tripaksham shruNuyaat yadi ||
suputram labhate saa tu deergha aayushyam yashasvinam |
shruNuyaat yah shuddha buddhayaa
dvou maasou vipra vaktrataha || 15 ||
sarvaan kaamaana avaapnoti sarva bandhaat vimuchyate |
mrutavatsaa jeevavatsaa trimaasam shravaNam yadi || 16 ||
rogee rogaat vimuchyeta paThanaan maasa madhyataha |
likhitvaa bhoorjapatre cha athavaa taaDapatrake || 17 ||
sthaapayen nityam gehe na agni choura bhayam kvachit |
shruNuyaat dhaarayet vaapi paThedvaa paaThayedapi || 18 ||
yah pumaan satatam tasmin prasannaah sarvadevataaha |
bahunaa kimihoktena sarva jeeveshvareshvaree || 19 ||
aadyaa shaktih mahaalakshmeeh bhakta anugraha kaariNee |
dhaarake paaThake chaiva nishchalaa nivased dhruvam || 20 ||

|| iti tantroktam lakshmee kavacham sampoorNam ||

By His Light

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā 

vidyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ | 

tameva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ tasya 

bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti || 15 ||

The sun does not shine there; nor do the moon and the stars, nor do these lightnings shine. How could this fire? Him shining, all shine after. All this shines by his light.

---the Katha Upanishad, Verse 2.2.15

HAPPY DIWALI!

Yamaya Namaha

Om Surya puthraya Vidhmahe 

Maha Kalaya Dheemahe 

Thanno Yama Prachodayath

Yama Deepam Mantra is here

OM YAMAAYA NAMAHA

Like a Lamp

Painting by Georges de La Tour

Incited by something external
Is like a small lamp
Whose flame is fed with oil,
Or like a stream fed by rains,
Where flows stop when the rains cease.
But love whose object is God is like
A fountain gushing forth
From the earth.
Its flow never ceases,
For He Himself is the source of this love
And also its food,
Which never grows scarce.

---by Isaac of Stella (1100 - 1169)

Scourge of Love

El Greco self-portrait (detail)

I also maintain that those who are punished in Gehenna are scourged by the scourge of love.
Nay, what is so bitter and vehement as the torment of love?
I mean that those who have become conscious that they have sinned against love suffer greater torment from this than from any fear of punishment.
For the sorrow caused in the heart by sin against love is more poignant than any torment.
It would be improper for a man to think that sinners in Gehenna are deprived of the love of God.
Love is the offspring of knowledge of the truth which, as is commonly confessed, is given to all.
The power of love works in two ways. It torments sinners, even as happens here when a friend suffers from a friend.
But it becomes a source of joy for those who have observed its duties.
Thus I say that this is the torment of Gehenna: bitter regret.
But love inebriates the souls of the sons of Heaven by its delectability.

---by St. Isaac the Syrian (640-700 AD), from "Homily 72"

1-2-3

Wonderful Shakti atmosphere during the concert of Andre Rieu.
Music: Shostakovich 'Second Waltz
It's so true. Dao De Jing, Chapter 42:

Dao gives birth to One. 

One gives birth to Two. 

Two give birth to Three. 

Three give birth to ten-thousand things.

1-2-3,1-2-3,1-2-3...

Durga Dwatrimshan Namavali

durgaa durgaarti shamanee durgaa aapadvi nivaariNee |
durgama cChedinee durga saadhinee durga naashinee || 1 ||
durgatoddhaariNee durganihantree durgamaapahaa |
durgamagyaanadaa durgadaityaloka daavaanalaa || 2 ||
durgamaadurgamaalokaa durgamaa aatmasvaroopiNee |
durgamaargapradaa durgamavidyaa durgamaashritaa || 3 ||
durgamagyaana samsthaanaa durgamadhyaanabhaasinee |
durgamohaa durgamagaa durgamaarthasvaroopiNee || 4 ||
durgamaasura samhantree durgamaayudha dhaariNee |
durgamaangee durgamataa durgamyaa durgameshvaree || 5 ||
durgabheemaa durgabhaamaa durgabhaa durgadaariNee |
naamaavalim imaam yastu durgaayaa sudhee maanavaha
paThet sarva bhayaanmukto bhavishyati na samshayaha || 6 ||
shatrubhih peeDyamaano vaa durgabandhagato api vaa |
dvaatrimshannaama paThena muchyate naatra samshayaha ||

Kill Bull - 7

Happy Navratri! So, the great festival is in full swing and here is my regular post "Kill Bull"(see Kill Bull-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). This is the right time to speculate about what makes our soul to be or pretend to be a bull, and how to summon a Divine Power to take off this asuric spell.
Durga Puja offers us, in dramatic form and by means of religious ceremonial a philosophy of the spiritual life, teaching many things, including the awakening of man upon earth from animalism to a life of purity and honor. Goddess Durga's images is a perfect reflection of the eternal Power that pervades all living beings and all things on Earth. It is beautiful dramatic expression of the belief in the ultimate victory of Good over Evil and the great human aspiration for union with God.

Durga is all about struggle and strength, but how does this apply to us personally? Mystic Sandhi puja is not about the event that once was and passed, but what happens today, in the eternal now. Each individual life goes along the horizontal line from birth to death. Good or evil force shapes it, and, if it is not saint-born, his life can not develop without a struggle. Everyone has his own personal Mahishasura. Because of itself the jivatma would be a mere inert passivity, unbalanced by a positive opposite. Like in Lewis Carroll's tale we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that. But how much does it depend on our personal efforts? By and large, it does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on Mercy only. But I believe that this is inherent element of human nature. I want to say that the soul always seeks God. It is a fundamental necessity of the soul because its properties are the result of the union of eternal Divine basis with itself, modified by the good or evil tendencies. It is reproduced in the Durga yantra.

This is in deep correspondence with human life itself and the world we live in, which are themselves but allegories and symbols. The struggle, external or internal, is part of everything that surrounds us. But this struggle is not for survival. It's a life-and-death struggle. Literally, for the average person, and figurative for the mystic. Because this is the universal truth that mystical death must precede mystical rebirth. This is the death to one's lower self.

Gilgamesh, legendary King of the city of Uruk fighting against the Bull

Many cultures and religions, both current and past, tell us this story. According the St Paul "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live "(Rom 8:13), or the sufi saying "die before you die."
He who desires to rise to the heights of his own being must first crush his own lower nature and inclinations. Through this blessed battle, older versions of "I" may very well die.

Heracles and Cretan Bull

The message of this battle is that we need to tame the demanding self-centered beast within us and bring the power to good use. This process asks to bring the higher and lower consciousness in perfect balance, knowing that control is always in your hands, and purity in your heart. However, it has nothing to do with the confidence a person has when filled of one's own strength. Rather, it depicts the confidence of those whose blessed individuals strength is founded in God.
During the battle with the Shakti herself, (which is impossible by definition, because everything is shakti) the inertia and negativity of the soul become increasingly transmuted and superseded by the positive energy and activity of the Spirit. Like in the Yantra when the upper triangles gradually assumes preponderance over the triangle with a vertex down, signifying that the seeker becomes a more spiritually conscious being.
This battle is actually about Divine union. Divine Shakti's energy overcomes severity and uses mercy to become strong and enduring. This is called a gentle strength. Strength of having the inner-qualities of love, patience and power. And joy. When our pains of division are made up for by the joys of reunification.

Happy Birthday, Ganesha!

May the destroyer of evil grace you with peace and love. 

May Lord Ganesh bless you!

Lalbaugcha Raja Live Darshan

Lalbauga Raja is a heart of millions of devotees now. In Ganeshotsav, devotees come from Mumbai and abroad to visit the Lalbaugcha Raja. During this Ganesh festival, you can take a online live darshan of Lalbaghcha Raja day and night.

Tutari - Ganesh Chaturthi 2017 Song

Singer: Shankar Mahadevan
Music: Shankar Mahadevan
Lyrics: Sameer Samant

No obstacle is too large

for the one who removes them.

Jai Ganesh-ji!

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Varahamukhi Stavah

varaahamukhee stavah

kuvalayanibhaa kausheyaardhorukaa mukuTojjvalaa
halamusalinee sadbhaktebhyo varaabhayadaayinee |
kapilanayanaa madhye kshaamaa kaThoraghanastanee
jayati jagataam maatah saa te varaahamukhee tanuh || 1 ||
tarati vipado ghoraa dooraat parihriyate bhayah
khalitamatibhih bhootapretaih svayam vriyate shriyaa |
kshapayati ripooneeshTe vaachaam raNe labhate jayam
vashayati jagat sarvam vaaraahi yah tvayi bhaktimaan || 2 ||
stimitagatayah seedadvaachah parichyuta hetayah
kshubhita hrudayaah sadyo nashyaddrusho galitaujasah |
bhayaparavashaa bhagnotsaahaah paraahata paurushaa
bhagavati purastvat bhaktaanaam bhavanti virodhinah || 3 ||
kisalaya mrudurhastah klishyate kandukaleelayaa
bhagavati mahaabhaarah kreeDaa saroruhameva te |
tadapi musalam dhatse haste halam samayadruhaam
harasi cha tadaaghaataih praaNaanaho tava saahasam || 4 ||
janani niyatasthaane tvadvaama dakshiNapaarshvayoh
mrudu bhujalataa mandotkshepa praNartita chaamare |
satatamudite guhyaachaaradruhaam rudhiraasavaih
rupashamayataam shatroon sarvaanubhe mama devate || 5 ||
haratu duritam kshetraadheeshah svashaasana vidvishaam
rudhiramadiraamattah praaNopahaara balipriyah |
avirata chaTatkurvat damshTraasthi koTiraTanmuko
bhagavati sa te chanDochchanDah sadaa puratah sthitah || 6 ||
kshubhitamakaraih veecheehastopa ruddhaparasparaih
chaturadadhibhih kraantaa kalpaanta durlalitodakai |
janani katham uttishThet paataala sadmabilaadilaa
tava tu kuTile damshTraakoTee na chedavalambanam || 7 ||
tamasi bahule shoonyaaTavyaam pishaacha nishaachara
pramatha kalahe chora vyaaghroragadvipa samkaTe |
kshubhitamanasah kshudrasyai kaakino api kuto bhayam
sakrudapi mukhe maatah tvannaama sannihitam yadi || 8 ||
viditavibhavam hrudyaih padmaih varaahamukhee stavam
sakala phaladam poorNam mantraaksharaih imameva ya |
paThati sa paTuh praapnotya aayushchiram kavitaam priyaam
suta sukha dhana aarogyam keertim shriyam jayam urvaraam||9||
|| iti shree varaahamukhee stavah sampoorNam ||

OM Varahaya namah

Brahmanda Pavana Krishna Kavacha

Brahmanda Pavana Krishna Kavacha Stotram

brahma uvaacha -
raadhaakaanta mahaabhaaga kavacham yat prakaashitam |
brahmaaNDa paavanam naama krupayaa kathaya prabho ||
maam mahesham cha dharmam cha bhaktam cha bhaktavatsala|
tvat prasaadena putrebhyo daasyaami bhaktisamyutaha||
shree krishNa uvaacha -
shruNu vakshyaami brahmesha dharmedam kavacham param |
aham daasyaami yushmabhyam gopaneeyam sudurlabham ||
yasmai kasmai na daatavyam praaNatulyam mamaiva hi |
yattejo mama dehe asti tattejah kavache api ||
kuru srishTim imam dhrutvaa dhaataa trijagataam bhava |
samhartaa bhava he shambho mama tulyo bhave bhava ||
he dharma tvam imam dhrutvaa bhava saakshee cha karmaNaam|
tapasaam phaladaataa cha yooyam bhakta madvaraat ||
om asya shree brahmaaNDa paavana kavachasya
saakshaat shreeharih rishihi gaayatree Chandaha
sa eva jagadeeshvarah shreekrishNo devataa
dharmaartha kaama moksheshu viniyogaha ||
yo bhavet siddha kavacho mama tulyo bhavettu sah |
tejasaa siddhiyogena gyaanena vikrameNa cha ||
praNavo me shirah paatu namo raaseshvaraaya cha |
bhaalam paayaat netrayugmam namo raadheshvaraaya cha ||
krishNam paayaat shrotrayugmam he hare ghraaNameva cha |
jihvikaam vahnijaayaa tu krishNaayeti cha sarvataha ||
shreekrishNaaya svaaheti cha kanTham paatu shaDaksharaha |
hreem krishNaaya namo vaktram kleem poorvashcha bhujadvayam ||
namo gopaanganeshaaya skandhaah ashTaaksharo avatu |
dantapanktim oshThayugmam namo gopeeshvaraaya cha ||
om namo bhagavate raasa manDaleshaaya svaahaa |
svayam vakshasthalam paatu mantro ayam shoDashaaksharam ||
aim krishNaaya svaaheti cha karNayugmam sadaa avatu |
om vishNave svaaheti cha kankaalam sarvato avatu ||
om haraye namah iti prushTham paadam sadaa& avatu |
om govardhanadhaariNe svaahaa sarva shareerakam ||
praachyaam maam paatu shreekrishNah aagneyyaam paatu maadhavaha |
dakshiNe paatu gopeesho nairutyaam nandanandanaha ||
vaaruNyaam paatu govindo vaayavyaam raadhikeshvaraha |
uttare paatu raameshah aishaanyaam achyutah swayam |
santatah sarvatah paatu paro naaraayaNah svayam ||
phala shrutihi
iti te kathitam brahman kavacham parama adbhutam |
mama jeevanatulyam cha yushmabhyam dattameva cha ||

Krishna kavacha from Ganga samhita is here

Om Sri Krishnaya Namaha

MahaLakshmi Stotram

aadi lakshmee namastestu parabrahma svaroopiNee |
yasho dehi dhanam dehi sarva kaamaanshcha dehi me || 1 ||
santaana lakshmee namastestu putra poutra pradaayinee |
putraan dehi dhanam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 2 ||
vidyaa lakshmee brahma vidyaa svaroopiNee |
vidyaam dehi kalaam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 3 ||
dhana lakshmee namastestu sarva daaridrya naashinee |
dhanam dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 4 ||
dhaanya lakshmee namastestu sarva aabharaNa bhooshite |
dhaanyam dehi dhanam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
medhaa lakshmee namastestu kalikalmasha naashinee |
pragyaam dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
gaja lakshmee namastestu sarva deva svaroopiNee |
ashvam cha gokulam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 7 ||
veera lakshmee namastestu paraashakti svaroopiNee |
veeryam dehi balam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 8 ||
jaya lakshmee namastestu sarvakaarya jayaprade |
jayam dehi shubham dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 9 ||
bhaagya lakshmee namastestu saumaangalya vivardhinee |
bhaagyam dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
keerti lakshmee namastestu vishNu vakshasthala sthite |
keetim dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 11 ||
aarogya lakshmee namastestu sarvaroga nivaariNee |
aayur dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me || 12 ||
siddha lakshmee namastestu sarvasiddhi pradaayinee |
siddhim dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
soundarya lakshmee namastestu sarvaalankaara shobhite |
roopam dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
saamraajya lakshmee namastestu bhukti mukti pradaayinee |
moksham dehi shriyam dehi sarva kaamaamshcha dehi me ||
mangale mangalaadre maangalye mangalaprade |
mangalaartham mangaleshi maangalyam dehi me sadaa || 16 ||

Ganapati Atharvashirsha Upanishad

gaNapati atharvasheersha upanishat

om bhadram karNebhih shruNuyaama devaaha | bhadram
pashyemaakshabhiryajatraaha | sthirairangai stushTuvaagm sastanoobhihi | vyashema devahitam yadaayuhu | svasti na indro vRuddhashravaaha | svasti nah pooshaa vishvavedaaha | svasti nastaarkshyo arishTanemihi | svasti no bRuhaspatirdadhaatu ||
om shaantih shaantih shaantihi ||
om lam namastey gaNapataye | tvameva pratyaksham tattvamasi | tvameva kevalam kartaa~si | tvameva kevalam dhartaa~si | tvameva kevalam hartaa~si | tvameva sarvam khalvidam brahmaasi | tvam saakshaadaatmaa~si nityam || 1 ||
rutam vachmi | satyam vachmi || 2 ||
ava tvam maam | ava vaktaaram | ava shrotaaram | ava daataaram | ava dhaataaram |
avaanoochaanamava shishyam | ava pashchaattaat | ava purastaat | avottaraattaat |
ava dakshiNaattaat | ava chordhvaattaat | avaadharaattaat | sarvato maam paahi paahi samantaat || 3 ||
tvam vaangmayastvam chinmayaha | tvamaananda mayastvam brahmamayaha | tvam sachchidaanandaa adviteeyo~si | tvam pratyaksham brahmaasi |
tvam jnaanamayo vijnaanamayo~si || 4 ||
sarvam jagadidam tvatto jaayatey | sarvam jagadidam tvattastishThati | sarvam jagadidam tvayi layameshyati | sarvam jagadidam tvayi pratyeti | tvam bhoomiraapo~nalo~nilo nabhaha | tvam chatvaari vaakpadaani || 5 ||
tvam guNatrayaateeta ha | tvam avasthaatrayaateetaha | tvam dehatrayaateetaha | tvam kaalatrayaateetaha | tvam moolaadhaarasthito~si nityam | tvam shaktitrayaatmakaha | tvaam yogino dhyaayanti nityam | tvam brahmaa tvam vishNustvam rudrastvam indrastvam agnistvam vaayustvam sooryastvam chandramaastvam
brahma bhoorbhuvah svarom || 6 ||
gaNaadim poorvam ucchaarya varNaadim stadanantaram | anusvaarah parataraha | ardhendulasitam | taareNa ruddham | etattava manusvaroopam | gakaarah poorvaroopam | akaaro madhyamaroopam | anusvaarashchaantyaroopam | binduruttararoopam | naadah sandhaanam |sagmhitaa sandhihi |saishaa gaNeshavidyaa |gaNaka rushihi |nichRudgaayatreecChandaha | gaNapatirdevataa |
om gam gaNapataye namaha || 7 ||
ekadantaaya vidmahey vakratunDaaya dheemahi |
tanno dantih prachodayaat || 8 ||
ekadantam chaturhastam paasham ankushadhaariNam |
radam cha varadam hastair bibhraaNam mooshaka dhvajam |
raktam lambodaram shoorpa karNakam rakta vaasasam |
rakta gandhaanu liptaangam rakta pushpaih supoojitam |
bhakta anukampinam devam jagat kaaraNam achyutam |
aavirbhootam cha srushTyaadau prakruteh purushaatparam |
evam dhyaayati yo nityam sa yogee yoginaam varaha || 9 ||
namo vraatapataye | namo gaNapataye |
namah pramathapataye |
namaste~stu lambodaraaya ekadantaaya vighnanaashiney shivasutaaya varadamoortaye namaha ||10 ||
phalashruti etad atharvasheersham yo~dheetey sa brahmabhooyaaya kalpatey | sa sarvavighnairna baadhyatey | sa sarvatah sukhamedhatey | sa panchamahaapaapaat pramuchyatey | saayamadheeyaano divasakrutam paapam naashayati |
praataradheeyaano raatrikrutam paapam naashayati | saayam praatah prayunjaano paapo~paapo bhavati | sarvatraadheeyaano~pavighno bhavati | dharma artha kaama moksham cha vindati | idam atharvasheersham ashishyaaya na deyam | yo yadi mohaad daasyati sa paapeeyaan bhavati | sahastraavartanaadyam yam kaamamadheetey tam tamanena saadhayet || 11 ||
anena gaNapatim abhishinchati sa vaagmee bhavati | chaturthyaamanashnan japati sa vidyaavaan bhavati | ityatharvaNa vaakyam | brahmaadyaavaraNam vidyaanna bibheti kadaachaneti || 12 ||
yo doorvaankurair yajati sa vaishravaNopamo bhavati | yo laajair yajati sa yashovaan bhavati | sa medhaavaan bhavati | yo modaka sahasreNa yajati sa vaanChita phalam avaapnoti | yah saajya samidbhir yajati sa sarvam labhatey sa sarvam labhatey || 13 ||
ashTau braahmaNaan samyag graahayitvaa soorya varchasvee bhavati | sooryagrahey mahaanadyaam pratimaa sannidhau vaa japtvaa siddha mantro bhavati |mahaa vighnaat pramuchyatey |mahaa doshaat pramuchyatey |mahaa pratyavaayaat pramuchyatey |sa sarva vidbhavati sa sarvav idbhavati |ya evam veda | ityupanishat ||14 ||

om shaantih shaantih shaantihi || 

How to Love God?

"How then should one love God? You should love God mindlessly, this is, so that your soul is without mind and free from all mental activities, for as long as your soul is operating like a mind, so long does it have images and representations. But as long as it has images, it has intermediaries, and as long as it has intermediaries, it has neither oneness nor simplicity. And therefore your soul should be bare of all mind and should stay there without mind. For if you love God as he is God or mind or person or picture, all that must be dropped. How then shall you love him? You should love him as he is, a not-God, not-mind, not-person, not-image – even more, as he is a pure, clear One, separate from all twoness. And we should sink eternally from something to nothing into this One. May God help us to do this. Amen."

---by Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)

Divine Wheel

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Adhyaya One
The Divine Wheel

6. We understood Him as a wheel which has one felly with a triple tyre with sixteen end-parts, fifty spokes, twenty counter-spokes, with six sets of eights, which has one rope of various forms, which has three different roads or paths and which has one revolution for two causes.

7. God is meditated upon as the wheel of this universe, and circumference of this wheel is Maya.

8. The three tyres are the three qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas or time, space and causation.

9. The sixteen end-parts are sixteen modifications or Vikritis, viz. the five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action and mind and the five gross elements.

10. The fifty spokes are (a) the five classes of ignorance viz., Tamas, Moha, Maha-Moha, Timira (darkness) and Andha-Timira (utter darkness); (b) The 28 disabilities; (c) the nine Tushtis or satisfactions; (d) the eight Siddhis or perfections viz., Tara, Sutara, Tarayanti, Pramoda, Pramodita, Pramodamana, Ramyaka and Satpramodita.

11. The twenty counter-spokes are the ten senses and their ten objects.

12. Six sets of eight: (1) the eight producers of the Sankhya eightfold Prakriti viz. the five elements, mind, intellect and egoism. (2) the eight constituent parts of the body or Dhatus viz. external skin, internal skin, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen. (3) Ashtasiddhis or eight superhuman powers viz., Anima, Mahima etc. (4) Eight mental states (Bhava) viz., virtue, unrighteousness, knowledge, ignorance, dispassion, attachment, super- human power and want of superhuman power. (5) The eight deities viz., Brahma, Prajapati, Devas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Pitris and Pisachas. (6) The eight virtues of the soul, viz. compassion, forbearance, absence of jealousy, purity, freedom from fatigue, auspiciousness, freedom from poverty, and desirelessness. (7) Three different roads are virtue, vice and knowledge. (8) The rope is desire.

13. We understand Him as a river of five sources, impetuous and crooked, whose waves are the five Pranas or vital breaths, whose original source is the fivefold perception, which has five whirlpools, which is impelled by the velocity of the fivefold misery or pain, which is divided by the five kinds of misery, and which has five turnings or branches.

The five senses represent the five streams.

The five Pranas represent the waves.

The five objects of the senses viz., sound, touch etc. are called whirlpools, because the individual souls get drowned in them.

The five kinds of pain are the pain arising from existence in the womb, from birth, old age, disease and death.

14. In the infinite wheel of Brahman in which everything lives and rests, the pilgrim-soul, or the reincarnating self is whirled about when it thinks that it and the supreme Ruler are different or separate. It attains immortality when it is blessed or favoured by Him.

15. This is verily declared as the supreme Brahman. In that is the triad. It is the firm support. It is the indestructible. By knowing what is therein, the knowers of Brahman become devoted to Brahman, merge themselves in it and are liberated from birth.

16. The triad are the world, the individual soul and the supreme Soul. The triad are the enjoyer, the objects of enjoyment and the supreme Soul. It may mean also the waking state, dream and deep sleep.

Loving

My heart had various longings,
    but since seeing you, they’ve all become one
My envied mine envier became, and
    I became the lord of mankind, since my lord you became
I left everyone to their world and their religion
    busy with my love for you, oh my world and my religion
You lit two fires in my liver:
    one between my ribs and the other between my guts.

---by Mansur Al-Hallaj

Swayamvara Parvati Mantramala Stotram

swayamvara mantram
asya shree swayamvara mantrasya
brhma rushih devee gaayatree Chandah
devee giriputree swayamvara devataa
mama abheeshTa siddhyarthe jape viniyogaha ||
dhyaanam
shambhum jaganmohana roopavarNam
vilokya lajaakulitam smitadyaam |
madhookamaalam swa sakhee karaabhyaam
sambeebratee maadree sutam bhajeham ||
mantra
oum hreem yoginee yoginee yogeshwaree yoga bhayankaree sakala sthaavara jangamasya mukha hrudayam mama vasham aakarshaya aakarshaya swaahaa ||
om bandhookavarNaam aruNaam sugaatraam
shambhum samuddhisya sanairupetaam |
ambhojamrudhveem abhilaashaa daatreem
sambhaavaye nirjaradaarukalpaam || 1 ||
hreem mandaraaNee charaNaagragati prapaate
shvamanju samkwaNita kankaNa kinkiNee |
kaamam kumaaree tavataanee shive smaraamee
kshemamkaraNee kanakalaya khelanaanee || 2 ||
yogena baalya vayaso lalitaam purastaat
draageva kanTha vilasat kankormee koughaam |
aakamra nagdha rasanaam bhavateem nireekshe
shreekanTha bhaaminee katha prapadeena veNeem || 3 ||
geeryalpamugdha vishadaam navayouvaneem shree
turyaam vilaasamaya makshnee krushaam vilaghnee |
paryuchyitaam kuchabhaare jaghane gaNaam yat
paryutsako asmi satatam jananee praseeda || 4 ||
nirdhoota kunDala mudanchita gharmaleshaam
vitrasta keshaamabheetashchala deekshanantaam |
nirdhwanee kankaNamudaagra kuchandamandaara
badhnaami tatgruha kandhooka khelanaam te || 5 ||
yogeshwaraam prachura bhakti gireeshaamaraa
dhekanTha vaitinamupetya tapashcharantaam |
aakamkshaya parichaarishNumanakulaam tvaam
ye kechideeshvaree bhajantee taa yeva dhanya || 6 ||
giryaatmaje madanadaha mahaavamaanaa
parayaakula purahare hrudayam nidhayaa |
kaaryastapo vidadhee kushalaani bhoobhrut
paryaaya peena kucha kumbha vishrumbhadaangee || 7 ||
nityaaya manasaa drusha muhoor induchooDam
madhyasthita rahasi pancha hutaashanam |
tathaa drushena tapasaa jagadaanda bhaajam
vitrasadaatree paripaahi sadaa shive na || 8 ||
yogyam vatorvaa purupaa sthitaraatma bhaktim
deergham pareekshitum anukshaNam akshi pantham |
sakshaat gireesham avadhooya rusha prayaate
druktena samsrutapadam bhavateem bhajaama || 9 ||
gehe nije varaNaat maalaasat karaabjaam
vyahaaree noopura mudaanchita mandahaasam |
neehaara bhaanudaaramuchalitaam vareetum
mohavahaam tribhuvanasya bhajaamahe tvaam || 10 ||
swastahi kankaNa vilokana bheeta bheetam
pratyaagra raaga vivasham mama tam nidehi |
utsweda vepaadhu pinaaka bhruta graheetam
rudraaNi dakshiNa karabhujam uttamaange || 11 ||
rishTaapaham bhavatu bhartru nakhendu bimba
spashTaanu bimbita tanum vibudhapagaam taam |
drushTvaasu raaga rabhasodaya sonakoNam
drushTidvayam tava kara grahaNe sthitam na || 12 ||
yoge nave tava bhavaani shivaani dadyaat
draageva satvaramapatrapayaa nivrutam |
saakampa maalee vachanair vihitaabhi mukhyam
draagutsmitaam puraabhida pariraabdhamaangaam || 13 ||
gatya nitamba mandaraaya salajjaih
raadhekshaNai rasakalaakshara vaagvilasaih |
hrudayaishcha vibhrama guNair madanaaree dhairya
prastara hariNee shive jananee praseeda || 14 ||
bhadra makhenduna manaadha bhi veekshaNeshu
pratyuktidaana veeramanna vasat kathaashu |
udwena naathai haTaat pari rambhaneshu
pratyu pramodajajanee jananee praseeda || 15 ||
yam naathamadhi munayo nigamokti gumphe
swalakshya taanta manaso vimukhee bhavanti |
sannahya tena daayitena manoja vidyaa
nandanu bhooti rasike jananee praseeda || 16 ||
kalyaaNa kuntalabharaam navakalpavallee
pushpollasaad bahuLa sourabha lobhaneeyam |
kalyaaNadhaama shashi khaNDa makhana shobhaa
kallolitam tava maaheshwaree samshrayama || 17 ||
rinchaalikaa tava shive niti lalakaanaam
nyaanchad paTeera tilake niTile vibhaantee |
manju prasanna mukha padma vihaaree lakshmee
pinchaatapatra ruchirahrudi na samindham || 18 ||
samyak bruvau tava vilasa bhoovau smarama
samugdha manmatha sarasana chaaruroope |
hrun madhya gooDha nihitam haradairya lakshyam
yanmoola yaantrita kaTaaksha sharair vibhinnam || 19 ||
kaamrasita sita rucha shravaNaanta deergha
bimboka Dambara bhruto nibhrutaanukampaa |
sanmaatukaa payi bhavantu pinaaki vaktra
bimbaambuja janma madhoopa saati te kaTaaksha || 20 ||
lagnaabhiraamaa mruganaabhi vichitra paatram
magnam prabhaasamudaye tava ganDa bimbam |
chitte vibhaatu satatam maNi kuNDalodya
drantanu bimba pari chumbitaam ambike na || 21 ||
stano sadaa bhagavat priyataa nidhaanam
praaNaadapi pravirala smita lobhaneyam |
stanee kurushva girije tava bandhu jeeva
shreNi sagandha madhuram dishaanantare na || 22 ||
vandamahe kanaka mangaLasootra shobhaa
sandeepta kumkuma valitraya baangi ramyam |
mandaaradshikaswara vikaswara naada vidyaa
sandarbha garbhamgaje tava kanTha naalam || 23 ||
rakshaarthamaatru mama moordhani dhatswa nityam
dakshaari gadaa pari rambhaa rasaanukoolam |
akshamahema kaDakanagadaa ratna shobham
laakshavilam jananee paaNiyugam twadeeyam || 24 ||
jaambharee kumbhee varakumbha nibhamurojaa
kumbhadwayee lalitaa sambhruta ratnamaalam |
shambhor bhujaih anudinam nibhidaangapaali
shaambhavee tam bhuvana sundaree bhaavayaamaha || 25 ||
garvaapahe vaata daLasya tanoodharante
nirvyoodabhaasee tava naabhi sarasya gaade |
sarvaavaloka ruchi medura roma vallee
nirvasite vasatu dishaanam arali || 26 ||
machedasi sphuratu mara rathaanga bhaangeem
ucchairddhaanaa maatipi varata nidhaanam |
swacChanda ratna rasana kalitaantareeya
pracChaanam amba tava karma nitamba bimbam || 27 ||
syandanu raaga maadhavaari puraari chetaa
sannaga bandha maNi veNu kaamooru kandam |
bandi krutendra gaja pushkara mugdha rambhaam
nandamasundaree shive hrudi sandadhaanaa || 28 ||
mugdhollasat kanaka noopura nagdha naanaa
ratna bhayordhva gataya paaritobhiraamam |
chita prassoti jaya kahala kanThee jangha
yugmam twadeeya maganandinee chintayaamaha || 29 ||
khaTwaanga paaNi makuTena tathaa tathaa
samkrushTa grayo praaNaadishu praNaya prakope |
ashTaanga paaTha sahitam praNatosmi labdhum
ishTaam gatim jananee paada payojayoshThe || 30 ||
hrudyaarpaNam mama mrujantu tadaa twadanga
mudya dravidyuti bhavediha saanu bimbam |
uttunga daitya sura mouLibhiruhyamaano
rudrapriye tava paadaabja bhavaa paraagaa || 31 ||
dadyaa sukhaani mama chakra kalaandharasthaa
raktaambarana maalyadharaa japabhaa |
rudraaNee paasha shruNi chaapa saraagra hastaa
kastooree kaThilaakinee nava kumkumaardraa || 32 ||
yad pankajanma nilayam karapadma shumbha
dambhoruham bhuvana mangaLa maadriyante |
amboruhaka sukrotot kara paaka mekam
sambhaavaye hrudi shive tava shaktibhedam || 33 ||
mandaara kunda sushamaa kara pallavodyat
puNyaakshadhaamaa pushTaka poorNakumbhaa |
chandraardha chaaru makuTa nava padmasamsthaa
saandhediveetu bhavattihyadi nah trinetraa || 34 ||
madhye kadamba vanam sthitad ratnadolam
udyannakhaagra mukharee kruta ratna veeNaam |
atyanta neela kamaneeya kalebaram tvaam
utsanga lalitaa manogyasukheem upaasaye || 35 ||
vaartamahe manasee sandhadeem nitaanta
raktaam varaabhaya viraajee karaaravindaam |
udwelamadhyavasateem madhuraangee maayaam
tattvaatmikaam bhagavateem bhavaateem bhajantaha || 36 ||
shambhupriyaam shashikalaa kalivatamsaam
sambhaavita abhayavaraam kusha paasa paaNim |
sampad pradaana nirataam bhuvaneshvareem tvaam
shambhujjapa ruchampara krupaam upaase || 37 ||
aarooDha tunga turagaam mrudu baahuvalleem
aarooDha paasha shruNi vetra laaTham trinetram |
aaropitaam akhilaa santaanane prakaTabhaam
aaraadhayaami bhavati manasaa mamnogyaam || 38 ||
karmaatmike jaya jaya akhiladharma moorte
chinmaatruke jaya jaya triguNa swaroope |
kalmaasha gharma pishunaan karuNaamrutaardre
saamraajya samyagabhishincha druganchalair na || 39 ||
shannamasi tvamaadi daivataam aksharaaNaam
varNa trayodita manu prakrutih tvameva |
tvannaama vishwamanu shakti kalaam twadanyat
kinnaama daivataamihasti samasta moorte || 40 ||
yaakapi vishwajana mohana divya maayaa
shreekaamavairi vapuraardha haraanubhava |
prakaashayate jagadeeshvaree saa twamasmaan
mookam anya sharaNaan pari paahi deenaan || 41 ||
kartrai namostu jagatonikhilaasya bhartyai
hartyai namostu vidhi vishNu haraatma shaktyaih |
bhaktyai namostu bhuvanaabhi maataa prasootyai
muktyai namostu munimanDala drushyamoortyaihi || 42 ||
shaDvaktra hastimukha jushTapaadasya bhartu
rishTopa guhana sudhaapluta manasasya |
drushTyanipeeya vadanendu makshinange
tushTyasthite vitaradevi dayaavoukaan || 43 ||
yantaantaram bhaavitru bhoota bhavam mayaa yat
swapna prajaagaara sushupti shuptishi vaanmanogyaihi |
nityam tvadaarchana kalasu samastametat
bhaktaanukampini namastu tava prasaadataha || 44 ||
swaaheti saagara suteti surapageti
vyaahaararoopa sushameti haripriyeti |
neehaara shaila tanayeti pruthakprakaasha
roopam paramesha mahisheem bhaavaatim bhajaamaha || 45 ||
harasphurat kuchagire harajeevanaathe
hariswaroopiNee haripramukti vandye |
herambashaktidhara nandinee hemavarNe
he chaNDee haimavatee devi namo namaste || 46 ||
ye tu swayamvara mahaastava mantramedam
praatah naraa sakala siddhikaram japanti |
bhooti prabhava jana ranjana keerti soundarya
aaroopyam aayurapi deerghamapi labhante || 47 ||
shatakrutu pravrutya martya tatyaabhi praNtyapa
krama prashrutvara smita prabhanchidasya pankaje |
harapriye varaprade daaradaarendra kanyake
haridraya samanvite daridrataam hara drutam || 48 ||

Who Was Great In The World

Photo from here

"...No one who was great in the world will be forgotten, but everyone was great in his own way, and everyone in proportion to the greatness of that which he loved. He who loved himself became great by virtue of himself, and he who loved other men became great by his devotedness, but he who loved God became the greatest of all. Everyone shall be remembered, but everyone became great in proportion to his expectancy. One became great by expecting the possible, another by expecting the eternal; but he who expected the impossible became the greatest of all. Everyone shall be remembered, but everyone was great wholly in proportion to the magnitude of that with which he struggled. For he who struggled with the world became great by conquering the world, and he who struggled with himself became great by conquering himself, but he who struggled with God became the greatest of all. Thus did they struggle in the world, man against man, one against thousands, but he who struggled with God was the greatest of all. Thus did they struggle on earth: there was one who conquered everything by his power, and there was one who conquered God by his powerlessness. There was one who relied upon himself and gained everything; there was one who in the security of his own strength sacrificed everything; but the one who believed God was the greatest of all. There was one who was great by virtue of his power, and one who was great by virtue of his hope, and one who was great by virtue of his love, but Abraham was the greatest of all, great by that power whose strength is powerlessness, great by that wisdom which is foolishness, great by that hope whose form is madness, great by the love that is hatred to oneself.”

--- by Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

The Rose

"The Rose"sung by Bette Midler and written by Amanda McBroom in 1979.

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance

It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

Prayer to Angels

Christian prayer to Guardian Angels.

Heavenly Father,
Your infinite love for us has chosen a blessed angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great ablessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities. And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love you for all eternity. We shall praise and glorify you unceasingly for all the good you have done for us while here on earth. Especially be a faithful and watchful protector of our children. Take our place, and supply what may be wanting to us through human frailty, short-sightedness, or sinful neglect. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our heavy task. Guide our children, that they may become like unto Jesus, may imitate Him faithfully, and persevere till they attain eternal life.
Amen.

Vakratunda Ganesha Stavaraja

vakratunDa gaNesha stavarAja:

|| asya gAyatrI mantrah ||
om tatpuruShAya vidmahe vakratunDAya dhImahi |
tanno dantih prachodayAt||

om kAramAdyam pravadanti santo vAchah shrutInAmapi yam gRuNanti |
gajAnanam devagaNAnatAnghrim bhaje~ham ardhaidu-krutAvatamsam || 1||
pAdAravindArcchana tatparANAm samsAra dAvAnala bhangadakSham |
nirantaraM nirgata-dAna-toyaistam naumi vighneshvaram-ambudAbham || 2 ||
krutAngarAgam navakumkumena mattAlijAlam madapanka-magnam |
nivArayantam nijakarNatAlaih ko
vismaret putramananga-shatroh || 3 ||
shambhor-jaTAjUTa-nivAsi gangAjalam samAnIya karAmbujena |
lIlAbhirArAcChivam-archayam-tam
gajAnanam bhaktiyutA bhajanti || 4 ||
kumAramuktou punarAtma-hetoh payodharou
parvata rAjaputryAh |
prakShAlayantam karashIkareNa mougdhyena tam
nAgamukham bhajAmi || 5 ||
tayA samadbhUta gajAsya hastAdye
shIkarAh puShkara-randhra-muktAh |
vyomAngaNe te vicharanti tArAh kAlAtmanA
mouktika-tulyabhAsah || 6 ||
krIDArate vArinidhou gajAsye
velAmatikrAmati vAripUre |
kalpAvasAnam parichintya devAh kailAsanAtham
shrutibhih stuvanti || 7 ||
nAnAgane nAgakRutottarIye krIDArate devakumAra-sanghaih |
tvayi kShaNam kAla gatim vihAya tou
prApatuh kandukatAminendU || 8 ||
madollasat panchamukhair-ajastra-madhyApayantam sakalAgamArtham |
devAn-RuShIn bhakta-janaika-mitram hairambam
markkAruNam-AshrayAmi || 9 ||
pAdAmbujAbhyAm ati vAmanAbhyAm kRutArtha-yantam
kRupayA dharitrIm |
akAraNam kAraNam-AptavAchAm tannAga-vaktram na
jahAti chetah || 10 ||
yenArpitam satyavatI-sutAya purANamAlikhya viShANakoTyA |
tam chandramoules-tanayam tapobhir-ArAdhyam
Anandaghanam bhajAmi || 11 ||
padam shrutInAma-padam stutInAm lIlAvatAram
paramAtma-mUrteh |
nAgAtmakam vA puruShAtmakam vA tvabhedamAdyam
bhaja vighnarAjam || 12 ||
pAshAnkusho bhagnaradam tvabhIshTam karairdadhAnam
kararandhra-muktaih |
muktAphalAbhaih pRuthu-shIkaroghaih sinchantamangam
shivayor-bhajAmi || 13 ||
anekamekam gajam-ekadantam chaitanya rUpam
jagadAdi-bIjam |
brahmeti yam vedavito vadanti tam shambhusUnum
satatam bhajAmi || 14 ||
svAnkasthitAyA nijavallabhAyA mukhAmbujAlokana lolanetram |
smerAnanAbjam madavaibhavena ruddham bhaje vishvavimohanam tam || 15 ||
ye pUrvam-ArAdhya gajAnanam tvAm sarvANi
shAstrANi paThanti teShAm |
tvatto na chAnyat pratipAdyam-etaistadAsti
chetsarvam asatyakalpam || 16 ||
hiraNyavarNam jagadIshitAram kavim purANam ravimanDalastham |
gajAnanam yam pravishanti santas-tatkAla-yogais-tamaham prapadye || 17 ||
vedAntagItam puruSham bhaje~ham
AtmAnamAnanda-ghanam hrudistham |
gajAnanam yanmahasA janAnAm vighnAndhakAro
vilayam prayAti || 18 ||
shambhoh samAlokya jaTAkalApe shashAnka-khanDam nijapuShkareNa |
svabhagna-dantam pravichintya mougdhyAd-AkraShTu-kAmah shriyam-Atanotu || 19 ||
vighnArgalAnAm vinipAtanArtham yam
nArikelaih kadalIphalAdyaih |
prasAdayante madavAraNAsyam prabhum sadA~bhIShTam-aham bhajeyam || 20 ||
yagyairanekaih bahubhis-tapobhir-ArAdhyam-Adyam
gajarAja-vaktram |
stutyA~nayA ye vidhivat stuvanti te
sarva-lakShmI-nilayA bhavanti || 21 ||

|| iti gaNesha stavarAjah samAptah ||

Jagannath Prayer

neelAchala-nivAsAya nityAya paramAtmane
balabhadra-subhadrAbhyAm jagannAthAya te namah
jagadA-nanda-kandAya praNatArta-harAya cha
neelAchala-nivAsAya jagannAthAya te namah

Jai Jagannath!

Hanuman Dhyana Shloka

sarvaarishTa nivaarakam shubhakaram pingaaksham akshaapaham |
seetaanvesha tatparam kapivaram koTeendusoorya prabham ||
lankaadveepa bhayankaram sakaladam sugreevasammaanitam |
devendraadi samasta devaavinutam kaakastadootam bhaje ||
kyaata shree raamadoota pavanatanubhava pingaalaka shashikhavan |
seetashokaapahaaree dashamukhavijayee lakshmaNa praaNadaataa ||
aneto bheshajatre lavaNaajalanidhe laghane deekshito ya |
mama manasi vasat kaaryasiddhim tanotu || 4 ||

Om Sri Hanumate Namah

Sadashiva Kavacha

From Bhairava Tantra

shrI devyuvAcha
bhagavan-devadevesha sarvAmnAya prapUjita |
sarvam me kathitam deva kavacham na prakAshitam || 1 ||
prAsAdAkhyasya mantrasya kavacham me prakAshaya |
sarvarakShAkaram deva yadi sneho-sti mAm prati || 2 ||
shrI bhagavAnuvAcha
prAsAda-mantra-kavachasya vAmadeva RuShih |
panktishChandah | sadAshivo devatA | sakalAbhIShTa-siddhaye jape viniyogaha ||
shiro me sarvadA pAtu prAsAdAkhyah sadAshivah |
ShaDakSharasvarUpo me vadanam tu maheshvarah || 3 ||
panchAkSharAtmA bhagavAn-bhujou me parirakShatu |
mrityunjayas-tribIjAtmA Asyam rakShatu me sadA || 4 ||
vaTamUlam samAsIno dakShiNAmUrtir-avyayah |
sadA mAm sarvadah pAtu ShaTtrim-shArNa-svarUpadhruk || 5 ||
dvAvimshArNAtmako rudro dakShiNah parirakShatu |
trivarNAtmA nIlakanThah kanTham rakShatu sarvadA || 6 ||
chintAmaNir-bIjarUpo hyardha-nArIshvaro harah |
sadA rakShatu me guhyam sarva-sampat-pradAyakah || 7 ||
ekAkShara-svarUpAtmA kUTavyApI maheshvarah |
mArtanDa-bhairavo nityam pAdou me pari rakShatu || 8 ||
tumburAkhyo mahAbIja-svarUpah tripurAntakah |
sadA mAm raNabhUmou cha rakShatu tridashAdhipah || 9 ||
Urdhva-mUrddhAnam-IshAno mama rakShatu sarvadA |
dakShiNAsyam tatpuruShah pAyAnme girinAyakah || 10 ||
aghorAkhyo mahAdevah pUrvAsyam parirakShatu |
vAmadevah pashchimAsyam sadA me parirakShatu || 11 ||
uttarAsyam sadA pAtu sadyojAta-svarUpadhruk |
ittham rakShAkaram devi kavacham deva-durlabham || 12 ||
prAtah-kAle paThedyastu so-abhIShTam phalam-ApnuyAt |
pUjAkAle paThedyastu kavacham sAdhakottamah || 13 ||
kIrti-shrI-kAnti-medhAyuh-sahito bhavati dhruvam |
kanThe yo dhArayed-etat-kavacham mat-svarUpakam || 14 ||
yuddhe cha jayamApnoti dyUte vAde sa sAdhakah |
kavacham dhArayed-yastu sAdhako dakShiNe bhuje || 15 ||
devA manuShyA gandharvA vashyAstasya na saMshayah |
kavacham shirasA yastu dhArayed-yatamAnasah || 16 ||
karathAstasya deveshi aNimAdyaShTa-siddhayah |
bhUrjapatre tvimAm vidyAm Shukla-pakSheNa veShTitAm ||
rajatodara-samviShTAm krutvA vA dhArayet-sudhIh |
samprApya mahatIm lakShmI-mante meddeharUpabhAk || 18 ||
yasmai kasmai na dAtavyam na prakAshyam kadAchana |
shiShyAya bhaktiyuktAya sAdhakAya prakAshayet || 19 ||
anyathA siddhihAnih syAt-satyam-etan-manorame |
tava snehAn-mahAdevi kathitam kavacham shubham || 20 ||
na deyam kasya-chid-bhadre yadIcChed-Atmano hitam |
yo archayed-gandha-puShpAdyaih kavacham manmukhoditam |
tenArchitA mahAdevi sarve devA na samshayah || 21 ||

iti bhairava-tantre sadAshiva-kavacham sampUrNam ||
 

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Oneness of Life and Light

Buddhist Metta Karuna Prayer

Oneness of Life and Light,
Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself,
Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,
During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize true entrusting,
Through Other Power,
and realize Supreme Nirvana.

Without Stepping on The Flowers

Painting by Marc Chagall

From Muhammad Iqbal ’s "Zabur-i ‘Aj am".

Who caused all the uproar in this ancient temple?
For, its chord-wearing devotees are full of lament like the flute.
In the huts of the poor and in the mansions of the rich,
There are sorrows that would arch one's back in youth.
Where is the cure —for the pain gets worse with the cure;
Knowledge is but pretense, illusion, and magic.
Without a flux of water, Adam's boat will not row—
Every heart has a thousand fights to pick with the boatman
Do not ask me to recount the journey of my life;
I reconciled myself to pain and passed on, singing lyrics.
Mingling my breath with the breeze of dawn,
I toured this garden without stepping on the flowers.
Detached from town and street, yet spread out in town and street—
I watched this inn with the eyes of the moon.

Why Do You Sleep?

O FRIEND, dear heart of mine, think well! if you love indeed, then why do you sleep?
If you have found Him, then give yourself utterly, and take Him to you.
Why do you loose Him again and again?
If the deep sleep of rest has come to your eyes, why waste your time making the bed and arranging the pillows?
Kabîr says: "I tell you the ways of love! Even though the head itself must be given, why should you weep over it?"

--- by Kabirdas

Enter the Door - 18

While you keep certain doors open, such as the door of imagining that you can dominate your own learning with insufficient tools, you cannot open – and go through – the door of a greater understanding. This is why Saadi, for instance, says (in his Bostan, The Orchard): ‘The door of illumination is open to those for whom other doors are closed.’

---by Idries Shah  "The Commanding Self"

God of Force, God of Love

Immortal, moveless, calm, alone, august,
A silence throned, to just and to unjust
One Lord of still unutterable love,
I saw Him, Shiva, like a brooding dove
Close-winged upon her nest. The outcasts came,
The sinners gathered to that quiet flame,
The demons by the other sterner gods
Rejected from their luminous abodes
Gathered around the Refuge of the lost
Soft-smiling on that wild and grisly host.
All who were refugeless, wretched, unloved,
The wicked and the good together moved
Naturally to Him, the shelterer sweet,
And found their heaven at their Master’s feet.
The vision changed and in its place there stood
A Terror red as lightning or as blood.
His strong right hand a javelin advanced
And as He shook it, earthquake stumbling danced
Across the hemisphere, ruin and plague
Rained out of heaven, disasters swift and vague
Neighboured, a marching multitude of ills.
His foot strode forward to oppress the hills,
And at the vision of His burning eyes
The hearts of men grew faint with dread surmise
Of sin and punishment. Their cry was loud,
“O master of the stormwind and the cloud,
Spare, Rudra, spare! Show us that other form
Auspicious, not incarnate wrath and storm.”
The God of Force, the God of Love are one;
Not least He loves whom most He smites. Alone
Who towers above fear and plays with grief,
Defeat and death, inherits full relief
From blindness and beholds the single Form,
Love masking Terror, Peace supporting Storm.
The Friend of Man helps him with life and death
Until he knows. Then, freed from mortal breath,
Grief, pain, resentment, terror pass away.
He feels the joy of the immortal play;
He has the silence and the unflinching force,
He knows the oneness and the eternal course.
He too is Rudra and thunder and the Fire,
He Shiva and the white Light no shadows tire,
The Strength that rides abroad on Time’s wide wings,
The Calm in the heart of all immortal things.

---by Sri Aurobindo

There is No One Your Own, O Traveller

Opening song from the movie "Guide"(1965).
Singer: S D BURMAN
Lyrics : SHAILENDRA
Music : S D BURMAN

wahaan kaun hai teraa,
musaafir, jaayegaa kahaan

There is no one your own, o traveller
take a breather here,
where will you get this cool shade
there is no one your own..

Those days are gone
those moments of love
those nights are dreams now
they have forgotten it,
and you too should forget
those love filled meetings,
those love filled meetings..
It's all dark for long distances..
so where will you go, o traveller

No one is there awaiting you
no one is looking forward for your arrival
nobody felt your pain,
no one shed a tear for you
whom can you call your own
so where will you go, o traveller

You guided others
how come you lost your own destination
having solved the problems of others
how come you got entangled in weak threads
why is the snakecharmer swaying on his own tune
where will you go, o traveller

musaafir.. tu jaayegaa kahaan

O traveller.. where will you go..

Learned people say,
this world is a mirage
everything is written on water
it is seen by all, it is experienced by all
(but) nobody could get/control it
nothing is yours, nothing is mine
so where will you go, o traveller
better take a breather here, you may not get this cool shade again

There is no one your own, o traveller
there is no one yours..

My Soul Thirsteth for You

Psalm 42 from the Book of Psalms.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
[...]
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Between

Know that "interval" is an expression for something which separates two other things, like the diving line between sun and shade, and as He said—may He be exalted—concerning the mixture of the two seas, "Between them is a barrier (barzakh) which they cannot cross" [Koran 55:20]. The meaning of "they cannot cross" is that they cannot mix with one another because of this partition which divides them. The sense of sight does not discern it. When suddenly it is perceived, the barrier does not exist. And when the barrier is between the known and the unknown, the nonexistent and the existent, the negated and the affirmed, and the rational and the irrational, it is called Interval—and [this Interval] is the imagination.
For if you perceive it—and you are rational—you know that your vision has encountered an existent thing, while you know unequivocally that it is not a "thing" completely and fundamentally. And what is this whose "thingness" is affirmed and denied simultaneously? The imagination is not existent or nonexistent, not known or unknown, not negated and not affirmed. And the human being travels to this reality in his sleep and after his death, and he sees descriptive qualities as existing embodied forms, and there is no doubt of that. And the intuitive person sees in his waking state what the sleeper sees in the state of sleep and the deceased after death.

---from Journey to the Lord of Power: A Sufi Manual on Retreat by Ibn 'Arabi. 

Salutations to Shani

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Om shreem shanidevaya namo namaha

Om shreem shanidevaya shanty Bhavaha

Om shreem shanidevaya Subhead Phalaha

Om shreem shanidevayapralaha prapti phalaha

Namaste Roudradehaya Namaste Chantakayacha 

Namaste Manda Sanjaya Namaste Sowrayevibho 

Namaste Yama Sanjaya Sanaischara Namastute 

Prasada Kuru Devesa Deenasya Pranatasyacha 

Konastaha Pingalo Bhabhurhu Krishno Roudrantako Yamaha 

Sowrihi Sanaischro Mandha Pippaladen Samstuthaha 

Namaste Kona Samsthaya Pingalaya Namostute 

Namaste Roudradehaya Namaste Chantakayacha 

Namaste Manda Sanjaya Namaste Sowrayevibho 

Namaste Yama Sanjaya Sanaischara Namastute 

Prasada Kuru Devesa Deenasya Pranatasyacha

Om Sham Shanicharaya Namah 

For other Shani stotras look the tag Shani in my blog