THOUGHT OF THE DAY IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

 

 

 

THOUGHT OF THE DAY IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

Welcome Happy New Year 2022 paying tribute to noble souls of Nashville

Mind-boggling as it may be, 2022 really is just around the corner and we're super excited about it.  

Another year went by with a mix of fear, anxiety, loss and scatted lights of hope. As people all around the world are still living the scars of the deadly pandemic, we are all set to step into amazing and unique New Year 2022 of three 2s till after centuries of all 2s till 2222 that we will not see. Despite everything we happen to go through, at present, the begging of a new year is always something special as it comes with the excitement for a fresh start.  

Be it cherishing the achievements of the past year or setting fresh resolutions for the next year, all we wish is to make it a moment of acknowledgement on a positive note.

 

New Year 2022: All that we can do on New Year's Eve  

The start of each New Year is a time to reflect on the year just past, and make plans for the future. It holds a special magic, with a promise of new opportunities and the possibility to change our lives for the better. So, let us welcome this New Year by sending inspiring messages to our loved ones to mark this special time of year. And given how challenging 2021 has been for us all with COVID-19, it feels especially important to express our hopes and dreams for better days ahead in 2022 after seeking blessings of the Supreme at the altar!  

New Year 2022: I have curated a few ideas on how you can spend our New Year's Eve at home, with our loved ones by our side and a smile on our face inspired by the message sent by Tapatrisha Das, Delhi.

"Eko Na Bhuto  Dwitiyo Nasti,  Vadanti Viprah” --This is the only time, there is no other like this, neither in the past nor will there be another in the future” say the Wisdom focused thinkers. 

 

As a reminder of the good times spent engrossed in Hindu Reflections with equally engrossed participants like you, I think “I am the only one, there is no other like me, neither in the past nor will there be another in the future” in flashback mode, spent hours in deep, animated conversations with Dr.  Narayan Bhat and Dr. Hiranya Gowda who left this world and continued their journey reach Pitrus’ (charati prana sapta lokeshu) world to enjoy Punya, noble deeds, earned here. I have also dwelt upon American thoughts perturbed continuing Corona pandemic. 

Sri Ganesha Temple was built to provide a place for cultural, educational, and spiritual activities related to Hinduism, to promote inter religious, social, and cultural understanding, and to support humanitarian causes.

As some of the new immigrants to Nashville realized that they were not returning to mother India, they began to think about the need for a strong religious and cultural center that would promote our rich heritage, and expose our children to Hindu Culture. These immigrants had several informal meetings between 1978 and 1979, and ultimately formed a committee in 1980.“Hindu Cultural Center of Tennessee” was chosen by the majority, and it was incorporated in October 1980 in the state of Tennessee. The committee felt that the Hindu Cultural Center of Tennessee (HCCT) would provide a solid structural foundation for a temple and cultural organization. In the beginning, major religious functions and festivals were celebrated in individual devotee homes. As the number of participants increased between 1982 and 1985, the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 1808 Woodmont Blvd provided a place for worship, enabling devotees to hold biweekly prayer meetings every other Sunday afternoon.

Thirteen acres of land with a gentle sloping hill and a magnificent view were purchased in Bellevue in July 1982. Bhoomi Pooja was performed on Ganesha Chaturthi day, August 22, 1982. Several hundred people attended the ground-breaking ceremony on this momentous and auspicious day. Again, on a Ganesha Chaturthi day in 1984, the construction for the first phase of the temple began. Sri Ganesha Temple was officially opened on April 14, 1985 with Sri Muthukrishnan Gurukkal as our first priest. As the number of devotees gradually increased, the need for a bigger temple was planned. We were fortunate to have the eminent temple architect Sri Muthiah Sthapathi visit Nashville, and have our plans to build Sri Ganesha temple discussed with him. The majority of the committee members at that time recommended Sri Ganesha as the main Deity along with Shiva and Venkateshwara. I have given deep thoughts on these 3 deities as well others, as you know.

Venkatadri Samam Sthaanam Brahmande Naasti Kinchanaa / Venkatesa Samo Devo Na Bhootho Na Bhavishyati // 

Neither in the past nor in the future would there be a sacred place in this universe that can equal the sanctity of the Venkatadri hills nor would there be a God who can equal the Holy Lord Sri Venkateswara. 

"It is that time of the year again when we bid adieu to the present year and welcome the upcoming year with outstretched arms, hope, the zeal to work towards our goals and new dreams. Last two years have been difficult on us with the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic made us stay away from our loved ones, live in the constant fear of a virus taking our near and dear ones away. The celebrations have also been rather dull because we kept living in the scare of a virus that grappled the world.  

  

However, it's now time to say goodbye to another year which showed us that when we are together, we can beat the virus, when we have hope in our hearts and precautionary measures up our sleeves, we can always emerge victorious. This New Year's Eve is special, especially after last year when we had to stay away, in isolation and in fear. This year, we look forward to meeting our family, friends, have a hearty meal, share a joke or two and celebrate togetherness. We have curated a few ideas on how we can spend our New Year's Eve at home, with our loved ones by our side and a smile on our face.  

  

New Year eve special meal – This is the time of the year when we see homecoming of our loved ones. People staying in different states or countries for their jobs or studies come back home to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of next year together. Let us prepare a hearty meal with our family, have a laughter round the dinner table and feel blessed we have our near and dear ones close to us!  

 "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow" —Albert Einstein"

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Hanuman Jayanti in Tamil Month Margazhi - Anjaneyar Jayanthi in Tamil Nadu - Margazhi Moolam 

 

In Tamil Nadu, Anjaneyar Jayanthi is observed on Moolam Nakshatram in the Margazhi month or Margali Masam, which is one of the most auspicious months in Tamil Calendar. In 2022, Hanuman Jayanti in Tamil Month Margazhi is on January 2. Hanuman Jayanthi is observed during various time of year by different Hindu communities. Majority of the people observe it on the Purnima or full moon day in the Chaitra month (March - April). 

It is widely believed that Lord Hanuman is present where the story of Lord Ram is recited. Therefore people read the Ramayana on the day or recite prayers dedicated to Rama. The Sundara Kandam chapter of Ramayana is read by most people. 

Special prayers are held on the day in Hanuman Temples and are visited by large number of devotees. 

At home, idols or pictures of Hanuman are thoroughly cleaned at dawn. Idols and pictures are smeared with Sindoor. Sweets and bananas are offered to Hanuman.

Some of the popular Anjaneya Temples in Tamilnadu organize various rituals. Special prayers and pujas are held on the day. Food donation, feeding of animals and special prasadam are distributed on the day. 

Anjaneya Stotram is chanted on the day:

Yatra Yatra Raghunaatha-Kiirtanam Tatra Tatra Krta-Mastaka-Anjalim | bashpavaari-Paripuurnnaa-Lochanam Maarutim Namata Raakssasa-Antakam  

Wherever the Glories of Raghunatha are Sung, there, with Hands held over His Bowed Head in Salutation, and Eyes Filled with Tears, Maruti (Bhakta Hanuman) is Present; I Salute Maruti Who puts an End to the Rakshasas.

Hanuman Jayanti in USA is celebrated on 27th April except in Tamil Nadu and is also celebrated widely across in April.  Hanuman Jayanti, falls on the Full Moon day or Purnima Tithi in the month of Chaitra, according to the Hindu calendar. Hanuman Jayanti, considered to be the birthday of Lord Hanuman is also celebrated in Nepal. Many devotees refer to Lord Hanuman as the Vanar Devta or Ram Bhakt Hanuman in North India as he is the greatest devotee of Lord Ram who was always by his side. On Hanuman Jayanti, many devotees observe a day-long fast. The famous Hanuman Chalisa is read by most people. According to mythology, Lord Hanuman is the 11th incarnation of Lord Shiva.  

Significance of Hanuman Jayanti 

The festival of Hanuman Jayanti is of great significance for the all who worship Lord Hanuman. The Vanar god is the son of Mata Anjana and Kesari. According to legends, he is also believed to be the son of Vayu Deva or the wind god. Lord Hanuman, the most committed devotee of Lord Rama, is one of the key figures in the epic Ramayana. Lord Hanuman is believed to be an epitome of Shakti and Bhakti or the combination of strength, compassion, love for his master and devotion.  

Devotees believe that all who pray to Lord Hanuman are able to overcome the toughest adversaries. Lord Hanuman is described as someone who always successfully tackled odds and difficult circumstances. 

Wishing all a Happy Hanuman Jayanti 0n January 2 looking forward to April 27 also to join other to chant Hanuman Chalisa 40 times! Please go through my discourse on Hanuman:

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2012/03/hanumaan.html

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MERRY CHRISTMAS, THE DAY THE WISEMAN OF NASHVILLE JOINS THE ANGELS OF THE SKY

On this holy Christmas Eve of 2021, Dr. Hiranya Gowda, this Nashville of Messiah has decided to guide us with his GYM philosophy, joining the Angels of the Sky.  Enjoy this beautiful hymn of angels whom another  wiseman has joined,  composed by Dr. Ramprasad.

 

Merry Christmas! May the season's reverence! Bring Joy Peace and Happiness! In essence and quintessence! Merry Christmas

 

PRINCE OF PEACE

Watching flocks were the Shepherds/

Mystified they were when they heard/

Angle’s voice from beyond the sky/

Unaware whether it was truth or lie/

 

Born is the baby in the Manger/

Follow the star to see the savior/

Peacefully lying in the lap of Mary/

Prince of Peace with all his glory/

 

Walls of the Manger were all gleaming/

Mary and Joseph were blithely beaming/

Seeing the baby everyone were rejoicing/

Prince of peace was peacefully sleeping/

 

Silent was the night teeming with veneration/

Faith was everywhere with loving adoration/

Street were overflowing with faithful singing/

Praying they were Holy Spirit for the blessing/

 

And the Wiseman came with gifts to the savior/

Overcome with utter joy they shed happy tears/

Blessed was the world of messiah the redeemer/

Sparkling were the stars in silence with /

 

Comment:

Can you please provide an example where Christians (Muslims or Jews) wish Happy Diwali to their Christian (Muslim or Jewish) friends? Yes, I wish merry Christmas to my Christian friends but NOT to my Hindu friends like your enclosed greeting card conveys.  This is based on my assumption that over 90% of the recipients of this e-mail are non-Christians and in fact Hindus. 

 I understand that today's Christmas is more cultural than religious. 

  

Happy Holiday. May New Year bring Good Health, Peace and Prosperity to you and your loved ones

 

--Sant Gupta

My reply:

There is a festival like Onam in Kerala where all participate from all religions that is a Hindu festival that has strict religious discipline that prohibits women while ascending Sabarimalai. Let us conflate and not conflict as all religions have their origin in Sanatana Dharma guided by philosophers like Kabir and Omar who are not born in Hindu religion. Let us be guided by philosophers like Phil Goldberg, David Frawley. Let us turn positive. Diwali has gone to White House where all Americans participate in Diwali Celebration that include Americans of Islam origin.

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THE WAY TO SUCCESS 

When you act in a spirit of service without regard to the fruit, you gain the world. Listen to the short narration by Jaya Row to discover the pathway to success after reading to this narration by me on 23 December 2021:

The Gita sloka: Karmanyeva adhikariste na phaleshu kadaachana and its tattva before listening to Jaya Row in Bhagavad Gita Verses 47 and 48 Chapter 2:

karmanyeva adhikaaraste maa phaleshu kadaachana| maa karmaphalahetur bhoormaa te sangostva karmani || 47 ||

 

This is a well-known verse and is often quoted by people. Action is a must for all beings. You need to act just to be alive. Animals do not have a choice of action. They are designed to perform yajna or sacrificial action. Humans are gifted with choice. Hence it is necessary to know how to act. 

In Verse Gita says Bhagawan   teaches buddhi yoga or the yoga of wisdom. He uses another term for Karma Yoga. In Verses 42 to 44 He tells us what is not buddhi yoga. In Verses 47 and 48 He defines Karma Yoga. 

There are three types of action –1. Tamas – inaction, no motivation; 2. Rajas – desire-driven action for a fruit and 3. Sattva – obligatory actions with no desire or fruit.

 

Your right, adhikara, is just to act. You have no authority over the fruit or result of action. In the absolute sense do not think of the world. The fruit belongs to the world. Act in the world to go beyond the world. 

 

The fruit depends on the resultant of all your past actions which is not known. You have no control over it. Only the present action is under your command. Perform it to the best of your ability, with all your being. This powerful action will alter the effect of your past actions and will yield positive results. As long as you think of the fruit you will be tired and stressed out. When you focus on the present you are happy and dynamic. 

 

Work well done gives immense joy. If your happiness is pegged on a future accomplishment, you will always be unhappy in life. Be content with what you have and aspire for more. Fix a goal beyond your narrow, selfish concerns. Act dedicatedly towards it. You will be successful and happy.  

 

Action bereft of attachment for the past and hankering for the future is worship. This is true renunciation. Renunciation is not giving up action. It is giving up the retarding forces that come in the way of perfect action.

 

Yogasthaha karmaan isangam tyaktvaa dhananjaya / sidhyasidhyoh samo bhootva samatvam yoga uchyate // 48 // 

O Dhananjaya (winner of wealth), be established in yoga. Perform Equality is known as Yoga.  

 

Be established in yoga. Having fixed the goal be steadfast. Pursue the goal consistently. Do not give up midway because of passing fancies. The word ‘yoga’ comes from the root ‘yuja’ which means ‘to join’. Pursue the goal of Realization consistently. 

 

Give up attachment which comes from the past. If you act on mere whims and fancies, you get moody and unstable. Evenness comes when you stand apart from the past and operate on intellectual wisdom. 

 

Be equal to success and failure. Success belongs to the future. While performing action do not dissipate your energies thinking of the future. Concentrate on every action. 

 

When you cut past worry and future anxiety the mind is calm. Apply the calm mind to present action. Do not get attached to it. Do not get anxious about the result of the action. Success will come effortlessly. 

 

The mind gets agitated due to internal as well as external causes. Sometimes you are plagued by doubts and indecisions. At other times people discourage and dissuade you. Focus on your ideal without allowing these disruptive forces to affect you. 

--December 23, 2021

 

 

Virus weighs again on Christmas festivities in Bethlehem

By Jack Geffer

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Musicians banging drums and playing bagpipes marched through the biblical town of Bethlehem on Friday to the delight of smaller than usual crowds — a mix of conviviality and restraint reflected in celebrations around the world on a Christmas Eve dampened once again by the coronavirus.

A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel — the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank, home to the traditional birthplace of Jesus — kept international tourists away for a second year. The ban is meant to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. Instead, local authorities were counting on the Holy Land’s small Christian community to lift spirits.

It was a theme seen around the world as revelers, weary from nearly two years of lockdowns and safety restrictions, searched for ways to return to rituals that were called off last year, while still celebrating safely.

“We can’t let the virus take our lives from us when when we’re healthy,” said Rosalia Lopes, a retired Portuguese government worker who was doing some last-minute shopping in the coastal town of Cascais.

She said she and her family were fed up with the pandemic and determined to go ahead with their celebrations with the help of safety measures like vaccines and booster shots, rapid home tests and wearing masks in public. She planned a traditional Portuguese Christmas Eve dinner of baked cod. “We have to take precautions, of course, but we’re really looking forward to it,” she said.

In Germany, church services were scaled back and one cathedral held a special Christmas vaccination campaign. Spain ordered people to wear masks, even outdoors, and in France, hospital workers decorated a Christmas tree in a crowded intensive-care unit.

 

Pope demands humility in new zinger-filled Christmas

By Nicole Winfield   

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis urged Vatican cardinals, bishops and bureaucrats Thursday to embrace humility this Christmas season, saying their pride, self-interest and the “glitter of our armor” was perverting their spiritual lives and corrupting the church’s mission.

As he has in the past, Francis used his annual Christmas address to take Vatican administrators to task for their perceived moral and personal failings, denouncing in particular those pride-filled clerics who “rigidly” hide behind Catholic Church traditions rather than seek out the neediest with humility.

As they have in the past, cardinals and bishops sat stone-faced as they listened to Francis lecture them in the Hall of Blessings, which was otherwise decked out in jolly twinkling Christmas trees and poinsettias.

“The humble are those who are concerned not simply with the past but also with the future, since they know how to look ahead, to spread their branches, remembering the past with gratitude,” Francis told them. “The proud, on the other hand, simply repeat, grow rigid and enclose themselves in that repetition, feeling certain about what they know and fearful of anything new because they cannot control it.” The proud who are so inward-looking are consumed with their own interests, the pontiff said. “As a consequence, they neither learn from their sins nor are they genuinely open to forgiveness. This is a tremendous corruption disguised as a good. We need to avoid it,” he added.

Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has used his Christmas address to rail against the Curia, as the Holy See’s bureaucracy is known, denouncing the “spiritual Alzheimer’s” that some members suffer and the resistance he had encountered to his efforts to reform and revitalize the institution and the broader Catholic Church.

Those reforms kicked into high gear this year, and some of the top Catholic hierarchy bore the brunt as Francis ordered a 10% pay cut for cardinals, imposed a 40-euro ($45) gift cap for Holy See personnel and passed a law allowing cardinals and bishops to be criminally prosecuted by the Vatican’s own tribunal.

On top of that, Francis added his Christmas greetings in the form of another public brow-beating of Vatican clerics, who normally are treated with the utmost deference by their underling and the faithful at large.

Francis told them to stop hiding behind the “armor” of their titles and to recognize that they, like the Biblical figure of Naaman, a wealthy and decorated general, were lepers in need of healing.

“The story of Naaman reminds us that Christmas is the time when each of us needs to find the courage to take off our armor, discard the trappings of our roles, our social recognition and the glitter of this world and adopt the humility of Naaman,” he said.

Francis also repeated his call for tradition-minded clerics to stop living in the past, saying their obsession with old doctrine and liturgy concealed a “spiritual worldliness” that was corrupting.

“Seeking those kinds of reassurance is the most perverse fruit of spiritual worldliness, for it reveals a lack of faith, hope and love; it leads to an inability to discern the truth of things,” he said.

Francis this year took his biggest step yet to rein in the traditionalist wing of the church, re-imposing restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass that Pope Benedict XVI had relaxed in 2007.

He intensified those restrictions last weekend with a new set of rules that forbids even the publication of Tridentine Mass times in parish bulletins.

Francis said the proud who remain stuck in the past, “enclosed in their little world, have neither past nor future, roots or branches, and live with the bitter taste of a melancholy that weighs on their hearts as the most precious of the devil’s potions.”

“All of us are called to humility, because all of us are called to remember and to give life. We are called to find a right relationship with our roots and our branches. Without those two things, we become sick, destined to disappear,” he warned.

To me, Christmas is notional birth day of Jesus and not precisely recorded historic day. It is the day of turning solstice day. It is the day speech of descent of Santana Kumara who is Jesus for Jesus is Sanatana Kumara for Hindus.

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– Thiruvathirai in Dhanur Masam in Kerala   

Thiruvathirai festival is observed on the Thiruvathira Nakshatra day in the Malayalam month of Dhanu Masam (December – January). Thiruvathirai Festival 2021 date is December 19. Thiruvathirai is also the name of a famous dance form of Kerala and it is performed on the day. The festival is mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva and there are two popular beliefs – one is that on the day Kamadeva was burned to ashes by Lord Shiva. Another legend is Lord Shiva’s return to the world after ending harsh austerities and tapas that he was performing after the death of Goddess Sati. 

The festival is dedicated exclusively to the women folk and reminds one of the enviable positions that women enjoyed in Kerala society during the medieval period. The government of India cultural departments writes about the festival 

From prehistoric times, Malayalee woman enjoyed an enviable position in the society, and she was practically the mistress of her house. The elevated position she occupied at home and in the society had distinguished her from and in the society had distinguished her from her neighbors and influenced to a considerable extent the social structure, customs and religious practices of the people. The culmination of this phenomenon is clearly visible in setting apart one of the three great festivals of Kerala viz. Thiruvathira, exclusively for womenfolk, for which a parallel can hardly be found in any section of the Indian Society. 

All the rituals and pujas are dedicated to Lord Shiva. 

On the Thiruvathira day women fast and avoid rice meal and eat only preparations of wheat. Other food items include plantain fruits, tender coconuts, etc. They also chew betel and redden their lips. 

The first Thiruvathira coming after the marriage of a girl is known as Puthen Thiruvathira or Poothiruvathira. This was celebrated on a grand scale earlier but today most people skip the functions. 

Oonjal Attam, swinging on an oonjal (swing) is an item of amusement on the day. 

 

On Thiruvathira night, women keep vigil for Shiva and perform Thiruvathira kali or Kaikottikali. They stand in a circle around lighted brass lamp, and dance each step at the rhythm of the songs they sing, clapping their hands. 

 

Another popular custom on the day is known as the Pathirappoochoodal, meaning wearing of flowers at midnight. At the midnight of Thiruvathira, an image of Lord Shiva is placed at the central courtyard and flowers, plantains and jaggery are offered to the deity. They then perform Kaikottikali around the deity. Flowers are taken from the offering and worn by them. 

Several dishes from tubers are prepared on the day and one of the most famous dishes is the Thiruvathira Puzhukku made from elephant yam and other locally available tubers. 

The neighboring state of Tamil Nadu celebrates the Ardhra Darshan on the day – it is the festival dedicated to the Nataraja dance of Shiva.

Please go through my discourse: Aardra Darisinam Night--Dance in Devotion to Lord Siva (Jan 2012)

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Sanat Kumara Son of Supreme Spirit is Jesus & Star of Bethlehem is Venus dancing with Jupiter. 

 

Parvati was denied to give birth to any child of her own by Siva by Devas. She thus remained Virgin like Virgin Mary though married. But Siva wanted Sanat Kumara to be His son.  Sanat Kumara agreed to be his exclusive son but not Parvati.  This was an intriguing situation.  Parvati immediately argued that since the wife was entitled to half of her husband's fortunes and misfortunes, she also was entitled to being his mother. Sanat kumara consented. When Bhasmasura had sought the boon to turn anyone to ashes, and wanted to try it on Siva. Siva disappeared. Hearing this Parvati became aggrieved and turned into a forest of reeds, Dharba.  Sanat Kumara incarnated into that body of hers; hence she was mother to Sanat Kumara. Siva released his Rethus (semon) to forest reeds flooded by Ganga where he was born and then nurtured by Karttikas. He was therefore called as Saravana or the one born out of reeds.  

 

The virgin birth of Jesus is the belief that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary through the Holy Spirit without the agency of a human father need elsewhere in the Christian scriptures, and the modern scholarly consensus is that the doctrine of the virgin birth rests on a very slim historical foundation.  Even Muslims accept the virgin birth of Jesus.  

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.   And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.   But as he considered these things,   an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.   She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."    When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,   but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus (Mathew 1:18-25) 

A dramatic event occurred on June 30th, 2016 when Venus and Jupiter appeared so close together - just 1/3 of a degree apart - that they looked like a tight, brilliant double star in the evening sky. A small backyard telescope   showed both planets in the same field of view. 

 

The two planets have a history of dancing together - and will do so in the future. 

 

In Hinduism Jupiter called Brihaspati, the Guru of Divines is born from great light and he is the one who drives away Darkness. Among Navagrahas he is considered to be auspicious and benevolent. Planet Venus is called Sukra in Sanskrit. It means lucid, clear and bright. When these two bright planets come together intensity of light will be multiplied appearing as single star of much greater brightness.  

 

Sky & Telescope Contributing Editor Fred Sheaf pointed out that this string of Venus-Jupiter conjunctions closely resembled a similar series between the years 3 and 2 B.C. It has been suggested that their joint appearance might have been what came to be known as the Star of Bethlehem. 

The three wise men witnessed a bright star and followed the same.   The star led them to Jesus' home in the town, where they worshiped him and gave him gifts. The wise men were then given a divine warning not to return to Herod and they returned home by a different route. They listened to the prophesy that the child was King of Jews.  Probably you all know what INRI Means written over the statue of Jesus in churches: Iesus=Jesus; Nazarenus=Nazareth; Rex= king of the; Iudaeorum= Jews. 

 

Using astronomy software, and an article written by astronomer Craig Chester based on the work of Ernest Martin, Larson thought all nine characteristics of the Star of Bethlehem are found in events that took place in the skies of 3-2 BC.  Highlights included a triple conjunction of Jupiter called the king planet, with the fixed star Regales, called the king star, starting in September 3 BC.  Larson believed that may be the time of Jesus' conception.

 

By June of 2 BC, nine months later, the human conception period Jupiter had continued moving in its orbit around the sun and appeared in close conjunction with Venus in June of 2 BC.  In Hebrew Jupiter is called "Sedef", meaning "righteousness", a term also used for the Messiah, and suggested that because the planet Venus represents love and fertility, so Chester had suggested astrologers would have viewed the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus as indicating a coming new king of Israel, and Herod would have taken them seriously.  Astronomer Dave Ren eke independently found the June 2 BC planetary conjunction, and noted it would have appeared as a "bright beacon of light".  

 

Jupiter next continued to move and then it stopped in its apparent retrograde motion on December 25 of 2 BC over the town of Bethlehem.  Since planets in their orbits have a "stationary point" a planet moves eastward through the stars but "After it passes the opposite point in the sky from the sun, it appears to slow, come to a full stop, and move backward (westward) for some weeks. Again, it slows, stops, and resumes its eastward course," said Chester.  The date of December 25 that Jupiter appeared to stop while in retrograde took place in the season of Hanukkah, and is the date later chosen to celebrate Christmas. 

 

Other more improbable but entertaining theories have been proposed over the years, says Hughes.  One he described as particularly far-fetched was suggested in a 1979 academic paper by the Greek astronomer George Banos. He proposed that the Christmas star was actually the planet Uranus.  Banos suggested that the Magi discovered the planet 1,800 years before the astronomer William Herschel formally recorded the discovery in 1781.  "His idea was that the Magi discovered Uranus, that this was the star of Bethlehem and they then tried to hush up the discovery," Hughes explained.  

 

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are   Varuna, Indra and Prajaapati mentioned in Rigveda.  Prominence for these planets has not been given in Hindu astrology (Jyotisha sastra) as their effects on human beings are believed to be negligible. Probably this had a great significance on divine Incarnations like that of Jesus and especially when both Venus and Jupiter two spiritually significant planets came together. Varuna with Mitra was a very popular Vedic God. Theosophy school of Annie Besant and others maintain that Venus, the 'Planet of Love', is the most spiritually advanced planet of our solar system. The beings living on the etheric plane of Venus are said to be hundreds of millions of years ahead of us in their spiritual evolution.  It is said that the governing council of Venus – the Seven Holy Kumars – sent one of the sons, Sanat Kumara, here to guide us.  Sanat Kumara is worshiped as Skanda who is worshiped as Venkateswara in Tirupati.  Sanat Kumara is the Son of God and so is Jesus as there is only One God that is Supreme Spirit or Brahman or Holy Spirit or Jehovah or Al Kadar. Theosophists say Jesus is one of the Holy Kumaras sent by the governing council of Venus to earth to guide us! In this context how do we explain the birth of Jesus from Virgin Mary and the Star of Bethlehem that announced His descent on Earth! 

 

One candidate for the origin of the name Caspar appears in the Acts of Thomas as Gondophares (21 – c. AD 47), i.e., Gudapharasa (from which "Caspar" might derive as corruption of "Gaspar"). This Gondophares declared independence from the Arsacid  to become the first Indo-Parthian king, and he was allegedly visited by Thomas the Apostle. According to Ernst Herzfeld, his name is perpetuated in the   name of the Afghan city Kandahar, which he is said to have founded under the name Gundopharron.  India had trade relations with Palestine; much of the commerce between the Orient and Mediterranean civilization including Egypt, Greece and Rome, passed through Jerusalem. It is very likely that wise men could have been great sages of India as Paramhams Yogananda wrote in The Second Coming of Christ—The resurrection of Christ within you.  

 

There is a cosmic metaphysical symbolism in the wondrous conception and birth of Jesus.  His incarnate Christ Consciousness came immaculately through the Virgin Mary.  Likewise, the universal Christ Intelligence was born or reflected in the cosmic body of pure vibratory creation (Cosmic “Virgin Mary”) through the instrumentality of God the Father”  

--Paramahamsa Yoganannda on Incarnation of Jesus Christ

 

Birth of Karna   by Virgin Kunti is another example. Birth of Saravana   in the Reeds (bush of Dharba grass) as Parvati incarnate is another incidence, birth not out of womb. 

 

Parvati took something of herself, the sandal paste that was on her body, mixed it with the local soil, made it in the form of a baby and breathed life into it who is worshiped as Naramukha Vinayaka in Tamil Nadu. 

 

An ivory carving of Virgin Mary by the ivory Art Gallery of Trivandrum India displays the following prayer in Sanskrit: 

“Devi Priye namoe Mariee, praseedataam varshine”—Salutation to Goddess Marie! May your blessings be showered on us! 

maharshayaha sapta poorve chatvaaro manavastathaa | madbhaavaa maanasaa jaataa yeshaam loka imaahaa prajaahaa--Gita 10-6. 

 

The seven great sages and the four before them, and the Manus were contemplating me. They were born out of my mind, (they) of whom are the creatures in this world. 

 

Arjuna uvacha: param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan purusham shashvatam divyam adi-devam ajam vibhum | ahus tvam rishayah sarve devarshir naradas tathaasito devalo vyasah svayam chaiva bravishi mae|| 

 

Arjun said: You are the Supreme Divine Personality, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, the Eternal God, and the Primal Being and the greatest. The great sages, like Narad, Asit, Deval, and Vyas, proclaimed this, and now you are declaring it to me yourself--Gita 12-13 of Chapter 10. 

 

The Lord is giving a genealogical synopsis of the universal population. Brahmā is the original creature born out of the energy of the Supreme Lord, who is known as Hiraṇyagarbha. And from Brahmā all the seven great sages, and before them four other great sages, named Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat-kumāra, and the fourteen Manus, are manifested. All these twenty-five great sages are known as the patriarchs of the living entities all over the universe. There are innumerable universes and innumerable planets within each universe, and each planet is full of population of different varieties. All of them are born of these twenty-five patriarchs. Brahmā underwent penance for one thousand years of the demigods before he realized by the grace of Supreme, how to create. 

 

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2016/12/eternal-youth-sanatkumara-or-skanda-is.html

--December 19, 2021

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Rishis Who Discovered Vedic Mantras in Hinduism 

 

||The Sage of Kanchi, explains the greatness and importance of the Rishis who discovered the Vedic mantras in Hinduism.  They are perceived as one. Great men there who have reached such a state and are capable of transforming what is subtle in the one into what is gross in the other. I am speaking here to those who believe in such a possibility. When we look at this universe and their complex manner in which it functions, we realize that there must be a Great Wisdom that has created it and sustains it. 

 

The Great Wisdom, that is the Paramatman, that all that we see are born and it is from It that all the sounds that we hear have emanated. First came the universe of sound and then the universe that we observe. Most of the former still exists in space. The space that exists outside us exists also in our heart. The yogins have experience of this hridayaakasha, this heart-sky or this heart-space, when they are in samaadhi (absorbed in the Infinite). In this state of theirs all differences between the outward and the inward vanish and the two become one. The yogins can now grasp the sounds of space and bestow the same on mankind. These successions of sounds that bring benefits to the world are indeed the mantras of the Vedas.  

 

These mantras are not the creation of anyone. Though each of them is in the name of a rishi or seer, in reality it is not his creation. When we say that a certain mantra has a certain sage associated with it, all that we mean is that it was he who first "saw" it existing without a beginning in space and revealed it to the world. The very word "rishi" means "mantra-drasta" (one who saw- discovered- the mantra), not "mantra-karta" (one who created the mantra). Our life is dependent on how our breathing functions. In the same way the cosmos functions in accordance with the vibrations of the Vedic sounds- so the Vedic mantras are the very breath of the Supreme Being. We must thus conclude that, without the Vedas, there is no Brahman: To put it differently, the Vedas are self-existent like the Paramatman.

--December 17, 2021

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What Is the Main Trait of the Wise?

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Lord Krishna in Chapter XIII of the Bhagavad-Gita declares amaanitva, humility, as the first trait when listing out the twenty qualities of a jnani, person of true knowledge. 

Most of us think position, power and knowledge are highly correlated to arrogance and high-handedness. We seem to think that if we have money, power or knowledge, we have a right to be arrogant. Has anyone of us ever asked ourselves why? This false sense of superiority comes because we identify ourselves with the material components in us. If we identify with the body, we may think we are better off than people who may not look as good as us. If we identify with the mind, we may think what we feel is always right. If we identify with the intellect, we may think we know more than others. Though we may look better than some people, have finer emotions than others and be more intelligent than a few, why should it be any reason to feel superior or arrogant? Have we ever thought what might happen if some permanent damages were to be done to our face due to an accident? Have we ever thought what might happen if we suddenly lose our memory due to disease, as it happened to me in the recent Seizure Disorder? 

What we are trying to get at is where do we derive our sense of identity from? Is it from the temporary, changing material components in us or from the permanent, unchanging substratum of our personality, the Atman within? When we identify with the material components and compare ourselves with others based on these, there are bound to be differences. This is what leads to superiority and inferiority complexes. There will always be people who will look more beautiful or be less intelligent than us. There will always be some people who may seem more gifted in a particular area than we are, but why should it mean that they are ‘better’ than us. At the end of the day, we are all human beings who have been gifted with certain talents and abilities. Some are born to color the world with their magical strokes of art and there are others who will be able to make money in almost every business transaction. But to think that one person is better or worse than another is a great injustice to both. Each one of us has our gift and a wise person understands this. 

Complexes and arrogance make us miss out on the best in others. We become so full of ourselves that we are unable to see goodness in others. The wise have the ability to learn lessons from every person they interact with and observe. They understand the uniqueness of each person and are able to draw out the best in people. This is why the great poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said ‘Every man I meet is in some way my superior’. Each one of us adds to this beautiful diversity that is the world. 

Amaanitva (humility), is a trait that comes when we have a correct understanding of the world and people around us. Because the body becomes feeble, the mind degenerates and the intellect slow down sooner or later. To base our personalities on such fleeting and changing material aspects is unwise. It is best to identify with that unchanging, permanent Life-Principle in each one of us, Atman. 

Children enjoy playing with masks. The more distorted and grotesque the mask, the greater the thrill. The secret of their amusement is the fact that they know the masks are different from them. They are immune to the aberrations of the masks. 

We are an amalgam of matter and Spirit. Body, mind and intellect are matter. That which breathes life into the inert matter is Spirit. The Spirit is the real we. Body, mind and intellect make the mask. The word ‘personality’ comes from the Latin ‘persona’ which means mask.

Ignorant of our real nature we wrongly attribute the distortions and limitations of the body, mind and intellect to ourselves and suffer. Being matter, body, mind and intellect, we are susceptible to the influences of the world. But we are the Spirit. Nothing in the world has the power to affect us. We command the world. Yet today we are victimized by the world and are weak, powerless, totally at the mercy of the environment.

The Gita exhorts us to awaken to our own glory. The mask of body, mind and intellect is provided us to enjoy the playground of the world. Instead, today it has become the source of stress and distress, anguish and agony.

 

One who understands the difference between matter and Spirit is empowered, happy and unaffected by the fluctuations in the world. Krishna epitomizes this state, with the mask he was endearing, charming, charismatic. Everyone adored him. Even the gopis, exasperated by his mischief, forgot their anger when they saw his captivating smile. Divested of the mask He was awesome, worshipful, like when He showed the Universal Form to Arjuna in chapter 11.

 

All we have to do is understand the distinction between the mask and the WE. Then the distortions inherent in the body, mind and intellect will only entertain us and we will not agonize over them. Our interface with the world will be perfect, evoking accolades and laurels and by ourselves we will be a repository of grace, happiness and power.

 

Chapter 13 begins with Arjuna asking Krishna, “What is the difference between matter and Spirit, field and Knower of the field, knowledge THAT which is to be known?” We labor in the field of matter, oblivious of our true nature as Knower of the field. Once we know the distinction between the two, we become the Knower of the field.

 

Krishna’s brilliant exposition delineates the two so systematically that this chapter stands out in its clarity and subtlety. He gives the analogy of the field and says – “The body is the kshetra, field. Know Me as the kshetrajna, Knower-of-field in all fields”. He divides the field, matter, into thirty-one segments. The Spirit is different from them.

 

Knowledge as the twenty qualities of a jnani, person of knowledge. He says – This is knowledge. All else is ignorance. That which is to be known, jneyam, is Brahman, the supreme knowledge, the final Goal. Krishna gives a brilliant description of Brahman, using paradoxical terms as Brahman is beyond the grasp of the intellect.

 

Krishna gives the distinction between Prakriti, matter, and Purusha, Spirit. While Spirit is one, matter undergoes changes and is born in good or bad homes according to the gunas or qualities. Spirit expresses itself differently in different types of people. In the wrong-doer it is a mere witness. As one purifies oneself Spirit becomes approver. Then it takes the role of protector and fulfils one’s endeavors when one becomes more unselfish. Further it enables one to enjoy the world and wield power. In the end when one removes all obstacles Spirit reveals itself as the Supreme Self.    Krishna assures us all that one who knows Purusha and Prakrti as well as the qualities is not born again, whatever be his lifestyle. He becomes Spirit.

One gains moksha liberation by divesting one’s desires through action. Subtler desires are sublimated through knowledge and the last traces overcome by meditation. The ignorant one is incapable of this path can still evolve and go beyond death by surrender to the wise. One who sees the One Unifying Force in the variety of things and beings becomes Spirit.

 

The Spirit neither acts nor is tainted by actions. It remains untouched like space and lights up all of creation just as the sun illumines the world. Develop the Jnanachakshu, eye-of-wisdom, and you will perceive clearly the difference between Spirit and matter and go to the supreme Self.

na hi jñānena sadṛiśhaṁ pavitramiha vidyatetatsvayaṁ yogasansiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati 

 

In this world, there is nothing as purifying as divine knowledge. One who has attained purity of mind through prolonged practice of Yoga, receives such knowledge within the heart, in due course of time Knowledge has the power to purify, elevate, liberate, and unite a person with God. It is thus supremely sublime and pure. But a distinction needs to be made between two kinds of knowledge—theoretical information and practical realization. 

 

There is one kind of knowledge that is acquired by reading the scriptures and hearing from the Guru. This theoretical information is insufficient by itself. It is just as if someone has memorized a cookbook but has never entered the kitchen. Such theoretical knowledge of cooking does not help in satiating one’s hunger. Similarly, one may acquire theoretical knowledge on the topics of the soul, God, Maya, karm, jñāna, and bhakti from the Guru, but that by itself does not make a person God-realized. When one practices sādhanā in accordance with the theory, it results in purification of the mind. Then, from within one gets realization of the nature of the self and its relationship with God. The Sage Patañjali states: śhrutānumāna-prajñābhyām anya-viṣhayā viśheṣhārthatvāt (Yog Darśhan 1.49)[v36] 

“The knowledge attained by realization from within through the practice of Yoga is far superior to theoretical knowledge of the scriptures.” Such realized knowledge is being extolled by Shree Krishna as the purest sublime thing" Clear knowledge obtained by Vedanta is called Vijnana in Upanishads that Krishna refers as Jnana in Bhagavat Gita. The Sanskrit word Prajna means consciousness. The consciousness is Brahman. This is the meaning of  Prajnanam Brahma.

 

We find that jnana, vijnana and prajnana play a great role for the seekers in understanding the physical world, the ultimate reality who is beyond name and form, who is beyond space-time continuum and who is an Omnient reality. A seeker should get rid of his nescience (avidya) and ignorance (ajnanam) for experiencing the bliss of Brahman which is only experiential phenomena and not theoretical phenomena. 

The words such as jnana, vijnana and prajnana have wide and multifarious meanings in the Hindu thoughts and especially in the Vedanta philosophy. They just do not mean any kind of knowledge but a systematic methodology and encompass a plethora of disciplines, be it in the realms of art, science or philosophy.  In Vedanta Jnana stands for knowledge, vijnana for the systematic study of a branch of learning, science, intellectual awareness and consciousness. Prajnana stands for profound knowledge, wisdom, ultimate reality or Brahman. These words are inter-related and connote a higher meaning in the realm of spiritualism. Keywords: Consciousness, ignorance, intelligence, knowledge, ultimate reality or Brahman 

 

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PSYCHIATRY, PHYSIOLOGY OR PSYCHOTHERAPY

I also been treated with Integrated Medicine while I became a victim of life-threatening diseases that I continued even after recovery to lead a healthy life, busy with Hindu Reflections influenced by temple founders and that was also advised by an active psychiatrist founder of Sri Ganesha Temple, after my retirement and settling in Nashville. I believe in Five Pillars human health that I consider to be most important and life changing--Relationship to Food/Nutrition; Exercise/Movement; Sleep/Rest; Stress Reduction and Connectedness to Self and Others, recommended by the Holistic Medical Center. There are some Holistic Medical Centers in Nashville too, where I live:

They combine mainstream medicine and complementary/alternative medicine in a primary care setting, striving for the best of both worlds. 

 

They believe time spent with patients is the most important element in helping create sustainable healing and change. ]

 

They also believe in Lifestyle Medicine (Ayurveda) and others as alternate if suited and the Five Pillars human health that they consider to be most important and life changing--Relationship to Food/Nutrition; Exercise/Movement; Sleep/Rest; Stress Reduction and Connectedness to Self and Others.

 

They treat most all basic primary care health issues, such as gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine issues, respiratory disorders, fatigue, anxiety, depression, hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, GYN hormonal issues, etc. 
 

The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) is a nationally renowned leader in the field of health care education, research and clinical practice preparation.  SHRS shapes future generations of health care professionals—therapists, counselors, advocates, scientists, providers and practitioners—trained to serve the needs of all people regardless of background, levels of health or mobility. They are built on a legacy of academic excellence and innovation and fueled by passionate educators and researchers, allowing them to meet the health care and rehabilitation needs of today and drive meaningful change in the future.

Do you have more to add or delete some for I am not a psychiatrist experienced in spirituality that are experts in blending together clinical cure for quick physical health recovery and long mental health need after quick recovery.

--December 12, 2021

 

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Dhyaneswari,  Jnaneshwari or Bhavartha Deepika

Dhyaneswari as  Jnaneshwari or Bhavartha Deepika is a commentary on the   Dnyaneshwar (born 1275) lived a short life of 21 years, and this commentary is notable to have been composed in his teens. The text is the oldest surviving literary work in the Marathi language, one that inspired major Bhakti movement saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram of the Varkari (Vithoba) tradition.  The Dnyaneshwari interprets the Bhagavad Gita in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism.  The philosophical depth of the text has been praised for its aesthetic as well as scholarly value.  

 

The narrative of the Dnyaneshwari closely follows the Bhagavad Gita, yet the commentary – called tika in the local tradition – is written in the form of a "song-sermon" that expands the explanation to include a discussion of the major Hindu philosophies and beliefs in the 13th-century. While the Gita has 700 verses, the Dnyaneshwari has about 9,000 verses. It includes references   The Dnyaneshwari is a rhythmic prose that can be recited alone or chanted as a group.   

 

The text reverentially includes the names of numerous Hindu gods and goddesses from Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism traditions, as well as Vedic ones such as Saraswati (Sharada). The last line of many of its verses include the characteristic "Jnanadeva says" or "Says Jnanesvara".  This format was adopted by other later era Bhakti movement poets, as well as in the Guru Granth of Sikhism.

 

Teachings on death in Dnyaneshwari from chapter 8 

He who becomes one with Me (Brahman) from outside as well as inside, sheds the layers of the five principles from his body automatically. He who is not aware of his body even while living does not feel grief from death. A vessel immersed in water has water inside as well as outside. Does water break if the vessel breaks? Similarly, even if body gets destroyed, Brahman continues to be everywhere and therefore how can the intellect which has become one with it get destroyed? Therefore, those who remember me at the time of death become one with me. (8:59-68) 

 

The normal rule is that after death a person attains that state which is in his mind at the time of death. He cannot avoid it. Just as one dreams of things which are constantly in the mind while awake, whatever one longs for in life comes to the mind at the time of death and he attains that state. Therefore, make a habit of always remembering Me. Consider that whatever you hear, think, see, speak is Me throughout, then I am always with you. I assure you that if you offer your mind and intellect to Me then you will attain only Me. If you any doubts about this then experience it by practicing it. (8:69-80Purify your conscious mind by this practice and lead it to the spiritual path. If the mind which takes one here and there gets engrossed in who cares or remembers whether the body exists or not? The mind merges with Consciousness which is solid bliss. (8:81-85) 

 

With the knowledge that the faultless Brahman is formless and without birth and death, that It witnesses all, is older than the sky and subtler than the atom, that the affairs of the world go on by association with It, that It gives birth to all the visible world, that the world lives by It, that It is beyond logic and beyond imagination, that eyes cannot see It even in broad daylight, that like a sunbeam It always appears lustrous to men of Knowledge, that It never sets, he (a person of Self-realization) who concentrates on It with steady mind at the time of death while outwardly, sitting in the lotus position facing north, with the eternal bliss gained by practicing desire-free actions (Karma Yoga), with the love of Self-realization and using the yogic techniques mastered for attaining it quickly, he brings the life-force (Prana) from the center (Chakra) of fire or energy (i.e. Manipura Chakra near the navel) through the central nerve i.e. the Sushumna route to the Brahmarandhra or aperture on the crown, where the life-force merges with the sky-principle. The immobile mind and the life force appear outwardly to have merged. But because the mind has become stable and devotion steady, and with the strength of the yogic power, that life-force eliminates the movable; and then the immovable enters the center of the eyebrows and vanishes there. Just as the sound of a bell vanishes in the bell itself the devotee leaves his body and merges into pure Brahman which is my lustrous form. (8:86-99). 

 

--December 5, 2021

 

 

Truth Is What Remains After All Else Has Been Negated 

 

The way to prosperity and happiness is never through despair. Motivate, rise with renewed energy and walk towards the goal. 

 

Our ignorance does not change reality. Ignorance only creates misconception and misperception. You don’t have to make an effort to reach the Truth. It cannot be caught. It is what remains after all else has been negated. Once human beings did not believe in electricity but that did not mean electricity did not exist. The power hidden in the Supreme Truth is unimaginable, so keep an open mind. What is dream and fiction today, might become real in future. Mental purity and overcoming weaknesses like anger and greed is necessary for spiritual and worldly success. 

 

Once you realize that the Supreme Truth is within us, many good things will follow on its own. The only real and lasting peace to be found is at the Source, which to reach you must go against the current. You cannot hold on to anything, for everything is bound to pass away and only you (the Reality) remain. No concepts, no ideas remain. 

 

You cannot throw anger out it must dissolve into you. Simply don’t act on anger or jealousy. How can you be angry or jealous when you are beyond everything? You are like fertile land. Many things grow over you and out of you, but you are not responsible for what springs out of you. You will still be there like the land when the growth dies away. 

 

 

Swami Vivekananda said: “Stand upon truth and you have got God! Follow truth wherever it may lead! Do not be cowardly and hypocritical! 

Those who think that a little sugar coating of untruth will help the spread of truth, are mistaken, and will find in the long run that a single drop of poison poisons the whole mass.” 

 

"Satyameva Jayate" --Truth alone triumphs, is a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture Mundaka Upanishad.  Upon independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India. It is inscribed in script at the base of the national emblem. It is inscribed on all currency notes and national documents. 

 

Let us see what Mundaka Upanishad says about realizing Supreme Truth:

satyameva jayate nānṛtaṃ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ |yenā akramanty rishayo hyāptakāmā yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam ||  \

 

Truth alone wins, not falsehood; by truth, the Devayanah (the path of the Devas) is widened, that by which the seers travel on, having nothing to wish for to where there is that—the highest treasure attained by truth. 

 

Truth alone, i.e., he who speaks the truth alone, wins; not he who utters falsehood, for there can be neither victory nor defeat between abstract truth and falsehood where they do not cling to men. It is well known in the world that he who utters falsehood is defeated by him who speaks the truth; not the converse. Therefore, it is established that truth is a strong auxiliary; again, the superiority of truth as an aid is also known from the sastras; how? It is only by truth, i.e., by a determination to speak what had occurred, the road named “Devayanah” (the way of the gods) is widened; i.e., is kept up continually; by which road, seers free from deceit, delusion, fraud, pride, vanity and falsehood and having no desires, go about to where the absolute truth, the highest treasure covetable by man and attainable by the important aid, truth, exists. The expression “where the greatest, etc.,” is connected with the preceding clause “the road by which they go is widened by truth.”

 

A person is rendered fit for Sannyāsa by the destruction of his sins and blemishes. Worship habitually performed by one who lives the religious pattern of life to bring about such purity. Thus, a candidate who is to be ordained as a sannyāsin becomes firm in the Supreme Truth.  

 

The heart of Sannyāsa is tapas, which includes habits, temperaments and traits of character specified in the scriptures. Each moral quality that should necessarily be cultivated by a sannyāsin is also called tapas.  

 

Nyāsa is placed at the head of all of them, for that transcends the rest—that is the unsurpassed means of attaining Self-illumination.  

 

That man, on the other hand, who is always wedded to veracity does not fall from the blissful state at any time. The word Satyam is derived thus: sati sādhuḥ, sate hitam—what is right for the good people, what conduces to the good.  The word Satyam is cognate to sat. This shows that sages (Santaḥ) who tread the right path are always truthful. Truthfulness, therefore, is the unsurpassed means of liberation. 

 

Those who have the summum bonum of life in view, therefore, delight in truthfulness always.  The condition laid down here is that which gives fitness--Sannyāsa is truthfulness. Truthfulness is certainly high. Granting that one who violates this principle gets heaven through the force of some other virtue, it is stated here that he can never be there for long.  

'Satyameva Jayate' statement has now become an iconic slogan for social change rather than for spiritual uplift and has attracted even Film World and Television. This Upanishad mantras has thus journeyed from the esoteric realm of the Guru to the social arena. The wisdom of India has always found new avenues to manifest such 'Truth' affirming statements. Truth never dies. 

 

"Truth alone wins (Satyameva Jayate) not Falsehood (Na-anritam)".

 

‑-December 5, 2021

 

Comments

 

Thank you! Very well written.

 

--Bala from Atlanta

 

 

 

INTEGRATIVE MEDICAL APPROACH ADVICE OF HH CHINNA JEER

Life is defined as any system that fulfills all four processes of the living state, namely: dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning. Life is defined as the instance of life that we are familiar with on Earth.

 

“A doctor does not find it in his/her textbook that medicine should be inclusive, meaning that practitioners must work with other streams of medicine in treating the patient’s illness. It could be that the economic condition of other medical streams such as Homeopathy, Ayurveda (Life Science), and Naturopathy does not allow for extensive tests and studies to prove that something works. However, one must not ASSUME that there is only one way to treat a patient. 

 

Diagnose and Determine 

Allow yourself to diagnose and then determine--”what is the best way to treat the illness without affecting any other system in the body”. If it is allopathy medicine, prescribe it. If it is Ayurveda, prescribe it. If it is something else, prescribe that. If you are unsure, have a mechanism to interact with other doctors of other medical streams to share knowledge. Integrative medicine that demands inclusive nature is the need of the hour. There could be a scenario where a specific medicine is prescribed to treat the person, but it affects other healthy organs of the person. Therefore, you must keep the doors open for other streams of medicine because sastra defines a medicine to have four characteristics, otherwise it should not be given. You must be able to diagnose and see which medical technique or stream fits in all the four characteristics and prescribe it. 

The textbooks may speak about many specifics of one medical stream. However, if you can spread its wings to include and welcome all streams, medicine can then succeed without any compromise. Don’t say, ‘It does not fit my textbook’. Say, ‘If it fits the purpose of relieving one’s pain, I respect and welcome any medicine’.” 

– From the discourse of HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji 

 

HH Chinna Jeer, if I rightly understand, recommends Integrated Medical Approach to pre- and post-treatment as life science for leading a healthy life and overcome diseases, where modern medicines fail, though takes long time and patience.  

 

Holistic medicine is a form of healing that considers the whole person -- body, mind, spirit, and emotions -- in the quest for optimal health and wellness. A holistic doctor may use all forms of health care, from conventional medication to alternative therapies, to treat a patient. “No other personal steps I’ve taken to improve my wellbeing have led to such dramatic healing. My only regret is that this didn’t happen sooner.” – RLC, patient. 

 

“Our medical approach to achieving wellness and good health is holistic and integrated. We utilize both mainstream medicine and appropriate alternative and complementary techniques. We cultivate an atmosphere of active listening, safety for emotional expression, and most importantly, time to fully explore the healing journey with you. Our goal is to nurture you toward wholeness and to help you discover the tools to a healthier life. With this understanding, we provide a comprehensive approach to each patient, and we invite a patient’s own intuition and guidance with respect to treatment. The wisdom of one’s own body, mind, and spirit is central to the healing process”--J. David Forbes, MD, ABIHM, Past president of American Holistic Medical Association. 

 

MANTRAS AND MENTAL HEALTH 

Mantras can have a soothing effect on the mind even among people who are not religious. The utterance of mantras often focuses on calming the mind, controlling the breathing, and eliminating unhealthy or unkind thoughts. Some mental health professionals encourage their clients to meditate or do yoga as a way to control stress, and some may encourage clients to utter mantras as mechanism to calm their minds. The syllable “om” is probably the most well-known mantra, and has made its way into some yoga classes. For example, some yoga instructors encourage students to breathe deeply while saying “om” at the beginning and end of class. In Hinduism, “om” is the most important mantra, and begins and ends all prayers.

 

It is a strange coincidence that founders of Nashville Sri Ganesha Temple are retired and active medical practitioners of modern Western Medicine. They also promote GYM, Garudi, physical exercise, Yoga of Body, Mind and Spirit and Mantra Medicine and also teach and prepare young minds to prevent body from diseases and lead a healthy life, for “Prevention is better than Cure”, in Bal Vihar Classes. 

 

I have also been treated with Integrated Medicine while I became a victim of life-threatening diseases that I continued even after recovery to lead a healthy life, busy with Hindu Reflections influenced by temple founders and that was also advised by an active psychiatrist founder of Sri Ganesha Temple, after my retirement and settling in Nashville. I believe in Five Pillars human health that I consider to be most important and life changing--Relationship to Food/Nutrition; Exercise/Movement; Sleep/Rest; Stress Reduction and Connectedness to Self and Others, recommended by the Holistic Medical Center. 

 

There are some Holistic Medical Centers in Nashville too, where I live: 

• They combine mainstream medicine and complementary/alternative medicine in a primary care setting, striving for the best of both worlds. 

• They believe time spent with patients is the most important element in helping create sustainable healing and change. 
• They also believe in Lifestyle Medicine (Ayurveda) and others as alternate if suited and the Five Pillars human health that they consider to be most important and life changing--Relationship to Food/Nutrition; Exercise/Movement; Sleep/Rest; Stress Reduction and Connectedness to Self and Others. 

• They treat most all basic primary care health issues, such as gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine issues, respiratory disorders, fatigue, anxiety, depression, hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, GYN hormonal issues, etc. 

Psychiatry Psychology Psycho-therapy 

The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) is a nationally renowned leader in the field of health care education, research and clinical practice preparation.  SHRS shapes future generations of health care professionals—therapists, counselors, advocates, scientists, providers and practitioners—trained to serve the needs of all people regardless of background, levels of health or mobility. They are built on a legacy of academic excellence and innovation and fueled by passionate educators and researchers, allowing them to meet the health care and rehabilitation needs of today and drive meaningful change in the future.

 

Do you have more to add or delete some for I am not a psychiatrist experienced in spirituality that are experts in blending together clinical cure for quick physical health recovery and long mental health need after quick recovery?

--December 4, 2021

 

 

SAKINI AND DAKINI IN HINDUISM 

Seven deities called Dhātunāthās were stationed in their respective places beneath the same step. They were Yakṣiṇī, Śaṅkhinī, Lākinī, Hākinī, Śākinī, Ḍākinī and (another) Hākinī who had the united (and combined) forms of all of them. All these demonstrated the exploits of their mighty arms. They appeared ready to drink (i.e. destroy) all living beings and the Earth. They drank and consumed the seven Dhātus, essential ingredients, of the body (viz. the blood), skin, flesh, fat, bones, marrow and the semen of .They had hideous faces. With their harsh leonine roars, they filled ten quarters. They were called  Dhātunāthās and they were the bestowals of eight Siddhis beginning with Aṇimā (minuteness).They were experts in deluding, slaying, paralyzing (stupefying), striking, swallowing, and exterminating the wicked Daityas. In regard to those who are habitually devout, they were competent to annihilate all adversities. They were called Dhātunāthās (since) they were present in all Dhātus (essential secretions of the body). 

 

Tantric texts such as the Rudrayāmala Tantra identify Ḍākinī, Rākinī, Lākinī, Kākinī, Śākinī and Hākinī with the six chakras, the dhātus and the  five elements plus the mind.  This work associates Ḍākinī with the mūlādhāra chakra, Rākinī with svādhiṣṭhāna, Lākinī with maṇipūra, Kākinī with anāhata, Śākinī with viśuddhi, and Hākinī with ājñā.    

 

Sakini means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit and Marathi. Sakini—Name of one of the six female deities (yoginīs) springing forth from the body of Kulesvara, the central male deity of the Yoginichakra (fourth of the five internal chakras), according to the kubjikamata-tantra. She is also known as Kaki. In other tantric sources, such as the Kularnava-tantra, she is identified as Sakini. Sakini is identified with the kala-adhvan (one of the six paths, or adhvans) and relates to one thirty-eight kalas. These kalas are usually five in number (Nivrtti, Pratistha, Vidya, Santi and Santatita) which also form part of the Devichakra. The fearful character of Sakini is represented by her fondness for breaking bones (asthibhangapriya). She is situated in the Visuddhi-chakra which is symbolic for her relation with one of the six-fold sites (satpura). She is also related to Netra, one of the six angas. 

 

In a philosophical sense, anyone who can cut through the limitless illusory deception of Maya and ignorance is a Dakini or Daka. It can be a spirit or a human yogini. The male equivalent is Daka. For this reason, the main symbol of the Dakini is the kartari, the hooked butcher’s knife. The hook is said to be for pulling beings out of the ocean of suffering (none too comfortably at first), and the blade, Wisdom, is for cutting through duality and self-deception into the Great Bliss. 

 

Dakini spirits are said to be intensely energetic and lively, utterly undomesticated and uninhibited, can fly at fast speeds using subtle winds, become insubstantial or corporeal, manifest in various forms or guises, and tend to be secretive, elusive, and erotically sexual (note that this does not mean they are always physically beautiful in a classic sense; some are monstrous-looking, or any number of varied appearances, though they are often naked except for bone-carved jewelry gathered from charnel grounds). They love to move, to fly, to play, to kick, to dance in ecstasy, to express themselves through bodily movement and activity. All space is open and free to them. 

 

Dakinis are associated with energy in all its functions and transformations. They tend to be of generally fierce, volatile, or wrathful temperament. Some Dakinis and Dakas follow the Goddess Kali and eat human flesh. Some dwell in darkness, or in cremation grounds or cemeteries. Some are dangerous to humans, and Kavachas (spiritual armors) are sometimes traditionally invoked against them as a type of demon. Other Dakinis are protectors, or Gurus, occult masters of Tantra and Yoga. Some are full-fledged deities, objects of meditation who dwell within the sacred Mandala as fully enlightened Buddhas; others are more subtle messengers or “inspirers” of spiritual practice and experience. There are many different Dakinis with their own names and characteristics. A Dakini dwells within the spinal locus of every human being, in the channel of the Kundalini Shakti. 

 

Dakinis and Dakas are (or were) known throughout India, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Japan. In Japan, some mistune spirits have become Dakini. Spiritual practices involving Dakinis are usually taught by Gurus in personal instruction, and many such practices are not safe to attempt without such guidance. Working with Dakini energy is not for the unprepared or the faint of heart. If you feel drawn to Dakini-related practices, you seek a qualified instructor of Shaiva or Shakta Tantra, Nath Yoga, or Vajrayana Buddhism (especially of the Tibetan or Shingon tradition). .There is a certain time each lunar cycle associated with the Dakini, ten days after the full moon, when the waning moon appears as a crescent at dawn. In the dark before the dawn on that morning, the crescent moon in the sky represents the Dakini’s crescent-bladed butcher’s knife, held high in her upraised hand, ready to chop through the practitioner’s mind and into the Great Bliss beyond. 

 

A Vetal is a revenant in Hindu mythology, usually defined as a knowledgeable (fortune telling) paranormal entity said to be dwelling at charnel grounds. The vetal is comparable to the vampires of Western mythology. Reanimated corpses are used as vehicles by the spirits for movement, the corpse no longer decays while it is inhabited by a vetal. A vetal may possess and also leave a dead body at will. 

 

A Dakini is a type of sacred female spirit in Hinduism, while in Vajrayana Buddhism the term is often wisdom Dakini. The term can also be applied to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development. The Sanskrit term Dakini is related to diyate - as uda to fly in Uddayanam. 

--December 3, 2021

The Science of Homa

When one performs homa sincerely and accurately (samyak) with right mantra while offering pure inputs such as ghee and wood, the resulting smoke (homa dhuma) touches and empowers the rays of sun (adithya). Those sanctified sun rays attract water from the Earth, forming clouds releasing pure energized rainwater (vrushti). Such sanctified rainwater produces healthy food (annam). Such sanctified healthy food makes the people (prajaha) immune to many illnesses.

Sastra says…

Agnou pra:stha a:huthi samyak a:dithyam upathishtathe: a:ditya:th ja:yathe: vrushtihi vrushte:he annam thathah praja:ha

It has been over two years with COVID seeing many suffer and lose lives due to lack of immune power in the bodies. Isn’t it time to take the path of the ancient scientists, the sages who guided people of those days with formulae for sustained lifestyle? Such homas help not only yield a healthy crop but also purify the air. We are in dire need of both the benefits today!

Does that mean I perform homa at my home?

A homa requires the doer to have sankalpa suddhi (righteous intent), mantra suddhi (perfect intonation of correct mantra), and dravya suddhi (pure ingredients). The process needs to be accurate such as

• the homakunda, the sacrificial fire spot must be set up in the right process
• it needs to have the right protective set up
• offer ahuthi of defined pure ingredients, a physical act
• chant mantra, a divine act adding energy to the ahuthi
• And many more…

Homa – an antidote to poisonous pollutants!

On December 3^rd, 1984 there was a tragic incident in Bhopal when poisonous gas MIC leaked from Union Carbide factory. Hundreds of people died, and thousands were hospitalized but there were two families who lived within one mile from the gas plant but did not suffer anything from the leak. These two families were regularly performing homa.

                        – From the discourse of HH Sri ChinnaJeeyar Swamiji

Swamiji is setting an example to the world on how one must secure the pure ghee using only desi cow milk, firewood using desi cow dung sticks, and guiding the entire procedure to conduct the homa.

--December 2, 2021

 

Brief review of HUA's journey and roadmap going forward

 

Hindu religion calls for peace, harmony and progressing together. Hindu University of America is a pioneering online university teaching a Dharmic perspective through courses in Hindu philosophies, traditions, culture, and civilization. Their faculty of dedicated, brilliant scholars recognizes the need for a global university that truthfully, steadfastly, and academically represents the Hindu paradigm.  I have been busy with the same over a decade serving the cause single handed though not a brilliant scholar, with no charge. I have been sustaining the Sanatana Dharma Momentum started by Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda in USA, often sharing the thoughts of such brilliant scholars and Gurus with my limited explanation! Now, I would like to share with you all, a beautiful prayer from the Rigveda.

 

saṃgacchadhwaṃ saṃvadadhwaṃ saṃ vo manāṃsi jānatām devā bhāgaṃ yathā pūrvesañjānānā upāsate || 

May you move in harmony, speak in one voice; let your minds be in agreement; just as the ancient gods shared their portion of sacrifice. 

 

samāno mantraḥ samitih samānī samānaṃ manaḥ sahacittameṣām samānaṃ mantram abhimantraye vaḥ samānena vo haviṣā juhomi || 

May our purpose be the same; may we all be of one mind. In order for such unity to form I offer a common prayer. 

 

samanī va ākūtiḥ samānā hrdayāni vaḥ |samānamastu vo mano yathā vaḥ susahāsati  

May our intentions and aspirations be alike, so that a common objective unifies us all! 

 

Dharma (ethical conduct); karma (the consequences of one’s actions in life for the future of one’s soul); immortality of the soul (atman) through cycles of rebirth or reincarnation (samsara) until the soul achieves liberation (moksha) from this cycle. Hindus believe in a supreme, all-encompassing being called Brahman, as well as many gods and goddesses, including Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Ganesh, Rama, and Krishna. The Hindu holy books are called the Vedas. Hinduism is the oldest of the major world religions, with its origins pre-dated recorded history; it has no human founder and has many traditions and practices. 

 

Unpopular opinion may be but Hindu religion at its core has hardly ever been followed as a whole by society. It is only a select few and their realization and effort that has kept it alive, not the tag Hinduism in particular, but Sanatana dharma as a whole. Sure, outwardly people are either atheistic or theistic, but it isn't that superficial. It is not only the problem of this generation. People thinking that only this particular generation has let Hinduism down are undergoing anti-generational bias. From time immemorial, society has been corrupted by some power or the other, either from outside or sometimes even from the people practicing Hinduism itself and has maligned the core teachings and have added to the confusion. The problem is not with the religion itself but with people. People are selfish and manipulative, mentally afraid. That's just how it has always been. Society is built around comfortable lies which promote echo chambers of groups, dilute reality of the situation and make us lead personal lives of comfort amidst the fear brewing underneath. So while I'm happy that it has been added in the curriculum, I hope it may not  be taught   as some subject, but as an inner transformative philosophy which gives inner strength. It is supposed to cleanse the individual, and society as a whole.  It is not talking of mere morality, but instead, self-realization. 

With any religion or ideology, it is always only a minority of adherents that truly understand and practice the core. Thus, the concept of "culture" arises, for the rest of adherents to practice. While not everyone will be able to see Narayana as the Antaryami of all, they will at least be able to see Him in the picture and offer flowers, offerings, pujas, and doing fasts faithfully-- Vaidyo Narayano Harih; sarvadharman parityajya tvamekam saranam vraja; Devo ekah; tat tvam aci………. Coming from a group of brilliant scholars, please participate in HUA programs and activities! 

--November 29, 2021

 

 

LECTURE BY DR. VEDAVYAS AT ICSSS HEALTH STATION

 

ICSSS has asked Dr. Vedavyas to help us understand child abuse and what we should know to protect our children, and know what to do when we encounter situations that may require intervention. Dr. Vedavyas is both philosopher and Psychiatrist. I believe he will focus on them both educating us to tackle on such situations, as well as minimizing them in our life style. Prevention is better than cure. Please recall my discourse. 

 

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2021/02/psychic-health-care-of-humans-and.html 

Human health is at stake. Many killing diseases like cancer and AIDS are on the rise. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus in 2020 that has taken many lives globally. Increased alcoholism, drug abuse and child abuse by agitated and disturbed families are great challenges.  I have gone through such abuses in my early life. Human mind is under great stress giving rise to more violence and many complex family and social problems. The list is unending. Let us understand not only the healing power of Vedic Science Therapy of Mantras, Classical Music, Yajna and Yoga in unison with modern psychic therapies on humans but also the power of Mantras and Music for abundant healthy growth in our plant life with which we begin, passing through animal life and man-man life to focus on Superman life.  

 

India is known for its various alternate therapies, one of the most impactful and clinically proven alternatives is Raga Chikitsa or Raga Therapy. The unadulterated ragas in Indian classical repertoire are a blend of symphonic compatibility between the seven notes and seven primary chakras in our body. This is one of the reasons of the impact it has on our mind, body and soul. Ragas have an innate quality of affecting the emotions of the listener, and hence the overall well-being. Mantras with intonation turned to music has maximum psychological effect. 

 

Dr. Vedavyas may not agree with me being trained and an expert practicing psychiatry, but do not miss to listen to him and shape your daily life as well as get cured if affected.  I am no specialist in either of these--spiritual and medical approach.

--November 29, 2021

 

 

 

Four Aspects of Mind--Buddhi, Manas Ahankara (Ego) and Chitta

 

Nobody cares for spiritual matters.  “You cannot live on bread alone, but you can live on OM, the symbol of Brahman. The mind wants mental food” says Divine Life Society.  Sadhguru speaks about how we can tap into the true possibility of the mind, by reaching the Chitta, a dimension where God becomes your slave!

 

Progressive walk through Buddhi, Manas, Ahankara and Chitta in our human life, takes us to transcendental life of Ananda, Eternal Bliss!
“Biggest is Humavuman Birth Don’t Do It Harm”--Purandara Das. Born with plant life, we go through animal life and man-man life that we should end with Superman Life.

 

I have talked to you about Body, Mind and Spirit. These are physical and mental activities including turning inwards separated from the divine whom we seek. Buddhi, Manas, Ahankara and Chitta are functions that is called Mind in Western culture often understood as Intelligence. In English language, everything comes under one banner called “mind.” The idea that intelligence is only in the brain has produced human beings whose consciousness is seriously constipated. What is in the brain is intellect, not intelligence.

 

 Manas is ordinary, indeterminate thinking – just being aware that something is there. Manas is the work of the mind. Buddhi determines, decides and logically comes to a conclusion that something is such-and-such a thing. That is another aspect of the operation of the psyche – Buddhi or intellect. The third form of it is ahamkara – ego, affirmation, assertion, 'I know'. "I know that there is some object in front of me, and I also know that I know. I know that I am existing as this so-and-so." This kind of affirmation attributed to one's own individuality is the work of ahamkara, known as egoism. The subconscious action, memory, etc., is caused by chitta. It is the fourth function. So manas, buddhi, ahamkara, chitta – these are the four basic functions of the internal organ, the psychological organ.

 

CULTIVATING THE BUDDHI, OUR HIGHER INTELLIGENCE

Yoga and Vedanta emphasize cultivating the #Buddhi, our higher intelligence. Yet what is the Buddhi and how do we cultivate it?

 

Buddhi means awakened perception. It is related to the term Buddha or enlightened but has a long history of its own usage in Sanskrit. Our ordinary mind looks outward to the external world as the reality and our physical body as our true identity. This gets it caught in the realm of impermanence, Maya, duality, birth, death and sorrow.

 

The outer mind is certainly helpful and necessary in dealing with the practical affairs of life, which it organizes in terms of name, form, number and measurement. It is the basis of technology. Without it we would be very limited in our knowledge of the world. However, the outer mind cannot perceive the inner reality, our true Self of Pure Consciousness (#Atman) beyond name and form, birth and death. Nor can it perceive that same reality behind the world of nature, which is a manifestation of the Infinite and Eternal (#Brahman). Its outer orientation blinds it to the inner reality, unless we complement it with an inner vision, such as the Buddhi provides.

 

Yet we all have a sense of the infinite, eternal and immortal. We all sense something within us beyond the body and the material world and don’t want to die. Religion and spirituality reflects this, though often in a limited manner.

 

DEVELOPING THE BUDDHI

Buddhi is developed by two prime factors. These are #viveka and #vairagya. Viveka is the ability to discern the eternal essence behind the transient factors of life. Vairagya is detachment from outer names and forms and no longer seeking happiness in the eternal world. The Yoga Sutras emphasizes these as the basis for Samadhi and Self-realization. Buddhi is developed by all the practices of Yoga, notably Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi, the inner Yoga. It’s development is the essence of Vedanta as introspection and Self-inquiry.

 

All #Sattv-increasing practices, starting with the Yamas and Niyamas of Yoga develop it, as it is the power of Sattva in our minds.

 

Unfortunately, today no schools, including institutes of higher education, teach us how to develop the Buddhi. They remain focused on in the outer mind. Because of the lack of the Buddhi’s inner intelligence, we do not have the discernment and detachment to use our new technology from a place of inner intelligence.

 

We all need to cultivate our Buddhis today in order to develop this inner understanding of reality. All Vedic and yogic disciplines help us to do this. In your sadhana, studies or education, please make sure to cultivate the Buddhi, not simply the outer mind or the ego. Buddhi is latent within all of us but needs the proper practices to truly manifest.

‑-David Frawley

 

BUDDHI, MANAS, AHANKARA AND CHITTA

“In the yogic understanding, there are 16 dimensions to the human mind. These 16 dimensions fall into four categories. These four categories are known as buddhi, manas, ahankara, and chitta. Buddhi is the intellect – the logical dimension of thought. Unfortunately, the modern education systems and modern sciences have largely limited themselves to buddhi. That is a buddhu (foolish) way of existence.

Buddhi - The Intellect

Buddhi or the intellect cannot function without a certain bank of memory or data. Depending on the data you have, the intellect plays around. Suppose in your memory system, there are 10 gigabytes of memory. Depending on how sharp your buddhi is, one person can produce, let’s say, a trillion thoughts with these 10 gigabytes. Someone else can produce 10 trillion thoughts with the same 10 gigabytes of memory.

If you can think a little better than someone else, it is considered as intelligence today. If someone says one thing and you can say ten things to that, you may be socially smart, but you are not any more intelligent. Unfortunately, in today’s systems of education and academics, everything is determined by this. If you can make more things out of it, you are considered intelligent, which is not true – you only have a sharper buddhi. The buddhi will not take you beyond limits in any way, because it can only function based on the data that is already there. It is not capable of accessing anything beyond that.

Manas - A Huge Silo of Memory

The next dimension is called manas. Manas has many layers to it. But manas is not just the brain – it is right across the body. Every cell in the body has a phenomenal memory – not just of this life but of millions of years. Your body clearly remembers how your forefathers were a million years ago. Top to bottom, there is manas – this is called manomaya kosha. In every cell in the body, there is memory and intelligence, but no intellect. Intellect is only in the brain.

Intelligence and memory are right across your body. But people have never been trained how to use this intelligence. Instead, they use their intellect for everything. No wonder they are stressed out whatever job you give them. The whole weight is on only one dimension of the mind out of sixteen. It is like loading a sixteen-wheeler truck and trying to drive on only one wheel – you can imagine the stress! That is what today’s world is going through.

People may be using other dimensions of the mind marginally, unconsciously, but they are not trained to use them. They have only been trained to use their buddhi, or their intellect. They are very smart. They know everything about everything, but they do not know how to figure their own life. They do not even know how to sit here peacefully and at total ease within themselves. If there is true intelligence, the first thing that you need to figure out is how to make life happen. You know how to make the world happen, but you do not know how to make your life happen. You do not know how to conduct your mind, your energies, your emotions or your body.

If you ask people to become fit, they become tight. If you ask them to live in a more natural way, they become fat. Where is the intelligence? There is only intellect. Intellect looks good only in comparison. Suppose you are the only person on the planet, your intellect will not mean anything. Only because there are a few idiots around you, you shine. By itself, intellect will not be of any consequence.

Ahankara - The Sense of Identity

The intellect directly connects with the third dimension of your mind, called ahankara. Ahankara is sometimes translated as ego, but it is much more than that. Ahankara gives you a sense of identity. Once your ahankara takes on an identity, your intellect functions only in that context. It is important to function beyond the intellect, because the intellect is seriously enslaved to your identity.

Our identities, such as belonging to a certain nation, community, or whatever else, are necessary for our survival in a particular society. But you cannot think beyond this because you are functioning only from your intellect, and the intellect takes its sustenance from ahankara. Only along the axis of ahankara, the intellect can function. The intellect cannot transcend this, because that is its nature. But there are other ways to know life beyond the identities we have taken on for our survival in the world.

Chitta - The Cosmic Intelligence

The fourth category of the mind is called chitta. Chitta is mind without memory – pure intelligence. This intelligence is like the cosmic intelligence – simply there. Everything happens because of that. It does not function out of memory – it simply functions. In a way, what you call cosmos is a living mind, not in the sense of intellect but in the sense of chitta. Chitta is the last point of the mind. It connects to the basis of creation within you. It connects you with your consciousness.

Chitta is always on – whether you are awake or asleep. Your intellect comes on and goes off. Many times it fails, even when you are awake. If chitta or the intelligence within you was not always on, you could not stay alive. Try to conduct your breath with your intellect – you will go crazy. Chitta is keeping you alive, keeping you going, making life happen. If you touch this dimension of your mind, which is the linking point to one’s consciousness, you do not even have to wish for anything, you do not have to dream of anything – the best possible thing that can happen to you will anyway happen.

The Divine Enslaved

Chitta is the last point of the mind. It connects to the basis of creation within you. It connects you with your consciousness.

Once you know how to consciously keep your chitta on, at once the Divine is your servant. When someone really efficient is working for you, you do not have to do anything. Simply sit; the best things will happen – things that you could not imagine. People always think if their dreams come true, their life will be great. I think that is a very poor life, because you cannot dream about anything that is not at all in your experience. My wish and my blessing for you is things that you could not dream of, things that you never thought possible, must happen to you. What you did not dream must happen to you – that is why you should not dream. Instead of seeing how to delve deeper into yourself, you go on projecting stupid ideas into the world. People think that is a great thing to do.  

Chit Shakti is about touching the dimension of your mind that is pure intelligence – unsullied by memory, unsullied by identification. It is beyond ahankara, beyond buddhi, beyond judgment, beyond divisions – simply there, just like the intelligence of existence that makes everything happen. If you access this, you do not have to worry about what happens or what does not happen. It will happen in a way that you never imagined possible.

Once you have access to your chitta, it is also a multi-pointed telescope. It makes you see things that no one else can see – in every direction. It is your crystal ball. It is a magnifying glass that brings the very core of life close to you. For everyone else, it is far way. Everyone thinks the Divine is somewhere up there. Where exactly, no one knows. All they know is, it seems far away.

The moment you start looking at life through your chitta, where there is no memory, there is no karmic substance and no division. Suddenly, the Divine is right there, bang on, in your face all the time. You cannot miss it.

The idea of Chit Shakti is not to keep asking for things. The idea is that if the physical arrangements of life happen easily, you can dedicate more time for your spiritual wellbeing. It would be stupid if just because it happens easily, first you want to be a millionaire, then you want to be a billionaire. The main intention is that your physical life happens more easily, that it does not take your entire time to handle it, so that you will have time to close your eyes and sit. Please make use of it for this purpose”--Sadhguru.

--December 4, 2021

 

HINDU REFLECTIONS ON BODY, MIND & SPIRIT

A Collection of Hindu Religious Teachings 

The one God who exists in subtle form in all beings pervades all and is the inner Self of all beings. He dwells in all beings; he is the witness; he is the intelligent principle; he is pure; and, he is bereft of all qualities. (Svetasvatara Upanishad, VI. 11) 

 

If the water of the lake is full of waves and the water itself muddy, the bottom of the lake is not visible. However, when the waves are subsided and the water is clean, we can clearly see the bottom of the lake. Similarly, when all thought waves are controlled and the mind becomes pure, free from past impressions, Samskaras, then our real spiritual nature is revealed. To control thought waves, one has to practice meditation and to purify the mind one must practice detachment. 

 

Just as a spider weaves its net from the materials of its own body, so does Ishwara created this universe out of Himself. 

 

The ego identifies himself with casual bodies undergoes various sufferings and strives for liberation. 

That intense love which the ignorant bear towards the objects of this world: may I have that same intensity of love for Bhagavan! 

 

One may be indifferent to the enjoyments of this world only in expectation of better enjoyments in the next. This kind of indifference is tainted with desires, which bar the door to knowledge. But the indifference that results from a due deliberation on the evanescent nature of this world as well as the world to come, is alone pure and productive of the highest good. 

 

In this ever-changing world there is one changeless being as witness of these changes. This permanent ever-seeing being is Atman. Perfection in any form is the manifestation of the Divine. 

 

God in His mercy has withheld the knowledge of the past from people. If they knew that they were virtuous, they will grow proud; contrariwise, they will be depressed. Do you know the present life so well that you wish to know the past? Why do you wish to burden yourself with more knowledge and suffer more?  

 

He who sees Himself as free from the body (idea) knows it not even when the body is cut asunder, in just the same way as the sugar candy whether dried in fire or cut remains sweet. Just as the wife carried on with the house-hold chores though ever doting on her husband, so too the Jnani remains ever in the Supreme State though engaged in activity. 

 

Non-Attachment does not mean indifference; Love does not mean attach-ment; Attachment is that which takes; Love is that which gives. 

 

About your worldly troubles you must do as you think best yourself, but it is good policy to keep out from other's plates however sweet and inviting it looks. Both sugar and arsenic are white. 

 

When a soul turns his mind towards the Divine the following two things will happen — first he will get some joyful experience, which shows that he is on the right path and that he is progressing. Second when the asuric (demonic) forces see that he is progressing they will put every possible obstacle before the Sadhaka in the form of worldly troubles, mental botherations and sex urge.  

 

In the course of sadhana — Maya comes to a sincere soul first in the form of worldly troubles, second in the form of diseases and thirdly in the form of dear friends to keep him away from the quest. Our mind is the greatest cheater in this world, it will create thousands of different reasons to go its own way. There are three ways to handle this cheater who is nothing but a bundle of thoughts creeping up in the conscious mind. First to treat him as a friend and give him full satisfaction. This is a very long and tiresome way because he is never satisfied. Secondly to treat him as an enemy and with all your force try to get rid of him. This is only possible by the grace of the Divine because the mind has two very powerful weapons which are the discriminating intellect and the second the imaginative faculty. These two fellows can convince even God Himself that black is white. The third way is to treat him as a patient or rather several patients coming and troubling him with their different kinds of diseases.  

 

The main thing with worship is not what we worship, but that we worship and if we have got love we can easily surrender the feeling of "I" which is the wall between ourselves and God. 

 

The greatest service to humanity is Self-Enquiry and the greatest remedy for this world is Self-Realization but that does not mean we should not do anything for others. . . . As long as we have not got the power to withdraw the mind from the objects of sense perception we should do and must do whatever we can for others. Selfless activity will soon give the power of introversion but when the mind once has become introverted, we should not spoil what we have gained by outward activity. 

 

If the ego is allowed to play with our emotions, it is capable of causing havoc. Only by drawing the ego to its source even the saddest feeling is converted into Ananda. 

 

Please go through my discourse “What we call Hinduism Today was Universal Religion in the Past”: 

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2019/03/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.

Hinduism: Basic Beliefs 

The fundamental teaching of Hinduism, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. 

 

What do Hindus believe and practice? 

The fundamental teaching of Hinduism, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. This spirit is within us and also within everything we see. All beings and all things are really, in their deepest essence, this pure or divine spirit, full of peace, full of joy and wisdom, ever united with God. This is not just theory, but it can actually be experienced. Anyone who takes the trouble to undergo the necessary training to purify and refine the mind and senses can begin to feel the truth of this. This training can take various forms and is known as yoga ("union"- union of the individual self with this inner spirit). 

 

There are four main types of yoga, meant for the four main types of human temperaments:  

 

Karma Yoga or the discipline of right actions is for those of active temperament, striving to eliminate selfishness, and to cultivate universal sympathy by seeing the divine reality in all. 

 

Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion to God whose presence can be felt in all things. God can be worshipped as present in an image in a Temple. God can be worshipped also as present in suffering humanity by service. 

 

Jnana Yoga, preferred by those of analytical bent of mind, is the discipline of trying to see the divine reality within all things directly, by mentally brushing aside all the obstructing physical and mental coverings that hide it. 

 

Raja Yoga is the process of mental control, purity, and meditation.  By working through the mind, the practice of Raja Yoga paves a way to discipline, self-control, concentration, mental peace, and inner joy. 

 

--November 28, 2021

 

 

Medical and Spiritual Science Approach to Psychological Immunity

The rapid and unprecedented worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus, also termed as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has immensely strained the existing healthcare systems (HCSs) throughout the world. The frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) (doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance personnel) are occupied with the direct diagnosis, treatment, and care of the COVID-19 infected patients and hold the significant responsibility of flattening the pandemic growth curve and reducing the infection fatality rate. Though HCWs would have their Behavioral Immune System continuously active during this pandemic situation, excessive workload, the risk of nosocomial transmission, lack of essential resources and specific medical treatment, and frequent encounters with trauma and death have heightened their risk of psychological distress and trauma; psychopathology, such as substance use; mood disorders, such as insomnia, anxiety, and depression; delusional episodes; suicidality; and even suicide. An eventual rise in the need of mental health services by HCWs is probable as these mental health consequences may remain even after the pandemic remits. As the medical professionals are the most significant assets in countering the pandemic, safeguarding the physically and emotionally exhausted HCWs' mental health becomes significant. 

The medical workers with higher mental health problems report poor self-perceived physical health as well. Contrarily, the access to psychological aid (materials/ resources) is inversely related to the proportion of mental health problems. With this in view, researchers indicate the need for regular screening and timely addressable of psychological health concerns among HCWs, preferably through psychotherapeutic means. As PI can be modified by psychotherapeutic interventions, developing evidence-informed, tiered, and tailored PI-boosting interventions will help protect the “protectors” from being victimized by the pandemic.

A common perspective on stress-related changes in the human immune system is that such changes are potentially harmful, especially those occurring during chronic stress. In contrast, an ecological perspective views the immune system as an energetically costly system that may or may not have priority over other uses of that energy. From this perspective, the immune system may have energy made available for it via reduction of other activities, may change in energetically conservative ways when the protection it confers needs to be balanced with the energetic demands of other activities such as fight or flight, or may be suppressed when other activities are more important than immunity for total well-being. This last type of change can explain why aspects of psychosocial health such as optimism relate to worse immunity under some circumstances and suggests that both benefits and costs of immunosuppression during stress should be considered in research on human stress and immunity.

The image of water is commonly used in meditation as a symbol of the infinite flow that moves through blockages and unlocks inner peace and healing. What better way to access this flow than by turning visualization into reality and meditating in water, rejuvenating the mind, body and spirit in the process? Water can enhance the power of a meditation—reverberating a mantra’s sound current inside a human body of water, calming the overactive mind, and encouraging a feeling of nonattachment and weightlessness.

sharIrE jarjarIbhUtE vyAdhigrastE kalebarE | auShadham jaanhavI tOyam vaidyO nArAyaNO harih ||

When the body is decrepit and ridden with disease, the medicine (given by the doctor) is as remedial and sacred as the waters of Ganga (river), and the doctor is (equal to) Lord Hari -Narayana himself.

Water makes up 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and 75 percent of the human brain. That’s a lot of water! Our humble H2O is a powerful force for our health and well-being in myriad ways. Meditation with a Mantra can help individuals sleep better, cope with some symptoms associated with mental disorders like depression and anxiety, reduce some of the psychological difficulties associated with chronic pain, and even improve some cognitive and behavioral functions.

David Frawley provides a spiritual approach for Psychological Immunity. For psychological immunity we need a meditative mind, he says.

Self-awareness is the foundation for Psychological Immunity

Psychological Immunity and How to Measure it

 

We all know the importance of physical immunity. This is our ability to resist disease, ward off pathogens, endure the dualities of heat and cold and seasonal changes, have physical strength and stamina, slow down the aging process and heal our bodies from within relative to injuries or chronic diseases. It is indicated by positive health and wellness.

But what is psychological immunity? It is similarly the ability of the mind to resist disease, ward off emotional toxins, endure the dualities of gain and loss, joy and sorrow, attraction and repulsion. It means to have enduring mental strength and stamina, slowing down the aging process for the mind and memory, steady concentration and balanced emotions, without agitation and sorrow. It is indicated by a positive attitude in life, fearlessness, contentment, Self-awareness and creativity.

Just as physical pathogens like bacteria and viruses abound in the external world, so mental pathogens, negative emotions like fear, anger, hatred, greed or desire can enter our minds from the outside. We can become emotionally toxic and infect others as well. Just as there are contagious and epidemic physical diseases, so there are mass psychological disturbances, such as we see in mob violence, dangerous ideologies, war propaganda, or even in disturbed or misleading news or entertainment.

For physical immunity to be strong, we must possess the resilience to face the vicissitudes of nature and handle the stress of hard work or exercise. For psychological immunity to be strong, we must be able to endure like and dislike, criticism, opposition and conflict without losing our calm collected state of mind. We must have the resilience to face the ups and downs in human behavior that can be unpredictable and relentless.

How many of us today have strong a psychological immunity? Probably less than those who have a strong physical immunity! This is because we seldom properly nourish, exercise, train or discipline the mind, like many of us try to do with the body. We let our minds run unchecked and unguided, tied to transient external influences that are seldom questioned as to their value or validity.

Determining Your Psychological Immunity

There is a simple way to measure your psychological immunity. It is equal to your power of attention. This you can determine by how long you can sustain your attention at will on any needed topic in an observant manner, letting it reveal to you what it is, not reacting with your mind’s conditioning or personal opinions.

Your power of attention is your field of psychological immunity. It creates a shield of consciousness that keeps unconscious forces from coming in. It reflects your control of the mind and ability to remain attentive in the face of negative thoughts, emotions or sensations, the detachment necessary to keep them from entering into your mind and affecting your subconscious that strives to be continually aware, not quick to react, and remains centered within even while confronting external obstacles. We need an independent awareness, not one that is dependent upon what others think, feel or say, which is rooted in our own direct perception and the experience of our own consciousness.

Today our power of attention is measured in mere seconds or milliseconds as we are overstimulated, bombarded with media images, computer games, numerous entertainment choices, disturbing news and dramatic sensations, with our minds in a state of perpetual distraction until we are exhausted and fall sleep. Such a distracted mind or vikshipta chitta is what Yoga teaches us to calm and transcend.

Unfortunately, we are not training our children in the cultivation of attention or memory, so many attention related health problems are arising within them. We are continually wired into cell phones, music, videos or news. We do not give our minds the space to observe and be free. We rely upon our equipment to guide us and to store any necessary information.

The Calm of the Yogi

True yogis can hold their power of attention without diminution or disruption even when surrounded by distraction or criticism, undisturbed by flattery or insult, praise or threats. These are the marks of success or siddhi in Yoga practices, including proficiency in pratyahara, dharana and dhyana. While asana aids in physical immunity, meditation is necessary for psychological immunity. Mantra is a key practice for sustaining our power of attention and psychological immunity. Have a special mantra to hold to at a deep level keeps our attention under our control, so it does not wander or get dispersed, whether a seed mantra like OM, Hreem or Aim or a Divine name mantra like Om Namah Shivaya, or Om Namo Narayanaya.

Certainly we should try to correct the many iniquities in the world, but we should do so from a place of inner peace and determination, removing the agitation in our own minds as the basis for trying to improve society. When we get caught up in fear or anger while confronting difficulties, it indicates that external forces have overwhelmed our mental immunity and we do not have sufficient sattva or inner light to act with clarity and a long term vision. May we develop the attentive awareness that leads us beyond conditioned and programed mental reactions. That is the basis of Dharana in yoga practice, concentration aiming at a one-pointed mind, not simply imposing one point of view upon everyone else, which alone creates the foundation for deeper meditation. Truth (satya) is not a point of view but a state of awareness, an ability to see things as they are, even if it may not be agreeable to ourselves or others.

Your own inner Self is greater than the entire world and does not rely on any external approval to be content in its own nature. Do not compare yourself with anyone. Do not seek anything from the outside to fulfill yourself. Contact your inner Being that is one with the entire universe, in which our human world and all of its turbulence is like a passing wave on the sea! Remember your inner fearlessness and Ananda. The entire universe dwells within you. Self-awareness is the foundation for psychological immunity, which you can freely develop within yourself. Then no outer disturbances can overwhelm you.

--November 27, 2021

 

 

Solution to Physical, Emotional – Psychological Problems & Webinar-212 Understanding Our Own Mind

The Solution to Physical, Emotional – Psychological Problems is in Bhagavad Gita 

Emotional health is an important part of overall health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They’re able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships. I keep good relationship through HR Forum Participation, caring and sharing. 

 

Being emotionally healthy doesn’t mean we are happy all the time. It means we are aware of our emotions. We can deal with them, whether they’re positive or negative. Emotionally healthy people still feel stress, anger, and sadness. But they know how to manage their negative feelings. They can tell when a problem is more than they can handle on their own. They also know when to seek help from their doctor. I did that when I became a victim to Seizure Disorder. 

 

My mental appropriate activity focused on spirituality helped me for quick recovery from seizure disorder reducing its after-effect, ably supported by medication advised by psychiatrists.  If we want to be free from physical, emotional and psychological problems then we need to read the Bhagavad Gita. Today, we go to psychologists and therapists for solving emotional and psychological problems.  Emotional health is an important part of overall health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They’re able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships. My recent message ‘’Let us not worry about Struggles in Life, but Learn How to Deal with Them” also deals to solve Physical, Emotional – Psychological Problems. Gita also deals with the same topic, and Bhagavan Krishna is the greatest psychologist.   

 

An excerpt from Gita: 

When a man thinks of objects, "attachment" for them arises; from attachment "desire" is born; from desire arises "anger"--From anger comes "delusion"; from delusion "loss of memory"; from loss of memory the "destruction of discrimination "; from destruction of discrimination, he "perishes. "   

 

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ | smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati 

Anger leads to clouding of judgment, which results in bewilderment of the memory. When the memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined. 

 

Anger impairs judgment, just as the morning mist creates a hazy covering on the sunlight. In anger, people commit mistakes that they later regret, because the intellect gets clouded by the haze of emotions. People say, “He is twenty years elder to me. Why did I speak in this manner to him? What happened to me?” What happened was that the faculty of judgment was affected by anger, and hence the mistake of scolding an elder was made. 

 

When the intellect is clouded, it leads to bewilderment of memory. The person then forgets what is right and what is wrong, and flows along with the surge of emotions. The downward descent continues from there, and bewilderment of memory results in destruction of the intellect. And since the intellect is the internal guide, when it gets destroyed, one is ruined. In this manner, the path of descent from divinity to impiety has been described beginning with contemplation on the sense objects to the destruction of the intellect. 

 

rāga-dveṣha-viyuktais tu viṣhayān indriyaiśh charan | ātma-vaśhyair-vidheyātmā prasādam adhigachchhati || 

But one who controls the mind, and is free from attachment and aversion, even while using the objects of the senses, attains the Grace of God. 

 

The entire downward spiral leading to ruin begins with contemplating happiness in sense objects. Now, the urge for happiness is as natural to the soul as thirst is to the physical body. It is impossible to think “I will not contemplate happiness anywhere,” because it is unnatural for the soul. The simple solution then is to envision happiness in the proper direction, i.e. in God. If we can repeatedly revise the thought that happiness is in God, we will develop attachment toward him. This divine attachment will not degrade the mind like material attachment; rather, it will purify it. God is all-pure, and when we attach our mind to him, the mind will also become pure. 

 

Thus, whenever Shree Krishna asks us to give up attachment and desire, he is referring only to material attachment and desire. Spiritual attachment and desire are not to be given up; in fact, they are most praiseworthy. They are to be cultivated and increased for purification of the mind. The greater the burning desire we develop for God, the purer our mind will become. The jñānīs who propound the worship of the undifferentiated attribute-less Brahman do not understand this point when they recommend giving up all attachments. However, Shree Krishna states: “Those who attach their minds to me with unadulterated devotion rise above the three modes of material nature and attain the level of the supreme Brahman.”    

 

Attachment and aversion are two sides of the same coin. Aversion is nothing but negative attachment. Just as, in attachment, the object of attachment repeatedly comes to one’s mind; similarly, in aversion, the object of hatred keeps popping into the mind. So, attachment and aversion to material objects both have the same effect on the mind—they dirty it and pull it into the three modes of material nature. When the mind is free from both attachment and aversion, and is absorbed in devotion to God, one receives the grace of God and experiences his unlimited divine bliss. On experiencing that higher taste, the mind no longer feels attracted to the sense objects, even while using them. Thus, even while tasting, touching, smelling, hearing, and seeing, like all of us, the sthita prajña is free from both attachment and aversion training body, mind and spirit practicing Yoga. 

  

Krishna being a historic figure was a yogi who sat up every morning for meditation, ‘merging himself with transcendental self’.  Bhagavad Gita is a text that understands the core issue. It does not provide illogical solutions through magic or prayers. Instead, it makes us understand what the real issue and tries to solve it. 

 

Sri Krishna did not solve the problems faced by Arjuna through magic or by just lifting his hands. Instead, he made Arjuna realize what is wrong in his thinking. He made Arjuna realize the truth path. He made Arjuna realize his potential.  

 

And for this reason, Bhagavad Gita is immortal. Human beings may perish but the teachings of Gita will continue to enamor and inspire a more evolved being that might appear after the human beings. 

 

Kurukshetra is this world and we all are Arjunas who are constantly bogged down by numerous problems including physical, emotional and psychological.  Gita provides the solution to overcome these problems. 

However, you spend this weekend, I hope that you’re safe and warm, that you’re able to relax a bit, and that you get to connect and catch up with people you love.   Thanks for making room for me at your table though not physically but mentally.

 

Raja Yoga is the process of mental control, purity, and meditation.  By working through the mind, the practice of Raja Yoga paves a way to discipline, self-control, concentration, mental peace, and inner joy.  

 

Understanding Our Ow Mind

 

Besides going through my above Thought of the Day, go through the discourse of FOWAI Forum from Gopala Krishna K.S.--Webinar-212 UNDERSTANDING OUR OWN MIND, tomorrow. Does K.S. mean Krishna's Spirituality?  

  

Gist of the presentation: 

Entire Raja yoga practice is based on one simple instrument of our experience called mind. Mind constantly changing, moving, thought to thought, and object to object. Process of yoga helps in cessation of thoughts thereby one experiences serenity, calmness, peace and joy. With thought controlled, one can divert mind to any object and achieve mastery. Let us explore what mind is made of? How to master our own mind…..and more. 

 

--November 27, 2021

Out of the Ordinary Happy Thanksgiving  

 

This year’s holiday is more normal than last year’s, before the COVID vaccines have arrived. But it is still is unusual for many families involving some combination of antigen tests, outdoor meals (where the weather allows) and underlying anxiety. With that mind,   I put together a brief history of Thanksgiving celebrations since the 1850’s, focusing on unusual years like this one.    

  

This year’s holiday is more normal than last year’s, before the COVID vaccines had arrived. But it still is unusual for many families, involving some combination of antigen tests, outdoor meals (where the weather allows) and underlying anxiety. However you spend the day, we hope it’s a good one. We want to say thanks specifically to   everybody who’s working today.  

  

The first appearance of the word “thanksgiving”   did not refer to the holiday. It instead was a reference on Oct. 4, 1851, to “an appropriate prayer and thanksgiving” from a reverend at the opening of the Queens County’s annual agricultural exhibition.   

  

Thursday was quite a jubilee in the pleasant village of Jamaica, Long Island.   One unnamed reporter for The New York Daily Times wrote: “The ruddy, manly appearance of the farmers, and the freshness, delicacy, and real natural loveliness of their wives and daughters, (for which the county is justly renowned,) were sights to cheer and amaze the citizen, and many were there to witness and enjoy them.”  

 

The first mention of the holiday occurred less than a week later, in a brief news item reporting that the governor of Massachusetts had declared Thursday, Nov. 27, 1851, as “a day of public thanksgiving and praise.” There was no national Thanksgiving holiday at the time. Other states announced   they would also be observing the holiday that year of questionable value — on Oct. 31, 1851.  

 

The origin story of Thanksgiving that’s often told in school — of a friendly meal between pilgrims and Native Americans — is inaccurate. (As far back as 1974, The Times ran an article describing the holiday as a “national day of mourning” for many Native people.)  

  

The real origin of the national holiday dates to Abraham Lincoln. On Oct. 3, 1863, he called for the country, “in the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity,” to set aside the last Thursday in November as “a day of Thanksgiving.”    

  

While reciting the country’s many blessings — a productive economy, bountiful harvests and a growing economy — Lincoln also recommended that Americans give thanks “with humble disobedience.” Lincoln’s proclamation was in part a response to Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor who had spent decades campaigning for a national day of gratitude.  

  

A pandemic, overlooked: Like this year’s version, Thanksgiving in 1918 occurred in the midst of a global pandemic. But the atmosphere was surprisingly joyous. World War I had ended on Nov. 11, and the country was celebrating, despite a horrific number of influenza deaths in October, predominantly so-called Spanish flu. Thanksgiving Day that year evoked a gratitude deeper, a spirit of reverence more devout, than America has felt for many years. One factor may have been that the pandemic briefly receded that November, before surging again at the end of the year. As has happened over the past two years, a virus ebbed and flowed in mysterious ways.  

  

Depression and recovery: By 1930, the country’s mood was much darker. A front-page headline on Thanksgiving Day that year reported: “450 Tons of Food Given to Needy, But Supply Fails.” The police turned away elderly men and women to reserve the food for families with young children. The Times also reported that the Thanksgiving tradition of ragamuffins — in which children would dress up and go door to door asking for coins or treats — seemed to be fading in Manhattan. “Things aren’t the way they used to be,” a police officer said.  

  

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to spark the economy by moving Thanksgiving one week earlier, to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Critics mocked the policy as “Franksgiving,” and it failed. Roosevelt announced in 1941 that he was abandoning the experiment for the next year. Roosevelt ultimately settled on the fourth Thursday of the month — a middle ground that made sure the holiday would not occur later than Nov. 28 and that Christmas shopping could always begin in November.  

  

Thanksgiving in 1963 came only six days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and most public celebrations were canceled. The Macy’s parade was an exception. The organizers felt its cancellation would be “a disappointment to millions of children.” The Kennedys gathered at the family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., but they skipped their usual game of touch football. Like millions of other Americans, they gave the day of the children and mourn together their loss. 

 

The isolation of 2020: The Covid-19 pandemic arguably caused a bigger break in Thanksgiving traditions than anything that came before. Since Lincoln’s proclamation, even during war, depression and tragedy, most Americans still found ways to gather with family and friends for a holiday meal.  

  

Today will be different. The pandemic is not over, but the worst of it almost certainly is. Vaccines have allowed most Americans to gather safely.  

  

But the threat from a pandemic — better understood in 2020 than it had been in 1918 — caused many people to stay home last year.  

  

The country is hardly in a joyous mood. Even as people are happy to be together again, many are mourning the losses of the past two years and deeply worried about the country’s future. Yet mixed feelings are also part of the Thanksgiving tradition, all the way the back to Lincoln’s proclamation.  

 

However, you spend this weekend, I hope that you’re safe and warm, that you’re able to relax a bit, and that you get to connect and catch up with people you love.   If you’re traveling, I hope your trip is headache-free. Thanks for making room for me at your table mentally if not physically! 

 --November 26, 2021

 

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THANKSGIVING DAY LYRICS

Life is a journey for me, from not knowing to knowing, from not understanding to understanding and from confusion to clarity. This is the Day to thank the Supreme and pay obeisance.    Thanksgiving time is to be thankful, a time to remember, rejoice and to embrace those who enrich our lives. I’m thankful for a lot of things, but I’m most thankful for you for caring and sharing the messages of HINDU REFLECTIONS and occasionally appreciating with a glowing tribute!  

 

I take pleasure in sharing this lyric mentally joining you at the dinner table for this Thanksgiving Day of Mother Earth who is Mother of Nature and Nourishment and Food, besides a wonderful lyric from Dr. Prasad that opens our mind to spirituality and touches the heart

Come, ye thankful people, come!

Raise the song of harvest home; 

All is safely gathered in
ere the winter storms begin. 

Goddess our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied!
Come to Goddesses’ own temple, come!
Raise the song of harvest home. 

  

For the beauty of the Earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies:
Bhudevi our Goddess, to Thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise!

 

I take pleasure in forwarding Asha Ram Prasad's lyrics for this Thanking day of Mother Earth who is Mother of Nature and Nourishment and Food   

 

Asha Ram Prasad's ​Lyrics : 

 

Trekking along with gratitude on this earth/

     I see sprinkled everywhere is God’s Grace/

Holding in hands of divine is everlasting mirth/

   Blessed for all living beings in myriad of ways

Affirming every day in my heart God’s faith/

     I see in my finite journey God’s smiling face/

Nestled all around in Mother Nature’s wreath/

   To share with everyone to enjoy in every place/

Kindling light of gratitude in my heart and soul/

  Graced with love compassion kindness to share   

Singing the praise of the Lord feeling cheerful/

  In every breath in every heartbeat with flare /

Greeting every morning with earnest gratitude/

  For the blessing of another day in my passage/

Invoking the essence of divine in my attitude/

   To fulfill God’s expectation in my life’s voyage/

Voicing my feelings in authenticity being humble/

   To be the spark of divine in my everyday living/

Inscribing words of appreciation to sing in jingle/

    Thanking the life-force for the generous blessing/

Narrating the greatness of God in words and deeds/

   Being thankful for everything that I have on this earth/

Grateful I am for blessed life weaved in holy beads/

    Of friends and family’s love wrapped in wreath/

                                                                   --Asha and Ram

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Let us not worry about Struggles in Life, but Learn How to Deal with Them 

 

I was invited to the celebration ceremony of Narayan Bhat’s Life in Sri Ganesha Temple in Nashville.  I wrote back: 

“Your dearest died because it was his time to die. Circumstances can be an occasion but surely not a cause. The cause is in the Divine's will and nothing can alter it. So, grieve not and surrender your sorrow at the feet of the Divine. He will give you peace and freedom--The Mother"

It is no wonder Sri Ganesha Temple is celebrating "Life of Narayana Bhat" instead of customary observing mourning day!  Dr. Narayan Bhat's dealing with Karma and Conduct in Life had been exemplary.  I believe his mission on earth has been completed after serving Sri Ganesha every day and active participation in "Habitat for Humanity" with a smile ignoring his physical pain and his loved partner. I bow to him wherever I am during this celebration and ever!"

Narayan Bhat had all the wisdom to lead wise life. That takes my thoughts to recall Mother’s Wisdom quotes and a story in Reader’s Digest that I read long back. We cannot avoid accidents and calamities in life based on our past Karma and conduct but must learn lessons from them to lead a wise life.  Our lives are based on divine judgement and will, and not in our hands, but we can influence present life somewhat by leading a wise life. Narayana Bhat knew all these and led a possible wise life, more so after retirement. He was a philanthropist, founder member of temple and rendering service at the temple after retirement as well as focused on public social service. 

I was somewhat influenced by his life style and temple board members and enjoyed the short inspirational stories about real life situations. I too shaped my life style somewhat like Narayana Bhat’s after retirement   moving to Nashville. Sometimes, we learn the greatest life lessons as kids, but we often discard them when we grow and become more sophisticated. We need to remember St. Jerome’s rhyme as we grow old: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”  Solet us not be comfortable with living a good life but turn goodness into greatness by continually developing ourselves, exercising our passions, setting bigger goals, making meaningful impacts on society.

Here is one small snippet that I want to share with you all:

“The story is about a granddaughter taking her grandfather out for the day once she had received her driver's license. She had planned the day well, loaded with things her Grandfather would enjoy, and was on time to pick him up for the day's adventures. 

They were riding together, she driving, and came to an intersection. She stopped, looked both ways and proceeded to go through the intersection, however an approaching car did not. The driver of the oncoming car failed to slow down, proceeded through the intersection without stopping and almost hit the young lady and her Grandfather. 

The granddaughter was extremely shaken, pulled off the road and proceeded to rant and rave about how close they had come to an accident and how dangerous and irresponsible the other driver had been. She looked at her Grandfather and exclaimed, "He has ruined our day". 

The Grandfather looked at her, knowing she was upset, and said, "No, he did not ruin our day, all he did was run through a stop sign. It will be our reaction to him running the stop sign that determines how our day goes." 

The event was caused by an unknown person, the reaction was what determined the following events of the day. 

Many people try to comfort us when we come across a tragedy in life.  One true way to react to this tragedy is to take the event and make it positive. We should take it the right way, not to mourn the dead, but to celebrate the living."

Reader's Digest article, taken to heart, helps to pave the way. It's not the event, it's the reaction to it. 

 

The latest COVID surge is more frightening for older people, especially those in their 80s and 90s. For the oldest age groups, it presents a real risk even after vaccination. It appears to be more dangerous than a typical flu. If you’re anxious about the risks of your Thanksgiving gathering to older people, first insist that anybody in your house be fully vaccinated if eligible. Two, encourage people to get tested — either at a testing center or with an at-home rapid test — before coming. Three, once the day arrives, try to put aside your COVID anxiety and enjoy the holiday. 

 

Here are some wise quotes for dealing wise life handling struggles in life:

 

1. When we are in a hurry, we are inviting trouble. 2. Focusing on what we do not have only brings unhappiness. 3.  We cannot control as to what will happen the next moment but we can develop an attitude that will withstand any storm. 4.  Be our master do not let situations overwhelm us. 5. The world wants too many things from us but the greatest accomplishment is in focusing on what we really want. 7.  Always focus on the toughest job first. 8. Obsession is a mental disorder. It causes only discomfort. 9.  Instead of worrying over little things go out and have fun. 10. It is true we failed a couple of times. Now try with a happier and positive frame of mind. We will not fail. 11. The journey for peace and happiness is often undertaken in the wrong direction. The right direction for this journey is to the inside not outside. 12. Bliss is always with us but unfortunately, we never realize it. 13. Success will elude us if we do not believe in ourselves. 14. We have to start somewhere. We will fail in the beginning. But then who does not fail? Do not stop? Each failure is a stepping-stone to our goal. 15.  No one can escape struggles. All people go through it. Socialize and get to know about their struggles. Share yours. Inspire and get inspired. 16.  We are not ready to move out of our comfort zone. The net result is that we miss golden opportunities. 17. Set small goals. Do not try to achieve everything overnight. Do you have more to add or delete some? 

--November 25, 2021

 

Comments:

Read your whole article is Excellent. Very well written. The 15 life advices were very useful. Thank you very much Sir.

--Nashville Nagarajan

Thank you so much for sharing these pearls of wisdom!

~ Dr. Santosh Venkatraman

 

We are Thankful for giving us lights to guide us! Thanks Uncle!

 

 --Suma and Naveen Srinivas

 

 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and advise

 

-- Dr. Vedavyas

 

 

THANKSGIVING DAY (TGD) IS SPECIAL RELIGIOUS EVENT (SRE) DAY FOR HINDU AMERICANS

 

Thanksgiving celebration now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends for Hindu Americans, after praying to Ishta-devata at the dining table. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous, it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, but that does not fit into Hindu worship.  Many people think Butterball turkeys have butter in them, but they don't. Basically the name came about because of their plump size and golden color. Hindus celebrate TGD as a special SRE Day. For Hindus TGD activity is not segregated from the divine and calls for a religious-social gathering. American Hindus of South Indian origin while joining others in celebrating Thanksgiving rush to the temple to worship their favorite deity on this day, which is also kept open for longer hours, offering dressed cauliflower to look like turkey butterball to the favorite deity to be blessed first and then enjoy it on the dining table with family and friends, joining the Nation. To them celebrating food is no strange tradition coming from North Americans, as they have been celebrating Makara Sankranti as Pongal as harvest and food festival thanking  Devi Mother Nature as fresh crop, in India, celebrated by all.  Kerala of multi-religions was the earliest that progressively turned Hindu religious festival of Onam to a social festival celebrated by all religions. Why not then TGD? Though Popular, Parvati can be Ishta-devata, Bhudevi is   appropriate who is Mother of Nature and Food. Perhaps you are aware of a popular food store in USA that glorifies Mother Earth--“For those who want to life naturally, there is Mother Nature’s Food, Inc.”--they proclaim. Parvati is celebrated in many temples in USA with different   names but there are no temples for Bhudevi. Even in India I have come across a lone temple. The Bhoo Varahaswamy Temple Kallahalli is dedicated to the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Varahaswamy or the wild boar form.

 

The COVID rising situation is more frightening for older people, especially those in their 80s and 90s. For the oldest age groups COVID presents a real risk even after vaccination. The situation is more frightening for older people, especially those in their 80s and 90s. For the oldest age groups, COVID presents a real risk even after vaccination. It appears to be more dangerous than a typical flu. As a result, older Americans need protection during a surge. (The same is also true of a small percentage of younger people with specific COVID, like organ-transplant recipients.) The most effective way to protect vulnerable people is through vaccination — not only of them but also of others who might infect them. This should be kept in mind for this religious-social gathering.

 

Here are their popular Ishta-devatas for TGD:

 

Madurai Meenakshi 

The idol of Mother Goddess Madurai Meenakshi worshipped in the world famous Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is carved from Marakatham or emerald (bluish green color gemstone). 

 

Madurai Meenakshi (Goddess Parvati) is depicted with a green body color. This is because she represents moola prakriti or in simple terms primordial nature. She is the personification of Mother Nature – everything is born, lives and undergoes transformation in her. Life begins and ends in her. As Green is the color of life, she is depicted having a green body color.  

 

Without mother there is no life. Without life there is nothing in this universe. It is because of her blessing that there is life and there is food to nourish and sustain life. Green color represents both life and food. Thus, Madurai Meenakshi unites with Shiva (Purusha) and life begins. She sustains all life forms until each life form transforms to another form (which we ignorantly refer as death). There is no end in pure nature there is only transformation. One becomes food for another and life continues. All this happens when Goddess Madurai Meenakshi wishes. 

 

Annapurna, Annapurneshwari or Annada   

Annapūrṇa in Sanskrit means “one filled with or possessed of food”.  She is an aspect of Devi Adishakti and is known as the Hindu Goddess of food and nourishment. Worship and offering of food (anna dana) are highly praised in Hinduism, and therefore, the Goddess Annapurna is regarded as a popular deity. She is a manifestation of the Goddess Parvati, the wife of Shiva,  and is eulogized in the Ananda Mangal lyrics in Bengali by Bharatchandra Ray.  The Annapurna Sahasranama is dedicated to the Goddess and praises her 1008 names, while the Annapurna Shatanama Stotram is dedicated to her 108 names. 

 

A few temples exist that are dedicated to her, the most prominent being the Annapurna Devi Mandir in Varanasi,   like Bhudevi temple in Mysore in Karnataka.

 

I talked out Annabhishekam of Sivalinga in Hindu Temples. Abhishekam (Hydration Pooja) is the process of bathing the deity. “Annam” means rice and Anna Abhishekam denotes bathing the deity with cooked rice (symbolizing joining with Parvati as in Ardhanareeswara). This divine ritual is performed on the Full Moon day in the Tamil month of Aippasi (mid-Oct to mid-Nov). Although there are a variety of Abhishekams performed in India, this particular ceremony is performed on Lord Shiva in the form of Shiva Lingam, in all South Indian Shiva temples is most sacred, pleasing Shiva. Performing this ritual once a year can help you get rid of all the problems in your life. This ceremony is also known as Shiva Abhishekam or Maha Anna Abhishekam and is conducted in many Shiva temples throughout South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that one’s mind is a resemblance of the food he consumes. To signify the significance and divine role of rice in one’s life, Anna Abhishekam is performed annually. 

 

Anna Abhishekam acts as a gesture of gratitude to Lord Shiva, who is the sole protector of nature's five elements and all life forms on earth. Besides, rice is an outcome of the union of the five elements of nature. When the seed is sown in the land, it is nourished by water from the sky, fire (energy) from the Sun and is transformed into paddy with the help of wind. This is processed into rice and is fed to all living entities. Such is the significance of Anna Abhishekam. 

Annapurna, Ardhanareeswara, and Emerald Madurai Meenakshi remind us of the aspects of Parvati and greatness of Earth, Nature’s green crop and food. It is therefore appropriate to worship Parvati as presiding deity on Thanksgiving Day and also perform Annabhishekam to Abhishekapriya Lord Shiva on Thanksgiving Day which is His most favored Abhisheka. Parvati is worshiped as green emerald idol in Madurai and Annapurni in Varanasi, her aspects. 

 

Anna Sthuti in Mahanarayana Upanishad:

 

yābhirādityastapati raśmibhistābhiḥ parjanyo varṣatiparjanyenauṣadhi vanaspatayaḥ prajāyanta oṣadhivanaspatibhirannaṁ bhavatyannena prāṇāḥ prāṇairbalaṁ balenatapastapasā śraddhā śraddhayā medhā medhayā manīṣā manīṣayā mano manasā śāntiḥ śāntyā chittaṁ chittena smṛtiḥ smṛtyā smāraɱ smāreṇa vijñānaṁ vijñānenātmānaṁ vedayati tasmād annaṁ dadansarvāṇyetāni daat yannāt-prāṇā bhavanti bhūtānāṁ prāṇair-mano manasaścha vijñānaṁ vijñānādānando brahma yoniḥ    

Those rays by which the sun gives heat, the same rays transform water into rain-cloud which showers the rain. By the rain-cloud herbs and trees come into existence From-herbs and trees Food is produced. By the use of Food, the breaths and senses are nourished. When the life- breath is nourished, one gets bodily strength. Bodily strength gives the capacity to practice tapas (in the shape of self-control, religious fast, and so forth). As the result of such tapas, faith in scriptural truths springs into existence. By faith mental power comes. By mental power sense-control is made possible. By sense-control reflection is engendered. From reflection calmness of mind results. Conclusive experience of Truth follows calmness. By conclusive experience of Truth remembrance of It is engendered. Remembrance produces continuous remembrance. From continuous remembrance results unbroken direct realization of Truth. By such realization a person knows the Ātman. 

 

Annapurne sadapurne Sankara pranavallabhe | jnana vairagya sidhyartham bhiksham dehicha Parvati || 

Replete with Food, perfect at all times, beloved charmer of Sankara’s life, O Parvati, give me alms for fulfilment of knowledge and detachment!

Prithvi, the Mother Earth, represents the feminine, creative and transformative energy of the Universe. She makes our life possible and sustains it. And in worshipping her we worship Shakti the Cosmic energy that pervades the Universe--Nithyapushta kareeshinee; Iswaree sarvabhootanam.  

 

The name “Shailaputri” literally means the daughter (putri) of mountain (shaila). Variously known as Sati Bhavani, Parvati or Hemavati, the daughter of Himavat - the King of the Himalayas who himself sprung out of Mother Earth, who can be called Bhuputra. In reality, Parvati whose sanctums are very popular with many names is the grand-daughter of Bhudevi, for whom sanctums are very rare. Bhudevi is invariably glorified as consort of Vishnu in all Vishnu processional deities.  Prithvee Linga may be Rudra.  Rudra is one in Trinity form of Brahman in Vedas. Shiva of puranas , may be an avatar of Rudra who married Parvati, called Shaila Putri, popularly worshipped as Mother Earth,  though granddaughter of Bhudevi. Bhudevi  is appropriate to be worshipped as Mother Earth. If Shiva is Rudra, then, did he start polygamy or polyandry tradition, marrying celebrated Vishnupatni, Bhudevi that encouraged Draupadi to marry Pacha Pandavas in Dvapara Yuga?

 

Please also go through my discourse: 

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2020/11/thanksgiving-celebration-is-all-about.html 

 

Thanksgiving Day 2021 

Thanksgiving Day, as an annual event, started in Western culture as a religious day that turned these days to a social event and family get-together of fun and frolic in USA. India of multi-culture had no hesitation in joining other countries in celebrating this as an annual event. Today, many countries in the world celebrate this annual event to make it an International event. USA is the earliest to make this day as a National Day that inspired other countries and turned it to social event of get-together and enjoy festival meal with family and friends.  

 

I believe, even Western cultures are inspired by Hinduism including USA.  For Hindus, every day is Thanksgiving Day, paying obeisance the Supreme who brought us to this world with five vital forces Prana, Apana, Udana, Vyana and Samana that regulate the life. We pay obeisance to them with Swaha mantra as deities. 

 

The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival of India is called Thai Pongal (or Ponkal). The four-day January festival was traditionally held in praise of the Sun God, and   has a history that runs back more than ten centuries. There are other similar festivals throughout India, including Makara Sankranti on the Hindu calendar, and Puspuni, which hails from the Indian state of Odisha. Rice is central to all the celebrations; a key event in Thai Pongal is the ceremonial boiling of the first rice of the harvest season.

 

Upanishads also include Annastuti mantra. It says, vital forces and senses   are from food that are Brahman’s (Supreme Being) lieutenants. Hence, first five morsels of food are offered to  Jatharagni, an aspect of Brahman, with prayer before enjoying the meal. Hindus also worship Annapoorna, the deity of food. Annapoorna is an aspect of Devi Adishakti and is known as the Hindu Goddess of food and nourishment.

 

On the fourth Thursday of November, many Americans gather around the table with their families and fill their plates with turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing—but why? In this episode of On This Day, Encyclopedia Britannica's Kurt Heintz explores the true history that lies beneath the myths and mysteries of this American custom (with a few glances at what Canadians do too).  

 

To know more about Thanksgiving Please recall my discourses: 

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2013/11/hindu-american-thoughts-on-thanksgiving.html

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-day-celebration-in-hindu_28.html

The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution.  After 1798, the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance.  Southerners were slow to adopt a New England custom, and others took offense over the day’s being used to hold partisan speeches and parades. A national Thanksgiving Day seemed more like a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force. 

 

Thanksgiving Day did not become an official holiday until Northerners dominated the federal government. While sectional tensions prevailed in the mid-19th century, the editor of the popular magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, Sarah Josepha Hale, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving Day to promote unity. She finally won the support of President Abraham Lincoln. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. 

The holiday was annually proclaimed by every president thereafter, and the date chosen, with few exceptions, was the last Thursday in November. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, attempted to extend the Christmas shopping season, which generally begins with the Thanksgiving holiday, and to boost the economy by moving the date back a week, to the third week in November. But not all states complied, and, after a joint resolution of Congress in 1941, Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1942 designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. 

As the country became more urban and family members began to live farther apart, Thanksgiving became a time to gather together. The holiday moved away from its religious roots to allow immigrants of every background to participate in a common tradition. Thanksgiving Day football games, beginning with Yale versus Princeton in 1876, enabled fans to add some rowdiness to the holiday. In the late 1800s parades of costumed revelers became common. In 1920 Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia staged a parade of about 50 people with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession. Since 1924 the annual Macy’s parade in New York City has continued the tradition, with huge balloons since 1927. The holiday associated with Pilgrims and Native Americans has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family. 

When the leaves start falling and the shops are stocked with pumpkins, that’s when you know that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Unlike other holidays that are more gift-focused, Thanksgiving is centered on giving thanks for what we have and the special people in our lives. It’s a time to catch up with loved ones, sit around the table and share one of the most delicious meals of the year.  Whether you are near or far from your loved ones this Thanksgiving, there are so many ways to share just how much you care with these thoughtful Thanksgiving wishes and messages for everyone in your life. We are sharing greetings that are perfect for friends, coworkers and even for families that won’t be seeing each other this year due to the pandemic. However, we spend our Thanks- giving, we must be sure to show our gratitude to those that we are most grateful for in our lives! 

 

This year testing for virus before your Thanksgiving dinner or before you go for, Thanksgiving could have a huge impact if everyone actually did it,” Nichols says. “If it's accessible and you can afford it and if you really want to reduce the risk of transmission on Thanksgiving, it is essential. 

 

Each precautionary measure is a layer of protection that can be combined to make Thanksgiving as safe as possible. No single layer is perfect, including vaccines. Wen suggests looking at case rates every day like a weather report and thinking of vaccines like raincoats. 

 

“If you are in a drizzle, it will protect you very well and chances are you're not going to get wet,” she says. “But if you are in a thunderstorm, and if you are in multiple thunderstorms all the time, at some point you're going to get wet.” 

Life is a journey for me, from not knowing to knowing, from not understanding to understanding and from confusion to clarity. This is the Day to thank the Supreme and pay obeisance.  November 2021 is the Diwali month that ennobles and enlightens us for Thanksgiving time to be thankful, a time to remember, rejoice and to embrace those who enrich our lives. I’m thankful for a lot of things, but I’m most thankful for you for caring and sharing the messages of HINDU REFLECTIONS and occasionally appreciating with a glowing tribute! 

--November 21, 2021

 

 

 

KARMA AND CONDUCT- PHYSICAL & MENTAL FUNCTIONS (KAAYA VAACHA MANASA INDRIYA)

Karma Bhumi is a Sanskrit term that translates as “land of action.” Bhumi means “earth,” “country” or “land,” while karma is typically defined as “action” or “activity.” In Jainism and Hinduism, what constitutes Karma Bhumi varies depending on the tradition, but always refers to some sort of earthly plane.

The law of karma refers to the concept of one's actions -- both good and bad -- affecting one's destiny or fate in the future and in subsequent lives. Because karma is rooted in the belief systems of India, karma Bhumi is sometimes used as a synonym for India or the Indian subcontinent.

In Indian philosophy, the universe is divided into realms or regions, which vary in number but include some sort of heavenly world, earthly world and underworld. The earthly world, called martya or Bhu-loka, is sometimes referred to in its entirety as Karma Bhumi, or the place where good and bad actions reap karma. The other worlds, or lokas, are collectively referred to as Bhoga Bhumi.

In Jainism, the world inhabited by humans is divided into zones, three of which – bharat kshetra, mahavideh kshetra and airavat kshetra – comprise Karma Bhumi. In Karma Bhumi, Jain doctrine is preached and the faithful live an austere life in order to obtain liberation. In the other zones, people live a life of pleasure with no sin and, therefore, no need for religion.

The living beings take birth again according to their Karma and conduct, they get a certain kind of body that is most suitable for the type of consciousness they have developed. Therefore, according to the Padma Purana, there are 8,400,000 species of life, each offering a particular class of body for whatever kind of desires and consciousness the living being may have in this world. In this way, the living entity is the son of his past and the father of his future. Thus, he is presently affected by his previous life’s activities and creates his future existence by the actions he performs in this life. A person will reincarnate into various forms of bodies that are most suitable for the living entity’s consciousness, desires, and for what he deserves. So the living being inevitably continues in this cycle of birth and death and the consequences for his various good or bad activities as long as he is materially motivated.

What creates good or bad karma is also the nature of the intent behind the action. If one uses things selfishly or out of anger, greed, hate, revenge, etc., then the nature of the act is of darkness. One will incur bad karma from it that will later manifest as reversals in life, painful events, disease or accidents. While things that are done for the benefit of others, out of kindness and love, with no thought of return, or for worshiping God, are all acts of goodness and piety, which will bring benefit or good fortune to you. However, if you do something bad that happens because of an accident or a mistake, without the intent to do any harm to others, the karma is not so heavy. Maybe you were meant to be an instrument in someone else’s karma, which is also yours. It will take into consideration your motivation. Yet the greater the intent or awareness of doing something wrong, the greater the degree of negative reaction there will be. So it is all based on the intent behind the action.

We should understand that, essentially, karma is for correcting a person, not for mere retribution of past deeds. The universe is based on compassion. Everyone has certain lessons and ways in which he must develop, and the law of karma actually directs one in a manner to do that. Nonetheless, one is not condemned to stay in this cycle of repeated birth and death forever. There is a way out. In the human form one can acquire the knowledge of spiritual realization and attain release from karma and further rounds of birth and death. This is considered to be the most important achievement one can accomplish in life. This is why every religious process in the world encourages people who want freedom from earthly existence not to hanker for material attachments or sensual enjoyments which bind them to this world, but to work towards what can free them from further cycles of birth and death.

All karma can be negated when one truly aspires to understand or realize the higher purpose in life and spiritual truth. When one reaches that point, his life can be truly spiritual, which gives eternal freedom from change. By striving for the Absolute Truth, or for serving God in devotional service, especially in Jnanayoga turned to Bhakti-yoga, a person can reach the stage in which he is completely relieved of all karmic obstacles or responsibilities. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (18.66): “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.”

Without being trained in this spiritual science, it is very difficult to understand how the living being leaves his body or what kind of body he will get in the future, or why there are various species of life which accommodate all the living entities’ innumerable levels of consciousness. As related in the Bhagavad Gita, those who are spiritually ignorant cannot understand how a living entity can depart the body at the time of death, nor can they understand what kind of body he or she will enjoy while under the influence of the modes of nature. However, one who has been trained in knowledge can perceive this.

Please let us see what ancient sage Karsajini said about karma and conduct in Brahma Sutra and explains why souls return to earth the land we are born and act to exhaust residual sin.   Karsnajini is an ancient sage cited in Brahma Sutra on karma and conduct. He is referred to in Brahmasutra (III.1.9) of Badarayana and is represented there as holding the view that the departed souls after residing in heaven come back to earth with their residual acts (karma). This view accords with that of Shankara too.

The question that is raised in this aphorism of Brahmasutra (III-1.9), whether the departed souls, after experiencing in heaven the fruits of their actions during their lives on earth, come back with any residual action or without any such residue.

The prima facie view is that they descend to the Earth without any residue, as the scripture (Chandogya Upanishad, V-10.5; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV-4-6) declares that the souls reside in heaven till their karma is exhausted. The same texts also states that souls when they return are born as human beings or animals according to their good or bad conduct.

Some ancient sages were of the view that even though all the karma is exhausted by one’s stay in heaven, rebirth on earth is brought about by residual action. They thus make a distinction between actions and conduct.

Sage Karsnajini is quoted as rebutting this view. He says that the word akarana (conduct) used in the text should be construed as implying only moral actions (karma) and not conduct. Thus, akarana brings about only corresponding nuances in one’s karma, which directly determines destiny. So karma is the main cause of birth. Conduct is only a contributory factor. Sage Karsnajini concludes that, therefore, souls return to the earth after their stay in heaven with their residual karma, not after exhausting such residue.

--November 20, 2021

 

 

INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY

International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19, and is marked in 80 countries including India, to recognize and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day are set out in 'All the Six Pillars of International Men's Day'. It is an occasion to celebrate boys' and men's achievements and contributions, in particular for their contributions to nation, union, society, community, family, marriage, and childcare. The broader and ultimate aim of the event is to promote basic humanitarian values, as well as awareness towards men's issues.

The six key pillars of International Men’s Day are set out below:

(1) To promote positive male role models; not just movie stars and sports men but every day, working-class men who are living decent, honest lives.

(2) To celebrate men’s positive contributions; to society, community, family, marriage, child care, and to the environment

(3) To focus on men’s health and wellbeing; social, emotional, physical and spiritual.

(4) To highlight discrimination against males; in areas of social services, social attitudes and expectations, and law

(5) To improve gender relations and promote gender equality.

(6) To create a safer, better world; where people can be safe and grow to reach their full potential.

International Men's Day is an opportunity for people to appreciate and celebrate the men in their lives. International Men's Day was founded in 1999 by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, a history lecturer at University of the West Indies in Trinidad Tobago. However, the day is not only a celebration of the positive role of men in society but also an attempt to promote gender equality. To that end, "Better relations between men and women" is the theme for International Men's Day 2021.You put your family above your own self. You work hard so we can live well. Thank you for all that you do. Happy International Men's Day!

"A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's night, an inspiration and a prophecy." - Robert Green Ingersoll.

--November 19, 2021

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 Happy Men’s Day!

--A.S. Narayana

 

 

Importance of Karthika Deepam

 

Karthigai Deepam 2021 date is November 19. The main event of the day is the lighting of traditional oil lamps in the evening after sunset. Karthigai is the name of one of the stars or Nakshatras and deepam is the term for light or diya in Tamil.  Tiruvannamalai Karthigai Maha Deepam is held on the evening of November 19, 2021. 

On the day, temples, homes and streets are decorated with traditional oil lamps. Special pujas and prayers are held in temples on the day. The famous Tiruvannamalai Bharani Deepam is held during the period. 

The lighting of lamp is an auspicious symbol and it is believed to usher in peace and prosperity. 

The day is also known a; Vaikhanasa Deepam;Pancharatra Deepam;Chokka Panai and Yanai Pandigai. 

In Kerala, the festival is known as Thrikarthika or Karthika Vilakku and is held in the month of Vrischika (November – December). 

 

Importance of Karthigai Deepam  

Karthigai Deepam is also observed as Bharani Deepam and Vishnu Deepam in Tamil Nadu and is an auspicious day for both Shaivites and Vaishnavites. 

 

Talk about Karthigai Deepam and the picture that comes to mind is that of rows and rows of lamps or ‘vilakku’. On this day, every Hindu home lights the traditional Vilakku (diyas) in the evening. Locally, these lamps are known as ‘agal vilakku.’ 

The day is also highly auspicious for Lord Muruga devotees as he was taken care by the six Krittika stars and the celebrations on Karthigai commemorate his divine birth. In popular Tamil belief, Karthigai Nakshatra is the birthday of Murukan. 

 

Karthigai Deepam is celebrated as Tirukarttikai in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and in other parts of the world which has Tamil population. People light lamps outside their home.  

 

Especially in Tiruvannamalai, rows of lamps are lighted on the hill and this is most popular Karthigai Deepam. 

The lighted lamp is an auspicious symbol and it is believed to usher in prosperity and joy.

 

Greatness of Karthigai Deepam Explained by Kanchi Maha Periyava 

We light up a series of earthen lamps on the day of Karthigai or Kruttika Nakshatram in the month of Karthigai. At that time, we have to sing this sloka as given in the shastras: 

Keetah patangah mashakah cha vrukshah | jale sthale ye nivasanti jivah ||

drushtva pradeepam na cha janma bhajah | sukhinah bhavantu svapachah hi viprah ||

 

"We pray that, whosoever sees this lamp that we are lighting, they be worms, birds or mosquitoes or trees and such plants; all life forms which live in water or on earth; or may be human beings of whatever caste or creed; seeing this light may have the effect on them that all their sins are washed away and they may transcend the cycle of life and death and reach everlasting happiness!"

Ghanandkareshu deepadarshanam--in our darkness of life he appeared as light to guide us on this day that we celebrate. Upanishad mantra says:Tamaso  maa jyotir gamaya--“Lead me to the enlightenment destroying darkness in life (ignorance) created by our actions, thoughts and understanding” on this earth.  The state of awareness about the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent power (Atman) presented inside us is the enlightenment we seek in this prayer on this day, by lighting the wick of the mud lamp.

 

Ramana Maharshi has also composed a Tamil verse to explain the significance of the Karthigai Deepam that is lit on the Arunachala Hill every year. Meaning of his Tamil stanza is as follows: 

The true significance of seeing the flame (Karthigai Deepam) on Annamalai, which is the Heart center of the world, is realizing the Light of the Real Self that is one without a second, after discarding the notion ‘I am this body’ and making the mind abide in the Heart by attending to the source of the mind (through Self-enquiry and meditation). 

 

This South Indian festival is similar to the Dev Diwali celebrations in North India. As per the legend associated with Karthigai Deepam, Lord Shiva appeared as an endless source of light on this day to eliminate ignorance. On this day, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu apparently argued over each other's supremacy. Therefore, to remind them that ignorance, pride, and ego lead to one's downfall, Lord Shiva appeared as an infinite flame of light. Therefore, people light lamps that symbolize miniature versions of this form of Lord Shiva. It is also believed to be the day when Lord Murugan (also known as Kartikeya) came into being. On this auspicious day, share the Happy Karthigai Deepam wishes and greetings with your family and friends:

Aanai Pandige Kartikai is an important festival of Iyengars. The festival is to honor the avatar of Gajalakshmi. On this day she was born and the elephants performed Tirumanjanam (ceremonial bath). This day is also celebrated as Kiru (small) Deepavali.

 

Sarvajne Sarva Varade Sarva Dushta Bhayankari | Sarva Duhkha Hare Devi Mahaa Lakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Devi Mahaalaksmi, who is the embodiment of knowledge, giver of all boons, a terror to all the wicked, remover of all sorrows, obeisance to Thee. 

This Karthigai Deepam day, May Lord Shiva Murugan and Gajalakshmi remove all the negativities from your life. May you be showered with happiness, good health, wealth and good luck—a very happy Karthigai Deepam to you and your family! May Lord Murugan shower you with his choicest blessings and may you get rid of all your sorrows and agony this Karthigai Deepam day. May Gajalakshmi remove all our sorrows and shower us with all-round material wealth to care and share and spiritual wealth enlighten!

 

• Please also go through my discourses on Kartik Purnima:

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/12/kartigai-deepamkaartik-poornima.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2013/11/elephant-festival-of-iyengars-of.html

 

--November 18, 2021

 

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Deepam Jyothi Parabrahmam | Deepam Sarva Thamobaham | Deepane Saathyatha Sarvam | Santhyaa Deepa Nasmosthu Te ||

“Ulagile santi nilavavendum’’--D. K. Pattammal composed this famous song.  It was played all over Tamil Nadu.

Sir, Twam Sajeeva Sardassadam.

--Dr. Govinda Nagarajan

--November 19, 2021

 

 

 

Free Webinar - Autobiography of a Yogi by Phil Goldberg

“Yogananda's iconic memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi - a book that changed millions of lives, perhaps including yours - was published almost exactly 75 years ago. I've written articles and am doing interviews about its enormous impact, and sharing information that's not in Yogananda's book.
This Sunday, 11/21, at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, I'll be doing a FREE WEBINAR sponsored by Hindu American University. It's a preview of a 10-lesson course I'll be starting in January, in which we'll dive deeply into every chapter of the seminal Autobiography”--writes Phil Goldberg.

I was attracted to a letter to the editor of Tennessean titled “Shirt sleeve to Shirt Sleeves” on Father's Day some years back.  I also remembered then one of our rich and affluent philanthropists and his book Gym 3 presentation in which he touches on the background of his family history. The letter in Tennessean read: "My parents are approaching their 80's, and I'd like to recommend to seniors that a cherished gift to their children and grandchildren would be a journal or family history book written by them describing their child-hood memories and early married years. So many funny stories and historical markers of an earlier time--before computers and fax machines --will be lost if they are not shared..... ...The family history can be passed from one generation to the next, and I cannot think of a more special gift"--reads the letter.  Spontaneous response by a reader says: "That is a splendid idea. However, I would urge children and grand-children not to wait for the family history, but to wait to interview their parents and grandparents now, with a pencil in hand. Better yet, if possible, use a video recorder". 

I strongly advise you too should leave behind such a memoir for future generation after reading this message of Phil Goldberg. My own autobiography runs to beyond 700 pages though I have not become a celebrated figure to share with you. Go through his message and participate in the Webinar.

 

--November 18, 2021

 

Comments:
 

With my knowledge of computer almost next to nothing। When I retired (for second time in 2004 at age 66) decided to attend a 3 months course in GNNIT  for learning Computer in Thane !! With help from my eldest daughter Aparna, my first project was to start my blog --- apkoilns.blogspot.com--- My first page is Family genealogical tree-- and Next is ---Our Family History-- I had taken help from my second eldest brother who was 13 years older than me for factual editing. The job continues. Anecdotes which relate to periods before my birth have been covered so far!! Happy to say, one of the scions of the family, my second eldest brother's grandson, found it interesting to go through. Incidentally he too is in USA!!

 

Just to say, your suggestion in your e-mail I have been following through intuition, already!!

 

I Replied:

Wonderful! My memoirs cover completely my family background as Kadambi. My children do not carry family prename as they were christened when born in the house by my father-in-law who did not like Nadipurams nor had any idea of Kadambis of great Ramanuja origin. It looks as though I started the family-tree after migrating to USA as my grand -children carry my name as suffixes instead Iyengar as my name had and no family suffix in my name which is a sub-caste indicative.  You see how history changes! I shared my ten chapters of memoirs with my sisters and an American close friend and boss as I retired. It is interesting for you to see his reaction. Chapter 11 continues carrying present history and events including Kamala as vice president!

"I scanned your memoir while in bed last night. I had a hard time putting it down. I remembered many of the stories you wrote about, as you had shared them with me during our times together.  

Your life has been a challenging adventure guided by a purpose to provide for your family. As I said to you years ago, you should never measure your success in life by your bank account, but by the thriving success of your children and now, grand-children. I could have been a richer man today, but I chose to leave the money in the business. When the challenges of 9/11, the Great Recession and now the Pandemic arose, the business was able to survive or even thrive.  

This financial discipline has allowed it to flourish under the new style entrepreneurship and leadership of my children. I have my story of teaching my children about leadership and commitment in the story of “From potato farmer to potato farmer in three generations”. I will share this with you one day and how we successfully transitioned from the second to third generation in our family business. It was not so easy for our family business transitioning from the first to second generation, and I learned the lesson to prepare and plan for succession. 

As I read your memoir, I note your reference to your faith and gratitude for its blessings. I, too, have a strong faith and I am grateful for God’s blessings upon me and my family and our family business. My faith has gotten me through some tough times. My history has been filled with some very difficult challenges; some you know. I am grateful you have walked with me through some of the peaks and valleys of my life and I consider you a dear friend. Stay well. God bless you and your family.” 

 

Sapthagireesan replied:

Interesting to see the contents of your mail, the reactions of your co-born in particular.

Since mine has been in public domain open to all who are interested in perusing my blog, I could even embody such reactions at relevant places as and when received. Nice diversion!

‑‑A N Sapthagireesan

 

 

 REFLECTIONS ON BODY, MIND & SPIRIT IN HINDUISM

 

A Collection of Hindu Religious Teachings

The one God who exists in subtle form in all beings pervades all and is the inner Self of all beings. He dwells in all beings; he is the witness; he is the intelligent principle; he is pure; and, he is bereft of all qualities. (Svetasvatara Upanishad, VI. 11)

If the water of the lake is full of waves and the water itself muddy, the bottom of the lake is not visible. However, when the waves are subsided and the water is clean, we can clearly see the bottom of the lake. Similarly, when all thought waves are controlled and the mind becomes pure, free from past impressions, Samskaras, then our real spiritual nature is revealed. To control thought waves one has to practice meditation and to purify the mind one must practice detachment.

Just as a spider weaves its net from the materials of its own body, so does Ishwara created this universe out of Himself.

The ego identifies himself with casual bodies undergoes various sufferings and strives for liberation.

That intense love which the ignorant bear towards the objects of this world: may I have that same intensity of love for Bhagavan!

One may be indifferent to the enjoyments of this world only in expectation of better enjoyments in the next. This kind of indifference is tainted with desires, which bar the door to knowledge. But the indifference that results from a due deliberation on the evanescent nature of this world as well as the world to come, is alone pure and productive of the highest good.

In this ever-changing world there is one changeless being as witness of these changes. This permanent ever-seeing being is Atman. Perfection in any form is the manifestation of the Divine.

 

God in His mercy has withheld the knowledge of the past from people. If they knew that they were virtuous, they will grow proud; contrariwise, they will be depressed. Do you know the present life so well that you wish to know the past? Why do you wish to burden yourself with more knowledge and suffer more? 

 

He who sees Himself as free from the body (idea) knows it not even when the body is cut asunder, in just the same way as the sugar candy whether dried in fire or cut remains sweet. Just as the wife carried on with the house-hold chores though ever doting on her husband, so too the Jnani remains ever in the Supreme State though engaged in activity.

 

Non Attachment does not mean indifference; Love does not mean attachment;

Attachment is that which takes; Love is that which gives.

 

About your worldly troubles you must do as you think best yourself, but it is good policy to keep out from other's plates however sweet and inviting it looks. Both sugar and arsenic are white.

 

When a soul turns his mind towards the Divine the following two things will happen — first he will get some joyful experience, which shows that he is on the right path and that he is progressing. Second when the asuric (demonic) forces see that he is progressing they will put every possible obstacle before the sadhaka in the form of worldly troubles, mental botherations and sex urge. 

 

In the course of sadhana — Maya comes to a sincere soul first in the form of worldly troubles, second in the form of diseases and thirdly in the form of dear friends to keep him away from the quest. Our mind is the greatest cheater in this world, it will create thousands of different reasons to go its own way. There are three ways to handle this cheater who is nothing but a bundle of thoughts creeping up in the conscious mind. First to treat him as a friend and give him full satisfaction. This is a very long and tiresome way because he is never satisfied. Secondly to treat him as an enemy and with all your force try to get rid of him. This is only possible by the grace of the Divine because the mind has two very powerful weapons which are the discriminating intellect and the second the imaginative faculty. These two fellows can convince even God Himself that black is white. The third way is to treat him as a patient or rather several patients coming and troubling him with their different kinds of diseases. 

 

The main thing with worship is not what we worship, but that we worship and if we have got love we can easily surrender the feeling of "I" which is the wall between ourselves and God.

 

The greatest service to humanity is Self-Enquiry and the greatest remedy for this world is Self-Realization but that does not mean we should not do anything for others. . . . As long as we have not got the power to withdraw the mind from the objects of sense perception we should do and must do whatever we can for others. Selfless activity will soon give the power of introversion but when the mind once has become introverted, we should not spoil what we have gained by outward activity.

 

If the ego is allowed to play with our emotions it is capable of causing havoc. Only by drawing the ego to its source even the saddest feeling is converted into Ananda.

 

Please go through my discourse “What we call ind

 Hinduism Today was Universal Religion in the Past”:

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2019/03/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Hinduism: Basic Beliefs

The fundamental teaching of Hinduism, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul.

 What do Hindus believe and practice?

The fundamental teaching of Hinduism, or Vedanta, is that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. This spirit is within us and also within everything we see. All beings and all things are really, in their deepest essence, this pure or divine spirit, full of peace, full of joy and wisdom, ever united with God. This is not just theory, but it can actually be experienced. Anyone who takes the trouble to undergo the necessary training to purify and refine the mind and senses can begin to feel the truth of this. This training can take various forms and is known as yoga ("union"- union of the individual self with this inner spirit).

There are four main types of yoga, meant for the four main types of human temperaments: 

Karma Yoga or the discipline of right actions is for those of active temperament, striving to eliminate selfishness, and to cultivate universal sympathy by seeing the divine reality in all.

Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion to God whose presence can be felt in all things. God can be worshipped as present in an image in a Temple. God can be worshipped also as present in suffering humanity by service. 

Jnana Yoga, preferred by those of analytical bent of mind, is the discipline of trying to see the divine reality within all things directly, by mentally brushing aside all the obstructing physical and mental coverings that hide it.

Raja Yoga is the process of mental control, purity, and meditation.  By working through the mind, the practice of Raja Yoga paves a way to discipline, self-control, concentration, mental peace, and inner joy.

 

ESSENCE OF UPANISHADIC KNOWLEDGE, A LEGACY TO HUMANITY

In the ancient wisdom texts called the Upanishads, illumined sages share flashes of insight, the result of their investigation into consciousness itself. In extraordinary visions, they experience directly a transcendent Reality which is the essence called Self, of each created being. They teach us that each of us, each Self, is eternal, deathless, one with the power that created the universe. Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in different ways to the reader’s head and heart.  The Upanishads belong not just to Hinduism, philosophy of the people of protracted ancient geographic region. They are India’s precious legacy to humanity. Embodying the wisdom of ancient mystics, the Upanishads form the core of India’s most sacred scriptures and constitute the highest authority for all spiritualists, not confined to compartmentalized religious followers, seeking path of Dharma.

 

The Vedas are the core scriptures of Hinduism and the Upanishads are texts which form the philosophical essence of the Vedas. The Upanishads are collectively called the Vedanta. Literally, Vedanta means ‘end of the Vedas’ and indeed, many of these texts are found at the end of each of the four Vedas. The Upanishads are also the end or culmination of the Vedas in the sense that they embody the highest philosophical knowledge of the Vedas. ‘The essence of the knowledge of the Vedas was called by the name of Vedanta, which comprises the Upanishads

 

We hear of 108 Upanishads, ten of which are especially important because they were selected for commentary by Adi Shankaracharya. There is a traditional shloka which lists these major Upanishads –‘Isha-Kena-Katha-Prashna Munda-Mandukya Tittirih Aitereyam ca Chhandogyam Brhadaryankam tatha’ 

 

Often these Upanishads are in the form of dialogues between sages and truth-seekers. For example in the Mundaka Upanishad, the enquirer, Shaunaka asks the sage Angirasa--‘Sir, what is that, which becoming known, everything here becomes known?’ In the Katha Upanishad, a little boy, Nachiketa asks about what, if anything, survives death – and he asks this to none other than Yama, Lord of Death! Let us go straight into the heart of the Upanishads. What is their central message to us?

 

You are Pure Existence

In the sixth chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad, we find a dialogue between a sage and his son, Shvetaketu. The enquiry here is, ‘What is that knowledge by which everything becomes known?’ And to grasp the answer to this bold question, we must appreciate the concept that by knowing the cause one can know the effects. Thus if you know clay, you know all pots made of clay (you know that all such pots are nothing but clay), by knowing iron one understands all implements made of iron, by knowing gold, all gold ornaments are understood as nothing but gold and so on. In the same way, if we enquire deeply enough, the Upanishad claims we shall see that all existent things are nothing but existence itself or pure existence.

 

Sat is the term used for pure existence. To explain further, take the traditional example of a pot – the pot is nothing but its cause clay, clay is nothing but its cause prithvi or the earth element, prithvi is nothing but its cause ap or the water element and in this way we trace everything back to the primal cause, pure existence or Sat. It is Sat appearing as this world through the mysterious agency of Maya. And ‘Thou, O Shvetaketu,’ says the sage, ‘art That!’ By ‘That’ of course, he means, Sat, pure existence. You, your mind and body, and indeed, everything you see around you, are essentially nothing but pure existence, appearing in multifarious forms, courtesy of Maya.  Ignorance means being unaware of your Sat nature, and consequently being identified with the body-mind complex with all its attendant problems and sufferings. Enlightenment is just the reverse – being aware of yourself as Sat and being free of the body, mind and all samsara. You are the immortal, unchanging Sat and the world is a mere shadow the projection of Maya, passing over you. This does not actually destroy the body or the world – rather you begin to see things as they really are. Your true Self, Sat, is not a thing, an object, among other objects of the universe. Rather It is the very existence of all things and they are not apart from It. To a Jnani, each object reveals Sat.

 

“The Upanishads set forth a path of Self-inquiry to discover our true immortal nature. This begins by examining our bodies and minds. The eye is for seeing. The ear is for hearing. The voice is for speaking. The Prana is for breathing. The hands are for grasping. The feet are for walking. The mind is for thinking, which includes memory, imagination, right and wrong knowledge, emotion and volition.

 

The Upanishadic question is relative to all these functions of body and mind, where is the Self located? The Self is not any one of these functions, nor their totality. The Self is behind all these functions of body and mind but not limited by them. It endures even in deep sleep, before birth and after death.

 

Yet we miss this Self and get caught in physical and mental functions as real in their own right, which occurs through an outward orientation of the mind. To find the Self we must look within, which is to discard our identification with body and mind and their functions.

 

We must return to our inner Self that is beyond all organs and faculties of body and mind, the Conscious which transcends all their changing conditions, which is the clear light of awareness. This is the true path of Self-realization.”--David Frawley

 

 

ADBHUTA GURU AND ADI YOGI DAKSHINAMURTHY 

Sri Dakshinamurthy is the depiction of Lord Shiva which illustrates Him because the splendid cosmic trainer (Adi Guru) and is a facet of the Lord because the guru who enlightens one with jnana (information) that elevates and enriches. The rich treasures of understanding within the Shastras grow to be handy whilst He appears as Sri Dakshinamurthy. 

 

 Sri Dakshinamurthy is thought to train via para vak, which is a divine speech shape inaudible to worldly ears and resides inside the recesses of silence. His disciples are antique Rishis and sages. He imparts the best focus, knowledge, and comprehension. 

 

 The meaning of Dakshinamurthy also is 'the only who is going through the south course'. He sits under the auspicious Vata vruksha facing the south route to offer know-how. Sri Dakshinamurthy publications the cyclical courses of Srishti, sthiti (protection), samsara (amalgamation), tirobhava (suppress on), and anugraha (revealing true know-how). As we know, Indian subculture and lifestyle revere the teacher or Guru just like God. Sri Dakshinamurthy is likewise worshipped because the last Guru simply illuminates the sector with cosmic knowledge that lighting the soul. 

 

The iconographic descriptions of the super trainer Lord are not regular; a rich treasure of creative expressions underlines His depiction that still conveys meanings at various levels. Every Shiva temple includes a stone photo of Dakshinamurthy facing south. Apparently, Sri Dakshinamurthy is the only Hindu deity who faces the south course. Major texts like Amsumadbheda, Karanagama, Kamikagama, Shilparatna and others depict Sri Dakshinamurthy in a different way. 

 

Sri Dakshinamurthy is usually illustrated in a seated posture and once in a while in status function (even as keeping His veena, the musical instrument He plays proficiently). When He is proven seated, His proper leg is stretched down, resting upon a dwarfish demon (apasmara who stands for lack of understanding and illumination). The vicinity He sits on is covered with the aid of deer skin or tiger skin. His left foot is bent on the knee and rests on his proper knee or thigh. He has an expression of meditative serenity on His face because the Rishis look towards Him for the light of expertise.

Sri Dakshinamurthy has a natural disposition of sattva. His complexion is brilliant and glows brightly. He is deeply immersed in self (bhava shuddha) with a mild smile on His divine face. 

 

 When Sri Dakshinamurthy is typically depicted as Jnana Dakshinamurti, His proper hand is in the Jnana Mudra (symbolizing knowledge and wisdom). Several layers of complex symbolism may be discovered and interpreted when He assumes the Jnana Mudra. A famous interpretation of the Jnana Mudra is that His thumb represents God, the index finger represents the person and the opposite 3 fingers stand for 3 inborn impurities that afflict man viz. Egotism, fable, and awful deeds executed in past births. Since the 3 hands are separate from the index finger (guy), we research from the Teacher Lord that we can detach ourselves from impurities and attain God. 

 

Not many temples are committed to Sri Dakshinamurthy, however He stays an important shape of Lord Shiva. Invoking Him is similar to paying obeisance to know-how, and perceiving the path of real enlightenment. 

 So powerful and auspicious the Sri Dakshinamurthy stotram is that it is believed that the one who is familiar with it and chants it devotedly is freed of bondages and realizes reality.  

The Sri Dakshinamurthy Gayatri Mantra: 

Om Dakshina Murthy Vidmahe Dhyanasthaya Dheemahi Tanno Dhishaha Prachodayat

Please get ready to hear to the spiritual presentation of this stunning form of Lord Siva by Pujya Swamiji, though you have heard his stunning form of Guru in popular Dattatreya in the Trinity form of the Supreme from me. The only temple in the United States dedicated to Lord Dakshinamurthy is located at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

 

Gist of the presentation by FOWAI:

 

·                 The Lord, sitting in the north, facing the south, is Dakshināmurti. The south represents death and the north liberation. We are in the jaws of death but we can conquer death by turning towards God, who is looking at us anyway. Different parts of this grand and unique manifestation represent the eight-fold nature of Supreme God – ashta-moorti-bhrid (the five elements, the sun, the moon and the individual soul). Dakshināmurti holds under one of his feet the demon called Apasmāra, who represents all the obstacles to our sādhanās.

·                  

·                 This webinar will be a contemplation on the significance of this stunning form of Lord Shiva.

·                 || gurave sarva-lokānām dakshināmurtaye namah ||

 -

-November 12, 2011

Comments:

Thank you very much for this great write up. Apt timing as always. 

--Nashville Naga Rajan

 

SHHAKTIS OF THE NAKSHATRAS & 27 NAKSHATRA-TREES

Nakshatras of ancient Hindu astronomy place very prominent role in supporting development of Hindu mythology and associated deities. The 27 Nakshatras are the signs of a lunar-based zodiac, in compliment to the twelve-sign solar-based zodiac. The Moon travels approximately 27.3 days to complete its orbit around the Earth relative to the “fixed” stars (the Moon’s sidereal period), about 13° 20' per day, hence the 27 Nakshatras, also referred to as “Lunar Mansions. In Vedic astrology, these 27 daughters are the Nakshatra(constellations). These are moon's wives. When Daksha made marriage to his 27 daughters to Chandra Dev (Moon God), then he made a promise from the Moon that he will treat his treat his 27 daughters with equality, love, and care.

Each Nakshatra has its particular power or Shakti. These are the powers of the Devatas or deities that rule over and define them.

This is a special teaching that derives from an ancient Vedic text called Taittiriya Brahmana I.5.1 and from the medieval commentary of Bhattabhaskara Mishra. It has not been highlighted elsewhere.

Shaktis of Nakshatras mainly refers to positions of the Moon but can be extended to the Ascendant and other planets.

The first paragraph on each Nakshatra below relates to the Vedic textual reference. The others consists his comments based upon it. Note that this is a teaching that he first uncovered and translated around twenty years ago, though many Vedic astrologers have since come to use it. 

Each of these Nakshatra Shaktis has various effects described metaphorically as “above” and “below” and a final effect. The symbols used are those of common factors such as plants, healing, worship, marriage and death.

Surprisingly, this has been true to my life, Vishakha being my Birth star, though I do not have much faith in astrology but coming from Upanishads. Check the prediction for your birth star and convince yourself, to believe or not to be astrology!

The Bhrigu Saṃhitā is a Sanskrit astrological (Jyotisha) treatise attributed in its introduction to Maharishi Bhrigu, one of the Saptarishis (seven sages) of the Vedic period. The Bhrigu Samhita claims to contain predictions about current and future lives as well as information about past lives.

 

Most experts say that Bhrigu calculated 500,000 horoscope combinations using Vedic mathematics and his yogic prowess and that these half a million permutations can be extrapolated to tell the future for 45 million people.

 

But no one has ever seen the complete manuscript. It is believed that marauding Mughal armies destroyed most of the original work when they ransacked a library at the Nalanda University 900 years ago. What remained was scattered among Brahmins across the country and between five and 100 people in different parts of the country possess some part of it. A printed version is rumored to contain at least 200 volumes, but no one confirms any statistic with certainty.Pandey says that there is no original text left anymore because “there is no leaf that will survive 5,000 years. In fact, writings on palm leaves do not survive more than 500 years. It is suspected that what people are passing off today as the original is actually one of the many copies made by Brahmins when the original began to crumble. Please check your events in life based on your Birth star as written in the Vedic literature: http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2021/11/shaktis-of-nakshatras-dr-david-frawley.html

 

Also go through the Appendix to learn about the Divine Trees of 27 Nakshatras

Mr. S. Unnikrishnan is an astrologer and a former DFO. He has taken the initiative to reclaim ecological parity by raising Nakshatra Vanam in schools, colleges, panchayath-owned places, churches, mosques, and temples. Altogether, more than 1200 nakshatra vanam have been established in 2010 to 2015 with his involvement.

--November 12, 2021

Comments: Please reconsider using the word "mythology" - it is used in the English world against us. I am working on alternatives, but our Itihasa इतिहास is not easily translated.

 

 

 

How to Get Rid of  Pessimistic Attitude-- 7 Tips

I hope you enjoyed my previous E-mail to turn optimistic in life. I present to you further wisdom thoughts on this interesting topic “How to get rid of pessimistic attitude”

·                                                          Life is full of choices and deciding to be happy is one of them. You will not wake up one day and discover that your world is awash in sunshine; you must make it happen. Create a happy life for yourself by doing what brings joy. It takes considerable effort, but the end result of seeing life on the sunny side is warming. Take small steps at the beginning. Plan to do one thing that makes you happy each day. Choose an activity from the previous topics: do a good deed for someone, decide to seek counseling to overcome the negative experience of your past or make friends with the new colleague who’s always smiling. Be who you want to be; it is never too late to begin. There are times in life when having a pessimistic attitude is good. For example: An overly optimistic person may assure everyone that she is OK to drive after too many glasses of wine. This kind of optimistic thinking is dangerous. Someone who thinks that a devastating natural disaster will never occur because the sun always shines on them will not be prepared when it happens. A small dose of pessimism is good when it helps protect you and others, but a pessimistic attitude should not dominate your life. If you are more in tune with negativity, it’s time to take these seven steps toward a more joyful existence.

·                                                           

1. Overcome the Challenge

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”  —Bernice Johnson. 

2. Stop Negative Speaking

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

 3. Surround Yourself with Positive People

“Surround yourself with people you can learn from. Don’t try to do it all on your own. I don’t believe I could have possibly accomplished what I’ve done without the help of everyone else.”  Sigrid Olsen

 4. Learn from Past Negative Experiences

“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”   Jean Paul Sartre 

5. Picture the Positive

“Too many people are thinking security, instead of opportunity.”  James F. Byrnes

 6. Do for Others

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”  Maya Angelou

 7. Choose Happy

“Habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think.”  Martin Seligman PhD.

Overcoming Pessimism in Old Age:

People who are pessimistic about what life is like during old age may be helping to make their fears come true. A new study finds that older Americans with negative beliefs about aging were significantly more likely to develop dementia than their peers who embraced their senior years with zeal.  Age beliefs tend to be internalized early in life and then remain stable over the lifespan, without interventions,” Levy and her colleagues wrote. “Our finding could provide a rationale   for a public-health campaign to combat the societal sources of negative age beliefs.”- Karen, science and Medicine Editor, Washington Post.

Let us see what Vivekananda said about Old Age and Pessimism:

Difficulties are tremendous and ninety percent of us become discouraged and lose heart, and in our turn, often become pessimists and cease to believe in sincerity, love, and all that is grand and noble. So, we find men who in the freshness of their lives have been forgiving, kind, simple, and guileless, become in old age lying masks of men. Their minds are a mass of intricacy. There may be a good deal of external policy, possibly. They are not hot-headed, they do not speak, but it would be better for them to do so; their hearts are dead and, therefore, they do not speak. They do not curse, not become angry; but it would be better for them to be able to be angry, a thousand times better, to be able to curse. They cannot.

There is death in the heart, for cold hands have seized upon it, and it can no more act, even to utter a curse, even to use a harsh word. All this we have to avoid: therefore I say, we require super divine power. Superhuman power is not strong enough. Super divine strength is the only way, the one way out. By it alone we can pass through all these intricacies, through these showers of miseries, unscathed

We may be cut to pieces, torn asunder, yet our hearts must grow nobler and nobler all the time. It is very difficult, but we can overcome the difficulty by constant practice. We must learn that nothing can happen to us, unless we make ourselves susceptible to it. I have just said, no disease can come to me until the body is ready; it does not depend alone on the germs, but upon a certain predisposition which is already in the body.

We get only that for which we are fitted. Let us give up our pride and understand this that never is misery undeserved. There never has been a blow undeserved: there never has been an evil for which I did not pave the way with my own hands. We ought to know that. Analyze yourselves and you will find that every blow you have received, came to you because you prepared yourselves for it. You did half, and the external world did the other half: that is how the blow came. That will sober us down.

Source –From the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2016), 2.6-7.

Is this true to my life? It is for you to tell after going through my e-mails after seizure disorder and quick recovery!

--November 8, 2021

 

 

HUMAN LIFE IS IN DANGER, NOT THE PLANET

“The planet is not in trouble. Barring an impact with a large asteroid, it will go on happily orbiting the sun no matter what we do. Even if we detonate all the Bombs and reduce life on earth to a few remnant cyanobacteria, they will calmly begin evolving new species, just as they did a few billion years ago. The planet is not afraid of us.

·                 The creatures that currently inhabit the earth are in trouble, of course. If we want to feel important, we can glory in the fact that we are extinguishing tens or hundreds of species of life a day. There has not been a spasm of extinction like this one for 65 million years, and we are its cause. We are so busy proliferating and polluting that we are even changing the atmosphere and climate. The planet’s biodiversity and its biogeochemical cycles are threatened, without doubt.

·                 “Last Chance for Biodiversity!” “Requiem for the Atmosphere.” “Can the Biogeochemical Cycles Be Saved?”--Those would be more accurate headlines, but not likely to stimulate much adrenalin flow. Few of us have an emotional commitment to biogeochemical cycles. Nor does the planet. As far as it’s concerned one atmosphere is as good as another. The current biosphere is no big deal. Whatever happens, some form of crabgrass, cockroach, or green gunk will adapt. Life will persist.

·                 We wildly overstate the case because we would rather talk about Planetary Doom than about the real threat, which is much closer to home and much more unthinkable — unthinkable, because it is a threat to our very thoughts. What is in danger is not the planet, not life on earth, not even human life, but some ideas that are dear to us.

·                 Our fantasy of eternal economic growth, for instance, is gravely threatened. The throwaway lifestyle is doomed. So is our illusion about solving our problems with technology alone. Definitely at risk is our assumption that other creatures are here to be exploited by us, as are all institutions that think their rules are more important than planetary rules — institutions, for instance, like Exxon, the World Bank, and every government of every nation.

·                 Our whole world is threatened, but only the world we have created in our minds. We are threatened, but only “we” as we currently define ourselves, consummations of a successful industrial revolution, consumers, producers, owners, controllers, people who have built their world on cleverness rather than virtue.

·                 Of course there are plenty of other worlds and ways to define ourselves. We could see ourselves not as dominators or dominated, accumulators of overabundance or sufferers of scarcity, but as parts of a whole, content with sufficiency, stewards, beneficiaries, and celebrants of a magnificent planet we have barely begun to understand. We could choose to do not what is fast, powerful, labor-saving, and cheap (according to our flawed economic reckoning), but what actually benefits human welfare and the integrity of nature. We could base our world on the ideas of solar energy and total recycling — every discarded material an input to another productive process (the way the planet does it.)

·                 Ideas like those point the way out of our present troubles. We know that. We ordinary folks know it, anyway. But our leaders, governmental and corporate, cling to the seductive ideas of profit, control, growth and limitlessness, ideas that have led us directly into the present environmental mess.

·                 Several 200-year-old economic and social experiments are up for question, not a 4-billion-year-old planet. The question is not whether we can manage the biosphere — we can’t. The question is whether we can manage ourselves, our numbers, greed, arrogance, and waste, and whether we can bring forth a new world of ideas that are compatible with the planet, so the planet will allow them to persist.”

"If humanity has to live for a long time, you have to think like the earth, act like the earth and be the earth, because that is what you are.”
How audacious that we can even think that we will allot a day for the earth! Both day and night happen only because of the revolutions of the earth. Our very body is an extract from this planet. Everything that we are is earth. For the human beings who have forgotten that they have just temporarily come out of the womb of this earth and that they will one day be sucked back into this earth, for them, this day is a reminder that you are a part of this earth. If humanity has to live for a long time, you have to think like the earth, act like the earth and be the earth, because that is what you are....

I am always being asked by people, “Why is a spiritual leader, a yogi, planting trees?” Unfortunately, in human minds, we have compartmentalized our life in such a way that we are breaking up one and hoping that the other will live. Trees are our closest relatives. What they exhale, we inhale; what we exhale, they inhale and keep our lives going. It is just like the outer part of our lung. You cannot ignore your body if you want to live. The planet is in no way different from that. What you call as “my body” is just a piece of this planet.

The United Nations is projecting that by 2050, we will be 9.6 billion people on this planet. In India particularly, right now, fifty-two percent of our land is ploughed just to feed 1.2 billion people. It is a fabulous fact that our farmers, with rudimentary, ramshackle infrastructure, are producing food for over one billion people. But still, the man who produces the food is not eating proper food. That is not something to be proud of. The people who produce food for all of us, their own children don’t eat a full stomach. This is not a commendable fact. This is essentially because we have not taken the responsibility of deciding, “For this much land, how much population can we support?” It definitely cannot support endless growth of human population. Either we control our populations consciously or nature will do it in a very cruel and painful manner. This is all the choice we have.

 

Without controlling human populations, talking about ecology, and land and water conservation is just not going to happen because the kind of impetus that is there in the form of science and technology is making every human being hyperactive. You cannot cap human activity because that will amount to capping human aspirations. And today, our aspiration is that everybody should get educated, and have large dreams and ambitions. That cannot be accommodated with the current levels of population, unless we strive for a more conscious way of determining where we want to stop.

 

So, are we going to adjust our population to the resource that we have? That is all we can do and that is the easiest thing to do. That is something that every human being can do, if the necessary education and awareness is brought into their lives. If that investment is made, we don’t have to plant trees. If we stay away from the land, trees will grow; you cannot stop it. People are going about projecting that the planet is in danger.”--Sadguru

 

The planet is not in any kind of danger. It is only human life which is in danger.

·                 I hope we wake up to this fact and do what is needed.   "A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good acts, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us be good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."-- Galatians 6: 7b -10

·                 Today, we are reaping the harvest of what has been done before. The challenges in our society did not just emerge, they were planted in the past and have been allowed to grow, and sometimes thrive. Sometimes cultivated and encouraged, but often organically. Sometimes they have been growing around us, and we have been completely unaware of their presence. It has been this way since the beginning of creation, and the fall of humanity.

·                 Does the popular Biblical message “You reap what you sow go” goes with Gita?   Let us look at Gita 5-15:

naadatte kasyachitpaapam na sukritam vibhoohu |

ajnyaanenaavritam jnyaanam tena muhyanti jantavaha || 15 ||

Neither does the eternal essence accept anyone’s sins, nor anyone’s merits. Ignorance veils knowledge that is how creatures are deluded.

 

In this shloka, Gita takes us to another step further in explaining the distinctness of eternal essence from action. Gita says that even sin and merit also have nothing to do with eternal essence. It also further says that action, result, doer-ship, enjoyer-ship, sin, merit – the notion that these belong to the “I”, the eternal essence, is termed as ignorance. This ignorance is caused due to our strong identification with the body, mind and intellect.

Gita has used an interesting word to refer to ignorant people in this shloka. It calls them creatures. It is a subtle hint that as long as we operate with body identification, we are similar to animals who also operate only at that level.

--November 14, 2021

Comments:

Evergreen eternal explanation of everyone’s existence/

Identification of individuals imbricated ignorance/

Stirring the supremacy of spiritual significance/

Egoism is everywhere in everlasting exuberance/

Thank you very much great novel narration🙏🙏🙏

--Dr. Ram Prasad

 

 

 

Overcoming Pessimism in Old Age 

 

People who are pessimistic about what life is like during old age may be helping to make their fears come true. A new study finds that older Americans with negative beliefs about aging were significantly more likely to develop dementia than their peers who embraced their senior years with zeal.  Age beliefs tend to be internalized early in life and then remain stable over the lifespan, without interventions,” Levy and her colleagues wrote. “Our finding could provide a rationale   for a public-health campaign to combat the societal sources of negative age beliefs.”- Karen, science and Medicine Editor, Washington Post.  

 

Let us see what Vivekananda said about Old Age and Pessimism: 

Difficulties are tremendous and ninety percent of us become discouraged and lose heart, and in our turn, often become pessimists and cease to believe in sincerity, love, and all that is grand and noble. So, we find men who in the freshness of their lives have been forgiving, kind, simple, and guileless, become in old age lying masks of men. Their minds are a mass of intricacy. There may be a good deal of external policy, possibly. They are not hot-headed, they do not speak, but it would be better for them to do so; their hearts are dead and, therefore, they do not speak. They do not curse, not become angry; but it would be better for them to be able to be angry, a thousand times better, to be able to curse. They cannot. 

 

There is death in the heart, for cold hands have seized upon it, and it can no more act, even to utter a curse, even to use a harsh word. All this we have to avoid: therefore I say, we require super divine power. Superhuman power is not strong enough. Super divine strength is the only way, the one way out. By it alone we can pass through all these intricacies, through these showers of miseries, unscathed. 

 

We may be cut to pieces, torn asunder, yet our hearts must grow nobler and nobler all the time. It is very difficult, but we can overcome the difficulty by constant practice. We must learn that nothing can happen to us, unless we make ourselves susceptible to it. I have just said, no disease can come to me until the body is ready; it does not depend alone on the germs, but upon a certain predisposition which is already in the body. 

 

We get only that for which we are fitted. Let us give up our pride and understand this that never is misery undeserved. There never has been a blow undeserved: there never has been an evil for which I did not pave the way with my own hands. We ought to know that. Analyze yourselves and you will find that every blow you have received, came to you because you prepared yourselves for it. You did half, and the external world did the other half: that is how the blow came. That will sober us down. 

 

Source –From the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2016), 2.6-7. 

 

Is this true to my life? It is for you to tell after going through my e-mails after seizure disorder and quick recovery!

--November 13, 2021

 

 

WISDOM FOR SPIRITUAL SUCCESS 

 

Rajaji introduced Bhaja Govindam live-concert of M.S. Subbalakshmi at UNO on October 23, 1966. In 1966. MS Subbalakshmi was invited by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant to give a special concert at the United Nations. This was the first performance by any Indian classical musician at the UN. 

“Adi Shankaracharya wrote a number of Vedantic works for imparting knowledge of the Self and the Universal Spirit. He also composed a number of hymns to foster Bhakti in the hearts of men. One of these hymns is the famous Bhaja Govindam. The way of devotion, is not different from the way of knowledge or Jnana. When intelligence matures and lodges securely in the mind, it becomes wisdom. When wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes Bhakti. Knowledge, when it becomes fully mature is Bhakti. If it does not get transformed into Bhakti, such knowledge is useless tinsel. To believe that Jnana and Bhakti, knowledge and devotion are different from each other, is ignorance. If Sri Adi Shankara himself who drank the ocean of Jnana as easily as one sip’s water from the palm of one’s hand, sang in his later years, hymns to develop devotion, it is enough to show that Jnana and Bhakti are one and the same. Sri Shankara has packed into the Bhaja Govindam song: the substance of all Vedanta, and set the oneness of Jnana and Bhakti to melodious music"--spoke Rajaji at UNO.

Knowledge without wisdom is like the water in the sand--Guinean Proverb. Thomas Jefferson used the phrase “Knowledge is Power” in his correspondence on at least four occasions, each time in connection with the establishment of a state university in Virginia modelled from the Motto of University of Mysore that has the Upanishadic phrase “Na hi jnanena sadarisam”--Nothing equals Knowledge. 

 

True Education will make you divine. Education is not mere knowledge of words; it should broaden the mind. The mere acquisition of degrees is valueless. Character is more important and it can be developed only by taking to the spiritual path. Of what use is an education that does not promote good qualities? Together with academic education you have to acquire wisdom and a sense of right and wrong. Knowledge without wisdom, scholarship without determination, music without melody, learning without humility, a society without discipline, friendship without gratitude, and speech without truth – all these are utterly useless. Hence everyone should seek to follow the correct path. It is not greatness that matters but goodness. Make proper use of your education for the good of society.

 

“Knowledge and Devotion Acting Together in Harmony are Essential for Spiritual Success. The two, knowledge and devotion, acting together in harmony are essential. We could say that knowledge is the vehicle to take us forward and devotion is the fuel that drives our quest. 

It is relatively easy to acquire knowledge if one has a good memory. With time and patience, we can acquire the ability to recall large chunks of information. As we all know it is entirely another matter to understand and apply what we may have learned. Intelligence and knowledge are not necessarily the same thing. 

 

The development of devotion to an ideal or person who appears to be wise is also fairly easy if we have suffered and are looking for a sagacious person who seems to know the solution to our problems. Nevertheless, devotion without knowledge can easily lead us astray and we can vainly devote our time and energy to a cause that is flawed. The stories of disillusioned disciples whose masters have been found wanting are common. 

 

The real purpose of the teachings of great Gurus is not just to give us instructions but to show us how to put them into practice in order to transcend our ignorance. True Gurus do not want us to memorize teachings and parrot them. They want us to live in a dynamic and creative pursuit for the truth. 

As both blades of a pair of scissors are needed to cut a piece of cloth, so both self-effort and grace are needed to realize God. The grace of God is always blowing, like wind over the sea. A sailor who unfurls the boat’s sail catches the wind and reaches the destination smoothly” --Swami Chetanananda 

 

"Matters become pretty simple when we look at them from the point of view of bhakti, devotion. Lord Shri Krishna does not mince words when he says, “I gladly accept what you offer to me with devotion. It can be a leaf, a flower, a fruit or even a spoonful of water!” (Geetā 9.26)--patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati | tad aham bhakty-upahrtamasnami prayatatmanah ||

 

It is thus clear that God sees ‘how we offer’ and he does not make an issue of ‘what we offer’. A pure heart that unconditionally loves him is what matters. We hear of the inspiring story of Devi Rukmini who placed a Tulasi leaf on one of the plates of the balance, on the other plate of which Shri Krishna himself was seated. And that plate went down, proving to be heavier than Shri Krishna. It was obviously not the Tulasi leaf but the wholehearted devotion with which Rukmini placed it on the plate. In contrast, a lot of gold ornaments that Devi Satyabhāmā had placed on the same plate had failed to measure up to Shri Krishna! This gives us a golden key to live a noble life. We must ensure that we never harbor evil motives or selfish intentions in all our transactions. Purity in thought, word and deed can take us to heights of spiritual excellence, irrespective of our walk of life. We may be highly educated or illiterate; in high position or in humble settings; living in advanced cities or in poor villages. None of them matters.

 

Purity is the most important factor. As with God, so should be with fellow human beings. Pomp and show have no place in right living. True goodwill and readiness to help those that are suffering can take us to divinity--Sraddhyaa deyam!

 

I wish every one of you, speedy progress in the inner journey of the soul towards its spiritual perfection--Indira Gautam" 

--November 11, 2021

Comment:

Nice sermon of the week!

Dr. Vedavyas

 

 

DO NOT FIND FAULT FIND A REMEDY 

Avoid Fault Finding – It Hamper Spiritual Progress 

Our relationship with people around us is an indicator, which reveals if we are slipping down the spiritual path and hampering our spiritual progress. 

 

In her final message to the world, which is the gist of Vedanta, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi (wife of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) tells us not to see the faults of anyone, because the whole world is our own. 

 

When we tend to see others’ faults more than our own, and also remember to point them out more often than owning our own, we surely are slipping down the path. 

 

The nature and character of a person is known by what he/she speaks about others. Truly, it is the ‘unripe ego’ which indulges in fault-finding and slandering. 

 

When asked how to know if we are progressing towards the Lord or not, Swami Turiyananda answered, ‘One can know it oneself. Others also can know it. All his passions, lust, anger, and greed will wane, his attachment for the objects of the senses will diminish, and he will have peace at heart.’ 

 

 – Vedanta Kesari September 2017 

  

It’s very easy to criticize or blame. 

It’s very easy to see why someone’s idea might not work. 

It’s very easy to say, after the event, “Ahah, what you SHOULD have done was…!”  

 

…but it’s often much harder to identify what steps could have been taken to prevent it going wrong in the first place, without the benefit of hindsight, harder to acknowledge the positive intention behind the idea, instead of listing a thousand reasons why it was a ‘bad’ one. 

 

Whilst it’s often valuable to have insight as to why a fault exists, focusing solely on that does not contribute much to finding ways to make a decent idea a worthwhile one. 

 

So, here’s the challenge – resist the temptation to be nothing more than the negative critic, or to offer little more than ‘what-about-ism’. Both these approaches get in the way of finding the remedy, or, worse, can even actively prevent you from getting there; instead of the focus being on the solution, it can remain stuck on finding things wrong. 

 

Instead, be the solver. Consider what positive contribution you can make to a proposition or idea. If you know that ‘x’ won’t work, consider if you can think of a ‘y’ alternative that might.  Rather than undermine their position by criticizing, be supportive of the efforts of others and offer up ways that could improve a suggestion or could help them achieve their aims. 

 

What problems are you involved with today? What challenges do you face, whether in a personal or professional relationship, or with a friend who has made a mistake? Instead of sitting back and only saying you could see the fault, what assistance can you bring towards finding the remedy? 

--Jim Sharman

 

"To err is human. One must not take that into account. It is harmful for oneself. One gets into the habit of finding fault..... Do not look for faults in others, or your own eyes will become faulty."

-Holy Mother

 

--November 10, 2021

Comment:

Can we submit this to Aradhana?  

‑-Dr. Vedavyas

 

 

 

VEDANTA’S SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT TOO FAR FROM CURRENT THOUGHTS OF NEUROSCIENCE 

 

Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience or awareness of internal and external existence.  Despite millennia of analyses, definitions, explanations and debates by philosophers and scientists, consciousness remains puzzling and controversial, being "at once the most familiar and [also the] most mysterious aspect of our lives". Vedanta represents the deepest approach to consciousness there is. Here David Frawley tries to translate that into modern scientific knowledge couched in neuroscience and quantum terminology. 

Upanishadic sages thousands of years ago understood the secrets of neuroscience, but going beyond the physical body to higher levels of consciousness, ultimately transcending the manifest universe. 

 

“Vedic Deities (Devatas) can be defined relative to mind, sensory, pranic, and motor functions that can easily be correlated to the workings of the brain and the nervous system. For example, Agni or fire is speech, Vayu or air is Prana, Surya or the Sun is perception, space or the directions is hearing, and the Moon (Soma) is the mind in its contemplative nature. These are also the priests and powers of the Vedic sacrifice or Yajna, of which the inner sacrifice is the practice of Yoga. 

 

Through working with these Vedic Devatas, we can develop methods and practices to activate the different aspects of the brain, the outer senses and pranas, and the inner senses and pranas, for individual well-being. By connecting the Gods or Devas within, with those on the outside, we can promote their manifestation in the outer world. 

 

Aitareya Upanishad – Upanishadic View of Evolution 

The Aitareya Upanishad, which is the main Upanishad of the Rigveda, has profound teachings that can be interpreted relative to the brain, neuroscience and natural evolution. 

 

The Aitareya Upanishad (AU I.1) describes the universe as a manifestation of the Self (Atman) through its power of vision. This means that everything manifested is a form of the Self or Self-awareness. 

 

It then describes the creation of the worlds (lokas) as five, the heavenly waters, heaven, atmosphere, earth, and the waters beneath the earth. The waters symbolize the vibratory waves of consciousness-space in which all the worlds are held. 

 

It then describes the guardians of the worlds starting with the Purusha, indicating that the entire universe has the form of the human being or human body and exists in the brain. The other world guardians (loka palas) consist of Agni, from the mouth and speech of the Purusha; Vayu from the nose and the prana of the Purusha; the Sun from the eyes and vision of the Purusha; the directions of space from the ears and hearing of the Purusha; plants and trees from the skin and hairs of the Purusha; the Moon from the mind and the heart of the Purusha,; death from the navel and apana vayu of the Purusha; and the waters from the sex organ and the seed of the Purusha.

 

The Devatas so created were cast into the great ocean of the universe (AU I. 2), where they were stricken with hunger and thirst. They asked the Purusha to create an abode or embodiment for them where they could eat food and become satisfied (fully manifested). 

 

Here is where we have an interesting correlate to the modern theory of evolution. First the Self brought the Devas a cow (gam), but they found it insufficient for them to fully enter. Second, He brought them a horse (ashva), but they also found it to be insufficient. Last He brought them a human being (Purusha) and they found it to be sufficient or well-made (sukrita). This implies that the human being has been brought into evolution by the universal Purusha for its own manifestation. 

 

Then each of the Devatas entered into the human being as his respective faculties: Agni as speech and the mouth; Vayu as Prana and the nostril; Surya as perception and the eyes; the directions of space and hearing and the ears; plants and trees as the skin and hair; the Moon as the heart and mind; death as the apana and the navel; and the waters as the seed and sex organ. 

 

The implication here is that only the human being has a sufficiently evolved nervous system for the Divine powers to fully enter. We can find a metaphor for natural evolution here, but also a matter for evolving from the mammal brain (cow and horse), which the Devas tried to enter and the human brain (Purusha) where they could fully enter. 

 

 How Consciousness enters into the body 

“The Self thought (or envisioned), how can this exist without me? He thought, By what means can I enter into this creation myself? If what is spoken is by speech, if what is breathed is by prana, if what is seen is by the eye, if what is heart is by the ear, if what is touched is by the skin, if what is thought is by the mind, if what is eliminated is by the apana, and if what is procreated is by the sexual organ, then Who am I (Ko’ham)?” 

 

“The Atman then by the opening the fontanelle (the point at the top of the head or brain, siman), by that door entered into the body. That is called by name the support (Vidriti), that door is called the blissful. His are three states and three dreams. This waking state is one, this dream state is another, and this deep sleep state is another. Being born he perceived these beings and said What other could I say? He saw this Purusha as the infinite Brahman, and said I have seen that.” 

 

The Self entered into the human body along with the faculties inherent in the cosmic mind. The Self entered through the point at the top of the head (also adhipati marma, which is the a-sound point). This Self here is called Indra, who is identified with the Seer. Indra is the foremost of the Vedic deities as the power of perception. The senses are called Indriyas or powers of Indra. 

 

The sense organs exist in the cosmic mind and evolution aids in their manifestation. It does not produce them directly. Natural evolution is an unfoldment of the powers of the universal Purusha at an individual level. 

 

The cosmic being or Purusha evolves the individual human being or Purusha so that he can become conscious and self-aware within his own creation, bringing into the body the awareness he has at a cosmic level. The universal awareness evolves the human being to become fully Self-aware. This is the real goal of human evolution, which is an evolution of consciousness. We as human beings are meant to facilitate the universe becoming aware of itself, which requires the full development of the brain. 

 

An examination of the functions of the mind 

“Who is the Self that we worship, which is the Self through which one sees, through which one hears, through which one smells fragrances, through which one articulates speech, through which one tastes what is sweet or not sweet. 

He is that which is the heart, the mind, awareness, guidance, intelligence, foresight, wisdom, perception, firmness, thought, speed, memory, intention, will, spirit, love, and mastery. All of these are names of intelligence (or insight, prajna). 

 

He is Brahma, Indra, Prajapati, all the Devas, the five great elements, earth, air, space, water, fire; he is all these beings whether arising from seeds, eggs, wombs, sweat or moisture; the horse, cow, human being, elephant, whatever moving, flying or still; all of that is guided by intelligence, is supported by intelligence, the world has intelligence as its guide, has the support of intelligence, Intelligence is Brahman (Prajnanam Brahma).” 

 

Intelligence is the guiding force behind all life, but it is a natural intelligence that works through nature, from within nature, not from the outside. It is the basis of both cosmic evolution and the manifestation of the worlds or different lokas, and also of individual evolution, or the evolution of creatures and their respective bodies and brains. 

 

In the Aitareya Aranyaka, a related text, it said that the soul (jiva) exists in plants as their juice (rasa) and in animals as the mind (chitta), but in human beings gains the power of intelligence, prajna or buddhi. This intelligence in turn is correlated with the spine and the letters of the alphabet and primal sound and Om. 

 

The Aranyaka has several interesting correlations, perhaps most notable of which is S and H sounds with Prana (and the spine as a whole), consonants with the bones, vowels with the nerves, and semivowels with the muscles. The connection of the vowels and the nervous system and brain or ether element occurs in other contexts as well. S and H sounds like Hamsa and So’ham and Prana are also common. Prana is not simply the breath but the energy running through the brain and the nervous system. 

 

Mahabharata states the soul exists in plants but that in plants the sense organs function in a general way and are not differentiated into specific organs. 

 

Top of the Skull, Heart and Soft Palate of the Mouth 

The Taittiriya Upanishad I.13-14 has an important teaching in this regard: 

“He is that space within the heart, in that is the Purusha whose nature is mind (Manomaya Purusha), who is immortal and golden. Within the palate, which hangs down like the breast that is the womb of Indra (Indra yoni). Where the end of the hair parts, having opened the top of the skull, he dwells as Agni in the Earth, as Vayu in the Atmosphere, as the Sun in Heaven, as the Vast in Brahman.

 

He attains Self-rule. He attains lordship of the mind, lordship of speech, lordship of seeing, lordship of hearing, lordship of intelligence. Space is the body of Brahman, its nature is truth, its enjoyment is prana, and its bliss is the mind. It is abounding in peace and immortal.” 

 

The Self enters through the point at the top of the head, but then is connected to the soft palate of the mouth, where it can manifest through the brain, senses and prana. The soft palate is an important control point for the mind and senses, opposite the third eye and of similar power. Generally, the Self dwells in the right eye in waking, in the throat in dream, and in the heart in deep sleep (the small space within the heart, dahara akasha). 

 

Note, Ganapati Muni, the chief disciple of Ramana Maharshi, experienced the Kapala Bheda or breaking and opening of the skull while he was alive. This suggests a new evolutionary development possible for the brain, such as reflected in many yogic experiences. 

 

This is but an introduction to Vedic view of consciousness. 

 --November 6, 2021

 

 

Why India will be celebrating National Ayurveda Day on  Dhanteras?

On Sri Dhanvantari’s birth anniversary (Jayanti), let us open ourselves to the universal power of healing within us.

Ayurveda, India’s natural system of Vedic healing, has spread worldwide over the past several decades as an innovative and comprehensive system of mind-body and consciousness based medicine and healing.

Wherever yoga has gone, Ayurveda is now following as the essence of yogic healing for both physical and psychological well-being. It takes the teachings of yoga and expands these into a full medical system for disease treatment and health enhancement. We can now find Ayurveda clinics and schools in North and South America, Europe, Asia extending to Japan and Indonesia, Africa and parts of the Middle East.

This modern global Ayurveda is rooted in traditional Ayurveda with its embracing of Vedic knowledge on all levels from diet, herbs and massage to pranayama, mantra and meditation. It seeks to extend the boundaries of medicine beyond chemical drugs and physical concerns to a higher awareness within us connected to the universe as a whole. It is ecologically harmonious and works with nature’s abundance, attuning us to the transformative movement of life.

Ayurveda Day, Dhanteras and Dhanvantari

Ayurveda Day is based on Dhanvantari Jayanti, the birth date of Sri Dhanvantari, which occurs at the beginning of Diwali on Dhanteras. Ayurveda Day is honored nationally in India, but is also spreading worldwide as International Ayurveda Day.

Dhanvantari is the form of Vishnu, who sustains the universe and is the basis of all the avatars, who arose from the Samudra Manthana, the original churning of the cosmic ocean, as a gift of healing for all living beings.

Dhanvantari holds the nectar pot of immortality that grants optimal health and wellbeing, extending to rejuvenation of body and mind. He is the Adi Vaidya and ideal doctor, the manifestation of compassion, representing the wisdom of Ayurveda in practical application. His image and statue can be found at Ayurvedic schools and clinics, where mantras to him are chanted daily.

By honoring Dhanvantari on this day we can open ourselves to the power of healing from all of nature and from our own deeper awareness. This is much more transformative than the outer seeking of wealth and gold that usually marks the Dhanteras festival in India (Lord Dhanvantari is included in the assembly of puja worshiping deities)

 Vast Scope of Ayurveda

The Ayurvedic view of the human being, based upon Yoga and Vedanta, is of body, mind, and universal Consciousness (Atman) as a single continuum. We can contrast this with the modern medical view of the human being as a mere physical body and complex of chemical reactions.

Ayurveda helps us understand our own unique constitution according to the three doshas of vata, pitta and kapha, reflecting nature’s elements and forces within us. It is an individualized system of medicine that shows us the right therapies for health and longevity – which differ person by person and cannot be reduced a single formula or mass treatment for everyone. These also must be adjusted on a daily basis relative to the influences within and around us.

Ayurveda teaches us the inner energetics of foods, spices and herbs, so that we can use them according to our individual constitution. It provides the details of right living through proper use of our senses and motor organs, and control of the mind through dharmic values and meditation. These are part of an Ayurveda lifestyle to keep all that we do in harmony with the energies within an around us.

Ayurveda is not just a system of medicine that aims at treating diseases. It teaches daily and seasonal health regimens that keep us in harmony with the movement of life, so that diseases do not arise in the first place.

Health and well-being remains one of the greatest challenges in this information technology era in which we are losing our moorings in nature to an invasive technology and artificial way of life. The current pandemic is a reflection of this.

It is time to acknowledge Ayurveda as one of the most important traditions of natural healing in the world, yet extending to the powers of mind and consciousness and the universal Prana as yoga teaches us. Ayurveda is one of the greatest gifts of India’s profound spiritual and yogic culture.

May Dhanvantari as the universal healer bring well-being and lasting happiness to all from the very core of our being!

 

--Dr. David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)

 

 

Please go through my discourse:

 

nrsrini.blogspot.com/2015/11/hindu-god-of-hope-health-and-healing.html

 

--November 2, 2021

 

 

Five Days of Diwali and Yama Stuti - Matsya Puranam

Five Days of Diwali - Diwali, the festival that spreads its luminosity across the length and breadth of the country is celebrated with crackling intensity. However, each of the five days of Diwali has its unique significance, drawing from different legends and traditions of the Vedic era. 

The five days of Diwali festival are accompanied by high-pitched fervor and religiosity. Thus, all five days of Diwali enriches human bonds as people rise over distinctions of caste and creed to embrace the divine light of oneness. This year, the five-day Hindu festival will commence from November 2, 2021. 

 First Day: Dhanteras - 2 November, 2021 

The first day of this five-day Hindu festival starts with 'Dhanteras' or 'Dhantryaodashi' sets the mood for Diwali celebrations. The day pays homage to Lord Dhanwantari who is associated with Ayurveda and various healing practices for the good of mankind. On this day, there is a tradition of taking a holy bath at sunset, lighting a diya lamp around 'Tulsi' plant and praying to Lord Yama for their well-being. On this day, people participate in 'havan' and also chant powerful mantras. I worship him daily installing his idol in my puja assembly of deities.

Second Day: Narak Chaturdasi - 4 November, 2021 

Hindus observe the second day as 'Narak Chaturdashi'. The significance of this day is grounded in the story of Lord Krishna's overwhelming triumph over a ferocious demon named 'Narakasur', who kidnapped the 'gopis'. On this day, people keep their houses clean and use fragrant oils and flowers to keep vibrations uplifted. Artistic patterns of 'rangolis' made from a mixture of rice flour and water can be seen ubiquitously at the threshold of each house. A 'diya' is placed in each room as well as in the backyard through the night. 

Third Day: Diwali - 4 November, 2021 

Perhaps the most festive of the five days of Diwali festival is Diwali. The celebration of Diwali is based on the episode when Lord Rama finally returned home from exile and was welcomed with a glittering row of lights radiating from every household. It also coincides with the Pandavas' return from the forest. The word 'Deepavali' means an array of lights. Diwali, is, indisputably, among the most enlivening and significant festivals of India. 

Well-illuminated houses, parks and public places make up the landscape on Diwali night, while colorful fireworks dot the sky. In the market place, people are spoilt for choices in their new purchases. Households are abuzz with hectic activity around the preparation for Lakshmi puja to honor the Goddess of wealth. A pandit performs the puja ceremoniously while family members participate in the rituals and offerings. Distribution of sweets and 'prasad' follows. Businessmen also perform 'Chopda Pujan' on this day by inaugurating their new books of accounts for the ensuing year. Starting out on a good business proposition or venture is seen as auspicious on this day. In West Bengal, the night is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Kali. 

Fourth Day: Govardhan Puja - 5 November, 2021 

On the fourth day of this five-day Hindu festival, Govardhan Puja is performed. The legend goes that Lord Indra was provoked and tried to submerge the town of Gokul. Lord Krishna saved the people of Gokul from the wrath of Lord Indra by lifting the Govardhan Mountain to provide succor. A blessing was bestowed on the Govardhan Mountain that it will be honored through the ages. The tradition has been followed ever since. Mathura and Nathadwara also witnesses huge gathering of crowds in temples, where deities are bathed ritualistically and adorned with ornaments. 

This day is also observed as 'Padwa' as Vikram-Samvat was started from this day. Most households mark this day by wearing new clothes and jewelry, greeting family members and also distributing sweets and gifts among friends and neighbors. 

Fifth Day: Bhai Dhooj - 6 November, 2021 

The second day after Diwali is 'Bhai Dooj', marking the end of this five-day Hindu festival. It is unique in nature as it is solely dedicated to the strong bond of love between a brother and a sister. The festival is associated with the legendary tale of brotherly love between Lord Yama and his sister Yami. After several decades of separation, Lord Yama decided to visit his sister. When he went to meet her, he was touched by the warmth and hospitality she showed. Yami welcomed her brother with full fanfare and respect and put a tilak on his forehead to mark the occasion. Yamraj blessed her and announced that henceforth a brother who will greet his sister on this day will have a long life. 

On Bhai Dooj, a 'teeka' of rice and vermilion is applied on the brother's forehead, followed by 'arti' and partaking of sweets. Usually, a meal comprising special dishes and sweet delicacies follows. The brother promises to protect his sister from untoward situations while the sister prays for her brother's longevity. This day is eagerly awaited by all sisters and brothers, given their enduring nature of relationship. 

Muralidharan Krishnan also tells us Lord Yama is worshipped on two days amidst Diwali festivals and also Chitraguptas and sends a rare mantra though there are no temples for us to worship yet can recite this rare Sloka found in my collection of Rare Mantras and Slokas to please him and plead for long-life not affected by pandemonium like COVID-19 that shortens our life due to abusing Nature and shocks us.

His Message:

As Deepavali celebrations starting today with Dhana Trayodashi span many days when different deities are worshipped on those days. Lord Yama (also known Lord Dharmaraja) is worshipped on two occasions in this span by different traditions - Naraka Chaturdashi (i.e. 14th night of dark fortnight and the night before Deepavali) and Yama Dwitiya (2nd day of bright fortnight and 2 days after Deepavali). In South India, Lord Chitragupta is also worshipped along with Lord Yama to request annihilation of all sins committed deliberately or otherwise throughout the year.  Typically, Yama Tarpanam with the names of Lord Yama is done along with Lighting of Lamps. In North India, Yama Dwitiya is also known as Bhai Dooj, which marks the day when Goddess Yamuna fed her brother Lord Yama at her residence.

In this connection, I am delighted to share one of the very few hymns on Lord Yama by Savitri taken from Matsya Puranam and Chapter 213. In the brief Phalashruti at the end of the hymn, Lord Yama declares that one who chants this hymn in the mornings will be bestowed with long life. [I had shared another hymn on Lord Yama from Brahma Vaivarta Puranam several years ago].

--November 2, 2021

We hope this festival that signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair offers you beautiful sparkles of serenity, contentment, joy, and happiness that will remain with you all year and into the future. Like the colors of Rangoli, may this Diwali offer new smiles, uncharted paths, new perspectives, and boundless bliss! Wishing you and your family a very happy and cheerful Diwali!!

--India Association Nashville

Excellently narrated; thanks sir

--Purushottama Rao Ravela

 

 Excellent; Happy Dhanteras, Deepawali

--Sapthagireeshan

Thank you mama, Happy Diwali to you all as well.

--Aparna Arcot

 

 

THE WISDOM OF RIGHT SEQUENCE

 

तस्मात्त्वमिन्द्रियाण्यादौ नियम्य भरतर्षभ |
पाप्मानं प्रजहि ह्येनं ज्ञानविज्ञाननाशनम् || 41|| 

tasmāt tvam indriyāṇyādau niyamya bharatarṣhabha
pāpmānaṁ prajahi hyenaṁ jñāna-vijñāna-nāśhanam 

 

tasmāt—therefore; tvam—you; indriyāṇi—senses; ādau—in the very beginning; niyamya—having controlled; bharata-ṛiṣhabha—Arjun, the best of the Bharatas; pāpmānam—the sinful; prajahi—slay; hi—certainly; enam—this; jñāna—knowledge; vijñāna—realization; nāśhanam—the destroyer 

 

Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning bring the senses under control and slay this enemy called desire, which is the embodiment of sin and destroys knowledge and realization.  

 

Now, Shree Krishna explains how to overcome lust, the root of all evil, which is so pernicious to human consciousness. Having identified the repositories of lust, Shree Krishna asks Arjun, at the outset, to curb the desires of the senses. Permitting them to arise is the cause of our miseries, while eliminating them is the way to peace. 

 

Consider the following example. Ramesh and Dinesh were two fellow students sharing the same room in the hostel. At 10 pm at night, Ramesh developed the desire to smoke cigarettes. He said, “I am getting the urge to smoke.” Dinesh replied, “It is so late at night. Forget about cigarettes and go to sleep.” “No…no…I will not be able to sleep until I puff the tobacco,” said Ramesh. Dinesh went to sleep, but Ramesh went out in search of cigarettes. The shops nearby had closed. It took him two hours until he finally returned to the hostel with the cigarette and had a smoke. 

 

In the morning, Dinesh asked him, “Ramesh, when did you sleep at night?” “At midnight.” “Really! That means you remained agitated for cigarettes for two hours and when you had your puffs, you returned to the same state that you were in at 10 pm.” “What do you mean by that?” asked Ramesh. “Look, at 10 pm you did not have any desire for cigarettes, and you were peaceful. Then you yourself created the desire for them. From 10 pm to midnight, you remained agitated for cigarettes. Finally, when you smoked them, the disease, which you had created, went away, and you got to sleep. I, on the other hand, did not create any desire, and slept peacefully at 10 pm itself.” 

 

In this way, we create desires for the objects of the senses of the body, and then become agitated by them. When we get the cherished object, the disease of our own creation gets eradicated, and we think of it as happiness.” However, if we think of ourselves as the soul and our only purpose is happiness of the soul, then it becomes easier to renounce such material desires. Shree Krishna tells Arjun to bring the senses under control, thereby slaying the lust residing in them. To accomplish this we must use the higher instruments given by God to us, as stated in the next verse. 

 

Gist of the Presentation:

 

 ‘To do or not to do’ is a question that often bothers us; then there is the question, ‘how to do’. This webinar deals with a third question, ‘what to do first’. Do all of A, B and C but in the right sequence.

 

If we become adepts in identifying the right sequence, we will be able to do much more work with much less stress or conflict. There are a number of kinds of ‘right sequence’ in the fascinating domain of work, duty and responsibilities. ‘Duty before pleasure’ is an old example that highlights one of them. ‘Important pieces before seemingly urgent pieces’ is a second example. ‘Putting others first, and the self after them,’ is yet another shining example of this wisdom in the context of human values. ‘Health before wealth’ can be cited as one more.

All this wisdom can bring to our life a greater sense of order, leading to happiness on one hand and enhanced fitness for spiritual advancement on the other.

Control your senses first, then go for mind control, O Arjuna!

 

 

 

 

Rishis Who Discovered Vedic Mantras In Hinduism 

The Sage of Kanchi, explains the greatness and importance of the Rishis who discovered the Vedic mantras in Hinduism.  They are perceived as one. Great men there who have reached such a state and are capable of transforming what is subtle in the one into what is gross in the other. I am speaking here to those who believe in such a possibility. When we look at this universe and their complex manner in which it functions, we realize that there must be a Great Wisdom that has created it and sustains it. 

The Great Wisdom, that is the Paramatman, that all that we see are born and it is from It that all the sounds that we hear have emanated. First came the universe of sound and then the universe that we observe. Most of the former still exists in space. The space that exists outside us exists also in our heart. The yogins have experience of this hrdayakasa, this heart-sky or this heart-space, when they are in samadhi (absorbed in the Infinite). In this state of theirs all differences between the outward and the inward vanish and the two become one. The yogins can now grasp the sounds of space and bestow the same on mankind. These successions of sounds that bring benefits to the world are indeed the mantras of the Vedas.  

These mantras are not the creation of anyone. Though each of them is in the name of a rishi or seer, in reality it is not his creation. When we say that a certain mantra has a certain sage associated with it, all that we mean is that it was he who first "saw" it existing without a beginning in space and revealed it to the world. The very word "rishi" means "mantra-drasta" (one who saw- discovered- the mantra), not "mantra-karta" (one who created the mantra). Our life is dependent on how our breathing functions. In the same way the cosmos functions in accordance with the vibrations of the Vedic sounds- so the Vedic mantras are the very breath of the Supreme Being. We must thus conclude that, without the Vedas, there is no Brahman: To put it differently, the Vedas are self-existent like the Paramatman.