It may take sometime but one will realize that divine love is above all. All other forms of love are temporary. Like Gurudev says in one of the Bhakti sutras that all this melodrama love has so much pain. Hopefully one would realize from that pain that the only True Love is with the divine, that love brings fullness and bliss, in that love there are no strings attached :)
Jai Gurudev
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Let go of all supports
Oct. 24, 2008
"Goddess Lakshmi sits on a lotus flower. Meaning that wealth and prosperity can be very fleeting. Any moment they could sink! Also the lotus signifies a fully blossomed consciousness and that only such a person is really capable of handling wealth effectively. The finances of a country (or a family for that matter) need to be managed by extremely capable hands, other wise, the wealth (and the country) could go under very fast… (America… You listening to this?! :))"
Diwali is coming and most Hindus around the world will be praying to Goddess Lakshmi on this day, much needed at this time...the world is going through an economic crisis.
At times like this one realizes that all those things that we find support and security in, money, home, job...are so flaky! Any moment they can go poof! Even our very life...there is no guarantee it will be there the next moment. So what is one to find security and solace in?
Most of our lives we use the help of so many walking sticks - we take the support of our bank balance, of a relationship, of our career, we constantly look outside to fulfill some need, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. When all our supports come crashing down what happens? So what is one to find security and solace in?
Most of our lives we are facing one or more problems in the following categories: children and/or parent related, health related, or finance/prosperity/job related. We look to God for support, we ask Him to relieve us from these problems, to bless us so we don't have to go through them. And we keep going through this infinite loop all our lives...or multiple lives, never really thinking about our existence out-of-the-box. What is the meaning of our existence? Why am I here? Or who am I?
Ever wondered if there are...and who are those who blossomed souls, like the lotus...The lotus has it's roots in muddy waters signifying the world, yet it rises and blossoms above it. What do those souls find support in, solace in...Most people work on the outside and let it project inside, few work on the inside and project that on the outside...
"3 things that you should ask of a Guru are Unshakable Faith, Unwavering Devotion and Liberation! Everything else will anyways come to you when the time is ripe…"
"Yeh choti si zindagi mein kya?(what will you do in this short lifetime). Leave everything it will all come chasing you. There is nothing you will not have..."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Duality->Devotion->Oneness
Today was Dussera, day of victory. As Guruji said, and Dinesh repeated, that it is not victory of good over evil but rather of Oneness over the apparent duality. Navaratri as he mentioned is a journey from Duality to Devotion to Oneness.
Hinduism and other traditions of the Occident are different from religions of the middle east in the sense that reality is not classified into Good and Evil. Rather that both (duality) make up totality, and that Brahman or the universal consciousness is above duality. Hinduism defines creation as a field of duality for example: Lakshmi is both prosperity and proverty. Also the principle that opposite values are complimentary. What does it mean that opposite values are complimentary? I think it means that one sustains the other, that one cannot exist without the other. Like day and night, like the stock market gains and losses, like good health and sickness. Vikram Hazra in his blog very nicely states another example :
"Shiva represents Consciousness; all-pervading knowledge, the deepest part of us, the silent source from whence all springs. Shakti, the Divine Mother, represents Energy, which complements consciousness and evokes action. Hers, then, is the energy that runs the entire universe, whose basis is Shiva. This beautiful complementarity of knowledge and energy, of repose and action, of still and dynamic, is what causes the marvellous ebb and flow of life as we know it. Rather than worry about limited labels and concepts, these are opportunities for us to examine our lives in a deeper context. The rishis gave us these different representations not just to denote the varied aspects of our own existence, but to live a set of spiritual values which are hinted at by these apparently differing forms of the One Divinity.
Parameshwari -- the supreme energy, is also Jagadeeshwari -- the one who rules the world. Shiva -- the deepest silence within us, manifests into action through the movement of Shakti."
Hinduism is also different from other religions in the concept of God. In some religions God and His creation are seperate (duality) and in Hinduism God and His creation are all God. If God is omni present then I would think that He is everywhere and in everything, if he is infinite then also he cannot be defined or seperated from creation. Our journey starts from a prospective of duality, good and evil, God and me. For a devotee this duality is a play, devotion or divine love needs an external God, but in divine love, in bliss and ecstacy the devotee merges into the divine and becomes One. For a Gyani there is no duality - he knows he is God - Aham Brahmasmi. No matter what the path the journey ends in Oneness and one realizes that He is Love, He is Knowledge. I wrote something once:
At the pinnacle of devotion is liberation
At the pinnacle of knowledge is ?............Divine Love
In Divine Love knowledge is inherent
Without love knowledge is meaningless....
Jai Guru Dev
Hinduism and other traditions of the Occident are different from religions of the middle east in the sense that reality is not classified into Good and Evil. Rather that both (duality) make up totality, and that Brahman or the universal consciousness is above duality. Hinduism defines creation as a field of duality for example: Lakshmi is both prosperity and proverty. Also the principle that opposite values are complimentary. What does it mean that opposite values are complimentary? I think it means that one sustains the other, that one cannot exist without the other. Like day and night, like the stock market gains and losses, like good health and sickness. Vikram Hazra in his blog very nicely states another example :
"Shiva represents Consciousness; all-pervading knowledge, the deepest part of us, the silent source from whence all springs. Shakti, the Divine Mother, represents Energy, which complements consciousness and evokes action. Hers, then, is the energy that runs the entire universe, whose basis is Shiva. This beautiful complementarity of knowledge and energy, of repose and action, of still and dynamic, is what causes the marvellous ebb and flow of life as we know it. Rather than worry about limited labels and concepts, these are opportunities for us to examine our lives in a deeper context. The rishis gave us these different representations not just to denote the varied aspects of our own existence, but to live a set of spiritual values which are hinted at by these apparently differing forms of the One Divinity.
Parameshwari -- the supreme energy, is also Jagadeeshwari -- the one who rules the world. Shiva -- the deepest silence within us, manifests into action through the movement of Shakti."
Hinduism is also different from other religions in the concept of God. In some religions God and His creation are seperate (duality) and in Hinduism God and His creation are all God. If God is omni present then I would think that He is everywhere and in everything, if he is infinite then also he cannot be defined or seperated from creation. Our journey starts from a prospective of duality, good and evil, God and me. For a devotee this duality is a play, devotion or divine love needs an external God, but in divine love, in bliss and ecstacy the devotee merges into the divine and becomes One. For a Gyani there is no duality - he knows he is God - Aham Brahmasmi. No matter what the path the journey ends in Oneness and one realizes that He is Love, He is Knowledge. I wrote something once:
At the pinnacle of devotion is liberation
At the pinnacle of knowledge is ?............Divine Love
In Divine Love knowledge is inherent
Without love knowledge is meaningless....
Jai Guru Dev
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Mt. Madonna - Vaayu putra Hanuman
Oct. 4th, 2008
Today we went to the Mt. Madonna Center (http://www.mountmadonna.org/) near Gilroy, CA. An ashram of the Hanuman Fellowship inspired by Baba Hari Dass. Good day to go as well, it's
the 6th day of Navratri.
It was a cool rainy day. The drive is so beautiful...up through the coastal hills, tall evergreens... even redwoods... on a curvy road. The rain had made everything look so fresh. When we reached, the ashram seemed ethereal, set on top of a mountain, a long flight of steps leading up to a small Hanuman temple, surrounded by tall trees, a beautiful panoramic view of the Santa Cruz valley and the Pacific Ocean.
The priest blessed us with a Tilak of sandalwood paste and then
Kumkum. We paid our respects and sat in silence for a few moments. Cool breeze, mist and rain and of course the serene presence of Hanumanji, ah! so blissful, we forgot the world for a while.
It was starting to rain and we ran into the meditation hall. Baba was there talking to those gathered around him. We got ourselves a hot cup of Chai and sat down near the window, looking out into the valley and ocean, clouds rolling and sun shining in the distance. I felt so much stillness and silence, a separation from an inner core
and outer shell. The feeling of the place was so calming, the devotees who live and work here seemed so blissful, it felt like they were on another plane of existence!
I told my friends of my first visit here. I had closed my eyes for a few moments in the meditation hall (where Baba sat now) and felt so much energy, I wanted so much to do an Art of Living course here...and my wish came true a few months later in the form of the Blessings course.
We strolled through the bookstore and glanced through beautiful arts and crafts.
I did not get to sit on the swing as it was wet and is my favorite part of the ashram. You get to see the entire Santa Cruz bay from up there on the swing, not to say that it feels so much like Vrindavan as well ;)
It was time to go already, bid farewell to Hanumanji. Many years ago at this time He was busy finding the Sanjivani to heal Lakshman (just before Dussera).
Swami Suckchaitanya of the Art of Living ashram in Canada has very beautifully described the meaning and connection of Sri
Hanumanji - Vayu putra - and the breath. It's part of the music CD "21st Km" by Keerti Mathur.
Very soon we start driving down the mountain from the abode of Hanuman to the world below, from the ethereal to the real, to world of: the Financial Crisis, the Bailout Plan, Sarah Palin...ok that's scary enough!
Till next time... :)
Today we went to the Mt. Madonna Center (http://www.mountmadonna.org/) near Gilroy, CA. An ashram of the Hanuman Fellowship inspired by Baba Hari Dass. Good day to go as well, it's
the 6th day of Navratri.It was a cool rainy day. The drive is so beautiful...up through the coastal hills, tall evergreens... even redwoods... on a curvy road. The rain had made everything look so fresh. When we reached, the ashram seemed ethereal, set on top of a mountain, a long flight of steps leading up to a small Hanuman temple, surrounded by tall trees, a beautiful panoramic view of the Santa Cruz valley and the Pacific Ocean.
The priest blessed us with a Tilak of sandalwood paste and then
Kumkum. We paid our respects and sat in silence for a few moments. Cool breeze, mist and rain and of course the serene presence of Hanumanji, ah! so blissful, we forgot the world for a while.It was starting to rain and we ran into the meditation hall. Baba was there talking to those gathered around him. We got ourselves a hot cup of Chai and sat down near the window, looking out into the valley and ocean, clouds rolling and sun shining in the distance. I felt so much stillness and silence, a separation from an inner core
and outer shell. The feeling of the place was so calming, the devotees who live and work here seemed so blissful, it felt like they were on another plane of existence!I told my friends of my first visit here. I had closed my eyes for a few moments in the meditation hall (where Baba sat now) and felt so much energy, I wanted so much to do an Art of Living course here...and my wish came true a few months later in the form of the Blessings course.
We strolled through the bookstore and glanced through beautiful arts and crafts.
I did not get to sit on the swing as it was wet and is my favorite part of the ashram. You get to see the entire Santa Cruz bay from up there on the swing, not to say that it feels so much like Vrindavan as well ;)
It was time to go already, bid farewell to Hanumanji. Many years ago at this time He was busy finding the Sanjivani to heal Lakshman (just before Dussera).
Swami Suckchaitanya of the Art of Living ashram in Canada has very beautifully described the meaning and connection of Sri
Hanumanji - Vayu putra - and the breath. It's part of the music CD "21st Km" by Keerti Mathur.Very soon we start driving down the mountain from the abode of Hanuman to the world below, from the ethereal to the real, to world of: the Financial Crisis, the Bailout Plan, Sarah Palin...ok that's scary enough!
Till next time... :)
Saturday, October 4, 2008
For the Bhakt within us...
Each one of us is natural lover, it is the easiest thing to be...
Each one of us attempts to express it differently, but love cannot be expressed...
Each one of us has a definition of love, at different times, for different people, but love cannot be defined...
Each one of us loves someone or something, so deeply, so passionately, but love cannot be found...
Where are you, my love, whom I seek and for whom my soul cries, since eons I have longed for you...O my beloved quench this thrist so I may merge with you and be One and Whole! So that there is non other than you in all creation and I will merge with I and roam free and high! Till then I sing in a trance of love... Till then I dance in a play of love. The angels envy, I am here in your company, and experience the colors of love in ecstacy!
Jai Jai Radha Raman Hari Bol!
Jai Gurudev
Each one of us attempts to express it differently, but love cannot be expressed...
Each one of us has a definition of love, at different times, for different people, but love cannot be defined...
Each one of us loves someone or something, so deeply, so passionately, but love cannot be found...
Where are you, my love, whom I seek and for whom my soul cries, since eons I have longed for you...O my beloved quench this thrist so I may merge with you and be One and Whole! So that there is non other than you in all creation and I will merge with I and roam free and high! Till then I sing in a trance of love... Till then I dance in a play of love. The angels envy, I am here in your company, and experience the colors of love in ecstacy!
Jai Jai Radha Raman Hari Bol!
Jai Gurudev
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