++++ HEART'S BLOOD +++++ Dec 23, 2006 8:28 am 361 Views ''I will wash the feet of Jesus Christ with my HEARTS BLOOD'' ''Even if all the holy books of the world would be lost, the world would not have lost anything as long as it remembers the teaching of Jesus, ''Blessed are those pure in heart,for they shall see God!!'' -Vivekananda about Jesus christ 0 Comments

You have a formula !! Dec 16, 2006 11:28 pm 400 Views "The coconut shell is symbolic of the human body"-It should be as strong as the shell! "The white coconut is symbolic of the Human Mind" It should be as white as the white coconut! "The sweet water is symbolic of the Human Heart" It should be as sweet as the water ! - SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR in his recent Q&A session in Pollachi ,Tamilnadu, Inida Note: coconut is offered for worship in Hindu temples 0 Comments

+++ Japa ;Mantra ;Meditation Part 2 +++ Dec 16, 2006 11:10 pm 404 Views New Open save Save as Page setup Print Send == Short cut to desktop PART ONE POSTED ON THE 10 TH DEC LEARNING ABOUT THE MIND We really do not have a method to learn about our minds. We only know that we are subjected to a particular type of thinking. For example, we get into a reverie until something arrests our attention and only then do we come back. Is there anything that we have in our thought life - which is our life - that helps us understand our ways of thinking? What do we have to help us learn how to direct our thinking for a given length of time and have the mind at our disposal? We have no directed technique. If we were lucky, we had some intellectual discipline in school which has given us a capacity for logical thinking. In the process, we may have discovered some discipline, but we do not know it is a technique; nor do we use it as one. JAPA AS A TECHNIQUE Exercising one's choice is very important in japa. If I choose to mentally chant a word or sentence for a length of time, then I have a technique in hand and can see what happens in my mind. In japa, I know exactly what is to come next. If something else pops up, I know this is not what is expected and I bring back the chosen thought. In the process I learn how to dismiss unwanted thoughts and retain the one I have chosen. This is one important result of japa as a technique. As a technique, any word will work. You do not require the Lord's name or a "spiritual " mantra. Anything can be a mantra, like gring… gring… gring… gring… gring… gring… gring. If you keep on repeating this sound, it will work. An extraneous thought will eventually come, like " What makes this kind of noise? " " A bagpipe, " may be the response. Then you may ask, " What does a bagpipe have to do with my japa?" By returning to the sound, the bagpipe thought is dismissed. In this way, japa works as a technique for gaining some mental discipline. However, japa, is something more than the mere chanting of a sound. In repeating a given chant, you give yourself an occasion to see the ways of your own thinking. This repetition becomes a technique for keeping your mind directed for a length of time - and it can also help the mind gain a certain depth. THE INTERVAL BETWEEN THOUGHTS The advantage of repetition is that we can appreciate the interval between two successive occupations of the mind. In " BMW thinking, " listless thinking with no direction, the mind simply moves from one thought to another. This type of thinking is like picking up noodles. If you try to pick up one noodle, you find it coming along with a few others. Similarly, the whole occupation of thinking becomes " as though " a single thought; even though there are many thoughts. Between two thoughts there is an interval. BMW is the name of a vehicle and Germany is the name of a country. Because there is a connection between the two, the interval between them is missed. Repeating a given chant eliminates or avoids the connections between two thoughts because, between one chant and another, there is no connection. Each chant is a complete unit in itself and one thought unit is not connected to the second thought unit since both are the same. Thus, between two chants, there is a period : chant… period… chant… period. There is no comma, only a period, a full stop. Therefore, each chant is complete and, between chants, the interval is available for you to recognize. PEACE IN THE MIND What is it that obtains in the interval between chants? Between one thought with a certain form and sound and the next thought, there is no given thought. There is only an interval with no form or shape. This is what we call peace or silence. Because this silence has no particular thought form, there is no thinking as we know it. We always think that peace is something we have to acquire. People even ask for it : " Swamiji, I have everything except peace of mind. How can I gain this peace? " Because the mind is restless, we think that peace is something new that we have to acquire, an attribute with which we have to embellish the mind. Is peace something we have to acquire or is it natural? I once went to a swami, Yogi Ramayya, who was originally a yogi and then became a disciple of Ramana Maharshi. I could sense that he was a person who was at peace with himself. I had committed myself to Vedanta but, at the same time, I had a lot of conflicts in my pursuit. I went to this swami in an attempt to resolve them. He never talked much, but he said one thing to me that really hit home : " FOR RESTLESSNESS, YOU HAVE TO WORK A LOT. FOR PEACE, WHAT IS THERE TO DO? " Having asked this question, he became silent, which I found to be very effective. PART 3 WILL FOLLOW LATER THIS WEEK 0 Comments

>>>> YOU WANT ? >>>> Dec 10, 2006 5:28 am 404 Views ''It is impossible to change others ! Then you may ask '' Swamiji, why are you talking ? I can't change you ! But I can create THE WANT IN YOU TO CHANGE !!'' Swami Dayananda in his recent talk in coimbatore ,india 0 Comments

JAPA,MANTRA, MEDITATION -Part 1 Dec 10, 2006 5:16 am 403 Views New Open save Save as Page setup Print Send == Short cut to desktop *** Two Talks on JAPA,MANTRA, MEDITATION -Part 1 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati While many varieties of mantra meditation, japa, are currently being taught in the West, such techniques have been commonly practiced in India for thousands of years. These two talks on japa given to the students attending a three year resident course at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam are a complete introduction to the subject of japa as mantra meditation. In this short format, Swami Dayananda, Hindu monk and scholar, addresses the following questions. · What is japa and what are its benefits? · How does japa work? · Can any word of chant be used as mantra? · Why is japa more than a technique? · What is " monkey thinking "? · How can japa be used as prayer? · What is the nature of thought and silence? JAPA Talk 1 Japa is the repetition of a word or short sentence during the practice of meditation. The letter pa stands for that which removes or destroys all impurities and obstructions and the letter ja stands for that which puts an end to the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, japa is an indirect means for liberation, moksa. By destroying the varieties of obstructions to knowledge, japa paves the way for liberation. japa , then, is more than a mere discipline or technique. These two talks will give you an understanding of the nature and logic of japa and how it works. With this understanding you will be able to do japa with conviction and handle it properly. THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF THOUGHTS At any given time, you have only one thought and what your next thought will be is anyone's guess. But when the next thought does occur, it will have done so because of some logic. There is no thought without a certain connection to the preceding thought. This connection may be flimsy or it may be very clear and logical. But the thought itself is never predictable. Even now, I cannot predict what I am going to say. I simply said I would talk on japa, and I started. Even the words I am saying right now were not known to me. What is going to come is unpredictable, but when it does come, it has a logic, a reason. " BMW THINKING " Suppose you see a BMW on the road and it draws your attention. What will your next thought be? " How can he afford it? " and then : " A person I work with just bought a new BMW. How can he afford such an expensive car? Last year he did not even have a job. His wife must have a lot of money. I wish my wife had a rich family. When I got married I did not think about money or my future. " All these thoughts started from seeing a BMW and they follow a certain logic. This particular sequence is only one line of thinking. Let us look at another one : " The German people are quite industrious. Even though their country was devastated during World War II, their economy rebounded quickly. They produce the best scientific equipment in the world.! Where did we start? From BMW. What will come after BMW is anyone's guess. Even in deliberate thinking you do not know what is coming next because thinking is always linear, one step at a time, one thought at a time. The connection between the thoughts can either be a logical, syntactical connection within a sentence or a simple association. But there will always be a connection, be it weak or strong. In " BMW thinking, " the connection between thoughts is not a deliberate one. Therefore, the next thought can be anything. The sky is the limit. " The BMW emblem is different. It is not like the Mercedes insignia. " The Mercedes insignia makes you think of a star and then your next thought may be, " My astrological sign is not favorable. " This movement from one thought to the next is listless thinking, a meandering of thoughts in which there is no direction. PART -2 WILL CONTINUE -[Mostly posted during week ends ] 0 Comments

------- STRETCH IT >>>>>> Dec 9, 2006 4:58 am 385 Views Movement stretched in Dance Sound Stretched in Music Mind stretched in Meditation Life stretched in Celebration -Sri Sri Ravishankar 0 Comments

+++++ Who are you ?++++++ Dec 9, 2006 4:54 am 373 Views I never do have enmity or friendship, Neither do I have vigour nor feeling of competition, Neither do I have assets, or money or passion or salvation, But I am Shiva the all pervading happiness, Yes ,I am definitely Shiva -SHANKARACHARYA Na me dwesha raghou na me lobha mohou, Madho naiva me naiva matsarya bhava, Na dharmo na cha artha na kamo na moksha, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham. 3 0 Comments

---- Who are you ? ----- Dec 7, 2006 5:45 am 366 Views 1) I am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego, nor the reflections of inner self (chitta). I am not the five senses. I am beyond that. I am not the ether, nor the earth, nor the fire, nor the wind (the five elements). I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness. 2) Neither can I be termed as energy (prana), nor five types of breath (vayus), nor the seven material essences, nor the five coverings (pancha-kosha). Neither am I the five instruments of elimination, procreation, motion, grasping, or speaking. I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness. Atma-Shatakam / Nirvana Shatakam The Song of the Self by Adi Shankara 788-820 CE The great Adi Shankara (first Shankaracharya) of the eighth century summarized the entirety of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualistic philosophy) in six stanzas. When a young boy of eight, while wandering in the Himalayas, seeking to find his guru, he encountered a sage who asked him, "Who are you?" The boy answered with these stanzas, which are known as "Nirvana Shatakam" or "Atma Shatakam." "Nirvana" is complete equanimity, peace, tranquility, freedom and joy. "Atma" is the True Self. The sage the boy was talking to was Swami Govindapada Acharya, who was, indeed, the teacher he was looking for. These few verses can be of tremendous value to progress in contemplation practices that lead to Self-Realization.[verses 1 and 2 are given here out of total of 6] 0 Comments

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