%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
| In course of conversation Mataji said: World means that which is in constant flux and thus illusory. This pandal (canopy) in which you are sitting now will not remain to-morrow - therefore it is transitory. Just as a tree did not exist earlier and will not be in existence much later, thus it is impermanent. Why do you not aspire towards Truth and Eternity? According to the doctrine of Vedanta or Advaita, name and form are regarded as illusory. To think of name and form as separate from That which Is - this indeed is false. In the case of a living Vigraha (Concrete External Presence as form) there is no transitoriness. You are true, enlightened, the Atma (Self) beyond all names. You are the Atma Itself, free, Knowledge Itself. So long as God has existed, Maya is also in existence. But God is beyond Maya- just like the external relationship between water and ice. Exactly as ice is nothing but water, so Nirakara, the Formless and Sakara, God-with-Form are one and the same. |
Mahendranath Datta, Swami Vivekananda's younger brother, was eye-witness to one incident relating to this, and has described it. Habu Datta, Swamiji's elder cousin was an accomplished musician. He was also without peer in his addiction to drugs and alcohol. There was no drug or liquor which he had not tried. On a sudden impulse, Swamiji brought him to Cossipore to see Sri Rama krishna. Sri Ramakrishna was in the last stages of his illness and very weak. Despite all this, Swamiji told him that he must touch Habu, perhaps thinking that his touch would change Habu's character as it had that of others. Sri Ramakrishna, however, was reluctant to use his power in Habu's case. He ( Master ) said, 'Have you no sense? Don't you see my condition? Any moment I can die.' But Swami Vivekananda would not listen--he kept insisting. Then suddenly Sri Ramakrishna touched Habu, and Habu at once was lost in samadhi. The samadhi was so deep that it continued for hours. Habu sat as a stone. Swamiji became worried. Perhaps that touch had killed Habu! He started to push and shove Habu, telling him, 'Stand up! I've prepared sorne gånjá (marijuana) for you. Will you smoke it?" After a long time Habu said slowly, 'Why do you speak of gânjā? I was absorbed so long in that intoxicant, not some drug like gânjă. I do not want gānjā any more. He had discovered that compared to the Bliss of Brahman, worldly bliss is nothing. |
| GURUS ORDER MUST BE FOLLOWED WITHOUT DOUBTING IT : One night Nampally Baba appeared in the dream of Shravan kumar's son and ordered him to cut off the Audumbar tree in the premises ; but He did not dared to cut it considering its spiritual significance . Later in the next few days the entire room of baba includng his food was filled with black colured insects . They all realised that those insects were coming from the tree itself , later they had no option other than to cut off the tree , only after which the insects left . At Nampally , Baba used to sit infront of Noori pan shop . A police constable used to frequently visit that place and used to scold the shop owner( Md.Saber) for allowing such people to stay infront of shop and even ordered him to send him away . 2 to 3 days later it was noted that the constable was killed by an Srilankan criminal in some dispute . Dr .Gopal Das records one incident . During those days when he stayed at Namapally Police Station , One journalist used to come to Baba and used to comment " Why people are crazy and following this mad man " He went forward to an extent that he even published an article against baba . Within next few days , it was noted that journalist died committing suicide and when enquired with his parents about the cause ; no one could figure out the cause !! GURUS SILENCE IS SUFFICIENT TO UPLIFT SHISHYA One man when he planned to go to Nampally Baba thought to himself , " Whats the use of going to Baba....Anyways he will not talk to anyone ". Thinking in this fashion, he eventually cancelled his trip to viit Baba . Baba appeared to him that night in his dream and to his surprise he noticed that Baba was speaking in to a Devotee telugu very fluently !! Great lesson that Gurus silence is sufficient to uplift students (Even Dakshinamurthy story teaches us the same ). |
1. " Faith is NOT the belief that God will do what you want. It is The Belief that God WILL DO what is RIGHT......." 2. " The function of Prayer is NOT to influence God, but rather to Change the NATURE of the one who Prays......." 3. " I Don't think that we are MEANT to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just Have To Have FAITH.........." 4. " This is what the past is for ! Every Experience God gives us, Every Person He puts in our Lives is the Perfect Preparation for the Future that only HE CAN SEE........" 5. " “Faith is about DOING. You Are how You ACT, not just how You Believe...." 6. " To have FAITH is to Trust yourself to the water. When you Swim you DON'T grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you RELAX, and FLOAT............." AND TWO IMMORTAL QUOTES FROM THE WISE....... A. " Because YOU BELIEVED I was Capable of Behaving Decently, I DID....' - Paulo Coelho (from : The Devil and Miss Prym) B. " The Simple Path ; Silence is Prayer, Prayer is Faith, Faith is Love, Love is Service ; The Fruit of Service is Peace......" - Mother Teresa THAT - IS WHAT " FAITH " IS (And Can DO)......... |
| Given below are two. miracle-laden incidents as narrated by my wife Smt. Tushar Chaudhuri who had the rare good fortune and privilege of travelling with Ma throughout the length and breadth of the country. The incidents reveal Ma's supernatural glory as well as Her unbounded affection and blissful compassion. -Author When I met Shree Shree Ma Anandamayee for the third time at Simla Kalibari, I was then a College student. Before this, I had the good fortune to have Mother's darshan on two occasions in Delhi. After this third meeting with Ma, my acquaintance with and reverence for Her grew deeper and deeper solely due to Ma's unbounded Kripa (blessings) and unaccountable con)passion. Even now when I think of Mother's most intimate and often partial favour bestowed on a most ordinary and insignificant person like me, my heart fills with profound wonder. But who can comprehend Mother's Lila? Many miraculous and unbelievable incidents concerning me had happened at Ma's Kheyal (spontaneous wishes) and all those now seem to be illusory visions of dreamland. Presented below are two of those miracle-laden incidents. I It was the month of April. Ma came to Simla from Solan where she stayed for a couple of days in the estate of Raja Saheb of Solan who was popularly known as ‘Jogibhai' (this name was given to him by Ma). At Simla, Ma stayed with Her party at Kalibari (guest-house attached to Kali temple). Ma's arrival created a stir and roused keen interest in the local people, particularly the Bengali community which was very much anxious to have Ma's darshan and satsang. But my interest was not as keen as theirs mainly because I had till then no close contact with Ma although I had two earlier darshans of Her. On Ma's arrival at Simla, my parents used to go daily for Her darshan and I used to stay back at home for my studies. One day, they insisted on my accompanying them and I agreed. On my doing pranam, Ma rewarded me with a fascinating smile which, surprisingly enough, generated a deep inclination in my heart to go to Her daily. Ma however seldom spoke to me for which I felt depressed but in spite of my mental depression, I kept on going. At Kalibari, I used to hear many interesting conversations among the devotees about Ma's supernatural powers and miracles. Some devotees would describe Ma as Antarjamini (knower of everything that passes in other's heart), others remarked that at a single glance at one's face, Ma could at once know the uppermost thought in the devotee's mind, while some others said that Ma had appeared to different persons at different places in different forms, such as, Ma Durga, Ma Kali etc. But I was not impressed by such anecdotes which sounded to me as nothing but fairy-tales. It is a fact of life that at times there are situations when our mind and intellect refuse to accept blindly whatever we hear, no matter how astonishing and uncommon the subject-matter might be. I myself was a victim of such a situation as I could not take for granted all that I heard about Ma's supernatural powers and divine glories. I, there-fore, took a challenging decision to test Ma as to whether She actually possessed an uncanny power of knowing exactly about the wishes and desires that arose in a devotee's heart. I knew that Ma was a great lover of songs and during each darshan time Ma used to ask somebody from among the assembled devotees to sing. Sometimes She would ask two or three persons to sing. I therefore devised a plan for testing Ma. I decided to go henceforth for Ma's darshan with a strong desire in my mind to sing before Her only if Ma asked me to sing. I did not divulge this decision either to my parents or anybody else. I then started to practice a particular song thoroughly at home. My acquaintance with Ma at that time was only superficial and it seemed not possible for Her know whether I could sing or not. As I did not put much credence in those miracle-laden stories which I heard from the devotees, I was bubbling with joy in my heart at the thought that I would surely win in the test planned by me. For the next two days, I did not go to Kalibari for Ma's darshan. On the third afternoon, I volunteered to go for Ma's darshan and my mother accompanied me to Kalibari. When we reached there, we found Ma sitting on a cot in the big hall and radiating a transcendental Light all around. The hall was almost packed to capacity. Inwardly, my thought centred round the fact that my role that day was that of a mute tester and as such I intentionally took a back seat at quite a distance from Ma. Everybody in the hall sat absorbed and spellbound in Divine peace blissfully emanating from Ma. After some time, Ma answered to some questions put to Her by two devotees. Ma then asked one girl to sing and when she finished, She asked another. On my part, I entertained the hope that Ma would surely ask me to sing and defeat me in the test, thereby providing an unmistakable proof that Ma did possess an all-knowing and all-pervading consciousness. An hour ticked by and during this period, Ma did not even cast a single glance towards me. This indifference led me to conclude that I was going to win the test and Ma to lose. I fixed my gaze on Ma and decided that on coming out of the Hall after the darshan was over, I would boldly tell those who spin stories about Ma's supernatural powers that I had got clear proof that Ma did not possess such powers. After a while, some devotees with the intention of leaving the hall, approached Ma to do obeisance. On seeing this, my own mother told me that it was time for us also to leave. I agreed. I went near Ma, did my pranam and as I raised my head to get up Ma said "Are you leaving now? Won't you let me hear your song? Just sing at least one song for me." I was stunned and dumbfounded to hear Ma's words. In reply I murmured: "My father is about to return home from office. I have come with my mother and the keys of the house are with us." Ma replied "Don't worry. Today your father will be late to return home. First sing a song and then go home." I therefore sat down and as I was getting ready, Ma said with a smile: "Sing that very song which you have practised so hard." At this, my astonishment knew no bounds and I wondered how Ma knew all about my plan. After I finished singing, I looked up and found Ma looking straight towards me with a bewitching smile on Her face. The smile seemed to communicate the message that I have lost the contest and Ma has won. My heart filled with joy. I felt a wonderful delight which was hitherto unknown to me. I also realised that this was one of thousands of mysterious incidents that very often take place around Ma. I then went to Ma and did pranam. Ma touched my head with Her hand and smiled. I then left the hall with the firm conviction that Ma is an all-pervading Divine consciousness for whom there is no limitation of space and time and that She is undoubtedly Antarjamini, jai Ma. |
At Dr. Sivaraman's request, I had taken him and Mrs. Sivaraman to the Ashram for darshan. Thereafter, he went on his own many times. He told me one or two of his remarkable experiences. Once, he wanted to purchase a garland of red roses for Sri Ma, but coincidentally on that day they had all been sold out and there were only marigold garlands let in the basket of the flower-vendor. So, he took a yellow garland and joined the queue in front of Sri Ma. Generally, Sri Ma used to take the offered garland in her own hand and with the other pick up the topmost from the heap next to her and and put it on the neck of the person bowing in front of her. She was very deft with this process of exchanging garlands and the queue moved quite quickly. When it was Dr. Sivaraman's turn to bow before her, she kept his garland in her lap and shifted the heap near her. The queue halted. She extracted a red rose-garland from the heap and put it round his neck. She gave him what he had wanted to offer to her ! The other story was very private and close to his heart. He told me that he had a desire to be initiated by her in the very sacred panchaksara mantra of the Saivas, but together with this, he had a strong inhibition against the female form of the Guru. South Indians have a very robust male oriented culture. I told him, " If you wish you can state your problems to Sri Ma quite openly and candidly". So Dr. Sivaraman asked for and was given a private audience on one of the days that he visited the Ashram. I went every day while Sri Ma was in residence. On that day I, along with other visitors and the Ashram girls as usual stood around in the lobby while the people who had appointments went into Sri Ma's room one by one. We saw Dr. Sivaraman go in for his for his interview and come out after some time, while the next person was asked to step in. I went up to him to ask about his talk with Sri Ma but I was deterred from saying anything. I saw that he was looking a little overcome ; his face was flushed and his eyes were bright with unshed tears. Obviously, he was not in a mood to talk. After a while, Sri Ma came out for her public darshan. There was a crowd in the lobby which sat quietly all around her for some time. I did not see Dr. Sivaraman again that day. At our next meeting he told me in confidence his experience of the initiation. He had said to Sri Ma that he had a great desire for a formal initiation, without which no progress can be made in one's spiritual quest, but he could not accept any one he knew as his Guru. Sri Ma said, "Look inside you, the Guru resides in your heart, then listen to what comes out of yourself". While she gazed steadily at him Dr. Sivaraman felt the sacred mantra welling forth from an inner source and as compulsively he pronounced it aloud in her presence. Sri Ma did not need to say anything at all. It all happened automatically! Having understand his problem at a glance she granted his desire in a way which was itself fulfilment for him. At that moment he knew her to be what she was. I regret that I did not write down immediately the exegesis propounded by him on this Initiation. His language was profund but lucid. I was impressed but I do not think I can reproduce it. He had a gift for languages. |
| When one sees a stone, it cannot be called a vigraha, an image of the deity; and seeing a vigraha, it cannot be called a stone. Where it is regarded as a focus for the presence of God, there He actually is. Just as it is said that everything is God's own vigraha (image), it is only fitting that one should strive after the direct perception of this fact. Stone-mindedness is foolishness - the fact of God's immanence has not yet been grasped. The delight in the things of this world, in sense objects, is fleeting indeed. It does not last; it is impermanent. But where God and God alone stands revealed, there is no such thing as impermanence. Your attention is directed towards the world, not towards the Eternal; you are identified with that which is transient in constant flux. What is revealed thereby? The perishable. In the perishable there is no Self-revelation. How can Reality, true Being, be in that? For the destruction of destruction has not yet come about. The perishable must perish. |
| “My favorite quote from my family doctor was, “it can’t really be that bad if you are still working and doing everything you do. “ I told him I didn’t know I had a choice. 🤷🏼♀️ Years in pain, tired and the many changes in me for no reason or apparent reason ... Hiding everything from someone else, pretending to be doing better than you are; until it no longer works. No matter how strong you want to be. Then the moment comes when they tell you what you have ... You have mixed feelings: you finally know what you have, but how do you deal with it? Lack of encouragement, wanting to lie down, taking medication frequently; having a whole pharmacy on top of the nightstand. Then, the daily responses, "Why did you get so fat?" “I have this great diet, if you just go out and exercised. That once beautiful hair of yours now awful and it falls out. What happened to you??.... This is all true and that's why I'm sharing it! Silent and invisible diseases do exist ... When you have an invisible disease it is difficult to argue from your perspective with ignorant people. Life takes a lot of turns !!! Tired of being told: * Did you go to the doctor? * Have you tried this? * Have you tried that? * I don’t know what else we can do for you... Yes! I tried and still try everything !!! Doctors say this disease is forever. That I will not heal. However, I am not giving up, but I want to make others realize: * A nap will not cure me but it will help me ... * I am not lazy, I take medication and it sometimes makes me sleepy. * I am not angry but sometimes cranky with pain. * I struggle daily with pain, mobility problems, fatigue, the criticism of my environment. Most frustratingly, people look at me and say, "It can't be that bad; you look good " Despite the fact that my body is experiencing excruciating pain everywhere, of course I look good, I always try to look good, it is an "invisible" disease. This disease affects me physically, mentally and emotionally. Because rare autoimmune diseases cannot be seen, but we feel them. And they are there ... Silent attack but extra painful. I am looking at those who take the time to read this post to the end. The following request is sent to the post: Please, for me and in honor of someone who fights against: -Lyme Disease -Crohn’s Disease -Hashimotos Disease -Graves Disease -Depression -Anxiety -Autoimmune disease -Sjogrens syndrome -Polycystic ovary syndrome. -Rheumatoid arthritis. -Chronic pain -Endometriosis. -Multiple sclerosis. -Myasthenia gravis. -Pulmonary hypertension. -Chronic fatigue syndrome. -Diabetes -Fibromyalgia. -Raynaud and Scleroderma. -Lupus. -Neuralgia of the trigeminal -Epilepsy -MS -Cancer -Hyperthyroidism -Arachnoiditis or some other disease you don't see. In support of a friend, a family member who is fighting for this disease. Just say “done””Done" |
A human being is composed of a body and a mind. A body without a mind is just a dead corpse. A mind without a body is just pure spirit. Someone who, although endowed with both a body and a mind, only knows the body but not the mind is called a sentient being. In general, a sentient being is understood as any being possessing conscious life. Birds flying in the sky, animals walking on the ground, fish swimming in the water, as well as the tiniest organisms, are all sentient beings. Human beings are said to be superior to all other creatures. But how can a human being be considered superior if he knows his body but is ignorant of the nature of his mind? One who knows the body but not the mind is an incomplete person. However, if a human being searches for the mind and awakens to it, he will realize completeness: for at that time he will know both, the body and the mind. ... Meditation can be compared to a battle between wandering thoughts and dullness of mind on the one side and the hwadu on the other. The stronger the hwadu becomes, the weaker will become wandering thoughts and dullness. You are not the first and you will not be the last to tread this path. So do not become discouraged if you find the practice difficult at times. All the previous patriarchs of old as well as the contemporary masters have experienced hardships along this way. Moreover, it is not always the most virtuous or intelligent person who makes the swiftest progress. Sometimes the opposite is true. There are many cases of troublesome and ill-behaved people who, upon turning their attention inward to the practice of meditation, have quickly experienced a breakthrough. So do not feel defeated even before you have really begun. An ancient master once said that with the passing of the days you will see your thoughts becoming identical with the hwadu, and the hwadu becoming identical with your thoughts. This is quite true. In the final analysis, the practice of Zen can be said to be both the easiest as well as the most difficult thing to do. However, do not thereby deceive yourself into thinking that it will be either very simple or extremely hard. Every morning just resolve to be awakened before evening. Strengthen this commitment daily until it is as inexhaustible as the sands along the river Ganges. There is no one who can undertake this task for you. The student's hunger can never be satisfied by his teacher's eating a meal for him. It is like competing in a marathon. The winner will only be the person who is either the fittest or the most determined. It is solely up to the individual to win the race. Likewise, to achieve the aim of your practice, do not be distracted by things that are not related to this task. For the time being, just let everything else remain as it is and put it out of your mind. Only when you are awakened will you be able to truly benefit others. Be careful never to disregard the moral precepts that act as the basis for your practice of meditation. Furthermore, do not try and look deliberately withdrawn or abstracted. It is quite possible to pursue your practice of Zen without others being aware of what you are doing. However, when your absorption in the hwadu becomes particularly intense, your attention to external matters may diminish. This might result in your looking rather out of touch with everyday concerns. At this time the hwadu is said to be ripening and the mind starts to become sharper and more single-pointed, like a fine sword. It is vital at this point to pursue your practice with the intensity of an attacking soldier. You must become totally involved with the hwadu to the exclusion of everything else. If you can make your body and mind become identical with the hwadu, then in the end ignorance will naturally shatter. You will fall into a state of complete unknowing, perplexity, and questioning. Those who have done much study will even come to forget what they had previously-learned. But this is not a final or lasting state. When you have reached this point you must still proceed further to the stage where although you have ears, you do not know how to hear; although you have eyes, you do not know how to see; and although you have a tongue, you do not know how to speak. To reach the place where mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers may entail several years of hard practice. Therefore, it is necessary to cast aside all other concerns and train yourself to focus the entirety of your attention on the tasteless hwadu alone. By practicing diligently in this manner, you will finally awaken. Then you can seize the Buddhas and the patriarchs themselves and defeat them. At that time mountains will again be mountains, rivers will again be rivers, the earth will be the earth and the sky will be the sky. When you experience things in such a way, then you should proceed to a qualified teacher to receive confirmation of your understanding. |
| When the physical ego (the active consciousness) has become spiritualized and united to the soul, it is able to keep the intelligence, mind, and senses under control, guided by the discriminative wisdom of the soul-i.e., the "self (ego) has been conquered by the Self (soul)" -then the soul is the friend, the guide and benefactor, of the active physical consciousness. But if the lower ego-self has not been thus controlled and persists in keeping the consciousness matter-bent, then the soul is the enemy of the ego. This follows the Gita allegory described in chapter one: Krishna (the soul) is the friend and guide of the spitritual endeavors of the devotee Arjuna, along with the Pandava army of divine qualities; Krishna (the soul) is therefore an enemy (an opposer) of Duryodhana's Kaurava army of materialistic inclinations, which is under the guidance of Bhishma (ego)." |
 Log in to Leave Feedback |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
