Rivers
June 30, 2007
“Just as rivers flowing to the ocean
merge in it, losing their name and form,
so the wise Man, freed from name and form,
attains the supreme, divine Person.”
-Mundaka Upanishad
Light unfailing
June 29, 2007
“Where light unfailing ever shines,
where dwells the Sun, in that deathless world,
place me, O Purifier, beyond harm’s reach.”
-Atharva Veda
Brahma-nirvana
June 28, 2007
“He who finds his happiness, his joy, his light
solely within,
that yogin attains brahma-nirvana
and becomes himself Brahman”
Brahma nirvana is attained by those seers
whose sins are no more.
Doubts gone, minds steady, they rejoice in the welfarea
of every being.”
-Bhagavad Gita
The World of Goodness
June 27, 2007
“If we have injured space, the earth, or heaven,
or if we have offended mother or father,
from that may Agni, fire of the house, absolve us
and guide us safely to the world of goodness.”
-Atharva Veda
Kali
June 26, 2007
“Is Kali, my Divine Mother, of a black complexion?
She appears black because She is viewed from a distance;
but when intimately known She is no longer so.
The sky appears blue at a distance, but look at it close by
and you will find that it has no colour.
The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance,
but when you go near and take it in your hand,
you find that it is colourless.”
… Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836-86)
Reclining Vishnu
June 25, 2007
At the top of this photo you can see a temple priest attending to the murti of a reclining Vishnu in the inner sanctum of the temple. It is said that Vishnu reclines on a snake (Aadi Sesha) as the manages and protect the universe. In the next photo you can see the snake curled over his head. Note also that Vishnu is wearing armor, symbolic of his strength and role as protector of the universe.
The bliss of the Self
June 24, 2007
“The bliss that arises in the state of highest absorbtion, when the pure mind has come to rest in the Self, can never be expressed by words! One must experience it directly, one’s own Self, in one’s inner being.
If a man’s mind is merged in the Self, then he is completely released, just as water is not distinguishable in Water, or fire in Fire, or air in Air.
the mind alone is man’s cause of bondage or release: it leads to bondage when attached to the sense objects, and to release when freed from them. Thus it is taught in the Vedas.”
-Maitri Upanishad
Puja
June 23, 2007
“Today, may that great pair, Heaven and Earth,
preserve us in peace and happiness, free from evil!
May morning, sending forth her light, drive impurity afar!
We pray to Agni, now kindled, to bring us joy!”
-Rig Veda
Evening
June 22, 2007
“Here comes the Night with her twinkling eyes
the Goddess has lit many places
adorned once again with all her beauty.
…
O daughter of Heaven, to you I direct
my hymn like a precious offering.
Accept it, O Night, as a paean of praise!”
-Rig Veda
A Puja Mantra
June 21, 2007
From the Mahamanava Upanishad:
“May the word, the mind, the eye, the ear,
the tongue, the nose, the intelligence,
the intention, and the will be purified in me!
I am light! May I be purified from all stain and sin!