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Archive for June, 2007
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True Yoga
“When he knows with his mind the joy supreme beyond the reach of the senses, then, perceiving, he stands still, adhering firmly to Reality. Having laid hold on Reality he avers it a matchless prize. Established therein, he is unmoved even by the direct sorrow. Let that be known as true yoga.” -Krishna to Arjuna [...] -
Ganga Puja
“Your hills, O Earth, your snow clad mountain peaks, your forests, may they show us kindliness! Brown, black, red, multifareous in hue and solid is htis vast Earth, guarded by Indra. Invincible, unconquered, and unharmed, I have on her, established my abode. …may this great Earth assure us of life and breath, permitting us to [...] -
Shiva temple
This is a small 500+ year old Shiva temple near Varanasi where a lot of our mrytunjaya and Shiva yagyas are performed. This is the peepul tree which is revered in the Vedic and Buddhist traditions. It was under a tree like this that the Buddha attained enlightenment and the Sri Maha Bodhi is found [...] -
Serving the elderly
One need not serve the sanyasis to gain the merit of the anadanam yagya. We also serve food on the ghats in Varanasi . And it usually includes the elderly who may have come to Varanasi to support a relative in their final days. “When you send rain upon the earth, then the creatures breathe [...] -
Sanyasis
Periodically we perform a yagya called anadanam which honors Parvati in her form as Anapurni, the goddess of food. The vedas sing the glories of food in many many verses, so this yagya, as simple as it may seem is really quite profound. Thanks to our pundits in Varanasi they organized this feeding of some [...] -
Swasti!
Swastik is normally believed to be an amalgam of the words Su and Asati. Su means ‘good’ and Asati meant ‘to exist’. So in the rules of Sanskrit grammar, the words Su and Asati become Swasti. Thus, the literal meaning of the term Swastika would be ‘let good-prevail’. Swastik is the sign of lord Ganesha [...] -
The Ganges in Rome!
From the Wikipedia entry for the Ganges: In Rome’s Piazza Navona, there is a famous sculpture Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (fountain of the four rivers), a marvelous sculptural and architectural creation by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, set up in 1651. It symbolises four of the world’s great rivers (the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube, and the [...] -
Navagraha
In the Vedic tradition, the 9 planets are the delivery method for our karmas. So, it follows that in order to alleviate our bad karmas we can perform various forms of yagya to them. Above is the usual yantra for the Navagraha constructed of various grains. East is at the top, and so in the [...] -
Universality
From the Bhagavad Gita: “Even those who are devotees of other Gods, if they worship with faith, are sacrificing to me alone, though not adhering to the rule. … Whoever offers to me with devotion and purity of heart leaf, flower, fruit, or water – that offering of love I accept with joy.” -
The power of Agni
“With you fires, O Agni, you make strong our sacrifice and prayer. Inspire us, O God, to share and grant us wealth to give.” -Atharva Veda