Blog Archives
“Observe your life objectively for a minute and decide how much of a working balance actually exists between your physical, emotional, mental and actinic aspects. Know that you have the power to begin to readjust this balance if you find you are taking in too much “food” at one time or another. Apply the concept of diet to all the areas of your life. Every experience that we ingest is going to produce its own reaction. In surveying our own internal balance of tamasic, rajasic and sattvic tendencies, we need to apply the power of discrimination so that everything we take into our mind and body can be easily and harmoniously digested and assimilated. Life becomes more beautiful in this way, and we become the master of our forces, because we have given the guiding power of our lives to actinic will. But no diet is of much value to anyone unless it can be consistently applied through the power of decision.”
–Gurudeva
At 11:30 today, Bodhinatha and Shanmuganathaswami left for the airport for their journey to the new Siva temple in Atlanta then to the Murugan temple in Maryland, and then to various places in the mid-west, returning June 5th, only to leave again for Western Canada on June 15th. Read about it on his travel page, click here.
Bodhinatha’s next travel is to Atlanta, Georgia, and Bethesda, Maryland. Please visit his travel page for more information.
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Click for most recent TAKA page with an Iraivan Temple progress update. |
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Shanmuganathswami, the Talaivar of the Pilliyar Kulam, packing getting ready to go. The Pilliyar Kulam has been gearing up recently and is making big moves in our world outreach mission, an area that has been quiet for several years, but now is gaining new dynamism. Swami is taking a camera with him and if all goes well he’ll be sending back photos of the journey for TAKA.
Bodhinatha almost ready to go…
All the monks come to send off the team.
Muruganathaswami and Sadhaka Jothinatha drive them to the airport.
The front area of the monastery property…
“Back to work everyone….” 😉
Venkatraman and Prema Iyer returned today on the 2nd day of their pilgrimage. This morning they parked their car at our Rudraksha Forest entrance and walked down San Marga worshiping first at the Ganesha Shrine then climbing Muruga Hill to worship the beautiful Vel. Later they attended the Siva puja in Kadavul temple, performed abhishekam at the Narmada Lingam on the Path of the Tamil Saivite Saints and then met with Paramacharya Ceyonswami to go over their jyotisha. They are certainly the kind of pilgrims that Gurudeva saw coming here in the future when he planned the San Marga sanctuary many years ago.
The planets are here in their positions for the day…
This wonderful Gujarati family of 10 came this morning for a tour of the monastery after having heard about us in Honolulu.
They have come all the way from Nashville, TN for a wedding in Honolulu, in which the priest was brought from Ohio.
Oh this is really hard work! 😉
Acharya Kumarswami is working on the next “Insight section” for Hinduism Today and gathered some Marigold flowers which he has arranged and is taking photos of…
Close ups…
And more… to be used as background patterns on the pages of Hinduism Today.
Another important project sees culmination. Bodhinatha has worked with the editing team for several months to bring out new editions of the premonastic and postulant vow books. Yogi Japendranatha printed and bound the “Solemn Aspirations” for new aspirants who are entering a period of making a decision about monastic life, and “Sacred Pledge” for Supplicants who have made up their minds to take vows and are in a stage of begging the monastic order to allow them to take their vows.
Hand-binding is always a fun project.
And so beautifully done…
Solumn Aspirations
An Aspirant’s Premonastic Pledge
with Saiva Siddhanta Church
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Himalayan Academy Travel Study Programs |
Images from the Recent 2004 Indian OdysseyJanuary 19, 2004 – February 5, 2004 Bangalore, Madurai, Tanjavur, Chennai and |
From the collection of the excellent photographic eye of Selvi Jutikadevi Sivaraja…
Visiting Balagangadharanathaswami’s fabulous center on the outskirts of Bangalore….
His beautiful international school….
We are all so impressed by Swamiji’s great work. He has mobilized an entire community to do great things….
Late at night, on the train platform in Bangalore… a hour from departure for a night train ride to Madurai.
Amazing pillars
Murugan temples on hills…
Elephant blessings
A moment’s refreshment…
Then sitting quietly at Palani Hills in the blissful aftermath of darshan, permeated by the power of this sacred site.
Back down the hill…
Tanjavur…
The garland is made and tied to a stick that keeps the back of the garland open… the elephant grabs the stick and then places it over the arriving pilgrim…
The beginning of what was to be the most unforgettable temple experience of a lifetime at Brihadisvarar temple in Tanjavur.
The ceremonies begin with a homa…and proceeded to an abhishekam to the giant Shiva lingam that will live in our hearts and minds forever…
Ancient scripts…
Coming to another Murugan temple…
Many were the meals together… such sweet satsang…
The joyful final evening in Chennai…
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transcription begins
Date: April_03_2004
Title: Reincarnation, Karma and the Purpose of Life
Category: Karma
Duration: 9 min.,12 seconds
Date Given: March 21, 2004
Given by: Bodhinatha
Good Morning, everyone! Special welcome to our guests from Honolulu. Nice to have you with us again. A short talk this morning.
I thought you would all enjoy an e-mail I got. A few times each week I get a few e-mails about dreams, seeing Gurudeva in dreams or seeing the monks in dreams. I thought you would like to hear one, this just came in yesterday from Malaysia.
“I had a very beautiful dream of Gurudeva yesterday. I met Gurudeva at Satsang. It looked like a big hall, there were a lot of devotees. I was actually outside the hall. As I was looking from outside, Gurudeva turned to my side and pulled me towards Him. I went near Gurudeva and told Gurudeva that my wife and I have become arulsishya. Gurudeva congratulated me. Gurudeva looked so beautiful and He looked at me full of love. I was holding the ‘Lemurian Scrolls’ in my hand. Gurudeva asked me whether I had finished reading the book. Later Gurudeva instructed me to read chapter 16 and 18. I prostrated to Gurudeva and got His blessings. Later Gurudeva met all the other devotees. My wife and our daughters were there too. Then Gurudeva left. I can even feel Gurudeva’s scent.”
Isn’t that sweet? He certainly had a good memory for a dream!
The monks are working on an article for the next issue of ‘Hinduism Today’, on ‘Hinduism in the Movies’. As part of our research last night, we were watching the movie from 1977 titled ‘Audrey Rose’, which is about reincarnation and how the events of one life carry over into the next. The story was that a girl died in a car accident at age five on October 3rd at 8:20 a.m. and was born a few minutes later, reborn a few minutes later. Now she was having powerful nightmares about the accident, particularly around the time of her birthday every year. The movie has some great explanations about Hinduism and the concept of reincarnation.
I open our Daily Lesson this morning and it was interesting that it was Gurudeva’s explanation of reincarnation from ‘Dancing with Siva’.
“What is the process of reincarnation?” asks Gurudeva.
“Reincarnation, punarjanma, is a natural process of birth, death and rebirth. At death we drop off the physical body and continue evolving in the inner worlds in our subtle bodies until we again enter into birth. Aum.
Commentary.
Through the ages, reincarnation has been the great consoling element within Hinduism, A point made in the movie also! eliminating the fear of death, explaining why one person is born a genius and another an idiot. We are not the body in which we live but the immortal soul which inhabits many bodies in its evolutionary journey through samsara. After death, we continue to exist in unseen worlds, enjoying or suffering the harvest of earthly deeds until it comes time for yet another physical birth. Because certain karmas can be resolved only in the physical world, we must enter another physical body to continue our evolution. After soaring into the causal plane, we enter a new womb. Subsequently the old manomaya kosa, astral body, is slowly sloughed off and a new one created. The actions set in motion in previous lives form the tendencies and conditions of the next. Reincarnation ceases when karma is resolved, God is realized and moksha attained. The Vedas say, “After death, the soul goes to the next world bearing in mind the subtle impressions of its deeds, and after reaping their harvest returns again to this world of action. Thus he who has desires continues subject to rebirth.” Aum Namah Sivaya.”
Some thoughts from me.
As we can see from Gurudeva’s explanation in presenting reincarnation, it is also natural to bring in the concept of karma as they are quite interrelated. We keep reincarnating because of our karma. More specifically, we keep reincarnating until all karma is resolved. To resolve a karma means that when reaction to a past action comes back to us, we face it without creating a new karma. However, if we react and retaliate, then we have created a new karma that needs to be faced in the future.
We can also see from Gurudeva’s explanation that in presenting reincarnation and karma, we can not really do so without mentioning the broader concept of the Hindu view of life. The Hindu view of life, of course, is the purpose of life is to make spiritual progress. Progress means to deepen our spiritual consciousness, to become ever more aware of God’s presence within us and all things.
Gurudeva explains the spiritual purpose of life in the second Sloka in ‘Dancing with Siva’.
“We are all growing toward God, and experience is the path. Through experience we mature out of fear into fearlessness, out of anger into love, out of conflict into peace, out of darkness into light and union in God. Aum.
Commentary.
We have taken birth in a physical body to grow and evolve into our divine potential. We are inwardly already one with God. Our religion contains the knowledge of how to realize this oneness and not create unwanted experiences along the way. The peerless path is following the way of our spiritual forefathers, discovering the mystical meaning of the scriptures. The peerless path is commitment, study, discipline, practice and the maturing of yoga into wisdom. In the beginning stages, we suffer until we learn. Learning leads us to service; and selfless service is the beginning of spiritual striving. Service leads us to understanding. Understanding leads us to meditate deeply and without distractions. Finally, meditation leads us to surrender in God. This is the straight and certain path, the San Marga, leading to Self Realization, the inmost purpose of life, and subsequently to moksha, freedom from rebirth. The Vedas wisely affirm, “By austerity, goodness is obtained. From goodness, understanding is reached. From understanding, the Self is obtained, and he who obtains the Self is freed from the cycle of birth and death.” Aum Namah Sivaya.”
Some comments from me.
There is a quote from Paramaguru Yogaswami which captures the essence of the Hindu view of life, “All work must be done with the aim of reaching God.” So simple. That is so true. All work must be done with the aim of reaching God. This is quite the opposite of a purely secular view that all work is done simply for the purpose of making money. How we view our home is an interesting measure of how we view life. The secular attitude is, “This is my home and in it I can do whatever I want. It is my home.”
However, if there is a shrine in the home at which daily pujas are conducted, then you certainly won’t find that attitude present. The shrine turns the home into a mini temple and when the shrine becomes strong enough and central enough to the home, the attitude would naturally be, “We don’t want to do anything in the home that would disturb the spiritual vibration of the shrine.”
In other words, the home is no longer a place you can do anything you want. It has become God’s home.
Aum Namah Sivaya.
transcription ends
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Color Trilogy Complete! We are happy to announce that the new edition of the enormously popular Dancing with Siva is now available in hard back with all new color artwork. It’s truly an amazing and beautiful work, with more art than any of the collection. This completes the fulfillment of the vision that Gurudeva had of his Master Course Trilogy being produced in full color. In addition, Bodhinatha is taking pro-active steps to bring Gurudeva’s teachings out in a new forms that can be broadly disseminated in the mass mind. With this in mind we, are also pleased to announce that the Dancing with Siva pocketbook is also available. Keep the three-pound book in your shrine room, and take the little one with you on the airplane or subway! How little? It’s just 3″ by 4.5″ — truly pocket-sized, and just over half an inch thick. Yet it is a full 375 pages, containing ALL of the 155 sutras. Available now at our online store. The complete Trilogy is being offered at a discount. |
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