Temple of Divine Mother
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa: 1836-1886
”Wenn die Rechtschaffenheit abnimmt und die bösen Verhaltensweisen zunehmen, bringe ich mich selbst hervor, um die göttliche Ordnung wieder aufzurichten. Zum Schutze der Guten und zur Vernichtung der Bösen werde Ich in jedem Zeitalter geboren.” — Bhagavad Gita.
Notre but sera obligé á inspirer et sera obligé á donner pouvoir des gens pour cultiver une plus près relation avec Dieu. Notre mission sera obligé á enseigner des gens […]
Listen to Shree Maa sing I Love You All
Read Shree Maa’s Mother’s Day message here –
Mother’s Day 2007
The Devi Gita is composed of 12 chapters from the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam. These video classes by Swami Satyananda Saraswati teach the Sanskrit mantras of this sacred text with English […]
Updating the numbers after a two week gap. We have had three people complete this sankalpa in the meantime. Congratulations to Vasantha, Rick Veda and Usha !!!
Here is what Ushaji had to say "I’ll miss doing this sankalpa. Do you think Shree Maa would give us a new one – or should we just keep going on this one ?"… Well, Ushaji, there is another sankalpa in the air, this time given to us by Swamiji … Stay tuned.. and thank you for your enthusiasm and participation !
Rick had this to say "All victory to the Mother of All Beings! I have completed my sankalpa. I am going to celebrate with some friends" Thank you Rick Veda !
Vasantha sent in a moving account of her experiences with chanting this mantra.
She says, " This year has been a very challenging one healthwise. I started it with a major surgery . The sankalpa mantra became my refuge during the slow and painful recovery process. Being restricted in movement , this became a perfect opportunity to keep at the mantra. I was gifted a clicker, and this became my constant companion. I used to go to sleep with the clicker in one hand and the mantra on my lips. It took away the physical pain, kept me focussed on the higher good, and made me at peace with my situation. My pranams again and again to Shree Maa and Swamiji for providing this opportunity to stay on track with my sadhana even during my illness. Their blessings make it all possible." Thank you Vasanthaji.
Here are the numbers for those of us that preferred to chant the mantra at the fire (Week ending April 8th 2007)
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Swamiji & Mandir Residents |
Priceless
|
| Michael |
12,960
|
| Janitri |
6,048
|
| Mousumi |
10,908
|
| Parvati |
3,240
|
| Total |
33,156
|
And for those of us that chanted without the fire
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Arati |
20,000
|
| Babu |
1,296
|
| Bharata |
81,000
|
| Bharati |
13,068
|
| Brendan |
3,843
|
| Carie |
2,732
|
| Chocatane |
33,048
|
| Chris K |
26,352
|
| Chris W |
34,765
|
| Debi |
111,111
|
| Donna |
32,490
|
| Durga |
9,396
|
| Egyirba |
9,180
|
| Eric |
94,824
|
| Gauri |
10,044
|
| Georgiann |
7,891
|
| Henny |
34,020
|
| Janitri |
19,196
|
| Jayadeva |
35,640
|
| Julia |
27,360
|
| Kalachandra |
20,736
|
| Kaliananda |
25,164
|
| Kamalaji |
31,861
|
| Kanda |
28,080
|
| Karen |
28,000
|
| Kathy |
26,920
|
| Linda |
824
|
| Marsha |
22,572
|
| Maruthi |
63,111
|
| Mausumi |
22,680
|
| Michael |
21,600
|
| Michele |
5,710
|
| Morningsong |
35,640
|
| Muktimaa |
15,120
|
| Nickolas |
2,300
|
| Nirmal |
5,184
|
| Nirmalananda |
15,700
|
| Nanda |
16,115
|
| Papia |
32,400
|
| Patty |
27,784
|
| Prasana |
10,840
|
| Prathibha |
20,422
|
| Raghu |
34,128
|
| Rebeca |
23,020
|
| Rick Veda |
103,140
|
| Robin |
24,500
|
| Rolf |
25,056
|
| Rukmani |
7,560
|
| Sadhu Maa |
11,261
|
| Shubal |
23,760
|
| Sitara |
7,424
|
| Sundari |
30,240
|
| Shankari |
11,880
|
| Surya |
111,111
|
| Susan |
51,732
|
| Usha |
105,732
|
| Vasantha |
108,000
|
| Wendel |
25,800
|
| Wendy |
31,860
|
| Vinay |
2,160
|
| Visveshwar |
34,236
|
| Yogini |
76,680
|
| Total |
1,915,299
|
~~OM~~
In this article, Swamiji stresses the need to do make worship of all the daily influences everyday and the beneficial effects of worshipping the nine planets.
Question: Swamiji, what is the attitude that one should have when facing adversity? In India, the priests suggest pujas (worship) to Shani (Saturn) to make things normal again. What do you think?
Swamiji: I think that we should make puja (worship) everyday, and not just for Shani but for everybody, everyone that’s Divine, and all the Divine influences in our lives. Now, what happens in India is that, generally, priests know that householders are so busy with their worldly tasks that they’re not making puja, and their neglect of the pujas is what causes confusion.
So most of the priests in India who suggest that you worship Shani are really saying, “Get on a spiritual path.” For anyone who’s really on a spiritual path, you have no need for a priest who says to do a puja for Shani. You’re doing puja everyday yourself. What need have you for a pujari who says, “It’s Shani dosha (affliction) that’s causing your problem”?
Shani has many benevolent effects in our astrological ecology. Shani is the Lord of discipline. Shani is a very great benefactor to anyone who creates a discipline. He is the strength of that discipline, and the focus of that discipline, and the commitment to that discipline. And now we are seeking freedom through action – not freedom from action. The moksha that we are seeking is freedom in action, not being inactive. The verses in the Bhagavad Gita say, “No one can be free from action. Even I who am the Lord of the three worlds, I must continue to act.” Therefore, do your action with the spirit of the rishis (sages). Do your action as the servant of Ram, do your action as an instrument in the hands of God.
So I appreciate the priests of India who recommend that we do Shani puja or the like, because they’re really saying, “Do something spiritual.” But I appreciate even more those great sadhus who are doing it themselves, not because some priests in India told them to, but because they are really in love with God. And they are following this path just as an inspiration so that they lead a pure life, a focused life, and a disciplined life which brings them to their ultimate objectives.
Graha shanti (peace) is to put to all your planets in harmony. Now look, the Sun is the light of wisdom, the Moon is the warmth of devotion, Mars has strength and fortitude and focus, Mercury is the communicator, Jupiter is the great guru and teacher, Venus fills us with love and pure attachment, Saturn will take us to discipline, Rahu and Ketu polarize obstacles and help us to reconcile the opposites. Look at the beneficent aspect of the planets and then they’ll all be in shanti. That’s the puja.
The “Sacred Thread” is a consecrated thread that is worn by Hindus in India.
This article shows how to tie the sacred thread, while sitting in the Swastik Asana and chanting the Gayatri Mantra. …read more
~~OM~~
Guru Gita: Satsang with Shree Maa and Swamiji
In the following profound and elevating conversation, Shree Maa and Swamiji translate and discuss a Bengali commentary on the Guru Gita.
Mother is translating from a book by Nirmalananda, who is a disciple of Swami Pranavanandaji from Bharat Seva Ashram.
Who is the Respected Guru and what kind of behavior does the Guru exemplify? What is the Guru’s intrinsic nature and what is the principle of the Guru?
Who is able to take refuge in the Guru and what is the effect of taking refuge in Guru?
What is seva to the Guru, what is an offering to the Guru, what is the song of the Guru, and what is the discipline of a disciple?
What is the highest fruit of devotion to Guru?
The answers to all these questions are found in the scripture called Guru Gita.
Commentaries on Sri Guru Gita come from the Vishvasaara Tantra. These are expansions of the Guru Gita. Also people speak of Rudrayamal Tantra. All Tantras speak of the highest principle of the Guru.
In both the Vedas and Vedanta, the position of the Guru is held in very high regard. But in the Tantra scriptures, they speak of the Guru’s position as being the very highest. In the path of Tantra, the principle of Guru is the highest principle of all.
Guru is both the Supreme Divinity with form and without form.
The Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar. The Respected Guru is both the motivation for the highest truth and the attainment and realization of the highest truth. These are illuminated in all of the verses contained in the Guru Gita.
The foremost principle and discussion of the highest importance has been given by Sada Shiva. His first student was Parvati.
Guru Gita informs us by which sadhana, by what means, can someone who wears a body attain success.
Without a doubt, Shiva has illuminated these questions in this scripture. The path of the Guru is the king of all dharmas (king of all ideals of perfection – the Supreme). In order to attain prasad (consecrated offering) from the Guru, your birth, your past, your karma (what kind of activities you perform) are not required subjects. The ignorant, the lazy and those steeped in darkness (tamas) will not proceed in this path. They are not capable of achieving the understanding of the wisdom of the principles. They don’t have wisdom or desire knowledge of liberation.
It is incumbent upon all those who take refuge in the Guru to do so with their body, mind and speech.
Seva (selfless service as an expression of love) to the Guru, Puja, aaradhana is a disciple’s sadhana. Giving pleasure to the Guru is your sadhana, your worship.
Whoever is able to do atma samarpan (surrender of his or her own soul in equilibrium) to the Sri Guru’s Feet – giving up all their attachment – this is samadhi and siddhi (attainment of perfection). This is the path of the Guru.
The Guru is not a human being. The Guru is the Supreme Divinity made manifest. Because of this, we cannot look at our Guru as just a human being. This Guru principle is united with all pure qualities, beautiful attributes, the greatness of all purity. This is the authority that comes through the Guru.
If you can perceive these qualities in your Guru, you will not think of your Guru as a mere human being. The Guru is Bhagavan (Supreme Divinity).
All the qualities and all the attitudes, all the energies and all that is Infinite or eternal, all the wisdom that is inculcated – all these qualities are only reflected in God. That Godliness is reflected in the Guru. So we should not think of the Guru as a human being. We would think of the Guru as the emblem or representative of Supreme Divinity.
Where there is atma samarpan, the disciple becomes a mirror and there is union between Guru and disciple in a great radiant light. When there is a transfer of energy from Guru to disciple and surrender, there is a light that is incomparable to anything you can see with worldly eyes.
Trailinga Swami once locked himself in His room for three days. His disciple was very worried and wanted to see Swamiji. He went to the door and banged and banged and banged. Trailinga Swamiji said ‘Who are you?”
The disciple was full of his own ego self, and replied, “I am so and so”. He felt he was a real disciple, but he was not at that moment. There was no response from within. On the second day, the disciple went again and banged on the door and received the same question. Again he answered, “I am so and so”. Nothing happened. On third day, the disciple thought deeply and cried, “Why is the Guru doing this to me?”
Again he knocked on the door with reverence. Trailinga Swami asked, “Who are you?” The disciple replied, “You.” Trailinga Swamji opened the door.
The Guru-disciple relationship is very subtle. Atma samarpan has become a big market nowadays. The relationship between Guru and Disciple is truth. A truthful relationship means surrender. You will get everything with surrender.
Where is the individual form of God? Ishwara, God, the Supreme Soul, is everywhere, in every place. He is in the gross body, the subtle body, the modifications of the mind and unmanifest as well. How can the individual wearing a body grasp Supreme Divinity, find Him, touch Him with sensory knowledge? With our current perception, this is a very difficult issue.
There is a solution to this issue in Hindu Dharma. Scriptures say that He who understands Supreme Divinity, becomes Supreme Divinity. Who has refined the discipline of sadhana, becomes united with all the tendencies of sadhana, he understands the nature of the Supreme Divinity. That individual becomes a representative of Supreme Divinity.
A great example of that is Swamiji!!! This moment Swamiji does not need sadhana. He can go to the Himalayas and be by Himself. But to show the world, He is doing sadhana.
We are born, we learn how to walk, first we learn from our parents – how to walk, how to eat – step by step, our whole life is sadhana. In childhood we are learning how to be human. Now we are learning how to be with the soul. Without sadhana, we will never know.
The Supreme Divinity, the teacher, and the yogi who has attained divinity are all one.
The Yogi is actually a murti – the perceivable form of Supreme Divinity. All the true qualities of a Yogi are illuminated in reality.
We believe that according to the needs of the age, God Himself comes in an embodied form. That Supreme Divinity which is Infinite beyond conception takes a human form and takes birth in the mortal world.
He is undefeatable and that is the Supreme Divinity manifested amongst all the elements of existence.
When we do surrender our soul in equilibrium (atma samarpana), we receive Diksha. The first chapter of this experience is to receive a mantra in the ear, but that is only the first chapter. Om
Congratulations to Debi on completion of her sankalpa!!! She shared her exhilaration with us and says "Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!"
Donna from Florida admits that the sankalpa is not always smooth . "At times it got tough" she said and there were days she "just didnt want to do it" ! This reminds me of a Swamiji story – He once said that (and I paraphrase) regardless of what the mind tries to trick us into, we should "keep our knees down" ie we should keep our asana and continue our sadhana regardless !
Sitara from Toronto , Canada says "This mantra has been wonderful for me." and said that will share the "details soon". We look forward to hearing from you Sitara !
Sundari from Berkeley wrote in to share this
"The sankalpa has really helped me deepen my regular practice in beautiful ways. The UPS is such a huge goal to work toward – 100,000 repetitions just can’t be done in a day. Or maybe it can, if you recite really fast! (It would require 7 repetitions per minute for 24 hours straight.) With what I am able to do (anywhere between 3-10 malas a day), I just have to come back to it every day, whether I’m feeling like it or not. I feel a sense of accomplishment at every major milestone, but also humbled and challenged by the weight of what is left. And inspired, too! I believe that such a strong and sweet intention can and will transform world consciousness, eventually.
The support from the online community has been especially powerful, and the whole thing inspired me to deepen my sadhana."
All the very best to you Sundari !
Here are the numbers for those of us that preferred to chant the mantra at the fire (Week ending March 18th 2007)
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Swamiji & Mandir Residents |
Priceless
|
| Michael |
12,960
|
| Janitri |
6,048
|
| Mousumi |
10,908
|
| Parvati |
1,080
|
| Total |
30,996
|
And for those of us that chanted without the fire
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Arati |
7,000
|
| Babu |
1,296
|
| Bharata |
60,000
|
| Bharati |
10,800
|
| Brendan |
3,711
|
| Carie |
1,920
|
| Chocatane |
24,408
|
| Chris K |
18,900
|
| Chris W |
26,294
|
| Debi |
111,111
|
| Donna |
25,490
|
| Durga |
5,616
|
| Egyirba |
9,180
|
| Eric |
71,928
|
| Gauri |
10,044
|
| Georgiann |
7,007
|
| Henny |
28,512
|
| Janitri |
14,296
|
| Jayadeva |
26,784
|
| Julia |
20,430
|
| Kalachandra |
20,736
|
| Kaliananda |
20,520
|
| Kamalaji |
30,049
|
| Kanda |
21,600
|
| Karen |
22,000
|
| Kathy |
20,116
|
| Marsha |
20,088
|
| Maruthi |
47,000
|
| Mausumi |
17,280
|
| Michael |
10,800
|
| Michele |
5,710
|
| Morningsong |
26,460
|
| Muktimaa |
13,176
|
| Nickolas |
1,500
|
| Nirmal |
5,184
|
| Nirmalananda |
12,900
|
| Nanda |
14,115
|
| Papia |
25,920
|
| Patty |
23,248
|
| Prasana |
10,840
|
| Prathibha |
20,422
|
| Raghu |
24,948
|
| Rebeca |
18,700
|
| Rick Veda |
82,620
|
| Robin |
18,600
|
| Rolf |
18,900
|
| Rukmani |
6,696
|
| Sadhu Maa |
10,044
|
| Shubal |
12,420
|
| Sitara |
5,004
|
| Sundari |
24,840
|
| Shankari |
11,880
|
| Surya |
111,111
|
| Susan |
31,536
|
| Usha |
74,736
|
| Vasantha |
90,000
|
| Wendel |
19,500
|
| Wendy |
27,972
|
| Vinay |
2,160
|
| Visveshwar |
34,236
|
| Yogini |
70,200
|
| Total |
1,563,494
|
~~OM~~
Swamiji asks:
“Ganga has been charged with the responsibility to cleanse the world from selfishness. When Ganga complained that She would become polluted from cleansing the world, Brahma proclaimed that the sadhus will perform sadhana in order to clean Her. What actions can we take to help clean Ganga?
We have to live up to the highest standards of mental and emotional purity so that instead of contaminating the River of Heaven, we add a little of our purity to it.
~~gyselsvishnu
It is our own mind stream that must be cleansed and we are the ones that must do the cleaning. This is the River of the Gods we swim in and drink. This means removing the detritus and particulates floating therein, placed there by our own actions, as much as we can.
If we do that wholeheartedly and sincerely, over a period of time, we will without special effort be contributing to the clean spiritual water for all humanity. We will also no longer be paddling about in circles – we will be cutting through the waters of confusion in a
purposeful and inspiring fashion.
~~Steve Connor
Just try to understand ourselves and more we do more clean She becomes, and we can hasten the process by letting our incomplete understanding wash the feet of the Masters, so that we can come away with better understanding and little more closer to completely understanding Ganga.
On the first take Ganga concern might look little selfish, but if we look deeper it was Her compassion that made Her get the boon, so that if we awaken through Her, She has made sure that there will be someone there to carry us all the way. It was through hard work of our ancestors Ganga flows in us, but it was Ganga compassion that made sure that the beings she liberated would be there to help the the rest of us – Oh! thats our Mother!
~~n mallan
As I understand, we help to clean Ganga every time we act selflessly as a natural expression of our love. Our capability to do this will grow if we persistently strive to surrender selfishness and make every effort to take refuge in the Guru: `Eternally remembering the image of the Guru, always making recitation of the name of the Guru, always observing the instruction of the Guru, always maintain the attitude of none other than the Guru’. Thus we gradually learn how to cultivate peace and maintain a relationship with the attitude of Truth, thereby creating waves of vibration stronger than those of our thoughtless and selfish actions. Then we enjoy the privilege of belonging to the family of sadhus and pure souls who sit on Ganga’s banks, joyfully singing the names of God and contemplating the Light of Wisdom reflected in her pure waters.
~~Henny
I feel the following would help:
~~Anirudh
We can clean ourselves, both inside and out so when we bathe in Ganga, both physically and spiritually, we can help purify Her instead of burdening Her. By our example and by our Sharing and Giving, once we have attained something to Share and Give, we can help others to do the same. We can live in Harmony with this World and help others to do the same, so Bhu Devi is pleased and tranquil. We can be regular and consistent with our sadhana and steadily increase it until every moment of our short lives here becomes a puja, a meditation, a seva.
~~Surya
By making sure Pure Love is the origin and intention of all our actions. Actions taken out of Pure Love are clean, never selfish.
~~ecjensen
To love so intensely that we cannot live without this intense love and to follow Dharma.
~~michael medua
Grasp understanding of Absolute Truth (knowledge), develop and put into practice that understanding (devotion), toss the pollution of fear, resentment, worry, anxiety, and hatred into the river (surrender of ego), and the ever-flowing source of unconditional love will carry it away, all of it – always…faith keeps the river clean…thus you have peace.
~~Sal Paulsen
I think with sadhana we can help to clean Ganga.
~~Kalachandra
In our appreciation and reverence for Ganga cleansing the world from selfishness we would what to exemplify that action ourselves. Through our spiritual practices of Japa, Puja, scriptures as well as selfless service in the world. If we have a scripture like the Ganga Strotram which I downloaded from the web site and it is a wonderful way to fathom her greatness. A couple of days ago I chanted the Chandi Path by the creek and felt enveloped in her presence and her constant nurturing and purifying essence.
In our pujas we establish a container of consciousness with water, mantras, etc. as well as water oblations to the deity with our sincere devotion. We ourselves are made up of so much water and in bowing down to Ganga,we are bowing down to our selves.
~~Surath
The Guru Gita says that “the water from the Guru’s two feet can purify all sin. The water from the Guru’s feet is a holy river.” Selfless surrender, sincere and consitent service to Guruji would assist in cleansing Mother Ganga. Following the steps of devotion as outlined in the 2nd Chapter of the Kasyapa Sutra will also help in cleansing Goddess Ganga.
~~Kaliananda
To help to clean Mata Ganga we can do pranayama, drawing ojas up the ida, moving the energy around the ajna chakra (washing the feet of the Guru), and then moving it down the pingala.
~~Sadhu Maa
I think that we are talking about cleansing the nadis. As above so below. Just as our nadis get clogged up with negativities and thoughts; the Earth’s aura gets clogged up with the negativities and thoughts of all of humanity. How to help cleanse the Earth? The central nadis of humans are potentially connected to Her central nadi through the hui yin point at the base of the body; the perineum; and our crown chakra is connected to a star far above our head; the abode of Shiva. Ask and receive; these connections can be made that simply.
Why not?
~~Dan
We can do sadhana beside our favorite stream. All the streams and rivers of this world are Maa Ganga. So we can purify all the waters. After that, if there’s some litter around, we can clean the place up a bit. Jai Maa Ganga !!!
~~Nirmalananda Saraswati
Shiva receives Ganga so She can safely come to Earth to purify unfortunate souls and further sanctifies Her with His touch. Ongoing puja to Shiva with gratitude for the offerings of both seems another way to assist in ever-transforming the impurities Ganga receives.
~~Durga & Shubal
I believe that enlivening every molecule with the name of Divine Mother shatters any impurity in Ganga within and without.
~~Gauri
Because I am learning to see and understand Ganga as the stream of Life or Consciousness which runs throughout all of creation, I believe that the best actions we can take are those which keep our input into this Consciousness pure and sattvic.
This question reminded me of the saying “ethics are what you do when no one is looking.” It is the things we do, think and believe in the depths of our hearts that are what we put into the river. These can either be the lotus flowers of love, compassion and truth, or selfishness and toxic waste.
Living a life of prayer and meditation is the filtering system of our input into Consciousness. Sadhana allows our input to come from hearts of pure devotion. If we live in the most sattvic way we can, with love and focused attention on Maa, we are certainly helping to clean the river.
~~Morningsong
An excellent start towards purification is to establish a daily schedule, a commitment, a sankalpa which we faithfully follow with our full attention. This concentration of purpose will cause us to commune, ultimately, with our own soul, bringing devotion into our hearts and clarity into our minds. In the Cosmic Puja (Samasti Upasana), the Nava Durga Puja (1) on page 120 describes this process of purification beautifully through several steps, each represented by a specific Goddess:
As you may note, this puja describes a series of purifying processes we experience inwardly as we dedicate ourselves to helping to cleanse Ganga, the River that flows within each of us. May we all be blessed with success in applying the numerous tools for purification Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda have so kindly given us!
~~Gautam.
We can make it our individual intention to maintain equanimity in the face of all the pairs of opposites…just as Ganga Mata does, accepting everything equally: death and life, worship and inattention, plastic bags and tiny arati lamps floating across her face. We can do our small part in cleansing our own incarnated world from our own ego-driven selfishness. We can offer our sadhana for the benefit of others. Thank you for asking this question…and for your wonderful support.
~~Sadhvi
Photo of the week – Mar 4 – Mar 10 2007
(Picture taken early 2007 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)
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Photo of the week of Feb 25 – Mar 3 2007
(Taken on MahaShivaratri, Feb 15 2007 in front of Yajneshwar, at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)
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Congratulations to Surya for completing the sankalpa ! He completed 111,111 recitations. Thank you Surya for blessing this universe with your sadhana. Surya had a few words to share on his experience, but first here is a Q&A with our beloved Swamiji.
Sadhu Maa had two questions on the meaning of the mantra.
Sadhu Maa asked : In the UPS mantra there is reference to "the three worlds". Will you please explain what is meant by "the three worlds"?
Swamiji says: The gross body, subtle body and causal body: what can be perceived through the senses, conceived in the mind, and known through intuition.
Sadhu Maa asked: When we say "and in like manner, remove from us all hostility", are we talking about hostility present in our subtle, vital and gross bodies?
Swamiji says: Yes, as well as all hostility within us, or directed to us, and ultimately all hostility from creation.
Here is what Maruthi had to say "I really feel blessed that Shree MAA gave us the opportunity to take part in the Universal Peace Sankalpa."
And here is Surya‘s sharing from this sankalpa – the feeling of what an honor and privilege it is to serve Her.
"I finished the 100,000 repetitions Monday night. I figured since it was Shiva’s Day (and Night) it would be an auspicious way to end, so I pushed it and did the last 4030 reps that day/night. Now I am just finishing another 11,111 so that I can have a total of 111,111–an auspicious Gauri Shankar number. Om Shiva Shakti Aikya Rupinyai Namah!
This sadhana has really changed me and my outlook on many things. Some shift definitely occured that night. I really felt a big change starting on Maha Shivaratri and this "sealed the deal", so to speak.
I decided that from now on, I am going to really apply myself to see everything in my life as a true and beautiful gift from the Goddess.
I am truly thankful for all these Blessings She has given me. My family, my partner, my kids and all that makes up my life. I gladly accept my karma and dharma and will work hard to live up to what is required of me.
I must admit that becoming a householder has been a very difficult road for me. In many ways I have fought it tooth and nail. But this was/is just silly. Everything is how it should be and I am very grateful for it.
We can always choose to look at our circumstances in many different ways. We can complain about our lot in life or we can see that it is all Her Will and be grateful for the Honor and Privilege of Serving Her, the Universe and Our Self in the way that She has chosen for us. She always knows what is Best for us and gives us Everything we need, even without us asking for it. So why not trust Her?
It is said that Life is what you make it. I firmly believe this. The grass isn’t greener anywhere else. So lets make Life a Celebration–a Truly Joyous Event. Lets revel in the Bliss. This is my ideal that I am going to do my utmost to embody each and every day."
Thanks Sadhu Maa for your questions, and to Maruthi and Surya for sharing your sentiments.
Here are the numbers for those of us that preferred to chant the mantra at the fire (Week ending March 4th 2007)
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Swamiji & Mandir Residents |
Priceless
|
| Michael |
12960
|
| Janitri |
4384
|
| Mousumi |
10908
|
| Total |
28,252
|
And for those of us that chanted without the fire
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Babu |
1296
|
| Bharata |
46000
|
| Bharati |
10800
|
| Brendan |
3160
|
| Carie |
1282
|
| Chocatane |
19116
|
| Chris K |
15228
|
| Chris W |
19128
|
| Debi |
70848
|
| Donna |
21590
|
| Durga |
5616
|
| Egyirba |
8424
|
| Eric |
46656
|
| Gauri |
5832
|
| Georgiann |
5762
|
| Henny |
23112
|
| Janitri |
11484
|
| Jayadeva |
22140
|
| Julia |
15810
|
| Kalachandra |
15876
|
| Kaliananda |
15984
|
| Kamalaji |
19630
|
| Kanda |
17280
|
| Karen |
18000
|
| Kathy |
15580
|
| Marsha |
15552
|
| Maruthi |
37000
|
| Mausumi |
12852
|
| Michael |
10800
|
| Michele |
4792
|
| Morningsong |
20520
|
| Muktimaa |
11664
|
| Nickolas |
1188
|
| Nirmal |
5184
|
| Nirmalananda |
11100
|
| Nanda |
12015
|
| Papia |
15120
|
| Parvati |
6480
|
| Patty |
18712
|
| Prasana |
9568
|
| Prathibha |
10617
|
| Raghu |
19872
|
| Rebeca |
16100
|
| Rick Veda |
63180
|
| Robin |
14200
|
| Rolf |
15336
|
| Rukmani |
6048
|
| Sadhu Maa |
8670
|
| Shubal |
12420
|
| Sitara |
3464
|
| Sundari |
19224
|
| Shankari |
10476
|
| Surya |
111111
|
| Susan |
18900
|
| Usha |
53136
|
| Vasantha |
51000
|
| Wendel |
15100
|
| Wendy |
20844
|
| Vinay |
2160
|
| Visveshwar |
34236
|
| Yogini |
51840
|
| Total |
1,206,115
|
There are several highlights to this week – we crossed our first million in japa , and then a phone conversation with Swamiji on the sankalpa.
He asked, "Have you watched the broadcasts before the evening program on weekdays? We have been chanting the peace sankalpa mantra, atleast 1 mala a day, but we dont count!"
"Oh you count alright Swamiji", I hastened to clarify ,"In fact you are like Florida, you count AND count ! You count a LOT !" (Readers will doubtless remember the election of 2000 in Florida, but we will not probe into those boring political details here !)
Anyway, having Swamiji and the Mandir residents join our sankalpa is beyond value! Our heartfelt thanks to Swamiji for adding momentum to our progress .
There was a beautiful post by our beloved Rick Veda, on this sankalpa . Here is what he had to say
"The Universal Peace Sankalpa has taken on a life of its own in me. One thought I had was that being the UPS, it always delivers the package, and always on time! But it has become universal in a much more profound way to me. It is the first thought I have when I awake, and it follows with me in every moment, every conversation, every interaction I have all through the day. It has become my universe. I am so grateful to Shree Maa for giving this great blessing to me. Although I have been chanting mantras for years, there is a wonderful difference with this sankalpa because the mantra is chanting itself through me.
Swamiji’s inspired translation likewise blesses my spirit. The two words that keep coming back into my awareness are "disturbances" and "hostility." I ask her to "terminate all disturbance in the three worlds." It always begins with a disturbance. If I am kept from becoming disturbed, I will not lose my connection with Maa. But if I allow disturbances into my thinking, they will take root and create hostility. I do not have to experience hostility. But it is inevitable if I nurture any disturbance.
Shree Maa is the Spirit of the Supreme Sovereign. I am so grateful to pray this mantra to her, and know the bliss of deliverance from all disturbances. By her grace I am experiencing more of this each day. "
Thank you for your beautiful and profound words , Rick – it struck a chord in my heart, and am sure resonates with our other participants too.
Our friend Chris from Tacoma, WA , agrees with Rick and says "I am amazed every time I sit down for my japa of this mantra how strong the shakti is and how connected t is to Mother."
Thanks to all for sharing in your numbers. Congratulations to Mausumi for completing 100 malas at the fire.
As of Feb 25, here are the totals for those of us that prefer to do the sankalpa at the fire
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Swamiji & Mandir Residents |
Priceless
|
| Michael |
12960
|
| Janitri |
4084
|
| Mausumi |
10908
|
| Total |
27,952
|
And below are the counts for those of us that do the sadhana without the fire
| Name |
Number of Mantras
|
| Babu | 1296 |
| Bharata | 39000 |
| Bharati | 9450 |
| Brendan | 2878 |
| Carie | 919 |
| Chocatane | 15660 |
| Chris K | 13392 |
| Chris W | 15481 |
| Debi | 51948 |
| Donna | 18790 |
| Durga | 5616 |
| Egyirba | 6048 |
| Eric | 39204 |
| Gauri | 5832 |
| Georgiann | 4913 |
| Henny | 20412 |
| Janitri | 9684 |
| Jayadeva | 19764 |
| Julia | 15480 |
| Kalachandra | 15876 |
| Kaliananda | 13392 |
| Kamalaji | 14040 |
| Kanda | 15120 |
| Karen | 16000 |
| Kathy | 11044 |
| Marsha | 12960 |
| Maruthi | 30000 |
| Mausumi | 11880 |
| Michael | 10800 |
| Michele | 4792 |
| Morningsong | 17820 |
| Muktimaa | 10800 |
| Nirmal | 5184 |
| Nirmalananda | 11100 |
| Nanda | 12015 |
| Papia | 15120 |
| Parvati | 6480 |
| Patty | 15944 |
| Prasana | 9568 |
| Prathibha | 10617 |
| Raghu | 18036 |
| Rebeca | 8100 |
| Rick Veda | 53460 |
| Robin | 12000 |
| Rolf | 12312 |
| Rukmani | 6048 |
| Sadhu Maa | 7668 |
| Shubal | 7884 |
| Sitara | 2694 |
| Sundari | 16200 |
| Shankari | 8856 |
| Surya | 95580 |
| Susan | 17172 |
| Usha | 42768 |
| Vasantha | 34000 |
| Wendel | 12300 |
| Wendy | 20844 |
| Vinay | 2160 |
| Visveshwar | 31512 |
| Yogini | 46440 |
| Total | 1,022,353 |
Photo of the week of Feb 18 – Feb 24 2007
(Taken on MahaShivaratri, Feb 15 2007 at Devi Mandir, Napa, CA)
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