Devi Mandir

Temple of Divine Mother

Yugas and Manvantaras

Narayana gives the divisions of time from the minutest, namely the Lava to the duration of Brahma’s life (or a period of 36,000 days and nights, each of 8,640,000,000 human years duration).…read more
 

Bhagavad Gita Class, November 2006

This video series includes both Sanskrit and English translation. In this video series, Swami Satyananda Saraswati help us make the shift from studying the Bhagavad Gita as intellectual pursuit – […]

Holy Mother Delivers Message by Paul Logan

‘Holy Mother’ Delivers Message

By Paul Logan, Journal Staff Writer

Friday, November 10, 2000

A woman many believe to be one of the rarest individuals on earth “a living saint” has come to Albuquerque to share her love.

Shree Maa, “the respected Holy Mother,” said Thursday she is here because “I love to see my family. The whole universe is my family.”

Draped in layers of orange, red, gold and yellow clothing with beads around her neck and wrists, the graying, middle-aged Hindu holy woman with a gentle voice is about 5-feet, 5 inches tall and less than 100 pounds.

Maa said she has been enlightened since her birth in Assam, the northeast corner of India. Having enlightenment includes experiencing pure love and comprehending truth.

Sitting cross-legged on a couch at a Northeast Heights home, Maa said she attended an international yogi conference in Texas and is returning by motor home to California. Her home is a modest trailer in the mountains, about a half hour outside of Napa.

Maa said she has been sent “to perform God’s work in this world.”

Maa spends about nine months each year traveling throughout the world to share her teachings.

Instead of attracting followers, she said wants to show people of all faiths how “to build temples in their hearts and in their minds.”

Her assistant, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, or Swamiji, said a person’s every action can change a house into a temple. By respecting one’s actions, a person is paying attention to what he or she is doing.

“So any action that we do without selfishness can be a form of worship,” Swamiji said. “We can make divine everything that we do.”

During the interview, some of Maa’s devotees were chanting scriptures in Sanskrit in another room. Nearby, a coffee table had been converted into an altar with pictures and symbols from the world’s great religions, including Jesus, Buddha and Mary as well as flowers of every color and candles.

Swamiji said Maa adheres to the famous Indian proverb: “Just as many as there are individuals, so many are there paths to God.”

He said her programs are open to everyone and called them “unique” because “she makes worship fun.”

Maa said she offers those who attend three things: pure love, accepting everyone for what they are; inspiration, meaning she motivates each person to help make them better; and appreciation, recognizing every effort a person makes.

She met the late Mother Teresa, who some Catholics considered a living saint, years ago in Calcutta. Maa said she wanted to see her “because she is my family, also … I love her.”

Maa’s message includes being true to one’s self because then a person is without fear. With a clear conscience, a person’s heart is silent. “That,” she said, “is peace.”

Also:

  • Be simple. Many words burden the soul. Let the heart’s message be communicated through actions.
  • Be free. Leave selfishness behind. “People whose opinions are valued will love us for what we are, not for what we have,” she said.
  • Take refuge in God. One’s friends or relatives will not take a person to heaven. Salvation is gained through wisdom.
  • Cultivate wisdom. Learn from everyone, everywhere. Then use that knowledge, which brings one in harmony with the universe.
  • Develop discrimination. Pursue only those desires that will make one free.
  • Let actions manifest love. People want realization, liberation, to become enlightened. Do not think it is something different from doing for others as you would have them do for you,” she said.

WHEN: Today, 7 p.m., at Futures For Children building, 9600 Tennyson NE (332-4146); Saturday, 1 p.m., the home of Al and Dianne Lopez, 900 Avenida Cielito NE (255-4169); and Sunday, 1 p.m., again at Futures For Children

WHAT: Programs of meditation, singing, storytelling on Friday and Sunday; fire ceremony on Saturday

HOW MUCH: Free and open to everyone

Inspiring Quotes Archive Page 4

~~OM~~

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    July 1 – July 7

  • Be like a fish at the bottom of the ocean. It swims in the mud yet never gets dirty. In the world be like a fish. Do your work but keep your mind on God.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Ramakrishna (in a very relaxed way): The heart of a devotee is filled with love for God. God is present in all existence. You can know that presence tangibly in the heart of a devotee. It’s just like a rich landlord whose authority extends throughout his land, but he stays in one particular house which is his personal estate. People will speak like this, that the heart of a devotee is the special residence of the Lord.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: Do you know what the devotion of a devotee is like? He says, “Hey, Bhagavan, you are the lord and I am your servant. You are the mother and I am your child. You are both my mother and father. You are the whole and perfect and I am a part.” Devotees don’t like to say “I am God.” They like to experience the Divine Presence and have the vision of the Supreme Soul. Their main objective is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Etrnal Bliss

  • Everyone comes to this world for a different purpose. Everyone comes with their own karma, their own samskaras (tendencies). It is very interesting. – Shree Maa

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Many people want to escape from their minds because they don’t like what they are doing. But if you like what you are doing then you don’t want to escape from anything. Only those people who feel themselves bound seek liberation.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Question to Shree Maa: What’s your reason for coming to the United States?

    This whole universe is mine. Where God sends me, that is where I go. For you, this is the United States. For me it is not the United States. For me, it is home.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Every being is a divine incarnation. But caught in the illusion of our own importance, we forget who we really are. And then we search for liberation from our own bondage. This is the illusion of the Lord of Illusions.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

    • July 8 – July 14

  • If we are singing from our hearts for the purpose of sincere prayer, and if we know what we are saying and why we are saying it, and others who can hear our prayers can also understand their meanings, and they also become inspired to pray themselves, then we are doing it correctly. Intention, motivation, sincerity, attention, bhava, and understanding, all go together to make a proper presentation.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Why are we chanting these mantras? Are we professionals who, for a fee, will propitiate the Gods so that our benefactors will not receive the fruit of their karma? In the Chandi Path, Brahma, Vasistha, and Visvamitra, joined others in cursing the recitation of the Chandi performed with selfish motivation. They said the Chandi Path is a very pure and powerful tool of personal growth and transformation. It is a path to self-realization. Whoever will recite the Chandi Path for selfish motivation will have abused their tool and the tool will no longer work for them. Without the tools, the curse is equivalent to a lifetime without God.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Intention and motivation set the stage for actions we are to perform. They are most important.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • The sincerity of our devotion is what determines its intensity. Intensity is the measurement of the sincerity of devotion. We pay attention in direct relation to the amount of devotion we feel, and feel to express. Sometimes we feel devotion, but cannot express it. Sometimes we want to express devotion that we do not feel. Other times it comes from the heart, and is expressed in the most pure means, according to the capacity of the individual.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Sadhana teaches us to express that feeling (devotion) in a regular program of spiritual discipline. After practice, when we sit to create the expression, we automatically feel the sincerity.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Bhava means feeling, emotion, an intensity of reality. How intensely do we feel it? How real is it when we are doing it? Is this our reality? Or is it merely a passing thought? Bhava allows us to grok the feeling, to intuit the feeling, to unite the feeling, to be at oneness with the feeling, to attune to the feeling, until it is ours.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Understanding means we understand what we are saying. It is not just on a verbal level, but we know verbally and non-verbally. It means something to us. In fact it means a lot to us. And not just to us. But anyone who hears what we are saying will also be able to understand at least on some level the meaning of our prayer. They will know that we are praying, and may feel moved to pray themselves. They will become inspired to enter our prayer, and there is a transfer of energy which invites them into the mystery of worship.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

    • July 15 – July 21

  • Behold! God is giving us everything without any selfish desire. If we are searching for God we must also renounce selfish desire. When we are giving to God, ultimately we find pure love embracing us and we become absorbed in Divine consciousness.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Inefficiency comes from selfish desire.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Words inscribed in stone are never erased, while what is written on water cannot remain for a moment. Do not allow anger or enmity to remain in your mind any longer than words written upon water.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • Shree Maa: When I am one with the soul of existence, how will any one or any thing cause me harm?

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • Swamiji and I used to travel throughout India visiting temples. Whenever we went to a temple, it was our custom to perform puja, chant and do as much sadhanna as possible in these holy places. Swamiji would usually perform the puja and the sacred fire ceremony, while I would sit in meditation beside him, or accompany him with the offerings. Often I went into Samadhi. Often he did too. That was our life. We would chant and sing, and then go into the deepest meditation.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • One time we ran out of flowers for puja, Swamiji told us about times in India when He had no flowers for puja. He would simply use the leaves of trees, offering them in and orderly and artistic patterns with the accompanying mantras. He does the same in the United States when necessary.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • The objective of all of our sadhana and all our practices is to cultivate the tendency to think without selfishness, to think about God.

      – from Before Becoming This

    • July 22 – July 28

  • Everything we are doing is worth doing perfectly or it is not worth doing at all.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • In whatever direction are situated the respected Guru’s feet, oh Beloved, everyday one should bow down in that direction.

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

  • Serve everyone as God. See God in everyone.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • You cut the bonds yourself. All the guru does is sharpen your knife. Become so strong in your faith that you never swerve from you ideal of perfection.

      – from The Gurur and the Goddess

  • Question to Shree Maa: Is praying to you the same as praying to God?

    Yes. There is no doubt about that. The love of the Guru is the same as the love of God. Both are free of selfishness. Any time you pray without selfishness, all that is divine will respond.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Ramakrishna: Certainly there is a means of escape from this world. When you have the opportunity, seek out holy men (and women) and from time to time sit in a quiet place and contemplate God. You must always discriminate between God, who is Real and Eternal, and this world, which is a passing dream. Once you have faith, you have all. There is nothing greater than faith.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: The Vedas have elucidated seven levels of consciousness. The awareness resides in these seven levels of consciousness. When awareness remains in the world of objects and relationships, it is residing in the three lower chakras: the anus, the genitals, and the navel. Then the contemplations don’t move towards the upper chakras. All the mental faculties are devoted to desires and attachments.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Bliss

    • July 29 – August 4

  • Liberation does not mean going against the flow of nature. It means accepting the flow of nature without attachment.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Question to Shree Maa: What about someone who reads this book or comes to see you at a program and really wants to know God?

    Answer: Most people are just curious. They come see me to enjoy themselves. Of five thousand people, maybe one soul is touched and feels the desire to change.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Presumably all birth takes place in order to finish karma: the birth of every reaction, the birth of every relationship, the birth of every moment, the birth of everybody. That is our function, our purpose. We are all bound by unfinished karma. With this knowledge it behooves us to perform every action as thoroughly and efficiently as possible, so we don’t have to come back to finish our incomplete work.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • Mother Nature is always changing. When we deeply intuit and watch for the changes of nature we cease to feel pain.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • When we actually perform our karma with efficiency and become free of debt, we in effect attain the highest aim of birth, which is victory over death. We manifest an ideal in our lives. We conform our behavior to the ideal of perfection so we are not just saying the words, but we are feeling what they mean.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • The fire is said to burn karma, to purify the actions of the participants, so they become free of the bonds of negativity. All the bondage of thought, the dross of memories, fears and projections, it is all thrown into the fire, along with an assortment of grains mixed with clarified butter.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of the Saint

  • The ancient prescription for a peaceful way of life: simplify your life-style, be free from debt, appreciate what you do have, think about God, study the scriptures, be diligent in your spiritual practices, seek divine interpretation in all experience.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of the Saint

    • August 5 – August 11

  • Consciousness is the infinite capacity of recognition. Maa Says, “You are aware of the existence of beautiful state of Consciousness, but you do not know where it is. In reality it is everywhere. Do not be foolish. Be fertile soil in which good seeds may easily take root.”

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and The Goddess

  • Pure Love is beyond duality. There is no desire. It is the perfection of desire.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • The path to success in any endeavor is to follow these 9 steps: inspiration, study, practice, refinement, nourishment of divine qualities, purity, overcoming egotistical thoughts, light of wisdom, perfection.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Instead of arguing over how it is being said, seekers should be contemplating what is being said.

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Consciousness is constantly reflecting so at any one time we may be aware of many levels of consciousness. Traditionally there are seven levels of consciousness: bhuh, bhuvah, svah, mahah, janah, tapah, satya.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • From the story of Sukdeva, as told by Shree Maa

    “Even if you go into the forest with one stick, one asana and one begging bowl, if you maintain attachment, you will constantly be thinking about your possessions. Whereas if you are free from attachment you can rule a country as vast as Mithila and your mind will never be disturbed.”

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • If you can change those around you yourself, your wife, your children, if you make them divine, isn’t that beautiful? If every individual did that, it would be wonderful.

      – from Before Becoming This

    • August 12 – August 18

  • Be true. Say what you mean and do what you say. If you are true you will be without fear. If your conscious is clear your heart will be silent. That is peace, no matter what the result.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Shree Maa: Once we were doing puja in a well known temple in Benares when a group of Brahmin pandits came to me and asked, “Why are you letting a foreigner perform the worship in your festivals? Shouldn’t you honor our traditions and let an Indian Brahmin pandit do your pujas?”

    I replied without hesitation, When you can do puja as perfectly as Swamiji, I will be pleased to take you with me.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • Once we had just rented a house in the back hills of Moraga, behind Saint Mary’s College in the San Francisco Bay Area. A few devotees were assisting in building our havan kund, a pit for containing the sacred fire. I took off work early one day to help with the construction. As I came up the drive way, I looked over at the structure and saw Swamiji on his knees in the wet soil, forming the beginnings of our sacrificial fire pit. He was so engrossed in placing the bricks and covering them with mud and cow dung, that he did not notice me. I walked up with wonder, grateful for the privilege being in his company, as he smeared muddy plaster over the bricks with his hands. I thought, “Here indeed is a man who is in love with God.”

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • Maa says that if you can renounce all attachment to your actions you are acting in accordance with dharma.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • Ultimately, when we become one with God, we become one with all dharma. All join in the realization of divinity.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • Sharing in satsanga your devotion grows.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

  • Weapons cannot cut It, fire cannot burn It; water cannot wet It; wind cannot dry It.

      – from Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2:23

    • August 19 – August 25

  • Marriage is a contract to serve each other as a constant reminder that we are divine beings manifesting divinity in the world.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • The purpose of marriage is to become the divine couple, Shiva and Shakti, who are bound together in inherent and essential character, mutually and reciprocally. If a man puts down his shakti, he destroys his own energy. In order to be raised, he must raise others. What better place to begin than in our own divine partnership.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Question to Shree Maa: “Before coming into this life time, do we decide who we are going to have as a partner?”

    Shree Maa: “I believe we do, but it looks like they don’t believe that in this country. They think they choose their partners. But ultimately God does.”

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Shree Maa: All relationships are created by previous karma.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Shree Maa: When we have an experience of a relationship from a past life, it is not necessarily a romantic attraction. It is not because a deficiency is being fulfilled. When we come together out of past life samskaras, it feels like a partnership between two people working towards a common goal.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • “All my life Ramakrishna has been my Guru, says Shree Maa. I never go anywhere without Thakur’s order. He has ordered me to share unselfish divine love, and so I am doing. The most important accomplishment of human life is self realization. It doesn’t matter what we become, it doesn’t matter what we attain, it doesn’t matter what we possess. All of that is so temporary. It will all be left behind after only a moment’s enjoyment. A well-lived life is one that is full of love and joy and peace and compassion.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • Practice discrimination. Ask yourself which desires will bring you closer to God and which ones will take you closer to God and which ones will take you further away from the goal.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

    • August 26 – September 1

  • The power of pure love extends equally to all. The knowledge that is gathered from books, the practices of Yoga and Meditation are merely paths to the goal of love. Pure Love is Devotion, Pure Love is our life, Pure Love is Liberation.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • By working for the benefit of others, energy increases within us. If you have feelings for others in your heart you will attain the energy of a lion.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Gods make no distinction as to our birth. Everyone is equal in the eyes of God. That is why the family of this universal existence should strive to maintain universal Love for all and to offer wisdom and devotion to all. Then this world can have peace.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • In the Kali Yuga charity is supreme. Among all types of giving, the offering of Dharma is the highest.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • So much as we search within, so much we find the inner light. That inner light is the delight of our soul and that delight is our Dharma.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • By remembering God the confusions of the heart are removed. That is the greatest medicine.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • One who observes his or her own faults is a sadhu. Respect is the ornament of a sadhu. A sadhu always seeks to assist others.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

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Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa: 1836-1886

“Cuando la rectitud declina y la mala conducta aumenta, yo nazco para reestablecer la divinidad. Para la protección del bien y la destrucción del mal yo nazco en cada época.” — Bhagavad Gita.

Gurur Brahma

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheswara

El Gurú es Brahma, el Gurú es Vishnu, el Gurú es el Dios Shiva, Maheswaraâ€� tiene muchas interpretaciones y muchos significados. Quiere decir que mi Gurú es Brahma, Vishnu y Shiva.

¿Quién es el Gurú? ” who is Guru?”

Lo que dice el Gurú Gita sobre los Gurús

Gurú: La sílaba Gu quiere decir oscuridad, Ru luz. La Divinidad Suprema que destruye la ignorancia es en realidad el Gurú, sin ninguna duda.

Swamiji answers more questions on Chandi Path

1. Are there parts of other Puranas which are used/chanted in the same manner as the Chandi Path from the Markendaya Purana or is this practice of chanting the Chandi unique?

The Devi Gita is an excerpt from Shrimad Devi Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad Gita is an excerpt from Mahabharat, the Guru Gita comes from Skanda Purana.

2. Why are Madhu and Kaitabha called “Too Much” and “Too Little”, respectively?

The dictionary meanings for Madhu mean specifically honey, sweet, pleasant, charming, delightful. In excess it is intoxicating. The extension with poetic license is Too Much.

Kaitabha in the dictionary means as insignificant as an insect: Too Little.

Together they stand for every extreme which keeps us from maintaining our balance.

3. If one has taken sankalpa to chant say the Devi Gita and the Chandi Path for a certain amount of time and due to one’s life situation one cannot chant the Chandi along with the Gita can the sankalpa to chant the Chandi and the Devi Gita be changed in mid stream or does the cycle need to be completed?

We want to strive to complete our sankalpas. Sometimes it is not possible. When it is not possible, we ultimately must surrender and try to accomplish our goals again the next time. We will also want to be forgiving; to others as well as to ourselves.

4. Do we have to do the full kushandika as in the book, or would it be ok to offer a light and a flower if we are pressed for time and then chant for instance the Sapta Shloki Durga, as a kind of preparation for chanting the Chandi more regularly?

Each according to his or her capacity. There is a viddhi called Seedha Path, which is described in the book on Pronunciation.

5. In the Chandi Path, when do we add “svaha” at the end of each verse, and when do we not add that?

When we are doing a Homa, we do not add svaha after the verses in the Kushandika, Kavacham, Argala Stotram, Kilakam, and the Dhyanams. We do not add swaha after any of the verses, unless the verses contain swaha, if we are not at the fire.

Also in the book on Pronunciation is a description of the homa viddhis.

6. Do verses 2 and 3 of siddha kunjika stotram (na kavacam nargala…) proclaim the superiority of that stotram or that of the Navarna Mantra?

Actually the Navarna Mantra is the root mantra of the Chandi.

7. What is a stotram?

It is a specific song about a particular form of divinity.

8. I was taught that the act of clapping e.g. while saying phat (“cut the ego�) assists in clearing mind, banishing thoughts. How does that happen, energetically?

The clap is a starling sound which demands that the mind pay attention.

9. Do raktabija, seed of desire, and vasana mean the same thing?

Yes.

Shree Maa and Puja

~~OM~~

Shree Maa often talks about, “Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram – Truth, Infinite Consciousness and Beauty.”� Shree Maa says, “If you live in truth and beauty, you will get infinite consciousness.” When we watch Mother, hear Her speak or listen to Her singing, we know She is living in Truth and Beauty. In Her every act and move we see, we feel and we admire these qualities.

We want to learn how we, too, can imbibe these qualities and be in that place of perfect truth, beauty and pure love. “Step by step, my children,”� She tells us lovingly with a smile.

One step we can all begin with is worship or puja. Maa does puja every single day multiple times, beginning many hours before day break. Puja is the Sanskrit word for worship; it is composed of “pu” and “ja” and means that which gives birth to merit.

Shree Maa and Swamiji tell us that, “Worship means attention.” When we do any action with complete attention, we are engaged in worship. Therefore, puja is not limited to the time we sit in front of our altar, but can conceivably fill every moment of our lives. The practice of doing puja each day helps us to make our entire life a festival of worship.

At the tender age of four, Shree Maa started doing puja in Her family shrine every day. She learned all the mantras and mudras and vidhis to worship numerous deities. As she grew older, she was often invited to neighbors’ houses to do worship there also. Every morning before day break she got up to bathe in the pond and wear a red-bordered puja saree, and sat down to worship. One day when she was a little girl, she went to the pond in the pre-dawn darkness and slipped and fell. She hurt her hand and was not even able to move. She was in a lot of pain and her hand had to be tied in a sling. Still, she did not let that pain stop her from doing her worship.

In India, Maa went from house to house teaching people how to do puja. She encourages us to do puja and to learn the mantras. “If you learn the mantras by heart, the Gods will always be with you,”� She once told us. In America too, Shree Maa and Swamiji have helped many, many devotees set up altars in their houses and to get started with regular worship to make their house into a temple.

Shree Maa and Swamiji say, “Worship is the bridge by which we cross from duality to non-duality.”

This week we will be discussing puja, “what are the steps, what does it mean in practice, how we can use this practice to make all of life a puja (worship).”

Please join us in worship!

“Timeless Wisdom: Inspiring Quotes for Inner Growth and Spiritual Reflection”

~~OM~~

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    May 6 – May 12

  • The greatest power in the world is the mind. But the mind, like a restless unruly horse, does not remain still. When by the practice of yoga an individual disciplines the mind, the mind is then ruled by the all-pervasive soul. Such a person controls all the powers of the world.

      – from Shree Maa The Life of a Saint

  • Oh,Goddess, Mother of the Universe, to the people who are devoted to you, you give inexpressible Peace and Delight. Give us your form, give us victory, give us welfare, remove all hostility.

      – from Chandi Path

  • Worship does not mean the memorization of mantras, or even the proper placement of the flowers and other objects. Worship is an attitude of respect, of dedication, of devotion to the exclusion of selfishness.

      – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

  • Shiva is the Guru of all Gurus, and the five lettered mantra (Om Namah Shivaya) is the most basic building block of all Sanskrit sadhana. From the five-lettered mantra, we go to the nine-lettered mantra, to the mantra with eleven syllables, and so on. It grows and grows in complexity, sophistication and in the various qualities that a seeker will want to increase as he or she proceeds along the path. Start with the five-lettered mantra if you don’t have a Guru. If you worship Shiva, He will send the Guru who is appropriate for your personal development.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Only those who perform selfless expressions of love for the Guru have understood the wisdom of the Vedas and Puranas. They have attained to sannyas (the establishment of truth within). Others are merely making a pretense (of renunciation).

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

  • The fruit of the attempt to satisfy desire is either knowledge or ignorance. Whenever we attempt to satisfy a desire we produce action. All action yields either the fruit of ignorance, strengthening the ego, the identification of individuality, or strengthening of unity, surrender of the ego. Either we have knowledge, which is communion, or ignorance, which is division.

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

  • Serve a Guru. When we take material burdens from our example and inspiration, we get the opportunity to see what actions a pure soul performs in the material world. How has he or she organized their life? How do they sit? How do they breathe? How do they chant? How do they meditate? What do they do with their free time? What do they talk about? We get to work with them. What do they think about? What do they share? Do they talk about boats, about sports, about traveling? Or do they talk about inner space and how to go there? As you perform selfless actions, you get the opportunity to cultivate friendship with someone who can share with you inspiration and instruction, who can motivate you to make changes in your life. When we make ourselves into disciples and start effectively applying those changes in our own lives, we are going to find greater organization, a greater efficiency, a greater energy. Don’t be surprised if someone comes along and asks, Can I help you?

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

    • May 13 – May 19

  • The first step in cultivating pure devotion is participating in satsanga.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • We are trying to propagate the dharma by preparing teaching tools. We don’t want to proselytize or start enrolling people and create an organization. We just want to share the dharma and inspire people to make their relationship with God vibrant. – Swamiji

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Realizing the Supreme Divinity within is possible and not some pie in the sky ideal for the privileged few or chosen ones. God is for everyone.

      – from Sahib Sadhu The White Sadhu

  • Shree Maa: Gita is the definition of the goal. It says again and again, What ever you do, do for God. Surrender your attachment. Give up your selfishness. The Chandi shows us how to do that. The Chandi says, sit down in one asana, in one posture and recite. Don’t move your knees until it is complete. Watch the Divine Mother cut down your attachments. Away with your anger, away goes desire. One by one She takes them away. The Chandi is the path to the realization of Gita.

      – Shree Maa The Life of a Saint

  • Ramakrishna: When we attain to wisdom that is full, complete, and perfect, the human mind becomes silent.

      – Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: So long as you persist in inviting the deluding power of maya into your life, how can you expect to become free of the bondage of I consciousness? Only if you stop inviting maya, will it be possible.

      – Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: Whether you accept the Divine with form or not, if you have the understanding that God is real, then your prayers will be heard. If you don’t believe that God is real, then you’re wasting your time.

      – from Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

    • May 20 – May 26

  • If you don’t know the answer, surrender.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Show respect through your every action. If you serve truth, even disregarding all temptation to forsake the truth then you will attain divine strength.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • At the crack of dawn the next morning, we bathed at the banks of the Niranjana River. There were no flowers there to use in our worship, but Swamiji was unperturbed. “We shall do our puja an yagya with sand and leaves”, he told me. The puja went on for the entire day. All we had were leaves and a few sticks of incense. Swamiji drew the yantra in the sand, the sacred symbol which is the seat of the deity, and for each of the mantras of the Chandi Path, he placed a dry leaf on the yantra. – Sushil Choudhury

      – from Sahib Sadhu The White Sadhu

  • This creation is a collection of souls who are making their personal pilgrimages by means of the laws of harmony and unity, of peace and truth. Or we could say that dharma comes about in creation when every individual soul strives in its pilgrimage towards perfection.

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

  • The creation has come about in order to fulfill the quest for perfection. To our limited prejudiced perceptions we may think that others require greater harmony in their lives. In reality they are only fulfilling their dharma, which is the dharma of their particular yatra (pilgrimage).

      – from The Guru and the Goddess

  • Not every one is able to have faith. Everyone has their own samskaras, their own karma. Not everyone will realize their divinity in this lifetime. It is a cycle of life, a cycle of karma. It takes many lifetimes of purification to come to a place where you have real faith. – Shree Maa

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Books are filled with the wisdom of those great souls. Read the scriptures and commune with their wisdom. – Shree Maa

      – from Before Becoming This

    • May 27 – June 2

  • There are many gifts more valuable than money: a kind word and a friendly smile often are regarded as the greatest wealth.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • It is possible to receive injury or put yourself at a disadvantaged position, if you pronounce incorrectly or say the wrong thing.

    We consider such statements as absurd and useless, tantamount to saying, Unless I direct your prayer, it is of know value at all, or it is not a real prayer unless I lead it. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that God would not appreciate the sincerity of our efforts, even though we may make technical errors. – Swamiji

      – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

  • Ramakrishna: If you perform your activities in the world without first contemplating God, you are going to fall into worldliness. The burden of responsibility and worldliness will become unbearable.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Be content with small gains.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Ramakrishna: The more you contemplate worldly attachments, the more your energy becomes weaker by the day. Before you cut open a jackfruit, cover your hands with oil. The jackfruit is extremely sticky, and without oil your hands will become stuck together. Just so, rub your mind with the oil of devotion to God. Then you can perform your worldly duties.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Everyone is looking for a miracle outside rather than looking at the power within.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Ramakrishna (to Keshab’s devotees): You tell me, who has the capacity to offer a benefit to the world? Is this world so small that you can benefit it? Who are you who can actually do some benefit to the world? In order to really benefit the world, one must realize God through sadhana. Then you gain Godliness. If she gives you the energy, then you can perform welfare for others. In the absence of divine inspiration it’s impossible.

      – Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

    • June 3 – June 9

  • A balanced life consists of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of spiritual practices.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Many people say this is the Kali yuga age or age of darkness. But the yugas are modes of perception. We choose to live in the Satya yuga age, the age of truth.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • The Sanatana Dharma touches on every aspect of life. It is about how you can manifest perfection in every action you perform. The Sanatana Dharma is about spiritual life. It’s not about practices. Practices are tangential to the main thesis. They are tools for reminding ourselves always to be engaged in the spiritual path.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • In the morning remember the divine name in the brilliant lotus in the head, along with the Guru with two eyes and two arms, who grants the boons of freedom from fear and peace.

      – from The Guru and The Goddess

  • Swami Satyananda has said over the years that the true spiritual aspirant gathers together all the loose threads of his or her life in order to focus on the goals and methods to reach them. To be a true sadhu is to be efficient, and give more than one takes.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • Ramakrishna: I’m telling you the truth. It’s no fault of yours to be worldly, but you should keep your mind focused of God. If you don’t do that, you won’t be able to achieve your spiritual goals. Do your work with one hand and with the other hand grab onto God. When your karma is complete, then you’ll be able to hold onto God with both hands. The mind is both the source of your liberation as well as the source of your bondage.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: If you wear fancy shoes on your feet, then you will sing or whistle like an Englishman. In whatever way you apply your mind, that way the mind will reflect. If a pundit studies Sanskrit, then from his mouth the shlokas will pour out very quickly. If you keep your mind with bad influences, you’ll begin to think about bad influences. That is the way you’ll begin to think; that is the way you’ll begin to speak. If you keep your mind with devotees, then your mind will think about God. You’ll speak about God.

      – Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

    • June 10 – June 16

  • Become so firm in your faith that you will never swerve from your ideal.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • Ramakrishna: You may discriminate a thousand times, yet the I who is the thinker does not leave. For devotees to regard me with devotion is a very good thing. To the devotees I am the Supreme Divinity embodied in a human form, meaning that the Supreme Divinity Beyond Form has taken on qualities. When individuals take a form, they express through that form, and God listens to the prayers of a pure individual.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Ramakrishna: When a Devotee has a belief in a particular form of God and further develops a living relationship with that form, then there is no more confusion whatsoever. If you have vision of God in any form, then He Himself explains it all to you.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • I was reminded of a time that I had a physical problem and I remarked to Maa that I was slowing down. Rather than commiserating with me Maa smiled sweetly and replied, Your body is getting closer to God! One day we will leave our bodies and be with God. Isn’t that wonderful! At that moment I found a new depth in our mantra, Om Aim Hrim Klim Camundayai Vicce – One who can see birth, preservation, and destruction in all things is enlightened.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • It’s not hard. Every day you need to brush your teeth. In the same way, every day you have to think, I am a child of God.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Outside the temples there were often signs posted that read:
    Entrance for Hindus only. According to the true definition, a Hindu is one who abhors violence in every form, who always practices harmonious behavior, who loves wisdom, who is respects all teachers of wisdom and practices one pointed meditation. Such a one may be said to be a Hindu. Being Hindu has nothing to do with the country of your birth, the color of your skin, or what religion your mother or father practiced. Being a Hindu is an attainment.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • Call upon the Divine Mother, sing Her names, narrate the tales of her saints, and become inspired to greater achievement. She is our beautiful, Beloved Mother. She grants the fruit of all karma. Worship Her with all your heart.

      – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

    • June 17 – June 23

  • Throughout the scripture we find an admonition to perform seva to the Guru, selfless service as an expression of love. Seva is different from work in that the performer feels privileged to demonstrate the intensity of love by performing and action, while a worker feels some expectation to receive in return.

      – from The Guru and The Goddess

  • There are three forms of seva. The lowest form is when our respected one asks us, “Would you do this for me?” The middle form is when we divide areas of responsibility and we discharge our duties with an attitude of love. The highest seva is when we see an opportunity to demonstrate our love, and without being told or asked, we go out of our way to add value to another’s life.

      – from The Guru and The Goddess

  • Through seva to the Guru, selfless service as an expression of love, we earn the privilege of learning and performing more karma yoga, and when our fickle minds stop modifications of the objects of consciousness, then we to realize the soul’s inherent union with divinity. We become the Guru. We become Supreme Divinity.

      – from The Guru and The Goddess

  • Surrender the ego so that we can recognize God when he comes rather than passing our time trying to manipulate his creation.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • The fourth residence of awareness is the chakra of the heart. There you get your first glimpse of True Consciousness where on all sides you find the Vision of Light. The individual is mesmerized or astounded by the wonder of this Eternal Light, and he says “What is this?” Then his mind no longer has any tendency to move towards the lower levels of worldly attachments.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • When people have sattwic devotion, they meditate in private. They meditate underneath the mosquito net, while everyone else thinks they are asleep. Actually in the night they are awake, and that’s why they sleep late in the morning. They don’t care too much for their bodies. If they get a little food, it is sufficient. They have no desire for delicacies. They have no desire for expensive clothing. They have simple furnishings and no wish for fine decor. Yet they feel no want.

      – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

  • Just think that while you’re here, your are an actor and then you’ll go home. Be the actor you can and realize it’s a play.

      – from Before Becoming This

    • June 24 – June 30

  • The more we move towards satsanga the closer we come to wise and noble thoughts.

      – from Gems of Wisdom

  • There are two kinds of love. There’s the love of selfish attachment, and there’s the love of surrender. When we love selfishly, we only think about what’s in it for me: I love you as long as my needs are fulfilled. When we love with unselfish surrender, we abandon all of our own personal considerations and give ourselves over to our beloved.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Question to Swamiji: What is the fastest way to enlightenment?

    As soon as we talk about speed in getting to a destination, we are defining the destination as an attainment. Enlightenment is not an attainment. It is something tangible that you can possess. Enlightenment is a realization in the moment. So the fastest way to enlightenment that I can suggest is to fall in love to the exclusion of all delusion. To fall in love – right now with such force and conviction that you surrender all duality and all attachments to your beloved. Make that love the supreme love of all your loves.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • To be in the presence of our Guru, to be in the presence of God, is just as rewarding after many years as it was on the first day.

      – from Before Becoming This

  • Shree Maa:

    I saw a vision of Swamiji coming down from heaven. His two hands were raised in a blessing, and he was chanting the Devi Suktam from the Chandi. He floated down through the air and went before the Shiva statue, and then merged into this idol of worship. On seeing this, I knew he was a divine man and that we must have some important karma together.

      – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

  • Shree Maa has entered my heart. No matter where I am or what I do, Mother’s presence is forever with me.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

  • The compassionate guru looked at the distressed young man and said, My dear Prapod, no one can run away to become a sannyasi. Sannyas is an attainment. It is a fact of life, not a discipline of life.

      – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

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Planets and Days of the Week

Day                   Ruled By

Sunday           Sun, Surya

Monday           Moon, Chandra

Tuesday          Mars, Mangala

Wednesday      Mercury, Buddha

Thursday         Jupiter, Brihaspati, Guru

Friday             Venus, Shukra

Saturday         Saturn, Shani

Sadhana Panchakam Slide Show

The Sadhana Panchakam is a Sanskrit stotram containing five verses in praise of spiritual discipline (sadhana), authored by Sri Shankaracharya. The Panchakam is located at the beginning of the Advanced Shiva Puja book.