Inner Encounters

Inner Encounters

Have you sat with yourself, and deeply examined your innermost mechanisms? Of late I find myself doing that every quiet moment I get, and aided by where things are going in my life, I have found it to be a profoundly educational experience in uncovering old reactionary habit patterns which are often tightly bound with a strong emotional component. Often, while sitting in meditation I was slipping into an inner pattern of avoiding certain rising subtle impressions which created conflict and disturbance, instead of observing them with a pure attitude of detached witnessing.

Read the entire article by Sri Antarananda at Inner Encounters

--
When you demand nothing of the world, nor of God, when you want nothing, seek nothing, expect nothing, then the Supreme State will come to you uninvited and unexpected!

There is nothing to do. Just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say: 'be yourself', since you do not know yourself. Just be. Having seen that you are neither the 'outer' world of perceivable, nor the 'inner' world of thinkable, that you are neither body nor mind -- just be.

New Site

An End to Suffering

The Holy Guru's grace

He is beyond worlds all
Yet, here below, He bestows His grace abundant
On the good and the devout,
And in love works for salvation of all;
Thus is the Holy Guru
Whose praise is beyond speech
Like unto Siva, the Being Pure.

— From Tirumantiram
See this

natana – Fri, 14/07/2006 – 7:14am

Teachings – siva – guru

An End to Suffering

Truly, there is only one antidote to the suffering in the world, and that is the memory of and devotion i to one's satguru. Only the love of His Holy Feet are any protection from the pains of this world.

Beloved Lord, there is so much suffering in this world, there are billions who do not know the unceasing joy of loving You. Please, please Lord, i beg you from the depths of my heart and being to give this gift of bhakti i to all living beings.

Even this moment as i wish, you can end all suffering in this world by awakening in each and every heart as bhakti, as you once awoke in mine. Beloved, they all call you the Ocean of Mercy, and in my experience that title is most justified. Please, O Ocean of Mercy, bless all beings with Your bhakti.

2006-07-14 9:45 PM

The simplest and easiest path to true happiness and deep peace is the constant rememberance and love for one's guru. (I assume that at this point all desires have died off, including any spiritual desires). Constant rememberance and a dying of all desires comes with the Guru's grace.

Listening to srirupamanjari on iTunes.

ananda – Fri, 14/07/2006 – 9:49am

ramana – Experiences – guru – bhakti – surrender

Isha Upanishad verse 1

Isha Upanishad verse 1

The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all

"If all the Upanishads and all the other Scriptures happened all of a
sudden to be reduced to ashes, and if only the first verse in the
Ishopanishad were left in the memory of the Hindus, Hinduism would
live forever" -- Mahatma Gandhi

îsHâ vâsyamidaM sarvaM yat kiñca jagatyâM jagat,
tena tyaktena bhuñjîthâ mâ gRidhaH kasya sviddhanam. 1.

ॐ ईशा वास्यमिदँ सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् ।
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ।। १ ।।

The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality.
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.

For various translations (and word breakup) of this verse, please see
Ishopanishad on Sanskrit texts
(http://sanskrit-texts.blogspot.com/2006/05/isha-upanishad.html)

ananda – Sun, 28/05/2006 – 4:50am

The Feet of the Holy Guru

The Feet of the Holy Guru

The Feet of S'ri Rûpa Manjari

The lotus feet of Sri Rupa Manjari are my treasure,
they are my devotioni and service,
they are my wealth and the meaning of my life -
they are the life of my life.

They are the perfection of rasa, they are perfection worthy to attain
They are the very law of the Vedas for me.
of my vows and penances, they are the mantras of my praying.
They are the religion, my activities.
purified, following the rules, one will attain perfection
these two eyes thus may see
like moonlight his form in my heart, my heart shines in return.
not just at night, but all day.

Your absence from my vision, is like a dose of strong poison,
and I will suffer till the end of my life
"Please give me your mercy and the shade of your lotus feet."
that's what Narottama says.

Tune of song: Vaishnava Songs

MP3 with voice

Who is Rupa Manjari:

In the northern part of Sri Lalita Sakhi's kunja lies Rupollasa Kunja, where the very beautiful and graceful Sri Rupa Manjari resides. She is the foremost among the gopis known as priya-narma-sakhis. Her complexion is the color of gorocana (a bright yellow pigment secreted from a cow's kidney), and she delights in wearing a dress the color of peacock feathers. Her age is 13 years 6 months. The panditas call her Rangana-malika. In age, she is one day younger than Lavanga Manjari.

ananda – Sun, 16/07/2006 – 5:56am

guru – bhakti

Tirumantiram

Tirumantiram

Thirumandhiram, also spelt Thirumandiram or Tirumandiram is a masterpiece of Thirumoolar, a Siddhar. It contains 3047 verses that tells about various aspects of human life and praises of God i, especially Lord Shiva.

I held my Lord in me concealed, I adored Him in my heart's depths,
Lo! He revealed Himself unto me, And blessed me--here below,
Well may you adore Him, Revealing the rapture abounding and love endearing
That too pleases Him far.

The teachings of Thirumoolar is known as Tirumandiram and is reckoned as the tenth of the 12 Tirumurais of Saivism.

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the Tirumantiram in Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. In the first place, it is the earliest full statement of Siddhanta, "the end of ends," composed over 2,000 years ago. It is perhaps the most complete and profound exposition of the subtle theology of Saiva Siddhanta ever written, so filled with the esoteric and the abtruse that it has not through its long history been read or studied outside of the conclaves of scholars-though in the last two decades this trend has shifted and will continue now that a complete English edition is available. Within the context of other Saiva scriptures of South India, the Tirumantiram is the tenth of the twelve Tirumurai or "Holy Books." The Tirumurai are collected works in the Tamil language written for the most part during the first millennium A.D. by various Saivite saints and then gathered together in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They constitute what might be looked upon as a Saiva canon and hymnal in which may be found all forms of spiritual expression from the advaitic principles of non-dualism and Self-Realization i to devotional praises to God, Siva. The Tirumurai have come to be regarded as the very lifebreath of the devotional strength of Saivism. They are second in importance only to the Vedas, Upanishads and Agamas, and they are sung daily in the temples of the Deities throughout South India and elsewhere in the world where Saivites worship. The remaining Tirumurai consist of the Devaram hymns of the Samachariyas-Saints Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavasagar-the Periya Puranam of Saint Sekkilar, and other works.

The Holy Guru is God Himself (1573)

I walk with those who go after God,
I live with those who sing His praise,
The Lord blesses those who seek Him,
With them I consort,
Their feet I seek.
More

They are Siva Muktas
Who turned their thoughts to Siva
Who became Siva-suffused,
Who attained Mukti
By silentness that leads to it;
They abandoned the senses five
In search of Divine Purity
Their thoughts centered on Dance Cosmic.

Let all your thoughts be thoughts of Siva,
And the Lord by His Grace shall reveal all;
If your thoughts be Siva-saturated
In you shall He then close abide.
More

Guru's Acts of Grace Beyond Description

Into my bosom, on my eyes, over my head
He gently planted His loving Feet
Nandi, my Lord Supreme;
He laid me the Path,
He showed me the Truth,
He settled the course of my Destiny
Truly, truly, all that I can not describe.

See Table of Contents
and Tirumantiram

natana – Fri, 14/07/2006 – 6:26am

Teachings – siva

Tirumantiram

I freed myself from the fetters the Creator bound me with.
I learned the way of reaching Siva.
I destroyed my karmas with the sharp sword of realization and stood ego-lost.
And now I hasten toward the city of God i.
Tirumantiram 2962

— Thirumoolar
From Final Conclusions for mankind

natana – Fri, 14/07/2006 – 6:19am

Happy Guru Purnima

Happy Guru Purnima

We wish you all a Happy Guru Purnima

From the Shvetashvatara upanishad 6-23:

If one has supreme devotioni to Godi,
and for one's Guru as much as for God,
to this one these teachings (of self realization) which have been declared
may become manifest in a great soul,
yes, may become manifest in a great soul.

yasya deve paraa bhaktiH yathaa deve tathaa gurau .
tasyaite kathitaa hyarthaaH prakaashante mahaatmanaH .. 23..
prakaashante mahaatmana iti .

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ ।
तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः ।। २३।।
प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।।

The day of worship of one’s preceptor, is a day of pure joy to the sincere spiritual aspirant. Thrilled by the expectation of offering his reverent homage to the beloved Guru, aspirants await this occasion with eagerness and devotion. It is the Guru alone that breaks the binding cords of attachment and releases the aspirant from the trammels of earthly existence....

The Srutis say: “To that high-souled aspirant, whose devotion to the Lord is great and whose devotion to his Guru is as great as that to the Lord, the secrets explained herein become illuminated”. Guru is Brahmanii, the Absolute, or God Himself. He guides and inspires you from the innermost core of your being. He is everywhere.

Have a new angle of vision. Behold the entire universe as the form of the Guru. See the guiding hand, the awakening voice, the illuminating touch of the Guru in every object in this creation. The whole world will now stand transformed before your changed vision. The world as Guru will reveal all the precious secrets of life to you, and bestow wisdom upon you. The supreme Guru, as manifested in visible nature, will teach you the most valuable lessons of life.

Please refer http://www.hinduism.8k.com/gurupurnima.html for details

nayana – Tue, 11/07/2006 – 5:07am

ramana – guru

Prahlad and Sant Tukaram

Prahlad

A lad who faced the anger of his mighty father for the sake of his faith i in God i. Poison, sword and fire could not frighten him. And the Lord Himself responded to the devotion i of the five-year old boy and came to the earth.

... Narahari was pleased ... and said, "Child Prahlada, I am pleased with your devotion; ask for whatever you desire."

He bowed and said to the Lord, "I am devoted to God. May this devotion be firmly rooted in my heart! May no other desire appear there !" Narahari was very much pleased with this prayer of Prahlada, the greatest of God's devotees. He said, "I grant your prayer, child. Rule over this kingdom for some time. Live happily. Do only what is right and just, so that all men will approve. At the end you will come to me." So he granted a boon.
For the full story see Prahlada

ananda – Tue, 04/07/2006 – 6:59am

bhakti – legend

Sant Tukaram

Even God i does not know the value of His Name. Even God is not aware of the power of His Name. How can He be?

Sant Tukaram was a 17th century poet saint, a devotee i of Krishna, considered to be "the very peak of that centuries long outbreak of love for God".

Here are some tenets of his message taken from wikipedia

1. Make God the Center of your life. Walk the Path of Love. Serve mankind and thus see God in all.
2. Cast away one's clothes of traditions that one has inherited for often those can bind you from growing in Love of God.
3. He did not favour elaborate rituals, displays of asceticism and preoccupation with austerities. He would say - even dogs come in saffron colour and bears have matted fur. If living in caves is being spiritual then rats who inhabit caves must be doing sadhana i.
4. He was opposed to the acquiring of siddhis as these were obstructions to authentic sadhana.
5. Faith in Providence was crucial to sadhana. He believed that He who facilitates the milk from the breast for the infant and the One who permits the bursting of foliage from the branches will certainly take care of me.
6. Most important of all was the Privilege of being a Bhakta and to exercise in life, nama japa. He would say that even God does not know the value of His Name. Even God is not aware of the power of His Name. How can He be? The lotus cannot smell its own fragrance, only the bee can. The cow knows not the sweetness of its milk, only the calf can. The oyster knows not the value of its pearl, only the jeweler can.

Tukaram's final day is well documented by eye witness accounts. He informed his wife early in the day
about going to Vaikuntha (the Divine Abode). His wife laughed at him. He went up the hillock and waited for Vithoba. By that time, news had spread around Dehu and people had gathered around the hillock, waiting for the Divine event. As per eye witness accounts, a large vehicle emerged from the skies and Vithoba emerged from the flying plane. Eyewitnesses rushed to Tukaram's home and informed his wife that Tukaram was on his way to 'Vaikuntha' - the Abode of God. His wife ran toward the hills, only to see him take off in the Viman (Flying plane). To this day, devotees gather at the hillock and sing his praises.

Please see wikipedia

nayana – Thu, 29/06/2006 – 5:51am

Gauranga

O Lord, I ask not for wealth or followers, or for poetic genius. May my motiveless devotion i to Thee continue in me whenever I take birth.

Gauranga was a 16th century devoteei of Radha and Krishna, whose inspiring story may be found here

Hari's Name should always be chanted by him who must be humbler than a blade of grass (which is trodden upon); who is more patient, forbearing and charitable than a tree (which does not cry out even when it is cut down, and which does not beg for water even when scorched to death, but on the contrary, offers its treasure to whosoever seeks it, bears the sun and rain itself but protects those who take shelter under it from rain and sunshine); who, however worthy of esteem should, instead of claiming respect for himself, give respect to all (from a sense of God i's immanency in all beings). He who thus takes Krishna's Name gets Krishna-prem (love).

ananda – Thu, 06/07/2006 – 11:04am

bhakti – legend