Sunday, September 27, 2009

Marvelous Answer......................

Take a look at this marvelous answer:..........................

A mechanic was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when
he spotted the famous heart surgeon in his shop, who was standing off
to the side, waiting for the service manager to come to take a look at
his car. The mechanic shouted across the garage,"Hello Doctor! Please
come over here for a minute." The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked
over to the mechanic. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on
a rag and asked argumentatively, "So doctor, look at this. I also open
hearts, take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish this will work as a new one. So how come you get the big money, when
you and me is doing basically the same work? " The doctor leaned over
and whispered to the mechanic .....
( Guess........... what doctor would have said ??) .

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He said : "Try to do it when the engine is running".

The Best Dad.............................A very good one.

The Best Dad.................A very Good Read.

Years ago I heard a story of a dad named Paul who gave his young son a small chalkboard to practice writing on. One evening his son called out from the bedroom, 'Dad, how do you spell best?'

Paul answered him. Moments later, the boy hollered, 'How do you spell kid?'

Finally he asked, 'How do you spell ever?'

When the boy showed him what he'd written on the chalkboard, Paul expected to see 'I'm the best kid ever.' Instead, the boy beamed as Paul read the message: 'You're the best dad a kid can ever have.'

Paul recalled that it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, he had to buy his son another chalkboard because he wanted to save this message forever and hang it on his wall. It's still there.

Feeling appreciated is enormously important to adults as well as children. So much so that we often don't think enough about what we'd most like to be appreciated for.

Being appreciated at work is a big deal. Who doesn't want approval and respect from one's boss and co-workers? Beyond the economic value of raises, promotions, and commendations, praise can be gratifying and motivating. That's why good employers look for opportunities to acknowledge and thank employees for their contributions.

Yet as meaningful as work recognition is, if you could choose between winning your child's 'Best Mom or Dad A Kid Can Ever Have' award and being named 'Best Employee,' which would you choose?

The point is not to belittle the pursuit of approval in your business life but to remind you how much more meaningful it is to know you're important to and appreciated by the people who love and need you the most. Your most important job in life is to be worthy of that appreciation.

Being the 'best ever' mom or dad, husband or wife, or friend - it doesn't get any better than that.

Written by Michael Josephson.

Goal of Life ...................................Explained.................

Goal of Life............................Explained.

Dharma, Artha, Kama, Mokhya are simple words. An individual can understand by simply looking within, and without getting prejudiced by one's own conditioned mind.

Dharma is that holds you like rest of the whole universe. It is the set of eternal principles that pre-existed your own existence. You have to follow it scrupulously.

Artha is means by which you materialise your desires. Everything natural has an artificial development and everything artificial has a natural origin. Artifice that is human intelligence is also a gift of nature. One should use it to benefit out of Nature and not destroy it while using it as a means to materialise one's desires.

Kama is desire which is bound to be there in a functioning human body. Desires differ according to the attributes of Nature with which one is born in its different proportions. You know Tamasic, Rajasic and Satwic gunas in human nature as gifts of Nature. One's Dharma or the duty as designed by Nature is to perform ones duty in accordance with the Swaguna (determined by the proportion of the three Gunas). Swaguna determines your Swabhav or characteristics or inner feelings. Swabhav determines your Swadharma.

Mokshya is to live performing one's duties in his appointed station in accordance with the eternal principles of Nature. Hence, Mokshya is the end in itself as it helps one to fulfill the very purpose of one's existence. Chaturvidha Purushartha is the means and the end by itself.

To have a better understanding of the subject one can read 'Essays on Geeta' by Sri Aurobindo

The Alphabets of friendship................................

The Alphabet of Friendship!............................

Twenty six ways that friends make your life all that much better.........


Absolutely supportive of you

Beautiful on the inside

Caring and thoughtful

Delightful and charming

Excellent company

Fun to be around

Good natured

Happy to spend time with you

Interested in all that you do

Jolly and fun loving

Keen and sharp - they can tell you what mood in you are in just by looking at your face

Loveable and full of compassion

Marvellous at seeing the best in you

Nice when it comes to your needs

Openly honest with you

Positive about the good that of you do in your life

Quick to comfort you when you are down

Reliable and there for you at all times

Sweet and engaging

Terrific in lots of very special ways

Understanding of how you feel

Very kind to you when you are sad

Wonder and amazing in the counsel they offer you

Xtra special to you when you least expect it

Young at heart

Zippy at helping you out

Author Unknown

See the amount of divinity,happiness, concern and care with Love the above 26 sentences contains.

Make large number of great and good friends meant for each other.

J.K

Initiation...................................Different kinds...............

Initiation....................different kinds....A good read indeed.


The water of a reservoir dug in a meadow is evaporated by the heat of the sun. Likewise the water of the reservoir of sin is dried up by the singing of the Name and glories of God.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Initiation.............................

There are three kinds of 'diksha' (initiation) . Initiation by touch, initiation by sight and initiation by thought. Ramana Maharishi also speaks of these three 'dikshas' in his 'Aksharamanamalai' .

Initiation by touch:..............................

A hen lays her eggs and sits on it to hatch it. By the touch of the hen the egg is hatched and the chickens come out of the eggs. Likewise, the Guru touches his disciples and this activates the spiritual fervour in them. This is 'hasta diksha' (initiation by touch).

Many young boys used to visit Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Suddenly these young boys would stop visiting him. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would feel disturbed and when the boys visited him after a gap would question them, 'why have you not come here for a long time?'

The young boys would explain, 'our elders at home do not like our visiting you. They say that by visiting you our studies would be spoilt. They refuse to permit us to come here.'

Sri Ramakrishna would tell the boys to somehow bring the elders at home - the parents or uncle or whoever it was who tried to stop the young ones from visiting him , to him. When those elders came to him, he would touch them while speaking to them. This touch would change their attitude and they would begin to visit Sri Ramakrishna!

Initiation by sight:...........................

The fish lays its eggs in the water and keeps moving hither and thither in the water. But, the fish keeps looking at the eggs laid. Though the very gaze of the fish the eggs are hatched. This is 'chakshu diksha' (initiation by look). The Guru looks at his disciple and this triggers off the spiritual fervour in him.

Paul Brunton came to the presence of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi at the advice of Maha Periyava. He had a number of questions to be placed before Bhagavan. Bhagavan said to him that he would meet him in his room. Bhagavan went as promised and sat gazing at Paul Bruton. At the end of it, Bhagavan asked him, 'you wish to place some questions before me. What are those questions?'

Paul Brunton said, "No! The need to question does not arise. All my questions have been answered." Such is the gaze of the Guru.

Initiation by thought:..................................

A tortoise lays its eggs on land and moves over to the water. Staying in water, its thoughts rest on the eggs laid on the land. By the constant thought of the eggs by the tortoise the eggs get hatched. Similarly, the Guru thinks of his disciple and this takes the disciple higher in his spiritual path.

Guru, Sadhana, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Out of Sorts.....................

Out of sorts..............

Meaning

Mildly unwell; not in one's usual health or state of mind.......

Origin...............

Since at least the 17th century 'sorts' has been the name of the letters used by typographers. This usage is referred to in Notes on a Century of Typography at the University Press Oxford 1693–1794 and is nicely defined in Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises, or the Doctrine of Handy-works - Printing, 1683:
"The Letters... in every Box of the Case are... called Sorts in Printers and Founders Language; Thus a is a Sort, b is a Sort."
For sets of type blocks to be 'out of sorts' would clearly be unwelcome to a typesetter. That terminology could be the source of the phrase and the notion is certainly a tempting one. We need to be cautious with that attribution however as the above citation is pre-dated by one from The proverbs, epigrams, and miscellanies of John Heywood, 1562, which makes no explicit mention of typesetting:
Fit (adj): disordered, out of sorts
That unusual definition of 'fit' is, oddly, almost the opposite of our current usage of the word as an adjective.
It may well turn out that pre-1562 citations that refer to typesetting will be found; after all, Gutenberg invented the printing press in around 1440. Until then, I'm sure that many people will opt to believe that 'out of sorts' derives from typesetting. All I can do is present you with the evidence as I find it and let you come to your own conclusions.

Pull out of ALL THE STOPS....................

Pull out all the stops

Meaning.....

Make every possible effort.................

Origin..............

The popular belief is that this phrase derives from the manner of construction of pipe organs. These instruments have have stops to control the air flow through the pipes and pulling them out increases the musical volume. This seems to be the type of casual easy answer that is the hallmark of folk etymology. In this case, the popular belief isn't a fallacy but is in fact correct.
Prior to the introduction of pipe organs the word 'stop' had, in a musical context, been used to mean 'note' or 'key'. That usage is recorded as early as the late 16th century, as in this example from George Gascoigne's satire The Steele Glas, 1576:
"But sweeter soundes, of concorde, peace, and loue, Are out of tune, and iarre in euery stoppe."
Of course, 'notes' and 'keys' can't be pulled out. The word 'stop' later came to be used for the knobs that control the flow of air in pipe organs, by pushing them in or, more to the point here, pulling them out.
The first person to have used the phrase in a figurative, i.e. non-organ related, sense appears to have been Matthew Arnold, in Essays in Criticism, 1865:
"Knowing how unpopular a task one is undertaking when one tries to pull out a few more stops in that... somewhat narrow-toned organ, the modern Englishman."

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Over the moon.................................

Over the moon.....................

Meaning

Very happy or delighted.

Origin.....................

'Over the moon' has been part of the language for more than a century. It has become more widely used in the past twenty or thirty years, since it was adopted by English football managers when interviewed after 'the boys' managed a victory.
The increased use of televised post-match interviews and hours of studio commentary during the 1970s brought many football managers before the cameras. These days such men are likely to be cultured and erudite Frenchmen or Spaniards. Before that they were usually British ex-footballers who had left schools in the English or Scottish back streets early to play football. It's fair to say that many of them have little interest in the finer points of English grammar.
Two of the best-known English football managers of recent years, who have maintained the English tradition with their engagingly entertaining way of mangling the language, are Ron Atkinson and Terry Venables. The list of quotations from them is long and includes:

"The Spaniards have been reduced to aiming aimless balls into the box." (Atkinson)
"If you can't stand the heat in the dressing room, get out of the kitchen."

"If Glenn Hoddle said one word to his team at half time, it was concentration and focus." (Atkinson)

"I felt a lump in my throat as the ball went in." (Venables)

The humorous magazine Private Eye picked up on these and began publishing them in its Colemanballs column. The name was taken from the sports commentator David Coleman, who could give even the managers a run for their money:

"Nottingham have now lost six matches in a row without winning." (Coleman)
It was really Private Eye's lampooning that made this phrase popular. There is an associated phrase, 'sick as a parrot', which was used when 'the boys' lost. This has a much shorter pedigree and it's quite likely that it was invented by a writer at Private Eye rather than in a football stadium. It certainly gained currency because The Eye always printed the two phrases together in their parodies. 'Sick as a parrot' was probably influenced the the famous Monty Python 'Dead Parrot' sketch, which could be quoted verbatim by many in the UK at the time and which remains one of the most popular sketches ever shown on British TV.Well, that's the last thirty years. The actual origin of 'over the moon' is much earlier and, although not widely used before the 1970s, it would have been familiar to all who grew up in Britain in the 20th century. Why, because the source was included, as High Diddle Diddle, in the influential 16th century nursery rhyme collection, Mother Goose's Melody; or Sonnets from the Cradle, circa 1760:

High diddle diddle,

The Cat and the Fiddle,

The Cow jump'd over the Moon,

The little dog laugh'd to see such Craft,

And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.

As with most nursery rhymes, the first appearance in print may well post-date the first use by years, centuries even - children didn't write their rhymes down. The text of such rhymes was subject to a 'Chinese whispers' effect over all of that time and, whatever the origin may have been, the version passed down to us is quite probably nonsense and isn't easily interpreted. What is clear is that the 'over the moon' line is a reference to excitement and energy. That's evidenced by one of the earliest allusions to the phrase in print - Charles Molloy's The Coquet, or, The English Chevalier, 1718:

"Tis he! I know him now: I shall jump over the Moon for Joy!"

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Prana & Pranayama..............................

Prana and Pranayama.................AN INTERESTING & USEFUL ARTICLE TO READ.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati..........................................


We have a very peculiar concept about pranayama being simply a practice of breathing. There are also many other aspects of pranayama, like the influences of the breath on body, mind and psyche, and then there is the aspect of prana.

There are two different things - the breath is separate from prana, and prana is separate from the air which we breathe. Prana has a definite influence on the physical body, on the brain, consciousness and energy, but before we go into this topic we first have to understand exactly what prana is. I will give you one living example to explain prana. It is absolutely true.

It concerns research done by the Meninger Foundation in the United States, involving a Swami by the name of Nadabrahmananda who was put in an airtight glass cage with a monkey and a burning candle. The swami was asked to practise Kumbhaka (internal breath retention) and at the same time to play the tabla. The researchers plugged his nose, ears and mouth. There was not the remotest possibility of him breathing through any of the holes in his body. When they shut the cage, the candle-flame burnt out after about three or four minutes while the monkey fell down unconscious after fifteen minutes, but the swami continued to play the tabla in the state of internal breath retention for forty-five minutes continuously.

This seems to destroy the theory that breath is related to prana, for the swami said that while he was practising kumbhaka he was only aware of a type of energy moving throughout his body. He was not aware of any agitation of the heart nor high blood pressure, for when you retain the breath for an extended period of time there is just plain awareness of energy pulsating throughout the body. He felt that there was no need to breathe at all. He could have continued for a very long time without breathing, longer than forty-five minutes.

Yoga makes it very clear that prana is a form of energy which is generated within the body and it depends a lot on the state of the mind, consciousness, emotions and thoughts as well as the positive and negative aspects of the personality. This is known as the awakening of prana. Once you are able to awaken the pranic energy the breath will automatically cease, but of course, it requires a lot of practice to perfect kumbhaka.

We have to remember that, although pranayama is a simple technique of inhalation and exhalation, internal breath retention and external breath retention, many physiological and psychological changes take place within the body and we have to become aware of them. First of all, let us consider the breath. We know that through the breath we can alter the function of our nervous and cardiovascular systems and the brain, and induce a state of relaxation. We can also induce a state of tension in the body and brain.

The process of inhalation creates some physical resistance and this resistance or tension is not limited to the body alone but also affects the mind. When we exhale we eliminate that tension, that build-up of energy, and we reach a state of tranquillity by observing the breath. By means of the breath we can control the level of tension whether it is muscular, nervous or emotional. How can simply changing the pattern of the breath influence the sympathetic or the parasympathetic nervous system, or the right and left hemispheres of the brain, or the ida and pingala aspect of energy within our personality?

Many people believed that when we practise pranayama there is a build-up of oxygen in our system and that this oxygen is transferred to the brain which becomes active, but many studies have shown that we do not increase the quantity of oxygen in the system, in the blood, or in the brain, but that we eliminate toxins from the body, either in the form of heat, or in the form of sweat. Many times we experience this when we practise bhastrika pranayama for an extended period. Through the process of breathing also we eliminate CO2 and so naturally we will feel that the level of oxygen is increasing.

I will give you one example: if the quantity of oxygen within the body is ten per cent and the quantity of toxins within the body is eight per cent, we consider that we have two per cent of oxygen, but if through the practice of pranayama we reduce the quantity of toxins in our system by four per cent, the oxygen quantity will increase to six per cent. This is what actually happens at the time of pranayama. Through the purification of toxins there is a feeling of energy, lightness, vitality, stamina, clarity of mind and perceptions, and maximum performance of the brain. This is one aspect of pranayama.

The second aspect of pranayama is that when we breathe the air from our environment we inhale the positive and negative ions into the body, regardless of the quantity of these ions. A scientist might say that in the air there are five hundred particles of negative ions per square centimetre, which make us feel very light, fresh, energetic and vibrant. Whenever we go to the mountainside, and even after a thunderstorm, the air is charged with electricity which is known as negative ions. When we perform pranayama, even if we do it in a room, after some time we will create a type of static electricity within the body. If we draw a comb or brush through our hair, it becomes electrically charged with static electricity and you can lift up pieces of paper with it.

The same principle applies with pranayama also. We generate a type of static electricity within the body which attracts negative ions from the environment into our system, therefore even in a confined space, in a closed room where there are not many negative ions per square centimetre, after the practice of pranayama, we will still feel vibrant, energetic and light, because we have built up this form of static energy which is attracting the negative ions from the environment.

The third aspect of pranayama relates to the nervous system. Those people who have practised Swara Yoga and who are therefore more aware of their breathing process must know that the breath constantly changes its pattern of flow in the nostrils. Sometimes one nostril is clear, open and flowing while the other is blocked, and vice versa - these two flows change periodically. Each flow is related to a particular type of experience of the nervous system. When our sympathetic nervous system is active the physical performance is different. One is more extrovert, dynamic, outgoing, alert and aware - very much in the world. When the breath is flowing in the other nostril which influences the parasympathetic nervous system, then we feel more relaxed, tranquil, peaceful, more inside ourselves rather than outside, and this is very noticeable in respect to people who suffer from mental problems.

In the States where they taught pranayama to mentally disturbed people (hyper-actives), they found that by the practice of nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) only, they were able to bring down the hyperactivity of the sufferer and also induce a state of tranquillity. Pranayama was taught to catatonics (depressives) - if one of their arms is up, it will remain like that for hours without their bringing it down, or you will have to bring the hand down. Then again it will go up. They have practically no control over their external physiological expression or movement. Of course, first with the help of drugs, we extrovert the mind, because in this severely introverted state it is very difficult for an individual to practise pranayama. Some kind of stimulant is injected into their system and they become externalised. After their mind is externalised they are taught pranayama which activates the sympathetic nervous system and brings them out
-bhastrika, surya bheda pranayama. They found that if these practices are done carefully and systematically, they become very effective. So, the effect of pranayama on the nervous system is a very big subject in itself.

Then comes another aspect - the brain. There are two things to look at here. One is the electrical activity of the brain, the other is the performance of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. We can understand electrical activity of the brain, because the more we become involved with the external world, with external day-to-day affairs, the more tense we become, the greater is the frequency of beta waves -so many cycles-per-second, between twenty to thirty. This reduces the efficiency of the mind. It diverts the mind in many directions. In our life, we have experienced it, we cannot decide for ourselves, because there are too many wants, too many likes and dislikes, too many ambitions! So we are never really relaxed.

Relaxation does not mean lying flat, closing the eyes and mentally going off to some place. Relaxation in Yoga means having control over the activity of the brain, because through the brain you can control the body, through the brain you can control the functions of the mind. This is why, after you lie in the prone position of shavasana, during Yoga Nidra or between asana you are especially asked to observe the breath. There is no other reason behind it. If this were not the reason, we would ask you to fantasise about anything, which may not be related with the breath at all - see a shiva lingam in your forehead for example. You will achieve relaxation by concentrating on a shiva lingam at the eyebrow centre but the state of relaxation of the brain will not be the same, and you will not be able to control the electrical impulses of the brain consciously.

Those of you who have used the biofeedback system, who have seen your brain waves and have will fully tried to change their frequency, by learning how to relax the muscles, control the breath, or divert the mind from the most immediate problem to another experience, will know how the frequency changes, how one brain wave is superimposed on another. This is exactly what happens when we practise pranayama in a state of mental conflict, tension and frustration.

There is a gradual reduction of the beta waves, but that does not mean that your alpha waves will increase. There are practices of pranayama in which you by-pass your alpha waves, theta waves and delta waves. From beta you go straight to shoonya - no activity!

This has been experimented upon by many good researchers and swamis. I had the opportunity to see the experiment of how a pranayama practitioner could go straight into the state of shoonya directly from beta waves without passing through the alpha, delta and theta phases. The experiment was done by the same sannyasin in the cage who stopped breathing for forty-five minutes and is a very great achievement.

The next aspect I want to cover is the right and the left hemispheres of the brain. There are many theories concerning this. We say that the right hemisphere has a certain area of performance and the left hemisphere has its own definite area of performance. Rationality, awareness, dynamism, tranquillity - these are all functions of the different brain hemispheres. The performance of the hemispheres changes according to the alternating flow of ida and pingala. Ida and pingala here does not mean the flow of breath in the right nostril or left nostril, but the flow and volume of prana, the quantity of prana within the system.

You know the example of a magnet attracting metal. If you put some type of thick paper in front of it, it will still attract metal but not as strongly as before. The greater the barrier in front of the magnet, the less its efficiency. The flow of ida and pingala is something like this. The more you remove the blocks from these pranic flows, (I am not using the word "toxins" I am using the word "blocks"), their magnetic power will increase. What are these blocks? Tension is one of them definitely. Emotional problems are certainly another one. The state of mind, "I want this but I cannot have it" and the state of suppression are others. It is removal of these different psychological blocks which increases the quantum of the ida and pingala flows and they, in turn, will affect the performance of the mind, intelligence, emotions and behaviour.

The fact that some people who are right-handed or left-handed, or who are more linear in their way of thinking, or who have the ability to visualise thing's can be understood more effectively when we take these facts into consideration. But more than this, it can be transcended, after we have achieved harmony between the left and right hemispheres of the brain through the practice of pranayama, by equalising the flow of ida and pingala.

Now let us consider the expansion of the pranic field - pranamaya kosha. We may have noticed that there is a time of the day when the biorhythms of the body, mind and emotions reach their optimum, and a time when they come to their lowest ebb. In the morning we often feel tired, even after eight or ten hours of sleep, because the energy level is low. There are periods in the afternoon when we feel tired because our energy level is low, but after some time, we again feel energetic. Ten or twenty minutes ago, I was feeling tired, but now again I am feeling energetic, why? I did not go to sleep. I did not go to bed. I did not do anything. It is a general experience related to the biorhythms of the body, intellect or emotions which have again come up.

These biorhythms are not related to the charts we buy in the market, the nineteen, twenty one, or twenty-three-day-cycle biorhythm, not the biorhythm book in which you use your birth date and the present date, etc. It is a very simple fact related with the breath and prana. Just as the flow of breath changes in each nostril every forty-five minutes to one hour; just as the flow of prana increases in the ida and pingala passages from time to time, at a certain time of the day the nervous system, the respiratory system, the brain, the emotions the mind, the prana, all go up or down according to the cycle, and the pranamaya kosha is affected by the fluctuation of these biorhythms.

It is in fact our inability to maintain a state of harmony in the level of prana which makes us feel tired, exhausted, depleted of energy. If we were able to maintain a constant level of prana, no matter how tired our body became, we might be panting and sweating, and our muscles aching, but we would not collapse because of exhaustion. We would undergo the symptoms of fatigue, but we would recuperate very quickly. Prana combats this accumulation of various acids, hormones and toxins within the body. The accumulation of lactic acid within the muscles as they get tired, as well as the constant flow of adrenaline, which can be corrected and controlled through prana alone.

So, from when we wake up in the morning to when we go to bed at night, our body and mind and pranic level undergo many ups and downs, but if we are somehow able to increase the level of prana again we will overcome the tiredness, the lethargy, the laziness, the feeling of exhaustion and again be completely awake, alert, tranquil and relaxed, without any after effect. You know what type of after-effect I am referring to. If we do not sleep for one night, the next morning we say, "My nerves are shot. I cannot do things properly. I cannot think properly. I am trembling. I am having this experience. I am having that experience".

Some time back, some swamis and doctors did an experiment in Australia with the Kirlian system. Every morning they used to wake up, take a print of their hands and see the emission of the electromagnetic energy or prana and note the colours. Everyone gives a different name to this energy, some call it aura, some call it bio-magnetic field, some call it by other fancy names, but for our understanding let us call it prana. Then they went about their normal work. The doctors went to the hospital, the swamis went to teach Yoga. There were about six or seven people in the experiment. In the evening, as soon as they returned, they took fresh prints and compared them with the morning prints.

The morning prints showed an emission of three quarters of an inch in length, because people were relaxed. Everybody had slept without tension. At night however some people showed no emission at all, because they had given out a lot of energy during the day and accumulated much tension. They were mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. Now came the most difficult but interesting part. For one day through the practice of asana they used to try to increase the prana in their system, and observe through the photos how much it used to increase after five minutes of asana, then another asana, then another. They selected five asana only. The next week they tried with pranayama only - five pranayama, one each day. Then they used mudras and bandhas (moola bandha, jalandhara bandha, uddiyana bandha) and the corresponding mudra (ashwini mudra, vajroli mudra, agnisar kriya, etc.) then Yoga Nidra, then pratyahara, Ajapa Japa, mantra and breath visualisation.

They found that with each practice they were able to increase the quantity of prana and in the emission of prana from various parts of the body, especially from the fingers, they could see a very noticeable difference before, after and during the experiment.

Of course, as we know that we are surrounded by the pranic body or field, and as we become emotionally and physically tired, the energy is utilised to again rejuvenate the energy within our system. When we are unable to rejuvenate the prana within our system we sleep, or we try to direct our mind. If we could rejuvenate the prana through various Yoga practices we could prevent the daily stress from affecting the performance of our body and mind. The most important practice of pranayama was surya bheda pranayama, sympathetic nostril breathing. Five rounds of this and they were again as active as in the morning.

So, these are some of the studies that have been taking place in many different parts of the world.

Mind you, this work is not yet complete, because we are still learning about the mental and emotional aspect of it, how we can influence our emotions - the feeling of anger, love and harmony, joy or greed and envy. These are things that we can definitely control and transform through the practice of pranayama, and some studies have been made. We are learning about the psychic aspect of it also, the effect of pranayama on the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. Many studies have so far been done but pranayama is a very lengthy topic and there are still other aspects which are not covered here........................................

And.......................................................................


Remember - "There is never a wrong time to do a right thing."

The difference between.....................&...............thinking.................

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LATERAL AND LOGICAL THINKING............A GOOD STORY INDEED............................

Many years ago in a small Indian village,

A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The Moneylender , who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.


They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses

The above logical answers.


What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did .....................................

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one.


MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't ATTEMPT to think.

A very interesting conversation between.................................

A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION BETWEEN A PROFESSOR AND A GREAT STUDENT- WHO WAS THAT GREAT STUDENT ? READ TO KNOW.

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the Problem Science has with GOD, the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his New Christian Students to stand and...........................................


Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD Good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?

Student : Yes.

Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent )

Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella. Is GOD Good?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Is Satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor : Where does Satan come from ?

Student : From . . . GOD .. .

Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor : So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer)

Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor : So, who Created them ?

(Student had no answer)

Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you.. Tell me, son . .. . Have you ever Seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.


Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD?

Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.

Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?

Professor : Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?

Professor : Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn't.

(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )

Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat.
But we don't have anything called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat. We cannot Measure Cold. Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.

(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )


Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?

Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't. If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?

Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.

Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.
You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD. You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought. It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing. Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?

Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )

Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor, Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?

(The Class was in Uproar )

Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's Brain?

(The Class broke out into Laughter )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . . No one appears to have done so. So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that You have No Brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?

(The Room was Silent. The Professor stared at the Student, his face unfathomable)

Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.

Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly ! The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.

That student was.......................................... Albert Einstein.

Concentrate on this sentence:....................................

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence........'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." ...................................................

Remember......................

"Society is built upon TRUST,

TRUST is built upon FAITH

&

FAITH is built upon TRUTH.

Brilliant Economics.........

Brilliant Economics............................Read and no offence at certain part of the article pl.

"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional."

Great Reading.........................

It is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to choose one. The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the pig grower. The pig grower takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel. The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute that in these hard times, gave her "services" on credit. The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 Euro note, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.... .

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States is doing business today. And...............................................................

"There is never a wrong time to do a right thing."

Sri Suktam..................................

Sri Suktam........................An introduction.
>
>
> The Sri Sukta of the Veda is recited with benefit
> especially on Fridays, together with formal worship of the
> Goddess, for peace, plenty, and all-round prosperity.
> Lakshmi, who is usually identified as the Spouse of Vishnu,
> or Narayana, represents the glory and magnificence of God.
> Narayana and Lakshmi, actually, stand for Being and
> Becoming. The Creator in all His glory manifests Himself in
> the variety in creation.
>
> Generally, spiritual seekers make the mistake of imagining
> that God is outside the world and the world has to be
> rejected in spiritual pursuits. This is an inadequate view,
> because the world is the glory of God, as light is the glory
> of the Sun and light cannot be disassociated from the Sun.
> The values and glories and the abundances of this vast
> creation cannot be separated from God, the Almighty, even in
> our love for God.
>
> Narayana represents God, and Lakshmi represents the
> magnificence, abundance, plentifulness and grandeur of
> Narayana. The tradition, among the Vaishnavas especially, is
> that Narayana cannot be approached except through Lakshmi,
> even as some devotees hold that Krishna cannot be approached
> except through Radha, or Rukmini. This is to say that the
> Absolute can be reached only through the relative. The
> Invisible can be contacted only through the visible. The
> universe of perception and experience includes the very
> meditator, the seeker, the student or the devotee. Only an
> over-enthusiastic devotee can imagine that he is outside the
> world and then erroneously reject the values of life,
> forgetting thereby that in the act of such rejection he has
> rejected himself also, since he is a part of this creation.
> A truly transcendent devotion to God is impracticable, for
> God is not merely transcendent; He is also immanent.
>
> The four Purusharthas—dharma, artha, kamaand
> moksha—mentioned in the scriptures, very wisely lay down
> the principles of an integration of living, so that we have
> to be properly aligned inwardly not only in our body, mind
> and spirit, but also outwardly in respect of the manifold
> articles of creation—animate, inanimate, organic or
> inorganic. The prayer to Lakshmi in the Sri Sukta is a
> supplication to God through the visible form of His
> magnificence and glory which is this indescribable universe.
> Lakshmi is prosperity, and all the wealth of life is nothing
> but prosperity.
>
> By wealth we are not to understand merely gold and silver,
> and the like. All forms of happiness, satisfaction,
> abundance and status come under Lakshmi, the Divine Glory.
> Any form of superior grandeur, greatness and glory is
> Lakshmi. Who can say that these are undesirable, when they
> are reflections of God himself? Has not Bhagavan Sri Krishna
> told us in the Gita that wherever there is glory, grandeur
> and excellence in a superb form of manifestation, it is He
> that is manifest there?
>
> Actually, in the end, there is nothing in the world that
> deserves our rejection. We have also to learn that
> meditation, or yoga, is not a rejection of realities but an
> inclusion of all existence, a harmony established between
> ourselves and the vast atmosphere around us. So the glory of
> the earth is not always an obstacle to God-realisation; but,
> rather, the great values of life are actually indicators of
> the majesty and beauty of God. As the ray of the Sun gives
> us a suggestion as to what the Sun is, the world points to
> us what God could be. Prakriti and Purusha are not two
> different things. The world and God are inseparables.
>
> Narayana and Lakshmi, says the Vishnu Purana, are like fire
> and heat, flower and fragrance, oil and greasiness, water
> and liquidity, sun and light, etc. And by such comparisons
> it is made out that the two are in fact One Being envisaged
> as twofold for meditation and worship. The Sri Sukta is the
> invocation of God Himself as the great glory of His
> creation, His lordliness, sovereignty and supreme
> suzerainty.
>
> The emotions of man, when they are religiously roused, have
> a tendency to consider the world as an evil and God as an
> other-worldly goal of life. This is an overestimation of the
> path that is to be trodden and an underestimation of the
> world. Neither is it advisable to overestimate the world,
> nor is it advisable to underestimate supersensible
> realities. The path of truth is a via media, or a golden
> mean. May we humbly surrender ourselves to this great
> mystery of God’s Glory as Lakshmi, revealed to us as
> prosperity all round, through which we reach the Eternal
> Abundance, Narayana.
>
>
> Sri Suktam...........................................
>
>
> Hiranyavarnaa harineem suvarna rajaathastrajam,
>
> Chandraam hiranmayeem jatha vedo ma aavaha. 1
>
>
> Hey God of fire,
>
> Request that Sridevi,
>
> Who shines like gold,
>
> Who destroys all sins,
>
> Who wears silver and gold ornaments,
>
> Who is like the moon,
>
> And who is golden,
>
> To come here,
>
> And shower her grace on me.
>
>
>
> Thaam ma aavaha jatha vedo Lakshmi- manapagaaminim,
>
> Yasyam hiranyam vindeyam kaamaswam purushanaham. 2
>
>
>
> Hey God of fire,
>
> Request that Sridevi,
>
> By whose grace,
>
> I got gold,
>
> I got cows,
>
> I got horses,
>
> And I got relatives and friends,
>
> To come here,
>
> Shower her grace,
>
> And never ever leave me.
>
>
>
> Aswa poorva radha madhyaam hasthi nadha prabhodhineem,
>
> Sriyam devi upahvaye srirma deveem jupathaam. 3
>
>
>
> I beseech and request that Sridevi,
>
> Who is heralded by the voice of elephants,
>
> Who is piloted by horses,
>
> And who is surrounded by chariots,
>
> To come near me and shower her grace,
>
> And request her to be within me.
>
>
>
> Kaam sosmathim hiranya praakaram aardhra jwalantheem
> truptham tharpayantheem,
>
> Padme sthithaam padma varnaam thaam ehopahvaye sriyam. 4
>
>
>
> I request and pray that Sridevi,
>
> Who is happiness personified,
>
> Who is ever smiling,
>
> Who is in the golden fort,
>
> Who is full of mercy,
>
> Who is ever shining,
>
> Who makes others happy,
>
> Who sits on the lotus,
>
> And who is of the colour of lotus,
>
> To be present here with me.
>
>
>
> Chandraam prabhasam jwalanthim sriyam loke deva jushta
> mudhaaram,
>
> Thaam padmineemeem saranamaham prapadhye lakshmeerme
> nasyatham twam vrune 5
>
>
>
> I seek the protection of that Sridevi,
>
> Who makes the world happy like the moon,
>
> Who is richly lustrous,
>
> Who shines because of her fame,
>
> Who is full of mercy,
>
> Who is the meaning of the letter �eem�,
>
> And who possesses treasures like Padmanidhi,
>
> And request Lakshmi to remove poverty from me.
>
>
>
> Adhityavarne thamaso adhijaatho vanaspathisthva vrukshodha
> bilwa,
>
> Tasya phalaani tapasa nudhanthu mayaantharayascha bahya
> alakshmi. 6
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess who shines like sun,
>
> By your great penance,
>
> Was born the bilwa tree,
>
> Which is the king of forests,
>
> And let its fruits full of knowledge,
>
> Remove ignorance inside,
>
> And bad things outside.
>
>
>
> Upaithu maam deva sakhaa keertheeya maninaa saha,
>
> Pradhur bhoothosmo rashtresmin keerthim vruddhim dadhathu
> me. 7
>
>
>
> The god of wealth Kubhera,
>
> Who is the friend of Mahadeva,
>
> Should come in search of me,
>
> For I am born in this country,
>
> Showered with your grace,
>
> Be pleased to give me fame and fulfillment.
>
>
>
> Kshupthipaasa malaam jyeshtamalakshmim nasayamyaham,
>
> Abhoothim masamrudheem cha sarva nirnudha me grahad. 8
>
>
>
> I would remove Jyeshta*,
>
> Who creates hunger and thirst,
>
> Wherever she lives,
>
> By your grace,
>
> And please remove poverty and want from my house.
>
>
>
> Gandhadwaaram dhuradapaa nithyapushtaam kareepineem,
>
> Easwaree sarva bhoothaanam thaam ehopahvaye swayam. 9
>
>
>
> I request and pray that Sridevi,
>
> Who pleases others by sweet scent,
>
> Who cannot be defeated,
>
> Who gives prosperity daily,
>
> Who is full of everything,
>
> And who is the goddess of all beings,
>
> To come and be present here.
>
>
>
> Maanasa kamamaakrutheem vachassathya maseemahi,
>
> Pasoonaam roopamannasya mayi sree srayathaam yasa. 10
>
>
>
> I request you goddess Sridevi,
>
> To forever bless me,
>
> With fulfillment of good desires of the mind,
>
> With ebbing happiness in life,
>
> With truth in my words,
>
> And with beauty that plenty of food creates.
>
>
>
> Kardhamena prajaa bhoothaa mayi sambhava kardhama,
>
> Sriyam vaasaya me kule matharam padmamalineem. 11
>
>
>
> Hey sage Kardhama** ,
>
> In your house was born,
>
> Goddess Sridevi as daughter,
>
> And so be pleased to be with me,
>
> So that mother Lakshmi with lotus garland,
>
> Is forever in my family,
>
> And bless us all with her grace.
>
>
>
> Aapa srujanthu snigdhani Chikleetha vasa me gruhe,
>
> Ni cha deveem matharam sriyam vasaya se kule. 12
>
>
>
> Hey Sage Sikleedha***,
>
> Who is the son of Sridevi,
>
> Let the goddess of water,
>
> Produce fatty products like milk and ghee,
>
> And please come and live with us,
>
> And request Goddess Sridevi,
>
> To live in our family forever.
>
>
>
> Aardhraa pushkarineem pushteem suvarna hema malineem,
>
> Sarvaa hiranmayeem lakshmim jathaveda ma avaha. 13
>
>
>
> Hey god of fire,
>
> Be pleased to bless me,
>
> So that Goddess Sridevi,
>
> Who is deeply merciful,
>
> Who lives on a lotus,
>
> Who supplies food to the world,
>
> Who is of golden colour,
>
> Who wears the garland of lotus,
>
> Who makes us happy like the moon god,
>
> And who is purity personified,
>
> To come and be with me.
>
>
>
> Aardhraa ya karinim yashtim pingalaam padmalineem,
>
> Chanraam hiranmayeem lakshmeem jathavedo ma avaaha. 14
>
>
>
> Hey god of fire,
>
> Be pleased to bless me,
>
> So that Goddess Sridevi,
>
> Who is deeply merciful,
>
> Who holds the staff of the emperor,
>
> Who has a body like tender climbing plant,
>
> Who has a pretty colour,
>
> Who wears golden garland,
>
> Who shines like sun god,
>
> And who is purity personified,
>
> To come and be with me.
>
>
>
> Thaam ma avaha jathavedo Lakshmi managaamineem,
>
> Yasyaam hiranyam prabhootham gaavo dasyoswaan vindheyam
> purushapaanaham 15
>
>
>
> Hey god of fire,
>
> Be pleased to bless me,
>
> So that Goddess Sridevi,
>
> By whose grace,
>
> I will get plenty of Gold,
>
> I will get lot of cows,
>
> I will get lot of maidservants,
>
> I will get lot of horses.
>
> And I will get lot of servants,
>
> Never ever leave me.
>
>
>
> Ya suchi prayatho bhoothwa juhu yaadajya mavaham
>
> Sriya panchadasascha cha srikaama ssathatham japeth. 16
>
>
>
> He who prays for the grace of Sridevi,
>
> Should be pure in mind and body,
>
> Control his mind,
>
> And everyday chant the above,
>
> Fifteen rik mantras,
>
> And do homa* with ghee.
>
>
>
> Ananda, Kardamashaiva Chikleedha ithi vishrutha,
>
> Rishayasthe thraya proktha swayam sreereva devatha. 17
>
>
>
> For this Homa*,
>
> Ananda, Kardhama and Chikleedha,
>
> Are the famous sages.
>
> And Sridevi is the goddess.
>
>
>
> Padmasane padmoru, padamakshi padamasambhave,
>
> Twam maam bhajaswa padamakshi yena sowkhyam labhamyaham.
> 18
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess who sits on Lotus,
>
> Hey Goddess who has thighs like lotus,
>
> Hey Goddess who has eyes like lotus,
>
> And hey goddess who was born out of lotus,
>
> Please grant me all,
>
> That you think will give a good life.
>
>
>
> Aswadhabhi cha godhayee dhanadayee maha dhane,
>
> Dhanam me jupathaam devi sarva kaamartha siddhaye. 19
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess who grants wealth of horses.
>
> Hey Goddess who grants wealth of cows,
>
> Hey Goddess who grants wealth,
>
> And hey Goddess who is the queen of wealth,
>
> Grant me more wealth.
>
> So that I can fulfill all my wants.
>
>
>
> Puthra , pouthra , dhanam dhanysm hasthyaswajaavigoradham,
>
> Prajaanaa bhavasi mathaa ayushmantham karothu maam. 20
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess you are mother of all people,
>
> Please grant me sons, grandsons, wealth and grains,
>
> Please grant me elephants, horses, sheep, goat, cow and
> chariots,
>
> And also please grant me long life.
>
>
>
> Chandramam lakshmeem eesaanaam sooryamaam sriyam
> easwareem,
>
> Chandrasooryagni varna maam Sri Mahalakshmim upasmahe. 21
>
>
>
> I pray and meditate on that Maha Lakshmi,
>
> Who shines like the cool moon,
>
> Who is the inner strength of Iswara,
>
> Who shines like the hot sun,
>
> Who is Sridevi and Iswari,
>
> And who is of the form of crescents,
>
> Of moon, sun and fire.
>
>
>
> Dhana magnir , dhanam vayur dhanam sooryor dhanam vasu,
>
> Dhanam indro brahaspathir varuno dhanamasnuthe. 22
>
>
>
> It is by your grace Sridevi,
>
> That Fire is wealthy,
>
> Air is wealthy,
>
> Sun is wealthy,
>
> Ashta Vasus are wealthy,
>
> Indra is wealthy,
>
> Brahaspathi is wealthy,
>
> And Varuna is wealthy.
>
>
>
> Vainatheya somam, pibha somam, pibhathu vruthraha,
>
> Somam dhanasya somino mahyam dadathu somini. 23
>
>
>
> Hey Garuda, drink Soma,
>
> Hey Indra drink Soma,
>
> Hey devas who have drunk Soma,
>
> Please grant me wealth,
>
> For I am performing Soma Yaga**.
>
>
>
> Na krodho na cha matsarya na lobho naa shubha mathi,
>
> Bhavanthi krutha punyanam bakthaanam sri suktham japeth
> sada. 24
>
>
>
> The devotees who do holy deeds,
>
> Never get angry,
>
> Are never jealous,
>
> And never do bad deeds,
>
> And for the devotion to grow,
>
> They should chant often,
>
> The Sri Suktha.
>
>
>
> Varshanth the vibhavari dhivo abhrasya vidhuyutha,
>
> Rohanthu sarva bheejanyava brahmodweepo jahi. 25
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess Sridevi,
>
> By your grace let it rain,
>
> From the black clouds with streaks of lightning,
>
> By your grace let all seeds germinate and grow,
>
> And kill all those who are against the path of gods,
>
>
> Padmapriye, padmini, padmahasthe, padmalaye,
> padmadalaayathakshi.
>
> Viswapriye Vishnu manonukoole twat pada padmam mayi
> sannidasthwa. 26
>
>
>
> Hey Goddess Padmini,
>
> Who likes lotus flowers,
>
> Who holds lotus flower in her hand,
>
> Who lives in lotus flower,
>
> Who has broad eyes like the petal of lotus flower,
>
> Who is the darling of the entire world,
>
> Who is dearest to Lord Vishnu,
>
> Please keep your holy feet on me.
>
>
>
> Maha devyai cha vidmahe, Vishnu patnai cha dheemahi,
>
> Thanno Lakshmi prachodayath. 27
>
>
>
> Try we will to understand Mahadevi,
>
> We would meditate on consort of Vishnu,
>
> And let Goddess Lakshmi help us in this.
>
>
>
> Ya sa padmasanastha Vipuls katithati padma
> pathrayathakshi,
>
> Dambheera varthanabhi sthanabhara namitha
> shubravasreouttareeya,
>
> Lakshmeer divyai gajendrai mani gana kkachithai sthaptha
> hema kumbhai,
>
> Nithyam sa padmahastha mama vasathu gruhe sarva mangalya
> yuktha. 28
>
>
>
> Let that Goddess Lakshmi.
>
> Who is seated on a lotus,
>
> Who has large seat below the hips,
>
> Who has wide eyes like the petal of lotus flower,
>
> Who has a royal looking spherical belly button,
>
> Who is slightly bent because of her heavy busts,
>
> Who wears a white cloth and an upper cloth,
>
> Who takes bath in the pure waters of heaven,
>
> Poured over her by majestic elephants,
>
> Who holds a lotus flower in her hand,
>
> And who is the storehouse of all that is good,
>
> Live in my house forever.
>
>
>
> Lakshmeem ksheera samudra raja thanayam,
>
> Sri rangadhaameswareem ,
>
> Dasi bhootha samastha deva vanithaam ,
>
> Lokaika deepthanguraam,
>
> Sriman manda kataksha labdha,
>
> Vibhava brahmendra gangadaraam,
>
> Twaam trilokya kutumbinim sarasijaam,
>
> Vande mukunda priyaam. 29
>
>
>
> Salutations to Goddess Lakshmi,
>
> Who is the daughter of king of ocean of milk,
>
> Who is the consort of Lord of Sri Ranga*,
>
> Whose maids are the deva maidens,
>
> Who is the lighthouse for the entire world,
>
> Whose side long glances add fame,
>
> To Brahma, Shiva and Indra,
>
> Whose family is all those in three worlds,
>
> Who appears in lotus ponds,
>
> And who is the darling of Lord Mukunda.
>
>
>
> Siddha Lakshmi moksha Lakshmir jayalakshmi saraswathi,
>
> Sri lakshmir vara Lakshmi cha prasanna bhava sarvada. 30
>
>
>
> You who are Siddha Lakshmi[1],
>
> You who are Moksha Lakshm[2]i,
>
> You who are Jayalakshmi[3],
>
> You who are Saraswathi[4],
>
> You who are Srilakshmi[5],
>
> And you, who are Varalakshmi[6],
>
> Should always be pleased with me.
>
>
>
> Varankusou pasamabheethi mudraam ,
>
> Karai vahantheem , Kamalasanasthaam,
>
> Kalaka koti prathibhaam trinethraam,
>
> Bajehamadyam jagadeeswareem thaam. 31
>
>
>
> I salute the Goddess of this universe,
>
> Who is having three eyes,
>
> Who shines like billions of rising suns,
>
> Who is seated on a lotus flower,
>
> And who holds in her hand,
>
> Boons, rope, weapon to tame and seal to protect.
>
>
>
> Sarva mangala Mangalye,
>
> Shive, Saravartha sadhake,
>
> Saranye Trayambake,
>
> Gowri narayani namosthuthe 32
>
>
>
> Salutations to that Goddess,
>
> Who is the greatest good among all the good,
>
> Who is forever peaceful,
>
> Who grants all boons,
>
> Who is the ultimate protection,
>
> Who has three eyes,
>
> Who is white in colour
>
> And who is Narayani.
>
>
>
> * Elder sister of Sridevi, the harbinger of bad luck and
> poverty.
>
> ** When Goddess Sridevi was born from the ocean of milk,
> she was brought up by sage Kardhama
>
> *** Some books mention him as the security guard of Sridevi
> and some others equate him with God of love-manmatha.who is
> son of Sridevi.
>
> * Fire sacrifice
>
> ** Fire sacrifice in which juice of Soma plant is used.
>
> * Holy temple of Vishnu and also means divine stage.
>
> [1]Lakshmi who grants divine powers
>
> [2] Lakshmi who grants salvation
>
> [3] Lakshmi who gives victory,
>
> [4] Goddess of learning
>
> [5] Goddess of wealth
>
> [6] Lakshmi who gives boons.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Purusha Suktam........................................

Purusha Suktam.....................................

Introduction

Among the great Gods of Vedas is Purusha, which in simple translation means the “male”. But the word actually indicates Lord Vishnu, who is the God among the great trinity in charge of the care of the created beings. He is supposed to live in the ocean of milk and his consort is Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity.Possibly along with Rudra it is one of the greatest stotras originating from the Vedas. While the devotees of Rudra are afraid of his anger and request Him again and again the devotees of Purusha keep praising him, describing his various facets and request boons from him.Though the original Purusha suktha manthra occurs in Rig Veda , it also occurs in Vajaneya Samhitha of Shukla Yajur Veda, Taiteeriya Samhitha of Krishna Yajurveda and also with slight differences in Sama Veda as well as Atharva Veda.Many great sages have given details of how this great Suthra should be used in Fire Sacrifices and many sages including the great
Sayanacharya have written commentaries on Purusha Suktham.


Purusha in this Suktham is described as a gigantic personality who is spread everywhere.Brhama the creator is supposed to have his huge body as a sacrifice so that he can creae the world.
Shanthi Pata



Thachamyo ravrunimahe.gathum yagnaya.

Gathum Yagna pathaye.Daivee swasthi –rasthu na.

Swasthir Manushebhya. Urdhwa Jigathu beshajam.

Sam no asthu dwipadhe.Sam chatush pade

Om Shanthi, shanthi, Shanthi.



Request we from you with all enthusiasm,

For the good deeds that are medicine,

For the sadness of the past and future,

Request we for the growth of fire sacrifices,

Request that only good should occur,

To the one who presides over such sacrifices,

Request we for the mercy of gods to man,

Request we for good to the community of men,

Request we that the herbs and plants,

Should grow taller towards the skies.

Request we for good for all two legged beings,

Request we for good to all four legged beings,

Request we for peace, peace and peace.



First Anuvaaka


Sahsra seerhaa purusha; Sahasraksha saharpath.

Sa bhoomir viswatho vruthwa.Athyathishta ddhasangulam. 1-1



The Purusha has thousand heads,

He has thousand eyes,

He has thousand feet,

He is spread all over the universe,

And is beyond the count with ten fingers.



Purusha eeveda sarvam.Yad bhootam yad bhavyam.

Utha amruthathwasya eesana. Yad annena adhirohathi. 1-2



This Purusha is all the past,

All the future and the present,

He is the lord of deathlessness,

And he rises from hiding,

From this universe of food.



Ethaa vaanasya mahimaa.Atho jyaaya scha purusha.

Padhosya viswa bhoothanee.Tripaadasyamrutham divi. 1-3



This Purusha is much greater,

Than all his greatness in what all we see,

And all that we see in this universe is but his quarter,

And the rest three quarters which is beyond destruction,

Is safely in the worlds beyond.



Tri paddurdhwa udaith prurusha. Padhosye habha vaath puna.

Thatho vishvangvyakramath.Sasanana sane abhi. 1-4



Above this world is three quarters of Purusha,

But the quarter, which is in this world,

Appears again and again,

And from that is born the beings that take food,

And those inanimate ones that don’t take food.

And all these appeared for every one of us to see.



Tasmath virad jayatha. Virajo agni purusha.

Sa jatho athya richyatha. Paschad bhoomi madho pura. 1-5



From that Purusha was born,

The scintillating, ever shining universe,

And from that was born the Purusha called Brahma,

And he spread himself everywhere,

And created the earth and then,

The bodies of all beings.



Yat purushena havishaa. Devaa yagna mathanvath.

Vasantho asyaasee dhajyam. Greeshma idhma saraddhavi. 1-6



The spring was the ghee,

The summer was the holy wooden sticks,

And the winter the sacrificial offering,

Used or the sacrifice conducted by Devas through thought,

In which they also sacrificed the ever-shining Purusha.



Sapthaasyasan paridhaya. Thri saptha samidha Krutha.

Devaa yad yagnam thanvaana. Abhadhnan purusham pasum. 1-7



Seven meters were its boundaries,

Twenty one principles were holy wooden sticks,

And Devas carried out the sacrifice,

And Brahma was made as the sacrificial cow.



Tham yagnam barhisi prokshan. Purusham Jaatham agradha.

Thena deva ayajantha. Saadhya rushayasch ye. 1-8


Sprinkled they the Purusha,

Who was born first,

On that sacrificial fire.

And the sacrifice was conducted further,

By the Devas called Sadyas,

And the sages who were there.



Tasmad yagnath sarva hutha. Sam brutham prushad ajyam.

Pasus tha aschakre vayavyaan. Aaranyaan graamyascha ye. 1-9



From this sacrifice called “All embracing”.

Curd and Ghee came out,

Animals meant for fire sacrifice were born,

Birds that travel in air were born,

Beasts of the forest were born,

And also born were those that live in villages



Tasmad yagnath sarva hutha.Rucha saamanee jagniree.

Chanadaa si jagnire tasmath.Yajus tasmad jaayatha. 1-10



From this sacrifice called “All embracing”’

The chants of Rig Veda were born,

The chants of Sama Veda were born,

And from that the well-known meters were born,

And from that Yajur Veda was born.



Tasmad aswaa ajaayantha. Ye ke chobhaya tha tha.

Gavooha janjire tasmath. Tasmad gnatha ajavaya. 1-11



From that the horses came out,

From that came out animals with one row of teeth,

From that came out cows with two rows of teeth,

And from that that came out sheep and goats.



Yad purusha vyadhadhu.Kathidhaa vyakalpayan.

Mukham kimsya koo bahu. Kaavuruu pada a uchyathe. 1-12



When the Purusha was made

By their thought process by the Devas,

How did they make his limbs?

How was his face made?

Who were made as His hands?

Who were made as his thighs and feet?



Brahmanasya Mukham aseed.Bahu rajanya krutha.

Ooru tadasys yad vaisya.Padbhyo sudro aajayatha. 1-13



His face became Brahmins*,

His hands were made as Kshatriyas*,

His thighs became Vaisyas*,

And from his feet were born the Shudras*.



Chandrama manaso Jatha.Chaksho surya Ajayatha.

Mukhad Indras cha Agnis cha.Pranad Vayua aajayatha. 1-14



From his mind was born the moon,

From his eyes was born the sun,

From his face was born Indra and Agni,

And from his soul was born the air.



Nabhya aseed anthareeksham.seershno dhou samavarthatha.

Padbyam Bhoomi,, disaa srothrath.Tadha lokaa akampayan. 1-15



From his belly button was born the sky,

From his head was born the heavens,

From his feet was born the earth,

From his ears was born the directions,

And thus was made all the worlds,

Just by his holy wish.



Vedahametham purusham mahantham.Adhitya varna thamasathu pare,

Sarvani roopani vichinthya dheera. Namaani kruthwa abhivadan yadasthe. 1-16



I know that heroic Purusha, who is famous,

Who shines like a sun,

And who is beyond darkness,

Who created all forms,

Who named all of them,

And who rules over them.



Dhaatha purasthad yamudhajahara.sacra pravidhaan pradhisascha thathra.

Thamevam vidwaan anu mrutha iha bavathi. Naanya pandha ayanaaya vidhyathe. 1-17



The learned one who knows that Purusha

Whom the creator, considered as one before Him,

And whom the Indra understood in all directions,

Would attain salvation even in this birth,

And there is no need for him to search for any other path.



Yagnena yagnam aya jantha devaa. Thaani dharmani pradhamanyasan.

Theha naakam mahimaana sachanthe.yatra poorvo saadhyaa santhi devaa. 1-18



Thus the devas worshipped the Purusha,

Through this spiritual yagna,

And that yagna became first among dharmas.

Those who observe this Yagna,

Would for sure attain,

The heavens occupied by Saadya devas.



Second Anuvaaka



Adhbhyaa sambhootha pruthvyai rasascha.Viswakarmanas samavarthadhi.

Tasyas twashtaa vidhadh drupamethi.tad purushasya viswa maajanam agre. 2-1



From water and essence of earth was born,

The all pervading universe.

From the great God who is the creator,

Then appeared that Purusha

And the great God, who made this world,

Is spread as that Purusha, in all fourteen worlds.

And also the great form of Purusha,

Came into being before the start of creation.



Vedaham etham purusham mahantham.Aadithyavarna thamasa parasthath.

Thamevam vidwan amrutha iha bhavathi.nanya pandhaa vidhyathe ayanaaya. 2-2



I know that great Purusha,

Who shines like the sun,

And is beyond darkness,

And the one who knows him thus,

Attains salvation even in this birth,

And there is no other method of salvation.



Prajapathis charathi garbhe antha. Aajayamano bahudha vijaayathe.

Tasya dheera parijananthi yonim. Mareechinaam padamicchanthi vedhasa. 2-3



The Lord of the universe,

Lives inside the universe,

And without being born,

Appears in many forms,

And only the wise realize his real form,

And those who know the Vedas,

Like to do the job of,

Savants like Mareechi.



Yo devebhya aathapathi. Yo devaanaam purohitha.

Poorvo yo devebhyo jatha.Namo ruchaaya brahmaye. 2-4



Salutations to ever shining brahmam,

Who gave divine power to devas,

Who is a religious teacher of devas,

And who was born before devas.



Rucha brahmam janayantha.Devaa agne tadha bruvan.

Yasthaiva barahmano vidhyat. Tasya deva asaan vase. 2-5



The devas who teach the taste in Brahmam,

Told in ancient times,

That. He who has interest in Brahmam,

Would have the devas under his control.



Hreescha the lakshmischa patnyou.Ahorathre paarswe.

Nakshatrani roopam.Aswinou vyatham. 2-6



Hree and Lakshmi are your wives,

Day and night are your right and left,

The constellation of stars your body,

And Aswini devas your open mouth..



Ishtam manishaana.Amum manishana.Sarve manishana. 2-7



Give us the knowledge that we want,

Give us the pleasures of this world,

And give us everything of this and other worlds.



Thachamyo ravrunimahe.gathum yagnaya.

Gathum Yagna pathaye.Daivee swasthi –rasthu na.

Swasthir Manushebhya. Urdhwa Jigathu beshajam.

Sam no asthu dwipadhe.Sam chatush pade

Om Shanthi, shanthi, Shanthi.



Request we from you with all enthusiasm,

For the good deeds that are medicine,

For the sadness of the past and future,

Request we for the growth of fire sacrifices,

Request that only good should occur,

To the one who presides over such sacrifices,

Request we for the mercy of gods to man,

Request we for good to the community of men,

Request we that the herbs and plants,

Should grow taller towards the skies.

Request we for good for all two legged beings,

Request we for good to all four legged beings,

Request we for peace, peace and peace.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Music Therapy..................................

Music Therapy.................A very informative interesting article to read by all in particular by Music Lovers.


"Be a good listener of Music-Your ears will never get you in troublep-and your mind will remain in CALM & PEACE."

JK


Sound travels in the form of wave motions, transmitting energy and vibrating the medium it travels in. It is this transfer of energy which can be utilised in therapy. To gain an understanding of the potential usefulness of such a system we have to remember what a big part it plays in our lives and the effects it has on our being. We all know, for example, how we feel in noisy, heavy city traffic as compared to a quiet, peaceful country setting. Apart from these gross external sounds there also exist subtle inner sounds, from the heart beat, to the sound of air in the lungs, to the sounds in the mind, and beyond. Thus to know how to manipulate the sounds of our environment in such a way as to promote healing, requires a specialised and deep understanding of.................................. Nada yoga,............. the science of sound.

The power of sound........................................


Sound has the power to affect the body, emotions and mind. What affects one aspect has ramifications on the others. This is because the universe is a manifestation of sound. Yogic texts talk of the power of "Aum" manifesting the universe, having pierced through bindu, the infinite point or centre of creation. If we can understand the science and power of sound we can master ourselves and the universe. This is that aspect of the science and art of tantra called mantra, and can be studied in many old texts (shastras).

The power of sound to affect matter was developed by the great singer Caruso who could shatter a glass. To do this he would strike the glass to discover its resonant frequency. Then standing in another part of the room would powerfully intone the note so that it would resonate the glass, causing it to shatter.

Music is an important aspect of sound in our lives. Used properly it can be a powerful means to promote health, but used unwisely it can lead to dissipation of mind, unhinging of the passions and degeneration in the body. It can also kill if certain very low frequencies are utilised.

To understand how the power of music can be utilised to enhance growth, we can read in the ancient texts how Lord Krishna's flute playing promoted the bewitching verdure in the forests and gardens of Vrindavan. Mian Tan Sen, one of the nine sages in the court of the Moghul emperor Akbar, could make plants blossom as though spring had arrived, just by intoning devotional songs (ragas) to them. He could also make rain fall and light oil lamps in the same way. Tan Sen cured many diseases with his singing. He took the disease onto himself, then another singer would take the disease from him, and so on, until it had been passed around, shared, and thereby dissipated of its negative, disharmonic force.

Many modern day researchers have shown that sound affects growth. P. Tomkins and G. Bird in their book The Secret Life of Plants report on experiments conducted by Mrs. Dorothy Rettalack of USA. She set up three sets of plants listening to 'rock and roll', classical western music and classical eastern music. Loud pop music caused the plants to lean away from the sound. Western classical, Bach organ preludes, caused the plants to lean 35 degrees towards the music. The sitar playing of Ravi Shankar, however, caused the plants to strain towards the sound at angles of more than 60 degrees, "the nearest one almost embracing the loudspeaker".

Music has a hypnotic effect, subduing not only man and plants, but also the most vicious and irrational brute in the animal kingdom as well. For example, snake charmers are famous for their flute-entranced cobras. The rhinoceros, camel, elephant and horse have also been tamed by instruments such as the stringed veena and the pungi (trumpet). Birds, of course, are music lovers and adept musicians in their own right.

Ragas......................................

Ragas are pieces of classical Indian music. Compositions (gita) of pleasing sounds (swara) convey definite sentiments and possess the power to create pleasant impressions in the mind, calm the emotions, and therefore, affect the body. Listening to these most beautiful, intricate and powerful pieces, has a great deal of practical application in the field of therapy.

Much information on Indian classical music is to be found in the ancient ayurvedic medical books such as Sushruta, Charaka, and so on, which date back to the second millenia BC, and beyond. Ragas were used to ease and erase conflicting mental disturbances. They were also used in physical disease in combination with other therapy. One great physician, Dhanvantari of Ujjaini, during the reign of King Vikkramadittya said that musical sounds pleasing to the ear should be used as therapy for mental ailments.

Ayurvedic philosophy is based on the concept of the three doshas - vata, pitta, and kapha - which have been literally translated as wind, bile and phlegm respectively. These elements are found in every part of the body in the combination appropriate to that part. Imbalance in these combinations leads to disease, and the ragas act by altering and regulating the balance of these three elements. However, there is more to them than their literal meaning. For example, the Charaka Samhita states the following:

"Vata is the source of both structure and function. It is that which is represented by the five forms of body energy:.....

Prana

Udana

Samana

Vyana

and

Apana

The controller and guiding force of consciousness; the stimulant of the senses; the companion of sensations; the organiser of the elements of the body; the principle of synthesis; the storage battery of speech; the cause of feelings and perceptions..."

"Kapha is the nectar. It is the fertile water for the play of life; it is living fluid, the protoplasm which sustains all life processes."

"The normal function of pitta causes : power of cognition, fire of digestion, fresh complexion, clarity of thought, body temperature, hunger and thirst, and nimbleness of mind."

Any healing which can affect, and thereby regulate the balance of these three elements deserves investigation to establish its practical value in the healing sciences. For example, it is said that raga Bhairava controls ailments arising from dominance of kapha (phlegm) such as fever, constipation, etc. Malhar, Sorat, Jayajayavanti ragas are said to increase body energy, calm the mind and subdue anger. Asawari tranquillises all afflictions arising from blood, semen, phlegm, and the iris. Bhairavi stimulates the mind and helps regeneration, especially in respiratory illness, colds, flu, bronchitis, pleurisy, TB, and so on. Gurjari, Vageeswari and Malkaunsa clear diseases of phlegm such as asthma. Saranga eliminates pitta disorders such as headaches, bilious fevers, etc. Palasi, Multani, Pata-deepak and Pata-manjari clear eye problems. Darbari alleviates heart pain and rheumatism. Hindola is for disorders of the spleen and Pancham is for gastric troubles.

The ragas are also associated with different times of day, different plants, animals, and the four elements of earth, water, fire and air. Thereby the elements themselves can be influenced when ragas are performed according to certain rules. They do this by coming into harmony with the outer world and the cosmos.

The vibrations of kundalini....................................


The knowledge of Indian music extends into the field of kundalini yoga. The basic scale (bilaval) balances the three elements when it is sung. It does this through vibration of the body at the point where mind and the neuro-endocrine system intersect at chakra points on the sushumna nadi, within the spinal cord. Resonance of the chakra stimulates it into action, and therefore different chakras can be stimulated according to need. For example, kirtan (chanting) of the name Ram will help people with peptic ulcer, constipation, and other digestive disorders as it stimulates the manipura chakra.

We can demonstrate this phenomenon for ourselves by singing the scale and concentrating at each chakra as we ascend and descend. The vibrations felt during this exercise stimulate the nerve plexuses and endocrine glands throughout the body, calming the nervous system, and bringing harmony to the whole body.

In the yogic tradition, the science of vibration and sound has been developed into an exact science called taan. The practitioner has the ability to control the rate and location of sound vibrations in his body. The voice is synchronised with complex rapid note changes, and sound vibrations can be directed so that they emanate from the mouth, nose, skull and spine.

One master of taan is Swami Nadabrahmananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda. After initiation into sannyas and seven years of practice, he accomplished the most difficult of all aspects, kundalini taan, in which vibrations are made to vibrate the mooladhara chakra. This, he states, keeps him in good health and full of energy, even at the age of 82 years.

Swami Nadabrahmananda has the ability to suspend his breath completely and not blink his eyes while playing tabla for half an hour. At the end of this time, while playing the last note he directs energy to the top of his head and makes a coin that has been resting there since the beginning of the session, jump into the air. The state of consciousness he has achieved through these techniques has been studied by Elmer Green, Ph. D., of the Menninger Foundation, USA, who reported .................................

"While wired up to our portable psycho physiology lab, he demonstrated an important kind of nervous system control (evidenced by the production and maintenance of alpha and theta brain waves) normally associated with a state of quiet reverie, while he was performing a complex and demanding raga, a musical performance".

Ottawa University tests have shown that he does not dream, and he has shown his ability to control the autonomic nervous system by consciously raising his blood pressure to 240 millimetres of mercury, thereby demonstrating the power of Nada yoga to expand conscious awareness.

In modern life............................................


Though very few of us can ever become masters of music, we can all enjoy and appreciate the effects of music in our lives. If we utilise mantra with music, as in kirtan, chanting of spiritual songs, We have a powerful means to affect and calm the mind, emotions and nervous system, releasing pent up, stored, stale and stagnant energy, and thus experiencing a 'release' or 'catharsis'.

At a purely therapeutic level the effects of music could be easily used in hospitals to help the convalescing and those who are ill to relax and thereby speed up the healing process. Doctors could help anxious and nervous parents to relax and music could even be prescribed instead of valium and other tranquillisers. Mental hospitals could only benefit by the introduction of kirtan and other forms of music' therapy.

Bring spiritual music into your home and you will find that it can have an amazing effect on your whole personality and inter relationships. This occurs especially when music is sung by the whole family as one unit. Growth of children is enhanced and their minds are made positive and dynamic. By creating harmonious vibrations we begin to resonate more and more in harmony with the cosmos, opening up to prana, the life giving energy. Our understanding and wisdom increase and knowledge of life is gained. As spiritual master, Swami Satyananda Saraswati has said..........

"Kirtan is like incense on the astral plane."



"Music is Divine & Make Divinity the purpose of your Life."

J.K

Money can not buy these..........................

Money Can not buy these...........................................

“To be rich in admiration and free from envy, to rejoice greatly in the good of others, to love with such generosity of heart that your love is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness - these are the gifts which money cannot buy.”

J.K

What Rig Veda Says........................

What Rig Veda says.........................................

Maho Arnaha Saraswati Pra Chetayati Ketuna
Dhiyo Vishwa Vi Raajati (Mandal 1 Hymn 3 Verse 12).

Only 'knowledge' can help us to know the universe, which is vast like an ocean. It enlightens all minds.

Knowledge destroys the darkness of ignorance. There are two ways of obtaining knowledge – from an able guru and through self-study. By attaining knowledge, the mind becomes enlightened. We should try to acquire knowledge from all sources and by all means – studying the scriptures, contemplation, meditation, etc. Scriptures are invaluable sources of knowledge because it is only through their study that the mind is filled with good thoughts. Good thoughts help us in leading a virtuous life. This is the sure way for growth of the mind and to acquire eternal happiness and peace.


Asmantsu Tatra Chodyendra Raye Rabhaswatah
Tu Vidyumna Yashaswatah (Mandal 1 Hymn 9 Verse 6)

O radiant one! Inspire the diligent and the successful only to earn wealth.

Only those who are industrious can earn wealth. Those who try, definitely acquire wealth. Those with fixed aims are the ones who are prosperous, wealthy and successful. They should realize that their efforts never go in vain.


"Ignorance, absence of discipline and disobedience are the causes of disappointments and stress in life .Keep appointments in life and not
disappointments."

J.K

Food for thought.....................

Food for thought..........................

The camel loves to eat thorny bushes. The more it eats the thorns, the more the blood gushes from its mouth. Still it must eat thorny plants and will never give them up. The man of worldly nature suffers so much sorrow and affliction, but he forgets it all in a few days and begins his old life over again.

In God there are both Vidya and Avidya. The Vidya Maya takes man towards God, whereas the Avidya Maya entices him away from the path of the God. Knowledge, devotion, dispassion, compassion – all these are the expressions of the Vidya Maya; only with their help and guidance of Guruji can one reach God.

God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why they suffer.

"We only live once-but if we work and make it to
LIVE right, once is enough.".....................................And

"GOD IS REST IS NOT".

Read this...............................................

Read this one atleast once a week..........................

Read on really a good one.

How our inner Ego sometimes misjudges a PERSON.......................

A lady in a faded Grey dress and her husband, dressed in a home-spun suit
walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University
President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such
backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Harvard.

"We want to see the President "the man said softly.

"He'll be busy all day "the secretary snapped.

"We'll wait" the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally
become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew
frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president.................
"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave" she said to him.

The President, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved
Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally
killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

The president wasn't touched....He was shocked. "Madam "he said, gruffly, "
we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If
we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly" We don't want to erect a statue. We
thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun
suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the
physical buildings here at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could
get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is
that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"

Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name: -"STANFORD UNIVERSITY" , a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance, which can be
misleading. And in this impression, we tend to treat people badly by
thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose our potential good friends, employees or customers.And always remember................... ...................................................................


"Never take some one for granted. Hold every person close to your heart and in high esteem, because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were busy collecting stones."

J.K