Divine Incarnation

Jesus in the Light of Vedanta - Lecture by Swami Bhaskarananda

In the Bhagavad Gita an ancient religious text, Krishna tells Arjuna:

"Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness then I send forth Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age to age."

The Hindus refer to such people as Avatars – divine incarnations or divine manifestations. The word itself is derived from the Sanskrit Avatara and is translated as descent. Every so often an avatar is born to relight the flame of religion in the heart and to reinvigorate truth and righteousness. There have been many such avatars in the course of world history and there will surely be many more to come. They usually appear at times of stress or crisis in the world or in a particular society, during times of social and political upheaval or tension. It is extremely important that we respect each others Gods and that we treat with great respect, tolerance and sensitivity the religious beliefs of all people. Let us respect each others Gods. Let us respect each others Avatars.

Mindful Eating

 Mindful Eating - New York Times Article

Practicing Gratitude Lecture by Pravrajika Vrajaprana

Kali

Kali made an appearance at the 2012 Santa Barbara Solstice Parade

Kali Puja Video

Who in this world
can understand what
Mother Kali really is?
The six systems of philosophy
remain powerless to describe Her.
She is the inmost awareness
of the sage who realizes
that Consciousness alone exists.
She is the life blossoming within
the creatures of the universe.
Both macrocosm and microcosm
are lost within Mother's Womb.
Now can you sense
how indescribable She is?

The yogi meditates upon Her
in the six subtle nerve centers
as She sports with delight
through the lotus wilderness
of the pristine human body,
playing with Her Consort,
Shiva, the Great Swan.

When anyone attempts to know Her,
the singer of this song laughs.
Can you swim across
a shoreless ocean?
Yet the child in me still
reaches out to touch the moon.

Swami Swahananda

1921 - 2012

A Life Dedicated to God Realization

The real does not die, the unreal never lived.
Once you know that death happens to the body and not to you, you just watch your body falling off like a discarded garment. The real you is timeless and beyond birth and death. The body will survive as long as it is needed. It is not important that it should live long.
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Durga Puja

Article on Durga Puja: Worship of the Divine Mother

Chandi Recital
By Swami Tyagananda 

at Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India

Divine Mother

"On moon lit nights I would look at the moon and pray 

May my mind be as pure as the rays of the moon.

Oh Lord there are stains even on the moon but let my mind be absolutely stainless."

Final Message of Divine Mother Lecture  - Swami Atmajnanananda

Sarada Subodhaini

Awaken within my heart, Mother Sarada, bestower of all things auspicious. You, whom Sri Ramakrishna, the Godman of this age, worshipped, O Mother, giver of all good, awaken within. Savior of all those who have no other refuge, bestower of wisdom, incarnation of Sita and Radha, awaken within my heart, O Mother. You are born in every age for the protection of the good and establishment of dharma. O Mother, the supreme power of Brahman, protector of all life, shower Your grace and compassion upon me. I bow down at Your loving feet again and again. Awaken within my heart, Mother ever blissful.

Karma: Cause and Effect

Karma Yoga Lecture - Swami Swahananda

Karma = activity and the results of activity. 

It comes with the human birth package. 

To do and experience Karma we need the body and mind. 

What we do and think now will determine our future.

Therefore, I dedicate all the actions of my work as worship to God.

Cultivate Remembrance of Your Ishtam

Meditate upon your Ishtam (Chosen Spiritual Ideal) in the lotus of your heart. Let your inner eye feast upon the beauty of the light within. Make your body the actual temple of God by concentrating all your faculties on the object of adoration. God is the master of the body, mind, and spirit. By one pointed devotion to the Ishtam, the aspirant may realize the highest goal; but sincerity, simplicity, and selfless devotion are required. Love is the bridge which connects you to your higher Self. The highest goal of bhakti yoga is infinite love, or God.

Guided Meditation - Swami Sarvadevananda

The God Particle

Check out this video with Swami Atmapriyananda - Vice Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University and Father Dominic Emmanuel - Spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, along with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev - Founder of Isha Foundation, as they discuss the recent discovery of The God Particle with scientists.

Mahasamadhi July 4, 1902

Swami Vivekananda

Entered Mahasamadhi on July 4, 1902

His memory will never die in our hearts for his loving 

and unending service to the lives of his American and European friends. 
Jai Swamiji Maharaj ji ki jai!

I bow to Vivekananda, my spiritual guide, my object of worship, who is Lord Shiva incarnate, resplendent like the bright sun, adored alike by human beings and gods. The embodiment of the Vedas, who has completely overcome the bondage of much censured lust and greed. The lion among men, brilliant with the rays of a million suns, who wears nothing but the sannyasin's loincloth, who is dancing the energetic dance of Shiva, reverberating with the impassioned cry, "Fear not, fear not!" A mere glance of his eyes is enough to impart both enjoyment and liberation, who easily tramples the myriad hordes of vice. He is the veritable Shiva with the crescent moon on his forehead and is worshipped by Indu.

- Sarat Chandra Chakravarty -

Swami Vivekananda and Freedom Lecture - Swami Mahayogananda

Discrimination

Meditation Basics: Dive Deep O My Mind Lecture

Just as the swan separates milk from the water with which it has been mixed and drinks only the milk, leaving the water behind, similarly, the Paramahamsa accepts only what is Real (i.e., Absolute) rejecting what is unreal (i.e., the phenomenal world).

- Sri Ramakrishna -

Transit of Venus

Everyone enjoys a rare celestial show!

Hindu holy men used cardboard glasses to watch from the banks of 

the Ganges River in Varanasi, India on June, 6, 2012.

Next showing: December 2117 and 2125

Photos by: NASA/SDO & Rajesh Kumar Singh

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120611.html

"Each soul is a star, and all stars are set in that infinite azure, that eternal sky, the Lord.  There is the root, the reality, the real individuality of each and all. Religion began with the search after some of these stars that had passed beyond our horizon, and ended in finding them all in God, and ourselves in the same place."  

- Swami Vivekananda -

The Present Moment

"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. 

Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment."

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

http://jackandjilltravel.com/temples-in-bagan-burma/

Sri Sarada Devi

Hymn to the Divine Mother

"Sarva Mangala Mangalye" Vespers

O Thou the Giver of all blessings,

O Thou the Doer of all good,

O Thou the Fulfiller of all desires,

O Thou the Giver of refuge,

Our salutations to Thee,

O Mother Divine.

O Thou Eternal Mother,

Thou hast the power to create,

To preserve, and to dissolve,

Thou the dwelling place and embodiment 
of the three gunas,

Our salutations to Thee,

O Mother Divine.

O Thou the Savior of all who take

refuge in Thee, the lowly and the

distressed, O Mother Divine,

we salute Thee, who takest

away the suffering of all.

The Ego is Crumbling

I am That

Guided Meditation - Swami Yogatmananda

34min



Me and My I
Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

Great Minds Think Alike

Did you know... Swami Vivekananda had life changing 

influence on many of the worlds great minds.

What Did J.D. Salinger, Leo Tolstoy, Nikola Tesla 
and Sarah Bernhardt Have in Common?

Read link from the Wall Street Journal MAGAZINE, 
March 29, 2012 by A. L. Bardach

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577305581227233656.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Good Friday

The Message of Easter Lecture

The last seven expressions of Jesus Christ on the Cross

•  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

•  "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

•  "Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son".

    Then he said disciple: "This is your mother."

•  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

•  "I thirst"

•  When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished"; 

    and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit. 

•  Jesus cried out in a loud voice,  "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"

Like Drops in the Ocean

The soul lives and forever expands 

Worlds must come into the soul 

Worlds must disappear into the soul like drops in the ocean.

Swami Vivekananda


http://www.vivekananda.net/BooksBySwami/PracticalVedanta/10_SoulNatureGod.html

Harmony of Religions

• row 1: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism   • row 2: Islam, Buddhism, Shinto  

 • row 3: Sikhism, Bahá'í Faith, Jainism

The oldest religious sentiment ever expressed on religious harmony found in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas is: "Ekam sat, vipra bahudha vadanti" Truth is one, sages call It by various names.

God is Real.

God can be Realized.

The Goal of Human Birth is to Realize God.

All Paths that lead to God Realization are True Religions.

http://www.dalailama.com/messages/religious-harmony

Gandhi

All that we know is that one should do one's duty and leave the results in the hands of God. Man is supposed to be the master of his own destiny, but it is only partly true. He can make his own destiny only in so far as he is allowed by the Great Power which overrides all our intentions, all our plans and carries out His own plans. I call that Power not by the name of Allah, Khuda or God but Truth. The whole truth is embodied only within the heart of that Great Power — Truth.

- Mahatma Gandhi, 1947
http://www.gandhiashram.org.in/

Ramakrishna Puja

An essential part of puja for the Hindu devotee is making a spiritual connection with the divine. Most often that contact is facilitated through an object: an element of nature, a sculpture, a vessel, or a painting.  This icon is not the deity itself; rather, it is believed to be filled with the deity's cosmic energy. The objects are created as receptacles for spiritual energy that allow the devotee to experience direct communication with his or her gods. Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. Sat Chid Ananda Guru. Happy Birthday Ramakrishna!

Shiva Ratri

Shiva Ratri is a festival in honor of Lord Shiva and is one of the three sacred nights of the Tantric tradition. In Shiva Ratri one observes vows such as upavasa or “rigorous fast of atonement” jagarana or “to pass the night without sleeping” and sat katha sravanam or “to listen to holy scriptures.” During Shiva Ratri Lord Shiva is worshiped by singing hymns, chanting the Rudram, repeating the sacred mantra "Oṁ Nama Shivaya" and bathing the Shivalingam with milk, yogurt, ghee, sugar, and honey. 

Om Shivaya, Om Shivaya,

Shambho Shankara, Om Shivaya

http://www.thebuddhagarden.com/mahashivaratri.htm

Vivekananda Express Museum on Wheels

Indian Railways is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's Birth by dedicating a train by the name of "Vivek Express" a mobile museum/exhibition, which depicts Swamiji’s life and message. This train runs through the country stopping at numerous places allowing the citizens of Indian villages to learn about Swami Vivekananda. Swamiji a great yogi, spiritual teacher, writer and orator was a selfless worker for all humanity and was the living example of the Vedanta philosophy in all its different branches. The Chicago Parliament of Religions (September 11, 1893) described Swami Vivekananda's speech and the beauty of his message to the Western world he was facing for the first time as a rare and perfect moment of supreme emotion. Swami Vivekananda touched upon a wide spectrum of human endeavors in his sayings and writings. Some of his words were not for the spiritual aspirant only but seem to be potentially helpful for the man or woman of the world. He was human eloquence at its highest pitch. In him the Western world found the ideal of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. 

Read his ground breaking speech:
http://www.ramakrishna.org/chcgfull.htm

Japa

Draw the mind back from its exter­nal pur­suits by means of dis­crim­i­na­tion and lock it up inside at the sacred feet of your Cho­sen Ideal. Per­form japa reg­u­larly (repetition of a mantra) at the appointed hour every day while also med­i­tating on your Ishta Devata. By con­stantly per­form­ing japa the mind can be made calm and steady finally losing itself in God. This com­bined prac­tice brings quick success and the devotee soon feels the joy of spir­i­tual union within the heart.

Photo: Rudraksha Malas, which translates as “the eyes” or “tears” of Shiva, are often called miracle beads and they are cherished in India as one of the holiest items that contain numerous mystical powers and provide tranquility and concentration. Rudraksha is a seed that comes from a fruit tree grown in India, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUv_YAgUf_M&feature=relmfu

Mt. Kailash Tibets Sacred Mountain

To see the grandeur of a mountain one must keep one's distance; to understand its form one must move around it; to experience its moods one must see it at sunrise and at sunset. But to truly know it, one must journey the mountain with a Master, an Enlightened Being. Regarded as the spiritual center of the universe, Mt. Kailash is revered by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bonpos alike. For Hindus it is on top of this wondrous peak that Lord Shiva resides in an eternal state of meditation, creating the sustaining force that holds the universe together. Tibetans have aptly named this mighty rock as "The Precious Jewel of The Snow". It is here that the great Tibetan mystic, saint, and poet Milerapa wrote a hundred thousand poems on Buddhism. For Jains, Mt. Kailash is the site where their first prophet achieved enlightenment. For the ancient religion of Bon, it is where their founder descended from the heavens.

Vivekananda Puja

VIVEKANANDA

Sri Ramakrishna's life-breath, 

Sri Ramakrishna's supreme gift to mankind, 

Sri Ramakrishna's victory-song all-where! 

The victory-world's delight you were; 

Lo, the cyclone-valour of the Absolute! 

You awakened your slumbering India, 

You awakened humanity's sleep. 

In you blossomed the Form Universal. 

O hero-warrior sannyasin, 

In the core of the creation, 

Sleeplessly shall burn 

The incense of your self-offering.

by Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoy.org/sri_chinmoy/

Lead Us to the Real

Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya 

Om asato ma sadgamaya

Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya

Mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya

Om santih, santih, santih

Om. Lead us from the unreal to the real

Lead us from darkness to light

Lead us from death to immortality

Om peace, peace, peace

Peace Enter Me

Om. Peace is in the sky, peace is in space, on the earth, and in the waters.

The herbs and trees are full of peace. The Gods are peaceful.

Brahman is peace; all is peace, peace, peace alone.

May that peace enter me! Om. Peace, peace, peace.

Om Dyauh Santih (Shukla Yajur Veda)

Om dyauh santih antariksam santih prthivi santih

Apah santir osadhayah santih vanaspatayah santih

Visvedevah santih brahma santih sarvam santih

Santireva santih sa me santiredhi

Om santih, santih, santih

Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"