Your Inspirational World Die/s Every Minute You Dont Read This Article: desires
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Showing posts with label desires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desires. Show all posts

Sunday, June 08, 2008

The Trident & Snakes

Sunday, June 08, 2008 0
The Trident & Snakes

The Trident

 The trident is the weapon of Siva with which he destroys evils and restores order. The trident stands for the triple qualities of nature, namely, sattva, rajas and tamas. Siva is the master of maya and thereby master of these three qualities with which he controls the universe.

The trident is the weapon of Siva with which he destroys evils and restores order

The trident symbolically represents the fact that Siva is the controller of the universe and the controller of all illusion. The trident also represents the three aspects of time, the past, the present and the future.

Siva is master of Time, Kala Bhairava who determines the progress of the universe according to his will. The trident represents the three paths to self-realization, namely the path of knowledge, the path of action and the path of devotion.

With these three paths, Siva transforms his devotees and destroys the evil in them. The trident stands for the three primary evils which need to be destroyed in order to make progress towards the divine. They are the evil of anger, the evil of lust and the evil of pride

The damaru denotes his connection with the primal sound AUM, the creation of alphabets, languages, grammar and music. His long matted hair denotes his spiritual life and his great powers.The crescent moon adorns his hair like a silver diadem.

Symbolism of Snakes

He wears a garland of snakes around his neck. Sometimes we see more snakes; one across his body like a sacred thread and two acting as bracelets around his muscular hands. The snakes symbolically represent his control over desire and sensuality. Sometimes in his ferocious aspects, he is shown wearing a garland of skulls.

There is a deep symbolism hidden behind this. The snake stands for all the evil and demonical nature in the world. By wearing the snake around his neck, Lord Siva gives us the assurance that no evil can touch us or destroy us once we surrender to him, seek his protection and worship him with deep devotion.

The snake also stands for the power of kundalini, which is described as a coiled serpent lying dormant in the muladhara chakra of all human beings and descends upwards when one starts ones spiritual journey and becomes increasingly divine oriented.

The snake around the neck of Siva conveys the meaning that in him the kundalini not only has arisen fully but is also actively involved in the divine activity by keeping an eye on all the devotees who approach Siva with their individual problems.

The snake also stands for all passions and desires. By wearing the snakes around his neck, Lord Siva conveys the message to all his devotees that He has overcome all desires and is in full control of Prakriti, or maya and its various machinations.

Friday, May 30, 2008

OM in Upanishads

Friday, May 30, 2008 0
OM in Upanishads
OM is the Eternal, Om is all this universe

OM in Taittirīya

OM is the Eternal, Om is all this universe. Om is the syllable of assent: saying OM! let us hear then begin the recitation with Om. With OM they sing the hymns of the Sama; with OM SHOM they pronounce the Shāstra. With OM the priest officiating at the sacrifice says the response. With OM Brahma begins creation (or, With OM the chief priest gives sanction). With OM one sanctions the burnt offering. With OM the Brahmin ere he expound the knowledge, cries "May I attain the Eternal." The Eternal verily he attains.

OM in Chhāndogya

om iti etad akşharam udgītam upāsītā;

om iti hy udgāyati tasyopa vyākhyānam. (1.1.1)

OM is the syllable (the Imperishable One); one should follow after it as the upward Song (movement) for with OM one sings (goes) upwards; of which this is the analytical explanation.

So, literally translated in its double meaning, both its exoteric, physical and symbolic sense and its esoteric symbolized reality, runs the initial sentence of the Upanishad. These opening lines or passages of the Vedanta are always of great importance; they are always so designed as to suggest or even sum up, if not all that comes afterwards, yet the central and pervading idea of the Upanishad. The īshā vāsyam of the Vājasaneyi, the keneşhitam ... manas of the Talavakāra, the Sacrificial Horse of the Bŗhadāraņyaka, the solitary ātman with its hint of the future world vibrations in the Aitareya are of this type. The Chhāndogya, we see from its first and introductory sentence, is to be a work on the right and perfect way of devoting oneself to the Brahman; the spirit, the methods, the formulae are to be given to us. Its subject is the Brahman, but the Brahman as symbolized in the OM, the sacred syllable of the Veda; not, therefore, the pure state of the Universal Existence only, but that Existence in all its parts, the waking world and the dream self and the sleeping, the manifest, half-manifest and hidden, Bhūloka, Bhuvar and Swar,—the right means to win all of them, enjoy all of them, transcend all of them, is the subject of the Chhāndogya. OM is the symbol and the thing symbolized. It is the symbol, akşharam; the syllable in which all sound of speech is brought back to its wide, pure indeterminate state; it is the symbolised, akşharam, the changeless, undiminishing, unincreasing, unappearing, undying Reality which shows itself to experience in all this change, increase, diminution, appearance, departure which in a particular sum and harmony of them we call the world, just as OM, the pure eternal sound-basis of speech shows itself to the ear in the variations and combinations of impure sound which in a particular sum and harmony of them we call the Veda. We are to follow after this OM with all our souls, upāsita,—to apply ourselves to it and devote ourselves to its knowledge and possession, but always to OM as the Udgītha. Again in this word we have the symbolic sense and the truth symbolized expressed, as in akşharam and OM, in a single vocable with a double function and significance.

The Sanskrit has always been a language in which one word is naturally capable of several meanings and therefore carries with it a number of varied associations. It lends itself, therefore, with peculiar ease and naturalness to the figure called shleşha or embrace, the marriage of different meanings in a single form of words. Paronomasia in English is mere punning, a tour de force, an incongruity, a grotesque and artificial play of humour. Paronomasia, shleşha in Sanskrit, though in form precisely the same thing, is not punning, not incongruous but easily appropriate, not incongruous or artificial, but natural and often inevitable, not used for intellectual horseplay, but with a serious, often a high and worthy purpose. It has been abused by rhetorical writers; yet great and noble poetical effects have been obtained by its aid, as, for instance, when the same form of words has been used to convey open blame and cover secret praise. Nevertheless in classical Sanskrit, the language has become a little too rigid for the perfect use of the figure; it is too literary, too minutely grammatised; it has lost the memory of its origins. A sense of cleverness and artifice suggests itself to us because meanings known to be distinct and widely separate are brought together in a single activity of the word which usually suggests them only in different contexts. But in the Vedic shleşha we have no sense of cleverness or artifice, because the writers themselves had none. The language was still near to its origins and had, not perhaps an intellectual, but still an instinctive memory of them. With less grammatical and as little etymological knowledge as Panini and the other classical grammarians, the rishis had better possession of the soul of Sanskrit speech. The different meanings of a word, though distinct, were not yet entirely separate; many links yet survived between them which were afterwards lost; the gradations of sense remained, the hint of the word's history, the shading off from one sense to another. Ardha now means half and it means nothing else. To the Vedic man it carried other associations. Derived from the root ŗdh which meant originally to go and join, then to add to increase, to prosper, it bore the sense of place of destination, the person to whom I direct myself, or simply place; also increase, addition, a part added and so simply a part or half. To have used it in any other sense than "place of destination" or as at once "half, part" and "a place of destination" would not be a violence to the Vedic mind, but a natural association of ideas. So when they spoke of the higher worlds of Sachchidananda as Parārdha, they meant at once the higher half of man's inner existence and the param dhāma or high seat of Vişhņu in other worlds and, in addition, thought of that high seat as the destination of our upward movement. All this rose at once to their mind when the word was uttered, naturally, easily and, by long association, inevitably.

OM is a word in instance. When the word was spoken as a solemn affirmation, everyone thought of the Praņava in the Veda, but no one could listen to the word OM without thinking also of the Brahman in Its triple manifestation and in Its transcendent being. The word, akşharam, meaning both syllable and unshifting, when coupled with OM, is a word in instance; "OM the syllable" meant also, inevitably, to the Vedic mind "Brahman, who changes not nor perishes". The words udgītha and udgāyati are words in instance. In classical Sanskrit the prepositional prefix to the verb was dead and bore only a conventional significance or had no force at all; udgāyati or pragāyati is not very different from the simple gāyati; all mean merely sing or chant. But in Veda the preposition is still living and join its verb or separates itself as it pleases; therefore it keeps its full meaning always. In Vedanta the power of separation is lost, but the separate force remains. Again the roots gi and gā in classical Sanskrit mean to sing and have resigned the sense of going to their kinsman gam; but in Vedic times, the sense of going was still active and common. They meant also to express, to possess to hold; but these meanings once common to the family are now entrusted to particular members of it, gir, for expression, gŗh for holding. Gāthā, gīthā, gāna, gāyati, gātā, gātu, meant to the vedic mind both going and singing, meant ascending as well as upward the voice or the soul in song. When the Vedic singer said ud gāyāmi, the physical idea was that perhaps, of the song rising upward, but he had also the psychical idea of the soul rising up in song to the gods and fulfill idea of the soul rising upward, but he had also the psychical idea of the soul rising up in song to the gods and fulfilling in its meeting with them and entering into them its expressed aspiration. To show that this idea is not a modern etymological fancy of my own, it is sufficient to cite the evidence of the Chhāndogya Upanishad itself in this very chapter where Baka Dalbhya is spoken of as the Udgata of the Naimishiyas who obtained their desires for them by the Vedic chant, ebhyah āgāyati kāmān; so, adds the Upanishad, shall everyone be a "singer to" and a "bringrer to" of desires, āgātā kāmānām, who with this knowledge follows after OM, the Brahman, as the Udgitha.

This then is the meaning of the Upanishad that OM, the syllable, technically called the Udgītha, is to be meditated on as a symbol of the fourfold Brahman with two objects, the "singing to" of one's desires and aspirations in the triple manifestation and the spiritual ascension into the Brahman Itself so as to meet and enter into heaven after heaven and even into Its transcendent felicity. For, it says with the syllable OM one begins the chant of the Sāmaveda, or in the esoteric sense, by means of the meditation on OM one makes this soul- ascension and becomes master of all the soul desires. It is in this aspect and to this end that the Upanishad will expound OM. To explain Brahman in Its nature and workings, to teach the right worship and meditation on Brahman, to establish what are the different means of attainment of results and the formulae of the mediation and worship, is its purpose. All this work of explanation has to be done in reference to Veda and Vedic sacrifice and ritual of which OM is the substance. In a certain sense, therefore, the Upanishad in an explanation of the purpose and symbology of Vedic formulate and ritual; it sums up the results of the long travail of seeking by which the first founders and pioneers of Vedantism in an age when the secret and true senses of Veda had been largely submerged in the ceremonialism and formalism of the close of the Dwapara Yuga, attempted to recover their lost heritage partly by reference to the adepts who still remained in possession of it, partly by the traditions of the great seekers of the past Yuga, Janaka, Yājňavalkya, Kŗşhņa and others, partly by their own illuminations and spiritual experience. The Chhāndogya Upanishad is thus the summary history of one of the greatest and most interesting ages of human thought. (SA)

OM in Māndūkya

OM is this imperishable word, OM is the Universe, and this is the exposition of OM. The past, the present and the future, all that was, all that is, all that will be, is OM. Likewise all else that may exist beyond the bounds of Time, that too is OM.

All this Universe is the Eternal Brahman, this Self is the Eternal, and the Self is fourfold.

Now this the Self, as to the imperishable Word, is OM: and as to the letters, His parts are the letters and the letters are His parts, namely, AUM.

The Waker, Vaishvānara, the Universal Male, he is A, the first letter, because of Initiality and Pervasiveness: he that knows Him for such pervades and attains all his desires: he becomes the source and first.

The Dreamer, Taijasa, the Inhabitant in Luminous Mind, He is U, the second letter, because of Advance and Centrality: he that knows Him for such, advances the bounds of his knowledge and rises above difference: nor of his seed is any born that knows not the eternal.

The Sleeper, Prajna, the Lord of Wisdom, He is M, the third letter, because of Measure and Finality: he that knows Him for such measures with himself the Universe and becomes the departure into the Eternal.

Letterless is the fourth, the Incommunicable, the end of phenomena, the good, the One than whom there is no other: thus is OM. He that knows is the self and enters by hi self into the Self, he that knows, he that knows.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

PERSONAL YEAR

Thursday, May 29, 2008 0
PERSONAL YEAR

THE PERSONAL YEAR

THE PERSONAL YEAR

The Personal Year is helpful in evaluating the trend of the coming calendar year. For a clue as to what lies ahead in the coming year, calculate your personal year using this formula:

First, reduce the month and day of your birth, your birthday, to a single digit. Using my birthday for example, February 8th, that single digit would be 1 (2+8=10; 1+0=1). If your month and day total comes to 11 or 22, the master numbers, in this instance, reduce the number to 2 and 4, respectively.

Next, reduce the year for which you are making the calculation to a single digit. The year 2003 would become 5.

Now, add the single digit representing your birthday to the single digit representing the year in question. Thus, 2003 is a 6 personal year for me.

Calculate your personal year and see the likely trend of events for the year:

Personal Year 1. . . .A New Beginning In Your Life


The current year is the beginning of a new nine year cycle for you. It holds the promise of being an exciting new adventure, with life taking on new challenges that pave the way for the next cycle of nine years in your life. This is a time to clarify your goals and it is a time to act on them. Hard work may be necessary to get a new venture moving. Your physical strength will be up during this year, perhaps higher than it has been for some time, as you have some special needs for this extra energy. If you are unable or unwilling to answer the call to change and make the move in your life the appears necessary now, your prospects may be delayed until the next cycle begins in nine years. Because of this, you feel like an adventure, a major change in your life, something new. New goals should be clearly set and worked toward, as this is really a new beginning of a nine year cycle and it is best not to dwell on the past at this time. This will be fairly easy for you to do because most of the problems and disappointments of the past will tend to disappear, leaving the way open for these new challenges. This is a great time; use it to its full advantage.

Personal Year 2. . . .Development, cooperation, and waiting


This is a number 2 personal year. A personal year 2 is a wait and see time; a year when you will find yourself in the background and very much in a stage of development. This is not a time to force the issue and try to move forward. It is a time for cooperation and building relationships that will benefit you in the future; a year for accumulating and collecting. Aggressiveness will cause problems now. You must be prepared for delays, detours, stoppages and you must be patient. This is a time of small contribution, of helping, and details must be taken care of when they come up. You may give time and effort to further another's work. This year may be a test to your self-control and emotional sensitivities. This is a time to improve your abilities to work with others in a productive way and this can be difficult for you if you have chiefly worked alone in the past. Keep calm, cool, and pleasant. You may experience a degree of nervous tension during this period; the two year brings a tendency to emotional extremes including depression. Very deep relationships with a person of the opposite sex (including marriage) may be more apt to occur during a 2 year. If married, there is apt to be a deepening of feeling in the relationship during a 2 year.

Personal Year 3. . . .Social expansion & creative successes


This is a number 3 personal year. This is a social, happy year, and it generally tends to exude bright and cheerful vibrations. This is a year when you will want to check up on old friends and broaden your social circle to include some new ones. Romance and love affairs may bloom. You are inclined to live life to its fullest now, even if you have to pay the consequences later on. You are likely to be more sociable and the bridle of responsibility will seem to be loosened a bit. You are inclined to scatter your energies and undertake too many things at the same time. You can safely take some time off to enjoy yourself, but resist the temptation to completely give in to having a good time; keep your goals in mind. A 3 personal year is a good time to expand personal creative talents, particularly those related to the arts and verbal skills. Recognition in this regard is likely this year.

While this can be a happy year as far as personal expression and activities are concerned, it may be a disastrous year on the business scene. A generally frivolous attitude in that environment can cause rash decisions and impractical, unfinished schemes. This is not likely to be a very good year for your finances, and it is fortunate that the next year is designed to compensate these effects.


Personal Year 4. . . .Hard work and slow, but steady progress


This is a number 4 personal year for you. The previous year frivolity will now be truly forgotten, as the facts of life are clearly spelled out. This is a year of hard work and effort when one must knuckle down to the task at hand. A year of digging in and hoeing, a reestablishment of self-control. In many ways, however, it is a frustrating year, when considerable effort fails to produce dramatic results. One step forward and two back may seem to be the case most of the time. This is an organizational period and you must look at your current and past performance in a very hard light. It is a time to get organized and bring yourself down to earth. Responsibilities will increase, magnifying the effort and hard work needed to maintain a reasonable level of existence. Health and diet should be carefully scrutinized this year, as physical resistance is low and you may become more susceptible to ailments. A tidying up of affairs is now in order, as you must make ready for a very hectic year ahead.

Personal Year 5. . . . Feeling Loose and Free


This is a number 5 year, a year of major change in your life. Horizons are expanded and growth is less impeded. You are likely to make a number of new friends this year as social activities are expanded. This is a year that has brought/will bring excitement and adventure and a good deal more freedom than you have experienced in recent years. This is a time for feeling loose and free; for moving away from old routines in a constructive way. If you became bogged down during this past year, now is the time to seek out new directions.

The problem with a personal year 5 is the tendency to scatter energies in all directions. Your ability to do detail work is limited now and it will make you feel very confined. In all, this a free-wheeling year that is liable to bring major changes to your life; your career, your family situation, your residence.

Personal Year 6. . . . Love, Family, Home and Responsibility


This is a number 6 Personal Year for you. A personal year 6 tends to bring on increasing responsibilities and a deepening concern for family, loved ones, and close friends. It may be a year when you are called on to make some adjustments in your life, or sacrifices for those in your family or close circle of friends. This is not really a year for major accomplishments, but rather a time to handle those adjustments to your plans that may be necessary or required, and for finishing projects started earlier. Endeavors will seem to be moving so very slowly throughout this year. You should expect to have a very good year so far as family, domestic, and romantic matters are concerned. Your emotional interchange with those who are close to you should be at its very best during this particular year. The important thing is to be willing to accept a slower pace and be sure to enjoy the peace and harmony that the personal year number 6 will bring.

Personal Year 7. . . . a time for analysis and understanding


A 7 personal year promises to be a very introspective year, a period of some pause and reflection between very active years in your life. This year should provide you with some time for gaining some understanding of yourself, and you are apt to spend a good bit of time in contemplation. It will be good for you to spend time alone or in quiet activities, as free from outside responsibilities as possible. You should try to get away from business pressures. This is a good year to reflect on the past and plan for the future. This will not tend to be a year of action, but rather a year of waiting and development. One of the most profitable activities in with to engage during a personal year 7 is that of study and writing, for your ability to think clearly, analyze, and integrate your thoughts is peaked now. Your capacity for research and understanding is at its very best. It would not be unusual for you to take on an appearance of coolness and detachment during a 7 year. Certainly, it is best for you to focus your attention on your talents and your skills in an effort to use the time you have now to refine them. Perhaps you can find the time to gain more education, or simply spend free time in reflection and meditation.

Personal Year 8. . . . Attainment and capital gains


This is a number 8 personal year for you. This is your power year, a period when you can make important strides in you life. Coming after a very slow and introspective period (the personal year 7), you may start feeling some stirrings of ambitions. This is a year of big decisions and major achievements. Activity is your keynote now, and you will find yourself very much involved and occupied. Opportunities for advancement and recognition for past and current work is likely to come about during this year. You have things going for you so long as you take advantage and act. It is easy for you to branch out and expand in a businesslike manner. If you are at all inclined, this is the time to exude self-confidence and authority, because others will tend to be receptive to your leadership and control. Your power and status potential is at a peak of the nine years personal epicycle that concludes at the end of the next year.

Personal Year 9. . . . Reflection and Reaching Out


This is a 9 personal year for you. This is a year of completions, ending, and a time when you are apt to take inventory of the many factors in your life, some of which you are no doubt proud of, and others that you may want to change. You are likely to scrutinize old values, ideals, and the ideas that you thought were important. This should be a time when you become more involved with other's and giving may become more important that merely looking out for yourself. You may also become aware of a lure to commune with nature, as escapist desires become much stronger than in the past. A lot of things that you have been working for should come to completion during this year, and you will tend to clear the deck for the beginning of a new nine year cycle.

YOUR INNER DREAMS (consonants ) - secret dream, your inner desires, or maybe even fantasies.

Thursday, May 29, 2008 0
YOUR INNER DREAMS (consonants ) - secret dream, your inner desires, or maybe even fantasies.

Inner DREAMS

YOUR INNER DREAMS (consonants )

The sum of the consonants in your name relates a secret dream, your inner desires, or maybe even fantasies. As a modifier, this aspect of your chart may be considered less important than many of the others because often these remote and deep-seated dreams are never realized. Sometimes, however, when this number has a relationship to another core number, the dream can come true. Strangely, this number is also associated with your personality or how people see you on first meetings. This number may be so strong in your subconscious that you even project the trait as a personality mask.

Here's a chart showing the value of the consonants:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
-- B C D -- F G H --
J K L M N -- P Q R
S T -- V W* X Y* Z --

* Don't count W or Y as a consonant if it is been used as a vowel in the name.

If the consonants in your name add up to:

1...You dream of being a leader and one who is in charge. You want to be known for your courage, daring, and original ideas. You seek unconquered heights. People may get a first impression that you are very aggressive and sure of yourself.

2...You dream of close and meaningful relationships, cooperation with those around you; family and friends. You want to be a peacemaker and mediator. You present an image that you are a very pliable and easygoing person who would be very easy to get along with.

3...You dream of artistic expression; writing, painting, music. You would seek to more freely express your inner feeling and obtain more enjoyment from life. You also dream of being more popular, likable, and appreciated.

4...You dream of being a very solid citizen that people can depend upon. You strive for organization and predictable order. You want to be recognized as a person with a plan and the discipline to make that plan work like clockwork.

5...You dream of being totally free and unrestrained by responsibility. You see yourself conversing and mingling with the natives in many nations, living for adventure and life experiences. You imagine what you might accomplished.

6...You dream of guiding and fostering the perfect family in the perfect home. You crave the devotion from offspring and a loving spouse. You picture yourself in the center of a successful domestic unit.

7...You dream of having the opportunity to read, study, and shut yourself off from worldly distractions. You can see yourself as a teacher, mystic, or ecclesiastic, spending your life in the pursuit of knowledge and learning.

8...You dream of success in the business or political world, of power and control of large material endeavors. You crave authority and recognition of executive skills. Your secret self may have very strong desire to become an entrepreneur.

9...You dream of being creative, intellectual, and universal; the selfless humanitarian. You understand the needy and what to help them. You would love to be a person people count on for support and advice.

11...You dream of casting the light of illumination; of being the true idealist. You secretly believe there is more to life than we can know or prove, and you would like to be provider of the "word" from on high.

22...You dream of being a master organizer and a builder of monumental projects; of guiding a truly huge endeavor. Your secret fantasy is to think big and imagine what could be done for the world. You may also dream of the huge rewards.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Lakshmi. Goddess of good fortune, wealth, fertility, prosperity, Mother Goddess, Aspect of Adi Parashakti.

Friday, May 16, 2008 0
Lakshmi. Goddess of good fortune, wealth, fertility, prosperity, Mother Goddess, Aspect of Adi Parashakti.

Sri Mahalakshmi also spelled Laksmi, (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी lakṣmī, Hindi pronunciation: [ˈləkʃmi]) is the Hindu goddess of wealth, love, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty.

Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual

 Lakshmi (Hindu) In the Hindu religion, Lakshmi is the goddess of both spiritual and material wealth and abundance. A favorite among women, she has become a popular household goddess, and her four hands are often seen pouring gold coins, indicating she will bless her worshipers with prosperity.

Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual.

Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. The word ''Lakshmi'' is derived from the Sanskrit word Laksme, meaning "goal." Lakshmi, therefore, represents the goal of life, which includes worldly as well as spiritual prosperity. In Hindu mythology, Goddess Lakshmi, also called Shri, is the divine spouse of Lord Vishnu and provides Him with wealth for the maintenance and preservation of the creation.


In Her images and pictures, Lakshmi is depicted in a female form with four arms and four hands. She wears red clothes with a golden lining and is standing on a lotus. She has golden coins and lotuses in her hands. Two elephants (some pictures show four) are shown next to the Goddess. This symbolism conveys the following spiritual theme:


The four arms represent the four directions in space and thus symbolize omnipresence and omnipotence of the Goddess. The red color syinbolizes activity. The golden lining (embroidery) on Her red dress denotes prosperity. The idea conveyed here is that the Goddess is always busy distributing wealth and prosperity to the devotees. The lotus seat, which Lakshmi is standing upon, signifies that while living in this world, one should enjoy its wealth, but not become obsessed with it. Such a living is analogous to a lotus that grows in water but is not wetted by water.


The four hands represent the four ends of human life: dharma (righteousness), kama (genuine desires), artha (wealth), and moksha (liberation from birth and death). The front hands represent the activity in the physical world and the back hands indicate the spiritual activities that lead to spiritual perfection.


Since the right side of the body symbolizes activity, a lotus in the back right hand conveys the idea that one must perform all duties in the world in accordance with dharma. This leads to moksha (liberation), which is symbolized by a lotus in the back left hand of Lakshmi. The golden coins falling on the ground from the front left hand of Lakshmi illustrate that She provides wealth and prosperity to Her devotees. Her front right hand is shown bestowing blessings upon the devotees.

The two elephants standing next to the Goddess symbolize the name and fame associated with worldly wealth. The idea conveyed here is that a true devotee should not earn wealth merely to acquire name and fame or only to satisfy his own material desires, but should share it with others in order to bring happiness to others in addition to himself.

Some pictures show four elephants spraying water from golden vessels onto Goddess Lakshmi. The four elephants represent the four ends of human life as discussed above. The spraying of water denotes activity. The golden vessels denote wisdom and purity. The four elephants spraying water from the golden vessels on the Goddess illustrate the theme that continuous self-effort, in accordance with one's dharma and govemed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity.

Goddess Lakshmi is regularly worshipped in home shrines and temples by Her devotees. A special worship is offered to Her annually on the auspicious day of Diwali, with religious rituals and colorful ceremonies specifically devoted to Her.




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Monday, May 05, 2008

"Moksha", the Salvation

Monday, May 05, 2008 0
"Moksha", the Salvation

 "Moksha", the Salvation...

"Moksha", the Salvation...

There is energy, a very huge energy, which cannot be seen but can just be felt, and can be called, the Spiritual Ocean. That is unique. Soul is a drop in that Ocean. Think about a normal terrestrial ocean. It has got some characteristics. It tastes salty, it jumps lively and it is unconquerable.

Due to some external forces the droplets in the ocean sometimes change their shapes as vapor. They hang as a cloud in the sky experiencing totally a different feel, which is never felt by those droplets when they were with ocean. Those droplets forget the salty nature, the way they used to jump lively and the feel of invincibility they had when they were with ocean. Now they have a feel of insecurity, hanging in the sky with no support to depend.

As the time progresses the droplets in the form of cloud or vapor, change their shape once again by liquefying and fall on the ground.

Some droplets in vapor form, which locate themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards ocean, fall directly into the ocean and thus they return their place soon. Some droplets in vapor form, which locate themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards river, fall directly into the river and thus they take a little time to merge into ocean after an incessant restless journey. Some droplets in vapor form, which locate themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards rocky land, fall on rocks and it takes more time for them to merge in ocean after crossing the phase of vaporization, becoming a cloud again and locating themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards ocean. Some droplets in vapor form, which locate themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards soil, fall directly on the soil and sinks deeper into dark and thus it takes more and more time for them to vaporize from underground, to turn as a cloud and to fall in ocean locating themselves in the direction of the wind that blows towards ocean.

Similarly the souls from the spiritual ocean change their state because of external forces, attractions and many other tendencies and turned as human bodies changing their shapes from childhood to old age just like the clouds change their shapes from time to time. As the time flows on, death hits the souls in body form as if the wind hits the droplets that are in vapor form.

The souls with complete spiritual bent with no terrestrial desires drop into spiritual ocean, which otherwise can be termed as ‘moksha’, the salvation. The souls with half-hearted spirituality with half conviction and half bent towards spirituality take a birth once again wherein it takes a little time to that soul to merge into the ocean of spirituality, as if a few droplets in vapor form drop in river as told above. The souls with terrestrial desires which it deserves and which are positive in manner, take a birth once again which gives a little pain to fulfill the desires, as if the droplets fall on rocky lands when wind hits them. The souls with no maturity, more terrestrial desires which are bad, whose deeds are bad and whose thoughts are vague and confused take a birth which is more painful and which takes a very long time to merge into Spiritual Ocean, as if the droplets dropped on the land of soil and immersed. They experience darkness, suffocation, heat and many other sinister feelings.

Every phase discussed above is a training platform to mould oneself to reach the Spiritual Ocean, which is ultimate.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Positive Energy+Life

Sunday, May 04, 2008 0
Positive Energy+Life

Positive Energy+Life

Positive Energy+Life

Positive energy can attract what you want in life; positive energy will help you achieve your goals. Here's 10 ways to be a positive person, and how attraction works.

How does positive energy affect life? The law of attraction states that we transmit positive and negative energy constantly. Others pick up on positive energy and gravitate towards us or pick up on negative energy and are repelled by us. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is the most recent incarnation of the Law of Attraction - recently described on the Oprah Winfrey show - which states that like attracts like.

Positive energy can help you achieve your goals.

How do you know if you're emitting positive energy? The best – and easiest – way to know is by looking at the people in your life. Are they encouraging and uplifting, or are they draining away your energy? (Those energy vampires will get you every time).

You're emitting positive energy when you:

Stay in touch with your dark side and weaknesses, and are willing to grow towards healing and strength. Positive energy is about movement.

See the positive qualities in other people. Positive energy values other positive qualities.

Feel compassion towards yourself and the world (we're all doing the best we can!).

Listen to – and try to understand – other perspectives, regardless of how different. Positive energy is open minded.

Give the benefit of the doubt. Positive people don't judge quickly.

Express your true self in thoughts and actions, gently and honestly (and free others to do the same!). Positive energy is honest.

Share your negative thoughts and emotions. Positive energy admits the negative.

Celebrate the success and happiness of other people. Positive energy appreciates success.

Feel fear and defeat, and keep persevering anyway. Positive energy doesn't deny negative emotions.

Follow your dreams and desires

You're not emitting positive energy when you:

Ignore your dark side and weaknesses (and then act them out). Negative energy isn't up front.

Focus on other people's mistakes and weaknesses. Negative energy is critical.

Obsess about being perfect; whether it's at work, at home, or with your appearance (or other people!). Negative energy strives for perfection.

Try to change other people's perspectives and opinions. Negative energy wants everyone to be of one mind.

Try to please people constantly and ignore your own needs. Negative energy isn't balanced.

Let other people's moods and energy dictate your own.

Swallow your negative thoughts and emotions.

Resent the successes and joys of others. Negative energy is jealous.

Allow fear and cynicism to harden your heart and color your perspective. Negative energy revolves around fear and bitterness.

Ignore your goals, plans, and passions. Negative energy suffocates your dreams.

How Positive Energy Affects Your Life: Perfection and Popularity.

People with positive energy are determined to do their best, and to see the best in the world around them. People with positive energy don't focus on "should have" or idealized, perfect expectations that are impossible to live up to. People with positive energy have an open heart and a sense of humor. People with positive energy don't care about being popular or keeping up with the Jones's – and they stay in touch with their hearts and souls. People with positive energy achieve their goals.

How Positive Energy Affects Your Life: Failures and Disagreements

People with positive energy make mistakes and own up to them. They keep lines of communication open, opting for discussion and connection – and people with positive energy are satisfied with "agreeing to disagree." Failures and disagreements don't faze people with positive energy, because they know they're part of living and working with humans!