Infinite peace, infinite light, infinite bliss

Hari Aum.

It's strange but in the past couple of weeks I feel like some sort of change is happening in my spiritual outlook. I've found it rather confusing and a bit disconcerting to say the least.

In the past few weeks, I have been feeling a strong sense of frustration, spiritually. I feel like a person who is standing outside a door, knocking on it, but the door is not opening. I am talking about the door to spiritual bliss, spiritual light, full spiritual experience. I feel a sense of fatigue, of frustration, like a person who has been knocking for so long on the door that the knuckles are bleeding. A sense of tiredness, of collapsing outside the door in frustration, thinking "what can I do?", "I am so tired".

We all go through ups and downs in spiritual life. For the past seven years, since I started doing the mantra sadhana daily, I've combined this with karma yoga and honestly, I feel I've given whatever I have to the spiritual path. I've not been perfect, but I feel I have been sincere. I've tried. I won't deny that I feel some benefit from my efforts. But it's whetted my spiritual appetite for more. For the full experience, which I have not yet had. The frustration is tremendous at times but I know I just have to plod on, there is no giving up, there is no other way.

In the past couple of weeks, there is also a weird change in my spiritual outlook. I still like God with name and form, but these days, the formless God appeals so much more. I am less into puja, homam and rituals though I still greatly respect and value these. For now, I just don't feel like doing them anymore. Rather, I like to think of the formless God, ever-present, ever with me. The form of God which is infinity. Infinite light, infinite peace, infinite bliss.

In fact, these days, I like visualising infinite light, which represents infinite peace, when I repeat my mantra. I imagine the energy, the abstract form of Narayana, rather than the form of Narayana. I do not feel like doing mental puja anymore, it just doesn't feel right to me at the moment. I did it daily for several years and now I just feel in need of the abstract form of Narayana. It's pretty strange.

I was discussing this with my husband recently and wondering what's happened to me suddenly (I've always loved pujas, visualising the form of God so it's weird not be be into this anymore). Why this change? Is it me, is it the influence of the pregnancy, or something else? He was quite matter-of-fact and said that maybe this is part of entering a different phase of worship, another style, and advised me to just go with the flow and embrace it. I had been feeling worried at this rather sudden, odd change in my spiritual outlook but I think he may be right. May be this is happening for a reason that isn't obvious to me right now. I've always meditated on the form of Krishna/Narayana, but now I feel like meditating on infinite light, and imagining myself as a particle of light in that infinity.

My health has been poor in recent weeks as a result of the various hormonal effects of pregnancy, including extreme tiredness, constant nausea and occasional vomiting, and the occasional migraine. These health issues, in combination with the intensity of the work in my new job, has compelled me to make a change in my purascharana practice. For now, as long as these health issues continue (hopefully not too long), I am reducing the number of malas of japa from 11 per day to 5 per day. I will see how things go in the coming months and increase again if possible. I'm not putting myself under any pressure though. If need be, I will stick to 5 malas a day and take longer to complete the current purascharana. I will replace the malas with more frequent remembrance of God during the day. I think Narayana cares more about the sincerity of my practice in my current circumstances rather than the absolute number of malas.

Anyway. Onwards and upwards in spiritual life. I will embrace the new phase of my spiritual journey and continue to practice as sincerely as possible. Sincerity ultimately surely has to culminate in success in any endeavour, especially in spiritual life.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. I discussed the change in approach to sadhana with the Swami at the Divine Life Society (with whom I have some online satsangs) and his advice was to focus on the 'bhava' (devotional feeling) rather than the number of malas. Also, he said that one should not change the mantra or the deity (I'm not planning to anyway) but one can change the focus of meditation to formless/light instead of the form of a deity. He was of the opinion that it is natural for some changes in approach to sometimes occur when walking the spiritual path.

How to find a true Guru (and avoid the fake ones)

Hari Aum.

I recently came across yet another sickening story of a female disciple of some male 'Guru' who was exploited by him. There are countless nauseating stories like this all over the world in all religions. This made me want to share my views on how to find a true Guru, and avoid the fake ones as far as possible.

The key points:

1. God alone is Guru. Your ishta devata (favourite form or formless aspect of God) alone is your Guru. Nobody but God can be your Guru, my Guru or anyone else's Guru.

2. A human being can never be a spiritual Guru. Never.

3. A real Guru is one who has discovered his/her oneness with God. And is therefore a manifestation of God. (Once again, a human being can never, ever be anyone's spiritual Guru).

4. If Krishna is your ishta devata, then Krishna is your Guru. If Shiva is your ishta, then take Shiva alone as your Guru. If the Divine Mother is your favourite form of God, take Her as your Guru. Never ever accept anyone other than God as your Guru.

5. A real Guru is simple and humble. Will not ask you for money, for gifts, for praise, to write books praising him/her, for sexual favours, for any sort of favour. A real Guru will tell you to work hard. He/she will not encourage you to get siddhis. Rather, he/she will tell you to serve God.

Look at the Bhagavad Gita, for the clearest teachings by the great Guru of all time, Lord Krishna Himself. When He taught Arjuna, what did He say?

Did He ask Arjuna for money? For any favour? Did He pressure him to do anything?

No. He only gave Arjuna advice when Arjuna approached Him for help. He did not give unsolicited advice.

Further more, He did not encourage Arjuna to attain any siddhis or spiritual powers. He only told Arjuna to work hard, do his duty in life and develop true devotion. He did not tell Arjuna that He would merely touch him and grant him liberation. No, He told Arjuna that there are no shortcuts in the spiritual path and that he would have to work hard and do his duty. Finally, He even told Arjuna to use his own brain, to weigh the advice He had given, and make up his own mind about what to do.

The message of Lord Krishna, the ultimate Guru, is the message of any true Guru (who is one with Him). Compare the message of any human being calling him/herself a Guru, to the message of Lord Krishna. This is the acid test.

Beware of the following types of 'Gurus' who are almost certainly fake:

1. They promise you quick and easy spiritual progress
2. They tell you to stop using your brain and intellect as this is a bar to spiritual progress
3. They ask you to accept everything they say and do without any questions
4. They ask for your time, your money, your body, your mind, your everything
5. They promise that you will attain siddhis, spiritual powers, that you can use for whatever purpose you like
6. They talk about the many miracles they have performed and the many siddhis/powers that they have
7. Generally beware of people who have an affected sort of appearance, who are dressed in flowing robes, with flowing hair, wearing many rosaries and with many holy marks on their foreheads and bodies. Beware of those who try to look very special and very holy. There's usually something fishy about them.
8. Most of all, beware of those who tell you to stop thinking and just believe in them. That everything will be okay if you just trust them and let them do whatever they want to you.

Real Gurus will never demand that you switch off your intellect in order to develop your heart. They will ask you to serve humanity and other living beings to purify your intellect and develop intuition/heart. The intellect has a very important role to play in detecting fake Gurus. Never abandon the intellect (people often prematurely stop using their intellects seeing this as a barrier in spiritual life instead of using it wisely to guide sadhana and develop intuition).

Never ever surrender your body, mind and soul to anyone other than God. Never to another human being or anyone else.

God alone is the Guru. This is the single most important thing to remember.

As far as I am concerned, Narayana/Krishna is my Guru. Sivananda is only a part of Him. I see Sivananda within Krishna, not as a separate Guru. There is no Sivananda as far as I am concerned. It is Krishna alone who is my Guru. As Sivananda's teachings fit with Krishna's teachings in the Gita, I accept Sivananda as my Guru (as a part of Krishna, as a manifestation of Krishna).

Under no circumstances will I surrender any part of my body, mind or soul to anyone except God. There are plenty of Gurus around the world whose disciples sing their praises, saying that they can read minds, have clairvoyance/clairaudience, perform healing, manifest objects, can fly and have other powers. Who cares for these cheap spiritual powers? Even rakshasas (demonic beings) can have such powers after doing tapas- the scriptures are full of stories of this. Siddhis are not a sign of spiritual progress. Beware. One should never get mesmerised by such nonsense. Did Krishna boast about His siddhis? No, never. So why should any Guru who is one with Him?

Stick to God who is goodness as the Guru and one will be safe. One should be prepared to work hard on oneself and study spiritual books like the Gita for real spiritual teachings. Run away from Gurus who talk about their miracles and powers- they are definitely fake.

God resides inside us. The real Guru is within. Start some sadhana and discover the Guru within. Never fall for the tricks of fake Gurus who are here to take you for a ride. Ugghh, it is so disgusting to read about the awful things that fake Gurus do to exploit their foolish, gullible disciples. We get what we deserve. If we go to fake Gurus looking for a cheap shortcut in the spiritual path, we will get a suitable punishment by being fooled by them. Let us avoid the lazy attitude in spiritual life. Let us avoid fake Gurus like the plague.

Let us stick to practicing ethics as best as we can, and take God alone as our Guru. May God protect all sincere disciples everywhere from fake Gurus.

May God, the one and only Guru, guide us all.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Western and other devotees of the Vedas - salutations

Hari Aum.

It is wonderful to see the world unite in chanting of Vedic hymns which are imbued with the power to bring peace to human minds and hearts everywhere.

I came across a video (see below) of the Sri Rudram by the Veda Union, a European organisation which aims to unite the world through the Vedas. The Sri Rudram is a famous and very beautiful Vedic hymn to Lord Shiva.

This video of the Sri Rudram by these European  yogis is amazing and an inspiration to yogis everywhere, in both East and West. Their mastery of Sanskrit pronunciation and intonation is extraordinary and wonderful to hear and I have therefore written this post mainly to share it (I highly recommend listening to even a little of the recitation in this video).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCc8weZ5CkM

See below for a link to the Sanskrit text of the hymn with English translation:

https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_sata.html

It is sad to see that many Indians are unable to appreciate the beauty and power of the Vedas and therefore do not benefit from them spiritually. However, despite this, it is wonderful to see our Western and other non-Indian brothers and sisters embrace the Vedas and elevate themselves spiritually by mastering Sanskrit mantras and complex Vedic hymns.

Salutations to those Western and other non-Indian children of the Supreme Being who are spreading peace everywhere through their divine chanting of ancient Vedic hymns even in the face of opposition and ridicule from members of their own countries.

Salutations also to those brave Indians everywhere who dare to learn and chant the Vedas and Sanskrit mantras in the face of opposition from other Indians (the majority of whom today sadly regard the Vedas and mantras as unimportant).

For that matter, salutations to all true spiritual seekers everywhere (from all spiritual traditions) who have the courage and determination to walk the spiritual path in the face of stiff opposition on all sides from materialists in this age of ignorance (Kali yuga). May the God within guide and protect every one of them.

May the peace of the Vedas benefit all of humankind.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Purusha sukta

Hari Aum.

The Purusha sukta is a famous Vedic hymn to God- perhaps one of the most well-known. I confess that I have been more interested in the Narayana sukta and Shri sukta than in this hymn. Recently I was wondering what hymn may be good to recite to ensure a healthy pregnancy (in addition to my usual daily japa). It may sound odd but the spate of funny dreams continues - I woke up recently after dreaming of some chanting and the words 'yagnaya' and 'yagyapataye' playing in my mind. I googled these words to try and figure out which prayer, if any, these were from and came up with the Purusha suktam (these words form part of the shanti/peace mantras that one chants before reciting the hymn).

As I said, I never used to read or hear the Purusha sukta as I liked the Narayana/Shri suktas much more. After this dream, out of curiosity, I read about the Purusha sukta and then discovered that doing a homam with this mantra is a good prayer to avoid complications in pregnancy.

While it is true that one must face whatever karma (negative or positive) one has to face, there is no harm in invoking divine protection to either lessen the negative karma or give one the strength to bear it. In fact, this is advised by yogis such as my Guru, Sivananda. I have no idea how this pregnancy will go but thought I might as well arrange for a priest to perform the Purusha sukta homam as a prayer to Vishnu to seek His blessings.

My mother, husband and I therefore went to a beautiful local South Indian temple today where a very kind Sri Lankan Tamil priest performed the homam for us. On my way to the temple, I felt very unwell and nauseous, probably due to morning sickness. I have also been dealing with some stressful news regarding the health of my father in the past couple of days which probably contributed to the nausea.

On arrival at the temple, I prayed to Vishnu to ensure that my health permitted me to sit through the homam without having to rush to the bathroom to throw up. Fortunately, the homam passed uneventfully and I felt much better both physically and mentally afterwards. In fact, I felt so peaceful afterwards that I did not want to leave the temple at all. My appetite (which had vanished due to the nausea) returned and I managed to eat some breakfast.

Afterwards, I said to my mother and husband that I feel that temples and homams are wonderful ways of seeking refuge from the daily stresses of life (both from the strain of physical health problems and from mental stress). Temples (and other places of worship) are wonderful places where people recharge their minds, bodies and souls. They are a very valuable part of society and it is good to do what one can to support them.

Anyway, I plan to continue to listen to the Purusha sukta from time to time during this pregnancy. I have written this post for other pregnant women in particular- you may find it soothing and beneficial to listen to the Vedic chanting.

Please see below for a link to a rendition of the Purusha sukta by the famous Challakere brothers who are regarded as experts in Vedic chanting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ikKPiCK53s

This is an explanation of the meaning of the Purusha sukta by Swami Krishnananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda:

https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pura.html

A simple translation of the Purusha sukta by Stephen Knapp with the shanti mantra:

https://www.stephen-knapp.com/purusha_sukta.htm

In a nutshell, the Purusha sukta praises God as the Supreme Being, whose body includes all bodies (hence He is described as having thousands of heads, eyes, feet etc as all the parts of the multitude of creatures He has made belong to Him alone). It describes God as being the source of the past, present and future, the source of all things, the immortal One.

Please note that Vedic hymns such as the Purusha sukta require significant training to be able to recite perfectly with correct intonation and pronunciation. These hymns are said to have wonderful, spiritual and material beneficial effects when one hears or chants them correctly. However, the reverse negative effects may be experienced if chanted incorrectly. If one is not confident in chanting these correctly, it may be best to just listen to another chanting which also gives the spiritual benefits. I have not learnt to chant this yet, so simply enjoy listening to the Challakere brothers chanting.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Madalasa's upadesha (teaching): spiritual motherhood

Hari Aum.

Another year comes to an end and I am reflecting on what this year has taught me. After seven years of consistent mantra japa, I feel this path is leading me somewhere. Truth really is stranger than fiction. This year has been tough and full of challenges, particularly the first eight months, but I survived this by the grace of God which I felt at every step. 

I had to work in a hostile work-environment for months before I could change jobs (raised my voice against some unethical stuff that was happening which led to some tension). Then my family were asking me when I was going to have a child (there was some degree of pressure regarding this as my husband and I were trying to conceive for a while). I like the idea of being a parent as I feel it is a noble thing to give life to and raise another human being. Yet I do not believe it is the ultimate happiness in this world (raising a child gives one both joy and pain from what I have seen around me). I therefore said to God that I only want a child if it is His wish for me and not otherwise (this approach was not exactly appreciated by my family). 

There was a time in August when I was feeling particularly disillusioned and tired. I asked God 'Am I getting anywhere on the spiritual path, or am I merely making a fool out of myself?' 'Do You approve, are You satisfied, with my efforts or it is not good enough?' I was feeling exhausted after the various battles in life and the pressures from work and family in the previous months. 

Then I had some strange encouraging dreams. Perhaps these were just my imagination, but then at least one of them was prophetic (as I will explain). In August, I dreamt of the child form of Krishna - it was an auspicious dream of God after a long time and I woke up feeling happy. My Guru Sivananda says it is a sign of good things to come, of spiritual upliftment, to dream of God. This made me hopeful. 

Later on in the same month (the night after I published the third Krishna book), I dreamt that I met my Guru Sivananda in an ashram setting. I explained to him about the various pressures on me. I then had the desire to ask him for a blessing. In the dream, I felt I could ask him to bless me with a child, or I could ask him to bless me with attainment of God in this lifetime. I chose the second option - I asked him to bless me with the attainment of God in this very lifetime. And in the dream, he blessed me by placing his hands on my head saying that it would be so. I woke up that morning feeling extremely joyful and full of hope.

Obviously this was only a dream. And no Guru promises realisation without hard work by the disciple. I know there is no guarantee of my attaining God in this lifetime, but this dream (even it was just my imagination) gave me great hope. For the first time, I began to feel that this could really happen.

Then a few weeks ago, I had a dream where I was asking my husband if he could see a faint line on a pregnancy test (that would mean it was positive). Two days after the dream, in real life, I did an early pregnancy test and a faint positive line appeared. I asked my husband if he could also see it and he thought so. It was weird because the situation that developed in real life was exactly what I had experienced in the dream two days previously.
Anyway the following morning, the pregnancy test was a clear positive and I am now expecting to have a child next July if all goes well. As a doctor, I have no illusions that pregnancy is always smooth sailing or that everything always goes well. There is much uncertainty. However, I trust in God, and will accept whatever happens, whether 'good' or 'bad', as His will. 

I pray to God that the child may be spiritual and His devotee. I feel that becoming a parent will be helpful in my spiritual life - parents can be some of the most self-sacrificing people on this Earth so this will be good training for me.

I do pray to God that my spiritual practices continue unabated with intensity despite the arrival of a child. I would like to be the sort of mother that Sivananda talks about in his writings- he gives the example of the enlightened woman known as Madalasa. She was an enlightened sage and a queen of ancient times. (Obviously it is not easy to be a perfect mother and father, and so one need not put oneself under pressure to be perfect. It is probably enough if one just tries one's best and leaves the rest in the hands of God).

When Madalasa gave birth to a child, she sang the following famous words as a lullaby (known as 'Madalasa upadesha/teachings' described in the scripture called the Markandeya purana): 

"Shuddosi, Buddhosi, Niranjanosi!

 Samsara-maya parivarjitosi!

Samsara svapnam tyaja moha nidra!"

Meaning: You are pure, you are intelligence (consciousness), you are spotless (without taint)! Abandon the illusion of this world! Wake up from the slumber of forgetfulness (of your divine nature)!

See link below for the full Madalasa upadesha: 

 https://wiki.yoga-vidya.de/Madalasa_Upadesha

Sivananda says:

"Every mother of the world should realise her responsibility to awaken herself, her children, her family and her husband, to the true light, and splendour of spiritual life. In the Markandeya Purana it is said that Madalasa, wife of king Traterdan of the lunar dynasty, was a realised soul. And what a glorious mother she was."

http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2012/haug12/makers.shtml

Chidananda (Sivananda's disciple and an enlightened yogi) on parenting and on Madalasa:

http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displayrightsection&section_id=1560&parent=1341&format=html

His advice to mothers: http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displayrightsection&section_id=1558&parent=1341&format=html

I would like to be a mother like Madalasa. She was immersed in worldly activity but never let go of the thought of God. She had a job and a family to take care of but remained connected with her own true divine nature. I pray to God to make me like Madalasa. As my Guru says, this is the birthright of every human being, not just of a handful of people over the centuries. 

If we do not search, we will not find. If we search, we are bound to find, for it is our destiny. We are in the lap of God, born to realise God and be free. 

I am beginning to genuinely believe that attaining the spiritual goal of life is possible for every single human being on this planet. It is within the reach of every one of us.  It is not meant for the few, it is meant for the many. Only, we have to want it. This is the key.

May be it is the dream, may be it is just hope, but I am beginning to really feel, for the first time in my life, that it is perfectly possible for me to attain God in this life. Not theoretically. But practically. ('I' may not have any capacity to attain anything, but the name of God that I recite has the power to grant me something serious spiritually- I have firm faith in this).

And I do not want to be bound by any concepts about what attaining God means. Everything that it is written is only theory. One has to experience this oneself. And everyone who attained God had a unique experience. My experience will also be unique. I ask God 'Show Yourself to me, give me the spiritual experience that You want me to have, that You have created me to have, that I have been born to have, that You have commanded me to attain in the form of my Guru Sivananda'. 

May God bless us all. May Madalasa, the enlightened queen and Guru, bless and inspire us.

Hari Aum Tat Sat 

P.S.  Update on Nov 19: I tried increasing the number of malas in order to finish the purascharana early before the delivery date but have had to give up on this idea after a week as it felt mechanical and did not fit with the integral yoga practice advised by Sivananda (felt like I had less time for kirtan, svadhyaya and other spiritual practices due to increasing the japa which felt less enjoyable). I have decided to just stick with the current 11 malas a day which has worked well for me over the years and continue my integral yoga practice. 

Agnihotra - the healing fire

Hari Aum.

Recently, I was reading about the Agnihotra ritual that has now become a worldwide phenomenon. It is said that this ritual is good for the environment, harmonises the cosmic energies, nourishes and honours the devas and is a form of worship of the Supreme Being. I therefore decided to give it a try and did this ritual yesterday. It was a nice experience and I will be doing it again (possibly 1-2 times a week- can't do it daily due to other commitments, including japa, kirtan, work, family etc).

Agnihotra is an ancient ritual (a mini-homam in a sense). In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the sage Shuka describes Krishna's daily routine- how He would get up at brahma-muhurtha (before sunrise), meditate on the Gayatri mantra, and do various spiritual rituals, including the Agnihotra.

So, how does one do the agnihotra ritual?

It's actually very simple.

In a nutshell, it involves offering a pinch of rice and ghee into the sacred fire at the precise moments of sunrise and sunset along with the utterance of two easy sets of mantras.

The sunrise mantras are:

Suryaya svaha, Suryaya idam na mama. Prajapataye svaha, Prajapataye idam na mama.

The sunset mantras are:

Agnaye svaha, Agnaye idam na mama. Prajapataye svaha, Prajapataye idam na mama.

(The rice-ghee mixture is offered into the fire with one's right hand when the word 'svaha' is uttered).

Surya is the demi-god of the Sun, Agni is the demi-god of fire, and Prajapati is that creative aspect of God which generates this world. Essentially, we are honouring these three important aspects of God with this ritual.

To perform the Agnihotra, one needs the following:

1. A havan kund made of copper (I use a little palm-sized one for this mini-homam)
2. A pinch of unpolished/brown rice (unbroken grains)
3. Ghee (from cow's milk)
4. Dried cow dung cakes (as fuel for the fire)- wood is not used here (unlike in other homams) (I bought some biscuit-sized cow dung cakes from Amazon)
5. Matchbox- to light the fire
6. A plate to mix the rice and ghee
7. An accurate clock that shows the exact time to the second (I use the 'time and date' website on mobile phone- see link below)
8. The exact sunrise and sunset time  in your area based on the Vedic calculation (see link below)

This website provides a software that can be used to calculate the sunrise and sunset timing for your location based on the Vedic method. It also describes how to perform the ceremony (there are many more websites describing the method of doing the ceremony).

https://www.homatherapie.de/en/agnihotra-timings.html

The following YouTube videos nicely demonstrates how to perform this ceremony:

In Hindi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUM-vsc_B5A

In English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRnsOD2zPO8

The 'time and date' website below can be used to see the exact time (to the second) in your local area:

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

It was a wonderful experience yesterday evening doing the agnihotra. I sat outdoors in the garden under a sky that had turned a flaming pink-orange colour due to the setting sun. I felt connected to Nature sitting on a mat on the ground with the wide sky above amidst plants and birds. It's a different experience from doing it indoors (though this also fine as long as it does not set off the fire alarm!).

The agnihotra ash is regarded as having medicinal and healing properties. Some people make ointments out of it, some take it internally (eat it) and others use it as fertiliser for the their plants. I placed the ash from the Agnihotra in the soil of my Tulasi plants at home. I am happy to use it as fertiliser.

However, I am not comfortable with eating ash unless there is solid scientific research that firstly shows this is not harmful, and secondly shows that this is safe and beneficial. I would advise readers to use their common sense here (as my Guru Sivananda advises in all spiritual matters).

Do not eat anything unless you are absolutely sure that it is safe to eat as this could have a serious negative impact on your health. There is a lot of pseudoscience masquerading as science these days that claims to 'prove' spiritual truths. This exploits gullible people who believe everything they read and can cause serious harm. Doing a spiritual practice due to faith is one thing. Doing it because of pseudoscience is another.

One should use common sense always. Chanting of mantras is generally safe. There is increasing medical research that proves that meditation, including mantra chanting, calms the nervous system, reduces blood pressure and treats depression and anxiety (aside from the spiritual benefits). There is no clear medical evidence currently that eating agnihotra ash is safe for the body and I would strongly advise against it therefore (unless in the future, research clearly demonstrates that this is safe).

I have faith that agnihotra is good for the environment, world peace and for spiritual progress and so I do this practice. I am not sure about the 'science' that claims that the agnihotra ash is good for the body and so I do not eat the ash. It's perfectly possible that the ash is good for plants though and hence I am happy to give this to them as fertiliser.

Hope you enjoy the Agnihotra ceremony. May God and Guru bless us all.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Sabarimala- devotion versus activism

Hari Aum.

Readers in India would be aware of the current situation at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. This is not about one temple, one court ruling and one gender. This is about a larger issue. One of respect and sensitivity towards the feelings of others.

For those who are not aware (particularly those outside India), what has happened is this. The Supreme Court of India has recently passed a judgement overturning the ancient rule that women aged between 10- 50 years cannot visit the temple. You may think this is reasonable. But it is not really, as explained below.

A temple is a place of worship, like a mosque and a church. Most temples, churches and mosques are run by religious orders worldwide. Governments generally do not run these. Courts do not usually interfere in their functioning (as long as they abide by the law).

In Kerala, bizarrely, Hindu temples are controlled by the state government, which is currently a communist government that is proudly atheistic. However, churches and mosques in Kerala are not controlled by the government. Why this differential treatment towards Hindus by the Kerala government? No place of worship should be directly controlled by any government. They should be run by people of faith (who naturally should abide by the laws of the land).

Religion is a matter of belief. As long as one is not being violent or harming anyone else, one has the right to believe whatever one likes. Freedom of thought is a basic human right.

The Sabarimala temple is an ancient temple, several thousands of years old, where women aged between 10 - 50 years cannot enter. Like many temples in India, there is a legend behind the deity of the temple who is known as Ayyappa. He was born of the union of Shiva and Mohini (the avatar of Vishnu) in order to destroy an asura (demon, symbolic of negative energy). At Sabarimala, He assumes the form of a celibate, one who has no consort.

Devotees who go to the temple traditionally prepare for their visit to the deity by performing rigorous austerities. They sleep on the ground, fast, abstain from sex, alcohol, meat and all negativity for 41 days. During this period, they give up their name, their title, their status/caste etc, and adopt the name 'Swami'. They try to serve others and to see God everywhere. All men who visit the temple dress in the same simple attire, lose their identity and go to pay their respects to Ayyappa.

The temple is in a very inhospitable area surrounded by dense forests that used to be filled with wild animals such as tigers, elephants, snakes and so on. Going to the temple used to be very dangerous in the past as one had to walk for several kilometres through the dense jungles (now people take public transport and it is much easier). My mother told me of an uncle who used to go every year and return with his feet covered in blisters. I also have some cousins who frequently visit the Sabarimala shrine. I have never been there myself. I have been to other Ayyappa temples in the world where this rule does not apply but not to Sabarimala as, being in my mid-30s, I am currently in the prohibited age group.

As per the traditional custom of the temple, because the deity Ayyappa is a celibate, and His devotees who visit Him practice celibacy during their pilgrimage (most of whom are men), young women in the age group 10-50 years are not permitted to visit the temple.

There are similar temples in India where men cannot enter, e.g. the Attukal Bhagavati temple in Kerala, the Bhagati Ma temple in Tamil Nadu and the Brahma temple in Rajasthan. In these temples, only women can enter.

There are many areas in life where I feel there needs to be serious improvement for women's equality. However, the Sabarimala temple is not one of them. The Sabarimala temple's sacred traditions should not be broken in the name of feminism and women's equality. That is ignorance, not equality.

At present, various self-proclaimed activists who are neither Hindu nor believers in Ayyappa are marching to the temple to enter the shrine. They wish to proudly declare themselves to be the first woman of the prohibited age group to break the tradition of the temple and portray themselves as great feminists. Would these women like it if men start barging into the female-only temples of India? The truth is, they would not care. Because they are neither religious nor spiritual- they would not mind if all the sacred traditions in all temples were broken. They neither understand celibacy nor devotion nor any other spiritual vow. They merely wish to create a stir and demonstrate their activism.

This is a sorry state of affairs where right appears wrong and wrong appears right. Let the Ayyappa temple's traditions be preserved, let the Bhagati Ma temple's traditions be preserved.

I only hope that the courts in India stop interfering in the running of temples and that communist atheistic governments stop meddling in the affairs of devotees. This sort of nonsense would not be permitted in countries outside India, such as the UK, where every church, mosque and temple runs its own affairs (while abiding by the laws of the country). You cannot force churches in the UK to ordain women as priests in the name of gender equality. The government cannot do this. It is up to the churches to decide whether or not they wish to make any changes. That is how it should be.

By all means let Hindus debate among themselves as to how, when and where equality in temples can be improved, how the practice of our religion can be improved to reflect its great values. But courts and governments have no business meddling in the affairs of our religion.

Swamiye sharanam Ayyappa. May Ayyappa bless us all with control of our senses and intelligence to distinguish right from wrong.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

How to do manasik puja

Hari Aum.

My Guru Sivananda says that one way of doing japa is to combine it with visualisation of the deity. When one visualises the deity mentally, one can either imagine a static form, or one can visualise a dynamic form e.g. doing a manasik puja.

Doing manasik puja (mental worship) along with japa is a very enjoyable experience. One feels close to the deity, one build a bond, a relationship, with the deity through mental worship. If one is doing japa mentally, then keep the focus on the japa alone- this alone is an excellent practice. If one is doing japa verbally (audibly or whisperingly), then this can be combined with mental worship in the form of manasik puja.

I do manasik puja most of the time when I do japa. I wrote a blog post on this previously after I first started doing this practice in late 2014. The exact style of puja that I do has changed compared to then but the broad principles are still the same.

I would like to explain in more detail as to how one can do manasik puja along with japa (particularly for those readers who live outside India and may be less familiar with puja).

A puja is a form of worship that involves making offerings to a form of God. The external offerings symbolise offering of one's own mind and body to God as His/Her instruments.

During puja, one treats God as one would treat a dear relative or friend who visits one's home. One offers God a seat, food, drink, music and other articles as a gesture of love and affection.

The home in manasik puja is one's body. One can choose either the point between the eyebrows (ajna chakra) or the centre of the chest (anahata chakra) to conduct the manasik puja (mental worship).

Two popular puja methods involve making 5 offerings (panchopchara) and 16 offerings (shodashopchara):

Five offerings puja includes:

1. Gandha - sandalpaste, symbolising the Earth element
2. Pushpa- flowers, symbolising the Space element
3. Dhoopa- incense, symbolising the Air element
4. Deepa - light, symbolising the Fire element
5. Naivedya- food, symbolising the Water element

The puja engages our five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, and involves offering these in the service of God.

A simple puja involves calling God (avahanam), giving Him a seat (asanam) and then making offerings as above.

I suggest the following simple puja that can be done with japa:

- Invoke the presence of your favourite form of God in the heart-space or centre of the eyebrows
- Offer Him/Her a beautiful seat (people often imagine a seat of gold set with precious stones)
- Give Him/Her water to drink

-Now make the five offerings:
i) Apply sandalpaste to His/Her forehead (kumkum for the Goddess)
ii) Offer flowers to Him/Her
iii) Offer incense to Him/Her (e.g. imagine a plate with an incense stick and holder)
iv) Offer a lamp to Him/Her
v) Offer food and drink to Him/Her. Popular choices of food include milk and rice, jaggery and rice (various types of 'payasam'). Avoid offering anything hot and spicy/any meat or alcohol (rajasic and tamasic foods). Stick to sattvic foods only (vegetarian foods including fruits, vegetables, lentils, rice, milk, honey, jaggery - no eggs/onion/garlic!).

At the end of the worship, the japa can continue as needed until one has finished the planned number of malas for the session. While doing the japa, continue to visualise the form of the deity (even after the manasik puja ritual is complete). Sivananda says, imagine that the deity is smiling and that all virtues are pouring from the deity into your mind. He says manasik puja is more powerful and effective than physical external puja (as the mind cannot wander away from God as much in this practice compared with external worship).

Finally, at the end of the japa, prostrate at the feet of the deity and ask Him/Her to bless one with true devotion, peace,wisdom and bliss.

When one does this practice daily, one begins to feel the presence of God within oneself and others. One who worships God in the heart, begins to feel the presence of God in the heart at all times, even when not formally worshipping. In the Gita, God says that He is present in the hearts of all beings. Manasik puja helps us to connect with Him/Her as manifest within the temple of our own bodies.

A more elaborate worship with 16 offerings can also be made. This includes things such as offering a bath, new clothes, the sacred thread and so on.

One can be creative and offer God things that are sattvic such as flower garlands, ornaments and so on.

Having explained a simple procedure for manasik puja, I would like to say something about the emotional/feelings aspect of this which is even more important that the ritual aspect described above.

One should do manasik puja with feeling, not mechanically.

In the practice of bhakti yoga, one is encouraged to develop a certain emotion or relationship with God, e.g. as a parent, a friend, a servant, a lover of God.

During the puja, one can take the opportunity to strengthen and express this relationship with God. For example, if you see God as a friend, do the puja with the love that you have for your best friend. If you see God as your master, and yourself as His servant, then do the puja with the feeling of service.

A manasik puja essentially involves spending 'quality time' with God. It is an ideal opportunity to close the eyes, turn the mind inwards and connect with that Being who is ever present within us. It is a chance to develop bhakti (devotion) and move closer to the One who is our closest relative and truest friend. It takes us closer to God-experience and attaining the spiritual purpose of life.

Just to add, always begin any form of worship, whether japa or puja, by invoking Ganesha and your Guru (or the general teaching principle of God if you do not have a specific Guru). Ganesha removes all obstacles, the Guru grants you protection. At the end of the worship, surrender the doer-ship to God, and pray for His/Her grace upon all beings (this expands the heart and purifies the mind).

Also, really take your time and enjoy visualising your deity during manasik puja (especially if you are not feeling rushed/having a busy day).

If it is Shiva, imagine His beautiful form, take a moment to let your mind's eye rest on the crescent moon in His hair, the Ganga flowing from His matted locks, the king of snakes garlanding His neck, the tiger-skin around His waist, the trident in His hand.

If it is Durga that you worship, then imagine Her beautiful form, radiant like gold, wearing a red dress, with ornaments on Her person, wearing a flower garland, holding divine weapons in Her beautiful hands. Imagine Her smiling face that destroys fear and bestows blessings upon Her devotees.

If it is Krishna that you worship, imagine His handsome form, of a divine blue colour, a crown with a peacock feather in His hair, a garland of various flowers around His neck, ornaments upon His person, wearing a yellow silken cloth, a flute tucked into the cloth around His waist (or in His hands).

Whatever form your deity has, enjoy seeing this fully in your mind.

If you see your deity smiling, winking, laughing or joking with you, enjoy the experience. Let your deity come alive within you. He/She is a dynamic living being that encompasses everything (not a static picture/photograph).

Since you are relating to God in the personal aspect, with name and form, let that name and form come alive within you. I often imagine Krishna responding as a friend would if I say something to Him. I like mentally talking to Him within me (I imagine Him in the heart space). It may be just my imagination, but so what? Thinking about God is meditation. As Krishna undoubtedly has a playful side, I imagine this playful side when I talk to Him. My Krishna winks and smiles at me when I say something I feel is funny to Him. I imagine holding His hand and walking in beautiful gardens in my mind's eye. This makes Him come alive in my mind, in my consciousness. Many times when I have spoken to Him for help, I have felt and experienced His living response. I always call to Him when I am in need of help and feel that He responds in whatever way is appropriate.

God is a living force within us. Not a picture or a photograph. The practice of manasik puja develops a loving relationship with this divine, dynamic, living force within us.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

P.S. My current method of manasik puja is as follows:

After the usual starting prayers to Ganesh, Guru and various forms of God, I begin to verbally recite the ashtakshara mantra. While listening to the sound of the mantra, I close the eyes and visualise the form of Krishna in the anahata chakra/centre of the chest/heart space. Here, I imagine Him seated on a golden throne. I then imagine offering Him milk, kheer (milk and rice), sweets, fruits and so on. Mentally I imagine a table with a golden plate in front of Him, on which there is a ghee lamp with a cotton wick and a fire burning brightly. There is also a stick of incense in the holder of the plate. (I also light a physical fire and burn incense at the altar before starting the mental puja).

On the golden plate, are Tulasi leaves and flowers and a small container with sandal paste. Sometimes I imagine offering Him a flower garland and at other times, I visualise a more elaborate puja with some of the sixteen traditional offerings such as a bath, new clothes, sacred thread and so on. But mostly I do a simple mental puja. After completing the puja (which may take about 5-10 minutes), I imagine sitting at His feet and completing the japa (which may take 30 min or so. There are variations in the puja but this is my basic format. I almost always do this mental puja or visualisation exercise when I do japa. If I am very tired, I just chant the mantra and skip the puja, or may just imagine His feet.

One can be creative with this and vary the puja based upon one's own mood, taste and temperament. Like with other forms of worship, it is good to do this practice regularly to establish a strong connection with the God within us.

Navaratri worship

Hari Aum.

There are many ways of worshipping the Divine Mother during Navaratri. I am sharing some simple ideas for this here (these are available online):

1. Chanting of mantras:

Om Shri Durgayai Namah
Om Shri Mahalakshmyai Namah
Om Shri Saraswatyai Namah

Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vicche (navarna mantra)

Durga gayatri mantra:  Om Katyayanyai vidmahe, Kanyakumaryai dhimahi, tanno Durga prachodayat

Lakshmi gayatri mantra: Om Mahadevyai cha vidmahe, Vishnupatnyai cha dhimahi, tanno Lakshmi prachodayat

Saraswati gayatri mantra: Om Vagdevyai cha vidmahe, Kamarajayai dhimahe, tanno Devi prachodayat


2. Chanting of slokas

- Saptasloki Durga (a miniature version of the Durga saptashati or Devi Mahatmyam for those who cannot chant the entire scripture in Sanskrit)- I like chanting this.

- Chanting of ashtakams (prayer with 8 slokas)- e.g. Mahalakshmi ashtakam

- 32 names of Durga

-Mahishasura mardini strothram- composed by Adi Shankaracharya (again meant to be helpful for those who cannot chant the entire Durga saptashati)

3. Chanting longer hymns and prayers:

-Lalita sahasranama (1000 names of the Divine Mother)

-Devi Mahatyam (also called Chandi path and Durga saptashati)- 700 slokas in praise of the Divine Mother's lilas and glories

Performance of ceremonial worship such as pujas and homams are also popular during navaratri.

I personally like chanting simple mantras and the Saptasloki Durga during navaratri as well as doing some kirtan in Her praise.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

The great fortune of being born in Kali Yuga

Hari Aum.

The yogis regard time as an endless cycle between four yugas each of which lasts for thousands of years. The four yugas are Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and Kali yuga. The level of spirituality in the world is believed to progressively decline from the first to the fourth yuga- it peaks at the start of Satya yuga and reaches an all-time low at the end of Kali yuga. We are supposed to have been in Kali yuga for the past 5000 years and this period is supposed to last for a few hundred thousand years more.

(Please note that the 'Kali' of 'Kali yuga' and Mother Kali are completely different. In English, they look the same, but in Sanskrit, they are written and pronounced completely differently. In Sanskrit, 'Kali yuga' is written and pronounced as 'Cully yuga'. Whereas Mother Kali's name is pronounced as 'Kaali' which rhymes with Bali, the province in Indonesia).

The ancient scripture, the Srimad Bhagavatam, describes life on Earth in Kali yuga, also known as the age of quarrels. It describes human beings as being mostly materialistic, full of worries and anxieties, running after sensual pleasures alone, and with little time or interest in acquiring spiritual wisdom and bliss. It says that this will be the age of hypocrisy where unethical people pose as spiritual leaders, and where rulers (modern day politicians) will steal money away from the people for their own benefit. The Bhagavatam seems to pretty accurately describe the goings-on on our planet today.

However, along with the description of all the misery in Kali yuga, the Bhagavatam mentions that it has one tremendously great virtue that cancels out the effect of all the negativity if one makes use of it. This virtue is so great, says the Bhagavatam, that great souls who were born in the previous spiritual ages yearn to be fortunate enough to be born in Kali yuga.

What is this great virtue of Kali yuga? Let me quote the sage Shuka who describes this to the King Parikshit in the Bhagavatam (12th section or 'skandha'):

Shuka says:

"Kaler dosha nidhe rajan, asti hyeko mahan gunah,
Kirtanadeva Krishnasya, mukta sangah param vrajet"

Meaning:

"The Kali yuga is an ocean of imperfections O King, but it certainly has one supreme virtue,
Singing the names of Krishna will grant one the supreme state/liberation"

Shuka goes on to say that "Whatever was attained by meditation in the Satya yuga, by yajna (fire sacrifice) in the Treta yuga, by ritualistic worship in the Dwapara yuga, can be attained by kirtana (singing the names of God) in Kali yuga".

In the 11th section of the Bhagavatam, the teaching of the nine great yogis (navayogis) to the noble King Nimi is given:

Here, one of the navayogis, called Karabhajana, explains how people in different yugas worship Narayana in different forms. He describes how in the first (Satya) yuga, Vishnu is worshipped in a fair white form, and is praised by people by the terms 'Ishwara', 'Paramatma', 'Hamsa', 'Yogeshwara' and so on. People would worship Him mainly through peaceful meditation in this first age.

In the second (Treta) yuga, he describes people as worshipping Narayana in a form that is red in colour and made up of the Vedas. Here, people praised Him by His names 'Vishnu', 'Yajna', 'Sarvadeva' and others and worshipped Him mainly through yajna (holy fire ritual, also called homam).

In the third (Dwapara) yuga, Karabhajana tells Nimi that that people worship Narayana in His blue-complexioned form, wearing a yellow silken cloth and jewels. Here He would be praised by people as 'Sankarshana', 'Aniruddha' and so on, and be worshipped by specific rituals.

In the fourth (current, Kali) yuga, the yogi explains that people will worship Narayana with a form that is black in colour, and that recital of His names and excellences would be the chief means of worship.

Karabhajana goes on to say that great souls regard a birth in Kali yuga as more precious than in the other three yugas. He explains that this is because simple spiritual practices in this age yield great results, and it is much easier to attain God in this age than the other three.

He states that people born in other yugas yearn to take birth in Kali yuga because more devotees of Narayana are born in this age than others. Furthermore, he says that the regions known as the 'Dravida' countries (Southern India) where the sacred rivers known as Kaveri, the west-flowing Mahanadi river (Periyar), Tamraparni, Kritamala and Payaswini (Palar) will have a particularly large number of worshippers of Narayana who, drinking the waters of these rivers, will become pure and develop true devotion to God.

We are all therefore very lucky to be born in this age of Kali yuga. God has given us a number of valuable spiritual blessings:

1. Human body (the only body capable of granting a soul liberation)
2. Strong desire for spiritual liberation (the one desire that defeats all worldly desires)
3. The care of a Guru (either God as God, or manifested as a self-realised soul)
(The above three according to Adi Shankaracharya are only acquired by the grace of God)
4. Birth in Kali yuga (the most precious yuga for sadhana and attainment of God)
5. A powerful attraction for His holy names, a strong desire for japa and kirtan (the ideal, most effective sadhana for this age according to rishis in the Puranas and recent sages such as Tulsidas, Ramakrishna and Sivananda)

What more can we ask for? Honestly, we've all been given everything we need to attain God! With all our trials and tribulations in life, we are really very blessed.

All we need to do is remember our blessings and keep up the daily sadhana. We are all bound to attain Him soon. If He will not give darshan to us who long to see Him, then who will He give darshan to? Sivananda says it is not so very difficult to get His darshan and that we must strive to attain Him in this lifetime itself.

He says: "Sankirtan Yoga is the easiest, quickest, safest, cheapest and best way for attaining God-realization in this age." (see link below for his inspiring article on sankirtan yoga)

http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/sankirtanyoga.htm

May God and Guru bless us all with sincerity in our sadhana and realisation in this very lifetime itself.

Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vicche. A very happy and spiritually-fruitful Navaratri to you.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Navaratri and climate change

Hari Aum.

Navaratri, the festival celebrating God as the Divine Mother, starts tomorrow. This is a wonderful time to worship Devi. My Guru Sivananda advises chanting the navarna mantra (Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vicche) as much as possible during this time to obtain the grace and blessings of our Universal Mother.

The headline today on Nature and climate change on the BBC news website is rather alarming to say the least:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45775309

At the rate the human species is destroying the planet, the coral reefs with be wiped out, land will go under water due to melting of polar ice-caps and unbearable and unnatural weather phenomena will increase. We have already got our share of abnormal weather with unprecedentedly hot summers, forest fires and so on. 

Why am I mentioning climate change on a website related to spiritual practice? Because Nature is a manifestation of God. Nature is an aspect of the Divine Mother, of Divine Energy. 

When we act carelessly with no regard to Nature, we are disrespecting the Divine Power that created all this. We cannot call ourselves worshippers of the Divine Mother if we act carelessly and destroy Her manifestation in Nature, if we create disharmony and discord in Her creation. No. To be able to call ourselves Her real devotees, we have a duty to start thinking and taking practical steps to do our bit to stop destroying the planet, which is Her creation.

What can we do individually to reduce our carbon footprint and to stop destroying the planet?

Lots of things. Some things can be done from today, other things will require more time to plan and implement.

Some things we can do from today:

1. Eat less or no meat- scientists all over the world say that production of meat for consumption is terrible for the environment. Cows in particular produce a lot of methane which is bad for the environment. Stop eating meat if you can, or at least reduce meat consumption if possible. You will need to ensure adequate intake of protein from vegetarian sources such as lentils, pulses, nuts etc and also include some dairy intake to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency. Eating vegetables is very good to reduce risk of cancer and other diseases according to scientists. So it is good for us and the planet to be mostly if not totally vegetarian.

2. Stop wasting electricity- switch off lights etc when not in the room, line dry clothes (instead of tumble-drying) if possible etc.

3. Walk more and drive less- good for the environment and for our health

There are many more things that can  be done- the website below gives some more examples (there are lots of other good websites with more information):

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-instant-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint_us_59321992e4b00573ab57a383?guccounter=1

Let us make a pledge this Navaratri, in honour of the Divine Mother, that we, Her children will do everything possible to stop destroying the planet, that we will honour Her creation and treat it with the respect it deserves.

Also, we need to reduce plastic waste. There is a disgusting amount of plastic filling up the oceans and destroying the lives of creatures living there. Not to mention the landfills filling up with the stuff. We need to use reusable shopping bags, and avoid single-use plastics where possible.

For women, there are reusable menstrual pads available- these are made of some sort of highly absorbable microfibre or something. I was wary of trying these but finally bought some on Amazon (which had very good reviews from other customers) in order to reduce my plastic waste. I have to say that they work very well (absolutely no odour/leakage etc), are comfortable and can be machine-washed and come out sparkling clean. They are affordably priced and seem to be of very good quality (look like they will last any months, possibly years). I have stopped using the disposable plastic-lined sanitary pads completely since discovering these. I would encourage women spiritual seekers to explore this option (many different companies are making these) as one way to reduce plastic waste.

I have also made a promise to myself that every week or at least every month, I will try and identify one plastic item to replace with some environmentally-friendly product (e.g. replacing plastic toothbrush with toothbrush made of biodegradable material). I would encourage you to do the same. This is an important aspect of worshipping God who created Nature.

Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vicche.

Salutations and prostration again and again to the Divine Mother. May She give us the iccha shakti (will-power), jnana shakti (wisdom) and kriya shakti (power of action) to worship Her properly, including the courage to take steps to change our lifestyles to live in harmony with Her creation.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Krishna's encouragement to the householder

Hari Aum.

In the ancient scripture known as the Shrimad Bhagavatam (which describes Krishna's life), there is a section where Krishna gives His devotee, Uddava, some very important spiritual teachings. These teachings are collectively known as the 'Uddhava Gita'.

In the Uddhava Gita, Krishna discusses an enormous variety of spiritual topics in great detail including various paths to God-realisation including karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga and raja yoga.

He also discusses the duties of people in the various stages of life, including the student (brahmachari), the householder (married person), vanaprastha (retired/reclusive householder) and sannyasi (wandering ascetic).

The theme of renunciation (sannyasa) is central to all of these four stages of life. It is not only the wandering ascetic who is to practice renunciation. Non-attachment to worldly objects and renouncing the obsession with 'me' and 'mine' is necessary for anyone who wishes to attain God, whatever stage of life they may be in. This is internal sannyasa.

Internal sannyasa is an attitude of mind, where one is free of obsessive desire for pleasure, power, wealth, name and fame. It is a state where one is devoted to God. This state is the goal for the householder according to Krishna.

A very heartening message from Krishna in the Uddhava Gita is that the householder can attain God-realisation even if he/she remains a householder throughout life.

In verse 55 of the 'Varnashrama' section of the Uddhava Gita, Krishna says:

"One who is devoted to Me can continue to live in the home itself till his end, performing all the duties of the home as offerings to Me."

Krishna does not insist on external sannyasa for every single human being. However, He commands every human being to live by the principles of internal sannyasa, whatever their external life may be.

In the Bhagavad Gita, He says that renunciation of the desire for the fruit of action is real renunciation. Not renouncing action itself.

This message of Lord Krishna for householders saying that God-realisation is possible for us is wonderful and encouraging. In today's world, many people suffer from the incorrect notion that external sannyasa is the only way to God. This clearly is not the case according to Lord Krishna Himself. In fact Krishna also says in the Uddhava Gita, that one who takes external sannyasa when he/she is not suited to this life, will lose both this world as well as the next.

Living a life of balance is the key. One needs to be moderate in eating, drinking, sleeping and in everything else. This is a sattvic life. One should avoid the extremes of rajas (overactivity/overindulgence) or tamas (inertia).

One should strive to become a devotee of God. Then it does not matter whether one is living the life of a wandering devotee (sanyasi), or a devotee at home serving God in the form of the family (householder). One can choose whatever external life is suitable to one based on one's own circumstances.

Whatever external life one chooses, it should be an aid to the cultivation of devotion. One who recognises the presence of God in one's parents, spouse, children, relatives and society when dealing with them need not worry that they will bind them to the world. Because one knows that these are not one's earthy relatives and friends but rather, that they are all manifestation of God (like everything else in creation).

Seeing God in one's family and in the entire world, the householder can climb to the heights of God realisation. This has been the experience of many householder saints, including the great rishis of the Vedic times.

Those of us who are householders, let us take heart from Krishna's reassuring words in the Uddhava Gita. Let us cultivate a very high degree of internal sannyasa through japa and other forms of tapas. And thus, let us attain God-realisation (our birthright according to my Guru Sivananda) in this very lifetime.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Aum, God and the four states of consciousness

Hari Aum.

I recently visited the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India and obtained some teaching on the Mandukya Upanishad from a senior Swami there. These teachings are based on the commentary on this Upanishad by Sivananda.

I would like to share what I learned at the Ashram here.

"What is Aum?" asked the Swami at the start of our study session. I replied saying that "Many things are said about Aum but it is said that it is beyond description. So, I don't know what it is!" I added that the Mandukya upanishad (which I had read in preparation for the class) says that Aum is the goal and Aum is the way (to the goal). Another listening Swami laughed and agreed, saying that "I don't know" was a smart answer!

I will summarise briefly below what the Mandukya Upanishad says about Aum. As you probably know, the Upanishads are the final part of the Vedas (which are said to be eternal, ever-existing), and are thus also called 'Vedanta' (Vedas + anta/end = Vedanta/end of the Vedas). These ancient teachings discuss the highest goal of life, known as moksha, nirvana, supreme consciousness, God, Truth and so on. They discuss the goal and how to attain the goal. Therefore, they are a very important subject of study for students who seek to know their true Self.

The Swami told me that the Mandukya is one of the shortest Upanishads but one of the most important. It has 12 verses (shlokas) only but the ideas described here are most wonderful. The demi-god of water, Varuna, is the seer or rishi who gave the teachings of this Upanishad.

The Mandukya Upanishad describes Aum, its connection with the four states of human consciousness- namely, waking state, dreaming state, deep sleep state, and the superconscious state. It describes the four aspects of God that govern the four states of human consciousness. It describes how all beings are part of the body of God.

In brief, the Mandukya Upanishad says that:

1. Aum is the name of the Supreme (known as Brahman or Atman). It is everything. It is the past, the present and the future and that which is beyond the three periods of time.

2. All this is truly the Supreme, the Atman. This Atman, can be described as having four aspects.

3. The first aspect is the waking consciousness. This is called 'Vaishnavara'. In this state, external objects in the world are known through the senses and the mind.

Sivananda explains that the individual who is awake and experiencing the world, is called 'Vishwa'. All individuals who are awake jointly make up the body of God, known as 'Virat'. Just as billions of cells make up one human body, so also, billions of beings exist within the body of God.

4. The second aspect is the dreaming state, the consciousness that exists when we dream. This is called 'Taijasa'.  In this state, one experiences an 'inner world'.

Sivananda explains that the individual dreamer is called 'Taijasa' experiences a subtle light (tejas) during the dream state. All individual dreamers exist within the Cosmic Dreamer, an aspect of God that governs the dream state, known as 'Hiranyagarbha' (the golden One/womb/source).

5. The third aspect of the Atman is the deep sleep state. Here, there is no awareness of either body or mind. There is no experience of either the external world/waking state, nor of the internal world/dreaming state. Here consciousness alone exists and one experiences the bliss of the Atman.

Sivananda explains that the individual in the state of deep sleep is called 'Pragna'. The Supreme Being who governs the deep sleep state, and whose body includes all individuals in the state of deep sleep, is known as 'Ishvara'.

However, for those who have not attained Self-realisation, there is a 'veil of ignorance' that covers the individual in the state of deep sleep. One enjoys the bliss of God here, but one is not aware of it. When one wakes up in the morning, one feels well if one slept deeply and one says 'I slept well last night'. One remembers there was bliss but one is not aware of anything in this state (due to the veil of ignorance).

6. The Supreme is the lord of all, the knower of all, the ruler within, the origin and the end of all beings. By the will of the Supreme, the universe is projected out of the Supreme,  and then withdrawn back into the Supreme.

7. There is a fourth state, beyond waking, dreaming and deep sleep. This fourth state of consciousness is called 'Turiya'. It is peaceful, blissful and full of knowledge. It is beyond the three other states. It cannot be described  in words nor can it be understood/grasped by the intellect or mind. It can be experienced. It should be experienced.

Sivananda says that the Turiya state is the state of pure consciousness, of Brahman. It is different from Ishvara. Turiya or Brahman is that aspect of God which has no connnection with the world. However, Ishvara is that aspect of God which governs the world.

Ishvara is cosmic consciousness. Brahman (or Turiya) is above this, it is supra-cosmic consciousness.

Note- All the above are merely words and cannot truly describe these states of consciousness which can only be known through experience. Hence the reason why we do sadhana/spiritual practice- in order to experience this ourselves.

8. The sound 'Aum' describes the Supreme, the Atman. The three parts of Aum are the sounds 'A', 'U' and 'M'.
(Pronounced as 'uh', 'oo' and 'ma' in Sanskrit).

9. The 'A' in Aum refers to the waking state, known as 'Vishwa' (described above). One who experiences this truth has all desires fulfilled (the criteria to attain this state, however, is to rise above all desires).

10.  The 'U' in Aum refers to the dreaming state, the 'Taijasa'. One who experiences this truth is great in knowledge, and nobody ignorant of Brahman is born in his/her family.

11. The 'M' in Aum refers to the deep sleep state, the 'Pragna'. One who experiences the truth of this state is able to know the true nature of this world.

Sivananda says that the waking and dream states dissolve into the deep sleep state which is the origin of them both. In this state, there is no separate identity/egoism. All becomes one.

12. Aum as a whole refers to the fourth state, the state beyond the other three, the state which cannot be described, the blissful state. One who truly experiences Aum merges the lower self into the Supreme Self.

Sivannda says that meditation on the sound 'Aum' enables the seeker to experience the truth of Aum, to become aware of one's eternal connection with the Supreme.

We do not have to become anything new. We already are part of God, we already are one with God. The purpose of meditation on Aum is simply to realise this, and thus rise above all worldly suffering and experience the bliss of our true nature- which Sivananda says is our birthright.

Only human beings have access to the fourth state according to the yogis. Many souls in animal bodies experience the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. But they cannot enter the fourth state until they obtain a human body by the  grace of God.

Thus the yogis say that a human body is a rare gift from God. It is the 'moksha dwar', the door to moksha or God-realisation. It is the 'sadhana dham', the place where tapas/sadhana is done. Such a rare opportunity should not be wasted they say.

Many mantras start with Aum. Aum is not just a word, it is the sound-form of God Him/Herself. It is the Supreme.

Aum is the goal. Aum is the way.

The Swami reminded me that Aum is not something very far away. No. It is our very nature, it is us, it is we ourselves.

May we all experience the truth of Aum in this very lifetime. May we experience the bliss of Aum in this very lifetime through meditation on Aum.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Janardana: Book 3 of the Krishna series

Hari Aum.

Just to say that I have published the third book out of a series of four that describes the life of Lord Krishna as told in the sacred scripture known as the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The coming Sunday, September 2, is Krishna's birthday (Janmashtami).

In celebration of this auspicious occasion, all three Kindle books published my me on the Amazon website will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD on September 2 and 3.

The free download period will run from 00.00 h on September 2 until 23.59 h on September 3 (Pacific Daylight Time).

You will need to download the FREE Kindle app onto your electronic device (phone/tablet/computer etc) to be able to download the books.

The three books available for free download on Sept 2 and 3 are:

1. 'Balakrishna', book 1- describes the childhood of Lord Krishna

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Y4Z3RM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0


2. 'Dwarakanatha', book 2- describes the adolescence of Krishna and His becoming King of Dwaraka

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B73YHBV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1


3. 'Janardana', book 3- describes the life of Krishna as a householder and King engaged in establishing dharma (righteousness) on Earth

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GY9YR32/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2


Each of these books contains beautiful interactions between Krishna and His devotees, and some wonderful spiritual teachings.

The fourth and last book of this series will be published in the next few months and will contain Krishna's great teaching, known as the 'Uddhava Gita' (similar to His great Bhagavad Gita, that is explained in Vyasa's work, the Mahabharata).

Happy Janmashtami, may Lord Krishna bless us all.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Guruvayurappan, Kerala and ahimsa

Hari Aum.

Guruvayur temple is a beautiful and famous Vishnu (Krishna) temple in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala. It is said to be very ancient, possibly at least 5000 years old. The deity of temple, known as Guruvayurappan by the people of Kerala, is a four-armed form of Vishnu holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus in His hands.

It is said that the idol of Vishnu in this temple was originally installed in Dwaraka, Krishna's kingdom, during His avatar on Earth. At the time that He left Earth and returned to His celestial realm, He gave it to the guru of the demi-gods (Brihaspati) and the demi-god of the wind, Vayu, and advised them to install it at its current location. The name of the temple is based on the two divine beings who created it, i.e. Guru and Vayu.  The mantra 'Om Namo Narayanaya' is propagated by the temple.

The temple attracts many devotees throughout the year. I have been fortunate enough to visit it a few times with my family. Many Hindus from Kerala keep a picture of Guruvayurappan in their homes, even if they move outside Kerala and live in various places in India and around the world. I was born in Kerala but grew up in Delhi. My parents always had a picture of Guruvayurappan at home. And now that I have my own home, I keep a picture of Him on my altar.

Kerala is facing the wrath of nature today. There are terrible floods all over. I was due to visit Kerala soon to spend time with some of my close family members who live there (by the grace of God they are all safe) but will very likely postpone the trip due to the natural disaster.

I know Kerala well although I have never lived there for any length of time. I used to visit often during my school holidays while I lived in India. It is such a beautiful place with lush greenery and fertile land. It was always an incredible sight to see so many coconut trees clustered together as the plane approached Kerala. Today, much of this beautiful land is under water.

The highest priority now for the people of Kerala is of course to save lives and rebuild cities and villages that have suffered great damage. But reflection is needed as to the underlying cause of such events to prevent them from happening again. The whole world is facing increasing natural disasters. As a species, we have to reflect on why this is happening.

The scientists and the yogis effectively provide the same explanation for the natural calamities we face but in different language. The scientists say this is due to our actions. They say we are all being careless in terms of how we treat nature. We create so much plastic and other waste everyday. Global warming is said to be occurring at an alarming rate.

The yogis say the same thing but use different words- they call it karma (meaning the reaction produced by our action). It we treat nature kindly, she treats us kindly. If we are harsh, she also becomes harsh to make us change our ways.

It pains me to see Kerala, the land where my roots are, experience so much suffering and distress (it is painful to see any part of the world in distress, however, when you know the place well, it is particularly difficult). Aside from making a donation towards the relief efforts and offering prayers, there is not much else I can do.

May Guruvayurappan bless and protect Keralites and give them strength to cope with this calamity. May He help them to walk the path of dharma, of goodness so that they may be blessed. May He remove all adharma from the land so that such misery does not happen again. May this troubled time be over soon.

I would also like to say something about diet. In Britain, which prides itself as a country of dog-lovers, buying or selling dog meat is illegal. Although, some other countries allow the killing of dogs and selling of dog meat (such as China and South Korea), Britain does not allow this. This is not taking away anyone's right to eat what they want- it's just that the majority of Brits love dogs and don't want to see them eaten. I would say that is fine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45085514

I am, however, unable to understand why India is unable to take a similar approach towards cow-meat or beef. The majority of people living in India love cows- they are gentle animals that give so much to humanity in the form of milk and dairy products. It is also a fact that, while yogis consider all animals sacred (not just the cow), the cow has a special place.

If the majority of Indians are unhappy at the idea of cows being killed, why do the media in India, and that of other countries (including Britain!) mock India when they want to ban the killing of cows and selling of cow meat (when countries such as the UK have laws on dog meat)! It is a hypocritical attitude that I find completely bizarre.

Kerala unfortunately seems to be particularly passionate about killing cows and eating beef. I can understand this phenomenon amongst non-Hindus, but I cannot help finding it sad that several Hindus too now eat beef in Kerala. This was rare among Hindus of my grandparents generation (most were strict vegetarians including in my family). Things seem to have changed in my parents generation unfortunately (however, I am glad that even those in my family who now eat meat, do at least seem to avoid beef!). As spirituality is reviving in Kerala under the influence of yoga teachers/Gurus, many are turning vegetarian once again.

Nothing good can ever result from the deliberate killing of another living being, be it an animal, human or other. Every living being is a manifestation of God according to the yogis and there will be a negative karmic reaction towards one if one chooses to harm other creatures made by God. We cannot give life to animals, God gave them life. He only has the right to take their life away- it is not our right to take away from other living beings the gift of life given to them by God.

While I am in favour of people having the right to eat what they like, I do also feel that (as in the UK), the sentiments of the majority, especially when it comes to abstaining from violence, must be respected.

Humans do not need to eat dogs or cows to live. There is also increasing medical research that shows red meat, including beef and pork, is linked with a higher incidence of colorectal cancer. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/red-meat-and-the-risk-of-bowel-cancer/

As a yogi, I hope and pray that one day, India will live in the spirit of the great Sanskrit saying: "Ahimsa paramo dharma", i.e. non-violence is the highest virtue.

It would be good to see humans treating each other kindly (no lynchings, mob-violence etc), and also treating animals kindly (not killing and eating them).

May Guruvayurappan make India, the land on which Krishna and Buddha walked, the land of ahimsa or non-violence.

Beautiful song in Malayalam (the language of Kerala) to Guruvayurappan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsMTW4EdZEY

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Yoga of synthesis of Sivananda

Hari Aum.

Sivananda was of the opinion that the head (intellect), heart (emotions) and hand (actions) of a human being need to be simultaneously developed for spiritual progress.

For this, he advised the 'yoga of synthesis', a harmonious blend of the three main paths of yoga, namely:

1. Jnana yoga- the path of knowledge. This cultivates the intellect.
2. Bhakti yoga- the path of devotion. This cultivates the heart.
3. Karma yoga- the path of action (serving living beings). This cultivates the 'hand'.

Further, he says there are three main defects in the mind that stand in the way of self-realisation. These are:

1. Mala, impurity- this is removed by karma yoga
2. Vikshepa, restlesness- this is removed by bhakti yoga
3. Avarana, ignorance- this is removed by jnana yoga.

This is Sivananda's song of "A little" which describes the yoga of synthesis:

"Eat a little, drink a little
Talk a little, sleep a little
Mix a little, move a little
Serve a little, rest a little
Work a little, relax a little
Study a little, worship a little
Do Asana a little, Pranayama a little
Reflect a little, meditate a little
Do Japa a little, do Kirtan a little
Write Mantra a little, have Satsang a little
Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize
Be good, Do good; Be kind, Be compassionate
Enquire 'Who am I ?', Know the Self and be Free"


The mind likes variety. At the same time, it often has a favourite practice. Therefore, it is a good idea to select one path of yoga as the main practice and combine a bit of the others too for all-rounded development.

For example, as I like the bhakti yoga path, I have chosen this approach as my main yoga. I combine this approach with karma yoga (work as doctor etc), jnana yoga (reading spiritual books) and a bit of hatha yoga (asana and pranayama).

This is a link to one of Sivananda's articles on the yoga of synthesis:

http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=637&format=html

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Dakshina and charity

Hari Aum.

I just want to say thank you to the hundred and fifty or so people who have contacted me via this site and the vedic astrology site for various reasons, material and spiritual. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to do some spiritual/astrological 'karma yoga' in addition to my medical work.

Some of you have kindly offered to give a 'dakshina' or gift in return for the vedic astrology service (although the website clearly says this is meant to be a free service) and I have politely declined this and advised you to make a donation of any amount to a charity of your choice instead.

While I greatly appreciate your kind offer, there are two reasons for the above suggestion:

1. I aspire for a very expensive 'dakshina' that only God can give me (and which no human being can). It is the dakshina of God-realisation, of true devotion to Him, of the highest spiritual attainment in this very lifetime. My Guru says this is the birthright of every human being (and therefore, yours and mine too). And, karma yoga (service of humanity as a manifestation of God), which you are kindly helping me to do, is an important method to attain this.

I would like to clarify that this service that I do is an offering to the God within you. And as you are a part of God, I would be most grateful for your blessings if you feel you would like to bestow these, even if I am not in need any material dakshina.

2. If you are a seeker, then donating in charity will help you move closer to realisation of your own God-nature.

As my Guru Sivananda says, "I have learnt that it is the foremost duty of man to learn to give - give in charity, give in plenty, give with love, give without any expectation. Charity is incomplete without charity of disposition, charity of feeling, charity of understanding."

Saints say the more one gives, the more one receives. This is the eternal spiritual law. The greatest thing we can receive is realisation of our own immortal, infinitely peaceful and blissful nature. May God bless us all with attainment of this.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Mantra siddhi: the meaning and the means

Hari Aum.

Hope you all had an enjoyable Guru purnima yesterday and were able to make full use of the wonderful lunar eclipse that took place for the purpose of sadhana. It is rare for a lunar eclipse to last that long and it was a great blessing from God as eclipses are powerful times for sadhana. My Guru Sivananda and other Gurus say that an eclipse is a perfect opportunity to take steps towards attaining mantra siddhi.

I would like to discuss the meaning of mantra siddhi here based on the teaching of my Guru.

Let us first be clear on what mantra siddhi is not. Many people think that mantra siddhi involves doing a purascharana (or a few) and thus attaining power over the mantra. Attaining the ability to use the mantra to achieve whatever they want in life- be it wealth, job, relationship, children etc, the list goes on.

That is not mantra siddhi.

A mantra is the sound form of a deity. Mantras of God are one with God Himself/Herself. My Guru Sivananda uses the phrase 'mantra siddhi' as synonymous with God-realisation in his book 'Japa Yoga'. He says in this book: "You must have the bhava that Atman, Ishvara, Devata, Mantra are one. With this bhava, you will have to repeat your Guru mantra or Ishta mantra. Then alone you will have mantra siddhi or God-realisation quickly."

God-realisation requires surrender to the will of God. God has a will. He/She wants something for us, has a view on how we should live. Sages say to God "Thy will be done". Not "my will be done"!.

The wrong concept of mantra siddhi that many people have involves thinking of the mantra and God as a servant who should fulfil one's request for various things in life. God cannot forcibly be made anyone's servant. It is complete nonsense to see the mantra in this way. This way is the "my will be done" way. This cannot lead to any spiritual progress.

Some people also confuse mantra siddhi with attainment of the 8 siddhis (which involve being able to become very big/small/heavy/light etc). These 8 siddhis are not the same as mantra siddhi or God-realisation. In fact, they can be a big distraction from attaining God as they can fatten the ego and create a sense of pride which is very unhelpful in the spiritual path.

Real mantra siddhi gives realisation of one's own immortal nature, of eternal peace, bliss and wisdom. Other siddhis such as being able to read minds, fly, become heavy etc do not automatically give God-realisation. Death takes away all such siddhis. The only siddhi worth attaining is mantra siddhi i.e. God-realisation. One should not waste time running after other useless siddhis. As one Guru said, if you want to fly, take a plane- don't waste your precious human lifetime running after such foolish siddhis that death takes away.

Death takes away all wealth, relations and all lowly siddhis. The only thing it cannot take away are the mantra, the Guru and Ishta Devata. These stay with us life after life, until we attain God. Sivananda says that the japa and kirtan and spiritual practices we do follow us in to the next lifetime, no worldly thing does.

The right attitude to attain God-realisation or mantra siddhi is "Thy will be done". This means doing one's duty to the best of one's ability with regard to home life, work, health and everything. But then leaving the results in the hands of God. Not insisting that something has to happen a particular way. Accepting that whatever happens, whether it seems good or bad to us, is the will of God and is therefore good for us. This is very difficult to practice. But it becomes easier as the mind becomes purified through the practice of mantra, selfless service of humanity and so on.

Coming back to the subject of an eclipse, it is said that 1 recitation during this time is equal to 1000 recitations at other times. Mantra siddhi is said to be attained though many, many recitations of the mantra, and particularly purascharana (100,000 times japa for each syllable in the mantra).

To complete a purascharana of an 8-letter mantra, one will have to recite it 800,000 times (+ havan etc, or 10% extra japa). Now during an eclipse, some people are under the impression that this can be achieved by doing just 8 malas (of 108 beads) i.e. around 800 recitations. Because they think that 1 recitation during the eclipse = 1000 recitations at other times. And they hope that mantra siddhi will be attained  by doing some malas of japa during an eclipse.

However, it is not quite so simple to attain real mantra siddhi or God-realisation. My Guru Sivananda says, it can take many purascharanas to attain mantra siddhi or God-realisation.

He strongly encourages people to make full use of both regular, daily japa as well as japa done during eclipses to attain mantra siddhi. A sadhaka who has attained God will have merged their will with that of God. There will be no separate will. They will not ask God to come and provide wealth, job and other things for them therefore as there is no desire left for these things.

So let us remember that spirituality is a journey from "my will be done" to "Thy will be done". And mantra siddhi is God-realisation (not trying to control God through mantra recitation to achieve worldly goals).

Mantra siddhi is gradually achieved through purification of the mind through daily mantra japa and by doing japa during special times such as eclipses. As my Guru says, it took Swami Vidyaranya 18 purascharanas to attain darshan of Mother Gayatri. He also mentions that the famous Madhusudan Swami got darshan of Lord Krishna halfway through the 18th purascharana.

So we have to prepare ourselves to do many purascharanas to attain mantra siddhi and God. But no action can go without producing a result. We can be confident that every purascharana we complete, every day of japa that we do, takes us one one step closer to mantra siddhi and God-realisation.

May God and Guru bless us all with success in our sadhana and the attainment of mantra siddhi or God-realisation (which is our birthright according to my Guru) in this very lifetime.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Guru purnima and eclipse

Hari Aum.

Tomorrow, July 27, will be Guru purnima, the day dedicated to honouring the teaching aspect of God which has manifested in the form of many great spiritual teachers or Gurus over the centuries.

This is a good time for people to worship God as Guru, the Supreme Teacher. By an interesting coincidence, this date tomorrow will also see the longest lunar eclipse of the century taking place.

As described in the post last August, an eclipse is an amazing time to do spiritual practices. It is said that a mantra chanted once during an eclipse will have the effect of chanting it one-thousand times at other times. Sivananda was also strongly in favour of mantra chanting during eclipses as he said this is very powerful.

I would recommend doing some mantra chanting, kirtan and/or other sadhana of your choice during the eclipse tomorrow. This is also a very good time to do mantra chanting for world peace. Any mantra of God is fine for this- one can just chant one's usual mantra. However, if one does not already have a mantra, one can chant 'Om Namo Narayanaya' for world peace.

If everyone of us does even 1 mala of this mantra during the eclipse (takes 5 minutes), it will have a wonderful effect.

In honour of my Guru, Sivananda, and as a Guru purnima offering to him, I plan to make full use of tomorrow's eclipse to do mantra chanting for my own spiritual progress and for the peace and welfare of the world- in accordance with the advice in his books.

Note- It does not matter if the shadow of the eclipse does not fall on the area where you live. There will be good effects if you chant mantras no matter where you are.

Please see link below for details on the timings of the eclipse:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2018-july-27

Also, just to mention, the two Kindle e-books on Lord Krishna that I have published recently will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD from the Amazon website from July 27 (Friday) to July 29 (Sunday) inclusive. Reading about Krishna helps develop devotion to Krishna, according to the sages. Hope you enjoy the books.

https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B07B95YQCV/ref=la_B07B95YQCV_rf_p_n_feature_browse-b_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB07B95YQCV%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&sort=author-pages-popularity-rank&ie=UTF8&qid=1532640220&rnid=618072011&redirectedFromKindleDbs=true

Happy Guru purnima to all.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya
Om Samastah Gurubhyo Namah.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.