The Mrithyunjaya.

It is said to be beneficial for mental, emotional and physical health and to be a moksha mantra which bestows longevity and immortality.

According to some puranas, the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra has been used by many Rishis as well as Sati during the time when Chandra suffered from the curse of Prajapati Daksha. By reciting this mantra, the effect of the curse of Daksha, which could make him die, slowed, and Shiva then took Chandra and placed it upon his head.

This mantra is addressed to Lord Shiva for warding off untimely death. It is also chanted while smearing Vibhuti over various parts of the Body and utilised in Japa or Homa  to get desired results. While its energy protects and guides the initiates a mantra re-links consciousness to its deeper and more abiding nature and repetition of the mantra constitutes Japa, the practice of which develops concentration that leads to a transformation of awareness. Whereas the Gayatri Mantra is meant for purification and spiritual guidance, the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is meant for healing rejuvenation and nurturance.

The true meaning is as follows:

Tryambakam: The three eyed lord who sees what we can see but who also sees what we can not see. Hence 3 eyed.

Yajamahe: Yajanam is invocation; I invoke

Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanama: Increase my good vasanas 

Urvarukam iva bandhanaan mrityor mukshiya ma mritaat: When i die my soul should leave the body as easily  as the cucumber falls from its plant.

womens secret language.

How they captured the Rainbow.

They both liked sports but they didn't like soccer. Soccer was the official game of the New York River dale country school. The Headmaster had said if you don't play soccer you will have to take long walks. So every day they took long walks together they were young both named Leopold and both sons of famous musicians. Leopold Mannes was the son of David Mannes the celebrated violinist. Leopold Godowsky was the son of the world famous Pianist. the son of the violinist played the piano and the son of the Pianist played the violin. Granted that they were both going to be musicians. Their passions rested with pictures as both had a craze for the camera since they were ten. but they seemed distressed as there was no colour in photographs. One day however they both discussed and decided how they could come about getting colour and they decided to write down how they proposed to do it and share it the next day. They however found the ideas were identical so they decided to pool their efforts to get a color photograph. They snitched the key to the physics laboratory so they could use the apparatus after hours. it was there that the two produced the first color photograph. their collaboration lasted twenty five years with some forty patents and won them fame and fortune as inventors of Kodachrome.But all was not a smooth sail as it usually is with any success. they struggled to get to perfection getting all the colors on one plate proved a humongous task. Now they had to find money to support their invention. They befriended a banker and invited him for dinner, while he waited in the living room they took turns to entertain him while trying to produce a color picture in the kitchen of the house first the violin was played then the piano and so on till a good quality picture was produced to impress the banker. They went about messing what ever area they could get to take their interest forward now being assisted by a financier too. some people were disgusted and said you boys better stick to music. which they did besides giving lessons in music they were both giving recitals and performances in America Europe Mannes was given the Pulitzer prize from Rome. the search for rainbow went right on they both were awarded a job with the researchers of Eastman in Rochester. The company leaned over backwards to accommodate their every fancy. there was good deal of kidding when these two well known musicians moved into the building full of scientists. the two measured the exact length of time that the plate was to be immersed in a developer, by singing a strain from Schubert's Marche Militaire or Tchaikovsky's Symphonie Pathetique. they maintained it was an ideal method to measure the short interval of time in total darkness. Art and science was never more strikingly united. Their work a phenomenal evidence of energy versatility and creativity with music and friendship involved. what a striking coincidence with same name same school same dislike for soccer and passions for photography. Is this not a handy task of the almighty?

Chivalry Lingers on.

A Birmingham woman says chivalry isn't dead as generally reported. Limping from a sore leg she received in a fall while running for a bus on a slippery street. She exclaimed with a beam, "The men stepped over me instead of on me while climbing aboard the bus!"

There was one vacant seat in the center of the carriage. When the door opened at the next stop a man and a woman dashed for the seat freom either end of the carriage. the man slid into the seat first almst knocking the woman off her feet. we all watched anxiously as she turned on him. Then seizing his arm, she held it high and shouted "The Winner"

A youngster came home with all the marks of a rough fight a black eye, a bloody nose etc and as he was being given first aid he said Gosh what a fighter. Last week when challenged for a duel i gave him the choice of weapons. I never thought he'd use his sister.

Is this the end. (SrI Aurobindo)

Is this the end of all that we have been,
and all we did or dreamed,
A name unremembered and a form undone,
Is this the end?

A body rotting under a slab of stone
Or turned to ash in fire,
A mi d dissolved, lost its forgotten thoughts,
Is this the end?

Our little hours that were and are no more,
Our passions once so high
Being mocked by the still earth and calm sunshine,
Is this the end?

Our yearnings for the human Godward climb
Passing to other hearts
Deceived, while smiles towards death and hell the world
Is this the end?

Fallen is the harp; shattered it lies and mute;
Is the unseen player dead?
Because the tree is felled where the bird sang,
Must the song too hush?

One in the mind who planned and willed and thought,
Worked to reshape earth's fate,
One in the heart who loved and yearned and hoped,
Does he too end?

The Immortal in the mortal is his name;
An artist Godhead here
Ever remolds himself in dimmer shapes,
Unwilling to cease.

Till all is done for which the stars were made,
Till the heart discovers God
And the soul knows itself and even then
There is no end.

by your stumbling the world is perfected.

https://www.facebook.com/share/KyuxZA2PyS2zG2t5/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Spiritual awakening is not a special feeling, state, or experience. It is not a goal or destination, somewhere to reach in the future. As the Buddha was trying to tell us (though few actually listened), it is not a superhuman achievement or attainment. You don’t have to travel to India to find it. It is not a special state of perfection reserved for the lucky or the privileged few.  It is not an exclusive club. It is not an out-of-body experience, and it does not involve living in a cave, shutting off all your beautiful senses, detaching yourself from the realities of this modern world. It cannot be transmitted to you by a fancy bearded (or non-bearded) guru, nor can it be taken away or lost. You do not have to become anyone’s disciple or follower, or give away all your possessions. You do not have to join a cult. You do not have to follow anyone. 

Rather, is a constant and ancient invitation – throughout every moment of your life – to trust and embrace yourself exactly as you are, in all your glorious imperfection. It is about being fully present and awake to each precious moment, coming out of the epic movie of past and future (“The Story of Me”) and showing up for life, knowing that even your feelings of non-acceptance are accepted here. It is about radically opening up to this extraordinary gift of existence, embracing both the pain and the joy of it, the bliss and the sorrow, the ecstasy and the overwhelm, the certainty and the doubt. Knowing that you are never separate from the Whole, never broken, never truly lost. 

Here are some simple principles and pointers:

1. THERE IS NO DESTINATION; THERE IS ONLY NOW

There is only THIS; the present scene of the movie of your life. Come out of the epic story of time and space, past and future, regret and anticipation, and the seeking of different states and experiences, even the search for spiritual enlightenment. Relax your habitual focus on ‘what’s gone’, ‘what’s not here yet’ – things you cannot possibly control from where you are. Come out of the story of ‘My Life’ and allow yourself to be fascinated by what is alive, here, right now. Be curious about this very alive dance of thoughts, sensations, feelings and impulses that is happening where you are. Remember, Now is the only place from which true answers can eventually emerge. The present moment is your true home, prior to time and space. It is all there is; the calm in the midst of the storm.

2. THINKING AND RESISTANCE CREATE SUFFERING

Pain is not the real problem; the real problem is our thinking about pain, our resistance to discomfort, our attempt to escape it all and reach an imagined future. The real problem begins when we start ruminating on our pain, our sadness, our fears, our anger; brooding over our discomforts, rewinding and fast-forwarding the movie of our lives! We chew on yesterday’s and tomorrow’s sorrows, rather than directly exploring and experiencing today’s experiences as they arrive. We add an unnecessary layer of rumination and resistance to life, and this creates suffering. The invitation? Come out of past and future, seeking and striving, and meet life in the raw, right now, without judgement, and without the expectation that ‘peace’, ‘relaxation’, ‘enlightenment’ or any kind of shift will result. Meet the moment on its own terms; see it all as a gift. Show up, for the pleasant and unpleasant, the pleasurable and the painful, without an agenda.

3. THOUGHTS AND SENSATIONS ARE NOT PERSONAL, AND NOT THE TRUTH

See thoughts and sensations as neutral and impersonal events in awareness. Just like sounds that we hear, thoughts and physical sensations arise and disappear spontaneously, like waves in the ocean of You. They cannot be controlled, deleted, or escaped. Cultivate the same gentle attitude towards thoughts and sensations as you already have towards sounds. Meet all thoughts and sensations with an attitude of kindness and curiosity. See them as welcome guests in your presence.

4. YOU ARE THE SPACE FOR THOUGHTS, NOT THE THINKER OF THEM

Thoughts are not you, and they are not reality; they are only suggestions, possibilities, rumours, propaganda, judgements, voices, images, rewinds and fast-forwards coming and going – clouds in the vast sky of you. Don’t try to still, silence or stop, drop, delete or control them. Be the space for them, even if they are very active right now! Remember, if you notice thoughts, if you are mindful of them, you are not trapped in them. They do not define you. You are the silent container, not the contained. Be what you are – thought’s unchanging embrace, the vastness in which thoughts can come and go as they please.

5. BREATHE INTO YOUR DISCOMFORT AND PAIN; HONOUR IT

Breathe into uncomfortable sensations; give them dignity. Honour them rather than closing off to them, starving them of warmth. On the in-breath, imagine or feel your breath moving into the neglected and tender area, infusing it with life and love. Fill the uncomfortable area in your body with oxygen, warmth and dignity. Don’t try to ‘heal’ the sensations, or even ‘let go’ of them. They want to be met, honoured, included in the present scene. Assume that even discomfort holds intelligence; that it’s not ‘against’ you. Know that true joy is not the absence or opposite of sadness or pain, but the willingness to embrace it all.

6. ACCEPTANCE IS NOT SOMETHING YOU ‘DO’, IT IS WHAT YOU ARE

Acceptance doesn’t mean that an unpleasant thought or feeling will go away; it may stay awhile. Don’t try to accept it (as this is often resistance in disguise) but acknowledge that it is ALREADY accepted, already here, already part of the scene. Treat it as if it perhaps will always be here! This removes the pressure of time (trying to make it go away, wondering why it’s “still here”). It IS here, now. Bow before THIS reality. Be curious. And allow any urges, any feelings of frustration, boredom, disappointment or even despair, to come up too and be included. They are all part of the present scene, not blocks. Even a feeling of blockage is part of the scene!

7. THERE IS NO ‘ALWAYS’ AND NO ‘NEVER’

In reality, there is no ‘always’ and no ‘never’. Be mindful of these words; they are lies, and can create a sense of urgency and powerlessness; they feed the story of seeking and lack. There is no ‘rest of my life’, no ‘for years’, no ‘all day long’. There is only Now, your only place of power. Sometimes even thinking about tomorrow is just too much work. Be here. 

8. YOU CAN ONLY GET ‘THERE’ BY BEING ‘HERE’

Often we focus so much on the goal or destination that we forget the journey, disconnect from each precious step, and stress is created, the sense that we are ‘Not There Yet’. Yet joy can only be found in the here and now, and has nothing to do with goals, destinations, or getting what you want. Take the focus off the 10,000 steps to come, the 10,000 steps you have not yet trodden, the 10,000 things that are missing right now, and remember the present step, this ancient living ground, your own intimate presence. Breathe. Feel the life in your body. Often we don’t know where we are headed, and that’s perfectly okay. Befriend any uncertainty, doubt, trepidation that you feel; learn to love this sacred place of no answers. It is alive, and creative, and full of potential.

9. EMBRACE YOUR STUMBLING; IT IS PERFECT TOO

If you realize that you’re lost in a story, that you’re disconnected, that you’ve forgotten the moment, celebrate. You have just woken up from a dream. A great intelligence is alive in you, a power to realize and connect. You have stepped out of millions of years of conditioning. Don’t punish yourself for forgetting, but celebrate your ability to remember! The moment doesn’t mind that you forgot it! Forgetting is a perfect scene in the movie. Allow yourself to forget, sometimes! Be humbled by the journey rather than trying to be ‘perfect’. Doubt, disappointment and disillusionment will be constant friends along this pathless path. There is no destination in presence, no image of ‘success’ to live up to. You cannot go wrong, when there is no image of ‘right’.

10. STOP COMPARING; YOU ARE LIFE ITSELF! 

You are unique; your journey is wholly original. We may all be expressions of the very same ocean of consciousness, but at the same time, we are all unique expressions of that very ocean, totally unique in our wave-ness! Don’t compare yourself with anyone else! When you start comparing, you devalue your own unique, irreplaceable gifts, talents and truths and disconnect from your unique present experience. Don’t compare this moment with any image of how it could, should, or might have been. Healing is possible when you say YES to where you are now, even if it’s not where you dreamed you would be ‘by now’. Trust, and trust sometimes that you cannot trust. Perhaps even your inability to trust can be trusted here, and even the feeling that you cannot hold the moment, is itself already being held…

79 dasakam

Narayaneeyam:Dasakam: 79- Rukmani Kalyanam

Bhishmaka was making lavish arrangements for his daughter’s marriage with Shishupala. Bhishmaka and Shishupala’s father, Damaghosha, individually performed the propitiatory rituals and offered gifts to the brahmanas with reverence. In the meanwhile, Rukmini was getting restless as the brahmana she had sent to Krishna had not returned even after dusk. She was apprehensive that her action was impulsive and had earned Krishna’s displeasure. She also doubted that it did not have the approval of the divine couple Maheshvara and Parvati, their tutelary deities. While Rukmini’s thoughts were oscillating between uncertainty and hope, the brahmana’s arrival in the inner apartments infused life and delight in her. When Bhishmaka heard of the arrival of Balarama and Krishna, he thought they had come with eagerness to participate in the wedding festivities of Rukmini. He extended a wonderful welcome to the honourable guests.

            The people of Vidarbha were all admiration for Krishna. They thought he would be an ideal match for their princess and prayed that God should make the union possible. Rukmini was led to the temple of Ambika, next morning, in a well guarded procession. Rukmini meditating on Krishna, entered the temple along with the wives of the brahmanas. Those women asked her to pray to the family gods to bless her with the good fortune of having Krishna as her husband. These words were pleasing to the heart as they were a resonance of her thoughts. The brahmana wives made the necessary propitiation's to the Goddess along with Rukmini and she broke her fast by par taking the remnants of the offering. As she came out of the temple, she looked round to spot Krishna. Not knowing the secret of Rukmini's plans nor Rukmi's decision, the hearts of the numerous kings assembled to try their luck were throbbing expectantly.

 

When she approached Krishna, he effortlessly lifted her and drove her away in his chariot. While Shishupala’s friends thought that the marriage between him and Rukmini was a forgone conclusion, they stood aghast at the turn of events. Jarasandha and many other kings cursed themselves for helplessly looking on while a mere cowherd carried away the coveted prize. They said, “Fie upon us to call ourselves warriors. We are unworthy of wielding the bow and arrow.” The enemy army chasing Krishna’s chariot, faced a severe blow and they soon marched a retreat. Crest fallen Shishupala was comforted by Jarasandha who quoted his own case as a morale booster. He said, “I have been defeated by Krishna seventeen times but I am not demoralized. I am still hopeful of a win against that cowherd boy. Krishna’s luck is at present in the ascendancy. But in the near future, it will surely come down like the rim of a wheel, when we can ensure our victory over him.” The lion with his pride shattered, was somewhat consoled and he returned, licking his wounds.

    Rukmi took it as a personal insult because this match had been opposed by him from the very beginning. He refused to accept defeat. His mind was overpowered by two thoughts, revenge on Krishna and the recovery of his dear sister. He vowed not to rest in peace till he had successfully executed his resolve. He attacked Krishna with great vigour but all his arrows were arrested and his sword broken to pieces. When Krishna was about to kill Rukmi, Rukmini fell at his feet and pleaded to spare her brother’s life. Out of respect for her words, he tied him with a cloth. Shaving half of his head and beard, Krishna inflicted the most severe humiliation on Rukmi.

 

Rukmi decided to keep away from his kingdom, ashamed of facing people with his disfigurement and also he had not yet carried out his vow. He built a huge city named Bhojakuta, on the outskirts of his kingdom and established himself there, not to move out till he had avenged his insult. Krishna and Rukmini were received with thunderous welcome. Amidst all round celebration, they were married. Though the Krishna-Rukmini episode evoked astonishment, it was conducive to universal acclaim. Krishna being the Supreme Lord and Rukmini his divine consort, their union was inevitable on earth.