Astronomy of the fire altars.

*Agni is the vedic God it also represents time and in sacrifices it represents the year. The fire altar generally made of bricks is called an agni. Agnichayana or the building of a fire altar, is the symbolic creation of Agni-Prajapati-Purusa. The Rig veda has several references to fire altars   1.164.
/35;1.170.4;5.31.12;7.35.7;8.19.18; 10.61.2: are where vedi are mentioned.
Three places of Agni which are doubtless are GRAHAPATYA; AHAVANIYA and DAKSHINAGNI are mentioned in RV 5.11.2.
Taittiriya Samhita 5.2.3 speaks of the garhapatya beng made of 21 bricks. it is also stated if it is made for the first time it should be made in five layers, for the second time in three layers and for the third time in a single layer. Various shapes provide different benifits.  beneath the superficial association the logic of the altars was the representation of knowledge.
going deeper into the subject: Agnicayana is one of the Soma sacrifices. Bricks to be used in the altar construction are classified into two types ordinary lokamprna and special yajusmati. each yajusmati brick is consecrated in a special mannerand each brick is also marked in a special way. here bricks are built in different shapes to different measurements.
The total no of yajusmati bricks are 396 this is 360 days of the year and 36 additional (including one being the fillings between the bricks) as the days of the intercalary month. By layers the first has 98 the second has 41 the third 71 the fourth has 47 the fifth has 138. the sum of 4th and 5th 186 with one space filling. the number of bricks in the third and fourth layer equals the integer nearest to one third the number of days in the lunar year. The number of bricks in the third layer equals the integer nearest to one fifth the number of days in the lunar year. the number of bricks in the second and third layesr equals one third the number of days in a nakshatra year of 28*12*336 days. Once the basic number of 21 is subtracted from the number of bricks in the first layer, the sum of the remainder together with the number of bricks in the second layer are once again the integer nearest one third the number of days in the lunar year.

The altar can also be constructed symbolically by the metres. the altar is made with gayatri 24 syllables as the breath, usnih 28 syllables as the eye, anustubh 32 syllables as the voice, brhati 36 syllables as the mind, pankti 40 syllables as the ear, tristubh 44 syllables as the generative breath and the jagati 48 syllables as the downward breathing. this too equal to gayatri altar being upto the level of the knees the tristubh up to the level of navel and jagati the height of  the man.clearly there were correspondences acknowledged between the altars of metres and that of bricks.

The total number of lokamprna bricks is 10800 which equals the number of muhurtas in a year (1 day = 30 muhurtas) or equivalently the number of days in 30 years.Of these 21 go into the garhaptya, 78 into the eight dhisnya hearths and the rest go into the ahavaniya altra.
the fire altrs are surrounded by 360 enclosing stones parisrita, of these 21 are around garhapatya, 78 around dhisnya and 261 around ahavaniya. the ahavaniya include the dhisnya therefore the number of days assigned exclusively toahavaniya is 261-78=183, which is equal to the days in the uttarayana of a 366 day year. the choice of 21 days for the garhapatya is from the unique symbolism of this number. it is also the sum of the first six integers. once the number 21 and 183 are chosen the number 78 becomes the only choice for dhisnya. this number 78 is the sum of the first 12 integers.
so you see it is all scientific:

Adhikaris

Classification of a qualified person;
There are two types of adhikaris or qualified persons;
those who adopt prapatti as the sole and direct means and the other adopting it as an anga to bhakti;
the phala bakti means bhakti which arises as the fruit of prapatti. where as the second sadhana bhakti is bhakti that leads to moksha.

For reference:
1. tiruvoimolzi 3.9.5
2. Sharanagathi Gadya.
3. Athimanusha stava 61.
4. Varadaraja Stava 84;92
5. SriRangaraja stava 2-102'
     Sandilya smrithi 3-75
6. sandilya smriti 1-95
7. Bharadvaja smriti
8. Ramayana Aranyakanda.
9. Tiruvoimolzi 7-5-1
10. Perialwar thirumolzhi 5-1-3
11. Tiruvoimolzi 8-10-4
12. Tirumalai 2.\
13. Thirumangai alwar Siriya thirumadal
14. Ramayana Uttarakanda 40-15
15. Vishnu purana 1-12-16 Lord tells Dhruva.
16. Vishnu Purana 1-12-79 Dhruva tells Lord.
17. Vishnu Purana 1-17-91
18. Vishnu dharma 43-46
19. Vishnu purana 1-9-73.

Uttarakrityadhikara.

One of the finest chapters in the Rahasyatrayasara of V D.
It prescribes the kind of life a man should lead after the performance of prapatti. Bodily purity, freedom from evil thoughts, the performance of nithya and naimittika rites, without any desire for the fruits or cosequences, goodwill to all even to enemies who hate and revile, service to God and the devotees of God, contentment with whatever one has or with whatever comes in ones way without any effort for attaining it. this last is prompted by the mere love of it and not with a desire or expectation of reward.

to be continued.

Kainkarya Samrajyam;

Kainkarya Samrajyam is the crowning glory or bliss of mukti. the love felt by the self for bhagwan in moksha is so great that it overflows into service or kainkaryam to him.

Bhoga Samayam, the self attains in the state perfect happiness or bliss exactly like that of bhagwan himself. (There may be differences between the activities permited to the self in moksha and those of Bhagwans, but with respect to the enjoyment or bliss there is absolutely no difference.

wish upon a star. RC

Casually garbed in a lumber jacket and a green Tyrolean hat, Walt Disney stood with a group of his executives, talking excitedly. It was a brilliant October day in 1965, and the setting 16 miles south west of Orlando, was an undeveloped wilderness, twice the size of Manhattan, which Walt Disney productions had just purchased. Where the ordinary observer saw only swamps and cypress groves, WD could see the beckoning future an unparalleled vacation kingdom called Walt Disney world, which would encompass a massive amusement area, revolutionary new hotels, camp grounds, championship golf courses, monorail, lagoons, lakes and white sand beaches. what a fathoming he even asked "wouldn't it be something if we could build a city here, a community of tomorrow, where people could live without traffic or smog or slums?" he continued "The city would be free of pollution, completely enclosed for climate control" when he was interrupted by his vice president "that would cost hundreds and millions of dollars" WD immediately said "Joe can't you keep your mind on the subject and away from inessentials." WD indeed was a great dreamer who was so passionate that he was able to fantasize and build on that dream, what a great visionary. 
As a child he had live farm animals as his companions and toys:
Skinny the piglet squealed deliriously through games of hide and seek. all games were played according to rules and the animals seemed to understand them. Pete the farm terrier proved adept in tug of war, charley the buggy horse seemed to play a game of his own when ever WD climbed on his back he headed towards the vast five acre orchard. WD was a great artist discovered by chance when he used the side of the horse as his canvas using the melting tar from the barrels where they were storing rain water to draw a picture of a pig who seemed to be snoring with a satisfied contention. his aunt discovering his talent got him crayons and a tablet on which he spent many hours drawing all that he liked. he drew a mocking bird in a sycamore tree, a setter drowsing in shade etc. WD used to usually accompany a elderly physician on his rounds in the villages nearby. who one day requested him todo a portrait of Ruppert. the doctor was so impressed that he framed the work loading a lot of praise for the good work. 

workings of the lords grace in shaping lives.
his life is well known on the canvas of the world but how many of us wants to see what is behind all the fun one experiences in the kingdom of WD.
to be continued.

meditatio.n

There are two words used in English to express the Indian idea of dhyana, ''meditation'' and ''contemplation''. Meditation means properly the concentration of the mind on a single train of ideas which work out a single subject. contemplation means regarding mentally a single object, image, idea so that the knowledge about the object, image or idea may arise naturally in the mind by force of the concentration.  Both these things are forms of dhyana, for the principle of dhyana is mental concentration whether in thought, vision or knowledge. There are other forms of dhyana. There is a passage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts, let them occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them and see what they are. This may be called concentration in self-observation.

This form leads to another, the emptying of all thought out of the mind so as to leave it a sort of pure vigilant blank on which the divine knowledge may come and imprint itself, undisturbed by the inferior thoughts of the ordinary human mind and with the clearness of a writing in white chalk on a blackboard.  You will find that the Gita speaks of this rejection of all mental thought as one of the methods of yoga and even the method it seems to prefer.  This may be called the dhyana of liberation, as it frees the mind from slavery to the mechanical process of thinking and allows it to think or not to think, as it pleases and when it pleases, or to choose its own thoughts or else to go beyond thought to the pure perception of Truth called in our philosophy Vijnana.

Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest in its results; contemplation more difficult, but greater; self-observation and liberation from the chains of Thought the most difficult of all, but the widest and greatest in its fruits.  One can choose any of them according to one's bent and capacity.

The perfect method is to use them all, each in its own place and for its own object; but this would need a fixed faith and firm patience and a great energy of Will in the self-application to the yoga.

Meditation that can bring about liberation must be of the nature of love. The Upanishadic doctrine of grace according to Ramanuja this Meditation of the nature of loving contemplation is bhakti turning finally to adoration. 

The devotee must hold himself as living moving and having his being for the sake of the object of his devotion. It is worshipful love it is object centered and not subject centered attachment. It is love for the sake of the beloved and in service of the beloved. The enjoyment of the devotee is consequent upon and is in proportion to this spirit of self abnegation to the deity.

the above should not be taken lightly it needs a lot of sadhana even to understand this type of meditation. it is not for the common man and is not a band wagon that you can climb on to and disembark at will. By the Lords grace if you are the chosen one it will lead you to the goal. but those who can identify the path of perfection may try as the path itself is illumined and may help one to reach the final if they are true to the devotion in mind word and deed.

self by ssr trans.

The nature of the self consists of knowledge and joy. the self is also a center of self initiated activity and it is in this aspect that moral autonomy and responsibility are in alienable attributes of the self. In their natural perfect state to be attained in release the selves are equal and in their mundane condition they are subject to adventurous inequalities. the selves are not only immortal but pass through countless births or lives in accordance with the rigorous law of justice. this is a consequence of the principal of moral self determination and the operation of the law keeps open opportunities for moral betterment in the future. The cycle of such transmigration comes to an end only when the self in question attains life eternal. Even as physical nature is neither all explanatory nor self sufficient the finite self is absolutely dependent upon under the control of the subservient to the purpose of the supreme spirit. It forms a part of the realm of Divine glory.
That the inward life the intellectual discipline which in its nature facilitates and brings about the required self discovery needs tranquility and freedom from sensuous distractions and externally induced inertia is an obvious fact. These well known obstacles to the tranquil pursuit of self knowledge are not accidents or workings of fate. They are in reality the consequences of the law of moral causation. Our deeds of the past, acts of depravity conditioned by earth bound desires are responsible for them. The effects of such a past in the form of hindrances and the contemplative life can be suppressed only by a life of virtue for its own sake. A life of disinterested ethical endeavours in the present. hindrances to the cultivation of the inward life. Such a life at once disinterested and full of zest and activity is what is termed Karma yoga. It is this Karma Yoga that produces the psychological equipment for Jnana Yoga. Thus Karma Yoga comes into the scheme of Sadhana as conceived by Ramanujacharya. The Order of progression in Karma Yoga paves the way to Jnana Yoga through its frutition in self realization brings about Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga is the final and immediate pathway to the ultimate goal of life.

Another technique is prapatti or Sharanagathi. It is a self surrender to God. {This is different from the self dedication that is the integral part of the realized ideal of moksha and also from the element of service that is part of the total reality of Bhakti.} It is a self surrender as a means or pathway to God realization. It  consists of total surrender of ones burden and responsibility to God in the matter of achieving ones goal. The full significance is an all sufficient omnipotent and unfailing means. It can be used as a preliminary to the emergence of Bhakti, when is already progressing by way of Bhakti but is not convinced of the adequacy of his bhakti. It can also be adopted as an alternative to bhakti and for achieving through it what accrues from Bhakti. Its efficacy is all embracing. It can bring about bhakti, can complete the work of bhakti when the latter is adequate and can also by itself bring to actualization the ultimate ideal of moksha independent of the arduous process of Bhakti. this conception of prapatti is a special and outstanding contribution of Sri Ramanuja to the theory of Sadhana.