Thursday, November 26, 2009

One

With your alchemies
you achieve metals,
but no essence.

With all your manifold yogas,
you achieve
a body, but no spirit.

With your speeches and arguments
you build a chain of words
but cannot define the spirit.

If you say you and I are One,
you were me
but I was not you.....

Allama

Saturday, November 21, 2009

November 27 Deeksha Meditation and Message- Sutra of Desire

November 27 Deeksha Suggested Meditation:

Sit quietly and watch your breath. Focus on the entry and exit at the nose. Do not follow it into your body or the mind will wander. If the mind wanders watch the thoughts for a moment at the right retina. Secondly the right ear. It will slow.

Move the awareness to the brow chakra. Chant Aum 18 times-make the Ahhh sound three times longer than the Mmmm-otherwise you could become sleepy or lose energy. As you chant notice if there is a brightening in that region as if there is a light in the room.

I will send deeksha starting at 7:00 PM NY time and will be complete by 7:30. We can meditate together as a group until 8:00.

Suggested Sadhana (Spiritual Practice): For the next 21 days focus on physical awareness. Taste your food, feel the sensation of the sun and the wind on your body. Feel the thousands of hands in the wind. Things you would automatically do such as brushing your teeth or turning in the radio, focus on the physical sensation. When you look at your image in the mirror, really see. Focus closely on the space between your eyebrows. Notice the sensation. See what is there. As the plane flies over, hear it. Even if just for a moment.

Teaching on Desire

On one level you could say that psychological suffering is simply what happens when things are not going our way. If you look at this suffering closely you can often see the desire behind it. For example someone might say:

"I am suffering because my mother loved my brother more. (I want to be the favorite.)

"I am angry because the waitress did not bring my ketchup." (I wanted it right away,).

I am angry because that guy cut me off in traffic. (I wanted to be first.)

I am hurt because I was not invited to a party (I wanted to go,)

I am furious because she insulted me. (I want to be respected.)

I am suffering because You pointed out a mistake that I made. (I wanted to be seen as perfect).

I am hurt because he judged me. (I want to be loved unconditionally.)


(It can also be helpful to see that the essence of conflict on one level is simply two or more ideas, beliefs or thought forms battling for supremacy.)

It is not likely that a person will be free of desire. It's in the wind, the rocks, the sky. It's in your cells-the primal desires for food and sex. Gautama Buddha saw that his desire was to be free of desire. Legend tells that was the insight that lead to his enlightenment.

Consider this:

"Anytime that you fulfill a desire you lose energy. Anytime that you experience desire without acting on it you gain energy. It is processed as Bliss"

Again:

"Anytime that you fulfill a desire you lose energy. Anytime that you experience desire without acting on it you gain energy. It is processed as Bliss."

Imagine that you are in an arena with a well loved, intimate friend called Desire. You are about to play a game. It is a great sport among friends. One of two things will happen in the arena. Desire will make use of you and you will lose energy or you will experience desire fully without acting on it and gain tremendous energy that can be used for spiritual pursuit or physical energy. Somedays you will want to win, other days you will allow your friend to win. Other times, try as you might, you will not win the match.

Imagine this: A man has wanted ice cream all day. The desire burns and takes over almost every thought. It almost hurts. We works very hard and fast that day. After work he drives all the way across town to the ice cream shop. As he approaches the door he is at a crossroads. He can stay outside, experience the desire fully or he step inside, buy some ice cream, fulfill the desire and lose energy.

As he enters the store and there is so much energy. He sees the people eating ice cream and his senses are alive. His step quickens with anticipation. So happy and high spirited he is. He smiles at the pretty girl at the counter. winks and laughs.

He sits down and eats the ice cream. "Such a beautiful place this is!" he thinks. When he is finished eating the ice cream he feels a loss of energy. There is a let down. He perceives the energy to be in the ice cream. So hoping for that pre-bliss state once more, he orders some more. The girl at the counter does not look as happy and beautiful as she did when he arrived. The ice cream looks lumpy. There is frost on it. There is dust in the corner of the booth. The tables are sticky.

After he the second serving, he feels totally drained. He lost a lot of energy in the fulfillment of desire. He will remain in that lethargic state until another desire comes to take the dead desire's place.

"I know!' I will get a Pepsi to keep awake and go see a movie!" he thinks. There is energy once more.

Another man dreamed all his life of owning a Mercedes. When he was 40, he was finally in a position to purchase one. For months he searched for the perfect car. He hardly needed food or sleep. So much energy he had to shop. He could not wait to get up in the morning to shop some more. He skipped lunch to go to car dealers.

He finally bought his dream car. For some time he washed and waxed it twice a day. No one was allowed to eat in his Mercedes. At night he would go to the garage and admire it. After some time he began to care less and less about washing it. He became fatigued. The car just did not have the same charge for him. He began to drag through his days and was sometimes seen at the Jack In The Box drive-through smoking a cigarette in his Mercedes. He took it to the car wash only after a rain. So tired he was. Life was just blah to him.

Then one morning he saw a beautiful motorcycle. "Yes! I should have a Harley Davidson and a leather jacket!' He thought. The energy came back and he could hardly wait to get up in the morning once more. He never did make the connection between energy and desire.

Try not to take the idea that fulfilling desires is bad. Not at all. If you do not eat you may lose physical energy and eventually die. Overcoming a desire for air is not a battle you would likely win. If you fulfill a desire, surely as the sun comes up in the morning, another one will be right there to take its place. Desire is infinite and kind of like a casino, it generally wins. It is very beneficial however to be aware of this dynamic of desire as it can be used to great advantage.

Simply see how much energy there is in desire and to be aware of the drain in fulfilling a desire. This seeing will help you to set right your relationship with desire.

Namaste,
Dharma Dharini

To register for the free Nov. 27, 7PM (NY Time) Deeksha with Dharma Dharini email your name with Diksha in the subject line to dharma @vedicshamanism.com. Visit www.dikshas.com for info on deeksha).

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Monongahela

The following was written in 1997 about a mystical experience that was received while I was in the Pittsburgh area. The Monongahela is a river that merges with the Allegheny in Pittsburgh to become the Ohio. The Ohio then joins the Mississippi near Cairo, Il. The Monongahela is born of the confluence of the West Fork and the Tygert Valley Rivers. The Monongahela flows south to North. According to vaastu a South to North flowing river such as the Monongahela or the Nile, brings great spiritual potential to a land.

To meditate on the course of a river, either to the ocean or to the origins can bring great insight into the dependently arising nature and the mysteries of creation and a shift in perception. Ask yourself, "What is a river?"

"Monongahela"
by Dharma Dharini

"Infinity around Him
Eternity within Him
He walked down to the Rivers' edge, for water seeks its own level.
He spoke to us in tones that touched our souls.
And He danced.

Lacking harmony, some only heard a disturbing noise.
Others only heard static, for there was static in their souls.
They covered their ears, angered by the sound.
A few concerned only with what others heard, did not hear anything.
And they were puzzled.
While some heard beautiful music and they began to sing so that
Others might hear.

Wondrous sounds of sunlight.
The Rivers' glorious hymn.
The chant of the leaves and the carol of the birds.
The chiming of clouds as they blew in the wind.
And the Om of a mountain, far, far away.
Cicadas held a single note
While a cricket sang a sound of Heaven in a different key.
Everywhere, a symphony of light, and color, and motion and sound.
And we danced.

Know He had the power to stir the soul
He ceased to speak to those who would not hear
Who could not accept.
And we wept

While a cricket sang a song of Heaven."..............

During the early 1997 -1998 USA retreats, conducted by the monks of Satyaloka, there was quite a bit of division between those who were "wired" for mystical experience and those who were not. Some would cry and feel very upset or even threaten litigation if the Divine did not manifest to them at once-especially so if the Divine had appeared to someone deemed not so righteous but not to another who had decided that he or she was a much better or spiritually evolved person. The mystics who had awakened to this blessed way of seeing would think, "God's here dancing in front of you as plain as the nose on your face. How can you not see? Stop crying and dance!"

Profound Divine Mystical Experience is not something that can be forced. It appears to occur more often than not because it's necessary rather than deserved. Self righteousness, the feeling of being more worthy or better than another can be a huge obstacle. Other times even that does not matter so much. It's a matter of Grace. The Mystic/Saint, Allama Prabhu wrote:

"Feed the poor
Tell the Truth
Make water places
For the thirty
And build tanks for a town.

You may then get to Heaven after Death,
But you'll get nowhere
Near the Truth of Our Lord.

And the man who gets to know our Lord,
He gets no results........"

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sept 15 Conference Call

Swami Shanmuga and Amma Adi Sakthi of Ekatvam Foundation* join Sri Raniji for a conference call and night of blessings on Tuesday, September 15.

Swamiji and Amma have recently been honored to speak at the United Nations' Society for Enlightenment And Transformation (S.E.A.T) following in the steps of a long list of world renowned speakers, including the late Sri Chimnoy, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Lee Carroll, as well as world engineers, scientists and doctors, among many others. They have been graced with the power to awaken the Divine Mother energy in each person who is ready. Guiding and teaching with powerful sadhanas (practices) from the Eastern tradition, they help a person uncover their Divinity and clear obstacles in their path.

Swamiji and Amma carry the energy of Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi, who is known as the Mother of Moksha (liberation). Babaji is their paramguru.

Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi, a powerful aspect of the Divine Mother, presents as a Goddess with a male lion head and a female body. Her energy is a balance between the masculine and the feminine Shiva/Shakti. This energy has been recognized in a few other traditions from ancient Egypt to Tibet.

Pratyangira Devi is the embodiment of Dharma (righteousness), Satya (truth) and impeccable justice. This aspect devours the negative karmas and answers prayers swiftly for a sadhaka or devotee that holds pure intentions and is walking the path of Dharma. She fills her cup with a person's unwanted or negative energy and transforms that energy, purifying it. Pratyangira comes from a deep, deep place within the Divine Mother; an area simply known as the Void. In the Void there are no thoughts of fear, or pain, or loss, or want, or time, or even space… just the warmth of the Mother's love. 

This Mother teaches us by removing fear and pain from our lives. She shows us that these circumstances are caused by our attachments to certain aspects of our lives. A refusal to let go is refusing to release the the attachment which causes our pain. If there is pain or fear there is something to be released something to be learned, and this is only possible through Her grace and meditative contemplation. Once there is release there is Void. Experience of this Void for the first time is like a journey home.........( cont. at http://ekatvam.org/about/sri-maha-pratyangira-devi.html )

To register for this remarkable event visit https://www.livinginawareness.org/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=55&year=2009&month=09&day=15&Itemid=59 or view the events page at http://livinginawareness.org .


*Ekatvam is a sanskrit word that means Unity or Oneness with Divine Consciousness. To visit the Ekatvam Foundation website visit http://ekatvam.org/index.php

The Turtle

Kali comes with a giggle. "Go out an enjoy the world!"

Happily you step out. In the garden there is a cactus wren. She is dead on her nest, protecting eggs that will never hatch. A rabbit screams in the desert as a hawk ascends. The doves scatter. Enjoy the world? Anything you have ever loved will fade and die. Unless you die first.

Dukha, the existential suffering of man. The tiger at your back. The ax waiting to fall. The shoe waiting to drop. Is this what it is? The sense of impermanence? Man's greatest fear is of losing what he has.

It's back there gnawing away and try as we might, even when the body is a torture chamber of physical aches and pains, we cannot seem to overcome the attachment to the physical body. The survival instinct is in every cell.

The child comes sobbing, She says, "How can God do this? Why did he take my turtle?"

I can only see than in the eyes of the Divine, Life is Death and Death is Life.

I can find no other explanation.


Dharma Dharini

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Living as if You Are Enlightened

I was looking through a notebook from one of the early yagnas at the other day and it said practiced virtue is a horror show. To live as if you are enlightened when you are not enlightened is hippieism.

Communism only works in an enlightened society. A look into history reveals all.

Dharma Dharini

Sunday, May 24, 2009

May 24 Deeksha Perfecting Anandamaykosha

This is the Age of Bliss. The perfection of the Anandamayakosha or Bliss Energy Body will help in this seeing.

Following is the meditation for the May 24 Monday Night Long Distance Deeksha Group. Registration info is at http://www.vedicshamanism.com/index5.html

This sadhana for perfecton of the Bliss Body can be done on your own without deeksha. It was originally introduced to us at Satyaloka during the 42 day yajna. It was called Kalki Dhyana. It was the only sadhana given for activation of the Bliss Body. I have always used the image in the icon on www.vedicshamanism.com/index15.html in visualization with tremendous result.


Namaste Everyone,

We will continue once more with the Bliss Body Meditation. During the early Mukti Yagnas at Satyaloka the Septanga Marga or 7 Fold Path was taught. to perfect any one of the energy bodies can lead to liberation.

Some have indicated that they are to stiff or do not have the time for the fasting or yoga for perfection of the physical energy body. Others are not so interested iperfecting the wisdom energy body. And some very authentically said they have their own troubles and are too self absorbed to focus much on the perfection of the karma mayakosha or karmic energy body.

This is a good thing to even see as this journey requires great courage and authenticity. It is not evident that all mystics and sages or enlightened masters are great humanitarians.

Very authentically speaking the perfection of the karma maya kosha through karma yoga is often best left to the more saintly. Do what karma yoga you can as surely it will help you, however if it is not in you then that is the condition. Embrace it and see that there is little you can do to change it. It would take an act of God.

For example in ancient times, there was a man who walked for years to see an enlightened sage. When he first saw him, the sage was sitting on a chair in a beautiful room. A woman entered and ran to the master.

"Brother, my children are hungry. I need some food." she cried.

"Get out of my sight! You make me sick" he told her, and she ran off weeping.

In a moment a rat came out from under the table. The master took some bread from his robe and began to feed the rat.

The crowd was stunned. The man was very upset and called out. "I walked for years to see you and you would feed a rat and deny your sister? You are a horrible fellow. a fraud."

The master, undisturbed, looked at him at said, "That is the difference between you and I. Sir. I am what I am."

It is crucial that you see the condition. See the internal feelings. How it is with you when someone asks you for help. The external response is irrelevant. It is what is inside. You cannot pump love and compassion into the heart. Nor can you be free of it if it is there.

It was a great milestone for some in the group to come out and say they are sick to death of working on perfecting the karma maya kosha-of practicing kindness when there is none. They realized their condition and saw the only thing they can really do is see there is nothing they can do. Pretending to be a saint, or kind or loving or grateful will get you nowhere. The journey begins in the seeing of what is or is not there. From where you are not from where you are pretending that you are.

So on to a sadhana for perfecting the Ananda Maya Kosha or Bliss Body:
*************************

The suggested meditation for Monday is a meditation to perfect the Ananda Maya Kosha or Bliss body. It is a good meditation to do at least once a week. If you do not want to do this practice then just sit quietly and relax.

1 Sit quietly and watch your breath going in and out of the nostrils for some time-3-5 minutes.

2. Move the awareness to the Ajnea or brow chakra.

3. Visualize a form of the Divine that you relate to standing behind you and placing his/her hands on your head. If it is a light or a formless aspect just sense that it is behind you touching your head lightly.

I will send deeksha at 7:1oPM MST and will be completed by 7:30.

Some may have a beautiful encounter in the form of a vision or a beautiful majestic voice, smell a fragrance, or feel a breeze caressing you. Do not feel frightened.

This loving presence has been with you your entire life. Your perception may shift during this time so there is a greater awareness for you to build a stronger relationship is all.

This is a fast meditation yet effective sadhana you can do on your own to keep the Bliss body in good shape. You need not have diksha to practice this meditation as often as you like. This meditation can lead to a deeper bond with the Divine that often leads to total transformation

For more on the Oneness Deeksha visit http://www.dikshas.com

Namaste,
DD