Kindness….Tommy’s Window

“The sun makes ice melt; kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." —Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. —Dave Barry (b. 1947) "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)"

Happy Dusshera!

Dasha-hara: Deeper Meaning

Dasara, derived from the Sanskrit Dasha-hara meaning "remover of bad fate", is among the most important festivals celebrated in India.

During the ten days of the Dasara, the Rakshasas (demons) in the form of wicked qualities have been routed. Rakshasas do not mean demonic beings. The bad qualities in men are the demons. Arrogance is a demon. Bad thoughts are demons. Ravana is depicted as the king of Rakshasas. He is said to have ten heads. He was not born with ten heads. Who is this Ravana and what are his ten heads? Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (Greed), Mada (pride), Maatsarya (Envy), Manas (the mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (Will) and Ahamkara (the Ego) – these ten constitute the ten heads. Ravana is one who has these ten qualities.

Each one can decide for himself whether he is a Ravana or a Rama according to his qualities. Rama is the destroyer of the bad qualities. When engaged in this act of destruction of bad qualities, He manifests His Rajo-guna. But His Rajasic quality is associated with His Satwic quality. Even in cutting off Ravana’s ten heads, Rama showed His love. This was the only way Ravana could be redeemed.

There is a Rahasya (secret) of Ramayana.

The secret of Ramayana is control of mind. Killing the ten-headed monster Ravana of Lanka means the annihilation of the ten evil Vrittis of the mind or 10 heads of Ravana, They are as follows:

1. Kama vasana (Lust)
2. Krodha (Anger)
3. Moha (Attachment)
4. Lobha (Greed)
5. Mada (Over Pride)
6. Matsara (Jealousy)
7. Swartha (Selfishness)
8. Anyaaya (Injustice)
9. Amanavta (Cruelty)
10. Ahankara (Ego).

Sita is mind. Rama is Suddha-Brahman. Bringing Sita back from Lanka is concentrating the mind on Rama (Brahman) by withdrawing it from Vishaya (objects) and uniting it with Rama. Sita (mind) unites with Rama (Brahman), her husband in Ayodhya (Sahasrara Chakra). Mind merges in Brahman. This is, briefly, the esoteric meaning of Ramayana. This is the Adhyatmic exposition of Ramayana.

Today is Vijaya Dasami. This is the Samaapthi (conclusion) of sacred Navaratri festival. Samaapthi is that which confers Praapthi (deservedness) in every possible way.

Our ancients have prescribed the worship of Maha Kali, Maha Durga and Maha Saraswati during the Navaratris (nine nights). Durga is the embodiment of all powers. Durga represents the combination of all the powers of body, mind and soul.

Maha Kali symbolises destruction of evil with the help of these powers. Maha Kali and Maha Durga are not elsewhere. They reside in every man. When the mind and the senses, instead of following the dictates of conscience, follow wicked qualities, man becomes a slave to evil habits and turns wicked. The main purpose of celebration of Navaratris is to annihilate cruelty and wickedness in man to bring forth the principle of the Atma in pristine form. Having absorbed the divine vibrations out of the seven days of Yajna, try to achieve spiritual transformation. Wherever you go, do not give up God and pray for the welfare of all. Tanks, bombs and other armaments do not provide the protection that a constant contemplation of God yields. A true human is one who has strong faith in the Self (Atmabhimanam). Therefore, comprehend this faith in the Self.

Deeper meaning & significance of Navaratri

As per Indian Vedic Astrology nine planets are (1) Ravi (Sun), (2) Chandra(Moon), (3) Mangal/Bhaum (Mars), (4) Budha (Mercury), (5) Guru/Bruhaspati (Jupiter), (6) Shukra (Venus), (7) Shani (Saturn), (8) Rahu (North Node) & (9) Ketu (South Node).

Human body has nine openings (1) 2 for seeing – Chakshu (Eyes), (2) 2 for hearing – Karna (Ears), (3) 2 for breathing – Nasika (Nostrils), (4) 1 for speech & eating – Mouth, (5) 1 for Malotsarjan – Anus & (6) 1 for Mutrotsarjan – Urinary opening.

If the planets favor & all the openings of the human body are kept under proper control, the human life is bound to be a great success.

Navaratri means "nine nights", which we must use to seek blessings from the nine planets and control our openings. In the worship of the goddesses during Navaratri, one of the planets should be worshipped & one of the openings should be cleaned each day, not externally but with heart, mind and soul focused. Bodily actions are ephemeral. The body derives its value from the spirit within. Hence it should be regarded as a sacred temple.

Navaratri festival is observed ten days, out of which nine for cleansing one’s self of all impurities, in order to experience the divinity within & the last day is dedicated to "worship of weapons (Aayudha Pooja). The weapons to be worshipped are the divine powers & virtues within. When the divine is worshipped in this way, one is bound to progress spiritually.

In the worship of the deities during Navarathri, every day, one of them should be worshipped, not externally but with one’s heart and soul. Bodily actions are ephemeral. The body derives its value from the spirit within. Hence it should be regarded as a sacred temple. During the Navarathri festival, for the purpose of eradicating one’s demonic tendencies, the deities were worshipped with kumkum (sacred powder). The red powder is a symbol of blood. The meaning of this worship is offering one’s blood to the Lord and receiving in return the gift of peace from the Lord.

Therefore, the Navarathri festival is observed, by contemplating on God for ten days, cleansing one’s self of all impurities, to experience the divinity within. The penultimate day of the festival is dedicated to what is termed Aayudha Puja (Worship of weapons). The weapons to be worshipped are the divine powers in man. When the divine is worshipped in this way, one is bound to progress spiritually.

Ankur Gupta

Spotlight on Seniors Who Are Changing the World….DailyGood

a project of ServiceSpace The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world. – Susan B. Anthony – Spotlight on Seniors Who Are Changing the World Retirement is a time finally away from bosses and schedules, stress and assignments. Yet, once retired, many miss the sense of purpose and community their jobs provided. Where retirement once called to mind visions of rocking chairs and mid-day snoozes, many in the Baby Boomer generation are shaking things up, turning their focus in retirement to encore careers and volunteerism. In this Spotlight on Seniors Who are Changing the World, we take a look at some extraordinary individuals who have used their ‘retirement’ as an opportunity to give back to the world and their communities in remarkable ways, finding along the path both passion and purpose in their golden years. { read more } Be The Change What steps can you take today to leave behind a legacy of kindness?

Navratri…..the Festival of Nine Nights…Bhanu Didi

Symbolizing victory of positivity over negativity, Navratri literally means ‘nine nights’ in Sanskrit; Nav – Nine and Ratri – nights. During these nine nights and ten days, the three forms of the goddess -Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi – are invoked.

Amidst great celebration, the mind can be carried away and easily go off-center. Usually in any celebration, the mind goes everywhere. So to bring back the mind to the centre, we keep a joyful silence with awareness. The mind is always conditioned to patterns.

So this is like conditioning the mind to a set pattern that is conducive to growth. The first three days are tamasic, the next three rajasic, and the last three sattvic. In life, all these three qualities co-exist and we have to skillfully get past them. These nine days are a reminder of this. It is the awakening of the Divinity – that quality of the Mother Divine which does not negate anything, yet nurtures the good qualities. Supporting the positivity in us and skillfully removing the negative can be learnt by invoking and awakening the Divine in us. This is what is done in the Chandi Homa.

Irrespective of the qualities of a child, the mother always loves the child. Same is with the Mother Divine.

This all-inclusive power supports us and brings out the divine quality in us. This can happen only when we are doing our sadhana. These nine days are a reminder to be a good sadhak (seeker) and of course, none of this can even stir without the grace of the Master and we are very fortunate to have his grace in abundance.

It is said in the scriptures that one can realize the Self through sadhana, seva, satsang and the Guru’s grace.

These nine days are an opportunity to be completely in sadhana, seva, satsang and of course, the grace of the Master is already with us.

Kindness….Simple Truths

Your Sunrise Inspiration….How far can you go?….T.S.Elliot

“ Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ” ~Quote by T. S. Eliot

Healing Children & Communities One Breath at a Time….Thich Nhat Hanh…DailyGood

a project of ServiceSpace Smile, breathe and go slowly. – Thich Nhat Hanh – Healing Children & Communities One Breath at a Time When he was just 6 years old, J.G. Larochette felt a deep calling to bring love and awareness to communities overwrought by racism, oppression, and inequality. While teaching in Richmond, CA, he recognized a significant gap between providing academic instruction and maintaining a sense of nurturance and compassion. "Reading is fundamental, but if we create a stressful environment, we counteract education. Education should be character and content. If we forget about the social-emotional aspect, it’s going to create stress and chaos." Larochette addressed this void by founding the Mindful Life Project, a program geared toward the most at-risk students that incorporates mindfulness and stillness practices, along with yoga, expressive arts, and hip-hop.

The Why Behind Asking Why: The Science of Curiosity….Albert Einstein….DailyGood

a project of ServiceSpace The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. – Albert Einstein – The Why Behind Asking Why: The Science of Curiosity Curiosity is a fundamental human trait. Everyone is curious, but the object and degree of that curiosity is different depending on the person and the situation. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio was so curious about curiosity that he wrote a book about it titled, ‘Why? What Makes Us Curious.’ Be The Change How can you engage your curiosity to explore or research something you’ve been wondering about?

Real Knowledge….Confucius…Shared by mage1999

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

– Confucius