How to Meditate, Yoga, Meditation

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                                                       Greetings and best wishes to all

                                for a very Happy New Year

                                   filled with peace and prosperity!

                                        2012 is a special year

HAPPY Diwali

Diwali Messages

May this Diwali bring joy, health and wealth to you. May the festival of lights brighten up you and your near and dear ones lives. May the Diwali light show us the way and lead us together on the path of peace harmony WISH U A VERY HAPPY DIWALI  

                                       DIWALI KAli PUJA

Maa Kali is the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess Durga. She assumed the form of a powerful goddess and became popular with the composition of the Devi Mahatmya, a text of the 5th - 6th century AD. Here she is depicted as having born from the brow of Goddess Durga during one of her battles with the evil forces. As the legend goes, in the battle, Kali was so much involved in the killing spree that she got carried away and began destroying everything in sight. To stop her, Lord Shiva threw himself under her feet. Shocked at this sight, Kali stuck out her tongue in astonishment, and put an end to her homicidal rampage. Hence the common image of Kali shows her in her mêlée mood, standing with one foot on Shiva's chest, with her enormous tongue stuck out.

Kali Puja is done to diminish the ego and all negative tendencies that hinder spiritual progress and material prosperity. Performed on the night of Kartik Amavasya, which falls in October/November, Kali Puja is an intense invocation to the fearsome goddess. The main purpose of the puja is to seek the help of the goddess in destroying evil - both in the outside world and within us.

The legend goes that long ago the demons, Shambhu and Nishambhu, disturbed the peace of Indra, the king of gods, and his empire (heaven). After extensive and endless battles, the gods lost all hope and the demons became stronger.

The gods took refuge in the Himalayas, the holy mountains, the home of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The shaken gods sought protection from Mahamaya Durga, the goddess of Shakti. Kali was born from Durga's forehead as Kal Bhoi Nashini, created to save heaven and earth from the growing cruelty of the demons. Along with Dakini and Jogini, her two escorts, she set on her way to end the war and kill the devils.

There was chaos all around. After slaughtering the demons, Kali made a garland of their heads and wore it around her neck. In the bloodbath, she lost control and started killing anyone who came her way. The gods started running for their lives. The only source of protection seemed Lord Shiva, Durga's consort.

Seeing the endless slaughter, Shiva devised a plan to save the world. He lay down in the path of the rampaging Kali. When the goddess unknowingly stepped on him, she regained her senses. The well-known picture of Ma Kali, with her tongue hanging out, actually depicts the moment when she steps on the Lord and repents.

That momentous day is celebrated ever since. Kali, also called Shyama Kali, is the first of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of Durga. Kali Puja is performed essentially to seek protection against drought and war, for general happiness, health, wealth, and peace. It is a tantrik puja and performed only at midnight on Amavasya (new moon night) in November.  

Kali’s name is from the Sanskrit word kala, meaning either “black” or “time”, depending on the context. Her various other names reflect her different forms:
Attahasayuta (laughing loudly)
Balidanapriya (fond of animal sacrifice)
Bhadra Kali (adamantine)
Bhadrakali Vilakshi Kamadatri (giving desires)
Bhairavabhavini Bhavananta Sarasvataprada (bestower of eloquence)
Bhavani
Bhavatarini (redeemer of the universe)
Bhayanaka (giving fear)
Bhima Chandi
Bhimanadini (sounding terrifying)
Bhurbhuvasvahsvarupini (true form of Bhurbhuvahsvar)
Cchinnajata Jatajutavilasini Sarvarajayutabhima Sarvarajoparisthata Shmashanstha (dwelling in the cremation ground)
Chamunda
Chaturvargaprada (giver of the four aims)
Daksina Kali (remover of the fear of death)
Danavendraprapujita (worshipped by Danavas)
Devi Khadgahasta (holding a cleaver)
Dukhadaridyanashini (destroyer of unhappiness and poverty)
Garbha (the womb)
Gauri (golden one)
Gayatri Savitri Mahanilasarasvati Lakshmirlakshanasamyukta (showing all the signs of Lakshmi)
Guhya Kali (secret)
Jagadamba (world mother)
Jagadanandakarini (cause of bliss in the world)
Jagadvighnasini (destroyer of world obstacles)
Jaganmata (mother of the world)
Jaganmayi (consisting of the world)
Jagatsara (essence of the world)
Kadamba-pushpamalini (wearing a garland of kadamba flowers)
Kadamba-pushpasantosa (taking delight in the kadamba flowers)
Kadambari-panarata (who drinks the kadamba flower wine)
Kadambari-priya (excited and pleased with the kadamba wine)
Kadamba-vanasamcara (wanderer in the kadamba forest)
Kadamba-vanavasini (who lives in the kadamba forest)
Kadambini (dark as a bank of rain-clouds)
Kaladhara (bearer of the crescent moon and all female energy)
Kalahamsa-gati (moving and swaying as a swan)
Kalakantaka-ghatini (destructress of the fear of death)
Kalakanthi (with a soft and deep-throated voice)
Kalakarshini (conqueror and/or destroyer of time)
Kalamanjira-carana (whose toe-bells sound sweet melodies)
Kalamata (mother and destructress of time)
Kalanada-ninadini (sweet as the chakravaka bird)
Kalanala-samadyuti (brilliant as the fires of the final dissolution)
Kalaratri (black night)
Kalatmika (self of kalas)
Kalavati (possessor of all the arts)
Kali Kalaratrisvarupini (true form of the night of time)
Kali Ma (mother of karma)
Kali Mahamaya (the great sorceress)
Kali Nath
Kalidarpaghni (destructress of pride)
Kalika (devourer of him who devours [Shiva])
Kalikalmasa-nasini (destructress of Evil)
Kalikamata (black earth-mother)
Kalpalata (creeper who provides every desire)
Kalyani (bestower of peace and happiness)
Kamabija-japananda (excited to hear ‘klim’ [mantra of sexual union])
Kamabija-svarupini (embodiment of the mantra ‘klim’)
Kamala (who enjoys and is herself enjoyed)
Kamalalaya-madhyastha (abiding in the center of the lotus)
Kamalamoda-modini (pleased and intoxicated by the scent of lotus)
Kamalasana-santushta (lover of the lotus flower)
Kamalasana-vasini (delighted to be seated within the lotus)
Kamaniya (beautiful one)
Kamaniya-gunaradhya (adorable image of all tenderness)
Kamaniya-vibhushana (beauty is thy ornament)
Kamapasa-vimocini (liberator from the bonds of desire)
Kamapitha-vilasini (playing at the Kamakhya Pitha)
Kamarupa (in the form of desire)
Kamarupa-kritavasa (who lives in the place of sexual desire)
Kamarupini (assuming any form she desires)
Kamkalamalya-dharini (wearing a garland of bones)
Kancanacala-kaumudi (shining moon-beam on the mountain of gold)
Kancanadri-kritagara (residing in the golden mountain [Meru])
Kantukini (joyous one)
Kapalapatra-nirata (drinking from a skull-cup)
Kapali (wearer of skulls)
Kapalini Kurukulla Viprachitta Kantachitta Madonmada (drunk with desire)
Kapardini (lover of him with the matted hair [Shiva])
Kapardisha-kripanvita (kind and devoted to him with the matted hair [Shiva])
Kapila (tawny-colored one)
Karalasya (thou of formidable countenance with teeth like fangs)
Karali (frightening)
Karanamrita-santosha (pleased with the nectar of purified wine)
Karanananda-japeshta (deity of those who worship with wine)
Karanananda-siddhida (giver of success to those who enjoy wine)
Karanarcana-harshita (glad to be worshipped with purified wine)
Karanarnava-sammagma (immersed in an ocean of wine)
Karanavrata-palini (protecting those who perform ritual with wine)
Karpura-candanakshita (body painted with camphor and sandal paste)
Karpura-karanahlada (pleased with purified wine flavored with camphor)
Karpura-malabharana (adorned with garlands of camphor)
Karpuramoda-modita (whom the scent of camphor gladdens)
Karpuramrita-payini (drinker of nectar flavored with camphor)
Karpura-sagaralaya (at home in the ocean of camphor)
Karpura-sagarasnata (bathing in the ocean of camphor)
Karunamrita-sagara (ocean of the nectar of compassion)
Kashtahartri (allayer of all suffering)
Kasishvara-dayini (giver of blessings to the Lord of Varanasi [Shiva])
Kasishvara-kritamoda (giver of pleasures to the Lord of Varanasi)
Kasishvara-manorama (beloved of Shiva who overwhelms his mind)
Kasishvari (Queen of the Sacred City [Varanasi])
Kasturi-bhojanaprita (who is pleased to eat musk of the musk deer)
Kasturi-dahajanani (mother of those who burn musk as incense)
Kasturim-rigatoshini (who is fond of the musk deer)
Kasturi-pujakapriya (loving those who worship her with musk)
Kasturi-pujanarata (excited by worship with musk)
Kasturi-saurabhamoda (gladdened by the scent of musk)
Kasturi-tilakojjvala (luminous one with a mark of musk on her forehead)
Kaulika-priyakarini (benefactress of the Kula)
Kaulika-radhya (adored by Kula Tantrics)
Kausiki
Kishori (thou who art ever youthful)
Klaibyanasini (destroying all fears)
Komalamgi (delicate and tender-bodied)
Kottavei
Kripadhara (vessel of compassion)
Kripagama (attainable only by her compassion)
Kripamayi (truly merciful)
Kripapara (whose mercy is without limit)
Krishanu (thou art fire)
Krishna (black of hue as is Krishna)
Krishnananda-vivardhini (who increases joy and bliss of Krishna)
Krishodari (slender of waist)
Kulacara (observant of the Kulacara)
Kulakamini (Lady of the Kula)
Kulamarga-pradarshini (revealing the Kula-Path to seekers)
Kulina (embodiment of the Kula teachings)
Kulinarti-nasini (destructress of the Kula’s afflictions)
Kumari-bhojanananda (pleased by the feasts and gifts to the virgins)
Kumari-pujakalaya (refuge of all virgin worshippers)
Kumari-pujanaprita (pleased by the worship of virgin girls)
Kumari-rupadharini (who is in the form of a virgin)
Kumatighni (destructress of all evil inclinations)
Kurchabija-japaprita (pleased by worship with the mantra ‘hum’)
Kurchajapa-parayayana (threatening and conquering demons with ‘hum’)
Kvanatkanci-vibhusana (whose girdle-bells tinkle ever so sweet)
Madanaprita Madaghurnitalochana (eyes full of desire)
Madhya Trivalivalayanchita Gandharvaihsamstutasa (praised by the Gandharvas)
Madottirna Kharparasinaramundavilasini Naramundasraja (with a necklace of men’s heads)
Maha Kali (the great mother)
Mahagaurasarvanga (greatly golden in all limbs)
Mahakali Jagadhatri (creator of the world)
Mahanandistuta (praised by Mahanandi)
Mahishasuradhatini Shivapujya (worshipped by Shiva)
Matangi (elephant lady)
Maya
Maya Mahamaya Mahodaya
Mohini
Muktakeshi (dishevelled of hair)
Nanda Siddhacharanasevita (served by Siddhacharas)
Nilameghavarna (the colour of a blue rain-cloud)
Nilavani (blue Sarasvati)
Nitya Kali (endless time)
Padma (lotus)
Padmaragopashobhita Karabhayaprada (hand removing fear)
Pavitra Parama (supreme)
Phalaharini Kali
Prakiritia (nature)
Purnenduvadana (with a face like the full moon)
Rakshakali (the protectress)
Sadhvi (holy)
Samdiptalochana Shavasanarata (addicted to the corpse asana)
Samhlada Viparitaratatura (addicted to taking the superior sexual role)
Sandhya
Sarvalakshanalakshita (having every single characteristic)
Sarvamangalamangala (greatest fortune of all)
Sarvasampatprada (giver of all prosperity)
Sarvasarvabhisthaphalaprada (giver of the fruit of every possible desire)
Sarvavidyamayi (consisting of all vidya)
Savitri (mother of the Vedas)
Sharatjyotsna (light of the autumn moon)
Sheetla (the goddess of smallpox)
Shivaprita (loved by Shiva)
Shyama Kali (dispeller of fear)
Siddha Kali
Sidheshvari
Smashana Kali (ever joyous dancer)
Sundaripara (supremely beautiful)
Svadha Svaha Vashatkara Saradindusamaprabha (as bright as the autumn moon)
Ugra Chandi
Varavarnini Vararoha Shivaruha (riding Shiva)
Vidhatri (creatrix)
Vidhatrivaradayini (giver of boons in creation)
Vindhyavasini
Vishvamata (cosmic mother)
Vyaghracharmavrita (wearing tiger skin)

My child, you need not know much in order to please Me.
Only Love Me dearly.
Speak to me, as you would talk to your mother,
if she had taken you in her arms."

Mahavatar Babaji

 

Mahavatar Babaji is the name given to an Indian saint by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples who met Mahavatar Babaji between 1861 and 1935. Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi (1946), including a first hand telling of Yogananda’s own meeting with Mahavatar Babaji. Another first hand account was given by Sri Yukteswar Giri in his book The Holy Science. All of these accounts, along with additional meetings with Mahavatar Babaji, are described in various biographies of those mentioned by Yogananda.
Mahavatar Babaji’s given name and date of birth are not known, so those who met him during that period all called him by the title first given to him by Lahiri Mahasaya. "Mahavatar" means "great avatar", and "Babaji" simply means "revered father". Some of the encounters included two or more witnesses—discussions between those who met Mahavatar Babaji indicate that they all met the same person.

Meetings with Mahavatar Babaji , 1861-1966

Lahiri Mahasaya

The first reported encounter with Mahavatar Babaji was in 1861, when Lahiri Mahasaya was posted to Ranikhet in his work as an accountant for the British government. One day while walking in the hills of Dunagiri above Ranikhet, he heard a voice calling his name. Following the voice up the mountain, he met a “tall, divinely radiant sadhu.” He was amazed to find that the sadhu knew his name. This sadhu was Mahavatar Babaji.
Mahavatar Babaji told Lahiri Mahasaya that he was his guru from the past, then initiated him into Kriya Yoga and instructed Lahiri to initiate others. Lahiri wanted to remain with Mahavatar Babaji, who told him instead that he must return to the world to teach Kriya Yoga and that “Kriya Yoga sadhana would spread through the people of the world through his (Lahiri’s) presence in the world.”

Nirvikalpa samadhi

Nirvikalpa is a Sanskrit adjective with the general sense of "not admitting an alternative", formed by applying the contra-existential prepositional prefix ("away, without, not") to the term ("alternative, variant thought or conception").
Usage

In our Hinduism, when used as a technical term in Raja Yoga, the phrase samādhi refers to a particular type of samādhi that Heinrich Zimmer distinguises from other states as follows:

'''', on the other hand, absorption without self-consciousness, is a mergence of the mental activity in the Self, to such a degree, or in such a way, that the distinction of knower, act of knowing, and object known becomes dissolved — as waves vanish in water, and as foam vanishes into the sea. The difference to the other samadhis is that there is no return from this samadhi into lower states of consciousness. Therefore this is the only true final Enlightenment.

Paramahansa Yogananda describes this degree of samadhi as follows:

In the most advanced state, nirvikalpa samadhi, the soul realizes itself and Spirit as one. The ego consciousness, the soul consciousness, and the ocean of Spirit are seen all existing together. It is the state of simultaneously watching the ocean of Spirit and the waves of creation. The individual no longer sees himself as a "John Smith" related to a particular environment; he realizes that the ocean of Spirit has become not only the wave of John Smith but also the waves of all ofter lives. In nirvikalpa the soul is simultaneously conscious of Spirit within and creation without. The divine man in the nirvikalpa state may even engage in performance of his material duties with no loss of inner God-union.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

We wish all our readers a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!

Significance of Ganesha Chaturthi

All Indian festivals, beneath the aspect of delight and celebration, hold the underlying essence or the spirit which has to be captured to grasp the eternal truth. So it is with Ganesha Chaturthi.

The very story of Ganesha's manifestation holds the essence of Advaita Vedanta. He has been manifested out of the divine essence of (Parvati). This is a reminder that we all are made up of the same, all pervading essence or the spirit though we may vary owing to the disparities in shape and form.

Ganesha is the manifested form of the divine. The formless divine is ever present though it takes on a manifestation or a form,owing to our identification of ourselves with a form. Having manifested with a form, the divine also assumes a name due to our association with a form and our wrong notion of separate existence, in order to distinguish ourselves from others.

The truth or the essence is but one, the formless spirit that pervades all destroys the disparities. The celebration of Ganesha Chaturti reveals that while we worship the divine with the form, we ought to bear in mind our formless reality. This is depicted in the elaborate worship that is carried out on Gnaesha Chaturti and finally dissolving the form that we endear in a water body in remembrance of the divine as the formless reality even beyond the manifested form.

It is not to be considered that worship of forms do not have any value. Since we identify ourselves with a form it is imperative to seek the truth with a manifested form in order to proceed to realise the formless reality. This ultimately merges oneself with the realisation of one's true self, the formless reality thereby in eternal mergence with the divine.

About Mahavatar Babaji

Jagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji
Throughout the centuries I have revealed myself to the few whom I choose to carry my Message of Living Light of Love to those of mankind whom I am working with throughout their cycles of incarnations on Earth. – Jagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji

Current World View of Babaji:
babajiJagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji is an enigma who eludes definition or comprehension. Many words have been written about Babaji in many languages and projected into the airwaves of various media in present day. We attempt to explain and share experiences we have had with Babaji, both spiritual/mystical through visions, dreams and meditation and physical encounters, mostly in the Himalayan Mountains of India. Many have tried to understand one’s own fascination and mysterious love for Babaji; it seems to rise up from the essence, the soul, like water spraying from a fountain imbedded in misty memory, some knowing brought forward from way back in antiquity. Some have construed that trying to understand Jagadguru Babaji is like attempting to bring the formless God into the solidarity of world view.

From Unity With The Divine, Utpalavati writes in the Foreword: “Throughout human history the eternally snow-capped peaks of the sacred Himalayan Mountains of India traditionally have been known as the home of the Immortal Gods. Those spiritually blessed mountains are the home sphere of the eternal, youthful form and spirit of the Physical-Light-Being known as Jagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji. For centuries many have encountered the Immortal Babaji and subsequently identified him by various names. The names most attributed to him in present day are Jagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji and the Immortal Babaji. Jagad means world and guru means teacher—world teacher. Maha means great and Avatar means the decent of divinity into physical form—Maha Avatar. Babaji means revered father and immortal means one who lives forever—World Teacher, Immortal Jagadguru Maha Avatar Babaji.

”Babaji may appear human at will and is reported to take many forms that have the ability to be in one or more places simultaneously. Maha Avatar is an Immortal Universal Being and he does not exclusively adhere to any singular tradition, religion, country, race or creed. He embraces with great unconditional love all spiritual traditions, all of creation and all consciousness as One. All the forms of Babaji come and go at will. Many people throughout the ages have interacted with him in the etheric, in seemingly physical form and in dreams, visions and meditations. All of Babaji’s forms exemplify divine attributes and he invariably bestows blessings and teachings to those whom he chooses to encounter.

“Traditionally Babaji’s mission includes assisting humankind to evolve at its own velocity into realizing Oneness-God. The resulting Universal Love Vibration will transform and return this world and its living beings into the original Divine blueprint of paradise on Earth—the prophetic Golden Era. Many have experienced that whenever one speaks with reverence the name of Babaji that person receives an instant spiritual blessing. Babaji offers humanity a glimpse of Divinity in physical form. He provides a conscious example of mankind’s own potential for transforming himself from maya, illusion, into the Divine Immortal that Babaji has exemplified down through the centuries—an eternal bridge between the Divine and mankind.”

In His Own Words:
Babaji writes in Unity With The Divine: “The various names attributed to me developed from certain divinely selected humans who came into contact with what appears to be my physical form roaming the mountain crags of the Himalayas in India and in the vicinity of those high mountain regions.

“Many synonyms for life exist in all Earth languages. For instance, from ancient times in Hinduism there have been thousands of stories of the Gods with many faces and names. Ganesha, the elephant-faced God has been given many attributes. Humans pray to obtain those same characterizes in their own lives. It is believed that Ganesha is the remover of obstacles. And so the psychological components of human anatomy allow the individual to attune his awareness to the attributes of Ganesha and during prayer, meditation or puja worship he may align with the Divine Principle exemplified in Ganesha and indeed obstacles may be transmuted. In a similar development to Ganesha, throughout the centuries, man has given me many names.

“I serve the Divine in the capacity of Good Will Ambassador to the world populations throughout the cycle of time in which you presently are living, the Kali Yuga, time of ignorance or darkness (now completing and simultaneously merging into the next age known as the Golden Age, the Sathya Age—the age of Truth). Throughout the centuries I have revealed myself to the few whom I choose to carry my message of Living Light of Love to those of mankind whom I am working with throughout their cycles of incarnations on Earth.”
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