Tag Archives: spirituality

Devi Tatva !!!

Posted on 8th October 2016 | Comments Off on Devi Tatva !!!

What is Devi Tattva?

There are 36 elements present in us. First is the Earth element, second Water, Fire, Air, Ether and you go on like that and the last one, the most refined is Shiva Tattva. One is finer than the other. Earth is the most gross, Shiva is the finest, the most subtle, the subtlest of all.So in these 36 elements which are present in us, Devi is also a Tattva.
The last and finest is Shiva. And how is Devi present in us? It is present in many forms, in many emotions. When you see some brightness in someone, that is Devi manifested. When you see total peace, essence of deep peace, peace in the heart, not just the temporary peace, total fulfillment, satisfaction, that is Devi. And when you feel restlessness, that is also Devi. So if someone is agitated , you stand back and you say ‘Oh, Devi has manifested as agitation in this person.’ The Devi is manifesting in everyone as hunger. Someone is hungry, that hunger is Devi manifested. Someone is confused, that confusion is Devi manifested.  
When we chant the Durga Saptashati (referring to the 700 verses of the Devi Mahatmayam from the Markandeya Purana, dedicated to praising the Mother Divine), there is a verse which says, ‘Ya Devi sarva-bhuteshu bhranti rupena samstitha; Namastasye namastasye namastasye namo namaha’ (meaning: O Divine Mother! I bow down to You who are manifest as Bhranti – the element of delusion in all living beings).
It means that it is the Mother Divine who is present as delusion within you.

Navratri is the occasion where the bridge between the subtle and the gross world is more obvious than other times. Navratri is when you recognize that the universe is governed by the subtle force. The mind is governed by the subtle force, honoring and adoring that subtle force is Navratri. The mind is duality. Mind means Faith – Doubt, Happiness – Sadness, Connectivity – Disconnection. That is the mind.
~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Navratri !!

Posted on 5th October 2016 | Comments Off on Navratri !!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the meaning of #Navratri: 
“Navratri means the nine nights and the new night. Creation happens in the darkness. In the womb of the mother and underneath the soil. Nine months in the womb are like nine long nights where the spirit takes human form.
Night provides rest and rejuvenation. At night the entire creation goes to sleep including the ashram night watchman. (Laughter) People working come home at night and they really celebrate, rejoice and pray. Nine nights are precious as they have subtle energy. The subtle is enriched.
There are 64 divine mother impulses which govern the subtle creation. These are responsible for restoring all earthly and spiritual benefits. They are simply part of one’s awakened consciousness. These nine nights are celebrated to rekindle those divine impulses and celebrate the innermost depth of our lives.
Cleanse your body and cleanse your soul. Cleanse your body with water and your soul with knowledge and your spirit with pranayam and kriya. There is no penance higher than Pranayam. It is the greatest penance.”

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Pravriti – Nivriti

Posted on 5th October 2016 | Comments Off on Pravriti – Nivriti

Q: Guruji, I want something to happen so that I don’t even get a desire to ask questions?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Your desire to have no desire to ask questions is a desire in itself. This is a problem. Jo jaisa hai theek hai – this is sanmati. (Whatever is there, however it is, it is alright. This is called sanmati or right mindedness.) Whether or not you have a question, it’s alright. Whether you get an answer or you don’t, it’s alright. ‘Everything is alright’ is the path of nivriti. Often we say, ‘This is not ok, that is not ok’ and then we retreat in ourselves. In that state you can’t rest. Because when you find something is not ok, your whole tendency is to act towards it. And you are trying to rest while restraining from action with an attitude of action. This causes tension and lack of deep rest.

We need to have two attitudes in life – pravriti and nivriti. It is important to go within when you are tired of working in the world. Nature has made it that way: 12-hour day and 12-hour night. At some places like in the North and South Poles, the night is of around four hours and the day is around 18 to 20 hours. But then in winters, it gets reversed and day is only of four to five hours. So nature maintains that balance. 12 hours day and 12 hours night is the law of nature. Night itself means retiring from any kind of effort. Day symbolizes pravriti and night symbolizes nivriti.

Viveka (discrimination) is to understand what pravriti is and what nivriti is. We think nivriti is getting retired from your job at the age of 60 and being on a holiday. No, the Vedas say, ‘Again and again, adopt the path of nivriti.’ To go within and rest after getting tired of doing work is nivriti.

There are two types of rest. One is inert rest that we get in sleep. It does give some rest but the mind doesn’t get complete rest. Another is conscious rest: you are resting but inside you are aware and alert, that is meditation. Resting with awareness and conscious sleep is meditation.

Meditative rest is far superior for that alone brings real rest to the system. When we want to go into meditation, then the attitude that needs to be adopted is ‘everything is ok’. There is no lack and ‘I don’t want anything at this moment’. When you think ‘everything is ok’, your mind calms down and you go within.

Now when you go within, you get lot of happiness, satisfaction, joy and peace, then you have to come to the path of pravriti. So pravriti is when you find things are not ok or perfect and nivriti is when you repose in the Self and find all is well and perfect. This knowledge comes to you with spiritual practices.

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Breathing !

Posted on 16th September 2016 | Comments Off on Breathing !

If you can do something with the breath, you will suddenly turn to the present. If you can do something with breath, you will attain to the source of life. If you can do something with breath, you can transcend time and space. If you can do something with breath, you will be in the world and also beyond it. 

If you systematize your breathing your health will improve. If you systematize your breathing, if you know the secrets of breathing, your life will become longer; you will be more healthy and you will live longer. You will be more strong, more filled with energy, more vital, alive, young, fresh. 

~ OSHO

Excerpted from : Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, Vol 1.Chapter #3

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Mantra Chanting !!

Posted on 10th September 2016 | Comments Off on Mantra Chanting !!

When a thought arises in the mind, it is not easy to get rid of it. The thought keeps coming back over and over again, and if you decide to do something else, you will feel uneasy until you finish with that thought. It becomes irritating like a grain of sand in the eye.3

Similarly, if you are unhappy about something, that sadness does not easily leave you, whatever you do to get rid of it. Even by listening to inspiring discourses that sadness does not go away. Many times you tell your mind that something is trivial and not to worry about it. But the mind or intellect does not pay any attention. So we can chant a mantra. Our mind takes the form of the mantra that we repeat.

“Manah trayate iti mantrah21” – means a mantra is that which is brought to mind again and again. And to practice this mind and the mantra should not be separate. The mind should become the mantra. If the mind thinks of something else while chanting the mantra, the mantra will not be effective. The mind should be filled with the mantra. The moment that happens, the mind is free from worry.

A worry is something that is not in place. It is neither here nor there. A mantra is necessary to drive out worries. A mantra has strength and spirit. When these are present, the mind becomes the power of the mantra. The power of the mind and the power of a mantra are the same.

“Chittam mantrah” – Mind should become the mantra. The power of every mantra can be felt in the form of vibrations. When an atom explodes, its impact spreads not only for many kilometers, but the effects remain for many years – all this from the explosion of an atom! The mind is a thousand times subtler than an atom. Imagine the power of the mind when it becomes quiet. When the mind becomes quiet again and again, this is called mantra. Mantra is the cure for the mind.

Whether the mantra is “Om namah shivaya” or “Rama, Rama,” the effect of the mantra depends on how it is pronounced and invoked.

You can control the mind by using a mantra. With the help of a mantra, the mind loses its smallness and becomes vast; the mind that is dissatisfied becomes content; and the mind that is constantly disturbed by desires is released from them and finds fulfillment.

Although a mantra may be the same, its value is different when given by a Guru. Then you feel the power of the mantra

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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