Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi

A Place where devotees gather to share inspiration.


"Holy Mother" painted by Swami Tadatmananda

Used courtesy of the Vedanta Society of Southern California

http://www.vedanta.org




Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Respected Web Admin,
thank you.
With all respect to our Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, who has been re-elected chief whip of the State Administration for another five years this year, he appears to talk big but deliver little. We, in Assam, are amused at his promises. For quite many days, Guwahati was suffering from previously announced 5 hours power cut daily, the unofficial power cuts extra. Many times, there is power, but little voltage, so that an computer with basic UPS cannot run. The people of Assam are also a lazy or accepting lot (myself included of course). In states like West Bengal, they would have protested heartily and some little change would have been brought about at least. Naturally endowed with ample resources, we have not been able to make use of the same. The river Brahmaputra is perhaps one among the most voluminous rivers of the world. Starting from China, it moves through Arunachal, Assam, Bangladesh and falls into the Bay of Bengal. Incidentally, it is among the few male rivers in India. Rivers here are regarded as sort of diety. Especially the Ganga and some other rivers, whose name are taken daily in our Sandhyaupasana or thrice daily worship as prescribed by the scriptures. Brahmaputra is regarded as a son of the creator, Brahma. It contains the huge riverine island Majuli, the seat of Vaishnava culture in Assam. And there is the Parashuram Kunda, where Sage Parashuram was freed from the sin of killing his mother. However, later near Guwahati, the Brahmaputra earned a curse from the sage for disobeying his orders to stay put while he had darshan of the Goddess Kamakhya, still an awakened diety in Assam and the guardian diety of Guwahati. Sri Fhanindra once remarked in passing, "Look, the banks of the Brahmaputra bear some desolate look, not as bright as other rivers, because of the curse." Sorry, I have digressed. Ancient mythology is fascinating and the Hindus believe in it. It holds morals through stories.

I will extend your best wishes to Sri Fhanindra when I visit him today. I am working at home today. Our telephone connection seems to be restored.

Regards.

Ps. There is a book "Red Rivers and Blue Hills." It is very nice. I will tell the name of the author (prob Hem Baruah) later. It is a fascinating collection of essays about Assam.

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Replying to:

Dear Ankur Ji,

RE: "I hope Web Admin will correct me where I go wrong. I quote, as I said before, from memory only."

Comment: In most cases, exact quotes are unnecessary,
as long as we can convey the actual purport of the idea; which, I might add, you seem to do very well.

Please extend my best wishes to Sri Fhanindra, in his new dwelling.

RE: Electricity in Guwahati

Here is an item from April 2005:

"The Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Tarun Gogoi speaking through video conferencing from Guwahati, said that his government was committed to provide electricity to every rural household, by which villages would prosper, which would lead to prosperity of the State and the country."

From: http://pibguwahati.nic.in/nr-3.asp

Further comment:

This seems to be an ambitious project indeed. One would think that
they should first ensure reliable electrical power in the largest
city of Assam, before committing themselves to provide electricity to
every rural household. Just my humble opinion, of course :)

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

RE: Brahmaputra

What can I say? Just the word alone inspires awe.

"The son of Brahma"

One of the great rivers of Mother India.

Love,

Nahabat Web Admin

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Namaste to my dear friends and fellow devotees....

Thank you,indeed, to both Web Admin and to Ankur...

Web Admin, my son is safely home from Afghanistan, but there are always dangers here that are lurking and keep me worried...however... I will keep Ankur's reminder...(the story about Mother's gaze that "M" spoke of) in my heart and try to believe that Mother has put her gaze upon me.

Ankur, my impression of my dream was of direct communication...no symbolism or feeling...just a directness...

I had a dream which I would like help interpreting...

During that initial period of discovering that I had cancer, I dreamt of long, silver round earings in my ears...In one ear-ring was a picture of Ramana Maharshi...the other ear-ring
had a void where a picture should have been...

Any ideas???

Thanks to my friends here for the wonderful discussions....I am still without a computer also...but trying to await it patiently from E Bay.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Sister Rosemary,

You wrote:

"Web Admin, my son is safely home from Afghanistan, but there are always dangers here that are lurking and keep me worried."

Comment: I am so happy that your son is safely home. As a parent
myself, I know that were are in a constant state of worry, for
the spiritual and physical well-being of our offspring. That is
only natural. The Good Lord has instilled these impulses in us.

However, my mind turns to the words of a great American president,
named Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." Personally, I think we will find great wisdom and perception
in those words. We were so fortunate, that Lord Vishnu incarnated Himself as FDR, a fitting receptacle for the God of Preservation, during the crisis years of the Great Depression and World War II.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
Respected Web Admin,
thanks for the quote. One of the message of the Himalayan sages according to Swami Rama (htttp://www.geocities.com/swamiramabio) is freedom from fear. At the same time, Holy Mother advices, "A little fear brings victory, my son." I interpret it this way. We should not fear our fellow men but should be a little diffident about our own abilities, and before God. A little fear of God (in a devotee, which I am yet to become as I understand the term, it is all love) and about our prospects of success is healthy. Too much of fear, as of everything else, is of course bad. With regard to worry about one's offspring, how beautifully you have said that the Lord has instilled this impulse in us. The parents are like God for the children, yet the parents are mortal till of course they step out of the stream in Krishnamurti's words (thoughts were coming to me in this regard yesterday) and become the Self. Hence, the worry. I, of course, am unmarried and so cannot understand fully about parents' condition other than my observations and Sri Fhanindra's remarks in this respect. He understands the beat of every heart and in some cases have refereed to others as His offsprings.
Regards.

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Replying to:

Dear Sister Rosemary,

You wrote:

"Web Admin, my son is safely home from Afghanistan, but there are always dangers here that are lurking and keep me worried."

Comment: I am so happy that your son is safely home. As a parent
myself, I know that were are in a constant state of worry, for
the spiritual and physical well-being of our offspring. That is
only natural. The Good Lord has instilled these impulses in us.

However, my mind turns to the words of a great American president,
named Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." Personally, I think we will find great wisdom and perception
in those words. We were so fortunate, that Lord Vishnu incarnated Himself as FDR, a fitting receptacle for the God of Preservation, during the crisis years of the Great Depression and World War II.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Sister Rosemary,
glad to receive your posting with the news of your son being back home in the States.
With regards to your first dream, I think I understand.
I have taken a printout and God permitting will discuss with Sri Fhanindra about your second dream.
I do hope your cancer is better and you are on the path of complete recovery or better still, have got over it. Please do not mind my asking.
I personally am a diseased individual, diseased ego (not putting myself down), and some mental malady according to the doctors. Have been taking drugs for that for the past more than 6 years. Schizophrenia, perhaps. Or bipolar mania, don't know. Will someday ask the doctor treating me. Well, deep inside I feel it is just some karmic debts to be repaid. Once that is done, the symptoms of disease will disappear. Again, it may be a life-long affliction. Will then try more completely to live with it.
Regards.

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Replying to:

Namaste to my dear friends and fellow devotees....

Thank you,indeed, to both Web Admin and to Ankur...

Web Admin, my son is safely home from Afghanistan, but there are always dangers here that are lurking and keep me worried...however... I will keep Ankur's reminder...(the story about Mother's gaze that "M" spoke of) in my heart and try to believe that Mother has put her gaze upon me.

Ankur, my impression of my dream was of direct communication...no symbolism or feeling...just a directness...

I had a dream which I would like help interpreting...

During that initial period of discovering that I had cancer, I dreamt of long, silver round earings in my ears...In one ear-ring was a picture of Ramana Maharshi...the other ear-ring
had a void where a picture should have been...

Any ideas???

Thanks to my friends here for the wonderful discussions....I am still without a computer also...but trying to await it patiently from E Bay.

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Brother Ankur,
I can tell the difference when you are being honest and when you are putting your self down.
It is a totally different vibe...
Thank you for your honesty and sharing your comments...I can tell that you are a very deep thinker...
Especially thank you for reminding me of the power of Mother's glance. That was a part of my dream that had escaped me...Also, for the gentle reminder (perhaps a Western fault) that one should be more reverent when addressing the name of Holy Mother..this had escaped me also...

I do not know what to say about fear. Holy Mother seemed to realize that there are dangers in the world...
Remember her encounter with the dacoit on the road
(where was she going?)...and of course, she turned that situation around...I know that fear, at times, can be an impetus for higher virtues (Or am I just rambling?) I know that peace and fear cannot co-exist...

Thanks to you all for listening to me...May Holy Mother bless us all and bring us peace...

Jai Ma

Location: North Carolina

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Sister Rosemary,

Thank you for the kind post of yours.

I had just typed a long reply when electricity went and with it went my outpourings! So I have to type again, differently.

Yesterday went to Sri Fhanindra’s new dwelling. It is at a little height and the atmosphere is village type. Excellent for meditation and study. Spent a few hours there. As I was not keeping well, stomach trouble and all, he fed me black berries. The Assamese are very good at treating various ailments with greens, vegetables and fruits, which often grow wild. I showed Sri Fhanindra the two posts of yours dealing with your dreams. He remarked “There are some spiritual persons in those lands too.” He said he would think over the dream and reply. Due to my ill health, I was not completely at ease, when the thought came to me, I have reached my destination, am with Mother, and my glance fell on a writing ,”In Devotion is Strength.”

Sister Rosemary, I feel you perhaps got me wrong over addressing the Holy Mother. True, reverence gives rise to strength. But isn’t it sweet to address Holy Mother as Mother only. To feel She is our own Mother. How reassuring that feeling is. And peace-giving too. So, I was only appreciating your mode of address. Mother Herself says that one realizes God in proportion to the intensity of one’s feeling for Him and that He is our own. You would be surprised at how intimately Sri Fhanindra addresses the Holy Mother whom he worships as Durga. He sometimes uses the term, “tai”, which in Assamese is a most intimate word of addressing females, esp. younger than oneself! But then it is all out of the deepest love and as Padumbari baba (the saint from Padumbari) had remarked on first seeing Sri Fhanindra, “This person knows nothing but the Divine Mother’s Feet.” The Divine Mother’s feet (charan) are the embodiment of all knowledge.

Holy Mother was going to Dakshineswar to meet Sri Ramakrishna about whom there were rumours in her village that He had gone mad!

Fear can be an impetus for higher virtues, as you remarked. I remember once approaching Swami Ijyananda here at the Guwahati Ashram when an undercurrent of bad thought crossed my mind. Suddenly a brahmachari obstructed my way and said, “You go to him afterwards.” This doesn’t happen generally. Still, I did not fully heed the warning, but took a step in his direction when a current of fear shot through me. I desisted. It added ultimately to my reverence of the Swami. Another time, just after my Guru Bhuteshananda ji had passed away, I was glancing through a commemorative volume when my glance fell on a picture of Swami Bhuteshananda in Samadhi at Vishwanath temple, Varanashi, some years before he had passed away. And a current of fear coursed through me. I told this to Sri Fhanindra. He remarked in appreciation, “That you could feel it”. Perhaps because the Holy Mother, who is Shakti or Power comes during the deep meditation of saints, such a reverential fear arises at first glance. Remember the story of Holy Mother’s childhood. During Jagaddhatri puja at her village home, she, then a young girl, was meditating when an elderly uncle left the place in fear unable to distinguish who was the deity, little Sarada meditating or the image of the Goddess!

Peace and fear cannot co-exist. True. In peace there is no thought of the little self separating us from each other from humanity. In the absence of the little self, there is peace and no fear can exist then.

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts. Gives me an impetus. Renews the faith.

Regards.

(The phone connection has gone again. So no internet. Play of Sri Ramakrishna. Fun. So can send this mail afterwards only. // Guwahati, Bhaskarnagar, 12.6.06 (Monday), 3.31 p.m.)

p.s. A poem by Swami Ji that I liked.

ANGELS UNAWARES

III

One born with healthy frame—but not of will
That can resist emotions deep and strong,
Nor impulse throw, surcharged with potent strength—
And just the sort that pass as good and kind,
Beheld that he was safe, whilst others long
And vain did struggle ’gainst the surging waves.
Till, morbid grown, his mind could see, like flies
That seek the putrid part, but what was bad,
Then Fortune smiled on him, and his foot slipped.
That ope’d his eyes for e’er, and made him find
That stones and trees ne’er break the law,
But stones and trees remain; that man alone
Is blest with power to fight and conquer Fate,
Transcending bounds and laws.
From him his passive nature fell, and life appeared
As broad and new, and broader, newer grew,
Till light ahead began to break, and glimpse of That
Where Peace Eternal dwells—yet one can only reach
By wading through the sea of struggles—courage-giving, came.
Then looking back on all that made him kin
To stocks and stones, and on to what the world
Had shunned him for, his fall, he blessed the fall,
And with a joyful heart, declared it—
“Blessed Sin!”

 Swami Vivekananda.

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Replying to:

Dear Brother Ankur,
I can tell the difference when you are being honest and when you are putting your self down.
It is a totally different vibe...
Thank you for your honesty and sharing your comments...I can tell that you are a very deep thinker...
Especially thank you for reminding me of the power of Mother's glance. That was a part of my dream that had escaped me...Also, for the gentle reminder (perhaps a Western fault) that one should be more reverent when addressing the name of Holy Mother..this had escaped me also...

I do not know what to say about fear. Holy Mother seemed to realize that there are dangers in the world...
Remember her encounter with the dacoit on the road
(where was she going?)...and of course, she turned that situation around...I know that fear, at times, can be an impetus for higher virtues (Or am I just rambling?) I know that peace and fear cannot co-exist...

Thanks to you all for listening to me...May Holy Mother bless us all and bring us peace...

Jai Ma

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Brother Ankur,
Thank you so much for your kind answering thoughts...(don't you hate it when the electicity goes out?)...Thank you also for troubling Sri Fhanindra (sp?) with my dreams. I am very interested in what he has to say...

I want to do the right thing, so if I am addressing Sri Sarada Devi in the wrong way, then, I want to correct that. I need teaching. In a personal way, when I feel anxiety over the smallest thing, I find myself just saying the name, "Mother" and the anxiety seems to lessen...

I'm glad Sri Fhanindra (sp) has gotten his move and hope that he is comfortable. I am very much interested in natures' cures and wonder if the blackberries helped?

Spiritual lessons seem to pop up from nowhere, do they not? I was looking at a beautiful full moon two between the branches of a tree in my yard and I was thinking that there was some spiritual significance..then last night I was reading Sri Sai Sacharita when there was a discourse of the taking of darshan of the moon between the branches of a tree..

Really enjoy talking with you. Hope your stomach trouble is better and am very glad that Sri Fhanindra has answers for the questions that come to you.

Jai Ma!

Location: North Carolina

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Sister Rosemary,
it is a pleasure to receive postings from all of you, hence though I keep promising myself I will not write anymore, I do so again!
The blackberries did help. Though I needed rest yesterday, my stomach is back to normal and I cycled several kilometres or miles today. Sri Fhanindra also recommended sugarcane juice which I took today.
I seem to have created confusion over the matter of addressing the Holy Mother. She is your own mother. Please address her as you please. That itself will be dear and acceptable to her.
The Sri Sai Satcharita is a treasure. Indeed Shirdhi Sai Baba is one of the saints of India I especially revere. My mother also reveres him and there are big pictures of him at our dwelling. Mother tells me that when I was one-year old, a sadhu came from North India and giving mother a locket of Shirdhi Sai Baba told her to put it around my neck for life. That hasn't happened, but I keep a photo of his in my purse and we have also visited Shirdhi. Liked it very much. The t.v. here is presently showing a serial on his life. When I first showed Sri Fhanindra his photo, he remarked, "exudes peace" and later, "a very satvika person. Of a different plane altogether."
Sri Fhanindra is comfortable in his dwelling. He seems to feel as if he had been living there from before. I have conveyed Web Admin's best wishes to him. A strange thought came to me yesterday. I was lying and intermittently praying, when as if somebody said, "Each being is the embodiment of a particular beneficient diety. Who knows that may be of the Guru?" With regards to Sri Fhanindra having answers to my questions, I read a beautiful story in a book that I bought today:
There is a story from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, in Italy. An old, nearly blind beggarwoman asked him for alms. She couldn't see that he was dressed as poorly as she, and was not likely to have anything to give her. It distressed him, however, that he had nothing to give her. And then he realized that he still had one thing in his possession: his well-thumbed copy of the Holy Bible. This he gave to her, in the hope that she might be able to sell it for a few coins.
He then prayed almost apologetically, "Lord, in helping this poor old woman I have even given away Your word!"
A voice within him replied, "Francis, I have placed my word in your heart. You have no need for that merely printed copy of it."
FROM
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita-explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, as remembered by his disciple Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters). The Swami is an American now based in India.

Regards.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Brother Ankur,
Thank you so much for your kind answering thoughts...(don't you hate it when the electicity goes out?)...Thank you also for troubling Sri Fhanindra (sp?) with my dreams. I am very interested in what he has to say...

I want to do the right thing, so if I am addressing Sri Sarada Devi in the wrong way, then, I want to correct that. I need teaching. In a personal way, when I feel anxiety over the smallest thing, I find myself just saying the name, "Mother" and the anxiety seems to lessen...

I'm glad Sri Fhanindra (sp) has gotten his move and hope that he is comfortable. I am very much interested in natures' cures and wonder if the blackberries helped?

Spiritual lessons seem to pop up from nowhere, do they not? I was looking at a beautiful full moon two between the branches of a tree in my yard and I was thinking that there was some spiritual significance..then last night I was reading Sri Sai Sacharita when there was a discourse of the taking of darshan of the moon between the branches of a tree..

Really enjoy talking with you. Hope your stomach trouble is better and am very glad that Sri Fhanindra has answers for the questions that come to you.

Jai Ma!

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Brother Ankur,
What a delight your posts are!!

I felt no criticism in your remarks about how I addressed Holy Mother. Your remark merely made me think about why you even noticed. I wondered (because I am Western) if I might be too casual...However, I do not in any way believe that I have been irreverent...never intended that!!!I understood that you were being complimentary in your remarks..and thank you for that. If Mother were here, I believe that it would be "Mother" that I would call her...that is what I imagine in my mind.

Since I have had my cancer, the names of certain herbs and foods have called out in my dreams. One that I remember was "Pure sugar cane" ...just those words, like that... I have not followed up on sugar cane, but I have on the other callings....maybe I should listen to myself more closely!!???

....."A strange thought came to me yesterday. I was lying and intermittently praying, when as if somebody said, "Each being is the embodiment of a particular beneficient diety...."

There is VERY MUCH in what you are saying here....I have had the same "strange thought"...

My regards to Sri Fhanindra...

and thank you, dear Brother.

Jai Ma!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Sister Rosemary,
thank you for your post which I accessed just some time back.
Yes, we do sometimes get good guidance from our Self. Sri Fhanindra respects that guidance very much.
Your posts have given me joy.
I may be called by Sri Fhanindra this Saturday. Then, God willing, we will discuss your dream. I was thinking let me get an answer from him then I will write. I also plan to discuss that thought.
Today has been a relatively good day.
Thank you once again.
Ankur

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Replying to:

Dear Brother Ankur,
What a delight your posts are!!

I felt no criticism in your remarks about how I addressed Holy Mother. Your remark merely made me think about why you even noticed. I wondered (because I am Western) if I might be too casual...However, I do not in any way believe that I have been irreverent...never intended that!!!I understood that you were being complimentary in your remarks..and thank you for that. If Mother were here, I believe that it would be "Mother" that I would call her...that is what I imagine in my mind.

Since I have had my cancer, the names of certain herbs and foods have called out in my dreams. One that I remember was "Pure sugar cane" ...just those words, like that... I have not followed up on sugar cane, but I have on the other callings....maybe I should listen to myself more closely!!???

....."A strange thought came to me yesterday. I was lying and intermittently praying, when as if somebody said, "Each being is the embodiment of a particular beneficient diety...."

There is VERY MUCH in what you are saying here....I have had the same "strange thought"...

My regards to Sri Fhanindra...

and thank you, dear Brother.

Jai Ma!!

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Namaste Ankur JI,

I am happy that you have overcome your stomach ailment. These things can be
very trying.

You related a delightful story from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, which I enjoyed very much.

My brother-in-law is a Fransiscan Priest stationed in Goa. He was in Madya Pradesh [Raipur] for a period of time, but now is stationed in Goa [Karnataka], where he works as the head of a parish. He is 69 years old, but looks very young, without a grey hair on his head.

As you know, the Fransiscans have adopted the vow of poverty, in memory of their patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.

When I was a child, growing up in Montreal, I would sometimes see a Fransiscan monk, standing and waiting for the bus. People would come and offer money to him. He would not touch the money, but rather would open the purse which he wore attached around his waist, and allow them to drop the coins within.

Of course, he could never use that money to travel on the bus, since he is obliged to return the purse intact to his superior. My father explained to me, that one must place a bus ticket into his hand...only then could he board the vehicle....otherwise he may have to stand for hours, until some kind soul presents him with a ticket.

I found a very nice painting of Shirdhi Sai Baba Here

Incidentally, my favorite incense is Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Sandalwood from Mysore. The singer / songwriter Bob Dylan burns Nag Champa throughout his concerts.

Have a nice day,

Nahabat Web Admin

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Respected Web admin,
it was really nice to read your post. Really is great to stick to even one vow in life. I feel then all vows are adhered to automatically like bowing to one's chosen diety, all dieties receive one's reverence. The men of God seem to look younger than they are perhaps because they adhere to His laws. The few saints I have met in life so far appeared decades younger than their physical age. As Krishna promises in the Gita, for those who depend on Him, surrender to Him, He will preserve what they have and Himself carry to them what they need. The painting of Shirdhi Sai Baba is really nice and mother also liked it. I used to listen to Bob Dylan's recordings many years ago on Radio. Liked them.
Thank you.
Ankur

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Replying to:

Namaste Ankur JI,

I am happy that you have overcome your stomach ailment. These things can be
very trying.

You related a delightful story from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, which I enjoyed very much.

My brother-in-law is a Fransiscan Priest stationed in Goa. He was in Madya Pradesh [Raipur] for a period of time, but now is stationed in Goa [Karnataka], where he works as the head of a parish. He is 69 years old, but looks very young, without a grey hair on his head.

As you know, the Fransiscans have adopted the vow of poverty, in memory of their patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.

When I was a child, growing up in Montreal, I would sometimes see a Fransiscan monk, standing and waiting for the bus. People would come and offer money to him. He would not touch the money, but rather would open the purse which he wore attached around his waist, and allow them to drop the coins within.

Of course, he could never use that money to travel on the bus, since he is obliged to return the purse intact to his superior. My father explained to me, that one must place a bus ticket into his hand...only then could he board the vehicle....otherwise he may have to stand for hours, until some kind soul presents him with a ticket.

I found a very nice painting of Shirdhi Sai Baba Here

Incidentally, my favorite incense is Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Sandalwood from Mysore. The singer / songwriter Bob Dylan burns Nag Champa throughout his concerts.

Have a nice day,

Nahabat Web Admin

Location: Guwahati

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "The few saints I have met in life so far appeared decades younger than their physical age."

Comment: Of course, living a life of 'non-attachment' [renunciation], relying upom God, rather than upon the [small] self, will result in less stress and worry, which translates itself into a youthful demeanour.

Om Shanthi Om

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Mother in dream

Respected Web Admin,
You have put it nicely. By the way, you may be knowing that the first Guru in the Shaivite tradition was Lord Dakshinamurti Shiva or south-facing Shiva, whose appearance is that of a beautiful young boy, who teaches his disciples, the first-born four sons of Lord Brahma, Sanat, Sanatan, etc., who are depicted as old sages with matted hair, in silence with his hands in Jnana mudra or the mudra of wisdom. Sri Fhanindra also looks very young and one of his qualities is that even if somebody by chance gets angry with him, on coming face-to-face with him, seeing his face, all anger evaporates. Sri Fhanindra attributes it to the Divine Mother, his chosen ideal Durga whose characteristic is to love all equally. Yet, I have also found evidence of what the scriptures say of sages, "Harder than the thunderbolt, softer than the flower." In matters of principle, he is very strict and though very slow to take offence, if riled, is unforgiving. At the same time, he himself said, "it doesn't take me long to melt."
Sorry, I wrote unrelated thoughts. But my conception of sages and saints changed drastically since I met Sri Fhanindra. They are also human beings, feeling joy and sorrow much more acutely than the rest of humanity. They have their moods, their quirkness of character which we all possess. They also feel angry. What differentiates them from us at our present stage of evolution is their TOTAL reliance on the Divine, and their constant meditation on Him. So that whatever they do turns by His grace for the good of the many, for the welfare of the many. And trials and tribulations don't crush them for He is with them and they become a channel for His peace and mercy. How much they toil, superhuman it seems, and their only delight is in Him. Perhaps the greatest blessing is to be in mental communion with such saints. Mere physical proximity doesn't achieve much. You must meet them with your own consciousness heightened and according to your receptacle, you will receive their grace.
Thanks and regards.

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Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "The few saints I have met in life so far appeared decades younger than their physical age."

Comment: Of course, living a life of 'non-attachment' [renunciation], relying upom God, rather than upon the [small] self, will result in less stress and worry, which translates itself into a youthful demeanour.

Om Shanthi Om

Location: Guwahati, Assam

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Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "My conception of sages and saints changed drastically since I met Sri Fhanindra. They are also human beings, feeling joy and sorrow much more acutely than the rest of humanity."

Comment: Yes, so very true. Saints are indeed human beings, and, although
blessed with a special relationship with the divine, are subject to
the same fluctuations in mood, physical and mental distress, etc., as all of us.

Their senses and perceptions, being so finely tuned, are much sharper than the average person's, and they therefore feel more acutely, both positive and negative vibrations, generated by contact with other entities.

Om Shanthi Om
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Thank you,
respected web admin. Given these conditions, their love and compassion is all the more extraordinary. Perhaps meditating on God, they are endowed with God's attributes.
Regards,
Ankur

Re: Holy Mother in dream

Dear All,
found the below on the net searching for Swami Rama. It is a poem by his disciple Swami Veda Bharati. Thought would share.
Regards.


I live in a cave, a spacious grotto with many exits of diverse contours,
many colored beams of lights
pouring in, radiating out,
a thread of life to and fro.
My cave in a mountain, volcanic, shaking,
quiet restful for long moments,
and again suddenly quaking.
this my cave looks out
to roads, to paths and valleys, to other mountains,
to sailing clouds and lightning rows.
I sit and watch many a procession,
shouting hilariously, mourning silently,
curious, halting to peep in at me
or indifferent passing
while evenings diminish
or mornings grow.
Warm is the fire I have kindled
and fed with life-fuel;
ashen, asleep I blow away.
Stirred awake
the embers glow
Flickering footwork, dancing shadows,
grotesque paintings, darkness mixed
with outer lights and alien rainbows.
Afeared so, I quit this fire,
rushing to my river of depths,
silent waters flowing to quench
bursting flaming thirst-volcanoes.
Safely tucked in mountain's womb,
cool, collected, smiling, poised
I take a dip of withdrawal
to my subterranean river.
While abroad, the world's procession
lost, wearied, whither-so-ever goes!

There are subterranean rivers within you at a certain place in this cave, in this residence of yours. At the outer halls of the cave, the psychic levels, you have inner darkness conflicting with outer lights and outer darkness mingling with inner lights, as well as all kinds of shades and shadows and fantasies and fears. But going deeper, you get to the subtler place in you, the subterranean river of energy and life. There you learn to be neutral to those parts of your body about which you can do nothing, for there are other sources of happiness for the mind.

Find those sources of happiness, create that happiness and you will find that there is more energy in you, there is more life in you, there is more creativity in you, there are greater sources of fulfillment in you than you have thought possible. The yogis will keep saying this again and again and again. But people listen and they go out of the lecture hall and forget. Do not forget. That's all.

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Replying to:

Will someone interpret for me this dream. Just keen to know your thoughts. It is about the Holy Mother and the only dream about her that I remember almost clearly, more than a decade down memory lane.

I dreamt that I was standing and Holy Mother came sailing in reverse through the air out of her(shrine?) and kicked me on my forehead. Accursed destiny or blessed touch? Or both. A redemption through suffering!

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What a discriptive poem! Thanks, Ankur!

Location: san Diego, California, USA

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So glad you liked it.
Thank you,
Ankur

Location: Guwahati