Spirituality and the human
Even if you’ve never been to a Jewish wedding, you may have heard of (or seen in movies) the well-known rituals of breaking the glass and dancing the hora.Here, we bring you more about these and other rituals that may be incorporated into the ceremony and celebration that unites two individuals in marriage in the Jewish religion.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a great 19th century Hindu mystic. Born 1836 in Kamarpukar, Bengal, he passed over in Dakshineshwara in 1886. Ramakrishna’s personal experience revealed to him the unity of all spiritual paths.
Norfolk Island: On this ancient rock in the South Pacific, a Lemurian Crystalline City of Light, a group of Guardians gathered. The potent dynamic of earth light Guardians together fulfilled our collective human destiny was coded within us as part of our soul’s contract. The actions of the Guardians strengthened the network of light all over the Earth to open portals which elevated energies of light and brought forward the return of the Lemurian Energy.
At the end of the Cosmic Consciousness Conference, there was a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. It was a bit late in the night, eclipse maximum was at 4:22am in the morning, Norfolk Island time (GMT+11). The effect of this eclipse was to empower and drive the energy of the 555 Lemurian Gateway Activation – stronger and more energetic – into our future, beyond the Chaotic Nodes.
“The ancient symbol from Lemuria, show a pair of triangles – crossed and interwoven in the centre of two outer circles … The two triangles are enclosed within an outer circle which leaves twelve divisions between the circles. The central symbol of a smaller circle is the monotheistic symbol of the Deity; the triangles of heaven and the outer circle; the Universe. (Jalarm)
Ganga Saptami, the birthday of the Vedic goddess Sri Mata Ganga-ji, will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 26 in North and South America, and on Thursday April 27 in India and the rest of the world. This event is also called Ganga Jayanti. Every year, Sri Mata Ganga-ji is worshiped at noon on the seventh day of the waxing Moon (saptami tithi) in the Vaisakha month (which is the Vedic lunar month that extends from April 20 to May 20). Offerings and charity are also provided on this day.
The Indian Himalayas is a hub for spiritual seekers and religious practitioners, attracting a plethora of religious figures over time. The region has been a melting pot of diverse religious traditions for centuries.
A presentation of the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga to balance all the layers of life so that your body, mind, heart, intellect and spirit flow in harmony.
Ganesh Jayanti will be celebrated on January 25. Ganesh Jayanti literally “Ganesha’s birthday”, also known as Magha shukla chaturthi, Tilkund chaturthi, and Varad chaturthi, is a Hindu festival. This occasion celebrates the birth day of Ganesha, the lord of wisdom. Today we are celebrating Ganesh Jayanti, the birthday of Vighneshwara. Who is He? What is His greatness? What has He taught to the world? We celebrate the jayanti but do not make any effort to understand the tattva (principle) behind it.
On this day, 7 January 2022, the OM Full Moon Day, it is also Mahayana New Year. Just as Christianity and Islam have different streams of practice, so also does Buddhism. There is the “Great Vessel” and there is Theravada (also known as Hinayana, the vehicle of the Hearers), and Vajrayana. Mahayana means ‘the great way’, which aims to benefit all people and all forms of life. This word comes from one of the ways a person can practice Buddhism. The motivation for their meditation, prayers, ritual, and mantra can be not just for their own sake, but for the sake of all their precious family, and for the sake of all beings. On this day of Mahayana New Year we take an overview of Mahayana Buddhism.
On Christmas Day in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI released an encyclical on the practice of Charity in Truth. In this encyclical (a letter to the Churches), the Pope seeks to develop Christian social teaching, as taught by Popes who went before him. It is intriguing to see the Pope mirroring the teachings of Sri Sathya Sai in a number of places, and without so much as naming human values, he promotes the proper practice of human values.
I’ve seen two stage versions of English writer Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
One I saw in Glasgow in 2011 – an intimate, warm adaptation, with puppets for apparitions and a Scrooge speaking in broad Scots.
The other was at the Old Vic in London only a few weeks ago, a musical adaptation by Jack Thorne. This same adaptation is currently playing at the Melbourne Comedy Theatre, with well-known Australian actor David Wenham as Ebenezer Scrooge. Another production in Melbourne, by the Victorian Opera, relocates Dickens’ story to Federation Square and Flinders Street Station, making it contemporary and local.
Om Kristave Namaha: Salutations to Christ! Why do we give salutations? We look to the life of Jesus, his words, his actions, and the actions of his followers. This is the ONE who told – in Palestine – before the Romans arrived and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem that he was ONE with his Father. Perhaps it is meet and fitting to reflect on the path of Oneness with Divinity that Jesus taught in word and action, in dying and rising from the tomb.
Human sexual activity is part of the spiritual journey. When we practice truth, love, peace, right conduct and non-violence, we bring all that we are to our practice of values. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. And that involves a sexual element as this part of our lives ensures the human race will continue. Recent surveys of young people – and recent courtroom events – reveal a rise in sexual choking. For the young, this behaviour flows from the sexual landscape of pornography that shapes so much sexual activity in this day, this age. Some reflections and observations are offered.
