Spirituality and the human
Sarada Devi – called The Holy Mother or Divine Mother – was the consort of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. To Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi was the visible representation of the Blissful Mother. If they were ‘married as man and wife‘, it was for the purpose of fulfilment of a great Mission, for the purpose of a great religious and spiritual renaissance in the country, and not to live as the ‘normal man and wife’.
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Many speak of the coming of the higher dimensions, the 5th Dimension. For some, it is the great restoration to a time before the Fall of Atlantis. Others call it the Age of Aquarius, others say it is the Golden Age, and some others tell it is the Return of the Light. Whatever the name, the recognition is in the heart: a return to an era of peace and harmony, wherein people will live with harmony and love; and there will be discussion and debate instead of discord and war.
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Rumi was the founder of the Whirling Dervishes. He is also considered the greatest mystic poet and to this day, is considered a leader of awakening.
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Judy Carroll is an Australian who has written of her encounters with beings from higher dimensions, what some would call “extra terrestials”. Her encounters have principally been with the Zeta Reticulans, commonly known as “Greys”. Judy Carroll calls these beings her teachers. What have they come to teach? That humans are members of a galactic whole, races birthed by the love of the Source of the All. These beings teach that we are on a journey of return to the Oneness of Divinity. God is love, and our path through life ought be a Path of Peace.
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Since 2007, every year, on the 2nd of October, comes the International Day of Non-Violence. The 2nd of October is an occasion to push for non-violence through education and public awareness. It also marks Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, who believed it was irrational to use violence to try and gain a peaceful society.
Gandhi was the leader of India’s independence movement, and a proponent of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. His movement for change in society and politics has been followed by oppressed people across the world.
Achieving social change through non-violent means, such as civic resistance, non-compliance, and civil disobedience has been employed throughout history.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. In his lifetime, Ralph Waldo Emerson became the most widely known man of letters in America.
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Fully autonomous weapons, also known as “killer robots,” would be able to select and engage targets without meaningful human control. Precursors to these weapons, such as armed drones, are being developed and deployed by nations including China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are serious doubts that fully autonomous weapons would be capable of meeting international humanitarian law standards, including the rules of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity, while they would threaten the fundamental right to life and principle of human dignity.
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The theme of International Day of Peace this year is ‘End Racism. Build Peace’. The theme focuses on promoting harmony among the various communities on Earth. The theme encourages embracing diversity with peace and acceptance. In looking at Human Values and Peace, we learn that Peace must be manifested in feeling, word, posture, deed and temperament in the same uniform equal measure.
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Many of us have come to Divinity and Love of the Divine through a long and torturous journey, through womb after womb. We may have been healers, philosophers, teachers, adherents of nature religions or folk religion, and perhaps, at times, accused of being in league with the devil, or practitioners of the left hand path, the dark arts. Some of us were tortured and burnt at the stake, simply for helping our fellow man and woman. We live in enlightened days filled with much tolerance. For some, it is important to acknowledge what happened in the past, and to release the past. In this manner, we offer this pithy history.
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At the passing of the Monarch, rainbows were seen at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. It is said that the passing of this Monarch will bring about great change in how the world is viewed. It will also bring about change in how we view our own selves. For we are the ones we have been waiting for. Divinity is within the human, not in the skies nor in any far off place called Heaven, Nirvana or Chandra loka. Rainbows signify hope.
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From time to time, we receive enquiry from students about their assignments on various topics. These questions often address matters relating to religion and spirituality. So we commence a new category, “Questions without Notice”. On this occasion, questions addressed Religion and Family Traditions.
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The name Bhagavatha can be applied to every account of the experiences of those who have contacted God and the Godly (Bhagawan and Bhakta). God assumes many forms and enacts many activities. The name Bhagavatha is given to the descriptions of the experiences of those who have realised Him in those forms and of those who have been blessed by His Grace and chosen as His Instruments.
The great work known by that name is honoured by all masters of the Vedas. It is a panacea, which cures physical, mental and spiritual illnesses. The Bhagavatha is saturated with sweetness of nectar; it shines with the splendour of God.
The principle of Avatar or the Descent of God on earth, the Incarnation of the Formless with Form, for the uplift of beings – this is the basic fact that makes the Bhagavatha authentic. By Bhagavatha we also mean those with attachment to God, those who seek the companionship of God. For such, the book, Bhagavatha, is most precious; it is the breath of their life. Herein find choice selections from Bhagavatha Vahini.
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Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha. Although there are contradictory views on the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha, most people celebrate it on Shukla Chaturthi during Bhadrapada lunar month and the day is popularly known as Ganesha Chaturthi.
On Vinayaka Chaturthi day, students place books in front of the Ganesa idol and offer worship. They pray to the deity to illumine their minds. Hence Ganesa is known as “Buddhi Pradayaka“, one who grants intelligence.
All the sacred festivals celebrated by devotees are full of significance spiritually and socially. Every festival is regarded as a holy event surcharged with divinity. On such a holy day, each house is cleaned up, everybody takes a sacred bath to purify the body, special pujas are performed, coconut is offered to the deity and prayers are offered during the day.
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The word mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words – ‘man’ meaning mind, and ‘tra’ meaning tool. Mantra meditation is used to protect practitioners from a constant onslaught of unhealthy and repetitive thoughts. A purified intellect reflecting the Atmic light confers true wisdom. When the intellect is full of God, naturally one will follow the correct path and experience Peace and Bliss. If the mind follows the senses, one is ruined. Hence, meditation is of use.
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St Maximus the Confessor is one of the most significant Byzantine saints in the Orthodox Christian tradition. Within a comprehensive Christ-centred worldview St. Maximus engaged and clarified difficult sayings in the writings of St Gregory the Theologian, expanded upon the thought of St Gregory of Nyssa, and wrote extensively on the nature of the Church, asceticism, and self-sacrificial love in Christ and the life of holiness.
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