Holi is a festival which technically welcomes summer. After Holi is celebrated, cold water baths happen and one wears cool, cotton clothes. The message of Holi is to spread love, peace and unity. It is celebrated on the full moon in the month of March, or in the Phalguna month which is the twelfth month of the Hindu calendar. It corresponds with February – March in the Gregorian calendar. Continue reading
O Krishna! May the royal swan of my mind enter today itself into the nest (safe place) of Your lotus feet. How can one otherwise be sure of remembering You later when one’s pranas are leaving the body (one is in the throes of death) with phlegm, wind, and bile blocking one’s throat (making breathing itself difficult)?
On Hari alone I meditate constantly, on Him who has a soft smile on his lotus face, who is the son of a cowherd Nanda, who is higher than the highest and who is adored by sages like Narada.
Tired of roaming in the desert of worldly existence, I find now this beautiful lake named Hari. Taking a refreshing bath in it, drinking its water which is his radiant compassion, I give up all my sorrow today! This lake Hari has his lovely hands and feet as the lotuses, His charming eyes as the fish in it, His attractive arms as the rising waves in it, and relieving us of all our exhaustion, it has indeed great depth.
Extracted from Mukundmala. Continue reading
(i carry it in)
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling) i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than a soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart) – By E. E. Cummings
Growing up as children in India as a Hindu, one learns a great deal from our numerous festivals. It is not taught but one’s awareness becomes heightened watching family members. All the festivals are based on triumph of good over evil. I am sharing with you the history and background and how this becomes a part of one. Continue reading
Govardhan Puja is celebrated a day after Diwali. What is special about it? A Govardhan Parvat is made from Cow dung and people worship cows. The story behind it is that great festivities were going on in Braj. Braj is a region on both sides of the Yamuna with its center at Mathura. Continue reading
In the Bhagavad Gita.
Lord Krishna said that there are three types of happiness and spontaneous bliss through the gunas. The gunas comprise the reason of our existence. Continue reading
Women, men and non-binary. I am addressing all of you, dear ones. What images do we have of ourselves? The image of men has not changed at all. They can be dressed in fine clothes with gold fountain pens in their pockets and brief cases made of the finest fabrics. Women and non-binary are the ones, whose image keeps changing. Continue reading
Which comes first? Desire or anger? Desire is an intense feeling of wanting, possessing. Anger is rage, fury, wrath. Desire can be converted into anger.
Arjuna asked Krishna, how have desire and anger come into existence? What makes them grow? What is their nature and what is their role? How are they born? What is the cause of their growth? What is their nature? What is their effect, when they are full blown? Continue reading
Hindu festivals have no sadness, and our festivals celebrate triumph of good over evil, the expression of devotion to the deities and thanks for the harvests. Each festival centers around the rituals of prayer and seeking of blessings. This also entails new clothes, cleaning and decorating the homes and making sweets and savories for offerings. Feasting and dancing are present in many of the festivities. Continue reading
The Maha Mantra is Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare. The meaning of this sacred, powerful mantra is that it enables one to attain deliverance. Continue reading
Janmashtami, is the birthday of Krishna. It is celebrated with fasting until midnight and then one breaks one’s fast. It is a 24 hour fast with no water. A Jhanki is made, which is like the Christmas Creche. Then at midnight, prayers are offered and 56 dishes are offered to Krishna. Continue reading
What is loss? It is a very powerful word which encompasses many subjects. It has a great many meanings. How do we understand and perceive it? Loss relates to when we identify with our anxieties and insecurities. We lose our sense of clarity and we are faced with disillusionment and uncertainty. When we relate to this, we kill our self. Continue reading
When an unbaked pot is broken, the potter can use the mud to make a new pot; but when a baked pot is broken, he cannot do the same any longer. So, when a person dies in a state of ignorance, he is born again; but when he becomes well baked in the fire of true knowledge and dies a perfect man, he is not born again. Continue reading
According to the Bhagavad Gita.
Holi was yesterday, on the 8th of March. It is an ancient festival of Hinduism and is a very popular celebration. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of Gods Radha and Krishna and also signifies the victory of good over evil as Vishnu destroyed an evil king who tried to kill his son Prahlad because he was a disciple of Vishnu. Continue reading