Kabir said,
Look for bliss within, not elsewhere.
Kabir invented the word ‘Avadhoo’, which means infinite, vast, expansive, boundary-less, unfathomable as ether. Avadhoo is also his name for the guru, when we pray to him. Avdhoota means one who does not wear any garments but in reality, is an individual who has stripped her/him/self-off all the layers of her/his mind—layers of delusions, ignorance, attachment, aversion and therefore one emerges as her/his true self. Continue reading
Visualization in this meditation step by step.
Become aware of your mooladhara chakra. Concentrate upon it. It is at the tip of the cervix for females and between the anus and the scrotum for males. Gaze at the nose tip and practice nose tip gazing (Nasikgrah Drishti), which stimulates the mooladhara chakra. The mooladhara chakra restores your stability and balance. It grounds you. Stay with the sadhana for five minutes. Continue reading
Plant seeds of happiness, kindness and friendship; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of Nature. – Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
He further says that within all of us there is a very special quality—Sam Rakshan, the caring nature. Sam means complete and Rakshan means to protect and preserve. It is this innate nature that takes one out of one’s self-centered ego and puts the comfort and happiness of others first.
Oxytocin is a powerful hormone which functions as a neurotransmitter in the brain. While it is traditionally associated with sex, breast feeding and childbirth, almost any form of social bonding or positive physical contact can trigger oxytocin. It is linked to warm, fuzzy feelings and it has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in some studies.
It has the power to regulate our emotional responses and pro-social behaviors, including trust, empathy, gazing, positive memories, processing of bonding cues and positive communication. On account of oxytocin, one feels good with persons one likes. So, the more we care about others, the better we will feel.
Women have higher oxytocin levels because it is a key hormone in childbirth and lactation. It is been found that both men and women experience oxytocin in the same ways. It facilitates bonding with children, increases romantic attachments and plays an important role in reproductive health.
Research has also revealed that oxytocin in males improves the ability to identify competitive relationships and navigate their fight-flight-response. In women it tends to improve the feelings of kinship. This maybe because of the behavior of oxytocin in the male and female amygdala which is responsible for emotion and behavior.
The practice of Breath Awareness and Meditation can increase levels of oxytocin in both males and females.
Outcome one is aware of one’s breath, one is detached as one is engaged in a neutral activity, and one’s prana is being balanced.
In this practice one is withdrawing one’s senses externally. The sadhana is Antar Mouna (Inner silence). One must sit still, with eyes closed. By practicing breath awareness, one has quietened one’s mind. One’s thoughts cannot engage with one. Now one listens to the external sounds. Paying attention to the loudest sounds and the softest sounds. After a while switch to the internal sound of the breath. Go back and forth between external and internal awareness. After twenty minutes open eyes. One will feel refreshed and calm.
Sam Rakshan comes into play, and one finds that one has a sense of well-being which is transferred to others also.
Aim Hrim Klim
Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash
I am searching for a heart inside me
That’s ebullient by swallowing the entire pain of creation
That’s jubilant by accepting the entire tears of the world
That’s effervescent and clean
May I be able to share with all a heart
Like the earth and sky
Never exhausted by giving. – Nepalese poet Suman PokherelHeart endures when eye does not see. – Turkish Proverb
Meditate on the lotus of your heart. In the center is the untainted; the exquisitely pure, clear and sorrowless; the inconceivable; the unmanifest, of infinite form; blissful, tranquil, immortal; the womb of Brahma. – Kaivalyopanishad
In Sanskrit, the heart is defined as bhava, feeling or sentiment. It is not guided by the intellect or mind. It is natural and spontaneous. When the heart is guided by the mind, then there is constant change in behavior. The outcome is that as long as intellect guides the heart there is emotional and psychological struggles. Continue reading
“Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya”. I bow down to the Lord who resides in the hearts of all beings. Lord Vishnu dries our tears with his love and compassion.
The best time to chant Lord Vishnu Mantra is between 4am—6am (Braham Muhurta). Have a bath and sit on a mat. Meditate on a picture of Lord Vishnu. The picture is one of Lord Vishnu in Yoga Nidra. Focus on his divine form. Use a Tulsi mala. Thursday is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and praying to him on this day will enable one to have all of one’s dreams fulfilled.
Meditation on the form of Lord Vishnu from the Bhagavatam. Continue reading
It happened in an army camp, based near a forest, in India, where soldiers were undergoing training. They had to be up early.
Every day a full-grown tiger would come and stand near the gate. The soldiers were terrified as the tiger kept standing there for an hour. The commandant of the camp was also concerned and he called in a tiger biologist to visit the camp. The consultant looked at the tiger and the tiger gazed back at him. The consultant felt that the tiger’s gaze was distressed, and he recommended that he and a couple of soldiers would follow the tiger. Continue reading
Before the word emancipation existed Lalleshwari, or Lal Ded was truly liberated. She broke away from tradition, defied marriage, mother-in-law’s hostile treatment and became a seeker of truth. All this happened in the 14th century. Continue reading
All followers of God, seek salvation.
Salvation has many meanings. We want preservation from harm, ruin and loss. We want freedom from our sins and karma. We desire liberation of our spirit. We want redemption, and restoration for ourselves and earth. We want to salvage our environment and restore it to its pristine form. Continue reading
There are five sacrifices which we must offer daily and these are spoken about by all Gurus. There are five Gods also associated with the sacrifices.
Each one of these has an outer and external meaning. Continue reading
We all use the word, karma freely and frankly. It is used world over and can be considered part of 21st century vocabulary.
What is karma? Want is what we call desire, and when we wish for something, it becomes the first step of thinking how to progress on this path. Then we act on it and this act has a thought behind it. Every thought has a desire and an act behind it. Action, thought and desire are the three threads which form the Karma cord. Our actions make people around us happy or unhappy. Now let us examine what we have done. We have sown a seed of happiness or unhappiness. Both will reflect upon us and our acts come around full circle. This is our Karma. Continue reading
by Dr Radhakrishnan and Swami Sivananda
Dr Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most learned of Hindu Scholars. He was a philosopher, author, statesman and educationalist. His birthday on 5th September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. He was a former President of India and a professor of Eastern Religions at Oxford university. He was also named “Knight of the Golden Army of Angels,” the Vatican’s highest honor for a Head of State. Continue reading
Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a large amount of gratitude. – A.A. Milne
My dear ones, let us think of all the things that make us cheerful, joyous, and elated. We only and recall the misfortunes which enwrap us like a wet blanket. Continue reading
The effect of words beginning with D and E on us, is extraordinary. I will discuss D words first and then E words.
Despair, desperation, depression, despondency, disgrace, distress, dumps, disconsolation, dispirited, devilish, dolefulness distraught, dismay, discouragement, demoralization, defeatism, disheartenment, dejection. Continue reading
What are the three things that most people do not know? And they wish to know them? Tevijja and Trayi Vidya describe these three virtues. Tevijja comes from Buddhism and Trayi Vidya is from Hinduism.
Tevijja describes these qualities: Continue reading
Hinduism is the world’s oldest faith in the world. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the continues cycle of life, death and reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of cause and effect). In Hinduism, the soul or Atman is the crux of it. Continue reading