"LIFE HAS BEEN DOWNLOADED FROM THE SOUND OM."
Maya Tiwari
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Whenever you have the chance, laugh as much as you can. By this all the rigid knots in your body will be loosened. But to laugh superficially is not enough; your whole being must be united in laughter, both inwardly and outwardly. Do you know how this is to be expressed? You literally shake with merriment from head to foot; so that it is impossible to tell which part of your body is most affected. I want you to laugh with your whole countenance, with your whole heart and with all the breath of your life. Anandamayi from Anandamayi–Her Life and Wisdom by Richard Lannoy
Just as, when we touch a live wire, the electric force infuses itself into our body, when we deeply meditate on God the power of the whole universe seeks entry into our personality. Swami Krishnananda, General Secretary, Divine Life Society
Two hydrogen atoms walk into a restaurant. One turns to the other and says, "I think I've lost my electron." The other asks, "Are you sure?" "Yes," says the first, "I'm positive."
Good school discipline should be instilled through the mind, not the behind. Robert E. Fathman, Ph.D. President, National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools
The right temperature in a home is maintained by warm hearts, not by hot heads.
Shouting to make your children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results.
Akbar's Dream
One night, Emperor Akbar dreamt that he had lost all his teeth, except one. The next morning he invited all the astrologers of his kingdom to interpret this dream. After a long discussion, the astrologers prophesized that all his relatives would die before him. Akbar was very upset by this interpretation and so sent all the astrologers away without any reward. Later that day, Birbal entered the court. Akbar related his dream and asked him to interpret it. After thinking for a while, Birbal replied that the Emperor would live a longer and more fulfilled life than any of his relatives. Akbar was pleased with Birbal's explanation and rewarded him handsomely.
The skeptic says, "I'll believe it when I see it." The mystic says, "I'll see it when I believe it."
Ainkaran and Branavan, 11 and 6, both Canadian Sri Lankan Hindus, were approached by a Christian friend who said "Hindu's go to hell and Christians go to heaven." The tiny philosophers defended themselves as children do, "No that's not true. Hindus are burned, the smoke goes up. So Hindus go up to heaven. You bury your dead which means you go down to hell."
O resplendent Lord, if I were the sole monarch of wealth as you have been, then my worshippers would have been rich in kine. Rig Veda 8.14.1
O Lord of power, if I were the Lord of herds of cattle, then I would have given to those intelligent worshippers plenty, as much as I could. Rig Veda 8.14.2
Rule #1: Before criticizing people, walk a mile in their shoes. Then when you do criticize them, you will be mile away and have their shoes.
Alas for me, I cannot rest. This floating bubble, Earth. Its hollow form, its hollow name, its hollow death and birth. For me is nothing. How I long to get beyond the crust of name and form! Ah, open the gates; to me they open must. Open the gates of Light, O Mother to me, Thy tired son. I long, oh, long to return home! Mother, my play is done. My play is done. Swami Vivekananda, 20th century monk who brought Hinduism to the West
Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
If you can't change your mind, are you sure you really have one? bumper sticker
Are you depressed? Remember, within you is the Power. If you will but release a fraction of it, you can make the impossible possible. Dada J.P. Vaswani
Have you ever thought what would happen if temples were Americanized?
*Two types of prasad, or blessed food, will be available–normal prasad and diet prasad.
*The priest will not ask for your name and birth star before an archana anymore. Your home page url will do.
*No more aratis due to fire hazard. No more bells due to noise pollution. Sound and light will be delivered via headphones and virtual reality goggles.
*The puja tray passed around for donations is equipped with a credit card scanner.
*Dog-eared Sanskrit priest manuals are replaced with laptops.
*Sponsors of pujas will be allowed to display a banner ad on the temple website.
*As soon as the technology is available, priests will do home blessings by holographic projection without leaving the temple. Similarly busy devotees will be able to be present at mandatory family ceremonies from their office.
Just keeping things simple can be a complicated process.
A man's destination is not his destiny. Every country is home to one man and exile to another. T.S. Eliot in "To the Indians Who Died in Africa"
HOSPITALITY
Tirukural 81: The whole purpose of earning wealth and maintaining a home is to provide hospitality to guests.
Tirukural 84: Wealth's Goddess dwells in the hospitable home of those who host guests with a smiling face.
Tirukural 89: The poverty of poverties is having plenty yet shunning guests. Such senselessness is only found in senseless fools.
Tirukural 90: The delicate anicham flower withers when merely smelled, but an unwelcome look is enough to wither a guest's heart.
DID YOU KNOW?
MAGIC VESSELS
For thousands of years Hindus have used a kumbha, or sacred vessel in their rituals, but not many know its significance or why it is used. During puja, the kumbha is used as a temporary Deity which brings the Deity right into the midst of the devotees. Each part of the kumbha represents a different part of the deity's body. The water (with sacred herbs) represents His blood; the coconut, His head; the mango leaves, His five senses;and the string usually wrapped around the pot, His nervous system; the kusa grass on top, His hair.