Aarati for AMMA

om jaya jaya jagad jananī vande amrtānandamayīmangala ārati mātah bhavāni amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[Om. Victory! Victory! Prostrations to the Jagad Janani, the embodiment of immortal bliss.Auspicious ārati to Mātā Bhavāni, Amrtānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

jana mana nija sukha-dāyini mātā amrtānandamayīmangala kārini vande janani amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[The mother who bestows eternal happiness upon mankind, AmritānandamayiProstrations to the cause of auspiciousness, the Mother, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amritānandamayi.]

sakalagama-nigamadisucarite amrtanandamayinikhilamayahara janani vande amrtanandamayimata amrtanandamayi

[The one explained in all the Agamas, Nigamas and other scriptures, Amritanandamayi.Prostrations to the mother who completely destroys all sorrows, Amritanandamayi.Mata Amritanandamayi.]

prema-rasamrta-varshini mata amrtanandamayiprema bhakti sandayini mata amrtanandamayimata amrtanandamayi

[The mother who rains forth love, which is of the nature of immortality, Amritanandamayi.The mother who bestows love and devotion, Amrtanandamayi.Mata Amrtanandamayi.]

sama-dama-dayini mana-laya karini amrtanandamayisatatam mama hrdi vasatam devì amrtanandamayi mata amrtanandamayi

[The bestower of mental and sense control, the cause of the dissolution of the mind, Amritanandamayi.Devi, please always dwell in my heart, Amrtanandamayi.Mata Amrtanandamayi.]

patitodhara nirantara hrdaye amrtanandamayiparamahamsa pada nilaye devi amrtanandamayimata amrtanandamayi

[The one whose heart's eternal desire is to uplift the fallen.The goddess who resides in the state of a paramahamsa, Amritanandamayi.Mata Amritanandamayi]

he janani jani marana nivarini amrtanandamayihe srita jana paripalini jayatam amrtanandamayìmata amrtanandamayi

[O mother who puts a stop to the cycle of birth and death, Amritanandamayi.O Mother, may you who protects those who seek refuge, be victorious, Amritanandamayi.Mata Amrtanandamayi.]

sura jana pujita jaya jagadamba amrtanandamayisahaja samadhi sudhanye devì amrtanandamayìmata amrtanandamayi

[The one who is worshipped by the gods! Victory to Jagadamba! AmritanandamayiO blessed goddess who is established in sahaja samadhi, Amritanandamayi.Mata Amrtanandamayi.]

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Arati

Ārati symbolizes surrender—the final relinquishment of the ego to God. Just as the camphor used in the ritual dissolves into nothingness, so too should the individual will merge in the divine will, so too should we make an offering of the only thing that is truly ours to give—the ego. Only when we give up our erroneous concepts of "I" and "mine" will our worship truly be complete and will we receive the ultimate prasād—the awakening of divine love in our heart.
The Sanskrit word ārati literally means "cessation" or "coming to an end." This is because it is typically the final act in a ritual worship. At Amritapuri, ārati is performed both at the conclusion of the morning arcana and at the conclusion of the evening bhajans. The later ārati is accompanied by the singing of a special composition written by Amma's disciples years ago. This song is also referred to as "Ārati."

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om jaya jaya jagad jananī vande amrtānandamayīmangala ārati mātah bhavāni amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[Om. Victory! Victory! Prostrations to the Jagad Janani, the embodiment of immortal bliss.Auspicious ārati to Mātā Bhavāni, Amrtānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

The ārati is begun with the chanting of Om. Om is Brahman, the Absolute, pure consciousness that is everyone's true nature.

The song next proclaims Amma's victory and offers prostrations at her feet. Amma's victory is the victory of every Satguru—the victory of true knowledge over ignorance. Just as in the presence of sunlight, darkness stands no chance, so too for one who has surrendered at the feet of a Satguru the days of Self-ignorance are numbered. This victory is also the victory of dharma [righteousness] over adharma [unrighteousness], as Amma is redirecting the course of the world, leading mankind back to the path of truth, compassion, selflessness and other noble virtues.

In this first verse, Amma is referred to by three names: Mātā Amritānandamayi, Jagad Janani, and Mātā Bhavāni.

Mātā Amritānandamayi, of course, is the name given to Amma by her disciples. It literally means "the mother who is the embodiment of immortal bliss." Mrtu means "death," and a-mrta, therefore, means "deathless." Amma's name points not only to her true nature, but also to the true nature of us all. The only difference being that Amma is fully aware of being immortal bliss, whereas the majority of mankind either believes his nature to be just the opposite—one of suffering and mortality—or, at best, only has an intellectual understanding of his true nature. Mātā means mother. Amma believes that the only thing that can truly help today's world—both in terms of providing a proper role model and of bestowing the love and compassion for which people are starving—is a Mother. Thus, for the benefit of the world, Amma has assumed the bhāva [mode, feeling, role] of the Divine Mother. We can also look at Amma's name as pointing to the fact that only through following the teachings of a Satguru like Amma is it possible for a disciple to awaken to his true nature; thus for the disciple the guru is "the mother" of immortal bliss.

Jagad Janani means "mother of the world." This can be looked at in two different ways. First, as Amma has chosen to assume the bhāva of a mother, she therefore sees every person, plant and animal in creation as her child. Just as an ordinary mother lives to love and nurture her biological children, so too Amma is concerned with the welfare of society at large. From another perspective, Brahman, in its conditioned form, is considered both the intelligent and material cause—"the mother"—of the universe.
Similarly, bhava means "being, existing, living." Mātā Bhavāni therefore means "the mother of existence.”

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jana mana nija sukha-dāyini mātā amrtānandamayīmangala kārini vande janani amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[The mother who bestows eternal happiness upon mankind, AmritānandamayiProstrations to the cause of auspiciousness, the Mother, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amritānandamayi.]

In this verse, prostrations are offered to jana mana nija sukha-dāyini mātā: "the mother who bestows eternal happiness upon mankind." Happiness is man's true nature—not the limited happiness that comes and goes with the attainments and losses of life, but the immortal bliss born out the sense of completeness that comes from realising our oneness with the Divine. As Amma is guiding her disciples and devotees towards this realisation, the song says that she is bestowing eternal happiness upon them.

Mangala kārini means "she who causes auspiciousness." A mahātma like Amma is said to be a wish-fulfilling tree, one who can obtain for his devotees any boons they desire. Also, when one becomes a devotee of a mahātma, the mahātma takes upon himself much of the devotee's negative karma, reducing his suffering. And serving a mahātma brings not only mental refinement but also material prosperity. How many devotees tell stories of Amma helping them gain employment, get promotions, arrange marriages, bringing children and grandchildren, etc.
But there is also a deeper meaning to this name for Amma. The Upanishads say that the Self is śāntam, śivam, advaitam: peaceful, auspicious and non-dual. Currently we think in terms of auspicious and inauspicious because we fail to recognise the divinity that in truth is the essential nature of every aspect of the world around us. In our superficial assessment of creation, we label some things as good and others as bad, but in truth everything—the so-called auspicious and so-called inauspicious alike—are nothing but God. It is only our thoughts—which are based upon our preconceived notions—that colour things as auspicious and inauspicious. The Guru removes the scales from our eyes, as it were, allowing us to see this truth for ourselves, and thus is credited as "the cause of auspiciousness."

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sakalāgama-nigamādisucarite amrtānandamayīnikhilāmayahara jananī vande amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[The one explained in all the Āgamas, Nigamas and other scriptures, Amritānandamayi.Prostrations to the mother who completely destroys all sorrows, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amritānandamayi.]

In this ārati, Nigama means śruti, "that which is heard," the Vedas, the eternal scriptural mantras that were revealed to the Rishis in their meditations millennia ago. These mantras are said to have originated with God himself and have been handed down since through an unbroken succession of gurus and disciples. These can be further divided into two sections—one dealing with rituals and one dealing with knowledge of the Absolute. Āgama in this ārati means smrti, the scriptures written by Rishis in order to elaborate on the sruti. (Examples include the 18 major purānas—Vishnu Purāna, Srīmad Bhagavatam, etc.—and itihāsas—Rāmāyana and Mahābhārata, the latter of which includes the Bhagavad Gīta).

Amma is said to be the one explained in the Āgamas and Nigamas, etc. By "etc," the arati means all other scriptures. This includes the sutra literature, such as the Brahmasutra, which support the reasoning of the sruti and smrti using logic, as well as prakaranam, the innumerable texts written by various ācāryas in the guru-disciple parampara. Thus the song is saying that Amma is one with the Truth that all these texts proclaim together with one voice. “Etc” also includes scriptures from Tantra. (From the viewpoint of Tantra, which has text such as Rudra Āgama and Śiva Āgama, Āgama is considered sruti, as it was received directly from Lord Śiva.)
Amma is then referred to as nikhila-āmaya-hara janani, "the mother who completely destroys suffering." In spirituality there is only one source of suffering: the disease of ignorance—ignorance of the fact that our true nature is the eternal, non-dual blissful consciousness that pervades all creation. Though the disease is one, it has many symptoms, a series of delusions, the sum total of which can be called samsāra.

When one is ignorant of his true nature, the door is left wide open for the first delusion: "I am the body, the mind and intellect." When one believes himself to be this three-fold contraption, he fails to experience his innate happiness, which awakens the desire in him to attain happiness from the objects of the world. Engaging in activities to obtain this happiness, the delusion "I am the doer" also manifests. Once one believes himself to be the doer, he also believes himself to be the enjoyer/sufferer of the fruits of his actions. This leads only to sorrow—the pain of the struggle to obtain the objects, the pain of the struggle to maintain objects and the pain that comes after their inevitable loss. Thus a viscous cycle of ignorance-desire-action has been created. And until one stops and looks back to their Self for happiness, one will never escape. The only cure for this cyclical disease is the medicine of knowledge, and the only doctor who can administer it correctly is the Guru. Once the disease is cured, all the symptoms go away.
Removing our suffering is Amma's sole reason for taking birth. Teaching the world about the nature of the world and the mind, Amma is leading mankind from a life steeped in misery to one of peace and happiness. And in Amma's presence, we get a taste of true happiness. Due to her grace, we are able to temporarily forget about our sorrows and experience the bliss the overflows from her.
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prema-rasāmrta-varshini mātā amrtānandamayīprema bhakti sandāyini mātā amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[The mother who rains forth love, which is of the nature of immortality, Amritānandamayi.The mother who bestows love and devotion, Amrtānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

Here, Amma is said to be "the mother who rains forth love, which is of the essence of immortality." Amma is also said to be "the mother who bestows prema [divine, unconditional love] and bhakti [devotion]." The idea is that love and devotion are awakened by Amma herself. Part of Amma's greatness is that she does not reserve herself for uttama adhikaris [top disciples] only. She is available to one and all. As such, she pulls people up from an utterly worldly existence and puts them on the path to realizing the Self. How many stories are there of people whom had no interest in spiritual life, but then after receiving Amma's darshan dedicated their life to imbibing her teachings and selflessly serving the world? Out of her compassion, Amma plants the seed of bhakti within those who come to her, waters them and brings them to full flower.
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śama-dama-dāyini mana-laya kārini amrtānandamayīsatatam mama hrdi vasatām devì amrtānandamayi mātā amrtānandamayī

[The bestower of mental and sense control, the cause of the dissolution of the mind, Amritānandamayi.Devi, please always dwell in my heart, Amrtānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

Just as Amma cultivates bhakti and prema in her devotees, she also helps them to acquire other qualifications that the scriptures say a disciple needs. Though the song only mentions śama and dama, we can take these two as representative of the entire sādhana catushtayam, the four-fold qualifications one needs to be an ideal student of a Guru.

Śama means mental mastery—a peaceful, poised, tranquil and stress-free mind. Dama is control over the sense organs—the eyes, the ears, the skin, the tongue and the nose. One must be able to intelligently choose what his senses take in and what they turn away from. The sense organs are the gateways connecting our mind with the outside world. Nothing potentially disturbing should be allowed to enter the mind of a spiritual aspirant, particularly in the early stages of his spiritual practices.

Amma is also called mana-laya-kārini: "the cause of mental dissolution." In reality, the mind is not the sentient entity that we believe it to be. As Amma says, "It is nothing but a flow of thoughts." When one gets concentration in meditation, the flow stops and one experiences what is known as mana-laya, a temporary dissolution of the mind. At times like these we will get a taste of the bliss that is our true nature. A mahātma's mind is so peaceful that the peace overflows, as it were, and pervades the surrounding area. Thus many find it very easy to attain deep meditation in their presence.

The ārati then requests Amma to live in our hearts. Amma herself says, "I have no particular place to dwell; I reside in your heart." Though the pure consciousness that is our true nature is in fact all-pervading, while we are living in this body, our particular plug-point, as it were, is in the heart or mind. Thus the scriptures say that God, or consciousness, is "realised in the heart." This can also be taken as a request that Amma never allow us to feel separate from her, and that we become so steeped in her teachings of dharma, love, compassion and selflessness that they inform our every thought, word and deed.
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patitodhāra nirantara hrdaye amrtānandamayīparamahamsa pada nilaye devī amrtānandamayimātā amrtānandamayī

[The one whose heart's eternal desire is to uplift the fallen.The goddess who resides in the state of a paramahamsa, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amritānandamayi.]

For the sake of mankind Amma has taken the self-imposed desire of uplifting those suffering materially and spiritually. Unlike the desires of man, which enslave him, the desires of a mahatma are self-chosen. In truth, mahātmas like Amma have nothing to attain, so established they are in their fundamental oneness with the Absolute. Yet they chose to act for the benefit of the world. As Śrī Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gīta: "In all the three worlds, I have nothing to attain, but still I perform actions for the benefit of the world." From the pinnacle of ultimate knowledge where the mahātmas revel, it can be said that this world is an illusion and does not even exist. Yet out of their infinite compassion, realized ones like Amma come down to our level in order to lift us up to their height. This can also be looked at from the perspective of dharma. Whenever mankind becomes mired in selfishness and unrighteousness, a mahātma like Amma takes birth in order to set the world back on course. Śrī Krishna says as much to Arjuna the Gīta. In fact, Amma's whole life is dedicated to lifting up those whose happiness has fallen. How many tears has Amma wiped over the years! Her darshan itself is only a manifestation of her desire to make others happy.

Amma is then said to reside in the state of a paramahamsa. Another name for a mahātma, paramahamsa literally means "supreme swan." The meaning is taken from the myth that swans have the ability extract only the milk from a mixture of milk and water. Similarly, a mahātma is one who has the supreme discrimination to be able to extract the essential nature of the world, Brahman, from the unessential, the eternally shifting and ultimately pointless names and forms.
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he jananī jani marana nivārini amrtānandamayīhe śrita jana paripālini jayatām amrtānandamayìmātā amrtānandamayī

[O mother who puts a stop to the cycle of birth and death, Amritanāndamayi.O Mother, may you who protects those who seek refuge, be victorious, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

Here Amma is proclaimed as jani marana nivārini: "the one who puts an end to the cycle of birth and death." The scriptures point out that the cycle of ignorance-desire-action is, in fact, not limited to this life alone, but extends to other lives as well, leading to a continuum of birth and death. When we attain a desired object in our attempts for happiness, the attainment temporarily stills our agitated mind, resulting in the feeling of joy. But it is short-lived and is soon covered up again with the agitations caused by new desires. We are left only with its memory. However, the mind wants that tiny bit of joy back, and so we again strive to attain that object, and thus an infinite chain is created. Amma and the scriptures say that the desires that remain with us at the time of our death dictate our next birth. This leads to a seemingly endless cycle of birth and death. Only when we surrender at the feet of a Satguru will this cycle be broken. The Satguru destroys our ignorance of our true nature with knowledge. We then come to know that we are ever complete and full, and stop looking for happiness in the outside world. Thus the vāsanas, or tendencies, accumulated over lifetimes of seeking (and seeming to acquire) happiness from the outside world, are finally burnt away. They become like fried seeds, unable to sprout forth into future births.
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sura jana pūjita jaya jagadambā amrtānandamayīsahaja samādhi sudhanye devì amrtānandamayìmātā amrtānandamayī

[The one who is worshipped by the gods! Victory to Jagadamba! AmritānandamayiO blessed goddess who is established in sahaja samādhi, Amritānandamayi.Mātā Amrtānandamayi.]

In this final verse, it is said that Amma is worshipped by the gods themselves. She is also referred to as Jagadamba, "the mother of all creation, and said to reside in the state of sahaja samādhi.

The scriptures say that if one acquires enough merit through various actions it is possible to be born as a deva, or demigod, in their next life. Sura is another name for deva. Spiritual aspirants are not supposed to be interested in such attainments as, however subtle and high such attainments may seem to us, they still fall within the scope of unreality, and pale in comparison to the bliss of the Self. They are also temporary. When the merit that transformed us into the god is used up, we have to come back to the earthly plane. When a prime minister or a president's term in office comes to an end, he often suffers from depression. Imagine then the depression that would result from losing your term as a divine being with all the heavenly pleasures at your disposal! The gods of such worlds know that the attainment of a Satguru, who has realised his True Nature, is in fact much higher than theirs; therefore they are said to worship Amma.

The gods worship Amma because she is established in sahaja-samādhi. There are several different types of samādhi mentioned in the scriptures, and no other term has caused more confusion in the minds of spiritual aspirants. Samādhi is a term from the yoga scriptures that has to do with meditation. It is the eighth step of Sage Patanjali's eight-limbed system of yoga, and it means absorption in meditation.

The main two types of samādhi are nirvikalpa and savikalpa (without and with division). In nirvikalpa samadhi, one becomes completely absorbed in the object of meditation, verily becoming one with it. All distinction between mediator and object of meditation fall away. In savikalpaka samādhi, a division remains wherein the meditator still considers himself as separate from the object of meditation. These mental states may last for a few minutes, a few hours or a few days.

Sahaja samādhi means total, natural and effortless absorption in the Supreme Truth that everything inside and out is nothing but Brahman. One who abides in sahaja samādhi may "demonstrate" nirvikalpa or savikalpa samādhi to inspire his disciples in their meditation practices. But whether such a one is meditating, walking, talking, eating or sleeping, the Supreme Truth that they are "amrtānandamaya" never leaves them. As Amma says, "One who is established in this state sees the Divine principle in everything. Everywhere he perceives only pure consciousness, free from the taint of maya. Just as a sculptor sees in a stone only the image that can be chiselled from it, mahātmas see in everything only the all-pervading Divinity." Sahaja samādhi is verily Self-realisation, and this is the samādhi in which Amma ever abides.
—Vedarat

May Peace & Happiness Prevail

Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu:May Peace & Happiness Prevail

svasti prajabhyam paripalayantham nyayeana margena mahim maheesahgobrahmanebhya shubamsthu nityam lokah samastha sukhino bhavanthu

May there be well being to the people;May the kings rule the earth along the right path;May the cattle and the Brahmins have well being forever;May all the beings in all the worlds become happy;Peace, peace and peace be everywhere!


http://archives.amritapuri.org/bharat/mantra/lokah.php

Universal Prayer for Enlightenment and Immortality

Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Oh Lord, lead me from untruth to truth,

Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
from darkness to light,

Mrityor Maa Amritam Gamaya
from death to immortality.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Peace, Peace Peace.


More beautiful universal mantras at
http://sanskaraastha.blogspot.com/2007/09/mantras-and-shlokas-om-mantra-om-om-om.html

Mere Gurudev!

Mere Gurudev, charanon par sumana shraddha ke arpita hai
Tere hee dena hai jo hai. Wahi tujha ko samarapita hai

My Gurudev I offer these flowers of my faith at your feet
Whatever I have, you have given to me, and I dedicate it all to you.

Na priti hai pratiti hai, na hi puja ki shakti hai
Meraa yaha man, meraa yaha tan, meraa kan kan samarapita hai

I have no love, nor do I know you.
I don’t even have the strength to worship you,
But this mind of mine, this body of mine,
my every atom is dedicated to you.
Tuma hee ho bhaava men mere, vicharon mein, pukaron mein.
Banaale yantra ab mujhko mere saravatra samarapita hai

You are the only one in my heart and my thoughts.
You are the one who I call out to.
Now Make me your instrument…all I am I offer to you

-Krishna Das

OSHO: Meditation - Watching Without Judgment

The Revolution

The Revolution

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There is nothing but water in the holy pools,
I know, I have been swimming in them.
All the gods sculpted of wood and ivory can't say a word.
I know, I have been crying out to them.
The Sacred Books of the East are nothing but words.
I looked through their covers one day sideways.

What Kabir talks about
is only what he has lived through.
If you have not lived through something, it is not true.
I have been thinking of the difference between water and the waves on it.
Rising, water's still water, falling back, it is water.
Will you give me a hint how to tell them apart?
Because someone has made up the word "wave,"

do I have to distinguish it from "water"?

There is a Secret One inside us.
The planets in all the galaxies pass through his hands like beads.
That is a string of beads one should look at with luminous eyes.



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Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat:
your shoulder is against mine.
You will not find me in stupas,
nor in Indian shrine rooms,
nor in the synagogue, nor in cathedrals, not in masses, nor kirtans,
not in legs twisting around the neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you look for me, you will find me instantly.
You will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir says: "Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath."

What has death and a thick body dances before
what has no thick body and no death.
The trumpet says, "I am you."
The spiritual master arrives and bows down
to the beginning student.
Try to live to see this!



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I talk to my inner lover, and I say, why such rush?
We sense that there is some sort of spirit
that loves birds and animals and the ants.
Perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you in your mother's womb.
Is it logical you would be walking around entirely orphaned now?
The truth is you turned away yourself,
and decided to go into the dark alone.
Now you are tangled up in others,
and have forgotten what once you knew,
and that is why everything you do
has some sort of weird failure in it.
The bhakti path winds in a delicate way.
On this path there is no asking and no not-asking.
The ego simply disappears the moment you touch him.
And the joy of looking for him is so immense
that you just dive in,
and coast around like a fish in the water.
I f anyone needs a head,
the lover leaps up to offer his.
Kabir's poems touch on the secrets of this bhakti.



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I know the sound of the ecstatic flute,
but I don't know whose flute it is.
A lamp burns and has neither wick nor oil.
A waterplant blossoms and is not attached to the bottom.
When one flower opens, ordinarily dozens open.
The moon-bird's head is filled with nothing
but thoughts o f the moon,
and when the next rain will come
is all that the rain-bird thinks of.
Who is it we spend our entire life loving?
It is time to put up a love-swing!
Tie the body and then tie the mind so that they swing
between the arms o f the Secret One you love.
Bring the water that falls from the clouds to your eyes.
And cover yourself over entirely with the shadow of night.
Bring your face up close to his ear,
and then talk only about what you want deeply to happen.

Kabir says: "Listen to me, brother,
bring the face, shape, and odor of the Holy One inside you."


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The darkness of night is coming along fast,
and the shadows of love close in the body and the mind.
Open the window to the west,
and disappear into the air inside you.
Near your breastbone there is an open flower.
Drink the honey that is all around that flower.

Waves are coming in:
There is so much magnificence near the ocean.

Listen: sound of immense seashells! Sound of bells!

Kabir says: "Friend, listen,
this is what I have to say:
The Guest I love is inside me!"
Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive.
Think and think while you are alive.
What you call 'salvation' belongs to the time before death.
I f you don't break your ropes while you're alive,
do you think ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten -
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the City of Death.
And if you make love with the divine now,
in the next life you will have the face of satisfied desire.
Then plunge into the Truth,
find out who the Teacher is, believe in the Great Sound!

Kabir says this:
"When the Guest is being searched for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that does all the work.
Look at me...
you will see a slave of that intensity."

http://www.osholeela.com/poetry/kabir4.html

Death (and Birthday) links

For more links on Death (and Birthdays).

http://www.otoons.com/death/j32.htm

Prem Dhan (Julian) will be turning 34 this January 12th...

Time to get some perspective.

Happy Death day to everyone!!!

Birthday Love

"I was thinking what should I give to you today? Because this is my birthday, I was incarnated into this body on this day. This is the day I saw for the first time the green of the trees and the blue of the skies. This was the day I for the first time opened my eyes and saw God all around. Of course the word 'God' didn't exist at that moment, but what I saw was God. I was thinking what should I give to you today? Then I remembered a saying of Buddha: SABBA DANAM DHAMMA DANANA JNATI -- the gift of truth excels all other gifts. And my truth is love.

The word 'truth' looks to me a little too dry and desert-like. I am not in much tune with the word 'truth' -- it looks too logical, it looks too 'heady'. It gives you the feeling of philosophy, not of religion. It gives you the idea as if you have concluded -- that you have come to a conclusion, that there has been a syllogism behind it, argumentation and logic and reasoning. No, 'truth' is not my word, 'love' is my word. Love is of the heart. Truth is partial, only your head is involved. In love you are involved as a totality -- your body, your mind, your soul, all are involved. Love makes you a unity -- and not a union, remember, but a unity. Because in a union those who join together remain separate. In a unity they dissolve, they become one, they melt into each other. And that moment I call the moment of truth, when love has given you unity. First, love gives you unity in your innermost core. Then you are no more a body, no more a mind, no more a soul. You are simply one -- unnamed, undefined, unclassified. No more determinate, definable, no more comprehensible. A mystery, a joy, a surprise, a jubilation, a great celebration. First, love gives you an inner unity. And when the inner unity has happened the second happens on its own -- you are not to do anything for it. Then you start falling in unity with the whole beyond you. Then the drop disappears in the ocean and the ocean disappears into the drop. That moment, that moment of orgasm between you and the whole, is where you become a Buddha. That moment is the moment Buddhahood is imparted to you. Or, better, revealed to you -- you have always been that, unaware. My word is love. So I say: My beloved ones, I love you. and I would like you to fill the whole world with love. Let that be our religion. Not Christianity, not Hinduism, not Islam, not Jainism, not Buddhism, but love. Love without any adjective to it. Not Christian love -- because how can love be Christian? It is so stupid. How can love be Hindu? It is ridiculous. Love is simply love. In love you can be a Christ. in love you can be a Buddha -- but there is no Buddhist love and there is no Christian love. In love you disappear, your mind disappears. In love you come to an utter relaxation. That's my teaching to you, I teach love. And there is nothing higher than love."

Osho -- This Very Body the Buddha, Ch 1 "The Lions Roar"

http://www.sannyasworld.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36&theme=Printer

Among White Clouds - Chinese Buddhist Hermits

Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Dakini Night Poem

Traktung Rinpoche wrote this poem on Losar of 2007 in answer to a question from a disciple "What is it like traveling from lifetime to lifetime without losing the thread of awareness? How did it all begin?" Recalling a conversation with Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) he jotted down these words which his friend Sky then sang.

Osho TV

Man gets and forgets,
God gives and forgives.

Nurse Lisa Parker

I am hoping to find this nurse and kindly see if we can get an interview to share with the Osho community.

Lessons for the Political Economist...

"Our whole attitude about life is money-oriented. And money is one of the most uncreative things one can become interested in. Our whole approach is power-oriented and power is destructive, not creative. A man who is after money will become destructive, because money has to be robbed, exploited; it has to be taken away from many people, only then can you have it. Power simply means you have to make many people impotent, you have to destroy them – only then will you be powerful, can you be powerful.

Remember: these are destructive acts. A creative act enhances the beauty of the world; it gives something to the world, it never takes anything from it. A creative person comes into the world, enhances the beauty of the world – a song here, a painting there. He makes the world dance better, enjoy better, love better, meditate better. When he leaves this world, he leaves a better world behind him. Nobody may know him; somebody may know him – that is not the point. But he leaves the world a better world, tremendously fulfilled because his life has been of some intrinsic value."

--OSHO
A Sudden Clash of Thunder
Chapter #4
Man is Always an Opening

Story about our Hero...

"Let me tell you one anecdote. I have heard a very beautiful Jewish story. It is tremendously significant – it is about a man:

He was always sleepy. And always ready to sleep. Everywhere. At the biggest mass meetings, at all the concerts, at every important convention, he could be seen sitting asleep.

You must have known that man because you are that. And you must have come across that man many, many times, because how can you avoid him? –it is you.

And he slept in every conceivable and inconceivable pose. He slept with his elbows in the air and his hands behind his head. He slept standing up, leaning against himself so that he should not fall down. He slept in the theater, in the streets, in the synagogue. Wherever he went, his eyes would drip with sleep.

Had he been a Hindu he could have even slept standing on his head in shirshasana. I have seen Hindus sleeping that way. Many yogis become efficient in sleeping standing on their head. It is difficult, arduous; it needs great practice – but it happens.

Neighbors used to say that he had already slept through seven big fires, and once, at a really big fire, he was carried out of his bed, still asleep, and put down on the sidewalk. In this way he slept for several hours until a patrol came along and took him away.

It was said that when he was standing under the wedding canopy and reciting the vows, "Thou art to me...." he fell asleep at the word 'sanctified' – try to remember him – and they had to beat
him over the head with brass pestles for several hours to wake him up. And he slowly said the next word and again fell asleep.

Remember your own wedding ceremony. Remember your honeymoon. Remember your marriage. Have you ever been awake? Have you ever missed any opportunity where you could have fallen asleep? You have always fallen asleep.

We mention all this so that you may believe the following story about our hero.

Once, when he went to sleep, he slept and slept and slept; but in his sleep it seemed to him that he heard thunder in the streets and his bed was shaking somewhat; so he thought in his sleep that it was raining outside, and as a result his sleep became still more delicious. He wrapped himself up in his quilt and in its warmth.

Do you remember how many times you have interpreted things through
your sleep? Do you remember sometimes you have fixed the alarm clock,
and when it goes off you start dreaming that you are in the church and the bells are ringing. A trick of the mind to avoid the alarm, to avoid the disturbance that the alarm is creating.


When he awoke he saw a strange void: his wife was no longer there, his bed was no longer there, his quilt was no longer there. He wanted to look through the window, but there was no window to look through. He wanted to run down the three flights and yell 'Help!' but there were no stairs to run on and no air to yell in. And when he wanted merely to go out of doors, he saw that there was no out of doors. Everything evaporated!

For a while he stood there in confusion unable to comprehend what had happened. But afterward he bethought himself: I will go to sleep. He saw, however, that there was no longer any earth to sleep on. Only then did he raise two fingers to his forehead and reflect: Apparently I have slept through the end of the world. Isn't that a fine how-do-you-do?

He became depressed. No more world, he thought. What will I do without a world? Where will I go to work, how will I make a living, especially now that the cost of living is so high and a dozen eggs costs a dollar twenty and who knows if they are even fresh, and besides, what will happen to the five dollars the gas company owes me? And where has my wife gone off to? Is it possible that she too has disappeared withthe world, and with the thirty dollars' pay I had in my pockets? And
she is not by nature the kind that disappears, he thought to himself.

You will also think that way one day if you suddenly find the world has disappeared. You don't know what else to think. You will think about the cost of eggs, the office, the wife, the money. You don'tknow what else to think about. The whole world has disappeared! – but you have become mechanical in your thinking.

And what will I do if I want to sleep? What will I stretch out on if there isn't any world? And maybe my back will ache? And who will finish the bundle of work in the shop? And suppose I want a glass of malted, where will I get it?

Eh, he thought, have you ever seen anything like it? A man should fall asleep with the world under his head and wake up without it!

This is going to happen one day or other – that's what happens to every man when he dies. Suddenly, the whole world disappears. Suddenly he is no longer part of this world; suddenly he is in another dimension. This happens to every man who dies, because whatsoever you have known is just the peripheral. When you die, suddenly your periphery disappears – you are thrown to your center. And you don't know that language. And you don't know anything about the center. It looks like void, empty. It feels like just a negation, an absence.

As our hero stood there in his underwear, wondering what to do, a thought occurred to him: To hell with it! So there isn't any world! Who needs it anyway? Disappeared is disappeared – I might as well go to the movies and kill some time. But to his astonishment he saw that, together with the world, the movies had also disappeared.

A pretty mess I've made here, thought our hero, and began smoothing his mustache. A pretty mess I've made here, falling asleep! If I hadn't slept so soundly, he taunted himself, I would have disappeared along with everything else. This way I'm unfortunate, and where will I get a malted? I love a glass in the morning. And my wife? Who knows who she's disappeared with? If it is with the presser from the top floor, I'll murder her, so help me God.

Who knows how late it is?

With these words our hero wanted to look at his watch but couldn't find it. He searched with both hands in the left and right pockets of the infinite emptiness but could find nothing to touch.

I just paid two dollars for a watch and here it's already disappeared, he thought to himself. All right. If the world went under, it went under. That I don't care about. It isn't my world. But the watch! Why should my watch go under? A new watch. Two dollars. It wasn't even wound.

And where will I find a glass of malted? There's nothing better in the morning than a glass of malted. And who knows if my wife.. I've slept through such a terrible catastrophe, I deserve the worst. Help, help, he-e-e-lp! Where are my brains? Where were my brains before? Why didn't
I keep an eye on the world and my wife? Why did I let them disappear when they were still so young?

And our hero began to beat his head against the void, but since the void was a very soft one it didn't hurt him and he remained alive to tell the story."

--OSHO
A Sudden Clash of Thunder
Chapter #3

A prayer by Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . let me be the one to pardon
Where there is doubt . . . let me give faith
Where there is despair . . let me bring hope
Where there is darkness . . . let me be light
Where there is sadness . . . let me give joy

Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . .as to console
To be understood . . .as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love

For it is in giving . . .that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . .that we are born to eternal life

St Francis Prayers

Osho on a Cereal Box...

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