A Word to the Wise: Maya

A painting entitled "Maya The World of Illusion" by Kathleen Scarboro. This contemporary painting illustrates parallel dimensions and states of consciousness.

The Vedic Studies Class, "A Word to the Wise," had its seventh meeting on Monday, May 20th at Shiva Sai Mandir Center for Vedic and Yogic Studies. The word we discussed was "Maya." Below follows an introduction to the course so named:

A painting entitled "Maya" by Julia Guthrie. A contemporary interpretation
of Maya Devi, she is swathed in veils depicting the cosmos and elements
of manifest creation, including time. She is beckoning us to move with her through
portals into other dimensions.

Illusion and Reality

What is seen is not the Truth

What is cannot be said

Trust comes not without seeing

Nor understanding without words

The wise comprehends with knowledge

To the ignorant it is but a wonder

Some worship the formless God

Some worship His various forms

In what way He is beyond these attributes

Only the Knower knows

That music cannot be written

How can then be the notes

Says Kabir, awareness alone will overcome illusion

-Kabir

Maya Devi showing her manifest forms,
likely a Nepalese image.

I imagine into being the whole world, moving and unmoving, through the power of my Maya.

Yet that same Maya is not separate from me; this is the highest truth . . .
In me this whole world is woven in all directions, O Mountain.
I am the Lord and the Cosmic Soul; I am myself the Cosmic Body.
I am Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra, as well as Gauri, Brahmi, and Vaishnavi.
I am the sun and the stars and I am the Lord of the stars.
I am the various aspects of beasts and birds; I am also the outcase and thief.
I am the evil doer and the wicked deed; I am the righteous person and the virtuous deed.
I am certainly female and male, and asexual as well.
And whatever thing, anywhere, you see or hear,
That entire thing I pervade, ever abiding inside it and outside.
There is nothing at all, moving or unmoving, that is devoid of me;
For if it were, it would be a nonentity, like the son of a barren woman.
Just as a single rope may appear variously as a serpent or wreath,So also I may appear in the form of the Lord and the like; there is no doubt in this matter.
The world cannot appear without an underlying basis.
Accordingly, the world comes to be only through my own being and in no other way.

–from the Devi Gita
(from Teachings of the Hindu Mystics, edited by Andrew Harvey, Shambhala, 2001, pp. 49-50)

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We have a discussion going and class material on this subject. Please let us know if you would like to be a part of the class. Materials are available for registered participants. For more information and to register for the class, follow this link: http://www.vedicstudies.org/a-word-to-the-wise.html — at Shiva Mandir Center for Vedic Studies.

Today We Honor All the Mamas and Mama Mama

Today we honor all the mamas and mama mama with some poetry and a recording of the Sri Lalita Sahasranama (1000 Names of Divine Mother). May you and all the Mothers in your life be blessed!

We have a beautiful 

mother
Her hills
are buffaloes
Her buffaloes
hills.

We have a beautiful
mother
Her oceans
are wombs
Her wombs
oceans.

We have a beautiful
mother
Her teeth
the white stones
at the edge
of the water
the summer
grasses
her plentiful
hair.

We have a beautiful
mother
Her green lap
immense
Her brown embrace
eternal
Her blue body
everything we know.

--Alice Walker.

 

Shri Maha Lakshmi Ashtakam Stotram

It is said that anyone who recites the Mahalakshmiashtakam with sincerity and devotion will be rewarded with all material and spiritual bliss. By reciting it once during the day, all your sins will be destroyed; two times during the day, and it'll make you wealthy, and if it is recited a third time, there will be success in eliminating trials and overwhelming challenges, no matter how powerful they are. Sing and the Goddess blesses!

Here is another neat video we found on Youtube that also has translations and more information about Lakshmi herself: 

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A SERIES OF LIFE-CHANGING ECLIPSES

What is the energetic influence of eclipses?

Solar eclipses take place on Full Moons when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This blocks the governing, active and protective influences of the Sun and interrupts the nurturing, restorative and intuitive energies of the Full Moon. The next solar eclipse is May 9th.

Lunar eclipses take place on New Moons. During a lunar eclipse the shadow of the Earth falls on the Moon. This blocks the renewing and germinating potential that the New Moon energy brings. There is a lunar eclipse on May 26th.

The influence of an eclipse extends for weeks, months, and in some cases for years. In ancient times, eclipses were considered so important that the reputation or perhaps even the lives of astrologers were on the line for accurate predictions.

Why don’t we perform lunar homas during an eclipse?

Homas are Vedic fire ceremonies that activate and amplify the subtle cosmic energies in nature. Lunar homas amplify energies of lunar cycles. During an eclipse, the beneficial solar and lunar energies are obscured, blocked and even reversed. Performing a homa during an eclipse amplifies these adverse energies.

Are the influence of eclipses always bad?

The influence of an eclipse cannot be categorically regarded as adverse. Solar eclipses are associated with new beginnings and lunar eclipses are associated with completion. Eclipses portend shifts in global destiny and the collapse of decaying organizations and systems of governance.

How can we make use of this powerful eclipse energy?

To make best use of the influence of an eclipse, go inward: meditating, resting and doing spiritual practices during the time of the eclipse. Showering or bathing after the eclipse is an action of cleansing and releasing the old energy that the eclipse has severed. General recommendations during an eclipse are to stay out of the “astronomical weather.” During the actual time of the eclipse (approximately half an hour) avoid watching the eclipse and avoid traveling. Do not make major changes or decisions on the day before, during or the day after an eclipse. Resolve to welcome the energy that the eclipse is bringing into your life. The specific influences of the eclipse will depend on your individual astrological chart.

The eclipses of this May are part of a cluster of three (lunar eclipse, April 25th; solar eclipse, May 9th; and lunar eclipse, May 26th). These eclipses are bringing powerful new influences for renewal and rebirth in the midst of disintegration of the old. The stage is set for revolutionary change. This is a very significant pattern of cosmic influence that will impact individual and global concerns for years to come.

For specific astronomical information, here is a link to a NASA website on the subject.

A Word to the Wise: Samsara

Samsara

Oh! I watch this wonderful game in a lonely park.
A millionaire strikes a small ball with his iron club
And it flies to infinity, 
He goes behind that happily.
The poor sinner caddy too crawls towards him
with a heavy bag that [is] full of debts on his oblique shoulder[s].

--Nimal Dunuhinga

We will discuss the implications of this poem and the following in our fifth class on May 6th, at Shiva Mandir. If you would like to take part and receive the class materials, as well as access to our class forum,  please let us know by registering for this class at the following link: http://www.vedicstudies.org/a-word-to-the-wise.html — at Shiva Mandir Center for Vedic Studies.

Excerpt from The Turning Seasons of Hell: 

I was an actor on Shakespeare’s stage, and there composed the best of his lines

I was a poet in France and walked across the Alps

I was a singer in Milan, where my reputation was ruined

I was a painter on my back daubing plaster and bright scenes on chapel ceilings day and night

I was a sculptor in stone and clay, making hands and feet for the master

I signed the documents to set this country free

I fought alongside Sitting Bull and killed Custer’s men,

I slept under a tree, and out in the open field,
I contemplated, I practiced,
I slept sitting up, I slept in cemetaries,
I laid down and stayed wherever I happened to be,
I starved my body and my mind and lived on mud and insects,
I ate everything at once, I stopped eating at 5:00 every day
I mastered the sciences of language, logic and philosophy, of medicine and of arts

I was a soldier in a war of the most horrific demise,

a sailor who drowned before the sharks circled in,

a seer who touched the face of the sun,

a prophet, a scoundrel, a rebel and a rat.

A bubble, a lightning flash, a grand revelation, a disco ball, a star and a starship sailing through galaxies, the moon in the water, a pure purple, red, then white, then black, then white, then red, nothing.

a reflection, a reflection, an emanation, an emanation.

-By Caroline Kroll

Akshaya Tritaya, Day of Lasting Achievement Monday, May 13, 6-7 pm.

Akshaya Tritaya, Day of Lasting Achievement
Monday, May 13, 6-7 pm.

The meeting of Rama and Parasurama, painted by Manohar (Mewar school, 1649), Found: columbia.edu

Akshaya Tritaya or the Day of Lasting Achievement is a most important day in the Vedic calendar. Whatever is inaugurated, commenced or honored on this day will have maximum support from the laws of nature for success and longevity. This day celebrates the birth of Lord Parasurama, an incarnation of Vishnu and the birth of Annapurna Devi, the embodiment of nourishment, abundance and satisfaction.  This day also honors when Vyasa and Ganesh began to write down the story of the Mahabharata and when Lord Krishna protected Draupadi’s honor. The cosmic energies support business success, wealth and prosperity on this day.

Traditionally, observances include:
- Giving charitable donations;
- Beginning to plow fields
- Inaugurating business, educational and community endeavors
- Performing Vishnu, Kubera and Lakshmi pujas
- And purchasing gold, silver and precious jewelry.

Please join Shiva Mandir’s celebration of Akshaya Tritaya on Monday, May 13th, for a puja from 6 to 7 pm MDT. 

You are encouraged to bring a symbol of some endeavor you would like blessed (business plan, sample of a product, picture of your place of business, etc.). If you live far away, please send an email or a Shiva Mandir Facebook message of what you would like blessed in the puja by Monday morning (before noon), May 13th, shivamandir@gmail.com.