A Personal Note to Hanuman

 Dear Hanuman,

I want to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a 60-year-old white lady. I first saw your name on a menu at a health food store in the middle of America in 1972. The menu item was called “Hanuman’s sandwich.” At the time I inferred from this that you had invented or especially liked sandwiches on whole wheat bread with avocados and beansprouts.

Then a few years later I saw a picture of you in an Indian gift shop. You were tearing your heart open with your own hands. It reminded me of a Catholic store Jesus (I also noticed at the time that you were a monkey).

I learned a more and more about you in bits and pieces over the years. I once heard that you stole Sita’s lipstick and put it on yourself so that Rama might love you more. I don’t know if that story is true. I liked the songs I heard about you. They were all bouncy and fun. At some point I began to delight in the sound of your name.

Then I met a teacher who told me that the real love story in the Ramayana was about you. I took notice.

At some point over the years, I realized you had been walking along side me in life. You have given me strength. I know you’ve helped me complete my studies and remember to do my practices. I call on your valor when I need it. Your Divine Mace has rescued me many times.

So here we are, years since I first heard your name. Isn’t it something? Now I can pull open my own heart. 

And there you are.

Mother Divine Victory is at Hand!

Tomorrow is the concluding day of Navaratri.

The story of Navaratri tells how the best of the best gave their all to endow Mother Divine with weapons and tools for the grand battle. Her Bow and Arrow, Discus, Thunderbolt, and Trident were manifested from the collective and universal good, intelligence, right duty, and vigilance. These weapons were forged in the fire of faith and courage. 

Mother Divine battled for nine days and nights against myriad demons. Every demon she smote sprang back up ten-fold, hundred-fold, thousand-fold! Still, she battled on from deeper and deeper levels of her own inexhaustible force of Everything until there was stillness, calm, and peace. 

Who were those demons? Mother Divine fought against the demons who are our very own weaknesses, greed, egoisms, and ignorances. She won over the legions of our fear, disgrace, and our every ineptitude  and sin. When was this battle waged? It was waged long ago, it is waged now, and forevermore, and whenever it needs to be fought. There will always be victory over ignorance and there will always be Divine Mother's valiant grace and protection. 

Visit ShivaMandir.org to learn about our local Navarati celebration in Denver, CO. USA!

May your heart be filled with the blessings of Mother Divine this Spring!

Navaratri, the Nine Days of Mother Divine, March 21st-28th 2015

   The Spring celebration of Divine Mother is now underway. Navaratri or the Nine Days of Mother Divine is a most auspicious time for devotional practice and meditation. Observing Navaratri increases and material well-being. Nava means nine, ratri means night. Navaratri is nine nights or “lunar days” long.

   Navaratri is celebrated at by many different traditions depending on local customs, but wherever it is celebrated, each night of the festival builds in energy, exuberance and devotion until the grand finale: the Day of Victory (Vijaya Dashami). Victory Day refers to Mother Divine vanquishing the enemy - which is egoism - after nine continuous days of battle.

    Throughout the world, Navaratri is celebrated at the change of seasons. By some traditions it is celebrated one time a year in the Fall. In other traditions it is celebrated twice yearly, during the Fall and Spring. In still other traditions it is celebrated during all four seasons, four times a year. 

    At the change of seasons, the laws of nature are shifting and the climatic and solar influences are in transition. These shifts in the seasons are wonderful opportunities for shifts in consciousness and spiritual growth. By honoring Mother Divine at these junctures in time, we are using the intelligence inherent in nature to optimize our spiritual growth and our connection to the Divine Mother.

    During these days of Navaratri, it is an ideal time to appreciate nature and increase our devotional practices. Take a walk today and notice the new signs of Spring. Then thank your Divine Mother for her beautiful creation.

Shiva Sai Mandir is observing Navaratri with pujas

 every from 6 to 6:30 pm and a 

Victory Day Celebration on 

Saturday, March 28 from 7 to 9 pm. 

You are warmly invited to attend!

Click here for more details 

about our Navaratri observances.

                Happy Navaratri!

                              Shiva Sai Mandir
                         1391 S. Pennsylvania St.
                            Denver, CO 80210

                          ShivaMandir.org

Your Mother is Coming and She is Bringing a Wild Surprise!

   This year, 2015, the Spring observance of the Nine Days of Mother Divine 

(Vasant Navaratri) is marked with rare astronomical occurrences.

  

   This New Moon (which immediately precedes Navaratri) is a Super Moon. A Super Moon is when the Moon is at its closest orbital point to the earth. The gravitational pull of this Super Moon will profoundly affect the Earth and her oceans, possibly causing unusual tidal events and power outages.

   This Super Moon will be coming between the Sun and the earth, blocking the Sun’s direct light to the earth - a solar eclipse. The eclipse will not be visible in the USA; it will be visible in Norway and parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. This happens just as the days and nights of the earth are equal in duration – which is the equinox, the astrological marker of the Spring season. The convergence of all these events happening at one time is extremely rare.

   So what is the spiritual and energetic significance of these events? Navaratri is a sacred time. Spring Navaratri or Vasant Navaratri is a time of rebirth and new growth. Navaratri is nine lunar days (moonrise to moonset) set aside to celebrate nature and renew our relationship with our Divine Mother.

   This Vasant Navaratri commences under the influence of a solar eclipse that is amplified by a Super Moon. The energetic influence of this eclipse will be directly impacting for six months and diminishing gradually after that. It will bring sweeping changes. The old systems, institutions, patterns and perspectives will collapse and fall away -- to be replaced by rebirth and new growth. 

   During the transition, relationships will change and conflicts may potentially increase. The consequences of whatever decisions and actions humans will take in the coming six months will be especially intensified. Avoid beginning any new endeavors or making any contractual agreements from March 18^th through March 22^nd. This is an unstable period of time. Use the next 10 days (through March 28th) for deepened spiritual practices and introspection to make the most of this extremely rare and powerful time. This is an opportunity to set a new trajectory for maximum spiritual evolution.

Actual times (MDT, GMT -6), Friday, March 20, 2015: 

Eclipse: 1:41 am

New Moon: 3:36 am

Equinox: 8:45 am

Vasant Navaratri (adjusted times for North America):

March 21st - 28th

Visit ShivaMandir.Org for info on our local Navaratri celebrations in Denver, CO!

Shiva Is About to Emerge from His Eternal Meditation

There are many stories associated with Maha Shivaratri. This particular description from the Puranas reveals the benefits to mortals of observing this blessed day. Shiva resides on Mount Kailash. There he sits in the rarefied air of the snow-clad and highest peak of the mountain range at the top of the world. Clothed only in a tiger skin, his gaze is cast inward and his eyes are closed. He is deeply absorbed in meditation. The silence and power of his meditation is generating the consciousness and intelligence that underlies and supports all of created existence.
 
Once a year, on Maha Shivaratri, he stirs a bit in his meditation. His eyes flutter open briefly. As he looks upon all of creation, wherever he sees devotees assembled in song, meditation and worship, he smiles and is pleased.

His blessings and boons immediately fall upon the devotees. Their sins are forgiven. Their spiritual aspirations are granted. They are gifted with expanded awareness and deeper understanding. They are blessed with Divine protection.
 
Then his eyes are cast downward again, the eyelids close, and he settles back into his eternal and all-sustaining meditation.

This is the Celebration of Mother's Final Victory in the Epic War

Today is the concluding day of Navaratri.

This is the celebration of Mother's final victory in the epic war. This ancient story is told in many lands and in many ways. The story tells how the best of the best gave their all to endow Mother Divine with weapons and tools for the grand battle. Her Bow and Arrow, Discus, Thunderbolt, and Trident were manifested from the collective and universal good, intelligence, right duty, and vigilance. These weapons were forged in the fire of faith and courage. 

Mother Divine battled for nine days and nights against myriad demons. Every demon she smote sprang back up ten-fold, hundred-fold, thousand-fold! Still, she battled on from deeper and deeper levels of her own inexhaustible force of Everything until there was stillness, calm, and peace. 

Who were those demons? Mother Divine fought against the demons who are our very own weaknesses, greed, egoisms, and ignorances. She won over the legions of our fear, disgrace, and our every ineptitude  and sin. When was this battle waged? It was waged long ago, it is waged now, and forevermore, and whenever it needs to be fought. There will always be victory over ignorance and there will always be Divine Mother's valiant grace and protection. 

...among deep thunder sounds,
you sit above kings and queens,  
having no fear, champion over all,
     you are fate, and the fiery mother of destiny,
never born or dying, you are continuous life
     and know what comes.
You are the Great Plenum, and you alone give birth.
Holy Mother, we pray you in this season lead us
onto peace and health and increase of good things.  

--Orphic Hymn from The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures (Robert Bly)

The Divine Mother Makes Her Appearances on Earth

White Buffalo Calf Woman, Original artwork above by Rogue Guirey Simpson, 1992

On this eight day of Navaratri, we consider Divine Mother's embodiments, her appearances on earth in story and as sacred woman.

Mother is an inherent and inseparable part of creation. The glory of the natural world is her raiment. Her visage can be seen in the faces of people; the fragility, the fierceness and the tenderness of all humanity is there. For all peoples, cultures, and throughout history, she has also moved amongst us, making Herself known. Often, she will take form. She may appear as a beautiful woman, not even recognized as the entity she is. There are many stories which illustrate this. She becomes embodied in order to teach and to give blessings or boons.

One embodiment of Divine Mother that has been told of again and again is that of White Buffalo Woman. Below follows one of her tales:

It was a winter morning, and two hunters on their hunt saw a beautiful woman approaching. She was in buckskin that was pure white and she carried a small pack. One of the men saw only a beautiful woman and immediately began lusting after her. His partner told him to stop having such thoughts because it was obvious that she was a "wakan" or holy woman. 

The woman came close, put down her bundle and asked the lustful man to speak with her. He came close, and all of a sudden, a great cloud enveloped the two of them. When the cloud disappeared, the woman stood there with a pile of bones at her feet which were being cleaned off of flesh by snakes. 

This story, according to the Lakota Holy Man, Black Elk, teaches how our thoughts should be considered and measured and disciplined because worldly passions can consume us entirely. 


To many, the stories about White Buffalo Woman are seen as ways of living, guideposts to spirituality, and ways of honoring community, and the environment. In fact, White Buffalo Woman has been told to have brought seven sacred rites to the Oglala Sioux, that support those very things.