India conquered and dominated China culturally through Buddhism for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to the United States

Happy Durga Puja & Dusshera to All!
Navaraathri - Nine nights dedicated to Mother goddess and today is the final tenth day celebrating the the victory of the 'Jagan Matha' Mother goddess.
In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka dolls called Bommai kolu are placed and decorated. Goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswathi are worshipped for three days. Gifts of coconuts, clothes and sweets are exchanged. Scenes culled from various stories in the epics and puranas are displayed. The Navarathri festival celebrations at Ahmedabad and Baroda are famous throughout Gujarat. Here the evenings and nights are occasions for the fascinating Garba dance. The women dance around an earthen lamp while singing devotional songs accompanied by rhythmic clapping of the hands. In Punjab, Navarathri is a period of fasting.

Our family conections are too thick, we talk with each other then and now daily even over the phone even if they stay far away.. 

Lord let me suffer much and then die
Let me walk through silence
and leave nothing behind not even fear
Make the world continue
let the ocean kiss the sand just as before
Let the grass stay green
so that the frogs can hide in it
so that someone can bury his face in it and sob out his love
Make the day rise brightly as if there were no more pain
And let my poem stand clear as a windowpane
bumped by a bumblebee's head

~ Anna Kamienska ~

 by courtesy from : The London Spirituality Network

I used to appreciate all kinds of arts but I am not an expert. I like Modern arts as well as cave arts. you can find some thing in the arts of the indegenious people all over the world. Arts from all the periods of the world history have some thing for us. When I visited London museum and Malaysian museum, I was nearly amazed. Luckily I happened to work in the Textile and Handicraft section of our government for nearly twelve years. I came across so many things which I did not know upto then. Even though I am able to enjoy any type of music , I am very much fond of the Carnatic music, specially melodies and the Bharatha Dance. I was trained in soy foods processing. I advocate their propaganda too. i am not an expert in any thing but I used to appreciate everything that is more useful to all.

 Today, The tenth day, Vijaya Dasami day is considered to be a very auspicious day. It is associated with victory of good over evil. There are two reasons that describe why the day is described as ‘vijaya' dasami. On Dasami day during evening, at the time of trisandhya or the time of twilight, when the stars have just begun to appear, that time is known as Vijaya. Any undertaking begun at that time would result in success. According to Brighu, the eleventh muhurta of a day of fifteen muhurtas is called Vijaya. Those desirous of military victory should march at that time.

Children learn their first alphabets on Vijaya Dasami day. New ventures are begun on that day

http://www.hindunet.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=15,44&Number=5255&Main=5183

Did you know that from 300 to 1100 ce India was the richest and one of the most populous countries in the world? Did you know that during this time India was a place of religious harmony and scientific, artistic and literary discovery? These facts are not taught in school textbooks. We've set out to remedy the situation. Hinduism Today is pleased to announce the publication of its second lesson on Hindu history covering the time period from the Gupta Empire of the 4th century to the Chola Empire and the first Muslim invasions of India in the tenth and eleventh centuries. This 16-page lesson was written by the magazine editors in collaboration with historian Shiva Bajpai (and help from a dozen other scholars) for use in USA middle schools. The history series is the monastery's way of correcting rampant misinformation contained in current American textbooks, so that Hinduism is accurately and sympathetically presented to the world. This second lesson is now available in the October 2008 issue of Hinduism Today and can be read online at http://www.hinduismtoday.com/education/Hinduism_History_300-1100.pdf
(HPI)

You can chant the following mantra :-

MAHA MRITYUNJAYA MANTRA

Om trayambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam
Urvaarukamiva bandhanaan mrityor muksheeya maamritaat

MEANING

We worship the three-eyed One (Lord Siva) Who is
fragrant and Who nourishes well all beings; may He
liberate us from death for the sake of immortality
even as the cucumber is severed from its bondage (to
the creeper).

BENEFITS

1. This Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra is a life-giving
Mantra. In these days, when life is very complex and
accidents are an everyday affair, this Mantra wards
off death by snake-bite, lightning, motor-accidents,
fire-accidents, cycle-accidents, water-accidents,
air-accidents and accidents of all descriptions.
Besides, it has a great curative effect. Again
diseases pronounced incurable by doctors are cured by
this Mantra, when chanted with sincerity, faith and
devotion. It is a weapon against disease. It is a
Mantra to conquer death.

2. It is also a Moksha Mantra. It is Lord Siva's
Mantra. It bestows long life (Deergha Ayus), peace
(Santi), wealth (Aisvarya), prosperity (Pushti),
satisfaction (Tushti) and Immortality (Moksha).

3. On your birthday, repeat one lakh of this Mantra
or at least 50,000, perform Havan and feed Sadhus,
the poor and the sick. This will bestow on you long
life, peace and prosperity.

With earnest regards and Om

Swami Gurupriyananda

The Atman is the witness-consciousness that experiences the action, the actor, and the world of separate things. It is like a light that illuminates everything in a theater, revealing the master of ceremonies, the guests, and the dancers with complete impartiality. Even when they all depart, the light shines to reveal their absence.

-Panchadashi
 

It is necessary to pray to Him with a longing heart. The kitten knows only how to call its mother, crying, "Mew, mew!" It remains satisfied whenever its mother puts it. And the mother cat puts the kitten sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on the bed. When it suffers it cries only, "Mew, mew!" That's all it knows. But as soon as the mother hears this cry, wherever she may be, she comes to the kitchen.

-Ramakrishna

In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life-it will be the solace of my death.
- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher and writer and first Western philosopher to have access to translations of philosophical material from India.
Source: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2008/10/5.shtml

Just simply spiritualism is the only answer for all the questions. I feel most people have a fear about it.

The adorable one who is seated
In the heart rules the breath of life.
Unto him all the senses pay their homage.
When the dweller in the body breaks out
In the freedom from the bonds of flesh, what remains?
For this Self is supreme!

-Katha Upanishad

Many people feel that the best part of summertime is slower, lazier days. But the six million-plus advocates of the Slow Movement feel there's a lot to be said for slowing your pace all year long. The group points to our increasing "time poverty" and, on its website at www.slowmovement.com, explains, "We are engaged in constant fast-forward motion whereby we are often overscheduled, stressed and rushing towards the next task. This rushing is not restricted to our work environment. We rush our food, our family time and even our recreation." In her Daily Post article "Slow Down and Save Society", Jane Gallagher notes that the movement, which has its roots in the Slow Food campaign in Italy, "proposes consciously seizing control of time rather than being dictated by it, and finding a balance between using time-saving technology and taking the time to enjoy a walk or a meal with others.". According to In Praise of Slow author Carl Honore, "Everything we do is filtered through our obsession with time and, particularly, with not wasting it" - including vacations. In The Daily Mail piece "Why Are We So in Thrall to Time?", Honore recommends rediscovering "the art of doing nothing" -- something you might try over the upcoming summer days. Then when you return to your everyday life, take the quiz in Octavius Black's Daily Mail article "It's Slow Time" to determine whether you're a "rushaholic." If you fit the profile, then try Black's five practical tips for slowing down: "Take pleasure. Let others rush in. Listen longer. Set an alarm. Be a time dove." (from questia)

Meditation is needed
Only when the mind is distracted
By false imagining.

Knowing this,
I am here.

Without joy or sorrow,
Grasping at nothing, spurning nothing,
O Master, I am here.

-Ashtavakra Gita 12:3-4

I have already answered a similar question with the same answer. It is india meaning Bharatha. So many saints walked about in its soil and grown spiritualism in a different way. They introduced 'Kundalini' to the world.

I do not find any thing special, unique or different in our family. We just live like all others normal families in this world. Leading a simple life has no difference. Our children too love us, help us, and behave like intimate friends. I hope this is the way all families and children live in this world. 

Fear less, hope more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours.
Swedish proverb

All sorrow comes from fear.
From nothing else.

When you know this,
You become free of it,
And desire melts away.

You become happy
And still.

-Ashtavakra Gita 11:5

You are the couch of all!

Agni blazes and flashes from the height of heaven. To the God Agni belong all airy spaces, Agni it is whom mortal men enkindle, conveyer of offerings, lover of the clarified butter. May she who is clothed with Fire, whose knees are blackened, grant me sharpness of wit and furnish me with splendor! May Earth on which men offer to the Gods the sacrifice and decorous oblations, where dwells the human race on nourishment proper to the requirements of its nature--may this great Earth assure us life and breath, permitting us to come to ripe old age. Instill in me abundantly that fragrance, O Mother Earth, which emanates from you and from your plants and waters, that sweet perfume that all celestial beings are wont to emit, and let no enemy ever wish us ill! Your fragrance which has entered into the lotus, wherewith the immortal Gods at the Sun-daughter's wedding were redolent, O Earth, in times primeval-- instill in me abundantly that fragrance, and let no enemy ever wish us ill! Your fragrance which adheres to human beings, the good cheer and the charm of women and men, that which is found in horses and in warriors, that which is in wild beasts and in the elephant, the radiance that shines about a maiden--O Earth, steep us,too, deeply in that fragrance, and let no enemy ever wish us ill! Earth is composed of rock, of stone, of dust; Earth is compactly held, consolidated. I venerate this mighty Earth, the golden-breasted! Her upon whom the trees, lords of the forest, stand firm, unshakable, in every place, this long-enduring Earth we now invoke, the giver of all manner of delights. Whether we stand upright or sit, whether we stay quite still or walk, whether we walk with right foot or left, never may we stumble upon Earth! O purifying Earth, I you invoke! O patient Earth, by Sacred Word enhanced, bearer of nourishment and strength, of food and ghee--O Earth, we would approach you with due praise! Pure may the Waters flow over our bodies! That which defiles--I fling it upon our foes! I cleanse myself, O Earth, as with a filter. Your regions, Earth, to eastward and to northward, southward and westward, may they receive me kindly, whenever on their paths I travel. Never, when standing on your surface, may I totter! Do not thrust us aside from in front or behind, from above or below! Be gracious, O Earth. Let us not encounter robbers on our path. Restrain the deadly weapon! As wide a vista of you as my eye may scan, O Earth, with the kindly help of Sun, so widely may my sight be never dimmed in all the long parade of years to come! Whether, when I repose on you, O Earth, I turn upon my right side or my left, or whether, extended flat upon my back, I meet your pressure from head to foot, be gentle, Earth! You are the couch of all! - Atharva Veda XII, 1, 20-34

As a dog, let loose after being tied up for some time, is energetic and active, so one who learns to remain summa, or still, gets increased energy which can be put to good use.
Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka (1872-1964)

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Let your mind cognize itself by turning itself back on itself. Become consciously conscious. All you have to do is to watch your mind think.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)

We all share beauty. It strikes us indiscriminately. It may be when our child was born into this world; or a simple flower; or a song; or a smile on a face; or a great act of courage; or a dance well done; or a child's laugh; or a loaf of bread baking; or finding a worthy job; or a snowfall; or to his or her Source. There is no end to beauty for the person who is aware.(not known)

My eyes already touch the sunny hill,
going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
it has its inner light, even from a distance--
and changes us, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it, we already are;
a gesture waves us on, answering our own wave . . .
but what we feel is the wind in our faces.

~Rainer Maria Rilke~

 With thanks to : The London Spirituality Network

Now follows the Udgitha of the dogs: One day, Vaka the son of Dalbhya, or as he was also called, Glava son of Mitra, went forth to study the Vedas. A white dog appeared before him. Other dogs, gathering around, said to him (i.e. the white dog): Revered Sir, please sing for us, so we may obtain food; we are hungry. He (the white dog) said to them: Come to me here tomorrow morning. Vaka the son of Dalbhya, or as he was also called, Glava son of Mitra, kept watch. Just as the priests move along, holding to one another, when they are about to sing praises with the Vahishpavamana hymn, so did the dogs move along. Then they sat down and uttered the syllable Him. Om. Let us eat! Om. Let us drink! Om. Let the sun, who is the luminous deity (deva), the giver of rain (Varuna), the lord of creatures (Prajapati), bring food here! Now a prayer to the sun: O lord of food, bring food here, bring it here. Om. - Chandogya Upanishad I, XII - The Udgitha of the Dogs,1 - 5
(Mitra means friend. Varuna and Mitra are friends. Varuna is the deity of the seas and oceans. Indra is the deity of the sky and the clouds.)

Nothing in life is more exciting and rewarding than the sudden flash of insight that leaves you a changed person-not only changed but changed for the better. Such moments are rare, certainly, but they come to all of us. Sometimes from a book, a sermon, a line of poetry. Sometimes from a friend.(Unknown.)

With a joyful soul, I accept and give thanks for the goodness of God.

Divine ideas create a feast that continually feeds my soul. The enrichment that divine ideas of life, love, and understanding bring me breaks forth in a joy that further strengthens me in mind, body, and spirit.

 My joy is in knowing that God loves me and in experiencing the wonder of life that God created me to experience. As I speak and sing words of praise to God, wave after wave of gladness washes over me. Any hint of discontent is cleared from my mind. My world sparkles with possibility.

Giving praise from a heart of joy awakens me to even more to be joyful about. I recognize blessings that I might have previously overlooked. With a joyful soul, I accept and give thanks for the goodness of God.

"My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips."

courtesy; dailyword.com

Australian woman Apeetha Arunagiri lived in India for 30 years near the temple town of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Initially drawn there as a devotee of Ramana Maharshi, she stayed and was instrumental in forming the Annamalai Reforestation Society dedicated to replanting the sacred mountain Arunachala. This is her story and the story of the Arunachala Village Forest Plantation, a small scale village-based group which she also formed.
(IndiaDivine)

Arranged Marriages, India's Newest Export to West
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arranged_love_Indias_newest_export_to_West/rssarticleshow/3614120.cms

INDIA, October 19, 2008: The ideal of arranged marriage - in which individuals wishing to find a spouse welcome the chance to meet prospects suggested by their parents and other elders, while retaining veto power - is starting to make sense to more and more Westerners.

The West's high divorce rate gives weight to Reva Seth's argument in her recent book, "First Comes Marriage," that the haphazard dating method is not the best way to find one's spouse.

Marian Salzman, New York trend spotter and partner at PR firm Porter Novelli, says the economic down turn is helping to convince people of the importance of finding the right spouse to form a sustainable marriage. She says the cost of courtship - and divorce - is so high that people increasingly want their marriage to have a stronger foundation. "In these hard times, lust wears thin." Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani agrees that the arranged marriage could become as popular in the West because it is based on shared values and similar backgrounds, which are more likely to sustain a union than romantic love, which - though heady - is often short-lived(HPI)